Re: Evil Schemes for the Average Megalomaniac
A country adjacent to Atomic Khan's (AK's... he runs at least one, doesn't he?) attacks and nearly destroys AK's nation before AK pulls out the stops, drives back the invaders and very quickly ends the war, annexxing the invading country. The other country's reason to invade is unclear, but AK had been negotiating with that country for vital resources that would aid AK's plans for world domination (yeah, I expect he was the one at the table -- Megalomaniacs don't tend to delegate). The UN wants AK to reestablish the annexed country, but NATO doesn't want a war in their own back yard if they can help it.
If the heroes investigate they discover that somehow AK somehow manipulated (or controlled) that other nation's leaders to attack, giving him the pretext to counterinvade. Ominously, AK is in negotiations with a third nation for more vital resources, and they aren't going well.
Since his most recent attempt on the President failed, the Angler (TA) failed, TA has acquired a mind-controlling device and is now subtly putting supers in his power. He isn't programming them with anything more specific than undying loyalty to him, but when he thinks he has enough supers in thrall, he plans to unleash them to take over first, the USA, then the rest of the world. He plans to keep GWB on as a front man, so it won't initially be obvious who's been pulling the strings. A powerful telepath will probably be the first to notice something awry.
The cult of Vampires engineers the overthrow of a small third-world country, installing one of Caine's non-vampire minions as dictator (like Renfield, but less obviously insane). One of his first edicts is that all adult citizens donate one pint of blood per month to the national bloodbank. This will provide an endless supply of food for the vampire puppeteers while providing revenues for the national coffers as they sell the surplus. The Vampires plan to establish embassies in first- and second-world countries from which to extend their influence over the rest of the world. (assuming that all vampires worldwide aren't
His latest plague mimics the effects of alcohol, lowering inhibitions and coordination. Eventually, they pass out, and if a treatment is not found, they will die.
The black market for "sex toys" just got more variety. Police are discovering that someone has genetically spliced humans and animals to create sex slaves available to the highest bidder. The problem? The law needs proof they are "human" to recognize their humanity, and no animal cruelty laws have been broken (that they have evidence for). Both the police and the SPCA are asking for the heroes' help!
Potentially NSFW Examples:
The world's Nerdiest villain builds a device to teleport ComiCon 2008 to his secret island headquarters so he can enjoy the event without being arrested and obtain (by duress) any memorabilia that suits his fancy. Either the heroes must recognize that the Con is in danger and thwart his plan before he carries it out or they must find out where the con (and all the people) have disappeared to.
Of course, since he's "the World's Smartest Man", it's only fair that he scatter clues about that any sufficiently intelligent person could use to deduce the whereabouts of the missing Con. Feel free to make the clues and answers to them as obscure as possible as only a TRUE nerd... I mean, GENIUS! will know the answers.
Example clue: A life-sized model of the Jupiter 2 (picture) is left standing on the site where the convention center was previously. Upon careful examination, the navigation dome (top deck, center) is set to coordinates that corespond to the location of the next clue, etc., etc.
As god of the storms, Set begins to drive hurricanes backwards across the Atlantic, through the Mediterranean sea and into Egypt in an effort to restore Set worship in his homeland. The avatar of Horus, weak after centuries of neglect, appeals to the heroes to stop Set before he becomes too powerful to be stopped. Of course, Horus knows where the Maguffin is hidden for just such an emergency, but he's too old and weak to make the journey (unlike the heroes). If Set realizes the heroes are going after the One Thing That Can Stop HimⓇ he will summon (traditionally) evil creatures such as scorpions, clouds of biting flies, hippos, crocodiles, etc., to hinder the heroes. If these things don't stop the heroes (and they shouldn't), Set himself will drop what he's doing and confront them himself. Hopefully they'll have the Maguffin in their mitts by then.
