Stories by @mikeprater

Epic: The Musical

Back on the open sea, Odysseus encounters a siren disguised as his wife Penelope. While playing along with her charade, he asks her how he can return home without passing Poseidon, and she reveals that it can only happen by going through the lair of the six-headed sea monster Scylla, where Poseidon is afraid to go. She asks Odysseus to join her in the water, saying that she could relieve all of his suffering. Odysseus appears to give in before attacking her and exposing her identity. He reveals that he and his crew resisted her magical song by plugging their ears with beeswax, and his crew captures the rest of the sirens in the water. The sirens beg for mercy, but Odysseus vows not to make the same mistake he made with Polyphemus and commands his crew to kill them all. The crew then sails towards Scylla's lair, where Eurylochus reveals to Odysseus that he was the one who opened Aeolus's wind bag. Ignoring him, Odysseus commands that Eurylochus distribute six torches as they sail through the dark lair. Scylla, attracted to the light, eats the men holding the torches, allowing the rest of the crew to escape unharmed. Horrified by Odysseus's willingness to sacrifice his own men, Eurylochus leads a mutiny, subduing and imprisoning the captain. The crew lands the ship on the nearest island, which happens to be the home of the sun god Helios. Despite warnings from Odysseus, Eurylochus kills one of Helios's sacred cows for food. Angered by this disrespect, Helios sends Zeus to pass judgment on the crew. The god forces Odysseus to choose between allowing either himself or his remaining men to be killed. Determined to return home, Odysseus ultimately chooses the latter. Zeus spares Odysseus but destroys his ship and kills the rest of his crew.

Epic: The Musical

Sailing into the underworld, Odysseus and his crew pass by the souls of his slain fleet, including Polites, as well as Odysseus's mother Anticlea, whom he now realizes had died while waiting for him to return home. Odysseus eventually reaches Tiresias, who states that despite having clairvoyant vision of the past and future, he does not see any future in which Odysseus returns home unchanged. Distraught upon hearing this, Odysseus decides to bury his softer side, embracing ruthlessness and resolving to return home by any means necessary, comparing himself to the other monsters he'd fought on his travels.

Epic: The Musical

Beaching on an island, Odysseus sends out a scouting crew, led by Eurylochus. They encounter the witch Circe, who transforms all who enter her palace into pigs. Eurylochus escapes back to Odysseus, but they argue over whether they should rescue the men or leave, with Odysseus ultimately deciding to confront Circe at her palace. Hermes, herald and messenger of the gods, appears to Odysseus and gives him the magical moly herb, granting him even footing against Circe. Upon reaching the palace, Circe and Odysseus battle and Odysseus gains the upper hand. Switching tactics, Circe tries to seduce Odysseus, but thinking of his wife, Penelope, he rejects her advances. Inspired by his loyalty and, ultimately, hoping to create a kinder world, Circe agrees to let his men go and directs them to the Underworld, where they can evade Poseidon and seek further advice from the spirit of the blind prophet Tiresias.

Epic: The Musical

As Odysseus's crew continues their trip home, they battle a sudden and large storm before coming across a floating island in the sky. Recognizing the island as the home of the god Aeolus, Odysseus plans to climb up and ask the god to help them out of the storm. Eurylochus, his second-in-command, expresses doubt that this plan will work. Odysseus harshly reminds him to follow orders and to not contradict him in front of the crew. Upon reaching the island, Aeolus gives Odysseus a bag filled with the winds of the storm, enabling him to return home as long as it stays closed. Odysseus returns to his ship, but a rumor spreads among the crew that the bag contains treasure. Odysseus stays awake for nine days protecting it from his crew before he ultimately falls asleep and the bag is opened. Odysseus and Eurylochus close the bag before all of the wind escapes, but the fleet is blown into the land of the Laestrygonians. The ocean god Poseidon appears, revealing himself as Polyphemus's father. He vows vengeance for Odysseus's attack against his son, stating that even killing the Cyclops would have avoided his wrath. Poseidon sinks all of the fleet's ships except for Odysseus's, leaving only forty-three men alive. Before Poseidon can destroy the last ship, Odysseus reopens the wind bag, releasing the last of the storm inside and blowing his ship to safety.

Epic: The Musical

Arriving at the new island, Odysseus and a scouting party find a cave full of sheep and kill one for food. The sheep's owner, the Cyclops Polyphemus, angrily emerges and threatens to eat the men as revenge. Odysseus attempts to reason with him and offers the Cyclops some Greek wine as payment for the sheep. Polyphemus accepts the gift and asks Odysseus for his name, which he claims to be "Nobody". Polyphemus drinks the wine before deciding to attack the men anyway. Odysseus rallies his men to fight against Polyphemus, until the Cyclops retrieves a massive club that allows him to slaughter several men, including Polites, before suddenly passing out. Odysseus reveals that he drugged the wine with lotus fruit he took from the lotus-eaters, and he tells his men to fight on in the memory of their dead comrades. Using their swords, they sharpen Polyphemus's club into a spear and impale the sleeping Cyclops through his eye. His screams of pain attract other Cyclopes, who disregard him when Polyphemus says that "Nobody" attacked him. Odysseus and the surviving men then steal the sheep and escape, but Athena appears once again, angry that he didn't finish the job by killing Polyphemus. Odysseus ignores her, instead revealing his true name to the Cyclops in an act of hubris before escaping. Athena and Odysseus argue over his decision to spare Polyphemus, ultimately ending their connection.

Epic: The Musical

After ten years of stalemated fighting in the Trojan War, King Odysseus of Ithaca leads his men in a successful invasion of Troy using the Trojan Horse. While sacking the city, Odysseus receives a vision from the god Zeus informing him that if he does not kill the infant Astyanax, son of the Trojan prince Hector, the boy will eventually grow up to seek vengeance against Odysseus and his family. Odysseus struggles with the decision, thinking of his own son. Following the destruction of Troy, Odysseus and his fleet of six hundred men set sail towards their home in Greece. He and his best friend Polites decide to explore a nearby island to search for food. Seeing Odysseus' guilt over his actions during the war, Polites tries to convince him to move on with a kinder outlook on the world. They encounter the mischievous lotus-eaters, who direct them to find food in a cave on an island further to the east. At this moment, the goddess of wisdom and war, Athena, who has mentored Odysseus since boyhood, sees his non-violent compromise with the lotus-eaters as weakness and straying from her teachings. She appears to him, replaying the memory of when they first met, in order to remind him of her expectations.

Batman vs Superman: Asylum

The Joker is deceased. Batman is retired. Bruce Wayne lives the life he always wanted--happily and in love. Newly married to Elizabeth Miller, now Elizabeth Miller-Wayne, days into their honeymoon, she is murdered by the Joker. Meanwhile, Clark Kent, struggling with his recent divorce from Lois Lane, moves back to his family's farm in Smallville. Grief-stricken and enraged, Bruce dons the Batsuit once more with the intention of murdering the Joker. Superman intervenes, forcing Batman to face off with his former friend. Lex Luthor is imprisoned, but uses the situation to secretly manipulate both heroes and orchestrate their conflict. Ultimately, Batman overcomes his rage rather than succumbing to his dark impulses. The two iconic heroes put aside their differences, team up, and defeat Lex Luthor in a mechanized suit during a chaotic meteor storm.

Justice League

Fancasting the Justice League for Peter Safran and James Gunn's Justice League. From What Gunn has said, the lineup will, ideally, reflect that of the Bruce Timm cartoons and possibly New Frontier.

Gravity Falls: The Brothers Pines

Taking place in 1975, the series is meant to better bridge the gap between the split of Stanford and Stanley up until Ford is sucked into the portal. More than anything, it's meant to dve deeper into the twins' relationship and Ford's relationship with Bill.

The Boys

Based on the cancelled plans from the early 2000s - 2010s, from Columbia Pictures.

Incredibles: Erased

This story would push Dash and Violet to the forefront acting as a sibling team working in the shadows, Dash in the field and Violet in the chair. It's been ten years since The Incredibles and Frozone saved the world from Screenslaver. It's been eight years since The Supers Termination Act was initiated. It's been five years since the passing of Bob and Helen Parr, known publicly as Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. It's been four years since a Super, either hero or villain, has been seen... It's been three years since the NSA was disbanded... It's been two years since Jack-Jack Parr was last seen...

Rick and Morty

Many people have opinions. Many fans have speculated.

Spider-Man: Most Wanted

After being framed by Chameleon for stealing defense plans, Spider-Man is declared Public Enemy #1 of Queens by the Daily Bugle. Charged by J. Jonah Jameson's smear campaign, the whole city turns against Spider-Man. When the villains of New York catch word of this, they put a bounty on Spider-Man's head and see who can take him down first. Whoever kills the Spider first gets the bounty. With no allies to turn to, Spider-Man must go up against the civilians of New York, the police, and his entire rogue's gallery on his own.

Captain Underpants

Eight years ago, Harold Hutchins and George Beard would spend hours writing comic books focusing on their own superhero, Captain Underpants! Now, as budding high schoolers, life has lost its sense of whimsy, but the boys have never grown apart. The dynamic duo has stayed determined to keep up their mischievous jokes. Principal Krupp threatens to keep them from graduating if they don't grow up and mature. Feeling hopeless, the boys dig up their old comics and come across the 3D Hypno-Ring. On a comedic whim, the boys take the ring to school the next day to "make Krupp change his mind". The results weild unforseen consequences.

Earth-789

A live-action look at the Earth-789 comic run. This is with the caveat that changes will be made to fit more in line with Burton's original vision for the Batman franchise before being replaced.

Batman '66

Expanding the lore of Batman '66 to incorporate the more recent comics.

X-Men: Age of Apocalypse

Charles Xavier is dead - killed twenty years in the past during a freak time-travel accident - and the world that has arisen is ruled by the mutant despot Apocalypse. But not all mutants agree with Apocalypse's rule, including a group of ragtag freedom fighters led by Xavier's oldest friend, Magneto: the Amazing X-Men!

X-Men: Days of Future Past

In the future, Sentinels rule a dystopian United States, and mutants are hunted and placed in internment camps. Having conquered North America and hunted all mutants and other superhumans, the Sentinels are turning their attention to the rest of the world. On the eve of a feared nuclear holocaust, the few remaining X-Men, while making a desperate attempt to stop the Sentinels, send Wolverine's mind backward through time, to possess the body of his younger-self and to prevent a pivotal event in mutant–human history and the cause of these events: the assassination of Senator Robert Kelly along with Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert by Mystique's newly reassembled Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.

Weapon X

After being abducted from a bar, the drifter known as Logan is subjected to various experiments that test the limits of his healing abilities. A group of scientists wipes his memory and bonds the adamantine to his skeleton, the hardest substance on Earth.

Avengers: Endgame

Imagining what the cast of Avengers: Endgame would look like in 1977.