To the ones saying that it would be better to take control of the narrative inorder to spin it off as a redemption arc, how do you actually intend on doing so when the narrative at hand is Mirage having direct involvement in what essentially is a superhuman massacre, and in a nation that is on the cusp of repealing one of the greatest restrictions ever placed on Superhumans and Heroes no less?
Because, right now, from what I see the best case scenario is that we just lose Mirage, one of our best units, as she is either imprisoned or forced into hiding. Atleast then, most people won't target DEI for her employment.
However...A while back, I want to remind everyone that we have one enemy that could use even Mirage's employment as ammunition against us and even make it the worst case scenario: DEI essentially becomes an enemy to all good Supers and their allies. Inbetween, it becomes a stain on DEI and Supers in general will be far more reluctant to work or cooperate with us.
Who is that? Judge Doom.
Doom absolutely despises us for making our territory Toon-friendly, but for the duration of this quest he has also taken a considerable amount of attention in supporting the Repeal of the Act, even reached out to us to cooperate in that task...which we rejected for obvious reasons, but still technically a slight in Doom's eyes. In terms of the NPC Kings, I think Doom was the one who committed the most to the repeal (or atleast had the most crits in that field), and more importantly is someone the Super community would listen to. A few examples along are below:
Judge Doom:
[ ] Lobby[ing] against the SRA
DC 90
97+35+28+26+4=190
Critical Success
Cloverleaf Industries announced its public condemnation of the Superhero Registration Act to absolutely astonishing public approval. With Kronos Corporation gone and the new Olympia Corp poised for a wind change, politicians across the West came out and declared their intentions to repeal the act, something which will undoubtedly become a divisive issue in the upcoming election. This effort has set off a wave across the country among metahuman individuals, hero and villain alike, who publicly decried the act which had singlehandedly put a stop to the Golden Age.
[ ] Posthumously ruin Oliver Sansweet
DC 50
29+26+30+30(???)+6=116
Critical Success
Judge Doom has begun an extremely successful posthumous smear campaign on one Oliver Sansweet, said by many to be the man single-handedly responsible for ending the Golden Age and ushering in the SRA. Sansweet has been out of the public eye for decades now, but the recent defamation campaign has brought him back in the public consciousness as nothing more than a sniveling ambulance chaser and probably communist who should never have been saved from his attempted suicide by Mr. Incredible. This scathing rhetoric had the side effect of making Judge Doom look all the better in the eyes of superhero supporters.
and here's his original offer aswell as his response after not receiving a response:
[ ] Commend Doofenshmirtz for his pro-Super actions
DC 70
81+28+26+4=139
Spectacular Success
Judge Doom held a press conference in which he praised you for your pro-Super actions, commending you for finally seeing the light in the current political climate. "I am… pleased to see that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has come around to what truly matters in this day and age. The antiquated policies of the SRA will trouble us no longer, if our representatives in Washington are sympathetic to our plight. The… discrimination against superheroes will soon be an issue of the past. Given Doktor Doofenshmirtz's commendable efforts, I would therefore like to..."
[ ] Invite Doofenshmirtz to a collaboration
DC 80
62+28+26+4=120
Great Success
"Given that our views on the subject align, I am certain that the eccentric Dr. Doofenshmirtz would be more than willing to collaborate with Cloverleaf Industries on a series of projects to remind people of the glory of the Golden Age. I eagerly look forward to his response." Doom mentioned at a press conference, while staring unblinkingly into the camera the entire time.
[ ] Establish Indestructible Inc.
DC 120
1d100+36+27+4+20 (Cloverleaf Backing)=143
Decent Success
Judge Doom, utilizing a portion of Cloverleaf's pre-existing public works infrastructure, has established an organization dedicated to damage control and cleaning up after metahuman fights, in the interest of taking financial burdens off of superheroes. While the gesture is expected to cut into his bottom line, it has also engendered a good deal of respect from the metahuman community and its supporters. Doom said in a prepared and archetypically creepy press conference that "It pains me that the fickle Dr. Doofenshmirtz couldn't find it in his heart to assist in a charitable endeavor such as this. Alas, it seems as if the superhero community has moved… outside of his interests."
If this comes out, I am almost certain Doom will jump in on this to slander DEI and turn public opinion against us...and I also don't think he'll be the only one, but he's by far the one who can do the most damage.
If we want to prevent a truly disastrous PR scandal, we need to make sure Evelyn doesn't talk at all, because this doesn't seem to be something we can spin without losing a whole lot.
