Season 3 - Part 2

I talked in my last few posts about the episodes/sub-plots dropped from season 3. There are some things I can't fully reveal, because they are still part of the plot of the season 3 we're actually releasing, but to wrap things up on this topic I'm going to gather (to the best of my recollection) the general plot outline of season 3 before it was trimmed.

I don't have any comprehensive notes on this, so it's based on my memory and what little remains in the few scripts I still have intact.

Kidnapping the Supervillains

This particular plot point was one that was meant to make the universe feel bigger. After the events of season 2, I figured our villain would kick his plans into overdrive. Originally he was trying to take out our heroes before executing his master plan, but when Taskmaster and the other badguys he hired failed to do that directly, he decided to use his powers of influence to get some help.

As I mentioned before, there was one version of the story where SHIELD agents began collecting superhumans. There was another version where mercenaries working under Taskmaster (who was in turn working under the CIA) were doing it. There was yet a third (I think I planned it, but never wrote it) where the BSAA handled all this. In all versions, the outcome was basically the same.

The reasoning behind this was simple. By the time the finale came around, I wanted our heroes to have their backs to the wall. They'd have a few allies to call on, but the world at large was being affected by this villain, and they didn't have a lot of hope left. It would all lead to a large-scale showdown where Max, Doom, Wesker, Strider, C Viper, X-23, Chris, and Jill (and perhaps a few cannon fodder BSAA agents) moved against the villain, Taskmaster, Deadpool, and his group of SHIELD agents/mercenaries. There were some variants where X-23 was brainwashed by the villain to work for him, and our guys had to try to save her.

Again, sometimes I'm a little too ambitious.

How This Affected the World At Large

I have in my notes how this affected the rest of the MvC universe. This is stuff that may have been mentioned in news broadcasts watched by Max, or something along those lines. It wasn't meant to be seen directly in the show, just hinted at. And really, it was more detail than was needed. As a writer I thought "okay, if this big bad supervillain is making moves to dominate the planet, why aren't any of the heroes of the universe except for our motley group of idiots trying to stop him?" The answer to that question was the above. Our villain manipulated enough of the world to cause havoc for the superhuman community so that he could execute his master plan without interference from, say, the Avengers, the X-Men, etc.

So I have these notes about what the rest of the universe is doing while our season unfolds.

• Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants strongly opposes the superhuman collection act (because of course they do), which causes trouble with the X-Men who are attempting to find a peaceful resolution with humans. The X-Men is also weakened because some of them have split off to find Phoenix, Wolverine, and their other lost or kidnapped members. Not only that, but Sentinels are deployed to hunt for mutants, so basically the entire mutant community is way occupied with their own problems.
• The BSAA, SHIELD and basically all Government organizations are essentially working for the villain without knowing it, doing the legwork of collecting all superhumans. C Viper works with them as a double agent, secretly helping the allies she has in the superhuman community, and ultimately fighting on their side.
• The Avengers split up due to internal disagreements on the act (a nod to the Civil War storyline).
• Taskmaster, Deadpool and perhaps other mercenary type characters willingly work for the villain, so they're (at least temporarily) immune to any trouble from the superhuman collection act. Nathan Spencer is recruited to enforce superhuman collection.

Sub-Plot: Doom Loses His Power

I discussed this some in previous posts. There were two versions of this sub-plot. In one version, the main villain made himself known at the beginning of the season and sapped Doom's powers away. In another, he remotely manipulates Doom's powers, causing them to go haywire. Doom eventually has his powers restored/fixed by the end of the season. Throughout the season, this would humble his character somewhat because he wouldn't be able to do whatever he wants with the snap of his fingers. This sub-plot was entirely scratched from the season with no trace of it left in the episodes you will actually see.

Sub-Plot: Doom and X-23

Doom and X-23 would begin a relationship when Wesker sets them up on a date. X-23 was portrayed as pretty shallow, either taking up the offer for money, or information about Logan. Exactly when and how Wesker set them up changed with each version of the season plot, but ultimately the result was the same. Doom wins her over for real when she realizes he's rich and powerful, and not just all talk. So... slightly less shallow, I guess? X-23 will still appear in season 3, and it's clear Doom still has a thing for her, but otherwise this sub-plot is completely scratched from the season.

Sub-Plot: X-23's Personal Mission

In any version of the season plot where Wolverine was kidnapped, X-23 would be using information from Wesker to track him down and rescue him. We would have seen a lot more of X-23 as an independent heroine in this arc, since Wesker wasn't interested in actually helping her on any missions. Of course, this plot is entirely gone.

Sub-Plot: Wesker's Redemption

In all versions of the plot, Wesker is on a redemption quest. What really changed was the scope of it, and whether or not he maintained his superpowers throughout. In some versions, Wesker lost his powers when Doom did. In others, he didn't. While this was a major setback for Doom, who had come to rely on his powers for most of his life, for Wesker it wasn't. Wesker was a badass martial artist spy/special forces operative before he was a superhuman, so he still had something to fall back on. However, due to his regrets about his past, in some versions he would actively seek out and destroy B.O.W. trades. This sub-plot is still part of his character in the final season, but you don't see him doing a bunch of missions now. If you watch the season trailer, you can probably see hints of his regret on his face whenever he's seen with C Viper (it should all make sense come episode 3, I promise.) The only reason Wesker's character arc remained at least somewhat was because Max told me to keep that in. I wanted to keep as much character development as possible for all the characters, but Max's reasoning was "Season 1 is about Max, Season 2 is about Doom, Season 3 should be about Wesker." So that's sort of how it worked out.

Sub-Plot: Wesker and C Viper

Without making a romance out of the two characters (we already had Doom and X-23 and this isn't a fucking romcom), I wanted C Viper to be the character that grounds Wesker and helps bring him to the light side. This was of course another part of the above sub-plot, but it merits its own entry. To an extent, elements of it are still in the season, but now C Viper's appearance is relegated simply to one episode. With the removal of the superhuman collection act angle, her role (which relied heavily on that) was basically cut out. In the original finale, while some of the heroes fought Taskmaster and some goons (which you'll read more about a few entries below), Deadpool and other goons went to C Viper's house. They had realized she was a double agent, and sent Deadpool and the mercs to kidnap her daughter as collateral.

This was a great bit, because I wanted her daughter depicted as a child (as she is in Street Fighter's animated film) but SF4 takes place awhile ago. Technically by now Wesker and Doom would also be very old men though (Wesker's 38 in Resident Evil 1, so... hmm). Deadpool acknowledged this entire thing about the ASSIST ME! verse while standing outside C-Viper's house.

Deadpool: "Wait, nobody said she was a kid! Who approved this? This doesn't even make sense! Didn't Street Fighter 4 take place in like 1995?"

Mercenary: "I think so..."

Deadpool: "Then C Viper's daughter should be like... thirty... This timeline's all fucked up."

Anyway, Wesker breaks off from the main group to go save Maya's daughter (to whom he's like an uncle). He tears the badguys new assholes, saves the day and all. It was a sweet moment that showcased Wesker's full circle into being a good guy.

Nothing like that really happens now. He's still gonna show hints of redemption but it's angle more towards him looking out for Max and Doom.

Sub-Plot: Strider's Quest

Arguably my favorite sub-plot that I had to give up. And this is more because of Ben (who plays Strider) than it is about my love for Strider. Ben's an actual trained actor/singer, and he's incredibly talented. I feel he hasn't got to show it in the series yet because Strider is such a  mellow and dry character. I think Ben's voice work for Tasky was fucking fantastic. I wanted to expand on Strider to let Ben really show off his chops, and I thought I did a fairly good job of making Strider compelling with the short-film featuring his original mission (MvC2). Strider would have been heavily involved in that version of the season. The script where Wesker and X-23 take down the B.O.W. trade also had a version with Strider in it, but I can't find a copy.

Sub-Plot: People Be Dyin'

On that note, characters were going to die in this season. That's actually something I wanted to implement really badly, because we've always teased character deaths but they always seem temporary (in Deadpool and Wesker's cases, this sort of makes sense though.) In the original version of the finale, Strider would go toe-to-toe with Taskmaster in a swordfight. They'd be evenly matched, and then in the midst of this giant fight, Doom would take a bullet to the shoulder. In that brief second where Strider looks to his friend, Taskmaster headbutts him and impales him with his sword.

"Make yer dyin' wish, pretty boy."

Taskmaster drops Strider and then ducks out of the battle as a wounded Doom comes to Strider's side. Strider dies without any parting words, and Doom then goes fucking top-tier on the nameless henchmen, incinerating them with blasts of magic.

It was so dark. So sad. I loved it so much.

Taskmaster would get his comeuppance before the season was over though. once the good guys caught up to him, Doom would beat him within' an inch of his life. Taskmaster would promise Doom anything if he let him live.

"I want Strider back, you son of a bitch."

And then he'd kill Tasky. For good. Because I wanted Tasky to die a real death, not a human-blender explosion. (Although I gotta say, that bit at the end of season 2 was hype as shit.) Also, Princess Bride references are fantastic.

There were other deaths, but when we trimmed down the plot and all unnecessary characters it seemed like a waste. What's the point of killing a main character without first getting the audience to love them?

Homeboy knows what's up.

Sub-Plot: Max is Tired of All This Shit

Lastly, we have of course Max. As Max is the only real normal guy in this whole situation, we was going to spend most of this season getting more and more sick of Doom and Wesker's shit. His whole life has been turmoil ever since Doom showed up and started squatting the house in season 1. This whole angle I can't really take credit for because it was Andrew who suggested it.

I had an episode planned (either as a short film or something, it was never written) where Max would finally get a day to himself without any superpowered weirdo roommates to worry about. Ironically, he'd be faced with challenges where having Doom around would be really useful, so his day is still ruined.

Ultimately, this arc would begin with Max really tired of the guys, but by the end he kinda learns the value of his friends (quirky and meddling as they are) and has their back when it's time to face the badguys. There are still elements of this sub-plot in Max's character, much like there are of Wesker's redemption sub-plot, but not to the extent they were originally planned.

In Closing

That was a lengthy post, but I think that wraps up the things ahout season 3 that were cut out. I'll have more things tomorrow, but without spoiling the remainder of season 3 I can't disclose a whole lot more.