Especially Craved Canons (not required): Anyone in these two photo albums

 

Think Silver Age mixed with Modern Era and a good dose of humor (a la Archer, Dragon Ball/Dragon Ball Z, Batman: The Brave and the Bold and The Venture Brothers: Cheesy puns, larger-than-like mechas, copious use of superpowers, banter and snark, semi-lengthy villainous monologues (and the heroic critiquing of them), meet and greets between newcoming capes and villains, dealing with mooks, bright costumes, and more than a few superheroic cliches. (I'd love to include an organization in the setting a la the Venture Brothers' Guild of Calamitous Intent for heroes and/or villains.) In terms of pairings, hero x hero, hero x villain, villain x villain, heroic sidekick x villain's mook...I'm down for them all. I'm fine with anti-heroes, and some of my favorite characters fit the morally-ambiguous mold. But genuinely goodhearted types (even if oddly or poorly shown at times) that openly feel emotions, try to do the right thing because it's the right thing, and may have rough/tragic pasts yet retain a strong moral compass (which they’ll use to go upside someone's head if needed) and the ability to empathize with others? HELL TO THE YES.

 

I'd be especially interested in one of the below prompts:

• The typical adventures and conflicts between two long-time or even childhood frenemies.

• A relationship between a hero and villain where they know each other's secret identity, yet have a largely harmonious (if very odd) relationship out of the costumes.

• A goody-goody superhero and their villainous rival trading places for a day, whether professionally (to see how the "other half" lives) or...well, in the bedroom.

• A villain kidnapping his/her heroic rival (they share a Friendly Enemy relationship) to enforce a vacation because said hero's been off their game lately.

• A hero/villain, having outgrown her old rival, is now on the hunt for a new archnemesis...and said old rival isn't having it.

• The Kidnapping: When one dates a super-heroine or female warrior, getting some quality time together can be challenging between day jobs, professional obligations and whatever super-villain comes knocking at the door. More than one romantic dinner, date or planned night of room-quaking passion has been put on hold or blocked due to the Superhero Call of Duty. It gets to the point that you see your beau on TV or in print more than you see her in person. Moreover, the workload is getting so large that she's become short-tempered and even a bit sloppy. Considering her responsibilities, being sloppy can have serious or even tragic consequences at the wrong time. So for all of these reasons and more, taking a page from the super-villain manual, you decide to go old-school and attempt a good ol' fashioned 'kidnapping' away from her responsibilities.

• Lupin 2.0: One is a masterful thief known throughout the world for their daring, wit and charm. An FBI agent has been on their trail for years, the only mar on an otherwise spotless record. This focus has teetered into an obsession to bring the thief in, even if the detective wonders what other challenge(s) would satisfy them if that day ever came.

• A Glass of Chianti: These two, once friends, became professional enemies, each on the opposite side of the hero/villain coin. But one night, after one particularly heated battle, one invites the other to a momentary detente, an evening dinner. For one evening, both agree to leave their animosity--or really, the animosity of their villain/hero identities--at the door in a mutual ground, to rekindle that old spark.