Below is the remnants of a proposed roster for an IP had I begun working on in freshman year of high school (Fall 2011-Spring 2012). It began as me spitballing a bunch of concepts off the top of my head, totaling to some near 50 and weaving a narrative together. This was my ripoff version of SNK's King of Fighters, where we selected a team of three through a tournament and end with a fight against the boss character, Samson. The idea of a shared universe began with Random Rumble and Massive Melee existing in tandem would carry over to this IPs new name, Rumble X (pronounced "Rumble Cross").
Random Rumble Roster (as of 2014):
Samson is the sole leader of the Eximius Humana Industries, a universal-wide conglomerate that specializes in countless other industries, such as military, stocks, trade, manufacturing and so on, and they often monopolize, but they treat those that they have acquired as separate and let them do their business, often helping them in times of need, so I guess think of it as EXI as a franchiser. Samson is an intellectual who founded the business some decades ago and built the company himself brick by brick, literally and metaphorically. He's also a renowned fighting legend, winning multiple tournaments with various stipulations, until retiring 10 years ago (Seriously, it's more better if I had come of with this stuff first because again, all this is off the top of my head. Oh and the year this game would take place is around 2050). At the age of 59, he had his team create a slow-aging serum, that would allow him another century to find a suitable heir to EXI.
The prize for the tournament set up by EXI is fame and glory, with the benefits of prize money and any other shit.
Proposed roster:
Saotomi: Saotomi was a lowly bandit and they both fought for atop a sacred mountain where the gods would come down. Saotomi had interrupted Zaru's ascension ceremony and Zaru had defeated the bandit. The gods would punish him by shining a bright light that burnt his skin, leaving scars and ancient writing. He was also blinded in his left eye since he only had time to shield his right eye. After the light faded, the gods commanded that Zaru make quick work of him, but Zaru decided to spare him and led him down the mountain and gave him food and water to last him a week before leaving him on his own to take his place among the gods.
After exhausting all of his resources and relying on nature to survive, Saotomi trekked along the forest, mountains, valleys, and then into the desert, wandering aimlessly in pain and in limited eyesight, where he collapsed in front of an entrance of cave. He lay their for hours before the brutal cold winds woke him up and he crawled into the cave for a bit of shelter. When Saotomi woke up, feeling better than before, he saw that the cave delved deeper into the mountains and the further he traveled, more writings that matched the kind on his arms and legs appeared on the walls. Saotomi reached a dead end where a giant diamond-shaped hole was placed in the center and writing circled the diamond. With his one eye, he slowly deciphered the coding on the walls and after numerous attempts, the diamond-shape glowed and the door faded into oblivion. He trudged inside, still weak from lack of water and food, but to his surprise, the inside held a freshwater spring and other stuff that he ate (all of this was literally off the top of my head), and he finds another inscription, which he decodes and leads to a tomb. There, he sees a statue of the god that had blinded him and in his hand the sword that he would end up using. A voice echoed in the chamber something like "Those who seek redemption shall use this sword to purge evil" and such and boom, he has the sword now and so on and so forth. The sword could be called Shokan/Hikari/Hakai/Sukui Blade, all of which mean Redemption/Light/Destruction/Salvation respectively.
Zaru: A Monkey King-like character, still wielding the Ruyi staff I'll choose to call it. He's a deity that had watched from the Heavens. Centuries of witnessing chaos and unbalance resulted the corruption of Zaru's senses, mainly sight, hearing, and speech. Unable to bear these evils any longer, he makes a mask that blocks all sense of sight, hearing, and speech, relying on other senses (like shit Toph does) to get around.
The mask would use all those Hear No, Speak No, See No things, explaining that after years of seeing, hearing, and being forced to speak of evil things in the world, that he would wear a mask that would block out hearing, vision, and the ability to speak. He could no longer bear having his soul corrupted by mortal evil.
Saotomi and Zaru have the same goals now, to purge evil. However, Saotomi's reason is that he wants to redeem himself and Zaru just wipe out all evil no matter what the cost, even if he believes a good guy is at fault. They would soon fight again (not now though) because then they would fight over their ideals, like whose motivation or something is more righteous.
Perseus: Russian covert spy that had worked the Manhattan Project and leaked secrets to the Soviet Union until the end of WWII where he went AWOL and formed a group of anarchists that believe that governments had no control of the power they are given by the people. He, along with Vladimir Von Smigon, find a serum from an abandoned plant underground near Chernobyl which grants enhanced abilities depending on the individual who takes it, as well as a 4x slower aging process. For Perseus, he was given the power of telepathy and telekinesis. He enters the tournament in search of more recruits.
Vladimir Von Smigon: A former KGB agent who was recruited by Perseus. When he takes the serum, he ends up being a Russian version of Captain America. He enters the tournament to test his new abilities.
Ralph Maher: An orphan of African descent left on the steps of a Shaolin Temple, where he learns to harness his chi. When he reached the age of 25, he was given silver gauntlets and then set off on the outside world to be accustomed to it. After sensing a new dark entity, he enters the tournament to look for clues as the dark entity's followers are sense to be headed there.
Proto-TYP: A line of robots that were created to test what robots would fare as servants that cater to every human whim. After a few short months, a newer, better, upgraded versions of robots were developed, leaving the first line to be sent to the scrapheap. The sole developer of the first versions, Robin Warrenson, didn't want her accomplishments to be crushed and her research tossed away and lose her job, so she smuggled one of them into her own basement and gave it modifications, most of which combat-related. She enters the Proto-TYP in a last ditch effort to keep her job in developing A.I. with new hardware and shit.
Hizashi: The reincarnation of a trusted general to a shogun during the Meiji Era. He had been targeted for leading a rebellion against the shogun who had been exploiting the with long blue scarf tied around his neck and wields a sword staff. Picture Darth Maul's lightsaber, but with sword ends. He enters the tournament after being attacked by the spitting image of who he remembers as a bounty hunter who nearly succeeded in eliminating him in a past life. Fortunately, the aggressor mysteriously vanished, letting Hizashi carry out a coup and dethrone the abusive shogun. His past life would later live the rest of his life taking the former shogun's position and ushering in a golden age. Centuries later, fate would reincarnate him to battle a past foe in the form of Hikan, the bounty hunter who had tried to assassinate him. Hizashi and Hikan had a short run-in, but the former would gain the upper-hand, sending the reborn monster retreating. Hizashi enters the tournament, convinced he'll see Hikan there, and settle the dispute once and for all.
7734: Basically some arsonist who fucked around with fire too much in his jail cell and severely burned himself. With his dying breath, he sold his soul to the Devil so that he could live. Being the corrupted he lived in, Devil let a hellspawn use his body as a host, thus morphing his body so that he was basically composed of hellfire, barring this prison outfit, fitting him with a items that would emit steam and smoke as if he were an engine.
Ogoto: Ogoto is an Japanese demon that likes to cause mischief and cause destruction and just plain likes to mess with everyone, be they mortal or immortal. The kanji on his emblem stand for "immortality" and the kanji on his knee pad sort of things stand for "death". A skilled fighter, those imbued with the power to fight spiritual entities such as Ogoto have a difficult time keeping up with him, let alone landing a hit. An unpredictable mindset, lightning fast speed, a millennia's worth of combat experience with all types of characters, makes him a formidable foe that must be taken with caution.
Greatest: An 8 ft. being made up of obsidian stone.
Cara: A follower of Santa Muerte, she wears make-up that gives her a skeletal look. She wears a long, black, flowing cloak and uses retractable claws to fight. During a ritual, Santa Muerte himself appeared and chose Cara as successor. However, she had to prove herself if she were to take his spot once his time comes. She was given the ability to melt into the shadows and reappear anywhere in the world at any given time. She works as Santa Muerte's apprentice, alongside Nathaniel.
Teresa Aurelius: After her brother had his arm broken in a match, she donned his famous Roman Cestuses and finished the fight for him. Her brother, Ty, realized her potential and began training her. She was a natural, her reflexes and strikes faster than he could imagine. She participates in underground matches, taking on women and men alike, and comes out the victor, never having lost a match.
Minerva: A goddess of combat, she takes human form to participate in fighting tournaments for her own enjoyment.
III: A super soldier that was trained to peak physical condition and implanted with a chip that controlled her every thought, turning her and 6 others into mindless weapons. During a covert mission, she was hit in the head with a bullet. She wasn't killed, but was seriously injured and brought back to heal. The bullet had destroyed the chip in her head and she was regaining her on free will. When the healing was complete and she was released, she became aware of her surroundings and her troubled past has soon overwhelmed her. She barely escaped, having to kill one of the other super soldiers in the process. She is now a wanted fugitive and since the chip was removed, her memories of her past life have slowly started coming back. She now seeks to leave her current life and regain what she had lost.
Skye: Another super soldier who works in the same agency as III did. She is given the assignment to hunt down III, tracking her to the tournament, where she seeks to defeat her.
Hector Morales Castro: A Mexican drug cartel leader with a robotic arm, wielding a sawed off shotgun and a machete, who enters the tournament to win the prize money and expand his business.
Serena: Highly advanced sentinel robot given a human appearance. Developed by EXI, she is entered in the tournament to test her abilities.
"John": A mute, mysterious fighter with a mysterious past. The only clues that we could find is a large scar that runs down his right arm. He wears a featureless white mask with no holes, though it's believed it's like one of those one-way see-through mirrors. Anything else we have on him is that he can control lighting/electricity. He was assigned the name "John" when he wouldn't give out his name
Flare: A cat-mask wearing teenager from another realm who teams up with Starman. He controls fire and has been self-taught in the high-flying lucha-libre wrestling style and has created a style for himself mixing Jeet Kune Do and martial arts tricking. He is inspired by Jushin Liger and Tiger Mask.
Starman: A star- shaped mask wearing teenager who works alongside with Flare. He controls the solar energy involving stars and is the unclaimed son of Aeon. He also uses a a fighting style similar to Flare, but prefers mat-based style of wrestling while still retaining the same high-flying style Flare has. He mixes wrestling holds and throws with fast pace martial arts attacks. He is inspired by Ultimo Dragon and Tiger Mask as well.
BENNY: A now-obsolete type of robot that escaped in fear of being dismantled when it saw its brethren being smashed. Masquerading as a wandering teenager, wearing a baggy jacket and jeans, it enters the tournament to receive the spotlight and advocate for obsolete models being treated humanely.
Twik: An alien from the jungle planet of Kagu, Twik hails from the monkey-like species with glands that seep out poison that are hell-bent on creating mischief. Twik has grown bored of the planet and sets off to Earth for adventure. After escaping numerous authorities, he comes by a poster advertising the RR Tournament. Seeking thrills, he enters. Due to his 4 foot height, he arms himself with a Kagu Dagger and screeches with glee.
Anderson Flynn: Martial arts prodigy
Hikan: A scarecrow-like ninja/bounty hunter that utilizes grappling hooks. In his time, he had succumbed to a disease before he could carry out his order to assassinate a trusted general of a shogun. When he was reanimated by Cara to appease Santa Muerte, Hikan turned on them and attacked them. He escaped, trying to understanding the new surroundings of this new era. He would later see a similar sight when he encounters Hizashi. To Hikan, Hizashi looked like the spitting image of the trusted general he was sent to kill. With rage overcoming him, Hikan attacked Hizashi. Both were evenly matched, but Hizashi soon took advantage of Hikan's recent resurrection, which had given him slower reflexes and defeated him. With vengeance being the only thing on his mind, Hikan now waits for the spell that brought him back to life to be complete so he can resume his search and claim his bounty.
Dav/Mik: A tag team consisting of a teal, four-armed creature and a reptilian-like creature with triceratops features hired to be sub-bosses.
Omegus: A humanoid person created by Eximius Humana Industries as the perfect fighting combatant. Resistant to all pain, possessing regenerative and healing abilities, knowledge of all fighting styles, Omegus's only weakness lies in the base of his spine that when separate once the head is removed, should Omegus cease to exist.
Billy Samson: A living fighting legend, final boss.
Possible Characters:
Nathaniel: A follower of Santa Muerte, he's given the ability to conjure spirits to do his bidding, wields scythe.
Mordecai: His look is based off those doctors who wore those bird mask when the bubonic plague broke out. He can cast spells that affect a person's abilities, slowing them down, nullifying them, etc.
Polara: The half-sister of Starman, a luchadora who uses cosmic energy to power her special abilities.
Firefly: A young soldier at the age of 17 from the Andromeda Galaxy who quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Lieutenant General in a matter of months. However, the power got to his head and he became Death incarnate. During a battle with the warring planet, the opposing general surrendered and began talks to calling a truce. During a meeting that would put the two planets at peace, once the treaties were signed, Firefly lunged at the world leaders and slew them, along with all present at the meeting. He escaped as a fugitive, but with space police or whatever the fuck, I'm tired now, on this trail. He enters the tournament, as it guarantees protection from outside forces, but it would it also help relieve the insatiable bloodlust. Fitted with a combat suit his military had confined to his body that draws power from the "Blue Mist" that originates from his planet, Firefly set a course for Earth to enter a tournament that would allow the winner a chance to inherit a galaxy-wide conglomerate from the original owner. Bent on wrenching the power from Billy Samson, he plans on using its military branch to conquer his former home world and rule its empire with an iron fist.