Welcome to the Amalgam Universe 2.0



Amalgam Universe - Art by Ashley Wharfe
Art by Ashley Wharfe
Amalgam Universe 2.0

Creating Earth-3175
Written By: Joshua W. Murcray

One day I was perusing the internet checking out all the amazing artwork fans have done of their favorite characters. I was especially interested in the unique idea people had for mash-ups, also known as "amalgams".

I came across this image, by Ashley Wharfe and was immediately inspired by the Flash/Deadpool amalgam. I had seen the Batman/Punisher once before, but the idea of putting a crazy mercenary in the mix with the fastest man alive made me want to know more. But this was literally the only time I saw this take on a new amalgam.

I took this as a challenge and one I was eager to accept and I began to think of the backstories of these new amalgams. I did not want to redo something DC Comics or Marvel Comics already had done, which would mean taking the Superman/Captain America amalgam apart and making two unique amalgams. Since I love thinking outside the box, this became my latest passion.

The first character I concentrated on, believe it or not, was the Flash/Deadpool amalgam. Despite being a massive Superman fan, I could not resist taking on this challenge and I immediately began to come up with a unique story that would bring about such a crazy character. A character I would call, Deadrun at first, but later changed to Killstreak!

The trick was to make sure he was a hero. Afterall, you do not pose with a bunch of heroes as if you were a team, if you are not a hero as well. To make sure I did not copy what was already done in the offical Amalgam Comics, I created the idea that meta-humans from DC Comics would merge with mutants from Marvel Comics and become meta-mutants. Then I created the idea of where the meta-mutants gland originally came from and why it was not in everyone.

I continued to tangent off onto other ideas that needed to be set down for me to continue. I created The Great Burn followed by The Quake. These events would be what created a sudden new wave of meta-mutants all over the globe. Much like the Inhuman Terrigen Bomb in Marvel Comics. But I also wanted to make sure that these meta-mutants were more diverse than they are in the official comics.

The most fun of this entire process is the creating of the amalgams. Choosing which DC Comics characters would pair well with certain Marvel Comics characters. At first I matched abilities, or backgrounds, but then I started trying to come up with odd pairings that would give the amalgam a different look or power set. For instance, when I found this artwork that shows someone merged Aquaman with Wolverine. The artist named him Barracuda but I wanted his backstory to be in Newfoundland and Labrador where they speak French. Adding in his dangerous look, striped tattoos and pants, I named him Requin Tigre aka Tiger Shark. You will see that a lot in here. Using the language of the area the characters are from to create their names. I tried to be as authentic as possible despite my not actually knowing the languages.

It was amalgams like these that inspired me to get more creative, as you will see throughout your trip in this universe. But there was still something missing. I realized I wanted to be a part of this. And to do that, I decided to break the Fourth Wall and create a character who is an amalgam, but is also the creator of this new universe. I created Merlyn Emrys.

I called this project Amalgam Universe 2.0 and started a whole blog about it. Then, once I was trained in creating websites, I began to put my creations online so I could showcase my World Building and Character Development skills. I named the universe Earth-3175 in honor of the different Earths that both DC Comics and Marvel Comics continually revamp. And now...here it is!

To be completely honest I would say that around 75% of the information regarding powers and abilities come from either the DC Comics Fandom Database or Marvel Comics Fandom Database. To be fair I am going through and making sure that all the artwork and bios used have been tagged and linked to the artists' or fandom page they came from. I have even made sure to give credit to whoever helped write the new biographies that you will be reading. I refuse to take credit for something I did NOT do.

But this is just the real world version of the origin of the Amalgam Universe 2.0. There is far more to see and even more left unrevealed as this universe expands daily and with new characters and their origin stories. Maybe, one day, there will actually be stories of their adventures and even more artwork, but that is still to come.

My name is Joshua W. Murcray and I hope you enjoy this new universe as much as I did in creating it.

For now, let me send you on your way.

And we begin with the Origin of Earth-3175.

Amalgam Universe
Art by Mike de la Cruz