Only for those that have read the book: AA speculation thread.

[houkama]

Does this need to be double spoiler proofed? Is MMMM capable of being repaired? What is going to happen to Katkat? Will Atomik Lad ever get used to the morning paper without the Danger: Newspaper label on it? Where is Nuklear Man going? Will Superion escape? Where did Doctor Never go? Will the Nukebots revolt? And of course most importantly, has Silly Sam's Cartoons been canceled?

[StacMaster-S]

Yes to all questions!

Except for the one about Katkat... what kind of question is that? The answer is he will continue to be adorable!

[houkama]

Two of those questions asked 'Where...'
Since I MUST assume you meant the city Yes, I must ponder why and whether it is the Nebraska or Kansas side.

[Jaythe4th]

Since you stated in the subject line that this is only for people who have read the book, I won't bother with the spoiler tags.


Not every tidbit of unexplained information in Nuklear Age needs to be addressed in Atomik Age. It certainly did seem like MMMM and Superion could return at some point in the next book.

Everyone keeps assuming Dr. Never will return in AA, and he could, but it's not really that important. He's not really from their time in the first place; he's from an earlier time, in the Golden Age of heroes. His appearence seemed more like a crossover issue in a comic than the foreshadowing of a new villian.

Personally, I'd like to learn a little bit more of Metroville's past... the Captain Liberty-era, what happened to Dragon (all we know is Nuke, Sparky, and Norman stopped him).

[houkama]

Actually, it was my belief that Captain Liberty stopped it (I'm not sure Dragon is a person, the way they talk about it, it might be an event. Like the clone saga in Spider-man)

[MFD]

The Dragon was the crimelord. They did explain it in one of the earlier issues.

But Nuke also implied that the Dragon might have been Loki.

And the Dragon's Strike was Nukie's entry to Earth.

[Vivli]

Doesn't Dr Genius pretty bluntly state that Nuke stopped Dragon's Strike saying something like "That pretty much confirms his role in stopping the Dragon's Strike all those years ago." Maybe I dreamt it, I can't quite remember where it is.

And I stand by my Dr Never prediction just so I can be laughed at when he doesn't show up. Well, maybe Brian put him in for his plan of writing a prequel like he mentioned.

I suppose the other obvious predictions is Superion gets free, Nuke returns for some reason (he did say he would) and psy-ko (or whatever her name was) does some stuff. Damn, that's specific.

What about the superhero group Brian mentioned in some thread? Who do you think'll be in it? Atomik Lad obviously (or just Atomik), and Shiro. He said there would be some new ones, but who else could there be. Shamus maybe? He might not be dead. Or any of the minimal wage warriors. Or even MMMM if he returns (Brian's instance on reminding us he's dead coupled with the end makes me think he'll return and he's trying to mislead us).

[PraetorZorak]

Let's first isolate seperate facts that we KNOW:

1. The Dragon was a crimelord. Whether or not there is something deeper behind him has not been implied by Brian in-story. The Dragon's Strike was the nuclear attack against metroville when they refused to agree to his wishes. Metroville was saved because Nuklear Man was there to absorb the nuclear energy. His appearance was sudden and his history does not extend before this point in time. The Silo of solitude was built on this land.

2. Nuklear Man (Arel) tells Atomik Lad that he'll definitely see him again in the future.

3. At one point in the book, There is the description of a fight with Dr. Never. Nuklear Man is fighting in the future alongside someone called "Atomiknight." Nuklear man was zapped by Dr. Never.

4. Nuklear Man took in Atomik Lad, and gave him his name.

My Speculation: Arel comes to Earth in the future to fulfill his job of putting it to the flame. Once he realizes that it is actually Earthim, where civilization started, he takes a closer look. He finds Dr. Never fighting with Atomiknight. Arel gets caught up in it, and is blasted into the past, arriving at the very moment where the
Dragon's Strike occuring. The temporal rip combined with the nuclear blast causes Arel to lose his memory and become Nuklear Man, with suggestion by Dr. Genius. Dr. Genius places young John under Nuklear Man's tutelage. After seeing John's Atomik Field, Nuklear Man calls him Atomik Lad on the spot, perhaps some memory of the Atomiknight of the future. Dr. Never, foiled in the future, sends himself back in time to dispose of Atomiknight while still a child. Unfortunately, he sees Nuke there again, even though he shouldn't be. What happens from there is detailed in the book as Dr. Never blasts himself to unknown times.

Other things to keep in mind:

Dr. Menace is alive
Dr. Genius is alive
Angus is Dead.
MMMM's status is undetermined. He was still alive being liquefied, he may still be.
Shiro is alive
The Minimum Wage Warriors are alive
Rachel is dead
Shamus is alive
Superion is in captivity
Psiko is everywhere

[MFD]

Nice theory, but Sparky and Nukie were fighting Never in the present, and Never sent Nukie into the future. When he returned after Atomiknight's sacrifice, he named Sparky Atomik Lad, in the hope that Sparky will grow into the hero Nukie saw.

I say the new team is Atomiknight, the Leprechaun, the Samurai, the Heirograph (I think that's his name), and Dr. Menace.

[PraetorZorak]

there's something wrong with what you said...but i can't quite put my finger on it...

[houkama]

Nice theory, but Sparky and Nukie were fighting Never in the present, and Never sent Nukie into the future. When he returned after Atomiknight's sacrifice, he named Sparky Atomik Lad, in the hope that Sparky will grow into the hero Nukie saw.

I say the new team is Atomiknight, the Leprechaun, the Samurai, the Heirograph (I think that's his name), and Dr. Menace.
I agree on the team, except since half the world died, I am not sure that Shamus or the Hierophant are still alive. I'm hoping they program Mechanikill to be a hero. That would be pretty sweet.

[Phusion Man]

man y dous angus have to be dead? scots are SO much better than the irish. HE"S INSPIRED ME TO EAT HAGGIS!

[Flying Zamboni]

I think that both Superion and Mechanikill will be back. I think that Dr. Genius will weaken his suspension field for more tests again and he'll then escape.

As for Mechanikill, he was such an insignificant character to begin with and then having him mentioned in the last chapter makes me think that he'll have a roll to play in AA.

MMMM may show up again, but I wouldn't think that he'd be fighting crime or anything like that. If he does show up though, I think Brian will write in some severe psycological damage.

[Freeq]

man y dous angus have to be dead? scots are SO much better than the irish. HE"S INSPIRED ME TO EAT HAGGIS!

You make me sad. :(

Anywho, I'm not so sure about the return of Nuke. He said he'd see John again, yeah, but he may have been referring to the Atomiknight/Never incidents. On the other hand, that whole thing may never occur, what with altering the timeline and all. Though theoretically Nuke will still at least show up in the future, even if that isn't the same Never-ruled one he was originally going to show up in.

...

My damn head hurts.

[Jaythe4th]

I think Brian mentioned in another thread that Atomik Lad will be called Atomik in the next book; Atomiknight was what John became in the alternate future where Dr. Never wasn't stopped, and Nuke wasn't around. Siince John grew up with Nuke there, he won't be the same as Atomiknight... Atomiknight lost Nuke at a young age, but our Atomik lost a lot more at an older age (after all, no Nuke in that timeline means Nihel would have skipped over Earth, or would have never been created at all).


Here's a diagram of it, sorry it isn't to scale:

[Kurosen]

Excellent, if MSPaint-crude, diagram :)

Also, I'm tempted to post the line up to the team that Atomik puts together in AA...

[MFD]

I vote that Brian does this, because he loves his fans.

[houkama]

Please don't!
I want to be suprised!
And spoilers tempt me so...

[Codemonkey85]

Well, speculation then....

First of all, I obviously missed some big post recently, 'cause this is the first time I've heard of Atomik Age. I'm rather pleased that it's in the works. I'm also pissed off at space-time for being so damn slow. I want to read it now. Please note that I am operating under the impression that this is a sequel like Brian apparently said, despite other claims that a prequel is (also) in the works.

Anyway, some people seem to be under the impression that Dr. Menace will be a hero or somesuch now. Psht. Evil is all relative, y'see. Throughout Nuklear Age we got to see that Dr. Genius and Dr. Menace are basically skewed versions of each other. In fact, I give my kudos to Brian right now for the balancing act he orchestrated between the two. It was rather interesting to see two people with such different points of view, on total opposite sides of the spectrum, and yet they are working toward such similar goals....

But I digress. I very seriously doubt Dr. Menace will be any kind of hero. That doesn't mean I think she's any more "evil" than Dr. Genius, and truthfully, I think Dr. Genius' noble facade will fall apart at some point, at least to the always enlightened Atomik (Lad).

As for Superion, meh. I don't see any reason for him to come back. But if he does, I have faith in Brian's ability to make it work. And I mean that in a non kissing-butt way. Really, I do. Oh, and speaking of other characters/villains, I don't forsee Mechanikill's return, unless he just shows up and dies within minutes like in Nuklear Age. I just took the reference at the end of the book to be just that, a reference. And the Minimum Wage Warriors, as well as the Socially Maljusted Overvillains Who Can't Agree On A Name (I quoted that whole thing from memory!) should be back, and have a battle royale or something amongst each other. 'Cause it would rock.

Er, yeah. Mighty Metallic Magno Man will be back, I guarantee it! But I bet it'll be more toward the middle of the book, when Dr. Genius starts really crossing that fine line... ack, I already talked about her.

Katkat will display more superpowers, by which I mean cuteness. The kind that allows him to land planes and such. Shiro will carry on Angus' memory in a really weird way.

Nuklear Man will, of course, be back. Unfortunately, I can't see how he can be the gag machine he was last time, since he's so smart and all now.

And Atomik (Lad)... ah, the enigma field. I think the field of unknown origin belongs to Rachel. I believe that by some plot device, she will either return in some form or another, or at least her memory will play into the unraveling mystery behind the Atomik Field. Either way, Atomik (Lad) has even more crappy luck and a ton of emotion to sort through, since he is our bridge to the (unfortunately) imaginary world Brian has created for us.

Well, I think that about covers it.

[talse]

i have 3 words to say about rachels future manifestations, obi wan kenobi. totally possible. like psiko finds her in the after stream of thought, think about, should take long for psiko to acquire a foot into the after life. if some people are half dead before fully dead, that means she can get a look into the after life, see someone, and then she's got a permenant aspect in there. anyway, psiko finds rachel, and pulls some psiko mojo and gets a light greenish glow model of rachel to talk to our atomik buddy in an apropriatly dramatic way.

and possibly crazy ghost sex, but unlikely.

[Kairamek]

Here's a diagram of it, sorry it isn't to scale:
You, sir, officially kick ass.

Also, I'm tempted to post the line up to the team that Atomik puts together in AA...
You, sir, are officially an evil tease.

Either way, Atomik (Lad) has even more crappy luck and a ton of emotion to sort through, since he is our bridge to the (unfortunately) imaginary world Brian has created for us.
At this point I don't think it's so unforunate as half of the people in this conversation would be dead and the means to have said conversation would be mostely if not completely gone. My only happy thought about a whole-scale global holocaust is that the odds I would live to see the other side are slim.

As much as I liked her, I don't want to see her again (sounds like an ex-gf). To bring her back in any form or fasion short of saving the entire human race from Nihel would be a disservice to the character. The next book starts seven years later, if Sparky hasn't gotten over it (such crude terms our language forces us to use) than he's working on Batman. And the only thing I don't like about Batman is he's still mourning his parents. (That's what I liked about the 90's cartoon, it didn't focus on said mourning, it was just dark, driven brooding. It's bat-erific) By then Sparky may even have another love interest. While dedicating his life to heroing in the memory of Rachel and all those who were killed to atone for indirectly causing their deaths is good and noble, going home to cry about is seven years dead girlfriend he knew less than two months is just emotionally sick.

Also, I expect no Nukebots. The silo is set to post-contemporalize and after Nihel rained fire from the skies no one expected to have robots 10 years later. I do expect to find out why that village mentioned in passing in England survived. I don't recall it saying. The Japanese city survived due to shielding of some kind, and Metroville was saved for last, but some English town was mentioned and it didn't say why. I suspect it's one of the new heroes for AA

[Kurosen]

While dedicating his life to heroing in the memory of Rachel and all those who were killed to atone for indirectly causing their deaths is good and noble, going home to cry about is seven years dead girlfriend he knew less than two months is just emotionally sick.
I couldn't agree more. I'm sure there will be a portion of readers who will lose some sympathy with Atomik because he's "moved on" already. But it's been seven years to him, so he had plenty of time to do his angsty mourning routine. I suspect it will seem too soon to some readers because to them it's just a matter of a few pages.

The Japanese city survived due to shielding of some kind, and Metroville was saved for last, but some English town was mentioned and it didn't say why. I suspect it's one of the new heroes for AA
You are quite correct. We will learn more about what protected England and Mechapolis (Japan) in Atomik Age.

[talse]

i thought the only reason mechapolis was spared most of the damage cause destruction raining from the skies was old hat for them. and avalondon was spared cause dormant viking warrior spirit dwelled there from the norman invasion 1018 and as such is indestructable, cause vikings and norwiegens and the such are pretty much indestructable like that. btw, norway wasn't even phased by nihel, so says I, Talse!

please don't smite o' briany one

[Codemonkey85]

You are quite correct. We will learn more about what protected England and Mechapolis (Japan) in Atomik Age.

Oh yeah. Those guys. I was kinda vaguely wondering about them. I guess Shiro will be having some company in the anime portion of the demographics appeal. Lord only knows what the Englishmen are going to be like (maybe Eurotrip with more coherent swearing?).

And this seven years thing? I don't recall any solid numbers. I coulda sworn I scanned through the site looking for solid information on this book, too. Anyway, the point... if it's been seven years, surely Atomik (Lad) is (probably) done with college, and therefore he (likely) has a job. I'm kind of curious about that.

[MFD]

He's a reporter. Totally.

Or Atomik's official photographer.

As for Mechapolis, I was fairly positive that Mega Man saved it. Then I realized that it was Mechapolis, and not Monstropolis.

[Kairamek]

I couldn't agree more. I'm sure there will be a portion of readers who will lose some sympathy with Atomik because he's "moved on" already. But it's been seven years to him, so he had plenty of time to do his angsty mourning routine. I suspect it will seem too soon to some readers because to them it's just a matter of a few pages.

Please don't take offense, but I think those "few pages" will represent several years of waiting for those of us who are in the discussion now. Segway: I get the feeling that those dreams of Rachel are more a pointed reminder to Atomic (Lad) of the guilt he carries for all those slain by Nihel in the name of teach Sparky the truthes of the universe than those dreams are his pain at lossing her. Because he lost her imparticular, she is the knife his tortured consious uses to stab him time and again until he is able to cope. /segway

And this seven years thing? I don't recall any solid numbers. I coulda sworn I scanned through the site looking for solid information on this book, too. Anyway, the point... if it's been seven years, surely Atomik (Lad) is (probably) done with college, and therefore he (likely) has a job. I'm kind of curious about that.

Solid Numbers? Look at the first quote in this post. Kurosen is Brian, the author and definitive source of all that is the Nuklea-verse. As for college, did you read the same book I read? First off, he went to school for the education. As Rachel said (immediatly afterward I might add), "Excuse me Mr. CEO, I have to go save the world." He doens't need a degree, he's an Overhero. Secondly, the world was blown to shit! He doesn't have time for school, if colleges are were even operating at that time. Seems to me all the available manpower in the world would be needed to rebuild a stable existance. Well, stable enough for Dr. Genius to continue her research. And even in higher education is deemed a high enough priority to be back in operation so quickly, Atomic (note change, pre-Nihel is Sparky, post-Nihel is Atomic) would be busy being a hero.

Edit: And MFD, isn't it obvious? That merchandising deal, underground layer, depression... dark and brooding hero driven by a tragic past who masquarades as a billionaire playboy by day.

[MFD]

Well, yeah. I was just kidding. <.<

[Kahkau]

i thought the only reason mechapolis was spared most of the dwelled there from the norman invasion 1018 and as such is indestructable,


Sorry, I'm a history bastard. the invasion was in 1066, and the Normans came from Normandy, France. And whilst I'm sure you were kidding, I reinterate that I'm a history whore. Er, bastard.

My thoughts is that Nuke will have to fight off loki or the giants or something. The ones that didn't want to die at Ragnarok would be pissed that its still gonna happen. It'd be kinda funny if it happened during the book, and Nuke has to fight Balder. Ah, Norwegian lore.

I seriously hope Katkat is revealed to be an overhero. That would make my day.

I believe Superion will come back, but not after Nuke gets back from wherever he went. Its just Superion vs. Atomik. Maybe he'll be the little "mechanikill" bad guy in this book; gone in two minutes.

Part of me wants to hope Atomik finds another girl, but part of me doesn't. It's just too cheesy. But I'm sure it will be written well.

As for showing us a line-up of superheros, Brian, I'm the kind of Spoiler whore (or bastard) who would kill to have such information. I curse the fact that you have to know everything before we do about the book.

[Kairamek]

All cats are overheroes, some are just better at hiding it than others. I'm sure Atomik will find another gal, there was some hinting in the first about Dr. Menace having some... interest. Keeping in lines withthe Menace/Genius thing I almost expect Dr. Genius to release Superion in the second one because Atomic et al. get way to close to exposing her for two-faced world dominating manipulative punk she is.

[RMS Oceanic]

I couldn't agree more. I'm sure there will be a portion of readers who will lose some sympathy with Atomik because he's "moved on" already. But it's been seven years to him, so he had plenty of time to do his angsty mourning routine. I suspect it will seem too soon to some readers because to them it's just a matter of a few pages.

This pleases me greatly, and makes perfect sense. To have him too angsty would kinda annoy me. (Glares at Order of the Pheonix for example) I'm sure he'll still miss her a bit, won't he?

[Kairamek]

I'm sure he'll still miss her a bit, won't he?

Absolutly. You don't forget someone you loved, espcially with the spark of love that seemed to be between them. Even if they do something truely terrible to you, sometimes you will remember and miss them a little, or at least the person they were before they turned all evil on you. With the way she died, he'll remember her forever.

[Jarlax]

I'm going to guess that Katkat is like Nibbler from Futurama, all it does is lie around and act all cute. But in reality it is a hyper-intelligent general from an ancient and powerful alien race. But I doubt Katkat is an alien.

[Kurosen]

(You mean Futurama)

[talse]

i was within the right century, short by 50 years, and while it was from france, the normans were vikings that had made permenant settlements in france, as such viking power would be transferred over to england because french nega power is very potent and drives away all forces capable of effective combat over time. it's actually a very powerful defense mechanism, just very slow going.

but yeah, thats totally what saved avalondon, viking fighting spirit.

megaman WOULD be an enticing element to atomik age, mainly cause then we could get bob and george into the mix.

[Jarlax]

(You mean Futurama)
.... Thats what I said.......

[Blherg]

does anyone have any idear when the book will be finnished

[Kahkau]

I can olny assume you mean the Sequel, as the first one is out.

As far as I know, its not done being written.

[Jarlax]

does anyone have any idear when the book will be finnished
Well, if my memory serves me right, the frist book took about 5 years to be written and come out. My guess is that this one will not take quite the same amount of time. My guess: 3-4 years. (Hopefully my guess is amounted from my horrible pessimism(sp?))

[Kairamek]

I had read elsewhere on this site that he was only 40 pages or so into writing it. But that was almost a month ago. When I read it, not when it was posted.

[Kurosen]

Heh, sadly I haven't gotten much done since then. Just cleaned up those 40 pages some more, got a few more pages done, and did some mental outlining for The Future.

[Bongo Bill]

I'm rereading the book now and I'm wondering if the sequel will ever see The ZMAX Experience used as a villainous weaponry, the way the announcer suggested it could.