Wold Newton Universe Ideas Thread

[Prince Charon]

What is the Wold Newton Universe, you ask? I'll let Win Scott Eckert's site explain:

The Wold Newton Family is a group of heroic and villainous literary figures that science fiction author Philip Jos� Farmer postulated belonged to the same genetic family. Some of these characters are adventurers, some are detectives, some explorers and scientists, some espionage agents, and some are evil geniuses.

According to Mr. Farmer, the Wold Newton family originated when a radioactive meteor landed in Wold Newton, England, in the year 1795 (click here to see a monument to the event). The radiation caused a genetic mutation in those present, which endowed many of their descendants with extremely high intelligence and strength, as well as an exceptional capacity and drive to perform good, or, as the case may be, evil deeds.

Popular characters that Philip Jos� Farmer concluded were members of the Wold Newton mutant family include: Solomon Kane; Captain Blood; The Scarlet Pimpernel; Harry Flashman; Sherlock Holmes and his nemesis Professor Moriarty (aka Captain Nemo); Phileas Fogg; The Time Traveler; Allan Quatermain; Tarzan and his son Korak; A.J. Raffles; Professor Challenger; Richard Hannay; Bulldog Drummond; the evil Fu Manchu and his adversary, Sir Denis Nayland Smith; G-8; The Shadow; Sam Spade; Doc Savage, his cousin Pat Savage, and one of his five assistants, Monk Mayfair; The Spider; Nero Wolfe; Mr. Moto; The Avenger; Philip Marlowe; James Bond; Lew Archer; and Travis McGee.

It is theorized here that there are many other characters, heroic and otherwise, who also exist in the Wold Newton Universe; some, although of course not all, may actually be members of the Wold Newton mutant family, not described by Mr. Farmer. These characters include King Kull, Conan the Barbarian, Dracula, Robin Hood, Ivanhoe, The Phantom, Victor Frankenstein and descendants, Horatio Hornblower, Zorro, The Lone Ranger, the agents of The Wild Wild West, Prince Dakkar, John Carter of Mars, Dr. Moreau, Kimball O'Hara, Dr. Nikola, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Nick Carter, The Opera Ghost, Brisco County, Jr., Mowgli, Carnacki, The Invisible Men, Captain Mors, Dr. Thorndyke, Tom Swift, Father Brown, Peter the Brazen, Jimgrim, The Green Hornet, The Saint, Indiana Jones, Solar Pons, Hercule Poirot, Charlie Chan, Carson of Venus, Miss Marple, The Continental Op, Philo Vance, Dr. Palfrey, Jules de Grandin, Rick Blaine, Superman, The Rocketeer, The Batman and Robin, The Wolf Man, Perry Mason, The Phantom Detective, Hop Harrigan, The Spirit, Captain America and Bucky, Godzilla, The Men From U.N.C.L.E., Doctor Who, The Avengers, The Prisoner, Derek Flint, Prince Zarkon, Remo Williams and Chiun, Carl Kolchak, Shang Chi, Steve Austin, Spenser, Maureen Birnbaum, the Ghostbusters, Buckaroo Banzai, the F.B.I. agents of the X-Files section, Buffy Summers, Lara Croft, and many more.

An Expansion of Philip Jos� Farmer�s Wold Newton Universe

Secret History of the Wold Newton Universe

The Wold Newton Chronicles

Yet Another Wold Newton Universe Site

Jess Nevins Wold Newton Home Page

French Wold Newton Universe (in English)

The Warrenverse

Heroes and Monsters of the New Millennium

Supernatural Taisen

Fantasy Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs

the Wikipedia article

Wold Newton Resource Wiki - unfortunately, the wiki doesn't have a lot, yet, but its a whole lot more complete than the other WNU wiki google could find for me.

There were a few other pages, but the Wayback Machine isn't working, right now. Here's three, if you want to try your luck, later:

http://www.novanotes.com/specul.htm Schroeder's Speculations, by Al Schroeder, has an interesting take on how Superman might work in the WNU

http://surbrook.devermore.net/herosource/wold_newton.html

http://monstaah.org/

There are a number of variants of the WNU, some less inclusive, some more, a few that are even openly superheroic. This thread is for any or all of them.

There's a related thread on Spacebattles.com.

 

[Prince Charon]

How well, or badly, could Dresden Files be integrated into the WNU?

EDIT: Assume Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not being included, as those two have problems matching up.

 

[Glimmervoid]

I read about the World Newton Family years ago. I thought it an interesting idea but things start to break down if you include too many people. I prefer more limited versions, such as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

As to Dresden Files... I don't think it works. If you look at the people classically part of the universe, they all fit are a humans with extraordinary skills. Its extremely early late nineteenth/early twenty century/pulpish. Adding a true supernatural faction and the associated mythology and metaphysics, destroys that IMO.

 

[Prince Charon]

I read about the World Newton Family years ago. I thought it an interesting idea but things start to break down if you include too many people. I prefer more limited versions, such as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

So do I, really. One way to do it is to pick one or two series as the central theme, and adjust any additional series to match.

As to Dresden Files... I don't think it works. If you look at the people classically part of the universe, they all fit are a humans with extraordinary skills. Its extremely early late nineteenth/early twenty century/pulpish. Adding a true supernatural faction and the associated mythology and metaphysics, destroys that IMO.

I guess that depends on which setting you use as your central theme.

On another note, I think I've fixed the links in the OP - the ones not already dead, anyway. Didn't go to check the Wayback Machine, though.

 

[Glimmervoid]

I guess that depends on which setting you use as your central theme.

I think that's my point. Dresden Files is too big and has too much metaphysical weight to 'add' to the World Newton Universe. Doing so would involve a fundamental shift in the thematics and setting of the universe. You'd lose everything which made the Universe, the Universe. Now... If you stylised it as a crossover or fusion I'd be more admirable.

Really, though, what does the radioactive meteor and its genetic mutations add? If you want to include loads of public domain literary characters in the Dresden-verse, better to leave the World Newton out of it and just add them directly. Tie them into Dresden-verse metaphysics. Have them be minor talents, scions and similar. It moves away from the core of the World Newton (extraordinary humans) but that's inevitable as soon as you include a a heavy supernatural faction like the Dresden Files.

Sherlock Homes as a minor talent in nineteen century London, at the fringes of the supernatural but never quite stepping over sound very fun.