While we were in the middle of working on New Hawk & Croc chapter 3, I woke up in the middle of the night and had this entire idea just drop right into my brain. I immediately got up and typed up the following email and sent it over to Brandon A. Mayo, my Hawk & Croc co-conspirator.
Brandon ended up liking the concept so much that we immediately got to work on this behind-the-scenes, while finishing up New Hawk & Croc chapter 3. We made a few tweaks here and there, but overall, a lot of my initial concept stayed intact.
Check out the original concept below that ended up becoming Hawk & Croc: Generation 2. Then go read the comic, and see how much of it we ended up using.
I had an idea for a Z-Croc story, calling it something like “Hawk & Croc: The Next Generation,” or “Hawk & Croc Beyond,” or “Hawk & Croc 2029.” Something that refers to it taking place in the future, with different characters in the titular roles.
It stars Lizzie as Z-Croc, but instead of Hawk being her mentor, Lizzie is mentoring her “little sister,” Dani Nighthawk. Dani’s about 2-3 years younger than Lizzie, and I see their relationship similar to Hawk & Croc’s, but with the roles reversed; Lizzie is a little more serious (taking after Alli), while Dani is a fun-loving goofball. But when the two get together, Lizzie can be silly, too. Y’know, like how Croc is silly all the time, and Hawk is pretty serious all the time, except when Croc is around.
I imagine the story opening with the caption [16 years from now], so Lizzie’s just turned 18, and Dani has just gotten her driver’s permit. Lizzie is training Dani how to control her newfound super powers. The first page would be full of innuendo like this:
Dani: “Lizzie, I’m kind of afraid.”
Lizzie: “What about?”
Dani: “Well, it’s gonna be my first time…”
Lizzie: “C’mon. Would your ‘Big Sister’ ever steer you wrong?”
Dani: “Well, no, but…”
Lizzie: “Look, you’re gonna have to do it eventually…”
Dani: “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just feel like it’s really soon. Everything’s happened so fast.”
Lizzie: “Dani, just get it over with.”
Dani: sigh “Okay…”
Dani emits a giant fireball.
Page 2 is the girls talking about where they got their powers from; Dani found the earring on her dad’s dresser, and thought it was weird that he would have an earring since his ears aren’t pierced at all (Dani has several piercings in each ear). She tried it on and her hands burst into flame, much like Beth’s. Lizzie explains that she thinks she got her powers from her dad, because one day when she was 13, she fried her cell phone, and then created sparks every time she touched something metal. Then the conversation turns more casual. Dani’s mom is away on vacation, so she’s staying with her dad for the next couple of weeks, “but it’s like you don’t have to go anywhere, since we all live on the same street anyways,” points out Lizzie. Dani then remarks how she wants to ask out a boy from school but is afraid of how her dad will react. Lizzie says she and her girlfriend just broke up, and we don’t make a big deal out of the fact that Lizzie is gay (that is, I’m pretty sure I remember you saying Lizzie was a lesbian. If I’m remembering that incorrectly, we can make Dani gay. Just so long as one of them is, ’cause we should have another lesbian character who isn’t Joanie).
Meanwhile, a new Ninja King has burst onto the scene. He makes some proclamation about how Nighthawk and X-Croc thought they destroyed the CROWN Ninja all those years ago, but they’ve been lurking in secret, rebuilding their forces, and combining the traditions of ninjitsu with the technology of today.
The Ninja King uploads a video to YouTube (TV is irrelevant in the future) and calls out Hawk & Croc, wanting revenge for what they’ve done. Because H&C are now in their 40s, they don’t have time for watching a bunch of videos on YouTube and never see it; But Lizzie and Dani do, and they decide that this would be a good way to test their new powers.
Somewhere in the story, one of the parents (Maybe Gila, making a quick cameo, tells Alli?) finds out that Lizzie and Dani are taking on the CROWN Ninja (which leads to Hawk & Croc having a “wait, didn’t we destroy them a long time ago?” moment with a series of jokes), and then going to rescue their daughters before it’s too late.
But the girls are handling themselves pretty well, taking out hordes of ninja, until they’re finally face-to-face with the Ninja King…and his guards, who look like the Foot Elite ( http://nymonsters.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/foot-elite-shredder-02.png ). Beaten and battered from a day of fighting, they’re about to be beaten by the Ninja King, when their dads show up. Together, Hawk & Hawk & Croc & Croc all defeat the CROWN Elite, but the new Ninja King manages to escape in a puff of smoke.
Hawk & Croc admonish their daughters for putting themselves in danger (Hawk even uses Dani’s full name, Daniaan Bethany Nighthawk); Dani reveals that she took her dad’s earring and apologizes, but the dads don’t stay mad for too long, realizing that their kids are following in their footsteps. The four go and get ice cream.
I’m totally cool with deviating from this, it’s just a general idea. But I thought it might be fun to take a break from New Hawk & Croc for a bit, and do something else while still maintaining a regular update schedule.