Cosmic Plot Device Caper
The Cosmic Plot Device Caper is what the very first Chaotic Add-On Cascade, the story that created the LNH and lead to everything on this wiki, is known as today.
Where to Read
There are a number of different collected versions are on the Eyrie Archive, available through this link:
- "Original" is the first collected version, which Craig Thomas Judd put together as it was happening.
- "Extra" are posts collected later that didn't make it into that version – many of which are relevant to the bits that did.
- "Jef" is a collected version by Jef Kolodziej that includes some bits not found in the Original version (and leaves other bits out).
- "Drizzt" is Jeff Barnes's very different version of the story, based on post-Cry.Sig continuity and never completed.
- "Martin" is a version complied by Martin Phipps in 2002. He added in posts found in the Google Groups archive and gave the story a beginning and ending.
- "Annotated" is an annotated version of Martin's version.
Prehistory
On April 27th, 1992, a member of rec.arts.comics, commenting on the correct spelling of the name Winsor McCay, declared himself "Spelling Boy" of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Dan'l Danehy-Oakes responded by suggesting that long-time posters form a "Legion of Net.Heroes" and calling himself California Kid. This spawned a thread of people making up net.hero identities for themselves.
But not everyone was enjoying the thread, with some posters grumbling about these silly posts. Steven Librande, in the spirit of the thread, jumped in by declaring himself "the ingenious Doctor Killfile", hreatening to "release the awesome force of my patented Kill-O-Ray, destroying all posts about you blithering Net.Heroes!!"
Benjamin Pierce made a post in-character as Marvel Zombie Lad, rallying his fellow net.heroes. At least forty-four authors responded, jumping in with snippets of story where they confronted Dr. Killfile and his Brotherhood of Evil.Net.Villains. Craig Thomas Judd, as Manga Man, chose instead to be the first villainous WC; he put it upon himself to collect the first forty-four or so posts together and give them a semblance of plot. So was born the Cosmic Plot Device Caper...
Plot
The plot of the Cosmic Plot Device Caper is a complex, sprawling thing, difficult to sum up even before the rewrites and missing posts are added in. Let's see what we can make of it...
Doctor Killfile calls out the LNH, who gang up on him in traditional 27-to-1 hero style. Then Manga Man interrupts the proceedings, holding the LNH off until Lurking Girl passes through, delivering a warning about Y-Plex Burp. Manga Man and Dr. Killfile escape, and it's here that things start really getting complicated.
Y-Plex reveals to his minions that Lurking Girl's revelation was all part of his plan. The Time Crapper turns Marvel Zombie Lad into the Golden Age DC Comic Swiper Man. But then Y-Plex changes him back, because he can't use his Evil Duplicate of MZL if he's transformed, obviously. (The Cosmic Plot Device itself first shows up here.) Y-Plex gives Dr. Killfile a computer chip containing IT, and Manga Man is sent to attack the LNHers while they eat Pizza.
Meanwhile, Time Crapper's minion Table activates Plot-Error Man's powers and kidnaps him; Myk-El runs into Marx Brothers clones; Time Crapper gets the Ring of Retconn from Sta— I mean, The Lee; and the plot spreads off in twelve directions at once...
Writers
Writers whose stuff got in the original collected version:
- Steven Librande
- Craig Thomas Judd
- Ben Pierce
- Maurice Beyke
- Karthik P. Sheka
- Jeffrey Klein
- Jef Kolodziej
- Tori Fike
- Kurt Mitchell Bose
- T. M. Neeck
- John C. Daiker
- Doug Moran
- Zippy the Punhead
- Iain McCord
Writers who contributed to the original thread but weren't collected:
- Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
- Bill Sherman
- Elisabeth Riba
- Brian Perler
- Steve Hutchison
- Enrique Conty
- Connie Hirsch
- Scavenger
- Jacob Lesgold
- August Paul Yang
- Jeffrey Klein
- Glenn Carnagey
- Mike Kelly
Martin Phipps' version included later material by:
Jeff Barnes added material to his version, as well.
Heroes
Characters in the collected story:
- Marvel Zombie Lad
- Loquacious Lad
- Kid Yesterdaze
- Lurking Girl
- Comics Snob Boy
- Irony Man
- Doctor Stomper
- Bad-Timing Boy
- Parking Karma Kid
- Procrastination Boy
- Sidewinder
- Squid Boy
- Super Apathy Lad
- Myk-El
- Sig.File Man
- SideKick Man
- Cliche Dude
- Captain Cleanup
- Bibliography Boy
- Incredible Unsleeping Man
- Insomnia Boy
- Amorphous Lad
Characters in the original thread but not the collections:
- Rebel Yell
- Spelling Boy
- California Kid
- Late-Nite Lad
- Catalyst Lass
- Obscure Trivia Lad
- Invisible Incendiary
- Fuzzy
- Occultism Kid I
- Browsing Boy
(Note: Some characters in Category:Cosmic Plot Device Era Characters aren't in here, because their creators never wrote stories.)
Characters only in Martin's version:
Characters only in the post-Cry.Sig version:
Villains
Characters only in Martin's version:
