Okay, so this one is my passion, and so, I kind of go on a rant here. Can't help it, enjoy!
Okay, I know that I'm writing a GH and MCU crossover, but, like it's so much more fun to have others who enjoy the idea.
So prepare, for IDEA WRITER! Spreading my evil ideals amongst you writers in hopes to have someone who has a cooler version of the story than me!
In all seriousness, placing Ghost Hunt in a comic book setting is pretty interesting and there is a lot you can do and play with, so, my little lovelies, this is my analysis on Ghost Hunt and two big comic book companies.
So the thing about combining anything into Marvel or DC universes is characterization. With Marvel you have the more pop up characters. It's funny, it's humourous, and when things take a dark turn, or things get serious, it holds your attention. Marvel Characters are complex in the same way the stories are. Depending on what comic you originate from, or what ideal you spring from, defines your characterization.
Take for example, my story The Real Side of Mai Taniyama, this story is apart of the entirety of the MCU, or, what is confirmed to be apart of the MCU. But the bases of Mai spring more from the TV area of the MCU than the Movie, more specifically, Agents of S.H.I.E.l.D., and the story that I'm writing fits more in an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. lineup than it does movie. While yes, there are quite a few times where Mai will be inserted in the movies, and her original birth place and a good amount of character development will happen in movies as well.
This affects characterization. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is well known for its witty humor and overarching story that does a well enough job at connecting the MCU, because of this, the characters in the AOS series, while diverse, contain a lot of similarities. They all have a seriousness to them, almost tired and weary, backhanded humor and slow but drastic character development.
Knowing this, Mai in The Real Side of Mai Taniyama, versus cannon Mai would be a bit different. Cannon Mai can be described as naive, bubbly, with a sense of hardship. She's kind, hot tempered, and headstrong. Determined, yet a little clueless, but quick enough on the uptake.
Based on her origins in TRSoMT, Mai wouldn't have the same capability to be naive or clueless. It would be difficult for her to be bubbly, and her being hot tempered would only be when she got to the point where her emotions are compromised.
I can give a full in depth paper on the characterization in my story, but, for the sake of this chapter I'll move on.
You'd have a bit more breathing room if you went with something more expansive, like X-Men, or Inhumans. The Young Avengers, Big Hero 6 (Which is an actual Marvel Comic, though, drastically different from the animated movie. It's a Japanese X-Men comic). These have a huge range of characters without needing to have any baseline personality traits that you would have to change around or fit to what you already possess.
If you do standalone heroes such as Spiderman, Deadpool, or Daredevil, you'd have to take the nature of the comics and put that into effect.
Speaking of the Devil, if you go with Daredevil, or any of the Defenders, be prepared to switch characters into a more brooding mood.
Also, with the mention of brooding, DC.
DC comics can be bright with an underlying sense of darkness, weariness. Most of the comics build up to something that tests the main characters morals.
If you were to go with the most popular (And successful in the box office) character, Batman, you'd have a surprising amount of options.
If you connect the storyline more with Bruce, you could start the character off as they were originally, but as most people who connect with the dark knight, you slowly take on hardships that shape and mold you, darken you just a bit, and establishes this hardcore moral compass.
If you give your storyline an Arkham arc, you can leave them the same, but twist their intentions, or amplify the traits they already possess. These characters can be broody, insane, cold, detached, greedy, self righteous. You can really go with anything here.
If you do someone connected to people with secluded origins, such as Wonder Woman, or Aquaman, you really have to study the context of those comics, determine the worldview they come from, and shape and mold characters to best fit the two worlds together.
If you do someone like Superman… OP. Just, OP it up and give the most ridiculous weakness possible, give them a ridiculous moral compass that fits the fantasies of a child, and badda bing, badda boom, you have a Superman character!
Now, another thing is trying to figure out how Ghost Hunt, and paranormal investigations would fit in each universe. Best bet, find a character that exist within said universe that deals with the paranormal and try to share rules to best fit between each other, either the SPR crew was dealing with lower level issues, or highly uncommon ones.
Timeline is also an issue, I tend to ignore the year that GH is set in, if there's outdated technology, I either go hipster with it, or I update it. It's up to you whether or not you're dragging something up to date, or to the GH timeline to better fit.
Fighting is a big part of these comics, and while it's easy to get it in a visual medium, it's hard to get it in a word document. My recommendation is to watch different fight scenes, and semi choreography based on those. You'll have to watch and rewrite those scenes a bit, but, if you can write it out, read it out loud while recording yourself, and play it back with a good mental picture of what happened, then you pretty much have it in the bag.
These reasonings apply to any comic book line in my opinion, inside and outside of DC and Marvel
Some tips to making comic book fiction.
-Try to avoid being OP…. Unless you're Superman.
-Keep your timeline as concise as possible.
- Don't make Mai a damsel in Distress.
- Don't set a character up to have strong powers, or be really good at what they do, and then make it so that they are entirely dependent on others, and constantly need help.
- If you have a big cast, be careful, it's easy to lose characters and forget to write them properly.
- Make good villains, it's no fun if your hero can just one shot K.O. their opponent.
- And above all…. DON'T MAKE MAI A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS. The only acceptable damsel in distressing is as a civilian, and even then, in the newer comics, they don't make civilians helpless, pathetic, and pitiful. DON'T DO IT.