By Request: Unused Tangled Web/Circus of Crime Supplemental Material (Patreon)

Here's the rest of the document I have for the Tangled Web of Spider-Man pitch with The Circus of Crime. 

As you may have noticed in these older pitch/plot post, I tended to write way too much material when developing a story idea. My anxiety drove a lot of this, the obsessive/compulsive tendencies took the wheel when the anxiety was tired. I also had the notion that everything had to be laid out. Editors liked that (producers, also -- Mike Lazzo complimented us on our work for Space Ghost being complete and thorough with nothing left unanswered)  but it's never been the best way to make a career in writing mainstream/monthly-type comics. I had real issues with showing my work, with not having every step figured out, worried it would make me look like I didn't know what I was doing. This extended to my cover and layout roughs,  which leaned towards near-full pencils (something Sarah and the folks at MAD helped disabuse me of. "We know how you draw", said Sam Viviano at MAD. Meaning, get the idea down, not the drawing work). 

I've always been afraid of actually working on a regular series,  the only monthly I ever wrote was Bill and Ted, and that was terrifying (especially since I was penciling the book). I never turned in scripts, or detailed plots. I turned in general plots and made most everything up as I laid out the issue, and then did a dialog script. And then the balloon placements, which were always important to me. Many sequences were unplanned, most jokes were made up on the page. I just knew Bill and Ted had to do this, and then get to that, and end up there. The End. A lot of times I'd just try to come up with something to save time out of desperation, which is why you had things like Death drawing a page of Major Violence. If the series wasn't canceled with issue #12, I would have had to leave anyway, because I was on fumes by issue #10. 

Here the amount of work is overkill, I was terrible at taking succinct notes, and nervous I'd forget a joke or character or bit of business. Which I've given up worrying about, finally, I'm glad to say. A good idea will stick, not all ideas need to be written down or you'll drown in notes. And if you lose a bit of business, you'll come up with a different bit of business. A lot of this kind of writing is problem solving. I'm good at figuring out what went off in a bad movie, so I should be able to figure out how to connect the dots in my own (hopefully not bad) scripts. 

What's here led raw in places, none of this was sent to anyone, it was to nail the pitch down, and store notes for scenes, bits of business, and background information to try to make the Ringmaster and the circus make a little bit more (comic book) sense. It gets repetitive at several points because that was the lunatic way I worked, constantly going over the same stuff, over and over again. It's painful for me to see, and there are far worse examples (multiple files of basically the same document, saved in fear I'd "lose something", sometimes restarted because I got so overwhelmed I just couldn't edit and needed to do it over). 

Exhausting days, and a good way to burn out by doing three (or more)  times the work as what actually gets published -- or in this case, not published.)

CIRCUS OF CRIME PLOT for “Tangled Web”

A teenage boy who’s obsessed with the circus, magic and sideshows, runs away from his broken home to join one of the last remaining traveling circuses in America. What he doesn’t know at the time is that the troupe is actually the Circus of Crime.

The young man ingratiates himself with the Ringmaster/owner of the troupe, and happily finds himself invited into the “family”. His goal is to become a magician or sleight of hand performer, but he finds himself at the very bottom of the sideshow barrel, given grunt chores and carny work to do. All he wants to do is perform, make people laugh, make people cry. What’s almost as frustrating to the young man is the secretive nature of the Ringmaster and his star performers. They keep to themselves and act mysteriously, giving off the impression that it’s more than just a sort of hierarchy of the performers over the sideshow folk. The carny folk he’s befriended don’t seem to notice any rift between the factions when he brings it up, which further confuses him. As the tour heads east, the teen finds himself unable to penetrate the inner circle, but he is able to persevere because of his growing passion for the circus life – as well as his growing infatuation with one of the star performers, Princess Python.

When the circus hits the New York City area, the kid accidentally finds out the truth behind the “inner circle” during their performance.  This is when he learns that the Ringmaster and his top acts are criminals who often plunder their audiences. The Ringmaster uses his hypnotic top hat to mesmerize the throng, while the performers loot their money and belongings. A post-hypnotic suggestion to the marks causes them to not discover the theft immediately and to confuse each individual as to what may have happened, thus allowing the Circus to travel on without too much suspicion. But during this performance the unexpected happens, and the show is interrupted by the appearance of Spider-Man. He almost defeats the performers, but when Princess Python is endangered, the teenager steps in and lends them a hand, allowing them to overcome the crime fighter.

The Circus quickly sends everyone home and pulls out of town, leaving several workers and sideshow performers in the lurch to fend for themselves; including the Missing Link. “The Missing Link is missing?”, jokes the Ringmaster. No big deal, you can always find somebody to fit the rat cage, what’s a geek when we have a lifesaver. Indebted to our protagonist, the Ringmaster takes him into his confidence and shows him his secrets. Ringmaster tells him his life story, the story of the Circus, how it turned to crime to keep going. Ringmaster embittered, eventually crime became more important than the show.

Kid’s given an act to work up, a seer act to fleece the marks before the shows, both legit and works (robbery events). His act turns out well and he becomes adept at doing cold readings and mind reading. He strikes up a flirtation with Princess Python that upsets her suitor, the Strongman, and the ensuing backstage heat angers the Ringmaster.

His newfound confidence turns to arrogance and cockiness and after a time, he starts to plot against the Ringmaster to take control of the circus and win the Princess. He turns his back on the sideshow performers he once befriended. He spies on the Ringmaster and learns that he hypnotizes the sideshow and carnival contingent to keep them in line and off the scent of his criminal activities. He foments unrest among the workers, then stirs up suspicions amongst the top performers that the Ringmaster hypnotizes them to keep them in line and obedient, and shorts them on their criminal takes. A big blowout ensues, with the kid seemingly getting the upper hand. But the Ringmaster turns the tables on him, and the performers realize he’s been playing them for fools. He’s left beaten to a pulp in the mud by the other performers, his magician’s hands broken, his pretty face battered. Not having a taste for killing, the performers don’t know what to do with him. Then the Ringmaster remembers that they haven’t had a Missing Link in a while...

At the end of our story, the Kid is on display in the circus sideshow, covered with fake fur, mumbling and drooling and eating raw meat. A post-hypnotic suggestion won’t allow him to speak, to cry out, to save himself. But he’s aware of his situation. People stare at him and laugh and jeer at him. He got what he had always wanted, a life in the circus.

GENERAL NOTES

Story narrated by “the kid”.

This is the story of how I joined the circus /became a performer. Not your ordinary, average run of the mill sawdust and greasepaint (x), but the most original, unique and infamous outfit in the annals of show business. This is how I ran away from home and joined the Circus of Crime.

Maybe add a Chinese contortionist, young, shy, nervous around the Kid. Likes him. Maybe she proves to be his undoing, or runs away because of his cruelty, rejection? Some tragedy, Nightmare Alley stuff.  

Opens with him and a friend, or sibling, or with family, at circus. Small town, has Big town aspirations. Maybe stops a guy who robbed someone, or breaks something up, shows his mettle and catches the Ringmaster’s eye. Later steals aboard the train or truck or whatever. His ability to stay in a cramped space is from studying magician/escape stuff.

At the end he knows he’s been hypnotized, but can’t seem to save himself. Houdini himself couldn’t get out of this, and the worst thing is he didn’t wipe my memory, I know who I am. I know what I did. I know what I desired. I’m (x). The kid. The seer’s stage name). The missing link. Raw meat for dinner, a bucket for a bathroom. Top of the world, ma. That’s show biz.

Kid befriends the sad sideshow people, who like the RM and the circus on the whole. No other life for them, they want to perform but civil rights groups shut down most sideshows and freak shows.

End fight/deal – kid steals the hat? Ringmaster worked it so that nobody but him can use it correctly? Or -- There’s more than one hat, you dolt.

Seer act – prayer cards filled out pre-show let him know info, fed to him by someone else.

PRINCESS PYTHON, CANNONBALL, THE CLOWN, THE GAMBONNO BROTHERS,

Freaks – THE HUMAN SKELETON, MAJOR MINOR, BABY DOLL THE FAT LADY,

Lots of circus lingo, atmosphere etc.

THE RINGMASTER OF CRIME

The Ringmaster is from an old circus family, and he truly loves the life. Father was a magician and hypnotist, also was the mechanic for many of the acts as well as his own. They began the work on the top hat gizmo. (Or perhaps The Tinkerer worked on hat principles laid out by father for $$)

RM as a kid displayed as a midget, wild boy, etc. Did all kinds of acts.

Times became tough, mother died in an aerial accident. Father worked and drank himself to death afterward, self-hypnosis didn’t stop his depression. Son inherited circus and his father’s things. .

The days of the traveling circus were coming to an end, but Ringmaster dedicated to providing a home to the performers and keeping his father’s work alive. Less bookings, small towns having less money, big towns not inviting them in, muscled out by bigger, more established shows etc. Found he couldn’t support his father’s troupe any longer, and turned to crime to make ends meet. Fixing the carny games, pick-pocketing the crowd and having a gang shadow the circus to rob the homes of those at the show. Wasn’t enough. Decided to use hypnosis to steal more. Make more from jerkwater holes, shitkicker heavens, boonie towns. Single stoplight nowheres, dustbowls, hickory styx.

They don’t rob every crowd, too hot, john law gets to know them, stupid superhero idiots come in like gangbusters and crack everyone in the mush. Almost lost this circus six times, pay off judges and courts and lawyers like crazy. Use hypnosis and skills to pull jobs in towns they’re booked at, advance scouts also case the town and residents and use the info for theft while the town is at the Big Top. Lift house keys, information, documents, etc. Whatever they can do or use, they try. Used to hard work, don’t mind the long hours and schemes. Good honest dishonest work. Eventually the crime became the reason to be in the Circus game. They stole to stay in business, now they stay in business to steal. Some of the performers lament the choice, but they are richer and more successful as criminals than performers. And they all do love the life, and need the family.

He laments that his greatest act is one that the audience never gets to see.

Believes a sucker is born every minute, but why wait that long when you can make a few hundred suckers in the same amount of time? (“A sucker’s born every minute. I can make a thousand suckers in that time.”)

TENT THROUGHLINE

Kid at circus w/family or friends or sibling. Watches freaks, missing link, etc. Wants desperately to escape small town, see big city, name in lights, on posters, make people laugh and scream. (which he will do). Sees Princess Python, Strongman etc.

Catches eye of Ringmaster somehow, breaks up pickpocket, scam or ? maybe helps the contortionist, but takes no notice of her when Python shows up? Similar, tighten set-up.

He runs away and stows away w/traveling circus (research travel means of var shows). Meets princess face to face, smitten for sure. The girl sees him. Ditto.

He’s found, after a tense moment he’s given a tryout. Grunt work, sideshow stuff. Learns the ropes, builds muscle and savvy. Unaware of crime element. Suspicious of the way inner circle of top performers acts, though. He can’t penetrate the inner circle or get RM to give him a shot at an act, he practices sleight of hand, etc.

Head to NYC area, bigger venue. During a performance, sneaks away from his place to watch the show. Surprised and startled to see the RM hypnotize crowd, others looting. Equally surprised to see Spider-Man break up the act. When S-M attacks Python, he rushes to help her, and turns the tide against S-M. The circus wraps up their show, sends crowd off, and heads off, leaving behind a dazed (possible hypnotized S-M, and a few sideshow people who they don’t have time to worry about. Including the Missing Link.

R-M ruffled by events but grateful to the Kid and takes a shine to him. Princess flirts with him. R-M gets drunk with him, spills his life story, dreams etc. The contortionist girl he saved, etc, the circus he’s grown up in, his ‘family”, misery, etc. Sees it in the kids eyes, the kid has sawdust in his veins. Offers him an act. Not in the big top but a key spot in the alley.

A seer/mind reader act. Kid excited. Maybe gets an assistant, the contortionist (she whispers info to him – maybe at some pt whispers she loves him, which he misses).

Over time, growing confidence turns to cockiness. Act flourishes, he has ideas for performers and crimes. Resentment builds amongst inner circle, esp Strongman and Knife Thrower (who fancy Python, who toys with him?)

Plans a coup. Wants power, feels R-M is old and too sentimental, he has vision, talent and charisma and can bring the old circus into the 21st century. Learns R-M’s secrets, info on hypno hat, etc. Tells performers R-M is using hypnosis on them to keep them in line, that he favors others – sets some against one another, all against R-M or whatever.

Fight breaks out, gets nasty. He ends up having the tables turned on him, and is beaten to a pulp by them all, freaks-style. Ends up hypnotized and stuck in the geek cage as the Missing Link.