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Much like the first [[Dark Curse]], ''Heroes and Villains'' takes away all memories of its victims' previous lives, providing them with new lives, "punishing" or "rewarding" them each in a way that [[Isaac Heller|Isaac]] sees fit.
Much like the first [[Dark Curse]], ''Heroes and Villains'' takes away all memories of its victims' previous lives, providing them with new lives, "punishing" or "rewarding" them each in a way that [[Isaac Heller|Isaac]] sees fit.
*[[Rumplestiltskin]]- Is known as the Light One, a heroic knight and slayer of [[ogres]], and no longer a victim of the [[Darkness]]. He is much loved by the other inhabitants of the [[Enchanted Forest]] and lives contently with his wife, [[Belle]], and their infant [[Prince Neal|son]].
*[[Evil Queen|Regina]]- Believes herself to have been abandoned by her [[Cora|mother]] as a newborn. Regina accidentally destroyed the happiness of the queen who continues to hunt her down, which forces her to live as a bandit.
*[[Snow White]]- Believes her true love, [[Prince James|James]], to be dead as a result of Regina telling an unnamed secret. She becomes an evil monarch, reigning as queen, and powerful [[Witchcraft|witch]] who frightens and torments anyone who crosses her.
*[[Prince Charming]]- After the death of James, Queen Snow White takes his [[Enchanted Hearts|heart]] and forces him to be her lover and [[Black Knights|executioner]].
*[[RobinHood(Lacey)|RobinHood]]- Remains leader to the [[Merry Men]], but is separated from his true love, Regina, and is her "competition" as thieves. He is in love with [[Zelena]] and wants to leave his life as thief behind in order to marry her.
|Is known as the Light One, a heroic knight and slayer of [[ogres]], and no longer a victim of the [[Darkness]]. He is much loved by the other inhabitants of the [[Enchanted Forest]] and lives contently with his wife, [[Belle]], and their infant [[Prince Neal|son]].
*[[Emma Swan]]- Is aware of the alternate reality's changes, but is powerless to do anything about it. No longer the savior and with no magic, she is trapped on a virtually impenetrable island prison in the middle of the Bottomless Sea.
|Believes herself to have been abandoned by her [[Cora|mother]] as a newborn. Regina accidentally destroyed the happiness of the queen who continues to hunt her down, which forces her to live as a bandit.
*[[Lily Page]]- Serves as one of Queen Snow White's [[Black Knights]] and is tasked with guarding Emma in the tower. Her true form is a [[Dragons|dragon]], which she transforms into after Emma attempts to escape.
*[[Blue Fairy]]- Becomes a powerful dark fairy who supports the bandit Regina by using dark [[Fairy Dust|fairy dust]] to keep the queen's underlings from harming her.
|Believes her true love, [[Prince James|James]], to be dead as a result of Regina telling an unnamed secret. She becomes an evil monarch, reigning as queen, and powerful [[Witchcraft|witch]] who frightens and torments anyone who crosses her.
|Retains his original personality. Remains leader to the [[Merry Men]], but is separated from his true love, Regina, and is her "competition" as thieves. He is in love with [[Zelena]] and wants to leave his life as thief behind in order to marry her.
|Retains her original personality. Becomes a normal woman who is in love with Robin Hood, who wants to give up his place with the Merry Men to marry her.
|Is aware of the alternate reality's changes, but is powerless to do anything about it. No longer the [[Saviors|savior]] and with no [[magic]], she is trapped on a virtually impenetrable island [[Emma's Prison Tower|prison]] in the middle of the [[Bottomless Sea]].
|Serves as one of Queen Snow White's [[Black Knights]] and is tasked with guarding Emma in the tower. Her true form is a [[Dragons|dragon]], which she transforms into after Emma attempts to escape.
Heroes and Villains is close to my heart. It's been a passion project for longer than you would believe. I wrote it because I think folks are sick of heroes getting everything in these classic fairy tales. Hence, the radically different endings for Snow White, Prince Charming, and all the rest. Something different for a modern audience. What happens when villains win the day?
After Regina tells him not to write anything to change her happy ending,
Isaac uses the pen's ink to teleport to the pawnshop, where a dying Mr. Gold conjures the Heroes and Villains book for him to record new happy endings. Opening the book to the first blank page, Isaac begins by writing, "Once upon a time...". ("Mother")
Writing in the last details of Mr. Gold's new life, Isaac concludes the storybook with the words, "The end". As result, a bright flash fills Storybrooke and everyone, aside from Henry, is whisked into Heroes and Villains, where they have alternate lives. In Isaac's story, Snow White reigns as the Evil Queen after losing her true love because of a secret Regina told. As a consolation, Snow White takes the heart of her beloved's twin brother, David, nicknames him "Charming" and makes him not only her henchman but her lover. In her council, the queen's underlings include the seven dwarves and Granny. Regina, on the run from the queen, lives as a thief, while Robin Hood is her constant competition since he manages to beat her to her own heists. The Blue Fairy remains a powerful entity, except she and the other fairies harness dark fairy dust instead of light fairy dust. Instead of the charismatic pirate he once was, Hook is a cowardly deckhand serving Black Beard, captain of the Jolly Roger. Rumplestiltskin, a benevolent knight known as the Light One, uses his magic to save villagers from ogres. In this reality, he remembers trying to save Baelfire from the Ogre War, only to lose him. Belle remains married to Rumplestiltskin, and together, they have a young son. Emma, retaining her true memories, is locked up by the queen on a deserted island with Lily as her guard. ("Operation Mongoose Part 1")
Meanwhile, Isaac breaks the cardinal rule of the Authors and writes his own happy ending in his homeworld, where he gains fame from the paperback edition of his book, Heroes and Villains, although he loses the quill's power forever as as result of writing his own happy ending. Remaining behind in Storybrooke alone, Henry seeks out Isaac and threatens the truth out of him, later using a magic key on the Heroes and Villains storybook, whisking both of them into it. Henry then sets out to restore the original set of events. ("Operation Mongoose Part 1")
After freeing Emma, Henry convinces Regina that Robin is her true love, and she must kiss him to reverse Isaac's stories. However, Isaac persuades Rumplestiltskin to stop them, resulting in him fatally wounding Regina inadvertently. Following an ominous chime of bells, which signals the very end of the story, Henry harnesses the quill's magic and becomes the next Author. Using Regina's blood as ink, he undoes the alternate reality, returning everyone to Storybrooke. As a result of the alternate reality being undone, the Heroes and Villains book becomes completely blank. ("Operation Mongoose Part 2")
Effects
Much like the first Dark Curse, Heroes and Villains takes away all memories of its victims' previous lives, providing them with new lives, "punishing" or "rewarding" them each in a way that Isaac sees fit.
Is known as the Light One, a heroic knight and slayer of ogres, and no longer a victim of the Darkness. He is much loved by the other inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest and lives contently with his wife, Belle, and their infant son.
Believes herself to have been abandoned by her mother as a newborn. Regina accidentally destroyed the happiness of the queen who continues to hunt her down, which forces her to live as a bandit.
Believes her true love, James, to be dead as a result of Regina telling an unnamed secret. She becomes an evil monarch, reigning as queen, and powerful witch who frightens and torments anyone who crosses her.
Retains his original personality. Remains leader to the Merry Men, but is separated from his true love, Regina, and is her "competition" as thieves. He is in love with Zelena and wants to leave his life as thief behind in order to marry her.
Retains her original personality. Becomes a normal woman who is in love with Robin Hood, who wants to give up his place with the Merry Men to marry her.
Is aware of the alternate reality's changes, but is powerless to do anything about it. No longer the savior and with no magic, she is trapped on a virtually impenetrable island prison in the middle of the Bottomless Sea.
Serves as one of Queen Snow White's Black Knights and is tasked with guarding Emma in the tower. Her true form is a dragon, which she transforms into after Emma attempts to escape.
The reviewers quoted in the book blurb for Heroes and Villains are Once Upon a Time graphic designer and productions staff member Neil Westlake, art director Cheryl Marion and conceptual designer Keith Lau:[2]("Operation Mongoose Part 1")
"Well worth the waiting. Heller's plotting and pacing are superb, his writing is sharp, and his characters are alive on the page. A sophisticated and meaningful book." - Neil Westlake, Hudson Bay Herald
"Great reading...ranges from Knights slaying Dragons, to the fight of the common person against evil and oppression. Truly Brilliant." - Cheryl Marion, New York Ledger
"Heller takes attack or be beaten ideologies to new heights in this heavy-hitting first work. I had the sense that I had learned something new about the fight against evil..." - Keith Lau, New York Bugle ("Operation Mongoose Part 1")
Neil Westlake's name appears on several other props throughout the show:
"New York Bugle" is a reference to the Daily Bugle, a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles.
The reviews quoted, are directly adapted from four real-life reviews used to promote the novel Poison Pill (2013) by Glenn Kaplan. The original reviews read thus:[9]
"Well worth the wait. Kaplan's plotting and pacing are superb, his writing is crisp, and his characters come alive on the page. A sophisticated and thoughtful thriller." —Nelson DeMille, New York Times bestselling author
"Great reading… ranges from Russian oligarchs to the American worlds of drug research and the equity markets, all of it in a mode of high suspense." —Scott Turow, New York Times bestselling author
"Kaplan takes kill-or-be-killed business ideologies to psychopathic new levels in this deftly plotted corporate thriller.… It's Donald Trump meets Hannibal Lecter, with highly engaging results." —Publishers Weekly on Evil, Inc.
"A fine thriller ripped out of today's Enron-like headlines. When I finished Evil, Inc., I had a sense that I'd really learned something about corporate America and the men and women who run the show." —David Hagberg, USA Today bestselling author of Dance With the Dragon on Evil, Inc.
The fictional publisher of Isaac's novel is P. V. Books, as seen on his podium during the book signing.[10] PV is the initials of graphic designer Paolo Venturi, who designed the cover for the paperback edition.[11]("Operation Mongoose Part 1")
The Cicada Tree, All the Unusual Places and The Tattooed Demon, three of the fictional titles listed in the bestseller list that Isaac is reading after he is defeated,[12] were also published by P. V. ("Operation Mongoose Part 2")
