The Trivia Challenge

One of the simplest challenge types, and the one most often seen in examples to date, is based on basic multiple choice questions and answers. While I encourage everyone to be original, the ease in constructing this type of challenge makes it hard to resist, which is why it's my default in situations where I write somebody else's blog. Just like in school, these questions examine the history of your character and/or your blog. After two years of writing story synopses and such for my Martian Manhunter blog, it would be easy for me to coast on old material here. However, I'll be using a less dense blog as my example, to better show how to overcome obstacles.

Okay, I'll be substituting for the Green Arrow blog today. Since the general challenge is based around linking my character (here, Ollie Queen,) to your characters, the easiest way to do that is to work backwards from your characters. I'll start by running a search of my blog for the keyword "Superman," since everyone in the DC Universe is connected to the Man of Steel somehow. As expected, Superman's name comes up about a dozen times, but often as random bits of conversation in a post that would be difficult to do anything with. Two posts directly reference Superman in a story, Spotlight:: Green Arrow and Black Canary #4 and Spotlight:: Green Lantern #78. I can use the material here to formulate at least two solid questions in which the answer would be Superman, and lead to a "correct answer" page at the Superman blog. This also gives me the link I would need to offer an "I Don't Know" option, to answer the question for those in the dark on the matter. From there, I just have to mix in a few wrong answer links to other blogs. Here's my first result:

After an assassination attempt was made on former Green Arrow Connor Hawke, who did Ollie summon to take his son to the hospital?

A) Martian Manhunter
B) Zatanna
C) Superman
D) Elongated Man
E) I Don't Know

The correct answer is C, which would lead to Superman's "right answer"/Challenge page. The reader can learn the exact answer by clicking on "I Don't Know," which takes the them to the page on your blog that has the information you based the question on in the first place. The rest of the answers lead to "wrong" pages.

Now let's try a tougher character, Man-Bat. Everyone knows Batman, but Man-Bat has been pretty isolated from the general DC Universe since his debut in 1970. Predictably, my search of the Green Arrow blog turned up no results, so I have to put on my thinking cap. As it happens, I know that Man-Bat was co-created by Neal Adams, which I confirmed on the Man-Bat Wikipedia page. Being a Green Arrow fan, I followed Neal Adams' well regarded run on Green Lantern/Green Arrow, and am versed with general trivia. So...

Neal Adams was the artist who redesigned Green Arrow in the 1960s, giving Ollie Queen his trademark goatee. Which of the following characters did Adams co-create?

A) Martian Manhunter
B) Man-Bat
C) Superman
D) Elongated Man
E) I Don't Know

The correct answer in "B," which would send the reader to the correct answer page on the Man-Bat blog. "E" sends the reader to the same Wikipedia page where I confirmed my answer. It's a shame I couldn't keep the traffic for the "E" answer on my blog, but I've still made sure readers can learn the correct answer. Of course, the rest of the links go to "wrong answer" pages.

Another character that gave me trouble was the Phantom Stranger. Since I was trying to reach him from the overstuffed Manhunter from Mars blog, I decided to make the effort to play detective and tie them together. I scanned every Phantom Stranger appearance listed on The Grand Comic-Book Database until I found him in Martian Manhunter #28. I haven't covered that issue on my blog yet, but because this is an isolated case, I'll do so before the crossover to establish links.

Now, there are going to be some characters that you just can't seem to connect to yours, no matter how much online research you do. We're not all obsessive compulsives with hundreds of continuity-related posts tying characters to one another, so what alternatives do we have in a trivia quiz? Allow me to use an example by Anj from Supergirl Comic Box Commentary:

At one point in the Silver Age, Supergirl tried to find Superman a suitable mate. After a few botched attempts, she discovers a super woman on the planet Staryl who is perfect for the Man of Steel. Looking like an adult Kara, super-powerful, and graceful Superman indeed fell immediately in love with her. Unfortunately he has no powers under her world's orange sun and yellow sun rays are deadly to her. Realizing the universe needs them as heroes, they decided their love was not meant to be.
What was the name of this Superwoman?
a) Lesla Lar
b) Faora Hu-ul
c) Zora
d) Luma Lynai
e) Maxima
f) I Don't Know

Luma Lynai isn't a character from the list, and good luck finding a blog devoted to her. However, using welcome creative license, Anj instead featured characters specific to Supergirl in the quiz, and linked to an unrelated character blog's "correct answer" and "wrong answer" pages as needed. That allowed Anj to maintain the voice of Supergirl Comic Box Commentary while still directing readers to other blogs. This might seem a bit confusing, but I expect readers can tell the right and wrong answer pages apply whether Luma Lynai is on them or not, and they've still got the "I Don't Know" link to check for sure.

Not every trivia page needs to have a correct answer that leads to every other page. That's what the "wrong answer" link lists and the efforts of other bloggers are for. Just do your best, and offer as many questions as you feel comfortable with.