10 scariest plagues from sci-fi and fantasy

5. The Wild Card virus from Wild Cards

Imagine an alternate history where an alien virus is let loose in the skies over New York City in 1947, spreads to countries all over the world…and subsequently wipes out 99% of those it infects. I’m starting to see a trend here.

Of those that survive the initial outbreak, 9% percent are mutated into hideous monsters that come to be known as Jokers, and 1% are gifted with extraordinary powers, becoming heroes known as Aces.

Wild Cards is the brainchild of A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, a series of shared universe anthologies that he edits. The actual stories are penned by a veritable who’s-who of great science fiction and fantasy writers. Wild Cards is an answer to the comic book era of heroes and villains, a reimagining of well-trod tropes with all the gritty, world-weary wisdom of GRRM and an army of other talented authors behind it.

One of the nice things about the Wild Card virus is that it doesn’t wipe out the whole world. While it does spread across the planet with typical speed, it doesn’t infect folk at the same level as some of the other pandemics we’ve talked about here. Also there’s a small chance you could get superpowers. All in all, if you have to live through a fictional plague, you might want it to be this one, although that’s a best-of-the-worst kind of choice.