Write it and they will come. Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure gives you the power to summon almost any hero or villain from DC Comics’ nearly 80-year history to help solve puzzles ranging from simple to deviously clever in this endearing, kid-friendly adventure. Its total freedom to create almost any object or character out of thin air emphasizes that your greatest superpower is your imagination.

Solving puzzles as Maxwell, the Scribblenauts series’ rooster-haired protagonist, tests not only your creativity but your knowledge of the DC universe and its vast array of characters. It doesn’t require that you know the difference between the Golden Age Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel) and the modern android Red Tornado, for example, but familiarity with their existence and powers can enhance your experience exponentially. If a citizen needs medical assistance, why type in “doctor” when you can summon the sorcerer Doctor Fate instead? (Doctor Mid-Nite works, too.) Extra creativity will be rewarded with more reputation points that can be used to unlock new areas, superhero outfits for Maxwell, and origin stories for DC’s most famous heroes. Loading

In fact, Scribblenauts Unmasked’s database is so packed with DC characters and iconic items - over 2,000 of them - that just browsing through the lot can be daunting. I’ve always considered myself to be a walking repository of useless DC trivia, but Unmasked showed me what a chump I am. There are characters in here so obscure that they may have only ever appeared once in the comics. Some available characters, like lovable rugrats Sugar and Spike, were published by DC Comics but aren’t even a part of its superhero universe. As a hardcore DC fan, I absolutely loved the incredible diversity and staggering breadth of DC toys to play with in this sandbox. (Fun Easter egg: Type in “Jim Lee” or “Geoff Johns” and you’ll summon DC’s creative bigwigs.)

That said, there are some odd exceptions. Due to licensing issues, DC’s Milestone comic book characters like Static Shock have been excluded from the fun. The weirdest omission for me was when I needed the perfect hero to counter a villainous rampage by the frigid Killer Frost and attempted to call upon Sun Boy, one of the Legion of Super Heroes’ most prominent members, only to find him missing. The Legion is represented (heck, even L.E.G.I.O.N. is in there - remember them?), but poor Sun Boy got left out. That might sound pretty nitpicky to those of you unburdened by longboxes full of comics cluttering up your closets, but it means something to us geeks! Loading

Of course, in the greater scheme of Scribblenauts Unmasked, a missing character here and there is pretty minor because there’s so much to work with. The appropriately cute story hinges on Maxwell and his sister Lily traveling to the DC Universe, where their world-hopping globe gets broken, releasing all its energizing starites into the hands of super-villains. It’s an excellent excuse for a team-up, as Maxwell meets Batman and joins up with the rest of the Justice League. Bats seems a little too quick to accept help from a preteen interloper with near limitless power for my jaded eyes, but - as is clear from Scribblenauts cutesy art style and presentation - this is a friendly adventure that’s fit for kids and adults alike. Even bloodthirsty killers like Doomsday and Mr. Zsasz are gosh-darn adorable.

Longtime Scribblenauts fans shouldn’t be put off if they're not experts in DC lore. Solving Unmasked’s puzzles, which range from the mundane to the madcap, can often be accomplished through non-superheroic means by modifying an existing object or character in the world with an adjective or summoning a common item. For example, when tasked with helping Commissioner Gordon repair his police car, you can type in “wrench” and give it to him or tap on the car and add the adjective “fixed.” And if there is a puzzle that tests your DC knowledge, such as a request from a citizen to meet a winged hero, the Bat-computer’s database helpfully allows you to scroll around until you spot one (like Hawkman). Unfortunately, the index doesn’t allow you to search by attribute or power, but you can create and share any homemade hero or object with the easy-to-use Hero Creator in the Wii U and PC versions. Also, some adjectives that you might expect to find - like "toothless" for defanging a snake - are missing. That one's especially confusing since "toothed" is in there. Loading

As you visit iconic destinations like Metropolis, Arkham Asylum, and Atlantis, the complexity level of an area’s puzzles ramps up considerably if you accept a challenge from the magical imp Mr. Mxyzptlk. He’ll set random restrictions such as only being able to use words that start with the letter ‘N’ or only typing up female heroes. Mxy’s kooky challenges are optional, but following his rules will reward you with double reputation points, and they definitely increase Unmasked’s replayability factor. The downside is that because of the dynamic puzzle system, his restrictions may make some puzzles in an area virtually unsolvable. But that’s the chance you take. And, hey, you can always return later - the puzzles will be different!

The three versions of Scribblenauts Unmasked are virtually identical across the PC, Wii U, and 3DS, with the notable exception that the 3DS doesn’t include the Hero Creator but does have Streetpass support to unlock select hero costumes. Controlling Maxwell is a little bit easier on the Wii U and 3DS due to the D-pad, while the PC’s mouse-based movement proved to be clunkier (though you can also use WASD keyboard buttons, or plug in a gamepad). Targeting a specific character can also be troublesome when several are on screen at once, or obscured by text bubbles or other objects.