Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Ken
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Gaiden! The Black Widow!)

Post by Ken »

Goldar wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 1:55 am Nice Widow profile and really good pics er, picked!
Of course they're good pics. That's because she has a nice profile. And a nice front. And a nice rear view. And a ...
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Gaiden! The Black Widow!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Goldar wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 1:55 am Nice Widow profile and really good pics er, picked!

Yeah, as to Natasha's strength level, it was about 300 pounds back in the early '80's (old Handbook perhaps?), but one Handbook in the 2000's stated she could lift 500 pounds. Is this from her Russian SS variant serum or extreme training?

When BW teamed up with DD in the '70's, she did get in some good hits, kicks and blasts. She was often drawn with a lot of muscles, especially on the covers. She even tried to take down Nekra by herself during Nekra's debut (but failed). By the early '80's, Marvel did seem to tout Natasha as the top female fighter, knowing boxing, akido, Judo, Karate and Savate.
I honestly don't find any stuff about the Super-Soldier Serum regarding Natasha these days, and I'm not sure where it was stated. Could that just be something comics fans repeated or made up? Or was it just a forgotten part of some comic?
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Gaiden! The Black Widow!)

Post by Ken »

Goldar wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 1:55 amWhen BW teamed up with DD in the '70's
From these pictures, and from what I've read on Ms. Johansson's measurements, she had teamed with DD before the '70s, and she still has her DDs now.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Gaiden! The Black Widow!)

Post by Goldar »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 4:24 am
Goldar wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 1:55 am Nice Widow profile and really good pics er, picked!

Yeah, as to Natasha's strength level, it was about 300 pounds back in the early '80's (old Handbook perhaps?), but one Handbook in the 2000's stated she could lift 500 pounds. Is this from her Russian SS variant serum or extreme training?

When BW teamed up with DD in the '70's, she did get in some good hits, kicks and blasts. She was often drawn with a lot of muscles, especially on the covers. She even tried to take down Nekra by herself during Nekra's debut (but failed). By the early '80's, Marvel did seem to tout Natasha as the top female fighter, knowing boxing, akido, Judo, Karate and Savate.
I honestly don't find any stuff about the Super-Soldier Serum regarding Natasha these days, and I'm not sure where it was stated. Could that just be something comics fans repeated or made up? Or was it just a forgotten part of some comic?
I believe te 300 pounds came from the second Handbook--which seemed good to me at the time.

The idea of the Russian SSS Variant <<may >>have came from a story in the late '90's------not sure though.

I know there was a Handbook about 2007 with the Avengers where BW got a new entry and they mentioned her strength of 500 pounds. To me, that seemed perfect, because I always saw Natasha above the strength of Electra, Silver Sable, Mockingbird, etc. I think of Natasha as a STR 4. Indeed, DC comics has Cheshire who has a STR 4, probably the strongest street-fighter female.

In the latest Handbook Series, Marvel gave BW a STR score of "3" out of 7. Not sure what the rangers are on those 7-levels. I do not like 7 as I think a minimum of 10 are needed. More ranges for the lower end and more for the higher end. Mockingbird, Yelana and Elektra were all given STR 2 out of 7.

Even the old FASERIP had Natasha at Good STR, although I always thought she should have been in the EXCELLENT range. Maybe it is a Russian thing? What I mean is both Darkstar and female Red Guardian (Russian females) were both also given Good STR. I know Darkstar seemed to be pretty strong vs. Natasha back in the Champions days, but again, that was only mid-'70's, before 'Tasha's strength increased.

I sort of look at BW strength like Jean Grey. While Jean always had potential and was quite powerful all along, it took a while for her powers to fully increase. Same for Natasha STR level. So a Jean Grey of today should have very high FASERIP mental stats as well as powers. Something like RM Reason, AM INT and UN Psyche with SHX or even SH Y TK and TP.
Last edited by Goldar on Fri May 15, 2020 4:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Gaiden! The Black Widow!)

Post by Goldar »

Ken wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 12:32 pm
Goldar wrote: Fri May 15, 2020 1:55 amWhen BW teamed up with DD in the '70's
From these pictures, and from what I've read on Ms. Johansson's measurements, she had teamed with DD before the '70s, and she still has her DDs now.
Ken, you always crack me up! Good to see you posting and thanks for the laughs.

By-the-by, I really like your new, changing Avatar pics!
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Yelena Belova

Post by Jabroniville »

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YELENA BELOVA (aka Black Widow III)
Created By:
Devin Grayson & J.G. Jones
First Appearance: Inhumans #5 (March 1999)
Role: Failed New Character
Group Affiliations: A.I.M., S.H.I.E.L.D., The Red Room, The Vanguard
PL 8 (144)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 8 (+10)
Deception 4 (+8, +10 Attractive)
Expertise (Spy) 6 (+9)
Expertise (Model) 1 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Insight 5 (+8)
Intimidation 1 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 6 (+9)
Persuasion 4 (+8, +10 Attractive)
Sleight of Hand 5 (+11)
Stealth 7 (+12)
Technology 2 (+5)
Vehicles 1 7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Attractive, Chokehold, Contacts, Defensive Attack, Equipment 4 (Spy Gear), Grab Finesse, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Gun), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Languages (Many), Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Taunt, Tracking (Sight), Uncanny Dodge

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Widow's Bite +10 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Tear Gas +5 Area (+5 Ranged Affliction, DC 15)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Enemy (The Black Widow)- Yelena has tried to kill her predecessor in the past.

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 60--30 / Advantages: 25 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (144)

-Yelena Belova came out in the late '90s as a newfangled Black Widow, during a very odd time for Marvel where they were trying to make this one cover-artist named Greg Horn a big megastar. His "exagerrated realism" style, with photorealistic women's faces (CLEARLY drawn/traced from professional models), was suddenly used to sell THREE different books starring women- Elektra, Emma Frost, and The Black Widow. These soulless, thick-lipped, eyeshadowed women were all over the place for ages, until all at once they vanished. Obviously, things never took off, because this character essentially vanished into nothing, and Horn never went on to become a huge thing. He still does cover work, and his stuff looks a bit more natural these days, but it's largely just "covers & video game art" for him.

-Yelena showed up in a "Marvel Knights" mini-series after briefly appearing in The Inhumans in 1999, and was immediately pushed as a Sexy New Superspy character. An amoral spy and assassin, Yelena had the same training as Natasha Romanoff, and was sent on a wild goose chase by her "Red Room" superiors to properly assert herself as the new "Black Widow". Along the way, she meets Natasha, who tells her to drop the government loyalty and become her own person. Shortly, another miniseries came out, also featuring Natasha, elaborating upon Yelena's backstory. Here, Natasha abducts Yelena and subjects her to psychological torture- a "tough love" method of revealing to her the dark side of spycraft. Daredevil, also in this story, is disgusted, but it works- Yelena promptly retires to Cuba to become a businesswoman & model.

-OH BUT WAIT. The rapid failing of Yelena's books, and the desire to bring back the main Black Widow, resulted in her getting trotted out as a Generic Evil Chick in Brian Michael Bendis's second Mighty Avengers arc, in which she is hired by S.H.I.E.L.D. to mine vibranium in the Savage Land, and is badly burned by the X-Men villain Sauron. Enraged, Yelena allows her mind to be transferred into a Super-Adaptoid, where she fights 49 of Tony Stark's Iron Man armors in a row, then loses to the Sentry's dark self, The Void. HYDRA mind-wipes her to cover their tracks, and she disappears.

-Yelena reappears as a vigilante once, then shows up in Dark Reign and joins Norman Osborn's Thunderbolts... but that's revealed to be NATASHA in disguise! However, Osborn had figured it out, and was using her to do his dirty work, then revealed he had the original Yelena in stasis. A.I.M. later broke her out and installed her onto their High Council, but this went nowhere- Yelena later tried to become a proper "Black Widow" when Natasha was killed during Secret Empire. This is VERY LIKELY for the sole purpose of justyfing Marvel using the character in the future, as Florence Pugh is playing her in the upcoming Black Widow feature film- and comics are likely to follow their lead in terms of characterization and intent, especially since Natasha is famously dead in the MCU.

-Yelena Belova is essentially a mini-Black Widow, taking Natasha's stats and lowering all of them. She's done absolutely nothing that implies she's anywhere near the level of anyone good, either. The "Super-Adaptoid" version has the near-limitless Variable that lets her copy powers of Luke Cage, Carol Danvers & the Sentry, among others.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:15 am, edited 3 times in total.
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The Winter Guard

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE WINTER GUARD (aka The Supreme Soviets, The People's Protectorate):
-Evil Foreigners are as old as fiction itself- many myths and religious tales tell of how these EEEEEEEEEEVIL foreigners come to rape, pillage and murder (though to be fair, this was often terrifyingly-accurate). This extends all the way to modern times, especially with Hollywood movies. Comics in particular takes a glee with the concept more than almost any other form of entertainment save perhaps Pro Wrestling (which unquestionably does it best- turning the foreigners into gigantic cartoonish stereotypes). In the '40s, it was Germans & the Japanese. The 1950s, however, brought is Evil Commies- in particular, the United Soviet Socialist Republic, who at that point was the official Big Bad of the planet Earth, and the #1 enemy of the United States. With the superheroes returning to Marvel in the 1960s, it was perhaps inevitable that we'd end up with a ton of Evil Russians... but SUPER-HUMAN versions of what had before just been Big Ugly Brutes and snivelling spies.

Iron Man saw the most of them at first, as Tony Stark was kind of a symbol of American militarism- his enemies included The Crimson Dynamo, The Black Widow, Titanium Man, and others. But after a point, OTHER books started seeing the guys pop up. Eventually we'd get a more magnanimous treatment of the Soviets- occasionally we'd find a defector (the original Dynamo, who died saving Stark's life), or even actual SUPER-HEROES, as they appeared to be from their own perspective.

The initial concept for teams of Soviets came about in the short-lived, infamous Champions (a book which contained the F'd-up lineup of Black Widow, Hercules, Ghost Rider, Iceman & The Angel)- the Widow was hunted by a team of superhuman Soviets- including the Darkforce-wielding Darkstar and her arrogant brother Vanguard (with the power to repel force used against him). Darkstar, being the prettiest and most-interesting one, defected to the United States and became a recurring element of the Champions until the book died. Darkstar would eventually confess to only liking Iceman as a friend (that happens a lot to Iceman- I wonder why he always goes after women who eventually have no interest in him. WHY INDEED?), and returned to the Soviet Union.

The Soviets appear again in The Contest of Champions, a story that introduced Captain Ethnic characters of several different countries. Most of which were portrayed at least as HEROES, though most of the foreigners ended up with the kind of chip on their shoulder that American writers often give foreigners- Vanguard in particular was a HUGE asshole. The Argentinian Defensor, Arabic Arabian Knight and French Le Peregrine all kind of acted that way as well. Others were simply portrayed as stereotypically-mistrustful of the nations' "enemies" (The Israeli Sabra & the Arabian Knight were immediately disagreeable; Captain Britain and the Irish Shamrock were also eyeing each other carefully). Darkstar was one of the few to look particularly-good.

The Soviets would add Ursa Major to the roster shortly thereafter, interact with The Defenders (the female Red Guardian was a member, and a Soviet), and in 1989 we'd finally see the team reorganized as the Supreme Soviets in Mark Gruenwald's Captain America- the "Red Guardian" concept would be added onto a new guy, who led an Avengers-like roster that included a Magic-ish female, the Iron Man-Lite Crimson Dynamo, a Vision-like Android and a Russian God of Thunder. These new Supreme Soviets would chase down Darkstar, Vanguard and Ursa Major, all of whom were defecting to the U.S., and leave them for dead in a bloodthirsty moment. Framing the Avengers for the act, they returned to the Soviet Union, where Captain America had to save them from a psionic entity created by the comatose Soviets.

They'd even show up a bit in Quasar- Gruenwald, no stranger to The Defenders or Contest of Champions, seemed to have a liking for these guys. The characters would undergo some restructuring- the Eventually, these Soviets would form The People's Protectorate upon the fall of the Soviet Union.

The Crossing Line:
-Fabian Nicieza, eventual writer of X-Men, X-Force and The New Warriors and a major force in '90s Marvel, would take a look at these guys for a short Avengers run entitled The Crossing Line. It read VERY nonsensically for a Young Jab- this was, in fact, my very first Avengers comic, and I picked it up in mid-story, and was expected to comprehend a whole lot- their Exposition-Speak was not quite up to the level of Claremont characters, and I had no idea who much of the cast was (I remember the dialogue very specifically, and wondered what "Calm yourself, Eternal!" meant (Fantasma was referring to Sersi, but not knowing what an "Eternal" was, I assumed she was saying "Eternal" as a statement for emphasis, like "Calm yourself for Christ's Sake!" or something like that). I mean, imagine what the issue AFTER the issue in which the Native Canadian Mystic unfolds his Magic Pouch and traps everyone, plus a nuclear explosion, inside various dimensions inside the thing.

The tale:
* A nuclear-armed submarine is captured by anti-government Russians. The Avengers (Cap, Sersi, Quasar & Vision, railroading Stingray into serving with them, because it's set in the water and Namor is busy... no really, that's the justification) are called in to stop them as they approach Canada- The People's Protectorate (Red Guardian III, Fantasma, Vostok, Perun, Crimson Dynamo) follow the Russians, and things turn into a Patended Marvel Superhero Brawl.
* The teams FINALLY agree to settle down for a bit, which is when ALPHA FLIGHT (Guardian, Box, Puck, Diamond Lil, Shaman) shows up, since this is in Canadian waters, after all.
* Oh, and some ATLANTEANS (Tyrak, Merrano, Orka, some Mooks) show up, trying to get the nukes for themselves. The combined heroes have to fight off THIS invasion, too.
* The group, named the "Peace Corpse", reveal their intentions- to provoke a global war that will shore up the economies of their nation, along with others. Their belief: that war throughout history have helped their nation's economies, as this is the solution to the economic downturn.
* A rescue mission is finally begun to save the hostages on the sub, but things go wrong (in an odd bit, CaptainI America's plan actually fails- if Shaman hadn't have been there, he'd have doomed everyone present, plus a whole town of people), and the agents set off the nuke.
* Alpha Flight's Shaman is able to absorb every single man, woman and child in the surrounding area (a village in Newfoundland, later identified as the capital St. Johns) into his Magic Pouch (WTF?), along with the nuclear energy.
* So here's where I picked up the story: multiple groups of characters, all trapped in different parts of the Pouch's inner dimensions. Sersi & Fantasma communicate telepathically while the heroes work to combine the multiple dimensions inside the pouch together so that they can all leave at once- Guardian & Stingray (who is concussed thanks to being shot in the head by the Corpse earlier on) are trapped in a desert dimension with U-Man/Merrano. Cap, Red Guardian, Vostok & Vision are floating around in a world of Energy Beings along with the unconscious Peace Corpse members. Quasar, Perun, Puck, Box & Lil are stuck floating in water, along with Orka & Tyrak. Sersi & Fantasma are stuck is a dangerous dimension of volcanic fire.
* Sersi manages to use her "Do Anything" Eternal Powers to save the day numerous times- she communicates Telepathically, scans for other survivors, creates a Force Field to protect everyone, and even creates INDIVIDUAL FORCE-FIELDS for hundreds of people to gain protection from the ravages of their dimensions (she at least has the decency to ask Cap to "ensure that my funeral is a LAVISH one upon our return to Earth"). The heroes try to bring the civilians back to their town, but the nuclear energy travels with them, killing numerous people. And then the two Russian leaders show up, having been merged (ass-to-ass, no less) and gaining super-powers.

The story reads VERY nutty even today, and is fairly-convoluted and features a staggering cast of characters (Diamond Lil scarcely appears in a single panel by herself). Though Ares pointed it out when I made fun of it years ago, and he's right- there are some fun bits. The Crimson Dynamo in particular had a lot of good lines ("A polite American?" he says, when confronted with Quasar, who, true to form, always tried to avoid the Standard Superhero Greeting Fist-Fight, "Will wonders never cease?". And when Heather Hudson does her "Rapid Move" trick, he goes "Did she just blow herself up? No- she's Canadian. They're too normal to be crazy"). Perun refers to the Combine as "Buttocks-Touching Baboons!"

And in the end, the Corpse members realize the error of their ways, after watching the international cast of heroes work together to save the day. They jump towards the Combine and merge with it (using Fantasma's abilities), overriding his control (Puck comments on the irony of Soviets using democracy and rule-by-numbers to save the day), and eventually convincing their two parts of the conclusion they've just come to. The new Combine decides to absorb the radiation from everybody (thus saving their lives), then decides to explore the universe (translation: You never see it again).

Convoluted, but kinda fun. Nicieza did this exact kind of thing in the X-Annual Kings of Pain story, filling it with tons of ludicrous super-hero team-ups, Introductory Brawls (Moira MacTaggart and her Muir Island X-Men immediately assault the New Warriors & X-Force, before agreeing to team up with them), and the most-convoluted set-up of superpowers in history (involving Legion's Telekinesis, Madrox's Duplicates, Marvel Boy's Telekinesis, Speedball's Kinetic Force, Firestar's Microwave power and more). It's actually odd how well the two stories line up. Two characters (Proteus & Piecemeal) even MERGE in that story, resulting in a super-powerful being nobody can stop.

Soviet Super-Soldiers:
-A one-shot, Soviet Super-Soldiers, was also written by Fabian Nicieza, and HOO BOY, it's a doozy. The art is pure '90s drek from Angel Medina & Javier Saltares, who were probably overworked (overly-scratchy images, malformed-looking people, and more), and the writing is a bit of a mess. I can't blame Fabe too much, though- it seems like he had an impossible assignment. Though the book is a large one, he was left with an ENORMOUS roster of characters- you had a subplot with the Crimson Dynamo fighting Titanium Man and his Credit-Card Soldiers, a group of hidden Russian mutants, a Russian Cyborg attempting to kill the characters, the Soviet Super-Soldiers trio running from the government, Perun dealing with the fact that he has a human form that dislikes transforming, Sputnik's inhumanity, the new Supreme Soviets hunting down Russian's enemies, a pair of scientists who can merge into one super-powered being, and more. The book's roster is seriously more than twenty-strong, and I can't imagine a lot of writers giving any one of them their proper due in such circumstances. There are characters who can do little more than give their NAME and POWERS before disappearing! Synthesizer makes "their" debut and is promptly beaten then ignored, two characters are renamed, and entire people go through minor "arcs" or have their personality quirks explained (Perun, Stencil) and then they don't matter any more. And NONE OF THIS EVER MATTERS! Read on:

So we start off with the three main former Supreme Soviets (Vanguard, Darkstar, Ursa) being returned in a comatose state to the Soviet Union, where a bunch of scientists and officials awkwardly call each other by name. But they're immediately sprung by Blind Faith and two of his agents (Concussion and Iron Curtain), then introduced to Sibercat and Mentac (and later Stencil, who was apparently hastily added between panels). So the government sends the ugly, old cyborg Firefox after them, as he's a pro. Firefox attacks their hideout, shooting Iron Curtain in the mouth (smirkingly suggesting "INVULNERABLE? From the outside in"), then executing the injured Mentac after learning about his powers and odds-calculation ("100% against such probability" of walking out alive). Then he shoots off Concussion's hands while the others escape via Darkstar's portal.

Then we meet the newer Supreme Soviets (Red Guardian/Perun/Fantasama/Sputnik/Dynamo) on assignment, and Dynamo (Dmitri) is sent away to hunt down the missing Titanium Man by himself- he desperately recalls him in order to battle his Credit Card Soldiers, but he comes back incomplete (his essence had been split across multiple locations), murdering many of them and attacking American police officers. Also he's a giant now, which is only clear in like ONE PANEL. The cops actually use a Superhuman-Beating Tank to stun Titanium Man enough to let the Dynamo take him away. However, the brouhaha ruins the Dynamo's reputation, which was the intent all along- the smirking state official takes his gear and sends him away. However, this was just a way to get rid of the Dynamo persona, and he's given new gear as AIRSTRIKE! Don't get used to that, though, because you'll never see either Dmitri or Airstrike again.

Meanwhile, the others are left to deal with a crazed villain, the Unicorn, now blowing up random parts of Moscow. He blows up Perun's axe (which is required to properly channel lightning, thus putting his teammates at risk), but Fantasma finally accesses Unicorn's bio-field and drops him by reversing his neural functions. But he IMMEDIATELY escapes after showing a bizarre "eyeball stalk" on his actual head once his helmet's been taken off, and two of the awkwardly-introduced scientists (secretly allies of Blind Faith's underground network) merge together to become Synthesizer.

THEN we find another mutant underground location in Russia, but Firefox and the government team up and slaughter all those except our named characters. Stencil kills most of the soldiers, but Darkstar & Vanguard arrive to prevent more death. Vanguard, however, EASILY rips Firefox and his gear apart, leaving holes where his cybernetic eye and hand were.

But this all comes together: The Supreme Soviets are now renamed "The People's Protectorate", with Airstrike in place of Dynamo (who is associated with the old days). But Shatalov playls his hand- he has set things up so that the recovered Titanium Man (who's now cured of his insanity), Unicorn & Firefox are now his own personal agents to restore the Soviet Union to the days of Stalinism- Shatalov himself has taken on the Crimson Dynamo armor to lead them. Together, they are the "Remont 4".

The only real legacy of the book is the reforming of the Soviet Super-Soldiers (whose name no longer fit, due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union) into The People's Protectorate. Which is the name they used in The Crossing Line, which came out TWO YEARS BEFORE THIS. Making this also a Retroactively-Set Story, as well. Sputnik changing his name to Vostok (which he'd already used earlier) only furthers this proof. But 90% of these characters then went on the shelf for DECADES- Airstrike was never a thing in later comics, the small bits of characterization for Perun & Vostok went nowhere, and more. So this entire thing comes off more as a Continuity Porn book to show what's going on with the former Russian superheroes, the current ones, and then introduce a whole ton more, but like... it was promptly ignored and didn't matter.

So like I said, it's way too busy, and features way too many characters, and more. Yet, on my third read of this book... I don't hate it as much. "Sputnik" renaming himself from the first machine sent into space and into "Vostok", the first MANNED machine, actually fits the little snippets of people being disturbed by him, but Perun considering him "Machine AND Man". Perun having an unfortunate mortal form seems like the start of an interesting character, too. An evil Soviet guy setting up "Remont 4" in order to take over the government is the root of a good story. But ultimately this is all done so quickly (WHO THE HELL IS SYNTHESIZER, and why did their presence here have no importance?!), and never mattered, that it comes off as kind of a waste of time. Nicieza clearly understands character, motivation, and setting the scene, but has so little to work with here.

The Winter Guard:
-These stories apparently weren't major hits for the characters, because they basically disappeared after that (Young Jab actually imagined that the People's Protectorate was actually supposed to be a MAJOR TEAM in comics, and was a bit confused that he never saw them again). The team just kinda split up, merging with other Russian heroes to form The Winter Guard (those Russians and their "General Winter"... ah well, it saved them against Napoleon AND Hitler, so I guess they owe it a few). This team appears briefly in a Hulk tie-in, defeating the "Remont Six", who were all the assorted villains the writer could scrounge up (the Snow Leopards & Volga?!).

They then show up for a pretty decent 3-issue Limited Series, featuring a new Darkstar (the original was dead) along with a smattering of the assorted Russian characters. They are led by a cyborg Red Guardian, and feature Ursa Major, Darkstar III, and a female Crimson Dynamo, while the '90s Dynamo is their government liaison. It turns out that Vanguard, Starlight, Vostok, Steel Guardian, and Powersurge split off to form "The Protectorate" because they were angry over Russia trying to create another "Darkstar", and they ended up serving Immortus in Limbo for a year. Fighting Dire Wraiths along the way, they lost Steel Guardian & Vostok, and it turned out that FANTASMA had been a Dire Wraith all along! Darkstar III dies saving the world, and resurrects the ORIGINAL Darkstar in the process! Unfortunately, none of this every really mattered, as they failed to reappear for almost a decade.

It also features some rather on-the-nose attempts at becoming an Internet Meme, with Ursa Major puncing and undead dinosaur in the face (with the other characters commenting on it, like "that about says it all, really"), grabbing a hammer to beat up some guys, then posing in a single panel, saying "A bad-ass bear with a hammer!" Like, they were REALLY OBVIOUSLY trying to make this character a thing online with that bit- it just felt too cloying. At least Fat Cobra's "Bring me my victory wenches!" came off organically. Oh, and the requisite appearance by the Agents of Atlas, when Marvel put them in EVERYTHING in an attempt to give that book a shot in the arm.

The book was well-drawn, and I always like seeing random forgotten characters getting use, but of course so much of it went nowhere. We were introduced to a new Darkstar, who then went on to do little after the first issue, and DIED in the second (to like a single Dire Wraith, even!). A lot of backstory and characters went unexplained- Dmitri Bukharin is there, but we don't get told he was a Crimson Dynamo until the third issue, when he becomes it again (Back-To-Basics Syndrome at its best). In a weird bit, the Joseph Petkus Red Guardian is killed in a single-panel flashback, never being named. Vanguard suddenly decides to become the new Red Guardian. Then at the very end, the Hot Sexy Lady Dynamo becomes "The Ultra-Dynamo" and moves to create her OWN super-team. And is never seen again (as is tradition for Russian characters getting a lot of focus).

Where will the team go? Written in 2016, I guessed "I'm gonna guess they'll appear in one storyline every five to ten years like normal, with the once-dead characters quickly being resurrected (or just replaced by a newbie with the same powers) by the next writer because HE remembered the team with a certain line-up (looking at you, Darkstar, Red Guardian & Vanguard), and they'll probably fight some heroes before teaming up. Am I a precognitive genius? Nah- that's just how the team always works. Despite getting their own Limited Series (which was collected to a TRADE, too!), they've yet to reappear since."

The Modern Winter Guard:
-So it TURNS OUT... they disappeared for 5-10 years before showing up in Jason Aaron's Avengers run, as he put a lot of focus on various international teams of rivals to the Avengers. In this case, Ursa Major, now depicted as a hard-drinking, cynical asshole, is the key character in the Winter Guard.


The Roster:
The Original Supreme Soviets:
* Appear as a trio of arrogant Russkie heroes.

Darkstar- Sexy Blonde Russian with Darkforce powers.
Vanguard- Repels all force used against him, and wields a hammer & sickle. A huge asshole.
Ursa Major- Transforms into a bear.

The People's Protectorate (aka The Supreme Soviets II):
* Attempt to kill the Supreme Soviets, but help out as heroes later. Take the name "Supreme Soviets" later on.

The Red Guardian- A Legacy Character, essentially a Russian Captain America, Shield and all. Keeps the name, despite the fall of the U.S.S.R., but later becomes the Steel Guardian.
Sputnik/Vostok- A Russian Android with a robotic speech pattern and issues with his humanity. Named for the first unmanned and manned orbital vehicles.
Fantasma: Sexy Magic Chick, whose Biofield Manipulation powers basically take that role.
Perun: The Russian God of Thunder. Takes the place of a mortal man when he comes to Earth.
The Crimson Dynamo: The fifth one, actually. There end up being a LOT of Crimson Dynamos, however.

The Exiles/Siberforce:
* Exiles from the Russian government. Appear as a one-off, and most are later killed.

Blind Faith: Mind Controller & Team Leader.
Sibercat: Looks like a Thundercat. The "casual young guy" of the group.
Mentac: Fast calculator.
Iron Curtain: Big tough guy.
Concussion: Blaster.
Stencil: A "mindsucker".

The Winter Guard:
* Renamed and reformulated into a combined squad.

Old Members: Crimson Dynamo V (government liaison), Vanguard, Ursa Major, Steel Guardian (former Red Guardian), Vostok, Fantasma
Red Guardian: Anton, a cyborg.
Crimson Dynamo XIII: A female operative.
Darkstar II: Replaces the deceased first.
Darkstar III: Later replaces the deceased second.
Starlight: The former female Red Guardian.
Powersurge: Powersuit guy.

The Protectorate:
* Small offshoot who splits when Russia tries to make more Darkstars.

Old Members: Vanguard, Starlight, Vostok, Steel Guardian, Fantasma, Powersurge

Assorted Soviets:
* Two Scientists, a male and a female, combine together to form "Synthesizer" in the Soviet Super-Soldiers, but this is the only story featuring them, and they show little in terms of power beyond Flight & Blasting. Quite peculiar.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:18 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Red Guardians

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE RED GUARDIANS:
-Red Guardian is a recurring concept- the Soviet Russian "Captain America". What with Cold War animosity and all, it was only a matter of time. Problem is, nobody's ever felt like actually DEALING with the guy, instead just tossing him out there to throw some Communist rhetoric at Cap or someone before they throw a few punches. As a result, only a couple have ever really been used, the first one we met being the Black Widow's thought-dead husband, who died in the very story that introduced him! Subsequent ones have had little luck- one was a star in second or third-tier book The Defenders, and another was in the People's Protectorate for a few years. But aside from those two, they die CONSTANTLY- there's been an astonishing EIGHT Red Guardians in total, as much like Crimson Dynamo, they keep either dying, or being replaced off-panel because the next writer can't be bothered to check who the "last" one was. Most recently, one got decapitated by a Dire Wraith- pre-established hero Vanguard took his name and role (as well as the shield).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Red Guardian (Golden Age)

Post by Jabroniville »

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RED GUARDIAN I (Aleksey Lebedev)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & John Buscema
First Appearance: Namor The Sub-Mariner Annual #1 (June 1991)
Role: Mirror Image Villain/Hero (to Cap), Golden Age Hero
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia

-This one-off character is actually a Retcon added twenty-three years after the debut of the first Red Guardian at Marvel- he's the Golden Age version of the character, active during World War II as a Soviet copycat of Captain America, then in his Golden Age incarnation. The story, set in WWII, is from the Sub-Mariner Annual, and features not just Namor & RG I, but Captain America when "The Patriot" was acting as the hero, after Steve Rogers' disappearance. He boasted that "Cap" was slowing down, as he was able to catch the hero's shield. The character is later explained as one of many killed during the "purges" of the 1950s under Stalin- potentially having been Unpersoned.

-Though the character was a nobody, I actually REALLY LIKE the idea of other nations having active Golden Age heroes, especially ones not just based off of jokes or things like that.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Red Guardian (Golden Age)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 5:35 am
RED GUARDIAN I (Aleksey Lebedev)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & John Buscema
Hh, didn't realize that was a Thomas story when I read it. While I didn't think much of it at the time, this is a better effort than his previous attempt to create a "Golden Age Soviet hero" continuity implant, in the pages of Young All-Stars. It portrays him as just a guy who did something heroic once, and ended up stuck in this costume for propaganda purposes, with all the insecurity that would suggest. (The point of the story, if there was a point, was to have Namor pitch a fit at the end about how sick he was getting of the surface world.)
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Red Guardian (Silver Age)

Post by Jabroniville »

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RED GUARDIAN II (Alexei Alanovich Shostakov, aka Ronin II)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & John Buscema
First Appearance: The Avengers #43 (Aug. 1967)
Role: Mirror Image Villain/Hero (to Cap), Patriotic Hero, Replaceable Guy
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: None
PL 9 (142)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+10)
Athletics 6 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+12)
Close Combat (Discus) 2 (+12)
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 9 (+11)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 6 (+9)
Perception 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Discus) 5 (+13)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 9 (+9)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Improved Critical (Discus), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8

Powers:
"Red Guardian's Belt Discus" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained) (Flaws: Removable) [15]
"Discus Toss" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (17 points)
  • Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Disc" Strength-Damage +0 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 5, Selective 5) (11)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Discus Toss +13 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Bouncing Disc +5 Area (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4 (+6 D.Roll), Fortitude +7, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)
Relationship (Natasha Romanov)- Alexei was married to the Black Widow.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 66--33 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 16 (142)

-Alexei Shostakov was created to flesh out the backstory of the Black Widow, a few years after the spy-turned-heroine's creation. He was the husband of ballerina Natasha Romanov, and a legenady Soviet hero- a WWII Flying Ace who even shot down American jets during the Korean War! When Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev decided that the Soviet Union needed its own equivalent to Captain America, he chose Alexei over Yuri Gagarin (the famous real-life Cosmonaut), faked the man's death, and trained him in secrecy. His grieving wife Natasha would become another Soviet agent- The Black Widow. When she defected to the United States, Alexei was introduced via a Retcon (even back in 1967 they were doing this), explaining his past, and he attacked the Avengers decked out in his "Red Cap" gear.

-Ultimately, however, his Chinese ally Colonel Ling enraged him by KO-ing Captain America in a trap before he could defeat his American counterpart. When Ling turned his gun on the Widow, Alexei, who still loved her, leaped to her defense and was fatally shot. Ling then turned his gun on the unconscious Cap, but the dying Red Guardian refused to let such a brave foe die helplessly, and knocked Ling's gun aside- the resulting explosion reactivated the dead volcano, burying both men in lava. So the Black Widow was reintroduced to her husband and given a quickie backstory literally minutes before he died.

-Shostakov would "return" in the 2000s as a Life Model Decoy, being destroyed by the Widow and her foster-father. However, Alexei showed up alive later, having risen through the ranks in Bulgaria. Possibly being the real one or the LMD, he captured the Widow to try her for crimes as a Soviet super-soldier, which kind of goes against his prior characterization (as a typical dies-while-redeeming-himself Marvel one-shot villain). He later popped up in Hawkeye's old "Ronin" gear, acting as an assassin, and recruiting a group of troopers to mimic the powers of the People's Protectorate- Fantasma, Vostok, Perun & Crimson Dynamo (despite Alexei never having worked with those people before).

-Alexei a minor-league, PL 9 version of Captain America (which, for the Silver Age, is a pretty decent threat overall). He's weaker, less accurate and has a Throwing Disc instead of a Shield, but he does okay for what he is. He's also a pretty good super-spy type. He was a famous pilot in his time, and seems to have that "Never Ages" stuff that his ex-wife does, to explain why all these Commies are still alive.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Done! The Black Widow! Yelena Belova!)

Post by Goldar »

Love, love, Love that you are statting up all of these characters, Jab!

For Tanya Bellinski, can you please do both her RG and Starlight identities?
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Shining Force Done! The Black Widow! Yelena Belova!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Goldar wrote: Sat May 16, 2020 3:44 pm Love, love, Love that you are statting up all of these characters, Jab!

For Tanya Bellinski, can you please do both her RG and Starlight identities?
Yep :).

Glad you like them!
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Red Guardian/Starlight

Post by Jabroniville »

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Good LORD she looks good in pictures.

RED GUARDIAN III (Doctor Tania Belinsky, aka Starlight)
Created By:
Steve Gerber & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Defenders #35 (May 1976)
Role: Patriotic Hero, Hot Russian Babe
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: The Defenders
PL 8 (129)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+11)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 3 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Perception 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Discus) 5 (+13)
Stealth 2 (+7)
Technology 1 (+5)
Treatment 8 (+12)
Vehicles 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Improved Critical (Discus), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Leadership, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 8, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Red Guardian's Belt Discus" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained) (Flaws: Removable) [15]
"Discus Toss" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (17 points)
  • Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Disc" Strength-Damage +1 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 4, Selective 4) (10)
Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Discus Toss +13 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Bouncing Disc +3 Area (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Reforming Soviet Society)- Tania attempts to reform the Soviet Union, but later decides to stay in America and be an adventurer.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 13 (129)

The Original "Red Guardian Character":
-Longtime posters will know that female Red Guardian, Tania Belinsky, is of course my favourite example for "declaring one's enormous fandom for a minor, largely-forgotten character". To the point where I now call any obscure character I like a "Red Guardian Character".

-See, EONS ago (pre-2008, at least), I was reading one of those early bio-sites (it may've even been the Unofficial Appendix site in its earliest days), and it featured a bio of Tania Belinsky here. The page went on to describe the character and her history, her abilities, and then featured a MASSIVE rant about what had happened to her- the greatness of her character squandered by dumping her into being the dependent pawn of The Presence, thus wasting one of the author's favorite characters. Essentially, this character, whom I'd NEVER HEARD OF, was declared to be this brilliant character, and her disappearance from comics was to be held as this grand tragedy. Given that I'd never heard of her, I found it a bit absurd to the point of hilarity, and would start calling things like that "Red Guardian Syndrome", when someone overly favored the obscure.

-What's funny, of course, is that I later kind of saw the writer's point, and having many such fascinations with minor, forgotten charactess myself, I identified with the struggle of someone who liked Tania, and found her completely ruined for no reason. So despite the jokes, I myself suffer from it to a ludicrous degree with my love for the original Hellions in the pages of The New Mutants. And frankly, most good comic fans feel this way about at least one or two characters. It's related to what I call "Doom Patrol Syndrome" when the vocal fanbase for a particular low-selling character or group far outstrips the ACTUAL fanbase, as the books simply never sell, despite near-endless online praise.

Dr. Tania Belinsky- Defender:
-The strange history of Dr. Tania Belinsky occurs in that most favored of B-list titles, the 1970s Defenders book. Given near complete freedom to do whatever, writer Steve Gerber and others were allowed to play around with genre conventions, create a "non-team" superteam, and more. And so he created a female successor to the one-off Red Guardian- this one was a neurosurgeon who was a vigilante who protected dissidents in the Soviet Union, attempting to reform Soviet society! She came to the U.S. at the request of Dr. Strange, who wanted her to perform a brain transplant- she stayed on as a Defender. I've only read one issue from this run, and she seems fine- the glamorous long hair and calm intelligence serves her well, and she makes a brilliant case for fanart. However, her run was short, as we'll see below.

-Some of the art for Tania here made her look REALLY blazingly-hot, and I always liked the Red Guardian outfit- red is a cool colour in large doses, and comparatively-few heroes dress in a lot of it (Spidey, DD, Deadpool, and a few others), and "fin-head" costumes always looked interesting to me for some reason.

Red Guardian's Powers:
-Red Guardian III is only PL 8 (she can't really be a heavy-hitter at her weight-class- her Discus weapon is super-weak compared to the Shields of others), but still quite skilled, and a good team medic (though really, a neurosurgeon is MUCH different from a combat medic or diagnostician).

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STARLIGHT (Doctor Tania Belinsky, aka Red Guardian III)
Created By:
Steve Gerber & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Defenders #35 (May 1976)
Role: Patriotic Hero, Hot Russian Babe
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: The Defenders
PL 10 (200)
STRENGTH
2/9 STAMINA 3/8 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+9)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 3 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Perception 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Discus) 5 (+13)
Ranged Combat (Radiation) 1 (+9)
Stealth 2 (+7)
Technology 1 (+5)
Treatment 8 (+12)
Vehicles 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 8

Powers:
"Cobalt Radiation Powers"
Enhanced Strength 7 [14]
Enhanced Constitution 5 [10]
Flight 9 (1,000 mph) [18]
Radioactive Aura 3 [12]
Immunity 10 (Radiation Effects) [10]

Radiation Blast 11 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating) (34) -- [37]
  • AE: "Radiation Wave" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (30)
  • AE: "Radiation Burst" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (30)
  • AE: "Boosted Aura" Radioactive Aura 8 (32)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Radiation Blast +9 (+11 Ranged Damage, DC 26)
Radiation Attacks +10 Area (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude +11, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)
Relationship (The Presence, Vanguard)- Tania came to love the man who basically-sorta forced her to hang around with him, but then broke up with him for Vanguard.
Responsibility (Powers Out of Control)- Tania's radiation once emanated from her at all times, so she was unable to be around normal people for extended periods. This apparently got better over time, as she was bumping uglies with Vanguard after a point.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 101 / Defenses: 14 (200)

Red Guardian Becomes Starlight:
-After a very short run in The Defenders, the female Red Guardian came to the lab complex of Sergei "The Presence" Krylov, a mad genius who'd turned into an energy being. Using science, he both mentally dominated poor Tania into loving him (EWWWWWWW!!!), then transformed her into an Energy Being with radiation powers. She battled the Defenders alongside the Presence, but was soon freed from his control. Tragically, however, she was soon dependent upon him- their powers made them unsafe for others to be around, so she willingly went off with him, for lack of anyone else to be with. And then, in a moment creepily like "Carol Danvers is raped by a guy and then runs off with him while everyone's okay with it", they flee for the stars.

-Naturally, as minor characters on a forgotten series, the two vanished, with only Mark Gruenwald remembering them, showing them as captives on The Stranger's homeworld. Regaining her freedom, Tania becomes "Starlight", and returns to Earth with The Presence & Jack of Hearts. She fought Quasar and the Fantastic Four in The Presence's attempt to kill Eon, but she confessed that she only did so because The Presence was the only person she could be aruond, and he threatened to abandon her if she did not serve as his henchman and lover (CHRIST). She later aided him against Russian heroes Darkstar and the Black Widow, then against the Avengers, trying to mind-control some of them. She later restored everyone who'd been transformed into radiation beings. Finally, The Presence fought Kang alongside the Avengers, using it as an opportunity to try and conquer Russia again, but this time Tania defeated him, promising to abandon him if he tried it again.

Still a "Red Guardian" Character:
-Starlight has largely disappeared from comics, but was most recently seen finally being able to reduce her radiation enough to be around normal people. She abandoned The Presence and joined the Protectorate alongside other Russian heroes, and served Immortus as a palace guard against the Dire Wraiths- here, she is seen having formed a relationship with Vanguard. However, when the heroes manage to fight back the Dire Wraith Queen, Starlight was sucked into the void with her, and apparently still remains there.

-So yeah... if you were a fan of Red Guardian from The Defenders, I can definitely see how "Forced into a sex-based relationship via blackmail/abandonment", and "Ignored for decades", and "Finally showed up again free of her rapist, only to get sucked into limbo and be forgotten again" would, you know, be REALLY ANNOYING. While I'm not about to tell anyone that Starlight should be a mega-popular character or deserves a big push or anything, she was a neat, interesting character who was COMPLETELY misused and suffered badly from absentee "protectors" among comics editors. And really, how is she not perfect for a push these days? Marvel wants to be woke? Well here's a super-powerful, courageous, intelligent FEMALE DOCTOR wearing a full-body-concealing costume, who overcame sex-based trauma in her past. Push THAT.

Starlight's Powers:
-Tania becomes a much more powerful, much pricier character, but at the expense of her old gimmick of "Melee Fighter". Pretty much standard Blaster stuff here, but she's ALSO a miniature Flying Brick at the same time. She's not a MAJOR heavy-hitter by my estimation (I've never seen her do anything another PL 10 really couldn't), but her combo of Super-Physiology AND high-level Blasting makes her a difficult opponent to overcome.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Black Widow! Yelena Belova! Red Guardians!)

Post by Goldar »

Jab, as usual, your profiles are perfect! From the pics selected, to the history and the stats! I am so enjoying this run of Marvel!

Tanya was a favorite of mine from when she first appeared! Where was that, you ask? Why, in the Defenders, of course! (And you wonder why I LOVE the Defenders!) And during that famous "Valkyrie gets arrested and goes to prison for wrecking a posh-penthouse restaurant fighting a monster with a sword" storyline, that also introduced us to Val's cellmates, Shirley and FELICIA! :lol:

While I had known of the RG who was the "late" husband of BW (Natasha), I was much more fond of the female usage and how well Tanya looked in the costume! Of course, it was a novel idea then, not like now, where it has become commonplace upon lackluster stories of those with little imagination.

Tanya had a fun and intelligent personality, while slightly naïve to American ways. She played well off of Luke Cage and they teamed up a few times during stories. They had a mutual respect for each other and each one's abilities.

Tanya's stats are perfect. And she was a strong 2 STR. She carried a gunshot man in her open arms up 3 stories of stairs and he weighed 1.5 times her weight. She belted some men unconscious and forced one to drop his knife by sheer grip strength. Tanya and Nighthawk working together beat/defeated Chondu in his monstrous form. I was sad to see RG leave.

While at the time I did not like the story with the Presence, I later came to appreciate Tanya's increased abilities. She is one of those few ultra-powerful energy wielding females and really should have become more prominent than she did. I also like her name Starlight and her costume variation in her powered form.
Last edited by Goldar on Sat May 16, 2020 8:08 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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