Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Darkstar (Sasha)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

DARKSTAR II (Sasha Roerich)
Created By:
Tony Isabella & George Tuska
First Appearance: The Hulk #1 (March 2008)
Role: Hot Russian Babe, Legacy Character
Country of Origin: Russia
Group Affiliations: The Winter Guard
PL 9 (118)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Ranged Attack (Darkforce) 2 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment (Costume), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Special Amulet" (Flaws: Removable) [57]
"Black Hand" Snare 8 (Feats: Dynamic, Reversible) Linked to Blast 7 (40) -- (53)
  • Dynamic AE: "Blinding Tendrils" Affliction 8 (Strength; Hindered, Vulnerable & Impaired/Defenseless, Immobile & Disabled/Visually Unaware) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition +2) (Flaws: Limited to Visuals) (24)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Blast" Blast 8 (16)
  • Dynamic AE: "Improved Field" Force Field 1 (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Impervious 8, Affects Others 8) (23)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Objects" Create 8 (Feats: Precise) (Extras: Movable) (26)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Cloud" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Extras: Attack, Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective) (13)
  • AE: Teleport 7 (Feats: Increased Mass 3- 400 lbs.) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (Flaws: Distracting) (24)
  • AE: "Wide Blast" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (18)
  • AE: "Blast-Ram" Damage 9 (Extras: 30ft. Line) (18)
Force Field 4 (4)
Flight 7 (240 mph) (14)
-- (71 points)

Equipment:
"Darkstar Costume"
Immunity 1 (Cold) (1)
Communications (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Black Hand +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Area Attacks +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+7 Field, +8 Full Field), Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)- Sasha is a loyal Russian agent, and feels a duty to her team.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 57 / Defenses: 8 (118)

-The red-haired Sasha appears in Hulk #1, as part of a new Winter Guard- she was given the late Darkstar's DNA in order to allow her the ability to manipulate the Darkforce. She and the Winter Guard helped defend Russia during Secret Invasion, but she slowly began going crazy- feeling the thoughts and memories of Laynia Petrovna. She was told to take a break, but rejoined her team when they were in danger- as a result, her powers went out of control, turning her into a "void monster"- Red Guardian, feeling he had no other choice, took the amulet that was the source of her powers. As a result, her powers consumed and destroyed her.

-For powers, Darkstar II had a lesser version of Laynia's abilities, with a lot less experience. Overall, she's a PL 8 Blaster/Snare-User with PL 8 defenses, but PL 9 Area Attacks- a lot of versatility but highly vulnerable.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 2:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
brothersale
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Black Widow! Yelena Belova! Red Guardians!)

Post by brothersale »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 17, 2020 4:42 am
At some point I'll probably do an Image Comics set- I mentioned on the Discord that I'll have categories like "Marvel Character Most Ripped-Off" to make up for my lack of real information about many characters :).
I recommend taking it slow and work through one of the sub-companies before taking on the remainder, Shadowline and Top Cow are relatively low on Characters so would be a good start. Todd McFarlane Productions, Skybound and Highbrow Entertainment only really produce one comic line, but both have tons of foes. The final one is the mess that Liefeld’s company (its had three different names that i know and may have had others), tons of characters some with potential but a lot with not a lot depth. Once the sub-companies are done all that would be left is those creator owned ones that fall under the Image publishing name and the three companies that split off if you were inclined, those being Aspen, Malibu and Wildstorm.
Last edited by brothersale on Wed May 20, 2020 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Goldar
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Re: Darkstar (Sasha)

Post by Goldar »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue May 19, 2020 7:42 pm Image
Image

DARKSTAR II (Sasha Roerich)
Created By:
Tony Isabella & George Tuska
First Appearance: The Hulk #1 (March 2008)
Role: Hot Russian Babe, Legacy Character
Country of Origin: Russia
Group Affiliations: The Winter Guard
PL 9 (118)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Ranged Attack (Darkforce) 2 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment (Costume), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Special Amulet" (Flaws: Removable) [57]
"Black Hand" Snare 8 (Feats: Dynamic, Reversible) Linked to Blast 7 (40) -- (53)
  • Dynamic AE: "Blinding Tendrils" Affliction 8 (Strength; Hindered, Vulnerable & Impaired/Defenseless, Immobile & Disabled/Visually Unaware) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition +2) (Flaws: Limited to Visuals) (24)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Blast" Blast 8 (16)
  • Dynamic AE: "Improved Field" Force Field 1 (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Impervious 8, Affects Others 8) (23)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Objects" Create 8 (Feats: Precise) (Extras: Movable) (26)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Cloud" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Extras: Attack, Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective) (13)
  • AE: Teleport 7 (Feats: Increased Mass 3- 400 lbs.) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (Flaws: Distracting) (24)
  • AE: "Wide Blast" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (18)
  • AE: "Blast-Ram" Damage 9 (Extras: 30ft. Line) (18)
Force Field 4 (4)
Flight 7 (240 mph) (14)
-- (71 points)

Equipment:
"Darkstar Costume"
Immunity 1 (Cold) (1)
Communications (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Black Hand +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Area Attacks +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+7 Field, +8 Full Field), Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)- Sasha is a loyal Russian agent, and feels a duty to her team.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 57 / Defenses: 8 (118)

-The red-haired Sasha appears in Hulk #1, as part of a new Winter Guard- she was given the late Darkstar's DNA in order to allow her the ability to manipulate the Darkforce. She and the Winter Guard helped defend Russia during Secret Invasion, but she slowly began going crazy- feeling the thoughts and memories of Laynia Petrovna. She was told to take a break, but rejoined her team when they were in danger- as a result, her powers went out of control, turning her into a "void monster"- Red Guardian, feeling he had no other choice, took the amulet that was the source of her powers. As a result, her powers consumed and destroyed her.

-For powers, Darkstar II had a lesser version of Laynia's abilities, with a lot less experience. Overall, she's a PL 8 Blaster/Snare-User with PL 8 defenses, but PL 9 Area Attacks- a lot of versatility but highly vulnerable.
:o Huhhh! I didn't know about this "Darkstar" character. I want my Laynia back!
Jabroniville
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Darkstar (Reena)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

DARKSTAR III (Reena Stancioff)
Created By:
David Gallagher & Steve Ellis
First Appearance: The Winter Guard #1 (Feb. 2010)
Role: Hot Russian Babe, Legacy Character
Country of Origin: Russia
Group Affiliations: The Winter Guard
PL 9 (118)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Ranged Attack (Darkforce) 2 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment (Costume), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Special Amulet" (Flaws: Removable) [57]
"Black Hand" Snare 8 (Feats: Dynamic, Reversible) Linked to Blast 7 (40) -- (53)
  • Dynamic AE: "Blinding Tendrils" Affliction 8 (Strength; Hindered, Vulnerable & Impaired/Defenseless, Immobile & Disabled/Visually Unaware) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition +2) (Flaws: Limited to Visuals) (24)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Blast" Blast 8 (16)
  • Dynamic AE: "Improved Field" Force Field 1 (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Impervious 8, Affects Others 8) (23)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Objects" Create 8 (Feats: Precise) (Extras: Movable) (26)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Cloud" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Extras: Attack, Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective) (13)
  • AE: Teleport 7 (Feats: Increased Mass 3- 400 lbs.) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (Flaws: Distracting) (24)
  • AE: "Wide Blast" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (18)
  • AE: "Blast-Ram" Damage 9 (Extras: 30ft. Line) (18)
Force Field 4 (4)
Flight 7 (240 mph) (14)
-- (71 points)

Equipment:
"Darkstar Costume"
Immunity 1 (Cold) (1)
Communications (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Black Hand +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Area Attacks +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+7 Field, +8 Full Field), Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)- Sasha is a loyal Russian agent, and feels a duty to her team.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 57 / Defenses: 8 (118)

-In Darkstar and the Winter Guard, Reena, a brand-new character, is shown in the role, trying really hard but being inexperienced. She is killed by a Dire Wraith, who begins to assume her form... the process actually destroys the creature, resurrecting the original Darkstar in the process, as her soul was apparently residing withing the "Darkstar Amulet" that the creature took. So Reena oddly gets a title appearance before dying in her very first story arc.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 2:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Davies
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Davies »

... I think that's supposed to be Stancioff, but that's still very strange, as it's a Bulgarian family name.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 1:41 am ... I think that's supposed to be Stancioff, but that's still very strange, as it's a Bulgarian family name.
Yeah, I just misspelled it. Inevitable with some of these foreign names :).
Grenzer
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Re: Darkstar

Post by Grenzer »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue May 19, 2020 1:43 am

Darkstar Dies & Returns:
-She was eventually killed in a very casual manner in an agonizingly boring X-Men story, where she joins the X-Corporation of disparate Mutants in various parts of the globe (an attempt to centralize all of the X-Characters who'd gone into Comic Book Limbo over the years), and is taken over by Weapon XII- Fantomex has to kill her. My like her brother Vanguard, she didn't stay dead for long- at Marvel, even MINOR characters get resurrections from pointless deaths!
I remember this story, it was from Grant Morrison's New X-Men run. Fantomex shoots her in the head and the X-men meekly protest while he lectures them on how you have to make hard decisions in order to survive* before he shows them how awesome and cool he is by detonating a bomb in Weapon XII's head... oh boy, that was stupid. And yet not nearly as stupid as the other crap Morrison pulled with Cyclops, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Magneto, and really just about any other character I cared about. I think that was the beginning of the end for the X-Men as Marvel's premier superhero team, which set the stage for the Avengers to make a comeback by the end of the 2000's.

*Right, because the X-men never had to make hard decisions about the lives of their friends and family before that battle. How utterly patronizing.

I have another Russian hero profile coming up, and I think you guys might really like this one.
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Davies
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Re: Darkstar (Reena)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 1:33 am -In Darkstar and the Winter Guard, Reena, a brand-new character, is shown in the role, trying really hard but being inexperienced. She is killed by a Dire Wraith, who begins to assume her form... the process actually destroys the creature, resurrecting the original Darkstar in the process, as her soul was apparently residing withing the "Darkstar Amulet" that the creature took. So Reena oddly gets a title appearance before dying in her very first story arc.
If I were going to do something with Laynia, I'd reveal that Reena's soul is in the amulet now, that Laynia can communicate with her, and that they're working to create a new body for Reena ... without much success.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Re: Darkstar

Post by Ares »

Grenzer wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 2:47 am
Jabroniville wrote: Tue May 19, 2020 1:43 am

Darkstar Dies & Returns:
-She was eventually killed in a very casual manner in an agonizingly boring X-Men story, where she joins the X-Corporation of disparate Mutants in various parts of the globe (an attempt to centralize all of the X-Characters who'd gone into Comic Book Limbo over the years), and is taken over by Weapon XII- Fantomex has to kill her. My like her brother Vanguard, she didn't stay dead for long- at Marvel, even MINOR characters get resurrections from pointless deaths!
I remember this story, it was from Grant Morrison's New X-Men run. Fantomex shoots her in the head and the X-men meekly protest while he lectures them on how you have to make hard decisions in order to survive* before he shows them how awesome and cool he is by detonating a bomb in Weapon XII's head... oh boy, that was stupid. And yet not nearly as stupid as the other crap Morrison pulled with Cyclops, Emma Frost, Jean Grey, Magneto, and really just about any other character I cared about. I think that was the beginning of the end for the X-Men as Marvel's premier superhero team, which set the stage for the Avengers to make a comeback by the end of the 2000's.

*Right, because the X-men never had to make hard decisions about the lives of their friends and family before that battle. How utterly patronizing.

I have another Russian hero profile coming up, and I think you guys might really like this one.
Yeah, I hated Grant Morrison's X-Men run when it first came out, and I think over time the sentiment has turned against it. There really is no middle ground with Morrison. It's either amazing work, or its nigh-unreadable crap. But there's a lot of fart sniffers that feel that anything Morrison did was fantastic by virtue of him having done it.

The only good thing about that run was that it made Xavier's Institute for Gifted Students feel like a real school again. Everything other than that, from the White Queen suddenly being British and having Diamond Skin, to X-Men talking about how glad they are they don't have to wear costumes anymore, to Prof. X having an evil twin sister that he tried to kill in the womb, to everything he did to Magneto (and his stated reasons for doing so), it was all this giant mess.

Oddly enough, Darkstar coming back after being killed is one reason why, to me, comic writers SHOULDN'T kill off a character unless they think there's a good chance of it sticking, and if their death truly makes things better.

I've used this analogy before, but I feel that a shared universe with established characters is like a toybox. Some toys like Superman and Spider-Man get played with a lot, some guys like the Flash, Green Lantern and Cyclops get played with a little less, some guys like Iron Fist and Firestorm only have a few kids that play with them, and some toys like Vibe haven't been played with in forever. A writers job is to "play" with a toy and have such a good time with it that other kids are going to want to play with it to. They need to show why the toy is cool, tell engaging stories with them, etc.

If you take a toy and change it a little, you might be able to make it look cooler. If you change it too much, the toy is unrecognizable. And if you play with it in a bad way, you could break the toy or turn people off to it. Then the toy is going to sit at the bottom of the box for years until someone comes along and fixes it.

Basically, almost any toy can be worth playing with, so the decision to permanently remove a toy should only be done after a lot of thought, and if doing so might improve things overall for the box as a whole.

Killing Darkstar so casually just meant the character was going to come back eventually, so not only was killing her pointless, the moment you tried to kill them off for your big moment has less impact than it originally did. Far better to just keep these secondary characters around and try to do something with them.

While Mark Greunwald was infamous for killing off a lot of Marvel Jobbers, it really felt like writers in the late 2000's got it into their heads to just kill off characters for shock value. Brian Bendis, Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, James Robinson, they all seemed more than happy to just kill off character en mass and its something that seemed to stick.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Ursa Major

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

URSA MAJOR (Mikhail Uriokovitch Ursus)
Created By:
Bill Mantlo & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #258 (April 1981)
Role: Bad-Ass Bear
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: The Winter Guard
PL 10 (115)
STRENGTH
3/10 STAMINA 4/10 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Survival) 7 (+8)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 3 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 5 (+6, +8 Size)
Perception 6 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+2 Size)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+3)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Extraodinary Effort, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons) 2, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Interpose, Power Attack, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Bear Form" (Move Action -1) [-1]
"Animal Senses" Senses 4 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision, Scent-Tracking) [4]

"Enhanced Physicality"
Speed 1 (4 mph) [1]
Enhanced Strength 3 [6]
Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Growth 4 (Str & Sta +4, +4 Mass, +2 Intimidation, -2 Dodge/Parry, -4 Stealth) -- (12 feet) [8]

"Russian Bear"
Immunity 1 (Cold) [1]
Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Cold) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Bear Form +9 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +10, Fortitude +10, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)- Though Mikhail once defected, he currently serves the Winter Guard again.
Prejudice (Godless Killing Machine)- In his Bear Form, Mikhail stands out a fair bit, and cannot pass for a normal human.
Responsibility (The Bear Takes Over)- Mikhail grows more feral the more he remains in Bear Form. If he spends hours in that form, he may shift into a totally animalistic state.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 13 (115)

-Appearing three years after Darkstar & Vanguard debuted, Ursa Major is a mutant who can turn into a bear- the sort of thing you'd expect from a Russian- their national animal is, famously, a bear. As Russian superheroes go, he's not that bad, basically being a standard Brick with some bonus senses and the like. Unfortunately, he's kind of the bastard child of the Soviet Super-Soldiers trio, as Vanguard is the central leaderly type, and Darkstar is the hot blonde who teams up with American superheroes all the time. So Major kinda just sat around the background, being a Powerhouse, while the others get to do all the cool stuff. The recent Darkstar & The Winter Guard series really tried to push him (The aforementioned "Bad-Ass Bear With a Hammer" line), but even then he kind of did his thing in the background while talking tough.

-Mikhail Ursus gained his powers at a young age and was abandoned in the mountains of Russia, using his powers to survive- showing up in the Bill Mantlo era of The Incredible Hulk, he allied with Vanguard & Darkstar, as well as the Hulk, to defeat their evil founder, Professor Phobos. Ursa Major reappeared with his team in a few side-stories, though again got the least focus, even being minor in that Soviet Super-Soldiers issue and Darkstar and the Winter Guard, which as I've said, tried and failed to make him a meme by having him say and do cool things in a rather cloying manner.

-He reappeared in a story involving Bucky "Winter Soldier" Barnes being imprisoned in Russia- a fellow inmate, he helps Bucky out. He was free later, but then showed up in ANOTHER prison, and Russia decided to bring the Winter Guard back together in Jason Aaron's Avengers run. Here, all of a sudden, Ursa Major was the central figure of the team- A violent, hard-drinking, ultra-cynical asshole, he lectured others and was extra-argumentative with anyone else, targeting American-allied super-heroes like the Black Panther and Tony Stark. Nearly attacking T'Challa at a meeting of the world's international heroes (Sabra, Arabian Knight III and Captain Britain were present), he was sent away, and was later seen insulting Gorilla-Man in another story. Someone suggests that as a former KGB agent, this is likely a put-on, and he's more calculating than he seems.

-Ursa Major is a PL 9.5 tough-guy- not as elite as Darkstar or Vanguard, but he's strong enough to brawl with The Hulk and not die (though keep in mind this was '80s Hulk, before Power Creep sank in DEEP, and he was only a Class 75 creature to start with). He mixes Bear-based Powers & Advantages with those of a Powerhouse build, but comes out pretty cheap, like most Brick-type builds do these days.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 2:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Davies »

If I were going to do something with Mikhail, I'd (a) reveal that he'd been put into a leadership position that he did not want, and started drinking to deal with it ... and now he's trying to get sober and make amends, and (b) have him go full Beorn. Eight more ranks of Growth.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Ares »

Yeah, Jason Aaron did his usual thing with Ursa Major. A big sticking point with Vanguard, Darkstar and Ursa Major when forced to work with the Crimson Dynamo was that the Dynamo of the time was a KGB operative, and none of the trio trusted him. They considered Dynamo's methods questionable, that he was too ruthless, and ultimately untrustworthy. Ursa Major was largely portrayed as a passionate but responsible type, kind of the older brother watching out for the two younger heroes, save when his temper was up and THEY had to restrain him.

So of course Aaron threw all of that out and made Ursa Major an ex-KGB operative who was a violent, hard drinking, pessimistic asshole.

Trying to make Ursa Major a meme with all of the "watch this bear do this cool thing stuff" was a bit silly and over the top, but at least it was embracing the fun of superheroes to a degree. Aaron deciding to just make up a new character and call him Ursa Major is just annoying.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 5:31 am If I were going to do something with Mikhail, I'd (a) reveal that he'd been put into a leadership position that he did not want, and started drinking to deal with it ... and now he's trying to get sober and make amends, and (b) have him go full Beorn. Eight more ranks of Growth.
I read up a bit later, and in the same scene where he attacks T'Challa, someone points out that "Ursus was *KGB*" and that his drunkenness is probably an act to disturb others and/or put on a show.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 6:05 am
Davies wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 5:31 am If I were going to do something with Mikhail, I'd (a) reveal that he'd been put into a leadership position that he did not want, and started drinking to deal with it ... and now he's trying to get sober and make amends, and (b) have him go full Beorn. Eight more ranks of Growth.
I read up a bit later, and in the same scene where he attacks T'Challa, someone points out that "Ursus was *KGB*" and that his drunkenness is probably an act to disturb others and/or put on a show.
Right, but he wasn't KGB until Jason said so. Because remember, this was a guy who lived in the wild, immediately joined up with Vanguard and Darkstar, and then spent his time being a superhero and suspicious of one ally because said ally was KGB. I'm curious when he found the time to join, get trained and become a grizzled (pun intended) member of that organization.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Widow! Red Guardians! Vanguard! Darkstar!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 6:25 am
Jabroniville wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 6:05 am
Davies wrote: Wed May 20, 2020 5:31 am If I were going to do something with Mikhail, I'd (a) reveal that he'd been put into a leadership position that he did not want, and started drinking to deal with it ... and now he's trying to get sober and make amends, and (b) have him go full Beorn. Eight more ranks of Growth.
I read up a bit later, and in the same scene where he attacks T'Challa, someone points out that "Ursus was *KGB*" and that his drunkenness is probably an act to disturb others and/or put on a show.
Right, but he wasn't KGB until Jason said so. Because remember, this was a guy who lived in the wild, immediately joined up with Vanguard and Darkstar, and then spent his time being a superhero and suspicious of one ally because said ally was KGB. I'm curious when he found the time to join, get trained and become a grizzled (pun intended) member of that organization.
Ah, OK. I wasn't sure if that was a retcon or not, not having read many of the early Ursa-Major issues.

Just say it was from the Post-Secret Wars Reboot, like Marvel's updated Cosmic scene :).
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