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

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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Goldar »

Great Wonder Man profile, and pics too of course!!

OK, yeah, I was one of those BIG WM followers you mention---but it was back in the day after Simon was originally returned to life. I admit it! :o

But back then, he was a great character for the first 25-40 issues or so! Powerful, a man of mystery, so many powers, and with a decent costume!

After that, the more they used him in Avengers and especially WCA/AWC, he became the jobber that would continue on for decades, up until even now...? :P

As far as being beaten by Mantis, well, even Thor was knocked cold by Mantis. Mantis shook off Wanda, Black Panther, Iron Man and Cap twice in that issue. BP called them the "Old-fashioned Avengers".

WM's original green/red costume makes him look so powerful and it is my favorite one. Simon was said to have Cl 95 STR when Thor and Herc could lift 100 tons, so just slightly under them. He beat Namor (1-shotted him), Vision, and with Vision defeated a very powerful Tyrak. Later on, about 2000, Marvel increased Simon's STR to CL 100, allowing him to lift over 100 tons. In the 2010s, Cap mentions that Simon is as powerful as Sentry.

As far as powers, these were from the beginning: Simon is supposed to be able to see in low-light or in darkness and can run up to 100 mph, the speed of an express train. He did this in his own book. He also possesses fast reaction time.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Ares »

I actually like Wonder Man as a character and concept, since he was in some senses Marvel's original Sentry, but better. See, the whole deal with Simon was that he was incredibly powerful. He's actually the one who keeps saying that he's "a little under Thor" when it comes to strength, you almost never see anyone else refer to him in that manner. While that might be bragging to some, with Simon it actually feels somewhat self-disparaging, like he's reminding everyone that he's good, but Thor's better. And that's sort of the crux of the issue.

Simon is Marvel's original "Man of Steel, Feet of Clay" character. He's someone who has made very human mistakes, feels immense guilt about them and thus feels unworthy of all the good things in his life. He's constantly surrounded by true paragons of virtue and feels unworthy to be in their presence. When confronting Count Nefaria, he admits that even if he's not as powerful as the Count, he should have enough power to take the Count down if he was half as good as the other Avengers. And as someone who died, he was terrified of dying again, which took him a while to overcome and, again, made perfect sense. His whole decision to get into acting was his own way of trying to gain some acceptance doing what he felt was the only thing he was good at: pretending to be a hero.

All of this can do a lot to make Simon a sympathetic character. After all, Peter Parker beats himself up constantly, suffers bad luck and often has a low opinion of himself. The problem was that to make a well rounded character, Simon needs to have other things going for him beyond that, and only some writers have ever managed to pull it off. While Peter IS down on himself frequently, he's also funny, inspiring because he always rises to the occasion, and will eventually move past his guilt and acknowledge what he does. Plus Peter has a strong sense of empathy for others and a desire to do the right thing.

When Simon gets characterization outside of "being guilt ridden/feeling unworthy", he's been all over the place. Some people portray him as a regular joe, which isn't bad but is kind of bland. Some people have him overcompensate by acting cocky, which doesn't fit. Some people made him 'average Marvel Movie Hero' where he snarks a lot, frequently about himself. People also tend to play him up as a meat head when he's actually very intelligent, was in fact a scientist, engineer and business owner, but he suffered because his main competition was TONY STARK, so naturally he went under.

Some of the better Wonder Man takes have focused on him being big on the concept of redemption, and my own take would go heavily in that direction.

Tone down the guilt and self-deprecation to tolerable levels, something where he pokes fun at himself a bit and reminds himself of his failures to keep him humble, but isn't a morose sack of self-loathing. Instead, Simon tries to take it upon himself to help others not repeat his mistakes, making him more of a "big brother" figure in the superhero community. He makes dad jokes, and is actually very good at empathizing with people, getting them to open up about their problems because he can sympathize with them, he doesn't judge and offers good, honest advice. I'd actually have him get some official psychology training from Doc Samson, so that Simon can actually serve counseling duties for the Avengers. Basically, he's good at putting people at ease and easy to talk to, able to get folks to open up around him and be themselves. At the same time, he will flat out tell people when they're being stupid and self-destructive, always adding, "Believe me, I'd know".

I'd also make Simon someone who is down on himself, but actually has a strong backbone and sense of determination. He truly does feel unworthy to be an Avenger deep down, but having let people down before, he refuses to do so any longer. Simon is someone who will nearly cripple himself to do whatever needs to be done, so it's fortunate that he's both immensely durable and can recover from most things.

I'd also have Simon be the Avengers PR guy. His time in Hollywood has taught him how to work a crowd, to talk with others, and how to speak the lingo. While Cap can immediately command the respect of a room full of people and Tony is charming, Simon knows how to relate to a crowd and view things from an "image" perspective.

I'd also keep the Hollywood connection with Simon, make him basically a unique specialist in that he can basically augment any film project he's hired for. He can do stuntwork easily. He's actually a solid actor and has done everything from schlock to actual big budget films. And I'd even have him use his science skills for both special effects work and computer effects, those being how he keeps his engineering skills sharp. And since he has superspeed, he can do a lot of the work in a fraction of the time, and his lack of need to eat or sleep lets him work long hours.

In a lot of ways, Simon would be akin to the older Johnny Cage from the later Mortal Kombat games, only his disgust with his past self is less about arrogance and more about weakness.

His relationship with Beast would basically be one of Beast finally enjoying to not be the "responsible big brother" for a change. With the X-Men, Hank is depended on to be the funny but level headed, wise, responsible science guy. Around the Avengers, he's able to relax as the members are generally more responsible (having Captain America on the team will do that), he isn't relied on as much for everything, and he can enjoy himself. In effect, Simon and Hank are two people who regret much of their lives and are trying to move forward. Together they enjoy themselves and just be "normal guys", but I'd also show they enjoy talking shop science wise, and other things.

Power wise, I'd actually have Simon be basically THE flying brick of the Avengers. He'd be on par with Thor and Hercules, his flight power gives him a lot of his mobility options, and his enhanced speed compensates for his only decent hand-to-hand training. I'd also give him a range of sensory powers due to being an energy being. Beyond that, his big thing is just how hard to kill he is. Simon is basically as unkillable as an Eternal, possibly even moreso. Beyond that, he ultimately serves a similar power role as Hyperion did under Hickman. Thor is still overall more powerful thanks to the versatility his hammer gives him, but in a straight up melee fight, it could go either way.
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drkrash
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by drkrash »

This is quite an essay on Wonder Man! There's a lot about the character that you point out that makes me see him differently.

I have to admit, though, that the name remains a stumbling block, and the decades of the red coat/sunglasses costume - along with few alternatives that were much better - and his inconsistent "pacifist phase" - all combine to make him a tough sell for me.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by greycrusader »

Wonder Man suffers from the same issue that plagues the Martian Manhunter over in JLA; he's a supposedly a top-tier powerhouse who should be capable of taking on top-tier competition, but Simon is also a minor league character who only briefly had his own book, coming a couple decades after his debut. So on a team of more popular heroes with their OWN series, its really easy for writers to show how tough/dangerous a villain is by having Simon go down hard. Then it sets up Thor, Iron Man, or (more recently) Captain Marvel to come in and look bad-ass by stepping in and taking out the foe. Heck, Grant Morrison did this several times to J'onn in his run on Justice League, and even sometimes to GL (Kyle). They get defeated after a hard but brief battle, then Superman or WW get to have a Moment of Awesome.

Your take on Simon is really spot-on in terms of his characterization, in terms of what initially worked and how/when it got derailed. Maybe an absence is needed for awhile, so more recent stories with him can be forgotten, and then Wonder Man can be reintroduced in a way that gives him a credible role, and doesn't see him overshadowed on the Avengers.

All my best.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Ares »

drkrash wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 4:02 pm This is quite an essay on Wonder Man! There's a lot about the character that you point out that makes me see him differently.
Thanks! I admit a lot of that is things I've picked up from different takes on the character and have amalgamated into a "best of" version, but I think my take would fit in with Simon's overall history and finally give him a solid enough personality that he isn't just "whatever the writer wants him to be at the time". You know, despite that being the current trend of guys like Hickman, Aaron, Millar, etc.
I have to admit, though, that the name remains a stumbling block, and the decades of the red coat/sunglasses costume - along with few alternatives that were much better - and his inconsistent "pacifist phase" - all combine to make him a tough sell for me.
I think Wonder Man is a solid, classic comic name that's only a little awkward because DC has Wonder Woman. I do agree that Simon suffers a lot from "whatever the writer wants" syndrome, so they keep trying to make him "interesting" with things like being a pacifist. Ultimately, I think my take works better in the long run.

His costumes have been all over the place, as a lot of them have been REALLY ugly. I think if I were going to give Simon an outfit, I'd go one of two routes.

The first is a slightly modified version of his solo series outfit:

Image

Or a slightly modified version of his current outfit:

Image

Either way, I'd keep the Kirby Krackle around him.
"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! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Ares »

greycrusader wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 4:10 pm Wonder Man suffers from the same issue that plagues the Martian Manhunter over in JLA; he's a supposedly a top-tier powerhouse who should be capable of taking on top-tier competition, but Simon is also a minor league character who only briefly had his own book, coming a couple decades after his debut. So on a team of more popular heroes with their OWN series, its really easy for writers to show how tough/dangerous a villain is by having Simon go down hard. Then it sets up Thor, Iron Man, or (more recently) Captain Marvel to come in and look bad-ass by stepping in and taking out the foe. Heck, Grant Morrison did this several times to J'onn in his run on Justice League, and even sometimes to GL (Kyle). They get defeated after a hard but brief battle, then Superman or WW get to have a Moment of Awesome.
Yeah, writers are really bad about having a "second best" guy around to sell their preferred character. In some ways I feel that writing a team book is much like running a tabletop RPG. Even if you have a favorite character/player, you can''t make it obvious which one is your favorite. Everyone needs to have their moment to shine, to have something to do, and a chance to look good. I'd honestly love to subvert the hell out of this and have Thor or Superman lose to an opponent, no strings attached, only to have J'onn, Diana, Simon or Hercules come in and win, again with no strings. Show that it's often a "any given day" type of deal. Or hell, if Superman does beat a guy who just defeated J'onn, have Superman make it clear that he only won because J'onn had already weakened the guy and worn him down.

Or better yet, have the menace be someone that requires BOTH Simon and Thor or J'onn and Clark to win via TEAMWORK instead of one guy grabbing all the glory.
Your take on Simon is really spot-on in terms of his characterization, in terms of what initially worked and how/when it got derailed. Maybe an absence is needed for awhile, so more recent stories with him can be forgotten, and then Wonder Man can be reintroduced in a way that gives him a credible role, and doesn't see him overshadowed on the Avengers.

All my best.
Thanks! Glad you like it. And yeah, Simon could easily take 6 months to a year our time, and come back after having "gotten his head together" and be more in line with my suggestion. Maybe have him spending time with Doc Samson dealing with his issues, and then learning to help people deal with theirs, while also working on building a good support network for the Avengers, developing contacts, working in the film industry, etc.
"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."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Ares »

And I went back and re-colored Simon's Kirby Krackle to match his eye color. I think it works.
"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! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Woodclaw »

As insane as it might sound, the Avengers were my gateway drug into the idea of continuity. My first "real" (read bought with my own money) Marvel comic was a three-issue collection of the main arc of Acts of Vengeance, I was 8 or so at the time and I read those comics to death, which pretty much cemented the Avengers as my favorite team. Now, if you think that being an Avengers' fan was hard for you, boy you've no idea what I had to go through.
I already touched on the insane publication issues of Marvel comics in the past, but I think no other group of characters had the issues of the Avengers. I'm going into the details this time, suffice to say that in 1992, in one of the first issues of the newly minted Marvel Extra (a container book built around the West Coast Avengers from the Byrne and Thomas era) there was a letter from a fan saying: "It's not that I dislike the Avengers, but their stories are so old" and he was right. When Marvel Italia took over all the publications in 1992, the Avengers were still stuck at the tail end of the Stern era, the West Coast team was out of the prints since the end of the "Time Travel/Phantom Rider" storyline and I'm not even going into the solo books of Cap, Thor and Iron Man. In general, it was a mess and to bring everything into continuity with the Spidey books (the gold standard at that point), the Marvel Italia team had to cut and paste a lot of stuff.
So, being a fan of the Avengers in those days was like being a fan of third class sports team that had a great run decades ago... and this was before everyone went crazy on mangas.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by M4C8 »

IMHO Simon's power level should be just below the top tier (characters such as Thor, Hulk, Hercules, Sentry etc.) he wouldn't normally be able to defeat such characters but he comes close and should be treated as such. I read a theory somewhere (it may have been on these boards) as to why Simon only occasionally shows random abilities such as energy blasts, size changing and becoming pure energy. The theory was that while, with extreme effort, he can access these abilities it disrupts the cohesion of his body which can negatively effect of his mental health (which would go to explain his history of personality changes), at worst he could even reach the point where he no longer has the mental strength to maintain a physical form, dissipating into nothingness (though he could always reformed through the actions of others)
His healthy baseline should be his strength, durability and flight while the other abilities should only be accessed as a 'we're all going to die anyway' last ditch effort.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Goldar »

I thought Simon turning into energy, size changing by energy and energy blasts were things from loonnng ago, after he died in Forceworks and then returned?

I didn't think Simon kept these energy powers for long and certainly not in the last 15 years or more. Is this incorrect?

Simon is about Strength, Stamina, Durability and Flight (low to mid-tier). What other characters would be on Simon's STR level?
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by M4C8 »

Goldar wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 8:11 pm I thought Simon turning into energy, size changing by energy and energy blasts were things from loonnng ago, after he died in Forceworks and then returned?

I didn't think Simon kept these energy powers for long and certainly not in the last 15 years or more. Is this incorrect?

Simon is about Strength, Stamina, Durability and Flight (low to mid-tier). What other characters would be on Simon's STR level?
Recently During 'No Surrender' he was shown in his energy form which allowed him to warp (basically teleport) great distances and through containment fields. He's was also shown to be able to interact with and manipulate EM fields/energy.

I'd say Captain Britain could be on Simon's level or potentially even higher, after his resurrection with his 'belief' powers he was shown accomplishing feats which put him up there as one of the most powerful heroes on Earth, sadly though subsequent writers seemed to forget his upgrade. Of course who knows what his powers are now since Betsy got the push as the new 'Captain Britain'
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The Grim Reaper

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Okay, I had NO idea he used to look like that, lol.

THE GRIM REAPER (Eric Williams)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & John Buscema
First Appearance: The Avengers #52 (May 1968)
Role: Wannabe Major Villain
Group Affiliations: The Maggia, The Legion of the Unliving, HYDRA, The Lethal Legion, The Sinister Six
PL 10 (138)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Scythe) 2 (+12)
Deception 7 (+9)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 8 (+10)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+8)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Perception 6 (+8)
Technology 4 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 4, Improved Critical (Scythe), Improved Smash, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Ritualist

Powers:
"Reaper Armour" (Flaws: Removable) [28]
"Stun" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Feats: Reversible) (Extras: Cumulative) (21) -- (26)
  • AE: "Scythe Strike" Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Improved Critical, Penetrating 8) (Extras: Multiattack 7) (20)
  • AE: "Shielding Blade" Enhanced Dodge & Parry 1 (2)
  • AE: Electro-Magnetic Blast 10 (20)
  • AE: "Knock-Out Gas Pellets" Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area-Cloud, Ranged) (Diminished Range -1) (20)
  • AE: Weaken Strength 8 (8)
Protection 3 (Extras: Impervious 5) (8)
-- (34 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Scythe +12 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Stun +10 (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Blast +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Knock-Out Gas +7 Area (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Weaken Strength +10 (+8 Weaken, DC 18)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+11 Scythe, DC 20-21), Parry +10 (+11, DC 20-21), Toughness +5 (+8 Armour), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Revenge on The Avengers)- Eric blames The Avengers for his brother's Simon's death as Wonder Man, and remains evil even after Simon is resurrected (initially refusing to believe that Wonder Man was actually Simon).
Disabled (One Arm)- One of Eric's arms is a Scythe.
Relationship (Nekra)- They're often seen dating, especially back in the 1970s.
Reputation (Revolving Door To The Afterlife)- Seriously. Makes Jean Grey look like Uncle Ben.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 28 / Defenses: 12 (138)

The Grim Reaper- The Ultimate Death Immunity:
-The Grim Reaper seemed like a decent villain at first, but just kinda crapped out over the years. Problem was, despite his great villain name (I mean, it's hard to do better than GRIM REAPER), he had little going for him other than that (with a whole "bad son" thing leading him to a life of crime and that was it), and being the arch-villain of Thor-Lite and being repeatedly resurrected didn't help matters. By the time the '80s rolled around, he was nowhere near the level of a team threat, and so was easily brushed aside for whatever goofy storyline Marvel felt like giving him. Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes made a solid attempt at resurrecting his character (like they did with Hank Pym), except he was really just being used as a Villainous Mook, and eventually he was getting SERIOUSLY trounced in mere seconds by other guys, which was kind of a waste. Still better than the "Dies every other month" guy from the comics, though.

The Reaper's History:
-The Reaper started off fighting the Avengers over a grudge- he blamed them for the death of his brother, Simon "Wonder Man" Williams. He beat several members of the team, but the Black Panther- a new member- defeated him in turn. His backstory was developed over time- he was the sinister, animal-torturing "evil brother" to Simon, forming Maggia ties and avoiding the family business- guilt and anger drove him to try and avenge the brother he'd failed in life. Eric formed the Lethal Legion (a "Masters of Evil Lite" team with Man-Ape, Living Laser, Power Man/Goliath & Swordsman) and tried again, but gave up when he discovered that The Vision was based off of Simon's brainwaves. He then placed Vision in Wonder Man's body, "resurrecting" his brother, then had him resurrected PROPERLY thanks to The Black Talon.

-He was killed in the ultra-boring Vision & The Scarlet Witch Limited Series, having fallen off a cliff while hunting the new Wonder Man, whom he believed to be a mere simulacrum of his brother. When he realized that Nekra brought him back as a zombie, he dissolved. He got resurrected by Immortus, then died again, and was resurrected AGAIN by his girlfriend Nekra, as a zombie that had to drain life every 24 hours- he killed Nekra first, then joined up with Ultron. He was finally fully restored by the Scarlet Witch, then kind of vanished into minor stuff after that as a kind of Journeyman Villain, being a mere eyeblink in Ultron Unlimited (despite saving the captive Avengers).

-The Grim Reaper showed up repeatedly in the years following this, but always in a minor role somewhere, like being imprisoned with other villains on The Raft. He was killed for a FIFTH TIME via a stabbing set up by Norman Osborn (for opposing him during Dark Reign). This set up a SIXTH resurrection as a minion of Amatsu-Mikaboshi during Chaos War, but he dies at the end, along with Nekra. Then we get what MUST be a record- a SEVENTH FREAKING RESURRECTION, during The Uncanny Avengers, attacking the Avengers Unity Squad (which featured Wonder Man) and their debut press conference- Rogue seemingly kills him after absorbing too much of Simon's power. Oh, but don't worry- the Celestial Death Seed resurrects him (EIGHT!) and he's recruited by the Apocalypse Twins as the new Horseman of Death- he manages to survive the storyline, fleeing after the Twins fail. He reappears in the Vision solo book, hunting down the family over a past grudge with Vizh, but is accidentally killed by Vision's robo-wife Virginia, who hides his corpse in a bit of black comedy. And then he's resurrected for a ninth time, reborn when Doctor Strange uses his power to restore Las Vegas.

Eric Williams- Failed Journeyman Villain:
-So yes, Eric Williams has really been killed and resurrected NINE TIMES, though some of those are within the same story arc and as a zombie at points. But still, that's like three times what Jean Grey got. Though I suppose if you name a guy "Grim Reaper" he's gonna have issues staying in the ground. The trouble with him is, despite that AWESOME name, and the fairly-great visual of the Scythe-Arm, he's just some generic "Journeyman Villain" whose reason for villainy is nothing more than "The Avengers got my brother killed", which ceased being appealing once Simon came back for real. Then Eric just developed a brotherly grudge and acted like a doofus, and writers stopped giving a crap about him- he sat out most of the 1990s, and the 2000s era used him as a filler, disposable douchebag. really, there's just nothing to this guy.

The Grim Reaper's Powers:
-This is a generic Grim Reaper build, ignoring that weirdness where he became a zombie, and his magical powers (if you REALLY want a magical Reaper, just toss Summon Minions 5 with Horde on him, or even give him the full zombie repertoire of Immunity 30). What you get is basically an under-pointed, barely PL 10 villain (PL 9.5 overall), dependent on allies, minions, planning and assorted extra stuff to make a difference. In full-on combat with the entire Avengers, he's just a messy smear. Looking at his history, that makes a fair bit of sense- he pretty much never wins a melee with the team, it's all plotting and trickery for him. For his Scythe, I just tossed a whole bunch of Alt-Effects onto a nasty Multiattack, Penetrating Strike (it works like a chainsaw, hitting multiple times per shot), from his Blast to his Weaken Strength power, basically using everything he's ever done just to build his points up. He still comes up short, though.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 4:59 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Davies »

I will say that the 'final' confrontation between Simon and Eric in V&SW #2 is a pretty moving scene. Eric is finally confronted with the reality that, yes, Wonder Man is Simon, when Simon finally admits that he really did embezzle from their company rather than being framed by Eric ... and Eric can't really handle it. So he imitates Javert. Corny, maybe, but ten year old Davies found it one of the most dramatic things I'd ever read. (Had I read the follow-up, ten months later, I probably would have been annoyed, but my reading patterns were eclectic to say the least.)
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stalin! Avengers Builds! Wonder Man!)

Post by Tattooedman »

Well if I had to pick one of those choices Jab I'd have to pick Image just to see your commentary.
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:45 pm
LOl- "The Tattooed Man"? What kind of ABSOLUTE DILDO would refer to himself as "The Tattooed Man" :P!?!
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Splice

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

SPLICE II (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Gerard Jones & Jeff Johnson
First Appearance: Wonder Man #4 (Dec. 1991)
Role: Jobber Villain
PL 9 (118), PL 10 (118) to Wonder Man & Other Ionic Types
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+7)
Athletics 2 (+4, +10)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Mercenary) 3 (+5)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Powered Exo-Skeleton" (Flaws: Removable) [44]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Protection 6 (Extras: Impervious 5) (11)

"Gas Pellets" Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Ranged) (18) -- (22)
  • AE: "Extendable Blades" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split, Penetrating 4) (6)
  • AE: "Throwing Stars" Blast 4 (Extras: Multiattack) (12)
  • AE: "Grenade Pellets" Blast 6 (Feats: Variable Descriptor- Blast or Electroshock) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (16)
  • AE: "Ion-Dampening Pellets" Affliction 10 (Fort; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed to Powerless) (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to Energy Powers, Limited to Ionic Energy) (5)
-- (55 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Exo-Skeleton +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Extendable Blades +8 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Gas Pellets +6 Area (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Throwing Stars +9 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Grenades +6 Area (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Ion-Dampening Pellets +9 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+9 Exo-Skeleton, +3 Impervious), Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Splice is a murderer-for-hire, and kills people for money.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 2 (118)

-Splice is a do-nothing Mercenary Villain created to fight Wonder Man in his own short-lived solo book (it's always bizarre to me that even WONDER MAN earned his own book in the '90s- this is a guy who was basically a "recurring back-from-the-dead-guy" for almost his entire existence, then became Thor-Lite. How'd HE end up getting his own book?). He basically just hunted Simon a bunch, and fought him some times. Since he's a low-level guy on a low-level book, he completely vanished, but like many obscure guys from '92 to '93, he GOT HIS OWN MARVEL CARD, on a set where people like Jean Grey & Kitty Pryde never did.

-Splice started out as a promising young actor, but never got his big break, and was fired from a sitcom when a child star working on it didn't like him. Humiliated by being fired by an 11-year old, he quit the business and like most failed actors, became a professional assassin. Desperate for control over his life, he found it by gaining the power to take it from others. Finally, after many years, that child star became one of his victims (haha jesus this is dark), and Splice started to make mini-movies out of his hits. The crime-boss Lotus Newmark hired him on, soon taking him as a lover, and sent him against her nemesis, Wonder Man. He nearly killed the hero (HOW?!?), but Simon's girlfriend arrived and distracted him long enough for the hero to escape. Finally, Splice was electrocuted and beaten.

-He was broken out of prison by Newmark and teamed up with her other agent, Rampage, and sent to kill a band of rookie heroes called the "Crazy 8" (a bunch of Wonder Man supporting characters). They beat the heroes badly, but Wonder Man arrived, and lashed out at the two villains (his girlfriend was one of the 8, and was stabbed by Splice in revenge for her prior interference), savagely beating both of them. Splice has never been seen again.

-Guys like Splice can prove annoying, as they basically act like your standard Jobber Villain, providing a brief challenge and then losing... but this guy's opponent was WONDER MAN, a guy powerful enough to fight friggin' Hyperion or Thor and come out breathing. So PL 8.5-ish stats, plus the ability to de-power Wonder Man momentarily (only Simon, Goliath/Atlas, and Ion would presumably be affected by his Ion-Dampeners), is enough to justify him challenging Wondy.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Apr 11, 2023 12:56 am, edited 2 times in total.
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