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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Goldar
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Emma Frost! Chamber! Banshee! Synch! The Neo!)

Post by Goldar »

Spam wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2017 7:07 pm
Goldar wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2017 6:51 pm Ah, so I am, friend Spam! Thank you.

He sort of looked like Sunder, didn't he? Same power-set?
Both big strong bald guys. What they need is flowing blonde hair and maybe be 50 tall and made of gold to make them stand out.
Hahaha.

Quite true, yup!

See, Ken, I am 50 feet tall! I am!! :shock:
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Gene Nation

Post by Jabroniville »

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GENE NATION:

-Gene Nation came about during that phase of the X-Books where I kinda stopped paying attention. These guys are the descendents of a group of Morlocks that Mikhail Rasputin (Colossus' space-warping brother) had taken away from Earth and brought to a dimension called The Hill. Ten to twenty years pass, and they return to Earth only months after they'd left. Naturally, they've got murder on their minds- angry over their disenfranchisement, these Morlocks decide to kill one human for every Morlock life lost during the Mutant Massacre.

-The most prominent member of the team is the grouchy, murderous Marrow (who was only a child when the team had left)- she plans on executing Leech for being "weak", but Emma Frost (freshly turned into a hero at this point) saves the day, and Storm rips out Marrow's heart (luckily, she had two). Later, she's able to fight her way to the top of The Hill and defeats Mikhail, and Gene Nation moves to the real world, starting a new life near her old hom ein Africa. Naturally, because they're MORLOCKS, life has to totally suck, and so they're attacked by bigots in Humanity's Last Stand, and by Dark Beast, who recruits many of them to fight Generation X. This is the last they're seen as a large group, and most are thought-dead due to an explosion. Some members would reappear later on.

-As a whole, the group come off very much like the "Sketchpad Characters" that make up earlier Jobber Villain groups like The Dark Riders, The Mutant Liberation Front, and more. However, rather than being Dork Age stereotypes, they're more akin to the Joe Madureira-type Anime-Inspired types of characters- deformed bodies, exaggerated physiques, huge grimaces, and energetic poses. It's an interesting look at a similar concept (Jobber Villain Team), but keyed to a slightly different era (funny, given that they're only about 5-7 years behind the MLF or Riders).

-The group is interesting mainly because it shows how later writers struggled with Chris Claremont taking the "Morlock" group off the table in the late '80s. As a group, the Morlocks were a PERFECT symbol of the worst part of being a mutant- characters with obvious freakish deformities that were the ULTIMATE victims of prejudice- unlike the mostly-beautiful X-Men, they couldn't pass for human, and so their lives were absolute garbage. They had a ton of great stories, all involving their disenfranchisement- most were bitter; on several occasions they kidnap prettier people and force them to live in the Tunnels beneath New York- Callisto kidnaps Angel, Annalee kidnaps Power Pack, and Caliban kidnaps Kitty Pryde: In all three cases, all the Morlocks wanted was companionship (Callisto & Caliban had romantic intentions; Annalee just wanted more children after hers had died).

-Them being bait for prejudice, and being minor Supporting Characters, also made them easy "Victims": The Mutant Massacre exterminated all but the handful of most-famous characters, and effectively "removed them from the sandbox", so to speak- with only a few left, future writers couldn't write the kind of stories Claremont did. The solution? Later writers did it ANYWAYS, creating a constant stream of "survivors of the Massacre", doing the exact same things the Morlocks always did. In one Uncanny story, they start a massive riot after one little Mutant boy controls them (Jean Grey is forced to execute MeMe before he permanently-absorbs several innocent people into his body). In a Wolverine story, he & Shatterstar have a '90s-style team-up to wipe out some evil thugs (The Vidkids) who are videotaping their murders of Morlock stragglers. And of course THIS story, which creates ANOTHER band of survivors.

GENE NATION TEMPLATE
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Brian Hitch
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men #322 (July 1995)
Role: Nasty Minions
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation
PL 6 (52)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 6 (+5)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Various"

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +2

Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Most members of Gene Nation have extremely-obvious mutations.
Motivation (Destruction)- Having been taught only hatred and anger, the members of Gene Nation are aggressive and overly-hostile to everyone, and can be easily-led into acts of terror and murder.

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (52)

-Most members of Gene Nation are short-tempered, aggressive and hateful individuals, having been twisted by the stories told to them by Mikhail & Callisto, their adoptive "Parents". They're muscular and dangerous, but barely above Minions when in large numbers, hitting PL 5 in melee and PL 6 on defense. Some have pretty clever powers, however.

Members:
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CHARM- PL 6 (62): Strength 6, Stamina 6, Agility 3, Fighting 6 [10]
-Apparently never seen using his powers, Charm appears in the Storm Limited Series, and was never seen again afterwards. Apparently he has enhanced physical abilities.

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REVERB- PL 7 (89): Senses 1 (Radius Sight), Remote Sensing 4 (Vision), "Mental Blast" Blast 7 (Extras: Perception-Ranged, Will Save) [37]
-Reverb's just a Jobber- he attempts to attack Storm's mind while she's fighting Marrow, but Storm's naturally-high Will Save wins out, and she IMPALES HIM on one of Marrow's bone-knives, killing him! Storm is BAD-ASS.

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D'GARD- PL 10 (62): "Empathy" Mind-Reading 10 (Flaws: Limited to Emotions) [10]
-D'Gard took over leadership from Storm after Gene Nation's battle in Africa, but admitted he had great respect for her. He was executed by Marrow in order to prove her loyalty to the Weapon X program- she apparently felt bad about this.

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BOOST- PL 6 (72): "Boost Others" Variable 4 (Extras: Affects Others Only +0) (Flaws: Limited to Mutants, Limited to Boosting Established Powers) [20]
-Just a background member. In a relationship with Tether.

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TETHER- PL 6 (64) Agility 4, Electrical Damage 6 (Feats: Reach), "Claws" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split) [12]
-Boost's Reptilian girlfriend, with an electrified tail. She blamed Storm for the deaths of many members in Africa, when "Humanity's Last Stand" attacked.

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EVER- PL 6 (55) Strength -1, Stamina -1, Agility 0, Communication (Mental) 2, Move Object 8, Astral Projection 8 [3]
-Ever is weak and thus never got involved in any battles with his team, but joined Havok's "Brotherhood", where he was quickly killed. Apparently he's got great mental powers (he's living Gray Matter), but his physicality prevents him from being useful.

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LOSS- PL 8 (56): "Bone Spikes on Wrists" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Split) [4]
-Loss was part of Mikhail's Personal Guard, but was never more than a Backgrounder, and hasn't been seen since the Nation showed up in Africa. A younger person that looked a great deal like her was later seen being devoured by a Predator X in modern times- possibly her daughter (though it's just as likely it was meant to be her, and the artist just drew her too young).

ImageImage

FEVER PITCH- PL 8 (111): Fire Blast 8 (Accurate 6), Flame Aura 7, Environment 2 (Extreme Heat 2), Immunity 5 (Piercing Damage) [59]
-A walking skeleton who always casts off flame. He was basically "inhaled" by X-Man, who siphoned off his power, but resurfaced during a Mutant brawl in Berlin, where some members of "X-Corps" (a branch of Professor X's larger company during a brief arc where they were trying to utilize all the un-used characters). He retained his powers after M-Day, but he was injected with a mutated strand of the Legacy Virus by The Leper Queen's Sapien League (?), and flared out in a manner that killed dozens of Friends of Humanity supporters. And so he died, taking several bigots with him.

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OPSIDIAN THE DARK- PL 8 (103): "Pure Darkness" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Flaws: Limited to Within Darkness), Elongation 5, Shapeshift 2, "Supernatural Feeling of Cold & Fear" Affliction 7 (Fort; Hindered, Vulnerable & Fatigued/Defenseless, Immobilized & Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable, Extra Condition +2) [51]
-A pretty classic "Darkforce"-type character, showed up with Dark Beast's crew, but disappeared following the battle with Generation X after being easily-defeated when Synch reflected Fever Pitch's fire into him. And yes, it's Opsidian, not Obsidian.

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IRON MAIDEN II- PL 8 (89): Strength 8, Stamina 8, Agility 4, Increased Mass 2, "Spikes" Damaging Aura 2, Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent) [37]
-A highly-dense Mutant with spikes all over her, she was on Dark Beast's squad. She attacked Husk and hurt her, but M KO'd her pretty easily.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Dec 02, 2022 4:53 am, edited 4 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
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Integer

Post by Jabroniville »

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INTEGER
Created By:
Terry Kavanagh & Luke Ross
First Appearance: X-Man #50 (April 1999)
Role: Weird Power Guy
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation
PL 9 (97)
STRENGTH
-- STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+3)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 6 (+8)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Mathematical Probability"
"Projects Binary Thought" Blast 9 (Extras: Perception-Ranged, Will Save) [36]
Concealment 2 (Visuals) [4]
Insubstantial 4 [20]

Offense:
Unarmed --
Projects Binary Thought -- (+9 Perception-Ranged Will Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +2

Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Most members of Gene Nation have extremely-obvious mutations.
Motivation (Destruction)- Having been taught only hatred and anger, the members of Gene Nation are aggressive and overly-hostile to everyone, and can be easily-led into acts of terror and murder.

Total: Abilities: 16 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 60 / Defenses: 9 (97)

-Your token "F'd up Power Guy", Integer exists as a "mathematical probability". He managed to defeat both Synch and NATE GREY with his Mental Blast, but an explosion of energy took him out- he was never seen again.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Vessel

Post by Jabroniville »

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VESSEL
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Brian Hitch
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men #322 (July 1995)
Role: Growing Guy
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation
PL 8 (53)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6, +14 Size)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 6 (+5, +9 Size)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+4, -4 Size)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Soul-Absorption"
Growth 8 (Str & Sta +8, +8 Mass, +4 Intimidation, -4 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -8 Stealth) -- (30 feet) (Flaws: Source- Souls of the Recently-Deceased) [8]
Regeneration 4 (Flaws: Source- Souls of the Recently-Deceased) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Size +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2 (+10 Full Size), Fortitude +3 (+11 Full Size), Will +2

Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Most members of Gene Nation have extremely-obvious mutations.
Motivation (Destruction)- Having been taught only hatred and anger, the members of Gene Nation are aggressive and overly-hostile to everyone, and can be easily-led into acts of terror and murder.

Total: Abilities: 22 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 7 (53)

-Vessel has Size-Changing Powers, but only if he absorbs the "Souls" of the recently-deceased. He shares powers with Hemingway, but with a weakness that makes him worse. He was thought-dead during the fight against Generation X, but reappeared much later on. Just a generic Goon backing up Marrow most of the time, he was killed defending her from Weapon X's Agent Zero (better known as Maverick). His Flaws make him absurdly-cheap for a PL 8.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Membrain

Post by Jabroniville »

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MEMBRAIN
Created By:
Jay Faerber & Terry Dodson
First Appearance: Generation X #50 (April 1999)
Role: Odd-Powered Guy
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation
PL 8 (104)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+7)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 6 (+5)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+4)

Advantages: 
Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Membrane-Like Being"
"Mucous Form" Insubstantial 1 [5]
"Mucous Shot" Affliction 8 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Feats: Accurate 3) (Extras: Ranged, Multiattack) [27]
Remote Sensing (Vision) 10 (Flaws: Limited to Places He's Left Parts of Himself) [10]
Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Flaws: Blending) [2]
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Slithering) [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Mucous Shot +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +5, Fortitude +6, Will +2

Complications: 
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Most members of Gene Nation have extremely-obvious mutations.
Motivation (Destruction)- Having been taught only hatred and anger, the members of Gene Nation are aggressive and overly-hostile to everyone, and can be easily-led into acts of terror and murder.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 48 / Defenses: 9 (104)

-Membrain first appeared with Dark Beast's group of Gene Nation, and managed to single-handedly take down M and Synch, the two most-powerful members of Generation X, in the opening salvo of the battle. Emma Frost discovered him while he attempted to hide out, however, and rendered him "inert" with a powerful Psionic Blast. He hasn't been seen since. His powers are rather interesting, though.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sack

Post by Jabroniville »

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SACK (aka Glass)
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Brian Hitch
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men #322 (July 1995)
Role: Nasty Minion
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation
PL 8 (103)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 6 (+5)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+4)

Advantages: 
Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Semi-Liquid Gel Over Skeleton"
"Semi-Solid Form" Immunity 10 (Piercing Damage, Ballistics) [10]
"Body Control" Affliction 8 (Fort; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Sustained +2) (Flaws: Limited to One Victim -2, Instant Recovery) Linked to Weaken Stamina 8 (Extras: Sustained +2, Progressive +2) (Flaws: Limited to Afflicted Opponents) [36]
Regeneration 5 [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Body Control +8 (+8 Affliction & Weaken, DC 18 & 18)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +2

Complications: 
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Most members of Gene Nation have extremely-obvious mutations.
Motivation (Destruction)- Having been taught only hatred and anger, the members of Gene Nation are aggressive and overly-hostile to everyone, and can be easily-led into acts of terror and murder.

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 51 / Defenses: 9 (103)

-Sack is one of the first members of Gene Nation seen, but changes his name to "Glass" in the Storm Limited Series. He is oddly not seen with the group after that (skipping the Africa & Gen-X stories), only to reappear as one of "The 198" Post-M-Day, and camped out on the X-Mansion's lawn. When the X-Men move to Utopia, he attempts to take control of the island by taking some younger X-Kids hostage, but Psylocke & Dazzler beat him. Sack is later decapitated by a Nimrod during a big invasion, and another crushes his skull.

-Sack is Semi-Liquid, and has the power to control people he wraps in the clear membrane of his body. That is, until they die- this means it's a Linked Affliction (Body Control- like Mind Control, but with a Fortitude Save), and Weaken (Progressive). There's enough Flaws out there to neutralize its effectiveness a bit, but it's pretty nasty if it works.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Hemingway

Post by Jabroniville »

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HEMINGWAY (aka Pain)
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Brian Hitch
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men #322 (July 1995)
Role: Growing Guy
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation
PL 9 (52)
STRENGTH
2/12 STAMINA 4/14 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 8 (+7, +12 Full Size)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+2, -8 Size)

Advantages: 
Fast Grab, Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Growth"
Growth 10 (Str & Sta +10, +10 Mass, +5 Intimidation, -5 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -10 Stealth) -- (42 feet) [20]
"Arm Spikes" Strength-Damage +2 (Flaws: Limited to Lower Sizes) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Arm Spikes +6 (+4-10 Damage, DC 19-25)
Full Size +6 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +2
"Full Size" Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +1 (DC 11), Toughness +14, Fortitude +15, Will +2

Complications: 
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Most members of Gene Nation have extremely-obvious mutations.
Motivation (Destruction)- Having been taught only hatred and anger, the members of Gene Nation are aggressive and overly-hostile to everyone, and can be easily-led into acts of terror and murder.

Total: Abilities: 22 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 21 / Defenses: 9 (69)

-Hemingway is probably the most-prominent member of Gene Nation outside of Marrow and the established characters of Mikhail & Callisto. Enormous and with spiked arms, he also looks the most '90s of the crew. He typically appeared as part of Marrow's Personal Bodyguard alongside Vessel, who also had Growth powers. He lost to Storm in her climb up The Hill, as well as Gaia of Generation X. Maverick, now Agent Zero, was furious at being manipulated by Gene Nation into killing Bolt (formerly a New Warrior), and so ran through Gene Nation, executing the various members, finally putting bullets in Vessel & Hemingway's brains.

-Pretty simplistic, Hemingway is also quite dangerous at full size. However, he also jobs a fair bit, so his Defenses are complete garbage- if he's not at full size, he's barely PL 5 defensively, and a sitting duck for almost any superhuman.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Goldar
Posts: 1229
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 2:10 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Sunder! Leech! Caliban! Masque! Gene Nation!)

Post by Goldar »

I don't remember Gene Nation from the comics, but from the video game.

And the Healer saying, "Gene Nation, indeed!"
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Marrow

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

MARROW (Sarah, Last Name Unknown, aka "Sarah Rushman")
Created By:
Jeph Loeb & David Brewer (child), Scott Lobdell & Joe Madureira (adult)
First Appearance: Cable #15 (Sept. 1994- as child), X-Men: Prime (as adult)
Role: Wolverine Clone #2347, Claw Girl, The Berserker, The Scrapper
Group Affiliations: The Morlocks, Gene Nation, The X-Men, X-Cell, S.H.I.E.L.D.
PL 9 (122)
STRENGTH
5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10)
Deception 6 (+5)
Expertise (Sewer Dweller) 5 (+5)
Insight 3 (+3)
Intimidation 8 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 8 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Bones) 4 (+11)
Stealth 4 (+9)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Defensive Roll, Diehard, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Bones), Improved Smash, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Ranged Attack 5, Track

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Constantly Growing Bones"
"Bone Firing" Blast 4 (Extras: Multiattack) (12) -- [13]
  • AE: "Stab With Bones" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Split, Reach) (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
"Bone Shielding"
Enhanced Dodge & Parry 1 [2]
Protection 1 [1]
Regeneration 4 [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Bone Spurs +10 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Bone Firing +11 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +6, Fortitude +9, Will +4

Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- With vivid pink skin and bones sticking out from her epidermis at all times, Marrow cannot pass for an ordinary human.
Hatred (Humans)- Like many Morlocks, Sarah both hates and fears ordinary humans, and at one point attempted mass murder on them.
Responsibility (Adversarial)- The above problems tend to make Marrow hard to get along with- she is antagonistic to others, and flirts with people who aren't interested (mainly Cannonball).
Relationship (Callisto)- Sarah views Callisto as a mother-figure.
Relationship (Peter Parker)- She dated him for a while when Mary-Jane was thought dead. Thankfully, this went nowhere.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 13 (122)

Marrow- Wolverine Clone #5792:
-Marrow is yet another failed experiment from the 1990s time period (though later than most "EXTREEEEEEEEEEME" killer types), as she was brought in as one of the new Morlocks, then forced onto the X-Men after countless evil acts to see if they could reform her. Problem was, they both made her arrogant, and made her ugly. And we all know my theory on why THAT trick never works (in short: men don't like ugly chicks, and women don't want to BE ugly chicks. Men are much more likely to accept an ugly male character, because male fantasies tend to be less about "being hot" than "getting the girl regardless of looks"). Think of all the popular bitchy or mean women out there in comics, and how popular they are (Emma Frost chief among them)- all are pretty hot, most of them fantasticaly so. Even doing "not classically attractive" works, because you had the bratty, snotty Terra in the Teen Titans books, and fans LOVED her (and many refused to believe she was evil, even when they outright stated it), flat-chested tomboy-types can also work (early Kitty Pryde, SOME people like Jubilee, too, though I'm not one of them). But a cranky-pants like Marrow, or Pantha from the later Titans? Never seems to work. It's like Snow White said in Fables: you can't get away with both being ugly AND unpleasant. Especially if you're a girl.

-Marrow was a young child when the Morlocks vanished along with Mikhail Rasputin into another dimension- harsh training and a Social Darwinist philosophy led her and most of Gene Nation into becoming strong, ruthless fighters. By the time they returned to Earth, Marrow was an adult, viewing Callisto as a loving foster mother. She & Gene Nation engaged in a genocidal terrorist campaign against humanity, which led the X-Men to stop them- Marrow wired a time bomb to her own heart in order to force the X-Men to either yield or kill her... since Storm is BAD-ASS, she tore out Marrow's heart! METAL. Luckily (and unbeknownst to Storm), Marrow had a spare (oh comics), and so she survived.

Marrow the X-Woman:
-After Operation: Zero Tolerance and Callisto's injury at the hands of the Prime Sentinels, Marrow ended up joining the X-Men under orders from mommy, alongside luminaries such as Maggott (this was the "New X-Men Era" which also saw Cannonball & Dr. Cecilia Reyes add new membership to the X-Men for the first time in a while). Here, she was the "Token Evil Teammate" (given that she threatened to kill THOUSANDS, I'm gonna say she shouldn't be... y'know, allowed to just walk around), prone to arguing with the entire rest of the team, and flirting with the "aw, shucks" Plucky Rookie Cannonball. She was basically "Wolverine Lite" for a long time, doing the "Berserker Rages" thing, having bladed weapons and being a general pain in the ass... but with none of the more mature aspects of Logan's personality, making her come off quite a bit more annoying. Ultimately, she ended up getting a device that let her control her powers better, which rendered her a pretty girl.

-Curiously, even this "Pretty Marrow" proved to be a failure, as this also made her personality go much softer and gentler, which kind of removed what little characterization she HAD. This new, boring Marrow left the team very shortly, at which point she essentially never mattered again. After this, her appearances are one-offs and quickies, as she is brainwashed by S.H.I.E.L.D. to hunt down rogue Life Model Decoys, worked for Weapon X, and lost her powers on M-Day. Though she retains some physical attributes (such as her "horns"), she lacks her powers any longer. She regained them for what looks to be an odd X-Force arc in 2014, where she regains her powers thanks to some nasty villain, but terminates her pregnancy in the process. In the end... she's been a rather pointless character. Little involved with the Morlocks; Gene Nation was a failure; her X-run is largely regarded as a "Dork Age" for the book- she's just not interesting in any way.

Marrow's Stats:
-Marrow's a PL 8.5 who actually has a PL 8's points-cost, Marrow was actually supposed to be pretty hot sh*t back in the '90s, but she's since "settled" into that somewhat-crappy "Background Character" groove, so events like her nearly killing Wolverine with her extra-sharp bone spurs is unlikely to be replicated. She's a good melee fighter, good at firing her Bones as a projectile weapon, and she's also very good at taking a punch, with Regeneration and all. Being a Wolverine-wannabe has it's bonuses.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Horsenhero
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Sunder! Leech! Caliban! Masque! Gene Nation!)

Post by Horsenhero »

While I'm not going to argue the benefits of Marrow as a character, I do think it's funny, you state her as being "Wolverine without any of the redeeming character traits", because for nearly the entire Claremont/Cockrum run on X-Men, Wolverine didn't have any redeeming traits. he was basically the Canadian cranky pants who went berserk, had goofy hair, shouted "I'm the best there is at what I do and what I do isn't very nice!" a lot and had the hots for Jean. Despite being the man behind the proto-Wolverine (Timber Wolf), Dave Cockrum really didn't seem to care a whole lot about the character. Didn't seem to hate him, but obviously liked Storm, Colossus and Banshee way more.

Wolverine didn't actually gain most of his redeeming features until Byrne was on the book and even moreso when Miller did the first Wolverine mini-series.

Just sayin'...under the right guiding hand, Marrow could have become every bit the Mary Sue that Logan is.

Wouldn't that be special?
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Sunder! Leech! Caliban! Masque! Gene Nation!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Yeah, Early Logan was an ass- Byrne really instigated a change in him for the better, but Claremont finalized it. Especially the shift in his behavior towards Jean.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mikhail Rasputin

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MIKHAIL RASPUTIN
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Dave Cockrum; John Byrne, Jim Lee & Whilce Portacio
First Appearance: X-Men #99 (June 1976- Flashback), The Uncanny X-Men #285 (Feb. 1992- Modern)
Role: Long-Lost Sibling
Group Affiliations: Gene Nation
PL 12 (135)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Cosmonaut) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Otherdimensional Royal) 2 (+6)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 6 (+8)
Perception 4 (+7)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 4 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages: 
Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Spatial Warping/Command Energy"
Generic Energy Blast 14 (Extras: Penetrating 8) (36) -- [38]
  • AE: Movement 4 (Space Travel 1, Dimensional Travel 3) (Extras: Portal +2) (8)
  • AE: "Warp Energy Powers" Affliction 14 (Power Ranks; Impaired/Disabled/Controlled) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (Flaws: Limited to Energy-Based Powers) (28)
Senses 6 (Detect Energy- Acute, Analytical, Ranged 2) [6]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Energy Blast +9 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Warp Powers +9 (+14 Ranged Affliction, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications: 
Relationship (The Rasputin Family)- Mikhail loves his little brother Piotr deeply.
Responsibility (Always Crazy)- He goes nuts on two separate occasions, becoming a dangerous enemy.
Enemy (The Dark Beast, Mr. Sinister)- Mikhail's evil periods are generally under the manipulation of one of these two genetics experts.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 13 (135)

-Mikhail Rasputin made his first appearance in flashback- he was the older brother of Colossus & Magik, and a great Cosmonaut and hero to his family and his country, but tragically-died when his space shuttle exploded. It was a neat little bit of backstory for the then-new hero Peter Rasputin, and not too utterly-fantastic or anything like that. HOWEVER, no comic book writer could leave something like THAT lying for an eternity, and so no sooner was Claremont off the X-Books than John Byrne, MASTER of The Pointless Retcon, brought him back from the dead (OK, so he was basically the word-guy for plotter Jim Lee at this point- Byrne does this enough for me to blame him). It turns out that Everything You Know Is Wrong, and that Mikhail was never dead in the first place- the Soviets had set up the explosion, and deliberately sent him into an interdimensional void to take advantage of his Mutant Powers.

-The only survivor of his crew, Mikhail was trapped on this world, becoming a messiah-like figure and marrying some hottie (I distinctly remember being annoyed by him saying his wife was "the most beautiful woman on ANY world", as 11-year old Jab CLEARLY knew that this was PSYLOCKE, not some random chick). The X-Men arrived as the void betwen their worlds threatened to destroy both, and Peter had a shocking reunion with the older brother he hadn't seen since years before he joined the X-Men. Mikhail had killed dozens (including his wife) trying to close the void the first time, and now there was a civil war brewing (this story felt needlessly confusing to young me... it didn't help that I was walking right into the middle of it, and Byrne ain't as Exposition-Heavy as Claremont was). Mikhail finally pulls it off, with Peter being ecstatic that Mikhail can meet the little sister he never knew ("*catches breath* We... we have a sister?" "*smiles* Her name is Illyana." "How old is she?" "That depends on who you ask." "???").

-However, things fall off the rails quickly, and for no real reason. Mikhail hooks up with the Morlocks, and starts making out with Callisto while massacring what was left of the group by creating a flood. He takes the few survivors and brings them to another dimension, where he forces them to engage in Darwinian battles to make them strong and lethal. It turned out that he was working for The Dark Beast- oh, and that he was responsible for Illyana contracting the Legacy Virus (he was trying to save her by giving it to her elder version first so that she could magically... oh f*ck it- it's Time Travel AND Magic. Just ignore it). He was thought-dead, but returned in time to be railroaded into that The Twelve storyline, hooked up to some giant Apocalypse-Machine. He sacrificed himself for realz to get rid of the Four Horsemen and allow the X-Men to save the day.

-Naturally, he came back (three friggin' resurrections in ten years. Impressive, even for comics). Allied with Mr. Sinister and apparently all crazy-pants evil again, he was attempting to wipe out the rest of the Rasputin family line so that their forefather Grigori (yes, THAT Grigori) could be reincarnated into the last remaining member (this being Mikhail, if it'd worked). Mikhail left Colossus to die on another world, but time away from Sinister made the brainwashing (ah, so that's why he was evil) wear off, and then left himself in another dimension so that Sinister's plan (to control Rasputin or something) would never be able to work- Mikhail/Grigori would be trapped in another world if all the other Rasputins were dead.

-So... that's kind of bizarre and all round-about-y, with way too much Retconning, Heel/Face Turns, random Powers (they've NEVER been fully-explained) and more. All of the random changes can be chalked up to both Byrne & Lee quitting Marvel within a year of Mikhail's return, Scott Lobdell the Bad Writer taking over, and the '90s in general being a fustercluck of bad storytelling. You can tell that the intention was to add more tragedy to Colossus after a point, as the Trauma Conga Line got to the point where even a BATMAN character would be like "Woah, holy shit- take it down a peg, you dicks" (HIS PARENTS ARE MURDERED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS! HE WATCHES HIS LITTLE SISTER DIE AN AGONIZING DEATH! MIKHAIL COMMITS SUICIDE AND VANISHES!). The goofy "Rasputin Family Tree" story was just the icing on the cake of silliness.

-Mikhail is extremely-powerful... but nobody can really decide on what he can DO. He kind of manipulates energy, allowing him to traverse dimensions (Uncontrolled and dangerous at first, but he gets better with time, eventually becoming just something he does), control others' powers (Iceman apparently counts as having "Energy Powers" under this ruling, as he messes with Bobby and warps his powers). Overall, he's a nasty PL 11.5, able to either Blast away, or screw with someone's powers. He himself is a bit of a Glass Cannon, so he tends to fight at range, and avoids the enemy closing the distance by Teleporting away. He generally fights as more of a manipulator anyways.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Arkrite
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Location: Canada

Re: Marrow

Post by Arkrite »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:29 amflat-chested tomboy-types can also work
Hoo-rah! Bring on the tomboys!
(early Kitty Pryde, SOME people like Jubilee, too, though I'm not one of them)
I am. And Jab will never forgive me for it ;~)
It's like Snow White said in Fables: you can't get away with both being ugly AND unpleasant. Especially if you're a girl.
And it's a good thing I'm a man...


Horsenhero wrote: Sat Feb 04, 2017 12:51 amJust sayin'...under the right guiding hand, Marrow could have become every bit the Mary Sue that Logan is.

Wouldn't that be special?
Heh. It's funny, though, with the correct writer you can take an utter joke of a character and turn them into something amazing.
Catman is a good example.
All sorts of Batman characters go from non-entities to leading characters thanks to various creators.

Though sadly the opposite seems to be far more common.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Caliban! Masque! Gene Nation! Marrow!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Funny thing is, I swear Logan's Mary Sue status died in the '90s- the dude is now currently the Worf of the Marvel Universe- jobbing out to put over the newbies. We're a long way off from that infamous "Wolverine beats up twenty heroes in one issue" comic.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Dark Beast

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

THE DARK BEAST (Henry "Hank" McCoy)
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Roger Cruz
First Appearance: X-Men Alpha (1995)
Role: Mirror Image Villain (to The Beast), Evil Biologist
Group Affiliations: The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse, Gene Nation, Genoshan Excalibur, The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
PL 9 (172), PL 10 (172) Biologist
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 8 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 4 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+9)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Science) 10 (+18)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+20) -- Flaws: Limited to Biology
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 6 (+10)
Perception 6 (+9)
Persuasion 4 (+7)
Sleight of Hand 6 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+7)
Technology 7 (+15)
Treatment 6 (+14)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Fast Grab, Improved Defense, Improved Grab, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages 2 (Various), Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Ranged Attack 6, Skill Mastery (Biology), Startle, Ultimate Skill (Biology)

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Animalistic Physiology"
Movement 4 (Wall-Crawling 2, Sure-Footed 2) [8]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Features 1: May Use Feet as Hands [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude +9, Will +7

Complications:
Motivation (Power & Science)- The Dark Beast is fantastically cruel, and enjoys experimenting upon other beings. He wants a world in which this is easy and possible- he heavily preferred the Age of Apocalypse.
Enemy (The Beast)- The Dark Beast despises the "weak" modern version, often taking his place or experimenting upon him.

Total: Abilities: 92 / Skills: 70--35 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 13 / Defenses: 12 (172)

-One of the more interesting "That Character, But Different!" concepts in Age of Apocalypse was The Dark Beast- Hank McCoy redone as the villainous minion of Apocalypse. Taking Hank's jovial personality and turning him into a vicious monstrosity that only experimented upon innocents to create genetic abominations- a Super-Powered Dr. Mengele. The character proved popular enough that he was chosen as one of a few refugees from that "evil timeline" to come to the Mainstream Marvel Earth, ending up 20 years in the past, where he was then retconned in as being the creator of The Morlocks, having cast off most of his failed creations into New York's sewers.

-Dark Beast took The Beast's place on the X-Men for a time, having to bluff his way through certain situations until he betrayed them for Onslaught, who soon betrayed DB anyways. After the post-AoA stuff, however, he didn't get a lot of play- he joined the Genoshan version of Excalibur after being offered "parole", and helped regular Beast try to undo the events of M-Day. After that, he showed up in a bit more stuff- Norman Osborn's "Dark X-Men", teaming up with The Lizard, doing stuff with the "Dark Archangel" aspect of Warren Worthington III, and teaming up with Apocalypse's followers in our timeline. Most recently, he has died in the "Cyclops X-Men" team's book, having deliberately weakened Cyke's team (after they were possessed by the Phoenix Force) and tried to sent a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier after them. Bendis, the writer, also threw in that Dark Beast had been experimenting upon himself, rendering himself super-weak and requiring an exo-suit to live- it was punctured and he died. It was... pretty random.

-The Dark Beast is an interesting look at a "different" kind of Hank- the mental stats and Scientific Skills are the same, but otherwise he comes off like a very modified character. His Skills are much different, lacking Hank's culture or people skills, though he can lie more effectively and is scarier. He's also a bit older and has let himself go some, and never had the necessity to "waste time" doing superheroics, so he's not quite the fighter or acrobat that Hank is. Therefore, he's actually a PL 9, 20-points-cheaper variant of The Beast, despite being much more dangerous, owing to his cruelty.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 02, 2022 1:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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