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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Firebird

Post by Jabroniville »

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FIREBIRD (Bonita Juarez, aka La Espirita)
Created By:
Bill Mantlo & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #265 (Nov. 1981)
Role: Latina Chick, Generic Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, The Rangers
Avengers Grade: D-Level
PL 9 (141)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Aerobatics 3 (+7)
Athletics 4 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+9)
Expertise (Religion) 9 (+10)
Insight 4 (+6)
Perception 5 (+7)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Fire) 3 (+9)

Advantages: 
Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Fire), Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Meteor-Given Fire Powers"
Flame Aura 2 [8]
Flight 6 (120 mph) (Quirks: Cannot Breath While Flying at High Speeds -1) [11]
Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) [2]
Immunity 16 (Life Support -Starvation & Thirst, Aging, Demonic Magic 2, Radiation Damage) [16]

"Boost Aura" Aura 6 (24) -- [26]
  • AE: Blast 9 (18)
  • AE: "Ignite" Blast 6 (Extras: Perception Range) (18)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Aura +9 (+4-8 Damage, DC 19-23)
Blast +9 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Ignite +6 Perception (+6 Perception Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (Devout Catholic)

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 63 / Defenses: 19 (141)

-Firebird pretty much defines "Tertiary Character" in the Marvel Universe, basically being created as a fight for the Hulk (yeah, right...) in his own series, then being put onto the Rangers subsidiary team, and finally joined the Avengers West Coast for a very brief period. She's a devout Catholic Latina who believes her meteor-given powers are a gift from God, mistakenly battles the Hulk, and then fights The Corruptor alongside The Rangers, whom she later joins. She later fights Master Pandemonium on her lonesome, being defeated- she then meets up with the West Coast Avengers. Once they beat Master P, she joins the team after a few adventures (she desperately wants to be invited to join, but Hawkeye, the team leader, is clueless to this). When Hawkeye finally figured on asking her, she'd already left, despirited.

-She would return a while later as Espirita, stopping Hank Pym's suicide attempt (Damn! SO CLOSE!) and teamed with the West Coasters a few more times. She briefly romanced Hank, and discovered that she was apparently TRULY immortal, being immune to a special poison that was even able to kill Thor! This was during the sequel to Contest of Champions, and she had to sit things out. She went back to being called "Firebird", met up with some aliens who revealed the source of her powers was just some space-refuse of theirs (she still saw it as a gift from God, though), and still sort of hung around for Avengers activities, despite never being seen offered membership. It was just sort of assumed it'd happened, but she'd also spend time away doing social work and stuff.

-This leads to pretty much the end of her use as a regular character, as she vanishes from the books except for the occasional one-off in the Busiek Era of The Avengers (which had by this point dropped the West Coast team that she'd joined), helping out in an area covered with radiation, and talks to Thor when he considers the frailty of human life and reconsiders being such close friends with his teammates. After this, she is just "a face in the crowd", appearing in some group shots during Civil War (fighting Registration), on the Initiative's Texas team (The Rangers, once again) and such. She spends by far the least amount of time on The Rangers as the rest of the team, but appears to have stuck with them for the past several years.

-Her powers are as generic as they get (Flying Blaster; Aura; etc... though there's still that Immunity to Poison & Demonic Possession stuff, plus her ability to see the future) for the most part, but her status as a Latina should have at least helped her as a Minority Hire- unfortunately, we rarely see anything from her. 

-Firebird's a PL 9 Blaster with quite a few extra tricks, making her rather expensive for what is really a minor character. All that Precognition, Aura stuff, fast Flight and Immunity adds up- I didn't want her to be too pricey since she's so insignificant, but really there's nothing I can think of leaving off. She's a half-decent fighter, a good Blaster, but one hell of a Glass Cannon- she's PL 6.5 defensively! She does NOT want to be getting hit.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Feb 03, 2022 7:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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jcjec
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Re: Firebird

Post by jcjec »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:19 pm Image
-She would return a while later as Espirita, stopping Hank Pym's suicide attempt (Damn! SO CLOSE!) and teamed with the West Coasters a few more times. She briefly romanced Hank...
I know that I've been abashed for my love of Hank Pym here before, but this was what made me love the character so much, and by connection, made me appreciate Firebird. After everything that he had gone through, Hank was ready to give up and end it all, but she came in with, what I consider to be, one of the best presentations of Christian love portrayed in comics. She not only talked him down off the ledge, but taught him that he could make amends (at least until the next time a writer decided to punish him AGAIN). It was during this time that he became DOCTOR PYM and did the whole gadgeteer persona, carrying do-dad's shrunk to pocket size, able to enlarge as needed. And it was THIS version of Pym that really drew me in and made me like the character.
Jim C.

I know that into every life a little rain must fall,
but why do we have to live in the flood plains?
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Yeah, I actually enjoyed both his Dr. Pym & Yellowjacket incarnations.
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Goldar
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Goldar »

I always thought Firebird was Native American. I did not realize she is Latina.

Also, was there not some connection to Jean Grey Phoenix, at the time of Jean's death on the moon? I thought I remembered reading something about that long ago.
Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Spectrum »

Intriguing

Image

Image
We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
Thorpocalypse
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Thorpocalypse »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:09 am Yeah, I actually enjoyed both his Dr. Pym & Yellowjacket incarnations.
TRAITOR!!!!
Me fail English? That's unpossible. - Ralph Wiggum
Spectrum
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Spectrum »

It is said that the Internet has anything you can think of if you just look long enough. Well, just found a site obsessed with all of the Wasp's costumes.
We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Turbine

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

TURBINE (Joline Cargill)
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Jim Craig
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #4- Chaos in Calgary (1992)
Role: Motivationally Disabled
Country of Origin: Canada
Group Affiliations: The Right-Riders Bicycle Safety Group (Honorary Member)
PL 6 (63)
STRENGTH
-2 STAMINA 0 AGILITY -2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills: 
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8)
Perception 2 (+4)
Technology 4 (+8)
Vehicles 6 (+8)

Advantages: 
Equipment (Wheelchair), Improved Initiative 2, Move-By Action

Powers:
"Not THAT weak, she just hits like a wuss" Power-Lifting 2 (50 lbs.) [2]

"Solar-Powered Turbine Wheelchair" Device 4 (hard to lose) [18]
Flight 6 (120 mph) (12)
"Flying Tackle" Damage 8 (8)
Improved Dodge 2 (2)
-- (22 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-2 Damage, DC 13)
Flying Tackle +4 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (+6 Wheelchair, DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +0, Fortitude +2, Will +4

Complications: 
Relationship (Her Father)
Disabled (Wheelchair-Bound)- Joline is crippled, and unable to walk. If left without her standard Wheelchair or her Turbine-Powered one, she will be prone and virtually helpless.

Total: Abilities: 18 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 12 (63)

-Hah. I still remember the time my best friend phoned me up, taunting me with the information that "I know a super-hero that YOU don't know!" With barely contained glee, I responded that I was, in fact, aware of Turbine's existence, having just got the same give-away comic that HE did! This character's a pretty simple Handi-CAPABLE deal, being a young crippled girl who nonetheless is some kind of techno-genius, and when the Frightful Four kidnap her father, she dons a garish white & red racing suit and hops into a three-wheeled Flying Chair and proceeds to open a can of whoop-ass, saving the Rangers & her dad from the Four by defeating The Dreadknight with a well-placed slam. Spidey (not fooled by the 'disguise' of red goggles and a hat- though Lord knows that's not the WORST cover-up a hero's ever done) thanks her for her help, and promises to look her up next time he's in Calgary.

-Of course, that'd be the last we'd ever see of her. I mean, she showed up in one free give-away comic that only Canadian kids ever read. Though if I ever work for Marvel, I'm totally bringing her onto Alpha Flight :).

-A weak PL 6, Turbine's got some handy abilities in her Flying Wheelchair Device, but she's mainly only good for sneak attacks and getting a lucky shot in, as her only offensive power is weaker than most any villain's key attack. 
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Spectrum wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2017 1:50 am It is said that the Internet has anything you can think of if you just look long enough. Well, just found a site obsessed with all of the Wasp's costumes.
Hah- neat. That looks like one of those ANCIENT websites that used to collect info on super-heroes- back when they were all plain backgrounds and walls of text.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Right-Riders

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE RIGHT-RIDERS
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Jim Craig
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #4- Chaos in Calgary (1992)
Role: Fan Inserts
Country of Origin: Canada
Group Affiliations: The Right-Riders Bicycle Safety Group
PL 3 (33)
STRENGTH
-2 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills: 
Acrobatics 4 (+6)
Expertise (Bicycle Safety) 10 (+10)
Expertise (Bicycles & Stunts) 10 (+12)

Advantages: 
Equipment 2

Powers:
"Not THAT weak, they just hit like wusses" Power-Lifting 2 (50 lbs.) [2]

Equipment:
"Frickin' Sweet New Bikes" (8)
Speed 2 (8 mph) (2)
Enhanced Dodge 1, Parry 2 (3)
Improved Defense (1)
"Bicycle Ram" Damage 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (-2 Damage, DC 13)
Bicycle Ram +4 (+2 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (+6 Bike, DC 16), Parry +4 (+5 Bike, DC 15), Toughness +0, Fortitude +0, Will +2

Complications: 
Responsibility (Bicycle Safey)- The Right-Riders are a group of multi-racial kids devoted to teaching bicycle safety to the apparently injury-prone young populace of the world.

Total: Abilities: 12 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 3 (33)

-Just had to stat up the Right-Riders as well. There's a big pack of 'em (about six, but there's likely more), with the usual archetypes you'll see in "Gang of Kids" stuff (white male leader, black kid, various girls with different hair colours). Best used to aid a superhero via distractions rather than actually fighting.

-Hah, they're PL 3! Awesome. Simple stuff, as they're small kids, not very strong, but pack mean Bikes with them, allowing them great dodging abilities. They also have several bike-themed Skills. Unusually, they would normally do barely less damage than someone like Hal Jordan, but I threw in a Power-Lifting ability to allow them a child's lifting strength (about 50 lbs.), but still let them hit like a bunch of kids (-2 to overall damage- being just a notch under grown super-heroes feels off).
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Maestro! The High Evolutionary! The Rangers!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Thorpocalypse wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2017 1:34 am
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2017 12:09 am Yeah, I actually enjoyed both his Dr. Pym & Yellowjacket incarnations.
TRAITOR!!!!
I'm sorry! I just thought he was okay in those two identities!! I've had to add that caveat ever since Horsenhero said we were bullies for harping on Pym while we were the two most prominent character builders!
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Cowboy Heroes

Post by Jabroniville »

EVERY COWBOY HERO EVER
Created By:
Some Guys
First Appearance: Some Comic
Role: Cowboy Hero
Group Affiliations: None (most of the time)
PL 8 (105)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+9)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Cowboy) 6 (+7)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Pistol) 1 (+10)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Equipment 3 (Cowboy Gear), Improved Critical (Pistol), Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Minion 3 (Horse), Ranged Attack 5, Tracking (Visual)

Equipment:
"Pair of Colt Pistols" Blast 5 (10) -- (11)
  • AE: "Lasso" Snare 4 (Feats: Reach 4) (Flaws: Touch Range, Limited to One Target) (8)
"Cowboy Gear" (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Colts +11 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Lasso +7 (+4 Affliction, DC 14)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Man Out of Time)- A time-travelling character, the Two-Gun Kid has been all over, and is usually unable to get home.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (105)

-Among the many, MANY genres that were once extraordinarily popular, but are now mostly-dead, Western Comics have had tough going for decades now. Western Stories were popular even back in the late 1800s, thanks to traveling acts like Buffalo Bill's sideshow, along with various legendary figures like Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid and others. Hell, the "Wild West" concept had gone into legend pretty much while it was still going on, to the point where people imagine the era to be a lot more violent than it actually was. The advent of Wild West MOVIES only furthered this, and while there were Western Comics as far back as the 1930s, things REALLY hit a peak in the '50s.

-Marvel's Publisher/Owner, Martin Goodman, was naturally right there to capitalize on it. Goodman, a HUGE skinflint who was always out to make a quick buck, was notorious for basically scrapping the entire line of comics at once, then declaring that every book the company published was now to be from some NEW fad genre. So in the '40s they had Superhero Books and Funny Animal Books, then there was Romance & True Crime, and in the 1950s, suddenly "Atlas Comics" (Goodman changed the name a bit, too) was in the Western Comics craze, inventing the Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, Outlaw Kid, Ringo Kid & Western Kid (you may notice a theme here) all within one calendar YEAR of each other! Now THAT is how you leap onto a trend!

-This is a reminder of how much more... BIG the comic book industry used to be, in terms of genres published by major-ish companies. Numerous genres were flying about all the time, with some going through peaks and valleys, and DC, Timely/Atlas/Marvel, Quality, Fawcett and others were all quick to try them ALL. It was a more free-wheeling era with lots of potentially-diverse stuff. The issue? All those old genres started dying off, one-by-one. SUPERHEROES actually died off for a chunk of the '50s but for a few hangers-on, but they came roaring back in the late 1950s thanks to DC's output. But the others? True Crime faded away. Horror, a HUGE genre in the '50s, died thanks to the Comic Book Code (formulated after The Seduction of the Innocent took aim at the lurid bylines of Horror & True Crime books. Funny Animal books died except for the Disney-related stuff, for the most part. Romance Comics died sometime in the 1960s. Western Comics became less and less popular as well, though some were still active in the '60s- few made it out of the 1970s alive, however. After a point, the entire industry consisted of two genres: Superhero Comics, and Teen Romance Comics (and the only one of THAT was Archie!). 

-The fact that most of the other companies died didn't help matters, as now there was just a Big Two, and you weren't gonna see many genres come back now that they were a big, comfy duo. However, that wouldn't stop the occasional spurt (hee hee) of "Hey, let's try ____ Genre Comics again!"- after all, many of the old-school creators at Marvel & DC were once fans of, or workers on, those other genres. The 1970s saw Marvel reprint a lot of Western stuff, and try to bring back Horror in a big way, for example. Unfortunately... while Horror was successful for a bit (and is pretty big on the Indie scene now, especially if you include all of the "Zombie" stuff in genre), Westerns were basically dead and gone. Every attempt to bring them back has been, at-best, short-lived (this kind of goes along with Hollywood, which has very few popular Westerns anymore, either). The occasional comic will carry some genre elements (Preacher is basically a Western/Superhero Story Genre Mash-Up, with grotesque sex humor and excessive gore), but all of the Western heroes have become part of what BatgirlIII has described as "Characters from genres that nobody wants to read anymore". Your Jungle Adventurers (Ka-Zar), Space Romance Guys (Adam Strange) and Western Heroes among them.

-You'll see some small-scale stuff at the lower-end Indies, of course. And licenses are big business (-ish) for the Indies, so the occasional Western-themed license might do okay for a bit. And HORROR has certainly become big in cases like The Walking Dead. But for the most part, this is a Dead Horse Genre in the comic book industry, doomed to failure every time someone gets it in their head to replicate it. Major Comic Books in America just kind of became "Superhero Only" after a point, with only a few successful books breaking out of that mold. Does that mean it's not worth trying, and it will NEVER happen? 
MEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHthat's iffy, but I still find it absurd every time someone tries to release a Western Comic from the Big Two. I just kind of chuckle and go "Really? Did it become 1955 again and nobody told me?"- it's like trying to resurrect Pogs or something nowadays. But Heaven knows we've seen weirder Genre Resurrections in Hollywood.

-Truth be told, though, it's not a genre that even remotely interests me. I've liked the occasional Western (Tombstone, Rango), and reading UP on the actual Wild West is quite entertaining, but I couldn't care less about the adventures of The Douchebag Kid and his horse Thunderbutt, fighting big bad outlaws and whomever the frig. So the Great Western Comics Revival of 2063 will have to become a thing without me, I'm afraid.

-Every Marvel Western Hero is fundamentally the same guy, with the occasional different statline. Most of them have almost cheekily the same name- somebody HAD to have made fun of this back in the day. This is like if the 1930s saw a horde of superheroes ONLY named "_____man", like Superman & Batman were joined not only by Hawkman & Doll-Man, but by Flashman, Robinman, Wonder Womanman, Captain Americaman, The Human Torchman, and Green Lantern-Man. Most are PL 8 (enough to be a high-end character in a "Wild West" setting, where most enemies are barely Mooks), but a couple are PL 7. I decide this difference based entirely off of how familiar I am with the character, and whether or not they were successful. Hey, Popularity Power is totally a thing.

THE OUTLAW KID (Lance Temple)- PL 8 (108): Expertise (Law) 6 (+8) [3]
Created By: Doug Wildey
First Appearance: The Outlaw Kid #1 (Sept. 1954)

-The Outlaw Kid, a later addition to the ranks, was an Old West Lawyer and Civil War veteran living on a ranch with his blinded father. He swore to his pappy never to take up a gun again, but found himself forced to in order to set things right on the fronteir. His series lasted for nineteen issues, ending in 1957. The book is apparently most-notable for providing an early example of the work of animation designer Doug Wildey's. During a 1970s revival (in the form of a book of reprints), his book was the most-popular, and when the original Wildey stuff ran out, they commissioned new stories by various others- sales soon dropped, and they began RE-reprinting Wildey's work! He reappeared in a 2000-era Blaze of Glory series, under John Ostrander- here, a grim 'n' gritty Outlaw Kid develops a split personality over the guilt of his father dying from shock upon discovering his secret identity. He dies in the last issue.

THE MASKED RIDER (Jim Gardley)- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: Al Anders
First Appearance: Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939)

-Among the oldest of the old-school, The Masked Rider (no really) was Timely Comics's first Western character, fighting lawlessness with his horse Lightning.

Image

KID COLT I (Blaine Colt)- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Stan Lee & Pat Tumlinson
First Appearance: Kid Colt #1 (Aug. 1948)

-Now THIS guy had a crazy run- the longest-running cowboy character in American comic books, lasting for a THIRTY-ONE YEAR STRETCH (!!!) from 1948-1979 (though it should be noted the last thirteen years were mostly reprints). Wrongly-accused of murder, Blaine Colt (who killed his father's murderer in a fair gun battle) had gone on the run as an outlaw, and acted as a vigilante in order to restore his reputation. And yes- astonishingly, his tales lasted all the way through to the start of the Silver Age, being published alongside rookie acts like The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. Keep in mind that back then, Marvel could only produce a handful of titles per month, as per their deal with DC Comics (who held their publishing rights)- Kid Cold must have been a big seller to even keep going!
-Colt appeared to die in Blaze of Glory, but this was revealed to have been a hoax, as he reappears as an elderly man in Skaar's sojourn into the Savage Land. A remake of sorts came out in 2009, written by Tom DeFalco, but it was just a one-shot.

CALEB HAMMER- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Peter B. Gillis & Jim Day
First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #54 (June 1980)

-A more-modern character, the gritty Caleb Hammer appeared in a one-shot in 1980, and languished in obscurity until 2000's Blaze of Glory. He chases the outlaw Kid Colt, but joins his side when he learns that the kid is good, and avenges his murder at the hands of a bounty hunter. X-Force #37 features his death, via flashback- the External mutant known as Absalom was a wannabe gunfighter/outlaw in his day, and challenged the aged Hammer to a gunfight. The man shrugged him off and politely said no... and Absalom shot him in the back. He even admits now "That was not the way a man like Caleb Hammer was meant to die."

Image

THE BLACK RIDER (Matthew "Doc" Masters, aka The Black Mask, The Cactus Kid)- PL 8 (108): Treatment 6 (+8) [3]
Created By: Syd Shores
First Appearance: All-Western Winners #2 (Winter 1948)

-One of the cooler names in the bunch is that of the Black Rider, who eventually took over the title, which received his own name. It changed back by issue #32, now called Gunsmoke Western. The Cactus Kid is a former outlaw who reforms after facing down a gang of killers- the governor of Texas, convinced that Masters has learned his lesson, pardons him if he agrees to go to medical school. Now "Doc" Masters was living as a town physician, but eventually donned a black mask to disguise his identity, so that he could fight outlaws without disclosing his shameful past to the townsfolk. He appears in a flashback helping out the Ancient One (back when he was probably just the Middle-Aged One), and got a one-shot in the 2000s written by Steve Englehart of all people.

Image

THE RINGO KID (_____ Rand)- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Joe Maneely (unknown writer)
First Appearance: The Ringo Kid Western #1 (Aug. 1954)

-This guy only appeared for a couple of years in the mid-1950s, but was planned for a revival under Steve Englehart in the '70s (Englehart was big business back then, so Marvel kept giving him series to do- unfortunately, they decided to do more superheroes and less cowboys, and so it was axed). The Ringo Kid was half-white & half-Comanche (or Cheyenne- they switch a lot), treated as an outcast because he was a "half-breed". With his sidekick Dull Knife (one of his mother's people), he rode the horse Arab and fought injustice.

TEX TAYLOR- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: Syd Shores (unknown writer)
First Appearance: Wild West #1 (Spring 1948)

-Tex Taylor was the son of the best cattleman in the state of Texas, but when his father was murdered by the corrupt "Cattlemen's Protection League" after refusing their extortion attempt, he became a lawman, killing the men responsible. His book only lasted a couple of years, disappearing in 1950.

Image

THE RAWHIDE KID (Johnny Bart, aka Johnny Clay)- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Bob Brown
First Appearance: Rawhide Kid #1 (March 1955)

-The Rawhide Kid is one of Marvel's most well-known Western heroes- his initial series only lasted sixteen issues over a few years, but returned after another few in 1960, with a new persona. Rawhide was a short kid who took advantage of his foes' underestimation of him, and fought against various cheats & toughs over the years. The Atlas & Silver Age versions kind of "mesh" after a point. No less than Stan Lee & Jack Kirby were on this newer series, so you can imagine it became popular enough to last for a bit- Jack drew it until the very start of his new success drawing Marvel's new heroes. The book, in fact, lasted until 1973! A controversial mini-series came about in 2003, featuring the character reimagined as an gay man.

THE WESTERN KID (Tex Dawson)- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: John Romita (unknown writer)
First Appearance: The Western Kid #1 (Nov. 1954)

-Another 16-17 issue run went to the Western Kid (these numbers might seeem like a coincidence until you read about how publisher Martin Goodman would demand new books and cancel old ones all at once, based off of what was currently popular. He had a stallion named Whirlwind and a white German Shepherd named Lightning- he was a classic do-gooder adventurer.

THE GUNHAWKS (Reno Jones & Kid Cassidy)- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: John Romita (unknown writer)
First Appearance: Gunhawks #1 (1972)

-Gunhawks was a bit more modern than the other books, and featured Kid Cassidy as a plantation owner's son, working alongside an ex-slave in Reno Jones. They fought for the Confederate States during the Civil War (Jones fought because the Union soldiers had kidnapped his lover Rachel), and the two stuck together after the war as wandering gunfighters. In the sixth issue, Cassidy was shot and killed, with Jones being blamed for the crime. The series thus became Reno Jones, Gunhawk, making Reno the SECOND black character to have his own self-titled series at Marvel. However, this was also the last issue. John Ostrander would write a sequel series in 2000, showing that everything was all TOTALLY dark and extreme, as Cassidy was actually a Klansman in disguise, and Reno became the Ghost Rider in order to stop him, killing Cassidy and then retiring.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Feb 06, 2022 10:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
MacynSnow
Posts: 5631
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:56 pm

Re: Firebird

Post by MacynSnow »

jcjec wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:58 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 06, 2017 9:19 pm Image
-She would return a while later as Espirita, stopping Hank Pym's suicide attempt (Damn! SO CLOSE!) and teamed with the West Coasters a few more times. She briefly romanced Hank...
I know that I've been abashed for my love of Hank Pym here before, but this was what made me love the character so much, and by connection, made me appreciate Firebird. After everything that he had gone through, Hank was ready to give up and end it all, but she came in with, what I consider to be, one of the best presentations of Christian love portrayed in comics. She not only talked him down off the ledge, but taught him that he could make amends (at least until the next time a writer decided to punish him AGAIN). It was during this time that he became DOCTOR PYM and did the whole gadgeteer persona, carrying do-dad's shrunk to pocket size, able to enlarge as needed. And it was THIS version of Pym that really drew me in and made me like the character.
i myself am of the mind that Hank could've been so much better if the Writer's hadn't all been grabbing Pitchfork's&torches screaming "Die,Hank Pym!" at the Top o'their lungs.

Now,i have read(and at one time owned,untill i sold them to pay for my wedding) ever single Avengers book and related spin-off's ever made.This may be a bit of Braggadotio on my part,but i probably know more about the Avengers that Even the Mighty Jab does.That all being said,I will continue to think that Doctor Henry "Hank" Pym was one of the Better Avengers(true,you could only do so many solo stories,but he could alway's be good for about a 3 issue run in Solo Avengers every now and then...)and deserved better than what he recently got...

now let me&jcjec get behind my Impervious Adamantium Shield and Endure the Assault in peace...:)
MacynSnow
Posts: 5631
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2016 2:56 pm

Re: Cowboy Heroes

Post by MacynSnow »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Mar 07, 2017 4:24 am EVERY COWBOY HERO EVER
Created By:
Some Guys
First Appearance: Some Comic
Role: Cowboy Hero
Group Affiliations: None (most of the time)
PL 8 (105)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+9)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Cowboy) 6 (+7)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Pistol) 1 (+10)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Equipment 3 (Cowboy Gear), Improved Critical (Pistol), Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Minion 3 (Horse), Ranged Attack 5, Tracking (Visual)

Equipment:
"Pair of Colt Pistols" Blast 5 (10) -- (11)
  • AE: "Lasso" Snare 4 (Feats: Reach 4) (Flaws: Touch Range, Limited to One Target) (8)
"Cowboy Gear" (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Colts +11 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Lasso +7 (+4 Affliction, DC 14)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Man Out of Time)- A time-travelling character, the Two-Gun Kid has been all over, and is usually unable to get home.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (105)

-Among the many, MANY genres that were once extraordinarily popular, but are now mostly-dead, Western Comics have had tough going for decades now. Western Stories were popular even back in the late 1800s, thanks to traveling acts like Buffalo Bill's sideshow, along with various legendary figures like Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid and others. Hell, the "Wild West" concept had gone into legend pretty much while it was still going on, to the point where people imagine the era to be a lot more violent than it actually was. The advent of Wild West MOVIES only furthered this, and while there were Western Comics as far back as the 1930s, things REALLY hit a peak in the '50s.

-Marvel's Publisher/Owner, Martin Goodman, was naturally right there to capitalize on it. Goodman, a HUGE skinflint who was always out to make a quick buck, was notorious for basically scrapping the entire line of comics at once, then declaring that every book the company published was now to be from some NEW fad genre. So in the '40s they had Superhero Books and Funny Animal Books, then there was Romance & True Crime, and in the 1950s, suddenly "Atlas Comics" (Goodman changed the name a bit, too) was in the Western Comics craze, inventing the Two-Gun Kid, Rawhide Kid, Outlaw Kid, Ringo Kid & Western Kid (you may notice a theme here) all within one calendar YEAR of each other! Now THAT is how you leap onto a trend!

-This is a reminder of how much more... BIG the comic book industry used to be, in terms of genres published by major-ish companies. Numerous genres were flying about all the time, with some going through peaks and valleys, and DC, Timely/Atlas/Marvel, Quality, Fawcett and others were all quick to try them ALL. It was a more free-wheeling era with lots of potentially-diverse stuff. The issue? All those old genres started dying off, one-by-one. SUPERHEROES actually died off for a chunk of the '50s but for a few hangers-on, but they came roaring back in the late 1950s thanks to DC's output. But the others? True Crime faded away. Horror, a HUGE genre in the '50s, died thanks to the Comic Book Code (formulated after The Seduction of the Innocent took aim at the lurid bylines of Horror & True Crime books. Funny Animal books died except for the Disney-related stuff, for the most part. Romance Comics died sometime in the 1960s. Western Comics became less and less popular as well, though some were still active in the '60s- few made it out of the 1970s alive, however. After a point, the entire industry consisted of two genres: Superhero Comics, and Teen Romance Comics (and the only one of THAT was Archie!). 

-The fact that most of the other companies died didn't help matters, as now there was just a Big Two, and you weren't gonna see many genres come back now that they were a big, comfy duo. However, that wouldn't stop the occasional spurt (hee hee) of "Hey, let's try ____ Genre Comics again!"- after all, many of the old-school creators at Marvel & DC were once fans of, or workers on, those other genres. The 1970s saw Marvel reprint a lot of Western stuff, and try to bring back Horror in a big way, for example. Unfortunately... while Horror was successful for a bit (and is pretty big on the Indie scene now, especially if you include all of the "Zombie" stuff in genre), Westerns were basically dead and gone. Every attempt to bring them back has been, at-best, short-lived (this kind of goes along with Hollywood, which has very few popular Westerns anymore, either). The occasional comic will carry some genre elements (Preacher is basically a Western/Superhero Story Genre Mash-Up, with grotesque sex humor and excessive gore), but all of the Western heroes have become part of what BatgirlIII has described as "Characters from genres that nobody wants to read anymore". Your Jungle Adventurers (Ka-Zar), Space Romance Guys (Adam Strange) and Western Heroes among them.

-You'll see some small-scale stuff at the lower-end Indies, of course. And licenses are big business (-ish) for the Indies, so the occasional Western-themed license might do okay for a bit. And HORROR has certainly become big in cases like The Walking Dead. But for the most part, this is a Dead Horse Genre in the comic book industry, doomed to failure every time someone gets it in their head to replicate it. Major Comic Books in America just kind of became "Superhero Only" after a point, with only a few successful books breaking out of that mold. Does that mean it's not worth trying, and it will NEVER happen? 
MEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHthat's iffy, but I still find it absurd every time someone tries to release a Western Comic from the Big Two. I just kind of chuckle and go "Really? Did it become 1955 again and nobody told me?"- it's like trying to resurrect Pogs or something nowadays. But Heaven knows we've seen weirder Genre Resurrections in Hollywood.

-Truth be told, though, it's not a genre that even remotely interests me. I've liked the occasional Western (Tombstone, Rango), and reading UP on the actual Wild West is quite entertaining, but I couldn't care less about the adventures of The Douchebag Kid and his horse Thunderbutt, fighting big bad outlaws and whomever the frig. So the Great Western Comics Revival of 2063 will have to become a thing without me, I'm afraid.

-Every Marvel Western Hero is fundamentally the same guy, with the occasional different statline. Most of them have almost cheekily the same name- somebody HAD to have made fun of this back in the day. This is like if the 1930s saw a horde of superheroes ONLY named "_____man", like Superman & Batman were joined not only by Hawkman & Doll-Man, but by Flashman, Robinman, Wonder Womanman, Captain Americaman, The Human Torchman, and Green Lantern-Man. Most are PL 8 (enough to be a high-end character in a "Wild West" setting, where most enemies are barely Mooks), but a couple are PL 7. I decide this difference based entirely off of how familiar I am with the character, and whether or not they were successful. Hey, Popularity Power is totally a thing.

THE OUTLAW KID (Lance Temple)- PL 8 (108): Expertise (Law) 6 (+8) [3]
Created By: Doug Wildey
First Appearance: The Outlaw Kid #1 (Sept. 1954)

-The Outlaw Kid, a later addition to the ranks, was an Old West Lawyer and Civil War veteran living on a ranch with his blinded father. He swore to his pappy never to take up a gun again, but found himself forced to in order to set things right on the fronteir. His series lasted for nineteen issues, ending in 1957. The book is apparently most-notable for providing an early example of the work of animation designer Doug Wildey's. During a 1970s revival (in the form of a book of reprints), his book was the most-popular, and when the original Wildey stuff ran out, they commissioned new stories by various others- sales soon dropped, and they began RE-reprinting Wildey's work! He reappeared in a 2000-era Blaze of Glory series, under John Ostrander- here, a grim 'n' gritty Outlaw Kid develops a split personality over the guilt of his father dying from shock upon discovering his secret identity. He dies in the last issue.

THE MASKED RIDER (Jim Gardley)- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: Al Anders
First Appearance: Marvel Comics #1 (Oct. 1939)

-Among the oldest of the old-school, The Masked Rider (no really) was Timely Comics's first Western character, fighting lawlessness with his horse Lightning.

Image

KID COLT I (Blaine Colt)- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Stan Lee & Pat Tumlinson
First Appearance: Kid Colt #1 (Aug. 1948)

-Now THIS guy had a crazy run- the longest-running cowboy character in American comic books, lasting for a THIRTY-ONE YEAR STRETCH (!!!) from 1948-1979 (though it should be noted the last thirteen years were mostly reprints). Wrongly-accused of murder, Blaine Colt (who killed his father's murderer in a fair gun battle) had gone on the run as an outlaw, and acted as a vigilante in order to restore his reputation. And yes- astonishingly, his tales lasted all the way through to the start of the Silver Age, being published alongside rookie acts like The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man. Keep in mind that back then, Marvel could only produce a handful of titles per month, as per their deal with DC Comics (who held their publishing rights)- Kid Cold must have been a big seller to even keep going!
-Colt appeared to die in Blaze of Glory, but this was revealed to have been a hoax, as he reappears as an elderly man in Skaar's sojourn into the Savage Land. A remake of sorts came out in 2009, written by Tom DeFalco, but it was just a one-shot.

CALEB HAMMER- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Peter B. Gillis & Jim Day
First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #54 (June 1980)

-A more-modern character, the gritty Caleb Hammer appeared in a one-shot in 1980, and languished in obscurity until 2000's Blaze of Glory. He chases the outlaw Kid Colt, but joins his side when he learns that the kid is good, and avenges his murder at the hands of a bounty hunter. X-Force #37 features his death, via flashback- the External mutant known as Absalom was a wannabe gunfighter/outlaw in his day, and challenged the aged Hammer to a gunfight. The man shrugged him off and politely said no... and Absalom shot him in the back. He even admits now "That was not the way a man like Caleb Hammer was meant to die."

Image

THE BLACK RIDER (Matthew "Doc" Masters, aka The Black Mask, The Cactus Kid)- PL 8 (108): Treatment 6 (+8) [3]
Created By: Syd Shores
First Appearance: All-Western Winners #2 (Winter 1948)

-One of the cooler names in the bunch is that of the Black Rider, who eventually took over the title, which received his own name. It changed back by issue #32, now called Gunsmoke Western. The Cactus Kid is a former outlaw who reforms after facing down a gang of killers- the governor of Texas, convinced that Masters has learned his lesson, pardons him if he agrees to go to medical school. Now "Doc" Masters was living as a town physician, but eventually donned a black mask to disguise his identity, so that he could fight outlaws without disclosing his shameful past to the townsfolk. He appears in a flashback helping out the Ancient One (back when he was probably just the Middle-Aged One), and got a one-shot in the 2000s written by Steve Englehart of all people.

Image

THE RINGO KID (_____ Rand)- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Joe Maneely (unknown writer)
First Appearance: The Ringo Kid Western #1 (Aug. 1954)

-This guy only appeared for a couple of years in the mid-1950s, but was planned for a revival under Steve Englehart in the '70s (Englehart was big business back then, so Marvel kept giving him series to do- unfortunately, they decided to do more superheroes and less cowboys, and so it was axed). The Ringo Kid was half-white & half-Comanche (or Cheyenne- they switch a lot), treated as an outcast because he was a "half-breed". With his sidekick Dull Knife (one of his mother's people), he rode the horse Arab and fought injustice.

TEX TAYLOR- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: Syd Shores (unknown writer)
First Appearance: Wild West #1 (Spring 1948)

-Tex Taylor was the son of the best cattleman in the state of Texas, but when his father was murdered by the corrupt "Cattlemen's Protection League" after refusing their extortion attempt, he became a lawman, killing the men responsible. His book only lasted a couple of years, disappearing in 1950.

Image

THE RAWHIDE KID (Johnny Bart, aka Johnny Clay)- PL 8 (105):
Created By: Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Bob Brown
First Appearance: Rawhide Kid #1 (March 1955)

-The Rawhide Kid is one of Marvel's most well-known Western heroes- his initial series only lasted sixteen issues over a few years, but returned after another few in 1960, with a new persona. Rawhide was a short kid who took advantage of his foes' underestimation of him, and fought against various cheats & toughs over the years. The Atlas & Silver Age versions kind of "mesh" after a point. No less than Stan Lee & Jack Kirby were on this newer series, so you can imagine it became popular enough to last for a bit- Jack drew it until the very start of his new success drawing Marvel's new heroes. The book, in fact, lasted until 1973! A controversial mini-series came about in 2003, featuring the character reimagined as an gay man.

THE WESTERN KID (Tex Dawson)- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: John Romita (unknown writer)
First Appearance: The Western Kid #1 (Nov. 1954)

-Another 16-17 issue run went to the Western Kid (these numbers might seeem like a coincidence until you read about how publisher Martin Goodman would demand new books and cancel old ones all at once, based off of what was currently popular. He had a stallion named Whirlwind and a white German Shepherd named Lightning- he was a classic do-gooder adventurer.

THE GUNHAWKS (Reno Jones & Kid Cassidy)- PL 7 (102): Ranged Attack 3, Dodge +10 [-3]
Created By: John Romita (unknown writer)
First Appearance: Gunhawks #1 (1972)

-Gunhawks was a bit more modern than the other books, and featured Kid Cassidy as a plantation owner's son, working alongside an ex-slave in Reno Jones. They fought for the Confederate States during the Civil War (Jones fought because the Union soldiers had kidnapped his lover Rachel), and the two stuck together after the war as wandering gunfighters. In the sixth issue, Cassidy was shot and killed, with Jones being blamed for the crime. The series thus became Reno Jones, Gunhawk, making Reno the SECOND black character to have his own self-titled series at Marvel. However, this was also the last issue. John Ostrander would write a sequel series in 2000, showing that everything was all TOTALLY dark and extreme, as Cassidy was actually a Klansman in disguise, and Reno became the Ghost Rider in order to stop him, killing Cassidy and then retiring.
here,let me get you appropriate music for one of my favorite Movie/TV Genre's....:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgvxu8QY01s:Have Gun-Will Travel Theme Song(Sung by Johnny Western)
Spectrum
Posts: 3128
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:08 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Shooting Star! Red Wolf! Firebird!)

Post by Spectrum »

Awesome! Now I have a starting point for my Johnny Cash character collection.
We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
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