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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sat-Yr-9

Post by Jabroniville »

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SUCH a bitch move. I wasn't even a huge fan of Generic Girlfriend Character #52 and I was still annoyed.

SAT-YR-9 (Opal Lun Sat-Yr-9)
Created By:
Alan Davis
First Appearance: Captain Britain Monthly #3 (1984)
Role: Dictator
Group Affiliation: The Hellfire Club
PL 8 (122)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 10 (+14, +16 Attractive)
Expertise (Dictator) 9 (+12)
Insight 2 (+6)
Perception 1 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)

Advantages:
Attractive, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
Mind Control 8 [32]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Mind Control -- (+8 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Responsibility (The Omniverse)- Saturnyne is entrusted by Roma & Merlyn to protect all existence. She will sacrifice anything and anyone in order to make it so.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 11 (122)

-An evil, sexy bitch from Earth-839, deposed by Captain UK, Sat-Yr-9 fled to the main Earth, where she killed Courtney Ross and took her place, in an issue that basically went unaddressed during all of the first 20-30 issues I have. It bugged the CRAP out of me, because it seemed like Courtney died for no apparent reason. Eventually, she attempted to form a rift between Captain Britain and Meggan, and utilize Jamie Braddock as a weapon. She finally revealed herself to Excalibur with her new power-base (including removing Vixen from power in the English underworld), but she fled when the team stopped Jamie. Brian, angry over Courtney's death, swore to track her down, but she never reappeared under Claremont or Davis. She was eventually seen MANY years later joining The Hellfire Club as "Courtney Ross" again. She was trying to pass herself off as the real Courtney Ross, but Captain Britain was unconvinced.

-Sat-Yr-9 is more of a generic dictator without major powers aside from low-end Mind Control.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Psylocke

Post by Jabroniville »

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Jim Lee: Hey, Chris, I gotta ask you something. I REALLY, REALLY want to draw another Asian chick in this comic! I know half my chicks look like they're Chinese ANYWAYS, but I've got this crazy design here! See?
Chris Claremont: This looks like you just took Elektra's costume and coloured it purple...
Lee: ....
Claremont: GENIUS! But this costume design would look awesome on Psylocke. Hm, I will allow you to change her design, but only if I can apply my natural fetish of cold, bitter women with authority problems. Deal?
-(ten bucks says this is how it really went)


PSYLOCKE (Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock)
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Captain Britain #8 (Dec. 1976)
Role: Miss Fanservice (the '90s), Telepath, Ninja, Inscrutable Oriental, Confusing-Power Chick
Country of Origin: England (then Japan, kinda)
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, Excalibur, The Exiles, X-Force, RCX, The Hand, The Crimson Dawn, The Hellfire Club, The Captain Britain Corps.
PL 10 (180)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+14)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+15)
Deception 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Ninja) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Model) 2 (+6, +7 Attractive)
Expertise (Skier) 1 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 8 (+11)
Persuasion 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Stealth 6 (+12)
Vehicles 3 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Swords), Evasion 2, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Follow-Up Strike, Grab Finesse, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical 2 (Psychic Knife, Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Ranged Attack 3, Takedown 2, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
“Mutant Powers: Telepathy”
"Telepathy" Mind Reading 8 Linked to Communication (Mental) 2 (24) -- [27]
  • AE: "Telelocation" Senses 3 (Detect Sentient Life- Ranged 3) (3)
    AE: "Psychic Knife" Damage 10 (Extras: Alternate Save- Will) (Inaccurate -1) (19)
    AE: "Astral Form" Remote Sensing 7 (Sight, Hearing & Mental- 2 miles) (Feats: Subtle, Dimensional) (Flaws: Helpless While In Use) (23)
"Psychic Link With Brother"
Senses 1 (Communication Link- Capain Britain) [1]

"Ninja Training"
"Sneak Attack" Strength-Damage +2 (Flaws: Limited to When Enemy Lacks Defense Bonus) [1]
Features: May Add Sneak Attack to Weapon Damage [1]

Equipment:
"Asian Swords" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical 2) (Extras: Penetrating 5) (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +15 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Sneak Attack +15 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Swords +12 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Sneak Attack With Swords +12 (+7 Damage, DC 21)
Psychic Knife +10 (+10 Mental Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +16 (DC 26), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Relationship (Various)- She tends to gets around. The fact that she's certain writers' favourite X-chick adds up. She flirted with Cyclops for a while (before he married Jean, but during that relationship), dated Archangel, and left him for Thunderbird III. She also made kisses with the Exiles version of Sabretooth, Fantomex and
Responsibility (Powers)- Her powers are in constant flux, and she loses some and gains others a lot.
Relationship (Wolverine)- The two were quite linked by the 1990s, especially once she got tangled up with The Hand. Betsy is among the X-Men closest to Logan.
Responsibility (Asian-Looking)- Betsy was changed from British to Japanese by The Hand & Spiral.
Relationship (Brian Braddock, Brother)- They don't see that much of each other these days, but he has been heartbroken at what was believed to be her death on two separate occasions.
Vulnerable (Mind Control)- Psylocke is more affected by Mind Control or changes to her body than others, as a result of her repeated victimizations at the hands of others. This also gives her an issue with mental probes- she once disallowed Professor X from doing one on her, even when it would be helpful, thanks to past torment.

Total: Abilities: 72 / Skills: 60--30 / Advantages: 29 / Powers: 30 / Defenses: 19 (180)

-Psylocke's been under more changes and shifts that just about any X-Character. And when that list includes Emma "supreme villain, then magnificent bitch leader, then repentant, then Mean-But-Heroic British Bitch" Frost and Hank "Big smart guy, then grey ape, then blue ape, then human, then ape, then blue lion thing, now an ape again" McCoy, that is SAYING something. Starting life as Captain Britain's supporting cast sister in his own UK comics (Alan Moore turned her hair purple), Betsy got co-opted by Claremont (who wrote much of that series) into his own X-Men, eventually turning her from a sweet English telepathic girl into a cold-hearted, cynical Japanese bitch-ninja. She later became an icon of the 1990s, and not really in that good way- she DEFINES so many stereotypes: Bitchy, unrealistic women. Ninjas with swords. Eyes with no pupils. Costumes with frickin' THONGS on them. Mindless characterization and shifts for no reason into Grim 'n' Gritty forms... of course I was thirteen when I first saw her, so I was totally in love, so hey, whatever works for Marvel.

-Though actually, her outfit is more or less what an actual gymnast would wear (check the Olympics- it's basically the same deal but with leggings and straps all over the place), so it's more the Escher Girl poses that are horribly unrealistic. Psylocke of course ended up being a the primary sexpot of Marvel Comics in the '90s, to the point where she got onto the X-Men Fighting Game ahead of Jean Grey (who had to wait until Marvel (vs) Capcom 4) and Rogue. She was talked about in Wizard Magazine (remember THAT?), was a huge part of Fabian Nicieza's run on X-Men, took up space in the dreams of pubescent young males, and got several arcs based on just her. I remember being PISSED when she didn't get to be in the X-Men Animated Series ahead of Jean in that god-awful '90s outfit, Rogue & Jubilee. Which makes it all the more odd that she was basically ignored after a point- Rogue & Jean ended up becoming WAY more important once again, while only Claremont was writing Betsy-related stuff after a point.

-Psylocke gpt her start as just "Captain Britain's Sister", an innocent type who started dyeing her hair purple and ficused on skiing. Alas, she attempted to replace her brother as Captain Britain temporarily, and had her eyes gouged out by the villain Slaymaster (who was executed by Brian as punishment). Claremont liked her, and did his usual thing- translating a character from a failed book (like much of the Ms. Marvel supporting cast) into his successful X-Men book. And so Betsy gained new eyes in the Mojoverse, and became the X-Men's resident psychic.


-Betsy is basically a subpar fighter with psionic talent at first, but a trip through the brainwashing Siege Perilous ends up putting her in a new, Asian-Looking body as "Lady Mandarin", explained away as The Hand modifying her into a new form. She turns good again, ultimately rejoining the X-Men as an ultra-sexy ninja lady, wearing one of comics' sexiest costumes (really just a recolored Elektra outfit). She was ridiculously humorless, stern and unfriendly, but also decided to flirt with Cyclops, the Mack-Daddy of the Marvel Universe, largely because they wanted fanboys to fap to her being seductive (DONE and DONE).

-Psylocke was eventually confronted by Kwannon, the woman who had the asian body Betsy now inhabited. Kwannon, of course, now possessed BETSY'S original body, then got the Legacy Virus and died. She later started dating Archangel, but later left him and dated Neal "Thunderbird" Shaara, also developing shadow powers. This set off a weird run in which Betsy gained an ENDLESS supply of new power-sets, something that'd basically stick to her rep for ages.

-There was a funny bit where Claremont meant to temporarily-kill her in X-Treme X-Men (a book given to him just to write his own stuff without messing with the "Mainstream" book), and was forced to keep her dead for YEARS since that was the exact moment when Joe Quesada forced a line-wide "Dead is DEAD" policy of "No Resurrections". But that's the LEAST of the weirdness surrounding her- she once got gutted by Sabretooth, and turned into a Crimson Dawn Ninja (getting a funky eye tattoo by Joe Madureira, and Teleportation Powers). She lost her psionics and traded powers with Jean Grey, becoming a TELEKINETIC all of a sudden. Never mind that even in the EIGHTIES, she'd been rendered blind, then had her eyes replaced with cybernetic cameras to allow the X-Men's adventures to be broadcast in the Mojoverse, and when she switched/merged minds & bodies with the asian ninja assassin Kwannon. She is probably the single-most complicated character in Marvel- only DC's most-F'd-up Crisis on Infinite Earths-warped characters (Donna Troy, Supergirl, The Legion) can match her.

-This is the version of Psylocke with which I'm most familiar, being a snarky, deadpan ninja with tons of stealth, quickness and elite martial arts prowess, being more in the "finesse" group than the "kill everything in one shot" one. The Psychic Knife is a very deadly attack, and that and her Parry are the only full-on PL 10 things about her. The Knife is REALLY hard to hit with most of the time (nearly all its hits come from the side or the back in the comics), so it's Inaccurate by a single rank- hitting guys from the back is usually her best bet. Being rather fragile (Toughness +4 max), it's a good idea in general to be out of the way- she gets the most of her +14-16 Defenses & Improved Defense/Uncanny Dodge. Her Telepathy is at its lowest ebb in this form, as it was rarely anything but a plot device in the comics. I barely even remember instances of her trying to read minds. Her earlier version actually possesses a lot more power in this regard- back before the ninja stuff. Altogether, she's an expensive PL 10, which is about right- most elite X-Men or Avengers-types end up in that range.

-Various other power-sets have included Telekinesis (she was better at Blasting/Striking than actually lifting stuff- she has manifested a Telekinetic Katana as well), Teleportation (enough ranks to go across the planet, with the Flaw: Medium- Shadows), or Immunity to Reality-Warping Powers & Mental Effects. She was also once Captain Britain in Brian's stead, gaining mini-Flying Brick powers. Her Cybernetic Eyes allowed her to be Immune to Visual Dazzles and gave her Low-Light Vision.

---

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PSYLOCKE (Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock)- Telepathic Early Version
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Captain Britain #8 (Dec. 1976)
Role: Telepath
Country of Origin: England
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, The Captain Britain Corps.
PL 10 (138)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Athletics 2 (+2)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Model) 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Skier) 1 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 6 (+6)

Advantages:
Attractive, Defensive Roll, Defensive Strike, Equipment (X-Uniform- Communiations, Fancy Armour +2), Improved Defense, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Telepathy"
"Telepathy" Mind Reading 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Effortless) (41) -- [55]
  • Dynamic AE: Communication 4 (Mental) (21)
    Dynamic AE: "Psycho-Blast" Damage 10 (Extras: Perception Range +2, Alternate Save- Will) (41)
    Dynamic AE: "Mental Stun" Affliction 10 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative) (41)
    Dynamic AE: "Telelocation" Senses 3 (Detect Sentient Life- Ranged 3) (3)
    Dynamic AE: "Astral Form" Remote Sensing 9 (Sight, Hearing & Mental- 2 miles) (Feats: Subtle, Dimensional) (Flaws: Helpless While In Use) (30)
    Dynamic AE: Mind Control 6 (24)
    Dynamic AE: Illusion (All Senses) 8 (Extras: Selective) (Flaws: Resisted by Will) (40)
"Psychic Link With Brother"
Senses 1 (Communication Link- Capain Britain) [1]

Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Mental Blast -- Perception (+10 Perception-Rangeed Damage, DC 25)
Mental Stun -- (+10 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Mind Control +6 Perception (+6 Perception Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +2 (+4 Armour), Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (Brother, Brian)

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 58 / Defenses: 19 (138)

-'80s Betsy was a more supporting character. She was a tough little cookie, but not really a combatant, though her telepathic might was far in excess of her Ninja Version's- she even got reasonably good in a fight eventually (earlier than this, and she'd be lucky to be +6 to hit or parry). She's only PL 10 as far as Mind Reading goes- the rest of her is PL 8 at-best. Pricey, but not an A-Leaguer.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain! Psylocke!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:00 pm Image

EXCALIBUR:
Excalibur was a book whose art I loved, but the stories were generally too silly, even for me. It was also weird how Excalibur was 90% mutants, with Capt. Britain being the only non-Mutant on the team, as well as one of only two actually British people on the team (though Kurt, being German, was technically European).

I did like how Alan Davis was able to actually draw attractive women with different body types. Kitty was small and slender, Rachel had the typical superheroine athletic and busty physique, and Meggan was tall and buxom. Him and George Perez are masters of both unique faces, body styles, large casts and amazing action sequences. If I'd ever get my choice for an artist on a book I wrote, it'd be either of those two, or someone like Mark Bagley who can do fun, dynamic actions scenes.

I did love the concept of Excalibur tho, and it really should have been Britain's answer to the Avengers. It's a shame that it never really lived up to that.

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:59 pm Captain Britain and MI-13:
This was a quite good, doomed-to-Early-cancellation, book from 2010-ish. I mean, iit was well written and well drawn... but a CAPTAIN BRITAIN book? With Pete Wisdom, Black Knight and Spitfire as his major supporting cast?

The arcs are quite interesting, and I liked how it focused more on quick thinking and tactics over just punching. The first arc is all Secret Invasion stuff, as Brian gets all this mystical destiny stuff and offs a Super-Skrull with the combined might of all England's magic. In the second story, the team faces off against one of the monstrous demons unleashed by Wisdom in order to beat the Skrulls (he freed Satannish, and was granted one boon- apologizing to the people he couldn't resurrect, Wisdom said "No More Skrulls", saving England). The final arc is most fascinating, as it's all a tactical game of chess between Wisdom and Dracula himself, who plots the total overthrow of England. And Wisdom pulls some great stuff in that arc.

One of the only problems with the book is a lack of exposition. For example... nobody explains why Spitfire is a vampire! Or why her son wears a funny costume (it's Baron Blood's)! Or who Captain Fate is. Or who Captain Midlands (who ends every sentence with a comma and "like") is. Or why Meggan disappeared! They explain where she was, but all you see at one point is that she was missing- she's basically ignored for the entire story until it's relevant. She's the hero's WIFE. Hell, they never even explain minor stuff, like anyone's origins, or what their powers actually are. I mean- you can make fun of Claremontisms, but you understood what everyone could do! *I* know that Pete throws Hot Knives, but think of new readers!
This to me was more of what Excalibur should have been: Captain Britain and a lot of other British/European heroes as a unified, Avengers-style team, taking on their own threats and menaces. It was a lot of fun, well written, but I agree that it had trouble with exposition. It counted on you to know certain things and never bothered to explain them to you. A little more exposition would have gone a long way.

I did love the writing, art and overall creativity on this team. It didn't hurt that they cited Captain Marvel as an example of how they wanted to portray Brians' powers, making him a powerful, flying paragon who could do things like grab a magical spell and snap it in half. These are some guys I'd love to see on an actual Power of Shazam style book.

I think the book overall needed better exposition, better marketing, and a few better members. I think if they were going to try again, I'd make it an Excalibur book, but bring in more guys and gals with a British/European background.

Brian and Meggan would be definitely in, as would Dane as the Black Knight (though I'd have him switch back to his Avalon gear). Spitfire maybe, though possibly do something about her being a vampire. Blade is a maybe. I'd also bring Shang Chi into the group, since he spent most of his career working for British Intelligence. Maybe bring back some guys like Union Jack, MicroMax, the doctor who was wielding Excalibur (maybe change her abilities to purely mystical ones), and introduce a few new people. And make sure Marvel actually pushes the damn book this time. Pete Wisdom would NOT be a member of the team, and instead someone who the group interacts with as kind of their "Nick Fury", being from the government who none of them like but will come up with a decent plan while being a callus, snarky bastard. Only I'd also have him get put in his place and taken down a peg, maybe even making him kind of a butt monkey at times as all of that bad karma comes back to bite him in the ass.

Unfortunately, the best we might get is an Avengers: UK or something similar. Or Brian being put on an Avengers team and acting like an ass, like they did last time.
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:58 pm
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CAPTAIN BRITAIN (Brian Braddock)- MI-13 Version
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Captain Britain Weekly #1 (Oct. 1976)
Role: National Hero, Flying Brick
Country of Origin: England
Group Affiliations: Excalibur, The Captain Britain Corps., MI-13, The Knights of Pendragon, The Hellfire Club, The Avengers
PL 11 (170)

Complications:
Power Loss (All Powers)- If Brian is away from England for a long period of time, he will start losing power. This may occasionally make him very ill. Sometimes he needs his costume to do it, too. They're vague on this at times, and it changes a lot. In this version, his costume can "absorb" some of England's power for when he needs to do stuff outside of it.
Power Loss (Confidence)- Cap's powers are now also linked to his confidence levels- if his courage falters, so does he.

-Cap circa MI-13 gets an upgrade. He's much better overall, and is more powerful, becoming a PL 11 guy who'd fit really well on The Avengers or the like. Unfortunately, his critically-beloved but little-read series was cancelled. He's shown up briefly in Secret Avengers and helped out the American heroes once or twice, as well as creating a counterpart to Avengers Academy in England, which will no doubt result in the creation of many Sacrificial Teenagers.
From what I understand, Brian no longer needs to worry about the "British Connection", with his powers now being drawn from "the friction of mystical dimensions" or something similar, basically giving him all the power he needs, wherever he is, so long as he has faith in himself.

I actually liked Brian as a character, especially in this interpretation of the hero. I thought the idea that Marvel's most visible Flying Brick was British instead of American was kind of fun, like their version of Superman/Captain Marvel was British. He should have been the guy used instead of all of the Superman analogues Marvel has been using, and should be a full on Thor-class powerhouse, just somewhat less versatile.

And personally, my preferred outfit for Brian would be something like this:

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"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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Re: Merlyn

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2017 5:38 am Image

MERLYN (aka Merlin, Myrdh, the Magus, Myrrdin)
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Captain Britain #1 (1976- Numerous Other Merlins Have Been Seen)
Role: The Ultimate Wizard
Group Affiliations: The Captain Britain Corps.
PL 15 (369)

-There's been numerous different "Merlins" in the Marvel Universe, all owing to the tremendous legend of King Arthur, Excalibur and all that Round Table jazz. Merlin himself is actually the most famous character FROM the legends I would say- this aged, haggard wizard is the most-iconic Mentor Figure in fiction, and you can see his shadow everywhere across thousands of stories written since. He's been seen aiding the original Black Knight, fighting Kang alongside some time-traveling super-heroes, fighting Morgana Le Fay (herself a recurring Marvel Villainess), and more. A few have imitated him- the villain now known as Maha Yogi, a Space Phantom, a certain Doctor, and a Dire Wraith, and Albion (some English superhero) claims to be the current reincarnation of the man.

-But this built represents MERLYN, who claims to be the original (though he's a known bullshitter), and appears in spectral form alongside his daughter Roma. Curiously having little to do with Doctor Strange, he instead focuses on Captain Britain as a multiversal defender (Omniversal Guardian, to be exact). He was born on an alternate Earth as a member of a race of super-powered immortals, learning from Necrom- the Sorcerer Supreme of that Earth. Necrom turned evil (eventually becoming an Excalibur foe), while Merlyn stole some of his boss' power and established himself as a protector of all universes in existence. He would eventually form the Captain Britain Corps in order to help him.

-Eventually, he and his daughter Roma got Brian Braddock to become the Captain Britain of Earth-616 (the first time it was named as such was in Captain Britain, as a matter of fact). Brian stopped Mad Jim Jaspers from destroying the fabric of the multiverse, but Merlyn died in the battle, his daughter taking over. However, he was FAKING, and manipulated things so that Excalibur would be formed to eventually become Merlyn's weapon against Necrom. Excalibur & Roma, angered at having been lied to and manipulated, destroyed their Tower homebase, thus removing a major part of Merlyn's power. He would return years later behaving in an evil manner, killing Roma and allying with a revived Jim Jaspers- he would be defeated by Excalibur and the Exiles (this would be Claremont's Exiles run) when MERLIN, one of his many aspects, removed a shard of madness from him.

-Uber-Powerful Magic Guys are easier to build now that I've statted both Dr. Strange and Morgana Le Fay- since they all have "whatever power the writer decides today", I can just be lazy and give them all the same powers :). Seriously, this is the same build as Morgana, minus Attractive, plus some more manipulative Skills and higher Will.
What is it with comics turning mentor figures evil?
"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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Re: Psylocke

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:54 am Image
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Image
Image
In three of these four pictures, she actually looks attractive. In one of them, not so much.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Press Gang! Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:31 pm Oh good- more comments :)!

As I was explaining to some others on Facebook, I actually felt sorry for myself looking at my thread in Nov. 2015, just because it seemed so busy. I was posting weird Hulk losers, and yet every build was followed by like 3-5 comments about comics in general. I was like "aw, I wish my thread was still that busy." Especially since nobody commented all day on mine yesterday.

Though I think that was more a random tangent, because those same posters (minus St. Matthew) are still on my thread. Sometimes I think character obcurity is an issue. It's part of why, much as I enjoy being ultra-completist and going through The List, I needed to put important characters down at the same time. Not many comment when it's just obscure types.

given how "new" Echoes is, it still freaks me out a bit to see dwindling comments, though I'm sure it's just temporary.
I immediately get anxious, thinking "OMG the site is DYING and I'll have to go back to the old site where most of the posters refuse to go!"

Same kinda thing happens when I think of the possibility of "finishing Marvel", because... THEN what? Traipsing around DC is not nearly as fun. I can repost stuff every few years and it comes off as "new", at least (particularly since I still come up with new commentary). Hence X-Men & Spidey builds periodically showing up.

I wonder if the "4 builds a day" thing is a turn off? I do it because reposts are basically "cheating", especially for recent guys, but it might get overwhelming for a reader to see me "spam" them out like that. Nobody comments one way or the other when I ask about that, though.
I definitely do understand the worry about things being "quieter" here. I worry sometimes that putting this place up split the fanbase rather than preserving it, but I like to think that we kept people who might have simply abandoned Roninarmy for good and never looked back.

I think more comments will come as time passes and this place settles in. I do think we need to start looking into adding more folks from other sites to get some new blood in, as well as maybe convinced some more folks from RA to come over. It feels like sometimes that Echoes is now the place where all of the character builds go, while RA remains the place where most of the Play-By-Post players stayed.

Regardless, keep at it. I know I don't post nearly as often, but I'm a bit busier than I use to be. :)
"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: Psylocke

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:54 am Image

PSYLOCKE (Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock)
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Captain Britain #8 (Dec. 1976)
Role: Miss Fanservice (the '90s), Telepath, Ninja, Inscrutable Oriental, Confusing-Power Chick
Country of Origin: England (then Japan, kinda)
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, Excalibur, The Exiles, X-Force, RCX, The Hand, The Crimson Dawn, The Hellfire Club, The Captain Britain Corps.

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PSYLOCKE (Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock)- Telepathic Early Version
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Captain Britain #8 (Dec. 1976)
Role: Telepath
Country of Origin: England
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, The Captain Britain Corps.
PL 10 (138)
I'm probably in the minority, but I actually preferred Psylocke as a British telepath and not the Asian Psychic Ninja. And this was after first being exposed to her as Claremont and Lee's ideal Asian woman. I read about her earlier experiences later and found I preferred to have someone who was nice but strong, was a telepath of reasonable power and skill in hand-to-hand combat, but actually had the foresight to realize that "Hey, I'm pretty vulnerable compared to my teammates, body armor might be a good idea".

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Granted, I prefer the idea that most superhero costumes that incorporate stuff like Unstable Molecules and such are basically like kevlar, bullet resistant while not being arrow/knife proof. Give the non-invulnerable types some armor/protection while keeping the iconic spandex look.

But even then, Betsy figured "best to play it safe and make sure guys like Sabertooth can't just gut me easily". And the armor actually saved her life once, against Sabertooth, who couldn't get through it fast enough to prevent her from frying his brain.
"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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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Press Gang! Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Sat Mar 25, 2017 5:09 am
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Mar 24, 2017 7:31 pm Oh good- more comments :)!

As I was explaining to some others on Facebook, I actually felt sorry for myself looking at my thread in Nov. 2015, just because it seemed so busy. I was posting weird Hulk losers, and yet every build was followed by like 3-5 comments about comics in general. I was like "aw, I wish my thread was still that busy." Especially since nobody commented all day on mine yesterday.

Though I think that was more a random tangent, because those same posters (minus St. Matthew) are still on my thread. Sometimes I think character obcurity is an issue. It's part of why, much as I enjoy being ultra-completist and going through The List, I needed to put important characters down at the same time. Not many comment when it's just obscure types.

given how "new" Echoes is, it still freaks me out a bit to see dwindling comments, though I'm sure it's just temporary.
I immediately get anxious, thinking "OMG the site is DYING and I'll have to go back to the old site where most of the posters refuse to go!"

Same kinda thing happens when I think of the possibility of "finishing Marvel", because... THEN what? Traipsing around DC is not nearly as fun. I can repost stuff every few years and it comes off as "new", at least (particularly since I still come up with new commentary). Hence X-Men & Spidey builds periodically showing up.

I wonder if the "4 builds a day" thing is a turn off? I do it because reposts are basically "cheating", especially for recent guys, but it might get overwhelming for a reader to see me "spam" them out like that. Nobody comments one way or the other when I ask about that, though.
I definitely do understand the worry about things being "quieter" here. I worry sometimes that putting this place up split the fanbase rather than preserving it, but I like to think that we kept people who might have simply abandoned Roninarmy for good and never looked back.

I think more comments will come as time passes and this place settles in. I do think we need to start looking into adding more folks from other sites to get some new blood in, as well as maybe convinced some more folks from RA to come over. It feels like sometimes that Echoes is now the place where all of the character builds go, while RA remains the place where most of the Play-By-Post players stayed.

Regardless, keep at it. I know I don't post nearly as often, but I'm a bit busier than I use to be. :)
To be fair, the place is as busy as RA was before the split, at least usually. It's the random occasional downturn that makes me worry.

The splitting thing is kind of why I wish RA had just shut down. They could do away with the business of managing mercurial fans, and we'd have most everybody.
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Revanche

Post by Jabroniville »

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REVANCHE (Kwannon)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Andy Kubert
First Appearance: X-Men #17 (Feb. 1993)
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, Lord Nyoirin's Gang
Role: Confusing Backstory Character, Hot Ninja Lady
PL 10 (164)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+14)
Athletics 6 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+15)
Deception 7 (+8, +10 Attractive)
Expertise (Ninja) 7 (+9)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 5 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 9 (+11)
Persuasion 1 (+2, +4 Attractive)
Stealth 5 (+12)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Swords), Evasion, Grab Finesse, Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical 2 (Psychic Katana, Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Ranged Attack 3, Takedown 2, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
“Mutant Powers: Telepathy”
"Psychic Katana" Damage 10 (Extras: Alternate Save- Will) (Inaccurate -1) (19) -- [20]
  • AE: "Telepathy" Mind Reading 6 Linked to Communication (Mental) 1 (16)
"Ninja Training"
"Sneak Attack" Strength-Damage +2 (Flaws: Limited to When Enemy Lacks Defense Bonus) [1]
Features: May Add Sneak Attack to Weapon Damage [1]

Equipment:
"Sword" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Penetrating 4) (8)

Offense:
Unarmed +15 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Sneak Attack +15 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Swords +12 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Sneak Attack +12 (+7 Damage, DC 21)
Psychic Katana +10 (+10 Will Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +16 (DC 26), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Enemy (Psylocke)- Kwannon & Elisabeth Braddock switched bodies, and now find their souls linked. Revanche believes that SHE is the real Betsy Braddock, and will kill the "imposter" in order to save herself.
Responsibility (Lord Nyoirin)- A Japanese crimelord, Nyoirin is Kwannon's master, and she has been charged with the murder of Matsu'o Tsurayaba. However...
Relationship (Matsu'o Tsurayaba)- Kwannon is in love with the elite Hand agent, and does not wish to kill him. Alas, they must fight to the death.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 58--29 / Advantages: 24 / Powers: 22 / Defenses: 18 (164)

-Psylocke's origin was (hard to believe, I know) LESS confusing back in the early '90s. See, back then, she was merely an Englishwoman who gained artificial eyes because of Mojo & Spiral, who was then changed by the Siege Perilous and some genetic engineering into a Japanese woman. I mean, that's EASY, right? Not confusing at all. Then... REVANCHE came in. A purple-haired lady who looked identical to pre-Siege Betsy Braddock came calling, insisting that SHE was the true Betsy and the other was a spy/infiltrator. This led to some trademark X-angst and some fighting, but eventually BOTH became X-Men for a short time, living under the same roof until answers came. Then it turned out that Revanche had the Legacy Virus (yeah, two entire teams of X-Men and it somehow only attacked the one character who was least important to anything), and we realized that she was an assassin named Kwannon, after all. Not that it was a big surprise, given that someone who was CLEARLY HER was plotting Psylocke's death in the issues beforehand (seriously- who uses foreshadowing to spoil the results of the big secret plot?), while wearing something that would have made GAMORA go "WOAH, girl! Skank it DOWN a little bit! This ain't Penthouse Comix, ya know..."

-See, Kwannon was an assassin hooked up with D-League X-villain Matsu'o Tsurayaba, but she died. Matsu'o hired Spiral (who had always had a vested interest in Psylocke, having given her bioinic eyes under Mojo's orders) to reanimate the comatose Kwannon using Betsy's telepathy, but the whole brainwashing thing didn't take all the way, so they both ended up gaining similar powers (watered-down versions of Betsy's powerful Psionics) & fighting styles. After the Legacy Virus hit, Revanche/Kwannon finally figures out the truth (she was Kwannon, woth some Betsy memories thrown in), murders Lord Nyoirin, and begs Matsu'o to kill her, to prevent the Virus from totally ravaging her, thus ending that whole storyline less than a year after it began (I was still actively reading comics when it happened, yet never recall Revanche JOINING the team- she was just suddenly kinda THERE, with a new codename, and the two girls living under the same roof). And this was before Psylocke's character became REALLY confusing!

-Revanche is more or less the real Psylocke's equal in every single way, but lacks her Telepathic talents for the most part. The exact nature of the Psychic Katana is pretty much the Psychic Knife but bigger and fancier-looking (confusing, Andy Kubert once drew it DECAPITATING Psylocke, but never explained why she was whole in the next panel- I guess it was a symbolic thing), and she's still a PL 10 dangerous Ninja Warrior.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain! Psylocke!)

Post by Spectrum »

Two recent builds of Psylocke, both missing the bendy straw spine. I'm going to start going to the manufact;h complaints.

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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain! Psylocke!)

Post by Bladewind »

Betsy is no stranger to that weirdness. Even when her origins were normalish, she took on the name of Captain Britain for awhile, wearing an augmentation suit. The suit was from a parallel world where Kapton Briton was not the nicest version of Brian... he came to 616 and took Brian's place and tried to rape Betsy who killed him... his costume was then altered to fit her and give her Cap Britain powers.

Sheesh.

On the subject of Cap's costume... The costume he picked up from Captain Marshall (with the Queen Mother version of Satyrnine) was an obvious @let's make this simpler ploy...

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Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain! Psylocke!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Funny thing about Brian is just how dopey he was under Claremont. Which is odd, because he'd both written the character before, and LOVED the UK in general. He often had his X-Men visit there on vacation, and seemed to look back fondly on the nation he once called home as a boy. Yet his Brian? Total doofus.

Personally, I'm glad they kept his Power Level where it was in MI-13. Powerful, but not insane. It appears that other books Enhanced his PL, because in Cornell's book, someone even made a comment comparing him pretty evenly to his old self. They just stuck "Gladiator Confidence Caveats" onto him, though that didn't come up much. Heck, his biggest "Feat" was killing that Magic Skrull, but even that was only pulled off via Excalibur being in his hand at the time.
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Slaymaster

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SLAYMASTER (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Alan Moore & Alan Davis
First Appearance: Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain #243
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (94)
STRENGTH
3/8 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 4 (+7, +12 Wristlets)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Assassin) 5 (+7)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Neeldes- Blast 4- Multiattack), Improved Critical 2 (Needles, Unarmed), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Atomic Wristlets" (Flaws: Removable) [8]
Enhanced Strength 5 (10 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Atomic Wristlets +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Needles +9 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Slaymaster kills people for money.

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (94)

-Slaymaster was a common assassin who went up against Captain Britain a few times, and killed most of the psi-division of S.T.R.I.K.E. (an English spy agency). When Betsy Braddock went up against him, he gouges out her eyes in a pretty gruesome incident (which led to her getting cyborg-eyes from Mojoworld in a peculiar '80s X-Men storyline involving her being used as a "camerawoman" in order to broadcast the X-Men's missions throughout Mojo's empire). He soon learns the error in attempting Refrigerator Stuffings on those close to super-powered heroes, as an enraged, vengeful Brian Braddock crushes Slaymaster's head with a boulder. Thus endeth the threat of Slaymaster. He's your standard everyday assassin, but gained strength-enhancing weapons later on. Ultimately, though, he's no match for Captain Britain.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Vixen

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

VIXEN (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Alan Moore & Alan Davis
First Appearance: Daredevils #9 (Sept. 1983)
Role: Crime Lord
Group Affiliations: None
PL 6 (72)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 2 (+6)
Expertise (Criminal) 7 (+10)
Insight 2 (+6)
Persuasion 1 (+5)
Vehicles 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit 2 (Wealth), Equipment 2 (Pistol +5), Ranged Attack 2

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Pistol +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Vixen is a crime boss.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 5 (72)

-Coming a couple years after DC's much-more well-known Vixen, Marvel's version is an Alan Moore creation for the Captain Britain stories featured in the Marvel UK brand. She allied with Mad Jim Jaspers- a nigh-omnipotent psychopath, and enabled him to imprison countless superhumans, but when she realized that Jaspers had to be stopped, she was turned into an actual fox while trying to kill him. It was on a mission to fight Vixen that Capt. Britain's sister Betsy "Psylocke" Braddock had her eyes gouged out by Slaymaster (Vixen's minion)- Slaymaster was killed by a vengeful Brian. She was last seen being turned back into a fox by Brian & Betsy's other sibling, Jamie (who had powers similar to Jaspers).

-A Crimelord of some repute, Vixen has access to borderline sci-fi gear such as Jetpacks and high-flying aircraft. She's a small-end combatant herself, but like most people in her position, she's best-off using schemes and minions (ofter numbered like "Number One", "Number Seven", etc.).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Feb 06, 2022 11:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Cameron Hodge! Captain Britain! Psylocke!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Speaking of my thread's comments, like I noted to another, my most popular set EVER was likely JLU. It seemed like every build was followed by an entire page of comments. DC was usually less common than Marvel at the time, given how recent the release of DCA was.

I've thought of Titans & LOSH again, but the Nu52 happening right when I last posted them means little has been done with them. I just don't have much to ADD.

I always noticed that some names would pop up only when certain characters got built. Like doing Godzilla builds or Invincible builds (now that it's ending, I really CAN build that for 3e!)- names would pop up for that, and then disappear.
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