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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Father Time

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

FATHER TIME II (Larry Scott)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Al Avison
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #6 (Sept. 1941)
Role: Golden Age Hero
Group Affiliations: N/A
PL 7 (83)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+7)
Deception 2 (+5)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment (Scythe +2), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Ranged Attack 2

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Scythe +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Enemy (Nazi Germany)

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (83)

-Father Time appeared in a few comics in the '40s, but was not overly popular, despite giving Stan Lee some of his earliest comic book work. He wielded a scythe to "make time work against criminals" (note: Scythes are not good melee weapons in real life. Only in comics would a polearm with a 45-degree angle on it be an effective weapon. That shit would get hooked on something FAST). Only reason I didn't put him in the "Template" is because I researched him early and just happened to do the build, then realized later I wanted to find out stuff on everybody :).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Mar 08, 2022 8:54 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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The Spirit of '76

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE SPIRIT OF '76 (William Naslund, aka "Captain America II")
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Frank Robbins
First Appearance: The Invaders #14 (March 1977)
Role: Retcon Hero
Group Affiliations: The Crusaders, The All-Winners Squad
PL 8 (105)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (War Hero) 4 (+6)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit 1 (Wealth), Close Combat, Defensive Roll, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Ranged Attack 7

Powers:
"Rip-Off of Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [12]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion, Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 3, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 5) (Diminished Range -1) (12) -- (15)
  • Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (3)
  • Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 5, Selective 5) (12)
  • Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (6)
-- (17 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Shield Bash +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Shield Toss +9 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Bouncing Shield +5 Area (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+12 Shield, DC 22), Parry +9 (+11 Shield, DC 21), Toughness +3 (+4 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Patriotism)- Inspired by Captain America himself, William Naslund is devoted to his country.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 12 / Defenses: 13 (105)

-Marvel's Golden Age may have been poor compared to DC's & National's (both merged to form what is now DC Comics), but Roy Thomas sure gave it a shot- his Retcon Golden Age series The Invaders was a mid-'70s attempt at showcasing Marvel's old-school heroes in adventures from the 1940s. It... didn't really succeed, though I'm sure it has it's fans. The Spirit of '76 is a member of The Crusaders, a group meant to evoke rival Golden Age group The Freedom Fighters, with the Spirit being a riff on Uncle Sam. It was actually a really funny concept, as DC was doing a Freedom Fighters book at the time, and the two creative teams got together to do a dual-story, with each group fighting "The Crusaders", a group of rip-offs of the other company's characters!

-A standard big, strong, smiling hero, there wasn't much else to him. Later writers, feeling the need to retcon Cap's 1950s appearances (when Marvel tried to re-do the concept of super-heroes during their darkest hour), because even in the '80s there were Continuity Dorks, included him in a short list of "Replacement Caps". Basically, when Steve Rogers was reported dead near war's end, the U.S. Government did its standard thing and lied about it, trotting out a handful of replacements to cover up Cap's assumed demise. The Spirit was one of them, ditching his old costume for a new one. He died in battle in 1946, crushed by a robot working for some android named Adam II.

-The Spirit of '76-as-Cap is a PL 8 version of the Golden Age hero, using a far worse steel shield (I would even reduce the thing to Equipment if it weren't so character-centric to all Caps), and more "respectable" stats instead of great ones. He'd kick most Minions' asses, but he's a Poor Man's Cap all the way. As The Spirit, he possesses a fireproof and bulletproof cloak which is essentialy Equipment (Protection +2 with Immunity to Fire & Ballistics- Half-Effect).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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M4C8
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Re: Modern Citizen V

Post by M4C8 »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun Apr 16, 2017 12:52 am Image

CITIZEN V (John Watkins III)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Patrick Zircher
First Appearance: Thunderbolts #45 (Dec. 2000)
Role: Legacy Character
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (112)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills: 
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Secret Agent) 5 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 3 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Knives) 4 (+12)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages: 
Equipment 3 (Gear, V-Wing Glider, etc.), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Sword), Improved Smash, Improved Defense, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Adamantium Sword" (Feats: Unbreakable) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [9]
Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Penetrating 7) (12 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sword +9 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Throwing Knives +12 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)
Responsibility (The V-Battalion)

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 9 / Defenses: 13 (112)

-John Watkins III is the grandson of the Golden Age character, and was bred to be Citizen V. However, trapped in a coma, he had his body taken over by Baron Zemo for a while- after some super-stuff happened, John ended up back in control, but his time in comics was limited, and he hasn't been seen in years.
After reading his limited series and his few guest appearances I came to really like the modern Citizen V, given his skill/experience level and his impressive array of high-tech equipment he's easily on a level up there with the best of non powered heroes but sadly it doesn't look like he'll be appearing again any time soon, if at all.
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
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HalloweenJack
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Excello! Dynamic Man! Golden Age Heroes! The Torch!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

always kinda dug Spirit of 76's look
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Excello! Dynamic Man! Golden Age Heroes! The Torch!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

I recall seeing the Spirit of '76 in one of Marvel's Book Of The Dead (And Inactive) handbooks. (Fun thing to do with those: Have a look and see how many of the characters listed in it have been revived since then!)
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Crusaders

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE CRUSADERS:
-The Crusaders came about due to a cute Cross-Over of sorts between Marvel and DC. See, Roy Thomas was writing The Invaders, a series set in World War II, and featuring Marvel's Golden Age characters. Meanwhile, over at DC, Bob Rozakis was writing The Freedom Fighters, featuring the goofy-looking Golden Age heroes of Quality Comics. The two Golden Age Nuts got together and decided to "cross-over" the two books... but without actually featuring each others' characters. What they wrote was a pair of stories, both featuring a team called "The Crusaders", made up of misguided parodies of the other company's super-heroes, fighting that book's super-team! So DC's Freedom Fighters ended up fighting The Crusaders (featuring knock-offs of Captain America, Namor, The Human Torch and others), while Marvel's Invaders ended up fighting... The Crusaders (featuring knock-offs of Uncle Sam, Black Condor, Phantom Lady and others)! It was kind of neat- I have one of the Freedom Fighters issues, and it's not that great, but it's a fun little idea.

-Marvel's Crusaders actually had The Spirit of '76 on the team- one of many men who would later take up the "Captain America" identity when Steve Rogers went missing while fighting Baron Zemo, and an authentic Golden Age character. He acted as the "Uncle Sam", despite not being super-strong. The other four members, however, were newbies- Captain Wings (Black Condor), Ghost Girl (Phantom Lady), Dyna-Mite (Doll Man), Thunder Fist (Human Bomb) and Tommy Lightning (The Ray). They were led on by a mysterious British cabbie named "Alfie" who could turn their powers on and off via a mechanical belt. Dyna-Mite discovers that Alfie, actually a Nazi agent, is using them to assassinate the King of England, but Alfie instigates a fight between The Crusaders & Invaders- he dies in a car crash, and the now-powerless Crusaders disband.

-As they were designed by Jack Kirby, some of Marvel's Crusaders actually look pretty cool, if generic (Kirby had to've known they were one-offs). DC's were a bit more plain- they had a weird Captain America color-swap named "Americommando", a blue fish-man (Barracuda), two sparky flaming guys (Fireball & Sparky), and a Bucky recolour named "Rusty".
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Thunderfist

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THUNDERFIST (Patrick Mason)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Invaders #14 (March 1977)
Role: One-Shot Guy, Powerhouse
Group Affiliations: The Crusaders
PL 8 (66)
STRENGTH
3/10 STAMINA 4/10 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+3)
Perception 2 (+2)

Advantages:
None

Powers:
"Thunderfist Gloves" (Flaws: Removable) [22]
Enhanced Strength 7 (14)
Enhanced Stamina 6 (12)
Enhanced Advantages 1: Improved Critical (Unarmed) (1)
-- (27 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Gloves +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+10 Gloves), Fortitude +4 (+10 Gloves), Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Winning the War)
Power Loss (All Powers)- Alfie, actually a Nazi Agent, can turn off the Crusaders' powers at-will.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 22 / Defenses: 10 (66)

-Thunderfist is a knock-off of The Human Bomb, wearing Gloves that give him Super-Strength enough to tangle with Namor, even if briefly.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Tommy Lightning

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

... He's British.

TOMMY LIGHTNING (Thomas Lovejoy)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Invaders #14 (March 1977)
Role: One-Shot Guy, Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Crusaders
PL 8 (62)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+3)
Perception 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
Electrical Blast 8 (Feats: Split, Accurate 2) (19) -- [20]
  • AE: "Absorb Electricity" Nullify 8 (Electrical Powers) (Extras: Ranged) (16)
Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Blasts +7 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

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

Complications:
Motivation (Winning the War)
Power Loss (All Powers)- Alfie, actually a Nazi Agent, can turn off the Crusaders' powers at-will.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 12 (62)

-Tommy Lightning is a simpler version of the original, Golden Age Ray, and is your everyday Blaster.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:14 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Captain Wings

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

CAPTAIN WINGS (Roger Dicken)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Invaders #14 (March 1977)
Role: One-Shot Guy, Flier
Group Affiliations: The Crusaders
PL 6 (58)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+3)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Winged Harness" (Flaws: Removable) [4]
Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (5 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Winning the War)
Power Loss (All Powers)- Alfie, actually a Nazi Agent, can turn off the Crusaders' powers at-will.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 4 / Defenses: 8 (58)

-About as simple as a build can get, Captain Wings, meant to replicate Black Condor, was unfortunately not raised by wild birds, but instead was a man in a flight harness. He's a pretty low-end PL 6.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:14 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Ghost Girl

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

GHOST GIRL I (Wendy Hunt)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Invaders #14 (March 1977)
Role: One-Shot Girl
Group Affiliations: The Crusaders
PL 6 (61)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+3)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Light-Bending Belt" (Flaws: Removable) [5]
"Holographic Ghost" Concealment 2 (Vision) Linked to Illusion (Vision) 2 (Flaws: Limited to Single Image Beside Her Actual Position) (6 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Motivation (Winning the War)
Power Loss (All Powers)- Alfie, actually a Nazi Agent, can turn off the Crusaders' powers at-will.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 8 (61)

-The Scottish Ghost Girl had the power to turn "Invisible" by bending light around her, creating a holographic image of herself in a different position. This functions more or less like normal Concealment, plus an Illusion. Like Phantom Lady, she's a pretty low-end Melee Fighter Power Level-wise, but the fact that she's got permanent Concealment means that her effective PL is higher- enemies that can't perceive her are at a huge disadvantage. Too bad she never appeared again, because her costume, while monochromatic, is quite neat-looking.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:16 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Jabroniville
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The Destroyer (Marlow)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE DESTROYER I (Keen Marlow)
Created By:
Stan Lee (unknown artist- perhaps Jack Binder or Alex Schomburg)
First Appearance: Mystic Comics #6 (Oct. 1941)
Role: Forgotten Golden Age Hero
PL 8 (129)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 9 (+13)
Deception 4 (+8)
Expertise (Special Agent) 8 (+11)
Expertise (Journalism) 3 (+6)
Insight 4 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+7)
Perception 3 (+7)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Diehard, Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4, Takedown, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Light Super-Soldier Serum" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +7

Complications:
Enemy (Nazi Germany)- Falsworth is a loyal British agent during WWII.

Total: Abilities: 82 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 9 (129)

-The Destroyer's key claim to fame is that he's one of the very first creations of young Timely "office gopher" Stan Lee. He was more successful than most of the Golden Agers outside of the Big Three (Cap/Namor/Torch), going from Mystic Comics (which ended at #10) to the backstory of nearly every other Timely publication- he's actually #5 on the most-published list, behind The Big Three and The Angel. Despite his successes, he was basically forgotten as soon as super-heroes fell out of favour, and his most-famous thing is probably being in that Spider-Man cartoon story in the 1990s, along with a handful of other Golden Agers.

-The Destroyer is American journalist Keen Marlow, who was captured behind enemy lines for spying on the Germans. He gets an "Iron Man Origin Story", as a fellow prisoner in a concentration camp (actually called that in-story) gives him a "Super-Soldier Serum" (no shit) that lets him escape. Roy Thomas retconned this away in the 1970s Invaders series, making him the son of Union Jack, possibly using Marlow as a fake name- Brian Falsworth would later become Union Jack, with another guy (Roger Aubrey, formerly the Dyna-Mite) taking over the Destroyer role afterwards. The Aubrey version is the only one to make any real "modern" appearances, as the leader of the V-Battalion that created Citizen V and thus ran afoul of Baron Zemo's Thunderbolts team when he co-opted a thought-dead WWII hero's identity as part of the classic T-Bolt ruse. Because only in comics can a Golden Age hero who went thirty years without an appearance still manage to have a confusing as hell, overly-complex history.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Excello! Dynamic Man! Golden Age Heroes! The Torch!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

Oddly enough, the Marvel Wiki says that Aubrey retains his ability to shrink, even as the Destroyer. I'm not sure if that's true. I'm also curious if you're going to do a build for Aubrey as Dyna-Mite.
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The Destroyer (Aubrey)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

THE DESTROYER III (Roger Aubrey, aka The Dyna-Mite)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Invaders #14 (March 1977)
Role: Retcon Hero
Group Affiliation: The Crusaders, The V-Battalion
PL 8 (131)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 9 (+13)
Deception 4 (+8)
Expertise (Special Agent) 8 (+11)
Insight 4 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+7)
Perception 3 (+7)
Persuasion 3 (+7)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages: 
Beginner's Luck, Benefit 3 (Commander- V-Battalion), Diehard, Evasion, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4, Takedown, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Light Super-Soldier Serum" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +7

Complications:
Enemy (Nazi Germany)- Aubrey not only fought against Germany in the War, but fought to prevent the rise of another Hitler into modern times.
Relationship (Brian Falsworth)- The two were gay lovers for years- Aubrey wished to become the next Union Jack when Brian died in a car crash in the '50s, but Falsworth's father disallowed it.
Prejudice (Homosexual)- Being recognized as gay would have carried far more problems for a man in the '40s than in any later decade.

Total: Abilities: 82 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 9 (131)

-Roger Aubrey was the lover of Brian Falsworth, the second Destroyer (himself an Invaders character), and took up the role himself when Falsworth gave it up. First, however, he was The Dyna-Mite, the "Doll Man" of The Crusaders (an homage to Quality Comics' superheroes). He was initially permanently-shrunk, but the process was reversed. As the third Destroyer, he actually survived into modern times (having received the 900th canonical variant of the Super-Soldier Serum, which retarded his aging process), becoming one of the V-Battalion. He eventually handed command of it over to Jim Hammond, back during one of the many, MANY times the original Human Torch was alive again, but resumed leadership following a run in The New Invaders.

-A handy fighter, Roger Aubrey is more or less identical to Brian Falsworth and Keen Marlowe, though with the added Benefit of eventually becoming commander of the V-Battalion (one of those rare GOOD Secret Organizations).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Goldar
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Re: The Crusaders

Post by Goldar »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:29 pm Image

THE CRUSADERS:
-The Crusaders came about due to a cute Cross-Over of sorts between Marvel and DC. See, Roy Thomas was writing The Invaders, a series set in World War II, and featuring Marvel's Golden Age characters. Meanwhile, over at DC, Bob Rozakis was writing The Freedom Fighters, featuring the goofy-looking Golden Age heroes of Quality Comics. The two Golden Age Nuts got together and decided to "cross-over" the two books... but without actually featuring each others' characters. What they wrote was a pair of stories, both featuring a team called "The Crusaders", made up of misguided parodies of the other company's super-heroes, fighting that book's super-team! So DC's Freedom Fighters ended up fighting The Crusaders (featuring knock-offs of Captain America, Namor, The Human Torch and others), while Marvel's Invaders ended up fighting... The Crusaders (featuring knock-offs of Uncle Sam, Black Condor, Phantom Lady and others)! It was kind of neat- I have one of the Freedom Fighters issues, and it's not that great, but it's a fun little idea.

-Marvel's Crusaders actually had The Spirit of '76 on the team- one of many men who would later take up the "Captain America" identity when Steve Rogers went missing while fighting Baron Zemo, and an authentic Golden Age character. He acted as the "Uncle Sam", despite not being super-strong. The other four members, however, were newbies- Captain Wings (Black Condor), Ghost Girl (Phantom Lady), Dyna-Mite (Doll Man), Thunder Fist (Human Bomb) and Tommy Lightning (The Ray). They were led on by a mysterious British cabbie named "Alfie" who could turn their powers on and off via a mechanical belt. Dyna-Mite discovers that Alfie, actually a Nazi agent, is using them to assassinate the King of England, but Alfie instigates a fight between The Crusaders & Invaders- he dies in a car crash, and the now-powerless Crusaders disband.

-As they were designed by Jack Kirby, some of Marvel's Crusaders actually look pretty cool, if generic (Kirby had to've known they were one-offs). DC's were a bit more plain- they had a weird Captain America color-swap named "Americommando", a blue fish-man (Barracuda), two sparky flaming guys (Fireball & Sparky), and a Bucky recolour named "Rusty".
Yup, I lived both of these Crusader teams!!

Thanks for starting these guys! I always liked Ghost Girl, although I thought she had the power to turn invisible and immaterial as well as illusion.

Are you going to stat up the other team, the DC version of the Invaders?
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Golden Age (sorta) Union Jack

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

UNION JACK I (Sir James Montgomery Falsworth)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Frank Robbins
First Appearance: The Invaders #7 (July 1976)
Role: The British Cap
Country of Origin: England
Group Affiliations: The Invaders
PL 8 (135)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Government Agent) 9 (+13)
Insight 4 (+8)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 7 (+11)
Perception 7 (+11)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 2 (Security Clearance, Wealth), Contacts, Defensive Attack, Equipment 4, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Pistols), Improved Initiative, Jack-of-All-Trades, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 7, Skill Mastery (Secret Agent), Tracking

Equipment:
"Bulletproof Costume" Immunity 5 (Ballistics) & Protection 2 (7)
".455 Webley Revolver" Blast 5 (10) -- (11)
  • AE: "6-inch Dagger" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)
Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Revolver +11 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Dagger +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3 (+5 Costume), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (England)
Enemy (Baron Blood)- The two have a war going back decades. Blood ended up crippling Falsworth, who impaled Blood in revenge, and saw his death decades later at the hands of Captain America.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 26 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 14 (135)

-Union Jack came about because Roy Thomas wanted to add some foreign characters to The Invaders, as it makes a bit more sense that people from OTHER Allied Nations would also have thrown on some tights and fought the Nazis. After all, it IS pretty bizarre than only AMERICANS, from the one Allied nation that stayed OUT of World War II for such a huge period of time, would consist of the entire super-hero population. He's basically a standard gun-wielding Soldier/Agent-type, very skilled but lacking in power. He's really just a World War II-era guy (though he'd actually fought in World War I), and they don't pack on the Power Levels the way modern super-heroes do.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 9:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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