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

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

Bronze Tiger

Post by Jabroniville »

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BRONZE TIGER (Ben Turner)
Created By:
Dennis O'Neil & Jim Berry
First Appearance: Dragon Fists (1974 novel)
Role: Martial Arts Master, Forgotten Hero
Group Affiliations: Suicide Squad, The League of Assassins, Global Organization of Organized Defense
PL 10 (170)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 10 (+17)
Athletics 10 (+13)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+16)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (World Traveller) 5 (+7)
Expertise (Espionage) 6 (+8)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+7)
Stealth 4 (+11)
Technology 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless, Grab Finesse, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed) 4, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Improved Trip, Inspire, Instant Up, Languages (Various Asian Ones), Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Prone Fighting, Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Takedown 2, Uncanny Dodge

Offense:
Unarmed +16 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +15 (DC 25), Parry +16 (DC 26), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (The Tiger)- For a time, Turner was good and the Tiger evil- the manifestation of all of Ben's inner demons. At times, he can be twisted back to his darker self.
Relationship (Vixen, Gypsy)

Total: Abilities: 78 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 31 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 19 (170)

-Ben Turner debuted in the same Kung Fu Novel as Richard Dragon. He is a young black guy who constantly has to fight his demons, turning to the martial arts to quell them. Trained by the same O-Sensei that trained Dragon and Batman, he becomes one of the greatest fighters in the world- however, he was captured and brainwashed by the League of Assassins, and he channelled all of his negative emotions into The Bronze Tiger, his new persona. In this guise, he even trains Cassandra Cain (the future Batgirl), and later fights and DEFEATS Batman himself, giving himself a permanent reputation as "The Best"! Though this is of course before Bruce became the fabled "Batgod" who almost never lost, this stuck with a lot of fans, especially since Bruce's failure led to the death of Kathy Kane (the Silver Age Batwoman).

-When Jon Ostrander started up Suicide Squad, he poached Bronze Tiger from the Bat-Editors, and made him a central figure in his new book- Turner was captured and "deprogrammed" by Amanda Waller, hoping that his goodness would be a stabilizing element to keep the various Squads (usually formed by imprisoned villains working off their sentences) in line. He stuck with the team for years as the central member (even Rick Flag left, believed dead, for a time), going full evil again, then curing himself in a symbolic battle. With the cancellation of Suicide Squad, Turner has largely vanished from comics (especially in the 1990s, where few outlying characters stuck around) save for a few tiny appearances here and there- he was used as a guy to "put over" Catman in Gail Simone's Secret Six series, where part of Catman's "Bad-Ass Push" including fighting the legendary Bronze Tiger to a draw (Catman surprising him with a bite to the shoulder as he was being KO'd).

-Take Richard Dragon's Advantages, replace "Trance" with "Startle", and Bronze Tiger is basically done. He has slightly different Skills and Mental Stats of course, but there's only so many ways to make "The Best Unarmed Fighter in the World"- the only major difference is his Strength & Accuracy are adjusted a bit. Tiger comes with a BIG reputation, but like Dragon, hasn't really done anything in eons- beating Late 1970s Batman is a HELL of a lot different from beating Late 1990s or 2000s Batman- "Batgod" is much more of a thing in later eras.

-This leaves Bronze Tiger an amazing martial artist still- a very talented PL 10 who can shift most of his caps around and annihilate Mooks like nobody's business. He was on the Suicide Squad for years, but they were really more of a team of Mid-Tier villains than big names, so I can't really give him TOO much credit (I mean, DIGGER HARKNESS survived boatloads of fights on that group). Of particular note is a hilarious scene in the 2nd or 3rd trade, when the Female Furies invade their base. Bronze Tiger comes across Stompa, a classic "Jobber Villain" with zero credibility and a simplistic gimmick. So he does all his kung-fu shit and wails away on her for a while. And what happens? She stands there smirking, like nothing has happened, and then UPPERCUTS him across the yard! One punch! Ostrander thus shows more of a head for realism than other comic book writers- you can be the greatest fighter and know all of the martial arts ever created, but if your opponent is Class 20 and you ain't, your ass is going down. All it'll take is one shot, and one shot isn't that easy to dodge in real life.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:36 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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L-Space
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Re: Jab's Builds! (X-Men 2099! Titannus! Ganymede! Suicide Squad!)

Post by L-Space »

M4C8 wrote: Wed Apr 26, 2017 7:27 pm You're not the only one who hates Doctor Who, I'm English and I've hated it since I was a kid in the eighties. I was kind of excited when I heard it was coming back because I like sci-fi stuff in general but it was still terrible, I just can't abide the low budget CG and shitty practical effects. I'll admit I liked how Matt Smith as played the character but I still couldn't ignore every thing else.
Although I fully agree with you on Doctor Who, I am a fan of a few shows that you've said didn't interest you, I loved Phineas and Ferb and was almost as obsessed with Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis as I am with Marvel comics.
I'll be the first to admit that Doctor Who's CG can be low budget at times, but man do they tell some fantastic stories!
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Apr 27, 2017 4:32 am Speaking of shows I don't like... what's the deal with Steven Universe? I feel like the characters are EVERYWHERE, and it's become the new Adventure Time for showing up with memes and stuff... but I've watched a dozen episodes, and they've all been drek. None of the jokes are funny, the character designs are hideous (it looks like they wanted to be "inclusive" by showing a ton of deliberately-ugly female characters instead of the standard hot/cute ones other shows use) the voice work is awful (Garnet just speaks in a fake accent and dreary monotone), and the plot makes ZERO SENSE because nothing is ever explained. Like... why are these three characters doing stuff, and why are they hanging out with this kid? At least Adventure Time is generally just absurd for the sake of absurdity, and is more often straightforward (if weird). Not that I haven't been utterly confused at some of THEIR episodes, too...
Same here. I enjoy Adventure Time and thought Gravity Falls was fantastic, but didn't really like Steven Universe at all.
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Formerly luketheduke86
Jabroniville
Posts: 24693
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Enchantress! Chemo! Shade! Waller! Plastique!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Since the Female Furies were instrumental to an early Suicide Squad arc, I'll post them up here. Thankfully, I had them done up for JLU, and they're largely unchanged as far as I can tell- they're a fantastically one-note group of bad guys. This is probably something that wouldn't have happened if Stan Lee had a stake in them; Stan added more humanity to Jack's godlike conceptual stuff.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24693
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mad Harriet

Post by Jabroniville »

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MAD HARRIET
Created By:
Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Mister Miracle #6 (Jan. 1972)
Role: The Joker but with Boobs
PL 10 (116)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Apokoliptian Soldier) 6 (+6)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Perception 6 (+6)
Stealth 4 (+10)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Power Spikes) 2, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Startle

Powers:
"New God Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Aging, Poison, Disease) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Power Spikes" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [7]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating 7) (11 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Power Spikes +11 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Darkseid's Will)

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 14 (116)

-First off is Mad Harriet, one of the more interesting Female Furies designs. With a creepy Joker-Grin and claws (pre-Logan, even!), she was pretty well-laid out as the crazy, psychotic one (compared to other Furies, even!). Not bad, but like most of the Furies, she's just a minor background character who doesn't really do anything and has no personality.

-Power-wise, the Female Furies are mostly elite mooks that can dish it out as a PL 10 level, but lack the points expenditure, like most one-note killers. As New Gods, they have an assortment of boosts to their mainline powers. The Furies are kinda problematic, because official New Gods "fluff" paints them as all super-strong beings, but they're ALSO supposed to be elite warriors with great martial skill. This combination of power plus accuracy would put them past PL 10 if done literally, but really, these girls are shown getting handily defeated by Wonder Woman & Big Barda even when it's five-on-two, so PL 10 is fine for them. They're scaled back accordingly.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24693
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Gilotina

Post by Jabroniville »

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GILOTINA
Created By:
Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Mister Miracle #6 (Jan. 1972)
Role: The Sexy Sword Chick
PL 10 (147)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+12)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Apokoliptian Soldier) 7 (+8)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 5 (+7)
Stealth 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Sword) 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Takedown, Teamwork

Powers:
"New God Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Aging, Poison, Disease) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Hands That Cut Through Anything"
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 10) [15]

"Apokoliptian Swords" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [9]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical, Penetrating 10) (15 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Swords or Hands +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Darkseid's Will)

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 31 / Defenses: 13 (147)

-Another silly little New God concept, Gilotina has hands that can cut through ANYTHING... but uses Swords. Huh. She was a junior member of the Furies, since upgraded to occasional field leader, but then, this team is such a mess of various people leading & feuding and being killed then resurrected that who knows what the hell is going on at any given time? I kinda like her simple design, though. Most Kirby-esque characters by the 1970s were giant masses of circles on garish primary colours, so to see a simple white skirt on someone is nice, and rather fashionable. She did not appear in the DC Animated Universe, unlike the other Furies.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24693
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Lashina

Post by Jabroniville »

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LASHINA (aka Duchess)
Created By:
Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Mister Miracle #6 (Jan. 1972)
Role: The S&M Princess
PL 10 (150)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+13)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Apokoliptian Soldier) 9 (+11)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 7 (+10)
Stealth 4 (+10)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Daze (Intimidation), Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Whips) 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Leadership, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"New God Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Aging, Poison, Disease) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Electric Whip" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [8]
Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Disarm & Trip, Reach 4, Penetrating 5) (12 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Whip +12 (+8 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +7, Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Darkseid's Will)
Rivalry (Bernadeth, Over Leadership of the Furies)

Total: Abilities: 82 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 13 (150)

-Lashina is the leader of the Female Furies, despite having one of the odder power-sets (Whips are generally the purview of cat burglars & other villainesses, not hunter/assassins). She's still a deadly warrior, and has by far the most showings of all the Furies (since she was briefly used in Suicide Squad), but even then she doesn't have much of a personality, being known mainly for her feud with Bernadeth. Her costume's kind of notable and recognizable, but not very good. The whole "covering the nose with a bar" thing makes her look like a Major Leagues Catcher. Oddly, in the DCAU, she was hooked up with Superman when he was hypnotized into working for Darkseid, and Batman Beyond would have revealed the evil SON of those two had that show continued to a fourth season (can you imagine? A New God/Kryptonian Hybrid with Granny's training?). So that's something.

-In Suicide Squad, she was trapped on Earth after Bernadeth abandoned her, and so she feigned amnesia and called herself "Duchess", joining the team as a super-powered operative. Being more powerful than the others (she effortlessly overpowered and killed the Manticore), she got along famously... but Waller was on to her. Eventually, she betrayed the Squad in order to end up back on Apokolips. She was executed by Darkseid for leading humans to Apokolips, and Bernadeth (whom Lashina killed) was resurrected. She later showed up alive, because Darkseid gonna Darkseid.

-One of the more combat-savvy Furies, Lashina is physically much the same as the others, but with the versatile nature of the Whip boosted with extra Striking power & Penetrating slashes. Like most of the team, she's kinda one-note, but it's a pretty good note.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Bernadeth

Post by Jabroniville »

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BERNADETH
Created By:
Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Mister Miracle #6 (Jan. 1972)
Role: The Grim Lady
PL 10 (145)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+12)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Apokoliptian Soldier) 7 (+10)
Intimidation 7 (+9)
Investigation 6 (+8)
Perception 6 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Diehard, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Farehn-Knife) 2, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"New God Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Aging, Poison, Disease) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Farehn-Knife" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [20]
Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Penetrating 8) Linked to Weaken Toughness 10 (Extras: Affects Objects) (32 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Farehn-Knife +10 (+10 Damage & Weaken, DC 25 & 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Darkseid's Will)
Rivalry (Lashina, Over Furies Leadership)- Bernadeth hates being led by others, and is thus constantly angling for Lashina's job.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 27 / Defenses: 16 (145)

-A vicious, ugly woman, Bernadeth wants to lead the Furies, and is thus constantly at the throat of Lashina. The two have feuded on-and-off since the beginning (resulting in death once, when Lashina snapped Bernadeth's neck for abandoning her on Earth and forcing her to join the Suicide Squad- but New Gods have a nasty tendency to be resurrected all the time, meaning their deaths lack any kind of storytelling "oomph"). Bernadeth is a grim, skull-faced woman who has a disintegrating knife that burns things from the inside-out. Not a bad character all in all, just a little boring. Her only real character trait is rejecting the leadership of Lashina.

-Bernadeth's much like Mad Harriet, but with a much scarier weapon, basically a disintegration-based melee knife that can tear through all but the toughest metahumans. She's a bit light on the Skills & Advantages, mainly because she's not really shown doing much other than sneaking around plotting againsg Lashina and looking ugly and stuff, but that's a problem for most of this crew.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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proditor
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Enchantress! Chemo! Shade! Waller! Plastique!)

Post by proditor »

The furies remind me of the Wrecking Crew; PL10 jobbers.

Like, you know they are supposed to be terrifying as they've scourged worlds and such, but then you go "Nah, Batman is there, this should take about 30 seconds because he broke his arm last issue, he's gonna be slow."
Jabroniville
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Stompa

Post by Jabroniville »

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STOMPA
Created By:
Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Mister Miracle #6 (Jan. 1972)
Role: It's a MAN, Baby!
PL 10 (131)
STRENGTH
12 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Apokoliptian Soldier) 8 (+8)
Intimidation 7 (+7)
Investigation 4 (+4)
Perception 5 (+5)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"New God Physiology"
Immunity 3 (Aging, Poison, Disease) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 5) [6]

"Earthquake-Stomps"
"Groundstrike" Affliction 10 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Both Must Be Grounded, Limited Degree) [10]
Linked to
"Shockwave" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Both Must Be Grounded) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Groundstrike +10 Area (+10 Damage & Affliction, DC 25 & 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +10 (+3 Impervious), Fortitude +10, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Darkseid's Will)

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 11 (131)

-Probably the dumbest member of the Female Furies, Stompa is a burly, ugly chick in a 1950s bomber get-up (for some reason), who stomps the ground alot. Pretty much your usual, dunderheaded Powerhouse character. Not much interesting to go on at all, though I guess the team needed a powerhouse. Curiously, Marvel did a take-off of the Furies in The Grapplers, and Stompa got a near-exact replica in Poundcakes, an E-Level Marvel villainess.

-Pretty much a standard Thing/Colossus-type Powerhouse with a gimmick, she's a brawler who can send out a big ol' Burst Area Trip/Blast combo, knocking everyone around so long as they're touching the ground when she stomps. It's not a GREAT gimmick, but she's handy in a fight- in Suicide Squad, Ostrander had her effortlessly-defeat Bronze Tiger, tanking all of his punches with ease and then knocking him across the yard with a single shot. An oddly realistic take on what happens when a skilled fighter goes up against a superhuman powerhouse.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Rick Flag

Post by Jabroniville »

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RICK FLAG, JR.
Created By:
Robert Kanigher & Ross Andru
First Appearance: The Brave and the Bold #25 (1959)
Role: Ultra-Loyal Army Guy
PL 8 (133)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 7 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+11)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Soldier) 10 (+13)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 5 (+8)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+7)
Treatment 2 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages: 
Benefit 2 (Government Agent), Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment 4 (Guns), Evasion, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Jack-of-All-Trades, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Guns +10 (+4-6 Ranged Damage, DC 19-21)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (The United States)- Rick is a good soldier, and does what he's told.
Responsibility (Mental Instability)- Rick gains a bit of a death wish after numerous dark turns in the Suicide Squad book. He also obsessively tries to make good on a failed mission of his father's.
Relationship (Rick Flag III)- Rick has a son with his ex, Karen Grace. He refuses to even see the boy, however.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 27 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 15 (133)

-Rick Flag is a character from War comics, then his son replaced him in the "Suicide Squad" team (which at this point was just a group of government investigators looking for Yetis and junk). Years later, he transfered over to Ostrander's Suicide Squad, making his bones as the team leader. As a loyal soldier-type, he was ideal to lead this group of psychopaths and supervillains on dangerous missions, but his own personal issues startes sticking out- both his mother and father had sacrificed their loves, his ex-girlfriend split with him and later died, etc. He grew increasingly unstable, and was further aggravated when Deadshot (whom Flag despised) executed a Senator who threatened to pull the plug on the Squad- Flag had intended to take the shot, and Deadshot did it for him. Finally, Rick died in a literal suicide mission, blowing up a bomb in the base of the Jihad, the Squad's recurring enemies.

-Flag later appears as a ghost in some later books, and was randomly found alive in a more modern book (Checkmate's second volume), having been jailed for four years.

-Flag is an extremely good soldier and a good fighter, but nowhere near the elite version shown in Jusice League Unlimited, where he proves to be a monster bad-ass in close combat, effortlessly wiping the floor with an armed Vigilante and leading a dangerous mission inside the League's Watchtower. In Suicide Squad, he's basically a generic gun-toting guy, not any more or less capable than anyone on his team- just more well-rounded and skilled.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Enchantress! Chemo! Shade! Waller! Plastique!)

Post by Ares »

The Suicide Squad is a wonderful bit of world building, a concept that makes absolute sense for a comic setting. If you've got highly skilled, powerful criminals just rotting away in jail, of course the government is going to use them for black ops suicide missions where they can disavow government involvement. No one will question the presence of villains because villain do crazy stuff like that, and it explains why villains are often back on the street. Villain pardons explain the revolving door prison, and it also lets you get rid of jobber villains in a simple but elegant way.
"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! (Enchantress! Chemo! Shade! Waller! Plastique!)

Post by Ares »

Huh. If you think about it, the Squad could be a good way to explain villain escalation. The ones that suck as villains die during missions, the successful ones will become even more skilled/effective due to these black ops runs. Simple way to make a joke villain lethal.
"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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Jabroniville
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Nemesis (Tresser)

Post by Jabroniville »

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NEMESIS I (Thomas Andrew Tresser)
Created By:
Cary Burkett & Dan Spiegel
First Appearance: The Brave and the Bold #166 (Sept. 1980)
Role: Spy Guy, Master of Disguise
Group Affiliations: The Shadow Fighters, Suicide Squad, The Jihad, The Global Peace Agency
PL 8 (146)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 9
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 8 (+11)
Deception 8 (+12)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+7)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 1 (+5)
Investigation 6 (+9)
Perception 5 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+13)
Stealth 4 (+9)
Treatment 2 (+5)
Vehicles 1 (+10)

Advantages: 
Benefit 2 (Government Agent), Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment 4 (Guns), Evasion, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Jack-of-All-Trades, Ranged Attack 6

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Guns +10 (+4-6 Ranged Damage, DC 19-21)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (The United States)
Relationship (Nightshade, Wonder Woman)- Super-powered brunettes love them some Tom Tresser.

Total: Abilities: 88 / Skills: 50--20 / Advantages: 25 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (146)

-Another character I find hideously atrocious, yet a bunch of writers seem to love him... NEMESIS. Wearing comics' most boring costume (a jumpsuit with a "scales of balance" logo on it), he acted as a secret agent, helping find the people responsible for brainwashing his brother into committing murder. He appeared in a few back-ups, but never went anywhere until Suicide Squad, where Ostrander used him as one of the heroic team members. He fell in love with Nightshade, who only cared for Rick Flag, and ultimately quit the team after a disagreement with Amanda Waller.

-He was later a member of the Shadow Fighters, who were devoted to fighting Eclipso- he was the sole survivor of that battle. He was finally killed in an issue of Catwoman- Devin Grayson says that she was a big fan, but was ordered by DC editorial to kill him off so that the popular JSA reboot could have a "Nemesis" on it (Soseh Mykros- whose plot point against the generic "Council" conspiracy group went nowhere and they quickly re-routed her from potential JSA recruit into one of Black Adam's sacrificial attack dogs). So she made sure to give him as cool a death as possible and promote the character, while giving him an easy way out.

-Naturally, he was later seen again. He even became a supporting character in Gail Simone's Wonder Woman, and was chosen as Diana's new romantic partner. This irked a lot of fans, who really had no idea why they were supposed to care about Generic Superspy #751 when his love interest is FRIGGIN' WONDER WOMAN (fans are oddly specific in wanting only ALPHA dudes for Diana), but Simone stuck to her guns and engaged in her worst trait as a writer- having other characters shill the characters she likes. And so, Tom Tresser becomes the only male ever inducted into the Amazons, is "courted" by Diana, and more. Ultimately, he ends the relationship when he learns that she doesn't really love him, and just wants to use him to create a family. So... he rejects an opportunity... to engage in a no-strings-attached sexual relationship... with WONDER WOMAN. What level of Awareness do I give this guy again? He hasn't appeared much since then.

-Nemesis overall bores the living shit out of me, and I have no idea why anyone likes him. That two or three writers (Ostrander, Grayson, Simone) REALLY like him seems bizarre, as there's any number of guys out there who fill the exact same role, but maybe that early series (which was mostly back-ups stories) was REALLY, REALLY GOOD or something. I don't get it.

-Nemesis is "Generic Spy Guy" ad nauseum- I've mentioned before how building an excessive number of guys with this theme is what led to me almost dropping M&M back in the 2e days- even with 3e's more-reduced Skills, it's a bit of a chore to stat them up. All for a PL 8 Blaster.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24693
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Enchantress! Chemo! Shade! Waller! Plastique!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Sat Apr 29, 2017 1:40 am Huh. If you think about it, the Squad could be a good way to explain villain escalation. The ones that suck as villains die during missions, the successful ones will become even more skilled/effective due to these black ops runs. Simple way to make a joke villain lethal.
Huh, not a bad explanation, really. Though the Squad never seemed to operate on such a grand scale.
The Suicide Squad is a wonderful bit of world building, a concept that makes absolute sense for a comic setting. If you've got highly skilled, powerful criminals just rotting away in jail, of course the government is going to use them for black ops suicide missions where they can disavow government involvement. No one will question the presence of villains because villain do crazy stuff like that, and it explains why villains are often back on the street. Villain pardons explain the revolving door prison, and it also lets you get rid of jobber villains in a simple but elegant way.
Haha, that would have been GENIUS- I like that idea. Unfortunately they never seemed to really treat it that way. I think one of the only people to get out of jail completely with a stint on the Squad was Atom-Smasher of all people.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24693
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Enchantress! Chemo! Shade! Waller! Plastique!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Skaramine wrote: Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:59 pm Enemy (Netflix?). :lol:
Heh- I just HAD to.
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