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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Fancy Dan

Post by Jabroniville »

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FANCY DAN (Daniel Brito)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #10 (March 1964)
Role: Fragile Quick Guy
Group Affiliations: The Enforcers
PL 6 (91)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+10)
Athletics 5 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+10)
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+6)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Perception 4 (+5)
Sleight of Hand 3 (+7)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages: 
Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Throw, Equipment 3 (Twin Pistols +5- Split), Evasion, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Prone Fighting, Ranged Attack 2, Teamwork

Powers:
"Martial Arts Strike" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Pistols +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Reputation (Losers)- The Enforcers are viewed as little more than Mooks compared to other super-villains, and recieve no respect.
Enemy (Spider-Man, Daredevil)

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 12 (91)

-A peculiar gimmick, especially for the 1960s, Fancy Dan was actually a JUDO MASTER (Asian martial arts at that point where practically treated like pseudo-mystical powers that enabled superhuman feats... something comics actually got AWAY from, as the arts were "humanized" by real-life martial arts stars). He used this to be a high-speed bad-ass, kicking Spidey around despite being a diminutive guy in a fancy suit. He eventually just becomes a nothing guy, and is killed when Phil "Hobgoblin" Urich demolishes a building in an attempt to kill Spider-Man.

-Fancy Dan's also much more expensive than you'd think. A glorified Mook, yet he's 78 points. His Advantages really add up as well- he's quick, sprightly and accurate, and was more than able to avoid Spidey's best shots back in the day. Nowadays, of course, he's got the accuracy of a pretty all-around good hero, but does little more damage than Mary Jane in combat, so he falls very sharply towards the "Accuracy" side. He can boost his damage with Power Attack, but only to +3. Nearly everything about his is keyed towards unarmed combat and being hard-to-hit, so he's one of the most annoying PL 6s you're ever likely to come across.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Ox

Post by Jabroniville »

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OX I & II (Raymond & Ronald Bloch)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Steve Ditko (Ox II by Bill Mantlo & Sal Buscema)
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #10 (March 1964) (Ox II in Spectacular Spider-Man #19, June 1978)
Role: Dumb Muscle
Group Affiliations: The Enforcers
PL 6 (55)
STRENGTH
5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+7)
Deception 2 (+1)
Expertise (Thug) 5 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+7)
Stealth 2 (+2)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Powers:
"Possible Superhuman Strength" Power Lifting 1 [1]
"Big, Tough Guy" Protection 1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Reputation (Losers)- The Enforcers are viewed as little more than Mooks compared to other super-villains, and recieve no respect.
Enemy (Spider-Man, Daredevil)

Total: Abilities: 22 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 13 (55)

-Ox is your everyday big, dumb moron, and is one of those guys where it's tough to tell if he's authentically super-strong, or just a really big dude. In the early days of Spidey, he was an actual physical threat. He eventually fell ill and traded bodies with an evil scientist, who then died in Ox's body, falling from a great height while fighting Daredevil. "Ox" attempted to start a new life, but his new body mutated into an unstable duplicate of Ox's original one while being experimented upon with radioactive isotopes, and succumbs to the effects- exploding in a fight with DD.

-"Back To Basics Syndrome" reared its ugly head, as it turns out that Ox had a TWIN BROTHER, Ronald Bloch, who of course is the same physically and joins The Enforcers in Raymond's stead. It seems that many later writers just assumed that Ox was always the same guy too, further complicating matters.

-As it stands, he's not a half-bad fighter, but he'd only challenge the early PL 7 Spidey in hand-to-hand. Even with his partners, he'd fall against just about anybody, despite being very tough (having Power Attack enough to hit +10 damage, though his opponent had better be Stunned or Immobile for him to hit at +2 accuracy).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Hammer Harrison

Post by Jabroniville »

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HAMMER HARRISON (Willard Harrison)
Created By:
Tom DeFalco & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: Machine Man #16 (Aug. 1980)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Enforcers, The Satan Squad
PL 6 (56)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Deception 3 (+3)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 4 (+4)

Advantages: 
Equipment 1 (Steel Gloves), Improved Critical (Punches), Improved Initiative

Equipment:
"Steel Gloves" Strength-Damage +1 (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Knuckles +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Reputation (Losers)- The Enforcers are viewed as little more than Mooks compared to other super-villains, and recieve no respect.
Enemy (Spider-Man, Daredevil)

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (56)

-Amazingly, Hammer & Snake actually owe their creation to Spidey's co-creator, Steve Ditko, who added them to The Enforcers along with Tom DeFalco in one of his recurring attempts to get back into comics. Hammer is a pro boxer-turned-criminal, and like Snake, only lasted two appearances with the team, fighting Machine Man & Daredevil, then Spidey & The Sandman, before vanishing for years. His very recent appearance in the books is actually his first in almost thirty years!
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Snake Marston

Post by Jabroniville »

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SNAKE MARSTON (Sylvester Marston)
Created By:
Tom DeFalco & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: Machine Man #16 (Aug. 1980)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Enforcers, The Satan Squad
PL 6 (74)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+3)

Advantages: 
Chokehold, Fast Grab, Improved Hold

Powers:
"Contortionist"
Immunity 5 (Ensnarement Effects) [5]
Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Grappling) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Grappling +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +5

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

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Reputation (Losers)- The Enforcers are viewed as little more than Mooks compared to other super-villains, and recieve no respect.
Enemy (Spider-Man, Daredevil)

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 7 / Defenses: 8 (74)

-Snake is a contortionist, copying a gimmick that's been used before amongst jobbers- an inability to be grappled along with the ability to wrap himself around people. He's also showed up in cameos in more recent comics (Thunderbolts, etc.)- even more of them than Hammer!
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Chameleon

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE CHAMELEON (Dmitri Smerdyakov)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963)
Role: Master of Disguise, Joke Villain, Angst-Creator (via Disguising as Spidey)
Villain Ranking: Debuted as C-Level, usually C or D-Level
Group Affiliations: The KGB, Hydra, The Sinister Six
PL 8 (119)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Athletics 3 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+6)
Deception 13 (+17)
Expertise (Spy) 6 (+9)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+7)
Insight 4 (+8)
Investigation 1 (+5)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Gun) 5 (+10)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+7)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Technology 4 (+7)

Advantages: 
Contacts, Equipment 5 (Assorted Spy Junk, Pistol, Holographic Costume), Improved Aim, Skill Mastery (Deception), Ultimate Deception Skill, Well-Informed

Powers:
Morph 2 (People) (Quirk: Not Costumes-1) [9]
"Anti-Aging Serum" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Equipment:
Pistol (Blast 5) (10)
"Holographic Costume" Morph 2 (People) (Flaws: Limited to Clothing & Costumes) (5)
Protection 1 (1)
Spy Stuff (9 points' worth)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Pistol +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +2 (+3 Costume), Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Reputation (Weakling)- The Chameleon is dangerous, but a known wussy. He has been defeated by both Mary-Jane Watson-Parker and Aunt May. Yes, that's right, AUNT MAY is 1-0 (vs) The Chameleon.
Enemy (Spider-Man)

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 58--29 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 18 (119)

-Kind of an odd guy to be Spidey's first-ever actual super-villain opponent, but what can I say? The book started quietly. The Chameleon is one of those Spider-Man enemies that they just want to push every once in a while, but it always ends up falling flat. The problem is, he's got a status defined as the "physically weak" villain on in the Rogues Gallery- even moreso than Mysterio. Because of this, his weakness often gets exaggerated to the point where MJ beat the hell out of him with a baseball bat (though I loved that- total subversion of the "Women in Refrigerators Syndrome"), and so he's got the rep of the Weak Villain. It doesn't help that they've retreaded the tired old "Spider-Man Caught Committing a Crime" storyline about 800 times. Add it all together, and you've got every mediocre writer's fallback plan (Instant Angst- Spidey is a Wanted Felon), and the one guy even the supporting cast can beat on.

-The Chameleon debuts by mimicking Spider-Man, and for some reason already knows how the rookie hero's Spider-Sense works. He's one of the least-used Spidey villains of that era, so he doesn't end up with a whole lot to him- his backstory is hilariously confusing for a minor-league villain: He's Kraven's half-brother who sometimes doesn't know it because he's a bit crazy and then some stuff happens and he later reveals that his insanity was a RUSE), and he's got a permanent spot on the C-List (bordering on D-List at times with a particularly vindictive writer). Though a Spidey villain at first, he also threatened Iron Man, The Hulk, Daredevil and Hank Pym back in the day. He would eventually injest a serum that made his features permanently-malleable, giving him real superpowers, then went insane after building androids of Peter Parker's parents (Harry Osborn had told him that "the secret to Spider-Man's Secret Identity is found through Peter Parker.").

-When he uncovers Peter's Secret ID, he attempts to attack his wife, but Mary Jane BEATS HIM (the aforementioned "baseball bat" incident), and during Civil War, he tries it on Aunt May, who easily saw through his "Peter" disguise and beat him with oatmeal-raisin cookies she'd laced with Ambien. A more-recent arc has seen him with a bad-ass upgrade into a Batman Villain-esque Serial Killer/Obsessive Mimicking the Person's Life type of deal, which is probably the best way to go with someone who's so damaged as a threat. He's also lost his '80s-style Super-Tech Mimicry outfit and Malleable Skin, becoming JUST a standard Master of Disguise again, which helps the whole "Street Level" nature of his being.

-The Chameleon is a pretty weak Spidey Villain, being PL 7.5, and only then with a gun (he's usually armed). Where he shines is his Disguise ability and his Morph, which makes him a second-to-none copycat, able to fool even the best and most familiar people at times. Most of the time, his disguises only fail thanks to some crap luck or pushing it too far- like pretending to be Peter Parker to fool Spider-Man into leaving him alone (obviously, that didn't work), or doing the Peter thing with MJ (who'd be a bit wise to ANY changes). He's a MASTER Deception-artist, packing all sorts of Advantages & Skill Points into it, with only the occasional slip-up. He needs the Costume to copy clothing properly, so I left a Quirk on his Morph (which would normally account for such things), and bought the rest as Equipment. Despite his huge array of Skills (he's an expert Spy/Saboteur/Disguise Artist, even without his sci-fi gear), he's still a bit under-cost for a PL 8, but then, it's The Chameleon, and he's never been a top threat.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Electro

Post by Jabroniville »

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ELECTRO III (Maxwell Dillon)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #9 (Feb. 1964)
Role: Energy-User, Mook With Powers
Villain Ranking: B-List (occasionally ventures to A-List)
Group Affiliations: The Sinister Six, The Emissaries of Evil, The Frightful Four
PL 11 (156)
STRENGTH
2/6 STAMINA 3/6 AGILITY 3/5
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+8)
Deception 5 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+5)
Expertise (Electrical Lineman) 6 (+6)
Intimidation 7 (+7)
Perception 1 (+1)
Ranged Combat (Electricity) 7 (+10)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Electricity) 2, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Startle

Powers:
"Electrical Powers" (All Powers are Dynamic)
"Power Blast" Blast 11 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating 10) (34) -- [53]
  • Dynamic AE: "Multiple Bolts" Blast 10 (Extras: Multiattack) (31)
  • Dynamic AE: "Lightning Bolt" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Line +2) (34)
  • Dynamic AE: "Lightning Burst" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (23)
    Dynamic AE: "Boosted Aura" Energy Aura 8 (33)
  • Dynamic AE: "Short-Out Electrical Power" Nullify Electrical Devices & Powers 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Concentration) (31)
  • Dynamic AE: "Brain-Fry" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged) (21)
  • Dynamie AE: "Boost Strength & Toughness" Enhanced Strength 4 & Stamina 3 (15)
  • Dynamic AE: "Boost Speed & Agility" Enhanced Agility 2, Dodge & Parry 2 (9)
  • AE: "Control Machines" Affliction 10 (Toughness; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to Machines) (10)
  • AE: "Wire-Riding" Speed 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Limited to When Riding Power Lines) (2)
  • AE: "Ionizing Metals" Move Object 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Metals) (20)
"Electrical Aura" Energy Aura 3 [12]
"Electrical Sense" Senses 3 (Acute & Ranged Detect Electricity) [3]
Immunity 10 (Electrical Effects) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Power Blast +10 (+11 Ranged Damage, DC 26)
Multiple Bolts +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Lightning Bolt +11 Area (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Lightning Burst +11 Area (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Aura +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Boosted Aura +8 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Short-Out +10 (+10 Nullify, DC 20)
Brain-Fry +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Control Machines +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Boosted Strength +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +7 (+9 Boost)

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+12 Boost, DC 20-22), Parry +10 (+12 Boost, DC 20-22), Toughness +3 (+6 Boost), Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Enemy (Spider-Man)
Responsibility (Inferiority Complex)- Max was driven to low self-esteem by his over-protective mother, and is convinced he isn't any good at anything. Attempts to surpass this can occasionally drive him, but it's ultimately his Achilles Heel.
Power Loss/Weakness (Electricity)- Electric Powers can be more or less effective depending on various factors. Non-conductors such as rubber, stone or Spider-Man's webs, are relatively immune to his powers. Spidey can web his fists up to hit Electro as a result. Water will also totally short him out if he's "charged", and often KOs him flat-out.
Power Loss (Various Powers)- Electro's powers ebb and flow with the winds. He can act as a PL 12 sometimes, but usually acts as a PL 10. His Power Feats and stunts are pushed to the max one day, then disappear with his next appearance. Any new powers Electro gets with HP Spent typically disappear after a few adventures.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 78 / Defenses: 19 (156)

Electro- The Most Classical Super-Villain Of Them All:
-Electro is SUCH a classic super-villain- I think he may actually be the single-greatest example of the Generic Super-Villain ever: How did he get his powers? By accident. What does he wear? Garish tights. Why is he a criminal? Because he's an asshole. Hell, his name is even one of those 1960s "regular word that ends with '-o'" names.

-Electro's another long-time classic Spidey villain, but has gone through more phases than most of the others. He was a big threat right away, providing an Aura-based threat against a melee fighter, requiring tricks (usually using the weaknesses of electricity- like non-conductors or water) to defeat. He remained that way for a good while, but suffered from some Villain Decay over the years like other Spidey guys. Despite that, he was less of a joke than guys like The Vulture, often given cred for his powers, but not his personality (he was depicted as weak-willed, dumb and generally low of wisdom), enough so that he got some MAJOR power-ups here and there. Of course, all of those get forgotten eventually- Electro is the DEFINING example of "Back To Basics Syndrome", as every new power-up or costume update inevitably gets forgotten by the next creative team.

-Electro fought Daredevil a lot at first, too- something I didn't realize. He'd even gathered The Emissaries of Evil in a revenge plot, though Stilt-Man, Leap-Frog and The Matador aren't even "Serpent Society" material- the only good villain on his squad was The Gladiator. He even joined one incarnation of The Frightful Four, and gathered with other Spidey villains for The Sinister Six on a few occasions. He temporarily quit villainy after Electro: Light Up The Night in the 1990s adjectiveless Spider-Man book, but this was forgotten in a few years. He got a power upgrade from The Hand, rejoined The Six, fought Nate Grey with OTHER enhanced powers, broke out a ton of super-villains in the debut of the updated Bendis-Avengers squad, and got a couple of costume upgrades- he was one of the few pre-1990s villains to get a LOT of various appearances over the years in Marvel, even through eras that often ignored older characters.

-And yes, there are four Electros in total- the forgotten '40s Robot, the forgotten '50s Communist one-off villain, Max Dillon, and then Frankie Frye, a modern character who's an Electro-mimicking clone.

Electro- Emperor of Garish Costumes:
-His classically-cheesy '60s costume gets him a lot of grief, but honestly, every single time they try to change it, he goes right back to the classic green & yellow mess he ALWAYS wears, because that's what makes Electro iconic. I thought the Marvel Knights: Spider-Man costume was the coolest, myself- the modern "I'm all scarred and middle-aged!" version just sucks. Sure the outfit looks idiotic in REAL life, and it's hopelessly garish, but it's got its own style. BAD style, but style nonetheless. It's... kind of beautifully eye-burning, if you think about it.

-Personally, I like Electro. A classic, unpretentious power-theme, high levels of power, but the mind of a generic Mook, and you've got a great background guy with whom you can occasionally show some depth. He's actually a mama's boy who had low self-esteem, and that can be used for good "Character" stories, alongside his tremendous powers. I just wish they'd stop boosting him for five seconds (the Nate Grey fight- though don't even get me STARTED on the Power Creep notable in that series) and just let him stick with his baseline powers and not get KO'd in a few hits. He varies so often that he's challenging freaking X-Man in one issue, then getting casually punched out as part of the Sinister Six or cowering before Luke Cage in others.

Electro In Other Media:
-He's had some odd appearances in Spider-Media. In the 1990s Cartoon, he was one of the most notably-absent guys (alongside The Sandman), only appearing in the series' VERY LAST ARC, and as a different guy- Electro was the son of The Red Skull, and given extraordinarily vast powers that made him a Magneto-level Teamwrecking threat. Why the show never thought to use the guy until then eludes me (maybe his mask is too hard to draw?), especially since guys like The Chameleon, Scorpion & Shocker got a lot of play. I mean, why VOLUNTARILY not use one of the most-famous villains? The Amazing Spider-Man 2 used him as a major baddie, but it was kind of a mess- Jamie Foxx hasn't been really good since Ray (and it's WAY easier to do an imitation than an original character), and he was inexplicably made this mealy-mouthed, friend-obsessed nerd. The blue look wasn't awful (it's not like the 1960s costume was workable in real life), and I liked how his face appeared on NYC skyscrapers.

Electro's Stats:
-Electro is an example of a really good villain for Spider-Man and guys like him. He's PL 10 or 10.5 with most of his powers, having a fairly-good output but only an average level of accuracy. But with Area Attacks, his stock in trade, he's a full-on PL 11 on the damage end of things. Toughness-wise, he's highly vulnerable and a Glass Cannon, but since Spidey can really only PUNCH HIM, that +11 Aura power is going to be a bitch and a half to deal with. Therefore, Spidey has to use his head to win, getting water involved (a fully-charged Electro activates that Weakness pretty badly), webbing up his fists, or just dumping a stack of things onto him or something- I once saw a small kid take him out with a hockey puck in an Anti-Drug Issue (Electro was a DRUG LORD? The SCUM!). Villains that are nigh-unstoppable but for an Achilles Heel are always great.

-Max gets a few side-powers listed, such as his "Brain Stun" thing, controlling or nullifying machines/electrical devices, that "Ionizing Metal" trick he did in Marvel Knights, a Multiattack, etc. He also has some Detection abilities, and his Aura is modified to either be based off of his standard +3 power, or a boosted +11, requiring him to utilize part of his huge Dynamic Array to activate it- using the power to its fullest drops his effectiveness at range by quite a ways.

-Wikipedia says that he can boost his Strength, Speed & Agility using his powers, but I've never in my entire life seen any evidence of that, and I've read a TON of Electro stories. Apparently it's true, but it's REALLY weird and mostly-ignored. Electro's self when he was powered-up versus Nate Grey is probably PL 12-13, and has a REALLY powerful Mental Stun, likely going to Perception Range. No ideas what other powers he could be packing, but generally, if you're a GM using Electro, feel free to go completely nuts with him, or just make him a Jobber in a team. Either way, you can't say you're going against continuity :).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:08 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Tombstone! The Enforcers! The Chameleon! Electro!)

Post by Ares »

The Vulturions are kind of an example of something that could be done with villains you want to phase out. If you've got a guy whose powers are solely dependent on a gadget they made, why not simply have them shop said gadget around to others? The Vulture could easily just sell his flight suit to a bunch of villains and take a cut of their profits. Then again, it's kind of a shame how a suit that grants incredible flight, superhuman strength and durability is considered rather "bland" in a superhero setting. When the average SHIELD Agent has access to a jet pack that grants similar levels of flight, you have to wonder.

Tombstone seemed like he'd make for a decent "mini-mob boss". Spectacular Spider-Man made good use of him as a Kingpin variant, so I could see Marvel using him as sort of a tier below guys like the Kingpin, someone who deals with organized crime on a lower level, and who can be taken out by newer heroes without jobbing the Kingpin.

The Enforcers are a classic example of villain decay, which is a shame because the name is pretty solid for a group of villains, and a team of technically normal humans that can hang with superhumans is always fun. Spectacular Spider-Man made decent use of these guys, first as legit opponents on as they were, but then upgraded them to guys in super-suits to help avoid villain decay. In my mind, all they needed was a slight looks update and focusing on slightly different things. Make Fancy Dan a legit high level martial artist who can hang with other high end street level fighters. Have Montana keep the cowboy schtick, but instead of focusing on lasso stuff, have him, I don't know, be a crack shot with pistols? And Ox can be either a Kingpin style "human who is still so big he has superhuman strength" guy or just a guy with low-end superstrength. Easy as pie.

The Chameleon is one of those guys who, unfortunately, also gets outshined a lot in comics. If you think about it, a master of disguise should be somewhat terrifying in a superhero setting, not knowing who he could be, what he could be up to, etc. He doesn't lend himself to physical action tho, which is probably his biggest issue being a Spider-Man opponent. He'd really be better off as a Batman type bad guy, or someone who is brought up more as a world class industrial spy and saboteur. I think his status as a weakling gets a bit overplayed, because if I remember right, MJ took him out by cold-clocking him with a baseball bat from behind. That's potentially lethal in the real world, the Chameleon should count his blessings he lives in a comics setting where that will usually only KO you.

Electro is, I agree, someone who could be the iconic "generic supervillain", right up there with the Flash Rogues. He's just a guy who stumbled onto some powers, and with a typical thug mentality, decided to use those powers to just take what he wants and build himself a criminal rep. Which, lets face it, if you gave the average criminal Luke Cage's superstrength and immunity to bullets, the first thing they'd do is just walk into a bank, rip the vault open, and walk out with as much money as they could carry, and laugh when the police try to shoot them. Supervillains using powers that they could make legit livings off of to rob banks is, to me, one of the most realistic aspects of comics. If these guys had the intelligence and imagination to do something with their abilities, they wouldn't be crooks in the first place.

I will also say that I always kind of liked Electro, partially because I've always though electricity and lightning were cool powers. And he is just perfect as a simple jobber villain, which is why I roll my eyes whenever they try to add 'depth' to the character. His mother destroyed his self-confidence, he wants to be normal, blah blah blah. The guy is an asshole who got superpowers and decided to be a supervillain. That's all he needs, whether as a one-shot villain for a story or as part of a villain team. He's one of the perfect journeyman supervillains. He could fight anyone.

As for the costume, I agree, attempts to change it are quickly reverted, because no matter what you do, nothing will look as good or right as the starfish lightning mask. The thing has style and looks good in a superhero way, which is the only way that matters. It's not like the Flash having lightning wings on the side of his head really look "good", but they're an iconic part of his costume. So they just need to leave the damn mask alone.

If I really ever felt the need to try and 'update' Electro's look, I'd probably go with something like this:

Image

It's a regular suit where the lightning patterns on it are caused by him powering up, and the starfish mask is created by the lightning playing across his face. There, you've updated the look while keeping the classic appearance in check.
"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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proditor
Posts: 560
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Tombstone! The Enforcers! The Chameleon! Electro!)

Post by proditor »

The image of Scarlet Spiders vs. Vulturions should be awe-inspiring. That's the sort of thing you want to see in some form of TV/Movie media as it should just be one frenetic, roiling furball of movement across a huge expanse. Heck, I'll help block it out: make sure that the Vulturions use their numerical advantage to hand off the job of threatening the public. Always fast fly-bys and drops basically, they keep the scarlet spiders off guard by having one member work the crowd, one on full defense, and two double-teaming one of the spiders. And they keep switching targets. Eventually the spiders manage to coordinate their own actions enough to funnel the fight into more confined areas, and the use of wide webbing ends the high flying antics of the bad guys pretty quickly.

But it eats up 5 minutes of screen time, and it looks amazing. Make it the start of a movie, like the beginning sequence in all James Bond movies.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Deadly Foes

Post by Jabroniville »

THE DEADLY FOES OF SPIDER-MAN:
Reading The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man, a book I've only occasionally heard about, and more in the sense that "this is a thing that exists" rather than anything great. I picked it up for five bucks at a local used bookstore, just by virtue of its use of Jobbers. There's actually some interesting stuff here:

* First off, its centered around The Sinister Syndicate- at this point The Beetle leading Boomerang, Speed Demon, Hydro-Man and the Rhino. Secondary characters include Spider-Man, The Shocker, The Kingpin, and a woman named Leila, who's dating Boomerang. Now, fans of The Spectacular Foes of Spider-Man (also known as "people with taste") will recognize a lot of the cast- this book in fact seems like a preview of what came out in more recent years.

* What's funny is that it's really all about SCHEMES. Almost every character is being dishonest with every other character. Because, y'know, they're all villains, and that's what villains DO. Speed Demon & Hydro-Man are in it for cash. The Rhino wants money for the removal of his costume (this was back when it was permanently-bonded to him), and then wants to go straight. The woman who's their driver (and dating Boomerang) then turns out to be the widow of The Ringer, then a casualty of the Scourge of the Underworld- and she's gunning for the Beetle, who's side remarks convinced her husband to put back on the costume to prove himself, thus putting him in the firing line! The Beetle, as team leader, plots all of the group's heists, but is first hiding the fact that they're working for the Kingpin (and giving him a monstrous cut), then growing more and more nervous and things unravel around him (he's desperate to keep the others loyal to him, so that he can stop owing money to others). The Kingpin, meanwhile, has all sorts of plots in the mix.

* Spidey is actually a side-character here, and proves why I like his power-set more than any other heroes- he gets his ASS KICKED here. Like, seven times. Except it's never an embarrassing defeat, or a complete "jobbing"- no, he's usually fighting too many guys at once, getting distracted by something, or just being unlucky. Then he's able to recover quickly and do well next time. And the story always gives him an "out" to explain why the villains didn't just kill him (the Rhino refuses to get a murder rap on his head by executing Spidey; the Beetle has his laser blast screwed up; The Shocker is scared away). And it never feels like a cop-out, especially when we get the full reasons WHY.

* The Shocker gets a running thing, which actually reflects what he became- a joke. Here, he's nervous, wimpy, and can barely react to things, because his confidence has been shot over the years. Even BOOMERANG feels pity for him. And then all of a sudden he gets his moment of glory, when Spidey comes calling and does his usual Spidey thing- the verbal jabs end up coming off like bullying from Herman's perspective, and so he FREAKS OUT, grabs his gear, and starts fighting like his life depended on it. Then Spider-Man has to rescue some civilians from the crossfire, and pays for it- the Shocker is only chased off by "Scourge" (which we later learn was a plant, for an entirely DIFFERENT scheme by the Kingpin!).

* It's fun watching everything come to a head- the Beetle only barely keeps the loyalty of Speed Demon & Hydro-Man (who seems less-powerful and more vulnerable here, probably due to the difficulties of really beating a villain like him). The Rhino leaves the team under his own volition, but swears vengeance when the Syndicate's assassination scheme kills the one man who could have removed his hide! Boomerang feels betrayed after he ends up in jail, and allies with Rhino, the Shocker (who is paid by the Kingpin to spring Boomerang) and Leila. Meanwhile, Spidey is hunting them all, and it leads to a full-issue-brawl in the center of busy Manhattan. And then, at the very end (with nobody ending up dead), the Kingpin reveals the full breadth of his amazing scheme, which depended on an entirely DIFFERENT thing. And he talks about how super-people always think their POWERS are what makes them amazing, but the "true power is the human MIND". And then the RHINO of all people shows his smarts- he's revealed to have been a "mole" through everything (explaining a couple of life-saving "coincidences" from earlier), and then manages to get one over on the KINGPIN, while also keeping his conscience.

All in all, it's a pretty neat book (and you can't beat the price). The only flaw is the art, which is pretty awful and switches artists a lot (AL MILGROM is one, and that's all you really need to know). It's not terribly funny, but is pretty fun. The twists are the most interesting part of the thing.

It even has the book's SEQUEL series, too! This looks to be one of the better Danny Fingeroth stories I've read (and I've gone into before how AWFUL his run on the Spidey books ended up being...).
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Superior Foes

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN:
-This was a great, fun series. Exactly the kind of humor I like to see in comics- just over-the-top enough to be silly and fun but grounded enough not outright "BWAHAHAHAHAHAH WE SO FUNNEEEEEEE!!" It features the greedy asshole Boomerang as the main character, the yes-man Overdrive, the lascivious Speed Demon, the wimpy & incompetent Shocker, and the manipulative, snobby female Beetle. The book never had good sales, which was rather inevitable: the MAIN CHARACTERS are all Jobber Villains, and the worst enemies they encounter are guys like The Owl and The Chameleon- not exactly a magnet for tons of readers. Hell, they're called the Sinister Six and the BOOK is called The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, yet Spider-Man himself never makes a big appearance! They were pretty much ASKING for low sales!

The main plot is a Maguffin Hunt of sorts, with the gang supposedly looking for the head of Silvermane (the lost cyborg Boss of the Maggia), but ACTUALLY looking for the only portrait of Doctor Doom without his mask... and a tear rolling down his cheek. Boomerang is planning to betray his pals the first chance he gets, Shocker is sycophantically looking up to his teammates because he's desperate for reassurance, The Beetle is ALSO planning on betraying everyone (largely to her father, Tombstone), Overdrive is in it because he's a fanboy (he gets excited at the prospect of an ass-whupping from Iron Fist & Luke Cage), and Speed Demon's just greedy. Half the team is in love with The Beetle, who enjoys manipulating them. They end up on the bad side of the murderous Owl and Chameleon (though Owl gives the helpful advice of "If you want to get on a guy's good side, don't show him a video of his wife $*#*!ing a bull"), the ENTIRE Maggia (when Hammerhead figures out they have Silvermane's head), and The Punisher. Boomerang tries to murder The Shocker. The entire team is nearly killed a dozen times by various people, and MACH-VIII is out to help Boomerang reform (which he has no intention of actually doing).

The book only has a couple of real flaws, aside from lack of marketability (which doesn't affect the QUALITY of the story, really): Speed Demon is treated as a Jobber on the same level as the other guys, despite being quite powerful and competent in other stories, if a bit overly-horny. And Abner Jenkins, a big part of why Thunderbolts was so good, is treated like a bit of a naiive buffoon. I mean, it's FUNNY to see him disliked by actual permanent super-villains, and their disrespect of him is amusing, but he's made to be a giant goof the entire time- his wings get stuck in places, he gets savagely beaten as a joke, etc. He comes off like a wimp who's as desperate for reassurance from bigger heroes as Shocker is from Boomerang. It's a minor part of the book, but a bit irksome. Compare this to The Punisher's own bit of humiliation, which is treated as a fluke.

Some great bits:
* The Shocker prepares to gain his ultimate revenge on his teammates for betraying him. Beetle immediately talks him down, then KOs him. Silvermane: "That boy sure is dumb."

* The team having a big pep-talk and agreeing that they can accomplish anything together. Segue to each one planning to betray the others.

* Speed Demon crying because he has to give away the dog he found and was planning on keeping.

* Boomerang being helped out of a jam by Mirage, the guy is ecstatic over getting to join The Sinister Six... and Boomerang just pushes him off a roof. "What? Guy's been killed like seventeen times! Why mess with his narrative? Probably wasn't even the real him, anyway. Sneaky clever Mirage! Totally fooled me with that one!"

* Silvermane shouting "Look out! He's gonna shoot!", causing a stand-off to devolve into a massive three-gang gunfight.

* "Doom believes you have something... of Doom's. No real way around saying it twice, there." "PEED."

* "DON'T MOCK THE SHOCKER!" *one-shots Frank Castle*

* CM Punk's Afterword: "We're all a little bit more Boomerang than Spider-Man."
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Boomerang

Post by Jabroniville »

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DEAR GOD- that last one!

BOOMERANG (Fred Myers)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Tales to Astonish #81 (July 1966)
Role: DC Villain Rip-Off, Terrible Villain-Turned-Great
Group Affiliations: The Sinister Syndicate, The Secret Empire
PL 9 (137)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 3 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Major League Pitcher) 3 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal Thug) 3 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Sleight of Hand 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+7)
Technology 2 (+4)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Boomerangs) 2, Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Precise Attack 2 (Ranged/Cover & Concealment), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 11

Powers:
"Boomerang Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [11]
Protection 2 (2)
"Jet Boots" Flight 4 (30 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (9) -- (11)
  • Dynamic AE: "Jet Boot Fire" Damage 6 (6)
-- (13 points)

"Trick Boomerangs" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [26]
"Gasarangs" Affliction 6 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Fort; Dazed & Vision Impaired/Stunned & Vision Disabled/Vision Unaware) (Extras: Ranged, Area- Cloud, Extra Condition) (Diminished Range -1) (27) -- (32 points)
  • AE: "Shatterangs" Blast 8 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (Diminished Range -1) (23)
  • AE: "Razorangs" Blast 5 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Extras: Multiattack, Penetrating) (Diminished Range -1) (23)
  • AE: "Bladarangs" Blast 6 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Extras: Multiattack, Penetrating) (Diminished Range -1, Inaccurate) (26)
  • AE: "Screamarangs" Auditory Dazzle 8 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (27)
  • AE: "Reflexerangs" Affliction 7 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Multiattack) (Diminished Range -1, Inaccurate) (23)
  • AE: "Gravityrangs" Affliction 6 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet 3) (Strength or Agility; Hindered/Immobile) (Extras: Ranged, Area- Shapeable) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (Diminished Range -1) (21)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Razorangs +13 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Bladarangs +11 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Shatterangs +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Gasarangs +6 Area (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Screamarangs +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Reflexarangs +11 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Gravityrangs +6 Area (+6 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3 (+5 Costume), Fortitude +6, Will +4

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 37 / Defenses: 15 (137)

This Guy, Right?:
-Boomerang's a pretty shameless rip-off of the DC character, and a card-carrying Marvel D-League villain, but what the hell? He's interesting enough in the Marvel Universe as a jobber to get statted up when I've got losers like Pink Pearl & Ion in here. Essentially a terrible origin story (an evil BASEBALL PITCHER who eventually turned to crime) mixed with a silly shtick (the "Gimmick Weapons Guy" combined with boomerangs), thrown out there with little personality beyond "mean guy". He gets demolished a lot by heroes these days, compared to his early appearances threatening Spider-Man. Nowadays, I've seen Spidey beat him casually while also fighting two other costumed villains.

-He fought THE HULK at first (!!), but quickly moved on, becoming one of those "Journeyman Villains" that basically pops up in one-offs here and there, threatening some hero (Iron Fist, The Defenders, Shang-Chi, etc.) or another, and kind of settled into being a "Spider-Man" guy, even joining Jack O'Lantern's Sinister Syndicate. He was a minor character in The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man, which featured a lot of mid-tier guys. After that, however, he went back to showing up in various books- he was stuck on The Masters of Evil and The Thunderbolts as one of many distinctive, yet minor-league, Super-Villains. And here he was set to be stuck for eternity... until out of nowhere The Superior Foes of Spider-Man turned him into the Main Character. He had a thing for a normal girl and everything! Of course he was still a greedy sociopath and a murderer (at one point he tries to execute The Shocker, HIS OWN TEAMMATE), which is kind of the thing that made the book fun.

Boomerang's Stats:
-I REALLY couldn't imagine Boomerang being a PL 9 because he's such a loser, but really, with highly-touted accuracy AND some very powerful Boomerangs, there's really no way of getting around it. At least he's only PL 7 defensively, meaning he goes down EASILY, and since the game's more biased towards high-powered guys, he's at a disadvantage anyways. At aiming, he's just below the Hawkeye/Bullseye crowd, but Boomerang requires some thought, mainly because he's very skilled, but has some rather powerful Boomerangs in his array, and he obviously just doesn't fit as a PL 10 guy, being such a loser. He's a good, accurate fighter with some Combat Advantage options and some minor-league crook Skills, and could actually hold his own with a pretty good hero for a while. In the end, though, he's just not versatile enough. And yeah, this guy is actually PC-level expensive in this edition- the Skills & Advantages add up I guess.

-Boomerangs are basically a slightly lower-range Blast with the Homing & Ricochet Feats attached to it. Ricochet because it can move around corners, and is the standard M&M rulebook way to do a Boomerang (despite their assertion that you "feint alot" while using them), but also Homing because the definitive version of a Boomerang in comics is something that misses once, then comes back around to hit the guy on the back of the head. I mean, it's quite simple. For his various types of Boomerangs, I took the regular one, then added some Wiki-read stuff. I used Tear Gas, the Audio Dazzle, an Explosion for the Shatterang (half-ranks for the Extra since it's half the range of the 30ft. standard), Penetrating for the Razorangs (Bladarangs are basically the same deal, but are buzz-saws that do more damage but are trickier to aim), and Multiattack for the the Blasts. Reflexerangs & Gravityrangs are just stolen from Thorpocalypse, since I didn't see them on any other source material & he's got the only other build of the guy I could find on the Tank. I'll be sure to pay him some imaginary dollars for it :).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:09 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Beetle (The Hot One)

Post by Jabroniville »

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Right? SO HOT.

THE BEETLE V (Janice Lincoln)
Created By:
Ed Brubaker & Mitch Breitweiser
First Appearance: Captain America #607 (Aug. 2010)
Role: Legacy Villain
Group Affiliations: The Sinister Six
PL 8 (110)
STRENGTH
1/7 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Law) 4 (+7)
Insight 1 (+4)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Technology 1 (+4)

Advantages: 
Attractive, Equipment 3 (Weapons- Guns & Stuff), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Beetle Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [32]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Protection 4 (4)
Flight 6 (120 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (6)
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling 1) (2)
Blast 8 (16)
-- (40 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Beetle Costume +7 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Guns +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Blasters +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2 (+6 Costume), Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Thrills)- Janice could have had a normal life, but wanted the thrills that went along with her father's lifestyle.
Relationship (Lonnie "Tombstone" Lincoln- Father)- Janice's father is the supervillain and would-be crimeboss Tombstone.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 10 (110)

-Oh yeah, The Superior Foes of Spider-Man is a pretty funny book. It's not really "LOL" funny most of the time, but it's super-amusing, and has that great art style that reminds me of David Aja (Iron Fist/Hawkeye) in that it's very simple and cartoony with limited linework being done, yet also distinctive and realistic. I mean, the characters are more-or-less proportionate to real human beings, and have realistic faces, yet it's not hyper-detailed at the same time. It's really Boomerang's book, but the second Beetle (introduced by Ed Brubaker in his Captain America run as a forgettable Jobber in the background) also takes on a role as one of the five Sinister Six members (yes, five). She's the newbie villain who is nonetheless a know-it-all who organizes stuff on her cellphone and whatever, and makes a play for leadership since Boomerang seems to be overly-sneaky and it looks like he doesn't know what he's doing. It's revealed at the end of the first trade that she's in fact the daughter of C-Level Spidey villain TOMBSTONE, which explains why she all of a sudden started looking biracial in the team book, as opposed to her more caucasian debut.

-She's in that dangerous zone where she was in a well-thought-of book, but isn't a big name and is still too new to have any kind of a reputation, so she's only been seen in one other book- the Scott Lang Ant-Man book that tried to capitalize on his feature film. In it, she seduced & blackmailed Tony Stark, but was beaten by Lang. They later had a drunken tryst as the world was ending during the lead-in to Secret Wars.

-Janice is odd in that she's very bright, but has absolutely ZERO feats to her name, and isn't even overly skilled in her first encounter- naturally, a rookie villain has few chances to actually SHOOT either Bucky-Cap or The Black Widow, and gets defeated. In Superior Foes, she's a planner of high skill, but is still functionally a Jobber with no real capabilities in a brawl (the book even makes Speed Demon, who's generally at Spider-Man's level, look like a loser)- in fact, four members of the squad are pretty much effortlessly brought down by the street-level Luke Cage & Iron Fist. She also gets a rank of Attractive because her teammates are 100 times as likely to listen to her because of her looks (Shocker is naturally in love with her, S.D. just wants to bone her), and she's always getting hit on by dorks (even while she's holding them up) and wannabe super-villains. Ie. She actually uses the in-game version of Attractive.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Overdrive

Post by Jabroniville »

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This guy, right?

OVERDRIVE
Created By:
Dan Slott & Phil Jiminez
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift (May 2007)
Role: Joke Villain, Getaway Driver
PL 4 (126), PL 10 (126) With Souped-Up Vehicles
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+4)
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Vehicled Mechanics) 8 (+8)
Perception 3 (+3)
Technology 3 (+3)
Vehicles 4 (+8)
Vehicles 6 (+14) -- Flaws: Limited to Ground Vehicles

Advantages: 
Skill Mastery (Vehicles), Ultimate Vehicles Skill

Powers:
"Nano-Bacterial Transformations"
Transform 10 (Vehicles Into Souped-Up Super-Vehicles) Linked to Variable (Vehicular Powers) 10 (Extras: Affects Others Only +0) (Flaws: Limited to Affecting Vehicles, Limited to Vehicle Powers) [70]

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Responsibility (Superhero Fanboy)- Overdrive is so excited to meet Spider-Man that he asked for an autograph while Spidey was TRYING TO CAPTURE HIM. He even geeks out over Luke Cage & Iron Fist beating him up.
Power Loss (Powers, Post-Boning)- After, um, "exerting himself", Overdrive cannot use his powers for a certain period of time.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 70 / Defenses: 9 (126)

-Overdrive is a new character with the strange ability to transform common vehicles into souped-up versions of themselves (he once turned a limousine into the Spider-Mobile, for example). He's a low-rent fighter and can't beat any REAL super-humans, and is a bit of a fanboy, but he can make some pretty good getaways with that high a Vehicles skill (it's unclear whether or not his weird power comes from his body or his costume as of yet). He is easily-beaten by Spider-Man several times, effectively being proven a joke, but appears as a recurring character in The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, where he is the most-minor and least-focused-on character; more of a "Follower" type in a team of distinct personalities.

-Overdrive's even admitted that his only reason for being a super-villain was to pull a "Hawkeye" and switch sides, becoming a super-hero and hopefully being recruited by the Avengers. He sticks with Boomerang's squad of fools towards this purpose, and because he has a huge crush on Janice "Beetle" Lincoln. Ultimately, he washes out and is the least-important character in the thing, and hasn't been seen since Superior Foes ended.

-Overdrive has the ability to transform Vehicles into "Souped-Up" versions of themselves. He usually turns cars into more bad-ass, tricked-out cars that are faster, but he can ALSO transform crazy things into weapons- in SFOSM, he touches a REMOTE-CONTROLLED HELICOPTER and transforms it into a very real, Missile-Firing Death-Copter! This is basically a high-end Transform/Variable that goes off at the same time, and can make him PL 10 with the right gear. Usually, though, he's an easily-beaten wuss.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Speed Demon

Post by Jabroniville »

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SPEED DEMON (James Sanders, aka The Whizzer II)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Avengers #70 (Nov. 1969- as The Whizzer), The Amazing Spider-Man #222 (Nov. 1981- as Speed Demon)
Role: Flash Stand-In, Speedster, Background Villain
Group Affiliations: The Squadron Sinister, The Thunderbolts, The Sinister Syndicate, Boomerang's Sinister Six
PL 10 (160)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9/12 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 10 (+14)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10/+14)
Deception 6 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Thrown Objects) 4 (+10)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages: 
Great Endurance, Evasion, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Super-Speed"
Enhanced Fighting 3 [6]
Enhanced Advantages 14: Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Evasion (total 2), Fast Grab, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative 4, Move-By Action, Takedown 2, Uncanny Dodge [14]
Enhanced Dodge 6 [6]
Enhanced Parry 3 [3]
"Mach 5-ish" Speed 11 (4,000 mph) [11]
Quickness 7 [7]

"Super-Speed Feats"
"Wall & Water Run" Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling, Water-Walking) (Flaws: Limited to While Running) [2]
Immunity 1 (Friction Heat) [1]
"Bullet Objects" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (Quirks: Requires Objects -2) (16) -- [22]
  • AE: "Cyclone Suffocation" Affliction 8 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (16)
  • AE: "Jetstream" Move Object 6 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (Flaws: Touch Range) (12)
  • AE: "Rapid-Punches" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Multiattack 5) (8)
  • AE: "Hit Everyone in Range" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst 5, Selective 5) (13)
  • AE: "Catch Projectiles" Deflect 12 (12)
  • AE: "Spin Attack" Affliction 8 (Fort; Fatigued & Impaired/Exhausted & Disabled/Incapacitated) (Extras: Extra Condition, Cumulative) (Flaws: Grab-Based) (16)
Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Rapid-Punches +14 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Hit Everyone +5 Area (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Bullet Objects +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Cyclone +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Spin Attack +10 (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +20

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3, Fortitude +7, Will +5
"Top Speed" Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +3 (+4 D.Roll), Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Even while serving as a hero on The Thunderbolts, James Sanders was an absolute tool. He lied, cheat and stole, and loved it.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 72 / Defenses: 14 (160)

-Speed Demon was originally The Whizzer of the Squadron Sinister, a *wink wink, nudge nudge* parody of DC's Justice League- they were temporary villains of The Avengers, then moved on to The Defenders. When the concept was fleshed out, the team was split up, bounced around, and Whizzer changed his name to the less-silly Speed Demon, becoming a recurring solo villain who mostly challenged Spider-Man, taking up background positions in a few books. He briefly joined Boomerang's Sinister Syndicate in The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man (where he's a bit of a side character), then joined the Thunderbolts and did some stuff in that book (generally acting as the nastiest of his team, and the most likely one to revert back to super-villainy), but he's mostly a minor character. Honestly, though, I found him wonderfully entertaining in that book- he was just as amoral as ever, freely committing crimes on the side, hitting on Joystick, and being the token "Sarcastic, Evil Teammate" guy. He was such a turd that it was hilarious.

-This made him an ideal fit for The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, where this personality put him right in the running with most of his teammates. Though the book is so focused around the "Jobber Villain" concept that they seem to forget that Speed Demon was actually a VERY POWERFUL OPPONENT, hitting at least PL 10 and challenging many experienced heroes (Marvel, which has a lack of basic Speedsters, really had no counter for the guy). But here he's getting trounced along with his buddies for the sake of a gag. His greed and lust really define him there, however, so he's still fun.

-Speed Demon is pretty good overall, but fails to make his PL 10 caps all the way, despite his high cost in points. He has +14 accuracy (most Speedsters are HIGHLY accurate) +14 defense, but is only PL 9 on the latter due to lower toughness (and even THEN it's with Defensive Roll at two ranks), so he's not entirely balanced- it's his Achilles Heel once stronger characters (like Joystick, most notably) actually start to connect with their punches- he goes down in a hurry. He's got most of the standard Super-Speed Feats floating around (plus the rare "Spin Attack" that dizzies opponents) at PL 8 levels, he's fast and relatively strong, and also quite smart, but not enough to confound Spider-Man on a permanent basis.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Feb 15, 2022 10:11 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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HalloweenJack
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Tombstone! The Enforcers! The Chameleon! Electro!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

As I've said before, it's best to read Superior Foes with the voices from Archer in your head

Example, Boomerang is Archer, Beetle is Lana, Shocker is Cyril, etc
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