Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Ken]

There's also the possibility she has something in common with the character of Val from "A Chorus Line"

The fact that she is short waisted, or as she puts it (eventually) has "no torso", also contributes to her bustiness.

[Jabroniville]

Haha, hadn't seen that video before (though she censored it quite a bit )- thanks! And yeah... it seems pretty obvious given some of the recent "fully-open shirt" stuff she's been wearing, while still sporting very rounded breasts. I hadn't noticed, since she'd done some bikini pictures a couple of years ago, while at her thinnest, and her boobs had shrunk considerably, in a manner that made it clear they were real. But looking at the "green shirt" ones and some recent talk show appearances, it looks like she's gone the Val road. Meh- she's almost fifty, and "Tiny girl with big boobs" is kind of her THING (well, "immortally-skilled singer" is her THING, but you know...)- she's got the right .

Also, one more, of the originals:

[Jabroniville]

https://photos.smugmug.com/Wicked/i-SjC ... 7da4d5.jpg

As a brunette fan, whenever I heard guys say they "prefer blondes", I would not understand. Then I discovered Megan Hilty.

Other Actresses:
Unlike Elphaba, who has TONS of popular "Favourite" performers, most people will automatically choose Kristin as the top Glinda. There are some other good ones, though- happily, the ones I saw (Natalie Daradich, Kara Lindsay) are some of the best.
Natalie Daradich as Glinda- She's the one I saw live- she's PHENOMENAL in person, and carries insane amounts of energy. She also has the best delivery of "Oh, he doesn't KNOW yet!" I've ever heard. Completely a riot- her only flaw is that she's SO zany that it's hard to take her later, more serious scenes... seriously.

Glinda's the only character in the show to have TWO bonafide celebrities play her- the third Broadway Glinda was Megan Hilty, who later appeared on Smash and a few other shows, temporarily becoming a name. That woman, though... when guys say they're "into blondes", THAT's the kind of woman they mean. Just fantastically "old school" hot, with curves and everything. She was so good on Smash that she effortlessly stole the show from Katherine McPhee (whose career disintegrated immediately). That said... she's in her 30s and has a couple of kids, so she's probably hit her shelf-life at major stardom, unfortunately.

Kara Lindsay, however, has probably become the biggest "Career Glinda". I was lucky enough to see her in the second Touring Company version of Wicked, and she absolutely left Daradich in the dust. She was THAT GOOD. Every line she did killed, and the combination of a semi-weak Elphaba (the one who was too "roar-y" in her delivery of angry lines) with her delivery of stuff like "It's Glinda, now. The GAH is SILENT" made her the runaway best part of the production. She was so killer in every way- having seen four Glindas, I've never seen EVERY LINE deliver like that- the "Ballgown" sequence in Popular usually just draws chuckles, but her blurting out "Just wear the frock it's PRETTY!" was so disingenuous and funny that the crowd loved it. I'd never even realized how funny some of the lines were until I heard that kind of killer delivery- the whole know-it-all-ness of some lines was perfect, like with her "Oh, he doesn't know yet!"

She's basically lightning-quick, has fantastic deadpan delivery (she's so matter-of-fact with her arrogance), and more. She's so good as Glinda that she went from the Touring Company version to the Broadway show for a full YEAR (which is exceptionally-rare- most actresses are said to be "ambitious" and move on quickly, or can't handle the eight-shows-a-week grind), at which point her contract ended... and then after a year's break she RETURNED to the role, taking it over again.

[Jabroniville]

And that's it for my Wicked builds! It's been fun to revisit Oz, and write out all-NEW essays for all of the characters. Now that I can basically quote the play verbatim, it's a lot easier to do research and remember stuff .

Though I'm not sure I used enough pics for some of the characters and actresses. What say you all?

[KorokoMystia]

The most I can say is that there's a Wicked-related bag behind me as I'm typing this. Also, for the Guards, there is one good thing that comes out of them being statted: People could pretty much use the exact same build for the Winkie guards from the movie.

[Jabroniville]

The most I can say is that there's a Wicked-related bag behind me as I'm typing this. Also, for the Guards, there is one good thing that comes out of them being statted: People could pretty much use the exact same build for the Winkie guards from the movie.

OMG- did you see the musical?

http://www.theatrepeople.com.au/the-pos ... ur-wicked/

Here's a thing about how Australia has opened the gates to amateur productions (which immediately turned into EVERY company doing a season of it- pros warn against the burnout of anyone trying to play Elphaba without the training to do so).

[Jabroniville]

Just a couple more videos:
Kara Lindsay's For Good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5yPmRi4e7I
Kara's "Think Pink" series- a bunch of webisodes of backstage at Wicked in 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74V8JPy ... lX&index=4

Megan Hilty interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqZCUwXdgmg
-Oh my god she's so PRETTTTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

I'm also remembering Chez Lindsay's comments that Wicked is basically "Musical: The Musical", in that it takes the source material, isn't married to it, and heavily alters many things, creating a whole new thing. And, as she notes, it ISN'T just a scene-for-scene replica of the original thing (in her video on the Wicked Witch, she shows all of the numerous Disney Musicals out there).

[Jabroniville]

I love this picture SO MUCH.

MARVEL'S ORGANIZATIONS (Evil & Otherwise):

-This is a set of re-posts that will have some new stuff at the end, since it fills out some names from The List. It's funny, because these were some of the very first builds I did for my thread on Ronin Army. Don't worry- I'll be spamming them right the hell out, even though I'm just killing time to allow more of a gap between two time-consuming sets (Wicked and Sailor Moon both require a lot of essay-writing, because I am me ).

-Marvel has a pretty long history of using gigantic organizations as a general source of Henchmen, ever since S.H.I.E.L.D. was a new concept. It makes sense- villains always have Mooks running all over the place, so why not have one BIG reason to have costumed losers for the heroes to beat up? It's better than random gangs of street toughs. It's become such a big concept that DC began knocking it off for Kobra's international cartel of terrorists, and when Larry Hama was hired on to do the G.I. Joe comic and backstory, he basically used a S.H.I.E.L.D. concept he had been working on and retrofitted it to replace HYDRA with Cobra. I mean, it's blatantly similar. Astro City does the same thing with EAGLE and PYRAMID, as does Mutants & Mastermind's own gang at UNISON, AEGIS or SHADOW. It's a natural to have something like this for any form of media based around combat. Of course, Marvel ripped the idea off from James Bond (since Jim Steranko especially was a big fan).

The only major issue with groups like this is that there's really no threat from the bottom-tier Jobbers, and everyone knows it. So there's little drama when your hero is fighting HYDRA goons, since HYDRA goons have never beaten up anybody. I've read DOZENS of appearances by these dorks, and I don't think I've seen one of them hit with their Laser Beams ONCE. It was the weirdest thing in The Immortal Iron Fist when Danny Rand was wading through their Goons, but their ROBOTS managed to nearly kill him- even GIANT ROBOTS look like weenies if they have a HYDRA logo on the side.

Also included are the good guys like S.H.I.E.L.D., S.W.O.R.D. & Damage Control, filling out the bottom ranks.

The Build List:
HYDRA
A.I.M.
S.H.I.E.L.D.
S.W.O.R.D.
Black Spectre
The Secret Empire
Damage Control
Roxxon Energy
The Right
The Purifiers
The Hellfire Club
The Reavers (well they're sort of a group, and someone requested them)
The Jury

Some One-Note Groups With Little Information or Minor Appearances:
Agence Byzantine
The Friends of Humanity
The Church of Humanity
The National Force
Humanity's Last Stand
The Sons of the Serpent

Plus some Solo Members related to the groups:
Abigail Brand
Will Stryker
Bob, Agent of HYDRA

[Jabroniville]

MARVEL MOOK- ABOVE-AVERAGE
Role: Mook
PL 4 (35)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 1 (+2)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Terrorist) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+3)
Technology 1 (+1)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Laser Guns), Ranged Attack

Equipment:
"Laser Gun" Blast 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Laser Guns +3 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Will +0

Complications:
Responsibility (Terrorist)

Total: Abilities: 22 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (35)

MARVEL MOOK- STANDARD
Role: Mook
PL 3 (22)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Terrorist) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 1 (+1)
Technology 1 (+1)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Laser Guns)

Equipment:
"Laser Gun" Blast 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Laser Guns +1 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +2, Fortitude +2, Will +0

Complications:
Responsibility (Terrorist)

Total: Abilities: 14 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 2 (22)

-These Mook builds represent the lowest of the low- the Foot Soldiers of HYDRA, A.I.M., Black Spectre and countless others. The PL 4 version is as good as the rank & file get; for an Elite Mook you'd have toWAHWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAH!!! Just kidding- there's no such thing. Their accuracy is beyond terrible, which 100% fits their depictions in comics- when have you EVER seen one of these guys land a hit on someone? Hell, even a MID-TIER acrobat, much less someone like Spider-Man or Daredevil. Guys like that have ridiculous enough Dodge ratings that a Mook would have only a 25% chance of hitting, and even THAT is almost too high for what they've been seen doing in the comics!

[Jabroniville]

"Hail, HYDRA! Immortal HYDRA! We shall never be destroyed! Cut off a limb, and two more shall take its place! We serve none but the Master—as the world shall soon serve us! Hail HYDRA!"

HYDRA:
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Strange Tales #135 (Aug. 1965)
Role: The Ultimate Mook Army
Leaders:
Arnold Brown (generic-seeming businessman, eventually Retconned out)
Baron Wolfgang von Strucker
Coalition of Warring Factions
Baron Strucker
Baron Strucker's Clone (killed after being set up to fail by...)
Gorgon & Elsbeth von Strucker
Elspeth von Strucker
Viper
Congressman Woodman
Hardball (Initiative member) & Carmilla Black

-HYDRA is an ancient organization that is known to the modern era as basically the Big Daddy of Evil Terrorist Organizations- they wish to rule the world via terrorism and secret activities. Post-WWII, it was combined with the deposed leaders of Nazi Germany and The Empire of Japan- Baron Strucker, an enemy of Nick Fury's, would soon take control from the Japanese, and became the recurring baddie of the S.H.I.E.L.D. series. When the book was cancelled soon after Jim Steranko left, we ended up with a recurring set of Background Mooks, usually as the most generic kind of "this is who is responsible for a random evil activity" crew ever. Off-shoots of HYDRA formed two other Job Squads (A.I.M., The Secret Empire), but these guys are your classics.

-There's been a fair bit of turnaround with the group, as Strucker's a bit of a forgettable villain (Generic Evil Nazi doesn't stand out when THE RED SKULL is around), and a recurring trend in comics was to have some random villain (The Kingpin, Red Skull, Silvermane, Carmilla Black...) turn out to be in control of a HYDRA Cel somewhere, generally controlling a coast or something. The most common non-Strucker leader is Madame HYDRA, aka Viper, who herself is a generic Lady Spy, distinct mainly for her green hair. They take up a backdrop role in Erik Larsen's Return of the Sinister Six storyline, to the point where they're literally just an army of dead guys as Dr. Octopus leads an invasion to one of their bases to take control of their orbital nuclear weapon array. But really, when it comes down to it, these guys are the most pure Jobbers around- they specialize in nothing more than losing. Oh, and sometimes they infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. because the current writer likes Spy Stories or something.

-HYDRA typically has the weakest of the weak Mooks working for them, but has a tendency to use legit supervillains as Cel Leaders, making them dangerous in that respect. They also have the best overall technology and reach across the globe- meaning that you're more likely to be dealing with Giant Robots, Super-Vehicles or Kill-Satellites than with anyone else here, not to mention the greatest likelihood that they are the secret power behind the throne of some big corporation or small country. Or even S.H.I.E.L.D.

-And of course they're currently a big part of Marvel's current Big Event Story, even though it's called Secret Empire, which has the name of another group.

[Jabroniville]

BOB, AGENT OF HYDRA
Created By: Fabian Nicieza & Reilly Brown
First Appearance: Cable & Deadpool #38 (May 2007)
Role: Named Henchman
PL 4 (37)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 1 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Terrorist) 2 (+2)
Stealth 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Laser Gun), Luck 2, Ranged Attack

Powers:
Speed 2 (8 mph) (Flaws: Limited to While Fleeing) [1]

Equipment:
"Laser Gun" Blast 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +1 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Laser Guns +3 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +2

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

Complications:
Relationship (Deadpool)- Bob thinks that Wade really has it all figured out. No, really.
Phobia (Captain America, Wolverine, Elektra)- These recurring beaters of HYDRA faces bring chills to Bob's heart.
Relationship (Allison)- Bob's wife accuses him of not being able to hold down a steady job- this leads him to join HYDRA.

Total: Abilities: 16 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 10 (37)

-Bob is a supporting character from one of Deadpool's comic book runs- a Mook Given Personality, he was upgraded to recurring cast while being EVEN MORE USELESS than your average HYDRA goon. His only real skill was running away and avoiding combat- this upgrades him to PL 4 status on Defense. He's only kept on by Deadpool because... well, he's insane.

[Jabroniville]

AGENCE BYZANTINE:
Created By: Mark Waid & Marcos Martin
First Appearance: Daredevil #6 (Jan. 2012)
Role: Background Mook Army
Leaders:
Unknown

-Agence Byzantine is a random element thrown into Mark Waid' terrific Daredevil run- a new agency on the scene, they're vaguely-European and haven't had much in-depth stuff given. They get involved with Matt Murdock's life because he steals The Omegadrive, a Macguffin that contains a comprehensive amount of information on five major "Megacrime" organizations- HYDRA, A.I.M., The Black Spectre, The Secret Empire, and these guys. Their only seen agent is wielding Double Pistols, and generally looks MUCH cooler and more stylish than all of the other groups.

[KorokoMystia]

Ah, good old Marvel Mooks. One guy I thought of that might be relevant is Redshirt (The link here is to Thorp's build of him), a guy who fought Taskmaster. That book must have been really goofy, considering Redshirt's name, and the fact that he leads an organization called M.I.L.F. (an organization made up of various guys from the big Marvel organizations. And yes, that's really what it's called)

Also, yay, Sailor Moon! Hoping it comes with the Monster Of The Week template, since those are useful.

[Jabroniville]

U.L.T.I.M.A.T.U.M. (Underground Liberated Totally-Integrated Mobile Army To Unite Mankind):
Created By: Mark Waid & Marcos Martin
First Appearance: Captain America #321 (Feb. 1986)
Role: Background Mook Army
Leaders:
Flag-Smasher I & II
Countess Bianca Demonico

-These guys are Flag-Smasher's Goon Squad of anarchistic anti-nationalists, who recently showed up in Venom under the leadership of someone who ISN'T a Jobber to teenage superhero teams. Later, they fought Deadpool, and were mostly killed by him.

[KorokoMystia]

Also, Pretty much the only way Mooks stand a chance of hitting higher-Defense heroes is if they started stacking the Aid action or something, and even then, their attack bonus is so low they have a chance of flubbing the DC 10 Aid check. (In the official rules you can only aid someone who's in melee, but I'd probably houserule it.)