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

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

Magma (Darque)

Post by Jabroniville »

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MAGMA I (Jonathan Darque)
Created By:
David Michelinie & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #110 (Oct. 1981)
Role: Forgotten Villain
Group Affiliations: The Avengers
PL 7 (129)
STRENGTH
2/6 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 7 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Business) 1 (+8)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Technology 7 (+14)

Advantages:
Equipment (Axe), Inventor, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Battlesuit" (Flaws: Removable) [58]
Enhanced Strength 4 (8)
Protection 5 (5)
Immunity 11 (Heat Effects, Radiation) (11)
"Blast Gun" Magma Blast 8 (Extras: Secondary Effect) Linked to Weaken Toughness 8 (Extras: Ranged, Affects Objects) (48)
-- (72 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Armored Strength +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Blast Gun +6 (+8 Ranged Damage & Weaken, DC 23 & 18)
Initiative +0

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

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Darque is a blackmailer.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 58 / Defenses: 9 (129)

-Huh- the whole time this guy was on The List, I had his name written as "Magma II". Turns out he actually PRE-DATES Amara Aquilla of the New Mutants book, and is thus the first one, debuting only two years before Chris Claremont created another one (and I had no idea David Michelinie was doing comics the year I was born). He's one of the time-honored tradition of goofy one-off villains for Marvel Team-Up- he was a CEO of a mining company which had come under fire from environmentalists, and his wife was killed in a car accident trying to avoid one of their blockades. Magma thus built a battlesuit and... formed an underground crime organization? Okay then.

-Using his gear, he threatened New York with earthquakes for some blackmail money, but Spider-Man and Iron Man ganged up on him. He nearly escaped, but Spidey used his own weapon on him, and he disappeared beneath the waves. He then popped up in the Iron Man book, losing to James Rhodes in the armor. He showed up another time to fight Spider-Man, and then became a one-off jobber losing to the Human Torch. Given that a much more important character shares his name (and she's a third-tier New Mutant, so think about THAT), I don't think we'll see too much more of him.

-A brilliant inventor (he created a machine that threatened to destroy all of New York with an earthquake) who can shoot magma and "the speed of sound", Magma is nonetheless a pretty forgotten Jobber villain, prone to showing up in one issue ever 15 years or so. So he's only PL 8, despite having a weapon that has a 48-point Power attached to it- Weaken Toughness combined with a Blast. I dunno where he's getting an endless supply of the stuff to power it, though- unless he's just randomly digging up dirt elsewhere.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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KorokoMystia
Posts: 1402
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2016 8:42 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! FIYEERRRRROOOOOO!!! Glinda! SHIELD!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

Nice to see a build of Magma I. I've been looking for a build of him ever since I saw him while reading random Iron Man issues.

Also, I remembered some guys that might fit into this set, since they're members of HYDRA, the "Hydra Super-Agents" as the Appendix calls them. Apparently their official name is "Hydra Four", though. Since they're low-rent versions of Cap, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and Thor, I'd imagine they'd just be mini-versions of those builds, shrunk down to PL 8-ish.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Damon Dran

Post by Jabroniville »

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DAMON DRAN
Created By:
Gerry Conway & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Daredevil #92 (Oct. 1972)
Role: Jobber Villain
PL 10 (125)
STRENGTH
1/8 STAMINA 3/12 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Expertise (Business) 7 (+11)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+8)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Wealth), Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Project Four- Body-Altering Weapon"
Enhanced Strength 7 [14]
Enhanced Stamina 9 [18]
Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 13) [15]
Immunity 10 (Life Support) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +14 (+7 Impervious), Fortitude +12, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Avoiding His Mortality)- Dran believes that World War III is inevitable, and had himself transformed in order to survive it.
Enemy (The Black Widow)
Power Loss (All Powers)- Dran's powers apparently fade with time- he requires bionics to replace his former invulnerability, but they fail to save him from acidic gas- likely, his Immunity disappears by this point.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 57 / Defenses: 7 (125)

-Damon Dran is a fairly minor character who first showed up in the forgotten "Pre-Miller" Daredevil years- he has appeared in only four storylines since 1972. He was an unscrupulous munitions magnate who became paranoid about his own mortality, and so made an effort to survive the "inevitable" World War III. He captures and brainwashes the Black Widow to fight Daredevil (her boyfriend/partner at the time), and successfully makes himself "The Indestructible Man". He proves invincible against the National Guard and the heroes, but an ally of the Widow's sacrifices himself to break Dran's weapon, allowing DD to defeat him.

-He later reappears in Marvel Fanfare, sending some Jobbers (including future Captain America villain Snapdragon) against the Widow once his powers return. She manages to escape, saving Nick Fury's life against an LMD duplicate of her. Naturally, Mark Gruenwald used him in his Cap run as a forgettable menace behind the scenes (using Golddigger as his new personal assistant), and he tries to restore his fading invincibility with cybernetic implants. He reappears in modern times, fighting the Widow once more, and using a personal assassin to murder various enemies of his. When the man, Boga, is mortally wounded by the Widow, Dran has him turned into a cyborg, too. However, Dran is captured and jailed, then dies in his cell thanks to some acidic gas released by the organization known as "Chaos".

-Dran is purported to be "invincible", and small arms fire appears to be zero threat. I figure PL 10 is enough, giving him weak Defenses, but high Toughness.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

GLF

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE GREEN LIBERATION FRONT (aka The Credit Card Soldiers)
Created By:
Walter Simonson
First Appearance: Thor #354 (April 1985)
Role: Anti-Money Mooks
Group Affiliations: The KGB
PL 7 (85)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Perception 2 (+3)
Technology 3 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Blasters +6- Multiattack), Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Battle Armour" (Flaws: Removable) (Feats: Subtle- Credit Card-Sized) [33]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Protection 6 (Extras: Impervious 5) (11)
Flight 6 (120 mph) (12)
"Sensors" Senses 2 (Infravision, Extended Hearing) (2)
Features 1: Increased Mass (1)
Reach 1 (1)
-- (39 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Battle Armour +6 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Blasters +6 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2 (+8 Armour, +3 Impervious), Fortitude +3, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Destroying the American Economy)

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 6 (85)

-The Green Liberation Front (forming an acronym even funnier than the Mutant Liberation Front these days) is an organization formed by The Titanium Man, a Russian agent, to help destroy the American economy. HOW this was to be done I'm not sure about, but they brawled with Thor for a while (and Beta-Ray Bill once), getting their asses handed to them eventually (I mean, that's some great armour they have on- but this is THOR we're talking about). The suits are actually REALLY BIG, but I didn't feel like adding Growth. In any case, they're PL 7 unarmed, and PL 6 with their Lasers (which seem just like standard-issue Useless Comic Lasers), which is enough to be a rough battle for a single PL 10 hero, especially if you don't use the Minion Rules for them.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! FIYEERRRRROOOOOO!!! Glinda! SHIELD!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ok, so Sailor Moon builds start tomorrow, and today I'm spamming out the MLF and the fake MLF. Gotta fill out that roster of builds I've posted to the new place :).
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

MLF! MLF! MLF!

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE MUTANT LIBERATION FRONT:

The M.L.F. has gotta go down as one of the most ludicrously overloaded villains teams in comics. See, they were created when Rob Liefeld had just debuted on the New Mutants title in its waning years (dozens of crappy Louise Simonson issues had basically killed the book off, necessitating a reboot FAST). Before he was notorious and ultra-hated by most comic book fans, Liefeld was a breath of fresh air in a tired and drawn-out 1980s, bringing a totally unique art style (tiny feet FTW!) and sensibility to things. I can't lie- there was an energy surrounding these books, flawed as they were, that made them much better than the more classically-good, but boring, issues that immediately preceded them. There are a thousand flaws in Liefeld's half-assed overly-cross-hatched art style, but at least STUFF was happening. STUPID stuff mostly, but still STUFF.

The New Mutants shifted suddenly to a military-style force, as their goofy (and HORRIBLE) kiddie costumes vanished, replaced by what Liefeld thought hero designs should be- fatigues, big gloves so he didn't have to draw wrist joints, white eyes, giant hair, etc. When Cable took over the team (they were kind of "between leaders", as Professor X was in space, and Magneto had gone back to the dark side), they immediately started fighting his own personal villains- Liefeld was such a hit on this book that they essentially threw EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER DESIGN from his sketchpad out there, producing the Mutant Liberation Front. See, most supervillain teams (even in Mutant books) are six or seven guys strong, reasonably balanced against the superhero force. The MLF (every time I type that nowadays, I want to add an "I" in there) by contrast SEEMED like that at first, with small groups of three or four taking part in most stories... but then each group was different. And there were MORE guys hanging out in the background. Essentially, Liefeld just dumped out every concept he could think of (something he would maintain with Weapon: P.R.I.M.E., Youngblood, Brigade, et al in the years to come). I call these types of characters "Sketchpad Characters" for a reason- it often seems like there's no thought put into them whatsoever beyond "I just drew up this guy on my sketchpad today".

This was an era in comics REPLETE with this kind of thing- for some reason, all these super-teams sprouted up with a dozen guys with totally bizarre get-ups and looks (usually by a superstar artist, almost as a peace-offering by Marvel to keep him on board- artists were calling the shots in those days, and seemed to always get their way to placate them). Back in the old days, Villain Teams were made up of COLLECTIVES of old solo villains (The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, The Masters of Evil, The Sinister Six)- guys like The Wrecking Crew (old villain plus three Clone Buddy-type characters) were an exception. But once the Serpent Society rolled around, we all of a sudden witnessed the arrival of the Mutant Liberation Front, Weapon P.R.I.M.E., The Dark Riders and a HORRENDOUS supply of villain teams in the Image books, once the X-odus of Marvel creators happened. And as a result of this, characterization suffered- there was no room to develop all fourteen members of the MLF, so every guy got noted for his outfit, and maybe a couple got some characterization (Reaper as an amoral guy who calls people "feeb" a lot, Wildside as a Crazy Sabretooth Rip-Off, Forearm as the "Nice Guy Who Shouldn't Be Here", Tempo as the same but with boobs, etc.).

He even over-used the same design principles on many characters! Wildside was basically a recolored Feral, who was a recolored Wolfsbane- they all had the same giant Cone-shaped haircut! Wildside and Reaper BOTH had funny eye-patches on their skin for no apparent reason- and Deadpool and Domino, two OTHER Liefeld characters introduced at THE EXACT SAME TIME in the comics, ALSO possessed them! Only Deadpool had them right on the mask- everyone else had weird mutant-patched skin. Four freaking guys with the same funky eye-patches? Add to that the random concepts (a four-armed guy, a fat sumo, a Japanese guy in generic tights with a "Rising Sun" mask), and you had a massive 11-strong team of varying characters, organized into random mission groups.

They fought the New Mutants a couple times in their own run (rescuing, then brainwashing, half-assed New Mutant teammates Rusty and Skids, in the process), until they shifted into X-Force with issue #100. The first X-Force issue featured a four-man MILF... dammit... MLF squad. But then they utterly vanished while Big Bad Team Leader Stryfe overtook things (his face looked exactly like Cable's, becoming a big thing) on his own. This culminated with The X-Cutioner's Song, a major cross-over 12-parter that was my very first "Big Event" as a young comic book fan, and a HUGE part of my childhood (I am to this day incapable of really criticizing it on every level- nostalgia clouds all its flaws and I still love the crap out of it). The storyline centered entirely around Stryfe, Cable, Cyclops & Jean Grey, while Professor X was gunned down and put near-death. I'm sure it's of questionable quality at times (Stryfe just goes ON AND ON with faux-philosophical stuff like he's a bad anime character or something), but it's got TONS of fights in it. TONS. Almost every issue has a massive beat-down of SOMEbody. One issue is just X-Men & X-Factor fighting X-Force! And the fight ends with ONE SIDE LOSING, not some total B.S. finish. Apocalypse wipes out a squad of X-Men. Stryfe wipes out the Dark Riders. The X-Team Coalition wipes out The MLF. It's AWESOME.

The Mutant Liberation Front hilariously barely featured in the whole crossover, despite being the main henchman of the Big Bad of the Song. Stryfe beat up Apocalypse and stole leadership of the Dark Riders from him, and so THOSE D-League Jobbers became he main henchmen! Stryfe was ALL OVER THE PLACE, but the entirety of the MLF appearances consisted of Reaper & Forearm talking once, and then the ENTIRE TEAM getting wiped out in two issues. They lost HARD- a huge squad of X-Factor, X-Men (both Blue & Gold Strike Forces) and X-Force's Cannonball & Boomer came into their base and kicked the entire team's asses, only losing a few members to KOs (Quicksilver, Gambit and Rogue were knocked-out of the storyline from their injuries). That was the very end of the game for almost the entire team.

A year or so later, four of the most iconic and recognizable members (Forearm, Reaper, Wildside & Tempo) were sprung from jail by a new villain named Reignfire, and they did their own storyline. Danielle Moonstar was added to the team, along with newbie Locus (a Teleporter), giving us a "betrayal" aspect, but it turned out that Dani was working undercover (which is stupid- why the hell would S.H.I.E.L.D. think four guys were such a huge threat that they'd send a solitary X-character in missions that resulted in the maiming of HER OWN FRIENDS?). That was pretty much it for the MLF except for random apperances by random members (the last mention of the full team was during Operation: Zero Tolerance, when they were captured)- most were de-powered following "M-Day", which ended the runs of DOZENS of aimless side characters Marvel wasn't using anymore. That's what happens when you make a villain team that's just entirely too big for its own good.

An incarnation was seen in a recent modern-day X-Force issue, led by an Alternate Universe Stryfe (who was really Neena "Domino" Thurmann from that reality), consisting of Forearm, Tempo and some guy named Jon Spectre. A FOURTH version was a one-off team in a Punisher run, made up of humans using Mutant Growth Hormone to simulate powers. 

1) Stryfe
2) Zero
3) Wildside
4) Forearm
5) Strobe
6) Tempo
7) Thumbelina
8) Reaper
9) Dragoness
10) Kamikaze
11) Sumo
12) Rusty (Brainwashed New Mutant)
13) Skids (Brainwashed New Mutant)
14) Reignfire (Future Self of Sunspot)
15) Locus
16) Danielle Moonstar (A Mole inserted by S.H.I.E.L.D. to work against them and try to... kill her friends? That's on serious under-cover mission)
17) Feral (X-Force member- betrayed Cable's team and joined Reignfire's)
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Wildside

Post by Jabroniville »

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WILDSIDE (Richard Gill)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #86 (Feb. 1990)
Role: Psychopath, The Scrapper, Claw Guy
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 8 (103)
STRENGTH
5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills: 
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 5 (+10)
Deception 2 (+1)
Intimidation 8 (+7)
Expertise (Terrorist) 4 (+4)
Perception 6 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Perception-Warping) 8 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Defensive Roll, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Claws), Improved Hold, Power Attack, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Perception-Warping, Animalistic Physiology"
"Claws" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Split) [3]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]

"Warp Perceptions" Affliction 7 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (Flaws: Distracting) (14) -- [15]
  • AE: "Render Invisible" Concealment (All Visual Senses) 4 (Extras: Affects Others, Area- 30ft. Burst) (Quirk: Limited to Living Beings -2) (14)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Claws +9 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Perception Warping +8 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17) 
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +3

Complications: 
Motivation (Murder and Mayhem)- Wildside is pure Chaotic Evil, killing just for the fun of it. He chafes under any kind of rules, and will torture as he pleases.
Reputation (Nuts)- Few trust Wildside overly much.
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Giant Liefeldian eye-patches and sharp teeth make Wildside stand out in a crowd. He cannot ordinarily pass for human.
Enemy (Feral)- The two got into it really early on in X-Force's career, and she nearly maimed him (breaking his jaw). Their similar power-sets made them natural opponents.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 9 (103)

-Wildside is bizarre because he seems to be a color-swap of Rob Liefeld's version of Wolfsbane (who was also the template for later X-Force member Feral). He's got the big triangle-shaped frizzy anti-grav haircut, the claws, the same skinny physique, etc. He's even a violent, murdering psychopath, but more in the Bullseye "enjoys murder and causing pain" sense than Feral's defensive "get them before they get you" mentality- pretty much a total 1990s-style villain. Constantly chatting, mouthing off, and trying to hurt people, Wildside was distinctive enough to take part in pretty much every MLF incarnation, though his teammates eventually started getting sick of him.

-Even more '90s: He's one of those guys whose mutant powers are essentially an afterthought to being a melee fighter. Like Cable (minor TK powers; mostly a Gun Guy and Cyborg), Shatterstar (Tiring Energy Blast via Swords; mostly a Sword Guy), Domino (Luck Powers; mainly a Gun Girl)- this happened a LOT with Liefeld characters, though other 90s writers were as guilty of it. In their rush to create newer and more bad-ass martial artists & Punisher-types, creators started glossing over the very thing that made most mutants... MUTANTS. So Wildside here was a Claw Guy like Feral, Wolverine, etc., but also had a separate mutant power- he could warp the perceptions of others' reality, leaving them stunned and out of the fight. He only ever did it a couple times (to Siryn to hold her down, and to some cyborg guy), and in his first appearance he made his team invisible to a large group of soldiers, but that aspect of his powers was never seen again. It's unsure how his claws and teeth came about- maybe he's one of the first incarnations of Secondary Mutations (a silly retcon to explain White Queen being a Powerhouse- but handy to figure out guys like Nightcrawler and his dozens of powers)?

-Wildside led a portion of the group during Operation: Zero Tolerance, but attacked Locus (to whom he'd been attracted in an earlier arc) and was abandoned to be captured during Operation: Zero Tolerance (a failed '90s arc). He later showed up with Reaper under the Weapon-X program and sent against Cable, who rendered the pair brain-dead when he attempted to probe their minds (a fail-safe nuked them). He was listed as De-Powered Following M-Day.

-Wildside is a PL 8 who falls just a bit short, costing more like a PL 7. Like most of the MLF, he's a scrub, designed to go a few rounds with the more powerful X-Force or other X-Characters, but ultimately won't drop them. Feral for example EASILY defeated him in their first battle (she just grabbed him by the mouth and snapped his jaw), and she's a PL 9 at-best, being one of the lowest-calibre members of X-Force. Shatterstar later one-punched him. Despite that, he's proven dangerous a few times, having a standard Claw Guy/Scrapper build that makes him quick and able to modify a few caps (he HAS taken out Gambit one time- dodging the Card toss and giving him a concussion for the duration of The X-Cutioner's Song), and his Perception Warping power has held down Siryn before. I chose to mark that up (it's usually called "Reality Warping" but it obviously only affects others' perceptions of it- it's stated as much) as a Mental Stun because of how it slows and dazes people, with an Alt-Effect for his one-time "Invisibilty" trick.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Strobe

Post by Jabroniville »

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STROBE (Juliana Worthing)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #86 (Feb. 1990)
Role: Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 9 (103)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills: 
Acrobatics 2 (+4)
Athletics 3 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+7)
Deception 4 (+6)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Expertise (Terrorist) 4 (+4)
Perception 2 (+2)
Ranged Combat (Blasts) 4 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+4)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment (Metal Suit- Protection +1), Improved Critical (Aura), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Super-Heated Light Emission"
Heat Aura 9 (Feats: Selective) Linked to Force Field 6 (Flaws: Distracting) (40) -- [43]
  • AE: "Heat Blast" Blast 8 (16)
  • AE: "Melt Objects" Weaken Toughness 7 (Extras: Ranged) (14)
  • AE: "Light Flare" Dazzle Visuals 10 (20)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Heat Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Heat Aura +7 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Light Flare +8 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2 (+3 Metal Suit), Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications: 
Motivation (Mutant Pride)

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 43 / Defenses: 14 (103)

-Strobe got a fair bit of play in the early MLF days in "New Mutants", being one of the most outspoken and ready members of the squad. She melted some stuff (including Cable's arm- curiously Cable got his ass BEAT in his debut as a character, despite his huge push), melted some bullets with her Aura, and convinced Rusty & Skids to join the MLF for mutants' rights. Despite all this, she utterly vanished in the X-Force years, only popping up in the X-Cutioner's Song-based swan song for the early team. The one where every MLF member pops up for two seconds to get their heat beaten in by a more established character. Strobe makes a witty remark when Rogue insists that they're "Cleaning up" the MLF- "Then how d'you feel about a concentrated light blast?", and drops Rogue like a sack of potatoes. Immediately thereafter, Polaris runs in and magnetically harnesses her into her own metal swimsuit, ending her threat completely. She was never seen since, and is currently depowered.

-Strobe is a bit of a funny one- I had to edit out Wikipedia a couple years for saying she could fly (She couldn't), but she's got a mix of Dazzles, Auras, Blasts, Weaken Toughness, and a Force Field strong enough to 'melt' bullets as they hit her. This makes her rather effective, but mostly PL 8 on offense, except for that highly-powerful Dazzle she's got- that makes her a PL 9. It's one-time use (literally the only time ever) KOs ROGUE (who wasn't in her Claremont glory-years of Mary Sueishness but still powerful), and blinded her for a multi-issue arc, mostly to get her out of the way during the rest of the huge cross-over, but also to create a story where Gambit had to care for her. She's one of the more variable MLF members because of her various Alt-Effects, but since she can only use one at a time, she often has to turn the Linked Aura/Field off, meaning people can get close to her. Still, Dazzle is under-rated- it can take out a heavy-hitter in one burst, making the rest of the fight much easier, especially when you've got a ton of guys backing you up.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Forearm

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Back in my younger days, during a rare bout of depression, I would occasionally wonder if there was a mutant power any DUMBER than just having wings and flapping around. Thanks for providing it, Forearm."
-Archangel


FOREARM (Michael McCain)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #86 (Feb. 1990)
Role: Powerhouse, Jobber to Strong Guys
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 8 (103)
STRENGTH
9 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills: 
Acrobatics 3 (+5)
Expertise (Computers) 3 (+3)
Expertise (Terrorist) 4 (+4)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 5 (+6)
Perception 2 (+3)
Persuasion 2 (+3)
Ranged Combat (Throwing) 5 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Benefit (Amidexterity), Chokehold, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Four Arms, Super-Strength"
Extra Limbs 2 (Four Arms) [2]
Power-Lifting 1 (25 tons) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +2

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

Complications: 
Motivation (Mutant Pride)
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- With four arms, Michael cannot pass for an ordinary human, even if his large size goes unnoticed.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 3 / Defenses: 10 (103)

-Among the most iconic members of the MLF (if you can call any member of this bunch of losers that) is Forearm, their resident powerhouse. He's easily one of the most recognizable guys, thanks to a fairly distinctive appearance and goofy-ass name (an early character design involved a lame mask that ended up on Kamikaze), so he's shown up in virtually every incarnation. He had the crap luck to be the Team Powerhouse when Liefeld & Nicieza were working hard to make a newly powered-up James Proudstar a Juggernaut-fighting badass, so Forearm got KO'd a lot. One issue, he's grappling Cable from behind and Warpath just punches him across the room. The next time we see him, he gets hit by Boomer's Time Bombs, then Psylocke just kicks him in the head. The third time, Warpath basically demolishes him off-panel, joking that he was toying with him, then "Whoops. I hit the boy too hard." as he busts him through a wall. Not a lot of respect, he got.

-He was believed killed in a Super-Fighter Tournament in a Wolverine storyline (his neck was snapped by Anaconda) centered around Mr. X, but the next writer forgot about it and there he was (either they lacked Wikipedia, or -as usual- the writer didn't bother to check), hopping around with the MLF. He got a teensy bit of character development in later years, being seen as the most level-headed, non-crazy MLF member, but it never really got dealt with. He's currently on the De-Powered List following M-Day. It's entirely possible we've seen the last of him, but if there's a next guy who needs a legion of scrubs to get beaten up, we could very well spot this four-armed mook again.

-Forearm is among the more powerful members of his team in terms of damage, which really isn't saying much. He's a PL 8, hitting his caps offensively and defensively, and he's really not that great. Most of his team has really low Saves across the board, and is fairly limited to one avenue of attack. He's a standard Brick in many ways, but with some added perks that having four arms gets you- he's a MONSTER to grapple with, despite being "low end" on the Powerhouse scale with only Strength 30 (he's stronger than Cable, but much less so than the Class 80-ish '90s Warpath), and he's got considerable grappling skills. His Toughness is a little tricky to figure out- he obviously hangs in the Powerhouse class, but less so than Warpath-type Class 80 beings. He took a slash from Archangel and only bled painfully, as opposed to being decapitated or something. Anaconda broke his back at the END of a fight, which could happen to a lot of guys. But PSYLOCKE once KO'd him after a Boomer Time Bomb, and she's like Strength 2 or something. So I went with Toughness 8 as a mini-Powerhouse, which allows him to be weakened by the Blast to be finished off by a kick.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
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Sumo

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SUMO (Jun Tenta)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #93 (Sept. 1990)
Role: Powerhouse, Fat Guy, Expendable Mort
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 8 (99)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Expertise (Terrorist) 3 (+3)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 5 (+5, +9 Size)
Investigation 4 (+4)
Perception 3 (+3)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Slam), Improved Hold, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Mass-Shifting"
"Natural Size" Growth 3 (Str & Sta +3, +3 Mass, +1 Intimidation, -1 Dodge/Parry, -3 Stealth) -- (10 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [7]

Protection 4 (Extras: Impervious 5) [9]
Power-Lifting 1 (12 tons) [1]
Enhanced Strength 4 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) [4]
Leaping 3 (60 feet) [3]
Immunity 5 (Falling Damage) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+9 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +9 (+3 Impervious), Fortitude +8, Will +3

Complications: 
Motivation (Mutant Pride)
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Sumo is much larger than an ordinary human, and would probably be recognized as a mutant fairly quickly.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 29 / Defenses: 13 (99)

-Ah, Sumo. Liefeld was clearly just throwing whatever stupid idea he had at the page, here. A big fat guy who pretty much fit the name perfectly, he had some "Mass Shifting" powers that led him to stomp and sit on people, but couldn't take a hit as well as he could dish 'em out. He was so silly that he actually got killed off in a Cable Limited Series, being one-shotted by Nate as the M.L.F. showed up. They immediately bailed, leaving their silliest member's corpse lying on the ground. And here's the funny thing: he was NEVER MENTIONED AGAIN. Nobody ever went "Hey, remember that Sumo guy? Sucks that he died, eh?" or nothin'- just dead and gone. Silly character. And apparently named after the late John Tenta, aka "Earthquake" of the World Wrestling Federation (who was, in fact, a Sumo wrestler in Japan).

-Sumo's a classic PL 8 scrub villain- an under-pointed powerhouse who's got some pretty bad accuracy, but a little bit of quickness. He's a bit like a Mini-Blob in many ways, possessing light Immovability, Protection, Immunity to Falling Damage, and a few strength-based tricks, but he's fairly light on his feet and hits Slam attacks pretty well. Didn't save him against Cable (his Fort & Toughness are fairly low for a powerhouse, and he was caught flat-footed by a sneak attack), but you can't win 'em all. Not a bad guy in a group, like most of the M.L.F.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Davies
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! FIYEERRRRROOOOOO!!! Glinda! SHIELD!)

Post by Davies »

In Liefeld's defense and oh god I hate myself for this, but he was not the first person to look at sumotori and think, these people belong in the comic books I'm writing/drawing. A certain Jack the King Kirby did that, too.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Elphaba! FIYEERRRRROOOOOO!!! Glinda! SHIELD!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Already statted General Wo, my friend :). Kirby's FIRST guy like that: https://roninarmy.com/threads/149-Jab-s ... #post32508
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Thumbelina

Post by Jabroniville »

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Behold: The only female mutant who DIDN'T get six feet of leg and double-D boobs on a svelte, muscular figure as part of her Secondary Mutations!

THUMBELINA (Kristina Suggs or Anderson)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #86 (Feb. 1990)
Role: Shrinking Character, Butt-Monkey (to the other M.L.F.ers)
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 8 (100)
STRENGTH
0/5 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -1

Skills: 
Acrobatics 3 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 4 (+3)
Expertise (Terrorist) 2 (+3)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 4 (+4)
Technology 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Shrinking & Density Control"
"Small Size"
Shrinking 16 (+8 Dodge/Parry, +16 Stealth, -8 Intimidation) (Extras: Normal Strength) [48]
"Tiny Sized Fighting" Enhanced Advantages 2: Close Attack 2 (Flaws: Limited to Smaller Sizes) [1]
"Sneak Attack" Strength-Damage +2 (Flaws: Limited to When Enemy is Denied Dodge Bonus) [1]

"High Density"
Enhanced Strength 5 [10]
Protection 2 [2]
"Immovable" Enhanced Strength 1 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
High Density +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Sneak Attack +8 (+7 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +1, Fortitude +3, Will +3
"Small Size" Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +3, Fortitude +3, Will +3

Complications: 
Motivation (Mutant Pride)
Reputation (Picked On)- Thumbelina is mocked by the other M.L.F. members for her small stature and her uselessness in battle.
Relationship (Dragoness)- Thumbelina is loyal to the only M.L.F. member that does not make fun of her.
Relationship (Slab)- The two are brother and sister, and quite close.
Relationship (Hairbag)- The two are apparently married.

Total: Abilities: 16 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 63 / Defenses: 8 (100)

-Thumbelina is very much a non-combatant on the M.L.F., tending to take care of things back at the base, acting as Stryfe's assistant. She's got almost no showings on the battlefield to her name, does a whole lot of whining, and gets made fun of by most of the team. She pretty much just ran in, shrank down, and fixed a bomb one time. Next appearance she actually punched out a guard. Next time, she was frozen solid by Iceman casually. She semi-recently showed up aiding X-Force against a reborn MLF (this'd be the "Domino-As-Stryfe" version), but this goofy chick (seriously- an ultra-short plumper of a purple-haired girl in a bright purple outfit? What was Liefeld even THINKING?) doesn't get a whole lot of play.

-I've yet to see Thumbelina actually use real Density-control powers or use her strength in her miniature form, and I've read just about every story featuring her. Despite that, every bio site lists these as powers, so maybe they got added during issues I DON'T have. Either way, she's a pretty bad combatant, relying on a mix of Density and Shrinking to meet her caps at all, where she's super-accurate, but still not that tough. I didn't go the "Compression" route as an Extra for Shrinking because she only has 4 ranks of it as opposed to 16. 
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Kamikaze

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Liefeldian anatomy at it's finest. I suppose he's giving equal gender treatments by making the spines bend impossibly on women AND men, so that's something...

KAMIKAZE (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #93 (Sept. 1990)
Role: Fast Guy, Expendable Mort
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 9 (84)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Aerobatics 6 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+2)
Expertise (Terrorist) 4 (+4)
Perception 2 (+2)
Stealth 4 (+8)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Favoured Environment (Airborne), Move-By Action, Power Attack

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Flight & Explosive Blast"
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]
"Explosion" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) [13.5]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Explosion +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications: 
Motivation (Mutant Pride)

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 19--9.5 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 27.5 / Defenses: 15 (84)

-Kamikaze was bad, even for this team, mainly by virtue of having absolutely no personality, great feats (he fought Cannonball once, showed up in X-Force #1 and wasn't even seen in the melee that followed, then died in X-Cutioner's Song), or cool, unique powers. He basically flew at people and set off an explosion on contact. And yeah, he was so bad that he was one of the ONLY fatalities in the aforemention crossover, as he snuck up behind Archangel while he was fighting Forearm, and ended up getting his head sliced off ACCIDENTALLY when Warren turned around. And the rest of his team pretty much forgot he ever existed, as he was NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN (Iceman was all "we're gonna talk LATER, Warren ol' buddy", but they NEVER DID). Kind of fitting, as his costume was as generic as he was- a visor mask (just like Dragoness, his teammate! Because there's NO design Liefeld won't copy, even if it's his own!) and a white unitard with a Rising Sun on it.

-Kamikaze is the cheapest of his entire team in points, since he has the least showings and is one of the only ones to have died. He needs to be Airborne to be even half-decent (he can be tough to hit, but he tends to use All-Out Attack, negating that a bit), can set off a powerful Burst Damage effect (but at short range), and is otherwise pretty low-end across the board.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Reaper

Post by Jabroniville »

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REAPER (Pantu Hurageb)
Created By:
Louise Simonson & Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: The New Mutants #86 (Feb. 1990)
Role: Weapon Guy, The Snarky One
Group Affiliations: The Mutant Liberation Front
PL 8 (89)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Close Combat (Scythe) 3 (+9)
Deception 2 (+2)
Investigation 2 (+2)
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Expertise (Terrorist) 4 (+4)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Defensive Roll, Improved Critical (Scythe), Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Set-Up

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Paralytic Secretions"
Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed & Impaired/Stunned & Exhausted/Paralyzed) (Extras: Extra Condition, Cumulative) [21]

Linked to

"Reaper's Scythe" (Flaws: Easily-Removable) [6]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Reach) (Extras: Penetrating 5) (9)
Adds Reach to Affliction Power (1)
-- (10 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Scythe +9 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Paralytic Secretions +9 (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +2 (+3 D.Roll), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Mutant Pride)
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- With chalk-white skin and black Liefeld Patches over each eye, Pantu cannot pass for a normal human being.
Bad Luck (Hand Loss)- Reaper just CAN NOT seem to stop losing limbs. Shatterstar in particular has it out for him.
Weakness (Magnetic, Electrical Attacks)- With cybernetic limbs, Reaper is vulnerable to magnetic attacks, and may take further effects from electrical damage.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 27 / Defenses: 15 (89)

-Good ol' Reaper here is as iconic as it gets for this team- he's been in every incarnation thanks to his stand-outish appearance (the Liefeld Eye Circles, white skin, big Scythe) and goofy dumb-assed attitude. I swear this guy used the term "Feeb" as an insult in half a dozen issues, which I'm pretty sure is the only time in pop culture history someone did so. His power, like alot of "Sharp weapon user" guys', brought some unfortunate issues in the he was unable to even HIT most characters, but that wasn't even the worst of his luck. In X-Force #1, while tangling with Shatterstar (initially shown as a much worse fighter, but now bad-assed up to elite status), he ended up with his HAND chopped off. Later, in X-Factor, his leg was sliced off in a Portal accident. Then he did okay, near-crippling Quicksilver with a sneak attack during The X-Cutioner's Song.

-But then he got his OTHER hand chopped off by Shatterstar in another fight! Then Wildside accidentally blasted him in the chest (believed to be fatal, but the next writer nixed it) because Shatterstar bluffed him! Then he got teleported into the Ultraverse for some inexplicable adventures with the Juggernaut and failed X-Villain Siena Blaze (like seriously, they wanted to cross over the two universes, and used SIENA BLAZE AND REAPER as their immigrants?). He was then brain-wiped and de-powered, just like Wildside. But unlike Wildside, he was shown post M-Day, begging on the streets with no powers. At which point Quicksilver (whose power was now to Re-Power Mutants) gave him his powers back, and Weapon-X gave him a Scythe-Arm. Very weird history for such a minor guy.

-Reaper is a bit unfortunate compared to his buddies. He's a decent fighter and decently defensive, but he's limited to Dodging & Parrying almost all the time, or his defense just falls completely apart (witness two separate hand-losses to Shatterstar)- he's only PL 6.5 defensively, and PL 6 at dodging, and even THEN only if he's not flat-footed. He's mainly a Weapon Guy, though he gets modified a bit. I decided to Link the Scythe and the Paralytic nature of his touch (I only ever saw him use it with the Scythe, though) together. This means he gets a double-whammy in every round, but since it's fairly low-level (he's more accurate than damaging) it's not a game-breaker or overly cheap. Plus he's one of the cheapest members of his team in terms of points.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 23, 2022 8:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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