The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Cyber-Samurai, Lady of the Eternal Winter)

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Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Kid Spectrum

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

KID SPECTRUM (Simon Murray)
Hgt:
6'2" Wgt: 185 lbs.
Role: Mirror Image Villain (of sorts), Blaster
PL 10 (147)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+4)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 8 (+13)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Light) 4 (+10)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 8 (+13)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Illusion Gear), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Light), Improved Smash, Inventor, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Spectrum Gear" (Flaws: Removable) [45]
"Master of Light"
"Light Glow" Environment 1 (Light 1) (1)
"Full Spectrum Vision" Senses 10 (Analytical Vision 2, Extended Vision 2, Infravision, Microscopic Vision 2, Ultravision, Detect Radiation- Ranged) (10)
Enhanced Skills 4: Perception 4 (+10) (Flaws: Limited to Visual Checks) (1)
"Visual Blur" Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 5 (8)

Light Blast 10 (Feats: Precise, Split) (Extras: Penetrating 7) (29) -- (37)
  • AE: "Laser Barrage" Blast 9 (Extras: Multiattack) (27)
  • AE: Dazzle Visuals 10 (20)
  • AE: "Light Flare" Dazzle Visuals 10 (Extras: Area- Visual Perception) (Flaws: Touch Range) (20)
  • AE: "Light Beam" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (20)
  • AE: "Light Bulb" Environment +9 (Light 2 on 10 Ranks) (19)
  • AE: Concealment 4 (All Visual Senses) (Extras: Affects Others, Ranged) (Flaws: Distracting on the Extras) (12)
  • AE: Illusion (Visual) 6 (12)
  • AE: "Mold Light" Morph 4 (Any Form) (Flaws: Distracting, Limited to Visual Shifts) (12)
-- (56 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Light Blast +10 (+9-10 Ranged Damage, DC 24-25)
Dazzle Visuals +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Light Flare +10 Area (+10 Afflicton, DC 20)
Light Beam +10 Area (+10 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+13 Blur, DC 20-23), Parry +8 (+13 Blur, DC 18-23), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Respect & Anti-Social Tendencies)- A lifelong nerd, Kid Spectrum realized the respect offered to superhumans. He wants to be taken seriously.
Responsibility (Inferiority Complex)- Kid Spectrum doesn't like being insulted- playful jibes won't make him lose it, but he has to physically-restrain his temper if the verbal jabs get too extreme. He also wants to tear society down- he still harbors resentment towards jocks and other popular people.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 45 / Defenses: 14 (147)

-Simon Murray was your classic bookish nerd in school- a tall, gawky kid with bad acne and terrible charisma. Though bright, he was teased mercilessly, much like a kid in a slightly-younger grade, Eric Robertson (the superhero known as SuperStar). Eric & Simon bonded over the school's Science Club and a few other programs, but soon found trouble, as Simon realized that HE wouldn't get made fun of so much if he picked on ERIC, alongside the other kids. Eric bristled at this cruel twist of fate as Simon attempted to make good with his peers. This went on, with the two partnering up in person, but Simon making the occasional jab at Eric when other kids were around, and Eric, desperate for friendship, willingly put up with it. But finally he realized this was no way for friends to act, and got even: he arranged for Simon's experiment to go awry at school- Simon & Eric had designed a suit that modifies and controls light, and planned to show it off during halftime at an important football game. Instead, when Simon activated the suit, the light caused it to melt down- he was stipped naked in front of the entire student body (and most of the parents)!

-Humiliated and now a laughing stock at school, Simon abandoned his studies and dropped out- he perfected his Light Costume (he could never figure out why it had reacted the way it did) and assaulted the school. He was stopped by SuperStar, but managed to escape. Eventually, desperate for the respect and admiration that had eluded him in High School, and rejecting common society, Simon redesigned his machines, and underwent weight-training and applications of steroids, turning him into a legitimate super-villain- Kid Spectrum.

-Kid Spectrum does a lot of things for attention, and often robs banks in a merely-perfunctory way in order to gain credibility. He's teamed with the excitement-seeking Infinite Sadness for these purposes, and often hijacks television broadcasts or appears at public events in order to show off. However, his main targets are the symbols of things he didn't have in High School- popular sporting events, teen hang-outs and the like- he attacks them and derides them publicly in order to preach his philosophy about how awful society is. He has fought SuperStar dozens of times, but is among the Star-Rogues most-likely to fight other superheroes due to his more broad categorization of crimes.

-Kid Spectrum is a rather strong PL 10 Blaster with many options in combat- Dazzles, Area Attacks and even Illusions. He can only do one thing at a time, but is notorious for taking Sneak Attacks with his Concealment power, or making heroes run into invisible objects. His "Visual Blur" makes him extremely-hard to hit for someone with little combat training, and his "Full-Spectrum Vision" allows him to see the entire Electromagnetic Spectrum.

Jab's Notes: "Spectrum" was the name for a teen supervillain for "The Massacration", a gang of Marauder rip-offs I designed for a "Future X-Men" Play-By-E-Mail campaign over a decade ago- they were basically murderers who hunted Morlocks and other mutants, and were pretty simple nobodies with one or two powers apiece. Sadly, the game (a year-long one by that point) petered out when the players lost interest, so I never went further. I kept the name around for potential use, as Light Powers aren't that common in comics, and added a "Kid" to it for a potential villain or hero. It wasn't until recently that I put two-and-two together by combining the name & concept with SuperStar's rogues, as I needed another guy.

-I had to scramble up an origin story, and figured that he'd be another Dark Mirror Image guy- not in power, but in concept: a nerdy high school kid with a super-identity. It took me a few days to add it all together, but figured it would reflect some of my own High School experiences- I'd had friends who would make fun of me in front of others, and I myself would pick on kids less-popular than *I* was so that the bullies would target them instead of me. This jungle-like atmosphere could easily make a super-villain in a different world, and so I had Simon be an aggressor, and SuperStar/Eric get even in a "Carrie"-like fashion, resulting in humiliation, and the creation of a supervillain. He's now a bitter egotist out to make himself look better than the rest of the world, bullying the society that'd made him an outcast. The Light Powers kind of make him Mysterio-Lite at times, so I probably won't go too far into the Illusory aspects of them- he's more of a quirky Blaster with some annoying traits. I had him as an Electro-style "fully-empowered guy", but for now, I prefer him to be a Gadget-User.


Capers:
* Kid Spectrum finally discovers the reason why his initial Light Suit failed- it had to have been sabotage! He attacks Eric Robertson at his home, and kidnaps the guy. Unwilling to reveal his secret identity, Eric/SuperStar has to go along with it and not fight back- KS has to be talked down from executing the man he considers at fault for his entire High School career going down in flames- it's only when Eric points out the cruelty of Simon turning on him that he finally "gets it". Simon is almost apologetic (pointing out that he'd have done the same thing if the roles were reversed), but admits that he's gone too far now to ever return to the straight and narrow. He releases Eric without incident, but Eric reveals to everyone that he's responsible for Simon's humiliation, turning himself into a bit of a public pariah.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

RazorStar

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

RAZORSTAR (Ralph Horowitz)
Hgt:
6'1" Wgt: 185 lbs.
Role: Jobber Villain
PL 9 (125)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 4 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Improved Critical (Razors), Ranged Attack 3, Startle

Powers:
"RazorStar Powersuit" (Flaws: Removable) [36]
Protection 4 (Extras: Impervious 5) (9)
"Sharp Edges" Blade Aura 1 (4)

"Throwing Razor Array"
"Throwing Razor" Blast 8 (Feats: Accurate, Homing 4, Ricochet 3) (Extras: Penetrating 6) (30) -- (32)
  • AE: "Razor Barrage" Blast 6 (Feats: Accurate) (Extras: Multiattack) (19)
  • AE: "Razor Slash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 6) (9)
  • AE: "Spinning Razor" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (16)
-- (45 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Razor Slash +9 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Razor Barrage +9 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Throwing Razor +9 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Spinning Razor +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +4 (+8 Suit, +3 Impervious), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 37 / Defenses: 8 (125)

-Ralph Horowitz is a career criminal with a penchant for bad luck and public destruction- after numerous prison sentences for highly-destructive car chases, he got the bright idea to put on a Powersuit and become a REAL criminal- since SuperStar was in the news the most at the time, he decided on a "Mirror Image Villain" look to immediately make a name for himself, and became RazorStar, going into debt to finance a Powersuit that resembled a metallic version of SuperStar's look. The hero was QUITE put out to discover some unknown using his image to commit crimes, and they became fast enemies. Despite a promising start (he beat the hero a couple times before SuperStar figured out how his suit was controlling his Throwing Razors, and defeated him), RazorStar soon became "just one of those guys", usually teaming up with other super-villains, or appearing in group scenes- rarely getting a major "Caper" of his own.

Jab's Notes: My love of Jobbers is well-known, and I wanted to come up with not only some of those, but guys to reflect my thing on "Mirror Image Villains", and how they would be seen in-universe. Like some guys being PROUD to have MIVs, because that means you've now "made it" and are a recognizable big deal. Using spinning razorblades and a costume that appears WAY too dangerous to possibly wear, RazorStar probably started off as a big-time threat, but was diminished over time. I like to imagine the hero being annoyed that a guy mimicking him has turned out to be such a loser. I can't decide if I want him to have straight-edged razor-stars on his costume, or the rounded ones- these look more like throwing weapons, but also give the impression that he's dressing like a giant starfish, which kind of works for his in-universe role.

Capers:
* RazorStar has teamed up with another supervillain to engage in a crime spree. SuperStar intercedes, but when RazorStar cuts himself on his own costume, the hero has to try and get him medical assistance... while the other villain turns on his partner and is willing to let him die in order to kill SuperStar, who is too busy helping the villain to defend himself properly.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Nov 15, 2017 9:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Gigawatt

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

GIGAWATT (Terrell McCord)
Hgt:
6'3" Wgt: 200 lbs.
Role: Big Bad, Blaster
PL 12 (326)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Deception 7 (+11)
Expertise (Business) 10 (+14)
Expertise (Criminal) 8 (+12)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+13)
Insight 4 (+9)
Intimidation 6 (+10, +16 Electric Man)
Perception 2 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Electricity) 3 (+11)
Technology 10 (+14)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Benefit 3 (Wealth), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Electricity) 3, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
Senses 6 (Electrical Detection- Ranged 3, Acute, Analytical) [6]
Immunity 10 (Electrical Effects) [10]

"Electrical Array"
"Lightning Bolt" Damage 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Line +3, Penetrating 8) (57) -- [79]
  • Dynamic AE: "Lightning Lashes" Damage 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Shapeable +3, Penetrating 8) (57)
  • Dynamic AE: "Lightning Arc" Damage 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2, Penetrating 8) (45)
  • Dynamic AE: "Lightning Barrage" Blast 11 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Multiattack, Penetrating 8) (42)
  • Dynamic AE: Lightning Blast 13 (Feats: Dynamic, Indirect 4) (Extras: Penetrating 10) (41)
  • Dynamic AE: "Ball Lightning" Blast 11 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (34)
  • Dynamic AE: "Enhanced Field" Electrical Aura +2 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Shapeable +3) (15)
  • Dynamic AE: "Remove Electro-Magnetic Fields" Move Object 10 (Feats: Precise, Dynamic) (22)
  • Dynamic AE: "Lightning Grab" Snare 12 Linked to Blast 10 (56)
  • Dynamic AE: "Fry Synapses" Affliction 11 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Ranged) (23)
  • Dynamic AE: "Connect to Machines" Communication (Technology/Computers) 2 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area, Selective) (13)
  • Dynamic AE: "Control Machines" Affliction 11 (Tech Skill of Creator; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Limited to Machines) (23)
"Lightning Giant"
"Lightning Field" Electrical Aura 11 (Extras: Area- 120ft. Shapeable +3) [77]
Enhanced Skills 6: Intimidation 6 (+16) [3]
"De-Magnitizing Himself" Flight 4 (30 mph) [8]

"Electrical Distortion Field"
Enhanced Defenses 4 [8]
Enhanced Advantages 4: Defensive Roll 4 [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Lightning Blast +11 (+13 Ranged Damage, DC 28)
Lightning Area Attacks +12 (+11-12 Damage, DC 26-27)
Control Machines/Fry Synapses +11 (+11 Ranged Affliction, DC 21)
Lightning Grab +11 (+11 Ranged Affliction & +10 Damage, DC 21 & 25)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+14 Field, DC 20-24), Parry +10 (+24 Field, DC 10-24), Toughness +4 (+8 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (The Fine Life)- A gourmet and lover of leisure, Gigawatt refuses to spend his time in abandoned warehouses or sewers. He is HIGH CLASS all the way.
Hatred (Lesser People)- An egomaniac, Gigawatt sees others as inherently-inferior. He loves to gloat, hates the poor, and even disregards the contributions of close allies. He is a hardcore Ayn Randian Objectivist. As you might imagine, he has few friends.
Power Loss (Rubber/Insulated Objects)- Gigawatt's key weakness is an inability to properly-affect insulated materials. If he can melt said objects before they hit him, then he's save. Otherwise, he can take the full force of their blows.
Weakness (Water)- Many of Gigawatt's powers become altered in water- sometimes he takes damage, sometimes his Aura breaks down, and sometimes nearly all of his powers stop working and he's Stunned. In any case, he needs to take Fortitude or Power Checks to ensure he remains capable if he's completely-covered.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 60--30 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 195 / Defenses: 14 (326)

-Terrell McCord was a big name in the business world- the brilliant, up & coming head of a powerful technology firm, and becoming a multinational leader of several other companies. However, his quick rise became threatening to his rivals- the owners of several of the companies he'd rapidly gobbled-up banded together and started a malicious plot to discredit him and have him arrested. They framed him for several crimes, and actually found some REAL ones (never mind that they were ALL guilty of those- it's big business, after all...), and went public. Enraged, he publicly-refuted the charges, but the ringleader of the cabal had darker intentions- he hired assassins to arrange for Terrell to be killed in an industrial accident, as his experimental new Power Plant went online. He died a violent, agonizing death, and thanks to careful planning, it was made to look like a suicide- the death of a man ashamed. His planned takeover of several companies went away, and the men instead carved up his OWN company for their own benefit- his Power Plant was shut down- it's energy drained.

-Of course, he was never truly "dead". His comatose, unresponsive body suddenly jolted back to life three months later. Tearing himself free of his grave, he found himself able to control electricity itself, and merged with his former computer networks to discover the sabotage. Enraged, he lured his antagonists in a room together, and executed the lot of them with his newfound powers. His reputation and company ruined, he instead chose the life of a Master Criminal, tearing apart information networks, robbing the wealthy, and selling industrial secrets for maximum profit. A recurring schtick is to found new technology firms with front companies, controlling things behind the scenes. In his many operations, he frequently confronts the hero SuperStar, a meddling fool who squanders his gifts on altruism.

-Gigawatt is a fearsome opponent, capable of maintaining an enormous, constantly-active Energy Aura (generally shaped into a humanoid form that surrounds his hovering body, which is placed in the centre). This renders him nearly-incapable of being injured, as physical attacks can't get through, and most forms of Energy are reflected by the massive electrical storm within. In addition to this, he can increase the Aura's power, throw out powerful Blasts, create Area Attacks, control machines, "grab" people with the monster's fists (Snare/Damage), move objects by cancelling the electro-magnetic field around them, Stun people, and more. At PL 12 with high-level PL 11 defenses, he is generally well-beyond SuperStar, and only his weakness to water or heavily-insulated objects can harm him.

Jab's Notes: The biggest name, by far, of Rhino-Man's Rogues was "Electro-Man", a gigantic electrical guy who was oddly similar to Zzzax (whom I'd never heard of at the time). Absolutely enormous, he just had a big angry face and a ton of power, and even led the Severe Seven. My "Return of the Sinister Six" story-arc that copied the comics so directly even used him in the "Doc Ock" role, despite Doctor Squid ALSO being on the same team- he used "Adamantium Coils" that channeled electricity, even!

-Over the years, I've modified the character a bit- one of the first things I did was to put a man at the center of the beast, and dropping the name to "Gigawatt- The Electric Man". He was initially a skinny, bald, white dude with little metal "conductors" all over him as costume accoutrements, and that was that. However, I also wanted him to be a corporate leader/scientist, and that made me realize that with that design, he was basically now just Lex Luthor. However, once I remembered, once again, that other races are totally a thing, I could simply shift him over to being a black guy without incident. However, I still didn't need ANOTHER Super-Scientist in SuperStar's Rogues, so I wavered on including him among them- I stuck with it, since I didn't want the only two black guys in his Rogues to be the ones who sucked at science. But I still altered his character- turning him into an elitist snob obsessed with the "finer" things, and giving him a design based off of Idris Elba's "sharp-dressed-man" public persona, though his head is shaped differently from Elba's (I was initially going for a more direct likeness, but as Gigawatt is pretty hugely-built, that'd look weird with Elba's skinnier head).

-With Dr. Death becoming more important and personal as a menace, I was left trying to decide which one was the "main villain", but ultimately, it fits for both. Gigawatt is much more dangerous, but Dr. Death is a more frightening one. And this thing lets them both kind of act as rivals- their power-plays disrupting their "Severe Seven" team-ups, and preventing the group from truly functioning effectively.

-The character's also a fun use of the full breadth of "Electrical Power Feats"- superheroes don't usually get to use the entire variety, particularly Machine Control. With his Power Level and points-cost, he's the most powerful guy in the SS-Rogues by far.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Skaramine
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Dr. Death! Criss-Cross! Kid Spectrum! Gigawatt!)

Post by Skaramine »

Gigawatt is truly an epic villain. I love how you put him together. He's Electro at his peak, not at Jobber levels. (Like when Electro become one with NYC's power grid and was swinging Spidey-around like a teddy bear by the ankle.)
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Dr. Death! Criss-Cross! Kid Spectrum! Gigawatt!)

Post by bsdigitalq »

As I mentioned on Facebook, Gigawatt is freaking awesome. A great master villain type. In fact, I think he might be my favorite villain of yours (just edging out Dr. Death).
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Dr. Death! Criss-Cross! Kid Spectrum! Gigawatt!)

Post by Jabroniville »

haha, thanks guys :). As one of SuperStar's biggest nemeses, he really needed to pass muster. Both as a threat, and as a person- I didn't want him to be "just some bad guy". There's so few villains with STYLE.

And there's so few guys that use the "Full Array" of Electrical stuff- plenty of guys use electricity, but Electro casts such a wide shadow that few guys are putting a real focus on it. So I wanted to do a Mega-Villain that uses that kind of approach.
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Fatal Flare

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

FATAL FLARE (Farrah Martinson)
Hgt:
5'4" Wgt: 140 lbs.
Role: Blaster, Elementalist
PL 12 (326)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 2 (+6, +11 Attractive)
Expertise (Socialite) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+6)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 6 (+10)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 5 (+9, +14 Attractive)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive 2, Daze (Persuasion), Fascination (Persuasion), Improved Critical (Flames) 2, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Taunt

Powers:
"Living Fire"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
"Too Hot To Handle" Flame Aura 10 [40]
"Billowing Flames" Flight 4 (32 mph) [8]
"Plasma Body" Insubstantial 3 (Energy Form) (Feats: Selective) [16]

"Trick of Fire"
Fire Blast 12 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating 8) (33) -- [37]
  • AE: "Fire Burst" Blast 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (30)
  • AE: "Fire Cone" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (22)
  • AE: "Fire Stream" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (22)
  • AE: "Fire Whirl" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cylinder) (22)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Fire Blast
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+14 Field, DC 20-24), Parry +10 (+24 Field, DC 10-24), Toughness +4 (+8 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Excitement)- Taking her conversion into flame with good measure, Flare has become more of a hedonist than usual, generally openly manipulating people into doing what she wanted and enjoying quick benefits. Capricious and dangerous, she enjoys lashing out in general with her powers, though is careful not to blast people who don't deserve it- she's not a natural killer like many super-villains. She just gets bored... and starts to burn things down.
Motivation (Men)- Fatal Flare likes men, and is effectively a serial monogamist. She used to go for bad boys, but now that she's more dangerous than any guy with a bad attitude and a motorcycle, she generally prefers corrupting good-looking "Nice Guy" types.
Reputation (Flirt)- An extremely chesty woman with a penchant for open flirtation and a disrespect for monogamy, Fatal Flare is HATED by most women.
Reputation (Dangerous Pyromaniac)- Despite being attractive and manipulative, Fatal Flare is known to be very dangerous- she confesses openly that things tend to burn down when she gets bored. She actually enjoys getting confronted by super-heroes, and when she tires of someone's presence, she might just turn into flame and bust through a window. She is very, very dangerous to be around.
Relationship (Father)- Farrah's father was a brilliant scientist who went to jail for killing the men who kidnapped her. He's one of the few people she's "normal" around, and she can be calm and introspective around him. Sometimes she breaks him free from prison.
Enemy/Relationship (SuperStar)- Flare openly flirts with the hero, particularly enjoying how it makes him nervous and lowers his defenses. That he knows she desperately wants to be with him, but also that she is EVIL, yet he can barely resist her, is a ridiculous temptation for her. Sure he puts her in jail and stuff, and jail is HORRIBLY boring, but she'll lower his defenses some day yet...

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 131 / Defenses: 14 (326)

-Fatal Flare was originally a socialite- Farrah Martinson, the daughter of a brilliant Professor skilled at Thermodynamics. The Prof had made friends and colleagues with Eric (SuperStar), who had fawned over the woman's looks. Unfortunately, she was typically only going out with the Alpha Males of the city- Alistaire Argent and other wealthy types. Vain and spoiled, she was notorious for hanging around with "Bad Boys", and her flirtacious ways had made her a public menace to the female half of the city's population.

-One day, she was kidnapped by criminals who wished to turn her father's new invention (upon which Eric had worked) into a weapon. Blackmailed, Professor Martinson was forced to help them, creating a weapon that could vaporize anything it struck due to a devastating thermodynamic process- literally turning things into thermal force. SuperStar naturally got involved when the crooks started blackmailing public monuments. He managed to beat most of the criminals, but then the Professor, enraged over what had happened with his daughter, turned his device on them. However, the Professor was no fighter- the device blew out of control, exploded, and vaporized most of the criminals, and his own daughter. Emotionally bereft, he was jailed.

-However, Farrah was not killed- her proximity to the device's power supply meant that she got a full dose when it melted down- the thing literally converted her into a Living Flame. Only able to take human form with a bit of effort, she decided to devote herself entirely to hedonism. Her destructive powers quickly earned her a reputation- always a bit eager to have the best things in life, she would steal fine jewelry, travel to expensive locations, manipulate the richest men around, then quickly escape if and when her powers flared up again and she was caught. Always a notorious flirt, she used a mixture of sexuality and threats of immolation to get her way, usually having tons of admirers even though she was virtually open about the fact that she was capricious and dangerous. The fact that she seemed to openly enjoy burning entire city blocks to the ground (often laughing while in "Fire Form" while things tore down around her) didn't help her reputation with many. That said... boobs make you popular.

-SuperStar naturally became a recurring foe. Recognizing how good-looking he was (in his heroic identity, of course), she decided to use her powers of persuasion on him, as well. An uncharismatic nerd most of the time, Eric had never received this kind of female attention before, and was practically helpless against her- often allowing her to get away. This made him look foolish in public several times, until he finally got over it and trapped her in a burn-proof material he'd researched. She would return numerous times- the two never consummated their flirtation, but she had a lot of fun teasing the clearly-nervous hero. Unlike most super-villains, who generally used greed or vengeance as motivations, "Fatal Flare" was usually in it for kicks, having fun with super-fights and general destructiveness. Though rarely vindictive or directly dangerous, her ability to set anything on fire meant that she was prone to destruction on a vast scale.

Jab's Notes: Fatal Flare was basically designed around her visual "look"- a Christina Hendricks-like ultra-chesty woman who had more curves than the typical "Balloons on Ballerina" comic book female frames. I was essentially aiming for "Fire Elsa" with the dress, which would look like living flame, as her hair sorta would, too. The look generally said "Flirtacious Super-Villain", so that's the direction I went in, as well. There's a LOT of Femme Fatales out there like this in comics, as it's a big "Male Fantasy" thing to have these bad girls who you REALLY want to get with, but might kill you in the end. Kind of a variant on girls and their "Bad Boy" obsessions. Except since her power is basically fire, I modified things.

-Fire is generally the emotion of hostility and fury, but as she's a flirtacious type, I kind of wanted to go with the "she'll burn you when she's bored of you" thing instead of the usual "Super-Angry Hothead" stereotype- like she's OPENLY dangerous, but guys will do any stupid thing to get with a hot girl, so there's a lot of accidental burnings going on when she wants some excitement and stuff gets vaporized. She's like the ULTIMATE Bad Girl in a sense, because she's absolutely untameable and essentially crazy, but when she asks men for stuff with that smile, they're like "D-uhhhhh... BOOBIES."

-And really, having such a character is a perfect threat for SuperStar. Most nerds have no idea what it's like to have a woman basically throw themselves at them, or flirt endlessly. This leads them to be easily-manipulated, or just humorously at a loss for words. The idea of super-ripped, tall, handsome SuperStar being that way is funny. Also, the character is straight-up Male Fantasy in many ways- busty (but more my personal favorite type of busty- the curves to match the chest, as it were), openly flirtacious (beyond what I've seen any real woman be like... to me, anyways. *sob*), and with a general aura of "I want to be with you... but when you bore me, I'll burn your whole house down".

-And I played with how women would view such a character- one of the many reasons so many heavily-pushed female celebrities are very skinny, non-chesty women is because a lot of women tend to hate Pamela Anderson/Salma Hayek/Scarlett Johansson-types, and wouldn't see movies with them. Skinny, A-Cup-sporting Gwyneth Paltrow or the petite Emma Stone & Natalie Portman are much less threatening, so they get all the good roles, while the chesty women are reduced to being the dorky friends or mindless seducers (Thor cast WHO as the dorky friend to Portman?!?). And they hate Seductress/Miss Fanservice types EVEN WORSE, meaning that Flare would be like Public Enemy #1 for women. There are a few exceptions nowadays, like Jennifer Lawrence, the aforementioned Johansson (men liked her TOO MUCH to avoid casting her, even though I swear she comes off like an emotionless sociopath in interviews), and Christina Hendricks herself, who women seem to like because she's curvy and thus "more like them". Even though she's popular largely because of her INSANE bustline.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Kid Spectrum! Gigawatt! Fatal Flare!)

Post by danelsan »

Curiously, I also have a setting with a fire-powered seductress as a villain. However, In my case she got there mostly so I could exorcise a pun from my head by throwing it at my players. Thus was created Flame Fatale.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Kid Spectrum! Gigawatt! Fatal Flare!)

Post by Skaramine »

I liked her pictures that you've shared, and now, I like her even more.
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WhiteStar

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

WHITESTAR (Blaise Hansen)
Hgt:
6'5" (6' in Regular Form) Wgt: 315 lbs. (190 lbs. in Regular Form)
Role: Mirror Image Villain
PL 11 (186)
STRENGTH
10 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+10)
Deception 4 (+8, +10 Attractive)
Expertise (Mercenary) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 8 (+12)
Perception 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Throwing Stars) 6 (+10)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Technology 3 (+4)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Daze (Intimidation), Equipment (Star Equipment), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Stars) 2, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle, Takedown

Powers:
Power-Lifting 1 (50 tons) [1]
"Shooting Star" Flight 7 (250 mph) (Extras: Affects Others) (Flaws: Platform) [14]
"Star Defenses" Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 1 [3]

"Cosmic Stars"
"Throwing Star" Blast 12 (Feats: Precise, Affects Insubstantial, Homing) (Extras: Penetrating 8) (35) -- [40]
  • AE: "Starfield Storm" Blast 10 (Extras: Multiattack) (30)
  • AE: "Stellar Star" Create 8 (Extras: Selective, Movable) (Flaws: Limited to Simple Star Shapes- Only Covers One Side) (24)
  • AE: "Moving Stars" Move Object 9 (Feats: Precise) (19)
  • AE: "Stars In The Way" Deflect 10 (10)
  • AE: "Tripping Stars" Affliction 10 (Athletics or Acrobatics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Defenseless) (Extras: Ranged, Multiattack, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery) (20)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Throwing Star +10 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Starfield Storm +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Tripping Stars +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (+11 Stars, DC 19-21), Parry +10 (+11 Stars, DC 10-21), Toughness +10, Fortitude +10, Will +7

Complications:
Normal Identity (Blaise Hansen)- Blaise must enact a physical change in order to "Power Up" to WhiteStar. As Blaise, his stats are ST 2, STA 3, AGI 2.
Power Loss (All Powers)- Blaise's star-power is not infinite- over time, his blasts will grow weaker, and he may lose power entirely (reverting back to normal form)- it takes some time for him to regain powers (roughly 16 hours from complete power-down to full power).
Power Loss (Cosmic Stars)- Without special equipment, Blaise cannot form proper "Star" shapes- his Blasts will lose the Precise & Penetrating bits, and his Alternate Effects will be ineffective. He can basically throw out only standard Energy Blasts, with lowered accuracy (-2 to -4). As he cannot personally fix the equipment, this is highly-problematic for him.
---
Responsibility (Entitled)- Blaise is naturally-gifted socially and athletically, and worked hard at increasing both. He has worked hard and done a lot of research in order to become a superhero, too- this has left him with a strong sense of entitlement, feeling as if he's "owed" success. He's into heroism for the reason a lot of amateurs were- power, influence and respect- he idolizes "the life" and wishes to be a part of it, not realizing that the "glamor" of the life hides a great deal of suffering and selflessness.
Hatred (Weaklings)- Blaise grew disgusted with the fat, nerdy Eric's studious nature and concerned efforts to help weak people- including sacrificing missions in order to save the lives of civilians (even HOMELESS people!). His natural distaste for people who didn't care about themselves, or work hard at getting anything, conflated into making him rather derogatory towards his apparent inferiors.
Reputation (Criminal Vigilante)- WhiteStar is known to be vicious by most heroes, the respectable ones of which will not work with him. Super-villains know of his heroic history (and murderous ways), and so also generally avoid him. Only desperate people (or those who REALLY want to hurt someone) will opt to work with him.
Enemy (SuperStar)- WhiteStar is livid with the hero for "turning his back" on him- he's tried to kill SuperStar several times, and only begrudgingly gets into those frequent "Enemy Mine" situations. Knowing the true face of Eric Robertson, he often tracks around the hero's hometown, hoping to catch sight of him. As he's seen the hero's mother, the possibility of "random encounters" terrifies Eric.

Total: Abilities: 86 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 58 / Defenses: 10 (186)

Origin:
-Knowledge of SuperStar's origin is pretty common knowledge on Earth- "I got my powers from a meteor" is usually the most generic origin story there is (though truth be told, it's only happened in six known instances- many other people use it as a cover story for their TRUE origin). However, it was only through careful observation of the energies that surrounded the hero at times that scientists were able to piece together information about the nature of the meteor, and why its cosmic charge empowered a human. However, the think-tank put in charge of this study was taken over by an evil group planning on using the powers for their own benefit. They threatened the scientists and soon uncovered that a similar meteor was heading towards Earth.

-Enter: Blaise Hansen. Blaise was a standard-issue "Origin Chaser"- a nickname (taken from an Indie Comic) for those who rapidly seek out powers. A pretty popular College student with a competitive streak and an athletic background, he'd taken a heroic identity, but his time as the Non-Powered Hero "Nightmaster" was short-lived and generally just gave him bruises after biting off more than he could chew. Impressed with the respect heroes earned, and the power they had, he actively sought out ways to empower a human being, but found most of them (genetic engineering, cyberization, magical things) to be too dangerous and life-altering.

-Blaise eventually found out about the think-tank regarding the new "SuperStar Meteor" on its way to Earth- his research into Origins uncovered how super-villains were more numerous than heroes, largely thanks to illegal activities creating a lot of potential Origins. Hence, he planned to pal around with villains as a "mole", getting powers that way. And so he had himself hired on as one of the many goons. When SuperStar came to observe the new Meteor's landing, he uncovered the plot of the bad guys and attacked- in the resulting scuffle, Blaise revealed his ruse, and grabbed for the Meteor, which exploded.

BlackStar:
-The Meteor was much more powerful than expected- Blaise actually became more powerful than even SuperStar was! The initial fight between the two was eventually halted when Blaise revealed his backstory, and the two resolved to work together. Eric (SuperStar) was ecstatic at meeting a new friend and having a real "partner" in crime-fighting, finding it to be a lonely experience. Though the two turned out to have little in common personally (Blaise didn't find it funny that Eric kept commenting on the fact that "BlackStar" had a costume with WHITE stars on it- he just liked the name), Eric was eager to share the tricks of the trade, and even built Blaise similar hardware in order to create the focused "Star-Forms" instead of just Blasting away. As BlackStar, Blaise deliberately acted the part of the "Bad-Ass Hero"- the rulebreaking, nasty, hard-assed heroes that were then in vogue. SuperStar's concerns were alleviated by his desire for companionship, and the two soon bested many of the Star-Rogues, the two heroes' combined power being too great for many threats to overcome.

-However, cracks began to appear. BlackStar was much more vicious than SuperStar, and reacted poorly to the villains' deadly attacks- he responded with equal force. Rather than Blast away or strike in melee, he often formed cutting attacks with his "Star-Forms", and at one point, nearly decapitated the villain Criss-Cross during a vicious battle. SuperStar was horrified, and repeatedly tried to point out the sanctity of human life, which BlackStar found to be "garbage"- these people were murderers!

-Another time, he continued blasting away at Doctor Death, ignoring a number of endangered civilians- only SuperStar's lucky shot saved the day, but the villain escaped. BlackStar was disgusted at this "foolishness", which was the final straw for SuperStar. After a big argument and a blow-up, SuperStar offered to make a "clean break"- but insisted that he wanted the Star-Form equipment back, and that BlackStar had to "prove himself" to earn them. An enraged Blaise feaked out, eventually attacking the hero, and the resulting brawl destroyed one of SuperStar's big hideouts, and resulted in both injured parties slinking away.

WhiteStar:
-Blaise's equipment was damaged in the fight, and feeling that he needed the gear to continue on, he attempted to get it fixed. However, he didn't trust the heroes at this point- feeling them weak, he eventually settled on getting some criminal scientists (a small group of those "one-off" Inventors that often vex super-heroes, then disappear) to fix the gear. This allowed the villains not only an unprecedented look into how SuperStar's powers worked, but meant that Blaise now "owed" them. He was egged on into committing some crimes on their behalf, but he eventually broke their agreement. When they went public with his actions, they underestimated him- enraged by being caught in a lie, he executed the scientists.

-Something broke inside him- he became increasingly-vicious, engaging in staggering assaults at many villains, then against heroes who tried to bring him in. When he banded together a group of similarly-minded vigilantes, he violently lashed out at one for commenting on his name ("But your stars are clearly WHITE."), killing the man by striking him too hard. Now considered a dangerous, violent failure, Blaise changed his name to WhiteStar and finally lost in a knock-down, drag-out battle against SuperStar.

WhiteStar Continues On:
-Super-villains didn't like him, and heroes wouldn't work with him- the imprisoned Blaise was ruined. However, entitled and infuriated by his lot in life, he fell in with the wrong crowd- he sold off some of SuperStar's secrets to the government in order to get broken out of jail as one of their operatives. He now acts as a mercenary figure- a lethal operative who kills with regularity. The government disavows knowledge of him, but he frequently engages in struggles against SuperStar- the two despise each other. That WhiteStar knows many of SuperStar's secrets (though not knowing the hero's real name, he's seen his "true face"- the portly one of Eric Robertson- and knows his hometown), and that the hero has been betrayed on so many levels by someone he'd thought was a friend, makes this all the more personal. SuperStar resolves to bring in his former friend, and WhiteStar craves revenge over perceived slights as well. He's occasionally been imprisoned, has even teamed up with the Star-Rogues, and is known as a vicious, insecure monster.

WhiteStar's Powers:
-Not as experienced as the hero SuperStar, WhiteStar is nonetheless more powerful, owing to being impacted by a larger meteor (and perhaps due to his "human form" being in better shape than Eric Robertson was when he was empowered). His viciousness gives him an extra "edge" in combat as well- SuperStar is often hard-pressed to defeat his former colleague.

Jab's Notes: WhiteStar is an idea I've had for a long time (well, my Spider-Man needs a "Venom"), but for the most part, I had no story for the guy aside from "Has the same origin as SuperStar". A while ago, I landed upon the idea of him DELIBERATELY copying the hero's Origin Story, but to do that, I had to put in some legwork and figure out just how that would happen. I ended up with a combination of "Origin Chaser" (from Bendis's "Powers" book), and "Failed Sidekick". Part of SuperStar's backstory is that he lost his best friend in his first month as a hero, and keeps his other friend, even though he's a "Bad Kid". So I increased that by throwing in this guy as a "true friend" and partner. I think figured out how he'd turn dark (murderous vigilante), and even threw in some ugly personal traits- that Blaise (named for a kid I knew in High School who was... well, not a DOUCHE, but just kind of a smart-ass) was entitled. That he got into super-heroics for selfish reasons (the life seems VERY glamorous to outsiders). That he felt superior to the fat, dorky Eric, as he always thought less of nerdy-types. Essentially, his superior, "Alpha Male" personality made him a poor fit as a real superhero, and his increasing anger over perceived slights eventually broke him.

-This helps make him a very "personal" menace to the hero, same as a few of the baddies are. WhiteStar (I originally was gonna use "BlackStar", but that was both kind of cliched, and inaccurate based off of the costume. Since I'm me, I HAD to include silly story bits about that) could have been a great friend and partner to a pretty lonely kid, but is instead a horrible bastard who was more of the kind of Alpha Douche that trouble kids like Eric. Maybe his handsome, charming, athletic body made him less likely to respect "the little guy" the way a real hero should?

-The whole "government agent" thing struck me as a reasonable way to keep him around. I can't just see him running around committing generic crimes. Nor do I see him getting along with his old villainous enemies. But "Government Douchebags Doing Wetwork" is a classic old trope, and comes off very "unfair"- that this guy can get a free ride through clandestine government ops. And I really didn't wanna go the whole "Venom: Protector of the Innocent" thing with SuperStar's own "Venom".
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Recoil

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

I added the Skull & Crossbones literally right before I took the picture- he looked just a bit too plain, and I always liked that motif :).

RECOIL (Malcolm "Mal" Haller)
Hgt:
6'2" Wgt: 220 lbs. (300 lbs. with Harness)
Role: Disgruntled Veteran
PL 10 (166)
STRENGTH
3/8 STAMINA 4/7 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+11)
Deception 4 (+5)
Expertise (Marine) 9 (+10)
Intimidation 8 (+9)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 4 (+7)
Technology 6 (+7)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Close Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Improved Disarm, Improved Critical (Coils), Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Ranged Attack 10, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Cybernetic Harness"
Enhanced Strength 5 [10]
Enhanced Stamina 3 [6]
Protection 3 (Extras: Impervious 9) [12]

"Magnetic Coils"
"Gunfire" Blast 6 (Feats: Accurate) (Extras: Multiattack) (19) -- [21]
  • AE: "Rapid Metallic Storm" Blast 8 (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Source- Metallic Debris) (16)
  • AE: "Magnetism" Move Object 8 (Extras: Damaging) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Materials, Damaging Limited to Objects) (12)
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]
"Magnetic Jumps" Leaping 3 (60 feet) [3]
"Cyber-Senses" Senses 7 (Extended & Infravision, Extended Hearing, Visions Penetrates Cover) [7]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Gunfire +14 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Metallic Storm +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+10 Harness, +5 Impervious), Fortitude +4 (+7 Harness), Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (A Normal Life)- Recoil wishes to regain his humanity.
Prejudice (Cyborg)- Recoil's cybernetics are large and cumbersome, and he cannot pass for an ordinary person without extremely heavy clothing.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 61 / Defenses: 9 (167)

-Malcolm Haller is a Marine, badly injured in the Middle East- He lost all four of his limbs, and suffered heavy lung damage from a chemical attack. He was honorably discharged and given the Purple Heart for bravery, and was sent home to a hero's welcome. However, he soon came to realize that his pension would not cover his medical bills, nor was there any work available for a quadruple-amputee on his way out. When he attempted to plead his case to the government, his former superiors, and the news media, many sabres were rattled, but nothing was done. Eventually, Mal's girlfriend left him, unable to mentally deal with his ordeal any longer.

-Growing despondent, Mal contemplated suicide, but finally some arms dealers with government contacts heard of his situation, and offered him a deal: he was fitted with experimental cybernetic prostheses designed to give soldiers vastly-increased combat potential- they were too dangerous to be used on normal soldiers, but someone with nothing to lose was a perfect candidate. Mal's limbs were replaced, and he was turned into a superhuman cyborg, designed to impress the suits in high places. However, when word got out that this injured veteran was being used to promote new weaponry and cybernetics, the public backlash was intense, and the government cancelled the program. Malcolm was to be set loose.

-Now set to be relieved of his new prostheses, Mal snapped. Angry at his government, the world, and the military-industrial complex, he decided to use the last of his money to bribe his way into the company's headquaraters, steal the prostheses back, and went on a rampage. He destroyed their headquarters and kidnapped the CEO, several board members, and some visiting military figures, demanding an audience. After a tense negotiation, a lot of anger, and several demands, Mal was confronted by SuperStar, who tried to talk him down. Recoil seemed willing to listen, but when he tried to escape with his prostheses, a government agent activated the "kill switch" (designed to electrocute Mal, and look like a wiring accident) secretly implanted within the suit. SuperStar was able to deactivate it, but not able to prevent an enraged Recoil from slaughtering many hostages. Now a murderer, Recoil was able to escape, but became a public pariah instead of the symbol he wanted to be.

-With nothing left to lose, Recoil devoted himself to gaining the funding to regain his humanity and purchase more realistic cybernetics. Unfortunately, these procedures are too expensive to maintain properly, and so he is a career criminal. Blaming SuperStar in part for his ordeal, Mal has declared a personal vendetta against the hero as well- though in more insightful moments, he realizes the hero is not to blame.

Jab's Notes: Recoil is a very early creation of mine, though I can't recall if he's part of the "Rhino-Man Rogues" or "Teen Years Rogues". His schtick was very Doctor Octopus, and he had no personality or origin until much more recently. And his initial appearance I only realized eons later was basically a 100% rip-off of Hardware, from the "Malibu Universe" cards that I saw in comic book ads as a kid. I guess the "black guy in red & black armor" image stuck with me, even though it's pretty generic. Because for years, I literally viewed the character as exactly like that.

-The sympathetic "wounded vet" backstory is one I came up with recently, as I wanted one of these guys to be more sympathetic, and I wanted a kind of thing about the dark side of a military life, especially as stuff like this keeps showing up in the news. Like the one guy said in Larry Hama's G.I. Joe: "the only people to ever treat their soldiers right were the Romans- and that's because they were afraid of them!" American Society seems to be keyed towards an odd variety of what I call "Soldier Worship" (others use this term, too, I've discovered)- this pathological love and worship of the people in the armed forces, to the point where anything else would be seen as disgusting and unpatriotic... but once their mission's over it's like "f*ck 'em!" and they're tossed aside. So a character who reflects that- especially a VILLAIN, who now acts as a permanent damnation of that system (as opposed to a more uplifting character, like a wounded-vet superhero), seems perfect.

-Also, as of like a week ago, I realized I wanted him to be a Magnetism-themed villain. Until then, he'd been a "Metal Tentacle" kind of guy (hence the "coil" in his name), using a pair of forearm-tentacles sorta like Omega Red's, for grappling and smashing stuff. But that made him a big Doc Ock wannabe, and was also pretty "plain" (it was only TWO tentacles!), so I wanted something a bit different. I settled on Magnetism.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Gigawatt! Fatal Flare! WhiteStar!)

Post by bsdigitalq »

I really like Whitestar...the streamlined version of SuperStar's look is very quietly menacing, without going too over the top villainous. Also, the personal angel *always* helps to elevate a villain- you have to truly suck for that not to work in your favor (i.e., Conduit).

The skull/crossbones on Recoil works- I'd say you're right that without them he looks too plain. The crossbones on the back of the hands is a nice touch too.

Also really like the backstory, how it gives him a level of pathos behind his villainy, while not exonerating him from his deeds- a tough balancing act, but I think you nailed it. Also, not very often you see an energy controller ala Magneto crossed with an armor type character. Too often they're just Iron Man types, or the energy type is just some fire/plasma blaster stuff. The magnetism gives him some distinctiveness.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Gigawatt! Fatal Flare! WhiteStar!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Cool, thanks! Recoil was initially such a plain villain, I did a lot of thinking into making him "somebody". He's a really old character- here's the first Recoil build I did for M&M, and he predates THAT by like ten years. Initially he was just a copy of Milestone's Hardware (just the image I got from a picture of a trading card), and you can still see that link in his visuals. It probably took me fifteen damn years to figure out where I was really going with him, besides "Bad Guy named Recoil" :).

And yeah, the "crossbones" on the back of his gloves struck me right when I finished the chest symbol. I was like "needs somethin' else around the hands, but I don't want whole skulls... BINGO!"

WhiteStar never had an origin at all until a week or so ago- I find it oddly easier to just sit down and crank out the origins all at once- one thing tends to lead to another creatively, and then you have something. Except it often results in Word-Walls. Maybe I need an editor!
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Gigawatt! Fatal Flare! WhiteStar!)

Post by bsdigitalq »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 26, 2017 2:44 amWhiteStar never had an origin at all until a week or so ago- I find it oddly easier to just sit down and crank out the origins all at once- one thing tends to lead to another creatively, and then you have something. Except it often results in Word-Walls. Maybe I need an editor!
Well, if you find one, hit me up. I could probably use one myself, lol.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Gigawatt! Fatal Flare! WhiteStar!)

Post by Tattooedman »

So I see that you not only can crank out all kinds of great builds of jobbers from comics and random sources you've got a really great stable of OCs.

I'm really enjoying this "new" thread & look forward to seeing what else you have in store.
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:45 pm
LOl- "The Tattooed Man"? What kind of ABSOLUTE DILDO would refer to himself as "The Tattooed Man" :P!?!
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