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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Skaramine
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Recoil! Meteor Hammer! Lord Tiburon!)

Post by Skaramine »

Meteor Hammer and Lord Tiburon are fan-freaking-tastic. :)

'course, seeing Power Boy (I guess now Major Power) was a great thing to see.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Recoil! Meteor Hammer! Lord Tiburon!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Skaramine wrote: Sat Jul 01, 2017 11:25 pm Meteor Hammer and Lord Tiburon are fan-freaking-tastic. :)

'course, seeing Power Boy (I guess now Major Power) was a great thing to see.
thanks! Though I haven't read that bio in years- some of it's actually out of date (including mention of some of Kreuzritter's OCs, and a»"Past Event" from Something Unique). I'll have to write a real in-universe bio pretty quick.

Here's a weird "In-Universe" version of how well the comics would have done:
June 1940- The Black Fox debuts in Fight Comics.
July 1940-
Aug.1940-
Sept.1940-
Oct.1940- Mr. Meteor debuts in American Comics.
Nov.1940-
Dec.1940-
Jan. 1941-
Feb. 1941-
March 1941- Circus Adventures has it's first issue, featuring a circus family. Evan Kandopolis is the son of the strongman act, Eric.
April 1941-
May 1941- Reddar the Mystic first appears in Magical Funnies, later Magical Comics. The Comet Kid debuts in American Comics alongside Mr. Meteor.
June 1941- Wild-Boy first appears in Jungle Adventure Comics. Mr. Maximum first appears in Max Comics.
July 1941- Power Boy first appears in Popular Comics. Selkie first appears in Special, an Irish publication.
Aug.1941-
Sept. 1941- The Freebooter and Miss Adventure debut in Freedom Comics.
Oct. 1941- Captain Guts debuts in Popular Comics as a joke super-hero act.
Nov. 1941- El Torah debuts in Weird Wonders. The The Barred Avenger debuts in American Comics.
Dec.1941-
Jan. 1942- First issue of The Legion of Liberty. Mr. Maximum, Mr. Meteor, the Black Fox, the Freebooter & Miss Adventure all join, telling their individual tales before teaming up to beat a villain.
Feb. 1942- Robo-Man debuts in Freedom Comics.
March 1942- Captain Flag debuts in Punch Comics. Will Scarlet debuts in Popular Comics. Redskin debuts in American Comics alongside The Barred Avenger.
April 1942- Power Boy joins the team as a teen mascot.
May 1942- Kid Hercules debuts in Circus Adventures, Evan Kandopolis gaining the Hercules Stone. Kid Hercules joins the team in his first appearance. Captain Flag joins the team. The Green Piper debuts in Punch Comics.
June 1942- Miss Mystery debuts in Detective Stories. Robo-Man joins the team.
July 1942- Captain Guts and Will Scarlet join the team.
Aug. 1942- Kid Hercules leaves the team. The Green Piper replaces him. Mr. Meteor Comics debuts.
Sept. 1942- Captain Flag and Mr. Meteor leave the team, Miss Mystery and The The Barred Avenger replace them. The Rapier first appears in Fight Comics.
Oct. 1942- Miss Adventure Comics debuts. Blonde Bombshell debuts in the book.
Nov. 1942- Black Fox Comics first comes out. Captain Guts leaves the team. Reddar the Mystic joins the team for a magical adventure.
Dec. 1942- Miss Mystery leaves the team three issues after appearing, to 'go solve a case'. She never appears in the book again. The Black Fox resigns from the team, acting as an honorary member, after getting his own solo series. The Rapier comes in as a replacement.
Jan. 1943- Miss Mystery disappears from Detective Stories. El Torah joins the team, as does Selkie.
Feb. 1943- Kid Hercules and Circus Adventures disappear.
March 1943- The Rapier leaves the team, replaced by Blonde Bombshell. Wingman debuts in Fight Comics. Mr. Black debuts in Magical Comics.
April 1943- The Green Piper stops appearing in Punch Comics, staying as a Legion member. Robo-Man leaves the team.
May 1943- Wingman joins the team, replacing the departing El Torah.
June 1943-
July 1943- The Blue Hood debuts in Max Comics. Captain Guts stops appearing in Popular Comics.
Aug. 1943- Wingman leaves the team to go solo. El Torah disappears from Weird Wonders. Mr. Black joins the team.
Sept. 1943- Reddar the Mystic leaves the team. Wingman leaves Fight Comics.
Oct. 1943- Miss Adventure Comics stops publishing. Mr. Black leaves the team suddenly, disappearing out of continuity. He disappears from Magical Comics immediately afterwards.
Nov. 1943- Wild-Boy joins the team. Blonde Bombshell leaves the team.
Dec. 1943-
Jan. 1944- Captain Flag stops appearing in Punch Comics, vanishing altogether. Blonde Bombshell debuts in it instead, following Miss Adventure's cancellation.
Feb. 1944- Wild-Boy leaves the team, moving back to the jungle.
March 1944-
April 1944-
May 1944- Robo-Man stops appearing in Freedom Comics.
June 1944- The Blue Hood joins the team. Punch Comics is cancelled as a war book, dropping Blonde Bombshell.
July 1944-
Aug. 1944- The Freebooter stops appearing in Freedom Comics. Dryad appears in Jungle Adventure Comics.
Sept. 1944- Dryad joins the team on an overseas mission.
Oct. 1944- The Rapier stops appearing in Fight Comics. Reddar the Mystic stops appearing in Magical Stories, which is cancelled.
Nov. 1944- Will Scarlet leaves the team, and stops appearing in Popular Comics. Dryad leaves the team.
Dec. 1944- The Blue Hood leaves the team, never quite taking off. Dryad leaves Jungle Adventure Comics.
Jan. 1945-
Feb. 1945-
March 1945- The Blue Hood stops appearing in Max Comics, leaving comics. Power Boy leaves the team.
April 1945-
May 1945-
June 1945-
July 1945-
Aug. 1945- Miss Adventure stops appearing in Freedom Comics, which is cancelled.
Sept. 1945- Mr. Meteor Comics stops production. Power Boy leaves Popular Comics. Selkie leaves the team.
Oct. 1945-
Nov. 1945- Mr. Maximum leaves Max Comics and it is cancelled.
Dec. 1945- The hero comics dying out, the Legion of Liberty has its last story, with Mr. Maximum, the The Barred Avenger, the Freebooter, the Green Piper, Miss Adventure and Mr. Meteor appearing.

End of an Era- With the super-heroes gone except for the Black Fox, the company switches to fantasy, adventure and, slowly, Western comics hit the forefront by the 50s and stay in power for over ten years. Several remakes and redos are attempted, but all of them fail miserably as the Western and war comics take hold. What is left of the big gun comics of the day (Fight, American & Popular Comics) turn totally to the new genres and then are summarily eliminated as the company enters dormancy.
June 1946- Wild-Boy makes his last appearance in Jungle Adventure Comics, which is then cancelled.
Nov. 1946- The Freebooter appears for a few issues of Fight Comics. Selkie disappears from Special, which is cancelled.
Dec. 1946- Mr. Meteor & the Comet Kid appear for a two-issue run in American Comics.
Aug. 1948- Miss Adventure makes another appearance, lasting two issues in Popular Comics.
June 1952- Mr. Meteor makes a solo comeback in Strange Adventures, but lasts three issues only.
March 1953- The Freebooter appears for one Action Adventure Comics story.
Feb. 1955- Black Fox Comics stops publication.
April 1955- Miss Adventure makes a three-issue stint in Fight Comics.
Aug. 1955- The Black Fox appears for the last time in Fight Comics. Mr. Meteor makes a five-issue comeback in American Comics. Both books are then cancelled, ending an era.
June 1957- The Black Fox makes a short-lived revival in Strange Adventures, lasting three months.
June 1958- Popular Comics is cancelled as a Western.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 03, 2017 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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The Legion of Liberty

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE LEGION OF LIBERTY:
-The Legion of Liberty is an affiliation of costumed heroes that began in 1942, with America having recently joined World War II. The initial group was a squadron of the most famous heroes of the day- Mr. Maximum, The Black Fox, The Freebooter, Miss Adventure and Mr. Meteor- as the only female, Miss Adventure was made the group's secretary. This early group (which tended to simply meet after their adventures and describe them) was more of an "Adventurer's Club" than a real fighting team up until a few months into their run. As the heroes had different hometowns, and fuel was at a premium, they often didn't meet with full rosters- many later adventures took place while the especially-busy Meteor or Maximum were elsewhere, on solo missions.

The initial five heroes were soon joined by Flagman, Kid Hercules and Power Boy- who was made the "Team Mascot" due to his youth. Kid Hercules soon left permanent membership to continue his solo activities, being replaced by Will Scarlet, Robo-Man, Captain Guts & the Green Piper. After a point, the team became concentrated in the efforts of World War II, operating in both theaters of war. The Freebooter met his end during these missions, but he was replaced by The Barred Avenger and Miss Mystery.

Subsequent members inclued The Rapier, Reddar the Mystic, Captain Fireball, Blue Hood, El Torah and Selkie, followed by Blonde Bombshell and Wingman- The Black Fox, Rapier, El Torah, Robo-Man, Reddar, Wingman & Bombshell all disappear at various intervals, though they have all mentioned subsequent missions with the team- Robo-Man in particular is a constant presence in "I remember when..." tales, despite many newsreels at the time missing him entirely (it is believed that this is due to his inhuman, frightening appearance). The odd characters Mr. Black, Dryad and Wild-Boy were short-lived members as well. The team continued to adventure until just after the War, at which point many retired and settled down at home.

The team failed to age to a degree- this was initially a curious observation (as many spent years in retirement, with few remembering their initial appearances and seeing the returning people as "legacies"), but eventually came to be revealed to have been a mystery mission that took place in the Amazonian Jungle, fighting a cell of German spies. The Germans had located the Fountain of Youth, and were planning on utilizing it. However, the entire assembled roster of the Legion of Liberty had arrived. A German decided to bomb the Fountain in order to prevent it from falling into Allied hands, but the depth charge only managed to douse the entire Legion. This allowed most of them a form of retarded aging, and most would appear to be in Late Middle Age, even six decades after the end of the War.

A few members did not survive to see the 1950s- Dryad, The Blue Hood and one replacement Freebooter were all slain during the war.

The Legion's Return:
-The Legion returned decades later, when the contemporary Legion of Light engaged in a mission against old Liberty foes. They recruited the retired heroes in one of the first big "team-ups"- a metaphorical passing of the torch to the next generation. The mage Mr. Black was eventually revealed to have been an evil villain, twisted by his dark power, and his became a massive threat against all the heroes.

-For a brief period of time, the Legion revived itself on a semi-permanent basis. It included the original Mr. Maximum, Mr. Meteor, Robo-Man, Miss Adventure and Power Boy (now called Major Power). They were joined by legacies of The Black Fox (the third and fourth- brother and sister- joined at different times), Mr. Maximum, Miss Mystery, Selkie, Will Scarlet and The Freebooter. Eventually, the new Freebooter died, and Mr. Meteor and Miss Mystery II retired. Their replacements were a new Wingman, The Piper, a second Barred Avenger, and Mr. Meteor II (sidekick of the first). Robo-Man was dismantled, and Major Power left to wander the stars, allowing a new, female Freebooter to join. Reddar the Mystic returned to the team as the Barred Avenger was killed by Mr. Black- Piper quit soon thereafter. The team chose to split not long after Robo-Man was rebuilt.

Later Legion:
-The Legion appeared infrequently in subsequent years, but still showed up during massive events or troubled times. Reddar's daughter Redda made appearances, and several legacies (Freebooter V, Wingman II, Mr. Meteor II) were all killed during a massive alien invasion, alongside many other heroes. The original El Torah & Will Scarlet also died (Will saving his successor). Mr. Maximum's successors- Maximum and Miss Maximum, both became honored heroes in their own right. The Black Fox has led to a legion of successors in his family group. Mr. Meteor and Miss Adventure remain respected heroes to this day, with Meteor often retiring, but Miss Adventure taking a hand in training rookie heroes.

-Eventually, this Legion reformed- Mr. Maximum, Mr. Meteor I, Miss Adventure, Robo-Man & Major Power all made comebacks, leading a new generation. Selkie II rejoined, and there were added The Blue Hood II, Redda the Mystic, a new Black Fox and Freebooter, and Wilhelmina Scarlet- the granddaughter of the first.


Jab's Notes: The Legion of Liberty is straight-up me taking a notch from the JSA, back when that was my favorite book going- I became fascinated with the idea of a book featuring a long history of Legacy Characters, as well as adding newbies to the group. Of course, actually CREATING Golden Agers is a bit of a struggle, as there's this desire to either make them too modern, or too goofy. I think I came up with a pretty happy medium. Guys with "Mister" in their name and a few "Captain _____" guys, mixed in with some derivative types.

Kreuzritter and I did some work on these guys way, WAY back when "Something Unique" was still a thing we worked on- they were meant to be the originators that our modern characters like Infinity Force could have been inspired by. Kreuz guys like Dr. Skull & Alphaman were linked to the roster, and he joked about "literally pulling names out of a hat" to name some other guys I never ended up using, like The Dike (a Dutch national) and The Christian Crusader.

Some of the names have been modified with time- I had a guy called The Crimson Commando until like a month ago, when I was like "... wait a minute...". Power Boy's adult form was called "Captain Power" in a cutesy homage to the "Soldiers of the Future" franchise, but I changed my mind on that. A few other names were changed as well- "Guts" McKenzie to Captain Guts, and Miss Star became Miss Adventure. The idea behind the team is still the same- have them be the originators- other heroes follow their legacy. A few legacies end up on super-teams (Maximum joins the big-time heroes in the Legion of Light; Miss Maximum is on my Teen Titans-esque squad).


The Roster:
Mr. Maximum
The Black Fox I
The Freebooter I
Miss Adventure
Mr. Meteor I
Flagman
Kid Hercules
Power Boy (Major Power)
Will Scarlet
Robo-Man
Captain Guts
The Green Piper
Miss Mystery
The Barred Avenger
The Rapier
Reddar the Mystic
The Blue Hood I
El Torah
Selkie I
Blonde Bombshell
Wingman I
Mr. Black
Dryad
Wild-Boy
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:57 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Recoil! Meteor Hammer! Lord Tiburon!)

Post by Horsenhero »

I'm just gonna throw an immediate shout out to Captain Guts. Way to own that sh!t.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Recoil! Meteor Hammer! Lord Tiburon!)

Post by Skaramine »

Horsenhero wrote: Mon Jul 03, 2017 6:42 am I'm just gonna throw an immediate shout out to Captain Guts. Way to own that sh!t.
I second that laudation!
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Wild-Boy

Post by Jabroniville »

Bottom left of the big pic.

WILD-BOY (Roger Phillips)
Hgt:
5'10" Wgt: 170 lbs.
Role: Tarzan Knock-Off
PL 8 (124)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 11 (+14)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+11)
Expertise (Survival) 11 (+11)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 12 (+12)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Perception 11 (+11)
Persuasion 4 (+4)
Stealth 6 (+11)
Treatment 4 (+4)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Beginner's Luck, Chokehold, Diehard, Equipment (Spear +2- Reach), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Spear), Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Improvised Tools, Ranged Attack 4, Seize Initiative, Startle, Tracking

Powers:
"Talk With The Animals" Comprehend 2 (Speak To & Understand Animals) [4]
Senses 2 (Low-Light Vision, Acute Scent) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Spear +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +9

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

Complications:
Responsibility (A Child Out Of Civilization)- Wild-Boy was raised by African Wild Dogs, and thus often has trouble interacting with normal people, despite having lived in civilization for years.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 72--36 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 6 / Defenses: 13 (124)

Origin: Wild-Boy was the child of a pair of wealthy world-travellers, travelling the Congo in Africa searching for the lost City of the Apes. Murdered by a jealous rival, the three-month-old, Roger, vanished into the wilderness, where he was raised by African wild dogs named Nbute and Khala, who honed his young body to its peak as a member of their pack. At fifteen, he discovered his parents' killer and his men on a new search, and killed them with his pack.

-It would be years before he discovered his true identity, as a friend of the family's discovered him, and the two quickly fell in love. Wild-Boy briefly fell in with the heroes of the Legion of Liberty to fight the Nazis during World War II, but quickly vanished back into the wilds of Africa to fight the German invasion there, with the heroes' consent. Little is known of his life from this point on, but that he married Julia Dangersly and raised a family alongside the wild dog pack in the jungle, each of whom were nearly as proficient in the ways of the jungle as he. He is believed to have passed away many years ago, long surviving his original pack-mates. His fifty-something son Harold now leads the pack, though his dreams of civilization are far more curious than his father's.

"Real-Life Comics": Wild-Boy was a rip-off of the popular Tarzan & Jungle Book-style story of a child raised by animals in the wild, capitalizing on that with a more-familiar teen character for the children to be interested in in 1941. It did fairly well in its own little realm of adventure comics, and even got swept up in the "Legion of Liberty" fad in the early-mid 40s, with Wild-Boy joining the team for a handful of issues, though he looked a little silly running around alongside the capes & cowls crowd, and was quickly dumped back to his own books, which had been flagging for some time, eventually disappearing in mid-1946, though he sometimes made comebacks all the way up till the mid-fifties, still a teenager. With the Legion of Light's popularity later on, he appeared in a handful of the crossovers with the old team in time-travel stories, and a few times as an older man, his death eventually being written into continuity, and his son Harold being introduced for future reference, though few writers have bothered, since the jungle-adventure conceit is long-dead, save for the occasional super-hero wandering near the City of Apes to feed some writer's interest in the concept.

Jab's Notes: Just a "Tarzan/Jungle Kid" knock-off character, though I think I was basing him off of someone specific from the old "Super-Powers" website that drew up every hero in a simple "Big-Head" drawing style. He looks pretty much like Kamandi these days.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Jul 04, 2017 5:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Flagman

Post by Jabroniville »

First row, second column of the big pic.

FLAGMAN (Blaire Cross)
Hgt:
6'2" Wgt: 240 lbs.
Role: Captain America Rip-Off
PL 7 (90)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 6 (+9)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+6)
Insight 1 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Equipment 1 (Flagpole +2- Reach), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Polearms), Improved Disarm, Takedown

Powers:
"Titanium Flagpole" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [3]
Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach, Split) (4)
"Titanium Weave" Immunity 5 (Ballistics) (Flaws: Immobile -2) (1)
-- (5 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Flagpole +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting Nazis)
Responsibility (American Patriot)

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 3 / Defenses: 10 (90)

Origin: Blaire Cross was chosen from a large field of wannabes to be the U.S. government's own personal mystery man, Flagman. Given his staff and missions, he was essentially a military soldier, taking the dangerous one-man missions that the government needed to be done.

-Blair Cross was a good-old boy type from Mississippi, who joined a massive national search for an ideal physical specimen to take the role of "Flagman", a U.S. government-sanctioned fighter to join the war effort. A natural athlete, with good charisma and intellect, he was quickly chosen over all the other contenders, and despite some intervention from German spies, he successfully completed several missions. He acted as an elite version of a standard soldier, taking dangerous one-man missions against Axis forces. He joined the Legion of Liberty in its second year on several missions as well, becoming a thorn in the Nazi's side. During this time, he started a friendship with fellow government agent The Freebooter, though they would be quickly separated.

-After a year of battling Nazi superweapons and secret plots, Flagman was sent to the Japanese theatre. During his first mission in 1944, however, he attempted to board a Japanese experimental submarine in the Pacific Ocean, when both were attacked by Kamikaze jetfighters afraid to let their secrets get out. The submarine's main gas line was hit, causing a massive explosion that destroyed both the sub, and Flagman. His body was never recovered, but his damaged flag was by the Japanese. It was returned to its rightful place in America by guerilla fighters in the Phillippines, and is currently held in the National Museum.

-Flagman's career was comparatively short, and he had no successors to his name. As such, he is considered somewhat of a failed hero in that era, though he was well-liked by his teammates, and is considered to be a national hero, as most fallen soldiers are.

-Flagman wielded a large American flag on a pole like a staff, and was a considerable straight-forward type power brawler, using his fists to solve problems.

"Real-Life Comics": Flagman was another Captain America-like attempt at success in 1942, but wasn't as popular as the Freebooter, and was thus resigned to short Legion membership, and, since his comics vanished by 1944 after some off-and-on appearances, that was chosen as his time of death. He has only appeared in past-form in some Legion crossovers.

Jab's Notes: Flagman (called "The Flagmaster" in all of my earlier notes, then "Captain Flag" before I looked at my pic and went "I guess I changed it to Flagman") is my attempt at a "Generic Super-Hero" design, adding the fin-head you see on many older characters to a "Mask & Cape" look. I threw in the flag as a weapon because of his name, but chose him to be one of the sacrificial lambs- it always weirded me out that 99% of all Golden Age superheroes managed to survive the war- it kind of diminishes the nature of the heroics of the common soldier, you know?
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The Rapier

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Also third row, third column in the Big Pic.

THE RAPIER (Francis del Vego)
Hgt:
6'0" Wgt: 182 lbs.
Role: Swordsman, Zorro Copycat
PL 7 (90)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 6 (+8)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Travelling Adventurer) 4 (+6)
Insight 2 (+4)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 3 (+5)
Sleight of Hand 3 (+6)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Equipment 1 (Rapier +2- Improved Critical), Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Takedown 2

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Rapier +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Motivation (Protecting Los Angeles)

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (90)

Origin: The Rapier is of Spanish ancestry, and was taught the art of swordsmanship by his beloved uncle. Caught up in an inheritance scheme, Francis donned a costume to save his uncle from the bad side of the del Vegos. He continued on from that point, using his rapier to protect the innocents in Los Angeles from the crimelords that plagued the city.

-The Rapier fought crime (and Nazi saboteurs) for a number of years in the forties, joining the Legion of Liberty partway through their run, and staying on for several missions. His primary villains were Mister Frost, an assassin using a chilled-blade sabre that could freeze flesh on contact, and assorted L.A. crime leaders. He retired in the mid-50s, and only rejoined the Legion for a few Legion of Light crossover missions. None of his descendants have followed in his footsteps, but it is known there are some. Like most of the Legion of Liberty, his aging is such that he only looks to be in his fifties- however, he does not make many public appearances, feeling inhuman due to his longevity, and he dislikes having to explain to people why he seems so young.

"Real-Life Comics": The Rapier was a decent success at first, at least lasting for a few years worth of issues following a late 1942 debut, joining the Legion a few months later to boost sales. Basically a Zorro copycat, right down to the setting and Spanish heritage, it was gone soon after it began, leaving comics for good by early 1945 after some off-and-on stories, until being reintroduced in the Legion crossovers years later. Essentially a forgotten character by all rights, he generally only appears in retrospectives of the full team.

Powers & Abilities: The Rapier was a highly skilled swashbuckler-like athlete and was known primarily for his swordsmanship, obviously foremost with the rapier. It is a general given that he is one of the best to ever live with such a sword.

Jab's Notes: Zorro was a big, big deal in the early days of Pulp, and many early superheroes (BATMAN, most notably) were heavily, HEAVILY inspired by his tales. And so we have The Rapier- a swashbuckling Errol Flynn type character who takes a chunk of the Zorro concept. I'm kind of a fan of his goofy look- though you don't find yellow & purple in a lot of Golden Agers due to printing issues back then, it kind of "works" as an off-kilter look. The cape took me a while to figure out- I tried a few colors until settling on black, as it let the rest of the design "pop".
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mr. Meteor

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

Fourth row, third column.

MR. METEOR I (Christopher O'Halloran)
Hgt:
5'11" Wgt: 190 lbs.
Role: Flying Hero
PL 10 (151)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+11)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 8 (+13)
Insight 2 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+7)
Perception 2 (+6)
Technology 7 (+12)
Vehicles 5 (+8)

Advantages:
Diehard, Evasion 2, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Leadership, Move-By Action, Startle, Ranged Attack 2, Takedown, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Mach 3 Flight" Flight 10 (2,000 mph) [20]
"Mach 3 Punch" Strength-Damage +2 (Quirks: Must Be Moving At High Speeds) [1]
Immunity 1 (Aging) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [0.5]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Mach 3 Punch +11 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +7, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)

Total: Abilities: 80 / Skills: 33--16.5 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 21.5 / Defenses: 18 (151)

Origin: Chris O'Halloran was an astronomer worker at an observatory in New Mexico when he discovered a large meteor heading for Earth. In a panic, he tried to warn the townsfolk, who didn't believe the man and laughed him off. Desperately, he stole a prototype rocket being powered by a rare gem, and flew towards the meteor (which was actually an alien vessel containing the powers of their dying race) on a suicide run to save the town. Surprisingly, the explosion did not kill him; instead he awoke in a field, glowing with energy. Dubbing himself Mr. Meteor, he used the powers the gem, which had gathered all the meteoric energy, had given him to become a super-hero.

-Mr. Meteor took a teenage sidekick early on in street urchin Peter "Petey-O" Carver, the Comet Kid, who, on a scavenger hunt, had pilfered the meteor that gave Mr. Meteor his powers, and had its energies flow through him after being shot by a criminal also looking for it. Together, the two defended New Mexico, and after he joined the Legion of Liberty, the world. A charter member, and headliner of the team, he was there till the end when the team split up, and continued on in more low-key heroics for years afterwards, marrying girlfriend Sally Farmer. He aided in the Legion crossovers, and was part of the revival of the team, eventually retiring to let Mr. Meteor II (Peter adopted his mentor's costume, being similarly long-lived) run with the name. Tragically, Peter was killed in the team's final mission against an alien race during the "Mother Martian" battle on Earth, being slain by Lord Tiburon. Mr. Meteor finally came out of retirement to join the brand-new Legion revival as a charter member and mentor to the younger generation, though the death of Peter still haunts him. Sally has since passed away of old age, and Mr. Meteor has yet to remarry, though many assume that there's a mutual attraction between himself and Miss Adventure- she brings out a more fun-loving side of the studious, serious Meteor.

Powers & Abilities: Mr. Meteor's gem, was had gathered the meteoric energy, gave him the ability to fly at Mach 3 (leaving a comet trail behind him), fire massive bursts of "meteor flame" energy, and a small degree of Class 5 super-strength. He is one of the most powerful heroes of the Golden Age, and can stand against the medium-level heroes of today, thanks to the energies making him long-lived, appearing only in his 40s.

"Real-Life Comics": Mr. Meteor was among the top heroes of his day, becoming a charter Legion member, and leaving the team except for periodic guest shots when he got his own comic in 1942, after his 1940 debut. He was retroactively added as a long-time member, though he stopped appearing in 1945 when his book was cancelled, and was in the last Legion story before that book, too, was cancelled. He made a few appearances in the '40s and '50s, but only came back on a large scale with the Legion crossovers and the final revival. Retiring the character due to the old-timeyness of it, the Comet Kid was given the name and left to make a "new beginning" for the character, but it was in the dark age of the revival, and the writers included Mr. Meteor II in the long list of dead characters as a result of the Martian War. Mr. Meteor himself was revived as a returning hero with the modern-day revival of the team.

Jab's Notes:
Mr. Meteor is one of the first characters I created for the "Golden Age" part of my setting, and I deliberately made him one of the top names- including him among the modern-day team as one of the biggest legacies going. His design is based around Dr. Mid-Nite and The Comet (from Archie/MLJ/Red Circle), taking Comet's visor and Mid-Nite's general "look" for a hero that's a combination of distinctive and generic. His coloring took me the longest to figure out- I was gonna go with gray, but it looked too plain. Blue with red bits seems more heroic, and also serves to act as a "trope codifier" that makes all subsequent heroes kind of follow his lead. Like Superman, the "trunks over tights" look told audiences that he was a Strongman.

-I'm still figuring out the "Huge Battle" in the backstory there- it was initially the "Martian War" created as a backdrop for "Something Unique", and was meant to be the way most of the old heroes died. However, I modified it to possibly be an invasion from Hell, keeping the "backdrop" bit- now that I'm telling the heroes' tales as a contemporary thing and not "these are the guys who are in the setting's past, it has a slightly different role- probably a "Crisis On Infinite Earths" thing.

Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Oct 17, 2017 8:57 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Meteor Hammer! Legion of Liberty!)

Post by Ken »

Actually, golden age printing technology could handle both yellow and purple just fine. Yellow was, in fact, one of the colours of ink used in the 4-colour printing process (cyan, magenta, and black being the remaining 3). And purple was a simple mix of cyan and magenta.

Yellow and purple weren't used together often, though. Sandman (Simon & Kirby version) and the Tarantula being the major cases where they were used. But mechanically, there wasn't anything to stop it.

Based on people's reactions to the first Will Payton Starman costume, I'd guess the reasoning is more aesthetic.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Meteor Hammer! Legion of Liberty!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Really? I thought I'd heard that yellow and purple were more expensive to produce (or more difficult to do properly) back in the day, and that's why most of the heroes used blue, red or green. A similar thing led to the Hulk turning green, because the grey skin didn't look consistent.

Though I can't find anything like this online now- it might've been some random comment that turned out to be wrong, or I misread something. Now that I think about it, Marvel's Whizzer was yellow as hell, and Martin Goodman was the cheapest of the cheap.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Meteor Hammer! Legion of Liberty!)

Post by Ken »

Oh, doing grey consistently is a bitch using the four colour process. Basically, if the inker or colourist apply half-tones (zip-a-tone, and the like) then the grey could be done as a part of the blacks. But finding a combination of blue-green (cyan), red-violet (magenta), and yellow that looked grey? That's why Batman's uniform often looked like the grey parts were purple. Same with Hawkman's wings.

And if you see an old Superman comic where the blue parts look blue-green, it means National was being cheap and doing the "blue" in one layer.

Image
Basically the 100/50/25 indicates how thick a colour was used, R means magenta ink, B means cyan ink, Y means yellow ink. Note that "Red" is actually "100Y-100R" a mix of yellow and magenta ink.
Last edited by Ken on Tue Sep 17, 2019 5:39 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Jabverse: An O.C. Thread (Meteor Hammer! Legion of Liberty!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Man, printing color schemes always mess with me. I was taught the "Artist Way" (Red/Blue/Yellow Wheel), so seeing Cyan & Magenta in the Primary Colors screws with my head.
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Wingman

Post by Jabroniville »

Second row, first column in the above pic.

WINGMAN I (Eric Pilkerton)
Hgt:
6'0" Wgt: 190 lbs.
Role: Flying Hero
PL 6 (83)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 6 (+9)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Stuntman) 6 (+8)
Insight 1 (+3)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Move-By Action

Powers:
"Winged Harness" (Flaws: Removable) [5]
Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (5)
Protection 1 (1)
-- (6 points)

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

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

Complications:
Motivation (Thrills & Adventure)

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 7 (83)

Origin: Eric Pilkerton was a bored stuntman, tired of the same-old stunts done for the movies of the day. While coming home from performing a stunt for a jungle-adventure movie called Tonga!, he used the winged harness he had to wear for the key stunt of the film to beat up a few crooks who were holding up a jewelry store. Excited by the new thrills crimefighting offered, he quickly rushed to the props department of the studio to create a winged super-hero called Wingman, and used his wings to glide from building to building. Later, he gained an anti-gravity harness from a physics professor (even in the 1940s, it was pretty common knowledge that educated men often had fantastical devices just lying around), in order to be able to fly for real.

-Wingman was never a big hero in his day, only beating common crooks and a few short-lived villainous characters (mostly crooks-with-a-mask-types), and dating movie star actress Leena Laurer, dashing away for a quick adventure or two. He joined the Legion of Liberty for a short span, but was killed in 1945 during the Battle of Midway, fighting some of Japan's top-level superhumans. He was buried a national hero, but his legacy has been mostly forgotten. Modern times have brought on Wingman II, a successor (and also movie stunt man) Paul Derricks, who served with the Legion revival, but only as a later addition, mostly forgotten as one of the many fallen- he was killed by Lord Tiburon during a massive alien invasion.

-Wingman was a decent hand-to-hand fighter, and was in incredible physical condition from all of his stunts. An agile acrobat, he was able to use the newfound ability of flight to great effect. He could at first only glide from buildings, but his anti-gravity harness let him fly at speeds of up to 70 mph.

"Real-Life Comics": Wingman was not a successful character, basically being a Hawkman rip-off that engaged in some action-adventure storylines revolving around his romance with Leena (a Lana Turner-lookalike). His gaudy costume and silly name failed to make much of a mark, and even a Legion run for three issues failed to put the character over in any meaningful way. He debuted in 1943, but was cancelled that same year, and was basically forgotten till the crossovers years later, appearing in some old-team gatherings, and killed retroactively. The new version was attempt by writers at bringing some new versions of the forgotten characters to the limelight, but Wingman II failed to take off either, especially during the later run of the Legion revival, and he was one of the many characters 86'd during the Martian War storyline.

Jab's Notes: I think I was basing him off of an obscure guy- the yellow outfit I think was directly inspired by that. "Wingman" seemed to be the most generic title for a flying hero possible, and also sounded funny in modern eyes thanks to pick-up tactics in bars. So I made one of the Legion's Jobbers a generic flying hero in an eye-bursting outfit.
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Captain Guts

Post by Jabroniville »

Fourth row, last column in the above pic.

CAPTAIN GUTS (Carl McKenzie)
Hgt:
6'3" Wgt: 450 lbs.
Role: Joke Hero
PL 7 (64)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 7 (+7)
Expertise (Soldier) 2 (+2)
Insight 1 (+1)
Stealth 6 (+6)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 4, Withstand Damage (Trade Defenses For Toughness)

Powers:
"Invincible Stomach"
Immunity 2 (Overeating, Poison) [2]
Features 1: May Tread Inedible Objects as Edible [1]
Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 10) (Flaws: All Limited to Stomach) [6]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Reputation (Obese)- Carl is extremely fat, nicknamed "Guts" due to his prodigious mass. This kept him out of the army, and prevents many people from taking him seriously.
Obsession (Eating)- Carl's ability to consume food is legendary- most of the cooks and chefs in town fear his appetite, and scheme to keep him from food.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 9 / Defenses: 10 (64)

Origin: Carl McKenzie, a "Regular Joe" from Nebraska who generally engaged in small-town shenanigans based around his diet, readily applied for service during World War II, but was rejected due to his morbid obesity- weighing more than four-hundred pounds, the guy known as "Guts" was unfit and had zero stamina. Humiliated and depressed, he tried various ways to sneak into service- going into army camps and acting like he belonged their, trying to stow away on ships leading to the theatre of war, and more. A bit of a laughing stock among the regular army, Guts nonetheless managed to get in via a roundabout method- when Nazi saboteurs unearthed a magical artifact in Nebraska, and planned on sending it back to the Third Reich, Guts overheard their plans, snuck into the room, and hid it the only way he knew how- he swallowed it.

-Shockingly, this had the effect of rendering Carl's stomach invincible- the artifact was meant to be worn as a pendant, but trapped in Carl's stomach, was now largely unremovable without major surgery. Using his "Invincible Gut", Carl finally became the hero he'd always wanted to be- "Captain Guts"! With villains always shooting at his stomach, he was able to beat up goons all over Nebraska. He even joined the Legion of Liberty for a handful of missions- rarely the most competent of heroes, he nonetheless managed to avoid damage, draw enemy fire, and even be instrumental to victory on a few occasions!

-As Captain Guts, Carl was fairly short-lived as heroes went, but managed to survive the war, settling down with the thin, frail Miss Laird, who bore him several children. Guts and his wife retained their comparative youth into modern times, owing to the Fountain of Youth (his wife was close by, along with a few others of the heroes' wives, due to a startling coincidence). He has not appeared in a heroic context in years, but sometimes comes by Legion of Liberty headquarters to reminisce with his friends.

-Captain Guts was not terribly powerful, but was quite strong- able to easily overpower smaller men. His invincible stomach was nearly always being struck by bullets- enemies would almost never target above or below his waistline.
"Real-Life Comics": Captain Guts started life as a strip called Guts, The Regular Joe, a comedy bit featuring the rotund hero engaging in antics about his hometown. The obese Carl would usually find some way to outsmart someone and gain access to a meal. Eventually, with the outbreak of World War II, Carl would attempt to join the army, involving more light-hearted antics. When the Superhero Craze hit, he became "Captain Guts", owing to some more silly shenanigans. He briefly joined the Legion of Liberty, but soon he faded away and his strip was cancelled. He reappeared years later during the "Reunions", usually as a mere joke, though he'd occasionally save the day. Though he only had a few appearances witih the team in the Golden Age, he appeared much more often in flashbacks (similar to many of his teammates). Surviving the War, he never rejoined the team properly, and is seen as a bit of Golden Age silliness.

Jab's Notes: "Guts McKenzie" was one of the first names I came up with when I created the team- just a big, silly character inspired by the Red Tornado (who "joined" the team by showing up at a meeting and tearing her bloomers). That was really all there was to him, until I came up with the whole "Swallowed Artifact; Was a Comic Strip Character" thing, which fits the backstory of Red Tornado (Ma Hunkel was the mother of the main characters in a strip before she was at that JSA meeting). The idea now being that he was originally just a guy from the funnies, then tried to catch on a couple of trends before he faded away. I also changed the name, since it was pretty clearly inspired by Spud/Slurms McKenzie. "Captain Guts" is just silly enough to be believable for the Golden Age.

-And of course a guy with an invincible stomach would always come across people willing to shoot him there. I guess the "Center of Mass" is always the primary target, but it's generally a convention of the medium that the bad guys either miss completely, or hit the one guarded part of your body.
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