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

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Jabroniville
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The Thermal Man

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE THERMAL MAN
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Thor #168 (Sept. 1969)
Role: Ultimate Kill-O-Bot, Implacable Foe
Group Affiliations: China
PL 14 (156)
STRENGTH
16 STAMINA -- AGILITY -1
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -- AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE --

Skills:
None

Advantages: 
Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Supreme Kill-O-Bot"
Growth 7 (Str & Toughness +7, +7 Mass, +3 Intimidation, -3 Dodge/Parry, -7 Stealth) -- (25 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [15]
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
"Unstoppable" Protection 17 (Extras: Impervious 21) [38]
Thermal Blasts 22 (Extras: Penetrating 10) [54]
"Sensor Arrays" Senses 3 (Analytical Vision 2, Infravision) [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+16 Damage, DC 21)
Thermal Blasts +8 (+20 Ranged Damage, DC 30)
Initiative -1

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +24 (+11 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will --

Complications: 
Motivation (Destroying America)- All attempts at reprogramming the Thermal Man have failed- only mystical possession has controlled him.
Weakness (Atomic Pile)- The Thermal Man is powered by an "atomic pile"- extreme cold may render it inert.

Total: Abilities: 2 / Skills: 00--0 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 140 / Defenses: 9 (156)

-The Thermal Man was created by a well-meaning Professor Chen in order to be an industrial super-worker in his native China, but the Chinese military seized the prototype, immediately turning it into a weapon programmed to destroy America. Wanting to test America's capability at defeating such a creation, they sent it right to America. Odin dispatched Baldur and the Warriors Three against the Thermal Man, but it bested all of them. Naturally, Thor was next to arrive, finding a nearly-evacuated New York- however, even HE was defeated, even alongside his allies! The Chinese, afraid of an outright war with America over the Thermal Man's deployment, sent an implosion bomb to the Americans as a "peace offering" (and also just in case it turned on them), but even THAT merely stunned the thing! Thor was only able to become victorious when he sent a typhoon to snatch up the weapon, freezing it in the Arctic as its "atomic pile" cooled down.

-Years later, a Chinese neutron bomb test in the Arctic revived the Thermal Man. Professor Chen sacrificed himself to buy Thor some time, and Thor killed two birds with one stone by doing a "Remove From Battle" trick once more and send the creature to Jotunheim, where it started killing Frost Giants instead. However, Loki eventually took control of it, sending it against Asgard alongside an army of Frost Giants. Only HERE was Thor able to stop the thing, absorbing and redirecting its Thermal Blasts back into it, opening a tiny crack that he hammered open and tore out the atomic pile that powered it. Thor then threw the device in through the portal back to Jotunheim, incinerating thousands of Frost Giants.

-The Thermal Man was AGAIN revived once the Frost Giants cast it out of Asgard (in a '90s Thunderstrike story), and a greedy corporation found it and revived it. It went crazy, resulting in Code: Blue and Thor getting called out. Thunderstrike eventually stopped it using a "monomolecular adamantium wire" from Stark Industries, using the tiny wire to shred the creature to pieces. It was later revealed the CEO deliberately had the thing go crazy, so that he could pocket the insurance money.

-The thing that bothers me is... how was SOME RANDOM SCIENTIST able to create a thing that is almost literlaly invincible, and could take our the combined efforts of Thor, Balder and the Warriors Three? Like, even Doctor Doom or Reed Richards couldn't do this. The Thermal Man gives the impression that he'd have to be the creation of an ancient Galactic Empire, Galactus himself, or a high-end otherdimensional force. Him being some Earthborne robot makes it insane. But honestly... this whole thing is just a giant Plot Device- giving the hero an impossible threat to fight (one that counters Thor's biggest attribute- his raw power) and force him to use his wits to get the thing away from the field of battle.

-This thing is an absolute MONSTER in combat, with the early tellings basically making it unstoppable. It was only once Thor adopted Power Creep in the 1980s that he was able to even SCRATCH the damn thing, and even that tended to require Extra Effort, tons of tricks, and some luck. The final version lacked the "Atomic Pile" Complication, but seemed to be a bit lower-toughness overall, though Eric Masterson required a Special One-Off Weapon to stop it.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Apr 14, 2022 3:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Tyr

Post by L-Space »

Ares wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:12 pmTyr is one of those guys I felt got the shaft in Marvel's reimagining, much the way Pluto/Hades did. I actually like how the old Norse and Greek mythology got reinterpreted as generally more heroic and moral, with comic Thor being MUCH more likable and noble than his short tempered, violent, mythic self.

But I hate how Tyr was made a villain due to being a war god, when the main myth he's known for involves him honoring his word at great personal cost. Dude should.have been one of Thor's recurring allies, and instead he was more often used as a bad guy. Same deal with Hades, where being the God of the Dead often makes him a Devil analog, with people forgetting that he presided over the Greek version of Heaven AND Hell.
Which is weird because Tyr was also the God of justice and heroic glory. Hel, that's why he was chosen by Fenris, because Tyr would keep his word no matter what.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Code Blue! Dargo Ktor! Sif! Beta Ray Bill!)

Post by Jabroniville »

How many Norse Gods were the Gods OF stuff, anyhow? It seems a lot of them had names and personalities, but not domains in the same way Greek Gods had.
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Re: The Thermal Man

Post by Shock »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 6:47 pm

-The thing that bothers me is... how was SOME RANDOM SCIENTIST able to create a thing that is almost literlaly invincible, and could take our the combined efforts of Thor, Balder and the Warriors Three? Like, even Doctor Doom or Reed Richards couldn't do this. The Thermal Man gives the impression that he'd have to be the creation of an ancient Galactic Empire, Galactus himself, or a high-end otherdimensional force. Him being some Earthborne robot makes it insane. But honestly... this whole thing is just a giant Plot Device- giving the hero an impossible threat to fight (one that counters Thor's biggest attribute- his raw power) and force him to use his wits to get the thing away from the field of battle.
Science is a lot like magic in comics. It does whatever the writer needs it to do.
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Re: Beta-Ray Bill

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:02 am ImageImage

BETA-RAY BILL
Created By:
Walt Simonson
First Appearance: Thor #337 (Nov. 1983)
Role: Replacement Hero, Alien Warrior, Beauty & The Beast Character
Yeah, Bill is a great character, and I think in some ways gets just the right amount of push. Rather than an ongoing that likely wouldn't last, he gets a few mini-series here and there and shows up often enough to remind people he's awesome. He definitely works out as Thor's "Capt. Marvel Jr.", the guy of roughly equal power that is popular on his own and who teams up with the main hero frequently.

Bill was a pretty brilliant idea for the sheer amount of contrast he brought. The idea of him being a noble soul trapped in a monstrous body is brilliant enough on his own, but the sci-fi/mythology contrast of having a non-human alien be powered by the Norse gods was great as well. It actually avoided the issue of there being multiple "worthy" people on Earth (aside from Capt. America) by showing you needed to go off planet to find other worthy individuals. Really, the requirements for lifting Mjolnir should be as strict as being a Green Lantern, if not moreso.
McGuffin wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 2:50 pm
Yojimbo wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 1:00 pm
McGuffin wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:36 am It's a testament to how solidly written that original story was written to make Bill such a beloved character despite such little centerstage given to him over the years.
And to the plasticity of the superhero genre. Where else would a guy with a horse skull for a face become one of the most popular recurring characters in a book about Norse gods? Bill's also been popular enough to appear on his own in other books, fighting cosmic threats or palling around with Power Pack, etc., while the Warriors Three and the like are pretty much confined to just Thor books. Bill is even popular enough to show up in Marvel cartoons, and he swapped out for the Silver Surfer in that "Planet Hulk" movie.
I dunno, to me Bill was always every bit the noble warrioe and protector of his people that Odin tried to teach Thor to be in those eaerlier "learning humility" arcs. *shrug* I just like the character, not necessary for everyone else to feel the same.
I think Bill works on all of those levels. He's a likable character due to his heroism, nobility and humility, one that endures despite his relatively few appearances, and he showcases perfectly why comics are so awesome, where you can have a premise as ludicrous as "Horse Thor" not only work, but be awesome. To the point that a major failing of the Thor film franchise is taking so long to introduce the character.
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Re: Tyr

Post by Ares »

L-Space wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:00 pm
Ares wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 3:12 pmTyr is one of those guys I felt got the shaft in Marvel's reimagining, much the way Pluto/Hades did. I actually like how the old Norse and Greek mythology got reinterpreted as generally more heroic and moral, with comic Thor being MUCH more likable and noble than his short tempered, violent, mythic self.

But I hate how Tyr was made a villain due to being a war god, when the main myth he's known for involves him honoring his word at great personal cost. Dude should.have been one of Thor's recurring allies, and instead he was more often used as a bad guy. Same deal with Hades, where being the God of the Dead often makes him a Devil analog, with people forgetting that he presided over the Greek version of Heaven AND Hell.
Which is weird because Tyr was also the God of justice and heroic glory. Hel, that's why he was chosen by Fenris, because Tyr would keep his word no matter what.
I see what you did there. ;) And yeah, honestly if you were going to have any Asgardian be a superhero on Earth, Tyr would be the guy to do it.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Re: The Thermal Man

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 6:47 pm Image

THE THERMAL MAN
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Thor #168 (Sept. 1969)
Role: Ultimate Kill-O-Bot, Implacable Foe
-The thing that bothers me is... how was SOME RANDOM SCIENTIST able to create a thing that is almost literlaly invincible, and could take our the combined efforts of Thor, Balder and the Warriors Three? Like, even Doctor Doom or Reed Richards couldn't do this. The Thermal Man gives the impression that he'd have to be the creation of an ancient Galactic Empire, Galactus himself, or a high-end otherdimensional force. Him being some Earthborne robot makes it insane. But honestly... this whole thing is just a giant Plot Device- giving the hero an impossible threat to fight (one that counters Thor's biggest attribute- his raw power) and force him to use his wits to get the thing away from the field of battle.
I thought the EXACT SAME THING when I was reading stories involving this guy. The Thermal Man was like if someone had managed to make a Destroyer out of science. Ultron WEEPS at the thought of never being as bad ass as this guy was. Unbeknownst to everyone, the greatest roboticist of all time was some one-shot guy from China. Which, I mean, there's no reason the greatest scientist in Marvel couldn't be from China, India, Japan, Russia, Africa or what have you, but you think the guy would have been involved more than just "built the most dangerous robot ever, was killed". Though come to think of it, that's almost precisely how Mr. Atom and his creator's story went.

I mean, I get that science is as much a plot device as magic in comics, and but Thermal Man here should have had some unique, one of a kind rare power source and probably have been coated in Adamantium or some such.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Code Blue! Dargo Ktor! Sif! Beta Ray Bill!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:12 pm How many Norse Gods were the Gods OF stuff, anyhow? It seems a lot of them had names and personalities, but not domains in the same way Greek Gods had.
From what I recall:

Odin was a god wisdom, mysteries and magic, as well as warfare.
Thor was the god of war and thunder.
Baldur was a god of light and beauty.
Tyr was the god of war and justice.
Magni was the god of strength.
Loki was the god of trickery and mischief.

I could be wrong on several of these points tho, it's been a while since I cracked open my old Norse mythology books.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Code Blue! Dargo Ktor! Sif! Beta Ray Bill!)

Post by Davies »

Ares wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:45 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:12 pm How many Norse Gods were the Gods OF stuff, anyhow? It seems a lot of them had names and personalities, but not domains in the same way Greek Gods had.
From what I recall:

Odin was a god wisdom, mysteries and magic, as well as warfare.
Thor was the god of war and thunder.
Baldur was a god of light and beauty.
Tyr was the god of war and justice.
Magni was the god of strength.
Loki was the god of trickery and mischief.
Hodur is presented as a god of prophecy in Marvel's version of things, though this isn't one of his attributes in most of the myths I'm familiar with. Uller is a god of archery and skiing. Freyja is the goddess of love, beauty, magic, and a lot of other stuff. Njord is the god of the seas.
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Idunn

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image
Image

IDUNN
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Journey Into Myster #114 (March 1965)
Role: Giver Of Immortality
PL 7 (81)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Expertise (God) 8 (+11)
Expertise (Botany) 11 (+14)
Expertise (Magic) 6 (+9)
Perception 1 (+4)
Persuasion 4 (+7)

Advantages: 
Equipment (Weapons +2), Great Endurance, Ritualist, Ultimate Botanist

Powers:
Immunity 2 (Aging, Disease) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Weapons +5 (+8 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +6, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Asgard)

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 8 (81)

Idunn in Mythology: Idunn ("ever young") was very important to the Aesir- they were not naturally immortal and ageless, and so needed to eat the golden apples from her tree in order to maintain their youth. She has a husband named Bragi in some stories, but the main one is one in which Loki tricks her into being kidnapped, and the aging, greying Gods force him to return her, at which point they kill the kidnapper.


-Idunn was not a major character in the Thor comics until very recently. She is the daughter of Freya (Goddess of Fertility) and Iwaldi (a dwarf treasure-maker), and her Golden Apples, which only grow in Asgard, are what makes the Asgardians immortal. This means that the Asgardians are the only Gods in the Marvel Universe who are not NATURALLY ageless beings. One of her only appearances was when a Golden Apple was part of a Treasure Hunt by Amadeus Cho & Thor. In recent years, however, she, Freyja & Gaea now rule Asgard as the "All Mothers". Most of the stuff I find online features them treating "Kid Loki" like Calvin's mother treats him in Calvin & Hobbes- like exasperated, constantly-disapproving moms.

-Idunn is vaguely-powerful, and doesn't do any sort of fighting, so this build can't really be too in-depth. She's just a Baseline Asgardian with more Skills & Smarts. And probably some Magic.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Apr 14, 2022 3:19 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Dargo Ktor

Post by Bladewind »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:52 pm-Years later, he was tricked by Zarrko the Tomorrow Man, a time-traveling Thor villain, into fighting Eric "Thor" Masterson in the '90s, all in order to use their two Mjolnirs to power a time machine that could let him rule all time. Beta Ray Bill was alerted to the battle, and arrived with Stormbreaker and stopped the brawl. Saying they were all worthy "Hammer Brothers", they forged the world's manliest team-up.
That bolded part has to be my new favorite line on these boards.
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Dargo Ktor! Sif! Beta Ray Bill! Thermal Man!)

Post by greycrusader »

The Thermal Man and its' creator is a very good example of how Stan Lee NEVER thought Marvel Comics' stable of characters (let alone the "Marvel Universe") was going to last DECADES-he said as much in interviews himself. Basically he and the others though the super-hero genre wouldn't last much longer than the Golden Age did, 10-15 years at most, and then readers would move on again to new types of stories. So casually tossing a Chinese scientist-inventor who could create a giant robot able to take on Thor and the Asgardians and WIN was no big deal, especially given the much younger intended audience in that era. The whole idea of a "continuity" really didn't come till later, despite various heroes and villains teaming up or crossing-over.

But YES-this is absolutely INSANE in terms of what is now established in-universe, even by four-color conventions. This thing is just a couple steps below Ultimo, and at least that Kill-O-Bot was supposed to have been created by a long-extinct galactic civilization, as a Doomsday weapon intended to deter their ancient, equally advanced enemies. And even Ultimo wasn't NEARLY as powerful in the Silver and Bronze Ages, being more like a PL 13 type against the PL 11-12 Iron Man, though the android's ability to self-repair and adapt to attacks made it VERY hard to defeat.

But even more ludicrous was "CAP"-a "super-sentinel" which popped up in Mark Millar's brief FF run-it was utterly unbeatable and defeated ALL the Avengers and X-Men PLUS numerous solo-heroes; Reed only stopped it with a mecha designed to go up against Galactus (!!!), which was powered by the entire US electric grid. And it was built by a pair of ordinary human scientists.

Yeah, Millar's run was...less than good.

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Odin

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

ODIN
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #85 (Oct. 1962)
Role: Bad Dad, Divine Asshole, Stern Father-Figure, Skyfather
Group Affiliations: Asgard
PL 17 (449)
STRENGTH
16 STAMINA 17 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 6 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Deception 11 (+16)
Expertise (King of the Gods) 10 (+16)
Expertise (Magic) 12 (+18)
Insight 8 (+14)
Intimidation 10 (+15)
Perception 8 (+14)
Persuasion 7 (+12)
Ranged Attack (Magic) 2 (+13)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Animal Empathy, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 7 (Skyfather), Close Attack, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Magic) 4, Improved Hold, Improved Smash, Inspire, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages 3 (Nearly Any), Last Stand, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 9, Ritualist, Startle, Well-Informed, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"Immortal God"
Regeneration 2 (Feats: Regrow Limbs) [3]
Immunity 9 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Heat, Cold, Disease, Drowning & Suffocation, Poison, Pressure) [9]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Power-Lifting 6 (100,000 tons) [6]
Impervious Toughness 15 [15]
Flight 10 (2,000 mph) [20]
Morph 4 (Any Form) (Extras: Metamorph) (Noticeable- One Eye) [23]
Senses 6 (Detect Magic- Ranged, Acute, Analytical, Counters Illusion) [6]

"Skyfather Might"
"Skyfather Power" Variable 14 (98) -- [115]
  • Dynamic AE: "Godly Beam" Damage 17 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magic) (Extras: Area- 250ft. Line +4) (88)
  • Dynamic AE: "Explosive Blast" Blast 17 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (70)
  • Dynamic AE: "Skyfather Blast" Blast 21 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Magic, Extended Range 2, Indirect, Penetrating 14) (41)
  • Dynamic AE: Force Field 2 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others 12, Impervious 6) (21)
  • AE: Movement 3 (Dimensional Travel 3) (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (12)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (Feats: Increased Mass 5) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (46)
  • AE: Illusion (Vision & Hearing) 10 (30)
  • AE: Communication 5 (Mental) (Feats: Dimensional) (Extras: Area) (Flaws: Limited to Asgardians) (21)
  • AE: "Hypnosis" Mind Control 8 (32)
  • AE: "Stopping Time" Affliction 14 (Strength; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Tiring) (28)
  • AE: Move Object 14 (Extras: Perception Range) (42)
  • AE: "Molecular Transformation" Transform 10 (Anything to Anything) (50)
  • AE: Healing 10 (Extras: Resurrection) (30)
"Gungnir- The Spear of Heaven" (Flaws: Easily Removable) (Feats: Indestructible) [20]
"Spear Throw" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 8, Affects Insubstantial 2) (Extras: Ranged 18) (32) -- (33 points)
  • AE: "Spear Stab" Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Improved Critical 4, Penetrating 12, Reach, Affects Insubstantial 2) (23)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+16 Damage, DC 31)
Gungnir +12 (+20 Damage, DC 35)
Thrown Spear +13 (+18 Damage, DC 33)
Godly Attacks +17 Area (+17 Damage, DC 32)
Blast +13 (+21 Ranged Damage, DC 36)
Hypnosis -- (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Time Stop +14 Area (+14 Affliction, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +17 (+21 Force Field), Fortitude +17, Will +15

Complications:
Motivation (Protection of Asgard)
Motivation (Spying on Thor's Love Life)- Odin doesn't like it when Thor dallies with the mortals, if you know what I mean. He'd prefer it if his son would stick with Sif in the long-term.
Enemy (Surtur, Loki, Ymir, Karnilla, Malekith)- To the enemies of Asgard, Odin is the chief guy to take out.
Weakness (The Odinsleep)- Odin is prone to long, LONG naps in order to restore his power. His aging has taken it's toll on him.

Total: Abilities: 134 / Skills: 68--34 / Advantages: 45 / Powers: 219 / Defenses: 17 (449)

Odin in Mythology:
was the ultra-powerful King of the Gods, and the main character of the whole thing. Norsemen venerated him widely, viewing him as this clever old man with one eye (he'd given up the other for eternal wisdom), and the greatest general and warrior of all time. Nonetheless, he was fated to die in Ragnarok; swallowed by the Fenris Wolf. He had two brothers, Vili and Ve, but they disappeared. He is called Woden, Wotan and over 170 other names, and gives his name to "Woden's Day", and his "wanderer" guise (an old bearded man with a cloak and a pointed hat) gave rise to J.R.R. Tolkien's depiction of Gandalf the Grey.


Odin- King of the Gods:
-Odin is kind of a weird figure in the Thor books- despite being a mostly-benevolent King to his people, and a defender against MUCH worse threats, Odin is quite the prick. He slept around on Frigga to produce Thor with Gaea the Earth Mother (Frigga apparently... doesn't mind, I guess), frequently punishes Thor for "pride" and imagined slights, tries to break him up with mortal women, and usually doesn't even bother to help his son. No wonder Loki eventually betrayed him. He's still a bit better than Captain Crazypants Zeus, but not by much. I mean, he hates it when Thor spends too much time on Midgard, but HE BANGED THE GODDESS OF THE EARTH SO THOR WOULD BE EXTRA-POWERFUL.

-That said... Odin was pretty cool in Walt Simonson's Thor run. I really liked the part where he helped some children abandon Asgard (before the coming of Surtur)- the children were overheard plotting to be rebellious and stay behind & fight the Demon-God. Wise Odin then came up to them, suggesting that oh SURE, he'd LOVE to have them backing him up... but he needed them for an important mission. See, he feared for the safety of his wife, Frigga. But as Odin needed to defend Asgard himself, he feared his wife would refuse to abandon him. So he NEEDED the kids to leave Asgard, so that poor naiive Frigga would feel the need to protect them, when really Odin needed THEM to protect HER. The kids were like "WOW a great mission! And he loves his wife, and we need to protect her!" and gladly ran off, leaving Asgard. And then Odin got the bad-ass moment of standing down Surtur with his two sons at his side.

Odin the Dick:
-There are assorted common storylines in Thor books involving Odin- he punishes Thor like a douchebag, calling him back or rewarding him only when he saves the day (productive but manipulative). He dies (it's happened three times so far- fighting Mangog, fighting the Celestials while inside the Destroyer armor, and while fighting Surtur), and at one point was supposed to end the cycle of Ragnarok- which was at least two Ragnaroks ago. Like I said before, comics does this A LOT). He fights some uber-menace all by himself once all else fails. That sort of thing. However, Odin reappears in modern times, and REALLY ramps up the dickishness during Fear Itself- plotting to destroy all of Earth in order to stop The Serpent: The God of Fear (note: not from Norse Mythology)- he has to be convinced to allow the heroes of Earth to make some great weapons to save the day. Later, he tries to depose the new female Thor, but is stopped by "Odinson" and Freyja's army of super-heroines.

-Also, I find it really goofy how they keep naming all his stuff the "Odin_____". He can't just hibernate- he's gotta go down for the "Odinsleep". He can't use Cosmic Force- it's gotta be the "Odinforce". Like, seriously. Does he use the Odinspear? Does he brush the Odinbeard. Has Frigga ever walked in on him while he was having the Odinfap?

Odin's Might:
-Odin is equal in power to Zeus of the Olympians, despite having more physical drawbacks- he requires the Odinsleep, can noticeably become tired, and like all Asgardians, he ISN'T actually Immortal- just love-lived. His "Odinpower" can manifest itself in some CRAZY ways, including one-shot events like stopping time, teleporting the ENTIRE HUMAN RACE somewhere else (effectively a massive Area Affects Others Teleport to an astonishing degree), turning an entire race into one being, controlling the lifeforce of all of Asgard to place them into The Destroyer, and more. To these ends, I gave him the highest Variable Power of any God, Skyfather or otherwise. His power is such that he can hold his own against Dormammu for a length of time, probably take on Mephisto, and even take on Galactus mano-a-mano for a while. He once knocked around The Silver Surfer and Thanos simultaneously, which is NOT easy. He's also taken out Annihilus, one-hit-killed Hela, and more.

-Heck, PL 17 almost seems like it's not covering it, even though it makes sense given most of Odin's accomplishments. A fight between him and Seth apparently once shook the foundations of the Multiverse and shattered "Countless galaxies", which I chalk up to a writer being up his own butt with Power-Geeking at it's highest levels, going "ohhhhhHHHHHHHHHHH SO POWERFUL!!!", because really, how could Odin EVER be in danger if he was really that powerful? I prefer to think of him using lots of Variable (technically he doesn't need a lot of Alt-Effects with that much of it, but they cover a wider breadth than Variable typically allows, and it's not like I was aiming to scrimp on points here), and tons of Ritualist, along with the occasional temporary boosts in power. Zeus may be among the most powerful beings in the world, but my money would be on the more versatile, and nastier Odin.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Apr 14, 2022 3:20 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Davies
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Re: Odin

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Oct 07, 2017 4:18 am
-Odin is kind of a weird figure in the Thor books- despite being a mostly-benevolent King to his people, and a defender against MUCH worse threats, Odin is quite the prick. He slept around on Frigga to produce Thor with Gaea the Earth Mother (Frigga apparently... doesn't mind, I guess), frequently punishes Thor for "pride" and imagined slights, tries to break him up with mortal women, and usually doesn't even bother to help his son. No wonder Loki eventually betrayed him. He's still a bit better than Captain Crazypants Zeus, but not by much. I mean, he hates it when Thor spends too much time on Midgard, but HE BANGED THE GODDESS OF THE EARTH SO THOR WOULD BE PART OF BOTH WORLDS.
I actually think that was an unintended consequence, he just wanted his son to be extraordinarily powerful. <research> Yeah, here's Gaia telling it herself.

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As for Odin's modern dickishness ... well, that comes down to the same problem that pretty much every authority has in the comics, that modern writers really have a problem portraying authority as benevolent, and frequently define heroism as existing in perpetual opposition to authority.
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greycrusader
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Dargo! Sif! Beta Ray Bill! Thermal Man! Odin!)

Post by greycrusader »

Ah, I don't think it can be attributed it to that at all...I mean, you can go back and read reprints/collections of old Thor comics from the 1970s and 80s and Odin was already acting like a capricious, haughty jerk a LOT of the time-while Thor comes off MUCH better than his mythological inspiration, the All-Father is worse in many respects, though his comic book portrayal is at least less about the berserking and slaughter, along with being a bit LESS promiscuous.

(Though at least the Norse pantheon were downright prudish compared to the Greeks).

I think the two biggest examples of utter character-assassinations I can think of went down at DC: the 1990s decision by Morrison to turn the Chief of the Doom Patrol into a sociopathic megalomaniac and the recent subversion of the Guardians of the Universe as amoral, ruthless, and monstrous.
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