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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
User avatar
Arkrite
Posts: 3828
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 9:16 pm
Location: Canada

Re: Hercules

Post by Arkrite »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:14 pm -Best moment of the run? Probably Hercules (disguised as Thor through some complicated mistakes) fighting Thor (disguised as Hercules), and deliberately throwing the fight (so that the Evil Dark Elves would lose the war against Asgard), proclaiming aloud that "I do, before all those who have assembled here... Let It Be Proclaimed... that MIGHTY THOR has finally, definitively, and COMPLETELY been defeated... by HERCULES, the Lion of Olympus! CONGRATULATIONS, Son of Zeus! Though, truth be told, I have ALWAYS known your brawn and fighting skills SURPASSED my own." How do you not love this guy?
Made even funnier because the leader of the Dark Elves, a beautiful woman, seems to have discovered the ruse by the end but doesn't care as she'd like another roll in the hay with "Thor" more than victory against Asgard ;~)
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Clor

Post by Ares »

Arkrite wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:06 am
Ares wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:44 pm I also wish there had been people willing to refute the Pro-Accords side a bit, but I realize that doing so would have made the Pro-Side look even weaker. People keep calling T'Challa's father a good man, but he goes along with his role of playing the victim, blaming Wanda for the deaths of his people, calling her a dangerous weapon, when someone easily could had pointed out that her actions saved many more lives than those who died. That if she'd done nothing, many more people would have died in the market, but then they wouldn't have been Wakandans, so it wouldn't have been his problem, right?

Likewise, when Ross is showing clips of Avengers 1, Capt. America 2 and Avengers 2, no one points out that the destruction that alternative to the destruction that occurred was THE END OF THE WORLD. The casualties that occurred were the minimum casualties the situation allowed for, and the heroes made a concentrated effort to save as many people as possible.
Yeah, it seems bizzare that the Avengers just sit there and nod while they're told their the badguys...
You'd expect them to stand up for themselves, or at least point out that they prevented the government from nuking their own people.

But I kind of felt like everybody kind of got made a little dumber for that movie so things would work according to the script.
In that instance I feel the heroes are genuinely feeling guilty over the innocent people that died during the robbery attempt, and they do genuinely feel bad about the people they weren't able to save. Plus, guys like Cap tend to not really bother defending themselves when these kinds of accusations are made, feeling that their actions will ultimately vindicate them. Steve only speaks up when its clear how badly Wanda's being affected by the film footage.

It probably also doesn't help that Cap, Tony and Natasha are the only original heroes present. Rhodey, Vision, Wanda and Sam have all had relatively little experience and are deferring to the more experienced heroes, at least while Ross is in the room. Rhodey and Sam are both soldiers who respect the chain of command, Vision's nature is to observe, and Wanda is still somewhat shook up. Tony is on Ross' side, Steve is dealing with a lot, and Nat doesn't like to draw attention to herself. Plus they don't want to argue too much when they're mainly using Ross' visit to gain info on what's going to happen. After Ross leaves, the debate begins in earnest, only by then, they know they don't have to defend themselves to each other, just decide on whether to sign or not.

And Steve starts reading it because he wants to understand it. It shows he was willing to consider it, or at least see what it involved, before he said "no". He didn't simply reject it out of hand.
"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."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Hercules

Post by Ares »

Arkrite wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 2:13 am
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:14 pm -Best moment of the run? Probably Hercules (disguised as Thor through some complicated mistakes) fighting Thor (disguised as Hercules), and deliberately throwing the fight (so that the Evil Dark Elves would lose the war against Asgard), proclaiming aloud that "I do, before all those who have assembled here... Let It Be Proclaimed... that MIGHTY THOR has finally, definitively, and COMPLETELY been defeated... by HERCULES, the Lion of Olympus! CONGRATULATIONS, Son of Zeus! Though, truth be told, I have ALWAYS known your brawn and fighting skills SURPASSED my own." How do you not love this guy?
Made even funnier because the leader of the Dark Elves, a beautiful woman, seems to have discovered the ruse by the end but doesn't care as she'd like another roll in the hay with "Thor" more than victory against Asgard ;~)
She even mentions how skilled Herc was at the "Elven Tickler". :oops:
"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."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Hercules

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 20, 2017 11:14 pm Image

HERCULES (aka Herakles)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Journey into Mystery Annual #1 (1965)
Role: Thor Rip-Off, Breakout Character (2000s), Boisterous Bruiser, The Dunderhead, The Man-Whore
Godly Role: Greco-Roman God of Strength, Sports, Athletes & Heroes; Gatekeeper of the Gods and Divine Protector of Mankind
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, The Olympian Pantheon, The Champions, The God Squad, The Heroes For Hire
I've got to say, I always liked Hercules as a character. Like Jab I was a huge fan of Greek mythology, to the point that I'd check out the Greek Myths book at my school library almost weekly until I had memorized a good chunk of them. So seeing Hercules in the Marvel Universe was a pretty big treat, though even as a kid I felt Herc never really got the respect he deserved. For all intent purposes, he was the original superhero. Sure, Gilgamesh is older, but from what I remember, the mythical Gilgamesh was pretty much an ass. Herc definitely had his moments (he's got more than a little innocent blood on his hands), but for the most part he was actually going around doing heroic things, saving people, fighting monsters, performing great deeds, etc.

Then again, Marvel Herc got off light compared to DC Herc, who is often an antagonist for Wonder Woman.

One of my first Hercules stories was an Avengers issue where Herc, Capt. America, Starfox and the Scarlet Witch wind up fighting the Blood Brothers. The duo launch a surprise attack on Herc, double up on him and stun him briefly, while the other Avengers do their best to survive the pair. Then Herc recovers, grabs one Blood Brother by the foot, makes a Thor-esque Epic Marvel God Speech and then slams one brother face first into the other one, knocking them both out at once.

It's only after that pretty awesome moment that Cap points out to Herc that . . . well, when he got smashed by the two bruisers through a wall, his skirt and underwear had gotten shredded. Yup, his junior demi-god was just hanging in the breeze, and Wanda turned about as red as her costume. Herc quickly covered up, and Wanda wound up loaning him her cape that he could use as a kilt.

Pretty much a perfect Herc moment: some bad ass action combined with a little humor.

It is a shame later writers never managed to capture the fun of Incredible Hercules, though I did feel they were a bit hard on critizing the pseudo-Shakespearian lingo Herc had used previously. But we had a lot of fun moments from the series.

The new Herc book they tried where he's acting as kind of a monster hunter was an interesting idea, since that was what he'd been famous for. It actually would have been a nice thing to touch on with Herc in the comics, that when some giant monster shows its face, Herc knows exactly how to defeat it because he's fought it or something like it before.

Though I would probably have Herc avoid using weapons like a sword, mace or the like, and be more like some kind of mythological Batman, having some pouches full of things to use when pure strength won't kill what he's facing. Because lets face it, you don't want to see Herc stabbing something with a sword, you want to see him punch the thing into unconsciousness.

And the build is pretty solid, close to how I envision Herc should be. To me, Herc should be someone with the raw strength and toughness to brawl with guys like the Hulk or Superman . . . but the hand-to-hand skill to make them regret doing so. They'd have to rely on their powers that Herc doesn't share to have a shot at beating him. A fight between Herc and Wonder Woman should actually make for an entertaining fight. Comparative skill (Diana maybe being a tad better), Herc's got the strength/toughness edge, Diana has the speed/agility edge, and the fight would be dynamic as Hell.
"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."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Bor! Angela! Sera! Ragnarok! Gorr! Cul! Hercules!)

Post by Jabroniville »

"The Incredible Hercules" read-through:
Here's a bit of a running commentary on all the "Incredible Hercules" stuff (since people liked that when I watched "JLU", and they're build-centric).

-We start with Herc & Cho in SHIELD custody, dealing with Ares (who's an Avenger) being an ass. World War Hulk has just happened, and they took The Hulk's side in some Trade I never read. There's some funny bits once all the fighting starts, as Ares keeps using excessive force trying to kill Herc, and he gets his ass kicked as a result. Cho acts like a general Mary Sue, nearly wiping out SHIELD (in revenge for Black Widow breaking his Coyote puppy's back), but he's convinced not to by Herc, who explains an old story about how he murdered his wife & children of his own accord during a battle rage, not because of Hera's machinations.

-Power Levels established: Wonder Man goes down like a puss again, but Ares got the jump on him. Ares is generally lower than Herc, too. This trade's a little weaker than the other, partially due to uglier art. Not as many hot chicks as you'd expect from a "Herc" book. It's still pretty funny, though.

"The God Squad"
-It's Herc & Cho as Athena's Champions, up against the Skrull Gods. The gang they assemble is pretty fun (Amatsu-Mikaboshi the Shapeshifting God of Evil, Ajak the Eternal, The Demogorge fated to eat all the Gods, Snowbird of Alpha Flight), though Ajak & Demogorge are rather boring. They fight Nightmare, then go off to kick God ass. I'm REALLY not a fan of Snowbird just going "oh yeah by the way I can turn into a GIANT world-killing Great Beast as part of my powers", especially since she got right out of it, no worse for wear. The God Fight was good enough, though it's kind of weird how a single pair of Skrull Gods just happened to be good enough to wipe out the Earth Gods until the very end- the God Squad is losing BADLY (despite Herc & Klyb'n being evenly-matched) and Demogorge is beaten easily thanks to Sl'gurt being made up of many slave gods.

-Altogether it was still really well done, though. Some funny moments ("how can you be 3,000 years old and know nothing about women?" "PRACTICE!"), cool fighting, etc. It keeps the best "Epic Feel" the series has ever gotten, too.

-The next trade is a big step up, featuring Herc & Cho teaming up with Namora (this was during that year when Marvel was pushing "The Agents of Atlas" like NUTS, shoving them into every other book to sell their big idea... it never worked out), then Namor, to fight Artume and her Amazons. The whole thing is an elaborate parody of Wonder Woman (Artume is made from clay to bring forward peace & truth), but twisted so that Artume is evil and murders Hippolyta.

-The art on this arc is FANTASTIC, thanks to Clayton Henry. It's most notable for Delphyne "Good GOD!" Gorgon, proving that Medusa chicks can always be made hot, as she taunts Cho (in the hilarious "I AM NOT HIS EROMONOUS!" scene, where the Amazons all assume he's Herc's butt-buddy), then casually decides she's attracted to him and they make out.

-Power levels are hard to determine here. Except for ONE SCENE where Artume claims their "Olympian Physiologies" prevent the depths from killing them, there isn't a shred of evidence that any Amazon is super-human in any way. Hell, most of them go down to simple weapons (Delphyne to a crossbow bolt, Hippolyta- supposedly a Class 100 being according to Marvel Handbooks- to a GUN), and none of them can even scratch Hercules with their weapons. Later on, Delphyne would draw blood from ATHENA with a sneaking kick, but in another scene, she's grappling with Bullseye and he's not about to rip his head off or anything.

-I'm noticing some favoured Pak/Van Lente dialogue- someone making a joke and another character going "Ha." with a smile. Various characters go "Tch." when someone is sarcastic to them. It's a little quirk- not quite up to Claremont's multitude of catchphrases or nothing, though.

-The whole "Fantasy Reality" thing is a bit interesting, but kinda standard "What If" stuff where women rule the world and most heroes are loyal to President Artume- Delphyne chops Artume's head off, and we're done with our One Arc Villain. A great moment at the end, featuring Herc & Cho moping about women while Athena lectures them on the perils of "Eros" and why they should be all virginal like her. The guys just have a nice "bro" moment ("Pizza?" "Sure.") while Athena just sighs and rolls her eyes.
User avatar
Ares
Site Admin
Posts: 4963
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:40 am

Re: Jab's Builds! (Bor! Angela! Sera! Ragnarok! Gorr! Cul! Hercules!)

Post by Ares »

Image


Image
"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."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

Want to support me and Echoes of the Multiverse? Follow this link to subscribe or donate.
User avatar
Arkrite
Posts: 3828
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 9:16 pm
Location: Canada

Re: Jab's Builds! (Bor! Angela! Sera! Ragnarok! Gorr! Cul! Hercules!)

Post by Arkrite »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 4:16 am Cho acts like a general Mary Sue, nearly wiping out SHIELD (in revenge for Black Widow breaking his Coyote puppy's back), but he's convinced not to by Herc, who explains an old story about how he murdered his wife & children of his own accord during a battle rage, not because of Hera's machinations.
Part that really irked me is that after Cho agrees and releases control back to SHIELD? SHIELD then proceeds to blow up the area they thought Cho was in and cheer happily when they think he's dead.

...

They attempt to murder a teenager and are excited and happy about their apparent success.

...

Are these the Hydra SHIELD agents? Because otherwise I'm kind of on Mary Cho's side.
I mean, Cho Sue's side.
I mean, oh for crying out loud: screw SHIELD! :~P
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Bor! Angela! Sera! Ragnarok! Gorr! Cul! Hercules!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Haha, yeah, those are Ares's best bits in that. I also love Herc's flashback to the Champions, as the mohawked older version of Ares brags about his skills, then shouts "HOT DAMN, I'M EVIL!"
Part that really irked me is that after Cho agrees and releases control back to SHIELD? SHIELD then proceeds to blow up the area they thought Cho was in and cheer happily when they think he's dead.
At least Gabe Jones had the decency to feel badly about it. Though Cho WAS about to nuke SHIELD, and they didn't realize he'd given control back.

Black Widow saving Herc from the Hydra's venom, then talking about how she was staggered to be leading "@#$*ing HERCULES" into battle when they were on the Champions, was pretty good, too. Him being nude and asking "am I still awe-inspiring?" was even better.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Bor! Angela! Sera! Ragnarok! Gorr! Cul! Hercules!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Updated the Master Power Level List to include the new Thor/Asgard characters: viewtopic.php?p=52#p52

What's funny about that list is that I never actually CHECK IT, really- I just sort of keep filling names because I like making lists, I swear :).

I've also been working on a bit of Mega Man X builds over the past few days, doing a couple a day as I check YouTube videos of level playthroughs & Boss-Fights. So after a month or so, I should be done most of that series (not sure if I'm gonna do the Zero side-series).
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Hebe

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

D'AAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, look at those big eyes!

HEBE (aka Juventas)
Created By:
Allyn Brodsky & Frank Springer
First Appearance: Ka-Zar #1 (Aug. 1970)
Role: Greco-Roman Goddess of Youth, The Cupbearer of the Gods, Handmaiden of Hera
Group Affiliations: The Olympian Pantheon
PL 7 (131)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 9 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Expertise (Goddess of Youth & Cupbearer/Handmaiden) 8 (+10)
Treatment 6 (+7)

Advantages:
Attractive

Powers:
"Immortal God"
Immunity 5 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Heat, Cold, Disease) [5]
Immunity 4 (Drowning & Suffocation, Poison, Pressure) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [2]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Goddess of Youth"
Regeneration 10 (Feats: Regrowth, Diehard) [12]
Healing 8 (Feats: Stabilize) (Extras: Energizing, Restorative) [32]

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +9, Fortitude +10, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (The Olympian Pantheon)- Hebe is loyal to Zeus & Hera, and is especially under the lordship of her wicked mother, who often controls and belittles her- blaming Hebe for Hercules' infidelities (because Hera is TOTALLY one to talk).
Responsibility (Youth)- Hebe is quite immature, and despite being thousands of years old, still acts like a kid in many ways, cries at the drop of a hat, and collects Beanie Babies. This is part of what Hercules didn't like about her, and why he left.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 55 / Defenses: 8 (131)

Hebe in Mythology: Hebe is a little-seen Goddess in Mythology, being one of those sort-of "Entourage" Gods that hangs around Olympian Parties and helps out the others- your Muses, your Graces, etc. Hebe (Youth), one of the relatively-few children of both Zeus AND Hera, was married to Hercules upon his ascendance to Olympus, but she didn't really partake in many myths- only serving to serve ambrosia at parties, and to birth the two sons of Heracles. Hebe is funny in that HERCULES is a ridiculously-famous character in mythology (arguably the most famous Greek God of all time), yet so few know about Hebe that she tends to completely vanish in any Herc-based fiction. She doesn't show up in Disney, the "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" show, etc., and she only has a tiny influence on Marvel's Olympians.

-I would assume that the Marvel writers were nervous about Hercules' Zeussian reputation as a lady-killer, and didn't want to make him look like a HUGE rake for cheating on a poor Goddess of Youth. And so Marvel's Herc went whoring around the Marvel Universe while poor Hebe suffered in Olympus, mostly unseen and usually COMPLETELY ignored, as if she never existed (she does not appear when Hercules is rendered comatose in Avengers and the Olympians take revenge on Earth's Mightiest Heroes, for example). It took Pak & Van Lente to bring her back, as Hera's bedraggled assistant. She was booted out of The Olympus Group's skyscraper, then she hooked back up with Hercules (who admitted to his indiscretions, but said it was because he couldn't stand Olympus, and preferred the mortal world).

-Hilariously, she almost hooked up with PETER PARKER, but an angry Hercules and a tearful reunion ended up putting the kibosh on that one (leading to a great scene that mimicked the famous "trapped beneath the subway system" Lee/Ditko moment... but with Spidey trapped beneath cars and unable to break out, while Hercules made out with Hebe right in front of him).

-The two are together during the latter bit of the Incredible Hercules run, but that quickly ends, and soon he's back on Earth, whoring around like usual, and Hebe doesn't appear in the Post-Secret Wars stuff, either. She kind of occupies this strange place, for the above reasons- writers seem to just not want to deal with the fact that Hercules, a heroic character, is flagrantly cheating on his wife.

-Hercules Artist Rodney Buchemi did a really good job with her, too- it'd be REALLY easy to make the Goddess of Youth look like a young girl (which is "ew" to North Americans in the 2000s, but not so much to the Greeks of B.C.), so he went the more "young adult" look, making her short, but still woman-shaped, and gave her the big ol' eyes that imply youth to most people.

-Hebe actually showcases high-powered Regeneration, even by Olympian standards, raising from super-fatal injuries in moments- it's only LATER that it's really explained that the "Goddess of YOUTH" is more quickly able to return to her basic form. She also is shown touching Wolverine and making him glow a bit, so I assume she has some Healing powers as well. She's a REALLY poor fighter, but maintains the Olympian strength that makes all of the Gods quite powerful.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5082
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

Re: Hercules

Post by Davies »

Ares wrote: Sat Oct 21, 2017 3:24 am

Then again, Marvel Herc got off light compared to DC Herc, who is often an antagonist for Wonder Woman.
If you haven't, you should really seek out Walt Simonson's Hercules series from the seventies.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Artume

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage
Image

ARTUME
Created By:
Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz
First Appearance: Thor #391 (May 1988)
Role: Wonder Woman Parody
Group Affiliations: The Amazons
PL 9 (138)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (History) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Amazon Warrior) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Olympian Lore & Magic) 4 (+6)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+8)
Vehicles 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, All-Out Attack, Benefit (Ambidexterity), Chokehold, Defensive Roll, Equipment 5, Improved Critical 2 (Rifle, Sword), Improved Smash, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 6, Taunt

Equipment:
"Big-Ass Rifle- Automatic Setting" Blast 7 (Extras: Multiattack) (Inaccurate -1) (20) -- (23)
  • AE: "Single Shot" Blast 6 (12)
  • AE: "Sword" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (4)
  • AE: "Grenade Launcher" Blast 6 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (18)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sword +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Rifle +11 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Automatic +9 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Grenade Launcher +6 Area (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +4 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Hatred (Men)- Artume wants to kill all men.
Relationship (Hippolyta)- Artume isn't exactly full of love for mommy dearest, though. She is disgusted by Hippolyta's mooning over Hercules, feeling it unworthy of the Amazons.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 23 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 14 (138)

Artume in Mythology: Artume is the name of an Etruscan Moon Goddess (the name is an obvious link to the Greek Artemis) who was eventually forgotten. Marvel effectively created an all-new character instead, just using the name.

-Marvel can kind of be mean to DC sometimes. Like when they mocked the whole Wonder Woman/Amazons Attack concept by using their OWN version of Hippolyta's Amazons, a butch lesbian group of psychopathic man-haters, led by a stone-borne daughter who wants to destroy man's world. It helps that at the time, Amazons Attack was considered one of the worst big stories ever written, and there was some growing dissatisfaction amongst comic book fans about how much hype Wonder Woman constantly got, despite her book almost never selling particularly well. Plus, this was just one single arc, and was more of a good-natured jab (complete with a retcon that was all "No, Hippolyta LOVED Hercules, and was heartbroken when the mean Amazons drove him away!" that undoes the victimhood of her in the myth and DC's version).

-Artume was only in one arc of The Incredible Hercules, being an incredibly unlikeable woman who betrays and murders her own Queen (Hippolyta), then takes over the world with a Magic MacGuffin (The Omphalos), re-writing it so that women rule everything with males as an underclass. But she gets her head chopped off by the henchman she tried to murder (Delphyne Gorgon), who then becomes the new Queen. Artume's body returns to stone.

-A fairly potent PL 9, Artume's got a TON of Amazons at her beck and call, some of which are quite powerful with Grenade Launcers & Automatic Weapons. She's handy in a fight herself, and quite skilled. Not really a physical match for Hercules obviously- she's more on Amadeus' level (and she beat him up pretty bad).

AMAZONS
Role:
Mooks
Group Affiliations: The Amazons
PL 6 (68)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 3 (+6)
Expertise (Amazon Warrior) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3

Equipment:
"Rifle- Automatic Setting" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (Inaccurate -1) (17) -- (20)
  • AE: "Single Shot" Blast 5 (10)
  • AE: "Sword" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (4)
  • AE: "Grenade Launcher" Blast 6 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (18)
Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sword +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Rifle +6 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Automatic +4 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3 (+4 D.Roll), Fortitude +3, Will +1

Complications:
Hatred (Men)

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 4 (68)

-The Amazons are elite, gun-toting soldiers in Artume's employ.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Hippolyta

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

HIPPOLYTA (aka Warrior Woman)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Thor #127 (April 1966)
Role: F.U. To DC Comics, Flying Brick
Group Affiliations: The Amazons, The Fearless Defenders/Valkyrior
PL 10 (153)
STRENGTH
11 STAMINA 11 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+12)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Military) 8 (+10)
Expertise (History) 5 (+7)
Expertise (Amazonian Queen) 8 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+6)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
"Immortal God"
Immunity 5 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Heat, Cold, Disease) [5]
Immunity 4 (Drowning & Suffocation, Poison, Pressure) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [2]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Flying Brick" Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +11, Fortitude +11, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Ares- Father)- Hippolyta is the daughter of the God of War, and thus admires the concept of battle.
Responsibility (The Amazons)- As Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta has a serious responsibility.
Relationship (Hercules)- She fell in love with Hercules centuries ago, but he rejected a serious relationship in order to man-whore his way across the universe. Hippolyta still sadly carries the torch for him, often attempting to rope him into marriage.

Total: Abilities: 94 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 23 / Defenses: 10 (153)

Hippolyta in Mythology:
Hippolyta is the daughter of Ares, and the Queen of the Amazons, wearing a magical girdle. Heracles's Seventh Labour is to get this girdle for the daughter of King Eurystheus- in most versions of the story, Hippolyta is so charmed by the hero that she gives it up, but Hera interferes and spreads a rumor among the Amazons that Heracles is abducting the Queen, and so they assault him on his ship. In the melee, he kills Hippolyta and steals the girdle. However, in another tale, she is given to Theseus as a bride, and she leaves the Amazons, setting off the Attic War, where the Athenians defeat the Amazons. Another version of THAT one has Theseus "trading up" for Phaedra, leading to Hippolyta leading the Amazons to war in revenge- she is killed by Theseus or by another Amazon (by accident). So many writers disagree on the exact name of the woman in this myth that it could be almost anyone- the story seems popular, but the names are unclear.


-Hippolyta showed up way back in the day as a potential-paramour of Hercules, once tricking him into being Pluto's slave, but often trying to get him to marry her- a common occurence for handsome "Male Ideal" superhero characters of the Golden & Silver Ages. Since the readers were typically young males, the idea of hot chicks going after them was all "EW, GROSS!" and so the characters always resisted these advances (a similar fate befell He-Man and other '80s Cartoon Heroes), and only went for the more shy, weepy female heroines that filled these stories. The lesson: aggressive women were to be rejected, while chastity was rad. This continued even into The Champions, a failed '70s team book, though she formed a group out of female runaways called "The Bacchae" that opposed the X-Men and Fantastic Four, and the character mostly vanished until the modern era.

-Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente used the character for their Herc/Cho Bromance stories, retelling the legend of The Seduction of Hippolyta so that Herc looked more sympathetic (but still humourous, as he got chased off while in the buff)- a direct contrast to DC, who portrayed Herc as a violent rapist. In fact, this WHOLE STORY was effectively a riff on DC Comics, using a clay-borne daughter of Hippolyta as a vicious, man-hating monster, with Herc coming off as more of a hero. In this, Hippolyta & Herc were estranged lovers (since the Amazons would freak out seeing their Queen hook up with ANY dude), and she was slain by her traitorous daughter Artume (an obvious parody/homage of Wonder Woman, as she was also Hippolyta's daughter, given life from stone).

-The Fearless Defenders inexplicably resurrected her, throwing her in as one of their random-ass Supporting Characters, having her returned to life by The Death Gods to join Valkyrie's lady-quest against Caroline Le Fay's plots. She was given Flying Brick powers for some strange reason (well... the "strange reason" is to basically make another Wonder Woman for Marvel), and basically turned into the Aggressive Bruiser of the team. I found her a bit lacking in characterization really, though her dreadlocked, tattooed new form is quite unique and cool for comics.

-Here's a true rarity, though- a PL 10 (150-ish) Flying Brick! Both in my thread, and in Marvel Comics, which typically uses the power-set like they're trying too hard to pitch a Superman story. She comes across as a low-tier Flying Brick in Fearless Defenders, as punching through stone is some kind of big feat, and she never actually BEATS ANYONE WHO'S ANY GOOD, meaning it's really hard to get an actual handle on just what she's capable of.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Kyknos

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

KYKNOS
Created By:
Kieron Gillen & Manuel Garcia
First Appearance: Dark Avengers: Ares #3 (Feb. 2010)
Role: Evil Second-In-Command
Group Affiliations: The Olympian Pantheon
PL 10 (123)
STRENGTH
9 STAMINA 9 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (God) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 10 (+10)
Perception 4 (+5)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Diehard, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Axe), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Startle

Powers:
"Immortal God"
Regeneration 2 (Feats: Regrowth) [3]
Immunity 5 (Aging, Starvation & Thirst, Heat, Cold, Disease) [5]
Immunity 2 (Drowning & Suffocation, Poison, Pressure) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]

"Magical Weapons" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [6]
Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical 2, Penetrating 6) (10 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Axe +8 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +10, Fortitude +11, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Olympian Pantheon)- Dionysus is loyal to Ares to the point of being sycophantic. He once murdered hundreds of people just to create a throne of skulls on which for Ares to sit.

Total: Abilities: 68 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 14 (123)

Cycnus in Mythology: Cycnus is the son of Ares and a mortal woman- he was a cruel, savage man who slew all of his guests until he encountered Heracles, who proved himself the better. Heracles killed Cycnus in battle, and Zeus separated Ares from Heracles when he tried to avenge his son's death.


-Kyknos was a mere speed-bump for Hercules, being a sycophantic son of Ares who got killed by Herc way back in the day. He was resurrected in modern times during the Chaos War/Fear Itself mess-up, confounding the non-powered Gadget Guy Herc. He's PL 10 and an ass-kicker, but a simple villain who's really just a means to an end.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Apr 24, 2022 4:45 am, edited 1 time in total.
Shock
Posts: 2978
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:27 pm
Location: Connecticut USA

Re: Jab's Builds! (Bor! Angela! Sera! Ragnarok! Gorr! Cul! Hercules!)

Post by Shock »

I like how you can switch 2 letters in his name and it becomes awfully close to Kinko's ;}
Post Reply