Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mint-Berry Crunch! Coon & Friends! Aggressors of Dark Kombat!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Assorted things about Undergrads:
* The show, while a bomb in the States, was so big in Canada that Teletoon aired all 12 episodes for a couple of years straight. And it was never off the air for more than a few months, it seems. I think it's FINALLY stopped doing that, more than ten years after the ending. It was popular enough that I think every adult of my generation watched the show enough to "get" quotes if you start mimicking Cal in particular, guy.

* Pete Williams, creator & voice actor of the show, has been trying to buy the rights back for years. Unfortunately, TV rights are a bitch.

* One of the writers has a pretty uncomfortable point to make about Nitz, in that his refusal to do "college stuff" is why he was so miserable. As a non-drinker, I take issue with guys acting like "going out and getting drunk" is the only way to have fun. I still remember the Questionable Content creator making his nerdy shut-in a non-drinker who had to learn how to hang out and drink so that they wouldn't be a giant shut-in. And fans were like "How now, he's not saying You Can Only Have Friends If You Drink!", even though HE WAS. Of COURSE the writer later turned out to be an alcoholic who was using booze as a crutch to get over his social aversion.

* It's funny how much I identified with Nitz back in the day, but watching the show in my 30s, I'm like "Wow, Nitz is kind of a douche a lot of the time".
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Gimpy

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

GIMPY
PL 1 (15)
ST 8 (-1) DEX 10 CON 8 (-1) INT 14 (+2) WIS 10 CHA 8 (-1)

Skills:
Bluff 6 (+5)
Computers 10 (+12)
Craft (Mechanical) 5 (+7)
Craft (Electronic) 5 (+7)
Disable Device 4 (+6)
Gather Information 4 (+3)
Knowledge (Pop Culture) 8 (+10)
Knowledge (Technology) 6 (+8)

Feats:
Minion (Mump, as Bystander but with even LOWER stats), Rage, Ultimate Computer Skill

Saves:
Toughness -1, Fortitude +0, Reflex +0, Will +1

Combat:
Attack +0, Damage +0, Defense +0, Initiative +0

Complications:
Reputation (Ruler of Tekerson Tech's Student Body)
Obsession (Star Wars)
Responsibility (Loved She-Prime)
Secret (Is G-Prime)

Abilities: -2 / Skills: 48--12 / Feats: 3 / Powers: 0 / Saves: 2 / Combat: 0 (15)

-Gimpy rounds out the Four Heroes of the show, being a techno-geek hacker with an epic Star Wars obsession (and a hatred of all things Trek- he ousted the prior Student Body Leader for having a Trek-themed school), and a tendency to never, EVER leave his room unless absolutely necessary. As a result, he does 90% of his dialogue from little in-boxes on Nitz's computer while sitting in the dungeon-like Tekerson Technical School (trust me- the computer department at my college was the exact same way- go low enough, and there's no windows whatsoever). When the gang hangs out in physical contact with each other, it's usually at Gimpy's place. Virtually all of the nasty stereotypes associated with geeks are present with ol' Gimp, leaning towards the "Skinny Outcast" side as opposed to the "Fat Loser" end of the spectrum.

-As a result of all his technical & computer skills, Gimpy is the most expensive of the group, though he's still sickly, weak and crazy. He's prone to raging at the slightest provocation- namely when Star Trek stuff is invoked, or (even worse) when somebody (usually Nitz) betrays him in the final rounds of RISK. Which pretty much defines every single RISK game I've ever played, as once one guy finally betrays the other (for lack of things to do), the entire game devolves into vengeance and backstabbing. As Gimpy puts it (much to the chagrin of the Tekerson Tech guys listening in on their headsets to advise him), "KAMIKAZE ATTAAAAAACCK!"
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Mar 30, 2018 7:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mint-Berry Crunch! Coon & Friends! Aggressors of Dark Kombat!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Undergrads:
* I actually started doing reviews of the show, but apparently got bored partway through and stopped.

Episode One: We meet Nitz, Rocko, Cal & Gimpy for the first time, and it's established that they all grew up together. Nitz is the Stick-in-the-Mud, disaffected "Straight Man" of sorts, having wasted his first week at college doing nothing (and not caring about it). Rocko is a wannabe fratboy trying to get into "Alpha Alpha" by demanding to be hazed. Cal is a lispy ladies' man who basically accidentally gets tons of women, despite being pretty much mentally-handicapped. Gimpy is an uber-computer nerd who never leaves his room, and lords over a giant group of nerds. Nitz & Cal go to the main college, Gimpy goes to Tekerson Tech (a computer school, naturally), and Rocko to a Community College. Of course, no classes are EVER seen- this is pretty much just the gang hanging out and doing college things.

Nitz is immediately poked fun at by a tomboyish type named Jessie (who shows up in his room just to snark at him), and crushes all over Kimmie (a girl from his old High School). Nitz ends up pouring his heart out about Kimmie to everyone he meets (in a desperate attempt to have College Fun to brag about to Kimmie), and ends up drawing a huge group of people to a college mixer (held by a hippie-esque Resident Advisor called "The Dougler"). However, Nitz makes a huge ass of himself at the party when it turns out Kimmie's not coming (it's all Cal's fault), and mopes- his natural trademark.

This sets up a lot of things- Rocko is an idiot, Cal is always being molested by ladies, Gimpy is a nerd with nerd underlings, and Nitz is kind of a mopey putz who usually bothers people by whining about Kimmie.

Episode Two: The subject is "Traditions", as all the freshmen are getting into the "Exposed Expo", a giant streak-fest of naked students. Nitz, ever the anti-social stick-in-the-mud, doesn't wanna do it, until OF COURSE it turns out that Kimmy Burton is going to be there, and she loved doing it last year. Nitz suddenly realizes that he's gotten "The freshman fifteen" (familiar story to me, that one), and tries to work it off. Cal is way into the "naked" thing, so much so that he puts on a "Naked T-Shirt" to advertise his nudity. Because he's Cal. Rocko has a homo-erotic dream about Cal, and spends a bit angsting over it (while trying to set up cameras for the Expo).

Gimpy also has a major story bit as "G-Prime", the elite prankster of Tekerson. While still staying in his room, he orders his Nerdlings to run amok with great pranks, leaving his bun-haired Jackbooted Stormtrooper R.A. enraged. His final prank of course creates fog all over State U, covering up the naked students. Animation "errors"- Nitz has a SIX-PACK during the Expo at one point, then shifts to his standard "average guy physique" with his big gut. One of the funnier ones, but over-playing it makes the jokes pretty old to me. But the whole "Traditions" theme really speaks to me, as I pretty much just hung out with my classmates and new friends instead of doing any big "party" thing.

Episode Three: "Drinking" is the topic of discussion. Rocko delves as far as he ever has into alcoholism, complete with "Bobby Whiskey" (a creation of the show's Main Writer, whose best friend would refer to Whiskey like it was a real person). Nitz himself is naturally disgusted by fun things like liquor, and so he of course immediately tries to go out when Kimmie invites him to a bar. Without I.D., he can't get it- enter Gimpy and his computer skills (swiftly making him the most popular guy in town for college students)... ah, Drinking Ages of 18. Nitz asks Rocko to teach him to drink so he can fit in, while Rocko gives up drinking after one REALLY bad night (when his diaper is discovered, and he's sent to jail). My roomate was annoyed at the idea of "you HAVE to drink if you're at a bar", since forcing someone to drink is illegal (they could be a Designated Driver).

Some of the funnier moments of the series, here- Rocko's diaper for "Break the Seal Night" (you drink free until you pee), Cal calls Jessie "Jessie-Lady-Guy", Nitz realizing that Kimmy's a Drunken Hug Fiend (the same writer notices that ALL actresses act like this), and more. Altogether, it's one of the best episodes, furthering the "Kimmy" plotline (Nitz actually talks to her and hangs out), and establishing once more that Nitz doesn't really do anything, and likes being contrary.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mysteria

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MYSTERIA (Mysteria Winters)
Created By:
Mark Gruenwald & Rik Levins
First Appearance: Captain America #387 (July 1991)
Role: One-Shot Villain, Status-Affecter
Group Affiliations: None
PL 7 (98)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+3)
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+4)
Insight 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Stealth 5 (+8)
Technology 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Ranged Combat 2

Powers:
"Obscuring Mist"
Concealment (Visuals) 2 (Extras: Attack, Area- 60ft. Cloud +2) [10]
Linked to
Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud) [14]

"Mist-Sticks" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [9]
Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Feats: Split) (Extras: Cumulative) (15 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Mist +7 Area (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Mist-Sticks +7 (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2 (+3 D.Roll), Fortitude +4, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Accident (Clumsy)- Mysteria is basically 2-for-2 in terms of accidentally zapping her own teammates with her Mist-Sticks. This may be why she never appeared in comics again- one of her teammates probably killed her.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 8 (98)

-Mysteria's another newbie from The Superia Stratagem (sent by Superia against Captain America & Paladin), and despite seeming kinda like Mysterio given the name, all she does is create mist and try to shock people with her... *sigh*... Mist-Sticks. She was actually more of a hindrance than a help in her big debut fight, as she zapped her teammate Wrangler on the butt with her Stick. Later, she did the SAME THING to her teammate Bombshell! After an appearance like that, she presumably retired, because she's never been seen since then. Marvunapp theorizes that she might be someone under hypnosis or in deep cover, explaining her clumsiness away as either deliberate or subconscious attempts at helping out the heroes.

-Despite her poor showing, she's actually rather handy, though- being able to Obscure people in her Mist, while at the same time choking them (note that the Obscure has a wider range than the Choking), and her Mist-Sticks stun people.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Chimera

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

CHIMERA I (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Mark Gruenwald & Rik Levins
First Appearance: Captain America #387 (July 1991)
Role: One-Shot Villain, Animalistic Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 7 (76)
STRENGTH
2/6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+8)
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Startle

Powers:
"Animal-Power Shifting"
"Gorilla Arms" Enhanced Strength 4 [8]
"Wings" Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 13 / Defenses: 9 (76)

-Chimera rounds out the newbie-ladies Mark Gruenwald threw into The Superia Stratagem (alongside Ice Princess & Mysteria). She confused some fans, as she'd never appeared before, and unlike Ice Princess & Mysteria, went unnamed for the duration of the story. She's a black chick who can apparently "morph" parts of her body to animalistic shapes. The name "Chimera" was later used for a Wolverine foe, so this one is unlikely to reappear. She never really scored a hit in the battle, and never appeared again, so I'm giving her "One-Shot Jobber" stats of a PL 7. Dunno if she could Fully-Shift her form, but she never showed the ability, and she's called "Chimera", implying a multi-form nature, so I doubt it.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mint-Berry Crunch! Coon & Friends! Aggressors of Dark Kombat!)

Post by Jabroniville »

So these last two are here because they were last posted on a thread of mine about seven years ago, and I had some space to fill :). Now to re-post The Viral Swarm, with separate bios instead of a big cluster.
Jabroniville
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The Viral Swarm

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage

THE VIRAL SWARM:
-The Secret Defenders is another forgettable Early '90s comic book, which featured Dr. Strange in the only kind of book he could sustain any longer (a team one, with other, more popular characters in the forefront)- the gimmick was that he chose allies via tarot for whatever mission he currently had. These guys were created for the first issue, as a run-off on what was going on in the Ghost Rider/Spirits of Vengeance books- Lilith was creating some dimensional shifts when she invaded Earth's realm, and this allowed some Viral Swarm to spring forth and possess some hobos and other forgotten people. Each gains a unique power and threatens the world (the Swarm need human forms to exist in our atmosphere or something). Strange gathers Nomad, Darkhawk, Spider-Woman II & Wolverine (since they needed to sell books, dammit!) to stop them, and after some brawls with this Gang Of Jobbers (the early '90s is FULL of this kind of team), they let Strange use their combined will to force the Viral Swarm back into their own dimension.

-The entire team can apparently use that "Drain Lifeforce" and "Heal Others" trick (which can turn willing old people into young individuals- a Transform in my mind, since you're effectively altering a willing subject with a benefit, not Afflicting them, requiring a Save), but they all gain unique Powers as well. The name is apparently also "Zusommin", but they're all empowered by a Viral Swarm.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Stasis

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

STASIS (Lester Selkirk)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Andre Coates
First Appearance: The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)
Role: One-Shot Villain
Group Affiliations: The Viral Swarm
PL 12 (120)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Homeless) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Alien Lore) 4 (+8)
Intimidation 6 (+6)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Ranged Attack 5, Startle

Powers:
"Heal Others" Healing 10 & Transform 6 (Aged People to Youths) (32) -- [35]
  • AE: "Drain Lifeforce" Weaken All Abilities 10 (Extras: Broad, Simultaneous) (30)
  • AE: "Redirect Force- Ranged" Blast 15 (Feats: Variable 2- Whatever Attack Used) (Extras: Penetrating 8- Limited to If Absorbed Attack is Penetrating) (Flaws: Limited to Amount of Force Absorbed) (21)
  • AE: "Redirect Force- Close" Damage 15 (Feats: Variable 2- Whatever Attack Used) (Extras: Penetrating 8- Limited to If Absorbed Attack is Penetrating) (Flaws: Limited to Amount of Force Absorbed) (13.5)
"Absorb Force" Protection 15 (Extras: Impervious 13) [28]
"Hive Mind" Senses 1 (Communication Link- Viral Swarm) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Redirected Force +6 (+15 Damage, DC 30)
Redirected Force Blast +7 (+15 Ranged Damage, DC 30)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+18 Absorption, +7 Impervious), Fortitude +3, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Domination)- The Viral Swarm wish to invade Earth and take it over, as they have done to countless other worlds.
Involuntary Transformation (Discorporation)- Macabre can undo the possessions of the Viral Swarm at-will, turning their hosts back to normal.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 64 / Defenses: 7 (120)

-Stasis is one of those "normal attacks can't stop him" kind of guys- he'll bust you up pretty hard with any kind of attack you can manage, and is Thor-level durable because of his ability to absorb shots. However, I'm assuming Mental Attacks and Snares and stuff are his downfall- not much he can do against those.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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HalloweenJack
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Aggressors of Dark Kombat! Undergrads! Viral Swarm!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

I enjoyed Secret Defenders....at least until Dr. Druid became the centerpiece of it
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Decimator

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

DECIMATOR (Lachlan Caroll)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Andre Coates
First Appearance: The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)
Role: One-Shot Villain, Powerhouse
Group Affiliations: The Viral Swarm
PL 8 (119)
STRENGTH
10 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Homeless) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Alien Lore) 4 (+8)
Intimidation 8 (+8)

Advantages: 
Fast Grab, Startle

Powers:
Impervious Toughness 7 [7]
"Hive Mind" Senses 1 (Communication Link- Viral Swarm) [1]

"Heal Others" Healing 10 & Transform 6 (Aged People to Youths) (32) -- [33]
AE: "Drain Lifeforce" Weaken All Abilities 10 (Extras: Broad, Simultaneous) (30)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Drain Lifeforce +6 (+10 Weaken, DC 20)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +10, Fortitude +10, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Domination)- The Viral Swarm wish to invade Earth and take it over, as they have done to countless other worlds.
Involuntary Transformation (Discorporation)- Macabre can undo the possessions of the Viral Swarm at-will, turning their hosts back to normal.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 41 / Defenses: 9 (119)

-Decimator is an utterly-forgettable Big Strong Guy- the type that ended up on THOUSANDS of Early '90s Villain Teams over the years. He isn't overly-effective- just a Class 25-ish Strong Guy.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Dreadlox

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

DREADLOX (Estelle Hawkins)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Andre Coates
First Appearance: The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)
Role: One-Shot Villain, Afflicter
Group Affiliations: The Viral Swarm
PL 10 (84)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Homeless) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Alien Lore) 4 (+8)
Intimidation 8 (+8)

Advantages: 
Startle

Powers:
"Your Worst Fear Come True" Affliction 10 (Will; Dazed & Hindered/Stunned & Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Extra Condition, Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective) (Flaws: Limited to Fear) (40) -- [42]
  • AE: "Heal Others" Healing 10 & Transform 6 (Aged People to Youths) (32)
  • AE: "Drain Lifeforce" Weaken All Abilities 10 (Extras: Broad, Simultaneous) (30)
"Hive Mind" Senses 1 (Communication Link- Viral Swarm) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Fear Effect +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Drain Lifeforce +6 (+10 Weaken, DC 20)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Domination)- The Viral Swarm wish to invade Earth and take it over, as they have done to countless other worlds.
Involuntary Transformation (Discorporation)- Macabre can undo the possessions of the Viral Swarm at-will, turning their hosts back to normal.

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 43 / Defenses: 11 (86)

-Dreadlox is Dani Moonstar Lite, which makes her a bit of a Glass Cannon, but also exceptionally-dangerous since a +10 Area Will Effect is actually quite a big threat, even on heroes who should have some high Will Saves. I mean, this'll hit you EVERY ROUND if she wants it to. The Secret Defenders went out of their way to take her out at the beginning of every encounter.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
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Tokamak

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

TOKAMAK (Willie Tamm)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Andre Coates
First Appearance: The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)
Role: One-Shot Villain, Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Viral Swarm
PL 8 (121)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Homeless) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Alien Lore) 4 (+8)
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Ranged Attack (Blasts) 2 (+8)

Advantages: 
Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Heal Others" Healing 10 & Transform 6 (Aged People to Youths) (32) -- [35]
  • AE: "Drain Lifeforce" Weaken All Abilities 10 (Extras: Broad, Simultaneous) (30)
  • AE: Blast 8 (Feats: Variable 2- Any Energy) (18) -- [17]
  • AE: "Blinding Light" Dazzle Visuals 8 (Extras: Area- Visual Perception) (Flaws: Touch Range) (16)
Energy Aura 7 (Feats: Variable 2- Any Energy) [30]
"Hive Mind" Senses 1 (Communication Link- Viral Swarm) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Energy Aura +6 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Drain Lifeforce +6 (+10 Weaken, DC 20)
Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Blinding Light +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3, Fortitude +3, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Domination)- The Viral Swarm wish to invade Earth and take it over, as they have done to countless other worlds.
Involuntary Transformation (Discorporation)- Macabre can undo the possessions of the Viral Swarm at-will, turning their hosts back to normal.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 66 / Defenses: 9 (121)

-Named for a type of Nuclear Reactor (there's a Firestorm enemy with the same name), Tokamak was defeated by Spider-Woman. He can apparently generate lots of types of energy, but like the rest of his team, is a bit of a weenie (PL 5.5 defensively is going to get you MESSED UP against high-tier competition).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Ares
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Re: Stasis

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2018 8:45 pm Image

STASIS
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Andre Coates
First Appearance: The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)
Role: One-Shot Villain

-Stasis is one of those "normal attacks can't stop him" kind of guys- he'll bust you up pretty hard with any kind of attack you can manage, and is Thor-level durable because of his ability to absorb shots. However, I'm assuming Mental Attacks and Snares and stuff are his downfall- not much he can do against those.
This guy just confuses me. His name is Stasis, which implies some kind of Paralyze attack or something similar. His costume makes him look like either a speedster or an electrical controler. And his power is invulernability.
"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)

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

Macabre

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MACABRE (Maggie Langella)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Andre Coates
First Appearance: The Secret Defenders #1 (March 1993)
Role: One-Shot Villain
Group Affiliations: The Viral Swarm
PL 10 (167)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Homeless) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Alien Lore) 4 (+8)
Intimidation 6 (+6)

Advantages: 
Improved Critical (Weaken), Ranged Attack 2, Startle

Powers:
"Heal Others" Healing 10 & Transform 6 (Aged People to Youths) (32) -- [33]
  • AE: "Drain Lifeforce" Weaken All Abilities 10 (Extras: Broad, Simultaneous) (30)
"Viral Swarm Form"
Insubstantial 3 [15]
Flight 3 (16 mph) [6]
"Possession" Mind Control 6 (Extras: Merges With Victim, Continuous) (Flaws: Touch Range -2) [24]
Immunity 11 (Life Support, Aging) [11]
"Hive Mind" Senses 1 (Communication Link- Viral Swarm) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Drain Lifeforce +10 (+10 Weaken, DC 20)
Initiative +1

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

Complications:
Motivation (Domination)- The Viral Swarm wish to invade Earth and take it over, as they have done to countless other worlds.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 90 / Defenses: 13 (167)

-Macabre is the team leader, and doesn't have the fancy powers the others do, but has the option of transforming back into the Viral Swarm form. She's also PL 10- this is a band of Glass Cannons and jobbers, but some are rather high-level.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:18 am, edited 3 times in total.
Jabroniville
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The Acolytes

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE ACOLYTES:

-Where do you even start with this group of guys? The concept as a whole debuted in X-Men #1, a new comic debuting in 1991, with Chris Claremont & Jim Lee creating them. It was actually a long time coming, really, as Magneto's position as the Malcolm X of militant mutancy makes him PERFECT as the leader of a squadron of racial supremacists. Hell, he was just that in the 1960s, despite the fact that he was a Generic Megalomaniac Villain leading a squadron of ill-tempered loons (tempestuous speedster, angsty teenage girl, cowardly controller, fat-ass moron and invincible loser) with the ridiculous name of "The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants". Magneto suffered some bad characterization in that era, and later on hooked up with even WORSE losers (creating animal-people and junk), before Chris Claremont's brilliant writing of the "All New, All Different" X-Men utterly saved him.

GONE was the ridiculously generic villain of Stan Lee's day, and in his place was a thoughtful Holocaust survivor who now had a REASON to be angry at humanity. This shifted to a calmer, forgiven villain who even got to be the Headmaster of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, a character chance that lasted about half a decade before he got twisted again. The newfound "second" X-Men book was meant to be his Swan Song, as he had returned as a manipulative dark-minded ruler, floating above the Earth in Asteroid M, now with another gathering of mutants who worshipped him as a religious icon. This was a GREAT idea, and a perfect evolution of the character. 

So where did it all go wrong?

Well, Claremont was being drummed out by hated Marvel Editor Bob Harras (who oversaw the best-selling years of the X-Men to be sure, but was such a notorious asshole that an inker hid a secret message in another book about how glad he was to see Harras drummed out of Marvel himself- in addition to writing the Leather Jacket Era Avengers and overseeing the Clone Saga crap that nearly killed Spidey comics forever), and despite making his Swan Song a pretty big epic, he obviously didn't really care too much about these new "Acolytes" of Magneto's, who were really just a couple names with some powers lazily added on. I mean, their whole story meant they were going to DIE at the end, so obviously none of them got any major character development except one Fabian Cortez, Magneto's #2 Man (ie. "The Dragon" in TV Tropes terminology), who was a sneaky conniving bastard who set Magneto up to die and fled Asteroid M like a douche in the final moments.

Cortez hit Earthside, teaming up with The Upstarts, a whole group of lame, loser villains who made their bones wiping out the "Claremont Era" villains of the X-Men (Shinobi Shaw killed his father Sebastian, and Trevor Fitzroy killed The Hellions and put Emma Frost into a coma for years). But he also gathered together his own army of followers, using Magneto's teachings as a religious gospel. This was a chance to re-make the forgettable early team as a new recurring cast of villains- basically a "Dark Mirror Image" of the X-Men, the same way the old Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was (they'd since faltered as C-League villains as Freedom Force split up), and the same way Venom was to Spider-Man, Reverse-Flash was to The Flash, etc. I mean, this is a terrific idea, and a great way to make some new villains with impact rather than "Generic Bad Guy Group".

And of course they totally messed it up. See, Cortez had a solid villainous pedigree as the murderer of the biggest villain in X-Book history, and was a legitimately hateable villain, with cool and unique powers (he could boost other Mutants' abilities, making him dangerous in group fights). But most of the new Acolytes were just unimpressive as hell. Unuscione was cool because of her awesome visual powers, and Cargill was alright as a former D-League X-Villain with an upgrade, but then you had losers like the Kleinstock Brothers (generic Blasters who could form a giant guy), Milan, REM-RAM, Static (a generic Power-Nullifier), and others. For every reasonably cool character like Gargouille or Senyaka, who were original and kind of bad-ass, you had three or four guys who were just a silly codename (or last name) with powers that were either ridiculously-generic, or terribly complex to the point where the writers would either have to spend half a page explaining it, or ignore them all together.

And basically, with each new appearance after the debut of this new team (a half-decent one where they tried to kill a bus full of handicapped children for impurity), we met a new batch of Acolytes. Like TWO OR THREE AT A TIME in most stories. One-shot stories or side-quests would involve them meeting a NEW Acolyte with a silly name and concept, and no time or thought whatsoever went into to any of them. It was like... every single writer just wanted to create a funky NEW kind of super-power ("Hey, y'know what'd be fun? A guy who could teleport through stuff, but only if it was one continuous object- like coming out one side of a castle after popping into a different part of the wall! And a guy who can possess people and turn their bodies into a monster!"), and just tossed him onto the Acolytes. 

Another goofy thing: their NAMES. Most of them were just known by their last name and that was it. Javitz. Kamal. Katu. Unless they had a REAL code-name, in which case it was... Orator. Or Projector. You know, epic names like that. Granted, this was before X-Men 2 delivered the great "NO... what's your REAL name?" line from Magneto, so the whole notion of "Mutant Pride" hadn't come into play in that regard just yet. But damn, who wants to read about guys named Neophyte & Cargill?

Their visuals were just as bad. Jim Lee gave them a VERY generic look (purple tights with a red "V" for some reason) as a "Team Uniform", possibly meant to reflect the X-Men's own blue & yellow team uniforms (that Lee had made look visually AWESOME for the first time ever during the latter part of his run). They all had big goofy radios attached to their heads, looking like some kind of Robotech/uber-90s monstrosity that got more dated the more the '90s went on. And EVERYONE looked like that. It became really hard to tell most of the characters apart, as half of them were just generic dudes dressed in identical uniforms. And the guys who DID look different... there's SPOOR, okay? And BARNACLE. So except for Gargouille and a couple others who looked decent, you had either Generic Person in Tights, or Stupid Looking Doofus. I mean, at least the Mutant Liberation Front (which shared many goofy-looking problem-guys like the Acolytes did) all looked different and unique. John Romita Jr. is an artist I've NEVER really been a big fan of, with his ugly blocky people and excess lines all over the place, and this was his absolute NADIR as an artist, stinking up the X-Men books (alone with Brandon "I wanna draw like Jim Lee but I'm not good enough" Peterson). Nearly all of the characters on here were the fault of one or the other. And since Fabian Nicieza didn't really use the Acolytes during any of his run (preferring the equally-sucky Dark Riders and other villains), most of the Acolytes are ALSO Scott Lobdell's fault, as he was doing his lame, boring run on the Uncanny X-Men book. So if you're laying blame, it's almost all on Lobdell & JR Jr.

And their NUMBERS!! Not including Magneto, there have been THIRTY-FIVE INDIVIDUALS on this team! 35! Sure a handful died on Asteroid M, and a few others were mere one-shots (one of the Kleinstock Triplets was killed in their first appearance), but a group of five or six quickly ballooned to this titanic roster of goofy-looking fools. AND EXODUS!! Another generic concept ("Flying Energy Guy with Cape" was swiftly becoming discredited in this era- X-Force created Reignfire a mere couple months later with such a similar look that at least one fan wrote in assuming there was a connection), but with a disgusting amount of Power Creep, making him so overly-powerful that no writer could get a proper handle on him.

And so the Acolytes failed. Badly. What could have been a major Rival Team ended up as just a bunch of jokes and losers, written into some background fights, and they didn't do much. Holocaust, the son of Apocalypse from the Age of Apocalypse universe, broke onto the new Avalon asteroid and killed a handful of members (including loser character Rusty Collins, who had since joined the team with Skids) while destroying the base. Then they reformed around Magneto in Genosha, before that idea was quickly dealt-with by Grant Morrison on his X-run, which offed ANOTHER chunk of characters, most of whom were so bad they didn't even get written-in as dying- fans had to wait to see a handful of them ALIVE before they could confirm who wasn't on the kill-list!

The subsequent years were a little kinder, as the survivors (mostly among the better members) reformed as Messiah-hunters during some of the more recent X-Events. But they're still just a generic bunch of hangers-on, below even The Marauders (who have undergone a bit of a re-push). 

So, in summation, here is why The Acolytes suck, and why, as someone who LOVES to stat up and make fun of Mort-y characters, I am obsessed with them:

1) Generic look on over half the team, basically being a plain human in an identical uniform.
2) Too many stupid looking members. Spoor was a fuzzy person. Barnacle was covered in... barnacles. Orator was a green scrawny dude.
3) Too many obvious Morts. The Kleinstocks had a goofy power (morphing into a big version of themselves, or a two-torso'd humanoid), Spoor's NAME MEANS POOP, another is named after a spicy Indian dish (Vindaloo), and another is named MELLENCAMP (presumably he hailed from the Valley of the Thundering Hearts). One or two is fine, but half the team was like this.
4) Too many characters. There may have only been ten or so at a time, but with various dead members out of the gate, a recurring cast of ten, and every single new appearance of the team featuring a NEW guy or two kicking around, it got to be way too much to handle. This devalued each individual member, and made them more forgettable, as nobody could really stand out, unless they were named after poop or something. They actually HAD a couple cool members who got overwhelmed by the never-ending supply of lame-oids.
5) Either generic powers or too-complicated powers. Yes, this is me complaining that the team has one problem, and then the OPPOSITE problem at the same time. But there were a ton of Generic Blasters on the squad (in addition to a couple Mind Controllers and a Power-Nullifier), counter-acted with the ridiculously-complex powers of Rakkus, Neophyte and Katu.
6) Not used properly. As a Rival Team (like The Hellions were to The New Mutants) they would have been cool, challenging the X-Men at every turn, and forming their own personal rivalries, with some members actually making friends with the X-Men in a "we're no so different you and I" kind of way. But instead it was just an army of Mooks With Powers that showed up to fight. They never really schemed or did anything other than brawl with the X-Men sometimes. No cool plans or ideas- just fighting and no personality at all in 90% of the group (even the cool ones with neat powers were just flat characters at best). The guys were supposed to be Magneto's hands on Earth, and Marvel writers couldn't come up with anything for them.

Here's a pretty good summation of the team (with pictures!):... actually, that site died. Never mind.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 24, 2022 8:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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