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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Arkrite
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Re: Cosmic Boy

Post by Arkrite »

Thorpocalypse wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:23 am
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 9:38 pm Image

Pink or GTFO.

Or the man-kini girdle..
I smell what the Rokk is cookin'!!! 8-)

Man-kini girdle for the win.
I have serious personal issues with this outfit.
...
Mostly that I just don't look good enough to pull it off. ;~)
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Batgirl III
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Bladewind wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:48 am The comic was Teen Titans Spotlight on Magenta. They felt odd saying Teen Titans Spotlight on Francis Kane and wanted a supername. In trying to come up with something, they went with her suit being magenta and it almost being a play on magnetic.
In what universe does /məˈdʒɛntə/ sound anything like /ˈmæɡnət/ ?
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Ken
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Ken »

Batgirl III wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:30 am
Bladewind wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 2:48 am The comic was Teen Titans Spotlight on Magenta. They felt odd saying Teen Titans Spotlight on Francis Kane and wanted a supername. In trying to come up with something, they went with her suit being magenta and it almost being a play on magnetic.
In what universe does /məˈdʒɛntə/ sound anything like /ˈmæɡnət/ ?
Obviously, they don't sound alike. But "Magneta" and "Magenta" are very, very close in spelling, with just two letters swapped (enough to confuse a mildly dyslexic reader). And of course "Magneta" ould be the female counterpart to "Magneto". Especially if one pronounces it /mæɡ nəːtəʊ/ instead of /maɡˈniːtəʊ/ (which I believe was Stan's original intention.)

After all a magneto is small dynamo for powering spark plugs. Adding the suffix "-o" to an extant word is how villains are named.
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Magno

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Haha, Jesus- no wonder they called this the "Archie Legion".

MAGNO (Dyrk Magz)
Created By:
Roger Stern, Tom McCraw & Jeff Moy
First Appearance: Legionnaires #43 (Dec. 1996)
Home Planet: Braal
Origin of Powers: Racial Abilities
Eras: Reboot Only
Relationships: XS
Role: Replacement Hero (for Cosmic Boy)
PL 7 (117)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 4 (+5)
Expertise (Science Police) 4 (+5)
Insight 3 (+4)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 5 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 1 (+2)
Vehicles 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 10 (Legion Gear), Improved Aim, Improved Disarm, Ranged Attack 5, Set-Up

Powers:
"Braalian Physiology"
"Coils of Metal" Snare 7 (Feats: Reversible) (Quirks: Requires Metals -2) (20) -- [25]
  • AE: "Magnetism" Move Object 8 (Extras: Perception Range) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Material) (16)
  • AE: "Magnetic Area" Move Object 7 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Material) (14)
  • AE: "Metal Bullets" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Requires Ferrous Objects) (12)
  • AE: "Metal Shields" Enhanced Dodge & Parry 2 (4)
  • AE: "Shape Metal" Transform 5 (Metal to Metal) (Extras: Continuous +2) (20)
Senses 2 (Detect Magnetics/Metals- Ranged) [2]

Equipment:
"Legion Gear"
"Telepathic Ear Plug" Comprehend 3 (Languages) (6)

"Legion Flight Ring"
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 7 (Hot, Cold, Vacuum, Pressure, Radiation, Suffocation 2) (7)
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (2)
Communication 5 (Flaws: Fifth Rank is only towards Legionnaires) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Metal Coils +8 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Metal Bullets +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Move Metals +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (+10 Shield, DC 18-20), Parry +8 (+10 Shield, DC 18-20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Relationship (Omar Magz)- Dyrk is close with his older brother, and joined the Science Police to follow in his footsteps.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 27 / Defenses: 12 (117)

-Magno's just as minor as Magnetic Kid (to the point where I almost forgot to include him when I statted these gusy the first time- I THOUGHT there were two "Lesser Cosmic Boys", though), because he's just a Post-Zero Hour Reboot character who was short-lived. He was another Braalian following in Cosmic Boy's footsteps when Cos left the Legion, and earned his place after showing bravery in spite of Live Wire's reluctance to replace Cosmic Boy. Sadly, he lost his powers after a triumphant battle with Mordru. Despite that, he remained a recurring character, never gaining his powers back, but becoming a successful future-cop in the meantime, meaning they did a whole "What Makes A Hero?" thing with him. He had some stuff, dating XS briefly, then the Threeboot removed him from continuity. Poor bastard.

-Basically Magnetic Kid in every way (ie. a minor Cosmic Boy), minus some stuff. This build is a bit "Best of Both Worlds", as it includes his later Science Police stuff. Otherwise, he's a PL 8 minor-league hero, who never really got a chance to shine.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 25, 2022 11:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:23 pm If you think about it objectively, “Cosmic Boy” is probably one of the better names for magnetic characters in comics. I mean, at least originally, it was meant more to speak to his nature as a space-traveling vistor from the future. He was “cosmic,” because he operated in the cosmos, just like Aquaman operates in the water. There’s not that many magnetic characters out there. They’re all kinda lazily named...

Magneto is a truly epic villain, so his rep has kinda obscured how lazy his name his: Magnet + O. It’d be like Parker calling himself “Spidero” or Banner transforming into “Angryo.” (I mean, we all make fun of “Mysterio” and it’s essentially the same thing as “Magneto.”)

C-List X-Woman “Polaris” and D-List DC jobber “Doctor Polaris” both have names that refer to a star and not magnetism. Yes, Polaris is the North Star but the North Star doesn’t actually have anything to do with the magnetic pole.

Z-List DC Jobber “Magenta” has magnet powers, but her name is a result of her energy aura being pink... and possibly a creative team that didn’t spellcheck “magnet.”

“Polestar” is actually a pretty cool name, it’s too bad it’s forever attached to the Legion’s attempt at an Nineties Anti-Hero Grimdark storyline.
I really hate the "Something + O" names. They were really common in the '60s, though Marvel had fewer than DC. Magneto, Mentallo & Mesmero were all kicking around, but I DC has as many guys just from the LEGION's Rogues Gallery- Universo, Computo, Prince Evillo (yes, EVILLO)...
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Re: Magnetic Kid

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:08 am
Jabroniville wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 1:54 am -Magnetic Kid is a mere footnote in Legion history nowadays, having been his Cosmic Boy's less-cool and powerful brother, who nonetheless made a heroic sacrifice. Of course, that's the entire POINT of the guy- the hero's lesser brother, who made a good attempt.
That's a bit of a simplification, since no one could have known that he (and the series itself) would be gone in four years when he joined the Legion, and as this article will testify, Pol was actually very competent as a Legionnaire. (And had the smarts not to fool around with Ayla.)
It sounds more insulting than it is, I guess. It's been a while since I checked out his Hero History :). I can edit his bio.
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Batgirl III
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Metallo, Computo, and Magneto are really the only ones that can pull it off. I think mostly due to the fact that one was voiced by Malcolm McDowell in the popular cartoon, one scored one of the only perma-death kills of a main character in the Silver Age, and the last is friggin’ Magneto, ‘nuff said. These guys are able to overcome the inherent (to modern wars) silliness of their Something-O names.

Mind you, I personally feel like most of the Something-O names, the Whaterver-Man names, and even the Legion’s Lads, Lasses, Kids, Boys, and Girls... They have aged far better than the Nineties (Grim Noun) + (Gritty Verb) era of names.

Gimme a “Mysterio” or a “Element Lad” any day of the week over a “Bloodstrike” or a “Battlestone.”
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Ares
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Ares »

Let's see . . . off the top of my head . . .

From Marvel:
- Magneto
- Mysterio
- Mesmero
- Techno
- Chemo
- The Lobo Brothers

From DC:
- Starro
- Sinestro
- Bizarro
- Computo
- Universo
- Amazo
- Despero
- Kanjar Ro
- Titano
- Chemo
- Prof. Ivo
- Reflecto
- Ferro
- Metallo
- Flex Mentallo
- Lobo
- Krypto

Yeah, DC has way more.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Ares »

Batgirl III wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:01 am Metallo, Computo, and Magneto are really the only ones that can pull it off. I think mostly due to the fact that one was voiced by Malcolm McDowell in the popular cartoon, one scored one of the only perma-death kills of a main character in the Silver Age, and the last is friggin’ Magneto, ‘nuff said. These guys are able to overcome the inherent (to modern wars) silliness of their Something-O names.

Mind you, I personally feel like most of the Something-O names, the Whaterver-Man names, and even the Legion’s Lads, Lasses, Kids, Boys, and Girls... They have aged far better than the Nineties (Grim Noun) + (Gritty Verb) era of names.

Gimme a “Mysterio” or a “Element Lad” any day of the week over a “Bloodstrike” or a “Battlestone.”
I think if I were going to make the ultimate 90's character, his name would be "BloodSpyke", he'd have metal bands on his arms, glowing, pure white eyes, weird facial markings around said eyes, weird overly large high-tech earphones, metal bands on his arms and legs, huge shoulder pads, tiny feet, and belt pouches everywhere. There'd also be spokes along said legs, arms and shoulder pads, and his primary power is that he has a gun that shoots spikes, and the pouches are full of nothing but more spikes for his gun to shoot. He's also a mutant, but his mutant power is that he's a mutant. He can't actually do anything with the power, it's just that his power is that he's a mutant.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:31 am Let's see . . . off the top of my head . . .

From Marvel:
- Magneto
- Mysterio
- Mesmero
- Techno
- Chemo
- The Lobo Brothers

From DC:
- Starro
- Sinestro
- Bizarro
- Computo
- Universo
- Amazo
- Despero
- Kanjar Ro
- Titano
- Chemo
- Prof. Ivo
- Reflecto
- Ferro
- Metallo
- Flex Mentallo
- Lobo
- Krypto

Yeah, DC has way more.
Some names I wouldn't QUITE count, since they're just regular names ("Lobo" means "Wolf"; "Ferro" is more of a shortening of "Ferrous"), but yeah, DC has a ton of "Word + O" names.

But yes, the '90s-style names are worse. It's one of the great ironies of Legion history that the attempt at un-dating the silly names like Lightning Lad, Sun Boy, Light Lass, etc... gave birth to Live Wire, Spark, Inferno and more.
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Batgirl III
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Batgirl III »

That was the big problem with Penny Arcade’s attempt at paroding Nineties-style Antiheroes with Doctor Raven Darktalon Blood. They were too restrained by common sense.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by RainOnTheSun »

Batgirl III wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:01 am
Mind you, I personally feel like most of the Something-O names, the Whaterver-Man names, and even the Legion’s Lads, Lasses, Kids, Boys, and Girls... They have aged far better than the Nineties (Grim Noun) + (Gritty Verb) era of names.

Gimme a “Mysterio” or a “Element Lad” any day of the week over a “Bloodstrike” or a “Battlestone.”
What about Bloodstryko, master of bloodstriking?
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Kid Quantum (James)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

KID QUANTUM I (James Cullen, used to be a bunch of Proteans)
Created By:
Tom & Mary Bierbaum & David A. Williams
First Appearance: The Legion of Super-Heroes #33 (Sept. 1992)
Home Planet: Xanthu
Origin of Powers: Technology
Eras: Reboot Only
Relationships: None
Role: Token Dead Teammate
PL 9 (115)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Space Hero) 2 (+3)
Investigation 1 (+2)
Technology 4 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+7)

Advantages:
Equipment 10 (Legion Gear), Ranged Attack 2, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Quantum Belt" (Flaws: Hard to Lose) [38]
"Time Stop" Affliction 9 (Strength/Speed Rank; Dazed, Fatigued & Hindered/Stunned, Exhausted & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Feats: Can Freeze in Mid-Air) (Extras: Extra Condition +2, Area- 30ft. Burst, Selective) (Flaws: Instant Recovery) Linked to Deflect 10 (47 points)

Equipment:
"Legion Gear"
"Telepathic Ear Plug" Comprehend 3 (Languages) (6)

"Legion Flight Ring"
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 7 (Hot, Cold, Vacuum, Pressure, Radiation, Suffocation 2) (7)
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (2)
Communication 5 (Flaws: Fifth Rank is only towards Legionnaires) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Time Stop +9 Area (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Reputation (Arrogant)

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 38 / Defenses: 12 (115)

-Kid Quantum I was introduced as a "Retcon" to establish why the Legion had a rule against technological powers- he was killed when his powers malfunctioned. However, it turned out that he was a mass of Proteans masquerading as a human being, back when the Legion writers were just throwing EVERYTHING out there.

-However, a fully-human Kid Quantum was one of the token "new" members of the Legion's "Reboot" Era, created to die on one of his first missions, replacing Ferro Lad as the "token casualty". Unfortunately, he died in a way even Thunderbird would've been ashamed to be "Sacrificial Buddy" for, as he gets his neck snapped by a giant bug because his back was turned while he was gloating to his teammates. Because his powers were given by technology, and shorted out in mid-battle, he led to the further rule that no Legionnaire could ever have powers solely dependent upon technology. Someone get Amon's Equalists on these bigoted bastards!!

-Kid Quantum's biggest legacy, of course, is his sister, who would become the popular "Reboot" hero Kid Quantum II.

-Quantum I is a pretty basic, terrible super-hero, having ONE solid power and that's it, featuring little in the way of Advantages or Skills (not to mention being PL 5-6 without the belt). Not a lot of characters get to use "Time Stop" powers, though.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 25, 2022 11:15 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by M4C8 »

Batgirl III wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 5:01 am Metallo, Computo, and Magneto are really the only ones that can pull it off. I think mostly due to the fact that one was voiced by Malcolm McDowell in the popular cartoon, one scored one of the only perma-death kills of a main character in the Silver Age, and the last is friggin’ Magneto, ‘nuff said. These guys are able to overcome the inherent (to modern wars) silliness of their Something-O names.

Mind you, I personally feel like most of the Something-O names, the Whaterver-Man names, and even the Legion’s Lads, Lasses, Kids, Boys, and Girls... They have aged far better than the Nineties (Grim Noun) + (Gritty Verb) era of names.

Gimme a “Mysterio” or a “Element Lad” any day of the week over a “Bloodstrike” or a “Battlestone.”
Personally I've always hated superhero names with 'kid' 'girl' 'boy' 'lad' or 'Lass' in them, they have always and will always sound stupid to me. I know attaching real world 'logic' to comic books is mostly pointless but I could never really believe any teenage superhero would pick a name using those words. Also, at some point, due to their ages, they're all going to have to change their names anyway, again I can't see many experienced adult heroes being happy to be called 'Lad' or 'boy' (I don't read DC so I don't know the typical age of the LOSH characters)
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Re: Kid Quantum (James)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 8:43 am Image

KID QUANTUM I (James Cullen, used to be a bunch of Proteans)
Created By:
Tom & Mary Bierbaum & David A. Williams
First Appearance: The Legion of Super-Heroes #33 (Sept. 1992)
Home Planet: Xanthu
Origin of Powers: Technology
Eras: Reboot Only
Relationships: None
Role: Token Dead Teammate
Kid Quantum was a good idea for the team, explaining why the Legion was against heroes whose abilities relied on technological augmentation. It also explains why you don't see "Power Armor" or "Gadget" heroes in the Legion outside of Brainiac 5. Brainy's power IS his intelligence, while his gadgets are just tools. And by that point, technology has advanced to the point where the kind of gear that could simulate superpowers would be moderately available to most people. I'm kind of reminded of one story where Iron Man went to the future, and in order to repair his armor he just went to a RadioShack (it was the 80s and those were still a big deal) and purchased a few items that let him upgrade his armor systems.

I'd have an issue with the Legion's first death also being their first black member, but it eventually led to his more popular sister joining the team, so it works out in the end. It's just weird that even in the future, "black guy dies first" is still a trope. Maybe they should have had another Legionnaire die on that same mission as well, make it a real disaster that explained why they didn't go that route.

It was also dumb in his original, Pre-Reboot appearance where he wound up being a collection of "Proty"s. It was really WEIRD how those aliens suddenly got used so often. Kid Quantum was a Proty, Lightning Lad was a Proty, the Legionnaires find a colony of Protys, it was like suddenly in the late 80's/early 90's they became this sort of ultimate MacGuffin.
"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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