Jab’s Builds! (Whomp 'Em! Plumbers Don't Wear Ties! ToeJam & Earl!)

[KorokoMystia]

Guys like Solo, Paladin, Maverick, and Cardinal tend to get all mixed up for me.

[Batgirl III]

Guys like Solo, Paladin, Maverick, and Cardinal tend to get all mixed up for me.

Oh! I know Paladin! He’s the purple one.

Who the heck is Cardinal?

[HalloweenJack]

the only Cardinal I know of was a New Warriors foe in red armor/wings

[MacynSnow]

the only Cardinal I know of was a New Warriors foe in red armor/wings

There was a guy going by the name of The Cardinal in the Punisher books around the Maverick timeframe that,along with Shotgun,was an member of Frank's LRRP team originally(he&Shotgun couldn't go on the mission that destroyed the team due to a case of Malaria going 'round on the base at the time).He was a really minor leaguer in terms of villians,but was a rather good spy.

[Davies]

Well, given that KorokoMystia admittedly gets them all mixed up, I'd say the chances of them knowing which Cardinal seem rather slim.

[drkrash]

I really don't consider myself a Wolverine fan (I'm neutral), but I'm really enjoying this set more than I thought I would. While I am no fan of the Iron Age, I do admit (shamefully?) that the "superhero covert operator" plotlines appeal to me.

Then I again, I have almost a complete collection of Wetworks, Deathblow, WildCATs, StormWatch, and Gen13 from the '90s, so...yeah.

[Ares]

I'll admit I kind of liked Mavrick's original solo series. It had some decent art, and they ACTUALLY EXPANDED on his mutant power, which was originally just an afterthought. His ability to absorb kinetic energy also advanced into something where he could actually do something with that stored energy, such as amplify the power of his punches or fire blasts of energy. It kept it so that while his guns were his primary offensive ability (and lets face it, his power was initially purely defensive, so packing guns made some sense), if he could figure out how to absorb some kinetic energy, his mutant power became kind of a finishing move that could take out a lot of opponents. And he used his powers for some mundane but useful stuff. Like when he needed to escape from some bad guys while inside a tall building, he ran to the top floor . . . and just jumped off of it. He landed, his powers absorbed the fall and left him unharmed, and the people following him were now stuck on the top floor of the building.

[Jabroniville]

OGUN
Created By: Chris Claremont & Al Milgrom
First Appearance: Kitty Pryde & Wolverine #1 (Nov. 1984)
Role: Evil Martial Arts Master
Group Affiliations: None
PL 10 (200)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+15)
Athletics 9 (+13)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+15)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Ninja Master) 11 (+15)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Perception 5 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Shuriken) 6 (+14)
Stealth 7 (+14)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Equipment 3 (Ninja Gear), Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Critical (Swords), Improved Defenses, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 2, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Possession"
Mind Control 11 (Extras: Possession) (Quirks: Can "Level Up" Others Unintentionally by Leaving Some Fighting Skill Behind) [54]

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Sword +13 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Shuriken +14 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications: 
Enemy (Wolverine, Kitty Pryde)- Both have been his targets in the past.

Total: Abilities: 92 / Skills: 58--29 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 54 / Defenses: 13 (200)

-Ogun was created for the Kitty Pryde & Wolverine Limited Series that was meant to give some backstory and development to the still-new-ish characters Claremont was using in his X-Men run. A Mutant Martial Arts Master, Ogun was Wolverine's mentor in the ninja arts, but eventually joined the Yakuza, and brainwashed Kitty Pryde into being his personal assassin against Logan. Kitty eventually resisted (but maintained Ogun's martial arts skills in a bit that was more intended to "level her up" without having to go through all that "long-term training" stuff that the New Mutants had to do), and Logan slew his former sensei.

-Ogun's disembodied spirit returned years later, but shattering his mask destroyed it. Another return saw Logan stab one possessed victim (Viper), and a panicked Ogun "jumped" from her body into nothingness, having no one else to possess. He has returned a few MORE times, usually to threaten Kitty's life instead- generally, he's like a low-rent Shadow King, doing largely the same sort of stuff (Possess people, attack his enemies). Kitty once convinced him of the error of his ways, and he faded away on the Astral Plane, but he returned to vex her again. However, he's responsible for the death of Cyber, so there's that. 

-Ogun is a high-skill Martial Artist with a ninja bent, and appears to have some superhuman physical qualities (he easily tanks a sword shot through the torso). However, after his first appearance, he's an Insubstantial Spirit, and so has different types of stats (generally Concealment/No Strength/No Stamina type of stuff). He might also be immortal (one legend claims that he once had a contest of wills against Miyamoto Musashi).

[KorokoMystia]

Guys like Solo, Paladin, Maverick, and Cardinal tend to get all mixed up for me.

Oh! I know Paladin! He’s the purple one.

Who the heck is Cardinal?

I'm referring to the red power armor guy who's also known as Harrier:


As far as I can tell, he's pretty forgettable. Like I said, all these mercenary/soldier dudes tend to blur together, and I only know them because of Jab's builds.

[Jabroniville]

PSI-BORG II (Aldo Ferro)
Created By: Larry Hama & Mark Texiera
First Appearance: Wolverine #62 (Oct. 1992)
Role: Brainwasher
Group Affiliation: The Weapon X Program
PL 10 (157)
STRENGTH 7 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+12)
Insight 2 (+5)
Technology 6 (+12)

Advantages: 
Inventor

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Psionics"
"Memory Implants" Affliction 6 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Transformed Memories) (Extras: Continuous +3, Cumulative) (Flaws: Requires Defenseless Subjects, Distracting) [18]
"Psi-Screen" Concealment 1 (Psionics) [2]

Mind Control 10 (Feats: Dynamic, Subtle 2) (43) -- [45]

• AE: Illusion 8 (Visuals) (Feats: Dynamic) (Flaws: Mental) (8)
• AE: "Telepathic Burst" Blast 10 (Extras: Will-Damage) (Feats: Dynamic) (31)

"Cybernetic Carapace"
Protection 4 [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Explosives +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Enemy (Weapon X)- They were supposed to gift him with anti-aging factors, but reneged on their deal.
Enemy (Team X)- Team X, including Wolverine, Sabretooth and Silver Fox, all want him dead for messing with their memories.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 69 / Defenses: 7 (157)

-A random backgrounder in the Weapon X Project, he developed their memory implants, with the promise of getting their anti-aging factor in return. However, they Welshed on the deal, and he was left depending on cybernetics to stay alive in his old age. He was killed after betraying Maverick, who had been assigned to protect him from the other former members of Team X (including Sabretooth).

-He was a mutant who could psionically alter memories, and was also in a super-strong Cybernetic Body. He was a talented enough Psionic to hide himself from Professor Xavier for years, and forced Sabretooth to kill Silver Fox, and Wolverine to hold still. Physically, he's powerful but no match for a serious adversary. His primary schtick is secrecy, Illusion and Control.

[MacynSnow]

Psi-Borg makes a good "Mastermind" type Villian for a relatively New Hero Team,though he was aweful for Wolverine...

[M4C8]

I've always been into military 'stuff' and have an appreciation for armed forces personnel so I like characters such as Maverick and Solo.

[Jabroniville]

DOG LOGAN
Created By: Bill Jemas, Paul Jenkins, Joe Quesada & Andy Kubert
First Appearance: Origin #1 (Nov. 2001)
Role: Red Herring
Group Affiliations: The Hellfire Club
PL 10 (126)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+10)
Expertise (Survival) 10 (+13)
Intimidation 6 (+7)
Perception 7 (+10)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Technology 4 (+6)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 4 (Guns & Knives), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Guns), Ranged Attack 9, Startle, Takedown, Tracking

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Knives +12 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Guns +14 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +5, Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Enemy (Wolverine)

Total: Abilities: 72 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 16 (126)

-"Dog" was the abused son of the vicious Thomas Logan, introduced in 2001's Origin series to explain, FINALLY, the mysterious backstory of one Wolverine. Dog was a Red Herring of sorts- we were meant to suspect that HE was the future Wolverine (his father was basically an exact clone of Logan. Plus, y'know, the name). He becomes close with Rose (a pretty red-headed girl) and James Howlett, a sickly boy upon whose family estate the Logans work. However, Dog soon allows the abuse of his father to turn him into a cruel young teenager, to the point where he makes sexual advances upon the unwilling Rose. The resulting scuffle results in the Logans being fired from the estate, but Thomas murders James's dad, and it's soon revealed that he had slept with the man's mentally-disturbed wife- the big shocker: James was ALSO Thomas's son. Oh, and he sprouts bone claws and is totally Wolverine in the future.

-Dog is viciously-scarred across the face, and James's mother commits suicide. He disappears from the narrative for a good while, while Rose & James (now going by "Logan") run off to join work camps and stuff, while he deals with his mutant powers. Dog finally reappears as an adult, looking an AWFUL lot like Sabretooth, being hired by John Sr. (Wolverine's grandfather) to hunt down those responsible for the deaths of his family members. Dog attacks James at a bar, but poor Rose is slain when she attempts to intervene- James's own claws piercing her chest and killing her (thus giving him a lifelong weakness for redheads). Dog never reappears in the narrative.

-It wasn't until a bit later that we saw what became of him- he's now a TIME TRAVELLER, owing to finding some silly cave with special crystals in it. This was only a one-off however, and he soon appears in Wolverine & The X-Men, being recruited to join Kade Kilgore's Evil School. This surprised some folks who assumed he'd grow up to be Sabretooth, but Paul Jenkins says this was never really his intention ("but he could be. It doesn't matter."), but that future writers could make that connection. So, it was rather open-ended. And for a character who should be REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT (he's the brother of Wolverine, and was part of one of Marvel's bigger stories of the 2000s), he hasn't been used a lot, and a lot is unknown about him.

-Dog doesn't have a lot of powers explained- he's more of a Gear Guy in the later comics. As far as I know, he's not a Mutant, though Origin gave him some claws, pointy ears and fangs- these disappeared from later drawings of the character, because presumably somebody forgot.

[Batgirl III]

[F]or a character who should be REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT (he's the brother of Wolverine, and was part of one of Marvel's bigger stories of the 2000s), he hasn't been used a lot, and a lot is unknown about him.

I actually kind of admire Marvel’s restraint here. Comics far too often takes a character who was very important to one story and only really works in that storyline, but then reuses, recycles, and regurgitates that character until they become useless and retroactively ruin the original story. Consider the rough contemporary to Wolverine: Origin that was Batman: Hush... and how radioactive Hush became after he got overused in the following months/years. See also Evil Raven of Terror of Trigon, Evil Jean in The Dark Phoenix Saga, Red Hulk in anything ever...

Let sleeping Dog lie.

[Jabroniville]

CYBER (Silas Burr)
Created By: Peter David & Sam Keith
First Appearance: Marvel Comics Presents #85 (Sept. 1991)
Role: Classic '90s Bad-Ass
PL 11 (224)
STRENGTH 9 STAMINA 9 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (History) 6 (+9)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+8)
Expertise (Soldier) 6 (+9)
Intimidation 8 (+11)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 7 (+10)
Technology 2 (+5)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Close Combat 4, Contacts, Diehard, Equipment 2, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Track

Powers:
"Adamantium Skin" Protection 4 (Extras: Impervious 11) (Drawbacks: Weak Point- Face) [14]
Power-Lifting 1 (12 tons) [1]
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Senses 5 (Detect Brain Waves, Ranged 2, Acute, Tracking) [5]

"Hallucinogenic Adamantium Finger-Claws" All Powers Linked
Strength-Damage +0 (Feats: Split, Penetrating 6) [7]
Weaken Strength 11 (Extras: Progressive +2) [33]
"Confusion" Affliction 11 (Fort; Impaired/Defenseless/Transformed to Confused- Random Actions) (Extras: Cumulative) [22]

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Claws +13 (+11 Weaken & Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +13 (+6 Impervious), Fortitude +9, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Sadism)- Cyber is a longtime soldier, murderer and overall sadist, happy to kill for the sake of causing pain and destruction.

Total: Abilities: 88 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 20 / Powers: 81 / Defenses: 11 (224)

-I hate characters like Cyber. It's like, some writer goes "Hey, y'know what'd be REALLY bad-ass? If Wolverine fought ANOTHER guy with claws! Only... this guy's claws secrete POISON! And his SKIN is made out of Adamantium, too! AWESOME!" Peter David, I'm ashamed of you for creating this "Fanboy's Wet Dream" monstrosity. Never mind that his look is pretty awful- just a guy with metal arms and a plain black onsie.

-Cyber is Silas Burr, a Canadian murderer who escaped justice around the turn of the 20th Century, eventually becoming the cruel drill instructor of a man named Logan. He's instructed to help dehumanize Logan and turn him into the perfect weapon. Logan sees Silas murder a woman Logan liked (in cold blood, too), he attacks his superior officer, but is badly beaten and has his eye gouged out, leaving him with a permanent fear of the man who would become Cyber. So THAT's why all the "Marvel Cards" around the '90s explain that "Wolvering is afraid of Cyber"! That always seemed so out of character! I guess it makes sense, though- past trauma and all that.

-Burr would also train Wolverine's son Daken in the late 1950s, but Daken turned on him and eviscerated him- the mutant Romulus discovered him, and chose Burr to be the prototype for an "Adamantium-Skin-Bonding" process. So THAT's his secret origin story! All featuring entirely new characters.

Cyber in Marvel Comics Presents:
-Cyber actually debuted in MCP, an Anthology-style book featuring four stories per issue, all too short to really gain any appreciation for the tales told within. Here, Silas shows up as "Cyber" in Madripoor, acting as an enforcer for a drug cartel that's fighting Tyger Tiger's forces. Wolverine therefore experienced the terror from the past beating, but manages to overcome it and save Tyger's life, biting out Cyber's left eye. Fittingly, Cyber lands on a truck bed full of hallucinogens and runs screaming into the night.

-The character is thus sort of treated as a "Big Deal" at the time- his Adamantium Skin rendering him hard to kill, and his "Wolverine is afraid of him" status giving him props. He faces off against X-Factor once, then Wolverine again, but consistently escapes following his defeats. Once, he fought an Adamantium-less Logan, and managed to chase him off (Logan was weakened badly), but was outsmarted by Kitty Pryde and Excalibur.

-Despite his status as a "Wolverine Foe", he was considered ultimately disposable by the next writers, who wrote him out in the funniest way possible: he was broken out of custody by the Dark Riders, trussed up, and then EATEN ALIVE by a swarm of "Mutant Deathwatch Beetles", who consumed his flesh, leaving his Adamantium Skin intact- this skin was melted down (... somehow) and then inserted into Wolverine, in an attempt at giving him his metal skeleton back- it didn't work, and the resulting eruption killed almost all of the assembled Riders. Like... his killers are TYLER DAYSPRING and the DARK RIDERS. How's THAT for ignominious? Frankly, it comes off like the writers just found Cyber embarrassing, and wanted rid of him.

Cyber Returns:
-Cyber makes an odd return more than ten years later, having possessed the body of a powerful mutant boy named Milo Gunderson. He interferes in a Wolverine/Daken fight, explaining his "Daken/Romulus" backstory and how he got his Adamantium, fighting Daken himself. However, Milo has a weak heart, and Cyber's life is saved by Wolverine and the Tinkerer. Finally, he allies with them both (??) in his hunt for Romulus (*checks* ah, this is a JEPH LOEB story. No wonder it makes no sense in summation). It turns out that the carbonadium pacemaker the Tinkerer outfitted him with is fatally-toxic with radiation, and Cyber is left for dead by Wolverine & Daken. He's later killed by Ogun, who states that he was a formidable opponent. He dissolves Cyber!Milo's corpse in acid, and sells the adamantium carapace he was wearing to Dr. Abraham Cornelius.

-Cyber makes an inexplicable return during Secret Empire, working for HYDRA while disguised as Hornet from The Slingers. He of course immediately comes across one of Hornet's old teammates, Ricochet, who is probably pissed at the guy mimicking his deceased friend. Ricochet and the Scarlet Spider (Kaine) fight Cyber!Hornet, but eventually he says that he was chosen by the Black Marvel and tried to get the Slingers team to capture Kaine. However, it turns out that the Marvel has no soul- it's only here that we discover that it's Cyber. This is pretty nonsensical. Did nobody think to check if Cyber was alive or not?

Cyber's Powers:
-This is 1990s, original body Cyber, and as expected, adding a Mercenary build onto a Wolverine Hater build (ie. Claws, Protection, etc.) gets pricey. He's a PL 11 guy who is on Logan's level who can punch it out with a powerhouse, stab people, use the rare Confusion-based power (an Affliction- that's basically what a "hallucinogenic drug" is), Weaken them like a poison, and detect people from far away. Oh yeah, and he's super-strong and has ADAMANTIUM SKIN, as well (but not on his face, letting me use the "Weak Point" Drawback that allows Critical Hits to avoid the Protection). So he's a bad dude all-around, and can really do a number on guys like Logan. After he died, he took over the body of another mutant, this one a guy with super-strength who later ALSO had his skin replaced with Adamantium, essentially turning into a heart attack-prone guy with the same powers.