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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squirrelly-sama
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Champions of Xandar! Comet Man! Colossus!)

Post by squirrelly-sama »

Yeah, saves and how they work in comics are always a hassle. Unless everything goes their a way a character is pretty much never going to see their third tier status without Cumulative or Progressive, even then it requires some really good luck on your part. Right off the bat a target has about a 50/50 chance of resisting the first check to even be afflicted, even being on the bad side an extreme resistance shift is usually only a 50% chance to do 2nd tier status. So on top of that you need to hope they also flub their roll. You can power shift but that throws in issues with how likely you are to hit since resistances don't scale with defense so you can run into a 15 dodge 15 resist you can't hope to hit and likely aren't going to even status on a successful hit with a full power shift.

I tend to cheat for these sorts of things if it's absolutely necisary, linking things like weaken, additional limited impairing/disabling afflictions, and even a bit of forced reroll luck. An incredibly cheesy and expensive way to build what should be a fairly mundane attack.

On another note, seriously? Oedipus touch? what was he thinking? I mean, sure Oedipus went blind by gouging out his own eyes but he's much more famous for the reason why he felt the need to gouge them out. Unless it makes them go blind by seeing their mom naked that doesn't name seems really out of place.
Doc chaos
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Champions of Xandar! Comet Man! Colossus!)

Post by Doc chaos »

Bill Mumy, on the Twilight zone in my opinion has the greatest display of powers. The way he points at that guy, you're not think bad things!
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M4C8
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Champions of Xandar! Comet Man! Colossus!)

Post by M4C8 »

I thought, given his Spider-sense, Spider-Man was one of the few heroes who can still fight while blind. Though the fact that he so often gets hit in the first place is a constant annoyance to me.
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
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Charlie Weiderman

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

CHARLIE WEIDERMAN
Created By:
J. Michael Straczynski & Mike Deodato, Jr.
First Appearance: The Official Handbook of the Spider-Man Universe (April 2005)
Role: Evil Nerd
PL 11 (87)
STRENGTH
0/7 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Technology 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Inventor

Powers:
"Vibranium Skin"
Enhanced Strength 7 [14]
Protection 18 (Extras: Impervious 17) [35]
Immunity 10 (Falling Damage, Entrapment Effects) [10]
"Vibrational Frequency" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Vibranium Skin +4 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +18 (+9 Impervious), Fortitude +2, Will +2

Complications:
Reputation (Nerd & Loser)
Relationship (Peter Parker)- Charlie and Peter were the two nerdiest kids at Midtown High- Peter eventually befriended Charlie after bullying him at first, and remains the only friend Charlie ever had.

Total: Abilities: 12 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 60 / Defenses: 9 (87)

-ahhhhhhhhh THIS story.

-This one is actually chillingly accurate to things in my own life. Charlie Weiderman was apparently THE nerdiest kid at Midtown High. Nerdier even than Peter Parker. And while Pete got bullied frequently for his nerdiness, so did Charlie. Even MORESO. To the point where even PETER would pick on Charlie in a moment of weakness. Because this act of bullying made PETER seem cooler to the bullies at school- he felt like he "fit in" when he pummelled poor Charlie with a volleyball in gym class. The jocks were like "Hey, if PUNY PARKER can pick on him, then Weiderman really IS a huge loser!"

-This was a huge eye-opener to me when I read bits and pieces of this comic book in 2005. See, this EXACT SAME THING is something that I myself discovered. While I was never the "bottom tier" kid in school, I was skinny, awkward, clumsy and nerdy in school, which made me an easy target. But there were kids WORSE than me... and I discovered very quickly that if *I* joined in on the bullying on those kids, then *I* didn't get any of the bullying myself! It's one of those horrible, dog-eat-dog, vicious things about public school and human nature. In almost every school I went to, it was a different kid. I'd figure out what upset them, egg them on over it, laugh with the other kids about how that guy cried (one kid was notorious for crying over the tiniest thing, with his eyes super-tight and not making a sound; another we allowed to be teased and picked on by a group of second-graders when we were in the sixth grade). So when I read this comic, it was a huge Inside Baseball moment- the writer HAD TO have seen this technique, or else he'd have never known about it.

-The actual comic, of course, went full-bore with it. Peter, out of guilt, befriended Charlie and tried to make amends, even taking blame when Charlie pulled a knife on his tormentors. Peter was backed up by Uncle Ben, but Ben told him never to hang out with Charlie again after the boy slashed the tires of his bullies (Ben defended Charlie from some violent goons, but was angry when Charlie denied doing the crime in the first place).

-This is all backstory to Charlie reappearing in Peter's adult life, as he'd moved away from school shortly after that incident. As an adult, Charlie had created a Vibranium Skinsuit that could be put onto soldiers, and was working with Tony Stark over it. HOWEVER, Charlie used his connection with Peter to lie his way through the process, telling Stark that Peter had been working with him (Pete only gave Stark a recommendation based off of his friendship with Charlie). Naturally, the experiment exploded on Charlie, dousing him in liquid vibranium. Since this made him volatile and frightened, he began threatening various people, even hunting down past bullies. Murdering two of his & Peter's former classmates, he was confronted by Spider-Man. Threatening to kill Peter's family as a result of him "blabbing" to Spidey, Charlie was finally stopped with some Stark-Tech that turned him into a living statue. Later, after he recovered, he torched Aunt May's home, leaving the Parkers without a home (ah, so THAT's how that happened...). Eventually, Harry Osborn helped him remove the skinsuit- the same process then cured Harry's ex-brother-in-law, The Molten Man.

-Charlie's Vibranium Skin renders him virtually unkillable, as no conventional form of attack could harm him. This makes him a rare PL 11 sort of guy, but only because he's RIDICULOUSLY Toughness-shifted. That level of durability is a total game-breaker, especially to a Street-Level guy like Spider-Man.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:51 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Cagliostro

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

CAGLIOSTRO (aka O-Bengh, Al-Tothas)
Created by: Gerry Conway & Frank Springer
First Appearance: Dracula Lives #5 (March 1974)

-Cagliostro is another forgotten Sorcerer character, who probably won't see much use since a prominent Spawn character was given that name. He may be the sorcerer that taught a time-travelling Doctor Doom the mystic arts, and later developed an elixir of immortality from vampire blood. Taking the name Al-Tothas from a Middle Eastern sorcerer, he stole the Book of the Darkhold from a thief who was working for Dracula (who wanted to hide the book's Montesi Formula, since it could destroy all vampires), earning the eternal hatred of the vampire. Eventually taking the name Cagliostro (having killed and taken the form of his apprentice), he became an advisor to King Louis XVI of France- here, he met the time-travelling Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau version). He tried to cure his wife Lorenza of vampirism, but failed- instead, he took on Marie Laveau as a lover and made her immortal as well.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:52 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Woodclaw
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Re: Charlie Weiderman

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Nov 16, 2018 8:25 pm -ahhhhhhhhh THIS story.

-This one is actually chillingly accurate to things in my own life. Charlie Weiderman was apparently THE nerdiest kid at Midtown High. Nerdier even than Peter Parker. And while Pete got bullied frequently for his nerdiness, so did Charlie. Even MORESO. To the point where even PETER would pick on Charlie in a moment of weakness. Because this act of bullying made PETER seem cooler to the bullies at school- he felt like he "fit in" when he pummelled poor Charlie with a volleyball in gym class. The jocks were like "Hey, if PUNY PARKER can pick on him, then Weiderman really IS a huge loser!"

-This was a huge eye-opener to me when I read bits and pieces of this comic book in 2005. See, this EXACT SAME THING is something that I myself discovered. While I was never the "bottom tier" kid in school, I was skinny, awkward, clumsy and nerdy in school, which made me an easy target. But there were kids WORSE than me... and I discovered very quickly that if *I* joined in on the bullying on those kids, then *I* didn't get any of the bullying myself! It's one of those horrible, dog-eat-dog, vicious things about public school and human nature. In almost every school I went to, it was a different kid. I'd figure out what upset them, egg them on over it, laugh with the other kids about how that guy cried (one kid was notorious for crying over the tiniest thing, with his eyes super-tight and not making a sound; another we allowed to be teased and picked on by a group of second-graders when we were in the sixth grade). So when I read this comic, it was a huge Inside Baseball moment- the writer HAD TO have known about this technique, or else he'd have never known about it.

-The actual comic, of course, went full-bore with it. Peter, out of guilt, befriended Charlie and tried to make amends, even taking blame when Charlie pulled a knife on his tormentors. Peter was backed up by Uncle Ben, but Ben told him never to hang out with Charlie again after the boy slashed the tires of his bullies (Ben defended Charlie from some violent goons, but was angry when Charlie denied doing the crime in the first place).
Oh hell, this really hits very close for me too. I was pretty much Charlie throughout all of middle school -- up to the point that I had to go to therapy -- I tried to go into that dog-eat-dog mentality, but it just wasn't me. Things started to go better after I dumped a couple of "old friends" that I've been hanging around in spite of the fact that they took advantage of me and... believe it or not, I discovered (at the verge of being 15) that I wasn't a "special case", there were others that liked the same stuff that I did.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

WareHouse W (main build thread for M&M)
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HalloweenJack
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Champions of Xandar! Comet Man! Colossus!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

Yeah, school isn't a kind thing.

I had issues mainly in high school. Elementary school and middle school weren't so bad. You could get into fights and it's not really considered a big deal. I remember my English teacher in 7th grade even telling that she was glad I knocked this one kid down a peg or two when we got into it, because he was a total asshat. My best friend at the time said that was my Kung Lao moment, meaning that it looked cool because Kung Lao was like his favorite Mortal Kombat character.

High school was a different animal. You get into a fight there, it's three days suspension whether you started it or were just defending yourself. That may not have mattered to alot of guys at my school, but the one fight I got into (on school grounds anyway) came right before a big Algebra test, that knocked my grade down from a B to an F, and I had bust my ass to get it back up.

It was also different because it seemed like earlier in school, there was that 'fair fight' mentality, where everybody wanted to go one on one to show how tough they were. In high school, a group versus one person wasn't uncommon at all, especially when you factor in high school was where you had just run of the mill bullies and then the psychos who became hardcore criminals. I sat next to a guy in English who ended up murdering his father and stepmother a few years later. Another couple of guys broke into the school and really did a number on it. School was cancelled all week due to it. So that's some of the guys you had to deal with.

Add in that school officials did not care at all. I have a friend who's a teacher up there and she tells me things are totally different now compared to how they were. And in alot of cases, the kids kinda intimidated the authority figures. I had rocks thrown at me on the bus pretty regularly. You complain and nothing got done about it. But things did get done where I threatened the group of guys that threw them, and the bus driver told me to come to the front and I declined because I standing up for myself. I got suspended for three days over that. Weirdest part is that was like a Thursday and I didn't get suspended until the following Wednesday.

Anyways, rambling....what was my technique for dealing with people like that? The crazy eyes. It didn't always work, but most of the time it did. You get a little Michael Keaton crazy and mostly bullies back off because they don't expect it. It's usually the crazies themselves who don't back off.
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The Cosmic Commandos

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

THE COSMIC COMMANDOS:
Created by: Mark Gruenwald & Scott Eaton
First Appearance: The Star Masters #1 (Dec. 1995)

-The Cosmic Commandos are a band of Space Cops who flew to Earth and arrested Quasar for crimes he didn't commit. Quasar went along willingly, but soon escaped to find the real culprits, at which point the Silver Surfer & Beta Ray Bill teamed with him- both handily defeated the Commandos (even Xenith, the sister of Gladiator). Captain Morfex, their leader, eventually joined the heroes in saving Earth from a meteor, even at the cost of disobeying direct orders from the base- this got his subordinate, Stenth, to betray him and declare himself the NEW Captain. Morfex turned out to be Yet Another Good Skrull (though this was the '90s, so he pre-dates most of them), and the heroes saved Earth. Both Xenith and Morphex quit the Cosmic Commandos and join a new group- "The Star Masters" (alongside Quasar, Bill & the Surfer). It would turn out that the Axi-Tun race had framed Quasar, and the Commandos were defeated by the Star Masters. They have never reappeared.

-The Star Masters series only lasted for three issues, and is one of the last comic books Mark Gruenwald ever wrote- it apparently had a very contentious behind-the-scenes production, though I can't find any specifics about it.

THE ROSTER:
CAPTAIN MORFEX: A Skrull who disguises himself as a human-like Axi-Tun. Skrullian Shapeshifting and Space Soldier-type stuff.
STENTH: No powers listed, but he betrayed Morfex and took command of the group from him.
STELLUNG: A physically large gray alien with claws, a mace, and flight.
FANTO: Can fly in space, detect energy signatures, and remain invisible to the senses of most (but not those of the Silver Surfer).
KRYAD: A woman who can shoot Energy Blasts and fly.
RUGER: A very large alien who wore a suit that enabled flight. He also had paired guns.
URG: A very large pink alien- Marvunapp suggests he has Class 50-ish Strength.
VORT: A four-armed woman who wielded a gun with each hand, and could fly.
XENITH: The purple-skinned cousin of Gladiator, who later turned evil and went by the name "Strontian" as the Imperial Guard's analog to Supergirl or Andromeda.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Cosmo

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

COSMO THE SPACEDOG
Created By:
Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning & Wellington Alves
First Appearance: Nova #8 (Jan. 2008)
Role: Greatest Character Ever, Talking Animal
Group Affiliations: The Guardians of the Galaxy
PL 9 (145)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Investigation 5 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Expertise (Knowhere Security Guard) 6 (+9)
Expertise (History) 2 (+5)
Perception 6 (+9)
Persuasion 4 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Telekinetics) 9 (+9)
Technology 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit (Security Officer of Knowhere), Great Endurance, Equipment 3 (Translator, Space Suit), Fast Grab, Improved Trip

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision, Ultra & Extended Hearing) [5]
"Animal Physiology" Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
"Natural Weapons- Teeth" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Communication (Mental) 4 (Extras: Area-Burst, Selective) Linked to Mind-Reading 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (41) -- [51]
  • Dynamic AE: "Telekinesis" Move Object 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: TK Blast 9 (Feats: Dynamic) (19)
  • Dynamic AE: "TK Burst" Damage 9 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (19)
  • Dynamic AE: Force Field 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others) (Flaws: Immobile on Last Four Ranks) (13)
  • AE: "TK Objects" Create 9 (18)
  • AE: "Mental Blast" Blast 7 (Extras: Perception Range, Alternate Save- Will) (28)
Equipment:
"Doggy Space Suit"
Immunity 5 (Immunity to Heat, Cold, Pressure, Vacuum, Radiation) (5)
Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Bite +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
TK Blast +9 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
TK Burst +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Mental Blast -- (+7 Perception Will Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +2 (+4 Suit, +12 Force Field), Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Though Cosmo can speak and use Telekinesis quite well, he cannot use his paws to easily manipulate objects.
Responsibility (Security Officer of Knowhere)

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 59 / Defenses: 15 (145)

-Who doesn't love Cosmo? A Soviet test animal turned into a telepathic, telekinetic Cosmo-dog who is somehow the director of security of Knowhere, the giant floating severed head of a Celestial on the edge of the galaxy. He's that perfect mix of "so stupid & comicky" and "cleverly silly" that you can't help but laugh. The fact that he acts JUST ENOUGH like a real-life dog in his mannerisms and behavior, alongside speaking broken Russkie-English, first acting like a normal person would in a situation, but then FREAKING OUT and going all "HE DID! HE DID GIVE ME A PRESENT!" when offered a playtoy or something- it's hilarious.

-Cosmo was a wonderful side-character in the Abnett/Lanning Nova/Guardians of the Galaxy stories, backing up the heroes, but when he gets into the thick of things, he proves himself pretty well. One arc of GOTG resulted in Cosmo's death, alongside the majority of the supporting cast. But of course, it was a TIME TRAVEL story, so the final death toll got reverted for the most part. Which was good- Cosmo's too good a supporting character to waste. But then Guardians had pulled that trope off too many times by the end, and fans kinda got sick of it.

-Cosmo ended up kind of farting around after the wheels fell off of Marvel's Cosmic books, as he formed The Annihilators after Star-Lord was thought dead. But after that, the character largely vanished- the new GOTG books were far more Movie-inspired, and Cosmo was a mere cameo in the first one, and didn't show up later. So the character has REALLY been wasted, though probably isn't quite fitting of a regular cast member so much as "the guy at the base". And I get the impression that only his creators really knew how to use him, as you see a HUGE drop-off in "Cosmo Appearances" after Abnett & Lanning are gone.

-Cosmo's interesting, being a Jean Grey-like mix of Telepathy & Telekinesis, alongside his Doggie-based abilities and his Skills. He's pretty capable (and has been shown in the comics to be pretty powerful if he gets going), but isn't a battlefield specialist or even that experienced at fighting, given that he spends most of his time back at HQ. So he's a pretty good PL 9 (145), packing defensive power with his Force Fields and some good offensive Blasting power (both Mental & TK-Bludgeoning).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Ares
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Re: Colossus

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Nov 15, 2018 1:49 am Image

COLOSSUS (Piotr Nikolaevitch Rasputin)
Created By:
Len Wein & Dave Cockrum
First Appearance: Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
Role: The Gentle Giant, Team Powerhouse, Fate's Butt-Monkey, Protective Brother/Lover, The Naiive Kid, The Hidden Bad-Ass
Group Affiliations: The X-Men, The Acolytes, Excalibur, The Breakworld, X-Force
Well, I've finally managed to get some free time while on vacation, so hey, might as well talk about Colossus.

Poor, poor Colossus.

Colossus was always a favorite X-Man of mine, though not my personal favorite. That position goes to Cyclops (I'm weird, what can I say), followed by guys like Beast, Iceman and, of course, Colossus. And it's no surprise, Colossus has a lot of the aspects I love in superheroes: the good man with the gentle soul whom you do not want to rouse to anger. As Patrick Rothfuss put it: “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

But for the longest time, it seems writers just didn't know what to do with the poor guy. It seems like, ever since Jim Shooter broke him and Kitty up (and while I will defend Shooter on a lot of things, I really can't here) the poor guy can't catch a break. He gets locked into his metal form for a long period of time, he loses his brother, then his parents, then his sister, he can't stick with a team for any length of time, they keep flip-flopping on him and Kitty, they kill him off, they bring him back, they make him Juggernaut, they break him and Kitty up AGAIN, just my God.

Its also weird how Colossus tends to have a lot of cool combat feats (he even had a decent fight with the Hulk in one issue), but not a lot of lifting feats.It's also weird how top-heavy the top tier at Marvel has gotten. If there was any logic, most folks with superstrength would be in the Class 50 range or lower, guys in the Class 80 range like the Thing and Colossus would be the "as strong as you can normally get" range, and then you'd have maybe a handful of Class 100 types. You should have 3 or 4 times as many Thing-level bricks as Thor-level bricks, but it frequently feels like the opposite is true.

I'm against reboots in general, but Marvel could do with something like Zero Hour where continuity gets streamlined a bit and some of the worst mistakes get erased. And just put Peter and Kitty together for the love of Stan Lee. There was no reason to ruin their marriage other than a bait and switch with Gambit and Rogue.
"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
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Comet Man! Colossus! Cosmo the Space-Dog!)

Post by Jabroniville »

I feel like the ‘70s was mostly low-tier powerhouses (Spidey, Nova, Cage, etc.), while the ‘80s-‘90s saw a lot of Class 100 guys -one per team, with the archetypal “Strong Guys” that Peter David started making fun of- Colossus, Thing, Strong Guy, Sasquatch and more- even Image started in on the act. The Thing used to be the only one, but his tier got used A LOT.

But now, Marvel’s all about power-geeking and ripping off Superman. So Hulk gets a permanent boost, you have Sentry, Blue Marvel, Star Brand, etc... and now Piotr and Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew look ridiculously weak by comparison.
Jabroniville
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You're Shakin' My Confidence Daily

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image
Image
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DR. CECILIA REYES
Created By:
Scott Lobdell & Carlos Pacheco
First Appearance: X-Men #65 (June 1997)
Group Affiliations: The X-Men
Role: Pacifist Superhero, Team Healer, Force Field User
PL 9 (103)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+5)
Deception 4 (+5)
Expertise (Current Events) 4 (+7)
Perception 4 (+5)
Persuasion 4 (+5)
Treatment 12 (+15)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
X-Uniform (Communications), Ranged Attack, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Force Field"
Force Field 10 (Extras: Affects Others, Impervious 15) [35]
"Force Attack" Strength-Damage +3 [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Force Attack +5 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +1 (+11 Force Field, +8 Impervious), Fortitude +3, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Unwanted Mutation)- Cecilia finds her mutant powers a hassle, and being a mutant has ruined her life- out of all the X-Men, she seemed the most resentful over the whole deal.
Responsibility (Do No Harm)- As a Doctor, Cecilia disbelieves in running around and kicking the crap out of people, and lets her point of view be known. Frequently.
Side-Effect (Pain)- Cecilia can still sometimes feel pain when someone hits her field, though this is not typically debilitating.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 38 / Defenses: 11 (103)

-Cecilia Reyes was a character brought into the X-fold during the Lobdell Era of the books, along with Marrow and Maggott- they were attempts to get some new characters some hype with the series' fancy new artists (Carlos Pacheco & Joe Madureira). Cecilia was a doctor fired from her job after she was outed publically as a mutant, and ended up teaming with Iceman as a central part of Operation: Zero Tolerance (one of the more disappointing and dumb X-Crossovers). She used her Doctor Skillz to save Cyclops' life, but made a point that she didn't want to join the X-Men proper. See, she was a doctor who hated being a mutant, and had little patience for super-hero ass-kick games, but was nonetheless forced into them. This kind of made her a grouchy, but interesting, character, who often lectured others about the constant fights that were always going on. She had some stuff to her, but was basically written out once Lobdell left the books, only showing up occasionally since then. Also, for some reason, she didn't have her own Wikipedia page until after 2015, even though people like *D.J. AND INDRA* did!

-After leaving the team, she set up a private practice, but got roped into things again when The Neo attacked the X-Men- Chris Claremont, to his credit, had actually decided to USE some of the X-Men created since his contentious departure many years previous. Captured by the Neo, she was forced to use the street drug "Rave", which boostered her powers dramatically- she was able to detox at the X-Mansion with Professor X's help. She was the one to discover Colossus's dead body after he allowed himself to be used as the catalyst for the cure to the Legacy Virus, but then left the books for a long while.

-She reappeared at the "Neverland" mutant concentration camp, using her expertise to help out the other prisoners. She was actually thought killed OFF-PANEL (by a brainwashed Agent Zero) until someone realized that was lame (the editorial column in New Excalibur #1 said it was so, but the writer of the scene said he'd have SHOWN it if it were true. She later showed up alive, working off the record and under the table in poor communities in the NYX book- her brother was the head of the O*N*E Sentinels guarding the X-Mansion at the time. After that, she has made sporadic appearances, typically to help out in minor ways- X-23 getting her to stitch up a wounded Gambit, finding one of the Five Lights (the mutants born after M-Day)- stuff like that. She was very briefly a part of the Astonishing X-Men third or fourth book, but it didn't last long. She was shown in a relationship with Gambit, but that turned out to be one of those weird "Modern Comic Book Couplings" that starts and ends in such a short time, with no build-up, that it is effectively meaningless.

-Honestly, I always liked Cecilia- the whole "I didn't WANT to be a mutant!" thing felt real, like it was an unnecessary inconvenience to the life of someone who already HAD a set career plan, and didn't want to be railroaded into superheroics. That it kinda happened anyways, and keeps dragging her back in, feels somewhat true to life. Her power-set was useful and unique while not being overpowered (it was barely even capable of offensive action!), and her being around allowed for gory injuries that'd otherwise be hand-waved away, much like Dr. Mid-Nite on the JSA book. The only unfortunate thing is that Armor now has a much showier, more exciting version of the same power-set, rendering Cecilia less unique.

-Reyes is barely PL 9 (more like 8.5 defensively), lacking any kind of serious firepower, and can only help people out with her Force Fields. Good for a "starting" hero, but nothing much in a fight.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:54 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Charlie Weiderman

Post by Jabroniville »

Woodclaw wrote: Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:03 pm
Oh hell, this really hits very close for me too. I was pretty much Charlie throughout all of middle school -- up to the point that I had to go to therapy -- I tried to go into that dog-eat-dog mentality, but it just wasn't me. Things started to go better after I dumped a couple of "old friends" that I've been hanging around in spite of the fact that they took advantage of me and... believe it or not, I discovered (at the verge of being 15) that I wasn't a "special case", there were others that liked the same stuff that I did.
Wow, so you even had the "just above you on the totem-pole" guys beating on you, too? That's pretty shitty. I did the WORST of my business in Elementary & Middle School, but even into High School, I'd join in the teasing of one kid (I remember a big group of us singing Big Girls Don't Cry at him as he cried in the library).
HalloweenJack wrote: Fri Nov 16, 2018 11:08 pm Yeah, school isn't a kind thing.

I had issues mainly in high school. Elementary school and middle school weren't so bad. You could get into fights and it's not really considered a big deal. I remember my English teacher in 7th grade even telling that she was glad I knocked this one kid down a peg or two when we got into it, because he was a total asshat. My best friend at the time said that was my Kung Lao moment, meaning that it looked cool because Kung Lao was like his favorite Mortal Kombat character.

High school was a different animal. You get into a fight there, it's three days suspension whether you started it or were just defending yourself. That may not have mattered to alot of guys at my school, but the one fight I got into (on school grounds anyway) came right before a big Algebra test, that knocked my grade down from a B to an F, and I had bust my ass to get it back up.

It was also different because it seemed like earlier in school, there was that 'fair fight' mentality, where everybody wanted to go one on one to show how tough they were. In high school, a group versus one person wasn't uncommon at all, especially when you factor in high school was where you had just run of the mill bullies and then the psychos who became hardcore criminals. I sat next to a guy in English who ended up murdering his father and stepmother a few years later. Another couple of guys broke into the school and really did a number on it. School was cancelled all week due to it. So that's some of the guys you had to deal with.

Add in that school officials did not care at all. I have a friend who's a teacher up there and she tells me things are totally different now compared to how they were. And in alot of cases, the kids kinda intimidated the authority figures. I had rocks thrown at me on the bus pretty regularly. You complain and nothing got done about it. But things did get done where I threatened the group of guys that threw them, and the bus driver told me to come to the front and I declined because I standing up for myself. I got suspended for three days over that. Weirdest part is that was like a Thursday and I didn't get suspended until the following Wednesday.

Anyways, rambling....what was my technique for dealing with people like that? The crazy eyes. It didn't always work, but most of the time it did. You get a little Michael Keaton crazy and mostly bullies back off because they don't expect it. It's usually the crazies themselves who don't back off.
I remember the division between "Jerkass Bullies" and "This guy will legitimately stab you" becoming obvious quite well. One kid, a vicious bastard named Corey, was a notorious jerk even in Elementary School, where he was known for just randomly pummeling kids (including me at least once- I remember a teacher lecturing him for stomping on my side at recess, saying he could have ruptured my spleen), but he had a "cool look" (ie. hair pulled over one eye, plus he was grungy) and liked trendy, "adult" music like rap, so kids still wanted to hang out with him.

He was eventually kicked out of school for actually PUNCHING a teacher. In Elementary school. A couple years later, I saw him in Middle School, but he ended up being expelled for literally riding his skateboard up and down a teacher's car! And I don't even think he KNEW that teacher- he just randomly decided to wreck it!

I have no idea what became of him, but I'm pretty sure he ended up in "the system" at some point, and is a regular sight in prison. No way does a kid like that ever turn out normal. Some people are just born broken.
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Woodclaw
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Re: Charlie Weiderman

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Nov 17, 2018 7:03 am
Woodclaw wrote: Fri Nov 16, 2018 10:03 pm
Oh hell, this really hits very close for me too. I was pretty much Charlie throughout all of middle school -- up to the point that I had to go to therapy -- I tried to go into that dog-eat-dog mentality, but it just wasn't me. Things started to go better after I dumped a couple of "old friends" that I've been hanging around in spite of the fact that they took advantage of me and... believe it or not, I discovered (at the verge of being 15) that I wasn't a "special case", there were others that liked the same stuff that I did.
Wow, so you even had the "just above you on the totem-pole" guys beating on you, too? That's pretty shitty. I did the WORST of my business in Elementary & Middle School, but even into High School, I'd join in the teasing of one kid (I remember a big group of us singing Big Girls Don't Cry at him as he cried in the library).
Beating no. Fortunately when it came to beating I was able to hold my own, but since I was very easy touchy, my classmates decided it was fun to make my life a little slice of hell. The other problem was that, back then, I still hanged with some friends from primary school, who loved to think they were cooler than cool (ina brutal 1995 way). I sticked with them because they were pretty much the only people in school that didn't make fun of me as I passed by, but they exploited my friendship in another way. Back then we pretty much hanged out at the local arcade and one afternoon I realized that in over 3 hours they only thing they had spoken to me only to ask if I could give them one or more of my coins. It was then that I understood that they didn't give a damn about me being there. A couple of days later, when they asked why I wasn't around the arcade anymore and I just shrugged, one of them pulled out a notepad and said that I owned him because of the coins from the arcade I never repaid him. I think it was the first time in my life I really wished to punch someone until he couldn't take anymore. :(
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Jabroniville
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Conundrum

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

CONUNDRUM (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
J.M. DeMatteis & Luke Ross
First Appearance: The Spectacular Spider-Man #257 (May 1998)
Group Affiliations: The Army of Conundrum
Role: Illusionist Villain
PL 6 (75)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Terrorist) 5 (+7)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Technology 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 5 (Illusion Gear), Ranged Attack 2

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Secret (Illusionist)
Motivation (Greed & Terror)

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 9 (75)

-A forgotten character, Conundrum was trained by Mysterio, and led a group of terrorists, the Army of Conundrum. He kidnapped the daughter of the ambassador to Sufind (a fictional Arabic country), drawing the attention of Peter Parker, then in the identity of Prodigy (when he was disguising his identity). Prodigy locates Conundrum, who is feuding with another Mysterio protege, the villainous Mad Jack (aka Jack O'Lantern). Mad Jack escapes, but Conundrum is beaten as soon as Peter realizes that their various powers are just illusions.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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