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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Woodclaw
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Madelyne Pryor! Madcap! Mimic! Man-Killer!)

Post by Woodclaw »

The first time I read anything about Mankiller my reaction was "how come that Superia is related to Thundra and not her". The way Mark Bagley draw her she could easily pass for Thundra's sister.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Woodclaw
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Madelyne Pryor! Machine Teen! Madcap! Mimic!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Ares wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:56 pm
Woodclaw wrote: Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:34 pm Confession time.
Back in the day, I was really into the West Coast Avengers, much more than the New York team and, consequently, I was royally pissed when the series was canceled shortly after Bloodties (i.e. the 90s X-Men/Avengers crossover where they tried to make Exodus part of the backstory of Dane "Black Knight" Whitman.
Force Works wasn't a great title, it was literally another attempt to 90-fy the Avengers, which were perceived as a horribly old school team. It had the merit of finalizing the shift of John "U.S.Agent" Walker into a more interesting character than the mass of steroids he was (something that was promptly ignored as soon as Force Works ended). In general, the title was pretty mediocre and it's more or less a footnote of one of the worst eras of the Avengers and The Crossing was like the top of the turd. Even back then I tried to like that story, but it was fucked as all hell. Moonraker's insane backstory wasn't even the worst idea out of the entire event.
I was someone who liked both branches of the Avengers back in the day, and was likewise pretty pissed when the West Coast team was disbanded and remade into Force Works. The first issue had just horrible art, and introduced ultra-90s characters like Century, killed off long-time heroes like Wonder Man, and this eye got the most 90s versions of Marvel hero costumes. It didn't help when they tried to turn Iron Man into a sleeper agent of evil (tip to comic writers, unless you create the character and leave a lot of hints about them, this idea is terrible. See Hydra Cap) so they could replace him with a "hip, young, extreme" teen Tony.

It's a sad day when I have to look at the modern era of comics and the 90s and do a coin flip as to which one is worse.
What still pisses me off today was the on-panel reasoning for disbanding the West Coast team. During the last issue pretty much every member of the New York team -- except Hank Pym -- was acting out of character, up to the point that seeing U.S.Agent trying to punch Captain America seemed an absolutely natural response.
If I remember right the on-panel reasons for disbanding the team were:
  • The compound was pretty much destroyed by a recent attack by Ultron
    • This was a big problem, but it promptly ignored that the East Coast base was pretty new as well, since the Hydrobase was destroyed about 3 real world years before (by the sliding timescale it was probably 6 months old).
  • This put a number of people in constant jeopardy, including Spiderwoman's daughter.
    • I can kind of see that except that both teams had civilian support personnel at the time.
  • The team roster was of just 4 people and none of them powerful enough.
    • At the time the team included Scarlet Witch, U.S.Agent, Spiderwoman and War Machine, none of them was exactly a pushover, plus during the Atlantis Attack event the East team was down to 4 members as well.
  • Hawkeye and Wonderman were both A.W.O.L., which was acceptable for Clint but not for Simon because he was too powerful.
    • Again with the power level argument, based on that logic having Captain America, Black Widow and Black Knight on the East team was a waste of space.
  • During Bloodties War Machine was defeated by Exodus; according to Cap, this was because Jim allowed his 'racial superiority speeches' to get under his skin, which was unacceptable.
    • Now, at the time Exodus was pretty much the big new thing, possessing totally undefined powers. Actually, after almost killing Jim, he whacked Sersi around, but everyone was okay with that.
  • Again in Blooties U.S.Agent was acting as bodyguard to Charles Xavier and, again according to Cap, he stepped out of the line
    • Little problem there, Agent wasn't acting as an Avenger there, but under orders from the U.S. government. Based on that same logic, almost every member of the team was guilty of doing something inappropriate in his/hers private life.
The most incredible thing of the entire story were the last 6-7 pages. After the West team was disbanded -- with Iron Man breaking the tie -- and all its members quitting, all of a sudden the East team became super-apologetic trying to mend the bridge they just burned.


Roy Thomas, tried to present the entire deal as the last outcry of Operation Galaxy Storm (a crossover I actually enjoyed) since it was then that something went awry with the old guard of the team, with Iron Man leading the "execution squad" that killed the supreme intelligence. I can see that, but the problem is that except for Tony and Simon Williams all members of the "execution squad" were part of the East team (Vision, Sersi, Black Knight, Hercules, Eric Masterson as Thor), which made the entire thing absolutely nonsensical
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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Jabroniville
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Mr. Jip

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MR. JIP
Created By:
Terry Austin & Bret Blevins
First Appearance: Strange Tales #8 (Nov. 1987)
Role: Forgotten Villain, Schemer
PL 10 (159)
STRENGTH
5 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 6 (+9)
Expertise (Magic) 10 (+14)
Expertise (History) 5 (+9)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 5 (+8)
Perception 2 (+6)
Persuasion 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Artificer, Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 6, Ritualist

Powers:
"Magical Might"
"Mental Illusions" Illusion (All Senses) 10 (Flaws: Resisted by Will) (40) -- [46]
  • AE: Teleport 12 (24)
  • AE: Teleport 12 (Extras: Attack Only) (24)
  • AE: Eldritch Blast 10 (20)
  • AE: "Malleability" Elongation 2 (2)
  • AE: "Body Control" Extra Limbs 6 (6)
  • AE: "Tamper With Magic" Affliction 10 (Will; Impaired/Disabled/Controlled Powers) (Extras: Perception Range +2) (Flaws: Limited to Magic) (20)
Summon Spy 2 (Extras: Continuous) [6]
Regeneration 2 [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Eldritch Blast +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Tamper With Magic -- (+10 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Prejudice (Freak)- Mr. Jip has extended his own lifetime by usurping the bodies of others- his body is now a misshapen cadaverous creation.
Motivation (Power)- Though he was pretty small-time, Mr. Jip liked to manipulate various minions and deal-makers into doing his bidding.

Total: Abilities: 68 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 54 / Defenses: 10 (159)

-Mr. Jip is a Cloak & Dagger villain I only know because of his appearance in one of the Atlantis Attacks! annuals, which I finally read years after seeing it. His curious name and weird appearance made him memorable where many other similar villains would have gone forgotten by me, but he still has very, VERY few appearances. I mean, Cloak & Dagger were in a C-Tier book in their PRIME, much less nowadays, so one of their key baddies was either gonna turn into one of those Marvel Team-Up recurring Journeyman Villains, or just disappear entirely. It looks like the C&D writer, Terry Austin, was the only one to really use him, and so he trekked him out to the X-Men for that Annual appearance of his. Reading into who CREATES these guys makes it a lot more obvious why certain characters get used, sometimes.

-Mr. Jip was the first apprentice of The Ancient One, but was cast out for using black magic and evil stuff- he has gone on to become an immortal threat who usually manipulates others through the shadows. A particular favourite schtick is to promise great power, but asking a price in return- he once re-empowered Cloak (so that he could still hang around with Dagger- he felt Tandy would leave him if he was "normal") in order to gain his body as a future host. Then he switched the minds of Diamondback & Dazzler in order to blackmail the X-Men into stopping the Serpent Society from gathering a bunch of relics to empower Ghaur & Llyra's Evil Plan. Alas, he wasn't long for this world, and was killed in Latveria after screwing with Dagger again and getting offed by a former henchman, Night.

-A bargain-basement Wizard in terms of combat (though stronger than the usual types), Mr. Jip is more of a "Secret Manipulator" type who couldn't take very powerful superhumans in a close contest, much less a mage as powerful as Dr. Strange. He's good with people, and often takes part in Rituals, such as the ones that allow him to take over the bodies of others and thus allow him to remain ageless (he has to do this every time he gets too old, though sometimes he just kills someone to take their body, like he did with Dagger's Uncle).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Night & Day

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

NIGHT & DAY (Lea C. Farr & Anthony Zerbe)
Created By:
Terry Austin & Bret Blevins
First Appearance: Strange Tales #9 (Dec. 1987)
Role: Mooks, Mirror Image Villains (To Cloak & Dagger)

-Night and Day were the minions of Mr. Jip, and given similar powers to Cloak & Dagger. They were used to separate Cloak from Dagger, allowing Jip to try and take a hold of Cloak's body as a repository for his soul- Dagger reappeared, stopping them. Night later used her powers to manipulate darkness to turn Dagger evil, and the heroine was left blinded after being rescued by Cloak & X-Factor. Ultimately, however, Night turned against Mr. Jip, killing him with a bullet made of light.

-Night could "extract the darkness" within people and manipulate it, which was a sort of Brainwashing thing. Day presumably had light powers, though I can't find anything on him.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:00 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Madelyne Pryor! Madcap! Mimic! Man-Killer!)

Post by FuzzyBoots »

... Nice bodystocking. Did the editors realize she was essentially naked?
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Madelyne Pryor! Madcap! Mimic! Man-Killer!)

Post by Goldar »

Jack of Spades wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 4:31 am When Man-Killer switched to her Amazon incarnation, she started using Pym Particles to grow. Not sure if that stuck.
Yes, and her strength increased up to Class 75 I do believe.

Jab, I think Mankiller's profile is fine; you just need another one for her Amazon incarnation. That one pic you have of Eric Josten looking up at her is when he liked her but she tried to beat him up. Ultimately, he out-grew her and stepped on her.
Last edited by Goldar on Sat Apr 27, 2019 10:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Madelyne Pryor! Madcap! Mimic! Man-Killer!)

Post by Shock »

FuzzyBoots wrote: Sat Apr 27, 2019 9:56 pm ... Nice bodystocking. Did the editors realize she was essentially naked?
Yeah, I'm sure it was an accident :lol:
Jabroniville
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Jamie Madrox

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
ImageImage
Image
Image

THE MULTIPLE MAN (Jamie Madrox)
Created By:
Len Wein, Chris Claremont & John Buscema
First Appearance: Giant-Size Fantastic Four #4 (Feb. 1975)
Role: The Ordinary Guy, The Fan Insert, The Pet Character (of Peter David), The Duplicator/Summoner
Group Affiliations: X-Factor, X-Factor Investigations, Muir-Island X-Men, X-Corps, X-Corporation
Group Affiliations of Duplicates: The Fallen Angels, The Nasty Boys, S.H.I.E.L.D.
PL 7 (249)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Computers) 6 (+8)
Expertise (History) 3 (+5)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+6)
Insight 5 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Investigation 9 (+12)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 4 (+6)
Treatment 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Defensive Roll, Daze (Deception), Equipment 2 (Gun, Costume +1), Improved Hold, Interpose, Ranged Attack 6, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Duplication"
Summon Duplicate 8 (Feats: Triggered- Impact, Mental Link, Sacrifice) (Extras: Horde, Active & Heroic, 48 Minions +11, Continuous) (Flaws: Uncontrolled on Heroic & Continuous) [131]

"Absorbing Dupes" Healing 4 (Flaws: Limited to Self, Must Re-Sorb Healthier Duplicate) [2]

"Several Lifetimes of Experience"
Enhanced Advantages 2: Beginner's Luck, Jack-of-All-Trades [2]
Variable 1 (Flaws: Limited to Skills, Unreliable) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Pistol +8 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +2 (+3 Uniform, +4 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (Possibly Evil Dupes)- Sometimes a Dupe comes out "wrong". Various Dupes have turned out evil, and come to plague Jamie.
Responsibility (Various Women)- Siryn, Layla Miller and many, many others. Jamie's Dupes have had sex lives of their own, and Jamie is often unsure of just WHICH women are ones he was actually with.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 62--31 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 140 / Defenses: 19 (249)

Madrox- Peter David's Love-Child:
-Jamie Madrox is someone I've little to no experience with. I kinda hated him in the mid-'90s, but that's because he was on the REALLY lame-looking X-Factor comedy team, and that wasn't my ideal form of comic back in the day. Nowadays, Peter David's made him his baby, making him a detective with various evil duplicates swimming around, and there's all kinds of funny stuff going on in his X-Factor Investigations book, which is supposed to be a pretty good read. Maybe someday I'll look into it. But honestly... his undying love for that character is as big as any writer has ever had for a character... except people actually kind of reciprocated, so it's not seen as being quite as bad.

The Multiple Man:
-Sporting a name very similar to "Xerox" in a cute bit, Jamie Madrox was born with the mutant ability to duplicate himself every time he was struck- this was discovered as a newborn, when a doctor's slap to the behind formed two identical babies. A younger Professor Xavier convinced the family to raise the boy in seclusion, and he wore a special, silly-looking kinetic-dampening suit to control his powers. This all happened in a Fantastic Four issue by future X-Writers Len Wein & Chris Claremont, which makes it funnier than neither really used Jamie much later on. In fact, he just kind of does some side stuff until his parents are killed (allegedly by a man who wanted to raise Jamie himself) and becomes a part of the "Muir Island Team", back when Claremont started dumping side characters onto Moira MacTaggert's island. The biggest use of the character until 1990 was basically in Fallen Angels, where he and Siryn acted as the "mature ones" following around a cast of bizarre Teen Runaways on a galaxy-wide hop. The series, which was REALLY BAD, put Siryn & Jamie together... but we'd eventually learn that was a Duplicate Jamie- a recurring theme in his life after a while.

-Jamie was one of the "Muir Island X-Men", being taken over by the Shadow King. He was in the Kings of Pain crossover in the X-Annuals, but only factored into one story, where he didn't indicate any kind of personality at all. And then, out of friggin' NOWHERE, the character was chosen for Peter David's "Island of Misfit Toys" cast in X-Factor, now revamped as a government-based team. Here, Jamie is the "Normal Guy" on a team full of weirdos and loons, wearing one of those uber-90s costumes that's baiscally a trenchcoat on top of a generic uniform. Here, he starts a lifelong friendship with Guido "Strong Guy" Carosella, and a reputation as a prankster, which had never been shown before. In short, Peter David completely rewrote the character into his own personal ideal comic book character.

X-Factor Continues- Jamie Dies & Un-Dies:
-Jamie develops his powers further, as David showcases a lot of strange aspects of the powers. When he can't re-sorb a dead Duplicate (or "Dupe"), Jamie realizes just how independent they actually are. One Dupe runs off and joins the priesthood, while another actually GOES EVIL, and begins working for Mister Sinister. This version actually absorbs the original Jamie for a time, until his original personality breaks free and absorbs the Dupe instead. Eventually, however, David leaves the book and Jamie dies of the Legacy Virus- one of many Mutant victims of the disease... but one of the VERY few to actually have joined an X-Team roster and then died from it, as the "Healer" Haven failed to save his life. I remember reading a few comics where Forge (the X-Factor leader at the time) mourned him, but wasn't much aware of the character.

-Of course, Jamie Madrox, being the MULTIPLE MAN, is the simplest hero in the entire universe to resurrect. And so it turned out that It Was A Duplicate, which resulted in an amnesiac Original Jamie returning. But this leads to the dissolution of X-Factor, and then Jamie's just one of many guys in the "X-Corps", which was then an excuse to show what the other, unused X-Characters were doing during Claremont's second run. Around this time, it's discovered that when Jamie sends his Dupes out to learn certain skills... they can then TRANSFER THE SKILLS TO HIM, giving him some instantaneous abilities! However, a side-effect is learned when many develop different personalities and become disagreeable.

X-Factor Investigations:
-After a gap of several years, Peter David returns to writing Jamie, and instead of having him be one character on a team book, he made him the CENTRAL CHARACTER of ANOTHER book- X-Factor Investigations, which used Jamie and some other X-Factor characters (Strong Guy & Wolfsbane) in addition to some other "Misfit Toys" X-Characters such as Siryn, M, and Rictor. All of these unused, underutilized characters thus became the core cast of a pretty-interesting, more low-key book. David also used a House of M one-off named Layla Miller to big effect, making her central to the overall story. Here, Jamie and his team solved crimes here and there.

-Here, however, Madrox goes from simply "David's Favorite Character" to a character David just WORSHIPS, to the point where it reads like Jamie's a complete ladies' man who can get ANY WOMAN HE WANTS, as he or his Dupes seduce Layla (long-term relationship), Siryn (one-night stand, though she loves him), and M (who is an INSANELY priggish woman who seems unlikely to be seduced by ANYONE). So while he plays up the "LOL Jamie's a f*ck-up" thing to prevent him from turning into a full-bore Mary Sue, it's quite clear that David just loves the character so much he wants to write him banging all the hot chicks. It's even sillier when Siryn is clearly yearning for Jamie (a reflection of their Fallen Angels experience, where he describes his Dupe's love for her like something "I've seen on a movie screen, so I'm AWARE of it, but I don't feel it in HERE" and points to his heart), but he's just uncomfortable and tries to push her away, as he's always into other women. So, like, the uber-hot redheaded Irish Lass with epic cleavage is all chasing him around and he wants none of it. It's very weird.

-Jamie decides to reabsorb all of his errant Dupes, including "Agent Madrox", a pro-Registration government agent, but chooses to leave Episcopal Priest John Maddox free, as the man has married and started a family. However, his one-night-stand with Siryn ends up getting her pregnant, and, in one of the most horrifying scenes in comic history, a happy Jamie meets little Sean (named for his deceased grandfather) and BEGINS TO ABSORB HIM. Desperately trying to stop the automatic process in front of a mortified Siryn, Jamie can only scream as the baby is absorbed into his body, as apparently the children of DUPES also suffer the problem Dupes do. Grief-stricken, and with Siryn breaking off their attempt at a relationship, a suicidal Jamie is pulled into the future by Layla. There, they participate in the "Summers Rebellion" in Bishop's future, that causes the Sentinel overlords of America to lose their grip on power. By the time he returns (and an evil Dupe named Cortex tries to mind-control people into changing the future), he and Layla are in love. As X-Factor Invesitgations ends, Jamie & Layla marry without incident and move to a farm.

And Then He Dies. And Un-Dies:
-And then in 2016, Jamie is the first victim of the "M-Pox", mutant-affecting spores that kill mutants exposed to the Terrigen Mists. These would wipe out Cyclops and a few other characters before the Mists would be permanently stopped by the Inhumans upon the discovery of what they were doing to mutants (of COURSE both armies just decided to fight each other rather than EXPLAIN THINGS- it takes the kids of both sides to team up and cut through all the posturing). Layla is basically written out at this point, and Jamie is dead... but then ANOTHER ONE SHOWS UP. As a 2018 miniseries (hey, they still make those?) reveals that one of Jamie's DUPES is still alive, and this formes a new book called Multiple Man. When he starts suffering from the M-Pox as well, he steals a time machine and tries to alter the timeline. I... really don't know what to make of these last revelations. I mean, way to take a guy who was built up for years and then just dump him aside to START a story arc.

Jamie as a Whole:
-Jamie is really more of a non-character with an interesting power for the first fifteen-ish years of his existence, but Peter David kind of turned him into a successful character. What X-Factor Investigations books I've read indicate more of a "Normal Guy" kind of character, thrown into a crazy world and trying to deal with it as best he knows how. He's INSANELY Sue-ish in his ability to attract any number of women despite his "I'm a dumbass" act, but at least David has him constantly unlucky, befuddled by a lot of things, and usually dependent on others to do the heavy hitting. Honestly, he barely even seems to WIN on his own. Apparently James Franco is gonna play him in an upcoming movie, so be prepared to have it be revealed that either Jamie Prime survived all along, or that the Dupe is now the new "Jamie Prime". Who knows what's become of Layla, though- she's one of those characters who just slipped through the cracks of all this stuff, being an extremely obscure minor bit that only David seemed to use.

Jamie's Multiplication Powers:
-Madrox is the ideal kind of Duplication-themed build, and shows the true costliness of a power if you REALLY ramp it up- both my and Taliesin's build cost 200+ points. Jamie's a guy who's far below everyone else in PL to make up for the horrible broken-ness of a power that gives you dozens of attacks at a time. Madrox without his power is basically a pretty good fighter with a ton of skills, given that his Dupes can often give him information and skills he's never shown before (I used Variable to reflect this, as it's apparently become bigger over time). But his power itself is obviously the "meat" of this build. It's got all the Extras that the books lays out, plus "Triggered" since it activates if he is hit or falls down (this is a rare occurence, so I didn't give it a full Action Extra). His Dupes can be Heroic, and many of his Dupes have lived for YEARS after their creation thanks to various stories (Continuous), but both are in the hands of the GM (Uncontrolled Flaw), as sometimes they are, and sometimes they're not (similarly, though his Dupes can sometimes make Dupes, this is not reflected in his Powers- it's a GM's call, or probably a Hero Point expenditure). He maxes out at 48 Dupes (a +11 Extra, since it halves the normal doubling- Summon goes 1/2/4/8/32/64 normally, but I don't see him bust out that many most of the time, so 48 is his cap), but he rarely tosses them all out at once- it takes a few rounds, but he CAN do more than a couple at a time. It's a rank 8 power to create the 120-point Standard Jamie.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Man-Brute

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MAN-BRUTE (Mark Dietzel, aka Blockbuster I)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Captain America #121 (Jan. 1970)
Role: Short-Lived Villain, Powerhouse
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (81)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Perception 3 (+3)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
Speed 1 (4 mph) [1]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Power-Lifting 1 (12 tons) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

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

Complications:
Relationship (Robert- Son)- Mark is willing to steal to ensure that his son doesn't have to grow up into a thief, like his father.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 3 / Defenses: 10 (81)

-One of approximately 9,000 characters to be the recipient of an attempt to mimic the Super-Soldier Serum, the Man-Brute of course became many TIMES stronger, turning into a hulking brute. He was manipulated by the creator of this Serum, Silas X. Cragg (an old Cap enemy, who synthesized his Serum from reports and evidence on Cap), into jumping Captain America, something that disgusted Man-Brute (who considered Cap "The bravest guy I ever knew"), who attacked his employer as a result. Cragg attempted to retreat, but backed into his equipment, electrocuting himself and ensuring his secret died with him.

-Renaming himself Blockbuster (years before the Marauder member would take that name), he was last seen seven years later in Omega the Unknown, robbing a bank to ensure his son (seen in his original story) wouldn't have to grow up into a thief like he was. Feeling pity, the alien Omega let him go with the bank's money. However, a reward was later offered for the arrest of Blockbuster- seeking money for another ally, Omega then attacked the crook. A series of fights went Blockbuster's way, with Omega being completely drained. However, from left field came The Foolkiller, who declared Blockbuster to be "A Fool"- he incinerated the character with one shot from his Disintegration Ray. Kind of a downer ending for a somewhat understandable, sympathetic crook. He has three different writers in all three of his appearances, with Steve Gerber using his "Fookiller" character to wipe out a Stan Lee original.

-Man-Brute/Blockbuster is one of a LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG line of "Class 10-ish" Powerhouses who've been a part of the Marvel Universe, but is a fair bit older than most of them. He's pretty simplistic, being a small-time crook who just happens to have great strength, but he's enough to drain the PL 9-ish Omega in his 1970s solo book. He's said to have enhanced his strength "by a dozen times", but he does crazy stuff like tear a bank vault door off with his bare hands. Stan purports that it's because he "started out stronger than Steve Rogers did", which is the same theory behind Protocide, but it's iffy as to how the Serum is really supposed to work.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Meteorite (Barnhardt)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

METEORITE III (Valerie Barndardt)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Mark Bagley
First Appearance: Thunderbolts #48 (xxxxx)
Role: Replacement Hero
Group Affiliation: The US Air Force, The Redeemers
PL 7 (82)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Air Force) 4 (+5)
Perception 2 (+4)
Vehicles 6 (+8)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Meteorite Suit" (Flaws: Removable) [24]
Flight 8 (500 mph) (16)
Force Field 6 (6)
"Extend Field Outwards" Damage 8 (8)
-- (30 points)

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

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2 (+8 Force Field), Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Freedom)- Valerie became Meteorite to get out of jail, after she was unjustly imprisoned for disabling her rapist.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 7 (82)

-The second Meteorite replaced Karla "Moonstone" Sofen in her superheroic identity- Valerie Bernhardt is the daughter of the New Warriors' pilot, Sprocket, and the super-villain Cardinal, who left after a one-night stand and had no idea Sprocket was pregnant. Valerie clashed with her absentee mother and joined the air force, but was jailed after crippling a superior officer who had raped her- the military brass believed her superior. The government offered her a pardon if she joined the Redeemers in their attack on the Thunderbolts- agreeing, she became a new "Meteorite", using "Hard Air" powers similar to Windshear of Alpha Flight. She fought the T-Bolts once, but was almost immediately thereafter murdered by Graviton when he invaded their base. Charcoal, Leila "Beetle" Davis, The Smuggler, and Angar the Screamer were all killed in a variety of ways. Meteorite was thrown into the vacuum of space, where she died. After he body was recovered, DNA tests confirmed that she was Cardinal's daughter, and he was furious with the Redeemers program, joining the Masters of Evil and Thunderbolts as a result, as part of a grudge against Hawkeye.

-Both Meteorite and the Beetle (Leila Davis) seemed like real wastes- potentially interesting characters (female antiheroes, at that; Charcoal was a solid new hero, too) skooshed just to put over a threat. I guess it worked, though- Graviton probably had his most credibility since the '80s with his Thunderbolts push, and it's only been downhill since then.

-Meteorite III (the others were Karla Sofen and the future "Lifter" of the Resistants) was killed way too soon to really show off many stats, but she's a PL 7 with a solid base upon which could have been built.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
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The Monocle

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE MONOCLE (Michael Berman)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #95 (Feb. 1970)
Role: Hypnotist Villain
Group Affiliations: The Enclave

-This late-era Stan & Jack creation is from the "Kirby Backgrounder" catalogue- stuff with weird mustaches and things like that. The Monocle is a German spy who attempted to start World War III via assassination at a UN summit. He uses a "Neutrak Ray Blaster" to shoot the Fantastic Four... but in one of the great Ass Pulls by Stan, Reed reveals that he discovered Neutrak Rays some time ago, and took "precautionary measures", making the team immune. He turned up nine years later in the same book, working for The Enclave to found a special private college for the children of the elite and powerful. Johnny Storm enrolled in "Security College" as well, convinced by recruiters into thinking it's a legitimate school. The Monocle intended to use hypnosis to convince the students to spy on their parents. His Enclave masters decided to end the program, but Monocle refused and kept it going. Only the arrival of Spider-Man (taking an undercover job as a cameraman for the Daily Bugle) opens up the conspiracy. The Monocle flees... but his Enclave masters discover his insubordination, and remotely blow up his aircraft. He has never reappeared.

-The Monocle is a spy/liar/science guy using a Blaster in one appearance, and a hypnotic monocle in another.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 5:04 am, edited 4 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Manipulator (Crushstone)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE MANIPULATOR I (Basil Crushstone)
Created By:
Len Wein & Ron Wilson
First Appearance: Captain Britain Weekly #37 (June 1977)
Role: Mind Controller
Group Affiliations: None

-Basil Crushstone (most British name ever) was the dictator of an African nation who was making the people slave for him in the mines, when he came across a magical gemstone that hypnotised people into doing his bidding. Using it to exert even more control, he was nonetheless deposed and exiled in a revolt. Showing up in England, he used his powers to try and grab control THERE. He brainwashed Captain Britain into attacking the Queen, resulting in the hero being arrested and taken away, leaving everyone in England vulnerable. He thus had the Queen and the entire Royal Navy (!!) brainwashed, and planned on taking them to reconquer Umbazi (I guess ruling England would be too tricky). With the Highwayman (another Captain Britain foe) as his hireling, he appeared to kill the recovered hero with nerve gas in his throne, but Capt. Britain recovered from THAT, and defeated the Highwayman. Signal flares set off by one of the Captain's allies (Dai Thomas) broke the hypnotic control of the Navy, and the jig was up.

-The Manipulator appeared vulnerable, but electrocuted Capt. Britain with his cloak, then got into a fighter jet to escape. However, Dai Thomas had emptied out the jet's fuel in order to cut off all avenues of escape, and the Manipulator crashed into the sea, never to be seen again. He only lasted a single arc.

-The Manipulator is a power-motivated sort with what seems to be an INCREDIBLY-powerful device that can brainwash thousands of people instantly (some kind of high-end Area Effect with a range of about a mile). A throne upon which he sits can shoot out nerve gas, and his cap is electrified (Subtle Damage?), making him one of those guys who's a HUGE pain the ass for the hero, despite having no real powers of his own.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 6:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Manipulator (Robot)

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image

THE MANIPULATOR II
Created By:
Steve Gerber & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: The Avengers #178 (Dec. 1978)
Role: Mind Controller
Group Affiliations: None

-The second Manipulator is a robot created by the Machinesmith. Sporting two faces like Janus of Roman Mythology, his schtick was to deluge people with waves of their own memories, then make demands of them- demands which would be carried out because the victim assumed they were just living out a memory. Using his powers, he got The Beast to steal for him, then tricked some crimelords into paying for his tech, then double-crossed them. The character then leaves the story, only reappearing two years later (with one face) in Captain America under Steven Grant instead of Gerber. Here, he acts more to a means to an end, working with an agent Muldoon to mortify Captain America into giving up. However, it was ANOTHER double-cross- Cap feigns disillusionment and self-hatred and "collapses", leading Muldoon to attack him because the Manipulator has so far refused to kill his "helpless" foe. The Manipulator thus reveals his tricks as Cap whups Muldoon's ass- he knew Cap was too strong-willed for his powers; his REAL goal was to see how long Cap would have to fake it for Muldoon to overcome his fear of Cap and attack him.

-Cap deflected a bullet from Muldoon's gun and beat him, but the bullet hit the Manipulator in the face. Cap was surprised to see that his adversary was a robot- the Manipulator was all "I'm as human as you are" until he reached up and touched his damaged face. Stunned that he himself had fallen for the ultimate manipulation and unable to comprehend that he wasn't human, the Manipulator shut down.

-This Manipulator had his own kind of Mind Control, typically working on only one target. It worked on the Beast, but not on Captain America.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Jul 04, 2022 6:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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KorokoMystia
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Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2016 8:42 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds (Madcap! Mimic! Man-Killer! Mr. Jip! Jamie Madrox!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

So with Mortal Kombat 11 having come out recently, I was looking at its roster, and it has a smaller newcomer list than the last game (only 3 new playable characters, Geras (Sub-Boss that has control over the sands of time), Cetrion (plant-themed Elder Goddess), and the Kollector (creepy four-armed kleptomaniac that serves Shao Kahn), and there is a new unplayable boss character, Kronika), though they did bring back Frost as a cyborg ninja. Of course, there's still DLC to come, likely with guest characters as has become traditions (There's rumors floating around that we'll be getting The Joker, The Terminator, Spawn, and Ash Williams, which would be pretty interesting)
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Manipulator (Thompson)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE MANIPULATOR III (Ferrel J. Thompson)
Created By:
Roy & Dann Thomas & David Ross
First Appearance: Avengers West Coast #85 (Aug. 1992)
Role: Background Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 9 (130)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Expertise (Corporate Spy) 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Connected, Equipment 4 (Smoke Bombs, Pistol), Ranged Attack 4, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Manipulation" Affliction 9 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception, Selective, Cumulative) (36) -- [37]
  • AE: "Command to Die" Weaken Stamina 8 (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception, Selective) (24)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Manipulation +9 Area (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Command to Die +9 Area (+9 Weaken, DC 19)
Initiative +1

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

Complications:
Responsibility (U.S. Government)

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 37 / Defenses: 9 (130)

-The Manipulator (dig that descriptive name, baby) turns out to be at the core of Julia "Spider-Woman" Carpenter's origin story- he's a failed businessman turned Information Broker, using his vast stores of secrets to control others. He used the Deathweb as his personal agents, and kidnapped Rachel Carpenter to get at Julia (her mother). He even killed Larry Carpenter, Julia's ex-husband, by commanding him to have a heart attack! He ordered Julia to kill Spider-Man, but both Spider-People defeated the Deathweb and chased him off. Later, in the Spider-Woman Limited Series, when he appeared to have the upper hand (Spider-Woman had beaten the Deathweb, but was falling before him), his minion Therak grew tired of being used, and KO'd his boss. The Manipulator hasn't been seen since.

-A normal Mind Controller, albeit with a "Hearing Range" Extra, and the ability to command someone to die (he forces Spider-Woman's ex to have a heart attack).
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