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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Black Ant

Post by Jabroniville »

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BLACK ANT (Life Model Decoy of Eric O'Grady)
Created By:
Robert Kirkman & Phil Hester
First Appearance: The Irredeemable Ant-Man #1 (Sept. 2006)
Role: Generic Bad Guy, Robotic Villain
Group Affiliations: Hydra's Avengers
PL 9 (160)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA -- AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+7)
Expertise (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent) 2 (+3)
Insight 2 (+2)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 4 (+4)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Technology 2 (+3)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Improved Defense, Luck, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Ant-Man Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [64]
"Pym Particles"
Shrinking 16 (+8 Dodge/Parry, +16 Stealth, -8 Intimidation) (Extras: Normal Strength) (48)
"Tiny Sized Fighting" Enhanced Advantages 4: Close Attack 4 (Flaws: Limited to Smaller Sizes) (2)
Movement 1 (Dimensional Travel- Microverse) (2)
"Robotic Arms"
Extra Limbs 2 (2)
Strength-Damage +1 (1)

"Jet Pack- Usable at Small Size"
"Pack Blast" Blast 8 (Inaccurate -1) (15) -- (16)
  • AE: Flight 5 (60 mph) (10)
Affliction 4 (Will; Dazed/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Cumulative, Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Limited to Insects -2) (8)
Comprehend 2 (Speak to & Understand Animals) (Flaws: Limited to Insects) (2)
-- (78 points)

"Life Model Decoy"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 3 [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Claws +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
"Small Size" Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Small Size Claws +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude --, Will +5
"Smallest Size" Dodge +15 (DC 25), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +3, Fortitude --, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Vulnerable (Small Size)- Despite his added defenses at small size, Black Ant is highly-vulnerable to such comparatively-large targets. The smaller he gets, the more vulnerable he is- he treats all attacks from human-sized targest as Area Attacks if he is Shrinking 12 or smaller.
Vulnerable (Easy to Hit)- When fighting against a Full-Sized Black Ant, any character may be treated as having the Power Attack Advantage, allowing them to go +5 to damage. He's such an big target that all his vulnerable spots are enormous.

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 97 / Defenses: 17 (160)

-With Eric O'Grady dead, "Black Ant" became a thing. Rather than having a ton of personality like O'Grady did, Black Ant is just one of those Kirkmanian "Background Baddies" who acts to show up, have a distinctive name, and steal something. That's sometimes all you need. In any case, he got his start when O'Grady was killed by a group called The Descendants, who replaced him with a Life-Model Decoy- Black Widow figured this out, but wasn't believed, so she quit the Avengers- the LMD then changed his name to "Black Ant" and attacked. Ultimately, he was killed by Valkyrie, right when an orb the Descendants' "Father" gave him offered him a human soul. Dying as a man, Black Ant promised he'd see his enemies in the afterlife.

-And then Black Ant just got rebuilt by The Mad Thinker, and joined The Hood's Illuminati before the Thinker betrayed him with a bomb that'd been placed inside his body. Black Ant resurfaced somehow in Bagalia, working for the Hydra-loyal Captain America, and formed a partnership with The Taskmaster. The two opportunistic bad guys joined Hydra's Avengesr, and then, as soon as Hydra started losing the conflict, switched sides and fought on the side of good. Later, Taskmaster betrayed him to Kraven the Hunter in a scheme to kill all the animal-themed villains and a bunch of poachers, but Tasky had a change of heart and rescued Black Ant. The two partnered up in a later Spider-Man issue drawn by Ryan Ottley.

-Black Ant has all of Eric O'Grady's memories, so is pretty much the same, but is an artificial man and thus accrues a lot more points-cost.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
FuzzyBoots
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hank Pym! The Wasp! Scott Lang!)

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:09 amHey, nice post :)! I agree with your take here. The "regular guy" heroes are terrific for things like this. I can see Scott as a one-off on the Avengers or something, and could be a solid "regular guy's POV" character, but he's often best as a lower-key hero with a "everybody's second-best pal" thing going on. Nobody seems to dislike Scott except his ex-wife and her new husband, and even they likely come around every five years or so until they need some drama.
Assuming I'm not making things more rosy in my head, I found refreshing in the MCU version even took out that dislike. His ex-wife and the new husband didn't hate Scott. Neither one of them approved of his prior crimes, and worried that he might endanger Cassie if he fell off the wagon, but otherwise things were amicable, if occasionally a bit strained, just like a real-life divorce.
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Woodclaw
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hank Pym! The Wasp! Scott Lang!)

Post by Woodclaw »

FuzzyBoots wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:16 am
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:09 amHey, nice post :)! I agree with your take here. The "regular guy" heroes are terrific for things like this. I can see Scott as a one-off on the Avengers or something, and could be a solid "regular guy's POV" character, but he's often best as a lower-key hero with a "everybody's second-best pal" thing going on. Nobody seems to dislike Scott except his ex-wife and her new husband, and even they likely come around every five years or so until they need some drama.
Assuming I'm not making things more rosy in my head, I found refreshing in the MCU version even took out that dislike. His ex-wife and the new husband didn't hate Scott. Neither one of them approved of his prior crimes, and worried that he might endanger Cassie if he fell off the wagon, but otherwise things were amicable, if occasionally a bit strained, just like a real-life divorce.
The comic book version of Scott's ex-wife was a really one-note character that existed only to make Scott's and Cassie's lives miserable. As far as I know she appeared just 2 or 3 times and all she did was, literally, badmouth Scott, attempting to prevent him from seeing Cassie and attempting to get Cassie to quit the Young Avengers, after the team had been taken under the wing of Cap and the others.
The MCU version was a complete reversal.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

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FuzzyBoots
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Hank Pym! The Wasp! Scott Lang!)

Post by FuzzyBoots »

Woodclaw wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 4:29 pm
FuzzyBoots wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:16 amAssuming I'm not making things more rosy in my head, I found refreshing in the MCU version even took out that dislike. His ex-wife and the new husband didn't hate Scott. Neither one of them approved of his prior crimes, and worried that he might endanger Cassie if he fell off the wagon, but otherwise things were amicable, if occasionally a bit strained, just like a real-life divorce.
The comic book version of Scott's ex-wife was a really one-note character that existed only to make Scott's and Cassie's lives miserable. As far as I know she appeared just 2 or 3 times and all she did was, literally, badmouth Scott, attempting to prevent him from seeing Cassie and attempting to get Cassie to quit the Young Avengers, after the team had been taken under the wing of Cap and the others.
The MCU version was a complete reversal.
{nods} Cool. In this case, I feel like it's also just a general nice thing to show that divorces aren't always acrimonious situations where both parties are biting and clawing to gain a bigger part of the pie and/or to cause pain to each other. Sometimes... it just doesn't work, and both sides are happy for the other person to be happy without them. Mildly similar case, in an early draft of Mrs. Doubtfire, they had Sally Field's and Robin William's characters reconciling and getting back together, but both stars objected, and you wound up in a situation where they stayed apart, but stayed friendly.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Wasp! Scott Lang! Eric O’Grady!)

Post by Spectrum »

Please tell me that someone mocked Black Ant with the Pink Panther theme song.
We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
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Ultron

Post by Jabroniville »

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"There are no strings on meeeee..."

ULTRON
Created By:
Roy Thomas & John Buscema
First Appearance: The Avengers #54 (July 1968)
Role: Invincible Villain, A.I. Gone Wrong, Genocidal Maniac
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, The Lethal Legion, The Phalanx, The Sons of Yinsen
PL 14 (309)
STRENGTH
13 STAMINA -- AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 10 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+16)
Expertise (Current Events) 4 (+14)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 16 (+18)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 9 (+11)
Stealth 3 (+4)
Technology 10 (+20)
Treatment 2 (+12)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Equipment (Lab Stuff) 3, Fascinate (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Improved Aim, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Jack-of-All-Trades, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 12, Taunt, Ultimate Toughness Check, Withstand Damage (Trade Defenses For Toughness)

Powers:
"The Ultimate Machine"
Immunity 40 (Fortitude & Mental Effects) [40]
"Computer Brain" Quickness 6 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Effects) [3]
"Datalink" Communication (Electronic) 2 [10]
Senses 7 (Extended Sight, Infra-Vision, Radar- Accurate Ranged Radio Sense) [7]
"Beam Interface to Other Systems" Immortality 1 (One Month) (Flaws: Limited to Transferring to Available Computers or Bodies) [1]

"Adamantium Body" Protection 21 (Extras: Impervious 31) [52]

"Encephalo-Beam" Affliction 14 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Reversible) (Extras: Cumulative, Ranged, Concentration) (57) -- [61]
  • AE: Blast 14 (28)
  • AE: Mind Control 12 (48)
  • AE: "Hypnosis" Affliction 10 (Will; Dazed/Compelled/Controlled) (Feats: Triggered- Chosen Time) (Extras: Ranged, Sustained +2) (41)
  • AE: "Remote Machine Control" Mind Control 11 (Technology Skill of Creator instead of Will Save) (Extras: Concentration) (55)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Encephalo-Beam +12 (+14 Ranged Affliction, DC 24)
Blast +12 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Mind Control +12 Perception (+12 Perception Affliction, DC 22)
Machine Control +11 Perception (+11 Perception Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +21 (+16 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +12

Complications:
Vulnerable- Though nigh-invincible, Ultron can be given trouble by computer viruses, electrical attacks, magnetics, and magic hex-bolts. The Scarlet Witch in particular used to regularly be a source of agony.
Motivation/Obsession (Genocide)- Ultron is obsessed with the destruction and replacement of all organic life with machines.
Obsession (Family Man)- Ultron seeks a family, no matter how many times this family betrays him. He has created The Vision as a son (betrayed him), Jocasta as a wife (betrayed him), and Alkhema as a second wife (betrayed him).
Enemy (Hank Pym, The Avengers)

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 28 / Powers: 174 / Defenses: 17 (309)

Ultron- The Avengers' Most Dangerous Foe:
-Very few villains have managed that "oh crap" factor like ol' Jack O'Lantern Face here. He's big, he's mean, and he's one of the few Avengers foes who can EASILY take on the entire group at once in combat. Plus he's the first guy to use Adamantium, which had HUGE effects for the Marvel Universe later (and left every other comics-verse desperately trying to copy them with similar "Unbreakable Fantasy Metals"). Even worse- he can always come back. Ultron is probably the Avengers' single-scariest villain, and is probably more iconic than any other- Kang wasn't cool at all until Avengers Forever, the Grim Reaper is a complete loser, and the Masters of Evil are more of a Rival Team. Ultron is absolutely Unreasonable Evil at it's finest; a genocidal maniac who wants nothing less than to wipe out all life everywhere, and replace it with Artificial Life.

-Ultron gets used A LOT thanks to his awesomeness, which has some negative effects. Things like Ultron Unlimited (an epic where he brought all his old designs out of the woodwork just to wipe out an entire fictional European country) are awesome, and he was pretty scary in that Annihilation sequel where he leads The Phalanx against the entire universe. But at the same time as Annihilation II, he was ALSO fighting The Mighty Avengers, but with a giant pair of boobs (if for no other reason than Frank Cho was drawing- I love the guy's work, but c'mon, that book had enough tail in it without changing the gender of OTHER characters). It just kinda got silly- we've seen him so much that he comes close to being devalued as a villain, Venom-style. At least it's not as bad as it was in the '80s, where he was barely seen as a threat- I've a few Avengers West Coast issues where he's just a mid-level threat, and barely features in the later issues alongside Grim Reaper, Nekra and Black Talon! He's just kind of THERE!

-He's also an interesting case in how to properly portray such a character- the comics version is a pretty hammy sort, doing a lot of physical "acting" to make up for his expressionless face. In Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, he just kind of... sits there, since behavior like that would be REALLY over-the-top in an animated medium (something the static medium of comics doesn't need to worry about so much)- it gives him a different impression. He also doesn't scream as much for the same reason. But I find that version rather... plain, since his face doesn't do anything and he just sits there like a statue for the most part. It's probably why one of the shots in the big Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer features a moving mouth and Evil Eyebrows, but a Mook Army of faceless goons (think "Stormtroopers" like Star Wars). A couple other shots seem to feature the more "Uncanny Valley" herky-jerky robots, which can ALSO be appropriate. Unfortunately, they ended up going with a weird, overly-expressive face with moving lips, and gave him a snarky pesronality like every OTHER character- a very "Joss Whedon" trait that ruined him in the movie and probably did more to hurt Ultron as a character than anything else. When Thanos had his turn at the plate... they did not make that mistake.

Ultron Debuts:
-Ultron debuted in 1968, and was created by the legendary Thomas/Buscema mega-team. A humble robot A.I. invented by Hank Pym, Ultron IMMEDIATELY turned evil, brainwashed his creator, and upgraded himself from an armless, wheeled robot into a big metal dude with a face frozen in a jack o'lantern-style yell. Disguising himself as the "Crimson Cowl", he fights the Avengers and uses the Masters of Evil as his agents. Failing against them, he creates an android "son" in The Vision a few issues later- he moves against the Avengers, but ends up reforming, taking their side against his evil father. Ultron is thus destroyed and Thomas has created his biggest Avengers member. We would only learn of Ultron's origins a while later- a story meant to drive Pym a bit nuts. Ultron returns only a handful of issues after his demise, Thomas CLEARLY having felt he'd hit on something big, and declares that he's made out of ADAMANTIUM- the first time we'd heard of this substance in Marvel comics. Again, however, he is thwarted. As Ultron-7, he is recreated in a 1974 comic by the mad Inhuman Maximus, and battles the Inhumans, Avengers & Fantastic Four before being destroyed once more. Then, in 1977, Ultron creates Jocasta, his "Android Bride"- however, she too turns on him and joins the Avengers, though is far less famous than the Vision.

-Ultron generally never goes for long without an appearance- a sure sign of his quality. He appears in 1980 and 1982 as Ultron-9 & 10, both times brainwashing heroes into rebuilding him, then being forced to defeat him. He's a total nobody in Secret Wars, being immediately taken over by Doctor Doom and made to slay Kang, then acting as a loyal goon afterwards- Jim Shooter had to add all the top Marvel Villains into one story, but felt the need to give Doom the limelight, and so proud Ultron was downgraded to a minion. He is beaten on the Beyonder's world, and only returns as an utter mook in The Vision & The Scarlet Witch, an awful, AWFUL series by Steve Englehart that is only notable for how it's somehow not become the meme-bait it should have been (probably due to a lack of collected editions). As Ultron-12, he eventually turns a bit good, allying with Pym, but Ultron-11 rebuilds himself and is destroyed- Ultron-12 deactivates, glad it could help Pym in the end. This 1980s stuff leads to a bit of a "dark age" for the character, as he is often a minion, patsy, mook, or minor threat (like the time a "drunk" Ultron with too much emotion runs off with Vision & Jocasta to see the world). He creates ANOTHER robotic bride in Alkhema, but she too betrays Ultron... but doesn't turn good. She's evil just like he is, but prefers to kill humanity one at a time.

Ultron Unlimited:
-Universally considered not only the high water mark of Ultron's career, but Kurt Busiek's entire term at Marvel, Ultron Unlimited was a masterstroke of storytelling. Featuring Ultron killing an entire fictional Eastern European nation, the story has huge stakes (Earth is at risk, and millions have already died), PERSONAL stakes (Ultron kidnaps his entire "family", including Vision, Pym, Wasp, Wonder Man, Grim Reaper & the Scarlet Witch), and more. The Avengers are set upon by DOZENS of Ultrons, each of whom are made of either invincible Adamantium or secondary Adamantium, and they slowly whittle down the Avengers' stamina by attrition. A mad, cackling Ultron confesses to being "a FAMILY MAN", trying to turn Pym and those gathered into a NEWER generation of androids, more loyal to him, but Thor gets the all-time bad-ass line "Ultron. We would have WORDS with thee" and it's an all-out battle. Newbie Avenger Justice saves the day by using the metal-destroying Antarctic Vibranium, with Pym finally scoring the final blows to destroy Ultron once and for all. This story put over Ultron HUGE, turning him into a mega-threat after all that '80s & '90s garbage, and really getting the MENACE of the guy- no simple "Killer Robot Wants To Rule The World", Ultron is a raving, maniacal lunatic, dangerous beyond reason. Almost unkillable and inhuman, he is nonetheless a total nutjob and has tremendous personality.

-This doesn't QUITE lead to a renaissance of Ultron stories, as other writers almost hesitated to use him, likely fearing they couldn't live up to the tale. Ultron "reappears" as a head on an old Iron Man armor, for example, and is shown to be the mostly-unseen "father" of Victor Mancha in the Runaways book. It wouldn't be until Bendis properly takes over that we get more Ultron, oddly with two simultaneous stories- an Ultron taking the Wasp's form in Frank Cho's Mighty Avengers, and Ultron leading the Phalanx (Borg rip-offs sprung from Warlock's race) in the sequel to Annihilation. This bad bit of editing kind of hurt the character, and Annihilation: Conquest proved to be not up to the par of the original in the latter case, but it succeeded in what it meant to do- creating a new Guardians of the Galaxy book, as the team was instrumental in destroying Ultron this time around- he is ultimately wrecked by Wraith (a happily-forgotten Edgelord-y character) and a resurrected Quasar.

-This leads to numerous weaker Ultron stories, sadly, as he runs off with Jocasta as his bride once more, and then we get the infamous Age of Ultron, which... was supposed to be a "Bad Future" storyline, where Ultron rules everything, but after three issues Bendis gets bored and now it's a "Heroes try to fix reality" story, with time-travelling creating boring alternate futures, Wolverine & Susan Richards try to assassinate Hank Pym in the past so Ultron is never created, and more. It's just so absolutely all over the place, and easily one of the worst collected stories I've ever owned. Coinciding with the movies (which painted Ultron as a snarky guy voiced by James Spader), the character was kind of F'd up. The character was so broken, and Hank Pym was so altered by the movies, that something bizarre was done- Ultron was now MERGED with Hank Pym, accidentally doing so when trying to take over Titan, the Moon of Saturn. This effectively kills off Hank (even moreso later, once it's explained that his very soul is neutralized), and allows the Avengers to fight off Ultron, when Starfox's emotion-control powers make Ultron love his human half, causing a temporary breakdown. He reapears a few more times (once trying to claim to be heroic), each scheme weirder than the last (in the end, he wants to merge EVERYONE with androids, finding this the "ideal form of life"), but gives up when it's revealed that the Pym merger actually KILLED Hank, and Ultron is only mimicking his personality based off of past experience.

Ultron Overall:
-Ultron ended up becoming the Avengers' ultimate foe... until Thanos was shifted into being primarily an Avengers threat, too. Ultron's unique appearance, deadly reputation, unkillable nature (you HAD to outsmart him- overpowering Ultron was almost never an option), and more, all made for an epic-level team threat, though only Busiek seems to have ever gotten the most out of it. Ultron fits as a schemer, a madman, a Team-Killer, and more, which is probably part of what makes him so popular. The tricky thing is, the number of bad or weird Ultron stories can get overwhelming at times, and he goes through "waves" of bizarre tales, which can ultimately hold the character back.

Ultron's Powers & Abilities:
-Ultron's a pure beast, but perhaps not as high in PL as you'd think for a guy who can beat all the Avengers. See, his powers are devastating, and he's strong as hell, but he's not THAT much more powerful than Thor or Hercules or any other heroic heavy-hitter. He's actually weaker than most of them, rivalling The Thing in strength- he & his clan are no earth-movers and are stuck around the Class 100-level. No, his key ability is the fact that he's almost IMPOSSIBLE to injure, meaning he can tank it up, take all the hits that come his way, and dish it out without worrying. He's fairly easy to hit, but it doesn't matter: he's TOUGHNESS +21!! That, plus 16 levels of Impervious (technically illegal according to the rules for Extras, but I'm ignoring it because that's Ultron's whole THING), mean that NOBODY short of Thor and Hercules going all-out are ever going to so much as scratch his finish. In other words- if your PCs are getting cocky and acting up, this is one of the Top Ten threats in all of comics that you could throw at them that will absolutely make them brown their pants. Add in his crazy Encephalo-Beam that's taken down guys like Wonder Man, Blasts, Super-Strength, and his Immunity to alot of effects, and you've got one bad-ass master villain.

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LOW-GRADE "SECONDARY ADAMANTIUM" ULTRONS
Role:
Nigh-Invincible Mooks
Group Affiliations: Ultron's Army
PL 13 (234)
STRENGTH
12 STAMINA -- AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Expertise (Science) 3 (+6)
Intimidation 12 (+12)
Perception 8 (+8)
Technology 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 10, Ultimate Toughness Check, Withstand Damage (Trade Defenses For Toughness)

Powers:
"The Ultimate Machine"
Immunity 40 (Fortitude & Mental Effects) [40]
"Computer Brain" Quickness 6 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Effects) [3]
"Datalink" Communication (Electronic) 2 [10]
Senses 7 (Extended Sight, Infra-Vision, Radar- Accurate Ranged Radio Sense) [7]

"Adamantium Body" Protection 19 (Extras: Impervious 25) [44]

"Encephalo-Beam" Affliction 13 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Reversible) (Extras: Cumulative, Ranged, Concentration) (53) -- [54]
  • AE: Blast 13 (26)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Encephalo-Beam +10 (+13 Ranged Affliction, DC 23)
Blast +10 (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +19 (+13 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +6

Complications:
Vulnerable- Though nigh-invincible, Ultron can be given trouble by computer viruses, electrical attacks, magnetics, and magic hex-bolts. The Scarlet Witch in particular used to regularly be a source of agony.
Motivation/Obsession (Genocide)- Ultron is obsessed with the destruction and replacement of all organic life with machines.
Obsession (Family Man)- Ultron seeks a family, no matter how many times this family betrays him. He has created The Vision as a son (betrayed him), Jocasta as a wife (betrayed him), and Alkhema as a second wife (betrayed him).
Enemy (Hank Pym, The Avengers)

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 158 / Defenses: 12 (234)

-During Ultron Unlimited, Ultron unleashed a barrage of his "former versions", basically lower-end Ultrons that were STILL nigh-unkillable, as only Thor could stop them amongst their crew, and only THEN if he went all-out! They're a mere PL 11.5 offensively, but are PL 12.5 defensively thanks to their INSANE toughness.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:28 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: The Irredeemable Ant-Man

Post by Spam »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 1:36 am “Crushed to death by giant jailbat- I know guys who’d PAY to die like this.”
-O’Grady, Shen attacked by Cassie “Stature” Lang
Apparently he can list Jabroniville among his acquaintances.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Wasp! Scott Lang! Eric O’Grady! Ultron!)

Post by Ares »

Ultron is just one of those great villain concepts. The Marvel Family had an Ultron prototype named Mr. Atom with a very similar backstory and array of abilities. Mr. Atom was a robot designed by a scientist to reflect the dangers of the atomic age. Unfortunately for the scientist, when he supercharged the robots reactor with raw atomic power, the energy not only gave Mr. Atom the equivalent energy output of a small star, but altered his computer brain into full on sentience. Unfortunately, Mr. Atom's intelligence and power was such that he decided that he was logically the most superior being on the planet, and everyone should obey him. When the scientist protested, Mr. Atom VAPORIZED the poor guy. Mr. Atom then went on a rampage that required Captain Marvel to get involved, only Mr. Atom actually proved capable of withstanding Cap's attacks and could dish out enough damage to hurt a Pre-Crisis Shazam empowered individual (who at the time was invulnerable even to attacks from Black Adam). It took Cap going All Out after a lengthy battle to finally knock Mr. Atom's head off. Naturally Mr. Atom would be re-built to menace the Marvel Family again and again, though I was annoyed that his Post Crisis appearances never really matched his Pre-Crisis menace.

Anyway, Ultron is vitally important to the Avengers, being among their best villains, their most dangerous foes, as well as being responsible for heroes like the Vision and Jocasta. He was such a big deal that the Champions have an Ultron knock-off, Mechanon, who sadly was a bigger deal in their setting than Ultron was in his own until Busiek finally had Ultron realize his potential. Unfortunately, that high point left Ultron with nowhere to go but down, with later series never really capturing his grandeur. Thankfully Ultron Unlimited shows the perfect way to capture the character for anyone who wants to do him justice later.

The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes series didn't quite do Ultron justice either. They did an amazing job setting him up, but he was too disconnected and unemotional in the first season. The second season had him acting more like comic Ultron, complete with angry voice, abusing others for satisfaction, HATING humanity and so forth. But because of Executive Meddling (CURSE YOU LOEB!), it was all so rushed they couldn't even explain HOW Ultron returned. But we did get a nice "even an android can cry" moment when Vision explains why he turned on Ultron.

"Ultron desires to be perfect. To him, this meant being less human. I too desire to be perfect, but to me, this means being MORE human."

Wasp, who had previously advised Cap to just let the Vision burn in the fire of Ultron's base, can only look away in shame.

Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, is one of those films where I watch it and basically enjoy everything about the film . . . EXCEPT ULTRON. Like, EVERYTHING about him from the design of his face, the stupid snarky attitude, the oddly religious, well-intentioned extremist attitude they gave him, his inconsistent motivations, that STUPID expressive face and STUPID articulated mouth, it was just DUMB. I've heard arguments that it's difficult to have a villain without facial expressions as the big bad. To which I say: Darth Vader. V for Vendetta. The Mandalorian. At least 3 examples of a character who spends 99.99% of their time getting their emotions across through voice work and body language. Ultron could have even had an easier time with the glowing eyes and mouth being used to add additional cues to indicate emotion.

But yeah, Ultron is one of the great disappointments of the MCU, because they completely failed to capture the kind of villain he was. Thanos and Loki got massive pushes thanks to the films, the Vulture was given more character than the comics, Mysterio and Red Skull were pretty faithful to the comic, Ego was actually pretty entertaining as a deadbeat dad, Abomination as a Blood Knight was actually kind of fun, Killmonger was actually kind of brave to have a black man basically be Hitler, etc. And while Hela, Malaketh and Ronan were all kind of boring, at least they served as decent threats.

Overall, Ultron is one of those characters who is rarely gotten right, but when he IS he's one of comics truly best villains. I've said it before and said it again: the best thing about Ultron is that he's highly emotional. He isn't the unfeeling logical being that Brainiac is, he's someone who actively hates humanity and wants us to all burn. He's a more petulant and dangerous version of Agent Smith from the Matrix.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Wasp! Scott Lang! Eric O’Grady! Ultron!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 3:07 am Anyway, Ultron is vitally important to the Avengers, being among their best villains, their most dangerous foes, as well as being responsible for heroes like the Vision and Jocasta. He was such a big deal that the Champions have an Ultron knock-off, Mechanon, who sadly was a bigger deal in their setting than Ultron was in his own until Busiek finally had Ultron realize his potential. Unfortunately, that high point left Ultron with nowhere to go but down, with later series never really capturing his grandeur. Thankfully Ultron Unlimited shows the perfect way to capture the character for anyone who wants to do him justice later.


Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, is one of those films where I watch it and basically enjoy everything about the film . . . EXCEPT ULTRON. Like, EVERYTHING about him from the design of his face, the stupid snarky attitude, the oddly religious, well-intentioned extremist attitude they gave him, his inconsistent motivations, that STUPID expressive face and STUPID articulated mouth, it was just DUMB. I've heard arguments that it's difficult to have a villain without facial expressions as the big bad. To which I say: Darth Vader. V for Vendetta. The Mandalorian. At least 3 examples of a character who spends 99.99% of their time getting their emotions across through voice work and body language. Ultron could have even had an easier time with the glowing eyes and mouth being used to add additional cues to indicate emotion.
Yeah, they really didn't pull it off with him. Making him a snarky bad guy was a total fail, and was part of the big Downfall of Whedon, to me- it showed he couldn't turn off the snark and sass any more.

I've defended Ultron being able to have a measure of facial expression in the past, and debated it with you, but I agree that the lips and smirking and what-not was WAY off. Though "expressionless guys" can definitely work in some circumstances, I think for an actor, they're gonna want to show some measure of face-based acting- the three guys you mentioned are largely nobody actors- Hugo Weaving hasn't really done anything of note since V, for example. Like... it's a visual profession. You want future roles, you're gonna want your acting seen in the blockbuster. There's a reason Marvel guys have that stuff written into their contracts, though the movies 100% take it way too far, with many guys spending half the film unmasked.

I think a more skull-like face with a jaw that moves up and down might have worked better- the "plain, unmoving face" just looks weird to me in a more mobile medium like film, as much as it works in comics. Particularly since Ultron isn't cold and unyielding like Darth Vader (who fit being masked because he was "more machine than man"), nor a stoic Mandalorian- as you said, he's a wild, crazy, gesticulating savage. A flat expression in that circumstance feels wrong.
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Re: Ultron

Post by squirrelly-sama »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:31 pm Image
I could have gone my whole life without knowing that apparently Ultron was one kinky SOB.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Wasp! Scott Lang! Eric O’Grady! Ultron!)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 3:43 am
Ares wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 3:07 am Anyway, Ultron is vitally important to the Avengers, being among their best villains, their most dangerous foes, as well as being responsible for heroes like the Vision and Jocasta. He was such a big deal that the Champions have an Ultron knock-off, Mechanon, who sadly was a bigger deal in their setting than Ultron was in his own until Busiek finally had Ultron realize his potential. Unfortunately, that high point left Ultron with nowhere to go but down, with later series never really capturing his grandeur. Thankfully Ultron Unlimited shows the perfect way to capture the character for anyone who wants to do him justice later.


Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, is one of those films where I watch it and basically enjoy everything about the film . . . EXCEPT ULTRON. Like, EVERYTHING about him from the design of his face, the stupid snarky attitude, the oddly religious, well-intentioned extremist attitude they gave him, his inconsistent motivations, that STUPID expressive face and STUPID articulated mouth, it was just DUMB. I've heard arguments that it's difficult to have a villain without facial expressions as the big bad. To which I say: Darth Vader. V for Vendetta. The Mandalorian. At least 3 examples of a character who spends 99.99% of their time getting their emotions across through voice work and body language. Ultron could have even had an easier time with the glowing eyes and mouth being used to add additional cues to indicate emotion.
Yeah, they really didn't pull it off with him. Making him a snarky bad guy was a total fail, and was part of the big Downfall of Whedon, to me- it showed he couldn't turn off the snark and sass any more.

I've defended Ultron being able to have a measure of facial expression in the past, and debated it with you, but I agree that the lips and smirking and what-not was WAY off. Though "expressionless guys" can definitely work in some circumstances, I think for an actor, they're gonna want to show some measure of face-based acting- the three guys you mentioned are largely nobody actors- Hugo Weaving hasn't really done anything of note since V, for example. Like... it's a visual profession. You want future roles, you're gonna want your acting seen in the blockbuster. There's a reason Marvel guys have that stuff written into their contracts, though the movies 100% take it way too far, with many guys spending half the film unmasked.

I think a more skull-like face with a jaw that moves up and down might have worked better- the "plain, unmoving face" just looks weird to me in a more mobile medium like film, as much as it works in comics. Particularly since Ultron isn't cold and unyielding like Darth Vader (who fit being masked because he was "more machine than man"), nor a stoic Mandalorian- as you said, he's a wild, crazy, gesticulating savage. A flat expression in that circumstance feels wrong.
I definitely don't disagree that it'd be easier with giving the face some articulation, but I also think that you can get a lot with body language and voice acting, especially when you can throw in eyes that glow brighter with heightened emotions and that glowing mouth that simulate screaming with energy pulses. Even something like Spider-Man's mask could work to give the eyes a little character, or have the way the eyes glow simulate something similar. Deadpool spends most of his films with his mask on and they only do a little animating with his eyes and eyebrows to help sell some emotion. It takes a little more effort, but the pay off would be something more faithful to the comics, which I think comic fans would appreciate and non-comic fans would be impressed by. But I do realize going for a middle ground of some articulation would be easier.

But we both agree that making Ultron into a Michael Bay Transformer with a typical Joss Wheadon snarky-villain personality was a really bad move. Which is sad because you change Ultron's personality and almost everything about the film works.

About the only thing I liked about this Ultron was his connection to Wanda and Pietro. Since they were both technically born from the Mind Gem, he felt a kind of kinship with them and was genuinely lonely without them. THAT at least is in keeping with comics Ultron, who always seemed to be trying to create a family for himself.
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Alkhema

Post by Jabroniville »

ImageImage
Image
Image

ALKHEMA (aka War Toy)
Created By:
Roy & Dann Thomas, David Ross
First Appearance: The Avengers West Coast #90 (Jan. 1993)
Role: Distaff Counterpart (to Ultron), Killer Robot
Group Affiliations: None
PL 12 (269)
STRENGTH
12 STAMINA -- AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 8 (+13)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 11 (+12)
Perception 6 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Blasts) 2 (+12)
Technology 11 (+16)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Close Attack 4, Daze (Intimidation), Equipment (Lab Stuff) 3, Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Ultimate Toughness Check, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"The Ultimate Machine"
Immunity 40 (Fortitude & Mental Effects) [40]
"Computer Brain" Quickness 6 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Effects) [3]
"Datalink" Communication (Electronic) 2 [10]
Senses 7 (Extended Sight, Infra-Vision, Radar- Accurate Ranged Radio Sense) [7]
"Beam Interface to Other Systems" Immortality 1 (One Month) (Flaws: Limited to Transferring to Available Computers or Bodies) [1]

"Adamantium Body" Protection 18 (Extras: Impervious 29) [47]
"Jet Thrust" Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]
"Energy Beams From Head & Shoulders" Blast 12 (Extras: Multiattack) [36]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Blasts +12 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +18 (+15 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +8

Complications:
Vulnerable- Though nigh-invincible, Alkhema can be given trouble by computer viruses, electrical attacks, magnetics, and magic hex-bolts.
Motivation (Death of All Life on Earth)- Like Ultron, Alkhema wishes to destroy all life on Earth and replace it with robotic "life". However, while Ultron wishes to commit mass genocide, Alkhema instead wants to kill every person on Earth one-by-one.
Responsibility (Motherhood)- Alkhema wishes to give "birth" to hordes of robotic offspring, from the War Toys to the Bio-Synthezoids. She uses great deals of minions as a result.
Enemy (The Avengers)

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 160 / Defenses: 7 (269)

-Alkhema was created to be a Chick Ultron, by Ultron's original creator (Roy Thomas, not Hank Pym). Ultron based her off of the brain patterns of Mockingbird (this was in Avengers West Coast, which Thomas was writing near the end of his Marvel run), and was meant to be a new bride for him, after the whole "Jocasta" thing went south. She went all of one issue before betraying him (Ultron has some CRAP LUCK with his created minions, I tell you what), mainly over their belief in how to kill humans. Typical couple stuff: Ultron wanted quick genocide of the entire human race, while Alkhema wanted to kill everyone one-by-one, so she could enjoy it more. She's only had a handful of appearances despite her tremendous power because really, when you need an invulnerable super-robot with ideals of genocide against the human race, you're just gonna go with ULTRON and be done with it.

-She featured in the early bits of Ultron Unlimited, which turned out to be a master-stroke of storytelling by Kurt Busiek & George Perez. It not only showed they did their homework (Alkhema was QUITE obscure and a new character at that), but established Ultron's tendency to create a family for himself (which was why he was kidnapping his "human family" in this arc), and also showed the "classic" way to defeat Ultron, as the Scarlet Witch uses her hex powers to weaken the part of her robotic body that allows her Adamantium frame to shift and move. And therefore, it's like an "early run" at a weaker opponent before the REAL Final Boss shows up, because of course Ultron proved immune to this same attack, and something else was required- an escalating threat. And then, at story's end, Alkhema was seen chuckling to herself in prison while robots controlled by her grabbed up the "personality chips" of the heroes that Ultron had downloaded.

-In Alkhema's next appearance, she attempted to use this chips to her advantage- they contained the brain patterns of Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, Wanda Maximoff, and Simon & Eric Williams. However, she was destroyed by Hawkeye (naturally- Hawkeye ALWAYS beats the top threats) with an Anti-Metal Arrow.

-Alkhema is essentially Ultron Lite, which makes her a horrifying opponent regardless- she's strong as hell (lifting ninety tons while lying on her back and having zero leverage whatsoever), almost invincible, and has a powerful Blast as well. She's nowhere near Ultron's capabilities (she doesn't have his branching Alt-Effects from what I can tell), but she's still enough to fend off and entire Avengers barrage with that ridiculous Adamantium-based toughness.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jan 26, 2022 8:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Wasp! Scott Lang! Eric O’Grady! Ultron!)

Post by Shock »

I don't know why this jumped into my head but here it is:

Ultron's fantasy analog is a Lich. He's nearly impossible to hurt, has all sort of magic that he can throw at heroes and can have hordes of minions at varying levels of power. And even if you can hurt him, you can't kill him unless you find his phylactery (server backup). He creates high level lieutenants to keep him company and even performs horrifying experiments to create human/robot(undead) hybrids.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Wasp! Scott Lang! Eric O’Grady! Ultron!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Shock wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 1:44 pm I don't know why this jumped into my head but here it is:

Ultron's fantasy analog is a Lich. He's nearly impossible to hurt, has all sort of magic that he can throw at heroes and can have hordes of minions at varying levels of power. And even if you can hurt him, you can't kill him unless you find his phylactery (server backup). He creates high level lieutenants to keep him company and even performs horrifying experiments to create human/robot(undead) hybrids.
That's pretty accurate, although Ultron is a much more physical threat than any Lich I've met.
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Re: Ultron

Post by Goldar »

squirrelly-sama wrote: Tue Mar 17, 2020 4:35 am
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:31 pm Image
I could have gone my whole life without knowing that apparently Ultron was one kinky SOB.
I have found Ultron scary from this first version, mechanized treads and all to the Ultron 5-6 versions, very scary, to the gigantic Ultron 7 to the current Ultron forms. He just keeps getting more and more menancing. Me scared. :o
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