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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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Songbird

Post by Jabroniville »

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Most. Adorable. Superhero. Ever!

SONGBIRD (Melissa Gold, aka Screaming Mimi)
Created By:
Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio & John Byrne
First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One #54 (Aug. 1979)
Role: Jobber Villain Turned Great Hero, The Core of the Team (Thunderbolts), Flying Blaster, Green Lantern Lite, Super Awesome Cutie-Pie
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, The Thunderbolts, The Grapplers, The Femizons, The Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation
PL 10 (160)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Singing) 4 (+6)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 3 (+5)
Persuasion 4 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Sonic Attacks) 2 (+10)
Technology 3 (+4)

Advantages:
Attractive 150 (okay, just Attractive 1...), Defensive Attack, Fast Grab, Grappling Finesse, Improved Critical (Sonic Attacks), Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Teamwork

Powers:
"Sonic Harness" (Flaws: Removable) (Feats: Restricted 2) [56]
Flight 6 (120 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (6)

"Solid Sound Shapes" Create 10 (Feats: Dynamic, Precise) (Extras: Selective, Movable) (42) -- (61)
  • Dynamic AE: "Sonic Blast" Blast 10 (Feats: Split, Indirect 4- Any Direction) (26)
  • Dynamic AE: "Sonic Shape Weapons" Damage 10 (Extras: Targetted Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: "Sonic Shape Ram" Damage 10 (Extras: Targetted Area- 30ft. Line) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: "Sonic Shape Wave" Damage 10 (Extras: Targetted Area- 60ft. Cone) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: Force Field 7 (Extras: Affects Others 8) (16)
  • Dynamic AE: Dazzle (Hearing) 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Touch Range) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: Snare 10 (Feats: Block Visual Senses, Reversible) (33)
  • Dynamic AE: Dazzle (Hearing) 10 (21)
  • Dynamic AE: Move Object 10 (21)
  • AE: "Subtle Suggestions" Affliction 6 (Will; Entranced/Compelled) (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (6)
-- (67 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sonic Shapes +10 Area (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Sonic Blast +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Dazzle +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Dazzle +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Snare +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 25)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (+10 Force Field), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Repentant Villain)- Melissa believes in The Thunderbolts' true attempts at repentance, and eventually came to be the spiritual centre of the team, falling away from the angry, foolish young woman she was.
Responsibility (Has Lost Nearly Everything)- Melissa's life has always been difficult. Her father was a drunk, her mother a convict, and she was stuck dating ANGAR THE SCREAMER of all people (and then he died). This makes it hard for her to become close to people, or trust them.
Responsibility (Loves Abe Jenkins, aka MACH 1-5)

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 56 / Defenses: 14 (160)

Songbird- Best Redesign Ever:
-Songbird is pretty much the shining light and most successful thing out of Thunderbolts as far as heroes go- most of the team was screwed around with, killed once or twice (Jolt, Charcoal, Atlas), resurrected the same way (Jolt, Atlas), bounced around to meaningless things and mostly forgotten (MACH-1), etc., but Songbird? This girl started out as one of THE GRAPPLERS, for God's sake (look at my builds of Titania I/Lascivious, Battle Axe & Poundcakes to see how much THEY suck). She wore a ridiculous jester-y outfit with ugly white face paint, and they turned her into one of the cutest-looking characters in Marvel Comics, with a unique, stand-outish hairstyle and a great costume (one of Mark Bagley's best designs). They also gave her great GL-ish powers, a decent costume, and legitimacy. She's now the hallmark for the series (aside from Moonstone, who got a similar upgrade as a villain), a member of just about every roster. Unfortunately, they hesitated way too long in making her an Avenger- I don't think anybody would have minded. Hell, I think it's about TIME, if you ask me! She was in Avengers Forever as a future member of the team, and that was like twenty years ago! But all she got was a side roll in a recent Al Ewing book and that was it- she just got TOO linked the Thunderbolts.

-Yeah, the neat thing about Avengers Forever was that it had some FUTURE Avengers alongside the "Specific Era" team of Giant-Man, Yellowjacket, Carnie Hawkeye, Super-Powered but Weak-Willed Cap and Leaderly Wasp. Melissa & Captain Marvel (Genis) were on "future" teams of Avengers, and knew bits and pieces of what was going on (ie. lots and lots of Continuity Porn from Kurt Busiek and his encyclopedic array of Marvel knowledge).

Screaming Mimi:
-As Screaming Mimi, she was a Sonic Controlling member of The Grapplers, a forgettable Jobber Villain team of ladies that went nowhere after two of its members (Letha & Titania) were murdered by The Scourge of the Underworld after a few years of being Journeyman Villains (fighting Dazzler, Thundra, The Thing, Quasar & Giant-Man). She was stuck in out of nowhere as "Filler" in Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil squad (the one that assaulted Avengers Mansion and nearly killed the whole team), but was quickly defeated, and afterwards started running around with idiot Daredevil villain Angar the Screamer. This was a thing for a year or two before Thunderbolts started, having revealed the cutesy new heroine "Songbird" to actually be a different-powered Mimi, who'd screamed her powers out after Angar got shot by a bunch of cops.

Songbird- Super-Adrobz & Green Lantern Powers:
-Turning into GL-Lite, Melissa became a central member of the Thunderbolts cast, gaining a completely unique costume and distinctive pink & white hair, immediately becoming a forever "signature" look- the dumb clown costume was over and done with. More than most of the team, she enjoyed the heroic turn she'd taken- having been a bit of a broken person, though, she was underconfident, easily-led, and non-confrontational, going a long way to make her sympathetic in a book full of screw-ups. She started a relationship with MACH-1, the former Beetle, but it's become one of those LONG-running "Will They Won't They?" things that really got jerked around way too much, as over and over again, as they'd hook up, then split for stupid reasons- for YEARS this happened. See, comic book writers like to use lots of drama, and of course relationships are a BIG source of such things in comics, and so it's easy writing to basically split them up (like when Abner went to prison, or when the T-Bolts were thought-dead after being exiled to an alternate Earth without Songbird) to create angst. Doing this too many times, however, just kind of makes the fans bored of it- see Kitty Pryde & Colossus for a much more long-running, annoying version of this.

-Over time, Melissa became the "Core" member of the team, especially once Hawkeye had taken things over, and the others spent varied amounts of time off the squad- she was central to helping Hawkeye controlling the team. The book was cancelled and she vanished for a while, but reappeared helping out the reboot in some odd situations, like making out with the returned, non-scarred, Godly-powerful Zemo, which turned out to be a ruse to get revenge on Zemo for killing Genis-Vell (with whom she'd nearly had a thing, I think- Atlas once skooshed the guy for threatening to come between Melissa & Abe).

-The next arc of her Super-Career came when Norman Osborn took charge of The Thunderbolts on the heels of Civil War- Songbird became a secondary member under field-leader Moonstone (an old T-Bolts teammate who'd gone Full Evil). Melissa was stuck as the only sane and heroic one (save Radioactive Man of all people) on a team of psychopaths and sociopathic monsters. The rest of the T-Bolts eventually mark her for death (after she deliberately has Bullseye crippled in the field), and she goes on the run. However, this ends up largely "filler" in the overall scheme of things, and she spends a short arc as the warden of the female prison ward on The Raft. She joins Luke Cage's T-Bolts squad (keeping an eye on Moonstone), but this one turns into a HORRIBLY-bad idea, as the whole "let's get evil villains to fight on OUR behalf" idea is completely ridiculous and doomed to failure- I found it funnier in the Dark Reign one, because the show the real sick depths of it, and it's stated to be a bad idea. Having LUKE CAGE be for the idea seems stupid. Songbird gets a horrible new haircut (BOOOOOO) and does some stuff, and kind of vanished for a bit. She was last seen on Al Ewing's Avengers book, acting as a TRIPLE-agent, spying on Sunspot's Avengers on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D., but in reality being Sunspots mole to THEM.

Songbird Overall:
-But really, Songbird's got an incredible design. She's literally the only superheroine with hair like that, which IMMEDIATELY makes her recognizable and iconic. The outfit is neat, as it's got your classic Heroic Tights look, but also packs that little golden Armored Harness that is similarly-distinctive. Of all the Thunderbolts, she easily has the best Bagley-design (though Atlas & MACH-1 are pretty great, too), and you can tell because it's stuck around for fifteen years and has barely changed a bit. The character was endearing and likeable on a squad that desperately needed a character like that (since they were all diehard villains at first), and her relationship wtih Abe (the "Everyman" on the book) was classic "Comics Fan Self-Insert" stuff. A run on Avengers Forever helped her a lot, and she was easily THE "Thunderbolts Icon", showing up on nearly every incarnation of the team. She didn't get the push Moonstone did, but was still in the running... until Marvel kinda forgot about the concept. Most of the baddies went back to villainy, while Abe & Melissa kind of faltered and their pushes halted. This is why I figured she should have been made an Avenger sometime in the "Bendis Era" or just after it- give her a REAL push instead of just being a side-person on one Ewing book (the guy is a terrific writer, but just FILLS his books with too many characters whose pushes never remain consistent).

Songbird's Powers:
-Songbird is a nice example of a PL 10 Green Lantern Lite build, using a standard Device that only works for her (or presumably Klaw or someone). She's got a bunch of varied effects, all Dynamic (which makes her limited to hitting offensive or defensive caps depending on what part of the Array she's using- her Force Field is included in there) but for her low-rank Compel Others ability, allowing her to hit a few different Caps, and she's good to great at teamwork. Plus some Grappling from her days on The Grapplers women's wrestling team (apparently she's also moderately-enhanced physically as well, but definitely not super-strong or durable). She's the kind of character who's quite powerful, but still needs a "boost" before she's TRULY ready for the big leagues, which is why I'd like to see an Avengers run from her.

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SCREAMING MIMI (Melissa Gold)
Created By:
Mark Gruenwald, Ralph Macchio & John Byrne
First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One #54 (Aug. 1979)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, The Grapplers, The Femizons, The Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation
PL 10 (135)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+4)
Insight 1 (+3)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Perception 2 (+4)
Technology 1 (+2)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Grappling Finesse, Improved Critical (Sonic Attacks), Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Low E- Dizziness & Vertigo" Affliction 8 (Will; Dazed & Impaired/Disabled & Hindered/Incapacitated) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception, Cumulative, Extra Condition) (33) -- [52]
  • Dynamic AE: "Low F- Nausea" Affliction 8 (Will; Dazed & Impaired/Disabled & Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Hearing-Dependent) (33)
  • Dynamic AE: "Low C & D- Anxiety & Panic Attacks" Affliction 8 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception, Cumulative) (Flaws: Limited to Anxiety or Panic) (17)
  • Dynamic AE: "High B- Euphoria" Affliction 8 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Area- Hearing Perception, Cumulative) (Flaws: Limited to Euporia) (17)
  • Dynamic AE: "Low G- Fatigue" Affliction 8 (Will; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative) (Flaws: Hearing-Dependent) (25)
  • Dynamic AE: "High A- Blindness" Dazzle Visuals 8 (Extras: Perception Range) (25)
  • Dynamic AE: "High C- Hallucinations" Illusion (Vision & Hearing) 8 (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (17)
  • Dynamic AE: "Loud Scream" Dazzle Hearing 10 (21)
  • Dynamic AE: "Wide-Area Scream" Dazzle Hearing 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Touch Range) (31)
  • Dynamic AE: "Sonic Blast" Blast 8 (17)
  • AE: "Vibrate Solid Objects" Weaken Toughness 5 (Extras: Affects Objects Only +0) (5)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sonic Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Dazzles & Other Effects +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Dazzles & Other Effects +8 Area (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Dazzles & Other Effects +8 Perception (+8 Perception Affliction, DC 18)
Dazzle +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (+10 Force Field), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Responsibility (Has Lost Nearly Everything)- Melissa's life has always been difficult. Her father was a drunk, her mother a convict, and she was stuck dating ANGAR THE SCREAMER of all people (and then he died). This makes it hard for her to become close to people, or trust them.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 52 / Defenses: 10 (135)

-Songbird's old powers make her a PL 8 chick who's PL 10 with her powerful Area Dazzles (most Dazzle-based people are at PL 10 levels, since it's not a really damaging power- just a useful one). She's got assorted powers in a good Array, letting her mess with people's emotions, minds and bodies, but only if they hear her. Some powers are Area-Perception-based, and others are simply Perception Range effects.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sat Feb 12, 2022 10:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by Ares »

Songbird is easily the big success story of the Thunderbolts, along with Moonstone and making Baron Zemo a major supervillain again. A great visual look, a solid powerset, an example of positive character growth, etc. And I agree, it's way past time she got to be on an Avengers squad.

One interesting thing that I think even BUSIEK forgot is that Mimi is actually supposed to be superstrong. She was augmented physically like the other Grapplers and is suppose to be able to lift a ton or two. But most folks forget about that. It'd actually be kind of funny for someone to disable her sonic powers, only for her to just punch them and start using all kinds of hand-to-hand techniques, and reminds everyone "I may not be proud of that time in my life, but Screaming Mimi was a Grappler. And in case you forgot, here's what that means. It means I can bench 2 tons, and I know how to fight. But what it really means is that you're all screwed."

Maybe I'm just a prude, but I don't actually like seeing mainstream superheroes saying things like "Kiss my ass".
"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! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by Jabroniville »

I'm pretty sure she's saying "kiss my ass!" in reference to Bullseye trying to icepick her in the spine- some of the other pics on ComicVine show him trying to get revenge on her for having him nearly crippled early in Ellis's run.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Kang! The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno!)

Post by Tattooedman »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:13 am
Shock wrote: Sun Jun 28, 2020 11:12 pm Wow. The Fixer/Techno has gone through almost as many bodies as Ultron. You almost feel bad for him, until you remember he's evil.
Yeah- I was mainly surprised that they'd gone with the weird "Time Travel" thing, plus him going back to "The Fixer" so regularly that there's almost nothing left of his T-Bolts identity.
I thought it would be interesting g to keep "Techno" around to show how experiences shape a person's outlook on things and show the growing differences between the Fixer & Techno as time went on.
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:45 pm
LOl- "The Tattooed Man"? What kind of ABSOLUTE DILDO would refer to himself as "The Tattooed Man" :P!?!
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by Goldar »

Many years ago when I learned Songbird was really Screaming Mimi, I could not believe it!!

She looked so different, her personaliy and speech was a bit different and she seemed much smarter and prettier. And there was no sign of her very low-level super-strength of 1 ton.

Then I read a story years after that which stated her strength powers faded and she lost her voice screaming
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Re: Songbird

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:28 am Most. Adorable. Superhero. Ever!
Are you trying to make Cyclone jealous?
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by greycrusader »

Huh. When I did the Project: Freedom team for Green Ronin's Super-Team Handbook, I was asked to do a stand-in for Harley Quinn, one of the few "name" comics characters who didn't already have an analogue in the game, so I came up with Queen of Hearts. I didn't want the villain turned sort-of hero to be a direct copy, so (aside from obvious changes to her ethnicity and body build) I gave her a different background: an aspiring med student who was financing her education as a bouncer and "monster heel" pro wrestler, before an encounter with a band of super-villains transformed her into Queen of Hearts. So she became something of a mash-up, incorporating Songbird's wrestling moves and vernacular ("jobbers!" and "kayfabe" for example). But I completely forgot about how much Screaming Mimi LOOKED like early Harley Quinn-the same build and fighting style, white face makeup, and jester-style outfit. And of course Mimi appeared at least a decade prior, and was pretty much forgotten entirely when Quinn debuted. Weird.

Like Ares, I think its cool Songbird can surprise opponents who typically assume she's entirely dependent on her sonic-powers, and then got taken off-guard when the former Screaming Mimi shows off her agility and jiu-jitsu style moves. I don't remember her ever really displaying super-strength, even at a minor level, unlike the other Grapplers-I figured she just responded differently to whatever treatments she received and developed the original Mimi power set instead. Maybe a nice twist would be if she can still use some of her old Affliction style abilities without the cybernetic harness, but is limited to really close range, humming or even whispering directly into opponents' ears when she has them in a grapple.

All my best.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by Ian Turner »

greycrusader wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 2:48 pm Like Ares, I think its cool Songbird can surprise opponents who typically assume she's entirely dependent on her sonic-powers, and then got taken off-guard when the former Screaming Mimi shows off her agility and jiu-jitsu style moves. I don't remember her ever really displaying super-strength, even at a minor level, unlike the other Grapplers-I figured she just responded differently to whatever treatments she received and developed the original Mimi power set instead. Maybe a nice twist would be if she can still use some of her old Affliction style abilities without the cybernetic harness, but is limited to really close range, humming or even whispering directly into opponents' ears when she has them in a grapple.
That would take her in a neat sort of 'Black Canary expy' direction, to have her carapace get damaged (or just not be available for reasons), and her open a can of fighty-mcfight on some guys, with some low level sonic affliction stuff thrown in. No pink energy constructs, just destabilizing harmonics that leave people off-balance or nauseous or whatever, while she unleashes the 'stronger than she looks' on them.

(That was a minor quibble I had with the Thunderbolts run, was that the writer had a clear idea what he wanted them to be able to do, and sort of tweaked them to fit. Melissa lost her strength. Erik lost his Wonder-Man-level ionic strength and invulnerability when he was human-sized, and only had them at giant size. Zemo suddenly (expert!) swordsman. Etc. Moonstone was the only one whose powers / abilities didn't significantly change.)
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by drkrash »

Sorry. Anytime I read about Mentallo and the Fixer, I think of these guys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqmguxghS8
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

I look at Songbird and I see Elizabeth Olsen. I know she's Wanda in the MCU, but that's who I see as Songbird.
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Re: Songbird

Post by Jabroniville »

Ken wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 12:43 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:28 am Most. Adorable. Superhero. Ever!
Are you trying to make Cyclone jealous?
Cyclone is still Eternal Waifu of comics, by Songbird is #2! Or 3. But she's the most adorbz for sure!
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by drkrash »

Who's the other contender for #2 or 3, then?
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MACH-1/The Beetle

Post by Jabroniville »

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MACH-I through VII (Abner "Abe" Jenkins, aka The Beetle)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Carl Burgos
First Appearance: Strange Tales #123 (Aug. 1964)
Role: Power-Suit Guy, Recovered Supervillain
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, Dominus' Employ, The Sinister Syndicate, The Thunderbolts
PL 10 (152)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+10)
Expertise (Auto Worker) 2 (+8)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Technology 9 (+15)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Equipment (Radio Communicator, etc. in Suit), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Blast), Inventor, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 7, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"MACH-5 Power Armour" (Flaws: Removable) [60]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Power-Lifting 1 (12 tons) (1)
Protection 7 (7)
"Jet-Pack" Flight 8 (500 mph) (16)
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) (2)
Senses 3 (Extended, Low-Light & Analytical Vision) (3)
Immunity 6 (Cold, Heat, Radiation, Pressure, Suffocation 2) (6)
"Enhanced Tactical Analysis" Enhanced Dodge 2 (2)

"Machine Guns" Blast 8 (Extras: Multiattack) (24)
  • AE: Energy Blast 10 (Feats: Split) (20) -- (23)
  • AE: "Grenades" Blast 7 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (20)
-- (75 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Armoured Punch +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Machine Guns +10 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Energy Blast +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Grenades +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (+10 Armour, DC 18-20), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+10 Armour), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Redemption)- Abe believes in the Thunderbolts concept as much as anyone, and desperately wants to reform. This may have something to do with the fact that he was THE BEETLE.
Relationship (Melissa Gold)- Abe is desperately in love with Songbird, and a great deal of his time and effort is put into wooing her. They keep splitting up, since this is comics.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 60 / Defenses: 9 (152)

The Beetle- Classic Green & Purple Silver Age Baddie:
-I always thought The Beetle was cool as a kid. No idea why- he just looked neat in the one appearance I have of his- on that Marvel Card Famous Battles- Armor Wars thing), all green with purple bug eyes and stuff. So when he got upgraded to the Thunderbolts, I was pretty excited. Jenkins was a forgettable Silver Age villain- an airplane mechanic who fought The Thing & Human Torch because he wanted to make a name for himself after being bored of his job. With a baggy outfit and suction-cup fingers, he was pretty goofy, and thereafter became one of the Silver Age's most-seen Journeyman Villains, basically popping around to fight every hero on the pike- he's lost to Daredevil, Spider-Man, The FF, The Defenders and more. He joined Egghead's Masters of Evil, and eventually became a recurring Iron Man Jobber (as an armored villain, it was perhaps inevitable). He finally upgraded his suit into a sleeker look, but jobbed to Spider-Man despite weeks of careful study and a computer program designed to counteract his fighting style.

-He was a central character in The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man, as team leader of a weird band of villains, plots all of the group's heists, but is keeping several levels of deception- he's hiding the fact that they're working for the Kingpin (and giving him a monstrous cut), as well as owing money to others. He grows more and more nervous and things unravel around him, and is desperate to keep the others loyal to him, so that he can get out of the red. The Kingpin, meanwhile, has all sorts of plots in the mix, and ultimately Beetle's actions are for nothing, earn him the enmity of his ally the Ringer's widow (she blames Beetle for getting Ringer back into the game, which got him killed by the Scourge of the Underworld), and more.

Thunderbolts- Abe as Mach-1:
-As MACH-1, a member of Baron Zemo's faux-Thunderbolts, he was a standard Powersuit guy, but actually wanted to reform (he was the first to do something just because it was right- giving Spider-Man evidence back to clear his name- he had to explain it to the other T-Bolts), and got to hook up with Team Cutie Songbird. Of course, he & Songbird never really got it going again, thanks to the comic book rule I hate the most: No Relationship Will Ever Work Out. EVER. If they are teased for years, the best they'll get is a brief hook-up before one dies or hooks up with another person. If they're married or in love, they'll break up because of something dumb and then never hook up again. See: Molecule Man/Volcana, Atom Smasher/Stargirl, Captain Marvel/Stargirl, Spider-Man/Any Girl Ever, Colossus/Kitty Pryde, Wolverine/Mariko, Wolverine/Silver Fox, etc.

-Abe voluntarily went to prison after the team's identities were exposed- part of Hawkeye's plan to get people to accept that they'd reformed. His attempts at stopping a prison right got him recruited by the secretive Commission on Superhuman Activities, but he soon turned on them and rejoined the T-Bolts. At this point he became MACH-2 with Techno's help. He also got turned black in the greatest practical joke EVER- Techno gave him plastic surgery to change his appearance, but didn't tell him the sheer extent of it. He & Songbird attempted to retire, but the villainy of Graviton caused them to join a reformed T-Bolts- as MACH-3, he was caught in an implosion that sent everyone but Songbird to Counter-Earth (the Heroes Reborn world). There, they became famous heroes, but Abe was merely "going through the motions"- with Songbird left on Earth, he had nothing to hope for. Finally, the team returned to Earth, but Abe went back to jail, having his original appearance restored.

-The rebooted Thunderbolts book had him in a leadership role, and restored his relationship with Songbird, but eventually fizzled out. He acted as Head of Security on The Raft as "Mach-V", but by this point was a mere background character- Songbird & Moonstone had become far bigger T-Bolts characters, and Abe mostly just went through various suit upgrades behind the scenes. As MACH-X, he joined the Winter Soldier's forgotten version of the team. He semi-recently appeared in The Superior Foes of Spider-Man, acting as a Parole Officer to Boomerang. However, the comic kind of got a bit mean-spirited in turning him into a butt-monkey- I can buy him as a stodgy "turncoat" who had legitimately reformed and other villains resented him for it, but the comic had him get humiliated again and again, even getting beaten down thanks to one last gag by Boomerang. He & Songbird rekindle their relationship on the Soldier's T-Bolts, but at the end, he's thought killed (ie. he's missing) after they fight Baron Zemo's new Masters of Evil.

-But truth be told, Jenkins has had a great storyline. The Beetle wasn't any good asides from being a quality Jobber, but as the MACH-series, he's been excellent- it's one of those Face Turns that actually makes SENSE- he was faking being a hero, but organically grew to LIKE it, eventually becoming one of the most moral of his team (the others who enjoyed being heroes still had more of a dark side to them, in a realistic move).

Iron Man Lite:
-Ol' Abe is actually pretty good- an PL 10 (152) thanks to his armor being really good, and his considerable genius and Skillmonkey capabilities. Being a Flying Brick-type Powersuit with a Blast helpt a lot, though he doesn't quite meet all his caps- PL 10 on offense, but only with his best Blast. He's got a few other tricks, but he's mostly a sub-Iron Man Powersuit build.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by Jabroniville »

drkrash wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:32 pm Who's the other contender for #2 or 3, then?
Shadowcat! Or Thundra. Or Giganta. Or any exceptionally strong woman with a commanding attitude. Or...
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Goldar
Posts: 1229
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (The Masters of Evil! Moonstone! Techno! Songbird!)

Post by Goldar »

HalloweenJack wrote: Mon Jun 29, 2020 9:06 pm I look at Songbird and I see Elizabeth Olsen. I know she's Wanda in the MCU, but that's who I see as Songbird.
Yeah, I always thought that as well! :o Maybe it is the facial shape and/or hair.
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