Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Grenzer
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 2:22 am

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Crimson Dynamo! Titanium Man! Fantasma! Perun!)

Post by Grenzer »

I think it goes without saying that a Russian Thor knock-off was never going to be anything but a jobber. First, as can be seen in a lot of these profiles, Russian characters in Marvel comics are often portrayed as, 'This character... but more obnoxious, morose, and morally ambiguous.' That is of course when they are not an outright villain, which would be the fair majority of them. When the key to becoming more heroic is to openly reject your homeland and everything it stands for, that is a very harsh standard and one where nuance is going to be thrown out of the window. And I know Thor is not used as an ambassador for Traditional Viking/Scandinavian culture, but he is allowed to embrace his role as a warrior Thunder God without any conflict towards his identity as a hero.

Perun on the other hand has a real issue. If you portray him as awesome and a serious representative of Russian power/skill, you end up implying the Russian/Soviet government as it exists in the Marvel universe is itself something beyond the corrupt/awful/downright criminal organization it has been consistently portrayed as from the 1960's onward. If you have Perun reject Russia and then be awesome... what is the point of the character? There is no room for him as another competent hero in the mainstream when Thor already holds that role as warrior god superhero, and realistically even if a new writer were to come in and attempt to rehabilitate Perun's character, I wonder if the casual comic book-reading audience (such as it is) would even care. At best you could make him like a second Hercules, and that is being generous. Also, it is amazing to think it took until 1989 for Marvel to introduce a major member of the Old Slavic pantheon into the universe. Just shows you the interest was not there to begin with, and Perun's creation may have been little more than an attempt to fill out the team roster rather then a serious effort to create an enduring character.

Come to think of it, Colossus is probably the most well-rounded and characterized Russian hero in Marvel, and that seems to come from Chris Claremont's approach to Piotr's identity as a mutant who just happens to be Russian, rather than a Russian mutant. Colossus's status as a discriminated minority that crosses national boundaries means he can interact with people from other backgrounds without the 'Red Scare' issue taking over the narrative, and let his heroic nature be his defining trait.
Last edited by Grenzer on Mon May 25, 2020 6:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Chernobog

Post by Jabroniville »

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CHERNOBOG
Created By:
Greg Pak & Paul Pelletier
First Appearance: Incredible Hulks #621 (March 2011)
Role: Slavic God of Darkness, Mistaken-For-Satan Guy
Group Affiliations: The Winter Guard

Chernobog in Mythology: Chernobog The Black was the Slavic God of Darkness, Night & Chaos, but is very poorly understood- Slavic Mythology was largely wiped out by Christianity to the point where almost NOTHING is known about it. He is assumed to be the opposite of a good deity, Belobog (the "White God"). He is of course the being used in Disney's Fantasia for the Night on Bald Mountain sequence, where a being identified as "the Devil" by the narrator summons a band of monsters and cavorts with and tortures them until the ringing church bells of the morning see him returning to his dormant state as a mountain.

-Chernobog first appeared in a Marvel book in 2011, making a deal with an unnamed bartender and manifesting on the Earthly plane to mess with some tourists the man felt were disrespecting his country. Chernobog is one of the "Evil Soldiers" in the war against the Slavic Gods like Perun, and seeks to slaughter people and regain some power. He comes across the Hulk, who proves too powerful to drain, and Chernobog is overloaded.

-Chernobog reappears with the new Winter Guard in a single Avengers issue in 2019, but IMMEDIATELY starts brawling with his teammate Perun, as the two talk smack and try to be the one to kill Namor in the big Avengers/Defenders of the Deep/Winter Guard battle, and things fall apart. Crimson Dynamo is mortified, but Iron Man chides him "You went DOUBLE GOD, Dynamo! You never go Double God!". the character has not reappeared.

-Chernobog appears to be a very strong grappler who can Weaken people somehow- feeding off of Souls, so possibly a Weaken Awareness/Will ability?
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ken
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Crimson Dynamo! Titanium Man! Fantasma! Perun!)

Post by Ken »

Since Marvel is owned by, could it be that this Chernobog and the one from Fantasia are now one and the same?
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Crimson Dynamo! Titanium Man! Fantasma! Perun!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Grenzer wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 2:05 am I think it goes without saying that a Russian Thor knock-off was never going to be anything but a jobber. First, as can be seen in a lot of these profiles, Russian characters in Marvel comics are often portrayed as, 'This character... but more obnoxious, morose, and morally ambiguous.' That is of course when they are not an outright villain, which would be the fair majority of them. When the key to becoming more heroic is to openly reject your homeland and everything it stands for, that is a very harsh standard and one where nuance is going to be thrown out of the window. And I know Thor is not used as an ambassador for Traditional Viking/Scandinavian culture, but he is allowed to embrace his role as a warrior Thunder God without any conflict towards his identity as a hero.

Perun on the other hand has a real issue. If you portray him as awesome and a serious representative of Russian power/skill, you end implying the Russian/Soviet government as it exists in the Marvel universe is itself something beyond the corrupt/awful/downright criminal organization it has been consistently portrayed as from the 1960's onward. If you have Perun reject Russia and then be awesome... what is the point of the character? There is no room for him as another competent hero in the mainstream when Thor already holds that role as warrior god superhero, and realistically even if a new writer were to come in and attempt to rehabilitate Perun's character, I wonder if the casual comic book-reading audience (such as it is) would even care. At best you could make him like a second Hercules, and that is being generous. Also, it is amazing to think it took until 1989 for Marvel to introduce a major member of the Old Slavic pantheon into the universe. Just shows you the interest was not there to begin with, and Perun's creation may have been little more than an attempt to fill out the team roster rather then a serious effort to create an enduring character.
Yeah, this is a key thing to Perun- he was barely even a character in his DEBUT, much less otherwise. It's particularly telling that he's "Slavic Thor" but has literally never fought, nor conversed with him on-panel. Pretty much tells you all you need to know about where he stood, right?

Hell, his appearance in Aaron's Avengers was so brief I literally forgot about him. It wasn't until researching these builds and looking on ComicVine that I recognized Ed McGuinness and other modern artists' art, making me go back and reread my Avengers comics to see his appearance! Vostok was much the same way- both were given only a bit of dialogue, if that- the real characters were Ursa Major, Red Widow and a few others.
Come to think of it, Colossus is probably the most well-rounded and characterized Russian hero in Marvel, and that seems to come from Chris Claremont's approach to Piotr's identity as a mutant who just happens to be Russian, rather than a Russian mutant. Colossus's status as a discriminated minority that crosses national boundaries means he can interact with people from other backgrounds without the 'Red Scare' issue taking over the narrative, and let his heroic nature be his defining trait.
It helps that the only other countries Claremont gave a crap about were in Asia and the UK, lol. So the Russian & German mutants only ever had a few token Claremontisms in their catchphrases and that was it.
Grenzer
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Darkstar! Crimson Dynamo! Titanium Man!)

Post by Grenzer »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon May 25, 2020 1:48 am
Grenzer wrote: Sun May 24, 2020 5:31 am My next profile covers one of the most famous characters to come out of Soviet cinema. He is so beloved, statues of him (à la Rocky Balboa) stand in a number of Russian cities, and Russian cosmonauts watch his film before every mission as a good luck ritual. I refer to...

Krasnoarmeyets(1) Fyodor Ivanovich Sukhov (also referred to as Tovarisch/Comrade Sukhov): The protagonist of the 1970 film White Sun of the Desert, the most famous of the Ostern(2) film genre, portrayed by Anatoly Kuznetsov. He is a demobilized cavalryman of the Red Army wandering around Central Asia in the early 1920's, looking to get home to the city of Samara and his beloved wife Ekartarina Matveyevna. He is apparently somewhat of a living legend in both the Red Army and among the locals of Turkestan. One officer eagerly states that Sukhov is worth a whole company of regular soldiers. Furthermore, as quoted from a translation of his article on Russian Wikipedia:
Ah, so this is mostly just from one movie?
Yeah, Sukhov appeared in just one film, one that ended with an obvious sequel hook too. But Soviet cinema was in theory about producing 'high art', not maximizing profit. Because of that popular films rarely were spun off into franchises. It would have been seen as capitalist and bourgeois. More practically it would have taken away resources to make new and original movies. It was the popular comedic characters that tended to get their own series of films, and even then it was a much smaller number compared to their American counterparts.

We tend to forget that Russia is a European nation and a lot of their media is run along those lines. Think of how the BBC and other British production companies tend to produce limited runs of episodes for their biggest shows, and how few of those shows run for more than a few years to get an idea of how it worked in the Soviet Union. Modern Russia, it actually reminds me of Latin America and its system of telenovelas, with all the good and bad that comes along with structuring your TV shows in that format.

It says a lot about Sukhov's popularity that licensed merchandise (which as you might guess was rare in the Soviet period) was produced of him. More importantly, he became a prototype for a lot of other Russian war/action hero characters in the decades after his creation. And he really can fight off a hundred men at once, which makes him a good analogue to American super-soldiers types.
Jabroniville
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Siberforce

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

See what I mean about this book having rushed art? The two right-most people are Vanguard and Darkstar.

SIBERFORCE (aka The Exiles II):
-An X-Factor Annual from 1986 featured a story in which Iceman, doing his "X-Factor are Mutant-Hunters" schtick, is captured by a band of hidden mutants- Blind Faith, Iron Curtain, Concussion, Sibercat & Mentac. At first they're ready to kill him, but he reveals himself as a mutant, then helps them break a bunch of captive Russian mutants out of a holding facility.

-The characters were nothing backgrounders, though, and Fabian Nicieza for some reason felt like bringing them out of the mothballs just to kill them In the Soviet Super-Soldiers one-shot. There, a mercenary baddie named Firefox ambushed them, and rapidly killed all three, leaving only the "important" characters. It was actually hilarious to read, as these goofs appear in completely-regular clothes (not even Badass Longcoats- just turtlenecks & jeans, for the most part), stand there, and basically watch as Firefox gasses them and effortlessly finishes them off one-by-one, as they put up zero resistance. This came off like Fabian Nicieza was just doing "spring cleaning" by wiping out characters he had no plan on using- the X-Men comics of the time were much the same way, as the Legacy Virus and Upstarts were wiping out scores of Mentallos, Sumos, Kamikazes, Psynapses, and more.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Blind Faith

Post by Jabroniville »

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BLIND FAITH (Alexei Garnoff)
Created By:
Bob Layton
First Appearance: X-Factor #1 (1986)
Role: Mind Controller, Forgotten Character
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: The Soviet Super-Soldiers, The Exiles (not the Dimension-Hoppers)
PL 9 (124)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Theology & Philosophy) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Catholic Priest) 4 (+6)
Insight 5 (+7)
Investigation 6 (+8)
Perception 5 (+7)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Stealth 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Mentalism"
"Telepathy" Mental Communication 2 (Mental) (8) -- [9]
  • AE: Mind Reading 8 (8)
"Detect Sentients" Senses 6 (Detect Mental Activity- Ranged 4, Acute) [6]

"Hypnotic Eyes"
Mind Control 9 (Feats: Mental Link) (Extras: Concentration) (Flaws: Vision-Dependent) (37) -- [38]
  • AE: "Memory Wipe" Affliction 9 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Transformed Memories) (Extras: Perception-Ranged +2, Progressive +2) (Flaws: Vision-Dependent, Distracting) (35)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Memory Wipe -- (+9 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 19)
Mind Control -- (+9 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 19)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)- Though at first a runaway, Blind Faith appeared to work for the Russian government at a later time.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 53 / Defenses: 12 (124)

-Blind Faith's a minor Russian hero and the leader of the Siberforce band of runaway mutants-in-hiding, but was kind of meant to be more important, judging by him later appearing in a mid-'90s X-Men book (he investigated the appearance of the Soul Skinner in Russia- the same storyline saw Colossus & Illyana's parents get executed by the Russian government). This, naturally, was written by Fabian Nicieza, who wrote Blind Faith as one of the only guys to survive from his group in Soviet Super-Soldiers. Of course, Blind Faith's relatively boring, non-combat oriented powers did him no favors, so he's pretty much a forgotten guy (especially since losing his powers on M-Day- one of the few "named" Russian characters to be so).

-He's a pretty standard Mind Controller-type of guy, albeit with Vision-Dependent stuck on him.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Iron Curtain

Post by Jabroniville »

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IRON CURTAIN (Simas Androvich)
Created By:
Bob Layton
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual #1 (1986)
Role: Powerhouse
PL 6 (64)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Soldier) 2 (+2)
Intimidation 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab

Powers:
"Super-Strength" Power-Lifting 1 (12 tons) [1]
"Bulletproof" Impervious Toughness 7 [7]

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

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +7, Fortitude +7, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Escaping Soviet Control)

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 8 / Defenses: 5 (64)

-Utterly boring for such a decent name for a Russian character, Iron Curtain was killed after Firefox shoves the tip of a grenade launcher in his mouth and pulls the trigger (theorizing that he's not invulnerable from the INSIDE)- he explodes in the next panel. He's just a super-strong, bulletproof guy, and since he & his crewmates died so quickly, they probably have pretty pathetic, basic stats.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mentac

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MENTAC (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Bob Layton
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual #1 (1986)
Role: Smart Guy
PL 3 (56)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 3 (+3)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+12)
Perception 2 (+4)
Technology 6 (+12)
Vehicles 1 (+3)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Super-Smart"
Quickness 6 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Actions) [3]
Senses 2 (Detect Weak Points- Ranged) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +1, Fortitude +2, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Escaping Soviet Control)

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 4 (56)

-Mentac is little else than a super-smart, skinny older-looking man whose only contribution in his debut was to help his teammates find the weak points in the facility in which other mutants were held, helping Iceman break them free. Six years later, he died from a single gunshot wound to the head, after Firefox dared him to calculate his odds of survival. "100% against such probability" he weakly replied. He was correct, being shot in the head.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Concussion

Post by Jabroniville »

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CONCUSSION (Mikhail something)
Created By:
Bob Layton
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual #1 (1986)
Role: Blaster
PL 6 (56)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+4)
Perception 2 (+3)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
Blast 7 [14]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Blast +5 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +3, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Escaping Soviet Control)

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 3 (56)

-Concussion is a simple Blaster who shot energy out of his hands, but Firefox cut them both off and killed him, joking that he'd always wondered if that would work with a Blaster-type power-set.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sibercat

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image
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SIBERCAT (Illyich Lavrov, aka Siberian Tiger)
Created By:
Bob Layton
First Appearance: X-Factor Annual #1 (1986)
Role: The Happy-Go-Lucky Guy, Animal-Powered Guy, Forgotten Hero
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: The Winter Guard
PL 8 (100)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 4 (+10)
Close Combat (Claws) 2 (+9)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+9)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 4 (+4)
Insight 3 (+4)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Perception 7 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Great Endurance

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Humanoid Tiger"
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) [5]
Speed 3 (16 mph) [3]
"Natural Weapons- Claws & Teeth" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split) [2]
"Cold-Based Hunter" Movement 1 (Environmental Adaptation- Cold) [2]
"Cat Agility" Leaping 1 [1]
"Striped Coat" Enhanced Skills 4: Stealth 4 (+12) (Flaws: Limited to Dark Forests & Jungles or Plains) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Claws +9 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +5

Complications:
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- Furry and striped, Sibercat cannot pass for an ordinary human without one of those brown trenchcoats or something.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 14 (100)

-"Siberian Tiger" here is pretty much one of those forgotten characters- he debuted in an X-Factor Annual, joining the Russian "Exiles", later called "Siberforce", but they were all completely unimportant characters and not used again until 1992's Soviet Super-Soldiers six years later. There, he looked almost exactly like Tygra from Thundercats wearing regular clothes, but despite being pretty sucky and not doing anything in the story, he got to SURVIVE. His teammates Mentac, Iron Curtain & Concussion were all slain, but the sarcastic, glib "Sibercat" (as he was renamed) got to survive. However, unlike Blind Faith, who also lived, he was never used again.

-Sibercat is a generic PL 8 Wolverine-type "Cat Guy" with nothing unique about him (aside from the Tiger's boosts to stealth and the like), but he's a bit cheerier than the usual "Claw Guy" character, often being seen lounging about or playing with a yo-yo.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Grenzer
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 2:22 am

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Crimson Dynamo! Titanium Man! Fantasma! Perun!)

Post by Grenzer »

For my next profile, I present arguably the most famous heroine of Russian Science Fiction, and the one best known to children:

Alisa Igorevna Seleznyova: Created in 1965 by Kir Bulychyov (real name Igor Mozheyko), one of the great pioneers in the genres of Russian language sci-fi and fantasy literature, Alisa has been a favorite character for generations of children living in the former Soviet Union. Bulychyov wrote over two dozen novels and various short story collections about Alisa's adventures through Time and Space, right up until his death in 2003. He also oversaw and wrote many adaptations of the character into animation and live-action programming, the most famous of which were 1981's Mystery of the Third Planet (an animated film), and 1985's The Guest from the Future (a five-part TV miniseries). After Bulychyov died, several other writers took up his pen to create new stories about Alisa, the most important of which are a 2009 theatrical animated movie and a CGI cartoon series that aired from 2013-16. Given the enduring popularity of the franchise, it is almost inevitable that there will be other projects created in the years ahead.

The main character is a precocious, adventurous, and somewhat tomboyish Russian schoolgirl who lives in the late 21st century. In Alisa's time, faster-than-light space travel was discovered several decades earlier, and Communism became recognized as the best political system for allowing humanity to peacefully exploit this technology as it colonizes distant plants and makes contact with many alien species. Yes, we who live in the early 21st century can laugh at this concept which seems quite absurd now, but it represented the optimism many Russians felt in the early Space Age when it seemed they were beating the Americans in the race to the stars.

Anyway, Alisa's father is Professor Igor Vsevolodovich Seleznyov, a noted biologist who often travels to distant worlds in order to collect new species of animals and plants for Earth's finest research labs. Alisa, who is also fascinated with Biology, tags along with him and his companions (some of whom become recurring characters in the franchise), and all sorts of adventures ensue. She solves ancient alien mysteries, fights off space pirates, and travels through time to meet all sorts of famous figures both historical and mythological (one novel includes an encounter with the dreaded witch Baba Yaga). I would definitely say of all the characters I am profiling here, Alisa is the one who would most fit into a Silver Age comic book in both tone and content.

Some works from the Alisa franchise have been translated into other languages, including English. A small selection of her novels were published in the USA and UK from the late 1970's until 2002. Mystery of the Third Planet was edited* and dubbed into English twice, with the first version from 1987 and the second from 1999. This second version was more widely distributed and was apparently found in the $1 children's entertainment section of many a Walmart. It was notable for starring Kirsten Dunst as Alisa (renamed as 'Alice Newton') and apparently aired on PBS at one point. The Guest from the Future also aired on the BBC in the 1980's and its theme song 'The Beautiful Faraway' became a hit with British listeners, but few other details are available online.

*Russian viewers were apparently disgusted with the edits that cut scenes and greatly altered the dialogue. The original soundtrack was also removed and a new American score was substituted. Both the original version with English subtitles and the American edit can be found online.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Stencil

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

STENCIL (Maria something)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Javier Saltares
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Solders #1 (Nov. 1992)
Role: Dark Cyborg
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: The Siberforce
PL 7 (105)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 6 (+7)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Perception 3 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Rifle), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Area Mindsuck" Weaken Will 7 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Affects Will, Selective) (35) -- [36]
  • AE: "Telepathic Mindsuck" Weaken Will 7 (Extras: Perception-Ranged +2, Affects Will) (28)
Enhanced Advantages 2: Beginner's Luck, Jack-Of-All-Trades [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Rifle +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Mindsuck +7 Area (+7 Weaken, DC 17)
Minduck -- (+7 Perception-Ranged Weaken, DC 17)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Exile)
Responsibility (Split Personalities)- Stencil's "Mindsuck" powers cause the personalities of her victims to be drawn inside of her

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 38 / Defenses: 9 (105)

-Stencil appears as a shaven-headed girl in a regular shirt and army pants, wielding a rifle and telepathic powers. She allies with Blind Faith and Siberforce in exile, but actually survives Firefox's assault that slays three of her teammates. She has the ability to absorb the minds of people at range (a Will-Based Weaken effect that can kill- she uses it to cause some Helicopter pilots to crash), but at the cost to her own personality- she's shown putting on a wig and calling herself "Maria", after first imitating a male character. Most of her dialogue features her arguing with Sibercat about various things, as both suffer from boredom (rather than mourning dead comrades). She has never reappeared after Soviet Super-Soldiers came out- something shared only with Firefox and Synthesizer from the same book.

-Stencil's rather dangerous, but has only used her powers on Mooks, so it's unclear just how effective she is- she can also fire a Rifle.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Firefox

Post by Jabroniville »

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FIREFOX (Grigori Andreivitch)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Javier Saltares
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Solders #1 (Nov. 1992)
Role: Dark Cyborg, Cable With (Man) Boobs
Country of Origin: The Soviet Union/Russia
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (104)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Expertise (Russian Agent) 5 (+8)
Intimidation 6 (+6)
Perception 5 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Rifles) 2 (+9)
Technology 2 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Cyborg Gear, Guns), Ranged Attack 5

Powers:
"Cybernetic Body"
Protection 2 [2]
"Red Eye" Senses 2 (Extended & Infravision) [2]

"Built-In Gun" (Flaws: Removable) [15]
Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Cyborg Gun +9 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Russian Agent)
Prejudice (Cyborg)- Firefox is clearly not all human, and this may cause others to judge him without cause.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 12 (104)

-Firefox is a hilarious addition to the Soviet Super-Soldiers book- he's unaffiliated with the heroes, and is instead an evil mercenary who is also of course a Cyborg with a gun for an arm. Appearing flabby and old, the cyborg taunts the man who hires him to bring down the hidden away "Siberforce", then barges in on one of their safehouses. The important characters (Darkstar, Vanguard, Ursa Major, Blind Faith) all escape into a Darkforce-Portal, but Firefox is able to effortlessly-slaughter the remaining unimportant doofuses- firing a grenade into the durable Iron Curtain's mouth, shooting Mentac in the head, then slicing off Concussion's Blasting hands before executing him. He later corners Stencil & Sibercat in a warehouse, but he is undone when a REAL powerhouse arrives- Vanguard one-punches him, smashes up his Gun-Arm, and then coldly RIPS HIS CYBERNETIC EYE OFF. Only the protestations of his teammates cause him to avoid executing the villain then and there.

-Firefox is thus built up like this big, scary threat... except he's a ridiculous-looking, saggy-chested old man who is completely housed the second an actual superhero shows up and not some low-grade mutant in a turtleneck sweater. So he's a giant pussy. Despite this, the injured Firefox is recruited by General Shatalov, who's just comandeered the Crimson Dynamo armor, for the "Remont Four"- a group meant to bring Stalinism back to Russia (Ron Howard Voice: "They didn't").
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Synthesizer

Post by Jabroniville »

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This character gets a big introduction, immediately jobs, and is then never referenced again. Possibly the most bizarre debut in comics history.

SYNTHESIZER (Zoya Vasilievna & Arkady Tegai)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Angel Medina
First Appearance: Soviet Super-Soldiers #1 (Nov. 1992)
Role: Scientist Freedom-Fighters, Merged Character
Country of Origin: Russia
Group Affiliation: None

-Perhaps the most bizarre and out of nowhere thing in Soviet Super-Soldiers #1 is the existence of Synthesizer. A married couple of scientists were shown in the early part of the issue, suggesting allegiance to Russia, but soon left the comatose bodies of Vanguard, Darkstar & Ursa Major with Blind Faith and his freedom fighters. Later, they begin work on the unconscious, insane villain the Unicorn, but are horrified by the existence of a fleshy eye-stalk on his forehead. When the villain awakens and goes on the rampage, the two are forced to give up their own secret- they merge into the form of "Synthesizer", a glowing female with "Arkady's MIND in Zoya's FORM"! However, they fly after Unicorn and are ineffective- he just shoots them with an energy beam and Synthesizer drops. Unicorn is recruited by Titanium Man into the "Remont Four" and Synthesizer is never, ever seen again.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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