Jab’s Builds! (Whomp 'Em! Plumbers Don't Wear Ties! ToeJam & Earl!)

[Jack of Spades]

I loved Alan Moore's Supreme, but not while it was originally being published. Then I saw the publisher and stayed far away.

I note, though, that apparently Supreme has Feet Supreme – you can see them! (At least he doesn't have the Liefeld feet Feature.)

[Jabroniville]

SUPREMA (Sally Crane)
Created By: Alan Moore & Keith Giffen
First Appearance: Supreme #41 (Aug. 1996)
Role: Supermanalogue
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: None (rips off Supergirl instead)
'90s Ratio: 0/10 (actually a naive, kindly "good girl"! The least Image-y character ever!)
Group Affiliations: None
PL 13 (289)
STRENGTH 18 STAMINA 16 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Aerobatics 2 (+6)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+5)
Perception 10 (+11)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Heat Vision/Freeze Breath) 2 (+10)
Technology 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed) 2, Improved Initiative 2, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Ultimate Strength Check

Powers:
"More Powerful Than a Speeding Locomotive" Power-Lifting 3 (50,000 tons) [3]
"The Girl of Steel" Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 17) [19]
Immunity 11 (Life Support, Aging) [11]

"Heat Beam" Damage 13 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Line +2) (39) -- [44]

• AE: "Heat Vision" Blast 14 (Feats: Extended Reach 2) (30)
• AE: "Freeze Breath" Affliction 12 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition) (36)
• AE: "Freeze Cone" Affliction 12 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Extra Condition) (36)
• AE: "Ground Pound" Affliction 12 (Strength/Athletics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Burst +3, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Both Must Be Grounded, Instant Recovery) (24)
• AE: "Super-Breath" Affliction 12 (Strength/Athletics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Both Must Be Grounded, Instant Recovery) Linked to Move Object 11 (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2) (Flaws: Touch Range) (34)

"Faster Than a Speeding Bullet"
Flight 18 (500,000 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (37) -- [41]

• Dynamic AE: Quickness 16 (Feats: Dynamic) (17)
• Dynamic AE: Speed 15 (64,000 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (16)

Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) [2]

Senses 19 (Extended Vision & Hearing 3, Analytical, Infra, Ultra & Microvision 4, Vision Penetrates Concealment, Ultra-Hearing) [19]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+18 Damage, DC 33)
Heat Vision +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Heat Beam +13 Area (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Freeze Breath +10 (+12 Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Freeze Cone/Ground Pound +12 Area (+12 Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +12

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +18 (+10 Impervious), Fortitude +16, Will +6

Complications:
Vulnerable (Supremium Radiation)
Responsibility (Girl out of Time)- Suprema has a very "1960s" happy mindset, which often runs contrast to other heroes, like those in Youngblood.

Total: Abilities: 114 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 137 / Defenses: 11 (289)

-Suprema is an Alan Moore creation, replacing a forgettable "Lady Supreme" from Rob Liefeld's early run. She is the adopted sister of Ethan "Supreme" Crane, and was exposed to Supremium during a conflict between Supreme and the Supremium Man, which turned her hair white and gave her super-powers. When Supreme left for outer space, he left Suprema in charge of defending the planet- this was short-lived, as she promptly went off with Gorrl the Living Galaxy, who agreed to spare the Milky Way if she agreed to become his bride. When Supreme returned to Earth, he quickly went about rescuing Suprema and returning Gorrl to his own people. Suprema joined Youngblood itself in 1998, contrasting the cynics on the team like Johnny Panic, and rejoined in a new Youngblood series in a 2017 revival.

-I can't find too much about her, so I just changed the name on my "Modern-Day Supergirl" build, lol. WHAT?- I'VE BUILT A LOT OF FLYING BRICKS, OKAY!?!

[KorokoMystia]

They even have a Krypto analouge (that's also a Dalmatian)? That's great.

[Davies]

Yep, Radar. He was mutated in the same accident that created this version of Supreme.

[Ken]

Who were the artists on the book this page is from? It looks like Jose-Luis Garcia Lopez, maybe...

[kreuzritter]

Who were the artists on the book this page is from? It looks like Jose-Luis Garcia Lopez, maybe...

Gil Kane, actually

[Ken]

Who were the artists on the book this page is from? It looks like Jose-Luis Garcia Lopez, maybe...

Gil Kane, actually

Cool. Who was his inker?

[Jabroniville]

KID SUPREME II (Danny Fuller)
Created By: Rob Liefeld
First Appearance: Supreme #19 (Sept. 1994)
Role: Superboy Analogue
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: None (rips off Superboy instead)
'90s Ratio: 1/10 (more of a cheery Kid Sidekick)
Group Affiliations: None
PL 12 (238)
STRENGTH 15 STAMINA 13 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 3 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 5 (+6)
Ranged Attack (Heat Vision) 2 (+10)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 5

Powers:
"More Powerful Than a Speeding Locomotive" Power-Lifting 3 (6,000 tons) [3]
"The Boy of Steel" Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 13) [15]
Immunity 11 (Life Support, Aging) [11]

"Heat Beam" Damage 12 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Line +2) (36) -- [44]

• AE: "Heat Vision" Blast 14 (Feats: Extended Reach 2) (30)
• AE: "Freeze Breath" Affliction 12 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition) (36)
• AE: "Freeze Cone" Affliction 12 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Extra Condition) (36)
• AE: "Ground Pound" Affliction 12 (Strength/Athletics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Burst +3, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Both Must Be Grounded, Instant Recovery) (24)
• AE: "Super-Breath" Affliction 12 (Strength/Athletics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Both Must Be Grounded, Instant Recovery) Linked to Move Object 11 (Extras: Area- 120ft. Cone +2) (Flaws: Touch Range) (34)

"Faster Than a Speeding Bullet"
Flight 15 (64,000 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (31) -- [35]

• Dynamic AE: Quickness 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (9)
• Dynamic AE: Speed 12 (8,000 mph) (Feats: Dynamic) (13)

Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) [2]

Senses 14 (Extended Vision & Hearing 2, Infra & Microvision 4, Vision Penetrates Concealment, Ultra-Hearing) [14]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Heat Beam +12 Area (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Heat Vision +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Dust Cloud +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Ground Pound +12 Area (+12 Affliction, DC 22)
Tactile Attack +12 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Freeze People -- (+8 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +15 (+7 Impervious), Fortitude +13, Will +6

Complications:
Vulnerable (Supremium Radiation)
Responsibility (Wannabe Hero)- Danny admires Supreme and always wants to team up with the hero.

Total: Abilities: 92 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 122 / Defenses: 10 (238)

-There have actually been three Kid Supremes. Charles Flanders is the World War II-era sidekick of Supreme, and tapped into the hero's powers. He was treated more like a pet than a friend by the jerk-ass Liefeldian Supreme, but Charles was nonetheless devastated when Supreme left Earth for decades. He wrote stories of Supreme in comics, always hoping the hero would return, and the two reconnected when Supreme returned- Charles was in poor health thanks to a stroke. The villain Blackheart took him over and he stole the new Kid Supreme's powers and fought Supreme for the rights to the name, but gave up as soon as Blackheart's hold on him was broken.

-Danny Fuller was the modern Kid Supreme created by Alan Moore, gaining powers during a battle between Supreme & Union created a huge energy blast. He becomes a "Buddy Pine" to Supreme, constantly wanting to team up, but retires after accidentally killing a man by mistake. However, he is unable to give it up entirely, and soon defends his new hometown. He later joins an incarnation of Brigade, when the book was altered to contain more established Image heroes.

-Danny is largely similar to Conner "Superboy" Kent, turning into a PL 12 hero with Superman-like abilities.

[Jabroniville]

Cool. Who was his inker?

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/judgment ... 00-124843/

Three guys are listed, but I’m unfamiliar with them.

[Ken]

Cool. Who was his inker?

https://comicvine.gamespot.com/judgment ... 00-124843/

Three guys are listed, but I’m unfamiliar with them.

Thanks. I'm not familiar either, but they're some of the best inks on Kane's stuff I've seen in a long time.

[Jabroniville]

"(The series is aimed at) older Marvel readers who are about ready to throw in the towel on comics altogether. It's the missing link between Marvel and Vertigo. More mature than Marvel; less pretentious than Vertigo. The kind of comics I want to read. My book is really self-indulgent."
-Erik Larsen, on his book.

THE SAVAGE DRAGON (aka Kull the Emperor, Officer Dragon)
Created By: Erik Larsen
First Appearance: The Savage Dragon #1 (July 1992; other versions existed as far back as 1982)
Role: Superhero Cop
Marvel Character Most Ripped Off: The Hulk (big green dude with phenomenal durability and super-strength)
'90s Ratio: 5/10 (Healing Factor-defined character)
Group Affiliations: Chicago Police Force, Liberty League, Strikeforce
PL 11 (173)
STRENGTH 10 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+12)
Athletics 2 (+12)
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Police Officer) 8 (+10)
Intimidation 6 (+9)
Investigation 6 (+9)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 5 (+8)
Vehicles 3 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment 3 (Police Gear), Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Hold, Improved Trip, Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"The Best Healing Factor in Comics"
Regeneration 14 (Feats: Regrows Limbs) [15]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) [2]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +8, Fortitude +12, Will +10

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)
Relationship (Various Women)- Dragon does pretty well for himself in terms of ladies. He dates Debbie Harris before she is killed, then the ex-prostitute Rapture, who she has his child (which is taken away at birth- they are told he'd died). He later dates Alex Wilde, his coworker, then Smasher, a superheroine.
Enemy (Overlord, Cyberface, Others)- Dragon has a rogues gallery of sorts, but most of them die over time.

Total: Abilities: 96 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 17 (173)

The Savage Dragon- Image's Success Story:
-Unexpectedly, the other longest-lasting of all the Image Comics other than Spawn has been Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon. It's hard to define why, and I was never a regular reader of it, but it seems that Larsen's quirky, tongue-in-cheek sense of humor, expanded into an entire WORLD like that, proved fairly popular in a low-key way, allowing him to continue on while most of his colleagues either exposed their own incompetence (Liefeld) or lack of originality (Silvestri), while others burned out or turned into "idea factories", churning out character designs and then rakin in the dough (Lee, MacFarlane). Larsen, however, had a mentality and stuck to it, and his fans have stuck by him for nearly thirty years- a true feat in the rapidly-changing world of comics. Erik, like many Image creators, had this character in his head for years before Image was a thing- variations on the concept appear in fanzines and low-grade indie books in the 1980s.

-The Savage Dragon's life is based around an amnesiac monster-man appearing in Chicago and deciding to become a super-powered police officer in a city full of super-powered freaks- goofy character designs (a Flying Brick with a chicken head), odd concepts (Mighty Man is a "Captain Marvel/Shazam"-esque guy no matter who his human form is- including a female nurse), and more. The bad guys are disposable, and characters routinely die (the first big clue something was going on? The Dragon's first girlfriend, Debbie Harris, is murdered in their apartment by an ex-boyfriend), giving the comic a very mobile, ever-changing nature that I think rewards longtime readers. What I've seen makes it pretty clear it's a "Tits and Ass" book, too, as the women are preposterously-proportioned, even for an Image book- Larsen makes all of his women extremely tall amazons with spherical balloon breasts, sky-high legs, and waists so tiny that Barbie would be jealous, in addition to "bimbo" expressions and duck lips being common. But it never came off QUITE as sleazy as all that- it was more something like Russ Meyer- a childish appreciation of the noble bosom.

The Dragon's History:
-The Dragon's first arch-nemesis was the generic Overlord, who was eventually killed. His Vicious Circle was then commandeered by Cyberface. The Dragon was sent to hell, where he watched God finally defeat the Devil ("Don't fuck with God", went the Almighty, in an infamous panel). He was suspended from the police due to missing so much time away in Hell or whatever, and joined a "Strikeforce" to replace Youngblood, as Rob Liefeld was booted from Image. He marries a superheroine named Smasher, but she is promptly killed and he loses custody of their daughter. Things change frequently- time-travel shenanigans leave the Dragon in a "Dystopian Alternate Universe" for a huge chunk of time, he discovers that his thought-dead infant son (via Rapture) had survived and was aged to a teenager, and more. Hell, he is killed by a Life-Force Vampire, but his own life-force is so strong it "over-writes" the villain, essentially becoming a new Dragon! This version eventually goes nuts, but the Dragon is resurrected by a blood transfusion from his long-lost son Malcolm... and is left with no memories of is past life!

-Larsen would eventually make the Dragon's SON, Malcolm, the new main character of the comic, frequently teasing killing off the hero entirely. We'd even learn the long-sought-after origin story of our hero, as he finds out that he was an intergalactic conqueror known as Kurr the Emperor! He had been brain-wiped by two of his henchmen, who hated him and didn't want to see him end all life on Earth (which was his plan- he was trying to find a new world for his people). The world is cleansed of human life for a time, but time-travel again fixes stuff at a cost, and the resurrected Dragon goes off with his birth-species, promising to find them a new world.

The Savage Dragon's Powers:
-The Savage Dragon is actually pretty close to a "Spider-Man-Tier" hero, showing why Larsen is one of the savvier creators at Image- this is, in effect, the PERFECT "Hero Tier", as nearly anyone can still threaten the hero, while he himself can get some "Good Showings" and cool feats that make comics fun to read. His key attribute is the Healing Factor, which may be the greatest in all of comics- he recovers so rapidly from harm that you can "put over" the villains by having them commit any number of atrocities on the main hero, who can simply recover from them and come back for round two. This does have the effect of removing some drama from the series, I suppose. The hero himself is apparently quite agile, usually fighting guys on a higher power-tier than himself.

[Jabroniville]

So I had an old friend of mine, a HUGE Dragon fan, go over that history, and he says it was accurate, though was amused by how I spent an equal amount of time on the first 40 issues, and the following 200 or whatever . But man, summing up that history was nuts.

For example, almost every character in this set ends up with two different histories because the alternate universe just became the real setting.

[Woodclaw]

I would have put Dragon at PL 10, since he's in that butter zone where he can still take some damage from normal opponents, but he also has some real "Oh fuck, how strong he is" moments.
Just for a bit of context, I usually estimate Spidey to be a PL 10 environmental specialist (i.e. he operates at PL9, but climbs to 10 when he can move freely). Full PL10 is what I often use for mid-tier powerhouses like the Thing, She-Hulk and Colossus.

[Gamebook]

Erik Larsen has now killed off the original Dragon of the series for good it seems. His son Malcolm Dragon is now the Savage Dragon and actually as a hero is a lot more competent and a better fighter than his dad was ever portrayed as being. The series hit a very bad patch in the 150's to 160's, with Dragon doing little other than getting badly mangled in a fight and then having to spend some time recovering. One entire page once was nothing but Dragon laid up in bed swathed head to toe in bandages while a fly buzzed about. No dialogue, no plot, just a buzzing fly.

The series is also at times a lot saucier than it used to be. It's always been pretty adult but it has gotten a lot more explicit and racy over the last few years. It's a rare issue now that doesn't feature some female nudity, though Larsen keeps it mostly to boobs and butts and doesn't actually go into full-on porn.

As of the most recent issue Dragon is back, but an alternate universe version based on the original design from the '80's. Alex has already hooked up with him, not caring that he is not quite the Dragon she knew. Larsen draws Alex as looking almost exactly the same as she was back in 1992, only making her seem a little aged in the face and not at all in the body as she's still got a classic '90's figure, despite the comic running in real time and her being in her 50's now.

As you can tell I'm a big Dragon fan and have read the entire series and all the specials and crossovers.

[Spectrum]

One entire page once was nothing but Dragon laid up in bed swathed head to toe in bandages while a fly buzzed about. No dialogue, no plot, just a buzzing fly.

Sounds like it perfectly describes hospital time. Nothing to do, nobody to talk to, just.. nothing but watch a fly buzz around. Horrific in the boredom while you recover.

Larsen draws Alex as looking almost exactly the same as she was back in 1992, only making her seem a little aged in the face and not at all in the body as she's still got a classic '90's figure, despite the comic running in real time and her being in her 50's now.

Is that a weakness of the artist? Lots of people are good at drawing generic ultrahot babes, but really not good about deviating from there. How many women start out as mature and striking and eventually get samebod?