Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Jabroniville]

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers)- Shaken, Super-Strong Version
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: Symbol of America, Team Leader, THE Leader, The Boy Scout, The Fuddy-Duddy, The Legend, The War Hero
Group Affiliations: The Avengers (60s-Modern), The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad
Avengers Grade: A-Level
PL 11 (191)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+12)
Athletics 4 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+13)
Expertise (S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative/Soldier) 5 (+8)
Expertise (History) 8 (+11)
Insight 5 (+10)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Investigation 5 (+10)
Perception 5 (+10)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Shield Toss) 6 (+13)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+8)
Technology 2 (+5)
Treatment 1 (+4)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Benefit (Reputation- People Respect Cap), Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Gear, Scale Mail), Evasion, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Shield Attacks), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Inspire 1, Interpose, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (Various European), Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Tracking (Visual), Ultimate Effort 3 (Fortitude, Athletics), Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
"The Super-Soldier Serum- Absolute Peak Human"
Speed 3 (16 mph) [3]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [17]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (22)

• Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (6)
• Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 8) (11)
• Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (7)

-- (24 points)

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (3)
"Scale Mail Costume" Protection 1 (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shield Bash +12 (+10 Damage, DC 26)
Shield Toss +13 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Area Toss +8 Area (+7 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +8 (+9 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +8
"With Shield" Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +8 (+9 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (America/Democracy)- As the proud symbol of America, Cap is the one most-affected by attacks against her, as well as the target of her enemies. He also feels it the most when America has lost its way.
Enemy (The Red Skull)- Pervasive and omni-present, the Skull will haunt Steve for the entirety of his days.
Guilt (Bucky)- Cap failed his first young partner in his own mind, and this guilt often drives him.
Relationship (Sharon Carter)- She was his easily-captured girlfriend for years, then she was thought-dead. They sort of hooked back up after she returned, but it often gets complicated by duty.
Relationship (Bucky Barnes)- The two were old partners, and have an uneasy relationship as adults.
Relationship (The Falcon- Steve & Sam are old friends, and respected partners.
Relationship (Tony Stark)- They are sometimes great friends, and have an important history, but they argue as often as not, and have had several tiffs. Sometimes, they act like old, spurned lovers.
---
Responsibility (Works Best on Teams, Values Human Life)- When on solo missions, or fighting less-powerful individuals, Cap will often "Scale Back" his offense.
Power Loss (Shield)- If Cap misses badly with his Shield (natural 1-5), he will be unable to use its attacks or defenses until he runs up and grabs it. Similarly, if an enemy catches it (this almost never happens; it's probably super-difficult and just the GM writing a Critical Fumble that way), the same applies.
Power Loss (Super-Soldier Serum)- If Cap has the Serum taken out of him (it's happened a few times), he loses a great many of his Advantages, in addition to all his powers. Sometimes it's just a few (he works out enough to be strong without them), other times he loses the full breadth of his abilities, becoming weedy ST 0, STA 0, AGI 0 Steve Rogers.

Total: Abilities: 96 / Skills: 62--31 / Advantages: 32 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 8 (191)

-This is Cap circa the end of the Secret Empire saga, and around Avengers Forever. Still a great fighter, but his lack of will and desire have hampered him across the board, except for his super-strength, which makes him very dangerous.

"Photonic Shield" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [14]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Photonic Blast" Blast 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (20)

• Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash/Bo Staff" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
• Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 Linked to Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (6)

-- (22 points)

[Jabroniville]

THE CAPTAIN AMERICAS (I-VIII):
-Humorously enough, Captain America's title is the third most-used superhero title in the Marvel Universe, behind only Soviet patriotic heroes the Red Guardian & Crimson Dynamo. This is, in part, due to a combination of retcons (THREE were deemed replacement Caps to justify old stories and retcon them to be a different man), one longform modern "replacement" story in the '80s, and two back-to-back stories in which Steve Rogers was either too dead or too unfit to serve.

CAPTAIN AMERICA I (Steve Rogers):
-The original, the Living Legend of World War II. Every story from his debut until near the end of the war features this character, who was then revived in 1960s comics with the explanation that he'd been frozen in ice since an attack on Baron Zemo. He's been Cap mostly-continuously since then, standing aside only for a depressive incident following disillusionment with America (becoming Nomad), refusing to follow direct government orders (The Captain), death (the Onslaught incident; the Brubaker run in the 2000s), and being aged out (when Sam Wilson took over).

CAPTAIN AMERICA II (William Naslund, aka The Spirit of '76):
-Now, Captain America Comics did not cease publication as soon as the War ended; they ran on for a while. And so who WAS this Cap? Well, I think it was Roy Thomas who decided that he had a pair of replacements. And he double-dipped the continuity diving and made two other patriotic-themed WWII heroes the "New Caps". President Harry Truman, fearing a blow to American morale if Cap & Bucky were known to be deceased, asked another Golden Age hero to take up the role. The Spirit of '76 was a generic guy and deemed to be the first- it was stated he died saving then-senator J.F.K. from a killer robot in 1946.

CAPTAIN AMERICA III (Jeffrey Mace, The Patriot I):
-The next "Post-WWII Cap" was the original Patriot. He was deemed to have married Cap's old girlfriend, the Golden Girl (who Stan Lee introduced as Cap's female partner when Bucky was shot), and died of cancer in a modern story.

CAPTAIN AMERICA IV (William Burnside, aka The Grand Director):
-Captain America's comic book was briefly revived in the 1950s as "Captain America- Commie Smasher", depicting him brutalising Soviet agents and saving America against what was then its "Great Satan"- the spectre of Communism. Later writers decided that these seemingly-brutal tactics were committed by a THIRD "Replacement Cap", creating the maddened Burnside. He was deemed an unfortunate psychiatric case, but would return here and there, including in modern times. His "Bucky" later became the '90s edgelord hero Nomad.

CAPTAIN AMERICA V (John Walker, aka Super-Patriot, U.S. Agent):
-John Walker, the former Super-Patriot, was a super-strong upstart created for The Captain, a huge arc in Mark Gruenwald's Cap run. Walker was the aggressive killer Gru said a lot of fans wrote in wanting Cap to be; this was Gru's shot to show why he SHOULDN'T- he was hired to be the replacement when Steve Rogers walked off the job, refusing to be a government commission's lapdog and do whatever they wanted. Walker tried hard, but was a disaster as Cap, and relinquished the role back to Steve Rogers. He later proved to be big enough to join the Avengers West Coast branch as their "Team Asshole", then moved on to being a speedbump for Cap villains, and got screwed around with a LOT.

CAPTAIN AMERICA VI (Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier):
-In the early 2000s, Steve Rogers was killed following the end of Civil War, a sad cap-off to the "hero vs. hero" war that defined Marvel for a decade to come. This was in the middle of Ed Brubaker's classic Cap run, and his old sidekick Bucky, who had recently been resurrected, came to take the role. He struggled with the responsibility for a while, and soon the status quo was restored.

CAPTAIN AMERICA VII (Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon):
-More recently, the former Falcon became the new Cap when Steve was rendered aged at the hands of the Red Skull. This was part of a big "Diversity Push" in Marvel at the time, and made for a controversial story arc. It was also very close to the "Bucky-Cap" run. Sam was Cap for a few years, leading the Avengers for a bit, before finally stepping back to his old role.

CAPTAIN AMERICA VIII (Steve Rogers of HYDRA):
-For the Secret Empire story arc, it was "revealed" that Captain America had been an agent of HYDRA in secret all this time. This naturally INFURIATED fans, but the obvious story was that the Cosmic Cube had done it. This "Evil Steve" took over HYDRA and dominated the world, before a group of Cap's closest friends led the charge and found the "real Steve" lost in the Cube- he returned and defeated the imposter, and imprisoned him. The HYDRA-Cap is still in jail, remaining a threat.

[Ian Turner]

So many Captains! And also Captain America 20XX, Danielle Cage. "I am the shield!"

(And I'm sure there are more AU versions out there.)

[M4C8]

I've only read books featuring John Walker after became U.S Agent (I think the earliest I have is some Force Works books) so I've never associated him with the overly violent asshole/screw up he was originally portrayed to be. Yes he could be rude but for the most part I've only seen him as a genuinely heroic but more conventional straightforward soldier type character so I don't dislike him at all TBH. I don't know how most fans view him and of course he'll never be anywhere near as great a character as Steve but I feel he has potential as a character in his own right.

[Davies]

You forgot one. Sometime shortly before the return of Steve Rogers, Johnny Storm's enemy the Acrobat (Carl Zante) posed as Captain America to commit a robbery and fight Johnny. (Strange Tales #114). After Steve was reawakened, he and the Torch teamed up to take down the Acrobat after his latest escape from prison; Steve found it absurd that anyone could have thought this guy was him. (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #11)

[micah_sweet]

The very first Captain America comic I ever picked up was the end of the Captain arc, when it was revealed to be the Skull manipulating the situation the whole time. It definitely established my love for the character. I went back and read the rest of the arc.

[Jabroniville]

You forgot one. Sometime shortly before the return of Steve Rogers, Johnny Storm's enemy the Acrobat (Carl Zante) posed as Captain America to commit a robbery and fight Johnny. (Strange Tales #114). After Steve was reawakened, he and the Torch teamed up to take down the Acrobat after his latest escape from prison; Steve found it absurd that anyone could have thought this guy was him. (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #11)

Oh man, if I counted every imposter & one-off as a true member of the lineage, then we'd have like 9,000 Spider-Men instead of like, two... wait... four? I guess?

In any case I don't count those guys .

[Jabroniville]

I've only read books featuring John Walker after became U.S Agent (I think the earliest I have is some Force Works books) so I've never associated him with the overly violent asshole/screw up he was originally portrayed to be. Yes he could be rude but for the most part I've only seen him as a genuinely heroic but more conventional straightforward soldier type character so I don't dislike him at all TBH. I don't know how most fans view him and of course he'll never be anywhere near as great a character as Steve but I feel he has potential as a character in his own right.

Yeah, I'll get into it when I post U.S. Agent, but Roy Thomas turned him more or less into a regular ol' jerk instead of the dangerous guy in Gruenwald's stuff, probably because Gru himself was kind of knitting John's mind back together in his run.

[Ian Turner]

I am fond of John Walker because he's kind of walked over from 'the other side' in a more organic way than most (where, kinda often it seems, a villain gets popular and then becomes an antihero/hero just because of that). It seems like nobody was clamoring for him to join the West Coast Avengers, and yet, there he was, making exactly no friends.

Also it's fun to see a more conservative hero, in the same way that I like heroes from diverse cultures or backgrounds. Vive la difference!

[Jabroniville]

You GUYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

They finally uploaded Ride-Through Videos for the Beauty & the Beast ride at Tokyo Disneyland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8K1KXAZ4l8

Here's a thing just on the animatronics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgBOu0d ... isneyphile

They've been out for around a couple of weeks, but I just heard about it today. Pretty great animatronics, though they're obviously moving in a fairly standardized "loop", with the mobile "teacup" rides spinning fast enough to keep you from focusing on them for too long.

[Jabroniville]

THE ORIGINAL VILLAIN:
-Captain America was created, of course, to beat up on the Nazis. Martin Goodman, the Jewish owner of Timely Comics, wanted a hero to show people how bad the Nazis were, and to make people demand America join the War. And so the very first cover of Captain America Comics features Cap running in and PUNCHING THE FUHRER IN THE FACE!! Hitler would show up a bit in old comics back in the day, and has been retconned into a few old stories as well. And he's continued on in a peculiar way ever since- effectively history's greatest all-time "Bad Guy", he was a recurring Marvel character for a bit, and has ended up creating a legacy- the Hate-Mongers.

[Jabroniville]

ADOLF HITLER
Created By: Alois Hitler, Sr. & Klara Polzl
First Appearance: April 1889
Role: FRICKING HITLER, Riot-Starter
Group Affiliations: The Fourth Reich, The Nazi Party
PL 5 (71)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 3 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 6

Skills:
Deception 5 (+11)
Expertise (Art) 3 (+5)
Expertise (German Dictator) 10 (+12)
Expertise (Theology) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Soldier) 5 (+7)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+10)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 4 (+7)
Persuasion 5 (+11)

Advantages:
Connected, Equipment 2 (Pistol +5), Ranged Combat 5, Skill Mastery (Dictator), Ultimate Skill 2 (Dictator, Persuasion)

Offense:
Unarmed +3 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +3 (DC 13), Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Power)
Motivation (German Power & Purity)- Hitler is devoted to the ideals of creating a "living space" for Germans throughout Europe, to undo past losses, and to racial purify his people.
Hatred (Jews)- You might say he was not a fan.
Hatred (Gypsies, Homosexuals, Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Trade Unions, Disabled People)
Hatred (Communists)- Hitler believed, like many, that Marxists were responsible for "stabbing Germany in the back" and setting off their loss in World War I.
Relationship (Benito Mussolini)- Hitler admires Mussolini greatly, and based Nazism off of Italian Fascism.
Rivalry (Religion)- Hitler was not religious, and held Christian meekness in contempt. He thought Islam's warlike tendencies better fit German people, and admired some aspects of Protestantism, but mostly just viewed religion as an effective way to ensure the population remained conservative.
Relationship (Eva Braun)- She was his mistress, and the two were finally married shortly before they committed suicide.
Responsibility (Loves Animals)- Hitler loved animals, especially his beloved dog- he was a strict vegetarian, and lectured others on this.
Responsibility (Paranoid)- Hitler always believed that people were out to get him, making him short-tempered and willing to kill seemingly-close advisors.
Disabled (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)- There is some evidence that Hitler suffered from this (or perhaps numerous other illnesses, such as Parkinson's Disease), and that his medication may have contributed to his noted mental degredation in his later life. This is all unproven, however.
Addiction (Amphetamines)- Some of Hitler's later behavior was based on a habit for this.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 4 (71)

-If the real world ever produced a super-villain, it was Adolf Hitler- pretty much the living embodiment of evil, and more pronounced to us because people alive today can actually remember him, and there's more information out there. I mean, Genghis Khan may've been more evil, but he died before photography and filmmaking. Hitler and his Nazi party are so famously rotten that espousing any of his good qualities is considered poor taste and political suicide, and the likelihood of being compared to them increases the further you go in any debate. The Nazis are considered responsible for the deaths of ninteen MILLION people, and that's not even including the soldiers and civilians killed during World War II.

-A decorated WWI soldier and failed artist, Hitler turned to politics, having become a raving Anti-Communist and no big fan of the Jews. A sullen boy (especially after the deaths of most of his siblings), he nonetheless grew into an amazing public speaker, drawing huge acclaim for speeches that often used scapegoats to blame for Germany's problems. Since most Germans disliked Jews anyways, a lot of this was pretty easy (my friend's German grandmother was quite clear when he asked her- "Hitler didn't make ANYBODY hate the Jews!"). As he gained power and followers, politicians from other nations found him an amiable, if unremarkable, man, a great showing of just how much some people can hide their "true self" (though he was VERY TRANSPARENT in his feelings about minorities, this wasn't entirely out of the ordinary for many politicians- in many parts of Europe, it still isn't). He was likeable enough that even with a criminal record (from the failed Beer Hall Putsch), and a Austrian birth, he was elected into office by a majority.

-Then, of course, he gathered German power, freaked out Europe, got appeased, and then finally invaded Poland, setting off World War II, the most destructive war in world history. The German war machine spread across Europe, soon taking Poland, France (who famously didn't put up much of a fight at first, giving them a reputation for cowardice- Captain America noted that the French Resistance was quite brave and important, and thus didn't like the stereotype), Czechoslovakia, and more. He instituted the Holocaust, creating a number of death camps that exterminated millions of people (a large chunk of them Jews, though nowadays you mostly ONLY hear about the Jewish victims- about half of the total). London got bombed and most of mainland Europe belonged to the Axis Powers, while Russia (who'd signed a pact with Germany) gathered power on their end, and things looked pretty dark.

-When German-allied Japan attacked the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hitler soon declared war as well- this, and his declaration against Russia as well, pretty much signed his death warrant. Britain, Canada and the European Allies were doing okay at-best, but were still extremely dangerous- once a country with the mobilization power and economy of AMERICA got involved, things went south pretty quickly. Never mind that the Soviet Union was enormous, impossible to invade, and was gladly willing to throw millions of soldiers into the meat grinder (they lost way more soldiers in the war than anyone else)- the Soviets soon invaded Germany itself, while the Allies gathered victory after victory. When defeat was assured, Hitler committed suicide in a bunker rather than face justice.

-Hitler's evil was so epic in scope that people pretty much had to make a joke out of him to make him less terrifying. This is a guy who GLADLY ordered the deaths of millions of people who hadn't really done anything. He's so evil that the things that humanize him just make him scarier- his love of animals just underscores his inhumanity to other people. The stuff that happened to people in the camps is likehwise beyond imagining- this is why he makes such an effective bad guy in fiction.

-Note: The stats for Hitler given in the M&M Golden Age book seem to short-shrift him a little bit. I mean, the guy was basically a nobody who became the dictator of an ENTIRE COUNTRY, and had most of the people in the palm of his hand for years before the whole world figured something was up. That's at LEAST Charisma/Presence of 6, though perhaps he'd be worse off in his Marvel years, having gone nuts previously.

[Davies]

This is complicated. According to nearly everyone who met him, Hitler really didn't demonstrate much in the way of personal charisma. On the other hand, he was a very skilled public speaker -- which in this instance would be covered under his Expertise: Dictator -- and employed a lot of special effects (specific amphitheatre designs) to augment that talent, giving him a +2 or even +5 circumstance bonus for his public addresses.

His vegetarianism is something of a myth -- he sometimes made a big deal about abstaining from meat, but didn't at other times. He also killed said beloved dog (and its puppies) shortly before he committed suicide. According to witnesses, he demonstrated no emotion while doing so. (However, by that point he was probably completely psychotic and high as a kite.)

He was also insanely lucky, given the number of times he avoided assassination attempts, some of which seem to have failed for no particular reason. (Or possibly were made up after the fact by someone trying to avoid prosecution by claiming that they'd tried to kill him, honest, but he just wouldn't die!)

The most significant thing about Marvel Hitler is that he was usually portrayed as being very much frightened of the Red Skull, who openly claimed that he was going to replace him eventually.

[Woodclaw]

-Hitler's evil was so epic in scope that people pretty much had to make a joke out of him to make him less terrifying. This is a guy who GLADLY ordered the deaths of millions of people who hadn't really done anything. He's so evil that the things that humanize him just make him scarier- his love of animals just underscores his inhumanity to other people. The stuff that happened to people in the camps is likewise beyond imagining- this is why he makes such an effective bad guy in fiction.

There is a really interesting Netflix documentary on the role of directors and filmmakers during WW2, called "Four Came Back", which includes some bits of old interviews. In one of those, Frank Capra explained that after seeing Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph des Willens" (Triumph of the Will) he was absolutely crushed. As a professional, he could see how well the Nazis' propaganda machine was engineered and he feared that there was no way to push the USA to face such an opponent... until he got an idea. He called the Department of War (he was already on their shortlist of directors for propaganda movies) and convinced them to include the speeches of Hitler, Mussolini and various Japanese generals in the newsreels... after dubbing them with the silliest voices that Hollywood could provide. It was a stroke of genius. It preserved the horror of those speeches and ideas, but cut out all the charisma of the original speakers.

[greycrusader]

You forgot one. Sometime shortly before the return of Steve Rogers, Johnny Storm's enemy the Acrobat (Carl Zante) posed as Captain America to commit a robbery and fight Johnny. (Strange Tales #114). After Steve was reawakened, he and the Torch teamed up to take down the Acrobat after his latest escape from prison; Steve found it absurd that anyone could have thought this guy was him. (Captain America: Sentinel of Liberty #11)

Oh man, if I counted every imposter & one-off as a true member of the lineage, then we'd have like 9,000 Spider-Men instead of like, two... wait... four? I guess?

In any case I don't count those guys .

The only other man to wear the costume who might count would be "Roscoe", a workout partner and friend of the Falcon's, who was Captain America for a couple issues near the tail end of Cap's "Nomad" phase. In fact, the poor kid's death at the hands of the Red Skull was the reason Steve took up the costume again. He's the only other Cap stand-in who ever gets a Wiki mention, though there's really no bio on the character at all. He's so short-lived and minor that's there's really no way to stat him. Just part of a memorable story arc.

All my best.