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

[Jabroniville]

RIGHT-WINGER & LEFT-WINGER (Jerome Johnson & Hector Lennox)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Paul Neary
First Appearance: Captain America #323 (Nov. 1986)
Role: Jobber Villains, Angry Ex-Sidekicks
Group Affiliations: The Bold Urban Commandos
PL 8 (89)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+7)
Athletics 1 (+8)
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Soldier) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 5 (+6)
Perception 2 (+2)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Gear, Hand-Torch), Improved Smash, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Power Broker Treatments"
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]

Equipment:
"Hand Torch" Damage 8 (Feats: Penetrating 6) (14)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Hand-Torch +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Revenge)- The Right & Left-Wingers were originally "Buckies" under John Walker during his Super-Patriot guise. When they were cut loose upon him taking on the "Captain America" identity, they were incredibly resentful, eventually revealing Walker's identity to the world.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 3 / Defenses: 8 (89)

-So here's the official build of Left-Winger & Right-Winger, Walker's former Power Broker-augmented buddies who are cut loose once he gets the job as the new Captain America. Really, Walker WANTED to find work for them (Lemar got the BattleStar role), but these two had prior criminal records, and thus weren't allowed. Feeling abandoned and deeply resentful, they revealed Walker's secret identity publicly, which got his parents killed by the vengeful Watchdogs. Walker, growing completely mentally unhinged, beat the living CRAP out of them, then pulled a Rorschach- he tied them up next to a burning oil thingie, and left them to get out on their own. They didn't- the thing exploded, and they were left with third-degree burns on 90% of their bodies. A later story revealed that they took their own lives after recovering, which actually made Johnny feel a bit of remorse. But still, these aren't nice guys. They took their rejection so bad they burned a former pal over it.

-The Wingers are basically PL 7-8-type guys who are good enough to challenge John Walker as Cap (a PL 10 guy), but not BEAT him. Individually, they're also weaker than the PL 8.5 Battle Star, but man, they're still pretty strong, and not to be underestimated.

[Davies]

I suspect that Gruenwald wanted them to have died in the incident, but that he was forced to add the "yes, they're alive, no, they're not pressing charges" line in a later issue of the series. Hence the role-back to 'they woke up and committed suicide", two years later, after Roy Thomas put them in the Legion of the Unliving.

[Jabroniville]

Lol- that would make sense. Protect him from first degree murder charges since he wasn’t entirely meant to be Frank Castle... but still make him responsible for their deaths. I forget when their fate was revealed.

[Davies]

I forget when their fate was revealed.

Cap #381.

[greycrusader]

I honestly think Gruenwald went a bit far in driving Walker into near-psychosis, though admittedly having the Red Skull behind everything made the events believable, as Schmidt would undoubtedly target the substitute Captain America's every psych weakness, and go after his family and friends, all the while never giving the man a chance to rest. Like Jab, I think simply having an overzealous government behind Steve Rogers' replacement would have worked better, with John Walker eventually proving to be an effective hero, but ultimately deciding he just didn't want the duties imposed on him (giving him orders that essentially turned Captain America into just a jumped-up federal agent, even demanding he engage in black ops style missions), and turning to Rogers for help. Eventually, through adventuring together, he would realize being a national symbol of the American Ideal was a commitment he wasn't ready for, and relinquishes the job.

I just think that would have been a fresher take-there were multiple stories around the same time which saw long standing heroes replaced by hot-tempered, macho, jerk-ass style replacements, with Azrael as Batman, Guy Gardner taking Hal's place in the JLA, even a similar figure taking over as Nexus, Steve Rude's indie comics hero. They pretty much all followed the same general course.

All my best.

[Ares]

From what I can remember, Cap being forcibly replace with John Walker at the time was fairly novel. Before John the passing of the torch was usually pretty cordial, and hadn't really been done all that often. Rhodey took over for Tony, but that was Tony's decision since he didn't trust himself to be Iron Man. While John Stewart replaced Hal Jordan, originally John had served as a backup Lantern and he took the role full time when Hal quit the Corps for a bit. Even Guy Gardner was less a full on replacement for Hal as a new element in the Lanterns to cause trouble.

The Knightfall story with Batman wouldn't happen until almost 5 years later, and initially was simply Bruce asking Azrael to take over while he was incapacitated. It didn't become violent until much later.

So for the time, John Walker being outright antagonistic was pretty new, and it was clear from the get go John had anger issues, given he directly challenged Cap to a fight for no reason other than because he thought he was better than him. He always had some anger from the start, and seeing his parents die could easily be something to push him over the edge, especially when he was already straining under the cracks from a role that turned out to be more than he was ready to handle. And John eventually became more stable later on.

As for the "Overzealous Government" vs "Red Skull Plot", in a way Gruenwald managed to do them both at once. While the Red Skull was the one pulling the strings, he was only really manipulating one person on the Committee. Everyone else on there was doing what they did because they honestly believed they were in the right. It shows us an overzealous government without it being an unreasonable one, where they can fall victim to that kind of stupidity, requiring only a slight nudge to get them going. Replace the Skull's mole with another Gyrich type individual and something worse could have happened.

This way you make the government legitimately antagonistic without them being outright villainous, still culpable but not cartoonishly evil the way the Skull is. This also allows the Skull to come back in style, having actually executed a win over his enemy by stripping Steve of the thing that gave his life the most meaning. And it also showed that while the government could screw up, writers of the time didn't outright vilify administrations they didn't like. Something the modern writers could learn from.

[Jabroniville]

LOL, what a throwaway costume. It's just all-black, with some random padding and a trident on his chest for whatever reason.

BLOODSTAIN (Real Name Unknown)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & M.C. Wyman
First Appearance: U.S. Agent #3 (Aug. 1993)
Role: Crazed Vigilante
Group Affiliations: The Scourges of the Underworld

-As I mentioned in U.S. Agent's bio, the "Scourge of the Underworld" story-arc largely came to an end in a Limited Series for that hero. The Agent, unafraid to kill himself, was opposed by the Scourge organization that had appeared frequently in the pages of Captain America- Cap had defeated "Scourge", but the villain was then assassinated from afar by ANOTHER person, meaning there was more than one person involved. The Red Skull was later shown employing one, killing him when he failed to kill jobber villain The Matador. And they intended on recruiting John Walker, finding him a kindred spirit. Bloodstain was a guy who trained the various Scourges, and was brought in to mess with Walker's head. He announced himself as John's dead brother Mike (a Vietnam veteran whom John worshipped), stating that he'd faked his death, and that he was a Scourge, and John should join them.

-John, disbelieving the villain, was allowed to leave, so that "Mike" could tail him to where John was holding two Scourges captive. As Bloodstain, he attacked, killing one, but John and the other escaped, then tracked Bloodstain down and fought him. He fired bullets into U.S. Agent's shield, and they deflected off, killing him. The character has never reappeared. It's said that "Mike" had an odd reaction to discovering the names of U.S. Agent's parents, implying that he could have actually been Mike all along, but this has never been elaborated upon- Gru dying such a short time later ensured we'd never know.

-I have to figure the name "Bloodstain" HAS TO be a self-aware joke by Gruenwald, who hated extreme comics and vigilantes like that. That even the U.S. Agent found such guys insane and dangerous was probably meant to be a stronger point.

-Bloodstain himself was pretty capable, using the "Exploding Shells" Shotguns of the Scourges, but of course died in only his second fight, so who knows how good he really was?

[catsi563]

Most fo the skulls plan for walker was revealed to be the destruction not of Steven Rogers but of Captian America,he used the commission and others to give the identity to someone who wasnt stable to begin with then added in a bunch of false patriotism then pushed him over the edge making Caps legacy into a bloody handed one ruining its clean image or at least that was the goal which failed when Steve caught wind of it and exposed the skulls role in all of it

[Jabroniville]

CAP AND KILLING:

-I kind of liked what Ed Brubaker did on his Cap run in terms of theories on heroes killing people. Brubaker took a REALLY negative viewpoint of people who figured that Cap was your classic "Killing people is ALWAYS wrong" heroes- "What are you, an idiot? Cap was a soldier- of COURSE he's killed people!" But he didn't portray him as some gun-crazy psychopath like the worst depictions of The Punisher- he even pointed it out (through Sharon Carter) that Cap usually didn't hit that hard unless he NEEDED to (after Cap had killed some A.I.M. goons on a subway). I noticed this in a '90s WWII Flashback story, where some American soldiers had a grenade tossed at them, only for Cap's Shield to appear from out of sight, bouncing it back into the German platoon from whence it came. Teen Jab read that and was like "... Cap just KILLED those people!" Because of COURSE he did- it was war, and they weren't out to play nice or do the "human life is sacred" thing.

-This more pragmatic approach to killing in combat is something comics rarely does. It's kind of a nice difference from a lot of heroes (who often go to insane lengths NOT to kill people), and a lot of "always kill" vigilantes, which are also a bit tiresome at this point. This is a guy who DOES value human life- having lived through some of the worst times in human history, watching hundreds gunned down in moments. BUT he will absolutely not hesitate to kill someone if it will save someone else's life (or his own). They kind of angle things this way when he decapitated Baron Blood way back when (to save some civilians, all Man of Steel-style), and was horrified and shaken by the experience. Of course, Mark Gruenwald (who HATED the whole "Violent Vigilante" thing, and for good reason- it hit an insane excess in the '90s) would generally always avoid this with his Cap.

-I mean, the whole "No Killing" thing is more a result of the combo of Senate Investigations (and the Comics Code), along with the fact that killing the villains makes them un-usable for future stories- the so-called "Joker Immunity". So for years, the heroes COULDN'T kill anybody, and so you have ludicrous scenes where the heroes go out of their way to save villains' lives, or Spider-Man telling The Sandman that "Real heroes DON'T kill". I mean, I GET why you shouldn't just casually off all the bad guys- it's also quite unnatural for most people TO want to kill people- as much as the common fan thinks it's the best solution to many bad guys, it's actually quite difficult to actually KILL SOMEONE. This has been noted by leaders in the armed forces for years- even in high-stakes situations, a LOT of soldiers intentionally miss their targets. In real life, people just DON'T WANT to rain death on somebody. Even Grant Morrison of all people pointed this out, while complaining about fans insisting that the heroes should be more kill-happy.

-I kind of like how various heroes have different opinions on this. Batman & Spider-Man, whose origins are born in the deaths of others, are naturally unwilling to kill people. The Punisher, by contrast, is a cynic whose torment won't let him NOT kill criminals. Cap is a soldier, and sees the reality and necessity of lethal self-defense. It provokes some interesting debates.

-Curiously, the films of most comic book characters go a weird route, and insist on killing the villains ALL THE TIME. Superman snapping Zod's neck, The Red Skull being vaporized, Batman offing The Joker in the 1980s movie (plus Penguin in the sequel), and more. Hell, Spider-Man and Iron Man have a HORRIBLE habit of doing this (if not deliberately, in Spidey's case) in EVERY SINGLE MOVIE- frickin' Norman Osborn naturally bites it in the first Spider-Man movie sure, but the second movie made Doctor Octopus AWESOME, and sure enough he's dead in the water (literally) by the end. The third movie also wiped out Venom. Iron Man built up three great villains in each of his three films, but made sure that EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM was killed in the finale, thus spoiling viewers of ever seeing these guys again.

-THIS MAKES NO SENSE IN A MOVIE. I get that the movies take the more Cap-like pragmatic approach to combat- Tony Stark would naturally be fighting to kill enemies that are deliberately trying to murder him- an Iron Man suit realistically wouldn't have much "non-lethal" weaponry (doesn't explain why all of Spidey's villains are suicidal, though...). But think about how awesome seeing Jeff Bridges' great Obadiah Stane in an Avengers movie or an Iron Man sequel would be (Stane in a Masters of Evil group? SIGN ME UP). Criminy, look at how great a character we got out of LOKI, all because he got to survive Thor: The Mighty Avenger and live on to threaten the combined heroes in The Avengers. A RECURRING villain is a huge part of comics, and the Marvel-verse was stronger for having left one alive.

[M4C8]

One of the things that really annoys me about modern comics is certain heroes, especially the younger generation's view that killing an enemy is 'never the answer' and that 'there's always another option', or more specifically their attitude to other heroes who have a more realistic view on killing (usually based on actual first hand experience). Like modern soldiers, most heroes don't want to kill, they don't enjoy it, they will do everything possible not to and will often feel haunted by it afterwards but there are times, especially in times of war where it's necessary. The more experienced heroes, especially those with experience outside of the everyday costumed crime fighting know the reality of the issue and yet are made to constantly look/feel bad by the self righteous inexperienced teen heroes. While I understand this is a very real thing I just wish more writers would put the younger heroes in situations where they're forced to realise the reality, not everything is so definitive.

[Ares]

I'm a broken record about this, but I'm also not one to pass up a chance to ramble about something, so here I go.

I think that anyone who could be considered a full on superhero and not some flavor of vigilante, superpowered mercenary or super soldier, should have a Code Against Killing.

I also feel that superheroes should be allowed to kill if the situation calls for it.

And believe it or not, I don't view those two statements as contradictory. So let me explain.

Like Jab said, most people don't like to kill. But people like police officers and soldiers often have to kill people in their own defense and in the defense of others. Because these are just normal people whose only options are lethal weapons. Unfortunately we don't have reliable "stun weapons", as even things like tasers are terribly inefficient single shot weapons. If we had energy weapons with reliable stun settings, then sure, the standards for police officers and soldiers would be very different. Unfortunately, our technology is only at the point where our most reliable weapons are meant to kill. So when a soldier or a cop has to deal with someone with a similar lethal weapon that is threatening someone (be it the soldier, cop or a civilian), then 99% of the time the soldier or cop can only respond with lethal force.

Superheroes are frequently people with training, equipment and abilities beyond those of a normal person. They have the ability to take down most opponents non-lethally, and thus are in a different situation from police and soldiers. Hawkeye is just an unaugmented human, but he's skilled enough to dodge bullets, shoot weapons out of people's hands, and has an array of high-tech weapons that let him deal with people non-lethally. And when you factor in people with actual superpowers, they have even more options.

Heroes shouldn't kill because they usually don't need to. One of the basic foundations of morality is that human life is precious and should be preserved whenever possible. Killing someone also removes any possibility of redemption, of turning their lives around and making real amends for their crimes.

That said, if there comes a time when all of these options aren't enough and the hero finds themselves in a desperate situation where they have to kill the villain to prevent them from killing someone else (including the hero), then the hero should absolutely be within their rights to use lethal force. They shouldn't like it, but they should also be able to do so without being judged for it.

Note that the above is different than the "Why doesn't Batman kill the Joker" argument. Batman doesn't kill the Joker because he's able to defeat the Joker without killing him. Batman takes it upon himself to make sure the Joker harms the least amount of people as possible, preferably zero, and turns him back over to the police. Once in custody, it's up to the elected government to decide if the Joker needs to die, and be the ones to kill him. Claiming that Batman should kill the Joker is forcing that responsibility on Batman rather than acknowledging that the normal people of DC need to take that responsibility themselves.

Captain America is an interesting case, as he is equal parts hero and soldier. However, Steve was also one of the first superheroes of his setting, fighting in biggest war of all time. War, real war, is a unique circumstance where the No Killing Code can be relaxed further. While most heroes will likely try not to kill, they have an equally moral responsibility to protect other soldiers, civilians and end the conflict as quickly as possible. Unfortunately that can mean not having to pull their punches as much.

And like Jab said, there's room for variance within the No Killing Code depending on the hero. People like Batman and Spider-Man should absolutely hold human life in absolute high regard and almost never be willing to kill. Captain America is a soldier who never wants to kill, but if it becomes clear that killing is necessary, he will do it without hesitation.

Even Gruenwald had Cap shoot a terrorist when it was clear doing so was the only way to save other people. Cap felt bad about it, as it had been the first person he'd killed in years, and it showed another aspect of it: public perception. Even though what Cap did was justified, the media tried to portray Cap as having done some Rambo/Punisher-style killing spree, and the public became conflicted over it. Some are more than happy that Cap gunned down someone and wishes he'd do that more often, but most were horrified at the idea.

The idea of heroes mostly not killing being an aspect of public perception is equally important. One reason heroes are even allowed to operate like they do should come from the fact that they employ non-lethal force 99% of the time. Seeing someone that powerful save the day is inspiring and comforting when you know they value human life. Seeing that same person and knowing they'll happily kill anyone they don't like turns them from comforting to terrifying.

I honestly see Superman as being closer to Steve when it comes to killing than Bruce and Peter. While traditionally Superman has an incredibly strong Code vs Killing and values human life, Clark also grew up on a farm in Kansas. This means he likely had to kill livestock at some point, probably hunted at some point, and thus knows that sometimes something has to die so other people can live. He's been willing to kill people like Doomsday if there was no other option, and Darkseid as well. Clark is someone who will do everything he can not to kill, but if it becomes clear killing is the only option, he'll do so. Clark is more just fortunate that the universe (*cough*writers*cough*) bends over backwards so that he often never has to break his Code vs Killing.

As for Billy Batson? Believe it or not, I see him as being solidly in Steve's camp. While Billy prioritizes saving lives and will capture rather than kill, he's also someone who has to deal with demons, dark gods, eldritch abominations, Nazis, aliens and so on. And sometimes these things will give you no option but to kill them to stop them. The JSA issue where he took down the Thunderbolt summed it up perfectly: Captain Marvel learned a long time ago that sometimes desperate situations call for desperate measures, the person that takes it upon themselves to resolve those situations must accept the responsibility of those measures, and learn to live with the consequences.

But yeah. Superheroes shouldn't kill 99% of the time. But when that 1% does occur, they can and should do it.

Regarding the movies, I'm completely with Jab on this. The heroes of the MCU have proven surprisingly willing to kill, and the villains dying at the end of the film prevents recurring threats. We'll never get a real Masters of Evil vs Avengers film because the potential Masters keep dying by the end of the movie.

[Jabroniville]

AMERIDROID (Lyle Dekker)
Created By: Don Glut & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: Captain America #218 (Feb. 1978)
Role: Giant Android, "Once a Man" Guy
Group Affiliations: The Nazi Party
PL 10 (177)
STRENGTH 9 STAMINA -- AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 3 (+12)
Deception 8 (+10)
Expertise (Spy) 5 (+10)
Expertise (Nazi) 3 (+8)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 8 (+10, +12 Size)
Perception 3 (+6)
Technology 3 (+8)
Vehicles 3 (+3)

Advantages:
Close Attack, Defensive Attack, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Languages (Various European), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8, Seize Initiative, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Android Body- Captain America's Abilities, Scaled Up"
Speed 4 (32 mph) [4]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
"Power Punch" Strength-Damage +2 [2]

"Friggin' HUGE!"
Growth 4 (Str & Toughness +4, +4 Mass, +2 Intimidation, -2 Dodge/Parry, -4 Stealth) -- (12 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [9]
Protection 8 (Extras: Impervious 9) [17]

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +12 (+5 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Revenge/New Order)- Lyle Dekker blamed Captain America for the horrors inflicted upon him during World War II, and built the Ameridroid for revenge. Later, he wanted to start a "new order" by taking out a town.
Enemy (Captain America, The Red Skull)- Cap was a WWII foe, and the Skull had Dekker tortured for failure once. Dekker hates both men.
Prejudice (Freak)- At 12-feet tall, the Ameridroid cannot pass for an ordinary human being, and Dekker feels himself a freak. God knows why he doesn't just transfer his mind into a NORMAL body, since he built the first one anyways...

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 64 / Defenses: 7 (177)

-Here's a guy I had never heard of before, but Invictus requested him back in 2016, and he's NUTS, so I figured why not? He's only appeared four times since his 1978 debut, but he's had a reappearance recently. He's some old Nazi douche that transfered his mind into another body- a body that was TWELVE FEET TALL and basically like Cap, but huge. It's quite the visual effect, and rather goofy- I LOVE IT! He showed up a few times sparingly (I mean, he's weird), and they even brought him back for an "Every Cap Ever" miniseries, as a Machinesmith-controlled entity on another world.

-The character's a truly bizarre one, though, with creator Don Glut going all-out in making a bizarre backstory. Lyle Dekker was a Nazi scientist working for the Red Skull, and attempted to kill Captain America using a hilariously roundabout method- posing as a special effects man on a Captain America motion picture, and creating numerous accidents on-set to lure the real Cap (who was now standing in for the injured lead actor)- he was knocked off a cliff and presumed dead, but it turned out that the Red Skull had tortured him and tried to drown him for his failure. Instead, the villain survived and set up a group of other baddies with no national affiliations. And he actually FOUND CAP IN THE OCEAN after the ill-fated attack on Baron Zemo's plane, trying to transfer his brain into the hero's body- instead, Cap fought the gang off and fell victim to some nerve gas, and THAT'S what sent him into suspended animation! This is actually a retcon to explain the plot hole that Cap was found in the Arctic Circle after falling into the English Channel in his "final war story".

-And so Dekker was re-encountered in modern times, drew Cap's strength into a 12-foot-tall android he built, then transfered his own mind into it. Calling himself "The Ameridroid", he attacked Captain America, but his original body, now without a mind, died! Horrified when he realized he was now permanently a freak, Dekker was despondent and destroyed his old body, but Cap convinced him he'd beaten his past desire for conquest, and the villain just sadly went off into the woods to find himself. And I guess that was the end of that VERY weird three-issue arc. Two years later, the Ameridroid returned, having been discovered and brainwashed by the Red Skull. Now believing that CAP had forced him into this form, Dekker attacked him and killed the imposter Nomad (Edward Ferbel), but it eventually wore off and he instead attacked the Skull, forcing them both into some delicate machinery, which exploded. Both were thought to have been killed, though the Skull rapidly returned.

-And thus, the character sat un-used for thirty years, until Ed Brubaker brought him back. His head had appeared in the Red Skull's study in a Mark Gruenwald issue in the '90s, but now he was rebuilt, and told by Baron Zemo that Cap had destroyed him. Going mad again, Dekker attacked Steve repeatedly, always being shut down after having his head attacked. He ends up in a weird alternate realm where he's returned to a young, human body, but Codename:Bravo (a WWII super-soldier) kills him, believing that Nazis don't deserve a second chance at life.

-The Ameridroid basically "scales up" Captain America's abilities, and does an unholy amount of damage in melee and at range- he doesn't have anywhere near Cap's training, but he's so huge that his accuracy is still boosted quite a ways, and he's strong as hell to boot. He's quite pricey, since he mixes smarts, Skills and Android-style immunities. My initial version was PL 11, justfying him being such a challenge for Steve, but on further research, he's either talked down or beaten in all of his appearances, so he's more of a "temporary foe" than a major threat.

[Ares]

Also, it missed the opportunity for the cheesy but awesome name of Americandroid.

[Jabroniville]

So like John Walker, a lot of the following guys are ideological variants of Captain America himself- where Cap is moral and upstanding, these guys are often edgier, more extreme, or downright evil. While not all are "Replacement Caps", they fit the general mold- The Americop, Major America, Protocide, etc. Then we'll get into legit replacements like the Falcon/Cap.

[Jabroniville]

AMERICOP (Bart Gallows)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Dave Hoover
First Appearance: Captain America #428 (June 1994)
Role: Forgotten Hero, Extremist Hero
Group Affiliations: Sugarland (Texas) Police Department
PL 7 (94)
STRENGTH 2/5 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 3 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+9)
Expertise (Police Officer) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Equipment 7 (Twin .45 Pistols, Baton, Knife, Kevlar, Big Pickup Truck with +2 Toughness), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Americop Uniform" (Flaws: Removable) [5]
"Strength Boost Via Ambient Electricity" Enhanced Strength 3 (6 points)

Equipment:
"Twin .45s" Blast 5 (Feats: Split) (11)
"Knife/Baton" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)
"Kevlar" Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 7- Limited to Bullets) (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Enhanced Strength +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Baton/Knife +9 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Twin Pistols +9 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3 (+5 Kevlar), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting Crime)- Having seen crime up-close, Bart has rejected the police's ineffective crime-fighting methods and become a violent vigilante.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 10 (94)

-Americop is another "Ideological Foe" of sorts for Captain America- he's a patriot like Steve, but in the manner of guys like U.S. Agent and other brutes, as well as representing guys like the Punisher, whom Mark Gruenwald hated- a guy who relentlessly mows down criminals. That he can also comment about police brutality (this isn't long after the famous Rodney King beating incident) was all the better.

-Bart Gallows is a Texas cop with that most-generic of vigilante origins- he got frustrated at the law's inability to handle criminals, and became a gun-toting superhero instead. He travels cross-country in a pimped-out pick-up truck, executing criminals he thinks deserve it, and steals money from the drug-traffickers to support his lifestyle (giving half to drug rehab programs). He naturally interacts with Captain America, who is horrified by Americop's brutality, even while accepting his help in bringing down a child-exploitation ring. I think he was just one of Mark Gruenwald's many attempts to both appeal to, and criticize, the extremism and violence so common in early 1990s comics- his debut during the last part of Mark's run on the series is testament to that.

-We basically never see him again until Dark Reign, where he is fried by Penance's attack (losing 80% of his synaptic nerve endings) when Norman Osborn sends his Thunderbolts to collect him as a vigilante- it's later revealed that he died from his wounds. The name "Americop" has since become used as a modern-day private security force in the comics- again representing police brutality, but in a more modern sense rather than a singular look at one guy.

-As a one-shot nobody, Americop is a PL 7 guy who's light on the cost- he can hold his own for a while, but is nothing special. Just your standard violent vigilante-type.