Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Ares »

The closest thing we got to an explanation is that, essentially, Strongman is a narcissistic Hollywood type who mainly became a hero to feed his ego, and he joined the Nazi's because they "Worshiped strength", and since he was the strongest, he'd basically be a literal god to them. It was also basically stated that the serum impacted his intelligence, and might have had other side-effects.

Overall, while a neat concept, I'm typically not a fan of turning characters, even characters from other companies, into villains unless they actually display personality traits that justify it, or who have acted in a villainous way. Most of the Battle Axis crew really didn't deserve this.
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Davies
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Davies »

It would have been better, and possibly more interesting, if they'd gone to the untapped well of public domain super villains, as shown here.
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Skyshark

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SKYSHARK (Elias Schliegal)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1 (1976)
Role: Forgotten Golden Age Heroine Turned Supervillain
Group Affiliations: The Battle-Axis
PL 7 (100)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+6)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Luftwaffe) 8 (+9)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Vehicles 8 (+12)

Advantages:
Equipment 10 (Massive Seaplane, Gun +4), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Ranged Attack 4

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Pistol +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Enemy (Nazi Germany)

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 10 (100)

-Skyshark is a generic evil Luftwaffe pilot who aided Brain Drain, Master Man & U-Man in a Marvel Two-In-One annual, in which a time-traveling Thing teams up with the Liberty Legion during wartime and fends off the villains. He reappeared in a 1993 Invaders issue alongside the Battle-Axis. Pretty much his whole deal is that he has a good plane and a gun.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 10:51 pm The closest thing we got to an explanation is that, essentially, Strongman is a narcissistic Hollywood type who mainly became a hero to feed his ego, and he joined the Nazi's because they "Worshiped strength", and since he was the strongest, he'd basically be a literal god to them. It was also basically stated that the serum impacted his intelligence, and might have had other side-effects.

Overall, while a neat concept, I'm typically not a fan of turning characters, even characters from other companies, into villains unless they actually display personality traits that justify it, or who have acted in a villainous way. Most of the Battle Axis crew really didn't deserve this.
Reading the initial justification is weird, because it seems like Thomas had his "Golden Age Heroes as Villains" story concept, Gru was like "WTF? Don't ruin OUR guys!" and Thomas made the best with what he had. It's a real "JMS writes Gwen Stacy & Norman Osborn's Kids" story where you're just like "... why?".
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Goldar »

Is Strongman's strength the weight of 100 elephants or the strength of 100 elephants?
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Hoid »

Goldar wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 12:30 am Is Strongman's strength the weight of 100 elephants or the strength of 100 elephants?
Either is pretty impressive.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Goldar wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 12:30 am Is Strongman's strength the weight of 100 elephants or the strength of 100 elephants?
Specifically, he is "as strong as 100 elephants", so I calculated their expected strength levels.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by greycrusader »

In the story, it was alluded (briefly) that the serum used to grant his superhuman strength and speed slowed his thinking down, rendering him rather aggressive, surly, and gullible. I imagine Dr. Nemesis/Dr. Death simply manipulated Strongman, given the former's genius intellect. It also makes sense for Dr. Nemesis to have exerted sway over Volton, as he co-created the amnesiac android.

Honestly? If I were ever given the chance, I'd modify their history a bit, with the Axis villains Lady Lotus or Brain-Drain subtly mentally influencing the Battle-Axis, pulling their worst characteristics to the fore, though Human Meteor and Spider-Queen were already on the brink of throwing in with the Nazis, given their hatred of the English and Russians, respectively. I'd also officially make Strongman's serum a variant of the same one that created Master Man, but flawed, given its side-effects.

All my best.
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The Human Meteor

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

The shirtless man flying around with the little boy on his back reminds me of this comic way too much, lol.

THE HUMAN METEOR (Duke O'Dowd)
Created By:
Unknown (possibly Joe Simon on art)
First Appearance: Champion Comics #6 (April 1940)
Role: Forgotten Golden Age Heroine Turned Supervillain
Group Affiliations: The Battle-Axis
PL 9 (152)
STRENGTH
3/10 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+7)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Stuntman) 8 (+9)
Expertise (Soldier) 6 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 1 (Wrist Mentalophone- U.S. to Himalayan Communication), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Wonder Belt" (Flaws: Removable) [48]
"Power Electric Energizer" Enhanced Strength 7 (14)
"Contra-Magnetic Field" Immunity 10 (Metal Weapons) Linked to Energy Aura 8 (Flaws: Limited to Metals) (34)
"Ato Motor" Flight 6 (120 mph) (12)
-- (60 points)

"Arsenal of Weird Guns" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [15]
"Yar Gun" Affliction 8 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (24) -- (25 points)
  • AE: "Explosatum Gun" Blast 8 (16)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Power Electric Energizer +8 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Contra-Magnetic Field +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Explosatum Gun +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Yar Gun +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Enemy (The Allies)- Duke started off as a superhero, but Anti-English sentiment built up in him until he became a traitor to his country and fought the Allies.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 63 / Defenses: 11 (152)

-Duke O'Dowd was a daredevil stuntman and soldier of fortune in a Harvey Comics publication (the same company that gave us Casper the Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich), but only lasted a few issues before suddenly the comic was reworked to be a superhero strip, as he gained a "Wonder Belt" from an Asian stereotype in order to fight great evil, becoming "The Human Meteor", a superhero whose totally generic, bottom-tier effort costume was just undies, a mask, and a cape. He soon got a Boy Sidekick named Toby and broke up spy rings or whatever, but disappeared after about two years.

-Roy Thomas brought him into the Battle-Axis, explaining that his Irish heritage led to "Anti-British Sentiment", and so he join the bad guys.

-The Human Meteor is actually remarkably powerful for a Golden Ager, having some varied powers thanks to odd gear, and stuff that gives him superhuman strength.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Aug 21, 2022 8:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Baron Zemo! Jack Flag! Free Spirit! Dr. Agony!)

Post by Ian Turner »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:44 am I HATE the very idea of a Justice League full of jokey heroes and wacky antics- so the Giffen/DeMatteis League fills me with nothing but revulsion- THERE I SAID IT.
So agreed. I liked a lot of the characters they used, but kind of hated what they did to them. And I've never gotten Giffen's sense of humor, did not like how his art style devolved over the years, or been able to stomach his desire to kill off characters / blow up cities for cheap shock.

Also agreed on preferring a more acrobatic fighting style for heroes like Captain America (and Daredevil) instead of the more brutish head-first approach I expect for more powerhouse characters like Colossus or the Thing.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Dr. Agony! Spider Queen! Volton! Strongman!)

Post by Goldar »

greycrusader wrote: Tue Nov 10, 2020 1:20 am In the story, it was alluded (briefly) that the serum used to grant his superhuman strength and speed slowed his thinking down, rendering him rather aggressive, surly, and gullible. I imagine Dr. Nemesis/Dr. Death simply manipulated Strongman, given the former's genius intellect. It also makes sense for Dr. Nemesis to have exerted sway over Volton, as he co-created the amnesiac android.

Honestly? If I were ever given the chance, I'd modify their history a bit, with the Axis villains Lady Lotus or Brain-Drain subtly mentally influencing the Battle-Axis, pulling their worst characteristics to the fore, though Human Meteor and Spider-Queen were already on the brink of throwing in with the Nazis, given their hatred of the English and Russians, respectively. I'd also officially make Strongman's serum a variant of the same one that created Master Man, but flawed, given its side-effects.

All my best.
Maybe this is what I was thinking of and getting it mixed up with his strength.
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Kasumi Ninja

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

The automatic first image all those familiar think of when they hear about "Kasumi Ninja".

---

"Within seconds, you'll be struggling with the controls and understanding why everyone hates this game! Awful is the only way to describe them, they are very sluggish and stiff. There is a noticeable delay between the time you press the button and when you actually attack. There is also a brief "cool down" time between kicks, you have to wait a few moments before you can kick again. Jump kicks are awkward, you have to press the kick button right after you jump or you won't kick. In order to perform special moves, you have to hold down the C button and then do the joypad input. I also find it strange that not all characters can do all of the basic moves. For example, Thundra can't do a roundhouse and Angus can't do sweep kicks."
-From the GameFAQs move guide


KASUMI NINJA:
Made By: Hand Made Software
Release Date: 1994

-The two most notable Mortal Kombat Clones of the mid-1990s were unquestionably Way of the Warrior and Kasumi Ninja- though there were many more, none of them attained any kind of notoriety or major public release as these two did. They were linked in most ways- they were obvious cash-ins of people trying to rip off the wildly-successful Mortal Kombat franchise to get some of that action for themselves, they were shittily made on a shoestring budget, they were released on the failed "Next Generation" systems before the ACTUAL Next Generation (3DO & Atari Jaguar, respectively) and they were infamously bad. And in this, of course, they have attained the longevity that they producers so desired... just not the RIGHT kind of it.

Originally called Ninja Puncher in the planning phases (yes really), Kasumi Ninja debuted around the exact same time as Way of the Warrior did, and was the signature exclusive Fighting Game on the Atari Jaguar, a fledgling "64-bit" series that tried OH so hard to beat out Sega & Nintendo by boasting more powerful hardware (which was notably B.S.'d into adding two 32-bit processors together and CALLING IT 64 bits), then got massacred by proper Next-Gen systems in the Saturn & PlayStation. It was announced at the same time as the Jaguar was, and came out in 1994, making it the Jaguar's FIRST Fighting Game, during the peak of that genre's credibility, not to mention being only a couple years after MK came out and changed the face of gaming forever. So a lot was riding on this.

And then produced a game where a guy ejaculated fireballs onto his opponents.

The Game's Plot:
-Kasumi Ninja, of course, is based around ninjas. But there's a Native American Stereotype, a Scottish Stereotype, and other stuff as well. The game is centered on Lord Gyaku, who kills two of his fellow ninja masters at the Dragon Cloud Temple, thus throwing the universe into imbalance- he is therefore possessed by a powerful demon after breaking the gate to the underworld. This demon plots to destroy the entire Earth, and so you must play one of the people who can stop him. All of the characters come to Kasumi Island, Gakyu's base of operations. Originally, there were planned to be 20 characters, but for unknown reasons they reduced it to eight- a Hand Made Software designer said that Atari interfered with the game, removing characters. In the ending sequence, every character gets the same message: you defeat Lord Gyaku, and the portal to Hell closes. You have restored order to the universe! And that's it. It's just text.

But... MAN. One of the characters is a Scotsman who raises his kilt and shoots a fireball from his cock region at you. THIS GAME was expected to be the Jaguar's central release to impress fans of the most popular genre in the world at the time.

The Game:
-The game is your standard-issue fighter, though has four different "Gore Levels", with parental controls being enabled. The top one allows for Fatalities, just like Mortal Kombat. Blocking works with the press of a button, as in MK, but the health bar uniquely spurts blood onto the background every time you take damage. You can only play the palette swap brothers Habaki & Senzo to start, but you will unlock the other fighters as you beat them... every single time you start a new game you have to do this.

The game's design is pretty dreadful- colorful but with amateur-hour actors (Alaric in particularly looks like an overweight fratboy in a skirt, and Pakawa is also morbidly obese), and the Fatalities are an embarassment- you just awkwardly smack someone and they freeze in place awkwardly, allowing you to do a simple move that either puts a hole in them or leaves their body cleanly sliced. None of the originality of Mortal Kombat. And in a game with NINE FREAKING CHARACTERS, THREE of them are palette swaps! Both of the main heroes AND the Final Boss! The stages are pretty plain, though some are well designed enough, I guess- a room full of golden statues works, though one has a pair of giant silhouettes of women bowing with very poor animation, seen on paper screens.

The music is probably the worst part of the game in playthroughs- awful, droning MIDI-quality beeps and boops, like something barely better than what the NES could do. It fails to sound remotely Asian, even in stages that are distinctively Asian-themed.

The game, um, apparently sucks quite hard. I mean, game magazines were generally hard to impress with the Atari Jaguar's piss-poor lineup, but would be delightfully surprised by the occasional good game. HERE, though, it was pretty much universally shit on. The graphics were good for the time, but the characters were stupid, and critics ripped on the controls, sound and slow gameplay. It being an obvious Mortal Kombat rip-off hurt it further. Within a year, the game had sold only 24,000 copies, and a sequel for the Atari Jaguar CD (a hugely failed peripheral) was cancelled while in development. It has since been considered one of the worst games of all time- certainly one of the worst released by an actual studio and not some Korean chop-shop company.

Next Generation gave it 1/5, Game Players a 40%. GamePro, famously generous, gave it a 13/20 overall. The legacy is disastrous, and it doesn't even have the "Do It Yourself" charm of Way of the Warrior, which was clearly made by the developers and his friends & family.

The Cast of Characters:
1) Habaki- A twin, and one of the chief ninjas of the Dragon Cloud Temple. Personally chosen by Kaioh, one of the dead ninja masters.
2) Senzo- A twin, and one of the chief ninjas of the Dragon Cloud Temple. Personally chosen by Hieh, one of the dead ninja masters. An exact duplicate of Habaki save for his Death Move.
3) Chagi Nelson- Kickboxer.
4) Pakawa- Native American Stereotype. Fattie.
5) Thundra- Queen of the Amazons. Fights wearing a bikini.
6) Alaric- Leader of the Goths tribe.
7) Angus MacGreggor- The infamous Scottish blacksmith with cock-fireballs.
8) Danja Ureda- A literal superheroine.
9) Lord Gyaku- The Final Boss- a demon-possesed Ninja Master. Has a "Demon Gyaku" form.
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Strongman! Human Meteor! Kasumi Ninja!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

They couldn't even get the character select screen right! Interactive menus can sometimes be cool, but making the character select screen a room that you have to move in first person to each character statue in order to choose them is just super clunky. In terms of Bad MK Klones, it's probably only above the absolute bottom-barrel because SHADOW: War of Succession exists.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Strongman! Human Meteor! Kasumi Ninja!)

Post by squirrelly-sama »

I saw the name Kasumi Ninja and thought it was going to be Kasumi, the ninja girl from Dead or Alive.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Baron Zemo! Jack Flag! Free Spirit! Dr. Agony!)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 2:44 am I HATE the very idea of a Justice League full of jokey heroes and wacky antics- so the Giffen/DeMatteis League fills me with nothing but revulsion- THERE I SAID IT.
The first year or so of the Giffen/DeMatteis League was actually pretty good. Because during that time, they hadn't hit the jokey heroes/wacky antics stage. Yes there was humour, but it was a joke here and there amid a super hero adventure story. The Assemblers/Champions of Angor, the Royal Flush Gang, the Gray Man, the Manhunters (the Millennium issues), Metron's computer. These were legitimate threats with actual stakes.

However, the 8th issue was a turning point. It was the first issue of the series written where the humour was no longer heroes making wisecracks and snide observations. It was the issue where the heroes started being clumsy and silly, and it was played for laughs. Sure, Guy Gardner had been used as a comic foil from issue one page one. But Mr. Miracle landing the new JLI shuittle on the roof of an old building, crashing through the roof? Captain Atom somehow getting a shock from plugging in something he shouldn't and then blasting away? It was the harbinger of things to come. Then they added Ice Maiden II*, and Green Flame and by issue 14, Magna Khan showed up and well, the damage was done. There were individual issues that slipped back into adventure story with stakes territory, but they were pretty rare.

Your mileage may vary, but I found the buffoonery humour painful. I hated "Breakdowns", but something was needed.
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