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

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Jabroniville
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The Nasty Boys

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE NASTY BOYS:

-So with the era of the Hart Foundation, Demolition and The Rockers nearing it's end (all three teams were preparing for splits by year's end), the WWF needed some new Heel teams to take charge. In come Brian Knobs and Jerry Sags, a couple of legitimate party animals and bad-boys (Mick Foley once suggested that Knobs' urine would likely melt a testing cup) from WCW, being led by their manager, the Mouth of the South, Jimmy Hart...

oh wait, crap. Wrong Nasty Boys.

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Okay, so THESE mutants were the shock troopers of Mister Sinister to confound the new X-Factor under Peter David's pen, differentiated by his other flunkies, the Marauders, by... sucking more. Really, these guys are just an eyeblink in history. Even worse than the M.L.F. and The Dark Riders, who at least were recurring foes. They fought X-Factor a couple of times, then vanished- without X-scribes Fabian Nicieza & Scott Lobdell having created them, they were functionally orphans, and withered away when David left X-Factor. Kinda suprising from PAD, who is normally above this kind of Image-level "toss out some bland villains into a team to create some excuses for fight scenes" stuff. The goofy names (well they ARE allies of "Mister Sinister", so it makes sense) didn't help. And lo, they vanished.

-Slab debuted first, fighting Strong Guy solo, but the rest of the team showed up an issue later, backing up a U.S. senator who was actually a mutant with probability-altering powers. It turned out that Senator Shaffran was actually MISTER SINISTER in disguise, however, and he was merely attempting to discredit Shaffran as a mutant terrorist, fearing what would happen to mutants if Shaffran became President. The Nasty Boys are imprisoned after this fight, but Slab & Hairbag are broken out by the Mutant Liberation Front (whose member Thumbelina is Slab's sister), but Ramrod is deported. Later, the five are brought back together to kill Malice, formerly of the Marauders- Malice is attempting to kill Polaris at the time, creating a big scuffle- Malice is stunned enough that the Boys get away with her.

-With David leaving X-Factor, the characters were thus "orphaned" and rarely reappeared. Ruckus later showed up trying to kill Senator Robert Kelly, but the X-Men stopped him. He & Ramrod later went to the U.K. to rob banks, but were saved by the Terrigen Mist cloud by the X-Men- this being like 25 years after their debut. Slab, Ruckus & George were later seen harvesting and selling Mutant Growth Hormone (a "Super-Drug" that pops up a lot in Marvel) from their own drug lab, but Psylocke attacks them and beats all three- they're by this point reduced to simple speedbump jobbers. Finally, in a weird bit, the Nasty Boys (minus Slab) are later hunted down and killed by the Upstarts (long-dead mutants now reborn), who were attempting to lure Cyclops & his X-Men team. That's pretty hilarious, actually- ignored by comics for years, they reappear as generic background jobbers and lose a bunch, then get killed as the precursor to ANOTHER mutant fight? Now THAT's disposability!

-The Nasty Boys had some unique powers (especially Gorgeous George and Hairbag), but were ultimately losers. They actually recurred a LOT in the X-Men cartoon, since they wanted a Sinister-related arc, and apparently didn't like the lethal Marauders too much.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Gorgeous George

Post by Jabroniville »

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GORGEOUS GEORGE (George Blair)
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #75 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Stretch-Guy
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys
PL 9 (136)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Close Combat (Tar) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+4)
Intimidation 6 (+7)
Perception 3 (+4)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Tar-Like Body"
Elongation 6 (500 feet) [6]
Immunity 10 (Falling Damage, Entrapment Effects) [10]

"Softened Form" Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious Toughness 8) (Flaws: Limited to Physical Attacks) (5) -- [6]
  • AE: "Hardened Form" Protection 4 (4)
"Sticky Skin"
Affliction 8 (Strength; Hindered & Vulnerable/Defenseless & Immobile) (Extras: Extra Condition, Cumulative, Contagious) (Flaws: Limited Degree) [24]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]
Insubstantial 1 (Feats: Selective) [6]
Regeneration 10 (Feats: Regrowth) [11]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Sticky Skin +10 (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+8 Hardened, +6 Softened, +4 Impervious), Fortitude +7, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Mr. Sinister's Orders)
Prejudice (Obvious Mutant)- A big purple bat-like dude, "Gorgeous" George is anything but, and cannot pass for a normal human.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 65 / Defenses: 12 (136)

-Gorgeous George (named after the fabled early-gimmick wrestler from the '50s and '60s) was an ironically-named tar-like guy, basically taking the cool base powers of the Morlocks side-character "Tar Baby" and turning it into a solid PL 9-level guy. He used his powers to try and choke Strong Guy by entering his lungs, for example. And once got so drunk that he forgot how long his arms were supposed to be, leaving them extra-long. He disappeared once Peter David left X-Factor, even skipping out on the one-off appearances by his old teammates, until randomly turning up running a drug lab with Hairbag & Slab. They were creating and selling Mutant Growth Hormone out of a lab when Psylocke crashed it, swiftly defeating all three villains. He was apparently killed at the hands of the reborn Upstarts in a recent story.

-Gorgeous George did some Mr. Fantastic-type stuff in addition to being sticky, and it could protect him from damage (in Soft Form he's Impervious, but in Hard Form he's tougher). He'd have been a decent villain if they bothered to put some work into it, but even Peter David wasn't up to the challenge.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
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Slab

Post by Jabroniville »

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SLAB (Christopher Anderson)
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #74 (Jan. 1992)
Role: Powerhouse, Growing Guy
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys
PL 8 (76)
STRENGTH
4/6/12 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat 1 (+6)
Deception 3 (+3)
Expertise (Terrorist) 3 (+3)
Intimidation 6 (+6, +9 Size)
Perception 3 (+4)
Vehicles 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown 2

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Size Alteration"
Enhanced Strength 2 [4]
Enhanced Stamina 2 [4]
Speed 1 (8 mph) [1]
Growth 6 (Str & Sta +6, +6 Mass, +3 Intimidation, -3 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed) -- (18 feet) (-2 Fighting) [8]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Full Size +4 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Blaster +6 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +6, Fortitude +7, Will +4
"Full Size" Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +12, Fortitude +7, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Mr. Sinister's Orders)
Relationship (Thumbelina)- The two are brother and sister, and quite close.

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 17 / Defenses: 15 (76)

-Slab was a member of the Nasty Boys, but I was first introduced to him with the Mutant Liberation Front in the X-Cutioner's Song issue where he was captured alongside his sister, Thumbelina. The "Generic Powerhouse" of the Nasty Boys, with a completely generic name and a generic look ("ugly bald dude" was it). He actually debuted ahead of his teammates, calling out Strong Guy for a fight on the Washington Monument- during the brawl, he shrank back down suddenly, causing Strong Guy to destroy the monument in presumably an embarrassing incident. He & Hairbag were both captured by X-Factor, but broken out of jail by the MLF, and it turned out that his sister was Thumbelina in THAT group- a curious thing to have supervillains from the same family on two different teams. Kind of clever, though- it gave these two very generic characters a "hook" that makes them more memorable. Hanging out with the MLF, he is frozen in ice along with his sister by Iceman when the combined forces of the X-Men & X-Factor invade one of Stryfe's MLF hideouts, and he disappears from comics for years.

-Slab reappears in modern times trying to hunt down Malice, formerly of the Marauders. He kept his powers after M-Day, then was caught selling Mutant Growth Hormone out of a drug lab in an X-Men book, leading to Psylocke beating him up. He is apparently the only Nasty Boy to survive, not being with the rest of the team when they were killed by the reborn Upstarts.

-Slab had the opposite power Thumbelina did (shrinking vs. growth), and used his as the team tank, and showed some capability in dodging Strong Guy's clumsy punches. Simple Growth-based build, really. Not great in combat, but liveable, and definitely not worth more than PL 8.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Arclight! Riptide! Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys!)

Post by Ares »

It's funny, the Nasty Boys got way more use in the 90s X-Men cartoon than the comics. I wouldn't know who they are without said show.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Arclight! Riptide! Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Wed Nov 18, 2020 3:25 am It's funny, the Nasty Boys got way more use in the 90s X-Men cartoon than the comics. I wouldn't know who they are without said show.
It was really weird- I remember seeing them pop up all the time as his Goon Squad. It's probably because Sinister was a recurring villain and they were trying to buff him up, so they got to show up a lot more often.
Jabroniville
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Hairbag

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

HAIRBAG (Michael Suggs)
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #74 (Jan. 1992)
Role: Scrapper, Animalistic Guy
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys
PL 8 (94)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Close Combat (Claws) 3 (+9)
Deception 3 (+3)
Intimidation 7 (+7)
Perception 7 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Claws), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Porcupine Physiology"
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent) [3]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
"Claws" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Spilt) [2]
"Quills" Damage 3 (Extras: Reaction +3) [12]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Claws +9 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Quills +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Mr. Sinister's Orders)
Relationship (Thumbelina)- The two are apparently married.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 18 / Defenses: 16 (94)

-Hairbag is basically Wolfsbane's "Opposite Number" among the Nasty Boys, and the two animal-types brawled around for a bit. Truth be told, he was done much better in the X-Men cartoon, where he used poison breath and shot quills. In the pages of X-Factor, he was just a standard Claw Guy Wolverine rip-off, albeit with Quills (which quite a few D & E-Leaguers have as powers- Thornn of Salem's Seven, about three mutants named "Quill", etc.- but no major characters). He & Slab were both captured by X-Factor, then broken out of jail by the Mutant Liberation Front- however, Slab hung out with his sister Thumbelina while Hairbag escaped notice and disappeared from comics for years. He, Slab & Gorgeous George were caught selling Mutant Growth Hormone out of a drug lab in an X-Men book, leading to Psylocke beating him up. He is possibly now dead, killed by the reborn Upstarts.

---

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HAIRBAG (Michael Suggs)- CARTOON VERSION
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #74 (Jan. 1992)
Role: Scrapper, Animalistic Guy
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys
PL 8 (110)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Close Combat (Claws) 3 (+9)
Deception 3 (+3)
Intimidation 7 (+7)
Perception 7 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Claws), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Porcupine Physiology"
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent) [3]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
"Claws" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Spilt) [2]

"Shooting Quills" Damage 4 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) Linked to Affliction 4 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Cumulative) (28) -- [30]
  • AE: "Poison Breath" Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Feats: Reach 3) (Extras: Cumulative) (17)
  • AE: "Quills" Damage 3 (Extras: Reaction +3) Linked to Affliction 3 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Cumulative, Reaction +3) (27)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Claws +9 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Quills +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +6, Fortitude +8, Will +2

Complications:
Motivation (Mr. Sinister's Orders)
Relationship (Thumbelina)- The two are apparently married.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 14 (110)

-In the cartoon, Hairbag gets to throw out Quills, Poison people (kinda- he just Incapacitates rather than kills) and be a little better overall.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:22 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Arclight! Riptide! Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys!)

Post by Ares »

One funny bit in the cartoon was when Wolverine and Hairbag squared off. Wolverine said something to the effect of "I'm going to kick your butt, hairbag!" and Hairbag gets confused. He and Wolverine had just met, Logan shouldn't have known his name. And then he realized Logan was calling him that as an insult, and got all offended.

"You makin fun of me? No one makes fun of HAIRBAG!"

This is why name selection is important.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Jabroniville
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Ruckus

Post by Jabroniville »

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Apparently Larry Stroman is a fan of "Jem".

RUCKUS (Clement Wilson)
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #75 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys
PL 8 (76)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 3 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 3 (+3)
Ranged Combat (Sonic Yell) 3 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Sonic Yell), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Concussive Sonic Yell"
Blast 8 (Quirk: Requires Sound) (15) -- [16]
  • AE: Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (Quirk: Requires Sound) (15)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Ramrodding +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Long Rodding +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Mr. Sinister's Orders)
Addiction (Alcohol)- Ramrod would rather get wasted than fight super-heroes.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 14 (76)

-Ruckus is a GREAT codename for a loud-mouthed teenager with a loud power, but he was just some young punk, and never got up to much. The thing I most remember about him is that he is damn near IDENTICAL to Riot, the lead singer of the Stingers from Jem & the Holograms. He just swaps out Riot's bleach-blonde locks for pink hair. Clearly an inspiration- it's too bad they didn't copy any of his seductive charm or runaway-army-brat characterization.He debuted as an arrogant young mutant, robbing convenience stores and other small-time things, fighting the police and ending up in a conflict with X-Factor. He knocked Polaris around, but she beat him until he escaped. He reappears with the Nasty Boys, attempting to capture Malice, but he's beaten by Strong Guy and Mr. Sinister draws tehm out. He was later part of a group that tried to assassinate Senator Robert Kelly, but failed. He & Ramrod were later rescued by the X-Men from a prison, but the team was killed by the reborn Upstarts, as bait to find the X-Men.

-Ruckus has a Blast that's decently-powerful, but he can't hold up to much punishment, and would go down in seconds in a real fight.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
Spectrum
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Arclight! Riptide! Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys!)

Post by Spectrum »

Funny, when I hear Ruckus, I think of this guy.

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We rise from the ashes so that new legends can be born.
Jabroniville
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Ramrod (Nasty Boys)

Post by Jabroniville »

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RAMROD IV (Patrick Mahony)
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #75 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Elementalist
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys
PL 8 (102)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 3 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 3 (+3)
Ranged Combat (Plants) 3 (+8)
Vehicles 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Plant Stuff), Ranged Attack 5, Startle

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Plant Control"
"Summon Plant Monster" Summon 6 (Extras: Active, Controlled, Heroic) (Flaws: Requires Plants) [24]

"Plant Control" Move Object 9 (Extras: Perception Range) (Flaws: Limited to Plants) (18) -- [20]
  • AE: "Ramrodding Guys" Blast 8 (Flaws: Requires Plants) (8)
  • AE: "Long Ramrod- hee hee" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (Flaws: Requires Plants) (8)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Ramrodding +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Long Rodding +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Mr. Sinister's Orders)
Addiction (Alcohol)- Ramrod would rather get wasted than fight super-heroes.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 13 (102)

-Ramrod (hee hee, that name is so silly... yet shared by three other characters) is the would-be leader of the Nasty Boys, but he ultimately would rather go on beer run than fight. He's got that all-too-rare Plant Control power-set, and can Summon Minions to fight for him, but nothing much else. Like, his only bios are TINY and indicate almost nothing of what he's done- he appeared with Ruckus in a side story or two away from the rest of the Nasty Boys, but is apparently with them when they're killed by the Upstarts.

-Standard-issue Plant Control stuff, here- Summons a plant monster and ensnares or Blasts guys.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Arclight! Riptide! Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys!)

Post by Ares »

I've got to say that, as a group, the Marauders are a great idea: a mercenary group of supervillains that are evil and vicious. These aren't guys who are "just" in this for a paycheck, nor are they people who believe in a cause, nor do they have any larger scheme. They're a group of violent psychopaths who enjoy hurting and/or killing people, they do so effectively, and they're introduced to great effect.

They reinforce the idea to me that there need to be several different 'types' of supervillain teams, and how effective they are should depend on things like a) how long they've worked together, b) how professional/disciplined they are, c) what kind of leadership they have, etc.

Groups like the Fightful Four are really just a group of loners and individuals who have a common goal, no real sense of teamwork, no real leadership, and rely on raw power for the most part in their fights. They can provide an initial challenge to a team of heroes, but they're unlikely to pose a major threat without the element of surprise.

Groups like the Masters of Evil or the Sinister Six are similar groups of loners, but they're made more effective thanks to strong leadership in the form of Baron Zemo and Doctor Octopus.

Groups like the Flash's Rogues Gallery and Wrecking Crew are dangerous because they've worked together so long that they've got solid teamwork down, and the Rogue's even benefit from Captain Cold being a decent leader sometimes.

The most dangerous teams should be groups that really mirror a good superhero team: good leadership, teammates that work well with each other (especially if they like each other), plenty of time together, solid grasp of tactics , etc.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Mister Sinister

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image
Image

MISTER SINISTER (Nathaniel Essex)
Created By:
Chris Claremont & Marc Silvestri
First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men #221 (Sept. 1987)
Role: Confusingly-Powered Villain, The Puppetmaster
Group Affiliations: The Nasty Boys, The Marauders
PL 12 (291)
STRENGTH
9 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 8 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+11)
Deception 10 (+13)
Expertise (History) 5 (+13)
Expertise (Science) 10 (+18)
Insight 6 (+10)
Intimidation 5 (+8)
Perception 8 (+12)
Persuasion 5 (+8)
Ranged Combat (TK Bolt) 6 (+12)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Technology 8 (+16)
Treatment 4 (+12)
Vehicles 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Multiple Identities), Chokehold, Daze (Deception), Equipment 6 (Labs & Stuff), Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Jack-of-All-Trades, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6,

Powers:
"Mutate Powers: Inconsistent Writing"
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Regeneration 14 (Feats: Regrowth) [15]
"Immune to Lots of Damage" Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 11) [13]
"Shapeshifting" Morph 3 (Any Humanoid) [15]

"Telekinetic Bolt" Blast 12 (24) -- [27]
  • AE: Move Object 8 (16)
  • AE: Flight 5 (60 mph) (10)
  • AE: Force Field 4 (Extras: Impervious 5) (Flaws: Immobile) (7)
"Telepathy" Mind-Reading 12 (Extras: Effortless) Linked to Mental Communication 2 (Feats: Subtle) (44) -- [50]
  • AE: "Focused Mind Control" Mind Control 12 (48)
  • AE: "Mental Stun" Affliction 11 (Will; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative) (44)
  • AE: "Astral Form" Remote Sensing 15 (Visuals & Hearing) (Feats: Dimensional) (Flaws: Physical Body is Defenseless) (31)
  • AE: "Focused Mental Blast" Damage 12 (Extras: Perception Range +2, Will Save) (44)
  • AE: "Brainwashing" Affliction 12 (Will; Dazed/Compelled/Transformed Mentally) (Extras: Perception Range +2, Cumulative) (45)
  • AE: Nullify 12 (Extras: Broad- Mutant Powers, Simultaneous, Sustained) (Flaws: Touch Range) (30)
Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
TK Bolt +12 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Mind Effects +11-12 Perception (+11-12 Perception Affliction or Damage, DC 21, 22 or 27)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +12 (+6 Impervious, +16 Force Field), Fortitude +13, Will +12

Complications:
Obsession (Summers & Grey Genetics)- Mr. Sinister has long-been obsessed with the Summers Family's DNA, realizing that they, combined with the Grey DNA, will create some of the most over-powered characters in comics history.
Motivation (Power)
Secret (Manipulations)- Sinister has his fingers in many pies, and many of his allies would be rather annoyed to discover the depths of his lies.

Total: Abilities: 92 / Skills: 76--38 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 121 / Defenses: 19 (291)

Mister Sinister- God Have I Been Dreading Writing This One:
-Ah, Mr. Sinister. The bastard child of the X-Men "Master Villain" trifecta. Magneto's the personable, agreeable savior of mutantkind, Apocalypse is the super-powerful god, and Sinister... is just kinda there. He's the wheeler-dealer/secret plotter of the three, which makes for some bizarre retcons and even weirder definition of his powers. The fact that he's often just used for "whatever the writer feld like doing" as an excuse plot doesn't help give him any kind of consistency. I always hated stories with him as a kid, because you never got a good fight- he was so invincible (Cyclops & Rogues' best shots do NOTHING, and he just heals right back from any actual damage) that nothing could hurt him, and he was that type of cryptic "I'm not gonna give you any answers" villain that I HATE. So it was a combination of bullshit fight scenes and bullshit motivation that was just DEATH.

-Mister Sinister debuted in the X-Men's book in the late 1980s, with Chris Claremont desiring someone who wasn't just "going back to Magneto and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the same old same old", and he & Dave Cockrum spitballed ideas and theorized that an 11-year old boy at the orphanage where Scott Summers was raised turned out to be the secret master of the place. And he only LOOKED like a little kid, and was about fifty, and would live for a thousand years- this makes him cranky, and so he builds "Mister Sinister" as an agent. This was the rationale for his "childish" name and appearance. Claremont establishes Sinister as the man behind the Mutant Massacre, having told the Marauders to attack the Morlock Tunnels and kill everyone they found. Eventually it's found that he's cloning a lot of them, too. They teased Sinister for a year or so before revealing him, at which point they pulled off what he's most famous for TODAY:

Mister Sinister- Retcon Master:
-So it TURNS OUT that Scott's wife, Madelyne Pryor, who just happened to look exactly like Jean Grey and was intended to be that way, was actually a clone of Jean created by Mister Sinister. This was so that "Jean" would conceive a child from Scott- a child of immense power. Sinister then reveals he's been manipulating Scott's life since he was a child at that orphanage. He is seemingly killed by Cyke's optic blast. Claremont had a boy named Nathan in a few Classic X-Men backups who was obsessed with Cyclops, and this was intended to be Sinister... but then Claremont left the X-Books around 1992 and that was that. Instead, Sinister's become a giant mess of a character, with other people adding aspects here and there. With his backstory only being told in pieces, the character was left to do whatever in various X-Books of the '90s. He got new minions in the Nasty Boys, and allied himself with Stryfe during The X-Cutioner's Song, where I was introduced to him. As a side-character, his only real thing was doing a deal with Stryfe, who betrays him and tricks the villain into unleashing the Legacy Virus on the world.

-Eventually, in a Limited Series involving a time-traveling Jean & Scott, his new origin is revealed- he was Nathaniel Essex, a brilliant Victorian-era biologist. Working in the 1860s, he became a bizarre, immoral doctor, obsessed with the mutations he saw coming in humanity's future- this would lead him to experiment upon the corpse of his first child, who died due to birth deformities. He began working with En Sabah Nur, the future Apocalypse, and grew even more obsessed. Ultimately, Essex was prepared to live with his wife and give up his work after a conversation with Scott & Jean (who told him that his work would destroy the world), but tragically, his wife has uncovered his work, and died from the stress, losing their second child in the process. He begs for her forgiveness, but she refuses, declaring him "sinister". Bereft, Essex falls in entirely with Apocalypse, being transformed into the pale-skinned, super-powered Mister Sinister as a result. And Sinister's whole mission was to make Scott & Jean have a baby who became Nathan Summers, who destroys Apocalypse in the future under the name of "Cable".

Sinister in Contemporary Comics:
-FINALLY, and this is like more than ten years after The Mutant Massacre happened, we find out why he did it- because he found his genetics work's "fingerprints" in the Morlocks, and was pissed over the unauthorized use of his theories, so he had them all killed. These "fingerprints" were the work of the Dark Beast, his contemporary in The Age of Apocalypse, who had time-traveled to Earth's past. Then he ended up being used as the personal villain of Gambit in the Gambit solo book (Fabian Nicieza, writing that and the '90s X-Men, had introduced those theories way back when). Remy had apparently been used to recruit the Marauders and lead them into the Tunnels, but quit when he found out what they were doing. This was in payment for Sinister helping him control his powers. Then some more retcons are tossed in as he helps the Living Monolith absorb Havok's energies. Oh, and his experimentation upon mutantkind with the High Evolutionary accidentally wipes out a community of "The Neo", who try and hunt him down- he goes into hiding. Sinister reappears in various stories, many of which are pointless and dumb. He reforms the Marauders and sends them AND the Acolytes after anyone with knowledge of the future in Endangered Species, then tries to capture Hope Summers in Messiah Complex- here, he is apparently killed by Mystique (who shoves his face into an unconscious Rogue, whose powers at this point had a "Death Touch" aspect).

Miss Sinister:
-In 2008, Sinister returns in a female form- he anticipated his physical death and made a backup body that was female, named Claudine Renko. Oh, and he revealed he'd been messing with other families- the Marko, Xavier & Shaw families among them. But then it turns out that Claudine was actually a normal woman who was seeking out immortality, and allowed herself to be infected by a virus that'd do that... except Sinister betrayed her and just made her a failsafe for himself. Her mind occasionally reactivates itself, and she tries to switch bodies with X-23 to have a Healing Factor, but Sinister takes control of X-23 and has her mortally wound Claudine. Finally X-23 forces him out of her mind and escapes, and a near-dead Claudine is being watched over by a little girl- the cloned new host of Essex.

-Finally reappearing in full power, having used the cloned body to reform himself, he takes over the Dreaming Celestial and turns all of San Francisco into clones of his Victorian Era self, since he figures that's when society was perfect. His plan now is to lure the Celestials to Earth, where they will wipe it clean of everyone but he and his clones, so he can rebuild. However, the X-Men beat him. He builds ANOTHER city of clones, this time in the Moloids' tunnels. During Avengers vs. X-Men, realizing that the Phoenix Five are vulnerable, he attacks them and tries to have Madelyne Pryor clones take the Phoenix Force out of them, but they escape and destroy all of his clones. He still reappears to taunt Cyclops at one point, and in Spider-Man & The X-Men, Spidey figures out that Ernst has given him DNA samples of all the mutants in the Jean Grey School in return for her brain-in-a-jar friend Martha having her own body- Spidey destroys the samples. He fails to cure mutantkind of the "Terrigen Plague", is hunted by the Avengers when Wolverine is killed, thinking he has a copy, and more, then finally joins the X-Men on Krakoa during Jon Hickman's new X-books where all of the mutants unite. Here, he chafes under their rules, but tries to find some "wiggle room". But SURELY leaving Sinister, Apocalypse and Magneto on their own island could have no negative side-effects, right?

The Deal With Mister Sinister:
-Sinister is almsot kind of the "perfect storm" of everything that's been wrong with the X-Books since Claremont left, if you think about it. Retcons, RE-Retcons, endless clones created willy-nilly (he's created literal CITIES of clones now, and has copies of nearly every mutant at some point), and tons of manipulation but nothing that really STICKS with anybody, you know? The whole Miss Sinister thing would be CRAZY from any other villain, but here was just some hastily-written garbage that was super-confusing and done away with in a couple of years. And then you have the 900 X-Men writers since 2001 each try to write their own "Sinister Story" so that he gets chance after chance to manipulate people but is nearly always undone just because someone gets extra-stabby, making him look like a doofus. Yet because he can constantly survive EVERYTHING, we just get the boring "But he'll be BACK..." ending, so none of the stories have any real impact or ever matter. To date, the only thing he's ever really done to change anything in comics is kill the Morlocks... most of whom eventually returned.

Sinister's Powers:
-Sinister just has... a ton of powers. He's a full-on PL 12 character, but is much more dangerous when you think about the fact that he's nearly impossible to kill. He's an expert liar, he can Morph, he can shoot Blasts, Mind-wipe guys, read minds, move stuff with his brain, etc. The writers just couldn't STOP adding crap to his power-set, no matter what, so he ended up being ridiculously over-the-top. I'm not even sure of his limits- some stuff I just swiped from Taliesin's build of the guy because I haven't read a Sinister story in a decade.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 23, 2022 2:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys! Mr. Sinister!)

Post by Ares »

Ah, Mr. Sinister. A guy who COULD be a great X-Villain with a little effort, but as Jab said, has come to represent the worst aspects of the X-Franchise.

I'll say this up front tho: I never understood why they needed to come up with a reason for why "Mister Sinister" would use such a "childish" name. This is comic books. The greatest Marvel villain ever is named Dr. Doom and the greatest X-Villain with a super sympathetic backstory is named Magneto. Mr. Sinister really isn't that silly a name compared to some of the others out there. I can appreciate it when writers work to justify certain comic book tropes, but superhero/villain names? No, that needs no justification.

As for the origin, his past did get stupid convoluted, but a more simplified version of his origin wouldn't be that bad. He's a Victorian era scientist who became obsessed with genetic mutation, possibly after an encounter with Apocalypse. I'd actually have him stumble across one of Apocalypse' labs/chambers (I imagine millenia year old villains with advanced science have dozens of these these places all over the world) and Essex was just smart enough to figure out how to use some of the tech to enhance himself, making him a kind of mini-Apocalypse, as well as being functionally immortal. Mr. Sinister then sets about furthering his knowledge of genetic manipulation, possibly working with other guys like the High Evolutionary over the years. He never actually worked WITH Apocalypses because he considers Apocalypse a caveman playing with science he doesn't understand, beating his chest and focusing on physical strength while Sinister focuses on pure science.

The whole "Dark Beast sent into the past" thing is just dumb. I'd just have Sinster perform the Massacre as a way to get genetic info from the Morlocks, with the idea that the Marauders were supposed to be taking tissue samples from everyone they killed so Sinister could mess around with their genetics. The reason he had them killed during the extraction was that he just found the Morlocks "unsightly" and offensive to his ideas of genetic perfection. He'd find better uses for their genetics and thus didn't need the flawed donors around.

There. Done. Simple.

Sinister could make a solid villain in the 'schemer' bend, but you have to establish his purpose.

Magneto is a moral opponent because he has some justifiable reasons for why he behaves how he does. He's powerful, but charismatic, people can empathize with him, and he becomes someone you have to fight, but who can also debate you on a moral ground. He is evolution and change as a persecuted victim that has decided to lash out and essentially pre-emptively persecute others before they can hurt his people again. He is evolution in it's most personable form: that which wants to survive.

Apocalypse is a force of nature, evolution at its most basic "survival of the fittest" form. You can't reason with Apocalypse, because his goals are antithetical to a free and just society. In a world that is trying to establish that everyone deserves equal respect, right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, Apocalypse says that these things are due only to those strong enough to take them. He is evolution without regard for human life, only strength.

Mr. Sinister could then be the concept of evolution being something to control and manipulate. Throughout history, humans have done things to mess with evolution of plants and animals, breeding them to create superior foods or animals with a specific purpose. Sinister takes this idea to its extreme where he is someone who wants to control life itself, to be able to create what he wants without worrying about the pesky morals of what he's doing. He's much like the antagonists in every Jurassic Park movie who are trying to control nature, only he's a lot more successful at it. Sinister presents the idea of scientific advancement, of improving others and playing God without any restraint. He doesn't consider living beings as having any dignity of their own, and thus has no problem screwing with them for his own amusement. He's like someone with zero empathy playing with LEGOs, only the mini-figures are all sentient, yet he still has no trouble messing with their lives, their world or their very being.

If Magneto is the Dr. Doom of the X-Franchise (charismatic, sympathetic master villain) and Apocalypse is the Galactus of the franchise (powerful force of nature), then Sinister should be more akin to the Baron Zemo of the X-Franchise: the schemer with a ton of interesting minions trying to achieve his goals. Sinister should be the Mook Maker, the guy with the team of villains surrounding him because he lacks the personal power to threaten the X-Men on his own. He's the chessmaster running multiple games at once to achieve his goals, and is gleefully evil while he does it.

It should not be that hard to write an evil mad-scientist archetype.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys! Mr. Sinister!)

Post by Goldar »

Slab reminds me of Blockbuster.

I remember Slab's sister Thumbelina. She was a small bigger gal and pretty strong too. I think she wore a purple suit. She might have even fought Wasp once?

Ruckus was a Banshee-like character. Too bad they never met.

I never understood Mr Sinister's powers. Sometimes he seemed to have Tp and Tk at high levels, other times at low levels and other times without both.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Vertigo! Malice! Nasty Boys! Mr. Sinister!)

Post by Hoid »

Ehhh, Marvel has an easy ‘out’ for Sinister’s insanely vague powers. He is a master geneticist and can easily clone people. If I were in charge of Marvel’s Titles, I’d have it that every time we see Sinister he’s tinkered with his own powerset, or else created a variant clone of himself. His powers vary because he’s field testing new ideas.
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