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

[Goldar]

The idea that Lockjaw is a (in)human being with full agency, but has been treated like a dog by nearly every hero in the universe is rather stupid and kinda offensive.

The idea that it was a prank by a group of heroes played on their ally when he was distraught over his daughter, essentially, having been born physically handicapped and another friend of theirs who had been angst ridden by his own physical deformities for years... That’s equally stupid and kinda offensive.

So I just ignore the whole damn thing. Lockjaw is a magic alien space dog, just like Stan and Jack intended.

Yes. This.

[Grenzer]

It's a shame that the writers over at Marvel managed to mess up Crystal so badly that she is practically unusable in modern stories. Think about it, she's one of the first (certainly the first significant) Elementalists in modern comic books. That's an awesome power set, one of the best you can give to a hero (so versatile and showy, but easy to keep it from being overpowered). She should be a preeminent woman hero in the modern comics given her long history, but you know... she was flung at some of the most random love interests imaginable without much though for future stories.

And should we read some sort of subtext that Norman (the guy she cheated on Quicksilver with) bore more than a passing resemblance to Johnny? The relationship drama would be somewhat worth it if these sorts of questions were seriously examined by a talented writer.

[Goldar]

It's a shame that the writers over at Marvel managed to mess up Crystal so badly that she is practically unusable in modern stories. Think about it, she's one of the first (certainly the first significant) Elementalists in modern comic books. That's an awesome power set, one of the best you can give to a hero (so versatile and showy, but easy to keep it from being overpowered). She should be a preeminent woman hero in the modern comics given her long history, but you know... she was flung at some of the most random love interests imaginable without much though for future stories.

And should we read some sort of subtext that Norman (the guy she cheated on Quicksilver with) bore more than a passing resemblance to Johnny? The relationship drama would be somewhat worth it if these sorts of questions were seriously examined by a talented writer.

The human male you refer to is Norman Webster, a real estate agent, I believe.

Crystal is very powerful and unique with her abilities. I prefer her 60's showings to anything shown later.

[Batgirl III]

I liked her characterization in the Inhumans tv series. Her story arc was basically just Roman Holiday meets Hallmark Christmas movie... But they gave her some spunk, she wasn’t familiar with human society at all, but she wasn’t just some naive waif either. She stood up to Maximus, came up with clever plans, and handled herself pretty well in a crisis.

Yeah, overall, probably one of the weakest parts of the MCU... But not as bad as the it’s reputation would have you believe.

[Jabroniville]

I feel like artists took quite a few decades to REALLY get that Medusa made for some tremendous cover pinups.

MEDUSA (Medusa Amaquelin Boltagon)
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #35 (March 1964)
Role: The Queen (Both Advisor & Severe Archetypes)
Group Affiliations: The Inhuman Royal Family, The Fantastic Four, The Frightful Four
PL 11 (158)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Royalty) 8 (+10)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 6 (+10, +12 Attractive)
Insight 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Snare) 4 (+12)
Stealth 3 (+7)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive, Benefit 3 (Queen of the Inhumans), Defensive Roll, Improved Critical (Hair Snare), Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle, Teamwork

Powers:
"Terrigen Mist-Given Powers: Prehensile Hair"
"Gimme a Head With Hair!" Extra Limbs 5 [5]
"Long Beautiful Hair!" Elongation 2 (Flaws: Limited to Hair) [1]

"Hair Strength"
Power-Lifting 2 (1,600 lbs.) (Flaws: Limited to Hair) [1]
Movement 2 (Sure-Footed, Wall-Crawling) [4]

"Multi-Snare" Affliction 10 (Strength; Hindered, Vulnerable & Impaired/Prone, Defenseless & Disabled/Vision Unaware) (Feats: Chokehold, Reversible, Tether, Improved Initiative) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Selective, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Unaware Thread Limited to Vision) (34) -- [39]

• AE: "Single-Snare" Affliction 10 (Strength; Hindered, Vulnerable & Impaired/Prone, Defenseless & Disabled/Vision Unaware) (Feats: Chokehold, Reversible, Tether, Improved Initiative) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Unaware Thread Limited to Vision) (30)
• AE: "Hair-Lash" Strike 10 (Feats: Accurate, Reach 5) (16)
• AE: "Hair-Catcher" Deflect 8 (8)
• AE: "Defensive Wall" Enhanced Advantages 3: Defensive Roll 3 (3)
• AE: "Whip Like a Fan" Affliction 8 (Dodge; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cone +1/2) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery, Limited to Grounded Targets) (3)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Hair Lash +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Snare +12 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Multi-Snare +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +4 (+8 Hair Snares)

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4 (+5 D.Roll, +8 Hair), Fortitude +7, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (Attilan, The Royal Family)
Relationship (Black Bolt & Ahura)- Medusa is devoted to her husband, and also has a son with him. 'Course, we never SEE the damn kid...
Weakness (Pollutants & Toxins)- Inhumans cannot survive for long in Earth's atmosphere without regular applications of a Serum.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 50 / Defenses: 11 (158)

Medusa- Super-Villain to Stoic Queen:
-Medusa has a bizarre history, even going as far back as the Sixties. Introduced as a super-villain at first, she joined The Wizard's first incarnation of the Frightful Four, alongside The Sandman & Paste-Pot Pete! Here, she was a troublesome minx who was SUPER-effective in battle (likely their most powerful member), but it suddenly turned out she was actually an amnesiac royal family member of some weird secret society of outcasts... not quite a retcon (as her origin was mysterious), but it still was an odd plot twist when I read it in the Essentials collection (which is really worth getting in the Lee/Kirby era- modern storytelling has NOTHING on the speed those two tossed out the craziest plot twists ever).

-So it turns out she's the older sister of Johnny Storm's new crush Crystal, and is in love with Black Bolt, the King of the Inhumans- they truly understand each other, and she becomes the Inhumans' Queen. Her amnesia was from an injury when she was escaping Maximus, who wanted Black Bolt's throne AND his bride-to-be. She kinda lords over Crystal and lectures her all the time, coming across like a fuddy-duddy when she was supposed to be the most blazing hot woman ever ("She makes Raquel Welch look like a BOY!" is a passer-by's response- and this was the Seventies, mind you). Kind of an unfortunate thing- Wonder Woman was artificially-aged by making her Donna Troy's older sister, too. At least she got to join the FF once (when Sue was caring for a young Franklin).

Medusa- Things Get Weirder:
-She got put through a lot of weird stuff in recent decades, as The Inhumans got dealt with awesomely and poorly in variation. She was so minor that when they finally had her & Black Bolt pop out an offspring (in secret, because the Genetics Council feared what the child of Black Bolt could do)... Marvel forgot about it! That's right- so little was thought of The Inhumans as a concept that they HAD A BABY and it was completely ignored/forgotten by writers for years. One story remarks that Crystal says she's childless, which is likely someone forgetting. Modern times finally brought Ahura out of the mothballs, but he hasn't done ANYTHING in War of Kings, etc. in the cosmic scene- essentially being window-dressing while the adults do stuff. Poor kid. At least he got a tiny bit of play recently (with Kang making him a successor/right-hand man). A later story featured her in Beyond!, where she teamed up with a disparate group of characters including Gravity and Venom (whom she tortured with "fifty lashes" for the believed murder of Spider-Man).

-She has since gone on to become the central character of the Inhumans franchise, being stuck with Black Bolt's mess as he sets of the Terrigenesis Bomb, creating thousands of "NuHumans"- she effectively becomes their sworn protector, and a world leader in her own right. She is too angry at Black Bolt for messing everything up and then bailing, so they are separated... and she shockingly hooks up with JOHNNY STORM of all people, having come to care for him off-panel between the Terrigen Bomb and the beginning of Inhumans. Alas, things go screwy right away as she's one of many characters "inverted" by the AXIS event and is thus villainous for a few issues- she puts her hair into bladed braids and makes the Inhumans look even worse to the rest of the world, kind of railroading the story for a bit.

-Despite (or because of) the mega-push, the Inhumans fail to take off. In Inhumans vs. X-Men, she leads her people against Marvel's mutants in the battle over the Terrigen Clouds that are poisoning mutants, as this is a birthright of Inhumans, but when she realizes that the Mist clouds are about to render Earth permanently uninhabitable by mutantkind, she makes the ultimate sacrifice and chooses to voluntary destroy what's left of it, saving mutants at the cost of future Inhuman life. After a restart, stop & restart, she & Black Bolt are finally together again, leading the Royal Family during a new status quo shift that sees many more of their people killed in Death of the Inhumans.

-Ultimately, Medusa was kind of a unique character, perhaps underpushed until recently- there's a lot of potential stuff there with her interpreting the gestures of her husband, her mourning never hearing his voice (a scene featuring the couple making love has her wish to hear SOMETHING from him), and being one of the few queens on Marvel's Earth. Her being so stoic and... mythical, kind of... really created some opportunities. Unfortunately, her leading a mega-pushed Inhumans faction just wasn't the right move, and she was now just a "woe is me" kind of character, flailing about trying to serve her people while alone.

Medusa- Shockingly Bad-Ass:
-Medusa was one of the first Inhumans I realized almost had to be PL 11. She doesn't SEEM like a huge bad-ass, especially with that weird power of hers, but she is EXTREMELY lethal, especially in the early years, and even has mass-group-disabling tactics in modern times as well. At Black Bolt's funeral, she snared a HUGE group of Inhumans and Imperial Guardsmen alike simultaneously, showing that her Snare effect is very strong, and subsequent stuff during the big "Inhumans Push" showcased her even more- she's actually a high-level threat, and could even be justified at PL 12.

-The full breadth of her Prehensile Hair is quite impressive- many Feats are attached to it's Snare- Obscure Vision for blinding people, Choking guys, it's Reversible AND a Tether to her Strength. It has a Selective Burst Area. Her hair can lift things that her body never could, once it's braced. She can whip it around like a fan (Super-Breath), climb up things, and avoid being thrown about (Super-Movement). For the base Prehensile Hair power, she's got 6 ranks- 3 for Additional Limbs, and 3 for Extending 20 feet. As Alternate Powers, she can Lash people (Strike 10), Deflect Arrows & stuff, and even protect herself. Physically, she's no push-over either. She's not an elite (PL 10.5 offensively only), but she's quite powerful, and can easily handle herself in a fight.

[Batgirl III]

Despite the Inhumans push failing to put them over with the fans, it’s a testament to just how good their earlier stories were than Black Bolt and Medusa still feel like credible “big guns” in the Marvel Universe.

If you’ve got a dramatic scene happening and Medusa walks in, it’s a “sit up and take notice” moment, shit is about the get real. If Black Bolt decides a crisis warrants his personal intervention, you know the threat must be a Galactus level one.

Usually when B-List characters are given a failed push, a period of backlash follows and they end up falling to the D-List... or worse. Black Bolt and Medusa still have A-List credibility as supporting characters, even if they’re never going to be A-List leading characters.

[MacynSnow]

I'm with you BG. Much as i thought the Inhumans were Intresting(what with the "Romeo&Juliet" story of Crystal/Torch), i just don't see them being able to carry a book on there own. I still think Medusa grad A MILF territory(i Dare you to NOT picture a Sexy cover of Sue&Medusa, or even one of Evans Johnny & Black Bolt bg!).

[M4C8]

IIRC one of the forgotten parts of Sentry's history is that he had a relationship with Crystal.

[Woodclaw]

I think that one of the details that really sell Medusa as queen is her power. The fact that she can wack people without even lifting a finger (so to speak), often without even looking, adds a real smug to her.

[Batgirl III]

I think that one of the details that really sell Medusa as queen is her power. The fact that she can wack people without even lifting a finger (so to speak), often without even looking, adds a real smug to her.

Plus, her main form of attack is to strike with a whip or strangle with a garrote. Both add a heavy degree of assertive dominance that a generic energy beam or a telekinetic punch just lacks.

A whip is the weapon of slaveowners, cattle-drivers, ringmasters of animal acts, and particularly cruel commanders in evil armies. When we see someone get hit with a whip, however subconsciously, we see it as a bit of dehumanizing humiliation...

And that’s also kinda sexy.

[Jabroniville]

OMG, Frozen arrrrrrrrtttttttttt

https://mobile.twitter.com/info_seoyeon ... 6765833217

https://mobile.twitter.com/info_seoyeon ... 17/photo/1
https://mobile.twitter.com/info_seoyeon ... 17/photo/2

Also Elsamaren:
https://mobile.twitter.com/Aleikats/sta ... 77/photo/1

[Spectrum]

Mmm reminded of Bayonetta another hair as weapon user.

[catsi563]

The idea that Lockjaw is a (in)human being with full agency, but has been treated like a dog by nearly every hero in the universe is rather stupid and kinda offensive.

The idea that it was a prank by a group of heroes played on their ally when he was distraught over his daughter, essentially, having been born physically handicapped and another friend of theirs who had been angst ridden by his own physical deformities for years... That’s equally stupid and kinda offensive.

So I just ignore the whole damn thing. Lockjaw is a magic alien space dog, just like Stan and Jack intended.

Ive always viewed him as a magical space dog myself

only a Dog would ever show the type of loyalty he does

[Batgirl III]

The Galaxy's Goodest Boys!

[Jabroniville]

Who shifts from "Kinda-ugly bulky dude" to "Hot Guy" as often as Gorgon does?

GORGON
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #44 (Nov. 1965)
Role: Team Jobber, Angry Guy, Powerhouse, Sufferer of the Worf Effect (ie. supposed to be bad-ass, but gets regular ass-kickings)
PL 11 (137)
STRENGTH 9 STAMINA 9 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+11)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Expertise (Inhuman Soldier) 8 (+8)
Perception 4 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Big Mace +1), Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Rallying Cry, Ranged Attack 8, Startle

Powers:
"Terrigen Mist-Given Powers: Super-Powered Legs"
Immunity 5 (Falling Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [3]
Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]
Leaping 6 (500 feet) [6]

"Seismic Stomp" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Grounded Targets) (11) -- [13]

• AE: "Massive Kick" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical 3, Penetrating 5) (Drawbacks: Inaccurate) (10)
• AE: "Seismic Trip" Affliction 11 (Dodge; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery, Limited to Grounded Targets) Linked to Damage 5 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (11)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Massive Kick +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Big Mace +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Seismic Stomp +11 Area (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Seismic Trip +11 Area (+11 Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +9, Fortitude +9, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (Protect the Royal Family of Attilan)
Weakness (Pollutants & Toxins)- Inhumans cannot survive for long in Earth's atmosphere without regular applications of a Serum.
Responsibility (Temper)

Total: Abilities: 68 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 23 / Defenses: 13 (137)

-Next up of The Inhuman Royal Family is Gorgon, who could politely be described as the "Jobber" of the family. Despite looking pretty cool (mostly nowadays- his original Kirby design is a little weak), he's usually the first guy in the family to take up arms against somebody, and the first one to get knocked on his ass. He's TOUGH, don't get me wrong, but he's a little out of his weight class going against Thing-types. This leads to him being "Just Another Guy" most of the time, though the Paul Jenkins/Jae Lee Inhumans series showed him as the official trainer of Royal Guards, and an effective one. Jae Lee's serious, dour look for the character was a big improvement, too. There was a brief bit in the '80s where he romanced Medusa's attendant Minxi (to the chagrin of Karnak, who liked her, too), but this didn't go forward. He's so minor that he was mutated into a more Minotaur-like appearance after being captured and re-exposed to the Terrigent Mists, but this is later dropped without explanation! AND he gets a son or two introduced without any word of a mother, and they're all ignored by other stories.

-Just look at War of Kings, where he's up there at the Royal Wedding of Crystal & Ronan the Accuser (long story), fighting off the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, and he gets his leg blown clean off by Smasher (or the Wildfire rip-off. I think it was Smasher, though), who then gets his neck snapped by Karnak. So Gorgon spends the entire rest of the cross-over sitting on the sidelines as his leg is reattached using space-tech. Other Inhumans stuff (involving them ruling the Kree) simply has him kicking around, leading Inhuman War Parties against various threats, and grunting along, but he never really gets to do anything important. It wasn't until the modern Inhumans push that he got a bigger role, as his old job as "Trainer of New Inhumans" suddenly becomes a LOT more relevant. However, he ends up crippled somehow in the gap between Secret Wars and now (seriously- even Wikipedia was like "they don't explain it" until he was shown being shot through the spine by Lineage), almost self-consciously aping Professor Xavier to the new class of NuHumans. Finally, his spine is healed by a new recruit named Panacea.

-So Gorgon stats up pretty nice, being a PL 10 most of the time- 9.5 on Defense and with his somewhat-inaccurate Kick power. He uses that a lot, but can also alternate to a heavy-duty powerful "Shockwave", capable of wiping out city streets and whoever's standing on them. That Shockwave makes him a PL 11, but usually he's an under-pointed PL 9.5/10 guy.