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

[Jabroniville]

The best Reed Richards column is the one I always quote regarding why Batroc’s Brigade need Machete when they have a guy on it who’s a master of ALL weapons.

[Jabroniville]

Drugs!

AEROIKA
Created By: Ed Hannigan & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: The Defenders #78 (Dec. 1979)
Role: Freedom Fighter, Goofy-Looking Guy
Group Affiliations: The Defenders
PL 7 (80)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Soldier) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Persuasion 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 2 (Swords, Spears & Stuff), Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Winged One Physiology"
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged, Limited to Within Magical Realms) [2]
"Dreamspeech" Communication (Mental) 2 (Flaws: Limited to Sleeping Subjects) Linked to Mind-Reading 4 (Flaws: Limited to Sleeping Subjects) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Swords & Spears +8 (+5-6 Damage, DC 20-21)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Motivation (Freedom For The Winged Ones)- The Winged Ones were created to be a slave-race to the Buzzard People. Aeroika fights to free them.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 12--6 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 12 / Defenses: 6 (81)

-Aeroika is a truly-bizarre character- a guy with huge WINGS sprouting from the sides of his head! He's one of the Winged Ones, a race of beings created by someone named Ytitnedion to serve the Buzzard People of an otherworldly realm. He was smuggled out to befriend The Defenders, and lead an uprising against the villainous Buzzards- Ytitnedion managed to brainwash The Hulk against the team, but after a four-issue arc, he was beaten by Aeroika, who led his people to freedom. The Buzzard Sorceror committed suicide when his access to his Patron Deity's power was cut off, leaping into a void and disappearing in a flash of light. It's the only time any of them appeared, in what seems to be a "Filler Arc" of sorts by Ed Hannigan (whom I've never heard of).

-I can't imagine this guy was super-elite, but he did okay alongside The Defenders and leading a rebellion.

[Goldar]

Yeah, this was one of those, "Ooh, I am on drugs, look at the pretty colors!" type of story, lol.

This is why I say my favorite stories are sort of capped at issue 50, although there are still some good and even decent stories past that point.

[Shock]

My core 4 Defenders

Dr Strange
Hellcat
Luke Cage
Iron Fist

[Skavenger]

The Marvel Super Heroes Adventure Game that TSR put out back in the day (the SAGA system one, not FASERIP) had a really fun supplement called “Reed Richards’ Guide to Everything” that was sort of the expanded GM guide...

That was an awesome concept. I wish someone would turn it into a blog-type site, just for in-universe questions.

Yeah, but it was written back with comic books were written by people who enjoyed fun. They don’t hire people like that any more.

The best Reed Richards column is the one I always quote regarding why Batroc’s Brigade need Machete when they have a guy on it who’s a master of ALL weapons.

My personal favorites were the kid who loved airplanes and wanted to know where to buy an "astral plane," the one where Dr. Octopus answers a child's question about radiation, and the mutant child who wanted help after sprouting wings. It was so perfectly written to be in-character for each person who answered, as well as being perfectly written as though it was answering a children's letter.

[Jabroniville]

THE UNNAMEABLE
Created By: Ed Hannigan & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: The Defenders #72 (May 1980)
Role: Forgotten Cosmic Ruler
Group Affiliations: None

-The Unnameable is a Defenders foe hailing from Tunnelworld who was behind a few of their opponents, such as Ytitnedon & Arisen Tyrk- Tyrk was furious at being used as a pawn, but despite his great power, the Cosmic-ish being shrugged off his attacks. Doctor Strange, sensing the Unnameable's power, bailed on Tunnelworld, leaving it to its fate for a time- he returned with the Hulk & Namor just as the Unnameable was manipulating things on Earth once more. Aeroika aided them against the being, but the Hulk's mind was taken over- Hulk & Ytitnedon were captured, then broke free.

-Ultimately, Strange depowered the Unnameable by eliminating its illusions, then freed the Hulk by exiling the part of his memory that contained the creature's true name (to know it was to fall under its control), using a combination of sorcery and his surgical skill. This was the creature's undoing, as to build its own power back during the fight, it withheld its power from its various minions, so that NOBODY knew its name. This drained it of all power, and it was thus trapped. It has never reappeared. Shockingly, this story arc was not written by Steve Gerber. Though it looks like Herb Trimpe was playing some D&D and simply took a Beholder as inspiration for the design of this multi-eyed, floating orb of a creature.

-The Unnameable is a generic "Cosmic Being" of sorts, of nearly any conceivable power level. Simply knowing its name allowed it to control you, and it had thousands of minions, granting them various levels of power (some were powerful sorcerers in their own right).

[Jabroniville]

ARISEN TYRK
Created By: David Kraft & George Perez
First Appearance: Creatures on the Loose #35 (May 1975)
Role: Otherdimensional Ruler
Group Affiliations: None

-Arisen was God-King of Other-Realm, using a combination of magic and sorcery to rule it. Desiring the Godstone that was then attached to John "Man-Wolf" Jameson, he teamed with Kraven the Hunter, but Kraven lost. Arisen tried again, kidnapping Jameson's girlfriend, but Man-Wolf's fury caused him to tap into the "Star-God" powers, destroying Tyrk's entire citadel. Trying to pursue Jameson, he was trapped in a portal, and split into numerous fragments in The Defenders, such as the Nilffim Riders, The Lunatiks (acrobatic spouters of pop culture- usually popular music and catchphrases like "Well, Ex-CUUUUUUSSSSSSE ME!!") and Harrison Turk. The Lunatiks engaged in rampant vigilantism during full moons (attacking murderers and litterbugs with equal aplomb), but the Defenders fought them. Eventually, Doctor Strange and the others managed to combined them all back into Arisen Tyrk... who attacked the team. He was rendered inert, and has yet to reappear. He was apparently rather powerful (moreso in Other-Realm), and strong enough to brawl with The Hulk.

-Tyrk is immensely powerful, both being a challenge to Doctor Strange at sorcery, and able to shrug off a blow from the Hulk and knock him down. It took the entire Defenders, plus Clea and another powerful sorcerer, to stop him once.

[Batgirl III]

I will say one thing for this parade of random weird wizards, strange sorcerers, eldritch entities, and gormless gods... Their names make me a lot less embarrassed by some of the appellations I’ve given to D&D characters in my day.

[Goldar]

ARISEN TYRK
Created By: David Kraft & George Perez
First Appearance: Creatures on the Loose #35 (May 1975)
Role: Otherdimensional Ruler
Group Affiliations: None

-Arisen was God-King of Other-Realm, using a combination of magic and sorcery to rule it. Desiring the Godstone that was then attached to John "Man-Wolf" Jameson, he teamed with Kraven the Hunter, but Kraven lost. Arisen tried again, kidnapping Jameson's girlfriend, but Man-Wolf's fury caused him to tap into the "Star-God" powers, destroying Tyrk's entire citadel. Trying to pursue Jameson, he was trapped in a portal, and split into numerous fragments in The Defenders, such as the Nilffim Riders, The Lunatiks (acrobatic spouters of pop culture- usually popular music and catchphrases like "Well, Ex-CUUUUUUSSSSSSE ME!!") and Harrison Turk. The Lunatiks engaged in rampant vigilantism durin?

When I first saw Lunatik show up in Defenders, I was like, "Oh, come on! What is this XTSI?!?" I was not famiiar with him, but I did not like the track that Defenders was heading for a number of issues. The art was getting funky. Then along comes this Lunatik with purple hair, green jumpsuit and a silver staff that he used to murder people.

He was giving Val a hard time. I think in #56, Lunatik lopped off one of her ponys with Dragonfang!

I love when she busted him in the mouth while hurtling down a flight of dirty, disgusting NYC subway steps! But it didn't seem like she did more than knock him down. I wondered why she didn't hit him harder, especially with Lunatik seriously injuring Ledge with a crack to the old cranium. But I guess you explained it---he could match the Hulk, so Val really did hit him hard.

[Jabroniville]

"(adding Nighthawk to the Defenders) "gave me a character to play with who didn't have a whole lot of previous history ... [a] character I could do anything I wanted to without worrying about how it would affect any other titles that character might appear in."
-Len Wein

NIGHTHAWK (Kyle Richmond)
Created By: Roy Thomas & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Avengers #69 (Oct. 1969)
Role: Batman Homage, D-List Superhero
Group Affiliations: The Squadron Sinister, The Defenders, The Thunderbolts, The Legion of the Unliving, The Fearsome Four
PL 9 (152)
STRENGTH 3/5 STAMINA 4/5 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+13)
Athletics 8 (+11, +13 By Night)
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Business) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Streetwise) 3 (+6)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 4 (+7)
Stealth 2 (+8)
Technology 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Wealthy), Equipment 2 (Bat-Stuff), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Ranged Attack 6, Teamwork

Powers:
"Powers By Night" (All Have Flaws: Limited to From Dusk Till Dawn)
Enhanced Strength 2 [2]
Enhanced Stamina 1 [1]
Enhanced Skills 4: Acrobatics 4 (+16) [1]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Improved Initiative, Seize Initiative [1]
Senses 1 (Low-Light Vision) [1]

"Nighthawk Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [18]
Flight 4 (30 mph) (Flaws: Winged) (4)
"Claw Tips" Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) (1)
Laser Blast 6 (12)
Senses 5 (Radar- Radius Ranged Accurate Radio Sense, Danger Sense) (5)
-- (22 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Unarmed At Night +13 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Laser Blast +12 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +6 (+10 At Night)

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +4 (+5 By Night), Fortitude +6 (+7 By Night), Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Thrills)- Kyle Richmond became a costumed adventurer when he became bored with running his late father's financial empire.

Total: Abilities: 80 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 12 (152)

Nighthawk- Batman Knockoff Turned Minor Hero:
-Nighthawk has a pretty long run for a guy who ultimately never really mattered much- he debuted in the classic Roy Thomas Avengers arc that debuted The Squadron Sinister, a cutesy parody of DC's Justice League that would later get modified into the heroic Squadron Supreme from an alternate universe. As the Batman knock-off of his group, Kyle is a rich dude and an acrobatic sort, and unlike his partners, actually turned into a good guy! Alas, he never really turned into a major character. The whole fact that he's an obvious Batman knock-off is a strike against him (I mean, he's a deliberate and admitted one, so it's not like they were trying to pull a fast one, but still), plus the fact that Marvel already HAS a ton of non-powered martial artist heroes. And it seems that not very many writers like him. AND, due to his status as a D-League character, he's ripe for the picking with random tragedies or crippling injuries- the kind of stuff that heroes with REGULAR books don't need to worry about!

-Kyle Richmond was an "Affluenza"-suffering rich boy who inherited his parents' company, and began physically-training himself to cure the heart murmur that kept him out of the army and he didn't know what to do with his life. He eventually dove into alchemy, and created a serum that gave him enhanced physicality at night. Eventually, he and three others are formed together as the "Squadron Sinister" by The Grandmaster, who seeks to use them against Kang's pawns, the Avengers. He is trounced by Captain America, and next shows up when the Squadron allies with Nebulon to melt the polar ice caps- however, by this point he turns against the villainy of his comrades, and joins the Defenders to fight them, becoming a recurring character in their book.

Nighthawk the Defender:
-He becomes a true "Hard Luck Hero", getting the kind of sad-sack shit sandwich of a life that plagues Hank Pym- he wants to be the leader and tell everyone what to do, but nobody will listen to him! He's investigated for tax evasion and fraud, the FBI's after him (Ed Hannigan had intended he go to jail "for good", but he was taken off the book), his identity is revealed to the public, and eventually, cumulative wounds sustained in battle leave him PARALYZED! Which is an oddly-realistic thing to happen to a superhero if you think about it- accumulated damage finishes off a LOT of real-life martial artists, but Richmond is like the ONLY superhero this has happened to! Eventually, he quits the Defenders, and sorts out the charges and eventually is able to walk at night.

-Kyle is thought-dead in a 1982 Defenders story, sacrificing his life to stop someone who was attacking the Soviet Union, but recovers from a comatose state SIXTEEN YEARS LATER with a "Second Sight" that allows him to predict crimes- it's revealed that this is MEPHISTO's doing, and it was all to kill Daredevil- Nighthawk bravely battles the demons of Hell for Daredevil's soul, rescuing him. The next time he appears, it's in a HILARIOUSLY-disrespectful turn in The New Thunderbolts- he joins the team to keep an eye on Speed Demon and his old team the Squadron Sinister... but quits when its revealed that Songbird only let him on the team so that they could use his fortune! He even teams up with the Squadron again! During Civil War, he's Anti-Registration at first, but switches sides when Black Goliath dies (I thought most heroes did the OPPOSITE). He forms a new "Defenders" as part of the Fifty-State Initiative, and confronts the old Defenders foe Yandroth with his team. He was last seen training a new person to take over the role of Nighthawk.

-So yeah, he's been through the ringer like a lot of C-Leaguers, having sorta died, been crippled, been uncrippled, made a deal with Mephisto, gained super-powers, joined The Thunderbolts, quit after he discovered Songbird only used him for his fortune (seriously, that was pretty cold), and joins up with the Squadron Sinister again in a confusing T-Bolts arc. Honestly, he's one of the "bigger" Marvel Heroes who I've barely ever read in a story- I have that Thunderbolts arc that I mostly forget/found confusing, and that's about it. I'm sure he's someone's "Red Guardian Character", but few writers ever seem to care about him aside from his one run on The Defenders (where he, like Valkyrie, became kind of an Iconic Cast Member). His story seems like one damn thing after another, because he's enough of a "name" to matter, but he has no "protector", and so he's got Pym-like luck.

Nighthawk's Abilities:
-Nighthawk apparently has powers aside from being a Batman Homage, so he's pretty strong in addition to being a good fighter. I only see PL 9 for him though, as I don't see him being the equal of near-constant fighters like Daredevil & Hawkeye. Those guys are ALWAYS in the fray, and Richmond spends years and years on the shelf.

[Goldar]

Jab, for Nighthawk, it was not cumulative injuries that left him paralyzed during the day.

It was that his mystical link (establishe in issue #14 I think) with the other Defenders that kept him alive was severed by the "Six-Fingered Hand" demons. At first, he was paralyzed all the time, then at night he could walk. But I don't think he was the same as before.

That story was around 97-101 or so (going from memory here).

[Sidney369]

Fin Fang Foom!

Didn't he retire to run a restaurant? Or did I imagine that?

No you didn't. It's just that most writers since then didn't do any research on the character and write him as a big dumb dragon.

[Skavenger]

Nighthawk suffers from there being too damn many versions of him for anybody to keep straight. There’s the one statted above, there’s the Supreme Power one that was bouncing around as part of the team that (momentarily) killed Namor, there’s the one that’s a US Senator and is actually a construct of Mephisto’s...

Plus, his name is awfully similar to Darkhawk, another character who suddenly gets random pushes by writers.

That being said, I liked his history with the Pennyworth family (not yours, Batgirl); while I’m not sure you can get away with the twist of “guy secretly funding a white supremacy terrorist group turns out to also be black” story now, him training the son of said man to be a superhero is a neat little legacy thing.

[MacynSnow]

I actually perfered the Squadron Supreme version of Kyle. True, he was a little too on the nose in being a Batman expy, but he had more Conviction than Wishy-washy Kyle up there(and i'm not gonna mention the Supreme Power abomination. Good idea, Bad execution).

[sirjolt]

DEFENDERS

Valkyrie
Dane Whitman
Starfox
She Hulk

ALSO:

Scarlet Spider
Dazzler
Firestar
Machine Man
Big Bertha

IF BIG GUN IS NEEDED

Thunderstrike (who was actually alive this entire time cuz comics!)