Jab’s Builds! (Whomp 'Em! Plumbers Don't Wear Ties! ToeJam & Earl!)

[Batgirl III]

I think Nighthawk mostly suffers from having a terrible costume... Wings that sprout from under his eyes? A chest emblem that (depending on the artist) looks like a shapeless blob, a palm tree, or a Pontiac Trans-Am; the weird cape-wing-pauldron thing...

[Goldar]

I think Nighthawk mostly suffers from having a terrible costume... Wings that sprout from under his eyes? A chest emblem that (depending on the artist) looks like a shapeless blob, a palm tree, or a Pontiac Trans-Am; the weird cape-wing-pauldron thing...

Really? I always liked his costume! The brighter blue one when he first joined the Defenders, not his original dark costume.

To me, he never seemed like a the batman. He was a street-level fighter, but he could glide with his cape and had "twice the speed, strength and stamina of a normal man whenever the moon was full", according to Kyle. (Later enhanced to 1 ton at night).

Kyle was the first Defenders member with basically no super powers (greatly reduced powers anyway). I thought fans would like him, but not many have heard of him and those that have seem not to like him.

At one point, they gave Nighthawk some gadgets like a jetpack, titanium hawk claws and laser shoulder cannons, as well as an infrared and targeting visual system!

[Jabroniville]

ELF WITH A GUN (Numerous Characters, Including Melf & Relf)
Created By: Steve Gerber & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: The Defenders #25 (July 1975)
Role: Recurring Weird Character
Group Affiliations: None
PL 7 (65)
STRENGTH 0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+6)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Murderer) 5 (+5)
Insight 3 (+4)
Perception 2 (+3)
Stealth 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Equipment 2 (Pistol), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Pistol), Ranged Attack 2

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Pistol +8 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Motivation (Chaos)- Closest answer you're gonna get- trust me. Some are agents of some Time Tribunal thing, though.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (65)

-Remember, Steve Gerber was the TEETOTALLER of his little group of Marvel writers. And he created THIS. A short essay about the Elf With A Gun: https://www.trashmutant.com/the-reason- ... a-gun.html.

-The Elf With A Gun was a recurring element in The Defenders- he appeared at random, killing civilians while dressing like a Keibler Elf. He is killed by a moving truck while attempting to execute a child. He ends up in "The Land of the Lost", re-creating the Sixties alongside a horde of other pop culture icons like KISS, and casually escapes that realm at some point. Gerber only intended the character to be a "reflection of the chaotic nature of the universe" rather than any kind of serious thing- he was simply a running gag. In fact, it was Roger Slifer (later a major writer on the G.I. Joe and Jem cartoons) who killed the guy, as Gerber left The Defenders before explaining what the hell the Elf/Elves were all about.

-During the DeMatteis run on the book, he fires his gun at the original Defenders- Dr. Strange, The Hulk, The Silver Surfer & Namor! Here, the Defenders are teleported into a confrontation by an all-powerful "Tribunal" that declares that the four of them must split up, lest a prophecy come forth that they will destroy the Earth thanks to their intervention resulting in the death of an Alien Prince. All the while, the Elf (alongside another, identical one) snarks along, talking more or less like Jim Starlin's Pip The Troll does (I guess these guys all thought it was REALLY, REALLY FUNNY for short guys to talk like uncultured boors to more powerful beings).

-Seven years later, Peter David would Retcon out that thing as a "Cosmic Hoax", but not explain much further (like, it was a one-panel explanation. Seriously). Years after THAT, Gerber would introduce Relf, the nephew of Melf (the original Elf, duh) in a Spider-Man Team-Up issue that also involved "Officer Dragon" and Destroyer Duck, thus becoming the second part of a crossover with Erik Larsen's Savage Dragon and his own Destroyer Duck (a character created for a "F*ck You, Marvel Comics"-themed book about Marvel's treatment of Gerber's Howard the Duck). Relf allies with the Circus of Crime for some mysterious purpose, but they're beaten by Peter Parker & Ben Reilly, and Relf decides to run off with Princess Python. He has never appeared again- Gerber being dead, we'll probably never know what Relf's true goal was.

-So yeah, some Elves are basically just agents for a Tribunal (the Living Tribunal, maybe?)- since a Cosmic Being can't jump through time and the physical world without causing problems, they use the Elves (some of their "killing" is actually teleporting beings away so that they won't enact the prophecy). Other Elves are just murderers with some bizarre, unknown goal in mind. These stats'll work for either one, though the Tribunal's agents use a "Time Displacement Gun" (Area Movement Attack- Dimensional/Time Travel- enough to grab all four original Defenders at once).

[MacynSnow]

I like the thought that the Elves With Guns were working for a higher purpose than just "Haha, random killing LOL". I might actually use the idea for something....

[Goldar]

I HATED the Elf with Gun ruining "my" Defenders comic! Didn't he appear somewhere around issue 24 or so? I know that it was fairly on in the series.

If I did not see the Elf for a number of issues I was so glad, I thought he had left! But then a few issues later, he would pop up again. How dare they ruin this otherwise normal comic?!? While I can laugh at it now, I was ready to strangle whomever put him in there and over and over.

So ya know, I was so HAPPY when he got run over by that tractor trailer on the highway!

[Shock]

Am I the only one disappointed Melf didn't use acid?

[MacynSnow]

Am I the only one disappointed Melf didn't use acid?

I think he left his Acid Arrow at home....

[Batgirl III]

Better an Elf with a Gun than a Clown with a Gun... I’ve had some problems with that one.

[Goldar]

Better an Elf with a Gun than a Clown with a Gun... I’ve had some problems with that one.

Why yes, yes you have. It does not take an Oracle to now that. (Just a good comic collection.)

One could say that he was the Bane of your existence. But I think he was just a Joker.

[Jabroniville]

TAGAK THE LEOPARD LORD
Created By: Gerry Conway & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Daredevil #72 (Jan. 1971)
Role: Forgotten Supporting Character
Group Affiliations: Tagak's Realm (Royalty)
PL 7 (122)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+11)
Expertise (Hunter/Tracker) 8 (+10)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Investigation 6 (+8)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Stealth 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Evasion, Fast Grab, Follow-Up Strike, Grab Finesse, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Prone Fighting, Sidekick 18 (Opar), Startle

Powers:
"Bonded to Opar" Senses 1 (Mental Link- Opar) [1]

"Brother-in-Sight" Remote Sensing (Visual) 6 (1/2 mile) (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Simultaneous +0) (Flaws: Medium- Opar -2) [4]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Disabled (Blind)- Without the immediate presence of his chosen Leopard, Tagak will become blind.
Responsibility (Police Officer)- Tagak's job is to catch felons.
Relationship (Opal)- Tagak is bonded to his Leopard.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 34 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 12 (122)



OPAR
Role: Sidekick
PL 7 (88)- Sidekick Rank 18
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Athletics 6 (+10)
Expertise (Survival) 7 (+8)
Intimidation 6 (+4)
Perception 7 (+8)
Stealth 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Prone Fighting, Seize Initiative, Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) [5]
Speed 3 (16 mph) [3]
"Natural Weapons- Claws & Teeth" Strength-Damage +2 [2]

"Cat Agility"
"Climbing Skills" Enhanced Skills 8: Athletics 8 (+14) (Flaws: Limited to Climbing) [2]
Leaping 2 [2]

"Spotted Coat" Enhanced Skills 4: Stealth 4 (+12) (Flaws: Limited to Dense plants or undergrowth) [1]

"Brother-in-Sight" Senses 1 (Mental Link- Tagak) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Claws & Teeth +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Cats cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 13 (88)

-Seriously, Gerry Conway & Gene Colan working on a book, and THIS is the type of guy they came up with? Man, drugs must have been handed around the Marvel offices like CANDY at this point... Tagak is the "Lord of the Leopards", and comes from dimension where everyone is blind (fitting for a Daredevil supporting character, but seriously- isn't it BIZARRE based off of what DD's book eventually became that he was once fighting interdimensional policemen?), but becomes "Brothers-in-Sight" with the big cats of their world. He's got the kind of outfit only a blind man could come up with, a Leopard Buddy (which actually got shot and apparently killed in his second issue, rendering Tagak blind), fought DD in a classic "mistaken identity/assumptions" thing, but then "got his man" (he was hunting some dude) and returned home.

-Curiously, he joined a makeshift Defenders team for a bit in some joke issues of that book (Dollar Bill had announced that all you had to do to join the Defenders was to say you were a member), hoping to fight serious crime, but ended up just fighting muggers, and so the whole group quit. Why he was on Earth just doing standard hero junk I have NO idea (maybe the writer didn't realize his full origin?), but that was the last we ever saw of him, and that was over twenty years ago. He was last-mentioned in that Civil War: List of Everyone In Marvel History That We Can Remember report as a "undetermined" guy. Pretty classic "this writer was being weird, this character was a goof, and since he's not a villain there was no reason to ever use him again" kind of thing. He's only ever appeared in four issues during his entire existence.

-I was thinking about PL 8, but no- this guy's the equivalent of a forgotten Scourge victim, but as a super-hero, so he's a PL 7 Melee Fighter type who's fairly accurate and has a lot of Advantages (enough to make him PL 8-level pricey). Most of it comes from a powerful Sidekick, a full-on Leopard that it's implied could totally beat the hell out of DD (it's very odd in most comics that Big Cats are HUGE threats to super-heroes like Daredevil & Batman, who don't have powers, but that normal humans with guns can easily kill THEM, but said heroes can easily defeat men with guns), but Tagak can also use Remote Sensing on the kitty. Using your own senses Simultaneously with Remote Sensing is normally an Extra, but since Tagak CANNOT see, I figured I'd make it a +0 thing, and just leave the rest as a Complication. He's also got a Mental Link in there. PL 7 isn't much, but since Daredevil was probably a PL 8 at-best until 1983 or so, it doesn't make him a total pushover in the old Street Level days.

[Sidney369]

One of the Elves with a Gun appeared in Marvel Super Special #5, where KISS encountered him.

[MacynSnow]

Now see, that's more of a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" thing jab:
Gun beats Leopard--
Leopard beats Vigilante--
Vigilante beats Gun.
See? It's simple....

[Batgirl III]

Now see, that's more of a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" thing jab:
Gun beats Leopard--
Leopard beats Vigilante--
Vigilante beats Gun.
See? It's simple....

But... What if it's an Elf with a Leopard?

[MacynSnow]

Now see, that's more of a "Rock-Paper-Scissors" thing jab:
Gun beats Leopard--
Leopard beats Vigilante--
Vigilante beats Gun.
See? It's simple....

But... What if it's an Elf with a Leopard?

That's the alternative rules that i, as a purist, refuse to use(then we get into the "Nuke beats all" debate....).

[Jabroniville]

DOLLAR BILL (Aaron English)
Created By: David Kraft & Keith Giffen
First Appearance: The Defenders #51 (Sept. 1977)
Role: TV Reporter

-Dollar Bill is a quirkly Defenders side character, having been born into a wealthy family but moved into directing. He discovered the identities of Valkyrie and the Hulk after asking Val's human form out on a date. He asked to tag along on another adventure, filming their attempt to find Doctor Strange's spirit. He mortified everyone but Hellcat by releasing this documentary to the public, revealing the team's existence to the world... and then boasted about how this "non-team" had no charter, and all you had to do to join was have super-powers and declare themselves a member. Nighthawk in particular was horrified, but Bill was shown the door. He appears in a bunch of David Kraft's issues, then some of Ed Hannigan's (merely in the background- clearly Ed didn't think much of his new side character), but disappears completely after two years. 1986 sees him pop up in Daredevil running his own show, where he films Madcap and is harrassed by the dangerous lunatic, but actually accepts his offer of becoming co-host, as revealed four years later in Avengers Spotlight, where Hawkeye encounters Madcap and the new Power-Tools. Bill does not appear again until 2006 as a TV host doing interviews. So he's become kind of a weird character that only gets remembered every 20 years or so.