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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tempestra

Post by Jabroniville »

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TEMPESTRA
Role:
Show-Only Character, Elementalist
Played By: N/A
Group Affiliations: None
PL 10 (161)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Bodacious Skills:
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+4)

Gnarly Advantages:
Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Tubular Powers:
Environment 8 (Cold 2, Heat 2, Visibility 2) (Extras: Selective) (56) -- [60]
  • AE: Lightning Blast 8 (Feats: Accurate) (16)
  • AE: "Earthquake!" Affliction 10 (Strength or Athletics; Dazed/Stunned) (Extras: Area- 120ft. +3) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Limited to Grounded Opponents) Linked to Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (Flaws: Limited to Grounded Opponents) (36)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (20)
  • AE: "Activate Machinery" Move Object 8 (Extras: Perception-Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to Machinery, Limited to Their Available Course of Regular Movement) (8)
Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
Summon Elementals 5 (Extras: Variable, Horde, 3 Minions +3) (Flaws: Tiring) [30]

Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Earthquake +10 Area (+10 Affliction & +8 Damage, DC 20 & 23)
Initiative +3

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Bummer Complications:
Enemy (Leonardo)- He's come closest to finishing her game, so she focuses on defeating him.
Power Loss (Low Power)- Overdoing it with her powers causes Tempestra to lose energy, to the point where she must recharge.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 102 / Defenses: 16 (161)

-A peculiar character, Tempestra is actually an in-universe Video Game Boss brought to life. In her debut, LEONARDO of all people gets caught up in desperately trying to beat a video game at the local arcade (any other adaptation would use any one of his three brothers for this), and during a lightning storm, of course Tempestra bursts free from the machine. She's actually very powerful, but slowly loses power until Leo outsmarts her into overdoing it (she summons a band of elementals that the Turtles all one-shot to death), then throws a circuit board at her energy blast- this traps her back in the machinery. She later reappears in Night of the Rogues, but doesn't do much in it.

-Tempestra is powerful, and has a huge advantage by being able to fly (none of the Turtles can actually hit her). Her powers are varied, but her Summons are pretty weak (Raph beats the Electrical Monster by throwing a garbage can at him; Donatello just smashes up the Ice Monster with his bo).
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Karai (All Versions But the Nick One)

Post by Jabroniville »

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KARAI- Mirage & 2003 Versions
Role:
Shredder's Successor/Daughter, Dark Action Girl, Nerd Bait
Group Affiliations: The Foot Clan
PL 8 (139)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Bodacious Skills:
Acrobatics 9 (+14)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+14)
Deception 3 (+7)
Expertise (Ninja) 6 (+9)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 5 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 8 (+10)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Gnarly Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Equipment 4 (Ninja Stuff, Twin Swords), Fast Grab, Grab Finesse, Improved Critical (Sword), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Languages (a few), Move-By Action, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 8, Takedown, Tracking

Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Swords +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +9

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Bummer Complications:
Responsibility (Honor)- Karai is highly honorable, respecting the Turtles as followers of certain codes, like she does.
Responsibility (The Foot/The Shredder)- Karai is a high-ranking agent of the Foot in Mirage continuity, and the adopted daughter of the Shredder in the 2003 cartoon. Both test the bonds of her loyalty.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 56--28 / Advantages: 28 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (139)

Karai- Nerd Bait For Years:
-And now we're at KARAI. One of the late-comers to the lore, she didn't debut until 1992 in Mirage Comics, but HOLY SHIT did the fans ever take to her. The notion of a "Dark Action Girl" and a dangerous Japanese martial arts chick running around were just CANDY to the legions of Japanophiles reading the books, and so almost every adult TMNT I've ever met was moist for Karai, who comes off like a FanFic character (the bad-ass daughter of the long-dead Shredder who is actually honorable and a sometimes antihero ally of the Turtles?) to the point where I just started backlashing against the character as a reflex. Like, "Karai Love" felt like it was EVERYWHERE for the time, nerds all "OMG, *fapfapfap* KARAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" at the expense of every other character. I mean, if she was so great, then why wasn't she in the cartoon, HUH? Only now did I research it and found that "Karai as the Shredder's Daughter" is a later adaptation NOT from Mirage, but has shown up everywhere starting with the 2003 series.

-Karai, of course, has since become this GIGANTIC addition to the lore- every later version of the franchise possible seems to include Karai as a major character, to the point where she's usually the #2 villain. She was the Final Boss in one version of TMNT: Tournament Fighters, but never made the first generation of video games, nor its adaptations like the Archie Comics. But ELSEWHERE?...

Mirage Karai:
-When she debuted in 1992, though, it was as a successor to the deceased Shredder, who had been so casually discarded in the first TMNT issue eight years before. Eastman & Laird, clearly not expecting this franchise to take off like it did (I mean, who would?), probably cursed their luck at killing their team's worst foe right out of the gate, and so Karai is likely a "Mulligan" of sorts. She arrives in NYC from Japan, attempting to unify the warring factions of the Foot Clan. She offers the Turtles a deal- ally with her to stop the Foot Elite, and she will give them a treaty with the Foot. Unfortunately, Karai's daughter is killed in the battle. Donning the Shredder's armor for revenge, she and the Turtles execute all of the remaining Elite and she returns to Japan to spread her daughter's ashes and begin a journey of atonement. This taste of the character is all we get (honestly, this is probably part of why she was so fascinating to older indie comics fans) until Volume 4, MANY years later, and she seems to have a one night stand with Casey Jones (who was way too drunk and missing April, who was on a solitary pilgrimage).

IDW Karai:
-In Kevin Eastman's IDW continuity, she is a direct descendant of Oroku Saki, who is vastly old in this continuity. Acting as his second, she is enraged when he replaces her with a brainwashed Leonardo, mutating Rocksteady & Bebop in response and attacking the Turtles- Shredder reveals this was actually a test of her leadership skills, which she passed. Eventually, she scores leadership of the Foot Clan from Splinter once Shredder is killed.

2003 Karai:
-The first cartoon to regularly use Karai was the 2003 cartoon, where she was a main recurring character, torn between honor and family, and ultimately becomes a heroic character (SEE? FANFIC CHARACTER!). The daughter of the Shredder (apparently the first time this was used), she appears in the second season- she manipulates the Turtles to help her unify the Foot Clan when they think Shredder is dead, but hints at her motivation exist, confirming that she is kinder and nicer than her "Father". We learn more of her backstory, realizing that she's adopted (given that this Shredder is actually an alien). She knew his secret all along, and when he's exiled in Season 3, she spends the next two seasons hunting the Turtles for it.

-The show thus plays up her divided loyalties- she sees the Turtles as honorable followers of Bushido, but is loyal to her father. Her relationship with Leonardo is especially deep (this is another recurring element), and she ultimately sides with her father and damages Leo's shell. However, when Shredder is exiled, he returns as a "Demon Shredder", badly injuring Karai to take control of the Foot once more. As the latest "Shredder" (having taken her father's role), she has a psychic link with him, and this proves instrumental when she absorbs some of his power. Though they do not part as friends, Karai seems to have buried the hatchet (the Wiki repeatedly indicates "off-camera" like this was a plot hole or something) and appears at the wedding of April & Casey, and helps the Turtles fend off the Cyber-Shredder. However, she returns to this "Divided Loyalties" character in the Turtles Forever Series Finale- she aides the Utrom Shredder and frees him, but ultimately turns on him and aides the 1987 & 2003 Turtles & Splinter and '87 Shredder, Krang, Rocksteady & Bebop against him.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Karai (Nickelodeon)

Post by Jabroniville »

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KARAI- Nick Version
Role:
Shredder's Daughter, Dark Action Girl, Mutated Girl
Played By: Kelly Hu
Group Affiliations: The Foot Clan
PL 10 (192)
STRENGTH
2/5 STAMINA 3/6 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Bodacious Skills:
Acrobatics 9 (+14)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+14)
Deception 3 (+7)
Expertise (Ninja) 6 (+9)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 5 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 8 (+10)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Gnarly Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Equipment 4 (Ninja Stuff, Twin Swords), Fast Grab, Grab Finesse, Improved Critical (Sword), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Languages (a few), Move-By Action, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 8, Takedown, Tracking

Tubular Powers:
"Snake Form"
Enhanced Strength 3 [6]
Enhanced Stamina 3 [6]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Extended & Acute Scent) [3]

Movement 1 (Slithering) [2]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
"Serpent Arms" Elongation 1 [1]
"Snake Bite" Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed & Impaired/Defenseless & Disabled/Paralyzed & Hallucinating) (Extras: Progressive +2, Extra Condition) (28) -- [30]
  • AE: "Blinding Venom" Dazzle Visuals 7 (14)
  • AE: "Hypnotic Stare" Affliction 6 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Perception-Ranged +2) (Flaws: Vision-Dependent) (12)
Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Swords +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Snake Form +14 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Snake Bite +11 (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Blinding Venom +10 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +9

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +3 (+6 Snake), Fortitude +6 (+9 Snake), Will +7

Bummer Complications:
Relationship (The Shredder)- Karai first thinks of herself as the Shredder's daughter, and feels honor-bound to obey him.
Relationship (Splinter)- When Karai learns that she is actually Splinter's daughter, she is uncomfortable around him, and finally chooses to forge her own path.
Involutnary Transformation (Snake)- Karai has been mutated into a snake-woman- this was at first uncontrolled, but now only arises either at-will, or during moments of extreme anger.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 56--28 / Advantages: 28 / Powers: 53 / Defenses: 17 (192)

-By far the biggest role for Karai ever goes to the 2012 Nick Toon version (played by Kelly Hu, joining the ranks of curiously attractive women who make work using only their voices), which depicts her as a punk-rock looking teenage girl, again highly respectful to her father, The Shredder. However, we quickly learn the real backstory here, even as Leonardo clearly nurses a crush on her (which she sometimes reciprocates, or else just flirts with and taunts him)- Karai is Hamato Miwa, the daughter of SPLINTER, not Oroku Saki! Shredder had killed Splinter's wife and taken their daughter to raise as his own, training her to hate Splinter more than anyone else in the world. When Splinter learns the truth, he is crushed, and it takes Karai ages to "forgive" him (thanks to her brainwashing) and accept the rat as her father. And tragically, right as this is figured out, she is captured by Shredder and used as bait to mutate the Turtles... but Karai herself falls into the Mutagen, becoming a hideous, mutated snake-girl who lashes out at anyone around her. Even the Shredder is mortified, thinking of their life together- his coldly using her has ruined her life, and even he knows it.

-Karai is finally rescued after a full season of angst, Leonardo in particular being obsessed with changing her back. She finally regains her humanity, but retains the snake-like mutation, which she can adopt at-will before changing back. However, the show just ramps up the discomfort, as she becomes obsessed with revenge against the Shredder, even refusing to live with Splinter and the Turtles. Finally, when people are hurt during one of her attempts, she drops her grudge and agrees to join them. And then Splinter dies.

-This version of Karai is a PL 8 attacker like the previous one, but upgrades to PL 9.5 status as a serpent, with a deadly venomous (and hallucinatory) bite
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Shinigami

Post by Jabroniville »

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See now you’re pandering to slavering nerds, lol. This is just freaking Raven but Japanese!

SHINIGAMI
Role:
Dark Action Girl, Late-Show Character

-Shinigami is someone I've never heard of- she came in WAY LATE in an "I want you to meet an old friend of mine" kind of way, where she was an old friend of Karai's from Japan, had magical powers... and was only just now showing up to help her. She aides Karai in taking over the Foot Clan. She was a Mage of sorts- she could hypnotize people, turn into a black cat, and used a kusarigama (bladed chain).
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Tokka & Rahzar (1980s Cartoon)

Post by Jabroniville »

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TOKKA
Role:
One-Off Character
Played By: Rob Paulsen
Group Affiliations: Tokka & Rahzar
PL 8 (62)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE -1

Bodacious Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Expertise (Survival) 2 (+1)
Intimidation 7 (+6)

Gnarly Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 1 (Assorted Weapons), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Startle

Radical Equipment:
"Snapping Scimitar" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
"Choppin' Chuks" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (3)

Tubular Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent) [3]

Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+7 Damage, DC 21)
Weapons +6 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +0

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +7, Fortitude +7, Will +3

Bummer Complications:
Motivation (Food)- Both are insatiable eaters, and are easily-led into traps because of it.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 4 / Defenses: 11 (62)

RAHZAR
Role:
One-Off Character
Played By: Townsend Coleman
Group Affiliations: Tokka & Rahzar
PL 9 (66)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE -1

Bodacious Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+10)
Expertise (Survival) 2 (+1)
Intimidation 7 (+6)

Gnarly Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 1 (Assorted Weapons), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Startle

Radical Equipment:
"Snapping Scimitar" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Improved Critical) (3)
"Choppin' Chuks" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (3)

Tubular Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent) [3]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]

Righteous Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Weapons +7 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +0

Awesome Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +7, Fortitude +7, Will +5

Bummer Complications:
Motivation (Food)- Both are insatiable eaters, and are easily-led into traps because of it.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 4 / Defenses: 15 (66)

Tokka & Rahzar- Unusual Cameos in the Cartoon's Later Era:
-Tokka & Rahzar have an unusual role in the 1987 series- coming on the tails of the second TMNT movie, they naturally make an appearance, but it's so completely out of character as to basically make them two entirely different creatures! Instead of being brain-dead infants, they're standard-issue Talking Mutants, going on their merry way! They appear in the beginning of Dirk Savage: Mutant Hunter, which sees the aforementioned hunter capture Tokka, in addition to numerous other mutants. This was in 1993, WAAAYYYYYYYY after the show's peak (six years is much longer than most cartoons last), but I still remember watching this one and having my first "WTF? The show changed something!" moments with the show altering the source material (Mirage fans of course had this reaction WAY earlier).

-Rahzar in particular is rather eloquent, to a bizarre degree. He speaks in a low-pitched, upper-class accent, moaning about how "you are my ONLY FRIEND..." to Tokka, then pledging vengeance upon Dirk Savage for capturing his terrapin ally. The two characters are basically on-model from the show & toys (Tokka actually uses a repurposed Slash mold, something I noticed even as a kid- his cloth bits and weapons are identical).

Tokka & Rahzar in Other Continuities:
-Tokka is based off of a Mirage Comics one-off- Terrorpin- the largest alligator snapping turtle on record, which lives in the New York sewer system and nearly kills Leonardo when he stumbles upon it while searching for a new home for his family. In Turtles Forever, members of Ch’rell’s army got mutated, a few turning into variants of Tokka & Rahzar. Rahzar's name got re-used for the Nickelodeon series, as "Dogpound" soon got turned into an undead-looking giant dog-monster, and was renamed "Rahzar" by Michaelangelo- Tokka's name was given to some giant monster: a titanic turtle-monster with magma pouring out of it- the Triceratons finally defeat the female creature by causing a star to go supernova and teleporting out. However, she returns in a later episode and attacks- the Turtles are able to convince her to back off after giving her the creature she’d adopted and had taken away from her. When she realizes the critter, now adopted as a pet of Raphael’s, was being well cared for, she backed off and allowed him to stay. In the IDW Comics, Tokka & Rahzar appear as backgrounders in Old Hob’s army of mutants.

Tokka & Rahzar's Stats:
-I include the toys' weaponry for completion's sake (Tokka uses a Sai, Sword & Clubbed Staff, while Rahzar had a Staff), but the guys are actually QUITE powerful in the cartoon. Tokka is captured pretty easily, but Rahzar fights more like an agile Dexmonkey- he actually DEFEATS Savage (who, by this point, had captured Leonardo, Michaelangelo, two Punk Frogs and Tokka), and has to be stopped by Donnie & Raph, who use Savage's own gear to stop the wolf. Neither Wolf nor Snapping Turtle are seen again in the series (Rahzar actually stops showing up when he's bagged by the TMNT).

Other Tokka & Rahzar Toys: Mutatin' Tokka, Mutatin' Rahzar, Warrior Rahzar (unreleased figure- looks just like Grizzlor from the She-Ra line- a merkin with limbs)
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by Jabroniville »

And with Tokka & Rahzar, we are FINALLY through with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles builds!! I'm always hesitant to get into build-sets I know are gonna take ages, but this one did better in that poll I did- to the point where I figured I had to get it out there right away to leave room for the other things that also did well.

I always dread the long sets in part because anyone who's not into them might tune out and just not come back- I still remember how long Horsenhero & Ken had to wait for me to finish my three-month Video Game set during the last year my thread was on Ronin Army.

So thanks for sitting with me through all of these... and be ready to check builds of the most infamous of the RIP-OFFS of the TMNT, as my next set is one I actually completed before I'd started these again, only to put them on the backburner when I realized people wanted to see the Ninja Turtles- no sense doing these guys when the group they were ripping off would come later, right?

So get ready for the most infamous, shameless and incredibly '90s of the Turltes Wannabes.... THE STREET SHARKS!!!
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

Haha, the Street Sharks. JAWESOME! (..that was seriously their catchphrase.)
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Street Sharks

Post by Jabroniville »

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STREET SHARKS:

-So the sheer pop cultural phenomenon that was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of course spawned a ton of imitators, but for the most part, the most shameless of the rip-offs were stuck to the indie comics (similar to the original TMNT incarnation itself). Black & white indie books were full of weird creators shamelessly cashing in with dred that was CLEARLY ripping off the Turtles- I mean, there was no defending Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters, Preteen Dirty-Gene Kung-Fu Kangaroos, or Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils. These guys weren't being clever; they were just parodying things or trying to draw some eyeballs and get that sweet green.

MOST of these didn't make actual television. You didn't get all the way to TV, with lawyer-fearing executives giving their okays, with something that you couldn't plausibly deny. Hence, Street Sharks.

Street Sharks is, bar none, the most infamous and obvious of the legion of TMNT knock-offs that actually hit airwaves. Wild West C.O.W. Boys of Moo Mesa, Biker Mice From Mars, Dinosaurs For Hire, etc.- these were awful and you could see the inspiration, but they were also their own thing (typically in anthropomorphic animal universes). Bucky O'Hare, SwatKats and more were clearly taking a bit, but weren't so awful. But STREET SHARKS? These guys even had the same ORIGIN STORY. They were a quartet of brothers who were mutated (sorry... "Gene-Slammed") into anthropomorphic animals. They talked "cool" (using the kind of slang the Turtles did- a dopey "1980s dad thinking how teens talk" kind of patter), got into big fights against mutated animal villains, and more.

This rip-off was so blatant that Robot Chicken specifically called it out in the most direct manner possible, dunking on the ridiculousness of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ula9xQs ... dultSwimUK. Street Sharks had the nerve to take digs at the Turtles with their characters retching with disgust when offered pizza. "EEEEUUUGGGHHHH!! We don't eat PIZZA! We like BURGERS, with SHAKES!", so Robot Chicken tore them a new one by blaring "UNIQUE CHARACTER ALERT!!" over them stating their dietary preferences. They just slam-dunked this garbage without any pretense at all.

The series went from 1994-97, which is a shockingly long time for something that came in on the friggin' tail end of the TMNT's run. Like, I have no idea what they were thinking, given the show was having smaller and smaller dividends with each passing year (like, NOBODY was watching the Turtles during their last seasons! That show limped and limped BADLY). It spawned a toyline that was around for a while, with characters that are actually pretty pricey on eBay, so it obviously had some kind of following. But all in all, this almost universally tops the lists of "Worst TMNT Rip-Offs" you'll ever find. The Biker Mice and the C.O.W. Boys are invariably there, too, of course... but NOTHING beats the Street Sharks.

The Story:
-So the Street Sharks aren't ANIMALS that became like PEOPLE- uh-uh! These are actually four normal teens "Gene-Slammed" into shark-men by their scientist father's evil partner, Dr. Paradigm. Paradigm turned their father, Dr. Robert Bolton, into a monstrosity and chased him off, then grabbed the boys. Paradigm himself is gene-slammed with a piranha in the subsequent battle, the Sharks run off with their human pal Bends, and we get a shocking 57 episodes of this nonsense, consisting mostly of Paradigm using his mutant goons to fight the Sharks.

Now, to be fair, the character designs are pretty good- if you're gonna make a humanoid shark, it's hard to do better than these guys. Ripster looks basic, Streex has a cool color scheme, Jab is a hammerhead shark so cool-looking DC more or less copied it exactly for the Nu52 King Shark, and Big Slammu is a good "big Guy" design. The orca and manta-men are great designs, too, and I love the villain name "Killamari". But even at thirteen years old I knew this show was lame.

The final few episodes of the show introduced the "Dino Vengers"- alien dino-men who fought the Raptor Gang- this was a spin-off for Extreme Dinosaurs, an even SILLIER variant of the concept of these shows!

The Stats:
-A substantial number of episodes are on YouTube, and while I'm not QUITE insane enough to actually watch a ton of them, it's pretty clear the characters are very powerful- they're able to swim through CONCRETE, fast enough to catch guys on motorcycles. They can chew through massive concrete pillars and lightposts and easily heft them up, meaning they're all at least STRENGTH 6-7, and Big Slammu is notably stronger than his brothers. They can get up from big car accidents in seconds, tear through just about anything, and more. In short, they're actually Ninja Turtles-tier in terms of PL, but highly strong and durable instead of being accurate ninjas.

Exactly how their gills work is pretty up in the air- the characters have gills on their heads, but wear DIVING SUITS when underwater, and they boast about their immunity to tear gas, since "our gills can just filter anything out!".
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Woodclaw
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Oh god...

Well, I'll wait for Jab to give this other "animals+random thing" franchise a spin.

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"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

WareHouse W (main build thread for M&M)
Shock
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by Shock »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 12:39 pm This rip-off was so blatant that Robot Chicken specifically called it out in the most direct manner possible, dunking on the ridiculousness of it:
I mean, it was pretty blatant at the time but Robot Chicken dunked(s) on everything. And they did it years later, well after it was forgotten by just about everyone.
Jabroniville
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Ripster

Post by Jabroniville »

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RIPSTER (John Bolton)
Role:
The Leader, The Smart Guy, Team Inventor
TMNT Character Most Ripped Off: Leonardo/Donatello (The Leader AND The Smart Guy)
Gene-Slammed From: Great White Shark
PL 8 (140)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+9)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Science) 5 (+10)
Intimidation 8 (+10)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Technology 5 (+10)
Vehicles 6 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 4 (Random Vehicles), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Bite), Improved Smash, Inventor, Power Attack, Startle

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 6 (Extended 2 & Acute Scent, Tracking-Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [6]
"Lateral Lines" Senses 1 (Ranged Touch) (Flaws: Limited to Underwater) [0.5]
"Electrolocation" Senses 5 (Detect Electrical Signals- Acute, Accurate & Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to Underwater) [2.5]

"Shark's Bite" Strength-Damage +1 (Extras: Penetrating 6) (7) -- [8]
  • AE: Weaken Toughness 7 (Extras: Affects Objects Only +0) (7)
"The Writers Aren't Scientists, Okay?"
"Gills Filter Out Toxins" Immunity 2 (Gas Attacks) [2]
Features 1: Can Eat Anything [1]

Burrowing 10 (60 mph) (10) -- [11]
  • AE: Swimming 6 (30 mph) (6)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Shark's Bite +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +7, Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications:
Relationship (Bolton Brothers)- The brothers are quite close. JAWSOME!
Relationship (Bends)- Bends is their Cool Human Friend with ass-tons of high-tech gear in a tunnel system beneath the college (and comic book shop).
Enemy (Dr. Paradigm)- Paradigm betrayed and mutated their father, then the Bolton boys.
Temper- The Street Sharks are prone to tearing apart and eating scenery in fits of rage.
Prejudice (Freaks)- The Street Sharks, their allies, and their enemies are all considered "freaks" by the outside world. They are hunted by the police, and must operate in secrecy.
Hatred (Pizza)- ORIGINAL CHARACTER ALERT!!

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 31 / Defenses: 10 (140)

-Ripster is the Team Leader of the Street Sharks, AND the smartest of the Bolton brothers, being a scientist like their father. I dunno if he actually invented anything, but as a scientist in a kids cartoon from the '90s, he pretty much had to have.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri May 28, 2021 1:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by Ares »

Woodclaw wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:26 pm Oh god...

Well, I'll wait for Jab to give this other "animals+random thing" franchise a spin.

Image
I'd say Biker Mice From Mars deserves to be more on the SWAT Kats/Bucky O'Hare side of things than the Street Sharks side. That show was actually pretty fun and well done in some cases, and got positively dark when the Mice's backstory on Mars was revealed. Though seasonal rot did eventually set in.

Though to be fair, Bucky O'Hare doesn't belong in a TMNT comparison at all, given they pre-date the TMNT.

But yeah, like I said on Discord, shows like Gargoyles and BMfM show how you can take inspiration from a concept and then build something similar but still has enough originality and fun to stand on its own. Whereas Street Sharks . . . yikes, that leans hard into full on Rip Off territory.
"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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Doc chaos
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 11:13 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by Doc chaos »

I just wanted to type the name Meat Sweats! A character from the latest ROTTMNT.
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Woodclaw
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Location: Como, Italy

Re: Ripster

Post by Woodclaw »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:05 pm Image
Image

RIPSTER (John Bolton)
Role:
The Leader, The Smart Guy, Team Inventor
TMNT Character Most Ripped Off: Leonardo/Donatello (The Leader AND The Smart Guy)

-Ripster is the Team Leader of the Street Sharks, AND the smartest of the Bolton brothers, being a scientist like their father. I dunno if he actually invented anything, but as a scientist in a kids cartoon from the '90s, he pretty much had to have.
As far as I can remember, Ripster is one of the rare case where a "comic book scientist" is actually a researcher first and foremost. Although he helped build stuff on occasion, his main focus was on understanding how the mutation process worked.
The builder/engineer of the family was actually Jab (the hammerhead).
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

WareHouse W (main build thread for M&M)
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Woodclaw
Posts: 1462
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Location: Como, Italy

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Usagi Yojimbo! Agent Bishop! Lord Dregg! Karai!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Ares wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 4:17 pm
Woodclaw wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 2:26 pm Oh god...

Well, I'll wait for Jab to give this other "animals+random thing" franchise a spin.

Image
I'd say Biker Mice From Mars deserves to be more on the SWAT Kats/Bucky O'Hare side of things than the Street Sharks side. That show was actually pretty fun and well done in some cases, and got positively dark when the Mice's backstory on Mars was revealed. Though seasonal rot did eventually set in.

Though to be fair, Bucky O'Hare doesn't belong in a TMNT comparison at all, given they pre-date the TMNT.

But yeah, like I said on Discord, shows like Gargoyles and BMfM show how you can take inspiration from a concept and then build something similar but still has enough originality and fun to stand on its own. Whereas Street Sharks . . . yikes, that leans hard into full on Rip Off territory.
As I said, Biker Mice is one of the better interpretations of the entire "animal+something" craze.
Despite the insane premise and the tragically episodic nature of the show, it managed to put in some really good episodes (the Mars ones are absolutely excellent). My personal issue is that it was built as a "status quo" series, but I really think it would have thrived having a well defined story arc.
"You're right. Sorry. Holy shit," I breathed, "heckhounds.”

WareHouse W (main build thread for M&M)
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