Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Last Blade Builds Complete! Golden Age Green Lantern!)

Post by Goldar »

I like how Alan's Magic Ring can now do anything that the scientific GL Corp Ring can do, because in the beginning it was more of a green mystic flame with limited abiities (shown).
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Thorn (Rose Canton)

Post by Jabroniville »

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Seriously, not a lot of outfits from the 1940s would work in every successive decade since, but they nailed it.

THORN I (Rose Canton, aka Alyx Florin)
Created By:
John Broome & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: Flash Comics #89 (Nov. 1947)
Role: Golden Age Villainess
Group Affiliations: N/A
PL 9 (137)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Botany) 9 (+12)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Perception 3 (+5)
Persuasion 5 (+8)
Ranged Combat (Plants) 3 (+10)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Botanical Poisons, etc.), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Plant Control"
"Thorny Vines" Snare 8 (Feats: Reversible) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable) Linked to Damage 2 (Extras: Secondary Effect, Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (39) -- [44]
  • AE: "Vine Snare" Snare 8 (Feats: Reversible) Linked to Blast 4 (Extras: Secondary Effect) (25)
  • AE: "Vine Shot" Blast 8 (Extras: Secondary Effect) (24)
  • AE: "Storm of Vines" Blast 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Secondary Effect) (32)
  • AE: Growth 12 (Extras: Affects Others Only +0) (Flaws: Limited to Plants) (12)
  • AE: "Spin Like a Top" Immunity 5 (Ensnarement Effects) Linked to Damage 5 (Extras: Reaction +3) (25)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Thorny Vines +8 Area (+8 Affliction & +2 Damage, DC 18 & 17)
Vine Snare +10 (+8 Ranged Affliction & +4 Damage, DC 18 & 19)
Vine Shot +10 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Vine Storm +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Spin Like a Top +8 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Thorn)- Rose is helpless to prevent her transformation into Thorn- she fears Thorn will kill everyone she loves, and often abandons them to prevent this.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 15 (137)

-Thorn is a villainess with a split personality (forged from a childhood imaginary friend, and later enhanced by a mysterious jungle plant's root)- as a villain, she gains the power to control plants. She was initially an enemy of the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick), but in the backstory to the comics of the 1970s & '80s, she was revealed to have been cured of her split personality, after which she married Alan Scott. However, her madness swiftly returned and she left Alan shortly after their wedding- unbenknownst to him, she was pregnant with their children, who were then put up for adoption (they became Jade & Obsidian)- this was likely the doing of continuity nerd and Golden Age fanboy Roy Thomas.

-Thorn is also the mother of Mayflower of the Force of July- a U.S. government-backed team that were disposed of by the Suicide Squad. She resurfaced and fought the JSA a few times, but her sanity returned and she ultimately committed suicide in order to prevent Thorn from killing her own children. I've never read a story featuring her- just the aftermath of her life- but I do find it interesting that her sexy Golden Age costume- a two-piece with a wide collar and her belly exposed, is one of those unique outfits that works in every single era of comics- when I first saw it, I was like "oh that's a 1970s costume, for sure", but it was how she looked all the way back in 1947! Even NOW it looks good! You almost never see that, especially with costumes from the 1940s.

-Thorn is a modest "Plant Control" villain, with PL 8 Area Attacks and PL 9 Blasts & Snares. She can also spin like a top for some reason.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Doiby Dickles

Post by Jabroniville »

Skavenger wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:02 am
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:50 pmThe notion of writing out a phonetic accent like this is EXTREMELY old-school (the original comic strip, The Yellow Kid, did this, as did most of the early famed strips like The Katzenjammer Kids, as well as the hillbillies of Lil' Abner), but is nowadays not recommended.
I wish someone told the creator of Mutts this.
I forget- which characters do that "Funetik Aksent" bit there? I haven't read that strip in ages.
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Davies
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Re: Thorn (Rose Canton)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:14 am
-Thorn is a villainess with a split personality (forged from a childhood imaginary friend, and later enhanced by a mysterious jungle plant's root)- as a villain, she gains the power to control plants. She was initially an enemy of the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick), but in the backstory to the comics of the 1970s & '80s, she was revealed to have been cured of her split personality, after which she married Alan Scott. However, her madness swiftly returned and she left Alan shortly after their wedding- unbenknownst to him, she was pregnant with their children, who were then put up for adoption (they became Jade & Obsidian)- this was likely the doing of continuity nerd and Golden Age fanboy Roy Thomas.
Yyep. It was a subplot running through the first year or so of Infinity Inc. that got resolved in the series' first annual, that also resolved an even LONGER standing relationship subplot between Alan and the original Harlequin.
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Re: Thorn (Rose Canton)

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 6:02 am
Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:14 am
-Thorn is a villainess with a split personality (forged from a childhood imaginary friend, and later enhanced by a mysterious jungle plant's root)- as a villain, she gains the power to control plants. She was initially an enemy of the Golden Age Flash (Jay Garrick), but in the backstory to the comics of the 1970s & '80s, she was revealed to have been cured of her split personality, after which she married Alan Scott. However, her madness swiftly returned and she left Alan shortly after their wedding- unbenknownst to him, she was pregnant with their children, who were then put up for adoption (they became Jade & Obsidian)- this was likely the doing of continuity nerd and Golden Age fanboy Roy Thomas.
Yyep. It was a subplot running through the first year or so of Infinity Inc. that got resolved in the series' first annual, that also resolved an even LONGER standing relationship subplot between Alan and the original Harlequin.
It's very weird- I actually own a good chunk of Infinity, Inc. (probably about half the issues between #1-53), but the only parts of that book that really stick with me are the scene where Nuklon first turns out to be super-tall (confronting an old bully) and the ridiculous scene where the anthropologist meets the female Big Bird and is like "BOOIIIIIING!". I remember almost none of it. While I have a pretty bad memory for stuff I read after 2005 or so (I owned fewer comics before that, so more of it stuck), that I remember almost NOTHING is pretty strange.
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Jade

Post by Jabroniville »

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JADE (Jennie-Lynn Hayden)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jerry Ordway
First Appearance: All-Star Squadron #25 (Sept. 1983)
Role: Sexy Green Babe, Miss Fanservice
Group Affiliations: Infinity, Inc., The Outsiders, The Justice League of America, Blood Pack, The Green Lantern Corps.
PL 11 (216)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Space Hero) 2 (+3)
Expertise (Current Events) 2 (+3)
Expertise (Model) 2 (+5)
Insight 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Green Flame) 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Green Flame), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Starheart-Given Powers"
Immunity 3 (Aging, Disease, Poison) [3]
Flight 12 (8,000 mph) [24]
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
"Twin Powers" Senses 1 (Communiation Link- Obsidian) [1]

"The Green Flame" Create 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Precise) (Extras: Movable, Impervious 9, Selective, Stationary) (71) -- [91]
  • Dynamic AE: Blast 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Split, Variable- Energy/Force) (Extras: Penetrating 8) (35)
  • Dynamic AE: "Green Wave" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Penetrating 6) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: "Green Battering Ram" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line, Penetrating 6) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: "Green Burst" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Penetrating 8) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: "Green Creations" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable, Penetrating 8) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: "Full Field" Force Field +3 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others 10, Ranged 10) (24)
  • Dynamic AE: Immunity 7 (Heat, Cold, Radiation, Pressure, Starvation & Thirst, Drowning, Suffocation) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others) (15)
  • Dynamic AE: Move Object 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Precise) (26)
  • Dynamic AE: "Green Hands" Snare 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (37)
  • Dynamic AE: "Ensnare Everyone" Snare 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Selective) (51)
Force Field 7 (Extras: Impervious 9) [16]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Green Blast +10 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Green Area Attacks +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Green Hands +10 (+12 Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Ensnare Everyone +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+10 Force Field, +13 Full Field), Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Power Loss (Wood)- Jade's powers are ineffective against anything made of wood or plant material- spears or weapons made of wood are frequently her undoing. This is because the Green Flame that empowers her is made of "the energy of green, growing things".
Relationship (Alan Scott- Father)- Jennie-Lynn is a fairly dutiful, caring daughter.
Relationship (Todd, aka Obsidian- Twin Brother)- Jennie-Lynn & Todd have a strained relationship- they are psychically-close as twins, but Todd often goes into dark places. Literally.
Relationship (Brainwave Jr., Kyle Rayner)- Jade loved Henry for a time, but shared a long-term relationship with Kyle Rayner.
Prejudice (Obvious Superhuman)- Jade is completely-green.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 139 / Defenses: 13 (216)

-Roy Thomas had to come up with numerous children and godchildren for the JSA members in Infinity, Inc., since naturally writers hadn't thought to come up with any during the course of the 1960s and '70s (since the heroes were only active for a couple decades by then, and contemporary writers hadn't thought to breed them). Many guys got suddenly-introduced Godchildren, while Alan Scott got a pair of Illegitimate Children in Jade & Obsidian- the children of Alan and a Golden Age supervillainess named Thorn, who was schizophrenic and ran away from Alan mere months into her marriage. Thorn was of course carrying twins, who were then put into adoptive homes- Jennie-Lynn got the good one, Todd the bad one. Both eventually discovered they were born with metahuman powers, and found each other and discovered their mutual relationship as the children of the Golden Age Green Lantern.

-Jade was the Miss Fanservice of Infinity, Inc.- much would be made of her sexiness (Thomas was one of the few comic book writers to understand that in real-life, a mega-hot girl with a crazy skin colour would be a MAJOR sex symbol, rather than a hated outcast), she'd get into a relationship with Brainwave Jr., and she'd have a very close relationship with her twin brother Obsidian (since they were twins, they naturally had a crazy psychic connection- my sisters are IMPOSSIBLE to beat at the Pictionary part of Cranium because of the same damn thing).

-When Infinity Inc. died, she went away for a while, but was soon chosen as the new super-powered girlfriend of Kyle Rayner, then Green Lantern (as a sexy female character without a regular book, she was highly prone to being a serial-dater of male superheroes WITH their own books- a kind of "status symbol" thing that the Black Widow also suffered from). She even lost her Starheart-related powers and became an actual Green Lantern Corps member- she was re-powered by Kyle when he became "Ion". Then she left Kyle after falling in love with another man, Kyle walking in on the two of them (apparently IN KYLE'S BED), making her look REALLY awful, especially because Kyle was away in space at the time.

-After this, Jade became the leader of the Outsiders during their largely-unsuccessful modern tenture (the issues I have of that book are well-drawn, but quite terrible, featuring awful Judd Winick dialogue and random characterization changes)... this part isn't even listed on Wikipedia for some reason. She was killed in an Infinite Crisis thing while trying to stop Alexander Luthor, Jr. from recreating the Multiverse, an event largely-important because of what it did to the male characters with whom she was close- Alan & Kyle- rather than any importance she had to the world. Like, Kyle was carrying the torch for her even while dating Soranik Natu and Alan's entire identity became "mourning father". She was swiftly-resurrected in Brightest Day, gave her blessing to Kyle & his new lady (Soranik), and allies herself with the Justice League during James Robinson's run. However, then more shenanigans are afoot, as Kyle turns out to be still in love with her, she merges with Obsidian once, and she also gains the power of her father's Starheart, which Eclipso uses to take over her body and kill The Spectre (Crispus Allen, at this point), then attempts to kill GOD HIMSELF via destroying the Earth (since God requires man's love to exist). The villain is finally defeated by Saint Walker trapping him in an illusory state of euphoria and the heroes exorcize him from Jade's body. She & Todd are un-merged, and more.

-Jade is basically Alan Scott Lite, using powers at a much lower level, but still appears to be rather capable and experienced- joining teams like the JLA and Outsiders. Still, I don't see her as THAT great- she has very few legit "big wins", and died in a pretty half-assed way. Every part of me wants to make her a PL 10, but if she's leading teams, joining the JLA, and palling around with Kyle Rayner, she's probably more of a PL 11. I imagine her Infinity Inc. self was PL 9, like the rest of her team. Near the end of continuity, she started developing Plant Controlling powers like her mother, but these were unpracticed.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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drkrash
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Last Blade Builds Complete! Golden Age Green Lantern!)

Post by drkrash »

Jade is about to have her first live-action appearance in Stargirl this summer. Let's see what they do with her.
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Goldar
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Golden Age Green Lantern! Jade!)

Post by Goldar »

So wait...if Thorn and GL were married and then Thorn ran away secretly pregnant by Alan a few months later...........why are Jade and Obsidian illegitimate?
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Re: Jade

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:23 am featuring awful Judd Winick dialogue
Is this a redundancy or added emphasis? I mean, Judd Winnick dialogue is awful as a matter of course so do you mean it was MORE awful than usual Judd Winnick dialogue?
Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 10:23 amShe was killed in an Infinite Crisis thing while trying to stop Alexander Luthor, Jr. from recreating the Multiverse, and event largely-important because of what it did to the male characters with whom she was close- Alan & Kyle- rather than any importance she had to the world. Like, Kyle was carrying the torch for her even while dating Soranik Natu and Alan's entire identity became "mourning father". She was swiftly-resurrected in Brightest Day, gave her blessing to Kyle & his new lady (Soranik), and allies herself with the Justice League during James Robinson's run. However, then more shenanigans are afoot, as Kyle turns out to be still in love with her, she merges with Obsidian once, and she also gains the power of her father's Starheart, which Eclipso uses to take over her body and kill The Spectre (Crispus Allen, at this point), then attempts to kill GOD HIMSELF via destroying the Earth (since God requires man's love to exist). The villain is finally defeated by Saint Walker trapping him in an illusory state of euphoria and the heroes exorcize him from Jade's body. She & Todd are un-merged, and more.
Ah, the Radium Age....
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Re: Doiby Dickles

Post by Skavenger »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:19 am
Skavenger wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:02 am
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 15, 2021 9:50 pmThe notion of writing out a phonetic accent like this is EXTREMELY old-school (the original comic strip, The Yellow Kid, did this, as did most of the early famed strips like The Katzenjammer Kids, as well as the hillbillies of Lil' Abner), but is nowadays not recommended.
I wish someone told the creator of Mutts this.
I forget- which characters do that "Funetik Aksent" bit there? I haven't read that strip in ages.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Golden Age Green Lantern! Jade!)

Post by Skavenger »

So, aside from the obviously pleasing visual aesthetic, Jade was always one of my favorite characters in the Green Lantern mythos. The first appearance of her I ever saw was a story with her and Alan Scott fighting Solomon Grundy, and despite her attempts to get Grundy to calm down (I guess the two had bonded a bit during the Infinity Inc days?), he was in a mindless state at this point, and the two had to combine their energy to turn him into petrified wood, but it crushed Jade emotionally to have to do that to him.

I had a friend who haaaaaated her though because he was a massive Kyle Rayner fanboy, and the "Jade cheats on Kyle" storyline poisoned the character for him. I still liked the character, and constantly found myself being an apologist for her to some other rather toxic male fanboys who thought she should die (not kidding) for the crime of being left alone on Earth for a year with no contact from her boyfriend. She wasn't completely innocent, but considering Kyle was pretty much keeping Jade around as a rebound until Donna Troy "wised up" and decided she wanted him back, it was hardly a healthy relationship.

Still love the character, easily ranks in my top 10 DC characters along with Alan.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Golden Age Green Lantern! Jade!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Oh yeah- Infinity Inc. had a thing where Grundy thought the green glowing girl was pretty and followed her around, and could generally be controlled into helping the team thanks to her suggestions to him. Things ended in tragedy when Grundy was controlled into using Mr. Bones's "Cyanide Touch" to kill Skyman (the adult Star-Spangled Kid).
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Golden Age Green Lantern! Jade!)

Post by Skavenger »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 7:37 pm Oh yeah- Infinity Inc. had a thing where Grundy thought the green glowing girl was pretty and followed her around, and could generally be controlled into helping the team thanks to her suggestions to him.
I mean, I can get that. I'd probably do the same thing if she was nice to me.
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Obsidian

Post by Jabroniville »

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OBSIDIAN (Todd Rice)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jerry Ordway
First Appearance: All-Star Squadron #25 (Sept. 1983)
Role: Possibly-Evil Superhero, Fallen Hero
Group Affiliations: Infinity, Inc., The Justice League of America, The Justice League of America
PL 11 (216)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 6 (+6)
Expertise (Magic) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 12 (+12)
Perception 5 (+5)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Shadows), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Startle

Powers:
"Link to the Shadowlands"
Enhanced Strength 6 [12]
Protection 6 [6]

"Twin Powers" Senses 1 (Communiation Link- Jade) [1]
Senses 2 (Darkvision) [2]
Concealment (All Vision) 4 [8]
Flight 8 (500 mph) [16]
Insubstantial 4 [20]

"See Their Own Evil" Affliction 12 (Will; Entranced/Stunned/Transformed to Insane) (Extras: Ranged, Progressive +2) (48) -- [74]
  • Dynamic AE: "Shadow Objects" Create 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Movable, Selective) (41)
  • Dynamic AE: Shadow Blast 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Split) (Extras: Penetrating 8) (34)
  • Dynamic AE: "Shadow Attack" Concealment 4 (All Vision) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Attack, Area- 60ft. Cone, Selective) (Flaws: Affects Others Only) (17)
  • Dynamic AE: "Black Hands" Snare 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (37)
  • Dynamic AE: "Ensnare Everyone" Snare 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Selective) (51)
  • Dynamic AE: "Shadow Wave" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Penetrating 6) (27)
    Dynamic AE: "Shadow Ram" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line, Penetrating 6) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: "Shadow Burst" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Penetrating 8) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: "Shadow Creations" Damage 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable, Penetrating 8) (27)
  • Dynamic AE: Force Field 2 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others 10, Ranged 10) (23)
  • Dynamic AE: Immunity 7 (Heat, Cold, Radiation, Pressure, Starvation & Thirst, Drowning, Suffocation) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others) (15)
  • Dynamic AE: Move Object 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Precise) (26)
  • Dynamic AE: "A Look Into The Dark Side" Mind-Reading 11 (Feats:
  • Dynamic) (Flaws: Limited to Darkest Thoughts & Desires) (12)
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Shadow Blast +10 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Shadow Area Attacks +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Shadow Hands +10 (+12 Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Ensnare Everyone +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+10 Shadow Powers, +12 Force Field), Fortitude +7, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Dark Powers)- Todd is extremely-dangerous, possessing a darkness within him that threatens to control his very nature. He has threatened the entire globe in the past.
Reputation (Evil)- The DEO and other organizations keep a close eye on Todd. He DID cover the entire Earth in shadows, after all.
Relationship (Alan Scott- Father)- Todd has a complex relationship with his father- he's been a bit of a disappointment at times, and the darkness within him has turned them into deadly enemies.
Relationship (Jennie-Lynn, aka Jade- Twin Sister)- Jennie-Lynn & Todd have a strained relationship- they are psychically-close as twins, but Todd often goes into dark places. Literally.
Relationship (Damon Matthews)- Todd falls in love with a supporting character in Kate Spencer's book.
Relationship (Atom-Smasher)- Al Rothstein and Todd are best friends (Todd even had a crush on Al at some point- but really, who WOULDN'T? Those SHOULDERS!).
Prejudice (Homosexual)- Todd occasionally worries that he disappoints his father due to his status as a gay man.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 139 / Defenses: 13 (216)

-Like Jade, Obsidian debuted in Infinity, Inc. as the previously-unseen son of Alan Scott, but while Jade was raised in your typically-happy home, her twin brother Todd was passed to an abusive home, where his alcoholic father repeatedly beat him. He was the token "Possibly-Evil Teammate" to the Infinitors, being depicted as extremely angry and mouthy. He has a disastrous relationship with the villainess Harlequin in the book, and generally appepared to be a mess.

-He moved on to the Justice League book when it was full of more-minor characters (Nuklon, Ice Maiden, Fire), but it was rather unsuccessful. However, the writer there used the "disastrous romantic history" as a justification for Todd coming out of the closet, making him one of the first homosexual comic book heroes- this was the kind of thing you could readily do on a D-tier book (as JLA sadly was at the time- they were written out in the first issue of Morrison's revamp of the book and badly injured) with a D-tier forgotten character. This has been used to explain various heroes presenting as straight and then being outed as gay, which is kind of funny when you realize that EVERY superhero has a disastrous romantic history, but y'know... it can happen this way in real life, lol. But it's just amusing because why would Todd's backstory be any more full of that justification than say, Spider-Man or Iron Man.

-In any case, that JLA book was rebooted without him, and despite a very-cool costume, Obsidian fell into disuse. However, with the updating of the JSA, he was suddenly VERY, VERY useful. Todd, always a bit of a dark horse, fell fully into the Shadowlands from where he derived his powers- since he's a superhero with dark powers, it's only natural that he totally go ultra-evil (see Raven, Magik, etc.). Corrupted by Ian Karkull (an old enemy of the JSA, who had inadvertently left them almost-immortal), he goes nuts, stealing the shadows from an entire city, then enveloping the entire planet in darkness. As one of the JSA's first big "Event Story" opponents, he started packing VAST power, even easily-murdering Karkull when he pulled an inevitable betrayal ("Ian, please" he says, when Karkull tries to slice him open, adding "I AM the Shadowlands!"). In the end, his abusive foster-father decides to do something right for once in his life, sacrificing himself to shove Todd back into the Shadowlands. The JSA hope against hope, but of course Todd murdered him seconds after their arrival, as we learn in a later story. Obsidian would reappear a bit later in ANOTHER huge event, teaming up with JSA villains Eclipso and Mordru, nearly destroying the entire planet. However, THIS time, Alan Scott is able to reach within the shadows and cure his son of this mental imbalance.

-Following this, Todd became a very minor supporting character, often just "keeping watch" at JSA HQ while the team did stuff. He became a supporting character in Manhunter, entering a relationship with Damon Matthews. An odd thing in comics at this point became a trend towards marrying off & hooking up all of the available gay superheroes- largely to capitalize on gay marriage being a big thing. Like, gay heroes went from "well they're gay but we don't wanna focus on it overmuch" to "Okay now every gay superhero must BE IN ADORING RELATIONSHIPS IMMEDIATELY, be SUPER-HAPPY, and have every single mainstream superhero talk about how happy they are that this is happening". Classic comics always gotta over-correct, lol.

-Todd's powers are a result of Alan's affliction by Ian Karkull's shadow energies decades earlier- he's basically like a Green Lantern, but with darkness instead- resembling Marvel's many Darkforce users more than any DC heroes. He has a Concealment attack (bathing the area in shadows), Insubstantial, and enhanced physiology as well. When he was being affected by The Shadowlands, he was MUCH more powerful, likely hitting PL 15 and growing to enormous size.
Sidney369
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Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:18 am

Re: Thorn (Rose Canton)

Post by Sidney369 »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 5:14 am

-Thorn is also the mother of Mayflower of the Force of July- a U.S. government-backed team that were disposed of by the Suicide Squad.
When was this revealed?
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
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