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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Sidney369
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Re: The Mighty Crusaders

Post by Sidney369 »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jul 28, 2021 5:24 pm Image
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Relaunch #3- !mpact Comics:
-1992 saw ANOTHER re-launch, but it was published by DC Comics, who was licensing the characters from Archie. This "Impact Comics" (or "!mpact Comics") mini-company called the team The Crusaders, and was directed towards younger kids- it had The Comet, Inferno, Fly-Girl, The Shield, The Web, Hangman, The Fox, The Jaguar & a new character named War Eagle, but it too got cancelled quickly (8 issues in).
Who are Captain Flag and Black Jack calling a ho?

I've have most of !mpact Comics. Most of them are decent reads. However, the Crusaders were composed of the Shield II, the Fly, the Jaguar, Fireball, Rad and then Buster of the Web Organization, and briefly the Comet and the current Black Hood. Inferno was in the book, but as an opponent of the team aloong with several other cyborg villains,
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Zodiacs! Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders!)

Post by Jabroniville »

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Here's a more broad picture of the various heroes. Kind of interesting how it's the exact same guys in both pictures, even though some never really got used.
RainOnTheSun
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Zodiacs! Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders!)

Post by RainOnTheSun »

I like all the friendly "hi!"

Making a good first impression is important.
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The Shield (Joe Higgins)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SHIELD I (Joe Higgins)
Created By:
Harry Shorten & Irv Novick
First Appearance: Pep Comics #1 (Jan. 1940)
Role: Patriotic Hero
Incarnations: Golden Age, Silver Age, Red Circle (Legacy), Impact, Archie Digests, DC, New Crusaders, Dark Circle (Legacy)
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders, The F.B.I.
PL 10 (159)
STRENGTH
4/8 STAMINA 4/7 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+10, +11 Heart)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+12)
Deception 3 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 5 (+10)
Expertise (FBI Agent) 4 (+9)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+9)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 2 (+6)
Technology 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Close Attack 2, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3, Takedown, Teamwork, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"Sacrum" Leaping 4 (120 feet) [4]
"Heart" Enhanced Strength 4 [8]
"Innervation" Enhanced Advantages 2: Improved Initiative 2 [2]
"Eyes" Senses 2 (Extended Vision 2) [2]
"Lungs" Enhanced Advantages 1: Great Endurance [1]
"Derma" Enhanced Stamina 3 [6]

"Invulnerable Suit" (Flaws: Removable) [15]
Protection 5 (Extras: Impervious 13) (18 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +7 (+12 Suit, +7 Impervious), Fortitude +8, Will +9

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)
Power Loss (Formula)- Eventually, Joe's father's formula will work its way out of his system.
Relationship (Betty Warren)- Joe, like many Golden Age heroes, had a Stock Girlfriend character.
Relationship (Dusty Simmons)- "Dusty The Boy Detective" became a short-lived Teen Sidekick to Joe. His parents had been killed by foreign agents, and he wore a costume similar to the Shield's.

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 38 / Defenses: 10 (159)

The Shield- The First Patriotic Superhero:
-Of all the MLJ/Archie superheroes, by far the "Main Eventer" of the line was The Shield- comics' first patriotic superhero. He was so popular and memorable that his triangular shield design and "patriot" concept was pretty well swiped by Simon & Kirby for their "Captain America" character- MLJ was not amused, and pretty quickly they raised a fuss, and Cap's triangular shield was transformed into a circular disc (which of course went on to become iconic). Joe Simon suggested that MLJ was likely just cheesed off that Captain America was now outselling what was MLJ's top hero.

-The Golden Age Shield was Joe Higgins, who witnessed his father, an FBI chemist, killed by criminals. Rubbing his father's formula over six key body parts (Sacrum, Heart, Innervation, Eyes, Lungs, Derma), along with a special invulnerable suit that combined with fluoroscopic rays, enabled him to possess superhuman powers. He became The Shield, the central character in MLJ Comics' line- he had his own fan club (the Shield G-Man Club), and even appeared in the first-ever crossover story in American superhero comics, as he teamed up with The Wizard for a bit! Ironically, the character of the Shield's own unmaking debuted in his own title- Pep Comics was also the book where a young Archie Andrews debuted. Archie's runaway success wouldn't stop, and soon he was so popular that MLJ let all its heroes die and kept Archie running, soon taking his name as their own! The Shield lasted from Pep Comics #1-#65, being dropped in Jan 1948, eight years after he'd arrived. Pep would reappear from time to time as an Archie monthly book.

Follow-Ups To The Shield:
-Archie tried a new Shield with Lancelot Strong, but he regularly failed. In the 1960s Mighty Crusaders Red Circle stuff, Joe was stated to have been frozen in stone by The Eraser- an enemy of his. His son Bill took over the role, but chafed with such big shoes to fill, and finally managed to have The Comet cure his father- Joe then returned as the books faded out. In 1984, Red Circle brought Joe back, but The Original Shield only lasted four issues. The DC licensed Impact Comics line also produced Joe's book in 1991, with a backstory that the modern Shield was inspired by a Cold War-era Shield (his father Roger). Joe retired after thirteen issues, being replaced by Lt. Michael Barnes- the book ended in October 1992. DC's attempt at the Red Circle line led to The Shield actually joining the DC Universe for a bit- he was a secondary character in The Web, and was an army lieutenant wounded by the Taliban. To save his life, he agreed to be a government test subject, having an experimental nanotech battle suit merged with his burned epidermis. The 2012 New Crusaders book featured an older Joe gathering the teenage children of his allies for a new team. 2015's version of the character is a woman named Victoria Adams.

The Mighty Shield:
-The Shield is probably the most powerful of the Crusaders, packing PL 10 Mini-Powerhouse abilities and incredible durability onto the package of a great fighter. The formula that empowers him gave him tremendous physical abilities (he's bulletproof, can't be hurt by flames, and can bend machine guns with his bare hands), and he'd fit right in with Marvel or DC heroes.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Zodiacs! Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders!)

Post by Jabroniville »

RainOnTheSun wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 1:37 am I like all the friendly "hi!"

Making a good first impression is important.
Haha, it just seems so corny and excessive. Like, why does each one need to give their greetings individually? Also the fact that two have to shout "Ho!" because they were using to many "Hi"s is hilarious.
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Davies
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Re: The Shield (Joe Higgins)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:30 am -The Golden Age Shield was Joe Higgins, who witnessed his father, an FBI chemist, killed by criminals. Rubbing his father's formula over six key body parts (Sacrum, Heart, Innervation, Eyes, Lungs, Derma),
Innervation, incidentally, is not a body part. It's a term that describes how the nerves in a body part are distributed.

This has been your "comic book science isn't" moment for the day.
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Goldar
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Re: The Shield (Joe Higgins)

Post by Goldar »

Davies wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 4:37 am
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:30 am -The Golden Age Shield was Joe Higgins, who witnessed his father, an FBI chemist, killed by criminals. Rubbing his father's formula over six key body parts (Sacrum, Heart, Innervation, Eyes, Lungs, Derma),
Innervation, incidentally, is not a body part. It's a term that describes how the nerves in a body part are distributed.

This has been your "comic book science isn't" moment for the day.
Very accurate.

I just caught that too reading through the profile.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders! The Shield!)

Post by Ares »

The Shield was definitely the Crusader's big iconic hero, and it's not hard to see why. He's basically a hybrid of early Golden Age Superman (being a superstrong, nigh-invulnerable brick) with a solid patriotic look. Some of the updated looks for the costume look REALLY cool and if you wanted someone who was equal parts Superman and Captain America, there you go.

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The Crusaders line has always been interesting to me as a non-DC/Marvel superhero universe. The characters are all interesting and iconic in their own way, and it makes for some fun ideas. I usually incorporate them into merged universe settings. I had a few of the Crusaders comics from the 80s, but my main exposure to them was when DC re-imagined them for the Impact! line, which started out good but succumbed to 90s insanity before long.
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Dusty the Boy Detective

Post by Jabroniville »

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DUSTY THE BOY DETECTIVE (Dusty Simmons)
Created By:
Harry Shorten & Irv Novick
First Appearance: Pep Comics #11 (Jan. 1941)
Role: Patriotic Hero, Boy Sidekick
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders, The F.B.I.

-A year into the Shield's run, MLJ went like "hey, I want one, too!" when Robin the Boy Wonder changed comics forever by giving fans a REAL "Fan Insert" character into the books. And so The Shield got a boy sidekick in Dusty, whose parents were killed by foreign agents. Joe adopted him (... huh- most heroes stuck with "nephews" or "wards"), and was given a similar costume. Dusty sometimes partnered with The Wizard's boy sidekick, Roy, as the "Boy Buddies".
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Zodiacs! Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders!)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 1:33 am Image

Here's a more broad picture of the various heroes. Kind of interesting how it's the exact same guys in both pictures, even though some never really got used.
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Most of them on the wrap around cover to Mighty Crusaders vol. 2 #2

And most of them on the cover of Mighty Crusaders vol. 1 #4
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A lot of them date from the 1940s, and honestly, many of them are more on the level of Joe Hercules or TNT & Dan the Dyna-Mite
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Re: The Shield (Joe Higgins)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:30 am The Shield lasted from Pep Comics #1-#65, being dropped in Jan 1948, eight years after he'd arrived.
...
He'd fit right in with Marvel or DC heroes.
The Shield actually lasted longer than most golden age heroes. Cap, Torch, and Namor folded in 1949. The Marvel Family at Fawcett lasted until '53. Most of the JSA who still had solo features last them in '48 or '49. The JSA itself made it to '51. The individual members of the Super Friends and Green Arrow were the only DC heroes to make it past then. Fox's Blue Beetle and Gleason's Daredevil I think made it to 1950.

Considering the 100s of super heroes who debuted in the golden age, the fact that Shield made it to the final 20 really isn't bad.
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The Shield (Lancelot Strong)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SHIELD II (Lancelot Strong)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Double Life of Private Strong #1 (Aug. 1959)
Role: Patriotic Hero
Group Affiliations: N/A
PL 9 (163)
STRENGTH
4/8 STAMINA 4/10 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+11)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+4)
Expertise (G-Man) 6 (+8)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Technology 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Diehard, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Sacrum" Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
"Heart" Enhanced Strength 4 [8]
"Innervation" Enhanced Advantages 2: Improved Initiative 2 [2]
"Eyes" Senses 2 (Extended Vision 2) [2]
"Lungs" Enhanced Advantages 1: Great Endurance [1]
"Derma" Enhanced Stamina 6 [12]
"Also Lightning" Blast 8 [16]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Lightning +7 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +10, Fortitude +10, Will +7

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)
Secret (Country Bumpkin)- Lancelot pretended to be a slack-jawed, simple country boy.

Total: Abilities: 68 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 62 / Defenses: 7 (163)

-Humorously, it would be Joe & Jack themselves who were hired to renovate The Shield. The oddly-titled book was The Double Life of Private Strong, and came about just as Green Lantern & The Flash got renovated characters- new heroes replacing the old. It's not hard to see Archie trying a bit of "Hey, Me Too!" with this guy, as a random other dude takes the costume and name. Lancelot here was the result of his scientist father devising a method to give mankind superhuman powers by enhancing the mind. However, the man was killed by "foreign agents" and Lancelot was adopted by a farm couple- he had the powers of superhuman strength, flight, "vision powers", and the ability to shoot lightning. His secret identity was that he was a Gomer Pyle-like "country bumpkin". However, the book was an immediate failure- it was cancelled after two issues.

-Lancelot was reintroduced in Red Circle's Lancelot Strong: The Shield in June 1983. It was retitled twice- as Shield/Steel Sterling that December, then Steel Sterling the next month- it ended after seven issues, lasting barely a year. Joe Simon got all the rights for Lancelot in 1999.

-Lancelot has a lot of power, but not so much versatility, never having gotten a long run in comics.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders! The Shield!)

Post by M4C8 »

Hah, 'Lance Strong' is a perfect name for porn.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Raya! Sisu! Namaari! Mighty Crusaders! The Shield!)

Post by Ken »

M4C8 wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 7:48 pm Hah, 'Lance Strong' is a perfect name for porn.
Even better than John and Robert Dickering?
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The Shield (Bill/Joe Jr.)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SHIELD III (Bill/Joe Higgins, Jr.)
Created By:
Jerry Siegel & Paul Reinman
First Appearance: Fly-Man #31 (May 1965)
Role: Patriotic Hero, Legacy Character
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders

-In the 1960s revamp of the Mighty Crusaders, the position of the Shield was given to his son... whom writers couldn't settle on as per a name. Sometimes he was named Bill, sometimes he was named Joe Higgins, Jr. The original Shield was said to have been turned to stone by his nemesis, The Eraser, and Bill was carrying on Joe's work. Bill's powers seemed entirely derived from the costume. He found carrying on in his father's footsteps difficult, and only shuffled from job to job, never finding himself worthy. He's described as a complete failure in his life (seemingly cursed), but was a tolerable Shield, using the invulnerable suit to fight crime. Finally, he asked for help to cure his dad- The Comet used "Altroxian Science" to transform the Shield back. Bill happily then retired, joining the armed forces instead. In the 2000s, Archie began using Joe Jr. as the name for the character in Archie's Weird Mysteries, establishing the two as separate characters for whatever reason.

In the 1960s, his son Bill was the main Shield of the "Mighty Crusaders" title- Bill was able to bring his father out of a suspended animation, and thus retired the suit to his dad. A second Shield was Lancelot Strong, an orphaned kid (shades of Superman's origin) who found a chemical formula his dad had made that gave him invulnerability, Lightning Blasts, Nightvision, Water-Breathing, Leaping (as far as a cannonball, apparently), and Super Speed. The early '90s Joe Higgins was a Flying Brick.
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