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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds (The Shield! Black Jack! The Black Hood! The Fox! Fireball!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Oh damn, I didn't realize this was a thing. This is friggin' GREAT:

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Jabroniville
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Firefly

Post by Jabroniville »

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He was black & red in the original comics? That's pretty unusual for the Golden Age to be so dark.

FIREFLY (Harley Hudson)
Created By:
Harry Shorten & Warren "Bob" Wood
First Appearance: Top Comics #8 (Sept. 1940)
Role: The First Insect-Based Superhero
Incarnations: (Firefly) Golden Age, Silver Age, Impact Comics, Archie Digests, New Crusaders, Dark Circle
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders
PL 8 (121)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 3 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+9)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+13)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Perception 4 (+6)
Technology 3 (+9)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Initiative, Takedown, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
Leaping 4 (120 feet) [4]
"Bio-Luminescence" Environment 2 (Light) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +8

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

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting Crime)- I guess. Not a lot exists on this dude.
Relationship (Joan Burton)- A... female news reporter? This is like the sixth guy in these books with a reporter girlfriend.

Total: Abilities: 82 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 6 / Defenses: 10 (121)

-A biochemist who developed a serum that let him copy the "wonderful muscular coordination" that let insects have great strength and leaping ability (the square-cube law is DUMB, says he), Harley Hudson became yet another forgettable MLJ hero, albeit the first hero in comics with real arthropod-based powers. He was MLJ's fourth superhero, and lasted about twenty issues, until Top-Notch Comics switched from a superhero book to a humor one. He faced Dr. Dread, the Mummy and the Dervish, and was yet ANOTHER MLJ hero to have a news reporter for a girlfriend. He is one of the least-used of the Mighty Crusaders, popping up only briefly in the '60s run (where he actually gains Bio-Luminescence like his namesake). He was briefly in Impact Comics as a flamethrower-wielding guy. The Dark Circle Mighty Crusaders series also uses him, oddly.
Jabroniville
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The Fly

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE FLY (Thomas Troy, aka Fly-Man)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Adventures of The Fly #1 (Aug. 1959)
Role: Potential Flagship Hero
Incarnations: Silver Age, Red Circle, Impact (Legacy), Archie Digests ('90s only)
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders
PL 9 (160)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Lawyer) 4 (+7)
Insight 2 (+5)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 5 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Move-By Action, Takedown, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Bug Wings" Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [5]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]
Senses 2 (Radius Sight & Infravision) [2]
Comprehend 2 (Animals) (Flaws: Limited to Insects) [2]
"Escape From Any Trap" Enhanced Skills 8: Sleight of Hand 8 (+12) [4]

"Wind Current Via Wing Beats" Affliction 6 (Strength/Athletics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery) [6]

"Buzz Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [11]
Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Asleep) (Extras: Multiattack, Ranged) (18 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Kim Brand- aka Fly Girl)
Weakness (Bright Lights)- This weakness is dropped in later stories.
Normal Identity (Tom Troy)- The Fly must rub his Magic Ring and say "I wish I were The Fly!" to transform into his super-powered form. His ordinary stats are ST 2, STA 3, AGI 3.

Total: Abilities: 88 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 10 (160)

-Unusually, The Fly was NOT a Golden Age hero at all- he debuted in the Silver Age revamp of the Archie heroes. He seems like a Spider-Man knock-off, being an arthropod-based superhero, but actually predates Peter Parker by a few years, and was created by Joe "Captain America" Simon himself. Young Tommy Troy was an orphan adopted by a pair of people who turned out to be WIZARDS- a magical ring in their attic summoned the emissary of the Fly People (really), who was waiting for someone "pure of heart" to use their powers to fight crime- he was told that the Fly People once ruled Earth in a magical society, but during one of their magic wars, their culturer was destroyed and they were turned into common houseflies. Tommy was given super-powers and the ability to turn into a super-powered adult- effectively swiping Captain Marvel's schtick.

-However, within four issues Simon had left and the writers turned him into an adult lawyer. He was popular enough to get not only a full thirty-seven issues in the 1960s run of the MLJ Heroes' updates, but he even got a Distaff Counterpart of himself, something reserved for only the most popular super-heroes! The book was relaunched in 1965 as Fly-Man, then ran as a general Mighty Crusaders book until it was finally cancelled in 1967.

-The Fly returned as another line revamp in the 1980s, and even had Steve Ditko of all people working on his book, but it only lasted a year or so. In the Impact Comics version he was again used, with The Fly lasting for 17 issues. This version was again a young boy. The character reverted to Joe Simon in 1999, which means that he no longer appears in ANY stories- this is part of why Captain America fans were so glad Simon didn't win the rights to Steve Rogers, lest the same thing happen there. So effectively The Fly is done entirely as a concept- writers were only able to find a way around it by using Fly Girl, who shows up in the Red Circle & 2012 versions of the Might Crusaders.

-The Fly exhibited a number of powers over the course of his run, primarily during the '80s Archie run, which gave him Growth, Shrinking, Vibrational Wings, Webbing, Firefly-lights and more... basically ripping off Spider-Man a lot. These were dropped for the Red Circle imprint.
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Ken
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Re: The Shield (Michael Barnes)

Post by Ken »

Ken wrote: Fri Jul 30, 2021 1:47 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:41 pm Image
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I'm kinda guessing as to who is whom with these pictures, to be honest. Like, it says "The Shield III" but they might be discounting Lancelot Strong.

THE SHIELD IV (Lt. Michael Barnes)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Legend of Shield #13 (July 1992)
Role: Patriotic Hero, Legacy Character
Group Affiliations: N/A

-Michael replaced Joe as the Shield in the Impact Comics book after thirteen issues. He was a married father with a young daughter, and only lasted a few issues before the line was cancelled.
In the Impact stories, the first Shield was Roger Higgins. Joe Higgins (the one with the dark hair), was the second. Michael Barnes was the third. Other than the names, there was no attempt to connect the Impact versions with the Archie versions. In the Impact stories, Joe and Michael were using JUST the body armor. Neither had super strength.
Finally found a picture of Roger Higgins in his Shield armor.
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Art by Grant Meihm. Published by DC Comics. Not sure if Archie or DC holds copyright
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Ken
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Re: The Fly

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 5:18 pm-Unusually, The Fly was NOT a Golden Age hero at all- he debuted in the Silver Age revamp of the Archie heroes. He seems like a Spider-Man knock-off, being an arthropod-based superhero, but actually predates Peter Parker by a few years, and was created by Joe "Captain America" Simon himself. Young Tommy Troy was an orphan adopted by a pair of people who turned out to be WIZARDS- a magical ring in their attic summoned the emissary of the Fly People (really), who was waiting for someone "pure of heart" to use their powers to fight crime- he was told that the Fly People once ruled Earth in a magical society, but during one of their magic wars, their culturer was destroyed and they were turned into common houseflies. Tommy was given super-powers and the ability to turn into a super-powered adult- effectively swiping Captain Marvel's schtick.
There is an urban legend that says that Joe Simon had come up with Tommy Troy and his buggy alter-ego first, and was shopping around for a publisher. One of those publishers was Martin Goodman at Atlas/Marvel Comics (whose top editor and writer was one Stan Lee). Atlas declined, but kept a copy of the proposal. Simon went to MLJ and MLJ green-lit the Fly. But Stan Lee took some parts of the proposal, such as the protagonist still being a student, and the general bug motif, and it became Spider-Man.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (The Black Hood! The Fox! Fireball! The Fly!)

Post by Jack of Spades »

I have to say, I associate spiders with being creepy, but flies are just, in my head, dirty. It makes it hard to take a the Fly seriously as a hero.
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Jabroniville
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The Fly (Impact Comics)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE FLY II (Jason Troy)
Created By:
xxxxxx
First Appearance: The Fly #1 (Aug. 1991)
Role: Potential Flagship Hero
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders

-The Impact Comics version of The Fly was named Jason Troy, and kept the "young boy who transforms into an adult super-hero" notion tha tstarted the character. The Fly lasted only 17 issues, ending in 1992. He ended up marrying the female Jaguar by the end of the line.
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Re: The Fly (Impact Comics)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:45 pm Image
The interesting thing about this particular take on the character was that the authors put some thought into what a kid successfully pretending to be an adult would act like, and how people would react to that. Basically, he wound up seeming like quite the weirdo.

The thing with the Jaguar came out of absolutely nowhere in the final issue of the wrap-up miniseries.
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Fly Girl

Post by Jabroniville »

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FLY GIRL (Kim Brand, aka Flygirl)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Adventures of The Fly #13 (July 1961)
Role: Distaff Counterpart
Incarnations: Silver Age, Red Circle, Impact, Archie Digests, DC (Legacy), New Crusaders, Dark Circle
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders
PL 8 (138)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 2 (+10)
Deception 2 (+6)
Expertise (Actress) 3 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 6 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Diehard, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Move-By Action, Takedown, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Bug Wings" Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [5]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]
Senses 2 (Radius Sight & Infravision) [2]
Comprehend 2 (Animals) (Flaws: Limited to Insects) [2]
"Escape From Any Trap" Enhanced Skills 8: Sleight of Hand 8 (+12) [4]

"Wind Current Via Wing Beats" Affliction 6 (Strength/Athletics; Hindered & Vulnerable/Prone & Defenseless) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery) [6]

"Buzz Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [11]
Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Asleep) (Extras: Multiattack, Ranged) (18 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +9

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

Complications:
Relationship (Tom Troy, aka The Fly)
Weakness (Bright Lights)- This weakness is dropped in later stories.
Normal Identity (Kim Brand)- The Fly must rub her Magic Ring and say "I wish I were Fly-Girl!" to transform into her super-powered form. Her ordinary stats are ST 1, STA 2, AGI 3.

Total: Abilities: 80 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 8 (138)

-Fly-Girl (no relation to Jennifer Lopez) is the Distaff Counterpart of The Fly, given many similar powers. She was an actress who got saved by The Fly and decided she wanted to both bone him and join him on adventures, which he actually agreed to once two of his foes teamed up to commit two crimes at once. With her own Fly Ring, she gained The Fly's powers, and was actually the only female member of The Mighty Crusaders- it looks rather odd to see a massive roster of 20-ish guys in the old Archie Comics "Team Pictures", only to have a SINGLE WOMAN in the group, and have her entire concept be that she's a female version of a male hero. Though she does have a pretty solid design- actually better than The Fly, who has the goggled mask and other things that make him a tad dated or odd- an attractive blonde in similar gear and a more "basic" mask actually fits in quite well in modern times as a solid heroic design.

-Despite never showing up in the two Archie "short comic" renditions, Fly Girl has appeared in the actual longform comics at points- she was part of the 1980s squad. The DC version was actually a solo heroine and a legacy character- the rights for The Fly went back to the original creator- Joe Simon- one of the only times in comic history where that happened. And so Fly Girl, whom Simon had nothing to do with, was used instead. The DC version was a Powersuit-wearing Internet show host who gained a suit from The Web, using Flight, Body Armour (bulletproof), HUD interface, a GPS tracker, a stun gun and Super-Strength.

-The regular Fly-Girl, built here, is your standard Distaff Counterpart- a weaker overall version of the male hero.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Aug 03, 2021 7:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sidney369
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Re: Inferno (Lance Stern)

Post by Sidney369 »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:58 am INFERNO II (Private Lance Stern)
Created By:
???
First Appearance: ??? (Impact Comics- 1990s)
Role: Blaster

-The Impact Comics Inferno was an All-American boy growing up in the mid-west. Extremely patriotic, he manages to get into the army despite only barely meeting the entrance requirements thanks to his recruiting officer being impressed by him. He was soon told he had a neurological disease that would slowly render him immobile but alert- in order to serve his country Lance Captain America'd into a secret project called "Inferno", having much of his body replaced by cybernetics. He was also given a power-suit. For some reason he was the enemy of the Comet.
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He first appeared in the Comet #4, and latter appeared in the Crusaders series, where he fought the team along side of two other cyborg villains, Mann-X and Maxx-14.
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Re: The Fly (Impact Comics)

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 10:45 pm Image
The Impact line was my first exposure to these characters outside of a single Mighty Crusaders issue from the 80s, as well as couple of the toys from the 80s line. I always liked that look for the Fly as it had a nice solid design, simple but still distinct. I collected all of the books early on, but I'd say the Fly and the Comet were my overall favorites.

Which is a shame because the Comet REALLY went all in on the melodrama in a way that at once seemed like the original plan for the book, but also seemed kind of rushed due to the series cancellation. It's actually funny, given the powers that version of the Comet eventually displayed (flight, superstrength, durability, energy blasts of light or heat, the ability to survive in space, shapeshifting) he basically was the Impact version of the Will Payton Starman. Unfortunately, Waid turned the book into a real angst-fest by the end of it.

Though the follow up mini-series that truly ended the line went even further.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (The Fox! Fireball! The Fly! Fly Girl!)

Post by Skavenger »

The fact that Fly Girl was attracted to someone who was once a child before the writers threw that out makes me picture Ultimate Black Cat's reaction upon realizing that Spider-Man was just a kid.
Jabroniville
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Re: Inferno (Lance Stern)

Post by Jabroniville »

Sidney369 wrote: Tue Aug 03, 2021 1:20 am
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:58 am INFERNO II (Private Lance Stern)
Created By:
???
First Appearance: ??? (Impact Comics- 1990s)
Role: Blaster

-The Impact Comics Inferno was an All-American boy growing up in the mid-west. Extremely patriotic, he manages to get into the army despite only barely meeting the entrance requirements thanks to his recruiting officer being impressed by him. He was soon told he had a neurological disease that would slowly render him immobile but alert- in order to serve his country Lance Captain America'd into a secret project called "Inferno", having much of his body replaced by cybernetics. He was also given a power-suit. For some reason he was the enemy of the Comet.
He first appeared in the Comet #4, and latter appeared in the Crusaders series, where he fought the team along side of two other cyborg villains, Mann-X and Maxx-14.
Cool, thanks! I guess he was a standard-issue bad guy, then?
Jabroniville
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Firefly (Kelly Brand)

Post by Jabroniville »

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FIREFLY II (Kelly Brand)
Created By:
Ian Flynn & Ben Bates
First Appearance: The New Crusaders #1 (Sept. 2012)
Role: Flying Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Mighty Crusaders

-The DC version of "Firefly" was actually the daughter of Fly Girl, and was a Flying Blaster.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (The Fox! Fireball! The Fly! Fly Girl!)

Post by Jack of Spades »

Makes one wonder if maybe Fly Girl didn't give up on the Fly and fool around with Inferno or Fireball.
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