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

[Jabroniville]

STALLION (Randy Hanrahan)
Created By: Chuck Dixon & Scott McDaniel
First Appearance: Nightwing #14 (Nov. 1997)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (89)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+9)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+5)
Expertise (Unarmed) 2 (+12)
Intimidation 6 (+7)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment (Nunchucks +2), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Nunchucks), Improved Hold, Improved Trip, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 3

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Nunchucks +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 19 (89)

-Stallion is one of those solid background characters you always need, especially if you have recurring villains- The Professional Muscle. Just a generic mook, this cowboy-themed guy joined Lady Vic in the employ of Blockbuster early on in Nightwing. Again and again, he would fight Nightwing, Batman or another hero, but always come up short. Eventually, newbies like Shrike would beat his ass. Stallion died along with much of Dick's other cast when Chemo was dropped on Bludhaven during Infinite Crisis.

-Stallion's entire thing is that he's a good fighter, but against a PL 10 like Nightwing, he has no chance. So he's just a pretty strong PL 8 guy with some grappling skills and a weapon I totally didn't notice only when I checked for pictures of the guy- nothing fancy.

[Ares]

SIGNALMAN (Phillip Cobb, aka The Blue Bowman)
Created By: Bill Finger & Sheldon Moldoff
First Appearance: Batman #112 (Dec. 1957)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Secret Society of Super Villains

Maybe I just have terrible fashion sense, but with the exception of the stripes on the trunks and MAYBE the symbols on the cape, I kind of like that outfit. It honestly looks more like a superhero costume than a villain one, but it makes for a nice contrast against Bruce.

And given advances in technology, someone whose expertise is in technology related to generating and receiving signals, well, he'd actually be pretty useful. An expert in communication, taking control of things that rely on wireless signals to operate, having his own batch of combat drones, etc.

[Sidney369]

STALLION (Randy Hanrahan)
Created By: Chuck Dixon & Scott McDaniel
First Appearance: Nightwing #14 (Nov. 1997)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (88)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+9)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 6 (+7)
Perception 3 (+3)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment (Nunchucks), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Improved Trip, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 3

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (88)

-Stallion is one of those solid background characters you always need, especially if you have recurring villains- The Professional Muscle. Just a generic mook, this cowboy-themed guy joined Lady Vic in the employ of Blockbuster early on in Nightwing. Again and again, he would fight Nightwing, Batman or another hero, but always come up short. Eventually, newbies like Shrike would beat his ass. Stallion died along with much of Dick's other cast when Chemo was dropped on Bludhaven during Infinite Crisis.

-Stallion's entire thing is that he's a good fighter, but against a PL 10 like Nightwing, he has no chance. So he's just a pretty strong PL 8 guy with some grappling skills- nothing fancy.

And yet he turned up alive and well in the Rebirth Nightwing series, having reformed and getting a job as a bartender. Of course, having a deceased character suddenly show up alive with no explanation is nothing new in recent years.

[Ares]

STALLION (Randy Hanrahan)
Created By: Chuck Dixon & Scott McDaniel
First Appearance: Nightwing #14 (Nov. 1997)
Role: Jobber Villain

Stallion looks like he'd make for a decent guy who can challenge heroes but not really have a shot at beating them, at least not without some upgrades. But he'd probably be dangerous to the B-List of fighters in the comics universe.

I kind of dig the "cowboy martial artist" aesthetic here, and almost want to do something where you've got someone who is an A-List martial arts master and a superhero in every respect . . . just that he combines that with a cowboy costume and speaks with a full on southern drawl and everything. He combines Eastern proverbs and philosophy with home-spun wisdom. Like, he'll quote some Shaolin master on one page, but then have a "Mama always said" comment that is just as profound/wise on the next page. Maybe even combine the two. "Master always said, any hombre what needs to brag 'bout their skill has more hot air than fight in 'em".

[Jack of Spades]

Firefly had a reasonably good showing in one of my campaigns, mostly by setting up incendiary and explosive traps in a building he lured the (mostly unpowered) heroes into.

[Jack of Spades]

Maybe I just have terrible fashion sense, but with the exception of the stripes on the trunks and MAYBE the symbols on the cape, I kind of like that outfit. It honestly looks more like a superhero costume than a villain one, but it makes for a nice contrast against Bruce.

And given advances in technology, someone whose expertise is in technology related to generating and receiving signals, well, he'd actually be pretty useful. An expert in communication, taking control of things that rely on wireless signals to operate, having his own batch of combat drones, etc.

Signalman's another character due a revival. I used him once as well; he was running a stock market scam where he delayed the signal from high-speed traders just enough to take advantage of the delay to place his own orders and beat them to the punch. Fun little caper and proof that just because you wear black-and-yellow striped trunks doesn't mean you can't do some white-collar crimes. Kite-Man partnered with him on that one.

[Jabroniville]

DOCTOR DEATH (Doctor Karl Hellfern)
Created By: Gardner Fox & Bob Kane
First Appearance: Detective Comics #29 (July 1939)
Role: Mad Scientist, Mad Gasser
Group Affiliations: None

-A generic Mad Scientist archetype, Doctor Death was rather forgettable, despite being one of Batman's earliest foes. Looking like... well, any other mad scientist (a Van Dyke goatee and male pattern baldness, plus glasses), he is only really notable for being the first traditional supervillain to face the Batman- not a gangster. He's also Batman's first recurring foe!

-Doctor Death debuts trying to extort Gotham's wealthy using a lethal chemical agent, then lures Batman into being shot by Death's manservant, a giant Indian fellow named Jabah. Batman escapes using a gas pellet as cover, then tracks Death to his hideout- Death ignites chemicals in his lab to escape capture, seemingly killing himself and Jabah. However, Death appears the very next month, sans Jabbah, with a new manservant named Mikhail (a Cossack). He tries to extort another person, but learns they've lost all their money in the Great Depression- when Batman apprehends him, it's revealed that Death was badly disfigured in the explosion from before, as his face now resembles a brown skull.

-The character thus disappears for several decades, being revived by Gerry Conway in 1982, which merely re-tells the original tale with modern trappings. Here, he is a paraplegic, but his deadly gas gimmick remains the same. His new manservant is named Togo.

-Dr. Death is revived once more in 2003 for Batgirl (the Cassandra Cain one). Now a bald, gnome-like man, he is more of a generic biological weapons producer. He shows up in 52 as one of the captured scientists on Oolong Island, but largely doesn't get up to much else.

[Ken]

SIGNALMAN (Phillip Cobb, aka The Blue Bowman)
Created By: Bill Finger & Sheldon Moldoff


He ... then shows up as part of the Secret Society of Super Villains and fights the JLA & JSA.

There's a great gag when he escapes a hospital, St. Ignatius Loyola, right before the SSSoV recruits him. He escapes down the hospital's big sign, and he apparently takes the time to smash the T, then "TIUS", then "OYOLA" on the sign, just so it says "SIGNAL".


Penciled by George Perez, inked by John Beatty, cloured by Carl Gafford, Justice League of America vol 1. #195

[Jabroniville]

DEACON BLACKFIRE
Created By: Jim Starlin & Bernie Wrightson
First Appearance: Batman- The Cult #1 (Aug. 1988)
Role: Forgotten Villain, Cult Leader
Group Affiliations: The Underworlders
PL 12 (154)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 3 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+7)
Expertise (History) 6 (+8)
Insight 5 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+8)
Perception 4 (+7)
Persuasion 8 (+13)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Daze (Persuasion), Fascination (Persuasion), Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]
Mind Control 12 [48]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Mind Control -- (+12 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)

Total: Abilities: 68 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 49 / Defenses: 12 (154)

-Deacon Blackfire is the main villain of a four-issue mini-series- Batman: The Cult. He is a con-man and cult leader who claims to be over 100 years old- a Native American shaman who was buried alive for murder and heresy. He forms an army of homeless in the sewers beneath Gotham City, and uses them to engage in a violent war on crime that takes over the entire city, breaking it off from the rest of the country. Batman is captured and even brainwashed by the villain, making him a member of Blackfire's cult- he even kills, breaking his cardinal rule! Batman finally breaks his conditioning, but is still unable to capture Blackfire until the end, after a grueling search. Blackfire demands Batman kill him to make him a martyr, but Batman refuses, instead savagely beating him in front of his army. Disgusted, they turn on him, ripping their former leader to shreds. He reappears in the "New 52" as an evangelist, but never showed up again in the main continuity until being raised as a zombie in Blackest Night.

-Deacon Blackfire is a powerful enough Mind Controller to even have Batman KILL PEOPLE, so he's obviously high level. Though as always, Mind Control Always Works in comics, and long-term mind control like this is neary impossible to pull off in-game.

[KorokoMystia]

An evil religious cult leader, created by Jim Starlin? I'm not surprised..

[Ares]

An evil religious cult leader, created by Jim Starlin?

Must be a day of the week ending in "y".

[Jabroniville]

An evil religious cult leader, created by Jim Starlin? I'm not surprised..

Haha I totally glossed that over, probably because I looked up his creators and then wrote his bio later.

[Jabroniville]

CORNELIUS STIRK
Created By: Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle
First Appearance: Detective Comics #592 (Nov. 1988)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None

-A guy I've never heard of, Cornelius Stirk goes by his real name, and gets off on causing fear, like the Scarecrow does. Only he has the power to give people hallucinations to see him as whatever he wants them to. He is under the delusion that he needs the nutrients and hormones in human hearts to stay alive, and that he gets the most out of them if he scares the victim before killing and harvesting them. He debuts being released from Arkham after being declared "sane" (he had killed a classmate while a teenager)- it's implied he used his powers on his doctors. He then stops taking his medication and turns into a serial killer, like ya do. Stirk works with the Joker during Knightfall, kidnapping Gordon, but wants to murder him, to Joker's chagrin. The character was appearing in Kevin Smith's Batman: The Widening Gyre, but it stalled out.

-Stirk appears to be a pretty generic murderer, but with a hypnotic Morph attack I can't find the origin of.

[Jabroniville]

SHRIKE III (Real Name Unknown)
Created By: Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Javier Pulido & Marcos Martin
First Appearance: Robin- Year One #3 (Dec. 2000)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The League of Assassins

-Man, DC has a LOT of characters named "Shrike" for some reason. I mean, they're pretty cool birds, but still. This guy showed up in Robin: Year One as a League of Assassins member who ran a martial arts academy. Dick Grayson, who had been forced to give up being "Robin" after a a disastrous encounter with Two-Face, infiltrated the school to try and get back in Batman's good graces. Shrike is shown to be the one to teach Dick Escrima stick-fighting. Dick & Boone (Shrike's top student) were sent to assassinate Two-Face, but Dick ended up saving them both. Batman arrived to save Dick from Shrike, who had seen this and confirmed his suspicions that Dick was a spy, but was badly wounded. Two-Face, trying to kill his would-be assassins, killed Shrike by accident just as Shrike prepared to kill Dick. Boone ends up taking on Shrike's legacy.

-Shrike was a great martial artist, specializing in bladed weapons like his namesake bird. He was apparently good enough to nearly kill an early Batman.

[Jabroniville]

SHRIKE IV (Boone)
Created By: Chuck Dixon, Scott Beatty, Javier Pulido & Marcos Martin
First Appearance: Nightwing Secret Files & Origins #1 (October 1999)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The League of Assassins

-So this Robin: Year One story was intended to provide Dick with another rival- Boone, angered over Shrike's death, takes the name for himself as Shrike's top student. After spending years abroad training to become one of the "world's foremost assassins", he becomes Blockbuster's top enforcer. He failed to kill Nightwing twice, then vanished- he shows up much later as a member of Nyssa al-Ghul's League of Assassins. The character largely disappears into background shots after that point, and is apparently killed off in a recent Suicide Squad issue.

-Like his master, Shrike IV used bladed weapons- swords, bladed tonfas, knives, shuriken and even a net with fishing hooks attached to it.