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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Molly! Nico Minoru! Karolina Dean! Victor Mancha!)

Post by Ares »

Regarding the whole "shape shifting/gender" thing, it honestly depends on how the shapeshifting aspect is handled.

Take Masquerade from Milestone Comics Blood Syndicate. Mask (as the character was referred to) was born a woman, but gained shapeshifting powers during the Mass Empowering Event of the franchise, and used them to adopt a male body, claiming that they'd always been male "on the inside" and that their powers just allowed their outside to match their inside, effectively making them a trans-male. Later, when Mask was captured by an evil group called The System, they examined Mask and were able to determine Mask's biological gender via examination. Despite the outwardly male body, Mask still had a uterus and ovaries, double x chromosomes, etc. The male organs Mask had created were described as "non-functional" and "window dressing". So despite being a shapeshifter and creating a male body for themselves, Mask's default biology was still female.

Because that's kind of the issue with shapeshifting: how it works isn't universal. A male shapeshifter may be able to assume a female form, but that doesn't mean they automatically have the ability to become pregnant. Changing their physical shape might not translate to changing their genetics, their chromosomes, etc. Especially if being rendered unconscious or killed returns you to your "default form", which implies you do have a default form. In such cases, it means that shapeshifting is more akin to how Clayface described it in Batman: The Animated Series: "It's like tensing a muscle, it can't be done forever". So for these kinds of shapeshifters, gender / biological sex is still a factor in their species.

Now, it's entirely possible to have shapeshifters that can completely change their gender and biology, as we have real life animals that can do so, such as clownfish, though it seems like most of these instances have a tend to shift only in one direction. Clownfish, for example, seem to exclusively shift from male to female, and then only if there is no dominant female as part of their school. Still, it does create a precedent where that can happen, but it appears mostly to be a survival issue, and the species still have a default gender / sex. They just have a one time ability to change to the other gender for survival. So gender is still a thing for them.

It could definitely be possible to have shapeshifters for whom gender / biological sex isn't a factor, but you'd probably be better off making such a species asexual and who reproduce via a kind of mitosis where in they create a smaller version of themselves. There wouldn't be a need for any kind of gender role because they all only have a single default biological sex and can each reproduce on their own.

So yeah, there is no one "right" way to handle shapeshifting. You can have a Martian / Skrull-style species that is sexually dimorphic yet can assume whatever form they want, you can have a species capable of gender swapping, and you can have a race form whom gender isn't even really a thing.
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- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: The Gibborim

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:20 pm Image

lol- THESE DINKS are supposed to be these giant terrifying Elder Gods that can destroy a world with multiple Gods, Hulks and super-geniuses on it.

Wow, these guys look lame. At least partially because they look so . . . BORED. They look like giant sized versions of some of the less impressive Monster in My Pocket figures. Actually, scratch that, because even the less impressive ones still looked kind of cool.
"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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The Young Allies

Post by Jabroniville »

THE YOUNG ALLIES:

-So this next set is largely an attempt to post out a bunch of old builds in succession, as well as give a bit more info on some of them. Many of the latest Young Allies group have been statted up already, so this'll be mostly notes about that group as well.
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The Young Allies (1940s)

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Oh 1940s covers. And what is it with those damn kids always getting tied up? That's a bit much even for 1940s comics!

THE YOUNG ALLIES (aka the Sentinels of Liberty)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America #4 (June 1941)

-Kid Sidekicks and teams full of young boys were all the rage back in the early '40s, and one such group was the Young Allies (first called "The Sentinels of Liberty")- basically sidekicks of sidekicks. Bucky was Captain America's sidekick, and Toro was the Human Torch's- soon, they gathered together a diverse group of little kids with whom to ally against the Nazis & Japanese. They consisted of Toro, Bucky, Knuckles (Percival Aloysius O'Toole), Jeff (Jefferson Worthing Sandervilt), Tubby (Henry Tinkle) and Whitewash (Washington Carver Jones). The most-notable member of the team was of course... the black kid named "Whitewash". Who had a giant pronounced muzzle, pink lips that took up 25% of his face, and wore an outfit that implies he was on his way to teach an elephant to fly. Because comics in the 1940s.

-The team debuted in a text-only adventure at first (God, old comics were so different), but soon got upgraded to the visual stories, and then even got their OWN BOOK, titled Young Allies. However, Simon & Kirby soon bailed on the skinflints at Timely Comics (Martin Goodman was EXTREMELY tight-fisted), and the book was taken over by lesser talents (like young "gofer" Stan Lee, and Syd Shores on art). Simon & Kirby would just take their idea right to DC, making both the Newsboy Legion and Boy Commandos, both of which were more or less the same thing as this book (with Brooklyn from the Boy Commandos being a riff on Knuckles). The boys engaged in world-hopping adventures that comprised of beating up Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini & Hideki Tojo. Like, ACTUALLY meeting them and beating the shit out of them! They also fought home-grown villains like the Monk, the Black Talon, the Doll-Devil and the Python.

-The book is not fondly remembered- Roy Thomas has bashed it (and he LOVES the Golden Age!), and DC's Boy Commandos and the like were much more well-respected and liked. Young Allies lasted around five years, ending after 20 issues (books came out a lot less often at Timely, I think). The book, and it's non-superhero cast in particular, would fall off the face of the Earth afterwards (Whitewash basically ensured you'd never see it after 1960), and as Stan hated Teen Sidekicks, even Bucky & Toro wouldn't appear in any books other than The All-Winners Squad! The only time they've EVER been shown since is a 2009 comic in which the now-alive Bucky reveals that the team were actually a crack team of young specialists who engaged in secret missions- the super-racist comic book ("WHITEWASH?" the annoyed Washington asks Bucky, upon meeting for the first time in decades) was actually a COVER STORY. A clever way of getting around the racism of the '40s book by having it be an in-universe racist book retelling the adventures of the actual guys.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Molly! Nico! Karolina! Xavin! Victor! Gibborim!)

Post by Jabroniville »

And seriously, EVERY COVER of this book has Bucky & Toro attempting to save a bound Whitewash and at least one other member of the team:

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LOL I love the flail to the head. And the weird-looking Buddhist/Hindu idol holding the gang captive.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Molly! Nico! Karolina! Xavin! Victor! Gibborim!)

Post by Ares »

The Young Allies are just weird, given there's only two actual superheroes on the team. You'd think they would just make up other teen heroes to fill out the team, whether in other Timely Hero books or just made up for this book. Instead it's like Bucky and Toro decided to team up with the Timely equivalent of the Newsboy Legion, and the most offensive stereotype since Golden Age Ebony White and Steamboat.

I mean, much like Steamboat, I'm sure the writers thought they were being inclusive, but it's amazing how the best intentions can still be offensive as heck. Road to Hell and all that.
"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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Re: Jab’s Builds (Molly! Nico! Karolina! Xavin! Victor! Gibborim!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 10:06 pm The Young Allies are just weird, given there's only two actual superheroes on the team. You'd think they would just make up other teen heroes to fill out the team, whether in other Timely Hero books or just made up for this book. Instead it's like Bucky and Toro decided to team up with the Timely equivalent of the Newsboy Legion, and the most offensive stereotype since Golden Age Ebony White and Steamboat.

I mean, much like Steamboat, I'm sure the writers thought they were being inclusive, but it's amazing how the best intentions can still be offensive as heck. Road to Hell and all that.
LOL I was talking with someone about the book and he said he'd read it: Whitewash talked like Jim from Huckleberry Finn, LOVED watermelon, and was apparently consistently terrified of ghosts and anything ghost-related. I also found only one single cover of the 20 issues where Whitewash was rescuing someone instead of needing rescue.
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Knuckles O’Toole

Post by Jabroniville »

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KNUCKLES (Pat O'Toole, aka Percival Aloysius O'Toole)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America #4 (June 1941)
Role: The Tough Kid

-"Knuckles" O'Toole was the "Tough Kid" of the Young Allies, being a young Brooklynite with attitude. In most of the covers I see, he is always free alongside Bucky & Toro- it’s always th OTHER kids who need saving. A rough & tumble kid, he was pretty well taken by Simon & Kirby part and parcel to their DC stuff, with the Boy Commandos character Brooklyn being effectively the same kid. The modern retelling of the characters changes his first name- he is one of the two who has survived until modern times.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Mar 30, 2022 4:49 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Jefferson Sandervilt

Post by Jabroniville »

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JEFFERSON SANDERVILT (aka Geoffrey Worthington Vandergill)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America #4 (June 1941)
Role: The Brainy Kid

-Jeff was the "Brainy Kid" of the Young Allies. The modern retelling of the characters gives him a new name for some reason (I mean, it's equally silly and "Generically Rich"- both names are an obvious parody of the Vanderbilt family), and indicates that he's since died.
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Tubby Tinkle

Post by Jabroniville »

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TUBBY TINKLE (Henry Yosef Tinklebaum, aka Henry Tinkle)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America #4 (June 1941)
Role: The Fat Kid

-Tubby was the comic relief "Fat Kid" of the Young Allies. The modern retelling of the characters indicates that Tubby was Jewish, and has since passed away.
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Whitewash Jones

Post by Jabroniville »

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In 20 covers of this book, Whitewash isn’t being tied up on one of them.

WHITEWASH JONES (Washington Carver Jones)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America #4 (June 1941)
Role: Racist Stereotype

-aaaaaaaaaaand here's Whitewash. Whitewash-like characters popped up a LOT in the 1930s and '40s, as Black Caricature was a very common form of comedy at the tim. The appearance, mannerisms and speech patterns of black people were seen as hilarious by whites, who satirized them with a variety of racist caricatures, including the loud, stupid "Mammy", the big, strong "Buck", the white-imitating "Dandy" (who dressed well and was seen as a fop who looked up too hard at whites), and even friendly sorts like these sidekicks. With lips taking up 25% of his face, Whitewash barely looked human, but this was pretty common back in the day. He played the harmonica and even adored watermelon (a black stereotype I don't understand- I guess like a lot of things it was seen as "cheap food" and so the joke became that black adored anything like that... even though they mostly ate it in real life because it was something they could afford).

-Needless to say, that Whitewash is Marvel's first black hero is pretty terrible, and renders him an eternal lesson in how shit USED to be. Like, you can't talk the Black Panther's importance to Marvel without sorta/kinda bringing up THIS guy.

-Whitewash was brought up in-continuity when the Young Allies were defined in modern day as a team of military agents who worked with Bucky & Toro. Washington Carver Jones is shown bewildered at the character who represented him in the '40s comics ("WHITEWASH?" he asks Bucky, who appears embarrassed).
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The Young Allies (The Forgotten Ones)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE YOUNG ALLIES II:
Created By: Fabian Nicieza & Mark Bagley
First Appearance: Heroes Reborn: Young Allies (Jan. 2000)

-A second Young Allies group was created in the wake of Heroes Reborn, featuring the heroes of the "Counter-Earth" created by Franklin Richards' mind. The team was led by the "Bucky" of that world (Ricki Barnes), and featured I.Q. (Ishmael Questor- a deformed quadriplegic telepath & analyst), Kid Colt (Elric Whitemane, born Elric Freedom; a boy bonded to Kymellian DNA to become a humanoid horse who can Teleport using portable wormholes), O & K (Manifestations of Order and Chaos, meant to judge whether or not Counter-Earth deserves to still exist), and Toro (Benito Serrano- a super-strong humanoid bull).

-The book was a one-off, but they appeared once more in Exiles, where the heroes ended up following Proteus to Counter-Earth. After the trademark "Team Fight", the two groups allied against Proteus, who was now given a huge amount of nukes by O & K, who were testing Counter-Earth. Blink then puts a behavior modifier on Proteus, leading him to believe that he's the Exiles's teammate, Morph.

The Roster:
Bucky (Ricki Barnes)- Cap's sidekick on Counter-Earth.
I.Q.- Bathroom Psychic.
K & O- Manifestations of Chaos & Order who are there to pass judgement on Counter-Earth.
Toro II- A Latino teenager.
Kid Colt- A Werehorse with Kymellian DNA.
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K & O

Post by Jabroniville »

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K & O (Kaos & Order)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Mark Bagley
First Appearance: Heroes Reborn: Young Allies (Jan. 2000)
Role: Cosmic Being

-K & O are a pair of cosmic beings who claim to be embodiments of Chaos & Order in the Heroes Reborn universe. "Kaos" is an ebon, frenetically-tentacled male and "Order" is a glowing green female. They were tasked with determining whether or not the HR-verse was salvageable or needed to be destroyed, but joined the Young Allies even though they hadn't rendered their judgement yet- through their inexperience, they accidentally destroyed Paris, France when they manifested on this Counter-Earth. They later said they were trying to prevent an anomaly from devouring Counter-Earth, and the destruction of Paris was deliberate- a "temporary cork" keeping an anomaly at bay. The people of Paris had been reanimated as ghosts- Mach-3 of the Thunderbolts chose to end their suffering and help their spirits move on, but this unwittingly released said anomaly, which empowered a young man. As "Anomaly", he defeated K & O, but was later beaten by the Thunderbolts and re-leased into a breach.

-Later, in Exiles, K & O were convinced by Proteus (in Morph's body) to render a negative judgement against Counter-Earth, but the Exiles & Young Allies teamed up to save it.
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I.Q.

Post by Jabroniville »

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I.Q. (Ishmael Questor)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Mark Bagley
First Appearance: Heroes Reborn: Young Allies (Jan. 2000)
Role: Super-Psychic, Bathroom Psychic

-Ishmael Questor is a deformed quadrilegic with a withered body, but has an enlarged brain that lets him use great mental powers, such as Possession & Mind-Reading. His parents had turned him over to the German government when he started showing his powers, and he was kept in a catatonic state for ten years. Eventually, Ishmael awoke, responding to the pain by lashing out telepathically and accidentally destroying the minds of the five scientists and one maintenance worker in the lab. He took control of their bodies and made them act as his hands. He offered his services to the Young Allies, acting as an intelligence gatherer and coordinator without ever leaving his lab.
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Kid Colt (Elric Freedom/Whitemane)

Post by Jabroniville »

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KID COLT II (Elric Freedom, aka Elric Whitemane)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Mark Bagley
First Appearance: Heroes Reborn: Young Allies (Jan. 2000)
Role: Super-Psychic, Bathroom Psychic

-A bizarre character, the Kid Colt of Counter-Earth is actually a hybrid of human & Kymellian (the horse-like aliens of Power Pack). A Kymellian ship had crash-landed on Earth, killing all on board, and autopsies and experiments were performed on the dead aliens. A eugenics experiment mixing human & Kymellian DNA was done on an innocent human boy who proved to be a perfect genetic candidate for the engrams of the Kymellian DNA (his parents "given an offer they couldn't refuse" and turning him over to the government). He eventually escaped, using his powers to transform into a Werehorse. He became an outlaw in the American Southwest, but joined the Young Allies.

-Elric could transform into a horse-like humanoid form, and could Teleport and store items in sub-space "Closets", keeping extra gear or even people in them. By creating multiple "Pockets", he can seem to rapidly blink in and out of existence.
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