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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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EternalPhoenix
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nuke! Man-Bull! The Owl! Karen Page!)

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Ares wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 5:22 am
EternalPhoenix wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 2:13 am
Ares wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 1:49 am Really, the Owl should have been the one of the Kingpin's "Quirky Mini-Bosses". I mean, the Kingpin is supposed to basically run most of the crime along the entire EAST COAST of the USA. That's a big job, so it's expected he'd have a squad of trusted lieutenants that would serve as "barons" to him across multiple locations. And given how cut throat the super crime is in New York, it'd be expected that there would be a local squad of such people who rule over a territory and answer to him. Thus the Owl could have been someone who was involved in his own plots, but ultimately answered to the Kingpin, making him someone the heroes fought more regularly, saving the Kingpin fights for the big epic moments.

It could lead to a fun moment where all of the local lords team up for some mission, and you similarly get a team of street level heroes to fight them. You see this kind of thing in video games all the time for a reason.
It gives a sense of progression. Working their way up to the big dog. And then you get that big battle royale, but it's not over after that. Becaue the Kingpin is still out there, and probably out for their blood.
Jab referred to guys like The Owl as suffering from "Mongul Syndrome", where you have a guy who is meant to play a particular role (galactic conqueror, crime boss) but there's clearly a more well known and awesome version of that archetype around; ie Darkseid > Mongul, Kingpin > Owl.

My thinking is that Mongul syndrome actually isn't a bad thing, it's just used improperly. What should happen is that Mongul should be the guy the high powered heroes stop a couple of times a year, given he's a Superman-level powerhouse with essentially his own Death Star and an army of mooks. If you want to give your hero a good showing against that kind of opponent, Mongul is a solid choice. And then when Darkseid shows up once a year or every couple of years, his presence means more because he isn't being overused. Likewise if you have the Owl be the guy Daredevil and Spider-Man encounter on a more regular basis, while still getting to have conversations with the Kingpin, then when they actually fight the Kingpin personally, it feels more epic.

Because by having Darkseid get his eyes bruised shut by Superman or having the Kingpin lose and regain his criminal empire over and over again, it just diminishes the menace those villains are supposed to have.
It's booking 101. The more your uber-threats appear, the less impressive they are. Because every villain loses at the end of the story. It's really a problem from the top on down, because villains that used to be mid-tier are now mostly lumped in with the real jobbers. The high-tiers are barely mid-tier. And so the uber threats end up feeling less uber from being overused to fill the gap. So they have to create new uber-threats like DC does every couple of years, or go with the Marvel method of just having the heroes become idiots and fight each other over something daft. eyeballs Civil War 2 Or do both at once, somehow, like Incursion/Time Runs Out/Whatever That Was.
The Phoenixverse (A 2e OC 'verse!)
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Jabroniville
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Milla Donovan

Post by Jabroniville »

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MILLA DONOVAN
Created By:
Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
First Appearance: Daredevil #41 (March 2003)
Role: Another Dead Matt Girlfriend

-... okay I evidently have ZERO knowledge of Bendis's epic DD run because I have no memory of this super-important character. With an appearance based off of co-creator Alex Maleev's wife, Milla is a blind woman rescued by Daredevil- out of gratitude, she asks Matt (whose identity is now public) on a date. Despite various super-villains constantly attacking (Bullseye attempts to kill her to get at Matt, for instance), Milla hesitantly goes along with it, and her & Matt eventually marry. She briefly seeks to annul the marriage when she thinks Matt was suffering a nervous breakdown and only married her due to stress over Karen Page's death, but she returns to him... only for him to be arrested and imprisoned when proof of him being Daredevil is given to the FBI. At this point, Bendis leaves the book and Ed Brubaker takes over.

-They are apart for ages thanks to various wild circumstances- Matt's in jail, then breaks out, then is in Paris being manipulated by Lily Lucca, a woman with a near-mystical scent, then the Gladiator attacks while Matt & Milla are on a date, and finally Milla is infected with a strange toxin by Mister Fear, which causes her to accidentally kill an old man while trying to murder Lily. She is placed in a mental institution, with her condition being incurable, and Matt finally agrees to divorce her and award Milla's parents full custody so that she will no longer be targeted for being part of his life. She is later only used to manipulate Matt or make him fearful for her safety. So, yup- Bendis. But also all the later stuff is Brubaker, so the conga line of horrors is half his fault. This seems like a never-ending "Knowing Daredevil Will Ruin Your Life" story- almost Shaggy Dog-like in how endlessly complex and humorously tragic it is. Did fans even like this character? Was she seen like that awful cop lady Peter Parker was supposed to be dating post-divorce?
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The Masked Marauder

Post by Jabroniville »

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THIS GUY. With THIS DESIGN. Was supposed to be the major new DD villain.

THE MASKED MARAUDER (Frank Farnum)
Created By:
Stan Lee & John Romita
First Appearance: Daredevil #16 (May 1966)
Role: Would-Be Big Bad
Group Affiliations: The Maggia
PL 9 (148)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10)
Athletics 3 (+8)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 9 (+14)
Perception 2 (+5)
Technology 9 (+14)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Inventor, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Masked Marauder's Mask" (Flaws: Removable) [40]
"Opti-Blasts" Dazzle Visuals 10 (Extras: Continuous +3) (50 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Opti-Blasts +8 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Obsessive-Compulsive)- The Marauder's plans are ridiculously-detailed, being scheduled down to the last second. He is also an egomaniac, often overestimating how debilitated his opponents are by his Opti-Blast.

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 40 / Defenses: 10 (148)

-Frank Farnum (oh yeah- Stan Lee was writing, alright) was, oddly enough, meant to be Daredevil's own personal Big-Time Villain way back in 1966, but things just never worked out- you can't FORCE a "Big Bad" like that, and when you try, you certainly have to do better than "The Masked Marauder" and dress him like THAT. With a god-awful turquoise cape and weirdo mask, he was a martial artist/inventor/crimeboss who JUST HAPPENED to own the building which contained the law offices of Nelson & Murdock. Having problems with Spider-Man, he arranged for Spidey to fight Daredevil thanks to his men impersonating The Man Without Fear, then tried to murder Spidey- Daredevil foiled his plans. He figured out some kind of connection between Foggy and Daredevil, and thus fought Matt a few more times, teaming up with The Gladiator (who proved hard to control as a mere minion, and ended up the Marauder's partner) in order to join the Maggia by impressing them via the death of Daredevil. However, when he pitted Gladiator & DD against each other in a fake arena, the Gladiator refused to continue fighting after DD saved him from the arena's lions. The Maggia, "bemused" by the Marauder's failure, told him "We wouldn't even want you for a mascot". His reputation ruined, the Marauder again tried to follow up on the Foggy/DD connection, teaming up with Stilt-Man to kidnap Foggy, Matt & Karen. Matt told them that Daredevil was his twin brother "Mike" and Stilt-Man went off in search of him, accidentally knocking the Marauder into a "lethal force field" during a fight.

-The character was thought dead for TEN YEARS, but reappeared later to fight Iron Man, saying that the force field was actually a teleporter that sent him away, where he started over. Later, he fights Tony AND Werewolf By Night, attempting to get revenge on the Maggia for rejecting him earlier. In a subsequent appearance, he was a MEMBER of the Maggia- an underling of Count Nefaria named "Big M"- he blinded Spider-Man and fought Daredevil with a new android, but was beaten again. His most recent appearances have taken place after Civil War, featuring him as one of dozens of Jobber Villains hanging around with The Hood or attending Stilt-Man's funeral or something. Basically, he's been demoted to Forgotten/Background Villain.

-The Marauder is a genius of sorts, with numerous minor inventions like Bomb-Androids, Helicopters and Force Fields to his name (most villainous technology guys only invent ONE thing and then rest on their laurels), in addition to being a good fighter with a fancy Mask that can blind people for good (naturally, Spider-Man is blinded but recovers somehow). At one point, he might have had a suit that enhanced his Strength and absorbed Kinetic Energy. He tends to use minions and inventions to do stuff, and is a general schemer, but aside from his Dazzle Mask, he's not that much of a threat. And of course, only DAREDEVIL could have a villain whose big power was to make you blind forever.
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Ares
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Re: Milla Donovan

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 7:19 am Image
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MILLA DONOVAN
Created By:
Brian Michael Bendis & Alex Maleev
First Appearance: Daredevil #41 (March 2003)
Role: Another Dead Matt Girlfriend

-... okay I evidently have ZERO knowledge of Bendis's epic DD run because I have no memory of this super-important character. With an appearance based off of co-creator Alex Maleev's wife, Milla is a blind woman rescued by Daredevil- out of gratitude, she asks Matt (whose identity is now public) on a date. Despite various super-villains constantly attacking (Bullseye attempts to kill her to get at Matt, for instance), Milla hesitantly goes along with it, and her & Matt eventually marry. She briefly seeks to annul the marriage when she thinks Matt was suffering a nervous breakdown and only married her due to stress over Karen Page's death, but she returns to him... only for him to be arrested and imprisoned when proof of him being Daredevil is given to the FBI. At this point, Bendis leaves the book and Ed Brubaker takes over.

-They are apart for ages thanks to various wild circumstances- Matt's in jail, then breaks out, then is in Paris being manipulated by Lily Lucca, a woman with a near-mystical scent, then the Gladiator attacks while Matt & Milla are on a date, and finally Milla is infected with a strange toxin by Mister Fear, which causes her to accidentally kill an old man while trying to murder Lily. She is placed in a mental institution, with her condition being incurable, and Matt finally agrees to divorce her and award Milla's parents full custody so that she will no longer be targeted for being part of his life. She is later only used to manipulate Matt or make him fearful for her safety. So, yup- Bendis. But also all the later stuff is Brubaker, so the conga line of horrors is half his fault. This seems like a never-ending "Knowing Daredevil Will Ruin Your Life" story- almost Shaggy Dog-like in how endlessly complex and humorously tragic it is. Did fans even like this character? Was she seen like that awful cop lady Peter Parker was supposed to be dating post-divorce?
Yeah, poor Milla here seemed to have been created solely to suffer and showcase just how crappy Matt's life is. Honestly, the kind of suffering Matt has endured over the years almost makes him feel like a parody of grim vigilantes, because it seems that nothing ever goes right for him. I don't know how popular Milla was, but it seems like they had mostly lost interest in her, so her being sent off to her parents was seen as a kind of mercy for the character. Better than being tossed out a window or killed by Bullseye, at least. If she'd stuck around, you just know she would have been given superpowers and become evil or something.

I think the success of the Netflix Daredevil series shows the strength of DD's character, and how the writers of the comics can go a bit overboard. Matt goes through some rough patches in the series, but he also gets called out on his bad decisions and his martyr complex. His friends also aren't perfect either, and make mistakes of their own. And at the end of the day, despite how bad things get, Matt still comes out the other side better, and he isn't living in constant misery. The show treats him as a nice middle ground between Spider-Man and Batman, which is about where he should be.
"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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Jabroniville
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The Tri-Man

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE TRI-MAN
Created By:
Stan Lee & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Daredevil #22 (Nov. 1966)
Role: One-Shot Villain, Kill-O-Bot
PL 6 (87)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA -- AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Science) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+6)
Technology 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Initiative

Powers:
"Android"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 5 [5]
"Heavy Hitter" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +5, Fortitude --, Will +3

Complications:
None

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 2 (87)

-The Tri-Man is a one-shot Android created by The Masked Marauder, combining the attributes of The Brain, The Dancer and The Mangler, three loser hoods. Tri-Man interrupts a boxing match, beats up the boxers, then challenges Daredevil, who handily trounces it. I guess the Marauder should have included less-crappy guys in the gestalt. Despite adding up the strength of The Mangler, the speed of The Dancer and the brains of... The Brain, he sucked. The Marauder would try with other androids, calling them things like the "Bombidroid", but none has ever outlived their debut story.
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The Crusher (Rozza)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE CRUSHER I (Caldwell Rozza)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #91 (July 1967)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (137)
STRENGTH
11 STAMINA 12 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+12)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Technology 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Close Combat, Fast Grab

Powers:
Features 3: Increased Mass 3 [3]
Impervious Toughess 11 [11]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +12, Fortitude +12, Will +2

Complications:
Power Loss (The Formula)- Crusher's powers are dependent on a formula that can wear off over time- his normal physicaly stats are ST 0, STA 0, FIGHTING 2.
Quirk (Density)- Crusher's density is such that he will immediately sink when placed in water.

Total: Abilities: 106 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 5 (137)

-The original Crusher was the kind of guy you saw frequently back in the 1960s- the Unfortunate Evil Commie. Most were Russian, but a handful were from Latin America, as this was the current "close to home" fearsome brand of revolutionary Communism. In this case, Caldwell Rozza is a Cuban scientist who took an experimental thing to make him more powerful on the orders of his "El Presidente", an obvious pastiche of Fidel Castro. The serum was designed to give "El Presidente" super-powers, but the clever dictator didn't trust the scientist, and made him take the formula himself first. Rozza mutated into a deformed powerhouse, and was sent against the symbol of Capitalist Pigs everywhere, Iron Man, to prove his loyalty. The Crusher was beaten, and seven years later, the de-powered scientist ended up in Subterranea, finding a lab that once belonged to Tyrannus. Here, he recreated his formula and attacked Iron Man once more, but was again beaten- Tony then threw him in the ocean. Unfortunately, Crusher was SUPER-HEAVY, and promptly sank to the bottom of the ocean, where he drowned. A doctor doing his autopsy learned the secret of the Crusher's transformation, and used it to empower another man.

-The Crusher is basically a goofy one-shot foe that was used as a temporary bad guy and nothing more- his only two appearances are seven years apart, and by different writers- he never even received a real name until the modern handbooks came out! However, he is a fair bit smarter than the usual throwaway powerhouse.
Shock
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Re: The Crusher (Rozza)

Post by Shock »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Feb 11, 2022 1:29 am Image

Crusher looks pretty lame. But I REALLY want to know what the centrifugal-force ray does.
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Davies
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Re: The Crusher (Rozza)

Post by Davies »

Shock wrote: Fri Feb 11, 2022 2:47 am Crusher looks pretty lame. But I REALLY want to know what the centrifugal-force ray does.
It makes targets weightless; Tony uses it to float the Crusher out over the sea and drop him in it.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Jabroniville
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The Crusher (Aponte)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE CRUSHER II (Juan Aponte)
Created By:
Tony Isabella & Bob Brown
First Appearance: Daredevil #119 (March 1975)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (82)
STRENGTH
10 STAMINA 10 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 4 (+4)
Intimidation 4 (+5)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical, Improved Initiative

Powers:
Features 3: Increased Mass 3 [3]
Impervious Toughess 11 [11]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +10 (+6 Impervious), Fortitude +12, Will +2

Complications:
Power Loss (The Formula)- Crusher's powers are dependent on a formula that can wear off over time- his normal physical stats are ST 1, STA 3, AGI 3, FIGHTING 8 (he's actually a better fighter as a Bantamweight).
Quirk (Density)- Crusher's density is such that he will immediately sink when placed in water.
Motivation (Becoming a Heavyweight)- Juan, a small Bantamweight, wants to increase his size and fight in the big leagues.
Temper- Juan has been driven crazy by the formula that makes him The Crusher, and he is constantly angry.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 5 (82)

-The second Crusher was created when a coroner received The Crusher's body and studied it in order to recreate the formula. He gave it to a Bantamweight Boxer named Juan Aponte, and Aponte, wanting to become a Heavyweight (that is a HUGE weight increase- something like 80 lbs.), took it. Unfortunately, it also made him crazy-angry with violent mood swings, and his coaches went to Matt Murdock for help. Unfortunately, Juan's body eventually transformed into a similar creature to that of the original Crusher, and attacked- he collapsed a wall with fell towards his coaches, and he rushed to save them, dying in the process. Thus, both Crushers are one-shot nobodies created for a Filler Issue here and there. Interestingly, both are Latinos- that's an unusually-specific type of legacy jobber.

-Crusher II is effectively the same as the first one, but much less intelligent. His death is much more "ordinary" than that of the original, and he's a train boxer, so I modified his caps a bit on this second build.
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Bullseye

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Put up a pretty good fight, toots... You're pretty good. But me? I'm MAGIC."

BULLSEYE (Lester something, aka Hawkeye III/Dark Hawkeye)
Created By:
Marv Wolfman & John Romita
First Appearance: Daredevil #131 (March 1976)
Role: Psychopathic Murderer, Martial Artist, The Marksman
Group Affiliations: The Dark Avengers, The Thunderbolts
PL 10 (162)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+13)
Athletics 4 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+14)
Deception 5 (+6)
Expertise (Assassin) 9 (+10)
Intimidate 9 (+10)
Investigation 6 (+7)
Perception 12 (+13)
Sleight of Hand 8 (+10)
Stealth 6 (+12)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Defensive Attack, Equipment 3 (Guns +5 Multiattack), Follow-Up Strike, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Precise Attack 2 (Ranged/Cover & Concealment), Quick Draw, Taunt, Ranged Combat 13, Ultimate Aim, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Improbable Aiming Powers"
Blast 5 (Feats: Improved Critical 4, Split, Ricochet 3, Penetrating 5, Extended Range) (Quirk: Requires Throwable Items -1) [23]

"Adamantium-Laced Skeleton"
Protection 1 [1]
Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Gun & Thrown Objects +15 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +15 (DC 25), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +4 (+5 Adamantium), Fortitude +7, Will +6

Complications:
Reputation (Unhinged Lunatic)- Everyone knows Bullseye is crazy. Hell, even Bullseye knows that Bullseye is crazy. On a team full of lunatics, incestuous swordsmen, cannibals and sadists, Norman Osborn specifically put BULLSEYE under 24/7 armed guard and a nanochain harness to ensure his loyalty. Venom, who has frequently murdered and eaten living human beings, didn't get this treatment.
Enemy (Daredevil)- Bullseye is obsessed with killing Daredevil, after having suffered several humiliating defeats. It has only grown worse with time, with Matt allowing Bullseye to become paralyzed, as well as mentally-torturing him with Russian Roulette. Bullseye has, for his part, murdered two of Matt's greatest loves- Elektra & Karen Page.
Enemy (Elektra)- Elektra is apparently still holding a grudge over the "being gutted with a sai" thing. Bitch.
Motivation (Wanton Slaughter)- Bullseye is a psychopath in the truest sense of the world, wanting to kill anyone & everyone he can. When a falling robot he was fighting killed 36 civilians, he demanded Osborn give him credit for his kills (keep in mind he was publically supposed to be a hero at the time).
Obsession (Becoming The Kingpin's Chief Assassin Again)- Despite only holding this title for a short while, Bullseye is obsessed with gaining it back, and is constantly out to make himself look good in Wilson Fisk's eyes. He usually tries to kill Daredevil for the job.

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 70--35 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 25 / Defenses: 19 (162)

Bullseye- Marvel's Homicidal Mass-Murderer:
-I really like Bullseye- in a universe full of "Sympathetic Villains", villains who later turn into anti-heroes, Extremists With Good Intentions and more, it's nice to have someone around who is just an absolutely-soulless homicidal maniac. He's a fairly old-school villain, though is notably one of the few major recurring foes of a hero to be introduced over a DECADE after the character's introduction (compare how every Spidey major villain but Venom was created in the first three years of books, tops, after Spidey was). He quickly became the recurring "let Frank Miller draw awesome fight scenes" go-to guy for DD to beat up, but it wasn't until the Elektra storyline that we saw the REAL depths to which this scumbag will sink. That final brawl in Miller's run was this epic, heart-rending moment, and one of the big crossings of the Rubicon that turned comics into a grittier art form. This kind of thing can be way overdone via excess, the same way DC wrecks things by making every Batman villain a successful mass-murderer, and of course some writers go over the top with Bullseye killing buildings full of people and make the hero look like a fool, but in smaller doses it can work. It helps that Bullseye pays for nearly each and every death he commits- he has one of the worst win/loss records for a man of his reputation ever.

-Bullseye is also an interesting case in how someone can maintain credibility despite almost never beating "name" adversaries- most villains with his Win/Loss Record are basically considered Jobbers, and ol' Lester has jobbed to Daredevil something like fifty times, while also jobbing to American Eagle, Deadpool (numerous times), Elektra (again, numerous times), and more. But in that one moment where he viciously murdered the fan-favourite Elektra (object of a thousand fanboy fantasies), he made his rep FOREVER- he could lose a hundred MORE times, dropping fights to The Runaways, Power Pack or the freakin' Gamecock, and never drop a single iota of his cred- he's been a made man since the 1980s, and I can't imagine it ever stopping.

-After killing Matt's "One True Love", Bullseye threatened him many more times, being written out every time he got just a BIT too over-exposed. He'd go fight Punisher or Deadpool or something in the meantime, but he'd always be back to kill Karen Page or attempt to kill Matt's newest girl. He's just that kind of a personal villain, which makes him neat. It's also cute how they've made him a murder-obsessed psychopath with absolutely no morality- no "attempted Face Turn" here- Bullseye's frickin' nuts, and will absolutely kill anyone, just for fun if possible. He has a great bit on Warren Ellis' dark, cynical Thunderbolts, where he wakes up in a hospital and murders all of the people holding the rest of Thunderbolts Mountain in a psionic hostage situation... without even knowing that's what they were doing! He just saw them hiding out in prison cells (they were Bathroom Psychics, attacking the rest of the T-Bolts) and started murdering them! When they can't figure out why he's immune to their charms, he comes up with a couple guesses, ending with "Or maybe it's because I'm Bullseye and you're just a moving target".

Bullseye's Debut:
-Bullseye's enough of a cipher that his real name isn't known- he's just called "Lester". He grew up with an abusive father, and in his original origin killed his father by facking his suicide- in the new one, he grew into a Major League-quality pitcher. Pitching a no-hitter during a major game, he grew bored and asked to be taken out of the game- his manager refused and the opposing player taunted him, and so Lester threw the ball at his head, killing him ("Bullseye", he smirked). He was convicted of manslaughter, but his skills got him recruited by the NSA, who wanted him as an assassin and trainer of Contras in Nicaragua. However, he quickly bailed and became a costumed assassin instead. In his debut in Marv Wolfman's Daredevil run, he beats Daredevil to establish himself as an extortionist, then wins another couple fights, but finds his rep damaged by DD still escaping- ultimately, he publicly challenges the hero, but this time loses.

-Bullseye falls into mental despair when DD beats him AGAIN, but later, Frank Miller reveals that he's suffering from a brain tumor- he's now imagining everyone he sees is Daredevil, going on a murder spree. He is defeated once more, but his lawyer gets him out. He is briefly the Kingpin's personal hitman, but is fired promptly- he then becomes obsessed with regaining this briefly-held position. And then, in one of comics' most famous moments, the embittered killer hunts down Kingpin's NEW assassin, Elektra, and fights her to a standstill. She stuns him, but he throws a playing card into her throat, slitting it and finishing the fight. And with one of comics' greatest taunts (""Put up a pretty good fight, toots... You're pretty good. But me? I'm MAGIC.") and impales her with her own sai, gleefully grinning the entire time. Elektra bleeds out, dying on Matt Murdock's doorstep, leading to a final knock-down, drag-out fight between the two men. Daredevil, infuriated even upon winning the fight, refuses to help Bullseye up from a dangling precipice and lets him fall off a telephone wire, paralyzing him. While hospitalized, Bullseye is visited by DD, who taunts him with a game of Russian Roulette, ensuring to kill him... only to reveal he was bluffing.

Bullseye's Return:
-Bullseye later reappears, being healed by Lord Dark Wind via the adamantium-bonding process. The Lord hopes Bullseye will work for him out of gratitude, but the guy's just like "LOL nope" and refuses to work for free, instead trying to kill Daredevil again, but is imprisoned for years. He shows up in the Captain America arc in which the Red Skull & Kingpin battled, fighting Crossbones to no real conclusion as well. Later, he mimics Daredevil to ruin his reputation, but grows so psychotic that he actually starts thinking he IS the hero! He's beaten again and thereafter just becomes a Journeyman Villain, being maimed by the Punisher, then loses to Deadpool & Gambit. He isn't used for a chunk of the '90s but suddenly reappears in a BIG way in Kevin Smith's big Daredevil run- despite being a minion of Mysterio's, he manages to score yet another win over DD, firing a lethal shot at him and Karen Page, his old girlfriend, dies saving Matt's life. Later stories see an enraged DD savagely beat Bullseye again, and then Bullseye gets hit by a truck in another story.

-Bullseye later becomes a recurring element in Thunderbolts, then a team run by Norman Osborn. Here, he's controlled by a "nano-chain" to prevent him from doing anything but the government's say-so- American Eagle beats the dogshit out of him and he's zapped for going outside of protocols (Songbird attempted to get him killed by doing so- his brain was fried), but he inadvertently rescues the rest of the team when some Bathroom Psychics are messing with them- he proves immune to their powers and murders them all for fun. Impressing Norman during the Skrull Invasion, he is made the new "Hawkeye" of Osborn's Dark Avengers squad, but kills countless civiliations with increasingly dangerous stunts because he simply doesn't care about them. He even murders a woman he rescued for calling Osborn his "Boss". Later, however, he bribes Deadpool to save his own life, then jobs to Elektra again. He escapes prison after the fall of Osborn during Siege, but when he decides to go after DD for old time's sake, he's unexpectedly torn into, as Daredevil is now possessed by a demon and completely ruthless- Bullseye is stabbed through the heart the same way he killed Elektra all those years ago.

-Bullseye was (naturally) Hand-resurrected within a couple years (deaths now last even SHORTER periods in comics than they used to), but in a much worse condition- he is basically unable to move and barely able to speak, trapped in a metal container. He still tried to destroy Matt Murdock's life using his own minions (Ikari & Lady Bullseye), but fell short, and is even FURTHER tortured by scarring and blindness as a result.

Bullseye's Powers:
-Bullseye's one of those guys who's a lot of fun to stat, as you can go MULTIPLE routes with him. A lot of him is just a well-rounded fighter, being a capable martial artist (+15 in melee is comparable to Elektra, Daredevil & Captain America) with a TON of Combat Advantages, able to shift around nearly all his caps at-will for any possible kind of threat. He's also a shooting-based guy, with all the necessary Ultimate Effort (Aim), Precise Attack & Improved Aim Feats for that whole deal.

-Where you get into the specifics is his "Everything is a weapon in my hands!" power, which extends well beyond what a human being should be capable of. There's a ton of ways to stat this up, the easiest being to just go with the Throwing Mastery Advantage, which was explicitly CREATED for Bullseye, just as the "drive a straw through an oak" Extra to Spinning in 2e was created for Riptide of the Marauders. However, that doesn't cover all of what he's capable of doing in my opinion (despite most ATTers doing it that way)- it's just a way to do Gun-level damage with regular stuff for cheap. I've seen one guy on ATT stat up his abilities with a Perception-Range Damage attack that allowed enemies an extra Reflex Save to get out of the way, which was a neat way of showing how he never misses- people just dodge.

-But I went with something that I think properly reflects his clearly-superhuman powers. With a small Quirk being that he actually needs something in his hands (be it a paper-clip, a rock, a hairbrush, or what have you), he can hit a low-level Blast (boosted with Power Attack for higher damage, but really, +5 is GUN-LEVEL damage in this game) that can either Split Attack or Ricochet (quite a few times, if necessary), as well as Penetrating damage (a tooth through a human head; a toothpick through a stone pillar), up to +10 in case he uses Power Attack or Extra Effort for more damage. So Bullseye's a capable, PL 9 melee combatant (enough to challenge Daredevil, just a notch below his accuracy- Bulleye is basically 0-20 against DD, and also got the CRAP beaten out of him by American Eagle, so he's not in the Elite Class of fighters at all), but shifts to an absolutely scary PL 10 accuracy-based Ranged Fighter, capable of using background objects as lethal weapons.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Fri Feb 11, 2022 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bsdigitalq
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Man-Bull! The Owl! Karen Page! Bullseye!)

Post by bsdigitalq »

Man, Bullseye. Such an utter monster, and yet it's sometimes useful to have a monster like him around. Probably helps that he doesn't seem to be as unstoppable as Carnage or modern day Joker and loses so badly it sometimes makes up for his awfulness.

Man, I knew he lost a lot, but I didn't realize it was that badly. Yet he still has the rep he does. Just goes to show how much one single powerful moment can hold up a character's rep, while others struggle by comparison.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Man-Bull! The Owl! Karen Page! Bullseye!)

Post by Ares »

Yep. Sometimes it doesn't matter if the villain never really wins over the hero. If they're a good enough villain, they're still considered a threat.

Also, I just love Bullseye's costume. Such a great, simple design.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Man-Bull! The Owl! Karen Page! Bullseye!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Fri Feb 11, 2022 6:21 pm Yep. Sometimes it doesn't matter if the villain never really wins over the hero. If they're a good enough villain, they're still considered a threat.

Also, I just love Bullseye's costume. Such a great, simple design.
Killing Elektra in such a prominent way alone just made him for life. Nobody remembers the 97 stories where he lost; they remember THAT PAGE.

It also helps that he killed Karen Page AND crippled Jack Flag in recent years. His “big wins” are bigger and more book-affecting than nearly any other villains- and have permanent effects, too.

And also, like you said, he looks cool. That’s almost the most important thing. I guarantee nobody would have cared about all Arcade’s failures if he didn’t look like a clown.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Man-Bull! The Owl! Karen Page! Bullseye!)

Post by Goldar »

Yeah, Bullseye is a bad dude. I think I remember him hanging the Black Widow with her own hair dryer/cord.
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Lady Bullseye

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

LADY BULLSEYE (Maki Matsumoto)
Created By:
Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjevic & Clay Mann
First Appearance: Daredevil #111 (Sept. 2008)
Role: Distaff Counterpart, Lady Assassin
Group Affiliations: The Hand
PL 9 (142)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 9 (+15)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+15)
Expertise (Lawyer) 3 (+6)
Expertise (Assassin) 5 (+8)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 7 (+10)
Ranged Combat (Thrown Weapons) 4 (+14)
Stealth 6 (+12)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Chokehold, Defensive Roll, Equipment 4 (Shuriken +3, Katana +3, Assorted Ninja Gear), Evasion, Fast Grab, Improved Critical 2 (Unarmed, Katana), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"Little Scent" Concealment 1 (Scent) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
"Martial Artist" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +15 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Katana +12 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Shuriken +14 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +3 (+4 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Power)- Lady Bullseye wishes to rule The Hand herself.
Enemy (Daredevil)- Matt has refused her demands to join The Hand, and she has opposed him several times.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 56--28 / Advantages: 23 / Powers: 2 / Defenses: 15 (142)

-A character that's been recently-introduced, Lady Bullseye is pretty bizarre and highly-unnecessarily-linked to our main man Bullseye. See, Hot Lady Assassin is perfectly acceptable WITHOUT linking her to one of Daredevil's chief opponents. Because now that she's got the name, she will ALWAYS be compared unfavorably for someone with a lot more credibility, making her seem like a cheap copy. She's inspired by Lady Snowblood, a manga that also inspired Kill Bill- it's about an assassin out to avenge the murder of her family (and the rape of her mother) by killing those responsible.

-Lady Bullseye is Maki, a Japanese girl who saw her potential slavers murdered by Bullseye, and was thus inspired to become a killer herself. She joins The Hand (because she's Japanese, duh), then murders and resurrects White Tiger & Black Tarantula to serve her. When Daredevil refuses her offer to join The Hand, she attacks him, murders The Kingpin's new girlfriend and her kids as a message, then tries to take command of all the Hand Ninjas herself. She was then seen as a minion of the REAL Bullseye, being treated more as a background fighter- with Bullseye himself around, she had little chance to stand out. Since then, she's largely been a backgrounder-for-hire.

-Lady Bullseye's New Villain Stink never even amounted to THAT much- she's just a very good martial artist, faster than Bullseye or Wilson Fisk, but not as strong as either. With a Katana, she's quite dangerous, but obviously doesn't score too many hits on Daredevil with it.
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