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

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Ken
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Re: Hourman (Rick Tyler)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:20 amAfter that, Rick is paired up with Jesse Chambers (the current Liberty Belle), and marries her in the interim between the end of the volume and its restarted run. This made them one of the few happily-married super-couples in comics, but kinda meant that was the ONLY thing they were about thereafter.

-Unfortunately, this is right when the JSA adds a half-dozen NEW members, meaning that Rick's entire personality by this point consists of him being "Schmoopy" with his wife (they literally hang off of each other in Team Meetings and during one mid-fight introduction, going "Okay, MY TURN- where was our first date?" as they quiz each other on who remembers the most)
The Rick and Jesse thing was hinted way back in 1992 or '93. Around issue 8 of Justice Society of America vol. 2 (the Mike Parobek drawn series), we see Rex coming to visit Rick (with leukemia) in the hospital. Jesse Chambers, and her dad Johnny are already there, as is Wes Dodds (who's been wheeled down from elsewhere in the same hospital). We can also see that among the flowers that have been sent to Rick, one is a bouquet of red roses. It's nothing concrete, but of Rick's known visitors, somehow the pretty girl his own age seems the one most likely to send roses, rather than any of the septuagenarians who were hanging around.
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Re: Hourman (Rick Tyler)

Post by Ares »

Ken wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:16 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:20 amAfter that, Rick is paired up with Jesse Chambers (the current Liberty Belle), and marries her in the interim between the end of the volume and its restarted run. This made them one of the few happily-married super-couples in comics, but kinda meant that was the ONLY thing they were about thereafter.

-Unfortunately, this is right when the JSA adds a half-dozen NEW members, meaning that Rick's entire personality by this point consists of him being "Schmoopy" with his wife (they literally hang off of each other in Team Meetings and during one mid-fight introduction, going "Okay, MY TURN- where was our first date?" as they quiz each other on who remembers the most)
The Rick and Jesse thing was hinted way back in 1992 or '93. Around issue 8 of Justice Society of America vol. 2 (the Mike Parobek drawn series), we see Rex coming to visit Rick (with leukemia) in the hospital. Jesse Chambers, and her dad Johnny are already there, as is Wes Dodds (who's been wheeled down from elsewhere in the same hospital). We can also see that among the flowers that have been sent to Rick, one is a bouquet of red roses. It's nothing concrete, but of Rick's known visitors, somehow the pretty girl his own age seems the one most likely to send roses, rather than any of the septuagenarians who were hanging around.
Sadly, since this is Geoff Johns and not someone like Kurt Busiek, I imagine Johns just paired up the two similarly aged heroes who didn't have much going on otherwise, rather than doing some deep continuity nod.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Manhunter I-VI! Wildcat I-III! Hourman!)

Post by Ken »

Ares wrote: Wed Apr 06, 2022 4:13 pmFrom what I remember of Geoff Johns run for the JSA, it sounded like he was going with the idea that while Rick wasn't Kryptonian-strong (so not in the Captain Marvel/Power Girl range), he was the strongest member of the JSA outside the top tier heroes. So it sounds like Johns' intent was for Hourman II to be "Thing-Level", but he never really showcased that.

That level of physical power could actually justify the 60 minute limit to the drug, if taking it can turn someone into a Thing-class powerhouse.
What is a "Thing-class powerhouse"?

At Marvel, a Thing-class powerhouse would seem to be the penultimate strength tier. The people like Ben or Namor who are officially not in in the top tier of strength, but seem to regularly get in fights with the Hulk and hold their own for pages and pages.

At DC, it's even messier because it's unclear what constitutes top tier. Sure, Kryptonians and Daxamites are top tier. And while people like Ares and me are adamant that the Marvel Family is also top tier; I know I've read stories where the Marvel Family is penultimate tier. Similarly, Martians, Wonder Woman, and quantum-powered folks seem to alternate between being top tier or penultimate. Below that, seems to be everyone else who is super strong: Aquaman, Hourman, Donna Troy, Will Payton, Cyborg, Al Pratt, Robotman, Red Star, Uncle Sam, etc.
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Hourman (Matthew Tyler)

Post by Jabroniville »

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HOURMAN III (Matthew Tyler)
Created By:
Grant Morrison & Howard Porter
First Appearance: JLA #12 (Nov. 1997)
Role: Legacy Hero, Pinocchio-Story Android
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The Justice League of America, Justice League Alpha
PL 10 (207)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Expertise (Science) 7 (+12)
Technology 8 (+13)
Perception 5 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Time & Laser Stuff) 4 (+10)
Treatment 3 (+3)

Advantages:
Eidetic Memory, Equipment 10 (Time Ship), Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]
Immunity 10 (Aging, Life Support) [10]
Illusion 6 (Visual Senses) [12]
Regeneration 4 [4]

"Time Vision" Senses 12 (Postcognition, Precognition, Microscopic Vision 2, Timesense, Ultra-Hearing) [12]

"Time Stop" Affliction 8 (Initiative; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless/Paralyzed & Unaware) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Selective, Extra Condition, Sustained +2) (Flaws: Instant Recovery) (48) -- [54]
  • AE: "Laser Vision" Blast 8 (16)
  • AE: Healing 6 (Extras: Energizing, Restorative) (Quirks: Limited to Damage That May Eventually Heal Itself) (24)
  • AE: Movement 3 (Time Travel 3) (Feats: Increased Mass 3) (Extras: Portal +2) (15)
  • AE: "Drain All Effects" Weaken Abilities 8 (Extras: Ranged, Broad) (24)
  • AE: "Move Between Picoseconds" Speed 10 (2,000 mph) (Extras: Affects Others) Linked to Enhanced Advantages 4: Improved Initiative 4 (Extras: Affects Others) (28)
  • AE: "Make Things Younger Or Older" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Transformed Age) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (30)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Laser Vision +10 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Drain Effects +10 (+8 Ranged Weaken, DC 18)
Time Stop +8 Area (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Age Up & Down +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +3 (+19 Speed-Up)

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +8, Fortitude +10, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Wants to Be Human)- Like almost all comic book androids, Matthew Tyler Just Wants To Be A Real Boy.
Responsibility (Guardian of Time)- Hourman has been entrusted by Metron with the Worlogog, a Time-Control device.
Power Loss (Hour of Power)- Matthew can only use his Time-Related Powers for one hour per day.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 102 / Defenses: 11 (207)

The Forgotten Hourman:
-The third Hourman is a creation of Grant Morrison, largely based around the time travelling Rock of Ages storyline & DC One Million, who was initially given a fairly decent push in DC. First he was J'onn's JLA replacement, then he went right into the resurrection of the JSA series while his own series was ongoing, but unfortunately for him, his lifespan was short after that. See, it really feels like Hourman is just there because of his name and legacy, and Johns & Goyer really didn't care to keep him around- within two trades, he quits the team to go find himself after hesitating in battle. It didn't help that his case of Pinocchio Syndrome was a REALLY old story in comics by this point. Or that he was linked to the dumbest New God.

-Matthew Tyler was created in the 853rd Century by a time-travelling Rex Tyler at the future version of his TylerCo company, "Tyler Chemorobotics"- he joined his era's Justice League, and went back in time to help save the day against Darkseid, using a powerful Time Device that looks like a nasty skin disease- the "Worlogog". The New God Metron names him as his apprentice and potential successor, and begins advising the android. He went back in time to join the standard JLA for a story, annoying them by skipping time forward a few times to avoid pointless small talk. He got his OWN SERIES for a time, palling around with Snapper Carr and dealing with the fact that he was potentially all-powerful- he willingly gave up the power of The Worlogog, becoming only a minor superhero. Most of the comic seems to be him finding a group of buddies (including a woman who falls in love with him, but eventually turns out to be married to their mutual friend in the future) and going on time-travel adventures, and... okay, this Tom Peyer who wrote it is not a writer I'm familiar with, but he's VERY CLEARLY in the "Grant Morrison" mold, as he either edited Grant's stuff or followed him onto books like Doom Patrol or whatever. So it probably has a vocal "Doom Patrol Fandom" but I never read it- someone I talked to who did liked the series, and bemoaned Peyer suffering as "DC moved away from Grant Morrison's style and more to Geoff Johns's style".

Hourman's Character Progression:
-Like numerous android heroes before him, Hourman III was super-interested in becoming more of a real person, which is... well it's a FINE character archetype, as seen by the Vision & Star Trek's Data... but HOLY GOD is it over-done in comics. The character failed to take off, and it was obvious none of the writers really cared about him- as soon as it was possible, he was dumped from JSA and even replaced by Rick Tyler, the "proper" Legacy Hero.

-And so Matthew stuck around for a year or so in JSA before vanishing, as his solo book was cancelled. He offered Rick Tyler, Rex's son, a final hour with his father, and future premonitions as a gift, but when the time came for Rex to meet his end, Matthew was so moved by the Tylers' attempts at sacrificing themselves for the other, that he took Rex Tyler's place HIMSELF against Extant, dying fighting the villain instead of either Tyler. Rex promised to rebuild his "clockwork man", and Rip Hunter declared that he'd only be gone for "a relative year", but unfortunately, not a single other writer apparently gave a crap about the third Hourman, as instead, we just never saw him again.

The Hour of Power:
-Hourman III is one of the harder characters on the JSA to stat, if only because of his myriad powers, and somewhat odd way they're depicted. It's inferred in a few battles that he can "devolve" people (helpfully, you can just use Affliction here), he has generic Laser Blasts, see into the past & future, robotic senses (which weren't really delved into, so I just assumed "lots"), can enhance the healing of other characters' wounds (but not outright cure dying people, since they'd just bleed out FASTER if he sped up time), and I would assume that a guy with Time Controlling powers could at least do the Time Stop trick, just at a low level. I also had a bit of a decision to make over whether or not he counts as a real construct or not, as he's an ANDROID, which implies actual anatomy, but at the same point, he's been sliced the hell open and blown apart like a robot. Soooo.... I decided to just give him a high Stamina, followed by the Regeneration and Immunity powers. And even though he's got a ton of powers, I think he's still only PL 8 because he was always shown as a terrible combatant (+8 Attack is actually probably being nice), and easy to hit if he's being hesitant or something (relying entirely on Dodge for defense).
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Roxy

Post by Jabroniville »

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ROXY
Created By:
Matt Sturges & Freddie E. Williams II
First Appearance: JSA All-Stars #2 (March 2010)
Role: Sentient A.I., Comic Relief Character, Writer's Pet
Group Affiliations: The JSA All-Stars

-*SIGH*... ROXY. Okay, Roxy wasn't bad. She was a sentient A.I. hologram built for the JSA All-Stars' base by Rex "Hourman I" Tyler, meant to help the group along in missions. And instead of the whole "What must it be like to be human?" Star Trek thing that literally every other android character ever has done, Roxy was instead like "HUMANS- yuck!" and constantly acting grossed out by all the squishiness and internal organs and everything that humans had, and boasted about her superiority as a machine capable of millions of calculations per second. In short, she was comic relief. The series ended up having a very wacky, surreal vibe a lot of the time, in part due to her. The creators kind of got overly obsessed with her, though- the book was JSA All-Stars and it was meant to spin off the younger characters from a beloved book and here we often had several pages of "Roxy antics" per issue, focused on a brand-new characte,r and in fact full issues featuring her prominently. And this was in a comic that didn't manage to properly spotlight some of the active superheroes on the team, mind you). Like, Sturges was clearly in love with writing her, and adored her dialogue, etc., and so the spotlight shone on her.

-Typical Roxy things: Boasting that she's taken control of the world's nuclear weapons, then revealing it was a prank. Showing up to a team meeting in the nude, with an embarrassed Cyclone averting her gaze ("Woah, nelly!") and Power Girl shouting angrily "Roxy! Put some clothes on!" and Roxy shrugging and blowing it off because she was just trying a thing. Later, she figures out that Cyclone replicated herself onto various people and the wrong one ended up with her original skeleton when everything got sorted out- she just goes "HUMANS!" and is weirded out by the notion of bones.

-Roxy ends up transferring herself into a human body at one point- the comatose, brain-dead body of a villain's love interest. She also finds this gross, but helps out in her own way. The same story suggests that in the JLA 3000 era, Roxy will have been alive for a thousand years, and begin helping out Matthew "Hourman" Tyler, who also appears in this issue.
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Re: Wildcat (Yolanda Montez)

Post by drkrash »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Apr 05, 2022 10:49 am Image
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The last one is the prospective Infinity Inc. character "La Garro".

WILDCAT II (Yolanda Montez)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Todd MacFarlane
First Appearance: Infinity, Inc. #12 (March 1985)
Role: Quickly-Killed Minority Legacy Hero
Group Affiliations: Infinity, Inc., The Shadow Fighters
PL 8 (101)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+14)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Journalist) 6 (+8)
Insight 4 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+5)
Perception 5 (+6)
Stealth 1 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Fast Grab

Powers:
"Claws"
Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split) [2]
Movement 1 (Wall-Crawling) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Claws +11 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Relationship (Nukon)- Yolanda openly-flirted with the shy young man, but knew alongside most of Infinity, Inc. that he only had eyes for Fury.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 4 / Defenses: 11 (101)

-The Yolanda Montez version of Wildcat actually has an interesting history, sadly more interesting than the character ever turned out to be. Going through TWO different designs before they finally settled on something, the husband/wife team of Roy & Dann Thomas repeatedly tried to make a cat-based female character for the All-Stars/Infinity Inc. First step was The Lynx (meant to be a Canadian heroine), who quickly became La Garro, a cat-dressed chick riding a motorcycle.

-Eventually, they settled on Yolanda Montez, a girl born with cat's claws and the god-daughter of Ted Grant, taking on Ted's legacy as Wildcat after he was "crippled" by the Red Tornado in Crisis on Infinite Earths. She was less than successful, essentially jumping onto Infinity Inc. right at the end of the era of Earth-2, which basically rendered any Golden Age-based comics dead for over a decade. Thus, Infinity Inc. saw itself cancelled a few years later, and Yolanda entered comics limbo, where she resided until she and a bunch of other throwaway heroes were murdered by Eclipso in his own series (yeah, they really gave him one)- she was on "The Shadow Fighters" with a few others, but was impaled by a sword. Thus, she joined Dr. Midnight II in the "Minority girls replacing male heroes, but were then casually offed because no one gave a crap" club, which kind of happens a lot when they try to replace superheroes with minorities. She actually got a tiny bit of a legacy in her cousin Alex, who used certain connections to contain Eclipso within his own body, but he was killed when they overwhelmed him. This was at least somewhat of a neat look at her legacy in comics, as Dr. Midnight was almost completely forgotten and left no effect, by contrast.

-Yolanda is a scaled-down version of Ted's Golden Age Wildcat, with lower stats just about everywhere, but she's got some super-powers he doesn't. PL 8-ish, but nothing to write home about.
I know that you don't care about the CW stuff, Jab, but for anyone who is a fan of the JSA, they've done some fun things with them on the Stargirl TV series.
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Re: The Golden Age Wildcat

Post by brothersale »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:25 pm WILDCAT I (Ted Grant)- Golden Age

Complications:
I would also suggest that an additional complication would be Royal Bloodline: Ted Grant is distantly related to the English Royal family.

Its minor but it comes into efect when dealing with James "Jim" Craddock aka the Gentleman Ghost
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Manhunter I-VI! Wildcat I-III! Hourman!)

Post by Jack of Spades »

I love the Tylers, because the one hour limitation is both so pervasive and so innocuous. Villains don't have to get hold of special substances to take advantage, or know anything special about the hero for it to limit him. In Rex's solo stories, at least the ones I've read, a literal ticking clock goes up in every panel after he's taken the Miraclo, adding to the tension without a thing needing to be done.

I wonder how many bad guys wondered why he was called Hourman without ever figuring it out?
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The Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SANDMAN I (Wesley Dodds)
Created By:
Gardner Fox & Bert Christman
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939)
Role: Golden Age Pulp Detective
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron, The Justice Society of America
PL 7 (130)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 7 (+8)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8)
Insight 3 (+8)
Investigation 11 (+16)
Perception 3 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Technology 4 (+8)
Vehicles 1 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit (Wealth), Contacts, Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Gas Mask, Assorted Detective Equipment, Wirepoon Gun- Swinging), Improved Aim, Improved Disarm, Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Ranged Attack 2, Skill Mastery (Investigation), Teamwork, Track, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Gas Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [13]
Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Cumulative) (21 points)

"Prophetic Dreams" Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Limited to While Asleep) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gas Gun +7 Area (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +8

Complications:
Relationship (Dian Belmont)- Wesley's true love is Dian, his equal partner in the war on crime. They were together until she died of a terminal disease, well into their old age.
Motivation (Justice)- Wesley fights to ensure justice is done.
Relationship (Sandy the Golden Boy)- Wesley was close to his Teen Sidekick.
Guilt (Sandy's Transformation)- Years and years ago, Wesley was experimenting with a silicate gun, and transformed his Teen Sidekick into an unstoppable sand monster. He trapped Sandy in a glass case with only a television for company for years, and never stopped feeling guilty about this turn of events.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 13 (130)

The Sandman- Forgotten Golden Ager to Fabled Pulp-Style Hero:
-Wesley Dodds is one of those guys who has a weird history in that he was a FAR bigger deal in the modern age than he ever was in the Golden Age. In reality, he was a pretty minor super-hero in his day, known mainly for A) appearing in the debut of the Justice Society, and B) Being redone by Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris in a more-trendy "All Tights" yellow & purple spandex outfit. It wasn't until the JSA revival in the '60s, the All-Star Squadron in the '80s, and most importantly, the '90s Sandman Mystery Theatre stories, that gave him any kind of real clout. Curiously, the garish yellow & purple costumed era has been almost entirely forgotten, even though he spent the majority of his Golden Age career in that form (that's also where he gained his sidekick Sandy, who in appearance and concept was just a straight knock-off of the general Teen Sidekick concept, being essentially a recolor of Bucky). Retroactively, it's been shown as a short-lived switch, and stories set in that era will 9 times out of 10 show him as the familiar pulp hero in suit and gas-mask that most people would recognize, even with a tights-clad Sandy next to him (and yes, that looks very weird).

-So yeah, Wesley was very much a guy in the tradition of "Pulp Magazines", being a creepy-looking, hard-bitten detective with an exotic "gas gun" that could make villains tell the truth, then fall asleep. Like many Pulp heroes, he'd even get SHOT on occasion! His girlfriend Dian was actually treated like a real partner, and they shockingly didn't bother with the whole "She musn't find out my secret identity!" thing. And really, that look was BAD-ASS, and is definitely why he keeps that appearance in every look back at the olden times.

Sandman Becomes a Tights-Wearing Superhero:
-However, two years into his run, the Sandman strip was refitted to increase sales and fit what was popular at the time- superheroes! Wesley was given a set of tights, a Teen Sidekick (Dian's nephew Sandy), and a career as a soldier in WWII. Soon after, he began being written by Jack Kirby & Joe Simon, not long after their Captain America run has ended- the new look & Sidekick were a natural fit, as their act was pretty well just Captain America & Bucky. Except for the color scheme, though (yellow and PURPLE?), he looks just way too generic. Subsequent stories retconned in that he wore the tights because Dian had died while mimicking him in the old gear, and he couldn't bring himself to wear it again... this was later RE-retconned, as now Dian hadn't died. Now, it was Sandy who'd convinced Wesley to switch, as it'd help him gain the support of regular people more than the scary outfit would.

-In any case, Wesley actually lasted a bit longer than expected, considering he was booted from the JSA book after only 22 appeaprances. His feature lasted for 60+ issues, and he lasted seven years overall- bowing out only two years before most of his fellows like Flash & Green Lantern did. In the Silver Age, he was largely-forgotten, and only appeared infrequently in the subsequent Golden Age-themed books in later eras (and was one of many JSAers turned into an old man around Zero Hour), but a five-year Mystery Theatre series for Vertigo gave him a new lease on life, with stories set back in the day. This book was much more pulp-themed, making use of the cool styles of the time for some era-specific stories (though here, Sandy was a fictional character). Following the whole "JSA goes to Ragnarok to leave continuity" thing, he returns as a much older man, and is quite ill while Dian has a terminal illness. He willingly committed suicide at the opening of the new JSA series in order to prevent Mordru from gaining knowledge of the next Doctor Fate- he was a hero to the last, hoping he'll meet Dian again in the next world. His sidekick became the new leader of the relaunched team, giving Wesley a solid legacy... until they got bored with that character after David Goyer left the book.

-So the funny thing with Wesley is the '90s may be his best decade of all- 70+ issues of Sandman Mystery Theatre, Neil Gaiman's love, and fans looking back at this classic "Pulp Hero" stuff favorably. As he's probably the biggest-name hero in either of the Big Two who fits that "Pulp" style the best, it's a pretty good gig. Not bad for a dude who was dressed in yellow & purple for 5/7th of his run.

Sandman's Powers:
-Wesley, like a TON of Golden Agers, is a Skillmonkey of sorts, this time with a big focus on the detective skills (Batman's given Wes his props in that regard; no small feat). His prophetic dreams and gas gun eat up some more points as well. It should be noted that he's pretty good physically, but lacks the in-close power of his fellow non-powered guys- he works far better as a sneaky guy and team detective. Dodds is definitely no brawler- at only PL 7, he'd have a solid fight on his hands against mere PL 4 Street Thugs, and most real super-villains would eat him for breakfast.

THE SANDMAN I (Wesley Dodds)- Simon & Kirby Era
Created By:
Gardner Fox & Bert Christman
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939)
Role: Golden Age Pulp Detective
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron, The Justice Society of America
PL 7 (135)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+11)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+11)
Deception 7 (+8)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8)
Insight 3 (+8)
Investigation 7 (+12)
Perception 3 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+7)
Technology 4 (+8)
Vehicles 1 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit (Wealth), Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Gas Mask, Assorted Detective Equipment, Wirepoon Gun- Swinging), Improved Aim, Improved Disarm, Ranged Attack 2, Skill Mastery (Investigation), Teamwork, Track, Well-Informed

Powers:
"Gas Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [13]
Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Cumulative) (21 points)

"Prophetic Dreams" Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Limited to While Asleep) [2]

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

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Relationship (Dian Belmont)- Wesley's true love is Dian, his equal partner in the war on crime. They were together until she died of a terminal disease, well into their old age.
Motivation (Justice)- Wesley fights to ensure justice is done.
Relationship (Sandy the Golden Boy)- Wesley was close to his Teen Sidekick.
Guilt (Sandy's Transformation)- Years and years ago, Wesley was experimenting with a silicate gun, and transformed his Teen Sidekick into an unstoppable sand monster. He trapped Sandy in a glass case with only a television for company for years, and never stopped feeling guilty about this turn of events.

Total: Abilities: 72 / Skills: 52--26 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 15 / Defenses: 12 (135)

-This I guess is closer to the "Wirepoon"-era Sandman written by Simon & Kirby, where they're acrobatic stand-ins for Cap & Bucky.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Apr 07, 2022 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Manhunter I-VI! Wildcat I-III! Hourman!)

Post by Ken »

Jack of Spades wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 3:36 am I love the Tylers, because the one hour limitation is both so pervasive and so innocuous. Villains don't have to get hold of special substances to take advantage, or know anything special about the hero for it to limit him. In Rex's solo stories, at least the ones I've read, a literal ticking clock goes up in every panel after he's taken the Miraclo, adding to the tension without a thing needing to be done.

I wonder how many bad guys wondered why he was called Hourman without ever figuring it out?
Maybe they thought it was like that James Coburn movie, "Our Man Flint"....
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Re: The Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 4:47 am Image
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...

Powers:
"Gas Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [13]
Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Cumulative) (21 points)

"Prophetic Dreams" Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Limited to While Asleep) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gas Gun +7 Area (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +3

...

The Sandman- Forgotten Golden Ager to Fabled Pulp-Style Hero:
-Wesley Dodds is one of those guys who has a weird history in that he was a FAR bigger deal in the modern age than he ever was in the Golden Age. In reality, he was a pretty minor super-hero in his day, known mainly for A) appearing in the debut of the Justice Society, and B) Being redone by Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris in a more-trendy "All Tights" yellow & purple spandex outfit.

...

Retroactively, it's been shown as a short-lived switch, and stories set in that era will 9 times out of 10 show him as the familiar pulp hero in suit and gas-mask that most people would recognize, even with a tights-clad Sandy next to him (and yes, that looks very weird).

Sandman Becomes a Tights-Wearing Superhero:
-However, two years into his run, the Sandman strip was refitted to increase sales and fit what was popular at the time- superheroes! Wesley was given a set of tights, a Teen Sidekick (Dian's nephew Sandy), and a career as a soldier in WWII. Soon after, he began being written by Jack Kirby & Joe Simon, not long after their Captain America run has ended- the new look & Sidekick were a natural fit, as their act was pretty well just Captain America & Bucky.

-In any case, Wesley actualled lasted a bit longer than expected, considering he was booted from the JSA book after only 22 appeaprances. His feature lasted for 60+ issues, and he lasted seven years overall- bowing out only two years before most of his fellows like Flash & Green Lantern did.

Sandman's Powers:
-Wesley, like a TON of Golden Agers, is a Skillmonkey of sorts, this time with a big focus on the detective skills (Batman's given Wes his props in that regard; no small feat). His prophetic dreams and gas gun eat up some more points as well. It should be noted that he's pretty good physically, but lacks the in-close power of his fellow non-powered guys- he works far better as a sneaky guy and team detective. Dodds is definitely no brawler- at only PL 7, he'd have a solid fight on his hands against mere PL 4 Street Thugs, and most real super-villains would eat him for breakfast.
The stories with Wes in the gasmask outfit and Sandy in the Simon&Kirby outfit look stupid and generally ARE stupid.

The prophetic dreams are a retcon, to tie Wes to Morpheus.

The bit about "but lacks the in-close power of his fellow non-powered guys" is only true when he's in the green-and-gasmask. You said it yourself, "[Simon and Kirby's] their act was pretty well just Captain America & Bucky." Wes & Sandy were two-fisted brawlers with the best of them. They leapt and jumped around; they fought mobs. Actually they swung around on the lines from their "wirepoon guns" a LOT.

I'd go so far as to say that Wes is one of those cases where a character needs multiple write-ups. His tights-and-wirepoon phase is not really represented here at all.
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The Sandman (Garrett Sanford)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SANDMAN II (Garrett Sanford)
Created By:
Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Sandman #1 (Dec. 1974)
Role: Failed Legacy Character
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron, The Justice Society of America

-There was a second Sandman that appeared in the mid-1970s as a one-shot that turned into a six-issue Limited Series, done by Joe Simon & Jack Kirby, three decades after their start in the superhero biz. His costume is SPECTACULARLY awful, and I forgot about him completely- there's only a small bit in the JSA series that involves this Sandman, and OH MY GOD IS IT STUPID AND CONFUSING. Just all kinds of weird goofiness going on. This guy was supposed to be the Sandman of mythology, and fought sentient nightmares alongside Brute & Glob, a pair of nightmares he'd freed to work for him. They griped about their work and tried to escape frequently, but were ultimately shown to be good. The series was apparently quite juvenile, and had stuff like the guy looking in on Wonder Woman's naughty sex dreams. Garrett was later revealed to have grown depressed in his lonely existence, and TAKEN HIS OWN LIFE, being replaced by the then-deceased Hector Hall (who later became the successor to Dr. Fate as well), as Brute & Glob were apparently manipulating both Sanford and then Hector to let them control the Dreaming. And this was Roy Thomas doing the writing- someone usually good at respecting prior creators' works. I guess even he couldn't find and f*cks to give about Garrett Sanford!

-Garrett is... odd. He uses a security monitoring device to enter either the "Dream Stream" or the "Reality Stream"- in the latter he acts like a superhero. He has a pouch of "dream dust" that he can blow into people's faces to put them to sleep. OH MY GOD HE LITERALLY USED POCKET SAND!
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Re: The Sandman (Wesley Dodds)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ken wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 10:30 am The stories with Wes in the gasmask outfit and Sandy in the Simon&Kirby outfit look stupid and generally ARE stupid.

The prophetic dreams are a retcon, to tie Wes to Morpheus.

The bit about "but lacks the in-close power of his fellow non-powered guys" is only true when he's in the green-and-gasmask. You said it yourself, "[Simon and Kirby's] their act was pretty well just Captain America & Bucky." Wes & Sandy were two-fisted brawlers with the best of them. They leapt and jumped around; they fought mobs. Actually they swung around on the lines from their "wirepoon guns" a LOT.

I'd go so far as to say that Wes is one of those cases where a character needs multiple write-ups. His tights-and-wirepoon phase is not really represented here at all.
Okay, I threw in a modified one with Acrobatics and greater physicality, bringing him up to PL 7 unarmed.
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Re: The Golden Age Wildcat

Post by Jabroniville »

brothersale wrote: Thu Apr 07, 2022 1:48 am
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:25 pm WILDCAT I (Ted Grant)- Golden Age

Complications:
I would also suggest that an additional complication would be Royal Bloodline: Ted Grant is distantly related to the English Royal family.

Its minor but it comes into efect when dealing with James "Jim" Craddock aka the Gentleman Ghost
I think that’s a Complication of Craddock’s, not Ted’s.
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Sandy Hawkins

Post by Jabroniville »

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SANDY THE GOLDEN BOY (Sanderson Hawkins)
Created By:
Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #69 (Dec. 1941)
Role: Bucky Knock-Off, Teen Sidekick
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron, The Justice Society of America
PL 6 (68)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Athletics 4 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+9)
Deception 4 (+4)
Investigation 5 (+6)
Perception 3 (+4)
Stealth 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Daze (Deception), Improved Trip, Ranged Attack 2, Set-Up, Teamwork

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Relationship (The Sandman)- Sandy desperately looks up to his mentor.
Enemy (Johnny Sorrow)- The failed actor is obsessed with revenge on Sandy, for an incident in which he accidentally sent the villain into a horrifying universe.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (68)

-Sandy the Golden Boy was introduced in 1941 in an attempt at making The Sandman more like the more popular heroes of the day. Not only did Wes gain a set of garish tights, but he got a Boy Sidekick in the tradition of Robin, Speedy, Bucky and more. In fact, Sandy is SO SIMILAR to Bucky that he looks like an out & out rip-off- check the costume. It's basically a yellow recolour of Bucky Barnes' gear! Curiously, history would repeat itself AGAIN between these two, as Sandy got a Bad-Ass Military-Type Upgrade in the late '90s... and BUCKY would follow him a decade later!
-Sandy is a pretty standard Sidekick, though REALLY low-level and ineffective in battle. I mean, he's a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD BOY, helping out a PL 7-8ish hero, so he's obviously going to be a lower-end version of Wesley Dodds. That leaves him barely better than your average Thug, but I can see that being pretty accurate. After all, this is just a guy the JSA had sort of hang around, occasionally helping.

SAND (Sanderson Hawkins, aka Sandy the Golden Boy, The Sandman IV)
Created By:
Mort Weisinger & Paul Norris
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #69 (Dec. 1941)
Role: Bucky Knock-Off, Teen Sidekick
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron, The Justice Society of America
PL 10 (204)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 6 (+8)
Technology 4 (+6)
Investigation 10 (+13)
Expertise (History) 7 (+9)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 8 (+10)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+4)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8) -- Flaws: Limited to Earth Sciences
Perception 3 (+6)
Insight 3 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit (Wealth), Defensive Attack, Equipment 3 (Guns, Wirepoon Gun), Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Inspire, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 6, Set-Up, Teamwork, Well-Informed

Powers:
Movement 3 (Permeate 3) (Flaws: Limited to Silicates) [3]
"Prophetic Dreams" Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Limited to While Sleeping) [2]
"Tremorsense" Senses 4 (Accurate Ranged Radius Touch) (Quirks: Limited to Grounded Targets) [3]

"Silicate Form"
Insubstantial 1 (Feats: Innate, Selective, Subtle) [8]
Immunity 4 (Suffocation, Pressure, Poison, Starvation) (Flaws: Only While Insubstantial) [2]
Immunity 40 (Bludgeoning, Slashing & Piercing Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [20]

"Rock Grab" Snare 10 (30) -- [37]
  • AE: "Earth Control" Move Object 10 (Extras: Perception-Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to Silicates) (20)
  • AE: Burrowing 16 (4,000 mph) (Feats: Subtle) (17)
  • AE: Rock Blast 10 (20)
  • AE: "Earth to Mud" Environment 6 (Impede Movement 2) (12)
  • AE: Magma Blast 10 (Feats: Indirect) (Extras: Secondary Effect 7) (28)
  • AE: "Sand in The Eyes" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Extras: Attack, Area- 30ft. Cloud +2) (10)
  • AE: "Sand Man" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Flaws: Limited to While Within Sand) (2)
"Gas Gun" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [13]
Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Asleep) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Cumulative) (21 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Gas Gun +7 Area (+7 Affliction, DC 17)
Rock Grab +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Earth & Magma Blasts +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (The Sandman)- Sandy desperately looks up to his mentor.
Enemy (Johnny Sorrow)- The failed actor is obsessed with revenge on Sandy, for an incident in which he accidentally sent the villain into a horrifying universe.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 88 / Defenses: 15 (204)

Bucky Rip-Off to Established Modern Hero:
-The former Golden Boy's come quite a way. I mean, he was basically completely forgotten to history- much like Mr. Terrific I, he was casually "removed from play" in an old JLA/JSA cross-over so we wouldn't have to deal with him mucking up original JSA meetings (he got turned into a Sand Monster by an experimental sand-gun of Wesley's and went on a rampage, then was stuck in a jar for decades), Sandman Mystery Theatre treated him like a fictional character so THEY wouldn't have to write about him, and he basically did nothing until the Johns/Goyer/Robinson JSA big return, when out of nowhere, he becomes a charter member and leader of the team!

-But Sandy's history gets weirder, as NOBODY wants "normal guy with sleep gas" leading the team, so he suddenly turns into a silicate being with advanced Earth Control powers, shifting tectonic plates around and stuff like that. There was a brief thing where Atom Smasher suspects him of being like a guy who wanted to BUY his place on a super-hero team (Sandy had formed a JSA Museum and used a Manhattan Brownstone as a meeting place for the old-schoolers, having used his aunt Dian's fortune to do it), but it wasn't taken any further than that. And here's where it gets even weirder- you know how you can always tell when a writer has favourites on a team book? Well, it's really obvious when they DON'T, as well.

Sandy Gets Forgotten:
-Y'see, at first, Sand was still leader when Hawkman arrived, despite Geoff Johns adoring that character. But once Johns gained a foothold in the book (soon taking the lion's share from Goyer & Robinson, then becoming sole writer), his favorite, Mr. Terrific II, comes in and takes leadership right after a Sand/Hawkman fight over bossing around team members, and that's the last we see of Sand as leader. And what's more, Sandy doesn't even seem PISSED about it or bring it up later. He just goes "OK, Terrific, it's your turn" and calmly steps aside into being a supporting character. And he REALLY vanishes from the book- his crush on Hawkgirl is dropped, he'd get written out by being trapped in the Earth's crust, and by the JSA re-debut, he's all of a sudden in full Sandman IV mode, being a detective/dreamer, having precognitive dreams and swimming around the Earth in full "mystery man" regalia.

-JSA's run has been pretty legendary for making sucky characters cool again, and Sand is no exception; in spite of his being removed from a major role in the series (in favor of obvious Johns faves Stargirl, Terrific & Mid-Nite), he became a big super-hero again, after years of obscurity. Buuuuuuuut then Johns undid most of that and he got forgotten again. He was largely ignored in the 30-man JSA Squad, and really only had a tangential role in JSA All-Stars (I legit forgot he was on the team, and re-reading the last ten issues, he literally has not a single effect on the plot)- it's like every subsequent writer forgot about him or just doesn't want him around, but doesn't want to go through the effort of killing him off. His goofy-looking version of the Sandman mask probably didn't help, and wearing a trenchcoat, he looked REALLY dumb floating through the Earth. It's just kinda too bad, because the early writers LOVED the guy and you could see some effort maintained in creating a "Big New Star" for DC... but "Because DC", they crapped the bed and didn't follow through on it.

Sand's Full Power:
-Sandy, now mixing an adult's experience, Detective Skills, Prophetic Dreams, a Gas Gun and now extremely versatile EARTH POWERS, is a rather costly fellow. He's sped through the entire earth in minutes, staggered guys like Black Adam with earthquakes, had bullets go straight through him, shot up magma, and disappeared into the ground. He's still a fully-balanced PL 10 guy, but he's got a LOT of options.
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