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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

Re: The Modern Age Green Arrow

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:53 pm Despite being a Leaguer, and somewhat iconic for it, he doesn't seem that associated with the book, spending most of his heroic career outside of it.
As the Mayfair Justice League sourcebook noted, according to published information, someone who resigned their membership in the League could never rejoin it, but how someone went about resigning was not made clear. "Apparently, Green Arrow's waving his arms and loudly announcing "I quit!" wasn't good enough, as he did so twice and wound up rejoining the League both times."
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Green Arrow (Connor Hawke)

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

GREEN ARROW III (Connor Hawke)
Created By:
Kelley Puckett & Jim Aparo
First Appearance: Green Arrow #0 (1994)
Role: Minority Legacy Hero, Super-Archer
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America
PL 9 (134)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+15)
Athletics 6 (+9)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+14)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Streetwise) 2 (+3)
Expertise (Theology & Philosophy) 6 (+7)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 4 (+7)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Arrows) 4 (+13)
Sleight of Hand 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Daze (Deception), Equipment 3 (Bow & Arrow), Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Arrows) 2, Improeved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Seize Initiative, Set-Up, Takedown, Ultimate Aim, Uncanny Dodge

Equipment:
"Bow & Arrow" Blast 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Arrows +13 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Oliver Queen- Father)- Connor respects his father, despite never having grown up with him. He maintained the Green Arrow identity while Ollie was dead, and continued to use it following Ollie's death.

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 25 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (134)

-God help me, every time I think of Connor Hawke, all I remember is one internet list of "Sexiest DC Males" that listed that since he was multi-ethnic, he might be the most well-hung DC hero :). Seriously- it's the first thing that comes to mind. Now I gotta go through all this research while trying not to think about how big his gleaming dong is.

-Connor is the Suddenly Introduced Son of Oliver Queen (not really helping his rep as a Man-Whore), being the son of his college girlfriend Sandra Hawke. He introduced himself to Ollie, and started dressing like him as a sidekick of sorts. Ollie soon died after discovering the truth of Connor's origins, and Hawke thus became the new Green Arrow in his honor. Connor was a bit different- no Trick Arrows, and tons of martial arts experience- he was one of those "Nearly as good as Lady Shiva" people who was heavily hyped in the late '90s. Plus he was vaguely-brown. The only comics I own of him are from Kevin Smith's run (where Connor hung around as an ally character instead of being quickly-murdered for daring to replace another character... he WAS badly-hurt, though) and a one-shot JLA comic classic where he gets stuck using Ollie's goofy Boxing Glove & Boomerang Arrows against an upgraded, newly-lethal version of The Key. And the time in the book where he bitched about all the deaths Luthor & Apokolips caused on Earth while all the heroes were congratulating themselves for a job well done, and Batman just smirked and was like "Remind you of anyone?", one of his funnier moments in Morrison's run.

-Connor later disappeared into the ether, never really mattering too much. With Ollie himself a star again, there was less need for his "Successor" to be around, but he'd get a shot here and there in Limited Series and the like. He gained some weird super-powers (regeneration via Plastic Man's cells) around the time GA & Black Canary got married, owing to genetic modifications, but had to recover from brain damage and amnesia. And sometimes artists forget that he's multi-ethnic (half-white, quarter-black, quarter-asian) and draw him as a Standard European (the blonde hair probably doesn't help). And sometimes the friggin' writers and editors forget that his mother is SANDRA HAWKE, and not Shado (who herself has a son from Oliver, via rape)- Tony Bedard admitted he F'd this up in Birds of Prey. Given that Ollie got notorious for sleeping around, and his mother's not a major character, this is perhaps not surprising.

-Connor is a more-thoughtful, peaceful Green Arrow, and a much better martial artist than his father. I remember reading some early hype that he was in the Shiva/Richard Dragon Class, and in fact he DEFEATED Lady Shiva in a tournament! This is part of the problem of being established as "The Best in the World" when you're not a character protected by any particular editor, as various newbies routinely come in to kick your ass to prove how bad-ass they are. Connor, unfortunately, was a lot of hype that went nowhere, and he kind of "settled" into a lower-end guy, fitting a high-end PL 9 character. He saves a ton of points by using the Arrows as Equipment, and is a great fighter (+14 is near the Matt Murdock area), but he's not match for major-league super-villains. At one point, he gained Regeneration and Immunity to Pain.
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Green Arrow (Connor Hawke)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 5:23 pm -God help me, every time I think of Connor Hawke, all I remember is one internet list of "Sexiest DC Males" that listed that since he was multi-ethnic, he might be the most well-hung DC hero :). Seriously- it's the first thing that comes to mind. Now I gotta go through all this research while trying not to think about how big his gleaming dong is.
It isn't that he's multiethnic. It's that Oliver is impressive. As evidenced by the panel from the bottom right (from JLA #219).
Image

The other two panels are from JLA #74, where Oliver first aims his shaft at Dinah and, upon release, covers her in his sticky stuff. For his trouble he gets coldcocked by Larry Lance, Dinah's husband in the next panel.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Green Arrow (Connor Hawke)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 5:23 pm -Connor is the Suddenly Introduced Son of Oliver Queen (not really helping his rep as a Man-Whore), being the son of his college girlfriend Sandra Hawke.
Before this he didn't have a reputation as a man-whore.
Ken wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 11:17 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:53 pmGREEN ARROW II (Oliver Queen)
Role:
Super-Archer, Raging Hippie, Man-Whore
The whole Ollie as a Man-Whore thing pisses me off.

Here's a Queen who spends the first portion of his career hanging around with a teenage boy, with the two of them doing the whole Batman-and-Robin thing, if you know what I mean. Then he ditches the kid, starts hanging around with Black Canary, and he gets a beard.

But up until the late 1980s there was no sign of him being a skirt chaser. I mean sure, Miss Arrowette showed up for a while. She had to. Betty Kane had become Batwoman, so OF COURSE Bonnie King became Miss Arrowette. But this was pre-Canary. Then during the whole time he was with Canary, he was super-faithful.

It was only in the very late 1980s, when they introduced Shado, that they indicated that Ollie had any kind of infidelity. But then he died in the mid-90s, and it was only after he was resurrected that they started the whole "Ollie's a Man-Whore" bullshit.
Okay, maybe it was before he was resurrected, but still only slightly before he was killed.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Alias the Spider

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image
Image

ALIAS THE SPIDER (Thomas Ludlow Hallaway)
Created By:
Paul Gustavson
First Appearance: Crack Comics #1 (May 1940)
Role: Forgotten Golden Age Hero
Group Affiliations: The Seven Soldiers of Victory, The Freedom Fighters
PL 8 (93)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 7 (+8)
Expertise (Business) 2 (+3)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+7)
Investigation 4 (+5)
Perception 4 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Bow) 4 (+10)
Stealth 6 (+9)
Vehicles 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Benefit (Wealth) 1, Equipment 4 (Car, Bow & Arrow), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Bow), Improved Disarm, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 1

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Bow & Arrow +10 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)- Tom Hallaway was disgusted to see criminals prey upon honest citizens.
Secret (But Actually Evil)- Tom is actually a nasty criminal, and part of the Ludlow family of dirtbags. He maintains the Spider identity as a cover for his illicit activities.
Enemy (The Shade)- The two have fought numerous times, with Tom carrying a grudge.
Relationship (Chuck- Valet)- Chuck helps both Tom & The Spider separately, without making the connection.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (93)

-A weird case in comics, Alias the Spider was an obscure Quality Comics hero (lasting about three years) retconned into a villain when some modern-day writers got a hold of him. He was the Green Arrow stand-in on the Seven Soldiers of Victory team (Speedy's stand-in was another sidekick- Vigilante's) when the Golden Age Oliver Queen was erased from continuity.

-His overall name was really just "The Spider", I think- the strip just had the catchy name Alias The Spider. Playboy Tom Hallaway was pretty typical for super-tights types- he fought crime and used a Bow & Arrow and a cool car named The Black Widow. He made 31 appearances in Crack Comics- a pretty solid run, but never as a cover boy- but disappeared in only three years. He remained obscure for decades, as he never joined the Freedom Fighters book like other Quality Comics characters did- guys like him and The Clock languished in obscurity, though he made a few background shots in All-Star Squadron (one appearance) and Crisis on Infinite Earths.

-The character was reimagined as a villainous guy by James Robinson in The Shade, who also reintroduced him as a "proper" Green Arrow replacement on the Seven Soldiers of Victory- it turns out that Tom Ludlow Hallaway was a piratical smuggler, using a super-hero act to disguise his dirty deeds! He killed Vigilante's sidekick Billy Gunn (the old cowboy, not the Ass Man), but was stopped by a sacrifice from the Crimson Avenger's sidekick Wing. Maintaining the façade (as the only people who knew he was evil were dead), The Spider was the "hero" of Keystone City when Jay Garrick retired. He was finally killed in battle by The Shade, who saved The Flash, his old enemy. I wonder what Gustavson woulda thought of his Green Arrow knock-off being used in this manner, lol.

-Hallaway's children later came into things, as his son Lucas fought Jack "Starman" Knight. Training his entire life for vengeance upon The Shade, but failed thanks to Matt O'Dare (one of Jack's cop buddies), and failed in a later attempt to assassinate Jack. Another character named "I, Spyder", also a Ludlow, showed up in Grant Morrison's weird Seven Soldiers of Victory story- he kills his brother (the second Spider), but isn't actually villainous, and helps the heroes defeat The Sheeda.

-The Spider's a good archer, but his generic arrows make him pretty minor-league. He's got some nasty skills though- a career criminal and psychopath.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Stargirl! Atom Smasher! Red Tornado! CYCLONE~~~~~!!!!!))

Post by Jabroniville »

Sidney369 wrote: Tue Apr 26, 2022 11:47 pm Personally, I support the StargirlxCyclone ship.
Also an acceptable response. I believe they were popular in fanart I absolutely would NEVER seek out during the time Cyclone was an active character at DC, with much made of Maxine's hero-worship.
User avatar
Davies
Posts: 5080
Joined: Thu Mar 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Edmonton, AB

Re: Jab’s Builds! (CYCLONE!!!!! Vigilante! Shining Knight! Green Arrow I-III!)

Post by Davies »

The Ludlow name change, for those wondering, was Robinson tying this character to the Ludlow family who've been trying to kill the Shade since his origin.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Alias the Spider

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 10:43 pm I wonder what Gustavson woulda thought of his Green Arrow knock-off being used in this manner, lol.
#1 I can't speak for Gustavson, but it pissed me off.

#2 Crack Comics #1 was cover dated May 1940, More Fun Comics #73 was dated November 1941. Seeing how the Spider predated Oliver by 18 months, I'm not sure how Gustavson was doing a knock-off of Green Arrow. Maybe he had one of his magicians cast
Wohs em a erutuf lufsseccus cimoc oreh
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
greycrusader
Posts: 1179
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 11:25 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Jab’s Builds! (CYCLONE!!!!! Vigilante! Shining Knight! Green Arrow I-III!)

Post by greycrusader »

The second Alias the Spider is another legacy character whose chronology doesn't make much sense; supposedly he was the out-of-wedlock son of the original and a female reporter with whom Thomas Hallway had a brief tryst; except this would have happened in 1953 or thereabouts, and Lucas Ludlow-Dalt was depicted as no older than his early thirties when he first popped up in the mid-1990s. He couldn't have had a younger brother who was also a Ludlow-Dalt, because Thomas Ludlow-Hallaway was killed by the Shade shortly after he impregnated Ms. Dalt.

I suppose now they'd both be grand-kids instead.
Sidney369
Posts: 328
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:18 am

Re: Jab’s Builds! (CYCLONE!!!!! Vigilante! Shining Knight! Green Arrow I-III!)

Post by Sidney369 »

Davies wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 11:52 pm The Ludlow name change, for those wondering, was Robinson tying this character to the Ludlow family who've been trying to kill the Shade since his origin.
That's totally what he did.

And the first archer hero was the Arrow, from the Funny Pages vol. 2 #10 (Sept. 1938), and also created by Paul Gustavson.

I don't mind Robinson making him a villain masquerading as a hero. There's been so many heroes masquerading as criminals (in the manner of the Green Hornet) that it's refreshing to see the opposite.
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The King

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

THE KING (King Standish)
Created By:
Gardner Fox & William Smith
First Appearance: Flash Comics #3 (March 1940)
Role: Two-Fisted Adventurer, Master of Disguise
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron
PL 6 (103)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+10)
Deception 11 (+15)
Expertise (Streetwise) 6 (+8)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 7 (+9)
Persuasion 2 (+6)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (Quick Change, Wealth 3), Daze (Deception), Equipment (Disguise Kit), Improved Disarm, Improved Pin, Luck, Ranged Combat 2, Ultimate Skill (Disguises)

Equipment:
"Pistol" Blast 5 (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Stopping Crime)- Despite being wealthy, The King only seeks to stop crime.
Reputation (Criminal)- Early in his career, The King was thought to be a criminal.
Relationship (The Witch)- The King was in love with The Witch, but could never convince the criminal mastermind to go straight.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (103)

-The King is a minor-league two-fisted fighter-type hero, with a focus on being a "Master of Disguise". Not bad as far as concepts go, as it makes him easy to stat (generic Two-Fisted Guy build with lots of Deception/Disguise focused skills). There's virtually no mention of him after the '40s, save a flashback in a Star-Spangled Kid/Starman comic circa 1999, where he was retroactively added to the All-Star Squadron. HOWEVER, he was brought back to people's memories a bit by having the new character for the Bill Willingham & Matt Sturges JSA be named King Chimera, and reveal that he was the illusion-casting SON of this forgotten character. It was a matter of Dork Pride for me that I not only guessed Chimera's origins at his introduction (by virtue of an old Who's Who comic I owned- probably my first DC book!), but that most people went "WHO?" at the revelation.

-Not alot to mention here. He's better than most other generic suited guys because of his focus in one area, but he's still just a PL 6 tough-guy. There's not a whole lot a "Two-Fisted Adventurer" can do to get above PL 6/7 without having a Gun or being a Wildcat-class martial artist, because most of these guys just kinda beat on Thugs on an even keel rather that storm through dozens of Mooks like Daredevil can do.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

King Chimera

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

oh, COME ON!! Not to diminish the nature of trauma, but nobody could reject THAT!

KING CHIMERA
Created By:
Matthew Sturges & Fernando Pasarin
First Appearance: Justice Society of America #24 (April 2009)
Role: Team Douchebag, Illusionist
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The JSA All-Stars
PL 11 (142)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+10)
Deception 8 (+7)
Expertise (Current Events) 3 (+8)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+7)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Eidetic Memory, Jack-of-All-Trades, Ranged Attack

Powers:
Illusion 11 (Vision & Hearing) (Extras: Area 3) (Flaws: Limited to Images He's Witnessed) (55) -- [56]
  • AE: "Invisibility" Concealment 4 (All Vision) (Extras: Affects Others, Ranged) (16)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Illusion -- (+11 Illusions, DC 21)
Initiative +4

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

Complications:
Reputation (Douchebag)- King Chimera is hard to like, keeping others at an arm's length thanks to his mother, girlfriend and family all being killed. Only the love of the most perfect woman in the universe can redeem him.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 56 / Defenses: 14 (142)

Wait, ANOTHER JSAer? And He's The Son of WHOM?:
-King Chimera was rather controversially added to the Justice Society's line-up in the first arc of Bill Willingham & Matt Sturges' run on the series. It was heavily derided online because, well, the team already had over TWENTY MEMBERS by this point, so adding him, plus The All-American Kid (really a spy) and Doctor Fate MXCCIV (pretty sure that's the right number) was really just making every fan's #1 problem with the series even WORSE. That said, they gave Chimera a unique voice, and on JSA All-Stars, he came a bit into his own. As a character, he's a snotty upper-class twit with a chip on his shoulder, thinking everyone around him is a useless fool. But at the same time, he realizes he needs proper training and experience, so he goes with Power Girl & Magog's "Offshoot" team with it's militaristic training plan. Me, I dislike the character, but in that GOOD way that makes me want to see more of his annoying ass, as he gets put in his place. But on the other hand, he captured the eye of MY BELOVED CYCLONE, which is only acceptable so long as I can't get my "Insert myself into the Pre-NuDCU Universe" Machine to work.

-Oddly, he's a legacy of "King" Standish, a really old superhero who basically has zero appearances after 1945. A Master of Disguise-themed hero, his successor has in-born illusory powers, which makes him quite unique on a team of entirely offensive-based attackers. Turns out that The King desired to learn how to cast REAL Illusions, and so found some mystical order that could "bend light"- Chimera here is the result of a union between Standish and one of that clan.

-In any case, on JSA All-Stars, he has a thing with Cyclone, complicated by him obviously crushing on her (despite her being a total goof, he admires her genius and doesn't think she should hide it from others) but keeping distant. When she suggests "I'd be okay with you... kissing me", he nearly does, but manages the most impossible feat in comic book history and pulls away. We quickly learn why- he watched the love of his life die before his eyes many years before, and it's left him unable to move on. With perfect recall like he has, he constantly "sees" that moment and the emotions are too raw. In a later arc, he manages to put it behind him when everyone on the All-Stars has to "give up" something they've wanted. He later enters into a relationship with Maxine- her calling him a "Drama Llama" after he apologizes and explains his past actions.

King Chimera's Powers:
-King Chimera really only had a couple years' worth of comics featuring him, and he was still a rookie, so he's not exactly well-known or expensive. But his powers are relatively simple to figure out- he can cast REALLY good Illusions, enough that Super-Sense-wielding Power Girl can't even spot him if he doesn't want to be seen (basically the All Sense Type Visual Senses, plus Auditory because his illusions make noise). It's not a major offensive power, and it makes him a PL 11 in "make the bad guys take Insight/Perception checks" way (as opposed to actually hurting people or otherwise fighting), so he's a bit weaker than his comrades. But he's a bit pricier, being a genius (how much of that is his own horn-tooting wasn't really revealed...), but he lacks the Skill-set to properly utilize it (much like the similarly genius-level Cyclone). He's in pretty good shape for a "trickster" hero, too, though that might just be the All-Stars artist drawing him (and everybody else) hyper-muscular.

-His power has the Quirk that he can only make Illusions based off of things that he's personally-witnessed. However, having been subjected to Johnny Sorrow's Death Glare, he theoretically could pull THAT Insant-Death Attack out any time he wanted!
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: The King

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 01, 2022 5:51 amTHE KING (King Standish)

There's virtually no mention of him after the '40s, save a flashback in a Star-Spangled Kid/Starman comic circa 1999, where he was retroactively added to the All-Star Squadron.
Now that's how you identify a MAJOR player. When you're a golden age mystery man from All-American Publications, and Roy freaking Thomas doesn't even mention you in a single issue of All-Star Squadron, you have to be either primarily a comedy hero, or you are seriously the bottom of the barrel.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Golden Age Amazing-Man

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image
Image

AMAZING-MAN I (Will Everett)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Jerry Ordway
First Appearance: All-Star Squadron #23 (July 1983)
Role: DC's "First" Black Hero
Group Affiliations: The All-Star Squadron
PL 8 (115)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 10 (+13)
Deception 2 (+3)
Expertise (Athlete) 8 (+13) -- Uses Agility
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Interpose, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Object Mimicry" Variable (Powers Related to Materials) 6 (Flaws: Limited to Objects He's Touched) [36]

Sample Form: Metal (ST 8, Protection +4- Impervious 7, Increased Mass)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Steel or Brick Form +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+8 Metal/Stone Form), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Prejudice (Black)- Will Everett, despite his Olympic acumen, is a black man living in 1940s America, and is thus forcibly-separated from whites in many places. His background and schooling were poorer as well, and he faces many prejudices.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 9 (115)

-Roy Thomas got a double-whammy out of this one in his retroactively inserted All-Star Squadron member: He got an "Amazing Man" onto the team, fulfilling yet ANOTHER obscure GA character (though in different form- the original Amazing Man later inspired Marvel's John "Prince of Orphans" Aman, who was said to be the same guy), and he got to show a black hero in the 1940s, certainly a rare thing given the era, and how the world was when the JSA was originally around. Here, Thomas was able to tell a "What about any black heroes?" story and also showcase how much more open-minded actual superheroes and paragons of humanity would be about it. He was named Will Everett in tribute to Sub-Mariner creator Bill Everett, and was named "Amazing Man" after the aforementioned Golden Ager. He was changed from a generic Mr. Terrific-style "Renaissance Man" into DC's primary version of the "Absorbing Man" power-set, one of the most potentially interesting for a superhero to have, yet not used that often.

-Will Everett was a black Olympian that was reduced to janitorial duty in his post-athletic career, but got into an accident at the lab he was cleaning, and gained super-powers. He was briefly employed by The Ultra-Humanite, but turned on him after being exposed to the members of the All-Star Squadron. An early enemy was a racist foe called the Real American. I never personally read any of his appearances, but I'm guessing alot of "We heroes are way above the morality of the age and don't mind one bit" with the exception of a few heroes, who of course learn better as the story goes on. But hey, there's nothing wrong with that- it's the Golden Age, after all, and the heroes WERE supposed to be the paragons of a moral humanity. None of them were Alabama senators, in any case. He actually has powers that are remarkably "modern" in that aside from the generic tough guys & fire-blasters of the era, he's got stuff that wouldn't be seen for twenty years in real comics time. On a future case, his powers changed from Object Mimicry to Magnetism for some reason.

-During Geoff Johns/Dale Eaglesham's JSA series, he is explained to be a major name in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, fighting against segregation- he even captured James Earl Ray- the murderer of Martin Luther King, Jr.! Unfortunately, his sole legacies are some pretty forgettable characters.

-Amazing Man comes to a pretty high points total, having one of the more expensive powers in M&M. I was unsure of his total power levels, but I'll stick to him having decent Attack & Defense, with a PL 8 to make up for boosts via mimicking Steel (Density) or something.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon May 02, 2022 2:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
greycrusader
Posts: 1179
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 11:25 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Jab’s Builds! (CYCLONE!!!!! Vigilante! Shining Knight! Green Arrow I-III!)

Post by greycrusader »

The actual original Amazing-Man was actually a lot more similar to certain pulp characters such as the Green Llama, with his origin evoking both the Shadow (the radio version) and Doc Savage. He was an orphan trained in mental, martial, and mystic arts by a hidden group of monks in the "Far East". This upbringing made him a very superior physical specimen, but he also had telepathic and mind-over-matter abilities (allowing him to heal wounds and ignore pain/deprivation). A special elixir of "rare chemical salts" allowed him to turn into living green mist. His nemesis was the Great Question, a renegade monk who engaged Amazing Man in long-range mental battles. Yes, in the Golden Age.

He almost certainly inspired later characters such as Iron Fist (a pastiche was introduced in Immortal Iron Fist, as John Aman, Prince of Oprhans) and Peter Cannon, the Human Thunderbolt was basically a total copy (down to having the same arch-enemy) but with the Golden Age Daredevil's costume.

All my best.
Post Reply