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

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Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Golden Age Black Canary

Post by Jabroniville »

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I was drawing Johnny Thunder, which was not much of a character. I suppose he could have been better because his 'Thunderbolt' was interesting, but the situations they were in were pretty juvenile. Bob Kanigher wrote those stories, and he had no respect for the characters. These stories were nowhere near as good as 'The Flash' stories. DC knew it—they knew 'Johnny Thunder' was a loser, so Kanigher and I brought the Black Canary into the series. Immediately she got a good response, and it was, 'Bye, bye, Johnny Thunder.' Nobody missed him.

When Kanigher gave me the script, I said, 'How do you want me to draw her?' He said, 'What's your fantasy of a good-looking girl? That's what I want.' Isn't that a great line? So that's what I did. I made her strong in character and sexy in form. The funny part is that years later, while in Korea on a National Cartoonists trip, I met a dancer who was the exact image of the Black Canary. And I went out with her for three years.

Bob didn't ask me for a character sketch [for the Black Canary]. He had a lot of respect for me, I must say that. He always trusted my work... Bob loved my Black Canary design.
— Carmine Infantino


BLACK CANARY I (Dinah Drake-Lance, aka Dinah Lance)
Created By:
Robert Kanigher & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947)
Role: Sexy Lady Martial Artist, Team-Jumper
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The Justice League of America
PL 8 (133)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+14)
Athletics 8 (+11)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+13)
Deception 3 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 8 (+10) -- Flaws: Limited to Botany
Insight 4 (+7)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5, +7 Attractive)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+7)
Vehicles 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Attractive, Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Equipment 2 (Motorcycle), Evasion, Fast Grab, Grab Finesse, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Inspire, Move-By Action, Prone Fighting, Set-Up, Takedown 2, Teamwork

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (Larry Lance)- Dinah & Larry, a police detective, married in the '40s. His death emotionally-shattered her, and she moved to Earth-One.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (133)

-One of the first major female super-heroes, Black Canary actually debuted in the semi-late Golden Age- 1947 is YEARS after most of the JSA debuted. Dinah Drake first appeared as a side character in Johnny Thunder's feature as a villainess with whom the stupid Johnny is infatuated. It turns out she's undercover in a criminal gang, and thus a good guy- within a few months, the sexy, fishnet-wearing bombshell had replaced Johnny as a feature star, leaving him to reappear in the Silver Age. Dinah was now a florist wearing a blonde wig and crushing on Larry Lance, a Gotham PD detective, and soon joined the JSA in mid-1948. Unfortunately, she was a late-bloomer, and soon vanished with the other DC heroes.

-The Silver Age saw her revived on Earth-Two along with the others, but oddly-enough, she jumped to Earth-ONE, having found nothing kept her on Earth-Two after her now-husband, Larry, was killed saving her life in a JLA/JSA crossover. She soon starts dating Green Arrow, then all of a sudden develops the Canary Cry to make her a bit more useful to a team (she was basically a "Judo Chick" before DC really made her a top-tier martial artist). She was on the Justice League, and also had a few back-up features, often with Green Arrow. However, stuff would soon change, as 1983 saw a major Retcon take place- DC decided that Dinah was now a MOTHER, and her DAUGHTER was the current Black Canary! And this was actually BEFORE the Crisis happened to bugger continuity! Dinah #1 (who inexplicably gave her daughter the same name) gave birth to Larry's daughter, who was born with a Canary Cry- she asked Johnny's Thunderbolt to erase everyone's memory of the girl, and FREEZE HER IN SUSPENDED ANIMATION. Then, when Dinah #1 realizes she's dying, she gets Superman II & The Thunderbolt to TRANSFER HER MEMORIES INTO HER ADULT DAUGHTER'S BODY, then not let Dinah #2 know what's happened. This retcon explains away why Black Canary is still active, as by the early 1980s, she'd have to be nearly 60 years old, and comics weren't quite ready for Green Arrow's paramour to be a smoking hot GILF just yet. This Retcon is later modified so that the Canaries are both flat-out different people, there's no memory-sharing, and the elder Dinah dies of radiation poisoning like normal.

-The Golden Age Black Canary is a high-end martial artist (+13 is REALLY GOOD for a GA fighter), hitting PL 8. Her Justice League version was retconned more or less into Dinah #2, so I'm sticking the Canary Cry and boosted stuff onto her build.
Jabroniville
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The Modern Black Canary

Post by Jabroniville »

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Dear Bruce Timm: Draw everything forever, please.

BLACK CANARY II (Dinah Laurel Lance)
Created By:
Robert Kanigher & Carmine Infantino (sorta)
First Appearance: Flash Comics #86 (Aug. 1947) (though sorta 1983-ish)
Role: Sexy Lady Martial Artist, Team-Jumper
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America, The Justice League of America, The Birds of Prey
PL 10 (194)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 9 (+16)
Athletics 11 (+14)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+16)
Deception 3 (+7, +9 Attractive)
Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+7) -- Flaws: Limited to Botany
Expertise (Spy) 7 (+10)
Insight 4 (+8)
Investigation 6 (+10)
Perception 3 (+7)
Persuasion 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+7)
Technology 2 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+8)
Vehicles 4 (+12) -- Flaws: Limited to Motorcycles

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Defensive Attack, Defensive Roll, Diehard, Equipment 2 (Motorcycle), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Grab Finesse, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed) 3, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Instant Up, Move-By Action, Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Set-Up, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Uncanny Dodge

Powers:
"The Canary Cry"
"Focused Cry" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Concentration) (Flaws: Distracting) Linked to Dazzle Hearing 5 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (Flaws: Touch Range) (30) -- [33]
  • AE: "Wide Area Cry" Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Concentration) (Flaws: Distracting) Linked to Dazzle Hearing 5 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Touch Range) (30)
  • AE: "Sonic Wave" Dazzle Hearing 10 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone, Concentration) (Flaws: Touch Range, Distracting) (20)
  • AE: "Sonic Boom" Dazzle Hearing 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Concentration) (Flaws: Touch Range, Distracting) (20)
Offense:
Unarmed +16 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Destructive Cries +10 Area (+10 Damage & +5 Affliction, DC 25 & 15)
Loud Cry +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +4 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +9

Complications:
Relationship (Dinah Drake Lance- Mother)- Dinah #1 never wanted her daughter to follow in her footsteps, so there was some contention.
Relationship (Craig Windrow- Ex-Husband)- Dinah was married shortly before her superhero career began. This usually goes unmentioned.
Relationship (Oliver Queen- Green Arrow)- OH GOD IS THIS EVER OFF AND ON.
Responsibility (One of Those Girls)- Dinah is the type of girl that men fall for easily, and grow attached to immediately. This causes her some problems in her casual dating life, as short-lived relationships with Dr. Mid-Nite and others lead to them carrying the torch for her for long periods of time.
Relationship (Oracle)- Canary & Oracle are partners in the war on crime, and are exceptionally close. To like... what's the girl version of a Bromance? In any case, it's totally easy to read homoerotic subtext into it.
Relationship/Rivalry (Huntress)- The two are often partners in Birds of Prey, but are also rivals and often don't get along.
Enemy (Computers)- Dinah can't use them. At all.
Relationship/Rivalry (Lady Shiva)- The two have been enemies in the past, but there exists a grudging respect- Shiva has also carefully trained Dinah.
Enemy (The White Canary, Others)
Power Loss (Canary Cry)- Basically, every time they want to write a more down-to-Earth series or make her JUST a Martial Artist, writers get rid of her Canary Cry. This is usually done via damage to her throat, or general torture.

Total: Abilities: 84 / Skills: 64--32 / Advantages: 28 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 17 (194)

The "New" Black Canary:
-The modern-day Black Canary, as I've stated, is a Retcon to explain why Dinah wasn't in her late 50s by 1983 (since the JSA had more or less been aged continuously to meet the era- the team was depicted as QUITE old in the modern setting of Infinity Inc.). Dinah Drake Lance's memories were implanted into Dinah Laurel Lance's adult body once it'd been freed from Limbo. Her character didn't really change- she was turned into a side character in Mike Grell's Longbow Hunters Green Arrow series. This was Retconned AGAIN Post-Crisis with Dinah Laurel just being a successor to her mother Dinah Drake, as mom tries to discourage daughter from joining the dangerous line of work. The "Canary Cry" is now the result of a "metagene" (basically DC ripping off Marvel's Mutants).

-Dinah #2 is now trained by several fighters like Wildcat in order to hone her skills- it is THIS Dinah that hooks up with Green Arrow (who in this version is now quite a bit older than she is), and joins the Justice League. While on the International version of the team, she drops the Leather & Fishnets look for one of the dumbest-looking costumes ever (thankfully, other Leaguers at the time looked worse- Zatanna ALSO had an ugly '80s look), which is thankfully short-lived. She's relatively-minor for a good while, mainly a supporting act, but soon finds a second wind as part of Birds of Prey.

Birds of Prey Re-Makes Dinah:
-Birds of Prey is/was a Team Book focused around a team of sexy ladies who fight crime- the obvious Charlie's Angels aspect actually brought in a bunch of female fans (remaining one of DC's most popular books amongst girls), and naturally male ones, since, y'know... sexy ladies. Canary started teaming up with Oracle (the wheelchair-bound Barbara Gordon), defining her character for a generation of fans- she truly became an elite Martial Artist with real cred, as both Chuck Dixon & Gail Simone went to work on making her something special. Because of their work (though I've only read the Simone stuff), I actually like Canary a lot more than Ollie, Hal Jordan or any Flash. She just kicks ass, both figuratively and literally, and is one of the better "Common Man/Woman" perspectives in comics, being a seasoned pro who still acts like a normal, grounded person. She's important enough to be on any major superteam, yet is grounded enough to fit in street-level stories, and she actually fits as a "Team Mom" without seeming dorky, having a maternal relationship with the adult Roy Harper (she helped him break his addiction to heroin), and caring for various other people. She even has a good rivalry with Lady Shiva, often working to reform the hired killer.

-She had an unsuccessful run as Justice League Chairwoman, since the team was falling apart around the same time thanks to some weak writing (Cry For Justice, Dwayne McDuffie's run). Her relationship with Green Arrow got complicated to the point of silliness, as they hooked up and broke up about a billion times, he died, she went her own way with other relationships, then had to basically get reeled back in with Ollie because he was resurrected (this shoved her off of the JSA update immediately, and she never rejoined), then they got married but he "died", only to be revealed to actually be alive, but then they divorced because he killed Prometheus (who, to be fair, was a mass-murdering dick and pretty well deserved it). Personally, I find their relationship to be one of those too-long-gone Comic Book Messed-Up Relationships that've just seen TOO MUCH to really be worth going back to these days, and ultimately, Dinah can do better.

Dinah in Other Forms:
-Dinah's career as a heroine has gotten weird a few times, though- for most of her existence, she was either minor league or "Green Arrow's Girlfriend". Birds of Prey let her finally break that curse... but then on the cartoons she was Ollie's love interest AGAIN and he was a bigger character, and then Arrow came out and he was a bigger star- a situation not helped by DC's movies floundering. DC made an attempt to push her in the "New 52", and I actually thought the "Black Canary as a Rock Singer" comic had great art and good energy, but it was too blatantly "Let's do a quirky weird comic" thing that didn't fit Dinah's character (DC's Team Mom, spy and martial artist is now a mascara'd rock star in torn fishnets?), and didn't really last.

Dinah's Powers & Abilities:
-The second Black Canary is one of DC's highest-end Martial Artists (often given TONS of cred in her own book, but not as much elsewhere- she's been trained by Lady Shiva herself, and is considered around her level in Birds of Prey), a great Skillmonkey, AND possesses an extremely-power Dazzle/Area Damage Effect that gets taken away every time the writer wants to torture or hamper her in some way to make her more "realistic". But yeah, even WITHOUT the powers she'd be lethally-tough, getting 3 ranks of Improved Critical to her +3 Damage strike, with +16 Accuracy (the Captain America/Danny Rand range).
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drkrash
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (J’onn J’onzz! Fire & Ice! Black Canary!)

Post by drkrash »

What is Black Canary up to these days? I too am a huge fan of Birds of Prey (esp. under Simone and Benes) and really disliked the Nu52 version.
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Jabroniville
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Faith

Post by Jabroniville »

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FAITH (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Joe Kelly
First Appearance: JLA #69 (Oct. 2002)
Role: Forgotten Character
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America, Black Ops, The Doom Patrol
PL 11 (125)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit (Cipher), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Empowering Aura" Affliction 5 (Will; Compelled) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Reaction +3) (Flaws: Limited Degree -2, Limited to Trust & Confidence) [15]
Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]

"Group Teleportation" Teleport 10 (Extras: Portal +2) (40) -- [44]
  • AE: "Psychokinesis" Move Object 10 (Extras: Perception-Ranged) (30)
  • AE: "Telekinesis" Move Object 15 (30)
  • AE: "TK Wave" Damage 11 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (22)
  • AE: "Psychic Bolt" Blast 10 (Feats: Accurate 2) (22)
Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Psychic Bolt +9 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
TK Wave +11 Area (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Secret (Identity)

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 69 / Defenses: 10 (125)

-Faith joined the JLA as a replacement member when most of the main members disappeared into the past. She helped out against a few more threats, since she was Joe Kelly's new Pet Character, and HE was writing the book. She left the team after being bitten by vampires (??), then reappeared as a short-lived member of The Doom Patrol. So basically, she doesn't matter. I can't even find where the hell she got her powers. She's apparently powerful enough to destroy an entire fleet of enemy spaceships, and can lift skyscrapers right out of the ground Telekinetically. So a high-poweroed nobody.
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Gilliam
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Re: The Modern Black Canary

Post by Gilliam »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 8:25 pm Dinah in Other Forms:
DC made an attempt to push her in the "New 52", and I actually thought the "Black Canary as a Rock Singer" comic had great art and good energy, but it was too blatantly "Let's do a quirky weird comic" thing that didn't fit Dinah's character (DC's Team Mom, spy and martial artist is now a mascara'd rock star in torn fishnets?), and didn't really last.

I always thought that this was DC trying to rip off the Spider-Gwen backstory.
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Tasmanian Devil

Post by Jabroniville »

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TASMANIAN DEVIL (Hugh Dawkins)
Created By:
E. Nelson Bridwell & Ramona Fradon
First Appearance: Super-Friends #7 (Oct. 1977), Infinity Inc. #32 (Nov. 1986- in canon)
Role: Animal Hero
Group Affiliations: The Global Guardians, The Justice League, The Ultramarine Corps.
PL 8 (99)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+3)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 9 (+15)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Stealth 0 (+3, +20 Size)
Technology 6 (+12)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Claws), Ranged Attack 2, Startle, Takedown

Powers:
"Natural Weapons" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
"Marsupial Senses" Senses 2 (Acute & Extended Scent) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Claws +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Will +5

Complications:
Prejudice (Homosexual)- Tas is openly gay.
Normal Identity (Hugh Dawkins)- Hugh's stats are ST 1, STA 1, AGI 2 & FIGHTING 3.
Responsibility (Pacifist)- Hugh does not like to fight, but as Tas, he definitely does.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 7 / Defenses: 7 (99)

-Hugh Dawkins was born a metahuman Were-Tasmanian Devil (DC was doing a copycat thing of Marvel's Mutants at the time- King of The Royal Flush Gang became immortal thanks to the "Meta-Gene" or whatever). A pacifist, he was forced to deal with a violent alter-ego, but joined Dr. Mist's Global Guardians, a worldwide superhero team in Infinity, Inc. (though he'd appeared in a non-canon Super-Friends issues a decade earlier). He ends up joining the Justice League (International version) in a REALLY low ebb for the team, helping them out against The Queen Bee (then-ruler of Bialya, DC's Expy of Libya). He was revealed to be openly gay, and began dating the gay alien Starman Mikaal Thomas, then became endeared to the people of New Zealand after saving them from Phobia.

-After that, it's basically Taz as a "Guy Who Shows Up In Background Shots", like funerals (Sue Dibny, Maxwell Lord) or Big Events (Infinite Crisis, Bloodlines), but he DID join the Ultramarine Corps. (from a largely-dropped JLA storyline in the Morrison years)- they were quickly taken over by Gorilla Grodd and he vanished from their roster. He was revealed having been murdered and skinned by the supervillain Prometheus in the notorious Cry For Justice, but he later appeared fully-healed after Prometheus put him in a statis pod (I have no idea why).

-Standard PL 8 Claw Guy, which is really more of a Marvel thing than a DC thing- not much unique about him otherwise.
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Manitou Raven

Post by Jabroniville »

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MANITOU RAVEN (Raven)
Created By:
Joe Kelly & Doug Mahnke
First Appearance: JLA #66 (July 2002)
Role: Magic Guy
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America, The League of Ancients
PL 11 (199)
STRENGTH
2/12 STAMINA 3/13 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 10 (+12)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+6)
Insight 4 (+8)
Perception 6 (+10)
Ranged Combat (Blasts) 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Artificer, Ranged Attack, Ritualist, Skill Mastery (Arcane Lore), Trance

Powers:
Teleport 10 (Feats: Progression 4) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (44) -- [48]
  • AE: "Inukchuk!" Growth 10 (Str & Sta +10, +10 Mass, +5 Intimidation, -5 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -10 Stealth) -- (36 feet) (20)
  • AE: Movement 2 (Time Travel 2) (4)
  • AE: "Astral Travel" Remote Sensing 12 (Vision & Hearing) (36)
  • AE: Healing 10 (Extras: Resurrection) (30)
  • AE: Magical Blast 12 (24)
"Mystic Hatchet" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [4]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Penetrating 6) (Flaws: Limited to Unjust People) (6 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Full Size +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Magic Blast +9 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +8
"Full Size" Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +3 (DC 13), Toughness +13, Fortitude +14, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (Culture Shock)- Raven is often surprised at the elements of modern culture.
Relationship (Dawn)- The two are married, but that man-whore Green Arrow slept with her when Raven got all obsessed with his work.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 53 / Defenses: 14 (199)

-Since most writers of the JLA & Avengers' books are allowed to add their OWN member to the roster at least once, Joe Kelly added in Manitou Raven- a mystically-powered Native American (referencing Apache Chief from the Super Friends cartoon). He and his wife Dawn are from the Obsidian Age of Atlantis, and formed sort of a proto-Justice League back in the day (1,000 BC). The "League of Ancients" were set against a time-travelling JLA, but Raven realized they were good people (Kyle Rayner had endangered himself to save some innocent bystanders, and Batman proved immune to an echanted tomahawk that couldn't pierce the skin of a good man), and turned against his boss (who was actually trying to rule the world). Raven's future self, a Leaguer in a future further past from the League's own (who had come to help the battle), had died as well. The League admitted him after a long battle that resulted in their deaths & resurrection- they had fallen in battle, but Raven had reformed them as zombies under his control, and the villain had to bring them back to life in order to kill them again, lol. Manitou Raven thus experienced culture shock in a world 3,000 years older than his own. He helped the League on a few adventures, such as against the Burning Martian (bringing Major Disaster and the Atom on a spirit quest to contact the Martian Manhunter's true self on the spiritual plane and stop his burning).

-He and his wife joined Justice League Elite because that was Kelly's other baby, angry that the League hadn't admitted Vera Black onto their roster. However, this proved to be a bad idea, as Raven's obsession with his League work caused his unfulfilled wife to seek solace with Captain Man-Whore, aka Oliver Queen. Raven knew of this, but was too busy to do anything about it, and was killed saving the team from a bomb. He would reappear as a spirit that aided his teammates and wife- I have a feeling that Kelly knew he would be leaving the League books, and thus offed his character in order to prevent other writers from ruining him.
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Ken
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Re: Manitou Raven

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 4:10 am I have a feeling that Kelly knew he would be leaving the League books, and thus offed his character in order to prevent other writers from improving him.
Fixed that.
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Manitou Dawn

Post by Jabroniville »

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MANITOU DAWN (Dawn)
Created By:
Joe Kelly & Doug Mahnke
First Appearance: JLA #75 (Jan. 2003)
Role: Magic Guy
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America, The League of Ancients
PL 11 (199)
STRENGTH
2/12 STAMINA 3/13 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 10 (+12)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+6)
Insight 4 (+8)
Perception 6 (+10)
Ranged Combat (Blasts) 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Artificer, Ranged Attack, Ritualist, Skill Mastery (Arcane Lore), Trance

Powers:
Teleport 10 (Feats: Progression 4) (Extras: Extended, Accurate) (44) -- [48]
  • AE: "Inukchuk!" Growth 10 (Str & Sta +10, +10 Mass, +5 Intimidation, -5 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -10 Stealth) -- (36 feet) (20)
  • AE: Movement 2 (Time Travel 2) (4)
  • AE: "Astral Travel" Remote Sensing 12 (Vision & Hearing) (36)
  • AE: Healing 10 (Extras: Resurrection) (30)
  • AE: Magical Blast 12 (24)
"Mystic Hatchet" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [4]
Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (Extras: Penetrating 6) (Flaws: Limited to Unjust People) (6 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Full Size +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Magic Blast +9 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +6, Will +8
"Full Size" Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +3 (DC 13), Toughness +13, Fortitude +14, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (Culture Shock)- Raven is often surprised at the elements of modern culture.
Relationship (Dawn)- The two are married, but that man-whore Green Arrow slept with her when Raven got all obsessed with his work.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 53 / Defenses: 14 (199)

-Dawn entered America and the League with her husband Manitou Raven, and offered herself to Superman immediately (REALLY?), then followed him to the JLE black ops group, where she cheated on him with Oliver "Green Arrow" Queen, feeling unfulfilled by her busy husband. When Raven dies, Dawn inherits his powers, and he appears to help her as a ghost, apparently not being bothered overly much by her banging Green Arrow. I think she has the same powers.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (J’onn J’onzz! Fire & Ice! Black Canary!)

Post by Ian Turner »

I always wondered what sort of powers Manitou Raven and Manitou Dawn had, since I'd only seen them mentioned online and not read the books they were in.

Giant-growth is an interesting magical 'spell', and while the Spectre occasionally grew to giant size to tower over battleships during WW2, it's certainly not the sort of thing that generally shows up in the arrays of modern-day magic-users like Dr. Strange or Zatanna.

I kind of like that they haven't been saddled with a bunch of 'Disney Pocahontas stereotypes about natives and nature' involving animal shapeshifting and weather control.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (J’onn J’onzz! Fire & Ice! Black Canary!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Here's some pre-existing JLA builds, so you know I didn't miss anybody.

Triumph
Vixen
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Black Lightning

Post by Jabroniville »

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BLACK LIGHTNING (Jefferson Pierce)
Created By:
Tony Isabella & Trevor Von Eeden
First Appearance: Black Lightning #1 (April 1977)
Role: Blaster, Black Hero
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America, The Outsiders, International Olympic Committee
PL 10 (140)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 3 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+11)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Teacher) 8 (+12)
Expertise (Politics) 3 (+7)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Electricity) 3 (+10)
Technology 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Electricity), Improved Defense, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
Electrical Blast 10 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating 6) (27) -- [30]
  • AE: "Electrical Stun" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Split) (Extras: Ranged) (21)
  • AE: Force Field 5 (Extras: Affects Others 7) (12)
  • AE: "Repulsion Field" Flight 3 (16 mph) (6)
Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Electrical Blast +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Stun +10 (+10 Ranged Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4 (+9 Force Field), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)- Pierce put on a costume and used his powers to protect the innocent from harm- he combats organized crime specifically.
Relationship (Family)- Pierce suddenly got two young-ish daughters in the 2000s- The new Outsiders' Thunder, and the JSA's Lightning. He is a protective father who never wanted his girls to fall into the superheroic lifestyle, but wishes theyd' be properly trained if they did.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 30 / Defenses: 17 (140)

DC's First Black Superhero:
-Jefferson Pierce remains an iconic example of the way black heroes were used in the 1970s as a springboard to tell tales about the times, but hasn't had the lasting power of someone like Luke Cage, for various reasons. Both dressed in iconic 1970s "Black Fashion" (Luke with the shirt & gold; Pierce had a big afro), and both spent numerous years on the shelf (Luke missed a chunk of the '80s, and disappeared following the mid-90s until Bendis brought him back, for example). Jefferson is also a classic example of "Black heroes putting BLACK in their name", which sounds kind of funny these days, but in the '70s was actually kind of a powerful thing (apparently- I've heard this from a couple black people who are old enough to remember).

-The original candidate for DC's first black hero was going to be... holy god- The Black Bomber, a white racist who transformed into a black superhero during times of stress! WHAT ON EARTH--? Actually, I've heard that quite a few DC editors of the times were VERY racist men (look at the history of Tyroc of the Legion of Super-Heroes, for example), so this isn't entirely surprising. Tony Isabella, who'd worked on Luke Cage (as Marvel got into this "Black Hero" thing YEARS before DC had), was given the reins and told to make something of this character. Jefferson Pierce was a positive role model- an inner-city teacher and one-time Olympic decathlete who fought for "the little guy". After the public murder of one of his best students, he attempted to clean up his neighborhood, which was being overrun by the vicious gang known as the 100, and the crooked politician Tobias Whale (a Kingpin knock-off). However, the book was a pretty big failure, being cancelled after 11 issues in the "DC Implosion" in the late '70s, in which they cancelled most of their low-selling books. Dennis O'Neil took over the character, giving him a few guest shots here and there (he had been depowered, but learned that this was psychosomatic), then he turned down Justice League membership. The character "Black Vulcan" appeared in the Super Friends TV series- a name and costume modification made to alter Pierce to avoid giving Isabella any royalties.

Black Lightning & The Outsiders:
-Pierce finally reappeared as a member of Batman's Outsiders group in the 1980s, which was popular for a time- his power loss had been the result of guilt over an innocent bystander dying- when the girl's parents tried to have Pierce assassinated, he revealed the depths of his guilt and even offered to let them kill him, which caused them to repent and save his life at great risk to themselves. However, The Outsiders vanished in the late '80s, and Pierce went unused until 1995, when another short-lived Black Lightning series came about. Isabella was involved here, but was fired (he claims political reasons- an editor firing him to consolidate their own position in the company). Pierce later became appointed Secretary of Education by President Lex Luthor- a way to keep him around the comics without actually USING him.

-Isabella also became somewhat notorious for obsessing over his beloved creation, using him as a soapbox for his own political beliefs (he wrote into a thread about superheroes' politics by basically giving Jefferson his own exact beliefs, right down to specifics about "voting for Obama, but being mad that he turned out to be such a pussy"). He RAGED over B.L. ending up with two suddenly-introduced daughters in the 2000s (NONE of Pierce's appearances had even mentioned having a kid), and apparently had a special deal where anyone using Black Lightning for any sort of thing outside of comics would have to pay him money- while seeming like a great, smart deal, it also HURT the character, as DC responded by simply NEVER USING HIM IN ANYTHING, complete with inventing "Black Vulcan" for the Super-Friends show, giving him a separate name with the same types of powers.

-The post-2000 era saw a bit of a resurrection of Black Lightning's character in various Justice League and Outsiders books, but ultimately didn't add up to much. He was framed for killing the man who murdered his niece by Deathstroke, resigned as Secretary of Education owing to conflicts with his "worst kept secret" secret identity, and more. Despite DC's attempts, he was really kind of a minor-league character who never really had proper traction- appearing in Batman and the Outsiders thirty years ago ain't exactly a sweet gig. It comes off as a ham-handed attempt at making another "big name" minority superhero, on a character who was never really that big. Now maybe he COULD have been (I'm personally unfamiliar with the character outside of a handful of cameo appearances, really), but it obviously never took.

Black Lightning's Powers:
-Black Lightning got the "League Upgrade" in the 2000s, so could possibly be at PL 11 by now, but PL 10 works best for where he usually is- just one of those guys who's always reliable, but not a big name. Pretty simple Blaster build, with odd stuff like Alt-Effects of Flight & a Force Field. He's also apparently a pretty good fighter.
Sidney369
Posts: 328
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:18 am

Re: Black Lightning

Post by Sidney369 »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 9:05 pm -Isabella ... apparently had a special deal where anyone using Black Lightning for any sort of thing outside of comics would have to pay him money- while seeming like a great, smart deal, it also HURT the character, as DC responded by simply NEVER USING HIM IN ANYTHING, complete with inventing "Black Vulcan" for the Super-Friends show, giving him a separate name with the same types of powers.
Considering how DC treated creators in the past (Siegel and Shuster, Kirby), he wouldn't have benefited from having BL appearing in product, so it was for the best that he stuck to his guns.

Also, BL originally used a belt to generate and project electricity. It was only later that he could do that naturally.
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
greycrusader
Posts: 1179
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 11:25 pm
Location: Pittsburgh, PA

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Black Canary! The Manitous! Black Lightning!)

Post by greycrusader »

I was pretty surprised when the character got an actual live-action CW show, given how far DC went to avoid paying Isabella royalties-they even refused to use Black Lightning in the Static Shock cartoon, replacing him with an ersatz named "Soul Power". But I take it there's been some progress at the executive level, given such developments as Icon and Rocket being recurring presences in the Young Justice series; when I got the DC Adventures assignment a decade ego, I actually wrote up both them and Hardware (all Milestone imprint heroes), then told they were a total no go to be included, because of rights issues.

All my best.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24689
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Lightning (Jennifer Pierce)

Post by Jabroniville »

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LIGHTNING II (Jennifer Pierce)
Created By:
Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Geoff Johns & Dale Eaglesham
First Appearance: Kingdom Come #1 (1996- Elseworlds), JSA #12 (March 2008- main continuity)
Role: The Hardest Person To Draw In The Universe, Blaster, Wallpaper Lass
Group Affiliations: The Justice Society of America
PL 8 (81), PL 10 (81) to Electronics
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 2 (+3)
Persuasion 2 (+3)
Perception 2 (+3)
Insight 2 (+3)
Ranged Combat (Electricity) 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Spark-Out Electronics" Affliction 10 (Tech Skill of Creator; Impaired/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Feats: Triggered- Touching Object) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2, Affects Objects Only +0) (Flaws: Limited to Electronics) (Drawbacks: Power Loss- Must Touch One Electronic Object -2) (19) -- [20]
  • AE: Electrical Blast 9 (Feats: Split) (19)
Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Electrical Blast +7 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Spark-Out +10 Area (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Relationship (Jefferson Pierce- Father)- Jennifer's father is the hero Black Lightning. He lectures her a lot.
Accident (Power Discharge)- Jennifer cannot touch electronics without setting off her "Spark-Out" power, which often results in embarassing circumstances. It also activates her "Powered Form", which could complicate her secret identity.

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 13 (81)

-Lightning is the second introduced daughter of Jefferson Pierce, aka Black Lightning. In a semi-controversial move, a character who'd been seen for DECADES prior was suddenly given a young daughter ("Thunder", aka Anissa Pierce of the Outsiders), kind of flying in the face on continuity. However, since BL wasn't much of a remembered character, it kind of slid on by as just one of those things that happens in comics. That little kerfluffle allowed a more regularly-named Jennifer to debut relatively quietly, based off of a background character that was seen floating around in Kingdom Come. I honestly think the appearance is a little goofy (big bright lightning bolts flaring off everywhere looks kind of awkward, and REALLY hard to draw- I mean, what the hell does she look like from behind, or straight-on?), but the character seems okay: an easily embarassed, frequently-annoyed girl.

-Unfortunately, Jennifer turned into a nothing character- adding a third girl to the Cyclone/Stargirl Babysitters Club set-up was a novel idea, but with those two's dynamic personalities, PLUS the fact that JSA got glutted with about TWENTY recurring members of the team, meant that poor Jen got to basically sit back and do nothing. I nicknamed her "Wallpaper Lass", because for issues at a time, all she'd do would be sitting there in the background, not doing or saying anything. Even Jakeem Thunder's cute puppy-love crush on her ended up going nowhere. When the two JSA groups split up post-Johns, Jennifer was the only "kid" member to stick with the "Old Person" team on JSA, which seemed like it might be promising... except NOTHING HAPPENED. She basically got ignored again, never got any characterization, and the only bit of that I remember of hers was when her powers were the key to defeating Mordru.

-This should really be an important lesson for comic book creators- you shouldn't introduce a character if you have no concrete plan for what they're going to be doing with them.

-Most of the brand-new JSA people weren't that powerful, and Jenny's no exception. Her Blast is strong enough to shake up Magog for a second or two, but has no real big things to its name, making her a very limited, easily hurt Flying Blaster. She can also disrupt any electronic devices around her if she touches something electronic (making using a cellphone difficult).
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