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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Davies
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Re: Bambi Arbogast

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 12:49 am -Bambi actually appears in like a hundred comics, seemingly just as a backgrounder, as I can't find any serious stories featuring her, but she even outlasts the 1996 revamping of the concept and Tony's rebirth before disappearing following Kurt Busiek's run. She reappears in modern times as a millionaire investor who joins Tony's new company.
The best Mrs. Arbogast story is really more of a scene in a larger story -- Tony has been shot by Kathy Dare and is in surgery, and she tells Rhodey to calm down and focus on doing something productive. Then she catches a paparazzi posing as a janitor trying to get candid shots of Tony and threatens to shove his squeegee where the sun doesn't shine. After he runs off, she feels remorse, thinking, "Lost it for a minute. Did exactly what I told Mr. Rhodes not to do. I'm just glad Mr. Stark wasn't able to -- oh! I-I mean, I wish he had been able to -- *sigh* Mr. Stark, please ... don't die." It's a really good portrayal of someone going through a lot of emotions in a short amount of time.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Kathy Dare

Post by Jabroniville »

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KATHY DARE
Created By:
David Michelinie & Jackson Guice
First Appearance: Iron Man #233 (Aug. 1988)
Role: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

-Kathy is a late-80s love interest of Tony Stark's, seen as sultry and fun-loving versus the uptight rich girls in his social circles. She suddenly fell apart emotionally and shot Tony, leaving him going through a long, painful recuperation. He even had to fake his own death in order to cover it! Kathy showed up at the wake, to the disgust of James Rhodes (who wasn't in on the deal), but she tried to pass it off, saying she was now on Prozac and stuff. When some of Stark's old enemies tried to take advantage of his vulnerable company while he was gone, Dare committed suicide out of grief from her role in Stark's death- Rhodes was particularly shaken, feeling his words could have pushed her over the edge.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by Ares »

Kathy Dare was honestly kind of terrifying. Not because of any power or ability, but because she was a pretty decent portrayal of a psycho ex-girlfriend turned obsessive stalker. She worked her way into Tony's life, Tony started to see signs of her jealousy, how clingy and emotionally manipulative she was, and he started to distance himself from her. And like every spoiled girl who had never been told "no" before, she just kept injecting herself into Tony's life. And once he made it clear he was done with her, she snuck into his home and shot him.

Out of all the mad scientists, supervillains and cosmic madmen, the person who came closest to killing Tony Stark was a crazy ex-girlfriend. It makes his decision to keep his Iron Man identity a secret make a lot more sense.

Dare even had the nerve at trial to claim she shot Tony in self defense, until it was shown that Dare had a history of damaging and destroying people and places who angered her. And again, the scary thing is how believable everything she did was. You could easily see someone like her making life miserable for a modern superhero.
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M4C8
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by M4C8 »

Ares wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 7:20 am Kathy Dare was honestly kind of terrifying. Not because of any power or ability, but because she was a pretty decent portrayal of a psycho ex-girlfriend turned obsessive stalker. She worked her way into Tony's life, Tony started to see signs of her jealousy, how clingy and emotionally manipulative she was, and he started to distance himself from her. And like every spoiled girl who had never been told "no" before, she just kept injecting herself into Tony's life. And once he made it clear he was done with her, she snuck into his home and shot him.

Out of all the mad scientists, supervillains and cosmic madmen, the person who came closest to killing Tony Stark was a crazy ex-girlfriend. It makes his decision to keep his Iron Man identity a secret make a lot more sense.

Dare even had the nerve at trial to claim she shot Tony in self defense, until it was shown that Dare had a history of damaging and destroying people and places who angered her. And again, the scary thing is how believable everything she did was. You could easily see someone like her making life miserable for a modern superhero.
That kind of story would be very interesting to see today with modern gender politics (things such as 'believe all women' and the Johnny Depp case), honestly I doubt it would be allowed to happen.
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
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The Controller

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE CONTROLLER (Basil Sandhurst)
Created By:
Iron Man #12 (April 1969)
First Appearance: Archie Goodwin & George Tuska
Role: Forgotten Villain
PL 12 (261)
STRENGTH
5/11 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Deception 6 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+13)
Insight 4 (+6)
Perception 5 (+7)
Technology 8 (+14)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 4, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Startle

Powers:
"Strength-Enhanced Exoskeleton"
Enhanced Strength 6 (Flaws: Requires Additional Slaves Per Rank) [3]
Protection 7 (Extras: Impervious 7) [14]
"Boot Jets" Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]

Mind Control 5 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Sustained +2) (Flaws: Touch Range -2) (26) -- [28]
Dynamic AE: "Mental Blast" Blast 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Ranged, Will Save) (Flaws: Rank Depends on Number of Slaves) (25)
Dynamic AE: "Psychokinesis" Move Object 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception-Ranged) (Flaws: Rank Depends on Number of Slaves) (17)

"Slave Disc Mind Control"
Mind Control 12 (Extras: Continuous +3) (Flaws: Instant Recovery, Limited to Those With Slave Discs Attached) (Noticeable- Discs on People) [59]
Remote Sensing 10 (Mental Detection) (Flaws: Limited to Those With Slave Discs Attached) [5]
"Power Mimicry" Variable 6 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Powers, Limited to Those With Slave Discs Attached) [30]

"Slave Discs" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [15]
Weaken Awareness 8 (Feats: Triggered- Placed on Head) (Extras: Continuous +3) (Flaws: Grab-Based) (25 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Strength Boost +9 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Mental Blast -- (+8 Perception-Ranged Will Damage, DC 23)
Baseline Control +5 Area (+5 Affliction, DC 15)
Slave Disc Mind Control -- (+12 Perception-Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+11 Suit, +4 Impervious), Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation/Obsession (Control)- Basil Sandhurst is obsessed with controlling others, often doing schemes solely to gain more power with which to gain more control.
Enemy (Iron Man)- Iron Man nearly always ends up opposing Sandhurst.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 166 / Defenses: 9 (261)

-The Controller's a minor-league Iron Man baddie (usually trotted out for a one-shot story here and there every few years) that actually looks decent enough to be a more-important character, but just never panned out. He's a little too dated these days, what with the classic deformed Kirby villain face and generic blue armor, but he can do alright, even if he's not the major villain in a story. His whole schtick is Mind Control, but ultimately he's just another Super-Strong Powersuit guy (albeit with a bonded-suit, so it's not a Device). Curiously, he was created in the very late 1960s, by a later creative team, making him SORT OF a part of the Silver Age, but way outside of the shadow of Stan Lee, Steve Ditko or Jack Kirby.

-Basil Sandhurst is your everyday "Mad Scientist Caught In An Explosion" sort, having been experimenting on ways to control minds (something that got him fired from most research facilities) and injured himself. His guilt-ridden brother put him in a super-strong exoskeleton powered by the cerebral energies of others- naturally, Basil started using "Slave Discs" to weaponize this fact. He tried to enslave all of New York City, and of course lost to Iron Man. He later lost to Iron Man again, then allied with Thanos (who upgraded his tech and sent him against Captain Mar-Vell), and appeared a few more times, but soon took a MAJOR sabbatical, appearing only in the 1990s during things like Acts of Vengeance (where Controller enslaved Namor to fight against Captain America at the behest of the Red Skull) or as a threat in Heroes For Hire.

-The Controller faces War Machine and Iron Man a few more times, and at one point uses a medical clinic to try and control wealthy people's minds. However, he ends up being used as a mere "Background Guy" these days, just part of the prisoners at the Raft or in the Hood's gang. In his most-recent appearance, he jobbed to MARIA HILL of all people. Not even a real superhero! However, a later issue featured him as a real threat against Stark again, as he infiltrated a product launch of Stark's and took over his armor- Tony had to make a 3D print of another suit of armor to stop the villain.

-Controller's stats aren't easy to figure out, basically gaining Super-Strength based off the amount of people he's controlling with his Slave Discs. He can use his Mind Control WITHOUT them, albeit at a minor level, so the Discs basically bring in a separate one, and they have a flaw stating he must actually PLACE the discs on people in order to use the powers. Like most Mind Controllers, it's at a high rank and often used as a Plot Device (Instant Single-Issue Story: Namor gets mind-controlled and sent after Captain America!), but he can effectively control people as long as a Disc is attached to them. Add a Mental Blast, Psychokinesis, Mimicry (only Mental Powers, though, meaning it's ludicrously-expensive for a guy who almost never fights Telepaths) and Protection, and you've got a pretty expensive guy, especially considering he's usually just a one-issue threat. The trick is that without the Slave Discs attached, he's just a standard PL 10 Powerhouse with some low saves of his own.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by Shock »

Controller showed up more recently a couple of times. Once he mind-controlled Bethany Cabe so he could get access to Tony's virtual reality world (another doomed from the start "big idea") and mind control everyone logged in. At the end, he had so many people controlled he actually grew into a giant.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by Skavenger »

Controller is one of those characters that I can't figure out if he's meant to be a huge threat or is meant to be a joke. He has the look and threatening appearance of a top tier level threat (I'd put him as being almost as physically as intimidating as Thanos before Thanos got his massive "I can punch out anybody all the time" push) and mind control is certainly a threat that's hard to just punch out of existence if you keep the control subtle and have an army of controlled goons doing your bidding.

You'd almost think he'd become a masterful behind the scenes manipulator and crime figure, using his Slave Discs to control prosecutors, judges, and other government officials in order to keep himself and his "chosen allies" out of jail, sort of a more horrific looking Kingpin who's none the less at least as physically intimidating.
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Killer Shrike

Post by Jabroniville »

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KILLER SHRIKE (Simon Maddicks)
Created By:
John Warner & John Buscema
First Appearance: Rampaging Hulk #1 (Jan. 1977)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, Air Force (Cardinal's team), Roxxon Oil, The Thunderbolts, The U.S. Army
PL 7 (108)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Military) 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Guns & Knives), Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Cybernetic Flight Harness" Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]

"Weapons Systems" (Flaws: Removable) [13]
"Twin Power-Blasters" Blast 7 (Feats: Variable- Generic Energy or Electricity) (15) -- (16 points)
  • AE: "Talons" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Split) (2)
Equipment:
"Protective Armour" Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 5) (6)
"Guns" Blast 5 (10)
"Knives" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Knives +7 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Guns +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Blasters +7 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +5 (+6 Armour), Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Killer Shrike is a mercenary.

Total: Abilities: 62 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 27 / Defenses: 8 (108)

-Killer Shrike is a generic Mysterious Past guy who worked with Roxxon (the generic Evil Corporation of 1980s Marvel) to get some cybernetic powers and become a mercenary/Roxxon Agent. Hell, he's pretty much been EVERYWHERE, and never scores a win. He even pops up in random books these days, yet I've never seen a single one of his appearances. I remember Mark Gruenwald saying years after the "Scourge of the Underworld" story that certain villains could be "fixed", as at that point, Killer Shrike had been refashioned as a recurring Iron Man enemy.

-Killer Shrike's first mission was in the black & white Rampaging Hulk comic, where the Brand Corporation sent him against Ulysses Bloodstone, who easily defeated him (Bloodstone, feeling pity, sent him to a hospital). After that, he pretty much jumped into that field of omnipresent Journeyman Jobbers who basically appeared in books at random as one-off opponents for various characters (many Marvel Team-Up villains ended up there), fighting Spider-Man a few times, once alongside the Beast in a MTU issue where Shrike was attempting to find things out about his past. However, his employer died before he could tell Shrike anything. Later, the immaterial Will-O'-The-Wisp forcibly took control of Shrike's costume and reconsititute the Wisp- both men were beaten by Spider-Man.

-Later, Killer Shrike was imprisoned by Spider-Woman villain the Locksmith, then jobbed to Spider-Man a couple of times. He, The Ringer & Coachwhip teamed up to face Moon Knight during Acts of Vengeance, and managed to escape by seriously injuring Marc's pilot buddy Frenchie by shooting down the "Mooncopter". He, Grey Gargoyle & Dragon Man were hired to fight She-Hulk, but he was again beaten, then joined Cardinal's goofy "flying villain" squad Air Force, facing the New Warriors! Like, very few '90s guys jobbed more than THIS. A run in Iron Man threatened to give him some credibility, but that soon ended. Later stories involve him losing to the Avengers, Grasshopper, Moon Knight, and more, and has appeared on Masters of Evil squads since then, as well as being imprisoned alongside the other "Animal Villains" during Kraven's Great Hunt story.

-Killer Shrike is ultimately VERY Jobber-y, losing to just about everyone over the years (often while teaming with one or two other villains- he, Ringer & Coachwhip lost to Moon Knight). Thus, he only earns a paltry PL 7 status- he's lost to TOO many guys, with ZERO wins, to possibly be any higher.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 14, 2022 5:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Skavenger wrote: Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:52 pm Controller is one of those characters that I can't figure out if he's meant to be a huge threat or is meant to be a joke. He has the look and threatening appearance of a top tier level threat (I'd put him as being almost as physically as intimidating as Thanos before Thanos got his massive "I can punch out anybody all the time" push) and mind control is certainly a threat that's hard to just punch out of existence if you keep the control subtle and have an army of controlled goons doing your bidding.

You'd almost think he'd become a masterful behind the scenes manipulator and crime figure, using his Slave Discs to control prosecutors, judges, and other government officials in order to keep himself and his "chosen allies" out of jail, sort of a more horrific looking Kingpin who's none the less at least as physically intimidating.
He's a weird guy- Iron Man doesn't have THAT many top-tier villains (hell, Titanium Man & Crimson Dynamo are in his top five and both have been replaced a TON of times!), and yet the Controller never got anything more than a "villain for an issue or two" spot. His look is kinda basic (some '70s art makes him look rat-like facially) but was serviceable.

Even in the '80s and '90s he's not doing much. Heck, in Gru's Captain America his basic job is "makes Cap fight Namor for one issue" and he's taking orders from the RED SKULL! He's a third-tier guy in an arc where he's focused on!
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Re: Killer Shrike

Post by Sidney369 »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 2:44 am Image
This was drawn by Jim Shooter. The Handbooks staff wanted him to draw a character in it, so he said "Who's the guy the fans would care the least about? Killer Shrike? OK, I'll draw him".
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
Jabroniville
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Re: Killer Shrike

Post by Jabroniville »

Sidney369 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:03 am
This was drawn by Jim Shooter. The Handbooks staff wanted him to draw a character in it, so he said "Who's the guy the fans would care the least about? Killer Shrike? OK, I'll draw him".
Interesting! He's really... not bad. Like it's very "Generic Comic Book Art 101" but it looks a lot better than much of what was being produced at that time. No wonder he did layouts for one of his Valiant-era indies.

Nice of him to "Jack Kirby" it and not take someone's sweet gig.
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Davies
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by Davies »

I think the Controller should sort of fill an "ultimately pathetic" slot of villainy. He gains power from controlling people, and so he controls them ... but what does he do with that power?

Nothing.

He's about gaining power simply to have power, and if he had everyone in the world under his control and he was stronger than the Hulk, he'd just sit around thinking giddily about how powerful he is now. Well, up until some extraterrestrials showed up and weren't under his control, at which point he'd try to extend his control to the rest of the universe. His desire is limitless, but his goal is utterly meaningless, because seeking power for its own sake is an empty goal.
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Re: Killer Shrike

Post by catsi563 »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:43 am
Sidney369 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:03 am
This was drawn by Jim Shooter. The Handbooks staff wanted him to draw a character in it, so he said "Who's the guy the fans would care the least about? Killer Shrike? OK, I'll draw him".
Interesting! He's really... not bad. Like it's very "Generic Comic Book Art 101" but it looks a lot better than much of what was being produced at that time. No wonder he did layouts for one of his Valiant-era indies.

Nice of him to "Jack Kirby" it and not take someone's sweet gig.
See KS is one of those I like the idea like the name like most of the costume but the guy needs a serious update to a better look he has low level super strength and toughness add in the suit and a better set of wrist weapons then those bloody boomerang blades and youd have a solid villain
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Midas (Mordecai Midas)

Post by Jabroniville »

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MIDAS I (Mordecai Midas)
Created By:
Archie Goodwin & George Tuska
First Appearance: Iron Man #17 (Sept. 1969)
Role: Corrupt Businessman, Evil Fat Bastard
Group Affiliations: Mordecai Industries, Stark International
PL 9 (155)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY -4
FIGHTING 4/6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 9 (+11)
Expertise (Business) 10 (+14)
Expertise (Tactics) 5 (+9)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+9)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Vehicles 7 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit 5 (Wealth- Billionaire), Connected, Equipment 21, Ranged Attack 8, Ultimate Business Skill

Powers:
"Fat Fatty McFat-Fat"
Features 2: Increased Mass 2 [2]
Protection 3 [3]

"The Golden Glove" (Flaws: Removable) [50]
"The Golden Touch" Affliction 10 (Fort; Fatigued & Impaired/Exhausted & Disabled/Paralyzed & Unaware) (Feats: Reach 2) (Extras: Cumulative, Extra Condition, Continuous +3) (Quirks: Requires Skin Contact- Only Creates an Outer Shell -2) Linked to Features 1: Sprays the Victim Gold (61) -- (62 points)
  • AE: "Fire or Electrical Blasts" Blast 8 (Feats: Variable- Fire or Electricity) (17)
Equipment:
"Giant Flying City Base" (25)

"Exoskeleton"
Allows Midas to Walk Despite Being a Chubby Chubberson (1)
Enhanced Fighting 2 (4)
Enhanced Advantages 1: Improved Initiative (1)

"Throne-Shaped Hovercraft"
Large Size (1)
Strength 8 (4)
Defense +2 (4)
Flight 5 (60 mph) (10)
"Electrified Bottom" Electrical Aura 10 (Flaws: Limited to Underside of Hovercraft -2) (20)
"Grappling Claws" Elongation 3 (60 feet) (Flaws: Limited to Claws) (1.5)
Force Field 7 (Extras: Impervious) (14)

"Heat-Seeking Missiles" Blast 10 (Feats: Ricochet 2, Homing 5) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst for 7 Ranks) (Flaws: Limited to Two Shots) (24) -- (26)
  • AE: "Power Blast" Blast 10 (Feats: Variable 2- Energy Descriptors: Electricity, Concussion, Fire) (22)
  • AE: "Grappling Claws" Snare 8 (Flaws: Limited to Two Targets) (16)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Golden Touch +8 (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Golden Gloves's Blasts +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Missiles +8/+7 Area (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Power Blast +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Grappling Claws +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 19), Parry +4/+6 (DC 16), Toughness +5 (+12 Force Field), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Like all rich people who aren't super-heroes, Midas is a giant butt-munch who only wants to amass more wealth.
Disabled (Fatty Fatty Boombalatty)- Midas is so morbidly obese that he cannot even walk around without the powered exoskeleton he wears.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 36 / Powers: 55 / Defenses: 13 (155)

Mordecai Midas- A Weirdly-Involved Run For a Minor Villain:
-You find the weirdest crap on the Unofficial Appendix to the Marvel U website. Like this guy- apparently a late '60s, early '70s recurring Iron Man foe, Midas represents the OTHER half of his Rogues Gallery, which consists almost entirely of Mirror Image Villain Armoured Dudes, or Mirror Image Corrupt Businessmen. Midas is a hugely-fat Greek business magnate who flies around on a throne-like Hovercraft, insists everyone around him dress in ornate Greek robes, and has a FLYING CITY that looks like Ancient Greece. Now THAT is a proper-ass hedonistic villain! I actually kinda like this guy, however ridiculous and Silver Agey he is- he went through the ringer as an Iron Man foe, of course taking over Stark's company at least once (Stark must have some NASTY rep in the public, since his company's been overtaken and re-taken about six times now), then got his own power turned on him (making him a giant Greek statue that could move). Despite what's a pretty long bio here, he's only appeared in THREE story-arcs- one by Archie Goodwin in 1969, one by Bill Mantlo in 1977, and a one-off by Kurt Busiek in 1993.

-Midas had apparently been born a penniless, starving child in Europe, building his empire later through determination to become rich by any means necessary. It was actually MIDAS who is responsible for Madame Masque (a character who outlived him and became a much bigger star, ironically), as he had rescued Whitney Frost from a sinking ship, and gave her the distinctive golden mask to hide her scarred features, making her his assistant. Midas hoped to sabotage Stark Industries and acquire it after killing Tony Stark, but Masque fell in love with Tony and freed him from captivity- Iron Man & Midas fought, with the hero damaging the villain's flying throne and causing an explosion that destroyed Midas's base and crippling him.

Midas Returns:
-Later, Midas gained a "Midas Touch" that let him turn anything into gold, and took control of Stark International via stolen patents and blackmailed stockholders, and fought Iron Man, Madame Masque, the Guardsman, the Jack of Hearts, Eddie March, the Wraith, Jasper Sitwell, and Jean DeWolff (like... all at once?). He had defeated all of them with an army of Iron Man robots, but Tony disguised himself as one of them and infiltrated the base. Infuriated by the suffering his friends had endured (especially Masque, his then-lover), Tony revealed his identity to Midas and flat-out meant to kill him. Midas then revealed he was wearing an exoskeleton that let him walk, and the two men fought. However, Tony's ex-fiancée Marianne Rogers turned up with psychic powers that had driven her crazy (jesus this story is complicated) and tried to kill Tony, whom she now resented... but her psychic blast hit Midas, reducing him to a mindless husk. Years later, after having been institutionalized, Midas returned, having been turned into living gold by Rogers' powers controlling him. Losing to Iron Man, he fled by boat- his weight and the supply of gold he stole proved to be too heavy, capsizing his boat and seemingly killing him. He has been revealed alive as of a 1998 Kurt Busiek comic, but literally only swore revenge and then didn't do anything else. So he's definitely been biding his time.

The Midas Touch:
-Midas is an interesting, complicated character to build- his Hovercraft is essentially advanced Equipment, since he just pilots it, and it has various powers. His Golden Glove looks like a Transformation effect, but really just sprays people he Paralyzes with golden paint. They STAY in the Paralysis, however, up until the time they get forcibly taken out of it- making it a VERY expensive Continuous Paralysis Effect that also renders people Unaware (essentially like Petrification). I threw a Quirk on it for the fact that people like Iron Man (his CHIEF FOE) are immune, since they're wearing Armor and such- he apparently needs to touch someone's skin or clothes to make it work. The dude is also RIDICULOUSLY wealthy, and has a huge army of guys working for him, so he's actually a remarkably pain-in-the-ass-y type of adversary to fight- basically a Big Bad who sits on his Throne and gets his Mooks and Agents to do all the work.

Image
Image

MIDAS I (Mordecai Midas)- as Man of Gold
Created By:
Archie Goodwin & George Tuska
First Appearance: Iron Man #17 (Sept. 1969)
Role: Corrupt Businessman, Evil Fat Bastard
Group Affiliations: Mordecai Industries, Stark International
PL 9 (148)
STRENGTH
11 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 9 (+11)
Expertise (Business) 10 (+14)
Expertise (Tactics) 5 (+9)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+9)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 3 (+5, +8 Size)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Vehicles 7 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit 5 (Wealth- Billionaire), Connected, Equipment 10 (Base), Ranged Attack 8, Ultimate Business Skill, Withstand Damage

Powers:
"Man of Gold"
Growth 6 (Str & Toughness +6, +6 Mass, +3 Intimidation, -3 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed) -- (18 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [13]
Impervious Toughness 7 [7]
Immunity 10 (Life Support) [10]
"Absorbs Gold" Weaken Toughness 4 (Flaws: Affects Objects Only +0, Limited to Gold -2) Linked to Damage 4 (Flaws: Limited to Gold -2) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +11 (+4 Impervious), Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Like all rich people who aren't super-heroes, Midas is a giant butt-munch who only wants to amass more wealth.
Vulnerable (Lack of Gold)- Midas now literally is required to CONSUME Gold to survive (I think- there's little other reason for him to absorb it), despite being immune to starvation & thirst normally.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 26 / Powers: 32 / Defenses: 15 (148)

-Here is Midas in his later form, after having his "Golden Touch" turned inwards on him by a psionic attack from Tony Stark's ex-fiancee (how many of those has this guy HAD?). He's now a super-fat, titanic Brick who can batter a 1980s-era Iron Man around a while, but he ultimately only had one appearance in this form, except for a standard "Marvel Token Forgotten Plot Thread" in which he plots his revenge on Tony Stark. The Appendix states that he has "the toughness of Gold", which is actually pretty freaking pathetic as a power, since Gold is ridiculous soft as metals go, so I threw in a standard Mini-Brick set-up as a Class 50 Powerhouse who is tough & strong, but has little other options in combat (no Hovercraft or Golden Glove).
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M4C8
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Pepper Potts! Happy Hogan! Freak! Bethany Cabe!)

Post by M4C8 »

I'm kind of think Shrike is one of the many villains who shouldn't really be jobbers, skilled fighters with military and/or intelligence experience and super powers or super tech should be far more effective. Not that he should win or even beat most heroes but he shouldn't be a pushover and especially not to new young heroes (unless they're very powerful)
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
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