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

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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Bethany Cabe! The Controller! Killer Shrike! Midas!)

Post by Ares »

Eddie March is such a weird anomaly in the Iron Man books. An ex-boxer buddy of Happy Hogan who is the very first replacement Iron Man, but was used basically to show why Tony needed to be Iron Man. I wonder if the writing team of the time didn't want to use Eddie more, but for one reason or another they decided against it. Technically he should only be around Tony's age, he isn't old or anything, so it's kind of weird he's gotten basically zero page time.

He feels like he should have been a bigger deal given he's one of the first people Tony trusted his identity with. Then again, he could easily work as someone who is a cautionary tale of why not everyone is cut out for superheroics. Like his medical conditions keep him at a comfortable job Tony got for him, Eddie is perfectly content to be a normal man living a normal life, and occasionally Tony asks Eddie to talk to aspiring or young heroes to let them know that not everyone is cut out for the job, that it isn't all punching bad guys and posing heroically over their defeated body. You can get hurt, you can die, and if you have people that rely on you, that can leave them without anyone for support.

So yeah, Eddie should probably be worked back into the Iron Man mythos in some capacity, or exist as a way to show the downsides of being a hero and how being trained to fight isn't always enough.

Bethany Cabe . . . what more can I really say about Beth here? She was, in my humble opinion, by far the best love interest Tony's ever had. She was smart, but in a 'clever, cunning and observant' sort of way rather than a scientific way. She was incredibly skilled at her job, could kick all kinds of ass, had her own motivations and goal outside of Tony's life, and she made genuine efforts to improve Tony. She helped him recognize and work past his alcoholism, she saved his life on numerous occasions, and she's one of the few people who figured out Tony's ID rather than have it explained to her. She was also hot as F***, to the point I'm surprised Jab didn't have more pictures of her. She was honestly a much better fit for Tony than any of his other love interests, no shame to folks like Pepper or Jan (but all sorts of shame at the Patsy Walker that showed up in Tony's book).

Hell, I'd love some kind of "Heroes of Iron" crossover with Tony Stark and Danny Rand, where we find out Misty Knight and Bethany Cabe know each other, and we get this fun double date adventure where Tony, Danny, Misty and Beth go on some kick ass globe-trotting adventure. Maybe have Rhodey and Colleen tag along as the "friends who aren't in a relationship and feel like third wheels" who banter back and forth, joke about the happy couples, maybe have a little fun themselves, etc. Or maybe not, as it's getting kind of crowded, and then might beg the question of why Luke Cage and Jessica Jones aren't coming along.

Mrs. Arbogast is an example of how great Tony's supporting cast used to be. Here was this old workhorse of a gal who was introduced worried that she wouldn't get the job because she wasn't as young and pretty as the other secretaries applying, but got it due to her cool head and unflappable attitude. The woman took no crap from ANYONE, and when someone like Force showed up wanting to use her computer, she warned him that if Force touched her stuff, he'd spend the next few months re-learning how to walk. The only time I recall her actually being afraid of something was when she discovered Bruce Banner in Tony's lab and . . . well, you can hardly blame anyone for being afraid of old school era Hulk.

Davies brings up a great moment about Mrs. A as well she was a ton of fun. It's honestly kind of weird to see Jab refer to her as 'Bambi', because in almost all of her appearances, everyone VERY respectfully calls her Mrs. Arbogast. In fact, I don't know if we ever saw her husband, Mr. Arbogast, or if she was a widow and simply chose to keep referring to herself as Mrs.

Either way, if you went back through the decades of Iron Man stories, you'd have a supporting cast to rival Peter Parkers. And it's a damn shame they aren't used more. Have Pepper as the Vice President or similar person with authority and managerial skills to handle things. Have Mrs. Arbogast as his secretary and assistant. Have Happy as his driver and Rhodey as his pilot. Make Beth either his regular girlfriend or give her a job as chief of security. Make Abe Zimmerman the computer programmer Tony goes to for aid. There were also plenty of other people that could be brought back and developed, make Stark Enterprises feel like an actual company full of people Tony knew and could rely on.

Hell, one amazing thing about older Iron Man stories was how GOOD a boss Tony was, outside of his bouts with alcoholism and the time he faked his death. The man inspired so much loyalty that when Stane took over, most of the staff promptly quit. And when SHIELD tried to gain the majority stock of Stark International, most of the scientists were ready to quit rather than work for Nick Fury. Tony had people intensely loyal to him, and it's important to show WHY this was the case. These days it feels like Tony would struggle to inspire any loyalty outside of his small circle of friends.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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M4C8
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Bethany Cabe! The Controller! Killer Shrike! Midas!)

Post by M4C8 »

Ares wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:18 pm Eddie March is such a weird anomaly in the Iron Man books. An ex-boxer buddy of Happy Hogan who is the very first replacement Iron Man, but was used basically to show why Tony needed to be Iron Man. I wonder if the writing team of the time didn't want to use Eddie more, but for one reason or another they decided against it. Technically he should only be around Tony's age, he isn't old or anything, so it's kind of weird he's gotten basically zero page time.

He feels like he should have been a bigger deal given he's one of the first people Tony trusted his identity with. Then again, he could easily work as someone who is a cautionary tale of why not everyone is cut out for superheroics. Like his medical conditions keep him at a comfortable job Tony got for him, Eddie is perfectly content to be a normal man living a normal life, and occasionally Tony asks Eddie to talk to aspiring or young heroes to let them know that not everyone is cut out for the job, that it isn't all punching bad guys and posing heroically over their defeated body. You can get hurt, you can die, and if you have people that rely on you, that can leave them without anyone for support.

So yeah, Eddie should probably be worked back into the Iron Man mythos in some capacity, or exist as a way to show the downsides of being a hero and how being trained to fight isn't always enough.

Bethany Cabe . . . what more can I really say about Beth here? She was, in my humble opinion, by far the best love interest Tony's ever had. She was smart, but in a 'clever, cunning and observant' sort of way rather than a scientific way. She was incredibly skilled at her job, could kick all kinds of ass, had her own motivations and goal outside of Tony's life, and she made genuine efforts to improve Tony. She helped him recognize and work past his alcoholism, she saved his life on numerous occasions, and she's one of the few people who figured out Tony's ID rather than have it explained to her. She was also hot as F***, to the point I'm surprised Jab didn't have more pictures of her. She was honestly a much better fit for Tony than any of his other love interests, no shame to folks like Pepper or Jan (but all sorts of shame at the Patsy Walker that showed up in Tony's book).

Hell, I'd love some kind of "Heroes of Iron" crossover with Tony Stark and Danny Rand, where we find out Misty Knight and Bethany Cabe know each other, and we get this fun double date adventure where Tony, Danny, Misty and Beth go on some kick ass globe-trotting adventure. Maybe have Rhodey and Colleen tag along as the "friends who aren't in a relationship and feel like third wheels" who banter back and forth, joke about the happy couples, maybe have a little fun themselves, etc. Or maybe not, as it's getting kind of crowded, and then might beg the question of why Luke Cage and Jessica Jones aren't coming along.

Mrs. Arbogast is an example of how great Tony's supporting cast used to be. Here was this old workhorse of a gal who was introduced worried that she wouldn't get the job because she wasn't as young and pretty as the other secretaries applying, but got it due to her cool head and unflappable attitude. The woman took no crap from ANYONE, and when someone like Force showed up wanting to use her computer, she warned him that if Force touched her stuff, he'd spend the next few months re-learning how to walk. The only time I recall her actually being afraid of something was when she discovered Bruce Banner in Tony's lab and . . . well, you can hardly blame anyone for being afraid of old school era Hulk.

Davies brings up a great moment about Mrs. A as well she was a ton of fun. It's honestly kind of weird to see Jab refer to her as 'Bambi', because in almost all of her appearances, everyone VERY respectfully calls her Mrs. Arbogast. In fact, I don't know if we ever saw her husband, Mr. Arbogast, or if she was a widow and simply chose to keep referring to herself as Mrs.

Either way, if you went back through the decades of Iron Man stories, you'd have a supporting cast to rival Peter Parkers. And it's a damn shame they aren't used more. Have Pepper as the Vice President or similar person with authority and managerial skills to handle things. Have Mrs. Arbogast as his secretary and assistant. Have Happy as his driver and Rhodey as his pilot. Make Beth either his regular girlfriend or give her a job as chief of security. Make Abe Zimmerman the computer programmer Tony goes to for aid. There were also plenty of other people that could be brought back and developed, make Stark Enterprises feel like an actual company full of people Tony knew and could rely on.

Hell, one amazing thing about older Iron Man stories was how GOOD a boss Tony was, outside of his bouts with alcoholism and the time he faked his death. The man inspired so much loyalty that when Stane took over, most of the staff promptly quit. And when SHIELD tried to gain the majority stock of Stark International, most of the scientists were ready to quit rather than work for Nick Fury. Tony had people intensely loyal to him, and it's important to show WHY this was the case. These days it feels like Tony would struggle to inspire any loyalty outside of his small circle of friends.
Sadly the 'Heroes of Iron' crossover, which would be great, couldn't happen anymore, Danny Rand isn't allowed to be IF anymore (even though unlike his replacement he actually earned it), he's no longer with Misty who has now been coupled up with Falcon. As for Tony, well as you and others have pointed out someone like Tony can no longer be shown to be good/successful at anything or just fun, not without first being lectured into it by another character.
'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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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Bethany Cabe! The Controller! Killer Shrike! Midas!)

Post by Ares »

M4C8 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:34 pm Sadly the 'Heroes of Iron' crossover, which would be great, couldn't happen anymore, Danny Rand isn't allowed to be IF anymore (even though unlike his replacement he actually earned it), he's no longer with Misty who has now been coupled up with Falcon. As for Tony, well as you and others have pointed out someone like Tony can no longer be shown to be good/successful at anything or just fun, not without first being lectured into it by another character.
I knew about Danny losing the Iron Fist. The Discord channels still echo with my long-winded rambles and furious anger. It won't last tho. Danny will be back in the mask at some point.

I hadn't heard about Falcon and Misty. That's just stupid. It really feels like they just decided to pair Sam up with one of the only well known black female street level heroes of Marvel.

But the nice thing about me is that I view stupidity as something to be overcome and discarded, rather than something to wallow in. So screw what Marvel has done to these guys lately, if anything I'd make that story a "how Tony and Danny got their groove back" story that is a direct middle finger to everything that's been done to them lately.

Legacies of Iron. I might have to do some writing tonight.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Bethany Cabe! The Controller! Killer Shrike! Midas!)

Post by M4C8 »

Ares wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 8:17 pm
M4C8 wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 7:34 pm Sadly the 'Heroes of Iron' crossover, which would be great, couldn't happen anymore, Danny Rand isn't allowed to be IF anymore (even though unlike his replacement he actually earned it), he's no longer with Misty who has now been coupled up with Falcon. As for Tony, well as you and others have pointed out someone like Tony can no longer be shown to be good/successful at anything or just fun, not without first being lectured into it by another character.
I knew about Danny losing the Iron Fist. The Discord channels still echo with my long-winded rambles and furious anger. It won't last tho. Danny will be back in the mask at some point.

I hadn't heard about Falcon and Misty. That's just stupid. It really feels like they just decided to pair Sam up with one of the only well known black female street level heroes of Marvel.

But the nice thing about me is that I view stupidity as something to be overcome and discarded, rather than something to wallow in. So screw what Marvel has done to these guys lately, if anything I'd make that story a "how Tony and Danny got their groove back" story that is a direct middle finger to everything that's been done to them lately.

Legacies of Iron. I might have to do some writing tonight.
Write it, send it in to Marvel, you never know there might be someone working at the company who's actually a comic book fan :)
'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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Midas the Golden Man

Post by Jabroniville »

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Not only is the art horrendous but they gotta add an "M" to the belt, lol.

MIDAS II- THE GOLDEN MAN (Malcolm Merriwell)
Created By:
Gerry Conway & Jim Mooney
First Appearance: Marvel Team-Up #30 (Feb. 1975)
Role: Aggressively-Promoting Drug Dealer
Group Affiliations: N/A
PL 6 (80)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+4)
Athletics 3 (+4)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Drug Dealer) 5 (+6)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+3)
Stealth 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Connected, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Addictive Drug Spray" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [21]
"Get Addicted to Drugs" Affliction 6 (Will; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed to Drug Addict) (Feats: Reach 2) (Extras: Cumulative, Progressive +2) (26 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Drug Spray +5 (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +1

Complications:
Hatred (Black People)- Merriwell has a plan to wipe out all urban blacks from New York city (in order to save his brother from spending too much money on charity). His method is to get them all addicted to drugs. With a spray that makes them want drugs. COMICS!

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 21 / Defenses: 7 (80)

-Okay, so there's a second Midas, and he's one of those TERRIBLE Marvel Team-Up villains that debut and then get forgotten forever... he befuddled Spider-Man & The Falcon by trying to get various neighborhood black people addicted to drugs using his... Evil Drug-Addiction Spray (really), so that his philanthropist brother won't waste all his money on charities. No, that's actually his plan- to kill all blacks because his brother was spending too much money on charity. This sounds like a TERRIBLE story, and all the Team-Up comics were a little goofy sometimes. Glory Grant, Peter Parker's coworker, got victimized by his thugs, bringing Spidey & The Falcon into things, but they were jumped by Midas's goons and unceremoniously knocked out (the Appendix page humorously points out that Conway just ignored the Spider-Sense in this story, as they were surprised). Midas placed them in a patented "Flawless Deathtrap", and of course Spidey broke them out- Falcon & he confronted Midas, with Falcon literally pulling the rug out from under him, sending him out a window. This golden-clad buffoon would never appear again, with the original Midas reappearing two years later. Yes, not even MARK GRUENWALD wanted to use this guy- he put in the goddamn "Sky-Walker" and the forgotten Four Horsemen on the Stranger's Laboratory World, but he let Midas II witherr on the vine.

-A classic Jobber Villain, Midas II is a mere PL 6, since his only "Feats" were escaping from Spider-Man & The Falcon one time, and luring a bunch of kids into his club where he got them hooked on drugs so they'd be his Minions. I statted up his Golden Spray as a Device because... well, why the hell not? It's his only schtick, so may as well use it. He's basically a thug with one Power, but he's got pretty high Dex considering he's got some street skills. And damn- check out those Fortitude & Will Saves- this guy should NOT be trying to actively resist effects.
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Marianne Rogers

Post by Jabroniville »

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MARIANNE RODGERS
Created By:
Gerry Conway & Don Heck
First Appearance: Iron Man #36 (April 1971)
Role: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Group Affiliations: None

-Marianne Rodgers was a Tony Stark girlfriend in the early 1970s- it was stated that she came up with the idea to drop the grey Iron Man armor (it was too scary, she felt) and change its color scheme. Tony fell head over heels quickly and proposed- Marianne accepted, and an undercurrent was that Tony's pal Kevin "Guardsman" O'Brien was infatuated with her as well. Eventually she started acting unstable (she resented Tony when Kevin died after attacking him, then had a vision that her being with Tony would end with his death), and so Tony broke up with her after she abandoned him during a fight against the Super-Adaptoid. He then put her in an insane asylum (lol, that is such a 1970s thing)! Growing resentful for that (WOMEN AM I RIGHT?), Marianne broke out and tried to kill him, having developed psychic powers by this point (...). However, when she lashed out, she missed Tony and instead hit the super-villain Midas, leaving him a brain-dead husk. Her big run was mostly from 1971-73, then 1977. She reappeared in some mid-90s issues, showing pity for Stark having been manipulated by Kang all along, and hasn't shown up since.
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Cosmic Man

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE COSMIC MAN (Dr. Midas)
Created By:
Grant Morrison & J.G. Jones
First Appearance: Marvel Boy #1 (June 2000)
Role: Mad Scientist
Group Affiliations: None

-A weirdo character created as a villain for the Marvel Boy series Grant Morrison did (high-concept; low-selling), Dr. Midas (unrelated to the two prior Midases) was a mad scientist who gave himself incredible powers that turned him into a deformed, bloated guy. He had been chasing cosmic power for years, inspired by the Fantastic Four, having vivisected many alien beings and even shot down Noh-Varr's ship. He was abusive to his wife and daughter, and was believed killed by Mindless Ones by the end of the series. However, he and his daughter, the Exterminatrix, reappeared in Original Sin working with The Orb to gain the eyes of Uatu the Watcher. The Orb revealed the secrets the Watcher knew, and later Midas tried to absorb the power from Uatu's corpse- Nick Fury interfered, forcing him to absorb all the powers of an eye all at once, causing Midas to explode.

-As the Cosmic Man, Midas had his own "Midas Touch", transforming humans, objects and bodies of water into solid gold. "Cosmic Water" gave him elasticity, "Cosmic Earth" gave him a nigh-invulnerable rock body, "Cosmic Flame" gave him fire powers, and "Cosmic Air" gave him ranged crushing power and force fields. He also had a Healing Factor and could read minds, just dogpiling on the powers like Noh-Varr did. A lot of stuff for a guy who ultimately didn't matter much.
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The Exterminatrix

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE EXTERMINATRIX (Oubliette Midas)
Created By:
Grant Morrison & J.G. Jones
First Appearance: Marvel Boy #1 (June 2000)
Role: Evil Dominatrix, Emma Frost's "Mongul"
Group Affiliations: The Midas Foundation
PL 9 (146)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 8 (+11)
Deception 6 (+10)
Expertise (Business) 5 (+10)
Insight 4 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+7)
Perception 5 (+9)
Stealth 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 4 (Wealth), Defensive Roll 2, Equipment 8 (Guns +6- Multiattack, Motorcycle w/ Machine Guns, Vibranium Boots- Wall-Crawling), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Guns), Improved Defenses, Improved Initiative, Jack of All Trades, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 8

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Guns +12 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4 (+6 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +8

Complications:
Motivation (Greed & Power)- Oubliette typically tries to gain more money or power.

Total: Abilities: 82 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 30 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (146)

-A brutally-obvious fetish character, the Exterminatrix hails from Grant Morrison's weird, kinda forgotten Marvel Boy series. She dresses in full latex (with the original design just having red lips sticking out of a full gimp mask) and carries whips. She is the daughter of Dr. Midas, who imbued his pregnant wife with a "chemical hot-house of information-rich toxins" to ensure Oubliette developed and aged quickly, with great intelligence. Forced to wear a mask as she was said to be horribly-scarred, she was raised in an oxygen-rich environment to gain further power, and was taught to kill every kind of living being- she was said to have killed vampires, Greek Gods, aliens and more. Midas then sent her against Noh-Varr, who had escaped Midas's capture, but instead she teamed up with the hero, who made her discover that she was in fact not disfigured- turning on her abusive father, she ultimately killed him at the end of the series (he actually survived) as Noh-Varr was captured by the American government, then promised to destroy theme parks around the world until Noh-Varr was freed. In the series' final moments, it was mentioned that the U.S. was sending "hunter-destroyer telepaths" against her.

-She later appeared as a generic super-villain who was already imprisoned (Morrison had long since departed Marvel), then she & her father reappear as allies, inexplicably, in Original Sin, stealing Uatu the Watcher's eyes after his death. Midas was killed and Oubliette, now running his business, returned to Earth. And... that's basically it. And then she actually becomes a RECURRING VILLAIN- showing up abducting and torturing an evil industrialist in The Mighty Thor for her own gain, then showing up in America, posing as the headmistress of a rival school to America Chavez's, then trying to take over America's as well. This ended up being a big scheme to take over the Multiverse using all the hidden "ancestral places" of the universe using an army of cyborgs, but America defeated her.

-I honestly don't know what to make of this character- the obvious fetish aspects were downgraded (because duh- modern Marvel) but she ended up being an "every couple of years" character out of nowhere? Inexplicably allying with her father again in Original Sin for some reason? And... seeking power and wealth? Like she's almost being used in place of Emma Frost when writers can't use Emma Frost- a FEMALE Evil Industrialist, I guess? But with Morrisonian aspects like you see a lot from Morrison's followers, where it's all weird and cosmic and full of "big ideas" with an odd motivation that doesn't make sense in text. But yeah, it feels like they wanted an Emma Frost but she was busy with X-shit, so they used this forgotten character instead.

-Oubliette was a good fighter and a genius, able to hold off various heroes at once, though we haven't seen enough of her to truly judge. She has vibranium boots for wall-crawling, as well as energy weapons and guns.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Bethany Cabe! The Controller! Killer Shrike! Midas!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ares wrote: Thu Jul 14, 2022 4:18 pm Eddie March is such a weird anomaly in the Iron Man books. An ex-boxer buddy of Happy Hogan who is the very first replacement Iron Man, but was used basically to show why Tony needed to be Iron Man. I wonder if the writing team of the time didn't want to use Eddie more, but for one reason or another they decided against it. Technically he should only be around Tony's age, he isn't old or anything, so it's kind of weird he's gotten basically zero page time.

He feels like he should have been a bigger deal given he's one of the first people Tony trusted his identity with. Then again, he could easily work as someone who is a cautionary tale of why not everyone is cut out for superheroics. Like his medical conditions keep him at a comfortable job Tony got for him, Eddie is perfectly content to be a normal man living a normal life, and occasionally Tony asks Eddie to talk to aspiring or young heroes to let them know that not everyone is cut out for the job, that it isn't all punching bad guys and posing heroically over their defeated body. You can get hurt, you can die, and if you have people that rely on you, that can leave them without anyone for support.

So yeah, Eddie should probably be worked back into the Iron Man mythos in some capacity, or exist as a way to show the downsides of being a hero and how being trained to fight isn't always enough.
March is one of the big "WTF?" reactions I had while doing this set. I'd glossed over Happy Hogan's turn as "The Freak" until now, and extra research into that led me to Eddie, and I could only read on in shock at not only a would-be Replacement Hero, but this happening way before that started happening in earnest in the '80s, and by a black guy, no less! He pre-dates James Rhodes! And yet he was this obscure nobody who fate seemed to keep kicking in the balls, as he'd get almost unrealistically injured on every outing in the suit. Seems like they just dropped him because he was a complication.
Bethany Cabe . . . what more can I really say about Beth here? She was, in my humble opinion, by far the best love interest Tony's ever had. She was smart, but in a 'clever, cunning and observant' sort of way rather than a scientific way. She was incredibly skilled at her job, could kick all kinds of ass, had her own motivations and goal outside of Tony's life, and she made genuine efforts to improve Tony. She helped him recognize and work past his alcoholism, she saved his life on numerous occasions, and she's one of the few people who figured out Tony's ID rather than have it explained to her. She was also hot as F***, to the point I'm surprised Jab didn't have more pictures of her. She was honestly a much better fit for Tony than any of his other love interests, no shame to folks like Pepper or Jan (but all sorts of shame at the Patsy Walker that showed up in Tony's book).
This was one of those weird things where I wrote a bio without ever having read about her- I don't think she's in Armor Wars very much, and that's most of the older Iron Man I've read. Seems like her own creator later made up Kathy Dare as Tony's new girl, but we saw how THAT ended up... and then the Marvel Movies become a thing and we're back to Pepper Potts.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sunturion

Post by Jabroniville »

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SUNTURION (Arthur Dearborn)
Created By:
David Michelinie & Bob Layton
First Appearance: Iron Man #143 (Feb. 1981)
Role: Forgotten Villain
PL 10 (141)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA -- AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Investigation 4 (+5)
Perception 3 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Microwave Blasts) 2 (+8)
Technology 4 (+6)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Comprised of Microwave Energy"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Microwave Blasts 11 (Feats: Dynamic, Improved Critical, Split, Penetrating 6) (30) -- [33]
  • Dynamic AE: Force Field 5 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Impervious 5) (Flaws: Immobile after +3 Bonus) (6)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (20)
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]
Movement 1 (Space Travel) 1 [1]

"Containment Suit Body"
Protection 7 (Extras: Impervious 5) [12]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Microwave Blasts +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +0 (+8 Suit, +12 Force Field, +3-5 Impervious), Fortitude --, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Roxxon Oil Company)- Dearborn is pathetically-loyal to Roxxon, agreeing to transform himself into living energy to make a project of his go through, and believing their lies repeatedly.
Involuntary Transformation (Harmless Energy)- If Sunturion's Armour is Ruptured or Drained, he will become formless, harmless living Energy.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 90 / Defenses: 9 (141)

Sunturion- My Accidental Red Guardian Character:
-Sunturion is a pretty big nobody whom I discovered in that same Spidey annual where I first saw Chance & The Ghost. He was only in the climax, though- but I thought the costume was so bad-ass that I later stole its concept and name for a created-character villain of mine (which I renamed "Suntrion" because I misread the original spelling). So like, my entire universe centered around a guy whose name was ripped off by this dude I'd never ACTUALLY read about, lol. Turns out the guy is a loyalist to the Roxxon Oil Company (Marvel's 1980s attempt to latch onto the huge fears and public hatred of rich oil companies- they became the leading symbol of "Big Oil" by financing super-villains and horrible practices) who was turned into Microwave Energy and given a powersuit by them. He heroically sacrificed himself TWICE, and got replaced once, but has since fallen away as one of Iron Man's more-forgotten "Rival Armor Guy" types.

-Arthur Dearborn is a standard Roxxon employee & loyalist who gets transformed into "living microwave energy"- they wouldn't agree to building a cutting edge satellite he designed unless he agreed to the transformation (so he could work on the satellite without needing constant supplies). He and Iron Man talk until it's discovered that Roxxon was responsible for a piece of tech that killed 200 people in Iowa, and Sunturion isn't concerned about it. Iron Man insisted upon taking the gear, causing a fight (since it was Roxxon property)... however, it falls to Earth, and this time Dearborn sacrifices his life in order to boost Iron Man's power to save the day. Later, a man named Mike Stone finds a variant of the armor and becomes a second Sunturion, but dies when the suit turns out to be powering itself with HIS own energy.

Sunturion Returns:
-Six years later, Dearborn is reconstituted (he's more or less like the Legion of Super-Heroes' Wildfire at this point) to fight Stratosfire, another Roxxon agent gone bad. He causes her to self-destruct and is depowered, transforming back to human form, but reappears in that Annual I mentioned before. He was helping Roxxon (who was building an artificial form of Vibranium), but got blasted by energy, which transformed him back into the armored Sunturion, but also affects his sanity, causing a fight with Spider-Man, who uses microwave radiation to change him back. Dearborn can now change to Sunturion at will, and fights Iron Man until Ultron & The Ghost show up- Sunturion loses to Ultron, but later stops him via a "full-body energy blaze". Dearborn thus shows some heroics, but also weak-willed company loyalty, even believing Roxxon's lies about "some bad elements" in the company causing the situation, and even refuses to teleport away the bad vibranium (which becomes "Antarctic Vibranium" and demolishes any metal in the vicinity) because it's company property.

-In much more modern times, Dearborn learns that his energy form is starting to dissipate, and when Roxxon refuses to help him (it's not "cost-effective"), he finally realizes how evil they are and goes berserk, attacking their facilities all over the world. The Avengers try to help, but Roxxon is forced to help him after he prevents their ability to make more variants of his design. Seeing no other option, Dearborn goes back with them in hopes of being fixed.

Sunturion's Powers:
-Sunturion, like I said, is much like the Legion of Super-Heroes' Wildfire, particularly with the weakness. It ain't really a Device if you dissipate and leave the story permanently if it's opened up- it's just YOU and a big Complication. He's a standard Blaster who's actually PL 10 (he's a regular Iron Man foe, so he'd BETTER be good), but rather limited, especially in the Advantages area. He can handle Tony for a bit, but is just Blast & Fly and that's it.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Stratosfire

Post by Jabroniville »

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STRATOSFIRE (Sandy Vincent)
Created By:
David Michelinie, Bob Layton & Mark Bright
First Appearance: Iron Man Annual #9 (Dec. 1987)
Role: One-Shot Villain
PL 11 (146)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Microwave Blasts) 3 (+9)

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

Powers:
"Sunturion-Style Powersuit" (Flaws: Removable) [89]
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) (30)
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Movement 1 (Space Travel) 1 (1)
Protection 7 (Extras: Impervious 5) (12)
Features 1: Quick Change (1)

"Continuously-Burning Fireball" Heat Aura 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Feats: Dynamic) (51) -- (63)
  • Dynamic AE: "Burning Touch/Transform Objects to Energy"
  • Damage 13 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Penetrating 10) Linked to Weaken Toughness 8 (Extras: Affects Objects) (40)
  • Dynamic AE: Microwave Blasts 13 (Feats: Dynamic, Improved Critical, Split, Penetrating 8) (37)
  • Dynamic AE: Force Field 5 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Impervious 5) (Flaws: Immobile after +3 Bonus) (6)
  • Dynamic AE: "Rewrite Data/Send Energy Back" Deflect 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Reflection) (25)
  • AE: Teleport 15 (Flaws: Medium- Telephone Lines) (15)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (Extras: Attack +2) (40)
  • AE: Insubstantial 4 (20)
  • AE: Communication (Technology) 3 (12)
-- (111 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Microwave Blasts +9 (+13 Ranged Damage, DC 28)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+11 Suit, +16 Force Field, +3-5 Impervious), Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Responsibility (Roxxon Oil Company)
Relationship (Babs)- When Babs is killed for being concerned about Sandy's actions- this causes Stratosfire to go mad.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 89 / Defenses: 10 (146)

-Stratosfire was a Roxxon secretary longing for a better life, and jumped at the chance to wear a new version of the "Sunturion" armor. However, Roxxon turned her into their "corporate superhero" Stratosfire, again showing how Tony's villains tend to be reflections of himself. She also engaged in a lot of nefarious activities, destroying Roxxon's rivals- this disturbed her friend Babs, who was murdered for talking to Tony Stark about it. Stratosfire thus went on the rampage, destroying Roxxon's headquarters. She then became an out-of-control anti-nuclear activist, defeating Iron Man & wiping out a nuclear power plant. It took Iron Man, the U.S. Navy, and Sunturion to even hold her back- this lady was seriously powerful. She nearly destroyed a space shuttle holding mystery weapons, but Sunturion managed to "phase" through her, activating a self-destruct in her armor, killing her. If not for the super-plain outfit and kinda '80s-sounding name, she'd actually be a tolerable character to return. Sympathetic backstory and high power level, and could be a hero or antagonist depending on the story.

-Stratosfire is INSANELY POWERFUL, but of course only appeared in the one story, so New Villain Stink never had a chance to wear off. If she hadn't been executed by Sunturion, she would probably have "settled" into a minor role where she started jobbing pretty regularly.
Shock
Posts: 2978
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:27 pm
Location: Connecticut USA

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Killer Shrike! Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion!)

Post by Shock »

Stratosfire definitely could have been a good recurring character. She's got that Marvel pathos that makes her the kind of character that could settle on either side of the hero/villain line depending on the situation. Probably would have fit in well with the Initiative storyline too.

I like the costume. It's simple but leaves enough for a creative artist to jazz it up without having to make wholesale changes.
Sidney369
Posts: 328
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:18 am

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Killer Shrike! Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion!)

Post by Sidney369 »

There was a What If? story where Sunturion was a member of a future version of the Avengers, and he had aged very little. Even though it's a different reality, the two versions probably have similar powers. And given how he's energy in human form, he's probably has immunity to aging and may even be immortal.

Stratosfire seemed very close to her roommate Babs, and got really angry after she was murdered. Reading the issue made me think they were as close as to having a lesbian relationship that was allowable in a comic from 1987.
(the 3rd picture shows their closeness: http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/stratosf.htm )
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Killer Shrike! Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Sidney369 wrote: Sat Jul 16, 2022 1:19 am There was a What If? story where Sunturion was a member of a future version of the Avengers, and he had aged very little. Even though it's a different reality, the two versions probably have similar powers. And given how he's energy in human form, he's probably has immunity to aging and may even be immortal.

Stratosfire seemed very close to her roommate Babs, and got really angry after she was murdered. Reading the issue made me think they were as close as to having a lesbian relationship that was allowable in a comic from 1987.
(the 3rd picture shows their closeness: http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/stratosf.htm )
Ah, that does seem like they were being cheeky about it. Also, LOL at them having literally the exact same hairstyle so they look like twin sisters.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Radioactive Man

Post by Jabroniville »

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RADIOACTIVE MAN (Dr. Chen Lu)
Created By:
Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Journey Into Mystery #93 (June 1963)
Role: Under-Used Silver Age Villain
Country of Origin: China
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, The Thunderbolts, The People's Defense Force, The Titanic Three
PL 11 (190)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 4 (+4)
Technology 4 (+10)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Expertise (Science) 8 (+14)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+18) -- (Flaws: Limited to Radiation)
Perception 4 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Radiation) 2 (+10)

Advantages:
Improved Critical 2 (Radiation), Improved Aim, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8

Powers:
"Radiation Control" Blast 12 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Penetrating) (37) -- [47]
  • Dynamic AE: "Aura Boost" Radiation Aura 6 (total 11) (24)
  • Dynamic AE: Environmental Control 10 (Extreme Heat) (20)
  • Dynamic AE: Nullify Electronics 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst, Sustained +2) (Flaws: Touch Range) (32)
  • AE: "Hard Radiation" Affliction 12 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged) (36)
  • AE: "Hard Radiation" Affliction 11 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (36)
  • AE: "Radiation Poisoning" Weaken Stamina 6 (Extras: Ranged) (12)
  • AE: "Hidden Radiation Poisoning" Weaken Stamina 6 (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Ranged, Disease +2) (25)
Radation Aura 5 [20]
Immunity 10 (Radiation Effects) [10]
Regeneration 4 (Flaws: Source- Requires Radiation) [2]
Enhanced Strength 6 (Flaws: Source- Requires Radiation) [6]
Force Field 7 (Feats: Increased Mass 2) (Extras: Affects Others) [16]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Boosted Strength +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Aura +8 (+5-11 Damage, DC 20-26)
Radiation Blast +10 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Hard Radiation +10 (+12 Ranged Affliction, DC 22)
Hard Radiation +11 Area (+11 Affliction, DC 21)
Radiation Poisoning +10 (+6 Ranged Weaken, DC 16)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+10 Force Field), Fortitude +9, Will +6

Complications:
Power Loss (Lead)- Radiatioactive Man's powers will not affect lead.
Accident (Radiation)- Chen often emits Radiation against his will.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 101 / Defenses: 20 (190)

The Radioactive Man- Up And At Them!:
-It's always been funny to me that Marvel actually had a guy called Radioactive Man LONG before The Simpsons came out with their deliberately-silly major hero. This guy is a standard "Evil Commie" villain, a Chinese nuclear physicist who kept on absorbing radiation until he became a living generator of the stuff, and he went on to fight Thor and other guys, before devolving into one of those "Journeyman Villain" types. He was on the Masters of Evil team on a few different incarnations, and joins The Titanic Three alongside Titanium Man & Crimson Dynamo. Joining Egghead's Masters does him no better- in all of these teams, he is defeated and often humiliated by various characters- usually Iron Man (the symbol of Capitalism, and thus an Opposite Number of sorts to Chen) by this point.

-In his debut, Chen was ordered to find a way to defeat Thor by his masters- the Red Army was beaten from an invasion of India by the Thunder God. Chen gives himself powers and plans to take over the world, and hypnotizes Thor into throwing away his hammer. But Donald Blake is able to recover it from a river and creates a vortex, sending the Radioactive Man back to China, where he seems to explode. Chen nonetheless survives, joining the original Masters of Evil under Baron Zemo- he sticks Captain America & Giant-Man to the pavement with an adhesive, but is beaten by Pym & Iron Man using lead coils to wrap him up. He is then deported, but shows up on Ultron's Masters of Evil next, where they are betrayed by the Black Knight, then later beaten by the Lady Liberators.

Later Radioactive Man Stories- Jobberdom & Reformation:
-In the late '60s, Radioactive Man teams up with Titanium Man & Crimson Dynamo, forming the "Titanic Three" in the pages of Iron Man and The Avengers. He joins Egghead's Masters of Evil next, but is beaten by Ant-Man. By this point, he's decidedly a Jobber Journeyman Villain, eventually working for The Mandarin, having shifted fully into being an Iron Man villain. Obadiah Stane later hires him as a physicist, not a villain, but he shows up during a Vault breakout a bit later, and even aids the heroes in stopping a nuclear reactor meltdown. The '90s seems to lead to a shift towards good for him, as he was somewhat uncomfortably close to the "Evil Ethnic Baddie" stereotype and had lost most of his credibility ANYWAYS.

-This turn towards heroism led to him joining the Thunderbolts in more-recent years, where he was portrayed somewhat sympathetically as one of the few NON-crazy members of Norman Osborn's squad of ex-villains (but really, his teammates were VENOM and BULLSEYE- not exactly a group of well-balanced individuals). He is eventually deported as part of Osborn's plan to remove Songbird's allies from the team (her & Chen had a mutual-admiration thing going, and understood each other. Also: they weren't crazy). He reappears a bit later as a member of China's "People's Defense Force" superhero team. However, they themselves are just a speedbump for "The Unspoken"- a former king of the Inhumans, who beats them en route to jobbing to the Avengers. He later pops up as a one-off criminal, naturally someone having forgotten 2+ decades of attempted reforming on Chen's part.

Radioactive Man's Powers:
-Radioactive Man is actually tough as hell, dishing out enough damage to hurt 1960s-Thor, wielding a Force Field, and having some complex powers involving Radiation, Absorbing Radiation to boost his own powers (which I ignore the "Absorption" rule for since it's PL-ruiningly tough to utilize- he's immune to the stuff anyways). He's basically an elite, expensive-as-hell PL 11 (190) Blaster, packing some nasty Alt-Effects to his main ranged damage effect- Nauseate, Fatigue, Nullify Electronics, Radiation Poisoning... he runs the gamut of powers from that section of M&M 2nd Edition's Ultimate Power. All this in addition to a REALLY powerful Aura, capable of doing +5 damage normally, and boosting up to +11 damage from his Array.
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