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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Rumiko Fujikawa

Post by Jabroniville »

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RUMIKO FUJIKAWA
Created By:
Kurt Busiek & Sean Chen
First Appearance: Iron Man #4 (May 1998)
Role: Hero's Girlfriend
Group Affiliations: Stark/Fujikawa
PL 1 (19), PL 2 (19) Saves
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 0 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Expertise (Business) 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit 1 (Wealth)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +1 (DC 11), Parry +0 (DC 10), Toughness +0, Fortitude +1, Will +3

Complications:
Relationship (Tony Stark)- Rumiko dates Tony largely to rebel against her traditionalist parents, who disapprove of him.

Total: Abilities: 12 / Skills: 4--2 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 4 (19)

-Rumiko and her father, a Japanese businessman who bought Tony Stark's company while he was in the "Heroes Reborn Universe", kind of came in a little late to capitalize on the whole Western fears of "The Japanese Will Rule Us All", regarding the power of Japanese companies (which reached a peak between the 1960s & '80s). In fact, the bubble burst on their economy by the time she'd appeared, and the country actually experienced DEFLATION, numerous corporations lost a ton of money, and their society hit a "Lost Generation" of young people with few prospects, and an economy that hasn't gotten any better. More or less one of the world's most long-scale recessions.

-Nonetheless, the time when I got back into reading comics (I kind of lost the thread in the mid-90s) actually resulted in me coming into the Iron Man book with Stark/Fujikawa being a thing, Tony's armor gaining sentience, and Rumiko being his new girlfriend, as they'd quickly made a connection. She was a smart businesswoman who was nonetheless not allowed to get in on the family business because of being a girl, as her father was very conservative- she rebelliously decided to go for a walk with Tony to annoy her family, since he was an infamous playboy and all. Tony thus dismissed her as a "spoiled, flighty airhead", but after he saw her directing medical personell and helping during an attack by Firebrand on the island, Tony was impressed. The two eventually formed a relationship, Rumiko revealing her "rich-girl" act was a put-on to rebel against the family.

-Eventually, Rumiko breaks up with Tony and sleeps with a business rival of his after getting annoyed by him never paying attention to her (this is, naturally, during the "Secret Identity" years)- she proclaimed her love and Tony was just silent. They get back together, but soon split up when he becomes Secretary of Defense (!!)- she gives him enough stock in his old company to allow him to reclaim control of it, and the Fujikawa plot thread is dropped. She is stuffed into the refrigerator in 2004, killed after being attacked by an Iron Man impersonator named Clarence Ward... you'd think the writer would have just written her out if he wasn't gonna use her, but no- comics gotta comic.

-I actually don't remember too much about Rumiko, and online bios don't say much beyond her enjoying a jet-setting lifestyle. For some reason, I recall her having some business acumen and being an important part of Stark/Fujikawa.
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Davies
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion! Radioactive Man!)

Post by Davies »

The idea of Stark-Fujikawa had been introduced in the Marvel 2099 books long before the Heroes Reborn era and Rumiko's creation. I like her immensely, though mostly because she's a good excuse to have Tony become the father of B-ko Daitokuji.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion! Radioactive Man!)

Post by Ares »

Sunturion (Love the name and look) was interesting because the guy technically wasn't really a power armor person. He could shift between his human form and his Sunturion form which was essentially a solid mass of microwave energy. I don't think he even technically had a containment suit or anything, at least not originally.

He was, however, INCREDIBLY powerful, basically combining Monica Rambeau's ability to zip around at high speeds and produce high intensity energy blasts with decent levels of superhuman strength and durability. He also had some unique stunts, such as blocking an energy blast, and then sending his own energy along the original blast to the person attacking him, usually destroying them. He could also do things like teleport, interact with machines, etc.

He was also kind of fun as a "honorable opponent", someone who was a good man but also loyal to a company that really didn't deserve him. Guy could have been an A-List superhero if he struck out on his own, but he felt he owed Roxxon for saving his life and giving him his powers. His introductory storyline was actually VERY moving, as Sunturion willingly powered up Iron Man enough to deflect a falling satellite, but it's only after the fact that Tony realizes what he truly did. The narration speaks about how that energy had been "The very essence of a man, given freely to save others, sacrificing not just his life, but his dream".

From what I remember, Stratosfire wasn't actually more powerful than Sunturion, she was just difficult to handle because she had all of his powers but was also going crazy from grief and anger, meaning she held back less. Also a bit of new villain stink on her. But given Sunturion returned, it should be easy enough to bring Stratosfire back, possibly as a hero.

Radioactive Man . . . honestly, I'm fine with him being a full on villain again. I'd lean into him being an evil scientist, eager to experiment and master radiation, and occasionally do the will of China (whose government is, less face it, doing their best to be the new supervillains of the world). He's a solid powerhouse bad guy, and I remember his fight with Spider-Man and Iron Man very fondly. Radioactive Man could actually detect the minute amounts of radiation in Peter's blood, and proximity to Radioactive Man made him sick. Iron Man was having a hard time fighting Radioactive Man on his own, so what does Peter do? Goes grab a radiation suit and starts clobbering Radioactive Man. Even Iron Man thought that was a fun solution to the problem.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion! Radioactive Man!)

Post by Ares »

Also, every time I see Dr. Midas the Cosmic Man and Exterminatrix, I question whether or not Grant Morrison is actually a good writer or if he just somehow got really lucky with All-Star Superman and Justice League, and everything else is what his actual standard is. Because Dr. Midas and Exterminatrix make me want to punch someone.
"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."
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Jabroniville
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Dreadknight

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE DREADKNIGHT (Bram Velsing)
Created By:
Bill Mantlo & George Tuska
First Appearance: Iron Man #101 (July 1977)
Role: Failed Iron Man Villain, Doom Lackey
Group Affiliations: The Frightful Four
PL 8 (127)
STRENGTH
2/6 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8) -- Flaws: Limited to Riding
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Animal Handling) 8 (+10)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+11)
Insight 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Perception 4 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Lance Weapons) 2 (+8)
Technology 8 (+12)

Advantages:
Equipment 3 (Nerve-Gas Pistol), Favoured Environment (Airborne), Precise Attack (Close/Concealment), Minion 6 (Hell-Horse), Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Dreadknight Armour" (Flaws: Removable) [16]
Enhanced Strength 4 (8)
Protection 5 (Extras: Impervious) (10)
Immunity 2 (Suffocation 2) (2)
-- (20 points)

"Power-Lance" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [15]
"Stun-Charge Bolas" Electrical Blast 8 (Flaws: Limited to Snared Opponents) Linked to Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (Flaws: Limited to Snared Opponents) (20) -- (24 points)
  • AE: "Electro-Magnetic Force Beams" Blast 8 (Extras: Improved Critical) (17)
  • AE: "Steel Bolas" Snare 7 (21)
  • AE: "Penetro-Shell Missiles" Blast 8 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (19)
  • AE: "Lance Stab" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach 2) (Extras: Penetrating 4) (8)
Equipment:
"Nerve Gas Pistol" Affliction 6 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Paralyzed) (Feats: Reach) (Extras: Cumulative) (Flaws: Limited to 4 Capsules) Linked to Damage 7 (Feats: Reach) (Extras: Fortitude Save) (Flaws: Limited to 4 Capsules) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Armor +7 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Lance +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Force Beams +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Stun-Charge Bolas +8 (+8 Ranged Damage & +6 Ranged Affliction, DC 23 & 16)
Bolas +8 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Penetro-Missiles +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Hatred (Doctor Doom)- Bram Velsing was permanently-sealed in his iron mask for insulting Dr. Doom, and he desperately hates the mad dictator. Despite this, he is often forced into Doom's service.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 31 / Defenses: 10 (127)

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THE HELLHORSE
Role:
Awesome Mounted Beast
PL 7 (73)- Minion Rank 6
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -4 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+8)
Expertise (Survival) 2 (+5)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 6 (+5 Size)
Perception 5 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+3 Size)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Attractive (To Women), Diehard, Follow-Up Strike, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Hooves), Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 3 (Acute Scent, Low-Light Vision, Radius Sight) [3]
"Animal Physiology" Speed 3 [3]
"Natural Weapons- Hooves" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Reach) [2]

"Natural Size" Growth 3 (Str & Sta +3, +3 Mass, +1 Intimidation, -1 Dodge/Parry, -3 Stealth) -- (10 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [7]
Protection 2 [2]

"Wings" Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Hooves +6 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Will +3

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- The Hellhorse cannot speak to humans, nor use his hooves to easily manipulate objects.

Total: Abilities: 20 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 21 / Defenses: 10 (73)


-Man, a guy named "Bram Velsing" who goes by THE DREADKNIGHT. This dude shoulda been a megastar based off of that alone. Dreadknight's strictly minor-league, a guy brought in to replace the first Black Knight once he'd died and passed on a legacy to his heroic relative. His initial concept was that he was a scientist who bristled under the leadership of Doctor Doom- Doom, realizing the guy's treachery, permanently-grafted a cybernetic helmet to Velsing's HEAD. Velsing then gains some gear and a Hellhorse from Victoria Frankenstein (yes, really) and becomes a super-villain, being beaten by Iron Man and Frankenstein's Monster while searching for more gear to attack Doom. He showed up from time-to-time since then, doing little... like the next notable appearances were as a minion of Morgan Le Fay against Captain Britain & the Black Knight, then as a Frightful Four member in a Canada-exclusive comic against Spidey, the Rangers & the RIGHT-RIDERS! He handily defeats the Phantom Rider with embarrassing ease, but is later stopped by the powers of bicycle safety and webbing.

-Later, when Doctor Doom appears to have died fighting Onslaught, THIS GUY of all people takes over Latveria, but is soon beaten by Spider-Man (one of the few heroes left). The Dreadknight appears to have stopped being a costumed criminal these days, appearing only in background shots or "being researched for Norman Osborn" in a bio-book. I guess there were enough Engineers-turned-supervillains who make one or two breakthroughs and then never touch science ever again. It's kinda odd because he's ideal as a "Mirror Image Villain" to Dane Whitman, but they've only met once.

-Dreadknight's pretty weak for a guy who's supposed to tangle with Iron Man, but then again, Iron Man spent almost his entire career as either a PL 10 or PL 11, judging by the villains he fights- it's only the modern-day Stark who deserves PL 12 status (and higher, if you like your characters more powerful). He's a mounted combatant using PL 8-style Blasts, Snares and more (that Nerve-Gas Gun is a NASTY piece of equipment), and he has his own Minion, but he's still pretty cheap, even with a high number of scientist skills.
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion! Radioactive Man!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

Dreadknight really should be a bigger name. He's got a rad design, a winged horse called the HELLHORSE, and his name is DREADKNIGHT. I've never read a comic with him in it, but I remember him from the 90s cartoon.
Sidney369
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion! Radioactive Man!)

Post by Sidney369 »

Also, Hellhorse was the steed of the Silver Age criminal Black Knight before it was mutated.
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
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Davies
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Midas! Exterminatrix! Sunturion! Radioactive Man!)

Post by Davies »

Sidney369 wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 4:02 am Also, Hellhorse was the steed of the Silver Age criminal Black Knight before it was mutated.
I think Dreadknight in general is meant to be a sort of successor to Nathan Garrett.
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Jabroniville
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The Guardsman (Kevin)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE GUARDSMAN I (Kevin O'Brien)
Created By:
Allyn Brodsky & Don Heck
First Appearance: Iron Man #31 (Nov. 1970)
Role: Side Character, D-Level Suit Guy/Inventor
Group Affiliations: Stark Industries
PL 8 (129)
STRENGTH
2/10 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+10)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Perception 3 (+5)
Technology 6 (+12)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment (Radio), Improved Aim, Ranged Combat 5

Powers:
"Guardsman Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [48]
Enhanced Strength 8 (16)
Power-Lifting 1 (40 tons) (1)
Protection 7 (7)
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 5 (Radiation, Suffocation 2, Pressure, Vacuum) (5)
"Repulsor Rays" Blast 8 (Feats: Split) (17)
-- (60 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Repulsor Rays +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+10 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Being Controlled by Armor)- The Guardsman Armors is slowly driving O'Brien mad, causing him to hate his employer, Tony Stark, and covet Stark's girlfriend Marianne.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 48 / Defenses: 7 (129)

-Yeah, poor Guardsman here kinda got the shaft as far as character fates go. He was an Iron Man supporting character- an inventive genius who designed his own Powersuit, and eventually became one of those guys who knew Tony & Iron Man were one and the same. Kevin O'Brien came to interest Tony when his stun-ray harmlessly dispersed a group of violent protesters, and the two became friends, despite Kevin's accident-prone nature (and what appears to be a horrendous Irish accent). When he saved Tony's life a few times, he was told the secret identity of the "bodyguard" and given a second suit of armor- the "Guardsman" suit. Unfortunately, the armor hadn't been fully tested before Kevin had to put it on (to save Tony and his girlfriend from a mad supervillain Midas, apparently). A malfunction in the suit's circuitry stimulated the regions of the brain where rage and jealousy came from, causing Kevin to resent Tony's power, looks and wealth.

-Kevin overheard Tony's stockholders sharing concerns about getting out of munitions manufacturing and offered his support. He grew increasingly unbalanced, even as he occasionally became disgusted with himself. Tony ultimately had to suit up and fight the Guardsman, defeating him. Kevin fled into an experimental tank- Tony tried to stop the tank without hurting Kevin, but accidentally struck the fuel supply, killing Kevin in an explosion. So he was only Guardsman for a very short time, having gained the suit on the tail end of a two-year run in Iron Man (written by almost as many writers as there were issues- Allyn Brodsy, Gerry Conway, Gary Friedrich & others all pop up during this run!). He ended up giving his name to a whole LINE of Guardsmen, as well as his brother.

-The Guardsman I had a pretty good set of Armor, but only got a tiny bit of use out of it before he died, so I decided to make him a PL 8- he's below most professional heroes (or even PL 8.5 guys like Stingray, who is similarly not a regular-time super-hero), but he's very much a "Solid NPC with a Kick-Ass Device" type of character who had more potential. With some higher stats and fighting ability, he could be a major threat, but as a whole he was just a Sidekick type to Tony.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Jul 17, 2022 7:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Guardsman (Michael)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE GUARDSMAN II (Michael O'Brien)
Created By:
Len Wein & Herb Trimpe
First Appearance: Iron Man #82 (Jan. 1976)
Role: Side Character, D-Level Suit Guy
Group Affiliations: The Iron Legion, Project: Pegasus, The Vault
PL 8 (124)
STRENGTH
2/10 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Police Officer) 5 (+8)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Perception 3 (+5)
Technology 2 (+5)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment (Radio), Improved Aim, Ranged Combat 5

Powers:
"Guardsman Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [48]
Enhanced Strength 8 (16)
Power-Lifting 1 (40 tons) (1)
Protection 7 (7)
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 5 (Radiation, Suffocation 2, Pressure, Vacuum) (5)
"Repulsor Rays" Blast 8 (Feats: Split) (17)
-- (60 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Repulsor Rays +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3 (+10 Armor), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Being Controlled by Armor)- The Guardsman Armor can cause the user to go insane.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 48 / Defenses: 7 (124)

-So the deceased Kevin turned out to have a brother, Michael, who was a New York City police officer who reopened the investigation into Kevin's death (this would be about four years after the fact in our time), suspecting Stark was up to something. Using his connections, Michael put on the Guardsman armor, and suffered from the same malady that Kevin had when the circuitry drove him into a rage. He attempted to kill Iron Man in battle, but Tony successfully convinced him that it was the armor that was at fault. Tony refused to have Michael arrested and instead tried to make up for the past by fixing the armor and keeping Michael on staff, even revealing his secret identity to the man.

-So Michael, the new Guardsman, thus became "The Hercules"- the guy who did the job to the villain to make Tony look better for beating the guy (the same role Hercules used to play in Thor comics, and Martian Manhunter typically plays to Superman)- the Guardsman would get smacked around, and Iron Man would fly in to save the day. He lasts about two years in Iron Man, similar to Kevin, with most appearances written by Bill Mantlo, not his creator, Len Wein. Eventually, Michael became the head of Project: Pegasus (a research facility constantly under attack by supervillains... I'm pretty sure their sole reason to exist was to be an easily-escapable prison for Space Villains and a target for terrestrial villains), and Avengers Security Chief, as Mark Gruenwald seems to find uses for this character after the fact (a pretty big gap separates his appearances in Iron Man and The Avengers. He has a lot of appearances in that role, but none that are terribly memorable- he's just some background guy, and hasn't worn the suit since the 1970s, I think.

-Michael has mostly the same stats as Kevin, but replaces the Genius aspects with the abilities of a Police Detective (Investigation & Expertise- Police Officer).
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Sunturion! Radioactive Man! Guardsman!)

Post by greycrusader »

Like so many Iron Man supporting cast members and lower-tier villains, the Guardsman and the Dreadknight are just a couple tweaks away from being solid characters (I really like the Guardsman armor design); it seems as if, as a book that just wasn’t considered that important in the early Silver and Bronze Ages (compared to Avengers, FF, Hulk, and Spider-Man), a LOT of concepts languished. The Controller, Eddie March, Sunturion, Bethany Cabe…none ended up mattering much, despite having neat character hooks. And when RDJ made Iron Man a hot property, Marvel mismanaged the book. The two biggest characters to come out of Iron Man’s early days are Black Widow and Hawkeye.

All my best
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The Vault

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE VAULT:
First Appearance:
Avengers Annual #15 (1986)
Role: Easily-Escapable Super-Jail

-A very "Gruenwaldian" idea, The Vault represents the kind of thing that would probably happen in the real world if super-powered people existed- a prison for super-villains. Though of course in its debut it was used as a prison to hold all of the Avengers when they were framed for stuff. And while it was a solid idea, it was also doomed to failure- the very nature of superhero comics states that villains must constantly return to vex the heroes another day. If you kill them, after all, they come back (usually via an "I was never actually dead!"). So if you throw them into a big named Super-Jail... the characters nonetheless MUST ESCAPE, leading to breakout after breakout. In book after book. I mean, I'd only read comics for a couple of years as a kid before getting out of it to a degree, and even *I'D* read about fifty comics featuring Vault breakouts (or at least people escaping during transport). Pretty soon, the place had less credibility than Arkham.

-Eventually, eleven years after its introduction, about 9,000 regular breakouts and four MASS breakouts, The Vault was destroyed in the ultra-minor Heroes For Hire book, having been blown up by the U-Foes. Some writers have since admitted that it was a mistake to introduce a "Super-Jail", as it would inevitably result in being devalued thanks to all of the guys escaping. Naturally, comics would use facilities AFTERWARDS (well, you really DO need stuff like that in comics), but they'd be more-numerous and thus not get devalued as badly- The Raft, The Big House, The Cage, Prison 42 in the Negative Zone, and more have been introduced. And of course every one is a joke, but like... they share the shame!
Jabroniville
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The Guardsmen

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE GUARDSMEN (Standard Vault Guards)
Created By:
Steve Englehart, Danny Fingeroth, Mark Gruenwald & Steve Ditko
First Appearance: Avengers Annual #15 (1986)
Role: Heroic Version of Mooks, Sacrifices for Villains
Group Affiliations: The Vault
PL 6 (83)
STRENGTH
2/7 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Guard) 5 (+5)
Insight 1 (+1)
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+2)
Perception 3 (+3)
Technology 2 (+2)
Vehicles 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment (Radio, Gear), Ranged Attack 5, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Guardsman Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [36]
Enhanced Strength 5 (10)
Power-Lifting 1 (6 tons) (1)
Protection 3 (3)
Immunity 5 (Radiation, Suffocation 2, Pressure, Vacuum) (5)
"Repulsor Rays" Blast 6 (Feats: Split) (13)
Flight 6 (120 mph) (12)
-- (44 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Repulsor Rays +5 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3 (+6 Armor), Fortitude +3, Will +1

Complications:
Responsibility (The Vault)

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 36 / Defenses: 4 (83)

-The Guardsmen were a very big part of Marvel in the 1990s, essentially giving Marvel Comics a legion of semi-super-powered HEROIC Mooks who came from The Vault, a prison specifically for super-villains- like Arkham Asylum, but only for super-powered people. Still just as easy to escape, and Guardsmen went down as easily as any Arkham guard. It was effective because their facemasks made it so their deaths were a little less horrific than a uniformed police officer, because we wouldn't have to see their expressions when they died, and they became a little more "inhuman" (similar reasons were made for the Stormtroopers in Star Wars or why most fantasy-themed enemies are inhuman Orcs & Goblins). They were just powerful enough to be killed two or three at a time and make it look cool, and it gave alot of stories some significance when Guardsmen showed up en masse to arrest the villain after Spidey beat him up or something. The concept was eventually retired in the mid-90s, after the guys and "The Vault" as a whole were devalued thanks to constant break-outs (the creators more or less admit it was a bad idea to start with- the inevitable break-outs made it look ridiculous immediately).

-This is the mass-marketed version of the PL 8 Guardsman Armor. They're not TOO powerful, but have the standard "Iron Man Armor" in it's baby version, making your average well-rounded supporting mook a PL 5.5-6 Fighter/Blaster. Iron Man (at his PL 11-ish 1980s self) manhandled six or seven of them at once. Sure, he had a super-weapon that disabled any of them with a touch, but he acted as if they stood absolutely no chance (their Repulsors "can't hurt" him). They went down in droves to any villain with even the most remote level of power (Hag and Troll? Seriously?), so they're still Mooks, no matter how powerful their Armor is supposed to be.
Jabroniville
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The Cobalt Man

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE COBALT MAN (Ralph Roberts)
Created By:
Roy Thomas & Werner Roth
First Appearance: X-Men #31 (April 1967)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Emissaries of Evil
PL 8 (108)
STRENGTH
1/10 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Science) 2 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+3)
Technology 5 (+11)

Advantages:
Inventor, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Cobalt Man Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [52]
Enhanced Strength 9 (18)
Protection 8 (8)
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 4 (Suffocation, Drowning, Vacuum, Pressure) (4)

"Recoil Beams" Blast 10 (Feats: Split) (21)
-- (65 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Cobalt Man Armor +5 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Recoil Beams +6 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2 (+10 Armor), Fortitude +3, Will +3

Complications:
Involuntary Transformation (Crazy, Gigantic)- Ralph suffers from radiation poisoning that can make the ordinary inventor turn erratic, evil or even a Giant in one instance.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 52 / Defenses: 10 (108)

-The Cobalt Man is a mostly-forgotten bad guy from the "Roy Thomas" years of X-Men, appearing a couple of times in that book- he's your standard "Inventor Who Builds One Thing"- he creates a suit of Power Armor in order to study nuclear radiation. His brother Ted begins dating Jean Grey, but Ralph goes crazy thanks to a concussion mixed with the armor's energies (SCIENCE!) and attacks Ted, Jean & Cyclops. He decides the suit is too unstable to use and intends to retire it, but the villain Tyrannus forces him to use it once more. Later on, he grows to gigantic size due to radiation and fights the Hulk in a story from the '70s, wanting to show the world the dangers of nuclear power by destroying Sydney, Australia- the Hulk throws him off-planet, saving the day. The Cobalt Man was later brainwashed by Egghead to join his Emissaries of Evil (that's a good stream of horrible villainous names, right there), and is believed to have been killed trying to flee the villain. He is later seen in a background fight with the Hulk again.

-Like a few other "dead" guys, The Cobalt Man shows up escaping from The Raft in the first arc of Bendis' Avengers- he's also part of Nitro's gang in Civil War, dying with Speedfreak, Night Thrasher & Microbe when Nitro melts down and explodes in Stamford. This seems to kill Cobalt Man for real. Humorously, the character appears to be an Evil Version of Iron Man, yet never once fights that particular hero.

-A Skrull imposter is seen during Secret Invasion, and Tony Stark wears the suit to disguise himself as a criminal Thunderbolt member once. And in a THIRD instance of the identity being re-used, a group of men in Cobalt Man armor fight Speedball and some trainee Avengers, but are easily-beaten by the former New Warrior. However, the original is resurrected during Marvel NOW! and retires from villainy, but is kidnapped by the Mercs For Money on behalf of some evil company who wants his suit- when Deadpool's group discovers this, they help the Cobalt Man out, storming the company's headquarters. Seems like very few people ever actually cared about this guy, as his appearances were usually YEARS apart, and then he got casually-killed in Civil War, only to be copied by imposters THREE SEPARATE TIMES in the comics. He actually has almost as many "imposter" appearances as actual ones!- now THAT'S sad.

-Pretty much Iron Man Lite (by design- the suit was copied from Tony's), the Cobalt Man is tough and deals some damage, but his mediocre stats mean he's still only PL 8 with the suit.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Sunturion! Radioactive Man! Guardsman!)

Post by Jabroniville »

It's kinda funny that Cobalt Man ends up here, as he was on my "To-Repost List", I think in anticipation of this set, when he doesn't actually belong on it, lol. He was almost one of the last guys added, as I found out I hadn't re-done him at the last possible second.
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