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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Rorschach! The Comedian! Silk Spectre! Dr. Manhattan!)

Post by Ares »

I kind of want there to be an Afterword to Watchmen where Burbastis comes back as a big blue talking cat with superpowers, ready to torment Adrian like a superpowered ghost of Christmas, and the first words out of her mouth are "You arrrre not forrrrrgiven."
"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: Side Characters in Watchmen

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 7:25 am
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THE COPS: The blond cop also directly taunts Dan Dreiberg with his knowledge of Dan's secret ID as Nite Owl, causing them to spring Rorschach immediately- this seems to get him suspended in the end, as he's "off the clock" when he and his partner see Joey's fight with her girlfriend and try to intercede.
John Constantine reference?
"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! (Rorschach! The Comedian! Silk Spectre! Dr. Manhattan!)

Post by Ares »

Davies wrote: Wed Aug 24, 2022 9:41 pm "A live body and a dead body contain the same number of particles. Struc--"

"No they don't."

"... excuse me?"

"Bowel and bladder release. Also, blood spatter, gray matter from inside fractured skull. All sorts of particles once on the inside, now on the outside. Not contained."

"... oh."
That line always struck me as stupid. Human beings are constantly shifting the number of particles they contain on a minute ro minute basis. Cell division, eating, drinking, breathing, sweating, calorie burning, etc.

And then when you die, you start to decay and breakdown.

It's a statement meant to show how disconnected from the human condition Jon is, but it makes him look like he doesn't know what he's talking about.
"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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Ozymandias

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Do it? I'm not a Republic serial villain, Dan. Do you seriously think I would explain my master-stroke if there remained the slightest possibility of you altering its outcome? I did it twenty-five minutes ago."
-The moment that "Watchmen" became a true icon.


OZYMANDIAS (Adrian Veidt)
Created By:
Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
First Appearance: Watchmen #1 (Sept. 1986)
Role: Lone Genius, World Savior, Secret Killer, Mass Murderer
Group Affiliations: None
PL 10 (208)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 14 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 8 AWARENESS 6 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+14)
Athletics 8 (+12)
Deception 9 (+14)
Expertise (Current Events) 8 (+16)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+14)
Insight 10 (+16)
Intimidation 2 (+7)
Investigation 8 (+14)
Perception 6 (+12)
Persuasion 7 (+12)
Stealth 4 (+10)
Technology 6 (+14)
Treatment 2 (+10)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Assessment, Beginner's Luck, Benefit 5 (Wealth), Chokehold, Defensive Roll, Eidetic Memory, Equipment 10 (Karnak- Base), Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative 2, Improvised Weapon, Inventor, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Languages 3 (Many), Power Attack, Prone Fighting, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 10, Takedown, Throwing Mastery 4, Uncanny Dodge, Weapon Bind

Powers:
"Martial Artist One-Puncher" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Viewing Multiple Screens Simultaneously"
Quickness 4 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Tasks) [2]
Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Source- Multiple Simultaneous Screens) [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +14

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +5 (+6 D.Roll), Fortitude +7, Will +10

Complications:
Motivation (Preventing Armageddon)- Realizing that the world is doomed if nothing is done, Adrian desperately intervenes, bringing together a decades-long plan to save everything.
Responsibility (Guilt)- Adrian feels remorse for what he feels he must do, even taking a personal stake in killing those closest to him.
Rivalry (Rorschach)- The snooping vigilante is a bit of a thorn in Adrian's side- he can deal with the paranoid lunatic's verbal jabs, but his "Mask Killer" theory and investigations require dealing with.

Total: Abilities: 100 / Skills: 68--34 / Advantages: 55 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 14 (208)

Ozymandias- The World's Smartest Man:
-Ozymandias was actually based off of probably the most forgotten of the Charlton acts DC brought over- Thunderbolt. He was also turned into Watchmen's mastermind, with the gimmick being that he was the world's smartest, most perfect man. Mentally AND physically, as the comic carefully showcases his acrobatic finesse even in his '40s during a public show, hinting to us his effectiveness as a fighter ahead of time. Always called Adrian Veidt now, he retired shortly before superheroes became illegal (it's later explained he anticipated the peak of it and got out early)... and had realized that there were issues that couldn't be solved by just "fighting crime". When he retells his origin story to Rorschach & Nite Owl, he details how the old "Crimebusters" meeting actually changed his life- The Comedian's rant about how Veidt would be "The smartest man on a CINDERBLOCK" stuck in his mind, as "he opened my eyes- only the BEST comedians do that". Realizing that the world was doomed no matter how much crime he fought, Veidt found the best possible use of his perfect mind- solving GLOBAL ARMAGEDDON.

-This is, of course, hidden through much of the story. I wonder how obvious it was to fans reading it the first time? By the time the characters realize that Veidt is the guilty man behind all of what's happened so far, Veidt is by far the least-focused on character or all the current superheroes. The law of Mystery Novels & Movies says he'd have HAD to be the killer... but of course, the full story of his plan was so wild nobody would've guessed all of it. When Nite Owl realizes that Veidt is responsible for much fo what's going on, the heroes invade his sanctum at Karnak... but find themselves easily defeated. Veidt deals Rorschach, the book's biggest badass so far, a humiliating beating, disables Nite Owl, catches a friggin' bullet fired by Silk Spectre and one-shots her, and more.

"I Did It Twenty-Five Minutes Ago":
-So in the end, all the clues come together. The Comedian was murdered because he discovered Veidt's "plan" on an island where he was building a creature (his rant to Moloch gives so few details nobody, even Moloch, knew what it meant). Some superheroes were targetted by Veidt (including himself) to throw off Rorschach, who suspected a "Mask Killer", and Rorschach was later set up and imprisoned. The reporter expose on Doctor Manhattan that drives him from Earth was Adrian deliberately giving people who'd known him fatal cancer, leading to public accusations and him finally getting frustrated. A variety of missing writers, artists and psychics had actually been squirreled away on an island for a "secret Hollywood movie" involving a nightmare creature. And that creature, with a brain cloned from a psychic sensitive, was intended to be teleported to New York City and die on arrival (as all things that were teleported did- Veidt could never get it to work entirely), would set off a psychic shockwave that will kill half the city. And this would be thought of as either an invasion from another world, or simply an accidental arrival of something beyond imagining, thus bringing enemy nations together in opposition to- or understanding of- this new potential threat. After all, how could America and Russia fight each other if THIS was hiding somewhere out there in the universe?

-Adrian's origin story explains this a bit further. Exceptional from a young age, he is inspired by Alexander the Great, who controls a huge chunk of the world but dies in his early 30s. He gives away his inheritance when his parents die and travels in Alexander's footsteps, learning as he goes. He masters the martial arts and philosophy, and becomes a superhero- but the arrival of the super-powered Doctor Manhattan changes everything, and finally Adrian sees the light when the Comedian brings up how pointless all their adventures really are, considering the U.S. & Russia will inevitably kill each other. Adrian now changes gears and tries to fix the world- and this ties in to his origins, as he expresses admiration for Alexander's "lateral thinking, you see"- cutting in half the Gordian Knot rather than trying to deal with it on the surface by trying to untie it. So too does Adrian need to think outside the box and fix the world.

-And of course "I did it twenty-five minutes ago". In an industry where the villain "Monologuing" and explaining their entire plan was already called out as cliché, but still usually played straight, this was OUTSTANDING, and even now would be a huge deal. I mean, it's such an established genre convention that someone lays out the entire story and purpose behind everything for the people watching. And then BAM! The heroes were just a bit too late. The villain bragging about everything already DID IT and so what's the harm in revealing the plot? When Wizard Magazine or other sources bring up the series, they nearly always use this panel to talk about how great it is, and with good reason.

The In-Story Justification:
-Moore, no dummy, has to justify all of this outlandish stuff and perhaps wishful thinking. I mean, an alien shows up in New York and so the Cold War is over? And how would he even get it there? That could have been so ridiculously out of left field and convenient. And so it's revealed that Veidt is supernaturally intelligent, able to predict future events through things like watching dozens of TV screens at once to guess trends, and that he's always predicted stuff. So his out-there plan is rooted in his own capabilities with predictions, which are justified as correct in-story. Even potentially unpredictable things like the reactions of others is dealt with, as Adrian notes that he can read people like a book, identifying even the miniscule reactions DOCTOR MANHATTAN has, as even subtle things here and there read clear to him. And Adrian IS superhuman in many respects- most shocking is his ability to CATCH A BULLET (keep in mind the rest of the universe is so gritty and realistic that superheroes struggle against multiple adversaries), but other things stand out:

-It's casually revealed that he's mastered genetic engineering- the story uses Bubastis at first to showcase his brilliance and give him something to talk to, but this also serves a dual purpose of justifying the later wild stuff by showing us ahead of time that he IS that brilliant and super-science is a reality there, so it's not an ass-pull that he can just clone a psychic's brain or create a giant creature! The missing artists create the nightmare creature because all these cooks show creativity he himself might have lacked. Oh, and he can teleport things... but he's fallible enough that it doesn't work right and kills everything that it transports, and his plan to wipe out Doctor Manhattan also fails, because he promptly returns. So even that makes it feel more "real"- like he can do this incredible, impossible thing, but it's not perfect, because that might be a bridge too far for fans.

The Results:
-So Veidt's plan works- global hostilities, driven to ten minutes to doomsday by Dr. Manhattan leaving Earth and Russia invading Afghanistan, immediately cease and everyone "realizes" there's some huge potential threat out there and humanity needs to create a united front. He sees this via his classic "watching multiple screens" thing, and in a rare moment for the usually hyper-inflappable genius, his exterior breaks and he cries at his own success ("I did it. I DID IT!"). Dan, Laurie & Jon all realize they can't risk global peace to reveal things, even though they know that Veidt is a murderer who killed MILLIONS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE. They all agree to say nothing, with only Rorschach, a moral absolutist, going "never compromise" and he has to die.

Veidt as a Whole:
-A lot of Watchmen hinges on Adrian- he gets focus here and there in the story, with an interview from the wimpy liberal newspaper in one of the issues, but he dominates the last chapter by giving his full biography AND his plan. So Moore has to justify all of that, as I said, and make him an antagonist but also possibly one who saves the world (which was looking kinda bleak in the 1980s- Watchmen is a product of its time). It's, well, incredibly dark and "shades of grey"- the book's villain not only survives, but thrives, having saved the world by killing millions. And it's potentially undramatic, as the final arc is mostly people standing around and being lectured about the brilliance of the guy who outsmarted everyone.

-And the heroes honestly didn't affect the final outcome much at all- it's practically a joke how easily Adrian defeats everyone, making all the human characters look like dolts he can take out at will. So this can ruin things for some people, especially as Adrian is so nonchalant about it. He's really smug with Rorschach, probably due to personal enmity (Rorschach mocking him for being a quitter liberal pussy might've made Adrian relish the opportunity to put him in his place), but at least Dan & Laurie aren't ripped on (though Dan earns a smirk when he openly doubts whether or not Adrian can actually catch a bullet). Laurie even makes him bleed a little by shooting him. A one-two punch keeps it SOMEWHAT humble, though- Dr. Manhattan is only stayed by the results of Adrian's plan; he could have effortlessly killed him upon his return but now chooses to spare him (Adrian latter practically begging Jon to tell him he did the right thing and that it matters in the end). And then there's Rorschach's journal- Veidt misses one little bit in the chaos, with a smiling Doctor chiding him "Nothing EVER ends, Adrian", and we see that decades of work and all Adrian's planning could be undone by one crazy, stinky hobo superhero and his damn journal in the hands of some idiot tabloid writers.

-Veidt is also capable of admitting he feels horrible about the evils he's perpetrated. He even gains a personal stake when he's forced to kill his beloved Bubastis to wipe out Dr. Manhattan (as I said before, this does the important job of humanizing him a bit so he's not a complete stiff regarding all death & suffering- it shows he CAN feel it), and apologizes to his three loyal right-hand men as he poisons them to cover his tracks. The Black Freighter comic Bernie reads during much of the comic is likely a tie-in to this- a man forced to become a monster in the name of survival- Adrian takes it upon himself to do what he thinks is necessary to right things. Certainly not a HEROIC figure, but a bit of a tragic one.

"Veidt- Cannot Imagine a More Dangerous Opponent:
-What makes Ozymandias so dangerous is that he's one of two "Comic Book Heroes" in a book full of down to earth, realistic superheroes. Dan, Laurie & Rorschach are all gifted fighters and heroes, but against Adrian they're like blowing sand against a mountain- he effortlessly beats all of them (though Laurie theoretically could have killed him had she not talked smack first to draw his attention), beating some because he spotted them in a REFLECTION, deflecting Dan's laser with a reflective dish and breaking his nose with it in the same motion. Catching the bullet is something so ludicrous and unrealistic it borderline takes you out as much as the actual uses of superpowers and super-science in the story, but establish how far "above" everyone this guy really is. Though completely wild, it's actually pretty standard to Marvel & DC martial artists- though most don't literally catch bullets, guys like Gambit and Daredevil harmlessly deflecting away automatic weapons fire by spinning their sticks around is just as insane. It just looks crazy in a world that's otherwise so low-powered.

-Adrian's Combat Advantages are another sure sign of his power- Moore & Gibbons actually showcase a remarkable amount of them in just a few panels- like you can see him use Improvised Weapon (using a fork against Rorschach), Fast Grab (pinning him to a table with it), Weapon Bind (disarming Rorschach of it later), Improved Initiative 2 (easily stopping both from getting the drop on him), Prone Fighting (disabling Laurie from the floor), and Throwing Mastery (disabling Dan right away by throwing a dining implement at his nose). He's PL 9.5 unarmed and PL 10 defensively, with monstrous caps (Defensive Roll enough to mimic superhuman durability).

-Adrian's also "Comic Book Smart", inventing super-tech in a world where you had to literally be able to see atoms divide to be able to do the same- he creates cloned brains, giant creatures, a fancy magenta lynx the size of a jaguar, teleportation and remarkable plans. So he's not Reed Richards or even Tony Stark, but in "the real world" (which Watchmen evokes), he's positively insane. And this makes him a pricey individual, as he has remarkable physical capabilities enough to challenge most Marvel or DC martial artists, AS WELL as being in a tier just below the Tony Starks of the settings.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Sep 06, 2022 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Rorschach! The Comedian! Silk Spectre! Dr. Manhattan!)

Post by Davies »

How smart Veidt is can be easily demonstrated by his choice of alias. It takes a special kind of smartness to think, "I should come up with an alias for my deeds. I know, I'll use the Greek name of an Egyptian ruler which is best remembered as part of a poem about the transience and inevitable downfall of all human accomplishment!"

In other words, he's nowhere nearly as smart as he thinks he is.

Actually, I'll go further -- the myth that he cites about Alexander and the Gordian knot? The version that he tells, about Alexander cutting it with his sword, is probably the best known account. But there are others that portray Alexander as solving the riddle by thinking laterally but without destroying the knot. In other words, as the emblem of his deeds, he chose the most dramatic and violent version of the story, rather than one which demonstrates ingenuity.

And I'm sorry, I don't buy that he feels for his victims. He says that he does, he talks about how he has imagined every death ... but just a few minutes before that, he's wisecracking about Rorschach. How deep do you really think his guilt is?
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Rorschach! The Comedian! Silk Spectre! Dr. Manhattan!)

Post by Spam »

I like that while the pirate comic mirrors the horrible things both the protagonist and Viedt do to save their world, in the end the danger to the protagonist's home was imaginary, all his sins were unnecessary, so he ends up cursed in the end. it makes me think that Adrian was also fighting phantoms in his own mind. One of the reasons the world was on the brink of Armageddon was that Veidt was purposefully pushing things to the edge in preparation for his master stroke. What if he had devoted himself instead to deescalating tensions from the beginning? Everything he did might have been unnecessary if he had been less like a republic serial villain in the first place.
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The Scarlet Scarab (Abdul)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SCARLET SCARAB I (Abdul Faoul)
Created By:
Roy Thomas, Frank Robbins, and Frank Springer.
First Appearance: The Invaders #23 (Dec. 1977)
Role: Golden Age Retcon Villain
Group Affiliations: The Sons of the Scarab
PL 10 (124)
STRENGTH
1/11 STAMINA 1/11 AGILITY 0/3
FIGHTING 4/9 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Archeology) 7 (+10)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 1 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Blast) 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"The Ruby Scarab" (Flaws: Removable) [75]
Enhanced Strength 10 (20)
Enhanced Stamina 10 (20)
Enhanced Agility 3 (6)
Enhanced Fighting 5 (10)

Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Energy Blast 11 (22) -- (23)
  • AE: "Sap Powers" Affliction 11 (Fort; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed to Powerless) (Extras: Cumulative) (22)
-- (93 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Scarab Strength +9 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Energy Blast +9 (+11 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Sap Powers +9 (+11 Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +0 (+3 Scarab)

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (+9 Scarab, DC 16-19), Parry +4 (+9 Scarab, DC 14-19), Toughness +1 (+11 Scarab), Fortitude +1 (+11 Scarab), Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Egyptian Nationalist)- Faoul allies with the Nazis in order to remove the British from Egypt. He fights against the Nazis, however, when he sees their own cruelty, and decides to protect Egypt against ALL foreign invaders.
Normal Identity (Human)- If the Scarab is torn from him, Faoul will revert to a non-powered state. It actually takes some doing to do this, however- it's not quite Easily-Removable.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 75 / Defenses: 7 (124)

-The Scarlet Scarab is a character created by Golden Age-fanboy Roy Thomas for his Invaders run, and was an Egyptian Nationalist allied with the Sons of the Scarab, who fought the British forces that were attempting to hunt Rommel in North Africa. This led to a conflict with the Invaders, whom he held off adequately for a time- he was ready to slay a dehydrated Namor until he saw some Nazis threaten Egyptian civilians. Realizing that he was on the wrong side, he allied with the Invaders against the Nazis. When the heroes were all "cool, thanks" and made offers of peace, he cursed them, pointing out he wished ALL foreigners would leave his country.

-Some of his backstory reminds me of many true-life stories during World War II, though usually the stories involved Japanese soldiers' behavior causing nations to turn against the Axis Powers, often aiding the Americans who'd traveled there to fight (on his show, Anthony Bourdain just talked to an Okinawan politician about this- the man was a super-pro-Japanese soldier during the War, but turned on them when he saw them murdering Okinawan civilians for food and water).

-It would turn out that the Scarab would leave him during the 1950s (exhausting its power and immediately returning to the tomb of the sorcerer who'd crafted it), and he'd spend the rest of his life searching for it. N'Kantu the Living Mummy recovered it, but it was lost to the Living Monolith and then many other hands before finally returning to the tomb. Dr. Faoul's dying request was that his son Mehemet would find it- he becomes the second Scarlet Scarab.

-The Scarlet Scarab is a bad enough dude to hold off the entire Invaders (Namor, Cap, Spitfire, Human Torch & Union Jack) in his debut, fighting them to the point where he nearly killed Namor. Taking "New Villain Stink" into consideration (and the lower levels of Golden Age heroes- Captain America was only PL 10 during World War II), PL 10 seems about right. He's at a very high level of power, but lacks experience against super-powered foes.
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The Scarlet Scarab (Mehemet)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SCARLET SCARAB II (Mehemet Faoul)
Created By:
Doug Moench & Alan Kupperberg
First Appearance: Thor #326 (Dec. 1982)
Role: Legacy Hero, National Defender
Group Affiliations: None
PL 10 (124)
STRENGTH
1/11 STAMINA 1/11 AGILITY 1/4
FIGHTING 4/9 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Expertise (Archeology) 7 (+10)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 1 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Blast) 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"The Ruby Scarab" (Flaws: Removable) [75]
Enhanced Strength 10 (20)
Enhanced Stamina 10 (20)
Enhanced Agility 3 (6)
Enhanced Fighting 5 (10)

Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Energy Blast 11 (22) -- (23)
  • AE: "Sap Powers" Affliction 11 (Fort; Impaired/Disabled/Transformed to Powerless) (Extras: Cumulative) (22)
-- (93 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Scarab Strength +9 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Energy Blast +9 (+11 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Sap Powers +9 (+11 Affliction, DC 21)
Initiative +1 (+4 Scarab)

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (+9 Scarab, DC 16-19), Parry +4 (+9 Scarab, DC 14-19), Toughness +1 (+11 Scarab), Fortitude +1 (+11 Scarab), Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Egyptian Treasures)- Faoul wishes to ensure that Egypt's treasures stay within its borders. He travels to the United States on the hunt for thieves.
Normal Identity (Human)- If the Scarab is torn from him, Faoul will revert to a non-powered state. It actually takes some doing to do this, however- it's not quite Easily-Removable.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 75 / Defenses: 7 (126)

-Five years after the one-shot Scarlet Scarab debuted in The Invaders, his son appeared in The Mighty Thor, adopting his father's legacy and the hunt for the Ruby Scarab on the old man's deathbed- he finds it after a few years. He quests to ensure that Egypt's national treasures stay within the country- he crashes a museum in the United States after some things are stolen. This brings him into conflict with Thor, who has a small bit of trouble (largely because of the "Sap Powers" ability), but pretty soon the Thunder God trounces his foe. Once they talk about what's going on, they team up and easily beat the non-powered criminals- compromising to send them to trial in America, while the Scarab returns home to Egypt. He's never reappeared (save for a one-off when he was briefly considered for the new Sorcerer Supreme), and for reasons unknown, the Ruby Scarab has turned up in other books as a Macguffin device, often being held by the Living Pharaoh.

-Pretty much a clone of his father, Faoul is strong enough to go toe-to-toe with Thor for a short while, but loses pretty handily once Thor yanks the Scarab off of his costume (I don't imagine this is quite an Easily-Removable situation, but it's a bit worse than standard Removable- you can't just tear IRON MAN's gear off in one shot, for instance). A Thor Jobber is a fair bit stronger than your typical Jobber, but a Jobber all the same given the high power levels of the Thunder God.
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Hell’s Belles

Post by Jabroniville »

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HELL'S BELLES
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #80 (July 1992)
Role: Forgotten Villains, Girl Team

-Oh my god- ANOTHER group of Forgotten Jobber Villains! And in an X-BOOK no less! You see what I miss when X-Factor wasn't one of my regular books? I never saw issues of it when I was a kid, and I thought Peter David's team was lame-looking anyways so I probably woudn't have bought them if I HAD, but still.

Hell's Belles are a group of female mutant terrorists trained by Cyber (then a major character in Wolverine, where he was said to be the only person Logan was truly afraid of). They helped Cyber commit acts of extortion and worked for a drug cartel. Shrew betrayed the group to the U.S. government, however, testifying against them for immunity. The rest of the Belles sought to kill her, so Shrew was placed under the protection of X-Factor. The four members of Hell's Belles attacked them at a hotel, but a boiler exploded during a fight between Strong Guy & Briquette, causing both groups fto flee. Later, X-Factor met the Belles again, defeating them- they were arrested, and not seen EVER AGAIN until the 2000s.

Hell's Belles thus vanish for eons until Decimation de-powers most of the world's mutants. Flambé, Tremolo, and Vague are all depowered, leaving only Briquette. The former trio, however, are now equipped with various weapons, and still engage in criminal antics. The Children of the Atom (a group of teens who PRETEND to be mutants, using alien gear instead) discover them, however, and tie them up for the police. Vague uses her free phone call to contact Briquette, who breaks the group out of prison. The Children fight them again- the Belles are about to win when Storm arrives, offering the Belles a spot on Krakoa, which is mutants-only. I guess that means the Belles still "count", as they can re-empowered by the new concept of "Crucible"- a ceremony that can either kill or repower mutants.
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Tremolo

Post by Jabroniville »

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TREMOLO (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Peter David & Larry Stroman
First Appearance: X-Factor #80 (July 1992)
Role: Jobber Villain, Blaster
Group Affiliations: Hell's Belles
PL 7 (85)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+4)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Perception 3 (+4)
Technology 2 (+2)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Vibrational Waves"
Blast 8 [16]
Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Vibrational Waves +6 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +2

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

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Hell's Belles are first drug cartel operatives, then just rob banks, even without their powers.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 11 (85)

-Tremolo is a generic Blaster-sort, using Vibrational Waves to shoot energy and fly. In the initial fight, she confronted Shrew, but tried to convince her to rejoin the Hell's Belles- later, in the fight against X-Factor, she was beaten by Quicksilver. Tremolo lost her powers on M-Day, and later carried around a gun during a bank robbery. She joined the other mutants on Krakoa, but hasn't mattered since.
Sidney369
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Re: Ozymandias

Post by Sidney369 »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Aug 25, 2022 7:46 pm "Veidt- Cannot Imagine a More Dangerous Opponent:
-What makes Ozymandias so dangerous is that he's one of two "Comic Book Heroes" in a book full of down to earth, realistic superheroes. Dan, Laurie & Rorschach are all gifted fighters and heroes, but against Adrian they're like blowing sand against a mountain- he effortlessly beats all of them (though Laurie theoretically could have killed him had she not talked smack first to draw his attention)
And if she had shot at him more than once. Catch the one bullet was an impressive feat, especially for the setting, but I doubt he could have it twice in quick succession.

Did Dr. Manhattan ever demonstrate any degree of above human level strength? It's been a while since I've read the series, but I don't remember if he did, even at giant size. Of course, his other powers made physical strength less impressive and even unnecessary. For example, he could have used levitation to counteract the realistic problems that would stem from a giant form.

A flashback in All-New Invaders #4 showed Abdul Faoul fighting the Invaders alongside the Super-Axis, set about a year after his previous appearance. I assume the writer never bothered to do any research on the character.
Always ask before you use someone's Original Character.
Never ever use them without permission. Only Villains do that.
Shock
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Re: Hell’s Belles

Post by Shock »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:13 pm Image

HELL'S BELLES
That is some hideous art
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EternalPhoenix
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Re: Hell’s Belles

Post by EternalPhoenix »

Shock wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:59 am
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:13 pm Image

HELL'S BELLES
That is some hideous art
Oh thank god it's not just me. I don't even know what's happening in that shot.
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Tattooedman
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Re: Hell’s Belles

Post by Tattooedman »

EternalPhoenix wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 2:48 am
Shock wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:59 am
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:13 pm Image

HELL'S BELLES
That is some hideous art
Oh thank god it's not just me. I don't even know what's happening in that shot.
That would be the work of Larry Stroman, he drew X-Factor from issue 71 to issue 81.

His art is hit or miss for me, sometimes I like it because it's so different but other times I have a reaction similar to the two of you.
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 13, 2021 11:45 pm
LOl- "The Tattooed Man"? What kind of ABSOLUTE DILDO would refer to himself as "The Tattooed Man" :P!?!
Jabroniville
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Re: Hell’s Belles

Post by Jabroniville »

Shock wrote: Sat Aug 27, 2022 1:59 am
Jabroniville wrote: Fri Aug 26, 2022 10:13 pm HELL'S BELLES
That is some hideous art
He's a weird one. Just draws the weirdest, most exaggerated characters. Like Humberto Ramos without the sense of clarity. You can see the same kind of ugly art with his versions of the Nasty Boys.

Image
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