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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Wild Pack

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE WILD PACK
Created By:
Marv Wolfman & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Silver Sable & The Wild Pack #1 (June 1992)
Role: Mercenaries, Back-Up Guys, Gunfighters
Group Affiliations: The Wild Pack
PL 7 (70)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Mercenary) 5 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Equipment 6 (Gear), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Guns), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 3, Teamwork

Equipment:
"Spy Gear" (5-10 points)
"Body Armor" Protection 1 (1)
"Guns" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18) -- (19)
  • AE: "Grenades" Blast 7 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited Uses) (Diminished Range -1) (13)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Guns +8 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3 (+4 Body Armor), Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Money)- Mercenaries do work for pay, though some may be more (or less) willing to work pro-bono if the cause is just.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (70)

-The Wild Pack is a mercenary group led by Silver Sable, and were introduced in her forgotten 1990s solo book. Granted, it's not a bad idea to have a big-time Mercenary Book in a universe populated by super-humans, especially when "Gun Guys" became in vogue thanks to The Punisher, but this was like scraping the stuff UNDER the bottom of the barrel. After the book was cancelled, the Wild Pack basically kind of vanished (because who's gonna remember all the generic regular guys under Sable's command when even SHE goes five years between appearances?). A new version popped up when she returned from her seeming demise, and was made up of entirely new members.

-Primary Wild Pack members were Silver Sable, The Sandman and Battlestar, all of whom had appeared in prior years- this left the group very disparate in power, since Battlestar & Sandman were super-strong (and Sandman was EXTREMELY powerful), and Sable was a pretty elite Secret Agent type, so the other players were kind of mediocre by comparison. At PL 7 and WAY under-pointed, they're not terribly great against super-human adversaries, but they make decent Mooks given that individually they're only a bit below a low-level Super-Villain.

Wild Pack Members:
Larry Arnold- PL 7 (70):
A generic guy.
Doug Powell- PL 7 (70): Generic Guy #2.

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Karl "Crippler" Striklan- PL 7 (71): Power Attack [1]
-A psychotic masochist who enjoyed torture (both torturing others and being tortured himself). He utilized "Cobrabration", a retractable club.

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Amy Chen- PL 7 (80): Intelligence 3, Awareness 3, Fighting 10, Accurate Attack, Expertise (Streetwise) 4 (+6), Stealth 2 (+7) [10]
-A Vietnamese girl who was sold into slavery and rape as a child, then killed her captors and escaped to general assassin and mercenary work. She often utilized blades as weapons, and was strongly hinted to be a lesbian in the days when comics kind of tip-toed and implied those things with jokes rather than directly stated them for GLAAD credibility. Of the crew, she's possibly the only one who might deserve PL 8 status.

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Raul Quentino- PL 7 (77): Intelligence 4, Expertise (Criminal) 2 (+6), Expertise (Science) 4 (+8), Technology 6 (+10) [9]

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Lightbright (Obax Majid)- PL 8 (93): Flight 4 (60 mph), Heat Blast 8, AE: "Calming Glow" Affliction 8 (Will; Entranced/Compelled) (Extras: Area- Visual Perception) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Limited to Calm) [25]
-A Somalian rebel and a mutant, Obax was discovered and hired by Silver Sable, and seemed to be a big part of the attempt by the book's creators to create a big new character. Oddly, she was seen years later opposing the Superhuman Registration Act in a quick one-shot appearance.
Foxtrot, Juliet, Romeo, Tango, X-Ray- PL 7 (70): The new Wild Pack, all taking their names from "Radio Language" callsigns for letters.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bear
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Clone Saga! Silk! Spider-Gwen! Silver Sable!)

Post by Bear »

I actually liked the Darkhold Redeemers, they were a street-level mystic book and I always feel like we need more of those. But yea Silver Sable, she showed up in the 90s animated show a bit too much for my tastes but then again they had Black Cat as a super soldier so maybe that show wasn't as good as I remember it to be. Jade colored glasses and all that.
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HalloweenJack
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:50 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Clone Saga! Silk! Spider-Gwen! Silver Sable!)

Post by HalloweenJack »

I don't even remember Silver Sable in the 90s Spidey toon
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M4C8
Posts: 759
Joined: Thu Nov 10, 2016 10:17 pm
Location: South-East England

Re: Jab's Builds! (Clone Saga! Silk! Spider-Gwen! Silver Sable!)

Post by M4C8 »

Back when I was a teen I thought it would be cool if various teams such as the Wild Pack, the Elite Agents of Shield, Code Blue and the Harriers were brought together to take the fight to organisations such as Hydra, I saw it as akin to 'G.I Joe' but in the MU. Also, although those members of the Wild Pack that recently appeared were called by different call-signs they looked exactly like the original team.

If it wasn't weird enough that we're getting a movie about Venom with no details as to how he's going to be linked to Spider-Man, now there's news that SONY is making a movie based on the Black Cat and Silver Sable :?
'A shared universe, like any fictional construct, hinges on suspension of disbelief. When continuity is tossed away, it tatters the construct. Undermines it'
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mr. Negative

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

MISTER NEGATIVE (Martin Li)
Created By:
Dan Slott, Steve McNiven & Phil Jiminez
First Appearance: Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift (May 2007)
Role: Super-Crimeboss
PL 10 (183)
STRENGTH
9 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 7
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 4 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 8 (+12)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Perception 2 (+6)
Stealth 2 (+8)
Treatment 4 (+8)

Advantages: 
Benefit 3 (Wealth- Crimelord), Equipment (Swords, Knives & Stuff), Improved Initiative, Power Attack

Powers:
"Mister Negative Form" Morph 1 (Photo-Negative Form) (Flaws: Keeps the Same Facial Features) [4]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Speed 1 (4 mph) [1]
"Negative Energy Empowerment" Features 1: May Add +1 to Strength From Common Melee Weapons [1]

"Corrupting Touch" Affliction 10 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Cumulative, Progressive +2) (Noticeable- Photo Negative Images) (39) -- [40]
AE: "Healing Touch" Healing 10 (Feats: Persistent) (Extras: Restorative) (31)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Corrupting Touch +10 (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Initiative +6

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +8, Fortitude +8, Will +7

Complications:
Motivation (Money & Power)- Mister Negative is a new Crimelord in New York, and wants it all for himself, and the destruction of his enemies.
Enemy (Dagger)- Li has learned that he is destined to be killed by Tandy "Dagger" Bowen.
Enemy (The Hood)- Li was one of the biggest criminal rivals to The Hood's new supervillain army.
Power Loss (Corrupting Touch)- Mister Negative's Corrupting power will not work against supernaturally-powered beings such as The Hood.
Power Loss (Corrupted Targets)- The Corruption is apparently more effective against beings that are innately good, such as Spider-Man.
Responsibility (Split Personalities)- Martin Li & Mister Negative are aware of each other, and do not interfere in each others' activities, despite one being charitable and good, and the other evil.

Total: Abilities: 104 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 49 / Defenses: 11 (183)

-Mister Negative is a new Crimeboss-type villain created by Dan Slott for his recent mega-run on the Spider-Man series of books- and really, Spidey & New York needed some new ones, as they've done about as much as they could with Hammerhead & Silvermane, and even The Kingpin can't be used for EVERYTHING. A man with a split personality thanks to some evil perpetrated in his past (much like Cloak & Dagger, he was given experimental drugs and gained Darkforce-y powers from them), one side is totally evil, while the other is charitable. He doesn't get many feats to his name aside from being a rival to The Hood and an enemy to Spider-Man, and he pretty quickly devolved into just being Another Bad Guy, showing up in the background of other people's comics, such as a more recent Cloak & Dagger thing, where he deals drugs out of Hong Kong. Seemed like a solid start, but he ends up being rather unimportant and forgettable. But it's good to have a new guy around all the same- you can only trot out the same old 1960s & '70s villains so many times before their appearances become not worth noting.

-Mister Negative has an odd grab-bag assortment of powers, but is basically a Super-Strong close fighter who can also Mind Control touched victims (Noticeable, but Progressive- powerful enough to control Spider-Man for a while, though as I always note, Mind Control ALWAYS WORKS in comics the first time they're used) or Heal people (he's responsible for editing out Eddie Brock's fatal cancer, just in case you wonder where THAT little story went... they were trying to off Eddie but left a possible reason for him to be alive, and Slott took it by curing him and turning him into Anti-Venom). A fair bit of New Villain Stink saw him punch Spider-Man through a building, though I'm sure he'll be jobbing any day now.

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INNER DEMONS
PL 5 (76)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills: 
Acrobatics 4 (+9)
Athletics 6 (+8)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+8)
Deception 3 (+4)
Expertise (Mook) 7 (+8)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 4 (+5)
Perception 5 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Ninja Weapons) 3 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Equipment 2 (Martial Arts Weapons), Ranged Attack 5

Powers:
Regeneration 6 (Feats: May Regrow Limbs) [7]

Equipment:
"Electrified Ninja Weapons" Sword +3, Shuriken +2, Chain +1- Reach 4, etc. (Feats: Variable- Electricity & Whatever Other Damage They Already Had)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Weapons +4 (+3-6 Damage, DC 18-21)
Shuriken +8 (+2 Ranged Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +2

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 7 / Defenses: 6 (76)

-Mister Negative's own personal Mook Army are a bunch of weenies like good Mooks should be, but have the added trick of basically being unkillable- they have regenerated from nearly ALL harm in the past (including gunshots to the head, being torn apart, or being disembowelled).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mayday

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

SPIDER-GIRL (May "Mayday" Parker)
Created By:
Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz & Mark Bagley (costume)
First Appearance: What If? Vol. 2 #105 (Feb. 1998)
Role: Chick Version, The Only Happy Future Timeline Ever
Group Affiliations: The A-Next, The Fantastic Five, The New Warriors
PL 10 (191)
STRENGTH
7 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 8/11
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+9/+11)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+11)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+7)
Insight 4 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Webbing) 8 (+12)
Stealth 1 (+9/+12)
Technology 5 (+8)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Equipment (Spider-Tracers, Camera, Spider-Flashlight), Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Disarm, Improved Trip, Luck, Ranged Attack 2, Second Chance (Falling), Takedown 2, Taunt

Powers:
"Proportionate Strength of a Spider" 
Power Lifting 1 (6 tons) [1]
Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]
Speed 2 [2]

"Repulsion & Attraction Field" 
Movement 2 (Wall-Crawling 2) (Extras: Affects Others) (6) -- [7]
  • AE: Move Object 8 (Flaws: Touch Range, Limited to Attracting & Repelling) (4)
"Spider-Sense- Warns of Danger & Boosts Agility"
Senses 3 (Danger Sense, Accurate Danger Sense 2) [3]
Enhanced Agility 3 [6]
Enhanced Skills 16: Acrobatics 8 (+19), Perception 8 (+12) [8]
Enhanced Advantages 11: Defensive Attack, Defensive Strike, Evasion 2, Improved Defense, Move-By Action, Precise Attack (Ranged/Concealment), Seize Initiative, Skill Mastery (Acrobatics), Ultimate Acrobatics, Uncanny Dodge (Spider-Sense) [11]
Enhanced Dodge 2 [2]
Enhanced Parry 2 [2]

"Web-Shooters" (Flaws: Removable) [26]
"Web-Line" Movement 1 (Swinging) (2)
"Spider-Web" Snare 8 (Feats: Split, Tether) (26) -- (30)
  • AE: "Blind With Webs" Dazzle Visuals 8 (16)
  • AE: "Web Objects" Create 5 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Continuous) (Flaws: Permanent) (11)
  • AE: "Impact Webbing" Snare 10 (Extras: Area- Burst) (Flaws: Half-Range on Burst -1/2) (25)
  • AE: "Stingers" Affliction 7 (Fort; Fatigued/Stunned/Paralyzed) (Extras: Ranged, Cumulative) (21)
-- (32 points)

Equipment:
Spider-Tracers (Detect Radio, Ranged, Tracking) (3)
Fancy-Ass Camera (1)
Spider-Flashlight (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Spider-Web +12 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Dazzle +12 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +8 (+11 Spider-Sense)

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (+13 Spider-Sense, DC 23), Parry +10 (+12 Spider-Sense, DC 22), Toughness +7, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Relationship (Parents)
Power Loss- If May gets the flu or a cold, or if something weird is going on genetically, she will lose her powers. Still in shape, she is reduced to Strength 1, Stamina 3 and Agility 4.
Responsibility (Human Life)- May shares her father's view of human life, and will not take it willingly.
Responsibility (With Great Power Must Come Great Responsibility)- Ditto.
Power Loss (Web-Shooters)- Spider-Girl runs out of Web Fluid whenever the GM demands it. Always at the worst possible time.
Secret Identity- A handful of people know Mayday's secret, but she keeps it hidden from most.
Enemy (Normie Osborn, The Raptor)- May later reforms both foes.
Relationship (Wes)- Mayday & Wes, a comic book artist, eventually fall in love, and he discovers her secret identity.

Total: Abilities: 78 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 70 / Defenses: 8 (191)

-Spider-Girl came about in an odd way- a What If? issue devoted to What if the Spider-Baby had lived? See, with Peter's kid written out of the books thanks to Norman Osborn and the feelings that the raising of a baby would "age" Peter (children in comics are kind of a nightmare for continuity anyways- turning into Franklin Richards/Kitty Pryde-style aging jokes all the time, so it might be for the best. Still kind of sad to see every single person in comics have no children, though). The Whate If? was VERY well-recieved, enough so that May "Mayday" Parker (named for Aunt May, who was still dead in this world) became a recurring feature, written by ex-Marvel Editor-In-Chief Tom DeFalco (himself an old Spidey scribe, and having stepped down once the '90s went to hell). The book NEVER sold well, yet had a REALLY outspoken fanbase, and has famously been saved by write-in-letter campaigns several times, something no other book I can think of has done. Despite these frequent campaigns, the book finally ended for good in 2010, though you'll still find occasional references (such as in the Spider-Verse story, and Secret Wars.

-Mayday is the tough, sporty daughter of Spider-Man (now a semi-crippled Police Detective) and Mary Jane, living in a world in which Aunt May stayed dead- the MC2 Universe, which has one of those "Doom Patrol Fandoms". All I know is that ten freaking years of requests, "This is not a request, but have you ever considered building MC2?" requests, and jokes about building it anyways have made me despise the MC2 universe, and consider myself one of its biggest detractors :p. Plus, it's both impossible (the characters have very little bio information out there and I have no access to the books) and uninteresting ("slightly modified versions of established characters! Yay!"). So suck it, MC2 universe.

-Spider-Girl is more-or-less an '80s-esque Peter, PL 9 in combat, but with a PL 10 snare and defenses. She's less strong that her dad, but is actually faster and more athletic, and with Ben Reilly's Impact Webbing & Darts, plus an ability to "Repel" people off of stuff- a variation of her dad's standard Wall-Crawling ability. It's cheap and an Alt.Effect of her other movement powers, but who it's something. She's also better at Blind-Fighting than Peter, carrying Accurate Danger Sense (something Peter can only do by spending Hero Points).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Clone Saga! Silk! Spider-Gwen! Silver Sable!)

Post by Jabroniville »

HalloweenJack wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:24 pm I don't even remember Silver Sable in the 90s Spidey toon
She popped up all the time in one of the later arcs- the one that saw the debut of Electro and had all the Golden Age heroes in it (Electro was the Red Skull's son, which was weird; AND he was vastly powerful). She's sort of one of those... "Enabler" characters, sorta like Nick Fury was, or the Watcher tended to be- someone who enables a plot, because they have some kind of mission for the hero.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: The Fly

Post by Jabroniville »

L-Space wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 7:23 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jun 05, 2017 1:19 am-Haha, THE FLY. I would've never known this guy even existed if not for buying one of those old Official Handbooks, but what a classic "Mort" character. He's a short-lived Spider-Man foe that never went anywhere, getting injured in a gunfight and forcing the scientist brother of the guy who altered The Scorpion into turning him into something tougher (he later killed the guy just because). He's got Spidey-lite abilities, but when your main foe is SPIDER-MAN, going Spidey-Lite is probably a crap idea. Spidey handily beat him in their first fight, and soon Deacon began mutating further, gaining compound eyes and stuff like that. After a few more battles (once against Moon Knight, and another against Jessica Drew- his DNA was used to empower one of her supporting cast into becoming The Hornet), he was attacked and killed by the Scourge of the Underworld, along with dozens of other crappy villains.
I never understood the Fly being a Spider-man villian. I mean they gave him the proportionate abilities of a creature that regularly gets killed and eaten by spiders... That would be like having the Human Torch fight a Paper-Man.
Or if The Sentry fought Good Stories Man.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Black Tarantula

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE BLACK TARANTULA (Carlos LaMuerto)
Created By:
Tom DeFalco & Steve Skroce
First Appearance: The Amazing Spider-Man #419 (Jan. 1997)
Role: Forgotten '90s Villain
Villain Ranking: D-List
Group Affiliations: The Hand
PL 10 (164)
STRENGTH
10 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+8)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Ninja) 7 (+10)
Insight 3 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Perception 4 (+7)
Sleight of Hand 6 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+9)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Cunning Fighter, Defensive Attack, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Initiative, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (English, Spanish, Japanese), Tracking

Powers:
"Potion-Given Powers"
Regeneration 8 (Feats: Diehard) [9]

"Eye Beams" Blast 10 (Flaws: Tiring) (10) -- [11]
  • AE: "Heal Others" Healing 6 (Flaws: Tiring) (3)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Illusion +10 Perception (+10 Illusion, DC 20)
Hallucinogenics +9 Area (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +8, Fortitude +10, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Justice)

Total: Abilities: 108 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 9 (164)

-The Black Tarantula is SO unbelievably '90s. He's a big, super-strong guy with a grab-bag of powers (including Regeneration, the most popular power of that decade after claws & guns) who is also a SUPREME MARTIAL ARTIST GRAAAGH!! and he beat the hell out of Spider-Man in his first appearance. He showed up as a crimelord with links to The Hand who was reputed to be immortal (in truth, the title "Black Tarantula" is handed down from father to son), feuded with The Rose & Spider-Man (in his four alternate costumes) for a bit, and teamed with Wolverine enemies Roughouse & Bloodscream. His wife turned out to be a friend of Mary Jane's, and tried to keep her son from him, lest he become the new Black Tarantula. After this, he basically disappears as his creative team got the boot.

-As Tom DeFalco was his creator, Black Tarantula ended up being a recurring character in Spider-Girl (DeFalco is, if nothing else, a classic "old-school comics" writer- his stuff is rarely mind-blowing, but always on a level of "decent", especially if he's free to do what he wants). He's actually made a comeback very recently, being drawn out of NOWHERE for a run as a repentant justice-seeker in the pages of Daredevil. He allies with Matt Murdock during Shadowland (where a bunch of guys get Hand brainwashing), but when he clears his mind of Hand control, he is stabbed in the back by the still-controlled White Tiger, and nearly dies.

-A big, tough, expensive PL 10, Black Tarantula costs so much because he's supposed to be a genius, a master ninja, AND he has super-strength. This gives him quite a few Advantages (he can modify a lot of his caps), Skills (ninja-type stuff) and more, making him a powerful threat, especially since he can quickly recover from damage.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Jab's Builds! (Silk! Spider-Gwen! Silver Sable! Spider-Girl!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Greycrusader's comments about Black Tarantula:
Oh man..I remember Black Tarantula, and you're right on the nose...an utterly 90s Villain Sue. I remember thinking his mask was really cool, and his overall look wasn't bad either, but the character was just a big nothing when it came to personality, motivations, or having any distinctive M.O. He was, as you said, just a minor crimelord with a totally random grab-bag of powers-super-strength, regeneration (what new villain in that decade DIDN'T have that?), eye beams (?!), healing powers...AND he was a ninja AND a brilliant chemist AND an occultist...

It's not that really powerful Spider-Man villains can't be interesting-look at Green Goblin, who is super-strong, vicious, exceedingly smart, rich, and has a whole arsenal-but Black Tarantula just was pushed as a major threat out of nowhere, had no compelling origin or ties to Peter Parker, no great plan, just random do-everything villain. I kept thinking-why is this guy called Black Tarantula? He doesn't have any spider-powers, no tarantula-related gimmicks, just the luchadore style mask.

I think that explains why he is a forgotten villain, despite having a pretty good "look".

All my best.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Cloak & Dagger

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

CLOAK AND DAGGER:

Hahahah yes, ENTIRELY THIS. (NSFW)

-For a while there, in the 1980s, it felt like you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a comic book featuring Cloak & Dagger, a pair of utterly-Eighties characters with a dark backstory. They were created by Bill Mantlo, who essentially conceived of them full-form- "their powers and attributes, their origin and motivation. They embodied between them all that fear and mistery, hunger and longing that had haunted me" during his trip to Ellis Island. Artist Ed Hannigan worked off of Mantlo's initial description to give them a distinctive, recognizable look- a big black guy with a huge, billowing cloak, and a skinny young white girl with an ultra-daring dagger-shaped cut-out on her white leotard.

-Tandy Bowen and Tyrone Johnson were Teen Runaways, a big thing in the 1980s (The New Teen Titans had a whole arc devoted to the concept). They were given drugs by a gang of evil pushers (another '80s Trope- aggressive, advertising drug-dealers), which killed all their guinea pigs except for these two. Appearing in B-book The Spectacular Spider-Man, they quickly proved popular, and got a mini-push with a Limited Series, then an ongoing (which later merged with Dr. Strange's flagging book). Their entire concept was based around fighting drug dealers (rarely actual super-villains). Terry Austin took over the series, and they were split from Strange again- various other creators failed to get things going, and it was eventually cancelled (there were about 49 issues produced across four series, none reaching past issue nineteen). They would never get a book again, but would still appear in other characters' stories.

-When they were given powers, they actually went on a killing spree- murdering various drug-dealers (including Silvermane, the ringleader of the gangsters), but soon moved past that grim stage and began life as recurring "Team-Up" characters, interacting with Spider-Man, The New Mutants, and Power Pack- in particular, their New Mutants run produced what I consider to be the most boring, dreary books of the Sienkiewicz Era on that book- just plodding stuff involving Sunspot & Wolfsbane being given their powers.

-When Cloak & Dagger's book got cancelled, they largely became "Journeyman" characters, popping up here and there in random books- Infinity Gauntlet featured Cloak a bit, and The New Warriors inducted Dagger briefly. They were a big undercurrent in Maximum Carnage, the much-hated Spidey crossover of the '90s (Dagger was thought-killed, but returned by story's end). They were also the first superheroes met by The Runaways. They were chosen as some of the highest-profile of Captain America's organized resistance against the Super-Human Registration Act during Civil War, but both this and a small shot in Dark Reign as possible joiners of the Dark X-Men ultimately go nowhere for them. Most-recently, Tyrone cheated on Tandy, and the pair had their powers reversed by Mr. Negative and the demon D'Spayre.

-All in all, they kind of have this odd position in the Marvel Universe- they're some of the latest creations still being used in other books- most of the '90s characters went on to obscurity after a point (especially if they weren't X-Men). They're recognizable and more-frequently used in stories than other low-tier heroes like Darkhawk, Sleepwalker or even most of the New Warriors. BUT... they really don't get utilized very much. They haven't had an ongoing title in more than TWENTY YEARS, and they're pretty much only trotted out to be semi-well-known "Recognizable Heroes" to fill some sort of minor role in a story. Their appearance in The Runaways was emblematic of this- they were easily-led by the LAPD into fighting a bunch of children, then beaten by the kids, then brainwashed by The Pride into forgetting about them... not the kind of job you'd give to Daredevil. Similarly, they're mere "Background Faces" in important events like Civil War, as they fit that "Recognizable But Not Elite" level. Essentially, they are the heroic equivalent of wrestling's "Jobbers To The Stars"- guys who aren't quite JOBBERS, and indeed have some name value to them... but they never beat anybody important, nor DO anything important. Cloak & Dagger are essentially the Koko B. Ware of the Marvel Universe.

-Of course, expect the Cloak & Dagger TV series (advertised with the "It's an interracial relationship!" byline) to produce a ton of one-shots, failed runs and repeated attempts at getting an ongoing started, with writers being taken off of important projects and being forced to write this one. Funnily enough, BatgirlIII made the exact remark that C&D would work perfectly for a Netflix series, owing to their gritty, Street Level origins and their lower-key powers.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Gwen! Silver Sable! Spider-Girl! Cloak & Dagger!)

Post by L-Space »

Cloak & Dagger are characters that I think have some real potential if utilized correctly. They have neat visuals, interesting powers, and a pretty killer name. Have them stay street level and fight against drug dealers, but include some other super powered enemies for them to fight. Have Mister Negative be a primary villain for them. He's a crime boss that deals in street drugs, he has an army of mooks for them to fight, and has connection to their origin story with a similar power set. He's just about perfect for them and it wouldn't hurt Spider-man to lose him as an adversary (he's done it a few times before).
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Cloak

Post by Jabroniville »

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CLOAK (Tyrone "Ty" Johnson)
Created By:
Bill Mantlo & Ed Hannigan
First Appearance: The Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982)
Role: Grim '80s Hero, Failed Series Cast, Darkness-User, Teleporter
Group Affiliations: Cloak & Dagger, The Secret Avengers, The Runaways, The Dark X-Men
PL 9 (155)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Close Combat (Cloak) 3 (+9)
Deception 4 (+3)
Expertise (Street Kid) 4 (+4)
Insight 5 (+6)
Intimidation 10 (+9)
Investigation 2 (+3)
Perception 3 (+4)
Stealth 5 (+8)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Diehard, Evasion, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Startle, Teamwork

Powers:
Insubstantial 4 (Feats: Selective, Subtle) [22]
Senses 2 (Darkvision) [2]

"Animated Cloak"
"Cloak Coils & Coldness" Movement 1 (Dimensional Travel- Darkforce Dimension) (Feats: Dynamic, Reversible) (Extras: Attack 5, Area- 30ft. Shapeable 5) Linked to "Cloak Coils & Coldness" Affliction 9 (Fort; Hindered, Vulnerable & Fatigued/Defenseless, Immobilized & Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable, Extra Condition +2) (50) -- [56]
  • Dynamic AE: Teleport 10 (Feats: Dynamic, Change Direction & Velocity, Increased Mass 6- 3,200 lbs.) (Extras: Accurate, Extended) (49)
  • Dynamic AE: "Obscure Senses" Dazzle (Visuals) 9 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (Flaws: Touch Range) (19)
  • Dynamic AE: "Standard Snare" Affliction 9 (Fort; Hindered, Vulnerable & Fatigued/Defenseless, Immobilized & Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Feats: Reach 5) (Extras: Extra Condition +2) (32)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Forced Teleport +9 (+9 Teleport, DC 19)
Snare, Dazzle & Cold +9 Area (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (+5 D.Roll), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Justice on Drug Dealers)- Cloak & Dagger were kidnapped and forced to take drugs. They are devoted to defeating drug lords wherever they find them.
Relationship (Tandy)- Ty and Tandy are together, and have been for years, albeit "off and on".
Addiction (Tandy)- Tyrone needs Tandy's mere presence to avoid going insane and 'drinking' the light around him, and hurting people. Without her, he will go through withdrawal pains, physical problems, and eventually die.
Disabled (Stutter)- Without his Cloak powers, Tyrone has a bad stutter, lowering the tendency of anyone to take him seriously.

Total: Abilities: 28 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 80 / Defenses: 18 (155)

-Cloak is the "Dark" part of the duo- he was a really decent, dark character, but is constantly overshadowed by Dagger (who often goes into books- like Marvel Knights & The New Warriors- without him). His powers are extremely unique, but the Teleportation is such a game-breaker that he's often just used as a Plot Device these days.

-Tyrone "Ty" Johnson was a Boston runaway with a debilitating stutter, which was cured when he was given his Darkforce-related powers as Cloak. He became fast friends with young Tandy, whom he had considered robbing, only to be shamed when she offered him money instead. Representing pure darkness, he actually NEEDED to be around Dagger, because her light powers sated some kind of hunger in him- his ability to trap people in the Darkforce Dimension made him a bit scary. He was even used as a supporting character in The Infinity Gauntlet saga, acting as the nervous "Regular Guy" character unable to come to grips with the sheer cosmic nature of it all- a necessary character for these kinds of stories. He even got a cool moment against Thanos, attempting to trap him permanently within the cloak during their big dramatic mass-battle... but it wasn't to be, and Thanos destroyed Cloak from within.

-Most "Cloak" stories tend to center around his darkness and desire for light, or his relationship with Dagger. Generally, he is both addicted to her light-powers, and desperately in love with her, which causes him tremendous pain, as she often leaves to do other things without him (she seems to have more desire for a normal life, and is more social- able to easily-team up with other heroes).

-Cloak is one of those characters who was clearly designed to be as difficult as possible to build using RPG system set-ups. Eventually I just settled on a Dynamic Array instead of Linking a bunch of stuff together- he can Teleport (a massively-expensive power), Blind people, move to the Darkforce Dimension, or use his cloak to Snare people and rapidly-draw them into the Darkness. This is best-reflected as an Affliction power that has all of what makes up Snare, plus a Tiring-based "so... so cold..." effect (people stuck inside the Cloak for a time come out exhausted and partially-disabled by the coldness and energy-draining properties), and it's Shapeable to reflect how Cloak can wrap up a ton of guys at once with his power. This all gets linked with a Movement Attack (though it's usually temporary and the characters pop back out- he CAN make it more permanent, however). He can also use a standard version that isn't Shapeable, just to modify his caps with it. There's his Insubstantial power, his Darkvision (I don't think anywhere I've found says he has it, but since his entire concept is based around darkness, I figured I'd throw it in), and a bit of toughness- he's still a Glass Cannon, but he's fairly good for a PL 9, being very expensive.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Dagger

Post by Jabroniville »

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DAGGER (Tandy Bowen)
Created By:
Bill Mantlo & Ed Hannigan
First Appearance: The Spectacular Spider-Man #64 (March 1982)
Role: Grim '80s Hero, Failed Series Cast, Darkness-User, Teleporter
Group Affiliations: Cloak & Dagger, The Secret Avengers, The Runaways, The Dark X-Men, The New Warriors, The Marvel Knights
PL 9 (139)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+9)
Athletics 4 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+9)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Street Kid) 2 (+3)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Expertise (Ballet Dancer) 4 (+8)
Insight 5 (+7)
Perception 2 (+4)
Persuasion 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Daggers) 2 (+11)
Stealth 3 (+7)

Advantages: 
Accurate Attack, Defensive Roll 2, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Light Daggers), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Luck, Ranged Attack 7, Teamwork

Powers:
"Shining Brightness" Environment 2 (Light 2) [4]

"Light Daggers"
Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed & Fatigued/Stunned & Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Extra Condition, Cumulative, Ranged, Multiattack) (35) -- [37]
  • AE: Healing 5 (Extras: Persistent, Restorative) (15)
  • AE: Dazzle (Visuals) 8 (Extras: Perception Range) (24)
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Light Daggers +11 (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Dazzle +8 Perception (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +2 (+4 D.Roll), Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Justice on Drug Dealers)- Cloak & Dagger were kidnapped and forced to take drugs. They are devoted to defeating drug lords wherever they find them.
Relationship (Ty)- Ty and Tandy are together, and have been for years, albeit "off and on".

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 18 / Powers: 41 / Defenses: 20 (139)

-Dagger tends to get a lot more play than Cloak does, showing up in books like the New Warriors and Marvel Knights every time the two have a tiff (which is a lot). I can't quite put my figure on why... except the fact that her costume is so low-cut that you could see pubic hair in real life. But that couldn't possibly be the reason. Her power-set is rather unusual, being a light-controller and fighter/Blaster-type without a major "focus". It's hard to kinda place her.

-Tandy Bowen ran away from her superficial supermodel mother and became the light-powered Dagger. A major arc in the '80s series by Terry Austin was her losing her sight, and learning to get by without it (not sure how she did superhero stuff). She's more innocent and nice than Cloak is, being the "light" half, after all. Her costume is that unique cominbation of simple and iconic, though the uber-cleavage is TOTALLY dated these days. Plus, like, how does that even work. Super-tights are generally known for not working like real clothes (hence things like Boob Socks or Six-Packs Visible Through Cloth), but HOLY HELL.

-Dagger's powers are pretty simple at heart- it's just a low-level Affliction with a ton of Extras placed onto it- it'd be hugely expensive if not for it's low +7 rank. She uses it more like an autofiring weapon that pins guys down and sweeps Mooks away- she's definitely no heavy hitter. It's Cumulative (building with each shot), Ranged (she throws them), Multiattack (she tosses out many at a time), and has an Extra Condition- it moves along the Dazed & Stunned, and Fatigued & Exhausted lines, ending in Incapacitated, generally tiring people's energy out, and stunning them to unconsciousness. She has a side Healing ability (Persistent to cure "incurable" drug addictions, and Restorative to boost guys from Weaken effects), as well as a Visual Dazzle. She's quick and nimble, but comes up much cheaper than Cloak, having less powers in general.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Gwen! Silver Sable! Spider-Girl! Cloak & Dagger!)

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jun 06, 2017 11:25 pm Her costume is that unique cominbation of simple and iconic, though the uber-cleavage is TOTALLY dated these days. Plus, like, how does that even work. Super-tights are generally known for not working like real clothes (hence things like Boob Socks or Six-Packs Visible Through Cloth), but HOLY HELL.
I have to admit, I was under the impression that Dagger's costume is made up out of the stuff of her powers, much like Cloak's costume is. Is this not so?
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