Jab’s Builds! (Whomp 'Em! Plumbers Don't Wear Ties! ToeJam & Earl!)

[Shock]

What, you could only think of one Warrant song?

[Horsenhero]

Warrant II looks like he raided the Jim Lee era Cyclops' wardrobe and then re-colored it.

[Jabroniville]

WILLIAM EVANS JUNIOR
Created by: Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard & Joe Sinnott
First Appearance: Fantastic Four #203 (Feb. 1979)
Role: Empowered Child
PL 15 (72)
STRENGTH -1 STAMINA -1 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 0 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
None

Advantages: 
None

Powers:
"Molecular Control"
Variable 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (61) -- [71]

• Dynamic AE: "Power Beam" Blast 20 (Feats: Accurate 4, Variable 2- Any Energy, Extended Range 4, Indirect, Penetrating 8) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (40)
• Dynamic AE: Move Object 10 (25 tons) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception-Ranged) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (32)
• Dynamic AE: Create 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Movable, Continuous) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (32)
• Dynamic AE: "Energy Stream" Damage 15 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Line +3) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (46)
• Dynamic AE: "Energy Burst" Damage 15 (Feats: Dynamic, Variable 2- Any Energy) (Extras: Area- 120ft. Burst +3) (Flaws: Uncontrolled) (46)

Offense:
Unarmed +0 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Power Beam +8 (+20 Ranged Damage, DC 35)
Area Blasts +15 (+15 Damage, DC 30)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness -1, Fortitude +0, Will +3

Complications:
Responsibility (Uncontrolled Power)- Willie has no idea that his powers are so dangerous.
Enemy (Grunt)- A tiny, talking lizard sits on Willie's shoulder, constantly manipulating him to do evil things.

Total: Abilities: -8 / Skills: 00--0 / Advantages: 0 / Powers: 71 / Defenses: 9 (72)

-Another name that kind of stuck out to me on "The List" (as one of the few "civilian names" that actually belongs to someone with real powers, and is thus stat-able). Willie was born a mutant thanks to his parents being exposed to radiation, which now comes off TOTALLY like a relic, because once upon a time that was apparently the "story" on Mutants (I know I heard about that as a kid), but that appears in literally no book I've ever actually read. Willie was one of many Reality Warpers among mutantkind (jesus, and we're NOT supposed to hate & fear them? That's like ten full-bore reality warpers), and his mind created subconsciously doppelgangers that the Fantastic Four had to fight. When Reed Richards uncovered the truth, he suggested to Willie's parents that they meet up with Charles Xavier for assistance.

-However, Willie's folks disagreed- fearing capture or assault by anti-mutant forces (really, a very rational worry), they moved the boy about constantly. Unfortunately, this drove him a bit nuts, as he grew up bitter & resentful. He created an imaginary friend called "Grunt"- a tiny, talking lizard that caused Willie to kill his own mother by setting off a car accident. Project Pegasus, proving Willie's father right, kidnapped the boy, and Willie Sr. drew in X-Factor to rescue him (back when they were posing as Mutant-Hunters)- they raided the facility, fighting Iron Man and some Guardsmen who were protecting it. Grunt tried to get Willie to kill Iron Man, but Willie realized this was how his mother died, and turned on his "friend"- taking full control of his powers for the first time. Tragically, Willie's war with his own evil caused an explosion that destroyed not only the town, but Willie himself. A crying Grunt was seen on Willie's tomb, hinting at a future return.

-The character's sad story actually comes with some behind-the-scenes stuff. Willie Jr. was intended to be a member of an "X-Men In Training" secondary team. He was supposed to join Kitty Pryde and others (including a different version of Caliban), but Jim Shooter nixed the idea, saying it sounded like "The Legion of Substitute X-Men" (this runs contrary to John Byrne's statements that Shooter DEMANDED that the X-Men now become a school again, necessitating the creation of the New Mutants). Instead, Louise Simonson took the Wolfman-created character and just killed him off.

-Willie is essentially a high-powered nobody- the stats of a child combined with Molecule Man-Lite capabilities, all the way to PL 15, but Uncontrolled. Hell, the only time he GOT control was when he blew himself up.

[Ares]

My elementary school library actually had a Fantastic Four trade where Willie's original story was told. I thought he was a one off character until I picked up thd issue with Iron Man and X-Force, as I always liked Tony and I believe that was the Silver Centurion era. The Silver Centurion is probably my one of my favorite designs for old school superhero power armor, but I realize its not a great fit for Iron Man.

Anyway, the death of Willie felt like a tragic Shaggy Dog story where they brought him back only to kill him. Frankly, I wonder about the idea of killing him off being Shooter's idea, since he also apparently ordered the New Mutants. Why not just make Willie a younger member of said New Mutants? Killing him off in this way just seems like a waste.

I probably would have just limited his power a bit, where his power is create psychic projections similar to Tarrot. His initial showing of creating four evil psychic versions of the FF that were more powerful than them was a one time deal where his powers were emerging and more a sign of his full potential. He'd be a kid with a flexible Summon power rather than a reality warped.

[Horsenhero]

Jim Shooter, it seems to me, gets blamed for a lot of crap that probably wasn't his fault. This comes from being the boss I suppose. I mean, it's well documented that he fought for higher paying contracts for all his top tier talent (including Byrne), but they all hate him so much he gets blamed for everything any creator deems bad, even if those claims directly contradict the claims of other creators.

This is why I tend to take all the stories about Shooter with a grain of salt. He started in the business at 14 and worked hard. His fate in comics is almost so tragic as to be shakesperean. After shepherding Marvel through one of their most successful periods, he's shown the door. He starts Valiant and makes that an attractive enough property that Wall St. investors fought over it and when it's finally leveraged for a very handsome price, he's dumped into the rubbish heap. Without him around Valiant begins a slide they almost didn't get out of.

Given the fact Shooter was successful in his early career at DC, maintained Marvel as the dominant comic company and built Valiant from the ground up, I imagine he was probably a hard ass editor. That undoubtedly is how he could build several successful brands yet still be nearly universally hated.

[Ares]

I tend to take Shooter's side in most things, as he seemed to really know his stuff and had the unenviable postion of trying to wrangle a lot creative types, many of whom seem like they'd be difficult to work with at the best of times. That a lot of people defend him, describe him as a mentor , open to discussion and willing to give advice. And some of the changes he would insist on often made stories better, such as Jean Grey's death.

At the same time, seemed like he needed someone like Mark Gruenwald to even him out and tell him when he was micromanaging too much. Him breaking up Colossus and Kitty Pryde seemed like pointless meddling, and while Secret Wars I was fun, stuff like Secret Wars II and the New Universe shows that Shooters writing skills were getting rusty. He didn't seem unreasonable, but you seemed like you needed to be prepared to debate him thoroughly if he came to you.

What happened to him with Valiant and Defiant was just a tragedy, both times being screwed out of his company, once by business partners, the other by a vindictive Marvel. It is telling that as soon as Shooter left Marvel the Dark Age of comics kicked in. It makes you wonder how differently the comics industry would be if Shooter had managed to purchase Marvel like he originally wanted.

[Jabroniville]

Yeah, if you want hours of great reading material, check Shooter's blog. While some of his co-workers hated him (ask Bob Layton sometime- he really likes using the word "motherfucker" when referring to Jim in person ), he always backs up his thoughts with rational observations. While he was probably no dream to work with, he has the impossible job of trying to keep creative people happy, which is just about impossible. "Creative people don't like to be told 'no'" is a terrific quote of his.

And hey- the sales figures backed him up. And his job, as he will tell you, was to make sure Marvel Comics was profitable- not to keep anyone happy, and not even to tell good stories. It was all about the money.

[Jabroniville]

THE WRECKING CREW:
-The Wrecking Crew is a CLASSIC case of Marvel Jobber Villainy. What's funny is that they're jobbers to guys as elite as THOR, yet over time, have lost to pretty much every single character in the Marvel Universe. In Secret Wars, they were part of the official "Job Squad" that lost to everyone every time a hero needed a big feat of power (She-Hulk and Colossus both trounced them as a whole). They were a part of the "power section" of Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil when they invaded and destroyed Avengers Mansion, but Thor depowered the entire team by himself. They fight Iron Man, Ghost Rider, Hercules, Alpha Flight, Captain America & Iron Fist, Spider-Man, Namor, Dr. Strange and even The Thunderbolts in one of their first brawls against their former supervillain compatriots. Heck, they were even given some RESPECT in a Spider-Man title, as it was made quite clear that all four Wrecking Crew guys are much too powerful for Spider-Man to defeat on his own, or with Julia "Spider-Woman" Carpenter's help.

-Unfortunately, recent years have seen the entire Crew reduced to "Background Guys" in many scenes- merely being used as the hired help of guys like The Hood, to the point where they're not even the key villain in a single issue. It's an interesting look at how endless jobbing can lose someone their credibility, as well as a look at how villain fights have changed in comics. Back in the 1970s & '80s, it was VERY COMMON to throw out an issue featuring a random villain who would create some scheme, fight the hero, get away, but lose the next fight. Particularly hack-ish writers tended to make EVERY issue this type, but even the greats would do it fairly often. And well into the 1990s, guys like the Crew would be set-up as an issue-long fight for, say, Busiek & Perez's Avengers. It would be a quick, easy issue, and often used as a backdrop to move the hero/es' personal lives along- this is the EXACT same thing most TV Adventure shows end up doing- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Star Trek, etc. Most long-running anime use these kinds of stories as Filler as well, especially to fill space when the manga is still coming out.

-But comics have since changed. Villain of the Week kind of stopped being a thing, and villains who lacked credibility were often simply used as background fodder. During many arcs featuring The Hood, the Crew and other Jobbers were even given FAKE POWER-UPS, stated to be power-ups in-comic, but the characters would immediately job, even FASTER than they'd used to.

[Ares]

-Unfortunately, recent years have seen the entire Crew reduced to "Background Guys" in many scenes- merely being used as the hired help of guys like The Hood, to the point where they're not even the key villain in a single issue. It's an interesting look at how endless jobbing can lose someone their credibility, as well as a look at how villain fights have changed in comics. Back in the 1970s & '80s, it was VERY COMMON to throw out an issue featuring a random villain who would create some scheme, fight the hero, get away, but lose the next fight. Particularly hack-ish writers tended to make EVERY issue this type, but even the greats would do it fairly often. And well into the 1990s, guys like the Crew would be set-up as an issue-long fight for, say, Busiek & Perez's Avengers. It would be a quick, easy issue, and often used as a backdrop to move the hero/es' personal lives along- this is the EXACT same thing most TV Adventure shows end up doing- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Star Trek, etc. Most long-running anime use these kinds of stories as Filler as well, especially to fill space when the manga is still coming out.

I know it makes me sound like an old fart, but I miss that kind of storytelling. I will take a longer overarching plot with random one shot breathers distributed amidst them over stuff like Hickman's convoluted nightmare or Morrison's metafiction any day.

[Jack of Spades]

I join your farting, Ares. I was rereading some 70s Avengers stuff recently, stuff I actually read back in the day but never in one sitting. I was surprised to find that what I remembered as a bunch of fun done-in-one stories actually did have a unifying plot thread! They were enjoyable each on their own, but you don't need to write for the trade to tell a multi-issue story. And you can even respect the Toad while you do it.

[Jabroniville]

Yeah, I found myself enjoying the filler even in stuff like Sailor Moon. It lets the plot breathe, and you can do stuff like "Justice is over-eager" or "Warbird's being weird" in a gradual manner.

The lack of filler also means that any villain outside the top-tier now exists all background characters in something like The Hood's army instead of real characters.

[Ken]

...Iron Fist then one-shot-KO's the guy before he can fire his Giant Gun... Seriously, that's it.

It's a shame because I'd love to see what comes out of that gun. A loaf of bread? A bunny?

A 1/6th replica of the Mach 5.

[Jabroniville]

THE WRECKER (Dirk Garthwaite)- Fighting Solo
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Thor #128 (Jan. 1968)
Role: Elite Jobber Villain, Thor Punching Bag
Group Affiliations: The Wrecking Crew, The Masters of Evil
PL 11 (232)
STRENGTH 4/10/12 STAMINA 4/10/13 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Demolitions) 11 (+10)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+2)
Intimidation 9 (+9)
Ranged Combat (Throwing) 3 (+7)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Crowbar) 2, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown, Teamwork, Withstand Damage (trade defenses for toughness)

Powers:
"Crowbar-Given Powers"
Enhanced Strength 8 [16]
Enhanced Stamina 9 [18]

Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) [2]
Impervious Toughness 7 [7]
"Control the Holders of the Crowbar" Affliction 4 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Extras: Perception Range +2) (Flaws: Limited to Holders of the Crowbar) [8]

"The Wrecker's Crowbar" (Feats: Restricted 2- Only Dirk) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [68]
"Share Powers" Variable 18 (140 points) (Extras: Affects Others Only +0, Continuous) (Flaws: Limited to Physical Boosts & Weapons, Limited to Sharing Points Among Subjects, Source- Reduces Own Stats) (90)

"Club" Strength-Based Damage 2 (Extras: Penetrating 12) (14) -- (19)

• AE: "Groundstrike" Affliction 10 (Dodge; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery, Limited to Grounded Targets) Linked to Damage 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Grounded Targets) (12.5) 
• AE: "Thrown & Returning Smash" Strength-Based Damage +0 (Extras: Ranged 12) (12) 
• AE: Force Field 5 (Extras: Impervious +5) (Flaws: Immobile -2) (6)
• AE: Illusion (Visual) 5 (10)
• AE: "Energy Absorption" Blast 12 (Feats: Variable 2- Any Energy) (Flaws: Requires Energy Effect) (14)

-- (109 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Crowbar +8 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Thrown Crowbar +7 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Illusion +5 (DC 15)
Earthquake +11 Area (+11 Trip, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +13 (+18 Force Field, +4/+9 Impervious), Fortitude +13, Will +4

Complications: 
Motivation (Greed & Destruction)- Dirk likes money, but he likes breaking things even more. He will rarely give up an opportunity to just plain "wreck" stuff.
Reputation (Job Squad)- The Wrecking Crew, despite their power, have lost to virtually every hero in the Marvel Universe, so don't get a lot of respect. 
Weakness (Power Split Four Ways)- The Wrecker is one-quarter his strength level if he's sharing his power with his allies. He can rival Thor in his main form, but he'd need the entire Crew to do it if splitting power.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 119 / Defenses: 11 (232)

-Dirk's origin is pretty hilarious, as he's a common thief (a demolition-crew member who was fired for antisocial, violent tendencies) who KO'd Loki and stole his power-up, resulting in a super-powered guy who fought a weakened Thor to near-death (he knocked a building onto the Norse God, who was then saved by Sif). Why Loki never got revenge I have no idea, but this pretty throwaway guy got more powerful over time, and became a recurring Thor Jobber, until he hooked up with the rest of the Wrecking Crew in the pages of The Defenders. Sensing kindred spirits, he bestowed a portion of his powers onto each of them (Dirk Garthwaite & Billy Batson humorously have the same altruistic character trait), resulting in one of the most elite crews of Mooks in Marvel history. Pretty much your standard Big Dumb Muscle, they've been seen countless times over the years, and jobbed to nearly every hero in the Marvel Universe over time. Wrecker has virtually no character of his own- he's just a stupid thug. His relationship with his buddies (even inviting the traitorous Thunderball back repeatedly) would be rather heartwarming if they weren't such vicious, murderous dicks.

-With full power, Dirk is a heavy-duty PL 11, able to brawl around with the best of them. In that form, he's a match for She-Hulk, Colossus, The Thing, etc., but would still get trounced by a healthy Thor relatively easily. The Crowbar is immensely powerful, and can be Stunted for various effects (Energy Absorption is common enough, and he can do it with most any kind of energy), including Teleportation, Illusion-casting, creating Earthquakes (basically the old Groundstrike Power Feat of Super-Strength), a Force Field (Limited to him having to remain Immobile, thus being easily hit- just hard to hurt), a straight-up Blast (by throwing a returning Crowbar), or just smacking someone with it (unsurprisingly, he likes this one best).

-+14 Damage is nothing to sneeze at, especially since he loves All-Out & Power Attacking, so The Wrecker is definitely a heavy-hitter (at one point, he fights Wolverine, Cage, Spidey & Jessica Drew to a standstill). Even his heavily-weakened PL 10 version (lacking most of the Crowbar's Alternate Effects and hitting power) is pretty nasty- with the entire PL 9 Wrecking Crew backing him up, he could easily take out someone as good as Spider-Man or Captain America.

-Dirk is rarely seen without his buddies, despite the power-boost he gets solo, mainly because he enjoys the company. I finally decided to stat that up for real, after reading some revelations that he can share the powers with ADDITIONAL people, not just the standard three (Excavator- son of Piledriver- joins the team and is quickly beaten, implying he only got a bit of it). This is an 18-point Variable (the three other Crew members add up to 136 points with all their Powers), Affecting Others in a Continuous nature (it only shuts off when Dirk wishes it to). It has three large Flaws- it can only share the points total among others (instead of just empowering multiple people with the full amount), it can't give any powers other than simple Physical Might and low-point Bludgeoning Weapons not exceeding 14-points, and Dirk himself takes a power-cut as a result, becoming a PL 10 with fewer options in combat.

-You could technically build all of the "Affects Others" powers separately, but it costs a bit more to do that and gets into weird things with "Affects Others- Immunity" being Continuous or not. And then you'd have to make an Alt-Effect of his heightened stats off of that, and... it's just not worth it. Recent years have apparently seen him gain full use of his powers without de-powering the others, which would make his weapon's points-cost go up by 18 points.

THE WRECKER (Dirk Garthwaite)- Sharing Powers
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Thor #128 (Jan. 1968)
Role: Elite Jobber Villain, Thor Punching Bag
Group Affiliations: The Wrecking Crew, The Masters of Evil
PL 10 (123)
STRENGTH 10 STAMINA 11 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS -1 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Demolitions) 11 (+10)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+2)
Intimidation 9 (+9)
Ranged Combat (Throwing) 3 (+7)

Advantages: 
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Daze (Intimidation), Diehard, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Crowbar) 2, Improved Smash, Power Attack, Startle, Takedown, Teamwork, Withstand Damage (trade defenses for toughness)

Powers:
"Durability" Impervious Toughness 3 [3]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) [2]
Power-Lifting 1 (50 tons) [1]

"The Wrecker's Crowbar" 15 points (Feats: Restricted 2- Only Dirk) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [11]
Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Penetrating 12) (14) -- (15 points)

• AE: "Thrown & Returning Smash" Strength-Based Damage +0 (Extras: Ranged 10) (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Crowbar +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Thrown Crowbar +7 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +11 (+2 Impervious), Fortitude +12, Will +4

Complications: 
Motivation (Greed & Destruction)- Dirk likes money, but he likes breaking things even more. He will rarely give up an opportunity to just plain "wreck" stuff.
Reputation (Job Squad)- The Wrecking Crew, despite their power, have lost to virtually every hero in the Marvel Universe, so don't get a lot of respect. 
Weakness (Power Split Four Ways)- The Wrecker is one-quarter his strength level if he's sharing his power with his allies.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 17 / Defenses: 12 (123)

[Ares]

Huh, I'd never thought of comparing Captain Marvel and the Wrecker in that way, but it is kind of interesting that when given the opportunity, both took the option of sharing their power rather than hording it to themselves. In their own way, the Crew being a bunch of violent jackasses that never the less stick together is kind of heartwarming. I'd probably play that angle up more if I ever used them for stuff, how they were a legit bunch of pals that enjoy drinking, breaking stuff and the like, enjoying the simple things in a purely thug-ish, bullying way.

I'd also probably be the guy who'd try to give the Crew some cred back. Sure, they lose to heroes, but everyone loses to heroes. The Crew would, in their own way, be seen as reliable professionals who do the job they get paid for, never rat out their employer, and do their job to the best of their ability. I could see them getting hired a lot as "distraction fodder" where they're told to break something on one side of town while the villains real goal happens on the other, or they get hired as extra muscle for a supervillain team and remain firmly in the pocket of the guy that pays them, perhaps even developing loyalty for regular bosses that treat them right.

Other than that, a lot of their capers would either be stealing stuff or having the equivalent of a guys night out where they go out for beers and breaking shit. They're perfect filler fodder.

I'd also probably make it to where the Crew are all Class 50 types with unique specializations (them being Class 10 types never felt right to me), with the Wrecker himself having enough power and versatility with his bar to make him a match for more powerful heroes. If he has the power solo, the Wrecker would be more akin to the Thing with a high end magic weapon. I'd actually show that the Wrecker is more effective with his Crew than when he's solo, that they have a good understanding of tactics (Bulldozer use to be a Drill Instructor for the military, Thunderball is pretty smart), and they play off each other well. They'd should be a decent fight for a top tier (they won't BEAT a top tier hero but they can give him a decent fight), they'd be a match for groups of mid-level heroes, and as part of larger villain groups they'd be pretty effective.

Like, nothing would really change in that they'd still LOSE, they still exist to get beaten by heroes, but they're also a solid and entertaining fight, and a threat to rookie heroes. Spider-Man would not like the idea of fighting them alone, and the Runaways should have been afraid of facing them as a group.

[Jabroniville]

Yeah, it's kind of funny that Dirk & Billy basically did the same thing, but it came to me all of a sudden. It seems like such an ... out of character move for a super-villain to VOLUNTARILY become less powerful. If he wasn't dressed in green and purple, I'd think he was a good guy !