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

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Jabroniville
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The Head-Hunters

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

THE HEAD HUNTERS:
-The ridiculous Head Hunters were formed when coach Buck Sutter felt that he did not get a fair chance to play in the NFL. A dishonest, cruel person, he formed a squad of other NFL rejects, and kidnapped various NFL stars, including Lawrence Taylor & Ron Macedon, then contemporary football players. They're forced to play the Head Hunters in a game, but SuperPro gets involved, and soon thumps all four players.

-All four would aspire to being Jobber Villains- they're straight-up idiots wearing ridiculous "Football Pad Armor" and they can't even beat an idiot like SuperPro four-on-one. PL 5.5 is pretty much where most of them lie- their big advantage is in wearing some pretty tough armor. 

THE HEAD HUNTERS
Created By:
Buzz Dixon & Jose Delbo
First Appearance: NFL Superpro #5 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Jobber Villains
Group Affiliations: The Head Hunters
PL 6 (44)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Expertise (Football Player) 4 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+4)

Advantages: 
Close Attack, Equipment (Football Pads +2), Fast Grab, Move-By Action

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +2

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

Complications: 
Motivation (Punishing the NFL)- The Head Hunters feel that they did not get a chance to play in the NFL, due to unfair rules.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 5 (44)

FLINCH (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Buzz Dixon & Jose Delbo
First Appearance: NFL Superpro #5 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Head Hunters
PL 6 (61)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Expertise (Football Player) 4 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+4)

Advantages: 
Close Attack, Equipment 2 (Guns +4, Knives +1), Fast Grab, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Football Pads" (Flaws: Removable) [16]
Protection 2 (2)
Electrical Aura 6 (Flaws: Unreliable- 5 Uses) (18)
-- (20 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Knife +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Guns +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Electric Shock +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +4 (+6 Football Pads), Fortitude +4, Will +1

Complications: 
Motivation (Punishing the NFL)- The Head Hunters feel that they did not get a chance to play in the NFL, due to unfair rules.

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 4 (61)

-Flinch wears a suit that contains a nasty shock, but SuperPro handily defeats him with some water.

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HANS SCHULMANN
Created By:
Buzz Dixon & Jose Delbo
First Appearance: NFL Superpro #5 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Head Hunters
PL 6 (46)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -1

Skills: 
Expertise (Football Player) 4 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+4)

Advantages: 
Close Attack, Equipment 2 (Guns +4, Knives +1, Football Pads +2), Fast Grab, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Knife +6 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Guns +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Electric Shock +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +2

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

Complications: 
Motivation (Punishing the NFL)- The Head Hunters feel that they did not get a chance to play in the NFL, due to unfair rules.

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 5 (46)

-Hans is a larger than his teammates and speaks in a thick German accent. He lacks the specialized gear, but is bigger.

Image

KABUKI-BACK (Mercy Sutter)
Created By:
Buzz Dixon & Jose Delbo
First Appearance: NFL Superpro #5 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Jobber Villains
Group Affiliations: The Head Hunters
PL 6 (45)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Expertise (Football Player) 4 (+7)
Intimidation 2 (+2)

Advantages: 
Equipment 2 (Football Pads +2, Exploding Footballs +5, Kendo Stick +2), Fast Grab, Move-By Action

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Kendo Stick +7 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3 (+5 Football Pads), Fortitude +3, Will +1

Complications: 
Motivation (Punishing the NFL)- The Head Hunters feel that they did not get a chance to play in the NFL, due to unfair rules.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 5 (45)

-Kabuki-Back is Buck Sutter's daughter, and is angry over being disallowed into the NFL on basis of gender, I guess. She uses weapons and is a bit faster than her teammates.

Image

BULLET II (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Buzz Dixon & Jose Delbo
First Appearance: NFL Superpro #5 (Feb. 1992)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Head Hunters
PL 6 (57)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills: 
Expertise (Football Player) 4 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+4)

Advantages: 
Close Attack, Equipment 2 (Guns +4), Fast Grab, Move-By Action, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Football Pads" (Flaws: Removable) [10]
Protection 2 (2)
"Jets" Flight 5 (30 mph) (10)
-- (12 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Guns +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +4 (+6 Football Pads), Fortitude +4, Will +1

Complications: 
Motivation (Punishing the NFL)- The Head Hunters feel that they did not get a chance to play in the NFL, due to unfair rules.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 4 (57)

-Bullet is the field leader, and wields guns. He was beaten when SuperPro messed with his thigh-jets and hammered him into the ground.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:47 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Ken
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Re: The Happy Campers

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2017 10:46 pm -The Streak is, if anything, a WORSE name for a Super-Speedster than The Whizzer is! Amazing, I know.
Really? The Streak is a bad speedster name?
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Nitro! Nekra & Mandrill! Nocturne! NFL SuperPro!)

Post by Ares »

Spectrum wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:45 pm GI Joe was all over the place when it came to sports: two American football guys, a baseball guy, wrestler, they had intended to have Rocky be a part of the team, a basketball guy... I don't remember any hockey guys.

Nick had a superhero lite show for a few seasons call NFL Rush Zone. I never saw anything but commercials for it.
What is odd is that, if you were going to have a Sylvester Stalone character in G.I. Joe, why would they go ROCKY and not RAMBO?
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mandrill! NFL SuperPro! Instant Replay! Head-Hunters!)

Post by Spectrum »

From what I can gather, Rocky was going to be their hand to hand trainer.

Big Boa was created to be his Cobra counterpart.

The permissions for Rocky didn't go through but they kept Big Boa all the same.

Image

Image

Then again, this wouldn't be the first time that I connected dots that turned out to be small insects skittering across the page.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Nitro! Nekra & Mandrill! Nocturne! NFL SuperPro!)

Post by Spam »

Ares wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 1:34 am
Spectrum wrote: Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:45 pm GI Joe was all over the place when it came to sports: two American football guys, a baseball guy, wrestler, they had intended to have Rocky be a part of the team, a basketball guy... I don't remember any hockey guys.

Nick had a superhero lite show for a few seasons call NFL Rush Zone. I never saw anything but commercials for it.
What is odd is that, if you were going to have a Sylvester Stalone character in G.I. Joe, why would they go ROCKY and not RAMBO?
Because Rambo SHOT people. The rest of the Joes just shot AT people.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Nitro! Nekra & Mandrill! Nocturne! NFL SuperPro!)

Post by Ken »

Spam wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:06 am The rest of the Joes just shot AT people.
Not that I ever saw. Shoot the end of the vehicle where the cockpit wasn't, sure. Occasionally, they might shoot at a pistol, but otherwise, every shot I ever saw was high and wide and certainly wasn't aimed at a person.
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Marco Sanzionare

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

SANCTION (Marco Sanzionare)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Jose Delbo
First Appearance: NFL Superpro #1 (Nov. 1991)
Role: Evil Millionaire
Group Affiliations: None
PL 7 (90)
STRENGTH
1/7 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Expertise (Business) 7 (+10)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+8)
Insight 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Wealth), Connected

Powers:
"Sanction Powersuit" (Flaws: Removable) [35]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Protection 4 (4)
"Sighting Visor" Enhanced Advantages 4: Ranged Attack 4 (4)
"Grappling Hook" Features 1 (1)

"Tear Gas" Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed & Impaired/Disabled & Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Area- 15ft. Cloud, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Unreliable- 5 Uses) (21) -- (22)
  • AE: "Machine Guns" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18)
-- (43 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Powersuit +4 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Machine Guns +6 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Tear Gas +7 Area (+7 Ranged Affliction, DC 17)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +2 (+7 Powersuit), Fortitude +3, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Enemy (NFL SuperPro)- SuperPro has repeatedly foiled Sanzionare's schemes.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 35 / Defenses: 6 (90)

-The surest sign of SuperPro's mediocrity is in his villains- Marco Sanzionare is quite possibly the most generic bad guy in comics history. He's literally just some rich douche who turns out to have his fingers in illegal businesses like drugs & gambling. And he's got that weird Miami Vice look that was dated even by 1991, complete with ponytail. After watching from behind the scenes while SuperPro defeats his agents Quick Kick and Instant Replay- THE KILLER WHO CAN CUT THROUGH TIME, he eventually learns SuperPro's secret identity, and fights him as Sanction (which artist Jose Delbo draws as basically a simplified version of Unicron from Transformers: The Movie). Sanction does okay at first, but the suit falls apart under pressure, and Sanzionare is badly injured when he falls a few stories onto the pavement.

-Four issues later, Sanzionare returns (angry over being crippled "for months"), with Crossbones as his hired goon. Cross manages to poison SuperPro, but the hero returns with Captain America in tow, and the villains soon flee. Sanzionare has never appeared in another comic book.

-Sanzionare is a fairly-decent criminal who is nonetheless Kingpin-Lite-Lite-Lite-Lite-Lite, and he fails even when wearing a suit of power armor- he's more or less easily defeated by SuperPro, and his suit can't even take a damn fall.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:47 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mandrill! NFL SuperPro! Instant Replay! Head-Hunters!)

Post by Ares »

Spectrum wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:05 am From what I can gather, Rocky was going to be their hand to hand trainer.

Big Boa was created to be his Cobra counterpart.

The permissions for Rocky didn't go through but they kept Big Boa all the same.

Image

Image

Then again, this wouldn't be the first time that I connected dots that turned out to be small insects skittering across the page.
So in a group that included Snake-Eyes, Scarlet, Quick Kick, Jinx and Sgt. Slaughter as potential CQC instructors (granted, Snake-Eyes would need a co-instructor), they were going to make ROCKY their hand-to-hand trainer? The guy who was a mediocre boxer until Apollo trained him, and who won mostly due to being a stubborn cuss?

Even in a series where no one got shot, I'd say G.I.Joe dodged a bullet there.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mandrill! NFL SuperPro! Instant Replay! Head-Hunters!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Plenty of guys got shot in the comic, in any case. But Hawk lays out the case for Rocky's inclusion right there: his "No Defense" (ie. don't try to actually fight this way or you'll get murdered) style of boxing makes him a pure example of raw toughness.

Plus, those other Joes were probably busy.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mandrill! NFL SuperPro! Instant Replay! Head-Hunters!)

Post by Scots Dragon »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 25, 2017 11:22 am Plenty of guys got shot in the comic, in any case. But Hawk lays out the case for Rocky's inclusion right there: his "No Defense" (ie. don't try to actually fight this way or you'll get murdered) style of boxing makes him a pure example of raw toughness.

Plus, those other Joes were probably busy.
He also proved to be a pretty damn good boxing teacher in his later years, with my evidence being how utterly amazing Creed was.
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Jabroniville
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Monsters!

Post by Jabroniville »

MARVEL'S MONSTERS:
-Much of comic book history centers around the 1950s, when a weirdo named Dr. Wertham nearly killed the comic book industry forever with Seduction of the Innocent, a book which proclaimed that comics were contributing to the delinquency of youth. He believed that Crime Comics convinced children to commit crimes, lurid pulp-y stuff made them sexual deviants, Batman & Robin turned them into homosexuals (no, really), and more- this did a lot of damage to a struggling industry, and had the effect of wiping out one of comics' most popular genres- Horror Comics.

-Once a big deal with EC Comics leading the charge, they were killed when the Comics Code (an independent, regulatory body of censors) took power- they banned Horror Books, and even mentions of such supernatural monsters, outright. This was the industry attempting to survive in a hostile environment- the equivalent of the Video Game Ratings that came about in the 1990s after Mortal Kombat and Night Trap did the SAME THING and shocked parents in the same way. History, as they say, is cyclical, and we go through the same "Moral Guardian" crusades every couple generations or so, as people find a new big thing to be shocked and horrified about- notice that Video Games were hit by it in the 1990s and again in modern society, as the NEW generation of "Morally Outraged" have come out in full force using social media (Tumblr, Twitter, etc.) and public shaming (something that was well-known as a tactic even in the 1800s) in order to "punish wrongdoers". So yeah, the current "Comics are Problematic" people are basically the same as the Werthamites of the 1950s, and history will probably look as poorly upon them as we do upon Wertham- even as the occasional positive effect can take place.

-In any case, with Horror Comics dead, comics could only SORT OF make allusion to such things- Marvel would make characters here and there with Monster-ish powers, but from scientific sources. Spider-Man would face both Morbius (the "Living Vampire") and Man-Wolf (a werewolf created by a moon rock)- both essentially being the exact same as Vampires and Werewolves... but different, because they weren't supernatural. Eventually, these "baby-steps" eventually worked. Important note: throughout history, time has proven that the TRUE way to enact change is to make baby-steps towards it- not trying to barge down the floodgates- any positive effects of the "SJW/Outrage Era" of politics is likely to come from THIS method of slowly stepping forward, rather than trashing everything and trying to alter the industry at once.

-With these few little trickles of monsters being successful, Marvel soon pushed for ACTUAL Monsters to return- Frankenstein's Monster, Werewolf By Night and Dracula himself all made appearances in 1970s comics. A Zombie and a Living Mummy soon followed, among others- by 1980, Marvel had pretty much successfully integrated every popular monster-type in the world into their "sandbox" setting.

-That said... I don't care for the genre. Slasher/Dead Teenager movies are fine "Dumb Fun" for me, but the whole "Jump Scare" thing holds zero appeal (I don't get scared that way- Ringu and real-life costume-based Haunted Houses alike don't freak me out), and I find the entire genre to be a dreadful bore, completely bereft of any semblance of originality. The complete GLUT of Zombie-based crap in recent years has completely bored me of that entire sub-genre of Horror as well- you couldn't possibly interest me by using such a thing anymore (this must be what other people feel when they see Another Damn Superhero Movie come out). So comics about regular humans fighting Dracula, or the 900th iteration of "I'm a good person, but I'm CURSED TO BE A WOLF!" are total "blah"- it's more tired that robots wanting to be humans. The genre's popularity has returned to comics in recent years (witness The Walking Dead), though Marvel has oddly proven incapable of following up on it, largely because they revamp their ENTIRE LINE every year or so, meaning that the books are buried under an avalanche of reboots & relaunches. Like, their Howling Commandos books contain my two LEAST-favorite kinds of comics (Horror AND Spy Comics!)... but if they wanted it to succeed, they could sure as hell stand to not release it alongside relaunches of Spider-Man, the X-Men books, and others.

-So... uh, yeah- basically, I don't care, but here are the builds. While I'd rather get kicked in the nuts than READ any of these books, I at least have fun bitching about them!
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Vampires

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

VAMPIRE TEMPLATE
PL 6 (101)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA -- AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Intimidation 4 (+4)
Perception 4 (+4)

Advantages: 
Fast Grab, Startle

Powers:
"Super-Strong Vampire"
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects) [30]
Protection 6 [6]
Impervious Toughness 10 (Flaws: Not versus Wood, Fire, Silver or Holy Weapons) [5]
Regeneration 6 (Flaws: Source- Blood) [3]
Immortality 4 (Flaws: Not if Staked, Beheaded or Dealt With in Mystical Ways) [4]
Speed 3 (16 mph) [3]
Senses 2 (Low-Light Vision, Acute Scent) [2]

"The Vampire's Bite" Strength-Damage +0 Linked to Weaken Stamina 6 (Flaws: Grab-Based, Limited to 1 Rank Per Minute) Linked to Affliction 6 (Fort; Entranced/Compelled/Transformed to Vampire) (Extras: Cumulative, Progressive +2) (Flaws: Grab-Based, Limited to Drained Victims) [14]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Vampire's Bite +6 (+6 Damage, +6 Weaken & +6 Affliction, DC 24, 16 & 16)
Initiative +2

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

Complications:
Weakness (Garlic, Sunlight, Fire)- Both are anathema to vampires, and will cause horrible pain. Direct sunlight will kill a vampire of any power level.
Weakness (Holy Symbols)- Witnessing or touching a Holy Symbol is painful to vampires, but only if the wearer belives.
Weakness (Lack of Blood, Home Soil)- Though Immune to Fortitude Effects, They can effectively starve to death if deprived of blood- and are usually addicted to the substance. 
Quirk (No Reflection)- Vampires do not cast reflections in any mirrored surface.

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 8--2 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 67 / Defenses: 6 (101)

Vampires Suck:
-I've never quite understood the full obsession the world has with vampires, and it's not really a thing I care about. It's like... "oh they're so dark and sexy", but I just can't get past the whole DRINKING BLOOD thing. I mean... that's DISGUSTING! Not to mention unsanitary. Plus everyone goes all "Anne Rice" with them, and I can't get into that. And, as I've said before, I actively despise the Horror genre for the most part, so there's little chance I'll ever get into vampires in general. Something best left for others, I suppose- I don't mind that the genre EXISTS (hell, it's pretty easily the second-most-popular genre of comic books in existence, second only to superheroes), but I can live without it. Or just have it dealt with in a different sort of way (Buffy the Vampire Slayer is more of an Action/Adventure show with Teen Drama, for example).

-In any case, Marvel's Vampires have had a big roundabout as a concept. The "Comics Code" introduced in the 1950s flat-out banned all monsters like vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. thanks to a profusion of Horror Comics freaking out parents, and so we went DECADES without seeing them. Some testing of the waters with stuff like "Morbius the Living Vampire" or John Jameson becoming the "Man-Wolf" was done in the 1970s, before Tomb of Dracula and other horror books came flying out once more, as soon as Marvel realized they could just dive right back into the genre as the Code laxed the rules. Unfortunately, most of them aside from Dracula's own title didn't do that well (Werewolf By Night and Zombie are totally obscure- the spin-off character Moon Knight is far more successful than Jack "Werewolf" Russell, for example), and largely vanished without a trace. But the success of Tomb led to a LOT of Vampire characters popping up in the Marvel U.

The History of Marvel's Vampires:
-As a "species", they came about 15,000-ish years ago as a result of the Atlantean Priest Varnae used the Book of the Darkhold, and had himself transformed into a powerful monster. For thousands of years he was their ruler, before ceding the position to Vlad Tepes- a Vampire he himself had "sired!" Tepes of course became Dracula, the most famous Vampire of all time. At one point, all Vampires had been destroyed thanks to another spell within the Darkhold, but such a cash-cow would not be taken out of the sandbox for long- soon the spell would be undone, and we'd have thousands of vampires again. Though their heyday has come and gone in comics (Tomb of Dracula hasn't been a thing for years, and despite the popularity of the movies, Marvel has consistently been unable to make Blade a big seller), you'll still see them brought out of the woodwork, if only as Mooks or as a sudden change in Jubilee or something. Marvel attempted to "revamp" (hee hee) their vampires in 2010 by introducing "Sects" of them, each extremely different from the others and prone to their own archetypes... but it REALLY comes off like the writer just read Vampire: The Masquerade and decided to rip it off completely (there's even a "Nosferatu Sect"). Also it's a giant Retcon that's impossible to merge with the hundreds of Vampire-themed issues that came before (you'd think Hannibal King or DRACULA would have mentioned this before).

Big Vamps:
-Various famous Marvel Vampires include Dracula himself, Varnae (as I mentioned, the first among them), Baron Blood (a Captain America/Invaders foe, and his successors), Hannibal King (a "Good Vampire" type who fights supernatural evil), Blade (a "Half-Vampire", as his mother was bitten while he was in the womb), and most-recently, the X-Men's Jubilee (in a "let's give Jubilee something to do besides being dated... Hell, I dunno, make her a Vampire or something" plot twist).

Vampires' Sucky Stats:
-Marvel Vampires are pretty much a solid "Greatest Hits" of Vampire Traits- they're super-strong, fast, and are created when another vampire bites them. They have the fangs, blood-drinking and general "Lack of a Stamina Score", too. A great many of them can utilize Mind Control, Hypnosis, Flight and turning into stuff like wolves, mist & bats. PL 6 for a baselind Mook is nothing to sneeze at- even the minions of major Vampires pack a punch. This even reflects the Vampires that typically show up in horror movies- way, way more powerful than regular people (PL 0-4), but against SUPER-HEROES? These things are just Jobbery Jobbers who Job- no experience hero would shrink from even a whole party of Vampires, and a TEAM of heroes can wipe out a small army of these things en masse.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Mandrill! NFL SuperPro! Instant Replay! Head-Hunters!)

Post by Gamebook »

I've mentioned before that I don't much like vampires, for largely the same reasons as you give Jab. That said I've done a fair few builds of them as they turn up in superhero art and fiction quite a bit in that usual 'fantasy kitchen-sink' thing superhero comics do.

I tend to give them additional vampire powers such as shapeshifting, hypnotism and control of lesser creatures like bats, rats and wolves. In my own schema most vampires are not created by other vampires but rise of their own accord, which was the original belief (especially of people who committed suicide). Rather than being ageless they are just dead, they do not grow or change. They act out a sad parody of their former lives over and over. Vampires may exist for centuries but remember none of it, each time they rise from their coffin they have forgotten most of what they did last night. They cast no reflection because they are not even a material being, they are a ghost animating a cloud of smoke. The blood they drain gives them just enough life to minimally interact with the material world. If their form is drastically disrupted (by beheading, staking, burning, immersion in running water etc.) they dissipate back into the handful of ashes they are made of.
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The Darkhold

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Millennia old. Has a lower-case "d" on the cover.

THE BOOK OF THE DARKHOLD
Created By:
Gerry Conway & Mike Ploog
First Appearance: Marvel Spotlight #4 (Jun 1972)
Role: Evil Book of Spells

Device (Feats: Unbreakable) (Easily-Removable)- (85 points):
Variable 20 (Any Power, Ever) (140 points)

-The Darkhold is the combined knowledge of the evil work and spells of Chthon, the Elder God. Indestructible and containing vast power, they've been a popular "Macguffin" for years, with various spellcasters all over the world attempting to gain control of its power. However, as CHTHON created it, he has his own plans, which usually involve controlling the minds of the Book's users, and corrupting good-hearted people to evil.

-The Darkhold was used by a Kull enemy- the sorcerer Thulsa Doom, and his followers used it to create Varnae, the First Vampire, after Doom's death. A Red Sonja foe named Zula was the next wielder, but also met his end- its pages were scattered throughout the world until Morgan Le Fay created a full "book" in Arthurian Times. It went through various hands until more-recent times, when Gregor Russoff read the origins of lycanthropy, and became afflicted with it himself- a curse he would pass to his descendent, Jack Russell (aka The Werewolf By Night). Eventually, various modern super-villains would compete for it- Dracula, Doctor Doom and Morgan Le Fay- The Darkhold Redeemers were formed to seek out the lost pages in an X-Files-like quirky series for Marvel's Midnight Sons line. It was once used to erase Vampires from the world (like, ALL Vampires), but that was undone at some point. The book has not been seen in a long time.

-The Darkhold takes the magical tendency of "doing anything, ever", and amplifies it by about FIFTY. Someone with the entire book could basically do almost whatever they wanted. Some people were able to use mere PAGES of it to become full-fledged Super-Villains.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

The Worst-Named Book Of All Time

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE DARKHOLD REDEEMERS:
-These guys were created as part of the Midnight Sons offshoot of the then-popular Ghost Rider book, back when Danny Ketch was one of the hottest characters in the entire Marvel line, which sounds insane saying it now. But yes, Ghost Rider in the '90s was so huge that he soon added the original Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze), Morbius (a Spidey villain turned heroic), The Nightstalkers (three older Vampire characters), Doctor Strange (getting a line-shift over to something trendy, as he hadn't been big in a while) and these guys to his own line. The Midnight Sons fought Lilith and her band of demons, Dracula and others, while the "Redeemers" (never actually named that on their comics- one character basically tagged the group this as a joke) sought to destroy all of the pages of The Darkhold, the magic book of spells forged by Chthon centuries ago. Vicky Montesi was their leader (and had the magic powers to detect the sinful pages), and they had a big of a "ragtag group" going.

-Unfortunately, the Midnight Sons line hit both the Comic Bust and Ghost Rider's fall as a big-name character (which hit him HARD- he went from a jewel in a dynastic crown and one of the top guys in the entire industry to basically a nobody), and every book was soon cancelled save the main one (which didn't last long either). And so this almost Vertigo-seeming book (a bunch of trenchcoat-wearing, non-tights-having normal humans having obscure adventures with vile magic?) was gone and forgotten, to be a mere eyeblink in the history of comics. I've never read an issue (or even seen an appearance by the characters- I dismissed them right away thanks to the lame Marvel Cards they got, along with the stupid name), but the thing I find most interesting is that it's very X-Files... but The X-Files made it's debut a FULL YEAR after this book came out. Go fig.

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VICTORIA "VICKI" MONTESI
Created By:
Christopher Cooper & Richard Case
First Appearance: The Darkhold #1 (Oct. 1992)
Role: The Leader
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers
PL 4 (71)
STRENGTH
0 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+3)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Magic) 2 (+6)
Insight 3 (+6)
Investigation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+5)
Treatment 2 (+6)

Advantages: 
Equipment 2 (Pistol +4), Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Darkhold Detector"
Features 1: Knows When The Darkhold is Accessed [1]
Senses 4 (Precognition) (Flaws: Uncontrolled, Limited to Darkhold-Related Events) [1]
Senses 3 (Detect Darkhold Pages- Ranged 2) [3]
Concealment 5 (All Senses) (Flaws: Limited to N'Garai Demons) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Pistol +4 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Destroying the Darkhold)- Victoria is the latest in a long line of Montesis, devoted to destroying Chthon's vile book.
Prejudice (Lesbian)- Victoria's revelation of being in love with another woman led her father to disown her.
Responsibility (Born of Chthon)- Vittorio Montesi was sterile, and utilized the worst possible means to carry on his legacy- he created a daughter using the pages of the Darkhold. This leaves Vicki permanently linked to the Elder God Chthon.

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 6 (71)

-Vicki was a Darkhold-detecting Doctor with little combat training at first, and had way fewer uses than most of her teammates except for the ability to sense when a Page of the Darkhold had been used. She was interesting in that she was an out-of-the-closet lesbian in a comic from *1992*, and that she went from a "normally-dressed woman" to a leather-clad sexpot at some point, judging by the Marvel Cards (her creator, Christopher Cooper, wrote fairly few comics, but was notable for introducing LGBT characters into stuff he wrote- he created Star Trek's first gay character as well).

-Vicki had a lot of rough luck thanks to her douchebag of a father, who both created her from the Book of Sin itself, but disowned her when she revealed her sexual orientation. Once her book was cancelled, she got immaculately-pregnant thanks to Chthon, and nearly gave birth to him in the Earthly Plane until Doctor Strange and her innate goodness combined to threaten his life if he did so. Vicki survived, but was never seen again. Fifteen-plus years later, who knows where she ended up? MC48 says she's appeared very, VERY recently, helping some heroes in the Carnage series, which is definitely a blast from the past.

-Vicki was a borderline non-combatant who sorta learned how to fight to defend herself from demons, though nobody would mistake her for a powerhouse- she's basically a really smart, Doctorly HYDRA Goon at this point.

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SAM BUCHANAN
Created By:
Christopher Cooper & Richard Case
First Appearance: The Darkhold #1 (Oct. 1992)
Role: The Scully/Non-Believer
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers, Interpol
PL 5 (63)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+4)
Deception 2 (+4)
Expertise (Interpol Agent) 3 (+6)
Insight 2 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 2 (+5)

Advantages: 
Benefit (Interpol Agent), Equipment 2 (Pistol +4), Ranged Attack

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Pistol +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +3, Will +3

Complications:
Responsibility (Interpol)- Buchanan has been charged by Interpol to protect Vicki Montesi.
Relationship (Victoria Montesi)- Sam developed a crush on his partner, but it was not to be.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 3 (63)

-Sam Buchanan looked like Fox Mulder (minus the sleepy, bored David Duchovny eyes) but acted more like Dana Scully, disbelieving in the supernatural (though seeing as how they're in the mainstream Marvel Universe, I'd question how- I mean, giant Tentacle Eye Monsters invade New York on a MONTHLY BASIS. A guy tried to EAT EARTH one time. And MAGIC you have a hard time believing?). Sam packs a bit more muscle than Vicki overall, but is still way below the kind of Demons that the Darkhold can unleash.

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PROFESSOR LOUISE HASTINGS
Created By:
Christopher Cooper & Richard Case
First Appearance: The Darkhold #1 (Oct. 1992)
Role: The Professor
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers
PL 2 (55)
STRENGTH
-1 STAMINA 1 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 2 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Archaeology) 5 (+10)
Expertise (Magic) 5 (+10)
Insight 5 (+7)
Investigation 3 (+7)
Perception 2 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+5)

Advantages: 
Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Wealth), Ritualist, Well-Informed

Offense:
Unarmed +2 (-1 Damage, DC 14)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +2 (DC 12), Parry +2 (DC 12), Toughness +1, Fortitude +1, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Occult Investigator)

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 3 (55)

-Louise was the "Smart One" of the group, having the most knowledge about various subjects. She wasn't much of a fighter (but was a surprisingly-good shot with a gun, the Unofficial Appendix to the Marvel Universe states), but her mind was her best tool. She was tracked down and killed by Morbius, who was under the control of the Lilin Bloodthirst.

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JINX (William Hastings)
Created By:
Christopher Cooper & Rurik Tyler
First Appearance: The Darkhold #9 (June 1993)
Role: The Muscle
Group Affiliations: The Darkhold Redeemers
PL 7 (80)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 1 (+4)
Expertise (Magic) 6 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 3 (+3)
Persuasion 1 (+4)

Advantages: 
Power Attack, Ranged Attack, Ritualist

Powers:
"Magic Trainee"
Illusion 4 (All Senses) (20) -- [22]
  • AE: "Right-Eye Beam" Blast 8 (Diminished Range -1) (15)
  • AE: "Conjurer" Create 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Continuous) (13)
Immunity 1 (May Tap Into Darkhold Magic Without Losing Soul) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Blast +5 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Innate Power)- Jinx's power is untested and dangerous.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 23 / Defenses: 7 (80)

-Jinx, the grandson of Louise Hastings, was introduced later on to shore up the roster, and he seems a lot more "Super-Hero-y" than his partners. He has an innate mystical potential that was getting realized under Modred's teachings, and joined the Darkhold team to save them from Sam Buchanan's boss in Interpol, who was secretly a Darkholder follower of Chthon. He ended up going to the Vatican to be trained by Victoria's dad, and then disappeared along with the rest of the cast of this series. Jinx has some minor abilities, and a unique Immunity/Feature to Darkhold Soul-Stealing, and is a bit more in-shape than his partners judging from some pictures, but is ultimately minor-league as far as mystics go, being PL 6.5 on offense.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Mar 16, 2022 12:49 am, edited 5 times in total.
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