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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Gamebook
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Bulletproof! Brit! Viltrumites! Atom Eve!)

Post by Gamebook »

I was always disappointed that we never got to see more of the superhero world of Invincible. What I did see of it was always fun, with colorful, classical-style superheroes that still had a bit of novelty to them. During the comic's dog days in the 80's and 90's issues (so boring I almost quit the series at that point) they were of a lot more interest to me.

Image in general seems much more willing to kill its characters, but most of the time it just illustrates how inappropriate it is in a superhero setting. The inherent silliness and camp of all these costumed loonies doesn't lend itself well to 'grim 'n' gritty' stories.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Bulletproof! Brit! Viltrumites! Atom Eve!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Regarding the killings, I suspect it was part of Robot's... dissociation... from humanity. He pointed out in "reboot" that he felt too separate, owing to his upbringing in a bubble. Leaning on practicality, he fought his opposition as hard as he could, then captured who survived.
Jabroniville
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Tech Jacket

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

TECH JACKET (Zach Thompson)
Role:
Powersuit Guy
PL 12 (191)
STRENGTH
1/10 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 1

Powers:
"Tech Jacket- Bonded Powersuit"
Enhanced Strength 9 [18]
Protection 12 [12]
Flight 10 (2,000 mph) [20]
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
Energy Blast 15 (Feats: Accurate 3) [33]
"Gizmos" Variable 6 [42]
"Host Maintenance" Features 1: User Does Not Need to Bathe [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Tech Jacket +7 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Blasts +9 (+15 Ranged Damage, DC 30)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +2 (+14 Tech Jacket), Fortitude +3, Will +6

Complications: 
Enemy (The Kresh)- It turns out that The Kresh are agents of the Viltrumites, too.

Total: Abilities: 34 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 1 / Powers: 140 / Defenses: 11 (191)

-Tech Jacket... kind of annoyed me. Much like Brit & Wolf-Man, he was a Kirkman creation from another book- one that DIED, no less, and then all of a sudden there he was in Invincible, and we were supposed to just act like he belonged and he was fully-fleshed out and everything. But all he really showed was that he was a bit of an awkward nerd (telling the leader of The Coalition of Planets that "I'm growing a beard"), and was super-powerful. His effect on the plot was minimal.

-Tech Jacket was a six-issue series by Kirkman and E.J. Su, featuring an ordinary kid who gained the powersuit of an alien race who needed them to amplify their pitiful physical stats. However, as this was the only alien race in comic book history to be WEAKER than baseline humans, this ended up amplifying the human Zach Thompson to extraordinary levels when he gets the "Green Lantern Origin" (dying alien gave him his super-device... okay that was a LENSMAN Origin first, but we all remember the Green Lantern one!). He helps the Geldarans (inventors of the Tech Jacket) fight their evil foes the Kresh, eventually becoming their ally.

-With his series over, Tech Jacket appears on Earth, Invincible & Allen the Alien recruiting him to fight in their war against the Viltrumites. He proves to be very powerful, but vulnerable- he cannot withstand the upper-tier Viltrumites. He does okay, and manages to survive, but after this he no longer matters to the series.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 17, 2022 5:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Bulletproof! Brit! Viltrumites! Atom Eve!)

Post by Ares »

I liked Tech-Jacket in his original series, but he seemed to become a lot dumber in the Invincible series. I believe he's actually got a new series and look, the latter of which I . . . don't care for. And given the level of power he displayed, I was surprised how weak he seemed next to a Viltrumite. But again, they were the Sayians of Invincible.
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Jabroniville
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Insomniac

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

INSOMNIAC
Role:
Bathroom Psychic

-This guy, sporting a look that had his eyes forcibly held open, was a Mind Controller type. In one issue of Invincible Universe, he attempted to control Best Tiger and use him to kill off the Guardians of the Globe. However, as his name was BEST Tiger, not GOOD Tiger, he was able to trick the villain by "showing" him the resulting slaughter, all to distract him- Best Tiger showed up and Insomniac's prison cell, shooting the exact part of the brain to disable his super-powers once and for all. When told that this was impossible, the hero replied "It was. Until you revealed mind to Best Tiger".

-Insomniac could use Mind Control and Remote Sensing to nearly any distance, but obviously wasn't good enough at it to get Best Tiger.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 17, 2022 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Titan

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

TITAN (Real Name Unknown)
Role:
Crime Boss
PL 7 (91)
STRENGTH
3/7 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 5 (+9)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+8)
Insight 5 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+7)
Perception 4 (+7)
Persuasion 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Wealth), Fast Grab, Improved Hold

Powers:
"Rock On!"
Enhanced Strength 4 [8]
Protection 3 [3]

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Rock Shell +7 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +4 (+7 Rock Shell), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications: 
Motivation (Greed)
Enemy (Machine Head)- Titan took over Machine Head's territory, but their boss Set forced them to make peace.
Enemy (Mr. Liu)- Liu considers Titan a failure for failing to resue Multi-Paul from imprisonment, and tried to attack him.
Addiction (Alcohol)- Titan fell off the wagon several times before he gained sobriety. He is currently the sponsor to the alcoholic superhero El Chupacabra. Despite their different standings in the heroic community, he takes this very seriously, and answers any call for help.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 11 / Defenses: 9 (91)

-Titan's an interesting little story in the series. He was one of Mark's first victims, an easy one-punch victory that made him out to be a bit of a loser. He reappeared, however, seemingly reformed, and helped Invincible knock over the resident crime boss- a loser named Machine Head. But it turns out Titan had his own master plan, and now HE'S the "Kingpin" of the city. However, it turns out that he apparently still owes his allegiance to an elite crime council, headed by a creepy asian dude who can turn into a giant Oriental Dragon. Unfortunately, we kind of don't get the whole story on this, since it's one of roughly 942 subplots going on in the book at one time, but it somehow manages to be more interesting to see where THIS goes that many MAJOR plots in other books.

-Ultimately, Titan is just a background nothing after this- part of Set's large villainous group in Guarding the Globe, then sending a pair of jobbers against a rival. I actually thought Titan was a really awesome villain in my first go-round- he looked cool (ESPECIALLY in the bitchin' suit), he seemed tough, and his game (fooling Invincible into wiping out his rival and his army) was brilliant... but ultimately he was so minor that he went nowhere.

-Titan's not too big of a powerhouse, actually- my 2e build of him was *PL 9*, but I think he only deserves PL 7 these days. I mean, Mark KOed him in ONE PUNCH once, and that was in his first couple appearances! But that's really just kind of the nature of the Image U- Viltrumites are like Saiyans, and could realistically be put at a level FAR beyond all the other guys and make sense, but this is a more player-friendly version. He's pretty strong and tough- but only while his "Rock Skin" is active. It crumples off of him when he's hit or hurt by something, at which point he loses his Strength as well, so he's constantly got to reactivate his body armour once it's gone.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 17, 2022 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
MacynSnow
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Bulletproof! Brit! Viltrumites! Atom Eve!)

Post by MacynSnow »

My only complaint about Titan is this;dude needs to put on a gaul-darned undershirt....you don't see Tombstone running around without the complete outfit on.If your gonna be The Kingpin of your Universe,at least dress the part properly....grumble,grumble,grumble....
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Davies
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Re: Tech Jacket

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:47 am(dying alien gave him his super-device... okay that was a LENSMAN Origin first, but we all remember the Green Lantern one!).
Uh ... the Green Lantern stories took the "huge group of superpowered space travelling law enforcers" element from the Lensmen novels, not the "device from a dying alien" element.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Tech Jacket

Post by Jabroniville »

Davies wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 5:43 am
Jabroniville wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 12:47 am(dying alien gave him his super-device... okay that was a LENSMAN Origin first, but we all remember the Green Lantern one!).
Uh ... the Green Lantern stories took the "huge group of superpowered space travelling law enforcers" element from the Lensmen novels, not the "device from a dying alien" element.
Oh, was the part from the movie not part of the original canon? Because that one totally started that way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman_(1984_film)
Jabroniville
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Mr. Liu

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

MR. LIU
Role:
Background Villain
PL 11 (132)
STRENGTH
14 STAMINA 14 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Deception 4 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 8 (+12)
Expertise (History) 5 (+9)
Insight 4 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+7, +13 Size)
Perception 2 (+6)
Persuasion 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Benefit 4 (Wealth), Improved Hold, Startle

Powers:
"Giant Size" Growth 12 (Str & Sta +12, +12 Mass, +6 Intimidation, -6 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -12 Stealth) -- (60 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [25]
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +14, Fortitude +14, Will +7

Complications:
Motivation (Power)
Enemy (Titan)- Mr. Liu swears penalty against Titan for failing to get Multi-Paul released from prison.
Involuntary Transformation- Liu's Dragon Form is actually projected out of his unconscious body. If he ever dies, the Dragon is MUCH more powerful, as well.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 40 / Defenses: 22 (132)

-Mr. Liu is one of those background things in Invincible that really goes nowhere and has no "peak", and shows up later in the sister series. He starts off as this villainous old Asian dude with a metallic jaw, taunting the new crime-boss Titan, because Titan has not sprung Multi-Paul- one of Mr. Liu's agents- from prison. This is apparently part of the deal in their cabal. Titan apologizes and promises to get it done, to which Liu is all "Good; glad you're showing the proper respect". Then a few issues later, Liu gets all pissy and attacks the prison himself in the form of a giant dragon, while his human form lies unconscious. This is all dealt with very quickly, and seems to really go nowhere.

-In Guarding the Globe, Liu reappears, acting as a minion of Set (and being slapped down for attempting to attack Titan once more). It turns out everything but his head is mechanical, and that his body has been tied to the spirit of an ancient, powerful dragon- should Liu's body expire, the Dragon will be freed. Liu narrates this issue, as Robot cures him of a brain disease- he rips on Cecil for being so aloof and acting like nothing gets to him, but attains a measure of respect as time goes on, noting that Cecil DOES feel all of these losses.

-Mr. Liu is very powerful in his Dragon Form, but nothing Invincible couldn't take on fairly handily. He also carts around a silent, super-strong guy who's probably only PL 7-8 or something- he tends to get one-shotted by anyone who's truly elite, and is more of a bystander in many fights.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 17, 2022 5:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Davies
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Re: Tech Jacket

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Feb 27, 2018 6:31 am Oh, was the part from the movie not part of the original canon? Because that one totally started that way: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman_(1984_film)
That movie got some of the names right and not a whole heck of a lot else.
"I'm sorry. I love you. I'm not sorry I love you."
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Bulletproof! Brit! Viltrumites! Atom Eve!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Gamebook wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2018 10:02 pm I was always disappointed that we never got to see more of the superhero world of Invincible. What I did see of it was always fun, with colorful, classical-style superheroes that still had a bit of novelty to them. During the comic's dog days in the 80's and 90's issues (so boring I almost quit the series at that point) they were of a lot more interest to me.

Image in general seems much more willing to kill its characters, but most of the time it just illustrates how inappropriate it is in a superhero setting. The inherent silliness and camp of all these costumed loonies doesn't lend itself well to 'grim 'n' gritty' stories.
Yeah, the disconnect was clear when we were dealing with serious stories featuring lots of death... and the characters were Knockout, Kid Thor, Yeti (who had a face within his torso) and Kaboomerang.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Bulletproof! Brit! Viltrumites! Atom Eve!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Shock wrote: Mon Feb 26, 2018 2:13 pm Kirkman had to work hard to keep Oliver from becoming the Scrappy of the series and I'm not sure he was entirely successful. He was really annoying early on.
Oliver was kinda weird- I got the impression we weren't supposed to like him, but then Eve would say stuff like "Your brother is SO AWESOME". But during his teen years, he was always insulting people, acting like a douche, and wantonly killing bad guys... but he got beaten up constantly. I mean, Thragg just DETONATED him during the Viltrumite War. It ended up being rather cathartic.

But by the time he was a young adult living on Talescria, he was basically a non-entity. And his weird mud-bug girlfriend was a giant bitch.
Jabroniville
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Cast Iron

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

CAST IRON (Milos Stojakovic)
Role:
Disposable Hero

-Cast Iron is given nothing of note in Guarding the Globe, simply being a random background hero, and the first one killed. When the new War Woman assaults the heroes under Set's orders, she swings her axe down at the drunken, suicidal Chupacabra- heroically, Cast Iron leaps in the way, taking the blade himself. He dies in the hospital the next issue. A year or so later, in Invincible Universe, Chupacabra would visit his Serbian home to make amends with Cast Iron's family- it turns out he was the one good man from a family of criminals, and they view him as weak. Chupacabra was helpless against them, as the ENTIRE FAMILY can copy Cast Iron's powers (even the grandmother!), but he tricks them using some C4 that blows up a dam the family controls, and knocks them all out when they de-iron in order to get to the surface of the water.

-Cast Iron was barely shown fighting, but he was probably around Toughness 8. The members of his family are tough enough that Chupacabra has no chance against them.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 17, 2022 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Le Bruiser

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

LE BRUISER
Role:
Super-Animal
PL 7 (71)
STRENGTH
6 STAMINA 6 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE -1

Skills:
Insight 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Close Attack 2, Fast Grab, Improved Hold

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Acute & Extended Scent, Low-Light Vision, Ultra & Extended Hearing) [5]

"Small Size" Shrinking 4 (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) -- (3 feet) [9]
(-1 Strength, +2 Defenses, +4 Stealth, -2 Intimidation)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +6, Fortitude +6, Will +4

Complications:
Disabled (Animal)- Dogs cannot speak to humans, nor use their paws to easily manipulate objects. Le Bruiser can understand people, but cannot adequately communicate with them.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 6--4 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 3 (71)

-Le Bruiser is a background character in the Guarding the Globe books, being a French Bulldog with super-powers that are never given an origin. Bruiser simply appears, acts like a snooty Frenchman (angrily going "phnaff!" and making other French sounds for dogs), and largely gets taken care of by Pegasus. Only the FINEST cigars are good enough for this creature, who finally gets a solo issue well into the Invincible Universe run. It's revealed that Le Bruiser is a FEMALE, and she tracks a dognapping ring by allowing herself to be captured. She breaks up a dogfighting ring by maiming the main guy in charge- RIPPING HIS ARM OFF and then running around using the taser in his hand to zap everyone present. She follows two goons back to their boss, the villain Magnattack. He brags about his new explosive-charge-wielding suit of armor, but the first one he tosses gets "fetched" and thrown right back to him- it's likely he was killed. Le Bruiser survived Robot's takeover of Earth, and joined the battle against him in the end of the series.

-Le Bruiser is mighty for a dog, but not that powerful compared to other heroes.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue May 17, 2022 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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