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

[Jabroniville]

Hey, look! MinaCream did a non-shittily-drawn version of the new She-Ra, which looks a hundred times better .

[Jabroniville]

Chemistro is a perfect example of writers not really thinking through the implications of some technology. Like I've said before, I love superhero comics, I love the fun, kitchen sink nature of them, I love how they can basically be any genre at any time.

But I'm also someone who loves world building and internal consistency. And as with science fiction and fantasy, some writers really don't think about the implications of some decisions.

I mean, we've got this guy who built a gun-sized matter transmuter, and he used it to rob banks. To the writer's credit, he at least included the fact that anything altered by the gun will crumble to dust afterwards due to molecular instability. That makes the gun really more of a fancy disintegration ray rather than a world changing bit of technology. But the idea that just some random joe could come up with it is bizarre. For this kind of character, transmuting matter should involve some rare, one of a kind element (Philosopher's Stone, for example), or instead of transmuting matter, go with something similar to Honey Lemon's purse from Big Hero 6. Hell, the "Chemistro" name works a lot better with the powerset of "variable chemical compound generator" than a transmutation gun.

It's like that Spider-Man guy whose scientist uncle whipped him up a suit of street-level power armor. It can't be that easy.

Outfit wise, yeah, that power armor at the end looks too generic. I like the version they went with for Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Much more iconic.

Yeah, it's rather bizarre... but I have the feeling that Englehart tossed in the "Disintigration" bit just because it's otherwise incredibly too powerful and mind-blowing to have around otherwise. So basically it's a "Blows Stuff Up" gun with a different descriptor.

Still... it's insane that anyone could invent Transmutation like that... and then go on to be "Just some other scientist" in the Marvel Universe.

[Batgirl III]

It’s best to pretend that any sort of super-science technology only exists when it’s on panel (or on screen for tv and films). Forget questions like “why doesn’t Tony build an Iron Man suit for every Avenger?” and ask “why doesn’t Tony build an Iron Man suit for ever single serviceman in the military?”

Because, for some inexplicable reason, the tech doesn’t work as soon as the reader/viewer stops paying attention to it.

[Ares]

Hey, look! MinaCream did a non-shittily-drawn version of the new She-Ra, which looks a hundred times better .

That is a much better picture, though I wonder why they even bother with the skirt when every image seems to want to blow it up so that they can show off her shorts underneath it. At that point you should either just get rid of the skirt, make it a longer skirt that covers up everything, or just give her pants and make the skirt more of the kind of "hip-capes" you see in some art.

[Ares]

It’s best to pretend that any sort of super-science technology only exists when it’s on panel (or on screen for tv and films). Forget questions like “why doesn’t Tony build an Iron Man suit for every Avenger?” and ask “why doesn’t Tony build an Iron Man suit for ever single serviceman in the military?”

Because, for some inexplicable reason, the tech doesn’t work as soon as the reader/viewer stops paying attention to it.

Those can at least be explained with "Iron Man armor, in theory, is very expensive, cannot be mass produced, they cybernetic systems need to be calibrated for each individual using the armor, and Tony is incredibly paranoid about giving weapons he created to anyone outside of a very close number of friends".

That's a good way to get around some comic book logic hiccups: you give psychological and character motivations for it.

[BriarThrone]

Hey, look! MinaCream did a non-shittily-drawn version of the new She-Ra, which looks a hundred times better .

This time the character doesn't look like a teenage Fred from Scooby Doo in cheap drag cosplay. Great success!

[kirinke]

The original artwork was much better. And why anime it? GAH!

[Jabroniville]

JASON QUARTERMASTER
Created By: James Felder & Al Milgrom
First Appearance: Spider-Man Unlimited #13 (Aug. 1996)
Role: One-Off Scientist

-An odd one-off, Quartermaster is said to have helped create the Scorpion's Acid-Blasting Tail, and worked for Rand-Meachum (Danny Rand's father's company), but was secretly a mole for Roxxon Oil, which seems like too much backstory for someone so minor. He attempts to create a solvent that can dissolve even LUKE CAGE'S skin, and nearly kills him when Cage comes sniffing around for corruption within Danny's company, after battling The Scorpion- Misty Knight saves him, but Cage is forced to kill Quartermaster to save both their lives, dragging him into the solvent before he can attack them again.

-Quartermaster is a skilled scientist, primarily focused around acids. He's got a pretty typical Villainous Deathtrap, but doesn't appear to be particularly good at combat.

[Jabroniville]

SENOR MUERTE I (Ramon Garcia, aka Senor Suerte I)
Created By: Steve Englehart, George Tuska & Billy Graham
First Appearance: Luke Cage, Hero For Hire #10 (June 1973)
Role: One-Shot Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 6 (93)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 2 (+4)
Deception 3 (+6)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+10)
Expertise (Gambling) 6 (+11)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 1 (+4)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Benefit 3 (Wealth), Luck, Ranged Attack 1

Powers:
"High-Voltage Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [13]
Blast 8 (Diminished Range -1) (15) -- (16 points)

• AE: Damage 6 (6)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
High-Voltage Touch +6 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- All of Garcia's intellect went towards forging a gambling empire.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 13 / Defenses: 5 (93)

-Ramon Garcia is the gambling czar of New York City, having proven his genius while a youth in Puerto Rico. He was known as "Mister Luck" (Senor Suerte), but had a darker side as "Mister Death". By spinning a dial on his chest, he would make one of his hands fully-charged with a lethal dosage of electricity. He was killed by his own costume while fighting Cage. He reappeared years later, being forced to commit crimes by someone named Lady Caterpillar, who had abducted his wife, Rebecca Clyde.

[Jabroniville]

SENOR MUERTE II (Phillip Garcia)
Created By: Peter Gillis & Mike Zeck
First Appearance: Captain America #224 (Aug. 1978)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 6 (86)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+5)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 3 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Arsenal), Ranged Attack 1

Powers:
"Venomous Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [17]
"Spider Venom in Gloves" Weaken Stamina 8 (Extras: Progressive +2) (Inaccurate -1, Quirks: Takes 3-5 Rounds to Start -2) (21 points)

Equipment:
"Knife" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)
"Handgun" Blast 5 (10)
"Grenades" Blast 6 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (17)
"Flamethrowers" Damage 6 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (12)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Spider Venom +4 (+8 Weaken, DC 18)
Knife +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Handgun +6 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Grenades +6 Area (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- All of Garcia's intellect went towards forging a gambling empire.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 17 / Defenses: 7 (86)



SENOR SUERTE II (Jaime Garcia)
Created By: Mary Jo Duffy & Trevor Von Eeden
First Appearance: Power Man & Iron Fist #56 (April 1979)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 6 (69)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+5)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Thief) 4 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Sleight of Hand 3 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+4)

Advantages:
Equipment 2 (Thief Gear), Ranged Attack 1

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- All of Garcia's intellect went towards forging a gambling empire.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 7 (69)

-After Ramon's death, his little brothers Jaime (a professional thief) & Phillip (an assassin) split the roles. Phillip, as Senor Muerte, teamed with La Tarantula and fought Captain America using gloves that injected spider venom into his victims. Jaime, as Senor Suerte, fought Cage & Iron Fist while trying to steal King Tut artifacts from a museum, then both brothers were defeated while trying to set death traps for the pair.

[MacynSnow]

I like Marvel's attempt at a Villianous Crime Family that didn't somehow involve The Wizard or Fantastic Four IN ANY WAY WHATSOEVER!

It's rather sad these guy's were never seen again...

[Jabroniville]

THE PURPLE MAN (Zebediah Killgrave)
Created By: Stan Lee & Joe Orlando
First Appearance: Daredevil #4 (Oct. 1964)
Role: Mind Controller, Super-Rapist
PL 13 (137)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Escape Artist 4 (+6)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+8)
Expertise (Spy) 5 (+7)
Perception 5 (+7)
Insight 4 (+6)
Stealth 4 (+6)

Advantages: 
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Mind-Controlling Pheromones" Affliction 13 (Will; Entranced/Compelled/Controlled) (Feats: Subtle) (Extras: Sustained +2, Cumulative, Area- Scent Perception) [66]
Regeneration 2 [2]

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Mind Control +13 Area (+13 Affliction, DC 23)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Power, Greed & Control)- Killgrave is a predatory rapist, and is obsessed with controlling others.
Enemy (Luke Cage)- Killgrave once controlled Cage's wife for a long period of time, convincing her she was in love with him, but refused to concede to her demands for sex, thus tormenting her. When he taunted Cage over this fact, unaware that his powers had been nullified, the results weren't pretty.
Prejudice (Purple)- Killgrave's violet hue means that he cannot pass for an ordinary human without controlling others into "forgetting" he's there.

Total: Abilities: 38 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 68 / Defenses: 15 (137)

Killgrave- Super-Rapist:
-I've never quite felt comfortable about "Rape-Crazy" super-villains in comics. I mean, theoretically that WOULD happen from time-to-time, and might even be common if some sick bastards got the ability to control minds- it's not like rape doesn't exist in the real world, unfortunately. But there's something just so seedy and gross about it, especially given how comics AT BEST tends to be directed towards horny dorks with women problems, so guys like Mandrill, Purple Man and others just weird me out. It doesn't help that more than a few "nerd stuff" writers seem OBSESSED with the topic of rape, and laugh off every criticism of it as "well it happens in the REAL WORLD, so I don't see the big deal with glorifying it in my stories"- this has been the biggest signifier of Alan Moore's later career, and I think it's TOTALLY gross. I mean, who gets THAT OBSESSED with RAPE? There's also a bit more going into it than just the aspect of them trying to get into the pants of ladies- in the real world, rapists and those who are violent towards women can often take an EXCEPTIONAL amount of abuse from other criminals, as even SCUM finds such activities to be scummy.

-For example, in Edmonton, a purse-thief who stabbed a girl ended up with his face smashed in within a week of being jailed because the guards deliberately revealed his crime to his fellow inmates; another guy who killed a hooker has had his life made a living hell behind bars as well, and his sister is now a "Prisoner's Rights Advocate")- so in a "real world" situation, these rapists like Killgrave & Mandrill would not only never find anyone willing to work with them, but would ACTIVELY BE HUNTED DOWN by other super-villains who didn't want to be associated with this type of scum.

-That's actually an idea I had for my own super-heroes/stories, too- an explanation for "well, why DON'T villains rape the helpless heroines when they take them captive? It happens in the real world when soldiers take women captive all the time" thing (and yes, that used to happen A LOT in pretty much every society)- essentially, someone once tried it, and the heroes & villains went ape-poop on him and killed him, and now NOBODY is stupid enough to try it again, because even the BAD GUYS would be after them if word got out. A neat little way to wrap up a potential "real world" issue.

-Horsenhero took issue with my statements above last time I made them, but I still stand by them. I mean, YES, murder is worse than rape as a crime, but sexual crimes are just SO much skeevier to me. Especially if you actually research the reasoning behind many sexual crimes, many of which have completely inexplicable reasonings. I mean, murder is usually cut and dry- "he owed me money", "I hate him", "I wanted him to die", etc. Thieves usually just WANT STUFF. It's awful stuff, but directly logical in terms of responses. But RAPE? Some of the excuses are bizarre stuff like "Why not ask her why she was out with a man who wasn't her husband?" (one of the rapists in the infamous India rape case used that one), or "I wanted to ruin my father's family name" (yes, I heard that one, too). I mean, you'll see "College party roofies" and other, more passion-inspired crimes (where the thought process, while evil, is at least cause-and-effect- "I just wanted sex"), but for some reason, serial rapists or others just ahve the WEIRDEST reasonings.

-I dunno- it just greebles me out when I read it in comics these days. Guys wanna kill half the universe? YEAH, STOP THAT BAD GUY? But a rapist? URRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH. Just don't wanna read about it. I still remember my friend's reaction to Sue Dibny's rape in Identity Crisis- "Aw, I don't wanna read comics about that!".

Oh Yeah, His Actual Bio:
-I had NO IDEA he was created by Stan The Man, much less in the 1960s as a Daredevil foe! He never even TALKS to Daredevil these days! Most of DD's early Rogues Gallery was pretty goofy and forgettable, but it's funny that he turned into a Super-Rapist after his early start as an Evil Foreign Spy. He's just some crook who gained purple skin and powers from walking into a chemical factory, which is pretty lazy, even by Stan's standards for origins. The craziest thing is his damn real name- Zebediah Killgrave may be the coolest, most threatening-sounding name I've ever heard in comics, and yet he goes by one of those "I'm embarassed to read comics" aliases?!?

-He largely vanished after this point, and was pretty obscure when Doctor Doom used his powers to TAKE OVER THE ENTIRE WORLD (and I mean that literally- in-continuity and everything he actually WON and took control of everyone on Earth. Moreover, he only "lost" because he saw what a pain in the ass all this leadership really was and allowed the heroes to break his control). Generally speaking, he shows up in a lot of background scenes or as a generic "Crimeboss Figure" behind something or other, but rarely with a major arc or anything behind him. Basically, he was recognizable enough that he's handy for scenes like that when the writer doesn't want to use Wilson Fisk or The Owl.

-Things got a bit darker in Alpha Flight, which revealed that he used his powers to force a woman to become his wife, their union resulting in Alpha Flight trainee The Purple Girl. It turns out that Killgrave legitimately loved the woman, and finally removed his control- horrified, the woman justifiably abandoned him. He was also the manipulator behind Nate Grey's "Mutant Messiah" thing in New York, where he was controlling people into worshipping X-Man.

-Bendis modified the "Villainous Rapist" act into making him take control of Jessica Jones in Alias, psychologically torturing her (as the heroine "Jewel") for several months, leaving her emotionally drained and scarred. She later gets training that allows her a measure of revenge, fighting off Killgrave's control and knocking him out. When he escapes The Raft's prison during Bendis's first Avengers story, there's a great scene where he tries to manipulate Luke Cage (now engaged to Jessica) to kill her... and Luke reveals that his powers aren't working. Then beats him so badly his FACE is unrecognizable (only Captain America is able to stop Luke from executing Killgrave, for which Luke is thankful).

-He is used in Thunderbolts, where Baron Zemo manipulates him into taking control of much of New York, but he's tortured in jail for his failure. Daredevil later has to deal with a number of Killgrave's other "Rape Babies", all of whom have developed his powers. Matt cleverly uses them to erase the world's memory of his secret identity. Killgrave is later murdered by someone while trying to hunt down Carol Danvers & Jessica Jones.

Purple Power:
-An extremely powerful mind-controller, Killgrave saves major points by being an absolute weenie in battle, though apparently he has some regenerative powers. He's basically a thug with good defense and some powers, and used to be a spy. A notable lack of Advantages hampers him from being a really well-rounded type, though, so the second the hero makes a save against his powers (no mean feat, given their level- most heroes I stat are at Will +7-8, and they need to break DC 23 to avoid being somewhat affected), he's absolutely SCREWED.

[Batgirl III]

That's a very clever "in-universe" reason for solving the meta-textual problem of why supervillains in a setting don't engage in some of the skeevier aspects of real-world crime that would send a fun and escapist superhero romp into a dark and depressing place. Consider it stolen.

You see a similar bit of reasoning behind the way many villains react to Red Skull, Captain Nazi, and other unrepentant villains who believe in Hitler's genocidal plans for a National Socialist utopia. Even the Joker refuses to work with Nazis. When creating my Cape City setting, I wanted to have a couple of Nazi Super-Villains still kicking around long after the war, but I made it clear that no one likes working with them.

[Jabroniville]

Quotes from 2014!:

I'm with you regarding superheroes/villains rape, Jab. If they do tell that story, it should be with a character they have no intention of using again, because realistically, his life expectancy after would be measured in weeks. One thing I liked about the book 'Empowered' when I checked it out was this notion of 'The Unwritten Rules' that supers society goes by to explain why even in a world filled with such super jerkasses, the title character that was potentially such rape bait never got so much as molested. There were just certain things you didn't do, and raping a helpless foe was one of them.

If I ever did my own setting, it'd be something largely like that. Most villains would actively avoid trying to learn a superhero's secret ID, because heroes are intensely protective of said ID and their families, and going after a hero's significant other is just asking for large amount of pain and/or a grizzly end. Likewise, rape of a hero OR villain is dealt with quickly and with extreme prejudice. You figure most villains are in the business to make money, a smaller percentage have a specific agenda, a smaller percentage still to rule the world, and a tiny percentage are basically super serial killers. The last group would always be small given the tendency of said characters to wind up dead (which is why I don't like such characters to be regulars in comics), and every other group would be composed of people that would have issues with folks who sink that low.

As for the Purple Man, I liked his portrayal in Avengers:EMH, where he was portrayed as someone who enjoyed flaunting his control over others, making him vile without the reprehensible rape stuff thrown in. To my knowledge, while he had done the stuff with Persuasion, he didn't become this serial rapist until Bendis got his hands onto him. If anything, I think the Persuasion bit was suppose to show why he didn't use his powers on women that way, rather than to be a justification for him being that way.

Nice, neat in-universe explanation for why certain more depraved super-villains do not make worse use of their powers. I always liked that many of the Marvel villains had standards of sorts-Doom considered the Red Skull (and any other Nazi villain) to be absolute utter scum, as did Magneto (for obvious reasons), but even more overtly amoral types such as the Kingpin, Kraven the Hunter, and the Wingless Wizard were repulsed by the Skull (and kudos to John Byrne, for having the JOKER, of all people, turn against the Red Skull in a WW II era DC/Marvel crossover). The Sandman was a thug, but he still loved his elderly mother and even respected Spider-Man (who once allowed him to deliver a present on Christmas, even though Sandman had escaped from prison to do it); in another Christmas special, the Blob, Lorelei, and Unus helped entertain some poor kids alongside the X-men (okay, MU writers got maudlin around that time of year). The Bronze Age version of Doom would never target children or the elderly, before Mark Waid took him Beyond the Moral Event Horizon. Batroc, the Constrictor, and the Crimson Dynamo betrayed more morally bankrupt villains such as the Viper to prevent needless death and suffering.

DC was usually more black and white in terms of their depictions of heroism and villainy, though there were exceptions. There was a phase back when I was a kid when Lex Luthor was presented as more conflicted, with his obsession in destroying Superman almost depicted as a mental illness. And I remember reading a cool reprint of a Silver Age DC story, one of the "Imaginary Tales", set in a bleak "possible future" where Superman had married Lois Lane, only to see her (and others of his supporting cast) murdered by two alien super-villains; the two show up later in the story to taunt him, with one of them (a shape-shifter) first assuming Lois' voice and form to trick Kal-El into believing his wife is alive, then becoming a much older, heavier caricature of Lois Lane and then her partner-in-crime showing up with a lump of kryptonite in hand. As Superman collapses from the kryptonite radiation, the two extraterrestrial assassins gloat over all this-and then Luthor and Brainiac teleport in out of nowhere and slaughter the pair with a death ray cannon. The stunned Superman doesn't understand at first, but then Luthor and Brainiac explain they may hate Superman, but still respect him, and considered what the other pair did to be absolutely obscene-so they did what Clark couldn't do. Wishing him well for the moment, they then promise to utterly destroy him the next time they meet.

As a kid, I though that was one of the coolest scenes ever. I didn't even like Superman comics especially, and I still thought that was cool.

All my best.

[Batgirl III]

Killgrave has an awesome name, but he's got nothing on DOOM.