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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Michael Nowlan

Post by Jabroniville »

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MICHAEL NOWLAN
Created By:
Bob Layton & Jackson Guice
First Appearance: X-Factor #5 (June 1986)
Role: Recurring Love Interest, Official On/Off Girlfriend

-Michael Nowlan is a former heroin addict and Vietnam veteran whose power was to enhance the abilities of other mutants. Unfortunately, this became known to other mutants, who would seek him out... and then get addicted to the extra power, using whatever means they had to force him to enhance their abilities further. He discovered that the only way to stop this was to stay on the junk, which prevented the energy transfer. However, this caused him to lose his job, his health, and then his wife (who was also a former addict, but had cleaned herself up).

-Eventually, Nowlan is discovered by the then-new and mysterious Apocalypse, who builds a machine to feed Nowlan's addiction (brand-new to comics and he's ALREADY doing stupid shit like building a Heroin Machine? JESUS, this guy), then reverse it in order to get a boost from his power- the boosts then enhance Apocalypse's field agents, the Alliance of Evil.

-Finally escaping, Nowlan runs to his ex Susan, who refuses to help him, instead going to X-Factor to hunt him down (as they were in their guise as "Mutant Hunters", because... that comic was stupid). She is captured by the Alliance while X-Factor helps Nowlan defeat an overdose- when Susan's life is threatened, he agrees to boost the Alliance further, letting them easily beat X-Factor. When X-Factor arrives a final time, Susan is killed by one of Stinger's blasts, enraging Michael, who withdraws all of his energies from the Alliance, at the cost of his own life.

-... Is this story supposed to be about the perils of addiction? Because it's just all over the place. Dude uses heroin TO HIS BENEFIT at times, gets his ex-wife killed, is hooked to a goddamn HEROIN MACHINE, and nobody seems to learn a lesson about anything by the end of it. And this is the FIFTH ISSUE OF X-FACTOR HERE!! They've ALREADY started resorting to inane garbage like this to fill space in the pages! Talk about cashing in on the X-Craze in the worst way.

-Nowlan is basically a Regular Guy, plus some Soldier experience, and adds in a "Power Boost" (Selective Area Affects Others Only Variable- Limited to Mutants, probably at 4 ranks or so- 8 points per rank).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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Millie the Model

Post by Jabroniville »

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MILLIE THE MODEL (Milicent "Millie" Collins)
Created By:
Ruth Atkinson
First Appearance: Millie the Model #1 (1945)

-Millie the Model is a classic bit of Marvel history, but has made far less of an impact than her fellow Romance Comics counterpart, Patsy Walker. Millie debuted in 1945, created by female writer/artist Ruth Atkinson, starting out glamourous but later copying the Archie Style pretty directly. Like many of the knock-offs, she was a woman with a steady guy (being a model, she had a photographer named Clicker as her boyfriend- he later got renamed Clicker), a best friend (Toni Turner) and a rival- Chili Storm.

-She was one of Marvel's "Working Girl" books, along with Tessie the Typist, Sherry the Showgirl and Nellie the Nurse. And despite being unknown today, her book was around for 27 years, had a half-dozen series out at one time, and more! Hell, she was only cancelled in the early 1970s!

-When superheroes hit it big again, she started getting serious and had less comedy. But she's vanished since her book ended, appearing once as the head of a modelling agency, and another time as a younger model in a miniseries called Models Inc, in which she is charged with murder and has to be bailed out by fellow model Mary-Jane Watson-Parker.

-Millie is basically a normal person, but presumably has high Presence and Attractive, as well as some interpersonal skills.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Jul 13, 2022 6:26 am, edited 3 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Chili Storm

Post by Jabroniville »

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CHILI STORM
Created By:
Ruth Atkinson
First Appearance: Millie the Model #1 (1945)

-Chili Storm was a rival of Millie's, but Archie-style, would randomly be depicted as a friend for some stories. She even got her own book in 1969 (!!), but it was cancelled with Millie's in 1973. The infamous Marvel Divas revealed her to be a lesbian Super-Hero-Fetishist.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
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F.A.C.A.D.E

Post by Jabroniville »

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F.A.C.A.D.E (Full Acclimation Combat And Defense Explo-skeleton)
Created By:
Terry Kavanagh & Alex Saviuk 
First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man issue 113 (1994)
Role: Forgotten Villain 

"F.A.C.A.D.E. Powersuit" (Flaws: Removable) [34]
Enhanced Strength 4 (8)
Protection 4 (4)
Enhanced Defenses 2 (4)
Flight 6 (120 mph) (12)
"Paralytic Energy Arc" Affliction 7 (Fort; Dazed / Stunned / Incapacitated) (Extras: 60ft. Cone) (14)
-- (42 points)

-The F.A.C.A.D.E. Powersuit was built by a doctor in order to help people, but some thug killed him and stole it. It was meant to be a big mystery as to who was in that armor (J. Jonah Jameson was a suspect), but the planned story was promptly stalled by the infamous Clone Saga, and was immediately dropped.

-Humorously, other writers have made gags about him, as a character guide in the 2000s featured a bio with his "real identify" having been torn off the bio, and Spider-Man, in a race against time, didn't stick around long enough for the beaten villain to announce his real name.

-The suit isn't too bad, and enhances one's defenses quite nicely, but the character is an unknown jobber).
Last edited by Jabroniville on Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
scc
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Re: Chtylok

Post by scc »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Jul 31, 2018 11:16 pm Image

CHTYLOK OF THE CHE-K'N KAU
Created By:
Todd DeZago & Mike Wieringo
First Appearance: The Sensational Spider-Man #13 (Feb. 1997)
Role: Joke Villain
Group Affiliations: The Che-K'n Kau
PL 10 (78)
STRENGTH
12 STAMINA 12 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -2

Skills: 
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+8)
Expertise (Survival) 4 (+4)
Intimidation 10 (+8, +12 Size)
Perception 4 (+4)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Startle

Powers:
Growth 8 (Str & Sta +8, +8 Mass, +4 Intimidation, -4 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -8 Stealth) -- (24 feet) (Feats: Innate) (Extras: Permanent +0) [17]
"Chicken Senses" Senses 3 (Extended Scent, Low-Light & Extended Vision) [3]
"Prehensile Tail" Extra Limb 1 [1]
Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +12, Fortitude +12, Will +4

Total: Abilities: 16 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 22 (78)

-God, this name's been sitting in my "To-Do List" for eons, and I've been so busy with other projects that I never even THOUGHT to research him. Until now.

-A "WTF?" character from a dark period in Spider-Man's career, Chtylok is a deliberate joke of a beast- a 25-foot tall Half-Chicken, Half-Cow that inhabits an area just outside of the Savage Land. Worshipped in ancient times, it went into hibernation until the hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic caused the ice around him to melt. He ended up in Monster Island, then fought the Hulk. Spider-Man got involved because he was helping Ka-Zar & Shanna the She-Devil to save Ka-Zar's jungle kingdom from flooding. And because Stegron the Dinosaur Man was leading an army of dinos against the human race again. The Hulk/Chtylok fight ended up intermingling with the Stegron thing, leading to a huge mess. The Hulk beat Chtylok eventually, then the heroes stopped the flood (which was caused by Roxxon Oil, because they're evil). Chtylok then eats the Roxxon exec responsible. I would imagine this story was mostly played for comedy.

-Cthylok is powerful enough to brawl with THE HULK for the majority of an issue, so I'd imagine he's pretty tough, but I'm giving him PL 10 status at-best. 
I built this monster before. He did give Hulk a tough fight. I made him PL 12. But I am sure he would job hard if it ever shows up again.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Oh, you did? Haha- that's terrific! I should check that out.

Re: my computer:
so apparently the issue with my computer is that the motherboard is too big for the chassis, so it's shorting out on power-up. so it needs a new one. The guy says it'll take probably the end of the week to get it back. so it's another few days of phone-typing- good thing I usually work so far ahead!
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Ken
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:16 pm Oh, you did? Haha- that's terrific! I should check that out.

Re: my computer:
so apparently the issue with my computer is that the motherboard is too big for the chassis, so it's shorting out on power-up. so it needs a new one. The guy says it'll take probably the end of the week to get it back. so it's another few days of phone-typing- good thing I usually work so far ahead!
Why not a bigger chassis?
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Ken wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:21 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:16 pm Oh, you did? Haha- that's terrific! I should check that out.

Re: my computer:
so apparently the issue with my computer is that the motherboard is too big for the chassis, so it's shorting out on power-up. so it needs a new one. The guy says it'll take probably the end of the week to get it back. so it's another few days of phone-typing- good thing I usually work so far ahead!
Why not a bigger chassis?
Yeah, that's what I mean. He's gonna rebuild the system in a bigger set-up
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Ken
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Ken »

Cool.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Jack of Spades »

"My motherboard is too big for my chassis" really sounds like a porn boast.
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Jabroniville
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Samurai Shodown

Post by Jabroniville »

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SAMURAI SHODOWN:
-In the annals of Fighting Game history, there have been more original ones, more game-changing ones, and ones with better graphics. But for my money, no Fighting Game has ever matched Samurai Shodown for sheer STYLE.

Samurai Spirits (as it's called in Japan) is set in 18th-century Japan, during the period where Japan was secluded from the rest of the world, and is themed around blade-based combat. This means that the majority of the characters are Samurai or Ninja, but artistic license allows for swordfighters hailing from Central America, France, America and China as well. This could lead to some redundancy, and sort of DOES... except the game gives each character such distinctive purpose and visual stylings that everyone manages to stand out from the crowd.

But really, the STYLE is what's so distinctive here. Not only are the characters exquisitely-designed (there's only one real stinker in the group- Wan-Fu- which is INSANE for a Fighting Game's first entry), but EVERYTHING just has this distinctive "feel" and theme going on. Like Kabuki theatre, the game has minimalistic music, using traditional instruments, and features random howling- it provides a really haunting, frightening atmosphere that gives the game a seriousness that other games lack, with their rock soundtracks. Stages taking place on wind-swept beaches or rice-fields, where you can only hear a couple of instruments and the wind itself- it's really, REALLY cool. This game, when it was released, had the best graphics, character design AND music in the Fighting Game genre.

The game's character designs were so good that it didn't just have a ninja- it had a ninja so awesome-looking that Ryu Hayabusa would kill to look half as cool. Hattori Hanzo (named for the famous samurai/ninja in real life) looked incredibly wicked. And even though it featured a Head Swap (Hanzo/Galford), the two fought so differently (one, for example, uses a Wolf as a fighting partner), and weren't the Main Characters, and so they felt very apart from the usual cliche (neither is a "Shotoclone" copycat of Ryu, for example). They have two girl fighters, however one is cutesy but deadly (carrying a blade and having an ANIMAL SIDEKICK that helps her fight), and the other epic in her own right- a bitching, bad-ass Lady Fencer with a full breastplate (mmmm... full armor...), the most stylish boots ever, and an imperious, arrogant attitude that just DOES IT RIGHT, y'know?

I remember renting the first game for the SNES- the one thing that struck me the most was the announcer. It was the first time I heard "real" Japanese spoken, for the most part. But in this epic, halting tone, shouting things like "SHEE-RAN-WEEEEEEEEEEE GEN-AN!" for a character. I heard "Engrish" for the first time, but it sounded COOL instead of silly, with "AAATHUQUAKE!" and "GALUFORDO!". It was where I learned that not every name pronounced every syllable- "Nakoruru" sounded more like "Na-KOH-Rur", for example. Oh, and the whole "surname first" thing, which is of course common in Japanese, and I'd HEARD of it, but this was the first time I'd actually heard it spoken out loud. I hadn't quite gotten into my anime fandom yet, but this was really... different. This wasn't like any other game out there.

As the first real blade-themed fighter, it innovated like nuts- each character had their own distinctive weapon, making for some intensely damaging (and bloody- in the era before Mortal Kombat!) fighting. And if you and your opponent struck at the same time, your weapons could clash, resulting in someone actually LOSING their blade, and having to go get it back, lest their fighting be hampered! The sprites are HUGE, but when you walk away from each other, the screen zooms out, rendering your sprites smaller. Otherwise, it's your typical SNK fighter, with Power Meters and stuff like that, allowing for Super Moves. You and a bunch of guys are set to go against a weird Final Boss (the feminine Amakusa- again much different from other Bosses, who were typically Big Muscular Men).

The game proved highly popular, being the most stylized of the herd during an era that featured DOZENS of cartoon-animated Fighting Games. While King of Fighters became more important to SNK, and Street Fighter ruled the roost, Samurai Shodown maintained a respect that few could muster. It won a ton of industry awards, and awed most of the people who saw it. Conversions for the home systems were aplenty (though some tooked out the huge Earthquake character due to memory limitations- this game was INTENSELY graphical and was hard to fit onto home consoles). 

A sequel came out the following year, dropping only one character (poor Tam Tam!) and adding some EPIC new ones, like Genjuro, one of the most bad-ass looking video game characters in history. Samurai Shodown II was even more popular than the first, but as the eras were switching over, and the new systems weren't focused on 2-D Fighters anymore, it went a while before getting home console releases. It was more of the same, but better in every way, with great new characters and some new moves. Here, the demonic female Mizuki was the Final Boss, having been awakened by Amakusa's defeat.

Samurai Shodown III followed in 1995, changing the graphical engine to be more advanced- these new, smoother characters looked EVEN BETTER than before, though the more comedic characters have been exiled. The plotline is actually set BETWEEN Samurai Shodown I and II, and our new "Main Character" is Shizumaru Hisame, a young boy with tremendous hidden power. Some modifications to the system included "Slash" and "Bust" options for each character- "Slash" represents the demon Asura, who fought "be nature" (translation: good guy). "Bust" ("Rasetsu" in Japan- similar to "Rakshasa"), and is of evil intent- these characters are more aggressive. This gives each fighter two options in terms of fighting, though many moves were the same. But in Fighting Games, minor modifications to stats, regular attacks and Special Moves can make a competitive character fight in an entirely different matter. 

This game did well enough, but the era of the 2-D Fighter was coming to a close, and the new fighters (like Nakoruru's sister, Rimururu) didn't set the world on fire. The game received only moderate reviews. The ports were REALLY bad, as the PlayStation's vaunted graphical power really couldn't get a handle on 2-D Fighters (it was designed for 3-D, and the Saturn, which was more capable of 2-D, was actively failing as a system).

Samurai Shodown IV came out in 1996, and was the last game in that era. It kept the graphical engine, but allowed for sillier characters once more. A pair of Ninja brothers, Kazuki & Sogetsu Kazama, are our new "Main Characters". Alas, this was the era of Street Fighter Alpha, and Capcom had now become the masters of "Good Graphics" in 2-D Animation- SNK's best stuff used to be better than anything in Street Fighter, but the new engine Capcom was using just kicked the crap out of even Samurai Shodown, and they never looked back. After this point, SNK games just looked dated by contrast. As you might imagine, the game did okay, but not great, and they made no more in this era.

A pair of sequels were added only in the modern era, first with Samurai Shodown V in 2005, an updated version (SSV: Special) following closely. Samurai Shodown Sen came out in 2008, and was meant to be a bit of a cap-off to the series, but didn't do terribly well. Going back to 3-D and adding things like major Fatalities (complete with characters screaming in agony instead of cartoonishly being cut in half) seemed to be in poor taste. Fighters Generation and other sites gave it pretty terrible reviews.

Samurai Shodown 64 was an ill-advised 1997 3-D Fighting Game, SNK's first attempt at remaking their older games in the new style, and was exclusive to the Neo-Geo 64 system. It was never released for other consoles. Chronologically, it took place one year after Samurai Shodown II. 1998 saw Samurai Shodown 64: Warrior's Rage appear for the same system- it received little distribution elsewhere. Both games are little-thought-of, and feature a largely-new cast. Another game called Samurai Shodown: Warrior's Rage came out for the PS2 in 1999, and is set twenty years after the main storyline.
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Ken
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Ken »

Wow, a fighting game I've actually played. Granted, I think I was still in my 20s, but still.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Dear God... Ukyo's Stage: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bGDAoIHSSEw


SO MUCH STYLE!!
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

So, for those who’ve played at least one of the games: Who’re your favorite characters? It’s hard to pick since there’s so many great characters,but I’ll list off a few of mine:

Galford (and Poppy)
Haohmaru (that Standing Heavy Slash, man)
Charlotte
Nakoruru & Rimururu
Ukyo
Hanzo

And all the bosses are great, but frustrating. And man, Draco from Sen is so broken, like most gun-wielding
fighting game bosses:
http://youtu.be/awBRLD6Ju4s
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (The Circus of Crime! Chtylok! Millie the Model!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Some Notes about the different styles of these fighters:
* The focus on weapons means that guys have MUCH more range, easily striking people from 3/4 the way across the screen. A few characters have short swords or daggers, but many are sporting naginatas, huge scimitars, or other insanely-large weapons.

* The damage output is considerably higher- a Big Guy Fighter in most games does +4-6 Unarmed Damage, but these guys end up adding WEAPONS to that damage, meaning guys can routinely do more damage than a Street Fighter guy's Special Moves with their basic attacks! The game reflects this, as fighters can easily demolish each other with a combo or two. This means the game itself is more hit-and-run, and you must be more careful.

* The number of recurring characters means there's actually quite a few PL 9s compared to other Fighting Games, which frequently drops goofs between games. Tam Tam is the only guy who misses the sequel, though Earthquake, Gen-An and others miss later games.

* However, it's a bit short on "Main Characters"- Haohmaru is a clear major star, but Nakoruru is more of his assistant against the villains, not a powerhouse in her own right. Other recurring characters (Hanzo, Galford) take a side role, more akin to Sonya Blade & Johnny Cage than Street Fighter's more important members, like Chun-Li, Guile & Ken, who are all equivalent to Ryu.
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