Jab’s Builds! (Lawnmower Man! Samus Aran! Metroids!)

[Ken]

I'm with Ares. I liked Superboy. Maybe because I was already an adult when he was introduced so the ridiculous "trying to act like a cool teen" (while being written by someone in their 30s) worked for me.

Especially because I understood one basic thing. He was a toddler in a teenager's body. Of course things are going to be off.

The fact that Impulse was also a teenaged toddler is part of what made Young Justice so fun.

The Radium Age Conner... that version I hated. The brooding. The stupid "Superman and Lex are my dads" thing.

So, yeah. Pretty much exactly what Ares said.

[Jabroniville]

She looks like a different character in like, every picture.

ANIMA (Courtney Mason)
Created By: Paul Witcover & Elizabeth Hand
First Appearance: New Titans Annual #9 (1993)
Role: Teen Runaway
Group Affiliations: Titans East
PL 8 (121)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 6 (+8)
Perception 6 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Animus Attacks) 6 (+8)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Aviation of Animus" Flight 5 (60 mph) [10]
"The Armor of Animus" Protection 4 [4]

"The Wrath of Animus" Mental Blast 8 (32) -- [37]

• AE: "Animus Manifest" Summon Animus 10 (Extras: Heroic +2) (Flaws: Feedback) (30)
• AE: "The Arms of Animus" Strength-Damage +2 (2)
• AE: "Animus Embodied" Move Object 8 (Extras: Damaging) (24)
• AE: "Energy For Animus" Affliction 8 (Fort; Fatigued/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Cumulative, Ranged) (24)
• AE: "The Hunger of Animus" Weaken Stamina 8 (Extras: Ranged) (16)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Arms of Animus +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Wrath of Animus -- (+8 Perception-Ranged Will Damage, DC 23)
Energy For Animus +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Hunger of Animus +8 (+8 Ranged Weaken, DC 18)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +4 (+8 Armor of Animus), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Enemy (Father- The Nameless One)

Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 51 / Defenses: 11 (121)

-The character Anima was created by a duo of Sci-Fi/Fantasy authors, and was one of the "New Blood" of superhumans- gaining powers by way of parasitic aliens and luck (a genetic lottery that let some people gain super-powers instead of dying)- Garth Ennis's Tommy "Hitman" Monaghan being the only one of these to find a measure of success. Courtney Mason was a teenage girl who was thus attacked and empowered in this Bloodlines crossover, gaining the powers of "mankind's rage and masculine drive", making her a powerhouse. As her story was a New Titans tale, she teamed up with them and faced off against the aliens. She decided to become a wanderer, and was prominent in DC's 1993 Bloodbath Limited Series. Shockingly, she was given a SOLO BOOK in late '93, lasting for sixteen issues.

-Animus was themed around beings who embodied the Jungian archetypes of human psychology- Animus being only one of them. The series, which seemed destined to be unpopular, being both pretentiously esoteric (JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES?) AND featuring a Bloodlines character, featured a supporting cast so big that Animus herself often appeared for only a few pages. She ended up teaming with her sister Eris into the "Syzygy" to fight their father, The Nameless One. She appeared infrequently since then- typically only in "hey, remember?" scenes- she was badly injured at the end of a Titans East Special as a potential member of Cyborg's new group. She was rendered comatose, but recovered in order to fight Prometheus... and was immediately sliced in half by him teleporting. Yes, after all that history, she managed to avoid the "Superboy-Prime Single-Panel Death" of most of the Bloodlines characters, only to be casually murdered years later. Because comics!

-oh thank God- Kreuzritter did a build. Now I can just rip off all of his work, as his is clearly WAY more elaborate than mine, and actually based off of reading the books instead of looking at a sub-par Wikipedia bio. However, Kreuz's focus is always on playable, well-rounded builds, which I don't have to bother with, so I made a PL 8, somewhat-limited character. However, this kind of thing should make any GM pause for a bit- Summons, Perception-Range Anything and attacks that target multiple different saves require a BIT of thought before allowing.

[Corrigon]

I know it was pretty short, but I did enjoy the Jeff Parker Superboy run that got curtailed by new 52.

Admittedly the powers were still as defined by Geoff Johns, but I enjoyed the more macabre Smallville vibe.

[Ken]

She looks like a different character in like, every picture.

In this one she actually looks like a heroine. Was it ever actually used?

[Tattooedman]

She looks like a different character in like, every picture.

In this one she actually looks like a heroine. Was it ever actually used?

I believe that was used for her Titans run.

[Ares]

God, Animus was such a weird character. I have her appearances during the original Bloodlines series, and read about her solo book, and it's all just so weird. Most Bloodlines fairly easily explained powers: most of them got some degree of enhanced strength, stamina, agility, etc., and then usually one main power. Mongrel could project energy, Joe Public could absorb the stamina of those around him to increase his own abilities, Gunfire could agitate the molecules of what he touched to turn said object into a weapon, etc.

Anima initially had the power to absorb the life energy of others, and then use that life energy to fire bolts of energy, fly, increase her abilities, etc. So far so good. But she could also use it to summon some giant red Hulk-type monster that who spoke in what I can only imagine is what New England types think Southern "trailer trash" talks like. And then she could create armor around herself with blades on it, just because. Then she could specifically draw the powers from other people and feed them into Animus, making him amaze-balls powerful. And then there was the solo-book about Jungian Archetypes and it just went dumber from there.

They either needed to pair down her abilities into something manageable, or offer some kind of explanation for them. Something like she generates ectoplasm and shapes it into objects, creatures or simple ranged attacks would work, along with the limit that it drains her own energy to use the power, so she absorbs energy from others to power her abilities, as well as to live. Make her a mystical Green Lantern type with a dash of Rogue thrown in there.

[Shock]

She looks like a different character in like, every picture.

In this one she actually looks like a heroine. Was it ever actually used?

Is that about 60% body paint?

[catsi563]

Interesting I wonder if animus was the inspiration for Halo the new character in YJO?

[KorokoMystia]

Interesting I wonder if animus was the inspiration for Halo the new character in YJO?

Isn't Halo a pre-existing character from the Outsiders?

[greycrusader]

Halo is pre-existing, though she, Geo-Force, and Forager were all given new visual designs for the YJ series.

All my best.

[Jabroniville]

STEEL IV (Natasha Irons, aka Vaporlock, Starlight)
Created By: Louise Simonson & Chris Batista
First Appearance: Steel #1 (Feb. 1994- as Natasha), Action Comics #806 (Oct. 2003- as Steel)
Role: Legacy Hero, Annoying Teenage Daughter, Powersuit User
Group Affiliations: The Titans, Infinity Inc., Team Superman
PL 9 (147)
STRENGTH 0/9 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 2 (+4)
Perception 5 (+5)
Technology 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Steel Armor" (Flaws: Removable) [71]
Enhanced Strength 9 (18)
Protection 7 (Extras: Impervious 11) (18) -- (19)

• AE: "Giant Size" Growth 10 (45 feet) (20)

Flight 8 (500 mph) (16)
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (2)
"Rivet Gun" Blast 8 (Extras: Multiattack) (24)
"Sensors" Senses 3 (Direction Sense, Analytical Vision) (3)
Immunity 7 (Heat, Cold, Pressure, Radiation, Vacuum, Drowning & Suffocation) (7)
-- (88 points)

"Sledgehammer" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [16]
"Thrown Hammer" Blast 12 (Feats: Extended Range 2) (Quirks: Does Less Damage at Closer Ranges -1) (25) -- (26 points)

• AE: "Melee Hammer" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Penetrating 8) (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Steel Strength +7 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Growth +7 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Hammer +6 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +2 (+9 Armor, +11 Growth, +6 Impervious), Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Relationship (Family)- Natasha is close with her uncle John, but they later had a falling out. Her father was the supervillain Crash, who later disappears.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 87 / Defenses: 11 (147)

-The niece of John Henry Irons, aka Steel, Natasha was a supporting character in his solo book. Level-headed and practical (compared to her brother Jemahl), she mysteriously got aged about three years during the first couple years on the book, likely because writers found it hard to place a 13-year old in certain stories. When Christopher Priest took over Steel, he apparently "radically altered" the character (this description appears on Wikipedia), as she becomes a more adversarial, stereotypical teenager with a bratty attitude and a flippand demeanor. Her father turns into the supervillain Crash, who later gets written out of comics. The mega-arc Our Worlds At War features Natasha becoming a legacy character, wearing armor that tapes into the Entropy Aegis of Darkseid, and she fights alongside the Superman Family characters. With her uncle badly injured, he builds a new suit of armor for her to use, and she becomes the new Steel.

-However, this is a VERY short-lived role, as within a few years, she has a falling out with her uncle over the perceived "self-absorbed narcissism" of DC's superheroes. Out of spite, she joins Lex Luthor's "Everyman Project" during 52, empowering herself as Starlight when John refuses to rebuild her dismantled armor. She even beats him severely! However, she soon learns the error of her ways (given that her boss is LEX LUTHOR), and tries acting as a mole against him, but is herself beaten by Lex. She gains a new set of armor from John after Luthor takes away her Starlight powers. In a renewed Infinity Inc. series, she is instead called Vaporlock, after its discovered that the "Everyman" people are all feeling side-effects- her powers are now to transform into a cloud of gas. After this, she gets mixed up in a government conspiracy and is generally a background character.

-It really, REALLY seems like Natasha is one of those "Whatever the writer needs" kinds of characters, turning from a practical kid into a bratty one to serve Priest's writing, and then an unruly Teen Superhero when they needed that. Having THREE SETS OF POWERS in about six years of continuity is also a disastrous thing in a genre where consistency is important (if infrequent).

-Natasha is a bit dumb and naive, but packs the mighty "Steel" Powersuit, which upgrades her to a PL 9 superhero in spite of her lack of skills. And somehow, that suit can GROW, because John was REALLY smart, and could arbitrarily break the laws of physics- it doesn't overly change her stats all that much (or else she'd do it ALL THE TIME), but it's something.

STARLIGHT (Natasha Irons, aka Vaporlock, Steel III)
Created By: Louise Simonson & Chris Batista
First Appearance: Steel #1 (Feb. 1994- as Natasha), Action Comics #806 (Oct. 2003- as Steel)
Role: Legacy Hero, Annoying Teenage Daughter, Powersuit User
Group Affiliations: The Titans, Infinity Inc., Team Superman
PL 8 (119)
STRENGTH 0/8 STAMINA 2/8 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 2 (+4)
Perception 5 (+5)
Technology 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Everyman Project Powers"
Enhanced Strength 8 [16]
Enhanced Stamina 6 [12]
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]

"Light Flashes"
Force Field +0 (Extras: Affects Others 8, Ranged 8) (16) -- [17]

• AE: "Force Field Trap" Snare 8 (16)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Starlight Strength +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Force Field Trap +6 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +8, Fortitude +10, Will +5

Complications:
Relationship (Family)- Natasha is close with her uncle John, but they later had a falling out. Her father was the supervillain Crash, who later disappears.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 14--7 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 59 / Defenses: 11 (119)

-Starlight is a much weaker hero than Steel III, like most of the "Everyman" users. Vaporlock's powers are to transform into a Gaseous Substance, which is only Insubstantial 2. I'm not really sure how offensively-powerful she was supposed to be.

[KorokoMystia]

Looking at the builds for Kon-El and Steel III makes me realize that now you've stated all the replacement Supermen from the "Reign of the Supermen" except the Cyborg Superman now, I think. (since I noticed that you'd statted John Henry Irons and the Eradicator in the past)

[Ken]

Is that about 60% body paint?

Or she uses a LOT of spirit gum.

[Jabroniville]

THE BLUE BEETLE III (Jaime Reyes)
Created By: Keith Giffen, John Rogers & Cully Hammer
First Appearance: Infinite Crisis #3 (Feb. 2006)
Role: Minority Legacy Hero
Group Affiliations: The Justice League of America, The Teen Titans
PL 10 (139)
STRENGTH 2/6 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Perception 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Cannon) 3 (+8)
Technology 3 (+4)

Advantages:
Extraordinary Effort, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"The Scarab"
Features 1: Quick Change (Changes to Blue Beetle as a Free Action) [1]
Enhanced Strength 4 [8]
Flight 6 (120 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [6]
Senses 12 (Analytical Hearing & Sight, Vision Counters Illusion & Concealment, Danger Sense, Darkvision, Radius Sight) [12]
"Infiltrator Mode" Morph 1 (Larger Mode- Higher Strength, No Weapons) (Extras: Metamorph) [6]
Protection 4 [4]
Immunity 1 (Heat) [1]

"Energy Cannon" Blast 11 (22) -- [26]

• AE: "Sword & Shield" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) & Impervious Toughness 11 (Flaws: Distracting) (10)
• AE: "Grappling Hook" Movement 1 (Swinging) (2)
• AE: "Communications Satellite" Communication 3 (Electronic) (12)
• AE: "Adaptation" Nullify Powers 10 (Extras: Broad- Energy Effects) (Flaws: Touch Range) (10)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Suit +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Infiltrator Mode +8 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Blades +8 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Energy Cannon +8 (+11 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Nullify +8 (+10 Nullify, DC 20)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+8 Scarab Protection, +5 Impervious), Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Relationship (Traci Thirteen)
Responsibility (Human Life)- Jaime does not wish to kill anybody, stating that the Scarab is like a "WMD".
Responsibility (The Natural World)- The Scarab appears unwilling to damage nature, and may refuse to assault things like anthropomorphized trees.
Enemy (The Black Beetle)- An enemy of Jaime's from the future often arrives to attack him.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 64 / Defenses: 14 (139)

-See, when you want to replace a dead hero with a Legacy that's also a minority to try to showcase some diversity in a fairly whitewashed line, THIS is how you're supposed to do it. Jaime Reyes felt like he was EVERYWHERE for a while- he joined the team books, he teamed up with guys, he showed up in the cartoons (like The Brave and the Bold)- THIS is a Character Push. Unfortunately, the push eventually petered out after a few years as the main writers left (Giffen earlier, Rogers later on to work on a TV series)- Dan DiDio, friend to comics fans everywhere, said that the book had high expectations, "but lost its audience along the way". 39 or so issues is about as good as you're gonna get out of a modern new character these days, even if he IS a legacy (and it's not like Ted Kord had a lot of cred as a top-seller).

-Jaime Reyes is a Mexican-American kid who found Dan Garrett's old Scarab and became empowered- after a few token team-ups with big-name heroes, he revealed his Secret ID to his friends and family (I think many comic book writers are tired of that trope by now), and became a superhero in the Midwest. Fans seemed to like him well enough- he did the "Everyman Hero" thing fairly well, and rather that shit all over his predecessor (as a handful of "Replacement Heroes" do these days), he actually TALKS UP the deceased Ted Kord, which did a lot to endear him to fans of the old Blue Beetle- wayyyyyyyyyyyy too many Replacement Heroes these days do the opposite, which only pisses off fans of the old character and creates a backlash against the newbie, who thus never gets a fair shot (Hal Jordan/Kyle Rayner, Thor/JaneThor, etc.).

-During the course of his book, he hints at a relationship with ally Traci Thirteen, deals with the builders of the Scarab (aliens called The Reach, who appear to dislike The Controllers, who created the Darkstars). Captured by The Reach, he has the scarab removed... but it reveals its sentience, and it sides with Jaime against its masters and their hive-mind- combined, they team up with old members of Kord's version of the Justice League (Fire & Ice, Guy Gardner & Booster Gold), saving the day. Later, he & Booster rescue Ted from certain death, but this creates a dystopia in the future, as Maxwell Lord was thus never discovered by Kord- Ted willingly accepts his own death, and returns to die like before.

-Jaime joins the Teen Titans' revolving roster for a while, kind of popping up off and on, as the writers there probably weren't able to mess around with him too much, since he had his own book. Jaime seems popular-ish, and the book seems to have had some funny bits with his supporting cast, but the stories in general don't seem that interesting (at least going by his Way-Too-Detailed Wikipedia page). A New 52 version was cancelled after about a year and a half, showing the problem with having the character continue on. Appearances in cartoons seem to be the extent of his pop culture impact, too. In the DC "Rebirth", he and Ted are contemporaries, and they discover that... the Scarab is magical after all, and not alien, thus retconning Jaime's ENTIRE SOLO BOOK.

-Jaime is a "Rookie Hero With Tremendous Power", earning PL 9-9.5 status. His suit often has Variable-ish qualities thanks to the "unknown quantity" stuff it has (adaptive abilities, etc.), but its high-powered, can Morph to a larger form that puts the Scarab in control (neither Jaime nor the Scarab like that), and can cut through stuff pretty good.

[Jabroniville]

VULCAN (Miguel Devante, aka Mikey, Son of Vulcan II)
Created By: Scott Beatty & Keron Grant
First Appearance: Son of Vulcan #1 (Aug. 2005)
Role: Legacy Character
Group Affiliations: Titans East

-uhhhhhh the WHAT? A guy named Vulcan, from a book called Son of Vulcan, who's a Legacy Character of an old Charlton hero... NONE OF WHICH I'VE EVER HEARD OF? Truly bizarre.

-Miguel "Mikey" Devante gained his powers from the Metagene infused into humanity by the White Martians- he debuts when a little-known hero named Vulcan is fighting the Floronic Man. A mere bystander, he grabs Vulcan's sword and slashes off one of the Floronic Man's arms- Vulcan thus immediately makes the boy his sidekick and successor... which comes in handy, when Vulcan is IMMEDIATELY killed by a White Martian. He does some hero stuff for like five seconds before his book is forgotten. His only resurfacing in standard continuity was as a member of Titans East- recruited but then immediately wiped out by the Sons of Trigon, who leave him and his team for dead- Power Boy is killed, while the rest are comatose. He's a one-off in the "New 52", being stalled by Deadshot while pursuing another villain.

-Miguel is apparently a Fire Blaster-type of character, wearing body armor that generates Force Fields. His sword is a "Translucent Monomolecular Blade" that of course can "cut through anything".