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

[Jabroniville]

Finally back from the Calgary Comic Expo. A pretty weak showing this time around, though I guess Michael J. Fox finally being able to make it is good. The whole Back To The Future cast is a solid get.

COREY FELDMAN having the biggest line by far was a surprise. As was his super douchey jet-Black hair with a long strand running down the front.

Pamela Anderson has a pretty short line, which was kind of a shock. But her prime was a LONG time ago, and she’s known only for fanservice.

Saw a girl I had a MONSTROUS crush on (huuuuge Disney fan; I asked her out but she had a boyfriend), with her guy, so I guess I have closure now, lol. She SAID she was gonna meet Zachary Levi, and lo and behold, she got an autograph an hour before closing. Said hi and talked for like a minute. What a whirlwind month THIS has been.

Oddly, Frank Welker and Peter Cullen has a panel that day, but never came to tables to sign stuff. As I only had one day, I never went to any panels.

Most of the booths were very same-y. I guess 7-8 years in, I’m not gonna find much new. The glories of getting older.

Artists Alley did a bit better. Last year they were shoved into a different building without any advertising, so they did poorly. At least now fans are used to it.

The MONSTER blizzard that hit Calgary on the second day probably didn’t help attendance, but I hear Fan Expo is crapping the bed a lot. A van on props next year might finish a lot of booths.

[Jabroniville]

THE MARTIAN MASTERS
Created By: H.G. Wells
First Appearance: Amazing Adventures #18 (May 1973)
Role: Future Conquerers

-The 1970s Killraven feature was a thing back in the day, and oddly used the characters from H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds as the menace that ruled the Earth in this dark future. Fixing their weakness to Earth's microbes, they destroyed humanity's nuclear weapons and transportation systems, eventually taking the entire world. Humanity was turned into a race of slaves, killing all of Earth's superheroes at the same time. Killraven, a gladiator forced to fight for Martian amusement, eventually went "Spartacus" and staged a rebellion- eventually, the Martians were defeated when he and Howard the Duck poisoned their food supply with a zombie plague.

-Martians were telepathic creatures with a few tentacles and sharp beaks.

[KorokoMystia]

Now I'm wondering how one of those famous Martian Tripod Fighting Machines would stack up PL-wise.

[Jabroniville]

So with Mortal Kombat 11 having come out recently, I was looking at its roster, and it has a smaller newcomer list than the last game (only 3 new playable characters, Geras (Sub-Boss that has control over the sands of time), Cetrion (plant-themed Elder Goddess), and the Kollector (creepy four-armed kleptomaniac that serves Shao Kahn), and there is a new unplayable boss character, Kronika), though they did bring back Frost as a cyborg ninja. Of course, there's still DLC to come, likely with guest characters as has become traditions (There's rumors floating around that we'll be getting The Joker, The Terminator, Spawn, and Ash Williams, which would be pretty interesting)

LOL- they're probably gonna be adding DLC for five years, and who knows what number of new moves and plot changes? It might be a LONG time before I feel like doing MK builds again. I'll probably add the two newest Overwatch characters next month, though.

[Jabroniville]

Woman 1: I don't usually go for the brute type... but for him I'd make an exception.
Woman 2: He can brutalize ME any old time he wants.

These lines could be dismissed for being written by men writing for a mostly male audience. I would be inclined to agree with that... had I not heard actual real-life women say almost the exact same things about Chris Brown after he beat up Rihanna. It's just a fact of life -- there are people out there who will overlook bad behaviour if the perpetrator is hot enough.

-From an online review of this issue

MICAH SYNN
Created By: William Johnson & Dennis O'Neil
First Appearance: Daredevil #202 (Jan. 1984)
Role: White African Tribal Leader
Group Affiliations: The Kingjorje Tribe
PL 8 (101)
STRENGTH 5 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+11)
Deception 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Survival) 8 (+8)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Persuasion 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Stealth 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Attractive, Benefit (Fame), Fast Grab, Improved Hold, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Tracking

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Power & Dominance)- Synn hails from a tribe where it's "Kill or be killed", and thus asserts dominance in every aspect of his life. He assaults anyone who talks down to him, takes any woman he chooses, and doesn't listen to advice.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 13 (101)

-Now THIS name I've been thinking about ever since I saw it on "The List", being so weird. Though... he's a pretty minor dude. He's the descendent of English settlers who found themselves stranded on a deserted African island, which caused them to become savage, tribal and "Kill or be killed". So, like, the writers probably thought it was SUPER FUNNY to have a bunch of white guys act out the worst stereotypes typically perscribed to "Deepest Darkest Africa". Except this guy's a recurring character. He arrived in New York, becoming an instant celebrity and getting Nelson & Murdock to represent him. However, his "savage, tribal ways" made him a public nuisance as well (he refused to pay vendors), and then he started sleeping with Foggy Nelson's WIFE, causing their public divorce! I mean... WTF? THAT'S why Foggy got divorced?

-Synn ended up a frequent adversary of Daredevil's around this time- this is AFTER the Frank Miller run, making me wonder what in the hell contemporary fans thought of this nonsense replacing Miller's intense, mature stories about lost love and ninjas. Hilariously, he is about to work with the Kingpin, but Fisk is SUPER OFFENDED that Synn is playing about with another man's wife. Like, fidelity is of the utmost importance to criminal gangs, of course, and soon the Kingpin ALLIES WITH DAREDEVIL to get rid of this obviously-horrendous threat. Foggy's wife is revealed in due course to be a gold-digging sleaze-bag (reviewers compare her pretty much with Lady Macbeth, the most infamous example of this character type ever), only with Foggy for the social-climbing aspects and being putty in the hands of Alpha Males over Nice Guys.

-Synn was eventually brought low by the poor diet and polluted environment of New York City, eventually losing a fight to three homeless people and being saved by Daredevil. Goofy, goofy storyline. The character ultimately meant nothing except for a reason to break up Foggy and his wife, and has never reappeared. I mean, they avoid most of the troubles of making an African Savage such a thoughtless brute by making him a "Surprise!! White guy!", but the whole notion that two centuries on a deserted island (the comic repeatedly emphasizes AFRICA, as if the region itself can make you evil) can make you go all cartoonish Lord of the Flies is hilarious.

-Synn is a simple-minded enough guy, but depicted as being rather clever in his own way, and having a lot of physical charisma- women sway over his brutish ways because he's hot (pretty true to life of both sexes, honestly). His raw size and athleticism makes him trouble for even a guy like Daredevil, especially since he has his own gang of tribesmen with him a lot of the time. Getting the drop on DD more than once is all that lets him win, though.

[greycrusader]

Did the writers ever explain the guy having super-strength (albeit at a low level)? I mean from your build, Michah Synn is stronger than Captain America- he can lift over 1500 lbs! Then again, the Kingpin somehow used to fight Spider-Man on an even basis and shrugged off having a fricking building dropped on him despite have no super-powers. Because comics.

And yeah, there are definitely women AND men who are willing to give a pass to rotten behavior from "hot" potential mates, because of both biological and and social reasons. Although women tend to grow out of this faster than guys-men tend to remain pretty visual creatures, while gals usually get past the whole "bad boy show of dominance" sort of thing once they're out of their twenties, at most. And this is still a small MINORITY of men and women, and usually only fleeting observations-its one thing to fantasize about being with an abusive but charismatic mate and another to actually BE abused in a relationship.

All my best.

[Jabroniville]

Did the writers ever explain the guy having super-strength (albeit at a low level)? I mean from your build, Michah Synn is stronger than Captain America- he can lift over 1500 lbs! Then again, the Kingpin somehow used to fight Spider-Man on an even basis and shrugged off having a fricking building dropped on him despite have no super-powers. Because comics.

I dunno- it's just that weird thing where a guy is super-large, and suddenly he's this impossibly-strong threat, despite Captain America (said to be as strong as any human, ever) never QUITE overpowering his foes the same way.

[Jabroniville]

MANTOR THE MAGICIAN
Created By: Al Gabrielle
First Appearance: Human Torch Comics #2 (Fall 1940)
Role: Magic Hero
Group Affiliations: None

-For some reason, "Generic Magician" is one of the most commonly-copied hero archetypes of the 1940s, despite the fact that only a few were ever that popular. You'd figure there'd be way more Flash, Superman & Batman knock-offs, but I guess those are rather specific and thus more prone to litigation. "Magician" is generic enough that the thousands of Mandrake knock-offs come and go without a peep. Mantor's first and only appearance involved saving a suicidal woman and discovering that her mansion was only "haunted" with the butler and gardener, who were hoping to drive her mad. His powers seem to include transmutation (he turns weapons into harmless objects), self-duplication, and object creation. Marvunapp suggests that his powers could be explained as those of an Eternal, as he typically did not do "Magician" gestures or phrases while using his abilities.

[Shock]

saving a suicidal woman and discovering that her mansion was only "haunted" with the butler and gardener, who were hoping to drive her mad.

Ah, the ole Scooby Doo trick

[Jabroniville]

MINDSTORM I (Real Name Unknown)
Created By: Archie Goodwin, Gerry Conway & Don Perlin
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes #4 (Dec. 1990)
Role: Assassin

-The mysterious Mindstorm is an assassin who used a long career working for HYDRA, A.I.M. and others to good use, acting as an independent assassin. He used psychology, drugs and hypnosis to get his victims, but when he shot Spider-Man with a dart full of drugs, he was shot and killed by Nick Fury. The rest of the issue of his debut features Spider-Man going on a drug-fueled rampage, while S.H.I.E.L.D. races against time to come up with an antidote, as all of Mindstorm's other victims ended up dead. Finally, Nick uses Mindstorm's own weapon to fire a dart into Spidey, saving the hero's life.

-Mindstorm seems to mainly use his "Drug-Dart Gun" in combat, but is said to be a hypnotist, a scientist, and more. He presumably doesn't have that high a Dodge, given that... well, he got shot and died.

[Jabroniville]

MORDRED THE EVIL
Created By: Stan Lee & Joe Maneely
First Appearance: Black Knight #1 (May 1955)
Role: Villain Who Can Do Whatever
Group Affiliations: Probably Some Demon or Something (seriously, all these stories are similar)
PL 9 (146)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+8)
Deception 7 (+9)
Expertise (Magic) 6 (+10)
Expertise (Knight) 7 (+9)
Insight 4 (+7)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Perception 2 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Magic) 2 (+8)

Advantages:
Equipment (Armor, Sword +3), Improved Critical (Magical Attacks), Ranged Attack 2, Ritualist

Powers:
"Magical Senses" Senses 5 (Detect Magic- Acute, Analytical & Ranged) [5]
"Whatever Powers The Write Tought Of- I Dunno, F*** Off" Variable 7 [49]

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Sword +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Magic Stuff +8 (+8-14 Damage, Probably Ranged, DC 23-29)
Other Magic Stuff +8 (Probably Afflictions and Junk)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (Probably Has a Force Field or Something Dumb), Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Relationship (Morgan Le Fay)- The two are lovers, though Morgan is usually a solo operative.
Enemy (Dane Whitman)- He's all "I HATE YOU DANE! FREAKING! WHITMAN!!"
Power Loss (Magic)- Casting magical spells requires some freedom of movement, and sometimes even speech. Binding a Wizard's hands, body or mouth may impede certain spells. Or not.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 54 / Defenses: 10 (146)

-Mordred (unrelated to magic-using anti-hero Modred, who is probably why we never, ever see this character anymore) is a character from Arthurian myth- the illegitimate son of King Arthur and his sister Morgause. He was one of Arthur's Knights of Camelot after having been rescued as an infant (Merlin warned Arthur that Mordred would be the end of Camelot- the child was left to die, but was rescued by an unknowing couple and raised elsewhere). He was a recurring threat to the Black Knight, Sir Percy, in his 1950s series (one of few Marvel ongoings with staying power in that decade). In the final moments of Sir Percy's story, he and Arthur are both fatally wounded by Mordred, who himself dies as well.

-The character is resurrected by Celtic "Nether Gods" in modern times, and he faces the new Black Knight, Dane Whitman. He also fights The Defenders and Prester John, and eventually becomes the lover of Morgan Le Fay. He was last seen helping her at the start of the Busiek/Perez Avengers, changing Earth into a medieval-style world, but pretty much vanished from comics after that.

[Jabroniville]

So the Comic Expo caused some delays in my build posting, as I kind of lost track of where I was at in the list, but I'm about up to where I should be now. The "M" section has a LOT of "just bios" characters, many of which I discovered just as I was finishing, so it created a lot of "filler" in my posting list. And I'm trying to be more mindful of just spamming stuff out, while also wanting to give at least an interesting bio or two each day.

[Doc chaos]

Have you seen Endgame?

[Jabroniville]

Nope- not yet. The Comic Expo and spending time in Calgary, combined with working late shifts, messed with my schedule a lot.

And hey- look! I checked my "Builds To Do" list, which details when I last posted certain things, and it's now been about FIVE YEARS since GreenRonin dropped the ATT forums and went with Ronin Army! Their awful, buggy, four-images-only forum of messed-up nonsense, lol.

(still bugs me they locked out the PMs so I can't read what people asked me anymore)

[SolarOracle]

Nope- not yet. The Comic Expo and spending time in Calgary, combined with working late shifts, messed with my schedule a lot.

And hey- look! I checked my "Builds To Do" list, which details when I last posted certain things, and it's now been about FIVE YEARS since GreenRonin dropped the ATT forums and went with Ronin Army! Their awful, buggy, four-images-only forum of messed-up nonsense, lol.

(still bugs me they locked out the PMs so I can't read what people asked me anymore)

Speaking of those, I can't seem to access your builds there anymore. Damn, that's annoying.