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

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Jabroniville
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The Nova Corps.

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE NOVA CORPS.
Role:
Heroic Mooks
PL 9 (167)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 3/8 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Aerobatics 1 (+4)
Expertise (Space Hero) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+3)
Perception 3 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Gravimetric Blasts) 3 (+8)
Technology 2 (+3)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Access to Nova Force"
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
Enhanced Strength 6 [12]
Enhanced Stamina 5 [10]

"Gravimetric Force" Blast 9 (Feats: Penetrating 4) (22) -- [28]
  • AE: "Force Wave" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (18)
  • AE: "Force Line" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (18)
  • AE: "Groundstrike" Affliction 9 (Dodge; Hindered/Prone) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited Degree, Instant Recovery, Limited to Grounded Targets) Linked to Damage 5 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Objects) (9)
  • AE: "Gravity Control" Move Object 10 (Extras: Perception Range) (Flaws: Limited to Up or Down) (20)
  • AE: "High Gravity" Environment 4 (Impede Movement 2) (8)
  • AE: Force Field 2 (Extras: Affects Others 8, Impervious 7) (Flaws: Immobile -2) (8)
"Worldmind Powers"
"Datalink" Communication (Computers) 2 [8]
"Attention Nova Corpsman! It Is Imperative That You Pay Attention At This Time!" Senses 1 (Danger Sense) [1]
Enhanced Will Check 2 (Flaws: Limited to Mental Attacks) [1]

"Nova Uniform" (Flaws: Removable) [24]
Senses 7 (Extended Vision 2 & Infravision, Detect Energy- Acute, Ranged & Tracking) (7)
Immunity 9 (Life Support- Starvation) (9)
Communication 3 (Radio) (Flaws: Distracting) (12)
"Open Stargates" Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (Flaws: Requires Medium- Stargates, Limited to Other Stargates) (1)
Features 1: Quick Change (1)
-- (30 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Nova Punch +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Groundstrike +9 Area (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Blast +8 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Force Beams +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+8 Stamina Boost, +10 Force Field), Fortitude +4/+9, Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility (Space Police)

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 102 / Defenses: 9 (167)

-These are the elite members of the Nova Corps., generally found dying in droves in the background of Space Battles. Hell, when Richard Rider made his debut, they were a largely defunct organization, having been killed years before. And then when it was slowly being rebuilt over the course of the Nova series, it was again slowly wrecked by the alien warlord Kraa. They were all killed with Xandar was destroyed by the Annihilation Wave, but a new batch came into being in the middle part of the Nova solo series, where Richard Rider finally split off some of his tremendous power to allow others (including his brother) to become powerful Space Cops (essentially Green Lanterns). When Sam Alexander became Earth's new Nova, he discovered more recruits, plus the "Supernovas"- a black ops offshoot who turned out to be made up of thieves & criminals.

-PL 9 suits some of the better ones, though some are PL 7s & 8s, and many (like Richard's brother) probably had little Fighting Ability at all to begin with. Their power tends to be pretty high though, as even Rich's brother was able to hold down a Gladiator-class powerhouse for an hour or so with Extra Effort.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by Ares »

Nova is a weird one, as he always felt like he should have been more important than he was treated up until Annihilation. The Nova Corps in general always felt to me like they should have been a bigger deal, though I liked the idea that Marvel had several "smaller" groups all working together to guard the universe rather than a huge group like the Green Lanterns. It helped the two universes feel distinct, where DC had this massive, powerful organization protecting all of known space, while Marvel was this alliance of several organizations all working together to keep space safe, but who each had their own agendas.

At least that's how it should have worked in theory, but it rarely came off that way. Instead, if the Silver Surfer or Quasar wasn't taking care of it, it usually didn't matter.

It also creates kind of a funny thing where Nova is on a team like the New Warriors. It's kind of like when Kyle Rayner was briefly a member of Roy Harper's government sponsored Titans, or when Iron Fist is hanging out with Luke Cage. Kyle's a cosmic superhero with the most powerful weapon in the universe, while Danny is the greatest martial artist on Earth with legit chi powers, heir to a mega-corporation and a lineage of immortal, dragon killing warriors. It's kind of weird that some of their initial exposure was them doing more street level stuff when their origins and power sets seem geared towards more epic stuff.

Richard himself has had his personality shift quite a bit, and of the Warriors he was the one whose personality got changed the most. Vance and Angelica were pretty much the same, Speedball's humor was exaggerated a bit, and Namorita barely had a personality so it was easy to do whatever with her. But Nova ironically had the most exposure, yet had the most radical character change. In his original series Nova was simultaneously both insecure and hot-headed, but always struggled with the right thing to do. He did have a lot of genuine good intentions and an impressive amount of willpower. When the Sphinx beat him bloody, Nova just would not give up, and in a very Ben Grimm moment, the Sphinx had to admit that he could beat Nova physically, but never truly break him.

The New Warriors series tried to justify Nova being the team jock by saying he masked his insecurity at losing his powers by taking on a macho/tough guy attitude, basically overcompensating for losing the only thing he felt he was good at. They problem was that they never really figured out how to pull it off, because what we were likely supposed to get was the idea that Richard was better than he thought he was. That he felt he was unworthy of his power, but that simultaneously he was nothing without it, so he winds up acting like Jack Burton to compensate. The truth being that Rich was a deeply noble person who wanted to help others, do the right thing, protect people, and felt most alive when doing good. He admitted several times that he felt he lived in the shadow of his younger brother, who was a genius that he felt would change the world. Not realizing that his brother admired him for using his powers to help others selflessly.

That kind of character has potential, but unfortunately it was something they could never pull off, as Nova really just came off more like a thick-headed dumbass than a noble guy who was too hard on himself. We needed more scenes of Nova being self-less, of Nova taking a hit for someone, more signs that his courage was due to heroism and not arrogance. Because a lot of scenes that could have shown that Nova was doing what he did to protect others frequently came off like him just being full of himself and believing he could handle anything.

Power Wise, I'm not really a fan of how Nova has become more of a blaster in recent years. I think cosmic types that primarily shoot stuff are a dime a dozen, and liked the fact that the Nova Corps were primarily a bunch of flying bricks with a focus on flying really fast. But there was always a link to 'gravimetric energy', as well as much talk about how much power and potential he had within them. This was sort of cemented in my mind during a scene in that alternate world where Nova wound up unleashing this Nova Burst on Horus and Iron Man.

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The way I'd probably handle their powers would be that the Nova Force generates energy and power similar to a star, being a lot of electromagnetic energy and a lot of gravity. The helmet gives each Nova Corpsman access to communications, a lot of sensory abilities and more fine control over their powers. The default setting for their abilities is some solid flying brick stats, space survival and exceptional flight speed. They can divert some of their energies away from strength and durability to manipulate energy in a variety of ways, such as shields, energy blasts or tractor beams, but doing so makes them physically more vulnerable. The Nova Corps would also have safety levels built into the helmet, which they can unlock in times of desperation. Basically it becomes a Kaioken type effect where they can push themselves by accessing more Nova Force energy, but it starts to wear at them from the inside, and if they overtax their powers they can literally 'Go Nova' and explode. The ultimate expression of the Nova Force would be over-clocking their powers for a Nova Burst energy blast like the one used in the above comic panels that is their sort of desperation move/fight ender, that if used improperly can damage the surrounding areas or kill the user.

I'm also not a fan of the re-designs they've given the Nova Corps since Annihilation. The armored outfit with the glowing chest spheres just screams "trying too hard" and black helmet look is just awful. To me, it's best to stick to something like the outfit he wore for a lot of the New Warriors run, namely a more streamlined version of his classic outfit.

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"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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Jabroniville
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Nova’s Foes

Post by Jabroniville »

NOVA VILLAINS:
-Richard "Don't Call Me Dick" Rider had a little motley crew of baddies in his solo series, but truth be told, they all look a little lame and forgettable. Since the 1970s seemed to be pretty much an era of Journeyman Villains and oddballs, that's par for the course, but I can't imagine it helped the sales of his series, which is why he vanished for like fifteen years before getting another chance.

Here are the guys I statted up only a short while ago:

The Champions of Xandar:
Comet
Crimebuster
Nova-Prime
Powerhouse I (Davan)
Protector

Super-Nova (Garthan Saal)
Jabroniville
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Condor

Post by Jabroniville »

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CONDOR I
Created By:
Marv Wolfman, John Buscema & Joe Sinnott
First Appearance: Nova #2 (Oct. 1976)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Terrible Trio
PL 8 (117)
STRENGTH
8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 8 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Aerobatics 4 (+7)
Deception 4 (+4)
Expertise (Science) 7 (+15)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Perception 3 (+4)
Technology 7 (+15)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
Inventor, Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Avian Physiology"
Flight 6 (120 mph) (Flaws: Winged) [6]
"Wing Wind" Move Object 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (Flaws: Limited to Away, Touch Range) [8]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Motivation (Glory)

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 32--16 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 7 (117)

-Condor is a villain who threatened Nova a bit in his early days- he was a winged criminal who hailed from the Bird-People- an offshoot of the Inhumans (the same group that was later used to explain the Golden Age hero "Red Raven"). He soon joined two other Nova foes in The Terrible Trio, consisting of himself, Diamondhead & Powerhouse. During a battle with The Sphinx, he was transformed into an actual condor, spending years in that form until he found his way to the island of The Ani-Mator's Ani-Mates, where the heroic Bird-Brain transformed him into a humanoid condor. In this form, he confronted Nova, but left frustrated, feeling it had been worthless. In another issue, he was beaten by Nova & Mr. Fantastic, but was abducted from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody by Red Raven, who sought to put him on trial among the Bird-People.

-He's shown up a few other times as a Background Villain (such as at the Negative Zone Prison or at the Pleasant Hill prison), but usually gets trotted out for an appearance every time Nova gets his own book (the '70s, mid '90s and modern era). He's also a super-duper genius (who thinks himself equal to Reed Richards and others). It's too bad he's such a nobody, because "Condor" is one of the cooler animal names, and could really go on a decent character.

-Condor is... a pretty generic Flying Guy, but upgraded his strength to superior levels, making him a decent PL 8 nobody.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Sun Jul 23, 2023 6:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by greycrusader »

The first costume is a little plain-no mask, nothing terribly memorable about the design-but the modern one is just WAAAAY too much; too many clashing features, doesn't really flow, and tries to mix 90s era "edgy" with traditional four-color costume.

And yeah, Condor should have been...something. I mean, one of the earliest black super-villains, cool name, but....he just comes off as a lame Vulture rip-off. And Nova's other recurring enemy, Diamondhead, is pretty much a C-list Sandman knock-off. The Sphinx has NEVER amounted to any kind of major villain, no matter how much Marvel has tried to shill him-the New Warriors story arc was as important as he ever got. So yeah, they're kind of old embarrassments, reminders of how Nova started off as a Spider-Man imitation with Green Lantern's origin story.

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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by Ares »

Man, going through the New Warriors issues shows how bad the book got at a certain point. After the whole arc with Firelord, Airwalker and Supernova, the book really took a down turn, both in art and in story. The angst factor got cranked up to stupid levels and the art is just terrible.

The point I'm at, the Warriors just got into a fight with Namor. Wasn't even the whole roster, just Nova, Speedball, Justice, Firestar and Turbo. They actually got a pretty solid win on him. Then again, Firestar against anyone vulnerable to dehydration is not in favor of the other guy. And Nova is apparently strong enough to not get KOed by a punch from Namor and make Namor feel it when he punches him back. So good on him. Then again, Nova at that point had gotten into a fight with Gladiator as well.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
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KorokoMystia
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

I'm actually surprised that Condor never fought Falcon.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by Ares »

KorokoMystia wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2019 5:23 am I'm actually surprised that Condor never fought Falcon.
Hell, I'm surprised the Falcon never fought the Vulture. But that's how little Nova's villains mattered. The Sphinx was really the only decent one of the bunch.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by Jabroniville »

I feel like Nova started doing a big turnaround in New Warriors right around the "Sphinx" story-arc- it was when fan complaints over Rider's butt-headed characterization (curiously, Nova must have felt like ancient history in 1991, but was only like fifteen years old at the time, compared to something from 2004 seeming like just yesterday to my old ass) might have gotten to Nicieza, and they turned it around.

There was indeed an odd "Power Level Question" going on- in the big Terrax fight only issues later, it's made clear that the Warriors can only kind of hurt Terrax, and that's when going all out. Speedball knocking him for a loop with a Power-Stunt is treated as a great moment, with Nova congratulating him, and Firestar is put over like NUTS with Terrax's "Know that as you die, you have earned my respect!" bit when she continues to fight on courageously despite being nearly dead (though funnily, Mark Bagley clearly drew her nipples out on top of her costume for her big bad-ass moment, turning it into a sexy moment as well, thus conflating the dramatic scene, lol).

But it's Nova of all people who's like "The best way to fight a Herald is to GO GET MORE HELP!" and he buzzes off to draw in the FF, who themselves call in the Silver Surfer. What's great about that bit is that is makes a show of how "minor" the Warriors are on the scene, and how they'll inevitably get one-upped by the "bigger" heroes. And thankfully, while they're bummed and annoyed about this, the creators take care to showcase how they CAN help- they save several civilian lives, the pregnant woman saved by Marvel Boy names her baby boy after him, etc.- Namorita & Firestar even specifically call it out to cheer up Vance, who's all navel-gazing about the pointlessness of it all (Nita's "No, you dork!" call-out is hilarious and endearing).
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Firestar! Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova!)

Post by Ares »

What's also nice about the Terrax fight is that even though the Warriors had to call in the FF for help, they gave a remarkably good account of themselves against a Herald of Galactus. This was back when Heralds were rightly feared as being incredibly dangerous and before every team had at least one Herald level guy on it. The Fantastic Four show up with gear designed to take Terrax down and even they aren't really stopping him, just slowing him down, allowing the Warriors to get a second wind and do some damage before the Surfer shows up. So it lets the FF come off as more experienced, but allows the Warriors to still contribute and not look bad. All in all, the Warriors did about as well as the FF would have done if they'd just been caught flat footed and without any gear.

It was also a nice way to let Nova be "the smart one" by going get help and reminding everyone that, yes, Rich had worked with the FF in the past and could call on them for help.

It was also kind of weird to realize that 2/3rds of the original Warriors could all fly, to the point they joked about it during that X-Force/X-Men crossover. Cannonball is flying out with everyone on the Warrior's team that can fly, glances around and comments, "My team needs more people who can fly". It wasn't until Silhouette and Rage joined that there was an even split of fliers and non-fliers.

Kind of funny that the Warriors didn't have a really dedicated 'tech person'. Vance was a science nerd and Dwayne was a decent computer hacker, but they didn't really have anyone like Tony Stark, Victor Stone, Reed Richard or Peter Parker to do any dedicated science stuff.

This kind of makes me want to see a fight between a classic era New Warriors team and classic era Thunderbolts team plus Jolt. Drawn by Mark Bagley of course, because he's the only one who could do both teams justice. Be interesting to see how that'd play out.
"My heart is as light as a child's, a feeling I'd nearly forgotten. And by helping those in need, I will be able to keep that feeling alive."
- Captain Marvel SHAZAM! : Power of Hope (2000)

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Jabroniville
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The Sphinx (Original)

Post by Jabroniville »

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THE SPHINX I (Anath-Na Mut)
Created By:
Marv Wolfman & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: Nova #6 (Feb. 1977)
Role: The Big Bad (To Nova)
PL 12 (372), PL 14 (372) Defenses
STRENGTH
12/14 STAMINA 15 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+10)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+14)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 8 (+14)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 10 (+12)
Perception 4 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+3)
Technology 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Blasts) 2, Improved Hold, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 10, Ritualist, Startle

Powers:
Immunity 11 (Aging, Life Support) [11]
Impervious Toughness 15 [15]
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]

"The Ka Stone" (Flaws: Removable) [172]
Enhanced Strength 2 (4)
Blast 14 (Feats: Split, Penetrating 8) (37) -- (39)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (Extras: Extended) (30)
  • AE: "Telepathy" Communication (Mental) 2 & Mind Reading 10 (30)
"Reality Warping" Transform 10 (Anything to Anything Else) (Extras: Area- 4 miles +11, Continuous) (170)
Immortality 1 (2)
-- (215 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Blasts +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +15

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +15, Fortitude +15, Will +13

Complications:
Motivation (Death, Power)- The Sphinx either wants to die, or wants to gain more power.

Total: Abilities: 94 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 216 / Defenses: 19 (372)

The Sphinx- Nova's Big Bad Turned FF Foe:
-The Sphinx is effectively Nova's own personal Big Bad from his '70s series, but with the cancellation of Nova's book, he kind of became one of those odd "Recurring Marvel Foes" that ends up in random solo series over time, separated from Nova until he would appear in comics once more. Anath-Na Mut is the magician in the court of Pharaoh Ramesses II in ancient Egypt- he is the magician humiliated in the famous Biblical scene in which Moses challenges Ramesses and defeats the magician in a duel to see whose God is the most powerful. Exiled for his failure, Mut wanders the desert, and ends up finding the Ka Stone, which makes him immortal and gives him great powers. Becoming The Sphinx, he wanders the Earth for thousands of years, eventually becoming bored with immortality and seeks an end to his existence. Discovering that the Nova Corps. have access to their own Living Computer "Worldmind", The Sphinx rationalizes that Nova may hold the key to killing him.

-In The Fantastic Four, he scans minds all over to find another way to kill himself, but ends up finally gaining access to the Worldmind while casually mind-controlling Nova and all his rogues, becoming God-level powerful. And instead of suicide, he now seeks total power- he chooses to DESTROY EARTH, and the only way to stop him is for the FF to make contact with Galactus of all people, begging the Devourer of Worlds for help. And Galactus agrees... so long as Reed Richards gets him a new Herald, and drops their past agreement that Galactus would spare the Earth forever upon Reed saving his life that one time. Reed reluctantly agrees... and so Galactus recruits the alien warlord Terrax and it's a knock-down, drag-out, Mega-Cosmic Fight between these two giants, in one of the peaks of Wolfman's run on FF. Galactus brawls with the Sphinx, actually PHYSICALLY beating him, and finally crushes the Ka Stone, sending his human form back to Ancient Egypt, causing Anath-Na to constantly relive his entire life- an even worse fate than his eternal existence!

Later Sphinx Appearances:
-The Sphinx later appears in an issue of Marvel Two-In-One, as his endless relivings pause thanks to a "chronal flaw" in which two different Anath-Nas meet, and decice to rebuild the Ka Stone using a machine. The elder Sphinx thus revives himself upon losing to Galactus, and regains the Ka Stone, but The Thing encounters him and destroys the machine before it can be completed. Oddly, The Puppet Master ends up allied with the Thing, and he uses his puppetry to force the Sphinx to crush the Ka Stone- Anath-Na immediately ages five-thousand years and crumbles to dust.

-The character has been... under-used since then. I mean, he's so potentially powerful that he can't be seen as a minor threat, and he has no real name value, being the villain of a hero who failed in the '70s, so there's that. The New Warriors, utilizing old Nova stuff, actually had a FEMALE Sphinx be the main villain of a story arc, though the most recent incarnation of Richard Rider's book featured him in a Time Travel storyline that saw Nova win the dead Namorita back. I find the design pretty interesting- the weird hat (based off of some Egyptian headdresses) is one of those "Odd, Yet Iconic" things that immediately sets him apart, as his Standard-Issue Villainous Color Scheme and Darkseid Skirt would otherwise not.

The Might of the Sphinx:
-Not an easy guy to stat, especially because I've read so little of him, and he seems nigh-cosmic in power sometimes (Galactus beat him easily, but still, IT'S GALACTUS). I have no idea what kinds of power levels he could pick up over the years, but he came across as one of those overwhemling PL 12-type threats in Nova & The Thing's books, so that's where I'll put him. He's probably recieved massive power-ups over the years, and could have powers extending far beyond mere "Reality Warping" (effectively transforming stuff into other stuff for miles around). I'm not entirely sure where HIS powers end, and the KA STONE's powers begin, either.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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The Sphinx (Second)

Post by Jabroniville »

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I wonder what it is about her appearances that made me like this Sphinx more than the original one...

THE SPHINX II (Meryet Karim)
Created By:
Fabian Nicieza & Mark Bagley
First Appearance: The New Warriors #4 (Oct. 1990)
Role: Lady Big Bad
PL 12 (436), PL 14 (436) Defenses
STRENGTH
12/14 STAMINA 15 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+10)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+14)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 8 (+14)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 10 (+12)
Perception 4 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+3)
Technology 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Blasts) 2, Improved Hold, Jack-Of-All-Trades, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 10, Ritualist, Startle

Powers:
Immunity 11 (Aging, Life Support) [11]
Impervious Toughness 15 [15]
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]

"The Ka Stone" (Flaws: Removable) [236]
Enhanced Strength 2 (4)
Blast 14 (Feats: Split, Penetrating 8) (37) -- (39)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (Extras: Extended) (30)
  • AE: "Telepathy" Communication (Mental) 2 & Mind Reading 10 (30)
"Reality Warping" Transform 10 (Anything to Anything Else) (Extras: Area- 4 miles +11, Continuous) (170)
Variable 10 (70)
Immortality 1 (2)
Regeneration 10 (10)
-- (295 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Blasts +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +15

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +15, Fortitude +15, Will +13

Complications:
Relationship (Anath-Na Mut)- Meryet resurrects him in order to reclaim his love.
Motivation (Power)

Total: Abilities: 94 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 280 / Defenses: 19 (436)

-The second Sphinx, Meryet Karim, was a desert nomad who gained the Ka Stone's powers centuries ago, and found herself resurrected constantly through the years, always with the knowledge of her former lives (so... basically what Hickman re-wrote Moira MacTaggert doing). She nurses an injured Anath-Na Mut back to health and falls in love with him, then re-writes reality using the modern-day Ka Stone to allow the original Sphinx to kill Moses, leading to Egypt eventually conquering the world. We see this from the perspective of Nova, who is a caucasian hero on the mostly-Egyptian/Middle Eastern Avengers, and Karim rules North America as the Sphinx, now that Anath-Na Mut has committed suicide following the end of World War II (when the Pan-Asian Empire dropped several Atomic Bombs on this version of New York- "New Memphis"). Karim's rule is uneasy, and she slowly unravels as the story goes on.

-Nova is able to fight back against what he realizes isn't the "ideal" reality, and Karim fights the heroes as everything goes to hell at once- this Earth is highly different from ours, and the Pan-Asian Empire invades around the same time Atlantis attacks, as well as the "Mutant Revolution" (they're a class facing even more extreme prejudice than the mutants in the regular universe) striking. It all happens simultaneously, causing a mental breakdown- Karim is confronted with the truth of the lie of this world, and so she gives up, returning things to the way they were. In a bid to reclaim their love, however, the two Sphinxes merge and head off into the past to lead a normal life as one being. Well, as normal a life as two beings in one can lead.

-This story arc is one of the most popular things in The New Warriors, probably because of some truly great redesigns of established Marvel heroes by Mark Bagley, turning them into dark-skinned Egyptian variants. The female Sphinx ended up becoming the "iconic" one to me simply because I was at least aware of her, but she didn't last. Personally, I think they just altered her so that Bagley could draw a hot chick with giga-cleavage (there was less room for that in his Spider-Man titles), to which... I approve. All later appearances of the Sphinx are actually of this combined being, who only appears in a couple of Nova tales, being sort of his iconic villain.

-The Lady Sphinx is identical to the other, but swaps Inventor for Jack-Of-All-Trades, owing to her multiple lives.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 21, 2022 9:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova! The Sphinx!)

Post by Jabroniville »

haha because I'm me, I can't help but keep adding pics to my most recent Elsa bio:

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Also, JESUS CHRIST:

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Spam
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Speedball! Rage! Namorita! Nova! The Sphinx!)

Post by Spam »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2019 4:05 pm
Also, JESUS CHRIST:

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I'd uhh... I'd go see that movie.
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Goldar
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Re: The Sphinx (Original)

Post by Goldar »

Jabroniville wrote: Sun Dec 29, 2019 8:42 am Image
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THE SPHINX I (Anath-Na Mut)
Created By:
Marv Wolfman & Sal Buscema
First Appearance: Nova #6 (Feb. 1977)
Role: The Big Bad (To Nova)
PL 12 (372), PL 14 (372) Defenses
STRENGTH
12/14 STAMINA 15 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+10)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (History) 8 (+14)
Expertise (Arcane Lore) 8 (+14)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 10 (+12)
Perception 4 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+3)
Technology 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Diehard, Extraordinary Effort, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Blasts) 2, Improved Hold, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 10, Ritualist, Startle

Powers:
Immunity 11 (Aging, Life Support) [11]
Impervious Toughness 15 [15]
Movement 2 (Space Travel 2) [4]
Flight 7 (250 mph) [14]

"The Ka Stone" (Flaws: Removable) [172]
Enhanced Strength 2 (4)
Blast 14 (Feats: Split, Penetrating 8) (37) -- (39)
  • AE: Teleport 10 (Extras: Extended) (30)
  • AE: "Telepathy" Communication (Mental) 2 & Mind Reading 10 (30)
"Reality Warping" Transform 10 (Anything to Anything Else) (Extras: Area- 4 miles +11, Continuous) (170)
Immortality 1 (2)
-- (215 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+14 Damage, DC 29)
Blasts +10 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +15

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +15, Fortitude +15, Will +13

Complications:
Motivation (Death, Power)- The Sphinx either wants to die, or wants to gain more power.

Total: Abilities: 94 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 216 / Defenses: 19 (372)

The Sphinx- Nova's Big Bad Turned FF Foe:
-The Sphinx is effectively Nova's own personal Big Bad from his '70s series, but with the cancellation of Nova's book, he kind of became one of those odd "Recurring Marvel Foes" that ends up in random solo series over time, separated from Nova until he would appear in comics once more. Anath-Na Mut is the magician in the court of Pharaoh Ramesses II in ancient Egypt- he is the magician humiliated in the famous Biblical scene in which Moses challenges Ramesses and defeats the magician in a duel to see whose God is the most powerful. Exiled for his failure, Mut wanders the desert, and ends up finding the Ka Stone, which makes him immortal and gives him great powers. Becoming The Sphinx, he wanders the Earth for thousands of years, eventually becoming bored with immortality and seeks an end to his existence. Discovering that the Nova Corps. have access to their own Living Computer "Worldmind", The Sphinx rationalizes that Nova may hold the key to killing him.

-In The Fantastic Four, he scans minds all over to find another way to kill himself, but ends up finally gaining access to the Worldmind while casually mind-controlling Nova and all his rogues, becoming God-level powerful. And instead of suicide, he now seeks total power- he chooses to DESTROY EARTH, and the only way to stop him is for the FF to make contact with Galactus of all people, begging the Devourer of Worlds for help. And Galactus agrees... so long as Reed Richards gets him a new Herald, and drops their past agreement that Galactus would spare the Earth forever upon Reed saving his life that one time. Reed reluctantly agrees... and so Galactus recruits the alien warlord Terrax and it's a knock-down, drag-out, Mega-Cosmic Fight between these two giants, in one of the peaks of Wolfman's run on FF. Galactus brawls with the Sphinx, actually PHYSICALLY beating him, and finally crushes the Ka Stone, sending his human form back to Ancient Egypt, causing Anath-Na to constantly relive his entire life- an even worse fate than his eternal existence!

Later Sphinx Appearances:
-The Sphinx later appears in an issue of Marvel Two-In-One, as his endless relivings pause thanks to a "chronal flaw" in which two different Anath-Nas meet, and decice to rebuild the Ka Stone using a machine. The elder Sphinx thus revives himself upon losing to Galactus, and regains the Ka Stone, but The Thing encounters him and destroys the machine before it can be completed. Oddly, The Puppet Master ends up allied with the Thing, and he uses his puppetry to force the Sphinx to crush the Ka Stone- Anath-Na immediately ages five-thousand years and crumbles to dust.

-The character has been... under-used since then. I mean, he's so potentially powerful that he can't be seen as a minor threat, and he has no real name value, being the villain of a hero who failed in the '70s, so there's that. The New Warriors, utilizing old Nova stuff, actually had a FEMALE Sphinx be the main villain of a story arc, though the most recent incarnation of Richard Rider's book featured him in a Time Travel storyline that saw Nova win the dead Namorita back. I find the design pretty interesting- the weird hat (based off of some Egyptian headdresses) is one of those "Odd, Yet Iconic" things that immediately sets him apart, as his Standard-Issue Villainous Color Scheme and Darkseid Skirt would otherwise not.

The Might of the Sphinx:
-Not an easy guy to stat, especially because I've read so little of him, and he seems nigh-cosmic in power sometimes (Galactus beat him easily, but still, IT'S GALACTUS). I have no idea what kinds of power levels he could pick up over the years, but he came across as one of those overwhemling PL 12-type threats in Nova & The Thing's books, so that's where I'll put him. He's probably recieved massive power-ups over the years, and could have powers extending far beyond mere "Reality Warping" (effectively transforming stuff into other stuff for miles around). I'm not entirely sure where HIS powers end, and the KA STONE's powers begin, either.
I only know a little of Sphinx. Was he related to the Scarlet Scarab or The Living Monolith? All seem to gave Head Gems, and all of them Red.

Are Spinx and SS equal in power? Their powers are similar, right? Do their Stones come from the same source?
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