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

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Jabroniville
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Sunstreak

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image

SUNSTREAK II (Andrea Rourke)
Created By:
Terry Kavanagh & Jim Cheung
First Appearance: Iron Man #330 (July 1996)
Role: Elemental Jobber
Group Affiliations: The Initiative, Stockpile, Force of Nature
PL 8 (127)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Criminal) 4 (+4)
Insight 3 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Ranged Attack (Solar Lance) 3 (+8)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Ranged Attack 5

Powers:
Flame Aura 8 (Extras: Continuous) (Flaws: Permanent) [32]
"Solar Lance" Blast 8 (Feats: Split) [17]

Flight 6 (120 mph) [12]
Immunity 10 (Fire & Heat Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [5]

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+1 Damage, DC 17)
Flame Aura +6 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Fire Blast +8 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Sunstreak is a simple mercenary.
Responsibility (Always Being Called "Sunstroke")- She hates it.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 6 / Powers: 66 / Defenses: 14 (127)

-Sunstreak is a low-end Iron Man villain that ended up getting play in a lot of other books- an odd case of someone finding re-use in other stories. She hails from the Iron Man run of Terry Kavanagh & Jim Cheung, who controlled the character for a few years- Sunstreak was one of many villains hired by Morgan Stark to attack his cousin Tony, therefore stealing all of his Iron Man suits. This mercenary group, called "Stockpile", also had Calico, Joust, Brass, and the Unicorn as members, but was defeated by Iron Man & War Machine teaming up. After this, she was suddenly hired on to the Force of Nature, replacing Silk Fever (who'd joined the Folding Circle) and Firebrand II (who was a jobber who later got ignored), but only for the "Initiative"-themed stuff.

-This was it for about a decade, but she got some play in The Initiative, with Norman Osborn bringing in a bunch of ex-criminals to take over. In the series, she was a reformed villain loyal to Norman Osborn, and even turned on her friend Prodigy because Osborn commanded it.

-Sunstreak basically a super-generic Fire Blaster, though she has the same permanent aura than Silk Fever does, albeit it CAN'T be turned off.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 04, 2023 7:31 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Ares »

I don't think Sunstreak joined up with the Force of Nature during the New Warriors run, unless it was way after. The Silk Fever replacement was originally some new mercenary in the Firebrand armor, who was such a dingus that the replacement helicopter pilot for the Warriors (Sprocket?) came in and kicked his butt.
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Jabroniville
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Oh yeah, I think I read that bit, but forgot that was him. I’ll have to figure out which Firebrand it was :).
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 5:16 am Oh yeah, I think I read that bit, but forgot that was him. I’ll have to figure out which Firebrand it was :).
I looked it up and Unapp says that it was the second one, Russ Broxtel.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Jabroniville »

haha, okay then- I'll slot in the Firebrands into this set then. It'll take another name off the "To Re-Build" list :).
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Firebrand (Gary Gilbert)

Post by Jabroniville »

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FIREBRAND I (Gary Gilbert)
Created By:
Archie Goodwin & Don Heck
First Appearance: Iron Man #27 (July 1970)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Masters of Evil, The Corporation, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Initiative, The Shadow Initiative, The Frightful Four, The Six-Pack, The Sinister Syndicate
PL 9 (126)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Activist) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 4 (+6)
Investigation 5 (+7)
Perception 3 (+5)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Thermal Blasts) 4 (+8)
Search 2 (+4)
Technology 4 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+5)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Thermal Blast), Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Firebrand Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [44]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Power Lifting 1 (12 tons) (1)
Protection 6 (6)
Immunity 10 (Heat Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)
"Air Supply" Immunity 2 (Drowning & Suffocation) (Flaws: Limited to 30 Minutes) (1)

Flight 6 (120 mph) (10)
Thermal Blast 9 (Feats: Split Attack) (19) -- (20)
  • AE: "Flamethrowers" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (16)
-- (55 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Costume Unarmed +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Thermal Blast +8 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Flamethrowers +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+9 Costume), Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Activism)- Gary was an activist who turned to crime after realizing that peaceful protests accomplished nothing. Eventually, he "needs work" so he shifts mostly towards Greed.
Enemy (Iron Man)- Gary is enraged at his constant defeats by Iron Man.
Relationship (Simon & Roxanne- Family)- Gary hates his by-the-book father, Simon, but screams vengeance when Simon is killed during a Firebrand/Iron Man scrap. Roxanne is his wiser, knowing sister- she is protective of him, but knows of his flaws.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 11 (126)

-Firebrand is a little-used Iron Man villain, a former radical activist turned violent supervillain because peaceful protests against big business weren't effective. I just had to stat him based off of that costume... look at that fist! It's the most generic supervillain suit I've seen in a while, but I almost like it just for that. Nothing too fancy about this guy- he's just a douche with a grudge, especially once he drops his initial "activist" surge. Initially, Firebrand fought "the fuzz" and "pigs", and foiled Iron Man by melting his gear, but was eventually punched out when Tony correctly surmised that he wasn't a cold-blooded murderer and would hesitate to kill- he nonetheless escaped.

-Firebrand reappeared 20 issues later with Mike Friedrich writing- he was hired by his own father (who didn't recognize him) to engage in industrial sabotage, as he'd just been fired by Tony Stark- Firebrand, appreciating the irony, took the job and melted down a lot of Stark Industries gear, but in the ensuing battle, Simon Gilbert was killed by the fires. Enraged, Firebrand went all-out on Iron Man, but was ultimately beaten- punched out after his repulsors were melted. Firebrand noted that while he hated his father (who had rejected Gary's activism), they were still blood. He later reappears with his estranged sister, who tries to shut down his desires for vengeance (pointing out that both of them hated their father, and Gary just wanted revenge for losing). Firebrand used some hostages to convince Iron Man to be buried alive, but the hero burrowed out from under the grave, and his new cryogenic units protected his gear from another melt-job. This drained his power batteries until he could use solar power to boost them back, and Iron Man finally shredded Firebrand's gear, defeating him after Gary's sister jumped in the way of another blast, being badly hurt.

-Firebrand ended up mixed up in the weird "Black Lama" story, gaining a Macguffin and ending up in another dimension, but he & Iron Man both had to escape. Then after this, the character disappearerd for eight years and a few creative teams, reappeared to fight the Jim Rhodes Iron Man once, and then, concerned over reports of supervillains being murdered by the Scourge of the Underworld... set up a meeting. Yes, it was FIREBRAND who set up the infamous meeting at the "Bar With No Name", telling the assembled 18 other villains about those who'd been killed already, and plotting to hunt down the villain. And of course, the bartender ended up being SCOURGE HIMSELF, and he gunned down everyone present, Firebrand included.

-Years and years later, Firebrand would be resurrected with the other Scourge victims by a magical ceremony by The Hood. Convinced to help kill the Punisher, Firebrand was one of many villains killed in the initial story (various others have gone on to careers since then)- the Punisher forces him at gunpoint to burn his "raised" family (Frank was being bribed with the resurrections of his murdered family, but asserts that "these THINGS" were not them), then shoots the villain in the head.

-Like I said, nothing fancy- just a standard Powersuit, but a little weaker than your Iron Man types, or even your Unicorn types. He's got +8 or +9 to his Strength & Toughness stats, hits harder with Thermal Blasts (but is actually well-balanced at both melee & range), and has a smattering of skills because of his activist past. He's actually not that bad, but still, he's a jobber, PL 8.5 on defense, and not exactly ultra-skilled.

-A second Firebrand appeared a bit later, and was totally forgettable. Same type of suit, same powers, and he fought random super-heroes, being more of a 'catch all' fire-themed villain than anything else. This Russ Broxtel character joined the Force of Nature when Firewall left, and has the same stats as Gilbert, but with less Intelligence & Skills, being just some common thug. A THIRD Firebrand was a super-powerful Fire Guy (as in made of energy) with a weird morphing harness.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Spectrum »

Ares wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 3:47 am Not exactly the stuff of legends. I'd almost want to give that whole storyline a do-over, file the serial numbers off and use it elsewhere. Or maybe do something where Tai jumped the gun and it's actually the generation after who are going to be these epic individuals.
So....

Image

Well, Runaways were the first thing that came to my mind when reading the basic description of the Folding Circle.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Ares »

Except I'd say the Runaways are in some ways worse, because in some ways they're about the same power level as the Folding Circle, but they get treated like some kind of big deal that wipe the floor with established characters.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Ares wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 3:30 pm Except I'd say the Runaways are in some ways worse, because in some ways they're about the same power level as the Folding Circle, but they get treated like some kind of big deal that wipe the floor with established characters.
My personal problem with the Runaways is that every established hero that pops up in their book seem to have overdosed in idiot and jerk pills.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Spectrum »

I'd say that you make a good point, except you didn't ask for it to be done better, just that you asked that the 'whole storyline a do-over, file the serial numbers off and use it elsewhere.' ;)

Not a bad concept, just one that hasn't been done well.
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Nova- Rider & Sam! The Sphinx! Folding Circle!)

Post by Shock »

Woodclaw wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:03 pm
Ares wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 3:30 pm Except I'd say the Runaways are in some ways worse, because in some ways they're about the same power level as the Folding Circle, but they get treated like some kind of big deal that wipe the floor with established characters.
My personal problem with the Runaways is that every established hero that pops up in their book seem to have overdosed in idiot and jerk pills.
Runaways works a whole lot better as a standalone story rather than being part of the Marvel Universe. It was only really good when Vaughn was writing
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Firebrand (Russ Broxtel)

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image

FIREBRAND II (Russ Broxtel)
Created By:
Archie Goodwin & Don Heck
First Appearance: Web of Spider-Man #77 (June 1991)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: Force of Nature
PL 8 (108)
STRENGTH
2/8 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 1 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Eco-Terrorist) 4 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+4)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Thermal Blasts) 2 (+6)
Search 2 (+4)
Technology 2 (+3)
Vehicles 2 (+4)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Firebrand Costume" (Flaws: Removable) [44]
Enhanced Strength 6 (12)
Power Lifting 1 (12 tons) (1)
Protection 6 (6)
Immunity 10 (Heat Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)
"Air Supply" Immunity 2 (Drowning & Suffocation) (Flaws: Limited to 30 Minutes) (1)

Flight 6 (120 mph) (10)
Thermal Blast 9 (Feats: Split Attack) (19) -- (20)
  • AE: "Flamethrowers" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 60ft. Cone) (16)
-- (55 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Costume Unarmed +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Thermal Blast +6 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Flamethrowers +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3 (+9 Costume), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Activism)- Russ is an eco-terrorist.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 44 / Defenses: 8 (108)

-Russ Broxtel replaced Gilbert as Firebrand after The Scourge of the Underworld, and kept up with a similar theme- he was a Stark Industries worker who found the specs for the "Firebrand" gear and of course became a criminal-for-hire. He acted like a douche, deliberately killed a man after taking his money and "forgetting" to give it to his loan-shark boss, and then got a Morlock woman killed (she died saving Spider-Man's life from a collapsing building). Cloak & Dagger got involved, and Spidey beat the hell out of him- tying his wrists together and smashing his hands into his own face.

-Since the Force of Nature required a "Fire Guy" (union regulations or something?), they recruited Firebrand, who'd been created only the year before- they engaged in the Trans-Sabalian conflict in the pages of The New Warriors, but he was easily beaten by Sprocket, their replacement for Chord- yes, a "Badass Normal" Team Pilot beat him easily. Fourteen years later (with a new Firebrand being created along the way), he reappeared as a Jobber Villain in Union Jack, engaging in terrorism-for-hire before being defeated by the Arabian Knight. A few other random appearances as a backgrounder, facing Spider-Man (and nearly killing both Spidey and himself in an explosion), Patriot and others, and that's been it for a while. So he missed most of the '90s and then just became a "Face in the crowd" kind of guy. A fourth, female Firebrand named Amanda was seen as a Backgrounder in an Iron Man issue as well.

-Broxtel is a classic Jobber- worse than the original, he was basically just a "Team Guy" who later became the sort that total amateurs like the Young Avengers could easily defeat with only one or two members.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Sunstreak

Post by Shock »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:49 am
SUNSTREAK (Andrea Rourke)

-Sunstreak basically a super-generic Fire Blaster, though she has the same permanent aura than Silk Fever does, albeit it CAN'T be turned off.
So many questions. Where does she sleep? What does she eat? How does she wear clothes?
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Re: Sunstreak

Post by M4C8 »

Shock wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:45 pm
Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jan 02, 2020 4:49 am
SUNSTREAK (Andrea Rourke)

-Sunstreak basically a super-generic Fire Blaster, though she has the same permanent aura than Silk Fever does, albeit it CAN'T be turned off.
So many questions. Where does she sleep? What does she eat? How does she wear clothes?
She could turn off her flame but her body still generated heat, enough to burn others after a few seconds of contact.
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Firebrand (Rick Dennison)

Post by Jabroniville »

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FIREBRAND III (Rick Dennison)
Created By:
Kurt Busiek & Sean Chen
First Appearance: Iron Man #4 (May 1998)
Role: Forgotten Villain
Group Affiliations: The Flaming Sword, Terra Tactics, The Masters of Evil
PL 10 (166)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Ranged Combat (Blasts) 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Heat), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
Immunity 10 (Heat Effects) [10]
Heat Aura 11 [44]
Heat Blast 12 (Extras: Penetrating 8) [32]

"Flight Harness" (Flaws: Removable) (Feats: Restricted to Heat-Powered People) [17]
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Protection 6 (6)
-- (20 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Heat Aura +6 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Heat Blast +8 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +5 (+11 Harness), Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Motivation (Activism)- Rick has been convinced by the Flaming Sword that their goals are also his.
Responsibility (Insane)- Rick is easily-influenced thanks to the mutations that have warped his mind.

Total: Abilities: 36 / Skills: 24--12 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 103 / Defenses: 11 (166)

-Rick Dennison became the third Firebrand while the second was still technically-active (though un-used)- he became an Iron Man foe who also faced The Avengers (Kurt Busiek wrote both titles), and kept the "Eco-Terrorist" label of both his predecessors (though Firebrand II was mostly just a jerk). He was a regular old eco-terrorist who was mutated when his employers abandoned him into a plasma furnace thingie, which naturally gave him super-powers. Another, better-organized group called The Flaming Sword found him and mutated him FURTHER, giving him a big power-harness that looks like a combination of a metal baby-harness and Orion's Astro-Harness, and he fought Iron Man a bunch before being caught in an underwater volcano, which blasted him out of commission. After that, he was handily-beaten by a team of Avengers, running up against Thor & Wonder Man and being punched out. However, he mostly went under-utilized, last being seen as one of the Shadow Council's Masters of Evil.

-Unlike the other Firebrands, he's not a Powersuit character- he's a mutated human with a Burning Aura, and a Harness that gives him a side power and makes him more durable.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Thu Jul 21, 2022 10:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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