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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Kaori

Post by Jabroniville »

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"I've had mice put up a better fight against me! / I slapped you around like a ball of yarn. You've got more bruises than I have lives."

KAORI
Role:
Catgirl, Mind-Controlled Character
PL 7 (112)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 12 (+14)
Close Combat 2 (+12)
Expertise (Martial Arts) 5 (+6)
Insight 3 (+5)
Perception 5 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Cat's Claws) 4 (+8)
Stealth 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Cat's Claws), Improved Critical (Cyclone), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) [5]
"Cross-Screen Leap" Leaping 2 (30 feet) [2]

"Cat's Claws" Blast 4 (Reduced Defenses -1) (6) -- [9]
  • AE: "Energy Bomb" Blast 2 (Feats: Accurate) (Reduced Defenses -1) (3)
  • AE: Teleport 2 (Feats: Change Direction) (5)
  • AE: "Cyclone- Spinning Slash" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 18)
Cyclone +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Cat's Claws +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Energy Bomb +10 (+2 Ranged Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Responsibility (Mind Control)- Kaori is being controlled by Sett-Ra's magical ring.

Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 15 (112)

-A brown catgirl, Kaori is apparently under Sett-Ra's control, and defeating her breaks his spell. She's the game's fastest character, and does an INSANE leap that goes all the way across the screen (no mean feat for sprites of this tiny size), and even has two ranged attacks. This game is really weird how everyone can shoot energy- even the catgirl and the basketball player. Her design is probably the plainest I've ever seen for a Catgirl- she's just brown, has normal hair, and a regular blue outfit. Nothing fancy at all.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:32 am, edited 2 times in total.
Grenzer
Posts: 99
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2019 2:22 am

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Way of the Warrior! Felicia! Michael Jordan! Shaq-Fu!)

Post by Grenzer »

I can attest to how Shaq-Fu was considered rather normal for a fighting game c.1994. There were even weirder games mulling around at the time like Ballz and Ranma 1/2, and probably a dozen other that don't immediately come to mind, so no one paid the fact that a celebrity basketball player wanted his own fighting game as particularly odd. I guess back then we kids were not so "meta" as the current generation, and were happy with what we had. I owned Michael Jordan's game too and played it a lot. In retrospect, it was an overly-long, tedious platformer with a wacky concept that made little sense, but Jordan was such an icon I had to try and conquer it (spoilers: I failed).
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Rajah

Post by Jabroniville »

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RAJAH
Role:
Arab/Indian Stereotype
PL 7 (99)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10)
Athletics 3 (+11)
Close Combat 1 (+11)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Soldier) 5 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Weapons) 2 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit 2 (Wealth), Equipment (Swords +2- Split), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Sword), Improved Critical (Scimitar Spiral), Improved Critical (Sword Shockwave), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 3

Powers:
"Sword Shockwave" Blast 3 (Feats: Accurate) (Flaws: Source- Scimitars) (4) -- [6]
  • AE: "Scimitar Spiral" Blast 5 (Flaws: Source- Scimitars) (Reduced Defenses -1) (3)
  • AE: "Thunder Clap" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
Features 1: May Add Sword Damage to Special Moves [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Swords +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Thunder Clap +8 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Scimitar Spiral +7 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Sword Shockwave +9 (+3 Ranged Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +4

Complications:
Motivation (Fighting)- Rajah fights for the enjoyment of it.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 7 / Defenses: 10 (99)

-The most Prince of Persia-ish character in the game, Rajah is an Indian/Persian-looking guy with a turban, open shirt and scimitars. He submitted to Sett-Ra years ago, but becomes a rich ruler in his own ending. Rajah throws out two Blasts- a small one that travels along the ground, and a larger, slower one consisting of twin scimitars connected to each other, spinning across the screen. His other attack is a far-reaching sphere of energy created from presumably smacking his swords together.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Mephis

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image

MEPHIS
Role:
Evil Green Wizard
PL 7 (110)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Athletics 6 (+9)
Close Combat 2 (+11)
Deception 2 (+5)
Expertise (Magic) 8 (+10)
Expertise (History) 6 (+8)
Insight 5 (+7)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Magic) 4 (+8)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Lighting Jaws), Improved Critical (Lightning Arc), Improved Critical (Burning Touch), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Lightning Fury" Blast 3 Linked to Affliction 5 (Fort; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (Reduced Defenses -2) (12) -- [15]
  • AE: "Lightning Jaws" Blast 5 (Reduced Defenses -1) (8) -- [12]
  • AE: "Lightning Arc" Blast 5 (Feats: Indirect- From Above) (Reduced Defenses -2) (7)
  • AE: "Burning Touch" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
"Immortal Sorcerer" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Burning Touch +9 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Lightning Jaws +8 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
LIghtning Fury +8 (+3 Ranged Damage & +5 Ranged Affliction, DC 18 & 15)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Enemy (Sett-Ra)- Mephis has been twisted after years of being Sett-Ra's disciple.
Relationship (Voodoo- Daughter)- In his ending, Mephis becomes a wise teacher, becoming a proper mentor to his daughter.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 11 (110)

-Mephis appears as a hideous, melty-looking green wizard in brown robes. He was Sett-Ra's apprentice thousands of years ago, but now fights on his own- in his ending, his "marks of death" disappear and he leaves his rage behind and teaches centuries of wisdom to his daughter, Voodoo. His attacks are fairly varied- a "Lightning Arc" overhand smash of energy, a Stun/Blast, and a standard-issue high-powered Blast. He actually ends up with more attacks than any other character- four Special Moves, making him the best at range. I gave him slightly worse defenses to offset this (he's PL 6.5 to parry), but he's possibly the best ranged fighter in the game. If finished off with a mid-range attack, Mephis will splinter into wispy shards and fade away like Obi-Wan, leaving behind only his robe.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Leotsu

Post by Jabroniville »

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"Your pain will lessen with time, weak one! I will teach you to fight if you pay me! I am too smart for your foolish style."

LEOTSU
Role:
Wise Old Master, Shop Owner
PL 7 (106)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Close Combat 2 (+12)
Expertise (History) 8 (+10)
Expertise (Business) 2 (+4)
Insight 3 (+7)
Perception 2 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Chi Attack) 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Bo Kai), Improved Critical (Green Fireball), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Green Fireball" Blast 5 (Reduced Defenses -1) (8) -- [10]
  • AE: "Flash Teleport" Teleport 2 (Feats: Change Direction) (5)
  • AE: "Bo Kai" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 18)
Bo Kai +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Green Fireball +8 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +6

Complications:
Enemy (Sett-Ra)- Leotsu appears to send Shaquille O'Neal to the Second World to fight the Mummy Lord.
Relationship (Nezu)- Nezu is Leotsu's grandson.

Total: Abilities: 56 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 9 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 12 (106)

-The old man seen in the game's opening (inviting Shaq into the "Second World" to rescue Nezu from Sett-Ra) appears as a selectable character in the Sega Genesis version of the game! Despite being "too old to fight" as he says in the intro, Leotsu (a play on "Lao Tzu", the famous Chinese philosopher) is just a regular fighter, even battling Shaq. In pretty much every way, he's your standard "Wise Old Master" archetype, being tiny, quick, and full of chi. An extremely tiny opponent, many attacks will whiff on him entirely, so his defenses are very good. He throws out a very powerful, fast green fireball as one of his moves, and a smooth overhand smash with a summon Bo staff in another.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed Mar 11, 2020 5:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Nezu

Post by Jabroniville »

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NEZU
Role:
Little Kid Fighter, The Victim
PL 7 (103)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 10 (+12)
Close Combat 2 (+12)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Martial Arts) 5 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Perception 5 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Chi Attacks) 4 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Eno Shot), Improved Critical (Eno Flip), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"Time Vault" Snare 4 (Reduced Defenses -1) (10) -- [13]
  • AE: "Eno Shot" Blast 4 (Reduced Defenses -1) (6)
  • AE: "Eno Blast" Blast 2 (Feats: Accurate, Triggered- Hovers in Place) (Reduced Defenses -1) (4)
  • AE: "Eno Flip" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (1)
"Cross-Screen Leap" Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 18)
Cyclone +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Eno Shot +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Eno Blast +10 (+2 Ranged Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +5

Complications:
Enemy (Sett-Ra)- Nezu is being sought by Sett-Ra.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 13 (103)

-Said to be swift and cunning despite his size, Nezu is the young boy sought by Sett-Ra in Shaq-Fu- Shaquille O'Neal is sent into the Second World to rescue him. He's a tiny kid dressed in what looks like torn-up cloth bags, and moves quickly enough, but looks quite odd, being short even for a game in which SHAQUILLE O'NEAL is a tiny sprite. Despite being sought after by Sett-Ra and the person Shaq is meant to rescue, he is unplayable in every version but the Sega Genesis one. He fires out little electrified-looking Chi Attacks, including the "Eno Shot" Firebal-esque move, a lower version, and even a strange electrified net called the "Time Vault", which traps opponents in place! However, it's a buggy effect- the enemy can be pushed out of the net's effect zone, and it will go off even if blocked by another projectile!
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Voodoo

Post by Jabroniville »

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Image

VOODOO
Role:
Sexy Voodoo Lady, Jungle Girl
PL 7 (103)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+10)
Athletics 8 (+10)
Close Combat 2 (+12)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Magic) 8 (+8)
Insight 2 (+4)
Perception 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Chi Attacks) 4 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Eagle Claw), Improved Critical (Earthquake), Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Ritualist

Powers:
"Eagle Claw" Blast 4 (Reduced Defenses -1) (6) -- [8]
  • AE: "Voodoo Doll" Blast 4 (Extras: Perception-Ranged) (Flaws: Source- Doll) (Reduced Defenses -2) (4)
  • AE: "Earthquake" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (1)
"Wolf Form" Morph 1 (Feats: Metamorph) [6]

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 18)
Earthquake +10 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Eagle Claw +8 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Eno Blast +10 (+2 Ranged Damage, DC 17)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Enemy (Sett-Ra)- Nezu is being sought by Sett-Ra.

Total: Abilities: 46 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 14 / Defenses: 12 (103)

-An attractive voodoo-powered lady dismissed as "Girlfriend!" by Shaq, Voodoo is the daughter of Mephis, unbeknownst to her. Like him, she works for Sett-Ra, but in Mephis's ending, he begins training her without the villain. In an odd bit, one of her "pursuit attacks" (which any character can do) turns her into a charging wolf. A neat graphical trick is featured in her "Voodoo Doll" attack- she will pull out a voodoo doll that changes to match her opponent- the tiny lil' figure will then be stabbed, hurting them. If beaten a certain way, she will fade into smoke, leaving her clothing on the ground. Funnily enough, the game is so buggy that her crouching fast kick is actually incapable of hitting any enemy, unless she's right in their face and they're stuck in the corner of the screen.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ares
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Re: Rajah

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Mon Mar 09, 2020 6:12 am Image

RAJAH
Role:
Arab/Indian Stereotype

-The most Prince of Persia-ish character in the game, Rajah is an Indian/Persian-looking guy with a turban, open shirt and scimitars. He submitted to Sett-Ra years ago, but becomes a rich ruler in his own ending. Rajah throws out two Blasts- a small one that travels along the ground, and a larger, slower one consisting of twin scimitars connected to each other, spinning across the screen. His other attack is a far-reaching sphere of energy created from presumably smacking his swords together.
I actually played Shaq-Fu back in the day, and it was very buggy. Rajah here was my character of choice, since I have a lot of love for "Arabian Nights" style fiction and characters. I own all of D&D's Al-Qadim books, I love the Ray Harryhausen Sinbad films, I loved the Arabian Knights Hana-Barbara cartoon, and I even owned the old Magic Carpet PC game. Combining that kind of character with wind magic was also something fun about that old Conan the Barbarian animated series.

Anyway, this character seemed like a lot of fun . . . but the gameplay was too bad to really get much enjoyment out of it.
"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
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Beast

Post by Jabroniville »

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BEAST
Role:
Sub-Boss, Demonic Monster
PL 8 (106)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 10 (+14)
Close Combat 4 (+12)
Deception 1 (+4)
Expertise (Basketball) 10 (+14)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 5 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Thermal Blast) 6 (+10)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Thermal Blast), Improved Critical (Spitfire), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4

Powers:
"From Hell It Came- Rapid Punches" Strength-Damage +0 (Extras: Multiattack 5) (Flaws: Distracting) Linked to Affliction 5 (Toughness; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Extras: Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (8) -- [10]
  • AE: "Spitfire" Blast 5 (Reduced Defenses -1) (8)
  • AE: "Thermal Blast" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (1)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Inferno Kick +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Shaq-uriken +10 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +5, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (Aggressive)- Shaq has very little people skills or tact, judging by Shaq-Fu. While searching for Nezu, he simply demands information and threatens people.

Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 46--23 / Advantages: 11 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 11 (106)

-"Beast" is the Sub-Boss of Shaq-Fu, and the minion of Sett-Ra, having been created from his own shadow. The mightiest of Sett's servants, Beast is a crimson red, with a light blue "Player 2" version. There is also a Secret Stage in the game where you can fight a dark blue Beast- look below Gargoyle's Peak on the first island and locate some stairs. In his own ending, he is liberated from Sett-Ra's control, and goes to the Lost Jungle, "recruiting an army of fearless fighters to serve his wild kingdom." If beaten with a certain move, his skin will flake off and leave only a skeleton, which then collapses to the ground.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:34 am, edited 2 times in total.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24695
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Sett-Ra

Post by Jabroniville »

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"My wrap is better than your rap. I am the center of attention around here!"

SETT-RA
Role:
Final Boss, Mummy Lord
PL 8 (138)
STRENGTH
4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+8)
Athletics 10 (+14)
Close Combat 4 (+12)
Deception 1 (+5)
Expertise (Magic) 10 (+12)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 6 (+10)
Perception 3 (+6)
Persuasion 4 (+7)
Ranged Combat (Energy Attacks) 6 (+10)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Unarmed) 2, Improved Critical (Cosmic Missile), Improved Critical (Multi-Dimensional Reach), Improved Critical (Mummy Wrap), Improved Critical (Wedge Charge), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Ritualist, Startle

Powers:
"Great Size" Reach 1 [1]
Immunity 11 (Aging, Life Support) [11]

"Multi-Dimensional Reach" Blast 2 (Feats: Indirect) Linked to Affliction 4 (Toughness; Dazed & Vulnerable/Stunned & Defenseless) (Feats: Indirect) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (Reduced Defenses -2) (10) -- [14]
  • AE: "Cosmic Missile" Blast 6 (Reduced Defenses -1) (10)
  • AE: "Wedge Charge" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) & Speed 2 (3)
  • AE: "Mummy Wrap" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Reach 2) (Inaccurate -1) (3)
  • AE: Teleport 2 (Feats: Change Direction) (5)
Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Mummy Wrap/Wedge Charge +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Cosmic Missile +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Multi-Dimensional Reach +10 (+2 Ranged Damage & +4 Ranged Affliction, DC 17 & 14)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +5, Fortitude +7, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Power)- Sett-Ra wishes to reawaken and take over the world. In his ending, he restores his body and travels to the First World (Earth) incognito, "anxious to reclaim his throne".

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 50--25 / Advantages: 16 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 11 (138)

-Sett-Ra is the Final Boss of Shaq-Fu, and looks pretty plain and generic, like most of the other characters, but is at least intimidating. He's very tall, looks like a mummy, and has an armored chestplate, wrist-guards, and shin-guards, giving him a small amount of detail. His attacks are quite ferocious, including digging into the ground and lashing out across the screen, from the ground (many King of Fighters characters later used this kind of attcak), a huge Energy Blast, a long-reaching "wrap attack", teleporting, and an energy-assisted shoulder charge. This makes him the most versatile of the bad guys, as one is a Stunning move, one is a reach attack, one a Blast, and one a fast-moving full body attack.

-Sett-Ra, like many characters, has a unique "Death Scene" if beaten a certain way. If finished off with a high attack around the head, he will drop to his knees as his head catches fire, causing him to dissolve into mist as his wraps fall to the ground, leaving only that and his empty armor. In addition to being the Final Boss, he is fought in a "Secret Challenge" as well- on the second island, below South Gate, travel towards two pillars and a fence, and you can enter to fight a black-colored Sett-Ra in Mephis's stage. You get absolutely nothing for beating him, unfortunately, and he's the same as regular Sett-Ra, but... secrets!
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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KorokoMystia
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Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2016 8:42 pm

Re: Jab’s Builds! (Way of the Warrior! Felicia! Michael Jordan! Shaq-Fu!)

Post by KorokoMystia »

I think Shaq Fu and Double Dragon V are the only Fighting Games I know of to have special death scenes like that that are tied to finishing the opponent in a certain way rather than simply using a Finishing Move or stage hazard..though I suppose Samurai Shodown counts too, since it has those dismemberment finishers in addition to Finishing Moves.
Jabroniville
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Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Hank Pym Builds

Post by Jabroniville »

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"I loved Ant-Man, but the stories were never really successful. In order for Ant-Man to be successful, he had to be drawn this small next to big things and you would be getting pictures that were visually interesting. The artists who drew him, no matter how much I kept reminding them, they kept forgetting that fact. They would draw him standing on a tabletop and they would draw a heroic-looking guy. I would say, 'Draw a matchbook cover next to him, so we see the difference in size.' But they kept forgetting. So when you would look at the panels, you thought you were looking at a normal guy wearing an underwear costume like all of them. It didn't have the interest."
-Stan Lee


HANK PYM- A LEGACY OF SUCK:
-Poor, poor Hank Pym. His auspicious origins as "The Man in the Ant Hill" made him one of the goofier Avengers right away, and I feel like ever since 1962, Marvel has had issues trying to fix their "Pym Problem". First off, they turned him into "Giant-Man" to make him tougher, but still jobbed him out. Then he left the team, came back, created one of their worst enemies, got marked forever as a wife-abuser thanks to a hilarious set of circumstances (he was literally mentally ill and ONE TIME slapped his wife, a professional superhero!), the writers have not been able to let that go ever since. And now his iconic Marvel Cinematic Universe self is... an elderly Michael Douglas playing him as an action-free inventor. He's the worst character on the original Avengers- a mediocre-to-good character amidst a cast of excellent ones, and comic book writers have spent 50+ years trying to fix that.

So let's do a deep dive into HANK PYM, shall we? Is he salvageable? Is the running gag of Thorpocalypse and I making fun of him fair, or unfair? Will the tears of his fans trying to defend him ever stop being delicious? WE WILL SEE!

The Origins of Hank Pym:
-Hank actually got his debut in a story OUTSIDE of superhero comics- The Man in the Ant Hill, a seven-page science fiction tale featuring Hank as a scientist who is abducted by ants after he shrinks himself to their size. Created by the murderer's row at the time- Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby- it sold well enough that Stan was like "well let's make a superhero out of him!". And so Hank Pym (note the non-heroic name) became "Ant-Man", one of many Shrinking Heroes (DC's The Atom was then a name), eight issues later. About a year later, Ant-Man received a sidekick/girlfriend, as his socialite gal-pal Janet Van Dyne became "The winsome Wasp". Later that year, in 1963, Ant-Man and the Wasp became inaugural members of The Avengers- a collection of all Marvel's biggest solo acts (aside from Spider-Man). So yes, oddly, Marvel's most powerful team now had TWO shrinking-themed members on it.

But things, of course, shifted rapidly. Stan & Jack almost immediately shuffled Pym's identity, as the very next month, he became GIANT-MAN, having used his "Pym Particles" to grow. He had a weird costume (little tiny "antennae" above his nose), but was at least powerful enough to gain respect... except from this point on, he became "The Third Strongest Avenger", at-best. The problem? "Growing Guy" is one of the biggest fall guys in comics. Because he's NEVER just "Team Powerhouse" (too many characters are Flying Bricks in this business), so he's always got to be the first guy getting his ass kicked by the new big super-villain. I mean, you can't just have Thor or Iron Man job out to Namor right away, because they're big-league heroes known for their great powers. Giant-Man, on the other hand, has the low-selling book, so you can cart his giant ass on out there to job out HARD to the Sub-Mariner, while he gets mocked for not being as strong as him, because hey, it still looks pretty impressive to send a 30,000 pound man out on his ass, right? Not helping things was the fact that Pym's OTHER key aspect- his Scientific ability, was not only equaled, but SURPASSED, by his teammate Iron Man.

The duo's Tales to Astonish feature was easily the weakest of Marvel's '60s output, and saw such luminaries as talking ants, Communist gorillas and the Living Eraser. Problematically, while the Avengers was initially an "All Our Solo Guys in a Team Book" team, they cancelled the Giant-Man & The Wasp series in the middle of 1965 (their book NEVER sold well, even at the height of the Silver Age- they're like Hawkman & The Atom in that sense), meaning they essentially got demoted to "always Avengers" guys, meaning that if they weren't in an Avengers book currently, they were out of comics PERIOD, like Hawkeye, Black Knight, etc. Not that many of these characters are BAD, it's just that if the current Avengers scribe doesn't care for them, they're up shit creek without a paddle, because you won't read ANY stories featuring them.

Pym Destroyed Forever- The Rise of Ultron and the Slapping of Jan:
-Hank & Jan left the Avengers in 1965, but he returned the very next year as "Goliath", with a blue & yellow el-generic costume. Hank creates a little device called "Ultron", and giving it full artificial intelligence... but it turns out to be an evil monster, brainwashes Pym into forgetting him, and returns as Ultron-5- a vicious, nigh-unstoppable menace. And in a completely bizarre set of circumstances, Hank develops schizophrenia after inhaling some chemicals from a failed experiment, and declares that he, as the new hero Yellowjacket, has KILLED Hank Pym, shocking the Avengers... and then he proposes to Jan, who accepts. This particularly asinine bit of "Superdickery" is explained that Jan realized it was Hank, and wanted to marry him, so jumped at the chance regardless. Yellowjacket went over REALLY well with some, as he used Blasts, acrobatics, had a smart-ass attitude (acting as a "Griefer", like many Marvel heroes before him), and had one of the best costumes of the era. Hank & Jan appear off-and-on through the 1970s, leaving the Avengers when H.P. Gyrich restructures them under government orders, returning and facing down Ultron yet again. Hank disappears from the book for a while, reappearing as Ant-Man and having one of his most iconic solo stories- a trip into the artificial innards of The Vision, making the most of John Buscema's art.

Eventually, however, Hank returns as Yellowjacket, but showcases a bizarre personality change, acting much more brutal. Yellowjacket had a further breakdown in 1981, eventually going mad and viciously slapping Jan in a fit of rage. And this right there destroyed the character forever. It's a hilarious bit of circumstances, too. Jim Shooter, who wrote the JanSlap in question, wanted a simple, accidental backhand to show Hank's continued mental degradation. But the artist, Bob Hall, trained to always go "Big Big BIG", ended up drawing a huge power-slap that rocked a lingerie-clad Jan across the room. Jan divorces him, and he is kicked out of the Avengers, and Pym is ruined for GOOD.

Pym Returns:
-A penniless, ruined Hank is manipulated by the villain Egghead and eventually imprisoned, but finally clears his name and is fully forgiven. The character retires from super-heroics "for good", and instead becomes a "Science Buddy" ally of the West Coast Avengers, wearing a red jacket and doing an interesting thing where he stops shrinking HIMSELF and instead shrinks a ton of tiny gadgets that he keeps in his pockets, and increases their size whenever he needs them. This unique approach to a "Gadgeteer Genius" hero was very inventive, and I liked it a lot. Hank stuck around in this form for a while, engaging in a short relationship with his teammate Tigra, but was eventually rendered suicidally-depressed and nearly killed himself- the heroine Firebird manages to bring him back from the brink, and he becomes mentally well again. By the end of the Avengers West Coast book in the early '90s, he'd begun seeing Jan again!

But Wait!:
-The funny thing was... the '80s stuff tends to gloss over his complicated backstory and deal with him as a guy trying to make a new lease on life. So suddenly... he's guilt-ridden and navel-gazing again. He mopes over having invented Ultron, and has to deal with the shame of having slapped around his wife, with whom he's reconciled. Temporarily dying during the Onslaught story-arc mererly puts this on hold, and he returns later, joining Kurt Busiek's Avengers roster off-and-on. Here, Hank & Jan become side-members of the cast, with Busiek's most well-received story being the famous Ultron Unlimited, in which an enraged Hank ends the battle by smashing his deadly "son" to pieces using the Anti-Metal brought by Justice. It's shown as a mentally-anguished man's lashing out at his greatest failure, and it was EPIC.

Despite that, he didn't really do that much afterwards. He and his "Yellowjacket" self were split up, but proved to work best combined, as Giant-Man was too emotionally bland and Yellowjacket too impulsive- the two were combined once more. And then... some weird stuff started happening. The JanSlap was never brought up in any of the issues I've read... but by the 2000s, suddenly it's a THING again. A generation of comic readers growing up having read him blasting his wife across a room, perhaps? Or maybe just people realizing that was the only interesting part of his decidedly mediocre career? Or maybe the rising internet fandom kind of looking back on this as a "Holy SHIT, remember THAT?" moment, when before fans would have less access to back-issues and wouldn't know the full story. In any case, the internet fandom would suddenly never let the JanSlap go, and neither would the writers, chief among them Brian Michael Bendis- THE new writer at Marvel.

Hank in Civil War & The Mighty Avengers:
-Hank later becomes an instrumental character during Civil War, having had his relationship with Jan fail in a side-story. He would help build a "Clone Thor" that would cause great devastation, side with the Pro-Registration side as one of their top names, and lead up Camp Hammond, which trained new heroes. Oh, and he would soon be revealed to have been a SKRULL. The Skrull Criti Noll had taken over Hank not too long after Busiek's Avengers run ended, and most of his actions since then have been about setting the stage for the Secret Invasion story arc. At the end of the story, Noll is defeated, but The Wasp is killed in the battle. In mourning, the real Hank soon adopts her codename, becoming the Wasp instead.

So as I said, this was around when the JanSlap became ALL people talked about with Pym. Norman Osborn taunted him about it ("You still slapping women around?"). So then a writer tried to renovate the character a bit with The Mighty Avengers. And unfortunately, it was that weird combination of "Trying WAY too hard" and "Everyone forgot about it as soon as the run ended". So Hank Pym is chosen, BY ETERNITY, to be the new "Scientist Supreme" of Earth. This ridiculous notion is because... I dunno, they didn't want it to be Reed or Doom or someone smarter. And Wasp-Hank is now this brave, smart, creative Leader Guy, leading the Avengers, winning tons of respect, and even having a bit that was infamous with another poster- a scene where Hawkeye cries out "Don't worry, everyone! HANK PYM is here!", and another where Jocasta, his new girlfriend, points out that dating the father of Artificial Intelligence is like "dating GOD". This ran around the same time as Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes was on TV, and it was an excellent cartoon series that nonetheless was besotted with Hank Pym, pushing him constantly and giving him all sorts of ways to save the day compared to his more hapless teammates.

In the end, though, that book didn't make much of a difference. Hank was back teaching students in Avengers Academy and seemed pretty normal there. "Eternity" was revealed to have been a deception by Loki, too. The awful, AWFUL Age of Ultron story involved Ultron taking over the world in a dystopian future, ending up with Wolverine & Invisible Woman plotting to murder Hank instead- instead, Hank is able to create a computer virus to break Ultron in the future. Pym starred in Avengers A.I., a book that couldn't have been cancelled any faster- it featured him, Victor Mancha, The Vision & a Doombot. The book's quick failure may have been the "last straw" for him, though, as...

Hank Dies, Then Dies A Couple More Times:
-Hank Pym is merged with Ultron during an accident during an attack, and is considered dead by pretty much everyone. An Ultron/Pym merger is a new villain and pops up a few times- it's shown that Pym is within him, fighting Ultron's influence. And then suddenly it's revealed that Hank had a daughter with his Russian ex-wife- the one he had married before meeting Jan, and this new girl, Nadia Pym, becomes the new Wasp. And Hank is now diagnosed as having Bipolar Disorder, finally naming something instead of using all that "he inhaled bad science" explanatory stuff. But he's also totes dead, as Ultron/Hank is revealed to have wiped out Hank's entire life force, AND Hank's soul was absorbed into the Soul Gem! With it being stated that now he's totally at peace and thinks he's been freed, except he's NOT, as his "Soul Fragment" was devoured! So Hank is LITERALLY dead, his soul is obliterated, and he's almost in a factual form of Heaven. Now THAT's dead!

This not-so-coincidentally coincided with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's COMPLETELY different take on Hank & Co. In the movies, Hank is a bit of a weird scientist played by the very elderly Michael Douglas, and SCOTT LANG is the titular Ant-Man. And Hank's adult daughter is the new Wasp, and Janet Van Dyne is a MILFy Michelle Pfeifer. And as Scott Lang moves into the Avengers stuff, including getting the "Giant-Man" powers, it becomes a lot more clear why the comics wanted to de-emphasize Hank and push Scott.

So, Like, What's The Deal With Hank Pym?:
-Ultimately, the issue with Hank is what I said- he's a mediocre character in the position of a GREAT one. His powers are plain, and at best ended up with him being a huge Jobber, because his teammates were so much greater. His personality was bland and forgettable, so writers often resorted to a form "Self-Loathing" extreme even for MARVEL (being at various points navel-gazing, suicidal, schizophrenic, bipolar or guilt-ridden). The one-off JanSlap, never repeated, ended up sticking to him permanently for the hilarious reason that the character just wasn't good enough to surpass it. No, Hank is such a low-end character that he just never ended up doing anything more notable than this.

It just goes to show you... you gotta be careful as a writer, or you'll accidentally ruin a guy forever, ESPECIALLY if they're one of the least-popular Avengers. Technically he can excuse it with the breakdown thing, but nobody's really buying it. Hell, this is actually COMPLETELY HARMLESS compared to the actions of many other superheroes- The Civil War resulted in a ton of death as the Pro-Registration side was beholden to numerous atrocities (ironically, Pym gets a pass for this since It Was A Skrull), and both Stark & Reed Richards have done many things that were morally-questionable. Several heroes have committed murder. Hell, PETER PARKER once slapped HIS, and not only was Mary Jane NOT a professional superhero and a good fighter (like Jan was- I mean, The Wasp can be relatively-expected to take a backhand to the jaw in stride, considering her job), but HE didn't have a legit psychological disorder at the time- he was just buggered-up from the Clone Saga!! But because Peter was such a strong character, and because that was only like the TWENTIETH most-retarded thing to come out of The Clone Saga, Pete has since been given a 100% pass on that, and it's been wisely ignored since then. Not so for Pym.

So in the end, Hank's big problem isn't that he's a TERRIBLE character, because he's really not- there are hundreds of worse characters out there, and a dozen worse Avengers. The Problem With Pym is that he's just not a GOOD ENOUGH character- his comrades in the '60s were iconic guys like Iron Man, Thor & Captain America. He was replaced by Hawkeye & The Scarlet Witch. The Wasp separated from him and actually got upgraded to LEADER of the team. Later Avengers writers all threw in their iconic characters (Black Panther, Vision), Mary Sues (Mantis, Monica Rambeau) and assorted rookies... but Hank Pym just wasn't the equal of any of those characters. Not EVERY character could be a great one- Hank is hardly worse than Triathlon, Silverclaw or (barf) Deathcry, to say nothing of Gilgamesh or Dr. Druid. And because he's such a mediocre character, the only INTERESTING stuff he's ever done has been creating the evil robot Ultron, and slapping his wife.

He's just mediocre, often mis-written, and way too poor to be in the position he's in, as a founding Avenger and a guy who frequently gets brought up onto the roster. His legacy of failure, slapping Jan, and well... being a JOBBER? It's sucking to the point of legend, and that's why it was so much fun to trash the character. Thorp and I reveled in the "PymSuck" and how awful he was.

Another problem: Hank is redundant. Like I said before, he's nowhere NEAR as strong as Thor, despite being larger. He's a super-scientist on a team with Tony Stark on it, and later there are other smart Avengers. He's not a good tactitian, he's not a good leader, and he's not the best fighter. For character purposes: he can't be the Team Rebel (Hawkeye), Team Bad-Ass (Cage, Wolverine) or Team Joker. In short: Hank has NOTHING TO OFFER THE TEAM, as a fighter or as a character, other than being a big warm body who can possibly act as a Secondary Scientist and object of pathos & drama for his "hard luck" life.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Mon Aug 01, 2022 8:39 am, edited 3 times in total.
marcoasalazarm
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Way of the Warrior! Felicia! Michael Jordan! Shaq-Fu!)

Post by marcoasalazarm »

I think "Eternal Champions" has that option too.
greycrusader
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Michael Jordan! Shaq-Fu! Hank Pym Builds!)

Post by greycrusader »

Hank Pym had TWO really good runs on Avengers books-his early stints as Goliath and Yellowjacket. As Goliath, he WAS the team muscleman as well as the team scientist, since THAT Avengers consisted of Cap, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and the Wasp; and THAT Pym used his brains, too. Realizing he wasn't as strong or invulnerable as Thor, he learned jiu-jutsu and Olympic wrestling techniques to beat stronger foes, martial arts where giant-size reach and mass gave him literally HUGE advantages. And he made liberal use of gadgets as well, with his skills at (bio)chemistry showcased. And you already described how cool Yellowjacket was-whole different power set (essentially a flying blaster, with decent agility and hand to hand skills thrown in) and helluva costume. His attitude got turned up in both identities, becoming more aggressive, curtly professional, a little overconfident and as YJ even a sarcastic jerk-with-heart-of-gold. Even when Black Panther, Black Widow, and Vision joined the team, Pym worked-T'Challa wasn't as much a super-scientist in the early days, more just a really overall smart guy who used hi-tech gear, and while the Vision was arguably more powerful, his android abilities were esoteric enough that Yellowjacket still stood out.

The "giant-sized character" as pushover/jobber really isn't THAT much of a trope in comics; yeah, over in the Legion of Super-Heroes, Colossal Boy isn't much compared to Superboy, Kara Zor-El, or Mon-El, but ALL the members except Wildfire suffered from that, and Gim was treated as a legit powerhouse on the level of T-Wolf and Ultra Boy whenever Kal and his clones weren't around. In Doom Patrol, Rita Farr was a butt kicker, beating down giant-monsters and smashing robots into scrap. And of course, once Erik Josten become Atlas, he was one of THE most popular and effective Thunderbolts. That's one of the reasons Fortress America , the OC I came up with for the Project Freedom team in the latest M&M handbook, has minor super-strength and regeneration even BEFORE his growing kicks in. So he's not just an oversized, underpowered target in combat.

All my best.
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Ares
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Re: Jab’s Builds! (Michael Jordan! Shaq-Fu! Hank Pym Builds!)

Post by Ares »

Poor Hank Pym. His biggest sin really was that he was pretty bland compared to other scientists and they never let his powers be as useful as they could be. The Atom gets far more respect over in DC despite only being able to shrink, whereas Hank can shrink, grow AND has insect control. He's actually got a pretty diverse power set, largely ruined by Marvel and DC being reluctant to give giant characters a push for a long while. These days I think giant guys get a little more respect, but if Hank grows to Kaiju-size, you'd expect him to be in the Class 100 ballpark.

I actually really liked how Hank was presented in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, as that did a lot to fix his issues. Comics need the right artist to understand how to make size-shifting look interesting, but animation seems to get it much more easily. Having Hank shrink and grow in the show was visually dynamic and interesting. They allowed him to be an expert at stealth, his ant control was good for offense and intelligence gathering, and when he grew he was capable of taking on even someone like the Abomination, making him a verifiable powerhouse. They also made him useful as a scientist by differentiating how Tony, Hank and T'Challa utilized their brains. Tony was more of a straightforward engineer, able to build almost anything but more about the actual design of machinery. Hank by contrast was more of a pure theoretical scientist and physicist. He could design interesting gadgets, but he was more about theories and science for the pure discovery. Meanwhile T'Challa was more about a specific type of science, his techno-magic, and generally more of a Batman-style 'jack of all trades'. So while Hank, Tony and T'Challa could all do science work, they each approached science differently, had different strengths, and came off very different.

They also gave Hank an actual personality, being an enthusiastic scientist who was dedicated to helping the world and to peace, and one who just liked exploring new locations and new scientific discoveries. He's much more like Reed Richards in that regard, though whereas Reed is more of an absent minded professor and devout family man, Hank is an idealist that wants to change the world. Unfortunately, like a lot of idealists, he can sometimes be judgemental to others that he feels doesn't meet his standards. Jab and Thorp have said the show painted Hank as always being in the right, but he honestly screwed up as much as the other heroes and it was shown that his moralizing and unrealistic expectations were a BAD THING. I hated that they had him go the Yellow Jacket route, but only about half of Season 2 had any quality comparable to the first season's excellence.

Overall, Hank's not entirely unsalvageable, but he would need some work done on him, possibly more work than people are willing to put in. It's a shame since he and Jan are founding Avengers and deserve respect, but Marvel seems to keep wanting to push them to the side.

Another problem Hank has in the comics is that Scott Lang is . . . well, overall a better character. He doesn't have half of the baggage Hank does, his personality is more of a joke-making everyman, he combines scientific skill with experience as a thief, and his position as a single father made him unique and relatable. Now that his daughter is a teenager, I'd actually say that maybe it's just time to have Hank and Jan finally reconcile and retire, and let Scott take over as Ant-Man permanently.

However, I'd have Scott's teenage daughter Cassie take over as the Wasp, rather than the recent Unstoppable Wasp (whose series has been cancelled twice, thus showing she's in fact, very stoppable). Let Hank, Jan and Nadia retire to focus on building a good family life, work on lab and charity work, and let Scott and Cassie form a unique dynamic as a superhero father/daughter team.

You can then play off the ties Scott and Cassie have with the larger Marvel Universe, as Scott and Cassie have a surprisingly large amount of connections in the Marvel Universe. Scott obviously knows Hank, but he also personally helped out Tony several times and the two are good friends. Scott and Cassie also spent a good bit of time with the Fantastic Four, and are on good terms with them as well. Scott was also part of the Heroes for Hire team, and is on good terms of Iron Fist and Luke Cage. He was also on a couple of different Avengers line ups as well. Cassie meanwhile has those connections with the Fantastic Four and Heroes for Hire, but was also on the Young Avengers as Stature.

Really, between the two of them they're on good terms with a solid chunk of the Marvel Universe.

So yeah, much as I'd like to give Hank a make over and fix him, it's probably just easier to have him finally go into at least semi-retirement, and be brought out as a science consultant or as a reserve hero when things get really bad.
"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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