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Black Hand - PL 11
Strength 0, Stamina 1, Agility 1, Dexterity 2, Fighting 2, Intellect 4, Awareness 3, Presence 2
Advantages
Diehard
Skills
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+6), Deception 4 (+6), Expertise:
Death 8 (+12), Insight 4 (+7), Intimidation 6 (+8), Perception 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Power Siphon 6 (+8), Technology 4 (+8), Treatment 2 (+6)
Powers
Power Siphon (Removable) - 64p -
13 removable
51p
. .
Force Field - 34p
. . . .
Immunity: Immunity 10 (Life Support) - 10p
. . . .
Protection: Protection 12 (+12 Toughness; Impervious) - 24p
. .
Force Manipulation - 28p pool + 2AE
. . . .
Force Blast: Blast 14 (DC 29) - [28p]
. . . .
Force Constructs: Create 14 (Volume: 15000 cft., DC 24) - [1p]
. . . .
Lifting: Move Object 14 (400 tons) - [1p]
Offense
Initiative +1
Force Blast: Blast 14, +8 (DC 29)
Grab, +2 (DC Spec 10)
Lifting: Move Object 14, +8 (DC 24)
Throw, +2 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +6 (DC 15)
Complications
Arrogant: Black Hand has a very high opinion of himself and his abilities, and loves to gloat given the opportunity.
Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude 7, Toughness 13, Will 14
Power Points
Abilities 30 + Powers 51 + Advantages 1 + Skills 21 (42 ranks) + Defenses 30 = 133
The original Black Hand was introduced in the 60's as "criminal genius" William Hand, who had actually written and memorized an entire book on crime so he could think his way out of any situation, which sounds cheesy enough but is even better when he breaks the fourth wall to exposit all of this to the reader directly. Being both a criminal and a genius he crosses paths with Hal Jordan and manages not only to detect the traces of Hal's ring energy but even builds a device that collects and uses that energy for his own purposes, with the goal of using it to trap Hal in another dimension while still sucking power out of his ring. The plan only half-works, literally making the left half of Hal Jordan disappear (how they missed making a "Half Jordan" joke is the real crime) but Hal eventually prevails with creativity and a ring that can do anything.
The DCA Black Hand is a little different.* Both are William Hand, son of the successful and respected Hand family, but instead of crime, this Billy-boy is obsessed with death and has all the classic habits and foibles we've grown to expect from serial killers. Instead of inventing the Power Syphon himself, he acquires it while caught in the crossfire between Atrocitus, Hal Jordan and Sinestro, urged by a voice in his head to pick up a weapon Atrocitus drops. And instead of addressing the reader directly, William babbles about his greatness to the voice in his head, which is a manifestation of an ancient prophecy about the Blackest Night, the reason Atrocitus came to Earth. So while the first Black Hand was a "self-made" rich man who chose a life of crime to actively disappoint his family, the modern one is a child of destiny and a tool of prophecy.
Modern BH gets jobbed pretty hard, driven to madness from humiliation by Green Lantern and associates kicking his necrophile ass all over the place. This is all according to prophecy, of course, so the voice eventually reveals it is the Black Power Battery, and after he murder/suicides his family, William gets the first Black Power Ring, turning his dead body into the first Black Lantern.
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Black Lantern - PL 14
Strength 0, Stamina -, Agility 1, Dexterity 2, Fighting 2, Intellect 4, Awareness 3,
Presence 8
Advantages
Diehard
Skills
Close Combat: Unarmed 4 (+6), Deception 4 (+12), Expertise: Death 12 (+16), Insight 4 (+15/+7), Intimidation 6 (+14), Perception 4 (+7), Ranged Combat: Black Power Ring 6 (+8), Technology 4 (+8), Treatment 2 (+6)
Powers
Black Power Ring (Removable)
. .
Force Field
. . . .
Protection 12 (+12 Toughness; Impervious)
. .
Force Manipulation
. . . .
Force Blast: Blast 14 (DC 29)
. . . .
Force Constructs: Create 14 (Volume: 15000 cft., DC 24)
. . . .
Lifting: Move Object 14 (400 tons)
Life-Draining: Weaken 20 (Affects: Stamina, Resisted by: Fortitude, DC 30)
Risen
. .
Immortality 20 (Return after 3 seconds)
. .
Immunity 30 (Fortitude Effects)
. .
Regeneration 20 (2 per round)
Spectral Sight
. .
Detect Emotions: Senses 5 (Accurate: Emotions, Acute: Emotions, Detect: Emotions 1, Ranged: Emotions)
. .
Enhanced Trait 4 (Traits: Insight +8 (+15))
Offense
Initiative +1
Force Blast: Blast 14, +8 (DC 29)
Grab, +2 (DC Spec 10)
Life-Draining: Weaken 20, +6 (DC Fort 30)
Lifting: Move Object 14, +8 (DC 24)
Throw, +2 (DC 15)
Unarmed, +6 (DC 15)
Complications
Arrogant: Black Hand has a very high opinion of himself and his abilities, and loves to gloat given the opportunity.
Weakness: Only the pure white light of creation can truly destroy the Black Lanterns.
Defense
Dodge 8, Parry 8, Fortitude Immune, Toughness 12, Will 14
Power Points
Abilities 30 + Powers 162 + Advantages 1 + Skills 23 (46 ranks) + Defenses 24 = 240
The 3 Hands
It's hard to say if I even like these guys. The first BH has that hokey yet charming early comics appeal. I read that first appearance issue and seeing William and his gang of goons stealing armloads of fur coats just seems so damn quaint! I'm sure furs are still good targets for theft, but still, something about it feels really mid-20th century. Conceptually, the idea of using the hero's unique power against him also has good legs; hoisting any character, good or evil, by their own petard can be pretty clever and entertaining. And he's exactly the kind of villain you could trick into monologuing while the rest of your team sneaks around behind to wedgie him. I think he'd make a great template for a nemesis to any weird-energy wielding hero.
William Hand, Pet Taxidermist just puts me off. Knowing there's an end goal for this Edgelord Harry Potter makes him a little more bearable, but I'm just not a fan of serial killer chic, although I seem to be in the minority on that view. His greatest function is that you'll never feel bad when he loses.
Black Lantern I don't particularly like more than Black Hand, but the process of turning heroes' greatest losses into undead beings playing on their emotions is fascinating stuff, and if the whole GL theme is playing on the power of emotion, this is right on target. I don't necessarily like all of it, but I respect the storytelling and character delving power of it. In a game setting, this should hit players right in the Complications.
Mechanically, BH is an underpointed PL11 hitting offensive caps with his Power Siphon and coming in at PL10.5 across the boards for his defenses. A few point issues common for Removables. I still think adding some gadgets and goons to him would make for a fun old-school villain, someone who wouldn't feel out of place in Batman's Rogue's Gallery.
The Black Lantern upgrade techically makes Hand a PL14 (thanks to Will 14 and Fort Immunity) but his defenses haven't changed (although he can drop two conditions every round and ressurect at the start of each round) and the Life Draining Weaken attack is still only PL13. At +6/20, it's not likely to hit any GL or comparable hero unless they're already down or possibly Vulnerable/Defenseless, maybe Grabbed by BL's Move Object or entrapped by his Force Constructs. Summoning the dead to make the living feel bad is basically a PLX plot device and not worth statting out.
I did make some adjustments to BL to make the numbers work better. Removed Life Support since Fort Immune covers that, bumped up his Death skill as per the book, but for reasons I don't recall I made his INT 10 and PRE 8. I put his INT back to normal but decided he really needed the Presence boost so I left it in. There's also no reason I'm aware of you couldn't give him more of the standard Ring Powers, like Interstellar Flight and Universal Translator; is BL the only Lantern who can't fly?
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Ok, that is done. Now on to a BL that's a little more consistently fun. Black Lightning next!
*Really, if you want to make the 1964 Black Hand, you'd probably want to gadgeteer him up a bit, giving him Inventor and Eidetic Memory at the very least, upping his tech skills and changing his "Death" Expertise to Crime.