Jab’s Builds! (Sword of Sodan! Nightmare Creatures/Circus! Lawnmower Man!)

[Jabroniville]

TERRA-MAN (Terry Manning)- Pre-Crisis
Created By: Cary Bates & Curt Swan
First Appearance: Superman #249 (March 1972)
Role: High-Tech Western Villain
Group Affiliations: None
PL 10 (145)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Space Criminal) 6 (+8)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Technology 8 (+10)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Bullets), Minion 6 (Winged Horse), Improved Initiative 2, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Altered Physiology"
Immunity 11 (Aging, Life Support) [11]

"Specialized Six-Shooters" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [29]
"Laser Lassos" Blast 8 Linked to Snare 10 (46) -- (48 points)

• AE: "Tracer Bullets" Blast 10 (Feats: Homing 5, Ricochet) (26)
• AE: "Energy-Leeching Tumbleweeds" Weaken Strength 10 (Extras: Ranged, Secondary Effect) (30)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Laser Lassos +10 (+8 Ranged Damage & +10 Affliction, DC 23 & 20)
Tracer Bullets +10 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Leeching Tumbleweeds +10 (+10 Ranged Weaken, DC 20)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4 (+14 Armor), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)- Terra-Man is an interstellar criminal.

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 40 / Defenses: 15 (145)

-The strangely-named Terra-Man debuted in the Bronze Age, and was based on Clint Eastwood's "Man With No Name" character- he was a real Wild West guy who used a bunch of space weapons based off of the Old West and rode a winged horse named Nova after being raised by an alien who accidentally killed his father. His gear came from the alien, who modified his own tech to look more like stuff young Toby was used to, but Toby killed the alien when he reached adulthood and apparently never aged, becoming the interstellar criminal "Terra-Man", referring to his origins on Earth. He became a recurring nemesis to Superman, committing crimes in outer space but occasionally coming down to match wits with the Man of Steel. One time, he teamed with a counterpart from Earth-377, who used magic. In the backstory of Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow?, he and Parasite were revealed to have killed each other in a fight. From the looks of things, he's all over the books from 1972-1977, but makes fewer and fewer appearances after that, separated by years.

-Pre-Crisis, Terra-Man wielded a regular array of gadgets, but appeared to have one-offs intended for Superman, like a branding iron that aged Supes with each shot, or guns that could surround him. His regular stuff seems to be "Tracer Bullets", tumbleweeds that drain energy (probably for multiple turns, so I threw in Secondary Effect), and "Laser Lassos" that do both damage and snare effects.

[greycrusader]

I genuinely enjoyed Superboy and the Ravers, even though the title never made much of a splash, and never really produced any truly memorable stories; the characters were fresh and fun, the writing light-hearted, and the characterization was decent. While I agree that grown-ups trying to incorporate youth culture and idioms is usually embarrassing (check out reprints of the original Teen Titans books if you have the chance if you want the definition of corny), the whole "rave" thing was kept to a minimum. The interstellar party was mostly a Macguffin and an excuse for the team to bounce around having wild adventures. The series reminded me of the early Alan Davis/Chris Claremont Excalibur, which had a similar fun vibe.
Heck, even Half-Life wasn't-----------(wait for it)---------------------half-bad.

And Ken-thanks for the backstory on Rex and Streak; I've got a soft spot for heroic animals, especially dogs. Heck, I have a fan-fic team that has Krypto's old rival Swift on the team, and I'm convinced Batman and Robin absolutely need Ace carrying on beside them.

All my best.

P.S. Terra-Man is begging for a comeback; he's a villain who could absolutely get "Catman-ed" by the right writer.

[Ken]

Hmm. I suppose Terra-Man's "special bullets" that "explode on contact--with the destructive energy of an an atom bomb" (Superman, vol. 1 #249) were a combination of power stunt and new villain stink.

[Batgirl III]

If Terra-Man is unaging – and sure, why not? – he’d make a fun villain for the Legion of Super-Heroes to face. Really lean into the who retro-futurism inherent to the LSH by having them fight a cowboy!

[Skavenger]

-Byron Stark debuted in the second issue of Superboy & The Ravers, and was a 1950s teenager who was killed in the wreck of an alien spaceship along with his pregnant girlfriend and his family. He was brought back to life when strange matter from the ship touched his dead body, but he was reborn in a half-decayed, radioactive body covered in ectoplasmic slime. He vowed revenge against the aliens, but joined the Ravers team. He felt inadequate compared to the rest of them, but gained a fancy alien motorcycle in a game of chance and started to fit in thanks to that.

-Half-Life had Regeneration & Elasticity powers, and could shoot Ectoplasmic Blasts that burned anything they touched (like a Ranged Weaken probably).

...I wonder if the inspiration for this character was the sheer number of "dead teenager" songs that came out in the 50s and 60s. Last Kiss, Leader Of The Pack, Teen Angel, Running Bear, Ebony Eyes, Patches, I Want My Baby Back, Tell Laura I Love Her, Johnny Remember Me, The Prom, Dead Man's Curve, I Can Never Go Home Anymore, A Young Girl Of Sixteen....I could go on.

[Jabroniville]

-Byron Stark debuted in the second issue of Superboy & The Ravers, and was a 1950s teenager who was killed in the wreck of an alien spaceship along with his pregnant girlfriend and his family. He was brought back to life when strange matter from the ship touched his dead body, but he was reborn in a half-decayed, radioactive body covered in ectoplasmic slime. He vowed revenge against the aliens, but joined the Ravers team. He felt inadequate compared to the rest of them, but gained a fancy alien motorcycle in a game of chance and started to fit in thanks to that.

-Half-Life had Regeneration & Elasticity powers, and could shoot Ectoplasmic Blasts that burned anything they touched (like a Ranged Weaken probably).

...I wonder if the inspiration for this character was the sheer number of "dead teenager" songs that came out in the 50s and 60s. Last Kiss, Leader Of The Pack, Teen Angel, Running Bear, Ebony Eyes, Patches, I Want My Baby Back, Tell Laura I Love Her, Johnny Remember Me, The Prom, Dead Man's Curve, I Can Never Go Home Anymore, A Young Girl Of Sixteen....I could go on.

Damn, that makes a lot of sense. Like, there were 3 of those that were BIG hits at least, and the others were probably a big deal back in the day, too. Like as soon as teenagers and young rebels became a thing, the glamorization of their deaths hit big.

[Harnos]

The JLA episode with Flash, Ultra-Humanite and kids was sweet. About the Amazo, I wonder how they decided to give him such a name. His JLA appearance was cool though. It was emphasized how a huge threat he could be with such power. I'm glad you made him PL 16, he deserves it. As a bonus, he had an existential crisis in JLA and cool metallic, T-1000 like appearance.

[Jabroniville]

TERRA-MAN (Terry Manning)- Post-Crisis
Created By: Cary Bates & Curt Swan
First Appearance: Superman #249 (March 1972)
Role: High-Tech Western Villain, Eco-Terrorist
Group Affiliations: None
PL 10 (119), PL 12 (119) Weaken
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 6 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 6 (+8)
Expertise (Business) 4 (+10)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+10)
Intimidation 3 (+5)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)
Technology 6 (+12)
Vehicles 4 (+8)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Flying Motorcycle), Improved Critical (Bullets), Improved Initiative 2, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Specialized Six-Shooters" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [20]
"Shockwaves & Earthquakes" Blast 10 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (30) -- (32 points)

• AE: "Sprout Plants" Snare 10 (30)
• AE: "Sunlight-Draining Plants" Weaken Energy 14 (Extras: Ranged) (Flaws: Limited to Solar Energy) (14)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Plants +10 (+10 Affliction, DC 20)
Shockwaves +10 Area (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Draining Plants +10 (+14 Ranged Weaken, DC 24)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +4 (+14 Armor), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Motivation (The Environment)- Terra-Man is an eco-terrorist out to destroy polluters (which he sometimes sees Superman as being).

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 34--17 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 20 / Defenses: 15 (119)

-Terra-Man was reimagined in the Post-Crisis world, now a businessman who grew concientious about the damage his business was causing the Earth's environment. He decided to become an eco-terrorist, making his name more specific to the planet (it's likely the writers were just inspired by the name to renovate him). He kept up the "Wild West" stuff, however, but had an army of robotic "Terra-Men". Wikipedia suggests the writing often changed on him- sometimes he respected Superman's common desire to preserve nature, while at other times he thought Superman carried alien germs and viruses that endangered the world. He reappeared on the Secret Society of Super-Villains during Infinite Crisis, and was later part of the Black Adam series, where he hijacked an airplane and was saved from Power Girl by Black Adam, who demanded that Power Girl enter Khandaq airspace. However, when Black Adam addressed the media in front of his "new ally", he ripped the man in half as a display of his sense of justice.

-Post-Crisis, he used a jet pack mounted on his armor, and made a teleportation vortex that looked like a small tornado. His guns created shockwaves & earthquakes, and could also sprout plants at the target (like a Snare). He engineered numerous specialized plants, like one that drained other lifeforms of sunlight (specifically harming Superman), and another could liquefy organic material. He's cheaper now with his less versatile gear, but dangerous against Kryptonians since his Weaken is at PL 12.

[Jabroniville]

The JLA episode with Flash, Ultra-Humanite and kids was sweet. About the Amazo, I wonder how they decided to give him such a name. His JLA appearance was cool though. It was emphasized how a huge threat he could be with such power. I'm glad you made him PL 16, he deserves it. As a bonus, he had an existential crisis in JLA and cool metallic, T-1000 like appearance.

The ‘60s was big on SOMETHING-o names, lol. Amazo, Bizzaro, Metallo, Mesmero, Magneto, Electro, etc. It was a classic way to make someone sound like a supervillain, but now just comes off as really corny.

[Harnos]

The JLA episode with Flash, Ultra-Humanite and kids was sweet. About the Amazo, I wonder how they decided to give him such a name. His JLA appearance was cool though. It was emphasized how a huge threat he could be with such power. I'm glad you made him PL 16, he deserves it. As a bonus, he had an existential crisis in JLA and cool metallic, T-1000 like appearance.

The ‘60s was big on SOMETHING-o names, lol. Amazo, Bizzaro, Metallo, Mesmero, Magneto, Electro, etc. It was a classic way to make someone sound like a supervillain, but now just comes off as really corny.

Hmmh. Then he is Amaze-o. It would be a more fortunate name if Wonder Woman and her people were not in the same universe. Maybe they were not in that time, I don't know their silver age history.

[Skavenger]

Terra-Man... sucks. He doesn't have to suck, but he's not as awesome as the concept should be.

[Jack of Spades]

I want to see classic Terra Man and Vartox team up.

The Space Cowboy and the Gangster of Love.

[Batgirl III]

Terra-Man I seems far more fun than Terra-Man II.

[Jabroniville]

DUBBILEX
Created By: Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #136 (March 1971)
Role: Forgotten Character
Group Affiliations: None

-Dubbilex is one of those Jack Kirby designs that showed up soon after he joined up with DC. Dubbilex is a "DNAlien"- a human clone with genetic modifications to give him super-powers and make him look monstrous. Telepathic and telekinetic, he was a heroic character but never went anywhere. He debuts Post-Crisis with the same origin story- being created by Dabney Donovan of Project Cadmus to use as a weapon. Dubbilex grew close to Superboy (Kon-El), leaving Cadmus to hang out with him. Superboy taught Dubbilex many things about the modern world, and Dubbilex becomes part of the supporting cast of the Superboy book, hanging out in their hideout and things. When Superboy returned to Cadmus, Dubbilex followed and became Head of Genetics, and has largely stayed in the background ever since, giving Superboy some time to deal with Tana Moon's death alone. He was later killed by Codename: Assassin.

-Dubbilex is a powerful telekinetic telepath. His "Brain Blasts" can cause extreme pain in an enemy's head.

[Jabroniville]

Terra-Man I seems far more fun than Terra-Man II.

This feels true for a very good many Pre and Post-Crisis DC characters. Which probably seemed like a good idea at the TIME...