Jab's He-Builds: Man-at-Arms, Mantenna, Leech, Beast Man

[Claire Redfield]

Whoa! Are you guys saying dozens of writers and artists over decades of storytelling have let some inconsistencies worm their way into comics? Inconceivable!

A lot of it is very preventable with even a little bit of research, though, and that is the problem.

[Gazman]

A lot of it is very preventable with even a little bit of research, though, and that is the problem.

I'm not sure it's always a problem. Yeah, Black Panther really shouldn't be able to beat up Silver Surfer. But Hulk or Thor should be able to get an occasional win off. It's like the Yankees are the best team in baseball. But that doesn't mean that they always win. Not even against the Twins or somebody crappy like that. Having variable showings can help keep things fresh and interesting.

[Skavenger]

Sometimes, it's inconsistency in writing. That plagues the cosmic heroes more than anyone else, I think. On the one hand, within the very same story you have Firelord standing at the center of a massive gas station explosion, which should put out more kinetic force than Spider-Man can generate, and then you have Spider-Man knocking him out.

To be fair, I think all parties involved (Marvel, the readers, so on) agree to never mention that comic again. IT NEVER HAPPENED, LIKE HIGHLANDER 2.

And if it helps, Thor did win several times against the Surfer during the Blood and Thunder storyline. Granted, he was quite literally insane and was powered by one of the Infinity Gems at the time, but at that point he was smacking the Surfer around with little to no effort while still fighting off Doctor Strange and Adam Warlock.

Honestly, the one example of "wait, wasn't that outside your power level" was when Carnage took over the Surfer to make the Cosmic Carnage. I read the issue, and while part of me went "oh man, this is awesome," the 99.99% of the rest of my body was going "wait...how is the Surfer not completely immune to stuff like that?"

[Jabroniville]

Yeah, inconsistensies rage, ESPECIALLY when someone is supposedly as top-tier as a Herald of Galactus. Because since he's generally known as the most powerful hero around, he and all of his enemies become #1 on the "Hit List" of any writer looking to make their own character appear tough. Add that to the natural tendency of the SURFER's writers to give him ever-more-impressive feats, and you've got a problem.

However, my typical solution of "keeping most of the PLs relatively close" tends to work in the long run, if I may be so bold. That way you can explain some victories as the luck of the dice, and the big events as careful playing of your Hero Points/good luck.

[Claire Redfield]

Jab, you're awesome. We all know it.

To be fair, I think all parties involved (Marvel, the readers, so on) agree to never mention that comic again. IT NEVER HAPPENED, LIKE HIGHLANDER 2.

On the one hand, I do like the story in the sense of it being tense, a desperate escape, speed and agility and brains against raw, overwhelming power. These types of stories can be great. And in fact, it would have been a really great story if Spidey had held out until the Avengers or just Thor or Doc Strange showed up or something. But the way they finished it tarnished the whole thing.

And if it helps, Thor did win several times against the Surfer during the Blood and Thunder storyline. Granted, he was quite literally insane and was powered by one of the Infinity Gems at the time, but at that point he was smacking the Surfer around with little to no effort while still fighting off Doctor Strange and Adam Warlock.

"Thud and Blunder" a lot of fans call that story. There was some interesting stuff, but I wasn't real keen on it, either. To be fair, in their classic incarnations, I think Thor with the Power Gem should be scary as hell and should beat the Surfer, particularly since Norrin won't be trying to kill him. I don't know about taking down Surfer and Doc Strange (the other Marvel guy who can do anything), but whatever, you know?

In their more recent clash, the Yggdrasil seed storyline (I don't remember the name of it), it was quite the opposite, and Thor got handled pretty easily. This is Surfer after he was upgraded in Annihilation, though, where he makes someone of his old power level look weak.

Honestly, the one example of "wait, wasn't that outside your power level" was when Carnage took over the Surfer to make the Cosmic Carnage. I read the issue, and while part of me went "oh man, this is awesome," the 99.99% of the rest of my body was going "wait...how is the Surfer not completely immune to stuff like that?"

Yes. Absolutely hated that bit, because honestly, there is no way the Surfer isn't completely immune to something like that. Poor understanding of the character on the writer's part.

Yeah, inconsistensies rage, ESPECIALLY when someone is supposedly as top-tier as a Herald of Galactus. Because since he's generally known as the most powerful hero around, he and all of his enemies become #1 on the "Hit List" of any writer looking to make their own character appear tough. Add that to the natural tendency of the SURFER's writers to give him ever-more-impressive feats, and you've got a problem.

This happens a lot. Unfortunately, Thor is kind of a pet of a lot of writers, so they often want him (or whoever else) to do the coolest stuff, and combined with that unfortunate tendency to shoot for the big guns in order to make your guy look cooler, well... we get some pretty stupid stuff. Black Panther, Carnage Cosmic, etc., or Red Hulk beating the Defenders. Sigh.

If I was in charge, people wouldn't be allowed to even use Marvel's cosmic people in stories unless they demonstrated they really knew their stuff.

[Jabroniville]

TALOS THE TAMED/UNTAMED
Created By: Peter David & Gary Frank
First Appearance: The Incredible Hulk #418 (June 1994)
Role: Jobber Villain
Group Affiliations: The Skrulls
PL 10 (106)
STRENGTH 10 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Soldier) 6 (+8)
Insight 3 (+5)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 3 (+5)
Technology 4 (+6)
Vehicles 6 (+8)

Advantages:
Benefit (Skrull Officer), Diehard, Improved Critical (Axe), Improved Smash, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 2

Powers:
"Skrull Cyborg" Protection 3 [3]

"Talos' Axe" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [5]
Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Penetrating 6) (7 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Axe +8 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +8, Fortitude +7, Will +4

Complications:
Reputation (Skrull Unable to Shape-Shift)- This is considered an especially-horrible disability in Skrull Society.

Total: Abilities: 66 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 8 / Defenses: 10 (106)

-Talos is another SERIOUSLY weak character, taking the concept of a Skrull handicapped so he couldn't shapeshift (which is sort of interesting), and made him a cyborg. He never really did too much (though apparently he beat the Hulk once, but apparently Hulk let him win, as he guessed that Talos was trying to commit Suicide By Monster or something), and he ended up going nowhere as a character, showing up to threaten Devos the Devastator in Ronan's "Annihilation" series. He lost the fight pretty badly (got Dazzled & then shocked), but he awoke later, and evacuated the planet everyone was fighting on, disappearing from Marvel Comics yet again.

-Talos is PL 10 because of his dangerous Axe attack, but his horrifically limited otherwise, lacking many special feats or characteristics. He's just a pretty strong guy who's tough, and has a bad-ass Penetrating Weapon. Just another Weapon Guy otherwise, and if you disarm him, he's pretty well screwed. Not BAD, and a decent threat for a group of PL 9s, but even most PL 10s should find a workable way to defeat him pretty quickly, especially since his defenses are so weak.

[Jabroniville]

BLASTAAR THE LIVING BOMB-BURST
Created By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: The Fantastic Four #62 (May 1967)
Role: Filler Villain, The OTHER Big Negative Zone Threat
Group Affiliations: The Frightful Four, The Aliens of the Negative Zone
PL 12 (177)
STRENGTH 13 STAMINA 11 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Expertise (Dictator) 8 (+8)
Intimidation 10 (+11)
Perception 2 (+2)
Technology 6 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Chokehold, Diehard, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Blasts) 2, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 8, Startle, Trance

Powers:
"Raw Strength" Power-Lifting 1 (400 tons) [1]

"Dense Hide"
Immunity 4 (Heat, Cold, Radiation, Pressure) [4]
Protection 3 (Extras: Impervious 7) [10]

"Suspended Animation" Immunity 4 (Starvation & Thirst, Vacuum, Suffocation 2) (Flaws: Side-Effect; Immobile -2) [1]

"Living Bomb-Burst"
"Bomb-Burst" Damage 12 (Feats: Penetrating 8) (Extras: Area- 60ft. Burst +2) (44) -- [46]

AE: "Escape Velocity" Flight 9 (1,000 mph) (18)
AE: Blast 14 (Feats: Penetrating 8) (36)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+13 Damage, DC 28)
Bomb-Burst +12 Area (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Blast +8 (+14 Ranged Damage, DC 29)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +14 (+4 Impervious), Fortitude +11, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Power)- Blastaar is nothing more than a simple conqueror- his motivations are easily-understood.
Temper- Blastaar is quick to rage, and lives up to his name.
Reputation (Dictator)- Blastaar's native Baluurians threw the bum out years ago, and he's been trying to re-take his home planet ever since.
Relationship (Family)- Blastaar's wife Nyglar, his father, and even his son Burstaar all hate him.

Total: Abilities: 72 / Skills: 26--13 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 62 / Defenses: 13 (177)

-Blastaar's been through the wringer as a C-League Fantastic Four opponent. He showed up in the Negative Zone during one of Reed Richards' little travels, coming out of a Life Support Coma thingie and kicking some ass, but the FF ultimately beat him back- it was a ridiculously-fillery storyline for one single issue, and it was fine for that. He's always fulfilled that role as a guy who was pretty tough, hit hard, and was a threat, but never really a BIG storyline deal. He was a Lee/Kirby One-Shot Opponent at-best. He's been occasionally involved with Annihilus (usually as an enemy), and during Annihilation he got mainly a supporting role. He fought against Annihilus, then did some other stuff, and killed his father, who wanted to keep their kingdom a peaceful, scientific one. Blastaar, of course, is the embodiment of wasteful battle, often fighting for combat's own sake. We'll see where this rather one-note character ends up as things move forward, now that Annihilus is in an infant state.

-Blastaar's pretty hardcore, being a PL 12 Blaster. It's one HELL of a Blast, able to break nearly anybody, and the guy also has All-Out & Power Attack to deal extra punishment with high-level Energy. Plus a giant Area Effect that can bring down an entire team of Avengers (sans-Thor or Hercules) in one shot. He's based almost entirely around battle, mixing Thing-level Strength with his super-Blast, but has a unique trick in that he can always go into Suspended Animation.

[Claire Redfield]

I always liked Blastaar. One thing Annihilation was good for—in addition to being probably the coolest story in comics in the past decade, at least—is for some minor-leaguers to get a chance to shine again. In theory.

[Jabroniville]

OK, so that's Avengers disguised as Guardians. But you're never gonna get a better artist for the Guardians than Carlos Pacheco.

THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY:

The original Guardians is a team I've never really read in detail, and I never really had a desire to. They were around for fifteen YEARS before they ever got their own solo series (apparently they were a sorta-popular '70s back-up-story type of team, but in the era where Marvel almost went bankrupt, they probably didn't get a lot of chances), they were a bizarre assortment of heroes living in the 31st Century, fighting off the evil alien Badoon. They made a handful of appearances in Marvel during the 1970s and 80s (they debuted in 1969, but went unused for six years after first showing up in a rotating feature book), but didn't get their own series until 1990. Y'know, that era where EVERYTHING got it's own series. You had Night Thrasher, Moon Knight, Darkhawk, Sleepwalker, Hellstorm, The Darkhold Redeemers, the NightStalkers and even frickin' TERROR INC. carrying their own series back then, so you know just about ANYTHING would be produced back then.

So the series farted around for about five years, being cancelled with #61. I've yet to see ONE online fan raise a stink over how the "Guardians got screwed!", and I've seen fans of the female Red Guardian complain about characters getting screwed over (my favourite comics example)! They're a bizarre assortment of ridiculous designs (some of which look VERY seventies in origin) and even WORSE codenames (CHARLIE-27!?!?!), making for the dumbest-sounding super-hero team in history. That sense of ridiculousness (and the fact that I know next to NOTHING of the team and it's adventures) means they're PERFECT for my builds, as I have to look up tons of info on each member, give my own cranky opinions of them, and the research alone will keep me busy for a while.

The team would be "resurrected" slightly in modern times, with the current GotG series featuring a modern-day cast of reasonably-cool characters that pays a bit of lip service to the original by including the book's main hero, Major Victory.

Writer Jim Valentino worked on the '90s series for a long time, and it's considered a bit of a forgotten classic by a few.

[Jabroniville]

Mark Texieira can apparently do the impossible and make Nikki look AWESOME.

NIKKI (Nicholette Gold)
Created By: Steve Gerber & Al Milgrom
First Appearance: Marvel Presents #4 (April 1976)
Role: Team Slut
Group Affiliations: The Guardians of the Galaxy
PL 9 (142)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+11)
Athletics 6 (+7)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Space Hero) 4 (+5)
Insight 2 (+2)
Intimidation 1 (+3)
Technology 4 (+5)
Perception 5 (+5)
Persuasion 3 (+5)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+9)
Vehicles 2 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+10)

Advantages:
Defensive Roll 2, Daze (Deception), Equipment 3 (Stun Gun, Lasers), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Stun Gun), Improved Defense, Improved Smash, Luck, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Ranged Attack 6, Set-Up, Taunt, Teamwork

Powers:
"Adapted for Super-Heated Conditions"
Immunity 17 (Visual Dazzles, Heat Effects, Radiation Damage) [17]

Heat Aura 1 [4]

Equipment:
"Stun Gun" Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged) (12) -- (13)

AE: "Laser Pistol" Blast 6 (12)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 17)
Heat +10 (+1 Damage, DC 17)
Stun Gun +11 (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Laser Pistol +11 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +6

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

Complications:
Reputation (Flirt & Man-Chaser)- Nikki's first reaction upon meeting a remotely-attractive male is to flirt with him, and she fawns over pretty much every guy.

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 22 / Powers: 21 / Defenses: 14 (142)

-Nikki's kinda hard to figure out. I mean, she was the obvious Team Bimbo (long-term sexual relationship with Charlie-27, then proceeded to fawn over Talon & Firelord), but in combat? She was the Sharpshooter, I guess, which is rare for superhero teams (unless you count Image), with some heat immunities that were odd and didn't have alot of combat use. Out of the whole team, she seemed lightest on big feats and plot changes. In addition, she was probably the dumbest member of the team to an outsider's point of view, and I often hold her up as an example of why I didn't read the series- I mean, her super-hero name is NIKKI. That's IT.

-Nikki's not a super-effective build, but I think it's accurate. Her "Heat Aura" isn't actually LISTED as a power in any site I've seen, but descriptions of events clearly show her singing people she kisses or burning the clothes off of others, so I'll go with a VERY low-level Aura power. She's adapted for Heat, making her immune to various things, which would come in handy if fighting the Human Torch or something I guess, but really, it's all about shooting stuff with her. Not many characters make PL only via Equipment (her Stun Gun is her best weapon, but as Equipment, it's easier to break & replace than normal Devices) and at range, so she's fairly limited, and vulnerable to harm (+4 Toughness, and that's only when not flat-footed).

[Jabroniville]

MAJOR VICTORY (Vance Astrovik)
Created By: Arnold Drake & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969)
Role: The Leader, The Angsty One
Group Affiliations: The Guardians of the Galaxy (Both Versions)
PL 10 (175)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+8)
Acrobatics 2 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+8)
Expertise (US Air Force/Astronaut) 9 (+13)
Insight 4 (+6)
Perception 5 (+7)
Technology 4 (+8)
Stealth 1 (+5)
Vehicles 5 (+9)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Close Attack, Defensive Attack, Inspire, Leadership, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Mutant Powers: Telekinetic"
"Psyche-Blasts" Affliction 10 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Cumulative, Ranged) (30) -- [33]

AE: "Telekinesis" Move Object 6 (12)
AE: "TK Burst" Damage 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (16)
AE: Create 8 (16)

"Copper Alloy Bodysuit" (Flaws: Removable) [8]
Protection 3 (Extras: Impervious 5) (8)
Immunity 1 (Aging) (1)
-- (9 points)

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [18]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion, Withstand Damage (2)
"Telekinetic Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Feats: Accurate) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (21) -- (27)

Dynamic AE:"Telekinetic Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +4 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 8, Selective 8) (21)
Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 5 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (9)

-- (29 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Shield Bash +11 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Shield Toss +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Area Toss +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
TK Burst +8 Area (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+12 Shield, DC 20-22), Parry +10 (+12 Shield, DC 20-22), Toughness +5 (+8 Costume), Fortitude +7, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (Man Out of Time)- Vance is from the 20th Century, and is out of his place in the Guardians' world in the 31st.
Relationship (Aleta)- Vance loves his teammate- the ex-wife of his other teammate Starhawk.
Responsibility (Captain America's Shield & Legacy)
Weakness (Torn Suit)- Major Victory's youth in the future depends on wearing his specially-sealed costume. If the suit is damaged, he will immediately start taking damage and Weaken effects over his physical stats, and he will die if the suit is removed.
Power Loss (Telekinesis)- Without the Telekinesis to assist it, the Shield moves much more slowly, doing less damage (+6 maximum), and probably loses some accuracy due to lack of practise.

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 58 / Defenses: 14 (175)

-Vance Astro/Major Victory is the key character of the Guardians, being iconic enough to take part in the modern incarnation of the team as well. He's an astronaut from our time (the adult version of Marvel Boy/Justice of the New Warriors/Avengers/Initiative... who later got convinced not to become an astronaut after all, thus creating a classic case of comics weirdness) who was sent into the future in suspended animation to terraform some faraway planet, only to discover a war-torn future ruled by The Badoon. Forming the initial band of four, he led the team into the '90s, before that future got wiped out by stuff, and now he's kicking around (with Captain America's Shield, no less!) with the current Guardians as a back-up guy.

-Victory's a little weird to stat out, as he's a Telekinetic who somehow fires brain neurons like a Psychic does, alongside carrying the best Shield in all of comics (which he Ricochets via Telepathy instead of actual throwing skill, but I figure it's mostly the same stats either way with a Complictaion- I like 3e for the ability to do things like that without trying to configure points-costs), and has a Bodysuit that protects him, but would cost him his life if it was removed. Over the years, he's had tons of power-ups and power-downs, so this is the most generic possible build, set in a general sort of era (I know the current book features this variant). There's another version that removes the Bodysuit and also the Weakness on it.

[Tattooedman]

The original Guardians? Nice work there Jab.

Back in the day I actually collected their series and for the life of me I think the only reason Nikki was added to the group was to keep it from being a sausage party.

Most the others had some kind of unique racial abilities (Charlie was tough & strong, Yondu was a kick-ass fighter with some alien weapons, Martinex had his cold/heat blasts, and Vance had his psychokentic powers) while all Nikki had was the immunities you gave her.

The only other thing I ever saw her do with her racial traits was use her flaming 'hair' to blind a foe that was choking her from behind.

Otherwise she was all about jumping around & shooting crappy (I can't recall her really doing damage with her pistols) while trying to talk trash in fights. I think your build of her is pretty spot on.

[Skavenger]

Something I never thought of until now involving Major Victory was "just which version of Cap's shield is it?" With the divergent timeline, we have no idea if that's Cap's original shield, his shield post-Fear Itself, or some weird future shield.

Oh yeah, and for my money, the Guardians of the Galaxy always get a raw deal. If they can keep milking the Terminator franchise, they could've done a lot more with the Guardians (the future ones, not just the current ones).

(Speaking of the modern Guardians, have they explained yet in that A vs X how Nova got back yet? I'd like to know what happened to Starlord)

[Jabroniville]

"My super-power is being really, really annoying to draw."

MARTINEX (Martinex T'Naga)
Created By: Arnold Drake & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969)
Role: The Science Guy
Group Affiliations: The Guardians of the Galaxy
PL 9 (145)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Science) 8 (+13)
Expertise (Space Hero) 4 (+9)
Technology 9 (+14)
Perception 3 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Great Endurance, Equipment (Tech Gear), Improved Aim, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 6, Skill Mastery 2 (Science, Technology), Teamwork

Powers:
"Pluvian Biology"
"Silicon Coating" Protection 6 [6]
Immunity 10 (Heat & Cold Damage) [10]

"Infrared Heat Energy" Blast 9 (Feats: Penetrating 9) (27) -- [30]

AE: "Internal Heating" Blast 9 (Extras: Fortitude Save +0) (18)
AE: "Reducing Thermal Energy" Environment 3 (Cold) (6)
AE: "Ice Beam" Snare 9 (27)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Infra-Blast +8 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Internal Heating +8 (+9 Ranged Fortitude Damage, DC 24)
Snare +8 (+9 Ranged Affliction, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +11, Fortitude +5, Will +6

Complications:
Responsibility (The Last Pluvian Alive)- Martinex is the sole-survivor of his race.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 13 / Powers: 46 / Defenses: 8 (145)

-Martinex is pretty dull, but puts a whole bunch of concepts together into one build; he's a semi-armored guy with Hot & Cold powers from his hands (wow! Another guy like that! Between Crux and the other buncha guys I've learned about while doing this thread, that's actually a pretty sizeable amount of guys that have both powers! And here I thought it was rare!) who's also the team's resident techno-genius.

-Martinex is a bit expensive for a PL 9 because of all his various powers. Not alot of "Brick" types end up getting a bunch of Ranged Powers on top of it, in addition to being a genius and having a bunch of Skills. What ends up happening is that he's pretty mediocre despite it all, having a Blast variant and it's Alt-Effects, but not a lot to do with it. The Infrared quality of it allows him to heat things (and people) up from the inside, which is quite powerful, but he lacks Improved Critical, Power Attack and various other Blaster effects, and he's not good enough in melee to get the most out of his Super-Strength either.

[Jabroniville]

CHARLIE-27
Created By: Arnold Drake & Gene Colan
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (Jan. 1969)
Role: The Powerhouse, The Military Guy
Group Affiliations: The Guardians of the Galaxy
PL 9 (134)
STRENGTH 9 STAMINA 7 AGILITY 0
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Deception 4 (+5)
Expertise (Space Soldier) 8 (+10)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 6 (+7)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Technology 3 (+5)
Vehicles 6 (+8)
Vehicles 6 (+14) -- Flaws: Limited to Flying Vehicles

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Diehard, Great Endurance, Equipment 12 (Guns +6, "The Captain America I" Spaceship), Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Gun), Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Ranged Attack 8, Teamwork

Powers:
"Jovian Biology"
Protection 1 (Extras: Impervious 5) [6]
Features 3: Increased Mass 3 [3]

Equipment:
"Blasters" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Blasters +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +0

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +8, Fortitude +7, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (The Last Jovian Alive)- Charlie-27 is the sole-survivor of his race.
Relationship (Nikki)

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 28 / Powers: 9 / Defenses: 12 (134)

-Charlie-27 would probably win any contest I can think of for "The Worst Super-Hero Name Ever". I mean, what kind of super-hero has a NUMBER in their name, let alone CHARLIE? Were they even trying? So this guy is a super-dense army guy from Jupiter, acting as the team's resident powerhouse & gun-fighter, and he looks ridiculous as all hell, being a big square dude. I can see him being the "Ironhide" of a group, being a gruff & tough guy, but altogether, I think you can point to THIS precise character as the reason why the "Guardians of the Galaxy" has now come to mean the modern team and not the old one.

-I've read some comments by a fan of the original team that you could easily make the old team a cool group with some modern modifications, and I agree- Charlie-27 could just get his "Old Soldier" persona shifted into a bad-ass Brock Samson-type of character who kicks tons of ass and kills people while being funny and sarcastic. That would make "Charlie-27" a popular character and get him more "legit". The only problem is, YOU COULD DO THAT WITH ANY CHARACTER EVER. The whole "There are no bad characters, just bad writers/actors" thing extends everywhere, and with the new team, there's a whole lot less work.

-Charlie-27 is a standard PL 9 who can brawl it out with guys like The Thing for a short while, as well as blast away at range fairly well. I decided to give him the Equipment points for the Guardians' spaceship, since he's the only one who ever flew the damn thing, as well as a bunch of military-related Skills & Advantages. Altogether, he's not bad, but this whole team kinda stats out funny, with three semi-balanced PL 9s, an over-costed PL 9, and a slightly over-costed PL 10 so far.