J-Mart PC: Iceman, Captain Marvel (Carol)

[Thorpacolypse]

Another new item in our X-Verse line is getting stocked on Aisle 2!


Oh, my stars and garters... - Beast

BEAST
PL: 10 (150 pts) - OPL: 10 ; DPL: 10

ABILITIES: STRENGTH 8, STAMINA 7, AGILITY 8, DEXTERITY 2, FIGHTING 6, INTELLECT 8, AWARENESS 2, PRESENCE 1

SKILLS: Acrobatics 8 (+16), Athletics 5 (+13), Close Combat [Unarmed] 6 (+12), Deception (+1), Expertise [Science] 5 (+13), Insight (+2), Intimidation (+1), Investigation 2 (+10), Perception 3 (+5), Persuasion (+1), Sleight of Hand (+2) , Stealth (+8), Technology 5 (+13) [Technology], Treatment 4 (+12), Vehicles (+2)

ADVANTAGES: Beginner's Luck, Benefit (1) (Ambidexterity), Defensive Attack, Eidetic Memory, Equipment (1), Inventor, Jack-of-all-Trades, Move-by Action, Teamwork,

POWERS:
Beast Hide: Feature 1 (Insulating Fur); 1 pts
Beast Physiology: Feature 1 (Prehensile Feet), Leaping 2 (30 ft), Speed 2 (8 mph), Movement 1 (Wall Crawling), Regeneration 3 (1/every 3 rounds); 9 pts
Beast Senses: Senses 4 (Low Light Vision, Scent [Acute, Ranged, Extended]); 4 pts
Pheromones: Perception Ranged Affliction 2 (Resisted/Overcome by Will; 1st: Dazed, 2nd: Compelled, Extra: Cumulative, Subtle, Flaw: Limited [to two degrees], Limited [opposite sex only], Sense Dependent [Olfactory]); 4 pts

EQUIPMENT:
(5ep)
X-Men Costume: Commlink (Senses 1 [Communication Link, Radio; X-Men), Protection 1, Immunity 2 (Environmental Cold, Environmental Heat); 4ep

OFFENSE:
Initiative +8
Close Attack +6
Unarmed +12 [Unarmed +8]
Ranged Attack +2

DEFENSES:
Dodge +12 [DC22] Parry +12 [DC22]
Toughness +8, Fortitude +10, Will +9

COMPLICATIONS:
Fame: He is one of the leading spokesman for the Mutant race in addition to being a world class biologist
Monstrous Appearance: Anthropomorphic feline appearance can be unsettling for those not used to him
Phobia: With his mutation constantly in flux, he has a great fear of losing his intelligence and becoming a true beast
Prejudice: Mutant
Relationships: Most of the X-Men, although he is very close to Professor X, his fellow "First Class"-mates (even though he and Scott are on the outs right now), Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne (from his time with the Avengers), and he is currently sort of dating Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D.

Abilities 84 + Skills 19 (38 ranks) + Advantages 9 + Powers 18 + Defenses 20 = 150 / 150

Comments: I am really happy with the way this PC version of Hank came out. He wasn't that hard to fit into the PL10/150 pt format, and he came out to a full PL10 on defense, and unarmed, which felt right, and he’s a kickin’ scientist, tech guy and medic which has really become his main role in the X-Verse as of late. Well, at least before he walked out, but you hope he and Scott will make up eventually, even with the dick moves Cyke has pulled recently.

[Goldar]

Just wanted to stop by and say some pretty nice builds on here, Thorp!

I really liked the Cyclops one and the pic you used---very mean and powerful looking!

In the olden days, when Marvel and DC would crossover, several writers would have the Justice League speculate about how odd it was that the people of Earth-616 didn't seem to like their superheroes very much. These days, I rather suspect that the staff at Marvel doesn't seem to like their superheroes very much...

Hi Batgirl! I very much agree with your statement! I remember the JLA stating the above. It gave pause to look at both "universes" and how they are different.

I have felt that Marvel disliked their own characters myself for a long time now, at least for the past 12 years. Although, their dislike for their characters seemed to really start about 1986! And the 90's were not much better. If they don't like their own characters, how can the fans? I know many who only collect DC now.

[Woodclaw]

In the olden days, when Marvel and DC would crossover, several writers would have the Justice League speculate about how odd it was that the people of Earth-616 didn't seem to like their superheroes very much. These days, I rather suspect that the staff at Marvel doesn't seem to like their superheroes very much...

Hi Batgirl! I very much agree with your statement! I remember the JLA stating the above. It gave pause to look at both "universes" and how they are different.

I have felt that Marvel disliked their own characters myself for a long time now, at least for the past 12 years. Although, their dislike for their characters seemed to really start about 1986! And the 90's were not much better. If they don't like their own characters, how can the fans? I know many who only collect DC now.

I got a similar feeling over the years when I saw some decision that Marvel made on creative teams, the worst culprit was Garth Ennis on "The Punisher". Now, I know that at the time, Ennis seemed like the coolest author since Stan, but how can you think about giving any character from a superheroistic universe (even Castle) to an author that hates superheroes and not seeing a major disaster incoming?

[Thorpacolypse]

We've got a HOT new item for Aisle 1!


Now and forever...Giggity...

STARFIRE PC
PL: 10 (150 pts) - OPL: 10 ; DPL: 10

ABILITIES: STRENGTH 10, STAMINA 10, AGILITY 3, DEXTERITY 3, FIGHTING 10, INTELLECT 1, AWARENESS 2, PRESENCE 2

SKILLS: Acrobatics 5 (+8), Athletics (+10), Deception 3 (+5/+10) Attractive], Insight (+2), Intimidation 7 (+9), Investigation , Perception 3 (+5), Persuasion 3 (+5/+10) Attractive], Ranged Combat [Blast] 5 (+8), Stealth (+3)

ADVANTAGES: All-Out Attack, Attractive (2), Improved Initiative (1), Power Attack, Takedown (1), Teamwork

POWERS:
Language Assimilation: Comprehend Languages 2 (Speak and Understand all languages; Quirk: Requires Physical Contact to “Learn”); 3 points
Solar Conversion: Flight 10 (2,000 MPH); 20 pts
Solar Sustenance: Immunity 10 (Life Support; Flaw: Limited [Requires sunlight]); 5 pts
Starbolt Array: 24 pt Array; 25 pts
Starbolt Blast: Ranged Damage 12; 24 pts
Solar Enhanced Strength: Enhanced Strength 9; 1 pt

EQUIPMENT:
NONE

OFFENSE:
Initiative +7
Close Attack +10 [Unarmed +10]
Ranged Attack +3
Starbolts +8 [Starbolts +12]

DEFENSES:
Dodge +10 [DC20] Parry +10 [DC20]
Toughness +10, Fortitude +10, Will +8

COMPLICATIONS:
Alien: Being from Tamaran, she sometimes has trouble adjusting to life on Earth, Enemy: Starfire’s sister, Blackfire, harbors a deep resentment toward and lifelong hatred for her
Power Loss: During any prolonged period without exposure to sunlight, Starfire loses her Flight and Starbolts powers
Relationships: She has unresolved feelings for Dick Grayson and she is close to her New Titans teammates, Donna Troy, Beast Boy and Cyborg
Temper: She is well known for her hot temper which gets her into trouble sometimes (even leading to her rumbling with Wonder Woman)

Abilities 64 + Skills 13 (26 ranks) + Advantages 7 + Powers 53 + Defenses 13 = 150 / 150

Comments: Kory is an interesting character to me because she’s gone through such ups and downs in the DCU depending on the writers’ whim. She was a breakout character in Wolfman’s Teen Titans run, mainly, I think, because of the fan service aspects but along the way, she got some pretty decent writing for the “hot girl from another world” angle she was given. But other writers have pretty much totally used her as fan service. She seems to bounce from supporting role to supporting role but I think she could carry a book if it’s done right.

As a build, I built her to be a step below the true powerhouse females of the DCU but more powerful than most of her Titans era compadres (outside of Donna Troy, who I would probably stat stronger). Her strength is hard to nail down but I figured about the 25 ton range is good and it stills leaves her enough cap room to be very accurate. They always made a big deal about her training with the Warlords of Okaara, so I wanted to take advantage of that.

[Thorpacolypse]

The first item from our 30th Century store just got sent back via Delorean and is hitting the Aisle 1 shelves!


I smell what the Rokk is cookin'!

COSMIC BOY
PL: 10 (150 pts) - OPL: 10 ; DPL: 10

ABILITIES: STRENGTH 2, STAMINA 2, AGILITY 3, DEXTERITY 3, FIGHTING 5, INTELLECT 3, AWARENESS 4, PRESENCE 4

SKILLS: Acrobatics 4 (+7), Athletics 4 (+6), Close Combat [Unarmed] 3 (+8), Deception (+4), Expertise [Tactics] 9 (+12), Insight 4 (+8) [Assessment], Intimidation (+4), Investigation 2 (+5), Perception (+4), Persuasion 6 (+10), Ranged Combat [Magnetic Control] 4 (+7), Stealth (+3)

ADVANTAGES: Accurate Attack, Assessment, Benefit (1) (Legion Membership), Defensive Roll (2), Equipment (7), Inspire (1), Leadership, Teamwork

POWERS:
Electromagnetic Awareness: Senses 2 (Detect Electromagnetic Fields [Ranged]); 2 pts
Force Field: Protection 8 (Flaw: Sustained); 8 pts
Magnetic Flight: Flight 4 (32 mph); 8 pts
Magnetic Control: 27 pt array; 29 pts
Magnetic Lifting: Move Object 13 (Extra: Precise); 27 pts
Magnetic Constructs: Create 12 (Extra: Innate, Precise); 1 pt
Magnetic Blast: Ranged Damage 13; 1 pt

EQUIPMENT:
(35ep)
Legion Flight Ring: Communication 5 (Subspace Radio, Anywhere; Flaw: Limited to Distress Signal Only); Flight 7 (250 MPH), AE (of Flight): Movement 1 (Space Travel); 20ep
Telepathic Earplug: Comprehend 3 (Speak, Understand All Languages); Communication 1 (Mental, Flaw: Close Range); 8ep
Transsuit: Immunity 7 (All Environmental Conditions, Suffocation); 7ep

OFFENSE:
Initiative +3
Close Attack +5
Unarmed +8 [Unarmed +2]
Ranged Attack +3
Magnetic Control +7 [Projectile Attack +13; Magnetic Lifting Move Object +13]

DEFENSES:
Dodge +8 [DC18] Parry +8 [DC18]
Toughness +4 (+12 with Force Field), Fortitude +7, Will +9

COMPLICATIONS:
Doing Good: Cosmic Boy is motivated to do good simply because it’s the right thing to do
Obsession: Cosmic Boy’s dedication to the Legion goes beyond mere commitment. He is a stalwart member and often makes personal sacrifices for the betterment of the team

Abilities 52 + Skills 18 (36 ranks) + Advantages 15 + Powers 47 + Defenses 18 = 150 / 150

Comments: I always loved the Legion books as a kid and even though I’ve lost interest over the years, they still have a special place in my comic fandom and from time to time, I read something of theirs just to remind myself of that wonderful feeling known as teen angst that has turned into middle age angst…

Cosmic Boy (Rokk Krin, just in case someone didn't get the reference above) is a fave, mainly because of his costumes. Sure he’s an original member, one of the great leaders in comics and magnetic control is a great powerset, but it’s the Horrible Fashion Immunity power that he seems to have that I gotta give props to. Any dude that can pull off a pink costume and then a stripper outfit and still remain a vital and popular character is a true man among men.

I say I am going to stat of all the Legion as PCs, but I don't really see it happening. I can't see myself mustering up the gumption to try and stretch Bouncing Boy to 150 pts, but it could happen, I suppose.

[Batgirl III]

I've seen more modest attire at Gay Pride parades than Rokk has sported over the years... the 1970s were a cruel period to be a super-hero in. But you do have to give them props for managing to put the male Legionaries of this period into more "stripperific" outfits than the women -0 and giving what Dawnstar wears, this is no mean feat.

[Jabroniville]

That Cosmic Boy costume is LEGENDARILY epic- it's hilarious how goofy men look in the same type of outfits male fans drool over when they're on women . I wonder if more women would read comics if every page had guys dressed like that, making sure their butts and pecs stayed in the same shot with their poses.

Starfire's strength is an endless source of amusement for me, because at some random point somebody decided she needed Super-Strength. Nowhere in the Wolfman/Perez run have I seen any evidence of such a thing, yet in modern times it's now accepted. That's just totally and incredibly bizarre, even for a universe prone to reboots.

[Batgirl III]

That Cosmic Boy costume is LEGENDARILY epic- it's hilarious how goofy men look in the same type of outfits male fans drool over when they're on women . I wonder if more women would read comics if every page had guys dressed like that, making sure their butts and pecs stayed in the same shot with their poses.

That depends on the artist, I think, after all I couldn't stand Michael Turner's new design for Supergirl... until Adam Hughes started to draw her. It's the exact same costume, but Hughes' lets her wear a skirt that actual covers her and has actually learned to draw human anatomy. Adam Hughe's women have ribcages, stomachs, and spines. When I see her draw by Hughes, she's gorgeous; drawn by Turner, she's grotesque.

As for Starfire... well, Joe Phillips over at Project: Rooftop recently put out a gender-flipped verision of Starfire and theWhite "King". I do appreciate the lengths he went to to make sure that each man's, shall we say, "pelvic area" is emphasised... and although he does have uncomfortable pose for the White Queen -– with the pecs and pelvis awkwardly thrust ever-so-slightly out -- he doesn't have the truly bizare anatomy of a Michael Turner, Jim Lee, or a Rob Liefeild.

[Jabroniville]

George Perez's male Tamaranians were pretty fabulous, too- all orange and curly-haired like how he always drew the handsomest men in his works (like Jericho).

[Earth-Two_Kenn]

Starfire's strength is an endless source of amusement for me, because at some random point somebody decided she needed Super-Strength. Nowhere in the Wolfman/Perez run have I seen any evidence of such a thing, yet in modern times it's now accepted. That's just totally and incredibly bizarre, even for a universe prone to reboots.

Marv Wolfman said she had the strength of eight men. That's anywhere in the 4-7 range depending whether he meant normal men, athletic men, or Batmen.

The Teen Titans cartoon, which was forbidden to use Wonder Girl, did consciously increase Starfire's strength to a level where it exceeded Cyborg's. I'm not sure why. Possibly because of the Wonder Girl thing.

I have no idea when the main DC universe decided Kory had to be stronger than Vic, especially a good deal stronger. But I remember it was clearly shown that Donna and Vic were the team bricks and Kory was the team blaster. The modern "Starfire has super-strength" paradigm doesn't amuse me.

[Batgirl III]

George Perez's male Tamaranians were pretty fabulous, too- all orange and curly-haired like how he always drew the handsomest men in his works (like Jericho).

He had Dick sporting some beautiful feathered locks, a la Andy Gibb, for most of his tenure too. Combined with the disco collar and man-cleavage neckline, *roawr*, Perez and Wolfman knew how to give the female readers fan-service too... and Titans was one of the best selling books of the era. Coincidence? (Only their hairdresser knows for sure.)

[ClassDunce]

As for Starfire... well, Joe Phillips over at Project: Rooftop recently put out a gender-flipped verision of Starfire and theWhite "King". I do appreciate the lengths he went to to make sure that each man's, shall we say, "pelvic area" is emphasised... and although he does have uncomfortable pose for the White Queen -– with the pecs and pelvis awkwardly thrust ever-so-slightly out -- he doesn't have the truly bizare anatomy of a Michael Turner, Jim Lee, or a Rob Liefeild.

That's actually a pretty common way to draw men in the gay party community. When I lived in Houston you would go to the clubs and they would always have new posters up to advertise specific themed parties, the Bear posters were always the best lol, and they would always be drawn in stances like that. Powerful but still overtly sexual in nature. *shrugs* The artist is a gay man and you can tell, well I can at least, where he draws some of his inspiration even if it's an interpretation of established heroes and villains. If you go to his personal website he's got dozens of these.

He is certainly talented.

[Jabroniville]

It's actually really interesting to see how men, gay men, and women all draw beefcake/sexy men. Men of both orientations tend to focus on big muscles and overt manliness like that, with strong chins and big ol' bulges and what-not. As a straight dude, I find it hard to imagine "sexy men" being anything OTHER than super-built- I actually have problems figuring out why certain men are supposed to be attractive in real life (like Jude Law- can't figure that one out. Nor do I get the whole thing for guys with big noses that seems popular- like that guy on Supernatural or Ryan Gosling). I find most women draw wispier but still-athletic men (except for Japan, which draws them as waifish as a Disney Princess).

Perez was REALLY good at throwing in the sexy dudes in Teen Titans (apparently Deathstroke was supposed to be a "sexy older man" type)- I've long held that you can give girls SOMETHING to look at in your comics... that way, you can nearly double the potential fanbase (something comics frequently ignores), and the ladies can't complain when you do the crazy fanservice with the female characters! EVERYONE gets something to enjoy! And personally, sexy dudes never really intruded upon my enjoyment of a work (look at modern HBO shows, which are basically boob & wang frenzies). Granted, I still laughed at that one page montage of a shirtless, shorts-wearing Dick Grayson sweating up a storm in the gym, but I'm sure the ladies enjoyed it un-ironically .

That's interesting about Starfire having the "strength of eight men", though- the only real hints I saw that she was really strong was when she would knock Wonder Girl off her post in that staff-fighting thing they'd do.

Heh... I just realized we took up a bunch of posts on J-Mart to talk about sexy dudes. They should post some more sexy ladies to counter-act the beefcake .

[Batgirl III]

I think the brilliance of the Perez/Wolfman run on Titans, when it comes to "something nice to look at," is that they had this large ensemble cast and made each of them visually distinctive and appealed to all different tastes: Dick Grayson was your disco idol heartthrob, Vic was your beefcake, Gar was the one you just wanted to hug. Donna had the classic Hollywood glamour, Kory was... well, Kory, Raven had the gothic romantic appeal, Terra was the one that really, really needed a hug. Slade was Sean Connery.

Pair this small, but important, bit of visual appeal with some damn fine storytelling, and there is a reason that these comics are still fondly remembered, what, thirty-or-forty odd years later? Many of us weren't even alive when they were written, yet we've gotten the trades and reprints and become fans anyway. I doubt anyone will remember YoungBlood in ten years, except, maybe as a punchline.

[Earth-Two_Kenn]

That's interesting about Starfire having the "strength of eight men", though- the only real hints I saw that she was really strong was when she would knock Wonder Girl off her post in that staff-fighting thing they'd do.

Well, that's just it. Kory's heightened strength is an informed ability anyway. Knocking the 120 lb. Donna off her post with a staff, that's not even super human strength. And Donna couldn't use her full strength or the staff would be toothpicks at the get go.

Actually the biggest indicator that Kory possessed greater than normal strength is the way she'd carry Robin/Nightwing around in flight. To look at her, Kory doesn't look like she could carry 150-170 lbs. for a sustained period of time, and yet, she did, regularly. She even carried Vic once or twice. But that's still 4, 5, or 6 range strength.

I remember she had to stun a runaway horse, which implies she couldn't lift the horse. And she had to power-stunt her Starbolt into close damage when she wanted to plow through a ship. (NTT vol. 1, #27, IIRC). She wasn't a 10s of tons strength character.