MDSnowman: Tears of Taija Act 5 Updates, Mira

[MDSnowman]

One behalf of blacksuperheroes.com, I have to ask about the codename... Does every African superhero have to have a name that tell you his skin color and his power?

Guy gets big and strong, and he's black: Black Goliath...
Guy shoots lighting bolts, and he's black: Black Lighting...
Guy dresses like a cat, and he's black: Black Panther...
Guy flies aroung on skis really fast, , and he's black: Black Racer

It's not like Gotham City is protected by Bat-Anglo-Saxon. No one in Metropolis calls out "Help me! Help me, Flying White Guy!"

But really, it is a great character, MDS, as always. All kidding aside, the codename is pretty cool too... Although, I might change his background up a bit. I think Marvel covered the Tsukegee Airmen superhero angle pretty well with Red, White & Black.

Perhaps Black Flag is a Japanese-American? Perhaps a woman? Or he was created by the Nazis as their super soldier, but defected on his first mission?

Actually Black Flag was originally White when the idea was first presented to me (I still might have art sitting around of Golden Age Black Flag the whiteboy ripping apart a room full of Nazi scum). He evolved as a character in the two + years since then. The end result was that he ended up being Black, which is likely why I didn't even make the above connections (I Frankly like the Japanese-American Idea more, but he was Vorpal's character so I tried to stay within his imagining of him).

You have to understand the campaign setting these characters were drawn from has been a pet project of Kid Vorpal and mine's since before M&M 2e came out. I can't vouch for Vorpal, but I was much less well read in comicbook lore back then. It's not made any more simple by the fact that Black Flag I's background was always murky in the game setting. Everyone knew how his life ended (it was a bit of a scandal, even before we decided to make him black) but not many people knew were he really came from.

Anyway Typhoon is our Nazi-turned-heroine

[Batgirl III]

Heh, its not like I don't rip off... er... pay homage to the classics of comic bookdom when making my characters. My latest? He shoots badguys with trick arrows, and he likes to do it at night.

Thus, Night Arrow was born!

[Thorpacolypse]

One behalf of blacksuperheroes.com, I have to ask about the codename... Does every African superhero have to have a name that tell you his skin color and his power?

Guy gets big and strong, and he's black: Black Goliath...
Guy shoots lighting bolts, and he's black: Black Lighting...
Guy dresses like a cat, and he's black: Black Panther...
Guy flies aroung on skis really fast, , and he's black: Black Racer

It's not like Gotham City is protected by Bat-Anglo-Saxon. No one in Metropolis calls out "Help me! Help me, Flying White Guy!"

But really, it is a great character, MDS, as always. All kidding aside, the codename is pretty cool too... Although, I might change his background up a bit. I think Marvel covered the Tsukegee Airmen superhero angle pretty well with Red, White & Black.

Perhaps Black Flag is a Japanese-American? Perhaps a woman? Or he was created by the Nazis as their super soldier, but defected on his first mission?

Actually Black Flag was originally White when the idea was first presented to me (I still might have art sitting around of Golden Age Black Flag the whiteboy ripping apart a room full of Nazi scum). He evolved as a character in the two + years since then. The end result was that he ended up being Black, which is likely why I didn't even make the above connections (I Frankly like the Japanese-American Idea more, but he was Vorpal's character so I tried to stay within his imagining of him).

You have to understand the campaign setting these characters were drawn from has been a pet project of Kid Vorpal and mine's since before M&M 2e came out. I can't vouch for Vorpal, but I was much less well read in comicbook lore back then. It's not made any more simple by the fact that Black Flag I's background was always murky in the game setting. Everyone knew how his life ended (it was a bit of a scandal, even before we decided to make him black) but not many people knew were he really came from.

Anyway Typhoon is our Nazi-turned-heroine

Don't worry, MDSnow. On behalf of us bleeks everywhere, we took no offense to the naming convention. Now Black Vulcan on the other hand...

Heck, I'm just happy to see more black heroes PERIOD!

[Batgirl III]

Now Black Vulcan on the other hand...

Man, the Superfreinds wouldn't even spring to buy that guy pants. No Pants and they made him wear one of Batman's old hand-me-down cowls....

[MDSnowman]

No character build today, a trip to Boston to help my sister move has sapped my will to live.

[Libra]

Please don't think like that. It's rather like showing someone pictures of your family in a War Film and commenting on how much you want to see them again. . .

It just invites misfortune and I wouldn't want to to see you do that to yourself.

(Yes, I am superstitious. . . )

[MDSnowman]

Please don't think like that. It's rather like showing someone pictures of your family in a War Film and commenting on how much you want to see them again. . .

It just invites misfortune and I wouldn't want to to see you do that to yourself.

(Yes, I am superstitious. . . )

In America the real killer is if you mention the first thing that you'll do once you get home is go see your Brooklyn Dodgers play. People do that and get killed almost imediately.

[LibertyForce]

@batgirl III

We live in a White-Dominated culture in American, birthplace of comics so that is why black heros first had black in their name. The other reason was a character like Black Adam, black = dark or anti-hero like, or villianous.

Yet, today that need not be the case. In the end, had Africans grown up in culture and power like Europeans, sailed in the age of Exploration, and essentially "discovered" the rest of the world, and grown/built new nations which they later lost to revolutions then we would have seen White Panther, a white guy since black people would be dominate in general at least in America.

Yet, that would be an alternate universe so unless you live in that world you just have to accept a level of names like Black Panther, though creating new black heros without the word black in them would be a goal of companies like Marvel and DC since they themselves (and other comic companies) set the tone and direction of naming conventions.

In your own characters it should be your choice. I personally feel Black Rhino is a cooler name than the simple Rhino, and a black suited Rhino who is a white guy inside appeals to me more.

I personally would like a character like the archetype for Paragon in the 2e book who is black. He would be a neat character for a team like the West Coast Avengers instead of Wonder Man. I would have rather had him, of course then Scarlet Witch would have had an interracial relationship. Perhaps that is why not considering when that comic story line was introduced.

[Fyrehand]

in black panthers defense he is the imbues with the power of the black panther cult god so would be rude not to have black in his name.

and dont for get luke cage aka power man no black in that name (tho one of the biggest of the blacploitation movie ripoffs of all time when he first premieres)

and sadly i liked black vulcan when i was a kid tho now i can see how that toon may have been offensive but still....

[tylrlsaa]

and dont for get luke cage aka power man no black in that name (tho one of the biggest of the blacploitation movie ripoffs of all time when he first premieres)

IIRC, Luke Cage doesn't really use a 'super name' anymore.

[MDSnowman]

Typhoon

PL: 8 (120pp)

Abilities: STR: 20 (+5) DEX: 16 (+3) CON: 20 (+5) INT: 14 (+2) WIS: 16 (+3) CHA: 08 (-1)

Skills: Diplomacy 8 (+7), Knowledge [Natural Sciences] 8 (+10), Notice 12 (+15), Sense Motive 8 (+11), Stealth 9 (+12), Languages (English, French, Japanese; Base: German)

Feats: All-Out Attack, Dodge Focus (3), Environmental Adaptation [Aquatic], Improved Initiative (2), Power Attack, Tough (2)

Powers: Device 3 [Gungnir – Strike 2 (Extras: Penetrating 7, Auto-Fire; Power Feats: Mighty, Improved Reach, Improved Critical, Thrown; Power Feat: Indestructible; 10pp], Swimming 12 (12pp), Immunity 5 (Sleep, Suffocation in Water, Pressure, Cold, Own Slam Damage; 5pp), Super Senses 2 (Dark Vision; 2pp)

Combat: Attack +9 [Unarmed +5, Spear +7; 19-20 Crit; 10ft. Reach] Defense 19 (13 flat-footed) Init +11

Saves: Toughness +7 (7 flat-footed) Fortitude +8 Reflex +6 Will +6

Drawbacks: Weakness [Dehydration; -1 Constitution every 20 Minutes; 4pp]

Abilities 34 + Skills 12 (48 Ranks) + Feats 10 + Powers 29 + Combat 30 + Saves 9 – Drawbacks 4 = 120pp

Complications: Hatred (The Axis), Fame, Prejudice (Fish Person), Secret

Description:

The Heroine Typhoon stands about 5’8 with a slender build, teal reptilian skin, soft golden eyes, and a series of fins running from the top of her hairless head and down her back. Normally she eschews clothing of any kind, but this tends to scandalize land dwellers so she dons a one-piece black and blue swimsuit when she has to deal with them for a long period of time. She often travels with her spear slung over her shoulder.

Background:

The world was first introduced to Typhoon days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Several Japanese ships were filmed being sunk by a single figure. Closer examination of the film revealed this figure to be a strange fish woman who was literally swimming at these ships so fast and she was puncturing their hulls. Days later, this strange fish person sank a Nazi U-boat off the East coast of the United States. She came to shore afterwards and revealed herself to the public. Speaking perfect English she declared that as long as she lived the seas would not be safe for the Axis, nor anyone who got in her way. That was how the public met their first super powered person.

Speculation began instantly. Some scientists postulated that she was a member of a previously undiscovered Aquatic humanoid race. This theory was taken slightly more seriously to than the theory that she was the daughter of a member of a previously undiscovered aquatic humanoid race and a human being. The bottom line was that no one knew anything about this one-woman typhoon.

In reality the Nazis knew all too well what they were facing on the high seas, they had created it. In 1938 Doctor Bernard Sechs put into motion a series of medical experiments crossing human and animal traits. The end result was a squad a man animal hybrids who had started as human beings, but had their identities erased by the torturous process. Many of those early subjects were more animal than man, however one subject, a female human/shark hybrid, proved to be very coherent. In truth at the start of World War 2, many of the Nazi’s naval victories were largely the result of this woman, Haifisch-Maid’s actions.

The man-animals had always been told that they were born the way that they were. However, Haifisch-Maid discovered that she had actually started as a human being and had been changed into her current state by Sechs. Enraged she tried to kill Sechs, but was stopped by several heavily armed soldiers. Under a hail of gunfire she escaped the lab with a spear made of an experimental alloy.

That day she declared her own personal war against the Axis. Though she never mentioned it she also sought clues as to who she had been before her transformation. Clues have been sparse, as the files are top secret, but she’s determined to find out who she had been. This has brought her into direct conflict with Sechs and his ever more impressive man-animal forces.

[Novac]

Would you please stat Molly Hayes?

[Psistrike]

Very interesting history for Typhoon, love the search for who she was before the experiments. Although shouldn't her immunities be rank 5 instead of 4? Also

with his spear slung over her shoulder.

Shouldn't this be with her spear slung over her shoulder.

[Unknown Soldier]

Haha, I love Typhoon.

[Thorpacolypse]

@batgirl III

I personally would like a character like the archetype for Paragon in the 2e book who is black. He would be a neat character for a team like the West Coast Avengers instead of Wonder Man. I would have rather had him, of course then Scarlet Witch would have had an interracial relationship. Perhaps that is why not considering when that comic story line was introduced.

I have so many retorts to your overall post, but I'm not going to highjack the thread. But in short, you're generally right, things have gotten a lot better where the Black, Red, White, etc. is more a true indication of the character's color/motif than the person under the mask. We just need to take things at surface value sometimes.

I do like the Typhoon. Any more Deadeye stories coming, MDSnow?