Jab's Builds: He-Man, Battle Cat, Mekaneck, Buzz-Off

[Jabroniville]

"LUPIIINNNNNN! You're under arrest!"

INSPECTOR ZENIGATA (Koichi Zenigata)
Created By: Kazuhiko Katu, aka "Monkey Punch"
First Appearance: Weekly Shonen Action (Aug. 10, 1967)
Role: The Zenigata (Trope Namer, obviously), The Hunter
Group Affiliations: Interpol, Tokyo Police
PL 8 (96)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Athletics 4 (+5)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+10)
Expertise (Cop) 10 (+12)
Expertise (Current Events) 6 (+8)
Insight 4 (+6)
Investigation 6 (+8)
Perception 3 (+5)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Benefit (Interpol Clearance), Equipment 4 (Cop Gear), Fast Grab, Grab Finesse, Inspire, Leadership, Ranged Combat 7, Ultimate Skill (Cop)

Equipment:
"Colt .45" Blast 5 (10) -- (11)

AE: "Jitte Baton" Strength-Damage +2 (2)

"Handcuffs" (1)
"Police Car" (8)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Jitte +9 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Pistol +10 (+5 Damage, DC 203
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +7, Will +8

Complications:
Obsession (Lupin)- It is Zenigata's single-minded life's goal to capture Arsene Lupin III, and he will stop at nothing to accomplish this. The only thing that can hold him off is temporary alliances to save their lives.
Relationship (Lupin)- Despite his goals, Zenigata has shown appreciation for Lupin in the past, and has mourned Lupin's supposed deaths on occasion (and vice-versa). Each will avenge crimes inflicted on the other.
Honour- Zenigata is not a killer, and does not want Lupin dead. He will always fight to save lives, even those of enemies.
Responsibility (Interpol)- Zenigata must follow orders.

Total: Abilities: 48 / Skills: 40--20 / Advantages: 17 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (96)

-Inspector Zenigata is actually my favourite Lupin III character, despite him being kind of a Butt-Monkey in the series overall. The hapless detective who is relentlessly chasing Lupin throughout, he never quite gets his man- this is in spite of terrific effort, unwavering obsession (he once broke out of a coma just hearing someone say "Lupin"), and actual talent. He's portrayed as incompetent sometimes, but at points he's easily disabled several attackers at once in melee, handcuffed people by tossing his cuffs like a bola, and captured everyone OTHER than Lupin by story's end. There's just something to be said for his perserverance- it's implied that he's actually the best cop on Earth, because he's the only one who can SOMETIMES figure Lupin out- the rest don't have a chance. In "The Castle of Cagliostro", he's the guy who figures out Lupin's going to enter via the aqueducts, but he gets called away before he can do any good.

-Zenigata's no dummy, but at heart he's just a really high-level, excellent Cop, who isn't good enough to catch Lupin & friends simply because they are AWESOME while he is merely great. He's a PL 8 (95) guy with a high degre of talent (he'd actually be the best cop in Gotham other than Gordon).

INTERPOL COPS
[b]Role: Zenigata's Back-Up
Group Affiliations: Interpol, Tokyo Police
PL 4 (45)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 4 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Close Combat (Baton) 1 (+5)
Expertise (Cop) 6 (+6)
Expertise (Current Events) 2 (+2)
Insight 2 (+3)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 3 (+5)
Vehicles 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Cop Gear), Teamwork

Equipment:
"Colt .45" Blast 5 (10) -- (11)

AE: "Jitte Baton" Strength-Damage +2 (2)

"Handcuffs" (1)
"Big Fat Shield" Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 2 (5)

Offense:
Unarmed +4 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Jitte +5 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Pistol +2 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +3 (DC 13), Parry +4 (DC 14), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +3
"With Shield" Dodge +6 (DC 16), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 22--11 / Advantages: 5 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 5 (45)

-Zenigata's Goon Squad consists of a large group of background police officers, who usually charge in behind him en masse and smack away at people with their batons, while hiding behind their huge Riot Shields.

[Jabroniville]

THE COUNT OF CAGLIOSTRO
Created By: Hayao Miyazaki
First Appearance: The Castle of Cagliostro
Role: The Big Bad, Egotistical Rich Guy, The Power Behind the Throne
Group Affiliations: The Cagliostros
PL 8 (127)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 4 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Athletics 5 (+8)
Deception 4 (+8)
Expertise (Politics) 8 (+12)
Expertise (History) 2 (+6)
Expertise (Assassin) 8 (+12)
Insight 2 (+6)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Investigation 4 (+8)
Perception 4 (+8)
Persuasion 4 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+5)
Vehicles 5 (+8)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Benefit 4 (Wealth, Cagliostro's Height of Power), Connected, Contacts, Equipment 3, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 7, Well-Informed

Equipment:
"Autogyro" (6)
"Armour" Protection 1 (1)
"Finger Rockets" Blast 5 (Flaws: Limited to 2 Uses) (5) -- (6)

AE: "Sword" Strength-Damage +3 (Feats: Improved Critical) (4)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Sword +10 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Finger Rockets +10 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (DC 18), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+5 Armour), Fortitude +8, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Greed & Power)

Total: Abilities: 70 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 19 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 11 (127)

THE COUNT'S ELITE GOONS
Created By: Hayao Miyazaki
First Appearance: The Castle of Cagliostro
Role: Elite Mooks
Group Affiliations: The Cagliostros
PL 6 (42)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+5)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Perception 4 (+4)
Stealth 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Equipment 2

Equipment:
"Armour" Protection 2 (2)
Protection 2 (Extras: Impervious 6) (Flaws: Limited to Ballistics) (5)
"Claws" Strength-Damage +2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +6 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Claws +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 20), Toughness +2 (+4 Armour, +6 Ballistics), Fortitude +4, Will +0

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 4 (42)

-The Count is every bit your typical Lupin III villain- an egotistical, smarmy, super-confident man of immense wealth and lust for greed and power. Lust for greed, Lupin understands. But he's in it for kicks- all these power-hungry bastards are just BEGGING to have stuff stolen from him. And the Count's wealth comes from the two long-standing secrets of the tiny (pop. 3,500) principality of Cagliostro, the smallest member of the United Nations: 1) The fact that the Count's family have been the secret guiding hand of the monarchy for generations, dealing out political assassinations, and 2) The "Goat Bills", a legendary counterfit bill set-up that allows them to affect the global economy on a vast scale. The latter is Lupin's target, being a legend among thieves. The former he could have cared less about... had it not threatened a girl he admired. See, Princess Clarisse, the orphaned daughter of the last monarchs, is now of-age, and is about to be married to the Count, combining the two Houses of Cagliostro, which will set off an ancient prophecy. And this is what sets him up to get owned.

-The Count is smart, capable and very, very wealthy, packing an absolute HORDE of PL 5 goons (not included as part of his cost), that are nearly immune to gunfire (Jigen had to switch to a REALLY big gun to nail them), connections to the UN (he gets Zenigata thrown of the case as soon as he becomes annoying), and a vast castle, among the most bad-ass bases I have EVER seen- a giant medieval castle full of secret chambers, trap doors, a nigh-unbreachable room (a room in a tower, reachable only by a moving trackway in another part of the castle), a huge pit of dead bodies, a hidden chamber of counterfeit plates, and more. Simply awesome. He's a good fighter too, but lacks the finesse of Lupin, who holds him off using a wrench as a makeshift weapon, and then escapes each time they fight. He's calm and collected, until you REALLY tick him off, at which point he becomes obsessed and crazy. Just like a good villain does.

[Woodclaw]

Great Lupin builds Jab and thanks for not treating Zenigata like a butt-monkey, I've seen lots of people (the serie is very popular in Italy) considering him just a well intentioned but ineffective bumbler. And some of the authors actaully seem to agree with this. In my opinion Zenigata is a spectacular cop, who simply is aiming for a impossibly high target, against any criminal other than Lupin he's like a shark against a goldfish.

By the way, I noticed one thing about Jigen, you gave him a spectacular attack bonus with his revolver, but not much with other guns, in several occasions it was stated that he's a great marksman overall, but he'r better with his Smith & Wesson.

[Jabroniville]

Thanks for the advice & good stuff, all- I'm a more recent addition to the Lupin fanbase, so it's all good.

Regarding Jigen's attack bonus, I gave him +12 with regular guns (all that Ranged Attack), and +14 with his beloved Magnum. He DOES have about five ranks of Improved Critical with the latter, though, but I figured since it's his special weapon, he deserved it over more "once an adventure" type weaponry.

[Woodclaw]

Thanks for the advice & good stuff, all- I'm a more recent addition to the Lupin fanbase, so it's all good.

Regarding Jigen's attack bonus, I gave him +12 with regular guns (all that Ranged Attack), and +14 with his beloved Magnum. He DOES have about five ranks of Improved Critical with the latter, though, but I figured since it's his special weapon, he deserved it over more "once an adventure" type weaponry.

Sorry, I'm still not used to the 3E sheet format.

[cassius335]

Thanks for the advice & good stuff, all- I'm a more recent addition to the Lupin fanbase, so it's all good.

Regarding Jigen's attack bonus, I gave him +12 with regular guns (all that Ranged Attack), and +14 with his beloved Magnum. He DOES have about five ranks of Improved Critical with the latter, though, but I figured since it's his special weapon, he deserved it over more "once an adventure" type weaponry.

Doesn't Improved Crit max out at 4?

[Jabroniville]

... Yes. Yes it does. I should probably change that... except that Jigen is one of the few people that could justify breaking the rule .

[Jabroniville]

THE AVENGERS:

The Avengers have had a long, storied run as one of Marvel's top books that was never QUITE the top book, until very, very recently. See, back in the 1960s, The Avengers were basically a rip-off of the Justice League of America- a collection of all Marvel's top-selling solo heroes (Thor, Iron Man, The Hulk, Ant-Man & The Wasp)- but the Fantastic Four was by then dedicated as Marvel's #1 book, and it was soon followed with Spider-Man. So "The Avengers" was really just #3 for most of the '60s, despite having some pretty big villains (the early Masters of Evil, Kang, Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk after he turned on them). It's an odd book to look at nowadays, as the team fits together even more oddly than the FF does (The Hulk quit almost immediately- which you'd NEVER see in JLA). It never really "felt" like the Avengers until they thawed Captain America out of the ice to serve as their new leader, which set off a major era in the books.

It's a testament to the book's standing that at one point, ALL the originals left, with Cap sticking in an unproven group of ex-cons in the role. Can you imagine them trying that today? Every new line-up change has tons of fans whining about their favourites missing, and complaining about writer-faves showing up, and here The Avengers pulled one of the biggest roster-switches of all time in the mid-60s with Cap, Iron Man foe Hawkeye, & background X-Men villains the Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver suddenly showing up as a new, deliberately-weaker team of guys. But that risky move (while making the Avengers even more of a B-level book) ended up revolutionizing all of those characters, who have since moved on to iconic Avenger status. Stan Lee & Jack Kirby left the book pretty early on, but it was the newer creative teams that really set the standard on the book. It was there, with Roy Thomas & John Buscema, that we got new concepts like Ultron, The Vision, The Black Panther (created for the FF book) and more. Several iconic storylines followed- the Kree/Skrull War (with the legendary Neal Adams-drawn "Ant-Man goes into Vision's comatose body and fights his antibodies" story), The Korvac Saga, etc.

The book's been EVERYWHERE. It's status as a major-league Marvel title gave it a great pick of creative teams, with icons like Thomas, Buscema, Steve Englehart, George Perez, Kurt Busiek, Mark Waid and others all trying their shot, and though the Cap's Kooky Quartet team was viewed with some derision, it set the standard- while other books had constant rosters, The Avengers had EVERYBODY. At any given moment, a half-dozen guys would leave the team, and be replaced with rarely-seen or unheard-of characters. Where else would you get Hercules (initially a Thor rival), The Black Widow (another criminal-turned-hero), Wonder Man (resurrected "died a hero" villain), The Beast (then unused by the X-books), Warbird (a failed solo hero), the Black Knight (hero with a villainous legacy), Swordsman, and others. It also became common for new creators to just invent their own new heroes to add to what was once a "Major Heroes" collective roster. Englehart created his own Mary Sue, The Mantis, to the team. Thomas had the aforementioned Vision. Kurt Busiek & George Perez threw Silverclaw onto the team. Many of these characters utterly flopped, but it gave The Avengers the biggest roster in all of comics, with characters bursting at the seams.

The 80s saw a successor-book, The West Coast Avengers, form (a book being split between two rosters? MADNESS, people thought!). This was a less-successful version of the main roster, but is rather beloved by many people, as it could tell smaller stories with a new roster- you didn't often see Tigra show up in the main book, for example, and she was an iconic West-Coaster. It had the Hawkeye/Mockingbird/Silver-Armour Iron Man/Wasp/Hank Pym/Wonder Man roster, with others frequently popping in to say hi. The book would falter and fail by the mid-90s (the era that saw EVERY other book at Marvel die), but was pretty good.

The 90s were REALLY not kind to The Avengers. At all. It was the dreaded "Leather Jacket Phase", where writers tried unsuccessfully to copy the massive push of the X-Men with a "lesser" team. See, The Avengers was always a top book, but the late-70s to mid-80s run of the X-Men had cemented THEM as Marvel's top-selling book, replacing even the FF and Spider-Man (the previous #1 & 2), and by the 90s this was even more pronounced, with MULTIPLE X-books sprouting up, taking the West Coast idea and running with it by using a far more profitable group of characters. So The Avengers... added leather jackets as a "team uniform" to compete. Yeah. This went over about as well as a fart in church, and using a lame roster (Black Widow leading the team? Hercules back when he sucked and had giant shoulder pads? The Black Knight as a major star? Sersi & Crystal both slutting it up?). This era just about KILLED the book, and you can blame Bob Harras' crappy writing for that (he was later rewarded with top-flight duties at Marvel, nearly sinking them forever).

The 90s also saw "Operation: Galactic Storm", which was basically the biggest cross-over EVER, but it was sadly pretty crappy. It's just kind of a mess- every Avengers book was involved (even solo books like Wonder Man & Quasar), there was just dozens of fights, and everything kind of meandered along like too-long crossovers tend to do. Force Works was even lamer- The West Coast team refomed as an "EXTREEEEEME!" 90s update, with even worse characters and replacements. The Avengers was basically a low-selling crap book, nearly ruining the franchise forever with the abysmal "The Crossing", which revealed Tony Stark to be a traitor for years and replacing him with a teenage version that wasn't evil (this got retconned to save the Stark character- until Civil War undid him again). This was until a post-Heroes Reborn resurrection by Kurt Busiek & George Perez. The book was hit & miss at this point (Justice & Firestar were basically doing a worse version of what Kyle Rayner was doing in "JLA" under Morrison- the plucky underdog hero proving himself routine; and there was junk like Silverclaw), but nobody could deny that Perez' art was fantastic, and you had stuff like "Ultron Unlimited", which was one of the most epic storylines ever (Avengers versus dozens of Adamantium Ultrons). Busiek, master of continuity, also did "Avengers Forever", which cleaned up all the crappy storylines and continuity errors (many of which only Busiek knew about- it's called Continuity Porn for a reason), while also resurrecting Kang the Conqueror as an awesome villain, leaving behind the goofy-looking Dr. Doom knock-off of the past.

After Busiek's big run was finished, in came Bendis. Things were hairy at first, with "Disassembled" coming in and wiping clean what had come before- The Scarlet Witch went nuts, several characters were killed (Jack of Hearts & Ant-Man II were side characters who nobody really cared about, but Hawkeye & Vision were LONG-TIME big names). Fans were furious, everything was ruined, etc., but what came next was Bendis basically re-doing everything about the team. A new roster was formed, with Cap & Tony forming a new squad that is best-described as the "Built-By-Commitee" line-up: Two big names, plus Spider-Man (the top solo hero), Wolverine (the top-selling character), Luke Cage (black guy), Spider-Woman (token female/boobs) and The Sentry (mysterious powerhouse). Cage & Jessica Drew were at the time just minor failed characters who hadn't had a successful book in YEARS, so this was odd to say the least. But Bendis kinda made it work.

I mean, I'm not a BIG fan of Bendis' writing. His Ultimate Spidey drives me NUTS with the "You said that?" "I said that." "You said that?" "I said that." "Really?" "Yes." "You said it." "I said it" bull-crap to the point where I can't read a single issue of the book without wanting to commit genocide. But his Avengers line-up turned out to work. It resurrected Cage & Spider-Woman as characters, and he set off a MAJOR arc that did something that'd never happened before- The Avengers was now THE most important book in the Marvel Universe. Everything came out of this book. Civil War (which altered the team again), Secret Invasion, Dark Reign, etc. Everything in Marvel revolves around this series now. And now they even successfully X-Manned everything finally, by putting out SEVERAL books under the "Avengers" title, franchising the thing out for maximum sales.

So it's been a crazy run, with varying levels of success. One of the biggest teams in history, with all sorts of major names and jobbers alike, legends and forgotten people on the same roster (often at the same time). By doing these builds, I basically throw down and build nearly every major hero in the Marvel Universe that isn't an X-Man.

[Jabroniville]

The Man. Plain and simple.

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers)
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: Symbol of America, Team Leader, THE Leader, The Boy Scout, The Fuddy-Duddy, The Legend, The War Hero
Group Affiliations: The Avengers (60s-Modern), The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad
Avengers Grade: A-Level
PL 12 (237)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 13 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+15)
Athletics 9 (+14)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+16)
Close Combat (Shield Bash) 2 (+15)
Deception 2 (+7, +9 Attractive)
Expertise (Art) 4 (+7)
Expertise (S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative/Soldier) 7 (+10)
Expertise (History) 7 (+10)
Expertise (Science) 1 (+4)
Insight 7 (+12)
Intimidation 5 (+10)
Investigation 5 (+10)
Perception 9 (+14)
Persuasion 6 (+11, +13 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Shield Toss) 8 (+15)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+7)
Stealth 4 (+11)
Technology 2 (+5)
Treatment 3 (+6)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Reputation- People Respect Cap), Defensive Attack, Defensive Throw, Diehard, Equipment (Gear, Scale Mail), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless, Follow-Up Strike, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Unarmed) 2, Improved Critical (Shield Attacks) 3, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative 2, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Inspire 5, Instant Up, Interpose, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (Various European), Last Stand, Leadership, Luck, Power Attack, Precise Attack 2 (Ranged/Cover & Concealment), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Redirect, Seize Initiative, Skill Mastery (Persuasion), Takedown 2, Teamwork, Tracking (Visual), Ultimate Effort 3 (Fortitude, Will, Athletics), Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
"The Super-Soldier Serum- Absolute Peak Human"
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [17]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (17) -- (23)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 7, Selective 7) (17)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 5 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (10)

-- (25 points)

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (3)
"Scale Mail Costume" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +16 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Shield Bash +15 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shield Toss +15 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Area Toss +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +15

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +5 (+7 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +14
"With Shield" Dodge +17 (DC 27), Parry +16 (DC 26), Toughness +5 (+7 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +14

Complications:
Responsibility (America/Democracy)- As the proud symbol of America, Cap is the one most-affected by attacks against her, as well as the target of her enemies.
Enemy (The Red Skull)- Pervasive and omni-present, the Skull will haunt Steve for the entirety of his days.
Guilt (Bucky)- Cap failed his first young partner in his own mind, and this guilt often drives him.
Power Loss (Shield)- If Cap misses badly with his Shield (natural 1-5), he will be unable to use it's attacks or defenses until he runs up and grabs it. Similarly, if an enemy catches it, the same applies.
Power Loss (Super-Soldier Serum)- If Cap has the Serum taken out of him (it's happened a few times), he loses a great many of his Advantages, in addition to all his powers. Sometimes it's just a few (he works out enough to be strong without them), other times he loses the full breadth of his abilities, becoming weedy ST 0, STA 0, AGI 0 Steve Rogers.

Total: Abilities: 90 / Skills: 100--50 / Advantages: 59 / Powers: 25 / Defenses: 15 (237)

-What can I say about Cap? I'm CANADIAN, and he's one of my favourite Marvel characters ever. Guy's pure bad-ass, and in spite of being one of the poster boys for Dorky Comic Book Moralistic Superheroes, gets constant cred from even other tough guys. He's survived virtually every era of comics (except the 50s), and they still can't get rid of him. Though they started to write him like an exact rip-off of his Ultimate Cap version before he died, his book was still a top seller. There's just nobody who better represents the ideals of the Marvel Universe (Spider-Man better embodies the concept of the "Everyman" nature of realistic heroes with problems, as opposed to DC's more "Symbolic" characters) or of what America SHOULD be. He's proud, noble and kind, but not afraid to kick some SERIOUS ass if required.

-Cap EXPLODED onto the 1940s comic book scene, instantly surpassing the guy he basically copied, MLJ's "The Shield" (copywrite issues resulted in Cap soon gaining the famous disc-shaped shield to replace the one that looked just like The Shield's chest emblem), and becoming the symbol of "Timely Comics". Marvel's Golden Age was kinda funny, as they weren't even a fraction as big as DC or National aside from Cap, using the Human Torch & The Sub-Mariner as also-rans to the very popular Cap, and it's reflected even in modern-day stories, where Marvel easily plays fast & loose with it's terrible Golden Agers, updating them frely to the modern era, whereas DC either has tons of great guys (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, GL, Flash) or crappy characters turned into great ones (Wildcat, Hourman, etc.). I mean, compare Marvel's Whizzer (hee), Miss America and The Destroyer to DC/National's all-stars, or even their lamer guys like Hawkman, Dr. Fate & Aquaman.

-Having read Ed Brubaker's epic Cap run, I'm seriously impressed. It's very much a gritty "Street Level" campaign, replacing goofy power feats and giant costumed buffoons with dark WWII imagery, evil background villains, vile corporations, and of course, The RED SKULL, one of the most authentically & terrifyingly evil characters in the entire medium of comic books. What's scariest about the Skull is that he's very much a realistic, forseeable villain that actually represents a part of humanity's history, which is FAR worse than "Cosmic Evil Dictator" or "Chaotic Evil Super-Powered Guy"- guys like the Skull ACTUALLY EXISTED.

-Guys like Cap are what PL 11 and 12 were made for. There's NO WAY this guy could be a 'mere' PC build and be remotely accurate to what the comics show. As a solo hero, he needs a reasonable amount of Skillmonkey points. He's a Melee God, necessitating tons of attack Advantages as well. His physical attributes are already noted as being the maximum a human could ever get, so there's that, PLUS the fact that he's no dummy (INT 3), is REALLY hard to fool (AWA 5), and has the charisma to lead the entire Marvel Universe into battle against even cosmic beings (PRE 5, but I could go even higher if not for fears of stat-dumping). Like a lot of others, I build the Super-Soldier Serum as having minor superhuman effects, making Cap slightly faster, stronger and able to recover better than a normal human, but not to crazy levels. Think about a scary opponent: he's as fast as Usain Bolt, hits like the World's Strongest Man, but strikes as fast as Bruce Lee.

-He spends more points of ADVANTAGES than most people do on POWERS, and rightly so: Nobody is considered a better fighter than him until they go into the ranks of Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, both of whom are packing ridiculous bonuses. Cap is +16 and able to modify nearly every single PL cap he has- making him hit at +21 accuracy if necessary, or +13 maximum damage if Power Attacking. His points-cost is a little ridiculous, but given how Skillmonkeys took a hit in this edition, it makes sense: My Spidey build is about 20 points cheaper, and DCA's own major characters are just as costly, if not more.

-Cap's Shield is always a bit of a toughie to stat up, as CAP is the one who's good with it, despite it boosting so many of his attributes, and he's concievably as good with any disc-like weapon. Taliesin for example has statted up a version that uses the Shield Toss as a base Power requiring a Shield Device to work, but I wanted to go a little simpler with the common Device, hand-waving any questions about it (it's not like Cap uses a trash can lid as easily, for example, or as often). The Shield, at heart, has a "Bash" power (+8 Damage, for when he wants to smack some dude in the face with it). Then a "Blocking" Power, giving him the Shield effect, plus two Feats that specialize in avoiding Area Attacks and attacks in-close (Cap has survived the Torch's NOVA FLAME just by hiding behind the thing- a literal impossibility, but the Shield is just THAT DAMN GOOD, I guess- he made his Reflex Check and took no damage :)). It helps him become Immovable at the same time.

-And then we get to the "Blast" effect. It's only a +7 weapon in the right hands (like Cap's), so someone like The Wasp wouldn't be able to throw it as hard. Then it gets Ricochet 2 for when he bounces it off of things and hits guys he can't see or the like, and Homing for when he 'misses' on purpose, beaning the target in the back of the head on the run-through on the following round. Another variant of the attack has the Shapeable Area Effect, as Cap is able to bounce it off of several guys at once if necessary, no matter where they're standing in the room. At Touch Range, it's effectively a Blast dependent on the strength of the wielder. It has a Complication that if you miss (or your opponent makes a special attack to 'grab' it), you lose it. It happens only rarely, but it does happen.

-Finally, we come to the Shield's own Feats. You get Indestructible for obvious reasons (I think that if the Living Tribunal ever destroyed the entire universe, you'd get a white page with a little round shield at the centre of it), as well as a Restricted Feat, because not ANYBODY can just pick up the thing.

-All in all, Cap at PL 12 isn't entirely the most efficient use of that status, but I think that fits him. He's PL 10.5 unarmed, PL 11.5 with the Shield Bash, PL 11 with the Toss, and only fully makes up his Dodge-based defensive capes for PL 12. And even THEN he's got to use a Dynamic Array, leaving him somewhat vulnerable if he's using more powerful version of the Shield (this is explained via the fact that if he's using full Ricochet, his Shield spends enough time away from him that he doesn't get to use the full defenses).

-Cap Tactics: Cap uses Defensive Attack & Withstand Damage against super-powered adversaries, then Power Attack when he finally gets a shot in. He has similar tactics against hordes of Mooks, but often uses All-Out Attack to sweep them away.

[Jabroniville]

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers)- Scaled-Back
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: Symbol of America, Team Leader, THE Leader, The Boy Scout, The Fuddy-Duddy, The Legend, The War Hero
Group Affiliations: The Avengers (60s-Modern), The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad
Avengers Grade: A-Level
PL 11 (219)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 5

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+14)
Athletics 9 (+14)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+15)
Close Combat (Shield Bash) 2 (+14)
Deception 1 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Art) 3 (+6)
Expertise (S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative/Soldier) 7 (+10)
Expertise (History) 6 (+9)
Insight 7 (+12)
Intimidation 3 (+8)
Investigation 5 (+10)
Perception 9 (+14)
Persuasion 6 (+11, +13 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Shield Toss) 8 (+15)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+7)
Stealth 3 (+10)
Technology 2 (+5)
Treatment 1 (+4)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Assessment, Attractive, Benefit (Reputation- People Respect Cap), Defensive Attack, Defensive Throw, Diehard, Equipment (Gear, Scale Mail), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fast Grab, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Unarmed) 2, Improved Critical (Shield Attacks) 2, Improved Defense 2, Improved Initiative, Improved Smash, Improved Trip, Inspire 4, Interpose, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (Various European), Last Stand, Leadership, Luck, Power Attack, Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 4, Skill Mastery (Persuasion), Takedown 2, Teamwork 2, Tracking (Visual), Ultimate Effort 3 (Fortitude, Will, Athletics), Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
"The Super-Soldier Serum- Absolute Peak Human"
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [17]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (17) -- (23)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 7, Selective 7) (17)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 5 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (9)

-- (25 points)

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (3)
"Scale Mail Costume" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +15 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Shield Bash +14 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shield Toss +15 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Area Toss +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +11

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +5 (+7 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +12
"With Shield" Dodge +15 (DC 25), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +5 (+7 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +12

Complications:
Responsibility (America/Democracy)- As the proud symbol of America, Cap is the one most-affected by attacks against her, as well as the target of her enemies.
Enemy (The Red Skull)- Pervasive and omni-present, the Skull will haunt Steve for the entirety of his days.
Guilt (Bucky)- Cap failed his first young partner in his own mind, and this guilt often drives him.
Power Loss (Shield)- If Cap misses badly with his Shield (natural 1-5), he will be unable to use it's attacks or defenses until he runs up and grabs it. Similarly, if an enemy catches it, the same applies.
Power Loss (Super-Soldier Serum)- If Cap has the Serum taken out of him (it's happened a few times), he loses a great many of his Advantages, in addition to all his powers. Sometimes it's just a few (he works out enough to be strong without them), other times he loses the full breadth of his abilities, becoming weedy ST 0, STA 0, AGI 0 Steve Rogers.

Total: Abilities: 92 / Skills: 90--45 / Advantages: 50 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 12 (219)

-Here's a slightly scaled-back Cap, more akin to certain Street Level-type adventures. He's STILL really capable, and wayyyy over-cost for his PL, but hey, it's still Captain Friggin' America. At PL 11 with most of his attacks, he's enough for most heroes anyways.

---

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers)- Shaken, Super-Strong Version
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: Symbol of America, Team Leader, THE Leader, The Boy Scout, The Fuddy-Duddy, The Legend, The War Hero
Group Affiliations: The Avengers (60s-Modern), The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad
Avengers Grade: A-Level
PL 11 (191)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 11 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 5 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+12)
Athletics 4 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+13)
Expertise (S.H.I.E.L.D. Operative/Soldier) 5 (+8)
Expertise (History) 8 (+11)
Insight 5 (+10)
Intimidation 5 (+7)
Investigation 5 (+10)
Perception 5 (+10)
Persuasion 2 (+4, +6 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Shield Toss) 6 (+13)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+8)
Technology 2 (+5)
Treatment 1 (+4)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Agile Feint, Attractive, Benefit (Reputation- People Respect Cap), Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Gear, Scale Mail), Evasion, Fast Grab, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Shield Attacks), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Inspire 1, Interpose, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (Various European), Last Stand, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Tracking (Visual), Ultimate Effort 3 (Fortitude, Athletics), Uncanny Dodge (Hearing)

Powers:
"The Super-Soldier Serum- Absolute Peak Human"
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [17]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (22)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (6)
Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 8) (11)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (7)

-- (24 points)

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (3)
"Scale Mail Costume" Protection 1 (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shield Bash +12 (+10 Damage, DC 26)
Shield Toss +13 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Area Toss +8 Area (+7 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +8 (+9 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +8
"With Shield" Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +8 (+9 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +8

Complications:
Responsibility (America/Democracy)- As the proud symbol of America, Cap is the one most-affected by attacks against her, as well as the target of her enemies.
Enemy (The Red Skull)- Pervasive and omni-present, the Skull will haunt Steve for the entirety of his days.
Guilt (Bucky)- Cap failed his first young partner in his own mind, and this guilt often drives him.
Power Loss (Shield)- If Cap misses badly with his Shield (natural 1-5), he will be unable to use it's attacks or defenses until he runs up and grabs it. Similarly, if an enemy catches it, the same applies.
Power Loss (Super-Soldier Serum)- If Cap has the Serum taken out of him (it's happened a few times), he loses a great many of his Advantages, in addition to all his powers. Sometimes it's just a few (he works out enough to be strong without them), other times he loses the full breadth of his abilities, becoming weedy ST 0, STA 0, AGI 0 Steve Rogers.
Responsibility- Cap is shaken by the death of the President of the United States at the end of the "Secret Empire" event, and is a shadow of his former self as a result.

Total: Abilities: 96 / Skills: 62--31 / Advantages: 33 / Powers: 23 / Defenses: 8 (191)

-This is Cap circa the end of the "Secret Empire" saga, and around "Avengers Forever". Still a great fighter, but his lack of will and desire have hampered him across the board, except for his super-strength, which makes him very dangerous.

---

"Photonic Shield" (Flaws: Easily Removable) [14]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Photonic Blast" Blast 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (Diminished Range -1) (16) -- (20)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash/Bo Staff" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Split) (Extras: Penetrating 5) (9)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 Linked to Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (6)

-- (22 points)

---



There has never been a better debut, ever. I mean, he's PUNCHING HITLER IN THE FACE.

CAPTAIN AMERICA (Steve Rogers)- World War II Era
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: Symbol of America, Team Leader, THE Leader, The Boy Scout, The Fuddy-Duddy, The Legend, The War Hero
Group Affiliations: The Avengers (60s-Modern), The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad
Avengers Grade: A-Level
PL 10 (174)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 5 AGILITY 7
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 5 (+12)
Athletics 7 (+12)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+13)
Close Combat (Shield Bash) 2 (+12)
Deception 2 (+6, +8 Attractive)
Expertise (Soldier) 5 (+7)
Insight 6 (+10)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Investigation 3 (+7)
Perception 7 (+11)
Persuasion 3 (+7, +9 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Shield Toss) 5 (+13)
Sleight of Hand 2 (+5)
Stealth 1 (+8)
Technology 2 (+4)
Treatment 1 (+3)
Vehicles 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Attractive, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Gear, Scale Mail), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Fearless, Great Endurance, Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Critical (Shield Attacks), Improved Defense, Inspire 2, Interpose, Languages (Various European), Last Stand, Leadership, Ranged Attack 4, Takedown 2, Teamwork, Tracking (Visual), Ultimate Effort 3 (Fortitude, Will, Athletics)

Powers:
"The Super-Soldier Serum- Absolute Peak Human"
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]
Immunity 2 (Poison, Disease) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [1]
Regeneration 2 [2]
Strength-Damage +1 [1]

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [17]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (17) -- (23)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 7, Selective 7) (17)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 2 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 5 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (9)

-- (25 points)

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (3)
"Scale Mail Costume" Protection 2 (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +13 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Shield Bash +12 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shield Toss +13 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Area Toss +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +5 (+7 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +10
"With Shield" Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +5 (+7 Costume), Fortitude +10, Will +10

Complications:
Enemy (The Red Skull, All of Germany)
Power Loss (Shield)- If Cap misses badly with his Shield (natural 1-5), he will be unable to use it's attacks or defenses until he runs up and grabs it. Similarly, if an enemy catches it, the same applies.
Power Loss (Super-Soldier Serum)- If Cap has the Serum taken out of him (it's happened a few times), he loses a great many of his Advantages, in addition to all his powers. Sometimes it's just a few (he works out enough to be strong without them), other times he loses the full breadth of his abilities, becoming weedy ST 0, STA 0, AGI 0 Steve Rogers.
Responsibility (The Army)

Total: Abilities: 80 / Skills: 62--31 / Advantages: 29 / Powers: 24 / Defenses: 9 (173)

-Here's Cap as a WWII super-hero, PL 10 but expensive and vastly talented, able to take out whole platoons of armed men by himself.

[Jabroniville]

How long are they gonna keep replacing every hero's costume with a black one? As long as it keeps looking totally awesome every time.

U.S. AGENT (John Walker)
Created By: Mark Gruenwald & Paul Neary
First Appearance: Captain America #323 (Nov. 1986)
Role: Deliberately-Bad Replacement, Good-Ol' Boy, The Lout
Group Affiliations: The Avengers West Coast (90s), Force Works, The U.S. Army, Omega Flight, S.T.A.R.S., The New Invaders
Avengers Grade: C-Level
PL 10 (133)
STRENGTH 8 STAMINA 8 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+10)
Athletics 3 (+11)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+11)
Close Combat (Shield) 2 (+10)
Deception 3 (+3)
Expertise (Soldier) 8 (+8)
Intimidation 8 (+8)
Investigation 3 (+3)
Perception 4 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Shield Toss) 2 (+10)
Stealth 2 (+7)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Defensive Attack, Diehard, Equipment (Gear), Evasion, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Critical (Shield), Improved Smash, Interpose, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6

Powers:
"Power Broker Treatments"
Speed 2 (8 mph) [2]
Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]

"U.S. Agent's Lesser Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [16]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 9) (Diminished Range -1) (17) -- (23)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 7, Selective 7) (17)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 5 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (10)

-- (25 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +11 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Shield Bash +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Shield Toss +11 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Area Toss +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +8, Fortitude +10, Will +5
"With Shield" Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +8, Fortitude +10, Will +5

Complications:
Reputation (Ass-Munch)- A nasty, angry redneck, Walker is known as kind of a jerk in general. Most super-heroes dislike him by mere reputation by this point.
Responsibility (Cap's Legacy)- As one of the few modern "replacement" Caps, Walker had an uphill battle to prove himself, and still has to deal with it.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 19 / Defenses: 13 (133)

-The U.S. Agent is an interesting little tale, all from Mark Gruenwald, the master of '80s & '90s Cap. He's one of those guys meant to show how awesome the original was by giving him a grittier, more violent replacement, who just can't get things done. John Walker had a classic Gruenwaldian story, featuring him going through the army, hang out with his friends, all of them getting groomed and empowered by the Power Broker, and taking on his first super-heroic identity (as the Super-Patriot). If there's one thing Gru did really well, it was showing the "behind the scenes" stuff, of guys slowly making their rounds and learning stuff about the super-business. Walker was eventually chosen to replace Steve Rogers, when the original Cap refused to keep the name if it meant being the government's stooge. As the New Cap, Walker did some stuff, but was "outed" by old friends, and eventually had his parents murdered by some enemies he made. He went on a murderous rampage, showing the darkness in his heart, and Steve eventually returned to KO him and take the job back.

-Walker then took the role of the U.S. Agent, using an old Cap uniform and a lesser, Vibranium shield. Despite packing super-strength, he was lesser than Cap in most ways, especially as an Avenger, where he kicked around the ranks of the Avengers West Coast, and generally PO'd all of his teammates with his boorish mannerisms and jerkiness. The later '90s were... less kind to the guy in general. He got various new shields, changed his costume (looking like Judge Dredd at one point), got the big "tough guy who gets his ass kicked by a new villain to show off how tough the villain is" moment against Protocide, and switched jobs about a dozen times. He took part in various failed concepts and goofy series (Maximum Security, Omega Flight), got portrayed as a tool again, and is now a prison warden on the new Raft. Even though he's strong and tough, his role as "Secondary Cap" has hurt him vastly as a character, making him kind of a butt-monkey that people feel like screwing with and changing to suit their whims.

-U.S. Agent is basically a bigger, stronger Captain America, but he's much less than Steve overall, being dumber, a worse fighter, and having less to him. He's surprisingly cheap given his legacy as a former Cap, but that'll happen when they go out of their way to make you seem less intelligent and charismatic than everyone else around you. He's a classic PL 10, no better or no worse than most any professional heroes- he's strong enough to give Cap a challenge in a fight regardless of the PL difference (since the game is somewhat biased towards stronger guys), but not enough to REALLY destroy tons of guys.

[Jabroniville]

Oh Alex Ross. Your costume designs are all so SHINY...

CAPTAIN AMERICA VII (James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes)
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: The Replacement, The Ascended Sidekick
Group Affiliations: The Avengers (Modern), The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad, The Young Allies, The Kid Commandos
Avengers Grade: B-Level
PL 11 (209)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 4 (+7)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+14)
Close Combat (Shield) 1 (+13)
Deception 7 (+10, +12 Attractive)
Expertise (Winter Soldier/Assassin/Spy) 12 (+15)
Expertise (History) 5 (+8)
Insight 5 (+8)
Intimidation 4 (+7)
Investigation 5 (+8)
Perception 9 (+12)
Ranged Combat (Guns) 2 (+15)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+9)
Stealth 4 (+9)
Technology 4 (+7)
Treatment 2 (+5)
Vehicles 3 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Assessment, Attractive, Beginner's Luck, Chokehold, Defensive Attack, Defensive Strike, Equipment 5 (Gear, Gun, Costume), Evasion, Fast Grab, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Gun), Improved Critical (Shield), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Hold, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (Various European), Power Attack, Precise Attack 2 (Ranged/Cover & Concealment), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 8, Skill Mastery (Winter Soldier)

Powers:
"Cybernetic Arm"
Enhanced Strength 2 (Flaws: Limited to One Arm) [1]
"Holographic Disguise/Remote Movement" Features 2: Subtle on Arm, Arm Can Move By His Commands [2]
"EMP Shut-Down Wave" Nullify Technology 8 (Extras: Broad) (16) -- [17]
AE: "EMP Discharge" Damage 10 (10)

"Captain America's Mighty Shield" (Feats: Restricted to Those Trained, Indestructible) (Flaws: Easily Removable) [17]
Enhanced Advantages 2: Evasion (Total 2), Withstand Damage (2)
"Shield Toss" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Dynamic, Ricochet 5, Split 2) (Extras: Ranged 8) (Diminished Range -1) (17) -- (23)

Dynamic AE: "Shield Bash" Strength-Damage +3 (Extras: Penetrating 3) (7)
Dynamic AE: "Bouncing Shield" Strength-Damage +2 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable 7, Selective 7) (17)
Dynamic AE: Enhanced Dodge 3 & Parry 2 (Extras: Sustained +0) Linked to Enhanced Strength 5 (Flaws: Limited to Resisting Movement) (10)

-- (25 points)

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (5)
"Shiny Alex Ross Costume" Protection 2 (2)
"Sniper Rifle" Blast 7 (Feats: Extended Range 2) (16) -- (18)
AE: "Pistol" Blast 5 (10)
AE: "Grenades" Blast 5 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (14)

Offense:
Unarmed +14 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Metal Arm +14 (+6 Damage, DC 21)
Shield Bash +13 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Shield Toss +13 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Area Toss +7 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Pistol +15 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Sniper Rifle +15 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 22)
Grenade +5 Area (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
"Without Shield" Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +4 (+6 Costume), Fortitude +8, Will +9
"With Shield" Dodge +16 (DC 26), Parry +15 (DC 25), Toughness +4 (+6 Costume), Fortitude +8, Will +9

Complications:
Responsibility (America/Democracy)- As the proud symbol of America, Cap is the one most-affected by attacks against her, as well as the target of her enemies.
Enemy (The Red Skull)- The Skull hunts Bucky, same as he did Steve.
Guilt (The Winter Soldier)- Bucky was forced for years to carry out assassinations and brutal acts of espionage on behalf of Communist Russia. He remembers all of this, and it haunts him.
Power Loss (Shield)- If Bucky misses badly with his Shield (natural 1-5), he will be unable to use it's attacks or defenses until he runs up and grabs it. Similarly, if an enemy catches it, the same applies.
Weakness (Electrical/Magnetic Attacks)- Bucky's cybernetic arm is a target for either. Both do extra damage, or take further effect (Stunning, etc.).
Relationship (The Black Widow)- They are currently attached.

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 78--39 / Advantages: 37 / Powers: 37 / Defenses: 19 (209)

-The saga of the Winter Soldier is one of the most fascinating comic book storylines to come out in years- I mean, they RESURRECTED BUCKY. Think about that for a second: One of comics' first huge canonical deaths of a major character. The ONE GUY who, along with Uncle Ben, were the only guys to be considered in the "No Resurrection" list (the saying always went "Nobody stays dead except..."). And they resurrected him. Not only that, but revealed him to be a brainwashed cyborg assassin for years. It has all the makings of the worst thing ever, the one thing that would ruin Captain America forever (like smacking Jan did Hank Pym). But no- with careful enough writing, ANY lame concept can become awesome, and this is proof. Bucky Barnes returned, and faced off against his old partner, before having his mind snapped back to normal (showing Brubaker's talent again- what was at-heart a Spy Story invovling Cap & Sharon Carter, you suddenly had a frickin' Cosmic Cube- a super-powerful sci-fi cosmic artifact, and it didn't look that out of place).

-Bucky ended up taking Steve's place after the Civil War left him dead, and we had the classic "I can't quite live up to his image, but I'll try" story (which DC later did almost identically with Dick Grayson), stuff with the Black Widow, a Namor team-up (they have a fun relationship- Bucky's one of the few who "gets" Namor and his attitude), and more fights against the Red Skull and his army of goons. He also joined one of the now-endless Avengers rosters.

-Bucky is a PL 11 variant of Cap, using slightly different effects. He's not PL 11 all over, much like Cap wasn't PL 12 all over- he's got flaws and some problems against certain enemies (particularly super-strong guys, who have given him fits), but still was able to fight TONY FRICKING STARK to a stand-still using his smarts and battle tactics. PL 11 traits: Sniper Rifle, Dodge defense. PL 10.5 traits: Parry defense, Shield Bash (with the cybernetic arm boosting his strength). And that's it. He's effective, but not TOO effective to be used well in a spy story. He's even better than Cap at Spy Stuff (Stealth, Deception, the Skill in general to fill the other things he might need), but he's not as good a fighter (he notes SEVERAL times that Cap was "three times as strong" as he was, in addition to being WAY tougher and much faster).

---



BUCKY (James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes)
Created By: Joe Simon & Jack Kirby
First Appearance: Captain America Comics #1 (March 1941)
Role: The Kid Sidekick
Group Affiliations: The U.S. Army, The Invaders, The All-Winners Squad, The Young Allies, The Kid Commandos
Avengers Grade: B-Level
PL 8 (121)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+10)
Athletics 5 (+6)
Deception 5 (+7)
Expertise (Soldier) 6 (+8)
Insight 4 (+6)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 6 (+8)
Sleight of Hand 4 (+8)
Stealth 4 (+8)
Technology 2 (+4)
Treatment 2 (+4)
Vehicles 2 (+6)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Beginner's Luck, Defensive Attack, Equipment 5 (Gear, Guns), Evasion, Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Gun), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Languages (Various European), Power Attack, Ranged Attack 6

Equipment:
Assorted Gear (3)
"Uniform" Protection 1 (1)
"Automatic Rifle" Blast 6 (Extras: Multiattack) (18) -- (21)

AE: "Pistol" Blast 5 (10)
AE: "Grenades" Blast 5 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Diminished Range -1) (14)
AE: "Knife" Strength-Damage +1 (Feats: Improved Critical) (2)

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Knife +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Pistol +10 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Rifle +10 (+6 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Initiative +8

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +11 (DC 21), Toughness +2 (+3 Uniform), Fortitude +6, Will +7

Complications:
Responsibility (The Army)

Total: Abilities: 54 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 23 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 17 (121)

-WWII-era Bucky's had some changes made to him over the years. No longer just a "plucky sidekick", he's been re-imagined as a darker character, an orphan who was a great natural scrapper, and got teamed up with Cap to do the "dirty work". Since Cap was a walking symbol of America, he couldn't be caught sneaking behind enemy lines, slitting throats and assassinating people- hence Bucky. Bucky would do all that and more, and he actually grew up over the war. Starting at sixteen left him in his early twenties by the end (as Brubaker pointed out in an interview, stating that there's no way he was a teen from '41 to '45). He's a very capable kid, but still two PLs below Cap himself. A dirty-fighting scrapper, he's good with knives and guns, and is beyond most common soldiers by a ways.

[Jabroniville]

Apparently the stereotype of all gays having good fashion sense is untrue.

LIVING LIGHTNING (Miguel Santos)
Created By: Roy & Dann Thomas & Paul Ryan
First Appearance: The Avengers West Coast #63 (Oct. 1990)
Role: Token Minority, Double-Minority, The Gay Guy, Forgotten Character, Flying Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Avengers West Coast, The Secret Avengers, The Pacific Overlords, The Rangers (Initiative)
Avengers Grade: D-Level
PL 9 (148)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 3 (+6)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+8)
Deception 2 (+3)
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 2 (+3)
Perception 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Electricity) 5 (+8)
Stealth 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Improved Critical (Lightning), Improved Initiative, Teamwork

Powers:
Senses 2 (Detect Electricity- Ranged) [2]
"Lightning Strike" Blast 10 (20) -- [23]

AE: "Lightning Bolt" Damage 9 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (18)
AE: "Lightning Force Field" Protection 5 (Extras: Sustained +0) (5)
AE: Lightning Aura 4 (16)

"Lightning Body" Alternate Form (Activation -1) [-1]
Insubstantial 3 [15]
Immunity 10 (Life Support) [10]
Flight 16 (125,000 mph) [32]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Lightning Strike +8 (+10 Ranged Damage, DC 25)
Lightning Bolt +9 Area (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Lightning Aura +8 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3 (+8 Force Field), Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications:
Prejudice- Both latino and homosexual, Miguel is occasionally brushed with negativity.

Total: Abilities: 40 / Skills: 20--10 / Advantages: 3 / Powers: 81 / Defenses: 14 (148)

-Living Lightning is... kind of a forgettable character, really. He was added to the West Coast Avengers in the middle of their run, before and after most of the big storylines, and he just kind of floated around, doing not much of anything. His next big character moment was when he came out of the closet... to zero notability. I mean, really, it's not a big deal when it's a character THAT minor. His biggest recent accomplishment was being seen with The Rangers once he joined the Initiative. Starting out with the West Coast Avengers team is kind of a strike against him in the first place, and the name is just the clincher. Miguel here got his powers from your standard accidents, and worked for bad guy Dr. Demonicus for a while before turning good. His Wikipedia page pretty much just states the Avengers' multiple big events & cross-overs as 'things he's done'. He caused a teeny bit of a ruckus when he 'came out' in a GLA book, which bugged some fans, as he'd dated women in the past, and the writer defended it with the usual "He's a wonderful gay role model" schtick, but really, who gives a crap if the LIVING LIGHTNING, one of the big guys people would forget to even list as having been Avengers in the first place, was gay?

-Living Lightning's an expensive guy, despite being a PL 9 character with a generic Lightning-based offensive power-set. It's that Flight speed- he's sub-lightspeed in nature (despite being made of actual electricity), but it's still 32 points on making him one of the fastest fliers around. He's got a Blast, a Line Damage Bolt, an Aura and a protective Force Field, but they're all Alt.Effects, and thus much less efficient than the standard builds that usually include Protection, Auras & Blasts separately.

[Jabroniville]

Hey, remember when George Perez was AWESOME at character design? What happened?

SILVERCLAW (Maria de Guadalupe "Lupe" Santiago)
Created By: Kurt Busiek & George Perez
First Appearance: The Avengers (vol.3) #8 (Sept. 1998)
Role: Token Minority, Failed Newbie, Shapeshifter
Group Affiliations: The Avengers
Avengers Grade: D-Level
PL 8 (125)
STRENGTH 0 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 9 DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 4 (+4)
Deception 2 (+2)
Expertise (Survival) 7 (+8)
Expertise (Religion) 6 (+6)
Insight 2 (+3)
Intimidation 5 (+5)
Perception 5 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)

Advantages:
All-Out Attack, Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Natural Weapons), Improved Hold, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Takedown

Powers:
"Shapeshifting to Jungle Creature Were-Forms"
Variable 9 (Flaws: Limited to Jungle Creatures) [54]
"Goddess' Chosen" Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Example: Jaguar
Enhanced Strength 4 (8), Stamina 2 (4), Agility 2 (4)
Enhanced Skills 16: Acrobatics 2 (+9), Athletics 6 (+10), Intimidation 3 (+8), Perception 3 (+9), Stealth 2 (+8) (8)
"Animal Senses" Senses 5 (Low-Light Vision, Acute & Extended Scent, Extended & Ultra-Hearing) (5)
Speed 3 (16 mph) (3)
"Improved Musculature" Strength-Damage +1 (1)
"Natural Weapons- Claws & Teeth" Strength-Damage +2 (2)
"Cat Agility"
"Climbing Skills" Enhanced Skills 4: Athletics 4 (+14) (Flaws: Limited to Climbing) (1), Leaping 2 (2)
"Silver Sheen" Protection 3 (3)
-- (44 points)

Other Forms: Puma, Anaconda, Cheetah, Cockatoo, Giant Sloth, Monkey

Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+0 Damage, DC 15)
Unarmed as Animals +9 (+1-7 Damage, DC 16-23)
Initiative +7

Defenses:
Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +3 (+5-8 Animal Forms), Fortitude +6 (+7-9 Animals), Will +4

Complications:
Responsibility- The Chosen of her Goddess Peliali, Silverclaw is often targetted by those who require the power of Gods.

Total: Abilities: 32 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 7 / Powers: 55 / Defenses: 12 (125)

-Consider Silverclaw another failed Busiek add-on to the team. Boy, in retrospect, despite his amazing run, he didn't add alot of good members to the team, did he? Almost all of them ended up retired or in Marvel Limbo, or both. Silverclaw, Triathlon, Justice & Firestar all have kind of farted around, despite varying attempts to make them cool. This one I chalk up to George Perez' influence as lead penciller- a Latin name and animal powers are dead giveaways (Perez has latin blood and obviously loves drawing animals- hence Changeling of the Teen Titans in that group). Silverclaw was added as Jarvis' sponsor child from Costa Verde in South America, with demi-goddess powers as an animal shape-shifter. Her fairly boring design (silver chick in jungle girl clothes) and pedestrian powers didn't help her any, and she's basically been ignored by Marvel as a whole since then, showing up only in background shots and one-panel adventures doing stuff around Civil War.

-Silverclaw's a basic Animal Shapeshifter (I used Variable without the Move Action boost the "Shapeshift" power has- I don't think she's that fast), usually gaining strength and the like from her transformations. She's no big-league ass-kicker, but she's a good standard PL 8, good on offense and defense. She can do more damage in Anaconda or Giant Sloth forms, but that makes her larger and slower- she gains around 40-45 points of powers based off of the forms she takes

[Jabroniville]

THE BLACK WIDOW (Natalia "Natasha" Romanova)
Created By: Stan Lee, Don Rico & Don Heck
First Appearance: Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964)
Role: Miss Fanservice, Femme Fatale, Lady Spy, Skillmonkey, The Girlfriend (of many, many male heroes)
Group Affiliations: The Avengers, The KGB, The Thunderbolts, The Lady Liberators, S.H.I.E.L.D., The Champions
Avengers Grade: B-Level
PL 10 (191)
STRENGTH 3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 6
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+14)
Athletics 8 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 3 (+15)
Deception 9 (+13, +18 Attractive)
Expertise (Spy) 13 (+16)
Expertise (History) 3 (+6)
Insight 5 (+9)
Intimidation 4 (+8)
Investigation 4 (+8)
Perception 6 (+10)
Persuasion 5 (+9, +14 Attractive)
Ranged Combat (Widow's Bite) 1 (+14)
Sleight of Hand 6 (+12)
Stealth 8 (+14)
Technology 3 (+6)
Vehicles 2 (+8)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Attractive 2, Beginner's Luck, Benefit (S.H.I.E.L.D. Clearance), Chokehold, Contacts, Daze (Deception), Defensive Attack, Equipment 4 (Spy Gear), Evasion 2, Fascinate (Deception), Grab Finesse, Improved Aim, Improved Critical 3 (Unarmed, Widow's Bite, Gun), Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Jack-of-All-Trades, Languages (Many), Power Attack, Precise Attack (Ranged/Cover), Quick Draw, Ranged Attack 7, Skill Mastery (Spy, Deception), Taunt, Tracking (Sight), Ultimate Skill 2 (Spy, Deception), Uncanny Dodge, Well-Informed, Withstand Damage

Powers:
Immunity 1 (Aging) [1]

Equipment:
"Widow Gear" Spy Gear (4)
"Widow's Bite" Blast 5 (Extras: Multiattack) (15) -- (16)

AE: "Widow Line & Suction Cups" Movement 3 (Swinging 2, Wall-Crawling) (6)
AE: "Tear Gas Pellets" Affliction 5 (Fort; Dazed & Vision Impaired/Stunned & Disabled/Incapacitated) (Extras: Ranged, Extra Condition) (15)

Offense:
Unarmed +15 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Widow's Bite +14 (+5 Ranged Damage, DC 20)
Tear Gas +5 Area (+5 Ranged Affliction, DC 15)
Initiative +10

Defenses:
Dodge +14 (DC 24), Parry +14 (DC 24), Toughness +4, Fortitude +8, Will +8

Complications:
Relationship (Various)- Black Widow dates a lot. Currently, it's Bucky Barnes.
Reputation (Femme Fatale)- Many people still don't entirely trust Natasha, based off of her history as a spy.
Enemy (Yelena Bolova)- The second Black Widow has attempted to kill Natasha in the past.

Total: Abilities: 84 / Skills: 88--44 / Advantages: 44 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 18 (191)

-Natasha Romanova has had a weird run in comics. Initially being a Sexy Lady Spy archetype in the James Bond vibe (but with an evening gown & veil as a "costume"), she quickly defected to the United States and fell in love with Hawkeye, finally joining The Avengers. But then... well, being a relatively-unattached (she & Clint split up pretty quickly) super-hot chick can have negative effects on your relationship status in the Marvel Universe. To prove a point, Widow's hooked up with nearly EVERYBODY over the years, as various writers can given the male character they wrote a token "Super-hot hero girlfriend" in the Widow. She was a sidekick for a HUGE chunk of Daredevil history (ending around the time of Frank Miller when he resurrected the series as a gritty crime drama and not a generic hero book), she was the leader of The Champions (a goofy, oddly-remembered book that was basically "Hey- let's throw together every character we're not using onto a team, regardless of how much sense it makes!") where she hooked up with Hercules, etc.

-She has the unfortunate status as the leader of the horrid "Leather Jacket" Avengers phase, which nearly 86'd her standing with that team, and she ultimately became a minor recurring character by the 1990s. She'd show up as a guest star most of the time, and nearly got replaced by that blonde Widow who failed pretty utterly as a new character (Marvel tried to push her as a star, but ended up pushing her into the background as a villain), and was a back-up star on the Mighty Avengers Bendis/Cho book. Currently, she can be seen as the "Super Hero Girlfriend" of Bucky Barnes/Captain America, playing up an old relationship she had with the "Winter Soldier".

-Yeah, I knew this one was gonna be pricey. I mean, Skillmonkeys are REALLY expensive in 3rd Edition, and Natalia/Natasha (nobody can make up their mind) is THE iconic "Spy" character in all of comics, and that's the one job that defines "Skillmonkey" better than any other. And the Widow's GOOD... she can lie, sneak and cheat with the best of them, and surpasses all comparable characters (Black Cat has a very similar schtick). Her fighting skills put her a notch above characters generally seen as awesome in melee (Domino, The Punisher, Bucky-Cap), despite her relatively low Strength score (I don't see her lifting over 200 lbs., but I pushed it higher thanks to some ill-defined fluff about her being partially Super-Soldiery). And I think it's fitting that she's among the most expensive and skilled characters around, yet is only PL 9 overall- she's good, but is usually the weak link in every book she's in. She was Daredevil's weaker partner all through his series, she's lesser than Bucky-as-Cap, and she was weaker than every other Avenger when she was on the team. She's still very CAPABLE, mind you, she's just not that powerful (PL 9.5 with the Widow's Bite, PL 9 in melee). A +5 Multiattack Blast is the best thing she's got, despite being a great fighter who's nigh-impossible to hit.