Jab’s Builds! (Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef! Sweetums! Gonzo!)

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Davies
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Re: The Legion of Substitute Heroes

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 6:25 am =THE LEGION OF SUBSTITUTE HEROES:
-A great running thing in the LOSH books over the years has been the Substitute Heroes. Since the Legion always held tryouts for new members, and often had to cruelly reject people (usually by yelling at them for their uselessness and shouting "REJECTED!", because Superdickery), Edmond Hamilton (one of their writers... never heard of him)
He's kinda famous.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Jabroniville »

Yeah, I looked him up when I saw he created them, but I didn't recognize any of the stories, not being interesting in, like... SCI-FI sci-fi, y'know?
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Ken »

Batgirl III wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:27 am The Subs were heroic as hell.

They had courage beyond belief, it’s one thing to face down a runaway robot when you know you’ve got Kryptonian Invulnerability or Phantom Phasing... But throwing down with an army of Daxamites when you’ve got color-changing ability?
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Yojimbo »

I think the Subs are my favorite part of the Legion. I always dig it when they finally make the cut - in particular I am a fan of Polar Boy.

These guys are the A/V Club to the Legion's Popular Clique. Maybe that's why I love them so.
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Ares
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Ares »

Another nice thing about the Subs is that the Legion genuinely respected them and were never cruel to them. They often had the Subs as a back-up force in case things ever really got dire, so its clear the kids had some potential. You'd even get weird stories where the Subs would save the day, such as one story where a villain filled the skies above Earth with Green Kryptonite, making it impossible for Superboy to go anywhere near it. So Color Kid just went "ZAP" and turned all the Kryptonite into Blue Kryptonite, which only affects Bizarros.

Stone Boy also had this unfortunate case where he apparently learned one trick that made his power kind of useful, but as far as I know, never got to use it again. He had learned how to selectively "stone" only one part of his body, giving himself a nigh-unbreakable stone fist to let his punches do extra damage. Unfortunately, he was fighting Cosmic King at the time, who not only transmuted Stone Boy's fist back to flesh, but transmuted his own chin into stone, so that Stone Boy hurt his hand punching Cosmic King in the jaw.
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kreuzritter
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by kreuzritter »

first Legion story I was able to read was the back half of a two parter featuring the Subs, as they (with help from Brainy) took on the Legion of Super-Assassins (also the same storyline that introduced Blok)

I say first i was able to read because before that, the first legion story I looked at was one where Sun Boy became an insufferable tyrant before they figured out he had a light case of space fatigue, thus requiring a rule that you could only be mission leader so many times in a row to keep this from happening again
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Goldar »

You know I love the Substitute Legion!

Especially........Night Girl! From the beginning, I loved me some Lydda Jath from Karthoom! :D

While this always seemed the case to me, later RPGs showed she is one of the physically strongest females in the DCU, too.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Ares »

kreuzritter wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 1:11 pm first Legion story I was able to read was the back half of a two parter featuring the Subs, as they (with help from Brainy) took on the Legion of Super-Assassins (also the same storyline that introduced Blok)
Not to knock the Subs, but it's got to sting the egos of a group who call themselves The Legion of SUPER-ASSASSINS to get beaten by the Legion rejects.
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Chlorophyll Kid

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

CHLOROPHYLL KID (Ral Benem)
Created By:
Edmond Hamilton & John Forte
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #306 (March 1963)
Home Planet: Mardru
Origin of Powers: Fell into a special photosynthesis solution
Eras: Original only
Relationships: None
Role: Joke Hero
PL 4 (68)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 1
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Botany) 6 (+7)
Expertise (Space Hero) 2 (+3)
Perception 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Ranged Attack 2, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Plant Growth" Growth 12 (Extras: Affects Others Only +0, Continuous) (Flaws: Limited to Plants) (24) -- [26]
  • AE: "Plant Control" Move Object 6 (Extras: Perception Range) (Flaws: Limited to Plants) (12)
  • AE: "Plant Wrapping" Snare 6 (Flaws: Requires Plants) (12)
Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Plant Snare +4 (+6 Ranged Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +1

Defenses:
Dodge +4 (DC 14), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Reputation (Weak Hero)- Though not as goofy as his teammates, he looks dumb and isn't much good in a fight.

Total: Abilities: 24 / Skills: 10--5 / Advantages: 4 / Powers: 26 / Defenses: 9 (68)

-Chlorophyll Kid's another Substitute Legionnaire, and tends to be the most ignored in stories. I mean, nearly every panel I see of the poor guy features a near COMPELTELY different-looking character! First off, he was a pretty skinny short guy in a green hooded costume, then he was pretty well-built and blonde, and then he was a fat, slovenly looking kid in a ridiculous tree costume. When the artists feel free to just draw whomever they choose when they have to work you into the page, you know you're a minor character.

-Actually one of the more useful combat Subbers, Chlorophyll Kid's powers are actually really good if used at decent levels; it's just that he's only got one offensive power in his whole set-up. His Plant Growth ability is more costly, since he's been shown turning a redwood from a seed to a massive 60 foot monstrosity in mere seconds. Not exactly the best ability ever, but it's something. He's pretty useless physically (as some artist design him as either too skinny or fat to be of use in a fist-fight), but you could easily make a bad-ass superhero with this character as a basis- there are TONS of "Plant Guys" out there!
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 25, 2022 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Color Kid

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

COLOR KID (Ulu Vakk)
Created By:
Edmond Hamilton & John Forte
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #342 (March 1966)
Home Planet: Lupra
Origin of Powers: Dimensional Energy accident
Eras: Original only (mentions/homages elsewhere)
Relationships: None
Role: Joke Hero
PL 8 (144)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 5 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 0

Skills:
Expertise (Science) 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+5)
Stealth 4 (+6)
Technology 4 (+6)

Advantages:
Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Change Colors" Transform 18 (Any Object to Same Object- Different Color) (Extras: Perception Range +2) (Feats: Precise) (91) -- [96]
  • AE: "Change Color of People" Morph 1 (Different Colors) (Extras: Attack 10, Perception Range +2) (35)
  • AE: "Change Eyes to Black" Dazzle Visuals 6 (Extras: Perception Range) (18)
  • AE: "Change Stuff to Black" Concealment (Visuals) 2 (Extras: Affects Others, Attack, Perception Range) (10)
  • AE: "Change Color of Ground & Sky" Affliction 8 (Will; Impaired/Disabled) (Extras: Perception Range +2) (Flaws: Limited to Flying Opponents, Limited Degree) (8)
  • AE: "Change Own Colors" Affliction 8 (Will; Impaired/Disabled) (Extras: Area- Visual Perception) (Flaws: Limited Degree) (8)
Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Blacken Eyes -- (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Alter Ground & Sky -- (+8 Affliction, DC 18)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +5 (DC 15), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +4

Complications:
Reputation (Weak Hero)- Color Kid's powers are pretty silly.

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 16--8 / Advantages: 2 / Powers: 96 / Defenses: 8 (144)

-Color Kid's yet another Substitute Hero, but one who got a much bigger push later on, once writers realized that changing things' colours isn't THAT useless after all. With some imagination, he could blind people, alter the colour of the sky & earth at once (confusing fliers), etc. So he became a moderately useful team guy after initially being the most terrible member of a terrible team. Then the reboot erased him forever. But that's how it goes with the Legion, I'm noticing.

-A more expensive AND PL-heavy member of the Subbers thanks to some boosts over the years, an initial Color Kid lacks most of the Alt-Effects. He once changed the colour of an entire planetary cloud of kryptonite (I dunno how heavy that would be, but 400 tons is a lot- he can use a Hero Point for more), but let's leave things like that to Stunting and playing Hero Points- it'll do fine for him.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 25, 2022 11:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Earth-Man

Post by L-Space »

Batgirl III wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 3:02 am The LSH is a clique of teenagers. Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, and Lightning Lad are the most popular kids in the clique... If they don't like you, you're not getting in the clubhouse. Sometimes the clique keeps out the worthy for petty reasons, sometimes the clique keeps out arrogant douche-nozzles.

Absorbancy Boy was an arrogant douche-nozzle long before the writers decided to bring him back as a Super-Nazi.
Ares wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 3:28 am I've actually got the issue where he originally appeared, and his power was pretty weird. Basically he could absorb residual energy left by other superheroes, but like many things it wasn't clearly defined. Apparently what it meant was that he needed an object that someone with superpowers had been in contact with for some time, and he could absorb the traces left by their presence to duplicate their abilities. However, he couldn't actually duplicate the powers of people around him.

For instance, there was a costume that both Sun Boy and Superboy had worn to disguise themselves as a supervillain in order to test Tyroc during his Legion initiation. Absorbancy Boy then got a hold of the outfit and could copy Superboy and Sun Boy's powers while wearing the suit for a limited time. However, even while he was in the same room as Brainiac 5, Tyroc, Star Boy and Light Lass, he could ONLY copy Superboy and Sun Boy's powers. It's possible he could have copied their powers if he had been in physical contact with them, but it basically meant his copy power required him to be either in constant contact with the person whose power he wanted to copy, or something they'd actually been in contact with for several hours, and he'd eventually drain the energies from said object.

So despite how useful the power SOUNDS, it was actually pretty limited. He would have had to have been going around wearing the Legion's dirty laundry to be useful for a limited time. And as Batgirl mentions, he was an asshole even back then, Johns just ramped it up to make him a full on Nazi later. So it's every bit as likely his character got him kept out as much as his powers limitations.
Ok, this makes a bit more sense. My knowledge of the League is limited, so I thought he was a straight up power-duplicator that was later retconned into being a xenophobic jerk.
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Re: Chlorophyll Kid

Post by MacynSnow »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 7:41 pm ImageImageImage
CHLOROPHYLL KID (Ral Benem)

I think if you put the third image costume onto the second images body,It'd actually look rather good for a PL 8 teen hero or sidekick.
Add some better combat options,bum a little bit from either Poison Ivy or Swamp Thing and you'd have a darn fine hero trainee.....
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Batgirl III »

I wonder if people would take Chlorophyll Kid more seriously if he was a girl? Plant-based female characters have the whole Mothet Nature thing working for them, plant-based male characters (few as they are) tend to be seen as jokes.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Woodclaw »

Batgirl III wrote: Fri Apr 20, 2018 8:20 pm I wonder if people would take Chlorophyll Kid more seriously if he was a girl? Plant-based female characters have the whole Mothet Nature thing working for them, plant-based male characters (few as they are) tend to be seen as jokes.
I don't think that is the problem. If I remember right Rall could make plants grow super-fast, but not control them. Funny enough this would make him a premium candidate for a team dedicated to relief efforts, rather than crimefighting.
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Ares
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy! Kid Quantum! Karate Kid!

Post by Ares »

Yeah, it's one of those things where his power isn't great for a superhero, but could you imagine what he could do for farmers? Or helping people grow vegetables in impoverished areas? Or like Woodclaw mentioned, disaster relieve areas? Just toss some apple seeds on the ground and BAM, instant orchard with enough food for all of the refuges.

It's just that being a superhero is flashy, cool and gets you girls. So it makes sense for a kid to want to do that over going help grow food in a desert.
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