Jab’s Builds! (Whomp 'Em! Plumbers Don't Wear Ties! ToeJam & Earl!)

[Voltron64]

Yeah, that was a pretty lame origin for Prof. X's crippling. It does go to show that the X-Men was not Stan's best work, or at least not where his energy was focused at the time.

I do like the idea that Magneto had some involvement in Charles losing his legs, though I'd prefer something more like X-Men: First Class than Ultimate X-Men.

My own take would be explain away both Magneto's age and why both he and Charles are so powerful. Basically, Magneto and Xavier were both born in the 1930s, with Eric (I refuse to call him "Max") suffering under the Nazi's and learning firsthand about Man's Inhumanity To Man. He and Charles meet up, learn about their mutant powers together, and decide to explore the history of mutantkind, see how far it goes back. The pair basically become these kind of buddy cop/adventuring archeologist/action scientist duos that get into all kinds of adventures during the 50s, encountering a lot of Marvel's Weird Sci-Fi comics of that era. While the pair do have their mutant powers, neither of their abilities are the world-class abilities they have today, forcing them to rely on their wits and teamwork to get out of scraps.

Eventually the pair discover one of Apocalypse's old chambers, perhaps even the chamber he first used to elevate himself to his more powerful state. The duo spend months researching the place, their own scientific knowledge increasing by leaps and bounds, until Eric feels that he understands the technology enough to enhance their own mutant powers. Charles would prefer to play it safe, which frustrates Eric until he actually just knocks Charles out and loads him into one enhancement chamber, and himself into another. He activates the process, and the two are indeed enhanced by the technology, gaining their world-class mutant powers, as well as aging at a much slower rate. However, Eric's grasp of said technology was imperfect, and in the process of enhancing them both, the chambers explode. Eric is able to shield himself from the explosion with his magnetic powers. Charles . . . can't. He is left barely alive, and his legs and spine receive injuries that leaves him unable to walk.

Eric flies Charles to a hospital and leaves, taking a great deal of Apocalypse's tech with him. During this time the civil rights movement gets into full swing, and rather than be inspired by the progress the movement's leaders make, the fact that good men continue to get assassinated and the effort that people need to go to get accepted due to just a skin color difference continues to convince Eric that humanity will never accept mutants. Not unless they are made to. Eric also sadly realizes that his "soft-hearted" friend Charles would oppose his plans, so he uses the tech he stole from Apocalypse to craft himself a psionic-proof helmet, so that he can make his plans in secret and one day move to create a world where mutants are free of oppression. Both men then spend the next several decades building up their resources for what was to come.

It adds a bit of tragedy to their relationship, it shows why Magneto never simply dropped an aircraft carrier on the X-Mansion, and it showcases effectively how the two behave towards each other. Magneto genuinely wants to do the right thing and do right by the people that are important to him, but his ego convinces him that he knows what's right, and it leads him to take bold, decisive actions when a little caution might be warranted. Before the accident, Xavier could be a moderating influence, allowing them to compliment each other: Magneto would push the more reactive and analytical Xavier to be proactive, while Xavier would keep the worst of Magneto's impulsiveness in check. The guilt over injuring his friend has taught Magneto the wisdom of careful patience and long-term planning, but his ego is no less diminished. He still thinks he knows what's best, only now he has the patience to plan things out and be less reckless than before. And likewise, Xavier has learned that decisive action is necessary to prevent these kinds of tragedies.

I've headcannoned that Magneto post-liberation from Auschwitz, went on to fight in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War as well becoming an agent in the early years of the Mossad, the latter explaining how he got the organizational skills to develop something like the Brotherhood of Mutants.

[Jabroniville]

He was actually a Nazi hunter in some Claremont books. He was working for the US and doing well, exterminating a nazi in South America... but it turned out he was “one of OUR NAZIS”, and the government agents turned on him for not following directives (“Don’t you know the Russians are our enemies now?” Strange bedfellows and all that). They executed a girl he liked (she loved him; he was distant and aloof, but still cared for her), then tried to kill him using some suits that blocked his powers. So he blew up the room they were in.

I thought it was very well done. He got a measure of revenge, some explanation for his “years between wars”... and yet another crushing reminder that humanity was no to be trusted.

[Jabroniville]

Of the two Living Monolith looks you posted, I've only ever seen the shovel-head costume. Where's the other one from? Can't say I really prefer it...

I believe the first pic is from the now defunct mobile game, Avengers Alliance. It had some pretty good artwork.

There's a LOT of artwork on ComicVine from that game- nearly always, the most prominent, largest picture in the thing is a gigantic Avengers Alliance 3/4 profile shot. It's usually the best show-off of a character's costume, with enhancements you can't really do in a monthly comic.

And wow- the oldest living Disney Animator is no more: Don Lusk died at 105 years old. The only person left who'd animated Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

[Jabroniville]

DIVINE
First Appearance: Ballz (1994)
Role: ... Fanservice?
PL 5 (72)
STRENGTH 1 STAMINA 2 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE 0 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 6 (+7)
Expertise (Dancing) 4 (+7)
Perception 1 (+1)

Advantages:
Agile Feint, Close Attack, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 2

Fighting With Ballz: All-Out Attack, Fast Grab (Grab), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Trip (Throw)

Powers:
"Hip Swivel" Move Object 3 (Flaws: Limited to Towards) (3) -- [4]

• AE: "Special Moves" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (1)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Special Moves +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Head Toss +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +2, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Prejudice (Made of Balls)

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 18--9 / Advantages: 5 + 5 / Powers: 4 / Defenses: 7 (72)

-Dear God this character is disturbing. You know how in Overwatch, Widowmaker dies with this absurdly-sexual "UUUUNNNHHHH!!!"? Imagine a character whose entire speech pattern is like that- every move accompanied by the sound of a woman trying to sound (badly) like she's climaxing. And then she wins the game, and it plays that awful Ballz theme song, while her voice track plays over it. So basically multiple orgasms.

-Also her boobs are just two spheres attached to a weird body. Rob Liefeld draw this shit, or what?

-Divine can fake being Dizzied, so I gave her Agile Feint. Also, she swivels her hips, drawing in the opponent uncontrollably. The weirdest variation of Scorpion's "COME 'ERE!" I've ever seen.

[Jabroniville]

ZOMBIE
First Appearance: Ballz: The Director's Cut (1995)
Role: Fighting Zombie
PL 5 (55)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -2 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Acrobatics 2 (+7)
Athletics 2 (+4)
Perception 2 (+2)

Advantages:
Close Attack, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 4

Fighting With Ballz: All-Out Attack, Fast Grab (Grab), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Trip (Throw)

Powers:
"Eyeball Toss" Blast 4 (Reduced Defenses 2, Diminished Range -2) (2) -- [4]

• AE: "Special Moves" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (2)
• AE: "Grave Diver" Movement 1 (Permeate) (2)

"Pogo Stick" Leaping 1 (15 feet) [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Special Moves +6 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Eyeball Toss +6 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +3, Fortitude +4, Will +3

Complications:
Prejudice (Made of Balls)

Total: Abilities: 30 / Skills: 6--3 / Advantages: 6 + 5 / Powers: 5 / Defenses: 6 (55)

-Zombie only appears in the Ballz: The Director's Cut for the 3DO, meaning even less people have played him than the OTHER characters. He's a slow-moving zombie that lashes out at opponents and throws eyeballs, and can also "fall" into the ground, rising up behind the enemy (a Permeate effect- a REALLY rare Power for me to use!).

[Jabroniville]

Getting a handle on Ballz was quite tough- most Fighting Games have VERY thorough playthroughs available. And despite this game hitting during the absolute PEAK of the Console Wars, it has virtually zero impact on YouTube whatsoever. In many cases, a single 30-second clip is all that exists of a character.

So I have to extrapolate in some cases- guys only have four Special Moves each, making that easy enough. A few have a Blast ("hock a loogie" or whatever). Many moves are grab-themed. Turbo can FLY, which is a bit weird. A tiny bit of info is available on GameFaqs. But that's all that really makes these builds possible.

[Jabroniville]

GUGGLER
First Appearance: Ballz (1994)
Role: Fighting Ostrich
PL 5 (54)
STRENGTH 4 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 6 DEXTERITY 2
INTELLIGENCE -3 AWARENESS 0 PRESENCE -2

Skills:
Athletics 3 (+7)
Expertise (Survival) 5 (+5)

Advantages:
Improved Hold

Fighting With Ballz: All-Out Attack, Fast Grab (Grab), Improved Critical (Unarmed), Improved Defense, Improved Trip (Throw)

Powers:
"Buries Head in the Sand" Healing 6 (Flaws: Distracting) (6) -- [8]

• AE: "Grab & Slam" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: +2 to Hit Opponents Who Parried Last Turn) (Inaccurate -1) (2)
• AE: "Overrun" Strength-Damage +2 (Inaccurate -1) (2)

"Animal Senses" Senses 2 (Extended & Low-Light Vision) [2]
"Long Neck & Legs" Reach 1 [1]

Offense:
Unarmed +5 (+5 Damage, DC 20)
Special Moves +3 (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +5 (DC 15), Parry +6 (DC 16), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +3

Complications:
Prejudice (Made of Balls)
Disabled (Animal)- Ostriches cannot speak to humans, nor use their limbs to easily manipulate objects.
Weakess (Taunting)- Taunting Guggler will cause him to bury his head in the sand- one further hit will usually KO him.

Total: Abilities: 26 / Skills: 8--4 / Advantages: 1 + 5 / Powers: 11 / Defenses: 7 (54)

-The only Ostrich-themed Fighting Game character I can think of off the top of my head, Guggler is actually colored fairly appropriately to his species, though his "beak" is actually just a small orange ball on the front of his... white ball-head. Since he buries his head in the ground periodically, you can simply "Taunt" repeatedly to build up your strength to the point where your next hit will annihilate him- the building of strength stacks in this game.

[Jabroniville]

Oh neat! Someone has a "Best of Ann Possible" video on YouTube... and there's multiple parts!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btk0E6AHspo

[Ares]

Getting a handle on Ballz was quite tough-

So you had a hard time handling all of those Ballz?

[Spectrum]

And he's got big ballz,
And she's got big ballz,
But we've got the biggest ballz of them all!

[squirrelly-sama]

[FuzzyBoots]

This sounds like a cue for a song.

Oh please, oh please, don't take my ballz away.
I used to play with them at least ten times a day.
Once they were lovely, but now they're old and grey.
Oh please don't take my precious ballz away.

[squirrelly-sama]

This sounds like a cue for a song.

Oh please, oh please, don't take my ballz away.
I used to play with them at least ten times a day.
Once they were lovely, but now they're old and grey.
Oh please don't take my precious ballz away.

I agree.

[KorokoMystia]

And then there's the time in Dragon Ball Z where Frieza kept going on about wanting to carress those balls..

[KorokoMystia]

GUGGLER
First Appearance: Ballz (1994)
Role: Fighting Ostrich

Oh yeah, one more thing I might have forgotten to mention: When Guggler buries their head in the sand, it also heals them gradually.

And if you have issues with figuring out the moves in Ballz (or any other fighting game for that matter!), I'd be happy to help.

And I do know of one other FIghting Game Ostrich:

Dachon, from the little-known NES fighting game that was actually made by Nintendo themselves, Joy Mecha Fight. Coincidently, not only is the first boss an ostrich, but the characters in the game are ALSO made up from little parts rather than one huge sprite. (But the effect actually works better there..very Rayman-esque.)