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

Where in all of your character write ups will go.
Jabroniville
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Matter-Eater Lad! Saturn Girl! Duo Damsel! Timber Wolf!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:15 am I always thought a more sensible restriction than "one unique power" would have been "no more than one active duty representative per member planet."

◦ This would still serve the narrative purpose of keeping the redundant powers of the team members in check;
◦ This would serve the in-universe purpose of showing that the Legion was answerable to a government that (a) recognized them as useful crime-fighters and emergency responders, (b) recognized them as good PR, and (c) didn't quite trust them;
◦ Lastly, be easy enough to "write around" when you did want to have redundant team members: Clark is from Earth, Kara is from Krypton, Mon-El is from Daxxam. (Plus, the "active duty" clause could enable some rules lawyering.)

If I were to run a Legion RPG campaign, this would be my set-up for the team's charter.
Problem is, a BIG chunk of the team is made up of Earthlings who gained powers by accident. I think Sun Boy, Wildfire, Invisible Kid, Ferro Lad, Colossal Boy, Bouncing Boy and a couple of others started out that way.
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danelsan
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Matter-Eater Lad! Saturn Girl! Duo Damsel! Timber Wolf!)

Post by danelsan »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 4:48 amYou're describing R. Lee Ermey. We all just called him "The Gunny."
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Matter-Eater Lad! Saturn Girl! Duo Damsel! Timber Wolf!)

Post by Batgirl III »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:23 am
Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 7:15 am I always thought a more sensible restriction than "one unique power" would have been "no more than one active duty representative per member planet."
Problem is, a BIG chunk of the team is made up of Earthlings who gained powers by accident. I think Sun Boy, Wildfire, Invisible Kid, Ferro Lad, Colossal Boy, Bouncing Boy and a couple of others started out that way.
Retcon it so that they come from planets colonized by Humans. So they're still, basically, normal Earthlings as far as storytelling concerns go -- no weird alien culture that needs to be explained to the reader -- but they still qualify as part of the "one per planet" clause.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Matter-Eater Lad! Saturn Girl! Duo Damsel! Timber Wolf!)

Post by Jabroniville »

Haha, a thread detailing comments Shooter and the Bierbaums (later Legion writers) made about the various Legionnaires. Shooter's, probably written before he became EIC of Marvel, are pretty weirdly-sexual, even by the standards of internet writing. Particularly because he WROTE AND CREATED many of these characters.

http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbth ... 121&page=1
Shooter: Pretty much as she's been pictured. An organizer, a businessmanlike, clever, smart competent women's libber who scared away every guy she met until Lightning Lad with his overwhelming ego treated her like a lady, and she loved it. She is a wild, wild woman in bed, who undoubtedly has occasionally accompanied Lightning Lad on his forays into Dream Girl's boudoir.
Shooter, re: Saturn Girl 0_0

Star Boy apparently also has a gigantic penis. Really glad I learned that.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Matter-Eater Lad! Saturn Girl! Duo Damsel! Timber Wolf!)

Post by Ken »

Shooter began writing Legion when he was 13. Seriously.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Matter-Eater Lad! Saturn Girl! Duo Damsel! Timber Wolf!)

Post by Goldar »

greycrusader wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:53 am Timber Wolf's original power set was WAY more strength-based than his current one, which emphasizes intuitive fighting ability, superhuman reflexes, and minor super-strength (only in comics, where hefting 6 tons is minor league); in his earlier incarnations, T-Wolf had speed and strength rivaling Ultra-Boy, along with extraordinary leaping ability, acrobatic talents, and superior night-vision. No regeneration, claws, additional enhanced senses, or feral rages. That version of Brin Londo was capable of subduing elephant-sized alien monsters, shifting huge boulders, and tearing off the spire of a 30th century skyscraper. He got reinvented by the time the Great Darkness Saga went down, perhaps because Karate Kid was disliked by the creative team and used less and less (finally being killed off), and Levitz/Giffen realized a hand-to-hand fighter was missing on the team.

Granted, his initial powers didn't really earn him a place on the team with Mon-El, Clark and Kara Zor-El, and Ultra Boy, but I think the LSH charter has some sort of exemption about duplicating the powers of the Flying Brick quartet.

All my best.
Yep, this is what I thought as well. Some stories especially early on seemed to suggest a very strong, fast, agile character, just below the top 3/4 (Superboy, Supergirl, Mon-El, Ultraboy).

On Brin's level was Colossal Boy and Wildfire. RPGs also ranked these 3 closely together and a little behind the big 4.
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Cosmic Boy

Post by Jabroniville »

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Pink or GTFO.

Or the man-kini girdle..


COSMIC BOY (Rokk Krinn, aka Polestar)
Created By:
Otto Binder & Al Plastino
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958)
Home Planet: Braal
Origin of Powers: Racial Abilities
Eras: All Three
Relationships: Night Girl, Kid Quantum II, Saturn Girl (briefly in the '90s)
Role: Core Member, Team Leader
PL 10 (165)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 6 (+10)
Expertise (Magno-Ball Player) 5 (+9)
Expertise (Space Hero) 8 (+10)
Insight 5 (+8)
Investigation 4 (+7)
Perception 5 (+8)
Persuasion 5 (+9)
Ranged Combat (Magnetic Attacks) 2 (+10)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 3 (+7)

Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Equipment 10 (Legion Gear), Inspire, Improved Disarm, Improved Smash, Leadership, Ranged Attack 4, Set-Up, Teamwork

Powers:
"Braalian Physiology"
"Coils of Metal" Snare 10 (Feats: Reversible) (Quirks: Requires Metals -2) (29) -- [40]
  • Dynamic AE: "Magnetism" Move Object 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Material) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: "Magnetic Area" Move Object 10 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Material) (21)
  • Dynamic AE: "Metal Bullets" Blast 8 (Feats: Dynamic, Accurate) (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Requires Ferrous Objects) (18)
  • Dynamic AE: "Metal Shields" Enhanced Dodge & Parry 4 (Feats: Dynamic) (9)
  • AE: "Shape Metal" Transform 5 (Metal to Metal) (Extras: Continuous +2) (20)
  • AE: "Magnetize Metals" Move Object 6 (Extras: Affects Others Only +0, Continuous +3) (Flaws: Limited to Metallic Objects -2) (18)
  • AE: "Ferrous Fibre Manipulation" Flight 5 (60 mph) (Quirks: Requires Ferrous Fibres in Clothes) (9)
Senses 2 (Detect Magnetics/Metals- Ranged) [2]

Equipment:
"Legion Gear"
"Telepathic Ear Plug" Comprehend 3 (Languages) (6)

"Legion Flight Ring"
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 7 (Hot, Cold, Vacuum, Pressure, Radiation, Suffocation 2) (7)
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (2)
Communication 5 (Flaws: Fifth Rank is only towards Legionnaires) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Metal Coils +10 (+9 Ranged Affliction, DC 19)
Metal Bullets +12 (+8 Ranged Damage, DC 23)
Move Metals +10 (+10 Damage, DC 25)
Initiative +4

Defenses:
Dodge +10 (+14 Shield, DC 20-24), Parry +10 (+14 Shield, DC 20-24), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +8

Complications: 
Responsibility (Legion of Super-Heroes' Leader)
Relationship (Night Girl)- They were pretty much a constant pairing throughout the Pre-Zero Hour era. He even had a child with her, named for his late brother, Pol.
Relationship (Pol Krinn)- Pol looked up to his brother, and joined the legion as The Magnetic Kid, but died in battle.

Total: Abilities: 60 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 21 / Powers: 42 / Defenses: 15 (165)

Silver Age Cosmic Boy:
-One of the only pink-clad male superheroes ever, Cosmic Boy's as old as they come on the Legion, debuting alongside Lightning Lad & Saturn Girl. Since then, he's pretty much been the resolute leader of the squad, leading the team more often than not (he's effectly the "Cyclops" of the team). Despite his name making NO sense (he gets "Cosmic" from Magnetic powers?), he's one of the top Legionnaires of all time. But that's what the Grandfather Clause earns you- tenure. And being a magnetic character who's THAT old is pretty rare- he pre-dates Magneto by several years! Plus he's got that classic "girdle" man-kini costume, which is TOTALLY EPIC. It gets made fun of all the time these days, but actually covers more skin that many female costumes from the 1990s- *tsk* such a double standard- men should be able to wear like slutty Vegas showgirls while fighting crime TOO, dammit!

-Cosmic Boy hails from Braal, where everyone has magnetic powers, though his are near the peak. He was romantically involved with Lydda "Night Girl" Jath of the Legion of Substitute Heroes for a number of years, and was a "default" leader of the Legion much of the time. He even got a four-issue Limited Series in the mid-1980s- one of the only Legionnaires to get their own title! This dealt with him and Night Girl travelling to the 20th Century, encountering the new, Post-Crisis world, as one of the only people to realize that continuity had changed (Superman was no longer ever seen as "Superboy", for example). In a fun bit, the pair encountered the Time Trapper, who gave them only an hour to escape his grasp. When Cosmic Boy uses his powers to warp the Trapper's hourglass, preventing the last grains of sand from falling, the amused villain is impressed enough to let them leave.

-Cosmic Boy lost his powers during the "Five Year Gap" era, being replaced by Magnetic Kid, his own brother Pol, who died in action. Rokk would return to the slums of Braal (which had been in a war with Imsk- the homeworld of Shrinking Violet), as Night Girl gave birth to their son, Pol. He rejoined the Legion as a non-powered hero, regaining his powers thanks to technology during the final bit of continuity in the book- he would take the name "Polestar", but abandon them when he realized they were affecting his mind. He also learned that he was apparently destined to become the Time Trapper, but eventually this entire continuity was erased by Zero Hour.

Later Cosmic Boys:
-Cosmic Boy was reimagined as a superstar athlete who joined the Legion, and was awarded leadership after Colossal Boy, who'd been placed in the role per United Planets interference, had failed in his first mission. He served with distinction before stepping down, feeling that he'd been leader for a long enough period of time. He and Saturn Girl had a brief relationship until he went comatose, and she realized she was in love with Live Wire. He would join a "secret" Legion when the team was disbanded, ultimately stepping down as leader once more. By the end of this continuity, he'd started dating the new leader, Kid Quantum II.

-"Threeboot" Cosmic Boy is the leader once again, but is voted out after the apparent destruction of the Dominators' homeworld (he'd actually sent it to the Phantom Zone).

Cosmic Boy's Powers:
-Cosmic Boy's a fairly expensive Legionnaire, having the credentials of leadership AND a pretty cool power, though he obviously takes a LONG step back from someone like Magneto, who takes those powers and makes a team-wrecking Super-villain out of them. His array is partially Dynamic, allowing him to boost his Defenses (I don't buy him as having a Force Field- I don't think I've ever seen that in the comics, despite DCA's statting of him with one) while doing some things, but not others. Keep in mind that he's STILL pretty low on Defense, though, like a lot of Legionnaire types.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 25, 2022 11:07 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Batgirl III
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Batgirl III »

If you think about it objectively, “Cosmic Boy” is probably one of the better names for magnetic characters in comics. I mean, at least originally, it was meant more to speak to his nature as a space-traveling vistor from the future. He was “cosmic,” because he operated in the cosmos, just like Aquaman operates in the water. There’s not that many magnetic characters out there. They’re all kinda lazily named...

Magneto is a truly epic villain, so his rep has kinda obscured how lazy his name his: Magnet + O. It’d be like Parker calling himself “Spidero” or Banner transforming into “Angryo.” (I mean, we all make fun of “Mysterio” and it’s essentially the same thing as “Magneto.”)

C-List X-Woman “Polaris” and D-List DC jobber “Doctor Polaris” both have names that refer to a star and not magnetism. Yes, Polaris is the North Star but the North Star doesn’t actually have anything to do with the magnetic pole.

Z-List DC Jobber “Magenta” has magnet powers, but her name is a result of her energy aura being pink... and possibly a creative team that didn’t spellcheck “magnet.”

“Polestar” is actually a pretty cool name, it’s too bad it’s forever attached to the Legion’s attempt at an Nineties Anti-Hero Grimdark storyline.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Woodclaw »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:23 pm “Polestar” is actually a pretty cool name, it’s too bad it’s forever attached to the Legion’s attempt at an Nineties Anti-Hero Grimdark storyline.
Not to mention a super-forgettable one-shot villain that lived and died in 3-4 pages during the Great Game storyline, when Ben Reilly was Spider-Man.
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Goldar
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Goldar »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:23 pm If you think about it objectively, “Cosmic Boy” is probably one of the better names for magnetic characters in comics. I mean, at least originally, it was meant more to speak to his nature as a space-traveling vistor from the future. He was “cosmic,” because he operated in the cosmos, just like Aquaman operates in the water. There’s not that many magnetic characters out there. They’re all kinda lazily named...

Magneto is a truly epic villain, so his rep has kinda obscured how lazy his name his: Magnet + O. It’d be like Parker calling himself “Spidero” or Banner transforming into “Angryo.” (I mean, we all make fun of “Mysterio” and it’s essentially the same thing as “Magneto.”)

C-List X-Woman “Polaris” and D-List DC jobber “Doctor Polaris” both have names that refer to a star and not magnetism. Yes, Polaris is the North Star but the North Star doesn’t actually have anything to do with the magnetic pole.

Z-List DC Jobber “Magenta” has magnet powers, but her name is a result of her energy aura being pink... and possibly a creative team that didn’t spellcheck “magnet.”

“Polestar” is actually a pretty cool name, it’s too bad it’s forever attached to the Legion’s attempt at an Nineties Anti-Hero Grimdark storyline.
True, often thought these things myself!

But Polestar is just a bad name! Too close to Polecat and can remind one of a bad stripper, who back in the day was a pole-star. :lol:
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Magnetic Kid

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
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MAGNETIC KID (Pol Krinn)
Created By:
Edmond Hamilton & John Forte
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #335 (Aug. 1965)
Home Planet: Braal
Origin of Powers: Racial Abilities
Eras: All Three (Only a Legionnaire in the original)
Relationships: None
Role: Kid Brother, Legacy Hero
PL 8 (117)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 3
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 1 PRESENCE 1

Skills:
Acrobatics 4 (+7)
Athletics 5 (+7)
Expertise (Magno-Ball Player) 5 (+8)
Insight 3 (+4)
Perception 4 (+5)
Persuasion 4 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Magnetic Attacks) 2 (+8)
Technology 1 (+2)
Vehicles 2 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 10 (Legion Gear), Improved Disarm, Ranged Attack 3, Set-Up

Powers:
"Braalian Physiology"
"Coils of Metal" Snare 8 (Feats: Reversible) (Quirks: Requires Metals -2) (23) -- [32]
  • Dynamic AE: "Magnetism" Move Object 8 (Feats: Precise, Dynamic) (Extras: Perception Range) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Material) (18)
  • Dynamic AE: "Magnetic Area" Move Object 8 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (Flaws: Limited to Ferrous Material) (17)
  • Dynamic AE: "Metal Bullets" Blast 7 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Multiattack) (Flaws: Requires Ferrous Objects) (15)
  • Dynamic AE: "Metal Shields" Enhanced Dodge & Parry 2 (Feats: Dynamic) (5)
  • AE: "Shape Metal" Transform 5 (Metal to Metal) (Extras: Continuous +2) (20)
Senses 2 (Detect Magnetics/Metals- Ranged) [2]

Equipment:
"Legion Gear"
"Telepathic Ear Plug" Comprehend 3 (Languages) (6)

"Legion Flight Ring"
Flight 7 (250 mph) (14)
Immunity 7 (Hot, Cold, Vacuum, Pressure, Radiation, Suffocation 2) (7)
Movement 1 (Space Travel 1) (2)
Communication 5 (Flaws: Fifth Rank is only towards Legionnaires) (18)

Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Metal Coils +8 (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Metal Bullets +8 (+7 Ranged Damage, DC 21)
Move Metals +8 (+8 Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +8 (+10 Shield, DC 18-20), Parry +8 (+10 Shield, DC 18-20), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +5

Complications: 
Relationship (Rokk Krinn)- Pol looked up to his brother, and joined the Legion to honor him.

Total: Abilities: 42 / Skills: 28--14 / Advantages: 15 / Powers: 34 / Defenses: 12 (117)

-Magnetic Kid is a mere footnote in Legion history nowadays, having been his Cosmic Boy's less-cool and powerful brother (aka "The Havok"), who nonetheless made a heroic sacrifice. Of course, that's the entire POINT of the guy- the hero's lesser brother, who made a good attempt at being a hero. Pol Krinn was a great Magno-Ball player, and joined the Legion Academy when his older brother scaled back his Legionnaire duties- he even wore a costume inspired by Rokk's first look. He eventually joined the Legion proper alongside Polar Boy, Sensor Girl, Quislet & Tellus, all "lower-level" trainees who are much more obscure. He attempted to refine the use of his race's magnetic powers in order to stand out from Cosmic Boy, but was killed during the "Magic Wars" storyline, sacrificing himself to unlock "Sorcerers' World". Unfortunately, this happened so close to the end of this continuity that the character didn't have much of an overall impact, despite having what seemed to be a very good concept- living in his brother's shadow, but being an upstanding and capable Legionnaire all the same.

-Pol showed up a few times in the Reboot Era, but just as a member of Cosmic Boy's family. He has a similar role in "Threeboot", and oddly was never dealt with in the Post-Infinite Crisis re-reboot, which didn't include Magnetic Kid among the list of Legionnaires past & present- it's possible his existence as a member was wiped out.

-Take Cosmic Boy's stats, lower all of them, and then pop the Precise Feat onto his Magnetic Control, and you're done. A pretty simple, but solid, PL 8 character.
Last edited by Jabroniville on Wed May 25, 2022 11:08 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Cosmic Boy

Post by Thorpocalypse »

Jabroniville wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 9:38 pm Image

Pink or GTFO.

Or the man-kini girdle..
I smell what the Rokk is cookin'!!! 8-)

Man-kini girdle for the win.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Bladewind »

Batgirl III wrote: Tue Apr 17, 2018 10:23 pm Z-List DC Jobber “Magenta” has magnet powers, but her name is a result of her energy aura being pink... and possibly a creative team that didn’t spellcheck “magnet.”
Actually, I have the issue where her name debuted. In the editorial at the end, it was because Magenta sounded like Magnet.
The comic was Teen Titans Spotlight on Magenta. They felt odd saying Teen Titans Spotlight on Francis Kane and wanted a supername. In trying to come up with something, they went with her suit being magenta and it almost being a play on magnetic.

In that case, it was kinda clever.

Sorry. Brain is filled with useless info.
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Re: Magnetic Kid

Post by Davies »

Jabroniville wrote: Wed Apr 18, 2018 1:54 am -Magnetic Kid is a mere footnote in Legion history nowadays, having been his Cosmic Boy's less-cool and powerful brother, who nonetheless made a heroic sacrifice. Of course, that's the entire POINT of the guy- the hero's lesser brother, who made a good attempt.
That's a bit of a simplification, since no one could have known that he (and the series itself) would be gone in four years when he joined the Legion, and as this article will testify, Pol was actually very competent as a Legionnaire. (And had the smarts not to fool around with Ayla.)
Last edited by Davies on Wed Apr 18, 2018 3:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Jab's Builds! (Saturn Girl! Timber Wolf! Cosmic Boy!)

Post by Ken »

How about Pole Dancer? .... A magnetic character who actually is a stripper.
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