Jab’s Builds! (Beaker! Sam Eagle! Miss Piggy! The Swedish Chef!)

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Jabroniville
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Post-Crisis Hugo Strange

Post by Jabroniville »

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PROFESSOR HUGO STRANGE- Post-Crisis
Created By:
Bill Finger & Bob Kane
First Appearance: Detective Comics #36 (Feb. 1940)
Role: Criminal Mastermind
Group Affiliations: None
PL 8 (115)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 5 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Deception 5 (+8)
Expertise (Criminal) 6 (+11)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+11)
Expertise (Psychology) 8 (+13)
Intimidation 2 (+5)
Perception 2 (+6)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Stealth 1 (+3)
Technology 4 (+10)
Vehicles 1 (+5)

Advantages:
Equipment 4 (Criminal Stuff), Inventor, Ranged Attack 3

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +2

Defenses:
Dodge +12 (DC 22), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Greed)
Enemy (Batman)- Strange is one of the few enemies of Batman to have discovered his real identity.
Obsession (Becoming The Bat)- Viewing Batman as the embodiment of human perfection, Strange has become obsessed with replacing him. He puts on a Batman costume is completely delusional.

Total: Abilities: 74 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 14 (115)

-Post-Crisis, Hugo Strange returns- he is now a delusional psychologist, brilliant but unbalanced, wearing a replica Batman costume in private, and is convinced that he alone "understands the darkness that drives Batman." He performs monstrous experiements on incurably insane Arkham inmates, creating "Monster Men" to commit crimes to pay back his Mafia connections (I guess he got them to pay his way through school). Even his loyal sidekick turns on him for this, and the man and all the Monster Men are killed- but Strange, with no evidence left to connect him to the crimes, remains a free man. In a story written by Doug Moench, he ends up being assigned by a task force (that Commissioner Gordon was forced to put together) to create a psychological profile of Batman, and attempts to replace him, but gets many aspects of Batman's nature wrong- Gordon, being more insightful and clever, gets it right. Strange thinks that Batman put it all together in five years (instead of a lifetime) and has multiple personalities.

-However, Strange DOES manage to piece together that Batman is likely Bruce Wayne, and attempts to frame him, then drive him insane with mannequins of his parents blaming him for their deaths and even using Wayne Manor itself as a setting for his illusions. Batman is shaken, but gathers himself in the Batcave and puts doubt in Strange's mind over his identity- since Strange is wearing a Bat-costume, he is shot by the very task force that hired him when he attempts to escape. Moench writes Strange's mysterious return in a team-up with the Scarecrow, but Strange's recruitment and manipulation of the villain comes back to haunt him- Scarecrow turns on him, impaling him in his own hideout. Scarecrow attempts to kill Batman using Strange's own ideas, but fails and it's left unclear of Hugo survives. This is the kind of deeply-intense, psychological melodrama that Moench seems to love writing the most.

-Strange doesn't return until much later, apparently being active before Batman used any of the Robins. He returns, annoyed at these "parasites" Batman hangs with, and brainwashes Batman so he confesses his identity for real. However, Batman tricks him again- he fakes his death and hypnotizes himself into forgetting that he is Batman unless Nightwing & Robin can defeat Strange. Both heroes deny that Wayne is Batman, and then Strange witnesses Bruce's completely inability to fight, causing doubt in himself. This causes a complete mental breakdown, and he voluntarily turns himself in to Arkham. He later reappears in only a handful of stuff, like a brief bit in Catwoman (she arrests most of his gang when he comes in on her territory, after pretending to join them and then faking her death and taking them down- he confesses he's done that more than she has).

-This version of Hugo Strange is also brilliant, but is now a psychologist who works out a lot, becoming a strong PL 7-8 hand-to-hand fighter in the process of attempting to "Become" Batman. His specialty at this point becomes using psychoactive drugs to alter the behavior of his victims, decreasing their willpower. This kind of stuff can even work on Batman.
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Ares
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Re: Post-Crisis Hugo Strange

Post by Ares »

Jabroniville wrote: Fri Oct 15, 2021 5:23 pm
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PROFESSOR HUGO STRANGE- Post-Crisis
Created By:
Bill Finger & Bob Kane
First Appearance: Detective Comics #36 (Feb. 1940)
Role: Criminal Mastermind
The comic this panel was taken from was my first exposure to Hugo Strange, Batman 356 written by Gerry Conway and drawn by the fantastic Don Newton. In it, Hugo goes through this elaborate scheme to break Bruce's sanity, having rigged Bruce's car with some gas that puts him under, and then delivering him, car and all, to a fake replica of Wayne Manor and having incredibly life-like robots of Alfred and Dick Grayson around to mess with Bruce. At several points, the robot copies of Alfred and Dick try to kill Bruce, and when Bruce defends himself, the person attacking him always seems to die. Yet when Bruce turns around, the person he just killed is usually there, confused, and when Bruce turns around, the body of the "deceased" is gone. This actually starts to unnerve Bruce until he "kills" another version of Dick, only the robot's head comes off and reveals its artificial nature.

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Bruce figures it out, realizing the house had all kinds of secret passages that were being used to retrieve his "victims", and goes down into the Batcave to confront Hugo, who has shaved off his beard and is wearing a Batman costume. Bruce dons his own Batman costume and we get a mirror match that Hugo eventually loses. In a fit of madness, Hugo sets the fake Wayne Manor to explode, trying to take Bruce with him . . . only Bruce had already made his escape.

See, Hugo wears those big glasses for a reason, and when dressed as Batman, the lenses in Batman's mask functioned as his eye-wear. But once Hugo was physically defeated, Hugo removed his mask and started ranting at the real Batman before setting the self destruct. With the mask off, his vision went to Hell and spent several moments ranting at an empty room while Batman ninja'ed his way to safety.

It was actually a pretty solid piece of psychological horror, especially for a little kid (which I was when I read it). Granted, having robots that could function as LMDs was a bit weird for a psychologist to have, but hey, it made for a fun story. Maybe the Monitor gave them to him.
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catsi563
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Montoya! Mr. Freeze! The General! The Wrath!)

Post by catsi563 »

Ares wrote: Thu Oct 14, 2021 10:54 pm Double Dair would be great "chase" villains who can put up an effective fight, but their real challenge is just catching them once they're on the move.
Yeah Id love to test them against my Dark Angel build some day
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Jabroniville
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Victor Zsasz

Post by Jabroniville »

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VICTOR ZSASZ
Created By:
Alan Grant & Norm Breyfogle
First Appearance: Batman- Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992)
Role: Recurring Serial Killer
Group Affiliations: The Secret Society of Super-Villains
PL 8 (129)
STRENGTH
3 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 12 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 4 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 7 (+12)
Athletics 9 (+12)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+7)
Expertise (Business) 8 (+10)
Insight 3 (+7)
Intimidation 6 (+9)
Perception 5 (+9)
Persuasion 3 (+6)
Ranged Combat (Knives) 4 (+12)
Stealth 4 (+9)

Advantages:
Accurate Attack, All-Out Attack, Equipment 1 (Throwing Blades +4, Knives +1- Improved Critical), Fast Grab, Improved Critical (Knives) 2, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Ranged Attack 3, Startle, Takedown, Uncanny Dodge

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Knives +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Thrown Knives +12 (+4 Ranged Damage, DC 19)
Initiative +3

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +12 (DC 22), Toughness +4, Fortitude +6, Will +6

Complications:
Motivation (Killing)- Zsasz believes that all life is meaningless, and seeks to give othes the "gift" of death. But his wanton cruelty makes him seem more like an "evil for the sake of evil" guy.

Total: Abilities: 76 / Skills: 54--27 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 12 (129)

Mr. Zsasz- The Sicko Villain:
-The weirdo knife-wielding edgelord "Mr. Zsasz" has since become a recurring Bat-Villain, as he acts more like a traditional serial killer while also acting as a physical rival for Batman- unlike most of the Bat-Rogues, he's an extremely gifted martial artist. He carves a mark into his body for each one of his victims, which makes him a more prolific serial killer than just about any human being ever. His origin story was revealed by his creators a bit later- he was the head of his own company and had amassed a personal fortune, but fell into depression when his parents died in a boating accident. He fell into gambling, eventually losing everything he had to the Penguin. Losing the will to live, he was about to attempt suicide, but a knife-wielding hobo came at him for refusing to give him money- when he stared into his assailant's eyes, he realized that life was meaningless and that nobody matters- he ruthlessly stabs the man to death as a "gift" for saving his life and giving him purpose. And so he slits his victim's throats and leaves them in lifelike poses.

-In his debut story, Zsasz is imprisoned at Arkham, but it's revealed he bribed the man running it, Jeremiah Arkham, into providing him with a secret escape passage. Investigating murders that fit Zsasz's modus operandi, Batman allows himself to be committed to Arkham by Jim Gordon, where he is brutalized by Jeremiah, now fully under the sway of Zsasz. Eventually, Batman & Nightwing catch on and stop him. He is one of many villains badly beaten during Knightfall. He is later seen as a patient of Leslie Thompkins, but she cannot reach him- only merely giving him pause with her selflessness. Later, he is startled by Stephanie Brown's unexpected ferocity in battle.

Zsasz The Filler Villain:
-The character falls into disuse for a bit, but returns to stab ALFRED of all people at one of Bruce Wayne's fundraisers, making it personal- Batman lures him to the hospital where Alfred resides by poining out publicly that Alfred survived (and so Zsasz's "tally" is off by one, causing his skin to crawl), then beats him again. He's in a Kevin Smith story after that, and then shows up as a minion of Black Mask, after he uncharacteristically saved the villain's life- Black Mask offers him cash to "live out his dreams" of mass murder. He ends up forming a tournament where runaway and kidnapped orphans fight each other to the death while people bet on the outcome, and Damian Wayne defeats him. He uses Zsasz as an example of the flaws in the "no killing" rule, given how he's a remorseless killer likely beyond helping. Before the continuity reboot, he was possibly killed by Damian's sword-slash sending him into Gotham Harbor- Damian had deliberately missed his spine, but confessed the villain would likely die. He has since reappeared in both new continuities as a generic "Filler" villain.

-Ultimately, Zsasz IS just a Filler Villain. With no nuance of his own, he's just a good speedbump for one of the Bat-Family to beat the shit out of, and just enough of a physical threat to be worthwhile. His sick mentality is also a decent showcase of just how a superhero deals with people like that- though I find that a cartoonishly violent serial killer/mass murderer is almost a strawman argument against "Heroes who won't kill" (I have a similar issue with Marvel's Carnage, who is even more powerful and deadly).

Zsasz's Stats:
-I went with PL 8 for Mr. Zsasz. He's just enough of a challenge that most of the Bat-Family has trouble beating him at first, but in straight fights he's 0 for 100 against any of them- even rookies like Damian have ended up taking him out. He's one of those guys who suffers the most from the whole "Heroes tend not to die" thing- you get diminishing returns out of the true killers if they repeatedly fail to kill anyone. Despite his insanity, the biggest issue with him is often his cunning- he makes a lot of ingenious escapes from Arkham, is good at both threatening and persuading others, and more.
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The Cluemaster

Post by Jabroniville »

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Man, that is a HORRENDOUS costume.

THE CLUEMASTER (Arthur Brown, aka The Reformer, Aaron Black)
Created By:
Gardner Fox & Carmine Infantino
First Appearance: Detective Comics #351 (May 1966)
Role: Minor Villain, Riddler Rip-Off
Group Affiliations: Justice League Antarctica, The Secret Society of Super-Villains, Suicide Squad, The Injustice League
PL 9 (147)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 6
INTELLIGENCE 3 AWARENESS 3 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 6 (+11)
Athletics 4 (+6)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+8)
Expertise (Trivia) 7 (+10)
Insight 2 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+6)
Investigation 3 (+6)
Perception 3 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+8)
Technology 4 (+7)

Advantages:
Equipment 6 (Special Pellet Gun, Body Armor +1), Ranged Attack 4

Equipment:
"Pellet Gun"
"Incendiary Flares" Dazzle Visuals 8 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Burst) (24) -- (27 points)
  • AE: "Smoke" Concealment 2 (Visuals) (Extras: Ranged, Attack, Area- 30ft. Cloud +2) (12)
  • AE: "Gas" Affliction 8 (Fort; Dazed/Exhausted/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 15ft. Cloud, Ranged) (24)
  • AE: "Explosive Pellets" Blast 8 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2 on 4 Ranks) (18)
Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Flares +8 Area (+8 Ranged Affliction, DC 18)
Explosive Pellets +10 (+8 Ranged Damage & +8 Burst Area Damage, DC 23)
Initiative +5

Defenses:
Dodge +11 (DC 21), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4 (+5 Armor), Fortitude +6, Will +5

Complications:
Obsession (Leaving Clues)- For years, The Cluemaster was compelled to leave clues at the scene of the crime.
Relationship (Stephanie Brown- The Spoiler)- Arthur's daughter Stephanie opposes him as the vigilante The Spoiler.

Total: Abilities: 72 / Skills: 44--22 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 33 / Defenses: 10 (147)

-A low-rent jerkoff villain from the '60s, Cluemaster was given a new lease on life in the '90s as the father of Robin's love interest/partner, The Spoiler. In the '60s, he debuted as a failed game show host wanting to find out the secret identity of Batman- his schtick was also a Riddler-copycat gimmick: leaving clues at the scene of the crime. After initially failing, he shows up only a couple more times before being threaded into a variety of "background shots". In the 1990s, he joined that goofy Injustice League, then tries to reform with them as JL Antarctica. Attempting to reform, they became "Justice League Antarctica", now buffoonish would-be superheroes. In short, Cluemaster was a joke villain.

-Chuck Dixon later gives him a "Bad-Ass Upgrade", and it's even revealed that he has a daughter- Stephanie, who goes on to become the Spoiler, among other super-aliases, and a major character in the Bat-verse. The Spoiler "spoils" her father's schemes and sets him up to be captured by Batman & Robin (her eventual boyfriend)- however, she is herself captured by the villain. When he holds a vial of acid at her face, Batman stuns him by revealing her identity, and she uses the distraction to escape and nearly strangles him until Batman intervenes. Cluemaster is thus incarcerated, at which point he joins a modern Suicide Squad in order to make her proud. He is badly-injured and most of his teammates die, reappearing years later to blame Batman for the death of his daughter (this was the time when Steph was thought-dead in the dumbest plot point ever). His last appearance before the continuity reboot was in Batgirl, when naturally Stephanie had stepped into that cowl. Cluemaster turns out to be the guy bankrolling a gang called the Reapers, who Steph had been fighting.

-The Cluemaster's an idiot turned bad-ass, though not to extremes- he probably went from PL 7 joke to PL 9 serious contender. He's your standard "Gadget Guy", but only using Equipment, he's in trouble if his gear gets attacked.
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Re: The Cluemaster

Post by Skavenger »

Cluemaster is... see, I love the idea of there being multiple villains who test Batman's intellect, not just his detective skills or his combat skills. The only problem is, this guy who no business doing his thing while the Riddler is still alive, unless the Riddler is once again doing his "private eye" schtick which I think was possibly the best thing to ever happen to the character.

But if they could find something else for him to do... perhaps instead simply posing riddles and clues to his crimes, he could commit seemingly impossible crimes, and then leave a really obscure clue/item that would lead only a truly great detective to figure out how he did it. "This specific sand that was found at the crime is normally found in this country, on this beach. There happens to be a shop with the same name as the museum owner, and it specializes in selling this specific object. The most famous of those objects was used in a specific film, whose Director shared a name with a road that used to exist... my god, he stole a road from the city, got the city map makers to forget it was there so it was left off maps after a certain date, and then used it for an escape because nobody's GPS knew it was there any more."
Jabroniville wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:54 am Cluemaster is thus incarcerated, at which point he joins a modern Suicide Squad in order to make her proud. He is badly-injured and most of his teammates die, reappearing years later to blame Batman for the death of his daughter (this was the time when Steph was thought-dead in the dumbest plot point ever).
I beg to differ. I'm assuming you haven't read Kevin Smith's Widening Gyre. The whole series is the dumbest plot point ever.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Mr. Freeze! The Wrath! Hugo Strange! Mr. Zsasz!)

Post by Davies »

Honestly, I say ditch this guy and have Steph be the daughter of the actual Riddler.
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Jabroniville
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Re: The Cluemaster

Post by Jabroniville »

Skavenger wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 6:18 am Cluemaster is... see, I love the idea of there being multiple villains who test Batman's intellect, not just his detective skills or his combat skills. The only problem is, this guy who no business doing his thing while the Riddler is still alive, unless the Riddler is once again doing his "private eye" schtick which I think was possibly the best thing to ever happen to the character.

But if they could find something else for him to do... perhaps instead simply posing riddles and clues to his crimes, he could commit seemingly impossible crimes, and then leave a really obscure clue/item that would lead only a truly great detective to figure out how he did it. "This specific sand that was found at the crime is normally found in this country, on this beach. There happens to be a shop with the same name as the museum owner, and it specializes in selling this specific object. The most famous of those objects was used in a specific film, whose Director shared a name with a road that used to exist... my god, he stole a road from the city, got the city map makers to forget it was there so it was left off maps after a certain date, and then used it for an escape because nobody's GPS knew it was there any more."
Jabroniville wrote: Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:54 am Cluemaster is thus incarcerated, at which point he joins a modern Suicide Squad in order to make her proud. He is badly-injured and most of his teammates die, reappearing years later to blame Batman for the death of his daughter (this was the time when Steph was thought-dead in the dumbest plot point ever).
I beg to differ. I'm assuming you haven't read Kevin Smith's Widening Gyre. The whole series is the dumbest plot point ever.
Yes, but see, the Steph/Thompkins plot point involved the near-permanent destruction of TWO beloved characters, while the other is a miniseries I'd never heard of until you mentioned it. Long-term destruction and notoriety make things a lot worse than merely crap storytelling.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Mr. Freeze! The Wrath! Hugo Strange! Mr. Zsasz!)

Post by Ken »

The "Widening Gyre" has long term destruction AND crap storytelling.

The fact that "Widening Gyre" hasn't had notoriety is a blessing. At least to Bat-fans. He-Man fans might have appreciated the warning, though.
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Stephanie Brown

Post by Jabroniville »

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BATGIRL V (Stephanie Brown, aka The Spoiler, Robin V)
Created By:
Chuck Dixon & Tom Lyle
First Appearance: Detective Comics #647 (Aug. 1992- Stephanie), Robin #126 (July 2004- Robin V), Batgirl #1 (Aug. 2009- Batgirl V)
Role: Lesser Sidekick, Plucky Girl
PL 8 (130)
STRENGTH
1 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 5
FIGHTING 8 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 3

Skills:
Acrobatics 8 (+13)
Athletics 9 (+10)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 4 (+12)
Close Combat (Bo Staff) 4 (+12)
Deception 4 (+7)
Expertise (Streetwise) 3 (+5)
Insight 1 (+3)
Investigation 4 (+6)
Perception 3 (+5)
Persuasion 2 (+5)
Ranged Combat (Batarangs) 4 (+12)
Stealth 3 (+8)
Technology 2 (+4)
Vehicles 1 (+6)

Advantages:
Defensive Attack, Equipment 15 (Bat-cycle, Utility Belt), Evasion, Fast Grab, Improved Defense, Improved Disarm, Improved Initiative, Improved Trip, Ranged Attack 3, Takedown, Teamwork

Powers:
"Martial Artist" Strength-Damage +1 [1]

Equipment:
"Bat-cycle" Motorcycle (Medium, Strenght 1, Speed 6- 120 mph, Defense 10, Toughness 8, Remote Control (11)

"Utility Belt"
Camera, CommLink, Audio Recorder, Handcuffs, Binoculars, Mini-Tracer, Night Vision Goggles, Flashlight, Gas Mask, Multi-Tool, Rebreather, Cutting Torch, Communication Link- Oracle (13)
"Grapple Gun" Movement 1 (Swinging) (2)
"Bat-Uniform" Immunity 10 (Ballistics, Electrical Damage) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) (5)
"Choking Gas" Affliction 6 (Fort; Dazed & Vulnerable/Defenseless & Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Cloud +2, Ranged, Extra Condition) (Diminished Range -1) (29) -- (33)
  • AE: "Batarangs" Blast 3 (Feats: Homing, Ricochet) (Extras: Multiattack) (Diminished Range -1) (10)
  • AE: "Smoke Pellets" Concealment (Visuals) 2 (Extras: Attack, Area- 30ft. Cloud +2) (10)
  • AE: "Bo Staff" Strength-Damage +2 (Feats: Split, Reach) (4)
-- (64 points)

Offense:
Unarmed +12 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Bo Staff +12 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Batarangs +12 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Choking Gas +6 Area (+6 Affliction, DC 16)
Initiative +9

Defenses:
Dodge +13 (DC 23), Parry +13 (DC 23), Toughness +3, Fortitude +5, Will +7

Complications:
Relationship (The Cluemaster- Father)- Stephanie can't stand her criminal father.
Relationship (Tim Drake- Robin)- Steph had a big crush on Robin, and the two began dating. They've hooked up and broken up more times than pretty much any comic book superhero pairing in history. I'm not even remotely kidding- Colossus & Kitty Pryde have NOTHING on these two.
Relationship (Detective Gage)- The two have a mutual crush going on, much to the consternation of Commissioner Gordon ("Nobody asks about you and BATMAN, Commissioner!" "I'm pretty sure Batman's LEGAL, Detective!").

Total: Abilities: 58 / Skills: 48--24 / Advantages: 27 / Powers: 1 / Defenses: 20 (130)

Stephanie Brown- Surprisingly-Popular Supporting Character:
-Stephanie Brown, like most Batgirls, is a standard Girl Sidekick-type character with a HUGELY-controversial history- they just kind of give off that vibe of "Hey, new writer! Do something HORRIBLE to me that results in thousands of angry fans!" She was a minor side-character appearing mostly in Robin, but took off for a variety of reasons (not the least of which being "Plucky Teen Heroine" is nearly ALWAYS a great character idea), then got bounced around as DC desperately attempted to pull "Mulligans" on horrible storyline ideas. Plus she & Tim Drake broke up about nine billion times over the course of ten years- COMICS, am I right?

-So Stephanie debuts as a Plot Device to screw with the newly-serious Cluemaster, who turns out to be her deadbeat father- she "spoils" his plans as The Spoiler. This innocuous little origin proves popular, and soon fan demand led to her showing up in Dixon's new Robin solo book as a major character, foil and love interest for Tim Drake. The rarely-seen "Solo Female Teen Superhero" archetype was AGAIN popular, and people really touted this book- her obvious crush on him mixing with his view of her as a pest, as she regularly goes on patrols and acts as a superheroine. Plus, he was dating a girl named Ariana at the time. But then, naturally, the two grow closer, Robin ultimately returning her feelings and begins dating Steph.

-However, she soon discovers she's PREGNANT (from an ex-boyfriend who has left town already- not sure of the timeline here- how fast did that happen?), and we get a pretty unusual concept- "Pregnant Teen Heroine" (which I think was done in Icon and nowhere else). Ultimately, her daughter is put up for adoption, and she & Robin have grown even closer. However, things conspire to make them all star-crossed again (he has to move to Keystone City, she thinks he's cheating on her, then he goes to Tibet for a bit, then Batman reveals Tim's secret identity to her, making Tim angry)- she's ultimately trained by Batman and his army of partners. However, he ultimately decides she "isn't cape material" in a pretty nasty turn of events. Then she and Tim split AGAIN, then get back together, then he beats a villain to death for harming her (he's magically resurrected after- don't worry!), making him angry at her for "causing" that. And then right after they reconcile (and Tim's father makes him stop being Robin), she catches him with a female classmate attempting to seduce him, and they break up AGAIN. And then she becomes Robin!

Stephanie Becomes Robin & Dies:
-So yeah, Stephanie more or less stomps into the Batcave and demands to be trained as the new Robin. Batman reluctantly accepts, but finds she still doesn't cut it and fires her when she disobeys him in the field. And so the writers, in their infinite wisdom, reveal this was a bluff to the fans all along- instead of having the first-ever FEMALE Robin (thus helpfully-avoiding the weirdness of Batman finding THREE BOYS with identical appearances to fulfill the role), they're like "PSYCHE! It was just a trick! We're killing her off!". So Stephanie, desperate to prove her worth, enacts one of Batman's plans to solve crime in Gotham- bringing all the crimelords in Gotham together- not realizing that the "mystery boss" to bring all the crimelords in Gotham together was meant to be BRUCE HIMSELF- without that important part of the equation, the crime-bosses get all up in arms, and start a huge gangwar.

-In the end, Stephanie is captured and brutally tortured by Black Mask, escaping but dying in hospital. Even WORSE, her death was said to be DELIBERATELY-CAUSED by Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who withheld treatment in an attempt to get Batman to give up his role as a vigilante (ie. teaching him a lesson), and to prevent other kids from following in Stephanie's example. This idea was THE STUPIDEST THING EVER, and basically destroyed two characters for no good reason- Steph looked like an idiot (she had been fired by Bruce for sucking too hard at the job, and disobeying him), and Leslie, A DOCTOR, had killed someone. Also, since she was never a "real" Robin, she never got a tribute costume in the Batcave, which made this look even more casual and "Pfffft- who CARES?". Just more mindless angst for the Bat-verse, as both Bruce & Timm mourn her.

Stephanie Becomes Batgirl:
-So fans, being fans, FREAKED OUT, and inundated DC with complaints- so did many writers. This was a pretty big thing at the time, as this character assassination was stupid, and DC seemed unwilling to change. Naturally, they eventually did, and revealed that Leslie had faked Stephanie's death in a way that was silly and casually-done (they faked her death because her secret identity was out, making her a target), but people were frankly just so happy to see that dumbass story done with, so they were happy regardless of how it happened. She became the Spoiler again, split with Tim AGAIN (he was now Red Robin, trying to find out if Bruce was still alive), and FINALLY becomes the new Batgirl, in a well-thought-of solo series, depicting a fun-loving solo College student heroine being trained by the original (Barbara)- Barbara tries to disuade her at first, but when Steph beats the Scarecrow, she proves herself.

-I've got the whole series, and yes- it's quite good. Some people make it out to be a little better than it really is- it's not some masterpiece or anything, but it's a nice, somewhat-uplifting, happy book in a sea of Grim Darkness, so it really stood out. It was very "Street Level" without being obsessed with other Bat-verse stuff, and Stephanie had to work hard for all her wins, while acting as a rival of sorts to Batman & Damian Wayne. Its closest contemporaries these days is Ms. Marvel and, fittingly, Batgirl, as BARBARA GORDON became a young-seeming happy-go-lucky College Student Vigilante. I dug the costume, too- purple and light, with Steph's blonde hair sticking out- it was striking and unique.

Stephanie's Role in Comics:
-Aaaaaaaand because the "New 52" happened, the book was done. Sales were probably never great, but her role as "Plucky College-Ish Heroine" was taken by Barbara again in a series that reflected modern sentiments and styles a lot, and Stephanie's history as Robin was done away with as well (leaving us with a paltry four Robins). She still shows up, but in more side-roles. Ultimately, Stephanie turned out to be one of those dark horse characters who really stand out and EARN their love from fans- a side character in Batman to someone the Robin writers could really play and mess around with. She pulls off the "Plucky Try-Hard Kid", but with enough personal complications (an unwed teen mother AND the daughter of a criminal she hates and even wanted dead at one point) to be interesting. She was eager & stubborn without being over-the-top or annoying, and as I've read others indicate in the past, the "Teen Superhero" thing just has a different feel coming from a female character, and hasn't been done quite as much, especially back in the late '90s.

Stephanie's Skills:
-Stephanie started out at barely PL 6, but rapidly improved to PL 7, being an effective Sidekick to a PL 8 Sidekick Robin. As Batgirl, she'd finally hit that PL 8 level, but was still an amateur superhero in terms of capability. Notably, she's still only PL 7 unarmed (I just don't see her kicking ass on the "Attack Bonus Above +12" level just yet), but hits PL 8 defensively and with a new Bo Staff, and PL 7.5 with Batarangs- Stephanie needs to fight intelligently and carefully, or else even MOOKS are trouble.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Hugo Strange! Mr. Zsasz! Stephanie Brown!)

Post by Skavenger »

Stephanie Brown, at least for me, fills a rather significant niche in the identity of Gotham City and the Bat-Family as a whole. You have Bruce, whose life was shattered by crime and he rebuilt himself and his identity around stopping crime (and, for a lot of intents and purposes, he did). You have Dick Grayson, who was subject to the same tragedy as Bruce, but because of Bruce's involvement wasn't as grim, dark, and defined by his tragedy. You had Jason Todd, the "boy Batman couldn't save." You had Tim, the boy who decided to be Batman's partner on his own. You have Damien...who's essentially Cassandra Cain but with actual blood ties to Bruce, and I define her better below.

Then you have the outliers. Barbara Gordon, whose father was the "only honest cop in Gotham" for years, decides to follow in Batman's footsteps instead of her father's, because just like "crime" as it was known came to an end when Batman arrived on the scene, so did a lot of classic "crime fighting." You have Cassandra Cain, a girl born and raised to be everything Batman's against, and rejects it, deciding to follow in his footsteps.

And then there's Stephanie, whose father IS one of the new breed of criminals, but instead of following in HIS footsteps, like so many other generational mobster family children do (except there aren't really mobs any more in Gotham), she also rejects his influence and follows in Batman's footsteps, and refuses to be told "no" when she realizes she can make a difference. It shows just how much influence Batman has had, not just among respectable people (cops, honest families) but also the outliers (children of broken homes, offspring of criminals themselves).

Plus, one of the first Bat-books I ever picked up was Robin #35 (The Final Night issue), where Spoiler essentially spends the entire time trying to convince Robin to find somewhere private to snuggle up and keep warm together. So I have a soft spot for her.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Hugo Strange! Mr. Zsasz! Stephanie Brown!)

Post by catsi563 »

agreed but also id throw HUntress into that mix as well shes Bruce if he went down a darker path allowing vengance to direct him only to turn away later
Dr. Silverback has wryly observed that this is like trying to teach lolcats about Shakespeare

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Jane Doe

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

JANE DOE (Real Name Unknown)
Created By:
Dan Slott
First Appearance: Arkham Asylum- Living Hell #1 (July 2003)
Role: Cipher, Copycat
Group Affiliations: None
PL 7 (103)
STRENGTH
2 STAMINA 4 AGILITY 3
FIGHTING 10 DEXTERITY 5
INTELLIGENCE 2 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 4

Skills:
Athletics 5 (+7)
Deception 10 (+14)
Expertise (Criminal) 5 (+5)
Intimidation 3 (+7)
Perception 4 (+6)
Stealth 3 (+6)

Advantages:
Beginner's Luck, Benefit (Cipher), Eidetic Memory, Equipment (Knife +1), Jack-Of-All-Trades, Ranged Attack 3, Ultimate Deception Skill

Offense:
Unarmed +10 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Knife +10 (+3 Damage, DC 18)
Initiative +3

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

Complications:
Motivation (Finding The Perfect Mark)- Jane wants to go through a never-ending series of identities before she finds the "perfect" one- often, the target is a powerful man, such as Bruce Wayne or Batman.

Total: Abilities: 64 / Skills: 30--15 / Advantages: 10 / Powers: 0 / Defenses: 12 (103)

-Jane Doe is a "cipher" who is generally unknown, and always tries to copy the lives and appearances of others until she finds a role she is satisfied with. Debuting in Arkham Asylym: Living Hell, she is revealed in a twist to have killed and replaced the prison psychiatrist, Dr. Anne Carver- her mission is to drive Warren White further insane. She refuses his transfer to a safer jail and helps Jeremiah Arkham torture him mentally and physically. When White becomes the insane villain Great White Shark, he takes revenge, giving Jane third degree burns over much of her body. She reappears a few more times as a background villain, even allying with Hush- she planned to betray him by replacing one of his hostages, then replacing him (disguised as Bruce Wayne), so that SHE HERSELF could become Bruce Wayne. Shockingly, it is she who puts such a hurting on Hush that he can never properly imitate anyone else ever again- his face is too severely maimed. She reappears in the "New 52" era, working for The Wrath.
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Hugo Strange! Mr. Zsasz! Stephanie Brown!)

Post by Skavenger »

...why would the female mannequin mask to the right have THAT as its resting face?
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Re: Jab’s Builds (Hugo Strange! Mr. Zsasz! Stephanie Brown!)

Post by Shock »

Looks like Slott was a fan of Darkman
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