Dovi (Icons Writeup)

Prowess 4
Coordination 3
Strength 4
Intellect 6
Awareness 4
Willpower 3

Stamina 7

Powers
*Time Machine Shuttle – Handling 8, Speed 10, Structure 5, Armor 5, Blast 8, Time Travel 8
*Helmet – Damage Resistance 2, also offers protection from the rigors of space travel
*Gadgets 5

Specialties
Pilot – Time Machine Shuttle (Expert +2 bonus), Science (+1 bonus), Technology (+1 bonus)

Qualities
*Would-Be Master of Time
*Appreciates the Ladies
*Member of the Anti-Fly League

Background

Dovi was a criminal from the future who sought refuge by escaping into the past. It was during this “time period” that he joined fellow Fly foes and became a member of the Anti-Fly League. During their first confrontation, the Fly was able to trick Dovi, and sent him back to the future.

Still seeking vengeance, Dovi recruited the beautiful Cleopatra as his crime partner, and they went back in time to destroy their enemy. Unfortunately, Cleopatra fell in love with the Fly and planned to stay and marry him, instead of luring him into Dovi’s trap. Yet, Dovi had a surprise for her, as he already arranged a punishment if Cleopatra did not follow through with their original pact.

He was aware that his partner’s facial tissue was not protected from time traveling (this is why he wears a special helmet), and she was beginning to show signs of rapid aging. As punishment for being a traitor, she had to make a choice, stay in the present time with the Fly, and continue to lose her bewitching beauty, or go with Dovi in order to regain her looks. She chose her looks, and they both traveled away together.

Dovi could return at any point – or someone might steal the time machine that he possesses. There’s potential here.

Mr. Justice (Icons Writeup)

Mr. Justice
aka Prince James of England

Prowess 4
Coordination 4
Strength 3
Intellect 5
Awareness 7
Willpower 7

Stamina 10

Powers
*Astral Form 8 (Extras: As a ghost, Mr. Justice converts his physical form into an astral form – he does not leave any physical body behind)
*Cosmic Awareness 10
*Magic 8 (Mr. Justice has mastered the following spells: Flight, Blast)

Specialties
Occult (Expert +2 bonus)

Qualities
“Your laws coddle wrongdoers! I am solely interested in… justice!”
Mysterious and Spooky
Protector of the Blue Ribbon

Background

The hero known to many as “Mr. Justice” was born in the 11th Century as Prince James of England. Murdered in Scotland during the Rogers Rebellion, his spirit haunted the castle where he was slain.

Hundreds of years later the castle was transplanted to the United States, disturbing the angry spirit within. A stranger to both the land and the time period, James’s vengeful ghost was molded by the theatrics of the new superhero era.

For a time he served among the Mighty Crusaders and took the name “Mr. Justice.” He was known as being more harsh in dispensing justice than many of his heroic counterparts, sometimes simply disintegrating his enemies rather than turn them in to what he saw an overly-soft legal system.

After years of combating supervillains and ethereal threats, Mr. Justice was key in defeating the Brain Emperor – seemingly sacrificing himself in the process.

The truth is that he had grown weary of the fleeting affairs of mortals. With his spirit calmed and tempered, he caught a glimpse of something more – the thread that binds all realities together. He set out to explore the “Blue Ribbon”, the thread that connects the multiverse… when last seen, he was looking over all the various permutations that the Crusaders had taken over the decades.

Android Against the Atom

Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom # 6 (November 1963) was an important issue – because not only do we get a new artist in Frank Bolle, we also get our first booklength story! A powerful android battles Doctor Solar with Gail’s life hanging in the balance!

Dino Rex (Icons Writeup)

Dino Rex

Prowess 4
Coordination 2
Strength 7
Intellect 3
Awareness 2
Willpower 3

Stamina 10

Powers
*Damage Resistance 5
*Strike – Claws & Teeth 7 (Damage is 8)

Specialties
Martial Arts (+1 bonus), Wrestling (+1 bonus)

Qualities
“Let’s see how hard you hit after I rip your throat out!”
Bully
All force and no planning

Background

Virtually nothing is known about Dino Rex, save for the fact that he’s a dinosaur man. We don’t know if he’s an altered human, an altered dino, an alien… could be anything. In his one appearance he battled the New Crusaders in Washington, D.C. and dealt the team a lot of damage before Darkling managed to use her shadowcasting powers to render him unconscious.

Personally, I think he’ s a great villain to add to your campaign. He would make a fantastic ‘strong guy’ for a group of bad guys. He talks tough and hits even harder but he’s not a schemer. A good villainous mastermind could point him in the right direction and make a very dangerous foe for your heroes.

Adhesive-Man (Icons Writeup)

Adhesive-Man

Prowess 3
Coordination 2
Strength 3
Intellect 2
Awareness 3
Willpower 3

Stamina 6

Powers
*Binding 5 (Limit: Range of touch)
*Wall-Crawling 3

Specialties
Wrestling (Expert +2 bonus)

Qualities
Sticky Fingers of Evil
I need more practice with these powers!
Comic Book Guy

Background

Adhesive-Man was originally a non-powered, costumed fan at a comic book convention when the evil Eterno the Tyrant transformed him and several others into super-villain henchmen. His mummy-like wrappings secreted a powerful glue-like property, allowing him to wrap up his enemies and gain incredible wrestling abilities. Unfortunately, he was not overly skilled in the use of his powers and accidentally became stuck to a tree.

Unbelievably, no one has brought him back since his debut in Fly-Man # 32 (July 1965).

Fireball – Fictional (Icons Writeup)

Fireball
aka James “Jimmy” Holland

Prowess 5
Coordination 5
Strength 5
Intellect 3
Awareness 3
Willpower 5

Stamina 10

Powers
Fireball is an android. His artificial nature gives him the following super-abilities:
*Immunity 10 (Heat & Fire)
*Fire Control 9 (Extras: Flight, Aura, Blast)

In addition, his articial blood means he can function as a universal donor.

Sparky is his sidekick – a human mutant with similar powers to his mentor. Sparky’s stats are:

P 3 C 4 S 2 I 3 A 2 W 3 Stamina 5
Immunity 10 (Heat & Fire); Fire Control 7 (Extras: Flight, Aura, Blast)

Specialties
Aerial Combat (Expert +2)

Qualities
*The world’s first artificial man
*Surrogate father to Sparky
*Stalwart member of the Crusaders

Background

This version of Fireball was a fictional character on Earth-1 in DC’s pre-crisis multiverse. He was a member of a team of Nazi-busting heroes known as The Crusaders alongside his sidekick Sparky, the sea-king Barracuda, and the patriotic heroes Americommando and Rusty. At some point after the Freedom Fighters had made their trek from Earth-X to Earth-1, a group of people appeared claiming to be the actual Crusaders. They went after the Freedom Fighters, who were wanted for murder at the time, but eventually it was revealed that the Americommando was actually the Freedom Fighters’ arch-enemy, the Silver Ghost, in disguise. He had used technology to transform comic book fans into the other members of the Crusaders.

This writeup is of the fictional Fireball. Jimmy Holland is an artificial man, an android with combustible flame powers. If he reminds you of anyone, that’s purely by coincidence.

Well, not really.

You see, the same month that the Freedom Fighters fought these Invaders-like Crusaders, the Invaders at Marvel fought a group of Crusaders modeled after the Freedom Fighters. It was all part of a stealth crossover that the Big Two used to do from time to time. I based this writeup on what little we were told about the fictional hero in the Freedom Fighters’ storyline.

Eternos (Icons Writeup)

Eternos
aka Eterno?

Prowess 4
Coordination 3
Strength 8
Intellect 8
Awareness 4
Willpower 6

Stamina 14

Powers
*Telepathy 3
*Teleportation 7 (Extra: Usable on others)
*Damage Resistance 6
*Alteration Ray 6
*Negative-Psychotron Stimulator 6 (Limit: Only increases “negative” emotions that lead to criminal activities)
*Gadgets 6

Specialties
Science (Expert +2 bonus), Technology (Master +3 bonus)

Qualities
Atlantean Tyrant
Humans are weak and disgusting
My sworn enemies – the Mighty Crusaders!

Background

It’s not entirely clear if Eternos is the same being as Eterno. They share similar fashion sense but it’s possible they are simply two different villains that both have ties to ancient Atlantis and whose names are simply one letter removed from each other.

Eterno the Tyrant was the ruler of Atlantis. When a missile blast sent shock-waves to the ocean floor, Eterno woke up from his self-induced five-million year sleep. When he found out that it was the Mighty Crusaders who were behind the explosion, he vowed to become their arch-foe. To this end, he battled the heroes on multiple occasions, most notably when he teamed up with the Brain Emperor to raise Atlantis back to the surface.

Eternos (with the ‘s’) was awakened from a self-induced five-million year sleep by the Druid, who conducted a blood ritual to restore Eternos to consciousness. Eternos was disturbed to see that humanity now ruled over the world and that the Atlantean genes had become corrupted in his absence. He swore to restore the natural order of things.

It’s really up to you if you want them to be the same person or not. Given the legacy nature of the current Crusaders, perhaps Eternos is the younger sibling of Eterno? Or maybe even his son? For the sake of this writeup, I’m going to assume that Eternos has access to all the same powers and weaponry as Eterno but with the enhanced physical attributes of Eternos.

Inferno (Icons Writeup)

Inferno
aka Frank Verrano

Prowess 3
Coordination 4
Strength 4
Intellect 3
Awareness 3
Willpower 4

Stamina 8

Powers
*Flame Breath 6 (Extra: Inferno can use his flame breath when underwater)

Specialties
Athletics (+1 bonus), Performance – Circus Act (Expert +2 bonus), Sleight of Hand (+1 bonus), Wrestling (+1 bonus)

Qualities
“Steel Sterling saved my life and gave me a chance to go straight! Now, I’m ready to go to jail and take my medicine! I’ve learned it’s more fun to work on the side of the law than against it!”

Background

Inferno was once a circus performer and villain. Early in his career, he and Twisto the Rubber Man did crime sprees together that had Steel Sterling on their trail. After a few jobs, Twisto wanted to go solo, upsetting Inferno.

Inferno was able to hide from the police, but gained the confidence of a disguised thug (Steel Sterling) who was after another wanted criminal — Pig Pan Wood. At a local bar, Inferno overheard Steel’s intentions of finding Pig Pan, and they teamed up for the search. When they entered a building, Pig Pan Wood (now known as the Rattler) jumped on Steel and wrestled him to the ground. Inferno came to the rescue, but was shot with snake venom. The Rattler escaped, while Steel went to Dr. Cummings home to seek medical attention for Inferno.

After a successful operation, Steel confessed to Inferno that he was the disguised “thug” whose life he saved earlier. Inferno then asked Steel to consider allowing them to work together “in the interest of justice.”

The now reformed Inferno and Steel Sterling teamed up and defeated the Rattler. Afterward, Inferno went to jail for his earlier crimes and Steel was at the trial helping his new ally.

Because of Steel’s recommendations, the Parole Board gave Inferno a short prison sentence. When he came out, Inferno continued to fight crime as a costumed hero. He left the circus, becoming a private investigator and remained loyal to his girlfriend Virgina Ames.

Inferno made a brief appearance in the comic Superteens vs Crusaders as a member of the Mighty Crusaders.

Thanksgiving News

To all my American friends, Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day with family – and remember all the things that you have to be thankful for.

Around here, I remain thankful for each and every one of you that read my work – even those of you that leave negative reviews! Your feedback helps me get better and hopefully you see that in my newer releases. Also, big thanks to Pro Se Productions, for publishing my crazy rants.

Finally, thanks to my own family and friends, both of whom do their very best to keep me (mostly) sane. I love and appreciate you.

I’m currently working on the second Dark Society novel (who’s the Dark Society?? Stay tuned) and next year will mark my 20th year as a professional writer so expect lots of great celebratory events!

The New Man of the Atom! Doctor Solar Episode 5

Doctor Solar invents a new element that attracts the attention of the evil Nuro — and Gail finally learns our hero’s secret! It’s an important issue, especially when the Man of the Atom dons his trademark uniform for the very first time! All of this happened in September 1963’s Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom # 5.