Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Supervillainy A-To-Z: I is for Interceptor

Remember me?
 
It's OK if you don't. Heck, I barely do.
 
It seems like its been forever since I've posted and yeah, I know I'm way behind again. Doing my taxes this year was a horrible experience. How is it I make so little and owe so much? Not to mention anything with that much cross referencing of that many numbers gives me heart palpitations.
 
I am actually finished with the art and character sheets for entries I though M. It's just writing them up here and posting them that need be done.
 
Let's see if I can get a couple up each night this week. I should catch up by Friday if all goes well.
 
Famous last words.


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INTERCEPTOR




 

True Identity: Junjie Zhou
 
Description/Appearance: A good looking Chinese male with tanned skin, black hair and unearthly, glowing blue irises, Zhou is both attractive and unnerving. He stands 5' 9" tall and weighs in at 160 lbs. His legs are very well muscled with an obvious runners physique.
 
As Interceptor he wears a costume that is primarily dark blue and black with glowing, electric blue trim and a white mask and boots. At the moment his Bio-Surge Power activates, his eyes (covered by a specially designed visor) shine even brighter and he is surrounded by a crackling, light blue field of what appears to be electricity.
 
Origin and Background: Life in the fast lane was considered far too slow for Hong Kong spoiled, rich kid Junjie Zhou. The son of a wealthy industrialist, Junjie wanted nothing to do with his father's business, though the elder Zhou hoped his son would one day mature and take over the company.

Junjie had other ideas, most of which revolved around Hong Kong's night life and the drifting and racing communities of the far east. The younger Zhou was interested in fast cars, fast women and the endless parties his father's money and his racing talent got him into.

That is, until that one fateful day his spun out of control during a race and he was certain he was about to go into a spin that would result in a painful, perhaps deadly, collision. He turned to look at a driver in another car, to his left and slightly behind his vehicle, who was far enough to be clear of the impending crash. Suddenly, there was a blue flash of light and Junjie was launched sideways through the window of his car and yanked, as if by some invisible rope, into the drivers seat of the other vehicle. He slammed into the other driver who was thrown hard into the seat and door to his left*.

After the race, Zhou was questioned heavily about what piece of technology he had used to eject himself from his car. Zhou didn't know himself until he did a bit of exploration and practice, eventually learning he had superhuman speed and the ability to 'lock on' to a living target and then generate a bio-electric energy surge which would attract him towards the person. The surge, once locked on, would match the speed of the target, bringing Junjie along for the ride.

Unfortunately the power came with a side effect. Junjie was a mutant**, evidenced by his glowing blue eyes ever since that first incident. His friends shunned him, his father disowned him one that truth of the incident got out and he decided to leave for England not long after.

He next appeared on the international scene as a criminal, an assassin and bodyguard to some of the most notorious villains on Earth. Past employers have included Jack-An-Ape, The Bad Company and even Master Plan.

Powers and Abilities: In addition to being able to run at superspeed, Interceptor can mentally lock on to the bio-energy signature of another person (or actually an animal life form) and then follow that signature wherever it goes.

By charging up his own bio-energy field, Zhou can 'attach' and 'attract' himself to the target, appearing to be pulled toward them at a speed that essentially matches the target and then adds the speed Zhou is moving at that time. This creates the effect of making Interceptor nothing short of a Human Guided Missile!

He had pulled a number of stunts with this power including striking super speedsters faster than himself (like the Crusader known as Godspeed) and even enabling him to hit people otherwise out of reach such as flying heroes.

Personality and Motivations: While no longer quite the spoiled brat he once was, Interceptor still showcases a massive ego thanks to his powers. While he can be charming if he wants to be, spending any length of time in his presence will eventually make a Buddhist Monk want to punch him in the face.

Zhou remains a thrill seeker and often takes on opponents that are too tough for him or tries risky moves as much for the adrenaline rush as to prove he is one of the fastest and most dangerous super villains around.


***

Interceptor was first created for Villains & Vigilantes over 25 years ago. He was very prominent in one or two of my old Champions campaigns. Interceptor has had a few incarnations and variations and his costume has gone through some minor alterations but for the most part he really hasn't changed overly much from his original design.

I have a number of oddball super speedsters, each one a little stranger than the last. Super speed is one of those powers we've seen so often I wanted to do something a bit different with in. I like how this idea works out in games.


Interceptor for ICONS:







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Notes:
 
*In China and Japan, like England, drivers sit on the right hand side of the vehicle.
 
**Mutants in many of my worlds are the same as those from my friend Will's Champion campaign universe. Mutants always, ALWAYS, have some physical evidence of the genetic phenomena that gives them their superpowers. While it need not be extremely obvious or impossible to conceal, no mutant on my world looks like Alex Summers/Havok or Jean Grey/Marvel Girl-Phoenix.
 
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