Way behind? Behind you say! I don't know the meaning of the word!
Wait...Barkley has handed me a dictionary.
EGAD! By My Vocabulary Betrayed!
Yes sports fans and those who came here on purpose, I am indeed far behind where I wanted and expected to be at this point. Life has handed me some lemons and while trying to make lemonade I got the bloody yellow menaces everywhere and the stinging juice in my eyes.
That said, onward and upward!
The next three entries share quite a few things in common.
Each has a two word name.
Each is a slightly hokey 'Silver Age' quality to them.
Hokey though they may seem, each is a master villain capable of posing a threat to an entire team if used well. These are your leader villains in the Doctor Doom / Lex Luthor vain.
As always, questions and comments are welcome.
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KING KAIJU
True Identity: Kojiro Kimihara
Description/Appearance: Prior to contact with the alien entity known as 'Intelligence X', Dr. Kojiro Kimihara was a pale complexioned Japanese male in his early 30s with shoulder length black hair and thick lensed glasses. He stood 5' 7" and weighed 190 lbs., making him appear paunchy.
As King Kaiju he stands 6' 3" tall and his trim, muscular form weighs in at 230 lbs. without his armor. Assume another 30 pounds for his protective suit, helmet and cape. While rarely seen without his helmet, he will sometimes remove it when speaking to those he deems worthy (powerful heroes, villains, important government officials, etc.).
In those instances, he appears to have become deathly pale almost to the point of having chalky white skin. His hair is noticeably shorter and a little spiky, while his eyes now have black sclera, golden yellow irises and red pupils. His facial features are more chiseled and handsome though he is still recognizable as Kimihara.
After achieving his PhD. at the age of only 28, Kimihara worked for the Japanese government before being offered a position with I.N.S.I.G.H.T.. Kojiro accepted and moved up in the ranks of their scientific research and defense division fairly quickly. Finally, about two years into his time with them, he and a team of 6 other researchers set foot on Monster Island to investigate a series of microwave radio signals coming from a large crevice near the center of the isle.
No one knows exactly what happened when the team arrived and entered the crevice but I.N.S.I.G.H.T. has been able to extrapolate the following data from subsequent encounters with Kimihara after the incident. Somehow, Kimihara touched some kind of machine, likely a computer or similar device of extraterrestrial origin, that transformed him into a host body for something he calls 'Intelligence X'. While he is still Kimihara, he is also this alien intelligence inside Kimihara that gives him his abilities, enables him to operate the alien's technology and drives him to do nothing less than take over the world!
Powers and Abilities: King Kaiju's primary ability is to communicate and control the 100-to-300 foot radioactive, alien monsters of Monster Island.
Kimihara's own research hypothesized that the beasts were stored in some kind of gestation pods or chambers beneath the island when atomic bomb tests unwittingly released and mutated the creatures. The resulting monstrosities are incredibly powerful, nearly indestructible and many of them possess additional abilities such at flight, webbing, sleep inducing poison or breath weapons of fire, lightning, freezing cold or even atomic energy.
Observations in the field by the Crusaders, The Vanguard Project and I.N.S.I.G.H.T. would seem to indicate that without his helmet, Kimihara/King Kaiju can only communicate emotions and simple messages to the creatures but not actually control them.
Other abilities he possess include heightened senses by seeing through the eyes of a Kaiju (different vantage point, aerial reconnaissance if the Kaiju is flying, etc.) and various personal weapons and devices of alien origin. One trick he often pulls is to activate a device on his chest that teleports him back to Monster Island if it looks like he is in danger.
His armored body suit, also a product of other worldly science, makes him highly resistant to physical harm.
Personality and Motivations: King Kaiju is a somewhat conflicted individual, often showing signs of a split personality. When he learns about a new Kaiju or thinks of a new use for his enormous minions he is known to 'geek out' over how 'cool these beings are'. This is surely the original Kimihara-sama coming through. At other times he is a focused, hard-nosed general, leading 200 foot, death dealing, repto-rhino creatures to absorb the power from a nuclear sub. That may be the alien intelligence in charge or the take-charge person the original Kimihara always wished he was.
When acting more like 'Intelligence X', King Kaiju is frightening, alien and disturbing to be around. Nothing matters but his goals and we (Humans) are all ants to be stepped on without a second thought to make way for...something...in the near future. Perhaps more aliens are on the way? No one knows at this time.
The cosmic intellect does have a weakness (other than the naivety of Kimihara that is), which is that it seems to fail to understand certain Human ideas, ideals and approaches. 'Intelligence X' may have merged with Kimihara to better understand his enemy but that doesn't mean he instantly knows everything Kimihara knows. Or, it is also possible, that since Kimihara was socially awkward and bookish before the transformation, neither of them gets exactly what it means to be Human.
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King Kaiju was originally created for Villains & Vigilantes but has been used in Mutants & Masterminds primarily. He has had a number of incarnations, my favorite other than the above version being Doctor Terato, a sort of 'Godzilla fan geek meets David Bowie' character. Think villain as rock star.
Boy was this guy hard to draw up an image for. I hope the next few are easier.
King Kaiju for ICONS:
The illustration on this one is a hodge podge of many drawings and a lot of my own work and yet it still didn't come out exactly how I wanted it to. This character is one I redesign a lot and I don't think he's ever looked the same way twice. I see his clearly in my mind's eye but it looks something when I translate it to an image on screen or paper.
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AD
Barking Alien
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