Supervillainy A-To-Z: Thwarted!

Curse you April! Get out of my sight you misbegotten month of malicious malcontent!

After a long and arduous battle, my life has succeeded where a powerful plethora of presumptuous paladins have paled with their paltry powers. April has defeated my attempt to unleash my victorious volley of vile villainy.

I am not going to make it. I have failed to best the A-to-Z Blog Challenge.

Real world concerns, both positive and pains in the posterior, have finally found the fatal flaw in my otherwise fiendish and foolproof plan.

But no matter. There will come...a reckoning. My twenty-six member army of evil will have its revenge!

From now until I complete my list, Sundays are Supervillain Sundays here at Barking Alien!

You have been warned...

***

There, I said it. I got that off my chest. I can release the breath I've been holding in for the last hour. It's the truth, it sucks but I can live with it.

Between two jobs, freelance, tax time, being sick and trying to get in some time to game with my friends, I simply couldn't also finish this challenge.

That  realization and admission super stinks but, as my boss and good friend would say, "It is what it is."

***

In other news..
.

The Marvel Heroic Role Playing Game from Margaret Weiss Productions is no more.

The official announcement on their website is here. To read the comments below the news, highlight them as someone thought it a good idea to have dark text appear on a dark background (at least that's how it appears on my smartphone and home computer).

As I wrote to my friend and fellow blogger WQRobb:

"From everything I've seen, I am saddened by this but by no means surprised. After nearly a year on the market, the only items in the stores (in New York City - the city of, roughly, a gazillion people) were the softcover core rulebook, the hardcover Civil War book and the hardcover Civil War book with the rulebook inside it.

Wow. How diverse.

Sure there were lots of things online and I know the gaming industry thinks 'Online is The New Tomorrow, Today!', but unless something announces these releases that I am always looking at or receiving, all I know if what I see when I walk into my local game store, comic shop, Barnes & Nobles/Waldenbooks, etc. I see nothing new on the shelves, I assume (consciously or unconsciously) like the game is unsupported."

Note: Yes, I am still old school enough to want a book I can touch. I like the smell, feel and easy of paper. I like to support my local stores so our tanking economy tanks less (or at least slower). I walk into stores to buy things but I often find no one is making things for me to buy. Then I find out they are online. After the thing is no longer produced / in vogue / of interest / as cool or better than what's out now / take your pick.

"It didn't help that they opened with Civil War either. Much like Identity Crisis for DC, what was a very popular and critically acclaimed series at the time of its release is much maligned or simply forgotten now. It has little to no bearing on the current state of Marvel Comics. Most of the dead characters from it and even its aftermath are now alive. No one remembers Peter Parker is Spiderman. It really isn't a very good or action packed series to start out with from a Superhero gamer stand point."

Oh well. It is an interesting system and I'm sure it will see a lot of use at conventions. No real campaign sustainability limits its use outside that venue anyway.

On a related note...

The fourth and final book in the DC Adventures RPG series from Green Ronin, DC Adventures Universe, is available on PDF and for pre-order. Although it is disappointing to realize that this is the last of the DC Comics RPG items with official Mutants & Masterminds 3E stats, I am happy it is ending on this particular note. If they had waited too, too long, DC's current 52iness might have crept in, rendering the product uninteresting and useless. This book is not only the last hurrah for DC Adventures but in some ways, the last hurrah of the pre-Nu52 DC milieu.

Now here's a thought...maybe, with MWP no long producing a Marvel Comics RPG, Green Ronin could swing a virtually identical four book deal with Marvel. Hmmm? Oh the possibilities...

***

May approaches. Take us out Mr. Sulu. Ahead, warp factor 6.

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Supervillainy A-To-Z: N is for Non Sequitur

This next villain continues the two name motif but is otherwise a bit unusual.

Note if you will that the usual has been voyeurs of cosmic catastrophe, lovelorn androids and poltergeist patriots in boo inducing battle dress. It's all relative I suppose.

I will do my best of course to make this character clear but the course may not be obvious and it may be unsurprising if we go a bit off course in the course of this description.

Above all else never forget, twin peapods the blue bee triumphs galloping turnip south out the window.

***

 

NON SEQUITUR

 

  

True Identity: None known. Or Unknown. Probably just none.

 

Description/Appearance: If there is one thing that can be said about Non Sequitur, is it that it most assuredly looks like itself. At least, it looks like itself more than anyone else does. By the way...Fish.

 

This being appears as a jet black silhouette, approximately 6 feet tall but perhaps a little taller and weighs, well, as much or as little as it wants. Visually it is a slim humanoid of a somewhat androgynous nature. It is always surrounded by a grayish glow of some kind but most assuredly the kind that glows gray.

 

Its most distinct features are the two tails from the back of its head resembling a jester's cap (complete with bells but the spheres at the end of these do not jingle), a long, beak-like nose which may be a mask and what appears to be a high collared, short length coat or jacket in an ever changing pattern of shifting colors.

 

It does not resemble a T-Rex. In my opinion.

 

Origin and Background: Like many aspects of the entity called Non Sequitur, very little is known about its origin and history and even less is understood.

It first appeared in the service of Endgame, attempting to delay the newly formed Crusaders Vanguard from thwarting a plan to destroy the Earth before it even cooled in space in the distant past. After the Crusaders escaped it's trap it seemed content to disappear.

During its next appearance it materialized in a battle between the Crusaders and another team of heroes from a parallel Earth. Instead of involving itself in that fight, Non Sequitur chose to mess with the portal that brought the alternate Earth superteam to our Earth and revealed Endgame to be behind the whole thing. The two groups of superheroes teamed up and stopped Endgame's plot. Once again, Non Sequitur vanished.

Although listed as a hostile entity by both I.N.S.I.G.H.T. and the Vanguard Project, Non Sequitur has been little more than an annoyance in the majority of its appearances and down right helpful during a few of them. It has also turned New York City into a deadly funhouse and tried to kill Excelsior at least once. So, sure, bad guy. Girl. Both. Entity. Bad entity. Baaad.

According to research by Mr. Twilight and CyberMan, Non Sequitur's home dimension is one with laws so different from our own that when we encounter it, our brains do the best they can with trying to comprehend it but don't even come close to getting it right. Its appearance, abilities and even action may not be what they seem.

Powers and Abilities: Non Sequitur is a being from a dimension with physics completely unlike those we have come to understand. As a result, it can perform numerous feats that defy our understanding of logic, scientific laws and even the supernormal.

First, the entity can slip in and out of our dimension and into other dimensions at will. It uses this mostly to teleport but it does so in a way that can alter its speed, position, trajectory, etc. It can also warp space, causing other people to be sent into another reality when it opens a dimensional rift for itself.

Non Sequitur can manipulate its own mass, density and dimensional relations in order to become a two dimensional, flattened out shadow, grow taller, pass through walls, weight a hundred tons and many other strange effects.

While in a pocket dimension of its own creation (which it often transports to with its dimensional travel), Non Sequitur can create powerful illusions that are all too real to the visitors who encounter them. Only a powerful psionic, mage or similar extra-dimensional entity can dismiss the inhabitants of this realm as unreal and therefore unable to harm them.

Personality and Motivations: You got me. Seriously. After years of research, no one is one hundred percent certain why Non Sequitur does what it does. There are theories however...

Many believe the entity to simply be trying to amuse itself. In its various appearances it show a whimsical, almost jovial, nature and may have no greater motivation than having fun with the denizens of our particular realm of space-time.

Another theory that is quite popular is that Non Sequitur is some kind of representative of a high power of neutrality. It is therefore aiding in the fight against evil or hindering the forces of good as it sees fit to maintain some cosmic balance.

As Non Sequitur speaks only in twisting riddles and non-linear sentences, getting an answer on its true nature is about as likely as getting a horse to up the long boredom.

***

Non Sequitur was created for Villains & Vigilantes, another invention of my Junior High School days. It was later used quite a bit for Champions under the name 'Madcap'. I later changed it back to Non Sequitur and gave it an eerier appearance and atmosphere.

The character is inspired by some rather odd sources. Many, its a version of Mister Mxyzptlk combined with the kind of characters seen more often in Marvel's cosmic crew (the Grandmaster, The InBetweener, etc.). My best point of reference for this character who be Equinox, the awesome character who appeared on The Brave and The Bold animated cartoon.

Non Sequitur for ICONS:

 

 

***

 

I have some news about next month's theme if you are at all interested.

 

In honor of (or perhaps despite - we have not seen it yet and can not say for certain) the release of Star Trek: Into Darkness, I will once again be focusing the majority of May's posts on gaming in the Star Trek universe.

 

I've had a real itch for it of late and can't wait to discuss it with all of you. See, I like you so much I want to tell you about my itches. That's love.

 

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Supervillainy A-To-Z: M is for Master Plan

Oh boy. I am in trouble. Big trouble.

 

How am I ever going to complete this challenge by month's end?

 

No clue, so no use griping about it. My focus at this point is on other things. The real world beckons for my attention and I must give it its due. Fear not old friends, I am not defeated yet and where there's a will there's a way. Possibly a dead guy. They have wills too.

 

My next villain has been a major player in many of my older games, yet once again I don't think the system (The ICONS Superhero RPG for those following along at home) does him any justice. He doesn't seem mechanically special. It will be up to me to convey his coolness in other ways and up to you, the GM who uses him in a game, to bring that coolness to the table.

 

Wish us both luck.

MASTER PLAN
  

 

True Identity: Milton Paternaster

 

Description/Appearance: Milton Paternaster is a plain but decent looking Caucasian fellow in good shape, with brown hair and green eyes. Paternaster is in his late 30s. He stands just under 6 feet in height and weighs around 185 lbs.. Over time he has worked out and may look a bit more fit than is reflected in early descriptions.

 

As Master Plan, Milton is garbed is a form fitting black costume with white gloves, boots, shorts and a large 'M' insignia on his chest. His detailing is purple and green, including a letter 'M' on his forehead and belt buckle. He also wears a rather flamboyant cape which is purple on the outside and green on the underside.

 

Origin and Background: Milton Paternaster was born a prodigy.

At the age of 4 he solved a Rubik's Cube, guessed the Riddle of the Sphinx, and could program a VCR or DVD player with no instructions. By 6 he had read Tolstoy, balanced his family's household budget, done their taxes, and found a way to rewire the TV for free cable. By 12 he had graduated High School. By 15, he had a doctorate and a master's degree. At the age of 18...he was incredibly, unendingly, and painfully bored.

With money from various grants and patents coming in (he had invented several computer programs and apps when he had nothing else to do), Milton had no real desire to get a job or start a career working with, or heavens forbid...underneath, a person of normal intelligence. Instead he sought a real challenge and whiled away the hours designing various insidious plans and inescapable death traps, inspired by the villains he would see on the news and in movies.

Certain that he had surmised their true reason for failure, Paternaster created a costumed identity for himself and set out to test his theory against real law enforcement officers and superheroes. While his first few forays were not especially successful, it was not success he was striving for. He was never caught and his true identity never identified. There in lied the crux of his first, big plan. Supervillains never assumed they'll lose and yet always seem to. Paternaster, or Master Plan as he called himself, planned to lose [or at least assumed he would] from the very start. He also had 5-10 different ideas for escaping and getting away.

Soon, he starting focusing on winning while still fully expecting to lose. The key was planning. Contingency on top of contingency and back-up upon back-up. If 'Plan A' didn't work, no worries, as Milton has a Plan B, C, D, E and probably alternatives all the way up to W. After years 'in the game' as he calls it, Master Plan was finally thwarted by the combined efforts of Mothman, American Dream, Blues Traveler, Mr. Spaceman and others, who went on to form The Heartland League.

He spent little time in prison however as he had a plan on how to escape all along. OK, actually, he had a least two dozen of them.

Powers and Abilities: Outside of being one of the smartest people on the planet, Milton Paternaster has no superhuman powers. He is a scientific and technological genius as well as a master tactician and strategic mind and has developed several high tech devices to assist with his activities.

Master Plan's costume provides considerable resistance to harm, while his mask/reinforced cloth helmet protect him from mental attack. Master Plan is also highly trained and practiced in the art of resisting telepathy, ESP and mind control as he views those as the only things that can hope to defeat him. His thoughts are his ultimate weapons, so if an enemy can read his thoughts, he's done for.

Other devices Milton has created include a force field generator in his belt, various energy weapons and remote control units for the innumerable robots, traps and hidden passages weaseled away in his different secret hide outs.

Personality and Motivations: Master Plan is snarky, bold and a bit condescending to most people who encounter him and, honestly, it comes as no surprise. He is smarter and better organized than 95% of the Superhero and Supervillain community. As a result he appears to have a major ego but (and this is not to say he doesn't have one) his ability to keep himself in check is perhaps his greatest asset and what prevents him from being just another mad genius.

That said, Master Plan will never turn down a challenge to his intelligence or skill. He enjoys pitting himself against detective heroes in battles of wits as much as proving brain is greater than brawn over superpowered paragons. He plans for everything and so there isn't a type of hero, or villain, he will not face.

As noted, Master Plan is well respected, if envied and despised, by the rest of the supervillains of the world. He wins fairly often when they lose constantly and yet his goals have nothing to do with wealth, vengeance or taking over the world. Where would the fun and competition be if he won the final battle without question and conquered the planet? No, that way only leads to boredom and with a mind like his, even defeat is preferable to such a hell.

***

Master Plan was created for Villains & Vigilantes when I was in Junior High School I believe. He has been used in Superworld and Golden Heroes/Squadron UK. He has not been used for Champions prior to this post but I do intend to add him in to our next campaign.

Master Plan is the villain we all think we see in comic books but rarely ever actually do. Doctor Doom is too much. Marvel's Wingless Wizard is too little. Dr. Sivana never wore a costume or had a code name. The Silver Age Lex Luthor is close but when was that last time Luthor was that guy? Seriously, the closest character I can think of relating Master Plan to is Syndrome from The Incredibles.

Master Plan for ICONS:

The illustration for this character was shamelessly swiped and modified from one of Count Nefaria

done by the incredibly talented Dusty Abell.

***

I am sure I have missed a number of birthdays and deaths and I don't want to go through them all now but I do want to make special note of a couple.

 

Happy Birthday to Mandy Morbid! Mandy is probably familiar to many of you from Zak Smith's blog PDNDWPS. She is also Zak's girlfriend. Zak put up a really cool post that recounts Mandy's past characters. So cool and kind of sweet if you ask me. I want a girl like that. That is, a girl who likes to game and is really cool and stuff.

 

Another Happy Birthday cheer for one of my childhood heroes, Lee Majors, the Six-Million Dollar Man and The Fall Guy. I remember thinking this guy was the King of Cool when I was a kid, right behind William Shatner. It helped that my dad was a big fan as well.

 

A Rest in Piece guitar riff goes out to Woodstock alumni and fascinating fellow, Richie Havens, who passed away yesterday at the age of 72. Read his Wiki entry and you'll be surprised to learn what he did that most people don't know was done by him. Peace out Mr. Havens.

 

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Barking Alien

Supervillainy A-To-Z: L is for Lady Lamia

I used to game with my ex-wife a lot when, well, she wasn't my ex but my current...I mean my wife. I mean when we were married. And even before that. What's that called? Pre-wife?

*Sigh* Sorry. I'll start again.

There was a time when I used to game with players who were very different from those I have now. The group was more diverse, in interests, background, gender and pretty much every other way possible. They were also the greatest of friends and, as such, I could get away with a lot of stuff I can't get away with now.

A sexy female villainess appealed to my old group in ways that my modern group wouldn't appreciate. The male players were often interested in knowing how and why the lovely but lethal femme fatale had ended up on the wrong side of truth and justice. The female players were all too certain (and often quite right) that the male PCs would become ensnared by the slinky and sinister sirens and the Superheroines would need to save their spandex covered butts. My ex-wife was a big fan of adding a little romantic tension and angst to an RPG campaign and I have to say, it often worked out really well.

I love a good bad girl myself and this one, one step past the typical one if I do say so myself, is one of my favorites...

***

LADY LAMIA
 

 

  

True Identity: Unknown

 

Editor's Note: In the Crusaders Vanguard Annual #3, Blind Faith reads Lady Lamia's mind. In addition to other questions and answers pertaining to the plot, the young psionic mutant searches for her true identity or name. All he gets back is "Lamia" before she is able to resist his mental intrusion. Fans are split on whether she was able to give him false info or if her name truly is Lamia.

Description/Appearance: Most of the time, Lady Lamia remains well hidden, operating behind the scenes in one of her many lavish desert hideouts. She is rarely seen. When she does need to go 'into the field', she appears to be a strikingly beautiful, human woman of mixed or indeterminate ethnicity, often garbed in a skintight, snake skin 'cat suit'. She stands 5' 10" and is estimated to weigh about 130-140 lbs.. Her skin is a deep tan color, her eyes a bright emerald green and her hair dark brown with black and red-brown highlights.

This is, of course, an illusion. It has been revealed that from the waist down, Lady Lamia is a snake creature, covered in deep, golden-brown to dark gold scales. From the top of her head to the end of her tail she is approximately 12-15 ft. in length. Her upper body retains the look of her normal human guise.

It is assumed that in truth, this too is a further illusion. There are reports that her form and appearance, devoid of mystic glamour, is quite hideous. Allusions to this fact can send her into a bloody rage. She is very vain about her lost looks if the legends are to be believed.

Origin and Background: There is very little concrete data on the origin of Lady Lamia. This, combined with notes provided by the Crusaders member Godspeed, actually lend credence to her claims that she is in fact the mythical creature of Greek mythology.

In the myth, Lamia was a Queen or noble woman of what is now Libya. She became a mistress of the god Zeus, causing Zeus' jealous wife, Hera, to kill all of Lamia's children (except for Scylla, who is herself cursed) and transform her into a monster that hunts and devours the children of others. Another version has Hera merely stealing away all of Lamia's children and it being Lamia herself, losing her mind from grief and despair, who starts stealing and devouring others' children out of jealousy, the repeated monstrosity of which transforms her into a monster on its own.

In still another take on the story, and one that may very well be true (or what Lamia believes to be true), Hera slays Lamia's children prompting Lamia to seek out men to enslave and reproduce with, in an attempt to replace her murdered brood. When Zeus learns of Lamia's 'wanton ways', it is he who curses her with her monstrous form. Lamia certainly has a great hatred of Zeus, Hera and their relatives and descendants.
 
Powers and Abilities: Lady Lamia is a sorceress of the mind, able to cloud people's thoughts and make them see what she wants them to see.

Lamia is quite adapt at creating illusions and they are extremely effective and powerful ones. Unlike some illusions that lack smell or taste for example, Lamia's work by telling her opponent's brain that what they are experiencing is real.

In addition to illusions and astral projection, Lady Lamia's snake-like body has a number of abilities all its own. She can mesmerize people with a hypnotic gaze and her bite contains a paralyzing poison. While the gaze works better and lasts longer on men, it will effect women as well. As for the poison, apparently holding an olive branch or fig leaf with transfer some of the poison to those plants, lessening its effect on the victim.

Lady Lamia is herself immune to all known snake poisons and does not age.

Personality and Motivations: Separating fact from folklore is difficult with Lady Lamia but what is known for certain is that she has a mind for vengeance against the ancient gods of Olympus and a thirst for power. She will always seek to improve and increase her repertoire of mental magic and any spell that may be able to restore her to human form. Lamia will also never pass up an opportunity to harm or kill one of the Olympian Gods or their descendants.

Somewhat hedonistic and bored due to her immortality, Lamia passes the time with thefts of priceless artifacts from the past and conquests of handsome, young men. She is especially fond of seducing Superheroes, either for the challenge or to have them serve as minions at some later time. She is somewhat addicted to the thrill of the hunt, lavish partying and drinking and other such pursuits. Often it takes much of her willpower to know when the time for fun is over and it's time to get down to business.

Finally, her mythic nature gives her a terrible reputation which she neither denies nor completely admits too. For example, did she actually go around eating children? Does she now? Even other villains have been known to give her a wide berth (with the exception of Master Plan who, it should be noted, she finds fascinating as a result).

***

Lady Lamia was originally created for Villains & Vigilantes and has been used in Champions, Mutants & Masterminds and, believe it or not, my D&D-But-Not Dungeons & Dragons universe.

Lady Lamia for ICONS:

 

Today, April 18th, 2013 was the 75th Birthday of Superman, commemorating his first appearance in Action Comics #1 on this day in 1938.

 

 

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Barking Alien

Supervillainy A-To-Z: K is for King Kaiju

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.

 

 

***

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.

 

Origin and Background: Obsessed with the gigantic monsters native to a small island at the edge of the Bikini Atoll (dubbed 'Monster Island' by the Japanese military and press alike), a young Kojiro Kimihara vowed to become a teratologist. Teratology being the study of monsters.

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.


***

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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