To Our Fallen Champion

It is with profound sadness that I must announce the passing of one of my oldest and dearest friends, William Corpening.

William Corpening

1969-2025

My friend of nearly 40 years, William passed away on December 20th from complications related to cancer.

An extremely inventive and quick-witted individual, William remains the greatest Gamemaster I have ever had the pleasure to play under. This is especially true when it comes to his favorite game, Champions. His original Superhero universe, Champions Earth - Wilcox Charlie-1 or more properly, 'The Age of Champions', was the single most enjoyable experience I've had as a player. I learned so many things that improved my own GMing by watching, listening, and talking to him about game design, theory, and our personal views on the subject of the craft. 

Readers of this blog will be very familiar with Will's talent even if they might not immediately recognize his name:

He created the Champions 'Age of Champions' setting I use to run most of my Champions campaigns. You find the history of his world here and here. 

He created Kineto.

He created the Parallel and Alternate Earth Naming/Cataloging System I still use for my Superhero campaigns to this day. 

As a player, he portrayed a host of fun and memorable characters including Robert 'Robbie' Stadler in our Ghostbusters: The Home Office campaign and Vulcan First Officer and Tactical Officer Commander Sovik in Star Trek: Renown. 

This only scratches the surface of all the incredible characters, events, concepts, and locations Will came up with over the years. I could go on and on about my friend and his amazing ability to bring his ideas to life. 

I will end here for now but this will not be the last post that mentioned William Corpening. Not by a long shot. 

Rest in Peace my brother. You are gone but you'll never be forgotten.

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Barking Alien

Kineto Returns In...The RETURN of the RETURN of KINETO!

Let's finish up 2023 with the completion of my most popular series this year so that we can begin the new year fresh! Well...fresh-ish. Kind of fresh. 

Following the events of Kineto's encounter with the mysterious Faust, there was no sign of the Master of Motion for almost a year.

One morning the following Spring, the Monitor Room in UNITY New York's secret base (located in New York City's Central Park beneath Belvedere Castle - Shhh. Don't tell anyone.) alerted the team to a lifeform with a high Meta-Energy signature mere meters from one of the base's auxiliary entrances. Within seconds the sensors were able to identify the individual as Kineto.

UNITY immediately mobilized all the heroes they had on hand as well as more than two dozen heavily armed UNTIL Agents. Additional heroes and agents were placed on high alert. Leading the response team was Night Force (who had recently taken over field operations from Omni, the latter having been promoted to a more behind-the-scenes leadership position). As the Supers and UNTIL Agents popped out of hidden exits and quickly surrounded Kineto, recessed security systems aimed automated high-energy weapons at him. 

For his part, Kineto stood calm and still. He had a slightly irritated scowl on his face and he crossed his arms as if impatiently waiting for the fuss to subside. Finally, with all of UNITY and UNTIL's operatives in place, Night Force asked Kineto why he was there and what he wanted. 

Kineto went right into explaining that another Supervillain (sadly I forget which one but he was another upper tier threat) was concocting a plot to cause a disturbance to distract from stealing a thing. The villain intended on using that thing to destroy a place and hold an entire country hostage. Kineto gave as detailed a timeline for these events as he could based on the intel he had. When Night Force responded, "Why are you telling us this?", Kineto said simply...

"So you can stop him. You're Superheroes. Isn't that your job?"

With that he shot skyward at such an incredible velocity it was virtually impossible to determine the direction he took off in. Sensors on the ground and even UNTIL satellite surveillance completely lost track of Kineto within seconds. 

A few months later Kineto aided the heroes of UNITY, as well as those of two other Earths, in battling the machinations of three cosmic level threats: Dark Seed of Champions League Earth-Delta Ceti-1A, Dark Unicorn of Challengers Earth-Mu-1A, and Dark Seraph of Champions Earth-Alpha Delta-1A. This 'Dark Trinity Event' saw these beings try to merge their respective worlds into one, killing billions in the process and absorbing their life forces to gain more power. Kineto played a key role in helping thwart their plans and saving the lives of a great many, including several Superheroes and Supervillains from all three dimensions. 

The Dark Trinity

Left to Right: Dark Seed, Dark Seraph, Dark Unicorn.

This becomes something of a trend; Kineto's subsequent appearances do more good than harm, assisting the good guys in roles ranging from support to direct intervention. One incident of particular note was when Champions Earth-AD-1A was invaded by 'Big Brother', a team of four superpowered teenage individuals from a seemingly utopian Alternate Earth.

When it appeared the heroes of Earth-AD-1A were going to lose to the invading Alternate Earth superbeings calling themselves Big Brother, Kineto threatened to destroy the planet rather than let it fall under the invaders' rule. He claimed he could absorb the motion and kinetic energy of the world turning - yes, the rotation of the Earth - and re-apply it in such a way as to send the planet out of its orbit.

Big Brother

Left to Right:

The Harmonist, The Whimsy, The Revolutionary, The Anachronist

The 'leader' of Big Brother, The Revolutionary, could tell he wasn't bluffing (Kineto believed he could do this and would do it but they had no idea if Kineto actually had that much power). This made the four invaders reconsider their approach and objectives. They decided to return to their home dimension and let the people of Earth-AD-1A work toward a better tomorrow on their own. See the entry on Big Brother Earth-Alpha Delta-Z for more information

Kineto's actions over that year lead many to question whether his motives had changed. Was he still going full bore with his 'Manifesto' or had he returned to his Golden Age heroic ways. Night Force noted that Kineto's focus and objectives likely haven't altered at all. His actions are always directly related to his views, whether obvious to us or not. 

The next appearance of Kineto occurred a few months later in an incident that started small but escalated to epic fairly quickly. It all began when Tempus Fugit, a one time C-List Supervillain who'd worked his way up to B-List 'Mighty Mook', contacted Kineto with a proposition.

Fugit wanted to join Kineto's cause and said that if he was allowed into the organization he would share his latest invention, a 'device of great power and near-infinite potential". Normally Kineto would ignore this sort of person but the man's confidence and bravado intrigued him. While he took Tempus Fugit up on his offer to meet, Kineto also alerted UNITY New York to the situation so they might capture Fugit and any associates. Kineto's personal goal was to ascertain what this device of near-infinite potential was and could he use it to his advantage. However, he considered destroying it if he deemed its operation too dangerous. First he had to know what it was and if Tempus Fugit wasn't just selling snake oil. 

As the two parties - Tempus Fugit and his henchmen and Kineto - met in the sub-basement of an abandoned downtown watchmaking shop, a third group consisting of several UNITY heroes monitored the proceedings from hidden positions. Fugit attempted short and awkward pleasantries before revealing his invention...a gosh-dang-completely-legit TIME MACHINE! This was no small hand-held item. Rather it was a four-person circular platform with standing crossbars and spinning rings going around it. Imagine a mix of a playground roundabout and the prison rings that held Zod, Ursa, and Non in Superman II.  

As Tempus began to activate it and explain its operation to Kineto, a whirling vortex of white light appeared on the far wall and out of it stepped a metallic being calling itself Avatar-7. Speaking in the third person, Avatar-7 made it clear his mission was to destroy the device and eliminate Fugit. 

Avatar-7

The UNITY team came out of the shadows and sprung into action to protect and secure Tempus Fugit. At the same time, Kineto moved to the Time Dial (or Time Revolver) to deactivate it and see how to remove it from the area. Before he could complete his objective additional vortexes of light appeared, these surrounded by halos of primary colors. Two new individuals, a female named Era and a male named Eon, declared their intent on destroying Avatar-7 (who they identified as an Android) and obtaining the Time Dial platform. 

Chaos erupts, with everyone present essentially battling everyone else. The fight spilled out to the ground floor above and then eventually into the street. At one point, Eon struck a member of UNITY sending him flying, only to have the hero suddenly disappear.* Kineto fought the newcomers and Avatar-7 but tried to avoid engaging with the UNITY members. Fugit was attempting to hide for the most part, occasionally tossing a gadget into the fray to hurt or hinder Era, Eon, Avatar-7, and UNITY. Finally, as Avatar-7 attacked the Dial itself, Kineto countered, causing the temporal displacement effects of the platform and the Android to activate simultaneously and releasing a blinding blast of Chronoton energy. 

The explosive release of uncontrolled temporal power sent everyone present ('present' - see what I did there?) into different places in space and time. Tempus Fugit and two UNITY members ended up in Medieval England. Two other heroes and Era appear in Ancient Rome. Eon and two more UNITY members wind up in the American 'Old West'. It took time (*rimshot*), teamwork, and a host of period specific allies and enemies to figure out what was going on and how it all connected with Doctor Epoch, aka Father Time!

Left to Right:

The Time Twins - Era and Eon, Doctor Epoch/Father Time, and Tempus Fugit

But this is a post about Kineto...so what became of him? Kineto was transported to the far future where he encountered the perfect utopian society of The Galactic Unity, defended by the Galactic Champions. Kineto was amazed by the peace that had been achieved in this distant era. Unfortunately, it would be revealed to him by members of the Galactic Champions that he, Kineto, had nothing to do with it. According to the information archived in their computers and the Museum of The Supernormal, Kineto was merely a footnote in history. His activites, cause, manifesto, and everything he had struggled to achieve were simply one of many curious stories on display in the 20th and 21st Century exhibitions. In fact, his actions as a young hero of World War II received much more representation. 

"My dream...my plans...Superhumans ruling and guiding normal Humanity to a better tomorrow. Surely that came to pass, yes? You have a utopia here." Kineto said.

The leader of the Galactic Champions, a Mandaarian**, replied, "Essentially. It isn't absolutely perfect. Nothing is or can be. It was achieved through finding harmony among all the peoples of Earth and beyond. Human, Superhuman, Aliens...we all worked together to get here and we got here on our own."

In the end, all involved were returned to their proper time and place. Tempus Fugit was arrested and the Time Dial confiscated by UNITY. Era and Eon trapped Dr. Epoch, their father, in a pocket of pre-time until they could find their mother (whose identify was unknown to them). Avatar-7 was very badly damaged and left drifting into a black hole (he would return eventually). As for Kineto, he appeared quiet and introspective. He thanked UNITY for there efforts and Fugit for giving him a glimpse into his possible future. Kineto then departed without any further incident and the heroes let him go. 

Finally...

Six months prior to now*** ('now' being the start of any campaign I run or have run in my version of my friend William Corpening's Age of Champions setting) the Earth was invaded by an alliance of alien species who were attacked by an unmanned, heavily armed space satellite/combat platform. That platform was constructed by Scaramangler Industries and posthumously activated by 'accident'. The alien species that were targeted had all been enemies of Humanity in the past and saw this as sufficient reason to eliminate the Earth once and for all. They dubbed their joint operation Invasion: Earth and the conflict has been dubbed the Invasion: Earth War. 

At one point in the fighting, two or three dozen starfighters were launched at Great Britain. Most of the British Superheroes were already battling the invaders on the ground but the Ultramarine, one of the world's most powerful supers, flew to intercept. As he reached the edge of the stratosphere he noticed a much larger starship just beyond the exosphere. It had clearly sent the starfighters and would provide support for them.

Just then he became aware of an object or individual approaching him from below at great speed. Readying himself, he saw that it was Kineto! When Kineto reached the Ultramarine he hovered some 50 ft away from the British Superman and the two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. They had never met face-to-face. Kineto nodded upward, as if indicating Ultramarine should take on the larger starship. Cocking his head to indicate confusion, Ultramarine was surprised when Kineto looked at the oncoming small attack craft, then to Ultramarine, and finally giving a reassuring nod. Somehow, even though they'd never met, Ultramarine understood and returned the nod before rocketing to escape velocity. 

As Ultramarine shot past the starfighters, Kineto smiled (never a good sign). He snapped his fingers and all the fightercraft stopped dead in the air as if frozen in time. Their pilots...didn't. Didn't stop their forward motion that is. As the fighters fell from the sky and into the ocean below, Kineto looked up to see Ultramarine tearing through the Vilarian cruiser. He noted an interesting and remarkable similarity in Ultramarine's approach and powers to that of his own.

And that uniform...

Whew. Wow. Kineto's tale is finally complete. Until it continues that is...

Thanks for coming by in 2023. Hope you found something to enjoy. Looking forward to 2024 and all the new ideas it'll bring.

Happy New Year Everybody! 

AD

Barking Alien

*This was hilarious. The character known as Eon punched a PC Superhero and that hero disappeared. The player was told that his hero appeared to be gone, vanished, undetectable. He opted to use an Alt (alternate character) until a week of real time later when the original hero reappeared in the same place he vanished from and continued forward, finally hitting the ground. Eon quite literally punched him into next week. 

**The superhero Omni, mentioned throughout these entries and basically the founder and head of Project: UNITY is a Mandaarian. 

***This story arc was the last one I was in as a player. Following the Invasion: Earth War  events, we all started college and didn't get to regularly play together. The campaign setting did indeed continue on with different players but this is the final major incident I was part of. As such, I view it as the completion of the campaign's history and therefore Kineto's history before adding anything to it with any new campaign's canon.

A Tale of Two Kinetos

I had the recent pleasure of once again talking with my friend William Corpening, creator of Kineto and our classic Champions Superhero RPG Campaign, 'The Age of Champions'.

We discussed, among many other things, how his version of Kineto differs considerably from my own. The reason for my Kineto diverging from his and the original 'canon' is quite understandable; my ideas about Kineto are based on my recollections of his appearances in our campaign.

Will's understanding of the character on the other hand are based on, well, Will made him up. He knows the character better in a way I never could. I'm working on memories from 35 years ago. Will's knowledge of the character is intrinsic. Will is the source of the OG incarnation. 

The core of the two Kinetos are essentially the same:

• He is a former Superhero.
• He is now viewed as a Supervillain by most of Humanity, both Normal and Super.
• He is an extremely powerful Super who controls Inertia, Momentum, and Kinetic Energy.
• He believes Superhumans to be superior to Normal Humans.
• He believes himself to be the 'most superior' of all Superhumans.
• He believes the salvation of Earth and its people depends on Supers ruling Normals.
• The majority of Humans, Normal and Super, do not agree with Kineto's Manifesto.
• A small number of Supers do agree with him. A smaller number of Normals do too.

Much of Kineto's early 'history' and backstory - his origin and the death of his wife for example - remain the same between the two versions. Likewise, most of the in-game events I've described in previous Kineto posts happened in essentially the same way. 

So the question is...how do they differ?

According to Will, the main difference is in their role in the universe. Will created Kineto on November 17, 1981 while sitting on the bus. The character was primarily inspired by Magneto (duh) but was used more like [the 1970s and 80s Marvel Comics version of] Thanos - a god-like, very big, very bad, Big Bad Guy. 

Will explains that his Kineto isn't particularly subtle, layered, or deep. He's a villain plain and simple. He's also a megalomaniac, seeing himself as a God among Ants. Think about that for a moment; Kineto doesn't perceive himself as a god among men but among ants. Everyone and everything is beneath him and only he can save the world by taking control of it. 

Will's Kineto is a nigh-unstoppable powerhouse, his only weakness his own massive ego and self-imposed code of honor. 

***

Will describes my version as 'more nuanced' and I'll take that as compliment (though I feel his is more layered then he thinks it is, lol). My Kineto sees himself as a King among Peasants, with the peasants being normal Humans. Other Supers are somewhat like Knights or other low-level nobility. This alternate viewpoint is absolutely key to understanding the incarnation I use in my games. 

Peasants aren't ants. They, along with Knights and such, are the King's subjects. He rules them but also protects them. He acts in the best interest of his people even if it's difficult for the common folk to understand his activities and goals. In fact, if my Kineto believed another King would be better at ruling he would hand the throne of the kingdom to that person. Of course he would insist on being kept on as an 'advisor' because someone has to make sure the king is doing their job [properly].

Adam's version of Kineto is just as powerful as Will's but more emotionally flawed. He has the aforementioned code of honor but it's more complicated as a result of his upbringing and experiences. The Kineto of Champions Earth-AD-1A is his own worst enemy, forever trying to fix a world that appears broken to him because he's viewing it through the lens of his own imperfections and regrets. 

Just some thoughts and conversation with my favorite Superhero RPG Gamemaster. I'll continue with my series on Kineto soon, hopefully finishing up in one or two posts.

See you soon,

AD

Barking Alien

Immersion Deep Dive

Here's a subject I've wanted to discuss again for sometime but I didn't really know where to begin. The hardest part is often figuring out where to start when addressing something as big as this. 

Let's talk Immersion and Investment.

Before I get into it, I want to thank Tim Knight of HeroPress for inspiring me to make a new post on Campaign Immersion and for just being a great guy. His supportive comments (partially recently) have helped keep me focus during the particularly chaotic Summer I've had in Real LifeTM. Funny enough, Tim said my posts on Champions have in turn inspired him. 

We're looking at an Inspiration Inception here!

In a comment on one of my Kineto posts, Tim Knight wrote:

"As ever, I am so envious of your gaming group and the investment your players put into a campaign (most months, I'm just happy if my players turn up).

Perhaps at some future date you could write a post expanding on this, explaining the benefits of player investment from both the GM's and players' perspective. And maybe offering up suggestions to GMs on how to get their players more invested in a campaign?"

Player and Gamemaster investment in the development and execution of an RPG campaign is always going to give you better results then a lack thereof. This isn't any sort of epiphany. No grand revelation found here. If you and your players care about the game you're running and playing, its going to be a lot better than if you don't. 

But what does immersion and investment even mean? What are they in this context? 

Defining What We're Talking About

Honestly, I feel it really hard to define. I mean we can define it, I can get some definitions for us; let's see what we have here...OK, how's this: (from the Oxford Dictionary)

Immersion: deep mental involvement.

Hmm.

Investment: an act of devoting time, effort, and/or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.

Combining those and applying them to the hobby of Tabletop Role Playing Games I'd say that what we're talking about is 'Devoting mental and perhaps emotional energy and effort into your involvement in an RPG character and/or the campaign you're participating in'.

So how do we do this? 

There are a number of ways but they are largely surface elements. What do I mean by that? Stay with me...

The Surface of Depth

There are a lot of ways to get people involved and invested in a campaign. It's a good idea to do as many of these as you can as they will all compliment each other. Additionally, different people are inspired and excited by different things. Utilizing a wide array of tools gives the GM and players options; what works for one person might not work for another. 

Sights

Art. Art. Art. I can't stress this enough. GM, have an image, miniature, or other visual for that monster, flying castle, or giant robot ready when you introduce it to your players. You don't need a picture of every little thing but you do want one of anything that reinforces the unique look and feel of the particular campaign you are running. Humans are visual beings, we remember things we've seen even more than what we've read or heard. A picture is worth a thousand words. 

Maps are especially useful in this regard, even if you don't generally use maps. My campaigns never really require maps but I often make them because - and this is important - Humans are visual! People like maps. Mine almost universally ignore exact distances, latitudes and longitudes, or anything that make up a traditional map. They just look cool and (vital part) help immerse the players in your world. Real places have maps. Real buildings have floorplans. If you have a map, any sort of map, it makes your locations seem more real. 

Players, try to find or draw (if you have the ability) an image to represent your character. I highly recommend this. It not only gives the GM and other players a better sense of who your PC is, it help make your character more 'real' to you in a fashion. I've seen it happen many times.

Once, before trying to figure out if his character could squeeze through an opening in a fence or gate, instead of rolling dice a player took one look at his illustration and said, "No way man. Come on! *Laughter* Look at me. I'm huge! This chest and these shoulders aren't getting through a small gap in a fence. No way." The other players looked over at the artwork and nodded. Simple, immersive, and effective. 

Sounds

This one works really well for me in some ways, not as well in others but I understand its very helpful for most people. 

Cultivate a library of sounds for giving the right feel and atmosphere to your game. This can be a real library of sound effects on a laptop or a practiced array of noises you can make with your voice or objects available to you. It can help immensely to have mastered or have accessible to you a creaking door, phaser fire, rain, the roar of a TIE Fighter, or any number of other noises common to your setting. 

Do voices. Please. If you can't or feel you can't than just work on varying the cadence, tone, or or volume of your own voice so not every NPC from friendly barmaid to bloodthirsty pirate sounds like you reading the ingredients off a cereal box. Few things take me out of it more. 

Play background music. Give your campaign a soundtrack. Personally I have a lot of trouble with this as I find it mildly distracting but A LOT of friends I've gamed with think its awesome. There have definitely been times I've enjoyed it as well [the volume and timing work out right].

Local Color / Slice of Life

Part of what [I think] creates immersion in my campaigns and the campaigns of those GMs I've enjoyed playing with is the world/setting appearing 'alive' around and independent of the Player Characters. That is to say: NPCs are working in the background, starships are coming and going from the spaceport, animals are grazing in the fields all without any direct impact on the PCs or input from them. 

At the same, any PC at anytime can walk over to any background being or beast and talk to them and/or have them react to that PC. They can interact with the environment: the PC can swim or fish in a river, search for salvageable parts among a wreckage, or just sit and enjoy a cup of coffee/tea Earl Grey/steamed blue milk. 

The GM creates local color in the form of a living, breathing world around the PCs that acts in a way a world with its particular nature would act. In turn the PCs should consider participating in that world, partaking in slice of life activities that go beyond beating up bad guys and finding lost artifacts. The characters are people living in a place and seeing them as such is a key component of feeling immersed in a game.

Let's go back to my initial question for a moment: How do we do this?

Honestly I have to ask...how do you not? I mean, I understand not everyone does this automatically but I personally don't get why. If you enjoy gaming, are excited about the game you're taking part in, like and connect with your character, and want yourself and everyone else involved to have fun...why wouldn't you invest yourself in the endeavor to the best of your ability? I'm not asking why you aren't going full method actor but c'mon, if you want to participate you've got to give a damn. Right?

If you don't or can't invest/immerse in a game, ask yourself why. Don't feel bad or ashamed by your answers. Pinpointing what's wrong can help you fix the situation.

Do you not enjoy playing this game, story, or even with this group? Maybe you can suggest playing something different. Maybe you can suggest a new storyline. If it's the group, can the difference be rectified? If not, maybe find yourself an alternate crew. You can still be friends with the members of your ol' group even if you don't love gaming with them.

Are you not excited about this particular campaign, setting, or system? I have trouble getting excited over D&D [and its style of Fantasy in general] but sometimes its what my friends want to play so I totally get it. I've tried to play along but I REALLY don't enjoy it. Luckily, I have some very flexible friend who are willing to try a variety of games.

Maybe you don't like your character. Have you considered making a new PC? Talk to your Gamemaster about this and maybe you can figure out what to do about this together. Hopefully there are one or more PC options in the game of choice that you will find interesting. I know from personal experience that this can be quite difficult.

Do you want to have fun and enjoy yourself? Do you want everyone else at the table to do the same? Of course you do, otherwise you wouldn't be playing an interactive game with other people. If the answer is no, maybe your problem is bigger and broader than investing in RPGs. You don't have to live that way. Get some professional help. Seriously. Everyone has the right to be happy. 

Part of ones ability to immerse while simultaneously dealing with other players doing the same, each in their own way, can be tricky. If I am taking the setting seriously and another player has a character with a silly name or a pun based gimmick it can sort of take me out it, especially if I let it. I would try to catch myself and try to be more flexible but I might also let the player know and ask them to 'sell me on it' so I can get past my issue. Honestly though, its their character and my problem. Learn to deal. It'll do you and everyone around you a world of good. 

Well, that's it for now. I might have more thoughts on this subject in the future but this is good enough for the moment. 

What do you think? What do you do to create immersion? How do you deal with a lack of it?

Curious to hear your thoughts.

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Barking Alien

Rest in Peace musician, singer, songwriter, and author James 'Jimmy' William Buffett. 

Kineto - His Life and Times

Onward to part four of my biography of the Supervillain Kineto, the biggest big bad of my friend William Corpening's 'Age of Champions' campaign from the 1980s and early 90s. As I have run a number of Champions RPG campaigns in my own variations of this world, I've used the character of Kineto a good number of times. He is honestly my all time favorite Superhero Comic Book style Supervillain. Here's why...

Part I    The Rise and Fall of Kineto    

Part II   Portrait of a Supervillain - Kineto

Part III  A Really Good Bad Guy - Kineto

To continue...

Sometime in the late Fall or early Winter of 1986, Adamant and Kineto part ways after a particularly intense argument. After a bout of excessive drinking and drug use, Adamant went on a rampage through New York City, ending with a one-on-one battle with the alien superhero Starguard. This was followed by Omni knocking Adam out telepathically and moving him to a secure super-prison facility. Later, Omni and several other members of the UNTIY New York team manage to convince Adamant to enter rehab as a part of his rehabilitation. 

For an expanded version of this story, see this post. 

Roughly three months later, an emergency situation arises in New York City as an escalating series of electronic and mechanical malfunctions play havoc with the city's infrastructure. Traffic lights change rapidly and at random, subway trains nearly collide due to signal and track failures, and many neighborhoods lose power. Things continue to worsen as the police, fire department, and emergency services are pushed to their limit! Eventually, the Mayor calls in PRIMUS and UNTIL to assist. UNTIL sends Superheroes from UNITY New York to aid the Big Apple. With the help of our heroes the city is able to stay just ahead of the situation but only barely. 

Meanwhile, the Superheroes Nightforce and Christian Scaramangler investigate the cause of these cascading catastrophes. Through their detective skills and technological genius the two men are able to determine the culprit to be...Kineto! Using a combination of his powers and the hacking of various computer systems by his associates, Kineto was able to rest control of the city's most important operations. Livid with the reveal of this information, Omni called out Kineto using Broadcast Telepathy, insisting his actions were 'Dishonorable' and labeling him a coward. 

Omni certainly knew how to press Kineto's buttons by this time. Kineto flew with his entourage to appear before Omni and after a brief duel of taunts and sharp words the UNITY Heroes and Kineto's supervillains came to blows. Eventually, Omni simply asked Kineto, "Why did you do this? What was the point?"

What followed was a speech by Kineto now referred to as 'Kineto's Manifesto'. Paraphrasing it to the best of my memory, it went like this:

"My point and goals will be made clear.

The problems we nudged forward were not 'Super-problems'. No danger was paranormal in nature. Accidents happen, systems fail, and no machine works perfectly forever. All these mundane difficulties combined together threatened the safety of the people of the city but they were undeniably mundane. 

In the end however, no equally mundane force could stop them. No regular Human, valiant and brave though they may be, could do anything to prevent or remedy the issues. It wasn't until Superhumans got involved that the day was saved. That is what we do. That is who we are.

I advocate Super-Humanity be given dominion over normal Humanity. Superman must rule over Man for Mankind's own safety and continued well being."

A hero scoffed, "Right, 'Ruled by Superhumans'. Who? You?"

"No fool. By someone with the greater-than-normal ability to do so. Think...who do you want to balance the World Economy? Would you prefer someone good at Mathematics, Economics, and Accounting or someone good at Mathematics, Economics, and Accounting with Super-Intelligence? Who is best to fight Forest Fires? A Firefighter with many years of experience or someone who can Command Fire? Imagine someone who could talk to the flames, tell them to cease, and know their origins instantly. Isn't that a better choice?

How well has baseline Humanity handled the world so far?"

I will never forget this moment. Omni's Player literally, physically duplicated the above meme. The table went quiet. Many of the players looked at each other and shrugged, some nodding. 

Imagine that in a society, the majority group of people that make up that society represent the standard mental and physical capabilities of those in that society. Now imagine there is a smaller group of people who are objectively SUPER capable. Yeah, might be a good idea to have them in charge of certain aspects of said society. 

The message was captured on film and audio by numerous communication outlets and news services, broadcasting the Manifesto live to millions of viewers across the US, Canada, and beyond. Within hours it had spread to affiliates around the world. Within a day, there were very few on Earth who had not seen or heard Kineto's speech. 

After a moment of dramatic silence the battle continued, with tension and harsh words from both sides eventually leading to punches being thrown. In the end most of Kineto's allies were defeated and captured. Kineto himself escaped, leaving behind a world of frightened normals and questioning Supers. 

Kineto wouldn't appear again for quite a while, eventually returning to strike against the United Nations in an effort to convince them of the natural superiority of Superhumans and his point of view. Over the next few months he would make several attempts to boost his power, his resources, and get more and more Supers over to his way of thinking. For many Supervillains, this wasn't too much of a leap. For Superheroes it was a harder, though not always impossible sell. He amassed a number of 'neutral', low-power Supers who felt Kineto's Manifesto gave them potential purpose and direction. 

Sometime later while regrouping from one of his confrontations with UNITY, Kineto was approached by a mysterious man calling himself Faust. Faust claimed to be Kineto himself from a Parallel Earth, one where his abilities were mystic in nature and obtained through the detonation of an arcane artifact. There, in this more magically attuned alternate universe, Faust was essentially 'The Sorcerer Supreme'. He said he had achieved the dream of having a child, a son, and he could give that to Kineto for a price. While the details of their deal are unclear, Kineto agreed and Faust used Black Magic and Demonic Powers to 'birth' a son from a pit of Alchemic Mud, Blood, and Fire. 

This was not completely unlike Hermes, The Druid. The Druid developed an instant dislike and distrust of Faust and his plan. Hermes tried to warn is 'father' but as with most things he brought up to Kineto, The Druid's 'nervous ramblings' were ignored. 

'Doyle Kennison' / Inferno

The child, named Doyle (Irish surname meaning Stranger or Visitor with dark undertones), displayed the powers of Super-Strength, Flight, and near Invulnerability in addition to some unique magical abilities. Doyle's skin was incredibly hot, ranging from 100 to 500 degrees on average. He can deliver a massive blast of flame and heat with his punches and kicks, igniting objects and people upon contact. He took the name Inferno. 

Kineto took Inferno on a number of small missions where the latter was quick to take offense and come to blows but otherwise behaved himself. He aged rather quickly (a factor common to Kineto's clones and other created offspring). When he reached his late 20s to early 30s within a week or so he seemed to stop.

One mission had Kineto and Inferno travelling to Ireland to enlist the aid of another magic practitioner called Witchcraft. When Witchcraft seemed indecisive about whether or not to side with Kineto, Inferno attacked her, trying to force himself on her as well. Kineto fought him off but realized it wasn't easy to do; Inferno's abilities were resistant to Kineto's powers because of their arcane nature. Kineto apologized to Witchcraft, assuring her this would never happen again.

 

Witchcraft

Inferno proved to be increasingly short-tempered and incredibly aggressive. When Kineto called upon Faust to explain the reason for this and ask what could be done, Faust merely laughed. The whole thing was in fact a ruse - Faust was absolutely a powerful mage but he wasn't a Kineto variant and he wasn't from another Earth. He simply fooled Kineto into helping him gain access to an ancient grimoire and allowing him to create a powerful minion out of Kineto's own blood. Faust then commanded Inferno to attack Kineto, aiding his homunculus with spells from the grimoire. 

Just then Witchcraft showed up with several UNITY Superheroes in tow, revealing she'd been looking into the situation ever since her encounter with Inferno. She actually got the heroes to help by promising to help take down Kineto when in fact her plan - which worked perfectly - was to aid Kineto in escaping while UNITY fought Faust and Inferno. She eventually joins Kineto's movement, though sometimes her motivations are unclear. She seems to just like and appreciate Kineto's near-fatherly attitude towards her. 

As Kineto and Witchcraft departed, Faust cast a rote allowing him to do the same, briefly changing in appearance to reveal a costume and visage not unlike the devil as depicted in 15th and 16th century plays. This has lead many to believe he is in fact The Devil or at least a devil or demon of some sort. As he vanished Kineto heard voices: his wife Maggie drowning, the painful cries of the disintegrating Kate/Terminatrix, and venomous curses and accusations hurled at him by Adam. All his failures, torturing him at the edge of his perception. 

The faces of Faust

Faust is a Grade-A bastard. I'm just saying.

Following these events, Kineto and company laid low once more. He would not appear again until...

Stay tuned!

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A Really Good Bad Guy - Kineto

By the end of the 1970s, the threat of general supervillain crime and violence was secondary to the danger of two supervillains fighting each other. The major metahuman villains had gone to war and Human society was caught in the crossfire. The Champions and other heroes made the decision to go on the offensive to remedy this situation, tracking down and defeating the big players before they could cause more harm. Sadly, Kineto and Sundown remained at large. 

These two men truly hated each other. Kineto viewed Sundown as a megalomaniac, a would-be world conqueror completely wasting his intellect on a meaningless quest for personal power. He could be benefiting Humanity with his knowledge and intelligence. To Sundown, Kineto was the world's biggest hypocrite. Kineto's high and mighty attitude and moral code hid his desire to control the planet and its people the way he controlled kinetic energy and inertia. 

In 1982, Sundown and Kineto decided to end their feud with a showdown. The Champions found out about the duel and planned to intercept and prevent it, as well as apprehend the two villains. Unfortunately, an argument broke out among the members of the team on how to proceed. Garrison quits the team. The rest of the group arrived on the scene too late; the battle had already begun and numerous civilians had been injured by incidental exchanges by the villain teams. 

The Allies of Kineto

Left to Right: Icewing, Firebird, Doctor Helix, Battlefront, Passion Storm, and Gigaton

Initially, Legionnaire and Tachyon focused on thwarting the henchmen and lieutenants of their antagonistic adversaries while Omni protected the citizens of New York. This and similar actions cemented Omni as a favorite, trusted superhero among the common people in spite of him being an alien. Meanwhile the Champions team leader, Tower, scaled a building just below Sundown using his size-changing powers to aid in his sneaky approach.  At some point, Sundown descended to the roof of said building and generated a force field of intense heat around himself. He then began to form a medicine ball sized Sun over his head which rapidly increased in circumference, becoming roughly 50 ft. in diameter in under a minute. 

Sundown threatened to release it towards New York City's Madison Square Garden as PRIMUS's reinforcements arrived to assist with crowd control and medical aid. Tachyon immediately disengaged from fighting two of Kineto's gang to try and talk Sundown out of the attack, all while preparing to absorb as much of the energy as he could. Kineto himself, hovering over Madison Square Garden, started to draw in kinetic energy and compress it into a shield to protect the edifice and the citizens therein. As things drew to a very tense head, Tower leaped at Sundown from behind, increasing to his maximum height of 100 feet and tried to grab the villain, his hand and arm sizzling from Sundown's heat field. That's when Sundown suddenly increased the heat in a blistering wave! Tower fell backward in pain and shock, tumbling off the building and crashing to the street below. 

Sundown launched his Sun Sphere - now almost 100 feet in diameter - and Tachyon teamed with Kineto to stop it. As the former absorbed massive amounts of solar radiation, taxing himself beyond his limit and reducing the sphere's size and power, Kineto altered the attack's trajectory. Along with his kinetic shield, he managed to deflect the mini-Sun into space. Then, before anyone could react, a short, sharp 'CRACk' - a clap of thunder the size of a firecracker - pierced the din of battle. Sundown toppled over, blood boiling out from what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head. Everyone and everything stopped and the entire scene held its breath. A sniper had somehow taken out Sundown with a clearly high-tech rifle and a bullet coated with atmospheric re-entry level heat shielding. A heartbeat later and crowds on site and watching their TVs nationwide cheered, mostly for Tachyon and Kineto. 

Kineto departed here along with Gigaton and Passion Storm. No attempt was made to follow as there would be time for that later. Tachyon's powers had overloaded, preventing him from ever activating them again less he release the stored energy accidently. Tower was dead. The Champions disbanded amid their own guilt over what had happened and public opinion that it was really Kineto and an unknown sharpshooter, probably working with PRIMUS, that saved the day. Legionnaire retired to continue his research into Parallel Worlds and Alternate Dimensions. Omni took a short break and then returned to crime fighting alone.

Kineto laid low for a bit after this, rebuilding his forces. Passion Storm left his group, though on good terms. Things had gotten too brutal for the aging activist. Icewing, Firebird, and Battlefront were now in prison. 

About two years later, the United Nations Tactical Intelligence League - UNTIL - calls upon Omni to help establish and run a world wide superhero response network for dealing with supervillains, natural disasters, and the like. In short order, UNITY is organized and implemented to great success.

The Kineto 'Family'

 Left to Right: Terminatrix, Adamant, Kineto, The Druid, and Inferno. 

An ally and confidant of Kineto at this time was one Professor Felix Henrich, also known as Prof. Helix. Unable to track down Dr. Genius (who went into seclusion in the 50's and had not been seen publicly since), Kineto recruited Helix to assist him with all his scientific and engineering projects. These projects included things such as secret bases, the super-science of superpowers, and the development of weapons and equipment for his henchmen. Kineto not only shared his goals with the Professor but various personal concerns and regrets as well. Kennison confessed that never having had children pained him greatly. 

During the Winter of 1984, Professor Henrich wanted to gain favor with his employer and used the medical technology he installed in Kineto's largest base to clone the King of Kinetic Energy. The result was 'Adam', a 'son' who was nearly identical to Kipling Kennison at a younger age. Initially, Kineto was ecstatic and took to the lad immediately.

Unfortunately, there were some issues: Adam aged rapidly, though Prof. Helix was able to stop his accelerated progression. Adam appeared to be about 20 in the end and following his treatment aged extremely slowly [like Kineto himself]. Adam's powers manifested quite differently from his 'father'. He was only able to manipulate the movement and energy of his own molecules. This manifests as the ability to transform himself into different materials. He normally touches an object, locks in on its molecular structure, and then changes himself into it: steel, wood, volcanic rock, aluminum, and a practically endless selection of others. Adam is unable to fly like Kineto.  Adam took on the super-moniker 'Adamant'. 

Over the next few years, Adamant served as a key part of Kineto's plans but there was a lot of trouble between the two of them behind the scenes. Adamant, who liked to work out and wasn't particularly interested in philosophy and the sciences, was viewed as 'dim' by his 'father'. Kineto talked down to his 'young son' and gave him very little to do beyond 'muscle work'. Finally, they disagreed about Kineto's endgame but more on that later. 

Professor Helix wanted to try again. This time he informed Kineto of his plan and suggested that instead of a traditional clone, this one should be a biological hybrid - a 'clone' meets in vitro fertilization - a test tube baby combing Kineto's DNA with that of a female counterpart. Kineto knew exactly who he'd like the donor to be and traveled to England. There he infiltrated a diplomatic function being attended by, among others, Maiden Fair. While in disguise as a foreign military leader, Kineto danced with Maiden Fair who seemed under the weather. She soon had to sit down and grew visibly pale. Kineto offered her his handkerchief which she coughed into, confiding that she had very recently been injured in battle and was still recuperating. The disguised Kineto requested an attendant assist Maiden Fair back to her room to rest and regain her strength. He then excused himself, noting blood on handkerchief. 

I like to imagine he thought twice about what he'd obtained but made the poor decision to go through with the scheme anyway. This does not go well. Unbeknownst to Kineto, Maiden Fair had been part of an international strike team who went after the villain known as Plague. Plague had afflicted Maiden Fair with a superhuman virus that caused rapid cellular degeneration. Only her superpowers - increased Strength, Speed, Vitality, and Healing based on 'how much the people of England love and believe in their country and her' - were keeping her alive. Thankfully, she was much beloved by the public in Britain and beyond. 

Kineto and Professor Helix combined the DNA of Kineto and Maiden Fair and created a daughter - Katherine - but before they could celebrate their success the young woman began to literally decompose. Some mysterious virus (See above) was destroying her cells at an alarming rate. Helix did everything he could to stop the process as Kineto simply broke down in silent tears, pain, and anger. A stasis field with life support capacity saved what remained but Kineto took one look and told the Professor, "Get rid of it. When I return, I want it to be as if this was never done. This was never here."

Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately depending on your perspective - the Professor couldn't do that. He contacted a colleague at the Advanced Research Genetics and Engineering Network Team - ARGENT - to see if their Super-Science could save 'Kate'. At a top secret lab they did just that, integrating the remains into the most advanced cybernetic body ever developed - complete with a host of deadly weapons and defenses. When Kate woke up she understandably freaked out and murdered all the ARGENT scientists in the room. She escaped the facility and after laying low for a while she resurfaced as Terminatrix, an assassin for hire who would only take contracts against superpowered targets. Terminatrix refuses to kill normals, even super-normals*. She makes her first public appearance in late 1984 or early 1985. She despises her 'father' Kineto as she can clearly remember his last words to her deteriorating body. She is unaware of her 'mother's' identity. 

A third attempt to create a 'child' for Kineto was made a few years later by Lord Dweomer, a supervillain mage and alchemist who asked for Kineto's aid with a complex scheme of his own. Dweomer offered this as part of the payment to Kineto for the latter's help. Magic was always a concern for Kineto as it's something he doesn't completely understand and which his powers sometimes have trouble effecting. The end result was ''Hermes', also known as 'The Druid', whose powers are mystical in nature and deal with the control and alteration of living matter. Fanatically devoted to Kineto and his father's cause, Druid tries too hard, viewed as a 'brown noser' and 'suck up' by Adamant. Kineto has little respect for him either, seeing him as a 'yes man' of the worst sort. Additionally, Kineto mistrusts him because of the magical nature Druid's arcane abilities.

The Druid's power over living matter enables him to shape-change. 

He often takes this form to appear less physically imposing and dangerous.

There was a fourth but he came to be much later. We'll address him in the next and hopefully final chapter in the life and times of Kineto...

Coming Soon,

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