Choose your Master of Genetics!

[Lord Liaden]

The Supervillain Showdown between Mr. Matthews of the SAS Universe and Teleios from our own CU is a battle between two specialists in genetic manipulation and the creation of custom-designed servant creatures. That inspired me to wonder about the preferences in the Hero community for this type of villain. Not to take anything away from Teleios, but he really is occupying the master geneticist villain niche in the 5E Champions Universe that in the 4E universe belonged to Malachite, King of the Malachite Islands and a pretty sharp dresser. ;) These two characters serve essentially the same function and have many similarities in attitude and style, but also some sharp differences in background and abilities.

So, I wanted to ask: for your own campaigns, will you be using Teleios or sticking with Malachite? What is it about one or the other that works for you? Perhaps you like elements of both villains and will be combining them into one character? (Details are welcome.) Or do you prefer adapting a villain with this gimmick from another source, such as the aforementioned Mr. Matthews or Dr. Phillippe Moreau from the Champions Universe sourcebook, or your own original creation?

Maybe you don't plan to have any evil gene splicer in your campaign, or prefer to subsume this technique into the bag of tricks possessed by an overall super-scientist like Dr. Destroyer.

Let your voice be heard! :)

[Uncle Shecky]

I'm not gaming currently, but I would use a much older villain. I started with 1st edition, and I'm still living in the past. Cobra (aka King Cobra) is my favorite evil geneticist/master villain. The snake theme is just too much fun, and the related characters (Black Mamba and Mongoose) add a lot to Cobra's story.

I don't have whatever product Malachite appeared in, but Teleios is a really cool character. I'd use him too.

[Jeff T.]

Teleios.

Malachite was one of our main enemies back in the day. He was really used well by our GM. So I'm of the opinion that he was a really good character. However, I think Teleios is one of Steve's (or whoever's) better creations. He really comes off nasty just from the writeup. That 50 INT doesn't hurt either.

[JohnOSpencer]

I prefer(and use) Malachite. I think he has more style than Telios. And a cooler name to boot.

John Spencer

[Catacomb]

I use Sinister form Marvel...sorry but I like the guy.

[Storn]

Malachite.

He's dead in RDU. But Neil used him wonderfully for many years. And I'm using his "legacy" right now in my Until Black Ops game. The things that Neil and I have introduced from Malachite's legacy is going to keep things busy for years to come!

[Hermit]

I used Malachite for awhile, but I find I much prefer Teleios. I've used him recently as well, and while both are hated, Teleios has managed to inspire more fear, and a greater sense of formibidility. I don't know if it's because he sticks to the scientist duds rather than the Tux and jetpack, or what, but my players give him more respect.

Of course, I also plan on using Dr. Moreau and ARGENT as 'genetic players', so Teleios isn't alone, just at the top. :)

[Lord Liaden]

Since I started the discussion, I should probably put in my two cents: I'm going with the "Adapt from another source" option. The geneticist slot in my campaigns has long been filled by "Zarathustra," who was briefly referred to in the origin of the Dreadnought from Classic Enemies as the most brilliant modern leader of worldwide Nazism. Nothing more was detailed about Zarathustra in that book, though.

In the last campaign I used him in, Zarathustra was based on Siegfried Qual, the dwarfish Nazi scientist/mentalist from Golden Age of Champions. He eventually created a new improved body for himself, so he has several parallels with Teleios. He wasn't quite the physical marvel that Teleios is, but he retained his formidable mental Powers as well as some familiarity with the occult.

Zarathustra's experiments are geared to promote the cause of Nazism: the breeding of ubermenschen and literal "combat monsters" to fight for the Cause, all with a decidedly Aryan esthetic. :rolleyes: Teleios's trick of breeding clone armies hadn't occured to me, though - I'm definitely adding that to Z's repertoire.

You might like his "identifying quote:" "The Master Race is very real - I created it!"

[Enforcer84]

I didn't vote. I like both of them. I also like the Iron Wolf? The nazi guy from Dark Champions who created Carnivore. I will probably use all three. Malachite's Nazi up bringing (which he rejected - or am I remembering that wrong?) made he and the Iron Wolf natural foils for eachother. Add Telios' brilliance to the mix as well as Moreau, wow: GENE WARS a thirteen issue limited series from HERO!

I also like the idea of Dr Quaal being used, I love bringing the GA heroes to the fore someway or another...

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Enforcer84
I didn't vote. I like both of them. I also like the Iron Wolf? The nazi guy from Dark Champions who created Carnivore. I will probably use all three. Malachite's Nazi up bringing (which he rejected - or am I remembering that wrong?) made he and the Iron Wolf natural foils for eachother. Add Telios' brilliance to the mix as well as Moreau, wow: GENE WARS a thirteen issue limited series from HERO!

I also like the idea of Dr Quaal being used, I love bringing the GA heroes to the fore someway or another...

Agreed on Eisenwulf ("Iron Wolf") - he had a big influence on my final design for Zarathustra.

As far as Dr. Phillippe Moreau goes, I'm thinking that Mr. Matthews from SAS would make a fine template for him, based on what we've seen in the Showdown to date. Another reason to look forward to the conversion notes in Reality Storm. :)

GENE WARS - Wow. Sounds messy, but fun. :cool:

[Hermit]

It occurs to me, that while I maybe missing something, there's no 'natural' genetic master who needs no foci. For example, a mutant with DNA altering ablities, and an instinctive, almost idiot savant grasp of genetics. If you see what I mean. This isn't to say such a person would be simplistic, they'd probably be eager to learn more in order to understand their powers better.

Or maybe I just missed one in the CKC somewhere.

If not, it could be an interesting niche to fill.

[Lord Liaden]

Originally posted by Hermit
It occurs to me, that while I maybe missing something, there's no 'natural' genetic master who needs no foci. For example, a mutant with DNA altering ablities, and an instinctive, almost idiot savant grasp of genetics. If you see what I mean. This isn't to say such a person would be simplistic, they'd probably be eager to learn more in order to understand their powers better.

Or maybe I just missed one in the CKC somewhere.

If not, it could be an interesting niche to fill.

That is an interesting notion, and one played up by Aaron Allston in Strike Force with his master villain, Alasder Dell:

"Alasder, heir to the Dell clan, was born with a strange mutation: Purely by intuition, he could divine information about a person's gene patterns, including potential lifespan and possibility of powers. He could also, by thought alone, affect the metabolism and biochemistry of others, causing weakness, quick unconsciousness, and other effects in them."

Another villain with a similar ability is the Reverend Gil Purdue, from the 4E villain compendium Creatures of the Night. A lab accident gave him the ability to alter living tissue, from "miraculous" healings to causing wounds, to temporarily increasing his or another's physical abilities. He also has the bizarre power to change people's physical appearance to an ugly, demonic form, which he believed was revealing the "inner demon" in people he saw as evil (he's a religious fanatic who considers his abilities miraculous gifts from God).

[gewing]

Since I have not read about either, I'll vote for the "lord high Evolutionary."

[Diamante]

Actually, neither T nor Malachite are in our game. I took a cue from Marvel and kind of combined Lilith from the Ghost Rider comic and the classic X-baddie Apocalypse.

The result?

Tiamat, an immortal mutant obsessed with creating the ultimate race. And she is convinced that she is their mother. She's 2000 years old, and has had LOTS of kids over the centuries.

Her attendants, allies, flunkies, and many of her enemies are her children and their progeny.


It's a brand new game, and she is not as fleshed out as I'd like her to be. She's only appeared once in the game so far. But she is on my list to be a recurring villian.

[assault]

Teleios reminds me a great deal of a more serious version of the Producer from Aaron Allston's Strike Force. As such, he inherits a certain number of brownie points.

The Producer himself is a pretty cool character too, of course - insane, rather than evil, but still really, really, umm, really dangerous. As in "slap Dr. Destroyer" dangerous...

But for the purposes of the poll, I have to go with Malachite. To put it simply, I haven't finished with him. I haven't run the Atlantean invasion of the Malachite Isles yet...

Alan

[Karma]

My local 'evil genticist in the tradition of Dr Moreau' (the original H.G.Wells version not the CU ripoff) is Lord Zenith (actually has Lord as his inherited title and not putting on airs). I orignally designed him as a sort of 'Mr Sinsiter' figure before I'd even heard of Malachite or Telios. Unlike Sinister or Telios he has never gotten around to 'improving himself' being far too interested in creating the 'perfect human race' for him to be father to. You see he is the victim of 'noble inbreeding' and suffers from a whole range of genetic diseases. Since he didn't want to pass these on to his children he got into genetics to find a way to cure them...however even once he'd found a way for his children to be 'normal' he wasn't satified. Obsessed with his own imperfections he saw there were 'better' people, superhumans, who would make his children feel as inferior to them as he felt to so called 'normal' humans. He has therefore set out to create a 'child' who will be as superior to the so called 'superhumans' as they are to normals. A Perfect Superhuman if you will.
(Note, like all great villians he sees himself as benevolent, he's simply trying to help humanity reach its full potential.)

On a less benevolent note he is almost genocidal when it comes to aliens ("threats to humanity, every one") and half aliens ("polluting the pure human genome") and other 'non-humans' such as Dr. Silverback (not that he's in my campaign, but he's an example) (note mutants and altered humans are still humans to Zenith's mind).

[DoctorItron]

Teleios has already appeared in my campaign and made some enemies with the PCs. And, just today, one of the players emailed me a new PC that is hunted by Teleios.

Looks like I'm "forced" to keep using Teleios.

[Hermit]

Thanks to the DoJ vs GOO showdowns, and the Reality Storm supplement in the work that would allow me to do it, I'm thinking of translating and using Mister Matthews as yet another monster making genius. :)

[Vondy]

Funny, I thought Telios was WAS Malachite with a Steve Long makeover.

[Tamashii2000]

I had to go with Telios, I like his background and personality, althrough I have yet to use him, I plan on him becoming a major thorn in my Players sides. I must admit up till recently that thorn has always been good old King Kobra.