Supers Image game

[Christopher]

I can not identify the sings on his chest unambigiously, so I will be going with the funniest interpretation I can imagine

 

Megadril (litereally "Big Worm") aka the Earthworm King.

 

While earthworms do not evoke feelings of dread the same way a eagle, badger, wolverine, ant or even platypus does, a humansized version should no be understimated. Frankly, he is the bane to many a martial artist:

Earthworms are mostly muscles. Accordingly the MD has considerable superstrenght, wich he can use defensively.

The ability to breath through his skin makes him resistant to practically any form of choking.

The highly distributed nervous system and internal organs, mean that nerve strikes and similar attacks aming for "human like physiology" fail to find their marks.

And the redudant circulatory system rounds up the defense against blood flow impeeding attacks.

The hydrostatic skeleton (wich makes breaking bones impossible) and regenerative abilities round up the full set of brick abilities.

As "minor" powers he has a tremor sense, the ability to shrink to the size of a literal earthworm, and the ability to communicate with earthworms (granted that is hardly as usefull as communicaiton with ants would be).

 

For obvious reasons, he prefers to go by the name Megadriles, as that evokes a lot more power then "earthworm king".

And no, he is NOT a hermaprodite. He is really tired about being asked that!

[BoloOfEarth]

And let's not forget Tunneling, either!    Great concept, Christopher!  I'll have to write up Megadril to inflict upon introduce to my players. I can already see the origin story (bitten by a radioactive earthworm...).

 

(FWIW, I don't know what those signs / symbols are on his chest, either, but they look like worms to me too.)

[death tribble]

The Scaler

 

Some say he is a villainous mime. He seems to be able to affect reality around himself so that he can literally climb thin air. This makes him a nuisance to fight unless you are a flier or have levitation. he gi the name as it was his most notable trick. Some believe he is working for Slug and the Elder Worm thus the emblem on his chest. He can take a bit of punishment and is stronger than most martial artists.

[Christopher]

(FWIW, I don't know what those signs / symbols are on his chest, either, but they look like worms to me too.)

My other interpretation would be Horns. Red Horns. From some kind of (magical) animal/goatpeople I guess.

Could also be a crest from some historical Nobles.

[phoenix240]

I didn't see the earthworm symbols at first and now I can't unsee them. They're far to interesting to ignore but the earthworm motif has been done so well. Hm I'll try to come up with a new spin....

 

 

 

[SteelCold]

To most people he is Kyle Lamont, horoscope editor for the Daily Standard supermarket tabloid but when evil forces threatens his beloved city, Kyle becomes the super strong Aries the Ram who can psionically generate energized ram horns on his head capable of stopping a army tank in it's tracks.

[phoenix240]

Squirm: Edward was an odd boy, tall, lanky and withdrawn. He never made any friends in the orphanage where he was raised after being abandoned at a local ER. Even the staff found the boy's brooding silence and intense, seemingly contemptuous stares off putting. They were profession enough not to let their personal feeling interfere with his care. He wasn't abused or neglected but mostly ignored. Left to his own devices Edward mostly sat alone in the institute's yard, silently staring at the ground, sometimes muttering to himself or contorting his unusually flexible limbs and body, year after year. 

 

No one truly missed the strange silent boy when he came up missing on his 13th birthday. He was assumed to be another runaway,  one of those tragic cases. The paperwork was filed, reports written and Edward was swiftly lost in the cracks, another statistic. For years, he lived on the street, a vagabond; one of those mumbling crazed individuals that people cross the street to avoid. He never begged as he never thought that much about others to consider asking them. He stole what he needed, using his increasingly inhuman contortionist abilities to get in and out of otherwise impossible to reach locations. 

 

As his abilities increased the voices in his head grew more insistent. Not louder, they were always like wordless suppuration, a chorus of alien background noise that he could almost understand. That he needed to understand but constantly eluded him. Until it all came to a head one rainy night in a muddy lot where Edward was accosted by a gang of young thugs looking for some cheap thrills. Kicking around a crazy bum was good enough. Edward fought back with surprising ferocity but little experience and ended up on the receiving end of a savage beating  But even through the pain and terror the voices remained and, in desperation, he cried out to them. 

 

The muddy ground churned, grew thicker and wetter as millions of worms burrowed to the surface, turned the dirt under his assailant's feet to worm ridden thick slime. When they feel, those worms both normal and huge bloated pale thing that didn't look to be from world dug into their flesh. It was all over in moments, their gnawed bodies dragged down and buried. Edward heard the voices even more clearly now. They whispered the dead boys' secrets and knowledge eaten from their dying brains and flesh. 

 

And more...

 

Now he could understand it all. The voices were the collective chorus of the Worm, those things that crawled and burrowed,the slugs, the earthworms, tube-worms, maggots, the bottom of the cycle of life and its base. Humans in their arrogance thought they were the masters of the Earth. They were nothing, just a step in the cycle. Worm food. 

 

The Worm told Edward his purpose. To move among the humans, to learn their weaknesses, their tactics and to prepare for the Worm's resurgence and dominance. He'd always known he wasn't human and didn't belong among these sack of bones. He was of a higher order of life as demonstrated by his abilities and that voice of the Worm that spoke to him. He could use these abilities to perform his mission too. 

 

Emptying the dead thugs bank accounts and homes (he knew their pin numbers, had their keys and access to most of their funds), Edward cleaned himself up and made himself look respectable. The costume was found on the undiscovered body of a failed vigilante or would be super criminal (It didn't matter to Edward) that the maggots lead him too. He modified it somewhat adding the symbol of his true heritage. Foolish humans would take it as a joke, an eccentric affectation. Until it was too late. 

 

And so the latest local superhero was born: Squirm. To the public he is amiable if somewhat silly "rubber man". He has hyper contortionist abilities, powerful muscles and almost unbreakable green wood flexible bones that not only allow him to contort his body but to extend his limbs and reach. Squirm is also exceptionally agile and dexterous and able to use all his limbs even his tongue as essentially extra hands. He can regenerate up to and including lost limbs and is almost impossible to kill without extreme physical destruction such as being burned to ash. 

 

His less physical powers are far stranger. Squirm can communicate with worms and other similar forms of life. Though communicate might be too generous. These being don't have minds as such but, according to Edward, they share an consciousness which he is in touch with and serves. He can extend his awareness through it, sensing his surroundings through his senses and mystically enhanced versions of a worm's. He can summon worms by the thousands which seem to borrow in from the ground, swarm out of pipes. etc even if no worms inhabit the location. If there is semi reasonable way, the unearthly annelids will come to his aid. Edward can draw the memories and see the past of any flesh they can consume, even draw on the victim's skills for a time. He can also implant worm like organisms born from his body into a victim and control them as the parasites slowly consume them. 

 

Squirm keeps these more grotesque powers strictly hidden, presenting himself as strange martial artist with extreme durability and borderline superhuman strength; basically a somewhat comical (as most are) but very effective "rubber man" type super hero with a friendly low key personality. As Squirm has figuratively and literally wormed his way into the superhuman community some have sensed something off about the unassuming hero. Most of them assume his amiable but quiet attitude is a cover for some tragic past and have no idea of the inhuman crawling horror lurking behind his eyes. 

 

What is the Worm?

 

It could be just what Edward thinks it is, some demonic entity using a deranged mutant as a pawn or even the Slug, perhaps Edward is an experiment of it's to see if the monkeys can be made into something useful. The Worm could even be a complete delusion, a product of Edward's damaged psyche. 

 

Other connections:

 

Squirm has met Leech and they seem to share a bond, perhaps even serving similar masters and purposes. 

[Christopher]

 

Squirm keeps these more grotesque powers strictly hidden, presenting himself as strange martial artist with extreme durability and borderline superhuman strength; basically a somewhat comical (as most are) but very effective "rubber man" type super hero with a friendly low key personality. As Squirm has figuratively and literally wormed his way into the superhuman community some have sensed something off about the unassuming hero. Most of them assume his amiable but quiet attitude is a cover for some tragic past and have no idea of the inhuman crawling horror lurking behind his eyes. 

 

What is the Worm?

 

It could be just what Edward thinks it is, some demonic entity using a deranged mutant as a pawn or even the Slug, perhaps Edward is an experiment of it's to see if the monkeys can be made into something useful. The Worm could even be a complete delusion, a product of Edward's damaged psyche. 

 

Other connections:

 

Squirm has met Leech and they seem to share a bond, perhaps even serving similar masters and purposes. 

 

One could say, it is a "Worm in Waiting". And "what was will be".

[Christopher]

Okay, it was one week and 4 contributions. What is your verdict, BoloOfEarth?

[phoenix240]

Okay, it was one week and 4 contributions. What is your verdict, BoloOfEarth?

 

Oh wait, was it decided to change the baseline rules to always wait a week? If so I rushed my last pick. 

[Christopher]

Oh wait, was it decided to change the baseline rules to always wait a week? If so I rushed my last pick. 

1 week or 3 contributions, wicher comes first.

And then we added the "1 week after that, the one with highest Likes wins" to keep the thread going.

[phoenix240]

1 week or 3 contributions, wicher comes first.

And then we added the "1 week after that, the one with highest Likes wins" to keep the thread going.

 

Thanks! 

[BoloOfEarth]

As much as I liked Megadril, I'm inclined to award this one to Squirm (phoenix240).  But well done, all of you.

[phoenix240]

As much as I liked Megadril, I'm inclined to award this one to Squirm (phoenix240).  But well done, all of you.

 

Thanks, I really appreciate it. I was going for something a little different than the usual stretching character and a bit creepy. Hope I pulled that off. The character's name and the visual for some of his powers were inspired by 1976 Horror movie: Squirm. This movie gave me a serious case of heebie jeebies as a kid. 

 

For my submission: 

 

 

In the interest of disclosure, this is a fan art of a canonical character from another setting but I'm curious what you guys will make of it so I'll reveal that when the winner is selected. If you know it already please hold comments until then. 

[death tribble]

She is The Mechanic !

 

Where she comes from is unknown and telepathy resulted in the telepath foaming at the mouth and bleeding from the eyes. In fact mental powers have a rather bad effect on the one using them. If it is broken then she can fix it. Only it might have a few different effects than it did before. One way to really get on her nerves is to make Star Trek references, MacGyver references or other engineering related references. Despite her appearance she is not a robot nor is she subject to any anti mechanical effects. She can take quite a bit of energy damage and uses her golden rod as a hand to hand weapon to either deliver damage or keep an opponent at bay. 

[steriaca]

Thanks, I really appreciate. I was going for something a little different than the usual stretching character and a bit creepy. Hope I pulled that off. The character's name and the visual for some of his powers were inspired by 1976 Horror movie: Squirm. This movie gave me a serious case of heebie jeebies as a kid.

 

For my submission:

 

 

In the interest of disclosure, this is a fan art of a canonical character from another setting but I'm curious what you guys will make of it so I'll reveal that when the winner is selected. If you know it already please hold comments until then.

She is Monkey Wrencher. A martial artist/gadgetear specialising in defeating other villainous gadgetear and hi-tech enemies. In fact, she enjoys both ruining there plans AND taking appear there tech.

[Amorkca]

Tamra Bardsley got her engineering degree two years ago.  But no one was willing to give her the break she needed to work in her chosen field. "Its a Man's world" she kept hearing and that would grate on her bones...

 

Her father had managed to get her a job working in the mines but he was apprehensive, not sure how well she would be accepted among the crew.  She surprised them with her keen wit and willingness to do any of the dirty jobs, showing remarkable strength for the times it was needed and a clever use of leverage when that wasn't enough.

 

The mine collapse was another problem, she was stuck down at the bottom of the tunnel when it had given way, she and 4 other men were trapped.

 

Not giving into panic as the others were she took a deep breath and plunged further into the mine where light from her headlamp revealed a partially obscured gem.  She reached for it and upon touching it, her mind met that of an alien entity.  In fear she fought mind-to-mind thinking it was going to take over her thoughts and steal her body.

 

The entity was benign though and after some time convinced Tamra that it would help her/them to get out and away.  Tamra knew that they were doomed down here and so she accepted the offer for help.  The alien bid her to place the gem on her forehead and her body took on a metallic hue, her wrench was imbued with some type of Primordial power.  She used this power to tunnel out of the mine and to free both herself and her crew.  There was much rejoicing!

 

She decided to use her new found abilities to aid the causes of goodness and light.  Choosing the name Spelunker as her nom-de-guerre.

 

In her first battle with the villain Utility, he said "What kinda name is Spelunker??"  She replied, "Your going to a deep dark place..." Then knocked him out!

[Christopher]

"I was a artificer once. A mage specialising in magical artifacts, bound magic. As artificer items are more powerfull in the hands of a artificer, it does happen that we get called into battle. I had a nemesis once, the necromancer only know as "Kael". We fought many times. Finally I beat him, deep in his cave lair. And then, I died. Not even from the cave collapsing, just simple exhaustion and over-exertion from our battle. Turns out that theory that magic and your lifeforce might be connected might be a solid one.

 

But that was not the end of me, as it should have been. Among the many items I carried, were a few partially finished ones. This little gem in my head was one of them: My Soulstone. As the name implies it saved my soul from going into the afterlife. If there is one. Before you ask: I do not know.

Now because it was a bit experimental, it took me some time to regain consciousnes after death. By that time, my original body had already decomposed.

Now pulling oneself together is never easy. But you would not believe how hard it is if the only material for a body you have is solid rock. It took me I do not know how long to modify enough rock to allow mobility, much less speech. So between being out and having to make myself a new body it was burried some time. Apparently enough that nobod even remembers my nation of origin, much less my nemesis Kael.

 

Of course, being a Necromancer he is back as well and wreaking havoc once more. Apparently some "be able to move while your mortal enemy does" kind of spell. I am not quite sure, Ritual Necromancy is not exactly my area of expertise. So we are fighting again.

And no, I am not going to die in hopes of that "defeating Kael once and for all". I do not trust a thing he says. And I would not bet a piece of lead against this being just a ruse in hopes I kill myself trying to defeat him. Again."

 

Sirianne Thunderstrike was a Artificer mage in a previous age of magic.Then she died. And came back with a body of granite, animated by magic flowing from the soulstone in her "head". Now animating a magically modified stone body is not easy. However her extensive knowlege in the creation of magical items allowed her to streamline the process. The downside is, that she can pretty much not create any new items or use any other form of magic anymore. Also moving the body can exert her magic ability, so she does still tire. So she is stuck with what little survived the cavein.

 

The Goldstaff of Janimakai is one of those items. It allows some basic magical effects, in particular blasts. And it acts as a very effective bludgeon.

Being bereft of her choosen profession - tinkering while creating magical items - but being in a age of technology, she picked up another craft altogether: Mechanic.

While the team vehicle she made seems to have a sliver of her magic and it and seems to perform slighly better with her at the helm, it is largely operating within the laws of non-magical, superhuman physics.

 

She simply goes by the name of Craft nowadays.

[Nothere]

Jack Lagin is a technical genius. So he made a robot to take care of tasks around the house. He built it in the form of an attractive young woman, It worked so well he programed it with tech skills. As a hockey fan he programed it to help him hone his skills. Finally he used it to work on A.I. Then one day he was scanning the newsfeeds, and saw something shocking. His robot was in the streets repairing damage caused by it stopping a bank robber. When it returned home he learned it had decided it wanted to go out into the world to help people and watch hockey games up close. She had built an electrostick and had extendable hockey skates on her boots. She kept it quiet in fear he would dismantle her. Instead he has given Hockeybot his full support

[phoenix240]

Okay, we have four submissions. I'll give it one more day if anyone wants to toss in another and I'm make my choice.  

[death tribble]

Actually five.

[phoenix240]

Actually five.

 

Oops! Sorry! 

[phoenix240]

After a great deal of consideration, I'm going to give it to Craft. My only small quibble is that to match the image more closely Tamara might have constructed her body at least in part of metal ore of some kind, or built a more advanced one later. But that's a nitpick. Good work.

 

And good work to the other submissions with a special mention to Spelunker and Hockeybot, two very unique spins on the concept that I wouldn't have thought of. All of them were quite good and I enjoyed reading them allot. Thanks for offering them up and good luck with your  next submissions! 

 

The illustration is fan arts of an NPC from the Exalted rpg named Lissome Avid Engineer. She is an Alchemical Exalt, a type of artificial lifeform created from magical materials, in her case primarily Starmetal and a substance called Primordial Clay then given full life and awareness by being infused with human souls stored in the gems on their foreheads. In the setting she a crafter and engineer. 

 

Christopher, you're up! 

[Christopher]

The illustration is fan arts of an NPC from the Exalted rpg named Lissome Avid Engineer. She is an Alchemical Exalt, a type of artificial lifeform created from magical materials, in her case primarily Starmetal and a substance called Primordial Clay then given full life and awareness by being infused with human souls stored in the gems on their foreheads. In the setting she a crafter and engineer. 

 

Christopher, you're up! 

I was pretty close the original after all. But once again I got no image to post. So it is up for grabs again.

[phoenix240]

How about this? Since Christopher's Craft won the last round, he can pick the winner if he'd like.