Corporate America: The First Infringer

[Durzan Malakim]

This satirical idea pulled an "Occupy Wall Street" on me until I had written it up. Hopefully it's good for a chuckle.

 

If someone else wants to make the next Infringer I suggest Irony Man, an anemic superhero who has to take iron supplements.

 

Corporate America: The First Infringer. 400 Total Points.

A.K.A.  Stefan Rodjurs 

 

BACKGROUND 

Stefan was the first and only recipient of Ayn Rand's super-executive serum developed during the Cold War. While granting him superhuman powers, the serum also caused Stefan to lapse into a coma-like state of suspended animation whenever his personal wealth dipped below the "poverty line" of 1 billion dollars. Starting with Carter's mishandling of the oil economy, Stefan was forced to slumber through several decades of economic downturns. Thanks to his financial manager's shrewd investments in derivative financial products however, he was finally able to awaken in 2008. 

 

APPEARANCE 

Corporate America: The First Infringer stands 6' 7" tall and weighs 220 lbs with Blond hair and Blue eyes. He is the very model of a modern major executive. 

 

PERSONALITY 

Corporate America stands for what is best about this country: greed and wealth. 

 

Wherever there's a shop selling a tie, wherever a new day trader cries, where there's a fight against the board and tear gas in the air, look for Corporate America, he'll be there. 

Wherever there's a sale on downtown land, or an easy job for a lazy hand, wherever corporations tack on a fee, follow the money and you'll see me.  

 

QUOTES 

Supermen need super compensation. 

 

COMPLICATIONS 

Proponent of laissez faire economics. Psychological Complication (Common; Strong). 

Not being paid (Uncommon). Enraged (go 11-, recover 11-). 

Watched by Corporate Sponsors. Hunted (Infrequently; Mo Pow; NCI; PC has a Public ID or is otherwise very easy to find; Watching)  

Personal wealth dips below 1 billion dollars 3d6 damage per Turn. Susceptibility (Uncommon). 

Public ID. Social Complication (Frequently; Minor). 

 

CHARACTERISTICS 

STR 25 14- STR Dice 5d6, Lift 800.0kg 

DEX 28 15- 

CON 25 14- 

INT 10 11- 

EGO 18 13- 

PRE 25 14- PRE Attack 5d6 

REC 12  

PD 5  

ED 5 

STUN 50  

BODY 15  

END 60 

PERCEPTION 11- 

MOVEMENT 

Running 22m (44m) 

Swimming 16m (32m) 

Leaping 16m (32m) 

 

DEFENSE DCV  5 DMCV  3 

Total Physical Defense (PD) 5/25   (Resistant 0/20) 

Total Energy Defense (ED) 5/13   (Resistant 0/8) 

 
Briefcase Block. Resistant Protection (12 PD/8 ED; Protect Carried Items, Usually combined with Block maneuver), Impenetrable, Hardened; OAF, Must Be Aware of Attack, Lockout, Nonpersistent, Gestures.  

A Questionable Property of Questionite. Knockback Resistance -16m (16 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (Questionite Briefcase; -1), Linked (Briefcase Block), Lockout.  

Armani Anti-Ballistic Attire. Resistant Protection (8 PD; Impermeable; 12 Active Points); OIF.  

 

TACTICS 

Corporate America prefers to use legal loop holes to out-compete his opponents in the market, but he's willing to bash people over the head with his Questionite Briefcase for money. 

 

OFFENSE OCV  5 OMCV  3 

Initiative  28 SPD 5 

    on Phases  3, 5, 8, 10, 12 

Attack Roll  16- 

Mental Attack Roll  14- 

 

+3 with Questionite Briefcase attacks 

Briefcase Bash. HTH +5d6 (25 Active Points); OAF, Lockout, HTH; END 2.  

Briefcase-a-rang. Blast 10d6, AOE (16m Line; 62 Active Points); OAF, Restrainable (Can be caught), Lockout, Range Based On Strength; END 6.  

 
 

SKILLS  

Acrobatics 15-  

Acting 14-  

Breakfall 15-  

Bribery 14-  

Bugging 11-  

Bureaucratics 14-  

Charm 14-  

Climbing 15-  

Concealment 11-  

Conversation 14-  

Criminology 11-  

Deduction 11-  

Demolitions 11-  

Disguise 11-  

Fast Draw: Questionite Briefcase 15-  

Forgery (Art Objects, Commercial Goods, Documents, Money (Counterfeiting)) 11-  

Gambling (Board Games, Card Games) 11-  

High Society 14-  

Interrogation 14-  

Inventor 11-  

Lipreading 11-  

Lockpicking 15-  

Mimicry 11-  

Oratory 14-  

Persuasion 14-  

PS: Executive 11-  

Sleight Of Hand 15-  

Stealth 15-  

Streetwise 14-  

Tactics 11-  

Teamwork 15-  

Trading 14- 

 

SKILL LEVELS 

+3 with Questionite Briefcase attacks 
 

LANGUAGES 

English (basic conversation), Corporate Speak (idiomatic) 

 

TALENTS 

Ambidexterity (-2 Off Hand penalty). 

+3/+3d6 Striking Appearance (vs. all characters). 

 

PERKS 

College Chums. Contact: Wall Street (Contact has access to major institutions, Contact has significant Contacts of his own, Contact has very useful Skills or resources), Organization Contact (x3; 15 Active Points) 8-; Contact has access to major institutions and significant Contacts of his own. 

Skull and Bones. Fringe Benefit: Membership; Membership. 

I am the 1%. Money: Filthy Rich. 

 
 

POWERS 

Questionite Briefcase. Multipower (62 pts),  (62 Active Points); all slots OAF, Lockout.  

• Briefcase Block. Resistant Protection (12 PD/8 ED; Protect Carried Items, Usually combined with Block maneuver), Impenetrable, Hardened; OAF, Must Be Aware of Attack, Lockout, Nonpersistent, Gestures. 

• Briefcase Bash. HTH +5d6 (25 Active Points); OAF, Lockout, HTH; END 2. 

• Briefcase-a-rang. Blast 10d6, AOE (16m Line; 62 Active Points); OAF, Restrainable (Can be caught), Lockout, Range Based On Strength; END 6. 

A Questionable Property of Questionite. Knockback Resistance -16m (16 Active Points); OAF Unbreakable (Questionite Briefcase; -1), Linked (Briefcase Block), Lockout. 

Armani Anti-Ballistic Attire. Resistant Protection (8 PD; Impermeable; 12 Active Points); OIF. 
 

 

[Lucius]

Gambling (Board Games, Card Games) 11- [/size] [/size]

Let me guess, he plays Monopoly with real money?

 

Lucius Alexander

 

The palindromedary suspects it's actually counterfeit money

[Cantriped]

For extra Irony, One of Irony Man's superpowers should be Density Increase...

[Cantriped]

Irony Man (aka Matsu Ikari) - Character Brief (Modern)
 

Characteristics (195 CP)
5 STR   10 DEX   36 CON   13 INT   36 EGO   20 PRE
4 SPD   8 OCV   12 DCV   1 OMCV   12 DMCV   2 PD   2 ED
8 REC   40 END   36 STUN   19 BODY
Movement: 12m Running, 4m Leaping, 0m Swimming.
 

Martial Arts (33 CP):
Irony-Fist Style (Defensive Strike, Legsweep, Martial Block, Offensive Strike, +4 DCs). Total Cost: 33 points.

 

Special Abilities (130 CP):
Form of Irony:  Density Increase (800 kg., +15 STR, -6m KB, +3 PD, +3 ED), Zero END (+1/2), Persistent (+1/4) (21 APs) plus Resistant (+1/2) for 5 PD and 5 ED (5 APs) plus Resistant Protection (14 PD/ 23 ED) (55 APs). Total Cost:  81 points.
Note: This power gives Irony Man the defensive characteristics of Heavy Metal Armor (CC 142).
Fist of Irony:  Hand-To-Hand Attack +2d6, Zero END (+1/2) (15 APs); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/4). Total Cost:  12 points.
Will of Irony:  19 Power Defense (19 APs) plus 28 Mental Defense (28 APs). Total Cost:  37 points.
 

Skills, Perks & Talents (27 CP):
Everyman Skills (Modern): Acting 8-, AK (Homeland) 8-, Climbing 8-, Concealment 8-, Conversation 8-, Deduction 8-, Language (Native; Idiomatic, Literacy), Paramedics 8-, Persuasion 8-, PS (Occupation) 11-, Shadowing 8-, Stealth 8-, TF (Small Motorized Ground Vehicles).
Detective Set: Criminology 12-, Deduction 12-, Forensic Medicine 12-, Interrogation 13-, Steetwise 13-. Total Cost: 15 points.
Irony Chef Set: PS (Chef) +3 15-, KS (Foods) +3 15-. Total Cost: 12 points.
 

Complications (85 CP):
Code Versus Killing (Common, Total). Value:  20 points.
Afraid of Water (Common, Moderate). Value:  10 points.
Public Identity (Frequently, Major) Value:  15 points.
Super-Anemia:  Dependence on Iron Supplements (Easy To Obtain; 3d6 Normal Damage, and Powers acquire an 11- Required Roll; 6 Hours). Value:  20 points.
Changes To Form of Irony When Aroused:  Accidental Change (Uncommon, Always). Value:  20 points.
 

Total Character Value: 385 (85) points (15 points unspent).
 

Description: Matsu Ikari was a regular high-school student living as an exchange student in America. His interests included cooking and watching crime dramas. Having been anemic his entire life, he was easily persuaded by Vi-Per Pharma-Corp to take an experimental new iron supplement called Irony-X. Matsu had an irregular reaction to the supplement, giving him the ability to turn into living Steel at will, however it also made him dependent upon the frequent consumption of iron supplements to survive.

[drunkonduty]

Both of them are awesome. (Although I suspect the OP was thinking of an Iron Man piss take, rather than an Iron Fist?)

 

If I may suggest: Irony Man could  spend his last 15 points on Filthy Rich... It goes with the theme.

[Cantriped]

Therein lies an extra layer of irony, you expect him to be a pastiche on Iron Man because of his name, yet he is a pastiche of Iron Fist instead.

I did consider making him filthy rich, but I left the points open because its always good to have a few points to make adjustment with after the first session when you realize what you're build is missing.

 

Next Up!

Black Widower?

An old African American man who practices Necromancy to bring his wife back from the dead, and becomes a superhero in the process...

[Durzan Malakim]

If we're going to infringe, we might as well infringe with all the available properties the comics have provided: Iron Fist included. For me, this is the piece-de-resistance / cherry-on-top / game-winning-play :

 

Changes To Form of Irony When Aroused:  Accidental Change (Uncommon, Always). Value:  20 points.

[Durzan Malakim]

Next Up!

Black Widower?

An old African American man who practices Necromancy to bring his wife back from the dead, and becomes a superhero in the process...

 

I like this concept. Bonus points if Black Widower declares, "I have had it with these mother-loving [plural noun] on this mother-loving [location]!"

[Cantriped]

If we're going to infringe, we might as well infringe with all the available properties the comics have provided: Iron Fist included. For me, this is the piece-de-resistance / cherry-on-top / game-winning-play :

If he were an anime character, he would probably also have Always Walks In On Girls Changing/Bathing: Social Complication (Very Frequent, Minor). But maybe that is just the special effect for why is Accidental Change is a complication at all.

[Durzan Malakim]

If he were an anime character, he would probably also have Always Walks In On Girls Changing/Bathing: Social Complication (Very Frequent, Minor). But maybe that is just the special effect for why is Accidental Change is a complication at all.

 

Or he could go the Ramna route and change into a woman, which would put a whole new spin on the superhero womanizer trope.

[Cantriped]

Gender-Bending is actually a fairly rare/obscure trope in anime compared to Walking In On Girls Naked (or Half-Naked). The latter trop is as common as the "Stuck In An Elevator" style tropes from Western TV Dramas, or the "Ghost Ship" trope from JRPGs.

[Durzan Malakim]

Having failed the EGO roll for my Psychological Limitation to compulsively write-up the silly stuff that pops into my head, I give you one possible Infringers lineup. This one is inspired by the MCU rather than the original comic book source material.

• Corporate America
• Irony Man
• The Black Widower
• The Incredible Sulk
• Baldr
• Eagle Claw
• Termiteatrix
• Crimson Wizard
• Aqua Regia

[drunkonduty]

Okay, I'm gonna need these guys fleshed out a bit more.

I'm not getting the references.

[Cantriped]

Some of them could be obvious pastiches, others could be fake-outs or plays on the name. 

 

Corporate America functions as Captain America, but with a different theme attached to the concept.

Irony Man could have been a pastiche of Iron-Man, but is instead basically the horny version of The Hulk.

The Black Widower could have been a straight pastiche or Black Widow, but that was too obvious, so I opted for a Doctor Strange pastiche in my suggestion.

The Incredible Sulk The obvious pastiche here is The Hulk, but since that is taken, maybe he's a pouty rich-boy with a suit of Powered Armor invented by his father. The Suit can become invisible/camouflage.

Baldr think Thor, only sexier and with some Captain Hammer thrown in: "The Hammer is my penis."

Eagle Claw (I cannot remember of name of the hero this character would be a straight pastiche of in the MCU. However we could break script and steal Hawkman from DC just to throw people off.)

Termiteatrix the obvious pastiche here is Antman. So shrinking and control of termites.

Crimson Wizard the obvious pastiche would be Doctor Strange, but that is 'taken' so perhaps a computer wizard/technopath/gadgeteer

Aqua Regia ​(I'm not sure who this would refer to or be a pastiche of in the MCU, so I'll leave that to more knowledgeable posters)

[Amorkca]

Sub Mariner...

[drunkonduty]

I thought Crimson Wizard might be a gender swapped Scarlet Witch. And Termiteatrix wold also be feminine, so... Wasp?

[Durzan Malakim]

Okay, I'm gonna need these guys fleshed out a bit more.

I'm not getting the references.

 

Here are the mappings I had in mind from the MCU:

• Corporate America infringes on Captain America. 
• Irony Man was meant to infringe on Iron Man, but ended up infringing on Iron Fist as a nice twist.
• The Black Widower infringes on Black Widow. There is a suggestion to make him a voodoo necromancer, which sounds good to me.
• The Incredible Sulk infringes on the Incredible Hulk. What exactly sulk means is open to discussion. Perhaps instead of a rage monster he or she is a self-loathing emo monster.
• Baldr infringes on Thor. He's another Norse god with connections to Loki. He's nigh invulnerable except to mistletoe.
• Eagle Claw infringes on Hawkeye. I just replaced a bird name and a body part with another bird name and another body part. Perhaps this hero is melee-based instead of ranged based?
• Termiteatrix infringes on Ant Man. It's just a fancy way of saying Termite Woman.
• Crimson Wizard infringes on Scarlet Witch. Crimson is another word for Red. Wizard is the male counterpart for Witch. Although infringing on Doctor Strange is fine too. You caught me making two gender swaps in a row in a fit of laziness.
• Aqua Regia infringes on Quicksilver. Quicksilver is an archaic chemical name. Aqua Regia is another archaic chemical name for an acid that can dissolve gold. Aqua regia could be very corrosive in power or personality or both. 

[drunkonduty]

So, what are their... (Ayn) Randian qualities?

 

I would volunteer something but I'm drawing a lot blanks on this topic.

[Durzan Malakim]

So, what are their... (Ayn) Randian qualities?

 

Only Corporate America is an Ayn Rand acolyte, but if you're wondering what glue holds the group together, it could be that Corporate America pays everyone. It's certainly in character for him to compensate for superheroics.

 

I would volunteer something but I'm drawing a lot blanks on this topic.

 

This is all just fun and goofing around. If something grabs you, feel free to run with it. I provided my idea of what a knock-off Avengers group would look like, but you can certainly provide your own alternatives like @Cantriped did with Irony Man.