Pittsburgh: City of Champions

[Steve]

Twinkle is a young Boom Girl, aged fifteen. She is surprisingly strong for her size and build (five feet tall and 110 pounds) but with a 25 STR.

 

Her primary powerset is a blinding area effect flash centered on herself that she can emit which she is immune to and a twinkling, lightweight force field just barely strong enough to deflect bullets up to .45 caliber. She can also teleport short distances, which makes her difficult to catch.

 

She will teleport into jewelry stores and steal what she can grab or mug people on the streets.

[SCUBA Hero]

I like REACT! 👍

[Spark]

8 hours ago, Spark said:

 

There were, of course, a number of influences including Stark AND on Edna (from the Incredibles) who those writers were trying to make into a sort of Q from James Bond (but styled her on a costume designer).

 

However, I've used things like this before (although not acronymned REACT since I came up with that this week). Essentially you have a need in super hero games for an armorer. This fills that niche. AND, in our case, it really fits into the city of Pittsburgh as a modern day technical/medical hub.

 

And THAT is the last time I'm posting something from my phone. I can't ever seem to properly proof read. Sorry about that, but I hope you all got the gist of my thoughts.

 

Also, the founder MAY be Reginald Edward Acton (R. E. Acton). He would have had no children but would have sold off the shares and donated many millions to social projects around the city (similar to Andrew Carnegie...which, by the way, is pronounced car-NEG-ee). Carnegie donated mostly to museums and libraries (in fact, founding those systems in Pittsburgh). Acton would have donated to orphanages (which were dismantled by the 70s) and many, many programs to help children (like summer camps and arts programs). This way, nothing existing in the city today would need to be renamed, BUT all kinds of programs and events can be named in honor of this corporate magnate (serving the superhero purposes for our version of Andrew Car-NEG-ee).

[Mark Rand]

Grunt, a Bulldozer type, who thinks he's God's gift to females, might take more damage from a female super than a male one because he doesn't think a female super would hit him.

 

Female super: "Hey, Grunt, do you know the name of the Christmas ballet?"

Grunt: "What are you talking about, Doll?"

Female super: "NUTCRACKER!"  He then gets a punch, kick, or knee to the groin.

Grunt: pained noise before vomiting and passing out.

[Steve]

Fun-Size is an older, tomboyish Boom Girl, almost eighteen. She possesses linked abilities of Shrinking and Density Increase and some added physical enhancements even without her powers on. So the smaller she is, the stronger she is. Her current limit is shrinking to 1/4 her normal height and a 40 STR, but her punches are armor-piercing when at her smallest size from her tiny fists.

 

She liked to fight even before getting her powers, but she enjoys it even more now that she’s gotten limited invulnerability and super-strength.

[Mark Rand]

For a while, Pittsburgh was home to a giant rubber duck sculpture and there were a lot of duck-related merchandise.

 

What if, in the CU, the duck's still there, floating between Roberto Clemente and the Andy Warhol Bridges.  If they were two-leaf bascule drawbridges, the tenders would've made duck-related puns while updating everyone on the duck's status.

[SCUBA Hero]

And what if the duck is some kind of Automaton, waiting for the right time for its controlling master villain or organization to activate it to do who knows what??

[Mark Rand]

The Penguins play at the PPG Paints Arena, which is known as "The Paint Can".

 

One of the staffers is known as "The Ice Princess".  Although she wears an Ice Crew uniform, she isn't a part of the Ice Crew.  Instead, she drives a Zamboni.

 

Edit: She may be part of the Ice Crew, but, except for driving a Zamboni, she does very little on-ice work.

[steriaca]

18 hours ago, SCUBA Hero said:

And what if the duck is some kind of Automaton, waiting for the right time for its controlling master villain or organization to activate it to do who knows what??

The duck is sure to attract the attention of Foxbat.

[Mark Rand]

On 7/13/2022 at 3:56 PM, Mark Rand said:

Great ideas, Spark.  Heinz may still be involved as an associate sponsor, so the catsup bottles might stay.  I loved the video and saved it to my computer.

One of the catsup bottles has been removed.  The other is being removed today.

[Mark Rand]

On 7/15/2022 at 1:00 PM, Steve said:

The Boom Boys (along with nearly as many Boom Girls) are members of a growing network of teenaged street gangs that have somehow acquired a mutagenic serum called “Boom Juice” that awakens superpowers in a very few of those who receive it (in the 200-300 point range for less than 1% of recipients).
 

Nothing much seems to happen to most recipients (90% have a mild improvement no better than a typical VIPER agent), and some die in various horrible ways after taking it (9%). For some reason, it has no effect on anyone too old (over 19) or too young (under 13), so seems to be affected by hormone levels found during puberty.

 

Boomers are a new addition to the street scene and it is unknown if any of them will keep their powers into adulthood or they will fade away as their hormone levels change. It is unknown who is supplying the Boom Juice. Most of them do smash and grab robberies or muggings to get cash.

 

The vast majority of Boomers are physically enhanced types, so tend to be Bricks and Martial Artists along with a few low-level Speedsters. Animal-like powers have also been observed. Some possess energy-based powers with special effects like electricity, fire or cold. None seem to have any mental abilities other than varying degrees of Mental Defense.

 

The gang members are intended to be a low-level villain group for teenaged superheroes to fight. As the superpowered members of the gang gain experience with their abilities, this opposition could continue into adulthood, with some of the gang members becoming full-fledged supervillains.

This could also be an origin for a heroic teen super.

[Steve]

2 hours ago, Mark Rand said:

This could also be an origin for a heroic teen super.

That’s true. It could be an accidental exposure to someone or a gang member goes from villain to hero.

[Spark]

My intent here is NOT to be political. However, this poltical meme really drives home what people in Pittsburgh (even those that MOVED there from outside) think about people with no ties to Pittsburgh. Dr. Oz is running for Senate to represent the entire state of Pennsylvania. He's running against a guy from the Pittsburgh region. AND yes. This image is a stop pic of a guy holding a blank piece of cardboard with the words photoshopped onto it.

 

Oh, and for the record, "Yinz" essentially means the plural "you" as in, "Yinz ready for lunch?" And, those "from" Pittsburgh are often PROUDLY called "Yinzers".

 

[Mark Rand]

Boom is a Boom Boy of average size.  He can create loud booms that can temporally deafen people and shatter glass, thus permitting him to do smash and grab robberies.

 

Edit: Boom usually wears a costume and mask to hide his identity.

[Steve]

Killavolt is a dark-skinned Boom Boy of mixed ancestry who chooses to use a mask and costume to hide his identity. His powers are electrical in nature, and he is able to project lightning bolts as well as shield himself from harm with an electromagnetic force field that is more effective versus ranged attacks than melee. He is able to fly but leaves a trail of electricity that fades quickly.

 

He mainly sticks to small-time robberies and muggings and prefers to work solo.

[Mark Rand]

The state has awarded $7.6 million in grants and loans to the Regional Industrial Development Corporation to help with the redevelopment of the Carrie Furnaces, with the bulk of the money targeted for the creation of a sound stage to bolster the local film industry.

 

Don Smith, RIDC president, said the $3 million grant and $4.6 million loan will help to fund the site preparation, infrastructure, road, parking, and utility work needed to pave the way for the construction of the sound stage.

“We’re extremely confident with this latest award that [state] Sen. [Jay] Costa championed for us that we’ll be in construction next year,” he said.

 

The new building will total about 52,000 square feet and will house two sound stages. They will represent the first sound stages built from ground up in the Pittsburgh region.

 

Dawn Keezer, director of the Pittsburgh Film Office, said old warehouses and other repurposed sites currently are used for sound stages needed for movie and TV productions filmed locally.

 

The project is part of a much broader vision known as the Pittsburgh Film Furnace — a film studio campus that will house six more sound stages, a carpentry shop, production facilities, and others for make-up, wardrobes, and the like.

 

Ms. Keezer said the goal is to bring together at one location much of the filmmaking process in the region, one that is now scattered over multiple sites.

 

“We want to try to centralize all of that,” she said.

 

Both she and Mr. Smith said most of the money is in place for the construction of the first building once the site work and infrastructure have been completed.

 

“We’re ready to go to start bringing jobs to Rankin and Swissvale,” Mr. Smith said. “People are starting to see that it’s real.”

 

[SCUBA Hero]

Very nice!  So which supervillain agency or supervillain mastermind is behind it???

[Mark Rand]

44 minutes ago, SCUBA Hero said:

Very nice!  So which supervillain agency or supervillain mastermind is behind it???

In real life, none, but in a superhero universe, the studio could be a front for any mastermind.  Who knows what they might put in the old blast furnace complex.

[Mark Rand]

The Carrie Furnace site

[Steve]

2 hours ago, Mark Rand said:

The Carrie Furnace site

It looks like the sort of place one of Batman’s enemies might use as a lair.

[Mark Rand]

40 minutes ago, Steve said:

It looks like the sort of place one of Batman’s enemies might use as a lair.

Which one?

 

The bridge closest to the blast furnaces is the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge (also known as the Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35).  It is out of service and it hasn’t seen a train in almost 40 years.  The other bridge is the George Rankin Jr. Memorial Bridge.

[steriaca]

1 hour ago, Mark Rand said:

Which one?

 

The bridge closest to the blast furnaces is the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge (also known as the Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35).  It is out of service and it hasn’t seen a train in almost 40 years.  The other bridge is the George Rankin Jr. Memorial Bridge.

 

Sounds like the perfect place to tie a captured superhero to. Yes, a train hasn't been in service in 40 years...till tonight! Bahahahaha!

[Steve]

3 hours ago, Mark Rand said:

Which one?

 

The bridge closest to the blast furnaces is the Carrie Furnace Hot Metal Bridge (also known as the Union Railroad Rankin Hot Metal Bridge #35).  It is out of service and it hasn’t seen a train in almost 40 years.  The other bridge is the George Rankin Jr. Memorial Bridge.

 

I was looking at the furnace site. It seems like the sort of place that a freak like the Scarecrow or the Joker might use for a lair.

[Mark Rand]

11 hours ago, steriaca said:

Sounds like the perfect place to tie a captured superhero to. Yes, a train hasn't been in service in 40 years...till tonight! Bahahahaha!

In real life, the rails have either been removed, are being removed, or are going to be removed so that it can be used as a vehicle/pedestrian/bicycle bridge.  In the CU, who knows.

[steriaca]

54 minutes ago, Mark Rand said:

In real life, the rails have either been removed, are being removed, or are going to be removed so that it can be used as a vehicle/pedestrian/bicycle bridge.  In the CU, who knows.

The thing is, both can be true because, well, comic books. The train and tracks are out of phase from the normal dimension, this the area is considered "haunted" by a "ghost train".

 

The villain who created it is Bad Baron Blackard, who is rather hi-tech but styles himself like a turn of the last century Robber Baron. He seeks out various properties, and acquires them by hook or by crook. And he has no qualms about what the properties are used for.