Starlord Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 I've been designing a 'theme-based' superteam recently, and I've decided use the Project: Sunburst material from the gamebooks. You might be aware that was a secret government project involving military personnel used as guinea pigs with nuclear power. A couple villains have come from its origins. My idea is that the secret base where the personnel who are still living (all in comas) has recently been moved to Millenium City. However, the weird energies produced have now been detected by Dr. Silverback. In brief, he investigates and the secret is blown wide open. In the ensuing chaos, seven new superhumans awake (or possibly, Dr. Silverback is able to awaken them later). Eventually, they form a group with Dr. Silverback as their mentor. We now have seven basically good people, who are dealing with losing many years of their lives, betrayed by members of their government, and they also have superpowers. The members of SUNBURST are: Corona - female w/ plasma/heat energy powers Dash - female speedster Geo - male w/ Earth-powers, probable leader Icestar - male w/ Ice powers and bad attitude Powerhouse - male brick w/ narcissistic streak Psyche-Out - female mentalist Shade - male w/ shadowy energy powers I'm currently trying to develop distinct personalities and specific problems for each of them. They will all be superior physically in many ways (on top of their powers) such as quick healing, somewhat stronger and faster than normal, physically they will be unaffected by their long years spent in a coma. Remember that they are all former military (in some capacity or another). They will have family ties to rediscover, probably distinct weaknesses. These will be heroes trying to find their way in an almost new world. Anyway, I'm looking for some possible suggestions as to their background and things they will have to deal with early on. Geo will probably be the level-headed, natural leader-type, but he will have a confidence problem, etc. Well, any help would be appreciated. PS: I've designed each member with Heromachine 2 already and I'll probable post them all over the next few days depending on how many people respond. Here's Corona: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 VERY cool. I always liked the idea of Project Sunburst experiment myself. If I might further suggest for Geo? Instead of simply a general confidence problem, have him make him blame himself for not seeing the 'obvious ruse' when he lead his squad on this 'training excercise' . Make him a Tactical Genius (I'm thinking Captain America potiential here), maybe even going so far as to give him something like Combat Skill levels, usable by others (With Incantation limitation as he barks orders?) Dash sounds like the communications specialist to me, Dash not just in speed, but old Morse Code. Naturally, the codes she worked with were a bit more complex Maybe she tries to keep the team together, not just information wise, but supporting each member and helping shore up the unity of it even as Geo takes the lead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Starlord, have you seen Sunburst, Ray and Radium? They were the three villains most widely thought of when mentioning Project: Sunburst. Of course, they were in Enemies I and later, Classic Enemies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 So I like the thread, sue me Other thoughts: Corona - female w/ plasma/heat energy powers: Traditionally, heat characters have a temper. Why not take a suggestion from the 'breaking archetypes' thread, and instead have Corona be very cool, and profesional and anti flamboyant. Maybe she can indeed create protective plasma fields and fly around, but she prefers to pick her targets professionally and with detachment. I do not know if there are many (any) female snipers in our armed forces, but if so, maybe she's one of them. That or she worked with artilery. Personality wise for her, I suggest under her veneer of professionalism, you have her be the reluctant hero. When she uses her powers, most of her clothes would burn away (thank goodness for Silverback's costume) and she feels like a damn freak. She's not willing to admit that too much to anyone, she's not the sort to whine. Icestar - male w/ Ice powers and bad attitude- Okay, WHY does he have a bad attitude? My thoughts are, maybe he's lost the most. His wife, assuming he is dead; married another man. He only joined up for the scholarship, and now his once promising road to success is history. His past is gone, and he feels he has no future. Powerhouse - male brick w/ narcissistic streak- My suggestion? Powerhouse was one of those guys who was always 'this close' to being drummed out for weight problems or not maintaining standards. He was a homely guy to boot. Out of all of them, the change is the most advantageous. Now he's super strong, nigh invulnerable, and damn good looking! Finally given a chance to be something more than the chief of supplies for his unit, he's emulating the jocks and alpha types he so envied before because he figures that's what he is now, and needs to act the part. Someone may have to tell him to get overhimself soon. Psyche-Out - female mentalist Psy Ops is not a fast track to promotion in most branches of the military. Psyche Out was quiet, but personable. Now, however, she has mental powers to go along with the understanding of psychology, motivation techiques and so forth. Likely, she loves her powers, but is also afraid of them. It's very tempting to see just how much of what she knows is right. If she's not careful, she may start seeing normal people, her super powered foes, and to some degree, even her team, as case studies. Shade - male w/ shadowy energy powers Despite the dark and fierce appearance of his powers, Shade could have been a medic of some sorts, unafraid to charge into a battle zone to save a life, but glad he wasn't in the infantry where taking them was manditory. He therefore is the conscience of the team, quick to remind the others that they are not in a warzone, and killing is NOT okay. He is seriously considering getting back in touch with his parents and family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 1 note: Granted, the Project: Sunburst back story is classic "comic book military", complete with an apparantly autononmous despotic general with a vast unsupervised budget to blow on human experimentation projects , but even with all that aside is it really appropriate to have a squad of former soldiers comprised of 3 women and 4 men? Though political correctness and empowerment indicates otherwise, Women are still a minority within the armed forces, and are not allowed in combat roles. More importantly, they are somewhat sheltered. There are a few hard charging badass women in the service, but most women in the service work admin or support jobs. The end result is I have a hard time seeing the perpetrators of Project: Sunburst experimenting on women soldiers. But hey, its already far-fetched enough and the comics have always totally ignored the way the real world military actually works, so it probably doesnt matter in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SirViss Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 "The end result is I have a hard time seeing the perpetrators of Project: Sunburst experimenting on women soldiers." I would say it depends on there line of thinking. The purpose of the experiment was to see if they could actively create superpowered individual. Somebody on the staff might have mentionned that"We don't know if the sex of an individual might affect the test?" "Okay then, try to get some women..." of course you don't really need an explanation. Like you said, its a comic book world... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by SirViss Snip Love the quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Thanks K.S., I didn't recall if the non combat only jobs thing still held. There's also the classic comic book bits where someone who isn't supposed to be there ends up there for some reason. Come to think of it, can you imagine a peace protester who somehow got that fair in suddenly getting in the blast? Maybe a female officer discovered what the project was really for, and tried to drive out to warn the soldiers off the field; un aware they'd moved the time table up already. Boom. Nosey reporters are good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted August 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by Killer Shrike 1 note: Granted, the Project: Sunburst back story is classic "comic book military", complete with an apparantly autononmous despotic general with a vast unsupervised budget to blow on human experimentation projects , but even with all that aside is it really appropriate to have a squad of former soldiers comprised of 3 women and 4 men? Though political correctness and empowerment indicates otherwise, Women are still a minority within the armed forces, and are not allowed in combat roles. More importantly, they are somewhat sheltered. There are a few hard charging badass women in the service, but most women in the service work admin or support jobs. The end result is I have a hard time seeing the perpetrators of Project: Sunburst experimenting on women soldiers. But hey, its already far-fetched enough and the comics have always totally ignored the way the real world military actually works, so it probably doesnt matter in the long run. Actually, I never really took it specifically as experimentation on combat soldiers, just members of the military taken from all branches tricked into being used as guinea pigs. Being former military myself, I have met many in the services who don't necessarily want anything to do with combat. It's possible that one or a couple of these new heroes are very hesitant about combat. Something new to add to one of their personalities. PS- Here's Dash: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermit Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by Starlord PS- Here's Dash: Huh... the pic of her is nice, but it doesn't jiggle or anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 OMG! Dash is secretly The Dazzler in Disguise! "Very clever" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by Starlord Being former military myself Which branch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enforcer84 Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 If I recall the story correctly the original team was taken from boot camp, they hadn't been trained in anything yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by Enforcer84 If I recall the story correctly the original team was taken from boot camp, they hadn't been trained in anything yet. Well, "boot camp" aka Recruit Training or Basic Training is, as the proper name suggests, actually training..... Dopes. They should have taken new recruits and nuked em BEFORE they paid for all that training.....um....I mean...."thats so wrong"...... Leave it to the Army Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted August 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by Killer Shrike Which branch? AF Combat Comm., wounded in Gulf War, cross-trained into Intel. Served from 88-98, proud veteran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starlord Posted August 5, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Re: So I like the thread, sue me Originally posted by Hermit Other thoughts: Corona - female w/ plasma/heat energy powers: Traditionally, heat characters have a temper. Why not take a suggestion from the 'breaking archetypes' thread, and instead have Corona be very cool, and profesional and anti flamboyant. Maybe she can indeed create protective plasma fields and fly around, but she prefers to pick her targets professionally and with detachment. I do not know if there are many (any) female snipers in our armed forces, but if so, maybe she's one of them. That or she worked with artilery. Personality wise for her, I suggest under her veneer of professionalism, you have her be the reluctant hero. When she uses her powers, most of her clothes would burn away (thank goodness for Silverback's costume) and she feels like a damn freak. She's not willing to admit that too much to anyone, she's not the sort to whine. Icestar - male w/ Ice powers and bad attitude- Okay, WHY does he have a bad attitude? My thoughts are, maybe he's lost the most. His wife, assuming he is dead; married another man. He only joined up for the scholarship, and now his once promising road to success is history. His past is gone, and he feels he has no future. Powerhouse - male brick w/ narcissistic streak- My suggestion? Powerhouse was one of those guys who was always 'this close' to being drummed out for weight problems or not maintaining standards. He was a homely guy to boot. Out of all of them, the change is the most advantageous. Now he's super strong, nigh invulnerable, and damn good looking! Finally given a chance to be something more than the chief of supplies for his unit, he's emulating the jocks and alpha types he so envied before because he figures that's what he is now, and needs to act the part. Someone may have to tell him to get overhimself soon. Psyche-Out - female mentalist Psy Ops is not a fast track to promotion in most branches of the military. Psyche Out was quiet, but personable. Now, however, she has mental powers to go along with the understanding of psychology, motivation techiques and so forth. Likely, she loves her powers, but is also afraid of them. It's very tempting to see just how much of what she knows is right. If she's not careful, she may start seeing normal people, her super powered foes, and to some degree, even her team, as case studies. Shade - male w/ shadowy energy powers Despite the dark and fierce appearance of his powers, Shade could have been a medic of some sorts, unafraid to charge into a battle zone to save a life, but glad he wasn't in the infantry where taking them was manditory. He therefore is the conscience of the team, quick to remind the others that they are not in a warzone, and killing is NOT okay. He is seriously considering getting back in touch with his parents and family. Whoa. Thanks for all the cool suggestions, Hermsey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killer Shrike Posted August 5, 2003 Report Share Posted August 5, 2003 Originally posted by Starlord AF Combat Comm., wounded in Gulf War, cross-trained into Intel. Served from 88-98, proud veteran. Cool. I did 5 years USMC, also in Intel (0231 Intel Specialist) 93-98, also a disabled veteran. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCoy Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 So who among the official Champions characters have a Project Sunburst origin? Armadillo, Gigaton, Radium, Ray, Sunburst, any others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 AFAIK so far Radium, Armadillo and Gigaton are the only ones mentioned as having a P:S origin since 5E came out. Sunburst and Ray are not official parts of the new Champions Universe at this time, although when an earlier poster inquired as to whether these characters exist in the current CU, Steve replied that they "don't exist - yet." That may imply that Steve has some future plans in mind for them, or is simply keeping the option to use them open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
death tribble Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 Well I use the pic of Gigaton from Day of the Destroyer and there is something suggestive in the face of that pic that says woman to me. The pic of Gigaton in Crooks, Killer etc is a man definitely. The pic of Gigaton from Crooks I am using as the 5th edition of Sunburst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Arrow Posted December 8, 2003 Report Share Posted December 8, 2003 I haven't really thought about the others at all, but I've come up with some other possible explanations for why Icestar has a bad attitude 1. He isn't especially immune to the effects of cold. It's always a bit of a cliche in comics that someone is almost always invulnerable (or at least highly resistant to) the form of energy he creates. It doesn't have to be like that though. Icestar might have a bit of extra Armour, or whatever vs cold only, but that's it. And he hates being cold. 2. He is permanently generating low levels of cold. People perceive this and view him as emotionally cold, or perhaps it makes it difficult for him to have relationships. When he kisses a girl, shivers run down her spine, but not in a good way. This is likely to make him bitter. An alternative is that he can barely stand room temperature and prefers to be somewhere much colder. This obviously narrows down his lifestyle choices (a bit like a less extreme version of Mr. Freeze, perhaps). 3. Just as heat using characters may be hot-headed, perhaps Icestar really is cold-hearted, not just viewed as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Cadet Posted December 9, 2003 Report Share Posted December 9, 2003 I'm one of those who also likes the idea of Project: Sunburst being a source of superhero origins. AAMOF, one of the ideas I'm currently working on is for a superheroine called Lady Cobalt, who would not only have her powers as a result of the Project, but be a civilian as well. Also, because of the radiation- based nature of her powers, she has to wear a special con- tainment suit to keep from poisoning others with her radiation (it's not a total-coverage suit like Radium's; her head is exposed, but she does wear a polarized visor to disguise her face). I don't have much beyond this at this time, unfortunately. Space Cadet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrosshairCollie Posted December 10, 2003 Report Share Posted December 10, 2003 Hmmm ... interesting stuff! I've got a pet villain team I've had for a while that were survivors of Project Sunburst, and it's interesting to see how different people can take different plot threads and run with 'em. I must admit, though ... I like these guys more than my take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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