Create a Hero Theme Team!

[death tribble]

New York State of Mind

 

This mentalist is the third newbie and is having to be instructed in how to be responsible with their powers. She chafes at this but was read the riot act by Tec, Citymaster and Manhattan Skyline for endangering herself and others. She wants to fly like Skydancer and Skyline but cannot. The veterans are trying to get her to be subtle with her powers for example backing up Skyline's powers or merely suggesting that something is a better course of action to an opponent. Saul is guiding her through the mundane showing her how that builds to a solution as something flash can lead to an entire case collapsing.

She is competing with Skydancer for attention as they are the only two women in the team. She has to wear protective clothing as she has no force fields or walls.

 

NT: Hex in the City 

MegaCorp are the backers of this team in their continued quest to raise their own profile. It has taken time to get this off the ground as witchcraft causes a knee jerk reaction COUGHSalemCOUGH. But finally the team is up and running. And their merchandising opportunities are looking good.

Minimum 3 members

At least one Caucasian member and at least one other ethnicity.

All are attractive

They also have to be able to get on with their corporate bosses.

No blatant devil worshipping magic. it annoys the religious bodies and those who promote religion. 

[Quackhell]

Goody Garlick

 

Jessica Nixon is a freelance journalist who writes lifestyle articles about unique aspects of New York City. One of her stories involved interviewing Madame Reyes, a fortune teller. Reyes took a reading with Jessica using Tarot cards and told her she had magic potential. Nixon didn't take this seriously, but she began having recurring nightmares about an evil presence in the city. She contacted Reyes and the mystic showed her how to unleash her untapped connection to the mystical energies of the world. She would eventually battle and defeat the evil she had dreamt of, a demonic entity calling itself Lilitu. She chose the name Goody Garlick after a woman who was accused of witchcraft in 1658 in Easthampton, but was found innocent. She is still training with Reyes to refine and focus her raw talents. She gets along well with MegaCorp liason Mrs Biggs, but the company have pushed her to change her name to something with more pizzazz and marketability.

[death tribble]

The Witch Queen of New Orleans

 

Marie Leveau actually does come from New Orleans. And as the Lady Marmalade song puts it her skin is colour of cafe au lait. MegaCorp were delighted to get her and overjoyed that they secured a rights deal to Redbone's song Witch Queen of New Orleans. She tends to smile brightly as she fires off spells. And her outfits are just about decent while her opponents scream blue murder at her use of magic, her skin colour and the lack of clothes she wears. She does have a sensible side but that is not for public consumption. She understands Cajun, English, French and Spanish. 

[Sundog]

Bruxa dos Selvagens

 

Selvia Oliviera is a mistress of more defensive and subtle magics, though she can sling a hexbolt with the best of them. She actually prefers to use potions and fetishes, which marketing just loves as it makes for more accessories for the action figures. They're less fond of her fairly radical political views, honed in backwoods Brazil, but the "Witch of the Woods", with her fine features, muscular physique and raven-black skin, hits every demographic well save the extreme right -  and they were never going to accept a team of witches anyway. Fortunately, she also gets along well with her teammates. Like Marie, she has a strong linguistic ability, knowing Brazilian Portugese, Spanish, Dutch and accented but clear English.

[death tribble]

Hex It

 

It was not her idea, someone in MegaCorp's Marketing Dept came up with the name. Her name is Chinese and is quite difficult to pronounce in English so she just uses the name she has been given. She understands English and maybe other languages but she will swear (we assume) at people in Chinese, and not just Mandarin, if annoyed by the actions of other. She uses effects that would not seem out of place in Chinese action cinema. To the disgust of some, and admittedly the annoyance of the Chinese government, she involves herself in thwarting the people smuggling trade from Chinese territories, stopping the ivory trade, highlighting illegal Chinese medical practices and backing Tibetan independence from China. Her signature work is to do with firework effects which can deafen, entrance and blind opponents. She has become interested in the Chinese Zodiac teams and what they are up to.

Her costumes tend to display a lot of leg but they also accentuate her figure. The others tend to ask her Yes/No questions which she ca nod or shake her head to

 

We have exceeded the minimum so if anyone wants to start a new team you can.

[Sundog]

The Peacekeepers

 

National governments have superteams, why shouldn't international bodies? Funded by and operating for the UN, The Peacekeepers primarily work as a support element to UN peacekeeping forces throughout the world. They're distinct from UNTIL in that their fundamental purpose is not to enforce any sort of law, and they are restricted to peacekeeping duties and humanitarian actions by often highly limiting rules of engagement. 

5 or so person team, recruited from around the world. For political reasons they avoid having members from the USA, Russia or China.

[death tribble]

Sanctuary

 

This woman who comes from Switzerland is one of the oddest paranormals in the world. She can create a safe space around her that no force or person can penetrate. She can thus reach a wounded person and evacuate them from hostile forces. She is a committed pacifist and this duty suits her just fine as she can confront armed aggression and demonstrate the power of mercy. She rarely talks but is a skilled medic. She can understand English, French, German and Italian although it is not clear what her native language is. It is known that she volunteered to join the United Nations. 

 

Edited December 2, 2023 by death tribble

[Hermit]

Crooked Mick (Actual name Archie Green) took his handle from a Folklore giant of a man from his native Australia's tall tales. His power isn't nearly so fanciful. He can grow to forty feet tall, gaining great strength and endurance, but a side effect of the shift in size is that his features become far less symetrical, causing him to lurch (Though with his long strides he still moves faster walking than some men sprinting) and making his face just ODD looking as well as less attractive. That said, he's a good looking fella when at his normal 1.78 Meters with an easy going smile. Some mistake him for a rough around the edges chest thumper but in truth, he's got a brilliant mind with a deep education in archetecture and civil engineering. More than once, that knowledge has allowed him to shore up a crumbling building long enough for people to get out. He also is a fair swimmer, having  dived into flood zones and acted as a human life boat.

[Hermit]

Ruby of Fire
Kyra Azar is a pyrokinetic from Iran. She cannot create fire, only control it, but that control is wide spread. Because of this, she is almost always on missions involving wildfires and the like, for she can, with a brief moment of concentration, snuff out it out over a square kilometer! She much prefers that to making fire hotter, or using it as a weapon for she's a gentle soul.
Despite her power, or perhaps because of it, Kyra has some problems. She finds her own home government oppressive, and is often torn between protesting it and risking her family being hunted down or imprisoned, or defecting, and risking the same. To placate the government and not make a fuss, she dresses in a hijab, though she sympathizes with those who have spurned it. Unbeknownst to most, she is also in a lesbian relationship with an American UNTIL agent who is not a believer (Which is a triple offense to some). Were this to be found out, it would certainly mean her forced return to Iran, or put all she loves at risk.

[death tribble]

The Gardener

 

From Japan this man is skilled in botany and more importantly the control of plants. Whether he escape the infamous Garden of Earthly Delights where plants and humans are experimented on is unknown but for reasons unknown he cannot go back to Japan. He is also not welcome in China because he's Japanese. He can 'talk' to plant life and get it to aid people by loosing its hold on them or making it easier for others to get to people in distress. Also very useful when facing a plant controller or sentient plants. He is rather pudgy for an Oriental and maybe not surprisingly a meat eater. He speaks several European languages like English and Spanish which makes him a boon across a lot of the world.

[Hermit]

Goldcrest
Princess Charlotte Adélaïde is of the royal family of the House of Luxembourg-Nassau, a bearer of powered armor which she uses to aid the Peacekeepers in their humanitarian endeavors. Exactly who made this armor for her is unknown, but it is a work of art, borrowing designs from the National bird of Luxembourg, so it had lovely golden highlights in feather like designs and glittering extendable wings of great elegance.
The armor is not just for show. She can achieve great speeds in it, and while not as strong as Crooked Mick at his full height, the exo-skeleton can lift a lot. She has a sonic burst built in that can be used for combat, but is more often used to tunnel through debris to rescue those trapped in landslides and quakes before she flies them out to safety. It is also extremely agile with an amazing sensorary array. The government of Luxembourg refuses to divulge where the suit , which is as good as such as Defender's  or Anklyosaur's (Though behind Iron Ronin) or better, came from. Some say the government won't share, because the government doesn't know!  
The most outrageous rumor is that that the royal family of the constitutional monarchy of Luxembourg was approached by aliens  who decided they would do to speak for all of Earth Kind. If Charlotte can prove a true hero to the planet over the next few years, Luxembourg will be given some great uplift. Maybe faster than light engines, maybe food replicators, or even something greater!
It's unlikely this is so, but IF it is? No pressure.

 

[death tribble]

That's five, new team Hermit ?

[Hermit]

The Hatband aka the Mad Hatters

(A tribute to Oddhat)

 

The mysterious man in the flea market sold hats. None of which were the same sort of hat. He also seemed awfully picky about who which hat went to. Five people of decent enough nature ended up getting a hat. Only to find that after an hour of wearing it, the hat bonded to them, empowered them, and in some cases transformed them greatly!

Pick a type of hat (Be it Derby/Bowler, Tophat, Trilby, Cowboy, Fedora, Beret, or whatever) for your character as part of their costume. Each hat grants different powersets. This is not a Focus, but rather an Only in Hero ID (Or Alternative ID to use the 6th ED term) effect. The hats can't actually be taken away from our heroes, at least not for long. Each hat also seems to encourage heroism, and, on a smaller scale, influences the personality of their wearer in lesser ways while in that hero ID. Perhaps each is merely revealing what was always inside.

 

There are at least four members. Maybe up to six.

[Rich McGee]

And now I'm having childhood nightmare flashbacks to Liddsville.  Great.

 

Opera Knight  

 

Wears a black silk opera hat (that's a collapsible top hat for those unfamiliar with the term), domino mask and tuxedo, carries a weighted walking stick (an OAF).  His outfit is strangely resistant to damage, staining, and provides a bonus to slipping out of entangles as well as offering some minor resistant defense.  A competent martial artist with a specialty in both stick-fighting and dealing out non-lethal damage (killing attacks are so gauche) and decent leaping and running speeds.  High PRE, an excellent singing voice and impeccable manners.  Has a couple of tricks up his sleeves in the form of a small sonic multipower ("This?  Oh, I learned this from a lead tenor in Rome.") that includes a small NND, an AoE vocal communications jammer, and a temporary PRE boost.  Flicking the brim of his hat also lets him use a few levels of Growth or Shrinking.  Probably too many gimmicks to be really feasible in a world of mini-maxing, but at least he's got style.

 

Absolutely despises cloaks and capes ("I didn't wear this tux so I could cover it up.") and has never thrown a rose at anyone in his life ("That's absurd, do you think this is a cartoon or something?"). 

 

His civilian name is Anthony "Tony" Gibus (soft "g" there), and while he is a classical music fan he couldn't carry a tune with a wheelbarrow sans his hat.  Similarly, he teaches self-defense courses as his day job, but his base martial arts skills are weak when not acting as Opera Knight.  And yes, he has Instant Change, or whatever it's turned into since 4th.

  

Edited December 11, 2023 by Rich McGee

[Quackhell]

Hardboiled Harry

 

A battered black fedora changed it's wearer, Sam Nicholas, into a gruff and world weary detective. He is constantly disheveled in a stained trenchcoat and cheap suit. He spouts monologues that are complete cliches about dangerous dames and goons looking to outfit him with cement shoes or give him permanent lead poisoning. He isn't impervious to attacks, and is often roughed up and knocked out cold, but his injuries are always minor and he bounces back quickly, usually after a stiff shot of bourbon. He can scrap with best of them, throwing haymakers or blasting away with his .45, but he has a serious weakness for femme fatale type villains.

[Hermit]

Framboise
Eleanor Harris used to doodle, heck, she used to draw. When she was a girl, she thought about becoming an artist. Her parents gave polite lip service to her skills then, but as she got into high school they figured it was time to bring her down to earth. Art would not sell. Choose something more sensible, more logical, that they'd always need. Maybe accounting like dad, or insurance like mom.
So Ellie put aside her dreams, and did the logical sensible thing. The cautious thing. Two years community college, then the most economical college she could find for her finishing bachelor while she did her job in a cubicle. Don't stick your neck out. Don't make waves. The tallest nail gets hammered first, after all.
It is all safe, practical, secure, and oh so bland. Then? Just last month, she did something she hadn't done in years. She gave into a whim. It was a raspberry beret, the kind you hear about in old 80s songs or imagine on some French girl touring Paris. The sort that looks artsy, and even borderline rebellious. She bought it.
And when she put it on, her world was changed forever. The beret gave her a whole new wardrobe, and more than that, the ability to create flowing artistic force constructs of raspberry hue! Now she finger paints forcewalls , she gestures art nouveau entangles, she makes bold strokes of energy blasts! She also finds herself faking a pretty good French accent as she gives into a new found artistic temperament where she supeheroes HER way. Or is it the hat's way? It's scary, it's exciting, and it's fun.
She's not sure she can stay at her boring cubicle for long.

 

[Rich McGee]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

Framboise

Winner, most awesome theme song.  Which is saying something, considering some of the operas out there. 

[Hermit]

Anyone else got another in em? We only have to go up to four

[death tribble]

Soldier of the Empire

 

Benny Perkins was never the most physically fit boy and he never got to play the more energetic games including dodge ball. Denied entry into the scouts and other organisations he lost himself in films and stories. He became very interested in the British military tradition as the American Civil War had too much to do with slavery and the War of Independence just did not appeal. Maybe it was the fact that he saw the film Zulu and so when he saw a pith helmet, he had to have it. Now when he puts on the hat he transforms into a physically fit adult NCO type such as Colour Sgt Bourne from the film Zulu.

He will have full uniform and usually a rifle possibly with a bayonet and be able to fight effectively with them. He is not the leader of the group but is a very effective soldier.  

[Hermit]

Mind Wrangler

Before there was Clint Eastwood style cowboys in film, heck, before there was John Wayne, there was the singing Cowboy. Now rarely mentioned save as the subject of much parody and what some might call satire. Well, had scrawny Peter Billington but know that the cowboy hat he was trying on was more than your standard bit of Texas habberdashery, he might have just left it plumb where it lay. Soon enough he was transforming left and right to a singing cowboy hero folks to calling 'the Mind Wrangler'. He likes to sing and serenade his foes with powerful warbling ballads causing them to dance along, or mayhaps take a little siesta. Course, he can't talk what northern city folk would call 'normal' like this. Even if he manages not to sing, which is not easy, he still has a sweet western tone known to make the cows happy and the ladies all aflutter. Most feared of his powers is up to debate, but folks sure do not take a cotton to his form of telepathy. See, he don't just read your thoughts, no, the power in that hat makes one sing out your secrets for all to hear! To be fair, something in it makes you better than you'd normally be at the singing, but still, not many a desperado like confesses in a falsetto fashion bout his nefarious plans, or how he's pretty sure his mistress is  flirting with his no account henchmen on the side. Poor Peter comes along for the ride on these adventures, and is having a harder and harder time not helping those in need. You see, it's a white cowboy hat, and sure is tender hearted.

 

(Next person can do another hat then pick a new concept for another hero team, or just pick another hero team and skip the hat)

 

 

[Rich McGee]

1 hour ago, Hermit said:

Mind Wrangler

Clearly a natural ally of Opera Knight, even if he's dressed kind of funny for the Grand Ole Opry House.  Johnny Cash is a classical singer even if he doesn't sing all European-like, y'know.   

[death tribble]

One plea.

No holiday themed teams as we have done this several times in the hero and villain teams.

[death tribble]

The Gent

 

John Reynolds was the kind of guy whose life seemed to pass by. He also had a limp. He tried on a bowler and was transformed into a man reminiscent of John Steed in the Avengers TV series. He can fight with the stick which transformed into an umbrella. He became debonair and able to disable someone with hand to hand combat with or without the umbrella. He was also able to operate like a secret agent.

 

New Topic:  The Enemies of the Villainous Mr Speed

The speedster Mr Speed has amassed quite a list of enemies, name and detail them.

Minimum 5

These are heroic versions of The Flash's Rogue's Gallery like Captain Cold, Heatwave, Mirror Master, Golden Glider, Gorilla Grodd, Rainbow Raider, The Trickster, Weather Wizard, Abra Kadabra and Golden Glider abd the like.

[Rich McGee]

So, kind of dopey gadget-gimmick villains, only as heroes fighting an evil Flash?  Well, okay...

 

The Crimebusting Cameraman

An comic-science hero who started out in the early Silver Age with a photography & cinematography schtick.  The effectively magical custom film he uses lets him do things like freeze targets in time if can focus on them (tricky on a speedster), capture a foe on film with a longer exposure, duplicate images that he's already caught on film and developed, teleport within sight by "zooming in" or push things away by "zooming out" and similar silliness.   He can also project prepared images - still or moving - that act as terrain or minions but moving ones don't last long as they're just short clips.  Many of his best tricks only show up once and are never mentioned again, so the writers are constantly having to come up with new gimmicks for him to use.  Technology marches on so he upgrades to video, new media and digital FX over time, eventually becoming a de facto reality shaper in the 2020s using his phone for minor effects and more professional gear for big stuff like throwing legally-distinct kaiju at villainous giant robots and the like.  Various creators play around with him doing 4th wall breaking comedy over the years with dubious results.  He's a bit of a joke character at best and never, ever gets his own book or a role on anything but short-lived comedy teams.  Only a mix of nostalgic and satirical creators keep him showing up in print, although it's mostly his legacy as an early part of Mr. Speed's foes' gallery that most people know him for. 

 

His civilian identity goes from freelance newspaper photographer to investigative journalist to location scout to indie filmmaker to God of YouTube and then Tik-Tok over the years without once managing to feel like a real character.

[Quackhell]

Ape Alexander The Simian Samaritan 

 

Mr. Speed found he could alternate his vibrational frequency to travel to alternate versions of Earth. On one of these trips he discovered a planet where apes evolved from men! He was able to fool the intelligent apes that he was a hero and befriended the scientist Alexander. Speed proceeded to steal advanced technology from Alexander's lab. Upon discovering this betrayal Alexander created a portal that allowed him to travel to Speed's Earth. After some awkward encounters he was able to explain himself to the citizens of Midville. He quickly became a thorn in Mr. Speed's side as he fought him to regain his stolen tech. He soon grew found of this new world and was accepted as a hero with the press giving him a name to match his charitable character. He is a hyper intelligent scientist who has a wide array of inventions and gadgets that help with crime fighting, but also in providing Midville with advanced technology for general use.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Quackhell