Day One Challenge!

[Pattern Ghost]

OK, here's the challenge: Stat out ssome supers as they FIRST appeared. In their first issue. No XP added on. I would have said "Year One," but let's not allow any mutation into this at all. A lot can happen in a year. Let's look at first, maybe second or third, issues.

 

I have in front of me Superman From the 30's to the 80's. which has a reprint of the first Superman, so let's start with him!

 

Ok, the cover shows Supes in the classic car over the head pose. It looks pretty big, no logo. Let's assume it's a current year car. So, looking around on Google, the average weight of a similar car seems to be around 1.5 to 2 tons. This one looks on the heavy side, so let's round up to a good 2 tons.

 

Opening page: Superbaby's rocket blasts off, gets found, he gets adopted after astounding the staff of the "orphan asylum." Not much to see here, exept to note that Ma Kent is named "Mary" not Martha. (Note: The intro to the book erroneously states that the Kents didn't get first names until later. Obviously, Mary was named right off the bat.)

 

Next page, we get a rundown on his physical feats:

 

"As the lad grew older, he learned....that he could hurdle skyscrapers." Shows a pic of a maybe jr. high aged Clark leaping over some buildings. The Empire State Building was built in 1930-31 and is 1250 feet tall, so let's just say he can jump over it, for the sake of argument.

 

"...leap an eighth of a mile..." He can get distance that is probably out of proportion game-wise to his height. We'll have to do the math on that one.

 

"...raise tremendous weights..." Shown with another 1930's sedan overhead.

 

"...Run faster than a streamline train.." Top speed for a Streamline Train circa 1938. about 126 mph, top operating speed, about 90 mph. (http://www.o-keating.com/hsr/mallard.htm)

 

"...and nothing less than a bursting shell could penetrate his skin..." Shown smarting off to a doctor about his needles breaking. Not doing much for his secret ID in this panel. Let's see, a bursting shell is probably closest to a Howitzer Shell, Fred p. 333, which is 5d6K Explosion, loses 1DC/2 hexes. The Howitzer came out in 1937, so it's the high tech of the day. So, let's say that less than that is about a 3.5d6 exploding rka. His skin can totally block that by this reasoning, so he'd have at least 21 resistant defense.

 

3rd to last panel, the Kents croak. Clark decides to go be a hero. Last panel shows him in the air, arms kind of bent in a leapy way. Then the story starts.

 

Clark applies for a job at the Daily Star, gets rejected after his brilliant interview statement, "I know I haven't had any experience sir, but still, I think I'd make a good reporter." The Editor tells him to take a hike. So, no whoopdie-do brilliant journalist welcomed with open arms here. Just Clark, about to go get a story with brute force. Let's just say by the end of the story, he's managed to sell a story, so he probably has earned an 8- PS: Reporter.

 

So, after being rejected for the job, he jumps up the side of the building and spies on the Editor, while crouching on the ledge. (Sounds like Spidey without the stealthy wall-crawling, doesn't it?) He learns about an in progress mob attack on the county jail, and leaps on over there.

 

Looks like a lynching in progress. The "crowd" is depicted with six figures in the scene at the most. There are presumably more, just not on screen. A guy who can lift a couple of tons over his head is probably strong enough to dispese thes guys. Remember, in Hero terms, he's going to be rated on a max deadlift, not a clean and snatch (with throw, now less), so at this point, his Hero STR is probably four or five tons on a dead lift. (Double that to ten with a push, and he's looking more and more like a bush league spidey...)

 

So, he proceeds to find out the guy who was going to be lynched is innocent. He mostly accomplishes this by thuggery, threats of physical violence and dumb luck. He's not real bright. In the process of breaking the case over the next few cases, he:

 

• Snatches a gun off of a normal female. "Out darts Superman's hand at terrific speed."
  
• Breaks a door down.
  
• Carries a guy overhead in one hand.
  
• Tears off a steel door. (Don't ask me why the governer has a steel door.) Let's say that's about a "Metal Fire Door" worth. 5 def/5 body. He did it easily, so his base STR is at least capable of averaging 10 body, or 50 STR.
  
• Gets shot with a revolver.
  

 

He gets the scoop, and the job!

 

Then he responds to a domestic, and a guy breaks a knife on his skin and faints. He was quite merrily beating the tar out of the wife beater, and seems a bit disappointed that the guy fainted on him.

 

Then he goes out with Lois and some thugs cut in on them. He does the wimp act, and they later kidnap Lois. He outruns the car. This is the scene from the cover, but the first panel of the car lift shows it as a one-handed lift. So, the 50 STR seems even more right. Shakes the bad guys out of the car one-handed (Lois is IN the car, still, but doesn't fall out...guy has SEVERAL dice of DUMB luck working for him). He does a jumping around tour with the leader, and then with Lois.

 

Next assignment, he goes to Washington DC instead of San Monte, as he was told to (to do some war correspondance). He does some spying in DC, using the same method of leaping to a window and crouching on it, listening in. No super senses here, just listening at the window. Does lots more leaping.

 

So, what does that net us?

 

I get:

 

50 STR (at least)

Over an 8 DEX. Probably over NCM level, too.

20 or so rPD, probably equal ED.

Average to Low INT.

Several dice of Luck.

Psych Limit: Prefers Violent Solutions.

No CVK

No DNPC Kents

Possible DNPC Lois.

FAM with PS: Reporter 8-.

Leap 1/8 mile across, 1250 feet upward.

Run over 125 mph.

Some offensive PRE.

 

Now, we're told he's smart in subsequent stories, but he usually solves things by dumb luck, bad logic, or brute force and intimidation. But, we can't expect the writers to be as clever as Superman, can we?

 

These old stories are some horrible, horrible, stuff, but fun. And worth looking at whenever some fanboy complains about wanting movies to be "true to the character's roots" or similar...I mean, I'm just a little glad they moved away from some of these early stories myself.

 

But, overall power level? Not much more than Spiderman, the much derided Aquaman, or early Bats and Cap. In some respect, he's a bit less powerful than fish-telepathic, super swimming, moderatly super strong Aquaman.

 

Anyone have the first appearance of the gun-toting Bats and Cap? or the first Spidey? I'll try to get some more of these from the library, they're much fun.

[JmOz]

I have the first appearence of Bats (Reprint anyways), but note he does not carry a gun, for that matter, except in some cover pages I don't see a gun in his hand for the first 10 issues...

[assault]

There is lots of raw material for this kind of activity on the following websites:

 

http://www.reading-room.net/

http://theages.superman.ws/comics.php (and pages around it.)

 

Batman is too easy. He's wearing his utility belt, but he doesn't use anything from it. He does a little bit of climbing and exiting from skylights that is a little mysterious. He's swinging on the cover, so I would give him a rope and grappling hook.

 

He also has: an apartment, a car, a contact with Commissioner Gordon, lots of skills, and a police hunted.

 

Alan

[Pegasus]

I used to have the first six issues of the FF in reprint as a kid.

This is always my basis for comparison on originals vs. experienced. Notable differences:

 

Sue has no force projection at all. She turns invisible-that's it. However, she was a seamstress, happily designing the team's costumes

 

Johnny's flame usually dies after about a minute max. He was always losing his flame. If he looked at someone drinking a glass of water he would go out. (Ok, I exaggerate, but not by much.)

 

Ben, besides being really grotesque, was a lot weaker. He pounded endelessly to break through a steel wall and exhausted himself in the process. Also, he's really sensitive to Johnny's little fire attacks.

 

Reed's changed the least, except perhaps in personality. He showed that he could stretch for blocks at one point, but he was extremely weakened by the effort. I'm not sure what the limit is on him these days. He seemed more eager to use his powers then, though.

[Pegasus]

Re: Day One Challenge!

 

Originally posted by Pattern Ghost

OK, here's the challenge: Stat out ssome supers as they FIRST appeared. In their first issue. No XP added on...

 

Wasn't that Kent Shakespeare's shtick from the LoSH? IIRC, he was designed as an ode to the original Superman writeup.

[Pattern Ghost]

Re: Re: Day One Challenge!

 

Originally posted by Crisis

Wasn't that Kent Shakespeare's shtick from the LoSH? IIRC, he was designed as an ode to the original Superman writeup.

 

I'm lost on the reference. Fill me in?

[Pattern Ghost]

http://www.reading-room.net/Detective27/Detective27Cover.html

 

 

That's Bat's first appearance. If you go to the main page, they have more old comics scanned in.

[Pegasus]

Kent Shakespeare

 

This is what I could find on the net...

 

http://www.eskimo.com/~mohundro/lsh/shakespeare.html

 

http://www.computonet.com/saturngirl/lsh/kent.html

[ch0wyunf47]

looks like batman doesn't have that CVK for that first issue...

 

Shows some good athletics, no devices. Clever use of a wrench though. I can't imagine him being beyond 150 pts. STR around 15, DEX around 15 too. Definitely not absurd, but always has the drop on everyone. I can't see him not having NCM. He seems to be rather smart, but definitely not the supra-genius that he is today.

 

maybe:

STR 15

DEX 15

CON 15 (no way to tell...seems pretty buff)

BOD 10 (better than 8, for sure)

INT 13

EGO 13 (Grim smile? definite chutzpa)

PRE 15 (possibly higher)

COM 16 (They did mention him being a playboy)

PD 3

ED 3

SPD 4 (high for a normal, and has the drop on people)

REC 6

END 30

STUN 21

 

Acrobatics, breakfall, AK: Gotham(?), KS: Business, Business etiquitte, High Society, Deduction and likely Coversation. Prolly a couple of h2h levels and definitely wealth. Was he driving a 39' ford???

 

Basic comic-book MA. Flying tackle, throw, choke hold (deadly!), martial strike.

 

Seems to be mysterious, and kind-of detached (although not as extreme as he is now). Definitely observant.

 

Compared to write-ups I see of him today, wow.

[assault]

Originally posted by ch0wyunf47

I can't imagine him being beyond 150 pts. STR around 15, DEX around 15 too.

 

My version of him came out to 200. I thought 150 was a bit tight.

 

He seemed to be one-punching normals pretty convincingly. I gave him 20 STR for that. He also has a distinct edge in Combat Value, so I went with DEX 20 and SPD 4.

 

Essentially he is a high powered pulp character. I wouldn't insist on him having to pay points for normal gear like his car, or the rope he used in his second appearance.

 

I feel that Fisticuffs/Cinematic Brawling from Ultimate Martial Artist works quite well to describe his fighting style. It even has the Club element to permit him to use the wrench!

 

You know, it would actually be kind of fun to play a Day 1 kind of campaign, with PCs based on the first appearances of classic Golden and Silver Age characters. The villains would have to match, but the Reading Room link I posted included the first appearance of Dr Doom, who was definitely more of a mastermind than an unstoppable combat monster. Magneto, on the other hand...

 

Definitely a different style of game. I will have to consider it.

 

Alan

[ch0wyunf47]

It does sound like a fun style of campaign, and would really allow for a lot of character development.

 

The only trouble I had with STR 20 on bats was that he really didn't look to be at the top end of human physical capabilities. I imagine the MA and maybe a DC or two would be plenty to knock out a thug.

 

I haven't read the Dr. Doom thing yet, though I plan to.

 

I wrote up a couple #1 characters a couple of years ago, but they were not at all golden-age. It's interesting now that the standards for power level are signifigantly higher, and new characters RARELY can be done under 250 pts. My write-up of Shadowhawk (Image character. there's a total of 3 good issues. Total. Although, those three are rather superb. I digress...) turned out to be exactly 250 on the first try. But any of the 'newer' heroes are all pretty impressive power wise.e