Epiphanis Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Why not start at the top? I am much in agreement with the way Vanguard was presented in 5th/6th Edition. He is very clearly the "Superman" of the CU; and it was inevitable that such a character be created as the Superman archetype is the cornerstone of all superheroic stories. But the presentation of Vanguard is clever; the "Superman" did exist, but he is already dead. This serves two good purposes. First, PCs don't have to feel perennially overshadowed by one dominant personality; he was the best, but alas he's gone now, leaving it to the PCs to step up. Second, the manner of his death builds wonderful cred for the greatest of the CU's villains, Doctor Destroyer. Doctor Doom never really killed Mr. Fantastic and Lex Luthor never wins a decisive victory over Superman. Doctor Destroyer, though he might once have been merely "Vanguard's archvillain," actually succeeded in truly and finally beating his nemesis. Vanguard was the greatest superhero yet known... and Doctor Destroyer took him out, along with more than a dozen lesser luminaries. That is badass. I also love the depiction of Vanguard. He is very clearly a superhero, but you can see at a glance that he is yesterday's superhero, not today's. The unfashionable sideburns and plunging V-neck on his tights scream "Disco Age Relic." File in the same drawer with the Beyonder's Jerri curls and Saturday Night Fever jumpsuit, Luke Cage's original yellow pirate shirt, or Dazzler's roller skates. Not only is Vanguard dead... he's hopelessly outdated. New blood is needed! Finally, kudos to Cryptic for coming up with the Blood Moon event. Vanguard, the greatest superhero of all time, is not just background filler to flesh out the CU's backstory now. He's been resurrected as a supervillain's undead bitch. Now, the PCs can not only shoot for the spot he left vacant, they may actually have to face him in combat! Thats a great plot hook, with a terrific setup: not only is Superman not around to save your butt, he's been turned into a zombie and is gunning for your brainzzzz! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boll Weevil Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard Repped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boll Weevil Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard Vanguard has never been officially written up, has he? I like that too. He was awesome, that is all you need to know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Core-fire Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard Yeah the Las Vegas Elvis look also gave you a bit of a bygone era. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epiphanis Posted November 28, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard You know, it never occurred to me that Vanguard looks like Vegas-era Elvis, but he does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Certified Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard Can someone post a picture of him? All I could find was the undead version from CO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epiphanis Posted November 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard Vanguard is illustrated in battle with Destroyer on p. 19 of Book of the Destroyer and in undead form crawling out of his grave while being raised by Takofanes on p. 155 of the 6th Ed version of Champions Universe. The latter is an apparent continuity glitch, since Book of the Destroyer states his body had burned to ash on reentry of Earth's atmosphere after his death in space, but several of the Blood Moon super-zombies' bodies had purportedly been completely destroyed in the Battle of Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Liaden Posted December 1, 2010 Report Share Posted December 1, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard One thing I appreciate about Vanguard, given his stature within the Champions Universe, is his long active career. Superman wears the tremendous aura among real-world comics fans of being the first superhero, the prototype for all the others, and a cultural icon for seventy years; but I sometimes have a little trouble with that respect and awe being translated to inhabitants of DC's universe, since in current continuity he hasn't been active much more than a decade, wasn't the first superhero, and is surrounded by many others as powerful or nearly so. OTOH Vanguard was the first major superhero of the CU's "Silver Age," and was active for more than thirty years. He had plenty of time to build his reputation as the world's greatest hero. An entire generation would have grown up in a world where he was held up as the icon of heroism. From a pure gaming point of view, it would be interesting to view the character sheet for Vanguard at the end of his career, with three decades worth of Experience. I'd imagine something similar to the write-up for another Superman analogue, Sentinel of GOO's Silver Age Sentinels game, who had been adventuring continuously since WW II: a wide variety of Skills, Martial Arts, "power stunts," and the like to complement his raw power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epiphanis Posted December 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2010 Re: CU Character Study: Vanguard [ATTACH]37571[/ATTACH] Because I'm silly, here is a fanpic I made of Vanguard. [ATTACH=CONFIG]37571[/ATTACH] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.