Supers Image game

[Rich McGee]

Cripes, still no one else jumping in on this?  Hope we some more in the next couple of days, that art deserves more attention.

 

Anyway, the She-Gator mentioned in passing in Florida Man's writeup got herself a villain writeup for Sentinels as well.  Don't suppose you commissioned a gender-swapped version in a one-piece by any chance, Mister Tribble?    

[death tribble]

Although it really is a crocodile and not a gator, I will give this to Rich McGee.

I liked the references to luggage, his shorts (which are Egyptian) and the other bits and pieces.

 

So Rich take it away !

[Rich McGee]

Well, okay.  I'm going to break with tradition and provide some three-dimensional artwork rather than a flat drawing, which allows for a rear view.  Pardon the decade-old photography and painting.  Tell me who this fine fellow is:

 

Edited November 29, 2023 by Rich McGee
Enlarged the photos a bit, the originals were a bit small

[death tribble]

Fakthulhu

 

Want to know why people who play Call of Cthulhu and Dungeons and Dragons should not be allowed to go into genetic engineering or be allowed near wish machines ?

You do ?

Well let me introduce you to Fakthulhu.

The body of a barbarian warrior and the head of the Great Old One. It is a monster of destruction and banned in 17 States of the Union. Yeah that's right the most liberal ones.

[dmjalund]

Ben10 based in a fantasy word. This is his arch nemesis, Vilgax

[BoloOfEarth]

Tentacles the Warrior claims to be the offspring of the Greek god Jupiter and the female Great Old One, Scathach. He is incredibly strong, unbelievably resilient... and about as bright as a 15-watt bulb.

[Rich McGee]

Well, that makes three entries, but I should probably give it some time for more entries as discussed previously.  What do people think, do I do a full week or five days or three or what?  Seems like too short might leave people out and too long risks procrastination and/or loss of interest.  

[death tribble]

Decide on Sunday if there have been no entries since then

[Duke Bushido]

Yeah- some of us need more rime than a working day allows, I'm afraid. 😕

 

 

 

 

[Rich McGee]

So be it.  I'll wait till the end of my day on Sunday and then make a choice, unless someone chimes in and asks for a little more time.

 

Look forward to seeing what you've got, Duke - and any other lurkers out there.

[steriaca]

While not a superhero entry, it is Gruntar, Mind Flayer Barbarian. Who says monsters can't have levels in classes?

[Gauntlet]

33 minutes ago, steriaca said:

While not a superhero entry, it is Gruntar, Mind Flayer Barbarian. Who says monsters can't have levels in classes?

 

I have seen them with classes before but normally it has been spell casting ones.

[steriaca]

4 hours ago, Gauntlet said:

 

I have seen them with classes before but normally it has been spell casting ones.

Ok. I'll give you that.

[Duke Bushido]

Enoch stepped out of the wall- slowly, carefully.  The aging machinery behind him had been making unpleasant noises since the Eldenwise had started them up, but as their labor increased, so, too, did the protest of the great metal beasts.  Some hummed and hissed menacingly while others creaked or chirped or simply screamed a shrill, endless cry.  Toward the end, before the room had turned inside out, the metal beasts had begun to rattle and clatter and breathe smoke-  so much worse than the dust they coughed when the Eldenwise awakened them; great black clouds of it, filled with scents Enoch had never before experienced. 

 

"This," he reasoned, "must be what the air is like without the filter."  Unconsciously, he adjusted his filtration mask and the hoses that projected from it, the hoses that increased the surface area of the filters and which collected untainted water from the air itself.    Then the room turned inside out.

 

"Almost!  Be ready!"  Yelled one of the Eldenwise.  "It will be ready soon!"  

 

Enoch began to question himself for the first time since the quest had begun.  He hafted his axe partly in habit and partly to reassure himself.  He, like all the other candidates, had been trained from birth, strengthened, and taught the ways of war and personal combat by the Eldenwise, the oldest members of the tribes, who kept alive in themselves many secrets of the past.  He had heard tales that the Eldenwise had advised the tribal chiefs since before his grandfather's grandfather's grandfather had been born, and untold years before that.

 

Always, in all tribes, the Eldenwise were the same: studious, critical, cautious, scholarly.  And every year did they come together to select the cleverest child and the strongest, fastest child from each tribe, and it was a great honor to have one of one's own children selected.  These children would be trained the rest of the lives: the brightest children would learn the mysteries of the past and other knowledge long-since dead, dead perhaps even before the Burning that poisoned the air and boiled the seas and resulted in the desert lands in which Enoch was raised.  These children would go on to become the next of the Eldenwise as their tutors aged and died.

 

The warriors had a different lot.  When they were ready- when the Eldenwise had declared them to be at the peak of their training and reflexes and the various elixirs had grown their bodies to be as durable and strong as possible, they were drawn together, and these banded brothers were ordered to fight one another, to the death.

 

The Eldenwise watched; always they watched and judged and scored and after days of sequestered discussion, they would determine if the survivor had been worthy.  "There remains only a chance for two," they have always claimed, "and that which survives tells us of a mighty warrior, beyond all human ability, and as great as the tallest of the black ruins in the valley below.  Only that warrior may pass, escorted by the brightest of the Tenderwise.  Each the other will serve, and each the other will protect to the best of their abilities."  Then they would pass judgement.  Enoch wondered how horrible it must be to turn and fight and ultimately slay men who were raised with you from childhood- men who were closer than clan: men who were your closest brothers.  Enoch shuddered as he wondered what it must be like, in a world with far-too-few people already, to have done this soul-crushing thing..., and then to be found unworthy....

 

The unworthy were allowed to return to their tribes, but so far as he knew, none ever had ever done so.  "Who could?" He wondered aloud, softly.  Those who had gone before always seemed to orefer a self-exile out into the Sands, and perhaps to the Great Glass Sea beyond that.

 

"No distractions!" Screamed one of the Eldenwise.  "The time is here!  Stay alert!"

 

Enoch stared dead ahead, the small form of the chosen Tenderwise just visible in his peripheral vision.  The Tender's eyes were beyond wide open, a look of absolute incredulity bursting through his features.  Enoch suspected his own face would look the same, if only he understood what was going on.  He had seen these strange metal forms in the ruins all his life, and had no idea that they were slumbering beasts.

 

The air in front of him simmered and glowed for a moment, and the strange metal creatures began to howl and vibrate in agony.  "We've not much tolerance, and less time!  It has to be now!" Screeched and Eldenwise.

 

"I know!" another screamed over the cacophony.  "But the power is weak!  We are _trying_!"

 

Enoch stared again at the air in front him, not knowing what to expect.  He thought again about what it must be like.  He counted himself blessed that he had not been found unworthy.  After countless years, the Eldenwise has found a warrior they believed to be worthy: a giant of a man, possessed of unparalleled strength and stamina, able to wield his axe almost faster than the eye could follow.

 

His axe.  He loved his axe.  He had been trained to love his weapon, and the ruins were scrounged for metal again and again, until the forges produced a weapon that Enoch felt was perfect for his combat style, and large and durable enough to counter blows easily-- an important distinction, as he was now charged forever with protecting the Tinderwise who was selected to travel with him.

 

The air shimmered again, and for a brief instant, he believed he saw something that was not there, but even as it caught his attention, it disappeared.  Suddenly it was back- a spot of color in his world of rust and dust and char-- and it began to grow.

 

Color.  An amazing expanse of it: green and blue and a crisp clear horizon unmuted by the all pervasive poisons of the dust.  He stilled his wonder and focused, tensing for the leap.  He gestured to the harness pack he was wearing and the Tinder obediently climbed into it and strapped himself to the giant.  Enoch himself went over everything he had been taught until he could repeat it:  one evil man split the world from its Destiny.  There was another path where that man was stopped by a great warrior and a brilliant Elden-  no; that was certainly what he was, but that was not the word they had used... A "Scientist."  A great and mighty warrior and a brilliant scientist, and a team of men and women of incredible, magic-like power.  Enoch must find this team, join them, bond with them, and when the time comes that a great evil threatens to turn the destiny of the world toward the Great Burning, he must enlist their aid and risk his life to prevent it at all costs.

 

This is why he stepped into the scene that appeared like a magic globe in the center of the room, even as the immobile roaring metal beasts themseves began to burn and die and as he heard at least two of the Eldenwise scream in agony-- he could not afford to look back, lest the chance be lost forever to the last of men.

 

"Now!" One of the Eldenwise demanded.  "It must be now!"  Enoch leaped into the alien scene that filled the center of the room and at once was surrounded by darkness.  He reached forwars with his free hand and felt a purchase- stone! A ledge of some sort.  He pulled himself forward even as his mind told,him that 'up' and 'down' were no longer relevant.  After painful effort, light shown through the lenses or his filtration mask, and he felt upon his shoulder the caress of the coolest beeeze he had ever known.  He paused and carefully turned his head to tale stock of the situation.  His head and shoulder protruded from some massive barrier of shaped stone, like those found in the ruins, but shot through with color- red with hints of gold and white and grey.  He shut down his fear, ignore his confusion, and braced himself for the exertion of pulling his weapon hand through.

 

 

Enoch stepped out of the wall-  slowly, carefully....

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Duke Bushido

[Rich McGee]

21 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

Yeah- some of us need more rime than a working day allows, I'm afraid. 😕

 

 

 

 

I can see why now. 

[Quackhell]

Yeah I was thinking about taking a stab, but I am not following that. 🙂

[Duke Bushido]

10 minutes ago, Quackhell said:

Yeah I was thinking about taking a stab, but I am not following that. 🙂

 

 

Dude, you _gotta!_

 

This is my all-time favorite thread, and I only play for fun; I never want to win, because I am _horrible_ at the "find an image" part!  (To be fair, I am equally-horrible at judging, because I have so much fun seeing everyone's personal interpretation of the same image).

 

 

You gotta do it! 

 

 

[Rich McGee]

33 minutes ago, Quackhell said:

Yeah I was thinking about taking a stab, but I am not following that. 🙂

Boo, don't be a chicken.  The more the merrier, and we're trying to get this game up and running steadily.

 

Besides, Duke just said he didn't want to win. 

[Lord Liaden]

This image doesn't really fit with the game, since we all know who it is; but it is a superheroic image, and it is the season, and Duke Bushido asked about it in relation to the version that's my Christmas avatar. So it seemed appropriate to leave it here.

 

I took the image off the Internet randomly, years ago. I'm afraid I don't remember where it's from, and I couldn't find it again. But here's the whole image I saved, touched up a bit for clarity.

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Duke Bushido]

Thank you. Sir!

 

It is as glorious as I hoped it would be.   

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Duke Bushido

[Rich McGee]

Easy enough to find.  "Dynamic Duo Studios" has other art online.  They also seem to have faced a lawsuit from DC Comics, although it may have been dropped without going to court - not paying for access to that info and digging it up free is more trouble than I'm willing to go to, but it's the first thing that comes up on several search approaches.

 

He is, of course, an orphan, last of his species, sent to Earth as an infant from a dying world, escaping mere minutes before its destruction.  His rocket arrived on Christmas night, narrowly avoiding a collision with a certain airborne sleigh over the state of Kansas.  Concerned, Santa Claus followed the tiny ship down, discovering the child within and carrying him back to the North Pole where he lived for years as adopted child.  The young Clark Kringle developed amazing powers at he grew up in the magical environment of Santa's workshop, and upon reaching adulthood was deputized to provide backup for his adoptive father on that busiest night of the year.  The job had simply gotten to be too much for the old man as the world's population grew into the ten digit range, and Clark was uniquely qualified since he didn't need a sleigh or reindeer team to make his share of the deliveries in a timely fashion.

 

Driven by his conscience, Clark spends much of rest of the year opposing evil-doers as Santaman, greatly assisted by his access to the Naughty or Nice List.  When he isn't battling hatred and injustice he spends his time in the workshop, doing the work of a thousand elves all by himself.

 

So Lord Liaden, who's my guy?  I played your game.    

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Rich McGee

[Quackhell]

Eddie Blatnick was an average unremarkable guy who enjoyed tabletop war games and rpgs. They provided a bit of an escape from his mundane life. He was attending a convention and walking amongst the booths checking out figurines and games when he noticed a small unadorned table in the corner. He approached the table where a man was sitting behind three figurines on a small green felt strip. One of them caught his eye in particular.

 

"What is that?" 

 

The vendor looked up and Eddie noticed he had mismatched eyes, one dull brown and the other an odd sickly green. The vendor smiled at Eddie revealing a row of jagged yellowed teeth.

 

"That young sir is Goregnasher the Bloodhemoth."

 

Eddie stifled a laugh at the name, but found himself fascinated by the design. He purchased it, almost in a daze. That night he had a dream about his overbearing and bullying boss Mr. Purvis. Purvis was asleep in his bed when suddenly the wall exploded and Goregnasher burst in. Eight feet tall and bulging muscle the beast preceded to pummel and rend Purvis into an unidentifiable mass. Eddie awoke with a start, but found himself amused by his dark fantasy of revenge. Then his phone rang.

 

"Dude did you hear about Purvis? He's friggin' dead man. I hear it was like a truck smashed though his place. Crazy stuff, like blood everywh..."

 

Eddie hung up on his co-worker, his body numb and eyes wide with shock. He staggered into his living room and peered at the figurine. It was in same place on his shelf, but now fresh red "paint" adorned the axe and tentacled maw. His mind raced as he stared at it. Then, almost imperceptibly it seemed to move. Then to grow as if Eddie was willing it. He stepped back in fear, but there was a part of him, deep down, that began to ponder the possibilities that lie ahead.

 

 

[Duke Bushido]

Gotta say, I _love_ the whole "Monkey's Paw" vibe going on in there.  When will the seller display a lovely figurine to his next customer, opening "ah, you have an eye for detail, Sir.  This one is 'Tormented Eddie...."

 

Outstanding, Sir!

 

 

 

[Rich McGee]

I'm going to be off to bed early tonight so I'll announce the winner Monday morning before work - which any last minute entries about 19 hours to go if I'm counting right.

[Rich McGee]

Okay, after due consideration I'm passing the baton to Quackhell for Goregnasher the Bloodhemoth, a name so 90s Extreme it should have been an Image character.  Also managed to evoke a great deal of curiosity about what the other two minis were on that vendor table and who wound up with them, without actually blowing the secret and spoiling the fun.  Let's see what you've got for a new image, Quackhell.

 

I will make note of the fact that I somewhat regretfully eliminated Duke Bushido's effort from consideration owing to the fact that 1) he's involuntarily offline for the foreseeable future and I don't want that to delay the next round of the game and 2) he said he doesn't like winning these things because he stresses out finding images and I'll take him at his word, at least this time around.  I am awarding him honorary mention for having the only entry that made me seriously consider picking up another copy of that mini solely I could convert it with a backpack harness ridden by a his chosen Tenderwise partner.  Anyone that helps justify me spending money on minis gets my approval. 

 

Thanks to everyone who contributed an entry! 

Edited December 4, 2023 by Rich McGee