Champions Universe: Unique Character Origins

[Lord Liaden]

At various times I've mentioned here that, since the official Champions Universe is a hobby of mine, I found myself becoming a sort of unofficial "lore-master" to the Champions Online player community, answering their questions on the game's forums about elements of the setting. That has sometimes prompted me to compile information on particular topics for their easy reference. Occasionally I've transcribed some of that info here for our tabletop gaming community when I thought it might be of general interest, and that has been received positively.

 

The Champions Universe, being inspired by the major mainstream comics companies, embraces the full range of classic super character origins you see in those comics: mutagenic accidents, genetic mutation, radical scientific inventions, mystic martial arts, aliens, sorcery, gods and supernatural creatures, cosmic entities, etc. However, there are a number of origin concepts described in Champions  books that IMHO are more original and distinctive to the setting, but don't require characters with backgrounds so unusual that players would need a lot of information or elaborate setup to use them. Even if you don't use the official CU, these origin concepts can be inserted into most original four-color super campaign worlds without much effort. So I thought outlining origins in that category might inspire some of my fellow Champions gamers.

 

I'd be happy to flesh out more details on any of these origins if anyone asks; but every entry cites the published books in which folks can read more about them. I hope some of you find this useful.

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Alien Gene-Tampering:  Superhuman powers resulting from aliens mucking with Human DNA is a well-established comic-book trope. On Champions Earth the repeatedly-invasive Qularr are one likely candidate. The main reason the Qularr invaded Earth in the first place was so they could study the Human genome on a large scale, to understand why and how Humans manifest superpowers with greater frequency and average power than nearly any other species, including the Qularr. They hope to engineer that capacity in themselves. At least one experiment along those lines has yielded a super-powered hybrid, although by accident. It's highly likely other similar experiments are being conducted by Qularr currently on Earth, or perhaps on Humans kidnapped and brought back to Qularr space.

What virtually no one knows is that one reason Humans do manifest powers more often, is because that genetic potential was placed in them by incredibly ancient and advanced aliens called the Progenitors. Two million years ago the Progenitors advanced the evolution of Humanity's ancestor species to the next stage of sapience. Half a million years ago they experimented on Homo erectus, creating the first of the ageless superhuman Empyrean race. Champions Universe suggests they might also be responsible for the creation of the Birdpeople of Thaar twelve thousand years ago.

In any case, the Progenitors still exist, continuing their experiments and periodically monitoring the progress of past ones. It's not unreasonable to assume that they would do some "followup" work on Human DNA.

You can read much more about the Qularr and Progenitors in Champions Beyond. The Birdpeople of Thaar are described in Champions Universe.

Coruscations of Power:  In the worldwide accidental cataclysm which devastated the alien planet Ashraal centuries ago, and gave birth to the awesome cosmic villain Xarriel, discreet bursts of energy from the main explosion were cast across space and time, emerging in random locations in the space-time continuum. To date at least five of these "coruscations of power" have appeared on or near the Earth in recent years, and affected humans in their vicinity, creating the supervillains Photon, Stareye, Sunspot, and Vector, and the superhero Victory.

The coruscations can manifest as bursts of light from space, but in the past have been mistaken for solar flares or lightning storms. Powers induced by them can, but not must, include various forms of energy projection, flight (usually very fast), mind-affecting abilities, enhanced physical strength, speed, and durability, and the ability to survive in hostile environments (even space).

Xarriel is fully detailed in Champions Beyond, while the other villains mentioned are in the Champions Villains trilogy, and Victory in Champions Universe.

DEMONic Experiments:  One of the classic superhero origins is the person unwillingly subjected to villainous scientific experiments who uses their newly-gained powers to escape. In the CU quite a few official supers came about that way, particularly due to actions by VIPER and ARGENT. But DEMON, the worldwide supernatural villain org, often conduct their own magical analogues to scientific research, which have spawned magical superhumans.

One official villain, named Riptide, was a young runaway girl before a member of DEMON found her and turned her over to his Morbane. The Morbane attempted a magic experiment to bind the girl to a water elemental, hoping to create a strong but mentally pliable minion. But Riptide's crazed fear at what was done to her was now backed with elemental powers, enabling her to force her way to freedom. The supervillain now called Morningstar was the result of a tactic that DEMON often uses since it became estranged from the rulers of Hell: forcing a summoned demon to temporarily occupy the human body of a DEMON Brother, giving the Brother a measure of demonic power but with the human personality in control. For unknown reasons, Morningstar's possession proved permanent. He fought DEMON's enemies for some time, under enchantment to ensure his loyalty, until a battle with magical heroes severed the control spell and returned his free will. Morningstar left DEMON to become an independent supervillain. (Both characters are detailed in Champions Villains Vol. 3.)

Another villain in the service of DEMON, Professor Samedi, was a minor DEMON member, and lackluster musician, before his Morbane had him try to play an enchanted fiddle the Morbane had acquired. Samedi found he could cast several potent spells with the fiddle's music, but it changed him physically, making him look almost skeletally gaunt; and changed his personality, to more actively, confidently malevolent. So there's precedent for a Morbane to have one of his disposable minions "test drive" a magic item. Perhaps a given item would change the wielder's personality in a more positive way. (Prof. Samedi is detailed in DEMON: Servants Of Darkness.)

Department 17:  Since World War II, the United States government has researched ways to safely and reliably create superhumans, as well as to more effectively control them, with few successes. Their efforts have often resulted in severe, even fatal physical and mental side effects to their subjects, and produced as many supervillains as superheroes. During WW II the US military set up Project Rainbow for this purpose, at Fort McLaughlin (now McLaughlin Air Force Base) near the small town of Haynesville, Kansas. After the war the Project was declassified and officially shut down, and McLaughlin AFB appears nearly abandoned today.

This was a ruse. Project Rainbow was never shut down. Still secretly based at McLaughlin, what is now titled Department 17 is the Defense Department's hub for research into superpower generation and superhuman control. Under its current director, General Clarence Smith, it conducts a wide variety of research involving drugs and chemicals, radiation treatments, genetic engineering, and other exotic methods. Much of the Department's current research focuses on refining the Cyberline procedure used for PRIMUS's Avenger program. The Department's scientists are also very interested in investigating any reports of new manifestations of superpowers.

General Smith might go to great lengths to keep 17's existence and activities secret.  He's also used some "creative" accounting to keep his department funded. Department 17 is described in Champions Universe, as are PRIMUS and Cyberline.

"Divine" Intervention: In the Champions Universe, all the gods and demons of myth and religion that humans still remember actually exist. Although very powerful in their home astral dimensions, a metaphysical barrier called the Ban prevents them from manifesting on Earth with their full power. But there are a few ways divine beings can create lesser-powered Earthly agents to champion their causes.

One of these ways is to infuse some of their power, and sometimes personality, into a deserving human host, creating a superhuman reflecting the qualities of his or her patron deity. Quite a few official Champions heroes and villains have been empowered in this way. In keeping with comic-book origin conventions, their empowerment typically comes under unusual and dramatic circumstances, often at a key turning point in the life of the hero. For example, the first Johnny Hercules was given an amulet by an "apparition" of Zeus when the circus he worked for toured Greece, containing the "Hercules Force," the power of Hercules as a demigod which he abandoned when he became fully a god. The Nigerian hero Ogun gained power over metal after being beaten near to death by criminal thugs, when he received a vision of the Yoruba god of the forge of the same name.

Ogun is thoroughly detailed in Champions Worldwide, while the current Johnny Hercules is featured in the PDF book The Hercules Force, available from the Hero Games website store. Much more on CU gods and the Ban can be found in The Mystic World.

Empyrean Heritage:  For hundreds of thousands of years, the immortal superhuman offshoot of humanity called Empyreans have existed alongside their human cousins. While they maintain their own city of Arcadia in Antarctica, hidden from human discovery by advanced devices, the majority of Empyreans choose to live incognito among humanity. The general population is ignorant of their existence; only a few superheroes have been trusted with the secret, although the Lemurians know of Arcadia and have been enemies of the Empyreans for many millennia. A few Empyreans have acted as superheroes or villains in the modern era.

Empyreans sometimes have children by humans, who are always either normal humans or full Empyreans. These children may grow up unaware of their true heritage; but the Empyreans' leaders scan the world for any new Empyrean offspring, and when they discover one induct him or her into their society. But individual Empyreans can follow whatever activities they like, provided they don't reveal their race's existence to mankind.

All Empyreans are ageless, physically superhuman to a greater or lesser extent, and can fly. They can manifest a wide range of mental or energy powers, although the type and degree varies based on innate ability and the interest a given Empyrean has in developing specific powers, usually related to their preferred pastimes. The Empyreans and Arcadia are extensively described in Hidden Lands.

Golden Age Legacies:  In the real world the earliest comic-book superheroes appeared starting in 1938, and continued to be created over the course of World War II. Champions Earth's first actual superhumans also began to appear during this period. Most of those heroes eventually retired, to be replaced by newer generations; but often those newer heroes were inspired by their predecessors, in many cases even to the point of adopting their code names as an homage. Most such "legacy heroes" were either the relatives or proteges of the originals, or sought their blessing to carry on their names. However, certain lineages originating in the Golden Age have been particularly fertile in continuing to produce new heroes to uphold the family tradition.

In the winter of 1939 Kiril Lenskii was a young officer in the Soviet army serving in his country's war against Finland. Badly wounded in an attack that wiped out the rest of his unit, and overcome by the severe winter cold, Lenskii collapsed unconscious over underground caverns which released strange gasses. As they entered his lungs his body began to change. He awoke to discover that not only was his body healed and stronger than before, but he was now immune to the cold, and could even create intense cold, snow, and ice over limited areas. Given the code name, General Zima ("winter"), over the course of World War II Kiril Lenskii became the Soviet military's leading superhero, and remained so for many years.

The three sons of fisherman and former naval sailor Morimoto Takashi (by a mysterious woman who may have been a supernatural spirit) were each born with extraordinary abilities: enormous strength and durability (Ichiro); incredible speed (Jiro); and probability manipulation (Saburo) manifesting as phenomenal luck for himself, and phenomenal misfortune for his opponents. The three young men were recruited by the Japanese government to fight their country's foes, first China in the 1930s, and later the Americans and their allies during WW II. They were among Japan's most prominent superhuman champions during and after the war.

Each of the three Morimoto brothers had more than one superhuman offspring, while all seven of General Zima's children developed super powers. Today there are over two dozen "super" members of the extended Morimoto family, and descendants of General Zima, active in their respective homelands. It would be reasonable to expect a few of their relatives to have emigrated to other countries at some point.

Although the histories of these characters don't explicitly state it one way or the other, there's no reason to assume superhumans from their lineages necessarily manifest the same types of powers as their ancestors. The mutations of all three original Morimoto brothers were radically different from each other; while General Zima's origin implies his abilities resulted from his body adapting to a specific environment.

The full write-ups for General Zima and the Morimoto brothers appear in the latest edition of Golden Age Champions (for Hero System Sixth Edition).

Hzeel Biomatter:  Champions Earth has experienced several alien invasions in the past, and is currently dealing with renewed intrusions by the Gadroon and Qularr. What no one on Earth knows yet, is that another aggressive species, the Hzeel, also have the Earth in their sights. These short, blue-skinned humanoids have scouted Earth for nearly two decades, wanting it as an advance staging area in their war against the Dorvalans (Ironclad's race).

At least two Hzeel scout craft have crashed on Earth and been discovered by humans. One of these was salvaged by Roger Warwell, aka the Warlord, and its technology became the basis for his own weapon designs. Hzeel technology is partly biological, and can have radical unpredictable effects when it comes in contact with human tissue. Two humans, the solo supervillain Howler, and the Warlord's minion Warcry, gained superhuman vocal powers when Hzeel communications devices were implanted in their throats (this happening spontaneously on contact in the case of Howler).

The effect also extends to tissues from Hzeel themselves; VIPER's staff supervillain Oculon gained his powerful eyebeams from eyes from an Hzeel corpse transplanted to his sockets. (Hzeel don't have eyebeams, they're the result of interaction between the two species' biologies.) Anyone using recognizable Hzeel materials would undoubtedly be of interest to both the Hzeel and the Warlord.

The Hzeel have a whole chapter in Champions Beyond,  as do the Qularr and Gadroon, and the Dorvalans are also described there. The other villains mentioned are in the Champions Villains trilogy, except Oculon who's written up in VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent. Ironclad and the rest of the Champions superhero team get full write-ups for their beginning careers in the Champions genre book, with more experienced versions in Champions Universe.

Kelvarite:  This mysterious, green-glowing extraterrestrial mineral has been found in meteorites from several falls. It's a powerful source of energy, but is extremely unstable and prone to explosion when disturbed. Some people who have been bombarded by radiation or fragments from exploding kelvarite have gained superhuman powers, typically (but not exclusively) superhuman strength and durability, and some type of enhanced movement capability, e.g. super-running or -leaping, flight, or teleportation. They also acquire a susceptibility to radiation from other samples of kelvarite. Known superhumans with this origin include the solo villains Tachyon and Thunderbolt II,  Dr. Destroyer's servant Meteor (all in the CV trilogy), and the African superhero Gazelle (in Champions Worldwide).

Large organizations such as the US government and UNTIL have secured all the kelvarite they can find, but sometimes lend samples to research laboratories. Other kelvarite meteorites remain to be discovered. However, what no one is aware of is that what they call kelvarite is actually impure samples, which is why it's unstable. Pure kelvarite doesn't resemble the impure mineral, and is extremely rare on Earth. Its energies respond to the will of intelligent beings in physical contact with it, allowing them to wield formidable and versatile energy-projection powers. (It isn't obvious that the power comes from the kelvarite itself.) The only pure kelvarite discovered so far was made into rings worn by the four men who have used the superheroic identity, Meteor Man.

Kelvarite is described in Champions Universe, while the first Meteor Man is written up in Golden Age Champions.

Martial-Arts Temples:  For centuries, hidden enclaves have existed in the Far East where dedicated monks have practiced the most advanced physical and spiritual martial-arts techniques, including virtually superhuman abilities for those with the skill and determination to master them. Several official Champions heroes and villains were trained at such enclaves. The most legendary of these sites among  knowledgeable martial artists are Yengtao Temple, somewhere in the mountains of China; and the city of Shamballah, in a cave beneath a mountain in the Himalayas. Both sites are hidden from the outside world both physically and magically, so that only those already highly disciplined in body and mind can find them. But those who do can study almost any martial art that has ever existed, and perhaps achieve abilities like the heroes of legend.

Various students at Yengtao Temple have returned to the outside world to become heroes, or villains. In the present day the Millennium City superhero Nightwind, his bitter rival Jade Phoenix, and the Hong Kong hero Golden Dragon Fist, all learned their extraordinary skills and ch'i powers from Yengtao. Jade Phoenix was responsible for the destruction of Yengtao Temple and murder of the monks in 1996, but there may be other former students alive in the world. And Shamballah, second only to Yengtao as a repository of mystic martial-arts secrets, still stands.

But Shamballah also guards a dark secret even further beneath the mountain: its evil twin city, Agharti, prison of the Dark Monks, also extraordinarily skilled but utterly corrupt. While the Shamballans prevent the Dark Monks from escaping, they don't forbid outsiders from visiting the city, or leaving afterwards. The villain Zhua Teng ("grasping vine") received training in Agharti.

The story of Yengtao Temple, and description of some of its unique techniques, appear in Champions Universe. Shamballah and Agharti are described in considerable detail in Hidden Lands. Nightwind's latest write-up is in Millennium City, while Jade Phoenix is in Champions Villains Volume Three. Zhua Teng is fully written up in Martial Enemies Volume 1.

 

Mythic Forces: Under the entry for "Divine" Intervention, above, is the story of how circus strongman Johnny Hercules received the Hercules Force in an amulet bestowed by Zeus. Johnny died in the Battle of Detroit, and his amulet, apparently powerless, was buried with him. But the Hercules Force continued to exist, and over a decade later "chose" another human vessel for its power, a student of Classical culture, who became the second and current Johnny Hercules. One of his greatest foes is the monstrous Typhon, once a bitter, angry archaeologist who was the recipient of the Typhon Force, a sort of balance to the Hercules Force.
The PDF book, The Hercules Force, which fully writes up both characters, suggests that other "forces" could exist based on other gods, demigod heroes, or divine-level monsters. The examples imply that these would be mythic figures who are either dead or imprisoned, e.g. Achilles, Python, Baldur, or Ymir. Powers granted would be consistent with the legendary abilities of those entities. The forces are most likely drawn to people with personalities similar to the original source being and/or familiarity and strong attachment to the culture it comes from. They would differ from empowerment directly by a mythic god in that there would be no potential meddling in the character's life by their patron divinity.

Professional Armorers:  One of the staples of the superhero genre is the gadget-using super, with no actual super-powers but employing equipment made of special materials and/or incorporating advanced technology. Most comic-book heroes build their own gadgets, or have them designed for them by benevolent patron inventors or agencies. Some heroes acquire prototype devices by accident, including "liberating" them from their villainous makers (often earning them pursuit by the vengeful villain). But it's not unheard-of in comics for a scientist -- usually one of criminal bent -- to sell his technological services to whoever will pay.

In the official Champions Universe there are several possible sources of scientific expertise for hire to aspiring supers. Most of these are considered criminals by most world law-enforcement, so don't typically contract with anyone of obvious heroic bent who might cause them trouble. But for another criminal, or a mercenary or vigilante of grey morality, they're often the route to quick super status.

Millennium City is the home base of Wayland Talos, a brilliant inventor with a pathological hatred of superheroes. To strike back at them he supplies villains with everything from questionite hand weapons, to energy blasters or jet packs, to full suits of powered armor. He's considered one of the underworld's premier armorers, with few individual competitors. One of those competitors is known as Brainchild, a telepathic gadgeteer who primarily supplies tactical and technical support to other criminals, rather than take the risk of committing his own crimes.

On the international front, the Warlord is a powered-armor villain and would-be conqueror who's also a major dealer in high-tech armaments, and who has created super-class weaponry and armor for individuals for the right price. The unscrupulous corporation called ARGENT does a thriving business in service to criminals; not just supplying gadgetry, but even physically augmenting a person through bionic implants or experimental biochemical treatments. The independent city-state of Larisagrad was once a center for the USSR's classified scientific research, including advanced weaponry, and experiments to create true superhumans. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and thus their funding, the scientists of Larisagrad chose to freelance to the highest bidder.

The only truly benign inventor engaged in remotely similar activity is named Ralph Polarewski. Formerly the full-time technical supervisor to the famous Sentinels superhero team, Ralph left them after a bitter argument with the team's leader. He's become a well-known freelance contractor to members of the superhero community who use gadgets but have no technical skills of their own. As written he primarily works for people already established as heroes (and would never sell his services to someone of questionable morality), but would be well able to supply an equipment-based origin to someone who could convince him of their sincerity and dedication.

ARGENT  and Larisagrad are described in Champions Universe. The Warlord and his organization are fully written up in Volume One of the Champions Villains trilogy, while Brainchild and Wayland Talos get the same treatment in Volume Three. Ralph Polarewski is detailed in the book, Everyman.

Project Sunburst:  In 1994 a group of American "rogue generals" assigned over 200 volunteer soldiers to what they were told was a war game. In fact the generals were experimenting to try to create superpowered soldiers resistant to radiation, by detonating a nuclear device near them while they wore protective suits. Most of the volunteers soon died of radiation poisoning, while a handful slipped into comas. Most of the comatose were placed into a secret holding facility, codenamed "The Crypt," while a few were stored at other sites.

In the intervening years, several of these survivors have developed superhuman physical and energy powers. A few, such as the master villain Sunburst and his follower Radium, awakened spontaneously. Others, like Dr. Destroyer's security chief, Gigaton, were aroused with help from other villains. Some escaped the Crypt on their own, while others were "liberated." All the active survivors except Gigaton and the powered-armor villain, Armadillo, have joined Sunburst. However, the remaining comatose subjects are still being kept in secret in the Crypt, not just from the public but from the generals' own superiors.

Most of these villains are fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains, although Armadillo is in Vol. 3

Radium-X:  This radioactive element has been known to science on Champions Earth since at least the 1930s. It's well known for its radiation's mutagenic properties, able to induce radical, even super-empowering mutations in living organisms under certain conditions. For example, it's a critical component of Dr. Phillippe Moreau's process for creating Manimals. The late superhero Tiger, a former leader of the famous Sentinels superhero team, was a former UNTIL agent who became a man-tiger hybrid through accidental exposure to radium-X and some of Moreau's chemicals during a raid on the Doctor's lab. In 1940 a Bulgarian laboratory researcher gained formidable magnetic powers after the failure of an experimental magnetron being powered by radium-X flooded her lab with radiation. She took the code-name Leitstern ("lodestar") and was drafted to fight with Germany during WW II.

The preceding examples suggest that the specific mutations caused by radium-X are thematically linked to the environmental conditions applying at the time. The origin of Leitstern also highlights another major use for radium-X, as a concentrated high-energy power source for various devices. The Golden Age villain Liquifier needed that element to power his Matter-Liquifier Ray, which could change any inanimate solid matter to a liquid state. It's possible that other radical technology can only be powered by radium-X's unique radiation.

Radium-X can be purchased legally. Various research laboratories are noted as studying or using it. However, the clear implication of references to it is that it's rare and expensive, leading to attempts to steal it by people with less than upright intentions for it.

Dr. Phillippe Moreau and his followers are fully written up in Champions Villains Volume One: Master Villains, while both Leitstern and Liquifier are detailed in Golden Age Champions. Tiger has never been given a full background story or Hero System character sheet, but is mentioned and briefly described in CV Vol. 1, Champions Universe, and Book Of The Destroyer.

The Swords of Nama:  During the Dark Ages the serpent-god Nama, who is today the patron deity of VIPER, set out to become a great power among Men. He gathered six mighty warriors from across Eurasia to be his agents and generals, to conquer an empire in his name. For each warrior he forged a powerful enchanted sword. But before they could achieve any major successes the warriors quarreled, which ultimately led to all their deaths. The Swords of Nama were scattered. Over the intervening centuries some of these legendary swords reappeared, and a few were destroyed; but others remain to be discovered in ruins across Eastern Europe.

The story of the six "vipers upon the land" appears as a small part of the history of Nama and VIPER, on p. 6 of the book, VIPER: Coils Of The Serpent. Aside from being called "serpent-blades" the Swords of Nama aren't described, nor are any of their qualities defined, which leaves a player free to imbue a particular sword with any powers desired. Note that Nama is neither good nor evil, and has helped heroes or villains as the mood struck him; so there's no inherent reason for his Swords to be one or the other.

Teleios, the Perfect Man:  The foremost genetic engineer on Champions Earth today, Teleios is infamous for being a cloner of people, and a creator of animalistic monsters, but the range of his genetic expertise goes far beyond that. More than half a dozen official supers, villainous and heroic, owe their powers or very existence to The Perfect Man.

Teleios has the skill to induce almost any super power in any human, whether or not that person already has powers or the potential for them. Teleios will do this for pay, or in exchange for services or favors, as he did for the supervillain-turned-hero Flashover (Champions Universe: News Of The World), and her brother, the villain Hurricane (Champions Villains Vol. 3: Solo Villains). Teleios has been known to bestow powers on someone on a whim, whether or not they want them, like after a dalliance with the Indian woman now known as Monsoon (Champions Worldwide).

The Perfect Man can grow completely original, humanoid or human-looking superhumans with any abilities he chooses. He sometimes sells his creations, as when he supplied VIPER with the powerful monster named Obelisque (Champions Worldwide). Sometimes Teleios turns a creation loose in the world uncontrolled (although not unmonitored), to see how it responds and develops. He did this with the beings labeled the Landsman, and the Lodge (both in Champions Of The North).

The master geneticist can program his creations with whatever skills he or his employer desires. He can even implant elaborate false memories, to the point where the person has no idea he or she is artificial or has any connection to the Perfect Man. This is how Teleios programs the cloned soldiers he sells to other villains and groups. The superheroine called the Teen Dream (Teen Champions), whom Teleios designed as an experiment in social manipulation, is unaware of her real origin and considers herself a true hero. When he makes a creature Teleios implants controlling genes that make it psychologically impossible for that creature to harm him, or may even make it a loyal follower (although those controls have been known to fail on very rare occasions). Those controls can be so subtle that a person isn't consciously aware of them. Although the lore doesn't specify it, it may be possible for Teleios to do this to humans he augments. He definitely is known to build exploitable secret weaknesses into their genetic code, should they turn against him.

Teleios is fully written up in Champions Villains Vol. 1: Master Villains.

Vandaleur Bloodline:  Founded a thousand years ago by their immortal progenitor, Adrian Vandaleur, this widespread clan of sorcerers is one of the premier occult dynasties in the Western world. Although the majority of Vandaleurs have no more talent for magic than most people, the gift for spell casting is far more common among them than in the general populace; and their ranks include some of the most powerful mages in the world.

Members of the family are aware of each other, and sometimes cooperate, sometimes conflict. But Adrian Vandaleur, whose power dwarfs that of his kin, keeps any factionalism from descending into violence. Otherwise individual Vandaleurs are free to follow whatever activities they like. Their personalities and morality vary widely. Some are benevolent, even heroic; others are amoral and ruthless, up to megalomaniacal psychopaths. Most are simply concerned with their own interests.

Any Vandaleur with magical ability and desire to develop it could find family members able and willing to train him. The Vandaleur family are described in detail in Champions Villains Vol. 2: Villain Teams.

The Vita-Man Clan:  Percy Yates was born in Los Angeles in 1910. Brilliant but sickly throughout his youth, he studied biology, chemistry, and nutrition to find ways to improve his own health. In 1939 he discovered a compound which when administered in a pill had a miraculous effect on him, transforming his body to one of perfect health and exceptional physical vigor. Further experimentation led to additional pills granting him true super-powers, including X-ray vision, invisibility, flight, growth to giant size and strength, or shrinking to the size of a mouse.

Yates's discoveries had two major drawbacks. Their effects were only temporary -- his main vitalizing pill lasted about an hour per dose, while his additional abilities endured for only a minute. Yates was also unable to make them work for anyone else -- they interacted with his own unique physiology. Nonetheless he used his new abilities to fight crime under the costumed identity of Vita-Man. Vita-Man was recruited by the Drifter as one of the founding members of the Justice Squadron superhero team, protecting the west coast of the United States during WW II.

Percy Yates's health continued to deteriorate over time, leading to his retirement as Vita-Man in 1948, and his death in 1964. But in the intervening years he learned that several of his family members shared the biological factors which would allow them to use his empowering treatments. Today half a dozen of his kin are using "variations of his discoveries" (wording suggesting that other powers are possible).

Vita-Man's full background and character sheet are included in the Golden Age Champions Secret Files, a PDF collecting outtakes from the manuscript for the latest edition of Golden Age Champions.

The Zodiac Working:  In 1979 the late master villain Archimago, greatest sorceror of the Twentieth Century, attempted this fearsome ritual, to impregnate twelve women by twelve powerful demons. The resulting hybrid children could be used by the demons as hosts to incarnate themselves on Earth with all their power. The ritual was interrupted and the women rescued by the superhero team, the Fabulous Five. The women seemed unharmed and weren't pregnant, so returned home.

Two years later one of these women married and gave birth to a girl who later manifested powers of destructive energy, as well as a propensity for rage and vandalism. She grew up to become the supervillain Frag (fully written up in CV Vol. 3). She has no knowledge of her true origins, thinking herself a mutant. Although she usually appears human, when enraged her form becomes more demonic-looking.

Another of these women gave birth to a son, who now acts as the superhero Pagan (described in the book The Ultimate Mystic). In his superhero identity (resembling a satyr) he's physically superhuman and can project powerful mystic light. Pagan discovered his true heritage when his demonic father Belial attempted to seduce him to his service. Although his diabolical inclinations are strong, Pagan's inherent decency has so far won out.

To date nothing has been revealed about the other ten victims of the Zodiac Working.

[DShomshak]

An excellent bit of research! May I add a note or two?

 

As an addendum to the Vandaleur entry, you might mention the other occult dynasties of the CU. The Sylvestri clan of Satanists is comparable in size and power, and detailed in CV2. All known super-powered members are v illains (it comes with the family background), but it is conceivable that a Sylvestri might turn against their heritage while retaining their aptitude for magic. (Though I would not be surprised if they'd been retroactively edited out of Champions Online to make the setting more "family friendly": This is a *very* dark concept and group of villains.)

 

Other dynasties were mentioned in The Mystic World. The Chunhu, a clan of therianthropes, hold a powerful place in the mystic subculture of the Far East: One, "Tiger-Man, acts as a hero in Hong Kong but AFAIK has never been written up. The Kayvanzadi dynasty still flourishes in the Middle East, especially their native Iran. The Magambo of central Africa remain mysterious: The group seems to be made of some sort of vampire, but what sort is not defined, and their name is an ordinary Central African name. It's like being told to beware of the dark power of the Johnsons.

 

I can also add a few *completely unofficial* personal details to the Zodiac Working. This was my first essay into Shared Origins for my own campaigns, though the PCs only met two villains derived from it (Frag and a fellow called Hotspur who wielded a flaming sword). I wrote up a villain team of Zodiac Working progeny called the Demonic Convergence, but never got a chance to use them. But I offer the concept for anyone who wants to make the Working an important part of their CU campaign.

 

Finally, Pagan is my own PC from a friend's campaign. A 4th ed writeup appears in Ultimate Super-Mage under the name Morningstar. As this was a friend's campaign, not mine, his siring was not part of some greater plan (I left open who arranged his conception, but my friend never developed this.) By the time Steve Long ported much of my USM material into the official CU, there was already a Morningstar, so I changed the name to Pagan to prevent confusion. Not that I would expect anyone to buy the .pdf of USM from the HERO store just to get that obsolete writeup.

 

Dean Shomshak

[Lord Liaden]

Thanks for the input on the Zodiac Working, Dean.   I love to hear creators' stories behind the story. I personally am very glad to have The Ultimate Super Mage and all its "obsolete" write-ups. 😁

 

My criteria in choosing these origins was to be "modular," flexible, and not too restrictive, thus having general utility without forcing a specific role on a player. Of course what to include or exclude was a judgement call. I thought about the Sylvestris, but as you point out, belonging to that clan carries a lot of baggage. The other occult dynasties I didn't feel I knew enough about to suggest them. But such things are more of a concern in an MMORPG than a TTRPG, where the Game Master has more freedom to modify the precedents to suit their individual campaign.

 

[DreadDomain]

Thank you for this LL, it's great. And I hear you, the Champions Universe is allegedly the richest outside of DC and Marvel. Speaking of which, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the closest analogues for the following characters. Special rules: the characters need to still be alive in current Champions continuity!

 

Superman

Batman (is Nighthawk really the closest analogue?)

Wonder Woman

Captain America

Spider-Man (even if the motif isn't spiders)

Hulk (it has to be a hero that changes to a human form! No Grond allowed.)

Captain Canuck

Spawn

 

Bonus questions:

The greatest Russian hero

The greatest Canadian hero (no guns allowed, it's not Canadian enough 😄)

The greatest Australian hero (I don't believe Seeker is in present continuity - I preferred C:TNM Seeker anyway...)

[Ninja-Bear]

LL how about the Death Dragon from Watchers of the Dragon? Shadow Dragon is implied (though I think the PDF makes it more certain) and Sodeptan is definitely created by this.  Heroes could of course been given power but then use it for good!

[Lord Liaden]

On 5/8/2020 at 12:42 PM, Ninja-Bear said:

LL how about the Death Dragon from Watchers of the Dragon? Shadow Dragon is implied (though I think the PDF makes it more certain) and Sodeptan is definitely created by this.  Heroes could of course been given power but then use it for good!

 

Well, of course a GM can use whatever they want in any manner they want. Consider what you're suggesting, though. The Dragon is literally the embodiment of the profoundest evil in the human psyche. It knows the secret thoughts of every human alive. So, first, the Dragon would have to willingly give its power to someone it knows would use that power for good; second, the recipient would have to fight off the influence of pure corruption poured into themselves.

 

I mean, it can be rationalized if someone wants to make the effort; but like I said, I was looking for origins with minimal baggage.

[Lord Liaden]

On 5/8/2020 at 8:44 AM, DreadDomain said:

Thank you for this LL, it's great. And I hear you, the Champions Universe is allegedly the richest outside of DC and Marvel. Speaking of which, I'd like to hear your thoughts on the closest analogues for the following characters. Special rules: the characters need to still be alive in current Champions continuity!

 

Superman

Batman (is Nighthawk really the closest analogue?)

Wonder Woman

Captain America

Spider-Man (even if the motif isn't spiders)

Hulk (it has to be a hero that changes to a human form! No Grond allowed.)

Captain Canuck

Spawn

 

Bonus questions:

The greatest Russian hero

The greatest Canadian hero (no guns allowed, it's not Canadian enough 😄)

The greatest Australian hero (I don't believe Seeker is in present continuity - I preferred C:TNM Seeker anyway...)

 

I have to say, your requirements really hamstring me. Grond is obviously the closest Hulk analogue in the CU; although Ogre is similar in personality, but not nearly as strong. Characterizing Hulk as a "hero" can also get problematic, depending on which era and incarnation of the Hulk you choose. The "change to a human form" is also highly restrictive. At the moment I can't think of anyone who fills all your criteria.

 

Vanguard was very clearly the CU's Superman, both in his power and the esteem in which he was held. But he died in 1992 during the Battle of Detroit. Over the 1960s, the Hornet was a teenage, "insect-powered" hero who "always seemed to run into more than his share of mistrust from authorities." (Champions Universe p. 13)  If Hornet is still alive, presumably he's retired.

 

Nighthawk is the closest analogue to Batman in the current CU in terms of style. But as far as skill, brilliance, and obsession go, he's not really in the same league. OTOH the Harbinger of Justice stacks up well in those categories compared to Bats. But his methods and mindset are more Frank Castle than Bruce Wayne.Then again, just in terms of skills, IMO the title of "World's Greatest Detective" should go to Black Mask X. However, the Black Masks seem much more inspired by the classic pulp-era hero, the Phantom. (IIRC Harbinger is written up in Dark Champions 5E, but Black Mask X is definitely in Vibora Bay.)

 

I'd say the closest to Wonder Woman is Queen Mara of Atlantis, who during World War II fought with the world's first superhero team, the Defenders of Justice, as the Sea Hawk. (See Golden Age Champions and Hidden Lands.)  A series of men (and one woman) have filled the role of Captain America under the identity of the All-American, at least within the parameters of flag-suited symbol of American patriotism, with artificially-induced "peak human" body and mind. All the All-Americans are much more agents of the American government than Cap is today, though, having been picked in part for having the "right" attitudes. (Look for A-A's write-up in Champions Universe.)

 

With Captain Canuck we cross over into the "greatest Canadian hero" topic. Without question, the Canadian hero most respected in Canada and the world was the three men who used the identity of the Red Ensign since WW II. The last two of them wielded a unique and formidable weapon called the Canada Staff.  Red Ensign was pretty much "Captain Canada." The last Red Ensign was killed (apparently) by Baron Nihil in 2007, and officially no one else has taken the staff and name up yet. Golden Age Champions and Champions Of The North Outtakes give the history of the Red Ensigns.

 

Now as far as most powerful Canadian hero goes, the cosmic-powered Celestar is at the top of the list; although his three recently-returned teammates, the Mighty Canadians, are probably of comparable power in their own ways. But Celestar has suffered many emotional problems which have hampered his effectiveness. You'll find Celestar in Champions Of The North for 5E.

 

Spawn is tricky, due to his several distinctive elements: former soldier of questionable morality; made into a powerful monster by a ruler of Hell; a rebel against his diabolic master, neither a full villain nor a true hero. The CU has heroes connected to the infernal powers, but they're closer to Ghost Rider or Son of Satan than Spawn.

 

"Greatest Russian hero" today may be Stalnoy Volk ("steel wolf" - Champions Worldwide), a powered-armor agent of the Russian government, and veteran of the People's Legion hero team of the Soviet Union. His suit is pretty powerful, and he's a well-trained and experienced military man; but he and his suit are getting old, and may have retired by now. But the most revered Russian superhero of all time was General Zima, described on the origins list under "Golden Age Legacies." The General was killed fighting the first Gadroon invasion of 1977.

 

"Greatest Australian hero" is also problematic to define. Australia's superhuman community is very small, and none of its heroes are exceptionally powerful. Their activities are narrow in terms of locality or specialization. (See Champions Worldwide.)

 

[Matt the Bruins]

I used the Zodiac Working as the origin for my character Young Scratch, who's about midway between Daimon Hellstrom and Little Nicky on the devil-kid spectrum. Asmodeus was my demonic father of choice for him, and I threw a couple of Easter eggs into his background like the surname Woodhouse and occasional references to knowing "Aunt Yoko" from a childhood spent at the Dakota Apartments.

[DreadDomain]

1 hour ago, Lord Liaden said:

I have to say, your requirements really hamstring me.

Yes, sorry about that, I wanted to challenge you on some classics that do not seem to have direct contemporary analogues. That is why I did not ask about Iron Man, Green Lantern or Flash (too obvious). And yes, Grond is Hulk.

 

I forgot about Hornet, I will go have a look. I believe there are pictures of both Vanguard and him in CU, correct?

I also agree Batman has not been directly ripped off. You prompted me to go back and read Black Mask X. And good one regarding Queen Mara. I did not think about her.

I was expecting you would mention rhe Red Ensign but I did not remember about the Canada staff or the Mighty Canadians. More stuff to read!

 

I'd be curious to hear about your Ghost Rider/Son of Satan analogues.

 

For Australia, there was a write up for... was it Captain Australia... in one of the almanach in 4e but I don't believe he/she were ever official.

Thanks for playing!!

[Lord Liaden]

I couldn't find pictures of Hornet or Vanguard in CU, but Vanguard is depicted fighting Dr. Destroyer in his old armor on p. 19 of BOTD. Man, those Eighties sideburns look straight out of an old porn movie.

 

Scott Bennie wrote up the last Red Ensign, as well as the history of the family line that used that identity, for Champions Of The North, but it and a bunch of other stuff was cut for space. However, Scott assembled that material into a PDF, Champions Of The North Outtakes, which he posted for free on these forums. I don't think it's here any more, but I'll attach it to this post.

 

And some version of Captain Australia was considered "official" for the 4E incarnation of the Champions Universe, but not this one. His first mention was in 4E Champions Universe, predating Hero System Almanac I.

 

For the Son of Satan types, one example is Pagan whom Dean Shomshak and I described upthread. Another is Josiah Brimstone in Champions Villains Volume Three, a sorcerer whose soul was stolen by the arch-devil Belial and replaced with that of a powerful demon. Brimstone isn't really a villain, and tries to do "the right thing," but the "demonsoul" taints his attitude and behavior, and sometimes gains temporary control of his body.

 

In that regard Brimstone also has something of Ghost Rider, but his more explicit CU analogue was the Speed Demon, a demonically-possessed trucker whose "lucky charm" allowed him to take the demon's form but retain his own mind. Speed Demon used his powers as a supernatural "Good Samaritan" while on his routes to and from Vibora Bay, between 1972 and 1983 when he lost his powers. He's described on VB p. 15.

COTNOuttakes.pdf

[Lord Liaden]

Oh, it occurs to me that Hell Rider (CV3) can be considered Spawn-like, in that he wasn't a fundamentally bad guy, but made a deal with Mephistopheles for power and weapons to gain revenge on the men he blames for ruining his life. Hell Rider might even be redeemable if he can get out of his deal.

[steriaca]

Incubus 

 

One can imagine Incubus granting random powers to random people for fun, and conveniently forgetting to take the powers back when he is done. In fact, the hero could even think he got his powers one way, while actually Incubus did it because he was board out of his skull and needed something to do.

[Lord Liaden]

Absolutely, you can imagine it. But Incubus is, by his own assertion, the Devil of his universe. Every "joke" he plays has malicious intent. If you follow the official definition of the character, if he does something out of boredom, it's going to include someone suffering. Imagining the effect you want from Incubus requires justifying some unusual circumstances leading up to it, or else some redefining of the character.

 

Just recently, on the Champions Online forums, I was helping someone brainstorm an alligator-human hybrid PC. We came up with his character running into Al, the legendary Alligator Man. Al isn't some sort of were-creature, but the unfortunate victim of an ARGENT genetic experiment who escaped them and took up residence in the San Sebastien Swamp outside Vibora Bay. The swamp has a mystical sentient collective intelligence shared among all the animals and plants within it, which it controls. Through surprise or mistaken assumption by one or both of them, there was a fight between the PC and Al which left the human mortally wounded. The Swamp attempted to heal him, but the combination of its magic and Al's transferred DNA transformed the man into his 'gator form.

 

IMO this is a legitimate super origin grounded in official lore. But the conditions to make it happen had to be very specific, and don't readily bear repeating for subsequent characters. With effort and imagination you can bend almost any CU precedent to achieve nearly any desired result; but that's the sort of climb I wanted to avoid with the origins I chose.

[Lord Liaden]

7 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

Yes, sorry about that, I wanted to challenge you on some classics that do not seem to have direct contemporary analogues. That is why I did not ask about Iron Man, Green Lantern or Flash (too obvious). And yes, Grond is Hulk.

 

I don't think those are necessarily as obvious as you believe. It rather depends on how you look at the CU, and at what parts.

 

For example, Defender of the Champions looks like the obvious Iron Man analogue. All American good guy, brilliant inventor, wealthy industrialist, powered armor, the works. However, except for the American part, all those apply and are surpassed by Tetsuronin of Japan (Champions Worldwide), widely accepted to wield the most advanced and powerful armor of any superhero in the world.

 

The heroes who have used the Meteor Man identity, noted under the kelvarite origin above, are clearly inspired by the Golden Age Green Lantern, Allan Scott. OTOH the CU's Star*Guard (Champions Beyond) is unquestionably this setting's answer to the Green Lantern Corps.

 

Kinetik, another of the Champions, has origin, powers and appearance evocative of the Flash, although he's nowhere near as fast as Flash, and not even the CU's fastest speedster. But the first heroic speedster in the Champions Universe was the Streak, a member of the Defenders of Justice (Golden Age Champions), in the tradition of Jay Garrick the Golden Age Flash. The second super-fast Streak was one of the original Fabulous Five (alt-Fantastic Four), who asked permission from Streak I to use that name as an homage.

[steriaca]

8 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Absolutely, you can imagine it. But Incubus is, by his own assertion, the Devil of his universe. Every "joke" he plays has malicious intent. If you follow the official definition of the character, if he does something out of boredom, it's going to include someone suffering. Imagining the effect you want from Incubus requires justifying some unusual circumstances leading up to it, or else some redefining of the character.

Hey, nobody said he didn't input a little "fun" with those powers. If a player is going to go that route, he should be encouraged to take weird complications to represent Incubus' twisted sense of humor. Like Unluck special effected as Weirdness Magnet. Suspectbility to weird attacks. Dinstictive Features which makes the character's life complicated. Physical Complications which make his hands useless for normal actions.

[Lord Liaden]

A fully appropriate route if one wants to take it. But like I wrote upthread, one of my origin choice criteria was to minimize attendant baggage.

[death tribble]

Would you use something like the Gestalt wave in the Gestalt book for origins ?

[Lord Liaden]

Of course, in the Gestalt world. Scott Bennie produced a great example of a single-source-origin setting, emphasizing particular themes and motifs. OTOH the Champions setting is a grab-bag of diverse origins, like Marvel and DC. Different intentions, neither superior depending on what a given game-group wants.

 

Please understand, it was never my intention to make a thread about what I like or not, what I would use or not. That's irrelevant. I only wanted to present for your consideration and potential inspiration, origin concepts from the Champions Universe setting that I thought were relatively fresh and distinctive, and relatively easy to mix into any four-color supers game world, without actually having to be based in the CU. IMO that world is full of cool and useful concepts, that Champions players (or players of any supers game) who haven't sampled its world-building product line might not be aware of.

[DreadDomain]

On 5/9/2020 at 12:22 PM, Lord Liaden said:

I couldn't find pictures of Hornet or Vanguard in CU, but Vanguard is depicted fighting Dr. Destroyer in his old armor on p. 19 of BOTD. Man, those Eighties sideburns look straight out of an old porn movie.

Yea, the sideburns in that pictures are terrible  There is also a picture of Vanguard corpse being raised in the Champions Universe book

 

On 5/9/2020 at 12:22 PM, Lord Liaden said:

Scott Bennie wrote up the last Red Ensign...

I have the feeling that Canada is a bit underdone in the CU as it seems like their best heroes are either dead or unstable. I remember the Red Ensign costume as a mountie but I am sure their was also a more modern costume. Any idea where that could be?

 

On 5/9/2020 at 12:22 PM, Lord Liaden said:

And some version of Captain Australia was considered "official" for the 4E incarnation of the Champions Universe, but not this one. His first mention was in 4E Champions Universe, predating Hero System Almanac I.

Actually, looking at Captain Australia, he feels heavily inspired by Superman. The origins are totally different but the powers and even identity (a journalist named Kent!) cannot be mistaken.

 

On 5/9/2020 at 12:22 PM, Lord Liaden said:

...Pagan... Josiah Brimstone... Speed Demon... Hell Rider

 I totally need to reread them. It feels like you make me rediscover the CU. I remembered Brimstone more like John Constantine. Or am I confused with the Drifter?

 

20 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

For example, Defender of the Champions looks like the obvious Iron Man analogue. All American good guy, brilliant inventor, wealthy industrialist, powered armor, the works. However, except for the American part, all those apply and are surpassed by Tetsuronin of Japan (Champions Worldwide), widely accepted to wield the most advanced and powerful armor of any superhero in the world.

Sure... but Defender is totally Iron Man!

 

21 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

The heroes who have used the Meteor Man identity, noted under the kelvarite origin above, are clearly inspired by the Golden Age Green Lantern, Allan Scott. OTOH the CU's Star*Guard (Champions Beyond) is unquestionably this setting's answer to the Green Lantern Corps.

Yes, my thoughts exactly.

 

21 hours ago, Lord Liaden said:

Kinetik, another of the Champions, has origin, powers and appearance evocative of the Flash, although he's nowhere near as fast as Flash, and not even the CU's fastest speedster. But the first heroic speedster in the Champions Universe was the Streak, a member of the Defenders of Justice (Golden Age Champions), in the tradition of Jay Garrick the Golden Age Flash. The second super-fast Streak was one of the original Fabulous Five (alt-Fantastic Four), who asked permission from Streak I to use that name as an homage.

Good points. Kinetik is not necessarily Flash. What about Streak and the Fabolous Five, where can we find him?

[assault]

On 5/9/2020 at 6:48 AM, Lord Liaden said:

"Greatest Australian hero" is also problematic to define. Australia's superhuman community is very small, and none of its heroes are exceptionally powerful. Their activities are narrow in terms of locality or specialization. (See Champions Worldwide.)

 

 

This is true. On the other hand, there are a bunch of Hidden Lands (not just the Well of Worlds) nearby, and candidates for Unity train at Port Hedland.

 

So it's easy enough to plug in characters based on canonical sources.

 

New Zealand is harder, but the same approach would apply.

 

Or you can just ignore the whole thing, like I do.

 

A 'Champions Down Under' supplement would be nice, but I've got no desire to write it, and nobody else seems to want to either. If I did write something, it wouldn't make reference to the official CU, which I think is a bit Meh.

[Lord Liaden]

1 hour ago, DreadDomain said:

Yea, the sideburns in that pictures are terrible  There is also a picture of Vanguard corpse being raised in the Champions Universe book

 

I have the feeling that Canada is a bit underdone in the CU as it seems like their best heroes are either dead or unstable. I remember the Red Ensign costume as a mountie but I am sure their was also a more modern costume. Any idea where that could be?

 

Actually, looking at Captain Australia, he feels heavily inspired by Superman. The origins are totally different but the powers and even identity (a journalist named Kent!) cannot be mistaken.

 

 I totally need to reread them. It feels like you make me rediscover the CU. I remembered Brimstone more like John Constantine. Or am I confused with the Drifter?

 

Sure... but Defender is totally Iron Man!

 

Yes, my thoughts exactly.

 

Good points. Kinetik is not necessarily Flash. What about Streak and the Fabulous Five, where can we find him?

 

Oh, I forgot about that illo of Vanguard's reanimated corpse crawling out of the ground. Which doesn't make sense history-wise, since Vanguard's body burned to ash in Earth's atmosphere after he destroyed that approaching asteroid. It's a compelling image, though.

 

Well, Canada does have Justiciar, leader of StarForce, quite well-respected in Canada and in the States.

Red Ensign III's costume (which sounds a lot like his predecessor's in appearance) is described in his write-up in the COTN Outtakes PDF I attached upthread. It's also very similar to an illustration Storn Cook posted on his art thread, intended to be of the first Red Ensign (although Darren Watts used a different costume for GAC). I'll attach Storn's art to this post.

 

There are elements of several comic-book mystic characters mingled in Josiah Brimstone, Drifter, Robert Caliburn... each has more similarity to one or another published hero, but none are a direct analogue. (Except for the Witness, who very obviously stands in for the Phantom Stranger.) I'd probably peg Josiah Brimstone closer to Daimon Hellstrom, what with his "demonsoul" he must fight to control; while Drifter's origin is more like the Specter. IMO Caliburn is closest to that movie version of Constantine that Keanu Reeves played.

 

The only write-ups for the original Fabulous Five were published in Digital Hero #9 (Streak, Diamond, and Siren), and #10 (Amazing Man and Kid Chameleon). Subsequent issues deal with replacement members of the team after Amazing Man and Siren married and retired. Issue #11 has Kestrel and Scirocco, while #12 writes up Draco and Dart. Diamond, however, received an updated entry in Champions Universe: News Of The World, along with his current teammates in the Sentinels.

[Lord Liaden]

19 minutes ago, assault said:

A 'Champions Down Under' supplement would be nice, but I've got no desire to write it, and nobody else seems to want to either. If I did write something, it wouldn't make reference to the official CU, which I think is a bit Meh.

 

Such a supplement would be nice. Australia as described in 4E Champions Universe was considerably livelier, and I would have liked to mingle the two versions for my own gaming use of Australia. But in the past we've discussed in-setting ways to goose Australia's super population here on the forums.

 

You of course have every right to your opinion that the official CU is "Meh." Obviously my opinion is that only applies to your part of it.

[Matt the Bruins]

4 hours ago, DreadDomain said:

I totally need to reread them. It feels like you make me rediscover the CU. I remembered Brimstone more like John Constantine. Or am I confused with the Drifter?

Brimstone always reminded me most of Constantine too, but that may have been more due to the character's personality than his powers, which are rather more extensive and varied. The Drifter seemed like a straight up expy of the Spectre to me.

[Lord Liaden]

Drifter's filme noir style does make him more distinctive, though. (Champions Online gave him a Western/cowboy look and accent, which I believe was meant to evoke Clint Eastwood's movie, High Plains Drifter. Cryptic Studios made heavy use of pop-culture references.)

[DShomshak]

Playing "Who's the expy?" can get complicated when you look at characters from more than one angle. Take Superman for example. A Superman homage in the CU could be...

-- A character who has a similar power level and powerset;

-- A character who has a similar origin story (subtypes: alien raised on Earth, or last survivor of deastroyed planet); or

-- A character who shows a similar personality or mythic role: a living embodiment of the goodness of the common man.

 

Maybe other angles, too.

 

Dean Shomshak