CaptnStrawberry

Giantesses are cool. As a youth I read Baum's series of Oz books and one of the most memorable villains was Mrs. Yoop, a giantess and sorceress who seemed much more terrifying than a typical brutish giant due to her being beautiful and charming on the surface. This only served to better conceal her cold, manipulative, calculating and completely self-serving nature. Distant relatives, maybe?

I partially agree. It seems that comic writers go for the 'mass death/bad ass villain' feel when they can, but then weasel out of the actual consequences. When Doomsday first appeared, he crushed several junior JLA members into a bloody pulp. When Thanos had the infinity stones, he disintegrated many of the Marvel U.'s major characters. But in both cases (I'd have to check on the specifics), uh, they're not really dead! Comic fans would never stand for a permanent slaughter; since we don't have much emotional investiture in the roster of deaths above, they stay dead.

With that list of tutors, I would be tempted to hand him the keys to the planet! Certainly more interesting than the typical - 'I am best suited to rule. . . just because!' we usually get from the megalomaniac set.

Liaden certainly answered my question! By my crib note calculation, the Battle of Detroit by itself is responsible for c. 38% of all official CU hero deaths (15/40). Since then, pretty low level of lethality, it would seem.

I'd have to check the source material, but in the official timeline haven't numerous heroes died facing off against Dr. Destroyer? In the destruction of Detroit and other confrontations, I seem to remember multiple members of superteams biting the big one. That would certainly indicate that epic comic-style fights are more lethal than we're generally used to seeing. But makes sense from an rpg perspective: by building up the good Doctor's past record, a gm can really make a group of players nervous when they finally confront him themselves.

In many of the comics / animated versions, Ant-man retains normal strength in miniature form - in my mind better than invisibility. Imagine getting punched by someone who not only you can't see, you can't even try to grab! I think in some writers' imaginations, he actually gets stronger the smaller he gets. The science is hocus-pocus, of course, but not much more than any other superhero. Also, I would be surprised if at some point in the film, he doesn't throw his Pym particles in reverse and become Giant-man.

Same here, a used copy on Amazon for c. $6! Finally acquired Strike Force from ebay, $60+. But they both look great.

That thought has occurred, tho I always feel the good-guys need a catchier name - 'Yo UNTIL!' just doesnt work, phonetically speaking.

That's the one! I remember spending hours making sure the control panels/warning stickers were on the correct part of the SNAKE - and loving every minute. Ah,youth. We used SNAKE armor to escort HISS tanks into battle:

I personally am not a big fan of 'real-time' superhero universes. As we know, comic characters age slowly if at all, and always reflect the current events/pop culture of their period, whenever it is. Tying a character to a specific year means eventually you are forced to retire them or trot out a clumsy explanation as to why they don't age. I have a .pdf of the latest Champions U. (still reading through it), but it is chock full of nice background and story ideas - I suppose you can always alter the timeline to suit your needs.

Now I'm thinking the giant tank should just be called The Landmark - could have greek columns and a giant throne for General Mayhem on top in a twisted parody of the Lincoln Monument. Over the top and very Silver Age, but hey!

In order, maybe: The Pentatank (assuming its shaped vaguely like the Pentagon) If you don't mind recycling a Golden Age name, I like American Eagle ("there's lots of weirdoes around here") Direct Current (invented by Edison) Rosie works, maybe Equal Opportunity? (note: many historical 'rosies' were African American) Name the jet after an actual US model - e.g. Phantom, Fighting Falcon, or Raptor Baseball guy: Phenom. If he were a speedster, I kinda like Hit n' Run - lol

I remember I had the toy version of Cobra's mech/power armor - you could fit a guy inside! It was a bit clunky compared to Viper's more anime-inspired dealie. The 'pilot' is pretty cool also - I count what, three sidearms plus a knife!

Huh, first time I recall seeing that back cover - Perez always hits the mark. Looks like Bond and Enchantress front and center, with a 'toon at their feet! Used to play the Toon rpg years ago.

Can't blame you on Voyager, by far the worst Trek show. But if epic space battles are your thing, you owe yourself to give B5 another chance - each season tops the last (well maybe not the last one but still good).

I believe Wizards of the Coast offers free .pdfs on their site with basic versions of the core rules and monster lists. You obviously get more options and art with the hardbacks, but between the freebies and the starter box they are providing multiple points of entry.

As a basic neophyte (someone who played Champions a bit way back when, bought Champions Complete and is assembling a library of supplements but so far only contemplating actually playing) I can personally attest to the 'gobbledygook' intimidation factor. I look over the CC example builds and think I basically get them - how the points break down and why they were written in a certain way. But then I got to the equipment build section in the back. Lasso of Truth, OK, pretty straightforward. A way to represent a Power Ring, quite a bit more but we are talking about versatility that most rulesets struggle with, I can live with it. Then comes. . . (dum,dum,dum), the Questionite Shield - almost a whole column of powers and modifiers for one item. I admit my heart sank a little. Did we need every possible type of shield-slinging? Can't we just go with the most common uses? CC is a well-presented, streamlined book, but noob-friendly it is not (and I'm speaking as a long-time gamer who has played numerous hex and counter wargames in addition to rpgs). I think the posts here are hitting the nail on the head - a layer of chrome seperating potential players from the mechanics is the only way to grab more. The new 5e DnD books are mechanically not too different from the clunky 1st and 2nd editions, but they are so gloriously illustrated and beautiful to browse through (and un-intimidating), that I find myself not caring what is 'under the hood'! Kinda feel like I just put my head in a noose, but that's my .02.

Well I finally bit the bullet and got one off Ebay - a gamer liquidating his collection. Semi-reasonable price ($69) and it looks to be in good condition. My Xmas present to myself! Thing is, on another forum, a guy said he found a new, shrinkwrapped copy in a clearance section somewhere - for $3!! A tribute/updated edition - the Strike Force Universe or something - would be wonderful. Count me as a backer if it ever reaches KS.

I just received the 'Villains trilogy' (Masters, Teams, Solos) and don't think you can go wrong there: hundreds of great concepts from Champions history, nice color illustrations.

Anarchical Conglomerate of Reclusive Omnipresent Nihilistic Youthful Masterminds - ACRONYM Which actually sounds like a lot of gaming groups I have known.

She had two (immortal) sisters! GORGON would maybe be a great name for a villanous organization

Dear Lord . . . "not the boreworms, father!"

If I remember, the SHADOW organization from Mutants and Masterminds was portrayed similarly, primarily as a tech-based international cartel, but with a mystical side-branch chasing ancient artifacts. Obviously, a GM could use both/either/neither depending on player interest.

I don't play FH but may very well pick up a copy - have always had a soft spot for weird, hybrid, quasi-Lovecraftian critters!

Great advice, Bolo! That's the thing with super-vehicles, some of them are so massive they can become adventure settings in and of themselves.