Derek Hiemforth

The same applies in 5E (5ER, pg. 137).  But my take is clearly the minority take, which is fine.  Ultimately, if you think the effect and the cost and everything are appropriate, that's all that counts.   

Mis-keyed....sorry.

I had a villain organization called V.  It consisted of five teams of five villains each, all with names that started with V.
 
I started writing a description of them for this post, but as I was doing so, I realized it's actually a pretty cool idea, IMO.  So maybe I'll write them up as a "Hall of Champions" PDF or something instead.  😃

Many great ideas: forgot Desolidification, Shape Shift (hard to believe because I was thinking Plastic Man--would do it with a color Limitation). Martial Arts is genius...never would have thought of that.... The Fly Swatter I never considered but I love it....Tar-Pit is a great idea/power.... "Leaping with the Special Effect that I stretch to a location and pull myself there" is brilliant.
 
Noice!

(You may need to customize this to 5e, since my posts are always for 6e  )
 
I think that, especially if you go more in the vein of Plastic Man, "Stretching" becomes one of the most flexible power sets you can possibly have (pun intended, but still true).  Like "Superspeed," it's a special effect that can lend itself to almost every Power in the rulebook. I think a VPP or a Multipower is not only a distinct possibility for miscellaneous stretching tricks, but almost a necessity.
 
I played a classic stretcher named "The Elasticite" for several years as a secondary character.  He was admittedly a bit of a comic relief character, but that was because of his personality, not because people couldn't take his powers seriously.
 
Other than those already mentioned, possible powers include:
 
Martial Arts (maneuver effects based on stretching, such as the extra STR of a Martial Grab being from wrapping around the target, extra OCV and damage from a Fast Strike being from making your fist into a big mallet, Martial Escape for slithering out of grabs, Passing Strike for a sort of bouncy move-through, etc., etc.) Area Effect on hand-to-hand attacks (for a really big mallet hand) Barrier with Feedback (forming a wall with your body) and/or opaque (englobing targets with your body) Clairsentience (stretching sensory organs long distances to spy on stuff) Clinging (forming ends of hands and feet into suction cups to scale vertical surfaces) Deflection (bouncing an attack away from someone else at range) Desolidification (with appropriate Limitations for applicable SFX like squashing down paper-thin and going under a door, etc.) Extra Limbs Growth (stretching up your whole body) Knockback Resistance (for largely the same reason as Damage Reduction or PD Resistant Defense: kinetic energy just sort of bounces off of you) Life Support (a GM might allow you to take immunity to certain types of physical harm, such as broken bones, as an Immunity) Mental Defense (this may not be intuitive, but obviously there's something different about your brain/nervous system if it can control your crazy stretchy form, and that difference might translate into some resistance to mental attacks) Mental Illusions ("What the heck is he doing? I can't believe my eyes!" ... okay, this one is a joke.  ) No Hit Locations (I know this is normally an Automaton Power, and I know that most Champions campaigns don't use Hit Locations, but for those that do, I think many GMs -- myself included -- would let you buy this Power for a stretcher.  It just doesn't seem like it would make much difference to someone who can form his whole body into a giant rubbery ball whether you hit him in the chest or the leg.  ) Regeneration (just closing up your malleable form over the wounds) Resistant Defense vs. PD: (attacks just bounce off) Reflection only vs. physical attacks (attacks not only bounce off, they bounce back) Shape Shift (malleable features to make you look like someone else) Shrinking (squishing down your whole body) Swinging (long arms going from building to building like going across an overhead ladder)

Not so much as a player - one armored character had robotic tentacles, stretching was handy for melee weapons with reach - but as a GM I felt stretching came up a little short (pi) and came up with some  special maneuvers.
 
     Sling Shot:  The character with stretching must have two strong objects to hold onto (combined DEF and BOD of the two equal to his inches in stretching).  He then grabs hold and moves back half his stretching distance and releases, springing back to normal shape between the two objects.  In this way he can increase his ability to throw an object or (if he lets go) increase his leaping distance.  In either case his pts in stretching are added directly to his strength for that purpose.
     Fly Swatter:  The character can use two inches of stretching to gain a +1 OCV in HTH combat (for an attack or block maneuver) by stretching out his fists, making them wider.
     Under Wraps:  A stretching character can wrap his elongated limbs and body around a victim he wishes to immobilize.  Each inch of stretching used to 'wrap' the target adds 5pts to the stretcher's effective strength for holding on (though not for squeezing).
     Squiggle:  Conversely, the character can add his points in
 stretching to his strength to escape from grabs and many entangles, in a manner similar to the contortionist skill.
     Crack the Whip:  The character uses his elongated limbs to  strike with a whip-like motion, increasing damage.  The target must be at least 1 hex away but within half the attacker's maximum stretching distance.  Damage is increased by +1d6 per 2" of stretching the character pays endurance on.  This attack takes an extra segment to perform - like a haymaker - and reduces the attackers DCV by 2.
 
...can't say players took me up on it much, though.
 
 
Sometimes I wonder if stretching wasn't just more something artists liked to draw than a serious superpower.

I have played a few Stretching Metamorphs over the years. In my experience, how the other players reacted towards me was based more on my character concept than the stretching power. My last Stretching character, "Goth", was a person that could transform into a Shoggoth. None of the other players acted as if this character were comical to them.
 
In terms of character builds, Stretching is the 'other' way to use STR at Range (TK being the alternative). As such, most of my Stretching builds leaned into this and were Quick Bricks.
I typically would have 1/2 Campaign Maximum STR (so I didn't step on the toes of true Bricks) and supplemented my damage with a Multipower that included a HA and a HKA (for automatons or inanimate objects, the Special Effect would be changing your hands in sharp or spiked objects). I didn't find the need for a VPP on most of my Stretching builds unless the character was also Shape Shifting Metamorph. As Stretching is essentially Ranged for STR, powers that use your STR, like Clinging and Extra Limbs (a Special Effect for a Stretching character could be to have long arms that can loop around multiple foes), are efficient utility powers. For defenses, just about any Defense Power (or even the Combat Luck Talent) are appropriate. For a Movement Power, I typically use Leaping with the Special Effect that I stretch to a location and pull myself there. In regards to having One Thing, one of my favorite Stretching characters, "Tar-Pit", had a Campaign Maximum AP Clinging Damage Shield. As Hugh suggested, the Ultimate Metamorph for 5E is a good resource for ideas. I hope this helps.

Wasn't this part of the Ultimate Metamorph?
 

I had a villain organization called V.  It consisted of five teams of five villains each, all with names that started with V.
 
I started writing a description of them for this post, but as I was doing so, I realized it's actually a pretty cool idea, IMO.  So maybe I'll write them up as a "Hall of Champions" PDF or something instead.  😃

I like the groupings of fives with a group called V.  Very Roman of you.     Let us know if you do write that up - I'd be interested in seeing it.
 

I had a villain organization called V.  It consisted of five teams of five villains each, all with names that started with V.
 
I started writing a description of them for this post, but as I was doing so, I realized it's actually a pretty cool idea, IMO.  So maybe I'll write them up as a "Hall of Champions" PDF or something instead.  😃

I used to GM for a superhero team that was kind of like Suicide Squad, but not actually villains... more just less-publicity-friendly heroes who had gotten a bad rap, or had edgier personalities, etc.  It was like Suicide Squad in that they were sponsored by an off-the-books, "black op" government agency that called them in when ordinary govt. agents couldn't cut it, and they were sort of deemed expendable (or at least, disavowable). Their charter allowed them greater freedom of action, so they could take steps ordinary police or other govt. agents couldn't
 
They were the Proscribed-Operations Level Ten Emergency Reserve, Government-Endorsed International Superhuman Team  (P.O.L.T.E.R.G.E.I.S.T.)

Heh.  In my Boston Champions campaign I had the A-Team.  Their main membership requirement seemed to be having a name that started with "A" - Armadillo, Ankylosaur, Airstrike, A-Bomb, Achilles, etc.  They also tried to incorporate "A"s in their operations - for instance, I printed Google Earth views of the areas where their crimes were taking place, and the players never noticed that in every case, the street layouts made giant "A"s.
 
Even had the intro:
 
“In the early 2010s, various crack supervillains were sent to prison by a federal court for crimes they probably committed.  These men recently escaped from a maximum security superprison to the New York City underground.  Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune.  If you have a problem with superheroes, if no one else can help, and if you have enough money… maybe you can hire The A-Team.”  (cue theme music)

EXACTLY!   
 
 
Yowsa!  That's quite a crew!  😮 

Agreed, I don't see them building anything after they've achieved their goals (whatever that might look like.) Although now I say it I'd like to know Pantera's idea of the correct model for social services, it'd look like Hunger Games and Running Man mashed together.
 
Just thought of something else Eurostar could do - cause trouble at well known flashpoints.  
 
Umm... the following touches heavily on real world politics, so, um, let me know if you want it removed.
 
Eurostar could cause trouble in Crimea, probably in Sevastopol itself, and leave evidence to make make it look like they were operating with Ukraine encouragement. Russia, whether they believed it or not, could use that as a casus belli. 
 
Cyprus is a long standing point of contention between Greece and Turkey. Probably wouldn't take much to set off a war. Assassinate someone important to the peace process (either someone working for it or against it, really wouldn't matter, as it could be spun in whatever way works.)
 
They could send funds to terrorist organisations and let them act as cat's paws and just generally cause trouble.
 
There's countries with long, and in some cases recent, histories of war and hatred. It should be easy to come up with similar plots to the above and apply them to whichever countries you like, real or fictional.
 
And somehow I've forgotten oil and gas. D'oh. Russia is, I'm pretty sure, the largest supplier of natural gas to Europe. Rupture a pipeline! Or better yet, I mean this is Eurostar, destroy a refining centre or an oil rig. Pretend there's an oil rig in a disputed border region. Blow it up!
 
D'oh! 
 
Fill the strait full of hi-tech, homing, stealth sea mines. How will the pot dealers in Morocco get their stash to Spain now?

I try to not be a strait man when it comes to economic jokes.

I've always thought of them as destructive terrorists.
 
For example, they'd probably be ticked at Great Britain for Brexit, which could be seen as a step in the wrong direction for a unified Europe. 
 
They'd go after national monuments that the world thinks of when they think Britain: Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, etc.
 
Or they'd go after the fictionalized politicians or parties which enabled Brexit.
 
Or they'd go after the financial structure of Great Britain like the London Stock Exchange, Lloyd's of London, etc.
 
I wouldn't play Eurostar as being geniuses at being effective at achieving any goals beyond destruction and chaos. They're getting rid of whatever it is that they don't like. They're not personally responsible for building a better tomorrow, just the wrecking ball creating space for someone else to build it.

Wrecking Economies. Well, there's the Australian method. Never, ever, invest money in 2ndry industry and watch as your economy becomes more and more backward. I mean, when did "value added" ever add value to anything?
 
Culturally specific economics jokes* aside; if I were a super villain and I wanted to wreck an economy I'd focus on choke points in the logistics chain. A choke point is by definition smaller and therefore more easily destroyed by a handful of super villains. Honestly can't think of a European example but the Malacca Strait (between Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsular) is an absolutely key point in world trade. Current events give us the Suez Canal as another example, one that does affect Europe now I think of it. Maybe the straits between Denmark and Sweden? Bound to be a fair bit of shipping go through there.
 
Port facilities are another good option. Again, they're choke points in the logistics chain.
 
Getting away from logistics... how about hitting local stock exchanges? Once again, they're choke points but this time in the flow of capital. Plus I suspect that Fiacho would gain a certain amount of personal satisfaction from hitting somewhere so full of moneyed-up suits.
 
Broader damage to economies probably require WMD. So Eurostar would probably love to get their hands on some of those. I would lean toward biological weapons as even Fiacho should think twice about reducing the world to an atomic glow in the dark cinder.
 
The there's the big flashy options like hitting national monuments and leaders. Not much in way of economic damage but good damage to the national (international) morale.
 
They'd probably support their activities with good old fashioned heists. Cash. Diamond exchanges. Bullion. I don't see them doing mercenary work; they work for themselves, not others.
 
*and was there ever a more hilarious category of jokes?

Well, what Eurostar does is shaped first and foremost by Fiacho's motivations, both intellectual and emotional. As far as I can tell from his backstory and activities, Fiacho believes that Europe's inherent potential for greatness is being held back by all its nations' entrenched political, economic and cultural structures, which keep it divided and weak. Fiacho seems to have decided that those structures need to be irrevocably smashed before a new united Europe can arise. I don't get the impression he's thought through what specifically should replace them. It's as if Fiacho makes an almost Marxist assumption that something better will inevitably evolve once the old order has been swept away.
 
Of course a lot of Fiacho's philosophy is rationalization for his personal anger, bitterness, disillusionment, and resentment. He wants revenge on a system he feels failed and betrayed him, and his campaign is his intellectual excuse for venting. It's no coincidence that he recruited violent psychopaths for his team. They follow him out of a combination of their natural predilections aligning with Fiacho's activities, personal gratitude and loyalty, his persuasive charisma, and the wealth and power they expect to get out of his campaign.
 
I would imagine Eurostar's activities generally follow the pattern of most normal human terrorists, to cause death and destruction targeted at a particular group in order to sow confusion, doubt and fear in that group. Of course their superhuman power allows them to be more direct and obvious than normal human terrorists. Their specific targets would likely fall into two main categories. One would be the power structures underpinning European society: governing bodies and political parties; law enforcement and the military; industry, banking and other linchpins of the economy. The other would be symbols of the standards and values of the old order, and of its aura of strength and continuity: national monuments; great achievements in technology and engineering; particularly prominent and famous politicians, business people, intellectuals, and media/entertainment figures.
 
Because Fiacho resents America's economic and cultural "imperialism" in Europe, that's more than enough justification for Eurostar to cross the Atlantic to strike at similar targets in that country. So you don't have to confine their depredations to the Old World.

I used to GM for a superhero team that was kind of like Suicide Squad, but not actually villains... more just less-publicity-friendly heroes who had gotten a bad rap, or had edgier personalities, etc.  It was like Suicide Squad in that they were sponsored by an off-the-books, "black op" government agency that called them in when ordinary govt. agents couldn't cut it, and they were sort of deemed expendable (or at least, disavowable). Their charter allowed them greater freedom of action, so they could take steps ordinary police or other govt. agents couldn't
 
They were the Proscribed-Operations Level Ten Emergency Reserve, Government-Endorsed International Superhuman Team  (P.O.L.T.E.R.G.E.I.S.T.)

I was also quite amused to realize that they were government spooks.
 

 

[Agent Ward] "Somebody really wanted our name to spell out P.O.L.T.E.R.G.E.I.S.T." [/Agent Ward]

I used to GM for a superhero team that was kind of like Suicide Squad, but not actually villains... more just less-publicity-friendly heroes who had gotten a bad rap, or had edgier personalities, etc.  It was like Suicide Squad in that they were sponsored by an off-the-books, "black op" government agency that called them in when ordinary govt. agents couldn't cut it, and they were sort of deemed expendable (or at least, disavowable). Their charter allowed them greater freedom of action, so they could take steps ordinary police or other govt. agents couldn't
 
They were the Proscribed-Operations Level Ten Emergency Reserve, Government-Endorsed International Superhuman Team  (P.O.L.T.E.R.G.E.I.S.T.)

There's a supervillain from V&V that I use called F.I.S.T. with a very nice acronym: Fighting Infantry Shock Troop. Some time ago for fun, I decided to run an episode where he had recruited more villains with similar acronyms:
 
F.I.S.T.  (already mentioned)
F.O.O.T.  (Fearless Overly Optimistic Trooper)
S.P.L.E.E.N.  (Super Powerful Likeable Easily Exasperated Nerd. Yeah, it's bad but at least I did it.)
E.Y.E. (Ever Youthful Egoist)
H.E.A.R.T. (Highly Explosive and Rude Trooper)
A.R.M. (A Rough Mercenary)


Yeah, I'm most likely not going to run this episode again but it was fun trying it one time.

I suppose, if, theoretically, you could just keep creating more and more duplicates?
 
Or, if you can only have so many duplicates, Duplication with a limitation that you can only create one duplicate at a time and only if you were wounded since your last phase?  IDK what value that'd be, I'm out of practice.