Mark Rand

Being 72, I'm definitely an old timer.  I think I started with second edition.

One other idea is to threaten to blanket the world with electromagnetic pulses, wiping out everything electronic.  As a demonstration, Moscow, Beijing, New York City, or Washington, D.C. would be hit with a pulse.

i would prefer to all an all female band Pantheress

That’s fair, but in a Champions Universe more fantastic things can be going on down below. There could be an under city in the nether region between the coal mines and the subway tunnels.
 
Perhaps one of the high-tech companies in the city has  a sprawling underground research facility where they conduct illicit experiments.
 
Maybe VIPER has several active Nests going on deep beneath the surface.
 
Maybe this is where Nightmara maintains an Earthside court for her followers.
 
 

Television

The Pittsburgh TV market is currently ranked as the 23rd largest in the United States by Nielsen.  It has recently gained distinction as one of the most competitive.  (In the listing below the table, network O&O’s are denoted in bold.) The market is served by:

Channel

Call Sign

Network

Since

Digital subchannel

Digital Subchannel

Owner

2

KDKA

CBS

1949
(Jan. 11)

Start TV

  CBS

4

WTAE

ABC

1958
(Sept. 14)

Cozi TV

--

Hearst

11

WPXI

NBC

1957
(Sept. 1)

Me-TV

--

Cox Media

13

WQED

PBS

1954
(Apr. 1)

Create

Neighborhood

  16

WEPA-CD

Cozi TV

1989
(Feb. 28)

Movies!

  OTA Broadcasting

19

WPCW

The CW

1953
(Oct. 15)

    CBS

22

WPNT

MyTV

1978
(Sept. 26)

    Sinclair

31

WIIC-LD

  1989
(Aug. 29)

    Abacus Television

39

WBYD-CD

JTV

1990
(Jul. 25)

    Perez Broadcasting

38

WINP

ION

1953
(Aug. 31)

Bounce TV

Court TV

Ion Media

50

WPCB

Cornerstone

1979
(Apr. 15)

    Cornerstone

53

WPGH

Fox

1953
(July 14)

ZUUSCountry

  Sinclair

  PCNC

  1994
(Jan. 1)

    Cox Media

  AT&T SportsNet

FoxSports

1986
(Apr. 13)

    AT&T Sports Networks

  PanthersTV

Pitt

2010
(Sep. 21)

     
 
VHF:
KDKA 2 (CBS)
WTAE 4 (ABC)
WPXI 11 (NBC)
WQED 13 (PBS)
This PBS member station is a major contributor to national media as the source for Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, National Geographic Explorer, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.
                UHF:
WEPA-CD 16
WPCW 19 (CW)
WPNT 22 (MyNetworkTV)
WIIC-LD 31
WBYD-CD 39
WINP 38 (Ion)
WPCB 40 (Cornerstone)
WPGH 53 (FOX)
               

Cable news stations:
Pitt Panthers TV
Pittsburgh Cable News Channel
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

 
                Digital television stations:
KNNP-TV

I'm going to use the fourth edition rules along with the Ultimate series books from the fifth edition rules.

I am reminded of something in the Ranma 1/2 fanfiction Girl Days. A multipart episode within the story involves a big costume party at the Kuno estate. An honest to goodness Wizard by the name of Fred Yiffburger decides to take over the world by casting a spell which brings out the inner nature of a person to the outside. But of course, the spell is miscasted and there outer appearances match there inner nature. Ranma was dressed as Priss from Bubblegum Crisis. Akane was dressed as Sailor Mercury. Tatawaki Kuno was dressed as Indiana Jones. Ryoga was Luna (or should I say P-Chan was Luna).
 
There is also a big universal law which Fred Yiffburger doesn't believe in. That the universe works against anyone trying to conquer the entire world.

Ms. Might is an older teenaged girl a little over 16 and one of the few heroic Boom Juice recipients in the city. She is a flying brick still learning her powers, roughly at the same ability level as DC’s Wonder Girl/Donna Troy was when she was that age.
 
Her accidental exposure to Boom Juice transformed her overnight from a mousy, brunette teenager with glasses and a rather plain face into a supremely well-built young woman for her age and also added a couple of inches to her height. Although she no longer needs them, she still wears her glasses and has also taken to wearing baggy clothes in her secret identity as mild-mannered Sally Sanders, high school student.

Phantom Pittsburg: A creation of Bad Baron Blackard, it is an extradimensinal space touching the real Pittsburgh at various points around the city. With a special "key" one could get to these various places at various places in the city.
 
Blackard allows other criminals assess to the spaces for various reasons and various prices. The major places are the Phantom Train Tracks (ment mostly to transport various goods across the city, but sometimes as a deathtrap by someone who just refuses to shoot the troublesome meddling kids and their talking dog), an area attached to a bank (best way to rob it, by 'misplacing' valuables between dimensions), various abandoned places (which makes one wonder, why not just use the abandoned place itself).
 
The prison of Pittsburgh is one place unconnected to this dimension, but Bad Baron Blackard is working on solving that 'problem' soon.

Killavolt is a dark-skinned Boom Boy of mixed ancestry who chooses to use a mask and costume to hide his identity. His powers are electrical in nature, and he is able to project lightning bolts as well as shield himself from harm with an electromagnetic force field that is more effective versus ranged attacks than melee. He is able to fly but leaves a trail of electricity that fades quickly.
 
He mainly sticks to small-time robberies and muggings and prefers to work solo.

The thing is, both can be true because, well, comic books. The train and tracks are out of phase from the normal dimension, this the area is considered "haunted" by a "ghost train".
 
The villain who created it is Bad Baron Blackard, who is rather hi-tech but styles himself like a turn of the last century Robber Baron. He seeks out various properties, and acquires them by hook or by crook. And he has no qualms about what the properties are used for.

My intent here is NOT to be political. However, this poltical meme really drives home what people in Pittsburgh (even those that MOVED there from outside) think about people with no ties to Pittsburgh. Dr. Oz is running for Senate to represent the entire state of Pennsylvania. He's running against a guy from the Pittsburgh region. AND yes. This image is a stop pic of a guy holding a blank piece of cardboard with the words photoshopped onto it.
 
Oh, and for the record, "Yinz" essentially means the plural "you" as in, "Yinz ready for lunch?" And, those "from" Pittsburgh are often PROUDLY called "Yinzers".
 

Grunt is one of the more physically powerful Boom Boys with a simplistic powerset rather similar to Bulldozer’s. He is illiterate and not very smart, so crime is an easy way for him to make money. He will do simple smash and grabs, once breaking open an ATM for the cash inside, and mugging people.

Twinkle is a young Boom Girl, aged fifteen. She is surprisingly strong for her size and build (five feet tall and 110 pounds) but with a 25 STR.
 
Her primary powerset is a blinding area effect flash centered on herself that she can emit which she is immune to and a twinkling, lightweight force field just barely strong enough to deflect bullets up to .45 caliber. She can also teleport short distances, which makes her difficult to catch.
 
She will teleport into jewelry stores and steal what she can grab or mug people on the streets.

Fun-Size is an older, tomboyish Boom Girl, almost eighteen. She possesses linked abilities of Shrinking and Density Increase and some added physical enhancements even without her powers on. So the smaller she is, the stronger she is. Her current limit is shrinking to 1/4 her normal height and a 40 STR, but her punches are armor-piercing when at her smallest size from her tiny fists.
 
She liked to fight even before getting her powers, but she enjoys it even more now that she’s gotten limited invulnerability and super-strength.

The Boom Boys (along with nearly as many Boom Girls) are members of a growing network of teenaged street gangs that have somehow acquired a mutagenic serum called “Boom Juice” that awakens superpowers in a very few of those who receive it (in the 200-300 point range for less than 1% of recipients).
 
Nothing much seems to happen to most recipients (90% have a mild improvement no better than a typical VIPER agent), and some die in various horrible ways after taking it (9%). For some reason, it has no effect on anyone too old (over 19) or too young (under 13), so seems to be affected by hormone levels found during puberty.
 
Boomers are a new addition to the street scene and it is unknown if any of them will keep their powers into adulthood or they will fade away as their hormone levels change. It is unknown who is supplying the Boom Juice. Most of them do smash and grab robberies or muggings to get cash.
 
The vast majority of Boomers are physically enhanced types, so tend to be Bricks and Martial Artists along with a few low-level Speedsters. Animal-like powers have also been observed. Some possess energy-based powers with special effects like electricity, fire or cold. None seem to have any mental abilities other than varying degrees of Mental Defense.
 
The gang members are intended to be a low-level villain group for teenaged superheroes to fight. As the superpowered members of the gang gain experience with their abilities, this opposition could continue into adulthood, with some of the gang members becoming full-fledged supervillains.

Yes, an escort/bodyguard/driver could be fun. Perhaps the humanoid penguin has an unusual talent for solving crimes and keeps stumbling across murders, or less lethal Scooby-like mysteries. The human assistant could be a less than willing helper (“Tracking down weirdos and criminals isn’t in my job description. I’m just supposed to drive you around and get you to games.”)

Even without powers, there could be “weird events” he/she participates in.
 
Personally, I just find the idea of an anthropomorphic penguin slouched at a bar somewhere in Pittsburgh and grousing about life in between performing at sports games or Scooby-like weird event adventures to be funny.

In a superhero universe, perhaps the mascot of the Pittsburgh Penguins is a human-sized anthropomorphic penguin, either from another world or another universe.
 
Think Howard the Duck, only a penguin.

All that being said, I can see a fictional company sponsoring the stadium. Given the city's high tech focus (medical, AI, robotics, etc) it is conceivable that one of the local, very successful tech companies sponsors the stadium. For exmaple, the following may be a good company to use (yes, I just made it up) since it would ALSO provide a reason for super-villians to be in town ("Gotta steal...I mean, PICK-UP the new ultra-gamma-ray-blaster"). How's this for a marketing slick?
 
REACT (Research, Engineering, Advanced Concepts, and Technology) is a weapon's manufacturer and think tank, specializing in theoretical research, high tech gadgets, gizmos, weapons, armor, and even vehicles. REACT is the most trusted gadget supplier of the super powered community. Do you want to...
tweak your armor for better comfort? increase the power of your Transduction Ray? trick out your super-mobile? need an X-Ray unmogrifier? Well, REACT is your one stop shopping. Our engineers can help you resolve your own design issues, manufacture your designs, and can even create new gadgets for which you have only the vaguest of concepts.
 
Instead of the catsup bottle pouring after each score (touchdown or field goal) at "Heinz Field" (where both the Steelers and Univerisy of Pittsburgh play), for the NEW sponsor, it would be changed to a "ladle" (the actual name of the bucket) pouring molten iron. Sound effects (sizzling) could even be added). This imagery would not only be good for our fictional REACT (if that is the direction we go), but it would be PERFECT for the real world and whatever it is that the new stadium sponsors call themselves, but in that case it would be a peace offering to the people of Pittsburgh.
 
And as a bonus, here is a Pittsburgh overview for your viewing pleasure: 
 

Hero needs to publish again.  Not just relying on 3rd party publishers like Tiger Paw Press or Subrooks own publishing thing, but honest to goodness physical books published in a quality way and often enough that people looking at it won't ask "HERO Games? Whose that?"
 
HERO has to care about bringing new people into the hobby. Do a "second edition" of Champions Complete written in such a way as to not assume that the reader actually knows what a roleplaying game is and they can't or don't want to do everything themselves.
 
They don't have to actually care. They can just sit back, offer digital only everything and let Tiger and others do their work for them. Honestly I think they do care a little. But they don't have funds to put themselves back on their feet again. And I don't have a solution except physical publishing, which they don't have money for in the first place.

FIST is the local costumed criminal organization. FIST organization is more of a "crime union" than most mal-legal groups. The leader is known only as One. It is One who provides insurance and medical for the agents (the Many). Many is the backbone of the group. There is also Doctor , Professor among others.

Plot Hook: A water controlling supervillain offers his services to keep water away from The Bathtub "for the bargain price" of one million dollars per year. He does a proof that his powers can in fact keep water away from the roadway, and suggest that if he isn't paid soon, there is no telling what may happen on the road.
 
He states that what he is doing is completely legal, since he is not actually blackmailing the city, simply offering his services...and like any good employee needs to be paid for doing a job.

Browns Island looks like it would make a terrific place for a hidden base from which to stage assaults on the city. VIPER could set up shop there, perhaps starting out with a submerged base underneath the river and then tunneling into the island to create a major complex.
 
Alternatively, there could be one or more bases left over from the Golden or Silver Ages out there. Such a base could be accidentally discovered by a hero or villain and appropriated for their own use. Perhaps it still exists because it has an automated repair system that is maintaining and maybe has even been continuing to expand the facility on its own over the past several decades.
 
An entire secret history could be built up around such a base. Recent readings of “earthquakes” in the area could lead to its discovery. If it’s VIPER doing it, they could stage cover stories to keep people away, something like a superhuman version of a Scooby Doo or Johnny Quest mystery.

There's no Browns Island, but the Allegheny River has Herr's Island, Six-Mile Island, Sycamore Island, Nine-Mile Island, Twelve-Mile Island, Fourteen-Mile Island, and Jacks Island.  Sycamore Island and Nine-Mile Island are across the river from each other and Fourteen-Mile Island has homes on its downstream side and its upstream side is part of Allegheny Islands State Park.  An interesting note is that the C.W. Bill Young Locks and Dam runs between two of the islands.
 
The Ohio River has Brunot's Island, which is owned by Duquesne Light, Davis Island, and Neville Island, which is also Neville Township.