Alloy (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Alloy
aka Paul Bouvier & Shanhara

Prowess 5
Coordination 5
Strength 7
Intellect 4
Awareness 5
Willpower 5

Stamina 12

Powers
*Blast (100 MGHz pulsed ion beams) 8
*Dazzle (blinding light) 6
*Flight 7 (Extra: Spaceflight)
*Interface 5
*Life Support 10
*Immortality 2
*Regeneration 4
*Damage Resistance 6
*Stretching 5

Specialties
Aerial Combat (+1 bonus), Athletics (Expert +2 bonus), Martial Arts (Expert +2 bonus), Military (Expert +2 bonus), Weapons – Guns (Expert +2 bonus)

Qualities
Twisted Perception of Reality – Blames Aric for his Death
I’m no longer human!
Dark Mirror of X-O Manowar

Background

Paul Bouvier was a former soldier and special agent of the Department W, a task force of the Canadian Secret Service. He was poisoned by Spider Aliens while he saved the lives of Aric Dacia, Randy Cartier, and Turok. Instead of dying he decided to sacrifice his body to bond with an X-O Manowar Seed and become Pol-Bekhara, a new Good Skin for Aric. Because the Manowar Class Armor was never designed to have a human life create it, Paul never merged correctly with the armor and he managed to gain control over the armor and recreate himself soon after. In his madness, he now blamed Aric for his death, discounting the sacrifice that he himself had made.

After a battle with Aric for control, Aric purged Paul from the armor (depriving it of sentience in the process). As the two were fighting near the remains of Aric’s original armor, Shanhara, Paul was able to merge with the remains and become a new being, Alloy. Because Shanhara was essentially dead, the merger rendered Paul completely insane and he sought out Aric to kill him. After a fierce battle that triggered an avalanche, Aric rose from the snow with Alloy’s severed head. He cast the head aside and departed.

Given that he literally IS the armor, there’s no reason to assume that being decapitated would prevent him from returning.

Alloy appeared to have all the offensive capabilities of a Manowar Armor but as he was comprised of a destroyed armor, he was not stable (physically nor mentally). Alloy also exhibited the ability to flex the metal parts of his arms to increase his physical striking range. Overall, Alloy is not as powerful as X-O… but his insanity can sometimes give him an advantage. Note that he still remembers his training as a mercenary and is thus adept at a number of things that a normal man would not be.

Master Darque (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Prowess 3
Coordination 5
Strength 3
Intellect 6
Awareness 8
Willpower 9

Stamina 12

Powers
*Magic – Darque Power 8 (Extras: Blast, Detect – Necromantic/Darque Energy, Alteration Ray, Astral Projection)
*Immortality 3

Specialties
Mental Resistance (Expert +2 bonus), Occult (Master +3 bonus)

Qualities
The Book of Darque – each of his tattoos represent a great evil he has committed and thus are an ongoing tale of his life.
It is my destiny to rule over all.
My beloved sister, my deadliest enemy.

Background

Master Darque is an extremely powerful necromancer who is obsessed with the dark arts. His only goals are to contribute to evil and to gain more power. He has had a run-in with about every hero in the Valiant Universe. He is an albino and has a twin sister named Sandria. He and Sandria have a complicated relationship – they are totally devoted to one another and yet they are the yin to each other’s yang, frequently coming to blows as Darque seeks to destroy the world and Sandria tries to protect it. Should one of them die, the other is fated to do so, as well.

Darque was primarily a foe of Shadowman but he also battled virtually every other hero in the Valiant Universe, particularly Solar and Doctor Mirage.

Lazarus Gray 14

Posted on by Barry Reese

Edits on the 14th volume of Lazarus Gray have been completed! Personally, I think this is one of the strongest volumes in the series — and I guess that I can go ahead and announce that this time Lazarus will be facing one of the greatest criminal minds in all of adventure fiction: Fantômas! If you’re not familiar with this master criminal, he was created by French writers Marcel Allain (1885–1969) and Pierre Souvestre (1874–1914). One of the most popular characters in the history of French crime fiction, Fantômas debuted in 1911 and appeared in a total of 32 volumes written by the two collaborators, then a subsequent 11 volumes written by Allain alone after Souvestre’s death. The character was also the basis of various film, television, and comic book adaptations.

How and why Fantômas comes to Sovereign City will be detailed in the novel, which will feature two major character deaths and the addition of a new member to the Assistance Unlimited team, as well as a new recurring supporting character.

Can’t wait for you guys to read it!

Doctor Eclipse (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Doctor Eclipse
aka Fred Bender

Prowess 3
Coordination 4
Strength 4
Intellect 4
Awareness 6
Willpower 5

Stamina 9

Powers
*Energy Control – Darque Power 8 (Extras: Blast, Flight, Binding, Dimensional Travel, Energy Drain, Growth [-2 to tests to hide, +2 intimidation], Illusion, Phasing, Stretching; Limit: Doctor Eclipse is weakened by the presence of silver – he takes +2 damage from silver-based attacks)

Specialties
Investigation (+1 bonus), Stealth (+1 bonus)

Qualities
“Normal?! Maybe I didn’t like things normal! You think you’ve got a monopoly on godhood, Seleski?!”
“Oh, yeah, that almost hurt! Haw! You pansy! C’mon, big boy, give me all you’ve got!”
Absolutely insane.

Background

Fred Bender wasn’t the smartest of men but he was good at piecing together the truth. He was able to dig into Phil Seleski’s background and figure out that he was actually the red-suited superhero known as Solar. When he demanded that Phil give him a portion of his power, Solar made the foolish decision to show Fred that omnipotence wasn’t all it was cracked it to be. He briefly gave Fred superhuman power and then took it away – his goal was to frighten Fred back onto the straight-and-narrow. Unfortunately, the experience left Bender out of his mind with desperation to achieve godhood once more. When Master Darque came to him and offered mastery of the necromantic energy dubbed ‘Darque Energy’ in exchange for servitude, Fred leapt at the chance and renamed himself Doctor Eclipse. In this form, he battled Solar several times, as well as clashing with the Secret Weapons team.

Toyo Harada (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Toyo Harada

Prowess 4
Coordination 4
Strength 4
Intellect 6
Awareness 8
Willpower 9

Stamina 13

Powers
*Telepathy 9
*Telekinesis 9
*Mind Control 8
*Force Field 8
*Psychic Scream (Mental Blast) 8
*Atomization (Blast) 9
*Levitation (Flight) 5

Specialties
Aerial Combat (+1 bonus), Business (Expert + 2 bonus), Leadership (Expert +2 bonus), Mental Resistance (Master + 3 bonus), Psychiatry (+ 1 bonus)

Qualities
“You are incapable of comprehending my limits.”
“I am the Omega… the Paragon… the True Harbinger.”
“What you need is me.”

Background
Much of this comes from Valiant Universe: The Roleplaying Game

Sand ripples like water through the garden, but it must flow around the rock. Through most of the last century, Toyo Harada has been that rock, quietly exerting his will to bend the world around him.

Born outside Hiroshima in the first half of the twentieth century, Harada was just a boy when the atomic bomb activated his powers and annihilated his old life. He wandered without purpose until the Bleeding Monk, a mysterious precognitive, guided him with visions of the future and Harada’s grand role in shaping it. Having witnessed mankind’s potential for self-destruction firsthand, Harada realized that only those with great power could unite humanity against the coming darkness.

A psiot with unmatched mental abilities, Harada can bend people to his will, raise force shields, disperse a target’s atoms, and accomplish many other psionic feats. With a combination of nearly limitless power and natural business sense, Harada has crafted a mighty organization (Harada Global Conglomerates) capable of redirecting the path of the world as he sees fit.

Possibly the most powerful psiot to ever walk the Earth, Harada takes the long view in all situations. He seeks loyalty from his followers but refrains from tyrannical behavior unless absolutely necessary.

Harada is far too powerful for any single hero to defeat and he’ll make mincemeat out of most groups, as well. Battling Harada is something that will take a long, intelligent campaign and even then, the chances of victory for the heroes is slim. Use him sparingly.

Zephyr (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Zephyr
aka Faith Herbert/Summer Smith

Prowess 3
Coordination 3
Strength 3
Intellect 3
Awareness 3
Willpower 4

Stamina 7

Powers
*Air Control 7 (Extras: Flight, Force Field, Blast)

Specialties
Aerial Combat (Expert +2 bonus), Art – Writing, Leadership

Qualities
*“I’m going to be the greatest superhero in forever! Joss Whedon’s gonna make a freakin’ movie about me starring Christina Hendricks!”
*Eternal Optimist
*Fangirl!

Background

After losing her parents in a car crash at a young age, Faith Herbert was raised by her loving grandmother. The young Faith found solace in the fantasy worlds her parents had once shared with her – comic books, science-fiction movies, the TV shows of Joss Whedon, and nerd fandom filled her life. Eventually, Faith thought she had found the secret to becoming a real superhero when she was approached by the Harbinger Foundation. There Faith met Peter Stanchek, another powerful psiot the Foundation had recently recruited. Utilizing his ability to activate other latent psiots, Peter unlocked the potential within Faith, giving her the ability to fly. She is the founder of the Harbinger Resistance and unlike many other heroes of the Valiant Universe, she relishes the role of superhero and all of its trappings.

For her daytime job as a journalist in Los Angeles she created the alter ego “Summer Smith”, wearing glasses and a red wig to complete the disguise. Currently, Faith is in a romantic relationship with Obadiah Archer.

Magnus (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Magnus, Robot Fighter

Prowess 6
Coordination 5
Strength 7
Intellect 6
Awareness 5
Willpower 6

Stamina 13

Powers
*Leaping 2
*Radio-Pathic Implant 4 (Functions like Telepathy – allows him to listen in on the thought processes of Freewill robots. Limits: Only works on Freewills and does not allow Magnus to transmit his thoughts back to them)
*Battle Tunic – Damage Resistance 6

Specialties
Athletics (Expert + 2 bonus), Leadership (+ 1 bonus), Martial Arts – Robot Fighting (Master + 3 bonus against robots only), Pilot (+ 1 bonus)

Qualities
“I will not deliberately kill another human being — not while I have another choice.”
“To be honest, I feel more comfortable with robots — and yet I kill them on a regular basis.”
“I am Magnus — and I fight for HUMANITY !”

Background

Magnus was born in North Am, a super-city that encompasses the entirety of the North American continent, and his parents remain unknown. He was found by a very old robot named 1A, who raised the child. With North Am under the control of an AI dictator named H8, 1A decided to train the young boy, who he named Magnus, to be able to do battle with robots. One such technique included a fighting technique that allows him to break metal with his bare hands. A1 also provided Magnus with a special device that allowed him to hear robot-to-robot communication, giving him an edge in information gathering. As a result, Magnus fought both evil robots who would enslave humans and humans who would use robots for evil. Later Magnus met Leeja Clane and the two fell in love.

Magnus teamed with other heroes from the 20th century during the Unity event, during which he was in a place outside of normal time and space dubbed The Lost Land. This allowed him to meet members of Harbinger, as well as X-O Manowar, Solar, Shadowman and other super-powered beings like himself. In fact, two members of Harbinger (John “Torque” Torkelson and Kris Hathaway) were actually the parents of Magnus. When Geoff McHenry (the Geomancer) informed Kris that her baby was needed in the far future to save humanity as the Robot Fighter, Kris tearfully allowed the Geomancer and Solar to transport her child to the 41st century.

Savage (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Savage
aka Kevin “KJ” Sauvage, Jr.

Prowess 5
Coordination 5
Strength 4
Intellect 4
Awareness 5
Willpower 4

Stamina 8

Powers
*Dinosaur Claw Daggers 4
*Spears 3

Specialties
Athletics (Expert +2 bonus), Martial Arts (+1 bonus), Stealth (Master +3 bonus), Hunting (Master +3 bonus)

Qualities
“This is my kill, stupid monster!”
Feral wild child
Dinosaur Hunter

Background
Much of this comes Valiant Fandom:

Savage, real name Kevin “KJ” Sauvage, Jr., is a warrior who battles dinosaurs. His parents are celebrity soccer player Kevin Sauvage and supermodel Veronica Sauvage. After a plane crash, they were stranded on a mysterious island populated entirely by dinosaurs when KJ was an infant.

Being a toddler at the time of the plane crash, Kevin wasn’t old enough to remember his father’s death, which was caused as he searched for supplies for his unwell wife. Kevin grew up being taught how to survive by his mother Veronica, who often told her son that one day they would leave the island and go home. Things took a turn for the worse however when his mother was killed by the leader of a group of men living on the island, leaving the young boy alone.

For an unspecific amount of time, though not a long one, Kevin perfected his hunting skills and ability to kill, becoming an enemy to those who lived on the island. Eventually he decided to try escaping through the portal that the island inhabitants use to get new supplies, killing them all and their leader. Taking the dead body of the leader with him, Kevin went through he portal and found himself in a city.

Due to the harsh conditions of the island he was raised on and the things he had to do to survive, Kevin is very brutal and bloodthirsty, often seen enjoying the killing. After the death of his mother, Kevin has grown obsessed with finally leaving the island forever and going “home”, as his mother promised they would, despite not truly knowing what to expect.

If Savage reminds you a little bit of another Valiant ‘dinosaur hunter,’ you aren’t far off. Since they no longer have Turok, we now get Savage – who is an interesting character in his own right. Keep in mind that he was only fifteen years old at the time of the first Savage series — so those stats you see above? They’re only going to get better.

Ouch.

Posted on by Barry Reese

Being a writer means you have to develop a thick skin. I was updating my Publications page earlier tonight and needed to get the date that a particular anthology was released. While doing so I wandered across a review of said book… and while they enjoyed it, they singled out my contribution as being one that they felt was lacking. In fact, they made it clear that they felt it didn’t deserve to be included at all.

Ouch!

I thought my story was pretty good but obviously everyone has their own opinions. As long as you’re putting your hard-earned money down to buy the book, you certainly have the right to share your views on the contents!

Over the years, I’ve gotten more positive reviews than negative but it’s human nature to focus on the bad side, I suppose.

Work continues on the new Straw-Man story. Hopefully it’ll receive a positive reaction when it’s finally released.

Doctor Mirage (Icons Writeup)

Posted on by Barry Reese

Doctor Mirage (Modern Version)
aka Shan Fong

Prowess 4
Coordination 3
Strength 3
Intellect 5
Awareness 6
Willpower 7

Stamina 10

Powers
*Astral Projection 5
*Detection – Spirit Sight 8
*Suit – Magical Damage Resistance 4
*Gadgets (Mystic Artifacts) 5

Specialties
Investigation, Mental Resistance, Occult (Master +3 bonus)

Qualities
“You’ve probably seen me on television.”
“I’m saving lives, you moron!”
“I’ll send you my invoice.”

Background

Shan Fong and her husband Hwen once shared a love story for the ages, but tragedy left Shan widowed. Her ability to see spirits led her to investigate psychic and supernatural phenomena, either for private cases or as the television personality known as The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage.

Shan has occasionally become quite obsessed with bringing her husband’s spirit back to the physical plane but she has also found time to work with heroes like Shadowman, Ninjak, and Punk Mambo in combating the forces of darkness.

Doctor Mirage is reluctant to be in the spotlight, despite being a television personality, and she rarely interacts with others unless needed.