Would it be possible for a young teenage prodigy Ted Kord to have been the research assistant to an action-oriented, Indiana Jones-style archaeologist version of Dan Garrett who wasn't a superhero or publicly well-known but still had adventures of a sort, or does that skirt too close to the line of violating 'No superheroes appeared before 2009'? I would understand either way.
Well... Dahrk it'd be more of a Versus rather than a team up :P
THEN THE VILE VILLAIN SHALL FEEL THE POWER OF ZEUS!
Still, fun times!
Also I discussed it with Sloth and I've begun work on a Ted Kord Blue Beetle sheet! Expect adventures, inventions, hearty hotblooded laughter and EPIC BROMANCE!/Odd couple hijinks.
I thought I'd let people know I've found a character I'm happy with. I'm going to open up the Mysticism side of things with either a version of the Damien Dahrk adaptation similar to that from (Arrow) though not tied to Green Arrow unless said player so wishes it or go with a classic and go Constantine.
Ooh! I was hoping to explore some of the mystical stuff with Captain Marvel seeing as he's the champion of one of the most powerful wizards around and all! Though I'm not sure how a Constantine/Cap or Cap/Damien team up would go except for hilariously, horribly or both XD
All of which means I'll be watching with interest.
That stuff's reminding me, when my legs worked a bit better I used to do training with a few women who were prepping to try and go into...AFSOC Special Tactics, I think? It's been years now, but anyway the horror stories you'd hear about the day-to-day afterward XD
Anyways good luck with Jesse, look forward to playing with you.
Having grown up in the Air Force and lived around AF pilots, sexism makes a lot of sense for Hal to have (along with the God Complex I mentioned). At least in my experience, because did I experience it. If I did play Hal, I wouldn't go full on 50's sexism. But yeah, he'd think women weren't as useful as men just because they're women.
Though for the moment I'm just going to play Jesse. So imminent crisis adverted.
See, everything you said prior to this (I'm bringing it back, the Golden Age pic, general lack of explanation) mislead me to think 'randomly inserted 50's sexism' rather than 'still very prevalent military culture sexism' and I apologize for that. I did say that maybe you'd surprise me and have some way of handling it well, so kudos there!
Still, at least for now Hal won't have to get his ass handed to him by Wondie as a teachable moment and make Billy sad that his heroes are fighting. XD
Not a fan of the idea at all personally and feel like it makes absolutely no sense for the character, but if it's used 1) I can't stop you 2) It's not like I'd be massively upset or it would impact my opinion of you 3) I feel like it should be done as blatantly and ridiculously as possible so I'm at least amused by it rather than filled with the urge to not interact with the asshole you build except maybe to punch him into the sun XD Or maybe you'll play it well and compellingly, who knows.
Also you have Jesse Quick now potentially so...disaster averted?
| Identity | Billy Batson, AKA: The Big Red Cheese Earth's Mightiest Mortal Captain Marvel!
| Origin & Backstory | Astounding Origins! infant Billy Batson was left on the steps of a Fawcett City Orphanage in 2003, alone in the world save for the basket and blanket he was wrapped up in, and even his name wasn't left with him, instead chosen due to an alphabetical naming system the man managing the orphanage had devised for similar occasions. Despite this rather Dickensian beginning, Billy Batson never lost hope that his life would improve for the better and in 2012 it definitively did, though not in the way he expected. For that was the year that Billy Batson suddenly found himself visited by the ancient wizard Shazam. the aged mystic told Billy that he would soon die and needed someone to carry a portion of his great mythical powers onward. Thus due to his eternal optimism and pure heart, Billy Batson had been chosen to wield the powers of Shazam's ancient contract with the six powers whom his name represented and serve as a champion of good in the world as Captain Marvel, if he chose to accept. At first just wanting to comfort and help out someone he presumed to be a senile old man and ignoring the fact that the Wizard already knew his name, Billy accepted.
It was only when the madman known as Dr.Sivana attacked Billy's orphanage to hold the orphans hostage with an army of killer robots a few days later that Billy remembered the old man's deal. Shouting out 'Shazam!' for the first time, nine-year-old Billy Batson assumed the form of Captain Marvel and quickly dispatched the robots in a battle that lead to Sivana's arrest, marking the beginning of both his career as a superhero and his enmity with the insane scientist. Shazam was able to pass on from the mortal world in content in finding a new hero, though a ghostly copy of him remained in his lair at the Rock of Eternity to advise Billy on any matters the Wisdom of Solomon could not. Together they battled the machinations of Sivana and they occasional unknowable intruder from realms beyond mortal ken for the first year of Billy's career.
Amazing Adventures! In 2013 Billy's wish to have a home finally came true as he was taken in along with his new foster siblings Freddy Freeman and Mary Bromfield. Finally out of the orphanage and with a family of his own life seemed pretty good for young Billy Batson, even with the occasional aside to stop the machinations of one scheming scientist. But Billy still had a lot to learn about what it really meant to be a hero. The painful lesson began innocently enough with the rise of former WWII Nazi Super Soldier Captain Nazi after his storage chamber was transported to Fawcett City by Dr. Sivana, who was attempting to recreate the Nazis super soldier serum for his own uses. But during the battle with the revived Captain Nazi, Freddy was severely injured. Although Captain Nazi was defeated, Freddy never fully recovered and lost the ability to walk without crutches. Billy shouldered all of the blame and threw himself even harder into life as a superhero, truly realizing for the first time that it was hardly all fun and giant robot fights.
Sadly this was probably a lesson that needed learning, as newer and even more dangerous enemies began to plague Fawcett City after Captain Nazi's defeat. The humanity-hating android Mister Atom was next to threaten Billy's home, and only failed in turning Fawcett City into a smoldering crater after a fierce battle with Captain Marvel ended in his being trapped as nothing but a head in a tomb of lead deep beneath the city. Worse yet, during their battle beneath the city they damaged the ancient resting place of King Kull, who had been sealed away in a state of suspended animation in a subterranean cavern the pair did battle in. Kull subsequently attempted to rule Fawcett City as the beginning of his own Subman Empire, using a mix of ingenious technology and his superhuman strength to nearly overpower Earth's Mightiest Mortal. The appearance of the half-demon twins Blaze and Satanus, children of the wizard Shazam, was almost enough to defeat Billy. It was only after the two were scorched by the purity of his soul that they retreated, vowing revenge.
But the worst was yet to come. Specifically, it was the arrival of a Venusian mind-worm known as Mr.Mind that both presented Captain Marvel with his greatest challenge and catapulted him into the spotlight. Mr.Mind crashed into Fawcett City on a meteorite, one found by the maniacal Doctor Sivana. But the diabolical parasite was too much for the mad man, dominating his mind. Learning of the threat to his future rule over this new world that was Captain Marvel, Mr.Mind set about using Sivana to gather together the other enemies of Captain Marvel including digging Mister Atom out of his prison and having King Kull and Sivana build him a massive worm-shaped battle machine piloted by Captain Nazi. The subsequent group declared itself the Monster Society of Evil, and with Mr.Mind using a broadcast from the Battle-Worm to control the minds of every person in Fawcett City, they vowed to destroy Captain Marvel and rule the world.
Only Billy was spared from the mind control effect thanks to the Courage of Achilles, and he proceeded to fight the toughest battle of his young life. It nearly destroyed him to fight five of his most dangerous enemies at the same time while they used every person he had ever known as minions and human shields, but in the end he was able to prevail without a single life lost. News of the incident apparently spread fairly far, for that very same year Captain Marvel was invited to join the Justice League International. Billy was naturally ecstatic! As a hero, he had finally made it to the big time!
From then on he fought not just his own battles but those of the Justice League when he was needed. He got to rub elbows with heroes he had only heard about or idolized from afar, including Superman, the person on whom he had based much of his persona and efforts! Once again it seemed like he was living the dream, except an even bigger, better dream!
Doomsday The JLI encountered the monster first, they were there as the first line of defense when it landed, when its' rampage towards Metropolis began. Captain Marvel was the team's big gun or so he thought, one of the heaviest hitters they had. If nothing else, he lasted longer than most before the creature knocked him clean through two building filled city blocks and shoved his head into a massive turbo-generator.
When he came to, it was already too late. He was devastated. One of the greatest heroes ever to live and a personal idol, gone. Others mourned, blamed themselves, maybe reevaluated their lives. Not Billy Batson. Billy Batson got to work. He journeyed to the Rock of Eternity and set up Shazam's oracular Historama to begin searching for all the potential horrors and disasters that might take place with the absence of Superman and then set out trying to stop them. The Wisdom of Solomon already told him it wouldn't be enough, but it was what Superman would have wanted. At least that was what Billy insisted to himself as he left Shazam's lair.
Since then Billy Batson hasn't been Billy Batson, instead staying as Captain Marvel full time. He's been working without food, without sleep, without even a minute's rest, continuously righting every wrong he can right in every place he can manage. He's saved countless lives in the days since, but slowly his own is starting to slip away from him.
| Attributes |
Billy Batson is empowered by the Wizard Shazam with the abilities of divine entities contracted to Shazam in order to be a mystical champion of good. Whenever he shouts 'Shazam!' a bolt of magical lightning strikes him and transforms him into Captain Marvel, Earth's Mightiest Mortal! Due to the guiding influence of the Wisdom of Solomon and his own relatively peaceful and kindhearted nature Billy has never pushed his powers to their fullest and does not know their full extent himself. His powers include:
The Wisdom of S.olomon As Captain Marvel, Billy has magically enhanced superhuman levels of intelligence and wisdom along with access to the majority of the world's scholarly knowledge as well as knowledge of a divine and magical nature. The Wisdom also allows him to speak any language and typically act in a manner far wiser than any child his age though his personality is still there. Thanks to the influence of the Wisdom of Solomon Billy generally tries to resolve most conflicts through more peaceful and diplomatic means, though it also gives him a brilliant tactical, mystical and scientific intellect equal to that of the brightest minds and most cunning sorcerers on the planet to use against those who would do evil. Lastly although he usually finds it distasteful to utilize at all, the Wisdom of Solomon also gives him the ability to hypnotize others.
The Strength of H.ercules As Captain Marvel, Billy's strength is magically enhanced to extraordinary levels, truly making him worthy of his title as Earth's Mightiest Mortal. The Strength of Hercules suffuses his every muscle with divine might and has made him capable of feats including arm-wrestling Superman and lifting a space shuttle one-handed with relative ease. However, Captain Marvel has never tested his strength to its' full extent and his own personality plus the Wisdom of Solomon tend to cause him to hold back most of the time and place limits on himself, especially in combat.
The Stamina of A.tlas As Captain Marvel, Billy is capable of incredible feats of endurance few other humans can match. His body is composed entirely of the magical energies of Shazam's power and as such he's theoretically ageless and undying so long as he does not turn back into Billy Batson. Of more typical use, the Stamina of Atlas means he never needs to eat, breathe, sleep or even rest as long as he continues to push himself, and his magically constructed body is invulnerable to all but the strongest of forces.
The Power of Z.eus The Lightning of Zeus plays a key role in Billy's powers and transformation, as its mythical energies form his body as Captain Marvel when he transforms. As his body is a magical construct, Captain Marvel is highly resistant to all magical effects and forms of attack. Since it is the main source of his powers, Captain Marvel is able to manipulate and generate the divine lightning on command for a variety of effects and attacks. If necessary he can also re-constitute his Captain Marvel form to heal it of all injuries it may incur, though doing so leaves him vulnerable and risks exposing his identity. Likewise he can call down even more powerful magical energies by invoking the same type of bolt he uses to transform and then dodging it, though it can be used against him to make him change back to Billy Batson. Via concentrating and sort of using the lightning in reverse, he can also transport himself to the Rock of Eternity, source of his power and former lair to the wizard Shazam.
The Courage of A.chilles The Courage of Achilles gives Captain Marvel an almost inexhaustible wellspring of willpower from which to draw on, which combined with Billy Batson's innate optimism and belief in good has the potential to make him an unbreakable beacon of Hope. More concretely, it also protects his mind from all mental assaults and nefarious influences and gives him a certain amount of innate fighting skill and combat ability, which combined with the Wisdom of Solomon could potentially make him a fairly dangerous and tactically adept opponent if he ever let go of his limits.
The Speed of M.ercury The Speed of Mercury gives Captain Marvel not only the power of flight but truly immense speed to go with it. Although Captain Marvel occasionally says that he's faster than lightning for theatrical effect-about 1/3rd the speed of light in some estimates-and has dodged his own lightning to prove it, His true top speed is unknown even to him. He has moved with enough speed to generate tornadoes or even change the Earth's weather patterns through the manipulation of air currents and is just as fast on foot as he is in the air. His reflexes are likewise magically enhanced and his perceptions can speed up to match. That said, he has to be careful not to go all-out on Earth, lest the effects of his speed damage the environment around him.
The Historama A unique power of the Rock of Eternity usually manifested in the form of a large tome, the Historama can show its user almost anything it is ordered to throughout time, space and even different dimensions. It functions somewhat like a stereotypical crystal ball, displaying on its pages whatever it is told to through the command words 'Historama, show me...'. As such despite its' powers, one at least needs to know the sort of things one is looking for in order to best use it and the Historama won't act on its' own even to show things the user might NEED to see.
| Character Notes | I've already mentioned Freddy, Mary, Sivana and the other rogues in the Bio, so I don't think I'll elaborate on them here! Instead hopefully I'll get to show off Billy's little corners of the universe in-game!
| Character Goals | Well partially I want to inject ultimately well-meaning hammy, cheesy fun into the RP courtesy of the Big Red Cheese himself. But hijinks aside I also want to explore how Billy Batson comes to terms with his power and potential as Captain Marvel, especially with a big blue Superman shaped void in the world. The loss of one of the biggest heroes around will probably effect a kid like Billy in some interesting ways and hopefully help him mature into a better hero as time goes on with the right influences. I'm also looking forward to playing around with his rogues and naturally establishing his place in the shared universe while writing fun, interesting stories with everyone else naturally. Getting into the more mystical side of things could definitely be interesting too, depending on how things go and considering the wider DC comics cosmology.
| Sample Post |
It was a beautiful day in this particularly lovely part of the Philippines! The sun was shining, the sky was blue, there was even a warm tropical breeze blowing in! Yes, really nothing could be more idyllic than the day experienced by this little village nestled around mountain and farmland...
Well, if it weren't for the fact that the 'mountain' was a currently erupting volcano threatening the entire area and its' inhabitants. That probably put something of a damper on the day. Actually, it was really less of a 'peaceful sunshine and birdsong' sort of a day than it was an 'impending rain of fiery ash and villagers screaming' sort of a day. Especially given that a fast-flowing river of lava was currently headed toward the edges of town in a way that no amount of running or hiding under corrugated tin roofs was likely to solve.
Fortunately, just as the lava's heat was about to overtake the nearest civilian fleeing from volcano-interrupted farm work, a red blur whizzed all throughout the village and surrounding area and before the terrified farmer could blink he and the entire population of his barangay were suddenly surveying the scene from a much more comforting distance.
What had just happened? Who was responsible for their salvation?
"Sa awa ng Diyos!" "Hindi! Sa awa ni Flash!"
Regardless, the same mysterious blur proceeded to carve out a massive trench in front of the lava, safely diverting it from the villagers' homes and ensuring it would be filled back in by cooling volcanic rock. This feat of instant one-being construction work caused considerable ooh-ing and aah-ing from the onlookers, only for a cheerful voice to boom out moments later in surprisingly fluent Filipino:
<<Never fear good citizens! I, Captain Marvel, am here to shield you from this pyrotechnic peril!~>>
Yes it was Captain Marvel, Earth's Mightiest Mortal! He struck his most heroic pose in front of the crowd, floating there with white cape flaring, lightning-bolt symbol gleaming on his chest, red costume bright in the afternoon sunlight! Truly an inspiring figure in these dark times, or so he hoped!
"Kapitan Sino?"
But before there was time for further theatrics the massive volcano blew its' top, sending a massive plume of roiling hot ash and rock charging down toward the once again terrified onlookers. With the speed of Mercury Captain Marvel flung himself into action. Racing around as fast as he could he whirled the air into a frenzied miniature tornado that sucked the ash cloud up high into the sky. Later, air currents properly guided by his flight would let it cool the local atmosphere just enough to prevent a super-typhoon from forming a week from now before it landed to fertilize some badly depleted farmlands, or so his oracular Historama and the Wisdom of Solomon told him. Racing up into the spinning stream of debris he carefully plucked the numerous smoldering pyroclasts from the whirlwind, the stamina of Atlas letting him endure their heat with ease. Not only would they no longer threaten anyone, but with proper application of his super-strength they could be formed into obsidian and used in specialized scalpels for medical research.
Thus did Captain Marvel descend from the atmosphere, a big smile on his face as he held an armful of burning hot volcanic rocks like a pile of cuddly wayward kittens. It was only a second too late that he realized that the gasps of the onlooking villagers weren't out of admiration but fear, as a last massive boulder the size of a mini-van hurtled at the Big Red Cheese. Luckily it hardly took the strength of Hercules to catch it one handed completely unharmed. This boulder...well, he actually had no plans for the boulder. But just so it wouldn't go to waste he set it down next to the cooling moat of lava and carved a warning sign into it in several locally used languages with a finger, just in case some local children decided the big glowing river would be fun to play around. He knew that sort of temptation well enough himself, naturally. After Captain Marvel was sure the day was saved he departed as quickly as he arrived, off to find another disaster to stop or wrong to right!
After all, if Captain Marvel was always busy saving people, then Billy Batson would never have time to think about the people he hadn't saved. He had already been at it for two whole days and had no intention of stopping. Because with a body composed purely of Zeus' power, Captain Marvel never needed to stop and sleep, or eat, or even rest for a minute. Better yet, with the Courage of Achilles to bolster him, Captain Marvel was always cheery, always hopeful and able to fight the good fight, never once doubting himself in the cause of Justice!
on the other hand, it didn't take the Wisdom of Solomon to see that ever since Superman's death, Billy Batson wasn't nearly so sure.
I agree. He gets toned down quite a bit... But I'd bring it back. Haha.
If you actually want to do this...I mean first of all yes, why? But why not go whole hog? Ensure that Hal has an Inuit mechanic he refuses to learn the name of and refers to only as 'Pieface' because of Eskimo Pie desserts. Make sure he insists Wonder Woman is just their secretary and doesn't do anything combat related. Have him insist we're at war with the 'Nips and that the only good one is a dead one.
Hell, as long as we're at it have Batman still occasionally put a Robin over his knee and spank them and sleep in the same bed as his wards. If we're going all the way back, have him still use a pair of guns.
These are anachronistic elements of characters from a time involving wildly different standards and characterization. I don't see why you'd want them, but there ya go. XD
