Showing posts with label Captain Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Captain Britain. Show all posts

Sunday, May 16, 2021

WIDGET

 


WIDGET

Real Name: Widget
First Appearance: Excalibur (Vol. 1) #1, October 1988

Powers: Widget is an entity that was created out of a Sentinel temporal monitor unit interfacing with the mutagenic aura and phasing power of Earth-811's Kitty (Kate) Pryde. The resulting discharge of her power scrambled the unit and cast her mind backwards in time, where it ended up as a highly active energy matrix possessing a small ball of scrap to create "Widget". Technically, Widget's unique physiology is held together by a fluctuating hyperwave pulse in an eccentric magnetic field (basically, magnetism being beamed in from another dimensional plane). This event scattered Kate's consciousness across the multi-dimensional planes she could now recognize due to bonding with the unit, leaving only the most primitive of minds to guide Widget: One totally unaware of its past identity and originally capable only of mimicking the speech of others.

Widget is capable of consuming metal and presumably other substances, crunching them up and digesting them into excess mass. It can then reconfigure this excess mass into new shapes and forms, such as assimilating the mass of an old, junked racing car and growing a new and functional car out of the old materials. On a single occasion, Widget also demonstrated the ability to convert its stored mass into fuel for an offensive energy discharge. Primarily, however, Widget grows an inter-dimensional gateway from itself, an oval portal about 7 feet tall with its standard "head" form marking the top. These portals can lead virtually anywhere in the multiverse, and generally open to completely random locations. Once it’s done with the portal (or any other expansion of itself, for that matter), Widget detaches its floating head from the mass and proceeds accordingly, leaving the portal or other construction inert. The portals are more practical, but Widget can generate a cross-time pulse that automatically encompasses all in its general area when fed a sufficiently powerful energy source, such as the Phoenix Force. Widget could perform these transportations because its nascent consciousness naturally perceived the infinity of multi-dimensional space, until the being Bert placed a cross-time negator device within Widget, preventing it from opening extra-dimensional portals, and grounding its consciousness in one perspective space-time again.

This grounding gave Kate's consciousness a chance to slowly re-emerge within the Widget body. Widget became more focused and began attempting to grow a humanoid body to go with its head: Consuming raw materials, producing a mechanical body, then detaching and trying again, becoming more skilled at the construction each time. Eventually, Widget evolved into a new form composed of cold metal only on its fingertips, shoulder and neck components, and radically reshaped head: The rest of Widget's body was a human-shaped temporal distortion, displacing air yet possessing no mass. Widget could now teleport through time and space virtually at will.

Thursday, April 29, 2021

TECHNET

 


TECHNET

Roster (from left to right): Scatterbrain, Ringtoss, Gatecrasher, Yap, Elmo, China Doll, Ferro, Joyboy, Bodybag, Thug, and Numbers

First Appearance: Captain Britain (Vol. 2) #3, March 1985

Powers: Technet and the Special Executive are an interconnected pair of inter-dimensional, time-travelling bounty-hunting teams. While the Special Executive appeared first, they are actually from several hundred years further along in time than the Technet.

Fascination, or Scatterbrain, is a Loom-born with pale green skin, who never seems to touch the ground. She floats constantly, seems to possess superhuman strength (she could carry Captain Britain one-handed under her arm) and is capable of directional hovering. For sustenance, she feeds off of the psycho-emotional activity of living beings. This process seems to be completely passive, and causes no undue effect on the people she is drawing from. Offensively, Scatterbrain's main skill is the ability to expand an opponent's consciousness across the planes of temporal reality. This causes time and light to blast across their perceptions like a kaleidoscope, overwhelming her opponent's sensory capabilities and sending them temporarily into a fugue-like state. On occasion, she has also demonstrated the power to project energy beams from her hands.

Ringtoss is a golden-skinned humanoid with a flat-faced, ring-shaped head. Her head can release bands of energy that encircle around a target and constrict, holding them immobilized. Ringtoss is able to control the energy rings remotely, using them to lift and maneuver a captive through the air. One version of the Ringtoss character was also shown blasting a standard energy beam from her head, and charging her hands with energy so that she could cut through metal.

Gatecrasher is a massive humanoid, possessing superhuman physical strength and resistance to all manner of injury. She also seems to possess some minor form of telepathic communication abilities. Her wrist units are equipped with retractable beam weapons that strike with the force of a cannon blast.

Yap is a scrawny reptilian being who constantly wraps himself around Gatecrasher’s neck. He possesses extra-sensory abilities useful for locating and tracking their quarry. He can lock onto electronic auras from circuitry like Captain Britain’s costume, or the individual brain-wave patterns of different beings. He is also a teleporter, capable of transporting the entire team with pinpoint accuracy across the surface of a planet, thanks to his ESP providing him with spatial senses to feel out his incoming environment and rematerialize in safe and open locations. He can transit merely himself and Gatecrasher, or collect the entire Technet team from various places on a battlefield, sweeping them all away to safety.

Elmo resembles a bi-pedal squid with tentacles. He released a neutralizing effect as a stream of sparkles from his head, which could block out telepathic abilities and presumably other transnormal powers as well. His identical replacement, Waxworks, can negate the rigidity of objects on contact. This effect reduces the firmness of bone structure, turning his victims into a loose, rubbery mass, like Reed Richards without any control -- they find themselves unable to stand, much less move coordinately.

China Doll is quasi-serpentine, with a long flowing tail in place of human legs or a lower body. She also has a prehensile frog-like tongue, which she uses to catch flies or lick up maggots from rotten food to sustain herself. Her primary superhuman ability is to reduce the stature of objects on contact. Her touch causes matter to contract in on itself, reducing proportionately in size. This effect also increases her target's relative density, as their mass is compressed into a smaller volume. When applied against living beings, or other animate objects, this compression stiffens their bodies, making them incapable of moving freely, or even at all if they are reduced enough. Thus, the typical result of China Doll's power is to convert people into tiny statues for her to carry around. Usually, her power is depicted as temporary, wearing off a few minutes or hours after the initial exposure. On one occasion, however, Necrom's pet remained permanently stuck in its figurine state. The unique magical nature of the creature, its apparent death during the process, and the rare accelerated burst of China Doll's power which caused the transfiguration may be responsible for this. It seems China Doll's power must be triggered at a controlled rate to prevent build up of subatomic energy as she compresses the mass. By attempting to exert her reduction effect all at once in a single pulse, the pent up energy will discharge itself violently.

Ferro is a four-armed, slightly dog-faced furry humanoid. He has heightened strength, agility, and reflexes, and is a skilled swordsman capable of parrying with all four arms at once. His feet are also equally as opposable as his hands, allowing him to type at six different computer consoles simultaneously.

Joyboy has the ability to grant people bizarre and warped versions of their greatest desires. He can mentally lock onto these strong psychic emanations from the minds of others, and use this energy as a catalyst to reshape that person's physical reality. When Shadowcat's was stuck in her phased state and her strongest desire was to be solid again, Joyboy caused her to become enormously fat and bloated. Nibel Frobisher admired and lusted after his boss, Courtney Ross, and so Joyboy first transformed him to a hulking he-man that could "dominate" Ross, then transformed him into a spitting image of Ross herself, and then a mixture of both forms at once. It is unknown whether Joyboy's power automatically creates these bizarre renditions, or if he can choose how the warping effect takes a person.

Bodybag is an unusual, slightly snake-like biped who stands on pipe-cleaner legs. He is primarily useful for his ability to paralyze and capture prey. Two protuberances which extend out from his neck can squirt out a paralyzing neuro-toxin, shutting down all conscious neural activity in his opponents and leaving them tranquilized. Bodybag can then swallow the victim whole, using muscle contraction like a snake does to pull them down his highly flexible throat (his head and neck are so malleable, a member of Excalibur popped open an umbrella to full size in his mouth without injuring him). Once his victim is inside him, Bodybag expands a containment pod from his backside, a semi-transparent membrane cocoon that holds his prey in stasis. It is unknown if Bodybag will actually digest his prey over time, or if this bizarre physiological feature is meant for containment alone. He can store three full-sized humans on his back at once. The pods can be sliced apart and the victims freed without Bodybag suffering too much from being slit open.

Thug is a squat green biped, possessing short legs but immensely powerful arms, which give him superhuman physical strength.

Numbers is a large, semi-reptilian humanoid. Though he apparently has a superhuman level of strength and durability, as well as wicked finger claws, he designates himself a non-combatant.

Sunday, April 11, 2021

MEGGAN

 


MEGGAN

Real Name: Meggan Puceanu-Braddock
First Appearance: Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #7, December 1983

Powers: Rumors to the contrary, Meggan is not a fairie. She is actually a mutant whose power makes her an elemental chameleon, her nature allowing her to affect her environment and in turn be affected by it. This is based on the fact that Meggan draws power and sustenance from any living bio-sphere: The stronger the natural energies of any given world, the more power Meggan can call upon. Lands where the inhabitants are in tune with the natural order of things and claim strong magical ties feed her energy, while overly industrialized and polluted areas are like a corrosive to her body. It seems unlikely that she would be capable of surviving in outer space. Because of her power, Meggan is unnaturally susceptible to influence from outside sources, as it is an inherent aspect of her being to be affected by her surroundings. If left unchecked, she will adapt her body and mind to anything prominent in her area: She may accidentally adopt the appearance of a bat or dolphin by being near such a creature, assume the ethnic features of a certain type of person she is around (even Nightcrawler's elfin appearance), or change to match the feelings or expectations of others. When surrounded by aroused men, she responded by adapting her mannerisms and appearance into more of a living pin-up girl to fit their desires; when influenced by the ambient evil of Inferno, she quickly became evil as well, in both form and deed; even her own emotions affect her, as Meggan becomes more or less attractive based on her own self-image. After learning to control her powers, though, Meggan became less reactive and more assertive about her appearance. Now, she could consciously fight off outside influences on her mind or form: she could negate Jamie Braddock's reality-warping effect on her body, or hold back the transmutation effect of Alchemy's touch for a time. In addition, her adaptability makes her resistant to high or low temperature extremes, and capable of intuitively understanding other languages, whether they be human, fairie, or whatever.

Actively speaking, Meggan is capable of perceiving what is known as the Alshra, a spirit plane which makes the living energy of a world and its inhabitants visible. By drawing upon this energy, Meggan can increase her physical strength and durability, reaching at least Class 80-90 levels. At first she would physically expand in size and muscle mass while doing so, but later learned to augment herself without changing her appearance. Meggan can also rechannel the energy she draws upon to fly and fire beams of psionic force from her hands. She can consciously access the empathic and morphing aspects of her power as well. Meggan is able to alter her clothing and physical features at will, mimicking the appearance of another person or creating new "looks" all her own. She can expand herself, growing fatter and wider upon command. Meggan can also assume animalistic traits at will, even if a given animal isn't around: She has adapted humanoid wolf, lion, bat, dolphin, mole, and rabbit traits in the past. As an elemental, she is now able to sense the flow of electricity around her and different electromagnetic phenomena by the way they alter natural energy patterns around her. She can ignite flames at will and manipulate fire created by her own hands or other sources, even dousing it if she chooses. Meggan is able to summon high velocity winds, disrupt force fields of an electromagnetic nature, manipulate lava so that it flows as she wishes, warping seismic fields to open up massive sinkholes that swallow buildings, etc.

Monday, April 5, 2021

SATURNYNE

 

SATURNYNE

Real Name: Opal Luna Saturnyne
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes UK (Vol. 1) #380, December 1981

Powers: Opul Lun Sat-Yr-9, now using the alias of Courtney Ross, is an extra-dimensional version of the Majestrix Saturnyne.

She has a minor power of hypnotic influence, focused through her eyes, which allows her to manipulate unsuspecting people or those with weaker willpower than her. It is often used as a coercive measure, making people more willing to accept what she is saying and acquiesce to her wishes. She is also highly skilled in the art of seduction, which only increases her power's success against men. She occasionally employs a drug which can be inhaled or injected which artificially weakens the will of other people so they can be more easily molded with her powers.

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

MONARCH

 


JAMIE BRADDOCK

Real Name: James Braddock, Jr.
First Appearance: Captain Britain (Vol. 1) #9, December 1976

Powers: James "Jamie" Braddock possesses the omega-level mutant power of reality manipulation via quantum means. Jamie perceives reality as an inter-connected web of quantum strings crisscrossing in all directions throughout his surroundings, with people and objects appearing as particularly dense masses of strands. By pulling on these strings or molding them, he can alter reality according to his whims. Jamie has demonstrated telekinetic and telepathic feats, reshaping people into other individuals, animals or grotesque caricatures, making them shrink or grow, redirecting energy, or changing memories. He could also watch objects in other realities, even granting powers to them. Originally he could only manipulate dense forms (phased beings had some level of resistance) and needed to be close enough to touch the strings they were composed of, and if his concentration was disrupted, some items or people changed would spontaneously revert to normal.

There may have been a correlation between his sanity and his power level, as both increased noticeably after he spent time in a coma. With a simple act of will, he could later generate vast, complex illusions, redirect another’s teleportation effect, and open inter-dimensional portals. He could raise the dead, and render someone immune to external influences by tightening their quantum strings, removing the gaps; however, Jamie remained able to affect them at will, possibly because he knew which strings were left available to pull. He created functional copies of the Fury, and could presumably copy other objects too. Jamie appeared to be largely impervious to physical damage; even having large holes shot through him causes purely cosmetic damage that swiftly vanished. He was also able to listen in on telepathic conversations between his siblings, although this power may have been unrelated to his other abilities.

The first manifestation of his mutant ability, combined with mystical manipulations, left him unable to discern fantasy from reality. As a result, Jamie believes himself to be dreaming and uses his power freely. He believes himself to be simply manipulating the dream to fulfill his fantasies without any consequences for others.

Jamie Braddock was an expert race car driver, able to accurately assess a car's optimal speed, turn radius, braking distance, demonstrating skill levels acquired through years of learning and cultivating into his reflexes. Formerly a successful and wealthy Formula One racing car driver, he won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship twice.

Monday, March 8, 2021

ROMA


 

ROMA

Real Name: Roma
First Appearance: Captain Britain (Vol. 1) #1, October 1976 (First UK); Marvel Team-Up (Vol. 1) #65, January 1978 (First US)

Powers: Roma is the Omniversal guardian of Otherworld, a pocket dimension adjacent to Earth along the British Isles. Like her father, Merlyn, she is a gestalt of all her counterparts throughout the multiverse.

One of the greatest sorceresses and scientists of the multiverse, Roma can resurrect the dead, bestow superhuman powers and abilities to living beings, teleport herself and others across space, time and realities, generate mystical shields, bonds, and energy bolts, and magically perform almost any imaginable feat.

Immensely intelligent, her Omniversal knowledge is matched only by that of her father and a handful of similar cosmic entities. She is virtually immortal and immune to aging. She is also an expert swordswoman, at one point leading the defense of Camelot.