|
Post by Beacon on Nov 29, 2005 0:21:50 GMT -5
The Good: While I had some worries after seeing the inaccuracies in the Variant Statistics, you’ve gone and delivered the same high quality stats in the other five pages as you did way back when you released the Chameleon & Cloak preview page. Like I said back when I was just posting on the Yahoo group, I’m still impressed by that Cloak bio. The Bad: I have to say I’m disappointed with the character selection. We’ve spent all this time waiting for a Spider-Man Guide and we get a Spider-Man & Marvel Knights Guide instead. Nearly half of the entries we’ve seen so far (Araña, Black Widow, Blade, Luke Cage, & Cyclone II) have little to nothing to do with the theme. I know we were warned in advance that Spider-Girl-lite was going to be shoehorned into this book so it’s a bit too late to complain about Araña and I can forgive Black Widow and Cyclone just because they were glaring omissions from the Avengers book just as I can forgive Luke “Sweet Christmas” Cage because he’s now one of Peter’s teammates (though I doubt he was way back when the planning on this thing started) but what the heck is Blade doing here? The Ugly: Where are all the Spider-Man characters? Obviously my earlier issue was less about certain characters being undeserving of an entry and more about said characters knocking the likes of Annex, the Answer, Arcade, Batwing, Big Wheel, Black Fox, Black Tarantula, Blood Rose, Bluebird, Cardiac, & Corona off the list. Obviously some of those omissions are more forgivable than others
|
|
|
Post by Beacon on Nov 29, 2005 0:27:52 GMT -5
Second Guessing Myself: I suppose Arcade would make more sense as being part of a Murder World Adventure than as an individual profile.
|
|
|
Post by The Punisher on Nov 29, 2005 10:02:43 GMT -5
I thought Blade was originally a Spiderman character. He was all over the cartoon.
|
|
|
Post by sphynx on Nov 29, 2005 10:34:00 GMT -5
I thought Blade was originally a Spiderman character. He was all over the cartoon. No, he was a Doctor Strange character.
|
|
|
Post by omniscient on Nov 29, 2005 12:29:07 GMT -5
Aarrrggh !!! These write-ups need some tweakin'... Black Widow-> * She's accomplished Pilot and Driver. * She's a trained snipper * She can Hack computers, overide electrical locks and pick conventional locks. * Speaks several foreing languages at least French and Chinese in addition to Russian and English Should add Vehicle Operations: 4+, Computers or Technology: 3+, Thieving at 2+, +1 to Social Skills due extra languages, +1 to Ranged Combat due Snipper Speciality. Blade-> * Weight's 225 lbs not 180 lbs * Is skilled acrobat * Has enhanced senses of smell & Hearing in addition to night vision Should add Acrobastics: 3, Animal Senses[2] Luke Cage-> * Can lift 25 tons * heals 3 times faster that normal human * Skin is steel hard Should add +2 to Str Should Reduce Healing factor to x2 healing rate as it's closer to his x3[HF = x24] Should remove "No AP" from Toughness CalypsoVoodoo is Magical Action, as she has Mastery of Magic at 3 Her Voodoo can't be 8 [as Magical Actions are limited to x2 AN of Mastery of Magic] Carnage-> *Can Lift 40 tons Should add +1 to Str Cloak-> * Has peak human strength * Is always intangible unless concentrates to maintain a physical form. Should be build as intangible Entity with Manifestation ability[opposite of Phase shift] I thought Blade was originally a Spiderman character. He was all over the cartoon. No, he was a Doctor Strange character. Actually from Tomb of Dracula back in '73. V.
|
|
|
Post by Beacon on Nov 29, 2005 13:36:30 GMT -5
Yeah, Blade is a Tomb of Dracula character. Unless they include Dracula, some of the Van Helsings, Hannibal King, and some other horror characters who don’t belong in a Spider-Man guide either then he’s going to be kind of lonely. Luke Cage-> * Can lift 25 tons * heals 3 times faster that normal human * Skin is steel hard Should add +2 to Str Why is it that so many people think Cage is so much stronger than he really is? He didn’t even have super strength (unless you want to count the Captain America borderline level as super strength) in his early appearances and when he did get it he was only in the three ton range. His whole deal is that he has impenetrable skin so I don’t see what the big deal is. Toughness is his primary power and he ought to have all the options.
|
|
|
Post by kungfumasta on Nov 29, 2005 14:02:05 GMT -5
The Ugly: Where are all the Spider-Man characters? Obviously my earlier issue was less about certain characters being undeserving of an entry and more about said characters knocking the likes of Annex, the Answer, Arcade, Batwing, Big Wheel, Black Fox, Black Tarantula, Blood Rose, Bluebird, Cardiac, & Corona off the list. Obviously some of those omissions are more forgivable than others Actually, I would have complained if I saw characters like Annex and Big Wheel. Ug, Big Wheel?! Who showed up for like one issue or something? Come on. Black Fox and Blood Rose are pretty standard theives/thugs, nothing special, and you could easy make up your own stat sif you really needed them. I think Cardiac could have been included, tho, because he did seemm to be a rpetty significant character in the 90's....
|
|
|
Post by omniscient on Nov 29, 2005 14:16:44 GMT -5
Yeah, Blade is a Tomb of Dracula character. Unless they include Dracula, some of the Van Helsings, Hannibal King, and some other horror characters who don’t belong in a Spider-Man guide either then he’s going to be kind of lonely. I think the reason for Blade is that during the Midnight Sons period they hang around New York... And it is the Guide to Spider-Man & New York Why is it that so many people think Cage is so much stronger than he really is? He didn’t even have super strength (unless you want to count the Captain America borderline level as super strength) in his early appearances and when he did get it he was only in the three ton range. He has become a lot stronger since then... Source ->The Official Hanbook Of The Marvel Universe - Marvel Knights 2005 His whole deal is that he has impenetrable skin so I don’t see what the big deal is. Toughness is his primary power and he ought to have all the options. he's only immune to conventional fire arms and Cuts... AP rounds can hurt him as will bazooka or artillery shells... also with weapon mods +4 or less toughness automatically negates x2 dam. V.
|
|
|
Post by kungfumasta on Nov 29, 2005 14:20:00 GMT -5
Aarrrggh !!! These write-ups need some tweakin'... ouch. There's no need to yell... Black Widow-> * She's accomplished Pilot and Driver. * She's a trained snipper * She can Hack computers, overide electrical locks and pick conventional locks. * Speaks several foreing languages at least French and Chinese in addition to Russian and English Should add Vehicle Operations: 4+, Computers or Technology: 3+, Thieving at 2+, +1 to Social Skills due extra languages, +1 to Ranged Combat due Snipper Speciality. I'm bad at spelling, so don't troll on me, but it's spelled "sniper" Snipper rhymes with Stripper and made me laugh. I agree RC should be a bit higher, but the languages bit could be nice, too. But the other things like computers and stuff I would allow to be used under Black Ops. She's not good at hacking computers like a programmer, but she knows how to get around some things with her spy-training. Blade-> * Weight's 225 lbs not 180 lbs * Is skilled acrobat * Has enhanced senses of smell & Hearing in addition to night vision Should add Acrobastics: 3, Animal Senses[2] Ya, Blade's not my favorite, so whatever. Luke Cage-> * Can lift 25 tons * heals 3 times faster that normal human * Skin is steel hard Should add +2 to Str Should Reduce Healing factor to x2 healing rate as it's closer to his x3[HF = x24] Should remove "No AP" from Toughness Remember, he's got "bulletproof" skin, so the No AP works for me because the game mechanics of bullets in MURPG. As for strength, uhg, don't get me started. Whatever the chart thing says, I think Cage is balanced out in comparisons to other characters. He's a heavy hitter, but not in the big leagues, as it should be. CalypsoVoodoo is Magical Action, as she has Mastery of Magic at 3 Her Voodoo can't be 8 [as Magical Actions are limited to x2 AN of Mastery of Magic] As others pointed out, I think you're right. Carnage-> *Can Lift 40 tons Should add +1 to Str Probably not in comparison to the other characters. I mean the official ones, Cloak-> * Has peak human strength * Is always intangible unless concentrates to maintain a physical form. Should be build as intangible Entity with Manifestation ability[opposite of Phase shift] What? Opposite of phase shift? I say keep it simple. Masteries are a good thing. Just tie it to the Mastery as the gujys did here and it's fine. No need to split every detail about his power into a seperate action or anything.
|
|
|
Post by Beacon on Nov 29, 2005 14:20:16 GMT -5
Actually, I would have complained if I saw characters like Annex and Big Wheel. I think you may have missed the last line. I was half joking with some of those I mentioned (the obscure Untold Tales characters and Big Wheel mostly). What’s wrong with Annex? Easily three times as many issues as that Besides, he was in the Spider-Man cartoon so if we count Blade we ought to count BW. I disagree. Of course all of their interesting stats would be in the actions area. Yeah, out of the omissions the ones that bother me the most are Cardiac, Black Tarantula, and Arcade (I’m disappointed that some of the others – like the Answer – weren’t included but at least in those cases I can sort of understand why).
|
|
|
Post by kungfumasta on Nov 29, 2005 14:28:39 GMT -5
Uh, I don't like himl. Big Wheel: Besides, he was in the Spider-Man cartoon so if we count Blade we ought to count BW. I agree with the other poster that this is equally a Spider-Man and a New York sourcebook, so Blade and Cage and Marvel Knights stuff makes sense. Can't explain Cyclone tho. They mention the Spidey villain Cyclone I in his blurb so maybe that's why.... ?? Yeah, out of the omissions the ones that bother me the most are Cardiac, Black Tarantula, and Arcade (I’m disappointed that some of the others – like the Answer – weren’t included but at least in those cases I can sort of understand why). Dude, Arcade is an X-villain all the way, IMO, even tho he appears sometimes other places. How many times has he fought Spider-Man or Daredevil or anyone? Not as much as X-Men (wasn't his fight with Spider-man also with Captain Britain or Nightcrawler or somebody?) Black Tarantulas involved with the clone saga, right? So maybe that's why he's on the DL. Even the Unofficial Guys want to ignore it!
|
|
|
Post by Beacon on Nov 29, 2005 14:33:45 GMT -5
I think the reason for Blade is that during the Midnight Sons period they hang around New York... And it is the Guide to Spider-Man & New York No, Blade – like most monster hunters – is a wandering hero who isn’t based out of anywhere. He has become a lot stronger since then... Source ->The Official Hanbook Of The Marvel Universe - Marvel Knights 2005 If the wildly inaccurate Spider-Man Handbooks from 2004 and 2005 are any indication, the new OHotMUs aren’t always right. Besides, the new power ranking bars cover a huge range and, assuming you’re going by those, you could just as easily claim that Spider-Man is a class 25. he's only immune to conventional fire arms and Cuts... AP rounds can hurt him as will bazooka or artillery shells... also with weapon mods +4 or less toughness automatically negates x2 dam. V. I suppose we’ll have to agree to disagree on this one
|
|
|
Post by omniscient on Nov 29, 2005 15:08:56 GMT -5
If the wildly inaccurate Spider-Man Handbooks from 2004 and 2005 are any indication, the new OHotMUs aren’t always right. Besides, the new power ranking bars cover a huge range and, assuming you’re going by those, you could just as easily claim that Spider-Man is a class 25. Hey I probably don't like the power grid anymore than you do... But Luke Cage's Write-Up clearly states 25 tons, and Spider-man Update states 15 tons for our web-slinger... Altough that's about to change as "the Other: Evolve or Die" Story-arc will once again Change his powers. V.
|
|
|
Post by Beacon on Nov 29, 2005 16:47:51 GMT -5
Uh, I don't like himl. I can’t stand Carnage but I would have been surprised if he was left out. Well Cage does anyway. Spider-Man met the original, what, once? And that was WAY back in the FIRST clone saga. I’m still willing to let it go since the Official book forgot to give him stats in the MoE section of the Avengers book though. No, he’s a villain who – like the Kingpin – can be associated with more than one individual hero or group. He mostly deals with Spider-Man and the X-Men though (just as the Kingpin mostly deals with Spidey and DD). DD? None that I know of. In his first appearance Arcade captured Spidey and Captain Britain (keep in mind that this was before CB was reduced to just being another X-person). Shortly after that he abducted some of the X-Men and their teammates went to Spidey for advice because they thought of Arcade as one of his foes. Since then he’s gone after everybody (he just abducted the Thing, Nighthawk, the Constrictor, Iron Man, and a bunch of random socialites this month in the Thing’s new series) but he tends to go back to the X-Men and Spidey the most. Nope. He was from the really great period between the end of the Clone Saga and the painfully bad reboot. Lets hope they ignore the works of Burne and JMS instead. But Luke Cage's Write-Up clearly states 25 tons The new Handbooks also clearly state (or in some cases neglect to state) that May Parker was a member of “Gray Power” (it was the “Gray Panthers” btw) and that the Shocker’s marital status is “single” even though the Hood mini series (it wouldn’t bother me because its debatable if the Hood was even in continuity but the picture they used in his bio was taken from the mini so I think that kinda validates it) clearly said he was divorced. Then of course you have the Spider-Man bio that looks like parts of it were cut and pasted (complete with mistakes/oversights*) from the ComiX-Fan bio. I’m going to take any information from those new Handbooks with a grain of salt. *Seriously though why would they list “Black Marvel” as an alias when Peter was just impersonating the guy. Using that logic Flash Thompson is Spider-Man II. The really odd thing is that the “Masked Marvel” wasn’t listed despite being his original alias.
|
|
|
Post by omniscient on Nov 29, 2005 17:17:29 GMT -5
The new Handbooks also clearly state (or in some cases neglect to state) that May Parker was a member of “Gray Power” (it was the “Gray Panthers” btw) and that the Shocker’s marital status is “single” even though the Hood mini series (it wouldn’t bother me because its debatable if the Hood was even in continuity but the picture they used in his bio was taken from the mini so I think that kinda validates it) clearly said he was divorced. It's a long tradition in both Marvel & DC to ignore the Mini/Limited series as they aren't part of the main continuity[not that marvel really has such thing] Also I agree that the current version of the Handbooks is the worst of 'em... but the Power Grid and Abilities come from Marvel Editors not from the people who compile the write-ups. Then of course you have the Spider-Man bio that looks like parts of it were cut and pasted (complete with mistakes/oversights*) from the ComiX-Fan bio. I’m going to take any information from those new Handbooks with a grain of salt. Odd that you should mention this as the guy in question[forgot his name] works for the Marvel making the handbooks... Hehehe. But back to Cage... He can punch through 4 inch Steel plate [shown in comics] -> Steel has hardness of 6[and rip steel & punch through vault has difficulty of 7] so you can't do it with str of 5. V. BTW, were out-of-topic so I call it quits now... G'dNight All.
|
|