Classic Enemies: The Few, The Proud, The Miscellaneous, Part 1!

I won't lie to you, Gentle Reader.  Some of these posts are easier to write than others.  A lot easier.  The big guns are usually easy.  The quirky characters I got a lot of mileage out of are no problem.  The fan favorites? A snap.  It's the ones I've never used, or never liked that are harder.  Which is why I tend to group them together.  This entry and the next will collect these characters from Classic Enemies, leaving me a few interesting ones to round out this project.

First up is Oculon (created by Steve Peterson).  Honestly, he's kind of a weenie.  He was a normal hood who lost his vision in shootout.  His buddies took him to the only doctor they could find, a certain fellow with the last name Levy (remember him from Halfjack?).  Levy replaced his human eyes with some from an alien he was in the process of dissecting, granting him...well, basically Cyclops' power, albeit with better control.

None of which made hi any less of a weenie.  He's got a very powerful optical blast, which he can also use to temporarily blind people or deflect incoming missiles.  Apart from that last item, he's pretty much a glass cannon: one or two solid shots can drop him.

Personality-wise, he's a big old whiner with a persecution complex; the sort of guy the heroes love to beat up while they're bringing him to justice. I've used him once in a while as additional firepower for an ad hoc villain team, but he's not one of my favorites.

Next in our cavalcade of meh is Power Crusher, by Andrew Robinson.  I think PC wins the award for most garish costume in the Champions Universe. "...he wears a jet black hood. His tunic is orange above, dark blue below, with a purple stripe charged with a red gauntlet. His actual gauntlets are also red and crackle with yellow power. He wears brown trunks and boots, and light brown pants with white side stripes." That alone should disqualify him from serious consideration for inclusion into your campaign world.

But wait, there's more!

He's a mutant, born with super strength and toughness.  VIPER supplied him with gauntlets that allow him to steal every possible Physical Characteristic from a living target (Power Transfer).  For me, Transfers, like all Adjustment Powers are a nightmare to GM, requiring far more attention to detail than they're worth.

Long story short, he's never appeared in any of my games.

Our last one for today is Plague (a creation of Kevin Dinapoli). A typical teenaged stoner wasteoid, his mutant powers were triggered by habitual drug use. A wealthy drug dealer got wind of his powers, hired him as a bodyguard and set him up with a supervillain identity.  Unfortunately for his sponsor, Plague wasn't the most effective of bodyguards.  As a result, Plague hires himself out to whoever'll help pay the bills.

Powers-wise, Plague is a pain in the butt.  He can turn insubstantial and fly, and when he touches someone, he generates a close proximity gas that knocks them out in short order.

Personality-wise, there's a reason he's not scarier.  He's a flake, probably more than a little damaged by his habits, and prone to flashbacks.  The few times I've used him, I've based him on Keanu Reeves' character in "River's Edge."  He's usually in over his head and easily led.  Of the three, he's the one I've used most, but even that wasn't often.  I think he most notably featured in a Stronghold breakout, where the heroes encountered him out of costume and didn't know what to expect until it was too late.

Next time, another three lesser lights.