Not that I'll get to use this idea any time soon

[james_davis_nicoll]

Because it looks like 4E D&D might be the next year's campaign but what would be a good quintessentially '80s name for a superhero?

The basic idea that I'm toying with is that the guy hit his PR peak around 1989 because as we know superhero rpg universes reflect the comicbooks of the time. In 1988 and 1989, wisecracking masks who enjoyed what they did but who didn't do anything unsavoury were in but by the early 1990s people wanted to hear about depressed superpowered thugs beating the crap out of other depressed superpowered thugs. Even though this guy was stilling doing what he did as competently as ever, nobody cared. Or cares. He's still sticking with his old schtick twenty years on despite the lack of acknowledgment. It's what he knows and anyway it's a lot more fun than the famous guys are having.

Comments

[dewline.livejournal.com]

Which works well enough. "Stick to your game plan and things will turn around eventually."

In this case, twenty years was just long enough.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

The tricky part is avoiding some hideous fate intended to demonstrate that only sociopathic thugs can prosper. In the comics, Booster got his original suit trashed and then lost an arm. Blue Beetle ends up with a bullet in his head. Both Dibneys are murdered. We won't even mention what happened to Stanley and his monster.

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Maxi-Man got killed in one of Roulette's duels. Off-stage.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Do you have a power concept?

'Cause, y'know, "Color + Noun That Has Something To Do With the Power" works. Or "Adjective That Has Something To Do With The Power + Noun That has Little To Do With Anything".

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Speedster-brick. Brick because I figure it's easier to be optimistic if nothing can kill or cripple you and speedster because I've rolling horribly on initiative lately.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Hot Streak?

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

My speedster-brick was Detroit Diesel. Pinstripe blue jumpsuit, red boots, gloves, and belt, black Monopoly train on the chest.

[dsrtao]

Late eighties: the second wave of hair metal and Thundercats. WWF Superstars of Wrestling.

Big hair should feature prominently.

[fridgepunk.livejournal.com]

Starfire esque Super big hair or just regular ol' big hair?

Big Hair

[kgbooklog.livejournal.com]

Hair down to his waist and/or a ZZTop beard.

[mikedavsi.livejournal.com]

His name should be Speed Metal.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

. . . actually, that's pretty cool for a speedster brick . . .

[scifantasy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it really is.

[(Anonymous)]

Seconded. That is exactly the name my brain was trying and failing to conjure.

- Ken

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

He could have a venom-spitting body-of-stone archenemy called Acid Rock!

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

He could have an entire roster of music-themed antagonists! I'm suddenly thinking about an origin event involving his band, whoever they opened for and the audience.

Of course rock being rock, a lot of the themed villains won't have made it to the 21st century.

Yes

[(Anonymous)]

just yes.

And, right, it opens up broad possibilities for music-themed allies, ex-sidekicks and antagonists. Let's not even think about Speed Metal's relationship with Grunge.


Doug M.

think of it this way...

[emt-hawk.livejournal.com]

If I was a superhero, I wouldn't run right out and declare myself "[insert super power here] Man"

I liked the way they handled it in one of the Batman movies. They let the newspapers name the guy.

What's his power or schtick?

--Hawk

Re: think of it this way...

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Fast, hard to hurt.

Re: think of it this way...

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

The problem with letting the reporters name you is that you may not get lucky and get a handle like Green Arrow. The Hulk title once mentioned a brick who put an infinity symbol on her costume and the press called her "that crazy eight chick".

Re: think of it this way...

[emt-hawk.livejournal.com]

That's true. I always had a hard time playing "super" superheroes. I usually played normals, who had no disads in Champions. Which is difficult to keep up with the characters who had all the powers in 3 different character forms with multi-power thingys.

But I was the smart one in the room. I didn't get distracted by the GM, or busy studying how I could make my perfect character more buff.

--H

Re: think of it this way...

[poeticalpanther.livejournal.com]

Or, as seen in Civil War: the villains may give you names you *didn't* want, such as: "I'm not going to be taken down by Goldfish Girl and the Bondage Queen!"

(which would be Namorita and...oh, can't remember the other generic c-list hero's actual name, but it was pretty funny)

Speedster brick, huh? Like, say, Cannonball? Of course, that's been used - but it's more catchy than "Armour-Piercing Discarding Sabot Man".

Re: think of it this way...

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

Actually, I'd lie in my name. Like the concept Jim Gardner came up with, the group "Five Guys Who Take Double Damage From Electrical Attacks."

Re: think of it this way...

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

In the film the Rocketeer, they have the seen where the airport owner and the reporters are hashing over possible names after seeing the Rocketeer in action for the first time.

[mike-harre.livejournal.com]

I ran a char in a Champions game named "Brunhilde the Aerobinator". She initially started as a villain concept for a campaign I was goiong to run, then got sidetracked into a PC :-).

Super Strength, Mind Control and uncontrolled change on hearing dance music.

And the picture you get from the is probably pretty close... :-)

Mike