I prefer recognizing homages rather than claiming a character is basically another established character. Dr. Blake Washington, Jr. becoming Ra with The Staff of Ra is a clear homage to Dr. Donald Blake becoming Thor with The Hammer of Thor, for example.
That's why I usually use archetypes, not direct comparsions.
Setback is the hard luck everyman.
Legacy is the paragon of goodness.
Haka is the heavy.
Omnitron X is the robot.
Etc.
I only use the analogs to get new players' attention. Then, when we're in the thick of things I spring trivia on them.
Everyone loves a good trivia assault.
Example: I kept good friend from quitting their first game by explaining Tachyon's peronsal life and relation to How I Met your Mother. However, they only picked Tachyon because she was "like Quicksilver..."
That which is dead cannont die, but rises again, harder and stronger!
During demos at cons, pointing out that Haka is a kindergarten teacher after talking about how he likes to beat down evil with a smile on his face tends to get a laugh from folks...
I think the Argent Adept is the closest to the Green Lantern. His powers are based on a music theme instead of a color theme, but it's still about his imagination. He has different power instruments instead of different colored power rings. He's an order of order against chaos instead of the lanterns good against evil. The titles "Virtuoso of the Void" makes me think that the earliest power instruments came from space.
(I've also seen people compare the Virtuoso of the Void title to the Sorcerer Supreme title that Doctor Strange has, but I think Nightmist is a closer match to Dr. Strange, due to the overt occultism of her deck, which Argent Adept doesn't have).
Someone else mentioned Captain Cosmos as a possible Green Lantern match up, but until he gets published, I'd go with Argent Adept. Also, Captain Cosmos could just as easily be a match for Captain Marvel, or Adam Warlock, or Starlord... It's hard to know which way that name will go.
As for Spiderman, I'll agree with the other voices comparing Setback to Spiderman. The power is different (luck manipulation rather than webslinging and wallcrawling) but I think Setback has the strength and agility of Spiderman, and both are down on their luck an astonishing amount. I think of Setback as a mix of Spiderman and Longshot.
I didn't notice the date; it was in a search result.
[quote=“Silverleaf”]
It can end up being a bit like, “The bald eagle’s just like an osprey. They both fly and have some white feathers and stuff.”[/quote]
Works for me…
So, allow me to test my understanding.
A new player looking to get into SotM wants to know what analogues there are to to some favorite characters.
And your answer to this person is, "definitely start by playing either Argent Adept or Setback."
I feel I must be missing something.
Ironic
Well, when you put it like that, it sounds like bad advice…
I was just thinking about analogs, not introductory advice.
I mean, for a new player, I'd just list the six complexity-1 heroes, give them some quick analogs (Superman, Surfer Hulk, Pyro-Thor, Alien Namor, Batman, and Agent of Shield Cyclops) and go from there.
Hee - I adore hearing people's analogues!
Though for this particular player, I think I might call KNYFE something more like "Punch Lantern," you know? She's got energy projection powers and a military background, it seems legit.
For Spidey, I'd go for Tachyon - she's got the snarky personality, highly-kinetic style, and love of science - it may not be a perfect match, but any Spiderman fan would really enjoy her art and flavor, so it would probably work out.
No I like it. Mandatory Setback for first time players.