The Big Villains Thread

Games Sentinel Comics RPG
281

Villain of the Day:  May 18 (The Bouncer)

Freddy McVeigh didn't intend on rising through the ranks of The Organization, but when opportunity knocked, he certainly didn't say no.

One of The Chairman's low-level legbreakers, Freddy was one of a number of thugs sent to pay a visit to Dr. Morgan Arganstein, a noted biochemist who had something of a gambling problem.  Sent to collect on the good doctor's debt, Freddy started poking around the lab while his compatriots worked over Argenstein.  A large tank full of light blue liquid in sat bubbling away, labeled with all manner of warnings and cautions.

Naturally, Freddy couldn't contain his curiousity.

The substance, referred to as Polymer J2487, was Dr. Arganstein's attempt to create a bio-regenerative polymer for use in extreme wound cases.  Called 'bacta' by those working on the polymer project--a not-so-subtle reference to a favorite film franchise--a wounded subject could be immersed in the fluid to aid in the healing process.  For Freddy, though, the result was something entirely.

Accidentally opening a release valve, the bacta washed over Freddy, binding with his DNA.  When his compatriots rushed back into the lab, Freddy found himself stretched halfway across the laboratory, well beyond the limits of even the most talented contortionists.  Freddy smiled, "Hey boys, it looks like the doc's into something neat.  What say we take him back with us?"

Over the next few months, Freddy began testing his abilities.  His flesh became incredibly elastic, able to stretch into all manner of shapes.  He was resistant to blades, bullets and blows, as they bounced harmlessly off of him.  He could even roll himself into basic shapes, as thin as a water glass or as broad across as a ship's sail.

However, this newfound ability came with quite the cost.  After the first week, Freddy began to dry out.  Painfully cracking, he and several of the Chairman's operatives entered the cell where Dr. Argenstein was being held.  There, Argenstein shook his head, "Without more bacta, your cellular structure is dessicating.  You'll likely need regular immersion.  Daily, if possible."  

Arrangements were made.  Money changed hands.  A new lab was built.  And Argenstein?  Offered a job with the organization, he decided to become an asset instead of a victim.  Freddy, now calling himself The Bouncer, serves as one of the Chairman's underbosses, taking care of dangerous, unwanted elements.  Under him, Argenstein continues his research, enjoying the high life that comes courtesy of organized crime.

282

Villain of the Day: May 19 (Special Delivery)

One of the biggest questions in law enforcement today has been that of how criminals -- especially those with metahuman abilities -- procure their technological devices. Many make their own, but still others received them from mysterious benefactors or patrons from countries away. How do those folks get what they need?

The group known as Special Delivery.

Made up of former smugglers, arms dealers, drug mules, and more, Special Delivery specializes in anonymity, speed, and accuracy across the world. Taking on multi million dollar contracts from numerous villains, Special Delivery acts as a courier service for the nefarious, ferrying goods across the world with ease.

But who runs Special Delivery? While the true identity is still up for debate, the leading candidate is a woman known as Taylor Dunham, an American woman who was one of Mark Bennodetto's closest confidants before his arrest as Argentium. Since that day, Dunham has gone off the grid entirely, effectively leaving no trace of her ever existing.

283

Could I put in a quick request:  Bell & Booke are specifically not villains, which I did try to point out in the post, but are supporting cast - they're not intended as PCs, and they might sometimes be allies.

Any chance an annotation to that effect could get added to their entry?

284

Easily done!

285

Looks like I finally have a reason to make that shrinking hero now. :slight_smile:

286

Villain of the Day: May 20. (FlyBoy)

Vince Kinnon couldnt wait to be a hero. He'd idolized tech based heroes every since he was a child, starting with Bunker and Unity, but moving on to Absolute Zero, Writhe, and Benchmark. He vigorously pursued courses in mechanical engineering, electronics, and more, just so he'd have the know how to achieve his dream of standing shoulder to shoulder with America's greatest heroes.

Imagine his surprise when he was drummed out after the first round of interviews for positions with the Sentinels of Freedom.

Disgusted, Vince threw himself into his home creation, a repulsor powered wingsuit capable of achieving Mach 4 speeds.

Imagine, then, his glee when he achieved his wish. The FlyBoy suit isn't pretty, but it certainly is capable.

And, for what it's worth, Vince's first forays as a masked hero went quite well. However, he soon found himself more and more in direct rivalry with other heroes, particularly those chosen ahead of him for the Sentinels of Freedom program. This led to a particularly violent outburst during a conflict with The Radioactivist, wherein Vince actually allowed Radioactivist to escape while he he himself argued with several of the SoF's new recruits. Vince was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting, but was quickly released as the charges were dropped.

However, the seed of vengeance was already planted, and FlyBoy has a new design already waiting in the wings...

287

Villain of the Day:  May 21 (Fissure)

Danielle Geary is obsessed with Magmaria.

Once a noted geologist, studying the relationship between seismic activity and the flow of magma within the earth's mantle, Danielle utterly broke when the first Magmarians surfaced.  Every concept of scientific inquiry, every book she'd read, every scholarly article she'd cited indicated that a civilization such as Magmaria simply Could. Not. Exist.  The very idea of a subterranean civilization, existing somewhere deep within the earth's crust, was farcical.  Despite the evidence in front of her eyes, she knew that it simply could not be the case.

From that day forward, Danielle was a woman possessed.  There had to be a reason for this.  Maybe the so-called Magmarians were aliens from some other world.  Maybe this was some nonsensical mysticism which had no bearing in science.  Regardless, she'd find her way to the bottom of things.  Magmaria became a fixation for her; her colleagues grew worried, she stopped sleeping and rarely ate.  In the end, her co-worker, Bill, made the call to mental health services.  Danielle was institutionalized for over a month, remediating her health and mental well-being.

Unfortunately, it didn't do much good.  When Danielle emerged from the psych ward, she was just as fixated, but now had the sense of mind to do something about it. 

In secret, Danielle began gathering a massive amount of mining equipment, blast charges, and fusion-powered sonic drilling device, taking them to the southern tip of Yellowstone National Park.  Only then did authorities realize what threat Danielle--now calling herself Fissure--truly intended.  In an attempt to destroy the paradox that was Magmaria, Danielle intended to drill down into the Yellowstone caldera, causing the subterranean supervolcano to explode prematurely.  Heroes were called in, Danielle's charges were disarmed, but the manic geologist had managed to escape, all the while her strange vendetta against Magmaria remains...

288

Does this count as technology? It's sciency at least. That's my excuse for not putting this up during the magic month.

Mister Midas

Alchemy, the blend of science and magic, is a practice that was mostly forgotten over the centuries, with the exception of Biomancer. Though with the emergence of people like the Scholar and Hermetic, it seems like people are starting to remember again. A freelance thug by the name of Austin Urban could technically be considered an alchemist as well, but he could only use it in one specific way: Everything he touched turned to gold. More specifically, any nonliving thing that made contact with his outer skin became some sort of gold-colored steel-like substance, and reverted to normal several seconds after he stopped touching it. That may not sound like much, but with it he could make a weapon out of anything, and even without it he was still a phisycal powerhouse.

Being a brutish type with no formal education beyone public high school, how he obtained such a… scholarly power is a bit of a mystery. According to those knew him, growing up he was a regular kid (if not a bit of a bully) with no powers up until he left home to make it on his own and promptly disappeared.

A few years later, he emerged clad in cheap plastic armor (which of course wasn't plastic when he was wearing it) weilding a similarly cheap sword, calling himself Mister Midas, and doing other villains' dirty work for money. He may not be as ambitious as some big-time villains, but he's been doing this job for decades and he's better at it than anyone else. If you have a job and you need some serious muscle, you call Midas.

289

Villain of the Day: May 22 (Gyges)

It's hardly a secret that the United States' military has any number of secret projects in the wings at any given point; while many of these projects never reach replicable results, the ones that do succeed tend to revolutionize the face of warfare.

Project Gyges was about to be one of the latter.

The brainchild of a team of Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Grimes and a team of optics experts, physicists, and engineers, Project Gyges aimed to provide a localized, infantry-based stealth array capable of being utilized en masse on the battlefield.  The delivery method for this stealth?  A series of photon-diffusing fields, capable of being emanated via a series of circular wristbands, collars, or other wearable devices.  

The exact details of Grimes' betrayal, however, are still up for debate.  Despite having video footage within the skunkworks itself, investigators still argue the truth behind what happened that July day.  Grimes had called an all-staff meeting for a status report and demonstration for a lean man in a dark suit, whom many presumed to be some investor or state official.  As the technicians proceeded to demonstrate the Gyges device--a small housecat, a nearby guardsman, and an armored personnel vechicle--the suited man smiled.  He clapped a hand on Grimes' back and said simply, "Excellent.  Pack it up!"

Grimes reached into his pocket, pulling forth a hand-held detonator.  Before anyone could react, the skunkworks exploded into flame and smoke.  In the carnage, several of the scientists attempted to escape.  As they dashed out of the skunkworks external structure, they were swiftly gunned down by unseen assailants.  Smiling, Grimes and his dark-suited compatriot walked out with a briefcase containing the completed Gyges prototypes.  

To date, Grimes has gone off the grid entirely; his twenty-six year military career went up with the smoke of that skunkworks.  Nobody has seen him since.

290

Villain of the Day:  May 23 (Caustic)

Suzanne Owlsey never saw herself as a scientist, but she certainly knew her way around a laboratory.  As it turns out, that's all it took for her to become a supervillain.

A phlebotomist at Overbrook General Hospital, Suzanne's health began deteriorating after her third year of work.  Days upon days of overtime, a never-ending queue of sample processing, and an unofficial edict from her supervisors that "time off just isn't in the schedule right now," left her burned out, exhausted, and stressed.  While she was able to live comfortably--she had no children and, really, no time for a husband or boyfriend--she grew to resent her job more and more.  

That's when someone showed up at her apartment.  Someone she recognized from the news reports from their clashes with the new Sentinels of Freedom.  Someone calling herself Cherenkov.

Suzanne was a single digit away from calling the authorities when Cherenkov managed to talk her down.  Cherenkov made Suzanne the proverbial offer she couldn't refuse:  join her on a new team--all women of science and technology, ready to take on the world.  

Suzanne turned her down outright.  She didn't call the police on the radioactive menace, but she was having none of it.  Despite the refusal, Cherenkov left a burner cell phone on Suzanne's coffee table saying, "Call me if you change your mind."

Three days later, Suzanne found herself working a 14 hour shift, proverbially up to her eyeballs in blood and stool samples.  Exhausted and unfocused, she dropped a vial of blood, which shattered on the tile floor, right in front of her supervisor, Dan.  Dan, just as frazzled, proceeded to berate the young woman...whereupon she snapped.  Grabbing the first thing at hand--a bottle of undiluted citric acid cleaner--she flung it at Dan's face.  The bottle splashed open across his face, covering it with caustic chemicals; the young supervisor began screaming in agony, clutching his acid-spattered skin.

Suzanne was arrested almost immediately, but she knew to whom her first phone call would go.  No less than 45 minutes after being booked in the Rook City PD, she was released into the care of her disabled 'cousin', Jenna.  Four hours later, Suzanne was off the grid entirely.  

Now, Suzanne has all but dropped her past identity, in favor of her new name:  Caustic.  Wearing something of a cross between a biohazard suit and a battle harness, she uses various chemicals--primarily acids, enzymes, and other destructive liquids, emitted from a specially designed liquid projectile device.  And, alongside her new allies, the whole world will melt before her visage.

291

Please, never show this villain to my chemist wife. She already leans to the dark side, she doesn’t need ideas. 

292

Villain of the Day:  May 24 (Vox Populi)

Amber Rippeon had always been an advocate for the little guy. 

Through college, Amber worked with a number of student political organizations, protesting everything from animal cruelty and police brutality to the use of racially-tinged imagery as mascots for sports team.  After graduating with a triple major (Political Science/Communication/English), Amber went to work for a left-wing non-profit advocacy group, producing various flyers and social media posts for rallies and other gatherings.  She was saving the world, one flyer at a time.

When the First Megalopolis Bank declared insolvency last year, Amber was one of the first to take to the streets.  However, as governmental oversight committees grilled the bank's executives over corporate bonuses, fiscally irresponsible investment strategies, and misuse of investors' funds, the streets of Megalopolis turned into a literal riot zone.  Cars were lit on fire, rocks were thrown, and police were dispatched in full riot gear.  It was one of those officers who changed Amber's life irrevocably.

As protestors clashed with police, Amber was on the front line.  While she herself didn't throw stones or molotov cocktails, she eagerly shouted profanities and chants at the police, getting in close range to inhibit their march.  One officer swung his billy-club; Amber ducked, but not fast enough.  What might have hit her in center of mass instead crushed her throat.  She crumpled like an aluminum can, gasping and wheezing.  While she was immediately taken to emergency services, the damage was done:  her vocal cords were shredded, her larynx a broken mess.  She could barely breathe, much less speak.

The officer in question was eventually dismissed from the force for his use of excessive force, but Amber's mind had turned from dissension to outright vengeance.  When she was finally released from the hospital--after nearly 2 months of rehabilitation, the whole of which was spent on an artificial ventilator--Amber was dead-set on tearing down the whole structure of the police force.  

However, it just so happened that one of her fellow activist friends was the college roommate of a fellow named Irving Healey.  Irving Healey, as we know now, is the mastermind behind the villainous think-tank/supplier known as Haephestus Labs.  After putting in a favor or two, Healey shipped Amber the device that changed her life.  The vocal amplification collar worn by Amber, now calling herself Vox Populi, amplifies Amber's voice to an phenomenal degree, allowing her to emit intense sonic blasts capable of shattering steel as if it were glass.  

So imbued, Amber raised her game as a protester to that of an outright anarchist.  As Vox Populi, she regularly targets major banking and economic centers, prisons, police stations, and other institutions of establishment power.  While powered heroes have managed to confront Vox Populi on a number of occasions, she has managed to escape on every occasion, disappearing into a network of underground dissidents eager to keep their superpowered savior safe from the clutches of 'the man.'

293

Villain of the Day:  May 25 (Quintessence)

The being calling itself Quintessence made its first appearance shortly after the OblivAeon event, emerging in the midst of the ruins of San Alonzo.  Clad in gleaming bronze-tinted armor and wielding a bevy of advanced weaponry, Quintessence quickly made his way to the refugee camps outside of the city, proclaiming his utter dominion and his status as the perfection of the human genome.  While Quintessence was quickly driven off by a combined force of military force and heroic intervention, few were able to dwell on this strange individual until much later, once the carnage of OblivAeon was contained.

Since that day, Quintessence has only made sparing appearances, with each revealing hints of information as to his true identity.  After kidnapping several professional athletes and Olympians, Quintessence revealed that he is a believer in orthogenesis--the concept that natural selection and evolution have a finite end goal and that a genetic pinnacle can be reached.  Further, Quintessence believes that he, himself, is that pinnacle of the human condition, and that he actively aims to cull down the human population such that the remaining humans will inevitably provide a master-race of humankind capable of approaching his "genetic perfection".

Coupled with this came the information that Quintessence is, in fact, a time traveler.  While the exact timeline and position in time from which Quintessence came is still a mystery, conversations with Time-Slinger and CON-IV have provided a few clues.  The design of the armor and weaponry which Quintessence wields has a great deal of similarity to that of the atomic end-glaive once wielded by Deadline, which itself originated aboard the Enclave of the Endlings.  However, a device that Quintessence used during one confrontation with the Paradigms seems to have a degree of software that shared similar base coding language with that of the Benchmark suit.

However, most disturbing may well be the links between Quintessence and the fiendish individual known as Biomancer.  Quintessence has an uncanny ability to detect Biomancer's fleshchildren, often abducting them live, for the express purpose of utilizing the sorcery-crafted flesh for genetic experimentation.  Some have surmised that Quintessence may well be some alternate universe version of Biomancer; while one bent his talents towards the arcane, the other focused upon science and genetic manipulation.  This theory is only reinforced by Quintessence's creation of a servitor group which he refers to as "The Factotums"--near bestial beings which Quintessence bred to be 'the perfect servitor soldier, mindless and merciless', which defend Quintessence's safe-havens.

294

Villain of the Day:  May 26  (Raw Nerve)

Barry Waldrop wasn't born deaf, but after twenty years of working a rotary grinder in a factory, his hearing deteriorated significantly.  While hearing aids stemmed the problem at first, his doctors quickly realized that no degree of traditional hearing aid would work for much longer and suggested having a bionic cochlear implant surgically installed.  This implant would, effectively, be able to transmit vibrations directly into the auditory nerve, restoring his lost hearing.

The surgery was a success.  And then some.

Within weeks, Barry was back to work with a brand new cybernetic implant beneath each ear.  His hearing was restored and all was well...aside from his floor supervisor, Gordon.  Any time Barry was around Gordon, Gordon would grow nauseous, experience flashes of pain and vertigo, and twice collapsed on the factory floor.  While none managed to link Barry to Gordon's health issues, Barry quickly put one and one together, realizing that in all cases, his presence was the common link.

Soon enough, Gordon wasn't the only one experiencing these symptoms, but Barry had a plan.  He was going to practice.

You see, the very normal auditory implant--a surgery that literally thousands have had with no ill effects--had dug itself slightly deeper into the lower pons of his brain, interfereing with his body's natural bioelectric field.  In fact, he became capable of utilizing this implant to disrupt the bioelectric rhythms in others, causing the pain, nausea, discomfort, and unconsciousness experienced by Gordon and several others at Barry's factory.  

Unfortunately for the world, Barry's newfound power immediately sent him into a spiral of corruption.  He began testing his abilities on passers-by, often spending his nights sitting in restaurants or bars, waiting for some poor fool to come in, whom he would target with a seizure, a vertigo attack, or some other biochemical imbalance.  After a month or two, Barry had all but mastered his abilities.  Cobbling together a costume from homemate parts,  he began knocking off convenience stores and drive-thrus, picking up almost $200,000 in ill-gotten cash in just under three months of jobs.

Now calling himself Raw Nerve, Barry has begun assembling something of a gang within Megalopolis, working for self-interest and mutual protection.  While Barry's crimes likely wouldn't attract the attention of the Freedom Five, Barry and his cohort have begun a hitherto-unseen crime wave in the streets of Megalopolis.

295

Need to shut that factory down for OSHA violations! D:

296

Villain of the Day: May 27 (The Masticator)

Whatever you do, don’t call him Mister Chomps.

Anthony Valetti has been a good for nothing thug for most of his life. As a teen, he spent his time in and out of juvenile detention for petty theft and vandalism. That escalated his senior year into assault and robbery. After dropping out of high school, Anthony spent his evenings running heroin for The Chairman and his agents, filling the streets of Rook City with drugs.

However, numerous other parties were impressed by Anthony’s loyalty, fortitude, and ruthlessness. One such party was Dr. Emershaun Laurent, the twisted surgeon and geneticist responsible for so many biochemical weapons and humanoid monstrosities. Laurent offered Anthony a deal: work for him (and his mysterious patrons), and gain the power he so craved.

It was a done deal. During a grueling 16 hour surgery, Anthony’s jaw was removed and replaced with an augmented one, featuring razor sharp teeth coated in a tungsten carbide cutting agent and servos capable of generating almost 30,000 newtons of biting force. The Masticator was born.

Since that day, Anthony has worked his essay through the ranks of Laurent’s organization to become a trusted lieutenant. He became most notable to heroes during an encounter with The Paradigms, in which he literally bit through one of Unity’s creations. He and his allies were driven off, but not before he issued a threat to the technopath: “Call me Chomps again, and its your neck.”

However, Anthony is insatiably curious as to whom he, and Laurent, truly work for. What happens when he learns the truth, though, remains to be seen.

297

9 out of 10 dentists recommend NOT DOING THAT TO YOUR TEETH, GOOD LORD, MAN!

298

Villain of the Day:  May 28 (Black Site 515-Tango)

In response to the numerous threats facing the country--foreign, domestic, and interstellar--the United States military has often sought to provide their troops with the finest in cutting edge weaponry, genetic augmentation, and any other edge against the country's enemies.  Much of the research and 'grunt work' for these initiatives are done at government skunk-works sites.  The Groom Lake facility in Nevada (often referred to as Area 51) garnered particular fame, as did Fort Adamant, once the indiscretions found within were finally revealed.

The experiments currently taking place at Black Site 515-Tango make those sites look like a 5th grade science fair.

The brainchild of Brigadier General Lucius Horner (USAF), the 515 site is rumored to be somewhere beneath a plateau in southern Montana.  The facility there is entirely self-sustaining; staff does not leave the facility, and visitors are warned once to leave, before they are opened upon with all manner of small arms fire.  The 515 site comprises almost a full skyscraper's worth of offices, laboratories, assembly lines, and other necessary scientific and engineering facilities.  Projects that have emerged from the Black Site include a new series of miniature mass drivers intended to replace the M-16 as the default in infantry warfare, as well as a series of relays capable of generating a powerful energy shield, as easy to erect and move as a series of tent stakes.

The real horror of Black Site 515, though?  That would be Sub-Floor 2.

In Sub-Floor 2, a series of biologists, surgeons, geneticists, and bioengineers have worked tirelessly to recreate the gene-binding process used on so many various aliens across the galaxy....and make that process available to human soldiers.  An entire regiment of captured Thorathians, as well as nearly 2,000 gene-bound creatures from the various worlds inhabit the cells in Sub-Floor 2, living out the last of their miserable days as test subjects for the American military.  

With so many forces mobilizing in North Africa and the Middle East, can it be long before the first American Gene-Bound Marines storm the beaches of the Red Sea?  Or worse, should some other force--such as TALOS or The Annihilationists--learn of these experiments, the world may swiftly find these abominations in the hands of the worst individuals imaginable...

299

Oh wow, that's terrifying. D:

300

Zivanka Doležal, the daughter of a fairly successful banker in Prague, had her whole life ahead of her. She had her choice of universities to attend when she finished her schooling, she had her friends, and she had a young man who hadn't gotten around to asking her out yet.

That all changed when Zivanka's body started to glow. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had stepped in a rain puddle that had been transformed into isoflux alpha. The glow was faint at first, only enough to see after the lights were out, but it quickly grew. Her parents took her to an emergency room, then to a specialist. The doctors couldn't tell them anything. Zivanka started to lose weight, burning off calories as light at an alarming rate.

Help finally arrived in the form of a case worker from Revocorp. With the use of various power negation technologies, Zivanka's powers were damped down to a sustainable level and she gradually learned to control them. She found she could manipulate her light to produce images and even focus it into powerful laser beams. As she gained control, the power dampers were turned down, then removed. And then Revocorp had a proposition for her: they were putting together a team. As a success story from Revocorp's efforts to help people both normal and powered, she could be a spokesperson, a celebrity, and a hero all at once.

Everyone had heard of the Freedom Five; Zivanka jumped at the chance. Taking on the somewhat grandiose moniker "Princess of the Universe", she fought petty crime, spoke on behalf of Revocorp, and generally enjoyed life at Revocorp's expense. Her university intentions were forgotten. She grew to womanhood as a slightly spoiled celebrity, famous mainly for being famous.

All that came crashing down when the head of Revocorp was unmasked as a villain himself. As Benchmark revealed Revocorp's corruption, Zivanka's horrible suspicions grew. Finally, she used her powers to cut her way past security doors deadly defenses in the Prague branch office. Past human testing labs, a prison block, and a morgue, she found what she feared most: a young woman, unconscious and surrounded by life support equipment, glowing brightly and all but wasted away. With precision laser beams, she cut the power to the equipment and stayed to watch until the monitors flatlined.

Then she tore down the building and all the people in it who had smiled at her through their lies. Who had tricked her into speaking on their behalf while they ran a horror show behind the scenes. Who had made her complicit in their crimes and stolen her childhood from her.

In that office she shed the childish title "Princess of the Universe" and took on one more appropriate to her age and nature: Queen Killer. Her work only started, she fled into the night, vowing vengeance against the whole corrupt company and any so-called "heroes" that would protect them.