The Randomizers:
Background 2, 7, 7 [Options: Criminal, Law Enforcement, Interstellar, Anachronistic]
Power Source 2, 3, 2 [Options: Training, Genetic, Experimentation, Mystical, Artificial Being]
Archetype 2, 1, 7 [Options: Speedster, Shadow, Physical Powerhouse, Armored, Flyer, Elemental Manipulator]
Personality 10, 9, 1 [Options: Lone Wolf, Inquisitive, Alluring, Stoic, Jaded]
Skybreaker (II)
Real Name: Cooper Cullen, First Appearance: Venture Into The Unknown #2, February 1958
Background: Anachronistic, Power Source: Mystical, Archetype: Physical Powerhouse
Personality: Inquisitive, Principles: Time Traveller, Indestructible
Status Dice: Green d6, Yellow d8, Red d12. Health: 32 [Green 32-25, Yellow 24-12, Red 11-1]
Qualities: Fitness d10, Ranged Combat d10, Magical Lore d10, Leadership d10, Ancient Demigod d8
Powers: The Spear of Assal d10, Strength d8, Weather d8, Presence d8, Awareness d6
Green Abilities:
- Skin Like Iron (I): Reduce any physical or energy damage you take by 1 while you are in the Green zone, 2 while in the Yellow zone, and 3 while in the Red zone.
- Spear-Wielder [A]: Attack using the Spear of Assal and use your Max die.
- Principle of the Time Traveller [A]: Overcome using knowledge of your home era and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
- Principle of the Indestructible [A]: Overcome in a situation in which you charge headlong into danger and use your Max die. You and your allies gain a Hero Point.
Yellow Abilities:
- Power of the Gods [A]: Overcome an environmental challenge using the Spear of Assal. Use your Max die. Either remove any penalty in the scene or Boost equal to your Mid die.
- Gather The Storm [A]: Boost or Hinder using Weather, and apply that mod to multiple nearby targets.
- Issue Challenge [A]: Attack using Presence. The target of that Attack must take an Attack action against you as its next turn, if possible.
Red Abilities
- In the Clutch (I): When you use an ability action, you may also perform any one basic action using your Mid die on the same roll.
- The Final Cast [A]: Attack using the Spear of Assal and at least one bonus. Use your Max+Mid+Min dice. Destroy all of your bonuses, adding each of them to this Attack first, even if they are exclusive.
Out
- Choose an ally. Until your next turn, that ally may reroll one of their dice by using a Reaction.
The release of the new Freedom Five in 1957 heralded a new wave of interest in superheroes. Seeing an uptick in sales for Madame Liberty and Flatfoot Adventures, the editors of Venture Comics decided to risk launching a new title, which would test new heroes and adventures. Their first issue was forgettable, but in Issue #2, they breathed new life into an older hero, both figuratively and literally.
Rhonda Randall was an unassuming historian at the Grovedale Museum of Culture who received an anonymous donation of a beautiful golden Celtic spear on the same day that a group of armed robbers attempted to steal the collection for their own purposes. As Rhonda faced certain death, a sealed tomb that had been in the museum’s collection for decades cracked open, and the Celtic hero Cu Chulainn emerged, confused and very much alive! He took up his spear and easily defeated the robbers, and then admitted that he had no idea where he was or what was happening.
With Rhonda’s help, the hero took on the alias of Cooper Cullen, a mild-mannered assistant at the museum, while he explored this strange new world he had found himself in. Soon enough, he was tangling with mystical threats and ancient enemies, including the magical villain who had tried to steal the spear in the first place, as the heroic Skybreaker!
The new Skybreaker was more targeted at young audiences, calling up storms to slow enemies or hitting them with the shaft of his spear rather than killing. He had a zest for life and an endless curiousity about the modern world that led to lighthearted hijinks and heroic escapades, and his supporting cast of museum associates gave him a secret identity that he and Rhonda frequently struggled to keep concealed. It wasn’t entirely clear whether this Skybreaker was in the same continuity as the previous one; the writer of the first issue hinted that the Spear of Assal had been donated to the museum by an anonymous source, which may have been Lewis Lamont or may have been unconnected.
All in all, Skybreaker was a grand success, heralding the start of a new age for Venture Comics, and June saw the launch of Skybreaker Stories to bolster their titles.
Behind the Scenes
So, I was pretty sure that I wanted Venture to echo DC by having their first big hero of the Silver Age be a revamp of either Skybreaker, Greenheart, or Steward. The first randomizer immediately made me choose between the first two and the third, and when I went with Anachronistic, I ended up with a set that could have been used for either Skybreaker or Greenheart. I’ve tentatively gone with Skybreaker, and hopefully it’ll be interesting.