The Big Villains Thread

Mister Doe?  Who knows for sure...?

Even if he is (and I'm not saying he is), he wouldn't be the only TALOS affiliated villain on this list...

Villain of the Day:  January 31 (Adrian Moriarty Dover, aka The Second Moriarty)

It is April 18th, in the Year of Our Lord 1204.  Constantinople burns.

The misguided Crusaders from France and Italy have been excommunicated for the second time by Pope Innocent III.  Ancient relics of art, literature, and history are destroyed.  Treasures are looted.  The great bronze horses of the Hippodrome are torn from their moorings, set to be sent to Rome.  Adrianus Akropolites watches from afar; a pack-horse loaded with treasures awaits him, grazing at a tree nearby.  An opened lock, a misdirected guard patrol, and the Crusading army takes the best-fortified city in the western world. 

Within the city walls, the invading army revels; a French prostitute dances upon the throne of the Byzantine Empire.  But well before the music ends, Adrianus Akropolites has vanished.

It is late February, in the Year of Our Lord 1778.  Philadelphia freezes.

Garrison Commander Arnold has been relieved of his field duties, taking the winter to heal his wounded leg.  The revolution has weighed heavy on his mind for months--so much carnage, so many lives lost, and for what?  His doctor peels back the bandages and replaces the split.  "If only," the doctor says, "this war could come to a swift end.  We could save so many and get back to normality.  Commander, you will be in a unique position upon your return to the Continental Army..."  Arnold contemplates this as Doctor Adrian re-wraps his leg; perhaps he could make a difference.

It is October, in the Year of Our Lord 1958.  London shivers.

Felix Stone contemplates his new office, in Britain's Attache for Foreign Affairs.  Never one for much decoration, most of what covered his deck were paper clips, staplers, and other office supplies.  A cup of black pens sat at the ready, within easy reach of his dayplanner.  A head popped into his doorway, "Mister Stone, I presume?"  Felix nods.  "My name is Adrian Dover.  It appears we'll be working in tandem for the foreseeable future...shall we pop out for a drink?"

The man known as Adrian Dover would never catch your attention on the street.  A head of dark hair, high cheekbones, and a dark suit allow him to blend into a crowd with ease.  And, over the centuries, he has done just that.  Over and over, Adrian has placed himself in positions to give history a 'nudge', pushing it in a direction that spirals it towards chaos and annihilation.  Each time, he emerges all the stronger, gaining wealth, influence, and material power, even as the world rends itself in twain.  In this end, he has come to view himself as something of a nefarious mastermind, sitting at the center of a vast web of interconnections, deceit, and conspiracy.  Jokingly, he has more than once referred to himself as The Second Moriarty, after the classic mastermind of literature.

It is unknown as to whether Adrian Dover has any powers beyond his incredibly long life span.  He does not age, nor does he ever seem to suffer any physical ailment.  His uncanny influence over notable individuals might suggest some degree of mental manipulation, though he exhibits no other psychic powers, such as telepathy or telekinesis.  It may well be that century upon century of education, diplomacy, and machinations have simply crafted him into a master manipulator.  In any case, tracking Dover's subtle influence might only be in the hands of the most diligent investigators, leading to major figures the world around.  And should someone step too close to this secret?  Such a brash individual might find the world itself allied against them, as The Second Moriarty stacks the deck of fate.

So, Adrian Dover rounds out my last villain for January.

Can I ask the general consensus of what they thought of this? Is this useful? Entertaining? Too cliche?

Big question, I guess, is *do you want to see more?*

I'm kind of on the fence right now -- I like writing these, but I've got a ton of other stuff to write, both personally and professionally, so if there's not an audience, I'll move apace. If there's desire for more though, I'll gladly keep going.

My thoughts for the coming months would likely be themed: a month of street level villains, another of occult/arcane threats, another of alien/cosmic threats, another of teams/organizations, etc. Is this an interesting direction for people?

All right, then.  We forge on!  February will focus on Foreign Threats:  threats not originating in the United States.

Villain of the Day:  February 1 (Jimmy Fish-Eyes)

Jiichirou "Jimmy" Nobuto had a case of the wandering eyes.  No matter how good he had it, he always wanted something different, something new, something more.  If he just got a new car?  He'd find himself back on the car lots, eyeing up the newer models.  In a restaurant?  He'd scope out what someone else had ordered, wondering when he should change his own order.  In a relationship with a gorgeous girlfriend?  He'd scope the dating sites on the down-low, looking for someone cuter.  Within his circle of friends, his tendency to gape and stare earned him the nickname Jimmy Fish-Eyes, as he scoped out what might be out there.

However, Jimmy's eye for the finer things did have its perks.  As a low-level extortionist with the Kokuru-kai yakuza group, he could always tell when someone was holding out on him, able to sniff out hidden cash, weapons, or other valuables with ease.  After a particularly lucrative score, in which Jimmy located a cache of conflict diamonds, his oyabun decided to reward him with something most unique.

Jimmy's surgery lasted for nearly 16 hours.  With Jimmy on the table, the Afrikaans surgeon was nothing short of a maestro, removing his eyes and attaching new ones directly into his optic nerves.

He emerged from his recovery with powers true to his name.  Mechanical cybernetic eyes bulged from his sockets:  he could now see into alternate spectrums of light, see through thin objects, and see at incredible distances or with power magnification.  Further, Jimmy's enhanced vision granted him phenomenal skill at marksmanship, turning what was an average shot into a shootist that could out-duel even the best of Olympic marksmen and archers.  To keep a lower profile, Jimmy's become ubiquitous for his large, jet black sunglasses which cover all but the barest trace of his cybernetics.

Fish-Eyes continues to work for the Kokuru-kai, but as per usual, he has his eyes on bigger scores.  Perhaps those individuals who gave him his new eyes might be hiring...

Villain of the Day:  February 2 (Vabanque)

Gregoire D'Alembert loved the thrill of the dice.  The flip of a card enthralled him.  That tension between dealer and player, the shifty eyes, the decision to stay or hit, the bluff and patter at the gambling table.  Gregoire himself was a good enough player--typically favoring baccarat, blackjack, and craps--but the atmosphere of a casino was intoxicating to him.  Growing up in Luxembourg, he quickly moved to Monte Carlo, taking a position as a croupier at a small casino.

Over time, Gregoire rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a baccarat ladderman in a notable coastline casino.  Unfortunately for Gregoire, that casino did not take kindly to thieves--while Gregoire himself took nothing, a nefarious co-worker shunted the blame onto him--and worse, that casino happened to be mob-affiliated.  Rather than turn Gregoire in to the authorities, a few burly men took him into the kitchen walk-in after hours and proceeded to teach him a proper lesson.

The explosion of energy in the kitchen nearly demolished the east wing of the casino.  Bleeding from his pummelling, Gregoire flared with power in all directions, slaying his assailants and decimating the kitchen.  Not understanding what had happened to him, Gregoire fled the casino, packed a swift bag, and ran for his life.

Since that day, Gregoire has started to gain a handle on his energy-expulsion abilities.  Styling himself as the rakish Vabanque, he can project energy missiles after the four card suits, while his costume resembles nothing so much as the Jack of Diamonds, replete with pale-faced mask.  

In his civilian guise, Gregoire travels from casino to casino, bilking casinos--particularly mob-affiliated ones--out of thousands of dollars.  However, while dressed as Vabanque, he revels in theft and derring-do, his actions leaving gambling houses smoking and penniless in his wake.

Villain of the Day:  February 3 (The Polong)

The villagers in Tanha Rata, Malaysia always managed to keep the beast at bay.  For centuries upon end, a villager would leave their village, venturing deep into the jungle and entering the forbidden cave.  Torch in hand, the altar lay before them, the same two objects always in place:  a small stone knife and a black-quartz bottle.  Each day, at noon, a villager would prick their index finger with the stone blade and ooze a single drop of blood into the bottle.  Each time, the creature in the bottle rose to feed, but each time it simply fed on the blood and returned to the bottle.  Few knew why this ritual was performed; fewer still knew what actually lurked within the bottle.  But all knew:  each day, one drop of blood kept the bottle satisfied.

But, as with all things during the OblivAeon event, the routine mundane rituals of life were flung aside in favor of pure survival.

The islands of Malaysia were struck by a massive typhoon as OblivAeon arrived, with massive storms and crashing waves slamming against the shore.  Tanha Rata was submerged, the villagers clinging to debris and clambering to their roofs to simply survive.  As rescue boats and helicopters scoured the village, Tanha Rata's wise woman could only consider one dire fate:  "The bottle.  It is gone."

Along the northern coast of Australia, little Genevieve Wallace loved picking up shells along the beach.  When she found a black quartz bottle, she was quick to rush home to show her auntie.  Auntie Gertrude smiled and told her niece, "It's beautiful; why don't we clean it up before we put it in your collection?"

Their mutilated bodies were found in Gertrude's backyard, their entrails streaming down the sidewalk and their livers outright missing.

Since then, The Polong has roamed free across Australia, New Zealand, and the islands of southeast Asia.  In most cases, it appears just as little Genevieve did in life, her having been its first true victim in centuries.  However, as it engages foes, The Polong morphs into a swirling oval of teeth, claws, suckers, and amorphous flesh.  It exists only to feed, to sow carnage, and to create more of its own kind.  It greatly prefers the liver tissue of humans, as the increased iron content in the liver more easily feeds it, bringing it closer towards replication.  And, after just a few more victims, there may be more than one Polong menacing Malaysia.

Villain of the Day:  February 4 (Erudite)

Professor Jonathon Lew-Hansfield was the very definition of an ivory tower academic.  Born to an Ivy League household, he attended Oxford and Cambridge, before taking a full professorship at the Universitat Heidelberg in Germany.  A professor of philosophy, Lew-Hansfield was well-read, better-spoken, and always eager to find ways to expand his sizable intellect.  

What he couldn't stand, though?  His students.

Even as a full professor, Lew-Hansfield found himself forced into providing classes for (*scoff*) undergraduates, as they shambled from class to class, wearing their t-shirts and yoga pants, worried only about their next night at the bar or their next late-night conquest.  He loathed them.  He loathed everything they stood for:  their commercialism, their lack of insight, their pedantic acceptance of mediocrity.  He couldn't stand it.  Not one more minute.

Now, Lew-Hansfield was no scientist, but he surely knew enough of them from his countless years in academica.  He just didn't bank on his contact in the Manchester University physics department being affiliated with some organization called TALOS.

The villain now known as Erudite made his first appearance at a Hamburg football match against Manchester United.  Manchester was up 2-0 when a figure in silver armor descended from the rafters of the Volksparkstadion, his voice booming over the loudspeakers.  "Simpletons!" he bellowed, "This paltry display of primitive amusement is at an end.  Feel now, the raw might of the human mind, unfurled!"

Waves of psionic energy washed over the crowd.  Pylons and support structures tore themselves free of their moorings slamming into the field.  Erudite's first appearance brought a death toll in the hundreds as fans fled the stadium in horror.  A massive manhunt ensued, with clever investigators quickly realizing that the demure, arrogant philosophy professor had turned into a full-fledged villain.

Erudite is still at large, with his crimes neatly balanced between thefts of high-end art and historical objects (for his private collection) and attacks on what he believes to be "vulgar" activities that dumb down the masses.  Recent targets have included the red-carpet release of a major blockbuster film, a large video game convention, and the Black Friday sales at the Mall of America.  Erudite has traveled the world, deludedly attempting to eradicate all those  things he believes to be unnecessary, as he prepares a grander plan for a more selective, enlightened world...

Villain of the Day:  February 5 (Baba Yaga)

Katja Lukyarenko was living the high life.  The dilettante daughter of old money in Kiev, Ukraine, she cavorted across Europe throughout her early 20s, nominally 'studying' at university, but often spending more time in the nightclubs of The Netherlands or along the sun-drenched beaches of Cyprus.  Katja was a beautiful person doing beautiful-person-things, living an idyllic life.  

That is, until one fateful night in St. Petersburg.

Katja and several of her girlfriends were out late one evening, on their way home from some drunken revelry in a Russian nightclub.  Roaming through the streets that icy winter's day, Katja and her crew cut down an alley, eager to find an all-night restaurant where they could cap off their evening.  As Katja stepped gingerly through the alley--her stiletto heels clacking along the cobblestones--a cry rang out.  Katja stumbled into a heap of snow and trash as a figure pushed her aside, crying out in pain:  Katja had stepped on a decrepit old homeless woman, who had taken up refuge in the alley.

More than a little inebriated and now angry at having been shoved into the muck, Katja berated the old woman, kicking at her and cursing profusely.  The old woman cowered in fear and shame before extending one long-nailed finger, "You!  You have everything!  I have nothing, but you still curse at me!  By Koschkei's deathless egg, you will know the sorrow I have felt!"

Katja's friends pulled her along, but the woman continued to stare at her, the transient's eyes glinting in the St. Petersburg snow.  That next day, the woman was found in the alley, having died of hypothermia.

That next night, the first transformation occured.  As she primped for another night out in front of her hotel room mirror, Katja's face withered.  Her hands gnarled and her back curled into a hunch.  There in her four-star room, Katja had transformed into a hideous hag!  In horror, she fled into the night, utterly terrifying anyone she passed as she went.

Over the months and years since then, Katja's curse has provided her a significant degree of power.  Able to channel discordian magics, she refers to herself with the name of the ancient Russian witch, Baba Yaga, even flying through the air in a conjured mortar and pestle.  Katja can, in fact, use her magics to resume her prior, youthful form, though doing so takes such concentration and focus that she cannot perform any other magics and, if distracted, will return to her crone form.

Baba Yaga will stop at nothing to break her curse and, as such, has taken to all manner of foul sorceries, hoping that some long forgotten branch of discordian magic might free her from this fate.  Most notably, Katja completed a daring raid upon the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, stealing one of the few known full translations of De Vermiis Mysteriis, a powerful spellbook once held by the noted sorcerer Ludwig Prinn.  What Baba Yaga may unleash from this tome, though, may not be worth the price of her reclaimed youth...

Villain of the Day:  February 6 (The Half Man) 

Yusuf Ishan was a child of war.  Growing up along the Uzbekistan/Afghanistan border, his parents farm was the site of marauding warlords, Soviet tanks, British paramilitary forces, and invading Americans throughout his entire life.  His father, a wheat farmer, was crippled by a land mine when Yusuf was merely 8, leaving his mother to care for the whole household and maintain th efarm itself.

Yusuf could never understand, for the life of him, what drove all these people to such violence.  Surely, there must be a way for them to see reason.  Despite his family's trials and travails, Yusuf was still able to attend a local school, eventually even making it to university in India.  However, while there, tragedy struck.  Yusuf's family were caught in the crossfire during a firefight in a nearby marketplace--his mother and three of his siblings were gunned down by acciental fire.

Both Yusuf and his father took this loss heavily, mourning for weeks on end.  That is, until Yusuf found something of note.  While out on a contemplative walk, he literally fell into a bunker he had never seen before.  Inside were technological wonders beyond his own imagining:  weapons, armor, computers, and more.  Yusuf could read English well enough--after some brief investigation, he came to realize the truth of this bunker:  it belonged to an organization known as TALOS.

But, within the bunker was a prize beyond measure:  a series of vials quite clearly labeled as a drug regimen, capable of altering the imbiber's genetics and providing them with a degree of metahuman abilitiy.  Full of loss and still raging at the senseless violence that decimated his family, Yusuf injected himself with the serum and, sealing the bunker behind him, headed back home.  He never made it that far.

Over the next four days, Yusuf wandered through the wilderness, in abject pain and horrific hallucination.  Wandering across a sun-scorched mountaintop, he collapsed, ready to die.  But die he did not.  His skin facing the sun darkened to the point of becoming jet black, appearing to divide him almost exactly in half vertically.  But, as he rose onn that fifth day, he found himself invigorated.  He was stronger, faster, and resistant to harm of all sorts.  His reflexes and senses were heightened.  He was reborn.

Since that day, a mysterious divided figure has waged an outright war upon any forces who might interlope in the Afghan states.  The Half Man and an ever-expanding cadre of followers waged a guerilla war against the Taliban, the American forces, and the Afghan government itself, using strange, scientifically advanced weaponry pulled from that TALOS bunker.  Yusuf has no more patience to give.  His people will no longer bleed; only his enemies will.

Villain of the Day:  February 7 (Squall)

Alvin Sigurlinni's parents lived in the most remote parts of Greenland; once a month, his father took their boat out for supplies.  Beyond that, Alvin had little contact with the outside world, beyond that of his parents and his siblings.  Alvin was home schooled, primarily by his eldest sister Ingva, though he always craved more.  He yearned to go with his father into Maniitsoq to see new people and to see the sights beyond his family's homestead.  His parents were adamant, though:  he must stay home.

But, of course, after you tell a child 'no' for so long, eventually they'll start to look for a way for that 'no' to become a 'yes'.  For Alvin, this meant sneaking aboard his father's boat and, when father went shopping for food and other supplies, Alvin could explore the town.

Snow in Greenland is omnipresent.  However, as Alvin slipped out of the ship's hold, the wind began to swirl much more strongly.  The snowflakes, slowly drifting down along the whole trip, began to fall in earnest, thick and whipping through the icy wind.  As Alvin stepped onto the sidewalk, he felt a strange power surge through him.  His eyes flared brilliant blue and, falliing to his knees, he cried out in alarm and pain.

Alvin was, of course, an Omega.  His powers of atmokinetic control could manifest intensely powerful winter storms, disrupting temperatures and causing massive precipitation in a several-mile radius around him.  And worse, his powers were entirely beyond his control.  

By the time that the Sentinels of Freedom managed to reach Alvin, the entire village of Maniitsoq was under 5 feet of snow.  Eventually, Alvin's role in the sudden storm was discovered; the boy was sedated and taken into custody, though his family has vehemently protested.  The Greenland government has taken up the issue of Alvin's undue incarceration in international court, though the Sentinels of Freedom claim that his continued sedation is necessary for the safety of all those around him.  

To this day, the public believs that the metahuman referred to as Squall remains unconscious in a stasis chamber in Freedom Plaza.  However, with a new session of the International Court of Justice set to begin, it may only be a matter of time until the truth is exposed:  the still-sedated body of Alvin Sigurlinni has been stolen by parties unknown.  The living snowstorm may yet walk the earth again.

Villain of the Day:  February 8 (Jericho)

During the Ennead's takeover of Egypt, the remaining states in the Middle East were thrown into a panic.  With nine ultra-powerful would-be gods having walled off Egypt, many of the Levant states began to actively recruit identified metahumans into their own military special ops corps, setting off a chain reaction of metahuman arms proliferation.  Syria, Libya, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and several other countries offered multi-million dollar contracts to assorted metahumans to act as "military consultants" within their own military forces.

Israel, however, had a different idea.

Recruited by Lieutenant Colonel Uri Felsenthal of the Israeli Special Forces, fourteen volunteers were folded into Project: Jericho.  Deep within the bowels of a skunkworks beneath Tel Aviv, Project Jericho represented the summation of global arms technology meant to replicate and surpass that of the United States' "Bunker" suit.  Jericho-assigned scientists brought in power sources and capacitors from Mordengrad, armor plating based on the original Omnitron designs, state of the art weapons and targeting systems from Blackstock-McCalley, and a from-scratch, in-house built user interface, built for ease of piloting.

The fourteen Jericho suits were first deployed as crowd-control units during the OblivAeon crisis, but quickly found themselves pressed into rescue and reconnaisance roles, in addition to facing down seeming legions of Aeon men.  Unsurprisingly, the suits proved to be formidable military tools, with near impenetrable armor and a bevy of modular armament options.  Felsenthal's project was hailed as a rousing success and were folded into the Israeli military structure with great fanfare.

...which, of course, led to greater destablilization.  The Jericho suits were deployed to patrols along the Gaza Strip, leading directly to a firefight with  PLO affiliated insurgents.  No less than 64 individuals were killed during this mission, with the Jericho suits standing as monoliths of destruction in the midst of the battlefield flames.  Palestinian officials immediately filed a grievance with the United Natiosn war crimes tribunal, citing the use of "weapons of mass destruction" in the field, intending to have the international community put the kibosh on the use of armored suits on the battlefield.  In a stunning reversal of fortune, the tribunal found that, since the armament of the Jericho suit was no different than that of a modern tank or other armored cavalry units, no such sanctions would be made.

To this day, the 14 members of Project Jericho have done much to benefit the Israeli state, which has only earned them the ire of their neighbors.  Rumors swirl of an alliance of Arab states, set to invade Israel with the singular intent of dismantling the threat posed by the Israeli military and Project Jericho.  And, should this happen, the Jericho suits will undoubtedly be on the front lines, facing off against metahuman mercenaries.  But where, then, will the Sentinels of Freedom stand when the superhumans of the world go to war?

Villain of the Day:  February 9 (Iyo)

In the midst of the Middle Eastern arms proliferation in the wake of Israel's Project: Jericho, the various countries along the Arabian peninsula have begun active recruitment efforts into their own militaries.  One of the cornerstones of those recruitment efforts has come from Iyo, the Crystalline Man.

Born Amanuel Mebrahtu in Eritrea, Iyo's abilities first manifested during the Somali conflicts during the early 2000s, while he worked with a minor mercenary group.  Believed to be a latent Omega, Amanuel is able to crystallize his own body, turning himself into something akin to a walking salt crystal.  His abilities, naturally, provided him significant resistance to damage, a degree of enhanced strength, and an ability to blast out a blinding spray of salt crystals, which deals little damage, but can easily blind or disorient unsuspecting foes.

However, with the establishment of a coalition government in Somalia in 2009, Iyo decided to embark on a different opportunity.  Contacted by a military minister in Yemen, Iyo was offered a princely sum--all held in offshore accounts--to aid the Yemeni government in both special operations and spec-ops recruitment efforts, as they sought to supplement their own military with metahumans.  In this role, Iyo became a core member of Yemen's "Rubama" initiative, whereupon he recruited no less than 20 powered individuals into the Yemeni military.

Since that time, Iyo has embraced his role as a freelancer, moving from country to country within the various Arab states in the Middle East.  The United Nations has declared Mebrahtu to be a 'person of interest' in a number of terrorism-associated cases throughout the African and Asian continents, while the European Union has outright declared Mebrahtu to be a persona-non-grata.  Mind you, this has not stopped Iyo from making this way through the European continent--rather, he utilizes various diplomatic liasons and proxies to negotiate on his behalf.

Most recently, Iyo has been sighted in Lebanon, whereupon he met with one Dr. Emershan Laurent, a South African geneticist believed to be linked to the development of biological and chemical armaments in Iran.  The results of their meeting are currently unknown, though both have been 'off the grid' for months since their meeting...

Yes, Blackstock-McCalley is my own creation.  To my knowledge, it does not exist in the official SC canon.

And yes, deep stuff impending.  I've kind of taken up the idea of having each "Month" from here on out be not only a different Theme, but also a different Campaign Style.  The previous one sets up TALOS as a HYDRA/HIVE/AIM-style organization built into the world's military and political infrastructure.  This one, obviously, will deal with the concept of an international armed conflict which directly involves superhumans as government-sponsored combatants.  Not every Villain-of-the-Day will fit directly into that Campaign Style directly, though enough of them will have at least tangential relation for a GM to easily craft an ongoing plot arc.

Villain of the Day:  February 10 (La Segador)

Francisca Veronica Mendiza knew she wanted to be a superhero from the first time she saw one.  Watching Legacy fly across the sky during the Voss invasion from her home in the Jalisco province of Mexico, she dreamt of doing the same.  Her parents often dismissed her towel-across-the-shoulders antics as the play of a girl who just wouldn't grow up. 

That is, until she took off.

Even as a child, Mendiza's powers were potent--she could fly, project waves of kinetic energy, and had heightened reflexes and agility.  Her parents, unsure of what to do, sought advice from the Mexican government.  Not long before the OblivAeon event, Mendiza began her training as part of a special division for superhero training within the Mexican military.  At the top of Veronica's to-do list?  Taking the fight to human traffickers throughout western Mexico.  Her early successes in this venue earned her the nickname La Segador, "The Reaper".  

Veronica has always been nothing if not outspoken, which has made her a number of enemies throughout both Mexico and the United States.  Most notable among these has been the United States government itself--Veronica has strong views regarding the administration's ongoing actions regarding immigration and deportation.  Veronica has gone so far as to actively pursue and menace American border patrol agents, leading to an increase in international tensions.  While Mendiza was disciplined by her government handlers for these actions, she has made  her intentions quite clear:  she intends to help the Mexican people, even if that help means leaving Mexico.

Veronica has been sighted numerous times across the US/MExico border, sighted in El Paso, San Antonio, southern New Mexico and Arizona, and in the San Jose area of California.  Currently, she has an outstanding warrant in the United States and is wanted for questioning in regards to the mysterious deaths of four ICE agents along the Arizona/Mexico border.  The Mexican government has refused to extradite Mendiza, however,  claiming that he comprises too valuable a portion of their domestic law enforcement capability.  As it stands, however, La Segador continues her crusade for the rights of all Mexicans.

Villain of the Day: February 11 (The Dead Men of Tonga)

Island nations have not fared well in recent years. Between the cataclysmic changes brought about during Deadline's attack on Earth and the massive energies unleashed by OblivAeon and his Scions, ask reaches of the globe have been struck by immeasurable climatic shifts and unparalleled devastation. Those on the tiny island nation of Tonga knew this best.

Today, everyone on that island is dead.

The same typhoon which later devastated Malaysia struck Tonga with a power not before realized. Between the flooding there and the seismic activity caused by Deadline, the entire island sunk beneath the waves of the Pacific. By the time the world could react, every man, woman, and child on Tonga had drowned.

Not long after, though, the dead began to appear. Their bodies, having washed up on the relatively nearby Bikini Atoll, were infused with the ambient radiation of countless nuclear tests... and became animate. Ravenous, radioactive rotting corpses now took to the seas.

The first appearance of the Tongan dead came in an attack on a New Zealand shipping vessel-- the ship's crew were tour apart and, in some cases, covered in acute radiation burns. A Pacific cruise came next, though a team of Japanese heroes managed to fend off the blighted hordes. It was this team that first made the realization that these were, in fact, the corpses from Tonga's destruction.

None know what they want, save revenge.

None know how they travel, save their region of the Pacific.

None will ever forget the price of a hero's failure...

Villain of the Day:  February 12 (Mehit)

In the wake of the Ennead's fall, numerous parties were quick to take advantage of the lack of governmental power and authority in Egypt.  While the international community did their best to help establish infrastructure and relative law and order, the new Egypt's elections were rife with extremist parties and divisive politicians eager to grab power.

One of the the foremost of these were the various candidates of the new Altaqlid (or, "Traditions") party.  A highly conservative, religiously-affiliated group, the Altaqlid party won several district elections and held a significant portion of the new Egyptian parliament.  Notable among these was Iskandar Nabhani, an American-educated lawyer who returned to the Middle East after completing his law degree and was elected to Egypt's parliament following the re-establishment of the state.  Among Nabhani's platforms were a retreat from international politics--"Egypt for Egyptians"--and a return to traditional values and gender politics.  

Unsurprisingly, the women of Egypt in the 21st Century were not necessarily about to go back upon years of progress and equality.  Marches were made, demonstrations were held, and speeches were televised.  

While not a national protest leader, Taina Zidane worked on the local level to help organize protests and march logistics.  Ironically enough, she attended the same American university as Nabhani, knowing him from there, rather than from their home country.  On September 4th, Zidane was at the head of a march through Damietta, set to protest a stump speech by Nabhani.  Many believed that Nabhani had intended to declare his candidacy for Prime Minister of Egypt that day...his speech was never made.

During the womens' march, a counter-protestor and supporter of Nabhani's began throwing rocks and other items at the marchers.  Zidane, holding up a large banner, was struck in the side of the head. 

As she slammed into the pavement, her eyes flared.  When she rose again, she stood easily 10 feet fall, her body having transformed into black basalt.  In a fit of rage, she dashed into the crowd of counter-protestors.  By the time that her friends had talked her down, sixteen of Nabhani's supporters lay bleeding and broken across the pavement.  Nabhani himself was escorted from the premises under armed guards, while Zidane outright fled.

Taking up the name of Mehit, a Nubian protector-goddess, Zidane has continued to appear at various pro-equality protests, advocating for women's rights throughout the Middle East.  Nabhani envisions Zidane as a natural adversary and regularly views her as some political mastermind, serving as his arch-nemesis, while simultaneously spurring his followers on to greater and greater acts of defiance and violence.  And, despite her general views on non-violence, Mehit is increasingly likely to oblige them...

Every good villain is the hero of their own story, and the road to hell is still paved in good intentions...

I totally agree with you. Both La Segador and Mehit are absolutely sympathetic, and on a personal level I actually align strongly with both in terms of political philosophy.
But yes, when their own or another government labels them as villains... what is a would be hero to do? It's that conflict that I find interesting and engaging.

Case in point, to what length is Mehit going to go if Nabhani takes up a political position to oppose Project Jericho? Would she assassinate him? What if he became Prime Minister? What should a group of government sponsored heroes do if they run across La Segador in Texas? She's wanted, after all...

Very much meant to have modern sensibilities, these. And, of course, you're talking to the guy who literally wrote the book on Iron Age comics... http://www.drivethrurpg.com/m/product/133245

Within the context of CSW, we define the Iron Age as starting in 1983 (with the first major crossover event comics like Secret Wars and Contest of Champions) up through the Marvel bankruptcy in 1996.

This is not to say that every comic published in this time frame is an Iron Age style book -- just that they were more prevalent during this time. Iron Age books are still being published today, in what many call the Modern Age of Comics (and what I like to think of as the Celluloid Age).

Iron Age comics tended to be more grounded, with a greater focus on realism and are often rooted in deeper social issues of the time. Powers are downplayed somewhat in favor of heavy investigation and inter- character conflict, with echoes of comics' roots in the noir and pulp tradition. Costumes became less colorful and more functional, with Sam increasing number of heroes wielding guns and other weapons. Target readership age increased, which came with a commensurate increase in 'mature' content, though the worst Iron Age books saw this as nothing more than an opportunity to pander to readers with over-the-top sex and violence.

Most notably, both art and writing took a great leap forward in the Iron Age. Denny O'Neil, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Greg Rucka, and Mark Millar all are noted Iron Age writers, with artists like Todd McFarlane, Dave McKean, and Mike Mignola providing the pictures.

The most notable Iron Age book is undoubtedly Watchmen, followed by The Dark Knight Returns and Frank Miller's run on Daredevil. Probably my favorite Iron Age book, though, is Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth by Grant Morrison, which takes many off its beats from Morrison's experience with the Egyptian tarot. I'm also quite fond of Denny O'Neil's run on The Question, which is a full reimagining of the character from its roots in Objectivism.

Prior to?  The Bronze Age--About 1970 until 1983.  A relaxed viewpoint on the comics code (particularly in terms of horror comics), an interest in racial and social issues (Denny O'Neil's Green Lantern/Green Arrow run is seminal Bronze Age reading), and an increased focus on topical/timely elements.  Chris Claremont's run on X-Men is something of the bridge between Bronze and Iron Age comics.

Afterwards?  Most people call it the Modern Age, for lack of something better.  I've heard the "Electrum" Age, as it's a blending of metals--we have books now that are very heavily Silver-Age influenced and, right next to it on the shelf, a gritty-crime-drama Iron Age title.  I'm pretty much alone in calling this the "Celluloid" Age:  comics being used as properties for the purpose of creating, publicising, and expanding upon tentpole films and TV series.  

Villain of the Day:  February 13 (General Cordillera)

Diego Gaston Dorrego did not set out to become the ruler of Uruguay.  But when circumstance and opportunity rose their twin heads, he certainly did not hesitate.

Uruguay's government was already instable when Dorrego came of age, though he was a firm believer in law and order.  The son of a minor military official, Dorrego attended military academy in Montevideo and rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant through hardwork, skulduggery, and a few greased palms.  Both a capable tactician and a canny politician, Dorrego knew that the prior ruler--President Jose Mujica--hung to his power with tenuous fingers and was entirely reliant upon the military for backing.

What few knew, though, was the Dorrego was a potent metahuman, in addition to a noted military leader.  Able to manipulate and shape rock, Dorrego could also propel himself along stone and rock surfaces at an extreme rate, pulling the earth along behind him in a massive wake of destruction, effectively becoming a living avalanche.  Where his powers come from, however, is anyone's guess.  Some believe that he may have effectively paid some nefarious party for his powers; others believe him to be a latent Omega.  

Regardless of his powers' source, Dorrego, now calling himself General Cordillera, declared a coup on the Uruguayan government less than a year before the OblivAeon crisis.  Despite the brutality of his military followers--over 400 people died as Cordillera moved on the palace in Montevideo--the new military-led governement was recognized by the United Nations not four month later.  The United States has moved towards sanctions on Uruguay, citing Cordillera's status as the dictator of a rogue state, though these have been hung up in political entanglements.

To this day, General Cordillera rules Uruguay with a stone fist.  His state has become known as the only nation to harbor rogue or wanted metahumans, who are often given positions of power within Cordillera's government.  Cordillera has discussed joint military maneuvers with Iran and North Korea at various points, leading to further strain with the United States and its allies.  Arms trafficking, biomedical experimentation, and worse have become staples of the Uruguayan economy, which benefits only Cordillera's ruling class.  And, given the current political rhetoric, how will the supers of the world react to a second full-on supervillain as its leader...particularly one willing to work with terrorist states?

"...you wear a flag on your chest and think you fight a battle of nations!  I have seen the future, Captain!  There are no flags!"

Villain of the Day:  February 14 (Calvin Davies and the Sommerland Collective)

In amidst the hubbub of Brexit and the movement towards Scottish independence, another movement has gone nearly unnoticed.  However, the events transpiring at Conwy Castle in Wales may be of greater import than any other in the United Kingdom.

Calvin Davies was a data entry specialist at a firm outside of Manchester.  Generally speaking, he was unfulfilled, mildly depressed, and walked through life in a relative malaise.  When Netflix and curry failed to amuse, he actively began to search online for a new hobby.  His search led him to a community center for the Sommerland Community Collective, a group operating out a former resort building in Llandudno.  

Without mincing words, the Sommerland Community Collective was nothing short of a cult.  Their leader, one Jeremy MacGruder, grew up in a New Age household and believed he could share his message of peace, non-violent resistance, and chemical transcendance with the community at large.  His success in this arena was fairly limited, until Calvin arrived at his door.

After Calvin's third "experience" with MacGruder's psychotropics, something within him emerged.  A latent Omega (as he later discovered), Calvin was able to exude an aura of calm and passivity, influencing the emotions of all those around him.  MacGruder quickly rose Calvin through the ranks in the Collective, with Calvin swiftly becoming his second-in-command.  Were these powers restricted to the Collective, this would be one thing.  However, such was not the case.

Calvin's continual use of his power allowed him to expand his range, covering the vast majority of Conwy County.  Citizens throughout the province began falling into docility, with the Collective's recruiting efforts kicking into hyperdrive.  Work went abandoned, public services evaporated, and the citizens of Conwy began to gather at Conwy Castle to listen to MacGruder's message of peace.  Within weeks, much of the county was under the complete and total sway of Jeremy, Calvin, and the Sommerland Collective.  

The British government has responded to the Sommerland Collective with great alarm, declaring the group a domestic terrorist organization.  Efforts to recover Conwy have only resulted in more individuals--highly trained SAS agents, no less--joining the Collective.  Calvin's power aura continues to spread, though, carving an ever-larger swath out of Wales.  And with his aura, so grows the Collective...

Villain of the Day:  February 15 (Secutarus)

"Rome will exist as long as the Coliseum does; when the Coliseum falls, so will Rome; when Rome falls, so will the world." --Venerable Bede, Saint

Arturo Amalio could have been the pride of Italy; instead, he chose wealth.  A born metahuman, Arturo exhibited a phenomenal degree of strength and endurance, coupled with a preternatural aptitude for armed combat.  As a child, he idolized the stories of Ancient Rome, particularly those of the gladiators in the great Coliseum.

As a teenager and adult, though, his metahuman abilities began to lead him down a path of greed and petulance.  His abilities caught the eye of a local Camorra mafioso, spending a few weeks on the mainland from Sicily.  Arturo's natural strength and intimidating demeanor made him an excellent leg-breaker, though Arturo himself wasn't satisfied with just the scraps handed down to him from the consigliere.  Rather, he knew he could join the top of the heap.

As such, he proposed a meeting with the capo with a new idea.  Underground fighting rings were no new concept, but one that catered specifically to high rollers?  One that featured metahuman-only fights?  Now, Arturo was on to something.

Today, Arturo runs the single largest underground metahuman fighting league this side of the Bloodsworn Coliseum.  His persona as manager is one straight out of his childhood fantasies--he dresses in a toga and loincloth, wielding gladiatorial weapons, and is referred to only as Secutarus.  Bets on various metahuman fights typically range in the tens of thousands of dollars, and numerous high-rollers spend entire evenings, alternating back-room deals with bone-crunching cage matches.  On occasion, Secutarus enters the ring himself, though usually only in the style of Vince McMahon in the WWE--done only to continue the drama and theatrics of the arena.  On the few times where Secutarus fought "for real", the ease with which he dispatched his foes was an act of blood-spattered beauty.

Secutarus' Coliseum currently brings in tens of millions of dollars each year, providing funding for numerous Camorra operations throughout the world.  And, of course, if you need to find someone of note, Secutarus probably has had them in-house.

Villain of the Day:  February 16 (The Wall)

It's said that old buildings have a power to them, a spirit bestowed upon them by decades of persons within.

If this is the case, the entity known as The Wall may be one of the most powerful to ever walk the Earth.

The People's Republic of China has been ominously silent during the rise of the American metahumans.  Many have surmised that China's military had been secretly recruiting, creating, or otherwise developing their own metahuman security contingencies.  However, throughout the past twenty years, China has become one of the biggest detractors of metahumans on the UN Security Council.  Lieutenant General Jian Hung Zhao has spearheaded this efforts, continually encouraging sanctions or peacekeeping actions against nations that incorporate metahumans into their existing military or law enforcement hierarchies.

Needless to say, General Zhao's efforts have placed him into the minority, with so many other nations taking up the exact viewpoint that Zhao would see removed.  And, as OblivAeon descended upon the world, even Zhao and his mainland commanders were left wondering what direction the PRC should take--conventional arms seemed ineffective in the face of Aeon Men, and not even China's world-leading air force could stand against even a single scion.

That's when The Wall emerged.  Literally stepping forth from the tower known as Old Dragon's Head in Shanhaiguan Pass, a gigantic colossus of stone and mortar strode towards besieged Beijing, sweeping aside Aeon Men like leaves tossed in a storm.  The PRC's military leaders were stunned.  As OblivAeon's forces withdrew from China--presumably to attack some other part of the world--The Wall strode among the crowded city, holding up crumbling skyscrapers and even serving as a living bridge while citizens fled from a fire.  

Attempts to communicate with The Wall have been fairly unsuccessful to date, though a few things are clear:  The Wall seems to be animated by the spiritual essence of each person to ever have walked along its stones.  Because of this, it has an almost intuitive feel for where it might be needed, always seeming to show up alongside the Chinese military when attempting to put down a metahuman threat or any aggression from a rival nation.  The Wall regenerates almost as fast as it can be damaged, making it nigh invulnerable.  Further, The Wall has a decided antipathy against any creatures associated with or harboring powers derived from OblivAeon.  This has led to several international incidents as latent metahumans--some not even knowing they *had* powers--being attacked as their plane landed or their boat arrived in port.  These attacks have even included Chinese scientists attempting to study a fragment of an OblivAeon shard, which utterly devastated a military base outside of Shanghai.  

Regardless of its reasoning or motives, The Wall has become the titan of China, defending against all interlopers as it has for thousands of years prior.

Re: Secutarus
A little bit of both, really. He has a network of regular fighters, but occasional enemies and captives end up as targets. Mainly scheduled, willing fighters though.

It's also a barely sentient construct that will pursue and smash anyone even remotely affiliated with Oblivaeon that comes neat sovereign China...

Villain of the Day:  February 17 (Dr. Emershan Laurent)

Number three on Interpol's most wanted list, Dr. Emershan Laurent is simultaneously one of bio-engineering's foremost minds and among the most conniving, twisted minds in the world.  

Born in Johannesburg, Laurent attended some of the world's foremost universities, double-majoring in Biochemistry and Biology at University of Copenhagen, before pursuing advanced degrees in Genetics, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Heidelberg, Utrecht, and Barcelona, respectively.  Laurent's second doctoral thesis, "On the Advancement of the Human Condition" is simultaneously regarded as a masterwork of transhumanist concepts and reviled by most oganizations as an attempt to legitimize racist rhetoric.  

Laurent's earliest job, at Polish genetics firm Genomax, was rife with ethical violations.  Laurent seemed to have no compunctions in how he treated test subjects and suggested experiments that made his compatriots question his very sanity.  Nevertheless, Laurent continued on, focusing primarily on creating and testing airborne retroviruses...

When the depths of his research were exposed, the Genomax board of directors immediately terminated his employment.  However, Laurent already had the backing of another group:  the Sicilian Camorra.  Laurent was given his own private island laboratory in the middle of the Mediterranean, where he began development of numerous biological weapons...and stranger things.  The wooded lands surrounding Laurent's lab soon were guarded not by mafioso, but rather by terrifying hybrid creatures, seeming more tumorous mass than men.  

Even the Camorra could not abide this madness.  The capo soon sent an armed force to the island...only for that force to be massacred by Laurent's genetic aberrations.  By the time word reached the Camorra of what happened, Laurent and his creatures had vanished.

Laurent has been sighted throughout the world since that time, often in unstable governments ruled by oligarchs.  Some have actively sought Laurent in search of longer life or cures to rare diseases, while other seek his expertise in the creation of biological weapons.  One raid by Interpol agents onto a suspected lab led to the release of numerous genetic horrors onto the streets of Bern, Switzerland, which has only caused his profile to rise among criminal circles.

Rumor has it that Laurent has begun work on a new project; one which has the capability of rewriting genetic material en-masse...

Villain of the Day:  February 18 (Duplex)

Born to parents from Northern Ireland in the British Virgin Isles, Brianna Donnally grew up watching heroes and villains clash on her tv and on the internet.  She was utterly enthralled.  Men flew through the air, women streaked through the streets with inhuman speed, and alien forces called down unfathomable forces with aplomb in both defense of earth and in usurpation of it.  She couldn't get enough.

But, despite living in an island paradise, Brianna found herself wanting more.  She got exactly that while at university, studying in Miami.  The Prime Wardens, locked in combat against a contingency of Lieutenant Viktor's gene-bound minions, long-since marooned on Earth since the Voss invasion.  Mere blocks away from the conflict, Brianna couldn't help but get a bit closer to for a better look.

As she watched the clash from behind an SUV, electrical power arced from Brianna's eyes, slamming into a nearby lightpole.  As her vision cleared and she stumbled to the ground in alarm, she watched as Tempest had done nearly the exact same motion, lightning arcing into a Gene-Bound Minion.  The battle continued on, though Brianna wandered the streets, lightning arcing from her palms, her eyes, and her fingertips.  Within a few moments, she realized that the power was entirely under her control--the powers once held only by Tempest himself were now hers.  As Captain Cosmic arced overhead, drawn by the peals of lightning emanating from Brianna, he dove towards her....only for her to throw up a shield of golden energy.

By this point, Brianna had realized the truth:  she could replicate metahuman abilities.  While she fled the field that day--her powers fading as she lost proximity to their source--she knew the truth.  She was born for something more.

Draining her parents' bank account and taking all she had from her own paltry savings, Brianna began to travel the world, putting herself as close to the world's metahumans as possible, trying on their powers one after another.  Over the next two years, she had experienced the powers of nearly every public metahuman in the world, both heroes and villains alike.  Furthermore, she found that, given a degree of focus and observation, she could even replicate non-metahuman skills such as marksmanship, martial arts abilities, and athletic feats.  

That was when she was approached by the Russian government.  Brianna was offered an exorbitant sum of money, a palatial home, new cars and more....all to do exactly what she loved:  find her way into proximity to known metahumans, skirmish with them if possible, duplicate their powers, and then report back to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.  To date, codename Duplex has catalogued and duplicated over four dozen known heroes, two dozen villains, and countless other minor threats.  Further, she has trained in covert operations, infiltration and exfiltration, krav maga, and marksmanship.

Few know that Duplex even exists at this point, but when she emerges, she will surely be a force to be reckoned with.  ...to say nothing of what the Russians themselves are planning above Duplex's paygrade.

Villain of the Day:  February 19 (The Financier)

Much has been made over the years about corporate tax shelters and the ability for persons of significant wealth to store their assets overseas, dodging taxation in their home nations.  Offshore accounts have often been the realm of the proverbial 1%...but now?  The assets of known supervillains are left in the hands of The Financier.

None know his true identity; The Financier works only through proxies and functionaries.  After achieving a certain level of wealth and status within the global community, a villain might receive a cell phone call from an unregistered number, with its international code designated in the Cayman Islands.  The call is only made once; a hang-up, a dropped call, or a refusal of service blacklists that villain in perpetuity.  However, upon acceptance of the offer, a meeting is set, often outside the United States in an area known for its poor security and easily-bribable police force.

The Financier provides three primary services for his clients:  1) wealth storage/investment, 2) money laundering and fencing, and 3) financing options to villains in need of capital.  Known to be a brilliant investor with a metahuman-level intellect, The Financier offers attractive rates and a method for villains to offload wealth into secured accounts that are considered to be among the worlds' most secure.  In the case of non-liquid capital, such as stolen items, The Financier curates one of the most heavily guarded "freeport" warehouses on Earth, accessible only by a thrice-daily changing password and biometrically linked security measures.  Finally, for those villains on the run or in need of a fresh start, the Financier offers liquid capital with most amenble terms, often based on a percentage of the villain's future take or upon the completion of specific operations necessary to maintain a certain investment.  

To date the only information currently available on The Financier has come from Vabanque, following his capture (and subsequent release) during a heist at a French casino resort.  Since that day, Vabanque has become even more desperate, pursuing larger and larger targets; could it be that he has been cut off by The Financier, or is the card-sharp finding himself owing a debt he can never repay?