TEXT: Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Introduction
  Rank X/Y/Z
  Assassin
  Conqueror
  Cosmic Menace
  Crime Boss
  Cult Leader
  Dark Mirror
  Devil
  Dominator
  Doppelganger
  Evil Twin
  Faceless Minion
  Fallen Hero
  Force of Nature
  Foreigner
  Girlfriend Gone Bad
  Gladiator
  Heir to Lovecraft
  Hero in Disguise
  Imp
  Kid Playing with Fire
  Mastermind
  Monstrosity
  Nazi
  Nemesis
  Nihilist
  Nuclear Nightmare
  Power Corrupted
  Psycho
  Servitor
  Supernatural Horror
  Supremacist
  Temptress
  Theme Villain
  Thief
  Twisted Genius
  Ultimate Villain
  Vigilante
  Villain with All Your Powers
  Warlock
  Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
  Even More Archetypes …
  License
  CONTENTS
  3.
  4.
  5.
  7.
  10.
  13.
  15.
  17.
  19.
  22.
  24.
  27.
  30.
  32.
  34.
  37.
  39.
  41.
  43.
  46.
  48.
  50.
  52.
  54.
  56.
  59.
  61.
  63.
  65.
  67.
  69.
  71.
  73.
  76.
  78.
  80.
  82.
  83.
  85.
  87.
  89.
  92.
  94.
  97.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Welcome to the Super Villain Handbook! Or,
  at least, its Basic Edition...
  That requires a little explanation.
  I
  have
  been
  thinking
  about
  archetypes
  in
  superhero comics for a long, long time. The
  first draft of the material you are looking at
  was written while I was taking courses at UNLV
  almost twenty years ago. I started with heroic
  archetypes, and got invaluable early help from
  Darren
  Miguez,
  whose
  reading
  tastes
  far
  outsized mine and whose sense of humor made
  a
  project
  this
  big
  surprisingly
  funny,
  and
  therefore not impossible. It seemed logical to
  start with heroes, but even then I had a list of
  villain archetypes too. It wasn’t authoritative;
  I knew I’d never be able to cover all the
  different archetypes that were out there. But
  it was a long list and it was a beginning.
  The heroic archetypes got further refined and
  playtested in a large and very active MUSH
  called Crucible City, and when RPGs began to
  open
  up
  their
  systems
  for
  independent
  publishers,
  I
  realized
  that
  my
  work
  with
  archetypes might have a larger audience. A lot
  of
  companies
  were
  publishing
  archetype
  products, but my take was different than
  theirs. In most superhero games, an archetype
  is defined by his powers. Champions, with its
  Bricks,
  Energy
  Projectors,
  Speedsters
  and
  Martial Artists, established most of the early
  vocabulary
  for
  archetypes
  like
  this.
  My
  approach was different. Sure, sometimes it
  was about powers — I still had a “Master of the
  Martial Arts” archetype, after all — but more
  often it was about the stories that a character
  told. After all, a character like the original
  Human Torch was a “fire‐guy,” sure. But he
  was also an android, an artificial person. That
  seemed much more important to his character
  than his powers which, honestly, are almost
  beside the point.
  All of this led to the Field Guide to Super
  Heroes, published by Vigilance Press in four
  volumes under James Dawsey and Chuck Rice,
  with wonderful art by Dan Houser, whose work
  has so defined the ICONS line. There, I finished
  up my list of forty superhero archetypes and
  fleshed them out with sample characters and a
  world for them to live in. It was a lot of fun to
  make, and I think it’s a useful book for players
  in superhero games regardless of system. But I
  had to be honest, it wasn’t as useful as it could
  be. After all, players probably weren’t going to
  use those sample heroes, not when ICONS has
  a
  fun,
  fast
  system
  for
  random
  character
  generation. And while Game Masters could
  certainly put those heroes into their game
  world as NPCs, they weren’t the kind of NPCs
  every GM most needs. Because what Game
  Masters most need are bad guys.
  And so: the Super Villain Handbook.
  The SVH describes forty different kinds of
  antagonists for your super hero RPG. We have
  used ICONS for this edition of the book but,
  just as with the Field Guide to Super Heroes,
  there’s a lot in here which is system‐neutral.
  Our real topic is the villains themselves: in
  comics, film, and television. (We’re going a
  few steps farther this time anyway: with the
  help of veteran writers, we’re doing system
  conversions for multiple RPGs, each system in
  its own book.) What kind of story do you use
  each villain to tell? If super hero stories are
  basically about symbols, what do these villains
  represent? Our first question is always, “What
  does the character mean?” Only then do we
  move on, to figure out how to make the game
  mechanics implement that meaning.
  Each archetype begins with an example taken
  from the source material; you should recognize
  them. Then the archetype gets broken down by
  Abilities,Qualities,
  and
  Stories.
  You
  won’t
  agree with everything you’re about to read;
  maybe you think one archetype should be split
  into two, or you disagree with the way a
  particular villain has been sorted. The simple
  truth is that everyone would write this book
  differently. There are many ways to organize
  archetypes and I don't claim to have the only
  one. It’s also important to remember that
  characters
  slide
  back
  and
  forth
  between
  archetypes, often filling multiple archetypes at
  the same time. Magneto has been an Ultimate
  INTRODUCTION
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Villain, a Supremacist, a Force of Nature, and
  a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, and that's not even
  counting the heroic archetypes he’s qualified
  for, like the Ex‐Con. Archetypes aren’t boxes
  in which characters are placed; they’re more
  like tags, and the best characters all have
  more than one. We have added a stat block for
  a generic example of each archetype, but this
  isn't
  a
  fully
  developed
  character,
  just
  an
  emergency game mechanic.
  Each archetype went through extensive crowd‐
  sourcing for ideas and revision; many of you
  participated in that process through RPG.net or
  Facebook. I’d like to especially thank Graydon
  Schlichter, Walt Robillard, Jim Seals, Graham
  Scott,
  Marc
  Singer,
  Warren
  Belfield,
  Diane
  Spencer, Michael Kucharski, Rick Jones, Kane
  Anderson,
  James
  Gillen,
  Dan
  Davenport,
  Michael
  Mendoza,
  Keith
  Mullen,
  and
  the
  amazing artists who made this project live and
  breathe: Jacob Blackmon, Molly Alice Hoy, Joe
  Arnold, Dionysia Jones, and Joe Singleton. Mike
  Lafferty graciously agreed to publish this book,
  and has been so wonderfully supportive the
  whole way through, that I cannot imagine how
  it would ever have been done without him.
  Thank you, Mike. Steve Kenson created not
  only ICONS, but also M&M, where so much of
  my work with archetypes was field‐tested and
  made ready for battle.
  But as big a project as this is — and it’s almost
  50,000
  words
  —
  it’s
  really
  only
  half
  the
  project. The other half will come with the
  Deluxe Edition. There, we will double the size
  of this book by adding 40 fully developed bad
  guys and their own universe to live in. Or,
  more precisely, we will add the YOUniverse, a
  superhero setting that belongs to you, entirely
  in the public domain. All forty of those villains,
  along with all their art, will be free for you to
  use — and perhaps even add to — as you see
  fit.
  I’ll meet you there.
  Rank X/Y/Z
  Some of the archetypes in this book — such as
  the Cosmic Menace, Imp, or Power Corrupted
  —
  are
  off
  the
  chart.
  Their
  powers
  and
  attributes are greater even than a “godlike”
  rank 10. In most campaigns, these entities
  should be handled entirely with qualities and
  story. In other words, they are precisely as
  powerful as you, the GM, need them to be.
  However, some Game Masters prefer a rating,
  and
  even
  among
  cosmic
  beings
  there
  is
  something of a hierarchy. Therefore, a few
  characters
  in
  this
  book
  have
  a
  power
  or
  attribute rated as X, Y or Z.
  More complete rules for Rank X/Y/Z will be
  provided in the Deluxe Edition. But here’s
  enough to get you started:
  Abilities of Rank X/Y/Z always win in contests
  with numerically ranked abilities, even a 10.
  Further, Rank Y always beats Rank X, and Rank
  Z always wins all contests, period.
  Rank X is for human‐like beings who have been
  gifted
  or
  otherwise
  acquired
  near‐infinite
  power. Characters like the Silver Surfer, Dark
  Phoenix, Darkseid’s Omega Beams and Mr.
  Myxzptlk are good examples of this. Sometimes
  a hero will be granted power on this scale (Hal
  Jordan’s decision to wear multiple power rings)
  but it seldom lasts or ends well. If your GM
  absolutely, positively needs a number for Rank
  X, a 25 ought to do it.
  Rank Y is for the cosmic and immortal entities
  who were never human in the first place, and
  may be the individuals who gave those Rank X
  characters
  their
  powers.
  They’re
  more
  powerful
  than
  any
  hero,
  but
  they’re
  not
  omnipotent gods. Galactus and Sandman are
  good examples of characters at this lower
  level. An arbitrary 50 should work, if you’re in
  a situation where a number is required.
  Finally, Rank Z is for those omnipotent gods.
  Beings and forces which are absolute in their
  power fall into Rank Z. Eternity and the Source
  are Rank Z. 100 is a nice, round, number.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  The
  Super
  Villain
  Handbook
  attempts
  to
  categorize and illustrate the most common
  and recognizable villain archetypes in comics.
  It does not try to be exhaustive, nor is it
  authoritative. You may see villains listed here
  that you feel belong to a different archetype.
  That’s probably because all the best villains
  have more than one archetype, and may have
  drifted from one to another over their long
  career.
  Additional
  archetypes,
  usually
  identified with heroes but equally applicable
  to villains, are discussed at the end of this list.
  ASSASSIN
  “Your friend is dead, Mr. Urich. Move
  or speak — and you will JOIN him. In
  several weeks, the people of New
  York City will elect a new mayor. It
  will be Randolph Winston Cherryh,
  and
  as
  mayor,
  he
  will
  serve
  the
  interests of my employer. You will do
  nothing to stop this. You will cease
  your investigation of Cherryh and his
  commitments to organized crime. You
  will sit now and watch the movie. And
  you
  will
  think
  about
  how
  very
  VULNERABLE you are.”
  ~ Elektra
  The Assassin is a killer for hire.
  EXAMPLES:
  Arcade,
  Bullseye,
  Elektra
  (Marvel); Deadshot, Deathstroke (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Servitor, Faceless
  Minion, Theme Villain, Gladiator
  ABILITIES: The classic Assassin has no powers
  (though
  Fast
  Attack
  sneaks
  in
  on
  a
  technicality). She is, instead, a peak physical
  specimen. Her Coordination and Prowess are
  her only attributes over 6; high enough that
  she
  can
  kill
  with
  the
  most
  innocuous
  of
  objects, such as a playing card or a lemon
  seed. But she is even more dangerous when
  armed with actual weapons; in these situations
  her Martial Arts and Weapons specialties raise
  her fighting ability high enough to threaten
  even
  superhumans.
  Her
  other
  specialties
  include Athletics and Stealth.
  Some Assassins are walking arsenals, carrying
  swords,
  assault
  weapoons,
  sniper
  rifles,
  grenades, and more. Other Assassins carry only
  a
  signature
  weapon,
  perhaps
  with
  built‐in
  Gadgets or supernatural powers. If trained in
  the martial arts, she may wield powers of
  occult
  mysticism
  that
  include
  Phasing,
  Invisibility, Teleportation, or Transformation,
  all of which enable her to infiltrate secure
  places and kill without being detected.
  QUALITIES: Assassins are distinguished by
  their reputation and their personal code. An
  Assassin with a reputation for failure becomes
  a laughing stock, so she works very hard to
  maintain
  her
  professional
  credentials.
  This
  may involve leaving a calling card, so that the
  police and the heroes know who has been
  doing the killing, and give her proper credit.
  The Assassin’s code includes a promise to
  fulfill the contract, remain loyal even when
  given a better offer, and keep the nature of
  the hit confidential. The contract gives the
  Assassin some degree of sympathy; after all,
  she's just doing a job. It's not personal. Indeed,
  some Assassins aren't even considered villains,
  and they are among the most popular of comic
  characters.
  The
  Assassin
  succeeds
  through
  meticulous
  planning. She has observed the mark for many
  days, learning his schedule, his friends, and
  habits.
  She
  carries
  weapons
  designed
  specifically to kill the mark and whoever might
  be guarding him. She stages her attack on
  ground of her own choosing, first rigging it
  with traps then casting it into impenetrable
  darkness. If she needs to distract super‐heroes
  while finishing the job, she is accompanied by
  an entire clan of Faceless Ninja Minions.
  STORIES:
  Assassins
  pose
  an
  interesting
  challenge
  in
  super‐hero
  gaming,
  because
  despite their fearsome reputation, they only
  very rarely succeed. They can kill civilians and
  minor heroes in the supporting cast, but in
  many ways the least interesting scenario is one
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  in which the hero is the target of an Assassin.
  There's surprisingly little tension in this story,
  though the player can still have a good time
  beating the snot out of the Assassin. If you
  don't want to make the Assassin a recurring
  character, this scenario is still very workable.
  The Assassin comes out a complete loser, but
  that's all right. Not every villain is a long‐time
  recurring role.
  The archetypal Assassin story is, instead, one
  in which a public figure, or perhaps the hero's
  loved one, is targeted. This creates tension on
  many levels, especially if the hero needs to
  preserve
  his
  secret
  identity
  while
  simultaneously
  protecting
  the
  mark
  from
  harm. The mark can even be warned about the
  Assassin, but stubbornly continues his routine.
  There may be an important public event which
  he simply cannot avoid, and this of course is
  precisely when the Assassin will strike. In the
  face of a particularly stubborn mark, the hero
  might even be tempted to kidnap the mark
  himself and impersonate him, thereby
  drawing the Assassin out.
  Killing a hero’s significant other or
  friend is no laughing matter, and it
  can take a hero a long time to recover
  from it. GMs should also be wary of
  “refrigerating”
  female
  characters;
  this
  is
  a
  term
  coined
  by
  Gail
  Simone on her famous website
  “Women
  in
  Refrigerators,”
  and it refers to a trope in
  which
  a
  villain
  performs
  some
  terrible
  act
  upon
  a
  woman;
  this
  motivates
  the
  male hero and intensifies his
  struggle. It makes women into
  victims
  who
  exist
  solely
  for
  male
  protagonists,
  and
  is
  generally to be avoided. The list
  of female characters in comics who
  have
  been
  “refrigerated”
  is
  embarrassingly long.
  Sometimes the Assassin takes jobs
  not for the money, but out of a
  desire to test herself against super‐
  heroes and thereby improve her own
  fighting skill. This is the textbook definition of
  the Gladiator archetype.
  Other Assassins differ from the stereotype by
  killing their victims from afar. The Remote
  Assassin combines the hoary tradition of the
  deathtrap
  with
  modern
  anxiety
  over
  computers, wireless communications, and the
  increasing presence of military drones. Many
  of us feel powerless in the face of technology,
  and a technologically savvy individual like the
  Remote Assassin is an IT professional of death,
  a sub‐par physical specimen related to the
  Twisted Genius. He hacks computer networks
  to trap you in an elevator, or deploys an army
  of killer toys or bomb‐laden drones to end your
  life. For the Remote Assassin, killing is a game,
  or perhaps a distant clinical art in which he
  kills with the touch of a button. Extreme
  versions of the Remote Assassin are Theme
  Villains who kill via virtual reality games and
  murderous theme parks where the world itself
  is turned against the heroes.
  Assassins tend to work for Crime Bosses and
  Masterminds, and these other villains don't
  have the same code of honor as the Assassin.
  That means they occasionally lie to the
  Assassin, failing to inform her that her
  target is protected by (or actually is) a
  superhero. The Assassin would still
  have taken the job had she known
  this, but she would have charged
  more money for it, and now she
  feels
  cheated.
  That's
  usually
  enough to get her to drop the hit
  and squeal on her employer. She
  may even desire revenge, which
  puts the heroes in the unenviable
  position of saving the Crime Lord’s
  life!
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Abilities
  Prowess 7
  Coordination 6
  Strength 4
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 10
  Specialties
  Athletics Expert
  Martial Arts Expert
  Stealth Master
  Weapons Master
  Powers
  Fast Attack 5
  Strike 4 (Sai)
  Qualities
  Trained by a Ninja Clan
  Beautiful but Deadly
  Long Lost Love
  CONQUEROR
  “Gee, Brain, what do you want to do
  tonight?”
  “The same thing we do every night,
  Pinky — Try to take over the world!”
  The Conqueror wants to rule the world (but he
  may be satisfied with just the city.
  EXAMPLES:
  Doctor
  Doom,
  Kang
  (Marvel);
  Mongul (DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Mastermind,
  Ultimate Villain
  ABILITIES: The Conqueror is bound to find
  himself in a grand melee fighting all the
  heroes at once, so like the Ultimate Villain, he
  requires some special considerations when it
  comes to his powers.
  First,
  he
  needs
  defensive
  powers
  strong
  enough that he can survive even combined
  effort by the entire team of player characters,
  especially because this is precisely the first
  thing seasoned Icons players will try. A force
  field, no matter how highly ranked, will not be
  enough; pump up the Conqueror’s Stamina by
  raising his Strength and Willpower. If the
  heroes do threaten to defeat the Conqueror so
  quickly that the fight is anticlimactic, well,
  that’s
  exactly
  what
  qualities
  and
  Determination are for. Keep the villain on his
  feet for another page and give the heroes
  points they can use in subsequent rounds.
  The Conqueror also needs a way to attack
  multiple heroes at once; without this, it's easy
  for one hero to “tank him,” keeping the villain
  occupied and removing all threat of harm to
  the other heroes. The solution may be as
  simple as the Burst extra, but you may need to
  give the villain additional actions in combat.
  See the Ultimate Villain for more discussion of
  this tactic.
  Besides his powers, the Conqueror has either
  high
  Intellect
  and
  Willpower
  (if
  he
  is
  an
  Enlightened
  Tyrant)
  or
  high
  Prowess
  and
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Strength (if he is a Warlord). See below for
  more on these subtypes of the Conqueror.
  Outnumbered by the heroes, he can't really
  afford to miss when he does get the chance to
  attack, so his Prowess and Coordination are
  buttressed
  by
  the
  Power
  or
  Weapons
  specialties. He will have additional specialties
  that
  reflect
  the
  source
  of
  his
  power:
  Technology, Occult, Military, and so on.
  QUALITIES: One of the oldest of the super‐
  villain archetypes, the Conqueror comes in
  many variations. He crosses over with many
  other
  archetypes.
  For
  example,
  if
  the
  Conqueror wears a swastika, he’s a Nazi. If he
  isn’t white, he may be a Foreigner. Especially
  in the early Marvel Age, many Conquerors
  were Communist champions out to destroy
  America. Some of the most well‐established
  villains in comics began as Conquerors before
  moving
  on
  to
  become
  Ultimate
  Villains,
  Supremacists, or even Cosmic Menaces. Two of
  the most common variations are the
  Enlightened
  Tyrant
  and
  the
  Warlord.
  The Enlightened Tyrant thinks
  he
  would
  do
  a
  better
  job
  running the world than all those
  messy governments would, and
  by
  some
  measure
  he
  might
  even
  be
  right.
  The
  Tyrant
  may very well be able to end
  poverty, disease, and war,
  but this comes at the cost
  of
  free
  will
  and
  legal
  justice. He resembles the
  Supremacist, but not all
  Conquerors demand the
  execution
  of
  their
  enemies
  as
  the
  Supremacist
  does.
  In
  fact,
  some
  Conquerors
  proudly
  allow their enemies
  and rivals (that is,
  the
  player
  characters) to live,
  confident that the
  poor fools can do no
  harm and are still better
  off
  under
  the
  Conqueror’s
  enlightened
  tyranny. The Conqueror may even keep the
  heroes alive simply to keep things from getting
  boring.
  The Warlord is a low‐brow villain who simply
  wants to rule. He has none of the moral
  ambiguity of the Enlightened Tyrant, and no
  one would seriously consider volunteering for
  his cause. He may have a love of battle for its
  own sake, and could be a former Gladiator.
  Regardless of his background, the Conqueror is
  a planner. He has anticipated the interference
  of the heroes and developed weapons and
  tactics specifically to counter them. Activate
  his Master Plan quality to give him devices,
  spells, or Servitors which exploit the hero’s
  weakness and which protect the Conqueror
  against the hero's unique attacks.
  Conquerors can seldom conquer alone; they
  need an army or a doomsday weapon. The
  mind‐control satellite, earthquake machine,
  and android duplicate of the President are all
  so Old School that any Conqueror who uses
  them becomes a Dr. Evil of self‐parody.
  Besides, today's audiences are so jaded and
  cynical when it comes to government that
  it doesn't seem plausible to them a
  Conqueror would want to be made
  President.
  Modern
  Conquerors
  are
  more likely to destroy the nation or
  the
  world
  with
  the
  intent
  of
  rebuilding a new civilization on its
  ashes. Their doomsday weapons
  are actual doomsday weapons,
  used for mass extinction, not
  extortion.
  STORIES:
  It’s
  challenging
  to tell the Conqueror's story
  in an interesting and new
  way, but it is also one of
  the
  most
  hallowed
  of
  super‐hero traditions, so
  your players will really
  respond to it. Even a
  cliched and hackneyed
  Conqueror
  can
  be
  enormous fun, precisely
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  because the players recognize it and they
  know exactly what to do. There is no moral
  ambiguity
  in
  the
  Conqueror’s
  tale;
  even
  Enlightened Tyrants, who appear to challenge
  the heroes with a moral quandary, are doomed
  to failure.
  Yes, the Tyrant will have a scene in which he
  offers the heroes a place in his organization,
  and where he outlines all the benefits of his
  rule. But the mark of his villainy is so obvious
  and clear that no player character would
  actually agree to this offer, with a couple of
  notable exceptions. First, every table has a
  player (or two) who does crazy things just to
  be crazy. Sometimes a player will agree to the
  Tyrant's offer simply to derail the adventure or
  because he is bored. Another likely recruit is
  the infiltrator: a hero who has decided to
  accept the villain’s offer so that he can gather
  information on it and destroy it from within.
  Both of these tactics tend to split the party,
  which is fine in a comic but problematic at the
  gaming table. Be prepared with a task which
  the
  Conqueror
  can
  assign
  his
  erstwhile
  recruits, keeping them busy off stage while
  the rest of the heroes stage their breakout
  from prison. If you have a hero who makes a
  likely infiltrator, figure out ahead of time
  what secrets he might learn, and make them
  key to thwarting the villain’s master plan.
  If you do want to build sympathy for the
  Conqueror,
  consider
  giving
  him
  a
  personal
  connection to one or more of the heroes. He
  may be a former hero himself, disillusioned
  with the compromises he had to make and the
  reactive nature of super‐heroics. Why should
  he devote his life to cleaning up other people's
  messes? Everything would work so much better
  if the heroes were in charge! A Conqueror like
  this is a Supremacist who values super‐people
  —
  including
  the
  heroes
  —
  over
  mundane
  humanity, and he won't want to hurt the
  player characters. This can permit some verbal
  exchanges and roleplaying which you won't
  find in more traditional Conqueror stories,
  where
  everyone
  is
  busy
  fighting
  through
  Faceless Minions and Servitors to reach the big
  boss.
  Conquerors often begin as powerless men and
  women; their ability to climb to super‐villain
  status
  is
  representative
  of
  their
  will
  to
  conquer. Along the way, they master magic,
  acquire alien power sources, build themselves
  a suit of armor, and refine their body to
  physical
  perfection.
  The
  Conqueror
  is
  an
  opportunist; if he learns of a weapon which
  will help him in his ultimate goal, he will take
  it. If there is a MacGuffin in your campaign
  world and you don't know where it is or what
  anyone is doing with it, assume a Conqueror is
  sitting on his throne, holding it in one hand,
  and
  brooding.
  When
  the
  heroes
  find
  his
  fingerprints on all sorts of mysterious doings,
  you foreshadow the Conqueror's final invasion.
  Only a Conqueror possessed of ultimate hubris
  or great foolishness fails to plan for his own
  defeat. This may be covered by his Master
  Plan quality, but as you develop a Conqueror
  story, give some thought to how it will end.
  Has he left a Servitor behind who can rescue
  him from imprisonment? Is he fighting with a
  virtual projection from a secret lair on the
  Moon? Or perhaps that was only a Doombot all
  along.
  Abilities
  Prowess 1
  Coordination 3
  Strength 1
  Intellect 8
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 3
  Stamina 4
  Specialties
  Science Expert
  Technology Master
  Powers
  Shrinking 5
  Qualities
  Lab Rat
  Bumbling Assistant
  Incredible Arrogance
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  COSMIC MENACE
  “You speak of me as though I am a
  MONSTER!
  Do
  not
  the
  humans
  THEMSELVES slay the lesser beasts
  for food... for sustenance? GALACTUS
  does no less!”
  The Cosmic Menace represents an existential
  threat to the entire planet Earth.
  EXAMPLES: Galactus, Ego the Living Planet,
  Immortus (Marvel); Krona, Mageddon (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Ultimate Villain,
  Force of Nature
  ABILITIES: The Cosmic Menace can destroy a
  planet,
  cause
  a
  star
  to
  explode,
  and
  restructure the space/time continuum. Such
  beings are not measurable by the ranking
  system
  of
  ICONS
  Assembled
  Edition,
  and
  that’s usually for a good reason. You’re not
  going to stop a Cosmic Menace by throwing a
  boomerang, or even a magic hammer. When
  heroes attack a Cosmic Menace and their
  powers
  prove
  completely
  ineffectual,
  give
  them a point of Determination and move on.
  (Other villains, like the Force of Nature, will
  also work like this.)
  There often comes a point, however, at which
  heroes can physically challenge the Cosmic
  Menace. Either the Cosmic Menace has been
  drained of vitality and cut off from the source
  of his power, rendering him vulnerable, or
  heroes from around the world gather together
  and make a concerted attack. (This may be an
  army of heroes, but it can also take the form
  of a single hero who holds the combined
  energy of all humanity.) Even if this is the
  direction your story is going, however, Blast 10
  isn’t really doing the Cosmic Menace justice.
  Coming at the end of a long and difficult series
  of challenges, the final battle with the Cosmic
  Menace may be something best dealt with in
  narrative,
  activating
  qualities
  rather
  than
  rolling dice.
  QUALITIES: Precisely because a battle with
  the Cosmic Menace is one of qualities rather
  than abilities, it is important to have a clear
  sense of the villain's priorities. These beings do
  not compromise or dither; they have concrete
  rules which govern their behavior, and the
  heroes are successful when they figure out
  those rules and use them against the Menace.
  That is exactly what qualities are for. So use
  qualities to clarify what the Cosmic Menace
  must do, no matter what.
  You will also need to assign the Menace a
  quality that describes its colossal scale and
  immunity to the trivial powers of Earth heroes.
  This is the quality you will activate when the
  Cosmic Menace doesn't even notice the entire
  team of heroes making a coordinated attack
  on him.
  Cosmic Menaces are too remote to make good
  first
  impressions
  on
  heroes.
  Instead,
  the
  heroes first discover them by fighting legions
  of
  alien
  soldiers,
  time‐lost
  troopers,
  superheroes from an alternate universe, or
  powerful Servitors. When the right‐hand man
  of the Cosmic Menace has multiple powers at
  rank 10, that’s the GM trying to tell the
  players they're not going to solve this problem
  by fighting. Qualities may also be used to
  represent the Menace’s home in a pocket
  dimension,
  far‐off
  nebula,
  or
  moon‐sized
  starship.
  If the Cosmic Menace is something more than a
  primal
  force
  of
  cosmic
  nature
  (and
  some
  aren’t), it is privy to secrets of the universe,
  Things Man Was Not Meant To Know. It may
  have a museum or zoo made up of trophies
  from worlds long gone, or library data that
  records
  the
  origin
  of
  the
  universe.
  Masterminds, Conquerors, and the occasional
  Twisted Genius consumed with hubris seek out
  this knowledge, only to be transformed or
  destroyed by it. But if the heroes exhibit
  proper respect for the Cosmic Menace and his
  role in the universe, they can sometimes
  persuade him to solve mysteries no one else
  can answer.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  STORIES:
  The
  Cosmic
  Menace
  can
  be
  a
  source of frustration for heroes, especially
  players who have been trained to look at their
  character
  sheet
  for
  the
  answer
  to
  all
  problems. When the heroes are unable to
  attract the attention of the Cosmic Menace,
  let alone hurt it, you will hear someone at
  your table say, “There's nothing I can do.”
  That’s because, when your only tool is a +5
  Sword of Awesomeness, every problem looks
  like an Orc.
  Address
  player
  frustration
  in
  positive,
  fun
  ways. First, make sure your Cosmic Menace is
  amazing. This is meant in a very literal sense.
  The
  Cosmic
  Menace
  represents
  the
  eye‐
  popping grandeur of the infinite universe. He
  is not limited to the terrestrial concerns of
  human super‐villains. He should be far out,
  and the crazier, the more fantastic he is, the
  less your players will mind when they discover
  they can't beat him up.
  Second,
  use
  supporting
  cast
  members
  and
  other NPCs to voice the concerns the players
  have and encourage new strategy. Sometimes
  all it takes is a loved one, aging parent, or
  child to say, “There must be a way, right?” for
  the players to realize that you are not a
  complete jerk, and you would not be telling a
  story that ends with the destruction of the
  Earth.
  At the same time, be wary of stories that can
  end in only one way. If you have decided the
  Cosmic Menace can only be beaten if the
  heroes go back in time and recover the twelve
  diamonds of Merlin the Magician, then the
  game will drag on and on until the players
  think to do this.
  Chances are, they never will, and you will
  have to tell them to do it. This is not fun for
  anyone. Instead, empower the players — with
  or without their knowledge — to write the end
  of the story. Let them come up with a way to
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  outwit, weaken, or bargain with the Cosmic
  Menace, and then play it out. That is much
  more fun for them than trying to guess the
  secret code behind which you have locked a
  successful game session.
  What is the objective of the Menace? It is
  probably not the destruction of Earth for its
  own sake; the Cosmic Menace is too grand and
  eternal to be much concerned about a few
  billion
  over‐evolved
  primates
  on
  an
  undistinguished
  water‐rich
  planet
  in
  a
  backwater
  solar
  system.
  Sometimes
  the
  Menace can be sated by finding the one thing
  it’s really here to destroy, and providing it (or
  a reasonable facsimile). But just as often,
  there’s no way to turn the Menace aside and it
  must be defeated ... somehow.
  The
  mythical,
  even
  divine,
  nature
  of
  the
  Cosmic
  Menace
  makes
  it
  the
  object
  of
  prophecy and cult worship. It may be served
  by Cult Leaders and opposed by heroes who
  have been trained from birth for this very day.
  Heroes who wield Ultimate Weapons may learn
  that this is the enemy which their weapons
  were meant to destroy. The Cosmic Menace
  can even be responsible for super‐powers in
  the first place; perhaps super‐powers are the
  Earth's defense mechanism against the Menace
  and his ilk, or the Cosmic Menace is returning
  to Earth to collect (consume?) the super‐
  powered individuals he seeded here a hundred
  thousand years ago.
  The Cosmic Caretaker is a variation on the
  Cosmic Menace; Caretakers are cosmic entities
  with no particular animosity towards Earth.
  Their days are spent managing the secret
  operation of universal principles like time and
  life, chaos and order. There are many such
  Caretakers and they all know one another;
  between them they govern all the universe's
  moving parts. They may not have created the
  intricate watch that is the cosmos — that is
  left to a mysterious watchmaker greater even
  than the Caretakers — but they do maintain it
  and put it back together when it is broken by
  careless heroes or overweening villains. Player
  characters attract the attention of the Cosmic
  Caretaker when they upset the cosmic apple
  cart, or when their powers are uniquely suited
  to address a problem of universal scale.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 4
  Strength 10
  Intellect 8
  Awareness 5
  Willpower Y
  Stamina Y
  Specialties
  Power Mastery: Cosmic Power
  Technology Mastery
  Powers
  Cosmic Power (Alteration Ray, Blast, Energy
  Drain, Resistance, Transmutation) Y
  Flight 7
  Gadgets 10
  Growth Y
  Qualities
  “I Am The Power!!!”
  “I Hunger!”
  Beneath My Notice
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  CRIME BOSS
  “Look around you: you’ll see two
  councilmen,
  a
  union
  official,
  a
  couple off‐duty cops, and a judge.
  Now,
  I
  wouldn’t
  have
  a
  second’s
  hesitation of blowing your head off
  right here and right now in front of
  ‘em. Now, that’s power you can’t
  buy!”
  ~ Carmine Falcone
  The
  Crime
  Boss
  sits
  at
  the
  head
  of
  an
  organized criminal network.
  EXAMPLES: Kingpin, Count Nefaria (Marvel);
  Penguin, Carmine Falcone (DC); Top Dollar
  (The Crow)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Mastermind
  ABILITIES: The Crime Boss is an antagonist
  for Dark Avengers and other superheroes of
  modest power level. If he has a super‐power —
  and many don’t — it serves as his trademark
  and
  distinguishes
  him
  from
  the
  common
  criminals that surround him. It does not have
  to be of high rank to be unusual, and almost
  certainly has a score of 6 or less. Willpower is
  his highest attribute, though all the rest can
  range from 4‐6.
  A good Crime Boss is able to defend himself
  from the Dark Avenger in single combat, so in
  lieu
  of
  powers
  he
  arms
  himself
  with
  a
  signature handgun or other weapon. Besides
  Martial Arts (especially likely if the Crime Boss
  is Asian), Weaponry, and Business are his
  specialties.
  QUALITIES: Use qualities to characterize the
  Boss's criminal network and his relationship
  with his underlings. Is he Boss of All Bosses,
  Head of the Mexican Drug Cartel, or President
  of the Wang Family Association? Is he the sort
  of guy who will Make You a Deal You Can’t
  Refuse and Puts Family Over Everything, or
  does he just Shoot the Messenger? The Crime
  Boss uses this quality to summon gangs of
  Thugs or Faceless Minions, and heroes use this
  quality against the Crime Boss when they
  infiltrate his organization.
  As
  some
  of
  these
  stereotypical
  qualities
  illustrate,
  America
  has
  a
  long
  history
  of
  associating crime with immigrants and the
  Crime
  Boss
  often
  displays
  some
  kind
  of
  ethnicity. This is less common in 21st century
  stories as writers and directors have become
  more sensitive to the portrayal of minorities,
  but comics have a long memory and villains
  who were born in the wake of The Godfather,
  Blaxploitation films, the Kung Fu craze, or
  Scarface
  continue
  to
  appear,
  sometimes
  benefiting from a well‐intentioned retcon or
  reboot. Indeed, modern writers may be over‐
  sensitive to the connection between race and
  crime, so that the only acceptable Crime Boss
  is a white, healthy, heterosexual man.
  Crime Bosses are traditionally wealthy and
  powerful, and they enjoy their life. That
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  means they have connections and personal
  interests which heroes can use against them;
  spouses turn informant, a regular golf game
  with the mayor allows audio surveillance, and
  a love of opera can create an opening for the
  hero to break in and search the Boss's home.
  STORIES: A Crime Boss doesn’t have the
  ambition of a true Mastermind. Instead, he is
  occupied with kidnapping, theft, extortion,
  the drug trade and, of course, murder for hire.
  He may even hold Masterminds and other
  super‐villains in contempt, sneering at their
  garish
  costumes
  and
  grandiose
  plots.
  The
  Crime Boss's goals are practical — money and
  power — and his success demonstrates that
  you don't have to conquer the world to be
  feared and respected. His route to fame and
  personal comfort is an old one, a path well‐
  worn and proven time and again. Super villains
  are Johnny‐come‐latelys, but sometimes the
  Crime Boss considers the arrival of super‐
  heroes as initiating an arms race. This prompts
  the Boss to adopt a super‐villain persona,
  codename, costume, signature weapon and
  calling card, all in an effort to keep up with
  the times.
  The Crime Boss is well served by Assassins and
  Servitors,
  possibly
  even
  including
  a
  Monstrosity, a grotesque freak of nature who
  carries
  out
  the
  Boss's
  deadly
  will.
  These
  lieutenants, along with a gang of Faceless
  Minions,
  are
  dispatched
  from
  the
  Boss's
  expansive
  and
  comfortable
  lair
  to
  warn,
  harass, and ultimately try to kill the hero.
  They reappear in the final scenes when they
  attempt to defend the Boss in his home against
  an invading hero. Sometimes these lieutenants
  are the Boss's friends and family, leading to a
  personal vendetta against the hero when the
  lieutenant dies in battle.
  Because
  the
  Crime
  Boss’s
  network
  is
  so
  pervasive
  throughout
  the
  city,
  the
  hero
  discovers that his friends, family, coworkers
  and loved ones are part of that network. That
  cop who funnels tips to the hero is also on the
  take; the military commander who loans the
  hero a vehicle is also being blackmailed by the
  Boss; the mayor’s daughter is dating the Boss’s
  son. All of this serves to increase tension and
  make it harder for the hero to operate without
  drawing attention or causing unintended harm
  to those he holds dear. In some superhero
  stories — especially serial television — the web
  of the Crime Boss is so pervasive and personal
  to the hero that he is effectively paralyzed,
  unable to actually attack the Boss in his lair
  for fear of the ramifications. Instead, he can
  only attack the Boss's facilities and henchmen
  elsewhere in the city, fighting the symptoms
  instead of the disease.
  Crime Boss stories do not need to be limited to
  Dark Avengers and other street‐level heroes,
  though high‐flying supers may feel they are
  slumming when they're forced to handle mere
  crime. This itself creates drama, as the heroes
  underestimate the Crime Boss and forget his
  ruthlessness,
  while
  the
  Crime
  Boss
  uses
  Servitors, high tech weapons, and perhaps a
  suit of battle armor to punch above his weight
  class.
  It’s not uncommon for a Crime Boss to be
  challenged from below. Heroes can use this
  against the Boss, manipulating lieutenants into
  an attempted coup (or tricking the Boss into
  seeing such a coup when none exists). It can
  also happen as a natural consequence of the
  hero's victory over the Boss. After all, if the
  Boss goes to prison, this creates a power
  vacuum into which other criminal gangs and
  organizations can grow. Now the new, more
  energetic and younger, criminal gang is more
  ruthless and brutal than the Crime Boss’s old
  one, and the hero is forced to ask if putting
  the Crime Boss in jail was a win or not. A
  canny
  Crime
  Boss
  can
  use
  this
  to
  his
  advantage, pitting the hero against the new
  gang in such a way that the Boss is able to
  regain his old position after the dust has
  settled.
  Crime Boss stories are lethal, far more lethal
  than traditional super‐hero comics. Bosses live
  by intimidation, and the fact that they are
  willing to kill makes up for their lack of
  superhuman power. They try to kill the hero,
  and this places the hero in a position to choose
  his own response. Will he also respond with
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  lethal force? If he does, he’s becoming a
  Vigilante. If he does not, the Crime Boss
  survives and vows to return. Sometimes the
  plot conveniently comes to the hero’s rescue
  in these situations, ensuring an ironic death
  for the Crime Boss and relieving the hero of
  responsibility. Think twice before you provide
  the hero such an easy escape from a tough
  decision. Instead, force him to choose life or
  death. And remember: when a hero has the
  power to save an enemy’s life but chooses not
  to use it, that too is murder, no matter what
  clever dialog is used to conceal it.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 4
  Strength 3
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 3
  Willpower 4
  Stamina 7
  Specialties
  Business
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Qualities
  Everyone’s Afraid’a Me
  Out of Town Contacts
  This is My Town
  CULT LEADER
  “Brothers and sisters, we are soldiers
  of divinity. We are children of blood.
  We have planned this for far too
  long... we will not fail.”
  ~ Brother Blood
  The Cult Leader is a super villain with religious
  trappings and a following.
  EXAMPLES: Brother Blood, Kobra, Libra (DC);
  the Triune Understanding (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Mastermind,
  Tempter, Dominator, Heir to Lovecraft
  ABILITIES: As a relatively cerebral villain,
  the Cult Leader has less need for powers than
  many of his rivals. Indeed, he may have
  become a Cult Leader specifically because he
  doesn’t have powers. The cult itself is his
  power, and he uses it both to accomplish his
  nefarious ends and to provide himself with
  various creature comforts.
  However, the Cult Leader often ends up in
  eventual fisticuffs with the heroes, and when
  that happens he is going to benefit from some
  means of defending himself. His powers may
  be artificial in nature, derived from devices.
  He may wield magic, power granted to him by
  the mysterious forces he claims to serve.
  Occasionally, the Cult Leader derives power in
  direct
  proportion
  to
  the
  number
  of
  his
  followers;
  the
  larger
  his
  cult,
  the
  more
  dangerous he personally becomes. Some Cult
  Leaders buttress their command of the cult
  using Mind Control, making them Dominators;
  others rely on simple Willpower and are more
  like Tempters. Intellect is required to hatch
  and manage the cult’s long‐term plans. Occult
  is a common specialty.
  QUALITIES: The most important quality for
  the Cult Leader is the cult itself; he will
  activate this to call upon the resources of his
  cultists, to motivate them into suicidal attacks
  on the heroes, and to throw themselves in the
  way when he is in personal peril. One of the
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  most effective tactics available to the Cult
  Leader is for him to reveal that civilian NPCs
  are secretly members of the cult. When this
  happens to an important supporting character,
  it is almost always temporary and the result of
  mind
  control,
  but
  when
  it
  happens
  to
  bystanders in the street, the revealed cultist is
  a fanatical sleeper agent who was just waiting
  to get close to the heroes before striking.
  If the cult isn’t a sham — and most are,
  especially if they mimic an actual organized
  religion — the beings the cult worships may be
  invoked through a quality. If the Cult Leader is
  trying to pave the way for incarnations of
  madness from another dimension, he is an Heir
  to Lovecraft, but he is just as likely to be
  devoted to the Devil, Kirby space‐gods, or
  other aliens who are using the cult as a
  smokescreen for their secret invasion
  of Earth.
  STORIES: Stories of the Cult Leader,
  like
  so
  many
  superhero
  stories,
  reflect
  contemporary
  American
  concerns.
  For
  decades,
  the
  Comics
  Code
  prevented
  the
  negative
  depiction
  of
  any
  religion;
  this
  almost
  entirely
  benched
  the
  Cult
  Leader,
  though gutsy creators like Jack
  Kirby could still create Glorious
  Godfrey, a New God who used the
  tactics of an evangelist to lure a mob
  into becoming fascist Justifiers.
  By the early ‘80s, the Code had
  weakened
  enough
  to
  permit
  the
  appearance
  of
  Cult
  Leaders
  with
  overt
  Christian
  trappings:
  Brother
  Blood
  and
  Deacon
  Blackfire,
  antagonist of Starlin & Wrightson’s
  memorable Batman book, The Cult. In
  these
  stories,
  influenced
  by
  the
  Jonestown
  massacre
  and
  Patricia
  Hearst’s induction into the Symbionese
  Liberation Army, the fear is that a loved
  one will be seduced into a messianic cult
  led by a murderous psychopath. Heroes
  must intervene, breaking into the cult’s
  compound to rescue individuals who don't
  especially want to leave. This representation
  of
  the
  Cult
  Leader
  persisted
  through
  the
  Branch Davidian standoff and the death of
  David Koresh, only now superheroes risked
  over‐reacting (as federal agents were accused
  of doing) and had to proceed with more
  caution,
  infiltrating
  the
  group.
  New
  Age
  cultism led to the development of Busiek’s
  Triune
  Understanding,
  an
  organization
  apparently dedicated to self‐help and personal
  empowerment, but really a front for one
  man’s attempt at ascending to godhood.
  Pseudo‐Christian cults still appear in comics,
  the most innovative example probably being
  DC’s cult of the Crime Bible, a variation of
  that holy book bound with the stones which
  Cain used to slay his brother Abel. Crime Bible
  stories
  are
  distinguished
  by
  rival
  interpretations
  and
  uncertainty
  within
  the
  cult; the cult itself splinters into factions,
  some of which support the hero's activities
  while others oppose her. In this way, the cult
  becomes a metaphor for faith in the US at
  large,
  with
  a
  contrast
  being
  made
  between fanaticism (which is bad) and
  devotion (which is good).
  The fanatical nature of cult worship
  has, in a post‐9/11 America, bled
  into depictions of radical Islam. This
  results in cults like the Ten Rings
  organization of the cinematic Marvel
  Universe,
  a
  hodge‐podge
  of
  ethnic
  groups, languages, and vaguely Islamic
  faith which seems to have no singular
  purpose besides the propagation of
  chaos and evil. But in many senses
  the
  Cult
  Leader
  remains
  non‐
  denominational;
  there
  are
  still
  plenty of stories being told about
  cults
  dedicated
  to
  space
  gods,
  Lovecraftian horrors, or the devil.
  Cults
  initially
  appear
  innocuous
  while acting as a front for criminal
  or other unsavory activities. Loved
  ones are drawn into what appears
  to be a philanthropic group, while
  a hero who knows the truth in
  her heroic identity is unable
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  to
  warn
  her
  boyfriend,
  aunt,
  or
  brother
  without giving away her secret life. When the
  Cult Leader discovers these members of his
  cult and their potential use as a lever against
  the hero, it can lead to the creation of a
  Girlfriend Gone Bad.
  Perhaps the most important aspect of the Cult
  Leader is the cult’s willingness to die for the
  cause,
  at
  the
  merest
  suggestion
  of
  their
  leader. This is a real problem for heroes, and
  can create some shock value in a genre where
  civilian casualties are comparatively rare. The
  Cult Leader can prevent heroes from acting by
  placing misguided followers in their way —
  followers willing to detonate bombs, make
  surprise attacks with hidden pistols, or carry
  secretly implanted viral or chemical weapons
  into a crowd. Since cultists are to some extent
  misguided victims, killing them is usually not
  an option for heroes.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 4
  Strength 8
  Intellect 6
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 9
  Stamina 17
  Specialties
  Occult Expert
  Powers
  Damage Resistance 8
  Immortality 1
  Qualities
  Bloody Cult
  Strength From Worship
  Unholy Shroud
  DARK MIRROR
  “You
  and
  I
  are
  very
  much
  alike.
  Archeology is our religion, yet we
  have both fallen from the pure faith.
  Our methods have not differed as
  much as you pretend. I am but a
  shadowy reflection of you. It would
  take only a nudge to make you like
  me. To push you out of the light.”
  “Now you’re getting nasty.”
  ~ Rene Belloq and Indiana Jones
  The Dark Mirror is very similar to a particular
  hero, but uses his powers for evil.
  EXAMPLES: Venom, Abomination, Cassandra
  Nova (Marvel); General Zod, Bizarro, Sinestro,
  Professor Zoom (DC); Black Adam (Fawcett,
  now DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Evil
  Twin,
  Nemesis
  ABILITIES:
  Dark
  Mirrors
  have
  the
  same
  powers as the heroes they mirror, though like
  many “evil hero” archetypes (Fallen Hero, Evil
  Twin, Power Corrupted, Vigilante), they use
  these powers in a more brutal and merciless
  way. ICONS Assembled Edition refers to these
  kinds of villains as “Reflections” (on p.186). If
  the Dark Mirror has powers which are opposite
  to the hero — a fire villain opposing a hero
  with ice powers — he is actually a Nemesis.
  Many of the differences between a hero and
  his Dark Mirror are simply trappings; when a
  villain replaces the repulsor rays in his armor
  with a machine gun, that changes his damage
  type from blasting to shooting, but it doesn't
  change the Blast score on his character sheet.
  A new extra or alternate power (such as
  adding the Burst extra to that Blast) can,
  however, help differentiate the Dark Mirror
  and illustrate tactics which the hero would not
  use. (Perhaps the targeting mechanism on the
  Burst is not entirely reliable, so that the villain
  occasionally hits civilians. The hero would
  never use such a weapon, but the Dark Mirror
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  isn't concerned over a little collateral dam‐
  age.)
  If the Dark Mirror has an edge, it is in the field
  which the hero is best at. That is, a hero
  known for his incredible strength will have a
  Dark Mirror who is just a little bit stronger; a
  super‐genius hero has a Dark Mirror who is a
  supra‐genius. Conversely, the Dark Mirror may
  actually be a little bit inferior in areas where
  the hero does not excel. That villain with
  incredible strength won’t be as smart as the
  hero, and if the super‐genius can get close
  enough, he can punch his rival right in the
  face. All of this reinforces the basic strategic
  truth in fights with the Dark Mirror: don’t fight
  fire with fire. The Dark Mirror is designed to
  force a stalemate; that’s the whole reason he
  exists. Heroes triumph over them by moving
  the conflict to an arena in which the Mirror
  is
  powerless,
  and
  that
  means
  creativity and a reliance on skills
  and abilities the hero normally
  ignores, or doesn’t even realize
  he has.
  QUALITIES:
  The
  Dark
  Mirror
  usually had a connection to the
  hero before his powers were
  acquired. He may have been a
  relative, coworker, or lab assistant.
  This connection is the source of both
  personal
  angst
  and
  interpersonal
  rivalry, and the two rivals have a
  shared
  experience
  which
  is
  alluded
  to
  in
  conversation
  without ever being fully
  detailed.
  And their
  methods differ,
  not just in the
  superhuman
  arena
  but
  in
  their
  personal
  lives as well; Rene
  Belloq, for example,
  is a “Champagne Villain”
  in vivid contrast to Indy,
  the “Beer Hero.” If the
  hero
  is
  educated
  and
  rich, the Mirror went instead to the School of
  Hard Knocks. If the hero is respected and
  admired, surrounded by romantic suitors, the
  villain is reviled and hated, shunned by all
  those he most desires. Because there is a
  trend towards “dark” heroes in current fiction,
  this can result in Dark Mirrors who are actually
  brighter,
  happier,
  and
  more
  well‐adjusted
  people than the heroes they battle!
  STORIES: Hollywood’s obsession with poetic
  justice has led to a linkage between the origin
  of a superhero and the origin of his archenemy
  (“You made me first!”); this has made Dark
  Mirrors like Abomination, Iron Monger, and
  General Zod more prominent on film than they
  are in comics. It sometimes seems that every
  cinematic superhero has to debut with a Dark
  Mirror, and for
  players new to superhero
  roleplaying,
  the
  Dark
  Mirror is something of a
  default super villain. This can
  be
  useful
  for
  the
  GM;
  consider
  creating
  a
  hero’s
  Dark Mirror in play during your
  first session, at the same time
  as the hero himself gains his
  powers.
  When
  you
  need
  to
  teach a new player how the
  game works, few things are as
  educational as beating up on
  someone with the same powers
  you have. Just be sure to have a
  quick
  finish
  prepared,
  because
  fights
  with
  a
  Dark
  Mirror
  are
  perfectly matched and can go on
  far too long. Perhaps a nearby
  scientist
  has
  developed
  a
  weapon
  to
  strip
  the
  Dark
  Mirror of his powers, at least
  temporarily. The new player
  can then use this to end the
  fight
  after
  he
  has
  learned
  both how to deal and take
  damage, and he even got an
  archenemy out of the deal.
  There is also an opportunity
  for
  fun
  and
  excitement
  when
  a
  new
  player
  confronts a villain which
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  he expects to be a Dark Mirror, but who
  actually has surprising and unusual powers
  from an entirely different source.
  And, to be fair, it may be inevitable for a hero
  to develop a Dark Mirror, should his career last
  long enough. Many heroes, in fact, have more
  than one. Tony Stark had so many he had to
  devote an entire year to chasing them all
  down (the Armor Wars). But there is a good
  reason for this: the story of the Dark Mirror is
  a
  good
  one,
  rooted
  in
  the
  superhero’s
  obsession with the control and responsible use
  of power. The Dark Mirror is ultimately a way
  to demonstrate that powers don't make the
  man. A hero is more than the sum of his laser
  vision, nuclear‐powered heart, and extensive
  training. When these same abilities are given
  to someone else, that new individual does not
  become a hero. Instead, he uses his newfound
  powers for selfish reasons, personal gain, and
  — when the hero arrives — vengeance.
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 4
  Strength 3
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 4
  Stamina 7
  Specialties
  Art Expert
  Investigation
  Languages
  Occult
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Qualities
  There Is Nothing You Possess Which I Cannot
  Take Away
  Family Label
  Ladies Man
  Devil
  “How touching is the love of a son for
  his mother! You could fight me for a
  THOUSAND ETERNITIES, Doom... You
  could grow old and feeble, and NEVER
  win
  her
  release!
  Or...
  you
  could
  barter with me for her freedom!”
  ~ Mephisto
  While super heroes seldom face The Devil
  himself, they often confront characters which
  are the Devil in all but name.
  EXAMPLES:
  Mephisto,
  Belasco
  (Marvel);
  Trigon, Neron (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Tempter, Force of
  Nature, Supernatural Horror
  ABILITIES: Power ranks and specialties are
  for mere demons; the Devil is usually so
  powerful that he transcends them. He cannot
  be punched into unconsciousness, even by a
  hero with Strength 10. Those held in his traps
  cannot escape, even with Blast 10. In this, he
  resembles the Force of Nature. Some Devils,
  however, are only “off the chart” when they
  are in Hell (or a close facsimile thereof). If
  they can be separated from the infernal realm,
  they become corporeal ... and thus punchable.
  When it is necessary for the Devil to have
  powers on his character sheet, start with
  Element Control (Fire), Teleport, and Magic.
  When the Devil uses his Magic, it does not
  require Performance or additional time; he
  simply wishes it, and it is so. While the Devil is
  traditionally a shape‐changer, this isn’t quite
  as common in comics as it is in folklore.
  All of the Devil’s attributes are high, but
  physical combat is not really his style, so he
  has
  little
  need
  for
  extreme
  Strength
  or
  Prowess. He is very intelligent, but he can be
  outwitted by clever heroes; while he has keen
  perceptions and knows much that he should
  not, he is not omniscient and it is possible to
  sneak up on him if he is distracted.
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  QUALITIES: The Devil’s status in Hell is
  described with a quality which he activates to
  command legions of Faceless Demon Minions
  and, often, the physical reality of his home.
  That is, the Hell he inhabits is simply an
  extension of his will, and if he wishes the
  heroes to become lost in a swirling mist or
  caught in a furious firestorm, that’s what
  happens.
  This
  may
  be
  the
  source
  of
  his
  invulnerability and apparent omnipotence, and
  the heroes will get Determination when their
  powers are made useless, though it may not
  always
  be
  clear
  what
  that
  Determination
  should be spent on.
  The Devil has goals and a motivation like
  everyone
  else,
  and
  this
  motivation
  will
  determine what the heroes need to do to beat
  him.
  Is
  he
  a
  collector
  of
  souls?
  Is
  he
  a
  Tempter, out to corrupt people, and make
  them wicked? Or is he more of a Conqueror,
  with the goal of making the Earth into a kind
  of Hell?
  The Devil may have other weaknesses which
  the heroes can exploit. If he Cannot Harm the
  Innocent, for example, that may not
  apply to the heroes (who have done
  questionable things in the name of the
  greater good, or simply in moments of
  weakness) but it could certainly apply
  to
  particular
  NPCs
  the
  heroes
  can
  identify and rally to their cause. These
  stories usually spell the end of the NPC's
  innocence, however, adding to the burden of
  guilt the heroes already carry.
  And finally, you may need the Devil to have a
  magical
  power
  which
  is
  not
  easily
  quantifiable. For example, perhaps he can
  grant
  people
  superhuman
  powers,
  or
  increase the power they already have. (Of
  course, there is a cost.) Magic like this
  doesn't fit into the kind of powers ICONS
  heroes possess, but it can be represented
  with a quality that clarifies the Devil’s role
  in a particular story. While this may go
  without saying, because it’s true of
  all NPCs in general, qualities on a
  villain’s sheet can always be changed. For
  one session, the Devil may have the power
  I Know All Your Secrets, but in the next he is
  instead The Perfect Liar. The Devil has too
  many qualities to list them all, and sometimes
  they conflict. So pick the ones you need him to
  have right now.
  STORIES: The Devil has some very old stories
  that can be adapted to the superhero genre.
  Among them are the Deal with the Devil and
  the Devil’s Contest.
  Deals with the Devil are more likely to be
  found among other villains than heroes. It is a
  rare player character who will agree to any
  exchange with the Devil. Instead, new villains
  appear or old ones return with increased
  power, and the heroes discover that all these
  villains have made bargains with a mysterious
  individual. This can be a
  useful twist in a long
  ongoing
  campaign
  because,
  while
  superheroes in
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  the comics tend to stay at about the same
  power level for years, characters in RPGs have
  a tendency to grow in power more quickly.
  (It’s also very rare for them to decrease in
  power, while this regularly happens to comic
  book
  heroes.)
  This
  renders
  old
  villains
  irrelevant,
  since
  they
  no
  longer
  pose
  a
  challenge to the heroes. That’s when the Devil
  appears, giving those has‐been criminals a
  power boost in exchange for ... something.
  Often
  the
  villain
  gains
  some
  disability
  or
  crippling weakness in trade for his new power,
  a new quality which more or less ruins what
  passed for his normal life.
  But the Deal with the Devil can star a hero if
  the hero doesn’t realize he’s dealing with the
  actual
  Devil.
  In
  other
  words,
  if
  a
  player
  believes his character is just making a difficult
  choice — one in which, for example, he must
  permit a small evil in order to prevent a larger
  one — this is the sort of deal heroes are much
  more likely to agree to, on the grounds of
  doing
  what
  is
  practical,
  pragmatic,
  or
  efficient. The hero finds out later that his
  decision
  had
  more
  serious,
  long‐term
  ramifications, and suddenly it doesn’t look like
  such a good compromise after all. The other
  situation in which a player character is much
  more likely to knowingly make a deal with the
  Devil is if it allows the hero to martyr himself
  for a larger cause, probably saving the life of
  another person or even the whole team. When
  confronted with the chance to take one for
  the team, superheroes generally fall over each
  other in the effort to get there first. This is
  doubly true if you are GMing a one‐shot or
  limited run campaign, where the players don't
  have a lot of emotional connection to their
  characters in the first place.
  The Devil’s Contest is a story in which the
  Devil challenges a hero, or more than one of
  them, to a contest of some sort. The stakes
  are very high, usually their lives or the lives of
  someone dear to them. A deal with the Devil
  can
  become
  a
  contest
  story
  if
  the
  deal
  revolves around a signed contract; in these
  stories,
  the
  challenge
  is
  legal,
  to
  find
  a
  loophole in the contract and weasel out of it.
  Other
  Contests
  are
  more
  traditionally
  superheroic: recovering items from around the
  world or across time, or defeating champions
  set loose on an unsuspecting populace.
  In addition to his Faceless Demon Minions, the
  Devil
  is
  assisted
  by
  one
  or
  more
  named
  Servitors, usually antagonists much more eager
  to enter into hand‐to‐hand battle. And, at the
  same time, these Servitors are more of a fair
  fight for the heroes, so they have something to
  battle
  when
  they
  are
  frustrated
  over
  the
  Devil’s seeming omnipotence. These Servitors
  may, in fact, be former heroes themselves who
  have become corrupted by the Devil's power.
  This places the heroes in a moral quandary,
  because the Servitor is the weak link in the
  Devil's plan, but the heroes don’t really want
  to hurt him. Oh, the angst.
  Abilities
  Prowess 7
  Coordination 8
  Strength 8
  Intellect 9
  Awareness 8
  Willpower Y
  Stamina Y
  Specialties
  Occult Y
  Powers
  Element Control: Fire Y
  Teleport 10
  Qualities
  The Devil by Another Name
  Legions of Hell
  Tempting
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  DOMINATOR
  “You hear that, drones?! I NEED A
  SHOW! Everyone beat up the person
  to
  your
  left
  until
  that
  person
  is
  dead!”
  ~ The Purple Man
  The Dominator makes you do things you don’t
  want to do.
  EXAMPLES: Maxwell Lord, Starro (DC); Mister
  Mind (Fawcett, then DC); Purple Man (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Mastermind,
  Temptress
  ABILITIES: A traditional Dominator has the
  Mind Control power, but this isn’t universally
  true. As a GM, decide how victims emerge
  from domination. This will determine much
  about the game mechanics of your villain.
  The Mind Control power is best in situations
  where the victims — sure to include at least
  one player character — can break out of the
  domination through force of will or through
  the
  encouragement
  of
  allies,
  friends,
  and
  loved ones. If you anticipate a hero breaking
  free from mind control when his teammate
  spends a point of Determination to activate
  the thrall’s Always Tries to do the Right Thing
  quality, the standard Mind Control power will
  work fine for you.
  However, mind control doesn’t always work
  like this in the comics. It often has a physical
  component, such as brainwashing drugs, a
  mind‐control collar, or a purple starfish on
  your face. As long as this physical element is
  present,
  the
  domination
  is
  effectively
  irresistible. This kind of effect isn’t replicated
  by the Mind Control power; it is more like a
  permanent quality which only vanishes when
  the heroes concoct an antidote for the drug,
  break the collar, or tear off the alien starfish.
  While heroic PCs don’t have access to this kind
  of power, as a GM, you can grant it to villains,
  and it far more likely to be used on NPC
  heroes than on player characters.
  And finally, Dominators don’t always need
  powers at all. While it’s only common in
  street‐level stories, a villain who blackmails
  and manipulates his victims into participation
  in criminal acts is still a Dominator; he’s just
  using old school methods. The kidnapping of a
  loved one or pictures of an adulterous affair do
  the same work as a mind‐control satellite at a
  fraction of the overhead.
  Aside from the actual method of control, the
  Dominator
  usually
  has
  good
  Intellect
  and
  Willpower. He has charisma, but it’s dusty for
  lack of use. He is probably a Mastermind, but
  blackmailers and extortionists may be mere
  Crime Lords. There are memorable exceptions:
  Dominators who have more or less fallen into
  their powers and who aren't especially smart,
  ambitious,
  or
  determined.
  And
  because
  a
  Dominator can get whatever he wants simply
  by asking for it, he has no other powers or
  noteworthy skills. If the heroes can reach him,
  it takes no more than a size 9 shoe to end his
  story.
  QUALITIES:
  Villains
  with
  the
  power
  to
  control minds and compel others to do their
  bidding tend to be pretty self‐centered; their
  actions are awful violations of personal dignity
  and the Dominator is responsible for all kinds
  of crimes carried out by his thralls, from
  murder to petty theft, but the overall scale of
  his activity depends on the villain’s personal
  ambition. A Mastermind Dominator will set out
  to control the world, while a lazy and short‐
  sighted
  Dominator
  will
  be
  satisfied
  with
  attractive company, nice clothes, and good
  food. This is no consolation, of course, to the
  unfortunate
  individual
  chosen
  to
  be
  the
  companion.
  Many
  Dominators
  are
  quite
  blatant;
  their
  domination leaves a visible marker on the
  victim which everyone can see and which gives
  away the presence of the Dominator. This
  visible
  marker
  (Eclipsed!)
  replaces
  the
  traditional Controlled quality which victims of
  Mind Control usually acquire.
  Unless the Dominator is so small‐minded as to
  be essentially harmless, a mind‐control variant
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  of
  the
  Lunatic,
  he
  will
  have
  made
  many
  enemies: former thralls who take righteous
  umbrage against him for his crimes. These
  nemeses might take the form of a quality
  which the PCs can activate when they need
  reinforcements, or just an expert who can tell
  them how to avoid being dominated. Similarly,
  law enforcement agencies have to take special
  precautions when handling the Dominator, and
  if the heroes can contact these organizations,
  they may be able to shield themselves from
  the Dominator’s powers.
  STORIES:
  One
  of
  the
  oldest
  rules
  of
  superhero gaming is that there are two things
  players hate more than anything else: they
  hate having their powers taken away, and they
  hate being mind controlled. There are, of
  course, exceptions, but it’s a good idea to
  tread carefully with Dominators and avoid
  their over‐use. Dominators work best when the
  heroes
  are
  the
  only
  people
  not
  mind‐
  controlled, and they have to figure out how to
  stop friends and loved ones who are. If a
  Dominator does use his powers on a hero, it
  should be brief and limited to combat. Some
  players even enjoy the occasional excuse to pit
  themselves against another hero in battle, but
  few enjoy being a villain’s servant.
  A blatant Dominator like Starro hopes to gain
  control of key superhumans too powerful to be
  stopped; he then uses these superbeings as
  living weapons who carry out the villain’s plan.
  These kinds of Dominators use tactics similar
  to
  the
  Cult
  Leader,
  placing
  dominated
  innocents
  in
  harm's
  way
  to
  stonewall
  or
  distract heroes. Their plan may start small,
  but it gets big fast as the villain targets the
  most powerful heroes he can find. Entire
  populations may come under his sway, and the
  PCs are confronted with enormous mobs of
  powerless
  civilians
  enslaved
  to
  the
  Dominator’s will.
  Insidious
  Dominators
  like
  Maxwell
  Lord,
  however, are more suited to stories involving
  intrigue, mystery, betrayals and secret plots.
  By taking control of the right people, this
  Dominator causes havoc that cannot quickly or
  easily be traced back to him. Take over the
  police chief, and the heroes are declared a
  public menace. Take over the President, and
  now the US Army is hunting the heroes down.
  Long‐term, subtle plans are perfect for the
  insidious Dominator, but eventually there will
  come a time when his influence and true
  identity is revealed. Unless he is in safe
  location surrounded by thralls when the heroes
  find out what he’s been doing, the heroes will
  immediately thrash him. This can turn into a
  morality test; few things challenge a hero’s
  rules against killing bad guys more effectively
  than a Dominator who just made the hero — or
  one of his friends and loved ones — do a bad
  thing.
  Dominators have another extremely useful role
  in
  superhero
  stories:
  they
  implement
  the
  retcon. Whenever a hero or villain has been
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  acting in a way which, in retrospect, seems
  like a bad idea, you can explain it as the
  influence of an insidious Dominator who has
  been manipulating the hero from afar. Nearly
  anything, from alcoholism to murder sprees,
  can be retconned in this way, but it works best
  when
  the
  Dominator
  has
  already
  been
  introduced into the setting and is a known
  factor. If you have to invent a mind‐controlling
  villain just for the retcon, your seams start to
  show.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 4
  Strength 3
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 4
  Stamina 7
  Specialties
  Stealth
  Weapons
  Powers
  Mind Control 10 (Burst, Constant)
  Qualities
  Hear and Obey
  Petty and Selfish
  Former Spy
  DOPPELGANGER
  “They say you can imitate anybody,
  even their voice.”
  “Even their voice.”
  ~ Nightcrawler and Mystique
  The Doppelganger could be anyone, including
  (and especially) the hero.
  EXAMPLES:
  Mystique,
  Chameleon,
  Skrulls
  (Marvel); Clayface (DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPE:
  Wolf
  in
  Sheep's
  Clothing, Villain with All Your Powers
  ABILITIES: The Doppelganger comes in a
  couple of varieties, differentiated largely by
  his powers. The first sort is able to duplicate
  the appearance and powers of his victims
  through a super‐power of his own. He has
  Transformation and Power Mimicry. If he can
  do this easily and at‐will, shifting from one set
  of powers to another, he may actually be a
  Villain with All Your Powers.
  The other sort of Doppelganger is a Master of
  Disguise and more of a planner. He prepares
  elaborate disguises and uses devices to mimic
  the powers of a particular hero. He probably
  has no superhuman powers of his own, but has
  a high Intellect and Willpower. His specialties
  include
  Investigation
  and
  Stealth,
  and
  in
  addition
  to
  devices
  which
  grant
  him
  Transformation, he also carries Gadgets.
  These categories aren’t mutually exclusive,
  however. Characters like Mystique and the
  Skrulls can change their appearance, and this
  allows them to copy some powers naturally
  while still requiring devices for others.
  QUALITIES: The Doppelganger often has a
  disturbing or unnatural physical appearance,
  which he conceals through his disguises. This is
  a very old trope with roots in the Pulp era;
  both
  the
  Shadow
  and
  the
  Avenger
  were
  masters
  of
  disguise
  whose
  false
  faces
  concealed bizarre disfigurement. In fact, their
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  disfigurement actually makes their disguises
  more convincing. Modern heroes like Mystique,
  whose unusual appearance is linked to her
  mutant powers, continue this motif.
  Masters of Disguise see their impersonation of
  a hero as an intellectual challenge, and they
  may be in it just for the money, making them
  Thieves. There is something of the Gladiator
  about them, except that their need to prove
  themselves smarter than the hero (instead of
  stronger) aligns them more with villains like
  the Twisted Genius or Puzzle Master. This kind
  of Doppelganger should have a quality that
  represents exhaustive research into the hero’s
  private life, research that enables the villain
  to fool even friends, teammates, and loved
  ones.
  Most Doppelgangers are infiltrators; they use
  their disguises to sneak to an objective and, in
  theory,
  sneak
  out.
  But
  when
  the
  heroes
  discover the Doppelganger, he is forced to
  defend
  himself,
  and in physical
  battle he usually comes up short. Natural
  shapeshifters are more capable in hand to
  hand
  combat,
  because
  their
  powers
  allow
  them to do things other than imitate heroes. A
  quality that represents skill at ambush helps to
  ensure the Doppelganger gets at least one
  good scene before the heroes overwhelm him.
  STORIES:
  One
  of
  the
  challenges
  to
  Doppelganger
  stories
  is
  that
  the
  player
  characters don’t know they are in it until the
  final few pages. That is, if the Doppelganger is
  pretending to be the team secretary, the
  helpful butler, or the guy that repairs their
  super‐jet, the heroes probably don’t notice.
  Instead, they go on about their other business,
  stopping crimes and saving the world, while
  the Doppelganger sneaks in and gets what he
  came for. If the Doppelganger isn’t specifically
  targeting the heroes, and is instead robbing a
  bank or stealing some high‐tech device, the
  PCs may never see him in disguise at all! They
  arrive only after things have gone bad, and the
  Doppelganger has been revealed. (These plots
  can, of course, be combined, so that the
  heroes stop a mundane crime at which the
  Doppelganger is present, not as a criminal, but
  as one of the civilian witness/hostages! This
  gives him a way to infiltrate the hero group.)
  Another
  well‐established
  story
  is
  the
  Doppelganger's crusade to “steal the hero’s
  life.” The villain has learned everything
  there is to know about the hero, who is
  then captured or believed to be dead. The
  villain then slides into the hero’s identity,
  even going so far as to fight crime and
  help save the city or the world, all in
  the name of proving that he can do it
  at least as well as the hero did, if not
  better. This story usually requires the
  assistance of a player, who agrees to
  play his own Doppelganger. If your
  players
  are
  easy‐going
  enough
  and
  trust your game, but you are worried
  about the player’s ability to keep a
  good poker face, you can still use this
  plot without player knowledge. In this
  variation, the GM reveals at the end of
  the session that one of the PCs has
  been
  an
  imposter
  even
  though
  the
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  player himself didn’t know it. The disguise is
  uncovered, the villain is thwarted or flees, and
  then the real PC is found and returns to duty
  ... But everything that happened that session
  happened to the Doppelganger, not the hero.
  Tricks like this work only once per campaign.
  Player absences at your gaming table also
  create
  a
  window
  of
  opportunity
  for
  the
  Doppelganger (or an Evil Twin). Because other
  players expect their teammates to be played
  as NPCs when a player doesn’t show, no one’s
  suspicion is aroused when the Doppelganger is
  seen at the base, engages the heroes in prying
  conversation, or even participates in missions.
  Doppelgangers make great mercenaries. With
  their specialized abilities, they are sought out
  by Masterminds or Conquerors who hire them
  to retrieve a MacGuffin or sneak into a secure
  facility as a Trojan Horse. In the early stages
  of the Mastermind plot, the Doppelganger does
  his job off stage and the heroes learn about it
  only
  after
  the
  fact.
  But
  because
  the
  Doppelganger knows the plot, the Mastermind
  must keep him close even after his abilities
  are
  no
  longer
  required.
  The
  Doppelganger
  doesn’t reappear in the story until the heroes
  invade
  the
  Mastermind’s
  lair
  and
  get
  separated, at which point the Doppelganger
  can impersonate one of them and either flee
  or make a last ditch attempt to save the plan,
  depending on his level of personal loyalty to
  the Mastermind.
  Two‐faced by nature, the Doppelganger is a
  potential turncoat or ally to heroes who are
  willing
  to
  work
  with
  morally
  ambiguous
  criminals. Dark Avengers and other detectives
  are the first to deduce the Doppelganger’s
  true identity and, if they can find a way to
  contact the villain privately, can sometimes
  renegotiate the terms of the contract in such a
  way that the Mastermind still gets arrested
  while
  the
  Doppelganger
  avoids
  getting
  punched in the face.
  Abilities
  Prowess 6
  Coordination 6
  Strength 4
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 9
  Specialties
  Athletics
  Power: Transformation Master
  Stealth
  Weapons
  Powers
  Transformation: Humanoids 8
  Qualities
  Strange but Seductive
  Skilled At Hiding Her True Self ...
  ... But Hates Having To Do It
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  EVIL TWIN
  “There is a difference between you
  and me. We both looked into the
  abyss, but when it looked back at us,
  you blinked.”
  ~ Owlman
  In another dimension or alternate timeline, a
  man or woman who could have chosen to be
  good turned instead to evil.
  EXAMPLES: Ultraman, Owlman, and Power
  Ring (DC); Dark Beast (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Dark
  Mirror,
  Fallen Hero
  ABILITIES:
  The
  Evil
  Twin
  has
  whatever
  powers the hero has, though she uses them
  differently, often in a more bloodthirsty,
  merciless, or brutal fashion. Where the
  hero has restraint, the Evil Twin has
  none,
  and
  while
  this
  might
  be
  represented with a new extra or
  alternate power, it might be as
  simple as the use of slashing and
  shooting
  attacks
  instead
  of
  bashing and blasting ones.
  While an Evil Twin’s powers
  are usually the same as the
  hero,
  her
  attributes
  and
  specialties are more likely to
  vary, reflecting a different life
  experience.
  Specialties
  like
  Investigation and Law will be
  exchanged
  for
  Stealth
  and
  fighting skill (Weapons, Martial
  Arts or Power). Weaponry and
  tactics which the hero has
  forsworn
  are,
  instead,
  the
  Evil Twin’s stock in trade,
  so
  a
  Dark
  Avenger
  who
  avoids the use of guns will
  have a sniper for an Evil
  Twin,
  and
  a
  scientist
  hero who insists on the
  pursuit
  of
  ethical
  research will have an
  Evil Twin who experiments on helpless human
  subjects.
  QUALITIES: To create qualities for an Evil
  Twin, begin with a heroic quality and then
  invert it, twist it, or take it to an extreme. An
  Evil Twin of All‐American Girl, for example,
  might replace Princess of Power with Princess
  of Pain, I Can Handle This! with No One Is a
  Match For Me!, and Trained by All‐Star with I
  Stole All‐Star's Powers.
  While it’s not common for players to activate a
  villain’s qualities, this is more likely with Evil
  Twins because the hero is better able to figure
  out what those qualities are. In other words, a
  hero stymied by a rampaging Evil Twin can
  examine his own qualities and use them to
  learn
  something
  about
  the
  Evil
  Twin.
  To
  continue our example of All‐American Girl, if
  her
  Evil
  Twin
  is
  demonstrating
  All‐Star’s
  powers, Natalie can probably presume that's
  not because her Evil Twin saved All‐Star’s
  life.
  In
  fact,
  she
  probably killed him and
  inherited his powers that
  way. And if All‐Star had a
  weakness, that means the
  Evil
  Twin
  might
  have
  inherited that weakness in a
  way Natalie herself did not...
  STORIES: There are two kinds of
  Evil Twins, and they are to be
  differentiated
  from
  the
  Dark
  Mirror.
  The
  Dark
  Mirror
  may
  seem
  a
  lot
  like
  a
  particular
  hero, but the Evil Twin is the
  hero; the villain has to have
  the hero’s identity under her
  mask.
  The first sort of Evil Twin is
  related to the Fallen Hero;
  long
  ago,
  when
  the
  Evil
  Twin was confronted with
  a moral choice that could
  have turned her into a
  hero,
  she
  chose
  evil
  instead. This failing has
  snowballed, so that the
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Evil Twin now represents everything the hero
  might have become, had she chosen to follow
  a path of darkness rather than light.
  The second kind of Evil Twin is a victim of
  random chance. Her rocket ship crashed in a
  different part of the world, or her parents
  were
  murdered
  by
  dirty
  cops
  instead
  of
  criminals. But even though random chance was
  a factor, the Evil Twin has embraced her
  identity as a villain and is unrepentant in her
  wickedness
  and
  criminality.
  Contemporary
  efforts to make villains into sympathetic anti‐
  heroes have resulted in characters like the
  Superman of Red Son, an Evil Twin who isn't
  evil so much as naive and misguided.
  Evil Twins challenge their heroes in a way that
  goes beyond the physical. In one sense, they
  are an embodiment of existential fears about
  the loss of self. After all, who is the
  “right” version of the character in this
  scenario? What makes the Evil Twin
  the inferior one? With a change in
  perspective, the Evil Twin is the
  natural and proper version of the
  character, and the heroic one is
  an aberration, a “Good Twin.”
  This is one of the reasons the
  fight between the hero and her
  Evil Twin gets so personal so
  fast; each of these characters is
  fighting for her own identity,
  to validate herself as “the real
  me.”
  The second threat posed by
  the Evil Twin is moral. The
  Twin insists, “You could have
  been
  me.”
  The
  hero
  is
  challenged to accept that
  she has evil within herself
  and, because the Twin is
  the hero, the hero has
  no moral authority to
  oppose
  the
  Twin.
  Sometimes the truth in
  this
  argument
  is
  acknowledged,
  and
  the
  hero has to admit that, yes,
  she has aggressive and selfish
  qualities, but she is heroic precisely to the
  degree by which she overcomes them. Those
  aggressive and selfish qualities may even be
  useful in a superheroic career dominated by
  constant battle, provided the hero does not
  allow them to go unchecked and unmoderated.
  For other Evil Twins, their argument boils
  down to a restatement of the old question of
  Nature vs Nurture. In this debate, Nurture
  always wins. The hero is a hero not because
  she was born that way, but because of her life
  experiences. The Evil Twin is not her, because
  the defining aspects of her character are not
  her name and her biology, but the people that
  raised her and influenced her. In these more
  important senses, she is her own woman and
  the
  Evil
  Twin
  is
  someone
  else
  who
  just
  happens to look like her.
  Appropriately
  enough,
  introducing
  the
  Evil
  Twins also takes one of two forms. Broadly
  speaking, either the Twins come to our world,
  or the PCs go to theirs. The first sort of story is
  relatively straight forward; you need to
  figure out how the Twins got here,
  what their goals are, and how they're
  going to get home. Their arrival is
  usually an unanticipated accident,
  but one that sets up future stories
  because,
  once
  the
  Twins
  are
  vanquished and sent back, they
  are now determined to return and
  conquer the “weak” heroic Earth
  they have discovered. While the
  Twins like to talk about how our
  world is so easy to conquer, the
  truth is that the Evil Twin has the
  same psychological need to prove
  she is the “real me” as the hero
  does,
  and
  as
  long
  as
  our
  Earth
  thrives, her own status is in doubt.
  This is no less true in those
  stories in which the heroes all
  travel to “Mirror Earth,” where
  the heroes we know are all
  villains
  and
  what
  heroes
  there are (and there aren’t
  many)
  are
  Good
  Twins,
  individuals the PCs recognize
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  as villains from their own Earth. Mirror World
  stories
  often
  put
  the
  PCs
  in
  the
  unusual
  situation of pretending to be their own Evil
  Twins, at least in their secret identities and
  just long enough for them to find out where
  this Mirror World “went wrong” and history
  changed. This can usually be traced to the
  first appearance of superheroes; once that
  rocket ship lands in Russia instead of America,
  all bets are off. In Mirror World stories, the
  heroes can’t really hope to defeat the Evil
  Twins in the long term. There are too many
  bad guys, and they have a power structure
  that keeps the world under their fascist boot‐
  heel. Instead, the heroes just need to get
  home. The best they can hope for is to strike a
  blow for the revolution, a band of badly
  equipped and hard‐pressed Good Twins who
  couldn’t possibly succeed without the help of
  the PCs. Often, the Evil Twins are more than
  happy to send the heroes home, since the
  heroes
  threaten
  both
  the
  Twins’
  global
  dominance and their sense of self.
  The battle with a team of Evil Twins is actually
  one of the oldest tropes in roleplaying, dating
  all the way back to D&D’s Mirror of Opposition.
  It has the virtue of being easy to prepare; the
  GM doesn’t have to make the supervillains up
  from scratch (because the players have done
  all his work for him), and he already knows
  that the fight will be an even match. These
  fights tend to go one of two ways; if the
  players embrace the trope, everyone pairs off
  and each hero fights her own Evil Twin. But if
  the first hero to act rejects the trope, she
  picks an Evil Twin of a different hero, probably
  one more vulnerable to her own powers. Soon,
  every other PC follows suit, and the team mis‐
  matches. This second kind of fight goes much
  faster than the first, but that doesn’t mean
  it’s not fun or in genre. There is plenty of
  precedent for clever heroes avoiding the pair‐
  off and mixing up the fight in order to thwart
  the villains’ strategy, and players like to see
  who would win if they fought each other.
  Fighting a team of Evil Twins is about as close
  as they can get to that, without the use of
  mind control.
  Abilities
  Prowess 6
  Coordination 6
  Strength 5
  Intellect 8
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 6
  Stamina 11
  Specialties
  Athletics
  Investigation
  Martial Arts Expert
  Weapons
  Powers
  Damage Resistance 2 (Body armor)
  Gadgets 5
  Super‐Senses 1 (Dark vision)
  Qualities
  I’m the Brains of This Outfit
  Plans for Every Contingency
  Creature of Darkness
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  FACELESS MINION
  “Hail Hydra! Immortal Hydra! Cut off
  one
  limb,
  and
  two
  shall
  take
  its
  place!”
  Faceless Minions are fanatically loyal servants
  of a Mastermind, Conqueror, or other powerful
  villain.
  EXAMPLES: Hydra, AIM, the Hand (Marvel);
  Hive (DC); Cobra (GI Joe)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Nazi,
  Supernatural Horror
  ABILITIES: Faceless Minions come in infinite
  varieties — such as the Faceless Demon Minion,
  Faceless
  Nazi
  Minion,
  and
  Faceless
  Robot
  Minion — but rarely have powers in the usual
  sense. Instead, they rely on equipment and
  specialties like Martial Arts or Weapons.
  Prowess and Coordination will be their best
  attributes, probably at 4 or 5.
  The exceptions to this rule are Demon
  Minions,
  Vampire
  Minions,
  Alien
  Minions, and other Supernatural
  Horrors.
  These
  creatures
  will
  have
  natural
  weapons
  like
  claws and fangs, supernatural
  abilities such as flight, and
  they
  often
  have
  enough
  Resistance
  to
  Damage
  (5
  is
  sufficient) to make them immune
  to bullets.
  QUALITIES:
  It
  is
  vital
  for
  Faceless Minions to have a quality
  which represents teamwork and
  their ability to coordinate against
  a single hero; they will activate
  this quality almost every page
  they
  are
  in
  play.
  Use
  this
  alongside
  the
  rules
  for
  Combined Effort on p.23 of
  ICONS
  Assembled
  Edition;
  the
  coordinating
  Minion
  activates
  his
  quality
  and
  makes the test, while all the
  Minions assisting him use the
  test to add to the coordinating Minion’s effort
  or effect.
  Minions are also famous for their fanaticism, a
  quality which allows them to resist questioning
  and even take their own lives when captured.
  Otherwise, a single Quality which describes
  the nature of the Minion’s training or origin
  (Endless Demons From The Pits Of Hell, Feared
  Ninja Clan, Soldiers of Science!) can help
  differentiate it from other Minions and provide
  a convenient catch‐all when you need the
  Minion to suddenly display a power, piece of
  gear, or trick that isn't on its character sheet.
  Faceless Minions often take a venomous or
  poisonous creature as their totem symbol. (No
  comic book universe is complete without its
  Faceless Snake/Insect Minions.)
  While not (usually) faceless in a literal sense,
  Faceless Minions are anonymous. They wear
  uniforms
  that
  conceal
  their
  features,
  making it harder to know exactly how
  many of them there are, or even if they
  are truly human. If alien or supernatural,
  they are visually indistinguishable from
  each other. This might be represented
  by a Quality which is activated when
  a Minion’s anonymity is useful, such
  as when it tries to escape or is
  mistaken for another Minion.
  STORIES: Faceless Minions are
  one of the first obstacles the
  hero
  must
  face
  when
  he
  discovers
  a
  Mastermind’s
  plot.
  They
  are
  typically
  led by a Servitor who
  abandons the fight after
  the
  first
  page
  when
  it
  becomes clear that the Minions
  are no match for the heroes. A
  second confrontation may come
  with a far greater number of
  Minions, including a small group
  of them armed with a super‐
  weapon,
  armored
  vehicle,
  or
  trick which exploits the hero’s
  weakness.
  After
  that,
  there’s
  not
  much
  use
  in
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  more fights with Faceless Minions, though a
  sudden rush of them while the heroes confront
  the Big Bad Evil Guy may give that villain a
  chance to escape or catch his breath.
  Faceless Minions are also great for separating
  the heroes, teaching new players how their
  powers
  and
  the
  game
  rules
  work,
  taking
  hostages, and whisking away the real prize
  while heroes are busy fighting a distraction in
  the street. Never forget Chandler’s Law, from
  the introduction to The Simple Art of Murder:
  “When in doubt, have a man come through the
  door with a gun in his hand.” If your players
  have
  been
  discouraged
  by
  a
  dead‐end
  investigation, a villain's escape, or a table
  argument, few things soothe the savage beast
  better than walloping a horde of Faceless
  Minions. I recommend Ninjas.
  Minions
  are
  typically
  taken
  out
  in
  one
  successful attack. ICONS Assembled Edition
  has an optional rule to handle this; it’s on
  p.42. Here’s another alternative: If a hero
  doesn't do enough damage to take out the
  Minion
  he
  just
  hit,
  knock
  the
  Minion
  out
  anyway and give a point of Determination to
  the rest of the Minion gang. (They’ll need it!)
  The opposite is also true: sometimes you need
  a Minion to stick around for one more panel,
  probably because he’s the last one left on top
  of the speeding train, high‐flying airship, or
  emergency landing strip. In cases like this, a
  point of Determination can keep him up long
  enough to pull a lever or bite on a cyanide
  capsule.
  The Thug is an archetype related to the
  Faceless
  Minion;
  he
  serves
  a
  Crime
  Boss
  instead of a Mastermind or Conqueror. He
  differs in that he actually has a tiny bit more
  personality than the Faceless Minion (after all,
  he has a face) and is usually armed with less
  high‐tech
  gear.
  He
  will
  have
  a
  nickname
  derived from a physical characteristic, and
  perhaps a distinctive speech pattern. The Thug
  also appears in smaller numbers than the
  Faceless Minion, because Thugs are opposed by
  single vigilantes while Faceless Minions attack
  an entire team of heroes.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 4
  Strength 3
  Intellect 3
  Awareness 3
  Willpower 4
  Stamina 7
  Specialties
  Military
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Damage Resistance 1 (Body armor)
  Qualities
  Fanatical Fascists
  We Have Agents Everywhere
  Weird Science
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  FALLEN HERO
  “Coast City. It was my home once. My
  friends’ home. Now it’s nothing. An
  engine built on rubble. Built on the
  corpses of people I knew. And one of
  those corpses — might be Carol’s. If
  they think their missiles can keep me
  out
  ...
  they’re
  wrong.
  Nothing’s
  keeping me out. Nothing’s keeping me
  from finding the monster who did
  this.
  Nothing’s
  keeping
  my
  hands
  from his throat.”
  ~ Hal Jordan
  The Fallen Hero became a villain in a moment
  of weakness, when he made a fateful decision
  with tragic consequences.
  EXAMPLES: Maestro (Marvel); Monarch, Hal
  Jordan as Parallax (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Vigilante, Power
  Corrupted, Evil Twin
  ABILITIES: One of the precepts of the Fallen
  Hero is that it could happen to anyone, though
  in general the more powerful the hero is, the
  more poignant the story of his fall. So it is less
  important what powers he has than that those
  powers be highly ranked. Once a character
  falls, he uses his powers in a more lethal and
  dangerous manner; this may be represented on
  his character sheet by adding an extra like
  Burst or exchanging a relatively painless power
  for another, like swapping a psychic attack
  that puts the victim to sleep for a more
  destructive Blast.
  Heroes without powers, who rely solely on
  Determination,
  equipment,
  specialties,
  and
  modest gadgetry, can still fall; they typically
  become Vigilantes.
  QUALITIES: A Fallen Hero represents his fall
  by changing one or more of his qualities.
  Virtually
  his
  entire
  world
  view
  alters,
  transforming his relationship with loved ones
  he now forsakes or abuses, former allies he
  now runs from or battles, and enemies he now
  kills. He may acquire new qualities as heroes
  and law enforcement organizations pursue and
  target him. The public will surely turn against
  him if they learn of his fall, so he may put
  considerable
  effort
  into
  keeping
  up
  appearances.
  Most
  significantly,
  the
  Fallen
  Hero’s motivation changes; he no longer tries
  to use his powers responsibly, to help others
  for altruistic reasons. Instead, he takes what
  he wants, indulging his id no matter who
  stands in his way.
  STORIES: There are two stories which are key
  to the Fallen Hero. First, he must fall. And
  then, he must be redeemed.
  The central challenge for all superheroes is the
  control of power; there are as many metaphors
  in superhero stories as there are superheroes,
  but all of them have power of some sort, and
  they struggle to use this power responsibly.
  The Fallen Hero has failed in this test. In a
  moment of anger or deep despair, through a
  lack of conviction or simple selfishness, he has
  used
  his
  powers
  in
  an
  unethical
  manner.
  Perhaps
  he
  used
  his
  power
  to
  execute
  someone; perhaps he lashed out in rage and
  killed someone close to him; perhaps he used
  his
  powers
  for
  wealth,
  fame,
  or
  personal
  gratification. He may have had a noble goal,
  like saving a life or securing peace, but his
  method
  of
  attaining
  that
  goal
  is
  morally
  bankrupt.
  When the hero falls, it is a clear and sharp
  break with his former life and self. Even if the
  deed itself could be concealed, it looms in his
  psyche
  and
  he
  cannot
  forget
  it,
  forgive
  himself, or put it behind him. Instead, he
  acknowledges
  his
  fall
  and
  considers
  it
  irreversible. Having lost control or performed
  an evil act, he is now certain that it is only a
  matter of time before he repeats his error. He
  is no longer a hero, and having broken his
  heroic code once, he now breaks it repeatedly
  and in flagrant fashion. He may murder other
  heroes and do all sorts of shockingly awful
  things
  which
  he
  would
  never
  have
  contemplated before his fall. On the surface,
  he continues to rationalize his behavior, but
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  there can be no sincere defense of his new
  attitude. Within, he is a creature of self‐
  loathing; he hates himself, but he projects his
  hatred onto his former friends and allies, and
  torments them instead. He may make a token
  effort to conceal his fall, but even if the initial
  crime is hidden, his new personality ensures
  his fall will be quickly revealed.
  Sometimes a hero meets his own fallen self,
  a native from an alternate reality or the
  future. This is an Evil Twin. In the case of
  alternate
  realities,
  the
  two
  characters
  diverged sometime in the past, often at the
  moment of the hero's origin. But when the
  hero meets a fallen version of himself from
  the future, the story becomes “A Christmas
  Carol” in funny underwear, a warning to the
  hero that he must change his ways and learn
  to control both his powers and his passions.
  If he does not, he will lose everything he holds
  dear, and become his own worst enemy.
  The redemption story is inevitable for fallen
  heroes only because they are serial characters
  and, eventually, some writer somewhere is
  going to decide to bring the fallen hero
  back, if only for the challenge of doing so.
  Fallen
  heroes
  who
  exist
  in
  self‐contained
  stories may not be redeemed before their
  story ends or they die. They probably still got
  a chance at redemption, but they failed to
  take it.
  Redemption is a strange thing in superhero
  comics, because heroes very seldom redeem
  themselves; instead, a retcon absolves them
  entirely of wrong‐doing. When Cassandra Cain,
  formerly Batgirl, suddenly appeared as head of
  the League of Assassins and an unrepentant
  murderer, this was later explained as a mind‐
  control drug administered by Deathstroke the
  Terminator. This example is quite typical,
  actually. Heroes who do bad things seldom
  have
  to
  suffer,
  repent,
  and
  make
  good.
  Instead, a retcon reveals that they never fell
  in
  the
  first
  place,
  that
  their
  fall
  was
  engineered by an outside party, or that their
  fall
  was
  inevitable
  and
  could
  not
  be
  prevented. If the hero’s fall is blamed on
  power itself, a power no human being could
  have hoped to control, he becomes Power
  Corrupted. These retcons, regardless of their
  form, more or less absolve the hero of guilt in
  the eyes of the superhero community, but he
  continues to feel shame and the disapproval of
  the mundane public, who don't understand or
  believe him. (The fans are still outraged, but
  this has less relevance in a roleplaying game!)
  Heroes who are actually responsible for their
  own fall, and who accept this responsibility,
  are rare, and notable in their exception. Hank
  Pym struggled for years to redeem himself
  after abusing his wife and placing innocent
  people in danger for his own gratification. Hal
  Jordan
  spent
  time
  as
  the
  Spectre,
  doing
  penance for his own weakness. Before the
  Phoenix Entity was created to absolve her of
  wrongdoing, Jean Grey took her own life. Part
  of the problem with these stories is that, when
  a hero falls, he never falls a short distance. His
  failure
  is
  enormous,
  perhaps
  even
  unforgivable; that makes the story of the fall
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  more exciting, but it makes the redemption
  hard to believe. If a player in your group is
  working on a Fallen Hero plotline, consider the
  severity of the crime he is about to perform.
  Can
  the
  hero
  accept
  responsibility
  for
  it,
  acknowledge that it was wrong, and work to
  regain public trust and his own self‐respect?
  On
  the
  other
  hand,
  perhaps
  nothing
  is
  unforgivable.
  In
  a
  universe
  filled
  with
  impossible
  feats
  of
  physical
  prowess
  —
  a
  universe where heroes shove planets around
  and
  reset
  the
  cosmos
  by
  punching
  the
  space/time continuum — perhaps the ultimate
  act
  of
  heroism
  is
  earning,
  or
  granting,
  forgiveness for the ultimate crime.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 5
  Strength 4
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 10
  Stamina 14
  Specialties
  Pilot Expert
  Powers
  Energy Control: Force 10
  Flight 10
  Force Field 10
  Qualities
  Without Fear?
  I Can Do Anything I Imagine
  Unrepentant
  FORCE OF NATURE
  “For I am Wood‐Rue, grief and rage of
  the
  wilderness
  ...
  and
  the
  veldt
  speaks through me, and through me is
  the will of the jungle known. See ...
  see the revenge of the grass! You
  have declared bitter and undeclared
  war upon the Green, gutting the rain
  forests, mile after mile, day after
  day ... but know this! The war has
  come
  home!
  It
  is
  Man's
  turn
  to
  embrace the scythe!”
  The
  Force
  of
  Nature
  is
  too
  powerful
  for
  physical confrontation. You can only avoid her,
  trick her, and clean up the destruction left in
  her wake.
  EXAMPLES: Celestials, Juggernaut vs. Spider‐
  Man
  (Marvel);
  Floronic
  Man
  (DC);
  Godzilla
  (comics and film)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Embodiment,
  Master of the Elements, Cosmic Menace
  ABILITIES: While the Force of Nature can
  have Element Control, that’s less important
  than the fact that the Force of Nature is not
  punchable.
  This
  may
  be
  because
  she
  is
  impervious to all harm (such as the Juggernaut
  in his memorable encounter with Spider‐Man),
  because she is too vast in scale (Godzilla, at
  least
  when
  opposed
  by
  mundane
  military
  forces), or because she has no physical body at
  all. At superheroic scale, it takes a lot to make
  a foe too powerful to be punched, so the Force
  of Nature often turns out to be a Cosmic
  Menace like the Celestials or Eon the Living
  Planet (Marvel seems to dominate the Force of
  Nature
  market,
  perhaps
  due
  to
  its
  long
  tradition
  of
  monster‐comics).
  A
  Force
  of
  Nature
  doesn't
  have
  to
  be
  that
  grand,
  however; a simple strongman who shrugs off
  punches can be a Force of Nature to a hero
  without superhuman powers.
  The
  Force
  of
  Nature
  has
  one
  very
  high
  Attribute, but little need for the others. She is
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  beyond specialties. Indeed, she may be beyond
  Abilities entirely! By definition, a Force of
  Nature is off the scale of superheroic violence
  and
  cannot
  be
  defeated
  by
  reducing
  her
  Stamina to 0. She is immune even to the wrath
  of a demigod with Strength 10. So feel free to
  throw her numbers out the window and rely
  entirely on qualities.
  QUALITIES: As a GM you will activate the
  Force
  of
  Nature’s
  qualities
  to
  create
  environmental hazards, to put innocent people
  in danger, and to allow the Force of Nature to
  ignore whatever physical attacks the heroes
  throw at her. Her single‐minded motivation
  might also be represented by a Quality, which
  helps guide her actions during play. Whenever
  you are introducing an antagonist who cannot
  be defeated in traditional ways (the Imp is
  another example), you will need to consider
  how the story will end. Will the Force of
  Nature simply depart? Players seldom find this
  satisfying, so instead it’s common to find a
  way
  to
  trick
  the
  Force
  of
  Nature
  into
  abandoning its mission. Sometimes she can be
  lured out to sea, hurled into space, or sent to
  another dimension; while she can survive all
  these harsh environments unscathed, she is
  stuck there until a future session when plot
  and good fortune allows her escape.
  Don’t forget that the Force of Nature can be
  an actual force of nature: a tornado, massive
  flood,
  earthquake,
  or
  volcano.
  Such
  environmental
  antagonists
  don’t
  need
  numbers, only a few qualities. The earthquake
  that kills Lois Lane at the end of the first
  Superman film is an example of this kind of
  foe. Superman is, of course, powerful enough
  to stop an earthquake and (at least in this
  picture) even capable of going back in time to
  change history, but his inability to save Lois
  echoes Pa Kent's death. Clark’s realization
  that “Even with all my powers, I couldn’t save
  him” reveals the footprint of the Force of
  Nature. In our century, when global warming
  and
  catastrophic
  climate
  change
  are
  increasingly present dangers, the Force of
  Nature may no longer need to be an allegory.
  Its literal form has all the power and relevance
  it needs.
  STORIES:
  Man
  Against
  Nature
  has
  traditionally been one of the oldest plots in
  storytelling.
  It
  is
  distinguished
  from
  “Man
  Against
  Man”
  because
  Man
  is
  puny
  and
  insignificant in the face of an implacable
  Nature. There is nothing to punch, shoot, or
  even argue with. Nature does not care about
  the plight of Man. But Man Against Nature is
  still physical and external; this distinguishes it
  from “Man Against Himself.” The ideal Force
  of Nature story keeps the heroes running,
  flying, and swimming, using their powers and
  all their resources, but in unexpected ways.
  First,
  the
  Force
  must
  be
  identified
  and
  understood. Often, it is buried, submerged, or
  far off in space. Early warning signs cause low‐
  level destruction which the heroes can handle
  relatively easily, but which hint at the grand
  scale which lies in wait. Once the Force is seen
  or identified, its path predicted, the story
  changes to one of evacuation and preparation.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Innocent civilians must get out of the way.
  Barriers,
  physical
  or
  otherwise,
  may
  be
  erected, but prove useless. It may be possible
  to lure the Force to an unoccupied wilderness.
  Eventually, the Force arrives and the heroes
  have their hands full with damage control.
  There are collapsing buildings to intercept,
  falling journalists to catch, jet planes and
  helicopters to bring in for a landing, floods to
  direct, and a great many bystanders trapped
  under rubble, in their cars, or separated from
  their pets. Because this is a superhero story,
  victory is still possible, usually by out‐thinking
  the Force. She is tricked into departing or
  revealing her weakness and, like a dragon
  missing a scale over her heart, she can be
  defeated with a single blow at the right
  moment.
  As mentioned earlier, because the Force of
  Nature depends so much on the hero she
  opposes, it's very common for a villain who
  normally fills some other archetype to briefly
  become a Force of Nature just for one story.
  Alan Moore’s tale of the Floronic Man is a good
  example.
  As
  a
  rule,
  Jason
  Woodrow
  is
  eminently punchable. But for that story he
  becomes a Force of Nature that controls every
  growing thing on Earth. He cannot be defeated
  physically; he can only be convinced of his
  error and separated from the source of his
  incredible powers.
  Heroes who come into contact with nature are
  most likely to encounter the Force of Nature.
  For
  example,
  she
  makes
  an
  excellent
  occasional antagonist for the Undersea Hero,
  the
  Animal
  Hero,
  and
  the
  Jungle
  Hero.
  Ultimate
  Heroes,
  Embodiments,
  and
  other
  characters whose powers are “off the scale”
  get to tackle Forces of Nature on a regular
  basis, since few other antagonists can really
  challenge them. But because the Force of
  Nature
  can
  be
  frustrating
  to
  players
  and
  readers alike, she is otherwise rare. This is
  actually a good thing because, if the tale of
  the Force of Nature was common, her novelty
  as an unpunchable antagonist would be lost.
  The Force of Nature is similar to, but distinct
  from, the related Master of the Mindscape, of
  which Marvel’s Nightmare is a good example.
  The Mindscape Villain brings the hero (and
  often
  an
  innocent
  victim)
  into
  another
  dimension,
  dream
  world,
  or
  other
  pocket
  reality where the Villain reigns supreme. Like
  the Force of Nature, he is unpunchable and he
  cannot
  be
  physically
  defeated
  in
  the
  Mindscape, but the world works according to
  hidden laws which he too must abide by. If the
  heroes can figure out these rules, they can use
  them to their advantage and escape.
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 3
  Strength 3
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 8
  Specialties
  Medicine
  Science
  Powers
  Plant Control* 8 (Affliction, Binding, Blast,
  Plant Growth)
  Qualities
  Voice of the Green
  Delusional
  Botanist
  *The Plant Control power is fully described in
  the Great Power supplement for ICONS.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  FOREIGNER
  “My armor was created with but one
  thought in mind… to be able to smash
  Iron Man! And once the world knows
  that
  I
  have
  defeated
  democracy’s
  greatest fighter, I shall be undisputed
  master of the Communist world!”
  ~ Titanium Man
  The Foreigner is most notable for the fact that
  he is from a non‐Western country. He is the
  villainous counterpart to the heroic Minority
  Hero.
  AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Foreigner is one of
  the most problematic archetypes in this book
  (beat only by the misogynistic Temptress), and
  by “problematic” I mean: “based on racial and
  national
  caricatures
  both
  backwards
  and
  grossly offensive.” The Asian mastermind, the
  savage African, the Arab fanatic, and the
  Communist
  Who
  Hates
  America
  are
  stereotypes best left in the dustbin of history.
  And yet, for decades, they proliferated across
  superhero
  comics.
  The
  Communist,
  in
  particular,
  was
  a
  Marvel
  staple.
  Shall
  we
  ignore this in favor of progressive politics?
  The writers of superhero comics and film
  certainly haven’t. Instead, good writers and
  editors have acknowledged the troubled past
  of
  the
  Foreigner
  and
  exposed
  it.
  Chris
  Claremont
  introduced
  a
  host
  of
  foreign
  characters in his long run on X‐Men, men and
  women who first battled the heroes before
  eventually joining them, and as often as not
  these brawls were the fault of the X‐Men.
  Modern stories of the Foreigner often hinge on
  Americans
  making
  false
  assumptions
  about
  foreign
  “enemies.”
  Iron
  Man
  3
  is
  an
  outstanding
  recent
  example;
  there
  (SPOILERS!), the handsome, blonde, and very
  white Aldrich Killian uses American fears of
  the foreign to create a fictional arch‐villain
  that
  combines
  the
  Yellow
  Peril
  and
  Arab
  Fanatic.
  The politics of superhero comics have come a
  long way. If we can stand to acknowledge our
  troubled beginnings and not ignore them, that
  journey
  is
  made
  both
  easier
  and
  more
  permanent.
  EXAMPLES: Yellow Claw, Crimson Dynamo,
  Bushman (Marvel); Ra’s al Ghul (DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Supremacist,
  Nazi, Conqueror
  ABILITIES AND QUALITIES: The Foreigner
  archetype is really made up of a host of lesser
  archetypes, each based on a particular nation
  or racial group. Each of these has its own
  traditional powers and other traits. The Asian
  Yellow Peril, for example, is brilliant, with a
  high
  Intellect
  and
  Awareness
  paired
  with
  specializations
  in
  both
  Medicine
  and
  the
  Occult.
  He
  wields
  poison
  and
  a
  strange,
  hypnotic sorcery. He is served by a seductive
  daughter who falls in love with the hero, a
  diminutive servant he refers to as a “dwarf,”
  and a legion of Faceless Minions, often Ninja,
  Tong, or Yakuza. His lair is filled with deadly
  traps and a menagerie of lethal animals and
  insects. For an insightful look into the origin of
  the
  Yellow
  Peril
  and
  its
  archetypal
  representative Fu Manchu, see Jess Nevins’
  book Gods and Monsters, annotations on Alan
  Moore’s
  original
  League
  of
  Extraordinary
  Gentlemen.
  Following
  the
  introduction
  of
  martial arts to American culture, the Yellow
  Peril gained a rival Asian stereotype, the
  Modern Samurai or Ninja. These are relatively
  sympathetic characters with a personal code
  of warrior honor and fighting skills that they
  are willing to teach to the right white man.
  The Modern Samurai has a Yellow Peril as his
  enemy and, when these two battle, the story
  becomes a conflict between old nationalistic
  stereotypes and new ones.
  The Savage African is a physically powerful
  but brutish black man from the jungle, heir to
  ugly stereotypes seen in Tarzan’s novels as
  well as in Great White Hunter books like King
  Solomon’s Mines. He wields a machete, spear,
  knife,
  or
  rifle;
  his
  wardrobe
  includes
  bandoliers
  and
  war‐paint,
  but
  a
  shirt
  is
  optional. The primitive savagery which is his
  namesake
  makes
  him
  a
  dangerous
  and
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  bloodthirsty opponent, skilled in hunting and
  ambush tactics as well as a stand‐up fight; but
  he isn't very intelligent. It was specifically this
  stereotype that Kirby and Lee’s Black Panther
  inverted, with the Panther hailing from a
  wealthy, cultured, technologically advanced
  society. As with duels between the Yellow
  Peril and the Modern Samurai, progressive
  black heroes like the Panther are often forced
  to confront Savage Africans who harken back
  to
  painful
  caricatures.
  When
  a
  modern
  Minority Hero triumphs against the Savage
  African,
  he
  is
  punching
  out
  the
  racist
  stereotype the hero was created to destroy.
  The
  Communist
  Who
  Hates
  America
  is
  distinguished from other Foreigners because
  he is white; this whiteness allows him to
  masquerade among white Americans and be a
  secret
  agent
  of
  communist
  revolution.
  He
  considers
  Americans
  weak
  and
  decadent
  thanks
  to
  the
  corrupting
  influence
  of
  capitalism,
  a
  capitalism
  he
  will
  overturn
  through subtle schemes and a mass uprising.
  The end of the Cold War meant the end of
  the
  Communist
  villain,
  though
  Western
  understanding of Eastern European history
  and culture has been so poor that
  villains
  continue
  to
  wear
  communist symbols like the
  hammer
  and
  sickle,
  simply
  because
  writers
  and
  artists
  don’t know what to replace
  them
  with.
  Like
  other
  Foreigners, the Communist has mellowed
  with
  time
  and
  become
  more
  sympathetic. Now he is the Cold War
  Relic, a proud veteran of a Soviet
  Union that no longer exists. Social and
  economic upheaval in Eastern Europe is
  reflected
  in
  Foreigners
  from
  that
  region: the Communist villain now has
  descendants
  —
  actual
  sons
  and
  daughters or simply young people
  who adopt the older villain’s code
  name — who must decide on a
  guiding
  principle
  now
  that
  the
  Soviet Union is no more. Some
  turn
  to
  organized
  crime
  and
  unrepentant capitalism. Others
  try to reconstruct a Russian
  empire.
  The Arab Fanatic is a comparatively new
  Foreigner archetype; before the events of
  9/11, Arab villains were more likely to ride
  flying carpets and command genies than call
  for global jihad. America’s long wars in Iraq
  and Afghanistan have spawned countless films
  and
  television
  episodes
  starring
  terrorist
  sleeper cells hatching elaborate plots against
  the US. This double nature highlights the
  danger posed by Arab Fanatic infiltrators who
  could be anywhere. When he is not sitting with
  his compatriots around a kitchen table in the
  Bronx dressed in Levi’s and a flannel shirt, the
  Arab Fanatic lives in a cave and wears tribal
  clothing, headgear, and a beard. His religious
  observations are frequent and punctual. He
  cites Allah and the Koran. His powers are
  explosive
  and
  probably
  self‐destructive
  because he and his masters care nothing for
  human life, especially his own. Sadly, and
  unlike
  other
  Foreigners,
  American
  culture
  hasn’t yet come up with a more progressive re‐
  make of the Arab Fanatic. Communists, Yellow
  Perils
  and
  even
  Savage
  Africans
  are
  increasingly archaic and embarrassing, but
  the
  Arab
  Fanatic
  remains
  vibrant
  and
  unopposed.
  STORIES: Foreigners are united in their
  nationalism; they believe their country’s
  culture (often mixed with government
  and faith) is superior to the West. In
  this, they are a kind of Supremacist,
  though that archetype has a racial
  emphasis
  which
  is
  not
  always
  appropriate
  for
  the
  (occasionally
  white) Foreigner. This nationalism
  allows them to rationalize crimes against
  inferior Americans, up to and including
  mass murder. Some Foreigners wish to
  take over America and convert it to the
  Foreigner’s political or religious ideal;
  this makes them Conquerors.
  More
  enlightened
  and
  sympathetic
  Foreigners,
  the
  type
  who
  are
  revealed to be heroes, aren’t trying
  to conquer America. They’re trying
  to
  defend
  their
  culture
  from
  America which, after all, is in
  the business of exporting its
  culture to the rest of the
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  world. These Foreigners see America as a kind
  of invasive army, covering the world in fast
  food restaurants, parking malls, and selfies.
  The
  Foreigner
  does
  not
  see
  this
  as
  an
  improvement,
  and
  after
  a
  ritual
  bout
  of
  fisticuffs he can usually persuade heroes to his
  point of view. Many beloved Foreign heroes
  debuted in this way, perceived as villains
  when first encountered by American super‐
  heroes
  but
  eventually
  revealed
  to
  be
  honorable
  and
  patriotic
  people
  who
  just
  happened to be from another country. Black
  Panther and Sunfire both made the transition
  from Foreigner to Minority Hero like this.
  When he comes to America, the Foreigner tries
  to appeal to members of his ethnic group who
  already live in the US. He either recruits them
  as minions or he alienates them and they
  become allies of the hero. When he confronts
  the hero in America, the Foreigner loses, but
  he survives and flees to his nation, where he
  enjoys home field advantage. To truly defeat
  his foe, the hero must follow the Foreigner
  and become a stranger in a strange land.
  There, he will be bereft of his usual allies and
  resources.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 5
  Strength 9
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 13
  Specialties
  Military
  Powers
  Binding 8
  Blast 8
  Damage Resistance 9
  Flight 8
  Qualities
  KGB Officer
  Armor Based On Stolen American Designs
  The Revolution is Inevitable!
  GIRLFRIEND GONE
  BAD
  “You found me beautiful once.”
  “Honey, you got real ugly.”
  ~ Sheila and Ash
  It’s
  rough
  to
  be
  a
  superhero’s
  Significant
  Other.
  EXAMPLES: Star Sapphire, Power Boy (DC);
  Madame Masque, Hank Pym (Marvel); G‐Girl
  (film: My Super Ex‐Girlfriend)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Nemesis, Wolf in
  Sheep’s Clothing, Kid Playing with Fire
  ABILITIES: Because the Girlfriend Gone Bad
  focuses her attention on a particular hero, she
  is
  also
  a
  Nemesis,
  and
  the
  advice
  for
  “Reflection” villains on page 186 of ICONS
  Assembled Edition is a good place to start.
  She needs to have powers which challenge her
  romantic interest, and those powers may have
  a unifying theme which is in opposition to his.
  The
  Girlfriend’s
  powers
  are
  probably
  temporary, perhaps a device given to her by a
  Mastermind or derived from the experiments
  of some Twisted Genius. Her Attributes also
  change when she gains her powers, so that she
  gains Prowess, Strength, and Willpower but
  loses Intellect. Whatever specializations she
  had
  as
  a
  mundane
  human
  are
  probably
  irrelevant to her superhuman form.
  QUALITIES: If the Girlfriend’s love is sincere,
  she has a Quality that represents it. This
  Quality can then be activated by the hero as
  he attempts to calm his beloved or return her
  to sanity. But if her love was a sham and she
  has been wicked all along, then this too is a
  Quality which she will activate in order to beat
  the hero senseless.
  Like the Temptress, this archetype tends to
  have
  a
  gendered
  bias,
  presenting
  various
  incarnations
  of
  “the
  bad
  girlfriend”.
  For
  example, Betty Ross was actually married to
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  one of Bruce Banner’s rivals when she was
  transformed into “the Harpy,” a derogatory
  term for a nagging wife. When the Girlfriend
  goes bad, she loses the stereotypical markers
  of
  her
  femininity:
  her
  beauty
  and
  her
  willingness to submit to whatever her heroic
  boyfriend wants. Again, to illustrate, as the
  Harpy, Betty was not just hideous, she was
  also aggressive and violent. As the years have
  passed, however, and as standards of physical
  beauty and femininity have been redefined, it
  has
  become
  more
  acceptable
  for
  super‐
  girlfriends to remain good and not bad (see
  Red She‐Hulk and Star Sapphire, for example).
  The male version of the Girlfriend Gone Bad is
  rarer
  only
  because
  female
  superheroes
  in
  general are rare and those that do exist aren't
  always allowed to have romantic interests.
  Nothing prevents boyfriends from going bad,
  however, as Henry Pym has demonstrated.
  When Boyfriends go bad, they do not swap
  gender characteristics in the same way
  female heroes do; a female character
  becomes strong and aggressive, but a
  male
  hero
  who
  suddenly
  acted
  feminine
  would
  evoke
  public
  ridicule rather than superheroic
  action. Instead, his masculinity
  is
  turned
  to
  sexual
  aggression. This is not unique
  to Boyfriends, it’s just more
  obvious.
  While
  the
  Girlfriend
  Gone Bad is an overt physical
  challenge, her sexual dominance
  also covertly challenges feminine
  gender roles. The Boyfriend Gone
  Bad wears his sexual aggression on
  the outside, bullying his partner
  or threatening her with assault or
  rape, and for this he is justly
  punished.
  A
  Girlfriend
  who
  starts good but goes bad can
  be forgiven, especially as our
  perception
  of
  gender
  roles
  matures, but a Boyfriend who
  goes
  bad
  can
  only
  be
  rehabilitated by many long
  years and a helpful retcon.
  His crimes are too intimate
  for absolution.
  STORIES: Long‐term relationships are rare
  for
  superheroes.
  While
  they
  occasionally
  marry, this is the exception and not the rule,
  and it is still far more common for a male hero
  to have a long series of female romantic
  interests. The Girlfriend Gone Bad plot has
  usually functioned as a narrative tool; a way to
  remove the hero’s current girlfriend and make
  way for the next. It illustrated how dangerous
  it was for the hero to have romantic partners
  at
  all,
  since
  they
  inevitably
  turned
  into
  monsters and made his life miserable. This was
  also a way for Masterminds to threaten the
  hero, planting a spy in the hero’s bed. (This
  makes
  the
  Girlfriend
  a
  Wolf
  in
  Sheep’s
  Clothing.) In the past, Girlfriends who went
  bad either died or swiftly lost their powers and
  returned to their usual submissive selves; but
  in our more progressive era, the Girlfriend
  Gone Bad can keep her powers and become a
  hero in her own right, like the Kid Playing with
  Fire. The phrase “super‐couple” has entered
  the public vocabulary, and comics and film
  are
  increasingly
  willing
  to
  depict
  superheroes in stable, healthy, long‐term
  relationships.
  This
  has
  transformed
  the
  Girlfriend Gone Bad story from a narrative
  device
  that
  “clears
  the
  deck”
  to
  an
  empowering
  plot
  that
  gives
  female
  characters both powers and a voice.
  When
  the
  Girlfriend
  Gone
  Bad
  is
  operating out of a perverted sense of
  good, she thinks that she can live
  happily ever after with her man if only
  she could scare him into retirement.
  Alternately, she is trying to stand up
  to her boyfriend in an effort to be
  taken seriously. She may be the
  target of outside influences, like
  a
  Mastermind’s
  brainwashing
  or possession by the Devil,
  and if the pair can blame the
  Girlfriend’s recent behavior
  on a Dominator or Tempter,
  their differences are more easily
  patched up. More tragically, she
  suffers from childhood trauma or
  psychological
  problems.
  Some
  villains,
  just
  to
  flaunt
  their
  power over a hero, will turn a
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  loved one into a Girlfriend Gone Bad so that
  the hero may die at the hand of his beloved.
  Ah, the twisted irony of the truly evil! This
  usually backfires.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 3
  Strength 6
  Intellect 3
  Awareness 3
  Willpower 4
  Stamina 10
  Specialties
  Occult
  Powers
  Damage Resistance 5
  Flight 3
  Qualities
  Dead Already
  Claws and Teeth
  Horrifying
  GLADIATOR
  “For years the Spider has thwarted
  me. Mocked me. Humiliated me. In the
  beginning, I was naive. I thought he
  was a man. But he couldn’t possibly
  be a man. No man could do to Kraven
  what the Spider has. No man. So
  black. So beautiful. You exist to test
  me,
  don’t
  you?
  To
  taunt
  and
  challenge me? And I cannot rest until I
  have
  proven
  myself.
  Until
  I
  have
  destroyed you.”
  ~ Kraven’s Last Hunt
  The Gladiator lives to test herself against
  superhuman foes.
  EXAMPLES: Kraven the Hunter (Marvel); Lady
  Shiva (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Assassin, Nemesis
  ABILITIES: The Gladiator has dedicated her
  life to testing her Prowess against others in
  order
  to
  become
  as
  skilled
  a
  fighter
  as
  possible, so this Attribute will be high. The
  Martial Arts or Weapons specializations make
  her even more dangerous. In fact, she is
  probably a better fighter than the hero she
  challenges.
  If
  it
  were
  not
  for
  his
  Determination, she would defeat him.
  But if the Gladiator had overwhelming power,
  her victories would be cheap and meaningless,
  so her talents are highly focused. There’s
  really only one thing she does well, and she is
  unlikely to have many other abilities, besides
  perhaps
  modest
  Invulnerability,
  some
  Fast
  Attack, and similar powers which make her a
  more
  dangerous
  hand‐to‐hand
  fighter.
  Her
  Awareness, Willpower, and Coordination are
  all good, and her Strength is equal or superior
  to her heroic rival.
  QUALITIES: Why is the Gladiator obsessed
  with battle? Is she defending her title against
  the best the Earth has to offer, like the
  Champion in Marvel Two‐in‐One? It could be a
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  spiritual quest, or just a way to rationalize her
  life of crime. Perhaps she is struggling to
  overcome deep‐seated feelings of inferiority.
  She may see battle as the only activity worth
  pursuing, be a Woman Warrior out to prove
  herself the equal of any man, or a Master of
  the Martial Arts who wants to prove that her
  fighting style is superior to all others. She may
  be a “Most Dangerous Game” character who
  has defeated all lesser foes and now sets her
  sights
  on
  superheroes,
  the
  only
  challenge
  which remains to her.
  Heroes who learned their crimefighting skills
  from reclusive masters — be they Tibetan
  martial artists or sorcerers supreme — often
  end up supplanting the master’s original, elder
  student
  who
  is
  revealed
  to
  be
  of
  poor
  character.
  Such
  displaced
  students
  make
  excellent Gladiators. If a
  Gladiator doesn’t start
  out with a rivalry, she
  is likely to acquire one
  as soon as a hero defeats
  her.
  Since
  she
  has
  never
  before been humbled in battle,
  she is now eager for a rematch, and
  will seek the hero out, typically
  ambushing him when he is in the
  middle of some other adventure.
  The
  Gladiator
  often
  comes
  from
  a
  particular style or school of martial arts,
  which she invokes at key moments in
  the battle to perform special moves. If
  she is a champion with a fighting title
  that she is defending, she wears the belt
  that
  represents
  that
  title,
  and
  this,
  along with her school and special moves,
  are qualities that can be activated by the
  GM and players alike.
  STORIES:
  Obviously,
  the
  duel
  is
  the
  recurring Gladiator story. The challenge for
  GMs
  is
  to
  keep
  the
  recurring
  duel
  interesting. After all, if the hero defeats
  the
  Gladiator
  in
  their
  first
  encounter,
  setting up the rivalry that makes her a
  recurring foe, why should the outcome next
  time be any different? This is solved by
  giving
  the
  Gladiator
  new
  weapons
  or
  tactics each time. The terrain varies, though it
  is always dangerous, in order to keep the duel
  exciting. She may seek out super powers of her
  own to level the playing field, or develop
  special weapons just to thwart her rival. This
  makes her a Nemesis.
  One trick to developing a recurring nemesis
  like this is to give the Gladiator new offensive
  tricks rather than defensive ones. A villain
  with a strong defense but poor offense takes a
  very long time to defeat but never really poses
  much of a threat. That’s boring. But a villain
  with a powerful offense poses a danger right
  away, and few players complain about a short
  battle as long as the fighting is intense. If
  you’re worried about your Gladiator staying on
  her feet long enough to pose a challenge,
  increase
  her
  Stamina
  rather
  than
  her
  Invulnerability. If the hero isn’t alone, she will
  need
  minions
  or
  a
  distraction
  to
  separate her target
  from his allies. She
  may join a villain team just
  for the chance of a rematch,
  or she may ambush the hero when
  he’s in the middle of a fight and his
  teammates are too busy to help.
  If the hero can prove his worth to the
  Gladiator, she may become his ally or
  even his mentor. Gladiators like this
  were never truly evil in the first place;
  they live outside the law, abiding by a
  warrior code that few understand. The
  Gladiator may even have attacked the
  hero specifically to test him as a potential
  student! Heroes who fail this test have a lot
  of personal growing up to do; heroes who
  pass
  begin
  instruction
  in
  the
  Gladiator's
  secret fighting style.
  Other Gladiators have no such altruistic
  thoughts. They probably work as Assassins
  when they can’t find a worthy foe. Their
  hearts aren't in this work, but it pays the
  bills
  and
  allows
  the
  Gladiator
  to
  stumble across heroes who are worth
  her
  time.
  When
  this
  happens,
  her
  employer, a Crime Boss or Mastermind,
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  orders her to stop hunting the hero because
  she is attracting too much attention. She
  ignores him and renews the fight anyway.
  Abilities
  Prowess 6
  Coordination 6
  Strength 6
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 11
  Specialties
  Athletics Expert
  Investigation Master
  Martial Arts
  Medicine
  Occult
  Stealth Master
  Weapons Expert
  Wrestling Expert
  Powers
  Blast 5 (Rifle)
  Gadgets 7
  Strike 4 (Knife)
  Qualities
  Most Dangerous Gamer
  Herbal Potions
  Proud Lineage
  HEIR TO LOVECRAFT
  “The day you KILLED me, dear Sandy,
  I fell into another WORLD. There are
  dimensions
  beyond
  the
  ones
  we
  PERCEIVE — collectively known as the
  SUBTLE REALMS. And these realms —
  well,
  let’s
  just
  say
  they’re
  INHABITED. Call them ENTITIES, if you
  like. SPIRITS. Things cast aside when
  the maker FORMALIZED his creation.
  They have their OWN god now. A KING
  OF TEARS. And he so DESPERATELY
  wants back into our world.”
  ~ Johnny Sorrow
  The Heir to Lovecraft is a villain who invokes
  the Cthulhu Mythos of HP Lovecraft and other
  writers.
  EXAMPLES: Rasputin (Hellboy comics and
  film);
  the
  Revengers,
  Modred
  the
  Mystic
  (Marvel); Johnny Sorrow (DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Cult
  Leader,
  Servitor, Cosmic Menace
  ABILITIES: The Cthulhu mythos is existential
  horror, and the Heir embodies this genre
  through
  madness,
  alienation,
  body
  transformation,
  and
  Secrets
  Man
  Was
  Not
  Meant to Know. He is unsettling and an object
  of fear. He may wield magic, but this “magic”
  is just as likely to be defined as “science we
  can’t understand”. If he does work spells, he
  can summon the pitiless denizens of other
  worlds, Servitors which need no instruction
  before the thoughtless slaughter of all those
  who happen to be witness. Most of his evil
  work, in fact, is done through servants. This
  kind of Heir has little in the way of direct
  fighting ability.
  The Heir can pass as an ordinary man, but he is
  secretly a monster whose frail fleshly form will
  be
  revealed
  as
  something
  inhuman
  and
  horrifying. Alternately, he was human until his
  confrontation with cosmic truths transformed
  his body as well as his mind. This monstrous
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  nature
  might
  be
  as
  simple
  as
  a
  host
  of
  tentacles erupting from his body, or it might
  be
  something
  more
  bizarre,
  like
  Johnny
  Sorrow’s
  invisible
  but
  deadly
  face.
  He
  is
  probably immortal, either already dead or a
  host for the eldritch entities he serves, and
  this invulnerability is one of his most useful
  powers, allowing him to survive an encounter
  with heroes long enough for his own less direct
  tactics to become a threat.
  For the Heir, intelligence is a curse, not a
  blessing. His Intellect and Willpower are his
  highest attributes, despite the fact that he is
  mad as a hatter. Indeed, it is precisely his
  insanity which makes him virtually immune to
  psychic powers, intimidation, or persuasion of
  any kind. He is specialized in Occult, Mental
  Resistance, and, if he was led to the ghastly
  truth
  through
  the
  study
  of
  the
  mad,
  Psychology.
  QUALITIES: The Heir knows truths which
  man suspects but dare not accept: that we are
  puny, insignificant beings who matter not at
  all on the grand scale of the universe. Rather,
  the cosmos is home to entities we shall never
  understand, who have been here for eons
  untold and who will persist for ages yet to
  come. Utterly alien and vastly superior, they
  are the giants of eternity and we exist only in
  their shadow, not really permitted to live but
  rather alive by the grace of their inattention.
  This knowledge has driven the Heir mad or,
  rather, it has changed him in such a way that
  human society calls him mad, though he may
  in fact be the only sane one on a planet of
  self‐deluding madmen.
  Both a Servitor and a Cult Leader, the Heir has
  learned
  how
  insignificant
  humanity
  is.
  He
  considers himself a superior being because of
  this knowledge, and he will not hesitate to
  sacrifice his followers. But in reality, he is only
  the
  most
  enlightened
  of
  the
  insects;
  his
  masters
  will
  not
  even
  notice
  when
  they
  accidentally crush him.
  Consider how the Heir interacts with
  the
  Mythos.
  Is
  there
  a
  particular
  patron whom he serves, such as Yog‐
  Sothoth,
  Hastur
  the
  Unspeakable,
  Shub‐Niggurath, or Cthulhu himself?
  While much of the Cthulhu Mythos is
  in the public domain and can be used by
  anyone
  (accounting
  for
  some
  of
  its
  popularity in video games, films, and
  comics), it is also common to add to
  the Mythos with the creation of
  new Lovecraftian elements, such
  as the Cancerverse, the King of
  Tears, or the Many‐Angled Ones
  (first seen in Grant Morrison’s
  Zenith).
  STORIES:
  When
  the
  Heir
  to
  Lovecraft appears, he is usually
  trying to find a particular object
  or person which he needs before
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  his non‐Euclidean masters gain egress to our
  world. Alternately, the Heir is trying to free
  his master, who has been imprisoned within a
  mountain, at the bottom of the sea, or in
  space. The heroes must prevent this from
  happening. On rare occasions, the heroes have
  to actually travel to the dimension where the
  Heir's masters dwell, but that place is so alien
  to human beings and so awful that we can
  survive there for only a very short time. In
  comics
  and
  gaming,
  this
  Lovecraftian
  dimension has recently been conflated with
  the
  Kabbalistic
  notion
  of
  the
  Qlippoth
  (“shells”), a universe which existed before our
  own and which is inhabited by the rejected
  detritus which God saw no use for in our, his
  second, creation.
  This shift from existential horror to an “anti‐
  verse” from which (endless and grotesque, but
  highly
  punchable)
  horrors
  crawl
  may
  have
  happened
  because
  Lovecraftian
  horror
  and
  superheroic
  action
  make
  for
  strange
  bedfellows.
  Superheroes
  are
  defined
  by
  power, but the protagonists of Lovecraftian
  horror are generally powerless. Heroes usually
  win; Lovecraft’s heroes see loss as inevitable.
  Super heroes are both important and lauded
  for their good deeds, while the academics,
  scientists, and reclusive artists of Lovecraft’s
  New
  England
  discover
  man’s
  cosmic
  unimportance and die alone and unmourned.
  For all of these reasons, the Heir to Lovecraft
  often ends up looking a lot like a traditional
  super villain, at least until his masters arrive.
  Until that moment, the heroes have plenty of
  opportunities to fry tentacular horrors with
  their heat vision.
  In fact, superhero stories argue very strongly
  against the cosmic truths that lie at the heart
  of Lovecraftian fiction. Superman and Captain
  America insist that our struggles are important
  and the weakest of us are the most cherished.
  Spider‐Man and Batman demonstrate that it is
  within our power as human beings to make the
  world
  a
  better
  place,
  that
  this
  is
  a
  responsibility we must embrace. And while
  Lovecraftian
  horror
  and
  superhero
  fiction
  agree that the universe is strange and, in many
  ways, beyond human understanding, the Heir
  to Lovecraft sees that as horrifying while the
  superhero
  embraces
  it
  as
  “Amazing,”
  “Incredible,”
  and
  “Uncanny.”
  When
  superheroes
  triumph
  over
  the
  Heir
  to
  Lovecraft, they're not just expressing how they
  see the world, they're validating their genre.
  Save your Heir to Lovecraft for big events, the
  equivalent of a summer crossover or giant‐size
  annual.
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 4
  Strength 3
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 11
  Specialties
  Occult
  Performance
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Mental Blast 10
  Qualities
  Servant of Otherworldly Beings
  Consumed By Need for Revenge
  Promises of Power
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  HERO IN DISGUISE
  “Another
  challenge
  for
  the
  Green
  Hornet,
  his
  aide
  Kato,
  and
  their
  rolling arsenal, the Black Beauty. On
  police
  records
  a
  wanted
  criminal,
  Green
  Hornet
  is
  really
  Brit
  Reid,
  owner‐publisher of the Daily Sentinel,
  his dual identity known only to his
  secretary and the District Attorney.
  And now, to protect the rights and
  lives of decent citizens, rides THE
  GREEN HORNET!”
  The Hero in Disguise pretends to be a villain in
  order to infiltrate the criminal world and take
  it down from the inside.
  EXAMPLES: The Green Hornet (TV and film);
  the Shroud (Marvel); Batman at the end of
  Nolan’s The Dark Knight
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Dark Avenger,
  Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
  ABILITIES:
  Because
  the
  Hero
  in
  Disguise is an underdog and covert
  agent, she traditionally has no (or
  only one) actual super power and
  instead
  relies
  on
  intellect,
  training, and fighting skills. She
  is
  probably
  a
  Dark
  Avenger,
  Weapon Master, or Master of the
  Martial Arts, all heroic archetypes
  with long pedigrees. Her Attributes are
  good but not above 6 (so she retains
  maximum
  Determination),
  and
  what
  powers she does have listed on her
  sheet come from devices or mundane
  equipment. Her specialties are Athletics,
  Martial Arts, Stealth and Weapons.
  But there’s nothing that requires all this
  to be true. A hero with more fantastic
  powers can still wage war on crime from
  within,
  though
  there
  are
  additional
  challenges.
  If
  the
  hero’s
  powers
  are
  visually distinctive, she may have to take
  additional
  steps
  to
  keep
  from
  being
  recognized. Heroes who choose to temporarily
  masquerade as villains are often obliged to
  forgo the use of one or more of their powers,
  exchanging
  them
  for
  devices
  or
  weaponry
  designed just for the occasion. This can be a
  good opportunity for a player to experiment
  with her character for a session or two, before
  returning to the hero's usual attributes.
  QUALITIES: It is important to note that the
  Hero in Disguise is not simply a villain with
  morals. That is, many villains and criminals
  have personal codes or ethical lines they will
  not cross. They may even be “good people”
  and empathetic. None of this makes them
  Heroes in Disguise. For that, a protagonist
  must conduct a war on crime, and her chosen
  strategy is to pose as a criminal in order to
  avoid suspicion, to earn the trust of criminals,
  and to take them down “from the inside.”
  The defining trait of this archetype is the
  disguise itself, which must be maintained at
  all
  costs.
  By
  choosing
  this
  particular tactic to fight crime,
  the Hero in Disguise has set
  herself up for confrontations
  with other heroes who
  perceive her only as a
  criminal. She will have to
  lie to virtually everyone
  around her. She will be
  obliged
  to
  perform
  criminal acts to prove her
  criminal
  bona
  fides,
  usually up to and including
  murder, and figuring a way out of
  these situations is the bread and
  butter of her story. Throughout these
  scenes, the qualities which define her
  disguise, her reason for adopting it, and
  the consequences that follow from it
  will get constant play.
  The Hero in Disguise may require an ally on
  the
  “outside,”
  perhaps
  someone
  providing
  technical or logistic support. He may be a law
  enforcement agent that can help redirect or
  distract the cops when the Hero needs to get
  away.
  Heroes
  may
  have
  a
  lair
  or
  headquarters from which they mastermind
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  their war on crime, though the necessities of
  the
  disguise
  may
  require
  that
  this
  “headquarters”
  be
  mobile
  and
  concealed,
  perhaps a tractor‐trailer rig or submersible.
  STORIES: The Hero in Disguise is something
  of a solo act, though it can be made a group
  activity if you’re willing to shape the entire
  campaign around it. If everyone is playing a
  criminal, a Hero in Disguise fits right in.
  Alternately, an entire team of heroes can
  adopt
  villain
  identities
  (a
  “Reverse
  Thunderbolt”)
  in
  order
  to
  track
  down
  a
  mysterious
  enemy,
  infiltrate
  a
  large
  organization, or shake off pursuit by an enemy
  who knows them only in their heroic personas.
  Players are most likely to encounter the Hero
  in
  Disguise
  as
  an
  NPC
  antagonist
  who
  is
  secretly on their side, but who cannot reveal
  her
  true
  allegiance.
  In
  these
  stories,
  the
  heroes are after a Crime Boss or Mastermind
  and the Hero in Disguise is either one of that
  villain's lieutenants or is perceived as a rival
  villain seeking to “horn in” on the territory.
  For this story to have the most dramatic
  frisson, the PCs also interact with the Hero in
  Disguise in her civilian identity, where she is a
  trusted friend, law enforcement officer, or
  romantic
  interest.
  She
  knows
  the
  hero’s
  identity and personal life, and in fact may
  have infiltrated the heroic circle for strategic
  reasons, though she probably feels guilty about
  lying to her super‐friends. The “villain” is only
  revealed to be a hero in preparation for the
  climactic confrontation with the Crime Boss,
  when the PCs must be persuaded to stop their
  obsessive fixation on catching the Hero in
  Disguise or to let her go after her capture.
  Instead, they must all work together, even as
  the other heroes are angry and alienated by
  the HID’s long deception. The denouement of
  this story forces the Hero in Disguise to choose
  between giving up her deception and joining
  the ranks of the “real heroes,” or ascending
  the criminal ladder to replace the Crime Boss.
  She typically chooses the latter, using her new
  influence among criminals to wage a more
  effective war.
  Some heroes are accused of being criminals by
  the media (“Spider‐Man’s a menace!”), law
  enforcement,
  or
  civilians
  with
  a
  hidden
  agenda. This presents an opportunity for the
  hero to prove the media right and actually act
  like
  a
  villain,
  again
  in
  order
  to
  catch
  a
  particularly
  mysterious,
  reclusive,
  or
  well‐
  protected foe. This is one of the easiest ways
  to use the Hero in Disguise, because the hero
  does not actually need a disguise. She is,
  instead, using her reputation as a criminal to
  her own advantage. This is especially easy for
  new heroes or those who have recently been
  accused of a terrible crime they did not
  commit; well‐established heroes, even those
  hated by the press, are unlikely to convince
  criminals they have in fact been bad guys all
  along without a complete change of identity.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 6
  Strength 4
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 9
  Specialties
  Business
  Investigation
  Stealth
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 5 (Knockout gas)
  Qualities
  Asian Sidekick/Chauffeur
  She’s a Black Beauty
  City Newspaper
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  IMP
  “You got that clear now, m’man?”
  “Yes!
  Multiplicity
  results
  in
  incompleteness!
  Incompleteness
  results
  in
  desire!
  Desire
  may
  be
  sated, but someone must pay! Cash is
  for paying! Cash stands for gold, of
  which
  there
  is
  not
  enough!
  I
  understand!”
  ~ Luke Cage and the Beyonder, shortly
  before the Heroes for Hire building is
  turned to solid gold.
  The Imp has fantastic powers which he uses
  for his own childish amusement.
  EXAMPLES: Mr. Myxzptlyk (DC); Impossible
  Man, the Beyonder (Marvel)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Cosmic Menace
  ABILITIES: There is nothing the Imp cannot
  do. Whatever he wishes becomes reality. This
  is better represented by a Quality than by any
  ICONS
  super‐power;
  see
  Other
  qualities,
  below.
  The Imp does, however, have a body and it is
  not inappropriate to give him Attributes. He is
  probably
  ignorant
  of
  human
  ways,
  scatterbrained, and naive, so his Intellect,
  Awareness, and Willpower will be average at
  best. He has no need for physical power or
  fighting skill because his every wish comes
  true.
  Heroes
  triumph
  against
  the
  Imp
  by
  outsmarting
  him
  or
  tricking
  him.
  He
  is,
  however, quick, so Coordination is his best
  Attribute.
  QUALITIES: The Imp’s power, however it is
  explained, is represented on his character
  sheet by a Quality which the GM can activate
  to do, well, just about anything. As with the
  Cosmic Menace, Force of Nature, or other
  villains whose powers are “off the scale,” this
  means determination will be handed out in
  great quantity. And, like the Cosmic Menace,
  it is really pointless for heroes to use this
  determination to punch harder or inflict more
  damage with their laser vision. Instead, they
  will need their determination to save innocent
  people put into harm’s way by the Imp’s
  childish tantrums, and to enact their plan to
  trick the Imp into departing.
  This childish playfulness is part of the Imp’s
  character as well. He may not actually be a
  child, but he acts like one in the sense that he
  is capricious and arbitrary, he bores easily,
  and he expects the heroes to entertain him.
  While
  his
  whimsy
  makes
  the
  Imp
  a
  real
  handful, heroes can exploit his short attention
  span
  and
  shallow
  thinking
  to
  keep
  him
  distracted and deceive him.
  Before you run a story with an Imp, decide
  how the Imp can be dispelled. Give him a
  quality to reflect this plot point, one which
  the heroes can discover and activate in play.
  As an example, sometimes
  the
  Imp
  comes
  from
  a
  society or planet of beings
  with powers comparable
  to his own. This is a
  good way to get rid
  of
  him,
  if
  the
  heroes
  can
  figure out
  how
  to
  lure
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  the Imp’s rivals, parents, or authority figures
  to Earth.
  STORIES:
  While
  genies,
  leprechauns,
  and
  other
  wish‐granters
  are
  well‐established
  in
  literature and folklore, the Imp really owes his
  existence to the Comics Code. Once it was
  established that, in America at least, all comic
  books were for children, it was inevitable that
  writers would tell stories that portrayed the
  super hero as a super‐babysitter saddled with
  a cosmic toddler who could make its every
  wish come true. This classic version of the Imp
  hasn’t been successful in the post‐Code era,
  but he can still be a useful antagonist for
  running a story in the foreground while, in the
  background, the players are pursuing private
  subplots and interpersonal drama. In other
  words, when the Imp shows up, it’s often not
  really about the Imp at all. The Imp's crazy
  machinations simply create a stage upon which
  the campaign’s real, more dramatic, stories
  have a chance to move forward. Imagine, for
  example, an Imp who appears and wipes the
  memory of all the super‐heroes, creating an
  “Amnesia Episode” for your campaign. (See
  Buffy’s
  “Tabula
  Rasa”
  or
  Star
  Trek’s
  “Conundrum.”)
  This
  creates
  a
  roleplaying
  opportunity for the players, as their characters
  try to figure out “who I really am” while
  simultaneously
  renegotiating
  all
  their
  relationships. “Once More with Feeling,” in
  which the imposition of musical monologues on
  everyone in Sunnydale forces them to reveal
  things they have otherwise kept hidden, is
  another example of this kind of Imp story.
  But, demons notwithstanding, the Imp seldom
  intends to do real harm. He is usually just in
  search of fun, and he has chosen a hero as his
  gull
  or
  straight
  man.
  Because
  he
  doesn’t
  understand how fragile human beings are, his
  pranks put innocents in peril, and the heroes
  are
  kept
  busy
  with
  damage
  control.
  Sometimes,
  however,
  an
  Imp
  becomes
  downright malicious, and in this state he can
  cause serious and widespread harm. Heroes
  usually have to find a way to get him to
  reverse all the things he has done, before
  departing.
  Star Trek’s Imps — Trelane and Q are the most
  famous examples — illustrate the way in which
  this archetype has matured over the decades.
  Now, when the Imp appears, it is because he
  wants to learn something, or because there is
  some
  question
  to
  which
  he
  demands
  an
  answer. But although the Imp seems to be
  pursuing this question for his own purposes, he
  is really asking it on our behalf. As the heroes
  struggle
  to
  answer
  the
  Imp,
  they
  learn
  something about themselves. The Beyonder
  illustrates both modes; he is first a being who
  forces heroes and villains to fight for his own
  amusement (and for a lucrative toy contract),
  but he later adopts the form of a man in order
  to understand the human experience (and for
  a lucrative summer cross‐over event). The
  Imp, in other words, has transformed from a
  super‐baby to a surrogate for God — he is now
  a mysterious and omnipotent patriarchal figure
  who teaches and helps us, but whom we
  perceive as ambivalent and whimsical because
  we don’t truly understand him. Now we are
  the children and he is the ultimate sitter.
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 3
  Strength 3
  Intellect 3
  Awareness Y
  Willpower Y
  Stamina Y
  Specialties
  Cosmic Power Expert
  Powers
  Cosmic Power Y
  (Alteration Ray: Transformation,
  Extrasensory Perception, Healing,
  Resistance, Teleportation, Transmutation)
  Immortality 10
  Life Support 10
  Qualities
  Curious
  Hopelessly Ignorant
  No Sense of Proportion
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  KID PLAYING WITH
  FIRE
  “You
  blasted
  Titans
  have
  pushed
  Grant Wilson ‘round long enough! You
  destroyed my apartment! Made me
  lose my girl! An’ now that I got the
  power, I’m gonna make you pay — in
  spades!”
  ~ the Ravager
  The Kid uses his newly discovered powers for
  personal gain, but those powers are beyond his
  control and result in tragedy.
  EXAMPLES:
  Every
  “meteor
  freak”
  in
  Smallville (TV)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Power Corrupted,
  Young Hero
  ABILITIES: Surprise is at the heart of the
  Kid’s powers; she does not expect them, and
  she doesn’t know what they really are or how
  they work. This makes her ideal for random
  character generation in the traditional ICONS
  manner. Her powers are all tied to a common
  theme and origin, and in fact she probably has
  only one power with a few additional effects
  purchased as extras. If you are telling a story
  in which the Kid is expected to fight an entire
  team of heroes, this power needs to be of high
  rank, but if your story is more about the
  trouble the Kid causes among civilians, this
  can be accomplished with very modest power
  levels, especially if the Kid has subtle powers
  like Mind Control or Invisibility.
  Other than her singular power, the Kid is really
  quite ordinary and this, indeed, is part of the
  chemistry that makes this archetype work. Her
  Attributes are 2‐4 (unless her sudden power
  has modified them) and she probably has a
  single Speciality that defines her mundane
  interests or future career.
  QUALITIES:
  The
  Kid
  is
  young,
  usually
  a
  teenager, and the transformations caused by
  her sudden power are a metaphor for the
  transformations of body and psychology that
  occur in adolescence. Youth is important to
  this archetype because it implies innocence
  and naïveté; when a grown adult suddenly
  acquires powers and uses them for his own
  gain, we are much less likely to forgive that
  individual. But erratic, self‐serving behavior is
  expected from teenagers, and
  the Kid Playing with Fire just
  turns that idea up.
  Her powers probably come
  from
  some
  kind
  of
  lab
  accident
  or
  accidental
  mutation. Alternately, she
  has
  come
  into
  sudden
  possession of a super‐weapon
  which was not intended for
  her and which may in fact
  be destined for a hero or
  other villain. In settings
  which trace most super‐
  powers back to a single
  event or origin (such as
  the
  Flash’s
  “Central
  City
  Explosion”
  or
  Smallville’s
  kryptonite
  meteor
  showers),
  Kids Playing with Fire can be very common,
  a “monster of the week” adversary which
  fills time and provides a stage for the
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  interpersonal drama which is the real heart of
  the story.
  The Kid should have a Quality that makes it
  clear what her current goals are (No One’s
  Going to Kick Me Around Anymore!, Full Ride
  Scholarship, or I’d Do Anything to Be Popular)
  and
  perhaps
  another
  which
  expresses
  her
  misplaced confidence in her own ability to
  control her powers.
  STORIES: Because of the Kid’s age, it’s not
  uncommon for many of her stories to be set in
  school. This is especially appropriate if your
  PCs are Young Heroes in school with problems
  of their own. High School can be plenty scary
  on its own, and all the social challenges found
  there
  make
  great
  metaphors
  for
  heroic
  adventure, as Buffy made clear over several
  seasons.
  The Kid isn’t trying to be bad, at least at first.
  Her
  new
  powers
  are
  frightening
  and
  she
  initially tries to hide them. But then she
  realizes that they could be the solution to all
  her
  problems.
  With
  her
  new
  speed
  and
  strength,
  she
  can
  become
  star
  of
  the
  basketball team. With her hidden telepathy,
  she can learn the answers to every question on
  the
  exam.
  With
  her
  control
  over
  human
  pheromones, she can ensure she won’t be the
  only person at Prom without a date. But using
  her
  powers
  for
  selfish
  reasons
  creates
  a
  snowball effect, and soon she is using them
  constantly, both to pursue her original goals
  and to cover up or try to fix new problems of
  her own creation. Much of this goes on without
  the direct knowledge of the heroes; sometimes
  the Kid confides in the hero privately early on
  in the story and rebels when the hero cautions
  patience. Otherwise, the PCs only find out
  about the situation when the Kid's powers have
  exploded
  in
  public
  and
  can
  no
  longer
  be
  hidden. This transformation is prompted by the
  Kid’s inevitable failure at a key moment, often
  resulting
  in
  the
  injury
  or
  even
  death
  of
  someone close to her, the one she shouldn't
  hurt at all.
  The Kid has a short lifespan in comics and most
  of them are eminently forgettable. In a sense,
  she’s really just an origin story. You can tell
  the Kid’s story many times, but you have to
  use a different Kid each time. Once she makes
  it through that first story, the Kid has either
  lost her powers and gone back to a normal life,
  embraced her selfish ways and become Power
  Corrupted or some other archetype, or she’s
  listened to the hero, learned, and become a
  Young Hero of her own. Indeed, some of the
  most popular superheroes ever began as Kids
  Playing with Fire. Just ask Peter Parker.
  Abilities
  Prowess 8
  Coordination 8
  Strength 7
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 12
  Specialties
  Athletics
  Martial Arts
  Stealth
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Gadgets 7
  Resistance 4 (Body armor)
  Strike 4 (Sword)
  Qualities
  Like Father Like Son
  Subject of Mysterious Experiments
  Now It’s My Turn!
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  MASTERMIND
  “Some people call me a terrorist. I
  consider myself a teacher. America,
  ready for another lesson?”
  ~ the Mandarin
  The Mastermind is a behind‐the‐scenes villain
  with an elaborate plan and the resources to
  achieve it.
  EXAMPLES: Baron von Strucker, Viper, Baron
  Zemo (Marvel); John Byrne’s version of Lex
  Luthor, Ra’s al Ghul (DC); Cobra Commander
  (GI Joe)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Twisted Genius,
  Cult Leader
  ABILITIES:
  The
  Mastermind
  is
  dangerous
  because of her army of minions, her material
  resources, and her elaborate plan; she doesn't
  really need powers, and those she has —
  Servant and Gadgets — barely qualify. She
  carries mundane devices and weaponry
  and has combat Specialties, so that
  she can give one hero a good fight
  once confronted, but if the heroes
  have forced their way into her
  sanctum, the jig is probably up.
  While
  the
  Mastermind
  is
  intelligent, she does not need to
  be
  a
  Twisted
  Genius
  with
  incredible Intellect (though some
  are). Indeed, while the Twisted
  Genius is obsessed with Science!,
  the Mastermind’s goal is wealth and
  power.
  To
  achieve
  this,
  she
  buys
  Twisted
  Genius,
  usually
  with
  the
  promise of research facilities and an
  opportunity
  for
  human
  experimentation, though threats and
  extortion are also workable. Her
  Prowess,
  Willpower,
  and
  other
  abilities are all very good, but not
  superhuman.
  QUALITIES:
  The
  Mastermind
  is
  served
  by
  a
  legion
  of
  Faceless
  Minions and a colorful Servitor or three to act
  as subordinate commanders; she may keep a
  Monstrosity in the closet and an Assassin as a
  personal bodyguard. She will have a well‐
  concealed
  and
  highly
  secure
  lair
  which,
  nevertheless, heroes find a way into ... even if
  it is as her prisoners.
  Every Mastermind has an escape route or two;
  this should be represented on her character
  sheet with a Quality which can be activated,
  allowing
  the
  Mastermind
  to
  get
  away.
  Alternately, the Mastermind doesn't need to
  escape because she is never present at the
  scene of any crime; instead, her qualities
  (Always Has a Fall Guy, Rogue Employees,
  You’ll Hear from My Lawyers) are designed to
  protect her from prison by displacing blame
  and manipulating the system. Players new to
  superhero gaming may be frustrated when the
  villain avoids capture in such a mechanical
  way; it is important that the escape or excuse
  be plausible and, if possible, cool and
  unpredictable. If the villain’s getaway
  feels cheap, even seasoned gamers will
  tire of it.
  STORIES:
  Not
  personally
  powerful, and unwilling to rule
  openly
  as
  a
  Conqueror
  and
  thereby paint a giant target on
  her
  chest,
  the
  Mastermind
  nevertheless
  aspires
  higher
  than the mere Crime Boss. She
  rules in secret, commanding
  a
  vast
  and
  clandestine
  empire.
  Her
  storytelling
  roots are found in characters
  like Professor James Moriarty
  who, as “The Napoleon of Crime,”
  transcended
  mere
  criminality
  to
  become a brilliant Mastermind. This
  is especially evident in recent film
  versions, which portray Moriarty as
  a
  puppet‐master
  profiting
  off
  unending
  global
  conflict
  and
  the
  ubiquitous
  war
  on
  terror,
  national
  occupations
  he
  himself
  has
  orchestrated. The Bond Villain is a
  kind
  of
  Mastermind,
  again
  inspired by Moriarty.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Obviously, a Mastermind needs a master plan;
  a
  classic
  master
  plan
  unspools
  itself
  over
  several game sessions with the heroes never
  wise to its existence. Each criminal caper in
  which
  they
  intervene
  seems
  isolated
  and
  unrelated
  to
  larger
  concerns,
  but
  the
  ramifications of these events all contribute in
  some small way to the Mastermind’s hidden
  agenda. The jewelry heist is thwarted, but the
  owner
  of
  the
  jewels
  is
  frightened
  into
  accepting
  the
  Mastermind’s
  offer
  of
  protection. The prison break is halted, but in
  the chaos the Mastermind was able to secure a
  back door into the prison’s computer systems.
  The
  rampaging
  Monstrosity
  was
  stopped
  in
  time, but the heroes were all scanned by high
  tech equipment which allows the Mastermind
  to develop weaponry to counter their powers.
  The master plan can be discovered or revealed
  in many ways, and this may in fact be the most
  important decision in the entire story, as it
  establishes the options available to the heroes.
  The plan may be revealed by a Servitor who
  has been mistreated by the Mastermind or who
  simply has a bout with conscience. The heroes
  may stumble across evidence of the plan, and
  be alerted to it when the Mastermind’s agents
  attempt to eliminate this apparently innocuous
  information. The plan may become obvious to
  the heroes when it enters its final, inevitable
  stage.
  Many
  Masterminds,
  especially
  Puzzle
  Masters
  and
  the
  Twisted
  Genius,
  tell
  the
  heroes all about the plan as it enters its
  denouement,
  because
  the
  villain
  derives
  pleasure from intellectual competition.
  A Mastermind can adopt religious trappings and
  become a Cult Leader (Brother Blood), be an
  Asian Foreigner and Yellow Peril (the Yellow
  Claw), or even both at the same time (Ben
  Kingsley’s portrayal of the Mandarin in Iron
  Man 3). Sometimes they are revealed to be
  mere pawns in the sway of even greater and
  more
  malevolent
  bosses
  —
  probably
  a
  Conqueror,
  Ultimate
  Villain,
  or
  Nazi.
  Sometimes
  the
  audience
  knows
  this
  (your
  players, in this case), but the heroes do not.
  The Mastermind speaks to her far‐off master
  only when alone, and the identity of this
  authority
  figure
  is
  concealed.
  This
  is
  a
  technique to build suspense in the game, so be
  prepared for your players to fish for a way for
  their characters to discover this truth. They
  want to know that the mystery is bigger than
  they first thought, so why not let them? After
  all, you can still keep the identity of the real
  villain a secret for a few more sessions.
  Abilities
  Prowess 1
  Coordination 2
  Strength 3
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 2
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 5
  Specialties
  Performance Master
  Qualities
  All of America’s Fears
  Just an Actor
  Criminal Fans
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  MONSTROSITY
  “Ah! Here is our PRIZE giant! His
  GENETIC STRUCTURE is an offshoot of
  the
  cells
  we
  STOLE
  from
  the
  Earthmen! But we have bred him to
  DESTROY the ONE ally of Earth who
  could
  SUCCESSFULLY
  defend
  them
  against US!”
  “Our giant has but ONE desire! To
  HATE — to KILL — SUPERMAN!!”
  ~ Simyan and Mokkari, masters of the
  Evil Factory
  The Monstrosity is a hideous creature created
  by Twisted Genius or some tragic accident, a
  Frankenstein’s Monster for the super‐villain
  set.
  EXAMPLES:
  Dragon
  Man,
  the
  Awesome
  Android (Marvel); Lump (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Servitor
  ABILITIES: If ever a villain was destined for
  random
  power
  generation,
  it
  was
  the
  Monstrosity. Its powers don’t need a consistent
  theme, nor do they need to make any kind of
  rational sense. Since the Monstrosity often
  battles a group of heroes at once, it benefits
  from Invulnerability or a high Stamina (in order
  to
  make
  the
  fight
  long
  enough
  to
  be
  interesting) as well as a Burst attack so that it
  can threaten multiple heroes at once. But a
  Monstrosity doesn’t really require the special
  rules considerations a GM might give to, say,
  the Ultimate Villain.
  Traditionally, Monstrosities have low Intellect.
  But
  some,
  like
  MODOK
  or
  MODAM,
  are
  essentially
  Disembodied
  Brains,
  a
  kind
  of
  Monstrosity that goes back at least to films of
  the
  “Atomic
  Horror”
  era.
  These
  kinds
  of
  villains will have high Intellect and Willpower
  coupled with psychic powers like Mental Blast,
  Mind Control, and Telepathy.
  QUALITIES:
  The
  Monstrosity
  is
  big
  and
  hideous
  to
  behold,
  which
  causes
  fear
  in
  civilians.
  This
  fear,
  in
  turn,
  causes
  the
  Monstrosity to lash out in angry self‐defense,
  setting up a vicious cycle of violence that ends
  only after the heroes intervene. To ensure this
  tragic misunderstanding, the Monstrosity either
  cannot or will not speak — at least, not in a
  way its victims understand.
  Insanity is common in a Monstrosity, or it may
  be an automaton largely devoid of self‐will.
  Most commonly, however, it is an inhuman
  savage dedicated to violence and bloodshed.
  It is not unusual for a Monstrosity to have some
  vestige of memory from its prior self, before it
  was transformed by science or accident, and
  this fragment gives the heroes some way to
  interact with or guide it. The creature may
  pursue an individual it once loved, seek to
  return to a place of safety, or avoid people or
  events which remind it of past trauma.
  STORIES: As seen in cinematic versions of
  Frankenstein’s Monster, the Monstrosity may
  simply be misunderstood: a creature which has
  never been shown love, and acts a monster
  because this is all it has ever known. Such
  Monstrosities can become heroic if given the
  benefit of the doubt or a good example, and
  will fixate on the hero who gave them a
  chance. Just as easily, though, a Monstrosity
  can flirt with turning good, only to revert to its
  more savage nature when the going gets tough.
  These redemption stories tend to culminate in
  the death of Monstrosity, but the creature is
  notoriously hard to kill. If you have a good
  sequel story to tell, nothing should keep you
  from bringing the monster back to life for
  another round.
  Consider the Monstrosity’s relationship to its
  creator. Is it considered a failure or a triumph?
  Is it always at its maker’s side, groomed and
  fed and nursed to greater strength, or has it
  been cast out to live or die on its own, without
  direction?
  What,
  if
  anything,
  does
  the
  Monstrosity want, or is it simply reacting to
  stimulus? Many Monstrosities are Servitors to
  their masters, sent to do battle with the
  heroes on the master's behalf.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  The Monstrosity is, at its core, a symbol of the
  Inhuman Other; it is the thing which is not one
  of us (whatever “us” is). Preserve that alien‐
  ness in a horror story, a tale in which we are
  confronted with the mystery of the unknown,
  an unknown that cares nothing for us and
  destroys us absently, with no more than its
  usual amount of all‐consuming malice. But if
  you would rather tell a story that overcomes
  alienation
  and
  otherness,
  a
  story
  which
  suggests that — whatever we may look like,
  whatever language we speak, or whatever
  disability we may struggle to overcome —
  there is an essential humanity that unites us;
  then your Monstrosity is not a monster at all,
  except to the degree we call him one. Every
  page spent punching him is a page spent in
  error, and the real story comes afterwards,
  when he must find a way to integrate himself
  into human (or heroic) society.
  Abilities
  Prowess 8
  Coordination 3
  Strength 9
  Intellect 2
  Awareness 2
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 14
  Powers
  Resistance 10
  Qualities
  Skin Coated In Space‐Dust
  Face of Your Best Pal
  “Destroy! Destroy!”
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  NAZI
  “That is the twisted logic they teach
  you when you become a Nazi.”
  “Stop. Wait. I am not a Nazi."
  "Yes, you are! That's exactly what
  you are. It’s in the SHIELD handbook,
  chapter one. The Red Skull, founder
  of Hydra, was a big, fat, freakin
  Nazi!”
  “That has nothing to do with today.”
  "You
  know,
  you
  always
  had
  that
  Hitler Youth look to you. So it's really
  not that surprising.”
  ~ Skye and Agent Ward
  Nazis
  are
  the
  20th
  century’s
  designated
  incarnation of evil.
  EXAMPLES:
  Red
  Skull,
  Fear
  Monger,
  Baron
  Zemo (Marvel); Dyna‐Man (DC); Captain Nazi
  (originally Fawcett, now DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Supremacist,
  Conqueror, Faceless Minions, Wolf in Sheep’s
  Clothing, Twisted Genius, Dark Mirror
  ABILITIES: While Nazi villains have a lot in
  common, their powers can be diverse. Nazis
  come in certain common varieties, and each
  type
  has
  a
  certain
  array
  of
  powers
  and
  abilities.
  Super‐Aryans will have superhuman strength
  and stamina, Invulnerability, and Flight. They
  are, in essence, Dark Mirrors of Superman. A
  less powerful version of the Super‐Aryan is a
  Dark Mirror of the Super‐Patriot archetype —
  strong, fast, and tough, but still human. He is
  more
  likely
  to
  carry
  a
  Luger
  and
  have
  specialties that include weaponry and hand‐to‐
  hand combat.
  The Hitler Clone will have no powers except,
  perhaps, Immortality or Regeneration, and will
  instead rely on weird science gadgetry and an
  ultimate weapon, neither of which he built
  himself.
  Willpower
  is
  almost
  certainly
  his
  highest ability, and he can easily persuade the
  mob to follow him, but heroic PCs are immune
  to his charisma.
  The Nazi Scientist is a Twisted Genius inspired
  by Mengele (and is a fiendish doctor who
  experiments on human subjects) or Werner
  Von Braun (in which case he is instead a
  technocrat who believes science is the solution
  to all the world's problems). His Intellect is his
  strong
  suit,
  probably
  augmented
  by
  the
  Gadgets power and some specialties.
  QUALITIES: Nazis are distinguished by three
  things. First, they are endless. Second, they
  are instantly recognizable. Finally, there is no
  moral ambiguity in killing them. These facts
  account for their popularity.
  The Nazi is, of course, fundamentally a symbol
  for fascism, a form of government in which the
  people voluntarily cede power to a single
  leader
  figure,
  who
  then
  wields
  absolute
  authority in their name. Nazi villains often
  represent this philosophy through the blind
  loyalty of numberless Faceless Nazi Minions,
  but he may actually depend on followers for
  power. That is, if he can be separated from his
  minions, the Nazi is easy to defeat, but when
  surrounded by those who have granted him
  power,
  the
  Nazi
  is
  unbeatable.
  This
  is
  a
  symbolic representation of the fascia itself,
  the symbol of ancient Rome and the source of
  the word fascism.
  Racism is another quick and easy way to make
  a Nazi hated, but racism based on color or
  ethnicity
  has
  gone
  out
  of
  fashion
  among
  modern Nazi supervillains. The idea of racial
  superiority or inferiority is simply so dumb
  that, in order for a Nazi to be taken seriously,
  he has to admit that it is rubbish. Those who
  cling to racist screeds become not just evil,
  but stupid. This makes them less interesting.
  The exception is a Supremacist who bases his
  racism
  on
  super‐humanness,
  something
  demonstrably
  provable
  while
  still
  morally
  bankrupt.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  As a servant of either the Third or Fourth
  Reich, the Nazi villain commands significant
  resources. Besides his horde of stormtroopers
  and a hidden Fifth Column of neo‐Nazi agents
  already concealed within society, he has a
  hidden base in Argentina, the North or South
  Pole, or the Moon. His lair is well‐stocked with
  Nazi gold, treasures stolen from the wealthy
  families
  and
  museums
  of
  Europe,
  and
  dieselpunk technology. He travels to these
  locations using submarines, massive aircraft,
  or Volkswagen‐built flying saucers.
  STORIES: Nazi stories are terribly cliché, and
  that’s why players love them. They know
  exactly what to do in these games, and
  punching Hitler never gets old.
  The two archetypal stories of the Nazi villain
  are
  “Hitler
  Returns!”
  and
  “Invasion
  from
  Earth‐Nazi!” In the first, Hitler will soon be
  returned to life through a clone, time travel, a
  robot,
  or
  other
  device.
  This
  effort
  is
  championed by a Super‐Aryan and his Nazi
  Scientist assistant, possibly with the unwilling
  help of a captured scientist whose abduction
  alerts
  the
  heroes
  to
  the
  plot.
  Sometimes
  "Hitler" is actually just a figurehead for the
  Super‐Aryan who intends on actually rebuilding
  the Reich himself. (GMs who would like to run
  this story are directed to “Anschluss ‘77,” an
  episode of the Lynda Carter Wonder Woman
  series.)
  It is a strange truth of alternate history tales
  and time travel stories that a large proportion
  of them involve worlds inhabited by Nazis:
  Nazis who never lost the War, Nazis who
  survived in a hidden redoubt, Nazis who went
  into the past, and so on. Eventually, these
  Nazis discover “the world where we lost” and
  an invasion is inevitable. Many books have
  been written on this subject; the outline of
  your story depends largely on scale. If you are
  planning a single‐session adventure, then the
  invasion
  is
  probably
  modest,
  secret,
  or
  dependent
  on
  a
  single
  object
  of
  high
  technology, like a Stargate or other portal of
  some sort. If the heroes can destroy this thing,
  the invasion is thwarted. If, however, you
  would like something larger, the Nazis can
  certainly provide. A fleet of spacecraft
  emblazoned with the swastika ought to
  give the proper signal to your gaming
  table.
  Because the Nazi engenders such strong and
  rigid reactions, it is (and indeed long has been)
  common for the Nazi to conceal his true
  allegiance behind another, less recognizable,
  fascism.
  So
  concealed,
  the
  Nazi
  fights
  alongside the heroes and earns their respect
  and friendship. When he reveals himself as a
  Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, it is usually in an
  effort to change the hero’s assumptions. “How
  can all Nazis be bad if I’ve saved your life?”
  Despite modern storytelling’s thrust to make
  every villain sympathetic, this tactic seldom
  works.
  Nazi ideology has been well researched and
  documented, and much of it was so weird or
  horrifying that a GM can easily spin entire
  campaigns out of it. This is, after all, an
  organization which named its commando units
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Werewolves and its concentration camp guards
  the Death’s Head, which rebuilt and fortified a
  new Grail Castle in the Black Forest (equipping
  it with a Round Table that had twelve chairs),
  which took the Spear of Destiny out of a
  Viennese museum, which based its political
  theory of eugenics on Teutonic myth, which
  sent anthropologists in search of the Holy
  Grail,
  and
  which
  pursued
  technology
  like
  warships made of ice, flying wings, tanks the
  size of a city block, guns that shot around
  corners, and much, much more. None of these
  things are made up. Anything you do make up
  will seem tame by comparison. While entire
  libraries have been written on the Nazis, the
  most useful books for gamers are, hands down,
  those written and edited by Ken Hite: GURPS
  Weird War II, GURPS Alternate Earths, and his
  most recent The Nazi Occult.
  During the Cold War, Nazi villains were largely
  replaced by the Communist, a variation of the
  Foreigner archetype that was ubiquitous in the
  early
  Marvel
  era.
  Now,
  however,
  the
  Communist is even more anachronistic than
  the Nazi. He survives only in the form of the
  Old Guard — a Communist who clings to his
  ideals even after the collapse of the Soviet
  Union. Unlike the Nazi, the Old Guard can
  sometimes earn some tragic sympathy from
  readers.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 6
  Strength 5
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 10
  Specialties
  Athletics
  Drive
  Martial Arts
  Mental Resistance Expert
  Military Expert
  Performance Expert
  Stealth Expert
  Weaponry Expert
  Qualities
  Divided Loyalties
  “I Work Alone.”
  Whatever It Takes
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  NEMESIS
  “It’s finally ready! You know, I went
  through quite a few supers to make it
  worthy
  to
  fight
  you,
  but
  man,
  it
  wasn’t
  good
  enough!
  After
  you
  trashed the last one, I had to make
  some major modifications. Sure, it
  was difficult, but you are worth it. I
  mean, after all ... I am your biggest
  fan.”
  ~ Syndrome
  The Nemesis has been specially created to be
  the enemy of a particular hero.
  EXAMPLES: Metallo, Prometheus (DC); the
  Spider‐Slayers, Sentinels, the Melter (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Dark
  Mirror,
  Girlfriend Gone Bad
  ABILITIES: The Nemesis does not have the
  same powers as the hero; that would make her
  a Dark Mirror. Instead, she has powers which
  capitalize on the hero’s weaknesses, or which
  negate his powers. If the hero has fire
  powers, for example, the Nemesis will
  instead wield ice or water. If the hero
  is vulnerable to an unusual substance,
  the
  Nemesis
  embodies
  that
  substance. If the hero is afraid of
  something, the Nemesis personifies
  that
  fear.
  If
  the
  hero
  has
  superhuman senses which enable him
  to detect a villain’s presence, the
  Nemesis is invisible to these senses or
  has a way to cloud them, and so on.
  Because the Nemesis has a long history
  of being created in a lab, being built to
  spec,
  or
  being
  an
  otherwise
  unremarkable
  crook
  suddenly
  gifted
  with incredible power by the hero's
  wicked brother, she often has low
  Intellect
  and
  Willpower.
  She
  may
  have some specialties that come
  from
  her
  history
  before
  she
  became a Nemesis, but powers are
  probably far more important.
  Sometimes a Nemesis can actually adapt to the
  hero’s powers. Whatever the hero attacks her
  with,
  the
  Nemesis
  manifests
  the
  perfect
  counter‐power. This is an effect similar to
  Adaptation, except that it is not limited to
  environmental conditions. It also resembles
  the
  Mimic
  power,
  except
  that
  instead
  of
  copying
  the
  hero’s
  power,
  the
  Nemesis
  acquires
  powers
  opposite
  of
  whoever
  she
  touches.
  A
  Nemesis
  who
  is
  capable
  of
  countering the powers of an entire team of
  heroes resembles the VWAYP (Villain with All
  Your Powers).
  QUALITIES: As noted, Nemeses are often the
  pawns of a Mastermind who has a long history
  with a particular hero. Rather than fight the
  hero
  himself
  (and
  presumably
  lose),
  the
  Mastermind creates the Nemesis as a living
  weapon designed to kill the hero once and for
  all. The process of bestowing powers might be
  temporary or have other side effects which
  manifest as qualities, often including a hideous
  appearance.
  Alternately,
  the
  Nemesis
  may
  simply be a robot or other automated
  killing machine.
  Pawn or not, the Nemesis usually has a
  reason for hating the hero, and that
  reason can be pretty compelling.
  She may blame the hero for the
  death of a loved one, or simply
  resent the hero for putting her in
  jail. She may envy the hero’s
  fame, and the respect which the
  public holds for him. She may be a
  jilted lover, in which case she is also
  a Girlfriend Gone Bad. If the process
  of becoming the Nemesis involved
  negative side effects, the Nemesis
  blames the hero for them, even
  though it’s really the Mastermind’s
  fault.
  STORIES: Although it seems like a
  Nemesis makes an ideal recurring
  villain, in practice she is something
  of a one‐trick pony. Once the hero
  has figured out a way around
  her ability to counter his powers
  (once
  Iron
  Man
  designs
  a
  suit
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  which absorbs heat instead of melting), future
  stories need to explore new ground.
  However, this can provide rich material for
  your game. Many villains originally created to
  be
  a
  Nemesis
  —
  the
  Absorbing
  Man,
  for
  instance, a Thor Nemesis who could copy the
  material properties of Mjolnir — have gone on
  to have long and colorful histories, engaging
  with many other heroes and participating in
  team‐ups with a variety of villains on a diverse
  menu of criminal capers. In other words, the
  first appearance of the Nemesis, in which she
  battles her chosen hero, is just the start of her
  career. Her second story, in which she tries to
  use her Nemesis powers for something other
  than killing the hero, is the really interesting
  one. She may have to get free of the influence
  of the Mastermind who created her, or survive
  an assassination attempt when the Mastermind
  decides to tie up loose ends. Once introduced
  into your setting, the Nemesis has to learn to
  live there just like everyone else, and her
  story is only tied to her target hero if you
  choose to require it.
  It is not strictly necessary for the Nemesis to
  be created. She may simply be a villain who
  happens to have powers which capitalize on
  the hero's weaknesses, or which embody his
  opposite. Some great rivalries (Namor and the
  original Human Torch) are examples of this
  kind
  of
  Nemesis.
  True,
  it
  does
  stretch
  believability
  a
  little
  when
  a
  villain
  just
  happens to be invisible to a hero’s Danger
  Sense, but when we’re talking about a genre
  in
  which
  people
  fire
  lasers
  out
  of
  their
  eyeballs, believability is basically overrated.
  Finally, an individual can choose to become a
  Nemesis, usually after some kind of trauma for
  which she blames the hero. She seeks out
  powers on her own, picking and choosing
  abilities which will allow her to enact her
  righteous vengeance. Nemeses of this type
  break many of the usual rules: they are highly
  motivated, intelligent enough to build a super‐
  weapon or two, and answer to no one. They
  are
  introduced
  as
  hapless
  victims,
  over‐
  enthusiastic helpers, or petty criminals whom
  the hero barely notices. Many sessions later,
  the Nemesis — now dangerous — reveals her
  shared history with the hero. This can lead to
  a “But for Me, It Was Tuesday” moment in
  which the hero is forced to admit that the
  most
  important
  event
  in
  the
  life
  of
  the
  Nemesis is something the hero himself doesn't
  even remember.
  There is also precedent for the Serial Nemesis:
  a creation, often a robot, who is sent against a
  hero, destroyed, and then recreated by the
  Mastermind more powerful than before. Each
  time
  the
  hero
  defeats
  the
  Nemesis,
  the
  Mastermind
  eliminates
  that
  particular
  weakness in the Nemesis’s next iteration. The
  early
  incarnations
  of
  Ultron,
  as
  well
  as
  Syndrome’s Omnidroid (The Incredibles), are
  examples of the Serial Nemesis. Once the
  Serial Nemesis has appeared in several stories
  and has been built and rebuilt half a dozen
  times, the increasing number ceases to be as
  intimidating as it once was. Instead, the story
  culminates in a mass battle during which the
  hero must fight all the different versions of his
  Nemesis at the same time, usually including
  several new variations dreamed up just for this
  moment.
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 4
  Strength 3
  Intellect 8
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 8
  Specialties
  Technology Expert
  Powers
  Binding 10
  Blast 10
  Flight 6
  Gadgets 8
  Qualities
  Monologues
  Super‐Geek
  Zero‐Point Energy
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  NIHILIST
  “Listen
  and
  understand.
  That
  terminator is out there. It can’t be
  bargained with. It can’t be reasoned
  with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse,
  or fear. And it absolutely will not
  stop, ever, until you are dead.”
  ~ Kyle Reese
  The nihilist lives only to destroy: the universe,
  the world, the city, or just a single unlucky
  individual.
  EXAMPLES:
  Thanos
  (Marvel);
  Mageddon,
  Doomsday (DC)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Nemesis, Cosmic
  Menace, Force of Nature, Twisted Genius,
  Psycho
  ABILITIES: Nihilists need a means by which
  they can accomplish their destructive goal. A
  villain who intends to personally destroy the
  city will need the power to do so, and as his
  target gets ever larger (today, Champion City,
  tomorrow ... the world!) his powers must
  increase
  in
  —
  or
  indeed
  out
  of
  all
  —
  proportion. This is how a Nihilist becomes a
  Cosmic Menace, but while the Cosmic Menace
  cannot be defeated through physical force and
  must be tricked or reasoned with, the Nihilist
  is eminently punchable.
  But a Nihilist does not need to fly off the top
  of the power rank structure. Many exciting
  stories can be told about a Nihilist who focuses
  on the destruction of a particular hero or NPC.
  This is how a Nihilist becomes a Nemesis. The
  Terminator, while not a super‐villain in the
  traditional sense, is a Nihilist of this sort; it
  desires only Sarah Connor’s destruction, and
  will stop at nothing to attain this end. This
  kind
  of
  Nihilist
  has
  incredible
  Willpower,
  Strength,
  and
  Stamina,
  Invulnerability
  and
  Resistances, but is slow moving, an implacable
  killing machine. He cares nothing for public
  exposure or subtlety, which is how he differs
  from an Assassin. Instead, his story resembles
  those told by the Force of Nature archetype.
  Finally, nothing necessarily requires that a
  Nihilist have any powers at all. He may be a
  Twisted Genius with a doomsday weapon, a
  Psycho with a cunning plan, or an Heir to
  Lovecraft whose masters are, themselves, pure
  Nihilists.
  QUALITIES: Why does the Nihilist desire
  destruction? Some characters (Doomsday, the
  Terminator) are simply programmed for death,
  and they can experience no other emotion ...
  at least not until a sequel in which their
  skeletal backstory is fleshed out. Revenge is a
  common motivator for Nihilists, especially if
  the villain has been a lesser threat in previous
  stories and has suffered defeat at the heroes’
  hands before. Thanos’s motivator — love of
  Death — has become iconic. Regardless of
  what it is that drives him, the Nihilist should
  have a Quality that describes his motive, so
  that he can call upon it when things get rough
  for him.
  The
  Nihilist’s
  origin
  is
  another
  source
  of
  qualities, because they are often inhuman or
  alien “Others” with little sympathy or empathy
  for humanity. Nihilists who are relying on an
  armada
  of
  spaceships,
  a
  zombie
  army,
  a
  satellite that flips the Earth’s gravitational
  field, or some other equally grandiose plot will
  need qualities which describe these things.
  STORIES: Stories which feature Nihilists are
  typically unsubtle. The nature of the Nihilist's
  goal makes him unsympathetic, and the role of
  the heroes is clear: they need to get close
  enough to hit him repeatedly over the head
  with a shovel (or whatever their weapon of
  choice might be). This can make the Nihilist an
  excellent
  villain
  to
  launch
  a
  new
  ICONS
  campaign, as he draws together many heroes
  from across the city or around the world. Even
  a Conqueror can earn the grudging admiration
  of heroes if, in his twisted utopia, the trains
  run on time; but no sane person cheers for the
  Nihilist, this is his distinguishing feature.
  One of the potential pitfalls of the Nihilist
  story is that the players know he will fail, even
  if their characters do not. In other words,
  unless you are prepared to send all your player
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  characters off into space, the Earth is not
  actually in danger of being destroyed. Some
  GMs are happy to enable such game‐changing
  storylines of course, usually in the name of
  “actions have consequences,” but you don’t
  have to be hardcore to use the Nihilist. You
  have many options at your table, and it all
  depends on the story you want to tell. Even if
  the Nihilist's doomsday weapon is activated, it
  might
  not
  have
  the
  effect
  he
  intended.
  Perhaps some other, third party, prevents the
  Earth's destruction, and now the heroes owe
  them in return (or must battle an invader even
  worse than death). For that matter, so what if
  the players know the villain will fail? This
  describes almost every episode of almost every
  series on television, and yet we continue to
  enjoy these shows. It’s far more important
  that your players have fun, and sometimes
  hitting the villain with a shovel is all the fun
  you need.
  Because the Nihilist plot is fairly straight‐
  forward and lacking nuance, it also makes a
  good “main plot” behind which more personal
  subplots
  flourish.
  In
  other
  words,
  if
  your
  heroes are caught in a romantic triangle, or
  are learning secrets about their own origin, or
  are struggling to master their own powers (all
  classic
  superhero
  subplots),
  fighting
  the
  Nihilist and his Faceless Minions can give the
  heroes something fun to do in between intense
  roleplaying scenes. In a similar vein, because
  the Nihilist is often an embodiment of raw
  power, he can serve as an origin for one or
  more heroes, who have either been shaped
  from birth to defeat the Nihilist (Aztek) or who
  divide the powers of the defeated Nihilist
  between them and become its caretakers (the
  Infinity Watch).
  Abilities
  Prowess 7
  Coordination 8
  Strength 7
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 15
  Specialties
  Technology
  Weaponry Expert
  Powers
  Blast 5 (firearms)
  Immortality 5
  Life Support 10
  Resistance 5
  Qualities
  Hyper‐Alloy Combat Chassis
  Looks Human
  I’ll Be Back
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  NUCLEAR NIGHTMARE
  “You’re gonna upset me. Do you know
  what happens when I get upset? I get
  very bright and very hot.”
  ~ Ted (Heroes)
  The Nuclear Nightmare is an incarnation of
  modern fears concerning atomic energy, an
  evil version of the heroic Master of the Atom.
  EXAMPLES:
  Radioactive
  Man
  (Marvel);
  Plasmus, Neutron (DC); Nuclear Man (film:
  Superman IV: The Quest for Peace)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Ultimate Villain,
  Foreigner, Master of the Atom
  ABILITIES: Radiation and atomic energy can
  be used to explain a great many powers, but
  the Nuclear Nightmare is not just a villain who
  traces his origin back to some kind of exposure
  to radiation. Rather, he personifies The Bomb
  itself. He may have Energy Control (adding a
  radiation‐based Affliction or an Aura to the
  base Blast effect), Alternate Form (Energy or
  Explosive),
  or
  else
  great
  Strength
  and
  Invulnerability. He is immune to radiation (Life
  Support or Resistance) and may be able to
  Detect
  its
  presence.
  Sophisticated
  Nuclear
  Nightmares
  can
  alter
  an
  object’s
  atomic
  structure using the Transformation power.
  QUALITIES:
  The
  purest
  versions
  of
  the
  Nuclear Nightmare are impossible to control,
  possessed of great power, and terrifying, with
  a
  hideous
  appearance.
  Most
  are
  green
  —
  always
  a
  popular
  color
  for
  villains,
  but
  especially ones of this sort. He is referred to
  as a “mutant,” not in the superheroic sense
  seen among the X‐Men, but as the victim of
  unchecked and unfortunate mutation caused
  by radiation exposure.
  Because the Nuclear Nightmare has its origins
  in the Cold War, he is often a Foreigner, an
  embodiment not of nuclear power, but of the
  nuclear arsenal held by rival nations. England
  and France have long been American allies, so
  the remaining two members of the “nuclear
  club” — China and the Soviet Union — were the
  spawning
  ground
  for
  the
  original
  Nuclear
  Nightmares. In the decades since, however,
  the number of nations with access to the Bomb
  has grown to include North Korea, Pakistan,
  India, and Israel, while Iran, Iraq, and other
  nations
  have
  continued
  to
  pursue
  nuclear
  weaponry. GMs reluctant to wade directly into
  political issues can create a fictional surrogate
  for a place like North Korea or Iran instead.
  Nuclear
  Nightmares
  thus
  become
  representatives of their home nation, and
  embody the dilemma which those governments
  face: nuclear nations have more influence on
  the world stage and may be driven to seek
  nuclear power out of national pride, but they
  also risk becoming global pariahs and a means
  by
  which
  terrorist
  forces
  acquire
  nuclear
  bombs.
  A
  Nuclear
  Nightmare
  might
  be
  considered a hero within the borders of his
  nation, but a villain outside of it.
  STORIES:
  The
  key
  story
  of
  the
  Nuclear
  Nightmare has changed as American attitudes
  towards nuclear weapons and nuclear energy
  have grown more complex. At first, atomic
  weapons were good so long as they were
  American; it is from this era that characters
  like Radioactive Man and his fellow Foreigners
  appear. Radiation could do anything in comics
  and, as the ultimate weapon, the Bomb was
  also
  a
  good
  explanation
  for
  the
  Ultimate
  Villain.
  In the wake of Three Mile Island, fears over
  the safety of nuclear power increased and the
  Nuclear
  Nightmare
  could
  again
  be
  an
  American.
  This
  time,
  he
  was
  a
  scientist
  doomed
  by
  hubris
  and
  certain
  that
  the
  awesome
  power
  of
  the
  atom
  could
  be
  controlled, or else the victim of a tragic
  accident. He was a symbol not of the Bomb,
  but of the problematic peaceful uses to which
  nuclear energy might be directed. Americans
  had gotten more used to living with nuclear
  energy, and it lost some of its association as
  the ultimate force.
  Finally, after the Cold War, the Nightmare has
  become banal. So many action films hinge on a
  nuclear
  bomb
  that
  the
  threat
  of
  one
  is
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  something of a yawner. Nuclear Nightmares
  have been supplanted in their Ultimate status
  by
  new
  characters
  fueled
  by
  the
  latest
  science‐fiction buzzwords. The world’s energy
  hopes are now pinned on solar, wind, and
  other
  renewables,
  though
  occasional
  catastrophic nuclear accidents like Fukishima
  and, before it, Chernobyl, continue to remind
  us of the threat posed by nuclear power. This
  has led to the Nuclear Nightmare becoming
  something of a Cold War relic; once he was a
  hero to his nation and feared around the
  world, but now he's a second‐stringer.
  This can create an opportunity for redemption
  stories, in which the former‐Nightmare shows
  that he was only trying to do what he thought
  best for his nation and his people, and if he
  got caught up in the pointless brinksmanship of
  the Cold War, well, he was hardly alone. His
  inner nobility can
  earn him a new
  role as a wise
  mentor
  to
  the
  younger
  generation, or
  can lead to a
  heroic
  self‐
  sacrifice. If you
  want
  your
  Nightmare
  to
  remain a bad guy,
  then he instead resolves
  to prove his relevance in a
  21st century world, probably with
  some grandiose extortion threat or
  the takeover of a small nation.
  A heroic Master of the Atom can often slide
  back and forth, in and out of this archetype
  — when Doctor Manhattan is surrounded
  by civilians who fear exposure to him will
  lead to cancer, or when the Hulk is on a
  rampage
  through
  the
  New
  Mexico
  desert, we are getting a glimpse of
  the Nuclear Nightmare.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 3
  Strength 3
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 8
  Powers
  Energy Control: Radiation (Affliction, Aura,
  Burst Blast) X
  Qualities
  Uncontrollable
  Vengeance
  Nothing Left To Lose
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  POWER CORRUPTED
  “Scott, am I worth it? I destroyed a
  world — in my mind, I can still hear
  the screams of the dying — and it felt
  good! I don’t want that feeling ever
  again. And yet — I do!”
  ~ Jean Grey
  Sometimes a hero’s powers grow too great,
  and she falls from the path of good to become
  a powerful force for evil.
  EXAMPLES:
  Dark
  Phoenix,
  Scarlet
  Witch,
  Malice (Marvel); Parallax (DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Fallen
  Hero,
  Cosmic Menace, Dark Mirror
  ABILITIES: As indicated by her title, the
  Power Corrupted is not just more powerful
  than other heroes, she is more powerful than
  heroes ought to be. It’s not enough for such a
  character to have Cosmic Power or Magic at 10
  ranks; power such as that, while great, is still
  drawing inside the lines.
  A true Power Corrupted breaks the rules of the
  game. She can do anything, so long as she can
  explain it within the nature of her superhuman
  power. A character who can “alter reality,”
  for example, can create entire armies out of
  nothing, permanently strip super‐people of
  their powers, or kill a hero on one page only to
  bring him back to life on the next. A former
  hero who has been corrupted with vast psychic
  abilities becomes the most powerful telepath
  on Earth, able to manipulate minds across vast
  distance
  and
  target
  entire
  populations
  at
  once.
  At
  this
  scale,
  the
  rest
  of
  the
  Power
  Corrupted’s abilities and specialties become
  largely irrelevant. Her powers may be linked
  to one of her abilities — usually Willpower —
  which rises “off the chart.” Any power test
  using this ability is always resolved in the favor
  of the Power Corrupted.
  QUALITIES: It is through her qualities that
  the Power Corrupted is ultimately defeated, as
  her
  friends
  and
  loved
  ones
  invoke
  her
  kindness, her sympathy, and her memory of
  better days to reawaken her true self. These
  qualities will represent the bonds of friendship
  and family among her team‐mates, romantic
  love, and her essential goodness. Alternately,
  heroes use these qualities to distract the
  Power Corrupted while, behind the curtain,
  another hero rigs a way to strip her of her
  powers.
  But the Power Corrupted will also have a
  quality
  which
  encapsulates
  her
  awesome
  cosmic power. It is this quality which fuels her
  rule‐breaking omnipotence and she will use it
  often.
  The Power Corrupted is usually known to other
  great powers in the universe — cosmic beings
  or
  starfaring
  civilizations
  —
  who
  seek
  to
  control or destroy her. Depending on how
  secret her powers have been, and how long
  she has been active, this reputation can spread
  far indeed.
  STORIES:
  The
  Power
  Corrupted
  is
  distinguished from the Fallen Hero because her
  fall is not entirely her fault. It is the source
  and scale of her power which is to blame. It is
  generally accepted by everyone around her
  that no one could have remained human and
  sane once gifted with such amazing abilities. It
  is a miracle the hero resisted temptation and
  held it together as long as she did.
  Until Hal Jordan’s rampage as Green Lantern
  resulted in the destruction of Coast City and
  his
  transformation
  to
  Parallax,
  the
  Power
  Corrupted
  was
  almost
  always
  female
  (the
  “Byrne victims”). When male heroes gained
  vast power, they did struggle to control it, but
  they either integrated it into themselves or
  gave it up and returned to the status quo.
  When that same cosmic power was given to
  women, they proved unable to control it and
  became
  evil.
  When
  Hal
  Jordan
  became
  Parallax, he was the first prominent male
  Power Corrupted. This alienated many fans,
  but it has gone a long way towards eliminating
  the sexism previously seen in this archetype.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  The Power Corrupted may also be turned evil
  by the action of a Dominator or Tempter. The
  hero
  is
  still
  vastly
  more
  powerful
  than
  everyone around her, but until now she has
  been able to control her powers and may have
  shown no previous signs of mental instability.
  Subtle
  mind
  control
  and
  a
  succession
  of
  traumatic incidents feeds her “dark side” and
  she either slides slowly or erupts suddenly into
  a violent rage, pitting her against her friends.
  This
  can
  be
  the
  easiest
  way
  to
  use
  this
  archetype in an ICONS game because it’s
  potentially curable; once the influence of the
  Dominator
  is
  removed,
  the
  hero
  regains
  control of herself and all can be forgiven.
  In
  comics,
  heroes
  become
  the
  Power
  Corrupted for one of two reasons: either the
  creative team wants to remove this powerful
  character
  from
  a
  story
  she
  has
  come
  to
  dominate
  (Phoenix),
  or
  they
  need
  an
  omnipotent deus ex machina to take the book
  in a “bold new direction” (Hal Jordan, Scarlet
  Witch). As a GM, you might use the Power
  Corrupted story when one of your players
  leaves the game or expresses a desire for a
  new character.
  Superhero comics being what they are, it is
  almost inevitable for a Power Corrupted to
  return to the heroic fold eventually. This is
  usually done by personifying the omnipotent
  power and placing all the blame on this second
  entity. In retcons of this sort, the hero wasn’t
  ever the Power Corrupted at all. She was
  essentially
  replaced
  or
  dominated
  by
  an
  invasive being, an incarnation of power itself.
  Alternately, all the blame is placed on mind
  control from a very powerful, even godlike,
  Dominator.
  However,
  while
  the
  Power
  Corrupted was in charge, many terrible and
  unforgivable things were done. When the hero
  awakens from whatever enchanted sleep she
  was in, she feels crushing guilt. The heroic
  community will be split; some will insist “it
  wasn’t her fault,” while others cannot forget
  what the "hero" did. This is a prompt for much
  soul‐searching, an attempt to integrate and
  reconcile lingering trauma, and, if the hero is
  lucky, a renewed sense of purpose. If the
  power was personified, it becomes the hero’s
  new Nemesis or Dark Mirror.
  As a GM, when the Power Corrupted appears in
  your game, you will be handing out a lot of
  Determination
  to
  the
  heroes.
  Virtually
  everything the antagonist does will break the
  rules. She often has additional actions in
  combat, so that she can respond to the action
  of each PC in turn. And when heroes attempt
  to fight her using their own powers, these
  efforts are useless. Players may get frustrated
  because,
  even
  when
  they
  use
  all
  the
  Determination you give them, their powers are
  still useless. Yes, yes they are. But all that
  Determination can also be used on social
  interaction
  rolls
  to
  remind
  the
  Power
  Corrupted of better and more peaceful times,
  of those she loves and is loved by, and of her
  essential humanity.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 7
  Strength 4
  Intellect 5
  Awareness X
  Willpower X
  Stamina X
  Specialties
  Power Expert: Telekinesis
  Power: Telepathy
  Powers
  Element Control: Fire X (Blast)
  Force Field X
  Flight 10
  Immortality 1
  Life Support 10
  Telepathy 10 (Danger Sense, Mental Blast)
  Telekinesis 10 (Binding)
  Qualities
  Fire and Life Incarnate
  Hunted Throughout the Galaxy
  Struggling to Stay Human
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  PSYCHO
  “You know, it’s SUCH a shame you’ll
  miss
  your
  father’s
  debut,
  Miss
  Gordon.
  Sadly,
  our
  venue
  wasn’t
  BUILT with the disabled in MIND. But
  don’t
  WORRY
  —
  I’ll
  take
  some
  SNAPSHOTS to REMIND him of you.”
  ~ the Joker
  The psycho is distinguished from other villains
  by his murderous insanity.
  EXAMPLES:
  The
  Joker,
  Victor
  Zsasz,
  Professor
  Pyg
  (DC);
  Carnage
  (Marvel);
  Casanova Frankenstein (film: Mystery Men)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Theme
  Villain,
  Twisted Genius
  ABILITIES:
  Psychos
  do
  not
  need
  powers;
  innocent
  people
  are
  fragile
  creatures
  and
  killing them is remarkably easy. The Psycho
  usually does it by surprise anyway, when the
  hero is far away. Nevertheless, some Psychos
  are scientifically brilliant — their intelligence
  is linked thematically to their insanity — and
  arm themselves with high‐tech gadgets. They
  may be equipped with knives, a pistol, or some
  other more distinctive weapon. Others have
  “slasher powers,” namely the ability to sustain
  an incredible amount of punishment and to
  claw their way back to life after an apparent
  death.
  When a Psycho does have superhuman powers,
  he poses a far greater danger. A madman with
  even
  rudimentary
  superhuman
  powers
  can
  slaughter dozens, or even hundreds, of people
  by the time the heroes arrive to stop him. The
  only real check on Psychos of this sort is their
  own psychosis, which restricts their murderous
  rampages
  to
  specific
  moments,
  places,
  or
  opportunities, usually focused on a particular
  hero.
  QUALITIES: Why does the Psycho kill? The
  most dangerous are mass murderers, serial
  killers, and sociopaths. They kill for fun, out of
  a
  twisted
  sense
  of
  vengeance,
  or
  out
  of
  obedience to some other pathology which the
  hero must deduce. Crime shows and the film
  industry will provide you with many ideas for
  these pathologies.
  Psycho villains are likely to fixate on a specific
  hero,
  who
  becomes
  their
  nemesis.
  Their
  insanity lends them to other archetypes which
  also exhibit compulsive or obsessive behavior,
  namely the Theme Villain and the Twisted
  Genius. Neither of those archetypes, however,
  require the body count of the true Psycho.
  Some Psychos are crazy in a way which is
  harmless. Their insanity manifests in pranks
  and the harassment of heroes. These are
  Lunatics, a remnant of the Silver Age and the
  strictest version of the Comics Code. Related
  to the heroic Comic Relief archetype, the
  Lunatic appears in lighthearted stories and is
  more
  silly
  than
  dangerous.
  The
  most
  illustrative example is to compare Batman’s
  enemies
  from
  his
  1966
  TV
  show
  (Cesar
  Romero’s Joker) with modern versions, such as
  those found in the Nolan films or even the
  Animated Series.
  STORIES: Psychos pose an ethical dilemma to
  heroes. The Psycho will certainly kill again,
  and — super villains being what they are — is
  just as certain to escape from imprisonment.
  This is the kind of villain which Vigilante
  characters
  execute
  with
  grim
  satisfaction.
  Heroes do not, however, sometimes because
  they
  reject
  the
  taking
  of
  any
  life,
  and
  sometimes because they retain an essential
  optimism and believe that the Psycho can be
  cured. When the Psycho does escape, and
  again kills, Vigilantes and the public place the
  blame on the hero. The Psycho’s body count is
  now “all your fault,” because the hero could
  have
  killed
  the
  Psycho
  when
  he
  had
  the
  chance, but chose not to. This can be a very
  serious test of any hero’s dedication; it can be
  hard to remember that, while it is true these
  victims would be alive if the hero had taken
  the Psycho’s life, it was not the hero who
  released poison gas in a crowded auditorium.
  Although the Psycho is given psychiatric care,
  he never recovers his sanity. For one thing, his
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  body
  count
  is
  so
  high
  and
  his
  crimes
  so
  horrific, that even if he were to recant, he
  would expect to be incarcerated forever. But
  in addition, his medical care is awful and
  horrific, actually contributing to his condition,
  rather than easing it. He may be tormented by
  doctors and staff, kept in inhumane conditions
  reminiscent
  of
  a
  medieval
  dungeon,
  or
  subjected to electric shock and other barbaric
  “treatments.” His doctors and the hospital
  administrators
  are
  also
  his
  future
  victims;
  often they perish when the Psycho escapes his
  ward.
  Psycho
  villains
  pose
  special
  challenges
  in
  roleplaying games. They often kill their victims
  when the heroes are not present, so it’s not
  really possible for the heroes to save them.
  They are unrepentant and, as noted, a hero is
  usually expected not to kill the villain, even
  though more casualties are likely. All of this
  can make for a very depressing session, unless
  your players are all on board for a story of this
  sort. If you want to use a Psycho without
  frustrating your players, make him a Lunatic
  instead. After all, many of Batman’s most
  lethal
  villains
  were
  just
  goofy
  pranksters
  decades ago, more concerned with humiliating
  the hero than actually hurting anyone.
  There are two Psycho stories worthy of special
  note. In the first, a Psycho without powers
  suddenly gains them. As noted above, this
  makes the Psycho far more dangerous than he
  was before, especially because the powers he
  is acquiring tend be to cosmic in scale. The
  heroes first try to prevent the villain from
  getting powers in the first place, but when this
  fails they must somehow use their knowledge
  of the villain’s psychosis to outwit him, trick
  him, or somehow strip the new powers from
  him.
  In other stories, a super hero goes insane. This
  is usually done with a powerful, respected
  hero in the Superman mold. Indeed, the club
  for
  Supermen
  who
  have
  gone
  insane
  and
  turned into murderous lunatics is surprisingly
  large, especially if you count video games,
  one‐shot
  comics,
  and
  alternate
  universes.
  While it might be possible for such a character
  to be rehabilitated, he usually ends up dying
  at the end of an apocalyptic rampage. Because
  of his extreme personal level of power, it
  takes all the heroes working together to stop
  him, and despite this many heroes perish in
  the attempt. This is an excellent — if grim
  —way to thin the ranks of your superhuman
  community.
  So
  if,
  for
  example,
  you
  are
  starting a new ICONS game and want to make
  sure
  that
  the
  player
  characters
  are
  not
  overshadowed
  by
  established
  heroes,
  it
  is
  possible all those previous heroes have been
  recently killed off by a Psycho with great
  power. Although he is now thought dead, he
  can return when your PCs have gotten some
  experience working together, and your players
  can put him down once and for all. This is, of
  course, a much more “dark and gritty” tone
  than traditional ICONS.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 5
  Strength 4
  Intellect 6
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 12
  Specialties
  Mental Resistance Master
  Performance
  Stealth
  Weaponry
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Gadgets 6
  Qualities
  Clown King of Crime
  Mysterious Past
  Gang of Crazy Followers
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  SERVITOR
  “Remember, you ... are my number
  one ... guy.”
  “Yes, sir.”
  ~ Joker and Bob the Goon
  The Servitor is a villain in the service of
  another, smarter or more powerful, master.
  EXAMPLES: Silver Surfer, Executioner, Toad
  (Marvel); Desaad, Non and Ursa (DC)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Assassin,
  Monstrosity, Temptress
  ABILITIES: The Servitor has highly focused
  powers in a field which her master lacks, or
  which he chooses to neglect because he is just
  too darn busy being evil. Alternately, she is a
  lesser reflection of her master, wielding very
  similar or even identical powers, just on a
  scale
  which
  the
  heroes
  can
  more
  easily
  overcome.
  The classic forms of the Servitor are the
  big
  dumb
  brute,
  the
  sniveling
  lab
  assistant, the hired killer, and the evil
  daughter;
  but
  Darkseid
  thoroughly
  unionized
  the
  Servitor
  archetype,
  using them for everything from public
  relations (Glorious Godfrey) to child
  care (Granny Goodness). Brutes are
  often
  Monstrosities;
  they
  need
  Strength, Prowess, and some measure
  of Invulnerability. Many carry weapons
  or are, in fact, living weapons capable
  of casually slaughtering innocents by the
  score. The lab assistant, or Igor, provides
  Intellect and may be master of a useful
  specialty. Her physical abilities are weak
  and she doesn’t need powers to fulfill her
  role; once the heroes get their hands on
  her, she quickly tells them everything
  they want to know. Hired killers are
  Assassins; see that archetype for more.
  Finally, the evil daughter is a Temptress
  or femme fatale with good Willpower.
  She is tasked with seducing a hero,
  and sometimes she has fallen far
  enough from the tree that she loves him
  instead.
  QUALITIES: The evil daughter highlights the
  great pivot point for the Servitor, and that is
  her
  loyalty.
  Servitors
  are
  either
  loyal
  or
  traitorous, and while they can typically move
  between these poles, it is important for you to
  decide why a given Servitor is loyal and what
  might prompt her to betray her master. It is
  perfectly fair for the answer to this latter
  question to be “Nothing,” but when a Servitor
  is absolutely loyal to her master, this loyalty
  goes
  unappreciated.
  Master
  villains
  are
  basically jerks, and they take loyal Servitors
  for granted. In time, this turns even fanatically
  loyal Servitors into reluctant traitors.
  If the Servitor is a robot or artificial life, the
  master probably created it, and this is the
  source of its loyalty. Other Servitors serve out
  of family ties, material wealth and comfort, or
  emotional blackmail; heroes who are able to
  free the Servitor from this blackmail earn
  a powerful ally.
  STORIES:
  Besides
  serving
  in their own betrayal plot,
  Servitors
  appear
  as
  intermediate
  obstacles
  which
  the
  heroes
  must
  overcome
  on
  their way to a Mastermind, Crime
  Boss, or other big bad evil guy.
  Physical
  Servitors
  first
  appear
  working alone; once sent packing,
  they
  return
  with
  an
  army
  of
  Faceless
  Minions
  or
  a
  gang
  of
  lesser Servitors. Physically weak
  Servitors like the Igor and the
  evil daughter are, instead, an
  opportunity
  for
  imprisoned
  heroes and those who have been
  stripped
  of
  their
  powers
  to
  escape
  their
  unfortunate
  situation through roleplay or
  a simple fist to the face.
  Love
  and
  friendship
  are
  excellent motivators for a
  Servitor
  to
  betray
  her
  master. Unless the Servitor
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  is irredeemably evil, a shot at redemption can
  go a long way towards turning the Servitor
  back to the side of the heroes. Servitors are
  often shocked to find that their service to the
  master
  has
  very
  practical,
  tragic,
  consequences; like the scientist who suddenly
  discovers her work is being used to make
  weapons, the Servitor loses her naivety and
  gains a spine at the same time.
  When a Servitor betrays her master, he is
  often watching. He allows the betrayal to
  occur, either because he is testing his Servitor
  to see if she returns to the fold, or because he
  never trusted her in the first place and her
  betrayal is all according to his master plan.
  Servitors claim that they will do anything to
  get back into the good graces of the master,
  but masters are, as noted, real jerks, and
  invariably
  place
  the
  most
  humiliating
  of
  requirements on repentant Servitors, forcing
  them to stay in the hero’s arms.
  It’s a sad fact that many Servitors end up
  dead.
  Masters
  have
  a
  terrible
  habit
  of
  executing
  them,
  though
  because
  they
  are
  valuable,
  they
  fare
  slightly
  better
  than
  Faceless Minions and are unlikely to be killed
  simply for the delivery of bad news. Once a
  betrayal
  has
  been
  revealed,
  the
  master’s
  revenge becomes more important even than
  the original caper, and more than one hero has
  cursed a Servitor’s escape only to find out
  that, once back in the presence of the master,
  she was executed for incompetence.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 5
  Strength 4
  Intellect 3
  Awareness 3
  Willpower 4
  Stamina 8
  Specialties
  Drive
  Stealth
  Weaponry
  Powers
  Blast 4 (Pistol)
  Qualities
  Number One Guy
  Yes, Sir
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  SUPERNATURAL
  HORROR
  “Dracula is no MORTAL man — no — he
  is more — MUCH MORE — for NONE
  may touch the Lord of Darkness less
  HE so COMMANDS — none, that is, who
  wishes
  to
  LIVE!
  Now,
  you
  wanton
  IMBECILES, now you shall see the FULL
  POWER OF DRACULA, LORD OF THE
  UNDEAD!”
  The evil counterpart to the Occult Hero, the
  Supernatural Horror is a vampire, werewolf,
  zombie, ghost, or other “classic” monster.
  EXAMPLES: Selene, Deacon Frost (Marvel);
  Dracula (many versions!)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Warlock, Heir to
  Lovecraft, Devil, Supremacist
  ABILITIES: Pop horror has presented us with
  many different versions of the vampire, the
  werewolf, and their ilk. As a GM, your job is to
  decide which of these versions is “correct” in
  your ICONS game. Are vampires burned by the
  sun, or just powerless? Can they transform into
  animals?
  Are
  they
  repelled
  by
  garlic
  and
  crosses? Do they appear in mirrors and on
  camera?
  Perhaps
  these
  creatures
  come
  in
  multiple — or even infinite — varieties. This is
  especially likely if you expect monster hunting
  to be a major element in your game. You will
  want
  to
  present
  your
  players
  with
  unpredictable foes, and that means raiding the
  folklore
  and
  occult
  traditions
  of
  world
  cultures, rather than Hollywood.
  Regardless,
  some
  level
  of
  superhuman
  strength, speed, and stamina is likely for all
  but ghosts, who can fly and pass through walls
  instead. The Horror may be walking dead,
  granting it Immunities, and it may be Immortal
  or Invulnerable to all but specific materials or
  tactics. He may have the Occult specialty,
  especially if his Intellect is only average.
  If the Horror can cast spells and work magic,
  like many boss vampires or mummies, he's also
  a Warlock. See that archetype for advice on
  villains with the Magic power.
  QUALITIES: The Supernatural Horror may
  have begun as an ordinary man, but he made a
  deal with the devil which has made him into a
  monster.
  He
  might
  have
  been
  cursed
  as
  punishment
  for
  a
  heinous
  crime,
  usually
  murder, or made into a monster by an older
  and even more powerful Supernatural Horror.
  Ghosts are unable to pass on from the world,
  and often seek revenge or are controlled by a
  master who carries some talismanic object
  that belonged to the spirit in life. Alternately,
  the Horror serves mindless squid in the depth
  of space, and is an Heir to Lovecraft.
  You
  will
  need
  to
  decide
  if
  the
  Horror’s
  condition
  can
  spread,
  how
  this
  is
  accomplished,
  and
  how
  it
  is
  cured.
  Such
  transformations are probably too extreme to
  be covered by the simple use of a super
  power. Instead, this is a plot element that is
  governed by the needs of the story. Player
  Characters
  are
  extremely
  resilient
  to
  this
  transformation,
  even
  if
  there’s
  no
  logical
  reason why they should be; a hero can be
  turned into a vampire or a zombie and still be
  cured even when no one else survives the
  process. You can temporarily transform a PC
  into a Horror using Determination; just be sure
  to have a short list of changes to the character
  sheet handy, so the player knows what her
  new powers and qualities are.
  The Supernatural Horror is a good archetype
  for many demon villains, but if the demon has
  authority in Hell, does not generally reside on
  Earth, and has vast (perhaps even seemingly
  omnipotent) power, he's really the Devil. A
  Horror, even a demon, is more likely to reside
  permanently on Earth, have an independent
  agenda, and be battled physically rather than
  spiritually.
  Famous Horrors are pursued by one or more
  monster hunters who are knowledgeable in his
  powers, wield specialized gear to nullify his
  advantages and slay him, and who invariably
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  include one jive‐talking blaxploitation hero.
  These
  monster
  hunters
  may
  be
  player
  characters brought out for a change of pace,
  but they can also appear in the middle of the
  session as a third party whom the heroes first
  battle and then team up with.
  Occasionally a Supernatural Horror is actually
  a former hero from another reality, the World
  Where We All Became Zombies (or Vampires).
  He has received the curse and has all his
  original abilities plus the unique traits of the
  Horror. This makes him an Evil Twin.
  STORIES: Horrors are called such because
  they make horror stories; the specific form of
  the story depends on the symbol which the
  horror represents. Entire books (very good
  ones!) have been written about horror gaming
  across genre; here it is perhaps enough to note
  that super heroics are, by their nature, very
  difficult to make scary. The protagonists of
  horror stories are, by and large, powerless. If
  they had power, they would not be afraid. By
  extension,
  that
  means
  that
  superhero
  horror has to either create antagonists
  so
  eye‐poppingly
  powerful
  that
  the
  heroes are dwarfed by them (Cosmic
  Menace, Devil) or else take away the
  powers of the player characters,
  thus
  making
  them
  vulnerable.
  Taking away a hero’s powers is
  usually one of the fastest routes
  to player anger in a superhero
  game;
  however,
  if
  everyone
  understands that we're telling a
  horror story, such moves
  can
  be
  made
  more
  palatable.
  One effective tactic is
  to
  introduce
  the
  Supernatural Horror in
  a
  “prequel”
  scene
  or
  session.
  During
  this
  session, the players do not play
  their usual characters. Instead, they play
  ordinary people who are in the Horror’s
  way.
  If
  the
  Horror
  is
  rampaging
  through a museum at midnight, the
  PCs are museum staff, a young couple
  who hid in the museum for a tryst, and the
  foreign diplomat who is secretly trying to steal
  artifacts from the museum so he can take
  them back to his country, from which they
  were dug up and appropriated by colonial
  powers. Over the course of the session, the
  Horror kills one PC and then another, giving
  hints of its nature at each scene. At the end of
  the session, the heroes arrive, reconstructing
  the sequence of events out of the carnage.
  Session two begins with tracking down the
  fleeing Horror, still at large.
  Supernatural Horrors often seek to spread
  their own kind; zombies do this out of mindless
  reflex, but vampires do it because they are
  convinced
  of
  their
  own
  superiority
  over
  ordinary human beings, who exist only to be
  slaughtered or used as food. This makes them
  Supremacists.
  Other
  Horrors
  are
  actually
  tragically misunderstood Occult Heroes; the
  monster
  hunters
  are
  the
  true
  villains,
  relentlessly stalking the Horror, blaming him
  for the casualties they leave in their wake,
  and insisting that redemption is impossible.
  Buffy the Vampire Slayer established
  the basic structure of a Supernatural
  Horror episode: the Horror kills an
  innocent
  victim,
  the
  heroes
  deduce the creature’s nature,
  find its weakness by consulting
  a traditional or online library,
  and then force a confrontation
  in which the plan is about to
  fail
  before
  it
  suddenly
  succeeds.
  Because
  Horrors
  tend
  to
  have
  these
  weaknesses,
  they
  are sometimes found at the
  center of an elaborate plot
  to remove or circumvent
  that weakness. Perhaps
  a vampire wants to “put
  out the sun” or cover the
  world in unending clouds.
  He may just have a scheme
  to make himself immune to
  the sun’s rays.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Sometimes
  the
  Horror
  isn’t
  actually
  Supernatural at all; instead, he is a vampire or
  zombie with a scientific origin, or a “ghost”
  which is actually a living man trapped between
  dimensions.
  These
  Techno‐Horrors
  are
  an
  attempt to demythologize occult creatures,
  and are especially useful in settings where
  magic does not actually work (even if people
  think it does). If the Techno‐Horror was an
  ordinary person before being infected with
  some kind of freakish virus, his story warns
  against medical experimentation and scientific
  hubris. But if he is not human at all, and is
  instead some kind of alien, he is the hidden
  menace, the mysterious predator which looks
  like us but harbors a dangerous secret — like
  the serial killer who lives next door.
  Abilities
  Prowess 8
  Coordination 7
  Strength 7
  Intellect 8
  Awareness 8
  Willpower 9
  Stamina 16
  Specialties
  Investigation
  Occult Expert
  Stealth Expert
  Powers
  Alter Ego: Bat Form 8
  Alternate Form: Gaseous 8
  Emotion Control 9
  Fast Attack 8
  Immortality 2
  Life Support 8 (still needs to eat and sleep)
  Resistance 5
  Servant 9
  Super‐Senses 1 (darkvision)
  Wall Crawling 5
  Qualities
  Lord of All Vampires
  Traditional Vulnerabilities
  Black Magic
  SUPREMACIST
  “I am not your enemy, X‐Men. Nor do I
  consider you mine. True, my goal has
  ever been conquest of the Earth, but
  solely to create a world in which our
  race,
  Homo
  Superior,
  can
  live
  in
  peace.
  Look
  at
  yourselves,
  risking
  your lives for a humanity that would
  rather see you behind bars, or dead.
  Why do you persist?”
  ~ Magneto
  The Supremacist is a villain with a racist
  agenda.
  EXAMPLES: General Zod, Gorilla Grodd (DC);
  Magneto,
  Ultron,
  Zombie
  Reed
  Richards
  (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Nazi,
  Ultimate
  Villain, Conqueror
  ABILITIES: A Supremacist has to have powers
  that place him above ordinary men or else his
  beliefs become even harder to justify than
  they already are, and he becomes absurd. He
  is often more intelligent, stronger, and longer‐
  lived than human beings, all of which he cites
  as evidence that his cause is logically correct.
  The idea that people should be treated equally
  regardless of their intelligence, strength, or
  lifespan is, of course, counter‐intuitive to him.
  The Supremacist will share powers and other
  traits with his chosen people. So, for example,
  if he is a robot attempting to usher in the
  Machine Age, he will have Immunities that
  allow him to go without food, water, and sleep
  (but not electricity), and he will share these
  powers with his followers.
  In fact, the Supremacist often has powers and
  abilities far beyond those of other villains, as
  further evidence of his superior nature. See
  the Ultimate Villain archetype for advice on
  making and playing solo villains intended to
  challenge entire super‐teams.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  QUALITIES: The Supremacist believes that
  his particular form of life — be it animals,
  robots,
  mutants,
  or
  something
  else
  —
  is
  innately superior to mankind. He comes from
  an oppressed culture and is angry at humanity
  over the thoughtless and cruel way his people
  have been treated over the years.
  If he can afford them, the Supremacist is
  probably served by Faceless Minions, but some
  prefer to work in the shadows in order to
  escape the attention of authority. Others lead
  a small, select group of Servitors.
  Although his avowed philosophy is one of
  equality among his own people, in fact the
  Supremacist considers himself the leader of his
  kind. All mutants may be created equal, but
  some
  are
  more
  equal
  than
  others.
  The
  Supremacist might talk a good game, but
  there’s really only one person who gets to be
  truly free in his new society, and that’s him.
  STORIES:
  Whatever
  form
  of
  life
  the
  Supremacist
  champions,
  it
  becomes
  a
  metaphor for race and ethnicity. The story of
  the Supremacist, therefore, is one about equal
  and fair treatment of our fellow man. It is a
  cautionary tale that reminds us of America’s
  long
  struggle
  with
  racial
  inequality
  —
  sometimes explicitly invoking the Civil Rights
  Movement,
  Martin
  Luther
  King,
  Jr.,
  and
  Malcolm X, who are portrayed in caricature as
  a naive pacifist and a violent pragmatist,
  respectively. Supremacist stories also draw on
  the language and images of the Holocaust, the
  archetypal
  example
  of
  racial
  genocide
  in
  human history. Racist villains are instantly
  despicable, so writers and creators often make
  an antagonist into a Supremacist as a way of
  quickly and easily making it clear that, yes,
  this
  is
  the
  Bad
  Guy.
  The
  Supremacist
  is
  shorthand for “evil.” Many are Nazis in all but
  name.
  There are ways to make such a character more
  complicated and sympathetic, however. If the
  Supremacist comes from a group which has a
  history of being violently oppressed, his quest
  can feel more like an extreme overreaction
  than true evil. There is often irony here, as
  the
  Supremacist,
  in
  his
  revenge
  upon
  humanity, falls back on the same genocidal
  and repressive tactics that were employed
  against him. When confronted by this fact, a
  sympathetic Supremacist either recognizes his
  error and surrenders, or “doubles down” and
  commits himself to a future in which the ends
  justify the means.
  Heroes
  are
  far
  more
  likely
  to
  treat
  the
  Supremacist as a sympathetic adversary if
  they, themselves, are part of the group he
  champions. In other words, the Flash’s conflict
  with Gorilla Grodd would be a lot different if
  the Flash himself were an ape. The evil the
  villain
  performs
  in
  his
  quest
  for
  racial
  dominance now taints the hero by extension,
  making the hero’s job harder and forcing him
  to defend a humanity that considers him little
  better than the Supremacist he battles. You
  don’t have to force your players to take a
  common origin for a story like this to work;
  simply being superhuman is a perfectly fair
  form of life for the Supremacist to represent.
  Many villains over the years have promised to
  create utopian societies ruled by super‐people,
  and they have extended sincere offers to
  heroes who might join in this effort. “Super‐
  people” can be a little fuzzy as a category, but
  it’s often enough.
  Along this line, sometimes the Supremacist
  develops a way to transform human beings —
  either influential examples or en masse — into
  his protected group. At its best, this story
  exposes the hypocrisy of discrimination and
  reminds us that people have much in common
  regardless of their skin color. The victims are
  transformed back wiser than they were before,
  and enemies become friends. At its worst, the
  victims are used as soldiers in the war against
  humanity, or simply die before they can be
  returned to normal, adding to the villain's
  death toll.
  Usually the Supremacist’s cause requires that
  man be exterminated to make room for the
  villain and his chosen people, but if humanity
  is lucky, they might be allowed to survive as
  menial labor or second‐class citizens in a
  Supremacist state. These goals establish two
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  very
  different
  plots;
  in
  the
  first,
  the
  Supremacist is a Conqueror who intends to
  create a utopian — though tyrannical — state
  out of our admittedly flawed human society.
  Global blackmail via a technological threat
  (earthquake
  machine,
  weather
  control
  satellite, etc.) is a common tactic in this type
  of
  story.
  In
  the
  second,
  more
  genocidal
  version, the Supremacist is still a Conqueror,
  but world conquest is a means, not an end. He
  really
  desires
  nothing
  less
  than
  the
  mass
  extinction of all humanity. Ruling the world
  just means that all the trains in this second
  Holocaust will run on time.
  Finally, the Supremacist can be presented as
  laughable and absurd, rather than evil or even
  as a sympathetic victim. These Supremacists
  wage war based on a “logic” so ridiculous that
  it
  highlights
  the
  absurd
  nature
  of
  racist
  arguments. See, for example, Frank Gorshin’s
  memorable turn in the Star Trek episode “Let
  That
  Be
  Your
  Last
  Battlefield.”
  For
  a
  Supremacist of this type, potent super human
  abilities, minions, and so on, are not required.
  He exists not to threaten the heroes with
  violence, but to expose the foolishness of
  discrimination.
  This is satire, and so can even be funny in a
  dark and bitter sort of way.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 6
  Strength 4
  Intellect 7
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 12
  Specialties
  Power Master: Energy Control
  Technology
  Powers
  Energy Control: Magnetism 10 (Binding, Force
  Field, Telekinesis)
  Flight 5
  Mind Shield 10 (Helmet)
  Qualities
  Master of Magnetism
  Victim of Nazi Genocide
  Making the World Safe For Mutants
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  TEMPTRESS
  “There’s
  just
  something
  about
  an
  anatomically correct rubber suit that
  puts fire in a girl’s lips.”
  ~ Poison Ivy
  The Temptress is a superhuman Femme Fatale,
  a villain who achieves her goals by seducing
  others.
  AUTHOR'S NOTE: Like the Foreigner, the
  Temptress is an archetype that poses a lot of
  problems.
  In
  this
  case,
  the
  Temptress
  is
  misogynistic, a character based on dated and
  deeply
  flawed
  representations
  of
  women.
  Before you introduce another female villain
  who uses the promise of sex to make men do
  bad things, it is worth taking a moment to
  reflect on your gaming table and the messages
  you send.
  If the Temptress is so problematic, it’s fair to
  ask,
  “Why
  include
  her
  at
  all?”
  But
  the
  Temptress is not only a long‐lived character
  type seen in countless superhero comics, she
  continues to appear even today on television
  (Lorelei stars in a first season episode of
  Agents of SHIELD) and the big screen (see Uma
  Thurman’s
  Poison
  Ivy).
  Rehabilitating
  the
  Temptress
  into
  a
  less
  offensive,
  more
  nuanced, and frankly more useful and fun
  archetype is a good goal, but we’re not going
  to do that by refusing to engage with her. This
  is a conversation superhero fans need to have.
  EXAMPLES:
  Enchantress,
  Lorelei
  (Marvel);
  Poison Ivy (DC); P‘Gell (The Spirit)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Dominator
  ABILITIES: The Temptress uses some kind of
  mind control to make male heroes do her
  bidding. The specific nature of her powers,
  however, can take many forms. She could be
  psychic, use witchcraft, control pheromones,
  or use biological weaponry.
  Note that there is no listed specialty in ICONS
  that covers seduction or any other kind of
  social
  interaction.
  (Even
  Leadership
  is
  primarily mechanical in its effects.) When a
  Temptress is seducing NPCs, she relies on a
  high Willpower and the plot you have created
  for her. When she is trying to seduce a player
  character without using her powers, it comes
  down to roleplay. If a player doesn’t want his
  character to be seduced, no die roll can
  change his mind. A bribe of Determination,
  however, is perfectly allowable!
  Powers beyond Mind Control are optional for
  the Temptress, but if that’s all she has, it
  should be quite effective. Temptresses with
  additional powers are more interesting, and
  will
  make
  for
  more
  useful
  recurring
  characters.
  QUALITIES: The Temptress is distinguished
  from the related Dominator archetype by an
  emphasis on sexual desire and by the fact that
  while the Dominator is willing to force his
  desire on others, the Temptress “makes you
  want it.” As we become increasingly aware of
  the
  slippery
  nature
  of
  gender
  and
  sexual
  preference,
  the
  long‐standing
  heterosexual
  nature of this archetype has begun to slip.
  The Temptress is almost always accompanied
  by
  a
  big,
  strong
  man
  whom
  she
  is
  manipulating. This could be her Boyfriend of
  the Hour, or a particular lackey whose great
  strength and unending devotion makes him the
  perfect tool. Sometimes she has an entire gang
  or small army of fanatical Faceless Minions.
  STORIES: Traditionally, the Temptress wants
  someone dead and she wants a heroic man to
  do the deed for her. Temptresses are also a
  good excuse to get player characters to fight
  each other; this is never very hard to arrange
  in a superhero game.
  Writers and creators in the comics are not
  blind to the flawed portrayal of women which
  the Temptress represents, as demonstrated by
  efforts to make characters like Poison Ivy and
  the Enchantress into sympathetic women with
  (sometimes) admirable goals, even if their
  methods remain criminal.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  When the Temptress’s powers only work on
  men, writers introduce her in an effort to
  spotlight the female members of the team.
  While the men are all hapless pawns, the
  women save the day. It’s a good message,
  except that these stories still feature a woman
  as the source of the problem in the first place.
  This turns the whole story into a glorified cat
  fight; once again, we are back to stories in
  which female heroes only fight female villains,
  and men are all portrayed as sex animals
  unable to control their desires. When a mind‐
  controlled male hero is defeated in battle by
  his
  female
  peer,
  she
  seldom
  gets
  credit.
  Instead, blame is placed on the effects of the
  mind control. The hero was subconsciously
  sandbagging and the fight was “not fair.”
  Nobody — neither men nor women — wins in
  these stories.
  There is a male version of this archetype, and
  the differences are telling. The Tempter does
  not cajole heroes by offering sex. Instead, he
  offers power, usually to ordinary people or
  other villains. This is a variant on the old
  “Deal with the Devil” story and dramatically it
  serves as a way to increase tension on the
  hero. (“Sure, Amazing Woman, you’ve beaten
  me once, but can you do it again when I’m
  wielding the power of the Faceless Ones?”) But
  power can come in many forms; heroes are
  often tempted more by critical information
  than they are by superhuman power, and they
  might be willing to do ethically questionable
  things if, by doing so, they can find out where
  the mayor is being held hostage, or where the
  bomb has been hidden.
  One easy way to shake up the traditional,
  misogynistic Temptress is to flip the gender
  roles. Maybe your Tempter uses sex to get
  what he wants, and your Temptress is offering
  power, not kisses. Even better, change the
  nature of the lever the Temptress is using; if
  the
  core
  of
  this
  archetype
  is
  that
  the
  Temptress “makes you want it,” maybe “it” is
  something other than sex. What else might a
  hero be tempted by? Wealth? Perhaps fame?
  Heroes aren’t supposed to want these things,
  but most would agree wealth and fame make a
  hero more effective and his life easier. And
  imagine a Temptress who offers the ultimate
  gift: a normal life, the chance to put away
  responsibilities and burdens and instead live
  happily ever after?
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 5
  Strength 3
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 11
  Specialties
  Power Mastery: Plant Control
  Powers
  Emotion Control 8
  Plant Control* 8 (Affliction, Binding, Plant
  Growth, Plant Recall, Servant)
  Qualities
  Former Botanist
  Values Plants Over People
  Vamp
  * The Plant Control power is fully described in
  the Great Power supplement for ICONS.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  THEME VILLAIN
  “I stand here atop Gotham’s beautiful
  twin towers with two bombs capable
  of
  making
  them
  rubble.
  You
  have
  twenty minutes to save them ... The
  price is five million dollars. I would
  have made it two, but I’ve got bills to
  pay.”
  ~ Two‐Face
  The Theme Villain performs crimes and uses
  weapons based around a particular theme or
  conceit — like birds, books, or the calendar.
  EXAMPLES:
  Mirror
  Master,
  Toyman,
  Two‐
  Face (DC); Green Goblin (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Thief,
  Twisted
  Genius
  ABILITIES: The Theme Villain usually
  has no powers, but instead equips
  herself with fantastic weapons and
  devices which make her a match for
  her archenemy. Just about any set
  of powers is possible, so use the
  traditional,
  random
  method
  of
  generating powers for ICONS,
  and then knit those
  powers
  together
  with some kind of
  common
  theme.
  Sometimes the Theme Villain doesn’t
  have even that much going for her,
  relying
  instead
  of
  a
  gang
  of
  colorfully
  dressed
  minions
  and
  a
  pistol in her pocket. In short, Theme
  Villains
  provide
  a
  light
  hearted
  caper, but their success rate is
  poor.
  If the Theme Villain has built
  her own arsenal — be it trick
  umbrellas, mirrors, tops,
  or what have you — she
  will
  have
  an
  above
  average Intellect and an
  appropriate specialization.
  QUALITIES: The Theme Villain has a bizarre
  fixation, and there should be a reason for her
  behavior, however odd it may be. Was she
  raised by animals? Did her father make toys?
  Whatever
  the
  original
  impetus
  was,
  this
  obsession has now become linked to crime.
  For
  most
  Theme
  Villains,
  the
  theme
  has
  crossed
  over
  from
  mundane
  interest
  to
  psychological
  obsession,
  but
  a
  few
  Theme
  Villains have picked their theme merely to
  differentiate them from the crowd of other,
  less memorable, criminals. These lucky few
  are relatively well adjusted and are essentially
  mercenaries or career criminals, using their
  skills and equipment to play in the major
  leagues as a super villain. They don’t obey the
  theme because they must; they do it because
  it is the key to their professional reputation.
  The Puzzle Master is a related archetype, a
  kind of cross between the Theme Villain and
  the Twisted Genius. The Puzzle Master is as
  smart as any Genius, but has little interest in
  science or technology except as a means to an
  end. Convinced that if she simply performed
  crimes, it would not be fair and
  would
  pose
  no
  challenge,
  she
  instead leaves clues in the form of
  puzzles,
  the
  specific
  form
  of
  which make up her Theme. By
  handicapping herself and giving the
  heroes and the police these clues,
  she makes the game more interesting and
  revels in baffling the public.
  Think
  about
  the
  Theme
  Villain’s
  relationship
  to
  her
  minions;
  characterizing this relationship makes a
  good quality which she can then use to
  motivate
  henchmen
  or
  get
  them
  to
  protect her when the inevitable Dark
  Avenger comes crashing through the
  window.
  More
  qualities
  will
  be
  inspired by the theme itself;
  cats have nine lives, there
  are two sides to every coin,
  and so on. A catchphrase or
  distinctive manner of speaking
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  makes a fun quality. It is a rare Theme Villain
  who has never spent time in prison or a
  psychiatric
  hospital;
  qualities
  can
  establish
  relationships with that locale much in the way
  that
  other
  villains
  use
  qualities
  for
  a
  headquarters or hidden lair.
  Postmodern
  efforts
  to
  update
  the
  Theme
  Villain have resulted in the “pop criminal” or
  “performance criminal,” a criminal who sees
  her work as Art. (This idea goes back at least
  to Batman’s 1966 TV series, but reappeared
  with Tim Burton’s Joker and the work of Grant
  Morrison.) Such a villain has no real desire for
  money;
  in
  fact,
  money
  is
  in
  many
  ways
  inimical to art. This makes the performance
  criminal difficult to predict or anticipate, and
  loyalty to Art also makes these characters
  more sympathetic than they might otherwise
  be, even when their crimes are horrific.
  STORIES: Often the Theme Villain is a kind of
  Twisted Genius, an outcast seeking to prove
  her superior intellect to a world. It’s not
  enough to obey the theme; she must “act
  out,” displaying it publicly. The larger the
  stage, the better.
  With noted exceptions, the Theme Villain’s
  fetish has overwhelmed her personality in such
  a way that it’s no longer really possible for her
  to have a normal life; when she tries to “go
  straight” or lay low, she still surrounds herself
  with
  her
  theme,
  albeit
  in
  mundane
  representations.
  This
  serves
  as
  a
  constant
  reminder of her criminal ways and of her
  psychosis,
  and
  when
  she
  finds
  herself
  subjected to the normal stresses of everyday
  life, the theme itself pulls her back to crime.
  Because she steals objects which satisfy her
  fetish, the Theme Villain is often a Thief, but
  her
  crimes
  go
  beyond
  theft
  to
  include
  kidnapping,
  blackmail,
  arson
  and
  more.
  Indeed, the type of crime she is committing is
  actually far less important than fulfilling the
  theme. She can be sympathetic, if you keep
  her away from violent crimes like assault,
  murder, and rape, but villains who cross these
  lines become victims of their own psychosis; at
  best, they are pitiable, but they still must be
  punished.
  The reliance on a theme makes the Theme
  Villain easier to predict and capture than she
  would
  otherwise
  be.
  Once
  she
  has
  been
  introduced, all a GM has to do is mention that
  a
  famous
  bird
  statue,
  especially
  large
  diamond, or ancient board game is on display
  at
  the
  museum
  for
  the
  players
  to
  begin
  planning for the Theme Villain’s arrival. This
  creates an opportunity to play with player
  expectations and create stories which still
  surprise.
  Perhaps
  a
  copycat
  villain
  is
  competing with the original villain, with the
  theme as the prize. Perhaps the Theme Villain
  steals the fetish object solely to attract the
  hero's attention, hoping to ask his help in an
  unrelated
  problem.
  Perhaps
  she
  is
  being
  manipulated
  into
  the
  crime
  by
  a
  hidden
  Mastermind who knows that she will not be
  able to resist such an opportunity. Perhaps she
  is simply being framed.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 6
  Strength 5
  Intellect 5
  Awareness 4
  Willpower 6
  Stamina 11
  Specialties
  Investigation
  Law Expert
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 5 (Firearms)
  Qualities
  Heads or Tails
  Hideously Scarred
  Gang of Thugs
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  THIEF
  “Why does anybody do anything? The
  money, man. We do it for the dosh. A
  guy can never have enough notes in
  his pocket.”
  “But why do you need so much?”
  “To buy better gizmos and pull bigger
  jobs to get more money to buy better
  gizmos and pull bigger jobs. It’s a bit
  like two mirrors reflecting each other
  into infinity. It never ends.”
  ~ Mirror Master and Flash
  The Thief is here to relieve the wealthy of
  their loot.
  EXAMPLES:
  Catwoman
  (DC);
  Fantomex,
  Black
  Cat,
  the
  Prowler
  (Marvel);
  Carmen
  Santiago (video games)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Theme
  Villain,
  Femme Feline
  ABILITIES: Many thieves have no powers at
  all,
  and
  rely
  on
  high
  Coordination,
  specializations, and equipment. However, it’s
  also common for a person who suddenly finds
  herself with a useful power — such as super‐
  speed,
  super‐luck,
  or
  the
  ability
  to
  pass
  through solid objects — to turn this power to a
  profitable (if lawless) use.
  Thieves without powers will use a collection of
  low‐level Gadgets, including both trademark
  gear and specialized items designed for the
  crime
  of
  the
  hour:
  temporary
  invisibility,
  climbing tools, non‐lethal weaponry such as
  sleep
  gas
  or
  flash
  bombs,
  and
  sensory
  equipment which can be used to see in the
  dark, listen over a long distance, or even see
  through walls are all common.
  In this increasingly digital age, a Thief survives
  by being Technology savvy. In addition to
  Stealth, Sleight of Hand, and Athletics, the
  Thief will have good Intellect with knowledge
  of computers and surveillance systems. She
  may use Performance and a strong Willpower
  to charm her way to the target, instead of
  sneaking.
  QUALITIES: A professional and lifelong thief
  will have broad and deep knowledge of her
  trade, including everything from the specifics
  of particular models of safes and security
  systems to building layout, the habits of law
  enforcement
  personnel
  she
  is
  likely
  to
  encounter, and criminal experts who can be
  consulted or even recruited at need. She may
  have prepared a host of contingency plans for
  the current theft, represented not by specialty
  or Powers but by qualities like “Meticulous
  Planner,” “Everything According to Plan,” or
  “Time for Plan B... or C ... or D”.
  Most Thieves prefer to avoid violence, but
  because a fight with a super hero is inevitable,
  only a very poorly prepared Thief has no
  fighting
  skills
  whatsoever.
  She
  will
  have
  planned an escape, perhaps something simple
  like a getaway vehicle, or complex like a false
  identity and a convenient distraction caused
  by the sudden arrival of a third party.
  STORIES: Legend, history, and folklore has a
  long tradition of heroic thieves, and it’s easy
  to see why. The Thief preys on the rich and
  the powerful, and often comes from humble
  roots. She becomes a hero to the poor and
  oppressed, and sometimes acknowledges this
  acclaim
  by
  becoming
  a
  champion
  of
  the
  underclass, even when there’s no money in it.
  All of this makes the Thief one of the most
  sympathetic
  villain
  archetypes,
  and
  heroes
  have a long history of letting the Thief go after
  thwarting her latest scheme and making her
  promise to behave in the future ... A promise
  she never fails to break.
  Sympathetic
  thieves
  often
  target
  an
  evil
  corporation or corrupt official for their work,
  and
  they
  may
  have
  a
  dependent
  family
  member
  whose
  desperate
  situation
  is
  the
  impetus for the Thief’s life of crime. Heroes
  can stop the crime spree if they pause to find
  out the truth; this leads to a sequel story when
  the heroes assist the Thief in her cause — not
  by stealing, but by bringing her target down
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  through
  more
  legitimate
  (and
  effective)
  means.
  Occasionally thieves team up; this can be a
  temporary
  arrangement
  for
  a
  single
  spectacular heist, or it can be a more or less
  permanent arrangement for self protection. A
  group
  of
  thieves
  allows
  each
  member
  to
  specialize in a particular tactic or kind of
  theft, and they are able to train each other
  and cover for each other’s weaknesses. This
  can make them very effective, especially if
  they
  continue
  to
  avoid
  brawls
  with
  super
  heroes. Inevitably, however, someone in the
  group
  betrays
  the
  rest,
  including
  a
  sympathetic Thief who reveals all to the hero.
  This leads to a final confrontation with the
  traitor and her unsavory allies.
  A Thief may steal only a certain class of
  objects, or otherwise perform thefts that mark
  her as a Theme Villain. She may be hired by,
  or be forced to pay off, the local Crime Boss.
  Many villains which belong to other archetypes
  — such as the Twisted Genius or Mastermind —
  temporarily become Thieves when they need
  to fund larger projects. In these cases, theft is
  a means to an end, and such villains engender
  little of the sympathy that audiences have for
  true thieves.
  Abilities
  Prowess 4
  Coordination 6
  Strength 4
  Intellect 7
  Awareness 6
  Willpower 5
  Stamina 9
  Specialties
  Technology
  Powers
  Dazzle 8
  Gadgets 8
  Images 8
  Qualities
  It’s All Done With Mirrors
  Honorable Rogue
  In It for the Money
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  TWISTED GENIUS
  “You
  were
  great
  in
  your
  day,
  Superman.
  But
  it
  just
  stands
  to
  reason. When it came time to cash in
  your chips, this old ‘diseased maniac’
  would be your banker.”
  ~ Lex Luthor
  This villain is bent on proving his mental
  superiority and the validity of his theories.
  EXAMPLES: Arnim Zola, Mad Thinker, the
  Wingless
  Wizard
  (Marvel);
  Mr.
  Freeze,
  Professor Ivo, T. O. Morrow (DC); Gru (film,
  Despicable Me)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Servitor, Gadget
  Guy
  ABILITIES: The distinguishing
  trait of a Twisted Genius is
  his
  Intellect;
  if
  a
  player
  character
  has
  a
  high
  Intellect,
  the
  Twisted
  Genius has an equivalent
  score.
  Of
  course,
  he
  believes
  himself
  to
  be
  superior, but at the scale
  employed
  in
  ICONS,
  the
  difference is too small to be
  measured. He has mastery in
  one
  or
  more
  fields
  such
  as
  robotics or genetic engineering.
  Because
  the
  Twisted
  Genius
  generally
  avoids
  brawling
  with
  super heroes, he can do without
  the powers other villains require.
  He
  probably
  has
  the
  Gadgets
  power and a trademark weapon or
  tool like a ray gun, force field
  belt, or hover platform. He may
  have
  experimented
  on
  himself,
  resulting
  in
  minor
  abilities
  of
  convenience such as the ability to
  go without food or sleep, to see
  in the dark, and so on. But as
  a rule, he is easy to defeat
  once a hero is able to reach
  him; a fist to the jaw is usually sufficient.
  QUALITIES: The Twisted Genius is the old
  Mad Scientist of the Victorian and Edwardian
  era with a change of nomenclature. While
  these
  villains
  are
  always
  brilliant
  —
  and
  obsessed with proving their own brilliance —
  they don’t always appear to be insane and
  many
  aren't
  even
  especially
  interested
  in
  science. Regardless, they are descendants of
  Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Moreau, and other
  Mad Scientists of similar ilk.
  Lackeys and minions are common, but the real
  strength of the Twisted Genius comes from the
  Monstrosities he creates, either artificial life
  made from scratch or else hapless human test
  subjects transformed into abominations. All of
  this requires an elaborate laboratory or, at the
  least, a hidden lair.
  The Genius might be twisted physically as well
  as
  mentally,
  with
  deformities
  or
  a
  bizarre appearance which serves as a
  primitive metaphor for his inner evil. His
  life may be sustained only by machinery
  of his own invention. In the 21st century,
  as our society gains a more mature
  understanding
  of
  physical
  disability, the Twisted Genius is
  less likely to be deformed or
  ugly and more likely to appear
  “normal” or even attractive.
  STORIES: The Twisted Genius is
  not a criminal out of love of crime
  or money, though he is obliged to
  steal
  in
  order
  to
  fund
  his
  research,
  continue
  his
  experiments,
  or
  prove
  his
  intellect against his rival. If his
  initial goals are monetary, this is
  quickly supplanted by a need to
  outsmart
  his
  heroic
  nemesis.
  To
  demonstrate his superior intellect in a
  suitably grand manner, the Twisted
  Genius
  comes
  up
  with
  elaborate
  and
  flamboyant
  plots:
  he
  launches
  a
  skyscraper into space, steals the moon, or
  sends half of California into the sea.
  The Twisted Genius is among the most
  sympathetic
  of
  villain
  types;
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  sometimes it seems his only real problem is
  loneliness and social isolation, often stemming
  from his unusual appearance or past trauma. If
  his intellect could be turned to pro‐social
  goals, much good would result. A Genius can
  be as evil and self‐centered as anyone, and if
  he has a long career of villainy it is probably
  too late for him; but if you’re looking to run a
  redemption story, or if your heroes like to
  reach
  out
  to
  their
  enemies
  and
  resolve
  conflicts peacefully, the Twisted Genius is a
  great place to start.
  This archetype is related to the heroic Gadget
  Guy, and he can sometimes be found working
  as the Servitor of a Mastermind or Conqueror
  who
  supplies
  the
  Genius
  both
  with
  the
  materials he requires for his research and a
  venue in which to demonstrate his brilliance.
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 3
  Strength 3
  Intellect 9
  Awareness 7
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 11
  Specialties
  Business
  Investigation
  Technology
  Qualities
  The Greatest Criminal Mind of Our Time
  Central Park Address
  Oafish Assistant
  ULTIMATE VILLAIN
  “I
  am
  Loki
  of
  Asgard,
  and
  I
  am
  burdened with glorious purpose.”
  The Ultimate Villain can only be defeated by
  the combined action of the world’s mightiest
  heroes. In fact, he may be the reason the
  super‐team got together in the first place, and
  his existence validates the team’s existence.
  EXAMPLES: Darkseid, Despero (DC); Loki,
  Thanos, Apocalypse (Marvel)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Cosmic Menace,
  Conqueror, Mastermind, Supremacist
  ABILITIES: The Ultimate Villain has power on
  a tremendous scale, but it is his ambition and
  independent thought that distinguishes him
  from the Villain with All Your Powers. In order
  to pose a threat to the heroic team, he must
  have some kind of defensive ability which
  protects him from harm. When you calculate
  this defense, remember that player characters
  can coordinate their attacks to dish out even
  more damage; in fact, your villain may be
  completely invulnerable, in which case the
  heroes must deduce his weakness or content
  themselves with imprisoning him. Some kind of
  immortality or reincarnation is common, so
  that the Ultimate Villain can return to plague
  the heroes again and again.
  When the climactic battle begins, the action
  economy of most roleplaying games (including
  ICONS) works against the Ultimate Villain; the
  heroes each get to attack him when their turn
  comes up, but he gets only one action in
  response. It’s fairly easy for heroes to avoid
  that attack or minimize the harm it causes,
  making battles against an Ultimate Villain into
  slow‐paced, anticlimactic affairs. To counter
  this, give your Ultimate Villain a way to attack
  multiple heroes at once, such as the Burst
  extra or the Fast Attack power. Perhaps he has
  a damaging aura that attacks every hero near
  him,
  or
  a
  counter‐attack
  power
  which
  automatically lashes out in response to attacks
  which target him. If he doesn't have Burst, he
  can always use it as a stunt; when he does,
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  any Determination you award can’t be used to
  avoid the attack! Alternately, simply give him
  extra actions. While you’d never let a player
  have such an ability, this is the Ultimate
  Villain
  we’re
  talking
  about.
  Award
  Determination to the targets of these extra
  actions.
  The
  Ultimate
  Villain
  often
  has
  specialized
  attacks designed to exploit the weaknesses
  and vulnerabilities of his most powerful foes;
  this is a sign of his hubris, because heroes who
  have no powers of their own (Dark Avengers,
  Weapon Masters, Super‐Patriots, and so on)
  are
  the
  last
  ones
  standing
  and
  end
  up
  defeating
  the
  Ultimate
  Villain,
  who
  has
  discounted them.
  QUALITIES: A hidden lair in an exotic locale
  is traditional. He also has followers, but they
  may not be fighters (see Stories, below). Often
  one of these followers is serving him only
  under duress, or they have not yet seen how
  ruthless the Ultimate Villain truly is, and
  they become the weak link that allows the
  heroes to thwart the Ultimate Villain’s
  master plan.
  Speaking
  of
  master
  plans,
  (almost)
  every
  Ultimate
  Villain
  has
  one.
  Consider
  the
  villain’s
  goal.
  The
  destruction of the hero team is a
  perfectly serviceable agenda, but if
  that team hasn’t formed yet, he
  will
  need
  something
  else
  to
  pursue until revenge steamrolls
  his
  previous
  inclinations.
  Depending on his origins, he
  may
  be
  a
  Cosmic
  Menace
  (Anti‐Monitor,
  Korvac),
  Conqueror
  (Dr.
  Doom,
  Kang),
  or
  Mastermind
  (Brother
  Blood,
  Count
  Nefaria). Because everyone
  should hate him, it is often
  convenient
  if
  he
  is
  a
  Supremacist
  (Magneto,
  Ultron or, again, Loki in the
  Marvel Cinematic Universe).
  If he is not going to resurrect or be rebuilt, the
  Ultimate Villain will need some way to escape
  once the heroes defeat him. This can frustrate
  players who are not expecting this particular
  convention of superhero comics; players who
  come from more goal‐oriented games may feel
  cheated when the villain they’ve been fighting
  teleports away, is rescued by a low‐flying jet,
  or turns out to be a Doombot. But this victory
  is still an achievement; soothe the pain with
  Determination
  awards
  and
  the
  acclaim
  of
  civilian witnesses grateful to be alive.
  STORIES:
  The
  first
  appearance
  of
  an
  Ultimate Villain in your Icons game is probably
  your first ICONS game! Nothing brings a group
  of wacky and willful super heroes together like
  a world conquering bad guy who shrugs off the
  tank shells and cruise missiles hurled against
  him
  by
  a
  hapless
  military.
  In
  this
  first
  adventure, the Ultimate Villain is not subtle;
  he
  appears
  downtown
  or
  attacks
  a
  recognizable
  landmark.
  His
  actions
  are
  broadcast online and by the news media,
  alerting heroes to immediate danger.
  Alternately,
  the
  heroes
  are
  called
  together by the government or some
  other
  organization
  which
  has
  been
  monitoring the Ultimate Villain (and
  which
  may
  exist
  solely
  for
  this
  purpose).
  In
  these
  stories,
  the
  Ultimate Villain has a hidden and
  well‐defended
  lair
  which
  the
  heroes must infiltrate or assault.
  The Ultimate Villain’s use of
  allies
  depends
  upon
  the
  length of your story. If you
  want to skip right to the
  big fight, he works alone.
  If you want at least one
  warm‐up skirmish, he has
  Faceless
  Minions
  and
  perhaps
  a
  big
  Monstrosity. If you have
  the
  time
  for
  multiple
  battles and want to award
  the
  heroes
  some
  Determination,
  the
  Ultimate
  Villain
  has
  a
  whole
  team
  of
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  superhuman lackeys to run interference. They
  may be mercenaries, villains he has created,
  or men and women who share his point of view
  and have been wooed to his side through
  charisma and promises.
  Once defeated, the Ultimate Villain becomes a
  recurring character. Now there is opportunity
  to flesh him out, reveal more of his personality
  and background, and perhaps even make him
  sympathetic. If kept in prison, he has long
  conversations with the heroes and may even
  offer advice in exchange for certain freedoms
  or liberties. He may be revealed to have
  children groomed to be his replacements, and
  he sometimes expresses regret for his actions.
  Inevitably a threat arises which is even greater
  than the Ultimate Villain and, after the heroes
  are forced to retreat from it, they are obliged
  to recruit the Ultimate Villain as a temporary
  ally.
  This
  is
  followed
  by
  a
  sudden
  but
  inevitable betrayal.
  Abilities
  Prowess 7
  Coordination 8
  Strength 7
  Intellect 9
  Awareness 9
  Willpower 8
  Stamina 15
  Specialties
  Occult
  Pilot
  Technology
  Weapons
  Powers
  Blast 10 (Spear)
  Images 10
  Invisibility 10
  Mind Control 10 (Spear)
  Strike 4 (Spear)
  Qualities
  Born To Rule
  God of Lies
  Familial Love
  VIGILANTE
  “Justice is served!”
  ~ The Scourge of the Underworld
  The Vigilante ignores the rules of law and
  society, murdering mundane criminals, other
  super villains, and anyone in her way. She is
  the villainous counterpart to the heroic Dark
  Avenger archetype.
  EXAMPLES: The Punisher, the Scourge of the
  Underworld (Marvel); V, the Red Hood, Jean‐
  Paul Valley as Batman, late Rorschach (DC);
  Frank Miller's Fixer (Legendary Comics); Hit
  Girl (Kick‐Ass films and comics)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Dark
  Avenger,
  Assassin, Dark Mirror
  ABILITIES: The Vigilante is an underdog who
  targets mundane criminals, so she usually has
  no powers. The archetype has its origin in
  characters like the Spider, a Pulp character
  with an astonishing body count, and Mack
  Bolan (star of the Executioner novel series),
  both of whom killed using guns, explosives,
  and their hands. Old School Vigilantes continue
  this tradition, but Vigilantes in the comics
  have to contend with superhuman targets and
  may be equipped with fantastic weaponry.
  A Vigilante relies on detective work, stealth,
  and disguise to get close to her target. She is
  an expert hand‐to‐hand fighter and deadly
  with weapons. Her skills are almost identical
  to the heroic Dark Avenger, differing only in a
  more practical knowledge of firearms derived
  from years of experience shooting people; it is
  the use to which these skills are put that
  distinguish her.
  QUALITIES: Operating alone and in secrecy,
  the Vigilante has a hidden lair, an armory, and
  access to a vehicle. She gathers information
  through alternate identities or a network of
  informants and is hunted by mundane law
  enforcement
  as
  well
  as
  super
  heroes.
  However, her actions may have earned her
  fans and admirers who praise her for “doing
  what the cops won’t” without realizing that
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  they themselves could be the Vigilante’s next
  victim.
  Some Vigilantes are actually Assassins, field
  agents for an extra‐legal organization or a
  secret government agency. In the past, this
  organization targeted organized crime, but in
  the 21st century “the War on Terror” is a
  blank check for constant surveillance, torture
  and murder.
  STORIES: Are you going to decide who gets to
  live and who gets to die? Vigilantes appear in
  stories to ask this question. As a rule, super
  heroes are socio‐normative; they cede the
  power to decide who lives and who dies to
  society, which has juries and laws created by
  the people for self‐governance. The Vigilante
  rejects this premise and seizes the power of
  life and death for herself.
  The shift towards “dark and gritty” comics in
  the
  post‐Watchmen
  era,
  and
  America’s
  broader desensitization to violence, has led
  many characters to be depicted as heroes who
  would,
  in
  previous
  decades,
  be
  villains.
  Rorschach and the Punisher (who, in fact,
  debuted as a villain in the pages of Spider‐
  Man) are only the most successful examples of
  this trend. The Vigilante thinks she is a hero,
  and many readers agree, but her willingness to
  perform casual murder in the name of a self‐
  defined “justice” is what marks her as a
  villain. She is the embodiment of a power
  fantasy in which we, the readers, exact the
  ultimate punishment on all those we are so
  certain deserve it. This truth, and the self‐
  criticism
  which
  should
  follow,
  can
  make
  stories
  about
  the
  Vigilante
  very
  uncomfortable. The Vigilante confronts us with
  the worst side of ourselves; sometimes we
  learn from this experience, but too often we
  cling stubbornly to the ugly part of our nature.
  When a Vigilante story is done right, some of
  your players will take her side, but this will
  also result in friction among your player group
  and
  that’s
  something
  everyone
  should
  be
  prepared for. Arguments over the killing of
  unrepentant criminals can break a gaming
  group apart, if no one is willing to change their
  minds or work together despite disagreements,
  and this debate also occurs in the comics when
  ruthless
  Vigilantes
  and
  Dark
  Avengers
  are
  confronted by their peers.
  If law enforcement is generally portrayed as
  corrupt or incompetent, the Vigilante acts as a
  reader‐identification character and is more
  likely to appear heroic and sympathetic, but if
  the
  police
  and
  government
  are
  well‐
  intentioned and capable, the Vigilante is an
  aberrant psycho who must be brought to heel.
  Heroes are occasionally driven to Vigilante
  status, usually from madness, memory loss, or
  trauma. If the hero has superhuman powers,
  he loses some of them, lest the Vigilante's
  street‐level victims fail to provide a dramatic
  challenge. To restore the hero to his true self,
  he must face the trauma that forced him from
  his ethical path, admit his error, and re‐
  dedicate himself to preserving life instead of
  taking it. This traumatized period is usually
  temporary and the hero finds himself and his
  moral code, but some characters are shattered
  by
  the
  postmodern
  condition
  and
  remain
  Vigilantes. Heroes who find their way back
  from Vigilante status have to make amends for
  the wrongs they committed during this time, a
  project which can dominate the rest of their
  lives and become the impetus for a Bold New
  Direction.
  The Vigilante sometimes comes in as a “pinch
  hitter,” a replacement for a hero forced to
  give up his costumed identity; the Vigilante
  takes up the hero’s mantle and, for a time,
  appears to do a good job. But without the
  conviction of a moral code, the Vigilante stops
  doing what is right and starts doing what is
  “practical”
  or
  “efficient”;
  this
  inevitably
  translates into the murder of criminals. The
  original
  hero
  is
  forced
  to
  come
  out
  of
  retirement, defeat the Vigilante, and reclaim
  the burden of heroic duty.
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  Another Vigilante story is the “rotten apple.”
  A crimefighter begins to train a student to be
  a super hero — perhaps even his own heir —
  but over time comes to see the student's lack
  of a moral center; she looked good at first but
  is rotten at the core. Mentor and pupil argue
  over conflicting methods and what the pupil
  sees as a slow rate of instruction. Eventually
  the student leaves (perhaps after a fight) and
  becomes a Vigilante. Now the mentor feels
  responsible for each life the Vigilante takes.
  This leads the hero to train a new, more
  principled, student to right these wrongs. The
  Vigilante is now a Dark Mirror of the new,
  more heroic, student.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 6
  Strength 4
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 6
  Stamina 10
  Specialties
  Athletics
  Drive
  Investigation Master
  Martial Arts
  Stealth Expert
  Weapons Expert
  Powers
  Blast 5 (Rifle)
  Qualities
  Thorough Preparation
  Master of Disguise
  Scourge of the Underworld
  VILLAIN WITH ALL
  YOUR POWERS
  “This is no common miscreant you
  face! Mine is the combined power of
  the Fantastic Four!”
  ~ The Super‐Skrull
  The VWAYP is a being with the power to
  duplicate or even steal the powers of an entire
  team of heroes.
  EXAMPLES: Amazo (DC); Mimic, early Rogue
  before she joined the X‐men, Super‐Adaptoid,
  Super‐Skrull,
  Taskmaster
  (Marvel);
  Sylar
  (Television, Heroes)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Doppelganger,
  Nemesis, Servitor
  ABILITIES: This archetype comes in three
  breeds; the first is the Nemesis of a specific
  team of heroes, and she has all of their powers
  at
  the
  same
  time.
  The
  second
  type
  can
  duplicate the powers of anyone she touches or
  sees; she is not a Nemesis, and her powers will
  change
  in
  every
  appearance
  as
  she
  faces
  various heroes singly or in combination. If the
  villain copies not just a hero’s powers but also
  his
  physical
  appearance,
  she
  is
  also
  a
  Doppelganger. Most VWAYPs, however, cannot
  do this.
  It is rare for such a villain to be able to
  duplicate a hero’s weapons, gadgets, or other
  tools. She overcomes this by carrying her own
  arsenal, using a weapon that can itself change
  shape, or by stealing the powers of heroes who
  don't use weapons.
  Sometimes a VWAYP has a set of permanent
  powers which are “hard‐wired” in, even before
  she copies the hero team. These powers may
  be based on the first team she ever fought, or
  they may be necessities like super‐senses (to
  find targets to mimic) and invulnerability (to
  survive long enough to acquire more powers).
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  The
  third,
  mundane,
  variation
  on
  this
  archetype is the Villain with All Your Moves.
  The VWAYM has studied the heroes so well
  that she can anticipate their every action and
  even copy their fighting style. She carries
  weapons that duplicate the heroic arsenal, but
  she doesn’t really have any powers of her own.
  The VWAYM has the same relationship to her
  superhuman counterparts that Batman has to
  Superman: because it is more fun when an
  underdog without powers triumphs over an
  enemy who does have powers, the VWAYM is
  more
  popular
  with
  fans
  than
  the
  super‐
  powered VWAYP.
  QUALITIES:
  This
  archetype
  is
  usually
  a
  Servitor
  created
  by
  a
  Twisted
  Genius
  or
  discovered by a Mastermind recently thwarted
  by the hero team. Although extraordinarily
  dangerous, she is a soldier who leaves the
  grand schemes to others. This makes her less
  dangerous in the long term, but in the short
  term she can still kick the heroes around the
  block.
  It can be difficult to explain how this villain
  can do what she does; shape‐changing aliens,
  programmable androids, and artifacts imbued
  with
  reality‐altering
  cosmic
  power
  are
  traditional; in the 21st century, a VWAYP may
  download her powers from an online database,
  and of course you can solve any origin problem
  with the words, “It’s magic!”
  The archetype often has an Achilles heel. She
  may lose her powers after an hour or only be
  able to duplicate powers her creator knows
  about. She may acquire a hero’s weaknesses
  even as she duplicates his powers, creating an
  opening for heroes to exploit. Often the villain
  can be “overloaded” by forcing it to duplicate
  too much or too many powers.
  STORIES:
  When
  a
  villain
  like
  this
  is
  an
  obstacle for your PCs, you are asking, “What
  makes a hero?” Is he really just the sum of his
  powers? If someone else had his powers, would
  she do the hero’s job just as well? When
  players face a VWAYP, they must rely on
  something other than their powers: courage,
  ingenuity, and team work.
  The villain may have the capabilities of an
  entire team, but she can be in only one place
  at a time. Heroes can sometimes exploit this
  and
  keep
  her
  busy
  while
  simultaneously
  completing
  other
  objectives
  (like
  saving
  innocent lives or finding the boss). Likewise,
  the VWAYP has power but not necessarily skill
  or experience; heroes who are able to use
  their powers in creative and imaginative ways
  are able to pull off stunts the villain hasn't
  thought of. This battle also teaches heroes
  how to use their powers in combination, often
  because the enemy is doing so!
  Sometimes the villain retains memories of
  those whose powers she mimics; soon she
  knows the hero's secret identity and the names
  of his loved ones. She may also gain access to
  passwords and other classified information.
  Like other Servitor villains, this archetype is
  really all about her fight scene; because of her
  power
  level,
  she
  is
  usually
  key
  to
  the
  Mastermind’s plans and may be his personal
  bodyguard. Defined entirely by the powers of
  the heroes, she has little personality of her
  own and no goals beyond victory in battle. But
  after
  repeated
  appearances
  in
  an
  ongoing
  story, the VWAYP can transcend the limitations
  of her archetype and begin to have her own
  identity,
  simultaneously
  gaining
  additional
  archetypes.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Abilities
  Prowess 8
  Coordination 7
  Strength 8
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 6
  Stamina 14
  Specialties
  Military Expert
  Powers
  Element Control: Fire 8 (Blast, Flight, Aura)
  Force Field 8
  Invisibility 8
  Mind Control 8
  Resistance 8
  Stretching 8
  Transformation: Humanoids 8
  Qualities
  Champion of His People
  Soldier in Search of a War
  Powers Augmented by Strange Technology
  WARLOCK
  “Demons of darkness!
  In the name of Satannish!
  By the Flames of the Faltine
  Let Spider‐Man vanish!”
  ~ Xandu
  The Warlock is a super villain who casts spells,
  the evil counterpart to the heroic Magician
  archetype. Entire books have been written
  about
  RPG
  campaigns
  focused
  on
  magical
  themes; this entry largely concerns itself with
  campaigns which are not magic‐centered, but
  in which the Warlock is only one of many
  villains the heroes encounter.
  EXAMPLES: Mordru, Morgaine Le Fey, Felix
  Faust (DC); Morgana Le Fay, Mordred the
  Mystic, Baron Mordo, Kulan Gath (Marvel)
  RELATED
  ARCHETYPES:
  Cult
  Leader,
  Devil, Heir to Lovecraft, Servitor, Supernatural
  Horror, Ultimate Villain
  ABILITIES: Obviously the Magic power and
  Occult specialization define this archetype,
  but every universe has its own rules for magic
  and the Warlock should abide by those rules.
  For example, in Marvel comics, any wizard
  worth the name can use Astral Projection.
  Illusions, mind control, the ability to transform
  matter or control the elements, and the ability
  to summon demons or animate the dead, are
  all especially common among Warlocks.
  In ICONS, the Magic power requires a page of
  preparation time, but Warlocks usually cast
  their
  spells
  quickly
  enough
  to
  avoid
  interruption.
  Replicate
  this
  with
  a
  stunt,
  awarding Determination to the target of the
  Warlock’s quickly‐cast spell. But, when you
  want to give a hero the chance to interrupt —
  perhaps because the spell would remove him
  from play — don’t use Determination. That
  spell
  will
  now
  take
  the
  usual
  page
  of
  preparation time and the heroes will have a
  chance to stop it from being cast.
  A Warlock is known for his great power;
  indeed, sometimes it seems he can do almost
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  anything, limited only by his frail physique and
  the need to recite magic words. But NPCs in
  roleplaying games are defined by numbers and
  specific powers, so Warlocks in ICONS have
  limitations which characters in comics don't
  have,
  guided
  by
  a
  personal
  schtick
  like
  “technomancy” or “voodoo.” Not every magic‐
  themed villain is a Warlock; if the villain has a
  short list of powers with specific and narrow
  applications, or if his goals are mundane ones
  like wealth or fame, it is better to treat him as
  another archetype. A villain who uses his
  magical powers to steal is really just a Thief,
  and one who kills for money is an Assassin; the
  Warlock archetype best describes mysterious,
  unpredictable villains who seek vast magical
  power or world transformation. Some Warlocks
  are
  also
  Devils
  or
  Supernatural
  Horrors
  (vampire or lich), granting them immortality
  and
  additional
  powers
  that
  make
  them
  dangerous in hand‐to‐hand combat.
  The
  Warlock
  is
  usually
  equipped
  with
  or
  seeking artifacts of mystic might which further
  augment his powers and make him all but
  omnipotent. These artifacts become recurring
  universe
  elements
  after
  the
  Warlock
  is
  defeated; the heroes usually can’t destroy
  the object and instead spend their time
  learning about it and guarding it, but
  sometimes it becomes the source of
  power for a new hero or the cause for
  an existing hero's Bold New Direction.
  QUALITIES: Again, the specific rules
  for magic in your universe will help to
  define the Warlock. In DC comics,
  for
  example,
  all
  the
  greatest
  magicians trace their lineage to
  Atlantis.
  Magic
  is
  often
  fueled
  by
  godlike entities with bizarre
  names which get used in the
  Warlock’s
  catchphrases
  when he casts his spells.
  The Warlock struggles to
  appease
  these
  entities
  with sacrifice or worship,
  but
  their
  patience
  is
  short;
  he
  often
  ends
  up
  either a vessel for their possessing spirit or
  simply
  consumed
  by
  them.
  He
  may
  have
  promised his own soul, the soul of another
  person, or a large number of anonymous souls,
  to them.
  If the Warlock is not a free agent, he is a high‐
  ranking figure in a mystical war between
  opposing forces of chaos and order; in the
  past, Order was always the side of good and
  Chaos was the side of evil, but the influence of
  British
  writers
  like
  Alan
  Moore
  and
  Grant
  Morrison has turned this on its head, so that
  Chaos is now seen as the principle of freedom
  and
  creativity
  championed
  by
  a
  heroic
  underdog while Order is an oppressive regime
  enforced by fascistic Warlocks. Warlocks tend
  to hail from alternate dimensions, fantasy
  worlds, or the antediluvian past, where they
  were godlike rulers. If so, they’ve brought an
  army of Faceless Minions and Servitors to
  enforce their will. This fantasy influence is
  another reason why Warlocks are so popular in
  gaming,
  where
  so
  many
  players
  come
  to
  superhero RPGs after they’ve already played
  games in the fantasy or supernatural horror
  genre. Sometimes the dark lord or evil
  sorcerer of your favorite fantasy setting
  can be picked up and transplanted into
  your
  ICONS
  game,
  a
  ready‐made
  Warlock.
  Warlocks are often Servitors of the
  Devil, but if the boss is an enormous
  squid
  floating
  in
  the
  depths
  of
  space, the Warlock is really an
  Heir
  to
  Lovecraft.
  And
  while
  Warlocks
  are
  typically
  very
  flashy
  and
  attract
  a
  lot
  of
  attention,
  sometimes
  they
  adopt
  a
  low
  profile
  and
  temporarily
  become
  Cult
  Leaders.
  STORIES:
  In
  some
  campaigns,
  magic
  themes
  are so prevalent that most
  of the villains qualify as
  Warlocks; in these games,
  the
  heroes
  are
  magical
  experts and the Warlock is a
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  known quantity, more or less equal to the
  heroes in power.
  But in most ICONS campaigns, the Warlock is
  just one among many kinds of adversaries, and
  when he appears, his magical might represents
  the power of the unknown. The heroes don’t
  know what he is capable of or how his powers
  work; technological heroes like the Armored
  Wonder or the Gadget Guy may not even
  believe in magic! In the comics, it’s very
  common for heroes confronted with a Warlock
  to team up with a heroic Magician guest star.
  What this means for gaming is that, if you
  expect to have a guest drop in on your ongoing
  ICONS campaign, build an adventure featuring
  a Warlock and give your visiting player a
  Magician character; the other PCs will have a
  great reason to reach out to her for help.
  The hunt for a mystic artifact is the archetypal
  Warlock story; this can be as simple as a
  museum heist or complex enough for a chase
  around the globe or through some “nexus of
  realities.” If the heroes already have the
  artifact (and they may not know they have it,
  because
  the
  object
  looks
  mundane),
  the
  adventure turns into a headquarters invasion.
  The nice thing about stories of this sort is that
  the Warlock can win without ruining your
  campaign; when an Assassin is out to kill the
  President, your players are pretty sure he’s
  going to fail, but when a Warlock succeeds in
  capturing the Book of High Magic, that just
  means the heroes have to get it back.
  When
  the
  Warlock
  does
  succeed,
  the
  consequences are disastrous. He transforms
  the
  entire
  city,
  the
  world,
  or
  even
  the
  universe, flooding it with magic. Heroes are
  transformed into medieval or barbaric versions
  of themselves, usually with the same powers
  but new names and uniforms. In this new
  reality, many heroes are dead, and more of
  the PCs are sure to die in the struggle to
  recapture the artifact and defeat the Ultimate
  Warlock. But once he is defeated, the universe
  is retconned back to its normal state and the
  heroes are returned to life. This allows you
  and your player group to experiment and have
  fun with alternate versions of their characters;
  everyone should talk like you're working at a
  Ren Faire. As GM, these “crisis level events”
  are a good opportunity to rewrite the rules of
  your universe.
  If you really want to go Old School, the
  Warlock's name starts with the letters “M‐O‐R.”
  Abilities
  Prowess 3
  Coordination 5
  Strength 3
  Intellect 7
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 6
  Stamina 9
  Specialties
  Occult
  Powers
  Magic 8 (Blast, Flight, Force Field, Teleport)
  Qualities
  Extradimensional Patrons
  Stolen Mystic Artifacts
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  WOLF IN SHEEP'S
  CLOTHING
  “Creep, we’ve been NOTHING. It’s all
  been an ACT. Every part of it —
  ‘specially that KISS. That was the
  BIGGEST act of all. It made me wanna
  GAG, kissin’ you, Logan.”
  ~ Terra
  The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing is a villain who
  pretends to be a hero.
  EXAMPLES:
  Terra
  (DC);
  the
  original
  Thunderbolts, Xorn when he was Magneto in
  disguise
  (Marvel);
  Agent
  Ward
  (television,
  Agents
  of
  SHIELD);
  Syndrome
  (film,
  The
  Incredibles); the Red Mist (Kick‐Ass)
  RELATED ARCHETYPES: Hero in Disguise,
  Doppelganger, Ex‐Con
  ABILITIES:
  The
  specific
  powers
  a
  Wolf
  possesses are not especially relevant to this
  archetype, but these powers have been made
  to facilitate the con. Traditional powers like
  super‐strength,
  invulnerability,
  and
  flight
  simply “feel” heroic to civilians, and flashy
  powers wow the crowd. If there are a set of
  powers which a particular hero has made
  famous,
  the
  Wolf
  may
  imitate
  them
  with
  hidden devices. A Wolf infiltrating a team of
  heroes will be more powerful, in preparation
  for the inevitable moment when he fights all
  of them at once. Wolves can have powers
  traditionally associated with villains (such as
  cold, darkness, or necromancy), but these
  powers will be disguised in some way so that
  they appear heroic. For example, a Wolf who
  is secretly a vampire may tell the press his
  fantastic speed and strength come from a
  super‐soldier formula (Sergeant Stripes from
  Paul Grist's delightful comic Jack Staff).
  The Wolf will be charismatic and an excellent
  liar; he may be trained in infiltration, stealth,
  and
  other
  skills
  at
  odds
  with
  his
  heroic
  appearance. These skills inevitably get called
  upon
  in
  the
  course
  of
  adventures
  and
  witnesses get suspicious; NPC witnesses get
  killed to cover the Wolf's tracks, but the Wolf
  lies his way out of it with player characters.
  QUALITIES: A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing has
  two origins: the actual method by which he
  gained his evil powers (which he keeps secret),
  and
  a
  second
  origin
  that
  describes
  his
  transformation into a Wolf (which is entirely
  fabricated
  and
  packaged
  for
  public
  consumption).
  Some
  Wolves
  are
  already
  established villains in the campaign, but others
  were
  just
  normal
  people
  given
  powers
  specifically to infiltrate the hero community.
  Depending on the level of effort that has gone
  into
  the
  con,
  the
  Wolf
  could
  have
  an
  elaborately
  constructed
  false
  identity
  complete with fabricated friends, he could be
  a mysterious cypher with a conspicuously blank
  historical record, or he could be pestered by
  old friends who knew him as a villain and who
  now bump into him and try to wave hello while
  he hurries past and denies all knowledge.
  Why has the Wolf adopted this new identity? If
  he is the tool of a Mastermind, he is probably
  there to gather intelligence and act as a
  Trojan Horse, but there are other possibilities.
  Perhaps he is out for vengeance on a specific
  hero, perhaps he’s tired of running from the
  law, or perhaps he's pursued by other villains
  and he figures the safest place to be is among
  heroes. He may need access to something
  which is all but impossible for villains to
  acquire,
  but
  easy
  for
  heroes:
  secret
  government files, for example, or the keys to a
  hero’s time machine. His new career may be
  serendipitous; he may have discovered the
  abandoned lair of a long‐gone hero, and now
  he’s taking advantage of that by using the
  hero’s weapons and resources to create a new
  persona.
  In order to appear more heroic, the Wolf will
  be physically attractive and wear a costume
  designed to appeal to the public; it might be
  patriotic, for example, and include a cape but
  not a mask, because the Wolf has nothing to
  hide. He may be young (because kids are
  endearing) or sexy (because sex sells) or both.
  All of this marketing is usually successful; the
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Wolf may have a fan club, be the star of the
  convention circuit, and be the subject of
  cosplay and fanfic.
  A Wolf who has been created just to infiltrate
  a team of super heroes is supported by a
  hidden
  mastermind
  or
  even
  an
  entire
  organization; he may appear to be a brilliant
  inventor, for example, or to have fantastic
  wealth, but these assets are actually provided
  by his villainous master. He has to sneak off
  once in a while to communicate with these
  masters, and friction arises between his orders
  and
  his
  personal
  desires.
  Often
  it
  is
  this
  relationship with mysterious others which first
  makes a hero suspicious of the Wolf’s true
  nature.
  A villain who steals the identity of his heroic
  nemesis for an extended period (Kraven’s Last
  Hunt, Superior Spider‐Man) becomes a Wolf in
  Sheep’s Clothing, but if impersonating various
  heroes
  is
  the
  villain’s
  modus
  operandi
  (Skrulls), he’s really just a Doppelganger.
  STORIES: A Wolf features in stories that are
  about treason and loyalty, stories which reveal
  the often‐overlooked rewards of being heroic,
  and
  stories
  which
  highlight
  our
  culture’s
  obsession with appearance over substance. A
  Wolf is always forced to choose between his
  villainous past and his heroic present, and in
  this sense his story is about the do‐over, the
  second chance, and redemption.
  The Wolf may join a team of heroes and, if he
  does, he may even be a player character. In a
  situation such as this, the Gamemaster needs
  to decide if the other players are going to be
  in on the joke, even if the other characters
  are not. This depends very much on your table
  and the history of your gaming group; some
  groups have kept secrets from each other for
  so long that it is considered routine. Other
  groups are made up of players who have a
  hard
  time
  separating
  character
  knowledge
  from player knowledge, so that a GM must
  keep the Wolf’s true nature a secret if he
  wants the heroes to act naturally. If a Wolf
  joins a hero team and is an NPC, players will
  likely suspect him of being a Wolf, and in
  these cases it's actually more of a surprise if
  the
  Wolf
  is,
  in
  fact,
  a
  good
  guy
  falsely
  accused. This makes him a Hero in Disguise.
  In order to fool everyone, the Wolf is forced to
  do things heroes do, like saving the world and
  rescuing innocents. When he does, he earns
  popular acclaim and becomes admired and
  idolized by the same people who hated and
  ran from him when he was a more obvious
  villain. This leads the Wolf to a personal crisis;
  he
  finds
  being
  a
  super
  hero
  is
  actually
  psychologically rewarding and even kind of
  cool. Sometimes he falls in love with a hero.
  He doubts his former life and his convictions,
  but he is trapped in his own con.
  A Wolf who reverts to his villainous ways may
  claim he is being true to himself or that “it’s
  too late for me,” but he’s really admitting
  that he is unwilling to change; his tale is
  tragic. Other Wolves turn over a new leaf
  when their secret is revealed and change
  archetype into the heroic Ex‐Con.
  Abilities
  Prowess 5
  Coordination 5
  Strength 3
  Intellect 4
  Awareness 5
  Willpower 6
  Stamina 9
  Specialties
  Power: Element Control
  Stealth
  Powers
  Element Control: Earth 8 (Binding, Blast,
  Burrowing)
  Flight 5
  Qualities
  Off‐Panel Allies
  Ingénue
  I’ve Learned All Your Secrets
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  If you have the Field Guide to Super Heroes,
  most of the archetypes listed in that book
  have a villainous version. We haven’t gone
  over them all again here, because that would
  be really boring for you. However, we have
  included a line or two about each of the heroic
  archetypes, where we thought it necessary.
  The
  villain
  version
  of
  a
  heroic
  archetype
  usually has the same sort of powers, origin,
  and plotlines that the hero has, though with
  variations that explain the villain’s life of
  crime. Villain versions of heroic archetypes are
  often seen in comics as the Dark Mirror or Evil
  Twin villain, both of which are discussed in
  detail in the Super Villain Handbook.
  Alien Hero: Usually a Conqueror, Cosmic
  Menace, or Faceless Minion. The Alien Villain is
  really just an extraterrestrial version of the
  Foreigner.
  Android: Often found as a Servitor.
  Animal Hero: Depending on his powers, the
  Animal
  Villain
  could
  be
  an
  Assassin
  or
  a
  Faceless
  Animal
  Minion
  who
  has
  been
  promoted.
  But
  because
  of
  the
  occasional
  tragic lab accident, he might be a Twisted
  Genius or Monstrosity.
  Armored Wonder: Often a Mastermind,
  Twisted Genius or Conqueror.
  Astronaut: Pretty rare as a villain; most
  Astronaut Heroes encounter Foreigner Alien
  Villains
  who
  want
  to
  conquer
  the
  Earth.
  However, Astronaut Villains who return to
  Earth are probably Twisted Geniuses.
  Avatar: A villain who thinks he is a god of the
  underworld may be a Devil. He may also be an
  Ultimate Villain.
  Comic Relief: The Imp is a Comic Relief
  villain (as is the Lunatic, a variation of the
  Psychopath). Sometimes an Evil Twin who isn’t
  really evil — just really silly — can be Comic
  Relief. Some villains start off quite serious
  but, as time passes, come to be seen as
  useless and weak. They either stay Comic
  Relief or get reinvented in a more dangerous
  mode.
  EVEN MORE ARCHETYPES ...
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Creepy Hero: The Creepy Villain is probably
  a Psychopath.
  Dark
  Avenger:
  The
  evil
  version
  of
  this
  archetype is the Vigilante. A villainous Dark
  Avenger may also become a Psychopath.
  Descendant:
  Villains
  have
  children
  too.
  Daughters of villains are especially likely to
  become Temptresses or Girlfriends Gone Bad.
  Sons of villains take up their father’s mantle.
  Divine Hero: A Divine Villain is probably a
  Devil or possibly a Fallen Angel Hero.
  Embodiment: The Force of Nature is the
  villain version of the Embodiment, but he is
  also closely related to the Ultimate Villain or
  Cosmic Menace.
  Femme Feline: Often a Thief or Temptress,
  the Femme Feline is already a little bit villain.
  Feral Hero: A Feral Hero who gives in to the
  animal side may become a Power Corrupted or
  Monstrosity.
  Focused Hero: Plenty of villains have only
  one superpower going for them, and not much
  else. So this archetype is, if anything, more
  common among villains than heroes.
  Gadget Guy: The Twisted Genius is pretty
  close to a villainous Gadget Guy, though if the
  Gadget Guy only wants to steal, kills for pay,
  or has lofty goals then he is a Thief, Assassin
  or Mastermind, respectively.
  Handicapped
  Hero:
  The
  Handicapped
  Villain usually blames a hero, or society at
  large, for his handicap and seeks to overcome
  it through his Twisted Genius. If he takes out
  his frustration on a particular hero, he may be
  a Nemesis or Dark Mirror.
  Jungle
  Hero:
  The
  Jungle
  Villain
  is
  a
  Foreigner, a savage who brings his occult
  traditions to the West. He may be a Gladiator,
  seeking to test his strength against white
  heroes.
  Magician: The evil versions of the Magician
  are the Warlock and the Heir to Lovecraft,
  which are explored in more detail elsewhere.
  Man
  of
  Tomorrow:
  An
  evil
  Man
  of
  Tomorrow a) comes from a dystopian future
  that he seeks to create; b) was defeated in the
  future and has returned to the past to destroy
  his enemies before they have grown powerful;
  or c) is a hyper‐evolved “future man” who
  represents the threat of genetic manipulation
  gone
  wrong.
  This
  probably
  makes
  him
  a
  Supremacist.
  Master of the Atom: The villain version of
  this archetype is the Nuclear Nightmare.
  Master of the Elements: This archetype is
  just as common among villains as it is among
  heroes.
  A
  very
  powerful
  Master
  of
  the
  Elements can become a Force of Nature.
  Master of the Martial Arts: There are
  plenty of villain martial artists, most of whom
  see themselves as Gladiators, Dark Mirrors, or
  (if they wield a technique which the hero
  cannot
  stop)
  a
  Nemesis.
  The
  Crime
  Boss,
  Mastermind, or Foreigner may be served by
  Faceless Martial Arts Minions.
  Minority
  Heroes:
  Villains
  are
  often
  minorities,
  but
  they
  do
  not
  profess
  to
  represent their minority in the way that the
  Minority Hero does. Instead, an ethnic villain
  becomes a Foreigner, described elsewhere.
  Monstrous Hero: The villain version of the
  Monstrous Hero is the Monstrosity.
  Mythic
  Hero:
  Villains
  may
  be
  mythical
  creatures
  or
  beings,
  or
  choose
  to
  model
  themselves on such things. If they closely
  resemble
  mythic
  creatures,
  they
  may
  be
  Monstrosities.
  Occult Hero: Before there were vampire and
  werewolf
  heroes,
  there
  were
  vampire
  and
  werewolf
  villains,
  discussed
  here
  in
  the
  Supernatural Horror archetype.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Psychic Hero: A Psychic Villain has much
  the same powers as his heroic rival, but
  because he is no longer bound by moral codes
  he can use his powers of mind control to
  become a Dominator or Temptress.
  Sidekick:
  Villains
  don’t
  usually
  have
  sidekicks, but they do have Servitors and
  Faceless Minions.
  Spin‐Off Heroine: Yes, even villains have
  Spin‐Off female versions, usually in the form
  of daughters, wives, or sisters. If the Spin‐Off
  is a villain version of a male hero, the villain is
  a Dark Mirror.
  Super‐Patriot:
  If
  the
  Patriot
  still
  loves
  America, but has twisted that love into a
  perversion of American values, the villain is
  probably a Dark Mirror of the Super‐Patriot or
  a Fallen Hero. If, however, the Super‐Patriot
  reveres another country, he’s a Foreigner.
  Super Weapon: Villainous Super Weapons
  are quite common; this is a particularly good
  way to grant instant powers to someone while
  also ensuring the powers are equally easy to
  take away. That means the Super Weapon may
  be a Kid Playing with Fire or a Girlfriend Gone
  Bad.
  Ultimate
  Hero:
  The
  Ultimate
  Villain
  is
  discussed in detail elsewhere.
  Undersea Hero: There’s no reason a villain
  can’t
  adopt
  the
  ocean
  as
  his
  playground,
  especially since there are so few heroes there.
  Many Undersea Villains are Supremacists or
  Conquerors, surrounded by Faceless Atlantean
  Minions, Servitors, and undersea Monstrosities.
  Woman Warrior: A villain version of the
  Woman Warrior is probably a Gladiator who
  happens to be female, and wants to prove
  herself against men.
  Weapon Master: The Assassin is particularly
  likely to be a villainous Weapon Master.
  Young Hero: If a villain is young, he is
  probably either a Kid Playing with Fire, a
  Descendant, or else so dangerous that if he
  grows up he will become a Conqueror or
  Cosmic
  Menace.
  The
  Young
  Villain
  poses
  particular
  moral
  challenges
  for
  heroes,
  because no one likes to beat up on a kid,
  especially if there is any hope for redemption.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Open Game License
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All
  Rights Reserved.
  1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or
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  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content
  that contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content
  may only be Used under and in terms of this License. You must
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  terms may be added to or subtracted from this License except as
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  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise
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  12. Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with
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  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast,
  Inc.
  Fudge System Reference Document, Copyright 2005, Grey Ghost
  Press, Inc.; Authors Steffan O’Sullivan and Ann Dupuis, with
  additional material by Peter Bonney, Deird’Re Brooks, Reimer
  Behrends, Shawn Garbett, Steven Hammond, Ed Heil, Bernard
  Hsiung, Sedge Lewis, Gordon McCormick, Kent Matthewson,
  Peter Mikelsons, Anthony Roberson, Andy Skinner, Stephan
  Szabo, John Ughrin, Dmitri Zagidulin.
  FATE (Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment),
  Copyright 2003 by Evil Hat Productions LLC; Authors Robert
  Donoghue and Fred Hicks.
  Spirit of the Century, Copyright 2006, Evil Hat Productions
  LLC.
  Authors
  Robert
  Donoghue,
  Fred
  Hicks,
  and
  Leonard
  Balsera.
  Icons, Copyright 2010, Steve Kenson, published exclusively by
  Adamant
  Entertainment
  in
  partnership
  with
  Cubicle
  Seven
  Entertainment, Ltd.
  Super Villain Handbook Copyright Fainting Goat Games 2015
  Author Jason Tundro
  Stark City Campign Setting Copyright Fainting Goat Games/
  Stark City Games 2013
  The following is designated as Product Identity, in accordance
  with Section 1(e) of the Open Game License, Version 1.0a: All
  Characters and their associated descriptions, backgrounds, and
  related information
  ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying is a trademark of
  Steve Kenson, published exclusively by Ad Infinitum
  Adventures. The ICONS Superpowered Roleplaying
  Compatibility Logo is a trademark of Ad Infinitum
  Adventures
  and
  is
  used
  under
  the
  ICONS
  Superpowered Roleplaying Compatibility License.
  ICONS
  and
  associated
  marks
  and
  logos
  are
  trademarks
  of
  Steve
  Kenson
  and
  Ad
  Infinitum
  Adventures, and are used under license.
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
  Andrew Bosarge (order #7310145)
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/FATE/Icons/Icons - Super Villain Handbook/The_Super_Villain_Handbook_Basic_Edition.pdf