[Supers] GURPS Unofficial Handbook to the Marvel Universe, Reboot Edition

[Phantasm]

Thanks to Infornic for the assistance with this character.

RED GUARDIAN

Real Name: (original) Volodymyr Fomin; (current) Alexi Shostakov. There have been others who held the role, but their names and number are unknown.
Occupation: Special government agent, former test pilot and soldier.
Identity: Classified, known only to select Russian authorities.
Legal Status: Citizen of Russia with no criminal record.
Other Aliases: Krasnyj Straz ("Red Guardian" in Russian).
Place of Birth: Moscow, Russia.
Marital Status: Divorced.
Known Relatives: Natalia Romanova (alias Black Widow, ex-wife).
Group Affiliation: (original) Invaders, formerly the Soviet Army, later an unnamed Russian circus; (current) Russian Federal Security Bureau, formerly the Russian Air Force.
Base of Operations: The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia.
History: During World War II, the Soviet Union invented the identity of Red Guardian to be a Communist counterpart to Captain America (see Captain America). They chose their most decorated soldier, Volodymyr Fomin, and gave him additional special forces training, a shield patterned after the Captain's, and a uniform which would identify him as the Soviets' hero.

Red Guardian served as a member of the Invaders at the behest of Stalin. At first, Red Guardian insisted on attempting to usurp Captain America's leadership of the team, but after realizing that Cap was a better leader of men he moderated his stance. The two icons of their respective ideologies soon formed grudging respect for each other, which over time turned into friendship. Fomin admitted to Cap he didn't always see eye to eye with Stalin's policies, and that he fought to protect his homeland, not the leadership.

After World War II, Fomin retired from active duty to become an acrobat for a Russian circus. He maintained contact with Captain America after the War, which in turn led to Rogers's dismissal from the role during the McCarthy era.

After Fomin retired from the role of Red Guardian, others were chosen to take up the mantle. It is speculated that the average Red Guardian served for about a decade before retirement. The role was retired altogether with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Recently, however, the rise of a new generation of superhumans and the resumption of the role of Captain America had many in Russia thinking they needed a counterpart of their own. To this end, Colonel Alexi Shostakov of the Russian Air Force, one of their top pilots, was chosen by the Russian government to be the new Red Guardian. His identity was kept a secret from all but the top members of the Russian military and government; to nearly everyone else, including his wife, Alexi Shostakov was killed testing a new fighter jet. (His wife, Natalia Romanova, was later recruited by the FSB and retrained to be one of their top espionage agents; see Black Widow.) While the color red has been closely tied to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Russia's politicians have placated fears of a return of Soviet-era policy by pointing out the addition of blue on the uniform, one of the other major colors on the Russian flag.

Since taking on the role, Shostakov has worked tirelessly to protect Russia's interests and people. In his first recorded activity, he encountered his ex-wife Natasha in her new role as an espionage agent, assisting in making her seeming defection to the American CIA look legitimate.

He later met with his counterparts from other nations – including Captain America and Union Jack – in Bern, Switzerland, as part of a world meeting of national superheroes (see Union Jack). It was there that he and Captain America had a long talk about the original Red Guardian, with the Captain relating much of Volodymyr Fomin's history, impressing upon Shostakov the heroic responsibility of the role. The two parted amicably, though Shostakov has admitted he was tempted to start a fight just to see how he'd fare against his counterpart.

Later, when the FSB discovered Natalia's defection had become genuine, they sent Shostakov to kill her. The two fought, but Shostakov failed to kill her, though only he knows whether he was pulling his punches. During the fight, Shostakov dropped hints that Natalia's memories of being married to him may have been implanted by the FSB. Whether he was punished for not killing her is unknown, as are his later exploits.
Height: 6' 2".
Weight: 220 lbs.
Eyes: Brown.
Hair: Brown.
Uniform: (original) Red bodysuit with a white star on the chest, white gloves, white boots, white belt, red cowl. (current): Red bodysuit with a blue star on the chest, white gloves, white boots, blue belt, red cowl.
Strength Level: Red Guardian possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: None.
Other Abilities: Both Red Guardians were highly trained in the combat arts of their time.
Weapons: Red Guardian uses a shield made of unrevealed materials that is designed to replicate many of the properties of Captain America's adamantium-vibranium alloy throwing shield. It is known that Red Guardian's shield contains vibranium, enabling him to ricochet the shield off walls when thrown; it is likely not as indestructible as the Captain's. Visually, the shield is red with a blue star in the center.

630 points
Attributes: ST 18 [80]; DX 15 [100]; IQ 13 [60]; HT 15 [50].
Secondary Characteristics: Dmg 2d-1/3d+1; BL 65 lbs.; HP 18 [0]; Will 13 [0]; Per 15 [10]; FP 15 [0]; Basic Speed 8.00 [10]; Basic Move 8 [0]; Dodge 12.
Languages: Arabic (Accented) [2*]; English (Accented) [2*]; Mandarin Chinese (Accented) [2*]; Russian (Native) (Native Language) [0]; Spanish (Accented) [2*].
Cultural Familiarities: Eastern European (Native) [0]; Western [1].
Advantages: Born Soldier 2 [10]; Combat Reflexes [15]; FSB Rank 6 [30]; Hot Pilot 2 [10]; Language Talent [10]; Luck [15]; Martial Artist (Military) 4 [40]; Status 1 [0†]; Striking ST +1 [5]; Trained By A Master [30]; Very Fit [15]; Wealth (Very Wealthy) [30]; Weapon Master (Shield) [20].
Perks: Courtesy Military Rank 6 [6]; Dabbler (Boating, Driving, Submarine, Shiphandling, all at def+2) [1]; One-Way Fluency (Understands German) [1]; Special Exercises (Striking ST +1) [1]; Style Familiarity (Boxing) [1]; Style Familiarity (Fairbairn Close Combat System) [1]; Style Familiarity (Judo) [1]; Style Familiarity (Krav Maga) [1]; Style Familiarity (MCMAP) [1]; Style Familiarity (Sambo) [1].
Disadvantages: Code of Honor (Soldier's) [-10]; Duty (to FSB; Extremely Hazardous) (15) [-20]; Fanaticism (Russia) [-15]; Secret Identity (Utter Rejection) [-10]; Sense of Duty (Russian People) [-10].
Quirks: Closet Fan (Yakov Smirnoff) [-1]; Jokingly Claims Russia's Superiority in All Human Endeavors [-1]; Respects Honorable Opponents [-1]; Thinks Karate and Kung Fu Are For Show-Offs [-1]; Tries To Explain Away Russia's Flaws [-1].
Skills: Acrobatics (H) DX+0 [4] – 15; Acting (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Artillery/TL8 (Guided Missile) (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Climbing (A) DX-1 [1] – 14; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Electronics Operation/TL8 (Security) (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Electronics Operation/TL8 (Sensors) (A) IQ+1 [4] – 14; Engineer/TL8 (Combat) (H) IQ-1 [2] – 12; Explosives/TL8 (Demolition) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 13; Explosives/TL8 (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 13; Fast-Draw (Knife) (E) DX+1 [1] – 16‡; Fast-Draw (Pistol) (E) DX+1 [1] – 16‡; Fast-Talk (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; First Aid/TL8 (Human) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 13; Forced Entry (E) DX+0 [1] – 15; Forward Observer (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Free Fall (A) DX-1 [1] – 14; Gunner/TL8 (Cannon) (E) DX+3 [2] – 18§; Guns/TL8 (Pistol) (E) DX+2 [4] – 17; Guns/TL8 (Rifle) (E) DX+1 [1] – 16#; Hiking (A) HT-1 [1] – 14; Judo (H) DX+3 [2] – 18¥; Jumping (E) DX+0 [1] – 15; Karate (H) DX+7 [16] – 22¥; Knife (E) DX+4 [1] – 19¥; Leadership (A) IQ+3 [4] – 16∫; Lockpicking/TL8 (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Mathematics/TL8 (Applied) (H) IQ-2 [1] – 11; Navigation/TL8 (Air) (A) IQ+1 [1] – 14‡; NBC Suit/TL8 (A) DX-1 [1] – 14; Parachuting/TL8 (E) DX+0 [1] – 15; Piloting/TL8 (High-Performance Airplane) (A) DX+3 [4] – 18§; Savoir-Faire (Military) (E) IQ+2 [1] – 15∫; Scuba/TL8 (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Shield (E) DX+7 [8] – 22¥; Skiing (H) HT-2 [1] – 13; Soldier/TL8 (A) IQ+2 – 15∫; Spear (A) DX+3 [1] – 18¥; Staff (A) DX+3 [1] – 18¥; Stealth (A) DX+3 [1] – 18¥; Survival (Arctic) (A) Per-1 [1] – 14; Survival (Desert) (A) Per-1 [1] – 14; Survival (Jungle) (A) Per-1 [1] – 14; Survival (Mountain) (A) Per-1 [1] – 14; Swimming (E) HT+0 [1] – 15; Tactics (H) IQ+1 [2] – 14∫; Thrown Weapon (Disc) (E) DX+5 [16] – 20; Traps/TL8 (A) IQ-1 [1] – 12; Wrestling (A) DX+7 [12] – 22¥.
Techniques: Acrobatic Stand (Acrobatics) (H) def+5 [6] – 15; Choke Hold (Wrestling) (H) def+2 [3] – 21; Ground Fighting (Karate) (H) def+2 [3] – 20; Ground Fighting (Wrestling) (H) def+4 [5] – 22.
Starting Spending Money: $80,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).

* Includes one level from Language Talent.
† Includes +1 from Wealth.
‡ Includes +1 from Combat Reflexes.
§ Includes +2 from Hot Pilot.
# Defaulted from Guns (Pistol).
¥ Includes +4 from Martial Arts (Military).
∫ Includes +2 from Born Soldier.

Role-Playing Notes:
Red Guardian is an honorable man and a staunch Russian patriot. He does not blindly follow his superiors, and will adjust the mission parameters he is given if they would put his country or her people in danger. In private, he has voiced concerns over Putin's policies leading to a resurgence of a Soviet-era Cold War.

[Vernon King Avaritt III]

Hulk can lift asteroids and Thor lifted the Midgard Serpent which is half the weight of the Earth. Many comic book experts now think that Thor and Hulk are on Superman's level.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Vernon King Avaritt III

Hulk can lift asteroids and Thor lifted the Midgard Serpent which is half the weight of the Earth. Many comic book experts now think that Thor and Hulk are on Superman's level.

Two things I think you're missing:

1) This was made with an eye towards making the characters playable as PCs, and

2) This is a wholly new timeline, inspired by but not trying to wholly emulate the comics (hence why it's labeled "REBOOT").

Thor being able to lift Jormangandr is also contrasted in the myths with Thor being unable to lift a dead stone giant off himself after a duel, which his four year old son, Magni, managed one-handed. Also note that Hulk's entry needs adjustment, as I now have him in the bench-press 500 ton range, but I haven't yet adjusted the math.

And when you say "on Superman's level", are you talking the pre-Crisis Superman who could shape a spherical planet into a cube and suppress a nuclear bomb's explosion by sitting on it, or the much less powerful post-Crisis Superman who got winded following a major fight, or somewhere in the middle? There have been many threads trying to build Superman, and no one can agree on how powerful he is.

[Phantasm]

A quick entry that my mind keeps telling me "needs more stats!" but my brain keeps replying, "ain't enough points in the universe for that!"

DEATH

Real Name: Inapplicable.
Occupation: Inapplicable.
Identity: Publicly known.
Legal Status: Inapplicable.
Other Aliases: Mistress Death.
Place of Birth: The "big bang".
Marital Status: Inapplicable.
Known Relatives: Eternity ("sibling").
Group Affiliation: One manifestation is an associate of Thanos.
Base of Operations: Inapplicable.
History: The cosmic entity known as Death came into being early in the universe, possibly nanoseconds after the universe was created, when the first living being perished. Because they were formed at the same time, she sees Eternity, the embodiment of the physical nature of the universe, as a sibling (see Eternity). For some reason, Death often manifests bodies in a feminine manner, so that most people across the universe speak of Death as a female, though as an embodiment of a cosmic abstraction Death does not have a defined gender as mortals would view such things.

The exact relationship between Death and the various rulers of realms of the afterlife – such as Hela and Hades – and hell dimensions such as those ruled by Mephisto and "Satan" is uncertain (see Hades, Hela, Mephisto, Satan).

Somehow, Death came to the attention of the mad Titan Thanos, who fell in love with her (see Thanos). For some reason, Death decided to manifest as his constant silent companion, appearing as a young humanoid woman of indeterminate species and variable appearance, and expressing herself through body language alone as Thanos attempted to show his love and win her favor. Death's motives for doing this are unknown.

Death has claimed that when the universe comes to an end, she will be the last to go. Death has also claimed that she is the one being the Living Tribunal, the supreme multiversal authority, has no power over (see Living Tribunal).
Height: Variable; primary manifestation is 5' 8".
Weight: Variable.
Eyes: Variable.
Hair: Variable.
Uniform: None; her primary manifestation wears a hooded black floor-length robe.
Strength Level: Immeasurable; her most commonly manifested body has not been shown doing any physical action, so that body's strength is unknown.
Known Superhuman Powers: She's Death. She has been shown being able to end a life at will, often with a touch. Her manifestations tend to vary between solid and ethereal.

Stats: She's Death.

Role-Playing Notes:
When appearing beside Thanos, Death prefers to remain silent, speaking through body language alone. Other times, she will speak to those who meet her. Her motives are inscrutable, and her methods mysterious. The best that can be said is that she is patient, and will not claim a life before its time.

[Otaku]

Just checking:

In the (formerly?) mainstream Marvel Universe, Death had a thing for Deadpool (and vice versa), much to Thanos bitter resentment. Something much more obscure is that Death is actually the daughter of Mephisto, though this was from a very specific setting (Earth X/Universe X/Paradise X). For all I know I have that wrong because I never finished the latter and haven't read the other two in like 10 years. ^^'

So feel free to address those specifics, but should we assume that in general if these things aren't mentioned, they aren't a part of the reboot or if they are, they are far enough down the road that they aren't included in these write-ups?

[Infornific]

Originally Posted by Vernon King Avaritt III

Hulk can lift asteroids and Thor lifted the Midgard Serpent which is half the weight of the Earth. Many comic book experts now think that Thor and Hulk are on Superman's level.

A third point - comic book power levels get increasingly vague at the high end - how strong a character is can vary a lot from issue to issue, beyond simply identifying the character as one of the strongest. In addition, strength and durability can be pretty elastic as you'll routinely have fight scenes with characters who are theoretically normal humans mixed up with characters who can lift tanks. In a system as precise and detailed as GURPS that sort of vagueness doesn't work as well so you have to make compromises.

Note also that this reboot is more generous in many cases than the original "Year One" versions of the character. The early Thing could only lift 5 tons or so, the early Thor traveled by something more like Super Leaping than Flight, etc.

Many years ago, Different Worlds did an issue with the X-Men (circa 1982) statted out for the Superworld game. The authors stated explicitly that they tried to build the characters as if they were created for a Superworld game rather than exactly matching the comics. Since comics themselves are variable I think that's a good approach in general.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Just checking:

In the (formerly?) mainstream Marvel Universe, Death had a thing for Deadpool (and vice versa), much to Thanos bitter resentment. Something much more obscure is that Death is actually the daughter of Mephisto, though this was from a very specific setting (Earth X/Universe X/Paradise X). For all I know I have that wrong because I never finished the latter and haven't read the other two in like 10 years. ^^'

So feel free to address those specifics, but should we assume that in general if these things aren't mentioned, they aren't a part of the reboot or if they are, they are far enough down the road that they aren't included in these write-ups?

Daughter of Mephisto? Not likely. It's pretty much going to be established that she was formed probably seconds after the Big Bang happened, not actually born of demons.

But yes, if some things are not mentioned, it's because they're either not part of the Reboot or a Year Two or later deal; Galactus and the Silver Surfer won't be introduced until Year Two, so listing Galactus as one of Death's "siblings" isn't yet appropriate. Deadpool isn't yet in the Reboot (though once I start working on the Renegades' cast he might show up as someone from Wolvie's past), so listing him as an associate in some way isn't something I want to do just yet (and Thanos and Deadpool would probably be unaware of each other even if I do bring in Wade).

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Infornific

A third point - comic book power levels get increasingly vague at the high end - how strong a character is can vary a lot from issue to issue, beyond simply identifying the character as one of the strongest. In addition, strength and durability can be pretty elastic as you'll routinely have fight scenes with characters who are theoretically normal humans mixed up with characters who can lift tanks. In a system as precise and detailed as GURPS that sort of vagueness doesn't work as well so you have to make compromises.

Note also that this reboot is more generous in many cases than the original "Year One" versions of the character. The early Thing could only lift 5 tons or so, the early Thor traveled by something more like Super Leaping than Flight, etc.

Many years ago, Different Worlds did an issue with the X-Men (circa 1982) statted out for the Superworld game. The authors stated explicitly that they tried to build the characters as if they were created for a Superworld game rather than exactly matching the comics. Since comics themselves are variable I think that's a good approach in general.

As stated in the first post (back in '07), I'm generally using the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition as a guideline for the characters' power levels and abilities, sometimes using the movies as a base, too (such as Ghost Rider's penance stare, which Blaze didn't have in the comics but Danny Ketch and later Ghost Riders did). Some folks disagree with how strong some characters in that are compared to some of their comics appearances; that's fine, and I leave how strong they actually are in comics to bigger geeks than me. In the Thing's case, the OHOTMUDE said he stabilized at a bench-press 80 tons early on in his career (in the comics, mid to late '60s), so that's what I went with.

It's not just compromises but judgement calls as well. Look at how variable Daredevil's radar sense can vary between creative teams. Some depict it as passive sonar, some a very fine grain black-and-white vision, some actual radar; some have him seeing projected images, looking at photos, and reading the printed text with his radar sense, but most do not (and the teams that have his radar sense seeing photographs or projected images get yelled at by the fan base). There are times when I have to say, "Okay, this is how this works!" or "This is how strong the character is in this universe."

I will note that I am in the process of revising some characters' sheets, particularly Hulk and Thor, to fit more recent choices in establishing power levels. Hulk will be on par with Juggernaut in strength when angry, who I have at the bench-press 500 tons mark (ST 790). Thor will be able to bench-press 100 tons (ST 354), with his belt being gadget-based ST to boost to the bench-press 200 tons (ST 500) mark, give or take a few ST levels. Magni will be able to bench-press 200 tons without his father's belt! I just haven't gotten around to posting corrections, particularly with Thor's weather control/lightning powers.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by tbrock1031

Daughter of Mephisto? Not likely. It's pretty much going to be established that she was formed probably seconds after the Big Bang happened, not actually born of demons.

Yeah, I didn't expect this to be canon for your setting, but because I was mentioning the Deadpool stuff anyway, I threw it in. That being said... would it be seconds after the "Big Bang"? What died then for her to be born? If we go the "previous universe" route then it I guess that works; their deaths birthed her. Of course since I've got strong real world thoughts on the matter (and not just for "religious" reasons) I strongly prefer that pre-history be kept as vague as possible. For that matter, even writing things for recorded history is difficult enough to get right! XD

Anyway, I suddenly have a hankering for some robot dinosaurs based on some very inaccurate science. Mmm... Transformers!

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by Otaku

Yeah, I didn't expect this to be canon for your setting, but because I was mentioning the Deadpool stuff anyway, I threw it in. That being said... would it be seconds after the "Big Bang"? What died then for her to be born? If we go the "previous universe" route then it I guess that works; their deaths birthed her. Of course since I've got strong real world thoughts on the matter (and not just for "religious" reasons) I strongly prefer that pre-history be kept as vague as possible. For that matter, even writing things for recorded history is difficult enough to get right! XD

Anyway, I suddenly have a hankering for some robot dinosaurs based on some very inaccurate science. Mmm... Transformers!

I actually don't know what died to birth her. It's hard to say exactly what was going on all those billions of years ago, but seeing as how Marvel has sentient nebula (e.g. Cloud of the New Defenders) and stars, it's not wholly inconceivable for there to be some form of life flitting in and out of existence in the primordial chaos.

And "Me Grimlock say Dinobots rule!"