Supervillain Draft Thread - Team write-ups and post draft rankings

venom_7 · Apr 29, 2009

Can I go ahead and express my discontent with both the Ben Linus and Michael Corleone picks? This is a SUPERvillain draft. Just drafting cunning people from media I don't think fulfills the rules of the draft. Not that I want them to re-pick, I'm just saying that they are definitely not worthy of my vote, even if I was non-partisan.

I mean seriously, Ben Linus and Corleone can barely be considered villians, let alone supervillainns. This is getting stupid.

the rules carry no 'super' qualifications, and actually don't discern what qualifications a pick should have, only stating:

Again, not that I want the picks to be discounted, and I do think they are clever, its just that those ones in particular seem to stick out as not really being villains in one way or the other.

atxrocker · Apr 29, 2009

venom_7 said:

really? cause chuck norris wasn't? no problem there, right? i'd disagree with your assessment. big time. not sure if you caught any of the godfather seres but, michael corleone was the exact type of guy you don't want to mess with. pretty hardcore in my eyes. while he may not have the super human capacities that those before him do, that does not make him any less dangerous. just my two cents.

Mad D · Apr 29, 2009

I think it is just people wanting to have a little diversity in their drafts, I don't think people should get penalized for thinking differently. You can do like what many others would do and just not vote for them in the end.

venom_7 said:

This is an imaginary draft with people creating teams to attack an imaginary island. This was already stupid

venom_7 · Apr 29, 2009

atxrocker said:

I think Chuck Norris was dumb, but I at least get the reasoning behind it. Michael Corleone was a guy you wouldn't mess with. Always got revenge. Is that all it takes to be a villain? MacGuyver is a guy I wouldn't mess with. Boss Hog is a guy I wouldn't mess with.

Michael Corleone found a ruthlessly efficient way to run a business. That to me is not villainy. Next someone is going to draft the hamburglar, or that silly rabbit for trying to steal those kids cereal. I think that the webster definition was a little too broad, but its too late to change that now, and I don't think they were bad picks. I just think they challenge MY understanding of who/what we were supposed to be drafting. Like I said, I don't mind, it just allows my picks a better chance to get back to me.

venom_7 · Apr 29, 2009

Mad D said:

I think it is just people wanting to have a little diversity in their drafts, I don't think people should get penalized for thinking differently. You can do like what many others would do and just not vote for them in the end.

This is an imaginary draft with people creating teams to attack an imaginary island. This was already stupid

point for Mad D

Jespher · Apr 29, 2009

I added a video to my Sliver Queen pick if anyone is interested

. Check out the first 2 and a half minutes.

Löwenherz · Apr 30, 2009

venom_7 said:

I'm actually a little hurt ... in an imaginary island draft sort of way.

Yes, the Webster's definition is insanely broad and had I possessed the stamina and patience, I would have writen a detailed set of criteria regarding what would establish someone as a villain for this draft. Then again, I feared that would have driven us into a philosophical realm debating the dividing line between good and evil and I thought that was much too heavy a topic for an Internet forum draft thread in which a big guy that eats planets is the first overall pick.

At the same time, I intentionally made this to be as open and broad as possible, specifically allowing for creativity and imagination, if for no other reason than to avoid a laundry list of overpowered, all-star comic superbaddie teams followed by inane arguements about which group would win in a fight.

As I've mentioned, the ultimate goal is to have each team judged independently on their ability to work as a team to achieve the mastermind's plot, whatever it may be. And really, that works to level the playing field. Galactus can have all the omnipotence he wants, but if he's more interested in eating the planet than conquering it, Venom might have been the better pick.

And really, that's what the voters will decide. I believe in the laissez-faire approach on this one because really, I think Venom can handle the Hamburgler.

Monty'sBiggestFan · Apr 30, 2009

I don't see the problem myself. I think the spirit of the concept was build a team of villainous baddies. The broadness EXACTLY allows for creativity and if someone doesn't agree with the concept of the pieces on team then their vote goes elsewhere. To call out or question picks seems a little bit unnecessary to me at this point.

tradepeja · Apr 30, 2009

If Ben Linus and Michael Corleone aren't villains, then what the hell is? Its not freeze breath, brain sucking, or pointy fangs that makes a villain a villain. Evil and/or selfish acts make a villain a villain.

If Ben Linus and Michael Corleone are right then I don't want to be wrong.

Bricklayer · Apr 30, 2009

tradepeja said:

Note the "super" in the title for the explanation to the objection.

Spike · Apr 30, 2009

bdouble013 said:

Damn you for breaking up my unholy triumvirate! I was theeeeees close.

Pick coming shortly.

venom_7 · Apr 30, 2009

tradepeja said:

IMO neither of them are. Ben Linus says he does everything to protect the island, and Corleone runs a business.

Spike · Apr 30, 2009

All of the evil, none of the crazy

The Hobgoblin

Needing aerial support, I had my choice of goblins, and decided to go with the Hobgoblin. Superhuman physical attributes and intellect, including hypnosis. Stronger than the original Green Goblin without any of the crazy side effects. I didn't want anyone going bonkers until after the job was done.

Bonus? A fashion designer who will come up with spankin' sweet unis for my syndicate of evil.

NME · Apr 30, 2009

Proteus (a.k.a. Mutant X)

This disturbed individual was a superpowered mass-murderer while Sylar was still tinkering with his Fisher-Price clocks. Kevin MacTaggert had the misfortune to be born one of the world's most powerful mutants and considered too dangerous for the outside world, and so spent his life in isolation, essentially a lab rat of his scientist mother. Left to his own devices, his powers would burn up his own body and also tend to do bad things to the laws of physics around him. Unsurprisingly, this upbringing was not good for the boy's mental health and he went insane. When he finally got out, his body was destroyed and he became an energy form capable of taking over other bodies.

Now loose on the world, Proteus possesses and burns out one victim after another, along the way projecting his psychosis onto the world with his reality warping powers. When Proteus is around, buildings melt, human flesh distorts and liquifies, chasms open in the ground, gravity reverses itself, and nightmares comes to life.

Also, he's Scottish.

Appearance in his energy form:

The unsettling results of his body possessions:

POWERS:

Proteus possesses a vast psionic ability to manipulate and alter reality. He exists in a state of pure psionic energy that can take possession of human bodies that his energies eventually burn out, killing them. Proteus also possesses telepathic abilities. His reality manipulation powers allow him to transmute matter and bend the laws of physics according to his imagination within a certain distance. Using this power he can easily turn a building into liquid, turn a vehicle into bees that attack at his mental command, transform energy into matter, manipulate weather, or strip a person of their mutant powers. He often reverses local gravity, opens fissures in the earth, and stretches people painfully into liquid shapes (they return to normal when he no longer concentrates on manipulating their bodies).

Proteus can enter and completely possess another living being. Only beings with metal in their bodies appear to be immune. The bodies of most beings burn out within hours or a few days, although a few have been known to last longer. Proteus could leave a body before it is destroyed, but he usually does not. No possessed person has been shown able to resist or break free of Proteus' domination. Proteus has access to all the memories of his host while he possesses them and after he has left the body. Proteus has occasionally exhibited some telepathy, perfect recall, and the ability to mentally download computer information.

Proteus can become a being made of energy at will. He will also do this automatically whenever his body burns out so badly that it disintegrates. The ability to possess a new host and to manipulate reality is greater in this form. However, it is more vulnerable to the touch of metal. Contact with enough metal in this form can disrupt Proteus' energy and destroy his consciousness, dispersing it. It is possible for his consciousness to reform after such a disruption, but he has not shown the ability to do so without assistance.

Löwenherz · Apr 30, 2009

Bricklayer said:

That blasted "super" prefix; it's been vexing me since the draft began. I find the word too confining, used it only once in the actual rules (to refer to the "heroes" draft) and was the reason most people initially skipped out on this because they associated it with comic books only.

In any event, a "super" villain is really just a villain archetype that opposes a "super" hero and typically has hyper-abilities to match, even if those hyper-abilities are all within the range of normal human achievement.

Lex Luthor and The Joker are good examples of this and no one submitted a protest when either of them were picked.

venom_7 said:

I've never seen Lost, so I can't speak for Ben Linus, but the fact that you keep saying "Corleone runs a business" horrifies me a little

Jespher · Apr 30, 2009

He does run a business, but it is an "evil business"...

[yt=Evil Therapy]hVaz8ZZxoxo[/yt]

EndGame · Apr 30, 2009

Here is my 2c on the "supervillian" argument.

If we are to be pitted against super heroes, should we ourselves not posses super powers? Aside from Chuck Norris (who, lets be honest, really is superhuman), all the superheroes posses one power or another.

No offense, but as evil as the GodFather might be, put him against any lame-o from Heroes and he's gonna get taken apart.

That being said, I think if you feel that your selection makes your team stronger, then so be it, it's your team.

GoGoGadget · Apr 30, 2009

I always think the rules in these things should be as inclusive as possible. If Corleone fits tradepeja's definition of a supervillain, I'm not going to argue it. If he's not powerful enough for my own definition of the word, I'll let it show in the votes.

Ultimately, the more picks there are the don't hurt my list, the better.

VF21 · Apr 30, 2009

venom_7 said:

The whole idea of these drafts is, IMHO, to see how different people interpret the categories by their selections. At the end of the draft, when the innocent bystanders vote for the winners, I think the most popular definition of the various classifications will rise to the surface.

I saw a lot of really clever picks in the Classic Rides thread last year, simply because we tried really hard NOT to restrict the draft. Let peiople pick who they may and the votes will determine whether or not their choices were on target or way off track.

Edit: And if I had taken the time to scroll down and read G3's response before posting, I could have simply quoted her and said "word."

kingsnation · Apr 30, 2009

I just can't wait to pick...

NoBonus · Apr 30, 2009

Löwenherz said:

That blasted "super" prefix; it's been vexing me since the draft began. I find the word too confining, used it only once in the actual rules (to refer to the "heroes" draft) and was the reason most people initially skipped out on this because they associated it with comic books only.

In any event, a "super" villain is really just a villain archetype that opposes a "super" hero and typically has hyper-abilities to match, even if those hyper-abilities are all within the range of normal human achievement.

Lex Luthor and The Joker are good examples of this and no one submitted a protest when either of them were picked.

I've never seen Lost, so I can't speak for Ben Linus, but the fact that you keep saying "Corleone runs a business" horrifies me a little

It is your pick... why didn't you pick here?

Löwenherz · Apr 30, 2009

NoBonus said:

Because I was summoned away by a little thing called life

Anyway, the wait is over:

I already have two titanic enforcers in Cthulhu and Diablo, but it's going to take more than brute force to best those lousy heroes. I'm going to have to get inside their heads.

Now to add a little balance to the team with someone whose methods are "slighty" more elegant ... but equally terrifying.

Alma Wade - F.E.A.R.

Alma is, by most accounts, the vengeful ghost of an immensly powerful psychic essentially murdered by scientists who had been experimenting on her as a child.

These days, her hobbies include seeking vengence, officially on those responsible for screwing with her in life, but really, anyone and everyone who gets in her way ... or even within her vicinity. She enjoys manifesting in the shadows in the corner of a person's eye before disappearing, using her considerable telepathic powers to seemingly whisper things in people's ears and creating hallucinations, pulling people into "dream worlds" were she then summons and attacks them with malevolent phantoms called "Nightmares".

Of course, when she gets bored with that, she'll also kill people with her invaribly powerful psychic attacks in particularly gory fashion or simply blow things up with her pyrokinetic powers.

Additionally, her telekintic powers allow her to move and stop objects making her seemingly invulnerable. Not to mention, well, she's a ghost. Or a hallucination. Or perhaps only exists in the mind of the person seeing her. Who knows really? In any case, you try to stop her from doing whatever she wants.

She is the ideal head of my psychological warfare department and will act as my hearld, setting the scene up so my heavy hitters can knock it down. Of course, when I need her, I think I'll have to ask Diablo to talk to her.

Because between the two of them, honestly, Alma scares me more.

Löwenherz · Apr 30, 2009

VF21 said:

That was a big part of my desicion to make it as open and flexible as possible. I had a lot of fun in the car draft last year, but if I hadn't been allowed to draft monster trucks and transformers I wouldn't have been able to participate.

Bricklayer · Apr 30, 2009

Löwenherz said:

She is also totally and completely insane -- a theme on your island I see.

If dear ole mom would just have materialized I would have fragged her ***, but she always cheats.

Löwenherz · Apr 30, 2009

Bricklayer said:

You catch on quick. Am I that transparent?

Those are MY four horsemen: Chaos, Insanity, Terror and Pain ... lots and lots of pain.

MWUAHAHAHAHA ... er, I'm sorry where were we? I blacked out there a second.

NoBonus · Apr 30, 2009

Palpatine wants a ruthless killer... I select Boba Fett

He's gonna shoot you in the face... just deal with it.

Weapons and equipment from Wiki:

Boba Fett carries an arsenal of weaponry, consisting of a sawn-off Blas Tech EE-3 carbine rifle with extended pistol grip handles and a heatseeking scope, a Tenloss DXR-6 disruptor pistol, and a Mitrinomon Z-6 jet pack. His left gauntlet houses a Czerka ZX miniature flame projector, remote explosive, a Blas Tech Dur-24 wrist laser and Kevlarex Consolidated Arms MM9 mini concussion rocket. The right gauntlet holds a fibercord whip launcher with 20 meter lanyard, retractable vibro-blades and a dart launcher. On the top of his jet pack is a large, fine-bore missile. Jango, his father, lost his spare jetpack, which carried a massive warhead on a wider, more effective pack, in the battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi when he tried to arrest Jango on Kamino. His knee pads are also equipped with rocket dart launchers and fire darts containing Malkite Them Far or FEX-M3, molecular acid, stun agents or explosives.
Fett's ship, Slave I, is also armed and dangerous, converted from a stolen Firespray Kuat Systems interceptor used to patrol Oovo 4, the prison moon used to contain the galaxy's worst criminals. Along with a pair of small Kuat Systems cannons on either side of the hull and gripping struts on the underside of the vessel, the ship contains sets of seeker missiles once used by Jango in an attempt to murder the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Most of Boba's martial skills were taught to him by his father. As the last Mandalorian shocktrooper, Jango made sure the Mandalorian way survived. To Boba, Jango was father, family, and hero, the greatest of the Mandalorians and the image of his own destiny. In Star wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, he is shown having an Incinerator, a Blaster Rifle, & infinite Det-Packs & Wrist Rockets.

[yt=The Wrath of Boba Fett]ONDY_zy8Le4[/yt]

Bricklayer · Apr 30, 2009

Löwenherz said:

I already took pain.

Jespher · Apr 30, 2009

Does anyone else notice the total lack of villainesses in this draft. So far out of 43 picks, only 5 ladies (counting Loki who was originally a dude), one of which is a bug. What happened to voting for the hottest villainess?

Löwenherz · Apr 30, 2009

Jespher said:

I actually count only four (unless you're counting Mutant X for some reason)

And considering her competition is a transexual, a bug and a murderous eight-year old ghost girl, Catwoman wins easily.

Jespher · Apr 30, 2009

Löwenherz said:

Don't forget mistress death

.

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