The Early Years: The Slayers, Part 1 ― Mmm, Fruit Chews

So as previously threatened promised, this week, I reached into the pile of old papers from my younger days and pulled out the Villains & Vigilantes character sheets for The Slayers. There are a lot of them (seven in all), so I decided to split them across two weeks*, starting this week with Starburst** (a flying energy projector and the leader of the group at first), Throttle (the speedster), and Monstrus (the brick).

For those who are wondering about “Energy Projector”, “Brick”, etc., these are superhero archetypes that I remember from yet another superhero RPG that I had, Champions. The full list of archetypes, with examples is:

• Brick: Hulk, Superman, Monstrus
• Energy Projector: Cyclops, Dazzler, Superman (heat vision, baby!), Starburst
• Gadgeteer: Batman, Forge, Hawkeye (kinda)
• Martial Artist: Iron Fist, Lady Shiva, Wolverine
• Mentalist: Professor X, Emma Frost
• Metamorph: Mr. Fantastic, Plastic Man
• Mystic: Dr. Strange, Dr. Fate
• Patriot: Captain America, Liberty Belle
• Power Armor: Iron Man, Steel, Box (from Alpha Flight)
• Speedster: Quicksilver, Flash, Throttle
• Weapon Master: Hawkeye, Green Arrow, Bullseye
• Teleporter***: Nightcrawler, Blink, Lila Cheney

There are other archetypes present in the Slayers, of course, but we’ll get to them next week.

When I used these in the V&V RPG, they were independent operators (although they weren’t above hiring themselves out for cash purposes), but when they appeared in Marvel Mania, they served as Thunderbolt’s flunkies when he was busy off murdering people for no reason or engaging in hostile corporate takeovers or whatnot. Here’s where Our Heroes (plus guest star Daredevil; this storyboard was called “Marvel Mania” for a reason) were introduced to them. Just for reference, the two non-Marvel characters are:

• Tailspin (essentially an Energy Projector): Cyclone/wind manipulation powers
• Bludgeon (a Brick): Flying; absorbs kinetic energy, which increases his strength temporarily

And the three**** members of the Slayers appearing below who have not had their character sheets posted yet are:

• Dancer (Martial Artist): Dresses like a ballerina and has blades in her ballet shoes
• Menta (one guess): Telepath
• Portal (Teleporter): Opens portals that are used for teleportation

Title:  RIPPING-UP-THE-RICH  < 47 lines>

In REPLY to: THE-START-OF-SOMETHING?
Date: 10-20-1989 at 11:35:17 ( 9)
From: bludgeon

The three heroes glided over the large stone wall, Daredevil being carried by Bludgeon. Once inside, Tailspin whispered, “Remember, we want this to be quiet, at least until we know what’s going on.”

“Uh, Tom,” said Bludgeon, “I think it’s too late.” A glowing portal had opened and five figures emerged from it: a glowing woman who flew, a huge, hairy beast, a woman dressed as a ballerina, a skinny guy in red, and a masked woman in pink.

“You’re tresspassing,” said the flying woman. “Beat it.”

Tailspin stared at her, and she stared back. Finally Tom said, “Sure,” and turned as if to leave. Suddenly he whirled around and blasted the woman with a cyclone bolt. She easily twisted around it.

“Have it your way. Take ’em out, team!”

Daredevil squared off with the ballerina, who had wicked-looking blades on her shoes. She danced forward and swung her leg around in an arc. Daredevil jumped back, a slit appearing across his chest. Blood trickled from it. The hero feinted with his left and hit the woman with an uppercut right. She sprawled backwards. “Throttle, Dancer’s down,” called the flying woman. “Help her while I take Mr. Tornado here!”

The hairy guy strode forward and threw a punch at Bludgeon. The force of the blow sent shockwaves through Arthur’s ribs but he still stood. “Thanks,” he said. He grabbed his opponent’s leg and swung him around in an airplane twirl, finally hurling him at the mansion. There was a crash as the villain smashed through the wall.

“Not bad, kid,” said the masked woman. “Usually Monstrus doesn’t go down so easy. But can you stand up to Menta?” Bludgeon felt a sudden, sharp pain in his skull that threatened to black him out.*****

Tailspin jumped back as the airborne woman blasted the spot where he had stood with a laser. Chunks of dirt exploded into the air, and Tailspin grabbed them with a cyclone and pummeled Starburst with them. Meanwhile, Throttle’s fists were a blur as they beat upon Daredevil’s head.

Arthur, barely conscious, slammed the ground with all the strength he could gather. The shockwave threw Throttle, Menta, and Tailspin to the ground, though Daredevil stayed on his feet. The pain gone, Bludgeon flew at the prostrate Menta and gently rapped her on the head, knocking her out.

“Hey!” cried Tailspin, and Arthur turned to see him disappearing into a glowing hole in the ground.

“Tom!” he yelled, leaping to the spot, but he was too late; Tailspin was gone. Arthur turned back to the fight and found Daredevil kicking Throttle into unconsciousness. “They stole Tom!” he cried.

“The Starburst woman flew off,” said Daredevil, “and she took Menta with her. Dancer rabbited, too. But we do have us a hostage. Isn’t that right, Throttle?”

Well, that fight could’ve gone better. But then again it could’ve gone worse, too, right?

* I mean, I could stretch them out across six weeks by doing one Slayer per week, I guess, but that’s too much padding even for me.
** If you’re saying to yourself, “Self, I bet Starburst took a lot of shit from the heroes for her name being the same as a brand of candy“, congratulations! You think like an RPGer, or possibly have just read a lot of Spider-Man comics.
*** Not part of the original list, but I consider it an archetype.
**** The astute reader will notice that I said there are seven Slayers, but this only adds up to six. That’s because one of them is operating on the sly. You will find out who that is next week.
***** Bludgeon was my character, so maybe this is foreshadowing for something that would happen almost exactly 30 years later.