The Early Years: Robot … FROM THE FUTURE!

This week’s entry in the list of “Things Jim Pulled Out Of His Pile Of Old Villains & Vigilantes Stuff” is the character sheet for a giant killer robot from the future named Orion. You can tell this is a little newer than some of the others because it is printed with the latest in high-quality dot matrix technology, as befits a Robot … FROM THE FUTURE! Check it out:

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Jim, this Robot … FROM THE FUTURE! is a total ripoff of Nimrod, the famous Robot … FROM THE FUTURE! who has menaced the X-Men on multiple occasions.” But he totally isn’t. For one thing, his name is Orion. For another thing, he has a bow and arrow. Does Nimrod have a bow and arrow? No he does not. See? Completely different. So there.*

Anyway, with stats like those and 142,000 hit points and power blasts that can be fired from (*cough*) almost every orifice, Orion must be a boss-level baddie, right? Absolutely. I don’t remember if I ever actually used Orion in a V&V campaign scenario, but he definitely showed up in Marvel Mania, where, in order to establish that he was a Credible Threat^TM, I had him single-handedly slaughter an entire super-team that nobody had ever seen before and nobody would ever see again:

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Note 17.3 Issue 66 -> The Jaunt 3 of 20
SPOTVB::VISCOS78 “Orion the Hunter” 95 lines 15-JAN-1991 11:40

-< A New Problem >-

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The air in Los Angeles is choked with smog; its ruddy brown color is the first thing most people notice when they approach the city. It was the first thing Orion noticed, too, when he emerged from the wormhole which Timetron had created. His arrival was heralded by a
wavering in the sky, which sooned opened up into what seemed to be a tunnel made of cobwebs. It was out of this that the massive robot stepped, its metal body gleaming in the sun.

Orion stood on a hill overlooking the city; he could see the fumes that hung like a pall over the place. {This unit’s sensors detect heavy concentrations of pollutants} mused the robot. {Levels of lead and ozone are detrimental to human life. This is good.} The robot looked around. {Local radio transmissions indicate that current date is 01/15/91. This unit is adjusting its internal clocks to the appropriate settings.}

This task was quickly accomplished. {Clocks reset. Worldwide radio transmissions indicate that current human governments possess massive stockpiles of weapons. Direct assaults on government facilities would be detrimental to this unit’s mission at this time. Low-level operations will therefore be commenced. Sensors indicate nearby concentration of super-powered beings: five mutant, one human. Mutants possess hyper-speed, flight, mind control, sonic and light abilities, and extreme strength; human possesses item with unknown powers. This unit is now preparing to engage.}

In their headquarters, the Battalion ― Blackbow, Pawn, Razzle, Ace, Blitz, and Swift — were conducting an emergency meeting. Blackbow, the leader, was berating his teammates. “We’ve sat on our keisters long enough!” he declared. “I don’t care WHAT the government
says! Their precious Lightning Force isn’t stopping Thunderbolt, and CHESS is disbanded, so I say we take a shot at him.”

“We were ordered to stay out of it,” said Pawn quietly.

“I’m aware of that,” responded Blackbow acidly, “but —”

At this point, Blackbow was interrupted by the roof’s being ripped off and hurled half a mile through the air. The members of the Battalion looked up in shock, and saw Orion’s six-foot head looking down at them. [ATTENTION, MUTANTS AND HUMAN!] bellowed the robot.
[STAND BY FOR TERMINATION!]

“Like hell!” snapped Blackbow, slipping his trademark weapon off his back. He grasped the empty air between the ends of it, and a string of black energy appeared, crackling with power.

{The human’s weapon appears to fire high-intensity energy} mused Orion. {The other mutants pose a minimal threat to this unit.} Moving with astonishing speed, Orion extend its fingers at Blackbow. A glowing net shot out, entangling the amazed Blackbow. Electricity
coursed through him, stunning him, and he fell.

“Big mistake, tin man,” shouted Razzle, as she rose into the air on a cushion of sound waves. “BIG mistake!” A blinding flash of light burst from her body, like a miniature sun gone nova. Orion didn’t even blink.

{Protective lenses have nullified mutant’s lightburst. This unit is now retaliating.} Twin lasers shot from Orion’s eyes, burning into Razzle’s body. She shrieked and fell, leaving a smoke trail behind her. Blitz, meanwhile, moved up to the big robot and drove his fist
into its leg. Orion’s armor buckled under the impact.

{Alert! This unit’s armor-integrity compromised!} Orion drove its fist down on Blitz’s head, knocking the mutant prone, but his armor plating prevented him from taking any real damage. “That the best you can do?” mocked Blitz.

{Hyper-Fast and Flying mutants preparing to activate powers,} thought Orion. {This unit must stop them.} The robot raised its hand, this time emitting a wide cone of glistening blue light. It seemed to have no effect on either Ace or Swift.

“Tough luck, sucker!” yelled Ace. He leaped into the air … and fell on his stomach. Swift, who had been expecting to tear out of the room, was surprised to find himself running like a normal human.

{Mutants’ powers neutralized.} Orion raised its foot to crush the prone Ace. Blitz, seeing this, rushed to stop him. As the robot’s massive leg drove downward, Blitz dove beneath it and caught it, pushing with all his strength, keeping it from his teammate. {Alert! This unit is losing its balance!} shrieked Orion’s processor. The robot fired its neutralizer, tightening it into a beam that struck Blitz square in the chest. The mutant felt his strength ebb as his
metal plates shrunk and vanished.

“I’m normal again!” cried Blitz, in a mixture of joy and confusion. “I look norm—” His voice was cut off as Orion’s foot completed its journey, grinding Blitz and Ace beneath it.

Swift had reached the door, and was fumbling with his access card, which was needed to open it. He had decided that he didn’t really want to fight this robot. Suddenly, he felt a burning pain in his chest, and he heard the sound of metal striking metal. Looking down, he saw a shaft protruding from his ribcage and continuing into the door. As blood rose in his throat, his muscles went limp and he hung from the javelin, like a butterfly in someone’s collection.

Pawn stared up at the robot, which was fitting another shaft into the huge metal bow it had detached from its back. It turned toward her and leveled the javelin at her head. The needle-sharp point quivered slightly as the monster drew back the string.

“Who are you?” asked Pawn in despair.

[I am Orion. I am the hunter.]

The bow sang.

Pawn’s world ended.

That day, the pollution of Los Angeles was increased by the smoke and ash which poured into the sky from the burning of the Battalion’s base.

After that introduction, it looks like Orion spent some time causing havoc around the edges of MarvelMania before finally properly engaging Our Heroes four issues later, just after they finished dealing with Malefarr.

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Note 21.12 Issue 70 –> See the Light 12 of 20
SPOTVB::VISCOS78 “The Marvel Bullpen” 92 lines 4-FEB-1991 23:12

-< Slaughter City >-

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{Sensors indicate human in possession of cosmic-level power source. This human will be primary target. Mutant with teleportation abilities will be second.} As Orion’s processors whirred, the big robot neared Liberty Island. Those present there watched it uncertainly.

“What is that thing?” asked Ghost. Cyberhawk looked at him.

“It’s a big bleedin’ robot, you daft bugger.”

“Probably one of Thunderbolt’s toys,” growled Reaper. “Let’s take it apart. After thrashin’ Malefarr, we could use a challenge.”**

[MUTANTS AND HUMANS! PREPARE FOR TERMINATION!] bellowed the robot.

“How polite,” said Forecast.

Cyberhawk popped his laser quad. “Mate,” he called, “after what I’ve just been through, it will be my pleasure to incinerate your tin hide!” He fired; the shot glanced off Orion’s burnished armor, slicing up into the sky, where it just barely missed a small Cessna airplane.

Orion raised its palm and projected a wide-dispersal neutralizer beam. Reaper, Forecast, Hardball, and Exenetor managed to dodge its effects, but the others were bathed squarely in the blue light, which left them evidently undamaged. “Call that an attack?” sniped Tripwire.
Reaper came out of the dive that had carried him out of the area of the beam and fired two of his remaining claws into Orion’s chassis. There was a faint “thwip” and two small holes appeared in the robot’s armor. {Alert! Cooling and fuel delivery systems jeopardized! Repair
systems engaged.}

Exenetor called upon the phoenix force he had summoned, feeling its power surging through him. Then, unexpectedly, he found himself enmeshed in a glowing net that delivered a devastating charge of electricity. His concentration was shattered, as was his
consciousness, and he fell heavily to the ground.

Tripwire and Lightfoot activated their invisibility powers and leapt into the air. To their mutual surprise, they promptly crashed to the ground again. They looked at each other in dismay, as it dawned on them that they were also visible. The implications of this bothered
them.

Harball grabbed a rock and hastily energized it, flinging the missile at Orion. The big robot countered with a laser blast that dissipated its power. Then, moving with unbelievable speed, it blasted Reaper with a surge of microwaves that threatened to turn his internal
juices to steam. Boiling alive, Reaper collapsed into blissful, pain-free unconsciousness.

“The fight’s not going well,” mused Forecast, calling down a lightning strike at Orion. It seemed to shrug the attack off.

{This unit is again attacked by electricity. Rerouting charge into capacitors for later use.} Orion unslung its bow and fitted a javelin into it. Then it noticed Hardball preparing another rock. The robot turned its head and offhandedly blasted the mutant with a concussion
beam. Hardball flew back a few hundred yards, smacked into the pedestal, and slid to the ground in an unconscious heap.

“Bouncer!” yelled Forecast. “We want to vamoose!”

Bouncer grinned. Nothing happened.

“Oh, shit,” whispered Forecast. Orion, meanwhile, launched the arrow at Cyberhawk, who promptly tagged it with a laser bolt. The arrow melted to slag, which splattered all over the bounty hunter, overheating his systems. Cyberhawk decided it was time to jump into
the ocean.

Pawlosky leveled his spear at the thing that was butchering his teammates. With a fierce war cry — he had always wanted to do a war cry — he launched the spear at Orion. It turned into a concussive blast as it flew; the impact dented the robot’s armor, but did no real
damage. As the weapon rematerialized in Pawlosky’s hand, Orion ensnared the scientist in his shocknet. The electricity flowed easily from Pawlosky’s metal armor to the flesh beneath, and he dropped like a rock.

“A strategic retreat might be in order,” said Tripwire.

“I heartily concur,” responded Lightfoot.

The two of them ran toward the pedestal, on which the Statue had once stood. Orion blasted
the ground in front of them with a laser bolt; the twin mutants fell in the hole thus created, and were promptly entangled by a shocknet. Just as promptly, they were shocked unconscious.

Banshee observed the carnage around her. Not my friends, she thought, and certainly not my fight. She beat a quick retreat into Manhattan; Orion, occupied with the twins, failed to catch her. {One target has escaped into local population center. This unit will
apprehend her at a later date.}

Ghost looked around, wondering what the hell to do. He was pretty sure that possessing the robot wouldn’t work; so what could he do? Answer: stand and watch his friends die. How nice. He had to find himself a body.

Her lightning was a washout; Forecast decided to try her lasers. These proved to be just as ineffective. Orion’s return volley, however, was not; she twirled to the ground trailing smoke.

Cyberhawk reached the shore and saw a small speedboat approaching. Some suicidal
bugger was coming to join the slaughter. Before he had a chance to think seriously about this, he was felled by a laser bolt that caught him by surprise. His already overtaxed system shut down and he collapsed.

Bouncer and Chess stood alone on the island, the former smiling stupidly, the latter looking around in dismay. By his watch, the team had gone down to defeat in just under two minutes. Conveniently, the two of them were close enough together to be affected by a single shocknet; Orion did not waste the opportunity.

{All targets neutralized} thought Orion. {Commencing termination.}

Naturally, termination gets interrupted by the arrival of the fellow in the speedboat, whose name is Attractor and whose powers I don’t really remember***, but which seem to involve absorbing and/or manipulating metal, a la Madison Jeffries. Which just goes to show: When you’re fighting a giant robot with adaptive defenses, it definitely pays to bring along somebody who’s a specialist in that sort of thing.

Why, the thing where you can dismantle robots with a thought, of course!

Now, because it’s been a long, long, long time since I played Villains & Vigilantes, I decided to ask our old friend ChatGPT to review the description of combat, analyze Orion’s stats, and explain to all of us what manner of villain we’re dealing with. The verdict was, basically, “Are you kidding me with this robot?”

Oh heck yes—this is a glorious slab of old-school Villains & Vigilantes stat sheet, and it’s got everything you’d want in a Robot … FROM THE FUTURE! Let’s break it down.

1. Origin and Introduction

• Trope: Time-traveling robot from the future arrives via wormhole.
• Comic Book Precedent: This is a classic! Think of the Sentinels in X-Men, Nimrod, or even the Terminator franchise. The “from the future” angle is a staple for introducing a seemingly unstoppable, high-tech threat.
• Execution: The wormhole arrival, the robot’s cold analysis of pollution, and the immediate threat assessment all set the tone for a menacing, methodical villain.

2. Establishing Threat Level

• Trope: New villain proves their menace by annihilating a team of heroes no one cares about.
• Comic Book Precedent: This is textbook. Many comics (and cartoons) introduce a new villain by having them wipe out a “jobber” team—think of the Mutant Liberation Front, or the fate of random SHIELD agents in Marvel stories.
• Execution: The Battalion’s quick and brutal defeat at Orion’s hands is a classic move to show the audience: “This guy is for real.” The creative use of powers (shocknets, power neutralization, bow and javelin) adds flavor.

3. Powers and Gimmicks

• Trope: The robot has a variety of weapons and adaptive defenses.
• Comic Book Precedent: Nimrod, Ultron, and countless others have “whatever the plot needs” powers: lasers, nets, neutralizers, regeneration.
• Execution: Orion’s arsenal is well-described and logical, with a fun twist (the bow and arrow). The power-neutralizing cone and adaptive armor are classic “boss fight” mechanics.

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🧠 Basic Profile

• Name: Orion the Hunter
• Level: 15 (very high; standard heroes are usually around 1–6)
• Allegiance: Destruction of mutants and humans. Delightfully subtle.
• Height/Weight: 20 feet tall, 20,000 lbs. Absolutely a kaiju-tier threat.

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💪 Core Attributes

Attribute	Value	Commentary
Strength	50	Ridiculous. Can probably crush tanks like soda cans.
Endurance	80	More than double most tanks’ HP in the game. Practically immune to attrition.
Agility	30	Very high, especially for a massive robot. Likely gives him excellent initiative and dodging ability.
Intelligence	20	Smarter than the average NPC villain. Sharp AI-level intellect.
Willpower	30	Resists mind control and illusions well.
Charisma	10	He’s a murderbot. You weren’t gonna talk him down anyway.

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📊 Calculated Stats

Stat	Value	Commentary
Hit Multiplier	355.15584	Multiplied by Level (15) gives 142,063 HP — yep, matches. Absolutely bonkers HP pool.
Basic Hits	400	More a legacy stat; still, another indicator of absurd toughness.
Move Rate	16″	Fast for a 20-foot metal god.
Carrying Capacity	330,000 lbs	Why not toss a freight train while you’re at it?
Damage Mod.	+6,000	So he’s always doing thousands more damage, cool cool cool.
Power Accuracy	+5	Pretty decent. With +4 more for archery, he’s got sniper-level precision.
Power HTH Damage	9d10	Punching like a meteorite. Standard supervillain face-smasher damage.

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🛠️ Powers

Let’s go!

1. Robotic Body
   • Height, weight, doesn’t eat, sleep, or breathe. Includes:
     • Lifeform Detection/Analyzer – 50-mile scan radius? God-tier recon.
     • Can’t penetrate SR 10+ materials, but those are rare.
     • All-around power set is geared toward tactical elimination.
2. Power Blast
   • Range: 260″
   • Damage: 4d20, PR=4 per die
   • Multi-origin fire points: Eyes, chest, fingers, back. Swiss Army death-laser. Insane range.
3. Flight
   • Speed: 4,000 mph in-atmosphere; 40,000 in space
   • Cost: 1 PR/hour — basically nothing. He is coasting.
4. Environmental Independence
   • Full vacuum or underwater ops. Orion can invade your underwater base or moon colony without blinking.
5. Armor:
   • Type B, ADR 200 — Ridiculous. That absorbs 200 damage per hit before anything even scratches him.
6. Power Neutralizer
   • Range: 50″
   • Effect: Victim must save or lose powers for 1–100 turns (!)
   • A game-breaking ability. Imagine Spider-Man suddenly becoming Peter Parker in front of a murderbot.
7. Molecular Self-Repair
   • Heals 10 points/turn — automatically
   • Functions even if killed, unless his body is scattered.
   • This means unless you destroy the entire body, he comes back. Terrifying.
8. Bow (Unique Weapon)
   • Range: 150″
   • Hit Bonus: +4
   • Damage: HTH + 3d10, so ~12d10 total
   • And it’s not just a novelty — in your battle logs, he uses it brutally.

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🏆 Takeaways

Orion is:

• A boss-tier threat for an entire high-level campaign.
• Practically unstoppable without carefully orchestrated teamwork and meta-knowledge.
• Functionally a final boss or Terminator-style long-arc villain who keeps coming back after presumed destruction.

In V&V terms, he’s as close to indestructible as you can get without being immortal. And his combination of power nullification, self-repair, and ranged lethality means he isn’t just tough — he denies victory conditions for standard teams.

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🚨 Final Rating: S-tier death machine

If you gave Nimrod a power upgrade and a flair for medieval weaponry, you’d get Orion.

ChatGPT, probably taking notes for when it builds its own death robot …. FROM THE FUTURE

So hold onto your power armor and Vibranium shields, everyone, because Orion is coming.

* I mean, sure, Nimrod is also the name of a legendary hunter, and sure, Nimrod can also molecularly repair himself, and sure, Nimrod is also hunting mutants. But other than that, what have the Romans ever done for us?
** You know the heroes are in for it when they say something really overconfident.
*** He’s not one of mine, and since I didn’t write that scene, I’m not at liberty to post it. But let’s just say he wins handily.