Greywind Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Dynamo - belt, conferred STR and durability Lightning - speed, killed the user over time No-Man - android, as one body was rendered useless, his conscious transferred to the next body in line. Had an invisibility cloak. Menthor - mentalist There was also a Raven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 I think Raven was all equipment too, a suit that let him fly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Yes. Mostly just remember George Perez doing his stories in the Deluxe books. Modeled the character Phoenicia off his own wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Logan D. Hurricanes Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 I read a Green arrow story long ago where a young psycho was buying weapons and things to build a villain identity from a guy who's business was equipping villains. The psycho thug then turned around and shot the guy. Don't know if he was part of something bigger, or if he worked alone. I always imagined he was part of a bigger group. The person to ask would be the Calculator. As information broker supreme to the underworld, he can get you anything you want, including powers, i imagine. He'd be a good middle man/agent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywind Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Because he made for a lousy costume himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epiphanis Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Lex Luthor's "Everyman" business is the closest match I can think of. The Evil Factory and, post-New 52, N.O.W.H.E.R.E., both have the capacity to do this but mostly operate with agendas other than providing origin stories for pay. I don't think either is above a little profiteering to fund their larger goals, however. Bannerman Pharmaceuticals was the developer of both Hourman's Miraclo formula and its variant, Bane's "Venom" drug. I don't think there is a general "we will ensuper you for pay" story involving them yet, but presumably it's got a profit motive for its activities. By the same token, though, I suppose the bottlers of Gingold Juice, Elongated Man's soft drink, would count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 I think comic book companies avoid this for sort of obvious reasons: they don't want to flood the world with zillions of cheap superpowered beings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 Also think of the time period. In the Golden Age, out and out supervillians were rare. Most of the time, superheros fought gainsters and mad scientists. The only one who fought an occasional supervillian was Wonder Woman, and then it was mostly Mars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbywolfe Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 Also think of the time period. In the Golden Age, out and out supervillians were rare. Most of the time, superheros fought gainsters and mad scientists. The only one who fought an occasional supervillian was Wonder Woman, and then it was mostly Mars. But the question wasn't limited to the Golden Age, was it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted November 12, 2014 Report Share Posted November 12, 2014 No, it wasn't. What I gave is a historical example. Even though metahumans are more common in the current DC Universe, the same ideal is held...to many supervillians and the hero might lose what makes them 'super'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csyphrett Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 At one point Cadmus did some experiments for making supers on demand from the government, but I am not sure if that answers your question Dean CES Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Just to point out, the needs of a superhero comic book universe are not the needs of a superhero roleplaying universe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted November 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 The Cadmus Project was an example of a different trope, the Program. But a related trope, it's true. The chief difference is whether the people trying to create superheumans are doing it for a particular sponsor, to further that sponsor's interests, or (apparently) for anyone willing to pay the price. Cadmus was only one U. S. government program to create superbeings. I recall that Will Payton became Starman through an accidental deflection of the energies meant for another government program. He later met the pissed-off super-soldiers that program created. Over in Marvel, the two Serpent Squads were products of programs from the evil Roxxon Corporation. Many other examples -- the trope is a lot more common than the Power Vendor. As Christopher points out, the methods used by a Power Vendor must not be too cheap or easy, or why isn't the world even more full of supers? The limiting factor on a Power Vendor or Program can be as important, from a story POV, as the mechanism for origins. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Another Starman (Will Payton) fanboy? I loved that character. Him and Darkstar (Ferrin Colos). Forever DC. QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steriaca Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 I'm reminded of Professor Pomagranet and his dreaded Ubermachine. I believe only Darkion was published, but The Blonde Bombshell was another subject. Was he a 'program' or a 'vender'? Can one be both? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher R Taylor Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 The Super Soldier Serum has created a good dozen or more superheros and villains in the marvel universe. Its usually pretty detrimental in its effects (driving people crazy usually) but it does give powers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DShomshak Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Steriaca: A Program could become a Power Vendor, or vice-versa, over time; or a Program could hire a Power Vendor. Like, imagine a country that wants a corps of super-soldiers but doesn't have enough native mutants to train, the tech for powered armor or cyborgs, or other available resources. The government might just hire a vendor such as Marvel's Power Broker, Inc. to augment a group of loyal soldiers. If it's an unpleasant regime, so what if half of them die or are horribly mutated into mindless monsters? If the government is somewhat more responsible, the soldiers are volunteers who know the process is dangerous. QM: Yeah, Will "Starman Payton was great. One of my favorites from DC. I never cared much for DC's A-list characters like Batman and Superman: Too much history (and sometimes, too many titles published at once). I preferred Blue Devil, Halk and Dove, Booster Gold, etc. Dean Shomshak Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheQuestionMan Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Love Hate feelings for Booster Gold. Blue Devil was okay. Mystic characters. Hawk (Hank) & Dove (Dawn) were a great team. QM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clonus Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 To answer the actual question, the answer is "The drug dealers who were selling the super-speed drug Velocity 9" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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