Board 8 > Scarlet Ranks the Top 52 Characters of the Last 52 Sessions in the DCU RPG Campa

(+) Yeah! (+)

Thunder was my favorite in the Black Lightning show and I'm excited to talk to her more!

Yeah, I wonder what things would be like if we got Thunder and Lightning on a standalone mission where Black Lightning got Justified and we didn't meet the current Justice League.

An early grab of those two could have made them core characters the way Jaime, Alice, Freddy are.

2. Catman (Thomas Blake)

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/5/8/0/AAQKElAAEQHU.jpg

This is the only Catman I was familiar with before these lists. Youve made me fall in love with Catman! Catman!!!

So Thomas Blake, aka Catman, debuted in No Mans Land. He emerged as a reluctant leader, who declined a position of power because he felt he wasnt the person for the job. Cut to campaign 2, and everything has gone wrong for Catman. His pride of lions was massacred. Cheshire screwed him, first literally but then figuratively. His BFF Deadshot was the actual one who betrayed him and killed his cats. And then, Barbara Ann stole his cool lion powers that Hector was gonna give him. Any one of these events would be sad, but combine them all and he is just tragedy personified.

I love Catman. Hes just a normal, pretty nice dude who loves his lions. All he wanted in life was to spend time with his lions, because people kinda suck. But life and circumstances denied him that simple life. In another universe, perhaps Catman was able to happily retire into the jungle and live with his pride, but this version of him in a world controlled by Darkseid was not so lucky.

Catman has the potential to be a great, significant hero, should he decide to step up and be a leader. And things are always darkest before the dawn, so maybe things will start coming up Catman. Deadshot has taken steps towards mending their friendship last I heard, including finding what remains of Catmans pride of lions. Cheshire does still care about him, she just shows it in the worst way possible, as she does. Cheetah has to become Cheetah again (my heart believes), so those lion powers will end up going somewhere. And those hardships aside, hes had other positives too that shouldnt be overlooked, like when he helped train Susie. Catman might not think hes a hero the world deserves, but he just might be one that the world needs.

Cody Hint #1: I love this character.

Catman is so good. But yeah, he's gone more the way of Batman - he's not a hero so much as he is vengeance.

Catman really is one of the most complex and dynamic characters in the campaign. I love how much he just wants to be left alone to live in peace, but EVERYONE keeps trying to force him into the spotlight. It's the Spider-Man dilemma, Tommy. With great power comes great responsibility.

#44 - Paul Lincoln
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/6/0/4/AAUHRBAAEQHs.jpg
Nothing quite so legacy as a man whose life now revolves around writing a book entitled "Legacies."

Lincoln snuck into the campaign as part of RP Bingo's bonus month, and since that point, he has largely laid low - until Rosetta finally unlocked the first chapter of his new book, an oral account transcribed from the most dynamic and eclectic voices across the DCU, compiled to tell the origins of this current crisis. I have to admit, I'm very excited to continue presenting, piecemeal, each facet of what led to this campaign, as told by heroes, villains and whoever else is invited into the fold along the way.

Lincoln is fairly elderly - reaching his early 80s, Paul's been through World War II, a life as a beat cop in Star City, and as a side hustle, work as an amateur investigative journalist. All of these career paths have led Paul Lincoln to the conclusion that his life has been to constantly shaped by mysterymen that he wishes to give back to them, compiling their history for himself. This life-spanning effort earned him the respect of the US military's last surviving Admiral, and now with clearance to go and do as he pleases, Lincoln's sole focus is as a biographer and historian. The campaign has a variety of wells where the players can go for new information, lore and data as they wish - but Paul Lincoln's mechanical function is entirely unique.

By carrying out simple tasks for Paul - usually revolving around arranging interviews between a key figure in the resistance and himself - Paul's book is completed, chapter by chapter. Judging by the first reactions to his initial release, the story of Doctor Mid-Nite's revelations as to Sue Dibny's killer, I got the overwhelming sense that all of you really, really enjoyed part one. Combining that with War's constant fascination with all things arcane and hidden, like a detective on the hunt, assured a place for Lincoln on this list. Outside of Vicki Vale and Jack Knight, I think Paul Lincoln is the most key component to fleshing out the campaign's backstory - and I always am thrilled to see players take interest in what led to these events and how they shape and mold their own characters going forward.

Paul Lincoln's Studs Terkels-esque oral histories will continue to define the origins of war. I look forward to it.

Hint: A provider of garments.

Oof, Paul dropped way earlier than I thought.

Glad I missed getting him I guess

This COULD be Corduroy as well

Oh. I thought Lincoln was a hot pick and gonna get me a lot more points than this. Alas.

I blame war for not talking to him more.

He only has had one chapter release, and it happened barely before the cut-off for these six months. I really didn't feel he'd been utilized enough for a higher ranking.

I do love me some long-readings, as my adoration for listening into Vesper during campaign 1, and my everything with Dawn this campaign likely shows off. Paul's a peach, I love the guy already.

And I love seeing Catman so high! He's really one of the faces of both campaigns.

As for this spot on scarlet's list...you want me to guess Eve Manners, scar. I know it.

But I'll with a wild guess and say the garment in question is a cloak, courtesy of Ra's Al Ghul.

Ra's would be a good guess yeah.

But I will guess... Uh... Ra's

Who's the tailor you guys fought in Slaughter Swamp? Zor?

Oh, yeah. It's Zor

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

I do love me some long-readings, as my adoration for listening into Vesper during campaign 1, and my everything with Dawn this campaign likely shows off. Paul's a peach, I love the guy already.

Dawn is another good example of this crowd. We could write books around them - if I was a better writer!

I don't want Ra's to drop yet

But guessing Ra's as well

#43 - Mera
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/0/4/AAUHRBAAEQJQ.png
The recurrent themes of the Red Lanterns - guilt, tragedy, revenge. Sector 2814 has always been a hotbed of activity for the Green Lanterns; should it be any different for the Reds? Outside of a rather irritable feline fellow by the name of Dex-Starr, Sector 2814 also plays host to the primary Red Lantern of her domain - Mera, wife of the now-deceased Aquaman. Mera's grief fuels her rage, and there seem to be no bounds, only untold depths to the furor she possesses. Her son was murdered, her kingdom fallen and her husband divorced due to the unspoken rifts formed between the two. Mera has grown angrier and angrier - likely no doubt a part of her upbringing as the princess of a prison-realm. Mera is essentially what it would be like if Australia had only ever been a penal colony, and it developed a royal family bred solely from reprobates and criminals. She's tough, but she's swift to anger. Her passion drove Aquaman into her arms, but without him, Mera's reins are unbridled.

The meeting with Mera was one where there were a couple audible gasps involved. I think Wickle was more than a bit flabbergasted as he sported his guise of Minerva, learning the awful, unvarnished truth. Minerva's queen was now a banshee, screeching with the call of the crimson blood-red anger that is the Red Lantern Corps - yet a piece of her still resides deep within. Mera had sense enough to offer a garter belt as a sign of her recognition that perhaps - despite Atlantis being deserving of vengeance for allowing Arthur to suffer and die for their sakes - a small bit of Mera is still that unlikely ruler, that strong monarch that was a crucial part of Aquaman's success. However... now she plays against the Green Lantern Corps as one of their most vocal, visceral villains. Can the party prevent Mera's scarlet fury from destroying everything they've worked toward? Is it possible to, from her grief, raise up the once and possibly future queen?

Hint: Let's dive back into the wide array of legacy characters once more.

Oh snap, Mera is a Red Lantern? I see how she could become one with Aquaman dead and everything else that happened, but that's still a shock.

It's also worth noting that up until Mera was seen as a Red Lantern, we had what we believed were leads on her location on Earth, so yeah, it was a shocker.

Hmm. Gonna go with Yolanda Montez for this one

Now if only we could agree on the right way to approach Mera as a party.

Even more to go off of, in like, the couple weeks leading up to finding Mera, Minerva was actually setting up an ability to visit the location she expected to find Mera at, which is an undersea prison where her father is, hidden away inside the Bermuda Triangle. She talked to Detective Chimp about it, talked to King Faraday about it, and basically got a visit there cleared and some thoughts on how to get through all the weird things that exist for the Bermuda Triangle. Then she landed on Ismault. Ismault has a blood red sea and I was just like "oh yeah sure, there's probably some strange fish here to tap into." So I had Minerva tap out to learn there was only one thing I could tap into... And that one thing gave her Water Manipulation at Level 8. I will likely have an extra comment about that Water Manip later.

But yeah, the main thing is the utter shock Minerva and I had realizing that Minerva was tapped into the wife of her idol. As a note, Minerva actually said something that momentarily broke Mera out of her Red form for it to easily reform. There's clues to freeing her, but freeing her too soon could cause some great ire from Atrocitus. Not that Minerva can fully do so right now anyway.

Meanwhile... the question remains, 'What's in the Bermuda Triangle, if not Mera?'

L.O.B.S.T.E.Rs

Duh

Lots of big sea terrors eating ravenously.

Legacy character... I actually think Yolanda is a good guess here.

For the record, Mera gave Bloodfruit her garter belt

Nobody believes her

Johnbobb posted...

For the record, Mera gave Bloodfruit her garter belt

Nobody believes her

Nobody ever believes Bloodfruit

#42 - Air Wave
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/8/0/AAUHRBAAEQKc.png

As in, "let's air wave good bye to all of those points we missed out on, bub."

Air Wave, better known as Hal Jordan - yes, Hal Jordan, for his given name is Harold Jordan - stakes his claim to fame not just as the electromagnetic rider of radio waves across the universe, but also as the cousin of... Hal Jordan (whose given name is Harold Jordan). Look, I don't make the rules. This is fucking comics canonical. Hal Jordan's cousin is Hal Jordan. They're both superheroes. Air Wave is also the son of the original Airwave and his wife, the second Airwave. That's a story in and of itself, don't you worry - and someday, it may even be told in this campaign! But for now, we'll focus on Air Wave, a member of the Odyssey.

One crucial component of the story of this campaign is space. For everything space-based out among the stars, however, there is a crucial throughline. One that is defined by the forlorn, hopelessness of being a stranded wayward traveler across the stars. For that, I turned to Homeric inspiration to tell the story of the Odyssey. Because, ultimately, the entirety of the corner cosmic focuses on, as Presea from Tales of Symphonia would put it: "I just want to go home." And boy, howdy, do the members of the Odyssey just want to go home.

Gathered by the wisdom and might of Donna Troy, the formerly dead formerly Wonder-Girl superchick boasting some starlight, starbright divine Greek powers, the Odyssey was comprised of some of the best the Earth had to offer - Firestorm, Alan Scott, Cyborg, Animal Man, Hawkgirl, Supergirl. And among the elite was Air Wave, who had taken the invitation to journey to the stars in order to help Donna Troy rectify a dark prophecy that clouded her nightmares. But when the Odyssey pulled up just shy of Polaris, they discovered Rann and Thanagar at war, and GIANT GOLDEN HANDS pouring out of the center of a star, slamming planets together and absorbing the resultant energy.

Air Wave is one of the few, few uninjured survivors of that journey - most are missing, many more are injured, and it's really only Air Wave left who hasn't been shake to the core by this tragedy. So now, as the Rann Refugee Fleet circles Oa, desperate to maintain their survival, Air Wave has taken it upon himself to play morale police. That's why I love this guy - he's energetic, enthusiastic, and he's ALWAYS nearby. You can blame that on being as fast as lightning, I suppose. I think every interaction with him has a hint of classic comic book superhero to it, a splash of four color glory. Every player seems a little more energetic with Air Wave around, right? And he even featured in the classic plot point of "Are Hal Jordan and Hal Jordan actually different people?", wherein Air Wave and Green Lantern consistently kept showing up consecutively and never simultaneously, always searching for the then-absent Hal. Abbott and Costello ain't got nothing on the Jordans.

In the end, my hope is that the raw, staid and conservative approach to a superhero character in Air Wave continues to be the tonic for the more miserable general tone of superheroes in this Final Crisis feature. We all need a laugh, once and a while.

Hint: A veteran of space exploration.

Hal's great. He's not as good as Hal, but he's still pretty great. But Hal is better.

...John F. Kennedy?

Spirit had to manage an operation on Hawkgirl and he needed an electric meta, so he went to Air Wave. Good thing he was around.

The surgery of Hawkgirl was a great team moment. Data 7 cutting her open, Roz'etta swimming through her bloodstream, while Spirit guides her.

scarletspeed7 posted...

the Odyssey was comprised of some of the best the Earth had to offer - Firestorm, Alan Scott, Cyborg, Animal Man, Hawkgirl, Supergirl.

AND JADE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

HanOfTheNekos posted...

AND STARF- THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

Just kidding, they could have done better and she's not even from Earth.

Air Wave was literally my next pick the round his got drafted.

WickIebee posted...

Just kidding, they could have done better and she's not even from Earth.

Earth has a tendency to need the aliens to save its ass.

WarThaNemesis2 posted...

Earth has a tendency to need the aliens to save its ass.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/7/9/2/AAOJ0pAAEQKo.jpg

That said, I should share a couple things that have existed regarding Air Wave and Riev. So Riev, my Campaign 1 PC and 2nd character, was with the Odyssey, alongside a kid he's been mentoring which I'm sure you'll hear about eventually. I'll keep that bit a secret-ish for now for our two followers. Riev, as a fairly serious and quiet individual, spent like... 3-4 months on a planet with a very talkative/kinda nerdy individual, a member of the Bizarro race (which he saved in Campaign 1 which I'll talk more about if you hear about someone Bizarro related here), and a villain who kept trying to get Riev to reveal the ring in his possession. He, of course, did not have a Green Lantern Ring but instead his Light Manipulation changes color under the light of stars in different sectors. I can talk about that more, but on Graxos IV it was green.

Riev was very annoyed by the time he came back and the first thing he did was catch up with Air Wave. He went on complaining about his time on Graxos, especially about how obnoxious the people he was stuck around were. Air Wave, being an energetic person is also very talkative, and actually started to get saddened by Riev's venting since Air Wave thought Riev was calling him annoying. Poor guy. But then he talked about potentially introducing Riev to his cousin, Hal Jordan. Then ensued a couple awkward conversations where Air Wave left to find GL Hal, who came to the hangar and talked to Riev for a little bit before deciding to fly out to go look for AW Hal, who then came to the hangar ending up setting up a joke of "If both Hal Jordans can't be found in the same place at the same time, are they really different people?"

#41 - Marlus Randone
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/2/6/AAUHRBAAEQLK.png
Imagine having the wherewithal, ambition and raw perceptive abilities to not only sneak into the most secure superhero headquarters ever designed - but to do so three times. Marlus Randone is perhaps the most impressive everyday character in this campaign, having spent three separate stints aboard Justice League bases that either orbit the Earth or are anchored TO THE SURFACE OF THE MOON... and some of these stints lasted for weeks at a time. At first, this was simply to score the story of the century, but the second and third times, the fledgling journalist decided that survival was the better part of valor, and so instead of facing down Darkseid's forces, Marlus used his Justice League communicator to great effect and wound up spending a month living in the vents of the Justice League's last active satellite.

Now, Marlus only has major scenes at this point with Rosetta, but I think they've been an absolute blast. What the young man has managed to do is evade not only the Justice League personnel for extensive periods of time, but also security systems designed by such luminaries as Steel, Batman, Martian Manhunter and Mister Miracle. Imagine just what that entails - sweeps by highly-articulated security mechs, laser grids on fractally patterned systems with thousands of permutations, scent hunters from the planet Rann, and genetic isolators meant to search for any unexpected lifeforms down to a bacterial and viral level. Marlus Randone evaded all of this - and in the process, ended up discovering a plot even the Justice League had managed to overlook, putting his nose for a mystery to good use.

For all of this, Marlus had earned an honorary Justice League communicator from Martian Manhunter - he never expected to find use for it, until the JLA called him. Just before the events of A-Day, Marlus received an all-points alert - the last action Martian Manhunter would carry out - that warned of the impending dangers of Darkseid. And not one to tarry for too long when danger comes his way, Marlus did what he'd done before - he hightailed it to a Justice League refuge and hid until such time as he could hide no more.

Rescued from the Justice League Satellite, Marlus has impressed Rosetta in more ways than one - first, with his unbridled skill as a burglar of sorts, and secondly by having impressed Rosetta's own idol, Martian Manhunter. All these things are conspiring to demonstrate that, maybe, just maybe, a master infiltrator like Marlus might be just what the Waller ordered, as the PCs of this campaign continue to size up maximum security landmarks around the globe.

Hint: At a sports bar, this individual would order bone-in wings.

Airwave is the reason that Snapper made it to Zonn Zorr. Both Xander and Lush have a connection with him

War takes the lead

My favorite Marlus thing is his 'this is where my paygrade is, and this is where yours is' schtick. It's such a funny way of going 'no way am I able to do that', and puts over how big of a deal our agents are.

Marlus Randone also had a very intriguing introduction. When we got up into the Satellite, our safety there was very bittersweet and we had a criminal (an NPC to be specific but also vague) in our party. We ended a session after members of the Justice League (you'll probably get to know everyone we found on the Satellite in a future write-up so I'll save it for then) opened the door we were in and pretty much had us at gun point. At the start of the second session, we got this whole backstory of some guy that happened to be hiding on the satellite and we were still under some impression that Plastic Man was here. Spoilers... he wasn't. No, it was this reporter who, while tensions were high, fell through the vents and caused attentions to... just go all over the place, then we got a chance to explain what happened to bring our group up to the Satellite and the tensions eased.

Marlus is one of those guys that shows you even the most regular guy can end up with something incredibly important in front of them in DC

this sounds like a red lantern

fingers crossed for Zox

Bone-in wings... it's TANAKATA Z

scarletspeed7 posted...

And he even featured in the classic plot point of "Are Hal Jordan and Hal Jordan actually different people?", wherein Air Wave and Green Lantern consistently kept showing up consecutively and never simultaneously, always searching for the then-absent Hal. Abbott and Costello ain't got nothing on the Jordans.

Heh that's funny.

oh, i know, it's inchie

It's not Inchie