Cast of Characters

[Charles Warren]

THE HUMAN TORCH I
Real Name: Jim Hammond
Affiliation: The West Coast Avengers
Powers: Android, Energy Sheath(Fire), Fire Control

The original Human Torch began his existence is 1939 in the laboratory of Professor Phineas T Horton, one of the pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics. The culmination of Horton's research was an android who mimicked virtually all of the functions of a human being, including independent thought, but was composed entirely of synthetic materials. The one flaw in the android's design concerned the photoelectric solar cells which covered every square inch of his body and served as his power source. The cells were too volatile and caused the epidermis of the android to burst into flame upon contact with air but without harming the android itself. Horton revealed the Torch's existence to the public at a press conference in November 1939, at which he demonstrated how the Torch would burst into flame if he introduced a small amount of oxygen into the transparent container in which he was confined. The news media proclaimed the Torch to be a potential menace, and so Horton buried the android in his supposedly airtight tube within cement until such time as he could find a way either to prevent the android from bursting into flame or learn how to control its flame. There was a slow leak in the tube, however, and eventually enough oxygen entered so that the android's flame ignited explosively, permitting him to escape. Wreaking havoc in innocent exploration of his environment, the android, inaccurately dubbed the Human Torch, soon realized the panic he was causing and, unable to control his flaming power, doused his flame in a swimming pool.

The Human Torch eventually gained control over his flame and became a crimefighter. He allied himself with the young mutant Toro, who possessed powers similar to his own. At first the greatest adversary the Torch faced in combat was the Sub-Mariner. The Torch and Toro, as well as the Sub-Mariner, who became their ally and friend, served together as members of the Invaders during World War II and the All-Winners Squad during the postwar years.

In 1949 American criminals seeking to destroy the Torch obtained a chemical known as Solution X-R from Soviet intelligence. One criminal sprayed the solution over the Torch and Toro, dousing their flame and paralyzing them. The criminals then buried the Torch beneath the Nevada desert. However, the criminals had accidentally chosen to bury him beneath an atomic testing site. In December 1953, the blast of an atomic bomb dropped on the site freed the Torch, and the radiation reactivated his flame. The Torch resumed his crimefighting career and his partnership with Toro.

In 1955 the Human Torch sensed that the radiation from the bomb was causing him to lose control of his flame, and that he would eventually "die" by burning himself out. After bidding farewell to Toro, the Torch flew to a desert in the western United States where he tried to destroy himself by overloading his solar cells in a single burst of maximum output flame. The Torch succeeded in burning himself out and plunged to earth to lie insensate.

His body was finally discovered many years later by the criminal genius called the Mad Thinker, one of the world's leading experts on robotics and androids. Using his knowledge of androids, the Thinker restored most of the Torch's original synthetic tissue and nervous system. The Thinker partially restored the android's memories but coerced the Torch into battling the Thinker's enemies, the Fantastic Four. On realizing the implications of what the Thinker wanted him to do, the Torch sacrificed his artificial life to save the Fantastic Four from a sneak attack by the Thinker's computer Quasimodo. The Thinker fled, and the Fantastic Four left the Torch's body in the Thinker's laboratory in Nevada.

In recent years, the android hero Vision was revealed to be a reconstructed Human Torch, and the time-traveling Immortus had made this possible by creating an identical temporal duplicate of the Torch that was rebuilt into Vision by the robot Ultron. The remaining Torch was used by the villain Mad Thinker in a plot against his enemies, the hero team Fantastic Four. The Mad Thinker buried the Torch in a non-descript grave.

The hero team Avengers revived the Human Torch when in the course of investigating the Vision's origin. They invited the revived Torch to join their team, and he gratefully accepted. However, he served for only a short time before taking a personal leave of absence, during which time he lost his powers to save the life of his aged friend Lady Crichton. He then retired from adventuring although Hammond returned to join the Avengers' West Coast branch as reserve member, and served alongside the team on a couple of adventures.

The original Human Torch possesses the mental ability to control ambient heat energy and the physical ability to envelop his entire body or portions of his body with fiery plasma without harm to himself. (Plasma is a super-heated stated of matter such as exists in the atmosphere of stars.)

Ordinarily, when aflame, the Human Torch is enveloped by a low intensity flame of low level plasma (reddish, approximately 780 Fahrenheit), which ranges from 1 to 5 inches from his body. He can, however, generate much higher levels and flames about himself. The Torch refers to his highest, hottest levels of plasma that he can create as his "nova flame." The exact temperatures that his "nova flame" can attain are not known.

At an average rate of expenditure of energy, the Torch can stay aflame for about 16.8 hours. In his younger days, he could only maintain his flame for much briefer periods, and sometimes exhausted it while in combat. He cannot maintain his "nova flame" for as long a time as he can maintain his ordinary flame. The Torch can release all of his body's stored energy in one intense, omni-directional "nova-burst," which can reach about 1,000,000 F, and which is similar to the heat-pulse of a nuclear warhead detonation, with an are of total devastation of about 900 feet in diameter. (The Torch has claimed that he can destroy a small moon with his nova-burst.) This violent discharge uses his entire reserve of energy (except for the necessary to keep him alive) at once, entirely exhausting his flame power. He generally requires at least 12 hours to recover entirely from such a feat.

The Human Torch can generate shapes composed of fire from any point on his body. (He usually employs his hands to "sculpt" the flames.) He can form fire into long streams, spheres, or even more complex shapes like letters in skywriting. These flames-objects will only remain their shapes as long as he concentrates upon them. The objects will only burn about 3 minutes before expiring unless the Torch continues to infuse them with energy. The temperature of these fiery projections is generally around 2,800 F (near the melting point of iron).

The Human Torch's plasma has a high hydrogen content, and is surrounded by an exuded cloud of mono-atomic hydrogen atoms. This hot cloud provides sufficient positive buoyancy for him to float. With mental stimulation of his flame, he can provide enough lift to carry 180 pounds. By forming a jet from his feet, directed behind him, he can achieve speeds up to at least 140 miles per hour.

The Human Torch has the ability to mentally control the ambient heat energy within his immediate environment, even when he himself is not aflame. He can reduce objects' temperatures (if they are in a normal range for existing on Earth's surface) to about 30 F, raise them to several hundred degrees, or extinguish open flames. His radius of influence is about 80 feet. The heat energy he takes from the environment is absorbed into his own body. If he takes in a critical amount while he is not aflame, he will become aflame. There are unknown limits to the amount of flame he can absorb into his own body harmlessly while he is himself aflame.

The Human Torch's flame is supported by the presence of oxygen, and thus is extinguished in low air pressure or a vacuum. The Torch's flame can be extinguished by smothering materials, such as water, sand, fire-fighting foam, and heat-resistant blankets, unless his flame is at such an intensity that it immediately vaporizes such materials on contact. If hit with small amounts of water, up to about five gallons, the Torch can turn it to steam with relatively little effort. More water than that could extinguish his flame at its normal level, and he would have to wait until he could evaporate the residual moisture before re-ignition.

The Torch's light output is mostly in the infrared and infrared region of the spectrum, and is invisible to the unaided eye. Less that 10% of his total power output is in the visible portion of the spectrum. Thus, the Torch, when aflame, is dimmer than one would expect of so powerful an energy source.

The Human Torch is unaffected by heat and flames, including his own, even when part of him is aflame and the rest of him is not. His flesh cannot be scalded or burned by any heat source whose level is below that of his maximum output.

The original Human Torch can telekinetically control not only flames and flame objects that he himself creates, but also flames he did not create.

The Human Torch and the rest of the West Coast Avengers confronted both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Muir Island New Mutants when Magneto attacked the U.S. Senate during their vote on the Mutant Registration Act.

www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/h/humantorchi.htm

[Charles Warren]

IRON MAN II
Real Name: James R. "Rhodey" Rhodes
Affiliation: The West Coast Avengers
Powers: Powered Armor

James Rhodes was a pilot in the United States Marines stationed in South Viet Nam during the U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia. Blasted out of the sky by enemy rockets, Rhodes managed to land in one piece and was attempting to get his craft airworthy when inventory Tony Stark, clad in his Iron Man armor, happened by. Stark had just completed his original armor, had avenged his fellow prisoner Professor Yinsen, and was trying to make his way through the jungle to the American defense perimeter. Attacked by the Viet Cong, Iron Man proved to Rhodes they were on the same side, and Rhodes allowed him to drain the helicopter's batteries to recharge his armor. The two then trekked through the jungle together, finely discovering a hidden enemy rocket base. Steeling an enemy helicopter, they destroyed the base, and flew to the nearest American encampment. Before leaving Viet Nam for the United States, Stark offered Rhodes a job as a pilot as soon as his military stint was over. After a succession of other jobs, Rhodes finally accepted Stark's offer and became his personal pilot and chief aviation engineer. While working at Stark International, Rhodes aided Iron Man in his battles against such foes as the Roxxon Oil Company, Justin Hammer, the Dreadnoughts, and Obadiah Stane.

When devastating personal problems caused Tony Stark to abuse alcohol and become incapable of using the Iron Man armor responsibly, Rhodes put it on in order to defend Stark International from the criminal Magma. He offered to return it but Stark insisted Rhodes take on the responsibility of being Iron Man for a while to enable Stark to enjoy himself. Reluctantly Rhodes agreed, and after Stark employee Morley Erwin helped him figure out how to operate the armor, found himself in battle with such foes as Thunderball, Firebrand, Krang, Flying Tiger, the Radioactive Man, the Mandarin, the Zodiac, and Vibro. Although he was unable to help Stark from being swindled out of proprietorship of Stark International by Obadiah Stane, he did prevent Stane from taking custody of all of Stark's Iron Man armors. With Morley Erwin and his sister Clytemnestra, Rhodes embarked upon a brief career as a mercenary in order to obtain funds with which they could begin a new business venture. By the time they succeeded in raising sufficient capital, Tony Stark had recovered from his several months-long alcohol binge, and offered to join them. The four moved out to Silicon Valley, California, where they founded Circuits Maximus, a small electronics design firm. Stark still was not interested in resuming his Iron Man role and gave his blessing to Rhodes to continue. Rhodes was initiated into the established ranks of superhuman champions when he became one of those who participated in the first Secret Wars. Soon afterwards, he was invited to join the newly-founded West Coast Avengers by chairman Hawkeye, who believed him to be the original Iron Man. After proving his worth to the group, Rhodes revealed to them he was Iron Man's replacement.

Soon after first donning the armor, Rhodes began to get severe headaches because the cybernetics in the helmet had never been properly recalibrated for his brain patterns. Working in close proximity with Stark again, Rhodes began to fantasize that Stark secretly disapproved of him keeping the armor and wanted it back. This led to increasingly hostile and irrational behavior on Rhodes' part. As work therapy, Stark began to construct a new set of armor based on his original armor's design. When Rhodes finally began to endanger the lives of innocents by his behavior, Stark donned the unsophisticated new armor and managed to stop Rhodes' rampage. Ashamed of his behavior, Rhodes went off to look for a cure for his headaches when adjusting the helmet to his brain patterns did not end them. Stark went to the West Coast Avengers to tender Rhodes' resignation, and was invited by Hawkeye to use the laboratory facilities to create a new state-of-the-art set of armor. Rhodes returned to Circuits Maximus after the Indian mystic Shaman helped him cure his headaches, and briefly joined forces with Stark battling Obadiah Stane's latest machinations against them. Rhodes was injured in an explosion Stane engineered that destroyed Circuits Maximus and killed Morley Erwin. Consequently, he could not assist Stark in his final assault on Stane, an assault that ended in Stane's death.

Rhodes joined Stark in his new business venture, but even after his bones mended, he was reluctant to put the Iron Man armor on again. Stark had resumed his responsibilities as Iron Man using the new state-of the-art armor, and Rhodes not only felt a second armored Avenger would be superfluous, he also felt contrite about his irrational period. But while the Iron Man armor is in James Rhodes' possession, there is always the possibility that he will decide to wear it again.

Several years later, Tony Stark "died," and Rhodes was named CEO of Stark Enterprises. It was at this time that Stark Enterprises created the War Machine armor and Rhodes briefly took the place of Iron Man (even replacing him in the Avengers West Coast).

Iron Man wore a sophisticated suits of body armor containing various offensive weaponry.

Iron Man and the rest of the West Coast Avengers confronted both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Muir Island New Mutants when Magneto attacked the U.S. Senate during their vote on the Mutant Registration Act.

www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/w/warmachinei.htm

[Charles Warren]

HAWKEYE
Real Name: Clinton Francis Barton
Affiliation: The West Coast Avengers
Powers: Enhanced Vision

Clinton Barton was the younger of two sons born to a small business proprietor and his wife. When his parents were killed in an automobile accident when he was eight, Barton and his brother were placed in the state orphanage. At fourteen, Clint and Barney Barton ran away from the institute to join a traveling carnival. There Clint Barton apprenticed himself to the carnival's star attraction, the mysterious rogue known only as the Swordsman. Recognizing Clint's natural flair for archery, the Swordsman agreed to tutor him in the art. (Barney Barton was relegated to menial work.)

For eight hours every day for four years, the younger Barton practiced with bow and arrow, soon becoming good enough to perform professionally as a trick shooter under the name of Hawkeye the Marksman. When Barton was eighteen, he accidentally discovered that his mentor was stealing from the carnival management. When the boy refused to become his partner in crime, the Swordsman chased Barton up onto a tightrope and cut it out from under him. The Swordsman left him for dead and fled the carnival. Found by his brother Barney, Clint Barton was rushed to a hospital and eventually recovered from the compound fractures to his legs. A year later, he rejoined the carnival and resumed his act.

One day Barton witnessed Iron Man in action, and decided to emulate him by donning a colorful costume and using his archery skills to battle crime. However, in his first public appearance as a masked hero, Hawkeye was mistaken for a thief and found himself in battle with Iron Man. Weeks later, his attraction for the Russian spy Black Widow led him to commit further acts on the wrong side of the law. However, Iron Man soon learned of Hawkeye's true nature and sponsored him for Avengers membership.

Hawkeye has been an active member of the Avengers for years, with his archery skills augmenting the superhuman powers of his associates. For a short time, Barton abandoned his Hawkeye identity, and taking Henry Pym's growth serum, operated under the name Goliath. He resumed his Hawkeye identity soon after. He has frequently taken extended leaves of absence from the Avengers, trying to establish a career for himself outside of the group. He was once security chief for Cross Technological Enterprises.

Hawkeye met and eloped with fellow crimefighter Mockingbird during one of his leaves of absence from the Avengers. Upon his return, he was appointed the chairman of a second team of Avengers based on the West Coast by then chairman, the Vision. Hawkeye and Mockingbird lived in the new Avengers Compound outside Los Angeles and were the guiding force behind the new team.

Abilities: Hawkeye has trained himself to become an expert archer with near-perfect accuracy. He practices a minimum of two hours per day to keep his skills honed. He has also had extensive training as an aerialist and acrobat, and personal tutoring by Captain America in hand-to-hand combat. Hawkeye possesses vary keen eyesight and exceptional reflexes. Hawkeye is 80% deaf in both ears, due to an incident, and wears specially-designed miniature hearing aids.

Weapons: Hawkeye wields a number of custom-made bows, and carries a quiver containing various gadget-laden "trick" arrows.

Hawkeye uses a wide variety of arrows, many of which are custom-built with devices to enhance their effectiveness in crimefighting. Hawkeye's quiver has the capacity to carry 36 arrows. Twelve of the 36 arrows have standard target-point arrowheads, six have 3-bladed broadheads, and the remaining eighteen have various custom tips. Hawkeye has recently developed a modular arrowhead system whereby certain custom arrowheads can be attached to the shafts of any standard target-point arrow to convert them for special use. These arrowheads are stored in compartments on his tunic-belts. Although.

Some of Hawkeye's more technological custom arrows were designed and built by Anthony Stark. Hawkeye himself designed the majority of his custom arrows. To aid Hawkeye in locating the appropriate arrow with speed and accuracy, he has not only arranged the arrows in his quiver in a set pattern, he has also notch-coded the hock of each arrow so he can tell by touch which arrow he is drawing. Hawkeye is constantly modifying his arsenal of arrows.

Hawkeye and the rest of the West Coast Avengers confronted both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Muir Island New Mutants when Magneto attacked the U.S. Senate during their vote on the Mutant Registration Act.

www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/h/hawkeye.htm

[Charles Warren]

MOCKINGBIRD
Real Name: Barbara Morse
Affiliation: The West Coast Avengers
Powers: None

Barbara Morse was an S.H.I.E.L.D. agent whose assignments made her an ally of the jungle lord Ka-Zar. She subsequently used the costumed identity of the Huntress and later Mockingbird to expose the corrupt activities of certain S.H.I.E.L.D agents. After being injured in her work she received a commendation by then S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury, who used her information to expose dozens of subversives within S.H.I.E.L.D. Resigning from S.H.I.E.L.D., Mockingbird was hired to investigate Cross Technological Enterprises (CTE), where she clashed with security director Hawkeye. The two soon discovered that CTE was working for the criminal Crossfire helping to implement his plans to brainwash super heroes into killing each other off. The two joined forces against Crossfire and his underlings, becoming attracted to each other in the process. At the case’s successful conclusion, Mockingbird proposed to Hawkeye and the two married. When Hawkeye was appointed head of the West Coast branch of the Avengers, Mockingbird became the team's first new recruit and was instrumental in helping Hawkeye form the new team.

Months later, during a time traveling adventure in 1876, Mockingbird was abducted, drugged and abused by the crazed vigilante called the Phantom Rider (Lincoln Slade), who attempted to force her to become his bride. Regaining her senses, Mockingbird fought the Rider to a cliff’s edge and allowed him to fall to his death. After the West Coast Avengers returned to their home era, Mockingbird kept the nature of the Phantom Rider’s death a secret. However, the Rider’s ghost soon appeared and told the Avengers that she had been instrumental in his death, and had essentially murdered him. Distraught that an Avenger (especially his wife) had allowed a man to die, Hawkeye became estranged from his wife, and Mockingbird re-entered into government service. She participated in Operation: Vigilance, a program to provide protection from any potential threat from the Vision, only to rebel once she discovered the program's full agenda. Helping the Avengers to rescue the Vision, she was gradually reconciled with Hawkeye, though their relationship never fully recovered.

Mockingbird is an excellent gymnast, martial artist, and hand-to-hand combatant. She has a doctoral degree in biology and was well trained by S.H.I.E.L.D. in espionage and counter-espionage techniques. She is also a proficient marks-woman and well versed in the use of her battle staves.

Mockingbird and the rest of the West Coast Avengers confronted both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Muir Island New Mutants when Magneto attacked the U.S. Senate during their vote on the Mutant Registration Act.

marvel.com/universe/Mockingbird#axzz4jqkGRufq

[Charles Warren]

TIGRA
Real Name: Greer Grant Nelson
Affiliation: The West Coast Avengers
Powers: Enhanced Senses, Enhanced Physical Abilities, Healing Factor

Greer Grant was married to William Nelson, a police officer in New York City. Unfortunately, her husband ran afoul of a rogue organization of cops calling themselves the Brethren of the Blue Fist. William Nelson was killed, but the Brethren were never uncovered.

Greer Nelson was the lab assistant of Dr. Joanne Tumolo, who was developing a process to enable a human being to attain his or her full physical and mental potential. Out of financial desperation, Dr. Tumolo had accepted private funding for the project from Malcom Donalbain, an eccentric former executive of the Brand Corporation, who planned to create an army of women warriors to serve him. Not trusting the test subject that Donalbain had coerced her to use, Tumolo had Nelson secretly undertake the experiment alongside the other woman. Donalbain's test subject, Shirlee Bryant, and Greer Nelson emerged from the battery of treatments with superhuman physical capabilities.

When Bryant died in a test of her abilities, Donalbain had his henchmen set off dynamite charges in the laboratory to make it appear that Bryant had died accidentally in an explosion.

Tumolo was injured in the explosion. Believing her mentor to be dead, Nelson determined to stop Donalbain's plans. She donned one of Donalbain's specially designed cat costumes, and calling herself the Cat, thwarted Donalbain's plans and sent him to jail. Nelson soon learned that Tumolo had not been killed but had been hospitalized for apparent brain damage. During this time, Greer, donning the costumed identity of the Cat, became a hero in the Chicago area, battling villains such as the Owl, Man-Killer, Commander Kraken, and Man-Bull.

Unknown to Nelson, Tumolo was a member of the Cat People, a race of humanoids magically evolved from cats in Europe during the Middle Ages. Prior to the explosion Donalbain had engineered, Tumolo had become aware of a plot by the subversive organization Hydra to steal a bacterial culture that had been developed by Tumolo's ancestors. Hydra had discovered the secret of Tumolo's ancestry and suspected her of possessing the formula for "The Final Secret," or the Black Plague. Tumolo had chosen to feign brain damage in order to evade Hydra, but Hydra abducted her from the private home where she had apparently been convalescing. Nelson put on her Cat costume and pursued them. Hydra agents fled from the Cat's attack, but during the confrontation managed to shoot her with "alpha radiation," an unknown form of radioactivity. Dr. Tumolo revealed the truth about the Cat People, who performed rites upon Greer to save her life, resulting in her possession by a cat-soul. Greer was transformed into Tigra, a new incarnation of the Cat People's greatest champion. In this new identity, Greer defeated Hydra and continued her career as as an adventurer and also became a private investigator.

Although she was able to use the cat's-head amulet to change back to her human form, Nelson became so accustomed to and enamored of her feline form that she seldom made the transformation. Moving from Chicago, she became a full-time adventurer, encountering and defeating such menaces as the Rat Pack, Kraven the Hunter, Tabur, and the Super-Skrull. She also briefly worked with Red Wolf, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. Tigra was among the handful of costumed crime-fighters that the telepath Moondragon coerced into vying for Avengers membership. She was elected to membership and served for several months, all that time doubting she was worthy of membership in the group. Although she proved herself while in battle with the Molecule Man, she decided to resign her active membership. Moving to San Francisco, she became friends with Jessica Drew, the original Spider-Woman.

Months later, when Hawkeye moved to Los Angeles to form a West Coast branch of the Avengers, she was invited to join. She made a staunch addition to the team, despite the fact that the human and feline sides of her personality had become at odds with one another, causing her behavior to become somewhat erratic.

Tigra possesses superhumanly acute senses of smell, hearing, and vision as well as night vision. She also has superhuman strength, speed, agility, endurance, and healing ability.

Tigra and the rest of the West Coast Avengers confronted both the Brotherhood of Mutants and the Muir Island New Mutants when Magneto attacked the U.S. Senate during their vote on the Mutant Registration Act.

marvel.com/universe/Tigra#axzz4jqkGRufq

[Charles Warren]

THOR
Real Name: Thor Odinson
Affiliation: The Avengers
Powers: God of Thunder

Thor is the blood-son of Odin, All-Father of the Asgardians, and Jord, who was also known as Gaea, the goddess who was one of the Elder Gods. Odin sought to father a son whose power would derive from both Asgard and Midgard (as the Earth realm is called by Asgardians), and hence he sought to mate with Jord. Odin created a cave in Norway where Jord gave birth to Thor. Months after the infant Thor was weaned, Odin brought him to Asgard to be raised. Odin's wife, the goddess Frigga, acted as Thor's mother from that time onward. Not until many decades later did Thor learn that Jord was his birth mother.

In the Modern Age, Odin decided that it was time Thor learned humility. Odin had Thor surrender his hammer to him, and then sent him to Earth in the mortal guise of a crippled young medical student named Donald Blake, stripped of his memory (again) of his true identity. As Blake, Thor learned the value of humble perseverance in dealing with his injured leg, and he came to care for the sick and dying, first as a medical student, and later as a successful physician. After leaving medical school, Blake opened a private practice in New York, and quickly gained renown as a great surgeon

Thor's principal weapon is the enchanted hammer Mjolnir, one of the most formidable weapons known to man or god. Among the hammer's various enchantments are its indestructibility and the ability to summon all the elements of storm (wind, rain, thunder, and lightning). His hammer can be thrown both as a means of flight, and as a weapon that always returns to its wielder's hand. Thor's superhuman strength is matched with an immunity to all human diseases, superhuman speed, agility, and simulated flight when he hurls his enchanted hammer Mjolnir.

Loki tricked Thor into attacking Muir Island, where he faced the New Mutants. However, this was all a deception, allowing Loki to transfer Thor's powers into Storm and to steal the Justice Tarot card.

marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Thor_Odinson_(Earth-616)

[Charles Warren]

LOKI
Real Name: Loki Laufeyson
Affiliation: Citizen of Asgard
Powers: God of Mischief

Loki is the son of Laufey, king of the frost giants of Jotunheim, one of the "Nine Worlds" of the Asgardian cosmology. Odin, ruler of Asgard, led his subjects in a war against the giants. Laufey was slain in battle and the giants were defeated. Surveying the spoils of war, the Asgardians discovered a small god-sized baby hidden at the giants' main fortress. The infant was Loki, whom Laufey had kept hidden due to his shame over his son's diminutive size. Because Loki was the son of a king fallen in battle, Odin elected to adopt him and raise him as a son alongside his blood son Thor, the future god of thunder.

In childhood Loki greatly resented the fact that Odin and the other Asgardians favored the young Thor, who already had a nobility of spirit and excelled in all his endeavors, over himself. As a boy Loki began studying the arts of sorcery, for which he had a natural affinity. His hatred of Thor grew, and while still a boy, Loki vowed to become the most powerful god in Asgard and to destroy Thor in order to achieve this end. After achieving adulthood Loki began making alliances with other enemies of Asgard.

As Loki grew to adulthood, his inborn propensity for mischief had begun to manifest itself, and he earned the nickname "God of Mischief." But as his deeds grew increasingly malicious, and his lust for power and vengeance became apparent, he became known as the "God of Evil". Loki attempted many times over the centuries to destroy Thor and seize the throne of Asgard for himself. Finally, Odin magically imprisoned him within a tree as punishment for his many crimes. Sometime thereafter, Thor was banished to Earth to learn humility in the mortal form of Dr. Donald Blake.

Shortly after Blake regained the ability to assume the godly form and power of Thor, Loki succeeded in freeing himself from his mystical imprisonment. There followed a long succession of clashes between Loki and Thor. Sometimes Loki battled Thor directly. On other occasions Loki used pawns to fight Thor, some of whom he temporarily endowed with increased superhuman power, such as the Cobra and Mister Hyde. Loki is responsible for transforming "Crusher" Creel into the Absorbing Man and for the revival of the Asgardian Destroyer as an opponent for Thor. Loki has attempted to turn Odin against Thor and to steal Thor's enchanted hammer. On one occasion Loki mystically exchanged bodies with Thor. Loki has temporarily seized control of Asgard when Odin was incapacitated. However, Loki has invariably been thwarted in his bids for power and revenge by Thor.

Through the years, Loki has turned his attention to Earth, hoping to destroy his foster brother's adopted home. One of his most notable schemes, manipulating the Hulk to wreak untold havoc, resulted in the formation of the Avengers. Following a failed scheme to discredit Thor's human alter ego, Odin imprisoned Loki's essence in the body of a mortal. However, he eventually escaped to continue his quest for supreme power in Asgard.

Strength Level: Loki possesses the normal strength of an Asgardian male of his age, height, and build. He can lift (press) about 30 tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: Loki possesses the conventional attributes of an Asgardian, as well as certain innate magical powers. Like all Asgardians, Loki is extremely long-lived (though not immortal like the Olympians), superhumanly strong, immune to all diseases, and resistant to conventional injury. (Asgardian flesh and bone is about 3 times denser than similar human tissue, contributing to the Asgardian's superhuman strength and weight.) His Asgardian metabolism gives him superhuman endurance in all physical activities.

Besides these physical abilities, Loki possesses a host of magical skills. Among these is his ability to transform his shape at will into those of other creatures. He has become such animals as a snake, eagle, mouse, and bee, gaining the basic natural abilities inherent in each form. While he can take on the likeness of another god, giant, or human, he will not necessarily gain the special physical or mental powers of the being he imitates. Loki can also transform external objects into other forms and substances by magic; for instance, he can turn clouds into dragons. He can also bring inanimate objects to life, or mystically imbue objects or beings with specific but temporary powers. He has, for example, augmented the might of such human criminals as the Cobra and Sandu. These magical effects remain only for as long as he maintains the spell that created them.

Loki can project highly powerful concussive bolts of mystical energy. He can also create magical energy fields, which serve various purposes. With great concentration, Loki can create a field of sufficient resilience to repel Thor's enchanted hammer (though repeated blows would undoubtedly penetrate it) or physical objects such as large caliber projectiles. He can also surround objects in mystical energy to levitate them. He once lifted and supported an entire building off the ground for several minutes. He can also mystically levitate himself and thereby fly at great speed. As with his influence over matter, his magical energy feats only last as long as he maintains them.

Loki also has a number of mental and extrasensory powers, which are analogous to psionic abilities. He can broadcast his thoughts into other minds as well as plant compelling hypnotic suggestions. These telepathic abilities do not appear to be limited by distance: Loki can even cast his thoughts across dimensions. Loki cannot, however, perceive the thoughts of others. He does have certain extrasensory powers of perception, however, enabling him to see and hear events in distant places simultaneous to their occurrence. He can also mentally project an image of himself, in a manner not unlike astral projection, through which he can communicate with beings in other places.

Loki can also magically create rifts between dimensions, allowing him or other objects passage from one universe to another. Most often this rift is between Asgard and Earth.

Loki also has a vast knowledge of spells, which he can use for many magical effects.

Loki has used his magic to enable him to endure injuries with little or no effect which would kill another Asgardian. He has even been beheaded, and yet he continued to live, magically reattached his head to his body, and was in the same condition as he was in before the beheading.

Weapons: Loki occasionally employs certain magical power objects, such as the Norn Stones or rare Asgardian herbs, to augment his own magical powers. These objects or substances are generally used to enhance his immediate personal strength or abilities, or to create a permanent magical transformation, such as that which gave the Absorbing Man his power. He once used the mystical sword of Surtur along with various equipment to transform Thor into a frog while Loki was in Asgard and Thor on Earth. The destruction of the engine drawing power from the sword caused Thor to return to his normal form.

Loki tricked Thor into attacking Muir Island, where he faced the New Mutants. However, this was all a deception, allowing Loki to transfer Thor's powers into Storm and to steal the Justice Tarot card.

www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/l/loki.htm

[Charles Warren]

ENCHANTRESS
Real Name: Amora
Affiliation: Citizen of Asgard
Powers: Sorcery

Amora was born somewhere in Asgard, her parentage unknown. While still in adolescence, she ran away to the land of the Norns and apprenticed herself to Karnilla, one of the most powerful sorceresses in all the Asgardian dimension. There she studied all the basic arts of Asgardian magic until Karnilla expelled her for being too undisciplined. She picked up further sorcerous skills from seducing other Asgardian mages and wizards.

Centuries ago, Amora enlisted Brunnhilda, leader of Odin's Valkyries, in her plans of conquest. However, Brunnhilda soon became aware of Amora's immoral ends, and sought to end their partnership. Amora then used her magic to entrap Brunnhilda within a mystical crystal of souls. Only recently has Brunnhilda been freed from Amora's spell.

The Enchantress seduced Skurge the Executioner into assisting her in many of her schemes over the years. But while the Executioner was as infatuated with the Enchantress that he would do anything for her, she continually withheld her favors from him to keep him in thrall.

In her first encounter with Thor after he gained his human identity of Don Blake, she attempted unsuccessfully to seduce Blake, and then ordered the Executioner to dispose of Jane Foster, the mortal woman Thor then loved. Thor saved Foster and defeated both the Enchantress and Executioner.

In the following years the Enchantress has also allied herself with Loki, Baron Heinrich Zemo, the Mandarin, and Arkon in pursuit of her goals of power and vengeance upon her enemies. Her most frequent adversaries during these years have been Thor and the Avengers. She used one of Zemo's machines to transform one of the Baron's mercenaries into the first Power Man.

Strength Level: The Enchantress possesses the normal strength of an Asgardian woman of her age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. She can lift (press) about 25 tons.

Known Superhuman Powers: The Enchantress possesses the conventional attributes of an Asgardian woman ("goddess"), as well as a mastery over certain sorcerous disciplines. Like all Asgardians she is extremely long-lived (though not immortal like the Olympians), superhumanly strong (the average Asgardian female can lift about 25 tons), immune to all disease, and resistant to conventional injury, (Asgardian flesh and bone is about three times denser than human flesh and bone, contributing to Asgardians' superhuman weight.) Her Asgardian metabolism gives her far greater than human endurance at all physical activities. The Enchantress rarely exercises any of her physical abilities except those that pertain to the amatory arts.

The Enchantress's magical powers derive from two main sources: her innate capacity to manipulate ambient magical energy honed through practice, and her acquired knowledge of spells and enchantments of Asgardian origin. Her ability to wield magical energy for personal use, while not as great as such master sorceresses as Karnilla, still qualifies her as among the top twenty magical practioners in Asgard. The main focus of her powers has been the enhancement of her natural beauty and allure so that men, mortal or otherwise, are overwhelmed with desire for her. She has enchanted her lips so that a single kiss is sufficient to make virtually any man a slave to her will, obedient to her every command, for about a week. Subsequent kisses enable her to enthrall someone's will indefinitely. She occasionally uses her magic to form rudimentary magical power-bolts. These bolts have a maximum concussive effect of approximately 20 pounds of'TNT.

Her knowledge of arcane lore enables her to cast spells with a variety of specific effects. Among the many spells she has employed include illusion-casting, temporary paralysis, deflection of matter and energy, interdimensional travel, and elemental conversion. These spells derive their potency from Asgardian sources (such as power objects or entities), and thus are most potent when used in the dimension of Asgard itself. A prolonged absence from Asgard tends to diminish her powers, though they never fade completely.

Weapons: On occasion, the Enchantress employs various mystical artifacts, potions, and power objects. She has, for instance, kept the soul of Brunnhilda the Valkyrie entrapped in a crystaline gem, using her own magicks to assume the Valkyrie's form.

The Enchantress aided Loki, when he lured Thor to attack Muir Island.

www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/e/enchantress.htm

[Charles Warren]

HIROSHIMA SHADOW
Real Name: Unknown
Affiliation: Independent
Powers: Radiation Powers

Hiroshima Shadow was a powerful mutant who attacked the Los Alamos Nuclear Research Center. The Muir Island X-Men captured him and kept him imprisoned on Muir Island.

He was briefly released by the Enchantress.

[Charles Warren]

PROTEUS
Real Name: Kevin MacTaggert
Affiliation: Independent
Powers: Body Thief; Reality Warping; Telepathy

Over twenty years ago Moira MacTaggert was hospitalized for a week after being battered by her abusive husband Joseph MacTaggert, a member of the Royal Marine Commandos. She did not return to him, nor did she tell him that she had become pregnant with his child. Joseph MacTaggert, however, would not grant her a divorce since he believed the prestige of being married to such an important scientist benefited his political ambitions.

Moira gave birth to a son, Kevin, and they lived on Muir Island, where Moira established her research complex, off the coast of Scotland. But when Kevin's dangerous mutant powers emerged, she was forced to imprison him in her Muir Island compound. His continual hunger for energy would have caused him to burn out his own body if not for the energy fields Moira set up in the cell to sustain him. In her effort to keep the fact that she had a son a secret, Moira referred to her captive only as "Mutant X."

For ten years Kevin remained within his cell, his resentment towards his mother growing, even though she continually worked to find a cure for him. Then one day during a battle at the Muir Island compound between Magneto and the X-Men, the vanadium steel walls that kept him prisoner were breached. Kevin was now free of his confinement, but without the energy fields to sustain him, he began to burn out his natural body. Kevin transferred his mind and powers into the body of a local malcontent named Angus MacWhirter. He rewired the equipment in such a way as to fool Moira into believing that Mutant X was still in his cell.

Later, however, Moira entered Mutant X's cell and found her son's shriveled corpse. His current host body was now burning out, and Mutant X needed to take possession of a new host. After failed attempts to take possession of Phoenix and Polaris at Muir Island, Mutant X was able to take control of one of the duplicate bodies of Moira's assistant, Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man.

Mutant X stole body after body as his hosts burned out more rapidly. The X-Men pursued him, and during their first battle Mutant X declared his new name was Proteus, after the shapeshifting god of Greek mythology. Finally, Proteus made his way to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, where he seized control of his own father's body. There Proteus waged a tremendous battle against the X-Men in which he used his powers to distort reality throughout the city. His tremendous outpouring of energy destroyed Joseph MacTaggert's body, and Proteus was left as a being of pure energy. Before he could seize a new host form, the X-Man Colossus, knowing that metal could destroy him, smashed his organic steel fists into Proteus's energy form. The resulting explosion dispersed Proteus' energies around the world.

Strength level: Proteus exists in a state of pure psionic energy and hence has no physical powers. When he inhabits a host body he possesses whatever physical strength that body possesses, although his energies rapidly "burn out" the body, weakening him until he can take possession of a new host.

Known superhuman powers: Proteus is a mutant who possesses the vast psionic ability to manipulate and alter reality. Originally Proteus could not use his reality warping powers against another person unless he made visual contact with his victim. However, he apparently did not suffer from this limitation with regard to inanimate objects, since he was able to extend a "reality warp" over much or the entire city of Edinburgh.

Proteus also possesses telepathic abilities. Some of the X-Men have theorized in the past that Proteus merely creates illusions in people's minds that he manipulates reality, but the preponderance of evidence is that Proteus's reality-warping powers are indeed real.

After Proteus's powers "burned out" his original body, he existed in a state of pure psionic energy. He could take possession of a human body as a host, but his energies rapidly "burned out" the body, killing it. His energy form would rapidly disperse unless he took possession of a new host. Proteus' energy form could also be dispersed by metal, even when he occupied a host body. He was also vulnerable to organic metal such as Colossus' body. Dr. MacTaggert once kept Proteus imprisoned within a metal cell, but it has not been explained why Proteus did not simply use his reality-warping powers against her to escape; perhaps the cell's special energy fields somehow prevented him from escaping.

After Proteus and Piecemeal merged, the resulting energy being was no longer vulnerable to metal. Moreover, the amalgamated being apparently no longer needed host bodies in order to survive, nor did it have to see a living victim in order to use his reality-warping powers upon him.

When the Enchantress released all of the mutants imprisoned on the Maximum Security Level of Muir Island, the New Mutants discovered that one of them was Proteus, whom they had previously believed to be dead.

www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/p/proteus.htm

[Charles Warren]

THE EXECUTIONER
Real Name: Skurge
Affiliation: Independent
Powers: Asgardian Warrior

Skurge the Executioner was one of Asgard's greatest warriors. He was born the illegitimate son of a Storm Giant and a Asgardian from the realm of Skornheim. Later became a warrior, gaining the name Executioner after fighting in a war against the Storm Giants. He came to Asgard, there he was seduced by the Amora, the Enchantress into assisting her in many of her schemes over the years. But while the Executioner was as so infatuated with the Enchantress that he would do anything for her, she continually withheld her favors from him to keep him in thrall.

The Executioner wielded a magical hammer that was nearly unbreakable and could cut tears in the fabric of dimensions.

When the Muir Island New Mutants traveled to Asgard, they were ambushed by the Enchantress and the Executioner.

marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Skurge_(Earth-616)

[Charles Warren]

Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun

THE WARRIORS THREE
The Warriors Three were a group of Asgardian warriors and close allies of Thor ever since his youth. They first met when they joined Thor's expedition to restore the Odinsword that had become cracked.

---

FANDRAL THE DASHING
Real Name: Fandral
Affiliation: The Warriors Three
Powers: Asgardian Warrior

Fandral the Dashing was a charter member of the Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers consisting of himself, Hogun the Grim, and Volstagg the Voluminous. Fandral was a strong and brave and a good friend to Thor. He fought in countless battles with his friends, to preserve and protect his people. He has been described as one of the most good-looking Asgardians which along with his charm, gave him the reputation as a ladies' man. Besides his looks, Fandral is also known for his skills in swordsmanship and bravery.

---

HOGUN THE GRIM
Real Name: Hogun
Affiliation: The Warriors Three
Powers: Asgardian Warrior

Hogun the Grim was an Asgardian warrior and member of the Warriors Three a trio of Asgardian adventurers consisting of himself, Fandral the Dashing, and Volstagg the Voluminous. He was an ally to Thor ever since the thunder god's youth. Unlike most Asgardians, he was not an Aesir, but stems from a land conquered long ago by Mogul of the Mystic Mountain. He was a very quiet man, combined however with a flaring temper.

---

VOLSTAGG THE VOLUMINOUS
Real Name: Volstagg
Affiliation: The Warriors Three
Powers: Asgardian Warrior

Volstagg's origin beyond being a member of the Asgardian race and a friend of Thor has not been revealed. He first met Thor when the Warriors Three joined Thor's expedition to restore the Odinsword that had become cracked.[13]

Volstagg was fairly advanced in age for an Asgardian, and it has been alluded to that he was a highly respected and feared warrior in his prime. He allegedly was named Volstagg the Staggeringly Perfect.[4]

Allegedly, he led the youth Hogun the Good, Fandral the Quite Plain, Thor and Loki in Hel, fighting against all of its hordes for forty days and nights. Eventually Hogun was hurt and forced to retreat, Loki refusing to follow them. Volstagg was stabbed and Thor had to defeat the horde by himself, while Loki cared for the fallen warrior.

After this battle and eighty days without food, Volstagg started eating as soon as he could and never stopped since. This battle was allegedly the one that made Thor worthy of Mjolnir. Due to the battle, Hogun the Good became Hogun the Grim, and for some reason, Fandral the Quite Plain became Fandral the Dashing later.

Volstagg became a huge, bumbling oaf much given to boasting and bragging, the last into battle and the first to claim victory (usually undeserved). Referring to himself as the "Lion of Asgard," he usually caused more problems than he solved and seemed totally unaware of the chaos that almost always followed in his wake. A drunken Volstagg once incurred the wrath of Odin by spilling the secrets of the first Frost Giants to a younger Thor. Even so, he was considered a trusted and worthy comrade by his closest friends and allies, Fandral the Dashing, Hogun the Grim, and Thor.

marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Warriors_Three_(Earth-616)

[Charles Warren]

CHARACTERS MET IN ISSUE 31


HEIMDALL
marvel.com/universe/Heimdall


VALKYRIE
www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/v/valkyrie.htm


SIF
www.marveldirectory.com/individuals/s/sif.htm


THE DESTROYER
marvel.com/universe/Destroyer_(construct)


ODIN
marvel.com/universe/Odin


THE NEW WARRIORS
marvel.com/universe/New_Warriors


FIRESTAR
marvel.com/universe/Firestar


KID NOVA
marvel.com/universe/Nova_(Richard_Rider)


MARVEL BOY
marvel.com/universe/Justice_(Vance_Astrovik)


NAMORITA
marvel.com/universe/Namorita


NIGHT THRASHER
marvel.com/universe/Night_Thrasher_(Dwayne_Taylor)


SPEEDBALL
marvel.com/universe/Speedball

[Charles Warren]

NIGHTMARE
Real Name: Nightmare
Affiliation: Lord of the Dream Dimension
Powers: A demon of great mystical power

Ruler of his own Nightmare World within the Dream Dimension (linked to and shaped by humanity's collective unconscious), Nightmare is a Class Three demon who influences the dreams of living beings as they sleep, feeding on humanity's psychic energies in particular. Nightmare occasionally singles out souls for special tortures, sometimes trapping their dream-selves in his realm. He has even sought to absorb the entire waking world into his own realm, though never with lasting success. Humanity's chief defender against Nightmare is the sorcerer Doctor Strange, who has fought the demon so often that Strange routinely casts a protective spell on himself before sleeping.

A demon of great mystical power, Nightmare usually targets his victims while they sleep by drawing their psyches into his Nightmare World, the substance and contents of which he can manipulate and reshape at will. He can trap psyches indefinitely but usually only torments souls temporarily lest he permanently deplete the psychic energies he consumes. While inside his own realm, Nightmare is virtually omnipotent; however, he is less powerful and more vulnerable when he manifests outside his kingdom.

marvel.com/universe/Nightmare

[Charles Warren]

BRIAR PATCH
Real Name: Lincoln Walker
Affiliation: The Muir Island New Mutants
Powers: Plant Control, Plant Form, Regeneration


In the 1960's Lincoln was an African American inner-city kid, nerdy, part of the botany club, at a high school with way to many
gang members. One day . . . things go wrong, big deal shooting at school, and he and a few other kids are trapped in the greenhouse that they built on the roof, with the help of the local florist. When suddenly things go sideways, and his mutant power activates, with much collateral damage for all!

After Briar Patch's mutant powers manifest, and the shooting at the school turns from Crime
Drama to Sci Fi Horror, Lincoln's father tries to step in, and defend his son, but is taken down by
an angry mob. The original X-Men and Professor X swoop in, relocate Lincoln's mother, and
take Lincoln away for care. Lincoln had been steadily deteriorating, mentally and physically,
after the incident at his school, and by this time was in a "vegetative" state, in every sense of the
word.

Realizing that he could not awaken Lincoln, Professor X turned him over to Moira, who
has been caring for the boy ever since. Lincoln is already on Muir Island. Has been since the
late 60's. He's in a greenhouse, or a garden, somewhere. He may have adapted to look like local
flora, or he may be strange. Like a bush that produces apples every now and then, or rain forest
orchids during winter, or thorns with poison sap. Because of his current low level of mental
activity, he's undetectable to most telepaths. But, if Legion is there, he may know about Lincoln,
but no one mentions him, as he has just been part of the landscaping for decades. In fact, if
someone is sick or injured, and in need of some rare plant compound as part of the cure, maybe
Moira could off-handedly mention that she has a mutant strain of such and such plant on the
grounds that can provide that. She may have noticed that she can get Lincoln to produce certain
flowers, leaves, and other structures, through some electrical or chemical stimulus. Maybe even
a change of light color or music? :-)

Bits of Lincoln may be everywhere around the island, as with this regeneration, taking cuttings and planting him
elsewhere is very easily accomplished. The “real” Lincoln may be a large tree outside, or a
flower in the greenhouse or maybe even . . . a Briar Patch! Which would definitely raise a few
eyebrows if Moira goes out to a Briar Patch and comes back with a cutting of a flower (needed
for some ingredient) or even a root or fruit.

By the way, he got his code name because there is a news clip of some kid being questioned,
right after the incident. He's just run out of the building, he's hysterical, and when asked what
happened in there, all the kid can do is scream, "Briar Patch! Briar Patch!" The media ran with
it, etc, and while Lincoln's mind was regressing/shutting down, he heard people referring to him
in that way. Hence, when he awakes, he considers it to be his name, and may actually need a bit
of help remembering that he's is a boy, Lincoln Walker. Post Character Generation Notes: Yeah,
I’m going for the “Vestige of Humanity” Calling, with Briar Patch not really feeling a bond with
what he calls “Meat” (Animal Kingdom). His perspective it totally plant based, and he’s become
a bit . . . um . . . Kingdomist? (Something weirder than racist). However, he may have an innate
tolerance/fondness for the residents of Muir Island, because of the music, the plant food, or . . .
just the fact that someone may have relieved themselves in the garden at one point. Basically,
these are probably the only “Meat” that Briar Patch currently likes. And even so, he’s likely to
say or do a few rather rude things. I mean, he has suffered a rather bizarre emotional trauma.
And reminding him of his human background also involves reminding him that his Black/Mutant
heritage resulted in the death of his father, and caused his mother to have to start a whole new
life without either of them.

POWERS
Regeneration 9(S)
(S) Damage Transfer
Game Flavor- Briar Patch extends tendrils/vines into other creatures, and drains them of fluids or pumps them full
of life restoring fluids from his own body. He might also create fruit that contains his own vital fluids, and then give
them to someone else to restore their health.

Plant Form 14(A)
(L) No agility boost in Hybrid Form.
(L) No Human Form-Plant or Hybrid Only (No card draw. Just part of Monstrous).
(S) Linked to Plant Control (Allows Plant Control to Work on his own Body)
(S) Mutant Hybrid (Unique Stunt) (When changing into Hybrid Form, Hero can divide
Intensity of Points over Plant Powers, that the species possesses. Example Briar Patch
Hybrid, +7 Armor, +7 Thorns.)
Game Flavor- I based this on the Animal Form power, and then just added limits and stunts to make it work for
plants. It’s kind of his central power, and will probably stay with these limits, stunts, and intensity for the run of the
campaign.

Plant Control 10(W)
(L) Only over his own body (or plants/cuttings, seeds, flowers etc. from his body)
(S) Fungus Control
Game Flavor- Think of this an extension of his Plant Form power. He only controls his own mutant plant cells, not
other plants. However, with his power of Regeneration, he does have the ability to easily leave cuttings, seeds, etc
of himself, that he can control. For instance, when he acquires the Teleportation Stunt, he will leave behind a piece
of his own body, and have to grow out of a cutting that he already planted at the desired location. Makes it easy to
get back to Muir Island (within the range of the power intensity that is). This power will grow with stunts, and
expand his capabilities. I could see increasing the intensity a couple of points as well.