Captain Invincible

Captain Invincible

PL: 12

Alternate Identity: None

Base of Operations: Statue of Liberty, New York

First Appearance: THRILLING COMICS #3, June 1939

Gender: Male

Hair: Black, Grey Highlights

Group Affiliation: Justice International

Abilities

Strength 18 (+4); Dexterity 12 (+1); Constitution 16 (+3); Intelligence 13 (+1); Wisdom 14 (+2); Charisma 15 (+2)

Saving Throws

Toughness +12 (+3 Con, +9 Protection); Fortitude +6 (+3 Con, +3 Base); Reflex +2 (+1 Dex, +1 Base); Will +5 (+2 Wisdom, +3 Base)

Defense 22 (+12 Base)

Base Attack: +10

Powers

Immunity 1: Aging

Magnetic Control 12, Alternate Powers: Blast 12, Obscure Radio 12 (Max save by PL), Nullify Electronics 17 (Max save by PL)

Flight 9

Boost 9 (Amazing Computer Brain), Intelligence/Wisdom, Flaw: Personal (Cost: 1 point per rank)

Protection 9, Extra: Impervious

Feats

Sidekick 15 (Patty Patria); Leadership; Inspire 1; Equipment 1, Connected, Attack Focus (Ranged) 2

Skills

Diplomacy +10 (+2 Cha, 8 Ranks); Disguise +6 (+2 Cha, 4 Ranks); Gather Information +6 (+2 Cha, 4 Ranks); Sense Motive +6 (+2 Wis, 4 Ranks); Knowledge (Americana) +14 (+2 Int, 12 Ranks); Investigate +6 (+2 Int, 4 Ranks)

Equipment

Statue of Liberty Watch Post (HQ): Toughness 10, Size: Diminuitive, Communications, Concealed, Living Space

Commlink (wrist radio)

2 Points in Justice International HQ

Drawbacks

Full Power- Boost

Power Loss- Alcohol (Uncommon)

Background

The conception of the child who would become Captain Invincible was, unbeknownst to his parents, influenced by the Deltans, alien beings who doused the couple in cosmic radiation. It had no effect on them, but the resulting child was gifted with superhuman abilities, and growing up as a congressman's son, the boy learned patriotism and duty from an early age. Upon reaching adulthood, the captain revealed himself, and began battling gangsters, Nazis and other enemies of America. A HUAC inquiry drove him to drink, and he spent many decades a vagrant without any use of his superpowers, but he resurfaced when called upon by the President to battle archnemesis Mr. Midnight. He has since agelessly battled evil.

Personality

A softspoken, affable everyman, Captain Invincible refuses to see himself as in any way separate from the people he protects. He is fiercely patriotic, but not blindly so- he is disappointed when the nation he loves fails to live up to its ideals. In any situation he will value what he sees as the ideals of the American way- life, liberty, equality, etc.- over blind service to a particular government.

Appearance

Captain Invincible has a rounded, tan face with a prominent noseline. He bears a vague-yet-uncanny resemblance to character actor Alan Arkin circa 1983. He wears a silver uniform with a red, white and blue "CI" logo and belt with star buckle, as well as a red cape with clasps resembling eagle talons. He sometimes wears a silver aviator's cap, but not often.

Publishing History

Star Comics' first superhero, Captain Invincible was created by the team of writer John Spiegelman and artist Dave Lieber in the wake of the early popularity of Superman. Seeking to make the character different enough to avoid a lawsuit, Spiegelman and Leiber decided on a few key differences; he would have no "secret identity" like the other masked heroes (super and not) of the time, and also have a very specific set of "powers", which Spiegelman based on the principles of electromagnetism. (The character's original name was going to be Magnet Man, but the publisher insisted on a "more dynamic" name.) Debuting in 1939, the character was a hit and started Star Comics' move into the superhero game. He soon gained his own magazine in September of that year, though he remained in the pages of THRILLING.

As it happened, the character and the company were sued by National in 1942, shortly before the statute of limitations expired. Lawyers for Star Comics managed to delay court action for years, until finally an ingenious strategy was hit upon; the company countersued claiming that National had stolen Superman's ability to fly- which didn't manifest until the 1940s- from their character, who had the power from the beginning. The two companies finally settled out of court in 1946, with Star paying a small royalty from their profits for a period of 10 years.

During this time, the character remained a major draw, inspiring three serials and a radio series, and staying in print even after the superhero craze died out. In January of 1957, Star Comics jumped into the Silver Age with a story called "Captain Invincible's Secret Origins", written by Calvin Winston and drawn by Irving Ellison. Originally, the character's origin- admitted by Spiegelman to be "an afterthought"- had been that his pregnant mother was by chance doused with cosmic rays from an evening meteor shower. Seeking to create something more dynamic and "current", Winston and editor-in-chief Joe Prelutsky borrowed from the flying-saucer craze and had the character learn his unearthly origin from the alien Deltans themselves, who were breeding heroes across space to defend planets against the marauding Vegans. Battles with aliens and far-out cosmic enemies came to dominate the character's sixties run.

Captain Invincible has the distinction of being one of only two Star Comics characters to remain continually in print throughout the company's history (Professor Hawk being the other). However, when Star Comics left Constellation Publishing at the end of 1983, there was a brief hiatus in all titles following the END OF TIME crossover event; the first publication of the new Star Comics was a four-part miniseries based on the controversial cult film The Return of Captain Invincible, itself the result of a byzantine licensing deal gone awry. The miniseries started in March of 1984 and ran through June, setting up the new CAPTAIN INVINCIBLE series which began in July.