MU4 - Gamers Handbook of the Marvel Universe

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skeleton which improves his skin armor. members of the android Zodiac, has
strength (without it, his strength falls Life Support: Taurus II, as a member Good skin armor.
to Excellent). Moreover, it possesses of the second android Zodiac, does
hydraulic " horns" which extend not need to breathe, and can remain Life Support: Virgo II , as a member of
from the back of his hands, doing underwater indefinitely. the second Zodiac, does not need to
Incredible Edged damage. If Taurus I Density Manipulation: Taurus II can- breathe, and can remain underwater
succeeds in a yellow Agility FEAT, he not decrease his mass below nor- indefinitely.
can attack characters in any adja- mal, but he can increase it up to
cent area. These horns, and the rest Amazing rank. Altering his mass Exotic Equipment: If Virgo II knows
of the exoskeleton, are made of requires two uninterrupted rounds of which opponent she might be facing
Remarkable material. concentration. in combat, she will carry sophisti-
Talents: None Horns: The second Taurus LMD cated equipment designed for use
Contacts: Taurus I was a member of wears horns on his head, which raise against that particular opponent. In
the first android Zodiac. the past, for example, she wielded a
his charging damage by + 1CS. device which could immobilize Iron
ADDITIONAL NOTES: Man's armor. There is no indication ,
Talents: Taurus II has Martial Arts A. however, that Virgo II can " kit-bash"
Contacts: Taurus II was a member of in the field.
the second and third LMD Zodiac
teams. Talents: Virgo II has the Electronics
and Engineering talents, receiving a
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
+2 CS when trying to build electron-

ic equipment.

Contacts: Virgo II was a member of
the second and third Zodiacs.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

ROLE-PLAYING NOTES The first ROLE-PLAYING NOTES ROLE-PLAYING NOTES
Taurus LMD was, like many of his The second Taurus is a quiet figure, Virgo II has found her best battle tac-
teammates, a simple-minded fighter, willing to follow orders and happy to tics to be an attempt to remain unno-
more enthusiastic and less disci- attack anyone the Zodiac leader indi- ticed in the background until she can
plined than , say, Aries or Cancer. He cates. best employ her devices.
would repeatedly leave one victim in
the middle of a combat to engage VIRGO II
another.
STATISTICS
TAURUS II
F GD (10)
STATISTICS
sA GD (10)
F RM (30) GD (10)
A GD (10)
E GD (10)
S RM (30) R RM (30)
I TY (6)
E IN (40) p TY (6)
R GD(10)
I TY (6) Health: 40
P TY (6) Karma: 42
Health: 110 Resources: FB (2)
Karma: 22 Popularity: -1
Resources: FB (2)
Popularity : - 5 KNOWN POWERS
Body Armor: Virgo II, like all the
KNOWN POWERS
Skin Armor: Taurus II, like all mem-
bers of the android Zodiac, has Good

250

.. -

, ZOMBIE

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,,___ STATISTICS

F TY (6)
A PR (4)

s RM (30)

E IN (40)
R ShO (0)
I ShO(0)
p ShO (0)

Health: 80

Karma: 0
Resources: ShO(0)

Popularity: -1 o

BACKGROUND
Real Name: Simon William Garth
Occupation: Former president and
founder of Garwood Industries, a
coffee manufacturer
Legal Status: Citizen of the U.S.,

considered missing
Identity: Garth's existence as the
Zombie is not known to the general

public of Earth
Place of Birth: Birmingham, Ala-

bama

Marital Status: Divorced
Known Relatives: Donn a Garth
Mason (daughter), Bruce Mason
(son-in-law), Miranda Garth (ex-wife)
Base of Operations: New Orleans

area
Past Group Affiliations: None
Present Group Affiliation:

KNOWN POWERS animated by voodoo. it wears an Contacts: Zombie was manipulated
Invulnerability: The Zombie has amulet that forces it to obey the by a number of individuals. Garth's
Class-1000 resistance to disease, orders of anyone holding its counter- secretary in life, Layla, loved him and
gases that rely on breathing for part. The amulet has an unlimited used her voodoo powers in his behalf
effect, heat, cold, and extreme pres- several times before her death.
sure. Zombie does not suffer any range. ADDITIONAL NOTES:
effects from Stun or Kill results, When confronted by individuals or
although it can still be Slammed. He 251
does not need to breathe and can situations which Garth had strong
survive indefinitely when submerged emotional contacts to in life, he is

or buried. capable of responding appropriately,
Regeneration: The Zombie has Poor if in a somewhat limited fashion . In
Regeneration (4 Health/1Oturns). To such cases he can disregard the
facilitate this regeneration, Zombie commands of the holder of the con-
must consume human or animal
trol amulet.
flesh at least once per week. Talents: None. In life Garth had the
Sensory Lack: The Zombie possess-
es no sense of sight, hearing, taste, Business/Finance talent.
smell, or feel. It is unaffected by any
attacks that rely on these senses to
accomplish their effects. The Zom-
bie's lack of brain activity makes it
immune to any form of mental attack

as well.
Voodoo Animation: The Zombie is

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ROLE-PLAYING NOTES ing. Kidnapping Garth, Gyps amulet, and Garth killed him.
A scheming, conniving business- stabbed him to death with a garden
man in life, Garth was reduced to shears in the bayous near New For two years, Simon Garth walked
almost complete mindlessness as Orleans. Gyps was not satisfied by the earth as a zombie, controlled by a
the Zombie. The only time the Garth 's relatively quick death, how-
undead creature responded to any ever, and so he turned the corpse succession of people who had pos-
outside stimulus on its own was over to a nearby voodoo cult and session of the mystic amulet. Among
when it encountered people from its forced the voodooienne (voodoo them were a chemist named Philip
first life. When briefly resurrected, queen) Layla to turn Garth into a Bl iss, a houngan (voodoo priest)
Garth had apparently learned some zombie. Layla, who also happened named Papa Shorty, and a fireman
compassion from his years of suffer- to be Garth's secretary, called upon named Fred Miller. At the command
ing as a mindless zombie, and Dambaltah, the serpent god who is of Miller's friend Dora Katz, Garth
attempted to make amends for the the most powerful of the Loa (the struck Layla, severely injuring her.
actions of his former life. gods of voodoo), and with the aid of Layla still loved Garth, however, and
watching talismans, resurrected the with the aid of a friendly houngan
HISTORY corpse of her former employer as a named Papa Doc, she undertook a
mindless zombie. One of the two difficult voodoo ritual by which her
Simon Garth was a highly successful amulets was placed around Garth's ebbing life essence was mystically
businessman and well-known public neck; the other was given to Gyps. transferred to Garth. Thus as Layla
figure who was notorious for treating Using the amulet, Gyps could con- died, Simon Garth returned to life for
his employees ruthlessly. Garth's a period of 24 hours. In that time,
gardener, Gyps, vowed to get trol the Zombie. Garth managed to put all of his affairs
revenge upon his employer for his
years of mistreatment and recent fir- Finally, when Gyps tried to force in order, making up in some way to
Garth to kidnap his own daughter, a various people he had slighted during
remaining portion of the spirit of the his first life. Garth then became a
man he once was enabled the Zom- zombie once more, but was buried by
bie to resist his master despite the Papa Doc, ending his existence as a
zombie, presumably forever.

252

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ZURAS

STATISTICS

F MN (75)

A AM (50)
S MN (75)
E UN (100)
R MN (75)
I MN (75)
P UN (100)

Health: 300
Karma: 250
Resources: MN (75)
Popularity: 25

BACKGROUND
Real Name: Zuras
Occupation: Leader of the Eternals

on Earth
Legal Status: First Citizen of Olym-

pia
Identity: Zuras's identity as an Eter-
nal is publicly known to the populace
of Earth but is disbelieved
Place of Birth: Titanos
Marital Status: Married
Known Relatives: Chronos (father,
deceased), Mentor (brother), Thena
(daughter), Eros (nephew), Thanos
(nephew, deceased), Nebula, (great-
grandniece)

Base of Operations: Olympia,

Greece
Past Group Affiliations: Olympian

Eternals
Present Group Affiliation:

KNOWN POWERS especially genetics ( + 2 CS). He also ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Cosmic Energy: Zuras controlled the
cosmic power that all Eternals could possessed the Leadership talent.
use, to an extent greater than most Contacts: Zuras was the ruler of all
of his fellows. Like all Eternals, he the Earth's Eternals, and kept in
had complete control over his physi-
cal body, such that he was Immortal, touch with those on Titan as well. He
possessed of Class-1000 Resist- was also on civil terms with the rulers
ance to Toxins and Disease, and of most of Earth's pantheae.
capable of Regenerating from injury.

Zuras could project beams of cosmic
energy from his eyes at Unearthly
intensity, in the forms of lightning or
heat. He could use his energies to fly
at Remarkable air speed. He could
manipulate the forms of other mater
at Amazing rank. He could use his
power to read the thoughts of those
nearby (Excellent skill) and cast illu-
sions at Amazing intensity. He could
teleport himself or others with Mon-

strous power.
Talents: Zuras was well-informed on

most branches of Biology ( + 1 CS),

253

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ROLE-PLAYING NOTES Zuras directed the construction of Host, where they were joined by the ,,..'
Zuras was a careful and wise leader. the new principal city of the Eternals, Destroyer. The Celestials Gam-
He was willing to undertake danger- Olympia, in a mountainous region in menon and Jemiah together fired
ous or difficult assignments himself Greece. Other Eternals settled else- powerful bolts of energy into the Uni-
when appropriate, but knew when it where, but Zuras remained the lead- Mind, causing it to turn back into the
was better to send others in his er of all of Earth's Eternals. At some various individual Eternals, who fell
name. His anger was even harder to point, Zuras married a female Eter- to Earth, temporarily unconscious.
raise than that of Zeus, and it was nal named Cybele and they had a However, Zuras, whose conscious-
tempered with mercy even when it daughter, Azura, now known as ness lay at the center of the Uni-
blossomed, as befit the character of Thena. It is not known whether they Mind, was immediately killed by the
a leader who depended on mental had other children as well. force bolt. His corpse fell to the
discipline to exercise his powers. ground with the other Eternals. The
When the civilization of ancient Celestials judged in Earth's favor
HISTORY Greece began to rise, the Olympian and left Earth.
god Zeus decided to make the pres-
Zuras and Lars were the eldest sons ence of the Olympian gods known to Thena assumed leadership of
of Chronos, the leader of the first the Greeks so that they would wor- Earth's Eternals upon the demise of
generation of the race now.known as ship him and the other gods. The Zuras, and the Eternals brought his
the Eternals. Chronos was working principal nexus between the dimen- body back to Olympia where it lay in
in his laboratory in Titanos on experi- sion of Olympus and Greece lay atop state. However, although Zuras had
ments to discover the secret of Greece's Mount Olympus, near physically died, his consciousness
immortality when he grasped a ves- Olympia, the capital city of the Eter- still remained within his physical
sel containing an unknown "cosmic nals. Zeus and his daughter Athena form . Shortly after the Eternals
force" he had isolated . The vessel held a meeting with Zuras and returned to Olympia, they were cap-
ruptured , causing an explosion Azura, who had become her father's tured by the Deviants who used
which demolished Titanos. The devices called "brain mines" to
explosion scattered Chronos's principal advisor. Noticing the place them all in catatonic-like
atoms throughout the universe, but marked physical resemblance states. James Rhodes, who was
Chronos's astral form, now possess- between Zeus and Zuras and then operating as Iron Man, placed
ing godlike intelligence and percep- between Azura and herself, Athena Thena's body near Zuras's in an
tions, remained on this plane of suggested that the Olympian gods effort to free her from this state.
reality. The "cosmic force" released and the Eternals form an alliance in
by the explosion also altered the oth- Thena and Zuras thereby achieved
er members of Chronos's race, all of which the Eternals would act as the mental contact, and Thena revived.
whom survived. Now both they and gods representatives on Earth. Shortly thereafter, the Deviants used
their descendants would have virtu- Zeus, Zuras, and Azura agreed. a machine to disassociate the atoms
ally indefinite life spans compared to Azura took the name of Thena as a of Zuras body, so that Zuras was now
those of ordinary humans, and could token of this agreement. Over many truly dead at last. Rhodes and the
be killed only by means that would years, many human beings came to Eternals defeated and captured the
disperse a large proportion of their Deviants shortly afterward.
atoms. Thus the inhabitants of think of the Eternals not as repre-
Titanos truly became what they are sentatives of the Olympian gods but Apparently, however, Zuras can
known as today, Eternals. as the gods themselves. This confu- still manifest himself on the Earthly
sion led to a growing resentment by plane . His spirit seemingly appeared
Zuras and Alars together initiated the gods towards the Eternals, which when the Eternals lkaris battled
the first creation of the Uni-Mind, a recently erupted into a war, during Thena, who was then unknowingly
collective melding of Eternals' which there was a battle between under the influence of a Deviant
bodies, shortly thereafter. While in Zuras and Zeus. However, the war "brain mine" for the right to be the.
the form of the Uni-Min, the Eternals ended the very same day that it Prime Eternal of Earth.
determined that Zuras should be began , and the Olympian gods and
Chronos's successor as the leader of Eternals are now at peace.
their race. To avoid disunity among
the Eternals, Alars, who had differ- With the arrival of the Fourth Host
ent ideas than Zuras about what the of the Celestials, Zuras knew that if
Eternals' goals should be, left and the Fourth Host judged that humani-
settled on Saturn's moon, Titan , ty did not live up to the standards it
where he fathered a race of Titanian had set for them , it would destroy the
Eternals and became known as their Earth. Deciding to prevent such a
leader, Mentor. fate, Zuras and the Eternals joined
the Asgardian god Odin in his
attempt to drive the Celestials from
Earth. So Zuras and the other Eter-
nals of Earth merged once again into
the Uni-Mind, and advanced into the

South American base of the Fourth

254

STATISTICS

F IN (40)
A AM (50)
S IN (40)
E UN (100)

R FB (2)

I TY (6)

P AM (50)
Health: 230
Karma: 58

Resources: None
Popularity: - 20

BACKGROUND
Real Name: Zzzax
Occupation: Berserker
Legal Status: Inapplicable
Identity: Inapplicable
Place of Creation: Consolidated
Edison Nuclear Power Plant, New
York City

Marital Status: Inapplicable
Known Relatives: Inapplicable
Base of Operations: Mobile
Past Group Affiliations: An ally of
Graviton
Present Group Affiliation:

KNOWN POWERS

Electric Body: Zzzax has no physical

form, but is simply a semi-sentient

electromagnetic construct of psionic

energy, 40 feet tall ( +3 CS to be hit).

As such, Zzzax has Unearthly pro-

tection from physical and kinetic

attacks, since it has no solid body.
Anyone touching Zzzax automati- ~~~ib

cally takes Unearthly electrical dam-

age. Zzzax has also developed the

following Power Stunts:

• Flight at Amazing air speed (25

areas/round)

• Firing bolts of Monstrous electri-

cal Energy up to 15 areas away.

• Using magnetic force at Mon-

strous intensity w ithin a 15-area normal attacks. However, the host electrical sources (power plants, tur-
bines, etc.) or the electrical energy
range. body takes all physical damage. If contained within the brain of human
beings. Zzzax regains a number of
• Traveling through electrical lines the host body sustains enough dam- Health points equal to a victim's
at Unearthly air speed (40 areas/ age to be rendered d~ad or uncon- Psyche. To drain a victim, Zzzax
must make a Fighting FEAT roll and
round). scious, Zzzax can simply go free. be able to overcome an opponent's
resistance to Electrical energy dam-
• Controlling an individual's body The host body must make an Endur- age. Zzzax's ability to drain energy is
considered Incredible. Zzzax also
through psionic means. Zzzax must ance FEAT roll to avoid incineration. absorbs the personality of the victim,
raising his Reason to a level one less
hit the target and make two Psyche Weakness: As a form of electricity, than that of the smartest victim. No
change in Karma occurs from this.
FEAT rolls against the intensity of the Zzzax is vulnerable to the same limi-
255
target's own Psyche. Success of the tations. It can be affected by other

first FEAT roll indicates possession, forms of energy and can be ground-

the second FEAT means that Zzzax ed normally, in which case he dissi-

is in control of the body. While pos- pates.

sessing the body, Zzzax is subject to Absorption: Zzzax loses one Health

point per turn . it must feed on either

In extremely limited cases, consequently it began a campaign of Hawkeye then shot an arrow.carrying a
Zzzax's personality can actually be murder and destruction in order to conducting wire t hrcl!gh Zzzax into the
overwhelmed by that of a stror.g- increase its intelligence further. It was · water upon which Zzzax was standing.
willed victim. To date, this has only blown apart by Hawkeye. As a result Zzzax was grounded and its
happened once, when General field was disrupted.
"Thunderbolt" Ross was able to Months later, a scientific experiment
control Zzzax's physical form to was performed by Soul Star Research, Somehow Zzzax was imprisoned by
attempt to attack the Hulk. a group of three scientists- SHIELD soon after Hawkeye and Won-
Massachusetts Institute of Technology der Man defeated it. SHIELD kept
Talents: Zzzax can gain the scien- graduates Mark Revel, Stan Landers, Zzzax, which was still in humanoid
tific skills and knowledge of any vic- and Alexandria Knox, who developed form, confined within a large insulated
tim. It has no talents of its own. a mechanism that was allegedly capa- vacuum tube, and •then transferred it
Contacts: None ble of collecting and recording the into another such tube- at Gamma
scattered electrical brain waves of any Base, New Mexico. There former Gen-
ADDITIONAL NOTES: human being who had ever existed. eral " Thunderbolt" Ross, who was
When first used, the machine made obsessed with a desire to destroy the
ROLE-PLAYING NOTES contact with an unusually intense field Hulk, submitted to a SHIELD experi-
Zzzax is not particularly intelligent of electro-psionic energy in the upper ment to transform him into a superhu-
and has been readily defeated on a stratosphere, which was the residue of man being by infusing some of Zzzax's
number of occasions. Zzzax is driv- Zzzax. The collected electrical "living electricity" into Ross's body.
en by a strong sense of self- impulses formed a field of sufficient But the experiment went awry, and
preservation and will absorb as energy to explode the machine's titani- Ross's psionic energy-his mind , in
many victims as possible to prevent um casing, and Zzzax reformed. Stan effect-was absorbed by Zzzax, and
its "death." Landers was killed by Zzzax as the Zzzax broke free. But, strangely,
creature absorbed his electro-psionic Ross's mind, perhaps because of the
HISTORY strength of its hatred for the Hulk, took
energy. As a result of this absorption, control of Zzzax, submerging Zzzax's
Zzzax was the product of an acci- Zzzax found itself influenced by Land- own personality. Meanwhile, Ross's
dent that occurred at a Consolidated ers' intense love for his colleague original physical body remained alive,
Edison nuclear power plant when a Alexandria Knox, and abducted her. though with no voluntary actions.
group of heavily armed terrorists
attempted to shut down the power for Once again Zzzax battled the Hulk. Controlled by Ross's thought pat-
New York City. The explosion that their Soul Star's Mark Revel short-circuited terns, Zzzax tried unsuccessfully to kiil
stray gunfire caused started a chain and dissipated Zzzax by shooting a both Bruce Banner and Rick Jones,
reaction in the atomic reactor, creating suffici ent length of copper wire
a psionically charged electromagnetic who had recently become a Hulk-like
field of humanoid form which absorbed through it from a helicopter and then monster himself. Zzzax's own con-
tbe men's brains, thus acquiring a flying the helicopter which still held sciousness resurfaced briefly, but lost
human intelligence. As it began to one end of the wire, directly into a thun- to the Ross form for dominance of its
think and become aware of its sur- derstorm where it was struck by light- physical form. When Banner forced it
roundings, it developed rudimentary to recognize that it inhabited a mon-
speech and named itself Zzzax in imi- ning. ster's form, the Ross persona was hor-
tation of the electrostatic "crackle" it rified. Still controlled by the Ross
made when it moved. As it killed more Later, when Stark International con-
human beings, it grew more intelligent; structed a laboratory for Dr. Bruce Ban- consciousness, Zzzax fled .
ner (who is also the Hulk), the Ross's mind eventually returned to
company made the mistake of pur-
chasing a central power core from the his own body, bringing some of Zzzax's
now-defunct Soul Star Research. electrical abilities with it. Ross's physi-
When the generator was hooked up, a
sudden surge of electromagnetic dis- cal form was revived and Ross used
charge brought Zzzax back into exist- the electrical abilities to destroy a
ence. After a brief battle, the Hulk, who beast known as the Nevermind, appar-
at that point retained Bruce Banner's ently destroying himself as well.
Zzzax's current whereabouts and
intelligence when in his superhumanly power levels are unknown.
strong form, ran power cables through
Zzzax which were connected to a gen-
erator which drew its power from stel-
lar and quasi-stellar sources. The Hulk
reversed the generator's polarity,
sending Zzzax out into space.

Recently Zzzax reappeared, emerg-
ing from high voltage lines connected
to a California nuclear power plant,
possibly through the work of Graviton,
who sought Zzzax as an ally. On Hawk-
eye's suggestion Wonder Man uproot·
ed a water main, which the latter then
used to fire a torrent of watsr at Zzzax .

256