Dark Messiah

Category : Comic Books

Subcategory : Marvel universe
Type : Villain
Game System : DC Heroes (Blood of Heroes S.E.)

Dark Messiah v1

By Sbastien Andrivet

Source of Character: Old Daredevil issues

Helper(s): History section based on Marvunapp.com. Peter Piispanen, Kal El el Vigilante

Reasons: Still picking low-hanging fruits as I make progress on the Black Widow
writeup. Since this guy's speech pattern is very distinctive, he gets a load of quotes.
Also... he's not a bad opponent for low-powered groups of PCs, and he can easily be
rather interesting and powerful.

Game Stuff

Dark Messiah

""Stand ye back, O crowd, or I shalt stride on thee--as easily as I might 'pon water. For
holiness resides within this forceful frame ! And where I walk, choirs of angels shall sing
hymns of it everafter. Yea, back, ye multitudes or face the wrath of --Mordecai Jones--
The Dark Messiah ! To my kingdom I come--and my will shall be done."

"The power to kill with a gaze is a truly awesome thing, my friend. It is fortunate that
only I wield it. Just as I wield the beam which now is holding you, crushing you against
that wall. This is the coming, Daredevil. *My* coming ! I am risen from the dead ! The
time is at hand !"

"Blasphemer !! Clad in the garb of Satan you trespass on sacred ground !! Thus must I
drive you from this templed soil -- forever ! And him who is free shall strike the first
blow ! SO BE IT !" (kicks Daredevil in the chest)

"You pitiful fool ! Did you truly expect a mere physical blow to affect one whose power
is... THE Power ?"

"Come ye hither, disciples ! I should like ye to meet our antagonist. His name is called...
Daredevil. And to thee, my beloved infidel, may I present... the Disciples of Doom ! First,
Josiah -- whose hands hold in sway the terrible power of sonic vibration --! --And
Macabee, to whom the Earth and Elements bend in solemn obeisance. And lastly, Uriah...
who controls and can alter the very fabric of reality."
"Thou art surprised I anticipated thy question ? Be not so startled, ye of Satan's cloth.
For... wouldst thou have thy deity be less than omniscient ? Answer thy living redeemer,
Daredevil ! ANSWER !"

"Hast thou so soon forgotten the Dark Messiah, Daredevil ? Alloweth me then to refresh
thy failed memory -- by hoisting thee and thine unchaste companion aloft 'pon the light
that shineth from mine eyes !"

Dark Messiah

Dex: 08 Str: 09 Bod: 10 Motivation: Psychotic

Int: 06 Wil: 05 Min: 06 Occupation: Agent of destruction
Inf: 08 Aur: 04 Spi: 02 Resources {or Wealth}: 003
Init: 024 HP: 035
Powers: Attraction/repulsion: 10, Bestow: 10, Disintegration: 10, Force field: 04, Force
wall: 14, Mutation: 10, Teleportation: 07
Bonuses and Limitations:
Attraction/Repulsion only for Repulsion, but it carries its own AV
Bestow has the Permanent and Any Ability Bonuses (+10)
Force Field : Can Attack Through
Force wall has a +35 Special Bonus to Volume (+7)
Using Force Wall prevents him from using any other Power (+2) - though that
Limitation later mysteriously disappear

Skills: Acrobatics*: 08
Advantages: Lightning Reflexes, Misc. Adv: Power Monger (see below)
Connections: None
Drawbacks: CPI (believes himself to be some kind of divine figure)

And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power ;
and that my name may be declared throughout all the Earth:
The Dark Messiah uses the HP-intensive Bestow Power ; however he has a specific
variant of the Outside of the Loop of Destiny Misc. Advantage, called Power Monger and
worth 20 points. The short adventures during which he benefits from it usually take place
off-panel, though.

A Character with this Advantage is often involved in events that transform other
characters on a profound level. Any adventure or subplot dealing with the alteration of
other characters, for any purpose, automatically counts as two Subplots for the character.
The character *will* be involved in events foreshadowing any such transformations /
rebirths, giving him new insight into his own transformative power. On top of this short
adventure, the Character gains the benefit of completing a Subplot as he begins focusing
his energies on the impending transformation (i.e., he gets HPs).
And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain ; and when he was set, his
disciples came unto him:
The Disciples of Doom all share the following Attributes, though they have different
Powers. Basically, they are muscle-bound thugs from WORG with Bestowed Powers.
Josiah, Macabee, Uriah:

"See how the mortals scurry like rats before us ? Though they lack the words to describe,
they *know* who and what we are !! Thus in the name of the messiah Mordecai do I
raise my hand and cry : CHAOS !"

Dex: 04 Str: 04 Bod: 04 Motivation: Mercenary

Int: 03 Wil: 03 Min: 03 Occupation: Mercenary
Inf: 03 Aur: 02 Spi: 02 Resources {or Wealth}: 004
Init: 010 HP: 005
Powers: (Josiah) Vibe: 10
Powers: (Macabee) Geoforce: 10
Powers: (Uriah) Mental illusion: 10, Magic blast: 05
Bonuses and Limitations: Uriah's Mental Illusion takes effect in the following Phase
(the one after the Phase when he took his Dice Action), and he cannot maintain Mental
Illusion for two or more consecutive Phases (-3) ; Mental Illusion seems limited to alien
environments (-2) ; Magic Blast is Combined with Mental Illusion
Skills: Vehicles (land): 03
Advantages: None
Connections: Street (Low)
Drawbacks: Attack Vulnerability (-1CS RV against Character Interaction based on
Christian scripture).

Background

Marital Status: Unknown

Known Relatives: None
Group affiliation: Agent of Moondragon/Madame McEvil and Broderick
Base Of Operations: San Francisco
Height: 6'2" Weight: 195 lbs
Eyes: Solid yellow Hair: Blond (though they became brown by the next issue)

Powers and Abilities

The Dark Messiah has an array of energy-related powers -- it is in fact likely that his
physiology has been altered to make him something of a poor man's Eternal. He could
erect a force field around himself for protective purposes, or could create impregnable
force walls around no less than San Francisco ; his eyes could emit purple beams capable
of dissolving walls or telekinetically repulsing his targets.

The Dark Messiah is also a very powerful hand-to-hand combatant and displayed great
speed as well as superhuman strength and durability. He also retains his remarkable
acrobatic skill.
Despite the lack of clear evidence, I have assumed that the Dark Messiah was the one
who could Bestow power to his Disciples -- mostly so as to allow him to create some
more were he to reappear in your campaign. He did not create disciples the second time
around, but he did not really need to since the other servants of Broderick were already
thrashing the town. Among the Disciples one had a straight Vibe blast, one coup make
earth erupt and fire spring forth, and one could project others in an illusion of an alien
environment -- those short illusions were quite draining for their victims (Magic blast),
and when he used his on Daredevil, Uriah did roll a double.

History:

Mordecai Jones made a living as a street performer. One day his actions frightened a dog
in the crowd, which broke loose from its master and grabbed his leg. Jones was shocked,
lost his balance, and cracked his head on the ground. He was rushed to a hospital, but got
lost in the shuffle. A shadowy figure (likely Kerwin J. Broderick or one of his agents)
grabbed Mordecai's gurney-bound body and took it to a secret room and mutated him,
using technology from Moondragon, courtesy of the Eternals of Titan. Moondragon (back
then known by the goofy name "Madame MacEvil") initially thought that Earth had
already fallen to Thanos and thought to create a bunch of warriors to oppose humanity.
However, she trusted Kerwin J. Broderick, who just used her as a way to gain power,
ultimately merging with Terrex. Others empowered by Moondragon at this time were
Angar the Screamer and the mercenary known as Ramrod.

Soon, the Dark Messiah strode the streets of San Francisco, proclaiming his holiness. He
saw believers within a prison and so blasted a hole in the wall, letting them all run free.
Daredevil encountered him and tried to stop him, but was knocked into submission by a
single eyeblast.

Mordecai then mutated three of the prison escapees to become his Disciples of Doom.
Daredevil regrouped and went after Mordecai again, after the Messiah had enclosed the
entirety of Golden Gate park within an unbreachable force field. However, after showing
him that they were no threat and that the park was now a holy land, the Messiah and the
Disciples simply vanished into thin air.

They showed up later, in a different part of San Francisco, and began a "cleansing,"
which more or less involved destroying everything and attacking everyone they
encountered. Daredevil, this time joined by the Black Widow, again challenged them, and
had succeeded in dropping Josiah and Macabee with a single punch (or kick), when the
Black Widow collapsed in agony, from injuries at the hands of tha Man-Bull. Daredevil,
however, rallied and finished off Uriah between illusions.
Again, Daredevil had little luck at the Dark Messiah, who laughed off any physical
assaults. However, Daredevil eventually recognized him as the street performer he had
seen earlier that same day. When confronted with that knowledge, Mordecai panicked,
denied it, and then apparently blew up. The Disciples of Doom reverted to their normal
forms.

Some time later, after capturing Daredevil, Moondragon decided to unleash her creations
on the city again. Along with reactivating Ramrod and Angar, she caused the Dark
Messiah to reform his atoms. However, Kerwin J. Broderick then revealed his true colors,
blasted Moondragon from behind, and took control of their agents.

Mordecai then formed a force-field over the entire city of San Francisco, and then he and
Broderick's other agents went on a destructive rampage. Daredevil, after helping
Moondragon to recover, was again joined by the Widow and attempted to stop the
mayhem. However, the two were soon at the mercy of the Dark Messiah--and he had
none. Mordecai pummelled Daredevil and then prepared to exterminate him, but
Moondragon arrived in time, and she took control of Mordecai, forcing him back into his
human form once again (which she described as a "reshuffling of his intraform molecular
migration" -- now you know you want to use that in your campaign).

Unlike Ramrod and especially Angar, the Dark Messiah has not been seen since -- but
can an accidental re-reshuffling of his intraform molecular migration be avoided forever ?
Eh ?

Description:

See illustrations.

Personality

The Dark Messiah genuinely believes that he's the new Christ -- except with an agenda
that involves little love but lots of violence, smiting and destruction. He constantly makes
references to his supposed near-divine, prophetic Christian status, and speaks English
from the King James Bible (though by his second appearance he started sounding closer
to Thor's pseudo-Shakespearian English).

Search for an entry

Name :
Category :
Sub Category :
Type :
Note :
Submit