Mystery Men Comics #5 - pt. 3

And we're back with Lt. Drake of Naval Intelligence, but only for that third panel. You get a good sense for the layout of that opium den from the entry hall, the perpendicular hall at the end, the side door, and the parallel stairs. Even the guard at the door is a nice touch, a refreshing change from the yellow peril hoodlum cliche!

I like this page for two reasons. One is that there's a flight of stairs going up that looks different than the first, so this suggests a three-floor hideout. And I like the random dumbwaiter, just sticking out in the hallway there.

They say comic books were written for 8-year olds, but I'm learning new vocabulary words myself going through these old comic books. This has got to be the first time in my 45 years I've encountered the word "ruction!"

I'm amused that a cartoony little dog like that was able to bite Drake for enough damage to make him drop his gun.  That looks like a 1 hit point dog?

Dog blankets do seem like a good place to hide dope. And hollow belt buckles are a good place to hide small trophy items. Who ever thinks to search belt buckles for secret doors?

I've looked at a lot of goofy excuses for disarming an opponent over the 26 months of this blog, but this has to be in the top 5. The heat from a furnace, at least 3' away, stuns her and makes her drop her gun. And I do concede that a ship's furnace has got to be unbearably hot, but it's not like Drake took her by surprise with this tactic -- she had just ordered him to open it! She should have been prepared for it.

Captain Savage is a hero with a schooner, and a good idea.  Alignment-wise, if he's a Lawful Hero, he either has to make a save vs. plot to keep that stolen loot (1st edition) or gets halved experience points for it (2nd ed.) if he doesn't return it. But, if he can contact the rightful owner and negotiate 50% as a reward, then he still gets full xp for the half-share and gets to keep good relations with the original owner.

We return to Blue Beetle, still stuck in the back pages of Mystery Men. Though a mysteryman by class so far, the first indication that BB might be a superhero is this instance of the Quick Change power. Without the power, I can't imagine how BB managed to strip out of his clothes and pull on his hood and goggles that fast.

The dropped cage, combined with a secret door, makes for a good trap, as Heroes can never resist the lure of a secret door.

BB's opponents are a gangster and a thug (gangsters getting their own stat block in 2nd ed.).

But now we're back to evidence that Blue Beetle is still a mysteryman, as he picks the lock instead of wrecking the door. But...it's not at all clear how he got from the cage to the locked room.

I've never statted a "desperado" before for H&H.  I'll have to keep an eye out for that word...

Blue Beetle is a jerk. Here, he decides to pay back a police officer for hitting him by knocking him out, leaving him unconscious on the sidewalk, calling the gangsters over to where the cop is, and then running away. BB is going to be pretty lucky if none of these gangsters have a grudge against cops!

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)

Mystery Men Comics #1 - pt. 3

I am going to start a dangerous (for myself!) precedent today and allow myself three days to discuss this particular issue.

So -- back to The Blue Beetle! Tear gas canisters would be an uncommon enough item to keep them off the starting equipment list, but it's not rare enough to be anything but a mundane trophy item. Now, a tear gas capsule, on the other hand, is a pretty potent example of miniaturization. It's too small to contain the gas, so it must be releasing something that mixes the chemicals already in the air.

This is D-13, Secret Agent. In his inauspicious debut, D-13 strips down to his bathing suit and gets caught, kind of literally, with his pants down.

Now, currently, there is no distinction in Hideouts & Hoodlums between grappling holds; you have the same chance to achieve and to escape a one-arm hold as you do a two-arm hold. I'm thinking of changing that in 2nd edition.

This feature of a radio-controlled door, that opens when it hears the door tapped, seems like a good trick for a hideout.

We've seen a LOT of the flooding room trap already, but it's almost a novel twist to tie the prisoner up and hang them upside down in the flooding room trap. D-13 has trouble freeing his feet, even though he was working his hands free -- separate skill checks to escape both?

It's an awful easy trap to escape, though, to leave the door unlocked and unguarded.

And lastly, should ranchers be statted for the mobster section? Hmm...

I'm not sure what to make of this one. That leapfrog off a man's back and then vaulting over the wall sure looks like a Mysteryman stunt to me. Should spies be statted as Mysterymen instead of Fighters? In some ways it makes sense to, especially if you're not using the optional Spy class.

Haha, I can't believe they fell for the cablegram trick! (This is Lt. Drake of the Naval Intelligence, by the way.)

(Scans courtesy of Digital Comic Museum)