A Continent of Banalities

  Doctor Babylon is an elegant man in his sixties. The babylonian theme is quite subtle, really, The cuneiform necktie, the face of Nebuchadnezzar on his ring.  Rumors abound about Babylon. They say he killed Bauk, the metahuman kingpin of Odessa with his bare hands. They say he was part of such illustrious supervillain groups as the Seven Men of Vengeance and the Lords of Misrule. They say he speaks to the dead and knows their secrets.  The other members of Doctors Without Boundaries know him as an easygoing man who believes in thorough planning, scientific boxing, and a glass of vodka before bedtime. They also know that he knocked down Doctor Olympia with one punch. Olympia didn’t seem to understand the concept of friendly sparring. Verity has found herself depending on Babylon as a lieutenant, and as an intellectual equal. Maybe even a friend.  Sooth has noted that he can’t seem to read Babylon’s mind, Menagerie enjoys learning a game called ‘Texas Hold’Em’ from B...

Doctor Verity quickly realized that the team needed a thief. Someone who could deal with security measures quickly and without fuss. Doctor Babylon suggested Larceny (Verity bestowed the honorary doctorate). Larceny, Babylon argued, was ideal for the task as he is usually not behind bars (too difficult to keep in, too harmless to put in MetaMax). “Besides the man’s a pacifist” Babylon added with a smile.  It is true that Larceny (real name Keith Anders) doesn’t have a violent bone in his skinny frame. He’d rather turn tail, which he is good at.  His extraordinary skill with theft and stealth is the result of something a few eggheads call a probabilistic mutation. Certain people of Gen Z and forward seem to buck probability in certain narrow but consistent ways. Too limited to really be considered a superpower, but significantly off the curve. The existence of probabilistic mutations is not generally accepted by any branch of science.  Keith was the fourth of six children,...

Doctor Verity Rifkin is my attempt at making a somewhat relatable megalomaniac supervillain. Verity is her real name, and she has a real doctorate from M.I.T. It’s in aeronautics engineering, but Verity has a good working knowledge of most kinds of engineering.  She has been called one of the most dangerous people on the planet. The press usually paints her as a mad scientist. They are not entirely wrong.  Verity Rifkin grew up in modest circumstances, and her parents quickly realized that she was a prodigy. They had no idea how to deal with a child of her intelligence, but did manage to scrape together the funds to send her to college. Verity studied diligently, and quickly learned that it was sometimes to her advantage to keep her mouth shut. Not that she always succeeded. In 1980 she spent a night behind bars after a demonstration against torture in Iran went off the rails.  Throughout the 80s she would work for Lockheed-Martin, Hanlon Aerodynamics, and for a short whi...

Another member of Doctors Without Boundaries.  Doctor Babylon (DrB): “Speaking of misgivings, why’s KK here? The man’s an omni-directional menace.” Doctor Verity (DrV): snickers DrB: “I’m sure it’ll be less funny when he lets rip.” DrV: “It’s a lot better having him in the tent pissing out than the other way around”. DrB; “Wisdom for the ages, Doc”.  He tried Doctor Death, Doom, Destruction, Maimenstein, and those are just the best ones. In the end he fell back on the old one. Krimson Karnage, a disaster on legs. A bear-human hybrid with a M134 minigun.  Before his grand transformation he was Derek Fielding, a janitor at Athano Inc., the medical company with all the lawsuits. Derek used the fact that one junior scientist was sloppy with his keycard to order “Genuine East Siberian Bear Glands” through the company. When the changes started to take effect, he was already out on his ass without his last paycheck.  Not much later people reported a new cryptid, the Beech C...

(This character is inspired by The Collector and The Stranger from the marvel universe) Dr. Verity (DrV) “Doctor Babylon, a word?” Dr. Babylon (DrB) “Doc?” DrV: “I have some reservations about the, um, alien”. DrB: “Menagerie? He’s what’s got you worried?” DrV: “I don’t know what to make of them. That is exceeding rare for me” DrB: “You know what an out-of-context problem is, right Doc? Menagerie is an out-of-context solution”.  Doctor Menagerie is on holiday. Being a supervillain on Earth is an interesting break from their all-consuming hobby, which is collecting fauna from the entire universe. Their collection is on their space ark, but they have a hypergeometrical connection to it, so they may produce strange and confusing creatures at a whim.  Menagerie looks like an anthropomorphic dog in an ivory-colored suit. They speak in what can only be described as a circus accent. Some humans find it offensive. Menagerie is affable and slightly theatrical, like a two-bit stage magi...

  The second member of Doctors Without Boundaries. What can we say about Doctor Olympia, the Man of Mystical Might, the Muscle Magus? He has fought Panoptikon, the Harlequin, and the Blue Conjurer many times, handing out beatings and grand proclamations liberally. Who is he though? Olympia used to be Lance Younger, a reasonably intelligent man with no interest in academic pursuits. He grew up in comfortably middle class circumstances, but also grew to loathe his parents and their constant striving for promotions and better pay. A life of doing tricks for paltry scraps and attaboys was no life at all. Lance resolved to be strong. Strong enough to be free and take what he deserved.  Fitness, diets and intense exercise made a difference, of course. It wasn’t enough though. Being a strong man meant little. He had to be the strongest. Thus Lance started seeking other avenues. One fateful day the Book of Moxon fell into his sweaty hands. Moxon was a demon, Lance learned. A creature ...