Val CHA Cost Roll Notes 45 STR 35 18- Lift 12.8tons; 9d6 [4] 17 DEX 21 12- OCV: 6/DCV: 6 30 CON 40 15- 15 BODY 10 12- 10 INT 0 11- PER Roll 11-/13- 13 EGO 6 12- ECV: 4 18 PRE 8 13- PRE Attack: 3 1/2d6 10 COM 0 11- 25 PD 16 Total: 25 PD (25 rPD) 25 ED 19 Total: 25 ED (25 rED) 4 SPD 13 Phases: 3, 6, 9, 12 15 REC 0 60 END 0 53 STUN 0 Total Characteristic Cost: 168 Movement: Running: 6"/12" Leaping: 9"/18" Swimming: 0"/0" Cost Powers & Skills 20 Fists Of Steel: HA +4d6, Reduced Endurance (0 END; +1/2); Hand-To-Hand Attack (-1/2) 25 Body of Steel: Damage Resistance (25 PD/25 ED) 30 Body of Steel: Physical Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% plus Energy Damage Reduction, Resistant, 25% 4 Body of Steel: Knockback Resistance -2" -2 Body of Steel: Swimming -2" 2 Sharp Ears: +2 PER with Normal Hearing 10 Holding His Breath: LS (Self-Contained Breathing), 1 Recoverable Continuing Charge lasting 10 Minutes (+0), [1 rc] Perks 4 Contact: Donnelly Ferguson 13- Skills 15 +3 with HTH Combat 3 Breakfall 12- 2 CK: Astro City 11- 4 CK: Kiefer Square 13- 2 KS: Astro City Underworld 11- 2 KS: History of Biro Island Correctional Facility 11- 2 KS: Who's Who Among The "Black Masks" 11- 0 Language: English (idiomatic; literate) 1 PS: Caretaker 8- 2 PS: Career Criminal 11- 3 Streetwise 13- 3 TF: Common Motorized Ground Vehicles, Jetpack 132 Total Powers & Skills Cost 300 Total Character Cost 150+ Disadvantages 15 Distinctive Features: Steel Skin And Hair (Not Concealable; Noticed and Recognizable; Detectable By Commonly-Used Senses) 5 Hunted: Assorted Police/Super Heroes 8- (As Pow, NCI, Watching) 5 Physical Limitation: Body Of Steel (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 5 Physical Limitation: Weighs 800 Pounds (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing) 15 Psychological Limitation: Desires To Do The Right Thing/Stay Straight (Common, Strong) 20 Psychological Limitation: Does *Not* Want To Return To Jail (Common, Total) 15 Psychological Limitation: Protective Of His Friends/People Of Kiefer Square (Common, Strong) 15 Reputation: Former Supercriminal/Convict, 14- 10 Social Limitation: Ex-Convict (Occasionally, Major) 305 Total Disadvantage Points
Background/History: Carlie (Carl) Donewicz was young boy growing up in the Kiefer Square section of Astro City when he started to run with gangs. You had to in that part of town, or you ended up in a world of hurt. Carl wanted out, and studied as best he could in order to make it out, but it didn't work.
After a fight in which he killed a boy, Carl went a little crazy, committing an assortment of violent crimes. At this point, he first heard about Dr. Ganss, who could turn people into superhumans, and managed to get an interview. After being told he was acceptable, Carl was placed in a tank, and emerged as the "Steel-jacketed Man." Trying to pay back Ganss (and Donnelly Ferguson, who had gotten him the appointment in the first place), Carl entered into the world of the "black masks" (a.k.a. "super villains").
Although he had some moderate success, Carl ended up in and out of prison, and spent a good twenty years in Biro Island Correctional Facility, finally being released around the end of the Millennium. Upon release, he vowed to stay out of jail and go straight, which proved to be difficult due to his reputation and distinctive likeness.
Personality/Motivation: Steeljack is old and tired. He wants to stay out of jail and make a new life for himself, but realizes that for people like him, "getting out" is impossible. Still, he tries to do the right thing, and will stand by his friends and fellow Kiefer Square residents to help them against those that would prey upon them. In the "Tarnished Angel" storyline, Steeljack keeps searching for the black mask killer even though he feels he is getting nowhere because he realizes he is all they have.
Quote: "An' all I can do is watch him go, soaring' off, all graceful an' free, like he belongs in the sky, like he's some kinda—some kinda angel. And I wonder what that would be like. Just once, to do that. To just go, like a dream, like magic, like a miracle—instead o' being stuck here on the ground. Eight hundred pounds of ugly metal nobody wants or needs."
Powers/Tactics: Steeljack's powers are simple: he is over 800 pounds of solid steel. He is very strong, bulletproof and nearly impossible to hurt. I did find it difficult to determine his exact stats, even when comparing him to other characters in the series. Astro City seems to have a strong "reality check" in that there are not a lot of "superfast" people. At one point, he manages to fend off the entire Honor Guard, while in another he goes toe-to-toe with a 16 year-old girl and loses. Based on how fast I felt Confessor and Altar Boy are, I built Steeljack's characteristics from there.
Although he is not very bright (i.e. a quick thinker), Steeljack does have a stronger than normal will. He also has a strong presence (mainly due to his size and appearance), and is pretty much invulnerable. He withstands having a house dropped on him (twice), walks away from a burning plane wreck, and jumps out of an airplane to fall several hundred feet and land on his feet.
Appearance: Steeljack is fairly tall, looking to stand over six feet in height and weighs in excess of 800 pounds. Visually he was modeled after Robert Michum, and has a tired and world-weary face with heavily lidded eyes and fairly short hair. Steeljack's skin is (apparently) solid steel. It will rust (and can be scrubbed clean with steel-wool) and Steeljack keeps himself clean with an assortment of metal polishes.
As Steeljack doesn't care for the lifestyle of a "black mask" anymore, he dresses in normal clothing. When he operated as a criminal, he wore a simple black bodystocking that left his arms and legs bare.
Designer's Notes: Astro City is a very good series, populated by interesting characters living in a real city and dealing with real problems. It is also loaded with superhumans and assorted costumed characters, many of which are only mentioned (or seen) briefly. Busiek writes these characters as real people, with depth, and avoids a lot of comic clichés. A side effect of this makes it a lot harder to figure what a character can do, since no one really announces their attacks or spends a lot of time discussing what they can and cannot do.
Steeljack was created by inferring his abilities from things he said and does, and things done to him. For example, his quotes states he is 800 pounds, and at another point he says he is bulletproof. Readers of Astro City may feel that I missed the mark, but I feel the character sheet comes pretty close.
(Steeljack created by Kurt Busiek, Brent Eric Anderson and Alex Ross, character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)
Steeljack's Hero Designer File
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