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9 FEB 2018

1 Welcome to the February Issue of The New In the past, The Marvel-Phile was one of the best Marvel-Phile! This month, we reach WAY back resources for new and updated information into the archives of , and pluck a pertaining to the Marvel Super Heroes Role- few neglected characters out of obscurity. We Playing Game. We are continuing that fine present two heroes – Chorus and Devil-Slayer - tradition with the "New Marvel-Phile". We are from the comics, and two demonic certain that each edition will bring something new villains: , the Living Darkness, and Vera and exciting for those that still enjoy this great Gemini, the demonic cult . They would fit game. nicely either into a retro campaign featuring the Defenders, or the villains may turn up in your Let us know if you like what we are doing here, or campaign to wreak havoc on the heroes! if you want to see something different. Requests are also welcome, but please bear in mind, that we cannot possibly accommodate all requests. Feel free to send requests, feedback, and submissions (especially submissions!) to [email protected]!

Please enjoy and feel free to give us feedback!

Written by Necromancer & Steve Jolly Layout by Steve Jolly with assistance from John Caliber All illustrations by the Marvel bullpen.

The MARVEL-Phile’s Marvel characters and the distinctive names and likenesses thereof are trademarks of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and are used without permission. Copyright ©2017 Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

1 CHORUS

F GD (10) A EX (20) S GD (10) E AM (50) R AM (50) I AM (50) P SH X (150)

Health: 90 Karma: 250 Resources: TY (6) Popularity: 5

BACKGROUND Real Name: Chorus Occupation: Telepathic Gestalt Legal Status: Inapplicable Identity: Mindy Williams (dominant) Other Known Aliases: None Place of Birth: Burton Canyon, Colorado Marital Status: Unrevealed Known Relatives: Al Gentle, Theodore Kroeber, Phillip le Guin, Georgia Orr, Ursula Richards, Mindy Williams (merged beings); Over-Mind (former host body) Base of Operations: Formerly Millwood, New Hampshire; Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum Past Group Affiliations: Defenders Present Group Affiliation:

KNOWN POWERS: Composite Being: Chorus’ body is composed of pure psionic energies. If she is reduced to 0 Health, she will disperse for a number of rounds equal to the damage she sustained in the attack that dispersed her. Afterwards, she will reform with full health.

Telepathy: Chorus is easily one of the single most powerful telepathic individuals to ever exist. Chorus has a Cl 1000 ability to communicate on a direct mind to mind basis. She has an travel to other dimensions or away, dealing up to Shift X (150) Force effective range of up to 4 million miles summon individuals from other Damage. and may even breach dimensional realities to her current position with barriers. She has developed the Shift X (150) capabilities. Telekinetic Force Field Generation: following Power Stunts:  Psychic Link/Gestalt: Chorus has an Chorus can generate a Force Field  Mental Probe: Chorus can Tele- ability to join together her allies into a surrounding her immediate area which pathically Probe another’s mind, single being of unbelievable powers. provides Shift X (150) protection. For seeking specific information and This form is a gigantic, more each additional area she encompasses gaining a detailed analysis of the powerful version of Chorus’s normal with the field the strength of the field individual in question. form, but the Ability and Power ranks drops -2CS.  Psionic Detection: Chorus can of the individuals involved in the link identify Psionic beings and powers at are added to Chorus’s abilities. She Flight: By using her telekinetic abilities a range up to 5,000 miles. does this with Shift X (150) ability Chorus may simulate the ability to fly at MN (75) ability.  Implant Memories: As a power stunt, and may maintain the link for only a

Chorus may implant the memories of short duration of 10 rounds. TALENTS: Student one individual to another, she does

this with Shift X (150) ability. Mental Force Bolts: Chorus may hurl bolts of mental energy up to 80 areas  Gateway/Summoning: Chorus may

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CONTACTS: Defenders, Over-Mind, and moved the operation to Carriwhite of Kyle Richmond who was President Acres mental hospital. of the . Chorus August Masters gathered more summoned , , ADDITIONAL NOTES psychics to the operation, the most Submariner and the Son of Satan to powerful of which was Mindy Williams. help her battle to save Earth-712 from When Nighthawk showed up to Null the Living Darkness and the investigate what was going on, August possessed Squadron Supreme. Doctor Masters ordered Mindy to attack him, Strange in turn realized how powerful but Mindy refused to and turned her Null the Living Darkness was and in attack upon August Masters. Her turn summoned more Earth heroes mental attack destroyed Carriwhite including , , Scarlet Acres. Witch, , and August Masters was forced to start to help them. a new operation at Mt. Charteris, Null the Living Darkness proved to Burton Canyon, Colorado. August be far more powerful than the Masters had more psychics moved to assembled might of Earth’s heroes and Burton Canyon and this time they were the Squadron Supreme. Going so far kept in restraints in preparation of a as to taunt and play with them during new psychic assault on Russia. He also the battle to prove his vast superiority managed to recapture several of his to them. Null proved capable of former psychics including the mentally knocking the Silver Surfer unconscious unstable Mindy Williams. with a single blow. When physical led a team attacks against Null failed, Chorus composed of Gargoyle, Hellcat and joined herself and the heroes together Valkyrie in an attempt to cripple the in one single form in a last desperate new organization but were captured bid to defeat Null before he evolved to and rendered unconscious instead. a form powerful enough to destroy the Psychics Ursula, Phillip and Mindy entire universe. Chorus and Null ROLEPLAYING NOTES: were able to send a mental distress call attacked one another with in a last Chorus is a unique being possessed of to Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Beast and desperate assault in which both beings unfathomable Telepathic potential. the Son of Satan who responded to the exploded. Null quickly reformed and Mindy Williams is the most dominant situation. Ursula, Phillip, Mindy and moved to drain the energies of the personality in the composite, evidenced three other unnamed psychics Over-Mind, Chorus quickly entered into by her love for Squadron Supreme combined their mind into one being in the Over-Mind’s form and was member Nighthawk and Chorus’s face the body of Kyle Richmond who set the absorbed by The Living Darkness. being that of Mindy Williams. self-destruct mechanism at the base. Inside of Null, Chorus discovered Captain America and the other heroes that Null was born from the genocidal HISTORY: managed to escape and everyone else, hate of the once shining race known as Professor Powers desired to start including the psychics were assumed the S’rapph. Within Null, Chorus began a psychic war with Russia. He decided to have perished in the explosion that awakening memories of the goodness to use his organization followed. of the race from which he was born. to recruit telepaths with which he could Fully expecting to have perished in Null an evil being of hate and darkness use as weapons to accomplish this the explosion, the six psychics were was now faced with his own inner goal. Power implemented August shocked to realize they now existed in goodness which caused him to simply Masters to do this job, August Masters the fused amalgam now known as fade from existence and no longer in turn, charged Morgan McNeil Hardy Chorus. Due to Mindy’s love for exist. to implement the plan. Nighthawk, Chorus tried to save Kyle Chorus would continue her Morgan located four unknown Richmond’s life by shunting him across existence in control of the Over-Mind’s psychics who he paid large sums of the dimensions to save him from the form for a time, but eventually the money to take part in the project. explosion. In their haste they also billions of minds of the Eternians inside However, Morgan became corrupted accidentally saved August Masters by the Over-Mind would regain control and and planned to use the psychics to accidentally sending him off to Earth- absorb Chorus into their being, once reform America instead. Captain 712 (home of the Squadron Supreme). again becoming the Over-Mind. America discovered this plot and fought There they discovered Null the against Power’s Secret Empire Living Darkness in possession of the eventually crippling the organization. Over-Mind who was seeking to rule August Master’s then assumed control over the world and an alternate version

3 DEVIL-SLAYER

F EX (20) A EX (20) S GD (10) E EX (20) R GD (10) I EX (20) P IN (40)

Health: 70 Karma: 70 Resources: EX(20) Popularity: 10

BACKGROUND Real Name: Eric Simon Payne Occupation: Adventurer, former devil- slayer, mystic/psychic, mercenary/ hitman, soldier Legal Status: US Citizen, with no criminal record Identity: Known Other Known Aliases: Agent of , the Reaper of Souls Place of Birth: Queenstown, IL Marital Status: Widowed Known Relatives: Cory Payne (wife, deceased) Base of Operations: Mobile; formerly Rosewell Sanitarium in Charles, Massachusetts; unspecified prison; Dr. Strange's Mansion; Hawaii Past Group Affiliations: Defenders, Revengers, Cult of the Harvester of Eyes, Point Men, the Initiative Present Group Affiliation:

KNOWN POWERS: Devil-Slayer has demonstrated the following mental abilities:

Mental Probe: He can mentally probe another individual at IN rank ability.

Telepathy: He can communicate mentally with others at EX ability rank and range, but has difficulty communicating with non-English speaking targets.

given to Devil-Slayer during his time  Mental Control: Devil-Slayer has Telekinesis: Devil-Slayer can with the Cult of the Harvesters of Eyes. mental control over his cloak, manipulate objects with his mind with Having Unearthly material strength, it allowing him to use the cloak as a GD rank ability and range. has the following abilities: whip or to grapple opponents or

 Teleportation: Devil-Slayer can use objects. It has Good rank striking Magic Detection: Devil-Slayer can the cloak to teleport by traveling in range, and causes Excellent level detect the use of magic powers or another dimension, and reappearing damage. enchanted items at RM rank range, on Earth at the desired location, with  Summoning: Devil-Slayer can including demonic influences. IN ability. He cannot teleport more summon various weapons from an

than 1000 lbs. armory within his cloak, which is Illusion-Casting: He can cast illusions,  Dimension Travel: Devil-Slayer has actually located in a separate but only to make objects/people look demonstrated the ability to send a dimension. Some examples of normal; at IN rank ability and range. person to a pocket dimension simply weapons are maces, swords, axes,

by covering them with his cloak assault rifles, and even plasma rifles. EQUIPMENT: (Green Grapple Feat). (See the Player’s Handbook, pp 42- Shadow Cloak: The Shadow Cloak was

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45 for weapon stats). ROLEPLAYING NOTES: a member of the Hawaiian Initiative Eric has seen much pain in his life, and team, the Point Men, serving the team A special weapon Devil-Slayer has seeks atonement for many of his past as their "Monster Hunter." recently summoned is: actions. He is intolerant of evil, and During the Invasion, when Runic Naginata – rune-covered staff seeks to expunge it whenever possible. the new 3-D Man arrived in Hawaii, with a curved (EX edged Devil-Slayer informed him that he had damage) with the following abilities: HISTORY: sensed portents of doom all day. When  Psychic Enhancement: All psychic Eric Simon Payne was a former 3-D Man identified team member abilities are +2CS while holding the U.S. Marine and later soldier of fortune Magnitude as a Skrull impostor, the staff and one time member of a demon cult Skrull attacked and severely wounded  True Flight: TY rank ability who turned on the cult after obtaining the other Point Men, Star Sign and  Body Armor: IN protection vs. the mystical Shadow Cloak and Paydirt. The Skrull was killed, and physical, energy, and mystical unlocking his own latent psychic Devil-Slayer used his Shadow Cloak to attacks abilities. teleport Delroy to Camp Hammond  Eldritch Blast: RM rank range and Payne has served in the Vietnam before taking Star Sign and Paydirt to a damage eldritch bolt War, he has served the mob, and he hospital. Devil-Slayer later appeared in used to serve the Cult of Harvester of Utah with the cyborg to aid 3-D TALENTS: As a former soldier and Eyes. Each time his service was Man and the Skrull Kill Krew. mercenary, Eric has Guns, Military, rewarded with betrayal. He was sick of He later joined 's Marksman, Wrestling, and Martial Arts secret motives and unquestioned Revengers and successfully attacked B. He also has Occult Lore and Mystic obedience. He had already lost his the Mansion. They were then Background. Through training, he has wife, his innocence, and his idealism, defeated by the combined forces of the gained the Blunt Weapons and Sharp before meeting with the Defenders. He Avengers and the New Avengers, and Weapons talents. hooked up with the Defenders while while being interrogated, explained his battling Vera Gemini and eventually participation by claiming that he had CONTACTS: As a former Defender, joined their ranks on a full time basis seen countless realities, and the wish Eric can call upon any of his former during their war with the Six-Fingered of being among the winners in a world teammates. Hand. without Avengers. Eric was, however, plagued by ADDITIONAL NOTES mental instability and guilt over his past actions and, after turning himself in for crimes committed during his time as a mercenary, eventually ended up in an asylum. He discovered a shard of the Nexus of All Realities and briefly became involved with the Man-Thing and with the woman named Sorrow (who became his partner and lover for a time). After the , he was listed by Tony Stark as a potential recruit for the Initiative, and was willing to join a new team of Defenders headed by Nighthawk. However, when Nighthawk suggested it to Tony Stark, Stark declined the offer. Instead, Eric became

5 NULL, THE LIVING DARKNESS

F AM (50) KNOWN POWERS: consciousness if he so desired. A TY (6) Amorphous Being: Null’s body is  Hallucinations: The Living Darkness S UN (100) composed of inky blackness and he could project hallucinations in an E SH X (150) has total control over his body’s individual’s mind causing fear or R UN (100) tangibility, in effect providing him with otherwise manipulating them as he I AM (50) UN (100) Phasing abilities. When desired. P SH X (150) actively willing it, most physical attacks  Illusions: Null had a Shift X (150) will simply pass through his form ability to create and control illusions. Health: 306 without affecting him.  Interdimensional Travel: Null had a Karma: 300 Shift X (150) ability to travel the Resources: None Magic Energy Manipulation: Null the dimensions at will and he could bring UN (100) when in Living Darkness has an almost others along with him. control of President unlimited Cl 1000 ability to manipulate  Levitation: The Living Darkness Richmond the forces of magic to accomplish could levitate with Cl 1000 ability. Popularity: -10 various effects. His power stunts  Mind Control: Null could control the include but are not limited to the minds of other individuals, even BACKGROUND following: powerful individuals such as the Real Name: Null, the Living Darkness  Eldritch Bolts: The Living Darkness Over-Mind. He does this with Shift X Occupation: Dimensional Conqueror could project mystic energy bolts that (150) ability. Legal Status: Inapplicable dealt up to Shift X (150) damage at a  Necromancy: Null could raise the Identity: Demon range of 80 areas. dead to serve as his personal army Other Known Aliases: None  Enlarge/Shrink: Null had a Shift X with Shift X (150) ability. Place of Birth: The Moon of Earth- (150) ability to shrink individuals to  Raise Dead: Null had a Shift X (150) 616 the point that they could enter into ability to draw dead spirits back to Marital Status: None the Microverse or enlarge them back Earth. Known Relatives: S’rapph to normal size. Base of Operations: Earth-712  Biological Constructs: Null could Spirit Vampirism: Null could drain a Past Group Affiliations: Over-Mind create biological bodies and other target’s Intuition and Psyche ranks and Present Group Affiliation: constructs to house his channel the absorbed energy into his

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own Abilities or Power ranks. He could appeared in Christiansboro, Virgina, a nuclear war. When several Earth siphon energies at an AM (50) rank town in economic depression, and heroes arrived (Doctor Strange, Beast, ability. began frightening off the citizens with Gargoyle, , Nighthawk, Scarlet ghosts, apparitions and nightmares. He Witch, Silver Surfer, Son of Satan, Evolution: The Living Darkness grew also raised many of the dead in the Submariner, Vision and Valkyrie) and more powerful the longer he existed. town and used them as pawns for defeated the Squadron Supreme, Null Gaining increased Ability and Power force. Other members of the town he had Over-Mind battle the heroes. ranks every so often as he matures corrupted, using illusions and mind August Masters then assassinated the toward his final form which was never control. President Kyle Richmond construct and witnessed. When Gargoyle returned to the set Null free upon the Moon’s surface. town accompanied by , Devil- His evolution nearly complete, Null Multitasking: Null could use any two Slayer, Hellcat and Valkyrie, he was appeared in his real form in the sky powers in a single round. confronted by apparitions of his dead over the heroes. Null began to leech family while the townsfolk confronted energy from the Over-Mind’s form and TALENTS: None the heroes. Once Null had a sense of engaged the heroes in combat knowing the uniqueness of the heroes he that they had no hope of defeating him. CONTACTS: Over-Mind revealed himself to them and explained Then the psychic being known as his goal and purpose then bade his Chorus appeared and united the ADDITIONAL NOTES army to attack. Gargoyle found heroes into a single psychic entity his life draining powers to be ineffective which could battle Null. Chorus pulled on Null, but when he tried to induce life energy from the Over-Minds form to force into Null, Null lost all substance create a shield and then when both and his zombie army returned to the beings met in combat the collective grave. good and evil in them caused them to Null realized he had a lot to learn explode. Null began to immediately still before his power would be reform. Chorus entered into the empty supreme, so he wandered the Earth shell that was the Over-Mind and was studying humanity and was drawn into absorbed in Null’s consciousness as he a conflict with the Rider. During leeched away more of the Over-Mind’s the battle, the man Null possessed had energies. Inside of The Living a fleeting hope appear in his heart Darkness, Chorus was able to awaken when he thought his wife was in the good of the S’rapph. Unable to face danger, this combined with Ghost the goodness within his own spirit, Null Rider’s Hellfire managed to drive Null simply ceased to exist and faded away out. into nothingness with a soul shrieking ROLEPLAYING NOTES: Null realized he would not be able scream. Null the Living Darkness is a demon to effectively destroy the Earth until his spawned from the collective conscious own evolution into a higher form was of the S’rapph race after they had complete, so he sought out a pawn to committed genocidal suicide. Null has work his plans through. In a Micro- nearly unlimited mystic capabilities and world, Null found the trapped Over- absolutely no morals to impede his Mind who he decided to mind control. actions. If Null were to achieve his final Null brought Over-Mind back to Earth, form it has been theorized that he but discovered they had traveled to the would possess enough power to wipe alternate Earth-712. out an entire universe with just a Still determined to conquer this thought. Earth, Null through the Over-Mind, took control of President Kyle Richmond of HISTORY: the United States. When Richmond The S’rapph were a shining found the will to resist Null he would be winged race of goodness who were cast aside and Null would create a indigenous to Earth’s moon millennia biological construct of him to finish ago. The S’rapph race collectively carrying out his goals. Null began to sought the meaning to life and when instill martial law over the country and they failed to find it, they fell into managed to use the Over-Mind to overwhelming despair and committed defeat the Squadron Supreme, genocidal suicide by flying into magma although Hyperion escaped. Shortly pits on the moon. Millennia later, their after, Null declared war on the United collective unconscious would give birth States’ opposing countries and soon he to Null the Living Darkness, who sought controlled the entire Earth-712. to destroy all creation for the Null guided the Over-Mind who in overwhelming despair that he felt turn guided the Squadron Supreme in welling up within himself. constructing star ships on the Moon A few months after his birth, Null from which he planned to launch

7 VERA GEMINI

F TY (6) A GD (10) S TY (6) E IN (40) R EX (20) I RM (30) P IN (40)

Health: 62 Karma: 90 Resources: EX(20) Popularity: -10

BACKGROUND Real Name: Unrevealed Occupation: Would-be conqueror Legal Status: US Citizen, with no criminal record Identity: Secret Other Known Aliases: None Place of Birth: Unrevealed Marital Status: Single Known Relatives: None Base of Operations: A temple in the tropical rain forest of Mexico’s Gulf region Past Group Affiliations: Leader of the Cult of the Harvester of Eyes Present Group Affiliation:

KNOWN POWERS: As a human-demon , she has many abilities, along with being a sorceress. She has demonstrated the following abilities, but could have more.  Levitation: Excellent rank  Eldritch Beams/Bolts: Incredible rank  Transformation-self: She can trans- form between her demon and human forms at will.  Dimensional Travel: Via human sacrifice, she can open dimensional portals (Red Psyche FEAT without a human sacrifice).  Demon-summoning: Via human sacrifice, she can summon demons, which have the following abilities: TALENTS: Occult Lore, Mystic the Cult of the Harvester of Eyes, Background dedicated to Xenogenesis, restoring to F A S E R I P power a demon race that had ruled RM GD RM GD TY GD TY CONTACTS: None Earth in the distant past. Human agents Health: 80 were recruited, some demonstrating ROLEPLAYING NOTES: psychic powers and serving as Body Armor: Good Vera Gemini is a cold-hearted being Reapers of Souls (assassins) or Agents Flight: Excellent with no care for the human-race. She of Fortune (producing objects of value). Claws: Excellent has been scorned by both sides of her Based out of the Mexican jungle, Vera ancestry, but desires to bring about would - via human sacrifice - return a Enchantment: Vera Gemini has the xenogenesis, or the rebirth of a demon demon to Earth, and these demons ability to give others magical powers. race that ruled Earth in the past. would take on human form and be She normally gives power to the one integrated into society, from rulers of known as the Agent of Fortune, who HISTORY: countries to common muggers, until has demonstrated advanced magical The daughter of a human and a there would be enough demons to rule stealth and the ability to break through demon, Vera Gemini was scorned by the Earth once again. Vera and her powerful magical protective wards. both sides of her ancestry for her dual group trained the Devil Slayer (Eric nature. She eventually came to lead Payne) as a Reaper, but he quit upon

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learning their true intent and soon apparently trapped. Valkyrie skewered opposed them directly, becoming one the demon form of Doctor Strange with of their strongest foes. Vera sent her enchanted sword Dragonfang demon assassins after Payne and his allowing his astral form to return to its wife, but the demons were driven off by senses and its body. Strange then led Deathlock the Demolisher's aid. Nighthawk into the demon realm, Vera sent an Agent of Fortune to where he recovered the Amulet of steal the Amulet of Agamotto from the Agamotto from its position in the , Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange, as which pulled the entire demon back into Strange' , the , had their realm, and closed off the portal. used it to defeat the Cult in centuries past; Vera's spells allowed the Agents to enter Strange's Sanctum undetected and ambushed him. Following an unsuccessful attempt to re-recruit Payne, Vera fled back to the Cult's Mexican jungle base while Payne joined the Defenders in opposing the Cult. Vera then led a ritual mass sacrifice to summon to Earth the ancient demon race leader, Belathauzer. They plotted to place each of his demon-horde into a human host body of power and influence, enabling them to conquer all of North America and from there, the world. Using the Amulet of Agamotto, Vera held open the demon realm portal, allowing their continued influx into the Earth’s dimension. Doctor Strange in astral form, entered the demon realm to regain his amulet and stop the Xenogenesis, but Vera ambushed him and used the amulet to merge several demons to his astral form, transforming him into a mindless, rampaging demon- creature. Meanwhile, the Cultist continued the ritual, hoping to gain favored positions when the demons took over; however, they instead served as the final sacrifice. When the portal to the demon realm was forced the rest of the way open, it released explosive force, which stunned the cultist, making them easy prey for the hungry demons rushing out of their dimension. Vera manipulated the demon overlords in their human forms into playing demonic roulette to decide which of them would rule. However, Vera proved to be the victor, and took command of the demon hordes. She condemned the demon overlords to the same fate as the rest of humanity. Devil led the Defenders to the Mexican rain forest, where they fought the invading demon horde. Hellcat stole the Agent of Fortune’s Shadow Cloak, removing his ability to summon weapons and leaving his virtually powerless. Hellcat then ambushed Vera and dropped the Shadow Cloak over her, causing her to vanish to an unrevealed dimension, where she was

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