Eliminator
Context
This mighty sort-of-robot was seen in 1977.
If you’re not familiar with the New Salem storylines in Fantastic Four, you can check the Nicholas Scratch character profile first.
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Background
- Group Affiliation: Creation of the Witches of New Salem.
- Base Of Operations: New Salem.
- Height: 7’4” (2.24m). Weight: 850 lbs. (386 Kg.).
- Eyes: Unrevealed. Hair: None.
Powers and Abilities
The nature of Eliminators is unrevealed. My guess would be that they are sapientCapable of intelligent reasoning golems clad in techno-magical armour and armament.
An Eliminator is a powerful hand-to-hand combatant. It could hold up to the Thing (Benjamin J. Grimm) in terms of speed, strength and durability. However, our stats assume that it would have lost a knock-down, drag-out fight against the ever-bashful Benjamin Jacob Grimm.
Eliminators are delivered in some sort of giant metallic egg. One was found empty and half-melted by the FF. What happens within that egg is a mystery.
Weapons of elimination
The Eliminator whom the FF encountered also demonstrated numerous weapons systems, which it used intelligently :
- A long-range tractor beam. It can be used for ground-to-air fire when coupled with its optical magnification equipment. The force of this tractor beam is such it will likely shear most vehicles to bits.
- Incendiary jets built into its fingers, shooting a stream of devastating flame.
- Vacuum vents built into the boots. These will suck in the air around him and create a temporary vacuum. This could extinguish the flame of the Human Torch. But the normal use is to anchor the Eliminator to the floor via suction as he prepares to detonate. So opponents cannot displace it.
- One “hand” of the Eliminator was a hammer. He also used it to perform a shockwave attack that knocked the Fantastic Four prone.
- The Eliminator can emit an “Omni-Beam” from its brow. This is a disintegrator beam. It seemed to be short-ranged and to take time to rev up.
- The Eliminator concludes its business by self-destroying in an enormous explosion. It’s not an explosive charge. Rather, objects all across the radius become red, glowing and smoking, and the air becomes orange and crackling with Kirby dots as the effect builds up toward detonation.
History
Eliminators are deployed by the witches of New Salem for specific security missions.
They seem to be sapient constructs. Eliminators possess a broad range of initiative and a clear ability for deductive reasoning.
Given their great power, one imagines that they might be created as a collective ritual undertaken by the population of the town. Perhaps focused through the Satan-Staff. Building their armour and equipment is presumably not a trivial task either.
The Eliminator encountered by the Fantastic Four stated that “an eliminator never fails”. That implies there are other such creatures. Or at least that this one had predecessors, since Eliminators are programmed to self-destruct once their mission is done.
Fantastic mission
One such Eliminator was sent outside of New Salem. That was after the mayor, Nicholas Scratch, convinced his constituents of the existence of a grave security breach. He argued that his mother Agatha Harkness had been leaking information about the town to outsiders.
Accordingly, Harkness was kidnapped to be tried. An Eliminator was then sent to erase all traces of her – including people who may have learned of New Salem’s existence through her.
In practice, this was essentially an assassination mission against the Fantastic Four. These were Harkness’s closest associates and had the power to threaten Scratch’s plans.
The Eliminator sniped the Human Torch from the sky. He then dumped the unconscious Johnny Storm in the Whisper Hill property formerly occupied by Harkness – where he intended to ambush and eliminate the FF. When they came, he tore the Fantasti-Car from the sky.
Is this the end of the Fantastic Four ?
But the three adventurers reacted more quickly than anticipated. They recovered the Torch a short time before the Eliminator came to confront them. Nevertheless, the powerful Eliminator seemed to win the fight and kill the FF.
It was a ruse. Reed Richards had deduced that the Eliminator would detonate once it had won, to blow all traces of Harkness to atoms in one blast.
Once the Eliminator triggered its irrevocable self-destruct sequence, the FF revealed that they were unhurt. They proceeded to run like hell, surviving the detonation by being far away and protected by a force field.
Intended to eliminate any possibility of outsiders finding New Salem, the plan completely backfired. The FF analysed the metal from the “egg” that had delivered the Eliminator and thus found out New Salem’s general location.
Adνеrtisеmеnt
Personality
Eliminators are methodical, efficient combat machines. And they know just how powerful they are.
The tactics employed by the documented specimen were to :
- Round up all opposition in the place it was sent to destroy.
- Beat up and kill everyone from ambush.
- Blow up, annihilating any and all evidence with no chance for survival.
Eliminators talk as big a fight as they actually deliver. The documented one also insisted that Eliminators never fail and are too powerful to be stopped.
Quotes
“Target One – Eliminated !”
“I am called – the Eliminator ! And for daring to interfere with my work… you must be destroyed !”
“The time for mindless battling is past ! Now I must strike in earnest !”
“I offered to make your destruction a painless one… but one way or the other, you will be destroyed !”
DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
Eliminator from New Salem
| Dex: 07 | Str: 15 | Bod: 14 |
| Int: 04 | Wil: 03 | Min: 06 |
| Inf: 05 | Aur: 02 | Spi: 06 |
| Init: 016 | HP: 025 |
Powers:
Air control: 08, Attraction/Repulsion: 12, Bomb: 24, Disintegration: 12, Flame project: 11, Growth: 01, Joined: 06, Mental blast: 09, Shockwave: 10, Telescopic vision: 04
Bonuses and Limitations:
- Growth and Density Increase are both Always On and Already Factored In.
- Air Control is limited to creating a vacuum.
- Attraction/Repulsion is Attraction Only and has a Range of but 09 APs.
- Bomb is an irrevocable self-destruct sequence, which takes about a minute to rev up. During that time the Eliminator must remain immobile and Joined.
- Disintegration has a Range of but 03, and is only available six full Phases after an Automatic Action as been spent to start charging it up.
- Flame Project has a Range of but 02 APs.
- Mental blast can be Combined With Attraction/Repulsion.
Skills:
Accuracy (Flame Project): 08
Advantages:
Iron Nerves.
Connections:
N.A..
Drawbacks:
Strange Appearance, MPR (One non-prehensile hand).
Motivation:
Programmed.
Occupation:
Agent of New Salem.
Wealth:
N.A..
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DC Adventures RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
New Salem Eliminator — Averaged PL 12.4
| STR | STA | AGL | DEX |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 14 | 02 | 02 |
| FGT | INT | AWE | PRE |
| 05 | 01 | 00 | 01 |
Powers:
War body ● 34 points ● Descriptor: Magic and technology ?
– Feature (an Eliminator is larger and heavier than a man).
– Senses 1 (Extended vision).
– Immunity 3 (Emotion effects, Limited to half effect).
– 12 Ranks of Impervious for Fortitude.
– 8 Ranks of Impervious for Toughness.
– 6 Ranks of Impervious for Will.
– 2 Ranks of Lifting-Only Strength.
– Feature (an Eliminator can self-destruct. This is 19 Ranks of energy Damage at ground zero, diminishing by two Ranks for every Rank of distance from ground zero. This takes about a minute, is irrevocable once triggered, and roots the Eliminator in place until detonation).
– Feature (by spending a Move Action, the Eliminator becomes immobile but receives a +6 Special Bonus against all effects that would displace him using physical force. That includes the Staggered and prone Conditions. To become mobile again, the Eliminator must burn another Move Action).
Weapons of elimination ● 27 points ● Descriptor: Magic and technology ?
Array :
- Vacuum – Burst-Area move object 4, Limited 2 to air. This creates vacuum conditions (DCA Hero’s handbook p172).
- Tractor beam – Move Object 11, Limited direction (Attraction).
- Tractor beam – Ranged force Damage 8, Limited 1 to objects size L or greater, can be Linked with Move Object above (+1 since it’s optional).
- Disintegrator beam – Ranged disintegration Damage 12, Feature (disintegrates what it slays or destroys), Diminished Range 2, Limited 2 (charging the beam takes a Move Action, then six Rounds must pass as the charge builds up).
- Flamethrower – Ranged fire Damage 10, Accurate.
- Hammer shockwave — Burst-Area Affliction 11 (Dazed & Hindered, Prone & Stunned), Limited Degree, Extra Condition.
Combat Advantages:
Close Attack 6, Ranged Attack 9.
Other Advantages:
None demonstrated.
Skills:
Perception 3 (+3).
Offence:
| Initiative +2 |
| Unarmed +11, Close, Damage 14 |
| Flamethrower +12, Ranged; Damage 10. |
Defence:
| Dodge | 11 |
| Fortitude | 14 |
| Parry | 11 |
| Toughness | 14 |
| Will | 08 |
* Without Defensive Roll.
Complications:
- Programmed An Eliminator is ressourceful, but in the end it follows a finite programming and somewhat rigid procedure.
- Hammer-hand One hand isn’t prehensile.
- Ghastly An Eliminator has a very noticeable appearance, yet must operate stealthily.
Powers Levels:
- Trade-off areas. Attack/Effect PL 13, Dodge/Toughness PL 13, Parry/Toughness PL 13, Fort/Will PL 11.
- Points total 179. Abilities 78, Defences 23, Skills 2, Powers 61, Devices 0, Advantages 15. Equiv. PL 12.
Source of Character: Fantastic Four v1 #184.
Writeup completed on the 17th of May, 2011.