Mighty Man

Background

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Powers and Abilities

Mighty Man:

• Has vast super human strength (in DC Heroes RPG terms, STR).
• Can fly (Flight).
• Can move at incredible speeds (Superspeed; normal humans seem to move in slow motion in comparison).
• Has seemingly impenetrable skin, inhuman stamina and endurance (BODY ; Sealed Systems).
• Has an accelerated healing ability (Regeneration).

He is one of the strongest men alive. His senses are also somewhat enhanced (Directional Hearing).

Ann has the skills of a very capable nurse (Medicine).

Alter-Ego

The following is an excerpt from a tale by Fon-Ti, the creator of the creator of the Mighty Man entity. Fon-Ti has battled the forces of evil which strive to overturn the natural balance and corrupt mankind for 10,000 years. Since the dawn of man, light has fought back the darkness and order has opposed chaos in an endless struggle of good versus evil.

Fon-Ti’s primary adversary walks the Earth seeking out the embittered, fanning the flames of their hatred and depravity. Mighty Man was, according to Fon-Ti, created to be a champion to combat the evil tide. An eternal champion possessing great power.

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It is a mantle to be worn. It transforms the human host into the world’s mightiest man, a champion to combat injustice and cruelty, and to inspire others to do the same. Many have worn the mighty mantle across the centuries. For while it bestows the power of a god unto its owner, immortality is not one of them.

Despite its great power, the entity cannot sustain itself. Therefore, the host must return eventually to his all too frail human for sustenance and rest. In DC Heroes RPG terms, this is a Misc. Drawback; as a general rule of thumb Mighty Man and the host lose one column shift from all Physical Attributes and all Powers per week without said rest.

Might and magic

The power is passed on to another at the time of the host’s death. The new host will feel as if they had been kicked by a mule, but with no knowledge of what has occurred. Dynasties were created by rulers bequeathing the entity to their heirs.

More than a few have used the power for personal gain. There were conquerors and kings, as well as poets and lovers. Some lived their lives without ever knowing the gift they had borne. The entity often disappeared for years or even decades at a time.

In 1940, after one such lull, the power found its way to a young boy named Bobby Berman. The world was at war and in need of a champion. Fon-Ti considers Berman worthy – brave, courageous and pure of heart. Berman christened his entity form “Mighty Man” and patterned himself after the heroes in his comic books. He proved to be a beacon of hope and was soon joined by SuperPatriot.

Together they helped turn back the Nazi tide. Others joined their ranks to combat evil through the decades as the Liberty League. Robert Berman served long and well, but in the end he grew old and careless, and was killed by his enemies.

The power passed on to a new host, who was unaware of it for nine years before discovering the secret and becoming Mighty Man, the second to bear that name.

Hello nurse

This latest champion has not yet embraced the power and seems to fear it and the responsibility involved. This new host is a nurse and her name is Ann Stevens. Fon-Ti feels that the power seeks out worthy ones and that this new Mighty Man can be the greatest one yet.

When Ann Stevens slams her wrists together, a bright light is emitted with a “Dooom” sound (Flash of 05 APs in game terms). Her body is transformed into the body of Mighty Man II (Controllable Alter Ego). However, while her body changes, her consciousness remains and is in control of the Mighty Man form. The Mighty Man entity has no mind or will of its own.

The act of transforming into Mighty Man II or Ann Stevens sends the inactive body to another dimension. Ann Stevens’ form is replaced by Mighty Man’s, and vice-versa. Even though inactive, Ann Stevens’s body needs nutrition regularly in order for her and the Mighty Man entity to survive.

Also, by using certain gadgets, such as the energy-siphoning gun Nirvana used, it has also been possible to steal the power to transform into Mighty Man at the exact moment the host transforms.

Legacy of might

Ann Stevens may be the latest to inherit the powers, but Mighty Man’s reputation as a serious butt-kicker goes back before the Second World War. He is idolized and recognized by millions and some refer to him as a god (Local Hero).

Whenever he appears on a scene villains and heroes alike will gape in awe. His power is well known and, often resulting in evildoers heading for the exits as soon as he shows up. Surely, Mighty Man is one of the most powerful beings on the planet.

History

For five decades and until 1992, Robert Berman was the heroic Mighty Man. Early on, during the 1940s, he was but a teeanger who worked as a radio announcer. As Mighty Man he was famous, a member of the Allies and a friend of SuperPatriot. After the war, in the 1950s, he founded the Liberty League along with Hornet, Mr. Big and Battle Tank.

The Berman version of Mighty Man is also known for his clashes with the Wicked Worm (a creation of Fon-Ti’s adversary Abner Cadaver), and Dr. Nirvana.

Ann

Ann Stevens was a nurse in Hillman Hospital in Chicago. She was on-call the day Robert Berman was brought in for emergency surgery in 1992. Berman, who had been revealed to be the Golden Age  superhero Mighty Man by a local newspaper, had been attacked and severely injured by a gang. Blinded and sensing that his end was near, Berman sought to pass his powers on to his young nephew.

In an attempt to comfort the dying man, Stevens held his hand. Thinking she was his nephew, Berman passed his superhuman abilities onto her.

Ann Stevens reluctantly assumed the mantle of the second Mighty Man. She began fighting crime. The general public was completely unaware of what had occurred. They still believed Mighty Man to be the Golden Age hero that they all knew.

When several superhumans left the Police Department because of the various restrictions, Mighty Man joined them. She thus helped form the group of super-powered bounty hunters called Freak Force. Mighty Man II eventually revealed her secret identity to these new friends.

Only the mighty

Ann Stevens continued to work as a nurse when she was not fighting the forces of evil as Mighty Man II. She also once used her super-strength to break Dragon’s bones after his devastating battle with the Fiend, so she could set them properly and allow Dragon to regenerate right.

When Mighty Man II was offered membership in the U.S. government’s Special Operations Strikeforce, after Freak Force joined their ranks, she turned it down because. She did not want to reveal her secret identity to the government. Stevens feared that the word might get out and that she would meet Robert Berman’s fate.

Some time after Dragon’s wife was seemingly murdered, he and Ann Stevens began dating. Chelsea Nirvana, now in a man’s body, managed to impersonate Dragon and shot Stevens to death, in the process stealing the form of Mighty Man. Nirvana in turn soon was killed and the powers passed to the heroine Dart.

Dart had become crippled in a battle with an old foe of SuperPatriot’s that had caused her legs below the knees to be vaporized, and she would now become the new Mighty Man. However, this original Earth was destroyed by Universo. Everyone from that original Earth, with few exception, was killed. This included the Mighty Man of that world.

Savage Earth

Things took a different turn in the alternate Earth, called the Savage Earth. On this new Earth Ann Stevens took much longer to realise that she now was Mighty Man. The lack of Mighty Man’s actions caused large changes in the history of that Earth.

For instance, Mighty Man did not stop the jailbreak in Chicago. Thus, Dart was carried off to a remote tropical island by the villain Mako. Thus, she was never crippled or became Mighty Man.

More importantly, as she never found out she was Mighty Man neither did Chelsea Nirvana. Thus, Ann was not murdered.

After various troubles in the city, Stevens left to become a nurse in Kansas City. Dragon located her as he looked for allies to overthrow Earth’s new ruler. Stevens had unknowingly held the Mighty Man power for nine years, and had zero experience with it. Dragon realised that she wasn’t ready, and left her to train.

Road to power

While training Ann temporarily lost the Mighty Man entity to Berman’s nephew (who was supposed to have inherited the power). But young Berman soon became corrupt from all the power and died of malnutrition, after which the entity returned to Stevens.

Since then Mighty Man II rejoined a new Liberty League, made up of The Dragon and Berman’s old allies SuperPatriot and Battle Tank, the group eventually dissolved. Mighty Man II then helped stop the cosmic villain Universo from draining the energy from the planet and destroying it.

Ann, as Mighty Man II, still fights the heroic fight of good, improving her abilities with each day.

Description

Mighty Man is a large, muscular and attractive male with blue eyes and blond hair, including a large fringe falling to the right side. He has cartoonish features.

He wears a tight-fitting white costume which is dark blue on left and right sides. The chest is covered by a golden star. His boots and arm bands consist of shiny metallic bands, being crossed by a metallic staff.

Completing the heroic image is a large red cloak with collar and golden edges along two circular, golden cloak holders. The trademark of Mighty Man is a large smile. This is the image of a major hero.

Personality

Ann Stevens really cares about people. She will attempt to heal and help anyone, including providing psychological help, regardless of their actions or disposition. She would rather nurture than deal in violence. She lives her personal life orderly and follows a schedule.

She feels utterly responsible never to abuse the power of Mighty Man. She is also very polite, in both Mighty Man and normal form. Ann is somewhat shy and introvert and pretty full of naïveté and does, in fact, have a heart of gold.

Ann, however, not being a fighter, holds back as Mighty Man. She fights like a complete rookie. People have said that “hah, he fights like my mother” or “you fight like a girl”! As Mighty Man II she will always use minimum required strength (using low strength, always Pulling Punches and always using Bashing Combat only) taking care never to hurt a foe needlessly.

She is not experienced enough to dodge most incoming attacks unless really pressed (represented by the Übermensch Syndrome drawback, although this will be slowly bought off). In combat, Mighty Man II is foremost a protector. When with Freak Force, the protector part should be emphasised so that he does not overshadow the rest.

Relationships

As Mighty Man she enjoys the camaraderie with her fellow members of Freak Force. She spends quite a lot of time with fellow super heroes and with her boyfriend, Dr. Larry Bradford. She is also close with the Dragon and has great respect for SuperPatriot. Only her closest circle of friends knows her secret identity.

She occasionally gets confused when people talk to her as Mighty Man about things they experienced with her predecessor. She has an interesting relationship with her room-mate Phyllis who is sexually attracted to her Mighty Man form.

Ann was originally torn between the responsibilities of her full-time work as a nurse and saving lives as Mighty Man II. She hesitated as to her worthiness and capability to be a hero (Uncertainty), but has since grown into a capable super hero, well filling in the shoes of her predecessor.

Now adored by millions, she accepts her occasional life as Mighty Man and will fight the good fight with a large smile and positive attitude.

Quotes

“You down there in the armor ! You picked the wrong day to start a ruckus ! Give up now or I’ll peel you out of that tin can and pound you into spam !”

“Spare me the dogma ! You’re taking human lives trying to realize your goals ! I can’t condone that — period.”

“I’m concerned about possible spinal damage — I’m going to go grab an ambulance and trained medical personnel from Hillman Hospital.”

“Look… I should go. Mister Glum has taken over the world. He can force me to do what he wants me to do. I can’t let him do that. I’m going away. I’m going to go home and change… and there will be one less superhero for Glum to use to do his bidding.”

DC Universe History

Mighty Man can replace Captain Marvel in the DCU, especially after the affects of the Infinite Crisis . Hence Mighty Man existed during the WWII era alongside groups like the JSA, Uncle Sam’s Freedom Fighters and the All Star Squadron.

After his death and the subsequent re-establishment of the Mighty Man persona upon Ann, Mighty Man would later join the JLI. Yet she would leave early on upon seeing the newest incarnation of the JL wrought with insanity and too much internal conflict and disorganization.

Afterwards Mighty Man would have moved to Chicago to battle crime and establish him/herself as Chicago’s premier superhero. She would work alongside heroes such as the second incarnation of the Outsiders instead of the Freak Force, replacing the Eradicator on the team as the residential super-man.

Personal contacts that might replace the Savage Dragon may include Superboy (Kon-El), and the SuperPatriot might be replaced by the second Steel. See the DCU considerations in the Mako writeup for more details.

By Dr. Peter S Piispanen.

Source of Character: Savage Dragon comics.

Helper(s): wikipedia.org, Frank Murdock, Roy Cowan.