Moonstone (Avengers enemy classic) (Marvel Comics)

Moonstone

(Karla Sofen profile #2 - classic Moonstone career)


Power Level:
Game system: DC Heroes Role-Playing Game

Context

This profile is part of a chronological series, which I’m going to psychologically manipulate you into reading in order, like this :

  1. .
  2. Moonstone (classic villainous career) – this here profile.
  3. The Thunderbolts team profile
  4. .
  5. Moonstone (double Moongem era).
  6. Moonstone (Osborn’s Thunderbolts era).

This profile covers Moonstone’s known career until she is recruited by Zemo to join the Thunderbolts – basically her classic villainous career.


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Background

  • Real Name: Dr. Karla Sofen.
  • Marital Status: Single.
  • Known Relatives: Karl August Sofen (father, deceased), Marion Sofen (mother, deceased).
  • Group Affiliation: Former member of several versions of the Masters of Evil, former agent of the Corporation, former student of Dr. Faustus, former aide of Egghead.
  • Base Of Operations: U.S.A.
  • Height: 5’11” Weight: 130 lbs.
  • Eyes: Blue Hair: Blonde


Powers and Abilities

Once merged with the alien moonstone, Dr. Sofen could will herself to levitate, and quickly learnt to fly at up to about 100 mph. She could emit various types of potent energy beams from her hands including :

  • Lasers.
  • Concussive force.
  • Blinding strobe beams.
  • Heat beams.

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Karla could modulate the frequency and other basic parameters of these beams. For instance to make her lasers pencil-thin and nearly invisible, or on the contrary to decohere then and turn them into a big flash of light dazzling everybody around her. She can also decohere her concussive and heat blasts into an explosion surging from her hands (in DC Heroes terms, Bomb).

These are her main powers. In super-combat she’s chiefly a flying blaster .

Phasing

Moonstone is also able to walk through walls, provided she had taken a deep breath beforehand and concentrates. She has referred to this as her “electromolecular phasing  ability”.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) stumbles upon the Hulk

She seldom does this. I would imagine that she’s not trained in breath control, and strong stress or being in a combat situation make her unable to hold her breath.

As time goes by she becomes able to use her phasing in tense but not crazy situations. It’s mostly used to pass through simple obstacles, after concentrating on breathing right. During this entire era she phases about thrice.

Physical enhancements

Moonstone’s strength is enhanced, allowing her to lift about 10 tons. Her durability has also been boosted to what can be considered a slightly superhuman degree for a 130 lbs. person. She is roughly similar to Spider-Man in terms of brawn – but not in endurance. She can lift and throw cars, though not very far.

Moonstone can soak attacks such as the Wasp’s bio-electric sting, or being near a hand-clap of the Hulk, and keep fighting. But she can only do that a few times. She also was seen recuperating abnormally quickly from some wounds, including a broken neck that had nearly induced paraplegia.

Moonstone doesn’t usually rely on her strength. Unless she’s boxed in or fighting a single person whom she doesn’t think matches her strength.

The moonstone also seemed to enhance Sofen’s reflexes (in DC Heroes terms DEX, Acrobatics (Dodging)).

Body armour

Furthermore, it could clad her in alien body armour. This shiny, metallic-looking costume includes thick, filtering eye protections. It shields her against both energy and impacts. It looks roughly similar to the one once worn by the first Moonstone, though it is customised for a woman.

Sofen can mentally change the layout of her costume, and near the end of this era briefly adopts a new look.


History

(Again, this follows straight from the first Moonstone profile.)

Sofen was now superhumanly strong and powerful. But she realised that operating alone, with little training with her powers and no relevant experience, would likely result in her swift defeat at the hands of a super-hero.

She decided to join some sort of criminal organisation that could watch her back. She also believed that she could manipulate its decision-makers and reach the top of the food chain. This being the late 1970s, she soon joined the West Coast branch of the Corporation, a criminal enterprise organised like a large, modern business.

Murder incorporated

Dr. Sofen’s first mission for the Corporation was a bit of a mess. She was tasked with infiltrating Gamma Base to recover a classified gadget. She did so as Sofen. She used her reputation as an unconventional shrink to charm Dr. Samson into letting her in to consult about his work with the Hulk.

After wrapping much of the security detail around her finger, she used her powers to waltz undetected through the security and steal what she needed.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) with the Rhino, Blackout and Electro

However, the Hulk, who was being rehabilitated on-base by Samson, triggered an alarm by walking out of his room. The alarm spooked the inexperienced Sofen, who thought that she had been spotted. She ran right into the Hulk and panicked, using energy blasts and Faustus-style voice modulation tricks to anger the Hulk and get rid of him.

As she frantically tried to disorient him with her words, she wrecked Samson’s rehabilitative work, making the Hulk savage and angry again. She also ended up triggering a severe nervous breakdown in General “Thunderbolt” Ross when he tried to intervene.

Though the damage was considerable and the Hulk fled Gamma Base, Sofen maintained her cover.

Up the ladder

These events led to a Senator, one Eugene Stivak, visiting Gamma Base. ”Stivak” said a code phrase to Dr. Sofen identifying him as a senior Corporation executive. The Senator, running the East Coast division of the Corporation, wanted to recruit Moonstone.

The abuses he had committed as a Senator had compromised him. He now needed to destroy his fabricated “Stivak” identity to resume his Kligger identity. Interested in the pay and access, Sofen threw her lot with Kligger. She destroyed his Senate plane to help fake his death.

As Moonstone she served as Kligger’s bodyguard and agent. She was active during his daring interference with the plans of Curtiss Jackson, the director of the West Coast branch of the Corporation – and Sofen’s former boss. Kligger’s goal was to kill Captain America – and to do so he also activated his double agent within S.H.I.E.L.D. the Vamp.

With the Vamp and Moonstone at his side, Kligger’s takeover of Jackson’s plan nearly resulted in the deaths of Captain America, the Falcon and the Hulk. In the end it all failed, though. Kligger was killed, the Vamp was left in a vegetative state and Moonstone was forced to flee from overwhelming opposition.

Sofen’s encounters with the Hulk apparently impressed her. Some years later she would use the Hulk as a symbol of something terrifying whilst building up her mental defences.

Super-villainess

At this point the Corporation was falling apart due to the numerous defeats inflicted by super-heroes. Sofen tried to bail out and join another organisation, since her adventures had confirmed that she lacked the experience to be a successful solo villainess.

However, the stench of the Corporation’s failures clung to her. Moonstone also felt that she was being discriminated against since she was a woman in the macho underworld associated with super-villains. If our previous hypothesis about her age is correct, her youth likely also played a role.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) transforming

Fearing that her Dr. Sofen identity had been compromised by the fall of the Corporation, Karla became Moonstone full-time. She started looking for an edge.

She found it in a device being built by Dr. Curtis Connors, which she decided to steal. Despite Spider-Man’s interference she was successful. She delayed Spidey by shocking and slightly burning Empire State University employee Marcy Kane.

Connors’s power enervator worked like a charm on Moonstone, greatly amplifying her powers. However Spider-Man took it away, resulting in the enervator’s destruction and Moonstone’s arrest.

Her secret identity ruined, she was imprisoned on Ryker’s Island. She decided to just call herself Moonstone, since that was all that she had left.

Moonstone is a harsh mistress (of evil)

In 1982, the Tiger Shark stormed Ryker’s. He broke out the Scorpion, Whirlwind and Moonstone. He was working for Egghead, who assembled these villains as his version of the Masters of Evil. Moonstone was his deputy leader, likely because of her intelligence and scientific mind.

The Masters prepared thefts of data and supplies for Egghead. But the undisciplined Whirlwind, obsessed by the Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) decided to go after her first. The other Masters came in to rein Whirlwind in, but the Avengers responded too quickly. Despite Moonstone’s fair leadership the Masters were soon defeated.

However, Egghead soon had Moonstone freed again. He wanted her to become his research assistant, and help him put together a new version of the Masters of Evil. Egghead recruited the Tiger Shark anew, then the Beetle (Abner Jenkins), the Shocker and the Radioactive Man, with Moonstone again serving as deputy leader.

Fall of Egghead

The Masters stormed the Henry Pym trial. Though the Shocker was captured, they escaped with Pym. Egghead’s plan was to finish wrecking Pym’s reputation, and his machinations successfully branded him a criminal and a psychopath with whom nobody would associate.

Egghead then told Pym that the only way he could ever work again was in his employ, and the fallen hero agreed to work in Egghead’s lab.

That was a ruse. As Moonstone suspected, Pym actually built weapons and a force field rather than collaborate with Egghead’s research. Using surprise and extensive preparation Pym defeated the Masters. He shot Moonstone in the back as she tried to flee. Egghead was then accidentally killed by Hawkeye.

Sofen plea-bargained by volunteering to tell everything she knew about Egghead’s operations.

Blackout !

Presumably as part of her plea-bargaining strategy, Moonstone was soon transferred to a special cell at Project: PEGASUS. There her powers were studied – as were those of many super-humans.

During one of the frequent crises at Pegasus (this time, a Lava Men invasion), prisoner Blackout was accidentally released. Moonstone easily persuaded the unbalanced villain to free her too. She then decided to free Electro and the Rhino, and seize the nuclear research dome.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) fires a discreet energy beam from her fingers

Using her verbal talents, Sofen kept the explosively angry Rhino and the irrational Blackout more or less focused. Elated to be proving that she wasn’t just a flunkie, she had her allies help her take over a PEGASUS master control station. She kept the Avengers at bay by having Electro redirect a generator’s output to electrify the walls with a massive charge.

She then sacrificed her pawns by having them fight a holding action against the Avengers. As they did she sent the PEGASUS nuclear reactor into overdrive – just to gain her revenge over PEGASUS for studying her like a lab animal. She then fled, and Blackout came with her. Spider-Man, who was accompanying the Avengers at PEGASUS, narrowly stopped the nuclear meltdown.

Reasoning that the unstable but powerful Blackout could be her ticket to the big time, Dr. Sofen started therapy with him. She did help him deal with his issues – while of course making him dependent on her. She rebased in an old Egghead hideout and continued to work with Blackout, but the Vision detected them.

Take me to the moon

Surrounded by a full contingent of Avengers, Moonstone talked Blackout into pushing his powers. But that backfired and he only succeeded in shunting them both into another dimension . Though the Avengers assumed that they had ended up imprisoning themselves, Moonstone eventually had Blackout bring them back to Earth-616 .

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) vs. the Hulk

Sofen continued manipulating the sick Blackout and convinced him to take her to the Moon. She wanted to explore the Blue Area of the Moon to see if she could find more moonstones like Bloch’s, thus augmenting her powers.

However, they ran into Dazzler and the Inhumans. They overpowered the two criminals despite their spirited resistance. Moonstone and Blackout were handed over to the Fantastic Four.

I predict a riot

Moonstone somehow got free, but her bitterness led her to seek revenge against the Avengers. When protests arose over the Avengers’ recruitment of the infamous Namor the Sub-Mariner, Moonstone saw her opportunity.

Pretending to be the grieving widow of a fictional fisherman killed by Namor, she expertly worked the crowd until they were quite wroth. Moonstone got unlucky, though. A sharp-eyed FBI agent spotted her, warning the Avengers of her presence.

Moonstone tried a number of clever ploys to escape, but nothing worked right and she was taken out. Her actions even led to the Sub-Mariner looking heroic and saving lives, mollifying the crowd.

Return of the Masters of Evil

Moonstone was handed over to the police… but never arrested. The two “cops” who took her away were actually the Absorbing Man and Titania. They had come to recruit Moonstone for a new version of the Masters of Evil — this one assembled by Baron Helmut Zemo.

Zemo was building a small army of super-criminals. His Masters had the largest roster ever seen for such an organisation. His goal was to kill Captain America to avenge the death of his father, Baron Heinrich Zemo. As a first step, he intended to storm and capture Avengers’s Mansion.

Moonstone was not recruited to be another foot soldier. To her delight, Zemo tasked her with a key part of his project. She was to find a means to completely seal off Avengers’s Mansion once the assault started. This barrier would also have to contain Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau).

Moonstone had a team of villains break Blackout out of Project:PEGASUS. He was held there in a quasi-catatonic state after further misadventures. Using technological means to stimulate his brain and condition him to respond to key words, Moonstone weaponised the hapless Blackout so he would erect impenetrable Darkforce  fields at her command.

Preparing for the assault

Moonstone’s ministrations improved Blackout’s disastrous mental state. They allowed him to move around (though in a haze) and lifted some of his inhibitions, which improved the durability of his Darforce manifestations.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) in flight

Finally having some leverage, Moonstone attempted to claw her way into every aspect of Zemo’s operation. For instance she :

  • Arranged to spend much time on monitor duty to deduce what was going on.
  • Tried to gain more bartering power by being the only one who could control the nearly-zombie-like Blackout.
  • Presented herself to other flunkies to make it look like she had special access to Zemo and was a de facto second-in-command.
  • Etc..

Zemo played his own games, however. He took away Sofen’s greatest asset when he had the Fixer fix him a gadget allowing him to also control Blackout. The frustrated Moonstone made some more attempts to affirm herself, but basically had to toe the line from then on.

Assault on Avengers’s Mansion

The assault on Avenger’s Mansion went fine. The throng of super-criminals serving Zemo took over the building while it was practically empty. They sequestered Jarvis and laid a trap for the Avengers, taking them out one by one as they came back.

In between ambushes, Moonstone discreetly went though the Avengers’s rooms, hoping to find something juicy to exploit. She also tried to work with Blackout to break Zemo’s hold on him. This way she might be able to replace the German as the boss of the Masters of Evil.

The Masters laid great waste :

  • Jarvis was tortured and took months to recover.
  • Hercules was very nearly killed.
  • Most of the Avengers were beaten up and wounded.
  • The Mansion was ransacked.
  • The city of New York was forced to lay siege to the Mansion (which Moonstone had Blackout trap in a Darkforce cube).
  • Zemo sadistically destroyed the few prized mementos Captain America kept from his pre-1945 life.

Eventually, all available Avengers and reservists broke the hold of the Masters of Evil. Doctor Druid and Captain Marvel broke Moonstone’s control over Blackout, and the Darkforce cube disappeared.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) vs. the Wasp

The furious Moonstone threw the zoned-out Blackout at her foes and fled. However the incomparably faster Captain Marvel caught up and disoriented her. The panicked Moonstone, thinking Captain Marvel wanted to kill her, accidentally crashed into a cliff at top speed.

Her durability, helmet and body armour allowed Sofen to survive the impact and fall. But she had broken her neck and had to receive extensive hospital care to recover.

Having lost control over everything, including her own body, Sofen seethed with hatred. She blamed everybody but herself, repeatedly claiming that everything would have went fine had she been in charge of the Masters of Evil.

Spinal taps

Moonstone made a full recovery after but 3 months in traction. This superhumanly rapid recovery surprised the doctors and the police, allowing her to flee. However her spinal column wasn’t fully healed when she flew out of the hospital. Resuming physical activities considerably lengthened the remaining recovery time.

Sofen started working as a flunkie for Kristina Ramos, a Brazilian crime lord. She procured Stark International amplifier circuits for her new boss. However, as Moonstone landed in Rio with the contracted-for gear, she was accosted by the far more powerful Captain Marvel.

The heroine had recently been through major changes in her powers, allowing Moonstone to get the drop of her. Sofen intended to put her in the hospital to avenge her broken neck, but Rambeau made a Desperation Recovery and clobbered the surprised Moonstone.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) vs. Captain America

The superhuman-strength blows suffered during that fight further damaged Sofen’s spine. This time she ended up a paraplegic. The doctors assessing her state thought there was little chance of her ever recovering the use of her limbs.

Sofen remained hospitalised for months, on a special bed and with her head held in a support rig. Her lush hair was shaved off and kept close-cropped to facilitate this.

Cosmic healing

When a friend of Volcana (Marsha Rosenberg) was hospitalised, the anxious Rosenberg unconsciously accessed a fragment of the Molecule Man’s power within her. She healed everyone within the building without realising it. This feat of molecular manipulation fixed even Dr. Sofen’s spine.

Based on her previous healing, Sofen wrongly assumed that her moonstone had fixed her. She blasted through the wall, woozily flying out. Slightly hysterical and disoriented after her harrowing experiences, Sofen lashed out at cops for giving her orders. She thus ended up fighting Volcana. Sofen was groggier than she thought, however, and was soon defeated by Rosenberg.

Dr. Sofen was transferred to the Vault super-prison – but did not experience further problems with her spine.

Lloyd Bloch’s revenge

Moonstone spent several months locked within the Vault. She eventually got lucky and was one of the first few prisoners who broke out when Venom escaped from his cell and started fighting guards. However the Avengers and Freedom Force narrowly brought the situation back under control, and Dr. Sofen was re-imprisoned.

Moonstone was later brought to trial, with power dampeners clamped on her. However, the courthouse was attacked by Lloyd Bloch – the previous Moonstone, whom she had traumatised to steal his powers. Now known as Nefarius and wielding colossal might, Bloch took Sofen away so he could act out his fantasies of revenge, rape and torture against her.

Though he had recovered from the trauma inflicted by Sofen years before, Bloch was less than stable. Moonstone managed to save herself through fast-talking, convincing Bloch that all the rage he felt about Dr. Sofen was actually repressed love. She also persuaded him that she had always admired him and wanted to become his lover.

Even though Bloch was now far less likely to torture and kill her, the situation was still less than ideal for Sofen. Thankfully, Captain America and Quasar intervened. But Nefarius managed to stun Quasar. He then rushed to grab Moonstone (who was trying to fight off Captain America despite her restraints) and fly off.

Sofen then did what she intended to do all along. She put her hands over Bloch’s ears and blasted him full bore through his eardrums, knocking him out. Out of juice after having maxed out her Persuasion rolls and her Energy Blast, Moonstone was forced to surrender. She was returned to the Vault.

Woman in chains

Moonstone was soon broken out of prison by Superia’s henchwomen. They assembled an impressive posse of adventuresses and female super-criminals and invited them to a free luxury cruise.

Superia pitched her project to create a better, female-dominated Earth. Moonstone, sensing an opportunity for power, quickly worked her way into her inner circle of super-villainesses.

She and her colleague Blackbird were confronted by Captain America and Paladin, who were looking for a friend of theirs. Moonstone nearly managed to kill Captain America before a lucky shot by Paladin knocked her out. She ended up back at the Vault.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) face closeup

Meanwhile, obsessed with revenge, Nefarius arranged to have himself transferred the Vault, not far from Dr. Sofen’s cell. Corrections officers mistakenly wheeled Bloch’s containment unit past Moonstone’s cell, where she was enjoying the tanning lamp that she had somehow negotiated.

Nefarius had banked on being able to burn the knockout drugs in his system when needed. Seeing Sofen in a bikini allowed him to do that within seconds. The madman slaughtered half a dozen officers in Guardsman armour then assaulted Dr. Sofen. This time he refused to let her talk to him and manipulate him. He broke her right ulna to shut her up.

A small team of Avengers intervened to save Sofen’s life, thought they barely could contain Nefarius. Despite the pain, Sofen dragged herself out of her cell and into an elevator shaft, reactivating her powers as she fell out of range of her cell’s power dampeners. She then escaped from the Vision, and hid within the prison until the fight wrecked an outer wall.

Seeing that the Avengers probably couldn’t stop Nefarius, she flew out, taking down a weakened Vision on her way. But the Black Widow intercepted her. As her teammates narrowly took out Nefarius, the Widow convinced Sofen to surrender.

Return of the Baron

Meanwhile, Baron Helmut Zemo was working on his project to assemble a new Masters of Evil roster that would pass themselves for super-heroes under the name Thunderbolts. Moonstone was on his shopping list ; once again he needed her expertise despite the risks she posed.

A small team of Thunderbolts (Zemo as Citizen V, Goliath as Atlas and Screaming Mimi as Songbird) foiled a breakout at the Vaults. It was all a set-up to break Moonstone out and make the Thunderbolts look good. The battle had been fixed using a special gas to weaken the escapees. Two Thunderbolts in their villainous identities, the Beetle and the Fixer, smuggled Sofen out of the Vault in the confusion.

Sofen recognised Zemo despite his disguise. Though she had prepared herself to serve her full sentence she took his offer to join, sensing potential for power and dominance.

Matricide

A short time after Dr. Sofen was broken out of prison, her mother died when her house caught fire. It has since been established that Karla Sofen killed her because she could no longer bear the thought of her mother knowing what she had become and her life as a villainess. Karla murdered Marion Sofen by smothering her with a pillow, then setting fire to the house.

This murder is perplexing given Karla Sofen’s previous behaviour. Still, it is possible that Dr. Sofen had developed a neurotic obsession about her mother’s opinion of her while in prison. She likely made a quick, covert trip to murder her within a day or two of being freed.

Sofen would later come to identify this murder as the point where her life irredeemably took the path of villainy. But this will be chronicled in another profile.


Description

The sort of disk on her armour’s chest is not the moonstone – it’s just part of the costume. The moonstone is merged within her body.


Personality

Moonstone fights dirty and in anger. She will never hesitate to endanger innocents and wantonly manipulate the psychologically vulnerable, even if that ends up creating more problems for her than it solves.

She’s smart and cunning. But it took a while for her to build up experience, and during her early career she definitely made mistakes. She had a discernible tendency to sabotage herself out of power lust, or greed, or insecurity, or bitterness. In DC Heroes terms those are her IAs and Unluck.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) strafing over water

Generally, at this point she’s trying to make it as a master villain. But despite her intelligence, talent and power this is simply not working out and she can’t get traction. Things always go south, she’s not taken seriously enough, she can’t get proper training in super-powers use, she keeps running into upper-tier super-heroes, etc.

No matter how hard and smart she works, she can’t get the one contact and the one opportunity that could take her to the proper level. This further buries her in her own bitterness and sociopathic certainty that she deserves better and is gonna get what the world owes her… no matter what the consequences… for other people.

Flunkie

She’s thus confined to the hated role of the flunkie. Sofen has been forced to craft a reputation as a reliable and serious hire who obeys orders well and poses no discipline issues so she can get jobs.

She undoubtedly greatly resented this – being confined in the position of an elite servant much like her father had been. But her secret identity was gone and she couldn’t find work any other way, bringing her back to square one despite all her efforts.

Of course, she’s not actually loyal to anyone. Karla is good at fleeing when things are obviously breaking bad. She in fact seems to derive a sick feeling of pleasure when she betrays or abandon someone, since it means she’s the one who has power.

Moonstone starts veering toward her current characterisation when she is freed by Blackout at PEGASUS. She has become a recognisable, if younger, version of the current Moonstone during the famous Masters of Evil onslaught on the Avengers’s mansion.

Moonstone hates not having control or losing control. Even the thought of confinement or unconsciousness can make her nervous.


Quotes

“Cretin ! I’ve battled Hulk and Captain America !”

(Shedding her disguise) “Yes, I am a woman, wall-crawler ! The woman-warrior men call… Moonstone !”

“No ! It’s not fair !”

“If I could break Zemo’s hold over him, the Masters of Evil would be *mine* to lead !”

“I can’t pass up an opportunity like this ! Business is business, but I owe that witch !”

(Blasting at cops) “I don’t *like* to be ordered !”

(Facing Citizen V) “Very good. If not for the fact that you’re working with known Masters of Evil, I doubt I’d have recognised you. Still, that Prussian arrogance comes through not matter what the outfit. What do you want, Zemo ?”


DC Universe History

The obvious equivalent of Moonstone (Lloyd Bloch) would be Doctor Light, though I’d assume that most people would prefer to steer clear from using him nowadays. Still, a parallel between Dr. Light I and Bloch could work, implying some connection between Kimiyo Hoshi and the reformed Meteorite.

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) in prison

Moonstone does have the general look and feel of Green Lantern villain, though. Perhaps she merged with a sort of decayed, corrupted power battery abandoned by a Weaponeer of Qward. She then tried to work her way into the Manhunter Cult with some success – before ditching them during Millennium.

She’d later have naturally become a member of the Sinestro Corps, with a standard yellow power ring.

The lifestone gems angle

In the Marvel Universe the moonstone is one of various artifacts of power believed to be remnants of previous universes, having somehow survived the Big Bang.

In addition to Basilisk’s Alpha and Omega Stones, the Blue Diamond’s namesake, Ulysses Bloodstone’s namesake, the Man-wolf’s God-gem, and others, DCU artifacts that might also be connected to them might include the Worlogog/Philosopher’s Stone and the Starheart (OK, not really a gem – or an object – but Scott’s lantern and ring have *gotta* be connected.).

Each of these artifacts could enhance the abilities of living beings. Many of these artifacts were used to enhance agents who served as intergalactic guardians. The artifacts eventually ended up scattered throughout the known universe.

Lifestone gems in the DCU

In the DCU, the Oan Guardians of the Universe could have been the group that gathered these artifacts. If you still want connections with Kree-Lar (if the Kree are in your DCU), then the alien scientists who came to investigate the stones included Guardians (and possibly the Zamarons and Controllers). This was their first attempt at creating cosmic champions.

Due to their low number, these agents were not as effective as the Guardians had hoped. In fact, pirates and thieves were a constant danger – the number of gems was low enough that it was theoretically possible that all the gems could fall into evil hands.

They attempted to replace them with much more numerous Manhunter Androids, which ended disastrously as the Manhunters went rogue. The Guardians then attempted to create a synthetic master gem under their direct mental control to serve as a Power Battery.

They infused the energies of the artifacts remaining in their possession into the Power Battery, which received enough energy to become self-regenerating. They continued as well to draw energies from the Guardians and (thanks to Oa’s location) from the universe.

The Guardians began to craft smaller gems with the knowledge gained by examining the alien artifacts, fashioning them into rings which could receive power form the Central Battery. This was the beginning of the Green Lantern Corps.

Many of the original artifacts had been lost when the Guardians sent out their first agents, long before the Manhunters were created. These artifacts, or fragments thereof, continue to be encountered by Green Lanterns and their heroic associates. One such artifact is the moonstone possessed by Dr. Karla Sofen.

We need more princesses, guys

Another possibility would be that her moonstone is from Gemworld – Amethyst’s magical world.



Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG

Tell me more about the game stats

Karla Sofen

Dex: 05 Str: 09 Bod: 06 Motivation: Power
Int: 06 Wil: 06 Min: 04 Occupation: Criminal
Inf: 06 Aur: 05 Spi: 04 Resources {or Wealth}: 003
Init: 017 HP: 030

Powers:
Bomb: 06, Energy blast: 12, Flash: 12, Flight: 06, Intangibility: 06, Laser beam: 12, Regeneration: 01

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Bomb, Energy blast, Flash and Laser Beam have no AV (-1 or -0 depending on house rules).
  • Bomb can be Combined with Flash.
  • Intangibility requires a Dice Action every Phase it’s up, and cannot be used offensively.
  • Intangibility can only be performed as long as she can hold her breath.
  • Bomb, Energy blast and Flash are Contingent upon Laser Beam.
  • Flash can have an Explosive Radius, but has No Range when used thus.
  • Flash can be its own AV (+1 or +0 depending on house rules), but only if it has an Explosive Radius.

Skills:
Accuracy (Bomb, Energy Blast, Flash, Laser Beam): 07, Acrobatics (Dodging): 05, Artist (Actress): 07, Charisma (Persuasion): 07, Gadgetry (Identify Gadget): 05, Medicine (Medical treatment): 06, Thief (Security systems): 04, Vehicles (Land): 02

Bonuses and Limitations:

  • Acrobatics is Contingent upon Flight.
  • Medicine (Medical treatment) repairs MIN damage rather than BODY damage.

Advantages:
Familiarity (Dr. Faustus’s technology in the 1970s ; Voice modulation), Expertise (Psychology), Gift of Gab, Insta-Change.

Connections:
Underworld (Low), the Corporation (Low until it goes defunct), Dr. Faustus (Low, until he seemingly falls to his death), Blackout (Marcus Daniels) (High, until his death).

Drawbacks:
MIA toward Independence, MIA toward Power, Loss Vulnerability (Being separated from her moonstone means the loss of all Powers, and her Physical Attributes fall to 03/02/03), Unluck.

Equipment:
MOONSTONE BODY ARMOUR [/BODY/ 08, Shade: 04].


Phases of Moonstone

Prior to her work with Egghead, Sofen’s Gadgetry (Identify Gadget) Skill was a 03.

Moonstone loses the Unluck by the time of her confrontation with Nefarius.

Nefarius may be considered an Enemy, given the threat he posed. But he might better be handled as a very threatening Subplot.


Game Stats — DC Adventures RPG

Tell me more about the game stats

Moonstone (Karla Sofen) (profile #2 – classic) — Averaged PL9.8

STR STA AGL DEX FGT INT AWE PRE
00 (08) 00 (07) 01 (02) 01 01 (03) 03 02 03

Powers

Physical enhancements ● 41 points ● Descriptor: Moongem
– Alien strength — Enhanced Strength 8, Enhanced Stamina 4, Enhanced Agility 1, Enhanced Fighting 2.
– Alien strength — Enhanced Dodge 5, Enhanced Fortitude 2, Enhanced Parry 3, Close Attack 4.
– Alien strength — Regeneration 1.

Moonstone body armour ● 8 points ● Descriptor: Moongem, armour
– Advanced body armour — Enhanced Stamina 3, Defensive Roll 3.
– Goggles — Second chance (Bright lights).
– Feature — Appears or disappears as she wishes (and thus not considered a Device).
– Feature — Customizable appearance (zero points since she almost never used it).

Power of flight ● 12 points ● Descriptor: Moongem
– Flight 5.
– Enhanced Advantages (Defensive Attack, Improved Defense), Enhanced Dodge 2 — all with Limited 1 (must be in flight).

Electromolecular phasing ● 14 points ● Descriptor: Moongem
Insubstantial 4 (Concentration Flaw). If a descriptor works on her in this state, it is unrevealed.

Energy beams ● 35 points ● Descriptor: Moongem
– Array:

  • Burst-Area energy Damage 4.
  • Close Burst Area 2 visual Dazzle 10 (30pts).
  • Burst Area visual Dazzle 9.
  • Burst Area visual Dazzle 6 Linked w/Ranged Burst-Area energy Damage 4.
  • Ranged energy Damage 11.
  • Ranged laser Damage 11.

Combat Advantages

Close Attack 4, Defensive Roll 3, Second chance (Bright lights). When in flight also has Defensive Attack, Improved Defense.

Other Advantages

Daze, Taunt.

Skills

Athletics 1 (+9), Deception 8 (+11), Expertise (Dr. Faustus’ 1970s technology) 5 (+8), Expertise (Psychology) 9 (+12), Expertise (Voice modulation) 9 (+12), Insight 6 (+8), Perception 5 (+7), Persuasion 5 (+8), Ranged combat (Energy beams Array) 10 (+11), Technology 5 (+8) (Limited 1 to Operating and Security), Treatment 5 (+8) (Limited 1 to psychological conditions), Vehicles 2 (+2) (Limited 2 to common land vehicles).

Offense

Initiative +2
Unarmed +7, Close, Damage 8
Energy powers +11, Ranged, effect by type

Defence

Dodge 08/10*** Fortitude 10
Parry 07 Toughness 04*/10**
Will 04

* Without Defensive Roll or body armour
** With both Defensive Roll and body armour
*** When in flight

Complications

  • Lust for power Sofen craves money, success and status and will stop at nothing to get those.
  • Nec dominum Sofen wishes to be independent and at the mercy of no one. This is proving difficult at this early point of her life, which frustrates and embitters her.
  • Prejudice It seems that Sofen cannot get traction among criminals since she’s a young woman.
  • Dark triad It is common for Moonstone to screw up out of stress/inexperience/bitterness/greed just as she’s about to achieve her objectives. This Complication becomes much less frequent after she defeats Nefarius.
  • Enemy Nefarius is hatefully fixated on Moonstone, and nearly kills her twice during this era.

Powers Levels

  • Trade-off areas. Attack/Effect PL 11, Dodge/Toughness PL 10, Parry/Toughness PL 9, Fort/Will PL 7.
  • Points total 172. Abilities 22, Defences 6, Skills 32, Powers 110, Devices 0, Advantages 2. Equiv. PL 12.

Notes

A lot of Sofen’s abilities are packed into her Powers, but even without those she retains significant abilities (mostly social and intellectual in nature, though we assume that the exercise and combat experience she gets as Moonstone have toughened her up). The writeup distinguishes her innate capabilities for when she’s depowered (for instance when she’s imprisoned).

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Marvel Universe.

Helper(s): Gareth Lewis, Chris Cottingham, Peter Piispanen, Darci, Frank Murdock.