NM-E
Context
NME is a particularly deadly robot. He first appeared in 1994.
NM-E was an important part of the Ultraverse. It was the instrument preventing the pre-1990s rise of superhumans.
The Ultraverse was one of the new, indie super-hero universes launched during the early 1990s comic book speculative bubble. Like the rest it didn’t last long despite its potential.
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Background
- Base Of Operations: Mobile.
- Height: About 3 metres. Weight: Unrevealed.
- Eyes: / Hair: /
Powers and Abilities
NM-E is a terrifying, monstrously powerful war machine. It was specifically designed to slaughter ultrahumans .
Its multiple arms sport two particle cannons, four scythe-like blades (in DC Heroes RPG terms, Claws and Sharpness), and two clawed hands.
It has mini-missile launchers on its shoulders, launching volleys at flying opponents that might outfly it.
History
The first NM-E was an early creation of Rex Mundi. Mundi was apparently Earth’s first ultra.
NM-E would become active whenever the alien artefact on the moon would shoot blue lightning toward Earth. This energy created more ultras, who might be able to reach and repair the artefact. Mundi would send NM-E to hunt and kill all ultras emerging from this “jumpstart”.
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Over the millennia, NM-E was regularly upgraded. It was Mundi’s favourite toy. It never failed to murder ultras, no matter how powerful.
But the 1992 jumpstart created far more ultrahumans than ever before. Furthermore, it was closely followed by another jumpstart event in 1993. NM-E went to work in 1992, taking months to track down and kill the ultras. During its hunt, it attacked the Squad.
Death of the Squad
The Squad was the only public ultra group. They were widely believed to be the first ultras ever – even by themselves. All four members were operating in Los Angeles, working closely with the city government as PR tools and occasional heroes. They were neither powerful, nor experienced.
When NM-E attacked two of them, Starburst and Forsa, were killed. A third, a then inexperienced Hardcase, was about to be killed. The final member, DJ Blast, was dying.
DJ Blast heroically sacrificed himself by detonating his own body. That caught NM-E in a tremendously powerful explosion, which blew the supposedly indestructible robot to pieces. With DJ Blast’s sacrifice, part of the 1992 generation and all of the 1993 generation of ultras never encountered NM-E.
However, the killer of ultras named Rafferty was then apparently employed by Rex Mundi as a replacement. Rafferty was hugely successful. Yet he was eventually killed by the tough-as-nails Alec “Firearm” Swan.
We can rebuild it
NM-E actually survived the explosion. But it took months to reconstruct itself piece by piece. Thus, it only managed to crawl back to Rex Mundi’s hideout in 1994. Mundi redid NM-E’s field repairs and upgraded it. It was then sent against the only man it never managed to kill – Hardcase.
Hardcase had barely finished a fight against the brutal killer Hardwire when NM-E attacked. It seemed that it would finish Hardcase off in seconds.
But Hardcase revealed himself as a true hero, summoning tremendous willpower and seeming impossible to kill. He even walked back from being reduced to a burned, unrecognisable quasi-corpse. This occurred after Regina intervened and showed him how to trigger his recuperative powers.
Hardcase received help from Prime – who was defeated by NM-E’s terrible scythes, but bought Hardcase precious time. By using every resource at his disposal, Hardcase did the impossible and beat NM-E into pieces.
NM-E’s carcass was later gathered by Rex Mundi’s nemesis, Regina. She turned it into power armor for her to wear and fight Mundi with. The results from that fight are unknown.
Description
NME looks like the unholy crossing between a Giger Alien and an undead war mecha .
Personality
NM-E has no personality and doesn’t speak. It’s just an engine of destruction.
DC Universe History
Mundi and NM-E would have a *major* effect on any supers universe. NM-E would prevent most superhero universes from coming into existence, unless they start with someone with Hardcase or a big, Superman-class hero.
NM-E’s stats could also be used for some kind of terribly powerful alien killer robot, but it would lose much of its interest.
Game Stats — DC Heroes RPG
Tell me more about the game stats
NM-E
| Dex: 05 | Str: 18 | Bod: 15 | Motivation: Nihilist |
| Int: 04 | Wil: 04 | Min: / | Occupation: Exterminator |
| Inf: / | Aur: / | Spi: / | Resources {or Wealth}: / |
| Init: 011 | HP: 020 |
Powers:
Claws: 08, Sharpness (Claws): 06, Detect (ultras): 12, Energy blast: 18, Flight: 10, Growth: 02, Jumping: 10, Projectile weapons: 13, Self-link (Gadgetry): 18, Skin armor: 05
Bonuses and Limitations:
Growth is Always On and already factored in.
Skills:
Charisma (intimidation): 08, Weaponry (its own weapon systems): 07
Advantages:
Lightning Reflexes, Scholar (ultrahumans).
Connections:
Rex Mundi (Low).
Drawbacks:
NM-E can only heal if it can work on and integrate organic and non organic materials in its body.
Source of Character: Ultraverse.
Helper(s): Ethan Roe.