Plantman Villain

Real Name: Samuel Smithers.
Occupation: Professional criminal, ecoterrorist, former gardner.
Identity: Known to the authorities.
Legal Status: Naturalized citizen of the United States with a criminal record.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: Liverpool, England.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: None.
Group Affiliation: Occasional employee of Count Nefaria.
Base of Operations: Mobile.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: CAPTAIN AMERICA #
History: A genius underachiever, Samuel Smithers attempted to get a degree in botany, enrolling at Empire State University in New York City rather than any of his native English colleges. A firm believer in the Gaia Hypothesis, where the Earth's biosphere is itself a living entity, his undergraduate experiments to prove the theory were ultimately unsuccessful and inconclusive. After flunking out of college, the best job his green thumb landed him was as a gardener for a millionaire on Long Island. Lonely and miserable, considering himself a failure, he found solace in tending to the plants on the estate while continuing his experiments in private in the estate's private greenhouse.

One day, while adding a new experimental fertilizer he'd cooked up to the sprinkler system, the container of fertilizer was struck by lightning, covering him with it. As there was no rain that day (indeed, accounts vary as to whether the sky was clear or overcast), his boss blamed him for making the fertilizer into an explosive and fired him. Still, something had changed; for the first time, Smithers could 'hear' the 'voices' of the plants around him. Instinctively, he commanded the tomato vines to grow to incredible lengths and choke the life out of the millionaire, which they did.

Realizing what he had at his control, Smithers developed a plant-themed uniform and declared himself the Plantman, "defender of the natural ecosystem", and attempted to extend Manhattan's Central Park to cover the entire island, assisted by a number of humanoid plants he called his simuloids. He was thwarted in this attempt by Captain America and Spider-Man, who teamed up to take him down.

Although sent to prison, he was later released on bail, his bail having been paid for by Count Luciano Nefaria, who hired Plantman to assist in a number of schemes. Alongside the criminals Porcupine, Eel, Scarecrow, and Unicorn, all under Nefaria's command, Plantman came into conflict with the X-Men. The group soon fell to infighting, however, and Plantman was captured and returned to prison.

Plantman was later seen engaging in combat with Captain America after robbing a bank. When pressed for a reason for the heist, he lamented that he had yet to make a tree that could grow money. Whether this was the real Plantman or a simuloid acting on the real Plantman's orders is not known.

Smithers was last seen in the mass jailbreak led by the Rhino; where he will strike next is anyone's guess.
Age: 23.
Height: 6'.
Weight: 195 lbs.
Eyes: Green.
Hair: Gray.
Uniform: Green bodysuit with spikes resembling leaves on his shoulders, green gloves and boots with leaf-pattern trim, green belt with a leaf-styled buckle, green cowl and half-mask.
Strength Level: Plantman possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and built who engages in regular exercise.
Known Superhuman Powers: Smithers possesses the psionic ability to communicate with and control plant life. The plants under his control will grow at incredible rates, and can move around to the best of their ability: While most plants – other than his humanoid simulacra – remain rooted, trees will move their branches while vines will ensnare his targets. In his vicinity, he can cause plants to grow in seconds to sizes which assist him.
Weapons and Paraphernalia: Plantman wields a pair of wrist-shooters which fire needle-like projectiles. These projectiles are often filled with various plant-based poisons.

---

1,010 points

ST: 10 [0]	HP: 11 [2]	Speed: 5.50 [0]
DX: 11 [20]	Will: 11 [-10]	Move: 5 [0]
IQ: 13 [60]	Per: 11 [-10]
HT: 11 [10]	FP: 11 [0]	SM: 0
Dmg: 1d-2/1d	BL: 20 lbs.
Dodge: 8	Parry: 9	DR: 12/4* (uniform)

Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].

Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].

Advantages: Ally Group (Plant Simuloids; 50% of Starting Points; Group Size 11-20) (Minion, +50%) (12) [48]; Binding (Vines) 30 (Area Effect: 8 yds, +150%; Constricting, +75%; Environmental, +20%; Malediction: Speed/Range Table, +150%; One-Shot, -10%; Selective Area, +20%; Selectivity, +10%; Variable, +5%; Psionic, -10%; Alternative Attack, ×1/5) [57]; Plant Control 160 [800]; Plant Control Talent 4 [20]; Speak With Plants (Psionic, -10%) [14].

Perks: Forgettable Face [1].

Disadvantages: Delusion (Plants Speak To Me) [-10]; Loner (9) [-7]; Overconfidence (12) [-5]; Sense of Duty (Wild Nature) [-15]; Social Stigma (Criminal) Record [-5]; Wealth (Struggling) [-10].

Quirks: Calls People and Animals "Meat" [-1]; Careful [-1]; Chauvinistic [-1]; Dual Identity [-1].

Skills: Biology/TL8 (Earthlike Botany) (H) IQ+1 [8] – 14; Brawling (E) DX+1 [2] – 12; Chemistry/TL8 (H) IQ-1 [2] – 12; Gardening (E) IQ+4 [1] – 17*; Guns/TL8 (Wrist Gun) (E) DX+1 [2] – 12; Plant Control (H) IQ+7 [16] – 20*; Poisons/TL8 (H) IQ+0 [4] – 13†; Riding (Plant) (A) DX-1 [1] – 10; Wrestling (A) DX+1 [4] – 12.

Techniques: Independent Animation (Plant Control) (H) def+7 [8] – 20; Rapid Growth (Plant Control) (H) def+5 [6] – 15.

Starting Spending Money: $2,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).

* Includes +4 from Plant Control Talent.

† Conditional +4 from Plant Control Talent for plant-based poisons.

Role-Playing Notes:

Plant-Man is a man who is angry at the perceived limitations of the human world, much preferring the company of the plants around him over his fellow man. He has been known to call other people and animals "meat", though whether this means he's losing his humanity or if he's being impersonated by his simulacra when he says it is unknown.

---

Plant-Man's Plant Simulacra

The following represents the typical stats of his plant-based duplicates.

504 points

ST: 12 [20]	HP: 12 [0]	Speed: 5.00 [0*]
DX: 12 [40]	Will: 10 [0]	Move: 5 [0]
IQ: 10 [0]	Per: 10 [0]
HT: 12 [20]	FP: 12 [0]	SM: 0
Dmg: 1d-1/1d+2	BL: 58 lbs.
Dodge: 8	Parry: 9	DR: 2 (semi-ablative)

Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].

Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].

Advantages: Body of Wood [76]; Doesn't Eat or Drink [10]; Elastic Skin [20]; Plant Control 70 [350].

Disadvantages: Dependency (Sunlight; Daily) [-15]; Fragile (Combustible) [-5]; Reprogrammable [-10]; Unusual Biochemistry [-5]; Wealth (Dead Broke) [-25].

Skills: Brawling (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Guns/TL8 (Wrist Gun) (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Plant Control (H) IQ+5 [24] – 15; Wrestling (A) DX+0 [2] – 12.

* Includes -1.00 from Body of Wood.

Design Notes:

1. The Plant Control advantage and related skill/techniques are taken from "A Song of Many Worlds" in Pyramid #3/49: World-Hopping. The advantage as statted includes the Psionic (-10%) power modifier.

2. His Delusion is not really a delusion, of course, but best suits how others react to him because of it.