Sky-Wolves Villain Team
Sky-WolvesMission Statement: The Sky-Wolves are a paramilitary organization that uses jet packs, aircraft, military grade personal weapons, and unmarked cargo ships to engage in piracy, smuggling, kidnapping, and other criminal activities. Commanded by Col. August Dewey, the Sky-Wolves are divided into operations and support wings, which are further divided into Squadrons, Flights, and Squads. The Sky-Wolves primarily recruit from the United States and allied militaries. CapabilitiesTL: 8 Members: 2,500 Wealth: Wealthy. Contacts: Military Skills – 18 [15]; Criminal Skills – 12 [5]. Member Traits: Duty (to Sky-Wolves) (15) [-15]; Signature Gear (Flight Packs) [2]. Notable Resources: The Sky-Wolves maintain a training ground and headquarters on the Malay archipelago island nation of Madripoor (which does not have an extradition treaty with any other nation). They also operate a half dozen cargo ships registered in Madripoor which serve as mobile bases of operation. Reaction-Time Modifier: +0 Costs and ValuesStartup Cost: $417.3M Resource Value: $2,086,500 Patron Value: 15 points. Enemy Value: -30 points. Ally and Dependent Value: The Sky-Wolves can provide 75 to 150 point soldiers as groups of Allies, up to a 50 person platoon/flight, or more capable soldiers (up to 300 points) as individual Allies. Social AttributesType: Military, Criminal. Loyalty: Good (14; +1). CR: 4. Rank: Paramilitary Rank 0-5 [4/level]. Income Range: $2,600 (Average) to $52,000 (Very Wealthy). Reputation: -4 (paramilitary criminal organization, among law enforcement and law-abiding soldiers). NotesThe Sky-Wolves consist of around 1,000 combat soldiers, most of whom wear advanced tactical body armor over the chest (with trauma plates) and TL8^ winged jet packs, and 1,500 support personnel, primarily technicians, with numerous sailors, UAV/drone operators, and SIGINT analysts. Combat personnel typically wield M4 assault carbines with underbarrel grenade launchers, while support units have access to MP7A1 and P90 PDWs. The most commonly encountered Sky-Wolves are at the squad, column, and flight level, typically commanded by a Corporal, Sergeant, or Lieutenant, respectively. The Sky-Wolves' mysterious benefactor is none other than the Red Skull, who is funding the group for his own interests. |
The aerial pirates known as the Sky-Wolves are ironically heirs to a heroic legacy going back to at least World War Two, if not the Old West.
In 1940, test pilot Matt Slade III, named after his father and heroic gunfighter grandfather, was captured by Nazis after crashing a prototype aircraft in Poland (why a pilot for an American company was testing an aircraft in Nazi held territory has never been explained; presumably he was engaged in unofficial operations against the Nazis on his own). A group of ace pilots, led by Skyler Wolf and flying the XF5U-2 "Flying Flapjack" (a combination of jet and helicopter), the same model Slade was flying when he crashed, performed a daring rescue mission and destroying a German super-weapon, the landship "Murder Mountain". Dubbed the Sky-Wolves after their leader, this team continued to fight against the Nazis throughout the War.
Little is known about the fates of the original Sky-Wolves, or even if they survived the war. However, records indicate that the Sky Wolves as an organization also flew in Korea and Vietnam, although it appears that the org was disbanded by order of the Department of Defense in 1975.
During the close of the Vietnam War, anti-military sentiments flared to an all-time high. A group of soldiers and pilots who had fought in 'Nam, protesting the public's treatment of them, broke into a Stark Industries R&D facility and stole prototypes of an experimental jet pack. Taking the name of their war-time counterparts, the new Sky-Wolves turned to criminal activity, becoming known as modern-day pirates; although the leadership was initially wary of attacking American shipping directly, that sentiment lessened as the Sky-Wolves preferred American armaments over Soviet ones. Even today, the Sky-Wolves do not lightly attack American shipping interests, although some units are less picky than others. Where they obtain new jet packs is unknown, although AIM is the primary suspect.
Apparently the Sky-Wolves have a mysterious hidden benefactor, whose identity only the top leadership is aware of. Every so often, the benefactor "requests" (read: orders) certain operations, operations which leave the rank-and-file Sky-Wolves wondering about their leaders' motives. Those few Sky-Wolves who investigate the organization's finances tend to quietly disappear.
The Sky-Wolves were known to have come into conflict with the New York City based adventurers Avril Aero and Starbot in the late '80s and into the late '90s. More recently, the Sky-Wolves came into conflict with a number of adventurers, including Captain America, CIA agents Nick Fury and Natasha Romanov, Iron Man, Angel and Cyclops of the X-Men, and the diminutive adventurers Ant-Man and Wasp. Very few Sky-Wolves are known by name; the most notable is a woman by the call sign Air-Raid Siren, who uses custom sonic weaponry.
First Historical Appearance: (original Sky-Wolves) MARVEL FANFARE v1 #16 (Sept '84).
First Post-Reboot Appearance: SECRET AGENT NICK FURY #
Typical Sky-Wolf
60 points
| ST: 11 [10] | HP: 11 [0] | Speed: 5.50 [0] |
| DX: 11 [20] | Will: 11 [0] | Move: 5 [0] |
| IQ: 11 [20] | Per: 11 [0] | |
| HT: 11 [10] | FP: 11 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 1d-1/1d+1 | BL: 24 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: 9 | DR: 18/7*+23 (armor) |
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Combat Reflexes [15]; Fit [5]; Paramilitary Rank 0 [0].
Disadvantages: Duty (to Sky-Wolves) (12) [-10]; Enemy (Law-Enforcement) (9) [-20].
Skills: Brawling (E) DX+0 [1] – 11; Guns/TL8 (Grenade Launcher) (E) DX+1 [2] – 12; Guns/TL8 (Rifle) (E) DX+1 [2] – 12; Piloting/TL8 (Flight Pack) (A) DX+0 [2] – 11; Soldier/TL8 (A) IQ+0 [2] – 11; Wrestling (A) DX-1 [1] – 10.
Starting Spending Money: $4,000 (20% of Starting Wealth).
Equipment: Colt M4A1 Carbine (High-Tech, pp. 119, 121), Colt M203 (High-Tech, pp. 142, 145) or H&K AG36 (as M320; High-Tech, pp. 144, 145); Reflex Tactical Vest (DR 18/7*; Ultra-Tech, p. 173) with modern Trauma Plates (DR 23; High-Tech, pp. 66, 67); Ballistic Helmet (DR 12; High-Tech, p. 70) with polarized Visor (DR 10; High-Tech, p. 70); Stark Industries/AIM Jet Pack (below). All issued by the Sky-Wolves.
| BRAWLING | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Weapon | Damage | Reach | Parry | Cost | Weight | ST | Notes |
| – | Brawling Punch | 1d-2 cr | C | 9 | – | – | 11 | |
| – | Brawling Kick | 1d-1 cr | C, 1 | n/a | – | – | 11 | |
Jet Pack
Originally designed by Stark Industries, this style jet pack is presumably produced by AIM for the Sky-Wolves.
The jet pack is a 20 lb. pack which straps to the user's back, consisting of a two jet turbines on a pair of struts, with controls that strap to the hands in order to activate. Early models required a helmet with a large rudder in order to steer; later models used the hand controls to activate or deactivate the exhaust to steer (that means in order to turn left the wearer must release the left hand button). More advanced models, generally reserved for elite operatives, have multi-axis thrust vectoring (MATV) with four-way hat buttons on the hand controls for greater control and stability. (Rudder helmets add +1 to Hnd, while the MATV system adds +1 to Hnd and SR.)
The pack carries three gallons of JP-8 or diesel fuel, carried on the top of the pack near the air intake. The jet pack is a unique design in that it can use either jet fuel or high cetane diesel fuel; jet fuel is preferred.
| PILOTING (FLIGHT PACK) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TL | Vehicle | ST/HP | Hnd/SR | HT | Move | LWt | Load | SM | Occ | DR | Range | Cost | Stall | Notes |
| 8^ | Sky-Wolves' Jet Pack | 11 | +1/1 | 12 | 15/75 | 0.11 | 0.1 | -2 | 1 | 10 | 75 | $40K | 0 | [1] |
Notes:
[1] The use of diesel fuel drops the Range to 50 miles.
Design Notes:
1. Paramilitary Rank is built as 4/level as per the guidelines on p. 14 of Social Engineering. Every third level grants Status, as is the standard for Rank, but does not have the Dominance that Military Rank does.