Vulcan Supporting Cast/Non-Villain Antagonist
Real Name: Gabriel "Gabe" Sommers.
Occupation: High school student (starting grade 12).
Identity: Gabriel does not hide his identity as Vulcan, although he has not yet gone fully public.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record, still a minor.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: A convent in the Catskills, New York.
Marital Status: Single.
Known Relatives: None.
Group Affiliation: Xavier Institute student body.
Base of Operations: Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Salem Center, Westchester County, New York.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL #1.
History: Gabriel Sommers's mother abandoned him at birth; he was apparently born in a Roman Catholic convent in the Catskills of New York, after which his mother left the convent after asking the nuns there to always take care of him. He was raised in their orphanage among the other children, but something about him – he blamed his eyes – led the other children to shun him. To hide his loneliness, he spent most of his free time reading in the orphanage library.
He was thirteen when his powers initially manifested. During a "game" of "smear the queer" in the playground, Gabe was once again the designated "queer"; the "rules" of the "game" were that the "queer" was tossed a football, and even if he threw it away the others would tackle him to the pavement and start punching and kicking him. Angered, his powers manifested, sending most of his tormentors to the infirmary and reportedly killing at least two of them. The injuries and deaths led to police involvement.
Fortunately for Gabriel, news of this incident reached Professor Charles Xavier, headmaster of the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a school designed to teach young mutants and other superhuman teenagers how to control and use their powers while receiving a high school education.
Early on while at the Institute, Gabriel was one of the veritable army of students organized by Scott Summers to rescue Scott's brother Alex from the Living Pharaoh; this was the first recorded instance of Gabe using the name Vulcan. During this incident, Vulcan proved to be unreliable and prone to rash action, ignoring all previously formed plans to instead directly assault the Living Pharaoh upon the latter's transformation into the Living Monolith. More recently, Gabriel was one of the first students to volunteer to defend the Institute from Xavier's stepbrother Cain Marko, the unstoppable Juggernaut, when the latter attacked the grounds.
Vulcan recently came into conflict with two of the more recently added students at the Institute, the extradimensional refugees Kevin Green and Elvia Swensen, when he asked the latter out on a date only to be turned down. He did not take the rejection kindly; in retaliation, he assaulted her, not knowing (at the time) of her alternate, Elven, nor her powers. It took the intervention of Kevin, in his powered identity of Prime, and Xavier's telepathic admonishment to separate the two, with Vulcan half-heartedly offering Elvia an apology.
Vulcan was the only student who vehemently refused to "sidekick" for Prime over the summer when asked (Kevin was both trying to mend fences with an older classmate and keep an eye on him at Xavier's request), although his own activities during the summer are unknown.
Age: 16.
Height: 6'.
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eyes: Red, no visible pupils; occasionally glowing yellow.
Hair: Black.
Uniform: As a student of the Xavier Institute, Vulcan trains while wearing the black bodysuit with red and black circle-X shoulder pads, yellow boots, and yellow belt with a rectangular red buckle styled with a black X that are standard issue to students. When operating on his own, he wears a red bodysuit with a blue-black upper chest and shoulders, blue-black gloves, gold boots, and a gold belt with a rectangular red buckle outfitted with a gold X.
Strength Level: Vulcan normally possesses the normal human strength of a man his age, height, and build who engages in intensive regular exercise. By channeling his power to manipulate energy, however, he is currently able to lift (press) roughly 80 tons
Known Superhuman Powers: Vulcan can store and manipulate all forms of electromagnetic energy, including light, concussive force, heat, electricity, and gamma radiation. His most common uses are creating blasts of energy from his hands or eyes, or forming an aura of energy around himself. He can hover in mid-air by causing thermals underneath him to lift him up; by projecting energy beneath or behind him as he hovers, he can fly at speeds up to 400 mph. He is able to absorb all sorts of energy directed at him, using it to temporarily increase the raw power of his energy blasts. He has yet to use his power in more subtle ways; he potentially has the ability to create realistic 3D holograms or even solid energy constructs, but lacks both the patience and the imagination to do so.
Vulcan is immune to the environmental effects of intense heat and cold. It is theorized he can survive in the depths of space, though this has not been tested.
741 points
| ST: 12 (25/312*) [20] | HP: 12 [0] | Speed: 6.50 [0] |
| DX: 13 [60] | Will: 13 [15] | Ground Move: 6 [0] |
| IQ: 10 [0] | Per: 10 [0] | Air Move: 13/208 [0] |
| HT: 13 [30] | FP: 13 [0] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 1d-1/1d+2 (2d+2/5d-1; 32d/34d) | BL: 29 lbs. (125 lbs.; 19,468 lbs/9.73 tons) | |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: 9 | DR: 50 |
| IT:DR: /10 | ||
Languages: English (Accented) [4]; Italian (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Burning Attack 3d (Energy Aura) (Aura, +80%; Damage Modifier: Radiation, +100%; Damage Modifier: Surge, +20%; Link (with DR), +10%; Melee Attack: Destructive Parry, +10%; Melee Attack: Reach C, -30%; Selectivity (Radiation, Surge, both, or neither), +10%; Underwater, +20%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Other (Electricity, Heat/Fire, Light, or Radiation, depending on which Damage Modifiers are in play), -10%; Mutant, -10%) [46]; Burning Attack (Energy Blasts) 6d×2 (Accurate +3, +15%; Armor Divisor (5), +150%; Blockable, -5%; Damage Modifier: Explosive (damage /(3×Yards)), +50%; Damage Modifier: Radiation, +100%; Damage Modifier: Surge, +20%; Increased 1/2D Range ×5, +10%; Increased Range: Line-of-Sight, +70%; Selectivity (Radiation, Surge, both, or neither), +10%; Underwater, +20%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Other (Electricity, Heat/Fire, Light, or Radiation, depending on which Damage Modifiers are in play), -10%; Mutant, -10%) [315]; Crushing Attack (Energy Blasts) 6d×2 (Accurate +3, +15%; Blockable, -5%; Damage Modifier: Explosive (damage /(3×Yards)), +50%; Damage Modifier: Radiation, +100%; Damage Modifier: Surge, +20%; Increased 1/2D Range ×5, +10%; Increased Range: Line-of-Sight, +70%; Selectivity (Explosive or not), +10%; Underwater, +20%; Variable, +5%; Mutant, -10%; Alternative Attack ×1/5) [50]; Damage Resistance 50 (Energy Aura) (Absorption (Heal or Boost Any Mutant PM Trait; Limited Defenses: Electromagnetic Energy Attacks Only, -40%), +60%; Force Field, +20%; Hardened 1, +20%; Link (Burning Attack (Energy Aura)), +10%; Switchable, +10%; Elemental: Other (Electricity, Heat/Fire, Light, or Radiation, depending on which Damage Modifiers are in play on the Linked attack), -10%; Mutant, -10%) [500]; Energy Control Talent 4 [20]; Enhanced Move (Air) 4 (Air Move 208/416 mph; Elemental: Heat/Fire, -10%; Mutant, -10%) [64]; Fatigue Attack 3d (Heat Blast) (Accurate +3, +15%; Armor Divisor (5), +150%; Blockable, -5%; Damage Modifier: Heat Hazard, +20%; Increased 1/2D Range ×5, +10%; Increased Range: Line-of-Sight, +70%; Underwater, +20%; Variable, +5%; Elemental: Heat/Fire, -10%; Mutant, -10%; Alternative Attack ×1/5) [22]; Fit [5]; Flight (Nuisance Effect: Obvious, -5%; Elemental: Heat/Fire, -10%; Mutant, -10%) [30]; High Pain Threshold [10]; Immunity to Thermal Stress (Mutant, -10%) [14]; Super ST +13/+300 (Switchable, +10%; Mutant, -10%) [520]; Temperature Control 10 (Heat, -50%; Mutant, -10%) [20].
Perks: Dabbler (Eight High School Subjects at def+1) [1]; Fearsome Stare [1].
Disadvantages: Bad Temper (9) [-15]; Hidebound [-5]; Overconfidence (6) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Stubbornness [-5]; Unnatural Features (Pupilless Red Eyes) [-1]; Wealth (Poor) [-15].
Quirks: Abrasive [-1]; Dual Identity [-1]; Easily Frustrated [-1]; Hero Worship (Julius Caesar) [-1]; Scornful [-1].
Skills: Acting (A) IQ+0 [2] – 10; Brawling (E) DX+0 [1] – 13; Carousing (E) HT+0 [1] – 13; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 10; Current Affairs/TL8 (Popular Culture) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 11; Expert Skill (Classical Greco-Roman Studies) (H) IQ+0 [4] – 10; Flight (A) HT+3 [1] – 16†; Innate Attack (Beam) (E) DX+5 [2] – 18†; Innate Attack (Breath) (E) DX+5 [2] – 18†; Innate Attack (Gaze) (E) DX+5 [2] – 18†; Intimidation (A) Will+1 [4] – 14; Professional Skill (Student) (A) IQ+0 [2] – 10; Research/TL8 (A) IQ-1 [1] – 9; Running (A) HT-1 [1] – 12; Sports (Baseball) (A) DX-1 [1] – 12; Wrestling (A) DX-1 [1] – 12.
Starting Spending Money: $800 (20% of Starting Wealth).
* Conditionally includes +13/+300 from Super ST.
† Includes +4 from Energy Control Talent.
Role-Playing Notes:
Gabriel is highly unstable; he is the one student Xavier has deliberately left not fully trained in his abilities in an effort to prevent "creating another Magneto". He looks up to the X-Men and other graduates, and at the same time feels resentment toward them. He is also very egotistical, believing himself to be the most powerful student to attend the Institute, even more powerful than many alumni. As such, he tends to grow increasingly frustrated when things do not go his way. His finer control over his power dissipates as his anger increases, which has led to several presumably unintentional injuries among his classmates. He is currently voted the Least Popular Student and Most Likely To Become A Villain.
Inspired by books on ancient Rome, he idolizes Julius Caesar, notably Caesar's conquest of Gaul (modern-day France). He has the potential to become one of the greatest heroes or one of the worst villains the world has ever seen; only time will tell which way he matures.
Design Notes:
1. Okay, okay, I gave in and made Gabriel/Vulcan of the ill-fated retconned-in interim X-Men team as a student at the Xavier Institute. Note the spelling of his last name, however: "Sommers" rather than "Summers". He is not the Third Summers Brother; at best, he's a distant (due to a spelling change five to eight generations back) cousin; I'd prefer to have him unrelated entirely. In the Reboot, the "Third Summers Brother" will be Adam Neramani, son of D'Ken and Katherine Summers (Scott and Alex's mother), as originally intended with that plotline.
2. There are probably a dozen other ways to build his powers, notably with each variation in the Elemental Power Modifier as its own Alternative Attack. At least part of the problem is that the Official Handbooks and other sources only really state "energy" or at most "electromagnetic energy", which in game terms is a very wide selection. As it is, I'm not sure whether the Elemental Power Modifiers qualify for "Alternative Limitations" as described in Power-Ups 8: Limitations.
3. Yes, the intent here is that he's destined for villainy in Year Two or later. At others' urging, however, I replaced Megalomania with Overconfidence and stripped out some of his more brutish disadvantages.