I distinguish composite super beings from "power mimics" like the Super Adaptoid or Amazo who gain their powers from being exposed to other super beings because they only have the specific power sets of a specific group of super beings and cannot just acquire more like the two androids mentioned can.
For me the appeal of a composite super beings is similar to the appeal of power mimics. When you have the combined powers of a super team you can use it in ways that individual team members can't no matter how cooperative they are. Like the Super Skrull combining Mr. Fantastic's stretching with the Thing's superhuman strength to use the super strength in places where it's difficult to reach. Something the two can't do as individuals. Mr. Fantastic can reach but he lacks the super strength. The Thing has the strength but lacks the reach.
For my group to draw super powers from I choose the U-Foes from Marvel Comics. Since K'lrt the original Super Skrull possesses the combined powers of the Fantastic Four, I thought I'd go with the super villain equivalent of the Fantastic Four, the U-Foes.
Background
Simon Utrecht was a wealthy and unscrupulous business man with a hunger for power. In pursuit of power he convinced Mike Steel an engineer, scientist and pilot to pilot the privately owned spaceship he had built and take them plus Ann Darnell a life support specialist and her brother James a fuel propulsion expert into outer space in an attempt to reproduce the event that gave the Fantastic Four their powers. The mission was somewhat of a success. Bruce Banner the incredible Hulk's scientist alter ego managed to return them to Earth before the mission was scheduled to end when he discovered what they were trying to do. This left them with unstable powers . It was only after James was further exposed to "cosmic rays" that his powers were stabilized then he could use his power over radiation to stabilize the powers of the others. From then on they were the U-Foes.
Descriptions
Vector
After being mutated by cosmic rays Simon Utrecht now has white eyes and no hair. His skin is now a variety of shades of yellow and orange arranged in strange patterns.
Ironclad
After being mutated by cosmic rays Mike Steel is now over six and a half feet tall, weighing over 600 lbs. with white eyes and metallic skin. Another noticeable feature of his is that the top of his head is a relatively flat surface instead of being round like a normal skull.
Vapor
After being mutated by cosmic rays Ann Darnell still has essentially her normal look when she is in human form which is that of a five and a half foot tall, average build woman with long brown hair and green eyes. In her gaseous forms her appearance varies by the gas she becomes but when her eyes are visible they are white.
X-Ray
After being mutated by cosmic rays James Darnell is a human shaped, purple colored radiation field with no hair and with what appears to be white eyes.
Powers
As a composite super being you can mix and match the powers of the composing super beings or use only individual's power sets at a time or none at all.
The following is the individual powers of the members of the U-Foes:
Vector
He has the power to telekinetically repel matter and energy directing it away from himself. He can use it to do things like: repelling objects to send them flying as deadly missiles; releasing concentrated blast of energy as an attack; and even using his telekinesis on the ground to propel himself away from it allowing him to fly.
He's powerful enough to flay most of the Incredible Hulk's skin and muscle tissue from his body. He also used it to repel the structure of reality within the 'Crossroads' nexus which he claims makes him capable of hurling worlds. However the Hulk has managed twice with incredible effort to move through Vector's repulsions to physically attack him. He was at least once able to block and repel the attempts of various super humans and allies of the Incredible Hulk to locate him while they were kidnapping and torturing him. That includes magical attempts by Doctor Strange and Tony Stark's and Reed Richard's tracking technology.
IroncladHe has a metallic form or possibly metallic skin after the fashion of the Thing's rocky hide with tremendous durability and resistance to harm. He can go toe to toe with the Incredible Hulk for prolonged periods of time. He can also conduct heat through his skin hot enough to burn objects and people he touches. He also has superhuman strength permitting him to lift from the ground over his head at arms length somewhere between 85 and 90 tons. If he has super human stamina it's probably like the Thing's who can exert himself for up to 24 hours before getting tired.
He can also increase or decrease his own weight/mass, to hover in the air or to "crush like a mountain".
Vapor
She can transform her body into any form of gas from pure elements forms to complex compounds (mixtures of elements). She can resume her solid form for a brief periods of time. In her gas forms she's essentially immune to most forms of harm but she is vulnerable to chemical reactions that would affect the chemical-form she is in. The Hulk once beat her by spraying her with oxygen while she was hydrogen. She became water. She can also be harmed by different types of energy, such as lightning and her brother's radiation as well as being affected by strong atmospheric phenomena like intense winds or sonic booms.
X-Ray
His physical form is permanently transformed into a living energy field of "quasi-solid radiation". This form can fly and hover as well as emit various wavelengths of radiation including a form of concussive force blasts capable of hurting the incredible Hulk. He can also produce "negative gamma rays" that can transform the Incredible Hulk back into Bruce Banner but it only lasts so long. He had to keep bombarding regularly to maintain the effect. He also has the ability to turn invisible. He is mostly intangible and consequently invulnerable to most physical harm. However he can still be harmed by attacks that disrupt his energy fields such as items made of lead or vibranium (a fictional metal found in the Marvel Universe). He can also be defeated if he's drained of his radiation.
Both X-Ray and Vapor can still speak and retain their mental attributes and personalities despite being in non-human forms. Even most of their sensory capacities like vision, hearing and touch.
If I Was A Composite Super Being
For this particular combination of super beings I'd get investors together and create a pilot project of a city "powered" by me.
With X-Ray's Powers
In the morning if nothing else was going on that needed my attention I'd spend my time charging batteries with my radiation powers. Possibly having an array of solar panels converting the radiation I'm emitting into electricity. Alternatively I could just heat up some water causing it to turn turbines.
I'd also be the primary decontaminator using my radiation powers to destroy harmful organisms introduced into the city. Of course I could use my powers to generate microwaves and become a massive cooking center as well.
With Vapor's Powers
I'd use my gas shifting form to fight fires and to troubleshoot construction problems. With a little bit of medical training I could probably learn to use my gas form to mimic gasses that might help heal people or at least to disinfect or to sedate people. Vapor has proven capable of soothing Ironclad after she accidentally began corroding him as an acidic gas. Hell maybe I'd learn to do minor cosmetic treatments like chemical peals.
With Vector's Powers
I'd use my telekinetic repulsion power for landscaping which would not only include digging up the ground but aerial surveying as well. Depending on where the city is built, I may use it to repel bad weather or for plowing snow. Whatever it would take to make construction go smoothly. I could transport a lot of material just simply pushing them or by keeping them in balance over my head while I "carry" them to their destination. Also I'd be great at demolition.
On the less serious side I'd spend sometime on beaches helping kids who can't get their kite's to fly either because they can't or there's just not enough wind. By the same token I could push a lot of kids on the swings at once. Geeze can you tell I'm an uncle and babysit way too often.
With Ironclad's powers
I think in terms of what I can do to build a city as a super strong guy with armored hide I'm thinking it would go along the lines it would the way I described it under Mr. Incredible except with the lack of super speed it would take longer. For another difference Ironclad's weight/mass control power would allow me to walk on structures that would normally be too weak for me to walk out on. I've gone through roofs and off of them. It's not good.
In Combination
Here's where as composite super being shines. The first example to come to mind is the combination of Vapor's and X-Ray's powers. Transform into gas, enter a person's system and use radioactive blasts to treat cancer at the actual site of the disease instead of damaging the rest of the system along the way.
I could combine Vector and Ironclad to create a living cannonball of myself. I could more readily carry a heavy load with Ironclad's powers and use Vectors' to get myself into position to place the load where it needs to go.
I could use Vapor's powers to infiltrate a building undetected or without damaging it so I can retrieve a kidnapped person. Then from there I could use the rest of the U-Foes powers to fight my way back out with the kidnap victim in tow. Using Ironclad's powers as my base to make sure if someone sneaks up on me I'm at least with some protection and then I could use Vector's and X-Ray's powers to fend off the kidnappers and their "associates".
Since neither Vapor nor X-Ray can really handle solid objects in their gas and radiation forms I could use Vector's power to over come that limit in those forms in the least to push solid objects around.
Mixing Vapor's and Ironclad's powers makes for one hell of a wrestler. If you can't break out of a hold with brute force you can just turn into a gas to escape.
The point is the combined powers of a super group is awesome.
Thanks for reading
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