Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Spawn #30
& Tribe
& Valeria the She-Bat

Listener Discretion Advised

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Spawn #30

by Todd McFarlane & Greg Capullo & thanks to Kevin Conrad

"The Clan"
Dedicated To: Little Katie and Cyan

Those white-trash maggots! I swear they'll pay for this! If it's the last thing I do, they'll pay!

So believe me, I understand your anger... but they've only torched your fields. When they had all they could stomache of me, they torched something far more precious. That's why I wear the mask. Because of them.

WHAT?! It's a friggin' colored! How dare you desecrate the sacred robe?! NO darkie is worthy of its touch! How dare you mess with us?!

Valeria the She-Bat (1993)

by Neal Adams with Peter Stone

Tribe (1993)

by Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

Image is Everything

• Episode Art Gallery
• Blindspot
• Ditto
• Europan
• Fly Girl
• The Front
• Hannibal & Elias
• Lord Deus
• Out Cold
• Rosalyn
• Shift
• Steel Pulse
• Victor Von Grock

Promotional Material

• Praire Justice: The Greg Sanders Vigilante Podcast by Gord Tolton.
• X Is For Podcast: An X-Men Reading Experience where Nico, Jonah, Kevo, Kyle, and more wade through the waters of Marvel’s Merry Mutants.
• The Superheroes In Color Podcast: Podcast conversations about the Black comicverse facilitated by Wesley Hall and The Auburn Ave Research Library.

Spawning Ground

• Twitter
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• tumblr
• rolledspinepodcasts@gmail.com
• #Spawnometer
• Spawnometer on Blogspot
• Rolled Spine Podcasts on Wordpress

WildC.A.T.s,Cyberforce,Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson,Tribe,Shadowhawk,Youngblood,Wetworks,Savage Dragon,Terry Fitzgerald,Spawn,Todd McFarlane,Greg Capullo,Al Simmons,Spawn Podcast,Sam and Twitch,Valeria the She-Bat,Chapel,

Image Sourcebook: Blindspot

Real Name: Murdock Ellison
Occupation: Scientist and inventor
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)

History: Europan destroyed Murdock Ellison's company, taking most of his money, and plunging his world into darkness. After existing past this defeat, Ellison gathered others who shared his circumstance, banding together to stop Victor Von Grock and his technology-thieving company.

Ellison retained a connection to Rumble Wear, the fashion house and costume designer for the enhanced being in your life, whose owner Michelle Byrd always worked overtime. Byrd assisted in Ellison's ongoing conflict with Europan, including providing his Rumble G.E.A.R. and alerting Blindspot of a Diamond low security switching station in Brooklyn that was part of its G.E.M. (Global Emergency Mainframe) that would allow access to the enemy corporation, who were Diamond subscribers. Elias Banneker drove a van with Blindspot, Rosalyn, Shift, & Hannibal to break into the G.E.M., but they were immediately detected by Diamond Headquarters. Control teleported in a strike team, but they were repelled by a car thrown by Rosalyn, prompting an emergency reorder back to base.

Ellison's group escaped with valuable information, passing Ditto along the way. The breach was reported up to the Pentagon's Office of Sanctions, but wishing to handle the matter externally to avoid involving I/O (International Operations), communications were scrambled and a file with the D.L. Group was authorized to be opened. They presumably outsourced to Shelter, whose Dreux Baker recognized his former associate Ellison from security footage.

Not wishing for another debacle, Blindspot alone entered Europan's New York headquarters to hack their main data base, but was soon detected and attacked by Lord Deus. Ellison fared slightly better against Victor Von Grock, but still had his mind partially read before jumping out a window to escape. Recognizing that he would need still more associates to confront this level of power, Ellison set about recruiting The Front and Steel Pulse. Besides Europan, Tribe faced figures associated with organized crime, such as Out Cold. Tribe eventually faced Europan Manji and Lord Deus himself, but Blindspot devised an attack that prompted their retreat.

In an revealed later episode, Blindspot would have met Fly Girl.

Height: Tall
Build: Athletic
Eyes: Dark
Hair: Black
Strength level: Normal.
Known superhuman powers: Murdock Ellison is a genius innovator. Upon seeing similarities between the android Hannibal and Eurpan's Manji armored troopers, Blindspot whipped together a device that could shut down the units remotely in a matter of moments. This may have been a Dilithium Q 36 Spacial Modulator, as he handed such a device off to Shift to use against Lord Deus, though it proved ineffective. Blindspot's $50,000 state of the art Rumble G.E.A.R (General Energy Absorbing Rags) includes D.S.R. (Dynamic Spatial Reconstruction). This stealth garb cloaks Blindspot from all sensory apparatuses. With the help of Slate and Desmond Negril, the stealth unit also includes a Stromium alloy with 94% energy dispersion, defending Blindspot against kinetic impact as well as absorbing and redirecting energy attacks through discharge circuits. Lord Deus was able to see through Blindspot's invisibility and fry his stealth circuits. It also contains a communication headset and scatter scan technology for monitoring other people's communications.

© & ™ 1996 Todd Johnson & Larry Stroman

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Rosalyn

Real Name: Yaarashea
Occupation: Unknown
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Unknown
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Little is known about the mysterious and powerful Yaarashea, except that one thousand years ago, she opposed Lord Deus. The price was to lose her identity and to be confined in a more mortal form. The exact time frame between her earliest clashes with Deus and her being striken with amnesia is unclear. What became of her in the gap has not been recorded, but she turned up in modern times using the name Rosalyn.

Murdock Ellison met Rosalyn seemingly by chance one day on the street in New York. Despite a bungled pick-up attempt, they eventually became close friends, and Rosalyn joined his crusade against Europan looks for answers about her own life. She was the back-up muscle in the G.E.M. switching station break-in, tossing a car through an exterior wall to provide cover for the exit of Ellison and his associates. In her downtime, she trained in the ring with Short Order, and traveled with her assoaciate Elias Banneker to the Hype club to confront Europan Manji. Lord Deus himself appeared following their destruction, and while he made short work of the rest of Tribe, only Rosalyn gave him pause. Not recognizing her at first, Deus placed Rosalyn in a stasis envelope and intended to kill her through a massive dispersal of thermal energy. Instead, its power restored her aura, freeing her from a years long imprisonment in a "shell of flesh... left powerless and with no memory of the past." Manifesting new battle armor, Yaarashea acknowledged that she never actual lost her power, "only the memory to regain it." Though mostly continuing to fight on her own, Lord Deus was ultimately driven away through a team effort, leaving Ellison and Tribe to reevaluate their relationship with Rosalyn in the wake of these revelations.

Height: Short
Build: Thick
Eyes: Dark
Hair: Black
Strength level: Lots.
Known superhuman powers: Rosalyn is regarded as the most powerful member of Tribe, even when that was defined by her exceptional physical strength and fighting proficiency. She is capable of withstanding great physical punishment, lethal projectiles, and even mental barrages while remaining calm and cool under pressure. With her restored demigoddess powers, her strength appeared to increase, she could directly absorb energy blasts from Lord Deus, gained powers of telepathy, and may have been able to see through the illusions of The Front. Her new battle armor included four prehensile tendrils, which she used to briefly restrain Lord Deus. When accessing her uppermost mortal abilities, Rosalyn would manifest a glow, particularly from one of her eyes. This may have been an indication of her reaching for her demigoddess abilities.
Notes: The creators explicitly reference Rosalyn as being the most popular Tribe character among fans in trading cards and other promotional materials. She is the most often referenced, even appearing in frontpieces of issues in which she otherwise isn't featured, and despite having a relatively minor role in all but the concluding chapter of the only published Tribe story arc.
© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Lord Deus

Real Name: Unknown; surname alternately offered as Deivirile or Devirelle
Base of Operations: SoHo, Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: The sinister Lord Deus Devirelle is a self-proclaimed demigod, though there are no living witnesses to dispute this allegation. Eons old, Lord Deus' body defies the natural order of aging, requiring a month long slumber in an automated pod filled with life prolonging fluids. Afterward, he is attended to by robotic drones, which attach his metallic wardrobe. Mysterious in origin, Lord Deus has faced foes for over a thousand years, and sees himself as apart from humanity. Lord Deus is unknown to the public, but as the true power behind Europan, he remains a menace to the world. While typically content with allowing Victor Von Grock to handle the business, when displeased, Deus does not hesitate to threaten and batter the executive.

Lord Deus will gleefully slaughter a room full of superhumans, if he can find one who survives with something to offer his organization. Following a few modest defeats at the hands of Murdock Ellison's Tribe, Lord Deus chose to openly attack the team without warning, and made short work of most of the team. He was perhaps provoked by the reemergence of his ancient opponent Yaarashea, who had had stripped of most power and identity a millennium prior. Regardless, it was ultimately the teamwork of Tribe and their attack on his seemingly essential chair of power that ended direct hostilities, inducing Lord Deus to teleport away. Among his other named enemies are the Offworlders and Paladins.

Height: 8'0"
Build: Massive
Hair: Bald
Strength level: Lots.
Known superhuman powers: Deus has displayed extensive use of energy manipulation and projection (specifically concentric plasma discharges,) highly advanced senses, and teleportation. He can easily see through illusions and invisibility technology. Deus is protected by a force shield, and can project a localized stasis envelope to trap enemies. As the fractuals discharge, they disperse massive thermal energy into any object placed in a common center. Lord Deus also possesses extraordinary strength and resilience, enough to easily overcome the likes of Hannibal and the Savage Dragon. How many of these abilities are natural, technological, or the result of the mechanisms in his command chair are undetermined at this time. What is clear is that his chair specifically allows for chrono-displacement, sending subjects through time, either to a specific or random point. Severe disorientation is a common side effect, and Deus has been accused of suppressing or wiping away memories for harrowing lengths of time, not limited to a millennium.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Victor Von Grock & Europan

Real Name: Victor Von Grock
Occupation: Europan International head of U.S. operations
Identity: Publicly known
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: The international Europan Corporation will stop at nothing to corner the market on new technology and power. When negotiation fails, there is always force. Victor Von Grock is effective with either route, manipulating, strong-arming, and overpowering as needed. To this end, Von Grock has established ties to Cyberdata, a silent partnership with Yamahoshi Tech on Project Deathgrip, and handled the insertion of Alberto Cassini into the Cabal (though he was murdered by Pike under the assumption that he had sold intelligence on Helspont to the Gnome.) Among the operations taken over by Von Grock are Guido Duva's East Coast sporting rackets and Anthony Franco's mob. Von Grock is very hands-on, usually conducting his dirty business in person, and he's not averse to trade punches with the likes of Blindspot.

Europan offers million dollar a year contracts and a new car to Youngbloods who sign on with the company, while neglecting to tell them that they will have to survive a typically fatal battle with Lord Deus to clinch the offer. The business practices of Europan International has earned it many enemies, including Tribe, the Offworlders and Paladins.

Known superhuman powers & weapons: Victor Von Grock's primary ability is to drain the wills of his victims, essentially enslaving them, via energy beams connecting his eyes to a target's. Beyond compelling the victim to do his bidding for an undefined period of time, this act also allows Von Grock to read the subject's mind. On a larger scale, Europan distributes Slaver Units, a headset device which can be applied to any random subject, forcing them to act on encoded directions fed to their brains. These are popular purchases among crime families, as it cuts down on their payroll and provides immediate violence fodder. Among the most effective weapons in the Europan arsenal are high flying ominous armored Manji. Totally obedient to the whims of Victor Von Grock, these humanoid robots can act on their own, or be worn as a suit of armor.

© & ™ 1994 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Out Cold

Real Name: Duane Montgomery-El
Occupation: Mercenary
Identity: Secret
Base of Operations: New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Out Cold is the pseudonym of choice for a paid killer, taken to avoid police agencies on the lookout for such colorful personalities in the trade. Duane Montgomery-El built a reputation on murder and mayhem, without realizing that his proficiency would cause the acts to lose their appeal. "I have lost the feeling of challenge, now pointed out as someone to avoid. So I mask my bourgeois upbringing by speaking in urban vernacular and hostile tone. And I dress for attention, hoping to inspire conflict... to feed upon this private aggression singing in me." The crime lord Alberto Cassini brought in the outsider when his own men failed to muscle the Hype club away from The Front, so Out Cold murdered his way past bouncers in pursuit of the proprietor. Sarcastic and hypersensitive, he froze the head of one and punched it to ice cubes, complete with Bondian puns for the horrified party-goers. The kid was rescued by Hannibal, and a knock down, drag out battle ensued. Ultimately, the odds appeared not to favor Out Cold, who tossed an explosive that took out part of the club, then bolted.

Known superhuman powers: Out Cold can flash freeze objects in close proximity to his hand, and can project freezing rays through a specialty handgun. He may also have superhuman strength and resilience, based on the scale of his battle with Hannibal. Whether these abilities are inherent or mechanical isn't clear.

Notes: He's basically Simon Phoenix in action and dialogue, but actually predates Demolition Man.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Hannibal & Elias

First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Hannibal is a 2,000 lbs. automaton that works with Tribe. Its programming is simple, with defensive and offensive modes that can be remotely applied or locked in manually. It is programmed with cartoon and old movie dialogue, speaking exclusively in quotes. Hannibal is considered the "baby" of Elias Banneker, an older little person who helps manage the Beat Down Gym. While its creator hasn't been revealed, Elias and Sebastion typically maintain Hannibal in its service to Murdock Ellison. Banneker is among the more reluctant associates in Tribe, preferring to serve as wheelman of the team's van, always with the volume cranked to vibrate the neighborhood windows. Elias seeks retribution for an unrevealed slight made by Europan.

Another gym denizen is Short Order, also a little person, who can divide himself into a multitude of tiny duplicates of himself. The total ability to subdivide is unknown, but he has demonstrated the power to become dozens of 6-12 inch copies who appear to act autonomously. His relationship to Elias has not been fully explained.

Despite its immense frame, Hannibal isn't known for its strength, though it is prone to physically blocking attacks made against its teammates. Hannibal was put out of commission for a couple of days when hit by a car thrown by Rosalyn. However, Hannibal has also detached its head as a maneuver, so planned dismemberment is an option. Hannibal can access computerized ports through its fingers to access and download encryption codes and files. Hannibal can also manifest an energy fist that can emit ranged blasts.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: The Front

Real Name: Alexander Collins
Occupation: Club Owner
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Unknown
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Manhattan, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: A man of many faces, no one knows his real name or true appearance. Alex is the successful but camera-elusive owner of the HYPE club, Manhattan's premiere night spot. What few besides his right-hand man Shannon knows is that the club is an illusion cast by the Front, who also makes himself appear as a posh white man who serves as host. At $25 a head, the "club" built out of pop-ups in disguised hovels easily clear tens of thousands of dollars a night. This likely attracted the attention of crime boss Anthony Franco, who sent muscle over to force the Front to sign a contract with the mafioso. However, between his illusion powers and the timely arrival of Murdock Ellison's Tribe, the Front managed to escape. This further angered Franco, who called in outside muscle Out Cold to attack HYPE the following night. Ellison saw the Front as a recruitment drive prospect, and left him the automaton Hannibal for protection. Out Cold and Hannibal's fight destroyed much of the club's temporary location, drawing a variety of additional combatants into the fray. The Front attempted to aid Tribe against Lord Deus, but proved ineffective when the villain saw through his charade.

Height: Average
Build: Average
Known superhuman powers: Through a yet to be explained process, the Front is a hyperillusion caster, able to alter the visual surroundings with the power of his mind. His mental projections seem to affect the perceptions of all within an undefined radius.

© & ™ 1994 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Steel Pulse

Real Name: Desmond Negril
Occupation: Metallurgist, owner of Allotech
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of Jamaica with no criminal record
Place of Birth: Jamaica
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Strong Island, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #2 (1993)
History: Desmond Negril is an innovative metallurgist and owner of the research firm Allotech, with a two-million-dollar private research facility. Negril's most well-known discovery is Stromium, a metal alloy with incredible resistance to physical stress and unusual properties of energy dispersal. A dear friend of Murdock Ellison, the Rastafarian contributes to his efforts against Europan, such as providing Stromium alloy for his stealth suit. Negril had been working on personal body armor that avoided the permanence of Dr. Portacio's Wetworks process and have Europan and Cyberdata "eat their hearts out." Due to Europan treachery, while conducting an experiment, Desmond was caught in an otherwise lethal explosion that sent him into a tank of alloy, caused a transformation. Negril's body was converted into a liquid metal alloy that he would soon be able to manipulate at will. As Manji stole what "Steel Pulse" digital files Negril hadn't managed to destroy, the scientist was found by Murdock Ellison and helped into a containment suit. Spirited away to another Europan conflict arena, Negril was blasted through the chest with an energy rifle, and finally recognized the extent of his transformation. Negril was last seen aiding Tribe against Lord Deus, in which his ability to conduct energy into the villain's powered chair was essential to forcing his retreat.

© & ™ 1994 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Fly Girl

Real Name: Nicolena Johnson
Occupation: High-fashion model, co-owner of Rumble Wear
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Base of Operations: New York
First Appearance: TRIBE - THE INTRO (1993)
History: Nicolena Johnson is the face behind the successful ad campaign for the Touch of Velvet cosmetic firm. She runs Rumble Wear, the fashion house responsible for designing most of the costumes of the Image Universe, alongside her partner Todd Innis.

Known superhuman powers: An avid thrill seeker, Nicolena dons a prototype costume called a TUX (Tricot Ultralight Exoskeleton) developed with the aid of friend Murdock Ellison that allows her flight.

Notes: Fly Girl has never appeared in a comic book story. Most information presented here was taken verbatim from the Tribe Press Pass Card Set. Per Ryan Fraser's World of Black Heroes, she was to debut in the unpublished Tribe #5.

© & ™ 1993 Todd Johnson & Larry Stroman

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Ditto

First Appearance: TRIBE - THE INTRO Press Pass Card Set (1993)
History: The Ditto prototype (Digital Imaging Tactical Organism) is a strange new life form created by Digital Chameleon, a subsidiary of Europan. A power surge in his containment chamber causes a computer glitch that gives him sentience. An adaptive and dangerous experimental organism, Ditto's imaging programs simulate enhanced abilities on indirect, short-range contact. For instance, Ditto briefly possessed superhuman speed when the Tribe member Shift passed by in a moving car. Europan internal security attempted to collect the escaped Ditto with extreme prejudice, resulting in the inadvertent injury of a young boy. Ditto absorbed the boy into his body and escaped into the city before collapsing in a back alley, having seemingly healed the boy. When last seen, Europan were dispatching an unnamed, non-powered specialist to retrieve Ditto.

Notes: Most information presented here was taken verbatim from the Tribe Press Pass Card Set.

© & ™ 1993 Todd Johnson & Larry Stroman

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe

Image Sourcebook: Shift

Real Name: Franklin Sadler
Occupation: Boxer
Identity: Secret
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with no criminal record
Group Affiliation: Tribe
Base of Operations: Brooklyn, New York
First Appearance: TRIBE #1 (1993)
History: Former middleweight champion prizefighter Franklin Sadler has fallen on hard times, still operating out of the world famous Beat Down Gym, now a broken down space where only amateurs think there's still magic to be found. Getting by on betting scams in underground matches, Sadler has to be careful not to tip his superhumanly fast hands when using his secret powers to win his fights.

Sadler can still rely on Elias Banneker, an older little person who helps manage the gym, and both work with Murdock Ellison against the Europan Corporation. While the braggart Sadler's specific beef with the company is unrevealed, Ellison has noted that he is motivated by a desire for renewed glory.

Shift was a party to the Diamond G.E.M. switching station break-in, using his speed to disable motion detectors and a laser grid array, as well as work through the 36,000 possible combinations for the security system touchpad entry. Using information gleaned there, Murdock Ellis then broke into Europan directly, but when resistance made him jump out a window, Shift pulled together a mass of trash bags to break his fall. Shift continued to assist Tribe on their earliest missions, including a battle with Lord Deus.

Known superhuman powers: Superhuman speed.

© & ™ 1996 Larry Stroman & Todd Johnson

See also: Spawnometer 0:0:3:0: Tribe