Are there any Ultraman/Spectreman type of heroes in the PnP lore?
Maybe an alien race of giant humanoids or a hero that transforms and grow in size to fight giant monsters?
With the new magnifier auras, that's a concept that I'm interested in explore.
Comments
However, the ability to grow to tremendous size is a well-established superpower in this universe. The human mutant supervillain called Gargantua (Champions Villains Volume Three) can change from normal (although quite tall and strong for a human) to 200' at will. The first-generation Empyrean named Ogurn (described in Hidden Lands) could also change size that way, as can the mutant ex-superhero Anderson "Titan" Powell (Cops, Crews, And Cabals) to a much lesser degree. The Malvans, and Teleios, could almost certainly imbue someone with such a power if they wanted to. Many alien races can also develop super powers just as humans can, although not with the same facility.
You're also free to define your own original alien race with the qualities you desire. The Milky Way is huge, and not all of the CU version has been identified. So long as you don't declare them to be the oldest, most advanced, most powerful, or ruling a large swath of the galaxy, you should be fine.
If you have a particular character type or concept you want to run, I may be able to narrow down the most relevant lore.
I'll design my own alien race, seems to be the best solution here
I'm running a character that's part of an agency responsible for monitoring alien presence on Earth and it's surroundings (if there's already something like that in the lore, please lemme know). He's a bit goofy and unadequated for the job, but his unique current situation makes him a very valuable asset:
- His DNA signature somehow activated a sentient alien artifact that allows him to transform into an human/alien hybrid. One of the alien's abilities is grow in size, so he can fight both regular and giant-sized aliens.
The majority of Stargazer agents are scholars and scientists rather than combatants. The Project can always call on UNTIL troops if it anticipates a forceful confrontation. It could make for interesting role-playing if your character was one of those scientists before encountering that artifact. He never intended to be a combatant, which is one reason why he never joined UNITY, but his activities and new abilities keep drawing him into it.
However, your concept of human/alien hybrid through contact with alien artifact is not where I thought you were going, and it brings other possibilities to mind. In fact I can think of three lore-based alien races who could get you to your destination, each offering different benefits and drawbacks.
The first would be the Qularr. They're highly skilled bio-engineers who first invaded Earth to intensively study the reasons why the human genome manifests super powers more frequently than almost any other race, so they could integrate that capacity into themselves. The Qularr have also conducted hybridization experiments with human and other alien genetic material. There's a superstrong monster on the Moon (written up in Champions Beyond) produced by blending Human and Gadroon DNA. Its strength was an unintended effect of the experiment, but CU human genes tend to do that. The artifact your character found may have been the product of another such experiment, using genes from any race they encountered, or even from their own giant monsters, which was lost in battle or discarded as an apparent failure. If the Qularr can recognize your character they'd probably want to recover him, making ready-made nemeses for him.
The second possibility is the Hzeel, whom you may have read about on "The Alien Thread" at the top of this forum. Hzeel tech is also partly biological, will occasionally spontaneously bond to humans on contact, and the mingling of Human and Hzeel biologicals can generate super powers exceeding the capabilities of Hzeel technology. Hzeel are short blue-skinned humanoids, so it would be easy to make your character look like a "giant" Hzeel. Again, you'd have a ready-made nemesis if you wish to use them.
The third possibility is more open-ended, and related to the origin of COMET, a tokusatsu/sentai-inspired hero team from Canada. Five college students discovered an alien object which attempted to re-energize itself by converting them into living solar batteries, but "died" before it could complete the process. They were left with plant-based biotech integrated into their bodies, which they could manifest as "armor" drawing power from sunlight, and giving them light-based superpowers. The aliens who created the artifact are unidentified, but in the 1980s an encounter between mystery aliens and astronaut Greg Jenkins gave him similar powers, with which he became the hero Solar Sentinel. SS also gained superhuman strength, which the COMET team doesn't have, so individual power variations appear possible. The advantage to this origin is that you can define these aliens however you like. It's extremely unlikely that anything more official will ever be done with them. (COMET are mentioned in Champions Of The North, but their full story was cut from the book for lack of space; but the author, our own Scott "Thundrax" Bennie, collected all the book's outtakes into a free downloadable PDF.)
The third possibility is definitely what I was looking for! It gives me room to work more freely.
And I'll definitely ping Scott when I can
Character's named Zenith. Here's a preview of him:
And his human counterpart:
DOSPA is organized into eight primary divisions, whose responsibilities are evident from their names: Alien Affairs; Diplomatic Affairs; Military Affairs; Mystic Affairs; National Security Affairs; Research & Development; Supertechnology Affairs; and World Security Affairs. While DOSPA has not been stated to have investigation or enforcement arms of its own, usually working in conjunction with other government departments like Defense or Justice, it would be very surprising if each division did not have its own research and investigative staff, and field operatives with relevant specialized expertise. I would call it fair to say that your character could be employed by DOSPA's Alien Affairs Division. That would free you from any obligation to UNTIL or another government agency, although Alien Affairs would undoubtedly coordinate with other groups as appropriate.
Thanks a lot for the help, I'm always surprised by how detailed Champions lore is