Post by Catsmate on Oct 23, 2023 9:47:27 GMT
A relatively recent idea from my Notes file.
Darius Tiko - The Wizard of Time.
Way back in 1958 a group of adventurers, not quite superhereoes, became entangled in a mystery; groups of seemingly genuine ancient Greek and Egyptian soldiers were involved in odd robberies. An astronomical telescope and an obsolete biplane aircraft were amongst the items taken.
Eventually1 the quartet of adventurers located the hideout of the Master Criminal, an island far off the US coast, using a captured Greek soldier to guide them2.
There they found the Wizard of Time, Darius Tiko, a man who'd built a time machine.
Adventures ensued as the adventurers split up and worked to frustate Tiko's plans across time.
An interesting oddity, isn't it?
Tiko appeared in print back in 1958 in the comics series Challengers of the Unknown by the estimable Jack Kirby3, a group of four low-powered heroes in the vein of the Fabulous Four (which they inspired).
Recently I stumbled across the character of Darius Tiko while searching for, as usual, something entirely different.
There was a sort-of sequel nearly forty years later in a Superman comic, set in 1993.
Tiko.
Tiko doesn’t appear physically impressive but is technically adept with excellent technological skills, and a reasonable knowledge of temporal mechanics. He’s also an organised planner, and has good interpersonal skills. Tiko probably has good 'intrusion' skills as he managed a series of robberies in the thirty-first century(a very different place to that period in the Whoniverse4)
Tiko had formerly been assistant to Dr. Hobart Reinmetz (a renowned nuclear physicist5) who'd died; Tiko claimed to have completed the research with the creation of a Time Cube.
One of the Challengers, 'Ace', suggested he had stolen Reinmetz's ideas instead (there's an implication that Tiko killed Reinmetz)
Tiko was a pretty irresponsible temporal tourist; having hunted dinosaurs with an elephant rifle, filmed ancient Mayan rituals, and observed Viking raids in Britain.
The Gallifrey Connection.
The Time Cubes resemble TARDISes (or SIDRATs) in a way,certainly rther bigger inside (and with the language transfer ability). Perhaps the late professor Reinmetz was a time-lost Gallifreyan, possibly a survivor of the Time War, building an escape craft.
Comments.
Not a bad story, despite a poorly explored plot and, frankly, one-dimensional protagonists.
The costumes are wrong for the periods portrayed (but them research is easier today and the comic has a rapid schedule).
The treatment of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians as, basically, superstitious idiots, impressed by a whistle, torch and matches is also fairly stupid.
The portrayal of Nostradamus was painful. And don't get me started on the appearance of horse stirrups two millennia ago...
Game use.
A potentially useful way to introduce a low-level, recurring antagonist into a game.
References.
Challengers of the Unknown 004
The Adventures of Superman 508 [NOV1993]
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
NOTES
1. Well over a couple of pages, it was a single issue story.
2. Who manages to recognise the way and guide themacross the water. And they manage to land a late '50s jet on a beach.
3. Though he could have done more research.....
4. A peaceful, ordered, crime-free utopia as opposed to the last, bloody, gasps of the Earth Empire.
5. It was the fifties, nuclear physics was still 'hip'.
Darius Tiko - The Wizard of Time.
Way back in 1958 a group of adventurers, not quite superhereoes, became entangled in a mystery; groups of seemingly genuine ancient Greek and Egyptian soldiers were involved in odd robberies. An astronomical telescope and an obsolete biplane aircraft were amongst the items taken.
Eventually1 the quartet of adventurers located the hideout of the Master Criminal, an island far off the US coast, using a captured Greek soldier to guide them2.
There they found the Wizard of Time, Darius Tiko, a man who'd built a time machine.
- A boxy time machine that was bigger inside than out. One that had signifiant navigational problems and granted all those who used it the ability to comprehend the local languages. Hmm, that sounds rather familiar......
Adventures ensued as the adventurers split up and worked to frustate Tiko's plans across time.
An interesting oddity, isn't it?
Tiko appeared in print back in 1958 in the comics series Challengers of the Unknown by the estimable Jack Kirby3, a group of four low-powered heroes in the vein of the Fabulous Four (which they inspired).
Recently I stumbled across the character of Darius Tiko while searching for, as usual, something entirely different.
- Oddly I found him on Writups.Org, a website devoted to RPG stats and writeups for DC coics characters.
There was a sort-of sequel nearly forty years later in a Superman comic, set in 1993.
Tiko.
Tiko doesn’t appear physically impressive but is technically adept with excellent technological skills, and a reasonable knowledge of temporal mechanics. He’s also an organised planner, and has good interpersonal skills. Tiko probably has good 'intrusion' skills as he managed a series of robberies in the thirty-first century(a very different place to that period in the Whoniverse4)
Tiko had formerly been assistant to Dr. Hobart Reinmetz (a renowned nuclear physicist5) who'd died; Tiko claimed to have completed the research with the creation of a Time Cube.
One of the Challengers, 'Ace', suggested he had stolen Reinmetz's ideas instead (there's an implication that Tiko killed Reinmetz)
Tiko was a pretty irresponsible temporal tourist; having hunted dinosaurs with an elephant rifle, filmed ancient Mayan rituals, and observed Viking raids in Britain.
The Gallifrey Connection.
The Time Cubes resemble TARDISes (or SIDRATs) in a way,certainly rther bigger inside (and with the language transfer ability). Perhaps the late professor Reinmetz was a time-lost Gallifreyan, possibly a survivor of the Time War, building an escape craft.
- There are also similarities to Doctor Omega.
Comments.
Not a bad story, despite a poorly explored plot and, frankly, one-dimensional protagonists.
The costumes are wrong for the periods portrayed (but them research is easier today and the comic has a rapid schedule).
The treatment of the ancient Greeks and Egyptians as, basically, superstitious idiots, impressed by a whistle, torch and matches is also fairly stupid.
The portrayal of Nostradamus was painful. And don't get me started on the appearance of horse stirrups two millennia ago...
Game use.
A potentially useful way to introduce a low-level, recurring antagonist into a game.
References.
Challengers of the Unknown 004
The Adventures of Superman 508 [NOV1993]
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
NOTES
1. Well over a couple of pages, it was a single issue story.
2. Who manages to recognise the way and guide themacross the water. And they manage to land a late '50s jet on a beach.
3. Though he could have done more research.....
4. A peaceful, ordered, crime-free utopia as opposed to the last, bloody, gasps of the Earth Empire.
5. It was the fifties, nuclear physics was still 'hip'.
