Street-tier Power Level, Technology Theme

Handmaid

“I’m just doing this heist to ‘punch up’ my résumé. Haha, get it?”

Handmaid is a one-trick pony among villain gadgeteers. Other inventors build everything from force fields to mechanical T-rexes to power armor. Handmaid has one gimmick, but she’s really good at it. She builds robot hands.

The hands are clearly robotic. They have four fingers and a thumb, articulated like a human’s hand. Individual hands can come with variations, such as video cameras, hooks for snapping on cables, and so on. Some individual hands might express some rudimentary personality, as their AI becomes more specialized over time.

Handmaid’s goal is to prove herself to someone more senior in the villain community. She can be useful, and can carry off capers on her own, but she wants to make it big. Her biggest limitation right now is herself. She either can’t or won’t invent anything new, preferring to develop newer and better iterations of her one creation. She’s otherwise a cheerful, energetic young woman who knows who and what she wants to be, and is out to go make it happen.

Playing Handmaid

Handmaid’s motivation is to get hired by a veteran villain. She goes about her job with gusto and dedication. She’s here for a paycheck and a reputation.

Handmaid would eventually like to occupy Harley Quinn’s niche (lieutenant to a villain, minus the uncomfortable overtones of abuse), with powers inspired by Doctor Octopus.

Plots

• Stop Handmaid from commiting a solo caper
• Make Handmaid look bad in front of a big villain
• Recover something her handbots stole

Dialogue

“Yes, these are my actual robots. They aren’t hand-me-downs.”

“Good job, kids! Fist bump!”

“Hey, what do you heroes think of my costume? Does it stand out? Be honest.”

Comic Book Panels

Suddenly, a particular area is swarmed by an army of handbots! Some hands are grabbing and throwing others forward. Others are scuttling on their fingers, using them like legs.

The heroes are doing pretty well. Suddenly, there’s an emergency siren, and we cut to a handbot having just pulled a lever that triggers a dangerous condition (like starting up the factory).

The heroes seem to have Handmaid corner. Suddenly, a bunch of hands descend on cables, held by other hands, and lift her away to safety.

Variations

Employment

• Handmaid could make a great lieutenant for a villain, and might be one already! Who is she working for?
• Alternatively, maybe Handmaid burned some bridges or messed up badly, and is trying to rehabilitate herself to a community of villains who don’t trust her.

Hands’ Handiness

• The hands might be unique creations with a bunch of minor gadgets built in, like tasers or rockets. This gives Handmaid more options, and turns the hands from a limitation into more of a theme for her inventions.
• Alternatively, her handbots are all built the same way, but they can have strength in numbers. Hundreds of identical handbots might overwhelm heroes, barricade doors, or sabotage machines.