Malodoress

An evil gaseous Captain Planet

“Rot! Rot and decay! Ahahaha!”

Opinions are divided on Malodoress. Some point to her slightly farcical name, theme, and style (for example, she calls her helpers “Stenchmen”, a play on “henchmen”), and say she shouldn’t be taken seriously. Others bring up the intelligence behind her operations, the cruelty of her chemical attacks on civilians, and the delight she takes in terrorizing helpless bystanders. Is she a sinister, sadistic monster, or a smelly, silly mockery? Like complex molecules, the truth may be that she’s a combination of these conflicting elements.

Malodoress prefers terror and destruction over theft or personal profit. She brings in plenty of loot, sure, but her real goal is a citizenry that never knows when or where she’ll strike next. She’s been known to advertise an attack, then strike later on or in another place.

The one consistent thread in her attacks is her hatred for polluters. People who freely leak chemicals into the environment, or loosen regulations allowing harmful pollution, will always face her wrath. Even if she’s okay harming human beings, apparently she draws the line at harming the Earth.

Playing Malodoress

Malodoress is a straightforward, mid-tier villain. Her motivation is to poison the world with delicious chemicals. She has a lot of possible variation, though, and can exist anywhere between “destructive nightmare” and “sympathetic monster”.

She’s inspired by a whole slew of chemically-powered villains: DC’s Inque, Metamorpho, and the Mist.

Plots

Stop Malodoress from unleashing a toxic attack on the city
Safeguard a key location or object from being corrupted by chemical attack
Protect a polluter from Malodoress’ wrath in the hope they’ll change their ways

Dialogue

“Oh, hero. I’m embarrassed for you. That really stunk.”
“Haven’t you heard? The future’s in the cloud!”
“Actually, multiblock styrene/isoprene copolymers is brilliant as a foundation for this industrial process.”

Comic Book Panels

Malodoress effortlessly transforms from a solid humanoid shape into a cloud of gas, which lifts itself into the air.

Malodoress’ gaseous form suddenly expands through the area, creating a choking stench or an all-concealing shroud.

Malodoress slaps her hands together, each holding some ingredient of a volatile or dangerous chemical. When the two halves come together, the resulting chemical causes explosive chaos!

Variations

Origin

Malodoress has three very different origins that can flavor how she plays.

She may have been created by researchers, trying to experiment with self-organizing polymer chains in a complex chemical stew. Whether she’s under their control, or whether she’s broken free and pursues her own agenda, is a good question.
She might also have been a whistleblower or protester who earned the ire of businesspeople who would accept pollution if it meant profit, and was thrown in a vat or otherwise doused with mutating chemicals. This version of Malodoress might be sympathetic, but her motives and methods are still villainous.
Finally, she might be a revenging spirit or revenant, taking control of toxic chemicals. This version may have a point (punishing people for polluting the planet) while still needing to be stopped (since she’s spreading that very pollution in order to hurt people).

Goals

Malodoress might be wholly destructive. She doesn’t care who or what gets hurt, she just wants to spread her beloved chemicals anywhere and everywhere!
She might have a specific agenda, like destroying a particular corporation and everyone who ever supported it - however tangentially.
She might also be fascinated by the possibilities of her complex chemicals, perhaps going so far as trying to wipe out existing life on Earth in order for new lifeforms to emerge from the resulting toxic soup.