The Oakland Ogre

A two-bit thug trying to be a 5-dollar villain

“Dis is whatcha call grab-an-smash burglary. I grab ya, then I smash ya!”

Timmy Valentine always wanted to be a bad guy. The kids in his neighborhood talked big, and but they only laughed when he talked like them. As he grew older, he heard stories about people engaging in street races, or robbing liquor stores, and he wanted to be a cool rebel like them. In trying, he got sent to juvenile detention a few times, and his parents always bailed him out. They’d lecture him, but it never stuck.

When the mutation struck, and he became big and strong and ugly, it was like God answering his prayers. He’d finally be the tough, badass rebel he’d always dreamed of being. At no time did it occur to him to try to be a hero. Those guys are boring! He took the name “the Ogre”, only to learn there were like a dozen Ogres already in the villain world. Okay, fine, he could qualify it with his neighborhood. Local pride, right?

The thing is, he doesn’t have what it takes. He doesn’t have the desperation or creativity you develop when growing up is hard. He doesn’t know who he is, he only knows the other people he wants to be. So he’ll do small, unimaginative jobs like legbreaking and loan sharking for the Mob, intimidation and arson for greedy real-estate tycoons, and simple henching for established supervillains. He doesn’t want money or revenge. He wants what his strength alone can’t give him: to be noticed.

Playing the Oakland Ogre

Timmy isn’t a hard character to get. His motivation is to be welcomed into the big leagues. His ambition outstrips his imagination, and he hasn’t figured that out yet. But bless him, he will never stop trying.

He has no specific inspiration, just the legion of “strong like ox, smart like ox” bad guys in comics.

Plots

Stop the Oakland Ogre’s current heist
Get the Oakland Ogre to divulge his current boss’s scheme
Keep the Oakland Ogre from destroying something important by accident

Dialogue

“Hey! You’re facin’ ME - da Oakland Ogre!”
“I never could get into da Oakland A’s. I never got above C plus in school.”
“How did ya beat the Ogre? It’s stupefyin’!”

Panels

Angrily, the Oakland Ogre brings down a thickly muscular fist to smash someone that’s offended him!

The Oakland Ogre stands tall and utters a boast, probably mangling any words over two syllables long. Nobody is impressed, but he finishes with a smugly satisfied look on his face.

The Oakland Ogre remembers something he saw in a movie or on television, and tries it! This could be picking up and throwing a police car, smashing walls to bring down a building, or anything else big and bold. Of course it’s wildly destructive.

Variations

Competence

Timmy can’t be the villain he aspires to be. But what if he notices that fact, and starts consciously building on his actual strengths? If he’s treated as a joke for too long, by too many people, he might hide behind that persona while he improves his villain game. And then they’ll all see, oh yes…
On the other hand, Timmy can be not only small-time, but comically inept. His plans to rob a bank go south when he arrives at a bingo parlor instead. His armored car heist failed when the cars just smashed through him and kept driving. He might not be a real danger, but he can be a persistently annoying speed-bump to their attempts to save the city.

Power Level

Timmy Valentine could be weaker, or lack powers entirely. Maybe he’s just got a football player’s muscular build, and he’d do anything to get a mutagen or experimental treatment or something that would give him actual superpowers.
He could also be stronger, either naturally or artificially. A seriously tough Ogre is still the Oakland Ogre, and he won’t do much with it except accidentally break things (and perhaps ruin a scheme in the process).

Leaders and Followers

Timmy might have his own group of henchmen. They might be hangers-on trying to be tough like him, newcomers to town who don’t know he’s basically a nobody, or professional goons just trying to do a job and get paid.
What if Timmy actually catches a villain’s eye? They might use him as an expendable decoy for an important operation with empty promises. The heroes might need to save the Oakland Ogre from himself.