Iron Man's Uni-Beam and Pulse Bolts

[Blitzgott]

I'm a real n00b when it comes to comic books, so I really don't have much of a clue of what Iron Man's uni-beam is like. I did some research, and, apparently, the uni-beam comes from his chest, and can manifest itself in various ways. Like, everytime he uses the uni-beam, he can choose what kind of energy he wants to emit. So, in FF terms, how would that work? Should I give him several "uni-beam" powers that inflict different types of damage? One that inflicts energy damage, one that inflicts fire damage, one that inflicts electrical damage, and so on?

Also, is it more of a beam or more of a cone? I know it's called "uni-BEAM", but the only time I saw it (I'm not sure if it was an uni-beam, but it must have been), it was in a Civil War comic. Stark was giving somewhat of a "world peace speech" that was being recorded to be broadcasted later, I think, and while he was talking, there were some scenes of him fighting some huge evil robot-monster-thingie alongside Spider-Man, Doc Samson and one other guy or gal (I think it was She-Hulk), and he finished him off with a blast from his chest, which I assume was an uni-beam. However, it seemed more like a cone attack to me. So, is it more of a cone or more of a beam?

And what about his pulse bolts? Those who get stronger the farther they have to travel. I don't have a clue what those look like. Are they beams or projectiles? And what kind of damage do they inflict? Since they pick kinetic energy to become stronger, I assume it's crushing damage. Is that right?

Thanks.

[zuludelta]

Also, is it more of a beam or more of a cone? I know it's called "uni-BEAM", but the only time I saw it (I'm not sure if it was an uni-beam, but it must have been), it was in a Civil War comic. Stark was giving somewhat of a "world peace speech" that was being recorded to be broadcasted later, I think, and while he was talking, there were some scenes of him fighting some huge evil robot-monster-thingie alongside Spider-Man, Doc Samson and one other guy or gal (I think it was She-Hulk), and he finished him off with a blast from his chest, which I assume was an uni-beam. However, it seemed more like a cone attack to me. So, is it more of a cone or more of a beam?

The times I've seen him use it, it can either be used as a beam or a "cone" attack... he can basically control the width of the beam depending on his needs. And yes, while the Classic Marvel RPG entry says that it can be used to do heat, electrical, and other sorts of damage, for the most part, I've only seen him use it as a force blast similar to Cyclop's optic beams (crushing damage) or as a cutting laser beam (depending on how you set it up, that's going to be a high-damage heat, energy, or piercing attack), the other damage types are one-off uses that were probably just used in a couple of issues then forgetten altogether. It's definitely not in the "spirit" of the uni-beam to be an electrical attack.

[HumanTon]

I've always done it as: uni-beam=high damage energy beam from the chest, repulsors=low damage, high knockback crushing projectiles from the hands.

That's just me though, there's no special source or citation I'm channeling.

[UnkoMan]

I usually do his repulsors as a beam, with a repulsor "blob" FX on it. I tend to see them shown that way most of the time. I'd probably do the uni-beam as a very narrow cone. I agree with Humanton's damage though.

[Blitzgott]

Thanks for the input, guys. Very helpful. I haven't decided how to handle the uni-beam yet, but now I have a more clear idea on what it's like.

Just one thing: when I say "pulse bolts", I'm not talking about his repulsors. See, from what I've read, Iron Man has repulsors AND pulse bolts. They aren't the same thing. According to Marvel Database, the repulsor rays are "concussive force fired from the palm of his gauntlets", and the pulse bolts are "concussive force blasts that pick up kinetic energy along the way, so that they hit harder the farther they have to travel". I know Iron Man's repulsors very well, since it's his primary weapon and he uses it all the time. The thing I'm having a hard time figuring out are his so called "pulse bolts". I've never seen then in action. Since they are "bolts", I assume they are projectiles, but I'm not really sure. Has anyone ever seen Iron Man use pulse bolts? If so, what are they like? Projectiles? A beam? And how much damage should they inflict? Probably a lot, since they get stronger the farther they have to travel. They should probably inflict some serious knockback, as well.

[danhagen]

As i recall, the pulse bolts are portrayed as a line of capsule-shaped bolts of pale green light. Amazing the useless stuff I've got tucked away in my head.

[Blitzgott]

Thanks, danhagen. Before I read your post, I made an extensive search on Google's image search for "pulse bolt" and found an image of Iron Man, with his silver suit, blasting beams that match the description you gave. I was skeptical at the beginning, but now I know for certain what the pulse bolts look like. Thanks.