I've had a couple people ask me why there aren't more villains on the EXCAL world. I've done a few here and there, and I guess my answer is that there are, I've just been having too much fun making the good guys. Honestly, a part of the answer is that I've always enjoyed the idea of the bad guy being a horde of evil, without much to identify one baddie from another. This is how I used to play back in the day, and I always had to imagine the large horde, as I was never allowed to buy more than 2 of the same figure, so no vast armies ever physically showed up in my play time. lol
Here I wanted to start to flesh out what the horde might look like for the primary foe of EXCAL - MEDUSA. I've written a bit about them in the past, but as a reminder, MEDUSA is essentially a combination of some of the world's terror organizations that combined and united to form a huge threat to the world's freedom. At the head of the line is Cobra, the most powerful of the sub-groups, especially after winning the Joe-Cobra war during the period which immediately pre-dates the EXCAL verse's setting. Another key group is HYDRA, but also I have left open the door for VENOM, MARS, pretty much any existing or original sub-group I feel like adding in later.
There is no one leader of MEDUSA, but instead a High Council of baddies who run the show. The reason the group formed as such, is that Cobra Commander was assassinated in the final days of the Cobra war, and Destro has seemingly vanished. An impressive army remained though, and a new infrastructure was required to maintain the ground which had been won in the battle to that point.
While none of the sub-groups exist in their prior form, the background of some of those old forces shows up distinctly in various military units within MEDUSA. Here is the first taste of what one of the new units looks like. It is derived mostly from former Cobra soldiers, and those units have slowly evolved to take on the appearance of the former Crimson Guards. They are in most respects still identified as CGs by EXCAL, but they no longer fit the original mold (i.e. no longer look like Fred Broca, no longer lead dual lives, etc...) Instead, these troopers are now known as MEDUSA Elites. They are the best of the MEDUSA soldiers, and serve as sort of the organization's regular army.
These figures are mostly from one specific platoon of MEDUSA Elites (who have identified themselves as the WarPigs). These will be individualized members of the platoon, but also demonstrate some of the various classes of soldiers within the MEDUSA Elites Division. Other Divisions will similarly draw their inspiration from other organizations.
First up is the Commander in Chief of the MEDUSA Elites Division, General Gunther Gutz. Of Eastern European descent, General Gutz cut his teeth as the second in command in the mercenary army led by Major Sebastian Bludd, in the early years of the Cobra wars, when the exploits of old Bludd and Gutz gained much glory for the Cobra organization. Later indoctrinated directly into the Cobra ranks, Gutz moved quickly up the chain of command. With The Commander and, to a lesser extent, Destro out of the picture, Gutz found himself the highest ranking officer within Cobra, promoted himself to General, and as the leader of the strongest arm of the MEDUSA military, secured himself a spot in the High Council.
Next up is a generic trooper who represents the mold of soldier known as a High Council Guard. Even within MEDUSA, this is the type of soldier most likely to retain the Crimson Guard moniker. In the field, they serve as pikemen. Most often soldiers of this mold will serve as guards for the highest officers present in any setting, up to and including members of the high council.
As indicated, many of these individualized soldiers are being shown from the Platoon dubbed the WarPigs. Mostly, the traditional CG uniform is employed, but with some changes when fitting. Here is the Commander of the WarPig Platoon, Captain Dalton T. Striker. Overall the WarPigs are something of a group of misfits within the Elites Division. In fact Misfits was almost their title. While many of the troops who comprise this platoon are wildcards and jokers (other names considered), they are often regarded as the best of the best. It is Captain Striker’s job to instill some level of discipline and cooperation in these soldiers, who come from various nations all over the world, and blend them into a cohesive fighting machine. With this tough task, it is no surprise that General Gutz gave the platoon to Striker, a renowned disciplinarian. His ‘baton’ is a double
bladed billy club, and he uses it without mercy to get his point across.
The regulars of the MEDUSA Elites do have a uniformed look, even within the WarPig Platoon. Here is a sampling of that look.
And here is Sgt. Onyeji, who serves as the staff sergeant to Captain Striker, but also is directly charged with keeping the grunts in line.
Here is one of the more interesting characters from the unit, Prince Abdullah. The Prince is merely a grunt, by rank, but has appointed himself as an officer of the people, as it were, and affords himself luxuries that no other regular can. He is constantly attended to by a staff of followers, including a set of bodyguards, and other servants, even in the field. The higher ups have allowed this to continue because Prince Abdullah is a fine fighter, because the allegiance between MEDUSA and the Prince’s father is a fresh and delicate one, and if for no other reason, because his armed guard participates in combat, to aid the platoon.
The transportation specialist of the WarPigs, codenamed: Komodo. His real identity is unknown, though he seems to be of Asian origin. His uniform is not unlike that of any other transportation officer within the Elites, except that he goes to great lengths to never remove his helmet, thus adding to his mystique. He also chooses to speak through a voice modifier, though none know if he is capable of speech independent of the device, or whether it affords built in translation.
A generic soldier type here, that carries over the look regardless of which unit he is in – the Red Viper. Mostly associated with an airborne trooper, but more along the lines of a Navy SEAL in that the airborne factor is merely one mode of insertion for this soldier. Simply referring to him as a commando is much more appropriate, and each platoon of Elites will usually have one Red Viper in the ranks to carry out a diverse range of missions.
Lastly, the man responsible for much of the identity of this particular unit, a heavy weapons specialist known by a wide array of nicknames, from Tank to Killer, Megadeath to Reaper, Cpl. Lars A. (Angus) Hendrix is most likely responsible for choosing the WarPigs name for the unit, give his love of all things heavy metal and hard rock. He is a beast on the battlefield, and a riot off of it.
you have gone and did it again......As if your Excall customs weren't cool enough you have to go and do the Medusa thing. Not fare man not fare, I'm still trying to get over Cleo that was easily one of my favorites from you.