Digger Villain
Real Name: Roderick Krupp.
Occupation: Professional criminal, former actor.
Identity: Publicly known.
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with an arrest record; it is unknown if he is legally considered deceased.
Other Aliases: None.
Place of Birth: Unrevealed.
Place of Death: Unrevealed.
Place of Reanimation: Los Angeles, California.
Marital Status: Presumably single.
Known Relatives: None.
Group Affiliation: None; former employee of Mallet Studios.
Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California.
First Post-Reboot Appearance: SENSATIONAL SPIDER-WOMAN #1.
History: Roderick Krupp's full history, including how he became a magically reanimated free-willed zombie, is currently unknown. However, he earned a living of sorts as a host of the late-night horror movie screening series on cable filmed at Mallet Studios (which was also known for extremely low-budget supernatural thriller films that made Hammer Studios in the '60s and '70s look like big budget blockbusters), titled Dead of Night, which he introduced and commented on during commercial breaks with a theatrical flair full of macabre humor.
Recently, however, Mallet Studios was acquired by a megacorporation whose board of directors wanted to move its content to their streaming site, with new producers who could arrange for increased budgets. These executives toured the studio on a day Krupp was filming for Dead of Night, and were unnerved when they realized he was not in makeup but a real undead zombie. After reviewing his contract, they determined the best way to get rid of him was to drop the next season of Dead of Night entirely onto the streaming site all at once without advertising the shift from late-night cable to streaming. As a result, the ratings for what would be Dead of Night's last season were abyssal, and the series was canceled. As his contract was for the series, this resulted in Krupp losing his employment.
Denied a severance package from Mallet due to them using "medically deceased" as an excuse, Krupp turned to his other talents. One by one he tracked the executives who had canceled his show and signed off on the denial, knocked them out, and buried them up to their necks in the asphalt and concrete along the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The press, without knowing Krupp was behind them, started calling the mysterious assailant "the Digger".
One executive, Darian Maguire, ironically the only one on the new board who voted for the severance package and against the marketing decision (because he saw how much was saved on the special effects budget), feared he might be targeted next and went to private investigators Jessica Drew and Lindsay McCabe to stop Krupp. While McCabe remained behind to protect Maguire, Drew went out in her Spider-Woman identity to find Krupp and stop him from burying his next victim. During this time, it seemed as though Krupp had embraced the "Digger" identity the press had given him, as he referred to himself as "old Digger". She eventually managed to overpower Krupp and rescue his latest victim, leading to Krupp's arrest.
Because of Krupp's unique condition as a free-willed zombie, the California legal system is still working through which technicalities and statutes apply and which do not. When last seen, he was narrating his incarceration with the same macabre theatrics he used in front of the cameras.
Age: Indeterminate.
Height: 7' 4".
Weight: 320 lbs.
Eyes: Green.
Hair: Brown.
Skin: Chalk white.
Uniform: None; tends to wear tattered clothes.
Strength Level: Due to his undead nature, Digger possesses enhanced strength enabling him to dead-lift nearly 1,200 lbs.
Known Superhuman Powers: As a magically reanimated corpse, Digger is immune to poisons and toxins, and does not have the need to eat, drink, or breathe. It is unknown whether he needs to sleep, but he has been known to remain awake for days. As a zombie, he is extremely durable, taking less damage from injuries, particularly gunfire, than a living person.
Should his arms and hands be removed, due to the nature of the magic which reanimated him he is able to continue to control them if they remain within a short distance from his head. In addition, the one documented time his head was removed from his body, he continued to talk.
Other Abilities: Digger is a talented storyteller and performer, and has from time to time managed to trick people into lowering their guard with his statements. He is also adept at hand to hand combat.
Paraphernalia: Digger's shovel is extremely sharp; combined with his strength, he can use the shovel to break up and dig through asphalt and concrete.
Limitations: Digger does not heal normally, requiring patching from other dead bodies or magical healing to recover from wounds. He has been documented to have his arms and even head removed from his body and surgically reattached with no loss of ability.
534 points
| ST: 27 [170] | HP: 27 [0] | Speed: 6.00 [0] |
| DX: 12 [40] | Will: 12 [5] | Move: 6 [0] |
| IQ: 11 [20] | Per: 12 [5] | |
| HT: 12 [20] | FP: 16 [12] | SM: 0 |
| Dmg: 3d-1/5d+1 | BL: 146 lbs. | |
| Dodge: 9 | Parry: 12 | DR: 0 |
Languages: English (Native) (Native Language) [0].
Cultural Familiarities: Western (Native) [0].
Advantages: Born Entertainer 3 [15]; Charisma 1 [5]; Doesn't Eat or Drink[10]; Injury Tolernace (Independent Body Parts) (Detachable Head, +15%; No Reattachment, -60%) [20]; Intact Undead [85]; Less Sleep 4 [8]; Rapier Wit [5]; Signature Gear (Superfine Shovel) [1]; Stalker 2 [10]; Unaging [15]; Unfazeable [15]; Unkillable 1 [50].
Perks: Follow-Through Schtick [1]; Friend ("Doc Hollywood", LA-based surgeon) [1]; Grip Mastery (Shovel) [1]; Improvised Weapons (Polearm) [1]; Improvised Weapons (Staff) [1]; Reach Mastery (Polearm) [1].
Disadvantages: Dependency (Ambient Magic Energy, Very Common; Constantly) [-25]; Social Stigma (Freak) [-10]; Status -1 [-5]; Unhealing (Total) [-30]; Wealth (Poor) [-15].
Quirks: Can Be Turned By True Faith [-1]; Clumsy Runner [-1]; Imaginative [-1]; Macabre Sense of Humor [-1]; Theatrical [-1].
Skills: Acting (A) IQ+3 [1] – 14*†; Area Knowledge (Los Angeles) (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Body Language (A) Per+1 [4] – 13; Climbing (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Computer Operation/TL8 (E) IQ+0 [1] – 11; Connoisseur (Movies) (A) IQ+3 [12] – 14; Current Affairs/TL8 (Los Angeles) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Current Affairs/TL8 (Pop Culture) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Dancing (A) DX+2 [1] – 14*; Detect Lies (H) Per+0 [4] – 12; Fast-Talk (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12‡; Filch (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Forced Entry (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Gambling (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Games (Poker) (E) IQ+1 [2] – 12; Hiking (A) HT+2 [2] – 14§; Intimidation (A) Will+1 [4] – 13‡; Jumping (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Knot-Tying (E) DX+0 [1] – 12; Lifting (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Lip Reading (A) Per+1 [4] – 13; Observation (A) Per+1 [4] – 13; Performance (A) IQ+5 [8] – 16*; Polearm (A) DX+2 [8] – 14; Public Speaking (A) IQ+5 [2] – 16*#; Running (A) HT+0 [2] – 12; Shadowing (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Staff (A) DX+2 [8] – 14; Stage Combat (A) DX+3 [2] – 15*; Stealth (A) DX+2 [2] – 14§; Streetwise (A) IQ+1 [4] – 12; Throwing (A) DX+0 [2] – 12; Urban Survival (A) Per1 [4] – 13.
Starting Spending Money: $800 (20% of Starting Wealth).
* Includes +3 from Born Entertainer.
† Defaulted from Performance.
‡ Conditional +1 from Charisma.
§ Includes +2 from Stalker.
# Includes +1 from Charisma.
Role-Playing Notes:
Digger is innately theatrical, treating his crimes like performances. His sense of humor is macabre, with puns like "boils and ghouls" instead of "boys and girls" and literally removing his hand from his wrist to deliver a "throw in the hand" line. (While at Mallet, he had a surgeon on hand at all times to stitch him back together.)