Background/History: Kulta Nainen (her name translates to ‘Gold Woman’) has what might be the strangest origin story of any known superhuman—she was dug up out of a Finnish bog! Discovered during road construction, she was originally thought to be an amazingly life-like statue covered in gold foil, until she opened her eyes and started to converse with the archeologists attempting to extract her from the mud and muck.
Eventually brought to the University of Art and Design Helsinki for a through cleaning and restoration, Kulta Nainen stated she was the Golden Wife of Ilmarinen as described in the Kalevala. While her claim seemed a bit hard to accept, it was pointed out the bog layer she’d been found in was roughly 1,000 years old. That said, currently the most widely accepted explanation for Kulta Nainen’s origins is that she’s some kind of android, created via some form of ancient (and possible alien) super-science. Scholars have noted that when you get right down to it, said explanation isn’t that far off from Kulta Nainen’s self-attributed origins.
Once fully restored, Kulta Nainen was asked to join the European Union’s ECJ (European Court of Justice) superhuman squad, where her great strength and durability would come in handy when dealing with natural disasters, terrorist attacks, the activities of Eurostar, and the like. Currently she lives in Luxembourg City, where the ECJ is based, and has proven herself to be a valuable member of the squad.
Personality/Motivation: Much like Ilmarinen's Golden Wife from Finnish myth and legend, Kulta Nainen seems unable (or unwilling) to express care and understanding for others. While civil and polite enough, she only rarely displays kindness and is usually emotionally restrained and distant. Kulta Nainen also has occasional difficulties with 21st century social mores, seeing as she developed many of her opinions on the subject over 1,000 years ago. That said, Kulta Nainen isn’t a sociopath, and at times seems frustrated by her ability to connect on a deeper, more emotional level, to others. Only time will tell if she can break free of her emotional shell and open up to her teammates.
Quote: “I slept for a thousand years encased in mud and ice. Your threats, such as they are, mean nothing to me.”
Powers/Tactics: Apparently made from solid gold (and thus worth over 28 million dollars), Kulta Nainen is incredibly strong, incredibly durable, and incredibly heavy. She can lift upwards of 25 tons, punch through steel plate, and is virtually immune to many electromagnetic attacks. In combat she’ll tackle other bricks or energy projectors, counting on her strength and resilience to see her through. She works well with the rest of her team, and has an excellent grasp of tactics. More than once she’s used her strength to restrain a foe so that someone else on the team can get a shot in. Due to her general invulnerability, she can usually emerge unscathed.
Appearance: Kulta Nainen may be only 5’6” in height, but she weighs over 2,100 lbs! Her skin shines like polished gold, while her hair falls in heavy strands around her shoulders. Curiously, her eyes appear normal and serve to soften her otherwise austere appearance. As her body is pure malleable gold, Kulta Nainen can alter it at will, becoming as voluptuous or svelte as needed. However, her mass remains the same, meaning Kulta Nainen will grow (or shrink) a few inches in height as she assumes her new form. Kulta Nainen’s costume consists of black gloves, boots, and bodystocking that leaves the arms and legs bare.
Designer's Notes: This character was inspired by a photo I found (probably on 4chan) of a woman covered in gold paint (who I now know is adult film actress Summer Cummings). I liked the idea of a woman made from solid gold as a character (of which there are several mythological examples) and I think it was Robert Dorf (Oddhat on the Hero Messages Boards) who suggested the connection to Ilmarinen's Gold Wife (who probably wasn’t made from gold, but was most likely a prostitute). Creating her powers was fairly simple, once I took a look at The Ultimate Brick’s list of weights for various substances, figured how much a 120 lb flesh and blood woman would weigh if she was made of gold, and then added in various Body of Metal powers. Her Damage Reduction came about after reading the wiki article on gold, while her Malleable Body power explained the well-endowed build seen in the photograph (I imagine her regular, field form, has far more normal proportions).
To make Kulta Nainen more powerful, increase her STR to 60, her DEX to 23, her CON to 30, and make her Physical Damage Reduction 75% (also drop the STUN Only Limitation). You could also add a few inches of Stretching, and possible some Shape Shifting tricks—such as the ability to turn her hands into tools or weapons, or a form of Desolid that will let her slip through narrow cracks and the like. Gold, after all, can be stretched into extremely narrow wires or pounded flat into thin sheets.
Kulta Nainen's Hero Designer File
(Character sheet created by Michael Surbrook)