A high-mobility villain writeup, followed with a brief word about a "missing" power.
Devil Diver
The so-called Triphibian Man is a mutant from the subsurface civilization of Underland, but has left his homeland (and enforced military service) behind for a life of super-larceny on the surface. Well, on, under, and over the surface. His true name is unknown and he prefers to go by the supranym Devil Diver, although the news media saddled him with the "Triphibian Man" moniker during his early career and it's been hard to completely shake off. If you want to make him angry, go ahead and use his older name.
Devil Diver's mutations grant him incredibly varied mobility as well as great strength and toughness. He can fly at great speeds via some kind of psionic effect rather than obeying any sort of aerodynamic principles, swim faster than many small watercraft and endure the deepest depths with ease, and even burrow through stone, soil, and concrete at a remarkable pace, or slightly slower if he wants to leave behind a passage for allies. He uses his powers almost exclusively for crime, favoring heists for cash but occasionally cooperating with other villains (usually members of the Legion of Dread) on more grandiose projects - but always in exchange for cash. It's not cheap living a life of luxury in the criminal underground when you look like Devil Diver does.
Description: Tall, muscular humanoid creature covered in large scales like a pangolin. He sports small fins on his calves and forearms, sturdy blunt claws on his fingertips, and retractable webbing on his hands and feet. Wears a black wrestler's singlet and snug dark red belt with a communicator concealed within its round golden buckle.
Gender: Male Age: Unknown Height: 6'2" Eyes: Light Gray
Hair: None Skin: Pale Blue-green, covered in pangolin scales Build: Powerful
Approach: Ninja Archetype: Indomitable
Health: 40 + (5 x H)
Powers: Flight d10, Strength d10, Swimming d8, Tunneling d8, Awareness d6
Qualities: Acrobatics d10, Close Combat d10, Alertness d8, Fitness d8, Jaded Super-Criminal d8
Status: Always d8
Abilities:
Mighty Strike (A) Attack using Strength. Either Hinder that target using your Max die, or Defend yourself using your Min die and both you and the target end up elsewhere in the scene.
Mobile Strikes (A) Attack multiple targets using Acrobatics. Then end up wherever you want in the scene.
Nigh-Invulnerable (I) Reduce all damage dealt to you by two.
Nimble Strike (A) Attack using Acrobatics. Use your Max die. Defend against all Attacks against you until your next turn with your Mid die.
Upgrades & Masteries:
Villainous Vehicle +15 Health Include a Triphibian Omni-Racer d10 lieutenant with the following abilities in the scene. Escape Plan (R) If the Villain is Attacked roll this vehicle's die. If it rolls higher than the villain's current Health, both the villain and the vehicle escape the scene. Recovery (A) Roll the vehicle's die. The villain Recovers that much health. Sturdy (I) When rolling a damage save, add +2 to the result.
Master Mercenary (I) If you have a contract for a specific task, automatically succeed at an Overcome where your payment is at stake.
Tactics
Devil Diver is a super-strong melee fighter whose moves emphasize his supremely versatile mobility, while Nigh-Invulnerable makes him hard to hurt. Nimble Strike lets him hit a single target hard while dodging return Attacks, while Mobile Strikes damages multiple foes and then lets him reposition anywhere in the scene. Mighty Strike is a versatile damaging power that lets him either seriously Hinder his target or move himself and his enemy anywhere in the scene. He can fly, swim, and dig through the earth with ease, and will try to exploit whatever mobility type his enemies lack, moving ground-bound enemies into deep water or precarious elevated positions, dragging flyers underwater or underground, or stranding aquatic foes on or under dry land or hauling them into the sky.
His Awareness power includes extremely sharp hearing and eyesight, echolocation both in and out of water, and a "tremor sense" that lets him navigate underground with ease.
With his upgrade he's invested some of his ill-gotten gains to pay for a unique custom vehicle that shares his own amazing mobility and toughness, as well as incorporating a purple energizing ray tuned to Devil Diver's unique physiology. He'll often have his Triphibian Omni-Racer lurk below ground, under water or up in the clouds near the scene of action and call it in only when he needs it, since it also provides a strong escape option for him if things go wrong.
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As you can see above, Devil Diver has a power called Tunneling that doesn't actually appear in the rulebook. If it did, it would be a Mobility power whose description would read something like "You may burrow through earth, stone, concrete and similar substances at will. You may opt to create an open passage behind you for others to use or let the ground collapse to travel faster and make it harder to follow you."
Now, does the game need a Tunneling power? The designers didn't think so, despite the fact that some villains are themed around being burrowing menaces (eg Marvel's Armadillo or the Mole Man with his subterranean creatures) and many heroes have had subterranean adventures where they're seen tunneling by one means or another. And they're right to a degree. You can emulate an actual Tunneling power with many other options. Many burrowers use Technological powers, some use sheer Strength or Self-Control or Materials powers. A Signature Vehicle or even Weapon could dig through earth and stone, and most Energy/Element powers can blast their way through. Some real powerhouses (eg Superman) seem to force their way through the ground with Flight sometimes. Even less obvious powers might work in an Overcome pool with the right justification.
Moreover, Tunneling is very much a villain thing. Heroes do it as well, but it's not an ability they're known for rather than a creative use of some other power done in a pinch. So that's an argument against it being vital to the game. I get why it's not there in the book.
But adding it to your game as a custom power? That's not going to hurt anything, at least as long as you keep in mind that there are many other ways to go burrowing if you need too. Having Tunneling just gives you a convenient shorthand for "can move through the ground and maybe leave a path for others" rather than having to think about how to do the same trick with different table dressing. Really no different than Leaping, another power that could be reasonably emulated with many other powers.
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