When an established superhero dies, it leaves a void that
that is sometimes filled by a newcomer taking up the mantle. Perhaps this
person was a sidekick or maybe just inspired. Sometimes they are chosen somehow
by universal forces beyond their understanding. Whatever the case, they have
big shoes to fill as…
The Replacements
We begin with who could arguably be the leader of this
group, Dick Grayson. After Bruce Wayne was believed to be dead, but in reality
was just a dumb storyline where he was wandering through time, Dick Grayson
decided to honor his mentor and wear the cape and cowl. The DC 75th
Batman, the only one as Grayson, is a great, well-rounded piece with Charge
that turns to Flurry, free Smoke Cloud, Flight and back dial Perplex. (There
will be a lot of Perplex on this team, never a bad thing!) Overall, it’s a
solid Batman, regardless of who is under the mask.
Next up is who I would think of as second in command. Much
like Batman, everyone thought Captain America died, but I guess Steve
Rogers was trapped in a dimension or some bullshit like that. I honestly don’t
care and would have left him dead as it paved the way for “Buck-Cap.” James
Buchanan Barnes AKA Bucky AKA Winter Soldier took up the red, white and blue
mantle of his good friend by becoming the new Captain America. To
save points and keep the build under 800 points, I decided to go with the
Gravity Feed version of Buck-Cap. For fifty points, he is an ass-kicking piece
with Charge, Flurry, Close Combat Expert and a 6 range. With a little perplex
and someone using Telekinesis to move Buck-Cap into battle, this most-likely
overlooked piece will do some damage! But who will supply the TK?
How about the guy who for a time was the only Green Lantern
after Hal Jordan
went all Parallaxy? (By the way, that’s totally a word now!) The Kyle Rayner
piece I am choosing is from DC 75. He comes with front loaded Perplex,
Indomitable and free Telekinesis when he has no action tokens. Plus he can
transport the entire team with his Green Lantern Team Ability. It’s a great
version of Rayner, despite Jonny Prophet’s irrational hatred toward him. Hey,
at least when Kyle was possessed by Parallax he didn’t cause a crappy
cross-over storyline that only further muddled the continuity of DC comics!
Ahem… moving on. When Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save
the Multi-verse, “Kid Flash” Wally West graduated from sidekick status to
become the new Flash. And now he doesn’t exist. Seriously? What the hell, New
52? Anyways, the DC 10th series gave us a great version of the Wally
West Flash. Beyond the obvious Hypersonic Speed, he sports Perplex and 2
special powers; the first giving him Charge, Flurry and Exploit Weakness and
the other granting him a version of “Armor Piercing.” In other news, I am
considering building a team of major characters who don’t exist in the New 52.
(Seriously, they have 5 human Green Lanterns but couldn’t find a place for
Wally West or Donna Troy?)
Next up is Hawkeye… Girl Hawkeye that is! Kate Bishop didn’t
have super powers so she took up the identity of the (then) deceased Avengers
sharpshooter. Even though Hawkeye returned from the dead, she still was allowed
to keep the name. And hey, there’s a Young Avengers book out! Everything’s
coming up roses! Girl Hawkeye has an impressive 8 range with Running Shot and
the Special Power to Perplex her own stats. With the rest of the Perplex on
this team to increase her attack, range and damage she could be one deadly
sniper.
It took a while before Bruce Wayne let Tim Drake to fill the
void left by the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd. Upon becoming the
sidekick to the Batman, Drake took the name Red Robin… actually just Robin (The
New 52 can suck it). His version from Arkham Asylum is both point efficient and
provides some necessary Outwit right off the bat (ha!), Leap/Climb to get into
position as well as Stealth to stay hidden courtesy of the Batman Team Ability.
Beyond that he has 6 range with 2 targets, Smoke Cloud, Incapacitate, Perplex
and more Outwit at the end of his dial. With a little Telekinesis, he can be
easily placed into battle if needed. But there couldn’t possibly be more TK,
could there?
Why, yes there is… brought to you by the clone of Superman
and Lex Luthor. Just don’t call him Superboy! Well, I guess we have to since
Superman returned from the dead (spoiler from 19 years ago!). Anyways, I chose
the Reign of the Supermen version of Kon-El because it was the point where he
considered himself the new Superman. In speaking of Superman, he has the
Superman Team Ability which can allow him to see through opponent Stealth. He also
brings with him front loaded “tactile” Telekinesis, Charge, Perplex (shocking,
I know), Super Strength, Invulnerability and Close Combat Expert at various points
of his dial. So just like with Kyle Rayner, you get to keep a heavy back to
position others until you need him to join the fray.
The last two amazingly have kept their inherited mantles as
their predecessors have (gasp) stayed dead! The first is the new Spider-man of
the Ultimate universe Miles Morales. His is a simple dial with Charge and Super
Strength right from the start and a trait that gives him Stealth. His modest
damage stats can easily be enhanced by the abundance of Perplex on the team so like
BuckCap, this rookie Spider-man can be a cheap bruiser.
The other superhero whose predecessor never miraculously
came back from the dead (without a Black Lantern ring) is Blue Beetle. After
Ted Kord was killed, the Scarab found a new host in teenager Jaime Reyes and
unlocked its true potential. This piece should be pretty useful with Running
Shot, Penetrating/Psychic Blast, Pulse Wave and the always painful Mystics Team
Ability. Blue Beetle also features a one-time damage evading power, the
possibility of using Blades/Claws/Fangs and self Probability Control.
You know, it’s kind of sad that out of these 9 replacement
heroes, only 2 of their predecessors did not come back to life. Anyways,
our build looks like this:
Captain America
(CA 205) - 50
Batman (DC75 031) - 77
Blue Beetle (D10A 009) - 94
Flash (D10A 010) - 105
Kyle Rayner (DC75) – 169
Hawkeye (SI) - 57
Robin (AA) - 79
Spider-man (ASM 039) - 34
Superboy (SM) – 125
---------------------------
790
This leaves 10 points left for Feats or Relics. Given the
lack of Probability Control on this team, maybe having the Reality Gem added to
make an even 800 points could be useful (as long as one of your pieces rolls a
5 or 6). I haven’t had a chance to play this team yet, but with the all that
Perplex, I predict it will kick serious butt.
Until next time, stay strange.
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