The Top 10 DC Heroclix That Need an Update

There are a lot of Heroclix representing the DC Comics universe that should be updated, especially if the last piece to be made pre-dated character cards. Now everyone has characters they would love remade, but I am focusing on the biggest, major characters that are sorely under-represented in the game. This is my Top 10 DC Heroclix That Need an Update:

#10: Parallax

Last Appearance: 2006 Convention Exclusive

Why: Parallax was one of the biggest villains of the 90’s, responsible for trying to recreate the universe and later using his immense power to restart the sun in a measure of redemption.

The reason Parallax is only an honorable mention is that his relevance has waned in recent years. Hal Jordan has long since returned to his spot as a Green Lantern. Plus, the character has evolved past the Zero Hour green caped armored appearance into a yellow space bug… thing. (We will ignore the mustard colored gas monster from the movie.) But Parallax wasn’t as powerful as he chould have been; a low point Robin with Outwit shouldn’t be able to take down universal menace like Parallax. If Laxative Log had been given the Quintessence team ability (like his cohort Extant did in Brave and the Bold), it would have gone a long way toward making Parallax a threat rather than a high point target. I will say that I would love a Kyle Rayner Parallax with the Sinestro Corps keyword to round out the final herald of the Sinestro Corps War! (Come on, we have Sinestro, Superboy Prime and Manhunter Grandmaster, not to mention the SC Anti-Monitor!)

#9: Catman

Last Appearance: Origins

Why: Catman is the leader of the Secret Six, a cult favorite comic about group of villains taking on black ops missions for a mysterious benefactor.

I will admit that Catman wasn’t the biggest name, but he was one of the stars of the Secret Six book and one of the only steady members of the group. My real gripe is that over the course of three or so sets, a lot of attention was given to other members such as Ragdoll, Parademon, Deadshot, Scandal Savage and Bane! But playing the old Catman with them reveals him as the obvious weak link.

#8: Mr. Terrific

Last Appearance: Legacy

Why: He was at one time the leader of the Justice Society of America. In the New 52 reboot, he starred in his own short-lived title and now seems to be a major player in the Earth 2 book.

One of few African-American heroes on the DCU, Mr. Terrific has a very old piece that not only features low stats, but has a power set that really doesn’t do justice to Michael Holt’s intelligence, his athleticism, and the powers of his T-Spheres. It would be nice to have a new version of him to join the JSA.

#7: Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl

Last Appearance: Legion of Superheroes mini-set

Why: They are the original three members of the Legion of Superheroes. They are among the most recognized of the extensive roster and act as their senior members.

Okay, this one is kind of cheating as I am picking 3 characters for one slot, but Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl are kind of a package deal. (It was those three who first visited young Clark Kent in the Silver Age.) Their last Heroclix appearance happened to feature character cards for the first time. Their stats aren’t terrible, but are kind of low by the current standards of the game. Plus, their powers aren’t as represented as they could be. (Some sort of Special Power bonus for all three being adjacent would be nice too.) With the Superman set giving us updates of many LOS members, Cosmic Boy, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl seem overdue themselves.

#6: Captain Cold

Last Appearance: Collateral Damage

Why: Captain Cold is the leader of The Rogues of Central City. He is a recurring arch-nemesis of The Flash and one of his three most well known villains (along with Gorilla Grodd and Professor Zoom).

While I would argue that a lot of The Rogues need updates, I place Captain Cold at the top of the list. The stats of his piece are far too low and he lacks Leadership, a power he should really have. Plus his recent “super powered” New 52 version could be represented later in his dial, making him an even more effective foe for Flash.

#5: Cheetah

Last Appearance: Icons

Why: Cheetah is arguably Wonder Woman’s most well known villain.

With all the recent Wonder Woman pieces, it’s surprising to me that Cheetah hasn’t seen a new Heroclix piece in many years. We need a version of her that can go toe to toe with Diana, maybe even the New 52 version with the “infection” curse given to those she wounds. Oh, and she needs the Legion of Doom keyword. (So does Captain Cold for that matter!)

#4: Wildcat

Last Appearance: Origins

Why: Very popular member of the Justice Society.

With the other two members of the “JSA Trinity” made (Jay Garrick Flash and Alan Scott Green Lantern), where the hell is our Wildcat? We seriously expected him to logically follow the DC 75^th set, but we never got him. His Origins version is definitely outdated. Wildcat’s attack and damage values are good. (As they should be! He was a heavyweight champ boxer!) But his defense numbers are just sad. Plus with new powers like Sidestep, Precision Strike and Empower, Wizkids could really capture the boxing skills of Ted Grant with maybe some Indomitable to show how tough he is to defeat (with a broken leg he still took down the Injustice Society!). We want our Wildcat, damn it!

#3: Orion

Last Appearance: Collateral Damage

Why: Orion is the main character of the New Gods books and a member of the (pre-reboot) Justice League.

A lot of the New Gods could stand to be remade, but none more than the hot-headed Orion. His old Heroclix piece is woefully under powered and his movement and defense stats are craptacular. This is a guy who can go toe-to-toe with Superman and regularly fights Darkseid! He needs Indomitable, some punishing stats and probably some sort of Special Power to represent his legendary rage!

#2: Captain Atom

Last Appearance: Legacy (not counting the Crisis Monarch)

Why: Captain Atom is another long standing Justice League member (International included) and has starred in his own book a few times.

Captain Atom was the inspiration for this topic. I saw his piece and wondered with all the recent Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern Heroclix, how Captain Nathaniel Adams could have been overlooked for so long. His is a piece that could really benefit from some Special Powers as well as an array of energy attacks like Pulse Wave and Energy Explosion. And this time, make sure he has all of his keywords like Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Super Buddies, Extreme Justice, L.A.W. and of course, soldier.

#1: Shazam! (Captain Marvel)

Last Appearance: Origins (technically Brave & the Bold on a duoclix with Black Adam)

Why: Once the flagship character of Fawcett Comics, Captain Marvel would evolve into the magical Shazam! (due to legal issues) under DC Comics, starring in several of his own titles as well as a member of the Justice League and a recurring “sparring partner” for Superman.

We have wanted a new version of Shazam for years. The best version of Captain Marvel comes from Unleashed as the Kingdom Come version… but that’s a bloated 256 points that, while a beast in its day, is very dated. Not to mention, that’s an Elseworlds version. The best representative of the regular Earth 1 Shazam comes from Origins… but the stats on that one are also pretty lackluster compared to newer powerhouse pieces. Now there was a decent version of Shazam to come out in Brave and the Bold… if you don’t mind having Black Adam connected to him like some benign tumor. It’s weird. But Jonny Prophet is quick (and loud) to point out that no “Marvel Family” Heroclix piece has had Indomitable, yet he has “The Stamina of Atlas” and “The Courage of Achilles” which should easily amount to Willpower, should it not? Not even Black Adam in his two (technically three) pieces in the character card era have had the slash through the shield. I argue that if Shazam doesn’t have Indomitable, then he should at least have some Special Power that represents his ability to revert to Billy Batson and then transform back to Shazam at full strength. Alas, we will continue to be stuck with a subpar Shaptain Marzam until such a time when we get the bratty New 52 version. And he probably won’t have Indomitable. (sigh)

Prophet and Toaster’s Weird Heroclix Teams

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 75^th 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 10^th 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. 

Prophet and Toaster's Weird Heroclix Teams

So in this installment, I present an idea for a team that is composed of both Marvel and DC characters. Both comic book universes feature heroes and villains who run their own corporations and as such are extremely rich. So in a build that represents “the 1%” of the comic book industry, I present:

Big Business

So we begin with the hero who is probably most well known for having his own company, Bruce Wayne AKA Batman. There are a ton of Batman pieces in Heroclix, but I have narrowed it down to one of my favorites… the Justice League: New 52 Batman. First thing’s first, he comes with Indomitable. This is a must for this team as there isn’t a lot of permanent willpower to go around. For 119 points, he is a true force to be reckoned with. This Batman also features Outwit and Perplex at various points in his dial (both powers seem to be a running theme to this team). His movement powers start with Charge, continues with mid-dial Flurry and ends with 2 clicks of Running Shot. What I like best is that this Batman begins with a 17 Defense with a Special Power granting him both Toughness and Combat Reflexes which combined with the stealthy Batman Team Ability this Batman will be very tough to beat. 

(For one point more, if you have the piece, you could use the Arkham Asylum chase “Lamp-post” Batman. It is awesome and being a true chase, like 1 per several cases, 'The G-D Batman' (as Jonny calls the piece) is very pricey so not many will have it.)

The next piece to this Big Business team is also its powerhouse… Iron Man. I am going with the veteran version of Tony Stark’s “bodyguard” from the Marvel 10^th Anniversary set. This Iron Man is, in my opinion, the best available due to his vast variety of powers. First and foremost, he has Indomitable. He also has an 8 range with 2 targets, which will come in handy with Energy Explosion, Psychic Blast, a Special Power that grants Pulse Wave and Perplex and another that gives him Outwit and the Sharpshooter ability. Combine that with serious damage reducers and Running Shot, this Iron Man is easily going to take a bite out of the opposition.

Now we move on to the most well known villain to run his own company… Lex Luthor. There are several Luthors to choose from and I had a hard time deciding on the right one. I considered the one from the old Justice League set, which is decent but expensive by modern standards. I also considered the Robot Suit Luthor from DC 10^th Anniversary, but I figured with Iron Man being a better robo-suit guy, I would go more basic and support oriented. In the end, to keep the total build under 1000 points, I went with the Fast Forces Superman Luthor. He’s simple, but brings a lot to the force. Stealth helps him stay in the shadows while providing Enhancement, then Perplex. His last two clicks have a combination of Charge and Exploit Weakness with Willpower, for when “shit gets real.”

So we move from one mad scientist CEO to another with Dr. Sivana, the arch-nemesis of Captain Marvel or as he is now known… Shazam! Sivana was at one point the CEO of Sivana Industries, but I am unsure if he runs a company in the New 52 reboot. However, this piece represents him from the previous continuity as a creepy, evil, gangly old man. The only Heroclix appearance he has made was in Crisis, but it is a vicious piece. In addition to Perplex and Outwit, Dr. Sivana has a Special Power that grants Barrier, Energy Explosion, Phasing/Teleport, Psychic Blast, Pulse Wave, Quake, Smoke Cloud, and Support. So anything he needs to bring to the fight, he pretty much has.

Next is Marvel’s apparent version of Lex Luthor, Norman Osborn. Rather than doing the Alter Ego thing, I decided to just go with a Green Goblin. Despite the 2 clicks of Earthbound in the middle of its dial, I went with the Marvel 10^th Anniversary veteran version. Why? Because that Green Goblin has a Special Power that gives him Energy Explosion with penetration damage. Using that with his 5 range and 2 targets, that is a Goblin that can do some serious damage! Plus, he has Outwit, Perplex and Blades/Claws/Fangs at various points on his dial. He should definitely be effective.

Changing gears a tad, we move on the boss of Kord Industries, Ted Kord AKA the Blue Beetle (the dead one). I don’t really get why DC decided not to resurrect Ted for the New 52 since it seemed like they regretted killing him off, but whatever. He lives on in Heroclix! This version, again from the DC 10^th Anniversary set (I seem to go to this and Marvel’s 10^th a lot, don’t I?), is only 55 points. However, this Beetle brings some serious hurt to the table. He has a 7 range with 3 targets, the Sharpshooter ability and Energy Explosion! So he can mess up a whole bunched together group of enemies, even when adjacent! 

In speaking of sharpshooters, we can’t forget the man behind Queen Industries, Oliver Queen… the Green Arrow. I am torn between the Crisis version and the Justice League: New 52 one. I lean toward the latter because the New 52 version is 95 points and offers more. For one thing, the Sharpshooter ability didn’t exist back in the Crisis era. (Honestly, if you use the Crisis Green Arrow, you will probably want to drop an additional 20 points on the Elite Sniper feat, pushing his cost 29 points over the New 52 version.) The New 52 Ollie starts out mobile with Running Shot, a 7 range, 3 targets and the choice of Energy Explosion or Ranged Combat Expert. On the back end of his dial, he becomes a sniper with Stealth and a Special Power to make a second free ranged attack on a single target. With all the Perplex on this team, Green Arrow could make for a serious threat.

Of course, we can’t forget the self-made billionaire from the Watchmen, Ozymanias. For this piece, I go straight from the Watchmen boxed set. At 83 points, Adrian Veidt doesn’t bring a lot to the fight in terms of offense, but this super-genius does have a Special Power allowing for up to two uses of Outwit! Either have him hang back to weaken your opponents (and be possible Mastermind fodder) or use his Leap/Climb to get into an enemy’s face and tie him up. Plus, the Watchmen team ability should be very useful to your wildcards.

Lastly, we have one of the richest mutants in all of Marvel, Warren Worthington III AKA the “high flying” Angel. For this piece, I decided to go cheap. I went with the 50 point rookie from Giant Size X-Men. Yes, I could have gone with the lethal Archangel, but I kind of wanted to focus on happier times when Warren was more of a playboy thrill-seeker than a brooding weapon of death. Plus, 50 points helps keep the cost down. For 50 points you get a cheap “taxi” to take your less mobile fighters in or out of battle. Plus his Special Power of not halving your Charge speed, with a boost from someone’s Perplex, can go a long way toward making Angel an overlooked threat. The healing powers of the X-men team ability also will aid your wildcards.

We now go to a lesser known corporate millionaire, Danny Rand AKA Iron Fist. Secret Invasion gave us an awesome 70 point piece of this super martial artist chock full of devastating powers like Exploit Weakness, Flurry, Close Combat Expert backed with

Combat Reflexes, Willpower and Leap/Climb. Perhaps the ultimate tie-up and beat-down Heroclix piece, do not underestimate this Iron Fist; he is built to destroy opponents twice his cost!

So the Big Business build looks like this:

Batman (JL52)             – 119

Iron Man (M10A)         - 225

Lex Luthor (FF:SM)      – 50

Dr. Sivana (CR)           – 111

Green Goblin (M10A) – 117

Blue Beetle (D10A)       - 55

Green Arrow (JL52)      – 95

Ozymandias (WM)        – 83

Angel (GSX)                 – 50

Iron Fist (SI)                  - 70

-----------------------------------

Total: 975 (out of 1000)

That leaves 25 points for feats or relics. If using feats, I would recommend using Armor Piercing on either Green Arrow or Blue Beetle to take advantage of their Energy Explosion with three targets. Now I have not had a chance to play this team yet, but I can see that it would be a formidable group full of Outwit and Perplex to boost ranged attackers and close combat attackers alike.

Now I did omit someone that I had almost forgotten about… Gideon. Don’t remember Gideon? Neither does the majority of comic book fans (sorry Rob Liefeld). He was this 90’s enemy of X-Force that was one of the rare breed of immortal mutants known as the Externals. So during his abnormally long life, Gideon founded his own corporation and became rich. An 85 point piece was made of Gideon in Giant Sized X-Men. His stats are decent and he has a Special Power that allows you to copy nearby character’s powers every turn. If you want to use Gideon, though, you have to play an 1100 point game, but at that point, I say lets just go 1200 to be a more even number. To get there, I would upgrade Lex Luthor to his aforementioned battle-suit version from DC 10^th Anniversary. That gets you up to 1170, leaving 30 points for feats or relics.

Until next time, stay strange.

Prophet and Toaster’s Weird Heroclix Teams

For this installment’s team, I came up with a Marvel only line-up. Unfortunately, I haven’t played this team in a game yet, partly because I am missing one of the necessary Heroclix to complete it. However, I really love the concept and the line-up seems pretty solid, but building this team could be a little difficult as the line-up includes a couple of Super-rares, some LE’s, and a chase. So without any further ado, I give you the…

Alternate Reality Avengers

So naturally we start with Captain America. For him I am going with Rohjaz, his 1602 Native American counterpart. Rohjaz makes for a great support piece with his Traits of Stealth and Stealth-busting powers. Plus, he’s got a dial full of Enhancement! Unfortunately, Rohjaz is the chase that I mentioned so if you have him, great! If you don’t… um… ask Santa?

Next up is Iron Man. For this I am going with the LE of Iron Man from Galactic Guardians. Coming from a reality where Thanos had wiped out most of Earth’s heroes and almost all life in the universe, Tony Stark helps found a “Newer” Fantastic Four. This piece packs some great fire power with Ranged Combat Expert and Psychic Blast as well as some Outwit.

To complete the “Big 3” of the Avengers, I am using the Thor the Reigning LE. This Thor came from a possible future where he was a king but was no longer worthy of his magic hammer. Thor the Reigning will be a major asset to this team with his Probability Control, Pulse Wave, Telekinesis, late dial Hypersonic Speed and his being Indomitable sure doesn’t hurt either.

To represent the genius scientist Hank Pym I am choosing his least genius form as the Giant-Man from the Marvel Zombies universe. While this Giant-Man has Outwit and Perplex, I would mainly use him to tie up opponents with his Giant Size and Steal Energy.

For Black Widow, I choose Iron Widow from the Ultimate Marvel universe. As you would suspect from someone wearing one of Tony Stark’s robot suits, Iron Widow works a lot like Iron Man with Ranged Combat Expert, Running Shot and Outwit. However, the Ultimates team ability will make her a great sniper.

To represent everyone’s favorite anger management problem, I am choosing Maestro as Hulk’s counterpart. Maestro comes from a future where he is insane, radioactive, king of the planet and killed all the other superheroes. Nice guy. As you would expect, Maestro is just a massive powerhouse to plow down your opponents.

To represent on and off Avenger and X-man Beast, we use his twisted version from the Age of Apocalypse… the Dark Beast. This ‘Buy It By the Brick’ piece has a low point cost but brings lots of evil to the table Outwit, Perplex and his “Cruel Experiment” Special Power.

Then we add the future incarnation of Wonder Man from the Guardians of the Galaxy… Hollywood! While there isn’t much love for Wonder Man in any incarnation, Hollywood is a real Indomitable powerhouse with his Super Strength, late dial Close Combat Expert and his “Almost Immortal” special power.

Since Wolverine has to be on every team in the Marvel universe, here is no different. I have chosen Colonel Logan, his dystopian counterpart from the Days of Future Past storyline (and box set). He is a highly effective low cost piece with Close Combat Expert, Blades/Claws/Fangs, Stealth and Flurry.

And we conclude the team with an alternate dimensional being turned into a twisted version of Spider-man by the Magus. You may know him as Doppleganger. Anyone who has played against this piece knows how vicious it is. Doppleganger is full of Flurry, Leap/Climb with Combat Reflexes on an 18 Defense (making him a bitch to hit) and with a Special Power (“Mindless Pawn”) that allows him to repeatedly attack his opponent in the same round.  Oh, and if your opponent has Spider-man or anyone with that team ability, they’re screwed.

So in conclusion, the line-up for the Alternate Reality Avengers is as follows:

Rohjaz (1602 version of Captain America from CA) -70

Iron Man (as member of Newer Fantastic Four from GG) - 150

Thor the Reigning (future version from HOT) - 168

Giant-Man (Zombie version from Mu&M) - 97

Iron Widow (Ultimates 2 version of Black Widow from AV)

Maestro (evil future version of Hulk from Mu&M) - 195

Dark Beast (evil AoA Beast from Mu&M) 69

Hollywood (future Wonder Man from GG) - 138

Colonel Logan (future Wolverine from Days of Future Past set) - 70

Doppleganger (evil other-dimensional Spidey from Web of Spider-man) -93

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1168 (out of 1200) leaving 32 points left for feats, objects or relics

A 1200 point game isn’t for everyone, but you could easily omit pieces to fit a smaller build. I look forward to playing this team someday. Maybe someday there will be enough pieces for an Alternate Reality Justice League?

Until next time, stay strange.

Prophet & Toaster's Weird Heroclix Teams

Jonny Prophet and I both play Heroclix. We love to create unique teams based on weird ideas or themes and then try them out… often times against other weird teams. So I thought every so often I would share one of these forces to give all you Clixers some new ideas and inspirations next time you want to play a fun game. I am starting with one of our favorite teams… the Dark Justice League.

Not to be confused with the New 52’s Justice League Dark, the Dark Justice League was inspired by Marvel’s Dark Avengers. Jonny and Prophet and I have debated and play tested many candidates to join the team and this is the best one we came up with. So let’s imagine that DC went the same direction as Marvel during the “Dark Reign” event and the bad guys took over. Who would join a villainous version of the Justice League posing as their heroic counterparts? This is our line-up:

First off, I would assume that this new version of the Justice League would be formed by Lex Luthor (much like how Norman Osborn is now Marvel’s Lex Luthor). I have gone with the soon to be released updated version of Lex Luthor in his Battlesuit in the DC 10^th (Heroclix) anniversary set. This allows him to be a threat when on the battlefield and also brings a similarity to the robo-armored Iron Patriot.

Now Luthor would need to find someone who hates Superman to be his field leader and Man of Steel imposter. I imagine he could convince Zod to not so much work for him but to work with him. Plus, you just know that both would be plotting their own betrayal. I have gone with the only true Zod made in Heroclix, the super rare from the Superman set.

I am not really sure if Luthor could convince the Wonder Woman hating sorceress Circe to work for him, what with her hatred of men. However, Luthor is good at striking deals with powerful beings (i.e. Brainiac). I bet he could sign her on as a Wonder Woman imposter, perhaps with the promise that she could punish some loathsome males in the process.

The imposter for Batman was a topic of lots of debate and uncertainty… then it dawned on me. Lex Luthor could totally hire Deathstroke to work as his Batman and get him to dress in an interpretation of the Caped Crusader. Hell, Deathstroke is a mercenary after all. Plus, he hates Batman! Not to mention, few on the planet (save for Batman himself) can go toe to toe with Slade Wilson. It’s a slam dunk if you ask me, especially when you use the amazingly effective new Deathstroke from the Justice League 52 gravity feed set!

Zoom is kind of a no-brainer for Flash, being the Reverse Flash and all. Luthor could convince him to “replace” the Scarlet Speedster with ease. Now, I’m not sure if he would be “Professor Zoom” Eobard Thawne or Wally West’s version of Zoom as Hunter Zolomon. But both are similar in power to the Arkham Asylum Zoom, so I would just go with that.

For a while I went with a yellow ringed version of Sinestro as Green Lantern, but in the New 52 he is a Green Lantern, so now I am going with the great movie version from the Green Lantern Gravity Feed set. I’m guessing Luthor could sign up Sinestro if it meant he could disgrace his former protégé and nemesis Hal Jordan… or get some semblance of power over humans. That way Luthor can say he’s the Green Lantern of the new Justice League and guess what? He is.

I’m going to be honest here… the weak link of this team is making Ocean Master the new Aquaman. I didn’t want Black Manta because he just isn’t right, plus I don’t think he can do what Arthur Curry does anyway. I had considered King Shark, but Jonny brought up that Luthor needs to pass him off to the public as the ‘new’ Aquaman. You can’t do that with a big shark man. But Luthor could easily convince Arthur Curry’s jealous half-brother to usurp his Aquaman persona and being basically human, he could look the part. So we went with the DC 75^th Anniversary set’s Ocean Master. He’s alright, not great though. The best he has to offer is probability control if he is in the water.

Lastly, since he is now a part of the New 52’s Justice League, I have to replace Cyborg. One might suggest Brainiac, but Luthor would want someone he can control. He would know that Brainiac would just be bad news. (The way Osborn should have known that convincing the Void to possess Sentry to do his dirty work would end badly. But hey, nobody said Norman was as smart as Lex!) So the easiest fit and most logical would be someone who has worked for Luthor before… Metallo. Now what’s great is that the newer Metallo isn’t just a cyborg with a Kryptonite heart. He can morph his body, meld with machinery and even control computers! He is basically an evil version of Cyborg! And the Brave and the Bold version of Metallo is plenty evil enough to round out this team.

So here they are… your Dark Justice League!

(D10A020) ‘Battlesuit’ Lex Luthor (analog to Iron Patriot/Norman Osborn) – 160

(SM053) Zod (as Superman) - 188

(AA045) Circe (as Wonder Woman) – 149

(JL52020) Deathstroke (as Batman) – 120

(AA036) Zoom (as Flash) - 130

(GLGF005) Sinestro (as Green Lantern) - 135

(AN027) Ocean Master (as Aquaman) - 65

(BB033) Metallo (as Cyborg) - 182

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1129 out of 1200 (71 points left for feats)

Try having them go up against the New 52 Justice League (probably minus Lex) or have them all fight the theme worded (1183 point) Dark Avengers team.

Until next time, stay strange.

Toaster's Ramblings... Heroclix Edition

Jonny Prophet and I like the collectible figurine strategy game Heroclix by Wizkids. For those who don’t know, the game is like chess if all the pieces had super powers. These pieces are based on characters from various sources, mostly Marvel and DC comics. However, as of late Heroclix has expanded to include licenses from Street Fighter, Star Trek and Lord of the Rings. The game has come a long way in the decade it has been around, but I still think there are some major missed opportunities of which Wizkids failed to take advantage.  Here is my highly opinionated list of missed Heroclix opportunities…

1. Image Comics Clix: Years ago Wizkids came out with Indy Clix as an attempt to appease fans of comic book characters outside of the “big two.” The problem? (Aside from the mostly crappy dials) There were very few characters from Image Comics. While the series represented franchises like Hellboy and Judge Dredd, there was a glaring omission called Spawn. Now, I have heard that a deal could not be reached with Todd McFarlane. Okay then, but what about other Image characters like Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk, Super Patriot, Firebreather, or the rest of Cyberforce (as Cyblade was the only one of that team made in Indy Clix)? Hell, even Youngblood is back in the fold! Combine those Image properties with updated dials of Hellboy and Judge Dredd characters and I bet you would have a hit!

1.5 Kirkman-verse Clix: No, I am not talking about Walking Dead Heroclix, though they might be awesome. I am referring to the numerous characters and titles that over-achieving comic writer Robert Kirkman has created from Image… titles like Invincible, Astonishing Wolf-Man, Super Dinosaur and the Guardians of the Globe. A few years ago a mini-set of Invincible was released featuring the title character, Atom Eve, Robot, Omni-Man, Titan, Angstrom Levy and Allen the Alien. However, those seven are just scratching the surface. Not only would I love them to be redone in the newer “carded” format but add to them Immortal, Dupli-Kate, Rex Plode, Bulletproof, Darkwing, Doc Seismic, Powerplex, Kid Omni-man… the list goes on and on! Wizkids could easily fill a smaller set or even a full set using just Kirkman’s characters!

2. Wildstorm Clix: This was a missed opportunity that I still don’t get. During the entire life of Heroclix, Wildstorm was under the DC umbrella. I would have thought those characters would be free to be used. (Maybe I’m wrong.) I know I would have loved Heroclix based on Wild C.A.T.s, Gen 13, Stormwatch and the Authority. That could have easily been a mini-set. But now, Wildstorm seems to have been absorbed into the main DC universe, except now the characters are a lot different. While it will be cool to get Grifter, Fairchild and DC’s Stormwatch (which might as well be the Authority given the line-up) it will always make me wonder what might have been.

3. Smallville Clix: With Heroclix currently making so many movie based sets (Avengers, Dark Knight Rises) it stands to wonder why in the entire span of the long running WB/CW series that there were never a set of Smallville Clix. The show had a decent enough following, enough to have comic book tie-ins and action figures. Why was there never a mini-set based off the “Justice” episode featuring Clark Kent, Green Arrow, Impulse, Aquaman and Cyborg? What about one of Lex or the Callum Blue version of Zod? It’s really suprising to me since I’m sure any Smallville Clix would have sold well.

4. Missing Iron Man Movie Characters: In speaking of movie based Heroclix, why in the recent Avengers movie tie-in line were there not characters from the Iron Man movies? Sure we got Tony Stark and Iron Man, but where were his villains or supporting cast? Other characters from Captain America and Thor were represented, so where were my movie Heroclix versions of Iron Monger, Whiplash, “armored” Whiplash, Justin Hammer, all three Hammer Drone models or even Rhodey and the War Machine armor? I’m especially mad about Whiplash as we have never in the decade that Heroclix has been around gotten any form of that character. Who knows, maybe there will be a micro-set released for next year’s Iron Man III that will atone for these sins. We will wait and see. (For note, I could make the same complaint about Hulk movie figures but the recent comic version Hulk series gave us everyone from the movie I would have wanted… except maybe a Tim Roth.)

5. Age of Apocalypse Collector’s Set: A couple of years ago we got a pretty good (but not perfect) Watchmen set of Heroclix. Now fans are clamoring for more collector sets, ones that will give a complete set without buying tons of boosters. Among the biggest of these wants is for an Age of Apocalypse set comprising a 25 figure set of characters representing the alternate reality where Xavier never founded the X-men and super villain Apocalypse conquered much of the world. While we have gotten a handful of characters from the storyline, fans like me would love a more comprehensive set featuring AoA versions of Weapon X, a Sabretooth and Wildchild duo, Sunfire, Magneto, Blink and Nate Grey. Just so long as Wizkids stops at the original series and skips the bad sequels.

6. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Clix: Why? Because Alan Moore’s works haven’t been raped enough… okay, I’m really just trying to piss of Jonny Prophet.  

7A. Red Son Superman Micro-Set: Everyone was shocked that Red Son Superman failed to show up in the Superman Heroclix set from last year… especially considering the addition of various alternate reality “chase” Superman pieces. I was so bummed I painted up on of my extra Supes into his commie outfit. Seriously, this was one of the most popular Elseworld stories ever… why no Clix? In addition to Superman, you could have that world’s Lex Luthor, Batman, Wonder Woman, Bizarro, Hal Jordan and Brainiac. Maybe even include the bottled city of Stalingrad as a special object! It would sell like hotcakes I guarantee!

7B. Elseworlds Clix: Aside from Red Son Superman, DC has many other great alternate reality stories under the Elseworlds moniker. Some of these have received Clix in the past, but it would be awesome to have a whole set of them. In addition to updating the Kingdom Come line, imagine Clix from Liberty Files, Thrillkiller, Speeding Bullets, Son of Superman, the Batman – Vampire collection… the list goes on and on. There’s a lot of potential for some really cool Clix.

8. What If/Alternate Marvel Realities: In the same vein as a DC Elseworlds set, Marvel has its fair share of alternate reality stories and series that could be made into an entire set of Heroclix. Besides the aforementioned Age of Apocalypse, there could be characters representing 1602, Mutant X (remember that one?), House of M, the X-men storyline “Here Comes Tomorrow,” Age of X, Heroes Reborn, Exiles, MC2, 2099 and more. Plus imagine “What If” Clix like a Russian Fantastic Four, the White Skull, Galactus herald Thor, and a Deadpool possessed by Venom!  It would be unbelievably cool.

9. Astro City Clix: This one is just for Jonny Prophet… not that I wouldn’t be interested in the series myself. Kurt Busiek’s ode to classic comics was a breath of non-extreme fresh air in the “dark” 90’s world of comic books. Throughout the book’s sporadic history (it seems only when the planets align that an issue comes out) it has featured numerous creative, unique and outright fascinating characters such as Samaritan, the Confessor, Winged Victory, Crackerjack and the Hanged Man. While I doubt a set would sell very well given that the series was never super popular, I will say that a micro-set or collector’s set could be enough of a hit to warrant production. It would certainly brighten Jonny Prophet’s day.

10. Amalgam Clix: I can honestly see why this one was never made. How hard would it be to get DC and Marvel to work together again to make plastic their amalgamated characters from that 90’s crossover event? I imagine pretty damn difficult. Still, who wouldn’t love an entire Amalgam Heroclix set featuring Spider-Boy, Darkclaw, Thanoseid, Dr. Doomsday, Iron Lantern, Super Soldier, JLX and so on? It would be awesome… I just wonder who would buy the set. How many players today even remember the Amalgam age of comics? Sigh.

So there you have it Wizkids. Sure, some of these are far fetched or just plain past it’s time, but several of these are still do-able. Make it happen! Don’t make me Critical Hit you!