Now with 20% more GEEK!
Out of sheer boredom, I've decided to compile a series of lists (well, 3 of them) detailing my top 10 Heroclix figures for DC, Marvel, and INDY (i.e., comics that are neither DC or Marvel, because that is an intelligent way of categorizing it). So 30. 30 characters. Love it.
But first...a conversation from earlier today.
Dr. Robinson: We're going to have a new professor in the Fall, teaching German and Spanish.
Dr. Koring: Well...it worked for Hitler.
And without further ado (and in no particular order) you may as well stop reading now.
Marvel
10. The Hideous Plant Man - Most of you know who he is, and will laugh at the mere mentioning of his name. The rest of you can only imagine, and laugh anyway. But I'll be fair, and explain why exacly he is so pathetic. The Hideous Plant Man was an incompetent and ugly criminal (hence the HIDEOUS) who stole an "experimental super-weapon" from a generic science installation of some sort. Said "experimental super-weapon" was a gun. But not just any gun, a gun that would make plants grow really big really fast. That's it. That's all the bastard could do. So he put on a green costume (y'know, because plants are green) and a mask (not so much to hide his identity as to hide the fact that he was, well, HIDEOUS) and went on a crime-spree. He was trounced by, of course, Spider-Man (because Spider-Man gets all the reject villains...seriously, the Fantastic Four get Dr. Doom, the most badass villain ever, and Spidey gets stuck with some half-wit geriatric like the Vulture). He was eventually killed, probably by falling out of a tree or something equally ironic yet retarded. Anyway, onto the figure.
Give him average stats (at best) and a short dial, with STEALTH, BARRIER, and INCAPACITATE throughout.Give him a range of 4 or 6 (not sure which yet), and 1 damage. Mostly, he'll be a hassle (just like in the comic world! What an accurate representation!).
Team ability? This loser doesn't deserve any team abilities.
9. Paste-Pot Pete/The Trapster - Continuing this trend of poorly-named 60's villains, we have Paste-Pot Pete (who renamed himself The Trapster after he got made fun of too much by other characters...and yes, I'm totally serious). Pete had a glue-gun. I'm not joking. I swear, somebody was on drugs when they let some of these characters through. Last I heard, Pete was retired. Despite his change in name, weaponry (he exchanged the gun for wrist-blasters), and competence (he actually had a rather successful career as a criminal), he still couldn't live down his old name. For God's sake...Paste-Pot Pete. No one could ever live that down. And, just so we're clear on the hierarchy of Marvel villains, he was often (actually, I think exclusively) defeated by Spider-Man.
Give his ROOKIE and EXPERIENCED versions the name Paste-Pot Pete, make him a cheap harrasser with a short dial and average stats, and give him range 6 and INCAPACITATE, with 1 and 2 damage. His VETERAN would get a hefty price-increase to go along with a longer dial, better stats, a different name (thank God), and new abilities RUNNING SHOT, PLASTICITY, and some late-game OUTWIT to go along with the mandatory INCAPACITATE. Also, give him more damage (start with 3, then work down the dial to 1) and the SINISTER SYNDICATE team ability.
No one would ever play him in a game, ever, because even though the VETERAN would be fairly effective, it's hard to live down a name like Paste-Pot Pete.
8. The Unicorn - Yay! Even more stupid Spidey villains! The Unicorn had a helmet that let him shoot lasers from his forehead. That's IT. He wasn't even killed off or anything, he was just never let out of prison after the last time Spidey put him there. Christ, what a loser. And his costume is identical (not similar, IDENTICAL) to DC's Mirrormaster.
Give this one-trick pony (pun intended) RANGED COMBAT EXPERT throughout his dial. Make sure he's got the range to back it up (at least 8), and the power to keep pecking away at the bruisers. A little better than the SHIELD Sniper, but no Bullseye or Cyclops, this ranged fighter would be a fairly decent (and cheap!) addition to the SINISTER SYNDICATE.
7. Bad-Idea Spider-Man - Finally, off of the stupid Spidey villains and onto stupid Spidey himself. I'm not railing on Spider-Man, so put the guns away. I'm just saying, there have been some very (VERY) stupid things done with him in the past. This ROOKIE/EXPERIENCED/VETERAN version of the staple Heroclix figure (there's at least one Spidey included in each new set) would portray the wall-crawler at his worst.
ROOKIE Bag-Man; the first time Spider-Man became the Amazing Bag-Man, J. Jonah Jameson had put a hit out on him (which lead to the creation of the Scorpion, another story for another time). Unable to go around as Spidey without getting shot at, Peter Parker took this as a sign to give up his crime-fighting career (something he did every other issue for about a decade, back in the day). But, as usual, he was unable to keep away for long. Stumbling upon a crime, he couldn't justify not doing something about it without breaking down and crying like a bitch because he was thinking about his dear old Uncle Ben. But bereft of his costume, there was little he could do. So what does he do? He puts a paper-bag over his head, pokes eye-holes in it, and jumps into the fray as the Amazing Bag-Man! He would later re-don the traditional Spidey costume and this debauchery was forever forgotten...until Marvel made a gag issue in which Parker's suit is in the wash, so he takes off his shirt and shoes, dons his bag, and goes out for a day to fight crime (in nothing but green pants and a bag...the preferable sculpt for the figure, too). The Human Torch made fun of him. Anyway, the figure would have no range (as he'd be bereft of his trusty web-shooters), so he'd also not have his staples of DEFEND or INCAPACITATE. But he would still have a hefty dose of LEAP/CLIMB, SUPER STRENGTH, SUPER SENSES, and CHARGE. Also give him starting damage of 3, which goes down to 2 and stays there. None too shabby, and playable if only to make your opponents die laughing.
EXPERIENCED The Scarlet Spider; man, does this character look stupid. He's got a blue hoodie with the arms ripped off and a spider crudely drawn on it, which he wears over a red outfit vaguely reminescent of Spider-Man's, but without the blue or the webbing. I hate this character. He's not even technically Spider-Man, just a clone which lead to the attrocious Clone Saga(and the second dumbest idea in comics, after DC changed Superman's costume to that disgusting blue-lightning luge suit...coincidentally, both events happened in the same year). The Scarlet Spider eventually took over as Spider-Man in a ridiculously complex story-line and donned a fairly cool-looking costume before he DIED OF CANCER and the original Spidey took over again. And good riddance. This figure would have range 4, damage 2 throughout (yes, I know he's weaker than the ROOKIE, but he's got range, dammit), and LEAP/CLIMB, SUPER STRENGTH, INCAPACITATE, SUPER SENSES, and some late-game FLURRY. Basically, a tuned-down and generic Spidey figure, but I hate him so much it's not worth mentioning how much I hate him.
VETERAN Spider-Man 2099; also not really Spider-Man, as it's a Spider-Man from the future (a stupid and bleak future, and nevermind that I have the entire X-Men 2099 series, shut up you whores). Still, this Spidey has some interesting options (especially considering how almost every Spidey figure is nearly identical). We won't go into his story. Ever. This figure would have 6 range, and a steady damage of 3 which drops halfway down his dial to 2. The dial would be fairly deep, too, without being ridiculously over-powering to ensure that SM2099 would stick around for a while. The kicker comes in this Spidey's abilities. Give him STEALTH (the character read more like Batman than Spider-Man, really), BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS (SM2099 packed some mean claws at his finger-tips, and spikes at his elbows), SUPER-SENSES, LEAP/CLIMB, INCAPACITATE, SUPER-STRENGTH (hey, he's still Spidey, after all), and best of all, some late-game REGENERATION for that nice added final "fuck you."
UNIQUE Ben Reilly Spider-Man; this is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass, you get Spidey's blonde clone running around in a cool-looking costume. I won't go into his story much more than "he gets clone-cancer and dies," which I think I already mentioned. He is an attrocity, and represents all that is evil and wrong with the world. But that doesn't stop him from being Spider-Man, and having the typical Spidey abilities. Just rehash any given existing Spidey figure and give him a new sculpt representing Reilly's costume. No one will notice.
All versions of Bad-Idea Spider-Man would be members of the SPIDER-MAN team, thus giving them a little more versatility.
6. Golden Oldie - I shit you not, this character really existed. Not some April Fool's joke or "What If?" either, this REALLY happened. Aunt May (as in Peter Parker's Aunt May) gained the Power Cosmic and became a Herald of Galactus. If you don't quite grasp that, see if you can remember the Silver Surfer. Give Aunt May his powers. Then you get the Golden Oldie. Goddamn you, Marvel, I should kill you just for that. Thankfully, the entire debacle only lasted one issue, but that's no excuse for this debauchery. Hey, maybe Galactus decided it was a good idea while he was drunk! And I'm serious...the planet-eating Galactus was defeated only once, by Hercules who out-drank him. Then Galactus sat down, took off his giant helmet, and cried like a bitch. Christ, talk about a buzz-kill.
Golden Oldie would be an incredibly powerful figure, at no less than 200 points. Give her range 10 with RUNNING SHOT and RANGED COMBAT EXPERT and 3 targets, and damage of 3 (5 with RCE). Also give her INVULNERABILITY for a while, before that becomes TOUGHNESS. At the very end, give her SUPPORT. Play off her elderliness by giving her a relatively short dial (9 clicks or so should do it, instead of the maximum 11). Watch your opponents weep as you demolish his armies with Aunt May.
5. The Blob - I hate how they made the original Blob figure way back in the Clobberin' Time set. Yeah, he's a big fat pile of moron, but he's a big fat pile of moron with some real power. How does one make a proper Blob? Make him a member of the BROTHERHOOD OF MUTANTS to start, then give him high damage (at least 4) and no range. Also, limit his mobility (he's not very fast) but don't cripple him like the original did. Give Blob an assortment of powers, including SUPER-STRENGTH, IMPERVIOUS, INVULNERABILITY, TOUGHNESS, PLASTICITY, and QUAKE. Now you have a figure worthy of the character.
4. Banshee/Siryn - I put these two X-MEN together not because they'd be the same figure, but because they'd be fairly similar. Banshee would have higher stats and a deeper dial, while Siryn would have a higher attack-value, damage, and speed. Their powers would also differ slightly.
Banshee; a range of 8 with 3 targets, and a high speed of 12. Give him ENERGY EXPLOSION, INCAPACITATE, ENERGY SHIELD/DEFLECTION, RANGED COMBAT EXPERT, and LEADERSHIP. Also throw in some late-game, last ditch effort PULSE-WAVE. After all, sound goes in all directions, not just one. With an assortment of military training focusing on espionage, Banshee's conent to stay in the back and wreck havok from a distance.
Siryn; Banshee's daughter, and similar except for slightly different stats and abilities. Range 8 with 2 targets, and speed 14. Give her HYPERSONIC SPEED, ENERGY SHIELD/DEFLECTION, INCAPACITATE, RUNNING SHOT, and some OUTWIT towards the end. Trained by Cable, she's more of a straight up fighter, making a lot of noise and smashing into the opposition.
3. Hannibal King - Blade: Trinity actually had a fairly decent portrayal of this character, and the sculpt would be influenced by Ryan Reynold's look in the film (as cool as trench-coats look on a character, I'm getting pretty sick of them). As mentioned in the movie, King was once a vampire. Unlike the movie, he was freed by none other than Dr. Strange and managed to retain some of his strength for a while. Hence, with so many drastic changes, King would be perfect for a ROOKIE/EXPERIENCED/VETERAN showcase.
ROOKIE; Hannibal King as a vampire would have all your generic vampire abilities, such as SUPER-STRENGTH, STEAL ENERGY, BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS, TOUGHNESS, and BATTLE FURY. A powerhouse, true, but one lacking range.
EXPERIENCED; Hannibal King, recently freed of his vampiric curse. This figure would actually have a shorter dial than the ROOKIE version (after all, vampires are quite a bit more resilient than humans). But what he lacks in longevity he makes up for in ingenuity. This version of King would have a range 4 with RUNNING SHOT, INCAPACITATE, OUTWIT, and PERPLEX. Not bad, but not quite justifying a raise in price for a character who's not as useful as the ROOKIE basher. The surprise, though, comes in the middle of his dial where, for 3 clicks, King gains SUPER-STRENGTH, TOUGHNESS, and BATTLE FURY with a nice increase in his damage.
VETERAN; Hannibal King, experienced vampire hunter. A man worthy of allying himself with the likes of Dr. Strange, and member of the Dark-Stalkers (along with Blade and Drake, Dracula's son who is not on this list). The man responsible for the destruction of vampirism in the Marvel universe. The VETERAN King has lost all of his vampiric tendencies, including the melee surprise in the EXPERIENCED version, but he has grown resourceful and merciless. As such, he has a range of 8 with 2 targets, RUNNING SHOT, PERPLEX, OUTWIT, ENERGY EXPLOSION (nothing like a grenade to show those blood-suckers how much you've missed them), STEALTH, INCAPACITATE, TOUGHNESS (a little body-armor goes a long way), and WILLPOWER. Plenty of options to choose from.
2. Luke Cage - The original hero-for-hire, former convict Luke Cage who went by the name of Power Man. This is what every hardcore gangsta and would-be ghetto rapper aspires to be. Cage is a fucking beast, and shows it. The figure would represent what a man like Luke Cage can do with high damage, SUPER-STRENGTH, T0UGHNESS, CHARGE, CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT, EXPLOIT WEAKNESS, WILLPOWER, and FORCE-BLAST to represent him pushing his enemies around (maybe off a building or through a wall). While not able to go toe-to-boulder against the likes of the Thing or the Hulk, Luke Cage is still one of the best bruisers around.
1. The Awesome Android - Instead of giving you a blurb of this character, I'm just going to send you here so you can see a picture of the Android, and read about him. His penultimate fate alone is worth the read (well, that and the picture).
To represent the Awesome Android (best name ever, by the way), give him SHAPE-CHANGING, INVULNERABILITY, TOUGHNESS, BATTLE-FURY, FORCE-BLAST, SUPER-STRENGTH, and CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT (he is, after all, programmed for combat). Give him consistently high damage, but make him slow to move and make sure he has no range. The BATTLE-FURY (possibly the most baffling of his abilities...how could an emotionless android express fury?) is on there and there throughout the duration of his dial. First, a character with BATTLE-FURY cannot be carried by a flying character (he's 15 feet tall, for God's sake, and can get even bigger). Second, a character with BATTLE-FURY cannot be mind controlled. He's an android...all androids should be immune to MIND CONTROL.
And there you have it...my list of the top 10 figures that should be included in a Marvel Heroclix set. Next, I'll do the DC and INDY lists (I promise not to have as many stupid characters...maybe).
And with a wink and a smile, the fool was gone.
Addendum: Bonus figure, because I just remembered him and didn't want to leave him out, even though my opinion is largely inconsequential (at best).
11. Batroc the Leaper - He's a kick-boxer. A French kickboxer. In an orange and purple costume. And a moustache. That's it. Last I checked, he broke his legs after jumping out of the 9th floor of a Vegas casino and into a pool, forgetting to check to make sure there was water in the damn pool. Way to work without a net, you French bastard. Onto hop-scotch's figure.
As his name would imply, give ol' Batroc LEAP/CLIMB for the vast majority of his dial. Also make sure he's got above-average stats and decent damage, accentuated by his EXPLOIT WEAKNESS and CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT. No range (he thinks guns are for pussies), and no defensive abilities (he apparently also thinks kevlar armor vests are for pussies).
But first...a conversation from earlier today.
Dr. Robinson: We're going to have a new professor in the Fall, teaching German and Spanish.
Dr. Koring: Well...it worked for Hitler.
And without further ado (and in no particular order) you may as well stop reading now.
Marvel
10. The Hideous Plant Man - Most of you know who he is, and will laugh at the mere mentioning of his name. The rest of you can only imagine, and laugh anyway. But I'll be fair, and explain why exacly he is so pathetic. The Hideous Plant Man was an incompetent and ugly criminal (hence the HIDEOUS) who stole an "experimental super-weapon" from a generic science installation of some sort. Said "experimental super-weapon" was a gun. But not just any gun, a gun that would make plants grow really big really fast. That's it. That's all the bastard could do. So he put on a green costume (y'know, because plants are green) and a mask (not so much to hide his identity as to hide the fact that he was, well, HIDEOUS) and went on a crime-spree. He was trounced by, of course, Spider-Man (because Spider-Man gets all the reject villains...seriously, the Fantastic Four get Dr. Doom, the most badass villain ever, and Spidey gets stuck with some half-wit geriatric like the Vulture). He was eventually killed, probably by falling out of a tree or something equally ironic yet retarded. Anyway, onto the figure.
Give him average stats (at best) and a short dial, with STEALTH, BARRIER, and INCAPACITATE throughout.Give him a range of 4 or 6 (not sure which yet), and 1 damage. Mostly, he'll be a hassle (just like in the comic world! What an accurate representation!).
Team ability? This loser doesn't deserve any team abilities.
9. Paste-Pot Pete/The Trapster - Continuing this trend of poorly-named 60's villains, we have Paste-Pot Pete (who renamed himself The Trapster after he got made fun of too much by other characters...and yes, I'm totally serious). Pete had a glue-gun. I'm not joking. I swear, somebody was on drugs when they let some of these characters through. Last I heard, Pete was retired. Despite his change in name, weaponry (he exchanged the gun for wrist-blasters), and competence (he actually had a rather successful career as a criminal), he still couldn't live down his old name. For God's sake...Paste-Pot Pete. No one could ever live that down. And, just so we're clear on the hierarchy of Marvel villains, he was often (actually, I think exclusively) defeated by Spider-Man.
Give his ROOKIE and EXPERIENCED versions the name Paste-Pot Pete, make him a cheap harrasser with a short dial and average stats, and give him range 6 and INCAPACITATE, with 1 and 2 damage. His VETERAN would get a hefty price-increase to go along with a longer dial, better stats, a different name (thank God), and new abilities RUNNING SHOT, PLASTICITY, and some late-game OUTWIT to go along with the mandatory INCAPACITATE. Also, give him more damage (start with 3, then work down the dial to 1) and the SINISTER SYNDICATE team ability.
No one would ever play him in a game, ever, because even though the VETERAN would be fairly effective, it's hard to live down a name like Paste-Pot Pete.
8. The Unicorn - Yay! Even more stupid Spidey villains! The Unicorn had a helmet that let him shoot lasers from his forehead. That's IT. He wasn't even killed off or anything, he was just never let out of prison after the last time Spidey put him there. Christ, what a loser. And his costume is identical (not similar, IDENTICAL) to DC's Mirrormaster.
Give this one-trick pony (pun intended) RANGED COMBAT EXPERT throughout his dial. Make sure he's got the range to back it up (at least 8), and the power to keep pecking away at the bruisers. A little better than the SHIELD Sniper, but no Bullseye or Cyclops, this ranged fighter would be a fairly decent (and cheap!) addition to the SINISTER SYNDICATE.
7. Bad-Idea Spider-Man - Finally, off of the stupid Spidey villains and onto stupid Spidey himself. I'm not railing on Spider-Man, so put the guns away. I'm just saying, there have been some very (VERY) stupid things done with him in the past. This ROOKIE/EXPERIENCED/VETERAN version of the staple Heroclix figure (there's at least one Spidey included in each new set) would portray the wall-crawler at his worst.
ROOKIE Bag-Man; the first time Spider-Man became the Amazing Bag-Man, J. Jonah Jameson had put a hit out on him (which lead to the creation of the Scorpion, another story for another time). Unable to go around as Spidey without getting shot at, Peter Parker took this as a sign to give up his crime-fighting career (something he did every other issue for about a decade, back in the day). But, as usual, he was unable to keep away for long. Stumbling upon a crime, he couldn't justify not doing something about it without breaking down and crying like a bitch because he was thinking about his dear old Uncle Ben. But bereft of his costume, there was little he could do. So what does he do? He puts a paper-bag over his head, pokes eye-holes in it, and jumps into the fray as the Amazing Bag-Man! He would later re-don the traditional Spidey costume and this debauchery was forever forgotten...until Marvel made a gag issue in which Parker's suit is in the wash, so he takes off his shirt and shoes, dons his bag, and goes out for a day to fight crime (in nothing but green pants and a bag...the preferable sculpt for the figure, too). The Human Torch made fun of him. Anyway, the figure would have no range (as he'd be bereft of his trusty web-shooters), so he'd also not have his staples of DEFEND or INCAPACITATE. But he would still have a hefty dose of LEAP/CLIMB, SUPER STRENGTH, SUPER SENSES, and CHARGE. Also give him starting damage of 3, which goes down to 2 and stays there. None too shabby, and playable if only to make your opponents die laughing.
EXPERIENCED The Scarlet Spider; man, does this character look stupid. He's got a blue hoodie with the arms ripped off and a spider crudely drawn on it, which he wears over a red outfit vaguely reminescent of Spider-Man's, but without the blue or the webbing. I hate this character. He's not even technically Spider-Man, just a clone which lead to the attrocious Clone Saga(and the second dumbest idea in comics, after DC changed Superman's costume to that disgusting blue-lightning luge suit...coincidentally, both events happened in the same year). The Scarlet Spider eventually took over as Spider-Man in a ridiculously complex story-line and donned a fairly cool-looking costume before he DIED OF CANCER and the original Spidey took over again. And good riddance. This figure would have range 4, damage 2 throughout (yes, I know he's weaker than the ROOKIE, but he's got range, dammit), and LEAP/CLIMB, SUPER STRENGTH, INCAPACITATE, SUPER SENSES, and some late-game FLURRY. Basically, a tuned-down and generic Spidey figure, but I hate him so much it's not worth mentioning how much I hate him.
VETERAN Spider-Man 2099; also not really Spider-Man, as it's a Spider-Man from the future (a stupid and bleak future, and nevermind that I have the entire X-Men 2099 series, shut up you whores). Still, this Spidey has some interesting options (especially considering how almost every Spidey figure is nearly identical). We won't go into his story. Ever. This figure would have 6 range, and a steady damage of 3 which drops halfway down his dial to 2. The dial would be fairly deep, too, without being ridiculously over-powering to ensure that SM2099 would stick around for a while. The kicker comes in this Spidey's abilities. Give him STEALTH (the character read more like Batman than Spider-Man, really), BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS (SM2099 packed some mean claws at his finger-tips, and spikes at his elbows), SUPER-SENSES, LEAP/CLIMB, INCAPACITATE, SUPER-STRENGTH (hey, he's still Spidey, after all), and best of all, some late-game REGENERATION for that nice added final "fuck you."
UNIQUE Ben Reilly Spider-Man; this is what happens when you fuck a stranger in the ass, you get Spidey's blonde clone running around in a cool-looking costume. I won't go into his story much more than "he gets clone-cancer and dies," which I think I already mentioned. He is an attrocity, and represents all that is evil and wrong with the world. But that doesn't stop him from being Spider-Man, and having the typical Spidey abilities. Just rehash any given existing Spidey figure and give him a new sculpt representing Reilly's costume. No one will notice.
All versions of Bad-Idea Spider-Man would be members of the SPIDER-MAN team, thus giving them a little more versatility.
6. Golden Oldie - I shit you not, this character really existed. Not some April Fool's joke or "What If?" either, this REALLY happened. Aunt May (as in Peter Parker's Aunt May) gained the Power Cosmic and became a Herald of Galactus. If you don't quite grasp that, see if you can remember the Silver Surfer. Give Aunt May his powers. Then you get the Golden Oldie. Goddamn you, Marvel, I should kill you just for that. Thankfully, the entire debacle only lasted one issue, but that's no excuse for this debauchery. Hey, maybe Galactus decided it was a good idea while he was drunk! And I'm serious...the planet-eating Galactus was defeated only once, by Hercules who out-drank him. Then Galactus sat down, took off his giant helmet, and cried like a bitch. Christ, talk about a buzz-kill.
Golden Oldie would be an incredibly powerful figure, at no less than 200 points. Give her range 10 with RUNNING SHOT and RANGED COMBAT EXPERT and 3 targets, and damage of 3 (5 with RCE). Also give her INVULNERABILITY for a while, before that becomes TOUGHNESS. At the very end, give her SUPPORT. Play off her elderliness by giving her a relatively short dial (9 clicks or so should do it, instead of the maximum 11). Watch your opponents weep as you demolish his armies with Aunt May.
5. The Blob - I hate how they made the original Blob figure way back in the Clobberin' Time set. Yeah, he's a big fat pile of moron, but he's a big fat pile of moron with some real power. How does one make a proper Blob? Make him a member of the BROTHERHOOD OF MUTANTS to start, then give him high damage (at least 4) and no range. Also, limit his mobility (he's not very fast) but don't cripple him like the original did. Give Blob an assortment of powers, including SUPER-STRENGTH, IMPERVIOUS, INVULNERABILITY, TOUGHNESS, PLASTICITY, and QUAKE. Now you have a figure worthy of the character.
4. Banshee/Siryn - I put these two X-MEN together not because they'd be the same figure, but because they'd be fairly similar. Banshee would have higher stats and a deeper dial, while Siryn would have a higher attack-value, damage, and speed. Their powers would also differ slightly.
Banshee; a range of 8 with 3 targets, and a high speed of 12. Give him ENERGY EXPLOSION, INCAPACITATE, ENERGY SHIELD/DEFLECTION, RANGED COMBAT EXPERT, and LEADERSHIP. Also throw in some late-game, last ditch effort PULSE-WAVE. After all, sound goes in all directions, not just one. With an assortment of military training focusing on espionage, Banshee's conent to stay in the back and wreck havok from a distance.
Siryn; Banshee's daughter, and similar except for slightly different stats and abilities. Range 8 with 2 targets, and speed 14. Give her HYPERSONIC SPEED, ENERGY SHIELD/DEFLECTION, INCAPACITATE, RUNNING SHOT, and some OUTWIT towards the end. Trained by Cable, she's more of a straight up fighter, making a lot of noise and smashing into the opposition.
3. Hannibal King - Blade: Trinity actually had a fairly decent portrayal of this character, and the sculpt would be influenced by Ryan Reynold's look in the film (as cool as trench-coats look on a character, I'm getting pretty sick of them). As mentioned in the movie, King was once a vampire. Unlike the movie, he was freed by none other than Dr. Strange and managed to retain some of his strength for a while. Hence, with so many drastic changes, King would be perfect for a ROOKIE/EXPERIENCED/VETERAN showcase.
ROOKIE; Hannibal King as a vampire would have all your generic vampire abilities, such as SUPER-STRENGTH, STEAL ENERGY, BLADES/CLAWS/FANGS, TOUGHNESS, and BATTLE FURY. A powerhouse, true, but one lacking range.
EXPERIENCED; Hannibal King, recently freed of his vampiric curse. This figure would actually have a shorter dial than the ROOKIE version (after all, vampires are quite a bit more resilient than humans). But what he lacks in longevity he makes up for in ingenuity. This version of King would have a range 4 with RUNNING SHOT, INCAPACITATE, OUTWIT, and PERPLEX. Not bad, but not quite justifying a raise in price for a character who's not as useful as the ROOKIE basher. The surprise, though, comes in the middle of his dial where, for 3 clicks, King gains SUPER-STRENGTH, TOUGHNESS, and BATTLE FURY with a nice increase in his damage.
VETERAN; Hannibal King, experienced vampire hunter. A man worthy of allying himself with the likes of Dr. Strange, and member of the Dark-Stalkers (along with Blade and Drake, Dracula's son who is not on this list). The man responsible for the destruction of vampirism in the Marvel universe. The VETERAN King has lost all of his vampiric tendencies, including the melee surprise in the EXPERIENCED version, but he has grown resourceful and merciless. As such, he has a range of 8 with 2 targets, RUNNING SHOT, PERPLEX, OUTWIT, ENERGY EXPLOSION (nothing like a grenade to show those blood-suckers how much you've missed them), STEALTH, INCAPACITATE, TOUGHNESS (a little body-armor goes a long way), and WILLPOWER. Plenty of options to choose from.
2. Luke Cage - The original hero-for-hire, former convict Luke Cage who went by the name of Power Man. This is what every hardcore gangsta and would-be ghetto rapper aspires to be. Cage is a fucking beast, and shows it. The figure would represent what a man like Luke Cage can do with high damage, SUPER-STRENGTH, T0UGHNESS, CHARGE, CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT, EXPLOIT WEAKNESS, WILLPOWER, and FORCE-BLAST to represent him pushing his enemies around (maybe off a building or through a wall). While not able to go toe-to-boulder against the likes of the Thing or the Hulk, Luke Cage is still one of the best bruisers around.
1. The Awesome Android - Instead of giving you a blurb of this character, I'm just going to send you here so you can see a picture of the Android, and read about him. His penultimate fate alone is worth the read (well, that and the picture).
To represent the Awesome Android (best name ever, by the way), give him SHAPE-CHANGING, INVULNERABILITY, TOUGHNESS, BATTLE-FURY, FORCE-BLAST, SUPER-STRENGTH, and CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT (he is, after all, programmed for combat). Give him consistently high damage, but make him slow to move and make sure he has no range. The BATTLE-FURY (possibly the most baffling of his abilities...how could an emotionless android express fury?) is on there and there throughout the duration of his dial. First, a character with BATTLE-FURY cannot be carried by a flying character (he's 15 feet tall, for God's sake, and can get even bigger). Second, a character with BATTLE-FURY cannot be mind controlled. He's an android...all androids should be immune to MIND CONTROL.
And there you have it...my list of the top 10 figures that should be included in a Marvel Heroclix set. Next, I'll do the DC and INDY lists (I promise not to have as many stupid characters...maybe).
And with a wink and a smile, the fool was gone.
Addendum: Bonus figure, because I just remembered him and didn't want to leave him out, even though my opinion is largely inconsequential (at best).
11. Batroc the Leaper - He's a kick-boxer. A French kickboxer. In an orange and purple costume. And a moustache. That's it. Last I checked, he broke his legs after jumping out of the 9th floor of a Vegas casino and into a pool, forgetting to check to make sure there was water in the damn pool. Way to work without a net, you French bastard. Onto hop-scotch's figure.
As his name would imply, give ol' Batroc LEAP/CLIMB for the vast majority of his dial. Also make sure he's got above-average stats and decent damage, accentuated by his EXPLOIT WEAKNESS and CLOSE COMBAT EXPERT. No range (he thinks guns are for pussies), and no defensive abilities (he apparently also thinks kevlar armor vests are for pussies).