Attack of the birthday presents!
Because she has the coolest grandparents in the world, LJ scored chibis of the entire Sinister Six (plus Venom!) for her birthday. Then, at the convention, she snaffled the exclusive Iron Man, Mayor and Doctor Doom three-pack. Man, I love Doom's slippers.
New chibis means new ideas, and new ideas mean... new game! Yes, LJ and I managed to play one of our multi-hour epics in amongst the glorious chaos that was our weekend. It meant getting up early Sunday morning so we could play before her birthday party but, let me tell you, it was worth it. There aren't too many stories out there as creative, compelling, as captivating, as...
The Revenge of the Sinister Seven!
He'd spent time in Arkham and had his schemes co-opted, so the Green Goblin was through taking orders. From anyone. He stormed into Doctor Doom's chamber, demanding the pajama-wearing villain execute a plan of his design immediately. When the tea-sipping despot refused, the Goblin's mood turned murderous. "You'll regret this," he scowled. "A goblin never forgets a grudge!"
Meanwhile, there was a celebration in Super Hero City. After months abroad on a fact-finding mission, the Mayor returned to his adoring citizens. As per usual, disaster followed in the clumsy politician's path. And, because he'd spent no time catching up on events in his town, the Mayor was surprised when Superman and Leonardo saved the parade from a crumbling building site. He was even more shocked when the ambulance attending the scene transformed into Ratchet! Fortunately Iron Man soon arrived to explain it all.
The Goblin knew nothing of these developments, so focused was he on revenge. He flew his glider all the way to New York City in search of an army of his own. Crime, in the Big Apple, is divided along factional lines. Ordinary crooks are loyal to the Big Man, while super-powered freaks owe allegiance to the Master Planner - aka Doctor Octopus! The Goblin approached the tentacled terror in his underground lair, wanting to make a "business proposition".
He said he wanted to hire Electro, Shocker, Vulture, Sandman and Rhino to take down Doom. The villains refused, as each had personal reasons to hate Norman Osborn. But Doctor Octopus over-ruled their objections and vowed the Sinister Six would be loyal "as long as we get to destroy Spider-Man, too". None of the baddies realised they were being spied on by Venom. Eddie Brock and his symbiote still hungered for vengeance against Spider-Man and decided to follow, knowing they'd "lead the way to the prey".
The Mayor and Iron Man were near the bank, saying their goodbyes, when the Sinister Six hit town like a bomb. For all his experience, Tony Stark was completely overwhelmed by the lethality of Doc Ock's soldiers. Vulture knocked him to the ground, Sandman gummed up the joints of his armour and Electro shorted his circuits. Shocker's gauntlet-blasts left him disoriented and unable to avoid the Rhino's crushing charge. Ock kidnapped the Mayor while Goblin circled overhead, laughing with glee.
Sandman and Rhino stayed behind to draw out Spidey. Goblin, Ock, Vulture, Shocker and Electro went to Villainville, attacking Doctor Doom when he came outside to collect his newspaper. The king of Latveria soon found himself - fuzzy slippers and all - inside a forcefield of Ock's creation, with Iron Man and the Mayor for company. The device de-activated technology and was too complicated for even the combined genius of Doom and Tony Stark. The eternal foes realised they were stuck, and could only wait for rescue. The Mayor wailed.
Iron Man looked closely at Doom. "Do you have stubble on top of your mask?" he asked.
Doom scowled. "It's a personal hygiene thing and I don't like to talk about it," he snapped, then turned his back and read the paper.
Back in the city, Sandman and Rhino had reverted to type and started robbing the bank. The silent alarm caught the attention of Spider-Man, Blue Beetle and Jazz... but only for a moment. Venom chose that moment to attack his "bro", whipping Beetle and Jazz aside with symbiote tentacles! The alien menace was more than a match for Spidey, but not for super-hero teamwork. Beetle turned his armour into a flame-thrower while Jazz provided a sonic assault. One spider-strength punch later, Venom was down for the count.
That's when the heroes saw the bank robbery. Rhino charged at Spidey, who jumped out of the way. The beast slammed into Jazz's vehicle mode, causing him to transform and deliver a giant-sized cyber-ninja smackdown. Sandman thought Beetle was "just another bug to squash", and was stunned when the hero turned his armour into a vacuum cleaner and "Hoovered him up". Spidey knew the arrival of so many villains couldn't have been a coincidence, and tricked the barely-conscious Rhino into giving up Ock's location.
Venom had recovered during the fight and, after hearing the Rhino's admission, slipped away. After a brief confrontation with Ock, he offered to bolster their ranks in exchange for "a piece of my bro". Goblin agreed just as the far wall exploded. Spidey, Jazz and the Beetle had arrived, dragging Rhino and Sandman along with them. Vulture scooped up his allies, and the battle lines were drawn. The heroes looked to be seriously outnumbered, and the bad guys laughed...
... but only until Captain America, Luke Skywalker, Bwana Beast, Guy Gardner and Leonardo arrived to even the odds. "You guys are so dumb," Spidey laughed. "Back in New York, it'd be eight against one. But here in Super Hero City, it's all about the good guys! Okay, Squaddies - Hero Up!"
Leo's swords clipped the Vulture's wings. Shocker's sonics were no match for Jazz's aural assault, and the Blue Beetle was much better at turning into weapons than the Sandman was. Bwana Beast put Rhino to sleep, Luke used the Force to clamp Electro's containment suit shut, and Cap's shield introduced itself to the Goblin's screaming mouth. Playing on Ock's ego, Spidey took enough of a pummelling to get in close... then broke his arms' power source. Like so many before them, the "Sinisters" fell to the Squad.
The heroes took down the force field, freeing Iron Man, the Mayor and Doom. The despot sipped his tea thoughtfully and looked down at the defeated villains. "You know, I could save all of you from a stint in Arkham," he said lightly. "You'd just have to swear eternal fealty to me, while the Goblin would need to scrub the toilets for, say, three months. The choice is yours." Really, there was no choice at all - Goblin and the Seven accepted. Before the heroes could stop them, Doom triggered the teleporter in his slippers and they vanished.
"I'm kind of getting sick of that trick," Spidey moaned. "And now there's more creeps on their team!"
""The difference is we're a real team, solider," Cap said, slapping him on the back, "and that makes us unbeatable."
----------
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF
New chibis means new ideas, and new ideas mean... new game! Yes, LJ and I managed to play one of our multi-hour epics in amongst the glorious chaos that was our weekend. It meant getting up early Sunday morning so we could play before her birthday party but, let me tell you, it was worth it. There aren't too many stories out there as creative, compelling, as captivating, as...
The Revenge of the Sinister Seven!
He'd spent time in Arkham and had his schemes co-opted, so the Green Goblin was through taking orders. From anyone. He stormed into Doctor Doom's chamber, demanding the pajama-wearing villain execute a plan of his design immediately. When the tea-sipping despot refused, the Goblin's mood turned murderous. "You'll regret this," he scowled. "A goblin never forgets a grudge!"
Meanwhile, there was a celebration in Super Hero City. After months abroad on a fact-finding mission, the Mayor returned to his adoring citizens. As per usual, disaster followed in the clumsy politician's path. And, because he'd spent no time catching up on events in his town, the Mayor was surprised when Superman and Leonardo saved the parade from a crumbling building site. He was even more shocked when the ambulance attending the scene transformed into Ratchet! Fortunately Iron Man soon arrived to explain it all.
The Goblin knew nothing of these developments, so focused was he on revenge. He flew his glider all the way to New York City in search of an army of his own. Crime, in the Big Apple, is divided along factional lines. Ordinary crooks are loyal to the Big Man, while super-powered freaks owe allegiance to the Master Planner - aka Doctor Octopus! The Goblin approached the tentacled terror in his underground lair, wanting to make a "business proposition".
He said he wanted to hire Electro, Shocker, Vulture, Sandman and Rhino to take down Doom. The villains refused, as each had personal reasons to hate Norman Osborn. But Doctor Octopus over-ruled their objections and vowed the Sinister Six would be loyal "as long as we get to destroy Spider-Man, too". None of the baddies realised they were being spied on by Venom. Eddie Brock and his symbiote still hungered for vengeance against Spider-Man and decided to follow, knowing they'd "lead the way to the prey".
The Mayor and Iron Man were near the bank, saying their goodbyes, when the Sinister Six hit town like a bomb. For all his experience, Tony Stark was completely overwhelmed by the lethality of Doc Ock's soldiers. Vulture knocked him to the ground, Sandman gummed up the joints of his armour and Electro shorted his circuits. Shocker's gauntlet-blasts left him disoriented and unable to avoid the Rhino's crushing charge. Ock kidnapped the Mayor while Goblin circled overhead, laughing with glee.
Sandman and Rhino stayed behind to draw out Spidey. Goblin, Ock, Vulture, Shocker and Electro went to Villainville, attacking Doctor Doom when he came outside to collect his newspaper. The king of Latveria soon found himself - fuzzy slippers and all - inside a forcefield of Ock's creation, with Iron Man and the Mayor for company. The device de-activated technology and was too complicated for even the combined genius of Doom and Tony Stark. The eternal foes realised they were stuck, and could only wait for rescue. The Mayor wailed.
Iron Man looked closely at Doom. "Do you have stubble on top of your mask?" he asked.
Doom scowled. "It's a personal hygiene thing and I don't like to talk about it," he snapped, then turned his back and read the paper.
Back in the city, Sandman and Rhino had reverted to type and started robbing the bank. The silent alarm caught the attention of Spider-Man, Blue Beetle and Jazz... but only for a moment. Venom chose that moment to attack his "bro", whipping Beetle and Jazz aside with symbiote tentacles! The alien menace was more than a match for Spidey, but not for super-hero teamwork. Beetle turned his armour into a flame-thrower while Jazz provided a sonic assault. One spider-strength punch later, Venom was down for the count.
That's when the heroes saw the bank robbery. Rhino charged at Spidey, who jumped out of the way. The beast slammed into Jazz's vehicle mode, causing him to transform and deliver a giant-sized cyber-ninja smackdown. Sandman thought Beetle was "just another bug to squash", and was stunned when the hero turned his armour into a vacuum cleaner and "Hoovered him up". Spidey knew the arrival of so many villains couldn't have been a coincidence, and tricked the barely-conscious Rhino into giving up Ock's location.
Venom had recovered during the fight and, after hearing the Rhino's admission, slipped away. After a brief confrontation with Ock, he offered to bolster their ranks in exchange for "a piece of my bro". Goblin agreed just as the far wall exploded. Spidey, Jazz and the Beetle had arrived, dragging Rhino and Sandman along with them. Vulture scooped up his allies, and the battle lines were drawn. The heroes looked to be seriously outnumbered, and the bad guys laughed...
... but only until Captain America, Luke Skywalker, Bwana Beast, Guy Gardner and Leonardo arrived to even the odds. "You guys are so dumb," Spidey laughed. "Back in New York, it'd be eight against one. But here in Super Hero City, it's all about the good guys! Okay, Squaddies - Hero Up!"
Leo's swords clipped the Vulture's wings. Shocker's sonics were no match for Jazz's aural assault, and the Blue Beetle was much better at turning into weapons than the Sandman was. Bwana Beast put Rhino to sleep, Luke used the Force to clamp Electro's containment suit shut, and Cap's shield introduced itself to the Goblin's screaming mouth. Playing on Ock's ego, Spidey took enough of a pummelling to get in close... then broke his arms' power source. Like so many before them, the "Sinisters" fell to the Squad.
The heroes took down the force field, freeing Iron Man, the Mayor and Doom. The despot sipped his tea thoughtfully and looked down at the defeated villains. "You know, I could save all of you from a stint in Arkham," he said lightly. "You'd just have to swear eternal fealty to me, while the Goblin would need to scrub the toilets for, say, three months. The choice is yours." Really, there was no choice at all - Goblin and the Seven accepted. Before the heroes could stop them, Doom triggered the teleporter in his slippers and they vanished.
"I'm kind of getting sick of that trick," Spidey moaned. "And now there's more creeps on their team!"
""The difference is we're a real team, solider," Cap said, slapping him on the back, "and that makes us unbeatable."
----------
Greet the Fire as Your Friend,
SF