Superhero Media: Man of Steel

Ok, I just need to re-watch Wonder Woman and I'm finally caught up with the DCU (as of the moment of writing, Justice League is still about a month away, yeah, that's how big the backlog is). This film is bad. I know it has it's fans, and I tried, but I just found nothing to enjoy in this grim, dour, uninspired and uninspiring take on the Man of Tomorrow. Ok, so Superman Returns proved that remaking Superman The Movie won't really work anymore in the current blockbuster climate, but throwing out everything that worked for Richard Donner and trying something completely new still seems like too much of a risk for the most recognisable superhero in the world. For an example of how this functioned in public media, just take a look at how many versions of Man of Steel clips plus John Williams Superman score are on YouTube. Superman The Movie remains as iconic as it does, several decades on, for more reasons than simple nostalgia; the design, ascetics and themes are, essentially, timeless. 

Think about the designs of Kryton between Superman The Movie and Man of Steel. The most recent Superman comics I've read still represent Kryton like the Donner films, instead of "sepia-tone Pandora" from the DCEU. That's probably what gets me the most about Man of Steel, why is this, lackluster, film the jumping off point for the entire DCU in the medium of film? In practical terms, WB and DC really couldn't wait too much longer to try and play catch-up to Marvel Studios, but was it really worth the gamble on this turd? I'm not so naive as to think that there ever could have been a film featuring the Brandon Routh version of Superman and the Christian Bale version of Batman, or, gods forbid, a film with Christopher Reeve, Lynda Carter and Adam West lining up as the "World's Finest". But, why go with Henry Cavill when he had failed to truly impress? I'm more-or-less over comparing the DC/WB films to the Marvel Studios ones, but if Iron Man had flopped, would we really have the MCU? No. Iron Man was an experiment that returned unseen dividends, Man of Steel was a deliberate attempt to kick-start an "expanded universe" that, let's face it, took four films to get watchable.  

As I've mentioned before, I really want to see the DCEU produce good films and be successful. I want a good Captain Marvel, The Question, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, JLU and countless other film[s] in my lifetime. But if this is the version of Superman that its all building from, where will it end up? Yes, I haven't really covered the specifics of Man of Steel here; I don't need to. There are more than enough reviews, dissections and lambasting of this film out there on the internet that I'm under no illusions of ego that anyone is coming here for a definitive word. If you're reading this, you probably want to know if Man of Steel is worth watching for Supers gaming inspiration; not really. Zod's plan makes no sense, the design of the Krytonians would not look good on the table-top and there are many better versions of Superman to model your miniatures after.

JDMG AAR - Cyberpunk Rock Song

Several of my clubmates and I are collaborating on a Cyberpunk project for Little Wars Melbourne 2018, primarily focusing on getting a huge table of terrain and several "factions" done, with a look to trying different game systems on the finished project. I suggested that we give the table a go before we got too far along, so I put together a Judge Dredd Miniatures Game scenario and four teams to try it out. As you'll see, the table is very much a work in progress and the gangs where whatever I could get together that fit the theme.

The table is looking good, we need a mat though.

The Gangs: Four factions squared off, in two overlapping two-on-two games; Public Security Section Nine (East Meg Invasion Force) was attempting to prevent Ulysses Klaw (Mobsters) from stealing the MacGuffin Crystal. At the same time, Batman [Beyond] (Lone Vigilante) was preventing the Royal Flush Gang (Sky Surfers) from robbing rich apartments. 

 You like comic references? We got those. 

 A Section 9 Tachikoma keeps Klaw at bay for a couple of turns down near the pump station. 

 Apartments in the sky. 

 Noodles to go, vendor and noodles coming soon. 

 Even the car-sized Tachikoma are dwarfed by the urban sprawl. 

 The Royal Flush Gang did well at first, grabbing three of the five objectives. 

 Those handsome men and their funny books. 

 Klaw brings up one of his Killbots to help battle the Tachikoma. 

 The second Killbot sneaks towards the crystal, past this nice billboard. 

 The Royal Flush gang have had their cards reinforced after at least one of them breaking in every damn game. 

 It's always fun to put down a single figure and call it an "Army". 

 Copplestone robots for the Killbots and an Infinity miniature for Klaw. 

 Public Security Section Nine. 

 Tachikoma, repainted toy. 

 Hasslefree Bateu runs up the staircase of a Knights of Dice building. 

 "I think that's my guy there?" 

 Ground level terrain helps create the density we're looking for. 

 We just really like that billboard. 

 Showing off my new Knights of Dice building. 

 The finished sections really demonstrate what the table will look like. 

 Section 9 takes up a defensive line. 

 Queen and Jack attempt to make a getaway. 

 Ace and Tachikoma come to blows.

 Queen manages to slip away with an objective. 

 Killbot takes up a sniper position. 

 One Killbot down, Klaw takes cover from the Tachikoma's minigun. 

 King and Batman face off, the would-be royal no match for the Dark Knight. 

 Ace is simply no match for the military-grade Tachikoma. 

 Jack just before Batman caught up with him. 

 Killbot 2 actually made it to the objective before Bateu chased it down. 

It was a fun game, Batman and Section 9 coming out on top in the end. The balance was probably a little off, but I was going for having teams that could move about quickly and make use of the terrain. The table worked nicely, a couple more tall buildings will be completed and some scatter terrain. 

For those of you interested, here are the rosters of the gangs we used:

Batman Beyond – Lone Vigilante  

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
5/15	+2	+1	+3	3D	+3	+4	5	-

Equipment:

Exo Suit, Respirator

Jet Pack: Batman may make a 15” Flying Move instead of his normal Move. Agility check or lose Actions and 1 Hit.

Chameleon Suit: So long as Batman is in cover and did not make a Shoot or Melee action in his last Phase, he may not be targets by attacks from more than 20” away.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Concussion Grenades	10	1	Stun	0	Explosive 3, Weak
Electro-Prod	Melee	3D	Stun	0	Weak
Las-Knife	Melee	3D	1	-5	-

Talents:

Brave: Batman may re-roll failed Will to Fight checks.  

Parry: Force an enemy model to re-roll one Melee Die.

Agile: Batman may re-roll a failed Agility check (not in Melee combat).

Stealthy: Enemy models more than 20” away must win an opposed Will check to target Batman.

Silent Action: Batman does not break Stealth when taking Move or Special Actions.

Silent Killer: Batman may make Shoot and Melee actions whilst being Stealthy at a -1 penalty, when doing so, all hits are automatically Critical. Stealthy expires at the completion of an attack. 

Public Security Section Nine – East Meg Invasion Force  

Batou

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
5	-4	+4	+2	2D	+3	+5	6	-

Equipment:

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Fists	Melee	2D	1	-	-
Pistol	12	1D	1	-5	-

Talents

Accurate: Batou may re-roll a missed Shoot attack.

Agile: Batou may re-roll a failed Agility check (not in Melee combat).

Brave: Batou may re-roll failed Will to Fight checks. 

Dance of Death: Once per turn, if Batou removes an enemy in Melee Combat, he may immediately make a bonus Melee Action.

Duck & Weave: Batou gains +1 Agility against Shooting attacks when in Cover.

Light Foot: Batou may make an Agility Check to move over any obstacle 3” high without movement penalty. If failed, Batou stops moving.

Tachikoma 1

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
5	-1	+1	+2	4D	+1	+6	5	-

Equipment:

Cables: Tachikoma may make close combat attacks against a target up to 6” away with a Melee action but cannot benefit from charging if it does so. The two models are not locked in combat.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Claws	Melee	4D	2	-3	Smasher
LMGs	12	5D	2	-3	-
Snout Gun	8	6D	1	-	Spray

 

Tachikoma 2

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
5	-1	+1	+2	4D	+1	+6	5	-

Equipment:

Cables: Tachikoma may make close combat attacks against a target up to 6” away with a Melee action but cannot benefit from charging if it does so. The two models are not locked in combat.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Claws	Melee	4D	2	-3	Smasher
LMGs	12	5D	2	-3	-
Snout Gun	8	6D	1	-	Spray

The Royal Flush Gang – Sky Surfers

King – Sky Surfer Icon

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
20	+3	+1	0	2D	+1	+4	2	-

Equipment:

Power Board: King is a Flyer and may not make Melee actions.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Fire Bombs	10	1	1	0	Explosive 1, Fire

Talents:

Jinker (Passive): King may re-roll his Agility when targeted by a Shooting attack. This roll suffers a cumulative -1 Penalty for each attack after the first.

Voice of Command (Passive): Every Model within 12” of King gains a +1 bonus to all Will check.

 

Queen

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
20	+1	-1	-1	2D	0	+4	1	-

Equipment:

Power Board: Queen is a Flyer and may not make Melee actions.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Zip Gun	15	3	1	0	Inaccurate

 

Jack

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
20	+1	-1	-1	2D	0	+4	1	-

Equipment:

Power Board: Jack is a Flyer and may not make Melee actions.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Zip Gun	15	3	1	0	Inaccurate

 

Ten

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
20	+1	-1	-1	2D	0	+4	1	-

Equipment:

Power Board: Ten is a Flyer and may not make Melee actions.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Zip Gun	15	3	1	0	Inaccurate

 

Ace – Demolition Droid

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
5	-1	-1	+3	2D	0	+5	7	-

Equipment:

Weapon	Damage	AP	Special
Crushing Fists	2	-2	Smasher

 

Corporate Mercenaries – Mobsters

Klaw

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
6	+2	+2	+2	3D	+3	+4	5	-

Equipment:

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Machete	Melee	3D	2	-5	Parry
Spit Pistol	18	3D	1	-2	-
Grenades	10	1	1	-1	Explosive 2

Talents:

Accurate: Klaw may re-roll a missed Shoot attack.

Agile: Klaw may re-roll a failed Agility check (not in Melee combat).

Close Combat Shooter: Klaw may perform shoot actions with pistol weapons with an enemy in contact.

 

Killbot α

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
6	+0	+2	+2	2D	+1	+5	3	-

Equipment:

Flight Pack: Killbots may make a 10” Flying Move instead of their normal Move. Agility check or lose Actions and 1 Hit.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Fists	Melee	2D	1	0	Smasher
Laser Pistol	12	1D	1	-4	-
Spit Gun	20	3D	1	-2	-

 

Killbot β

Move	Agility	Shoot	Melee	M Dice	Will	Armour	Hits	Psi
6	+0	+2	+2	2D	+1	+5	3	-

Equipment:

Flight Pack: Killbots may make a 10” Flying Move instead of their normal Move. Agility check or lose Actions and 1 Hit.

Weapon	Range	Dice	Damage	AP	Special
Fists	Melee	2D	1	0	Smasher
Laser Pistol	12	1D	1	-4	-
Spit Gun	20	3D	1	-2	-