Superhero Media: Arrow - Season 5

Man, but it feels like a long time between watching seasons of Arrow for me. The programme is now essentially unrecognisable from where it started, with Oliver Queen, Felicity Smoke and John Diggle being the only characters from the first season to appear in most episodes. Yes, Quentin Lance and Speedy are still around, but they take a back seat most of the time to the new vigilantes, Artemis, Mad Dog, Mister Terrific and Black Canary. After disbanding the team at the end of season 4, Oliver is forced to build a new one pretty much straight away, in what feels like a 'soft reboot' of the series. The new villain, Prometheus, is a bit of a let-down after Damien Dark, not only because the stakes feel smaller, but also because the idea of the character is kind of wasted. Rather than Prometheus being a highly-trained would-be superhero killer, he is a figure from Oliver's past that wants revenge, so frames Green Arrow for murder. 

That's all about par for the course in the series, but wouldn't have the more traditional Prometheus have been more interesting? Say if the character wanted to kill Supergirl and The Flash, but needed to work his way up through less super-powered foes, like Green Arrow and Spartan, but turns out the new team makes this much tougher than expected. Instead, much of the action focuses on the new team dynamic and explaining how everyone came to be a vigilante. DC's Vigilante (not the Cowboy one, sadly) is a secondary antagonist, but I really don't even remember if that gets resolved at all, though the costume looks cool. Artemis turns out to be a random turncoat, completely missing what made her so good in Young Justice. The finale is pretty good, when Prometheus kidnaps most of the team, Oliver has to break some of his former enemies out of prison, including Deathstroke and Captain Boomerang, in order to save his friends. 

Probably the most memorable episode of the series has Mister Terrific and Mad Dog arguing about gun control. This would be kind of cool, but because the programme is American, there "has" to be a section promoting a pro-gun point of view. Mad Dog relates a story about how his wife would not have died if he had had access to his gun, because he could have confronted an intruder if he were armed. What the fuck? I'm lucky enough to live in a country with decent firearms regulation, so any time I see someone promoting gun ownership for 'home defense', I have questions around why. In a place like Australia, I don't need a gun to defend my home, because it is highly unlikely that any potential intruders will have a gun. The 'bad guys' don't have guns, do I don't need them. Even our police don't draw guns all that often, really, so Mad Dog's argument just fell flat and kind of spoiled the tone of the episode. Although I enjoyed Season 5, I'm hoping that Arrow doesn't stagger on too much longer.

Miniatures Finished: Killer Plants

When I started playing Empire of the Dead, I was interested in playing the scenario where factions fight it out in a greenhouse full of killer plants, so I started picking some up. It took me a while to realise that I had more than I would really need for a game, but they can work well for Supers as well. Think of Poison Ivy or Flourinc Man, maybe even Swamp Thing, summoning plant "minions" to fight for them.

Shadowforge Dryad, Fiendish Fabrications Ladyflower, Heroclix Swamp Thing 

 

Dreamblade, Shadowforge, Reaper 

 

 Reaper, Games Workshop kitbash, D&D Miniatures, Victoria Miniatures 

These "killer plants" represent the kind of "mini-project" I've been focusing on recently; something I can knock out quickly, but still useful to have around. Sure, it's not all that often that I'll play an Empire of the Dead game in the greenhouse, or have a team of heroes menaced by Poison Ivy, but keeping a handful of plants isn't a big ask either.

Superhero Media: Ultimate Adventures - One Tin Soldier

Kind of a bit of background to this one, so hold tight for a minute. I've had a copy of Ultimate Adventures: One Tin Soldier in my collection for a good decade now, having bought it after enjoying a scanned copy that a friend handed me. When going through my 'spare' Heroclix, I found a Doctor Mid-Nite that I wasn't using and thought he'd make a cool Hawk-Owl with a little work, so I handed him over to a friend for some greenstuffing, along with the comic for reference. When I got the mini and book back, my friend told me that he had come across a list of the "Most Hated/Worst Comics of the 2000s" and that One Tin Soldier had been included. I was puzzled, as I enjoyed the comic and didn't think it was all that well known, with most of my comic fan friends being unaware of it. The criticisms centre around the writer being bad with fan-management, a delayed release schedule and the portrayal of [Ultimate] Captain America as a Bush-era militant conservative. I do kind of 'get' the last complaint, but I really love this comic and what it's about, certainly enough to go out of my way to get a miniature of the central hero made up. 

One Tin Soldier is a pastiche of Batman set in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Jack Danner is a rich orphan who patrols the streets of Chicago at night as Hawk-Owl, costumed defender of the innocent. Jack adopts our protagonist, Hank Kipple, an orphaned tween (and basically Bart Simpson) with a view to training him to be his sidekick. Most of the comic is from the perspective of Hank, following his journey from unwilling recruit to a young man who respects his adoptive family and wants to make a difference. Not only is One Tin Soldier one of the best Robin origin comics I've read, but one of the more refreshing takes on Batman out there. Jack Danner's parents and older brother died in tragic accidents, rather than being murdered, so his motivation is altruism instead of revenge, he is Hawk-Owl because Hawk-Owl is needed, not that he needs to be Hawk-Owl. Danner's team, his aunt, butler and valet, are equals, with the latter two having the same training and as much input into the crime-fighting as he does, rather than being secondary players in his life. Maybe Danner's not as good a crime-fighter as Batman, but he has way less damage. 

So what about the controversial Captain America sequence? The Ultimates come recruiting for Hawk-Owl but find their offer rebuked and Danner's irreverence towards the team irks Captain America. Cap and Danner end up in a fight, which Giant Man breaks up and Danner explains that he's not a good fit for the team, needing to operate, as he does, in his city, his way. Cap comes across as a massive jerk in this sequence, which isn't totally out of character for Ultimate Steve Rogers, but keep in mind that One Tin Soldier is a pastiche, hence Cap is a jingoistic drill sergeant, Hank Pym is an abusive coward and Iron Man is an insecure drunk. One Tin Solider is intended to not be taken seriously, people get that right? The villain is a mashup of Joker and Penguin, being an insane school Principal with weaponised spanking paddles and a "hot for teacher" sidekick reminiscent of Harley Quinn. As I've said, I'm a big fan of One Tin Soldier, certainly enjoying it more than I do many actual Batman stories. Expect to see Hawk-Owl gracing my gaming table more often once I get him painted up. 

The AvengerZ - Part I

Everyone in one of my roleplaying groups is a fan of Dragon Ball Z, or at least Dragon Ball Z Abridged, so discussions of the series are pretty common. As I count the Dragon Ball series as a form of "Superhero Media", and am known to constantly be thinking about superheroes, I get more than a few "who would win" and "fantasy booking" questions. As I've discussed before, I don't care for the "who would win" arguments, but I actually really enjoy talking about mixing franchises and characters into "fantasy" teams.
For me, it's not about putting all of the most powerful characters together, it's about getting a fun dynamic and covering all of the bases. There's no point putting Superman, Captain Marvel, Stardust the Super Wizard, Indigo, Hyperion, Jiren, Invincible and Plutonian on the same team, you have too many clashing personalities and overlapping powers; it would be boring to read. Look at any good super team and you'll see archetypes, powerhouse, leader, wildcard, shooter, brick, paragon, brawler and so many more. Not every team has every permeation, but the best teams have a good variety. 
How does this tie into Dragon Ball? Well, a question I get asked is which DB characters I'd recruit into "my team", i.e., the fictional super-team roster I have in my head that I keep hinting at but will probably never put down on the blog here because it's super embarrassing just how big of a nerd I really am. I had a pretty good working list of DB characters I'd like to have around, but then Dragon Ball Super happened. So now I have to do different lists and justifications for all of these because of the above-mentioned nerdyness. So here are the Z-Fighters I'd consider recruiting to my theoretical cross-universe superhero team, as they are presented in Dragon Ball Super, in no particular order of preference.

Piccolo

Piccolo has always been something of an "also-ran" in DBZ/DBS, but he's really one of the most fascinating and well-rounded characters in the series. Born from King Piccolo, knowing only that he must destroy Son Goku and everything he holds dear, Piccolo's first defeat also saw the very first time he was on the receiving end of kindness and humanity. Despite swearing revenge, everything Piccolo has done since then has brought him closer to humanity, to the point where he has been embraced into Gohan's life, family and household. When called to the Tournament of Power, Piccolo steps aside from the leadership role, not because he doesn't think he can do it, but because he knows Gohan will do it better. That kind of self-awareness and humility is rare in heroes, the most notable examples being Captain America and Superman. He may have been eliminated because he failed to consider all of the angles, but Piccolo remains the reliable backbone of the team.

Gohan

Gohan has probably always been my favourite character in the DB franchise, even when relegated to the sidelines, but I was honestly really impressed with his turn in Dragon Ball Super. Gohan has always been more concerned with living a worthwhile life than being the best fighter in the universe, but in DBS he realises that in order to be his best self, he needs to be a fighter as well as a successful academic, hard worker, and good father; after all, if he can't defend his wife and child, who will? More so than any other character bar Piccolo, Gohan forges his own path, deciding not to chase the power of Super Sayain Godhood, but to be his own person, undefined by the shadow of his father's reputation. Using the gifts he was born with, Gohan uses his brain as much as his strength in battle, solving the problems that his allies just butt their heads against and (HOW COME NO ONE TALKS ABOUT THIS?) having the intelligence to know that Frieza will make the right choice for the team in the end and taking the ring-out for him. Seriously, how is Gohan not the protagonist of this franchise?

Tien

I get the feeling that people who haven't seen Dragon Ball don't really get why Tien is such a big deal. Tien was the only ever person to defeat Goku in a tournament other than Master Roshi and turned away from his corrupt master not because Goku was nice to him, but because Roshi saw through his facade of bravado. Tien sees his body as his weapon in a way that few martial artists do; he's willing to alter himself completely in order to win, because the victory is more important than his own identity. Tien will never give up trying to catch up to Goku, no matter how many forms Goku finds to transform into, because that is all he has, and he's going to make the most of it. Every team needs someone willing to make the sacrifice play, to lie on the wire or run the forlorn hope, for the Z-Fighters, that's Tien. To put this in perspective, think of Tien taking on Nappa solo, holding up Cell for vital minutes or stepping into the fight against Buu without hesitation, he knows that he'll lose, but through his individual loss, the team will win. That's fucking heroism.

Future Trunks

Imagine growing up like Trunks; your world is dying, your species is dying, all at the whims of a pair of killer monsters that no one, not even the only positive male influence in your life (Gohan), can hope to fight against without it costing them everything. Add to that being the son of one of the most powerful fighters to have ever lived and the last of a great warrior race, yet to fulfill your potential, but having everyone count on you anyway. The poor guy never really catches a break either, getting killed as a plot device during the Cell fight, not being able to recover any Dragon Balls in his reality and then having to battle Goku Black. Trunks is powered not by rage, like most other Saiyans, but by compassion, drawing on the hope of those around him to rise to a new level and defeat evil. Trunks has been through the wringer again and again, and only come out stronger and more compassionate.

Android 17

What does a villain do when he no longer wishes to destroy? Become a park ranger for dangerous but endangered animals apparently. Guess, what? For this one, I'm not even going to harp on 17's compassionate last wish in the Tournament of Power or that his driving force is family, rather let's talk about maturity and how people change over time. Due to the time-scale of Dragon Ball, it's impossible to tell just how old 17 and 18 were in the Android Saga, but I'd have to guess early 20s, making them solidly in their mid-to-late 30s by the time of Dragon Ball Super. Young 17 wanted nothing more than to destroy the world, making everyone alive suffer for his adolescent rage, especially authority figures like Dr. Gero and Goku. After growing up, getting killed by Cell and coming back to life because of the magnanimous wishes of your former enemies, no wonder 17 settled down to a career and family. I've mentioned before that I like Dragon Ball GT's Super Android 17 as a villain, the DBS version is a nice contrast to that, with the angry young man becoming an adult with real responsibility. 17 is now fighting for others, not himself, which puts him a cut above the likes of Goku and Vegeta.

So that's my first attempt at this, taking a look at the Z-Fighters of Dragon Ball Super and how they function as heroes. I'll eventually take a look at other Dragon Ball Characters and what they'd be like in a super team, but I'm thinking I really need to justify the fact that Goku and Vegeta wouldn't make any of the lists (sorry). Keep an eye out, I have a few more of these yet. 

Superhero Media: Gamera Vs Gyaos

At last! Gamera confronts one of his greatest enemies and no rainbow death rays in sight! Excavation of a mountain for a freeway unleashes Gyaos, a terrifying flying beast with a taste for human blood and the ability to fire lasers from its mouth. Still not quite the "Defender of the Universe" that he will become, Gamera only comes into conflict with Gyaos because he wants to eat the lava flowing out of the volcano that Gyaos calls home. Other than better monster costumes, Gamera Vs Gyaos is not terribly different from the previous two films in the series, with many of the same actors, and yet another young boy obsessed with turtles whose ideas about Gamera save the day. Gamera is on the screen even less than in Gamera Vs Barugon, but, interestingly, the credits are run over clips of the previous films. 

The focus is far more on the scientific and military efforts to stop Gyaos than Kaiju battles, but Gamera Vs Gyaos is the first in the series to have the right look and feel for what the franchise would be like up until Gamera the Brave (2002). For all the crap superhero comics get for being rebooted, it's interesting that the Gamera series has been rebooted twice, and negotiations are in the works for an American film; Legendary has the rights, so I'm hoping for an appearance in the new Godzilla franchise. Once the scientists discover that Gyaos is vulnerable to the light of the sun, the plan becomes to trap it in the open and let the sunrise do all the nasty work. Developing a kind of artificial human blood to tempt Gyaos out of its cave and into their trap, a giant spinning platform to make it dizzy. Yeah, it's dumb, but Kaiju is not the genre to bring your realistic expectations into. 

Of course, the plan doesn't quite work, and Gamera has to come back and finish off Gyaos in a pretty damn good monster fight for the period and budget. Watching Gamera Vs Gyaos has put a lot of ideas in my head as to how I may like my eventual Kaiju wargames to run, with the monsters being the main event, with varied attacks, lots of customisation and in-game options. To contrast, human forces (or smaller elements like Kaiju Spawn) will provide distractions, assists and suppression attacks, rather than being major factors in the game. This kind of thinking (and the price-point) is keeping me back from Monsterpocalypse for the moment, though I'm keeping an eye on the Kaiju game being produced by Kore Studios, even just as a source of miniatures. Of all the Gamera films I've looked at so far, Gamera Vs Gyaos is the better one to start your Kaiju journey on.

Team Finished: The Heroes of the Revolution

Those across the Omniverse who have encountered the being known as "Ulysses" mark him mostly as an enigma, but there are those who have spent more time around him and formed what could be called relationships. For a fortunate few in the right place and era, Ulysses can be called a teammate and a hero. During the worst days of the French Revolution, those that would become known as "The Terror", a war for the future of humanity was waged in the shadows between strange factions. If not for the actions of a handful of adventurers and a man out of time, the history of the world would have been much different.

The Heroes of the Revolution
(Fleu-de-lis, Baron Munchausen, Ulysses, The Highwayman and The Scarlet Pimpernel) 

The Heroes of the Revolution
In the early days of his inter-dimensional adventuring, Ulysses most often operated alone, challenging himself to conquer and defeat his foes without aid. All that changed when he first encountered a time-line in which Maximilien Robespierre attempted to conquer the world with Chaos Magic. Knowing that a magocratic dictatorship built on terror would lead the the end of humanity before the century was over, he decided to intervene in a way he had never considered previously. Ulysses gathered the best adventurers and warriors he could find, and built a superhero team.

Fleur-de-lis (Privateer Press) and Ulysses (converted Heroclix)

Fleur-de-lis: One of the greatest bounty hunters of her day, Fleur-de-lis was renowned for being as beautiful as she was ruthless. Armed with unique and hand-made dueling pistols, Fleur is a dead-eye shot as well as an expert tracker and a pugilist not to be underestimated. Due to her mercenary nature, Fleur was, in fact the easiest member of the Heroes for Ulysses to recruit, buying her loyalty and expertise with gold. Fleur is a woman alone in many ways, keeping much of her history to herself, though her decent physical health would seem to indicate a moneyed birth, and her taciturn facade an unpleasant past. 

Ulysses: In this, more primitive, era than were Ulysees can typically be found, the enigmatic adventurer is forced to remain more in the background of events to preserve history. Directing his team to fight the good fight is a new experience for the conqueror, as much for the company as for unambiguously fighting on the side of justice. Will this become a trend for Ulysses in his personal future? Only (relative) time will tell. These things get screwy when dealing with time travelers.

The Scarlet Pimpernel (Reaper) and the foppish Sir Percy Blakeney (Eureka) 

The Scarlet Pimpernel: Few who know the foppish dandy Sir Percy would credit that he is, in truth, that damned, accursed Pimpernel. Blakeney is a master of guile, having the world convinced that he is an idle dandy and that the Scarlet Pimpernel is a gentleman adventurer. In truth, as the Pimpernel, Blakeney is a brutal fighter, having trained in hand-to-hand combat for years and having little to no regard for the anti-monarchist Frenchmen he's beating to a pulp. Another loner not used to working with a team of equally-able comrades, the Pimpernel's aristocratic origins often have him biting his tongue when receiving orders or having to wait for others to catch up.

Baron Munchhausen (Eureka) and The Highwayman (Black Scorpion) 

Baron Munchhausen: Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich, Freiherr von Münchhausen was a legendary hero long before Ulysses turned up at his door and requested his help to save the world. A veteran of the Russo-Turkish war, Munchhausen's extraordinary life is rendered all the more fantastic because of the reality of it all. That Munchhausen has survived everything he has, fought giants, flown to the moon, ridden cannonballs and danced with a goddess mark him as a Superhero long before the booms of the 20th Century. How did he get his, clearly luck-based, powers? The truth may never be known, but Munchhausen himself will remain a legend for all history. 

The Highwayman: Most people believe that the legendary Highwayman, Dick Turpin, was executed in 1739, but the truth is far more sinister. The Royal Intelligence Office undertook an elaborate plan to fake Turpin's death and install him as a deniable agent in external affairs; after all, how could a dead man be responsible for the kidnap of a foreign dignitary? A skilled gunfighter, brawler and burglar, Turpin has been a mole inside of the Revolutionaries since the fall of the Bastille, feeding information to the British government and working a small profit for himself on the side. Ulysses sought out and recruited Turpin for his team knowing that his larcenous skills were of as much value as his penchant for murder. 

Name: The Scarlett Pimpernel

BP: 85

Affiliation: Heroes of the Revolution

AP: 10

Strike: 7 (1)

Strength: 4

Dodge: 7 (1)

Sense: 4

Toughness: 4

Mind: 3

Resolve: 3

Damage: 6

Powers

Alternate Form (Alter Ego Only) – Sir Percy, 2 AP to switch Forms

Super Strike 1 – May use Strike for Initiative Rolls

Super-Dodge 1 - +1D to resist fall damage, Cloak (Immunity) – 2AP 1” Radius gain +2D Dodge

Foresight – Counts one less for in Multiple Combats, may re-roll one scenario die

Combat Reflexes – May break from Combat with an Opposed Dodge Test (Ricochet)

Weapon +2D, Climbing (Vertical Charge), Escape Artist +4D, Reach 1”, Instant Stand, Perfect Timing

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

KO

Name: Sir Percy Blakeny

BP: N/A

Affiliation: Heroes of the Revolution

AP: 6

Strike: 4

Strength: 4

Dodge: 6 (1)

Sense: 2

Toughness: 3

Mind: 2

Resolve: 2

Damage: 4

Powers

Alternate Form (Alter Ego Only) – The Scarlett Pimpernel, 2 AP to switch Forms

Super-Dodge 1 - +1D to resist fall damage

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

KO

 

Name: Fleur de Lys

BP: 85

Affiliation: Heroes of the Revolution

AP: 11

Strike: 8 (2)

Strength: 3

Dodge: 7 (1)

Sense: 4

Toughness: 4

Mind: 3

Resolve: 5

Damage: 3/6

Powers

Foresight – Counts one less for in Multiple Combats, may re-roll one scenario die

Sense Weakness – 2AP TN3 Sense Roll, +2D on next Attack against target in LOS

Super-Strike 2 – May use Strike for Initiative Rolls

Super-Dodge 1 - +1D to resist fall damage

Ranged Attack 6 (Short Range)

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

KO

 

Name: Ulysses

BP: 85

Affiliation: Heroes of the Revolution

AP: 13

Strike: 5

Strength: 3

Dodge: 4

Sense: 4

Toughness: 4

Mind: 7 (2)

Resolve: 5

Damage: 5

Powers

Telekinesis – 2AP hovers 22” in the air until start of next turn, Immune to falling damage

- Manipulate Object – 3AP Mind Roll, move object 2” per Goal, 15” Range

- TK Grab – 3AP, 15” Range Mind vs Dodge target is Immobilised

Pushing – Once per Turn +2D to any Goal Roll at the cost of 1 Vitality

Combat Reflexes – May break from Combat with an Opposed Dodge Test

Super-Mind 2 – May use Mind for Initiative Rolls, Second Sight – Can target models without LOS.

Nemesis (Robespierre) - +2D Resolve against attacks from Nemesis

Weapon +2D, Hard to Kill – 4AP to Cuff or Ace Ulysses

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

KO

 

Name: Baron Munchausen

BP: 85

Affiliation: Heroes of the Revolution

AP: 12

Strike: 5

Strength: 4

Dodge: 6

Sense: 4

Toughness: 4

Mind: 7

Resolve: 8 (2)

Damage: 4

Powers

Lucky – Once per game, the Baron may re-roll any one Die Pool throw for or against him

Tactician 1 – 3AP, Grant 1 Re-roll to friendly model within 15”

Edge 3 - May add +1D after or +2D before a roll per level once per game

Implacable Charge - +1D Strike on Charge

Banter – May make an additional Soliloquy Attack each game

Super Resolve 2

X

X

X

X

X

X

KO

 

Name: Dick Turpin the Highwayman

BP: 85

Affiliation: Heroes of the Revolution

AP: 11

Strike: 5 (1)

Strength: 3

Dodge: 5 (1)

Sense: 4

Toughness: 3

Mind: 3

Resolve: 4

Damage: 3/5

Powers

Lone Wolf – Does not gain Friends in Combat bonus or Tactician

Combat Reflexes – May break from Combat with an Opposed Dodge Test

Super-Strike 1 – May use Strike for Initiative Rolls

Super-Dodge 1 - +1D to resist fall damage

Larcenous (5AP) – Immune to Damage rolled against Toughness, cannot make melee attacks, may move through terrain, immune to fall damage and knock down, +2D Dodge and Strike against Foes, +2D Doge to resist being spotted

Ranged Attack 5 (Short Range)

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

KO