Melee of Champions - 5

Been lucky and picked up some more cheap figurines. The trick is to check out sales and dig through the bins of 2nd hand stuff, looking for gems. I did actually pay full price for Solid Snake, who I pre-ordered when I was working Full Time. I have enough of these now that I've been able to move on some of the Star Wars and Pirates stuff that I picked up in job lots, but didn't really want that much.

Lucas (Mother Series), Princess Peach and Solid Snake (Amiibo). 

 

Jin (Tekken) and Stitch (Tokentasu and Disney Infinity).

I keep promising to put up stats for these things, but Super Mission Force has released a new edition and I just can't afford it, so you may have to wait a little longer.

Thinking Out Loud: The View from the Trenches

Something that keeps popping into my mind from time to time is the idea of what it must be like to be "on the ground" during a superhero fight and how that can be replicated on the tabletop, be it with miniatures or in a storytelling game. Some recent superhero films have tried to capture this, noticeably Dawn of Justice, The Avengers and Chronicle, with civilian death-tolls reaching Emmerich levels in a genre previously reserved for children's entertainment. A line from Ultimates 2 keeps popping into my head; "Super-people break normal people's bones", Hank Pym retorts to Loki as the collateral damage ramps up. Just take a look at Man of Steel, the bodies pile up quickly in the Supes/Zod fight, but it's not until Dawn of Justice that the weight of rubble and death is laid out in the unvarnished light of day. If we're to elevate superheroes out of the sub-genre ghetto and tell truly adult stories with these characters, shouldn't the human cost of battling evil be truly examined? And I don't mean a The Boys style look at human foibles played to superhuman levels, I mean an honest look at what a world populated with heroes and villains looks like for the ordinary people just trying to get by without having a car thrown at them. 

 

The (almost blindingly) obvious suggestion that springs to mind is Marvels, the Marvel limited series showing the Gold and Silver ages of their comics through the eye of Phil Sheldon, freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle and war correspondent. The iconic image of Giant Man stepping over a New York boulevard that Phil shoots really captures the scale and power of the heroes that stalk Manhattan. Also worth noting is that Phil loses an eye early on in the piece as a result of the major Human Torch/Namor fight that forms the climax of Issue #1, yet Phil is not made bitter or resentful by his experience, he, in fact is resolved to be the greatest proponent that the "Marvels" have in the press. Although having a civilian in the MU actually like heroes is somewhat unique, I get the feeling that it still doesn't capture the whole story. What is it like to be meters away from a man just hanging in the air, or a woman crushing a car with her mind, or an alien fading from view? I'm not certain that my Aquaman Underoos would survive intact, know what I mean? Is there anything out there that can covey those feelings of powerlessness and fear yet still be engaging as a narrative beyond personal horror? 

If you get the chance, check out the opening hour of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain; it features an amnesiac Big Boss fleeing a hospital as a team of mercenaries and two superhumans chase him. For the first time, I experienced the kind of fear that I always imagined shot through the poor bastards that just got splattered with brains as the Green Goblin lobs pumpkin bombs into the crowd to distract Spider-man. Scrabbling around, unarmed and outmatched as a flaming monster in the shape of a man shrugs off bullets and punches through brick walls, it doesn't matter how strong, fit or deadly the Big Boss is, he is but an ant next to someone with that much power. Is that what Snyder was trying to capture in his grim-yet-bland DCU films? Now I want to go back to Marvels and other sources and see what else I can find that builds on this idea. How scared would the average person be in the presence of Green Lantern, let alone Thor, Invincible or Stardust the Superwizard? Most importantly, how can I capture this on the tabletop? Plenty more consideration of this to come. 

Ultimate Alliance: Annihilation - Every Miniature

Just what it says on the tin, every figure for the big game: 

Every hero, ready to fight for the Earth. 

 

The Annihilation Wave. 

 

Galactus an his Heralds.

Fifty Civilians.

Superhero Media: Future Weapons - Season 1

Ok, so clearly I've gone right off the rails this time, how can a show where a former Marine Sniper looks at developing weapons technology possibly relate to superheros? I guess if you have to ask, you've never read a Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD comic. I think that many comic fans forget just how far-flung and Sci-Fi the old Silver Age comics were; these days, Iron Man's "transistor-powered" armour seems clunky and old-fashioned, but in the '60s it was bleeding edge. Even in The Ultimates, Fury can turn invisible and walk through walls, so long as the budget holds out. Guns that shoot around corners and bombs that can seek out the enemy hiding underground all have their place in comics, either being used by government agencies or misused by Supervillains. 

As entertainment, I found Future Weapons a little lacking, it is essentially "gun porn" and not what I would typically go in for. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that any second Tony Stark was going to walk in and talk about repulsor technology. Watching Future Weapons back-to-back with Agents of SHIELD may be the best way to see how it can provide inspiration for a Spy-Fi or Secret Agent heavy Supers setting. I am left tempted to do an SS4 character with a massive Gadget pool and some crazy-looking (but very real) guns and battlefield materiel. 

So, if you have a thing for guns, or are interested in having your Iron Man deal with some "real-world" bad guys, Future Weapons is probably worth a look; there seems to be a fair bit of it on YouTube. Personally, I don't think I'll be revisiting it anytime soon, unless the SF gaming bug gets to gnawing me again. Oh wait! Metal Gear! There's something to this yet...

Miniatures Finished: 3 Snakes, a Time Lord, a Merc, a Herald and a God

Getting a confirmed date for Little Wars Melbourne was just the kick in the pants I needed to get back to mashing out minis for Ultimate Alliance: Annihilation. Lots of progress to share! 

 Three snakes: Solid Snake, Snake Plissken and Snake Eyes. 

 Solid Snake (forgot the manufacturer sorry) and the ubiquitus Box; his "Invisible" marker. 

 Snake Plissken (Hasslefree), I heard he was dead? Snake Eyes (Reaper), I've never heard a peep out of him. 

 The [3rd] Doctor (Crooked Dice) and Grifter (USX). 

 Terrax the Tamer (Clix), perhaps the most feared Herald of Galactus! 

 Annihilus, the Death that Walks! Can't have Annihilation without this bad boy!