Wish List - Part 1

Having recently discovered sources of 28mm Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Ghostbuster miniatures, my mind has turned to fanciful flights of what other heroes may, one day, find their way into my Ultimate Alliance games. Many of these I may have to commission or teach myself to sculpt to make, but for now, it's nice to imagine what could be. 

For something a bit different, here is a list of a few heroes and villains that I would love to see on my table one day and how I think they may work. 

1. Ratchet and Clank 

I've been a fan of the Ratchet & Clank series of Playstation games since my step-siblings introduced me to the second game. The games are fun to play, challenging without being frustrating and genuinely funny quite often. Within the setting of the games Ratchet (the furry one) and Clank (the robot) are functionally Superheroes, saving the galaxy from ruthless business men, genetic monsters and robotic mad scientists. Ratchet wields a fantastic arsenal of weapons and gadgets in his adventures as well as being able to fix any damaged machinery he finds along the way. Agile, gun-toting and determined, Ratchet and Clank make a great team and would be a fun combo to play with. 

2. Earthworm Jim 

One of the few cartoons of my childhood that I am still able to enjoy is Earthworm Jim. The story of an idiotic Superhero who fights equally idiotic villains with noting but enthusiasm, a ray gun and superhuman strength. Jim was just an ordinary earthworm until a "Super-Suit" fell on him and he was granted incredible strength, near-invulnerability and increased intelligence, such as it is. His natural inclination was, of course, to fight crime, and with a host of intergalactic miscreants to battle, Jim has his work cut out for him. Earthworm Jim is a rare and interesting hero in that he is incredibly powerful, has well-defined weaknesses and is not tied to a major setting. 

3. The Great Saiyaman 

Regular Lead Capes readers will be well-aware that I am a fan of Dragonball (and Z and GT), but it may surprise some to learn just which characters from the programmes that I would like to have in miniature. Years after defeating the monster Cell, Gohan commutes to Satan City to attend high school and soon finds himself driven to fight crime. Most DB fans hate the Great Saiyaman Saga because it is goofy, focuses on petty crime and high school drama and features no Goku. I however, love the saga. Gohan, despite being highly intelligent, is a country bumpkin who never spent any time with other kids growing up, of course he thinks that bright costumes and catchphrases are cool, he's never been exposed to anything else. The whole Great Saiyaman is, to me, very reminiscent of Silver-Age DC comics; a single hero defending a single city, a plucky young woman determined to uncover his secret identity and a budding romance. Plus a little bit of goofy goes well with the grimness of characters like Batman and the Punisher. 

4. Tom Noir 

Garth Ennis' Black Summer is an interesting comic and well worth a read if you haven't yet. The Six Guns, a team of young geniuses who used technology to become superheroes have retired after failing to stop 9/11. When their leader, John Hours, uncovers evidence that the American Government may have been able to prevent the attacks, but chose not to do so, he kills the President and his staff. Tom Noir is the 2IC of the team, and aside from his high-tech gun, Tom's brain is wired into the digital world around him; he can hack at the speed of thought and access any wireless device with his mind. As a super team, the Guns are pretty generic (a flyer, a speedster, a strongman), Tom and John however, offer a unique combination of technology and traditional super powers that would be great to game with. I also really like Tom's look and think a miniature could be fun to paint. 

5. Gamera 

Well, I have giant villans in Galactus and Sentinels, why not a giant hero? Here in Australia, there's a television channel called SBS that broadcasts foreign news and films, and back in the 90s they had Cult Films on Wednesday nights; things like Spaghetti Westerns, J-Horror, Wuxia and, of course, Kaiju. I fell in love with Gamera films, which I preferred over Godzilla because the monster was, functionally, a superhero. Also in the 90s, there were a trilogy of Gamera films made where the army actually fights alongside the "Defender of the Earth" against giant monsters and aliens that actually threaten the planet. In gaming terms, how cool will it look having Gamera line up alongside Iron Man, The Flash and Mandrake?