Armor Wars - second look
through a fan's eyes
through a fan's eyes
If you're not into the comics the clix are based on don't bother with the rest of the post.
I'd given the set a second look based on character selection, responding to a thread over on HC Realms, which is one of those relaxing comics nerd activities that made for some pleasant unwinding time while listening to a good mix of music. As I'd thrown it together for there, I thought I'd post it here, too, since this is my space. As more details are revealed in the set it'll be interesting (to me) to revisit this and see how the numbers shift.
Armor Wars - based as best I can solely on character selection and what we've seen of the sculpts. 1-5 ranking, Least to Most appeal:
* Iron Man - 5 - We needed a new version, even if I’m not thrilled with E not being Avengers TAed. I have a feeling I'll be flying I.M. over an E War Machine base from time to time.
* Titanium Man - 4 - He lost a point for not being the original, huge, more squared-off sculpt.
* War Machine - 3 - Really more of a grim 'n' gritty spin on Iron Man than a solid hero even if they did build him around Jim Rhodes. I'd rather have seen generic Vault guards/Guardsman armor pieces in this set, but this one's okay.
* Crimson Dynamo - 2 - I wanted a new and more playable Crimson Dynamo... and it appears I got something newer than I'd ever wanted and possibly something less playable than what we got the first time. Awaiting details!
* Captain America - 4 - I still can't believe there are people who actually like this sculpt. Still, a new version of Cap is welcome. Seth gets points for finally giving at least the vet two targets -- Cap's been hurling his shield at multiple targets for decades. Unfortunately, Seth loses points for not putting on at least a click or two of Incap, and loses more points than this scale allows by finally making a version with Running Shot only to give it to the John Walker LE... but none of that's altering my wanting to have another version of Cap.
* Ultron- 5 - The IC version was a beast, so we're counting on some Running Shot to jazz this one up. I'm up for a new try especially since the IC set didn't have Impervious available to it, and if this is anything past Ultron 6 he deserves Impervious along with the kind of Defense values we saw the first time.
* Cannonball - 4 - Nice to finally see Sam Guthrie arrive.
* Wendigo - 4 - While he was someone else co-opted in various mutant titles I always first think of him back from the first appearance of the creature and the legend back in a 70s issue of Incredible Hulk.
* Iron Monger (Unique) - 3 - Not one likely to have made my list of “long-awaited” pieces, but a nice nod.
* Psylocke - 4 - I liked her waaaaaaaay back in her early appearances, but not much in any of her appearances written initially for the US market. The sculpt looks for all the world like a renegade T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agent – not that that’s a bad thing.* Spider-Woman (Unique) - 4 - Difficult one here. Based on wanting to see the character and on the quality of the sculpt, this would be an easy 4, leaning towards a 5, but from what we’ve seen (the Unique and the LE) her history’s been stunted and we’ve been short-changed... I'll still give her a 4 based on the spirit of this list, though.
* Spider-Man (Unique) (House of M)- 1 - I’m with D.S. “I'd be more excited if he had the Avengers TA” Did we really need this version?
* Mystique (Unique) (House of M)- 1 - I wasn’t looking for another one, and certainly not one given the horse-face they gave the XP Psylocke.
* Wolverine (Unique) (House of M)- 1 - The third of the House of M pieces, and aren’t all three a sort of advertisement for Dull? I'm generally enjoying House of M as a comics event, but these pieces wouldn't draw me towards it.
* Magneto (Unique) (House of M)- 5 - He needed a proper re-do and appears to have gotten one. Imperious!
* Iron Man (Unique) (1960s)- 5 - Having seen the clixbrick LE we know what he’ll look like – just in gold. While I’d prefer him a wee bulkier, this is still one I'd long wanted but actually hadn't expected to see.
* Jocasta (Unique)- 3 - She really is dull as dishwater as a character, but a nice nod to the past and someone fitting to show up with Ultron being redone.
* Sentry (Unique)- 1 - A Superman for the Marvel universe. What a sucktastic idea! Never should have been done. Probably the single worst element in the current Avengers.
* Crystal (Unique)- 5 - Long-awaited, and properly FFed to boot! I still think of her as Johnny’s ex-girlfriend.
* Firebrand- 5 - And the original costume, too!
* Paladin- 4 - Ha! An interesting character from not so very long ago (anything in comics after 1974 is “new stuff” to me) and not one I’d expected, but a fun addition.
* Lorelei- 3 - A nice sculpt and a fairly accurate clix rendition for her. Not one I was really waiting for, but a pleasant surprise.
* Diamond Lil- 3 - They didn’t do her justice in the sculpt, and not a character choice I’m terribly jazzed over, but, hey, I’d like to look into playing an Omega Flight team sometime.
* Echo- 2 - Eh.
* Killer Shrike- 3 - Again, showing my age, I keep thinking of this one as a late-comer. Never really a favorite, but potentially useful, so it's a middle of the road choice.
* Thunderbird- 1 - Oh, goodie. Well, if I come up with a scenario involving stampeding buffalo he’ll be my first choice! Otherwise, well, the original had “dead meat” stamped all over him... and deservedly so! Oh, how we laughed when Nefaria's jet exploded! Good times, good times... That they came up with a later version of the character should have resulted in jail time for someone.* Banshee- 4 - Hey, he’s a goofy-looking character in a goofy costume with a goofy power, but at least they worked in the original version. A nice enough guy even if he does speak like a charicature of an Irishman and is a big country music fan, boyo!
* Spymaster- 3 - What? No Espionage Elite?! No, I’m just kidding. No, really. Another nice nod and in keeping with the overt theme, or at least what most of us thought the overt theme was supposed to be.
* Ghost- 3 - A later comer than Spymaster, though most seem to remember them both from the ‘80s run.
* Magma- 2 - Someone for Volcana to play with! In the one shot of the sculpt I’ve seen even she looks bored. I never cared for her back in my New Mutants-reading days and age hasn't helped.* Aurora- 4 - A good choice and one I've kinda sorta been looking for since Northstar came out... in a clix set, that is!
* Thunderball - 4 - Here’s hoping they made him right rather than gave him a dial relative to the stinko one the Wrecker was saddled with.
* Shaman- 5- I’m interested to see the dial (okay, that applies to all of the unknowns on this list) but in any event it’s a nice addition. I likely would've topped at 4 on him, but I really like the sculpt; it captures his nature as a powerful, contemplative character whose nature will be support and guidance but who likely can do some damage if need be.
* Quicksilver- 5 - We needed a remake, so I’ve been waiting for this. I’m happy to see this apparently isn’t an “ultimate” version.
* Sunfire- 4 - The atomic samurai! Japanese ultra-nationalist with a huge chip on his shoulder. Happy to see him finally make it even if the guy’s an ass.
* Marrina- 1 - ::sniff:: Did someone lose a piece of fish, or am I catching a whiff of Byrne? Why, it’s both! Sorry, nice fish-lady.
* Dazzler (Ultimate)- 1 - Ha! Well, Seth managed to make me actually want a real Dazzler by making the wrong one! It’s too late to add negative numbers to the scale, so I’ll stick with the bottom.
* Executioner- 5 - Long, long awaited.
* Shathra (Unique)- 4 - She should be a tough, deadly piece. I’ll be interested in giving her a go.
* Black King (Unique)- 5 - We were supposed to get him a few sets ago! When you’re that rich, though, you’re never really late for anything. The confident pose is character-accurate, but the interpretation’s subtle. Four out of four people I showed the picture to were immediately reminded of Al Jolson (and these weren’t old people.) One mid-twenty-something exclaimed, “Mammy!”
Comments
Overall, I like the set quite a lot. I'd rather Crystal had a REV, and, for that matter, I'd rather they put her in either her yellow and black Inhuman togs or her FF costume, but still, I'm just happy to have the fig. I don't share your distaste for Thunderbird, as I always liked his costume and tend to think the most annoying characters have the best potential character arcs to go through. Executioner is a wonderful addition, and I won't mind having Lorelei to mix in with a Loki's Lackeys team. (It seems very odd to me that she can be a Brilliant Tactician, though.)
(On a cross path, I'm startled but pleased to discover from ESSENTIAL THOR VOL. 2 that both the Cobra and Mr. Hyde are also one time lackeys of Loki; it just makes me yearn even more for a Cobra fig.)
I'm also happy to have new Captain America, Iron Man, and Ultron figs. I agree, the new Cap sculpt kind of blows, but what can you do? The Ultimates Cap has a better dial, too, but I'll be pleased to field this one instead. I'm pleased we are getting any kind of Titanium Man at all, and I'll be pleased to add Jocasta into an Ultron theme team. The new Magneto should be an improvement over the old one, yes. I'm pleased to see Thunderball, Shaman, Aurora, Banshee, and Sunfire, and a new Quicksilver will be nice, too, although under my House Rules, the old one is actually quite useful, especially if you put him and his teammated In Contact With... Someone (not sure who the Cap's Four can be 'in contact' with, as they've pretty much been abandoned by all the team elders) and give him Armor Piercing.
Black King sucks. I don't know who Shathra or Echo are. The Sentry sucks and sucks and sucks and SUCKS. I don't much care about the rest of the set. Still, I'll enjoy buying boosters, and am looking forward to seeing the dials. Thanks for posting this entry; I found it very useful.
Mentioning Thunderbird's costume reminds me that it's no surprise that one designed by Cockrum would look very much like a Legion of Superheroes costume. I agree, the costume looks rather nice -- if I have it handy I'll add the pic to this main post, especially as it was almost ironically one of the clearer shots.
At the time, though, he was just such a superfluous character between the ethnic/cultural angle, the chip on his shoulder and the baseline powers... it was difficult to take him as someone placed there for any reason other than to be killed for some early drama.
Our reactions to Crystal are essentially identical, and not having seen the sculpt there's still much to potentially go wrong. After all, we don't know the dial and we don't even know how accurate the markings on the base are. Thunderball has a Serpent Society symbol on his base, after all, and Quicksilver has a wing symbol! We may see some substantial changes between those pics and the final product.
Word is that once the conduit for the sneak peeks returns from vacation (Monday?) we'll be seeing new Armor Wars elements daily. The pre-release events are three weeks off, so nearly everything will be revealed by then even if they save a few official sneak peeks to take us through the first Wednesday in November.
Most of the negative buzz on Cap so far is from those who insist (and they do have a reasonable argument) that he should always have Willpower. I'm happy for the variety... though I'd still like to see some Incap and Running Shot.
Maybe I'll have more positive things to say in November. Right now, I need a break. I'm looking over the Icons I have and thinking about trade deals, I have to think about a new set again?
Not ready for it... just not ready for this yet.
Grant
While I don't want to end up with a great many Icons extras, I also would like to leave some spots open there as I'll be looking at Armor Wars extras I'll be looking to trade.
Is AW a perfect set in terms of character selection? Oh, absolutely not. Three of the four House of M unique slots appear to be wastes of time, though maybe they'll surprise us with something special on one or more of their dials. It looks like a fun set, but I know you're coming from the perspective of zero interest in mutant characters, so any of the early "all-new" X-Men and New Mutants, so that's a considerable gulf of interest with... 15 of the 40 characters either being mutants or strongly mutant-associated ones (Shaman, in particular) - though I'm guessing we can move Quicksilver and Sunfire into the "wants" pile.
With the Clix brick program and the promise of both improved collation and the uniques ration being upped to 1 in 3 boosters, it does become a matter of making some potentially costly decisions. Probably the most cost-effective method for getting a set? Buying a sealed Clixbrick from an online company (Iconusa is selling them for $53.46 plus shipping) and make a deal with a local retailer to buy 12 from him in such a way that you'll have the cumulative receipts and can send away for the LE.
That'll be 96 clix - spot-on the same size as the set, though there will be extras, of course. Odds are that in that mix will be 8 uniques -- odds that should be good especially if one buys a sealed brick from the local retailer rather than loose boosters. Why? Well, if they're really able to promise "78% fewer duplicates" to case buyers they'll need to focus on the makeup of the case at the brick level. If they don't it'll become ridiculously confusing and they won't get even close to the promise.
Is that how I'll do it? Oh, hell, no. I'm impatient and given to terrible excesses.
Having said all that, I'm pretty much over Icons, although I'll keep buying boosters as there are still singles in it I'd like to have. I'm completely ready for Armor Wars.