The Tease of Things I Don't Need

The Set Revealed

With shots of the complete sculpts for Fantastic Forces, along with their opening dials and some information about each of them about to appear in an issue of Inquest magazine on Thursday, someone's posted a zip file of the info for all who are interested.

Much was as I expected - including the new Hawkeye not only being a good piece, but the one most likely to have the move-attack-move aspects of the Transporter mechanics come to life, with his 10 Range, 3 targets and good attack values. Nightcrawler looks good, appearing in a blast of smoke in mid-air. They didn't make him a Transporter as I guessed they might, but they gave him Phasing/Teleport, leading into Hypersonic Speed, and (presumably) back into Phasing/Teleport. They surprised me (providing it's not an Inquest mistake -- there are a few obvious ones in the article) by making him X-Men affiliated, rather than from the Ultimates line; it'll be much more useful this way.

Most of the sculpts look good. The Black Knight's on a Kirbyesque Knights of Wundagore fly-cycle, Dr. Strange looks a little more aggressive, but good. Baron Mordo has giant eyebrows and what looks like a bad hairpiece in the scan, but reads like a good piece. A useful, low-cost Psychic Blasting piece in the 39 pt vet Asp, complete with her Serpent Society TA that allows her to phase through walls. A Mad Thinker (ah, another terrible name, though it's important to remember that he didn't call himself that, really) unique with an economical but useful 53 pt dial, and an REV of a giant Awesome Android who looks good, even if they went with the "Awesome Andy" name he apparently picked up in a latterday issue of She Hulk (what a name... and they didn't even have the '60s to blame that one on.) Andy's vet, at least, has the Spider-man TA, and so is appropriately enough a wildcard.

The Ultimates version of Professor X has a 12 Range, 3 targets, Mind Control (of course) and a good enough Attack Value to make use of it. His defense level is pooooor, though - 13! - so he'd better keep someone with Defend and a good defense nearby. If an opposing Mind Controller gets hold of him he could wreak havoc on his own team before regaining his senses. The Warlock unique, with a 17 Defense and Defend might do the trick, especially if one parks ol' Chuck on hindering terrain. Speaking of mind control and mutants, another New Mutants member, Karma, made this set. The 59 pt vet has a 10 Range, 2 targets Mind Control and an opening Attack Value of 11. Not bad.

Nimrod (now, now... the name originally meant "great hunter" -- he's right there in your Bible) unfortunately initially looks the part, as a big, pink robot, but he's the 264 pt Running Shooting, Outwitting, Regenerating powerhouse of the set.

The Wolverine unique has popped off the cover of Uncanny X-Men #141, from a future Earth under the metal boot of Sentinels. Okay, so the face is a tad thin for the Byrne version, but the idea's clear to anyone familiar with the source material, all the way down to the brown, fleece-lined jacket. Judging from the power descriptions this could be one of the best combinations for the character thusfar, with three clicks of Charge and Regenerate, and five of Blades/Claws/Fangs. For 71 points it looks like a good deal. The lack of Leap/Climb, Super Senses and Stealth could weigh against him. Still, his opening click of 8 Speed Charge and 12 Attack with Blades/Claws/Fangs is a fine start.

The set also has the original Vulture, a flying, Charging, Super Sense-protected, Force-Blasting piece with Blades/Claws/Fangs in the 53 pt vet.

Luke Cage is back in his '70s outfit, which just seems right to me even though they're taking the modern tack and just calling him Cage. The vet has the Spidey TA, and come to think of it, so does Dr. Strange.

Well, it's nearly all out there. Now that it's Wednesday, we're 4 weeks and a few hours from the set hitting the shops. Little surprises are still hidden in the shadows, but mostly it's a matter of who gets what team affiliations at lower levels. Hopefully we'll at least see the Fantastic Four TA on the experienced level of Luke Cage; it would be a nice nod.

Is it the best set I've seen to date? No, I still got more of a kick out of Clobberin' Time and the character selection behind Critical Mass. Still, it appears to be a good set, with plenty of possibilities.