Continuing the quest to photograph every HeroClix fig with Super Strength holding object tokens:

The mastery of the lightning that the hammer of Thor or some such gives to Deadpool [Deadpool 055] also gives him Super Strength and the ability to hold his token in the lightning like a chimichanga!

Here are the rest of the Avengers Assemble pieces we’ve gotten shots of holding object tokens.

Robo-Thor clone Ragnarok holds it securely as show.

King Thor has nearly as solid a grip.

Spider-Woman needs to pin hers down gingerly with her right knee. Not the best hold, but it’ll do.

Hulk can juuuuust barely balance a token between the three points of his two fists and his right pectoral.

Clint-Barton-as-a-giant Goliath achieves a great grip, though in a not-so-auspicious manner.

———

That wraps up this feature’s Avengers Assemble focus, with the exceptions of Black Widow [065] and Red Wolf [051]. Next time, we do some catching up on older sets.

More Super Strength on display.

Look, Ma — no hands! Starbrand [Avengers Assemble 041a and 041b] uses his energy effect to good effect.

Moonstone and her sculpt twin Power Princess can squeeze an object under the hair as shown.

Two of Black Swan’s left sleeve’s tassels can hold an object token.

Hey, Heroclixin’ fans. Time for another round of Token Totin’ from the Avengers Assemble set. Let’s see how three more Super Strength figs hold their light or heavy objects:

Sersi [Avengers Assemble 042] has a neat little tuck under her right arm as shown.

The original Mr. Incredible himself, Hulk [033] can juuuuust barely balance the object in his arms. Juuuuuust barely.
Kamala Khan Ms. Marvel [055] can use her costume’s scarves to keep the object from rolling off.

More on Thursday.

Welcome back to Future F.U.N., where Heroclixin’ looks at recently released or upcoming figures that we’re itching to field on a force. Despite this month’s Avengers Assembled set being one of our less-liked sets overall, there’s still a lot we’re liking about it.

• Our Archery Club theme team gets a shot in the arm with three new additions: Hawkeye, Kate Bishop and Trick Shot. With their being common, uncommon and rare rarity, respectively, I suppose it’s not outside the realm of possibility that one could make an all-archer sealed team from this. But Heroclixin’ is more likely to take this 273-point trio and add a mostly-full Power Plant resource to fill the gap.
• Long ago, I endeavored to own three copies of Spider-Man [Avengers 051] to represent the post-Civil War trio of Initiative members wearing the Iron Spider armor. I’m not sure the team ever happened, what with it equalling 333 points, a beyond-awkward total. But now we’re ecstatic to get a generic designed to work together as a team at a much better cost of 180. This is my next 200-point team!
• I was a big fan of Avengers Academy before it was obliterated by the disgusting but really readable snuff-fest that was Avengers Arena. So Heroclixin’ will certainly be fielding a team of Hazmat, Mettle, Reptil and Veil for 291 points. 
• …but NOT with fellow Initiative member Juston Seyfert [Avengers Assemble 020], who’s only useful on the team when paired with a Robot keyword figure to make his “Sentinel.” There are no Initiative figures with the Robot keyword, so he’ll either break the themed team or be unable to use his trait or either of his special powers. And him on any Sentinel-themed team with more than a single actual Sentinel pretty much obliterates the “F” in F.U.N. for us. 
• Cammi [Avengers Assemble 019], another one who doesn’t play well with her frenemies in Avengers Arena, gets to play well with her pal Drax. Despite the fact that she hasn’t worked with the team officially, we’re looking forward to sticking her onto Guardians of the Galaxy builds since she won’t break them when Drax is around.

There’s more additions to themes we’re always adding to for eventual massive throw downs:

• Whirlwind [Avengers Assemble 030] for the Masters of Evil
• Nova [Avengers Assemble 039] and Steve Rogers [Avengers Assemble 061] for the Nova Corps
• Black Widow [Avengers Assemble 001 and 065] for the Red Room [all Black Widow team]
• Rage [Avengers Assemble 016] for the Luchador theme build!

Finally, there are a couple of pieces that got us excited at first, but have us MORE excited to use when Age of Ultron OP and Nick Fury sets drop in June and July, respectively:

• Falcon [Avengers Assemble 017]: We wanted to try him on an updated Atlanta Falcons theme team or on a Modern-only team of Sam Wilson figs. But both versions’ points don’t add up well at all without adding 40-plus points of F.U.N.-destroying resources, and so many versions of the character need a Captain America or two to work with for best results.
  That’s why we’re biding our time until July for the release of Sam Wilson Captain America, who may not only help the points fill out, but also give an all-Sam Wilson team a Captain America to key off of at last! Waiting and seeing. 
• And then there’s 3D Man [Avengers Assemble 013b], which had us champing at the bit to revive those old Agents of Atlas builds Heroclixin’ loved in the early days of the blog. But the news that a new Jimmy Woo is on the way in Nick Fury has us wanting to hold off and see what the real new version of the team will be like.

More photographic examples of Super Strength figs holding their own.

…own TOKENS, that is.

Here are the uncommons (and one common) we didn’t shoot last time.

Forgotten One [025] uses the stat window, too, but tucking the token under his chin makes the hold secure.

Rage [016] uses his base instead of the stat window. His left fist makes the hold more secure.

Thunderstrike [021] does the same with his right hand/forearm. But you have to put the bottom of the token on the sculpt half-moon base, NOT the base itself, in order to work.

Ultragirl [022] rounds out the uncommons with her own “barely got it” grasp on an object.

We’ll look at how the Rares do in Tuesday’s Token Totin.’

Time to continue Heroclixin’s look at how every character with the Super Strength power can hold its own object token because, as this site said years ago when the series started:

“…It ought to be obvious when a Super-Strong character is hefting an engine block and not sitting on it. And, surprisingly, it easily can be!

These are toys, and anyone who was once a boy knows that action figures need to be able to hold their weapons.”

So let’s look at the latest set to arrive, Avengers Assemble! We’ll start with the worst holds of the set:

D-Man [Avengers Assemble 024] has the lame “lean the token on the figure’s chest while sitting in the stat window” hold. It’s effective, but it covers up the dial a little.

Mettle [007] is even worse. His lean covers the entire dial. At least it’s easy enough to replace when you have to move it to see the stats.

Smasher [027] is worst of all, as the token stands almost straight up and falls over quite readily.

Token Totin’ Thursday will reveal more interesting results.

It’s that time again: A brand-new clix set arrives today. Click the link below for a print-ready pocket checklist to help in your collecting efforts.

AvengersAssemblechecklist

Thanks to all the fellow fans at HCRealms.com for gathering the info. Heroclixin’ couldn’t do it without each one of you!

The new movie’s out today, but we’ve had the clix in our hands for about a month already. Let’s look at their F.U.N. Factors, shall we?

What’s a F.U.N. Factor, you ask? It’s how:

• Friendly a HeroClix piece is. Do you get nervous or dismayed when your opponent fields a certain figure? Then it’s probably not a Friendly one to use.
• Useful a HeroClix piece is. Does the dial bring some Utility to the team, even if it’s not so scary to the other players? Then it’ll score fine in this arena.
• Nifty or Neato or Nerdcore a HeroClix piece is. This measures how well a character fits oddball teams and themes well outside the min-maxers’ attempts to just mix the best powers and numbers to win. 

Iron Man [Avengers Age of Ultron 001]: Ah, Tony Stark; make us feel. With Running Shot/Transporter Move-and-Attack and a sky-high 12 AV with 4 damage Outwit, he’s plenty Useful at his 250-point level — and just a tad unFriendly for the same reason. But only a tad. The Nifty thing about him is his ability to call in a light calvary of Iron Legion generics via a couple of traits.
At 185 points, he’s a lot Friendlier and a little less Useful. In both cases, his Avengers Assemble! trait is one of the less mean examples. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate

Iron Legion: So we have to look at these differently depending on their role. As part of a team build, Iron Legion is super Useful: 10 AV Running Shot with 3 damage Enhancement for 50 points! There’s always something a little Friendly and Nifty about generics in Heroclixin’s view. Those elements are even better when you factor in the random element of this trait:

“AVAILABLE BACKUP: When Iron Legion is placed in your starting area from outside the game, roll a d6. On a result of 1-3, click it to its blue starting line. On a result of 4-6, click it to its yellow starting line.”

So one never knows if one is adding a close-combat Empower piece to the force, or a range-focused Enhancer. But it’s always going to be F.U.N. finding out. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: High

Captain America [003]: A really short 4 range keep the 125-point Cap quite Friendly despite good AV, highly Useful targeting abilities [through characters and even if he’s based] and his AA trait that either boost allies’ damage or nerfs foes’ AV. His 80-point level starts with his SP, though, “His Enemies Fear Him,” which allows him to use Leadership to throw an action token on one higher-cost enemy or on all lower cost enemies. Good thing this is also limited by his range — and doesn’t cause pushing — or it’d make Cap really mean. Staid old Cap is not the Niftiest figure to build around, either. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderately High

Test Subject: This generic is so random that it can’t help but be Friendly. But it won’t be Useful without highly skilled play — not without running a Baron Strucker from the set, anyhow — and Heroclixin’ is finding it difficult to see the Nifty aspects of this piece. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderately Low

Thor [005]: Lack of Willpower is the flaw that blunts the thunder god’s Useful quotient while raising his Friendliness for the 200-point cost. Both balance out a bit more at the 150 level where he gains Enhancement. There’s also Pulse Wave scattered about, but not enough to keep him from being a F.U.N. figure despite a general lack of Niftyness — he’s a little boring. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate

Hydra Soldier: Low speed Charge and no range make this mook quite Friendly while still being a Useful one for Nifty Hydra teams, which are usually entirely range-dependent. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: High

Ultron Sentry: One might think a scant three clicks of life make these robots Friendly to the max. But they have an eminently Useful trait that effectively replaces them upon their KO, sometimes with an upgrade to a more powerful version. It’s a Nifty trick that’s super Nerdcore but could be manipulated to unFriendly levels — but probably only on said Nerdcore teams of all-Ultron or something, so that balances out as well. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderately High [but only in timed games]

Hulk [008]: With the cruelest AA trait of all [either take extra damage AND a token now or make Hulk angrier], sky-high stats and not one but TWO stop clicks that pair with a can’t-miss shot at Regeneration, there’s absolutely nothing Friendly about this Hulk at any of his point levels, especially if he’s got friends. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Low.

Hawkeye [009]: Stealthy and able to advance and attack without gaining action tokens most of the time, the Hawk’s another of these pieces that is highly Useful and equally unFriendly. So play up his Nifty factor by teaming him with all-archers or something. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Low

Scarlet Witch: her Usefulness cranks to 11 as she moves about, boosting with Perplex and, via Willpower, gets the two tokens she needs to super-boost a pal. How Friendly she is depends on who those pals are. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate [Low if she’s teamed up with any “Hulk”]

Vision: A little too Friendly with his slim Super Senses defense and no moving attack to cover his role as 100-point Outwit piece. The back half of his dial is better with Plasticity, Perplex and Invincible, but again it’s not great Usefulness at all. And he’s not that Neato, either. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderately Low

Ultron Mk I: Like the Sentry generic, Mk 1 gets less Friendly with each additional copy of the piece you have at your disposal, as he can respawn and possibly upgrade upon KO. But his modest stats keep him from being overbearing, while going full Nerdcore with an all-Ultron team draws out maximum Utility. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: High

Black Widow 013: Lacking any moving attack powers and only having a paltry 4 range puts her in the low Utility zone, even if she does have Perplex and Stealth and Willpower. She’s super-Friendly as a result; even her AA trait is pretty darn mild [either you can’t ignore pushing damage or you can’t attack her]. She doesn’t even rack up Niftiness points, really. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderately Low [but not because she’s too good, for once]

Quicksilver: Hypersonic Speed and Force Blast and self-Probability Control are nerfed by his low damage, taking his Usefulness down a notch while making him one of the Friendlier HSS figs. Not a great deal Nifty about him at first blush, though. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate

Nick Fury: Alone, he’s not much. But go Nerdcore with an Avengers theme, and his Usefulness shoots right up as he gains Leadership and Outwit. He’s also a boon to the AA traited characters. His Friendly factor fluctuates based on which Avengers he’s teamed with, consequently. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate to Moderately Low

Baron Strucker: He’s really no good unless you play Nerdcore and go all “Hail Hydra” and add Test Subject-keyword figs to the mix. Then his Mastermind, his ability to pull in Test Subject 004 figs and his stat boosts when they die all work to make him Useful for his nearly 100-point cost. He’s still pretty finessey and thus Friendly. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderately High

 
Hulkbuster: Another attempt at doing a One-Man-Army fig right, Hulkbuster is sooooo unFriendly to giants, colossals, vehicles and team bases. But since many of THOSE characters are mean in their own rights, we guess turnabout is fair play. He’s decently Useful and there’s nothing Niftier than a Hulkbuster armor clix. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate

Ultron Prime: Like his brethren in the set, Mr. No-Strings has the power to respawn. But he gets zero bonuses or upgrade options and is limited to Move And Attack as his best offensive ability, so he’s surprisingly Friendly for a 250-point beatstick. That said, he’s not THAT Friendly: Charge with 12 AV and 5 damage Exploit Weakness and 3-bolt Energy Explosion is very Useful and his Utility only rises when he’s on a properly Nerdcore team of other robots he can Mastermind to. OVERALL F.U.N. FACTOR: Moderate