It’s been a minute, so let me pull a little review article from the vault.

In late 2017’s Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls set, a bunch of figures based on DC Comics’ 1940s-inspired Bombshells (first variant covers, then a whole comic/alternate universe) bounced into the HeroClix scene. In addition to each lady sculpt posing on a WWII bomb, each has this trait:

When [this Bombshell character’s name] makes an attack targeting an opposing character, give her a Bombshell token. FREE: If she has two action tokens, remove two Bombshell tokens, then make a close attack.

Making attacks is what matters. And the more targets, the better: each one garners her a Bombshell token. But using them in the above FREE action is occasionally tricky because of the two action token requirement and the need to be close as well.

The key is swarming the force and pushing appropriately.

So when examining the Bombshells, we’ve got to look them UP (and down):

• MOVE-UP: What’s her mobility like to get in position for Bombshelling?
• CLOSE-UP: Can she survive nearby (since the shell action is a close attack)?
• PUSH-UP: How pushable is she (since she must have two action tokens to use the shells)?
• PUNCH-UP: Can she even do anything with the Bombshell trait (can she deal damage with it)?
• RACK-UP: Can she build bombshells easily (how often/how many can she stack)?
• TEAM-UP: What does she do for the rest of the girls?
• And then I’ll SUM UP how this babe belongs on the chorus line.

---

 

Batgirl [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 037] 70 points

MOVE-UP: She’s a Hypersonic flier, so she will be able to reach targets. Having 0 range means she’ll be in position for Bombshelling — and her Steal Energy is a strong incentive for doing so.

CLOSE-UP: Her Super Senses SP is a very soft defense, even though it also grants a massive +3 DV against fellow fliers. But she becomes Impervious on her vamp clicks. Traited Stealth is unlikely to be useful in melee.

PUSH-UP: She has no Willpower, so that’s problematic. But she has Steal Energy and a “vampire” dial that can heal past her starting click 3, so as long as she hits, she can push pretty well.

PUNCH-UP: She can always deal 3 or more damage, and she has Precision Strike to almost always make it stick.

RACK-UP: She’s one who thrives on attacks, so she’ll build plenty for her own use.

TEAM-UP: She flies and so could be a taxi, and deep in her dial she has Perplex, but she’s just a fighter, really. HSS can’t carry during attacks and she’s going to be attacking almost always.

SUM UP: Batgirl is the lowest rarity HSS for the team and one whose play style is made for the Bombshell trait so she should be on every Bombshell team you can fit her on. Also note: She has the Suicide Squad keyword, so consider that Task Force X Additional Team Ability to help her land that vital attack.

———

Batwoman [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 038] 60 points

MOVE-UP: Batwoman has no movement skills beyond 8 speed Charge. She’ll need help getting in close.

CLOSE-UP: Her 17 Combat Reflexes make her ideal for the Bombshells’ melee sweet spot. But beware the ESD clicks on her end dial.

PUSH-UP: She has no Willpower, but retains the 3 damage Outwit on click 2. Later, she gets Flurry and Incap, though her damage drops to 2 and the Outwit’s lost.

PUNCH-UP: Click 2’s Outwit and 3 damage could work wonders. Her 2 damage on subsequent clicks has much less potential.

RACK-UP: She has 6 range that might give her some attack opportunities from beyond her weak Charge swing. But she’s basically mediocre in this respect.

TEAM-UP: Here’s where she excels: as a team player. First, her Outwit is useful for the Bombshells. But because that makes her a target (especially with no Stealth), it’s better to maybe rely on her Bombshells-only Empower to aid other, more active gal pals in beating down opponents.

SUM UP: Batwoman does not stand out and probably ought to be 10 points cheaper to be a proper play. But she can definitely be a great boon to any Bombshell team she’s on — especially large ones where she can either avoid the heat or draw fire away from more important members.

———

Black Canary [DC Rebirth 049] 65 points

MOVE-UP: Improved Movement: Characters allows her to get right in the middle of the action without a great deal of outside help.

CLOSE-UP: With only Super Senses and, later, Willpower on her defensive track, she’s not very survivable at all in melee. Fortunately, her first click also bears Shape Change to give her marginally better odds at living to fight after pushing.

PUSH-UP: Click 2 has Perplex lasts the rest of her 5-click dial, which sports Willpower on the last two for some real potential to Bombshell.

PUNCH-UP: That Perplex means she might be able to boost her 2 damage to a more wounding 3.

RACK-UP: Here’s where Black Canary really sings. Her opening Running Shot+Pulse Wave combo lets her run into a crowd and immediately gain a RIDICULOUS amount of bombshells. And she can PW right into base with one of her targets so she can possibly Bombshell it when she’s tokened up (if she doesn’t use her trait Force Blast to knock targets back — which she probably ought to do because normally immune foes won’t be during a Pulse Wave attack).

TEAM-UP: Aside from her scoring tons of shells for the team, she can spend one of those shells to make the whole team able to double knockback and affect Charge/Reflexes, or spend one shell to quasi-Incap anyone hit by her next Pulse Wave.

SUM UP: Black Canary is probably the best lead attacker for the team just as soon as she can get off a multi-target Pulse Wave attack — not only for the mass damage potential, but for her role as a “bombshell farmer” for the rest of the squad.

———

Catwoman [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 020] 55 points

MOVE-UP: She has no upfront mobility; Leap/Climb doesn’t come until much later — and even when it does, it’s at putrid speed values of just 5 and 4, down from a far-from-stellar starting speed of 6. She’s gonna need a lot of help here, either from a taxi — or because of her Stealth and the fact that she’s an Outwitter, the enemy will likely come for her.

CLOSE-UP: She sports 17 Super Senses. That’s not great, although she starts with a SP version that allows her to burn shells to boost her chances of succeeding the roll.

PUNCH-UP: Precision Strike is a good fit for slipping in damage on a Bombshells attack. She also gets Perplex and Blades/Claws/Fangs down dial to serve as her lead-in attacks.

PUSH-UP: She holds onto Outwit and all her other powers and stats on click 2. But her slipping values in late dial aren’t inspiring for Bombshell attacks, and she loses her shell-powered SP version of Super Senses.

RACK-UP: She sports a 3 range to snipe at any enemy unwary enough to venture near whatever stealthy hidey hole she’s picked. But that’s unlikely, as is her racking up many if any attacks due to her earlier noted mobility problems and overall mediocrity of her fighting and defensive prowess.

TEAM-UP: Catwoman is probably the chief Outwit figure for the team — no more, no less.

SUM UP: Heroclixin’ hated this figure in 2017, but maybe she has a small role here.

———

Harley Quinn [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 017] 75 points

MOVE-UP: Charge + Flight via SP is pretty good, as she can taxi while retaining her boot speed symbol to be carried herself.

CLOSE-UP: Only 17 Super Senses protects her at first. She gets 16 Reflexes on her back 2/3 of life.

PUNCH-UP: A couple clicks of Precision Strike in the middle could work, but you don’t want to plan to use them. She only has 2 damage all dial, so she may need her 3 each of Perplex and Outwit to Bombshell effectively.

PUSH-UP: Like most of the other Bombshells in her set (Harley Quinn), her click 2 is identical to the first — which is a problem because Super Senses is a much worse defense in melee than Combat Reflexes.

RACK-UP: Multi-targeting with Quake along with her Flight means she might be able to slam a BUNCH of enemies and get a lot of bombshells at once.

TEAM-UP: Her Perplex is key for the team, and her SP makes her an early game taxi — one that can carry while attacking, unlike her Hypersonic sisters. Also, because she’s a Harley, you can add her pet hyenas Bud [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 019a] or Lou [019b] to the theme (they get her keywords) for 25 points each to gain some SP Probability Control and SP Poison, respectively.

SUM UP: Harley is a key Bombshell thanks to her versatility as a secondary attacker, a bombshell farmer and as a Perplex/Outwit support fig. Just have to protect her unarmored bod.

———

Hawkgirl [WizKids DP18-010] 75 points

MOVE-UP: She starts out Hypersonic with traited Sidestep and IM:Characters. Another taxi is welcome.

CLOSE-UP: Energy Shield is her defense. You really don’t want her in base until she’s knocked onto her Toughness on clicks 3-5.

PUSH-UP: Unlike the original Bombshells, her click 2 is not a mirror copy of her first, as her speed and more importantly her defense both drop 1. In fact, except for click 3, her stats drop all the time. Not very pushable at all.

PUNCH-UP: Her early 3 damage is nice, but again, she should not be run with intent to Bombshell.

RACK-UP: As a 0 range HSS flier, she can get attack opportunities. But with no Willpower, she’s pretty limited here.

TEAM-UP: What she does for the rest of the girls is why you play her. In addition to being a taxi that can’t be tied up, her first three clicks have SP Empower and Enhancement. The former can be VERY useful for the Bombshells’ FREE melee attack as she Sidesteps next to whoever needs the damage boost. After she loses the SP, she gains Prob Control. Finally, in addition to her Sidestep trait, she can burn a bombshell to Perplex a Bombshell keyword fig.

SUM UP: Hawkgirl is a little bit costly for the 5 clicks but a good Bombshell to field nonetheless. If you don’t lean on her as a primary fighter — that’s not her role, EVER — she will pay dividends for the Bombshells.

———

Mera [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 035] 100 points

MOVE-UP: Her mobility sucks despite a good 9 speed Charge.

CLOSE-UP: 18 Super Senses plus trait Toughness makes for a decent defense. She also has the ability to burn bombshells to effectively beef up that Toughness to Invulnerability-plus.

PUSH-UP: There’s no Willpower and her attack and defense drop to 9 and 17, respectively, so she does not score well on pushability at all.

PUNCH-UP: She has 3 damage for most of her dial. It’s only her last two that drop to 2 with no answer to reducers above Toughness.

RACK-UP: She has SP Quake that gives her additional shells for hit targets, potentially doubling the shells from Quaking a crowd. But 9 AV makes that bounty unlikely.

TEAM-UP: She starts with Telekinesis, which is great for the team.

SUM UP: At 100 points, she’s very expensive to be that TK support figure that the team really needs. And for her to slip to 9 AV on click 2 through most of her dial sinks her use as the fighter she’s priced as. The key, I think, is to field her as a frontline fighter at lower builds (she TKs herself in position to Charge/Running Shot next turn(s) depending on her dial) and as a TK specialist on really large Bombshell teams.

———

Poison Ivy [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 018] 50 points

MOVE-UP: She has no mobility aside from a pair of Sidesteps late dial.

CLOSE-UP: She’s not particularly survivable in close, though her 17 or lower Super Senses is bolstered by lifelong Shape Change.

PUSH-UP: Unlike her sisters in the set, her click 2 immediately drops her AV, so she’s not the best at pushing.

PUNCH-UP: 1 damage makes her nigh-useless for the Bombshell attack.

RACK-UP: Her two-target SP Mind Control gives her the ability to gain bombshells 2 at a time. With 6 range and 11 AV, she’s better than most of her sisters to gain shells — though it’s tempting to immediately burn shells to quasi-Incap one or both hit targets.

TEAM-UP: Ideally, Ivy uses her MC to get foes in decent range for the rest of the team to jump on. She’s also a meat shield.

SUM UP: At 50 points, she’s one of the most affordable Bombshells and one of the only ones with AV over 10. That’s enough to warrant her inclusion on every Bombshells team.

———

Raven [WizKids DP19-006] 50 points

MOVE-UP: 12 Phasing is fantastic. She will get anywhere she wants to be.

CLOSE-UP: 18 Defend is not good. She’d depend on her Prob to save her. She also has Mystics team ability to deter some attacks.

PUSH-UP: She loses Prob and gains Perplex on click 2, so she could boost her stats. Her later dial is much less optimal.

PUNCH-UP: She has 10 AV and could use that Perplex to beef her damage to 3 for Bombshell purposes. But…

RACK-UP: … she really is not built for getting her own bombshells, despite a good-for-the-keyword 6 range.

TEAM-UP: Raven’s use is as a team taxi and medic. On her first two clicks, she can carry 4 other Bombshells, even fliers. Then, after moving, she can FREE heal all Bombshells next to her 1 click for the price of just one bombshell token — and give them Stealth until next turn.

SUM UP: Raven is the team’s only source of healing … IF she has at least one bombshell to burn. Given that the team will need to push a lot to both build those bombshells and to get to use the Bombshell attack, getting that click back could be huge. It’s too bad that she can’t heal herself, and that the one-turn Stealth she grants her patients is hard to truly use if there’s not enough hindering to hide in. Still, she’s great use of 50 points for her Prob and Defend and mega taxi skills.

… but wait. She has this trait:

(+20 POINTS) DIE TOCHTER DES TEUFELS: The first time this game Raven would be KO’d, instead turn her to click #11. Protected: Pulse Wave.

So this changes EVERYTHING.

MOVE-UP: She’s colossal on this click. 10 Charge. That’s an 8-square swing.

CLOSE-UP: Impervious isn’t bad in close, but she’s frankly unlikely to be in base due to her Giant Reach: 3.

PUSH-UP: Click 11 has Quintessence, so she can push easily with that TA’s Willpower.

PUNCH-UP: 3 damage is somewhat less impressive than you’d like, but it comes with Battle Fury to get past pesky Shape Change.

RACK-UP: The Willpower gets her building her own bombshells much more easily.

TEAM-UP: As a colossal flier, she can carry a smaller flier in this state as well.

SUM UP: Although being 70 points for just 5 clicks of life, and that last click being a big target, might be something of weakness, this last-ditch option is pretty strong.

———

Stargirl [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 036] 65 points

MOVE-UP: Starting with Earthbound/Neutralized is problematic, as she still has the Wing symbol without being carryable. Later, she’s a proper flier complete with Telekinesis for extra mobility prowess at times.

CLOSE-UP: Toughness is good, 16 DV is not. She does have a STOP click to save her, but it’ll warp her back to the starting area the first time she uses it. Afterward, she’s got 17 ESD … not the best for melee AT ALL.

PUSH-UP: Pre-STOP, she has the identical 2nd click. Because she has that STOP click, you can push with less fear of her getting easily KO’d from the shortened dial. Post-STOP, she also can push to a nearly alike click, though as noted above, it’s not ideal for close quarters.

PUNCH-UP: 1 damage early, even with Perplex, is practically worthless. Later, she gets up to 3 damage at least.

RACK-UP: She’s an occasional shooter until she transforms post-STOP, when she can *possibly* get FREE use of Incapacitate, Ranged Combat Expert or TK after costed use of either of the other two as long as she has at least two bombshells. Nothing to count on, but could be useful — especially as this roll doesn’t burn off those bombshells.

TEAM-UP: Stargirl’s melee mediocrity is outshined by her use as a meat shield who won’t ever be one-turned (thanks to her return to the starting area upon STOP), her Perplex (ever useful), and, chiefly, her trait to give ESD to adjacent Bombshells.

SUM UP: She’s an odd duck. Part support figure, then a new TK/Incap/RCE fighter, but one who has to trudge BACK into the fight after taking her STOP hit. She’s full of usefulness but hard to use.

———

Supergirl [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 051] 160 or 130 points

MOVE-UP: She’s a Hypersonic flier with good speed on either dial.

CLOSE-UP: She’s Invincible. Absent the threat of Outwit, she should be very survivable in melee.

PUSH-UP: As one of the few Bombshells with Indom, Supergirl is very pushable.

PUNCH-UP: 4 damage and AV of 11-12 on her start click(s) and Super Strength’s KNOCKBACK make the Bombshell trait attack very strong on her.

RACK-UP: With her HSS, 7 range and Willpower, she will build up bombshells at a faster rate than most of her sisters.

TEAM-UP: Aside from her ability as a taxi when she’s not Hypersonic Speeding, she gives adjacent Bombshells Super Senses. She’s also a Leadership piece at her 160 level.

SUM UP: She’s built to carry the fight, so let her. But beware: she doesn’t get Super Senses herself so don’t let her get swarmed.

———

Wonder Woman [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 052] 120 points

MOVE-UP: Although she flies, her 8 Charge is really poor for her cost.

CLOSE-UP: Traited Combat Reflexes with 18 DV is pretty good — with Invincible as well. She is good in close quarters. She also can burn bombshells to deal adjacent foes damage when she’s shot.

PUSH-UP: She’s Indomitable, so that’s handled.

PUNCH-UP: 4 damage Super Strength makes her a great Bombshell attack candidate.

RACK-UP: Her slow speed might inhibit her ability to make some of the attacks she needs to amass the bombshells for the FREE attack.

TEAM-UP: She is THE leader for the squad, being able to, after her normal Leadership roll, roll a d6 for every Bombshell she can see within 4 squares and remove its tokens and boost AV on a 6.

SUM UP: Though priced as a main attacker, her offensive stats are just a bit lacking. She’ll either need aid from TK or taxis to make her charge attempt, or you’ll trust her high defense to survive her moving in close — especially if she has bombshells to use to get free damage against foes she’s basing — while allies are nearby ready to pounce as well.

———

Zatanna [Harley Quinn and the Gotham Girls 053] 50 points

MOVE-UP: 6 speed Mind Control is terrible. At least she gets Phasing on the back half, though with the same putrid value.

CLOSE-UP: She has Mastermind, so as long as she has a pal to take attacks for her, she might be able to survive in melee. Probability Control can help here as well.

PUSH-UP: She has no Willpower and a short, short dial. But she retains all her powers and stats on click 2, so there’s that.

PUNCH-UP: Her damage is a low 2, so she is not useful for the Bombshell attack at all.

RACK-UP: She has 6 range and, sometimes, a +2 AV. But she won’t be accruing bombshells for the most part.

TEAM-UP: Despite all the above weaknesses, she’s the single most essential Bombshell of all for her ability to FREE shift bombshells from one character to another. She also brings two Probs (hers and that of her detachable bystander bunny, John Constantine) Here’s a guide on shifting bombshells per member and priority of having them:

• Batgirl: Give her +2 bombshells if she’s pushed and needs to Steal Energy. Priority: MODERATE (if she’s based)
• Batwoman: +0. Priority: LOW
• Black Canary: +1, for her Jive and Wail “incap” option. Priority: MODERATE
• Catwoman: +1-2. She burns them for her SP Super Senses. Priority: LOW
• Harley Quinn: +0. Priority: LOW
• Hawkgirl: +1, so she can burn it to Perplex. Priority: LOW
• Mera: +3. She can burn them to bolster her natural Toughness greatly. Priority: MODERATE (HIGH if she’s a main attacker)
• Poison Ivy: +1. Gives her the option to quasi-Incap every time she Mind Controls. Priority: MODERATE
• Raven: +1-2, so she can burn one to do her healing trick. Priority: HIGH
• Stargirl: +2, the minimum she needs to roll the 8 needed to FREE use her Incap/RCE/TK SP options. Priority: MODERATE (until she has the two, then she’s self-sufficient)
• Supergirl: +0. Priority: LOW
• Wonder Woman: +1-5. She can burn them to deal damage in close when she’s shot. Priority: MODERATE (if she’s based)
• Zatanna: +0. Priority: LOW

SUM UP: I repeat — she is MOST ESSENTIAL. Build her on your team, then guard her with all you’ve got. ALWAYS ensure she has someone for Mastermind.

———

The Bombshells are an unwieldy and complicated force to run, especially in total as a 1000-point team. But they’re F.U.N. to the core and thus right in Heroclixin’s wheelhouse.