I’m not a huge Batman fan, whether in comics or clix. But there’s no denying he’s a great character, no matter who’s wearing the cowl…there’s a reason he endures even after celebrating his 75th anniversary just last week.

So when mad genius comics writer Grant Morrison created “Batman, Inc.” with Bruce Wayne’s public revelation that he’d been bankrolling Batman for years, and then followed it with a team-up between Bruce Wayne Batman and Catwoman in that first issue as well, this Modern Age team quickly formed itself:

Batman and Catwoman (The Brave and the Bold) 142
Batman (DC 75th Anniversary #031) 77
Robin (The Brave and the Bold) 43
Alfred (Batman Alpha) 30 
+ Indigo Lantern 5
+ Dynamostat 0
+ Kinetic Accelerator 0
= 297 points. 

FIRST TEAM FACED: Chris’s Martial Artists led by Bullseye (Web of Spider-Man) + Thunderbolts ATA, Nightcrawler (Web of Spider-Man), Hand Ninja (Hammer of Thor), and Howard the Duck on my choice of the Castle map, picked more for fun than for effectiveness. 

TURNING POINTS

• I thoroughly forgot to use the Catwoman trait to “steal” Chris’s Yellow Lantern special object. Oops. But for his part, Chris opted to use Mystics instead of the Stealth-busting Ultimates team ability.
•  My map choice turned out well anyway, as my placement of the Dynamostat left Nightcrawler no way to reach BatCats — or even to place his carried Hand Ninja pal next to the duo.
• Finally, as repeated Smoke Cloud Maneuvers got Batwing and Robin slowly closer to the action, Chris moved Nighty and Bullseye within range of Batman & Catwoman’s alpha strike. And though it failed, BatCats could counter Bullseye’s Running Shot to stay safely behind hindering terrain until the others could back them up.
• Feeling the pressure, Chris pushed Nighty to try to hit and reposition BatCats. He failed. By then, both Batwing and Robin were in fighting position to overwhelm the Martial Artists completely, losing only Robin. 

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LAST MATCH was against Brian’s Future theme of Kid Zoom, Trevor Fitzroy, Karate Kid and Ahab on his choice of a 3rd-party map.

TURNING POINTS

• AGAIN forgot to use Catwoman’s trait, robbing myself of positioning opportunities thanks to Brian’s Dynamostat placement. Lesson Learned: Give all character cards a quick readthrough before the first round of play begins.
• Got first shot on Karate Kid, ending his threat before it’d begun.
• Fitzory incredibly failed to hit Alfred and was a sitting duck for a huge counterattack by the others. His KO pretty much sealed the win for the Gotham crowd, as my Dynamostat kept BatCats safe from Ahab more than long enough to take him down a peg. Didn’t lose any characters this time.

MVP: Batman & Catwoman are a really strong duo…they could almost take on these teams themselves, given the right die rolls. But the presence of Robin as ever-ready tie-up and Batman as a very strong secondary help BatCats shoulder the load. Finally, there’s Alfred’s Support as the back-up plan should things go wrong (as they did in the 2nd game when Batwing crit-misses and took a hit, losing Charge).

I will play Batman, Inc. again in Modern Age, as all the characters remain legal when Avengers, Justice League, Mutations & Monsters, and Crisis all retire May 15. (I’ll have to find a different special object than the Dynamostat, though!)