Review and photos by Scott Rubin
Each year, WizKids Games comes up with a wild and sometimes wacky collection of characters that are only available at their big events. These Convention Exclusives include both prizes for winners of tournaments and battle royales and for-purchase items available to attendees while supplies last. The 2017 batch of limited edition figures includes an incredible array of characters from across the length and breadth of DC and Marvel Comics plus Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. There’s also a cameo appearance by a real life athlete of huge renown getting his first shot in a miniatures game with the DC HeroClix Superman vs. Muhammad Ali set! The duo pack (with boxing ring!) will be available for purchase at National Championships events starting on April 1st, and also the World Championships at Origins Game Fair.
If you’re not familiar with it, Superman vs. Muhammad Ali was a one-shot comic published by DC Comics in 1978. Adapted from a story by Dennis O’Neil, the book was written and drawn by famous Superman artist Neal Adams who was (and is) known for his big, bold style. The story tells of the alien menace known as the Scrubb who come to Earth to challenge its greatest fighter in one-on-one combat to determine the fate of the planet! Both the Man of Steel and Ali (who was the World Heavyweight Champion when the comic was being written but had just lost the title when it came out after delays – he would regain the title later that year) claimed the title, though Superman’s claim was disputed as he came from Krypton and had powers.
The aliens offer the two a title bout before the main event, and Ali trains Superman in a special time-warping facility in the Fortress of Solitude that deactivates the superhero’s powers. Later on the alien planet, which orbits a red sun, and broadcast to viewers across the universe the two square off, and after a stunning fight Superman is staggered and falls to the mat. Ali then faces the alien champion, and holds him off in the ring while Superman recovers and attacks the Scrubb fleet. Both defeat their respective foes, and return triumphant to Earth. Late last year WizKids parent company NECA released an action figure set commemorating this comic (see more about that here), and now the “fight to save Earth from Star Warriors” comes to HeroClix!
The good folks at WizKids don’t often really get to stretch their legs when it comes to package design (besides putting together cool graphics and things like that). And that’s exactly why items like the Superman vs. Muhammad Ali set is so cool. Rather than just box up the contents and throw some images on the outside they went with a really nice window box that highlights the figures, the sweet boxing ring, and the details of the package itself. It’s decorated with artwork right out of the comic book, featuring narrow shots of the two fighters bookending the front window and getting their full glory on the sides of the box along with 3D renders of the respective figures. The back panel is all HeroClix with a big image of Ali and Superman in the ring. Around and behind all of this imagery is a bright red and yellow color background color scheme and bold verbiage. One last thing that I thought was really cool: there’s a pretty hefty cardboard insert in the pack that looks like a promotional poster for the fight with a big image of the two athletes and their names on the sides. You could definitely save this and use it in a display or something.
Alright, let’s get to the figures! First up is Muhammad Ali, aka the Greatest. The legendary boxer comes to HeroClix with a very aggressive figure capturing the champ as he sets up a knockout blow. Ali wears his iconic white trunks and boots with black belt and gloves, and replicating Adams’ cover artwork he leans down and slightly to his left while bringing up his hand behind him for a signature overhand right. The figure has a strong athletic physique without looking overly bulky, and the trunks mold appropriately to his legs as he moves. If you look really closely you can even see the included detail of laces sculpted into the champ’s boots! Lastly, WizKids pulled off a good face sculpt to represent Ali on such a tiny figure, staring down his opponent and watching for any weakness as he prepares to strike.
So, how does Muhammad Ali translate into HeroClix? Let’s check the tale of the tape! Clocking in at 75 points Ali is Indomitable, which makes perfect sense, and comes with two traits. The first says that when played on a team with Superman the champ doesn’t count for or against a theme team AND in that case at the beginning of the game you can choose to give him Battle Fury; the second, “Float Like a Butterfly,” gives him permanent Sidestep. Muhammad Ali is a powerhouse for the points with big numbers and a lot of powers. He starts with Charge, Combat Reflexes, Empower, and a special power called “Sting Like a Bee” giving him Precision Strike that can’t be reduced below 2! After two clicks the champ should be engaged in melee and so switches from Charge to Flurry, and mid-dial gets Toughness and Close Combat Expert. The flavor text on Ali’s card is perfect, capturing some of his more colorful and famous expressions. As is wholly appropriate, Muhammad Ali has the keywords Celebrity and Warrior.
Next we have Superman, a chosen hero of Earth despite being born on Krypton. The Man of Steel looks similar to the standard, classic interpretation of the hero with one notable difference… he’s wearing boxing gloves! Supes has the silver age costume in red, blue, and yellow complete with “S” chest logo, trunks, belt, boots, and cape. His pose comes right off the page, replicating the iconic cover image as he prepares to duke it out with Ali in the ring. Superman stands with a slight turn to his right, hunched over a bit to protect his body as he steps forward with his right leg and brings his hands up for the confrontation. There’s a lot of energy to his stance as he looks coiled and ready to strike, and the bright red cape flaring out behind him adds some nice dynamic motion. Superman is painted quite well and has a nicely detailed grimacing expression on his face. Plus, his black boxing gloves hands look super cool and unique whether he’s going up against Ali or any other HeroClix opponents!
What can this new Superman do? Well, quite a lot actually. He’s a hefty 225 points played at his most experienced level, and that brings with it the Superman Ally team ability, Flight, and a 7 range with one target. The first interesting thing you may notice is that this Superman is NOT indomitable; it’s rare to see the big guy without Willpower one way or another, especially in this price range. However, the inability to ignore pushing damage has been offset with absolutely huge stats and a full 11 clicks of life. 12/12/19/5 starting numbers paired with Hypersonic Speed, Super Strength, and Invincible all spell doom for the Kryptonian’s enemies. Three clicks in he switches things up, moving to Running Shot, Pulse Wave, Impervious, and a special power that gives him a crazy group Outwit shutting off the same standard power on all opponents in range and line of fire when Supes is standing next to Muhammad Ali (remember, they were actually working together against the Scrubb!). Superman’s 7th click is also the start of his 75 point dial, and that’s balanced to go up against the People’s Champion. Starting there and for the rest of his dial the Man of Steel loses Flight but gains Flurry and Sidestep via a special power while also adding Precision Strike and Battle Fury for the duration. Meanwhile, he’s protected by Invulnerability for three clicks before ending the dial on Toughness. Superman has the keywords Justice League, Kryptonian, Metropolis, Reporter, and Warrior.
Those two figures are great, but there’s even more to this set. Also included is an actual HeroClix-scale Boxing Ring special terrain piece! The ring itself is a sturdy plastic base 5 squares by 5 squares (about 7 ¾ inches a side at the very bottom), and the ring posts rise to 3 inches in height. The “canvas” and apron are pure white with a black grid of squares, the posts, turnbuckles, and corner pads black, and the “ropes” (real elastic) are bright yellow, all of which matches the Adams cover art as well. It’s all scaled really nicely to HeroClix figures, and with the 5×5 size you can pack in a bunch of combatants for a big melee or just two for a title bout.
The boxing ring is not just a pretty toy, but a fully functioning HeroClix item that can enhance your games in new ways. It counts as a piece of Special Terrain, and its card explains that a force can only have one such item which must be placed at least 3 squares from any starting area and can’t overlap another or different elevations. The ring costs 5 points and has four features. All of its squares count as clear terrain, characters that cannot ignore hindering terrain when moving must stop when crossing the ropes, characters outside the ring are -2 to attack characters inside (and vice versa), and characters in the ring have +1 to attack when making close attacks. Finally, if play the ring on the Sporting Arena map you get to bestow a +1 buff to defense against ranged attacks to one figure for the entire game.
Without a doubt, this is a fantastic set. Muhammad Ali is worthy of a title shot at 75 points, Superman has some really fun options at both of his point levels, and it’ll be very interesting to see the two played against each other and on the same team. They’ll go great with your other figures in any configuration too. Meanwhile, the boxing ring is a super fun, thematic piece that will look great in your displays or on the HeroClix map, and it brings back a lot of the things that made the Unlimited Class Wrestling Federation rules so much fun for HeroClix players back in the day. If you’re going to be attending a HeroClix National Championship or Origins Game Fair this year then you have a chance to purchase the Superman vs. Muhammad Ali set along with the DC HeroClix Doomsday figure (stay tuned for a look at that figure too). Get yours and recreate the classic comic book battle to determine who really is the greatest!
Visit HeroClix.com for even more info as well as downloads of rules and maps, and check Figures.com regularly as we continue our reviews of new HeroClix!
Review and photos by Scott Rubin
Review samples courtesy of WizKids Games
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