With the upcoming release of the Ultimate Fantastic Four figures I have come full circle. I started playing Heroclix without ever really reading a lot of comics. Because I started collecting with Clobberin Time I ended up with all the Fantastic Four figures and became so enamored with them I have subscribed to all the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics.  So here I am and here we are with a sneak preview review of The Thing.

Stats and Powers –   

The second incarnation of The Thing (first in Clobberin Time) is very similar to the first version with some simple modifications. He fits the mold of a heavy hitter type of figure.   All three versions have Charge, Super Strength, and Impervious followed by Invulnerability and then Toughness down the rest of his dial.   The Rookie and Experienced start with Speed of 8, Attack of 9, Defense of 16, and Damage of 4.  The Veteran bumps up his starting Attack to 10, and Defense to 17. The Rookie is also the only one that is not a member of the Fantastic Four.

Strengths –  

The Charge with Speed of 8 makes all three versions very useful to use.  Getting the first hit is often the key in close combat fights.  I also like that after The Thing loses Charge he gets it back after a couple of clicks to go after another figure if he KO’s the first.  His Attack although not great is consistent and gives him a chance to land hits deep into his dial.   His Defense, like the Clobberin Time version, is higher then most of your typical heavy hitters.  His Damage is very solid as well with at least 2 or 3 clicks with a natural 4 Damage plus Super Strength.  The addition of Impervious fits this character perfectly and gives him something his previous version did not have.

Weaknesses –

He really is a solid figure with no major weaknesses, but he does have a couple of issues.  His starting Attack is average at best, but at least it doesn’t drop in a hurry.  The other issue is that his health is only 8 deep on the Rookie and Experienced and 9 on the Veteran. This isn’t too bad but the major problem is that all three versions only have a Damage of 2 on the last two clicks and no Super Strength. So they cannot hurt a figure with Impervious or Invulnerability without rolling a 12 on their last few clicks.

Playing With –

The Thing is a straightforward heavy hitter so everything revolves around getting him into combat without taking any damage and making sure you get the first attack.   Try to avoid ranged figures and Outwitters as you move him into position and make sure you can set him up to use his Charge.  He should be able to go toe to toe with most other heavy hitters so use your support pieces to keep Outwitters and Perplexers from harassing The Thing.

Playing Against –

Try to stay out of his Charge range and use your ranged combat figures to knock him down a few clicks.   Make you opponent move him into close combat without Charging so he loses the first attack.   His Defense is solid so use Outwitters to get rid of that nasty Impervious. Use Perplex and Probability Control if you have to so you can make sure you land your first hit, or else The Thing may make you regret it. 

Combos–  

Rip it Up is a good feat card for The Thing.  Also consider Fortitude since he will be in a lot of close combat brawls.  Using Fortitude will cost you 25 points though so it is a bit pricey.  Unstoppable from the Fantastic Forces would also be a great fit for The Thing at only a cost of 5 points. 

As for teammates The Thing will fit on a variety of teams, but he always should be on a Fantastic Four team.   I don’t know what the new Invisible Woman will be like, but if you use the old one with the new Fantastic Four feat card then The Thing could potentially have a Defense up to 19!  Just imagine him with a Defense that high.  Oh boy, oh boy I can’t wait.  A trick also is to carry him with Invisible Woman until he is within his Charge range, or carry him directly into contact with an opponent and attack the next turn so you don’t have to push. 

Sculpt –

The Sculpt is great and right out of the Ultimate Fantastic Four comic.  Very nice although I’m curious to see how big his figure is on the dial.

Tangibles and Overview –

The new REV of The Thing is very similar to the Clobberin Time REV with a couple of differences, the biggest being the addition of Impervious.  Also Rookie The Thing is not a member of the Fantastic Four so he can’t benefit from either the old or new Fantastic Four TA.   It is interesting that the Veteran adds Impervious and has the same starting stats as the Veteran, but is 6 points less.  His doesn’t carry Super Strength down the entire dial, but that is the only major difference between the two. Overall The Thing is a solid heavy hitter that has all the tools to be a force for his point cost. No Fantastic Four team can compete without him.  

Overall Score: (Out of 5.  Score of: 1 = horrible, 2 = below average, 3 = slightly above average, 4 = great, 5 = outstanding)

Rookie The Thing – 2.5

Experienced The Thing – 3.5

Veteran The Thing – 4.0

Reviewed by Cramcompany

Today we are going to review the R/E/V  of The Thing

The Thing is being played by Michael Chiklis in the upcoming movie.  Both the Commish and The Shield were and are great shows by this amazing actor. For more on the Thespian works of Michael Chiklis consult your local library.  For more on The Thing consult your local nerd, geek or dweeb.  (Yes, you can email me about him.)

Cost and Abilities: 

Rookie = 83 Points, 8 clicks of life, 0 range, no team ability

Experienced = 105 Points, 8 clicks of life, 0 range, Fantastic Four Team Ability

Veteran = 128 Points, 9 clicks of life, 0 range, Fantastic Four Team Ability

Which is best?  This is where I decide which to review.  Oddly enough the worst based on points is the Veteran.  The Thing is a no range brick character and frankly they can only be so useful.  128 points is too much to spend and there is very little upgrade…only a 10 attack (HUH?!).  The only major difference between rookie and exp. is the Fantastic Four Team Ability.  This is where the “ifs” come into play.  If you are playing a Fantastic Four team and the new Invisible Women has a high defense or you have a wild card with a high defense then you will want to play the exp.  if not those points are completely wasted and use the rookie.  Is a team ability worth 22 points?  Yes, if it means you have an 18 or 19 defense with impervious.  For the sake of this review I will talk about the rookie.

Movement: 8 with charge and then misses charge for a few clicks and gains it back.  I think this is the smartest way to design it.  Charge on the second click would be wasted points, when would you push him off impervious and not be next to somebody?  However if you take a hit with knockback or have killed your opponent you more then likely will be about 4 clicks into your dial.  Oh!  Before I forget charging for only 4 squares is terrible, yet better then nothing.

Attack:  9,9,8,8,7,7,7.  The defenses are getting very high now days.  Yes I will play with a nine attacking character, but that rule is usually for support pieces not my heavy hitter.  He does have super strength through most of his dial.

Defense: 16 with impervious.  Then 16, 15 with invulnerability and ending with 16, 15,15,14,14 all with toughness.  The Thing can take a lot of abuse.  Physically I mean, if you say mean words he just falls apart emotionally.  Avoid asking if his…lower region is all rock.

Damage: 4,4,3,3,3,3,2,2  Not too bad at all.

Sculpt:  I do hate his Fantastic Four unitard.  Plus he’s not on the Fantastic Four in his rookie version so why is he still sporting the costume?

Team Ability:  None.

Feats:  If you are playing the exp or vet definitely use that new Fantastic Four team ability change card.  It’s just….can I say Fantastic?  Unstoppable is tailor made for The Thing (his picture is on the card) and should make him and a few other characters a lot more playable.  Other then that, all other cards are a waste of points.  Except Incontact with Oracle which should be played every game and eventually I will stop mentioning that in my reviews.

Battle Field Condition  Darkness is not bad to help solve the range issue and if you want to get crazy, use Earthquake.  He will only take one damage from Earthquake and it will help bring down some of those high defenses.

How to Beat Him:  Shoot him before he finishes slowly walking up to you.

How to Play Him:  Rock face is not the worst third string attacker in the game.  Telekinesis him somewhere and perplex up his attack once so you can hit somebody.

Overview:  I swear I am not trying to trash this set.  Give me anybody mediocre and I will flip, but the thing is a 2.  If you are playing a no ranged character without Hyper Sonic Speed they better be able to destroy anybody they get close enough too.  The Thing is fairly well designed, but needs a higher attack value.  He is just not worth the points.

Overall Score:

2/5 300 Points

2.3/400 Points

2.4/500 Points

3/5 Fun Games (Dude, he has a Unitard on!  How satisfying could the victory be.)

= This is Cramcompany. (Please no hate mail)

cramcompany@hotmail.com for questions comments or dates.  (girls only!)