Shortly after Arkham Asylum's release in late 2008, parent company Topps closed down WizKids and we fans thought that was it for HeroClix. 

The upside was that a lot of the previously hard-to-obtain chase figures I've been reviewing these past months became much less expensive. (In fact, that's when I wrote the majority of these reviews. Then I just sat on them for months and months. Nice, huh? :/  )

Anyway, you can't keep a game as solid — and profitable — as this down prematurely. NECA snapped up WizKids and soon after released the all-but-completed Hammer of Thor set, complete with two chase figures, including this first one:

THORBUSTER

wing symbol

140 points

Team: none

Keywords: 

Range: 8 x 1

DIAL & CARD:

http://www.continuumedia.com/clix_cave/tb2/Unit.cfm?UnitID=th099&UnitVersion=1&KeyDisplay=1

STRENGTHS:

Running Shot, 11 AV and 4 damage? Yeah, that's good. Especially backed up by Pulse Wave. He also has a solid defense in his "Asgardian Crystal" SP that grants Toughness and, more importantly, immunity to Quake, Energy Explosion and Running Shot.

In his mid-dial and on, Thorbuster gains a 2nd SP, "To Fight A God" = Exploit Weakness and a +2 damage boost against Asgardians and Deity keyword targets. By this point in his dial, he's down to Energy Explosion and Force Blast in the attack and speed slots, respectively. On the back half of his life, though, he picks up Impervious and Invulnerability on a DV that never drops below 16. Steal Energy gives him a shot at staying in the game.

WEAKNESSES:

Mere Toughness for defense is an early-dial problem, given some of the opposition he could face. Not really as good against non-Asgardian teams.

CARDS TO CONSIDER:

In Golden Age games, NOVA BLAST is tempting given his awesome numbers top-dial, and he's not left a cripple after using it. Try using the YELLOW LANTERN Special Object to give him an AV boost throughout his very long run of Exploit Weakness — it works if he's in range even if he's shooting instead of punching.

IN SUM: 

Thorbuster is a fine piece but not the kind of game-buster some previous chase pieces have threatened to be. 4 of 5.