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Pojo's HeroClix "Click of the Day"
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WMNOE |
Aquaman
Depending on what decade it is, Arthur Curry's origins are quite different.
I think the latest version is that he is the son of an Atlantis born woman
and a Lighthouse keeper father. Upon adolescence he learned he could breath
underwater and could telepathically control the creatures of the sea. He
joined the Justice League and sought the companionship of the surface
dwellers, for awhile. Soon he discovered his true calling, King of all
Atlantis. He left the surface world, and soon married and had a son. His
happiness would be short-lived though, his half-brother Orm became that
Black Manta and subsequently murdered his family. Aquaman became despondent
and wandered the seas for awhile, but recently he came back to the world of
men, losing a hand in the process. He died during a huge crossover a couple
of years ago, but has been reborn recently with yet another Solo series that
didn't last very long (he's had a half-dozen series since his Silver-Age
debut). Aquaman's origins and the origins of Atlantis are masterfully told
in the Atlantis Chronicles mini-series from several years back. I still
recommend it, even though DC hasn't deigned to release it as a TPB.
Veteran Aquaman is just 41 points, which is incredibly inexpensive for an
early JLAer. He gets 7 clicks of health and is a swimmer, so he can go
underwater. I haven't played any games with swimmers, so I can't really tell
you how important that is. His starting stats are 7 Speed, 11 Attack, 15
Defense and 3 Damage. His powers include Super-Strength and Leadership. He's
never been a heavy-hitter, but Super-Strength and that 11 Attack coupled
with a 3 Damage make him a pseudo-heavy hitter in my book. He could do tons
of damage by picking up heavy objects and tossing them. I'm surprised they
didn't give him a ranged attack, since in the comics he could shoot out the
hook for a distanced blow.
The Vet Aquaman is a level 4 uncommon, but since he's a recognizable
character (and somewhat popular as well) he's more valuable that other level
4 uncommons. But as I've said time and time again, DC isn't as popular as
Marvel, and Hypertime was overprinted. He can be found for a few dollars
here and there.
My Ratings:
Playability 3 of 5
Collectability 2 of 5
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Ironman
1110 |
Aquaman:
Truth be told, I like Aquaman alot. He swims, he does good damage, he leads
his force, moves for free and chunks soda machines and bubble gum despensers
at people. He has good values and is cheap, but there is one problem: He has
no defensive damage reducing powers. Not even some tourghness. This makes
him too easy to take out. Sorry fishboy, but your a target.
200- Games: 3/5
300+ Games: 2.5/5
Sealed Box: 3.75/5
The Bottom Line: 3/5 |
Spyders
Webbing |
Aquaman. The guy who can swim. Hurray.
Hurrah. Hurray hurrah hurray hara hara........you get the picture.
Seriously, folks, while there's some worth to Aquaman, since he's one of the
only figure with Super Strength and 3 damage for 41 points, swim really
isn't all that useful and just adds extra points. Unless we get an all water
map, swim isn't all that useful. Other than that, this guy kicks butt. The
verdict:
200:4/5(fits perfectly)
300:4/5
400+:3/5 (bigger fish in the sea at this point) |
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Martin |
AQUAMAN-V
By: Martin
Totally under-rated as a hero, Aquaman never gets a fair shake at anything.
His kingdom is constantly under attack, his son was killed by the Black
Manta, he’s missing a hand for Chrissakes, and from what I hear, his cologne
choice of et du Tuna is not very popular with the ladies.
All that aside, this founding member of the Justice League has also been
under-rated as a HeroClix figure. It might have something to do with his
relatively weak close-combat attack, or the fact that WizKids hasn’t exactly
produced any play maps overflowing with oceanic terrain, limiting the
potential fun to be had with swimmers like Aquaman. Then again, it might
just be that damn cologne. But let’s take a closer look at Aquaman and see
if we can find some purpose with ‘Ol Papa Porpoise.
Aquaman’s Veteran version comes in with a modest 41 points, which makes him
a humble addition to a 200-point game, and most likely overlooked at 300+.
That’s a small price to pay for a character with two very powerful team
assets: Leadership and JLA affiliation.
Personally, I find the 3 clix worth of Leadership ability much more useful
for 41 points than I would Blades/Claws/Fangs, which is what some “purists”
have argued should be his Damage enhancement. So not only does he add one
more action to your turn allotment, but he can essentially double that for
your army being a member of JLA.
The relatively strong Attack values are enhanced by Super Strength for 5
clix. Combine that with a fair amount of Damage (3 clix of damage for his
first 2 clix) and fantastic Defense for his first 3-4 clix, and you’ve got a
very well-rounded hero who can be a great team player on land and sea.
But that’s where the benefits end and the challenge begins. It won’t take
long for your opponent to realize that you cashed in just 41 points for 2
extra actions per turn. Since Aquaman is a close-combat figure, opponents
will use their ranged attacks or Outwit to smoke his salmon quickly. Keep
him alive longer by moving him in tandem with a flyer, a medic, or, better
still, a flying medic. It won’t take long for you to turn the tides on your
opponent and prove to them that there’s always a bigger fish… you! |
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