I’m not sure that Spoiler’s as bad as you say. Her rookie packs a speed of 9 with Leap/Climb, so the only way she can get KOed before getting in position is against an opponent with at least a 10-square range. She doesn’t have the pure numbers of Robin. But Combat Reflexes give her the chance to get out of the way from whatever hit her in the first place, so she could live longer.

Kid Quantum may seem ineffective at the moment, but the upcoming Fantastic Forces set will give her some far better options. Team her up with some Avengers-turned-Defenders or an honorary FF membership, and her defensive problems are resolved. Even now, she may be better off as a taxi for some 17-defense JSA members than simply relying on Stealth.

Vet spoiler is good for two things:
1) very cheap pounce piece
2) a very good candidate for passenger

Other than these i wouldn't use her

I prefer Spoiler as a pounce figure to Robin. Yes, Robin is a better figure straight up (though his AV goes down to a 4), but I actually *gasp* use his one click of Smoke Cloud when I play him. It's not something I want to part with on him, so Spoiler is my choice for that feat.

I'd agree that Roy Harper is the best version of that character and the experienced version demonstrates no concept of balance, point wise.

Power Dampening Field will probably be the card of choice for Kid Quantum and the other Legionnaires. The Exp is the only one I use (without feats) for the same reasons azs mentioned. The rookie doesn't do much of anything and the Vet is no upgrade.

Except for two things:

1) As a candidate for Pounce, she runs up against V Robin, who maintains better numbers after the push.
2) As a candidate for Passenger, she runs against V Robin again, as well as the Parademons and a host of other taxi options.

She’s basically outclassed by Robin at everything except preventing an attacker from getting a follow-up attack.

Kid Quantum would have probably been a lot more playable a couple sets back when big guns typically had a low defense + Impervious. Ironically she debuts in the set where Impervious figs start sporting 17+ DV's...

E Arsenal is arguably a slightly better fit for picking off weenie hordes than Havok. But yeah, how'd they both come out of the same calculator? I'd like to see more vanilla dials (maybe one aper expansion) with good stats and a competitive cost.

LOL. Now I need a professionally done anti-drug poster with Speedy on it. Priceless.

Oh, and good review too.

I like Spoiler for theme teams. V Robin is better, but since I try to avoid running dupes she allows me to have her Pounce and him channel Oracle's powers.

I also like Speedy as an energy battery for Titans teams. V Starfire is a bargain and has powerhouse early clicks, but she fades quickly as she takes damage or pushes. If she carries around Speedy, he can pass clicks to her as needed. If someone closes with them, then maybe he can get a punch or two in.

That said, Arsenal is a waste of points-- unless further redefinition makes the Outsiders power worth having. (How is it so powerful that wildcards can't be allowed to copy it?)

I'm loving the reviews and don't have anything to disagree with. I went through many of the same ups and downs with these characters when they appeared, and came to the same conclusions. I figured out early on that Roy Harper Jr. belonged on my short list of SR/LE Legacy figures.

As for the vet Spoiler, we'll just have to see what the (presumed) Robin in Icons - who I would expect to replace the HT Robin in Restricted play - looks like and how it compares with Spoiler. If they opt to ramp Robin's abilities and point cost up then maybe at least the vet for Spoiler can take that cheap Pouncer/Batman TA source spot.

I may not always comment, but I always enjoy your figure reviews, azs.

exactly - along with CR to keep her alive and keep lending batman TA to your wildcards (unless they get disbanded, of course). I suspect this strategy will see more play once hypertime retires...I guess you could say spoiler is sort of an investment speculation piece.

In defense of the Kid Quantum (Experienced), I'd just like to point out that KQ is currently the only triple attack figure DC has. That coupled with her Running shot incapacitate make her a good choice for picking away at swarm teams. Sure, Vertigo is a better choice in Open, but in DC only games, KQ makes a great immobiliser.

Same train of thought that led to all the restrictions on Fastball Special.

I really love this KQ team

3 x e Kid Quantum 93
le Clint Barton 75
Alfred 5
173

+ heavy perplex, hydra and PD to boost attack, and a nice cleanup piece to destroy your immobilized enemy, ex Jinx for PC security, and wild card. Imagine placing 6 counters on your enemy in every turn!

Think I might have to disagree with you on that one.

Spoiler has one more movement on Robin on every click. Her attack starts out the same but stays better longer. Her defense falls a tiny bit faster, but CR and permastealth will hopefully make up for that - pouncing Robin takes a hit and has to use an action to retreat; pouncing Spoiler takes a hit and flips away, in position to either run to a healer or Pounce again if she's still on a 2 damage click.

The only real advantage Robin has on Spoiler is a longer ranged attack, and from a Pounce perspective that makes no difference - to say nothing of the fact that we're talking a 4 vs a 6, which means either one is in position for retaliation when shooting.

Which is not to say that the extra point of defense Robin enjoys post-push amounts to nothing, but I'm not convinced that in and of itself it's a deal-breaker for Spoiler, who is as good or better on *all* other stat clicks.

There will never be a Wildcard with flight at the bottom of my tacklebox.

I definately can see all of KQ's short-comings - shallow dial, average / weak range / av. Low damage. Expensive cost. On her own, she's pretty rotten.

But she does have a 10 movement, and while using Green Lantern TA, that's not bad. Mystics always makes your opponents think twice about attacking her. Bat Enemy can help her AV.

She's never going to be an offensive powerhouse - she just can't take a hit well. But if there are enough points, she can bat clean-up very effectively. Or at least assist your clean up attackers by stunning their targets and halting their retreat for a round.

Then again, I'm a guy who thinks that V Puppetmaster is pretty good.

Thanks AZS,

I can see how someone might confuse the stunning blow card. I (fortunatly) was playimg it the way you described. Were I find it good is by using it more for the incap. and deal a push damage to figs that have a token already. But it's good to clarify it for other players.
Good Playing,
Poet1971