If a figure has Improved movement that includes characters. Do they need to break away, before they start their movement?
Can you use the free action to use the gas pellets equiped to the utility belt on an opponents turn, if you took the power action on your previous turn?

1. No. They move as if there are no characters on the board.

2. No. You can only ever take actions on your turn, unless a specific power grants you an exception like this one:

THIS PLACE IS GONNA EXPLODE!: During your opponent's turn, immediately after a character friendly to Big Figure is defeated, Big Figure or a character friendly to Big Figure can make a close combat attack or a ranged combat attack as a free action.

If they have + {ignores characters}, they do not need to break away. It's as if all other characters are off the map when they move.

The difference between Improved movement and Leap / Climb is that Improved Movement needs to role break away.

As mentioned, unless a character has a specific power that allows it to take an action during your opponents turn, you can take no actions outside of your turn. The only one you might think of is Probability Control, but that is not an action so you are not technically taking an action during your opponents turn.

Thank you all for your quick reply!

http://www.hcrealms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=334521

Previous similar ruling. You simply ignore the characters ergo: No need to break away.

Unless the improved movement ignores characters, which the OP stated in did.

Seeing as L/C allows the character to use Improved Movement {various things}, it's quite silly to talk about the difference between Improved Movement and L/C.

Except that Improved Movement is always on while L/C specifically needs a move action to activate for the movement portion. All other things aside, that's a pretty huge difference between the two.

The post you point to says Wonder Woman ignores the character when using charge because she used a power action to activate charge. In the case of improved movement, the character ignores other characters when moving, but moving cannot occur until break away is made. This means leap climb and improved movement are not the same.

I'm confused. Does that mean L/C doesn't allow automatic break away or Improvement Movement (character) does not? At our venue we've all been playing these abilities as automatic break away. Have we been doing it wrong?

If you look at the newest PAC at L/C, you'll notice that the wording no longer says that characters automatically break away. But you KNOW that it does, because it always has. That's because that particular effect is now housed under the IM: Characters effect. The biggest difference between L/C and IM now is that L/C is a power action that lets you USE IM:Hindering, Elevation, Characters, OD Blocking; if you have IM movement, you are ALWAYS using those things (assuming you have them).

Just to add, IM can ignore just one thing: hindering terrain for example. Where as L/C ignores 4 things, but is a move action.

tabM-008 Spider-Man has Improved Movement: Ignores Elevated Terrain, Ignores Hindering Terrain but does not ignore characters.

IM and L/C are not the same but useful for different things.

Leap/Climb is actually a move action, not a power action.

As to the other issue. You do not have to roll breakaway for any ability or effect that allows you to ignore characters for movement purposes.

I understand what you're saying, but I think you're incorrect because your timing is incorrect.

Give the character a Move Action
Any Improved Movement effects apply
Character begins actual movement

You're saying
Give the character a Move Action
Before the Move can be done the character must breakaway
If successful the character can move
Any Improved Movement effects apply

I can see your point, but I think the first order is correct. The semantics in this game are fairly terrible. It's by far my biggest complaint. I can see how the wording of Breakaway implies that until a Breakaway roll is made, the character can't yet start his move. And Improved Movement says it activates whenever a character moves.... hmmm... I'm going with that it's SUPPOSED to allow breakaway, but that it is worded in a way that doesn't seem to...