Excellent reviews. I agree that Mr. Fantastic will be the better choice under most circumstances. I would typically use him on a either a Fantastic Four or a Scientist team. The FF really benefits from the super-stretchy perplex as they have good, but not great stats. Scientists often have Perplex and/or Outwit, so it is less of an issue there -- but that double perplex still wins out in my book.

I agree that the Sue battle is more of a toss-up. Their lack of additional keywords other than FF means they will be used primarily on FF teams or teams without a theme (or perhaps non-traditional themes, such as all female, all-blonde, etc.). On a non-FF team, Sue's trait is pointless, so Invisble Woman is likely the better choice. On an FF team, for me it will really depend on the build size and whether I'm playing Johnny or not. If Sue/IW is my primary ranged attacker, then I will probably use the LE Sue as she is better for filling that gap -- especially as IW has to get inside the range where her Invisible SP doesn't work to be able to make a non-perplexed ranged attack (I have used Reed's perplex to allow her to make such attacks from outside 6, but I'd normally rather use his perplex on her attack). OTOH, now that I have a Susan Richards, if the point value is high enough I will likely use her over either version if I'm only using one form of Sue. I did play a 500 point Unrestricted multiplayer game last weekend with Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Sue Storm, Susan Richards, LE Sue Storm from FF (the one with 19 DEF), the FF ATA, Brilliant Tactician on Mr. Fantastic and Opportunist on Susan Richards. The team performed very well -- including against another FF theme team fielding Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm, Invisible Woman, Thing, SI Spidey and SI She-Thing. My opponent made about 6 of the LE Sue Super Senses rolls over the course of the game and it was incredibly frustrating to me and to the other player (I think I made one such roll -- OTOH, with 19 DEFs on all but Susan Richards, I didn't need them as often ).

On the Reed trait, if my math is correct then here is the breakdown.

If you need a 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 to hit your target the trait is of no help (3 and 4 are so low that you gain no benefit and the rest are too high for the double 4's to help).

If you need a 5 or 6 to hit the trait helps by +2.8%, rounded to the nearest tenth (it only helps if you roll double 2's as double 3's would already hit.

If you need a 7 or 8 o hit the trait helps by +5.6%, again rounded tot he nearest tenth.

Thus your mileage will vary considerably. If it had turned double 2's or double 3's into an automatic hit (without the critical hit damage) it would be a bit better as it would be helpful for any target number above 6.

I also have to say that I don't always find knockback to be a benefit. It is a mixed blessing at best for me. Sometimes I knock figures off of a roof and score extra damage. Other times I knock figures off of a roof but they ended on a CR click, took no damage and are now no longer adjacent or within LOF for my second Flurry attack or my other figures. Even something as minor as losing adjacency and thus not forcing a breakaway roll can be significant. There are potentially times when I'd rather miss than hit with knockback.

Add in my disappointment with a power named "The Ultimate Nullifier". Outwit, even special Outwit is not in line with a device that can potentially remove an entire timeline. I wanted a Special Power with the ability to instantly KO and most likely KO the figure using the power. This of course would be a beast of a power to try to balance for game-play. My first thought would be to make any figures KOed by the use of this power not count toward victory points. I'd even go so far as to say the target doesn't count to victory points but the figure using it does (so if my Reed uses it to KO your Doom and then gets KOed himself you get 100 for Reed and I get nothing for Doom except the supreme satisfaction of Doom being gone in one shot). I also considered making the the possibility of KOing the figure that uses the power based on the point cost of the target and a die roll. If the target costs too many points make it an automatic KO of the user. If the target is low enough give the user a chance to not get KOed.

Combine these and I doubt I'll use LE Reed.

I would have really liked some sort of "Plasticity at range" type power for Mr Fantastic. Allow him to lock people down at a distance, pinning them out of Sue's invisibility range (which is too far - she can't even shoot out of it without some perplex) and holding them still for Ben.

I agree 100%, Dut. Great article.

While she can't shoot out of it... TK'ng an object has a range of 8.

Knockback is a mixed blessing. I've been using SI SPidey a lot lately, and rolling knockback on my first flurry attack leaving me swinging in the air.

Please note, IIRC knockback damage DOES NOT EQUAL falling damage. CR might prevent knockback, but may not alter the impact of falling. The only thing that ignores falling outsdie damage reducers is flight. Again, IIRC.

Doesn't look that is the case. Here's the glossary entry:

And here is the section of Knock Back regarding elevated:

Flight still protects you and CR should as the falling damage is listed as Knock Back damage.

Fascinating!

I'm a fan of Mr. Fantastic, myself. Aside from the obvious boost to your own team that the +2 offers, so far as I can tell he could also use his Inventive Genius to reduce the stats of opposing characters he shares a keyword with by 2. And given how many variations of good Scientist theme teams there are, that's never a bad thing.

That said, I like the quirkiness of Reed's trait, and if I ever get my hands on one I'd be obligated to play him at least once or twice just for that.

She can still use the limited Super Senses herself: "Sue Storm and friendly characters with the Fantastic Four keyword 6 or fewer squares from Sue Storm to which she can draw a clear line of fire can use Super Senses if they can't already, but evade attacks only on a result of 6.

The only problem with this strategy as I see it, is that the Thing is effectively 15 squares away from the rest of your team, deep in enemy territory.

Basically, he might get the first shot in, but will likely get pwned the following turn. I find it better to have him move in and attack, then protect him with Sue's Barrier.

Barrier was the deciding difference for me between the LE Sue and IW. The ability to lay down some blocking terrain so that Johnny can Pulse Wave for full damage and not hit his own team sealed the deal.

Where's the other half of the starter set?

Get to work Dut!