For anybody who finds my ratings a bit...off, I have decided that it is just too hard to do a good rating scale on a 5 star rating. Going forward, I will be doing a 10 star rating system so I can rate a 6 range a little higher than 4 or 5 but less than 8. I think it will allow my comprehensive reviews to be a little more thorough.

Now, that being said, please let me continue to know what you like/don't like and while you're doing that feel free to make a suggestion as to what my next one will be. DC Villain is what I will be doing next!

As usual, another great article SLVRSR4. But, what I want to know is....

... where is the Booster Gold write up that I suggested?!?!?!?


As for my favorite MMs, I've always been fond of Detective John Jones. And the newest BD version is pretty niffty also.

See, I think that John Jones just seems watered down. Give me Cookie Monster ANY DAY!

Another great article. What can I say you bring out the best and sometimes worest in the clix, Hats off. My suggestion for maybe the newer player. If you could add the number from the set for the newbie's this way they know what to look for.

Suggestion for another writeup, maybe do some Teams with point values. using a keyword like Xmen or Justice League. I know it is more for the newbie as apposed to someone who has been playng longer.

Thanks for another great article.

Cookie Manhunter forever!

As a long-time clix player, I’m pleasantly surprised that we have eight versions of this character to use. Martian Manhunter was a mainstay on Justice League lineups from the Silver Age launch of the book to the Didio-EIC era, so I feel pretty free to mix-and-match versions without worrying about sculpts/keywords.

Here are my thoughts on the Martian Manhunter figures, in terms of "Justice League" potential:

I think the best version of the character available for JL teams is the 158-point Brightest Day version. It has solid stats, powers that represent what the character does, and provides a credible powerhouse to JL teams. The sculpt, trait and regeneration may bother some purists, but I don’t find them offensive enough to disqualify use of this figure.

Players uncomfortable with the Brightest Day piece can rest easy knowing that the 202-point BatB “Cookie Monster” is available and is another credible powerhouse. The increased point cost means that tough choices must be made to fit all the figures you may want on a team.

The Origin REV/LE set offers decent pieces, with the only drawback being low defense values for somewhat high costs. I think the rookie (114) and LE (144) are fine figures for JL(I) teams, it’s just that they need more finesse than the more modern versions.

I put the CJ Unique and the Black Lantern chase figures in the “don’t worry about them” category. The original unique has a great sculpt but dull dial design. The chase has an outstanding dial, but the power set doesn’t scream “Super Buddies” to me, and the sculpt is even more off-putting than the Brightest Day variant. Rather than worry about either of those figures, pick one of the other versions and figure out what to do with the extra points.

Off-the-wall suggestion: Ms. Marvel Skrull probably has the best Martian Manhunter dial if you want to play a version of the Grant Morrison team. That dial should play just as Grant Morrison wrote the character: capable of being a total threat, but if you take him out fast he can still be tricky but will not be nearly as threatening.

I think your 10 star rating system sounds like a good idea. As a fairly new player I looked at the (very comprehensive) reviews you did of the figures I own (Origin rookie and brightest day) and then just glanced at the overall ratings of the others to see if i was missing out big-time. All of them have an overall hovering around 3, which plants them all as average on a 5 point scale. A ten point scale may appear to give more significant results in this case 'worst' manhunter at about 4 and 'best' at 6ish. Just be careful not to print all those stars in a line just one star and a number in bold would be a clearer read in my opinion. Anyway thanks again Surfer I love these and really appreciate the effort you must go to. Rep from a newbie incoming...

... or not apparently I need to spread it around more. Not sure what the wife will say about that!?!?

Thanks for the kind words! The new 10 star system does seem to be working out better as I'm writing the next installment (Deep Dish Themes: Harley Quinn). Some of the old problems that were presenting themselves with range/targets are nonexistent. Overall it is looking more comprehensive and will be graded on a far more fair scale.

Will you include batman alpha harley? I like that fig.

I include every version of every character that I review, so Yes. However, I don't know the Alpha rules and never played by that style, so she is being graded strictly by core heroclix rules.