In a world where Heroclix is hounded by set after set of DC or Marvel characters, let’s take a moment to stop and dwell on the potential of the Indy sets. We’ve seen Yu-Gi-Oh, we’ve seen lord of the Rings. What could be lurking around the next corner? So many sets from the serious to the wacky remain to be explored! In this edition, the spotlight is on Kong: Skull Island!

Fair Warning: This article may contain spoilers about the subject it reviews.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Kong Skull Island is a feature movie about, you guessed it, King Kong, that most lovable of giant apes. In this particular rendition a group of “Scientists” join a geological expedition to explore and chart an up to this point unknown island recently discovered by new shiny satellite technology. Once they pierce the permanent barrier of storms that surrounds the island the team finds themselves in a near alien ecosystem populated with Bamboo Spiders, Giant Stick Insects, oh and Kong and his nemesis the Skullcrawlers. From there it’s a fight to freedom against all the problems of the ecosystem and crazy warmongering soldiers.


What would the set look like? Maybe something like this . . .
Common
001 James Conrad
002 Preston Packard
003 Mason Weaver
004 Hank Marlow
005 Bill Randa
006 Houston Brooks
007 Victor Nieves
008 San Lin
009 Mills
010 Jack Chapman
011 Glenn Mills
012 Reg Slivko
Uncommon
013 Earl Cole
014 Reles
015 Steve Woodward
016 Skullcrawler
017a Psychovultures
017b Leafwings
018 Sker Buffaloes
019 Mother longlegs
020 Spore Mantises
021 Mire Squids
022 Dicroceruses
Rare
023 Kong
024 Skull Crawler King


Her face just sums up this scene for me

Potential powers and Traits: Right form the start you can tell there should be a lot of giant-size in this set, and that brings up the biggest problem/opportunity with this set, the giant monsters. While we’d all like the colossal sized figure for our boy Kong and his enemies that may be a bit ambitious. Instead what we could see is something more akin to Pacific Rim where they figures may be smaller but we have the stats of a much bigger figure. While it may not be as satisfying as a full sized King Kong, is not any Kong better than no Kong?

As for more on the powers side, a lot of the humans are toting their guns so expect Penetrating/Psychic Blast and Ranged Combat Expert. On the side of the monsters, which is the side we really are all on, it does get a little trickier. More close combat oriented abilities like Charge, Super Strength and Damage reducers, but there are definitive outliers like the Pyschovultures which are very Blades/Claws/Fangs oriented fliers.




Keywords: Monsters obviously, Animal, Brute, Mystical, Past, Reporter, Ruler and Soldier. In terms of more specific keywords we could see something like Skull Island, but otherwise they are pretty well covered by the generics.

Character Spotlight
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Hank Marlow
Hank Marlow is one of the more colorful characters in the film. He crashed on Skull Island during World War II and has survived there with a Japanese Zero pilot for decades. By the time the other protagonists reach him his friend has passed away, but Marlow has continued to survive. His personality is notably eccentric having been essentially alone for so long, but most interestingly he has picked up quite a few aspects of Japanese culture, including a katana which he then proceeds to wield against the creatures of the island with the phrase: Death before Dishonor. As a click I expect we would see this survivor side of him in abilities like Super Senses and Willpower, but then pared with the samurai-esque role he has taken like Blades/Claws/Fangs, Side Step, Close Reflexes and Precision Strike.











PsychoVultures
Also called leafwings these guys are similar to pterodactyls, but about the size of a small bird. Most notable about them is their abilities to blend in with or disguise themselves as leaves and their jagged saw-edged beaks. Within the film these creatures are terrifying in swarms as they pick people up then carve off limbs from the body. In click I form I could see them as individuals or just represented as swarms with something like the following abilities, Tiny size and Flight of course, Stealth, Blades/Claws/Fangs, and while it isn’t really represented in the film it is stated that they have a powerful anesthetic coating their beaks giving them a fair shot at Incapacitate.











Mother Long Legs
This giant spider is rather terrifying as it is a giant spider with giant legs that resemble bamboo stalks allowing them to blend in with surrounding forests while their bodies are kept up above the canopy. They also possess to pincer like claws located much closer to their heads. Within the film a Mother Long Legs uses the spikes on the ends of its legs to spear unsuspecting soldiers who walk beneath it and uses vascular tendrils to pull prey up to its mouth to eat it. As a click if this creature doesn’t have giant size I think it’s earned giant reach with those long legs and Stealth to keep it hidden. On the offensive I could see Precision strike and/or Poison as this giant horrible spider works to kill you.









Preston Packard
Lieutenant Colonel Packard is one of the films more static if interesting characters. He is a veteran of the Vietnam war facing down the end of a war in which he must return to a country that no longer supports his profession. Then he is offered a chance to go explore a dangerous island and there he finds the enemy he is looking for and needs to give himself a reason to go on in Kong. As a click I find him very interesting because for a soldier he doesn’t do much physical fighting, he has a focus on tactics and setting up the battlefield to help him, thus we could expect things like Perplex, Outwit, Leadership and Empower and/or Enhancement. I’d also love to see a special ability that represents his plan that he uses against Kong which involves spreading ridiculous amounts of napalm in a lake and setting it on fire which could translate into an ability that lets you spread out a lot of special markers to poison opposing characters.






Why would Wizkids even attempt this?
Why should they make this? Because we, as human beings, love giant monsters. We just do. It is somehow intrinsic to our natures. And we need more things for those Pacific Rm yahoos to go and tangle with. A three way battle between those monsters, these monsters and giant robots would be amazing. Not to mention that this is the second in a planned four movie sequence all featuring giant monsters. Now’s a good time to hop on the boat.







Didn't see the set the way you wanted to see it? Have an idea for a set in the future? Then please feel free to relax in the conveniently placed comment section below.

Fun writeup! I wouldl suggest a Godzilla set based off the most recent movie. To make it thematic, don't include godzilla in the set.

What about the ships made of helicopters that launch helicopters? lol

Kong's only 100 feet?

I'm inclined to think there should be room for a generic "Soldier" to represent all the other nameless troops who were part of the expedition but didn't make it and were ultimately reduced to monster fodder.

As of the movie, but he's still growing.

No Landsat Steve? Aww.