SPECIAL POWER SPOTLIGHT
Featuring
JOHNNY SORROW &
The HUMAN BOMB!

Welcome to another Special Power Spotlight!

Today we tackle two men who have rather tragic backgrounds. One needs deodorant, while the other has serious acne problems. Both wear masks to reign in their special Pulse Wave powers.

First, it's a man of constant sorrow,


#025 U Johnny Sorrow
Team: Injustice League
Range:6
Points: 55
Keywords: Celebrity, Injustice Society, Monster

7 9 16 2

7 9 16 2

6 8 15 2

6 8 15 1

6 8 14 1

5 7 14 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Movement - Subspace Transfer
Johnny Sorrow can use Phasing/Teleport and the Carry ability.

Attack - Visage of Sorrow
Johnny Sorrow can use Pulse Wave (as if he had a range of 10); his damage value becomes 2 for the attack.

Subspace transfer is a fun little SP that adds some mobility to the team. Confuse your opponent as Johnny boy picks up Namor and carries him around the board. Johnny can also be carried like Namor, as Subspace Transfer (like Namor's flight) is optional.

The conundrum with carrying is layered thanks to opening Pulse Wave. Johnny will hesitate before "removing his mask" unless he wants to zap his buddy as well. Incidentally, this may be a good way to bypass an activation click.

Pulse Wave is nice, but a crimped 3 range leaves something to be desired -he'll need to get up close to work his charm. The problem of course with getting close is that it puts him in danger. A wise opponent is better served basing Mr. Sorrow to shut down his ranged attacks.

Push him once and he focuses his gaze into a Psychic Blast, which again, is another great power to be found on a figure for only 55 points. Given the right positioning Johnny Sorrow can cut through damage reducers on every single one of his clicks.


If you thought the Pulse Wave/Carrying conundrum was a problem, it gets worse. Team synergy nose dives, as VISAGE OF SORROW kicks in, overlapping with Mastermind. Any potential Mastermind fodder will also get zapped by his double damage Pulse Wave. That's right! The Pulse Wave granted by the SP bumps his effective Pulse Wave damage up to 2 - against any and all targets in his range, and - oh yeah, the SP extends his effective range from 3 to 5.

For his cost and what he brings to the table, Johnny Sorrow is a very solid piece that requires some thought on how to use most effectively.

Speaking of full damage Pulse Wave:
=============================================================


Is it me, or does this guy looks like an Imperial Snow Trooper?

#013 R Human Bomb
Team: JSA
Range: 4
Points: 45
Keywords: Bludhaven, Freedom Fighters

8 9 17 3

8 9 17 2

8 9 16 2

7 9 16 2

7 8 16 3

7 8 16 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Attack - Trying To Keep It Under Control...:
Human Bomb can use Energy Explosion and Quake.

Damage - No...NO!:
When the Human Bomb uses Pulse Wave and targets two or more characters, you can choose not to replace his damage value (using his unmodified damage value for the attack); if you do, after the attack is resolved deal Human Bomb unavoidable damage equal to his unmodified damage value.

The Human Bomb is the first figure to have the Nova Blast feat embedded on his dial, as No...NO! lets him use unmodified damage value against 2 or more characters at the expense of taking damage himself. That's really good right? Maybe not.

If you thought Johnny Sorrow's modified 3 range Pulse Wave was limiting, get a load of the Bomb's paltry unmodified 4 range. Yeesh. Like every non-Sharpshooter this Freedom Fighter is shut down by any adjacent opposing figure, granting the minimum possible Pulse Wave range of 2 squares.

Also, like Sorrow, the Bomb has a TA that doesn't work great with Pulse Wave. HB may not want to use his special power if he's part of a JSA daisy chain.

All these attributes make Human Bomb a bit of a dud. I realize he's not *just* about the Pulse Wave - Quake and Energy Explosion are decent in their own right, and 3 damage is nothing to scoff at. But the truth of it is this - we're all looking for a way to exploit that Nova Blast power. My suggestion? Aside from Perplexing up range, use him on top of elevated terrain to give a maximum dose of explosive perspiration to opponents.

Perspiration? That's right, the Human Bomb has highly volatile sweat, as evidenced by the name of his Pulse Wave: A DROP OF SWEAT IS ALL IT TAKES. I really wish the Human Bomb were more useful, so I could show up at my venue every week and announce gleefully in a fake foreign accent "I fling my sweat at you!"

Oh the color commentary I could provide with this figure:

Me: I throw my explosive gym socks at you.
My opponent: Wha?
Me: Dodge my Jock Strap! KABOOM!

Yeah, on the surface it seems like good times.

As it is, the Human Bomb's going to see less play than the AV club did at prom, because the guy's a liability to his team. One simple Mind Control and the Human Bomb is blowing his top in the middle of a pack of friends dealing full damage to them, and himself. It may just be accurate then, that his sculpt looks like he's about to surrender.

"Don't shoot, or you'll blow us both up!"

Now that would have been a fun power.

Thanks for reading! Share any comments you have below!

great review. short and sweet. i have to speak up for human bomb. i didn't like him when i first saw him, and if anybody played him (even in sealed) i asked why. i told the players at one of my venues: "if anybody can prove that hb is useful, they get an le out of my trades." well i was proven wrong by two seperate players. who not only won their matches, but the wins were more than a little bit because of hb. iwas surprisingly as a close combat piece, though. his quake will wreak havok, in the right situations. and his ee and pw, even just a normal ranged atk on a figs that is in combat, can be devastating. to have a 45 pt. fig with so much utility is really a good thing. who knew.

Rob

I agree. I was impressed with HB as well in close combat. Never got to make a ranged attack though.

You know... had HB's Pulse Wave power also not replaced his Range, then I think he'd be a winner AND pretty comic accurate, while only needing maybe 5 points more to cover the change.

Fun article!

A great and fun review!

Haven't used Johnny Sorrow yet, but he'll be making an appearance soon at a "fun" game, more because of his keywords than his dial.

I've used Human Bomb before, but only in Sealed Events. For me, it wasn't his powers so much as his numbers; starting values aren't bad for a 45 pt figure, and he was a decent way of rounding out a <300 pt team. Not sure I ever noticed that he had the JSA team ability; probably because his powers don't work well with it.

Again, a great and well-thought review!

Johnny Sorrow is pretty good for filling out a team, but he really needed to be be a little more powerful damage wise when removing that mask (at least 3 damage, even 4 would be understandable though his cost would be much higher)

Don't forget that a pulse wave attack is a ranged attack and you can't make ranged attacks if a target is adjacent. So someone who uses pulse wave won't want to be carrying anyone unless they don't plan on using pw.

Lolz.

I really need to be less wordy. Still, I need to find someone with an activation click for Johnny to carry. Maybe a Monster Keyword Hulk?

Your wording is fine. Now that Obama is President, we need more elitist commentary and arugula eaters.

Nice review. One comment though:
Just wanted to point out that being able to use the Carry ability in no way invalidates you from being carried yourself - it just so happens that most figures that can use the Carry ability (flyers and transporters) cannot be carried. You don't need to cancel Johnny's or Namor's SPs in order to be carried (which at least in Namor's case could be important as the Charge granted by his SP could conceviably protect him from being koncked back after being carried. It's not a very likely scenario, but it could happen).

As for the figures themselves, I am thinking about using Human Bomb as a substitute for Rex Splode on a Teen Team substitute (if I can trade fr Invincible and Robot that is) - I need a figure that has EE and some close combat capabilities, and I think HB is as close as I'll come. The PW doesn't seem accurate, but OTOH it is unlikely that it will come into play...

I currently have like 8 of him and intend to one day play my team I dub the Terror Squad. Which will be almost entirely all human bombs, 1 johnny sorry(thanks to this spotlight) and a figure with trickshot (Justice League Green Arrow,Mighty Thor,KC Green lantern etc. )

Then basically run the bomb up and let my Trickshot figure stay in the rear and tag everyone from range. I think it will be loads of fun.

Or run then with a bunch of Tkers

How about the Kingdom Come "Hey, pull my finger!" version?

Good reviews, as always.

The Human Bomb just wants a hug...


Seriously, though, that 4 range bugs me. It would have been great to have Green Lantern toss a bunch of HBs (cost effective at only 45 points apiece) like so many hand grenades. How is it that his a single drop of his sweat is supposed to level a city block, but the figure can only Pulse Wave for 2 squares?!?!

"Bizarro like pretty lights."
-Beats Human Bomb to death-

One of my fave moments from that comic. Poor Freedom Fighters.