Click Full Story below to read a discussion of blacks in comics, and look at the Top 3 black Heroclix figures!

NOTE: Anonym0use did not write this article. PLease direct all rep, questions and comments to The Le. Thanks!

Hey folks. The Le here, owner of #############.com (updated weekly). You might remember me from my very popular article, Fixing HeroClix. This time around I’m celebrating Black History Month with a very brief discussion of blacks in comics, and rounding it all off with a Top 3 black Heroclix figures!

Disclaimer: This article is the opinion of one person, The' Le, and does not reflect the opinions and views of the HCRealms staff or it's contributors.

Black History Month was established in the mid 1920s as a way to celebrate significant contributions made by blacks in America (note that Black History Month is observed in the UK in October). At the time, historical books did not cover the history of blacks very well, and this was certainly a way to help change that.

Change was still slow for blacks in America though, as it wouldn’t be until 1954 that the Supreme Court ended segregation in schools, and not until 1965 that Congress passed the Voting Rights Act.

While comic books weren’t above making blacks stereotypical street thugs, they were willing to change and address racial issues. Everyone’s favorite rookie HeroClix, Black Panther, was the first real mainstream superhero in comics all the way back in 1966 (Fantastic Four issue #52). Think about how much he broke the mold: a prince of a technologically advanced nation who uses his brains over muscles. (Note that there were blacks featured in comics before this, but not at the superhero level). The first Marvel African-American superhero was the Falcon in 1969 (Captain America issue #117), then Luke Cage came onto the scene in 1971 (Heroes For Hire issue #1), and don’t forget the X-men’s Storm in 1975 (Giant Sized X-men #1)


Of course, Marvel wasn’t the only one bringing blacks into the mainstream. DC blessed us with John Stewart in 1971 (Green Lantern volume 2, issue 87), who is the first black to take on the mantle of a well-known superhero rather than being a brand new one. Note that this is far more common today, as we see blacks taking on the roles of Firestorm, Nick Fury, and Iron Man / War Machine. Heck, even Captain America was reimagined in 2003 to include Isaiah Bradley as the ‘Black Captain America’ (Truth: Red, White & Black, issue #1).

Of course, by 2002, blacks in superhero roles were commonplace, and so race wasn’t an issue when the first box of HeroClix appeared in your local comic/game store. Black super-heroes were just as good as their non-black counterparts in HeroClix… and unfortunately just as bad. So with no further ado, let’s look at the Top 3 Black HeroClix (in no particular order).

Top Figure #1: Goliath


I believe that Giants are a bit underpowered in HeroClix, but I like Goliath quite a bit. His Special power is awfully weak since it is more of a disadvantage than an advantage (Goliath is made for close combat with no range abilities at all), but what you get is a very deep dial for a paltry 58 points. He has at least [2] damage for the entire dial, and his defense dips to [15] only on the last two clicks. What’s really impressive though is the consistent Attack Value and the whopping eight clicks of life! And now that we can TK Giants, we have an excellent secondary attacker and tie-up piece.

Top Figure #2: Black Lightning


More expensive than Goliath, Black Lightning only has six clicks of life, but he packs a mean punch! The first thing that really stands out here is the Outsiders Team ability. With Perplex now lasting through your opponent’s turn, this ability is more important than ever! The Outsiders TA is still a weak utility ability when compared to Perplex or those others, but fortunately Black Lighting truly shines as a primary attacker thanks to two clicks of Running shot and four clicks of Incapacitate with a range of [10] and two attacks! Incapacitate is the ultimate stopping power, with the ability to bring the Hulk to a halt. He’s perfect for an all ranged team, like the old Cosmic Justice Vet Green Arrow (or any of the newer ones). This might be my favorite figure on this list!

Top Figure #3: Bronze Tiger


Like the other two above it, the Bronze Tiger has some amazing things going for him. He is certainly made for close combat, and he has no damage reducing powers, but look at those numbers! He keeps a high Attack Value for the entire dial (only dipping to [8] on the last two clicks), and a very consistent Damage Value. The Suicide Squad TA is a nice addition, as well as all those nice colors, but for 60 points and 7 clicks of life, Bronze Tiger is just an awesome piece that I have yet to see played in my tournaments.

The top three was actually pretty hard to choose, since there were so many good figures out there, like the Mutant Mayhem Veteran Cloak. Then there were the plain old overrated HeroClix figures that everyone gushed over, for reasons beyond me. So let’s look at some of those.

Top Overrated figures: Unleashed Cyborg, Armor Wars War Machine, and especially Sinister Nick Fury.


For 63 points, you basically get a hiding wussy with six clicks of life. His damage is certainly impressive though, and that Psychic Blast goes well with that [8] range. But what is he exactly? Is he an attack piece or a utility piece? Leadership isn’t too useful these days, and pushing him out of his only damage reduction click isn’t necessarily the best idea, even if it does give him Outwit for two clicks. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen him used well, but only when he’s the primary attacker with every other piece supporting him… which is a very risky strategy for a piece that can die so easily. He’s not bad, but he’s certainly not great. He’s just… overrated.

Worst figures: Cosmic Justice Green Lantern, Sinister Charcoal, and especially Mutant Mayhem Bishop.


For a figure that looks so cool, he has some really awful stats, especially the Veteran. He is clearly built for ranged combat (Running Shot and Ranged Combat Expert), but his lame range of [6] hurts him quite a bit. It certainly doesn’t help that he has low Defense Values. He does have a couple potential saving graces: The X-Men TA and the Regeneration at the end. Unfortunately, Regeneration is unreliable and chances are that damage will bypass it completely. And as for the X-Men TA, well, that’s an awful lot of points to spend for a figure that doesn’t even belong on the junior varsity team.

Just a side note: One of my peers mentioned that I use the term black in this article rather than the term African-American or minority. This is intentional. It is not appropriate to use the term minority as that would expand the scope of this article to more than just blacks; and it is not appropriate to use the term African-American, as it would not apply to the Black Panther (T’challa), who is not American (he is Wakandan).

For more on the history of blacks in comics, check out the following areas:
-Comic book Resources article
-Slush Factory article
-Wiki List
-Museum of Black Superheroes

-The Le
On the web at #############.com

I think I might have put Black Panther up for top 3 nomination rather than Black Lightning. The R IC version was a staple on most Pit Crew teams for a number of years, but the new AV version is just a pain to deal with, and effective all the way through his dial. I do like Black Lightning, but his low defense leaves me cold.

Likewise Starter Storm is also a wonderful figure to use that would have made my list.

Finally, my number 3 would be E War Machine. He's just solid. Honorable mention to si Captain America.

On the other end of the spectrum, Nick Fury and Bishop aren't that bad. By the time Bishop is off his decent AV clicks, he's onto regen. Nick Fury is cheap enough that you can use him as a low cost attacker or support piece.


One person who should have made the bad list? GL John Stewart. I really hope clix comes back so we aren't left with that as our only representation of the character. At least I can swap out another GL dial with his sculpt (the benefit of flight stands). ;-)

Pretty sure I disagree with everything said here (Aside from the history bit.) and Bronze Tiger.

Goliath has a soft opening with Willpower, and has to push onto any kind of damage reduction. Low ish AV (Similar to Black Lightning's) and 0 move and attack ability.

Nick Fury is a -great- secondary attacker. Paired with a Warskrull or Iron Widow or Winter Soldier on a Spy theme team, he's offering loads of utility, as well as a 3 damage Psychic Blast click. Works wonders with Protected. Bishop, similarly, i feel is under-rated (as I've never heard anything great about him). He's got a good AV and staying power, for a relatively cheap cost. Personally, I'd lean towards the R as being he best of the bunch.

Great Black figures that aren't even mentioned?

Black Panther - Still the cheapest stealthed outwit in the game, and still always a bother to deal with. The Avengers BP is similarly a great secondary attacker/Utility piece.

Storm - Her Danger Room V is a positively divine (cause she's a goddess, get it!?) secondary attacker, whom can dole out the pain with that 10 range and RCE for...what? 40 points? With a 10 AV? Bonkers. On top of that, there's the Monsters and Mutations SR Storm, who wreaks havok with a 19 DV from range, multiple target EE and a swiss army knife of powers. All for a clean 100pts.

V Bishop (100) - Great 10 range, and also a 19 DV from range like Storm's. His saving grace is his multiple clicks of Outwit. I can't tell you how many time I've had someone focus all their attention on my Bishop, for them to finally hit him for 3 damage, only to AGAIN be saddled with his Outwit.

U Jakeem Thunder - A staple JSA piece, his 19 Defend, PC and perplex is a great starting point to build any team around.

I mean, the list goes on: Amanda Waller, SI Captain America, Patriot, War Machine, Luke Cage, and Kid freaking Quantum, Mr. Terrific freaking STEEL. My mind is Boggled that Goliath and Black Lightning made the list over ANY of those folks.

My question to the OP would rather be - why exactly is Bishop on this list?

Why not?
He's stating Bishop is the worst of them.

I don't agree with most of the top 3 though..
Black Panther in all his forms should be much much higher up the list.

No. Not why the Bishop figure is amongst the worst, but what is Bishop supposed to have to do with the Black History Month.

Yeah I agree with TVK. Lots of really cool black characters didn't make the list.

I liked the article though. Nicely written.

For me, my top 10 black clix would be:

1. E IC Black Panther - Better than the R because he has a 9 AV with blades for only 9 pts more.
2. LE/V Cloak - So much fun to play
3. E/LE War Machine - awesome attacker
4. Avengers Black Panther - very consistent piece
5. E Steel (either one) - Great attacker that people don't expect to be so good.
6. Mr. Terrific - PC is always nice...and he's Mr. Terrific!
7. Bronze Tiger - I didn't actually know he was black (I'm not much of a DC reader) so I learnt that from reading this article.
8. V Bishop (either one) - I really do like him.
9. Jakeem Thunder - almost a must for JSA teams
10. Black Captain America - Very nice dial!

Okay.

You do realise firstly that Bishop is only one quarter Australian Aboriginal. And secondly, that Australian Aborigines are also referred to as black. Just like both africans and african americans are.

Just like white australians and white americans are all called white.

Maybe I'm not up on myBishop knowledge.. But he looks like he's black to me.. What am I missing here?

One quarter? I always thought - and the recent mini did confirm - both his parents to be Australian Aborigines (and his one shown grandmother also looks the part). And I also thought that the Black History Month was about people of African decent (like African-Americans) - or ethnicity (like Black Panther).


Even though originally designed by Whilce Portacio as a guy from the Phillipines, Bishop has since then been retconned by Marvel into an Australian Aborigine.

Perhaps Simon is only suggesting that we hold off on Bishop until Black Future Month.

--ba-dum-bump.
wyld

What about the U Guardian from CD. Such an efficient secondary attacker.

Ahh.. I had no idea..