28mm Battle Report: Batman And The Thing Verses Catwoman And The Abomination

THE ABOMINATION AND CATWOMAN BATTLE BATMAN AND THE THING

This adventure takes place upon my usual 2x2 gaming board with three ruined buildings, a small forest to the northeast and a central sewer grill populating it. Five objective markers, ranging from value 1 – 5, have been dotted around the board and the winner is the side who holds the most points at the end of the sixth turn. However no-one will know how many points each objective is worth until the end of the game.

The scenario was basically designed to give us an opportunity to try out the Abomination’s Fearsome Special Effect and to see how well some of the more sophisticated co-stars worked, having given them Disadvantages and additional Special Effects (having removed basic Special effects).

THE BATTLEFIELD - A DISUSED GOTHAM CITY FACTORY COMPLEX

“The story so far… Catwoman and the Abomination are planning to set-up a new criminal headquarters in the grounds of a disused Gotham City factory. Having overheard a radio broadcast dispatching Gotham Police Department units to their location, Batman decides to also attend. But en route he briefly stops off at the Baxter Building for some much-needed muscle… Benjamin Grimm, the Thing.”

At the start of each turn both sides would have to roll to see whether any of their models would arrive on the tabletop and a number of House Rules were agreed; Catwoman would be able to use her Infiltrator Special Effect to start the game on the Heroes side of the table, and although the Gotham Cops could shoot at the villainous co-stars they could only do so until their hit points were at 1. After that the Police would have to go in with their nightsticks and knock them unconscious. The criminal’s deployment zone was on the western edge and the heroes on the opposite side of the table.

GOTHAM CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT OPEN FIRE UPON THE ABOMINATION'S 'EAVIES

To begin with only a handful of extras appeared on the table. One ‘Eavy headed north towards the ruin containing the northwest objective [Objective One] and then hurried west along the northern table edge. A second ‘Eavy rushed directly towards the central objective [Objective Three] and proudly stopped atop the sewer grill. One of the Policemen moved north towards the forest in order to get a clear line of sight upon the northern most hired muscle. Raising his pistol he fired, but the -1 penalty for shooting at long range proved costly and the bullet whizzed wide.

"MEOWW!!" - CATWOMAN MAKES A SUDDEN APPEARANCE AND THE FUR STARTS TO FLY

The second turn saw four more Gotham Cops come onto the table; albeit one of them warily stuck to the shadows. One of these Policemen immediately took aim at the ‘Eavy in the centre of the table, and despite the long range shot, struck the criminal down thanks to some Audience Appreciation. A fellow flatfoot ran past the Policeman and replaced the fallen hired muscle at the sewer grill. Meanwhile another Cop joined his companion near the north-western forest and also fired at the close by ‘Eavy… without success. Suddenly the other newly arrived Gotham Cop revealed themselves to be Catwoman, who then charged into the policeman who shot one of her henchmen. Down he went under a torrent of cat claws. Realising she was too exposed amidst the men of Gotham Police Department, Selina Kyle used her Heroic Surge to double move into the nearby forest and evade being shot at. 

THE ABOMINATION ARRIVES AND IMMEDIATELY DOMINATES THE CENTRE OF THE TABLE

Turn three was a “Cliff-hanger” in every sense as the Event Card gave both sides five additional Luck points to use for the rest of the game. The Cop by the forest took careful aim at the northernmost criminal and utilising some Luck brought him down. The Cop in the centre of the table, realising he was something of an open target, moved northeast towards Objective One. With no sign of Batman of the Thing, the Abomination crashed into the battle and immediately made his presence known by rushing to the sewer grill. Behind his massive form, an ‘Eavy moved south to the ruin in the southwest corner [Objective Four]. With a flash of a black leather cat-suit, Selina Kyle rushed out of the Forest and using her Luck knocked out a Gotham Cop. Inspired by her fighting prowess another ‘Eavy also charged into a Policeman in the northeast corner [Objective Two] but despite adding +1 to his Strength for the Charge, the criminal failed to render the flatfoot unconscious. To make matters worse for the forces of evil, the first Cop Catwoman had clobbered, unsteadily got to his feet, rubbing his head. He was back in the fight.

"IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" - THE THING VERSES CATWOMAN

With a roar the Batmobile finally arrived for Turn Four, alongside the Fantasti-car. Encouraged by the Dark Knight’s arrival one of the Cops took careful aim and shot at Catwoman. The +3 bonus the Policeman received along with some Audience Appreciation resulted in the feline burglar taking a flesh wound. Then Ben Grimm was in front of her. She daintily sidestepped his first tender tap using her Dodge Special Effect. But the Thing then used his Good offence to re-flick his little pinkie at Catwoman, and with a soft “bink” Selina Kyle was on the floor unconscious. Realising that the Abomination was the main threat however, Batman raced towards his green-hued foe, hurling an ineffective bat-a-rang as he ran. A Heroic Surge later and the Dark Knight was within 6” of the Abomination but with some Luck passed his Fear Test and charged into the brute. Bonus’ galore were then considered for the imminent fist-fight but the green behemoth’s Invulnerability saw the Abomination still standing despite Bruce Wayne’s Fists of Fury Special Effect.

A Gotham Cop rushed forward to support the Caped Crusader but fear got the better of him, and the policeman scurried backwards as soon as he realised the size of the Abomination. In the northeast corner by the Forest an ‘Eavy took down a Cop with his crowbar, whilst another hired muscle rushed to the sewer grill. But all eyes were upon the Abomination as he threw a punch at Batman. The gamma giant’s fist struck home and his great strength immediately negated the Dark Knight’s body armour. With a little help from some Audience Appreciation the Abomination felled Bruce Wayne and with a roar of triumph moved towards the petrified Cop who had already been backing away from him.

AFTER A SERIES OF PUNCHES AND BAT-A-RANGS THE DARK KNIGHT FALLS

The fifth turn saw the terrified policeman splatted by the Abomination. The green fiend appeared invincible and set about stalking the lone flatfoot in the southeast ruin [Objective Five]. The hired muscle in the northwest ruin [Objective One] rushed east along the northern table edge, whilst another ‘Eavy took his place within the derelict building. The Gotham Cop next to the southeast building, sensing his impending fate, steeled his nerves and stepped out to face the Abomination, firing a slug into the beast. The bullet struck home but failed to penetrate.

"THE THIN BLUE LINE" - THE ABOMINATION MOVES IN FOR AN EASY MEAL

The final turn saw Batman remain unconscious, along with Catwoman. However the use of some Audience Appreciation tokens meant that the villains activated many a criminal before the remaining good guys could respond. In a Rage the Abomination charged into the Policeman who had been shooting at him. A wild swing missed the flatfoot, and then the Cop used some Luck for another punch to go wide. A third blow also failed to strike its target and using his own Luck the gamma giant threw a fourth and final punch… which also missed. Meanwhile one of the northernmost ‘Eavies decided to try and outpunch ben Grimm. However all his blows failed to hit their target.

In a last desperate move the Cop facing the Abomination tightened his grip on his nightstick and gave the green-hued creature a serious clubbing around the head. Because of the Abomination’s Invulnerability the Policeman first needed a 6 to stand any chance of causing the behemoth an injury, and when that number was rolled we all dove into our “7TV Summer Special” rulebooks to see what dice roll the Cop now needed to see his blow knock the Abomination off of his feet… it was a 4. Rolling just a 3, the flatfoot sighed, realising that the fight was over. A quick look at the objectives saw that the criminals held three for a total of 9 points, whilst the heroes, holding none whatsoever, had scored zero. The day was lost for the Dark Knight… for now at least.