I’m sorry to report: no Seymour.

§ July 16th, 2010 § Filed under watchmen § 7 Comments

(NOTE: There may be spoilers for some plot elements of Watchmen, in case you haven’t read the book or seen the movie.)

So I was contacted by some folks over at Wizkids Games, asking me if I’d be interested in a review copy of the Watchmen Heroclix set. Well, most of you folks know how amused I am by the various permutations of Watchmen ephemera, so how could I say no?

And there it was, sitting on my porch waiting for me only a day or so later. The packaging is quite impressive, standing a good fourteen inches tall:


Making the Watchmen clock symbol resemble a Heroclix base was pretty clever, I thought. You can’t tell in the photo, but in the black part of the packaging are dark gray images of clock gears falling.

Pop the sucker open (it has a magnet-sealing flap, which is appreciated), and here’s what you see inside:


Contrast adjusted to increase visibility…I’m no expert photographer, sadly. But the box makes a nice display for the figurines, which are firmly lodged into their packaging slots and not just rattling around in there. There are also clear plastic lids that cover each tray (removed in the above photo to prevent getting a reflection of my mug glaring back at you), so you can just prop this up somewhere and display your figures without worrying about dust or pet dander or what have you.

Now, the figures themselves…there are twenty-five different pieces, with five of those pieces featuring two characters. Sculpts look good, though as can be expected the larger pieces have better sculpts and nicer paint jobs…but they all look fine (with some quibbles, noted below). But all the characters are easily identifiable, and there is a good variety of poses. Since folks are going to ask, here’s the list:

Big Figure (sculpted with a beard and mustache, which he doesn’t have in the comic, but does in the movie)

Bubastis

Captain Metropolis

The Comedian (sporting his flamethrower)

The Comedian (1940s) (crouched down one knee, lit stogie in mouth)

Dr. Manhattan (“hovering” in his lotus position, a giant gear behind him, representing the scene on Mars)

Dr. Manhattan (‘Nam era – double-sized figure, translucent blue plastic)

Hooded Justice (most of the figures have the usual googly-eyes that nearly all Heroclix figures have, but it really works well on this piece…that’s some angry, piercing glare H.J. has)

Knot Top

Knot Top Leader

Larry and Mike (Big Figure’s henchmen)

Mask-Killer (Ozymandias in the outfit he was wearing when he killed the Comedian)

Moloch the Mystic (in his prime, with golden cape and turban)

Nite Owl II

Nite Owl II (Cold Weather Gear) (very attractive piece, with the costume painted in a shiny silver)

Ozymandias (in costume)

Rorschach

Silk Spectre I (the molded stocking straps make the legs’ sculpts look a bit awkward…there’s a sentence I wasn’t expecting to type today)

Silk Spectre II (posed in a fighting stance on a series of steps)

Walter Kovacs (carrying a “The End Is Nigh” sign)

And the double-figure pieces:

Comedian and Nite Owl II (Nite Owl crouched with a hand weapon, Comedian aiming his rifle)

Nite Owl II and Rorschach

Ozymanias and Bubastis (Ozy seated in his chair, one hand on Bubastis’s head as she lays curled around the chair)

Silk Spectre II and Dr. Manhattan (Manhattan is “floating” behind Silk Spectre…feet are on a black post which matches the base)

And then there’s this piece, which I can actually give you an image for since it’s on the paper wrapping of the package:

Intrinsic Field Experiment 15:


This is an interesting and visually striking piece (that blue plastic into which the skeleton is embedded is translucent)…if I’m reading the rules card correctly (and keep in mind I’m not a Heroclix player) it appears this piece can give a friendly character a Dr. Manhattan-esque power, like teleportation, or destroying other pieces on the gaming field. As this particular effect is used, the piece’s dial is turned a certain number of clicks (the more powerful the power, the more clicks turned) until (again, if I’m reading this right) Dr. Manhattan himself is “invoked” and enters the game, whereupon he presumably ruins everyone’s day.

I mentioned a rules card…each piece gets a card, giving a brief explanation of who the character/s is/are, their point values, and their specific abilities. (The bio for Nite Owl says he was “forced into impotent retirement,” which is kind of a brilliant summation.) Some of their abilities are given special names, like Rorshach’s Flurry ability being referred to as “Give Me Back My Face,” which is all kinds of hilarious. The Comedian’s Ranged Combat Expert skill is called “Dallas, 1963,” which…uh. And according to the Dr. Manhattan card, “the powers of Dr. Manhattan can’t be countered,” so there you go.

Also, the rules cards refer to the main characters by the team name “The Watchmen,” which may stick in the craw of the graphic novel purists (since the “team,” such as it was, is never actually called that, but, hey, you’ll live. Besides, for game purposes, they gotta be collectively referred to somehow, so “The Watchmen” will just have to do.

Now, as I said, I am not a Heroclix player. I don’t know how good these pieces are in terms of gameplay. As a Watchmen fan, I’m reasonably entertained by these figurines, and I like that the packaging is designed for easily displaying them. But for playing…sorry, no real idea. I’d think that Dr. Manhattan would be bit of an unbalancing factor since, when you get right down to it, this is really the only character with superpowers in the Watchmen milieu, but I think it’s safe to say this has been taken into account by the designers. Anyway, if any of you folks out there have specific questions about this set, go ahead and let me know in the comments and I’ll try to answer. If they are detailed gaming questions, use small words and talk me through it, and I’ll do my best.

So, to sum up: neat souvenir for Watchmen fans, though a bit dear (it appears to retail between $60 to $80, which is about right for the number of figures you’re getting, considering usual retail prices on Heroclix booster packs), but alas, no real idea how it adds to the game beyond simply giving you new characters and powers to throw into the mix. But maybe that’s enough.

About the title of this post: I do so love Seymour and his position in the story, since he’s the one that could potentially undo everything everyone’s worked for. A Heroclix figure featuring Seymour could, I think, have the ability of undoing a previous turn, or something. I don’t know…would that work in the game? Let me know, pals.

There is a 14-inch Dr. Manhattan figure planned, but I do hope there are future sets of the regular figures, just to fill out the rest of the characters: Rorschach’s psychiatrist, the two Bernies, the original Nite Owl, the remaining Minutemen, the detectives…and maybe another one of those giant Heroclix statue pieces with Ozy’s space squid. A boy can dream.

7 Responses to “I’m sorry to report: no Seymour.”

  • I haven’t collected Heroclix in a while but I’m really tempted by that set. It looks nifty at least and I have to answer the burning question that Alan Moore refuses to answer: who would win in Dr. Manhattan versus Galactus.

  • I’m so tempted to make an offer to get these from you. I wanted to wait until someone purchased this and unloaded the singles online. But that fancy collectors case makes it hard to break up. Nice write up!

  • Anonymous says:

    Thank you for the review, it’s good to get some nice pictures of the set at last. However…

    To quote Bob Barker, “The actual retail price is… $100!” That’s nearly double the per-figure price of regular boosters. A lot of HeroClix players are really ticked that, essentially, they’re being asked to pay $40 for the packaging. A lot of retailers are really ticked that almost nobody is going to buy this from a store, instead buying it online for the $60-80 you mentioned.

  • Jack says:

    No Seymour is pretty much a deal breaker for me, sorry to say…

  • g23 says:

    No Dollar Bill is the deal breaker for me.

  • Bob says:

    They need to make an Alan Moore Heroclix, which goes around the other figures explaining how they got them wrong and missed the point of his work.

    And then they could not pay Moore for it because it’s “promotional” instead of “retail”.

  • Jon H says:

    “They need to make an Alan Moore Heroclix, which goes around the other figures explaining how they got them wrong and missed the point of his work.”

    Three clicks of scorn.