Batman Arkham Origins HeroClix set review: Uncommon Allies

The Batman Arkham Origins HeroClix set just released and with it 21 new figures will be making their way on to maps soon.

Who do you need to own? Who should you fear on the map? Today we continue the uncommon reviews with Batman's Allies:

010 - Barbara Gordon

From her debut in the DC HeroClix Unleashed expansion to the most recent DC10th anniversary and Batman sets Barbara Gordon has had a wonderful tradition of useful representation in HeroClix, which is partly why it's sad to see this figure belly flop so hard on the Gotham sidewalk.

At 55 points and 4 clicks of life Barbara lacks any kind of structured defense to keep her from being a one hit victim. Opening with Leap Climb and Combat Reflexes, Barbara needs to skirt the edge of battle using her 6 range Perplex and Outwit on those foes she can manage to draw a line of fire to.

She's an easy target, and one opponents will want to prioritize due to the Outwit/Perplex combo, which means she's probably not going to last long on the battlefield.

One love tap and she drops most of her support prowess, picking up Willpower and Incap. If she can manage to KO an opposing thug (and that's really who she should be prioritizing her attacks on) she can become a bit of a power player - retreating back and using her Perplex safely away from the fisticuffs and firefights.

It's hard to pan a figure that has so much potential for support powers - but the Perplex and Outwit is only as good as her ability to protect herself - she'll likely get one or two uses before falling beneath stronger attackers.

Rating: 2/5

011 Jim Gordon

Finally another character with the Capture ability. Not only can Jim put the cuffs on opponents, but if he manages to successfully throw a goon in the pokey, he can grant others the Capture ability as well. Capture could be huge in dealing with some of the Elephants in the set - Bane, Deadshot, the Joker...

For 100 points he's a rock solid support piece - the PD TA helping allies make ranged attacks land, Leadership, Perplex, Outwit - Jimmy's a one stop cop shop.

Toughness will keep him in the game for a bit, and Incap gives him some options, but he's probably better just dealing 3 damage outright. Rear dial Sidestep is a neat bonus - too bad he can't use it himself, and too bad it's not top dial where it would be infinitely more useful.

Overall this is a figure that's well balanced, and brings enough to the table for the cost that he doesn't feel too expensive for the investment.

Rating: 3/5