So, it's not secret that HEROClix has a villain problem. And in this article series I plan to discuss my views on that villain problem, and my thoughts on it. For Spider-Verse I absolutely have to focus on the Inheritors, as the marquee villains for not only Spider-Verse, but also Spider-Geddon. And sure, in Spider-Verse we sort of get most of the Inheritors as bystanders on Morlun, who we're getting for the fourth time, if you count the Legacy card in Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing. In the Behind the Booster: Marvel HeroClix Spider-Verse Live Stream, Scott asks John and Brian the question as to why they were left out of the set, and John's response was essentially, "there was no room for them," but I'd like to challenge that.
If we look at the set list for Spider-Verse, and focus only on the spots taken up by villains (ignoring generics), we've got Man Mountain Marko as a repaint of our FIFTH Tombstone. We have Dr. Curt Connors who turns into our SEVENTH Lizard (if you count the original REV as 1 version). Then there's the TWELFTH STANDARD Eddie Brock Venom (again if you count the original REV as 1 version), and that's not counting Mac or Flash or Anti-Venom or even God of Symbiotes. That said, I can't gloss over the fact that Eddie is also tied to a Prime repaint for Bedlam, which is admittedly cool. There are two versions of Mysterio that both leverage his Animatronics version, but note that these are the ELEVENTH and TWELFTH versions of him as well. Slyde is a new villain and shares most of a sculpt with Iceman. Believe it or not, we're on our FOURTH Norman Osborn as a business man. he's here to lead the Goblin Army, but both are a weird match for a Spider-Verse set. We're on our THIRD Mr. Negative, but this one gets to swap back and forth with his alter ego (a repaint), and he has his Inner Demons. Next we have two versions of Kraven, a Prime of Symbiote Spider-Man and a Chase, which are the SIXTH and SEVENTH versions of him (again if we counting REV(LE)s as a single version, and ignore the Prime Zombie). Stunner is here as a Doc Ock tie-in. Then there's the second version of The Spot. And then we hit the string of D-List villains that were tossed in this set, Kangaroo, The Wall, Hypno-Hustler, our second version of Silvermane, and Lady Stilt-Man. I'm never going to complain about getting new characters, but I will question if they needed to be included in a Spider-Verse set that was "too full" for the Inheritors. Next we have four versions of Doctor Octopus, although I have been eagerly awaiting a Superior Octopus, and he is Spider-Verse adjacent, so does make sense to be here. But that said we got versions TEN through THIRTEEN in this set (if you count Legacy cards and REVs as single versions). Finally, we round out the villain Chases with our SIXTH 616 Max Dillion Electro, SIXTH Adrian Toomes Vulture, and our EIGHTH Sandman (although admittedly, at least a couple of those are "heroic versions").
You might be asking where I'm going with all of that analysis? The point is that there were plenty of spots that could have been opened up for the marquee villains of Spider-Verse, if different decisions had been made. If you want to have a set of Sinister Six Chases, fine, but why take up in set spots for those same characters? If you want to have D-Listers, fine, but why have them take up spots in this set, that could go to other characters that should be here? And don't misunderstand me, I don't have an issue with most of the villains in this set, there are some really cool designs among all of the figures that I'm arguing could have been somewhere else. My main issue with Clix and the villain problem, is that Clix is very quick to run back the "main stays" for major rogue's galleries. Batman and Spider-Man being the 2 worst offenders. I get that they have their popular villains and the argument "they sell sets," but they don't need to be taking up SO MANY spots, and the same argument can't be made for the section of D-Listers. Now an argument that can be made for the "animal" based ones, are that they have a cross-over with the Spider-Man figures in Smash and Destroy, but that's another conversation all together.
So after all of that, why am I making an argument for the Inheritors, beyond the obvious reasons? They are a really cool set of characters, and deserve to be represented in Clix, in 3D. Solus is the patriarch and leader of the Inheritors, and one of his first acts in Spider-Verse is to consume the life force of Cosmic Spider-Man from Earth-13. Is this a guy that should be relegated to a bystander? In a word, NO. To be fair, he is later bested by Kaine, but because of the Inheritors cloning technology, he is quickly resurrected and rejoins the fight. Power wise, he should be the leader, and more durable than most of the other Inheritors. In the comics, he was easily the most imposing/terrifying of the group, and he's basically immortal thanks to their cloning technology. They all should be extremely sensitive to Radiation, which would have been a great tie-in with Hazmat in Smash and Destroy.Poor Jennix didn't even get a bystander token even though he's arguably the linchpin of the team. He is the brains of the operation. His experiments, and lab are what provide the Inheritors with their immortality. In Clix form, he should be the one that allows the others to come back from being KO'd. He should be able to generate an Inheritor from your KO area at the beginning of your turn. He should also be the one bringing some support powers to the table. He'd be the main source for Outwit and/or Perplex for the team, and probably should be able to use those powers through the other Inheritors. Jennix is probably also the most fragile of the group. He's the one that wants to stay out of the fight the most.
Verna, as Scott mentions is the leader of a group of Hounds that are made up of warped versions of the Sinister Six. She uses them to hunt down and weaken her totem prey. In Spider-Geddon, she even manages to steal Ghost Spider's Dimensional Travel Watch, allowing her access to the multiverse, while stranding Gwen on that Earth, forcing her to find a new way to travel dimensions herself. Her powers should probably allow for her to generate a "Hound" bystander, and should include some Phasing, maybe some Probability Control, maybe even some Mind Control to reflect her exerting her will on new Hounds.
Daemos is the tank of the group, and probably the toughest in line behind Solus. He carries a large, deadly hammer, and throws his weight around in a fight. Daemos is also the most aggressive of his siblings, being jealous of those considered better than him, he's always trying to prove himself superior. Aside from the obvious Charge, Quake, Battle Fury that he has on his costed bystander, he should probably have some Invulnerability, maybe even Improved Movement Blocking Burst, and I would argue he should have some Perplex mixed in like other "fear inducing" characters.
Bora and Brix are the twins of the Inheritors, and they always hunt and fight together. Bora hunts with throwing knives which would grant her Marksman skills similar to Bullseye, but as she should be with Brix, he is a master of a whip, and should have Giant Reach: 3 like Catwoman and other characters that employ a whip. Both are acrobatic and should have Super Senses and/or Combat Reflexes to help dodge attacks. They should have two or three targets to attack multiple characters both with range or in close combat. They could also have Enhancement or Empower to show how they lend support to the other Inheritors.