SSUA: Civil War (Little Wars Melbourne 2016)

[Hat Guy]

Well, it's that time of year again, when I look at the big SuperSystem: Ultimate Alliance game that I'm going to be running at Little Wars Melbourne (May 29). Not being too proud to cash in on a trend, this year's game will be based on the biggest Superhero Team-up film to hit cinemas this year; Captain America: Civil War. (Sorry Dawn of Justice fans, but the latest round of trailers has Cap taking an early lead.



Being me, I'm not satisfied to stick with the characters from the film or comic and have to expand across as many different comic lines as I can. I'll shoot for two teams of eight characters, in-keeping with my "multiples of 4" habit; 3 Marvel, 3 DC, 2 Indy.

I'll have to give Civil War a quick re-read at some stage, but from memory, the heroes involved can be fit into three broad categories:

Pro-Registration (#TeamTony): Heroes that have chosen to accept the SRA and want to bring their friends and colleges in safely.

Anti-Registration (#TeamCap): Heroes that stand against the SRA and are willing to fight for their right.

Abstaining: Doctor Strange, Black Panther and a few others deliberately stay out of the conflict, either as an act of protest, balance or disinterest.

For the scenario, I'm thinking a combination of the Young Avengers rescue and chemical plant battle from the comic.

For the teams, Cap and Shell-head will be leading, Luke Cage, Shulkie and Hercules are in contention at the moment as well.

Where I need help is finding DC and Indy heroes that would fit the game. Some are obvious (Robocop Pro-Reg), but some other ideas will require justification, like I'm really keen to heave two Ninja Turtles on opposing sides, probably Leo and Raff.

Ideas true believers?

[Benny]

Hey Hatguy, after the impressive display at last years Littlewars I am really looking forward to see what you do this year. If I cant think of a game to run of my onw I may well help you run your table.
A few ideas for out of the box pro and anti registration.
Anti
Dr Who, Even the fans don't know his real name or his full history and background. He sure as hell doesn't want and earth government finding out.
Soundswave, Megatron or Starscream, they are all DECEPTicons and they are robots in disguise. They don't want to let people know who they are when they are in the gun/plane/casset player forms.
Batman, not only does he want to protect his own identity, but he would be wanting to protect the identities of all of "Team Bat" and the Justice League.
Mr Incredible, at the start of the movie (Incredibles) he has given up the super hero life and has been moving around with his family a lot to hide his hero past and abilities.

Pro
Hellboy In the movies he kept looking for excuses to give his presence away to the wider community and in the comics he doesn't seem to care who or what knows about his existence.
Flash Gordon, in the movie and some comic books he is willing to become a focus/poster boy for resistance movements. He isn't hiding who he is so why should anyone else??


I will keep thinking about some more, but hopefully these might help you get some ideas happening.

[Freelancer]

Anti - The Phantom , his only superpower is an elaborate con that he cannot die.

Pro - The Tick, kids love The Tick. SPOOON!

[Hat Guy]

Thanks for the replies so far gents. Have a few thoughts;

The Doctor - why doesn't he just leave the planet? Unless we're talking about Pertwee, he can just bugger off, and even then, he's in England (or Wales), not the USA.

Decepticons - good idea, but I have none of them in miniature currently and I'm trying to keep villains out of the game wherever possible. The lure of Civil War was seeing the heroes divided by ideology, the villains coming in was a side-show that Frank Castle quickly sorted out.

Mr Incredible - I'd love to have the Incredibles on my table, but I'm yet to find any miniatures suitable. I agree that he'd be a good anti-SRA complainant. 

Batman - see below.

Hellboy - Good idea actually, I'll be considering that. Maybe another BPRD member, as I'll be discussing below.

Flash Gordon - I'm not sure. There may be more there to take a look at.

The Phantom - he's in Africa, so the USA bringing in the SRA would hardly concern him. Much like Black Panther or Namor, he could just stay out of it.

The Tick - As well as not having a Tick miniature, I'm simply not a huge fan, sorry. I'd rather give the slot to someone else.

At the moment, my thinking is along these lines, Cap and Tony are givens, two big names that require no background or motivations explained. Taking another look at the comic, I'd like Luke Cage on the Anti team and She-Hulk on the Pro to provide some powerhouses that balance each other out. Some other thinking is:

Leo and Raff (TMNT): The turtles have always operated in secret, working from the shadows and staying hidden from prying eyes. Leonardo, the defacto leader of the team has seen the toll that such independence can take. Every time one of the brothers is injured, supplies have to be improvised or stolen to stave off death; wouldn't it be simpler if the turtles had backing? Medical assistance, a real headquarters and actual pay seems like a good trade for just keeping doing the same job.
Raphael disagrees. Anonymity is what keeps the turtles strong, striking from the shadows is how ninja operate and signing up for a government job is just another name for selling out.

Ugh, it's late, more another time. 

[Johnno]

Here's an Indie for you!

Captain Canuck - maybe Tony Stark recruits him...under the guise of only 1 true Captain in North America...

[leonmallett]

DC idea on the anti-SRA side: Green arrow. Batman may detract from Cap as leader, whereas GA offers recognition and has an analogue in Hawkeye in the upcoming movie.

[Hat Guy]

Yes, Green Arrow is a big possibility, with Ollie's natural distrust of the government and his not-so-secret lack of faith in the superpowers set; the scene in Justice League when he admits to being scared of what Supes and the Lanterns could do if they flipped.

I'm keen to keep any big names other than Cap and Iron Man out of the game, not just for balance, but as you said Leon, to keep the focus from wandering. I figure Supes stays out of the war because he feels he can neither condemn nor condone the government's decision, Diana is a diplomat with the associated immunity and Batman can sit in Gotham to a certain extent, taunting the Cape Killers to come get him. Also, Bruce Wayne has jetted to DC to lobby against the act, in a rare moment of political awareness.

Characters I'm considering for Pro-SRA:

Plastic Man - "So let me get this straight? I sign your contract and you'll PAY me to beat up bad guys? Plus I get a cool laminated license, a clubhouse and my own team? Sign me up!"

Atomic Robo - Robo has no love for the government, but when faced with the threat of having his assets seized, he had to make a decision that was right for his employees. Hopefully with the big minds like Stark, Richards, Pym and now Robo behind the problem, the SRA can be managed sensibly.

Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes) - Jaime feels that all this SRA business is over his head, but, unfortunately, the government already knew who he was and where his family lived. Juvenal hall holds little appeal, so the Blue Beetle is now working closely with Iron Man. It's not so bad, Iron Man is one of the good guys, right?