BAT-MITE'S WAGER: A DC vs. Marvel campaign

Grandmaster was one of the oldest beings in the universe—he had been alive since the moment of Creation. But until this moment—while he was trying to have a coherent conversation with this Bat-Mite creature—he had never realized he was susceptible to migraines.


“Batman’s the greatest hero in any universe!!!” shouted the annoying little oddity for the 33rd time as he flitted around Grandmaster’s forehead. “I’ve been all over your version of Earth and I claim that Batman could beat any two superheroes here with one arm tied behind his back.”


Despite the headache, Grandmaster began to see possibilities. “Perhaps we can wager on…”


“Batman’s gone head to head with everything from dinosaurs to aliens to psycho killers!!! No one beats him.”


“Well, then, we can arrange a contest to…”


“He’s got the coolest secret identity too. So does his ward. And two or three of his girlfriends. And his dog.”


“That’s all well and good,” replied Grandmaster. “But perhaps…” He paused, then asked “His dog has a secret identity?”


“Yes. Ace the Bat Hound. Really groovy, huh? And he’s always having fights on top of giant typewriters and pool tables and stuff.”


“The dog?”


“No, no. Batman. Well, sometimes the dog, too. But anyways, Batman can kick bad guy butt and he’s a great detective and expert escape artist and his butler makes the best-tasting scones ever.”


“Well, so you claim. We can determine the validity of this by…”


“He’s got a whole bunch of cool cars, as well. And motorcycles and hang gliders and a helicopter and…”


“ALL RIGHT!!! I GET IT!!!!” shouted the Grandmaster. The sheer volume of his desperate yell silenced Bat-Mite for a moment.


“We’ll have a contest.” The Elder of the Universe spoke quickly, before the insufferable creature could resume talking. “We will each pick a team of heroes from our respective universes. Batman can head up your team, while Captain America will head mine. We will put each team through a series of tests, matching them against a series of criminals. Then we will have the two teams battle each other. The team with the best overall score wins.”


“Nifty keen, man,” enthused Bat-Mite. “But, well, getting them to fight crime is no problem. But how will we get them to fight each other?”


“We’ll just threaten to destroy their universes unless they fight,” explained Grandmaster. “I do that all the time. It always works.” He smiled. His headache was fading away in anticipation of the contest. “We’ll pick heroes who deal with the same sort of street level crime as your Batman, along with heroes who are also policemen or detectives. Then we shall arrange the specific scenarios.”


BACKGROUND: One of the two players will play DC. The other will play Marvel. They will be referred to as the Grandmaster and Bat-Mite. Their wager: determining once and for all which comic book universe is superior.


AVAILABLE CHARACTERS: Bat-Mite picks one version of each of the following characters to form his pool of available heroes: Batman, Nightwing, Robin, Huntress, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Elongated Man, Plastic Man, Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), Black Lightning, Green Arrow (Ollie), Green Arrow (Connor), Black Canary, Ragman, Wildcat, Question, Animal Man, Gypsy. Bat-Mite may choose to use the Batman/Robin duo figure in place of those two characters throughout the campaign.



Grandmaster picks one version of each of the following characters: Captain America, Falcon, Ant Man OR Giant Man, Wasp, Spider Man, Black Cat, Power Man, Iron Fist, Paladin, Photon/Pulsar/Captain Marvel, Black Widow, Electra (not the super-ninja mind-controlling Electra, though), Daredevil, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Moon Knight, Punisher, Shang Chi.


SCENARIOS: Each scenario except the last is played twice. The Marvel Universe version is played with Bat Mite using the villains. The DC Universe version is played with Grandmaster playing the villains. Each scenario except the last is 400 points.The last scenario pits the heroes of the two universes directly against each other and will be 500 points.Bat-Mite must include Batman (or the Batman/Robin duo figure) on his team in every scenario. Otherwise, he may re-form his team from his available pool of characters in anyway he wishes from scenario to scenario.Grandmaster must include Captain America in every scenario. Otherwise, he also has complete team building freedom from scenario to scenario.


FEAT CARDS: Neither player may use ICWO or Lazarus Pit. Otherwise, feat cards may be assigned freely for each scenario.


VICTORY: Keep a running total of victory points throughout the campaign. High score wins at the end.


SCENARIO #1: “Kidnapping” The heroes move to stop an attempt to kidnap an important newspaper editor.


MAP: DC version: Metropolis Street Map. Marvel Version: 4 corners map


SET-UP: Roll dice for 1st player and set up normally. The newspaper editor pog (DC: Perry White, Marvel: J. Jonah Jamison) is placed by the villain in one of the four middle squares of the map after all other set up procedures are complete.


BAD GUYS:

DC: Grandmaster uses ONE of the following villains: Riddler, Two Face, Joker (not Emperor Joker). He may use any other figures with the Batman Enemy Team Ability (except Penguin) to fill out the rest of his team. He may also use any number of Thugs, Henchmen, Criminals and Lackeys.


Marvel: Bat-Mite uses ONE of the following figures: Kingpin, Doctor Octopus. He may use any other characters with the Sinister Syndicate Team Ability(except Kraven) to fill out the rest of his team. He may also use any number of Thugs, Henchmen, Criminals and Lackeys.


SPECIAL RULES: Use the capture rules for pogs detailed in the Map Sets to kidnap/rescue the editor. A player that controls the editor at the end of the scenario gets 50 bonus points.


LENGTH: 10 rounds.


SCENARIO #2: “Zoo” The heroes interfere with an attempt to steal a rare animal from the city zoo. But the villain is ready for them.


MAP: Use the Zoo map for both universes.


SET-UP: Roll dice for 1st player and set up normally.


BAD GUYS:


DC: Grandmaster uses Penguin and any other Batman Enemies not used in the first scenario. He may also use any number of Thugs, Henchmen, Criminals and Lackeys.


Marvel: Bat Mite uses Kraven and any Sinister Syndicate Team members not used in the first scenario. He may also use any number of Thugs, Henchmen, Criminals and Lackeys.SPECIAL: The Debris BFC card is in effect. The Proximity Mines BFC card is also in effect, but ONLY for the heroes. The bad guys do not have to roll to see if they set off the mines, only the good guys.


LENGTH: 10 rounds.


SCENARIO #3: “Hideout” The heroes discover the location of a secret villain base and mount an assault. But Grandmaster and Bat Mite have pulled a "switch," matching the heroes of one universe against the villains of another.


MAP: The Underground Base map is used for both universes.


SET-UP: Roll for 1st player and set up normally.


BAD GUYS:


DC: Grandmaster uses any characters with the Masters of Evil Team Ability.


Marvel: Bat Mite uses any characters with the Injustice League Team Ability.


LENGTH: 10 rounds


SCENARIO #4 “Battle Royale” The heroes from both universes are forced to battle each other.


MAP: The 1st player may pick any available map.


SET-UP: Roll for 1st player and set up normally.


TEAMS: 500 point teams from each player’s available pool.


LENGTH: 10 rounds.

SPECIAL: Batman earns double points if he personally knocks out Captain America. Cap earns double points if he personally K.O.'s the Caped Crusader.


VICTORY: Total the victory points earned from all scenarios. This winner determines once and for all which universe is better—DC or Marvel.