ORIGIN: Gerard Shugel had an unparalleled intellect, but a body suffering from a degenerative disease that was slowly eating away at him. Determined to live, Shugel studied a way to transplant his brain into a healthy host body. Working on human/animal hybrid experiments, Shugel discovered a way to transplant his body into the body of an Albino Gorilla, transforming himself into the Ultra-Humanite. He was the first villain to have a recurring role in comics and is therefore considered the FIRST Supervillain.







ORIGIN: In the late 19th century, a wealthy merchant named Cyrus Gold is murdered and his body disposed of in Slaughter Swamp, near Gotham City. Fifty years later, the corpse is reanimated as a huge shambling figure (composed partly of the swamp matter that has accumulated around the body over the decades) with almost no memory of its past life. Gold murders two escaped criminals who are hiding out in the marsh and steals their clothes. He shows up in a hobo camp and, when asked about his name, one of the few things he can recall is that he was "born on a Monday". One of the men at the camp mentions the nursery rhyme character Solomon Grundy (who was born on a Monday), and Gold adopts the moniker. Strong, vicious, and nearly mindless, Solomon Grundy falls into a life of crime—or, perhaps returns to one as his scattered residual memories may indicate—attracting the attention of the Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Grundy proves to be a difficult opponent, unkillable (since he is already dead) and with an inherent resistance to Scott's powers (which cannot affect wood, a substance of which Grundy's reassembled body is now largely composed).


un089 U Ultrahumanite
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 80
Keywords: Animal, Secret Society of Super-Villains, Psychic, Scientist

8 9 15 3

8 9 15 2

7 8 15 2

7 8 14 2

6 8 14 2

6 7 14 1

5 7 13 1

5 7 12 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

PROS: It's very hard to argue with a character that is only 80 points and brings such things as outwit and telekinesis to the table. What only helps his case out is the fact that he has leap/climb for his entire dial. This will help him get where he needs to go unimpeded by most terrain and keep him from getting tied up once he gets there. He is capable of dealing damage whether via a TK attack or a close combat strike at the top of his dial, and he switches from TK to Superstrength mid-dial. If he is sitting there and not performing any necessary tasks for your team, he can even grab an object and keep it close for when and if he gets to that point of his dial.

CONS: The lustre of his effectiveness has only faded in time. His values are just downright mediocre. He starts with a nine attack which isn't horrible, but it only goes downhill from there. His HIGHEST defense stat is a 15. Most modern age figures could hit that with one of their dice tied behind their back. For a giant, super-intelligent, Albino Gorilla he sure doesn't offer much in the damage output department either. The fact that he has Mastermind on his last three clicks is just bloating his point cost unnecessarily. The only reason I could even see to use it would be to keep my opponent from scoring 80 points in the late game. Otherwise, I'm sure there are going to be more effective characters to keep alive and kicking.

THEME: He is a good fit for a Secret Society of Super-Villains team. Of course, he is the only version of the character to HAVE the keyword, but the point remains. His point cost lends itself well to the other characters that you find in that keyword set. I can't guarantee you a win with this team, but we all know that the allmighty "W" is not everything. I can guarantee that you WILL have fun playing an assortment of these fun and classic villains.

Other players' comments/reviews



aa047 V Ultra-Humanite
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 8
Points: 177
Keywords: Animal, Psychic, Scientist, Time Stealers

9 10 17 4

8 10 17 3

8 10 17 3

7 9 16 3

7 8 16 3

7 8 15 2

8 8 15 2

8 9 14 2

8 10 14 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

Mental Might: The Ultra-Humanite can use Mind Control, Outwit, and Psychic Blast.

PROS: Wow. It's almost as if Wizkids took my notes on the first attempt at the Ultra-Humanite, put them in a "To Do" list and then put this figure out and said "How about now?"

His point cost may have doubled and then some, but so did his effectiveness. Just the special power alone is practically worth the price of admission. He gets Mind Control, Outwit, AND Psychic Blast all in one neat little package. There aren't many characters in his point range that can do all of that and have the kind of stats, Super Strength, Invulnerability, and the Willpower granted to him by the Indomitable ability...and that's just on his opening click. His Mastermind is much more necessary this time around since you will actually want to keep him around while he has that power. He is just an all-around great piece that doesn't get nearly as many props as it should.

CONS: One of the biggest complaints I hear about this figure is the fact that he is "Bare" on click #3-6. If he has Mastermind fodder, he should stay safe, but should your opponent outwit it or if he is sans fodder, his stats and powers aren't going to be doing him any favors and your opponent will likely take a big chunk out of your team. I will fully admit that I don't have a ton of knowledge about the character so feel free to help me out here, but where did the TK go? To this day I think that the Grodd and Ultra-Humanite dials got "Switched at birth" in the Arkham set.

THEME: My favorite team to play him on is the Time Stealers. I've played that theme 5-6 times and have had a blast with it EVERY TIME. I break theme rules as described by the rulebook when I play it, though. I use Mr. Mind and Supernova from Crisis to flesh out the team. It comes out to 545 with the all of those characters. For a solid 600 point team, you could add feats, objects, or the Infinity Gauntlet to fill it out.

Other players' comments/reviews



ht073 R Solomon Grundy
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 48
Keywords: Brute, Gotham City

6 10 14 3

6 10 14 2

6 10 13 2

6 9 13 2

5 9 12 2

5 8 12 2

5 8 11 2

4 8 11 1

3 7 10 1

2 7 10 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

PROS: One of the great things about this version of Grundy is the fact that he has an incredibly long dial and is superb mastermind fodder due to the fact that he is only 48 points of your build total. I don't normally suggest a character be put on your team with the intent of using him as a damage sponge, but that is what rookie Grundy does, and he does it VERY well. He also has six clicks of toughness which helps keep him around even longer. With the Gotham City keyword he can be put on a team with Batman Enemies and a great deal of them have mastermind. At the top of his dial, he is no slouch for his cost either. Sporting three clicks of a 10 attack and Super-Strength, he can even get a shot or two in that will rattle even the toughest opponent if you play your cards right.

CONS: Unless you've got Telekinesis to help him get around, he's not going to be able to keep up the pace with your mastermind piece. If that piece happens to be able to use the carry ability, he won't be able to lug an item around with him while being carried. He is slow and hulking which is pretty accurate character-wise, but it just doesn't help alot in gameplay.

THEME: Given what his strengths are, I would place him on a Gotham City team, because as I've said, that team is rife with the mastermind power. He is appropriately costed to provide most of those characters with somebody to slough off damage to. Plus, with the length of his dial, he could even provide a couple of them with that kind of support at the same time. His only other keyword is brute, and that is not a keyword that lends itself to too many characters with Mastermind. If you wanted to play a brute team, there are better options for teammates than rookie Grundy.

Other players' comments/reviews


ht074 E Solomon Grundy
Team: Injustice League
Range: 0
Points: 69
Keywords: Brute, Injustice League

6 11 15 3

6 10 14 2

6 10 14 2

6 10 13 2

5 9 13 2

5 9 12 2

5 8 12 2

4 8 11 1

3 7 11 1

2 7 10 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

PROS: This version amps up the opening attack by a little bit making that first strike a little more likely to happen. He adds a bit of defense as well. 15 isn't the hardest number to hit by any means, but we have all been in those situations where an extra +1 defense has meant the game. He's lost the Gotham City keyword, but there are a lot of good Injustice League keyworded characters that he can be themed with that can make us of the same damage sponge qualities that the rookie has.

CONS: I've said about as many good things about this version of Grundy as I can. I'm sure there are players out there that have pulled off decent things with the Injustice League team ability, but as far as I'm concerned, it just over-inflates the cost of characters exponentially when weighed against what is gained by it. Overall, I would only use this version over the rookie if I needed him for a very specific theme team. Otherwise, I really don't see a need for this figure to exist.

THEME: Pretty much everything that I said about the rookie version applies to the experienced version of Grundy where keywords is concerned. The only thing is that is different is the swap of the Gotham City keyword with the experienced version's Injustice League keyword. Brute is equally as useless to me for what I would personally use him for.

Other players' comments/reviews


ht075 V Solomon Grundy
Team: No Affiliation
Range: 0
Points: 75
Keywords: Brute, Opal City

7 11 15 3

6 10 15 3

6 10 14 2

6 10 14 2

6 9 13 2

5 9 13 2

5 8 12 2

4 8 12 1

3 7 11 1

2 7 10 1

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

PROS: It's hard to believe what you get for only six points more than the experienced version of Grundy. One of the best things to happen to him is the dumping of the Injustice League TA. It was dead weight, and he's better off without it. For the 75 point investment you are getting a character that can take a hit and still have enough power to still get a hit or two in himself while at the same time maintaining his damage sponge abilities. Also, to help out said abilities, he has added not only another click of toughness but also two clicks of impervious. If you could pair him up with a flying character that had defend and some decent stats, you could have a real winning combo.

CONS: When you combine his point cost and his stats and abilities you get a character that is walking a line of confusion. What I mean by this is that he is not a character that you would get a lot of use for as a main attacker, but he's a little too useful to use as a damage sponge only. At 1/4 of a 300 point team build, you probably shouldn't invest this much into a character whose purpose is so ambiguous in the battlefield.

THEME: His keywords haven't really done much to improve. In fact, I would argue to say that they've gone in the other direction. However, with his increased ability for still a pretty decent amount of points, I would now finally see a use for him on Brute teams if for no other reason than for a secondary attacker or tie-up. Personally, I like the road less traveled and would build an Opal City team with him and the extremely few chararcters to have the keyword. If you use this version of Grundy and the highest level versions of all the other characters with the keyword, you get a team that is probably not going to be devestating to your opponent, but it will be a fun to play little 300 point team.

Other players' comments/reviews


aa018 E Solomon Grundy
Team: Injustice League
Range: 0
Points: 115
Keywords: Brute, Gotham City, Injustice Gang,
filler take space Legion of Doom, Opal City

8 8 16 3

8 9 16 3

8 9 16 3

7 10 16 3

6 10 15 3

6 10 15 3

6 9 14 3

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

KO KO KO KO

PROS: Though he doesn't have a large movement, it's still larger than any of the Hypertime counterparts. Now he can even get himself into battle since he has charge. He has far more powers and much improved overall stats in comparison to his previous incarnations as well. After those opening three clicks of charge he has three clicks of flurry which, if properly armed, will allow him to do eight clicks of damage to a single target if there are no damage reducers to get through. All of his stats remain remarkably consistent throughout his dial, too. Not many characters can boast three solid clicks of a 10 attack on click numbers 4-6. This pairs very nicely with the indomitable that will allow him to keep on the offense more often than not. Finally, he has added a click of regeneration at the end of his dial. Looking at the reviews from other realmsers, this was the number one thing that was requested on a good Grundy dial.

CONS: His opening click of an eight attack just makes me sad. Since they reduced the amount of life he has by three whole clicks compared to his previous versions, it's not as if you have that extra wiggle room to get him to a halfway decent attack value. An eight is unlikely to hit a lot of modern age targets and pouring useful abilities like perplex to make him passable is just a waste of resources. The Injustice League TA is back again, too. He would have probably been about 20 points less without it and that would have made him a lot more economical. He's anything if not consistent in his dial, but his defense stat tops off at a 16 which is just plain lame by today's standards. Not everybody can be walking around with an 18+ defense nor should they, but a single click of a 17 defense wouldn't be too much to ask for.

THEME: He's too many points to fulfill the same effectiveness as his other versions have on a Gotham City team, and he's also too many points to get the same type of team that you can get with an Opal City team. Since he's the only Solomon Grundy to have the keyword, and I'm a sucker for Old School fun, I would have to put him on a Legion of Doom team with classic arch-villains like Captain Cold, Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Bizzaro, and Black Manta. Once again, I'll have to admit that I've never actually played the team myself, but I have many friends that have and they never stop talking about it. I'll have to add it to my "To Do" list since they say that it is suprisingly effective and insanely fun.

Other players' comments/reviews


KEYS TO THE KINGDOM

Now that we have had a little glimpse into the aspects of all the different Ultra-Humanite and Solomon Grundy figures, let's take a quick look at their keywords and I will tell you my number one picks to use for each keyword theme available:

ULTRA-HUMANITE:

Secret Society of Super-Villains: un089 Ultrahumanite
Time Stealers: aa047 Ultra-Humanite
Animal: un089 Ultrahumanite
Psychic: aa047 Ultra-Humanite
Scientist: aa047 Ultra-Humanite

SOLOMON GRUNDY:

Gotham City: ht073 Solomon Grundy
Injustice League: aa018 Solomon Grundy
Opal City: ht075 Solomon Grundy
Injustice Gang: aa018 Solomon Grundy
Legion of Doom: aa018 Solomon Grundy
Brute: aa018 Solomon Grundy



WHO NEEDS KEYWORDS?!

In this section, I'm going to list some possible theme teams that you could play that are definitely comic accurate but don't require keywords and provide links using Comic Vine and Wikipedia to tell you more about them. Unfortunately, using these teams means you are going to forego keyword bonuses, but every once in a while, Judges might let you slip by with one of these teams:

ULTRA-HUMANITE:

Injustice League
Gorillas/Monkeys/Apes

SOLOMON GRUNDY:

Black Lantern Corps
Arkham Asylum Inmates
Creature Commandos
Dark Arcana


This DOESN'T wrap it up for Deep Dish Themes: JSA VILLAINS edition. Feel free to post what you think about the article and feel free to nominate a DC Hero to be part five of the "Player Request" article series. Join me in two weeks as I CONTINUE to show you what it means to be the OLD SCHOOL bad-guy when I bring you PART 4 in my "Player's Request" series...Deep Dish Themes: JSA VILLAINS (part 2). (As requested by theanalogkid)*

*Yeah, I know. He already got one. I REALLY like the idea, though.

I recently made a JSA villains team with Per Degaton, AA Ultra-Humanite, Icicle, and Johnny Sorrow.

It did not do well. Degaton was my MVP and Ultra-Humanite was at least annoying for my opponent, if ultimately of little consequence.

I think next time I'm going to save some points and use the older version of Ultra-Humanite. That way I can at least have some TK to help position the rest of the team. Pounce is also good on the old Ultra-Humanite as he can use it on every click except the first one and adds a lot to his potential usability mid-to-late dial.

I always liked Solomon Grundy from the Superfriends cartoon. He is still one of my favorite mainstream DC villans.

Excellent! Love these villain teams. I'm a fan of the Arkham Grundy, he always seems to stick around longer than expected. The good thing about him is he can regen to his good clicks since they are in the middle/end of his dial. Per Degaton is still totally viable too.

We need updates to a lot of these guys. Would love to have a new Shade, in particular, though I do still play the old ones.

I predict a Grundy remake in one of the forthcoming Batman sets. With his ties to Gotham, it would just make sense and be a much needed remake at that.

Great job! Much love for super villains!
-Massu

Great write-up! You did justice to my alter-ego (when we still had the Villian club down below, I was the Humanite). I also played the SSoSV for 3 years in the Fantasy Leagues and there, the 80 pt. Humanite held his own.

As for Grundy, I now only play with the AA for my Legion of Doom teams and will use any Grundy for a random gathering of JSA Villians.

Can't wait for the next part!

And who else did I request? (my memory isn't great).

Great Review! Here is my team that I have run

Time Stealers(no theme. Yeah I am pretty sure it is not the same Supernova)

90 AA029 Per Degaton
177 AA047 Ultra-Humanite
88 AA054 Despero
122 CR012 Supernova
477

Throw on some feats or special objects for 500.

Use Despero to move your opponents within range of Ultra-Humanite and Per Degaton and go to town with psychic blast or have him drop a heavy on someones head. You also have Outwit, Perplex, Prob, TK. Lots of great stuff.

Nice article! I love the JSA and their villains (and wish we had more Injustice Society members!).

We sorely need a remake of Grundy though. The AA one is just disappointing, and the others go down way too quickly, even with their long dials.

Nice article.

I love how you put the link to the wiki article "apes".

Sometimes I do stuff like that to see if anybody is paying attention.

good article. i like the double-feature both as an (appropriate) old school throwback and a way to showcase 2 low-quantity dialed pieces

here's a terrifically fun 1300pt "who needs keywords" challenge of the superfriends throwdown i've played a couple times with friends, adjusting lineups as i get newer figs:

Super Friends
ffsm001 Superman 200
bb048 The Flash & Green Lantern 200
bd002 Firestorm 141
jl038 Batman & Robin 138
bb009 The Atom & Hawkman 120
an059 Wonder Twins 111
bb018 Wonder Woman 108
an029 Aquaman 106
cd048 Black Vulcan 88
bd004 Hawkgirl 71
orb007 Marvin & Wendy 9
total 1292

Legion of Doom
bb040 Lex Luthor & Brainiac 200
ffwol003 Sinestro 200
ffsm006 Bizarro 150
an101 Grodd 116
aa018 Solomon Grundy 115
gi005 Giganta 108
aa011 The Riddler 90
dkr025 Scarecrow 85
aa049 Black Manta 68
cd038 Captain Cold 68
jl023 Toyman 50
cj070 Cheetah 43
total 1293

i love that the teams are only 1 point off and the new rules on duos should make my 3rd play of this interesting

Love these teams. Especially adding Wendy and Marvin. Although, I don't think they were on the team at the same time. The problem I had in the past was the cost. You gotta play some big games with these teams.

yep. set aside 2-3 hrs. bring some snacks. have a ball