Who is Ultimate Spider-Man?
In the comics, Miles Morales didn’t start in the main 616 ‘prime’ universe; he was originally created as the successor to Peter Parker in the ‘Ultimate’ universe. In his original universe he was bitten by a genetically enhanced spider stolen from Oscorp by his uncle, the Prowler. This bite left him with powers similar to Peter, but also with some unique powers of his own such as invisibility and a bio-electric ‘Venom blast’. Miles was initially reluctant to become a hero however he is inspired by Peter’s death (in his universe) to become a hero in his own right.
Character Card
The Ultimate version of Miles is a 4-threat character with 4/4/3 defenses and a long move. He has 6 health on his healthy side and 5 on his injured. His base stats are already better than his 3-threat counterpart, and the long move combined with Wallcrawler gives him a lot of mobility—which is exactly what the Web Warriors want.
His first attack is Swinging Strike, a range 3, 5-dice physical attack that builds him power and, on a wild, pushes a size 3 or less opponent towards him short and gives them Slow. Web Warriors get a lot of value from the Slow condition as it helps them during their All Webbed Up turn. All Webbed Up allows the Web Warriors to go on an offensive game plan for a round, gaining attack dice against slowed opponents. Many of the core Web Warrior characters don’t have natural access to Slow, so this trigger will be a welcome addition. Web Warriors also love displacement, and having both on this attack is great.
Skipping ahead, this attack gets even better when you take into account that he can retaliate and attack during an opponent’s turn with it, and that he can add two dice to it after a Web Swing. The chance to hit the wild on 5 dice is just over 50%, but when you make it 7 dice, it jumps to 65%. The one thing to watch out for is when your opponent has abilities that force you to reroll your dice—such as Witty Banter from Amazing Spider-Man.
His second attack is Stun Web, a range 4, 4-dice energy attack that gains him 1 power. If it deals damage, it also applies the Stun special condition. Access to a gainer at range 4 is useful if you just need to generate one power. The Stun condition can be really debilitating into certain characters, such as Asgardians, who don’t get the benefit of their extra power in the power phase if they are stunned. It’s also a great way to start off a combo: Stun Web, gain a power, Web Swing to place yourself within range 3, and follow up with a 7-dice Swinging Strike.
His spender is Mastered Venom Blast, a range 2, 8-dice energy attack for 4 power. Before damage is dealt, the opposing model gets the Shock and Stun special conditions. In addition, for each wild in the roll, you can choose an enemy model within range 3 and do 2 damage to them. Guaranteed Stun before damage is always great, as it means no matter how much damage you do, they will only gain 1 power to retaliate with. Flat damage also gets past a lot of defensive tech, such as counting blanks or adding defense dice.
His first superpower is Web Swing. This is almost exactly the same power that the 3-threat version of Miles has, the only difference being that it adds dice to Swinging Strike rather than Webline Kick. This power is always useful—it’s functionally like having access to Charge, as you no longer need an action to move before attacking. It’s even better than Charge, though, as you can use it to effectively move three times, which gives him a huge range to get where he needs to go. At only 2 power, you’ll likely use this every opportunity you can, especially because it adds 2 dice to an attack that has the potential to build that power back up.
You Did You, Now Imma Do My Thing is a reactive power costing 2 power. After a character attacks him, it lets him advance short towards them and then do a Swinging Strike attack as long as they are within range 2. This is a powerful reactive ability as it gives both movement and an attack. Since Swinging Strike has a chance to move the opponent as well, if an opponent attacks you while standing on an objective, there’s a good chance you’ll get to advance onto that objective to contest it—and on top of that, you might get the Web Up trigger to push them off the objective for a potential 2 VP swing.
Ultimate Spider-Sense is a souped-up version of the spider senses that the other Web Warriors have. Miles can reroll 2 defense dice and, importantly, can reroll skulls and against mystic attacks. As he would never be able to benefit from his 3-threat version’s leadership, the ability to reroll skulls built-in is very strong. Getting his defenses vs mystic attacks is also something the other Web Warriors wish they could do.
Finally, he has two passive superpowers: Stealth, so that he cannot be targeted by attacks outside of range 3, and Wallcrawler, so that he does not need to climb over large terrain.
Overall, the Ultimate version of Miles looks to be a very solid 4-threat character. He has mobility, displacement, damage, and some resilience. The worst thing on his card is that his alias is Miles Morales, and the 3-threat version of Miles is already one of the best 3-threats in the game—with the ability to force an opponent to drop their extracts along with a very good leadership.
Because of this, within Web Warriors he might only see play with their new Web of the Spider-Verse card which, while good (see below), means that taking him in Web Warriors also takes up one of your valuable Team Tactics Card slots. Speaking of cards, Clone Saga might have more value now that there’s another version of Miles running around, as it gives a character full rerolls against one with the same alter ego.
There are a few places he could be splashed effectively—such as in Steve’s version of the Avengers, since he has some strong 2-cost superpowers and good triggers on his attacks. A
Who is the Prowler?
The Prowler began as a brilliant but underappreciated inventor and eventually became both a vigilante and occasional anti-hero. Originally introduced in 1969 as a character named Hobie Brown, he designed a high-tech suit equipped with gadgets like gauntlets that could fire gas pellets and claws for climbing, allowing him to scale walls and move stealthily. Much later in the Ultimate universe and later adaptations like the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he was reimagined as Aaron Davis, the uncle of Miles Morales.
Character Card
The Prowler is a 4-threat character with 4/4/3 defenses, 6 health on both sides of his card, and a long move. In terms of base stats, the long move is a welcome addition—especially when, as we’ll see below, he has the Charge superpower.
His first attack is Prowler Gauntlet Strike, a range 2, 5-dice physical attack that gives him power equal to the damage dealt. On a wild, it gains both Pierce and Suppressive—both conditions we’ve seen before. There are multiple characters with similar attacks, usually with Bleed rather than Suppressive. Pierce is always a welcome addition, helping to push an extra damage through if the opponent’s dice show up.
His second attack is Covert Armament, a range 4, 4-dice energy attack that gains him one power. Additionally, the opponent can’t modify defense dice during this attack. The best thing about this attack might be the guaranteed energy gained. You can start a turn using this attack against an opponent in range 4 to gain the 2 power needed to Charge in and do the slightly stronger Prowler Gauntlet Strike. There may also be situations where an energy attack that ignores defense mods is stronger than a physical one that doesn’t. Against Web Warriors characters and their Spider-Senses giving them multiple defensive rerolls, this might be the attack of choice.
His spender is Nothing Personal, Just Business—a range 3, 8-dice energy attack for 4 power. After the attack, he may advance medium, and on a wild (before damage is dealt), he can throw a size 3 or less character short. 4 power is quite expensive for an 8-dice energy attack—there are other characters with similar attacks for 3 power. The throw occurring before damage means that even if you were about to KO the target, you’ll still get to throw them into their friends first. The free move after the attack is a welcome addition; however, as we’ll see below, Prowler is likely to be a pay-to-flip specialist. The ability to throw an opponent off a point and move onto it is less useful than on another character.
His first superpower is Charge, letting him make a move action followed by an attack action combined into one action. As he has a long move, his threat range increases dramatically when he has some power.
His second superpower is You’re Right, I Can Do Better. When attacking, he can pay 2 power to reroll all his dice—including skulls. As the wording is reroll all, not reroll any, you have to reroll the entire roll, so you may end up with a worse result than you had initially. It’ll only be worth using this superpower when you’ve had a terrible roll to begin with and can only make it better.
Prowler’s first passive superpower is Custom Designed Burglar Gauntlets. The first time each turn that Prowler interacts with an objective token, after the effect is resolved, he gains a power. This superpower is very interesting and is why I mentioned that he may end up as a pay-to-flip specialist. The pay-to-flip crises are the ones where you control by interacting and are usually judged on a dice roll. The ability to do that for free once every round will make him very strong on these scenarios. Often, characters have to either pick up an extract or interact with a secure on round 1—but Prowler will effectively be able to do both.
Some more interesting uses of this will be on crises where there are additional ways to interact. On Riots Spark Over Extremis 3.0, you can interact with the scenario to heal one of your characters. Prowler will be able to do this effectively for free as the game progresses. On Deadline to Destruction, you can interact with the crisis to potentially force an opponent to drop an objective—which, once again, Prowler will be able to do for free.
Under Mystique’s Freedom Force leadership, Prowler will be able to move up, pick up an extract, gain a power from the leadership, and gain a power from Custom Designed Burglar Gauntlets, so that he ends up on more power than he started. On turn 1, this will mean that by picking up an extract, he then has enough power to Charge!
Finally, his other passive superpowers are Wallcrawler and Stealth. These are both useful to have—Wallcrawler on a long mover means that terrain won’t stop him from being where he wants to be, and Stealth means he can’t be picked off by long-range attacks.
Overall, Prowler is an interesting character. In the Spider-Foes, where he is affiliated, he’ll get a lot of extra mileage from cards such as Custom Upgrades and Surprise Webhead. Under the Criminal Syndicate, he gives a Kingpin list something to add to pay-to-flip missions, where Kingpin’s leadership does nothing for them. It’s hard not to compare Prowler’s kit to Baron Zemo’s—they both have long moves with Charge and rerolls. Unfortunately, Zemo does this for a threat cheaper and can give rerolls to his allies. B+
Who is Spider-Man 2099?
Miguel O’Hara is a futuristic version of Spider-Man introduced in Spider-Man 2099 #1 (1992), set in the cyberpunk world of Nueva York in the year 2099. A brilliant geneticist working for the corrupt mega-corporation Alchemax, Miguel gains spider-like powers after a sabotaged experiment rewrites his DNA with that of a spider. Miguel’s abilities include enhanced strength, speed, and agility, but unlike (most versions of) Peter Parker, he also has organic talons, fangs, and accelerated healing—plus he doesn’t need web-shooters, as he produces webbing naturally. His personality is more cynical and rebellious, shaped by the dystopian society he fights against. Miguel often clashes with authority and corporate power, making him a darker, edgier Spider-Man who still upholds the core values of heroism and justice. His appearances in multiverse stories, including Across the Spider-Verse, position him as a key figure in the Spider-Verse saga, often acting as a leader among alternate Spider-heroes.
Character Card
Spider-Man 2099 is a 5-threat character with 4/4/3 defenses and 7/6 health. His base stats are a little below the curve defensively for a 5-threat, but the rest of his kit more than makes up for that.
His first attack is Spider Talons, a range 2, 6-dice physical attack that builds him power based on the damage dealt. On a wild, he heals one damage and pierces one of the opponent’s defense dice. There’s roughly a 60% chance to hit a wild on 6 dice with no modification—making it likely but not guaranteed on the average roll. The ability to potentially heal himself on top of his strong defensive abilities will make Miguel a tough nut to crack.
His second attack is Organic Web Shot, a range 4, 5-dice physical attack that gains one power when used. On a hit, it triggers Pursuit, allowing him to advance short toward the target. There’s an 80% chance of a hit on 5 dice, but as someone who enjoys playing the Steve Rogers, Captain America leadership, I can tell you that when you really need that hit to come, it won’t. If you’re 1 power off doing what you need, this will be a good attack to have. If you need movement more than anything else, you might want to go with one of his other guaranteed movement options instead.
His spender is 2099 Sends Its Regards, a range 3, 8-dice physical attack for 4 power. Before damage, the target gets Poison and Stun, and after the attack, Spider-Man 2099 can place himself within range 1 of the defender. On a wild, he can throw a size 4 or less character away short before damage is dealt. For 4 power and an action, you get a lot from this one attack—movement from the place, damage, potential displacement from the throw, and some status conditions to boot. Applying Stun before damage means that in most cases, an opponent will only gain 1 power no matter how much damage is done. The timing of the throw means that even if the opposing character is KO’d, you still have the potential to throw them into their friends. The timing of the place means that if they are KO’d, you won’t be able to place off them—but if they aren’t, you can throw them first, then place, increasing the potential distance traveled.
Spider-Man 2099’s first superpower is Web Whip. For 2 power, he can choose a character within range 3, push them toward him short, and then place off them. This is the same superpower we’ve seen on Scarlet Spider, and it’s just as strong here. Only costing 2 power means that one use of Organic Web Shot will give him the power to Web Whip an opponent—potentially into range of a Spider Talons attack. Alternatively, he can use it to end a round and force an opponent off an objective and put himself onto it for a 2 VP swing. Unlike some other similar superpowers, there’s no size restriction—so even Dormammu can be whipped into the right spot.
His second superpower is Acceleration Decoy. When defending, he can spend 3 power to reroll any number of defense dice—including skulls. In addition, after the attack is resolved, he can place himself within range 2. This superpower is what will make him so tough to pin down. Not only will he be able to make his defenses stronger on the initial attack, he can place himself out of range of any follow-up. The only downside is that it comes at the “cost” of not having access to the usual Spider Senses superpower that many Web Warriors have. Usually, they can reroll 2 defense dice vs physical or energy attacks for free, while 2099 has to pay for his rerolls. His rerolls are far superior—but come at a cost.
Paying for all these abilities doesn’t come cheap, and that’s where his next superpower helps him out. Future Tech Genius is an ability we’ve seen before on characters like Doctor Octopus, and it gives 2099 power any time he rolls a critical result on his dice. As an added bonus, he can ignore the Stealth superpower and Cover. Gaining power each time he rolls dice is extremely useful. It works not only when attacking or defending, but also dodging and interacting with objectives. This means that if you get a little lucky, he can flip a pay-to-flip secure on round 1 and get the power back to still pick up an objective.
Ignoring Stealth only matters on his Organic Web Shot attack, which is the only one he has over range 3—so they might as well have added it as a clause to that attack. That said, there might be niche cases in the future where this matters more. Ignoring Cover will be useful on scenarios like Super-Powered Scoundrels from Sinister Syndicate, which usually gives the benefit of cover to opponents not contesting the same point that you are.
Finally, for passive superpowers, he has Healing Factor 1 and Wallcrawler. Healing Factor means he can benefit from the card Instant Recovery if he needs to, and between that and the ability to heal from Spider Talons, he’ll be difficult to keep down. Wallcrawler will help him navigate terrain-heavy boards—though with multiple ways to place himself, that might not be an issue anyway.
Overall, Spider-Man 2099 looks to be a solid addition to the Web Warriors roster. He has multiple ways to keep himself alive, and even when you do damage him, he might just heal back up. He’s very mobile, with multiple ways to jump around the board and get to where he needs to be. Although his kit is a little expensive, the Future Tech Genius ability should give him the power he needs to use it. B+
Team Tactics Cards
The first team tactics card in the box is Great Power. When Spider-Man 2099 can suffer 1–2 damage and spend 1–2 power. If he does, he reduces the cost of the attack by the amount of damage suffered and adds dice to the attack equal to the amount paid. Personally, I’m not convinced this one is all that great. The main problem is that it’s limited to a 2-cost reduction and/or 2 dice added to an attack. With his Future Tech Genius passive, he shouldn’t have too much trouble generating power to use his spender when he needs it, and adding 2 dice to a single attack isn’t worth a precious team tactics card slot. C
Web of the Spider-Verse is a new leadership option available to the Web Warriors. After deployment, an allied Web Warriors player may play this card. While your squad does not have an active leadership, all Web Warriors characters gain access to the Into the Spider-Verse passive superpower. When they attack, defend, or dodge, after the effect is resolved, if they rolled a skull, they can place themselves within range 1.
There are a few things to break down with this. Technically, this isn’t a leadership card—it’s a superpower available when you have no leadership. I make the distinction because, unlike other leadership cards, if you KO the character who played it, the superpower does not go away. The other thing to be aware of is that it is only available to Web Warriors characters, so unaffiliated characters won’t gain the benefit. In addition, if you wanted to, you could play using a Web Warriors leadership to start the game and, once your leader was KO’d, gain the benefit of this card. There’s no reason you’d want to do this—as you’re taking up a card slot in the hope that your leader dies—but the option is there.
Of the Web Warriors that could do well from this, the Venom characters might get some of the most benefit. Venom has a medium base, meaning the place will put him slightly further, and during his clapback attack, he has the potential to move into a better position. Gwenom can move long if she has been placed during her turn, meaning that if she rolls a skull on her attack, she might get a free move during that attack after the attack as long as she places first.
Free movement is always strong, and the ability to place out of range of follow-up attacks or onto points after attacking is strong. As mentioned above, this card also encourages you to take Ultimate Miles, who is a strong character in his own right. The only issue with the card is that Web Warriors are already pushed for cards they want to take—meaning you might have to forfeit one of their other strong cards such as Spider-Tracker or Masked Menace to take this. B+
Brief Reprieve is a Web Warriors team tactics card where Ultimate Spider-Man and any number of allied characters can pay 1 power. Those that do can remove a special condition or a damage, and if they have an activated token, they can get their power refunded. This card may make Aunt May’s Wheat Cakes obsolete, which was often taken in the mirror match to remove Slow. Wheat Cakes can remove Slow and a damage, while this card is either/or—but there is much more flexibility here, and it can be used in more situations. There are many special conditions that are particularly debilitating to Web Warriors, and you could even use this to remove a cheeky Stagger when you need to. There is also no range restriction, which many similar cards have—so no matter how spread out your Web Warriors are, you will still gain a benefit. A
Spider-Men is an unaffiliated team tactics card that lets Miles Morales and Peter Parker each pay 2 power to play. If they are within range 3 of one another, the not-currently-active character can place within range 2 of the active character and make a 0-cost attack. As this can be done with any version of Miles or Peter, there’s a lot to consider here. From the Miles perspective, 3-threat Miles can potentially throw a character from the free attack. Ultimate Miles can potentially Slow and push someone. From the Peter Parker perspective, Impact Webbing attacks can potentially push the target, and there is more potential movement from their other attacks.
The card being unaffiliated means there’s room to take it outside of Web Warriors, where the attacks might be able to benefit from extra leadership abilities, etc.
4 power in total could be a lot to pay—especially as not all versions of these characters generate power easily—but the ability to do a free attack that might generate the power back could offset this. There is also a huge amount of potential movement to be made from this card, with the Spider-Men being range 3 from one another and being placed range 2—potentially helping your characters effectively rotate around the board when needed. B+
High Tech Heist is an unaffiliated card that has two potential reactive times to be played. When he rolls dice to interact with a secure objective, he can spend 1 power to change any number of dice to any result. Alternatively, when a character within range 2 of him would drop an asset or civilian, he can spend 1 to immediately pick it up. The first part of this card will cement his status as a pay-to-flip specialist. Several crises require you to roll more successes than the number of opposing characters, which can sometimes be nigh on impossible. When this card is in the mix, he can almost guarantee flipping a point when contested by opposing characters.
The ability to pick up extracts that have been dropped nearby has a number of useful applications. The most obvious being when an opponent is dazed near him by someone already holding an objective—he can pick it up rather than them. Similarly, when an ally is dazed nearby, he can pick up the extract before the opponent gets a chance. There are several attacks that force opponents to drop extracts that will be helpful here too. B+
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