From Panel To Play: Ursa Major

CP89 Ursa Major

Proving once and for all that the only thing you need to survive the harsh Russian wilderness are the bear necessities, Ursa Major is today’s guest on From Panel to Play!

Mikhail Ursus was one of the first recorded mutants to survive childhood in Russia during the twentieth century. The Russian government had previously exterminated all mutants at the first sign of their superhuman abilities; a policy that ended just before Mikhail’s birth. Mikhail was abandoned in the mountains at a young age, and grew up among the wild creatures as a shape-shifting member of their pack. He was eventually taken in by a scientist who sought to train a team of superhuman agents loyal to the government.

Ursa Major is a mutant who can transform into an enormous anthropomorphic bear. Ursa Major retains his human intelligence and capacity to talk when in this form. However, his personality becomes more primal, and his mind begins to slip if he stays in this altered state for several hours. Ursa Major possesses superhuman strength, stamina, and resistance to physical injury far greater than a real bear of comparable size.

Ursa Major is about what you’d expect from a king-size, anthropomorphic bear of a man: big, slow, tough, and he fights (I’m so sorry), bear-handed.

Using his oversized paws, Ursa Major can perform a Bear-Handed Slap as his basic attack, a Strength 5 rake of his claws with the Bleed Special condition. But if he wants to really leave a mark, he can pay 3 Power to perform a Bear-Armed Brawler attack. This Strength 7 attack allows him to throw a character of Size 4 or less and imposes the Stagger condition on his target. Big characters aren’t the only things Ursa Major will be tossing around, either! His Ursine Temper power lets the big, cuddly guy pick up and throw terrain features of Size 3 or less.

Some foes may foolishly believe Ursa Major will be slow in combat. While he is a big, lumbering bear with a Short movement, he has some surprising tricks that allow him to get in quickly and put his muscles—and claws—to good use.

The first way he compensates for his speed is the Charge power, which lets him make a move action followed by an attack action. He can come lumbering up on all fours before backhanding his target with a quick swipe. If done right after a normal advance, it lets him cross almost the same distance as a character with a Long movement range!

The second way he can close with the enemy is through his Aggressive innate power. Every time he suffers damage from an attack that targets him, this bear can advance Short toward the attacking character. Each injury has the potential to draw him in deeper toward the enemy line, where Ursa Major shines the brightest.

That’s it for our first look at the bear bones of this beast of a man!

Be sure to check back for yet another installment of From Panel to Play, the series where we give you your first look at how your favorite characters transition to the tabletop in Marvel: Crisis Protocol. Pre-order your own copy of the Ursa Major & Red Guardian Character Pack at your local game store or through our webstore today!

Until then, Atomic Mass Transmissions, signing off!