OSR Commentary On Marvel Super Heroes rpg MH AC2 Avengers Assembled By Bruce Nesmith

" The greatest collection of heroes, ever, annouced by their famous battle cry: Avengers Assemble! Includes a 32-page sourcebook with complete information on 30 past and present Avengers, 22 of their enemies, the Avengers mansion, and SHIELD! "
 The year is 1984, and we're deep into Marvel Super Heroes here comes Marvel Super Heroes Avengers Assembled by Bruce Nesmith. This blog entry is going to pick up right from here on the blog.  This supplement was a bit of a game changer for our group of players. Why? Because of the fact that all of the original Avengers and thier foes plus equipment, SHIELD, & more were laid bare. 

According to the Marvel Super Heroes rpg Avengers Assembled wiki entry; " Avengers Assembled! is a supplement presenting game statistics for 30 characters that have been members of the Avengers team, as well as 22 of their enemies, the Avengers Mansion, and the organization S.H.I.E.L.D.^[1] Avengers Assembled is a 32-page book, with a removal cover that has a detailed map printed on it of the Avengers' mansion.^[2] The supplement explores the mansion, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Nick Fury, 30 team members (two of these characters have additional secret identities, meaning there are actually 26 separate characters), and two Avengers associates.^[2] Each character has an illustration, as are some S.H.I.E.L.D. equipment and personnel" 

 Marvel Super Heroes rpg MH AC2  Avengers Assembled By Bruce Nesmith really has all of the makings of a first class campaign for the Marvel Super Heroes rpg. This supplement really sets the tone for the basic MSH rpg in spades. This is a sentiment echoed by Imagine magazine reviewer Pete Tamlyn; ""Avengers Assembled! will be an essential product for most players of the game".^[3] He stated: "Personal preferences aside, the Avengers are probably the ideal group to choose if you are going to run an extended campaign using MSH. There have been so many members and roster changes that your players are almost certain to be able to pick a character each without conflict over who plays which particular favourite, or someone getting lumbered with a character that doesn't suit their style of play."^[3] He continued: "There are a few grossly powerful characters among them, and I'd recommend that Thor in particular be kept as an NPC who can rescue the players in times of dire emergency, but the only real wimps, Wasp and Hawkeye, are among the most interesting characters to play. My only complaint is that many of the villains are also very tough, the sort of folks who take on the Avengers single-handed and are normally only defeated thanks to their arrogance and over-confidence, and will therefore be quite difficult for the GM to handle."^[3] Tamlyn concluded by saying: "Overall, a much-needed publication which will sell very well."
Sell well it did and laided the foundation for many of the Marvel Super Heroes rpg supplements that would follow.

What MH AC2 does so well is lay out the Avengers, SHIELD, etc into a usable format for both new players & DM's respectively. Sure Avengers Coast to Coast has it over MH AC2 in spades but Avengers Assembled came out first and laided out the blue print for the classic FASRIP rpg that we've all come to know and love. 
So is Avenger Assembled still useful today?! In a wood of course, this is a classic supplement & it's easy to use with all of the 1960's and 70's Avengers and thier villians!