So, some of you might remember seeing a scene from relatively recent Marvel Comics where Spider-Man just tanks a punch from the Punisher. Just in case you haven't, here it is:

Punisher punches Spider-Man weakly

Granted, Punisher looks weak and wounded here, but as far as I know Spider-Man normally has no Invulnerability or Body Armor-type powers, so he should still feel a punch from a human with normal levels of Strength. So I just chalk this scene up to dramatic license.

Recently, however, I discovered an older picture where three uniformed goons are attacking Spider-Man. I'm not sure what series and issue it comes from, but based on the art and colors, it looks like it may have come from the 1980s. In it, three uniformed thugs are attacking Spidey and one of them boasts having once been a former heavyweight boxer.. and he breaks his hands after punching Spidey in the guts.

Three goons attack Spidey

Unless Spidey was wearing armor under his outfit or something, that's twice Spidey has ignored blunt damage even though he supposedly doesn't have a power to do so.

So, one incident can be handwaved away, but to me, two is the beginning of a precedent. It can still be ignored as just dramatic license if you really wanted to...

But what if you didn't want to? What if you wanted to make some kind of official ruling for this kind of stuff?

This would be my suggestion: Characters with superhuman levels of Strength (Remarkable and higher) can perform a kind of Power Stunt. After paying your obligatory Karma for the Power Stunt, make a Strength roll.; if successful, you can reduce Blunt damage by a number of Column Shifts based on the result of your roll.

On a Green result, you can soak Blunt damage of up to -4CS your Strength rating.
On a Yellow result, you can soak Blunt damage of up to -3CS your Strength rating.
And finally, on a Red result, you can soak Blunt damage of up to -2CS your Strength rating

So, what do you think? Questions? Comments? Disagreements? Anything that I overlooked? Talk about it below and tell me about it!

very close to the Blocking rule in MSH rpg

Health is an abstract concept. Spidey's high FASE stats means he can take much more punishment than a normal human.

Just because he can't ignore damage does not mean he has to react like a normal human to a normal punch. He might get winded after 20 or 30 such punches, but one or two are not going to affect him.

I agree with Barna10

D&D hit points and abstraction go a long way in heroic rpg's.

Having to explain why a Marvel hero doesn't get shot by a pistol ( Ty- 6 ) 20 times before going down but rather represents the threat of the weapon ( sub-machine gun ( Ex-25 ) and their skill and heroism and luck that avoids the major injury.

He's tough as nails (high health), and as noted, your rule resembles blocking. I've read about 1000 spidey comics, he tanks ordinary blows MANY times, and sometimes withstands mauling's from exceedingly powerful foes (such as the juggernaut).

Even google easily comes up with answers like:

"Does Spider-man have increased durability? Yes he does, particularly blunt durability. Hitting Spider-Man is like hitting a block of concrete. He's so durable that being punched by unenhanced humans doesn't even phase him."

" How durable is Spider-Man?
One of the first things to remember about Spider-Man is his extreme durability. Despite his very human appearance, he is capable of taking blows from opponents which would kill normal humans, easily."

which are mostly true, most of the time

one could have given him feeble or poor body armor (vs blunt), but generally, as the others say, his incredible strength & endurance scores provide him with 80 of his health, which also works well enough in game terms.

I'd note he stands up very well indeed to abuse of all sorts, most of the time, too. I've been (re-)reading a collection of Roger Stern's runs from the 80's (some of the very best spidey ever) and even getting shot doesn't do all that much, even if he ignores the loss of blood, etc & exerts himself for quite some time thereafter. Or being electrocuted, beaten & taking a fall while unconscious onto concrete.

Then, atop being tougher than nails, his recovery & recuperation abilities are amazing as well. He's not wolverine, but pretty much all injuries are gone with a night's sleep or couple days passing. 5 minutes after said "being electrocuted, beaten & taking a fall while unconscious onto concrete" he is right back at the super heroics fully active as only Spiderman is, like it never happened. He's amazing indeed.

Going to have to agree with G.A.W. here in that this could very easily be explained by blocking. Spider-Man, using his significantly greater strength, tenses up and braces for the punches. A successful Yellow FEAT gives him effective body armor equal to Strength -2CS, which ends up being Excellent rank and enough to shrug off Punisher's best hits. And on a Red FEAT, Spidey could almost ignore a punch from Venom... so yeah, this scene with him downplaying Frank's ability, saying it'll take more than he's got, is entirely legit.

If Punisher had his game together and wasn't all beat up and possibly weakened, he might be able to still be a credible threat with martial arts or weapons. But that is just not what was happening there.

So, after reading through the replies over and over, what I'm getting is:

(1) My suggestion for a House Rule to represent Spidey soaking damage in the situations I presented is redundant and unnecessary, as it is already covered by the rules for Blocking.

(2) I should be a little less literal and be a little more flexible in the way I perceive how Health and damage works in the MSH rpg.

Is that correct?

Quote
Maniacles
So, after reading through the replies over and over, what I'm getting is:

(1) My suggestion for a House Rule to represent Spidey soaking damage in the situations I presented is redundant and unnecessary, as it is already covered by the rules for Blocking.

(2) I should be a little less literal and be a little more flexible in the way I perceive how Health and damage works in the MSH rpg.

Is that correct?

Not quite that harsh, but yes.

If you still feel as if combat is too brutal, allow a free defense every round (ie defense does not take up the character's action)