Whether you know how to play the game or not, there’s something very inviting about HeroClix. That’s likely because they give you the chance to own small figurines of some of your favorite comic book characters. If you pick up a starter set, the packs tell you all you need to know about how to play too, so it’s a game that’s more accessible than, say, Dungeons and Dragons or Magic: The Gathering.
HeroClix is all about having fun. It’s your chance to see what happens when Juggernaut comes face-to-face with Cassandra Nova or, if you want to mix up different properties, Frodo Baggins meets Stone Cold Steve Austin. They’re also typically cheap enough that you can spend out on a few sets or individual figures without making you miss your monthly rent payment. But now and then, a HeroClix figure comes up for auction that’s both costly and utterly unique.
With the current animation on Disney+ and their imminent return in the two upcoming Avengers movies, the X-Men are hot property right now. One of the hottest of these characters is, of course, the fire-wielding Pyro. Typically an antagonist, he won over a legion of fans in X2 (2003), played by Aaron Stanford, and his brief fight with Iceman in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) proved a high point in an otherwise lukewarm movie. Stanford then returned as Pyro in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).
Nonetheless, a HeroClix version of Pyro will only set you back between $5 and $20 in general. That’s a decent enough price for such a small figurine. But a one-of-a-kind version, available now on eBay, is expected to make a lot more than that.
A current listing features a unique Pyro with a printing error – one that means its asking price is a considerable $999. This Pyro hails from 2002’s Infinity Challenge set, noted for being the “experienced version, #092”, but it’s not the fact that it’s over 20 years old that makes this such a cool item. It’s a simple mistake.
Whereas Pyro is part of the Brotherhood of Mutants cadre, meaning the base should display Magneto’s helmet as its emblem, this HeroClix figure has an erroneous Masters of Evil logo painted onto it. This is designated by Baron Zemo’s purple mask. The Masters of Evil debuted in 1964 and has gone through various iterations. But none of those teams have ever included Pyro.
This particular HeroClix has been in storage since it was first opened, so the paint doesn’t look chipped or faded at all. All in all, that makes this a decent purchase.
Mistakes happen. HeroClix has a good track record, all things considered, but you will find some errors if you go looking for them. Most frequently, however, these errors aren’t due to printing problems as with Pyro.
More often than not, HeroClix figurines are put on the wrong bases, so you might find (as I have), a Vulture figure that claims to be Annihilus or Korath the Pursuer on a base that reads “Badoon”.
An actual printing mistake, where the wrong emblem has been used but everything else is correct, isn’t unheard of, but they’re not run-of-the-mill either. That accounts for the considerable asking price on Pyro – but, naturally, it’s down to buyers themselves to judge whether the $999 price tag is worth it. Either way, this is a neat item and one we likely won’t see back up for sale for a while after it’s gone.
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