Fear Itself

> "As their fear strengthens, so too, does my power."
>
> - Cul Borson (The Serpent)

***Fear Itself*** is one of the four *Marvel* pinball tables that are part of the *Avengers Chronicles Pack*, released in 2012 and available for *Zen Pinball 2*, *Pinball FX 2* and *Pinball FX 3*. Based on the 2011 comic miniseries of the same title, this table explores the Avengers' conflict with Cul Borson, otherwise known as the Serpent, an Asgardian deity of fear who unleashes fear across the world with the aid of several transformed and brainwashed superheroes.

## Table overview

### The upper half of the table

At the corners of the back wall of the table are two pictures of Iron Man and Captain America, two heroes who were among those involved in the battle against the Serpent. Between the two, at the center of the back wall, is a plastic with a picture of Dark Asgard; below it is a portal, which can also function as a sinkhole that leads the ball to a mini-playfield (described later). The portal is usually blocked by a figure of the Midgard Serpent, a monster that has opposed Thor on occasion. A figure of Cul Borson, brother of Odin and uncle of Thor also known as the "Serpent" and the Asgardian god of fear, usually stands on the head of this figure.

Much of the upper half of the table is set in the ruins of Asgard. There is a large orbit wrapping around the major lanes of the table. At the apex of the left orbit is a hidden diverter that can send balls traveling up the right orbit into a lane marked with inserts of the letters in ADRENALINE, which sends the ball to the table's magnetic half-loop, described later. Beside the left orbit is a jump ramp with a gap, which loops around in front of the picture of Iron Man at the back table wall, and leads to an exit habitrail that sends the ball to the left inlane. Weak shots up this ramp that fall into the gap will drop directly onto that habitrail, skipping the loop. To the right of this ramp is a looping crossramp, which leads to a diverter marked with Thor’s Mjolnir hammer; the diverter alternates between taking the ball to the left inlane or the right inlane. Behind the entrances of these two ramps is a bumper area accessed primarily by incomplete orbit shots, although a diverter at the top of the orbit can send balls into the bumpers at certain times. Balls entering the bumper area through either orbit must pass through any one of three rollovers. Between the left ramp and the Mjolnir crossramp is a single standup target which adds letters to ASGARD and activates the Dark Asgard portal when it is ready.

Directly to the right of the Mjolnir crossramp is a center lane with inserts spelling LOCK. Shots to the center lane usually cause the ball to make a sharp right turn to a saucer that ejects to the upper flipper, where a figure of Odin, the father of Thor, stands. If the Dark Asgard portal is ready, the center lane will become a jump ramp that sends the ball directly into the portal to start a battle in the Dark Asgard mini-playfield. To the right of the center lane is a reverse scoop blocked by a pair of two lowering standup targets; hitting both targets lowers them both and allows the reverse scoop shot to be made. 2 additional, smaller standup targets are located at each of the scoop's front corners. Weak shots up the reverse scoop take the ball to the abovementioned diverter gate, while strong shots send the ball flying towards the middle of the playfield where it is magnetized to start one of the eight main missions. To the right of this reverse scoop is another jump ramp similar to the left ramp, which loops around the Odin figure and feeds the right inlane. Weak shots up this ramp cause the ball to drop to the center lane saucer. This ramp is also the last lane within the large orbit, as the right orbit is directly next to it.

### The lower half of the table

To the left of the left orbit is the Uncertainty Gate, a spinning gate that only rotates if the ball hits either end of the bar barrier atop it. If the gate is aligned horizontally to the flippers, it allows access to the magnetic, U-shaped half-loop that arcs towards the front end of the table, and back out to the other side, exiting at the left orbit entrance. Both ends of this half-loop are inclined towards its apex, where a hole awaits balls that fail to fully traverse this half-loop and returns them to play via the right sinkhole. Two magnets, one on the front end and one towards the exit of the half-loop, boost the ball through the half-loop. In front of the Uncertainty Gate is a set of 2 standup targets used to activate the magna save, and a figure of Skadi, goddess and ally of the Serpent. She stands between the left outlane and the left end of the half-loop. The right front corner of the right orbit contains the table’s only upper flipper, used to make cross-shots up the Mjolnir crossramp. Behind and besides it is a sinkhole that ejects balls to the lower flippers, with a large robot standing behind it.

There are four return lanes that spell THOR, two slingshots and two flippers. The slingshots contain two halves of the broken shield of Captain America, split apart by the Serpent himself. The outhole is placed between the flippers and the apex of the half-loop. In the space between the slingshots are hidden magnets that hold the ball at any of 8 different positions, one for each of the Worthy that the Serpent summons to do his bidding. Behind these hidden magnets is a long, wide drop target track where drop targets for each of the Worthy to battle can appear and move from side to side, with 6 different target positions to hit.

### The Dark Asgard mini-playfield

The Dark Asgard mini-playfield, placed behind the table, is a battle against the Serpent himself. Thor throws his Mjolnir and it becomes a missile that must be bounced around in a walled arena with a deflector paddle, such that it eventually hits the back of the Serpent a few times.

### The plunger

The plunger is normally designed to launch the ball across the main playfield, traveling up and out of the half-loop exit due to a closed gate near its exit that blocks a straight shaft that takes the ball up the orbit. This gate remains closed at the start of each ball and only opens when the ball must be shot back into play during the ball so that it travels up a straight shaft and up the large orbit. Skadi herself uses her hammer as the plunger to launch the ball into play when the gate is closed at the beginning of each ball.

To perform a skill shot, the player must plunge the ball with enough force to launch the ball across the playfield and pass through the Uncertainty Gate, to make one full run through the half-loop at the bottom of the table. A double skill shot can be scored if the ball is shot with such force that it can pass through the half-loop two consecutive times right after it is launched into play with no assist from the flippers. Skill shots are worth a set value of 200,000, and are available both at the start of a ball and after a ball has been locked for Odinsword Multiball.

## Objective and missions

The goal of this table is to defeat the Serpent's seven Worthy, who are brainwashed and transformed superheroes who came in contact with enchanted hammers similar to Thor's Mjolnir, and then eventually defeat the Serpent himself to end his reign of fear over the world, through seven main missions, one for each Worthy. To start a mission, the player must hit the 2 standup targets blocking the reverse scoop to lower them, and then make a strong shot up that scoop so that it jumps to the middle of the table and is magnetized there. (*If the player's shot is too weak, it will count as a shot to the Mjolnir crossramp, and the mission start procedure must be restarted as the two targets will come back up and block the reverse scoop.*)

After a successful reverse scoop shot, the player must use the flippers and the launch button to choose which Worthy to fight, with each choice magnetizing the ball to one of seven different locations (eight if Skadi is available to fight). After a Worthy is chosen, the Serpent will slam his hammer on the playfield and release the ball, beginning the mission. Each mission must be completed successfully without draining the ball, and completed mission can be repeated as many times as desired, but all must be completed once to unlock the wizard mode. Each mission also is divided into two phases: the first phase involves finding the Worthy, while the second phase involves battling the Worthy. To win the battle, the player must hit a drop target representation of the Worthy in 6 different positions.

Fulfilling certain requirements in the main missions will collect the weapon of the Worthy that was defeated. Weapons increase the jackpot values during the final victory multiball. After a weapon has been collected the first time, it can’t be collected again until the victory multiball has been played.

Non-Multiball missions have minute-long timers for their first phase, and 30-second timers for their battle phase; this timer resets with each shot. All lit shots during missions score 1 million, with a few exceptions noted below. A completion value of 10 million is scored for each successfully finished mission. The following seven missions must be completed to unlock the wizard mode:

* **Kuurth**: The Juggernaut is possessed by Kuurth, Breaker of Stone. The first phase of this mission requires the player to turn the normal ball into a stone one by shooting it into the right sinkhole. Then, the player must smash this stone ball against all four major targets: the Dark Asgard target, the 2 mission targets and the center of the Uncertainty Gate. Only 7 stone balls are available, and one is destroyed every time a target is hit, meaning that if the player hits a target that has already been scored 3 times, the mission will fail. After this is completed, the player must finish the mission by defeating Kuurth in a battle. Kuurth’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the mission "flawlessly", with no stone balls wasted.
* **Mokk**: Mokk, the Breaker of Faith, has taken control of the Grey Gargoyle and terrorizes France. To neutralize his magic, the player must use a stone ball to shoot both ramps and both ends of the large orbit without hitting a target, which will destroy the ball. Shattering 3 balls results in mission failure, but once all 4 lanes are shot once, the player must finish the mission by defeating Mokk in a battle. Mokk’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the mission "flawlessly", with no stone balls wasted. *(Note that for both Kuurth and Mokk’s missions, the stone ball can’t be saved by magna-save and isn’t impacted by other magnets.)*
* **Nerkkod**: Attuma, a warlord of the oceans and enemy of Namor, has become Nerkkod, Breaker of Oceans. The first phase of this mission is a 2-ball multiball involving one steel ball and one neutral ball, in which the player must make one full half-loop shot with the steel ball, either by shooting the Uncertainty Gate or the right orbit (the latter which will divert the ball down the Adrenaline lane) to dive into the water and chase down Nekkrod. After that, the player must use the neutral ball to shoot either the left or right ramp. After one of these ramps are hit, the player must make the same strong shot up the right orbit with the steel ball and then shoot the neutral ball through the other ramp, before making one final shot to the center lane with the neutral ball. If the player can do all of this without draining either ball, the player must finish the mission by defeating Nerkkod in a battle. Nerkkod’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the first phase of the mission within 60 seconds.
* **Greithoth**: Greithoth, Breaker of Wills, possesses the supervillain Absorbing Man. Greithoth's absorbing power traps one of the balls at the middle of the table, and the player must knock it free with another ball with great force within 10 seconds. The player must shoot both orbits, both ramps, and the center lane with these 2 balls. However, every 10 seconds, a magnetic burst from Greithoth will disrupt the balls' movements, which may lead to a quick drain and becomes progressively stronger over the course of the mission. If he achieves full power, the mission fails. After all 5 of these lanes are hit, the player must finish the mission by defeating Greithoth in a battle. Greithoth’s weapon can be obtained by finishing the first phase of the mission within 60 seconds.
* **Skirn**: The wife of Absorbing Man, Titania, has become Skirn, Breaker of Men. The player must make 3 full revolutions of the Uncertainty Gate, by hitting it once on the front and once on the back within 15 seconds. To fully rotate the Uncertainty Gate, a strong shot must be made to the back; this process must be repeated three times to move on to the battle phase. Skirn’s weapon can be obtained by making all three revolutions of the Uncertainty Gate without missing a single shot.
* **Angrir**: The Thing, a member of the Fantastic Four, has become Angrir, Breaker of Souls. The player must punch Angrir 100 times by hitting the bumpers, but the hit multiplier will increase if the player hits either the left or right ramp, up to a maximum of 5 punches per hit; this multiplier resets to 1x when enough time passes without hitting a bumper. After the 100 punches are made, the player must finish the mission by defeating Angrir in a battle. Angrir’s weapon can be obtained by reaching the 5x hit multiplier at least once during the first phase.
* **Nul**: Incredible Hulk has become the Worthy Nul, Breaker of Worlds, thanks to the Serpent taking advantage of his incredible World-Breaker ability. The player must make 10 full loops through the half-loop at the bottom of the table, either with shots through the Uncertainty Gate, or shots up the right orbit that will divert the ball down the Adrenaline lane and into the half-loop, to remove all 10 letters of ADRENALINE and try to calm Nul down and weaken him. During this mission, the magnets in the half-loop are player controlled; the left flipper operates the first magnet and the right flipper operates the second, meaning the player has to constantly accelerate the ball to collect letters. Afterwards, the player must finish the mission by defeating Nul in a battle. Nul’s weapon can be obtained by collecting all 10 ADRENALINE letters without the ball exiting the half-loop.

Once all seven Worthy are defeated, the wizard mode, **Skadi**, will be available to start in the same method as the Worthy missions. The player must battle Skadi, the Serpent's closest ally, by shooting all 3 ramps within 60 seconds (each ramp resets progress 15 seconds after they have been shot), before facing Skadi herself in a battle. This time, however, the mecha figure on the right side of the table will walk onto the playfield and block the ball, making it difficult to hit the Skadi drop target. If the player can defeat Skadi by hitting her at all 6 positions, a 3-ball victory multiball will start with all shots scoring jackpot values starting at 1 million + 500,000 per hammer collected; the eighth hammer can be collected during Skadi's battle by making all three ramps without their timers resetting, for a maximum jackpot value of 5 million. The player can attempt the wizard mode as many times as possible until all balls are lost or the mode is won; following the end of the victory multiball, the table will reset.

## Side modes

The following side modes can be started when no other modes are running:

* **Raft Madness**: The Raft, a floating prison where defeated supervillains are secured, becomes a place of chaos when the Serpent unleashes fear. If the player shoots either orbit a total of 10 times with the same ball, the Raft Madness side mode will be available to start at the right sinkhole; progress can be made towards Raft Madness faster by shooting the orbits in succession, potentially scoring up to 4 shots towards Raft Madness in a single orbit shot. This frenzy-styled mode grants points of around 20,000 for hitting any standup targets; the bumpers, along with scoring the current value, will also increase it by 2,000 per bump for the remainder of the mode. The points from Raft Madness are scored during end-of-ball bonus, and are affected by the bonus multiplier, meaning a well played Raft Madness or two with a large multiplier can lead to big bonuses.
* **Hammer Drop Hurry-Up**: Iron Man travels to the Elven Forges to develop counter-weapons against the Serpent's forces. The player can take him there by shooting either the left or right ramp; the player can make faster progress by hitting both ramps in succession depending on how long the current combo is (up to 4-way), but weak shots will cancel out the current combo. Once Iron Man gets to the Elven Forges, the Hammer Drop side mode will begin, and the player must spin the Uncertainty Gate spinner 30 times in 60 seconds to forge the counter-weapon. After the weapon is created, Odin must "bless" it, with a shot to the center lane to take the ball to his saucer. As the Mjolnir diverter becomes a gold color, a large jackpot is scored with the center lane shot, with a minimum value of 3 million; further spins add 100,000 to the jackpot, and 100,000 points are also added for each second remaining before the center lane was made. This side mode ends once either time has run out or the jackpot has been collected.
* **Spin-Off Hurry-Up**: If the player hits the 2 targets at the corners of the reverse scoop, a value on the score display will start counting down from 100,000; the player will have a chance to earn the currently displayed value by hitting the Uncertainty Gate spinner. Once it is hit, the value will be multiplied by however many times the gate spun. Accompanying the spinning gate, a roulette will start on the display that chooses one of various characters that appeared in *Fear Itself*'s spin-offs on the scoring display. If the spinner spins an even number of times (landing on a hero), the final points will be doubled.
* **Thunder God Hurry-Up**: If the player spells THOR and then shoots the ball up the center lane or makes a weak shot to the right ramp so that it feeds Odin's saucer within 10 seconds, Odin will turn it into a neutral ball that the player can send through the half-loop either through the Uncertainty Gate or up the right orbit. As the neutral ball isn’t impacted by magnets, strong shots to the half-loop will have to be made. Once the neutral ball successfully traverses the loop, it will be struck by lightning and can be shot into Odin's saucer to redeem the current hurry-up value (1 million points per full loop shot) and end the mode immediately. The player can also make more revolutions through the half-loop to try and raise the score value before returning the ball to Odin. If time expires, the bonus can still be collected once the player shoots Odin's saucer through the middle lane or a weak shot up his ramp.
* **Blitzkrieg USA Hurry-Up**: If the player hits the right sinkhole enough times during normal play such that the Blitzkrieg USA side mode is randomly chosen as a reward, several “1M” statues will spawn across the playfield and the mecha figure will activate. The player must collect as many of the seven 1 million point rewards as possible within 30 seconds by hitting the statues, before they are all destroyed by the mecha figure.
* **Dark Asgard**: If the player hits the target between the left ramp and the Mjolnir crossramp six times to spell ASGARD, the portal will activate, and the player can shoot the center lane to go through the portal and enter Dark Asgard for a showdown against the Serpent. Thor will throw his Mjolnir, and the player must bounce it around with a paddle inside a boxed arena such that it hits the Serpent from the behind 3 times without letting the Mjolnir go past the paddle. Finishing the mode scores 3 million points.

### Multiball

There are 3 optional, but high-scoring multiball modes that can be started:

* **Odinsword Multiball**: Odin creates a powerful sword to challenge his brother Cul, the Serpent. To lock a ball for the Odinsword Multiball, the player must shoot the center lane 5 times during normal play; four times to spell LOCK, and a fifth time to get Odin to capture the ball. LOCK can also be spelled by collecting “quick lock” off the random award. After 3 balls are locked, a 3-ball multiball will begin and the side ramp will be lit for a jackpot value starting at 4 million. The jackpot increases by 1 million with shots to any flashing lanes. After the jackpot has been collected, another will be lit at the side ramp once a total of 4 lit lanes have been hit. This process of collecting, increasing, and relighting the jackpot repeats until only 1 of the 3 balls remain.
* **Chaos Multiball:** As fear grips the inhabitants of Earth due to the Serpent's presence, chaos spreads at unprecedented levels. If the player spells ADRENALINE with 10 full shots through the half-loop at the bottom of the table (with a 5-second chance to spell 2 more letters by continuously shooting the right orbit), a 2-ball multiball will begin where one ball will be trapped flying around in the half-loop. The player can either hit it with the ball that was sent out the sinkhole with a shot to the Uncertainty Gate, or put another ball into the half-loop with a right orbit shot that diverts the ball down to the Adrenaline lane; up to three balls can be sent around the half-loop this way, and the jackpots are multiplied by however many balls are active at once. Once either the 10 ADRENALINE letters have all become unlit or all balls have left the half-loop, a jackpot (worth 500,000 x the number of ADRENALINE letters lit x the balls in play) can be claimed at both the left and right ramp. Once both ramps are hit, a Super Jackpot worth double the most recently collected jackpot can be earned by shooting the half-loop either through the Uncertainty Gate, or the right orbit (which diverts the ball to the Adrenaline lane), resetting the process of relighting the jackpots by knocking balls out of the half-loop until all but one ball has drained.
* **Avengers Multiball**: The Avengers respond to the threat of the Serpent and are determined to stop him. If the player shoots the Mjolnir crossramp, the ball will travel to the left or right inlane. At that moment, the player can boost Captain America's vigor by shooting the orbit opposite of the inlane the ball dropped into. If the player can shoot the other orbit or the crossramp immediately afterward, the vigor meter will increase by 2 boosts. Once it fills, a quick 3-ball multiball with balls colored to represent three of the Avengers will begin on the next shot to Odin's saucer, either by a weak shot up his ramp or a shot through the middle lane. During this mode, jackpots worth 1 million can be collected by shooting both the left and right ramps, and a Super Jackpot worth double is available at the center lane once both jackpots have been collected. All jackpots, including super jackpots, can be multiplied by 2x if one ball is locked in the random award sinkhole or Odin's saucer before they have been collected, and can be multiplied by 3x if two balls are locked in both Odin's saucer and the random award sinkhole; balls will remain locked for about 15 seconds before ejecting back into play. It is possible (but very difficult) to earn a triple super jackpot this way by locking a ball into Odin’s saucer with a weak right ramp shot.

## Perks

The following perks can be earned on this table:

* **Ball Saver**: A 30-second ball saver is available at the start of each ball and multiball mode. Once it expires, it cannot be normally reactivated. However, a very brief, free ball saver is given at the start of missions, whenever the Dark Asgard target is hit, or when the player performs a successful attack on a Worthy during the battle phase of a Worthy Mission.
* **Magna-Save**: Hitting both of the 2 targets near the entrance of the half-loop on the left side of the table will activate the magna-save, which can be used to magnetize the ball to an inlane, or away from the outhole, if timed properly. Up to 3 magna-saves can be stored and used, and will persist across balls. (*The Magna-Save only works on regular, steel balls, and will not work on neutral or stone balls.*)
* **Bonus Multiplier**: Lighting all 3 bumper rollovers will open up a chance to advance the bonus multiplier by shooting either orbit as many times as possible before time expires, up to a maximum of 250x. Each shot increases the amount of total bonus multipliers added by 1 (for instance, the first shot will only add +1x, then the second shot +2x, third shot +3x, etc.). The bonus multiplier can also be advanced by 5x as a random award, and is only good for the current ball unless a multiplier hold is earned from the random award.
* **Super Jets**: Hitting the bumpers 50 times during normal play will activate super jets, making the next 50 bumper hits scores 10,000 points. Super Jets can also be activated as a random award, and expires at the end of the ball if the 50 hits haven’t been collected.
* **Random Award**: Every time the right sinkhole is hit, a random award is instantly granted from one of 8 awards. These include: points (10,000 + 10,000 each time this is collected), startup of the Blitzkrieg USA side mode, multiplier hold, +5x bonus multiplier, +1 magna save, super jets, quick lock (for Odinsword Multiball), or lighting an extra ball.
* **Extra Balls**: Extra balls can be lit at the random award sinkhole from defeating 4 of the Worthy, lighting one as a random award, or by maxing out the bonus multiplier at 250x.

## Tips

* If playing for score, Chaos Multiball is the way to go. One shot to the Uncertainty Gate and five quick shots to the right orbit are all a skilled player needs to start up this high-scoring mode. Just remember that the jackpots won’t be valuable unless you knock the balls out of the half-loop as quickly as possible. Raft Madness might also be worth going for if you can consistently increase the bonus multiplier with orbit shots.
* The battle phase of each Worthy mission is a fairly easy task because 1) you have no time limit and 2) you get a free, short Ball Saver every time you land a successful hit on the Worthy. Take your time and make good use of flipper-trapping, and patiently wait for a chance to attack. This becomes especially important during the final battle against Skadi, thanks to the mecha moving around.
* Ball survivability can be difficult on this table due to the the table's unique design encouraging fast play over controlled play. The Magna-Save’s niche rules that only apply to the steel ball, and the lack of a consistent ball saver can be frustrating to inexperienced players. Overcome this by seeking out the extra ball from defeating four Worthy members (the most consistent one to get), aiming shots carefully when a long time limit is given, and mastering the bangback to save balls when the Magna Saver is unavailable or a ball other than the steel ball is used. The neutral ball’s light weight makes bangbacks a breeze.

## External links

* Official table trailer
* Table walkthrough by ShoryukenToTheChin (PDF)
* Official table soundtrack on Bandcamp (tracks 6 - 11 of *Marvel Pinball: Avengers Chronicles Soundtrack*)