Rapid Response · MarvelCDB

This is an absolutely fascinating card. I don't think it's an auto-include in every leadership deck, but depending on the allies in your deck - this card is fairly strong. The main combo points for Rapid Response (RR) are currently Nick Fury and Heimdall. While the numerical advantages of these interactions are fairly tame, the actual benefits it can provide in practice are nuts.

Nick Fury's effect is powerful, and being able to activate it a second time (for a cost of 3) as needed, is good. You won't ALWAYS need to do this, since Fury will still leave play at the end of the turn, but if you really need the damage, thwart, or draw 3 - it's available.
Heimdall's effect is also pretty good. But unlike Nick Fury, Heimdall will stick around after RR resolves. This means you can play Heimdall for 5 (6 if you include himself). Activate effect. Get 4 uses out of him (ideally thwarting). Then rez him again with RR as a cost 2 (3 if you include RR itself). Activate effect. Get 3 uses out of him (6 thwart total for 3 cost). It's pretty valuable.

The above two were the most notable card combinations currently. But there are still some other good ones to work with:

Falcon's stats AND effect are good.
Vision's stats are good. His effect doesn't benefit from being replayed, however.
Lady Sif's stats are okay, but her effect can be very good.

Sadly, Rapid Response cannot be used with Make the Call to combo with out-of-aspect allies. This is because Rapid Response specifically designates "your discard pile".

It's worth adding that Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow will get significantly more value out of this card than any other hero in the game. Making Leadership Black Widow an oddly tempting choice.

Overall, it's a wild card to think about. The growth potential is certainly there. Each new leadership or basic ally that's released will need to be examined under this card's microscope. As will any hero's unique ally in their deck. Personally, if you plan on running this card, I would recommend 2 copies. Since only 1 can be in play per player, you increase the odds of drawing more Rapid Response than you need. Likewise, with only 1 copy - you risk never having it at all. The number of available targets can of course change that recommendation. If a deck is constantly popping Rapid Response, then 3 copies may be warranted.

EDIT April 3rd, 2020: With Spider-Woman now revealed as a dual-aspect Hero; this card receives a huge buff. Dual-aspect Heroes can utilize this card in conjunction with other bizarre card effects or allies. Combined with Team Training or Agent Coulson (which makes it an infinite).

2/18/20

RolandWright · 2925

Black Cat’s ability only works when she is played not when she is put into play. Otherwise great write up — tredavi · 19 4/14/20

Good catch! — RolandWright · 2925 4/29/20

How's about Maria Hill? It's a bit of setup, but you can possibly chain Maria Hill's death into a series of Rapid Responses. — Darthcaboose · 1 5/30/20

Maria Hill is certainly okay: She's effectively a 2 cost, thwart 4 (in solo). Great stats. Rapid Response turns her into a 2 cost, Thwart 2 (solo) - average stats. In multiplayer, she becomes an excellent target. With 2+ players in game, RR makes her a 2 cost, Thwart 2 each ally draws 1. — RolandWright · 2925 6/10/20

I wonder if using Shuri to grab this instead of a Black Panther upgrade is worth it. Seems tempting for sure. — Blackhaven · 12 7/19/22

Rapid Response can not be used with Nick Fury at the end of the round as it is being "discarded" and not defeated. The only time this can be used is if Nick Fury has been defeated during the round. — onesacker15 · 2 4/26/23

The idea isn't to use it on Nick when he is being discarded (as you said, you can't do that), it's to use it on Nick when he blocks a villain attack. He'll come back, you'll get his effect again (likely Draw 3 Cards), and then either have him block again if the encounter card is a villain attack or he'll get discarded as normal at the end of the phase. Basically you're turning Rapid Response into a Draw 3 (and maybe a villian block), which is pretty good even if you don't get to keep an ally on the field. — Erathis · 17 7/3/23