Marvel Champions: The Card Game · Board game rules
Are allies characters
Quick answer
Yes — allies are treated as characters in the game, alongside heroes, minions, and the villain, and can take damage, be defended, or be affected by status cards.
Details
The rulebook consistently groups allies with heroes and enemies when describing game mechanics that apply to "characters." For example, status card rules state that "a confused hero or ally" or "a stunned hero or ally" is affected in the same way [p.24 — Status Cards], and the tough status card refers generically to "a character" taking damage, which includes allies [p.24 — Status Cards].
Allies can also take damage exactly like other characters: "Damage dealt to a minion or ally is immediately placed on the card using damage tokens" [p.12 — Dealing Damage], and they can be defeated in the same manner as other characters when their hit points reach zero [p.12 — Dealing Damage].
Additionally, allies can defend against attacks just like heroes, taking on the role of a defending character: "If an ally is defending against the attack, all damage from the attack is dealt to that ally" [p.16 — Hero Form: Enemies Attack].
Watch out: While allies function as characters for these purposes, they are not identities and do not have alter-ego forms, basic powers beyond attack/thwart, or their own hit point dial — their hit points are tracked via damage tokens on the card itself [p.12 — Dealing Damage].
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