A small foreword for this article, but I had no idea how to go about organizing this so it would be digestible. My hopes are that I did a good enough job for most folks.
| Misc Normals | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| St.L | 6 | 3 | 12 | +1 | -1 |
| Cr.L | 6 | 2 | 15 | -1 | -3 |
| Cr.H | 10 | 12 | 19 | -- | -8 |
| Misc Air Normals | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| J.L | 5 | 8 | 13 | +13 | +11 |
| J.H | 11 | 5 | 20 | +21 | +18 |
| JD.H | 13 | Until Grounded | 13 | -- | +4 |
Many of Frank's universal normals don't see much action outside of combos and progressively less so the more you level him up. However, the normal worth talking about a little is the Knee Drop (JD.H). Being that it is +4 on block it is deceptively safe just by appearances, but throwing out Cr/St.L's (both are safe to anything without an invincible startup) is a natural frame trap since it leaves 1-2 frames for your opponent to try and hang themselves retaliating.
Aside from that, Cr.H is his only low hitting normal which can be slightly problematic if Frank is alone since his this can make mixups a little hard at lower levels where pressure isn't as good of an option.
| Stand M's | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 10 | 3 | 22 | -4 | -7 |
| Level 3 | 10 | 3 | 22 | -4 | -7 |
| Level 4 | 10 | 5 | 22 | -2 | -5 |
| Crouching M's | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 9 | 3 | 22 | -4 | -7 |
| Level 3 | 9 | 3 | 22 | -4 | -7 |
| Level 4 | 9 | 7 | 20 | -2 | -5 |
| Jumping M's | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 7 | 3 | 22 | +19 | +16 |
| Level 3 | 7 | 3 | 22 | +19 | +16 |
| Level 4 | 7 | 12 | 22 | +18 | +15 |
The M's! The ones worth noting as far as frames are concerned are the level 4+ ones since poking with them gets you chip damage. At -5 you shouldn't be poking at point blank range since fast characters can punish you, but at a reasonably safe range (a couple characters out) you can poke safely without worrying about most punishes. However, if you're up in close range you can take advantage of the jumping M's since jumping normals in UMvC3 are crazy positive on block.
At lower levels you can still use J.M's as quick overheads since you can combo from J.M into J.S. The hitbox reaches very wide outside of Frank so it can also make a good poke early on.
| Standing H's | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 14 | 4 | 28 | -6 | -9 |
| Level 3 | 14 | 3 | 29 | -6 | -9 |
| Level 4 | 14 | 7 | 30 | -7 | -10 |
The St.H series for Frank is interesting. At lower levels (Sub 4) you have enough pushback on block to seem safe, but certain faster characters have a shot at punishing it which makes it unsafe for hitconfirming. Your option to make a series safe at lower levels is to go from St.H to Cr.H and cancel into Tools L. While you won't be positive on block you will be safe from most punishes.
At higher levels (4+) you can simply cancel into Tools L directly and get both positive frame advantage and some chip in.
| Object Throw | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 12 | -- | 35 | -10 | -13 |
| Level 3 | 12 | -- | 35 | -7 | -10 |
| Level 4 | 12 | -- | 35 | -5 | -8 |
Each projectile has 3/4/5 low durability points.
At 12 startup Object Throw is actually about as fast as your standard projectile which is good for when you can't get a Giant Swing in. It also makes it a good harassment tool from a distance, but the frame disadvantage up close means that's where you shouldn't be using it. Stay back and use it for chip and basic zoning and it stays safe.
| Launchers | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| St.S | 9 | 5 | 25 | -- | -7 |
| J.S (1) | 13 | 3 | 23 | +16 | +13 |
| J.S (3) | 13 | 4 | 22 | -- | +18 |
| J.S (4) | 13 | 4 | 22 | -- | +17 |
The J.S series for Frank is really good for just poking. Even at low levels a hit can confirm straight into a combo and the hitbox covers a really good area for Frank.
That about covers Frank's normals. He isn't exactly safe in lower levels so it helps to get your hitconfirms down before he gets leveled (should you have to fight at level 1 Frank) but later on you can pretty much poke around with M's without consequence. But if you're pressed for safety at level 1, know that canceling from Cr.H to Tools L is safe.
| Tools L | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 15 | 2(5)3(4)3(4)3 | 22 | +1 | -2 |
| J.Level 1 | 15 | 2(6)3(3)3(4)3 | 7 | +16 | +13 |
| Level 3 | 15 | 4(3)5(2)5(2)5 | 20 | -- | -4 |
| J.Level 3 | 15 | 4(3)5(2)5(2)5 | 7 | -- | +12 |
| Level 4 | 15 | 25 | 11 | +8 | +5 |
| J.Level 4 | 15 | 25 | 8 | +11 | +8 |
Tools L! Outside of the usefulness in cranking the hit counter up you can also use it on the ground to make typically unsafe strings safe. The more you level Frank though the utility changes in that you can use it for safe chip pressure with the range on it. If you count out the frames as well you can see that at level 4 going from Tools L to Cr.M for safe chip (barring pushblock of course).
| Tools M | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 20 | 3 | 33 | -- | -13 |
| J.Level 1 | 20 | 3 | 33 | -- | -8 |
| Level 3 | 20 | 3 | 33 | -- | -13 |
| J.Level 3 | 20 | 3 | 33 | -- | -4 |
| Level 4 | 20 | 11(1)2 | 22 | -- | -7 |
| J.Level 4 | 20 | 11(1)2 | 22 | -- | -3 |
Tools M really shouldn't be used outside of combos, being as negative as it is without respectable pushback will get you punished hard.
| Tools H | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Level 1 | 27 | 3 | 31 | -- | -11 |
| J.Level 1 | 27 | 3 | Until Grounded | -- | +21 |
| Level 3 | 27 | 4 | 30 | -- | -11 |
| J.Level 3 | 27 | 4 | 30 | -- | +21 |
| Level 4 | 27 | 5 | 29 | -- | -11 |
| J.Level 4 | 27 | 5 | 29 | -- | +21 |
Tools H would make for a good jumping poke if J.S didn't do the same thing. It's in the same class as Tools M, stick to combos and OTG with this if you need damage.
| Roundhouse Kick | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Roundhouse L* | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Roundhouse M | 16 | 5 | 24 | -- | -6 |
| Roundhouse H | 18 | 5 | 32 | -- | -14 |
*Lasts 25 frames.
Roundhouse M is a safe poke if you use it from half screen since using it too close makes it punishable by your average character.
Roundhouse H, while Frank's only other low hitting attack outside of his slide, is not safe for poking around with. It does make a good OTG after a Tools H if you're looking for damage though.
| Giant Swing | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Giant Swing L | 28 | 21 | 8 | -- | +17 |
| Giant Swing M | 38 | 21 | 8 | -- | +17 |
| Giant Swing H | 48 | 31 | 8 | -- | +17 |
If you have room and time (the startup leaves a lot to be desired) then using Giant Swing is a good way to get in. Having massive advantage on block and a combo on hit makes it a good way to go fishing for hits or getting in. However, Object throw makes for better poking if you're being pinned down with beam spam.
| Hammer Throw | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Hammer Throw L | 30 | -- | 10 | +15 | +15 |
| Hammer Throw M | 30 | -- | 10 | +15 | +15 |
| Hammer Throw H | 40 | -- | 10 | +101 | +15 |
Each zombie has 1 low durability point.
Thanks to the above note, Hammer Throw is really only a good means to poke out if you're at medium range where it's hard to counter with a projectile (or jump away) since the zombies are so fragile. The startup on the H version can be a little slow, but a free combo on hit is always nice and being positive on block makes it safe to throw out too.
| Misc Specials | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Snapshot | 15 | 10 | 31 | -25 | -27 |
| Bottoms Up | 60 | -- | 145 | -- | -- |
| Barrel Roll* | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
*Lasts 30 frames.
There isn't much to say here since these are all utility specials. The recovery on Bottoms Up is actually how long it takes Frank to puke after it's over. Do keep in mind as well that the Barrel Roll is not invincible, so while it is good for getting in it can be punished if predicted well enough.
| Assists | Startup | Active | Recovery | Recovery (Other) |
| Shopping Cart | 31 | 35 | 104 | 74 |
| Tools of Survival | 29 | 2(5)3(4)3(4)3 | 134 | 104 |
| Pick Me Up | 25 | -- | 177 | 147 |
Shopping cart assist? Yeah, that's universally the best option for Frank. Tools L might be a good lockdown tool but would only surpass the Cart if you have a high level Frank. Even then the added recovery might not be worth it.
Pick Me Up is on the low end of meter building assists. It recovers much slower than the more popular Morrigan assist and is only slightly (~3 frames) faster than Ammy.
| Hypers | Startup | Active | Recovery | On Hit | On Block |
| Blue Light Special | 12+2 | 62 | 45 | -- | -35 |
| Funny Face Crusher* | 6+4 | 5 | 21 | -- | -- |
| Survival Techniques** | 8+4 | 15 | 21 | -- | -13 |
*Invincible from frames 1-12.
**(Lvl3)Invincible from frames 1-17. (Lvl4)Invincible from frames 1-25.
Frank's hypers get much better as he levels up, although Blue Light Special has great utility as a THC it can be overshadowed by the others when he's on point.
Funny Face Crusher has full startup invincibility which makes it great for what it's for, an anti air tool. You can use it off of a Tools H OTG, St.L into a Face Crusher as a basic example for a reset though.
Survival Techniques, aside from outdamaging Blue Light Special, becomes good for punishes thanks to the good invincibility at higher levels. At level 3 it starts with a little invincibility during active frames and at level 4 it gets almost complete invincibility throughout the active frames. Having so much is good enough to beat out the likes of Iron Fist's 3, Wesker's level 3, and even Captain America's Hyper Star's and Stripes on reaction.
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That pretty much wraps us up for Frank.
In general with his normals you need to watch out to cancel your Cr.H's with Tools L to stay safe, but whiff punishes are possible if you're push blocked so don't get predictable with it. If you get in close you can use J.M and J.S (which at higher levels leads into full combos) to stay safe with their good hitboxes.
For poking Frank does very well at a halfscreen space by tipping his Tools L and Roundhouse M's, the latter of which will get you a combo if you're at level 3 or higher if you connect. Getting in from that space is also safe and painless thanks to Giant Swings and Hammer Throws as well.
Punishing is relatively easy at higher levels thanks to Survival Techniques and you should make use of those invincibility frames once you hit level 3 (even more so at 4).
Thanks for your time and look forward to a special Christmas article coming up soon.
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