Wizkids Rules!

From the Detailed Combat Example in the Age of Ultron rulebook:

Hawkeye will deal 3 damage, to Jose, since he is unblocked. Captain America and Iron Man will KO each other. Thor and Iron Man will also KO each other, but since Iron Man has Overcrush, he’ll deal 3 damage to Thor (enough to KO her) and then the remaining three (of his six attack) goes on to damage Jose.

This 3 damage is combat damage, not ability damage, so it doesn’t trigger Captain America’s ability to spin up a level or gain life.

It says that the damage from Overcrush is "not ability damage". Does this mean that it cannot be reduced by Captain America, Super Soldier?

While active, prevent all but 1 damage to you from any action or character abilities.

On a more general level, why is the damage from the Overcrush ability not considered to be ability damage?

From the Detailed Combat Example in the Age of Ultron rulebook:

Hawkeye will deal 3 damage, to Jose, since he is unblocked. Captain America and Iron Man will KO each other. Thor and Iron Man will also KO each other, but since Iron Man has Overcrush, he’ll deal 3 damage to Thor (enough to KO her) and then the remaining three (of his six attack) goes on to damage Jose.

This 3 damage is combat damage, not ability damage, so it doesn’t trigger Captain America’s ability to spin up a level or gain life.

It says that the damage from Overcrush is “not ability damage.” Does this mean that it cannot be reduced by Captain America, Super Soldier?

While active, prevent all but 1 damage to you from any action or character abilities.

On a more general level, why is the damage from the Overcrush ability not considered to be ability damage?

Captain America – Super Soldier does not reduce Overcrush damage. Damage to a player from a blocked attacker with Overcrush is combat damage, not ability damage. This is due to the fact that Overcrush simply affects the allocation of already assigned combat damage (i.e., “it deals any leftover damage to your opponent”) rather than generating a new source of damage.

The relevant text from the rulebook and cards is as follows:

Marvel Dice Masters: Age of Ultron Rulebook Page 26:

Overcrush: When attacking, if this character knocks out all of its
blockers, it deals any leftover damage to your opponent.

-The Dice Masters Rules Team