Re: Thoughts on SPD
Not at all. In order for the characters to balance, one against the other, regardless of game mechanics, not game balance, just the characters. The slower character, would need a higher chance to hit and be able to inflict more damage, in order to balance out the extra attacks/opportunities that an inherently faster character has. The discussion, up until you added in the Brick and Martial Artist was more centered around "normal" speed levels.
If you want to start reaching up into the player character realm of superhero abilities, the Brick is better off buying up defenses to soak up the damage so that the Martial Artist isn't hurting him in the least. At which point, we've violated the basic tenets of this discussion and reached into game/character design philosophy.