Monthly Archives: May 2014

#0196: Marvel’s Wasp

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

MARVEL’S WASP

AVENGERS INFINITE


Because I’m a fan of doing things in trios (this is based on no evidence. Don’t try and check that one), I’ve got one more Avengers review. This time around, it’s Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, with whom even the more marginal Avengers fans are probably familiar. She’s the long-time significant other of Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man/Giant Man/ Goliath/ Yellow Jacket, and she’s a founding member of the Avengers.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wasp was part of the first series of Avengers Infinite, Hasbro’s replacement for the Marvel Universe line. Jan’s had quite a few different looks over the years, and they’ve gone with her black and gold look that she had for most of the 00s. She’s a little under 3 ¾ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. Wasp is built on Hasbro’s most recent attempt at a base female body, I believe first introduced with Scarlet Witch. It’s an okay body, and it’s certainly an improvement on the initial offering, which we saw on Kitty Pryde. The arms a bit too short, and the legs are too long, but it’s an improvement, and progress is progress, I suppose. She has a new head and add-on wings. These prices look nice, and the head is one of the nice female head sculpts that Hasbro has offered. It’s nice to see a female head with more than the usual blank stare we seem to always get. The paint is alright. It’s not quite as off-putting as the paint on Grim Reaper, but there are a few spots of slop. Wasp includes a smaller version of herself, which is a sculpt reused from one of the Secret Wars 2-packs from the MU line. It’s been repainted in a costume that matches the main figure’s look. It’s a fair accessory, and it’s nice that she got one at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the previous two reviews, Wasp was purchased from Amazon. Currently, she’s the short-packed figure, which means she’s a little bit more expensive. I paid a little bit more than usual for her, but this is honestly the best figure of the character available. Not that she had much competition…

#0195: The Grim Reaper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MARVEL’S GRIM REAPER

AVENGERS INFINITE

Continuing yesterday’s discussion of Avengers, I feel it goes without saying that I’m also a pretty big fan of most of the Avengers’ recurring villains. One of my favorites has always been The Grim Reaper! He just got a release as part of the first series of Hasbro’s Avengers Infinite, the line that is replacing their Marvel Universe line. For more info on The Grim Reaper, head over here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like I mentioned above, Reaper is part of the first series of Avengers Infinite. He’s based on the character’s second look, which is probably a good thing. His first costume was a bit of a mess. He stands about 3 ¾ inches tall and has 29 points of articulation. He’s on the body first seen with MU‘s Commander Rodgers figure. This is probably Hasbro’s best base body, so it’s good that they’re giving it some use. He also features a new head and lower right arm to give him his distinctive “Techno-Scythe,” plus add-on cape piece. His pieces are all well sculpted, though I think the head may be a bit under-sized. Regardless, it’s a good sculpt, and does seem to have the appropriate “menacing” look. The paint work is alright, but not without issue. The most noticeable problem is that the blue highlight is inconsistent from piece to piece, which is quite distracting, and makes the figure look odd.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Grim Reaper was purchased from Amazon at the same time as Black Knight. I really like Reaper, and he was actually the main villain of the very first issue of Avengers I ever got, so I was definitely excited to get him! I can honestly say it’s not a figure I really ever thought I’d see. Would it be too much to ask for zombie and first appearance versions?

A Brand New Feature!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Backstories, General

Hey Guys!  Some of you may have noticed yesterday’s Black Knight review had a link to a bio and illustration for the character.  I realize that some characters might be a bit lesser known to some readers, so I thought I’d start doing a bit of a supplemental feature called “Backstories”  that will provide a bit of basic info on such characters.  I’ll be linking the Backstories in the appropriate reviews as they come along, plus they’ll also be available to view through the new “Backstories” tab at the top of the page.