Monthly Archives: December 2017

#1506: Medusa

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

MEDUSA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Born into Inhumans royalty, Medusa is a formidable leader who uses her steel-like hair to command power.”

Hey, more Inhumans stuff!  Why the sudden spotlight?  Did something notable happen with them?  Oh, right, TV show.  That helps, I guess, even if the show wasn’t everybody’s favorite (I like what I’ve seen so far, but haven’t finished it). Regardless of rationale behind it, I’m excited to get new Inhumans figures.  Today, I’ll be looking at the Queen of Atalan, Medusa!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Medusa is the third Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Legends release of 2017.  Like the last two, she’s not really tied into a regular assortment (although her husband Black Bolt will be a part of the upcoming Black Panther assortment).  This isn’t the first Marvel Legends Medusa; there was one previously released as part of the SDCC 2014-exclusive Thanos Imperative set.  That one sported a more modern design than this, and was a fair bit harder to get, so the second figure is definitely appreciated.  This figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  She’s largely made from the same pieces as the last Medusa.  She’s got a unique head and uses the mid-sized female body used for the likes of Hellcat and Wasp.  This figure swaps out the last one’s high-heeled shoes for flats, and also adds a belt piece as well.  While the hair is a touch on the modern side for the otherwise classically inspired design, it works well enough, and it’s a pretty nice sculpt to boot.  I only wish the hair was a touch longer, just so she had a slightly easier time standing, but it’s otherwise pretty great.  The paintwork is, of course, the main point of difference.  It’s fairly basic work, but the purples go together pretty well, and I particularly like the metallic shade on the accent pieces.  The mask is just painted on, but it works surprisingly well, and you can hardly tell this wasn’t the original plan for the sculpt.  Medusa doesn’t include any extras, but with the hair and everything, it’s not that big a deal.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I tried and failed to get the Thanos Imperative set when it went up on Hasbro Toy Shop, so I’ve been in the market for a Legends Medusa since then.  I was pretty happy when Hasbro announced she’d be getting another release, and was pleasantly surprised to find her at my local Walgreens just last week.  She’s a pretty great addition to the line, and I look forward to having Black Bolt to go with her!

#1505: Kryptonite Batman

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

KRYPTONITE BATMAN

SUPERMAN/BATMAN (DC DIRECT)

“When the Joker got his hands on Batman, he united him with a being of practically pure Kryptonite named Mr. Kryptonite.  Possessed by this other being and bent on destroying Superman, Kryptonite Batman is a deadly foe of the Man of Steel”

In the early ‘00s, DC decided to give a go at reviving their old Batman and Superman team-ups from World’s Finest, under the more minimalist Superman/Batman title.  It started out moderately well, with an at least enjoyable opening arc, followed by a few actually decent ones, before sort of becoming a place where half-formed Superman and Batman stories went to die.  I think the first telltale sign was the story that spawned today’s figure, titled “With A Vengeance.”  I’d give a synopsis of the story, but, as someone who read every issue, I still don’t know what happened.  Anyway, let’s just look at the figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kryptonite Batman was released in Series 4 of DC Direct’s Superman/Batman, which was a whole assortment based on “With A Vengeance.”  This was the main Batman-variant of the assortment, because you gotta have at least one.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  None of these style of figures were particularly amazing when it came to mobility, but the Batman figures were actually some of the worst, because his armoire permanently stuck out.  Seriously, dude looked like Randy from A Christmas Story.  This figure’s sculpt was actually a complete re-use from the basic Batman released in Series 1 of this same line.  Since he was just a palette swap in the comics, it’s not an unreasonable choice.  Like the two JLA: Classified Supermen I looked at a while back, this guy’s based on Ed McGuinness’s rather distinctive style.  In fact, he actually uses the same basic starting point as those two figures, albeit with a variety of more Batman-specific items.  Despite the difficulties with posability, the actual sculpt isn’t half bad, and does a pretty solid job of capturing McGuinness’s Batman in three dimensions.  Paint is the main thing that differentiates this figure from the Series 1 offering, but even on that front, he’s not that different.  He’s got most of the same basic detailing, but with glow in the dark green plastic instead of the grey for his body suit.  It certainly makes for a unique look.  The figure is packed only with a display stand, sporting the Superman/Batman logo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up a number of the “With A Vengeance” figures when they were new.  This one wasn’t among them.  Instead, it took me ten years to finally get around to buying him.  Why did I finally get him?  Mostly because Cosmic Comix was selling him for $7, which was a low enough price to get me to bite.  He’s goofy, and not really for everyone, but I enjoy him.

The Blaster In Question #0035: Atlas XVI-1200

Posted by Tim Marron in Nerf Reviews, Reviews and tagged with , , ,

ATLAS XVI-1200

RIVAL

Ok, listen, we all knew that Ethan is way better at this whole “staying on top of regularly scheduled content” thing, but I just moved so I think a little slack is due to be cut here. Anyway, to make it up to you, I’m reviewing yet another shotgun. I’m not sure how that makes sense, but it’s what I’m doing so take it or leave it. This week, I’m looking at the Atlas XVI-1200, named for the titan of Greek mythology, or maybe that one robot from Portal 2, cool guy either way. Cool blaster too. Lemme show you.

THE BLASTER ITSELF

The Altas XVI-1200 was released in 2016 in the second wave of Rival series blasters. One of the great things about Rival blasters is how unique they are from anything else, mechanically speaking. Inside and out, the Atlas is all original. It’s a big blaster, there’s no getting around the fact. It’s just about the same size as the Zeus, but it doesn’t feel like it’s meant to be a primary blaster. That might be due to the fact that it effectively only has 6 shots, each trigger-pull firing 2 rounds simultaneously, creating the shotgun effect. Like the Zeus, it uses the 12 round Rival magazines and in an in-line orientation, except instead of sitting in the middle of the blaster, the Atlas’ magazine lays along the top, loading in a very similar manner to the FN P90. The Atlas is spring powered and primed via the pump grip on the underneath of the blaster. As you would hope with any pump action shotgun style blaster, priming it makes a rather imposing ker-chunk sound. While the ability to fire two rounds at once is fun, it would have made the blaster a whole lot cooler if there was a switch or toggle that let you change it to single fire if you wanted. The Atlas has a short attachment rail on the top along with a front sight, but sadly, there isn’t a rear sight to go with it, so it’s a little useless. Of all things, the jam door on the Atlas is actually somewhat interesting for two reasons. First, it’s on the left side of the blaster which is odd for a side-mounted jam door, but also, the door isn’t connected to any locks. This means you can operate the blaster entirely with the jam door open if you want. It is cool to be able to see how the internals of the blaster work, but it does mean there’s a big gaping hole in the side of the blaster, and I hate big gaping holes in blasters. Unsurprisingly for the Rival line, the Atlas feels nice and solid in the hand, though the pistol grip is kind of small for a Rival blaster. This means it’s just normal sized instead of extra large like on the Apollo, so not really a problem, just odd. Performance is just a hair under what other Rival blasters achieve, but this is because all the others only have to deal with one round at a time. This is really negligible in the eyes of any younger siblings into who’s rooms you bust while wielding this thing, and the premise of getting hit twice adds another layer of intimidation. The Atlas XVI-1200 comes packaged with a 12 round magazine and 12 Rival rounds.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was really surprised when I found the Atlas actually in a store. I had seen it at Toy Fair and knew it was coming out but I wasn’t expecting to find it when I did. It was maybe one of the fastest purchases I’ve ever made since I guess at the time I was under the impression that they had only just come out and would be impossible to find for months like the Apollo. This turned out not to be the case, but I was still glad to have one.

#1504: Soundwave

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

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS: ROBOTS IN DISGUISE

Another Transformers review?  Already?  It’s only been two weeks since the last one!  For someone who doesn’t really follow Transformers, I do seem to review a surprising number of them, don’t I?  Now, as I’ve said a few times in the past, my all-time favorite Transformer is Soundwave.  I tend to be drawn to figures of him.  Of my four Transformers reviews on the site, two are Soundwave.  But see, neither of them actually transformed.  Today’s review fixes that little wrinkle.  Let’s roll out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave was released in the 10th Warrior Class assortment of the Transformers: Robots in Disguise toyline, based upon the cartoon of the same name.  He’s a part of the “Combiner Force” sub-line of figures.  From what I’ve been able to figure out from my researching the subject, this Soundwave is based on the characters design from around Season 3 of Robots in Disguise.  To the outside observer, this means he roughly translates to a decent approximation of the classic Soundwave design.  In his robot form, the figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and has 19 points of workable articulation (counting his articulated shoulder cannon).  Given how restricted the actual movement on Jazz was, it’s actually pretty awesome just how many strides Hasbro has made improving that.  His sculpt is nicely handled.  Very clean, and lots if really sharp work, especially on the head.  He’s bulky, but sleek, and I dig the overall style.  Sure, the “real world” application’s sort of gone out the window, but I don’t mind so much.  He’s just a really cool looking robot design.  Soundwave’s alternate form this time around is some sort of a tank or something.  I’m not 100% sure exactly what it is, but I know it’s not a walkman, which does make me a little sad.  I’ll get over it.  There’s a 14 step process to turn him into the whatever it is, at least according to the back of the box.  I found 14 steps to be a little more fluid than the diagram on the back indicated and had a little trouble getting him to transform at first.  I did get it figured out in the end, and he makes for an interesting enough car-thingy, I suppose.  Soundwave’s paintwork is decent.  Not super complex or anything, but it works.  I dig the various transparent parts, and the light piping on the head is definitely a fun touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Why another Soundwave, you might ask?  Because sometimes I just really want to buy a figure, but there’s not anything new at retail.  And that’s when the Transformers start to tempt me.  Sitting there, looking kinda cool, and easily attainable.  A while back, I saw this guy and almost bought him, but talked myself out of it.  I ended up not seeing him again for several months, but I was admittedly not looking very hard for him.  Anyway, I was at Target the other night, trying to kill some time while Super Awesome Girlfriend was looking for a few things, and they had this guy there.  Since I hadn’t seen him, and he was relatively inexpensive, I figured he was worth it.  He’s pretty awesome, and I’m glad I grabbed him.  And now I’ve fulfilled my Transformers quota for at least a little while.

#1503: WW2 Captain America & S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent

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

WW2 CAPTAIN AMERICA & S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENT

MARVEL MINIMATES

Despite the heavy Ultimate Universe bend of some of the early Marvel Minimates offerings, the slightly lowered profile of the Avengers characters meant they were largely pushed back until later assortments, by which point there was more of a move to classic stylings.  So, it would take quite a bit of time before we’d see any ‘mates based on the Ultimate-verse’s Avengers-equivalent, the Ultimates.  When we did get them, it was all at once, and in a themed Series no less.  Today, I’m looking at one of those sets, featuring Captain America and a SHIELD Agent!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

WW2 Captain America and the SHIELD Agent were released in Series 27 of Marvel Minimates, which was a whole Ultimates-themed set.  This was actually the variant set, swapping out the WW2-styled Cap for the normal Ultimate Cap.

WW2 CAPTAIN AMERICA

“The only known success in the government’s super-soldier program, Captain America and his sidekick Bucky fought against the Axis and Chitauri forces for years before Captain America sacrificed himself to save Washington DC from annihilation.”

Ultimate Cap is actually one of my biggest sticking points with the whole Ultimates vs Avengers thing.  I pretty actively despise the Ultimate Universe’s take on Steve Rogers, since it kind of takes away all the good things about the character, and effectively just turns him into US Agent.  If I want US Agent, I’ll read a story with US Agent.  Sorry, I’m getting distracted.  Anyway, I don’t hate the Ultimate Universe’s updated take on his WW2-era costume, which is what led to me picking this guy up.  The figure stands about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  He uses the standard ‘mate body, with add-ons for his helmet and jacket.  Both pieces were new to this figure.  The helmet’s seen some subsequent re-use, but the jacket was a one-off.  Both pieces do a nice job of translating Bryan Hitch’s design to the ‘mate form, and I quite like the sharp detailing on the mask and helmet.  His paintwork is pretty straightforward, mostly basic color work.  I do like the slightly lower-key colors on this one, and the detail work, especially on the face is pretty great.  The face is a little bit misaligned with the mask, but it’s minor, and you can get it seated a bit better with minor repositioning.  Cap’s packed with his original shield, which he can wear either on his wrist or on the back of his jacket, as well as a Thompson machine gun, and an extra hairpiece for an unmasked look.

S.H.I.E.L.D. AGENT

“Run by General Ross and later General Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D. is a clandestine military organization dedicated to creating or controlling the most powerful super-humans in the world, including the X-Men, Spider-Man and the Ultimates.”

Believe it or not, this was only the second ever army-builder in the Marvel Minimates line, and it was the only SHIELD Agent until Series 42 gave us a more classic design.  This one’s more a generic soldier type thing, as was the case in the Ultimate-verse. Like Cap, he’s built on the standard body, and he’s also got a helmet and a coat.  Both pieces are quite well sculpted, and I rather like the helmet.  His paintwork is a bit more involved than Cap’s, with the camo and the fully detailed buzzcut under the helmet.  It’s quite a nice attention to detail there.  He’s even got a cool SHIELD insignia on his shoulder, and detailing for the pockets on his pants.  I appreciate the level of work that went into this guy.  It makes what could be a boring ‘mate a good deal more interesting.  This figure’s packed with an assault rifle, which is a little large for his hands, but a cool piece nonetheless.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up this set new from Cosmic Comix back when they were first released.  I remember pretty excited for the SHIELD Agent and the army builder concept in general.  Cap was sort of just along for the ride, but in the end, I was pretty happy to have gotten him.  This is definitely a case of ‘mates helping me to appreciate a property I wouldn’t have otherwise.  Not a bad set at all!

#1502: Han Solo as Stormtrooper

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

HAN SOLO AS STORMTROOPER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Okay, so let’s talk about a concept that I really miss: mail away action figures.  Those cool little bonuses you’d get for collecting a bunch of proofs of purchase, or even just finishing a box of cereal.  Hasbro used to be pretty big on them, but we haven’t seen anything like this in a good decade.  It’s kind of a little sad.  So why not reminisce a bit for better times and have a look at one of my favorite mail-away items, Han Solo as Stormtrooper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Han Solo as Stormtrooper was offered in 1995 through 1996 as a Kellog’s-exclusive mail-away offer, featured on Froot Loops, as a part of the overall Power of the Force II line from Kenner.  This was the second Han in POTF2, following the basic ANH Han from Series 1.  As noted by the name, he depicts Han in his Stormtrooper disguise from his time on the Death Star in A New Hope.  Believe it or not, this was the first time we got such a figure.  Said figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation.  Surprisingly enough, the sculpt is all-new, and doesn’t use pieces from any of the standard Stormtroopers.  It still follows their lead stylistically, of course, meaning he’s still got that whole steroid abuse look going on.  But hey, if you’re gonna blend in, you gotta actually blend in, right?  He’s sculpted with a bit of a pose to him, like he’s right in the middle of a lunge or something, which is consistent with the rest of the line’s earliest figures.  The head is a slight re-working of the early POTF2 Han head.  It still doesn’t really look like Harrison Ford, but I can understand their desire for consistency.  I also really like the addition of the collar to his neck; that’s a nice touch.  His paintwork is fairly standard fair.  The body’s on par with the basic Stormtrooper, and the head with the first Han, so he’s certainly at home with his line-mates.  While the figure included no blaster (due to Kellog’s fairly strict no guns policy with their mail-away offerings), he did get his removable helmet, which looks just like the actual trooper head, and goes on quite nicely to boot.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure’s important to me.  Not only was he my first Han Solo, but he was also my first experience with a mail-away offer.  I was at the grocery store with my parents, and they let me pick out a cereal.  I didn’t know what I wanted, but they were kind enough to point me in the direction of the Froot Loops with the Han offer, and that was just tops for me.  Sure, this figure’s goofy and dated, just like the rest of the line, but I still think he’s awesome.

#1501: DC Bombshells Wonder Woman

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

DC BOMBSHELLS WONDER WOMAN

DC DESIGNER SERIES: ANT LUCIA (DC COLLECTIBLES)

Okay, I’m gonna start today’s review by saying this isn’t at all what I was planning to review today.  Today, I had intended to continue my look at DC Icons with Deathstroke.  So, just a few hours ago, I got my photo stage all set-up and ready to take pictures of him, and then…I couldn’t find his accessories.  So that was a no go.  Instead, I guess I’ll take a look at an entry from Icons’ pseudo-sister-line, DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia.  This line takes the work of artist Ant Lucia from his DC Comics Bombshells series and turns them into Icons-styled figures.  Today, I’ll be taking a look at Wonder Woman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DC Bombshells Wonder Woman is the first figure in the first series of the DC Designer Series: Ant Lucia line.  The figure stands about 6 3/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Despite the Icons styling, the height of this figure actually brings her more in line with the likes of Marvel Legends or even DCC’s earlier output.  That being said, Wonder Woman’s actually a little taller than the rest of the line, so I think they’re just going for a slightly taller take on Wonder Woman.  That being the case, she’s not that horribly out of scale with later Icons figures.  Wonder Woman has an all-new sculpt, based on her Bombshells design.  I’m picky about my Wonder Woman designs, but I’m a pretty big fan of this one.  It’s a departure from the usual, but unlike a number of Bombshells redesigns, it actually outs her in more clothing than she usually wears.  The sculpt does a great job of translating Lucia’s artwork into three dimensions, as well as doing a pretty solid job of integrating the articulation in pretty smoothly.  By far my favorite part of the sculpt is expression on Wonder Woman’s face, which shows her cackling with sheer joy.  There’s just so much life in that expression, and when compared to the likes of the bland expressions seen on most of the Icons figures, it just looks so great.  It’s really fun.  Wonder Woman’s paintwork is all around pretty solid work.  The colors all fit the tone and style of the original art, and everything is very clean.  I quite enjoy the blue highlights in her hair, as it calls back to classic comic art very nicely.  Wonder Woman is packed with three sets of hands (in fists and two different styles of griping), a big wrench, and a cinderblock linked to a big chain (which can even split at the middle loop, making it look like she’s just broken it).  It’s a really fun selection of extras, to be sure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been wanting to get at least one of the DC Bombshells figures since they were announced and released, but I was never quite sure which one I wanted.  I decided to grab one of them during Cosmic Comix’s 26th Annual Annual Sale, and since Wonder Woman was the only one they still had in stock, the choice was made for me.  I’m actually not upset about that at all, because Wonder Woman’s one of DC Collectibles’ best offerings to date.  She’s a ton of fun!