#2546: R2-D2

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with A New Hope, All Time Toys, Hasbro, Power of the Force II, R2-D2, Star Wars October 4, 2020

R2-D2

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“While repairing his new droid R2-D2, young Luke Skywalker unwittingly short circuits its recording system, causing a holographic image of the young Princess Leia to appear. She implores the help of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and then disappears as quickly as she emerged.”

When Hasbro took full charge of Power of the Force for the line’s final year, they were busy running the Phantom Menace tie-in line right alongside it, resulting in a much smaller assortment of offerings. In addition, it was a grouping that felt far more like a “best of” assortment than anything, offering mostly revised versions of the franchise’s core characters, with more scene specific accessories that would eventually become Hasbro’s bread and butter for the smaller scale line. Among these figures was today’s focus, a variant of R2-D2.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

R2-D2 was released in 1999, as part of the first of the two CommTech assortments that wrapped up Power of the Force‘s run. It was the fourth, and final, standard-release R2 in the line. The figure stands 3 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. He’s notable for being the first R2 to add in the “ankle” articulation on the legs, which would become common place for the line going forward. It was quite handy for posing him, and meant that he could, for the first time, properly use his third leg function, a function that was added back in here after being removed from the two prior variants. It’s definitely a cool element. R2’s sculpt was all-new, and is really the best R2 sculpt to come out of the line. It’s not leaps and bounds above the others or anything, but it does seem a little sharper, and those extra joints certainly don’t hinder it. His paint work has some nice light weathering on the lower portion, signifying that he’s a New Hope version of the character, an he’s still all sandy. Also quite notable is the decision to go with a flat silver paint on the dome, instead of a chromed appearance. The chromed look was cool, but not actually accurate to the films in the slightest. This change-over was definitely notable, because it marked Lucasfilm’s licensing relenting on some hard-lined rules for the toys that had been in place since the ’70s, and had been the reason for the chrome on all earlier versions of the character. R2 was packed with a small holographic figurine of Princess Leia, to showcase his message from her in the first film. It’s a cool little piece, and one of the better extras for an R2. He also gets the CommTech stand, for those that care about such things.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve discussed before, I only felt the need to own one R2 growing up, and that was the first PotF2 figure. This one just wasn’t in the cards. However, I’ve been trying to piece together this crazy full set I’m working on, which means picking up all of the various variants. I gotta say, this R2’s really good. I have to go back on my last R2 review and say that this one was really the best in the line.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy. They’ve got a decent back stock of Power of the Force, and other cool toys both old and new, so please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2545: Cameron Hodge

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with 90s, Cameron Hodge, Marvel, Phalanx, Toy Biz, X-Men October 3, 2020

CAMERON HODGE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Once a mutant-hating businessman, Cameron Hodge had his entire body reconstructed into a biomechanical killing machine known as a Phalanx so that he could more readily pursue his murderous goal: the elimination of all mutants! Driven by hate and rage, Hodge is not the most stable of opponents – but his cybernetic abilities make him nonetheless a lethal one!”

Cameron Hodge was a good example of X-Men‘s ability to allow a recurring background character to really grow over the years, beginning as a seeming ally to the main heroes in the pages of X-Factor, before being revealed to be just as much of a bigot as some of the worst “normal” humans the mutants met. After his original arc ended with his demise, he was eventually revived by the Phalanx, and wound up playing a role in a few more cross-overs, as well allowing him to play the role of main antagonist in one of the cartoons best episodes (I may be projecting some personal feelings onto that one). And, since he did a bunch of stuff in the X-Men comics in the ’90s, of course he got a toy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cameron Hodge was released in 1995, as part of the “Mutant Genesis” Series, the tenth series of Toy Biz’s X-Men line. Believe it or not, Hodge was probably one of the best known characters in that particular assortment, which had some serious second and third stringers. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation. Hodge is based on his appearance post-Phalanx-assimilation, which was firstly a relevant choice for when this figure hit shelves, and secondly a far more interesting choice than any of his other designs when it came to making toys. Also, he looks like he’s got a thing of french fries on his head, and who doesn’t love that? His sculpt was totally unique to him, which I guess makes sense, because, really, who’s he going to share with? He definitely endorses the general bulking up of the line, which was getting near to critical mass at this paint. Hodge was usually depicted as a little skinnier, but given the shape-shifting properties of the Phalanx, it’s not a crazy concept. I particularly like the head on this figure, which does a solid job capturing Hodge’s particularly manic personality. Cameron’s paint work is probably his weakest point, largely due to an issue of translation of what’s on the page into reality. The technoarganic nature of the Phalanx just doesn’t look quite as impressive when it’s all just a rather unappealing yellow. Later takes on the concept would make it work a bit better. Hodge’s one accessory is a pump that plugs into the very large and very obvious spot on his back. What does it do? It lets him squirt water out of his gun hand, of course. You know, like in the comics!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As much as I liked “Phalanx Covenant”, I never had much interest in this toy as a kid, and as such it went un-purchased by me for a rather long stretch of time. I even avoided picking him up during my first real return to the line during college. It wasn’t until very recently that I picked this figure up, and it was mostly because I was already picking up a bunch of other stuff, if I’m honest. He’s not bad. Not very exciting, but also not bad. I’d say he’s better than I’d expected, in fact.

#2544: Soundwave

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Hasbro, Revenge of the Fallen, Soundwave, Studio Series, Transformers October 2, 2020

SOUNDWAVE

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

“Soundwave latches onto an orbiting satellite in his own satellite mode to listen in on communications about the location of a shard of the Allspark.”

The Michael Bay Transformers movies and I have a tenuous relationship at best. I’ve only actually seen two of them in theaters, those being the first one and Dark of the Moon. I have notably never seen Revenge of the Fallen, and I can’t say I regret that fact. With the exception of a single Jazz figure from the first movie, I tend to avoid the Bay-themed figures. That said, today I’m looking at a Bay figure, from Revenge of the Fallen no less. I know. It’s okay, lest you think I’ve completely lost all sanity, it’s Soundwave. So, you know, I’m not totally losing my sense of self.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Soundwave is figure 62 in the Studio Series line-up. He’s another offering from the 10th wave of Deluxe Class figures, right alongside Cliffjumper. This is Soundwave’s second Studio Series figure, following the Dark of the Moon version from earlier in the year. In his robot mode, Soundwave stands bout 5 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation. Of all the Studio figures I’ve picked up, Soundwave’s definitely the least posable. A lot of that comes from the nature of the design, which is kind of clunky, spikey, and restrictive. Also, speaking of the design, Soundwave’s has an interesting quirk: it’s not seen at all in the movie. In RotF, Soundwave remains in his alt-mode the whole time, with no proper robot mode. This figure is based on one that went un-used for the film proper. It’s honestly not a terrible design, and winds up looking less generic and bland compared to other Bay designs. It’s certainly preferable to his DotM design. Soundwave’s alt-mode, which is really his main mode when you get right down to it, is a satellite. As far as updated alt-modes for Soundwave go, it’s not a bad one. Certainly, it’s a far more sensible choice for him than a Mercades, right? Doing that to him would just be silly, right? Right, Michael? The transformation on Sounwave is really pretty simple, with just 10 steps. It’s pretty intuitive, mostly because it’s so basic. You fold his legs back behind his head and clip a few things into new spots. Not exactly rocket science…because it’s actually satellite science, so a-ha! Soundwave is packed with a stand to keep him aloft while he’s in his satellite mode, which is certainly handy. Sadly, he does *not* come with Ravage, despite his DotM release getting Laserbeak.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t like the Bay films so much, but I do like Soundwave. This led to me being very tempted by his earlier figure this year, despite my dislike of that figure’s alt-mode. However, once I knew that this version was coming, I had an easier time passing on that release, and just letting this one be my movie Soundwave. He’s not quite as impressive as either of the other two I looked at this week, but he looks nifty enough on the shelf, and I can’t say I regret buying him. Great, now I have two Bayformers…

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy for review. If you’re looking for Transformers, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2543: Blitzwing

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Blitzwing, Bumblebee, Hasbro, Studio Series, Transformers October 1, 2020

BLITZWING

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

“Blitzwing interrogates Bumblebee about the whereabouts of the Autobots”

Bumblebee fell into the same sort of territory as X-Men: First Class and Batman Begins, as a film that was really a reboot, but was pitched as prequel of sorts to a prior series of movies, just in case it didn’t quite work out in its own right. Since it was designed as a prequel, most of its characters needed to be characters not already used in the pre-existing franchise films, resulting in a slightly more eclectic selection. Rather than one of the more prominent jet Decepticons, like, say, Starscream, the film instead made use of the slightly less prominent Blitzwing, a former triple-changer repurposed into Bumblebee’s first foe, who bears an uncanny resemblance to another robot with a real history of being all back-stabby.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blitzwing is figure 65 in the Studio Series line-up. He’s a Voyager Class release, part of Wave 10, alongside Constructicon Skipjack and a re-pack of Scrapper. He’s the second of the Bumblebee figures at this size, following Optimus. Blitzwing is specifically designed to pair off with the previously released Offroad Bumblebee, as they both feature in the same sequence of the movie. In his robot mode, Blitzwing stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 24 workable points of articulation. He’s got a slightly higher articulation count than Cliffjumper, befitting his larger size. He’s a touch more limited on range on the neck, torso, and legs, but the arms are pretty decent. Notably, he’s got a joint in the middle of his right hand, but *not* his left. This facilitates him being able to pick up Bumblebee as in the movie, but it’s kind of odd it’s only on one hand. Presumably, it didn’t cost out for both hands. Blitzwing’s mold is an all-new affair, and it’s honestly not quite as solid a recreation of his film design as some of the other more recent Bumblebee figures. He’s not *majorly* off, but his general robot mode appearance is a little more clunky and rudimentary than the film’s design. The torso in particular is a fair bit boxier than the movie appeance. Probably not aiding in his accuracy in robot mode is his alt-mode. In the film, Blitzwing turns into an F-4 Phantom II, but much like Shatter, Blitzwing’s alt-mode isn’t an officially licensed recreation. So, he’s a bit of an approximation of things…sort of. It looks about the same if you squint, I guess. At the very least, it has a pretty good, generic “fighter jet” sort of feel about it. To the untrained eye, it’s really not bad. The transformation process is also a pretty intuitive one again, making it a pretty easy, and not too fiddly transformation. Also, no really obvious undercarriages either, which is always a plus. Blitzwing is packed with both a gun arm attachment and a spike blade to swap out for his hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Much like Cliffjumper, Blitzwing is one of those figures I’ve been hoping to get since pretty much as soon as I saw the film. Then began the waiting game until he was actually released, which only ramped up after I’d gotten the Jeep Bumblebee. Ultimately, he’s not quite as sleek or polished as some of the others I’ve picked up recently, but he’s still pretty strong, and certainly a fun figure in his own right.

#2542: Cliffjumper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Hasbro, Studio Series, Transformers September 30, 2020

CLIFFJUMPER

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

The Bumblebee movie did a lot to actually get me invested in Transformers movies (and honestly Transformers as a whole). While the film proper has a pretty streamlined core cast of characters, and we still got a lot of very G1-sequel designs, and a couple a really cool smaller roles for some fan favorites. I’m a pretty big Cliffjumper fan, and I’ve always been really fascinated by his reputation as a Bumblebee repaint, so seeing him pop up with a small but important role was really nifty. Him getting a figure out of it? Even better.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cliffjumper is figure 64 in Hasbro’s Transformers Studio Series line. He’s a Deluxe Class offering, hitting in the same assortment as RotF Soundwave, Topspin, and refreshes of jet Shatter and Jeep Bumblebee. He’s also the seventh Bumblebee-based figure to join the line. In his robot mode, the figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and has 16 workable points of articulation. At his core, Cliffjumper is based on the same body as Jeep Bumblebee. Given the similarities between the film models for the two of them, it’s not a huge shock, nor is it a bad idea on Hasbro’s part. It certainly helps that Jeep Bumblebee was a really good figure in his own right, so I really don’t mind seeing those parts again. He gets a health helping of new parts to differentiate him, the most obvious being the head, of course, which is a good match for his film model. He also gets a new chest plate, as well as some other tweaked exterior panels. These are largely to accommodate his new alt model. Rather than a Jeep or Beetle, Cliff turns into a Cybertronian car of some sort. We don’t actually see Cliff in his alt mode in the film, so he’s actually using Bumblebee’s from the opening scene. Given the similarities between their robot modes, the two presumably share a Cybertronian mode in-universe, and this is a good way of getting both the mode and the character in the line. I’m curious if we’ll see it re-decoed into Bee as well. Whatever the case, it’s a pretty decent transformation, and like Bumblebee, it’s not too fiddly. Cliffjumper is packed with the same blaster attachment as Bumblebee, which works out pretty well for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The oddity that is my ability to fixate on small things I want toys or meant that I pretty much wanted a Cliffjumper as soon as seeing his scene in the film. I wasn’t really expecting a quick turnaround or anything, and I didn’t really get one, so that’s good. It’s nice to actually have him in figure form. Sure, he’s not exactly innovative or anything, but he’s fun, and I’m glad to have him fill out the cast.

#2541: Spider-Man

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Spider-Man September 29, 2020

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Bitten by a radioactive spider, Peter Parker now possesses all the arachnid’s attributes—he’s the Amazing Spider-Man!”

Long-running, ever-improving lines have a pretty much unending need to keep updating those core characters, lest they fall behind and look out of place with the latest releases. Also, core versions of main characters have a tendency to get really pricey the further you get away from their initial release. In 2015, Hasbro produced a standard Spider-Man update for their newly rebranded Marvel Legends line. Dubbed “Pizza Spidey” by the fans (due to the slice of pizza he included as an accessory), he was the gold standard for Spider-Man figures for five years. But, even with two separate releases a couple of years apart, he remained fairly tricky to acquire for a decent price on the after market. Faced with the prospect of needing to do another re-issue, Hasbro instead has decided to re-invent the wheel and set a new gold standard for Spider-Men.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man is the final figure in the latest round of Marvel Legends Retro Collection figures. He’s been by far the most in-demand of the whole assortment, so one might be forgiven for not even realizing he’s supposed to be shipping with the rest of the set. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation. That makes him Hasbro’s most articulated standard Spider-Man (6-Arm does slightly edge him out, by virtue of his, uh, six arms), by a few points. But simply having a high count doesn’t mean anything if the posability’s not there, so how’s the actual range of motion? Not bad. His articulation design takes a page out of Hasbro’s Classified Series and Lightning Collection figures, and gives Spidey a ball joint/ab-crunch combo on his torso, as well as a set of drop hips. All of this is in addition to the highly articulated arms and legs from the 2099 mold, as well as an incorporating of that mold’s very useful butterfly shoulders. About the only joint I’m not super jazzed by is the neck joint, which isn’t terrible, but also isn’t quite as posable as I’d hoped. I’d really like to have seen the Classified-style neck joint crop up here. Also, another slight tick against the figure is one less about him personally, and more about the overall planning of the line. Hasbro just introduced the pinless double joints on a couple of their figures, which is something that would have finally fixed the issue of Spidey’s inner arms always having those jarring red pins sticking out. Sadly, this figure just missed the boat on those, and still has the issue. It would have really pushed the whole “new gold standard” just a bit further if Hasbro had managed to get that new styling on this figure as well. The actual sculpted details are pretty basic. He’s still using a lot of the 2099 mold, but with the new torso and head, which match pretty well to that build. It makes him more of a John Romita Sr-style Spidey, which is exactly what a number of fans (my self included) were hoping to see. On the color work, aside from the somewhat annoying peg issue I already discussed, this figure does also have a few issues with bleed over on the transitions from red to blue. Fortunately, they’re pretty minor, and he does look pretty solid overall. They definitely got the classic color scheme down well. Spidey is packed with a second head, with slightly squintier eyes (pushing the Romita look a little more), as well as two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in thwipping pose. No open gesture hands or pizza does knock him down slightly in my eyes, but this isn’t a bad set-up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a really big fan of Pizza Spidey…like a really big fan. So the prospect of replacing him was iffy for me. Sure, he looked cool, and all, but could he really be that much better? Is he really cool? Absolutely! Is he a great standard Spider-Man? Yeah! Is he a better standard Spidey than Pizza Spidey? Honestly, no. They both bring cool stuff to the table. The posabilty is better on this guy for sure, and I dig the Romita look, but the streamlining on the accessories and the fact that he still hasn’t fixed the elbow issues makes him feel like more of lateral move than anything.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy for review. If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2540: Green Goblin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Green Goblin, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends September 28, 2020

GREEN GOBLIN

MARVEL LEGENDS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“One of the few who knows that Spider-Man is really Peter Parker, the Green Goblin is perhaps the web-slinger’s greatest foe.”

Every good hero’s gotta have their nemesis. Sometimes you gotta have multiple nemeses, in succession, just in case people get tired of the last one. That seems to be Spider-Man’s deal. Perhaps his biggest contender for that nemesis title, however, is Norman Osborne, the Green Goblin…except for when he’s Iron Patriot…or the Goblin King… or Red Goblin…look, he jumps around a bit. Green Goblin’s really where he’s at his best, though. Subsequently, most of his toys are of that persona. So, let’s jump into the latest version of it, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Green Goblin is the fifth figure in the recent Spider-Man-themed Marvel Legends Retro Collection assortment. This is main stream Green Goblin’s second figure under Hasbro’s current Legends run; the first was in the Sandman Series back in 2017. While that one went for a more modern interpretation of the character’s design, this one instead opts for a much more classic appearance, akin to what Toy Biz did with their Legends Green Goblin, as well as more cleanly tying into the loose Animated Series feel of this line-up. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. Most of this figure’s sculpt is shared with the Sandman Series version. That one was a pretty solid offering when it was released, and it still holds up pretty well, so I’ve got no real complaints there. He does get a new head sculpt, which aims for that more classic mask design. While I appreciated the prior figure for trying something a little bit different, this is ultimately the styling I was far more interested in for the character. It’s got that really clean, somewhat cartoony classic appearance, but still has a lot of sharp detailing going on, resulting in a really strong head sculpt. Goblin also gets a new collar piece, which, while a far more minor addition that the new head, is still a nice piece, and helps to really complete the look just a little bit more. My only wish is that is was actually secured in place some how. Another area where this figure really changes things up is the paint. The last two Legends Goblins have been really subdued in their color schemes, and that’s really been my main complaint for both of them. This one just goes for full-on crazy bright colors, and I am just all about it. My only complaint is that the pupils placement on the eyes does seem slightly off from where it should be, but that’s somewhat minor. Goblin is packed with the same glider and pumpkin bomb as the Sandman Series figure, but also gets an unmasked Norman head to swap out for the mask. It’s a more calm and collected Norman, which makes it perfect for popping on one of the suited bodies, if you want a more civilian Norman to plague your Marvel Universe.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The old Toy Biz Legends figure is one of their best, and the first Hasbro attempt took a different enough take on him that it wasn’t really a replacement. I’ve been waiting for a slightly more proper replacement since, and this one ends up being a bit more up my alley. The classic head’s awesome, and even more awesome is the classic color scheme, which I’ve been waiting 14 years to get. I’m glad to finally have him!

#2539: Grey Hulk & Rhino

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with 00s, All Time Toys, Diamond Select Toys, Hulk, Marvel, Minimates, Rhino September 27, 2020

GREY HULK & RHINO

MARVEL MINIMATES

Last week, I took my first glance into ~~the hopeless abyss~~ Series 7 of Marvel Minimates, an assortment that’s not generally looked at as one of the line’s best, largely due to its overall lack of actual new stuff for the line. This issue is really at its worst with today’s offering, which in notable for offering absolutely nothing new, a first for a specialty assortment offering for the line. So, without further ado, let’s try not get too bored as we look at Grey Hulk and Rhino.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Grey Hulk and Rhino were released together for Series 7 of Marvel Minimates. Previously, both figures had been the “hidden” figures in TRU’s Hulk/DD and Spider-Man 5-packs respectively in 2003. Grey Hulk was also packed with Ultimate Spider-Man for an SDCC-exclusive pack, also in 2003. Rhino, for his part, was also paired off with Captain America for the Target/Walmart packs. What I’m getting at is that these guys were hard *not* to get.

GREY HULK

Grey Hulk (or “Franken Goblin” as Super Awesome Wife has decided he’s called in our house) is a fairly standard Hulk variant, and a pretty simple one at that. He’s pretty much the same set up as the regular Hulk, being the standard long-footed body with a hair piece. His hair piece is notably a different one than the standard. This one attempts to go for Hulk’s earlier hair style, where it was all just on the top of his head and he had the more prominent brow. It doesn’t quite work out as well as they’d hoped, and ultimately just ends up bulking up his head, making his body look even more puny by comparison, just further pushing the main issue that plagued the first release. The paint work on this guy is again pretty similar to the original, with a but of a color swap, of course. He also gets a slightly different facial expression, and one that I kind of like a little bit more than the standard’s. It’s a shame it didn’t get ported over to green.

RHINO

Rhino is an interesting character to pair off with Hulk. It’s not that the two have never fought, because they have, but it’s infrequent, since Rhino’s typically a Spidey villain and all. It’s also perhaps not the most exciting color pairing either, since both of these guys are mostly grey. That certainly can’t help with the overall meh feeling on the set. Rhino was another pretty basic ‘mate. He’s the standard body with an extra piece for his helmet. The helmet’s actually pretty nice, and does a solid job of capturing Rhino’s look. Like Hulk, Rhino looks a little scrawny without the add-ons to bulk him up, but it was the style early in the line. Rhino’s paint work was pretty detailed, with musculature on his torso, and even some slight detailing of his “hide” on the legs. That’s a cool touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember how I said you had to try *not* to get these guys? Yeah, well, I somehow managed to not actually get them for 16 years after they were release. I know, I’m a bit shocked too. Like I was mentioning in my Chameleon/Spidey review, I think I just got a little put off by most of this assortment at the time, and just never had the drive to track them down after the fact. Ultimately, I snagged them from All Time last fall. They aren’t that bad, but they also aren’t that exciting, and getting them as many times as we did didn’t help things.

#2538: Joker

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with 90s, Batman: The Animated Series, DC, Joker, Kenner, Mask of the Phantasm September 26, 2020

JOKER

THE ADVENTURES OF BATMAN AND ROBIN (KENNER)

My last Kenner Batman: The Animated Series review had me taking a look at one of the line’s patented wacky variants. Variants were kind of central to the line’s success, covering not just Batman and Robin, but also some of their antagonists. As I touched on in prior reviews, not all of the variants Kenner rolled out were “wacky”. Some of them were actually quite sensible, including today’s focus, a pretty solid variant of the Joker!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This Joker figure, known in the collector’s community as “Machine Gun Joker” because of the big machine gun accessory he included, was released in Series 2 of Kenner’s Adventures of Batman and Robin line in 1997. He was Kenner’s fourth animated style Joker, following the basic, jetpack, and pogo stick variants. He’s a completely show accurate figure, since Joker sported the coat and hat from time to time. The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation…provided the head hasn’t snapped off at the neck joint like mine has, thereby removing a point of articulation. It’s okay, years of therapy have managed to get me through the loss. This version of Joker sported an all-new sculpt, not re-using the parts from the prior variants. It’s probably the best old school style Joker sculpt that Kenner did, for what its worth, being a fair bit more on model than the earlier versions, and just generally having cleaner detailing and a more solid overall construction. In terms of paintwork, he’s again a bit of a step-up, correcting the issues with the bluish skin, as well as just generally getting the colors closer to their on-screen counterpart. The application is basic, but pretty clean, and just some of Kenner’s best work, again. Joker was packed with the machine gun I mentioned earlier in the review, as well as a bundle of TNT, complete with Joker’s face on it. Both pieces are a touch oversized compared to the figure, but for the time, pretty straight forward, and unhampered by the gimmicks, which was pretty darn cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Machine Gun Joker has the distinction of being my first Joker action figure, picked up when he was brand new, on a trip to the store with my Dad. If I recall correctly, I specifically went in looking for a Joker, since I didn’t have one, and this one was the most straight-forward Joker available at the time. He stuck as my primary Joker figure for most of my childhood, and I’ve definitely got an attachment to it. Honestly, I was pretty happy to find he’s just such a good figure when going back for the review. He remains one of my favorite Joker figures.

#2537: Peter Parker

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Peter Parker, Spider-Man September 25, 2020

PETER PARKER

MARVEL LEGENDS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Peter Parker is the college student & photo-journalist who is secretly the Amazing Spider-Man!”

The civilian identities of super heroes don’t tend to be the most toyetic things, so they don’t tend to actually get toys, unless their alter ego is really well-known. Fortunately for ol’ Peter Parker, Spider-Man is kind of up there on the list of well-known super heroes. So, since all the way back in 1974, Peter’s been privy to the toy scene. For the majority of the Legends run, Peter’s inclusion has been more through extra unmasked head sculpts, but now we’ve finally gotten a proper full Peter Parker figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Peter Parker is the fourth figure in the recent Spider-Man-themed assortment of the Marvel Legends Retro Collection. Unlike the three prior figures I’ve looked at from the assortment so far, Peter actually has a direct comparison in the ’90s Toy Biz line that this set is meant to be a throw back to, which featured a standard Peter Parker figure as part of its Series 2 line-up. That said, this figure still calls attention to the fact that these are comic figures that happen to line-up with a few animated elements by virtue of pretty much not looking like the cartoon’s version of Peter in the slightest. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation. Peter’s sculpt is technically mostly re-used, but will end up being new to most collectors, due to the Stan Lee figure that he’s patterned on not really showing up in most places yet. Honestly, it’s a pretty clever idea having the two share parts, given their usual similar build and the fact that Stan was pretty vocal about seeing Peter as something of an author avatar. But I can get more into that if I ever get the Stan figure. Let’s focus on Peter. In addition to using the new windbreaker jacket from Stan, he also uses Spider-Punk’s sneakers, as well as a new head and hands. The hands are pretty basic in their own right, mostly just getting tweaked posing so that they can hold his camera accessory. The head is…well, it’s an attempt at something, but I’m not certain it worked. They’re clearly going for a heavily Ditko-inspired head, which isn’t a terrible idea in its own right, since it’s a surprisingly rare thing to see. What I’m not so big on are the permanently attached glasses. They’re thick, goofy, and totally opaque, which really plays up the cartoony side of the figure. If there were at least the same head sans glasses included, it wouldn’t bug me nearly as much, but it feels very limiting this way. The paint work on this guy is probably the most basic in the set. It’s a lot of neutral colors. They look fine, but I was a little bummed by the stark white shoes; the ’90s figure had actual colors, and I wouldn’t have minded seeing those crop up again here. Also, they’ve painted the eyes under the glasses, which seems a bit silly, given that no one’s ever going to see them. In terms of extras, Peter’s got the camera I mentioned above, as well as an alternate spider-sense head, which is certainly an improvement on the standard head, but still falls into that slightly limiting category.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was quite fond of the old Toy Biz Peter Parker figure, and he’s definitely one of the best civilian figures out there. The prospect of an update was definitely okay by me. The final figure’s certainly not bad, and I can’t really directly fault anything about the figure. It’s just a few minor things that hold him back. That said, throwing on the previous unmasked Spider-Man head actually looks pretty solid.