Monthly Archives: January 2022

#3021: Batman Earth -32 & Green Lantern Hal Jordan

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

BATMAN EARTH -32 & GREEN LANTERN HAL JORDAN

DC MULTIVERSE (MCFARLANE)

“Hal Jordan’s life was changed twice by crashing aircraft. The first time was when he witnessed the death of his father, pilot Martin Jordan. The second was when, as an adult and trained pilot himself, he was summoned to the crashed wreckage of a spaceship belonging to Abin Sur. Abin explained that he was a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an organization of beings from across the cosmos, armed with power rings fueled by the green energy of all the willpower in the universe. Upon his death, Abin entrusted his ring and duties as the Green Lantern of Earth’s space sector to Hal Jordan.

In DC’s Dark Multiverse, on Earth -32, the green light of will has twisted an angry Bruce Wayne into something very dark and sinister. After the murder of his parents in Crime Alley, young Bruce is gifted with a Green Lantern ring, which allows him to fly and to generate deadly hard-light energy constructs. With no Alfred Pennyworth™ to guide him, he soon swallows his fear and pain and lets the void that remains corrupt him and the ring, unleashing a wave of darkness across his world, and now ours, as The Dawnbreaker.”

Hoo boy, it sure has been a lot of Marvel-centric Hasbro reviews around here lately.  I’m gonna be honest, that’s burning me out ever so slightly, so I’m voting to mix things up just a tad this week.  Don’t get too excited, though, because that doesn’t mean it’s all butterflies and rainbows.  No, in fact, I’m jumping over to the McFarlane side of things.  Oh boy, won’t that be fun and thrilling?  Well, this one’s at least half not-Batman.  So, there’s that, right?  Sure.  Without further ado, here’s some Green Lantern stuff, with a bit of Batman mixed in!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Batman of Earth -32 and Green Lantern Hal Jordan are the second DC Multiverse two-pack of 2021, hitting retail last fall.  They’re based on Dark Knights Metal, and follows up on the Superman vs Devastator and Flash vs Red Death packs previously released from the same cross-over.  Dawnbreaker is identical to his single release from 2020, for better or for worse, while Hal is a new release to this pack.

GREEN LANTERN HAL JORDAN

We’ve gotten one of Earth’s other Green Lanterns from McFarlane already (twice over, in fact, since there were both Comic and Animated versions of John produced), we hadn’t yet gotten Hal Jordan.  Instead, he’s exclusively available in a two-pack with a figure that you inevitably already bought when it was released as a single, over a year before the two-pack was released.  But I’m not bitter about that or anything.  The figure whose release scheme I’m not at all bitter about stands 7 1/4 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  From the neck down, this figure’s sculpt is the same as the John Stewart figure.  I was less than enthused by the sculpt when it was used for John.  I’m still not incredibly enthused by it here.  It’s still over-designed, which is a real bummer when it comes to a GL design.  As I brought up the last time I discussed the mold, it was clearly designed with both uses in mind from the start, so there are elements of both costume designs worked it.  The John costume elements are a bit less of an issue on Hal’s costume, generally, so it works a *little* bit better, but it’s still really cluttered.  The one new piece to the sculpt is the head, which is admittedly a much better offering than the one we got for John.  It’s actually kind of a decent rendition of Hal, and probably one of McFarlane’s best human heads, so that’s certainly an accomplishment.  Hal’s paint work is alright; the colors match those used for John, which is at least consistent, I suppose.  I still think the green is maybe a bit too dark, but at least there’s more of it to sort of offset that this time.  At least the application is pretty clean.  Hal is packed with two construct pieces, a boxing glove and a jetpack, as well as a large construct stand meant for both Hal and Dawnbreaker.  After the kind of uninspired minigun piece from John, it’s actually really refreshing to get the boxing glove construct, which not only actually clips over his whole hand, but also is just appropriately true to the character.  The jetpack isn’t quite as much his speed, but it’s still a little more inventive, as is the larger display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I do like GL-related stuff, and had generally found the early McFarlane stuff lacking in that regard.  The John Stewart really let me down, I won’t lie.  And, while I liked Dawnbreaker decently the first time around, I’m also not super enthused about having to buy him a second time around to get Hal.  I mean, Hal’s a decent figure and all, and certainly a better figure than John, but saddling him with a complete re-pack just generally sucks.  Additionally, as nice as he his, he’s at best a lateral move from the DC Essentials figure, much like Superman and Nightwing were.  Honestly, I kind of wish Hal and John were reversed in terms of quality, because I don’t really *need* another decent Hal figure, but I’m still waiting on an okay John.  Well, at least Hal’s a nice figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this set to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3020: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Extensive training in the Red Room made Natasha Romanoff into a warrior with few peers.”

Okay, so, I gotta be honest, putting that specific bio on this specific version of Black Widow is, admittedly, a little bit humorous.  I mean, yeah, she has trouble making friends, and it’s relevant to the movie that was being released around the time of this figure’s release, but, umm, the figure’s sort of in her specifically Avengers-branded attire.  From when she was with the Avengers.  Long enough to have specifically branded attire.  Which would make them…her peers?  I don’t mean to keep throwing wrenches into the Hasbro bios here, but, you know, I’m just throwing that out there.  Okay, enough bio-reviewing, onto the figure reviewing.  Would you guess I’m looking at a Black Widow figure today?  I know, pretty crazy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow was a Walmart-exclusive Marvel Legends release, initially showing up in the summer of 2020 to coincide with the original planned release date for Black Widow.  As with most Walmart-exclusives, it was not super easy to find, and this wasn’t aided by the whole pandemic thing.  Ultimately, she would up being offered up again through Entertainment Earth, and by extension through a good number of Fan Channel locations.  This version of Widow is sporting her grey jumpsuit and Avengers-branded bomber jacket from the early ’90s.  Notably, this same design was also the one used by her very first action figure, back during the Toy Biz 5-inch days, and it also showed up once prior as the variant color scheme for the Widow from the Legends two-packs in 2010.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Her sculpt is a mix of old and new.  The bulk of the body is the Phoenix mold, with the upper arms and jacket overlay from Rogue.  She gets a new head, upper torso (which was subsequently re-used on Firestar), and add-ons for her bracelets and belt.  It’s a good mix of parts, which does a pretty spot-on job of capturing this particular version of Widow.  In particular, I really like how the head sculpt turned out.  The hair really captures the look and feel really well, right down to the one lock in front of her right eye.  It’s honestly one of Hasbro’s nicest female heads, and certainly my favorite of the Widow sculpts they’ve done.  The paint work on this figure is pretty decent.  The bulk of the color work is via molded plastic colors, but the work on the two spiders is sharp, and the face and hair are particularly dynamic and lively looking.  She’s even got the Avengers insignia on both shoulders of the jacket, which is super cool.  Black Widow is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture), three different sets of bracelets (standard, blast effect, and smoke), a jetpack piece, and two rocket effects for the jetpack.  It’s a really great selection of extras.  About the only other thing I could think of to really seal the deal might be an alternate set of unjacketed arms, but that’s really a minor complaint, given the other awesome stuff included.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve got a nostalgic spot for this design, what with the old Toy Biz figure and all, so I was very excited when this figure was shown off, and immediately less so when it was confirmed as a Walmart exclusive.  I then had no luck locating one at retail, and kind of figured that was it.  Thankfully she got the second release, and I got a second chance at getting her.  I’m glad I did, because she’s a fantastic figure, and honestly my favorite Widow figure from Hasbro.  Just a really strong release all around, and I’m glad it’s getting a wider distribution.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3019: Tigra

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

TIGRA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Fast feline reflexes and a prehensile tail make Marvel’s Tigra a dazzling force to be reckoned with.”

How are you guys holding up with all these Marvel Legends reviews?  Ready for something slightly different?  Well, umm, the Legends aren’t going anywhere…just yet.  But, Marvel’s Merry Mutants have had their time to shine, so why not take a quick focus shift over to the Avengers side of things.  Today, we go for a more obscure selection, Greer Nelson, aka Tigra.  Greer, in her original super persona “The Cat,” is notable for being part of Marvel’s initiative to create super hero comics that would be more aimed at female readers, and would also feature at least one female creator per book.  The Cat actually had two, with Marie Severin handling the art duties and Linda Fite taking on the writing duties.  The series was sadly short-lived (as were its compatriots Night Nurse and Shanna The She-Devil), lasting only four issues before being cancelled due to low sales.  Greer was revamped in 1974, now as Tigra, under Marvel’s monsters banner.  Following that, she made her way to the Avengers, notably serving as a founding member and long-term fixture of their West Coast spin-off.  She’s not been a stranger to action figures, though it’s been a little while.  She’s gotten one more, courtesy of Hasbro, which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tigra is the most recent release in the Retro Collection sub-branding of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  She follows up closely on the Hercules figure, and is likewise a Fan Channel-exclusive one-off release.  She slipped in right at the end of last year.  This marks Tigra’s second time as a Legends release, following up on Hasbro’s own release of her from the Nemesis Series, way back in 2009.  The line’s certainly come a long way since then.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  The last Legends Tigra was saddled with the articulation typical of the line’s worst era, which was a real shame.  Thankfully, this time around she’s hitting during perhaps the line’s best era from an articulation standpoint.  She’s got a really impressive range of motion, as well as double joints on both the elbows and knees.  The elbows and knees are also using the pinless construction, allowing for a much better appearance aesthetically.  Tigra is sporting an all-new sculpt, and a pretty strong one at that.  There are two head sculpts included here, one more feral and dynamic, and one more calm and human.  Both are impressive, but I definitely find myself more drawn to the dynamic sculpt.  The body sculpt is clean, with a balanced set of proportions, matching up with her usual depictions in the comics.  There’s some great attention to detail, notably there are even little tufts of fur at a few key points, which really sells the whole cat lady thing pretty effectively.  The color work on this release is a vast improvement on the last one.  Tigra is supposed to be orange…you know, like a tiger.  The first one was really more of a pale orange/yellow, but this one is the more appropriate vibrant shade.  The paint work on her is clean, sharp, and well applied, making for quite an eye catching look.  Tigra is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in a claw-bearing pose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

A combination of an early love of West Coast Avengers, as well as being one of the few people on the planet to actually like United They Stand has given me quite an appreciation of Tigra as a character.  I went out and spent a rather high amount (at the time, anyway) for the last one, and I was always disappointed by how lackluster it wound up being.  This one is a much, much better release, and I’m really glad to have gotten a figure that seems to really give the character her due after all this time.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3018: Colossus

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

COLOSSUS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In the apocalyptic world of Age of…Apocalypse…clever there, the usually gentle giant Piotr Rasputin is re-imagined into a tough as nails drill sergeant, who spends his portion of the cross-over training child soldiers to take down Apocalypse’s regime.  Perhaps not the most noble effort, but I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.  Likewise, Colossus’ still building relationship with Kitty Pryde became a full-fledged marriage in this alternate universe, as the pair of them became instructors for the AoA versions of Generation X.  Like Kitty, Colossus has previously been without any toy coverage, but Hasbro’s addressed that in this assortment as well.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Colossus is the Build-A-Figure for the eponymous series of Marvel Legends, serving as the line’s second AoA-themed BaF.  Prior Colossus figures in the line have been just shy of the scale for a BaF treatment, but the AoA version of the character was notably larger than the standard universe version, making the larger figure justified here.  The figure stands a little over 8 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Despite his larger size, this figure is actually a little more posable than the smaller Colossus figures, even getting full double-joint movement at the elbows and knees.  It’s impressive the amount of movement they were able to get into him, even with all the armor and everything.  AoA Colossus is an all-new sculpt, and he’s quite frankly the most impressive sculpt in this whole assortment.  There’s just a ton of detail work, especially with the banded metal texturing of his skin.  There’s also a real intensity to the expression on the face, which seems perfect for this version of the character.  The only part of the construction I’m not super crazy about is the way the shoulder strap works, since it’s not really secured in any way, so it rattles around a lot.  The suspenders help keep it from being totally loose, but a peg of some sort to hold it to the shoulder would go a long way.  His color work is largely handled with molded colors for the plastic, which works well for him.  The paint work that’s there is cleanly applied, and brings out some of the necessary details in the sculpt.  Colossus is a Build-A-Figure, so he’s really an accessory himself, but he nevertheless gets two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in open gesture.  This matches with the set-up the the 80th Colossus figure got, which is nice to see continue.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Toy Biz Legends Colossus kind of started the character’s Legends run off with a pretty high bar to clear.  Thus far, Hasbro’s done everything in there power to make sure their own Colossus releases clear that bar.  I’ve been a fan of all of them so far, but this is Hasbro’s best version of the character so far.  As much as I appreciate the 80th release for what he is, I’d honestly love to see a mainstream version of the character with this level of quality.  Until then, this figure is really awesome, and not only my favorite of this particular assortment, but honestly my favorite of the AoA Legends as a whole.

While I was able to enjoy the first AoA assortment when it hit, it was, admittedly, focused a lot on the portions of the crossover I’m less invested in.  I was really hoping for a second assortment that was more focused on my own personal interests from the story, and this assortment really delivered at that.  Colossus is the real star piece here, no doubt about that.  Rogue was definitely a surprise hit for me, and is probably next in the ranking, though Sabretooth certainly gives her a run for the spot.  Magneto, Cyclops, and Shadowcat are all figures that don’t *quite* stick the landing, but are still really solid figures of character designs I really wanted to see.  Iceman and Legion are both characters that weren’t as high on my list personally, but the figures turned out really well.  In general, this is just a really strong assortment, and to me, it really makes the whole set with the first assortment a more cohesive thing in general.

#3017: Legion

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews

LEGION

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The son of Charles Xavier, Legion got his incredible mind from his legendary father, but must balance unimaginable mutant powers with his mental illness.”

First introduced in the pages of New Mutants in 1985, Charles Xavier’s previously unknown son David Haller, better known as Legion, is the character most important to the “Age of Apocalypse” story, while also one who is completely absent from it.  In “Legion Quest,” the lead up to the cross over, Legion, who is afflicted by multiple personalities which can cause him great imbalances, believes he has achieved sanity, and determines that the only way to achieve his father’s goal of peace is to go back in time and murder Magneto before the two have their schism.  The X-Men attempt to stop him, and the Xavier of the past is killed in the process, creating the world of “Age of Apocalypse,” and also erasing Legion himself from existence, since his father died before David’s conception in this reality.  He is nevertheless essential to the story, so a tie-in assortment is kind of the perfect time to do a Legion figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Legion is figure 6 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends, and is the only non-AoA universe figure in the set.  This marks his very first time as an action figure, which is a pretty solid accomplishment.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall (counting that insanity that is his hair), and he has 32 points of articulation.  Like yesterday’s Iceman, Legion is a combination of a few pre-existing parts, as well as some brand new ones.  His lower half is re-used from Shang-Chi, while his arms are shared with the Pizza Spidey mold.  The head and torso are brand-new to this figure.  His design is clearly most inspired by his “Legion Quest” appearance, which makes sense, seeing as it’s the closest tie-in to the rest of the assortment.  It also presents a Legion that has his most distinctive elements, while still fitting in alright with the more standardized styling of the larger Legends line.  The sculpt is a pretty decent offering for the most part.  The new head certainly gets the hair down well, and while I might have liked a slightly crazier expression, he does at least have that slight glint in his eye of being un-hinged.  The re-used parts are generally pretty decent, though the Shang-Chi legs do result in him having some very muscular and defined legs, while also being rather scrawny up top.  Legion certainly never skips leg day.  They’ve reworked Legion’s feet since Shang-Chi, so now they have peg holes, which is a positive change.  Legion’s paint work is overall rather basic, but there’s some pretty cool accent work that’s been done on his clothes.  It gives them a slightly more dynamic appearance, and prevents him from having too many swathes of just the same color.  Legion is packed with two sets of hands, fists and open gesture, as well as the right leg to Colossus.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Legion isn’t a character I ever paid much attention to, largely due to him being outside of the eras of X-books I really read.  From the outside, he seemed maybe a little hard to approach, but I’ve enjoyed some of his more recent appearances in the Kroaka-era X-books.  His figure was pretty good timing for me on that front.  While he’s not the assortment’s standout or anything, he’s a good take on a character that’s had no figures prior, and one that I’m sure will go far for the character.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3016: Iceman

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

ICEMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Iceman joins with the X-Men to stop Apocalypse and prevent the catastrophic culling of humankind in a harsh dystopian future.”

A jovial and somewhat silly character in the mainstream universe, the “Age of Apocalypse” universe made Iceman into a far more serious character, with a much more effective mastery over his powers.  Elements of this were first shown before AoA, when Bobby’s body was taken over by Emma Frost for a period of time, and were built on post-AoA when the mainstream Bobby decided to try to train more seriously with his abilities, but they got a very definite focus in AoA.  The AoA Iceman is not without toy treatment, but rarely in such an explicit fashion, at least until now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iceman is figure 5 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  This marks the AoA version’s first time as a Legend, as well as the first time a figure has been actually labeled as an AoA Iceman, rather than just being inspired by him.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Iceman is a mix of old and new parts, at his core being built around the Bucky Cap base body.  The lower arms and legs are shared with the Juggernaut Series version of Iceman (who was actually built on the Pizza Spidey body, not Bucky Cap), and he gets a new torso, shoulders, and head.  While others in the set have been far more dialed-in on their specifically ’90s crossover designs, Iceman is notably based more on his more recent appearances, from the handful of revisits to the AoA universe.  It’s not a bad look, but it does mean he clashes ever so slightly with everything else we’ve gotten.  The biggest change is really the hair, which hung forward a little more on the earlier illustrations.  I personally would have preferred he stick a little more to the ’90s appearances, but this one translates well enough.  This release of Iceman is far bluer than the last couple of Legends releases, going for a rather dark shade that pretty closely matches the old “Muntant Armor” figure, which served as his ’90s AoA figure.  I can certainly dig that.  There’s some slight frost detailing airbrushed in a few places, which works out pretty well.  I do wish there were some of it on the face, again like the ’90s figure, but the overall application works nicely.  Iceman is packed with an alternate set of spikier hands, borrowed from Carnage, as well as the right arm to the Colossus figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

AoA Iceman’s not a major change-up from the standard in terms of design, but that actually gives his figure some extra appeal, since it means he’s got multiple purposes.  I’ve always liked the spikier Iceman look, so this one’s pretty cool.  I wouldn’t mind seeing a tweak on this mold that does the 616 version’s spiky look, but in the meantime, this one’s a pretty solid figure that does what he needs to, and adds a little more depth to the AoA display.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3015: Shadowcat

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

SHADOWCAT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After being captured by Sabretooth, Katherine Pryde becomes the youngest member of the X-Men and trains to become the team’s ghost assassin.”

While generally one of the team’s more peaceful and friendly members in the mainstream universe, Kitty Pryde of the “Age of Apocalypse” universe is a far harder-edged character, as today’s figure’s bio hints at above.  She was one of a number of characters to become more edgy and extreme in this altered universe, but perhaps the sharpest turn, at least of the character’s that still remained “good”-aligned.  She’s previously been one of the characters untouched by toy treatment, but that changed with the most recent assortment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shadowcat is figure 4 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s obviously the first AoA-version of the character, but also the fourth Legends release for Kitty, the third under the Hasbro banner.  The figure stands a little under 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  At first glance, she appears to be an all-new sculpt, but her legs and feet are actually a rather clever re-use of Lady Deathstrike’s legs.  Apart from those pieces, she’s all-new, though.  Generally, it’s a pretty good sculpt.  The proportions on the body are well-balanced, and the details are sharp and clean.  The head has been a point of contention since the figure was shown off.  Much like last year’s Invisible Woman, the face has some definitely odd qualities to it, especially given how the expression works out.  Ultimately, much like Sue, this is a sculpt that looks a lot better in person than it did in the prototype shots.  It’s still a little wonky, but from proper angles, it’s actually not a bad sculpt at all.  The color work on Kitty is pretty strong.  The paint application is cleanly handled, and I really like how the metallic blue of her costume turned out.  Shadowcat is packed with two sets of hands, one set of fists and one of open gesture, as well as two pairs of gauntlets, one set with the claws extended, and the other without.  She also gets the torso and pelvis of the Colossus Build-A-Figure, which is by far the largest piece, offsetting that she’s the smallest of the individual figures.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kitty is a character that certainly ranks highly for my selection of favorite X-Men, and while the AoA interpretation isn’t really much like the character I like, I can still appreciate the distinctly divergent take on the character for the purposes of the story.  I also do kind of dig the changed up design, so I was certainly happy to see her crop up here.  The face is a little weird, but the figure is otherwise quite well-rendered, and it’s always cool to get a design we haven’t seen in toy form before.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3014: Sabretooth

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

SABRETOOTH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After betraying Apocalypse and making his escape, Sabretooth joins with the mutant rebels the X-Men to fight for good in a harsh dystopian future.”

While the mainstream counterpart to Magneto had flirted with being on the side of good before the “Age of Apocalypse” crossover, before his heroic turn in AoA, Victor Creed, aka Sabretooth, had been a pretty irredeemable villain, with no real signs of any other intentions.  So, it was a pretty major change, and one of the crossover’s best story angles, as the psuedo-paternal relationship between Sabretooth and Blink gave their portion of the story a real emotional core, removed from the purely “x-treme-ness” of the other storylines.  We got Blink before any of the other AoA stuff, as well as Sabretooth’s non-verbal partner Wild Child in the first AoA assortment, but without a proper Sabretooth to go along with them.  Fortunately, Hasbro’s coming in with the save on that one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sabretooth is figure 3 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  It’s this design’s fourth time in figure form, and its second time getting the Legends treatment, though the last one was during Toy Biz’s run, and wrought with a lot of odd design choices.  This one sticks more cleanly to the actual design from the original crossover, which is a plus.  The figure stands just shy of 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  While the last couple Sabretooths have been on the Hyperion body, this one moves him up to the Colossus body.  It makes a degree of sense, since he was depicted as a fair bit larger during the crossover, and it also makes it so he pairs off a bit better with Wild Child, it’s also somewhat amusing in light of Cyclops keeping his previous build, even in light of the crossover bulking him up.  Maybe Sabretooth is bigger because of when he was working with Apocalypse?  Sure, let’s go with that.  Honestly, anything that stops us from getting another Hyperion re-use is alright by me.  He gets a pretty solid assortment of new parts, including new arms, lower legs, and two different heads, as well as add-ons for the collar and belt.  The two heads give is the two different sides of Creed; one is angry and pupil-less, while the other is a much friendlier expression.  After getting a lot of prior Sabretooth figures without the option for a calmer expression, it’s really nice to get both versions here.  The other new parts jibe well with the prior core body parts, and feature a lot of cool little details.  Interestingly, despite the arms being seemingly new, they still have visible pins at the elbows.  I have to wonder if his is a sculpt that might have sat for a bit.  Sabretooth’s paint work is pretty decently handled.  The detailing on the facial and arm hair works a lot better than such details tend to, and everything else is actually pretty clean.  There’s a slight mis-match from the hips to the rest of the legs, but other than that, things work out pretty well.  Sabretooth is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other in gripping, as well as the head for Colossus.  Also, while it’s not packed with him, it’s worth noting that, surprising no one, the chain included with Wild Child is properly fitted to Sabretooth’s forearm, which is pretty cool.  In hindsidght, I wonder if that might be why he’s still got the pins at the elbows, since the mold would need to have been worked out earlier than the others in this assortment in that case.  Food for thought.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The prior Legends AoA Sabretooth always disappointed me, so the prospect of a new one was certainly an exciting one.  While he wasn’t in the first line-up, the inclusion of Wild Child made it pretty clear that we’d be seeing him sooner than later, which is why it made a lot of sense that he was also the first of these figures we actually saw.  I gotta say, he turned out really nicely, even better than I was expecting.  He pairs of really nicely with Wild Child, but he’s also just a really strong figure in his own right.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3013: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Cyclops helps prisoners escape from Apocalypse’s prison camps in an attempt to be a force for good in a harsh dystopian future.”

To quote Jimmy Woo: “It’s an oversimplification of events, but yes.”  While the Cyclops of the “Age of Apocalypse” universe ultimately joins the side of good and aids in helping the victims of Apocalypse, that’s not where he spends most of the story.  While AoA saw a lot of previously villainous characters on the side of good, it also saw Cyclops, a character previously very straight-laced and noble, pretty firmly in the villains camp, at least at the start.  Sure, his in-grained noble streak kept him from being truly villainous, but he’s also very far from a force for good.  But, here I am critiquing the bios again, when I could be reviewing a new Cyclops figure.  What am I even doing with my life?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is figure 2 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends.  Though far from the first Legends Cyclops, it’s still the first Legends release for AoA, and the third figure for the AoA design overall.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Cyclops is built on the Bucky Cap base body, which has been the consistent choice of base for Cyclops since the Puck Series version.  The AoA version has at times been depicted as a little larger in build, but that can be chalked up to artistic license, and thus far all of the other AoA variants have maintained consistency with their main counterparts in terms of body choices.  I mean, that’s gonna sort of fall apart as we make it further into the assortment, but we’ll stand by it here.  Ultimately, I really don’t mind it.  He gets a new head, arms, and an overlay piece for his belt/shoulder strap.  The head’s not quite as extreme and 90s-tastic as some of the illustrations made him out to be, but the important elements of the design are all present, and his features are also internally consistent with the other Cyclops figures from the line.  His new arms bulk him up a little bit more compared to the standard Bucky Cap pieces, as well as transitioning him to the pinless construction on the elbows.  Some of his articulation is lost on said elbows, which can really only make it about 90 degrees.  It’s understandable given the nature of the design.  Cyclops’ paint is generally very basic.  Much of the color work is just molded plastic, and it’s honestly a pretty basic layout of colors for the costume anyway.  Kudos to Hasbro, though, they did actually do some weathering and wear on the gold armored parts, which looks pretty solid.  Cyclops includes no accessories of his own, which is kind of a shame.  A blast effect, or an alternate head, maybe with the hair swept back to better show off the missing eye and scarring, would have been pretty cool.  All he winds up getting is the left leg for Colossus, which definitely feels light compared to pretty much everyone else.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I do really like Cyclops, and I even kind of like some of the stuff they did with him within the AoA story, the actual AoA design for the character isn’t necessarily one of my favorites for him.  It’s kind of overkill on the worst of the ’90s tropes for character design, really.  That being said, if you’re gonna have an AoA set-up, it feels wrong to not have him.  He’s another figure I felt was really missing from the first go-round, and I’m glad he showed up here.  He’s light on extras, and perhaps a little skinny, but overall I do rather like him, and hey, it’s another Cyclops, right?

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3012: Rogue

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

ROGUE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Rogue moves her way up the ranks of Magneto’s X-Men, eventually leading a team of mutants to prevent the culling of humankind.”

In the early ’90s, Rogue really started to take off as one of the X-Men’s most popular members, placing her at the center of a few more of the team’s stories, including one in particular, which saw her and Magneto as unlikely allies stranded in the Savage Land.  There were some slight hints of a romantic angle, initially unexplored in the main universe, which would serve as the basis for the full-fledged marriage between the two within the alternate universe of “Age of Apocalypse.”  Given Magneto’s central position in the cross-over, this allowed Rogue to maintain her central place as well, making her rather pivotal to the overall course of the story.  So, it’s only fitting that she too would be part of the Legends tie-in for the story.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rogue is officially figure 1 in the Colossus Series of Marvel Legends, the second AoA-themed assortment.  It’s the third time this version’s gotten a toy…or possibly the fourth.  Toy Biz did two versions of the costume, but they were both kind of iffy on wether they were officially AoA versions, or just kind of similar designs.  The Minimate was explicit about it, though, so there’s at least that.  Her design was more changed than others, though Rogue had a history of frequently changing designs prior to this.  This one keeps a lot basic schemes from her Jim Lee design, at least in terms of color and general layout, mixed with a few more Magneto elements, much like the rest of the main X-team from the cross-over.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  She uses the Phoenix base body as a starting point, with a new head, upper arms, legs, and add-ons for the collar, wrist cuffs, and the pouches on her leg.  All-in-all, it makes for a pretty good rendition of her design from the comics, certainly the best we’ve seen in toy form up to this point.  The head’s probably the best part of it; I think the hair turned out pretty well, and there’s a dynamic flow to it.  The shaping on the back of is a little weird, but it at least allows for rather unimpeded movement on the neck.   The arms, on the other hand, are rather restricted at the shoulders and elbows, due to the billowy nature of the sleeves.  There’s not a lot that can really be done about that, of course, without compromising the aesthetics.  The new legs give her the goody bulky snow boots, which turned out well, as well as removing the exposed pins on the knees.  Rogue’s color work is bright, bold, and rather eye-catching.  The application is generally pretty clean and consistent, but there are some fuzzy edges on some of the change overs, as well as a notable bit of slop on the left boot.  Otherwise, she looks pretty good.  Rogue includes two sets of hands in fists and open gesture, as well as the left arm and an alternate hand for the Colossus Build-A-Figure.  It does feel a little light, and it would have been nice to see either her cape or the robe thing she was seen wearing over the main suit, but at least she gets the extra hands, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While Rogue’s AoA look isn’t at the top of my list or anything, it’s still got some cool elements to it, and I certainly like the Magneto and Rogue angle.  So, I definitely wanted to see her turn up in the Legends line-up, especially if we were getting a Magneto as well.  She’s a pretty basic and straight forward figure, but one that turned out well.  This design has had trouble making the transition to toy form in the past, but this figure did it well, and she honestly surprised me with how well I like her in-hand.

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