Monthly Archives: June 2023

#3371: Black Suited Spider-Man & Sandman

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

BLACK SUITED SPIDER-MAN & SANDMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Marvel Minimates‘ relationship with movie tie-ins is sort of a turbulent one.  The first series of the line only exists in the form that it does because it was 2003, and Daredevil and Hulk both got movies, but the actual ‘mates are entirely comics-based.  The first true movie tie-ins were a pair of waves, one being based on X3 and the other being based on Ghost Rider.  The X3 set was at least able to get by on being X-Men, but the Ghost Rider set is infamously the only specialty series of Marvel Minimates to be outright cancelled.  DST’s next go at movie tie-ins was for something that felt like more of a shoe-in, but still didn’t quite stick the landing, Spider-Man 3, which got two whole assortments of coverage.  Today, I’m taking a look at Black Suited Spider-Man and Sandman, based on their looks from the film.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Black Suited Spider-Man and Sandman were released in Series 17 of Marvel Minimates, which was the first of the two assortments dedicated to the movie (though both of them wound up shipping at the same time, as was a common practice for Marvel Minimates at the time).

BLACK SUITED SPIDER-MAN

With the symbiote playing a major part in Spider-Man 3, there were understandably quite a few variations available in the line.  This one aimed to be the standard issue version…but it wasn’t quite there.  The figure’s on the post-C3 minimate body, so it’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He gets one add-on piece for his torso, because, for some reason, DST decided to make Black Suited Spider-Man really buff.  Not sure why, since it’s still just Tobey McGuire, with his regular Spidey build, under the suit; there’s no reason to bulk him up compared to the regular one.  But, they did, and it makes him look really puffy.  Not exactly what you hope for on this design.  The paint work is generally alright, with a good deal of texturing and smaller detail work going on.  While the preview version of the figure (which also ditched the torso cap) got web detailing on the hands, this one does not, and the shades are a little closer between the underlying color and the weblines on this one too, making him generally seem just a bit too muddled.  His eyes also feel just a touch too close together, which makes the torso look even larger by comparison, and makes him feel even more bloated.  Spidey was packed with no accessories.

SANDMAN

We got two different Sandmen courtesy of this movie, depicting him in relatively human and totally sand forms.  This was the relatively human one.  Seeing as his design was also a rather faithful recreation of his classic comics look, it also allowed him to serve as a standard Sandman, if you were so inclined.  He’s got add-ons for his hair and chest cap, both of which were new for this release.  The hair became a rather common piece, and the chest cap saw use on a couple of other Sandmen that followed.  They’re both actually pretty nice pieces, working well within the context of the film design, but also showcasing the improved sculpting that DST really started to roll out with this assortment.  His paint work is generally pretty solid.  The face sports a respectable likeness of Thomas Haden Church, though he’s perhaps a little too light-hearted looking for the rather sullen Marko from the movie.  Of course, it makes it easier to turn him into Lowell for my Wings display, so I suppose it’s not all bad, right?  Sandman gets a spare set of arms bulked up into sand form, which is honestly a pretty fun extra.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the whole Spider-Man 3 set, minus the variants, from my parents the Christmas that they were released.  I was rather excited for them at the time, I recall.  The Black Suited Spider-Man was always rather a let-down, and is only more so in recent years.  Sandman, on the other hand, is actually a really good figure, and was honestly one of my favorites from the set.  He signifies the advancements that these two particular series really brought to the line, all in one little package.

#3370: Red Tornado

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

RED TORNADO

JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL)

Originally the costumed alter-ego of the humor-based Ma Hunkel in the Golden Age, the identity of Red Tornado was worked into the more serious side of DC in the ’60s, this time around as an android.  Built by T.O. Morrow to attack the JSA, Red Tornado would, unsurprisingly, turn on his creator, and join the team he was meant to destroy, before dying and then coming back and joining the JLA, and then dying some more, and then coming back some more.  Lotta dying and coming back for this guy.  Red Tornado’s first appearance in animation was as a background/cameo character in Justice League Unlimited, before getting up to a speaking role.  It wasn’t a ton, but it was a decent focus, and, most importantly, it meant toy coverage.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Tornado was initially released in the second round of Mattel’s Justice League Unlimited tie-in line in 2004, in a three pack that included the Flash and Green Lantern.  He then got a single release in 2005, and then another in 2010.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Red Tornado is built on the medium size male base body, which was originally Green Lantern.  It’s a good match for Tornado’s build on the show, so it’s a sensible choice for a starting point.  He got a re-worked set of legs featuring his boot cuffs, as well as a unique head sculpt and an add-on for his cape.  The new pieces do a respectable job of capturing his show design, especially the head, which feels especially true to that incarnation of the character.  Red Tornado winds up rather similar to Dr. Fate when it comes to the paint work, which is decent in terms of application, but misses the mark a bit in terms of accuracy.  He steers closer to Tornado’s classic color scheme, which means that his gloves are yellow and the boots are red, when they should both actually be blue.  Moreover, the blue on his cape is far brighter than it should be for proper show accuracy.  The 2010 release would correct the issues with the paint, but the 2004 and 2005 releases were both incorrect.  Ultimately, it’s really not the end of the world, and the application is at least still pretty nice.  The three-pack version (which I have) didn’t get any accessories, but the single versions both got a tornado effect piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I know I didn’t get Red Tornado brand new, but I know I also got him pretty new.  Like, line was still running, but it was probably in a different packaging style.  According to my records, he came from Cosmic Comix, which makes a degree of sense.  I remember being pretty happy to have gotten one.  Not a ton beyond that, but he’s definitely fun.

#3369: Miles Morales

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

MILES MORALES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Miles Morales faces a new villain with abilities that will take more than one Spider-Man to defeat.”

When Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released in 2018, it hit with only minimal tie-in offerings, with the major push for tie-in stuff hitting about 2 1/2 years later.  Since it’s very clear what kind of a marketing success the first film was, the sequel is coming out of the gate strong for its theatrical release this week.  The basic figures have actually been out for the while, and there’s an entire dedicated assortment of Legends hitting right out of the gate, which snuck in real quietly right before the movie’s release.  I’ve got my whole set, because why the heck not.  I’m kicking off with a look at Miles today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Miles Morales is the first figure in the 7 figure Across the Spider-Verse tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  After getting the half-step “What’s Up Danger” look for the first film, this time around we get a fully-costumed Miles, sporting his brand new costume from the movie.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme this time around isn’t quite as impressive as what the Into Miles got; sure, he gets double elbows now, but he also loses the ball-jointed waist and neck, which really added to the prior figure’s posability.  This one can still pull off a good deal of poses, but the joints can get a little sticky, and it’s a little awkward to move him.  On the plus side, he’s still got the pinless construction, which works pretty well for the aesthetics.  Miles is sporting an all-new sculpt (courtesy of sculptor Dennis Chan), and it’s a good looking one.  It matches up nicely with what we’ve seen so far of the animation models, showcasing a Miles that’s a bit more grown up than the last time we saw him.  The texturing on the outfit is truly impressive, and there’s a nice flow to the overall sculpt.  Mile’s paint is more complex than it looks at first glance; obviously he gets the red accents on the black base, which looks nice and slick, but there’s also some subtle dark blue work.  It’s easy to miss, but it adds a little extra pop to the figure’s visual.  Miles is packed with an extra unmasked head and two sets of hands (thwipping and fists).  The last unmasked head didn’t *quite* land the film design, especially the hair, but this one really gets it down.  Also, they don’t have the weird ball joint for each head, so that’s a plus.  Of course, it’s still a smaller socket size than the standard, so swapping isn’t going to really be a thing, but it’s progress.  As with the last Miles, I do wish we’d gotten another set of hands with open gesture, but I’ll just have to continue to be disappointed with every Spider-Man that cuts those, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really enjoyed the Into tie-in Legends, and I’d been hoping for more since that one small release.  One of the things that excited me the most about the sequel was getting more figures.  Miles was a figure that I wasn’t quite as jazzed for on the outset, I think just because he seemed rather basic, at least from the in-hand leaks we saw.  Having him in hand, there are some smaller issues that I’m a little let-down by, but he’s overall a figure that I wound up liking a lot more than I’d expected to.

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 and their eBay storefront.