MING THE MERCILESS

POWER STARS (BOSS FIGHT)

Not-Flash!  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!  …Get it?  Well, I though it was funny.  And that’s the thing that matters most of all around these parts.  Last week I kept up my Super Powers-adjacent reviews with a look at my first Power Stars figure, Flash Gordon.  Today, I’m looking at his regular opponent, Ming the Merciless!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ming the Merciless is part of the first series of Power Stars, pairing off with the Flash from the same set.  Like Flash, he’s sporting a more classically-inspired Ming look, leaning more into his more humanoid stylings.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Ming’s sculpt is totally new.  It shares the aesthetics we saw on Flash, but there don’t appear to be any actual overlap of pieces, which is pretty neat.  There’s a fair bit more going on with this one, so there’s more space to fill in.  It certainly makes the most of it.  I particularly like the depth of detailing on the head sculpt.  The collar uses a multi-piece assembly, which is kind of free floating.  I’ll admit, I don’t *love* it, but it’s not horrible.  It’s just a bit loose.  He’s got a cloth cape, and, in contrast to the overly large clips we’ve seen on the McFarlane figures, this one seems a bit too small.  It does the job, though, so I’ll hardly complain.  His paint work is pretty similar to Flash’s in quality, but again has a bit more to it.  There’s a little bit of slop, but it’s generally pretty good.  Ming is packed with a sword and blaster.  The blaster is shared with Flash, but the sword is unique.  Like Flash, you can store them both on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I snagged Ming at the same time as Flash.  I’m more a heroes guy than a villains one, so I can’t say Ming was really jumping out at me, but at the same time, it’s hard to pass up on the pairing.  He’s neat.  Not quite as cleanly designed as Flash, but that’s ultimately more about the character than it is about the figure.  Over-designed is just a Ming-thing.  Heh, “Ming-thing.”

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.