Author Archives: Ethan Wilson

Sometimes, things work out

Posted by Ethan Wilson in General

Carnage&BlackCat

This is a follow up to an earlier post of mine, titled “GAHHHHHHHHH!,” where I discussed two separate run-ins with my sitcom arch nemesis THE SCALPER!  That post was one of annoyance at what I consider to be one of the worst things in the action figure collecting community.  It was admittedly down-beat, and a bit angry.

Well, sometimes, believe it or not, life does give you a win.  In my case, that win was finding both of the figures that served as the scalped items in my second encounter.  Yes, I found both of them today, on sale for $4 off no less.  And that makes me feel a little bit better.  Suck it scalpers.

#0384: Hawkeye – Classic & Ant-Man – Lab Attack

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HAWKEYE – CLASSIC & ANT-MAN – LAB ATTACK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Marvel Minimates is quite a long-running line. With 60 main series, along with 19 Toys R Us exclusive series and countless boxed sets, spanning over 10 years, getting into the line can be a little bit intimidating for the new collector. Fortunately, Diamond Select Toys has come up with a solution: the Best Of Marvel Minimates. This sub-line offers updates of heavy hitter characters, and they are offered up for re-order on a near regular basis, allowing new collectors the chance to get their collection off to a good start with relative ease. What’s more, they are consistently high-quality, and they offer lots of new parts to entice older collectors. They truly are the Best Of. DST just released the third assortment of the line, and today I’ll be looking at Hawkeye and Ant-Man, two long-time Avengers.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

As noted in the intro, Hawkeye and Ant-Man were released as a two pack in the third series of the Best Of off-shoot of Marvel Minimates.

HAWKEYE – CLASSIC

Hawkeye is one of the quintessential Avengers, having stuck with the team for most of its tenure. Unfortunately, just as the Avengers started showing up in Marvel Minimates, he ended up dead for a little while. Fortunately, he recent Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought the character some new life, and he’s gotten his fair share of Minimates in the last few years. And now it seems he’s popular enough to warrant a Best Of release. Hawkeye is depicted here in his classic costume. It’s shown up twice before in the line, but previous figures were a little off, so another stab at it is nice. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard body, with some additional pieces for his mask, collar/quiver, loincloth, arm and wrist bands, and boots. They were all previously used on the Disney Store exclusive Hawkeye, and before that the boots first showed up on the Invaders boxed set Captain America, the wrist bands are from DC’s Ocean Master, and the arm bands are from Series 25’s Iron Man. All of these pieces add up to a very nice classic Hawkeye. On the previous Hawkeye, the mask seemed too bulky, but it doesn’t seem so bad here, and all of the other pieces look great. The paint on Hawkeye is pretty solid work over all, aside from one small issue: the blue on the loincloth doesn’t quite match that on the rest of the figure. It’s not too bad, but it is a minor annoyance. Other than that, everything is excellent. In particular, I love the palate on this version. The purple and blue both feel like just the right shades. Hawkeye includes his trusty bow (from the Tomb Raider line), two pointed arrows (first seen way back in the BSG line), two rounded arrows (from the Disney Hawkeye), an alternate hairpiece (from Series 27’s Ultimate Cap), and a clear display stand. Hawkeye doesn’t really have an alternate look like some of the others in this series, but he comes very well armed, and all the sculpted parts that go into his look are really great.

ANT-MAN – LAB ATTACK

Ant-Man is one of the last two founding Avengers to “hit it big.” Hopefully, his upcoming 2015 movie will help to change that. I would imagine the buzz around that movie is what warrants his place in the Best Of line, so I’d say he’s moving up. This is the Hank Pym version of Ant-Man, and he’s had two previous Minimates. I liked the first one a lot, but it looks a bit dated by current standards, and the second one was just based on too specific a look. So, an update was much needed. Like Luke Cage, it’s not a strict update of a previous look, but rather a newer look that is close to the old ones. Hank’s look is taken from the Marvel Adventures line that Marvel was running a few years ago. It’s pretty much just a streamlined version of the classic costume, so that’s not too bad. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. He makes use of the standard Minimate body, with the addition of his trademark helmet. The helmet is a re-use from the very first Ant-Man, which is reasonable. It’s still a good piece, and it’s a great translation of the comic look to three dimensions. The rest of his look is done with paint, and the paint work is really great. Everything is even and clean, and all the detail work is nice and sharp. Under the helmet is Hank giving a friendly smile that is just perfect for the character. About the only thing that could stand to be different is the shade of the blue, which seems a touch too dark. Ant-Man includes a spare hairpiece (first used on the Captain America: Through the Ages Armored Cap), a lab coat (first seen on the Ghostbusters Janosz) and a spare set of arms for a more scientific look, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Luke and Iron Fist, I got these two from my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix. This is the set I was looking forward to the most form this series. Hawkeye and Ant-Man are two of my favorite Marvel characters, so I’m really happy to see them get updates. Hawkeye is easily the best version of the character to date, and is the version of the character I’ve been wanting since the line started. Ant-Man’s a really solid figure too, and while I still hope for an update to his classic design someday, this one is a great version of the character to have in the meantime.

#0383: Luke Cage – Power Man & Iron Fist – Dragon Attack

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LUKE CAGE – POWER MAN & IRON FIST – DRAGON ATTACK

MARVEL MINIMATES

So, I do really try to space out the Minimates reviews a little bit more. Really, I do. However, between my already enormous collection of them filtering into the backlog reviews and Diamond’s steady stream of new releases, they tend to be a rather frequent sub-set of reviews. Today, I’ll once again be dipping into the expansive Marvel Minimates line, with the ,most recent versions of Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Heroes for Hire. Both characters are slated to be getting their own mini-series through the Marvel/Netflix deal, and it’s been a little while since either one has seen a release, so this is a good idea for a set.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as a two pack in the third series of the Best Of off-shoot of the main Marvel Minimates line.

LUKE CAGE – POWER MAN

Luke is the character in the set that’s most clearly in need of an update. Luke’s previously had two figures of very differing looks. They’re both from way back in the line, so they’re pretty dated (and one of them wasn’t particularly good even when he was released). Luke also marks a bit of a change for the Best Of series; he depicts the character in a look previously not seen in Minimates. Luke’s look is the one he sported while leading the Thunderbolts a few years ago. It’s probably my favorite of his recent looks, so no complaints there. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with additional pieces for the hands/gauntlets, the belt, and the tops of the boots. All of these pieces are re-use; the hands are from Series 47’s Colossus, the belt is from the X-Factor boxed set Iceman, and the boot pieces were first used on the two Iron Men is Series 25. The gauntlets sit a little too low on the arms, but other than that, these pieces off a pretty spot on take on this version of Luke. The paintwork on this figure is pretty topnotch. Everything is clean and even, the colors are nice and bold, and the detail work is nice and sharp. Under the sculpted belt, there’s a painted one, with a “CAGE” buckle, which looks really great. It’s little details like this that ca make or break a figure. Luke includes a spare set of arms and hands, an extra sunglass-wearing head, a knit cap (from the TRU exclusive Vigilante Spider-Man), a jacket (from Knight Rider’s Michael Knight), and a clear display stand. The extra pieces allow you to switch Cage into his early 2000s look. This is nice, because it was his main look for several years, and the previous ’mate was pretty bad.

IRON FIST – DRAGON ATTACK

Iron Fist isn’t quite as desperately in need of an update, but both of his prior ‘mates were just a slight bit off. Iron Fist is presented here in the look he sported when his comic was relaunched a few years ago. He’s had this look on and off for a little while, and it’s a nice update on his original costume. The figure is about 2 ½ inches in height and he sports 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the usual body, with add-ons for his mask and sash. The mask is from the Series 38 Iron fist and the sash is from the very first Toyfare exclusive Iron Fist. Both pieces are well done, and reusing them for this particular version is a smart move. Just like with Luke, Iron Fist’s paint is really superb. One of my issues with the previous Iron Fist was how washed out the colors were, and that’s certainly not an issue here. The colors are all very bold, and all of the detail work is nice and sharp. Iron Fist definitely one-ups Luke in the accessory department, and since Luke wasn’t lacking, that’s a pretty great! He includes a spare torso and arms to allow for a bare-chested look, bandaged wrapped hands (hailing from the Tomb Raider line), a pair of wrapped wrist pieces (which were previously seen on Street Fighter VS Tekken’s Heihachi), an extra hair piece (originally used on Terminator 2’s Kyle Reese), a pair of “iron fists” so to speak (first seen with Series 48’s Human Torch), a flame base (also from Human Torch), a jumping base, and a clear display stand. That’s quite a lot of extra pieces, and they allow for a huge selection of different looks. In particular, I’m happy to see the new bandaged hands included, as they are a big improvement over the pieces used on the last Iron Fist.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got these two courtesy of my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix. The original Power Man and Iron Fist set was long one of my grails, after missing out on its initial release. I actually just acquired that set last year. While it certainly still has some sentimental value, it was definitely a set that showed its age. This set, while it doesn’t offer direct updates to those two, offers a very nice set of replacements. The sheer volume of extra pieces included with both figures is truly amazing, and I really hope this is a trend that Diamond continues. This is a really great set, and I’m very happy to have it.

#0382: Pretzel Girl

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with ,

PRETZEL GIRL

LEGO MINIFIGURES

There’s no doubt that LEGO is the king of construction toys. However, in the world of block and mini figures, they have a bit of competition. They seem to have found their niche, though, focusing on fun character archetypes, which can be used to populate many of their building sets. I don’t follow the line religiously, but I do pick up a pack every now and then. Today, I’ll be looking at “The Pretzel Girl.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Pretzel Girl is figure #3 in Series 11 of LEGO Minifigures. She appears to be somewhat based on a German servant girl type of look, although pretzel’s aren’t what they’re most associated with serving. It seems they’ve tweaked her ever so slightly to make her more all-ages friendly, which is completely understandable. She’s about 2 inches tall and she’s got the usual 7 points of articulation. Like all the others in this line, she uses the basic LEGO body as a starting point, with a sculpted hairpiece and a cloth skirt added to complete the look. The hair is new to this figure, and it has the proper braided look. The skirt is handled in much the same way as capes are, just around her waist instead of her neck. Everything else on the figure is handled using painted details, which are all quite well done. Everything is nice and cleanly applied; all the detail lines are nice and sharp. Most of the detail work is on her face and torso, which are both great, but there is also some added color on her feet to represent shoes. Such things are traditionally not present on LEGOs, so it’s nice to see them here. The Pretzel Girl includes, unsurprisingly, a pretzel, as well as the usual minifigure display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Pretzel Girl was picked up at the same time as The Barbarian I reviewed last year. I picked up a decent selection of blind bag figures, and she happened to be in the set. I wouldn’t say she’s a figure I was dying to have, but she’s a solid minifigure. And, as an added bonus, she works really well as crowd filler for a large display of LEGOs!

#0381: Robin

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

ROBIN

DC COMICS MULTIVERSE

Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in! Frequent readers of the blog will probably be aware of my less than stellar opinion of Mattel. For those of you who have only recently joined us, let me ‘splain….no it is too much, let me sum up: Mattel has a tendency to make bad decisions and when said bad decisions fail like they should, they like to place the fault on their fans. It’s not a particularly endearing quality. I am also not a huge fan of the current output of DC Comics. So, it would seem that Mattel holding the DC License would be a perfect partnership for me to ignore. However, I am stubborn, and in spite of my issues with Mattel and DC, I still like the DC characters and Mattel occasionally stumbles their way into a decent action figure. Such is the case with today’s figure, Mattel’s latest version of Batman’s faithful sidekick Robin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Robin was released in the fourth assortment of Mattel’s DC Comics Multiverse line, which is their current “collector oriented” line of 3 ¾ scale figures. Robin is based on the character’s appearance in the upcoming Batman: Arkham Knight game, which seems to take fair bit of influence from the Damian Wayne Robin design. The figure clocks in at just about 3 ¾ inches tall and he features 18 points of articulation. Robin’s articulation scheme is the same as that seen on the Christopher Reeve Superman. It’s not bad, and it’s certainly better than what we saw on Zod, but he really would benefit from some ankle articulation, some sort of swivel in his upper arms, and maybe a mid-torso joint. As it is, the figure’s posing options are rather limited, which leaves him rather stiff looking. He’s good for a standing pose, but not much else. Robin appears to have a completely unique sculpt. Overall, it’s an okay sculpt, but it has some rather glaring faults. His head is a bit too small and his torso is too large, resulting in some serious pin-headedness. His torso is also rather flat, and his waist seems to sit too low, making the torso too long. All that being said, the sculpt does have some nice detail work, especially in the armor’s various engravings. The cape is not sculpted, but rather made of cloth. The material used for capes in this line seems to be inconsistent. They go back and forth between cloth and plastic with very little rhyme or reason. I personally prefer the sculpted capes, so the cloth isn’t a huge plus for me. This one’s not too bad, so there’s that. Robin’s paint is decently handled. It’s relatively straight-forward; there aren’t any washes or different finishes or anything. For the most part, it’s rather cleanly applied, but there are one or two areas, like the shoulders, where there is a bit of slop. Robin includes no accessories. His right hand looks as if it should hold a staff or something, so it would have been nice to get something, anything. As is, the figure feels light for the price.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I swore I was done with the DC Comics Multiverse line once I got Superman and Zod. So, why then did I end up with this guy? Call it nostalgia. I was visiting some family in mountains in North Carolina. We were picking up a few things at the nearby Walmart, and as I am prone to do, I wandered over to the toy section. I saw this figure and remembered something: on my very first trip to NC, back in 1998, my Dad bought me a Nightwing figure from the Animated Series line of the time. With this in mind, I was drawn to this Robin figure (for those of you confused as to what the two have to do with each other: Nightwing is an older Robin). So, here I sit in my family’s NC house with no internet connection or cellphone service writing this review and feeling nostalgic. This is certainly not a perfect offering, but I feel like it’s better than most of what Mattel and DC are putting out these days.

#0380: Shoulder Zombie

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SHOULDER ZOMBIE

WALKING DEAD MINIMATES

ShoulderZombie1

When it comes to Minimates, Marvel Minimates is consistently the flagship line. Generally, there has always been at least one other line that takes the spot of “Strong second,” however exactly what line that is has changed over the years. Upon its introduction, The Walking Dead Minimates line took this spot. The line has cooled down a bit since its launch, but it’s still going pretty strong overall. Today, I’ll be taking a look at one of the line’s Zombies, dubbed the Shoulder Zombie.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ShoulderZombie2The Shoulder Zombie was released in the fourth series of Walking Dead Minimates. He was included both with Alice and Prison Suit Lori, depending on which set you got. Every zombie in the line is based on a specific zombie from the comics. That being said, I’m not up enough on The Walking Dead to know exactly where this one comes from. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. The figure makes use of the standard Minimate body with a unique torso in place of the regular one. The new torso has been specially sculpted to show the gruesome shoulder wound from which the figure gets its name. It’s a pretty good piece, though it’s been noticeably toned down for the figure. This is understandable, but it’s a little bit gummy when compared to the (painted) extension of the wound present on the face. The rest of the figure is handled with paint, and it’s all done really nicely. There’s no real issues with bleed over or slop, and there’s some truly impressive detail work, especially on the face. I really love how they eyes are going two different directions. The Shoulder Zombie’s lone accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, why, you might ask, do I have just the Shoulder Zombie and neither of the complimentary pack ‘mates? Here’s why: when I placed my order with Luke’s Toy Store for Series 57 of Marvel Minimates, I decided to take advantage of a rather cool thing the store offers. See, they have a pretty great selection of loose Minimates, which I’ve ordered from before. But, they also offer the chance to buy a “Mystery ‘mate”, which could conceivably be any Minimate in existence. I decided to take a chance, and this is the one I got. All said, it could have been much worse. It’s not a figure I would have tracked down on my own, but having it in hand, it’s fun enough that I don’t regret the purchase in the slightest.

#0379: Nebula & Sakaar Trooper

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NEBULA & SAKAAR TROOPER

MARVEL MINIMATES

At long last, all of the Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates are here. And, as of today’s review, I’ll have reviewed all of them. I previously reviewed Yondu, one of the two characters from the movie who can only be found in this lineup. Today, I’ll be looking at the other character, Nebula, as well as her pack mate the Sakaar Trooper.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nebula and the Sakaar Trooper were released in Series 57 of Marvel Minimates. This is one of the two exclusive sets from this series, though only Nebula is actually exclusive; the Sakaar Trooper was also available with Yondu in the TRU assortment.

NEBULA

Nebula is one of the movie’s key villains, but she’s absent from most of the tie-in material. It’s a shame, because Karen Gillan’s performance was definitely top-notch. This is Nebula’s debut appearance in the Minimates line, and it only missed being her debut toy by a couple of months. Nebula is about 2 ½ inches tall and she features 14 points of articulation. Nebula is built on the standard Minimate body, and she’s also a “vanilla ‘mate” meaning she has no other add-ons. Nebula has a very streamlined look in the movie, so this was the appropriate choice on DST’s part. Since she’s just a basic Minimate, a lot of importance is placed on the paintwork. Fortunately, she features some exceptional paintwork. Everything is very even, very vibrant, and very clean. Just like with Ronan, DST has gone out of their way to place the proper etched details of her clothing from the movies. Virtually every surface of the figure features some sort of detailing, resulting in a really sharp looking ‘mate. While the face is really buried under all the additional details, it’s a very good likeness of Karen Gillan. Nebula includes a clear display stand. That’s a bit lighter than the others in this series, but Nebula didn’t have any items of note that would make for good accessories, so it’s excusable.

SAKAAR TROOPER

If you feel like you’ve read my review of this figure before, that’s because you have. Aside from some very minor differences, this is the same as the Sakaar Trooper included with Yondu. If you’d like to see my opinion of the figure, go here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the preceding Guardians ‘mates, this set was purchased from Luke’s Toy Store, along with the rest of Series 57. While this set isn’t as strong a set as yesterday’s Gamora and Nova Corps Centurion, it’s still pretty good. I feel like most of the issue is that I’ve already seen half of this set before, and it didn’t really knock my socks of then either. Still, Nebula is a truly exceptional Minimate. It’s always really nice to see the occasional ‘mate which plays up the strengths of the base body. The Sakaar Trooper isn’t my favorite, but it’s not a bad Minimate, and it does look nice to have Ronan and Nebula flanked by two of these guys.

#0378: Gamora & Nova Corps Centurion

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GAMORA & NOVA CORPS CENTURION

MARVEL MINIMATES

Two months after the release of the movie and the TRU tie-in series, the main specialty assortment of Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates has finally been released. The TRU Assortment offered four of the five guardians, but it was missing that key fifth member. Unfortunately, this also happened to be the team’s only female member, which ended up causing some upset amongst people who didn’t have a full understanding of how Minimate releases work. But, Gamora is here now, and the team is complete. She brings with her a Nova  Corps Centurion, one of the film’s key army builders. There’s been quite a wait for both of them. Were they worth it? Let’s find out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Gamora and the Nova  Corps Centurion are both a part of the 57th series of Marvel Minimates, which is based on the Guardians of the Galaxy movie released this year. This is the only set available exclusively through the specialty assortment (Nebula is also exclusive to specialty, but she’s packed with the Sakaar Trooper, who is available in both assortments).

GAMORA

Gamora is the final missing member of the titular team. She makes her second appearance in the Minimates line, following a comic inspired version in 2008. Gamora is about 2 ½ inches in height and she features 14 points of articulation. She’s based on the look that the character sports for the majority of the film, which means she made out a bit better than poor Star-Lord. The figure makes use of the standard Minimate body, with an additional piece for her hair. The piece was originally used on the Thor movie’s Lady Sif figure. It’s a good piece, with lots of nice detail work, and it’s pretty accurate to what Gamora’s hair looked like in the movie, so Diamond chose well. The rest of the figure’s details are handled via paint, and they’re handled pretty well at that. All of the base paint work is nice, clean, and evenly applied. The colors all seem like perfect matches for the movie, too, so that’s an added plus. The line work is all clean and sharp. The Zoey Saldana likeness is pretty good, though the eyes may be set just a bit too apart. Gamora includes her trademark sword and a clear display stand.

NOVA CORPS CENTURION

The Nova  Corps Centurion isn’t as important as Gamora, but the Nova Corps play a key role in the movie, so this figure is still pretty important. The  Corps Centurion stands 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. There are a couple of named Nova Corpsmen in the movie, but this one is just meant to be a generic  Corps Centurion, whom we see quite a few of in the movie. The figure is built on the basic body, with a separate piece for his helmet. The helmet is a new piece, and it’s a very nice one at that. The sculpt is accurate to the design in the movie, and everything looks smooth and symmetrical. The Nova  Corps Centurion’s paintwork is key to the rest of the figure’s look, and it’s handled expertly. Everything is clean and even, and the colors are nice and bold. The helmet shows a tiny bit of slop, but everything on the rest of the figure is really great! Under the mask is a complete face, ears and all. It’s appropriately generic, and it has a decent “otherworldly” look to it. The Nova  Corps Centurion includes a rather large (and rather cool) gun and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Star-Lord and Ronan, Gamora and the Nova  Corps Centurion were purchased from Luke’s Toy Store, along with the rest of Series 57. This set was the one I was most interested in from this series, and I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint! Gamora nicely finishes off the Guardians, and the Nova  Corps Centurion is a really well done, really fun army builder. I foresee this set being a bit more difficult to track down, so if you’re interested in it, I’d track it down sooner rather than later.

#0377: Star-Lord & Ronan

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STAR-LORD & RONAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

There were quite a few awesome movies released this summer. The cool thing is that, thanks to three of those movies being Marvel movies, there are Minimates from those movies! One such movie was Guardians of the Galaxy. I looked at a few of the Guardians Minimates a few months ago when the TRU series first hit stores. The specialty series was just released, and I acquired a set. Today, I’ll be looking at the film’s primary hero, Star-Lord, and its primary villain, Ronan.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Star-Lord and Ronan are one of the two carry over sets from the Guardians Minimates. They saw release in both the TRU exclusive series, as well as Series 57 of the main Marvel Minimates line.

STAR-LORD

Who!?! Star-Lord, legendary outlaw of—never mind. Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, makes his first foray into the world of Minimates with this figure. Star-Lord is about 2 ½ inches tall and he features 12 points of articulation. He’s obviously based on the film version of the character, but more specifically, he’s based on Quill’s look early in the movie, primarily the opening credits scene. It’s the look Marvel was really pushing, and it’s the look that just about every figure has, but it’s unfortunately not a look he has for very long in the movie. Star-Lord is built on the standard Minimate body, with additional sculpted pieces for his hair, coat, left wrist padding, and boots. The hair is a re-use from Tomb Raider’s Roth. I’m not sure about this piece. It seems a bit off for Star-Lord. The rest of the pieces are new to this figure. They’re all well sculpted, but there are some questionable choices. The decision to have the coat closed at the top is a strange one. In the short time he wore this coat, I don’t believe he ever had it closed like that. Perhaps it was based on some sort of early costume design or preliminary shooting. Regardless, it looks rather goofy, and makes the character look unnecessarily bulky. To DST’s credit, the work on the boots is nothing short of amazing, so they deserve props for that. The paint on Star-Lord is alright, but sort of confusing. The coat exhibits passable work, but there’s some slop here and there. The arms are nicely detailed, and while the torso under the coat is completely blank, he features a fully detailed belt that no one will ever see. The face is an okay Chris Pratt likeness, but it seems that there was a bit of a mix up with the colors, leaving his eyebrows and stubble far too bright. Star-Lord includes his helmet, his twin guns, a walkman with headphones, and a clear display stand. The helmet is okay, but the paint is sloppy and too light, and the sculpt is too…wide? It just doesn’t look right. The blasters are well sculpted, but the figure does have a little trouble holding them.

RONAN

Ronan, the first Kree ever to be seen in film! That’s gotta be an accomplishment! Like Star-Lord, this is his first Minimate, though it won’t be his last. A comic version of Ronan has already been announced for the 19th TRU Exclusive series of Marvel Minimates. But that’s in the future; let’s focus on this figure, shall we? Ronan is 2 ½ inches tall and he features 13 points of articulation. He’s built on the usual body, with additional pieces for his headpiece and skirt. Both of these pieces are new to this figure, and they look to be accurate to the movie design. They are very nicely sculpted, and incredibly detailed. The headpiece renders the body’s neck articulation motionless, but going by how Lee Pace was moving in the movie, it seems safe to say the real piece did that too. The Kree are all about evolution. Maybe Ronan just evolved beyond the need to look to the side. One of this figure’s greatest highlights is his paint work. While it would have been easy for Diamond to phone this one in and just do a straight black/dark grey, they have placed texture detailing on just about every surface of the figure. It helps keep the figure from being as drab as he might have otherwise been and really gives the figure that extra pop. Ronan includes his trusty hammer and a clear display stand. Unfortunately, it seems the head of the hammer is on upside down. I don’t know how this happened, but a quick comparison shows this is very definitely the case. While it sucks, I honestly had to have it pointed out to me by someone else, so I feel like most people really aren’t going to be bothered by it. At the very least, a corrected version should be offered with the comic Ronan, so there’s that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was purchased, along with the rest of Series 57, from my favorite Minimate retailer Luke’s Toy Store. I mostly bought the Series for the two specialty exclusive sets included. Admittedly, I’ve been putting off buying this set. I passed on it at TRU, and I only really got it from Luke’s because I was buying the series in a bundle. I think Star-Lord is the main reason for that. Sadly, he’s the weakest figure in the series. Diamond obviously put in the effort, but he just ended up turning out sorta goofy. That being said, the set is worth it for the Ronan figure. For all that went wrong on Star-Lord, Ronan gets pretty much everything right. On the plus side, Star-Lord is the low point of this series, so, it can only get better from here!

#0376: Superior Spider-Man

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

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINTE SERIES

Alright, well it looks like the horror stuff is taking a break for a little while. So, why not return to what I know best: Super Heroes! And if we’re going with Super Heroes, why not go with Marvel, cuz they’re kind of on top right now! And if you’re going with Marvel, why not one of their top characters of all-time, Spider-Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superior Spider-Man was released as part of the Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marvel Legends Infinite Series. For next year, Hasbro should really look into shortening the ML names a bit. They’re a bit long-winded. Anyway, Superior Spider-Man is one of the mainstay figures from this series, which means that unlike the previously reviewed Spider-Girl and Boomerang, he’s not a replacement, nor was he replaced by another figure. The figure is about 6 inches tall and he sports 32 points of articulation. As the name denotes, he’s based on the “Superior” version of Spider-Man, which was he looked like when Dr. Octopus took over his mind. Specifically, he’s based on the second Superior costume, which itself was based on Alex Ross’s proposed design for the first Spider-Man movie. As far as I can tell, Spidey’s a new sculpt. I feel like I’ve seen the body before, but I can’t quite place it. At the very least, the head and hands are new. The body sculpt is pretty good. It’s nicely proportioned and well-articulated, which is always a good combination. The head and hands are obviously a bit more character-specific, and they are both handled very nicely. The head is simple, but right on the mark, which can be tricky with some Spider-Man figures. The basic hands are just in a loose gripping pose, which isn’t too bad, I suppose. The figure’s paint isn’t really up to the sculpt. It’s not a huge surprise on a Hasbro offering, but it’s still a shame. The figure has a fair bit of slop and fuzzy lines, and even a few spots of uneven paint. The worst of it is his web pattern, which is not as straight as it should be. Still, viewed as a whole, the paint doesn’t look terrible, so it could be worse. Spidey included a spare set of hands in the trademark Spidey pose, as well as the right leg of Ultimate Green Goblin, the Build-A-Figure for this series. I don’t really want this particular BAF, but somehow I keep ending up with pieces of him…

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This particular Spider-Man was a gift from my Super Awesome Girlfriend, who just keeps up living to the name. While visiting her for the weekend, I had seen the figure and decided not to get it due to not having the money. She came up to visit me three weeks later with this figure in tow. She’s really too supportive of my insane hobby! The figure isn’t without issues, but it’s really a fun figure, and it’s one of the better Spider-Men to see release in recent years!