Author Archives: Ethan Wilson

#3524: Shazam!

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

SHAZAM!

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0003:  The character that would eventually become Shazam was originally intended to be called “Captain Thunder” and “Captain Marvelous” before Fawcett Comics landed on “Captain Marvel.”

Kenner’s Super Powers has a very hard link to Christmas for me.  As a kid, for a good stretch of time, I got one every Christmas, and, in recent years, it’s a trend that’s returned.  I’m actually very close to the end of the line, which also means that I’ve gotten to the point where all of the ones I need are nearer the more expensive side of things, and also all hail from the line’s last year.  That includes today’s focus, a Captain Marvel named Shazam!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shazam was released in 1986, as part of the third and final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  While the character wouldn’t actually take on the name “Shazam” in-universe until 2011, since by 1986, the Captain Marvel trademark was firmly in Marvel Comics’ possession, so whether he used the name in the books or not, no toys could use it.  Rather amusingly, Marvel themselves didn’t really do much with it either, with their first figure based on any of *their* Captain Marvels not seeing a release until the late ’90s.  But, I’m getting side-tracked.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has the line’s standard 7 points of articulation.  Shazam sported a unique sculpt, based specifically on his later DC design, which moved him more into the traditional spandex set-up.  His sculpt is a little stiffer than the others, which is especially notable in the straightness on the arms.  His head seems a bit soft compared to others in the line.  They’re clearly trying to capture the character’s more unique facial features, while keeping him in-line with the house style of the rest of the figures.  The end result is sort of middling.  Definitely not the strongest the line had to offer.  His cape was cloth.  On my figure, it’s a repro; the original had a unique plastic clasp piece, as well as some rather nice printed details.  Shazam’s paint work is minimal, but it’s decent enough.  There’s a little wear on mine, but nothing crazy.  Shazam gets no accessories, but he gets the usual action feature.  In his case it’s a “Power Action Thunder Punch;”  squeezing the legs makes the arms swing in opposite directions.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As has been the trend on the last few of these, Shazam was my main Christmas gift from my parents this year.  While Mister Miracle was one of the line’s finest, and a great send-off from the final year, Shazam is definitely more middle of the road.  He’s okay, and I’m sure glad to finally have him, but he himself isn’t much to write home about.  And now I’ve got four left.  This is getting very exciting!

#3523: Donatello – Battle Ready

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

DONATELLO — BATTLE READY

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES BST AXN (THE LOYAL SUBJECTS)

Fun FiQ Fact #0002:  Donatello was the favorite Turtle of TMNT co-creator Peter Laird, who modeled Donnie’s personality most closely on his own.

When I got into TMNT as a kid, alongside my brother Christian, we each had our clear favorite member of the team.  Mine was Raphael!  What’s that?  You assumed it was Donatello?  Why, just because I’ve spent ten years here on the site saying that or something?  Well, I was initially a Raphael kid, believe it or not.  Christian, on the other hand, was a Donatello fan.  By the time of the 2007 TMNT movie, however, I realized it wasn’t Raph that really spoke to me, and I’ve been a Donnie fan all the way since then (for his part, Christian settled in on Michelangelo, again a much more natural fit for his personality).  Since I’ve latched to Donnie, though, he’s become an easy target for gift-giving and the like, especially when there’s new versions that I don’t yet own.  Like, say, for instance, this guy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Donatello — Battle Ready Edition is part of The Loyal Subjects’ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles BST AXN line.  He’s based on their takes on the team’s IDW comics-based appearances.  There are two releases for each of them, with the “Battle Ready Edition” being an SDCC 2023-exclusive, which was also available on The Loyal Subjects webstore.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  While a good number of the BST AXN Turtles are prone to sharing parts between releases, the more unique nature of the IDW designs means that this Donatello gets an all-new sculpt.  The IDW illustrations are a little more flowy and free-form with the designs, ultimately making the Turtles a little more human in appearance than they usually are.  The sculpt does a respectable job of capturing his look.  He’s tall and lanky, and gets all the proper texturing you’d expect from this particular design.  I especially dig that they even remembered to give him his artificial shell that he got later in the book’s run.  That’s a very fun touch.  Donnie gets two different head sculpts, one slightly goofy and grinny, and the other one is serious and teeth-baring.  They’re both decent matches for the source, but I do lean more towards the goofier one.  Donnie’s paint work is one of this particular release’s main selling points.  In addition to the base level work, the “Battle Ready” figures all get an extra wash to help to accent the smaller sculpted texture details.  It actually works really well, and it’s surprisingly consistent between the different parts of the figure.  Also worth noting is that the two heads get two different styles of eyes, with pupils on the goofier one, and no pupils for the more serious one.  Given the usual back and forth on the styling, it’s nice to get the option there.  Donatello is packed with three sets of hands (gripping, open gesture, and a pointer grip/fist combo), his bo staff, a pair of goggles, and his anti-gravity gauntlet.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve not really messed with the BST AXN Turtles, but there’s just been more and more, and I guess it was inevitable.  The inevitability came to a head when Max got one of the fancy SDCC ones for me as the first part of last year’s Christmas gift.  It’s a different style of Donnie, and it’s a slightly different style of figure, but both elements work nicely.  I definitely dig it.

#3522: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

Welcome back guys!  I’m…well, refreshed isn’t the right word to use for my post-Christmas break state, since I pretty much just spent the week dealing with the flu, but…it’s a week later?  Yep, that’s it.  First things first: I’ve got a bit of updating to be done.  I’ll be honest with you all, after ten years of doing the site, it’s become routine, and out of routine can come monotony.  And monotony doesn’t make for exciting writing or exciting reading.  And, if I’m not having fun here, then I ask you, what’s the damn point?  I might as well pack the whole thing up.  But I don’t wanna do that, so I’m going to tweak my formula a bit.  Namely, since I know from at least some portion of my readership, that the “Me Half of the Equation” is the bit they read first before going back to the rest if they think it’s worth it, and it’s also my favorite part to write, I’m moving it to the top.  Well, some of it, at least.  Overall assessment of the figure and post-review wrap-up will still be at the end, but the more interesting interludes are now starting things off.  Additionally, I’m going to try to give my reviews a little bit of a peppy-fun-type fact of the day, be it tied to the item’s history, or to my own, because I think that sounds fun.  And, because this is my site, I totally reserve the right to reverse the whole thing and go back to the old style.  We’ll see.  Awaaaaaaay we gooooo!

Fun FiQ Fact #0001:  Dick Grayson is not DC’s first character to use the name Nightwing; in the Silver Age, Superman used the identity while fighting crime in the Bottle City of Kandor, and eventually passed it on to his cousin Van-Zee.

A good portion of my modern DC collecting is owed to early ’00s DC Direct, and one of the most formative lines for me was Batman: Hush, based on Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s run on Batman.  In particular, it was the line’s second series, which featured Nightwing, which got me downright addicted.  I had the release date memorized, and I’d check DCD’s shipping schedules every week for it.  I’d ask about it at Cosmic Comix.  I had pictures saved on my desktop.  The figures haunted my dreams.  And Nightwing stood above them all.  So, when they finally *did* show up, and he was the one that was already gone when I got there, it only made the obsession worse.  Thankfully, it wasn’t a long wait for a restock, and I did get one, which I loved to pieces.  No, seriously, to pieces, because it was a ’00s DCD figure and they had the durability of wet toilet paper.  I’ve still got him, but he’s more glue than plastic at this point, I think.  Still, I do love that Jim Lee Nightwing.  And then MAFEX comes along, with they’re updates to the Hush figures, and Nightwing’s there, and there’s *literally* no way I’m missing that one, right?  Not on your life.  It was another long wait, and one that made me very much remember the wait for the original, but that’s honestly pretty appropriate, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is figure 175 in Medicom’s MAFEX line-up, and is the most current of the line’s Hush tie-in figures, though Ivy is close behind. The figure stands right at about 6 inches tall and he has 43 points of articulation. The movement here is very similar to that of Hush, albeit less restricted, since Dick doesn’t have the trench coat to worry about. It’s a very handy articulation set-up for a guy who’s a trained acrobat, so that’s a very definite plus. Nightwing sports a sculpt based on Jim Lee’s illustrations of the character from the book. Lee’s take on the design isn’t drastically different from the design that came before it, but he ditches the padding on the forearms and shins, resulting in a far more streamlined look, and one that’s, quite frankly, Nightwing’s best.  As with the other two MAFEXes I’ve looked at, the Jim Lee stylings are captured very nicely here, and in general, he makes for a very clean transition to toy form. Like the others, Nightwing gets two different heads, one calmer, and one gritting his teeth. They’re both very nice, very sharp sculpts, which really look the part. Nightwing’s color work is pretty much what it needs to be. It’s basic, but clean. The blue is appropriately bright and eye-catching, and they’ve even remembered to make the mask on both heads blue, fixing the error we saw on the Icons figure. Nightwing is packed with six pairs of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, open gesture, relaxed, and stick twirling), two standard eskrima sticks, one pair of sticks with a posable wire running between them, an alternate back piece with stick storage, and a display stand. I love all the options for the sticks, though I did have some difficulty getting the spinning ones to stay on their matching hands.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

My very long wait for this guy was brought to an end courtesy of All Time Toys owner Jason, who gave me this one as a Christmas present (well, this was my more store related gift; I also got a spot cleaner for carpets, which excites me because I’m apparently an old person now). I very much enjoy him. I’ve got a lot of Nightwings, but this one is the best.

Christmas Break!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in General

Greetings dear readers! I know that I usually jump right back into reviewing post-Xmas around these parts, but I’m doing things a little differently this year, so as to preserve my own sanity just a bit. So, this year, I’ll be taking a hiatus until the new year, just to get some time to catch up on some things. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you all after the new year!

-Ethan

 

#3521: Jawa & Salacious B. Crumb – Holiday Edition

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews

JAWA & SALACIOUS B. CRUMB — HOLIDAY EDITION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Merry Christmas everybody! Do you remember that radical thing I did waaaaaaay back on Friday? You know, with the holiday themed Black Series figure? Well prepare for a reprise, because today I’m looking at a Jawa and a Salacious B Crumb.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Holiday Edition Jawa and Salacious B. Crumb are one of the six Holiday Edition Star Wars: The Black Series releases for 2023. This pair are a Fan Channel exclusive, and are more specifically geared towards the two-pack set-up than other figures. Also, while the Jawa is, like all the other generic characters from this subline just a Jawa, the Kowakian monkey-lizard is identified specifically as “Salacious B. Crumb.” The Jawa stands 4 inches tall and has 28 points of articulation. He reuses the standard Jawa body, which makes sense. It’s a decent sculpt, albeit one that’s a little outmoded these days, especially when it comes to posability. Still, it does what it needs to. Salacious is re-using his original SDCC-exclusive mold, which hasn’t got a ton of play. He’s a little shy of 3 inches tall and has 11 points of articulation. It’s a pretty good mold he’s using, and it replicates the puppet pretty well. Both figures get re-decoes. The Jawa has a Santa color scheme, as well as his attached blaster getting a Nerf-style color scheme. Salacious is now green, I’m presuming in a nod to the Grinch. It’s pretty striking, and it contrasts well with the Jawa.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since this set is a fan channel exclusive, it was exceedingly easy for me to get. On top of that, I think the Jawa’s color set up is honestly one of the best for this subset. It’s also nice to get another shot at the Salacious mold, even if it’s in an off-standard color scheme.

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.

 

#3520: KX Security Droid – Holiday Edition

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

KX SECURITY DROID — HOLIDAY EDITION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

Okay, so it may not quite be Christmas yet, but you know what? I’m gonna do two Christmas-y reviews this year. Of course, since Christmas Eve falls on a weekend this year, I guess I’ll just observe it today, instead. That seems fair, right?  Yeah, let’s do that!  Last year, I took a brief look into Hasbro’s Black Series holiday offerings, and that feels like a pretty easy road to go back down.  There’s even more of them this year, including today’s offering, the KX Security Droid!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Holiday Edition KX Security Droid is one of the six Holiday Edition Star Wars: The Black Series figures for 2023.  This one in particular is the Walmart-exclusive portion of the line-up.  As with last year’s Protocol Droid, the KX doesn’t get any sort of clever name or anything, which feels like a bit of a bummer, but it’s at least brand-consistent.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  The KX is re-using the K-2SO mold, which makes sense, them being the same model of droid and all.  It helps that it remains a really strong mold, even seven years after its original use.  The only draw back to my personal copy is that one of his legs snapped off at the hip joint, which is a real bummer.  The color scheme really mixes things up on this one, going for a predominantly white color scheme, accented with red and green, which is all appropriately festive.  I especially dig the snowflakes swapping in for the Imperial Cog.  The KX is packed with a small blaster pistol, done up in Nerf-style colors, which is fun.  He also gets the requisite smaller companion figure that all of the Holiday Edition figures have gotten.  It’s another BD-1, this time decoed up in white and blue.  Not quite as overtly festive as the one that came with the Protocol Droid, but it’s still pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a big fan of this mold, and of the Holiday Edition concept.  That said, given how kitschy they are, I’m not hunting any of them down.  With this guy being a Walmart exclusive, I figured I wouldn’t be getting one any time soon and called it a day, but when one turned up as a trade-in at All Time, I jumped on it.  His broken hip is a real bummer, but he’s otherwise a fun, and I’m still very much a fan of this whole concept.

#3519: Nighthawk & Blur

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

NIGHTHAWK & BLUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The high-flying Nighthawk and super-speedy Blur ally with each other and the Squadron Supreme to defend their Earth”

It’s a rarity that I get to return to a Squadron Supreme discussion.  Sure, I’ve brought the team up a few times before, but it’s always about recontextualizing what is inevitably another Nighthawk or Hyperion.  This time, I actually get to build on a set I’m already building….albeit with another Nighthawk…but that’s not the point!  There are others as well!  That’s right, the Not-Batman comes packed with a Not-Flash, The Whizzer Blur!  Let’s check them out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nighthawk and Blur are the second of the two Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-packs based on the Squadron Supreme.  While the first set was a fairly catch-all classic take on its characters, this set more definitively dials in on specifically the Squadron Supreme of America incarnation created by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness.

NIGHTHAWK

Hey, it’s Nighthawk!  The Kyle Richmond version!  Which Kyle Richmond version, you ask?  Valid.  There’s actually four separate Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, and that’s *just* the Kyle Richmond versions.  There’s another four not-Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, but they admittedly get outweighed by Kyle.  This latest Kyle is perhaps the most Batman-y of the Kyle Nighthawks, so he’s got that going for him.  Design wise, he’s kind of a greatest hits of all the Richmonds before him, which is nifty, I suppose.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Vulcan body, which makes a degree of sense, since Vulcan’s supposed to be replacing Bucky Cap, and that’s what the last Nighthawk was based on.  He gets a new head and cape piece.  They seem pretty in line with McGuninness’s depiction of the character, albeit filtered through the line’s usual stylings.  The cape’s a little tricky to keep in place and kind of stiff, but it’s an improvement on the last one for the most part.  His color work is a bit darker than the last Nighthawk, which is in line with the depiction in the comics.  The molded color work is solid, and the paint application is nice and sharp.  Nighthawk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open, and three not-Batarangs.

BLUR

When the Squadron Sinister first appeared back in the ’60s, their Flash equivalent was re-using the name of Golden Age speedster The Whizzer, and when the Squadron Supreme came into existence a decade later, the heroic equivalent was also re-using the name.  It’s a name that’s admittedly a little on the sillier side, I suppose, so the villainous version switched to “Speed Demon,” while the heroic version took on the name “Blur” during Strazinski’s reboot of the team from the early ’00s.  Aaron and McGuinness’s version kept the “Blur” name going, albeit married to a design that’s a pretty strict update to the Silver Age Whizzer designed.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  This figure is based on the 2099 base body, with the upgraded arms and legs to remove the elbow and knee pins.  Speed Demon was built on the Pizza Spidey body, and I honestly was never entirely happy with that.  This one suits the general character set-up a lot better.  He gets a new head and belt, courtesy of sculptor Paul Harding.  The head’s a fantastic piece of work, with a nice, fun-loving grin on his face.  It feels very true to the character.  The color work is pretty clean; the black and yellow works well, and the painted elements are quite nice.  Blur is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly didn’t intend to pick this set up.  I got the first pack mostly because I just wanted a Doctor Spectrum.  These two using the newer designs meant I had less attachment to them, so I was planning to pass.  But, then they announced Power Princess, meaning I’d be able to finally have *some* version of the team completed, and the more I looked at the Blur figure, the more I liked him.  Blur is the real star here for me; something about his simplicity just really works, and he’s close enough to the classic Whizzer design to work for my collecting sensibilities.  Nighthawk I can take or leave.  I prefer the Defenders costume to this one, so it’ll remain my primary version of the character.  Of course, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a first appearance costume for him.

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.

Mutant X Re-Read #21: Jean Grey and Madelyne Prior?!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Mutant X Re-Read

EVERYTHING YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW…

MUTANT X #20 (MARVEL COMICS)

“In another place–in another life–Alex Summers led a team of mutants in a battle against oppression. His methods were extreme, his tactics questionable, but–in his soul–he knew that he was fighting for the greater good.

Now that soul has been transferred to another world, and Summers, also known as Havok, has found himself living a lie, allied with a team of mutants who are sinister, parallel versions of his friends and family. It is to this dark, new place that Havok has come, where he stands as a man alone… a mutant alone. Alex Summers is Mutant X.

Fear him. Fear for him.”

25 years ago, Marvel Comics launched Mutant X, a Havok led X-spinoff. I recently came into a complete run of the series, and so now I’m going to re-read the series once a week, and you guys get to come along for the ride!

This week, Havok finds himself going all Inception, with an alternate world within an alternate world in “Everything You Thought You Knew…”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #20 is cover-dated June of 2000, and it has Howard Mackie as writer, Jabier Saltares, Tom Lyle, and Billy Patton as pencillers, and Andrew Pepoy, Cliff Rathburn, John Czop, and Jay Leisten as inkers.

Havok falls through the Nexus again, remembering his death once more (don’t worry, he remarks on how frequently this has been happening).  He wakes up in a room with The Six, in their original line-up, Madelyn and Fallen included.  The others don’t remember anything after the Sentinel blast that happened in issue #1.  Havok thinks to himself about all the things that have happened in the last 20 issues, wondering what’s reality.  He is descended on by Jean Grey.  Jean tries to tell Alex something, but Madelyn attacks her, chasing Jean away.  Alex is joined later by Xavier, who goes into Alex’s mind, showing Alex his past from this world.  As Xavier delves into Alex’s mind, an apparition of Jean arrives, warning Alex not to listen to him.  Xavier and Jean do battle, and Xavier takes the advantage.  Suddenly the team are at Apocalypse’s citadel, where Xavier wants Alex and the others to kill Apocalypse.  Jean appears again, and Xavier orders Alex to kill her.  When Alex hesitates, Xavier begins to unravel, and reveals that he has created this false world to keep Alex trapped.  Jean pulls Alex out, and he awakes in Apocalypse’s lair, where Apocalypse asks Alex to help him take down Xavier.

This issue has a premise that’s intriguing in concept, but not quite so in practice. The idea of Alex sort of “resetting” back to day one in this alternate reality feels like it should allow for more exploration than it actually does. Furthermore, the reveal that it’s Xavier causing the altered state leaves you questioning why exactly Xavier would trick Havok into thinking he’s in an altered version of this reality, as opposed to some version of his home reality. Instead, we get more of Havok stumbling through being confused again, with little growth for the other characters. Then he wakes up, and he’s apparently been with Jean and Apocalypse this whole time? Also, what about Jean working for Sinister?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I do like the shift away from the very similar to the main reality depiction of Xavier from last issue, I’m not sure this one quite sells the turn to villain as well as it could. Again, I knew where it was headed, so I suppose that removes some of the surprise, but it felt a little unexciting here. I do like the heroic Apocalypse angle though, and I want to see where that goes.

I snagged this whole run from my usual comics stop, Cosmic Comix, so I want to give them a shout out here, because it was a pretty great find.

#3518: Marrok

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

MARROK

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

In the lead up to Ahsoka, the trailer showed a mysterious figure in dark armor, wielding an Inquistor-style saber.  Who could this guy be?  Could he be…oh, I don’t know, maybe an Inquistor?  But who?  Well, then we got a name, Marrok.  He’s an ex-Inquisitor named Marrok.  But who could he be, though?  Well, as it turns out, an ex-Inquisitor named Marrok.  Can you believe that’s all.  How could he not be Starkiller, or a revived Kanan.  How could this character whose name we already had not be…that exact guy?  They’re killing the franchise, right?  Yes, that must be it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Marrok is figure 8 in the Ahsoka sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘ Phase IV run.  He, like last week’s Hera, is part of the second assortment with tie-in figures for the show.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He’s largely using the now standard set-up for the line, which works reasonably well.  One notable change is that he’s got ball-jointed wrists, rather than the usual universals.  It gets a little bit less movement in each direction, but has the benefit of being able to move all directions.  Marrok is sporting an all-new sculpt, which looks to be a pretty good recreation of his show design.  The armor pieces are all separate, which looks pretty good, but is a little floaty in some spots, especially the chest armor.  He’s also a little bit off on the proportions, with the head and hands seeming just a touch on the large side.  That said, the detail work on this guy is pretty sharp, and there’s a lot going on.  The figure’s color work is a solid match for this show look; it’s a mix of greys and blacks; it’s a little more pronounced in difference than the show look, but that’s probably a lighting thing.  I do dig the brown accenting work, which adds some pop to the sculpt.  Marrok is packed with a cloth cape and his Inquisitor saber.  The cape is a little clunky, but not a terrible piece.  The saber is a pretty standard set-up for the line; removable blades, and you can mount it on his back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Marrok’s design is one that spoke to me from his early appearances.  I never expected him to be anything more than he was, and I was thus not disappointed by his role on the show.  He’s a Star Wars character with a cool look and little else, putting him in a pretty decent category of characters from the franchise.  His figure’s not the height of The Black Series quality, but he’s still a pretty fun little figure.

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.

#3517: War Machine

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

WAR MACHINE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With a new modular Gatling Cannon and enough firepower to take on a legion of enemies, the War Machine — AKA Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes — is a true one-man army.”

Hey, do you guys wanna talk about the implications of Secret War‘s big Skrull identity reveal on the events of everything post-Civil War as it pertains to Rhodey?  No?  Yeah, me neither.  Wanna pretend its not a thing until we have no other choice?  I certainly do.  Let’s do that.  But, hey, while we’re on that, can we address that the Civil War era armor design for War Machine is, like, peak War Machine design?  It’s pretty solid, and it’s got a figure, and I’m looking at that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

War Machine is part of the 2023 assortment of the Infinity Saga sub-line of Marvel Legends.  He’s one of the three Captain America: Civil War-based figures, which, rather amusing, doesn’t include a Captain America, but *does* does have both Iron Man and War Machine; way to upstage a guy in his own movie, guys.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  War Machine is a total mold re-use of the original Civil War release, which I looked at when it was repainted as Punisher War Machine.  The only times it was released in standard colors were as a Target-exclusive in a two-pack, and as a Disney Store-exclusive in a four pack, so a single release does make a lot of sense.  It helps that its also a pretty solid sculpt, and it still holds up pretty nicely, apart from a few spots where the articulation is a little bit stiff.  That said, it’s a really good looking sculpt, and very accurate to the source material.  I also found that the guns and baton stayed in place better on this release than my Punisher War Machine, which is a definite plus.  The only area with notable change from the original release is the paint work.  Admittedly, even that’s minor, but this time around the application is a lot sharper and cleaner, and the reds on the eyes and arc reactor now have a fade to white, giving them a bit more depth and realism.  In general, it’s just a much better look, all around.  This release gets the same accessories set-up as all the prior releases of the mold, meaning he includes two sets of hands (in fists and gripping), deployed and stowed versions of the baton and cannon, and the two removable forearm guns.  Its a shame we couldn’t get an unmasked Rhodey head, since there’s not new parts on this one, but it’s not like he’s a light feeling figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My saga of owning this version of War Machine is…well, it’s frustrating, and it’s entirely my own fault.   I passed up on the figure in the two-pack a couple of times, even when I saw it on clearance, which felt silly once they were gone.  Shortly after getting the Punisher version of the mold, I finally managed to track down a loose one…and then I opted to get rid of it when streamlining my collection, since I had the Punisher version and the Endgame armor.  Then I decided to downsize my Punisher figures, and I realized that I wouldn’t have this armor at all, which…well, it was annoying.  But, then they announced this release, and that made things better, especially since this one is just the two-pack figure, but improved.  Definitely my go-to MCU War Machine.

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.