Author Archives: Ethan Wilson

#3466: World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection I

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

SUPERMAN BLUE, GREEN LANTERN, THE HUNTRESS, HOLOGRAM BATMAN, & HOLOGRAM FLASH

JLA (KENNER)

“The mightiest heroes in the universe join forces to combat the world’s most diabolical villains – and their own evil counterparts!”

In 1996, looking to expand their DC line beyond just Batman, and after the success of the more comics-based Legends of Batman, Kenner launched Total Justice.  Okay, to be more specific, they launched “Batman: Total Justice” because they still weren’t totally sold on non-Batman success.  The line did alright, but only lasted three assortments, two of them abbreviated ones at that.  Two years later, they revisited the concept, in light of the success of the relaunched JLA comic, and dubbed it, rather predictably, JLA.  The whole thing was kicked off by two boxed sets, which repurposed old TJ molds to put the characters back out before delving into new ones.  The sets re-released six JLA members, coupled with four of their holographic duplicates from “Rock of Ages.”  And hey, why don’t I look at the first of those today?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Superman Blue, Green Lantern, Huntress, Hologram Batman, and Hologram Flash were released as “The World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection I” boxed set, which, along with Collection II, kicked off Kenner’s JLA line.  Both sets were Previews-exclusives, though the three JLA members per set were also available in the first single-carded assortment of the line.

SUPERMAN BLUE

“As one half of Clark Kent’s alter ego, Superman Blue is slow to anger, patient, courteous and serious in nature. He shares the powers and strategic thinking of Superman Red, but their different attitudes tend to get in each other’s way.”

While Man of Steel and Total Justice had hit firmly during Superman’s mullet phase, JLA hit right as he was spending a year with a brand-new power set, and a brand-new design to correspond.  So, rather than a classic Superman (who, to be fair, we got later down the line), our main Superman at launch was Superman Blue, who got his first of three figures in short succession right here.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He is, unsurprisingly, the exact same construction as the Superman Red from the single-card releases, meaning he’s the Total Justice Superman sans cape, with the head of the Man of Steel line’s Hunter Prey Superman.  It’s not a perfect set-up.  In fact, it’s not a great set-up, since he still keeps all of the sculpted details for the standard Superman costume, as well as the totally different head gear set-up of the Hunter Prey design.  They straight up just paint over it all and really hope you don’t notice.  And, honestly, it’s fine.  It’s not great, but it’s fine.  The colors actually look really solid; like Red, Blue is bright and vibrant, and really pops off the shelf.  I can definitely dig that.  Superman Blue gets a blue JLA display stand, and a cardstock cover of JLA #15, which does at the very least actually feature him.

GREEN LANTERN

“One of the youngest members of the JLA team, Kyle Rayner inherited a ring, which is considered to be the most powerful weapon in the universe. The ring is capable of generating solid light in the form of anything Kyle imagines”

Since Kyle Rayner was the Green Lantern of the ’90s, he had gotten his first figure during Total Justice.  JLA gave him a rather quick follow-up second, albeit one that’s not incredibly different from the first.  Whatever the case, the figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Kyle’s sculpt is one that has a lot of trouble standing, due to the severe pre-posing present.  Those legs are just jutting out there.  It’s kinda crazy, really.  The best word I can think of to describe it is “intense.”  Like, he’s very angry, and very into it, and he’s not planning to stop any time soon.  Kyle was generally depicted as rather on the jovial side, but that’s not the case with this guy, who’s got a pretty angry look about him.  Presumably, he just found his girlfriend in the refrigerator.  Shame.  It’s a sculpt that I don’t think anyone can quantify as “good,” but it sure does do…something.  Look, it’s very memorable.  In terms of color scheme, Kyle’s original Total Justice figure was pretty subdued on his colors, with the greens a little on the darker side, the black more of a dark blue, and the white a sort of pearlescent shade.  For JLA, which tended to aim darker, they actually punched it up a bit.  The white and black are much starker, and the green is just a tad lighter.  During Total Justice, GL got some of the line’s crazy Fractal Armor, but in his case it was done up in translucent green plastic, so it looks like a construct, which seems less silly.  For JLA, he got a green stand and a backer with JLA #14 on it.  He’s one of the three Leaguers on the cover, so it works well enough.

HUNTRESS

“In a quest for vengeance against the death of her family, Helena Bertinelli, a Gotham City high school teacher, became The Huntress. With her arsenal of weapons, she preys upon Gotham City criminals.”

Huntress was a later addition to the JLA in the comics, and also had been a late addition to Total Justice, hitting during the ill-distributed final wave of the line.  As such, she’s one of two odd-ball characters included in these sets, without a Hologram duplicate in the alternate.  She’s seen here in her mid-90s attire, which she quite fortunately kept through both Total Justice and JLA’s runs.  I’ll admit, it doesn’t quite hit the same for me as the later Jim Lee redesign, but I guess it’s not a terrible design.  The figure stands a little under 5 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation…technically.  Of course, the hair costs the neck almost all of its movement, and the hips are at an odd angle.  Like, not quite v-hip, but not straight t-hip.  So, it’s really just the arms that do anything.  That all said, her sculpt’s honestly one of the better ones from the line.  Her pose isn’t anything too crazy, she’s surprisingly stable on her feet, and her face lacks the weird intensity of most of the others.  Her cape is also pretty basic, with enough flow to prevent it from looking too stiff, but not anything that looks *too* crazy.  Huntress’s Total Justice color scheme went for the comic style shading, giving her a purple and blue outfit.  For the JLA release, that was translated to purple and black, which definitely looks a little bit sharper.  Her TJ figure got a crossbow and fractal armor (which are both missing from my figure), while the JLA figure got the crossbow, a purple display stand, and a backer with JLA #13 on it…which is interesting, because, in addition to the cover being just a close-up of Martian Manhunter’s face, Huntress is also just not in the issue.  So, you know, there it is?

HOLOGRAM BATMAN & HOLOGRAM FLASH

“Embroiled in their greatest battle ever, the legendary JLA confronts its own holographic counterparts in a fight to save Star City from mass destruction. Identically matched in power and ability to the originals, the evil holograms were engineered by the infamous Injustice Gang – a group of such sinister masterminds as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe, Mirror Master, Dr. Light and Ocean Master.”

Exclusive to these sets were the Hologram JLA, based on the purple-hued JLA avatars that the Injustice Gang used during the first issue of the “Rock of Ages” storyline.  They were a pretty straight forward gimmicky re-paint using the existing TJ molds of the JLA members.  This set got Batman and Flash, whose standards were included in the other set.  Both figures are just shy of 5 inches tall.  Flash has the standard 5 points of articulation, while Batman also gets the sliding glider wings of the TJ mold.  I’ve looked at both of these molds previously here and here.  They’re very much products of their time.  To sell them as the holograms that they are, both figures are molded in translucent plastic, with a big emphasis on purple hues, which honestly is a pretty fun and unique look.  They come with JLA logo stands, both in a dark purple, as well as their own backer cards.  Batman gets #16 and Flash gets #17, neither of which features these two, either on the cover or in their contents.  Also, #16 has Huntress, so, like, maybe that one should have gone to her?  I don’t know, I’m just spit-balling here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t get this set when it was new.  I had gotten the Total Justice Green Lantern as a Christmas gift from my aunt, and my cousin Rusty had traded me the Huntress for something else, and I didn’t really care for Superman Blue at the time, nor did I have any attachment to the Hologram JLA.  Over the years, I’ve grown to have more appreciation for this line overall, and I really wanted those Holo guys above all, but I haven’t seen the sets in person since.  But, a couple of weeks ago, Cosmic Comix got this one and the second one in, and I was feeling particularly nostalgic.

#3465: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Dubbed unfit for traditional service, Steve Rogers became the first human trial of the Super-Soldier serum – the success of which boosted his strength, endurance and speed to the pinnacle of human achievement and led him to become Captain America!”

Following the boom in popularity that Marvel as a whole experienced in the wake of 2008’s Iron Man, DST’s Marvel Minimates got some new attention and some new life, and that brought with it the need for some new releases of major characters.  Their quick fix was a pairing of sets, one heroes, one villains, offering up classic versions of some heavy hitters.  Honestly, it wasn’t a terrible set-up.  There was a Captain America involved, and I’m pretty much never upset about that, so I’m taking a look at him today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America was part of the four-figure “Heroes to the Rescue” set of Marvel Minimates, released through specialty channels in the spring of 2009, as a pair with the “Bring on the Bad Guys” set with the villains.  While three of the four figures from each set (Spider-Man, Wolverine, and Hulk, in this case) were paired up with their opposite numbers for two-packs in TRU Series 2, Cap and Red Skull were locked into these sets exclusively.  It’s odd in this day and age for Cap to be the one locked behind an exclusive, but it’s where we were.  This marked his eight time as a Minimate, and it was yet another take on his classic attire.  The figure is built on the post C3-Minimate body, with the caveat of using the flappy boots, so he’s about 2 1/2 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  Cap has add-ons for his mask, gloves, belt, boots, and shoulder harness.  The gloves and mask date back to his original Series 5 release, the belt and boots came from the “Civil War” set the prior year, and the harness was from the prior year’s “Invaders” Cap.  It’s an interesting mix of parts.  From the neck down, he’s the same build as “Invaders” Cap, with only the mask as a change-up, since the full face mask on the earlier release wasn’t well-received.  The mask doesn’t quite fit right on this one; it seems that a combination of it shrinking and the head being just a touch bigger led to it getting stuck about two-thirds of the way down.  It’s okay, though, because the face seems to have been designed to compensate, and sits higher up than prior versions, so it still *sorta* lines up?  The paint work on this one takes some notes from how the two ’08 Caps had handled their detailing, and tweaks a bit further.  It’s very sharp and clean.  Cap’s facial expression is yelling, in a very Kirby style, which I very much dig.  Under his sculpted belt, he also gets a more streamlined painted one, which is cool, and I really dig the Mego-style painted shadow on the front of the mask.  Cap was packed with his shield (which is back to the original clasp that can go all the way up the arm), an alternate hand for use with the shield, and a hair piece (recolored from Star Trek‘s Captain Kirk) for an unmasked look….if you can ever get the mask off, of course.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I passed on the entire heroes set when these dropped because Cap was the only truly exclusive one, and I didn’t feel I needed another version.  I know.  I read what I wrote, too.  Yes, it does seem insane, doesn’t it?  In my defense, I was still very much a Series 5 Cap purist at the time, and even “Invaders” Cap only got in on the technicality of being a unique look.  Later, I learned to love all Cap Minimates for their own reasons, independent of Series 5 Cap, and the world was a better place.  I wound up getting this one (and a great many other Cap ‘mates) as part of a large Minimates collection that All Time bought back in 2019.  He’s not really much to write home about in light of others in the Cap line-up, but he’s a solid Cap on his own, issues with the mask not withstanding.

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.

#3464: Hawkeye with Sky-Cycle

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

HAWKEYE WITH SKY-CYCLE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Ex-circus performer Clint Barton renounced a life of crime to join the Avengers as Hawkeye. Using his archery skills atop his Sky-Cycle he leads the fight against the foes no single hero could withstand”

There’s a short list of Avengers members that the team just doesn’t feel like “the Avengers” without, and very prominently placed on that list is Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye.  He joined the team just over a year into their run, and remained a member in some fashion pretty consistently. So, if you’re planning a celebration of the team’s 60th anniversary, you’d be kind of hard-pressed to leave him out of the running.  Thankfully, Hasbro avoided doing just that, and gave him the deluxe treatment, even.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hawkeye with the Sky-Cycle is part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends. He’s a wide release item that hit with the rest of the set towards the end of the summer. Everything is it’s own separate item and price point, much like the Spidey anniversary stuff from last year, but Hawkeye is clearly meant to be continuing the Legendary Riders pricing and set-up. This Hawkeye is clearly meant to be a classic Hawkeye, which we haven’t seen in the line since the retro card one in 2018. But, where that was a redeco of the Allfather Series release, this one’s an all-new figure. He stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation. Hawkeye gets one major improvement over prior Hawkeyes: butterfly shoulders. Very helpful when it comes to archery poses, so it’s about time. He’s also pinless at the elbows and knees, which looks extra slick. The last handful of comic Hawkeyes have all gone for the Bucky Cap base, but with that (allegedly) retired, this one instead gets a body that appears to be entirely new, and is courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete. It takes what worked about prior comic Hawkeyes and really just expands on that. The head is a little sharper and less boxy, which feels truer to the character. His whole set-up on his torso is also sculpted into the chest, rather than being an overlay piece, which slims the look down a lot and also makes him far easier to pose. The skirt piece is cloth this time, rather than plastic or rubber, which makes for a far better range of motion on the hips as well. The only down points for me are the upper arm bands, which suffer a bit from the Jim-Lee-Cyclops-always-popping-out-of-place syndrome, and the knee joints, which really stick on my figure. Otherwise, I really love it. Hawkeye’s paint scheme is actually pretty solid. There’s far more accent work than we usually see on comics figures, and a nice mix of differing shades and finishes on the purples. Hawkeye is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping) a bow, an arrow, his quiver, and, of course, the Sky-Cycle mentioned in the title.  I like getting extra hands, but I do feel like the simple grip hands are a bit limiting.  He really struggles to hold the arrow in any convincing fashion.  Also, if they’re going to go with cloth for the skirt, it’s a shame we couldn’t also get a proper string on the bow; this one being plastic makes it very difficult to do any convincing drawback poses.  The Sky-Cycle is the bigger focus here; it’s cool and all, and even has the adjustable flight stand thingy, but I’m personally not gonna use it much.  It’s a nice way of padding the cost so that Hawkeye could get a slightly more deluxe treatment, though, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I liked my Toy Biz Hawkeye well enough back in the day.  Then I liked my Allfather Series one well enough after that.  I even picked up the Retro one in the interim, and I liked that one too.  So, I suppose I didn’t *need* this one.  Hawkeye’s a character that’s always been served pretty well by Legends, so the changes from figure to figure are very incremental.  That doesn’t mean this one’s not fantastic, of course.  He’s very definitely the best Hawkeye Legend, and will be very hard to top.  Heck, I like him about equally to my Marvel Universe one, and I’ve thought for quite some time that he’s the best Hawkeye ever made, so that’s pretty high praise.  I’m not sure about the whole riders thing and bumping up the price, but damn if this isn’t a really, really nice 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.

Mutant X Re-Read #12: Beware, Scotty Summers…Some nightmares come true!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Mutant X Re-Read

AND A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM

MUTANT X #11 (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, don’t tell Scotty, because Scotty doesn’t know…or something like that.

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #11 is cover dated August of 1999, and was written by Howard Mackie, with pencils by JJ Kirby and Mike Miller, and inks by Pepoy, Greene, Elmer, Mei, Koblish, and Candelario. That’s a lot of inkers; I’d guess the monthly schedule got thrown off by the annual the prior month.

At the X-mansion, Scotty sits at the top of the stairs listening to Havok and the X-Men discussing what to do about Madelyn. His thoughts go out to her, and she hears him. In Madelyn’s mind, she faces down a personification of the Goblin Queen, before the two merge into one entity. Back at the mansion, Ororo has come for Scotty. The X-Men are unsuccessful in fighting her off, and Ororo brings Scotty back to the castle. Locked away, Scotty lashes out with his powers. He is visited by Brute, who is freed from Madelyn’s control by Scotty’s abilities. Brute breaks Scotty out, facing down against his old teammates. Scotty briefly frees Ice-Man and Bloodstorm from Madelyn’s control, but is unable to reach Fallen, who nearly kills him. Madelyn intervenes, seemingly holding back her Goblin side, and she sends Scotty and Brute away, back to the mansion.

After being a supporting player for several issues, Scotty gets to be the main focus this issue, and it works well. The stakes feel pretty real, and it’s nice to see the Six back to themselves, even briefly. Brute’s return is especially nice, because he remains one of my favorites. Madelyn being more than just the big bad for a change is also refreshing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is the last issue before the big wrap-up of what was supposed to end the original run, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. We’ve seen a fair bit of filler recently, and this one *could* have been that, but it wasn’t. I particularly liked the ending being just a nice, hopeful note, rather than a cliffhanger. I’m actually pretty excited for the next chapter, though.

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.

#3463: Roboto – Minicomic

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

ROBOTO — MINICOMIC

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE ORIGINS (MATTEL)

Something I’ve discussed a lot in my more recent Masters of the Universe reviews is how I avoid getting *too* sucked into Masters lines by sticking to a few select characters and not expanding much beyond that.  It tends to lock me in at one version of a given character per style.  Sometimes, however, it backfires on me just a little bit, when Mattel does exactly what they’ve done here and goes for an easy repaint.  And then I’m over here buying yet another Roboto.  Worse things have happened, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Roboto was released as part of Wave 12 of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe Origins line, which started showing up towards the end of the summer.  The line’s been a little out of sequence, so they actually wound up hitting *after* 13, and with a pretty last minute announcement at that.  Whatever the case, we got a new Roboto, and that’s what really matters.  This one is specifically patterned on his early minicomic appearances, which has been a running trend of variants for the line.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation, in addition to the moving jaw piece.  Roboto is a total parts re-use from the standard colored version, which isn’t even the slightest bit surprising.  That’s been the mincomic set-up for the most part, and Roboto’s look is pretty much just a palette swap anyway.  It’s still a very strong sculpt, and I like it a lot, so I certainly don’t mind seeing it again.  The main change-up here, of course, is the color scheme, which shifts him to the colors seen in “The Battle of Roboto,” and other minicomics from the vintage run.  His limbs are now orange, rather than blue and red, and, most importantly, he’s got the heart on his chest, which in the comics was the thing responsible for Roboto’s human emotions.  It’s so hokey, but I love it so much, so I’m very glad it’s there.  Just like his first release, Roboto includes his three arm attachments: blaster, axe, and claw.  He’s also still got the standard action feature; turning the torso moves the gears in the chest and moves his jaw up and down.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Roboto is an interesting break from how I was introduced to a good portion of MOTU.  I know most of it because of the 200x series, but in Roboto’s case, my first exposure to the character was in “The Battle of Roboto,” which came with my vintage Orko that I picked up at a toy show in the early ’00s.  I loved that take on the character, and it’s informed my love of the character in general since.  I honestly didn’t expect this figure, but I was genuinely very excited by its announcement and arrival.  He’s not terribly different from the last one, of course, but I love the small little touches.

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.

#3462: Captain Marvel vs Doctor Doom

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CAPTAIN MARVEL VS DOCTOR DOOM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Whisked to another planet by the mysterious Beyonder, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau) joins forces with fellow heroes in Secret Wars to stop Doctor Doom from becoming an all-powerful being”

It’s not really a secret 1984’s Secret Wars was really just about selling toys.  Mattel had the Marvel license and wanted a central book to tie them into, so that’s what they did.  Even the title, which was originally meant to be “Cosmic Champions,” was picked because focus groups found that kids liked the words “secret” and “war.”  The resulting 12-issue series is *not* good (to be fair, neither are the toys it tied into), but it was certainly very marketable.  With this year being the 60th anniversary of the Avengers, and next year being the 40th anniversary of Secret Wars, it’s a perfect time to do something that strikes those two themes, I suppose.  So, let’s look at Captain Marvel and Doctor Doom!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Marvel and Doctor Doom are part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Marvel Legends, which is celebrating the Avengers anniversary.  Secret Wars isn’t specifically an Avengers story, but they’re present for it, and it’s a good enough excuse to trot some new looks out, I suppose.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

After years of no toy coverage at all, Monica Rambeau is finally getting her due, with two whole figures in the same year, no less.  That’s downright amazing.  When she was first introduced in the ’80s, she was the second character to bear the title “Captain Marvel,” which she held onto until Genis-Vell took the mantle in the ’90s.  Since this is meant to actually be her in the ’80s, she finally gets a figure with her original name, which is also pretty amazing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s using the modified base-body parts last used on Spinneret, with a new head, arms, and lower legs.  The head is definitely the strongest part; she matches well with Monica’s depictions in the comics from the ’80s, and the hair even gets an impressive level of texturing and detailing.  The arms feature her “wings,” which are a little stubborn to work with, due to their split construction.  They look alright in straight-armed poses, but they’re awkward in other poses.  I’m not sure if they’re better or worse than the cloth set-up on Banshee and Siryn…it’s more a lateral move, I guess.  The new legs get flappy boots, which are cool.  I don’t dig the lack of peg-holes on the feet, but that’s about it.  Monica’s color work is pretty solid; she’s got some sufficient pop, and the white and black works really well for her.  Monica is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

DOCTOR DOOM

One of the things that Mattel requested of Secret Wars was a new, more toyetic design for classic villain Doctor Doom, so Marvel obliged, and Doom got a more armored up appearance for the run of the series.  Despite its toyetic-ness, it’s actually kind of rare in toy form, with only its original Mattel release and a Minimate prior to this version.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  In a similar fashion to the vintage figure, he makes use of Iron Man parts, specifically the arms and legs of the “80 Years” Iron Man, along with a new head, torso, pelvis, and add-on piece for his leg band.  The new parts get a lot of really nice detailing, and mesh well with the prior existing parts.  I do particularly like the new head, which is a really nice classic Doom design.  His color scheme is a bright take on classic Doom colors, and they’re metallic, which is honestly pretty fun.  Doom is packed with two sets of hands (in fists and open gesture), as well as an unmasked head, a pulled down hood piece, and a separate mask piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m on record as being a pretty big fan of Monica Rambeau.  I’m pretty much always down for her in figure form, and I’ve been hoping for a classic version of her for some time.  I was definitely down for this one when it was announced.  She’s ultimately pretty by the numbers, but I can’t say I really need much more from her.  Doom is kind of the dead weight of the set for me, but I’m not necessarily the target market, since I’ve been content ever since the Retro card version got released.

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 and their eBay storefront.

#3461: Superman – Fortress of Solitude

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

SUPERMAN — FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

“Upon retreating to the distant Fortress of Solitude, Superman wears the traditional costume of his home planet Krypton, rejuvenating his immense powers and developing prototype peace-keeping weapons from centuries-old Kryptonian crystal technology.”

When it comes to the DC Animated Universe, Batman: The Animated Series gets a lot of love.  Deserved love, mind you; it earned its place in history.  However, for my money, the unsung hero of the DCAU is BTAS‘s follow-up, Superman: The Animated Series, which takes the success of Batman, and builds on it, creating the groundwork for the wider DCAU that would eventually spawn Justice League Unlimited, and would craft a wider appreciation for the DC universe as a whole.  It’s genuinely my favorite entry in the franchise, and holds up as one of my favorite takes on the Man of Steel.  One area where I think it really blows away every other iteration of the Superman mythos is its depiction of pre-destruction Krypton.  While the toyline missed most of it, they did at the very least throw us a bone with “Fortress of Solitude” Superman, who I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Fortress of Solitude Superman was released in what was intended to be the third series of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series toyline.  They were shown off in 1997 and received an international release in 1998, but they wouldn’t make their way to the states until 2001, when they started showing up at KB Toys, with exactly no fanfare.  Hey, better late than never, right?  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Fortress of Solitude Superman was a largely all-new sculpt when he was released.  He’s based on Clark in traditional Kryptonian attire, as he’s briefly seen in “The Main Man Part 1.”  The look has been modified a bit, which was a pretty expected move for this line.  The biggest change is the addition of a S-logo on the front of the tabard; the look otherwise has no clear branding, I guess, and branding was definitely very big here.  In keeping with other figures from the line, he also gets extra detailing on areas that were simpler on the show, in this case the squares on his arms and legs, which now are properly raised, with further design elements added.  It’s not accurate, but it’s admittedly pretty cool.  There were a few different Superman head sculpts that ran through the line, with a range of show accuracy.  This particular assortment lands somewhere in the middle; not as bad as the first series, but not as close as the fourth.  It’s just a touch too tall and narrow for proper accuracy, but it’s not terrible.  The color work on this guy is interesting, because it *could* be a lot more basic than it is, and be more accurate.  Instead, they go a different angle.  Where his body suit should just be stark black, it’s instead semi-translucent, with metallic flecks, giving him a cool star field looking pattern.  Also, the tabard is removable, and while there’s no reason to have any detailing underneath, he’s got another Superman emblem.  Really pushing that branding, huh?  Superman is packed with a “Turbo-Spin Crystal Cannon.”  Whatever that may be.  It’s big and hard for him to hold, but, you know, there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back in the day, I spent a lot of my time on Raving Toy Maniac, which had a whole bunch of figure archives run by Toy Otter.  One of those was for the Superman: The Animated Series line, which is how I knew about this figure three years before he made it to the states.  I had a printed out picture of the prototype that I’d turned into a paper figure and everything.  Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found him at KB Toys in 2001.  I don’t have a ton of memories about him, but I do recall him being the only action figure I managed to smuggle with me on the one and only camping trip I did during my very short Cub Scouts career.  My original went missing somewhere over the years, but I was able to get a complete replacement thanks to a handy trade-in that came into All Time back in the spring.

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.

#3460: Civil War Captain America

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

CIVIL WAR CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Steve Rogers has fallen into a clash with both his government and his friends over the Super Human Registration Act – a battle that will end with his surrender, arrest and ultimately, his assassination.”

Wow, spoilers much?  I mean, yeah, okay, the story is, like, 16 years old and all, but it wasn’t 16 years old then!  …Okay, yeah, Cap’s death was reported by every major news organization the day it happened.  But still!  While it was touted as a big deal in the comics at the time, there was very little in the way of toy coverage for Civil War when it hit, or even very soon after.  The first true tie-in was a Minimates set, which hit more than a year later, in April of 2008.  Marvel was just about to be on the upswing again, and DST was aiming to capitalize on that.  The set covered some of the story’s major players, including the leaders of the two respective sides.  And you know that means a Captain America for your boy Ethan.  Let’s check that one out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Civil War Captain America is one-quarter of the Marvel Minimates Civil War boxed set, which was released April 21, 2008, as an Action Figure Xpress-exclusive offering.  This was Cap’s sixth time as a Minimate, and his second time getting some variation on “Battle-Damaged”.  The figure is built on the post-C3 ‘mate body, and stands about 2 1/4 inches tall, with 12 points of articulation, thanks to the boot pieces.  Cap got add-on pieces for his mask, belt, gloves, and boots, a noted upgrade from the just mask and gloves set-up of the prior versions.  The gloves are the same flared pieces used on the prior Caps, but everything else was all new.  The mask piece is unique to this one, and depicts Cap’s torn up mask from the end of Civil War‘s final battle.  It’s a really nice offering, with a surprising amount of detailing.  His belt and boots were new here, but would be quickly put into service as standard parts for the character going forward.  The boots, in fact, would become the standard Marvel Minimates flared boot pieces.  I never liked them quite as much as the DC Minimates equivalent piece, but they still got the job done.  Cap’s paint work is quite impressive.  He gets the full scale-mail detailing on the torso, plus plenty of damage detailing all around.  There’s quite a lot going on.  This set was one of the first for Marvel to really dive into alternate parts for different looks, so Cap was quite well accessorized.  He got his shield, a pair of handcuffs, two alternate flesh-tone hands, and an alternate hair piece (repurposed from Biff Tannen).  The shield gets quite a bit of very impressive detailing on the front, and is hampered only slightly by the fact that it’s one of the very few times they used the modified shield mount that has to stay at the base of the wrist and can’t move up the arm.  He can at least swap out for one of the ungloved hands to make the whole thing work better, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m *not* a fan of Civil War, so I wasn’t actively hunting down any of the merch from it at the time, but I’ve always liked the look of this Cap in particular.  I just didn’t really want a whole boxed set just for him.  Thankfully, I was able to snag a loose one as part of the very large collection of Minimates that came into All Time back in 2019.  He’s a pretty darn cool ‘mate, even removed from the source material.

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.

#3459: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

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

SPIDER-MAN, ICEMAN, & FIRESTAR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Using their fantastic powers, Spider-Man teams up with fellow heroes and former X-Men Iceman and Marvel’s Firestar to battle the world’s most dastardly villains from their secret crime-fighting lab.”

Going back to the ‘60s, Spider-Man has never been a stranger to animation.  He typically brings with him his own cast of characters, centered around just him.  Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, however, took a different approach, partnering him off with two other heroes, Ice Man and the show-original-creation Firestar (who was created when Human Torch was unavailable due to the same licensing issues that led to the creation of H.E.R.B.I.E.), which not only gave the an additional spotlight, but also opened the door for the wider Marvel universe as a whole, providing one of the deepest mainstream cuts of Marvel characters for a good couple of decades at least.  The show was without merchandising at the time of its release, but has found its way into wider Marvel toy lines a few times in recent years.  Hasbro gave us the first fully cartoon-based set back during their Marvel Universe line, and they’ve followed that up with a proper update to their current Legends scale.  So, let’s check that one out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar are a Marvel Legends three-pack, originally released at the beginning of the year. Like Tuesday’s Iron Man, this set was initially a Pulse-exclusive, but it has since moved over to a wider Fan Channel release, going to other retailers at the end of the summer.

SPIDER-MAN

Spider-Man is, of course, no stranger to Legends treatment, but the last year in particular has seen a lot of reinventing of the standard Spidey, thanks to the 60th Anniversary stuff.  This one is another take on that.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 34 points of articulation.  He’s a re-use of the Amazing Fantasy figure from the Anniversary line-up.  I was a really big fan of that one, and I’m still a big fan a year later.  It’s got such an amazing range of motion, and really balances it well with the proportions.  The big change-up here comes down to coloring; the first release was in his first appearance colors, where as this one does him in his classic red and blue.  It’s largely just a straight palette swap, but he does change-over to the proper updated spider-emblems as well.  I had no issues of slop on this one, but he’s still got the slightest bit of mismatching on the reds.  AF Spidey was pretty jam packed when it came to accessories; this guy gets a bit of a down grade on that.  He still gets the three of the four sets of hands (thwipping, fists, and open gesture; gripping gets dropped), but he loses the webline and the two sets of web-wings.  The web-wings he didn’t have in the show, so I get that.  The spots are still there to plug them in, if you’re still wanting a classic Spidey with the wings, though.

ICEMAN

Though not a total stranger to the line, Iceman is certainly less frequent a release than Spidey.  Our last one was back in 2021, and that one was an AoA variant, so he’s *technically* not even the same guy.  For classic, we’re going all the way back to 2019.  So, maybe another one’s not such a bad thing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Pizza Spidey body, calling back to his Juggernaut Series release.  I honestly rather like the sizing of it for Bobby, especially for his Amazing Friends incarnation.  Its only downside is the visible pins, but even that’s pretty minor.  He gets the head from the retro carded version from 2019, which is a solid choice for a classic Iceman, and it sits pretty well on the changed out body.  The last few Iceman figures have all gone transparent in some way, but this one goes for an opaque look, which better fits the animation.  He’s got a little bit of cel-shading going on.  It’s a little odd from some angles, but it’s largely pretty versatile.  The only thing I don’t like is the white eyes.  In the show, they were yellow (or possibly green, depending on how you view the exact shade), so as to further differentiate them from the rest of his face, and they should really be that way here, but they’re not.  It’s an odd choice.  Icemen is packed with two sets of hands, open and in fists, as well as the small ice-sled piece from the retro card release.

FIRESTAR

Firestar’s run with Legends is a very recent thing; she just got her first figure back in 2021, covering her classic look, with both comics and animation looks covered.  What new ground does this one cover?  Well…umm…elbows and knees?  See, the last one had disc and pin elbows, and visible pin knees.  This one has double elbows and knees, which are both pinless, by virtue of her re-using the arms and legs from Shriek, in conjunction with the all the other parts from the last Firestar.  And I do mean *all* the other parts, including the extra head and hands, the effect pieces, and even Ms. Lion.  The only change-up is that Ms. Lion is now in her cartoon colors, as opposed to the comics colors of the single release, which is actually a pretty nice touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this set was an exclusive, it was an easy pass for me, because there was nothing here I *needed*.  I’ve got close enough versions of all three, so why bother going to the extra effort?  Once it got the wider release, it really *wasn’t* any extra effort, so I figured why not?  It’s an interesting set-up, because nothing here is new or ground breaking.  Every figure here is just a slightly better figure of something else out there.  I do like having the better versions, of course, and I’m sure I’d be singing a different tune if I hadn’t snagged the other versions previously, but it does beg the question who this set was for, especially when it comes to the Firestar figure, who was a Fan Channel exclusive on her own not that terribly long ago.  Still, I do like the set.  Firestar’s just a little better, Spidey’s classic colors on my favorite Spidey body, and Iceman feels like a more complete package than the other versions.  So, it’s an overall win.

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 #11: Behold–Magneto and His X-Men!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Mutant X Re-Read

THE X-MEN COMETH!

MUTANT X #10 (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, the X-Men’s alternate universe counterparts make their long-awaited debut in “The X-Men Cometh!”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #10 is cover dated July of 1999 and has story and art by Howard Mackie, Carey Nord, and Andrew Pepoy.

When last we left the displaced Alex Summers, Magneto had just arrived and interrupted a battle between the Resistance and Madelyn’s forces.  Magneto asks for an explanation of what has happened to the Earth while he and the X-Men have been in space, and looks for a solution to set things right.  Madelyn tells Magneto that the only solution is to do what Alex has been incapable of doing: killing her.  She then has her Sentinels attack the Resistance, and it is only with Magento’s assistance that she and her Sentinels are repelled.  Following the battle, Magneto collapses, and it is revealed that his feats of magnetism were an illusion, supplied by a nearby Polaris.  Magneto was wounded in space and has not fully recovered.  Polaris and Havok converse, with Alex internalizing his thoughts of his own Polaris, as this one reacts with bewilderment at his interest.  A short distance away, Madelyn tortures the Five for retreating from the battle, before revealing that Reed Richards has built her an army of upgraded Sentinels.  These Sentinels are sent to attack Havok, Polaris, and Magneto, who are saved by the arrival of Nightcrawler, Quicksilver, Rogue, and Mystique.  With the rest of the X-Men present, Havok, Polaris, and Magneto retreat, as Madelyn plans for conquest.

This issue is touted as the long-awaited arrival of the X-Men, which isn’t inaccurate, but it’s also not *quite* as advertised.  The cover shows the whole line-up, but we spend the bulk of the issue with just Magneto and Polaris.  The other four are really just a cameo appearance at the end.  It’s still pretty cool to get some small hints about what they’ve been up to all this time, though, and the scenes with Alex and Lorna provide some intriguing emotional drama, as he struggles to deal with his feelings towards her.  After Magneto’s arrival last issue, though, I was expecting a bit more momentum than we ultimately got.  This winds up as another vaguely on the run sort of issue.  It’s definitely building to something, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is another case of a cover showing promise that the contents don’t *quite* deliver.  Unlike the last issue, however, I don’t feel like what we got was totally lacking in weight; it’s just a different story than expected.  While it’s smaller in focus, I do like the decision to spend more time with Magneto and Lorna, and the bit with her compensating for his lack of power is actually pretty clever.  Overall, not what I was expecting, but I didn’t dislike it.

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.