Category Archives: Reviews

#3894: Invisible Woman

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

INVISIBLE WOMAN

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“Caught in a bombardment of intense cosmic radiation while on an experimental space flight, Susan Richards found herself endowed with the power to become transparent at will, and the ability to form invisible force-fields of incredible durability. Now, as a member of the Fantastic Four, Sue battles to defend humanity as the elusive Invisible Woman!”

In preparation of the whole Fantastic Four movie release, I decided at the beginning of the month I was going to review Toy Biz figures of the whole FF.  The trouble is, that while I hadn’t reviewed the three men of the team in their Marvel Super Heroes releases, I’ve gone so far as to review *both* of the MSH Invisible Woman figures.  I’ve also already reviewed her hasty repaint release from Fantastic Four, so I’m actually wrapping things up for Sue in the Toy Biz 5-inch range today.  Let’s get to this!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Invisible Woman was released in Series 2 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line.  Like her brother Johnny, the intent was for the Series 2 figure to be Sue’s first figure in the line, but retailers balked at the idea of not having the complete team at launch, resulting in a repainted Spider-Woman that served as a stand in, until the real thing arrived later.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and she has 9 points of articulation…sort of.  The neck joint is especially restricted to the point of effectively not being there.  Still, she at least gets elbow joints, making her more posable than her predecessor.  The sculpt here was all-new to this figure, but would later become a favorite of Toy Biz’s during their heavier repaint days.  It’s not a bad sculpt.  Perhaps a touch skinny on the limbs, but generally good, and in keeping with her animation model from the show.  The initial prototype for this figure was in standard colors, but when they did the stand-in figure for Series 1, so was that one.  In an effort to be more unique, this figure was molded entirely in clear plastic, simulating her abilities.  The irony of it all is that this sculpt never ended up being released in actual color as Sue, not even for all the repaints.  It works alright, and apart from some minor yellowing, it’s still pretty good.  She was packed with a wheeled stand and a small shield, which are similar to the ones used on the Series 1 figure, but ultimately totally unique.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I recall getting this figure relatively early on in my collecting, but I don’t recall the exact circumstances of exactly *how* I got her.  The Marvel Super Heroes figure was my first Sue, so this one would have been a back-up at best.  I recall my original’s arm broke at the elbow, and I ended up replacing her with a spare that came in a lot with my Black Bolt figure.  She’s a decent figure, if perhaps limited in her application.

#3893: Anakin Skywalker

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

ANAKIN SKYWALKER

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“As a youth, Anakin Skywalker was brought before the Jedi Council as a candidate for Jedi training. With some dissension, the Council voted to allow Anakin to become the apprentice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and over time Anakin became a powerful Jedi. The Council’s concerns, however, proved to be well founded. The dark side soon overwhelmed Anakin and changed him, creating Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. Darth Vader faithfully served at Emperor Palpatine’s side, leading the Imperial efforts to crush the Rebellion. He was even ready, if necessary, to take the life of his own son, Luke Skywalker. But in the final confrontation between father and son, Luke’s pleas finally awakened the good buried deep within Darth Vader.”

While there were plenty of Darth Vaders to be had, prior to 1999, there were very few Anakin Skywalker figures on the market.  The vintage line only had a single one, released at the *very* end.  Power of the Force did a little better, upping that quantity to a whole two.  The first was a “spirit” figure, packed alongside similar versions of Obi-Wan and Yoda in a Cinema Scene pack.  The second was, like the vintage line, at the very end of the run.  He’s also hella quirky.  Let’s talk about him now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Anakin Skywalker was part of the 1999 portion of the “Flashback Photos” Star Wars: Power of the Force figures, alongside C-3PO and Aunt Beru.  Despite us not seeing this look until he was good and dead, this figure gives us old-man Jedi as if he were real and in the flesh.  Why?  Don’t think about it too hard.  The figure stands just over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  That said, you can really only use the neck and shoulders, since the legs and waist are hidden beneath the robes.  Despite his structural similarities, the only part actually shared with the Spirit figure is the head.  Otherwise, he’s all-new, and remained pretty well unique.  The sculpt’s rather on the static side, but this version of the character really just did stand around, I suppose.  It’s not a bad sculpt at all, and l can certainly appreciate the more reserved approach to posing at this late stage in the game.  His color work just goes for solid colors, because we’re just leaning into that hypothetical living version of him, I guess.  The application’s all good and clean, and pretty much what you would expect from this line.  Anakin is packed with a lightsaber, which is notable for two reasons.  Firstly, that the ghosts don’t use lightsabers, so it’s sort of odd for him to have one.  Secondly, you’ll notice I said “a lightsaber” not “his lightsaber.” That’s because it’s actually Obi-Wan’s saber, not Anakin’s.  Not entirely sure why that is.  He’s also packed with a flashback photo, which shows Anakin in Jedi and in Phantom Menace.  This is the *third* flashback photo to have kid Anakin as the Phantom Menace picture, especially notable because no one else so much as doubled up on them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I recall this one was rather early in my push to start completing this line of figures.  I got him alongside the Flashback Photo versions of Luke and Leia, you know for a neat little family reunion type thing.  Honestly, it’s a figure that always rather intrigued me.  He’s not anything crazy amazing or anything, but he’s a fun, if perhaps slightly quirky figure and he’s certainly remained rather unique.

Shoutout to 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.

#3892: Invisible Woman

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

INVISIBLE WOMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

We’re just two days away from the release of July’s *other* super hero movie, Fantastic Four: First Steps.  How am I feeling about it?  Hopeful.  Admittedly, I’m also feeling like it has the difficult task of having to top Superman, and boy was Superman very, very good.  Can FF also be that good?  Well, I sure do hope so.  If the trailers are anything to go by, it’s set to at the very least be an improvement over the previous cinematic outings for Marvel’s first family.  While the *last* live action FF was a total ghost on the marketing front, Marvel’s putting a bit more behind this one, which includes a full complement of Marvel Legends.  Today, I’m kicking off my look at those with Venessa Kirby as Susan Richards, aka the Invisible Woman!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Invisible Woman is part of the six-figure Fantastic Four: First Steps tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  We get the full team, plus an extra variant of Johnny, and the Silver Surfer, all in rather fun retro-inspired packaging.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  There were some concerns when prototype shots surfaced that there would be issues with the neck articulation on this figure.  While the hair certainly impedes the range, the final production figure still makes out a bit better, and can get at least a little bit of upwards motion, so she won’t forever be staring at the floor in action poses.  Otherwise, her articulation is pretty much what we’ve come to expect from the more recent movie figures, which is to say, it’s pretty good.  The sculpt is all-new for Sue, and it’s quite nice. The head sports a solid likeness of Kirby, especially on the face.  The hair’s a bit thick, but the general shaping is in like with what we’ve seen so mar from the movie.  The body is tasked with replicating her costume design, which is an intriguing mix of the classic and Byrne designs, as well as throwing in a bit of ‘60s space suit flair.  It’s a good look, and it’s a solid recreation of the design, at least as far as I can tell.  The smaller elements seem to be worked out pretty well, and the underlying body has a nicely balanced set of proportions.  Sue’s paint work is a bit of a mixed bag.  The face, which is using the printing, is exceptionally good.  It’s very lifelike and helps to sell the already strong likeness of the sculpt.  The hair is notably without any accenting, which kind of flat, but at leas it’s not messy.  The body on the other hand has some notable slop on the collar and symbol, which are unfortunately very obvious places to have such issues.  There are also a few other errant spots of incorrect colors, but generally, things look okay.  Sue is packed with four hands (open right, fist right, relaxed left, and gripping left), and a shield piece to attach to the open right hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting on a good FF movie for a good long while, and good toys to go with it for most of that time too.  I did have an attachment to the ’05 line, which, even though the movie was just “meh” was at least a fun line of toys.  But, with a real gap in any sort of FF coverage, I’m certainly excited to see more this time around.  Sue is undoubtedly a fun figure, living up to the current Legends standards, and doing all the things you’d hope for her to.

Shoutout to 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.

#3891: Metamorpho – Movie

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

METAMORPHO — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

Have I mentioned how much I liked the new Superman movie?  Well, I’m gonna mention it again, because it bears repeating.  It was really, really good.  Just start to finish.  Few films have understood the DC characters the way this one did.  That extends to the quirky odd-ball characters, which includes Metamorpho, who makes his live action debut in the film, portrayed by Anthony Carrigan in his third live action DC role.  He gets to be sufficiently cool and likable, to the point that he was a favorite of both my wife and son, neither of whom knew the character prior to the movie.  I guess maybe the guy that made Rocket Raccoon a household name might have a way with quirky odd-ball characters.  Metamorpho’s been getting a definite marketing push from the movie tie-ins, which includes getting a Super Powers figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Metamorpho (Movie) was released in Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line.  He’s the fourth of the five single-carded movie tie-in figures.  Like Guy, this is Metamorpho’s second Super Powers figure, following up on a comics release from last year.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He uses a lot of parts from the comic Metamorpho, specifically the torso, arms, and lower right leg.  He gets a new head, upper legs, and lower left leg, as well as a new belt piece.  The movie’s design is ultimately pretty faithful to the classic comics look, so the re-use is pretty sensible, and the new parts help to bring him more in line with the movie’s adjustments.  I actually find myself preferring the head sculpt on this one to the comics version; it’s just got a little bit more character.  As with all of the head sculpts from these figures, the likeness isn’t really a match for Carrigan, but it’s close enough to sort of suggest him.  Perhaps the oddest part of the mix of old and new parts is that the texturing on his face disappears when you get to his neck, but other than that, things work pretty nicely.  The color work on this Metamorpho is notably a bit more desaturated than his comics counterpart.  It still very much reads as Metamorpho, though, and I’m glad that this time they did a better job of consistent paint versus no paint on similarly colored sections.  There’s a little bit of slop on the change-over from his right leg to his shorts, but otherwise the application is pretty clean.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was ultimately a little bit let down by the comics Metamorpho.  Like, he wasn’t bad, but he felt a bit more middle of the road than I’d expected.  I wasn’t sure if I was going to go for this one, since he’s a bit similar, but I opted to get the whole set, and he was along for the ride.  I’m glad I did, because not only did I thoroughly enjoy the movie’s take on Rex, but I also think this figure turned out a little bit better than the prior one.  And here I live, in this world where I have two different Super Powers Metamorphos in my collection.  Who’d’ve thunk?

#3890: Mr. Fantastic

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

MR. FANTASTIC

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

“Mr. Fantastic is the awe-inspiring leader of the Fantastic Four. Now only is he able to stretch and twist his elastic body into almost any shape, he is also a brilliant scientist! When he’s not fighting super-villians, he can be found either in his laboratory or workshop, creating new compounds or inventing new machines to benefit mankind!”

In more modern super hero storytelling narratives, super intelligence is often seen as a marker for, if not outright villainy, than at least being a real jerk all the time.  This was less the case earlier on.  Sure, there were mad scientists and all, but characters such as Reed Richards existed to make the world a better place, and look out for people.  Reed’s teetered on the edge of the good versus jerk thing over the years, but he almost always bounces back to good, because that’s really who he is at the end of the day…at least in the mainstream universe.  But that’s the one that counts, right?  Right.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Fantastic was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line.  This was Reed’s second figure, following his Mego from the ‘70s, and the first of only two figures under Toy Biz’s 5-inch run.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Like both Ben and Johnny, he’s got a rather reduced articulation scheme for the line, especially notable in light of Sue getting the full load out.  In Reed’s case, however, this is actually linked to his “action feature.”  Dubbed “5-way” stretch, Reed can extend at the neck, waist, biceps, forearms, thighs, and shins to replicate his stretching.  It’s a sort of off look, of course, and also results in the figure being extremely fragile, but it’s an intriguing idea.  The sculpt is in line with the rest of the team, so he’s a bit more basic and rudimentary than later figures.  The nature of the stretching feature also makes him a rather stiff looking figure.  That being said, I think it’s a more Reed Richards-y sculpt than the later cartoon one, especially in terms of build.  Color work is very dependent on molded colors on this guy, and there’s a tendency in certain samples for the blues to be rather mis-matched.  On mine, they’ve held up okay, though.  The actual paint work proper’s alright; Toy Biz did always know how to do a solid job with a “4” logo.  Reed is packed with a blaster thing of some sort.  I don’t recognize it as a story specific element, nor do I know why Reed would need a gun (unless it were wooden and for the intended purpose of breaking Magneto’s mind), but there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My initial Fantastic Four line-up was comprised of whichever version of each character was most easily accessible when I started collecting.  In the case of Reed, that was this guy.  Well, okay, it was another copy of this release.  Remember how I mentioned he was fragile?  Yeah, my original gradually broke at just about every stretch point.  I always liked this version, so that was a bummer.  But, I was able to find a replacement a few years back, and I’m a lot more careful with my toys these days.  He’s stiff, fragile, and gimmicky, but this really is my favorite of the two Toy Biz Reeds.

#3889: C-3PO with Removable Arm

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

C-3PO with REMOVABLE ARM

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

I keep getting distracted from actually writing today’s review.  I mean, sure, I tend to get distracted from writing reviews a lot; such is my life and all that.  But, this one I kept trying to come up with an angle for an intro, and then I’d go to double check something, and suddenly it would be days later.  At one point, I got into a whole thing about which Star Wars character had the most reviews on the site (it’s Luke, by the way), which resulted in me also noting that C-3PO has had less reviews than any OT main character other than Yoda (who is himself beaten by Wedge of all people).  So, I guess maybe I should get those numbers up?  Well, at least one more, anyway.  On we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

C-3PO with Removable Arm was released as part of the “Flashback Photo” set of Power of the Force, with the second batch go figures that hit in 1999, just before the proper Episode I line launched.  3PO continued the set’s heavy focus on A New Hope, as he’s based on his appearance in the movie just after the Tusken Raider attack.  The figure stands just under 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt is unique, but admittedly rather similar to the other later run 3POs from the line.  This one, however, does have the odd quirk of his weirdly elongated head.  It seems strange that after getting it more or less right so many other times, that this one’s so…odd.  Otherwise, it’s a decent enough sculpt, with plenty of detailing going into it all.  The left arm is designed for removal, mimicking his loss of it in the scene he’s referencing, and the articulation’s a little bit different to accommodate this.  Per the usual treatment, 3PO is vac-metalized, but he goes a bit further on top of that, getting a fairly extensive amount of paint accenting for the dirt and sand he builds up while on Tatooine.  C-3PO is packed with only his flashback photo, showing 3PO from both the original film and Episode I.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

C-3PO sort of fell into the big batch of these guys I picked up in 2019.  I didn’t honestly think much of him at the time.  That said, in my first real push to get them opened and displayed, I decided he’d be the best fit for my Jabba’s Palace playset display, so that’s where he went.  Shortly after my son Matty moved in with me, his room was still housing my Power of the Force collection, and he wanted toys to play with, so I let him mess with them.  Since the left arm was removable on this guy, Matty assumed the right was too, and snapped that sucker clean off.  He and his mom were both absolutely mortified that he’d broken one of my figures, but I personally just laughed it off, and let them both know he was a relatively cheap figure.  I had picked up a replacement, but ultimately just fixed the one I had, because I still enjoy the story, and it gives the figure more weight than he might otherwise have.

Shoutout to 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.

#3888: Magne Edison

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

MAGNE EDISON

MICROMAN MAGNE POWER (TAKARA)

The success of GI Joe in the ‘60s in the US led, unsurprisingly, to an export of the line to other countries.  Nowadays, lines are largely produced by one company even internationally, but there was a lot more licensing out back in the day.  Palitoy had great success with Action Man, a line that stuck pretty close to the spirit of the original line.  In Japan, however, Takara had to get a little more inventive.  As materials were scarcer, the figures could not be easily clothed, so to avoid selling a naked figure, the molded them in clear plastic and filled the hollow sections with “machinery,” creating Henshin Cyborg. It was quite a success, leading to the creation of a smaller scale equivalent, Microman.  That line would itself be imported back to the US by Mego as Micronauts, which picked up a dedicated following.  There have been attempts at relaunching Micronauts over the years, always falling shy of success.  The first of these attempts was in the late ‘90s, by Takara themselves.  But, when a US market failed to materialize, the Micronauts angle was dropped, leaving just the Microman component.  Alas.  Well, at least there were cool toys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Edison is figure 004 in Takara’s Microman Magne Power line, released in 1999.  He’s the second to last of the five-man team that made up the core focus of this new line.  The figure is about 3 inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation.  The Magne Power line was unique in its scaling; they weren’t the traditional 3 3/4 inch figures, but a bit smaller.  All of the original five were identical sculpts from the neck down.  It’s a sculpt that’s certainly a product of its time, with some rather pronounced proportions, and the very awkward magnet arm attachment on the left arm that removes the elbow joint.  It’s an interesting offering, especially so close to the immensely revamped Microman base body Takara would transition to very shortly after.  It feels like the last hurrah of the older style.  Each of them got a unique head.  In Edison’s case, it’s a helmet, patterned on a sort of grasshopper style.  It’s a little goofy, but certainly fun.  Edison’s primary color is green, so there’s a lot of that.  He’s got a mix of translucent and opaque, as well as some yellow and gold accenting.  And, of course, he’s got the chrome head, which is always super cool.  The standard figures didn’t get any extras, but they do have magnets in their left hands and torsos, which are fun for sticking them to fridges or metal shelves and the like.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since the US distribution failed on these, they were kind of unknown on this side of the world.  I only learned about them in 2011, when the Micronauts guy at Mego Meet brought up the planned relaunch of the line in his presentation, and had Edison as his sample figure for what the line looked like.  I was intrigued, and also happy to find that they weren’t an especially expensive line of figures.  Edison’s got a neat vibe, similar to Bug from the Marvel tie-in comics, and I really like that.  He definitely appeals to what I loved about the original line.

#3887: Guy Gardner

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

GUY GARDNER — MOVIE

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

I’m writing this review from the…well, okay, it’s not the distant past, but it’s a few days removed, at the very least.  What it mostly means is that I’m writing this review just a few hours after having seen Superman at the theatre.  It’s good, guys.  It’s really, really good.  The film boasts a truly impressive supporting cast, and the most colorful of that cast is the Justice Gang, which includes James Gunn regular Nathan Fillion finally in the role of Green Lantern in live action.  Of course, it’s not Hal Jordan like we’d all campaigned for, but rather Guy Gardner, making his live action debut.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Guy Gardner (Movie) is part of Series 12 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, the third of the five movie-based figures in the assortment.  This is Guy’s second time in the line, following up on his comics version from last year.  The figure stands just over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s very similar to last week’s Mr. Terrific figure, using the same smaller base body and jacket piece.  The two definitely have rather different builds in the movie, and Guy should ideally be on a larger body.  But, of course, then he wouldn’t be able to share the jacket with Terrific, and that would be extra difficult, I suppose.  He gets a new head and belt as well.  They’re not bad.  The head is like the others in this set, where it doesn’t have a direct likeness, but it also doesn’t look *unlike* Fillion, so it works well within the established style and also looks unique from the non-movie Guy.  The new belt gives him his Lantern insignia belt buckle, which is a fun little touch.  Guy’s paint work is actually pretty decently handled, capturing all the main elements of the costume design, while also giving him a pretty sharp application on all the painted elements.  Guy is without any sort of accessories; the traditional extra for this line is a power battery, but he doesn’t have one in the movie, so the omission’s understandable.  That said, he does still feel rather light, especially given how heavy he is on the parts re-use.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As much of a GL fan as I am, I’ve never been much for Guy Gardner, who I am on record as stating is my least favorite Earth Lantern.  So, I didn’t get around to snagging his standard comic figure from this line.  But, I do like Nathan Fillion, and I do think Guy works in the appropriate setting.  The movie certainly put him in the appropriate setting.  The figure’s not anything tremendously ground breaking, but he’s still pretty fun, and I really have no major complaints.

#3886: Human Torch

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

HUMAN TORCH

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

While three members of the Fantastic Four were entirely new identities and concepts for Marvel, Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, had a repurposed name and power set from one of Marvel’s first super heroes.  Unlike Jim Hammond, however, Johnny was actually *human* so perhaps the title fits better?  Of course, because of the repurposed name, this meant that Johnny got tied up in rights issues that didn’t plague the rest of the team, leading to his absence from the ‘70s cartoon, and the eventual creation of HERBIE.  But, it’s never seemed to be an issue in the area of toys!  

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Human Torch was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line, which, as I noted in last week’s Thing review, was an entire FF-dedicated set of figures.  This was Johnny’s second figure, following his Mego from the ‘70s.  The figure is a little under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Like Ben, he’s rather under articulated compared to most Toy Biz figures of the era.  His general posing is also rather similar to that figure, so I guess they’re at least kind of thematic?  Torch is slightly on the smaller side, which honestly makes a degree of sense, with him being a younger member of the team and all.  He’s fully flamed-on, as was the standard approach at the time.  It’s a slightly different take on it.  It’s got elements of the costume details beneath, notably the belt, visible, as well as sculpted etching for the “heat lines” he usually sported in the comics.  Honestly, the whole thing works better than you might expect.  Fire’s hard to sculpt, but it’s not bad.  Johnny’s paint work is sort of basic; it’s mostly just molded red, but there’s some basic yellow paint as well.  It’s applied decently enough, with no major slop.  Johnny is packed with two fireball pieces, which can be held or rather awkwardly mounted on his back.  His right arm’s got a spring-loaded feature, so you can pull it back and it “throws” one of the fireballs.  It’s very much on the basic side, but it works okay.

THE ME HALF OF EQUATION

Like Ben, this Johnny had largely dried up at retail by the time I got into collecting, so my first Johnny was the Series 4 version.  This one I got slightly later, probably in the early ‘00s, purchased loose from a comic book store that I’m rather certain isn’t around anymore.  I got the fireball pieces later, in the last few years, and now he’s all complete.  He’s an interesting figure, sort of basic and all, but he works better than most other fully flamed-on Johnny figures we’d end up getting.

#3885: Emperor Palpatine

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

EMPEROR PALPATINE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

Somehow, Palpatine retuned.  Yep, that’s pretty much what I got.  Here’s the deal, guys: I get that Sheev Palpatine is very important to the Star Wars mythos, and all, and there’s no denying that Ian McDiarmid turns in a good performance in the part, but I just can’t get all that excited or invested in him.  I don’t know, maybe he’s just too realistic of a villain.  He’s also not terribly exciting when it comes to toys, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting *so* many of them.  There were five of them in Power of the Force.  Here’s one of those.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Emperor Palpatine was released in the 1998 portion of the Power of the Force Flashback Photo series.  As with all of the others in the set, he represents the official take over of Hasbro on the branding, meaning this is the first Hasbro Palpatine.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation…in theory.  He’s got joints at the neck, shoulders, waist, and hips (a first for him in this line), but the neck is limited by the hood, and the hips are effectively not even there, since they’re completely encased by the robes.  His sculpt’s not drastically different from the other Palpatines, but he’s notably a little more technically advanced, with slightly sharper detailing, and proper layering to his outfit (which actually includes legs, again a first for him).  He’s rather pre-posed, following the same general lead as the Power F/X figure, but there’s a slightly more natural feel to it.  Unfortunately, perhaps the biggest drawback to this new sculpt is that it doesn’t stay standing all that well, something the previous single-card did very well.  His coloring largely follows the same path as the other figures of him, but there’s a little more variety to the colors on his robes.  Otherwise, we’re dealing with the same rather thick paint on the face, and he’s generally not super eye-catching.  But, they’re doing their best with what they’ve got.  Palpatine is packed with a little sampling of his “UNLIMITED POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”, in the form of two force lightning effects pieces, which plug into his sleeves.  They work okay, but they certainly don’t help with his issues of stability.  He also gets the flashback photo thing, which shows Palpatine from both Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace.  Spoilers!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t vividly recall getting this one, honestly.  I’d imagine I got him in a batch of others, because that’s about the only way I buy a Palpatine figure.  Like a bunch of the other Flashback Photo figures, he’s been sitting there unopened for about seven years, only being opened just before I wrote this review.  He’s fine.  Probably the best Palpatine from the line, at least talking technically.  I dislike that he can’t stand on his own, but I can at least provide an extra stand to offset that issue.

Shoutout to 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.