#3909: Ponda Baba

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

PONDA BABA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

What better way to demonstrate the destructive power of a weapon you just introduced than by having it used by one of your heroes to maim some poor schmoe?  That’s how George Lucas does it!  Honestly, in light of the whole “Greedo shot first” thing, it’s shocking that Lucas didn’t, like, digitally insert another guy in the scene for Ponda Baba to slice the arm off of, just to show he really got what he deserved.  Missed opportunity if you ask me.  Anyway, here’s a figure of the not slicing-off-arms-first Ponda Baba! 

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ponda Baba was released as part of the 1997 line-up for Kenner’s Power of the Force II line.  He was Ponda’s second figure, after the original vintage one, and would be joined by a third that same year, thanks to the Cinema Scenes release.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He was sporting an all-new sculpt at the time, but the head and torso wound up shared with the three-pack version.  Of the two, this one goes for more basic and standing in its pose.  It does fine.  It’s certainly more accurate to the source than the prior “Walrus Man” figure, though he’s certainly got a bit of that early Power of the Force bulkiness.  The biggest downside of the figure remains the lack of ability to remove his arm as in the scene, but it is what it is.  His color work is more or less the same as the multi-pack version, which means it’s passable stuff.  Colors match what they’re supposed to, and he’s even got a bit of subtle accent work on the jumpsuit.  Ponda Baba is packed with two different blasters, one in pistol form, the other a rifle.  You’ve got some options, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Sometimes, the decision to go completist on this line is awesome, because you get to see all the neat subtle differences between two similar versions of a character.  Sometimes, you end up buying a figure that’s different for the sake of different.  This one is the second thing.  I bought him to have him, and for no other reason.  I got several years ago, and he remained unopened, because I just didn’t have much draw.  I opened him purely for the purposes of this review.  He’s…fine.  You really don’t need him, but he’s fine.

#3908: Peter B. Parker & Mayday Parker

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

PETER B. PARKER & MAYDAY PARKER — ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

The two Spider-Verse films we’ve gotten thus far have both had a lot of importance placed on growth of characters and definitively moving them forward in their own narratives.  In a world of super hero movies that change the main heroes’ costumes purely for the sake of change, it’s nice to see an approach that works those changes more into the story, and how it affects the characters.  Into the Spider-Verse showcases a Peter Parker at his lowest point.  He’s alone, out of shape, and disheveled, and spends a good portion of the film in a makeshift outfit that further emphasizes that.  Across re-introduces us to Peter as he’s well into his way of recovering, and he’s so not alone that he’s literally got another person strapped to his chest for most of his screen time!  Despite him being more on the mark and put together this time around, Peter B. Parker was surprisingly absent from the toy coverage for Across, with most of his figures actually being repurposed looks from the first movie.  He got a Pop, which is great if you like Pops, but then it was a rather long wait for a proper figure.  Bandai ultimately took the lead this time, with a figure from their SH Figurarts line, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Peter B. Parker & Mayday Parker are part of the larger sub-line of Across the Spider-Verse figures in the SH Figuarts line-up.  This is the latest of the figures to hit, and it’s the seventh in the set.  Certainly a more in-depth line-up than the prior movie.  Though billed as a two-pack, the set is really a Peter B with a Mayday accessory, so I’ll be treating it that way for the purposes of the review set-up.  Peter stands just over 7 inches tall and he has 40 points of articulation.  Figuarts has always occupied a sort of nebulous “1/12 scale” space, which can make scaling with other nebulous “1/12 scale” lines sometimes hit or miss.  What’s curious about the Across figures is that they land on the opposite end of the nebulous range than usual.  Relative to, say, Marvel Legends, Figuarts tend to run a bit on the smaller side, but Peter here winds up taller than all of the standard sized Legends for the movie.  Not so much so that you can’t fudge things a bit, but it’s a little funny to see him end up taller than Miguel.  Also, it’s not like they’re designed to scale with each other in the first place, but I did find it amusing.  Peter’s articulation is generally decent for a Figuarts release.  They’re definitely less floppy and sort of weird in their articulation schemes these days, so he feels a bit more naturally flowing and intuitive.  I still had some slight issues with stability, especially in the more intense Spidey-style poses, but it generally works okay.  The sculpt is totally new, and it’s doing a few different things at once.  Right out of the box, he’s just a standard Spider-Man in the movie style.  It’s a good match for the film design in terms of proportions and stylization.  The texturing is quite impressive, and there’s a lot of neat visual filler that keeps him interesting.  His build shows that he’s certainly working on getting into better shape then he was in Into, but he’s not quite back to Peter A levels, and I like that.  But, that’s just standard Spidey, and nobody’s really buying this one for a standard Spidey, right?  No, we want the goofy, more put-together, but still disheveled look.  To that end, this figure gets two alternate unmasked heads (with a corresponding neck piece with a lower collar), ungloved hands, and an alternate set of lower legs with socks and slippers instead of boots.  The unmasked heads give us Peter with a more neutral slight smile and with a more intense opened mouth laugh.  Both are very much on model and keep things nice and internally consistent.  The legs are goofy, and fun, and I like them a lot.  And it’s all topped off with the most important part of the whole ensemble: the pink bathrobe.  It’s quite a statement piece and neat counterpoint to his green jacket from Into.  Here, it’s a soft goods piece, which makes a lot of sense.  It’s very soft and fuzzy, and there’s a wire in it for dynamic posing.  Peter’s paint work is all pretty top-notch.  The work on the unmasked heads is by far the best, but even the suit is clean and well-rendered.  As mentioned above, Peter gets all the parts for both of his looks, as well as six pairs of hands (four gloved in fists, thwipping, gripping, and open gesture, two ungloved in open gesture and relaxed), the wrist bracelet goober thingy, and three different weblines.  The weblines are ultimately a bit unimpressive compared to others we’ve seen, but I don’t see myself using them anyway.  The most important selection of extras is Mayday and her associated parts.  The main Mayday is done up in a crawling pose, and is jointed at the neck and waist.  While the arms and legs are separate, they have rectangular pegs, so they can’t be posed, which is kind of a shame.  She does get two heads, so you can do with or without the hat.  Why you’d leave off the hat is anyone’s guess, but the option’s there.  Also included is the carrier for Mayday, which can be attached to the main Peter figure.  There’s a special neck piece that goes in that one of the two heads can be attached to (the hat fits better than the one without), and you can move the arms and legs over as well.  It stays on pretty securely, and scales well to the other figure.  It’s also relentlessly adorable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Across the Spider-Verse was a well-timed movie for me, because I also had a daughter in the spring of 2023, and Mayday reminded me very, very much of her.  For Halloween that year, my mom knitted Aubrey a spidey hat, and I stole my wife’s pink bathrobe, so that we could be Peter and Mayday, and I assure you, we were also relentlessly adorable.  As we have become rather linked to the look, getting a figure of it was kind of important.  I have the Pop, but it’s just not the same, so I realized I was going to have to make the jump to Figuarts.  But, Rachel and Aubrey got ahead of me on that one, and this was my birthday gift from the two of them this year.  It’s awesome.  I’ve got some quibbles, but they’re minor, and this figure just does so much right.  Just a ton of fun.

#3907: Superboy

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

SUPERBOY

MAFEX (MEDICOM)

I’ve touched on Medicom’s MAFEX line a few times here on the site.  While my most recent review kind of broke the mold a bit, my reviews have otherwise been DC-based, all of them hailing from the running sub-line of figures based on Batman: Hush.  Hush is a pretty solid way of doing a large swath of Batman-related characters in one cohesive style, but it does limit you mostly to just Batman.  For a focus on DC’s original super hero, Medicom also started up a based around the “Death” and “Return of Superman” storylines from the ‘90s.  Their primary focus has been the Superman replacements from “Reign of the Superman,” who each took over one of Supes’ four books running at the time. Taking over Adventures of Superman was “the Metropolis Kid,” Superboy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superboy is figure 232 in the MAFEX line-up.  He’s the fifth figure in the Return of Superman set-up, and the last of the four replacement Supermen to join the line.  The figure stands a hair over 6 inches tall and he has 42 points of articulation.  In terms of scaling, Superboy feels a touch too large for the other MAFEX figures I’ve picked up.  Not crazy levels of out of scale, but he definitely feels like he should maybe be a little shorter.  His articulation scheme is pretty much the same as the others I’ve looked at, which is to say it’s quite good, and allows for a lot of solid posing.  Nothing’s too overly loose or anything, and he can hold a pose quite well.  The figure’s sculpt is based on Tom Grummett’s initial design for the character, which is by far his best, and really his most enduring design.  It’s also the one that matches all the other figures, so it’s got that going for it too.  It translates quite nicely into figure form, and the little raised and recessed elements of the costume design all make it stand out quite well.  There are three included heads, all based on Grummett’s depictions of Kon-El.  There’s a neutral expression, an angry expression, and one with sunglasses affixed.  Of the three, I think I lean towards the sunglasses head the most, but I really like all three, and it’s great how consistent his look is between all of them.  Rather than being a sculpted element, like Hush’s trench coat was, Superboy’s distinctive leather jacket is a softgoods piece.  It’s good.  It’s well-tailored, not too limiting on the posability, and there’s a wire running through the belt for extra dynamic posing options.  I do worry about how well it will hold up in the long run, but I guess I’ll just enjoy it for what it is now.  The color work here is really bright and colorful, and feels very true to his early appearances.  The paint is all really clean, and there’s some especially strong work on the heads.  Superboy is packed with five different pairs of hands (fists, flat, thumbs up, open gesture, and relaxed), and a display stand.  It’s a little light, but he’s also got the three heads and the jacket, so it makes up for it, I feel.  The hands swap easily, but I’d be careful with them, because the glove cuffs have a real tendency to go flying during the swaps.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got in relatively close to the ground floor with this incarnation of Superboy, getting the Man of Steel figure when it was new, and following his comic from an early point until it was cancelled.  I’ve always liked the character, and I’ve never been much of a fan of the jeans and t-shirt direction they took him under the Johns era.  It feels like something of how he was supposed to work kind of got lost there.  Thus far, I’ve just stuck to the Hush figures, and I even missed the standard Superman from that line, so I avoided the Return figures.  Superboy made that a lot harder to stick to, especially in light of my seriously renewed investment in Superman as a whole, post movie release.  This guy wound up being a birthday gift from my parents this year, and he’s super, super cool, and a great reminder that, no matter how far I progress from the decade that birthed me, I’ll never really be able to kick the need to own characters wearing leather jackets over their spandex.

#3906: Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

SILVER AGE (TOY BIZ)

“Peter Parker, a mild mannered honor student in high school was fascinated with all things scientific. While attending a science exhibition on the manipulation of wavelength radiations, Peter was bitten by a spider that was exposed to radiations. Peter was bitten by a spider that was exposed to radiation. As a result, he was given superhuman, spider-like abilities. Peter could now climb walls, leap incredible distances, and life more than 10 tons, prompting him to adopt the identity of Spider-Man. He made a costume and with his knowledge of science created “web-shooters.” Attached to each wrist, his web-shooters allow Spider-Man to shoot super strong, sticky webs to swing from and use as various weapons. Spider-Man also has a “spider-sense” that warns him of impending danger making him one of the most legendary crime fighters ever known.”

While he spent the first two decades of his existence with only a handful of action figures, but the end of the ‘90s, there was absolutely no shortage of Spider-Man action figures.  Toy Biz released a metric ton of them in the 5-inch line, mostly under his own self-branded line, launched to tie-in with his ‘90s Animated Series.  The more obscure offshoot lines weren’t as likely to include him, since he was better suited in other, more big-box-retail-friendly set-ups.  He did get the occasional less mainstream release, as was the case with today’s offering, which goes back to the character’s earliest days.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man is the third of the four figures in Toy Biz’s PX-exclusive Silver Age line from 1999.  By far, he is the assortment’s heaviest hitter, making him this line-up’s correspondent to the Wolverine in the Modern Age line-up.  Unlike the Cap figure, which was emphatically *not* Silver Age, and the Gwen figure, which was a loose connection, Spidey is emphatically well within the timeline for Silver Age…for the most part.  I’ll get to all that.  The figure stands right under 5 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation.  Spidey was entirely parts re-use, using the body of the Marvel Super Heroes “Multi-Jointed Action Poses” Spidey, with the head from the Animated Super-Posable Spidey.  It’s actually kind of a neat combo.  The MSH body is smaller and skinnier than most of the other Spideys that Toy Biz put out, and the head being originally meant for a more bulked up Spidey means it’s a touch too large…which is a pretty good match for Ditko’s portrayal of a teenage Peter Parker in the costume.  The base body is very posable, as well, which makes for a better general Spidey set-up.  To really sell the earlier Spidey look, they’ve also pinned a pair of vinyl “web-wings” to the backs of his arms, much like the first Fantastic Four line’s Black Bolt.  I limits the posing on the arms a little bit, but it’s not terrible, and it’s a good change-up for the look.  The figure’s paint work is more or less what you would expect from this era of Spider-Man.  I might have perhaps liked a slightly more Ditko-like pattern and eyes on the face, but it’s not incredibly far off, and it wouldn’t shock me to find out there may have been some branding involved in the look here.  The blue is a darker shade, but not the straight on black of his original appearance, meaning this isn’t a First Appearance figure, but rather a broader Silver Age figure.  While I always love a good First Appearance Spidey, the blue with the web-wings is the look less often done, so can dig it.  Spidey was packed with the web-shooters, belt, and ankle pouches from Scarlet Spider, all done in the same silver with darker accenting, as well as an actual rolled paper copy of the Daily Bugle, and a card with the cover of Amazing Fantasy #15 (which makes this line 3 for 3 on the figures not wearing the costumes depicted on the covers for their cards).  Not entirely sure why he gets all the Scarlet Spider gear, but it’s a neat extra nevertheless.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had *plenty* of Spider-Men by the time this figure hit, so he’s the one member of the line-up that didn’t tempt me in the slightest…you know, until I had the other three and he was all I needed to finish the set.  So, off to eBay I went.  In light of figures that are more obviously new and different, he sort of gets lost, but at the same time, he’s actually a pretty neat figure with a solid take on a more specific design.  And, he does at least actually stick to the theme.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0040: Luke Skywalker – Dagobah

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

LUKE SKYWALKER — DAGOBAH

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

We are officially taking the Flashback Friday Figure Addendums back to Star Wars!  Oh yeah!  Let’s jump back to some of the earliest Star Wars coverage here on the site, and indeed the very earliest Star Wars in my entire collection, with Dagobah Luke!

So, today’s review is actually pretty nifty. I’ve looked at the most recent round of Star Wars toys with The Black Series, and I’ve also taken a look at one of the vintage figures from the original line, but I’ve never really looked at any of the figures released in between.

Star Wars is looked at as one of the permanent fixtures of the action figure aisle nowadays, but that wasn’t always the case. Following Return of the Jedi, the line shifted to Power of the Force for a little while, but that line only ran until 1985, at which point Star Wars toys effectively ended. Ten years later, Kenner relaunched the line under the branding Power of the Force II. In 1995, I was 3 and just getting into action figures. So, POTF II came at just the perfect time and provided me with my very first Star Wars figure, which I’ll be looking at in this review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke was released as part of the 1996 assortment of Power of The Force II. He’s based on Luke’s look while he’s training on Dagobah in Empire Strikes Back. The figure stands about 3 ¾ inches tall, and features 6 points of articulation. That waist articulation was revolutionary, let me tell you. The sculpts for POTF II, in general, have not aged well. For some reason, everybody got really buff. Luke follows that trend, and looks more like Arnold Schwarzenegger than Mark Hamill. From a purely aesthetic stand point, it’s actually not a bad sculpt. There’s some nice texture on his clothing, and the proportions are about right, even if they don’t belong to Mark Hamill. One negative point: the feet are sculpted at a bit of an angle, which can make getting him to stand up a chore. The paint is actually very good for the time. There’s no bleed over or slop and the smaller details are all clean and sharp, and the shading on the shirt to show it’s wet and stained gives the figure a nice level of depth rarely seen on figures of this era. Luke was packed with a lightsaber and a blaster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The trip on which I acquired this figure is actually one of my earlier memories of going to the store and buying something. I don’t remember what store it was (for some reason my gut says Target, but that doesn’t seem right). What I very vividly remember was being walked over to the toy aisle by my parents, seeing the display of figures and running to them. I saw Luke hanging there and immediately grabbed him. In particular, I remember my mind being completely blown by the idea that he actually included a lightsaber. I guess I just assumed that would have to be a separate purchase. I had yet to pick up on how action figures worked, I guess. Regardless, I was thrilled to have this figure. As the years have gone by, the figure has started to show its age, but I still feel pretty damned nostalgic for him. All in all, he’s not a bad figure, and the sentimental value pushes him up to 11.

Well, I can generally stand by this review pretty well, I feel.  Nicely formed, and generally on point.  Covers all the bases.  Kind of funny.  Good hook at the end. Go me.  A few notes to follow up on, though.  I addressed the angle of the feet, which mean he has to stand at an intense angle to remain upright, which is actually to do with him being designed to work with the Yoda released at the same time.  It actually works well in that regard, but I didn’t own Yoda until *after* this review was written, so I didn’t really know.  When I reviewed him, he didn’t have his lightsaber and blaster, but I’ve found both of those, so now he’s all complete!  And lastly, my wife an I watched all of Righteous Gemstones a few months back, and after watching it, I can’t help but see this take on Luke as looking unmistakably like Keef.  So there’s that.

#3905: Saelt-Marea – Yak Face

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

SAELT-MAREA — YAK FACE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“One of Jabba the Hutt’s top agents, very little is known about the mysterious Saelt-Marae or his specific connection to the crime lord. He could often be found hanging out in Jabba’s desert palace.”

Saelt-Marea, known as “Yak Face” during the production of Return of the Jedi and keeping that name until he got a proper one in the ‘90s, has the distinction of being the only vintage Kenner Star Wars figure never released in the United States, which has given his debut figure quite a bit of notoriety over the years.  That notoriety has gotten him a handful of additional figures over the years, which isn’t bad for a guy who just stands around in the background of Jabba’s Sail Barge.  His second figure, which is ever so more easily acquired than the first, was released in the ‘90s revival of Power of the Force, which is really where my main jam is, so here I am!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Saelt-Marea — Yak Face was added to the Power of the Force II line-up in 1997, which was a Jabba-heavy year.  He represents the first time the character would get his proper name, something that was pretty common for this line and its approach to the background aliens.  The figure stands just under 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His neck joint is rather restricted, due to its implementation at an angle, as opposed to being flat.  His sculpt was all-new, and honestly not badly handled.  The original figure had made some guesses at his full design, so this one aimed to be a bit more accurate, most notably giving him his longer robe piece, which is a softer overlay piece on this figure.  The head seems to do an alright job of capturing the prop from the movie, and it looks the part pretty well.  There are definitely some elements here that are a little softer than other figures in the line, and he definitely comes across as a bit more basic compared to more modern takes on the character, but it certainly gets the job done.  Likewise, the figure’s color work is kind of in the same vein; it’s basic and kind of rudimentary compared to more recent stuff, but it does what it needs to and it works.  That said, it’s actually a little bit of a change-up from how things usually worked from vintage to PotF2, as Yak Face is actually a fair bit more colorful and eye-catching than his vintage counterpart, who was really rather drab.  Yak Face is packed with what the package dubs a “Battle Staff.”  Sure, I guess let’s go with that.  It’s a stick with some stuff on one end, and he holds it pretty well in his right hand, and not as well in his left.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

According to my database, I got this figure in September of 2019, intermingled with a batch of eight other Power of the Force figures.  He’s the eighth of them I’ve reviewed, though not because I dislike him or anything.  Mostly just luck of the draw.  Looking at the batch of figures he came home with, he was almost certainly part of a collection that got traded gnat All Time, which I plucked the figures I still needed from.  He’s nifty.  Nothing crazy, but a unique design, and a solid figure.

#3904: The Thing

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

THE THING

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

When it comes to cinematic adaptations, Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing, has had a bit of a mixed presentation.  Michael Chiklis’s turn as Ben was undoubtedly the highlight of the two Story films, but Jaime Bell’s mumbling loner from Fant4stic was a particularly poor showing in an already poor film.  And, somewhere in the middle, you’ve got Micheal Bailey Smith and Carl Cialfalio’s two-handed Ben and Thing approach from the Corman movie, which is admittedly mostly just hampered by the film’s unfinished nature.  Where does Ebon Moss-Bachrach fall in the scale?  He’s at least as good as Chiklis, I’d say.  My only hang-up is that I don’t feel there’s as much time spent with him as the other three, so it’s a little harder to form a full opinion.  I do look forward to seeing more, though, and it’s certainly a much better approach than the one that immediately preceded it.  Anyway, here’s a figure of him!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Thing is another entry in the First Steps tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends, and the last of the four members of the titular team.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The film returns Ben to something closer to his ‘60s scaling, which means that this figure is the smallest of the Legends Thing figures to date.  That’s not a bad thing, mind you.  His articulation’s a little different from the other team members, given his bulkier stature.  We see a bit of a return to the “twisting meat” era with the biceps and the abdomen both having opposing joints that sort of cancel each other out.  It’s not quite as much of an aesthetic problem this time around, though.  Ben’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s…well, it’s not technically inaccurate,  but it’s not the look the character spends the bulk of the movie sporting.  In the film, in contrast to most depictions of the character, he has a full uniform to match the other three, but what we get here is something closer to how Ben’s classically depicted, sans shirt and boots.  We see him in action with this look briefly during the opening montage of the team’s first four years of exploits, and it also shows up a few times in the in-universe promotional images, keeping him more in line with the slightly adjusted hair styles of Reed and Johnny.  It’s ultimately a more quintessential look for the character, and I myself prefer it, but maybe we’ll see a more accurate final battle Ben, complete with bearded head sculpt later down the line?  This sculpt is a strong offering, though.  The likeness on the head matches his design in the film nice, and they do a good job of recreating the rocky texturing of his skin, as well as keeping his uniform’s stitching consistent with the other three team members.  I do especially like the more reserved expression on the head, which feels very in line with Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of the character.  The paint work here is a bit mixed.  The rocky skin gets some really solid accenting, which really works well with the sculpted details.  On the flip side, the uniform is a bit sloppy, and one of the logos on his leg was all scratched-up right out of the box.  Ben is packed with two pairs of hands, one in fists and one in open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ben’s my favorite FF member, and this was the figure from this set I was most looking forward to.  He’s a modern movie Legend, so if you’ve gotten a bunch of those, you know what you’re getting here.  It means he’s a pretty solid, pretty straight forward figure, though, and he certainly feels like he gets the character down pretty well.

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.

#3903: Superman

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

SUPERMAN — 2025 MOVIE

DC MULTIVERSE (McFARLANE)

“Maybe that’s the real punk rock.”

While I’ve briefly touched on my feelings regarding the new Superman movie here on the site, I don’t feel I’ve truly articulated exactly how I feel about it.  The original 1978 film is a truly defining film for really the whole genre of super hero films, and a really tough act to follow, to the point that really not even any of the other Reeve films could do it, much less the two reboots after them.  I was hopeful for Gunn’s new take on Superman, but I simply didn’t anticipate just how well the film would do at capturing the spirit of the character.  I haven’t been as excited about a super hero movie since Captain America: Winter Soldier, which I assure you is exceptionally high praise.  David Corenswet’s turn as Clark Kent is on par with Reeve in terms of definitive, and I’m officially in my “want a bunch of figures from the movie” phase.  So, here’s one of those!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman is part of McFarlane’s DC Multiverse tie-ins for the movie, specifically from one of the two standard price-point figures (the other being Metamorpho).  This one is just meant to be the standard, barebones version of the character, in his standard attire from the movie.  The figure stands just over 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  The articulation is the standard set-up for the McFarlane stuff, so he’s pretty decently posable.  The sculpt on the figure is all-new.  It’s certainly a stronger offering, with the articulation being worked in rather organically, and the proportions not being super out of whack like earlier releases.  His head sculpt has a really strong likeness of Corenswet.  It’s probably the best of the multitude of sculpts offered up alongside the movie.  The hair’s maybe a little tighter to the head than in the final film, but it’s not far off.  The body sculpt does a lot with the piping and texturing of the design, which translates well to the figure form.  While most of the more recent Supermen have used cloth capes, this one goes back to sculpted, I would presume due to budgetary constraints for this release.  It’s honestly not a bad set-up.  Sure, it’s a bit restricting in posing, but the sculpting of it’s pretty solid.  I like the texturing, and it’s got a pretty natural hang.  The color work on this figure is decent enough, if a bit darker than the colors in the final film.  The suit’s using mostly molded colors, apart from the yellow, which is pretty cleanly painted.  The skin tone is totally painted, which is a little thick and slightly less lifelike, but not terribly so.  The application is again quite clean, and the likeness shows through really well.  Superman is packed with two pairs of hands (a pair of flat, and a fist/open gesture combo), a display stand, and a card.  I do wish he had a pair of fists, rather than just the one, but it’s still workable.  Also, I’d have loved to get a flight stand instead of the standard, but that’s been true of the last several Superman releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s been no secret to my friends and family just how much I enjoyed Superman, so the fact that I didn’t really have any of the figures made them a prime target for gift options for my birthday this year.  This figure in particular was given to me for my birthday by my son Matthew, who was very excited to get him for me.  I had initially thought I’d just be content with the Super Powers figure, but I do really, really love how this guy turned out.  Once more, McFarlane turns in a really great Superman figure right before they hand over the license.

#3902: Gwen Stacy

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

GWEN STACY

SILVER AGE (TOY BIZ)

“Former student and model, Gwen Stacy was also Peter Parker’s girlfriend. Both Peter and Gwen were Biochemistry majors at Empire State University where they met and fell in love. Unbeknownst to Gwen, Peter Parker was secretly Spider-Man and Norman Osborn, the Green Goblin knew so. The Green Goblin kidnaped Gwen Stacy and used her as a hostage to exact revenge on his nemesis, Spider-Man. During their battle, the Goblin knocked Gwen Stacy off the Brooklyn Bridge. Spider-Man caught her with his webbing. Tragically, Gwen died from the shock of the fall, thus ending a major chapter in the personal life of Peter Parker.”

Last week, I took a jump into one of Toy Biz’s one-off specialty assortments released in 1999 to fill out their 5-inch Marvel run.  Titled “Silver Age”, it was designed to highlight characters from Marvel’s heyday of the ‘60s.  While largely heavy hitter driven, it did give them an opportunity for one slightly more off the beaten path sort of character.  By the end of the ‘90s, Spider-Man’s then-current love interest Mary Jane Watson had gotten two figures from Toy Biz, both via multipacks with Spidey variants.  His previous love interest, Gwen Stacy, was as of yet without any sort of toy coverage, but that was fixed by Silver Age, where she made her figure debut.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gwen Stacy was one of the four figures in Toy Biz’s Silver Age line.  She was the only non-heavy hitter in the bunch, but paired off well with the included Spider-Man figure.  Gwen’s an interesting choice for a Silver Age line; she was created during the Silver Age, but her death, which is a major piece of her bio for this figure, is one of the defining events of the Bronze Age, and as such she’s frequently attached to that era.  The figure stands right about 5 inches tall and she has 9 points of articulation.  Her posability is odd.  She’s got no neck or elbow movement, but she’s got one wrist and ankles.  She’s not particularly agirl.  Gwen’s using what appears to be a variation of Aurora’s body from the Alpha Flight line, but smoothed out for a better base starting point.  It’s decent enough, but the torso’s a little too tightly sculpted to believably be a shirt.  She gets a cloth skirt piece as well, and a unique head/hair.  Interestingly, Gwen’s *not* wearing her attire from “The Night Gwen Stacy Died” despite that being the usual go-to.  It’s a design that still feels rather Gwen-y, though, so it works out well enough. The paint work on this figure is okay.  The skin tone’s nice and clean, as are the stripes on her shirt.  The eyes are a touch wonky, though.  Gwen is packed with a camera (presumably borrowed from Peter?  It’s a unique piece, though), and a pair of clip-on fur pieces for her boots, for fashion purposes, no doubt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember seeing this figure a fair bit in ’99, but I didn’t know who she was at the time.  It was actually this figure that kind of got me interested in finding out, so I guess that’s kind of cool.  I didn’t get her at the time, though.  She’s a far more recent addition, from the last few years, grabbed during one of my family vacations from Gidget’s Gadgets, a neat shop in the area.  She actually got me invested in getting the rest of the Silver Age line-up, which I’d up to then been putting off.  She’s okay.  Not super playable or distinctive, but at the same time, she’s pretty solid for a civilian character who’d never gotten a figure before.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0039: Wolverine – Yukon & Yukio

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , ,

WOLVERINE — YUKON & YUKIO

MARVEL MINIMATES (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS)

It’s Friday, so we’re flashing back again!  Once more, we dive into the world of my early Minimates reviews!  A couple of weeks ago, I revisited some of the The Wolverine movie tie-ins.  Here’s another one of those, with Wolverine — Yukon and Yukio!

“Today, I’ll be taking a look at yet another set of Minimates. Like the last Minimates review I did. These also come from the tie-in line from this year’s The Wolverine. Once again, it features a variant of the title character, this time packed with his trusty companion Yukio.

THE FIGURE THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the Toys R Us tie-in series for The Wolverine.

WOLVERINE (YUKON)

First up, it’s our hero Wolverine. He’s depicted in his “Yukon” look, from early in the film. This is the look that Logan sports for the first half an hour or so of the movie. It’s a very different look for the character, and is important to the character’s story in the film. It’s also really unique, which makes it stand out pretty well on the shelf. He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He has sculpted pieces for his hair, jacket and claws. The claws are the same as those used on the rest of the Wolverines in the wave. The hair and jacket are new pieces. They are sculpted well, and accurately depict his look from this point in the movie. The paint is well done on the figure. In spite of it not being a default look, I think that the likeness on this Wolverine may be the best Jackman likeness so far. The paint on the coat could possibly be a little better, with so noticeable slop on the edges, but nothing too bad. There’s some great detail work on the pants, with the wrinkles and such all being present. And underneath the jacket piece, there’s also chest detailing, showing Logan in a brown turtle-neck. I don’t recall him wearing it in the movie, but I could be wrong. Regardless, it’s a nice touch. Yukon Wolvie is rounded out with a pair of spare normal hands and a clear display stand.

NINJA YUKIO

Next up is Yukio, who fills a role that would conventionally be referred to as the “sidekick”, but that doesn’t seem quite right for Yukio. Were it not for the fact that the title of the film was “The Wolverine” I feel like she’d fall more into the hero role. Anyway, she’s depicted here in her “ninja” look, at least according to the package. I’d personally describe it more as a formal look, since it’s what she wears during the funeral sequence. It’s one of her two main looks from the movie, so it makes sense to see it here. Like Wolverine, she’s built on the base Minimate body, and has the standard 2 ½ inces of height and 14 points of articulation. As far as sculpted pieces, there’s her hair, her forearms, her skirt, and here boots. The forearms are shared with Mariko from the specialty wave, the hair was previously used on the Amazing Spiderman Gwen Stacy, and the boots have seen numerous previous uses, including the Urban Yukio from the specialty wave. Near as I can tell, the skirt is a new piece. The paint is all fairly well done, though there is a bit of slop on the hair. The likeness is better here than on the Urban Yukio I feel, but still a bit off. Rila Fukushima, who plays Yukio in the film, has a very uniquely shaped face, which seems to be difficult to translate to the cylindrical Minimate head, so I think Diamond did a pretty good job. Yukio is accessorized with a sword and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was ordered online via tru.com. Unlike Wolverine & Harada, I had no real issues acquiring this one, so that’s good.

I really like this set, it has a really unique Wolverine, and a very well done version of Yukio, who is one of the best characters in the movie. While I don’t think either figure is going to be the definitive version of the character for me, it’s a really fun little set!” 

Real talk?  I don’t really have any notes on this review.  I think I covered the bases pretty well, all of the parts are there, and my point still stands.  I thought it was an okay set then, and I still pretty much feel that way.  So, today’s just enough writing to justify showing off all the updated photos.  Here you go!