#1801: Omega Red

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

OMEGA RED

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A former Russian crime lord and agent, Arkady Rossovich is used in the Weapon X project, combining mutant abilities with weaponized cybernetic appendages.”

With the already sparse selection of X-themed Marvel Legends the last few years, it was hard enough to get members of the team proper, without even touching on their villainous foes.  Because of this, we’ve had a whole team of mutants all ganging up on poor Juggernaut for two years now.  Fortunately, this year’s been something of a godsend in that respect, with four X-baddies all coming in rather quick succession.  Today, I look at possibly the most minor, and certainly the most Russsian of the bunch, the Drago to Wolverine’s Rocky, Omega Red!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Omega Red is figure 1 in the Sauron Series of Marvel Legends.  While he’s never had any really close ties to Deadpool, they’re both products of the Weapon X program, and have been grouped together from time to time (including rather humorously in Hulk Vs Wolverine).  This is Red’s second time as a Legend; his first was back in 2005, during the Toy Biz days.  That one was pretty well regarded for the time, but almost 15 years later, it’s reasonable to give him an update.  The figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  While you might have been expecting him to be on the Hyperion body, he’s actually sporting an all-new base.  Size-wise, it’s a mid-point between the Hyperion and Colossus bodies, which seems a good fit for Red.  The coolest thing by far about this new base, though, are the butterfly joints for the shoulders.  These show up for Spidey and Wolverine, and it’s nice to see a larger character getting them as well.  Here’s hoping we get to see this body re-used again soon.  Omega Red includes more character-specific parts for his head, fore arms, and hands, as well as add-ons for his shoulderpads/belt, and knee pads.  The head is a rather perfect recreation of the over the top nonsense that is the classic Omega Red design.  Just look at that hair!  It’s so wacky, and so Omega Red.  The detailing is some of the best we’ve seen from Hasbro, and I really dig the angry-teeth-gritting expression.  His hands and forearms offer up his more armored attachments, and the hands are nice and expressive.  The shoulder pads mark a slight change for how Hasbro does things; rather than just hovering in place like prior figures, they actually have pegs that plug into the shoulders.  They’re still easily removable, but stay in place on the shoulder better than, say, Cyclops’ straps.  His paint work is bold, clean, and quite striking.  I dig the bright red quite a bit, and I much prefer the cleaner white on this figure to the murky grey-ish hue of the prior figure.  Red is packed with two different sets of his tentacles: one pair in a retracted fashion, the other in a more dynamic fashion, tailor-made for some action poses.  They swap out fairly easily, and seem pretty sturdy, so they hopefully won’t be drooping too much over time.  He’s also packed with the left leg of the Sauron Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always had something of a soft spot for Omega Red as a character, but less of a soft spot for any of his figures.  They just always seem…off somehow.  But when I saw this one, I was definitely impressed, more so than I have been on prior figures.  There are a lot of strong figures in this assortment, but of the singles, I think Omega Red is the strongest.  The new base body is very well designed, and his character specific parts are just so nicely tailored to both the body and the character.  And he looks absolutely fantastic facing off against the brand-new tiger stripe Wolverine!

Omega Red was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re interested in purchasing other Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1800: Lady Deadpool

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

LADY DEADPOOL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Also known as Lady-D, Wanda Wilson suits up as Lady Deadpool and takes fighting the power to new heights…no really, look how high her ponytail is.”

In 2010, Deadpool was really hitting the height of his popularity.  And the best way to cash in on that sort of things is spin-offs, so we got the Deadpool Corps, a whole team of Deadpool offshoots.  Perhaps the most successful of the bunch was Wanda Wilson, better known as Lady Deadpool.  As such, it’s not a huge surprise that Wanda ended up as the first of them to get a Legends release as well!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lady Deadpool is figure 4 in the Sauron Series of Marvel Legends.  Unlike the others, there’s no doubt whatsoever about her Deadpool ties.  Lady D was only really had the one look, a take on Wade’s standard costume from the time of her introduction.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Lady D is using a body that’s a little bit Frankensteined.  She’s got the arms and legs of Phoenix, and the upper torso and feet of Dark Phoenix.  Not sure why that particular combo was chosen, but there it is.  If I’m honest, I think I’d have preferred a re-use of the recently introduced Psylocke body, since it’s got better motion on the arms, and the legs aren’t quite as skinny, but ultimately this works out pretty well for her.  There’s one minor flaw with this sample, though; she’s got two right feet!  They’re the flat-footed ones, so it was actually quite hard to tell until close examination.  And she’s an off-shoot of a Rob Leifeld character, so she’s really lucky to have any feet at all!  Lady D gets a new head, as well as add-ons for her harness, belt, and thigh pouches.  They’re all pretty nicely sculpted, and the head in particular is a very nice offering.  I like the slight dynamic flair to the hair, and the slightly askew nature of the eyes.  The add-on pieces are all decent as well, though, like with yesterday’s Bishop figure, I find myself wishing the thigh pouches were more fixed in place.  Unlike more recent Deadpools, Lady D’s wrist and ankle straps are painted, rather than sculpted.  Obviously, sculpted is always preferred, but if something was just going to be painted, these will do.  Speaking of paint, Lady D’s is pretty decent overall.  There are a few traces of slop on the edges of the black sections of her costume, but she’s otherwise quite clean, and she uses the same brighter red as the casual Deadpool.  Lady D is packed with a pair of katanas, though curiously she has nowhere to keep them when they aren’t in her hands.  The various Deadpools have all gotten sheaths on their backs for such things, so it’s off that Wanda didn’t.  On a more exciting front, she’s also packed with an extra head, but not just any extra head!  It’s Headpool, all that remains of the Deadpool from the Marvel Zombies universe, and a fellow member of the Deadpool Corps!  He’s actually pretty cool, with an articulated propeller on the top of his head, and a flight stand for easy display.  And, if you’re not into the whole disembodied thing, he can also be popped onto a standard DP body (the First Appearance figure from the last series would probably be the best match, but I don’t own that one, so he’s on the Marvel Now body in my shot).  Lastly, she includes the right leg of the Build-A-Figure Sauron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Lady Deadpool, and the whole of the Deadpool Corps really, was introduced right around the time I hit my saturation point for all things Deadpool.  That being the case, I don’t have a huge attachment to the character.  That said, I do have attachments to good action figures, and Lady D is a pretty solid one.  Yes, I wish they’d used a slightly more posable body, and yes I wish they hadn’t skipped out on the sheaths for her swords, but the overall figure is good enough to outweigh those issues in my book.

Like the casual Deadpool figure, this one belongs to my friend Max from All Time, who I split the case with.  If you’d like one of your own, she’s still available through All Time’s store.  And if you’re interested in buying other Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1799: Bishop

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

BISHOP

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“On the advice of his grandmother, Alpha-mutant Bishop seeks out the X-Men and uses energy conversion and concussive blasts to join the ranks of his heroes of legend.”

There was this recurring trend amongst the newly introduced X-characters of the ‘90s, where they’d take the powerset of a previous character from the franchise, slap a nonsensical name on them, and add “carries a large gun” to their description and bam, new character.  Don’t believe me?  Let’s look at today’s focus, Bishop.  Power set similar to ‘80s X-baddie Sebastian Shaw, but channeled largely through having a gun, and his name is a common place word that has nothing to do with anything about him.  Oh, and he was also from the future, just to throw more fuel on that ‘90s fire.  Of course, he does at the very least predate some of the ‘90s worst X-characters, so that means a good chunk of people out there are still pretty nostalgic about the guy, so hey, toys!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bishop is figure 6 in the Sauron Series of Marvel Legends, a series that is supposedly Deadpool-themed.  Bishop’s really stretching that connection, and largely gets his spot here thanks to his connection to Cable, rather than Deadpool himself.  But who am I to complain about that?  This is Bishop’s second time as a Legend; the last was during the Toy Biz days.  I think it’s been long enough for a re-do.  Like that figure, Bishop is seen here in his garb from the ‘90s.  Sure, it’s dated as heck, and he’s had other, more reserved looks, but honestly, if you’re gonna do Bishop, you might as well do him right.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Bishop is built on the Hyperion body.  It’s not a terrible choice for him; Bishop’s frequently depicted as around the same size as Cable, who was also on this body.  He’s also got that swanky neckerchief piece, which covers up the slightly odd shape of the upper torso, thereby removing my only real issue with this base.  In addition to the neckerchief, he also gets a brand new head, shoulder harness, belt, rolled up sleeves, and glove cuffs.  The head is definitely my favorite piece.  It’s spot-on for the character, horribly dated ‘90s hair and all.  The face is definitely giving me a Terry Crews vibe, which makes me a little sad he ended up playing Bedlam instead.  Of course, this could all be stemming from the Brooklyn 99 binge-watch I’m currently going through, so who knows.  The various add-on pieces make Bishop suitably different from the rest of the figures built on this body.  I will say, I’m really starting to wish Hasbro would actually glue some of these add-ons down.  His sleeves in particular pop out of place constantly.  It’s ultimately a minor complaint, though.  Bishop’s paintwork is bright, colorful, and clean, which are all my favorite things in a Legends paint job.  He definitely has some presence on the shelf.  Bishop is packed with a large shotgun and the right arm of the Build-A-Figure Sauron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bishop’s a character I run hot and cold with.  The character was a prominent feature in some of my least favorite episodes of The Animated Series, so I have sort of this lingering dislike of him in that respect.  That being said, he’s also in some episodes I didn’t hate, and I’ve got this whole ‘90s X-Men display going, so I didn’t really want to miss him, especially after getting that awesome Cable from the last series.  Once in-hand shots started appearing, I knew I’d be tracking him down.  He’s quite a good figure, and I think he’s a marked improvement over the old Toy Biz one.  There’s definitely a nice polish to this guy, and he looks fantastic alongside the rest of the team.

Bishop was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re interested in purchasing other Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1798: Deadpool

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

DEADPOOL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

 

“La-la-la-la—oh, hi there.  Been here long?  What’s this? What am I wearing?  Well, this pretty little number is a look I like to all “Deadpool and Chill.””

You can’t have a Deadpool themed set of Marvel Legends without Deadpool, can you?  Of course not!  That would be totally ridiculous!  So, let’s review this here Deadpool figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Deadpool is figure 1 in the Sauron Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the first of the three specifically Deadpool-themed figures in this assortment.  He’s the third Deadpool figure released this year.  This figure’s look is quite a unique one; rather than just being a standard take or specific version of his costume, it’s a slight variation of a prior costume.  It takes his Marvel Now costume like we saw on the Juggernaut Series release, and makes Wade…a little more comfortable.  It’s a goofy, irreverent sort of look, which makes a ton of sense for a character like Deadpool, though it’s admittedly slightly unexpected to see a figure in his boxers on regular retail shelves.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches and he has 30 points of articulation.  Like the standard Marvel Now Deadpool and X-Force Deadpool, he’s built on the Bucky Cap body. He re-uses the forearms, hands, and belt from MN Deadpool, along with all-new pieces for the head, and lower half.  The new head has Wade’s mask pulled up to show his mouth and nose.  It matches up correctly with both the masked and unmasked heads from the last figure, which is certainly a plus.  The new lower section is definitely the star attraction here.  The detail work is definitely top-notch.  I particularly love the fuzzy slippers on his feet, especially the way he only has one sock on underneath of them.  That’s a fun little character touch.  The paint work on this figure is alright, though not without some issues.  The biggest issue is the slop on the edges of the black sections of his costume.  It makes him look rather messy and unprofessional as is, and its one of the sloppiest instances of paint I’ve seen on a Legend in a little while.  The other issue, which is an exceedingly minor one, is that his red is a completely different shade than the one used for the MN Deadpool.  If I’m honest, I’m more frustrated that Hasbro didn’t just use this color from the start than I am that they changed mid-run.  The big downside is that you can’t swap the heads between the two versions like I’d hoped you’d be able to.  Deadpool is packed with two different guns, which are the same ones included with Domino, but in black.  I like these guns well enough, though this does cause an issue with the re-used belt.  Since he doesn’t include the same pistol as the last time, there’s not actually a gun that fits in his holster, so it’s going to be permanently empty.  That kind of sucks.  He also includes the torso and head of the Sauron Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Obviously, there’s not much competing with the Juggernaut Series release for the role of definitive Deadpool, but with these specifically Deadpool-themed assortments, a Deadpool or two is needed.  I like that Hasbro’s going with the angle of amusing variants, rather than a bunch of boring minor variations.  There’s a lot of fun to be had with this figure.  Sure, he’s got some minor issues, but he’s enough fun that you don’t really notice.

This Deadpool figure isn’t actually mine; I split this set with my friend Max from over at All Time Toys.  He was kind enough to lend me his half of the set to review alongside my half.  If you’d like one of your own, he’s still available through All Time’s story.  If you’re interested in buying other Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

The Blaster In Question #0067: Delta Trooper

Posted by Tim Marron in Nerf Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

BlasterInQuestion1

DELTA TROOPER

N-STRIKE ELITE

dtrooper1I’ve talked before about how much I appreciate Nerf’s willingness to update and improve on their designs over time.  It definitely makes me, the consumer, feel that they are trying to present me with the best possible product.  That is, assuming that each iteration is actually an improvement over the last.  One of the most pervasive designs is the Recon from way back in the days of regular N-Strike.  From the Recon, we then got the Retaliator and the Recon Mk2 (which itself had an updated version to fix some issues).  Now I’ll be looking at the latest model of this type of blaster, the Delta Trooper.

THE BLASTER ITSELF

dtrooper2The Delta Trooper was released in 2018 as part of the N-Strike Elite line and moved to fill the role of the Recon Mk2 as the newest version of the slide-primed magazine-fed configurable rifle/pistol thing.  You could be forgiven for thinking it should be an updated version of the Alpha Trooper, but not this time.  It functions exactly like any of its predecessors, but with a new style of magazine release, and more importantly, with slam-fire.  Slam-fire is always nice to see added as there’s really no downside to having it, and I quite like the AR15 style push-button mag release over the latch we typically see.  All put together, it’s a pretty good looking blaster.  It has decidedly more aggressive lines than the Recon or Retaliator, which I enjoy.  Sadly, that is almost all the good things I can say about the Delta Trooper.  Here’s where we start with the complaints.  First and foremost is the ergonomics.  The pistol grip on the DT is a weird size.  It has a decent thickness to it and fills the hand quite well, but it’s about as short as it could possibly be and still fit all my fingers on it.  I could overlook this if it wasn’t made worse by the abrupt hard edge right above where my thumb sits.  If I choke up on the grip, this edge digs rather uncomfortably into my hand which makes me want to move down a bit, but then my pinky is all but falling off the grip.  I’m not exaggerating when I say I had to manually smooth out that edge to make holding this blaster normally a mostly comfortable feat.  Sure, I’ve had blasters with seams that didn’t line up where I’ve done similar modifications for the sake of comfort, but this wasn’t a seam, it was a quirk of the design that I’m surprised no one in testing had issue with.  But what about the other hand?  Well, on the main blaster body there’s a small area that can be used as a fore-grip, but trying to hold the blaster by the barrel, when dtrooper3attached, is again, thoroughly uncomfortable thanks to the design of the shell.  All those visually appealing aggressive lines just do not work with hands, but they also have another drawback.  One of the main features of the Recon/taliator is its customizability with attachments for the barrel, stock, and as rail accessories.  The DT has a stock, though short and blocky with no extra features, and a barrel, which refuses to sit parallel to the main blaster and has the aforementioned ergo problems, but what the barrel does have is the only rail on the entire blaster.  There are no rails on the core blaster itself which means that most options for customization are just gone.  The other issue, while slightly more nit-picky, is the magazine well.  With the included 12-round mag, it works as it should, but with every other magazine I had on hand, it was tight and stiff, nevermind that it simply does not accept the 35-round Raider drum mags.  Sure, the blaster still works, but this isn’t the same level of polish I’m used to seeing from Nerf.  Now, the Recon Mk2 had similar issues and those did get fixed, so maybe an update is in the works, but I’m still a little frustrated with it.  Overall, the construction does seem solid and the performance is good, but these are kind of expected at this point for a full size blaster from Nerf, so they do little to abate my annoyance with the other issues.  The Delta Trooper comes packaged with the stock, barrel, 12-round magazine, and 12 Elite darts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION 

If I’m being honest, from when I first heard about this blaster, my thoughts on it have been a series of concessions.  First I thought it might be a new Alpha Trooper and it wasn’t, but maybe they’re going for a whole assortment of “trooper” blasters.  Then it was shown as only having one rail for the whole kit, but at least it looked really cool.  Then I got one and felt it in my hands and wasn’t thrilled, but maybe performance will justify all of it, but it’s standard Nerf performance.  I won’t go so far as to say I regret buying it, because I don’t, but I do sincerely hope it gets the same treatment the Recon Mk2 got.  Either that or I’ll hold out for the Upsilon Trooper.

#1797: Wolverine

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

WOLVERINE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Laura Kinney uses assassin training paired with powerful claws to take down anyone who makes the mistake of crossing her.”

X-Men fans have had it pretty good this year when it comes to Marvel Legends.  In years prior, we’ve been lucky to get a single X-based assortment, but this year we got not only a proper X-Men assortment, but two heavily X-Men-packed Deadpool assortments as well.  It’s looking like those floodgates are finally opening!  The second Deadpool assortment is even more X-Men heavy than the first, even including usual X-Men staple Wolverine.  Sure, it’s not Logan, but is that really the point?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wolverine is figure 4 in the Sauron Series of Marvel Legends.  As with her presence in the first series, Laura’s connection to Deadpool is tenuous at best, but she definitely feels more at home in this assortment than in the last one.  As noted by her name, this figure of Laura represents her look from after the death of the mainstream Logan, when she officially took over the mantle.  It’s a more current look than the last figure, and is definitely a prominent design, well worth the inclusion in the line.  As I noted in my X-23 review, it rivals the X-Force costume in definitiveness.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s constructed from a lot of the same pieces as the X-23 figure.  She uses the Spider-Girl body, and the clawed hands from X-23.  She has a new head, boots, and belt add-on, replicating her Wolverine costume nicely.  Like the X-23 figure, Wolverine’s head is sculpted in a rather dynamic fashion with wind-swept hair and all.  It looks quite good; there’s a lot of room for error with this sort of look with the hair, but Hasbro’s two-for-two on Laura’s head sculpts.  The head’s expression is calmer than the X-23 one, representing Laura’s increased maturity at the time of taking over the Wolverine mantle.  The new boots have the usual Wolverine shaping, and include her foot claws, which had been left off of the last figure.  They can easily be removed as well, if you’re like me, and think the foot claws are kind of dumb.  Off to the cup of random accessories they go!  Wolverine’s paintwork is bright and bold, and pretty cleanly applied for the most part.  It’s quite a striking look.  Wolverine is packed with an alternate unmasked head.  This one’s much more reserved, both in expression and the hair styling, which is decidedly not dynamic.  Also included is the left arm of the Sauron Build-A-Figure, who I’ll be reviewing at the end of the week.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was pleasantly surprised by last series’ X-23, so I wasn’t sure what to think of this one.  I wasn’t really looking to have one figure of Laura, let alone two, but I do rather like this design.  And, more importantly, I wanted Sauron, so there was that.  While she didn’t catch me off guard the same way the X-23 figure did, but I do still quite like Wolverine.  She’s certainly a fun figure.

I picked up Laura from my friends over at All Time Toys.  If you’re interested in buying other Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1796: Lando Calrissian

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

LANDO CALRISSIAN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Lando Calrissian has been called many things over the years; con artist, smuggler, and rogue. He never expected to be called a leader and war hero…but then, he never dreamed that the Empire would force him to betray his best friend.”

This deal is getting worse all the time!  What deal?  I don’t actually know.  I didn’t have a decent intro for this thing, so there you have it.  I’ve been pretty steadily working my way through my Power of the Force II collection over the last two years, but with all of the new stuff I’ve been picking up, sometimes they fall off my radar for a bit.  They’re back today, though, and I’m looking the receiver of progressively worse deals, Lando Calrissian himself!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lando was part of the first series of Power of the Force II figures, released in 1996.  He’s based on the character’s debut appearance from Empire.  It’s rather distinctive, and quite frankly, it’s my favorite of his looks.  This figure would mark the second time it would show up in plastic form.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has the usual 6 points of articulation.  Lando, being from the line’s very first assortment, is also victim to the worst of the line’s stylization.  He’s rivaled only by the farm boy Luke for the title of “beefcake,” and that deep lunge of a pose he’s got going on certainly accents his disco-inspired garb quite well.  But really, can we talk about the fact that his poofy and loose-fitting shirt from the movie is seen here stretched to capacity over Lando’s rippling pecks and abs?  Because boy is it.  Like, how does one get oneself jacked like that?  I’m genuinely curious.  That’s a talent, to be sure.  Lando gets a souped up cape to match the rest of him.  This thing is super thick, and super heavy; I guess if his cape is this heavy, that explains how he got so jacked.  The whole thing’s topped off with a head that’s identical to the one on the skiff disguise Lando.  While it’s not a perfect likeness, it’s still one of the better efforts from the earlier PotF2 figures, and it’s leaps and bounds beyond any of the vintage Landos.  Lando’s paintwork is actually kind of unique for one of these figures, what with all the blue.  He looks quite clean, and pops out from the display, as he most certainly should!  Lando is packed with two different blasters.  He’s got the one he stole from a Stormtrooper, as well as one of his own, more suited to his personal flair.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Lando isn’t a figure I had growing up, but when I started filling in the gaps in this line a few years ago, he was definitely near the top of my list.  I ended up grabbing him from Lost in Time during one fo their sidewalk sales, and I certainly was happy to find him.  Lando is perhaps the goofiest, most ridiculous of all the initial PotF2 figures, but that works in his favor, making him perhaps the most memorable, and certainly a lot of fun.

#1795: Ascending Knight Batman

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

BATMAN — ASCENDING KNIGHT

ONE: 12 COLLECTIVE (MEZCO)

Ooooh, it’s time for me to go down the One:12 Collective rabbit hole again!

I love a good toy, and there’s no denying that Mezco’s recent star-studded line of mixed-media 6 inch figures is full of some pretty darn good toys.  Of course, they’re also pretty darn expensive toys, too, and I can’t really throw quite as much money at them as some people seem to be doing.  Nevertheless, I’ve been looking at their offerings in little dribs and drabs here and there.  Today, I look at another, and a fairly recent one at that.  It’s Ascending Knight Batman!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ascending Knight Batman was released in the spring of this year, as part of Mezco’s One:12 Collective line.  There have already been a handful of Bat-variants in the line (hey, the guy sells toys; can’t blame Mezco for cashing in on that), but he’s notable for being the first of the Batman figures to be a Mezco original design, albeit one inspired by outside elements.  Like Greg Capullo’s Zero Year suit, the Ascending Knight is a re-imagining of Batman’s first appearance design, through a more modern lens.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has over 30 points of articulation.

Ascending Knight Batman continues the One:12 trend of two different heads with each release.  The first is the more standard of the two, being your usual masked Batman, stern expression, piercing glare, and all.  This is where the biggest Detective #27 influence comes in, mostly via the distinctive curved shaping of the ears.  It’s sharp, it’s clean, and it’s super sleek.  It’s also a very specific look, divergent from your basic Batman, which is honestly kind of refreshing.  The paintwork is clean and bold, and I particularly like the super shiny sheen on the whites of the eyes.  The second head gives us an unmasked look at Bruce Wayne.  It goes for more of the suave debonaire sort of look, rather than the more battle-hardened appearance we’ve seen on other unmasked Waynes.  It fits pretty well with the “early in his career” take that this figure is offering.  I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting something of a Jason Isaacs vibe from the head; not where my mind usually goes for Batman, but it works reasonably well for this particular figure.  Like the masked head, this one has very clean application for the paint; I’m happy they’re keeping the molded flesh tones for most of these figures; it definitely gives them a more lifelike appearance.

Being from an earlier time in his career, this Batman is built on a smaller body than the previously-reviewed Dark Knight Returns version.  I believe it’s the same basic body that was used on Space Ghost, though it’s a little hard to tell, since the costume doesn’t come off.  Said costume is another mixed-media affair.  The main body suit and cape are cloth, though neither is the straight spandex construction like on DKR Bats and Space Ghost.  The body suit looks to have started that way, but there’s a rather complex overlay of rubberized painted elements, giving the suit a more kevlar-like-armored-appearance.  It’s still all shades of grey, as it should be, but there’s an extra level of flavor added by this method.  The cape is a heavy pleather piece.  Apart from the material, it’s cut rather similarly to the DKR Batman.  The pleather certainly looks cool, but its extra rigidity means it can be a little more difficult to work with when posing.  The cloth parts of his costume are augmented by a healthy helping of sculpted plastic parts.  The cape is held in place by a sculpted neck piece, which sits atop it, and helps create a better flow to the masked head when it’s in place.  There’s a sculpted logo as well, which plugs into the front of his chest.  It not only makes the logo stand out a bit more, but it also keeps the costume clinging a little closer to the torso.  For his earliest appearances, Batman had a distinctly differently-styled utility belt, which has been translated to this figure’s belt, albeit with a more modernized twist, and tons of great little technical details.  On the downside, the belt doesn’t seem to want to stay closed, at least on the figure I’m reviewing, so it comes loose fairly frequently.  The costume is topped off with some swanky boots and gloves.  The boots are interesting, as they’re standard combat boots, laces and all, but  you can see where Bruce has slightly modified the very tops, giving them that distinctive peak that his boots always had; it’s a fun real-world touch.  Perhaps the most distinctive and memorable part of the original Batman design, when compared to later iterations, are the gloves, which only went up to his wrists and were very definitely purple.  This figure doesn’t have those.  Instead, he gets sort of an amalgamated design, which still features the shorter appearance, but keeps the more traditional black coloring, as well as trowing in a par of the wrist blade/scallops he always had in later years.  It’s a change that works a bit better with this incarnation of the costume, while still maintaining the overall spirit of the original.

Ascending Knight Batman is packed with a sizable selection of accessories.  In addition to the previously mentioned unmasked head, he also includes seven interchangeable hands (in pairs of fists, open, and beatarang holding, as well as a right hand for his grappling gun), a grappling gun with fully retracted hooks, extend hooks, and a hook with a line attached to it, a small cross bolt of some sort, a bat-brass knuckles looking thing, a display stand (with flight attachment, and a set of armature for displaying the cape extended), and 10 batarangs.  That’s quite an assortment.  Admittedly, a lot of it’s stuff that seems more suited to being laid out as a cool armory display, and less suited to actual use with the figure.  The hands are by far the most useful, and I can see the grappling gun getting a decent amount of use, especially with this design.  The batarangs are definitely cool, but 10 of them almost seems excessive.  But who am I to complain about getting *more* accessories?  The cape attachment for the stand is fine if you want to just set this guy up in a free fall sort of display, but after spending about an hour fiddling with the  one included with DKR Bats, I didn’t personally find the end results on this one to be worth the hassle.  The option being present is certainly appreciated, though.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After missing out on the DKR Batman and not having much interest in any of the DCEU-related offerings, this guy is really the first Mezco Batman to catch my eye.  I’ve always been something of a sucker for the First Appearance Batman look, and this is undoubtedly a fun reimagining.  I don’t know that I can say this figure quite has the same raw fun factor of the DKR Batman (that one set a seriously high bar to clear, believe me), but he does come pretty close.

Like the last One:12 Collective Batman I reviewed, this one’s not actually mine.  He was loaned to me for review by my friends over at All Time Toys. If you’re interested in owning him for yourself, he can be purchased from their store front.  And, if you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#1794: Bookworm

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

BOOKWORM

BATMAN ’66 (FUNKO)

There was a time when any Batman ’66 product at all was something fans dreamed about.  Who’d have ever guessed we might have too much of it?  Well, I guess that’s a highly subjective take on things, isn’t it?  Perhaps I’m a little jaded about the whole thing.  See, when Mattel launched their Batman ’66 line, I was thrilled beyond belief, and preorder everything in the initial assortments.  And then I actually got the figures and…well, they were kind of garbage.  The line failed, what with the figures being kind of garbage and all.  In its stead we’ve gotten all sorts of stuff.  Pops, Hot Toys figures, Quarter Scale figures, Megos, etc.  All possessing their own strengths and weaknesses.  Towards the tail end of it all, Funko came in with a 3 3/4 inch line, which showed a lot of promise.  Sadly, its weakness was one of timing; it hit shelves a few years after collectors had been burned out by everything else.  As such, it too is another failed line, with an incomplete assortment of characters, focusing more on the obscure than the major.  Hence why we have no Joker, Penguin, or Catwoman, but we managed to get today’s offering, Bookworm.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bookwork is part of the first, and only, series of Funko’s Batman ’66 line, one of the line’s many more obscure rogues.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  The improved articulation on these figures is still very much appreciated, and Bookworm himself is far less affected by the lack of hip hinges than Batgirl was.  Like Batgirl, Bookworm takes the retro feel of the ReAction line and dials it back just a bit, resulting in a better overall figure that still pays homage to a more vintage style.  Apart from some slight weirdness where the hips and the bottom of the jacket intersect, his sculpt is really quite good.  In particular, I really love the head, especially his glasses.  Glasses are hard to do at all on toys, even more so at a small scale like this.  They could have just sculpted the rims right onto his face and done it all with paint, but they didn’t and the figure is all the better for it.  His head doesn’t have too much of actor Roddy McDowall’s likeness, but given how little of his face is actually visible here, it’s not like he looks unlike McDowall, so I’d say it’s close enough not to hold the figure back.  The figure’s paint is a little on the drab side, being mostly variations of brown.  This is true to the show, though, and at least the application is clean.  The glasses again are the best part for me, with clear lenses *and* cleanly painted rims.  Bookworm is, appropriately, packed with a book, which his right hand has been sculpted to properly hold.  That was a nice change, since Batgirl was unable to hold her accessory.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have to admit: I was part of the problem.  When they were new, I bought exactly one of Funko’s Batman ’66 figures.  I really liked Batgirl a lot, and was interested in getting more, but after the whole debacle with Mattel, I wanted to see more of what the line had to offer before really jumping on board.  During the TRU liquidation process, I found poor Bookworm, all by himself, package smashed to hell.  I felt sorry for him, so home with me he came.  And then there was the months of waiting to open him, because boy did I pick up a backlog of figures over the summer.  Now that I’ve finally opened him, I’m really happy I got one, but also very sad I didn’t support this line earlier, because Bookworm is a very good figure. 

#1793: Lucas

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

LUCAS

STRANGER THINGS (MCFARLANE)

Things have died down ever so slightly for Stranger Things in the hiatus between seasons 2 and 3.  I mean, I guess that’s pretty normal for such a show, but man was the merchandizing crazy during the Season 2 launch.  Anyway, while we all wait for Season 3’s arrival, there are still a number of figures out there just ripe for reviewing, including today’s offering, Lucas Sinclair!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lucas, alongside Dustin, makes up one half of the second series of McFarlane’s Stranger Things line.  Admittedly, it seems a little odd to me that Lucas and Dustin jumped ahead of Mike and Will for the Series 2 line-up.  Mike and Will are both far more plot-important, and I do slightly worry with McFarlane’s track record that they may not get made.  Time will tell, I suppose.  In the mean time, let’s focus on the positive:  Lucas figure!  Lucas is sporting his Season 1 appearance, camo-headband and all,  meaning he matches up with the rest of the figures so far.  This figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and he has 24 points of articulation.  Lucas’ articulation style is essentially the same as Series 1’s Hopper, but he doesn’t quite suffer from the wonky-looking integration of articulation that Hopper did; it’s much more naturally placed for Lucas.  Lucas’s sculpt is definitely a strong one, perhaps the strongest of three figures I have from the line so far.  While the likeness on the face isn’t quite as spot-on as I felt Hopper’s was, there’s still definitely a lot of Caleb McLaughlin in there, and I think it’s enough to help clearly identify him.  The work on his clothing is definitely very strong, from the corduroy texturing on the pants, to the sharp detailing on the seems of his jacket, as well as the rather natural way the clothes have been sculpted to hang.  Lucas’ paintwork is definitely the best I’ve see so far from the line.  It’s clean, accurate to the source, and downright eye-catching, which is certainly a nice change of pace after the last two.  Lucas is quite nicely accessorized, including his backpack, a flashlight, his slingshot, a radio (with an extra hand for holding it), and a display stand.  The backpack is definitely the coolest of the bunch; I really dig the weathering on it.  On the opposite end is the slingshot, which is hard for him to hold, unpainted, and nondescript enough that I didn’t know what it was at first.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After picking up Eleven and Hopper back in February, I was definitely interested in getting more of these figures, but other lines took precedence, so I kind of fell behind.  Lucas was grabbed during TRU’s liquidation process, because why not?  And then, like so many of the figures bought during the summer, he just sat unopened for a good few months.  He’s actually been on the review schedule three times, and I just kept having to bump him because he hadn’t even been opened yet.  I’m actually a little annoyed with myself about that, because he’s a pretty solid figure, and I wish I’d figured that out a bit sooner.  Guess I’ll need to be tracking down Dustin now.