Mutant X Re-Read #18: Cyclops and Havok Together Again!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Mutant X Re-Read

THE WAKE UP CALL

MUTANT X #17 (MARVEL COMICS)

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

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

Fear him. Fear for him.”

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

This week, the Cyclops of this strange alternate reality returns in “The Wake Up Call!”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #17 is cover dated February of 2000.  It has story and art by Howard Mackie, Javier Saltares, and Andrew Pepoy.

In narration, Havok recounts nightmares he’s been having since the team went on the run from SHIELD.  in them, he sees The Six, Scotty, and Elektra all killed by some unseen force.  Alex awakens from his latest recurrence of the dream and goes on a walk to clear his head.  He’s ambushed by a figure hiding in the bushes, who reveals himself to be Cyclops, there to protect his brother from some unseen force.  The force, who is a shadowy figure different from the one in Alex’s dreams, attacks, and Alex fights back, revealing….Mysterio, Spider-Man, and that one kid from the Daily Bugle who is on non-specific drugs…oh, wait, sorry, that’s the third part of the anti-drugs thing.  Good thing they don’t ruin the momentum of the story telling, huh?  Anyway, Alex is knocked unconscious and awakens strapped to a table in a lab, right next to his brother.  Cyclops recounts what’s happened since we last saw him, revealing that he and the Starjammers were attacked by this shadowy figure days earlier.  The Starjammers were taken out of commission and Scott fled, feeling in his gut that he needed to protect Alex.  Based on context clues, Alex is able to piece together that their captor is an alternate universe version of Mr. Sinister.  The alternate Sinister arrives, and explains that he needed the two of them for their genetic code.  With that gathered, he intends to keep them hostage for further study.  The two escape and destroy his lab.  Cyclops leaves for space once more, believing they will both be safer if they are separated.  Sinister watches footage of the lab’s destruction, as Jean Grey enters and asks if he intends to let them go.  He does, and remarks that he can’t wait to unleash his “X-Man” on the world.

The return of this universe’s Scott Summers wasn’t an unwelcome one, but ultimately, it doesn’t feel as fresh or different this time.  Not a ton happens in this issue, and what does feels like a rather generic Mr Sinister plot, which doesn’t really require the alternate universe setting.  Dispensing with the Starjammers in flashback is also a bummer, because I liked their dynamic in Scott’s first appearance.  At the very least, it’s nice that they weren’t actually killed off the way the X-Men were.  Also, after building up the newly re-formed Six line-up, they get sidelined for the issue, which continues to be frustrating.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really enjoyed Cyclops’ first issue, but this one was…I mean, it’s not bad. But, it’s also not quite as thrilling.  There’s a lot more build-up to other stuff, and a lot more Havok just sort of wandering around.  I did like the angle of Havok knowing Sinister based on his encounters in the main universe, but Sinister then being pretty much exactly like his mainstream counterpart feels like a waste.

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

#3503: Ultra Magnus

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

ULTRA MAGNUS

TRANSFORMERS: STUDIO SERIES (HASBRO)

“Ultra Magnus leads defensive measures against the Decepticons invading Autobot City.”

Well, it’s been another few months with no Transformers around these parts, so, you know, maybe I’ll address that?  Yeah, let’s do that.  And the best way to address a Transformers drought is…well, let’s be honest, with me it’s either gonna be Ultra Magnus or Soundwave.  Today, let’s focus on the former. Back in 2021, Hasbro started working Transformers: The Movie figures into their Studio Series line, in celebration of the movie’s 35th anniversary. At the same time, Earthrise and Kingdom added a few more compatible characters in a fairly close to movie style. Ultra Magnus’s anniversary-related figure wound up in Kingdom, and sort of walked the line between cartoon and toy, having an animated style exterior, while still retaining the toy style inner bot. This doesn’t quite hit the same mark as a Studio Series release, so, obviously a follow-up was needed, right?  Sure, yeah, let’s go with that.  I will literally never turn down a new Magnus.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultra Magus is a Commander Class release in Hasbro’s Transformers: Studio Series, where he’s numbered 86-21.  Magnus is notable for being the first instance of a Commander release under the Studio Series banner; previously, they were just a main line thing.  It also means he bumps up a class after being typically in the Leader category.  In his robot mode, the figure stands 9 inches tall and he has 30 workable points of articulation.  His articulation is generally improved compared to the usual Magnus, so he get a lot more poses than you might expect from a guy that’s so bulked up.  In particular, he gets a really cool set up on his hands, allowing for “fists”, basic grip, trigger grip, and even pointing.  The only part I’m not super keen on is how the shoulders work when extending out to the side; you’re effectively just popping them out of the socket, and the hinge isn’t strong enough to actually hold them up.  Magnus’ sculpt is all-new, and, as noted in the intro, it eliminates the inner robot mode, since he had nothing of the sort in the movie or cartoon.  This allows the design to focus purely on Magnus’ armored up design, and not have to worry about contending with an additional mode.  As such, his proportions work out slightly differently, and he doesn’t have spots where you can still see the smaller bot poking through.  It’s a strong sculpt, definitely capturing his movie design very well.  The only part that feels off to me is, again, the shoulders, which seem to be a little too wide for proper animation accuracy.  It’s not far off, mind you, and has to do with folding up parts from his alt-mode, so it’s not the end of the world.  Ultra Magnus gets a few built-in features.  To replicate the scene in the movie where he is drawn and quartered, his arms and legs are removable, by way of a spring-loaded locking system.  Magnus also gets a spot in his torso to house the Matrix of Leadership (as he does for a while in the movie), which is likewise spring loaded.  Pulling up the blue armored section of the torso flips the two chest doors open, revealing the included Matrix.  Magnus is packed with his toy-style rifle, plus his smaller emergency rifle from the movie, both of which can be stored on his back.  He also includes 7 different effects pieces, which are modular, and can be combined into different set-ups in conjunction with the rifles and the rockets.

With no inner bot, this Magnus transforms directly into his car-carrier vehicle mode, rather than the separate cab/carrier set-up of the Kingdom and Siege molds.  He’s a Commander Class, so there’s a definite complexity to the transformation.  It’s definitely a little more on the fiddly side, and I was consulting the instructions more on this one than others.  That said, it’s not terribly unintuitive, and its still a Magnus, so there are certain broad strokes that still land for the sequence.  The resulting vehicle mode is honestly pretty good.  There are a few spots where it doesn’t *quite* tab together perfectly, but otherwise it works, and the carrier portion is even large enough to properly carry Deluxe Class car bots, which is definitely a plus from the compatibility stand-point.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting the Kingdom Magnus, I didn’t think I needed another G1-style Magnus.   I mean, that one’s, like, really solid.  How do you top it?  You don’t, as it turns out.  You go a different direction.  This one definitely was a surprise, but a happy one.  He’s definitely fun.  I don’t know that he beats out Kingdom Magnus in my *personal* order, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate another Magnus for my Magnus shelf.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3502: Goliath

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

GOLIATH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“In this universe, an alien threat forces Bill Foster to put aside his differences with former partner Hank Pym to join S.H.I.E.L.D.’s newest team of heroes.”

Though a minor character in the overall scheme of the Marvel universe, Bill Foster is a pretty big deal in real world terms, as one of Marvel’s first prominent African American characters.  In the comics, he would eventually take on his own super hero identity, the Black Goliath, ultimately shortening it to just “Goliath.”  Bill was added to the MCU in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, where he’s a disgruntled former partner of Hank, with his past as “Goliath” only briefly hinted at.  The second season of What If…? is poised to explore that at least *a little* further, with at least one of the episodes offering up a costumed variant of Bill, which just so happens to be one of the designs picked for action figure treatment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Goliath is figure 5 in the Hydra Stomper Series of Marvel Legends, and is one of the three What If…? figures to grace the line-up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s using the arms, legs, and waist from the Ant-Man and the Wasp version of Scott, with a new head, torso, and belt.  We haven’t seen a ton of exactly what Goliath is going to look like in the show, but this set-up does seem pretty consistent with what we *have* seen.  I do like how they’ve kept elements of Bill’s Goliath costume from the comics, while filtering it into something a bit more consistent with the other Pym-suits from the movies.  I particularly dig how they’ve set-up the lenses on the helmet to mimic Bill’s usual domino mask.  The new head is solid; it’s got the proper transparent lenses, which the Ant-Man built on this body lacked.  The new belt also incorporates another Goliath-centered element: the big “G” belt buckle.  I absolutely adore that.  Bill’s color work carries the heaviest weight in making this a suitably unique release.  The blue and white makes for a good contrast, to be sure.  The actual application is decent enough.  the blue seems a tad thin, but otherwise tings are clean.  Bill gets no accessories of his own, but he does get the arm and alternate hand for the Hydra Stomper Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bill’s a character I really do love in the comics, so I’m happy about any sort of outside media appearances for him.  While his MCU appearance didn’t do a ton with him, it was still cool to see him, and I enjoyed that they left the door open for more of him.  I have no idea what his What If…? appearance is going to be like, but I’m certainly looking forward to it.  In the meantime, there’s this figure of him, and I already have the only other Bill Foster figure, so I might as well have this one, too, and keep that full set running.  He’s a pretty basic figure, but I do enjoy him.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3501: Blackbird Jet – Mobile Air Command

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

BLACKBIRD JET — MOBILE AIR COMMAND

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The Blackbird Jet is a hypersonic transportation vehicle for X-Men. The jet is equipped to fly long-duration, high-altitude reconnaissance as well as attack missions. With a myriad of weapon delivery systems and electronic counter-measures, the Blackbird is markedly superior to any adversary.”

To close out this month’s look into the non-figure components of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, I’m looking at what is quite probably the centerpiece of those non-figure components: the Blackbird.  First introduced when the team returned with its all-new, all-different line-up in 1975, its become a fixture of the franchise, with multiple iterations in the comics, and some sort of presence in every notable media adaptation of the team.  It’s use as a major set-piece in the ’90s cartoon also netted it a release in the accompanying line of toys, which is what I’m taking a look at today.

THE VEHICLE ITSELF

The Blackbird Jet was added to Toy Biz’s X-Men line in 1995, alongside Series 4 and 5 of the main line.  While most components of the line were comics-based items that happened to have the same general looks as the cartoon incarnations, the Blackbird goes for a more directly cartoon-based look, albeit adapted a little bit to the constraints of the line’s scale and price-point.  The vehicle measures 15 1/2 inches long and has a 12 1/2 inch wing span.  The Blackbird’s sculpt was a unique one, and a pretty good one at that.  It very much takes the show design to heart, and translates it into a pretty good three-dimensional recreation.  It’s a bit scaled down from where it should be for a 5-inch line, since it would need to be able to fit the whole team, at least two side-by-side.  Instead, the cockpit is a one-seater, and the rest is scaled to match.  Like the rest of this line’s vehicles, its set-up to work with the pre-size-creep figures, so you’re not able to fit later figures into it.  But, it works well with the figures it was designed to be contemporary with.  It its default set-up, the Blackbird looks like the exterior of the one from the show.  The cockpit raises, so you can get a pilot in place, and the mid section also flips open for a passenger.  There’s also missiles to be launched from the back as well.  However, as the box so proudly proclaims, the Blackbird also transforms into three “Action Stages.”  The cockpit separates to become the “Command Center Explorer,” the tail and wings become a glider with ejector seat, and the fuselage slides out into a full-on command center, with a whole view screen set-up on the interior of the top half, which swings up out of the way.  The internal details are largely handled via decals, which include some pretty fun little touches.  The internal decals on my copy have certainly seen some better days, but it’s still very cool.  Aside from the decals (which also add a pair of X-logos to the wings, for some extra X-branding not present in the source material), everything else is molded in proper color.  The metallic blue works very well, and I’ve always dug the translucent red for the canopy. In terms of extras, the original release of this vehicle only included the two missiles, but there was also a later release, which packed in an unmasked Wolverine figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My original Blackbird was, I believe, an Easter gift from my parents.  I recall getting it alongside Phoenix.  It’s notably one of the last things I remember being given at my parents’ old house, before we moved to the one they currently live in.  When they were in the process of buying their current house, there were a few visits to inspect various things, which I went along for, and the Blackbird (almost always piloted by my Series 1 Cyclops, until I got Wolverine II, so that I would have a Wolverine that actually fit in the thing) came with me, so that I had something to entertain myself.  It would go on to be one of my go-to vehicles for a great many figures (rivaled only by my Power of the Force Millennium Falcon in that regard), lasting for a very long lime.  It took quite a beating over the years, and I eventually lost all by the main chunk of the fuselage and tail.  When I got back into 5-inch collecting in college, I wound up getting a replacement, which is the one seen here.  It’s such an amazingly fun piece, and I’m glad to have one, even if it’s not my original.  But, I suppose replacing the Blackbird is kind of appropriate, since the X-Men have done it a great many times.

As a sort of a post-script here, for my birthday this year, my parents helped me reclaim at least one part of my original that I didn’t expect to find again: the original blueprints!  As I’ve touched on here before, my Grandfather was something of a hoarder, and that included squirreling away tons of paperwork from everything imaginable.  Evidently, at some point I left my Blackbird’s blueprints at his house, and he’d filed them away with other papers he’d kept.  While working to clear out the house over the summer, my Dad stumbled upon them, and my Mom had them framed for me, which is pretty sweet!

#3500: Ben Kenobi – Tibidon Station

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

BEN KENOBI — TIBIDON STATION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi is set years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith wehre Kenobi faced the corruption of his friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned Sith Lord Darth Vader.”

I honestly don’t know if it’s possible to praise Ewan McGreggor’s performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi enough; it’s just one of those absolute stand out things, and the very best thing about the prequels.  While his role within the films at times left him a little under-utilized, he got his own show, which gave us so much more time with the character, and that was very cool.  Thus far, I’ve been light on Black Series coverage for the show, but I’m doubling what I’ve gotten today, with Tibidon Station Ben Kenobi!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ben Kenobi (Tibidon Station) is is figure 6 in the Obi-Wan Kenobi sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s fourth phase.  He was a Target-exclusive release, which hit shortly after the first batch of figures from the show.  He’s based on the character’s look from early in the first episode of the show, before he settles back into his Obi-Wan ways to rescue Leia.  It’s a more unique look for the character, who otherwise tends to fall into the same general trappings for design.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The main figure is a total parts re-use from the Wandering Jedi version of the character who hit in the main line.  The two outfits aren’t *exactly* the same, but they’re certainly close enough that I can see why Hasbro would go for the re-use.  It would honestly be pretty hard to justify new parts on such a look, anyway.  The head suffers from not being the Jabiim sculpt, which…well, it’s honestly not fair to judge it that harshly.  It’s not a bad sculpt on its own merits; there’s more than a passing resemblance to McGreggor, and he’s not terribly far off from his look in the show.  He’s a touch too clean and put together, I think is the real issue.  Still, given that this one predates the other, I can’t knock it.  The major change-up for this figure is the color scheme, specifically the shirt, which is now a lovely shade of blue.  It looks quite spiffy, and makes him suitably different from the main release.  To further differentiate him, he also gets a new cloak piece, as well as an all-new back-pack, both based on his stuff from the scenes with this look.  And, he’s also still sporting his blaster and lightsaber, just like the other one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I dug this look on the show, even though it was rather short-lived, and I dug it as a figure.  But, it was a Target exclusive, and I wasn’t going hunting.  Then I found it, but it was when all the other Black Series exclusives got marked way down, and I didn’t want to pay full price, so I waited, checking every so often for a few weeks, with the same figure at my local Target.  But, he sold before I could get a markdown, which is really the risk you take, I suppose.  One got traded into All Time, however, rather amusingly on the same day that I wound up buying the Jabiim figure.  He’s fun.  Not as definitive as the other release, but I do like him a lot.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3499: Agatha Harkness

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

AGATHA HARKNESS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Sorceress Agatha Harkness was rejected by her own coven long ago. In Westview, she pretends to be Wanda and the Vision’s nosy neighbor to learn more about Wanda’s powers.”

Can I just not do the “It was Agatha all along” thing?  It was clever back when the reveal happened, but it feels a bit overplayed now, right?  Cool, so I’m just not doing that.  Agatha Harkness is a character who goes pretty far back at Marvel.  She was created by Stan and Jack while they were still on FF, initially serving as governess for Franklin Richards, before eventually taking over a mentor role for Scarlet Witch, which was the role that would really stick for her.  Her introduction into the MCU changed some things, turning her from an old, decrepit woman to a middle-aged one, and also making her into an antagonistic force, in contrast to her “big good” vibes from the comics.  It was a well-received change, though, and she was certainly a break out character for WandaVision.  It makes it all the more surprising that it’s taken this long for her to finally get figure treatment.  Better late than never, though, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Agatha Harkness is figure 4 in the Hydra Stomper Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s the assortment’s one and only WandaVision figure, making her the fourth in that show’s line-up as well.  She’s based on her fully witched-up look from the end of the show, which makes sense; it’s not like an Agnes figure would be the most thrilling thing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Most of that articulation…well, most of it might as well not be there, honestly.  The neck is largely motionless due to the hair, and the legs *are* motionless thanks to the skirt.  The arms are a bit better, but still very much limited, so in general poses are essentially variants of standing there.  Agatha’s sculpt is mostly new.  Her legs are re-used from the Phoenix body, but you’ll never see them and you’ll never pose them, so it’s kind of moot.  Beyond that, though, it’s unique.  It’s not bad.  The likeness on the head is definitely solid; you can tell who its meant to be without much prompting.  For as limiting as the rest of the sculpt may be to the articulation, it does at least look really nice.  The detailing on her outfit is quite sharp, and there’s a very nice, flow to everything, so she’ll at least look somewhat dynamic while she’s there in a fairly basic standing pose.  Her color work is pretty impressively handled, with a fair amount of accent work, to help sell the smaller details of the sculpt a bit.  There’s one spot of missing paint at the tip of one of her fingers, but otherwise everything is clean and the way it should be.  Agatha is without any accessories for herself, but she gets two heads and the rocketpack for the Hydra Stomper figure.  It’s a shame she didn’t get any magic effects, or possibly the Darkhold.  Just something, anything at all would have been nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I said in the intro, I was a bit surprised by how long it took to get this figure.  I understand her not being a right out of the gate release, but waiting this long, especially having her beat to market by Jimmy Woo, is shocking.  Ultimately, it’s not a super playable design in figure form, but it does at least look the part.  And, hey, when else are we gonna get an Agatha Harkness figure?

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

Mutant X Re-Read #17: Big Trouble…In the Big Easy!

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Mutant X Re-Read

GOD AND MAN

MUTANT X #16 (MARVEL COMICS)

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

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

Fear him. Fear for him.”

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

This week, the team takes a trip to New Orleans, which pretty much makes it a lock for a Gambit appearance in “God and Man”!

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #16 is cover dated January of 2000.  It has Howard Mackie as writer, Cary Nord on pencils, and Andrew Pepoy on inks.

A young mutant is chased through a playground in Savannah, Georgia.  His pursuers, a group of heavily armed mutant haters, are halted by the arrival of Captain America, who is quickly joined by the rest of The Six.  The Six make quick work of the group, leaving them frozen in place, where they are discovered some time later by Nick Fury and SHIELD, who are now using Bastion-model Sentinels to track mutants.  The Six walk the streets of New Orleans, tracking mutants that Cerebro has gotten a read on.  They are attacked by members of the United Guilds of Thieves and Assassins, who take them to see “The Boss,” who is revealed to be Gambit.  In this reality he is married Bella Donna, and they have a daughter, Raven, both of whom he keeps around to prevent him from making rash decisions.  Gambit remarks he knows most of the group by reputation, only having crossed paths with Bloodstorm directly.  His debt to Ororo is what kept him from killing the others, but now he wants them out of his town, so as to avoid troubles with SHIELD.  While Gambit and Havok engage in a heated argument, SHIELD’s new Sentinels attack, and Gambit believes Havok has deliberately led them here.  When it is revealed that Raven is the mutant the Sentinels are after, The Six assist Gambit and Bella Donna in protecting her.  Bella Donna is fatally wounded during the battle, and her brother Julien is revealed to be the traitor.  Cerebro reveals that Raven has powers that are off the charts, which is why SHIELD wants her.  The Six and Gambit attempt to stop Julien and the Sentinels from taking Raven, but fail.  With his wife dead and his daughter kidnapped, Gambit joins the Six to rescue his daughter and seek out vengeance.

This issue finally points us towards a proper six-man line-up for “The Six”, so things are finally feeling a little bit more in the direction of a proper status quo.  The addition of Gambit isn’t quite as odd-ball or game-changing as Cap, since he’s already an established X-Man, but it’s similarly kind of out of nowhere.  It does seem a bit odd that The Six winds up having their numbers filled back in by two characters that didn’t appear at all prior to Madelyn and Fallen’s departure, instead of building up previously introduced characters a bit (the fact that Cerebro continues to travel along with the team but isn’t given a proper spot on the roster is honestly baffling).  It also a bit of a shame that the team is now down to a single token female.  At this point, Gambit doesn’t feel terribly different from his mainstream counterpart, but there’s certainly some room for him to grow.  The actual storyline from the issue is a bit back to basics, early run, since its another case of the team wandering somewhere and things sort of happening around them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This issue is the last one on the path to getting the group back to where they were when I re-encountered them back in the day, so there’s a degree of completeness for me that comes from that.  I don’t dislike Gambit, but I also know he’s paving the way for more Bloodstorm stuff, and that’s not my favorite.

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

#3498: Huntress

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

HUNTRESS

BATMAN: HUSH MAFEX (MEDICOM TOY)

A year and a half ago, I took a look at my first MAFEX figure, Hush.  I ended that review noting that I was really pulled in by the announcement of Nightwing, and that he was the figure I was really after.  So, for my *second* MAFEX review, I’m looking at….still not Nightwing.  Look, I gotta be patient.  In the mean time, I do have another one, and this one’s another Hush based one.  Let’s take a look at Huntress, why don’t we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Huntress is figure No. 170 in the MAFEX line-up, the eighth Batman: Hush figure to join the line.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 38 points of articulation. Hush marked my first experience with the MAFEX set-up as a whole, and he was an interesting experience. Huntress has some similarities, but also some deviations, to work a little better with her particular design. The movement still has more of a smooth flow than a Figuarts figure, but she winds up a little bit restricted in a few spots, most notably at the neck and shoulders. The neck is pretty much unavoidable, due to the hair, but the shoulders are a bit of a bummer. Huntress has a unique sculpt which is, as expected, based on her Jim Lee-illustrated appearance from Hush…more or less.  There are some slight changes to the design to make it work a bit better in figure form, with the most evident being the change to longer shorts, so as to offset the placement of the thigh swivels.  Honestly, it’s a design change that I really don’t mind, so I can’t knock it.  As with Hush, it does a respectable job of translating Lee’s art into three dimensions.  It’s a very clean, very balanced translation.  There are two different heads, one calm and basic, the other a little angrier, with a more dynamic flow to the hair.  She gets a bit of mixed media, with a cloth cape; it’s a well tailored, and it’s even got a wire running along the bottom, so you can get some rather impressive poses out of it.  Huntress’s paint work is very sharp and very clean, with no notable slop or anything like that.  It definitely matches well with the printed colors from the book, and they even got the cape and the painted purples to match up okay.  Huntress doesn’t quite get the array of accessories that Hush did, but she still gets a fair bit.  There’s the extra head mentioned above, plus five pairs of hands (in fists, two styles of gripping, relaxed, and open gesture), her staff and a display stand.  The hands are notably a bit inconsistent on how well they stay on the wrist pegs on my copy, with some of they just falling right off.  It’s more than a little bit annoying.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m still very patiently waiting on my MAFEX Nightwing, but given how much I enjoyed Hush, I decided to explore the line just a little bit further.  While I’m a little bit hit or miss on the Helena Bertineli version of Huntress in the comics, her appearances in Justice League Unlimited really solidified my love of the character.  Back in the DCUC days, I really wanted a good 6-inch version of her in this design, and…well, the DCUC one was a 6-inch version, but I struggle to call it a “good” one.  MAFEX gave me a better option, so this was the one I jumped in on.  She’s not perfect, but she’s close.  I really like her, and I’m happy to be able to replace the DCUC one with a far superior model.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’d like to see a video of her in action, I helped out on one for their YouTube channel here.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3497: Talos

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

TALOS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Talos, a celebrated Skrull warrior, grapples with what it means to be a leader as he finds himself at odds with those closest to him.”

2008’s “Secret Invasion” storyline, which ran through most of the Marvel line for that year, isn’t a favorite of mine.  Coming from an era of moving from one sweeping status quo shift to the next, with no room to breath between, it represents a middle point of me growing very tired with the direction of the Marvel universe.  The MCU’s plan to adapt the crossover into a television miniseries wasn’t one that initially *thrilled* me, but they’ve made me enjoy other stories I didn’t much care for in the comics, so I was hopeful.  Unfortunately, the end results the first time I’ve truly, thoroughly disliked an MCU project from start to…well, technically not finish because I stopped watching after episode 4.  One of the things I was honestly looking forward to the most was lead Skrull Talos, who was my favorite part of Captain Marvel, getting more focus.  While Ben Mendelsohn does the best he can with the material he’s been given, and Talos’s character arc is at least one of the show’s least compromised, it’s still a little bit disappointing.  At the very least, he got an action figure out of the whole thing, so I guess that’s a consolation prize.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Talos is figure 2 in the Hydra Stomper Series of Marvel Legends, which serves as the fourth Disney+ centered assortment of figures.  The line-up is a grab bag of characters from different shows, and Talos is one of two figures from Secret Invasion.  This is Talos’ second Legends figure, after his figure from Captain Marvel.  This one depicts him in his more relaxed civilian garb.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He’s using a pretty basic set-up for articulation, overall, but he does notably get a ball-joint at the base of the neck, rather than one of the more typical set-ups for the line.  It’s not a bad set-up, mind you, just different.  Talos is using the jacket and arms from Jimmy Woo, but it appears that everything else is new.  It’s honestly a bit surprising.  Obviously, the head I expected to be new, but the legs are kind of the sort of thing I would have expected to see re-use on.  Not that I’m complaining.  The new head is a marked improvement on the old one; the prior figure was working from preliminary designs, while this one gets the finalized ones, including a really solid likeness of Mendelsohn under all of the prosthesis.  The figure has a second head, based on Talos’ human guise, portrayed by Mendelsohn sans make-up.  It’s another really solid likeness, putting Hasbro’s previous attempts of the actor as Krennic to shame.  The other new parts are more standardized in appearance, but work well in terms of quality.  Talos’ color work is a lot of molded colors, which works well enough.  He gets a ton of detailing on both heads, however, and they look really nice, and very lifelike.  In addition to the aforementioned alternate head, Talos also gets the same hands as the standard, but in peach to match his alternate head, as well as the right leg of the Hydra Stomper Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like I said in the intro, I really liked Talos in Captain Marvel, and while his figure from that movie was passable at the time, it’s not aged incredibly well.  While I didn’t care for the source material, there’s no denying that this Talos is a real improvement to the original, and just a really strong figure in his own right.  The only downside to him is that the new neck connection means that I can’t swap his heads onto the old Talos or Krennic figures to let them benefit from the improved likenesses.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3496: Cyclops Light Force Arena

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

CYCLOPS LIGHT FORCE ARENA

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Using the Laser Light Force that only he possesses, Cyclops trains in the Danger Room to hone his mutant ability. The Light Force Arena’s many obstacles test Cyclops’ optic blasts to the limit! Only with constant practice can Cyclops keep his skills razor-sharp enough to cope with the threat of the Evil Mutants!”

Hey, remember back last week when I looked at that X-Men playset?  Wanna see me do it again?  Well, whether you want me to or not, that’s the angle I’m going with here.  Last week gave Wolverine a place to hang, so how about doing the same for Cyclops this week?  Oh yeah!

THE PLAYSET ITSELF

The Cyclops Laser Light Arena was released in 1991 alongside Series 1 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line.  It was the second of the two small-scale Danger Room playsets that accompanied the main line’s launch, serving as a companion piece to Wolverine’s Combat Cave.  The Laser Light Arena is the same basic dimensions as the Combat Cave, being about 7 inches tall, 7 inches wide, and 4 1/2 inches deep.  It’s smaller nature doesn’t *quite* live up to the “Arena” name, but we gave the other one a pass on “Cave” so this one can get a bit of a pass too.  Like the Combat Cave, this one required assembly right out of the box.  Once popped together, you get a set-up that’s not terribly different from the Cave’s assembly; three walls and three gimmicks, plus a spot to plug in a figure.  In this case, it’s designed to work specifically with the Series 1 Cyclops, right down to having spots shaped like the soles of his boots.  There’s also a spot that’s designed to directly work with the button that triggered his light-up feature; shame my figure lacks that these days.  Depending on how the “stand” is configured when you push down the button that would go under the spot where his light-up lever *should* be, you get one of three outcomes.  Furthest counterclockwise splits open the “metal box,” the next over flips back the Magneto standee, and the last one knocks over the stone wall.  Since it’s tied into the light up feature, it all looks like it’s being done by Cyclops’ optic blasts.  They actually all work pretty well, and there’s a good feeling of interactiveness to it.  The color scheme isn’t too far removed from the Combat Cave, albeit with the predominant color being yellow in place of red.  It works fine enough.  There’s more stickers to be had, as well, to keep things a little more interesting.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with the Combat Cave, I missed this one’s original retail run.  I do remember seeing it in the little product catalogue, and I was slightly more interested in this one, it being Cyclops-themed and all.  I remember being slightly bummed about not getting this one at the same time as the Combat Cave.  I wound up getting this one a couple of years later, from Collector’s World, a small comic shop near where my family vacations, which has sadly gone out of business since.  I think this one’s actually a bit more fun than the Combat Cave, and it’s features work a little bit better.  But, they do both make nice display pieces.