#3422: The Lizard

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

THE LIZARD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Desperate to be whole again, geneticist Curt Connors injects himself with a regenerative serum derived from reptile DNA, only to find himself transformed into the monstrous Lizard!”

Since Spider-Man was a animal-themed character who got his powers through a science experiment gone awry, it made for a nice narrative parallel that most of his early antagonists were, likewise, animal-themed and gained their powers through science experiments gone awry.  Four of his first six villains were animal themed, including The Lizard, who first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man #6, published in 1963, almost a whole 60 years ago.  That’s a good run for a guy with a name as indistinct as “The Lizard.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Lizard is a Walmart-exclusive Marvel Legends release, which hit in the fall of 2022.  He’s sort of an odd release, honestly.  He’s a retro-carded figure, but those have generally been wider release, except for a few Spidey variants.  Also, he was released alongside a cel-shaded Spider-Man from the cartoon, but he himself has no such shading, nor is he at all cartoon-inspired.  Thematically, he seems like he would make more sense as part of the “60 Amazing Years” sub-line, and not retro-carded at all, and he’s also a weird choice for an exclusive…but, who knows exactly what’s going on there?  I certainly won’t pretend to have that knowledge.  The figure is about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Compared to the last figure, he’s definitely got more of a range to his articulation.  He’s not stuck in any sort of permanent hunch (which is good, because he didn’t really have that much of one in the early days), and he gets a better selection of deeper poses.  His tail is no longer segmented like the last one, instead being soft plastic with a wire running through it.  While I’m always iffy on that sort of set-up, it’s a better look than the segmented, especially if you don’t have the budget to do more than three segments.  At least this way, the tail doesn’t have any hard angles.  This guy also gets the pinless construction for his elbows and knees, as well as using the newer torso set-up we’ve seen on some of the Spideys.  And, since he’s no longer a Build-A-Figure, he doesn’t fall apart during posing, which is a definite plus.  Lizard’s sculpt is an all-new one (courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete), and I’m quite a fan.  Over the course of his 60 year career, The Lizard has been on something of a sliding scale of humanoid vs monstrous.  The last Legends release was more on the monstrous side, while this one goes back to his earliest days, when he was far more humanoid. He’s not *quite* a Steve Ditko Lizard, instead arriving more at something resembling John Romita, Sr.’s slightly more refined depiction from around issue 44-45 of the original book.  It’s a version of the character we don’t see often in toy form, but it’s made the jump quite nicely here.  The main head is definitely that earlier version of the character, with his goofy facial expression and all.  You know, the best version of the Lizard.  If you’re not a huge fan of that, though, there’s a slightly later run version to swap out, which has the more distinctive serpent-style face, as well as the ever present tongue.  The body sculpt showcases his far less beastial build in the earlier days, being closer to an average build, and without the insane amounts of tattering to the clothes.  This one keeps it pretty low key on the tearing, with just a little on the edges of the sleeves and the legs of the pants.  It works well, and means that there’s a good chance some of these parts might see a bit of re-use.  The color work on this guy is generally pretty basic.  The best of it’s definitely on the lizard skin, which gets a wash to help bring out all of the scaly detailing.  The rest of it’s just base coloring, and the application is all generally pretty cleanly handled.  The Lizard includes the previously mentioned alternate head, two sets of hands (open gesture, and a fist/grip combo), and a pair of beakers.  The beakers are the same molds included with the Retro card Beast figure, but now in different colors.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve reached the point where I don’t hunt down Walmart exclusives because I just don’t need that kind of stress in my life.  So, when this guy was announced, I wrote him off as something I wasn’t going to get and decided I’d be content with my Build-A-Figure.  But, my decision to not hunt keeps paying off, because we got a loose one traded in at All Time, and boom, that means I got one.  I’m glad I did, because he’s exactly what I wanted out of a Lizard figure.  The monstrous ones never quite spoke to me, and this one just hits right where he needs to.

#3421: Adam Warlock

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

ADAM WARLOCK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With his cosmic powers and super-human strength, Adam Warlock is sent by the Sovereign to seek revenge on the Guardians of the Galaxy who have humiliated them.”

First teased in one of the many stingers that dropped during Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2‘s credits, Adam Warlock is one of the very first characters we see during Vol 3, already in the midst of his mission to take the Guardians down.  With Nebula firmly on the side of the heroes this time around, it’s Adam who begins this story as an antagonistic force, as he stumbles his way into being a better person.  And, it’s honestly a pretty good take on the character.  And hey, he gets a new Marvel Legend out of it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Adam Warlock is figure 5 in the Cosmo Series of Marvel Legends, which serves as the tie-in assortment for Guardians Vol 3.  While Adam has had the Legends treatment two times prior (including one figure in the second tie-in assortment for the *last* Guardians film), this is his first MCU figure. The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation. His articulation scheme is a pretty basic set-up for the line at this point. It’s not bad, bust it doesn’t really push the envelope or anything.  Adam is sporting an all-new sculpt, based on his look early-on in the film, prior to losing the cape.  It’s admittedly when he’s at his most Adam-Warlock-y in terms of look, so I get the choice.  The sculpt’s certainly got the height for the character, but he does seem a touch scrawny for the character as portrayed in the movie.  Like, not terribly far off, but just kinda small feeling, especially when placed next to the likes of Star-Lord and Drax.  His head has an okay likeness of Will Poulter, hindered only ever so slightly by the hair, which is a bit short and too composed for how Adam looked in the movie.  He’s definitely based more on the concept art for the character than the actual film look, though admittedly, it’s much closer to the final product than most concept work, so that’s a definite plus.  The one major downside to the sculpt is that the cape is totally non-removable, which does somewhat limit his applicability to the other figures, since he spends so much of the movie without the cape.  But, honestly, it’s not the end of the world.  The color work on this guy is generally pretty basic.  Lot of molded colors.  The distinction between the armor and skin tone could maybe be a touch more pronounced, but it’s also pretty minor in the movie.  Adam doesn’t get any accessories of his own, but does include the helmet and tail to the Cosmo Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I have a soft spot for Adam Warlock, so I’ve been looking forward to his official introduction into the MCU since he was teased in Vol. 2.  Will Poulter was definitely an out of left field casting choice, but he turned in a really solid performance, and I was glad to get him in figure form.  The figure’s not without its issues, but I still dig the overall vibe of it.  And, I’m sure we’ll see more of him down the line.

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.

#3420: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

SUPER POWERS (MCFARLANE TOYS)

Kenner’s Super Powers line is perhaps *the* defining DC toy line, but at three series totaling 34 figures, it’s also a relatively short-lived one.  So, it’s rather surprising that it took so long for anyone to really look at revisiting the line, to fill-out the roster a bit.  For better or for worse, McFarlane has stepped up to bat on that one, producing something that’s supposedly a direct follow-up, but with…mixed results.  I’ve finally gotten around to snagging one of  them for a review, so let’s have a look at Nightwing!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of Series 3 of McFarlane’s Super Powers line, a line that has up to this point been a Walmart-exclusive.  The Series 3 line-up also includes Deathstroke and Wonder Woman.  Nightwing is an interesting case of “new,” since Dick Grayson was in the original Kenner run, but as Robin, rather than Nightwing.  Nightwing is seen here in a modern take on his costume, which is a bit of a bummer for a character that existed during the original line’s run, and therefore has more vintage-appropriate options.  I don’t dislike the design chosen, but it just doesn’t fit the vibe, and feels like a missed opportunity to break out the disco suit.  I suppose that’s not edgy enough for Todd.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  First and foremost, he’s too tall by about a half an inch.  It’s a line-wide problem; for some reason, McFarlane went for a hard 5-inch scale instead of the 4 1/2 inch scale that the vintage line maintained.  It’s not an immense jump, but it’s enough to throw everything off just enough for it to be noticeable, and, in the case of Nightwing, it makes him taller than the vintage Batman.  It hinders the ability to mix this stuff with the old line, which sort of defeats this line’s whole point.  The sculpt looks to be all-new, and it’s honestly better than I expected.  It foregoes a lot of the weird McFarlane-isms, in favor of something cleaner and more like Kenner.  He technically gets more details than he should, since he’s got sculpted lines for his gloves, boots, and trunks, but those actually feel like details Kenner might have added, rather than McFarlane’s propensity for over complicating things.  It’s not perfect; the legs should really have a wider stance (which would also aid him in standing better than the figure actually does), and the knees having visible pins gives him more of a Toy Biz vibe than a proper Kenner one.  I don’t dislike the head, but there’s something about it that feels just a bit too modern.  All of the vintage figures were based on Jose Garcia-Lopez’s style guide, and this doesn’t feel like something he’d draw.  But, it still looks a lot better than McFarlane’s prior Nightwing head sculpts.  The figure’s paint work is basic and clean, which works fine by me.  There’s a little bit of fuzz on some of the edges, but nothing too terrible.  He’s backed with his eskrima sticks, which are just basic cylinders, as they should be; no weird clubs this time around.  As with the rest of the line, Nightwing doesn’t get an action feature.  It would be fun, but it’s the change for which I feel they get the easiest pass.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a very big fan of the vintage line, any form of continuation of Super Powers is something I’ve been hoping to see for a long time.  McFarlane rarely gives me much confidence on really any venture.  So, them being the ones to handle the relaunch didn’t exactly thrill me.  The first two series did nothing for me, but Series 3 showed a bit more promise.  I wound up in a Walmart for other reasons, and they had this guy, so I opted to give him a try.  In fairness to McFarlane, the figure’s better than I expected.  Of course, my expectations were really low, so that’s not saying a ton.  There’s definitely some major issues at play, and I can’t see this line finding its market in its current state.  At least he was decent enough that I don’t feel like I wasted the money I spent on him.

#3419: Ch’od Series Wrap-Up

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

EMMA FROST, KID OMEGA, & CHO’D

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

I’ve done most of this X-wave as single reviews, but it’s safe to say I’ve taken things as far as I possibly can on that front.  There’s only so much prolonged discussion I can have about X-Men history, especially as we move towards the more recent stuff.  So, let’s get one more assortment out of the way, shall we?  Onto the remainder of the Ch’od Series!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Emma Frost and Kid Omega are figures 1 and 5, respectively, in the Ch’od Series of Marvel Legends, and are the last two figures neccessary to assemble to the set’s Build-A-Figure, wrapping up what appears to be this year’s only BaF assortment for X-Men.  Ch’od is the assortment’s titular Build-A-Figure, assembled by purchasing six of the seven figures in the assortment.

EMMA FROST

“The former Hellfire Club White Queen must grapple with her teammates’ misgivings about her joining the X-Men, as well as her own.”

During Grant Morrison’s run on X-Men, Cyclops and Emma Frost, formerly the White Queen, began a…slightly more than platonic relationship, born out of her assisting him with overcoming being possessed by Apocalypse and then dying and coming back…look, early ’00s X-Men isn’t a great time, guys.  When Jean Grey died at the end of Morrison’s run, Marvel tried real hard to push Scott and Emma as a proper couple, which included placing them both in central spots for the Astonishing X-Men line-up.  Yep, we’re going back to that time that Marvel really wanted up to make proper heroic Emma a thing.  Oh goody.  This is our fifth Emma in Legends form, all of them under Hasbro’s tenure.  This one’s notable for being a proper update to Hasbro’s very first version of the character.  Boy, was that a bad figure.  This one doesn’t have a hard bar to clear to be better.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Her articulation scheme is very restricted, both by the long hair and the cape, which render the shoulder articulation largely useless.  It’s part of the trick of working with this particular design, I suppose.  The sculpt does at least look pretty decent, especially in contrast to other attempts at the character, even just limiting to this look.  She looks quite a bit like Cassidy’s artwork from the book, while still fitting the overall aesthetic of the line as well.  Emma’s color work is basic, but honestly better than I’d expected.  The hair and face get some really strong accent work, which brings a nice degree of life to the figure.  Emma is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture, as well as the right leg of Ch’od.

KID OMEGA

“Omega-level telepath Quentin Quire, inspired by the attempt of Professor Xavier’s life, joins the mutant nation Krakoa’s new secret defense team, X-Force, as Kid Omega.”

Quentin Quire hails from Morrison and Quitely’s New X-Men run, and, if I’m honest, he’s not a character that’s ever really clicked with me.  He’s just so emphatically symbolic of the sort of self-assured, really insufferable sorts of characters that Morrison really likes to write.  Later writers haven’t really done much to change my opinion.  But, who am I to stop other people from getting a Quentin Quire figure if they want one?  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Quire is built on the Amazing Fantasy Spidey base, which is a fantastic starting point for any figure, really.  It’s a more modern Quire, so he’s in a jumpsuit, which works with the base body set-up.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is fine.  It’s not amazing or terribly unique or thrilling, but it looks enough like the character to get the idea across.  The “glasses” are a soft plastic, and prone to warping, which does wind up looking a little bit silly, but that comes with the territory.  The paint work on Kid Omega is decent enough; the pink detailing is sharp and pretty eye-catching, which is cool.  The fingers are painted for the fingerless gloves, and that’s a little sloppy on the edges.  Kid Omega is packed with two sets of hands in fists and gripping poses, as well as a recolor of the Doomlands Vagabond-patterned gun that came with Cable.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t have trigger fingers on either gripping hand, so he can’t really hold the gun properly.  He’s also packed with the torso of Ch’od.

CH’OD

“An alien from the Shi’ar galaxy, Ch’od’s monstrous, reptillian form belittles his keen intellect and heroic heart. Once a slave, he has regained his freedom, and now travels the spaceways in the company of the Starjammers, always on the lookout for other victims of tyranny in need of his aid!”

Hey!  It’s Ch’od!  This guy’s awesome!  A creation of Dave Cockrum and one of the most consistent members of the space pirate team the Starjammers, Ch’od’s the big lizard guy at Marvel who’s *not* Abomination.  I swear, he’s much nicer.  This marks Ch’od’s second figure ever, with his only other release being the one from the Toy Biz 5-inch line.  It’s been quite a while.  The figure stands about 7 3/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Remember what I said above about Ch’od *not* being Abomination.  Well, let’s take that and admit there’s some similarity of design elements between the two.  Hasbro’s taken advantage of said similarities for this figure, as he re-using all but the head, forearms, and hands of the Abomination Build-A-Figure from 2016.  It’s not a pitch-perfect match for Ch’od’s design, but it’s very close, and certainly as close as we can expect for a Ch’od figure in this day and age, honestly.  He gets a new head, forearms, hands, and belt.  The head is absolutely fantastic; it’s a good likeness of Ch’od, and is clearly unique from Abomination.  I especially like the articulated jaw; it adds a lot of character to the figure.  The arms and hands are fairly basic, with only minor changes to the prior pieces for just a touch more accuracy.  His color work is basic, with largely molded plastics, but that works well for the character, and the colors are nice and bright.  What paint work is present is pretty clean, so that’s definitely nice.  Ch’od actually gets an accessory: his furry companion Cr’eee!  It’s an all-new sculpt, with an articulated head and everything.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set is admittedly one that I was more actively invested in than the other two I’ve done these wrap-ups on.  In fact, I think this one is a pretty strong line-up, all things considered.  There’s a pretty solid flow of character choices, and it’s got a pretty killer Build-A-Figure.  Ultimately, it’s Ch’od that’s really the star piece.  He’s just one of those figures I honestly wasn’t expecting to see, and he does well with the parts re-use.  Corsair’s a pretty strong solo contender, being just a very clean and well-implemented release.  Cyclops is a solid figure in his own right, even if he’s ultimately in a slightly less definitive costume.  Fang and Chamber are both a lot of fun, and hampered only ever so slightly by some iffy parts re-use choices.  Monet’s not much to write home about on her own, but serves as a decent set-up for other characters.  Emma is honestly the best version of this costume out there and is only held back by the same design issues that hold back literally every version of this costume.  And Quire’s not really exciting either, but he’s not a character I was invested in in the first place, so that’s hardly surprising.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with these figures 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 #03: Savages From Another Universe…

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Mutant X Re-Read

THE PACK

MUTANT X #3 (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, Mutant X meets Wolverine. Yep, it’s a Wolverine episode, guys. Buckle up for “The Pack!”

THE ISSUE ITSELF

Mutant X #3 is cover dated December of 1998, and it has story and art by Howard Mackie, Tom Raney, and Andrew Pepoy.

In the wilderness of Saskatchewan, Canada, Alex Summers searches for his missing team members. He finds the downed Blackbird, and spots three unidentified figures in the snow, blasting in their direction. Four hours earlier, the team flies over the Northwestern United States, as Alex and Maddie discuss Reed Richards’ assessment of Alex’s mental state. Maddie asks Alex for some proof of his alternate life, but the Blackbird is shot down before he can give it. Back in the present, Alex encounters The Pack, made up of alternate versions of Wolverine, Sabretooth, and Wildchild. The Brute has seemingly joined them, but Alex is able to help Hank regain himself. A stray blast from Alex uncovers a restricted area, which fascinates The Pack. Alex is able to reason with the Pack and get them to find the rest if The Six. They and the Pack break into the restricted area and discover a Weapon X facility. A holographic projection triggers a hostile response from The Pack. The Six battle The Pack until Alpha Flight arrives and places the Pack under arrest and orders The Six to leave Canada or be executed as spies. As they fly home, Alex tells Maddie he’s done trying to prove his prior life, and he will just embrace this one.

This issue does the thing that every ’90s x-book had to: add Wolverine. Admittedly, it’s a more unique take than most, since he’s the rare alternate Wolverine that’s not just the same Wolverine but with some cosmetic change. He’s actually a different character entirely, and a bit player at that. We also get more exploration of this universe’s unique traits, including a less than friendly relationship between the US and Canada. Despite the changes, Alpha Flight appear to be more or less he same in their one-panel appearance. The Six still remain rather unexplored, as this issue sticks to the formula established by the last one, which is Alex trekking through this universe, more or less on his own. Once again, it’s really only Maddie and the Brute that get any time to shine.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This issue was definitely the weakest thus far for me. While it may be a different take on Logan, The Pack are still pretty one note, and the payoff to their story feels very deus ex machina with Alpha Flight’s arrival. There’s ideas here that are intriguing, but they don’t quite land for me.

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.

 

#3418: Hyperion & Doctor Spectrum

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

HYPERION & DOCTOR SPECTRUM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Hyperion convinces Doctor Spectrum and the Squadron Supreme to use their vast superpowers to solve Other-Earth’s problems by remaking it into a utopia by any means necessary”

I’ve spoken a few times before about the Squadron Supreme, Marvel’s in-house stand-in for the Justice League.  They’ve managed to have a surprisingly enduring popularity over the years, but admittedly, not a ton of merchandising, since they exist just outside the mainstream.  We’ve gotten a few Hyperions, and a few Nighthawks, but it’s rare we get past those two.  Hasbro’s decided to give a proper line-up an actual go, it would seem, and are kicking things off, unsurprisingly, with another Hyperion, but also resident Green Lantern stand-in Doctor Spectrum!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Hyperion and Doctor Spectrum are a Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-pack, the first of a set based on the Squadron.  Later sets indicate that this line-up is meant to be based on the “Squadron Supreme of America” version of the team from Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness’s Avengers run, but in the case of these two particular figures, that means they also double as classic versions of the characters.  This set hit right around the same time as yesterday’s Franklin and Valeria pack, right at the end of June/beginning of July.

HYPERION

Hyperion has had one Legend before, way back in the Hit Monkey Series.  While that’s *technically* within the modern Legends classification, he was a weak figure even when he was new, and the base body that he introduced to the line is more or less retired, so a new version’s certainly not un-called for.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  He’s largely working with a fairly basic articulation set-up, but he does get a ball-jointed mid-torso set-up, which is quite nice for posing and aesthetics.  Hyperion is built from absolutely no parts from the Hyperion mold, if you can believe it.  He’s got the arms and legs of two different Hercules figures, plus a new head, torso, and cape.  The head, handle by sculptor Paul Harding, is based on Hyperion’s earliest appearances, when he was still sporting the short hair and the domino mask.  I appreciate how it’s got just a touch of a Superman vibe, without being just straight up Superman.  He’s still his own character.  The color work on this figure is very bright and eye catching. There’s a slight mismatch on the exact shades of red, which seems to happen a lot, but otherwise things work out okay.  His actual paint is all pretty clean, and I like how the hair gets the darker accenting to help bring out the sculpted details.  Hyperion is packed with an extra pair of gripping hands.  Not really sure why, but I guess he might want to hold some stuff occasionally?

DOCTOR SPECTRUM

Doctor Spectrum’s only prior figure is a Minimate, which wasn’t a super plentiful one at that.  Despite being one of the team’s higher profile members, he’s just never gotten the spotlight.  But hey, here he is now.  Yay!  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Spectrum is based on the supposedly retired Bucky Cap base body, which just sort of keeps showing back up.  It’s like a Baby Boomer that just won’t stay home, or something.  This time around, it’s got a new set of arms, with pinless construction on the elbows.  They don’t quite sit flesh with the body, which is a touch awkward.  Why they didn’t just use the newly developed Vulcan body is anybody’s guess.  I assume there’s some sort of logic behind it, and I’m not gonna try to figure it out.  He also re-uses the Blizzard head, which honestly is pretty hard to go wrong with.  It’s a basic full face mask.  Not like there’s a lot of different ways to do that, right?  Doctor Spectrum’s distinctive color scheme is largely handled via molded colors, but there’s a fair bit of actual painting on the torso.  Some of the edges are a touch sloppy, but they’re not awful.  The only thing I’m really not big on is way the blue continues around the shoulders; it just doesn’t look right when posing.  The Doc is packed with two sets of hands, one open gesture, the other gripping, two effects pieces, and his Power Prism.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Squadron Supreme are a fun concept, and it feels like all we ever get are Hyperion figures.  Well, and Nighthawk too, I suppose, but his are usually his Defenders costume, so it doesn’t really count.  I have a particular affinity for Doctor Spectrum, what with him being the GL equivalent and all, so I’ve long wanted some proper toy version of him.  This one’s admittedly a little phoned in.  But, at the same time, it’s not a *bad* figure, and certainly preferable to no Doctor Spectrum at all.  Hyperion, despite being yet another Hyperion, is actually a pretty cool figure, so I can get behind that, I guess.

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

#3417: Franklin Richards & Valeria Richards

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

FRANKLIN RICHARDS & VALERIA RICHARDS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Genius children of Fantastic Four’s Reed and Sue Richards, Franklin and Valeria Richards explore the wonders of the multiverse with their Moloid friend Turg as part of Marvel’s First Family”

Comics, by there very nature as a serialized medium with only so much space to tell in a given installment and slower pace of release relative to the real world, are almost always required to move at their own pace.  For long-spanning universes, such as Marvel and DC, this requires the use of a sliding timeline, where things happen at a different pace in-universe.  Marvel, in particular, likes to have milestone moments to showcase the characters are moving forward.  One of the biggest ones for them, especially in their earlier years, was Franklin Richards, the son of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman.  Reed and Sue began in Fantastic Four as simply dating, then got married, and eventually had Franklin, all under the tenure of their creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, in their first decade of existence.  Franklin is a rare character that was born within the narrative, who has actually gotten to grow up in-universe, going from infant, to toddler, to child, to teenager.  Sure, it took him 50 years to get to being a teenager, but, still.  Along the way, Reed and Sue had a second child, Val, who, like her brother, has also gotten to grow up, albeit at a slightly faster pace.  The two of them aren’t exactly ripe for toy coverage, but they’re not entirely without it either, which is how I can be talking about them right now.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards are a Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-pack, capitalizing on the increased profile of the characters following Dan Slott’s revival run for the FF.  The two of them are based on their more modernized teen looks, with outfits to match the rest of the team as we saw them in the Super Skrull Series.  Or other versions of the team as well, since they actually kept these suits past the main team ditching them as the run progressed.

FRANKLIN RICHARDS

Franklin’s had a surprising number of figures, in that the number he’s had before this one isn’t zero.  In fact, this isn’t even Franklin’s first time as a Marvel Legend, since he was included in Toy Biz’s FF boxed set back in 2004.  It’s the first time Hasbro’s tackled him, though, so there’s that.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Franklin is based on the Amazing Fantasy Spidey body, which is honestly a fantastic base body that hasn’t gotten much play thus far.  It’s perhaps a bit too tall and too muscular to *really* be spot-on for Franklin, even as a teenager, but a proper base body would have required a completely new sculpt, and Franklin’s not the sort of character that really warrants that.  So, I guess we’re just making do with this one.  Franklin gets a new head sculpt, based on his post-teen-angst-driven-dying-of-his-hair look (which, per Dan Slot, was done so that Franklin wouldn’t get confused with Johnny in long shots of the team), which is a very different look for him, but it’s also his current one, so I can dig it.  It looks the part, based on the art, and adapted to the usual Legends stylings.  His color work is pretty closely matched to the modern FF costumes, which is proper for his design.  The actual painting is one the limited side for the uniform, but what’s there is cleanly handled.  He’s got the standard printed face as well, which works pretty well.  Franklin is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and gripping, plus the two beakers we got with Lizard and Beast, as well as a pair of blast and a pair of smoking effects, which are compatible with the tops of the beakers.

VALERIA RICHARDS

While Franklin’s had his share of figures, Val has thus far been without any at all.  Admittedly, she was a baby and a toddler for a good while, so not quite as toyetic.  But she’s got one now, and that’s what really matters, right?  The figure stands about 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Val is built on the Spider-Girl base body, which, like we saw with Franklin, does seem maybe a touch too mature for Val.  Again, though, she’d need a totally unique base, so we’re again working with what we’ve got.  It’s a good base body, at least, so it’s not the worst thing ever.  Val gets a new head sculpt, which, like Franklin, is a good approximation of the art, while also fitting her in with the rest of the line.  There’s also a familial resemblance between her and Franklin, which is certainly appropriate.  Val’s color work is pretty similar to Franklin’s, with the expected change-ups for the head and hair, of course.  Val is packed with three sets of hands, in fists and two styles of gripping, as well as the data pad from the AIM Supreme, and her teammate Turg the Moloid.  Turg is re-using the base and dome from What If…? Scott Lang.  I was a little bummed to see she didn’t get her goggles, as they were a pretty key part of her look (and they differentiated her from Sue in much the same way that Franklin’s hair differentiated him from Johnny).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve had this odd sort of fascination with Franklin Richards figures since I was a kid.  I guess maybe I just really connected with him at the time?  I don’t know.  I do know that one of the first comics runs that I actually actively kept up with was Waid and Wieringo’s Fantastic Four, and Franklin and Val are both pretty important to that run.  I also really enjoyed how Slott worked them into his run.  This pack is perhaps not a star piece of the collection or anything, but they’re a fun way of getting two pretty important supporting players, and I’m definitely down for that.

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

#3416: Rocket

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

ROCKET

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“As Rocket takes on more leadership duties within the Guardians of the Galaxy, his past actions have consequences that come back to haunt him.”

Though certainly a character that was always in the focus in the movies, Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Rocket was typically more of a quirky supporting player than an outright lead for most of his appearances.  In Guardians Vol. 3, Rocket takes on a far more central role, and one that grants the character a lot more nuance than we’ve seen out of him previously.  Resting the emotional core of your story on a CGI talking raccoon is an iffy prospect at best, but Vol. 3 makes it work.  It makes it work very well.  And Rocket gets to really shine because of it, which is honestly pretty awesome.  You know what else is awesome?  Toys.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rocket is figure 4 in the Cosmo Series of Marvel Legends, which, as noted previously, is the tie-in assortment for Guardians Vol. 3.  The whole team is present, and Rocket’s also Rocket, so his inclusion makes perfect sense.  Curiously, this marks the first time that a Legends MCU Rocket has been released without any sort of Groot packed alongside him (though that was technically flipped this time, since the deluxe Groot included a baby Rocket).  Like the rest of the team, he’s seen here in his swanky new uniform, which is definitely a good look.  The figure stands 3 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation.  Like his last go-round, Rocket is still a fully articulated figure, and he’s even a little bit better this time around, since his ankles are rocker joints and the wrists are universals, rather than the straight swivels that we got the last time around.  If nothing else, it certainly makes him a bit easier to stand.  Rocket is sporting an all-new sculpt, courtesy of Rene Aldrete, which is certainly a respectable recreation of Rocket’s on-screen model.  He’s not the drastic step-up in quality we saw with the last release, but that’s largely because the last one was really, really good already.  This one largely sticks to that, just giving him the new uniform, and working in the articulation just a tad bit better.  Rocket’s color work generally matches with the rest of the team suits; the red is still a little sloppy, but it otherwise works okay.  There’s some more intensive work on the head and tail, which captures the detailing of the fur pretty well.  There’s something about the eyes on this one that, much like Mantis, just seem a bit off to me, however.  I’m not sure exactly what it is, but it’s the only thing that I prefer on the older version.  Rocket is packed with the same large blaster rifle as the Vol 1 version, which, I’ll be honest, I was never much of a fan of.  It was awkward and hard to hold the first time around, and it remains so this time around.  Rocket is also packed with the head and main body of the Cosmo Build-A-Figure, which is by far the largest section, since he’s by far the smallest figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The original Rocket figure was honestly one of the worst the line ever put out.  The second, on the other hand, was one of the best.  There wasn’t a ton of room to improve, but this figure found some, and it went for it.  I’m not big on the eyes or the backpedalling to the weird bulky gun, but I do like the core figure a lot, and I also really like having a cohesive set of Guardians.

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.

#3415: Gamma 1 & Gamma 2

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

GAMMA 1 & GAMMA 2

DRAGON STARS (BANDAI)

Okay, not gonna lie, I’m starting to get just a touch burned out on Marvel Legends, so I’m gonna do my best to mix in a few non-Legends reviews here, just for my own sanity. So, let’s talk about a thing I don’t talk about here too often: Dragon Ball. My primary association with the franchise is Z, specifically the Android and Cell Sagas, and I haven’t really had much interaction with its current iteration, Super. That said, last year Super did a sort of continuation of those two sagas for their latest movie, Super Hero (which, for those playing at home, makes the official title the somewhat redundant sounding Dragon Ball Super Super Hero), a Piccolo and Gohan-centered story that brings back the Red Ribbon army. Our two new androids for the movie are the super hero-inspired Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, who I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 are plot across the two Super Hero tie-in assortments of Dragon Stars, with 1 being in the first and 2 in the second. The first set hit just before the film’s US release, and the second just at the beginning of the summer. Both figures stand about — inches tall and have — points of articulation. I’d only handled one Dragon Stars figure before these two, and wasn’t exactly thrilled with the movement on that one, so I was iffy on these ones. Obviously, they’re not sporting Figuarts level articulation, but it was better than I was expecting, especially on the upper half. The lower half is less practical, in part because of the “skirt” piece blocking the hip movement, in part because of the difficulty getting the ankles to turn on both axises, and in part because of the tendency for the waist on both figures to pop apart if you push them too far. All that said, I did find the tolerances on Gamma 2’s joints to be just a touch better than Gamma 1’s. In terms of construction, these two are largely the same. The body sculpt does a good job of capturing their retro super hero-style attire from the movie, with plenty of sharp detailing on the outfits. The capes are both made from a softer rubber, which I think works pretty well. They hang flat, rather than going for anything dynamic, but I think it works out okay. The difference between the two figures lies in their heads, which get differing numbers of fins, corresponding to their own respective unit numbers. Additionally, they also get slightly tweaked expressions, with 1 being a bit more stoic, while 2 is slightly more jovial. It’s minor, but it works well for their respective characteristics. The paint work between the two is again pretty similar, swapping reds for blues between the two. Application is clean on both figures for the most part. Both figures are packed with two sets of hands and a blaster designed to match their respective head design. I found the hands a bit tricky to swap the first time around, but on Gamma 2, they seem to swap just a little bit easier.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really only care about the Android and Cell Sagas of DBZ, so I haven’t kept up with everything since. That said, I was immediately intrigued by the designs for these two, which made me kinda want the figures. Once Gamma 2 hit it was even harder to resist, so on Jason’s recommendation, I sat down and watched the movie, and about 20 minutes in, I knew there was no way I was passing on these. I was a little hesitant to go back to Stars after being disappointed in the only other figure I’d gotten from the line, but I actually really like how these two turned out.

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

#3414: Fang

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

FANG

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Wolverine takes advantage of his likeness to Imperial Guard Fang and impersonates him to infiltrate the Shi’ar.”

Okay, so, like, that’s….that’s not right. Like at all. Ignoring the very obvious issue that the bio above is talking about Wolverine, and not the actual character this figure is meant to represent, there’s also the fact that while Wolverine and Fang do sport similar characteristics, they certainly don’t look enough like each other for one to impersonate the other. Also, Wolverine didn’t impersonate him to infiltrate the Shi’ar. What actually happened was that Wolverine, in need of a new costume after his was destroyed in battle, stole a replacement from Imperial Guardsman Fang, an expy of the Legion of Superheroes’ Timber Wolf, who was himself something of an inspiration to Wolverine. It gave Wolverine a new look for a few issues, and gave Fang’s design a little extra highlight, which serves as a decent justification for making a Fang figure. I’ll take it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Fang is figure 2 in the Ch’od Series of Marvel Legends. He’s one of the three Phoenix Saga related figures in the set, as well as the second Guard in the line (after Gladiator), and Fang’s first actual figure. The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. He’s using the cleaned up version of the Spider-UK body that was previously used for Strucker, which is decent enough, but in a perfect world, I think it might have made more sense to put him on the Wolverine body, since they’re depicted as being similarly sized and all. But, they opted for this one, so here we are. He gets a new head sculpt, courtesy of Paul Harding, as well as new add-on pieces for the necklace, belt, and boot and glove cuffs.  The new head is a mix of a few of Fang’s looks from over the years, but it captures the general feel of the character pretty well.  The new add-ons have a little difficulty staying in place, but we’re not quite at the level of 90s Cyclops’s leg bands, so it’s not awful.  The whole thing winds up as a solid recreation of his comics design.  Aiding in that is the color work; it’s basic, but it’s clean, and the color scheme looks like it should.  Fang is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open claws, as well as the head for the Ch’od Build-A-Figure, and his little animal companion.  He does *not* include any Wolverine parts, which feels like a missed opportunity, and also like it might have been a slight change of plans, especially given the character bio he received.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, this figure surprised me.  I mean, I thought a Fang Wolverine was a longshot, so just a Fang figure, with no Wolverine connection at all, seemed downright impossible.  But, I guess not so much.  Fang is overall fairly by the numbers.  I’m admittedly a little bummed by the lack of Wolverine parts, but he stands out well enough on his own, and I’m certainly not upset about getting another Imperial Guard member.  Here’s to hoping we see some more of them!

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.