Tag Archives: 80s

#3985: Tyr

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

TYR

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

Last year, I reviewed 25 Super Powers figures here on the site, which is a crazy metric for a line that was three decades dead and only had 35 total figures when I started the site.  McFarlane running a revival certainly helped bump those stats.  The main point I’m getting at here is that the rarity of a Super Powers review wasn’t really a thing last year.  Unfortunately, we’re going back to more standard operating on such things this year.  But, let’s at least start off on a good note, with a proper vintage figure review!  Today, we’re looking at that true classic of a DC character, Tyr. ….What, you don’t know Tyr?  I can’t believe you don’t know Tyr!  He’s only….wait, hang on, sorry, let me check the wiki…oh, darn, there’s no wiki.  Right.  So, like, the before times.  Tyr, despite indications to the contrary, was *not* a Kenner original creation like so many others in the final year of Super Powers, but rather a fairly minor Legion of Super Heroes villain.  He’d resurfaced not terribly long before his toy, but again as a minor player, making his inclusion odd to say the least, especially given that the Legion themselves wouldn’t get any sort of action figure coverage for another decade and a half.  But hey, that’s Kenner.  And this is Tyr.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Tyr was released in the third and final series of Kenner’s Super Powers line in 1986.  As with many of the characters contained within, this was Tyr’s first figure, and would also remain his only figure until DC Universe Classics released him as an expressed homage to Super Powers in 2010.  The figure stands just over 4 1/2 inches tall (not counting his mohawk) and he has 6 points of articulation.  Tyr’s articulation scheme is the same as all of the line’s standard figures, which is good and sensible.  He had a unique sculpt, which remained so, thanks largely to the end of the line.  He was based on Dave Cockrum’s design for the character from the comics, and honestly it’s a design that meshes pretty darn well with the established aesthetics of the later run Super Powers figures, which only further added to him feeling like a Kenner original character.  The sculpt is, honestly, not the strongest work from this line.  While the proportions and general build are okay, he feels oddly devoid of smaller details, and generally just very basic and kind of geometric. The head’s certainly the best part, with a lot more texturing, notably on the hair, as well as a little more definition in his face.  The body, on the other hand, is weaker.  His posing is very stiff and flat, and it’s not helped by the rather boxy nature of the right arm, which also feels like it sits too low?  I don’t know.  Said right arm is also home to the figure’s action feature.  Squeezing his legs raises the arm and shoots the missile portion.  It’s a basic feature, but more nuanced in how it works, since it doesn’t use any exposed buttons of levers.  Honestly, this part’s actually really cool, so props to Kenner on that.  His color work is pretty much point for point what he looks like in the comics.  It does what is needs to.  There’s a bit of bleed over on some of the smaller line-work, but it generally looks good.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I, like many other people, only know of Tyr’s existence because of this toy.  And that’s pretty crazy, because my dad’s a pretty huge Legion fan who absolutely owned Tyr’s earliest appearances when I was growing up.  I remember seeing him in the line-up on the Super Powers Archive, and, well, I can’t say he ever impressed me terribly.  He was one of those far away figures I don’t know if I ever really saw myself owning.  And then, suddenly, he was one of the last three I didn’t have.  And, now, here he is.  My dad got him for me for Christmas, as has become the tradition, and he got here a little late (as has also become a tradition, I guess), so he was officially my first figure of the new year.  He’s, like, fine.  That’s really it.  Fine.  Like, it’s cool to own him, and he’s the first Legion toy, so I guess that’s neat.  And, admittedly, the missile firing bit is fun.  So I’ll give them that.  But the actual figure is sort of just fine.  Still, I’m glad to own him, and he’s cool on the shelf.  And now I just need two more, with the caveat that my visual line-up is complete, because I do have stand-ins for Cyborg and Mr. Freeze.

#3839: Red Tornado

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

RED TORNADO

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

You know, the last time I broke from McFarlane Super Powers coverage to go back to the vintage Kenner stuff, it was for a spinny sort of robot guy.  So, this time around, as I break from the McFarlane Super Powers coverage, it’s to look at a vintage Kenner figure of a….spinny sort of robot guy?  What are the odds?  Well, actually 1 in 17, because there’s the 2 of them in the original 34 figure run and all.  So, you know, simple math and all that.  Last time, however, it was Cyclotron, a character made up by Kenner for the line, but this time it’s DC’s original spinny sort of robot guy, Red Tornado!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Tornado was released in 1985 as part of the second series of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  This was Red Tornado’s first action figure, and would remain so until Hasbro added him to their JLA line in 2000.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  He’s got all the standard articulation, plus movement at the waist, which is tied into his action feature, though it does still actually hold a little bit of posing.  Red Tornado got a totally unique sculpt for the line.  He’s sporting his second, and by far best known design, which he’d had for almost two decades at this point, so it was a sensible choice.  It’s a solid recreation of things.  The design elements are all raised, which is actually quite a nice way of handling it, and gives the design quite a bit of pop.  He gets a cloth cape, as was the usual for the line.  It’s a fairly nice cape, with the collar, and printed striping on the sides.  His paint work’s rather simple, largely just being the yellow detailing.  It does what it needs to, which is the important thing.  Red Tornado’s action feature is “Power Action Tornado Twist;” squeezing his arm spins his lower torso at the lower half.  It’s a little finicky, but not a bad recreation of his comics power.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Red Tornado is actually one my earliest Super Powers…possibly even my first?  It was either him or Aquaman.  I got him at a Farpoint, and I was exploring the dealers room with my Grandmother, and I wanted either this or the ToyFare-exclusive Reverse Flash, both of which were kind of expensive.  This wound up being the one, even though he didn’t have his cape.  He went over 20 years sans-cape, but I finally got one thanks to Jason at All Time.  He’s a neat figure, and a highlight to a line that’s already itself a highlight.

#3815: Cyclotron

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

CYCLOTRON

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

Okay, so I’m taking a brief intermission from McFarlane’s Super Powers to look at…Kenner’s Super Powers.  Look, I’m nothing if not a creature of habit.  When last I looked at the proper Kenner line, I looked at one of the line’s original characters made up by Kenner for the line.  Today, I’m looking at the other one!  Not content with two spinning heroes, Kenner decided to introduce a third, re-using a name that DC had already used, but on a completely un-related character.  So, anyway, here’s Cyclotron!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclotron was added to the Super Powers line in its final year, alongside Golden Pharaoh.  It was, of course, his first figure, but, like Golden Pharaoh, he also turned up in DC Universe Classics.  Curiously, though he’s had two figures, neither of the two comics Cyclotrons have gotten any figure coverage at all.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  His waist joint is more meant to facilitate the action feature, but can turn independently as well, so that’s a nice little extra bit of movement.  Also, while he’s got the neck joint, when his face plate is in place, the joint can’t be used.  Cyclotron has an all-new, totally unique sculpt.  It’s based on a Jack Kirby design, which is honestly pretty nifty.  It’s definitely got some early Wonder Man vibes to it, which I don’t mind.  The coolest element by far, though, is the robot face underneath the face plate; it’s a bit rudimentary, but it’s still super neat, and quite unique.  The color work on Cyclotron is honestly pretty unique, so he stands out from the rest.  The application’s basic, but clean, and fits well with the rest of the line.  Cyclotron’s only accessory is the face plate, and he also gets his “Power Action Cyclo-Spin”; you spin the torso counter clockwise a few times, and squeeze his legs to release it and send his torso spinning the other way.  It’s actually a pretty fun feature.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Cyclotron’s an earlier addition to my Super Powers collection, and the first of the later run figures I got.  I was fascinated by his design, and found an eBay auction for one without his faceplate.  And I had that one for a good two decades, no faceplate at all, but there he was.  I honestly wasn’t sure I was going to complete him, but as I’ve neared the end of my Super Powers collecting, I’ve gotten a bit lucky on the parts front.  I managed to get a solid deal on a complete Cyclotron, so I could finally finish my original.  He’s goofy as hell, but also one of my favorites from the line.

#3792: U.S. Airman

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U.S. AIRMAN

WAR HEROES – WORLD WAR II (*NOT* LION ROCK)

Okay, let’s have a history lesson.  But, like, not the sort of history lesson you might expect from a review with “WWII” in its title.  I mean, yeah, sure, that’s very important history and all.  Especially now.  But, it’s, like, not my expertise?  And it’s very scary.  So, I’m focusing on a less scary sort of history that I know about.  And that’s toys.  Right, so in 1964, Hasbro invented the action figure with G.I. Joe.  It was a smash success, which of course meant there were lots of imitators.  One of those imitators was the “Fighting Yank”, produced by Mego Corp, who had, in fact, copied Hasbro’s molds, and shut down production when Hasbro threatened legal action.  Mego reformatted into their smaller scale offerings, finding success with their 8-inch licensed offerings.  At the same time, they were brought a concept for a line of military-based figures, using the smaller-scale 7-inch body developed for the Teen Titans figures.  Not wanting to incur Hasbro’s wrath again, this line was released without any reference to Mego.  Primary distribution was handled by Mego’s overseas distributors Lion Rock, whose name was also stamped on all of the figures.  The line was, confusingly, named a different name in most countries, so that’s all fun and good and super easy to track.  Is that what I’m reviewing today?  Not in the slightest.  Confused?  You won’t be, after the next episode of Soap! review on the Figure in Question!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The U.S. Airman is part of the War Heroes All Battle Equipped in World War II line, a manufacturer-less line of Lion Rock-duplicates produced in the ’80s, seemingly exclusively for Woolworth’s.  How manufacturer-less are they?  The back of the neck, where the copyright information was located on the originals, literally looks like a rasp was taken to it.  Fancy.  These figures were, more or less, direct counterparts for official Lion Rock offerings.  The figure stands about 7 inches tall and he has 16 points of articulation.  He’s built on a copy of the Teen Titans base body, which is itself just a slightly miniaturized Mego Type II body.  It’s okay, but the hands are a bit more brittle on this copy, so there’s a crack on one of his thumbs.  The head is scaled to it as though it were an adult, and it’s honestly a pretty nice generic sort of ’40s soldier type.  He’s got an outfit that consists of a bomber jacket, khaki pants, and a pair of plastic boots.  They’re fairly consistent between the official figure and the knock-off, with the one notable change being the use of velcro on the jacket, rather than snaps.  It means things don’t stay closed as well, especially given the scale.  Otherwise, though, the tailoring isn’t too bad.  He also gets an aviation cap and a uniform cap, which both fit nicely on the head, as well as a belt, goggles, a breathing mask, a knife, and a pistol.  I believe he’s also supposed to have a clip board, but mine appears to be missing that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I spent a lot of my time in the ’90s on the internet pouring over the same handful of toy sites, one of them being Mego Museum, which is how I learned about the existence of any of these figures in the first place.  I never really imagined I’d get one.  And, I suppose I haven’t, now have I.  Anyway, I kept that information locked away in my brain, until the day it was called upon, which was, in fact, the day a bunch of them got traded in at work and I was the guy who knew what the heck they were.  This guy was in the batch.  Since he’s a knock-off, he was cheaper, so it was even harder to pass on the opportunity to get one.  My grandfather was in the Air Force in WWII (or what became the Air Force, at least), so I have an attachment of these sorts of things, and I like that this figure even looks a little bit like he did during the war.  It’s also just kind of a nifty piece of action figure history, and I sure do love that sort of thing.

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.

#3764: Golden Pharaoh

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

GOLDEN PHARAOH

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

“British archaeologist Ashley Halberstam was working on a dig in Giza, Egypt, when he was struck by a mystical bolt of energy that emanated from a lab run by the New Gods. This bolt of energy Transformed Halberstam, unleashing the latent energies inherent in his body and turning him into Golden Pharaoh. Golden Pharaoh uses his uncanny pyramid power for the forces of good.”

Something that’s been a fixture of my Christmases for a good long while is Kenner’s Super Powers. Somewhat unique about last year was how many Super Powers figures I got between my two Christmases, thanks to McFarlane actually really stepping up their game with their continuation. But, I’m going back to the proper Kenner stuff for the day. And what a proper Kenner thing it is, since it’s one of the two characters they made up for the line, Golden Pharaoh! Who’s Golden Pharaoh? Well, he got that little bio and…that’s actually really it, since he never made the jump to the comics outside of some tie-ins. He did get a DCUC figure, which I’ve reviewed previously, but now I’m going back to the beginning!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Golden Pharaoh was part of Super Powers‘s third abs final assortment, released in 1986. Obviously, this was his first figure, and like his fellow Kenner creation Cyclotron from the same year, it would be his only figure until DCUC. The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  While the general set-up of his articulation is pretty standard for the line, the positioning of his arms, coupled with the nature of his costume design with the wings and all, limits his range on the shoulders a fair bit.  The neck is also rather stiff on mine, but that might also be linked to the age of the translucent plastic, and I’m certainly not gonna force it.  Pharaoh’s sculpt was unique, based on Jack Kirby’s design work for the character.  It’s certainly a unique look, and while the sculpt proper is a little soft in some spots, it generally works out alright.  He’s got a rather basic color scheme.  It’s certainly an odd of assortment of colors, and notably no actual gold (something that was ultimately addressed by the DCUC figure).  I do dig the translucent purple on the torso, though.  Golden Pharaoh was packed with a staff, which he can hold in his right hand.  He also had a “Power Action Soaring” feature, which pops his arms upward when his legs are squeezed.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Golden Pharaoh was, as has been the trend for the last few years, my “big” Christmas gift from my parents.  He’s certainly one of the line’s more oddball offerings, and one that I don’t know that I really, truly imagined owning at the outset of collecting this line.  He just seemed like one of those far away things.  On his own, he’s perhaps not the most impressive, and could use maybe a bit more flair.  I have to wonder how much cooler he’d have been if he’d maybe been vac metalized gold, but ultimately, he’s not a bad little figure.  And here I am, three figures away from finishing up Super Powers.  Which feels increasingly odd.

#3524: Shazam!

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SHAZAM!

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0003:  The character that would eventually become Shazam was originally intended to be called “Captain Thunder” and “Captain Marvelous” before Fawcett Comics landed on “Captain Marvel.”

Kenner’s Super Powers has a very hard link to Christmas for me.  As a kid, for a good stretch of time, I got one every Christmas, and, in recent years, it’s a trend that’s returned.  I’m actually very close to the end of the line, which also means that I’ve gotten to the point where all of the ones I need are nearer the more expensive side of things, and also all hail from the line’s last year.  That includes today’s focus, a Captain Marvel named Shazam!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shazam was released in 1986, as part of the third and final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  While the character wouldn’t actually take on the name “Shazam” in-universe until 2011, since by 1986, the Captain Marvel trademark was firmly in Marvel Comics’ possession, so whether he used the name in the books or not, no toys could use it.  Rather amusingly, Marvel themselves didn’t really do much with it either, with their first figure based on any of *their* Captain Marvels not seeing a release until the late ’90s.  But, I’m getting side-tracked.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has the line’s standard 7 points of articulation.  Shazam sported a unique sculpt, based specifically on his later DC design, which moved him more into the traditional spandex set-up.  His sculpt is a little stiffer than the others, which is especially notable in the straightness on the arms.  His head seems a bit soft compared to others in the line.  They’re clearly trying to capture the character’s more unique facial features, while keeping him in-line with the house style of the rest of the figures.  The end result is sort of middling.  Definitely not the strongest the line had to offer.  His cape was cloth.  On my figure, it’s a repro; the original had a unique plastic clasp piece, as well as some rather nice printed details.  Shazam’s paint work is minimal, but it’s decent enough.  There’s a little wear on mine, but nothing crazy.  Shazam gets no accessories, but he gets the usual action feature.  In his case it’s a “Power Action Thunder Punch;”  squeezing the legs makes the arms swing in opposite directions.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As has been the trend on the last few of these, Shazam was my main Christmas gift from my parents this year.  While Mister Miracle was one of the line’s finest, and a great send-off from the final year, Shazam is definitely more middle of the road.  He’s okay, and I’m sure glad to finally have him, but he himself isn’t much to write home about.  And now I’ve got four left.  This is getting very exciting!

#3388: Orko

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

ORKO

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (MATTEL)

He-Man’s goofy floating sidekick wasn’t an immediate addition to Masters of the Universe, but he was certainly an early one.  He officially debuted during the franchises first few years, with toy coverage and regular appearances on the animated adaptation.  Orko’s break from the line’s usual design aesthetics made him a memorable and distinctive looking character amongst the rest of the rank and file.  That said, it also has had the tendency to work against him, since it makes it a heck of a lot harder to share molds between him and other figures.  As such, he’s usually locked in at one figure per iteration of the line.  At least they usually wind up being pretty good, though.  Today, I’m going back to the character’s start, with his very first figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Orko was added to the Masters of the Universe line in 1984.  He’s one of the year’s most notable additions, though it’s generally a good year for the franchise.  The figure is about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 2 points of articulation, with one joint at each of his shoulders.  The height of articulation, he is not, but there’s really only so much you can do with the design.  I suppose a neck joint might have been nice, but it is what it is.  Orko’s sculpt was a completely unique one.  He’s a bit stiff and stilted in posing, and he’s certainly rather large when compared to other figures in the line (a common issue with Orko figures), but he’s certainly got something of a charm about him.  The robes also do have a nice bit of flow to them, which is a nice touch.  Orko’s hat is a separate piece, which you can *technically* remove, but there’s not really much to see beneath it.  It does at least give him a bit more depth.  Orko’s color work is pretty standard for the line, with molded colors and basic paint application.  The robes wind up with two different shades for the magenta, thanks to the varying plastics on the arms and torso, but it’s minor.  The actual application of paint is a little fuzzy at the edges, and it’s a bit worn on mine, but the colors are bright and he’s got a lot of pop.  Orko was originally packed with a ripcord, which could be used in conjunction with his internal mechanisms to give him a “hovering” effect.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I got into Masters in ’02, the then-current line was quite tricky to get, so I tended to fill in with vintage figures here and there.  Orko was one such case.  Since his 200x figure was rare, I got this one instead, at a small toy show I attended with my dad back in the early ’00s.  This guy is goofy and hokey and I honestly love that.

#3378: Mekaneck

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

MEKANECK

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE (MATTEL)

Introduced to the Heroic Warriors in 1984, during Masters of the Universe‘s third year, Mekaneck was dubbed the “Heroic Human Periscope!”  He was originally titled “Spy Man”, a name that would survive long enough to be listed for the character in Filmation’s series bible for their animated adaption.  This was, presumably, ruled out for being too basic, though in a line where the lead character is “He-Man,” you can only get too clever before you don’t actually fit in anymore.  Mekaneck splits the difference a bit, I suppose.  Though hardly one of the franchise’s heavy hitters, Mekaneck is nevertheless a fairly memorable member of the Heroic Warriors, and a solid second tier character that no line really feels complete without.  Today, I’m jumping back to the very beginning for the character.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mekaneck was included in the third main assortment of Heroic Warriors for Mattel’s Masters of the Universe.  The 1984 line-up introduced some pretty prominent figures to the line, including the Battle Armor versions of the two main characters He-Man and Skeletor, as well as the first figures for both Orko and Fisto.  But Mekaneck is today’s focus, and I’m certainly not gonna let the others take away from that.  Mekaneck stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Due to the nature of his action feature, Mekaneck lacked an actual neck joint.  Additionally, his waist only turns one direction, and only about halfway at that.  Mekaneck made use of the standard barbarian arms, pelvis, and legs, as well as a new head/neck, a tweaked torso, and an all-new chest armor piece (which would see re-use the next year for Stinkor).  His sculpting is pretty standard for the line.  He’s got the usual rather goofy proportions, as expected, and minimal levels of detailing over most of the sculpt.  His head is the most distinctive piece, sporting a rather unique helmet and goggles.  The detailing is a touch soft, but not terrible.  I do quite like the mechanical details on the neck.  The color work on this guy is generally basic, and not super sharp or anything, but it gets the job done.  Obviously, this particular figure has seen better days, but he’s not incredibly bad given how old he is.  He’s still got faint traces of the chrome goggles, which are still fun.  Mekaneck was packed with a club-like sort of weapon, which would become a staple for the character.  It was somewhat prone to warping, given how soft the material was, but it’s a decent side-arm for him.  He also featured an action; twisting his toros to his left extends the neck.  It’s only about an inch and a half, since it’s got to fit in the torso, and he has to have his legs off to the side to use it, but it’s still fun.  Basic, but fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When the pilot movie for the 200x tie-in cartoon ran in 2002, I watched it with quite a bit of excitement.  Mekaneck, as minor as he may have been, really stuck out to me.  I knew there was one coming in the 200x line, but he wasn’t out when the cartoon hit.  I made due with just having the basic He-Man to start, but I wanted more.  As luck would have it, we had a power-outage at my parents home that weekend, and, so as to not keep me stuck in a house with no power for a long stretch of time, my dad took me out for the day, which included stopping by a comic book store that had a decent selection of vintage toys, which just so happened to have this guy, meaning I was able to add a Mekaneck to my collection months earlier than the 200x figure’s release.  This one got a lot of use before the update came along, at which point, I believe I retconned this one into being a relative of some sort.  But this one was still the first, and that’s honestly pretty cool.

#3265: Mister Miracle

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

MISTER MIRACLE

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

 

“Mister Miracle is an incredible escape artist who can free himself from any trap or ambush. By calling upon a multitude of advanced scientific gadgets, and his remarkable dexterity and agility, Mister Miracle is able to make any impossible stunt look easy.”

It’s that post-Christmas review time of year, and the best way for me to really, truly feel that post-Christmas-y sort of vibe is, quite frankly, Kenner’s Super Powers.  From a rather early age, they’ve kind of been a key piece of the stuff I get for holidays, and that’s become especially cemented in the last few years.  In my last four Super Powers reviews, (the most recent of which was almost an entire year ago; for shame!) I’ve stuck with the line’s Fourth World component, which really influenced the last two years of the run.  I’m continuing that trend with today’s review, which looks at perhaps my favorite Fourth World character, Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mister Miracle was released in 1986, as part of the final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  As with a lot of characters in this line, this release was Scott’s first figure, and would remain his only figure until DC Direct put one out in the early ’00s.  Of course, he was still ahead of all of the other New Gods barring Darkseid there, so I suppose it’s not all that bad.  He and his assortment-mate Orion made up the entirety of the heroic New Gods portion of the line, which was otherwise much heavier on the Apokolipsian bad guys.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Mister Miracle’s sculpt is a unique one based on his standard comics design, which was honestly a pretty notable thing for a New Gods character.  Only he and Darkseid got that treatment.  Admittedly, when you’ve got a design as spot-on and cool as Mister Miracle’s, what exactly is there to change?  It translates well to the style of the line, and he’s got a pretty solid set of proportions, as well as a nicely defined selection of costume details.  As with all the caped characters in the line, Scott’s cape is a soft-goods piece, though it does get a rather unique clasp piece, which is quite a bit of fun.  Mister Miracle’s paint work is pretty decent, although it’s rather prone to wear.  Mine’s in pretty decent shape, but that’s no small feat.  Scott is packed with a set of shackles, which are a trick set-up.  They’re on a joint at the middle, and squeezing his legs moves his arms outward, as if he’s escaping from the locks.  It’s a little iffy on this 35 year old figure, of course, but it’s otherwise a good gimmick.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mister Miracle is the latest addition to my ever growing Super Powers collection, given to me as a Christmas gift by my ever supportive parents.  He’s actually been pretty high on my list of the remaining figures I needed, barred only by the difficulty of finding him in complete condition.  Getting one in this shape is honestly astounding, and he’s just so much fun.  Truly one of the line’s star pieces.  And with that, I only need 5 more.  Crazy.

#3006: Kalibak

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KALIBAK

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

“Kalibak, The Cruel Crusher! This massive warrior is incredibly powerful and nearly indestructible. A savage fighter, Kalibak wields the deadly Beta-Club, which can fire nerve beams powerful enough to fell an entire army.  Despite his size and strength, Kalibak is not too intelligent. He can be bested by an opponent like Superman, who combines his strength with a sense of strategy.”

When I last discussed Kenner’s Super Powers line from the ’80s, I was getting pretty deep into the Fourth World component of the line, which hit during its second and third years.  Thus far, I’ve looked at three of Darkseid’s lieutenants, as well as one of his sons.  Today, I look at the figure that combines those two epithets, Kalibak, half brother to Orion, and the brutish son of Darkseid.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kalibak was released in 1985, as part of Kenner’s second year of Super Powers figures.  As with the rest of the Fourth World figures in the line, this would be his debut action figure, and it would remain his only figure until Mattel got back around to him in 2009 as part of their DC Universe Classics line.  Heck of a gap there, huh?  There was definitely a preferred son of Darkseid in the toy world is all I’m saying.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall (he’s got a bit of a hunch, which would place him at closer to Darkseid’s height were he standing straight up) and he’s got 5 points of articulation.  Kalibak lacks the knee joints sported by most of the line, presumably to give him a slightly more stable stance with the hunch and everything.  He still has a bit of trouble remaining standing even so, due to his hip joints being a little loose from how the action feature works.  Most of the Fourth World characters got rather changed-up designs for the line, still courtesy of Jack Kirby, of course.  Kalibak’s design was new, but he actually had a rather evolving design throughout Kirby’s actual run on New Gods, so this was really just the next step in that evolution.  It’s honestly one of the best of the updated designs, and the one that really has the most lasting influence on the character’s main look going forward.  The sculpt does a pretty nice job of capturing Kalibak’s larger build, and while he’s a little bit goofy looking, that’s on-brand for Kalibak, so it works out better here than it does for, say, Steppenwolf.  Kalibak’s paint work is pretty straight forward.  A lot of the Fourth World designs were heavy on green in the comics, and Kalibak was included in that.  For the Super Powers designs, they leaned a little more into browns and warmer colors, since there was kind of a shortage of those colors in the DC roster.  Kalibak is largely brown and yellow, with a bit of blue.  It’s not a bad look, and the application is generally pretty clean.  Kalibak is packed with his Beta-Club, which is convenient for use with his “Power Action Beta-Club Swing.”  When is legs are squeezed together, the left arm swings in and out, which is actually a pretty cool feature.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kalibak is the newest addition to my Super Powers collection, in the continuing tradition of my Dad getting me a Super Powers figure at Christmas.  He’s slowly but surely helping me make my way through the figures that remain between me and a complete run of the line.  Kalibak is one of those figures I wasn’t in a rush to get or anything, but I actually like him a lot more than I’d expected now that I actually own him.  And with that, I’m down to just 6 more figures!