Tag Archives: Blackheart Series

#3725: Moon Knight

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

MOON KNIGHT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“After a near-fatal encounter at an ancient Egyptian temple, mercenary Marc Spector agrees to become the Earthly Avatar for the deity Khonshu”

Hey, you guys, guess what I’m reviewing today!  That’s right, it’s Moooooooooooooooooooooooooon Kniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!  Gotta do the long, drawn out Moon Knight bit.  It’s one of my signature things.  Of course, it was a more distinctive thing when there weren’t so many fricking Moon Knight figures, but who am I to complain about Moon Knight figures?  Just not the right guy, I tell ya.  And this way, I’m never too far away from another Moon Knight review, and isn’t that just the world we all want to live in?  Well, it’s certainly the world *I* want to live in.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Moon Knight is Figure 1 in the Blackheart Series of Marvel Legends.  As I touched on in my Bloodstorm review, this assortment is Fan Channel, and is themed “Strange Tales.”  Moon Knight’s connection to the theme is still a little loose, but closer than Bloodstorm’s, I feel, and it’s another chance to get a “name” in the set.  We’ve gotten a variety of Moon Knight looks in Legends in the last few years, but this one aims for a different one; he’s based on Moon Knight’s look from the short-lived Fist of Khonshu series from ’85….well, mostly.  I’ll get to that.  It’s only a slight tweak to his classic look, but it’s a design that’s not gotten the Legends treatment yet (though a slight variation of it showed up in Toy Biz’s 10-inch line in the ’90s).  It’s also one of his three skins from Ultimate Alliance (meaning we just need his “Ultimate” costume to wrap that up; your move, Hasbro).  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He uses the adjusted version of the 2099 body with the pinless elbows and knees, which is a little more sleek and clean.  He’s using the same masked head (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it), and the lower legs from the classic Moon Knight, but gets a new cape, gauntlets, and belt.  The cape’s not drastically different from the original piece, but it sits a little better on the body and no longer drags at the feet, which are both plusses.  The gauntlets and belt are based on the more ornate pieces from the Fist of Khonshu series, and are quite nicely done, and accurate to the source material.  He’s got very minimal paint work, but what’s present really works, and it’s all pretty crisp and clean.  He’s got the traditional moon crescent logo, rather than the Ankh that he initially had with this design, meaning he’s really using the West Coast Avengers variant of the look, which is just fine by me.  Moon Knight is packed with two pairs of hands (the gripping and fists from his 2017 release), a large crescent blade, three smaller ones, Gambit’s staff in white, which are all re-used from prior releases.  He also gets a new Ankh (which is the only of the additional Fist of Khonshu weapons we get), as well as the head to the Blackheart Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s a new Moon Knight, so obviously there was no chance of me passing this one up.  Honestly, it’s a look I’m happy to get, since he has it during the his WCA tenure, and that served as my earliest exposure to the character.  It’s a solid figure; it takes what works from prior Moon Knights, and improves and adds the new costume elements, making it a solid update that’s not making the earlier figures redundant.

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.

Hey, do you wanna own a thing from this review?  Well, if it’s the Moon Knight, that’s too bad, because he’s mine and you can’t take him.  But, if you’re in the market for Blackheart’s head, or perhaps some other items from the official Figure in Question collection (TM), check out my eBay page.  Or, you know, don’t, I guess.  It’s your time.  Who am I to account for it?

#3722: Blood Storm

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

BLOOD STORM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A mutant and proficient thief, Ororo Munro was targeted by Dracula and transformed into a vampire known as Bloodstorm.”

Hey!  It’s Halloween!  I swore to myself that I would start this review with some variation of “it’s Halloween, oooooo, scary” over my own dead body.  My own, cold, dead, blood-sucking body.  Speaking of cold, dead, blood-sucking things, you guys remember when I talked about Mutant X?  Man, that sure was a thing.  Well, I finished my read-through of the series back in July, and here in October, we’ve gotten our first Mutant X-themed figure in over 20 years.  Riiiiiiight after I finished my read-through.  Look, I’m not saying it’s all thanks to me, but I’m okay if you guys want to.  So, after that very long wait for another figure, who do we get?  ….It’s Bloodstorm…of course it’s Bloodstorm.  It would be Bloodstorm.  Well, let’s review Bloodstorm.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bloodstorm is figure 2 in the Blackheart Series of Marvel Legends, which is a Fan Channel exclusive set.  The assortment is officially titled “Strange Tales” and generally themed around the supernatural side of Marvel.  Bloodstorm’s certainly an offbeat choice, but not the weirdest, I suppose.  She gets a leg-up by being a Storm variant in a year when everyone wants X-related stuff.  She officially debuts Mutant X as a theme in Legends, and is the second Bloodstorm figure we’ve gotten, the first being Toy Biz’s 5-inch figure from 2001.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  She’s a mix of old and new parts.  She’s using the legs and feet from the mohawk Storm from the Apocalypse Series, and the arms from Jessica Jones.  It’s an okay selection of parts, but certainly ones that are showing their age.  The legs in particular are kind of warping, and the exposed joints are especially obvious.  The arms look fine, but they’re definitely restricted at the elbows.  The rest of the parts are new, sculpted by Paul Harding.  The new parts are definitely very strong additions, and do a lot to carry the older parts when viewed as a whole.  There are two different heads, one calm, and one more dynamic.  The dynamic one is certainly my favorite of the two, and it makes for good posing.  Bloodstorm’s color work is decent enough.  Obviously, very dark and monochromatic, which is the part.  The heads both get some pretty solid accent work on the faces and hair, which really sells the already pretty solid sculpts.  Bloodstorm is packed with two sets of hands, one in open gesture, the other more a claw pose.  No fists is a bit of a bummer, since the two included pairs are rather along the same lines.  She’s also packed with the torso and tail of the Blackheart Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Look, guys, a Mutant X assortment of Legends has been my dream set for a good long while, so *any* Mutant X Legends is a pretty big deal.  But, I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t buy this figure out of obligation more than actual desire to own it.  Bloodstorm’s definitely not my favorite part of the book, and after finishing it, I still do not get the hype behind her.  But, I really, really want more Mutant X figures, so I have to buy her.  She’s alright.  I find her a bit hampered by the old parts, but the new ones are at least pretty strong.  Can I please get more Mutant X figures now?

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.

Would you like to own an official piece of The Figure in Question history…or something like that?  Well, the figure reviewed here isn’t available, but I’m selling the Blackheart Build-A-Figure piece, as well as some other items from the official Figure in Question collection, over on my eBay page, so check it out.  Or don’t.  I have no control over you outside the confines of the review.