Tag Archives: Elektra

#3565: Daredevil, Elektra, & Bullseye

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

DAREDEVIL, ELEKTRA, & BULLSEYE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0044: The first Legends-branded comic Daredevil figure was released in the “Urban Legends” boxed set, which featured, amongst other things, a white costumed Elektra.  20 years later, an updated comic Daredevil found himself released in a boxed set alongside a white costumed Daredevil.

I keep doing this thing where I skip a Pulse-exclusive set, and then I manage to get it through other channels *just* before an improved version is announced.  It’s not annoying at all.  Why do you ask?  Yeah.  In this case, it’s all about that Daredevil.  Sure, there may be two other figures in play here, but is anyone really paying attention to them?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Daredevil, Elektra, and Bullseye are a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Marvel Legends three-pack, which started shipping on the earlier side of last year.

DAREDEVIL

Undoubtedly the star of the set is its upgraded Daredevil.  Unlike the last handful of DDs, this one his the classic red costume, not some form of derivative.  While the Hobgoblin Series release is still no slouch, there’s definitely been some progress on articulation schemes since then, and with Matt’s generally acrobatic nature, that’s pretty important.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation.  This new Daredevil is making use of the upgraded Spidey body that first turned up in the Renew Your Vows set, making this the first time since the second series of Spider-Man Classics that the two have shared a base body.  Typically, Matt’s depicted as a little bigger than Peter, but the Renew body is on the bulkier side for Spidey, so it winds up working out alright for Matt.  When I first reviewed the base, it was right on the heels of the Amazing Fantasy figure, which I very much loved, so I was a little biased.  I find myself liking it a bit more here, and I’m not sure if it’s just distance from the original release, or if I just like it more as Daredevil.  Sculptor Paul Harding provides a new head sculpt, and there are new add-ons for his belt and holster as well.  The new head is less dialed into a specific look than the Hobgoblin Series release (which was very much a Chris Samnee DD), going for a more all-encompassing “classic” look.  It sits very well on the base body, and just generally feels like a solid DD head sculpt.  His coloring is actually pretty subdued.  While other all red Daredevils have used multiple shades of red to differentiate the gloves and boots from the rest of the suit, this one makes almost everything the same shade of red, with only the eyes, logo, and belt buckle being differentiated.  What’s visible of the face also gets some printed detailing, which is quite lifelike.  DD is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), his batons, and the dynamic zipline piece that clips between the two of them.

ELEKTRA

Elektra’s not been a stranger to Legends, but they do like to keep things rotating on designs.  The second Legends Elektra (from the Urban Legends set) was painted up in her white outfit, and this one duplicates this look, in order to distinguish her from the SP//dr Series release.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Elektra’s constructed on the fancy pinless female base body.  She’s re-using the skirt piece from the last one, and she’s also got two new heads, courtesy of sculptor May Thamtarana.  One goes with her usual bandanna design, while the other gives her a headband that really lets her crazy wild hair hang free.  The headband one is definitely my preferred of the two; there’s just so much character there.  The bandanna one isn’t quite as strong; the expression is a little bland, and hair sits a little high relative to the face.  Her color work is alright.  Lot of white.  The application gets a little sloppy on the change-overs, but the printed faces look pretty nice.  Elektra has two sets of hands, a pair of sais, and a katanna.  The katana has black spot on blade, but other than that, the extras are pretty standard stuff.

BULLSEYE

Bullseye has a tendency to go some distance between Legends releases; his last one was in 2017, which isn’t the same distance as the 12 year gap before that, but it’s still notable.  Unlike the other two in this set, Bullseye’s not really designed to be drastically different from what came before.  In fact, sculpturally, he’s exactly the same as the last one, meaning he’s still about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  The sculpt wasn’t bad the first time around, apart from the head seeming maybe a touch too large, and it’s generally held up okay.  The paint work was one of the weaker aspects of the last figure, so this one aims to change that up a bit.  They actually adapted a slightly different design this time around, going for his look from his 2017 solo series.  The only real change-up from the classic design is the blue torso section.  It’s different, but I don’t hate it.  The actual application is *a lot* cleaner this time, and it does head sculpt a lot of favors.  Bullseye is packed with four hands (right gripping, and left fist, finger gun, and knife throwing), an alternate unmasked head, and a knife.  They have notably removed the pistol from the prior release, which wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for the empty holster that is attached to his belt.  Like…what are you supposed to do with that?  The stock photos stick the knife in there, but that just moves the problem, since then he’s got the empty sheath on the back of the belt.  Also, it’s clearly a gun holster, so the knife isn’t an ideal place holder.  I’m not entirely sure why they made the change, but given the replacement of the two trigger finger hands as well, it was clearly something more than simple cost-saving.  It results in the one downside to this figure relative to the earlier release.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I really only wanted the Daredevil out of this set, because I’m a sucker for a good Daredevil.  But, only wanting 1/3 of the set, I wasn’t looking to pay full price.  I was able to snag one second hand for a good deal, so that made life a little easier.  DD is undoubtedly the star, and he’s a definitive classic red DD.  I like the alternate head for Elektra, but she’s otherwise just kind of middling.  Bullseye wound up really surprising me.  I expected to get nothing from him, but the new paint just really sells the figure.  The missing gun’s just weird, but he’s still nice enough that he’s replaced the prior one as my default Legends Bullseye.

#3482: Elektra Natchios Daredevil

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

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Martial artist and former assassin Elektra Natchios dedicates herself to fighting crime under the mantle of Daredevil when Matt Murdock is sent to prison”

So, it’s Halloween, and it’s usually a time for spooky and scary stuff, but, uhh, I don’t know, I guess I’m not overly feeling it?  Or perhaps I’m reeling from the horror of the very real passage of time and the changes that it brings!  OOOOOOOOOOOO!  SCARY! …Is that it?  Is that doing it for you?  Eh, close enough.  So, yeah, in any sort of serialized fiction, even long-running fiction with a bit of a status quo, there’s always a degree of change and growth.  Over in the Daredevil comics, Elektra has gone from being a rather deadly master assassin to dead to back again to Skrull to back again to actually heroic character, carrying on the mantle of Daredevil while Matt’s been off doing his own thing.  It’s the most recent turn that’s actually finally gotten me to care about Elektra in any way whatsoever.  And that’s perhaps the scariest thing of all.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra Natchios Daredevil is part of the latest retro card series of Spide-Man Marvel Legends, which is notably a very modern series of figures almost across the board.  So modern, in fact, that most of the figures aren’t even on properly retro style packaging, Elektra included.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Her movement is about what you’d expect from a Legends release at this stage.  Some of the joints are a little stiff, and I wouldn’t mind more range on the mid-torso joint, but she generally moves pretty well.  Elektra’s sculpt is an all-new one, handled by Rene Aldrete.  It’s generally pretty solid.  Her look and build is consistent with the standard Elektra from back in the Sp//dr Series, and the details from her new look definitely work well.  I dig the detailing on the hand and feet wraps, and the slight dynamic flow to the loin cloth and scarf is very fun.  If I have one minor complaint, it’s that we only get the one scarf piece, which is covering her face (as it does by default in the comics), meaning you can’t really see her lower face sculpt without taking it off, thereby throwing off her whole look.  But, if we’re only getting one scarf, this is the direction I’d prefer for them to go.  Elektra’s color work is pretty decent.  It’s not really anything crazy; just a lot of red and black, which is accurate to the source material.  A lot of it’s molded, so that’s very clean.  What paint work she gets is also very clean, and I do quite like the shading on the eyes.  Elektra is packed with her twin sais, which are the same ones from the last couple of releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the intro, I’ve never been much of an Elektra fan.  She’s just really never clicked with me in any sort of way.  Not even her portrayal on the Daredevil show turned me around, and that’s the show that got me to like the Punisher.  So, when they moved her into the Daredevil role, I was skeptical…and then I actually started to like her, which was downright baffling to me.  I kind of *had* to buy the figure version at that point.  She’s fun.  I do wish she had an alternate scarf and maybe an extra unmasked head, but ultimately, even as just the core figure, I do really like this one.

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.

#3451: Wild Thing

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

WILD THING

MARVEL COMICS 2 1ST APPEARANCE (TOY BIZ)

“The young woman known as Rina Logan is the daughter of the mutant Wolverine and the ninja, Elektra.  Trained by her parents from childhood to take their place as a superpowered hero, she uses her inherited mutant healing factor and enhanced senses along with her incredible martial arts skill to fight for what’s right as the Super Hero code-named, Wild Thing.  Unlike her dad, Rina slices through her opponents with claws made up of psychic energy instead of Adamantium and prefers to fight alone instead of as a member of a team.”

Ah, yes, Wolverine and Elektra.  The classic pairing.  There are no two more entwined than these two.  When you think of one, how can you not think of the other?.. Have I done the bit enough?  Can I stop now?  Cool.  So, as I was touching on last week, some of the legacy characters in MC 2 were pretty natural, and some were…less so.  Wild Thing seems to largely exist because Wolverine and Elektra were both popular in the ’90s, and they’re thematically similar enough to sort of work? Well, whatever the case, she got a toy.  Here it is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wild Thing is the  final of the four figures in the PX-Exclusive MC2 1st Appearance line that Toy Biz released in 1999. She, like American Dream, hasn’t had any figures since this first one. Also, despite her parentage, she’s easily the most minor of the four characters in the line-up.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and she has 9 points of articulation.  Most of her articulation is honestly pretty pointless. The neck can’t move because of the hair. Shes got nothing at the elbows, and there’s the dreaded v-hips.  The shoulders are at least pretty useful, so there’s that.  Wild Thing is built on a modified version of the Death Bird body. It’s decent enough, if perhaps a little stiff.  She gets a surprising number of elements specific to her design, as well as an all-new head sculpt.  It’s an alright offering, but you gotta love the sheer absurdity of the Wolverine mask with the Wolverine hair and then a pony tail on top of that.  In general, it’s a decent enough sculpt, on par with most of the others of the era, but of the four in this line, she definitely feels like the weakest.  She does get a little bit of a mixed media thing, with a proper cloth sash, rather than a sculpted one.  Wild Thing doesn’t have a particularly thrilling or pleasant color scheme, but that’s hardly the fault of the figure.  The paint application’s a little fuzzy on the edges, but overall, things look alright.  I do really like the clear pink plastic used for the psychic claws.  Wild Thing was packed with the break-apart doors previously included with Battle-Ravaged Wolverine, which are really always a fun piece to see crop up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve got no attachment to Wild Thing.  I know her exclusively because of this figure.  If I weren’t aiming to get the whole Toy Biz run, I’d definitely pass her up.  In fact, I really only bought her at all because the antique store where I found Stinger *also* had her, and if I was already buying one, I might as well buy the other.  She’s honestly better than I’d expected.  Still my least favorite of the four, but I’m glad she came along for the ride.

#2735: Elektra

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

ELEKTRA

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Seeking to put her past behind her, the ninja warrior known as Elektra found kinship during her time spend with the X-Men’s Wolverine. Along with Wolverine’s help, she began a new chapter in her life devoted to righting the wrongs of her past. Now facing her future as a hero, Elektra relies on the lessons she has learned and her twin ninja sais to overcome the evil force that would sway her from her path!”

Man, doesn’t that bio seem like a rather convoluted and forced way to justify putting Elektra into an X-Men toyline?  I mean, when you think Elektra, don’t you think “X-Men”?  Certainly there are no other areas of the Marvel universe that she’s got any closer ties to at all.  Clearly, Wolverine is Elektra’s closest connection from the Marvel universe who has also had a definitive run featuring Frank Miller on the creative duties.  No one else would have a more sensible place in the bio at all.  Uh huh.  Well, uh, let’s look at this totally naturally placed Elektra figure, then, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra was released in the “Classic Light-Up Weapons” Series of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, released in mid-1996.  Now, I’m going to go in hard contrast to my intro up there and say that Elektra’s a pretty wonky choice of a character for an X-Men assortment.  Why in the world?  Well, I’ll sort of get to that in a moment.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches tall and she has 9 points of articulation.  If you feel like you’ve seen this sculpt before, that’s because you have.  I reviewed it once before, back when it was Psylocke, from this same assortment.  While the other figures in the line-up all got paint variants that were the same character, for some reason, Psylocke’s alternate colors were used to make her an entirely new, entirely unrelated character instead.  I guess that Elektra and Psylocke have vaguely similar designs, but it’s really hard to say it’s not a stretch.  The paint serves as the main change up, here, of course, with the costume switching from blue to red, her hair from purple to black, and her skin tone shifting ever so slightly.  It looks more like Elektra than it did before, I suppose, but it’s not like it’s spot on, or anything.  Elektra is packed with the same accessories as Psylocke was, a katana and the light-up psychic knife.  They’re definitely more Psylocke than they are Elektra, and it means she lacks the sais her bio quite blatantly mentions, but I suppose it could be worse.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Elektra’s presence in this line-up has always perplexed me.  This figure was my first real knowledge of the character, and lead to me being rather confused about who exactly she was, given that, you know, she’s not an X-Men character, but she was in an X-Men assortment just the same.  I’m not really sure what possessed Toy Biz to do Elektra this way, but I guess it got her a figure, and it was her first time as a toy and all, so it was better than nothing.  I ultimately wound up getting this figure from All Time a few years back, after putting off getting her for a while, just because of the weirdness of the figure.  She’s really just exactly what she is, which is a Psylocke repaint.  And I guess that’s not the worst thing, but it’s just…weird.

#2189: Daredevil – Yellow & Elektra

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

DARDEVIL — YELLOW & ELEKTRA

MARVEL MINIMATES

Babam!  Six years of writing for this here site, boys and girls.  How about that?  So, as I like to do every year on this occasion, I want to take today’s review to look at an item a little nearer and dearer to me and important to my collecting habits as a whole.  Today’s entry focuses on the world of Minimates, which, anyone who’s read the site for a decent amount of time can probably tell you is a world that makes up a considerable chunk of my collection.  For this review, we’re jumping back to the humble beginnings of the line, when they released a series 1 line-up that was surprisingly low-key.  Without further ado, let’s have a look at Daredevil and Elektra!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Daredevil and Elektra were part of the Daredevil/Hulk split first series line-up of Marvel Minimates, which hit alongside Series 2 and 3 in the summer of 2003.  2003 is an important year to note, as it kind of explains the line-up of Series 1, since Daredevil and Hulk were both in theaters that year, and these were sort of a loose tie-in.  This set was the one that got the variant treatment for the first line-up, with two different versions of Elektra available, and the Yellow Daredevil shared between the two sets.

DAREDEVIL — YELLOW

There were two Daredevils available in the first series.  The more standard Red DD was available with Kingpin, while this one recreates Matt’s first appearance attire, which has long been a popular choice for variations of DD.  The figure was built on the original Marvel body, which introduced the smaller 2″ scale for ‘mates.  He stands about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He’s also got the pre-c3 long feet, just like every other Marvel ‘mate release prior to Series 8.  Construction-wise, he and the red version were the same.  He gets an add-on for his mask and belt.  They were rather simplistic, but the mask in particular really works well, and clings to that ‘mate aesthetic.  The belt would be replaced by a less bulky model as the line went on, but for the time it was pretty solid.  His paintwork is probably one of the most complex of the early releases.  Of course, it also has the most room for error, which is probably why he’s got a lot of fuzzy and un-even lines going on. That being said, given the scale, it’s really not that bad.  He’s got a decent amount of detailing, including a full face under the mask, even though he didn’t have an extra hair piece to show it off yet.  What he did include was  a pair of billy clubs, painted up in yellow match the figure.

ELEKTRA

Given her prominent place in the 2003 movie, and her general place as one of Marvel’s best known female characters in the early ’00s,  Elektra’s inclusion here was kind of no-brainer.  Perhaps the craziest thing was how long it would take for her to get a follow-up.  Like Matt, this figure is built on the older Marvel body, long feet and all.  She has add-ons for her hair and skirt.  While DD’s design allowed for an easier transition to the ‘mate style, especially the more streamlined nature of the earlier releases, Elektra is less fortunate.  The blocky nature doesn’t quite go as well with here, and the hair and skirt would very quickly become some of the line’s most dated pieces.  They’re not awful, but they’re not amazing either.  Elektra’s paint does the best it can with the design, and ultimately captures all of the important elements.  No idea why she’s just got that single glove, though.  The standard Elektra was done up in her classic red, while her one-per-case variant was instead in black.  I’m not sure if the black was a specific comic thing, or if they were just aiming to get her a little closer the the movie version, but whatever the case, it doesn’t look bad.  Both versions of Elektra were packed with a pair of sais.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back during the site’s first year, I acquired and reviewed the Spider-Man Classics Yellow Daredevil, which was something of a long-standing grail for my collection.  That figure was, at the time of his release, really, really hard to get, and would remain that way for a decent chunk of time, leaving him well outside of my price range.  My dad, who had been working very hard to find me one, eventually met a compromise when he discovered Marvel Minimates just a few days before my birthday in 2003, and saw a more attainable way of getting me a Yellow Daredevil.  And so, these guys became my very first Minimates, launching a collection of more than 1000 of these little buggers.  Who would have guessed it would grow so far?

#1833: Elektra

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

ELEKTRA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Shaken by the death of her father, Elektra uses her exceptional skills in the martial arts to become an expert assassin.”

Daredevil has had a string of ill-fated love interests, but the most marketable of them (for a while, anyway) was Elektra.  Introduced by Frank Miller during his defining run on the book, she was initially meant to have a closed story…but comics characters rarely get that, and as such she’s been back many, many times since her original exit.  Unfortunately, at least recently, in pop culture, she’s kind of a marker of a bad Daredevil story, with two poorly-executed movies and a comparatively disappointing storyline on the otherwise impressive Daredevil show on Netflix.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra is figure 3 in the SP//dr Series of Marvel Legends.  Elektra has quite a pedigree when it comes to Legends, being the first female figure to grace the line, way back in Series 4.  She got one more release during the Toy Biz years, and another under Hasbro’s tenure, but it’s been quite a few years.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Elektra uses the mid-sized Phoenix body, a reasonable enough choice for the character.  The one major downside is its lack of mobility on the elbows.  This his been fixed on more recent single-elbowed figures, such as Psylocke, but Elektra is back to the old model, which rather limits her posing options…at least in the elbow area. The rest of the posing is decent enough.  Elektra gets a new head and hands, as well as an add-on piece for her skirt.  The head is easily the most attractive take on Elektra we’ve gotten in Legends form, though perhaps that’s not saying much.  It is, nevertheless, a nice piece of work, and I particularly like the slight bit of flow to the hair.  The hands are sculpted to work with the sais, especially the right hand, which even has the proper form.  The skirt add-on is probably the weakest part; it’s not badly sculpted in its own right, but it doesn’t contour to the body in the same way that other such pieces have, leaving it to hang somewhat awkwardly in most poses.  The paintwork on Elektra is pretty decently handled.  The base work is clean, and she’s got some accent work on the red sections, which keeps them from being too flat.  Elektra is packed with a pair of sais, one of which got incredibly mangled by the packaging, as well as one of the legs to the Build-A-Figure SP//dr.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Elektra has never been a favorite character of mine, and as a result this is the first of her Legends releases that I’ve actually picked up.  Mostly, I got her because I wanted the Build-A-Figure, but I did think she paired off pretty well with the Daredevil from this assortment.  This is actually my second Elektra.  The first one lost a foot while coming out of the package, and while I was just planning to make due, Max from All Time was kind enough to give me his Elektra, so now I have an un-hobbled one.

Both of the Elektras currently in my collection came to me from my friends at All Time Toys. If you’re interested in buying her or other Legends figures, or are looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.