Tag Archives: Fantastic Four

#3973: Human Torch

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

HUMAN TORCH

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“The youngest member of the Fantastic Four, Johnny Storm tends to get a little hot-headed when fighting alongside his teammates as the Human Torch! Able to ‘Flame On’ and engulf himself entirely in fire, Johnny has also developed the ability to ignite only certain parts of his body when necessary. Precise control, coupled with the searing nova heat he can generate, makes Johnny Storm the hot-shot member of this cosmic ray spawned team.”

There are some designs that translate well to toys, and there are some that are really, really tricky.  Three  of the four members of the Fantastic Four made the jump from page to plastic without much trouble.  But one of them?  Not so much.  Johnny Storm’s most distinctive look being his fully flamed-on appearance means that were he really in three dimensions, he’d always sort of be in flux, so nailing that down exactly can be tricky.  There’s been a lot of goes at it, to varying degrees of success.  After three tries at fully flamed on, Toy Biz opted to try a more unique approach, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Human Torch was released in the fourth and ultimately final series of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line.  It was Johnny’s third figure under the line, and fourth overall from Toy Biz in this scale.  Rather than going for totally flame covered like the prior versions, or even totally normal like the 10-inch figure, this one goes for sort of a half-and-half set-up.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall (he was the tallest Johnny they put out in this style) and he has 9 points of articulation.  This whole assortment was built to be a bit more dynamic than earlier offerings, and as such they were all a bit more pre-posed than earlier offerings.  In Johnny’s case, that translates to some slightly odd posing on the arms, but otherwise nothing too crazy.  The sculpt was new to this release, but would see one more use under Toy Biz, for one of their later two-packs.  Honestly, it’s pretty strong.  Aside from the face maybe feeling a touch on the old side for Johnny, the general layout of the details works, and I do like the sculpted distinction between the parts that are on fire versus what’s not.  The dynamic nature is definitely distinctive, and it especially works well with the hair’s flow.  The pose also sells the whole thing, as if he’s mid-flame-on.  His paint work is generally pretty basic, but does mostly what it needs to.  The only slightly odd thing is that he’s for whatever reason not wearing gloves.  No idea why, but there it is.  I guess it makes it sort of unique.  My figure’s had quite a bit of wear over the years, as you can see, but that’s not on the original application.  Johnny was packed with a rather large and elaborate base.  He can stand on it, and it’s got wheels, and when it moves forward, various parts of it spin.  It’s gimmicky, but honestly not too bad.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got into collecting right in the window between Series 3 and 4 of this line, so this Johnny would up being my first figure of the character, and was my only version for a little bit.  Even after getting other versions, he was my go-to until there was a scale change.  This is a cool approach for the character and has remained my preferred way to handle the power set for figure form.  I think it’s maybe a little dated and stylized here, but I definitely dig it, and he’s my personal favorite of the Toy Biz Johnny figures.

#3969: Attuma

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

ATTUMA

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“Believing he is the prophesized conqueror of the undersea world, due to his super-human strength, the depth-dwelling Attuma has dedicated his life trying to overthrow the peaceful empire on the lost continent of Atlantis. Although he has come close on many occasions to realizing his twisted scheme, launching numerous attacks against the city and its prince – Namor, The Sub-Mariner; Attuma has never been able to claim a lasting victory over Atlantis, thanks to Namor and his powerful allies – The Fantastic Four!”

If you were to ask Arnold Schwarzenegger, circa the 1990 classic Kindergarten Cop who his favorite Marvel super villain might be, I don’t know that he’d have an answer for certain, but he’d probably insist that “It’s not Attuma!”

….Did you like that?  Was that good?  No.  Yeah, I didn’t really think so either, but I’ve had it running through my head the whole time I was trying to write this, so now you guys have to live with it too.  Don’t you feel very lucky?  In contrast to the assumed words of former Governor Schwarzenegger, today’s review focus here on the site, in fact, *is* Attuma.  So there.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Attuma was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line.  What’s interesting about this guy is that he’s not even shown on the back of the box at all.  The back shows a line-up that included Adam Warlock, who was ultimately dropped, while Attuma, not at all advertised, was included, pairing off with his nemesis Namor, and making him the third and final aquatic-themed figure in this assortment.  Despite the line being based on the show, Attuma was actually not featured in either season of Fantastic Four, though he would make an appearance in 1999’s Avengers: United They Stand, albeit with a rather different design.  So, this figure is based on his classic comics design, which works out more in his favor than his nemesis, truth be told.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and he has…well, his articulation’s a bit tricky.  He’s got at least 8 points, thanks to more regular joints on both legs, the neck, the waist, and the shoulder and elbow of his left arm.  His right arm has points of movement at the shoulder and elbow, but neither really moves freely, as they’re instead tied into his action figure, which kind of sort of does a sword slashing thing, but not all that well.  It’s an odd choice.  The sculpt on Attuma is unique to him, and it’s generally okay.  It certainly captures Attuma’s look, but seems to struggle a bit with getting some parts of it into three dimensions.  The bit of yellow behind his head seems like a particular point of contention.  Beyond that, some of the proportions do feel a little wonky, and the feet seem especially off, with some of Blizzard’s “two left feet” syndrome seeming to kick in.  Attuma’s color work is reasonable enough.  They’ve gone with his more blue look, which works fine enough, but it’s not how I usually think of him, outside of this particular figure.  Attuma is packed with a three-pronged sword, which his can either hold awkwardly in his right hand or store awkwardly on his back.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t get Attuma when he was first released, but instead picked him up when I took my trip to the KB Toys liquidation center in the early ‘00s.  I don’t recall having a particular draw to him beyond “I’m getting others and I don’t have this one.”  This was further supported by me not actually opening him for a good couple of months after the others, which was especially odd for me at the time.  That figure would eventually lose one of his lower legs along the way (because I just was sold on not paying him much mind, by that time; I swear I wasn’t meaning to neglect the poor figure), so I ended up buying a replacement from Cosmic Comix several years back.  That one was *also* sealed, and *also* remained sealed for longer than the others I bought at the same time.  It’s not Attuma’s fault, really.  The figure’s…fine?  He’s weird.  But, he’s also one of the very few Attuma figures, so I guess he’s got that going for him?

#3965: Namor the Submariner

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

NAMOR THE SUBMARINER

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“Born from the depths of the ocean, Namor, the avenging son, is Prince of the noble underwater city of Atlantis. The hybrid offspring of a human and an Atlantean, Namor’s quest for adventure brought him into contact with the surface world and its inhabitants. Although sometimes at odds with the actions and agendas of the land dwellers, the Sub-Mariner often lent his incredible strength and exalted heroism towards the fight for justice and humanity.”

You just gotta space out your Namor reviews, guys.  It’s the only way to do it.  That’s why I haven’t reviewed a Namor figure since 2023.  Also, because I don’t have a *ton* of Namor figures, and I actually haven’t bought any in the mean time.  That might contribute to it as well.  Today’s Namor isn’t even a new Namor.  It’s not even new to me, even.  It’s actually the oldest a Namor figure can be, because it’s the first one he got.  Have I said Namor enough?  Clearly not.  Onto the review proper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Namor the Submariner was released in the third series of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line.  The show had moved onto its second season by this point, which houses neither of Namor’s two appearances, but they didn’t let that hold them back from releasing him.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation…sort of.  The shoulder and elbow on his right arm are both tied into his action feature, so they don’t move particularly well on their own.  On the flip side, he does get an additional wrist swivel on that side, so there’s some extra movement there.  Namor got an all-new sculpt for this release (which would later be re-tooled into Ryu for the X-Men vs Street Fighter line), based on his design from the show, which was itself based on his ‘90s comics design.  It generally sticks to his classic green speedo look, with one notable change-up: a pretty rad ponytail!  Yeah, Imperius Rex needed to show off that he was hip, and cool, and down with it, so he got a pony tail.  The thing that’s always struck me about this mold is that he just sort of feels wide.  Or squat.  Or something.  The proportions seem off.  I do like the scale texturing on the shorts, though, and the little ankle wings work surprisingly well.  There’s a button on his back that, when pushed, extends his right arm forward, for something of a lunging attack if he’s hold his trident.  The figure’s color work is fine.  Generally basic, but it does what it needs to.  Mine’s taken a slight beating over the years, but it’s not awful.  Namor is packed with his trident and a shield, which can both be easily held in his hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Namor is one of my earliest figures from this line.  Series 3 had just hit when I was getting into action figures, so he and the Thing were probably my first two FF figures, I’d imagine?  I actually already knew Namor pretty well at the time, because I had a bunch of VHS tapes with his Ruby-Spears cartoon on them, which gave him a decent amount of focus from me.  He was my only Namor until the Legends figure came out, and he definitely got a lot of play time.  He’s easily one of the most dated figures in the line, but he works in his own sort of quirky way.

#3961: Annihilus

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ANNIHILUS

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“An experimental spore, released on a planet in the anti-matter universe known as the Negative Zone rapidly grew, and developed into the insectivoid entity called Annihilus. Cosmic power, harnessed through a Control Rod, grants Annihilus super-human strength and extends his life to near immortality. With superior intelligence and a mastery of the alien technology that spawned him, Annihilus has dedicated his existence to conquering any being that threatens his insane quest for power.”

Last month, I was discussing Blastaar, one of the more notable denizens of the Negative Zone, a deposed ruler who faced down with the Fantastic Four on multiple occasions.  The ruler who deposed him, who became an even more persistent thorn in the FF, and many more heroes’ sides, is Annihilus, the bug-like guy to Blastaar’s simian-like guy.  Annihilus has certainly been the more prevalent of the two when it comes to toy coverage, being the FF’s second villain to be released during the Marvel Super Heroes line, and then also getting a follow-up during the proper Fantastic Four line, which I’m taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Annihilus was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line, amusing because he was also a Series 3 release for Marvel Super Heroes.  He followed up on Blastaar’s release in Series 2.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  He lacks neck articulation, but gets a hinge on his wings, sans he flapping feature present on the prior version.  While the MSH figure was rather on the scrawny side, this one follows the look he had on the show, where he was a bit more bulked up.  He’s certainly a lot wider.  The sculpt was all-new and all unique, and it’s pretty solid.  The best work is on the head, which gets some clean line-work.  Said head can be removed from the main body, showing a smaller, curled up body, which is presumably the “transforming mutant” feature advertised on the packaging.  The figure’s coloring is the appropriate mix of green and…well, it’s not quite purple, it’s more of a mauve?  It’s the color he usually gets.  Color work is basic, but gets the job done, and the paint’s pretty clean, if perhaps a it uneven on some of the edges.  Annihilus is packed with a pair of spiky removable shoulder pads, for all your spiky removable shoulder pad-related needs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Annihilus here is another addition to my collection from my early 2000s trip to the KB Toys liquidation center.  I didn’t know him much before owning the figure, but getting this guy prompted me to find out more about him.  Ultimately, he’s not a character that’s really stuck with me, but I do think he’s got a killer visual, and I like his older appearances.  I like the MSH figure, but he’s dated.  Of the two, this one’s the stronger figure, and he’s certainly got a neat presence on the shelf.

#3957: Triton

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

TRITON

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“Cousin of the mighty Black Bolt, Triton is another powerful member of the Royal Family called the Inhumans! Like his relatives before him, Triton was exposed to the mutagenetic qualities of the Terrigen Mists at an early age. He emerged with aquatic mutations that included dorsal fins, and a scaly green skin which covered his body. Super-strong but unable to breath out of water, Triton uses an intricate infiltration system to respirate when his adventures with the Inhumans bring him to the surface land.”

Hey, remember when I was talking about the Inhumans a couple of weeks ago?  Well, I’m talking about them again, as it seems.  Since the group was introduced in the pages of Fantastic Four, Toy Biz used the FF tie-in line as a way to introduce them to the action figure world as well, putting one of them in per series.  Black Bolt led the charge in Series 1, followed by ol’ stompy boy Gorgon in Series 2.  For Series 3, Toy Biz went with the aquatic guy.  No, not Aquaman.  Or Sub-Mariner.  Or Abe Sapien.  It’s the other guy, Triton.  You know, the one what hangs out with the Inhumans?  That’s the one.  Let’s look at Triton.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Triton was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four tie-in line, which contains a whopping *three* underwater guys.  That’s crazy.  He slightly predates the character’s appearance in the show, but not by quite as much as the other two.  It does, however, mean that he’s not *quite* on model for the character’s animated appearances, but he’s not super far off either, so it’s not a big deal.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Generally, it’s the basic set-up, but he’s got an action feature in the shoulders, which doesn’t eliminate their movement, but does make it a little bit…wonky?  His sculpt’s okay.  It was new to him, but got re-used later down the line for an aquatic Spidey variant.  It seems maybe a touch bulky for Triton, especially when compared to the far more reserved builds of Black Bolt and Gorgon, who are traditionally a little bigger than he is.  But, there’s a lot of fun texture detail work, which is always fun.  The webbed hands, though not accurate to the show, and an incredibly neat detail, which I do quite love.  Triton’s color work is basic, but does what it needs to, replicating that purple/green combo that makes you think he might be a villain even though he’s actually not.  Triton was packed with two accessories: a shark and a sea trumpet.  The shark has a spring-loaded jaw, which I do rather love, but it’s also got no real way at all to actually interact with Triton at all.  The trumpet is at least shaped in such a way that you can loop it over his hand so he can hold it.  Both accessories feel a bit more Sub-Mariner than they do Triton, but neither is a bad piece or anything.  He’s also got a “swimming” feature; squeezing his legs makes his arms swing downward at the shoulders.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

During our many runs to Ageless Heroes, a comic store near my parents’ house that closed down in 1999, my dad got most of the Inhumans, which included Triton.  I didn’t get one at the time, but I always liked the figure, so when I found him amongst the piles of other Toy Biz figures at the KB liquidation center in 2003, he was the one I absolutely made sure to grab.  Though I’ve never had much attachment to the character, I nevertheless made a lot of use of the figure, and I still do really think he’s quite a nifty figure.

#3955: Fantastic Four

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

MISTER FANTASTIC, INVISIBLE WOMAN, THE THING, & HUMAN TORCH

WORLD’S GREATEST SUPER HEROES (MEGO)

Hey, remember last week when I was talking about Mego, specifically how they finally got a chance to bring back Marvel?  Cool, well, there’s more of that going on today.  Yaaaaaaaaay.  In light of the insanity that was the drop for the Spider-Man-themed set, Mego partnered again with Disney for a follow-up, this time based on Marvel’s first family, the Fantastic Four, in a lead up to their 2025 film release over the summer.  Sure, I didn’t have them before the movie’s theatrical run, but I have a nice tie-in with it dropping on Disney+, so how ‘bout that synergy?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, The Thing, and Human Torch are the second set in the Marvel sub-set of the revived World’s Greatest Super Heroes.  As with the first set, they went up for pre-order through Disney’s online store, and then started showing up intermittently at the actual parks locations after that.  The set includes the four, each in their own replica box, as well as a coin, much like the Spidey one, based on the ones available in the Marvel in-house ads in the ‘70s, this time showing off the whole team.  Notably, unlike the last set, this set is all reproductions, with no new characters.

MISTER FANTASTIC

Leader of the team and best signifier of the “standard” uniform, it’s Reed Richards, Mister Fantastic.  Or, Mr. Fantastic if you’re more for brevity.  I’m not often for brevity, but this is apparently one of the places I am, so there’s that.  The figure stands 8 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  As with all of the more recent figures, he’s using the revamped bandless body, which is a generally good piece, apart from some slightly reduced range on the elbows and knees.  It does mean you can’t “stretch” him like the old one, but you really shouldn’t have been doing that in the first place, right?  He gets a recreation of the original Mego Reed head, which is honestly one of their nicest standard person heads.  It’s very dignified and scientistly, as a Reed Richards head should be.  His outfit is a multi-piece assembly, with a jumpsuit that has an attached collar and belt, and plastic boots and gloves.  These guys were notable in their use of plastic gloves, rather than the vinyl mittens of the earlier figures.  They look better, but also mean the hands can’t be used practically.  The jumpsuit has a sort of rubberized logo on the front, which looks really nice and also holds up well, and just generally has a pretty nice presence. 

INVISIBLE WOMAN

Also doing the whole standard uniform thing is Sue Storm/Richards, the Invisible Girl/Woman.  At the time of the original figure’s release, she was already Sue Richards, but was still operating as Invisible Girl, which her original packaging reflected.  She changed it to Invisible Woman during Byrne’s run on the book a decade after the original figure’s release, and that’s a change that’s stuck, so for the purposes of some synergy, her box has been adjusted with the appropriate name.  She stands 8 inches tall and she has 16 points of articulation.  Unlike the men, who get the new and improved bandless body, Sue’s still on an older version of the female body.  This one’s slightly modified from the original, in that the neck is attached to the torso.  Also, like every replica of the original female body, the hips are really square and wide, which looks kinda odd.  She’s got her original head, complete with its rooted hair, which manages to not look too crazy or weird.  Her outfit is a close mirror of the one on Reed, albeit tailored to the different body.

THE THING

Hey, it’s the guy what knows when it’s time to clobber stuff!  Our first deviation from the standard get-up is Benjamin J Grimm in his little blue shorts.  The figure stands 7 3/4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation.  As with his original release, Ben is the shortest of the four, by virtue of the “bulked up” body he was using (which the original shared with the Hulk).  This one’s upgraded to the bandless construction, which means that, where the original lost a fair bit of the articulation on the standard male body, this one actually keeps the same general set-up as the regular.  The only change-up is the elbows, which, due to the flipped nature of the construction, don’t actually get the side to side movement.  He gets his original head sculpt.  It gets kind of a bad rap, I think, with all the “it’s napping time” comments and the like, but I’ve personally always loved it, in all its hokey glory.  He also gets unique hands and forearms, which feature the rocky detailing, much like the original, but now with wrist articulation.  Ben’s outfit is just a jumpsuit, which gets the attached belt to match the other two.  Most of it is depicting his rocky texture, which us silk screened onto the suit.  It’s a surprisingly effective pattern, very evocative Kirby’s illustrations of the character.

HUMAN TORCH

Also deviating from the standard gear, it’s Johnny Storm, depicted here in all his fully flamed-on glory.  He matches Reed in terms of height and articulation, since he too is built on the basic updated body.  He gets a replica of the original’s head.  The original sculpt does its best to replicate the flamed-on look, which is tricky to get into three dimensions.  Ultimately, the success is, I think, at best, spotty.  But, that’s been the case for almost 50 years, so it is what it is.  Johnny’s outfit is the simplest of the four, just a jumpsuit, not even a belt like the other three.  Like Ben, Johnny’s outfit has a silk screened pattern to try to get his flame effects down, but I don’t think it works as well.  It just sort of looks like shapes, not really fire.  At the very least, the tried something different, which is better than not.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had none of the FF for myself as a kid, but my dad had a full set that got a lot of playtime from me when I’d stay at my grandparents house, usually while watching my *totally legal* VHS copy of the ‘90s Fantastic Four movie.  I tried to get my own equivalent via Toy Biz’s Famous Covers, but they stopped with just Reed and Sue, as Toy Biz loved to do.  I tried to get these when they went live on the site, but they sold out in, like, five minutes, so that was a no.  But, during the Disney trip where my dad was able to order the Spidey set, he was also able to find these in person, so he snagged an extra for me.  My opinions on these pretty much just replicate my feelings on the originals.  Ben’s definitely my favorite, and I love the new base body.  Reed and Sue are both very nice.  Johnny is kind of the weak link, but that’s always been the case, really.

#3953: Super-Skrull

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

SUPER-SKRULL

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“By the order of his Emperor, a select Skrull warrior was bionically re-engineered to become the living weapon in a plot of revenge against the world’s greatest super-hero team. Through advanced technological means, the Super-Skrull was granted the ability to perfectly mimic each of the powers of the Fantastic Four! Sworn to bestow a crushing defeat upon Mister Fantastic, The Thing, The Invisible Woman, and the Human Torch, Super-Skrull seizes the combined force of their awesome powers, and throws it back at them with a bitter vengeance.”

The shape-shifting aliens the Skrulls are one of Lee and Kirby’s earliest additions to the Marvel Universe after launching the Fantastic Four, appearing in the second issue of the series.  Just over a year later, in issue #18, they would get an upgrade in the form of Kl’rt, the Super-Skrull, a Skrull warrior imbued with the powers of all four members of the titular team.  He’s been perhaps the most notable and prominent recurring Skrull since his introduction, facing down not only the FF, but a fair number of other Marvel heroes along the way, and even becoming less antagonistic from time to time.  He’s had a handful of figures over the years, the first of which came from Toy Biz in the ‘90s.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Super Skrull was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line, designed to tie-in with the show of the same era.  Super-Skrull appeared in the show’s first season, sporting his classic design, and this figure serves as a pretty close adaptation of that set-up.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  He’s largely got the standard set-up for movement, but the right arm just gets a swivel at the elbow, rather than a hinge, due to how his action feature works.  His sculpt was unique to him.  It’s very…wide.  Admittedly, that’s true to his Season 1 design, which was itself true to his ‘80s/early ‘90s depictions.  It’s certainly not a bad sculpt, and feels pretty in line with the character. The head’s suitably angry and sporting that signature wrinkly chin, and the arms do an okay job of selling the combined powers of Reed, Ben, and Johnny.  His right arm sports an action feature that extends the fist outward when the button on his shoulder is pressed.  It’s the same basic gimmick used by Doom, but it makes a bit more sense here.  Honestly, it’s a bit odd it never got used for Reed, since it’s his power it’s meant to replicate, but that’s a whole other thing.  His color work is basic.  It’s bright, and again matches the Season 1 look.  I’ve never been crazy about the blue used on the cowl and mid-section of the torso; I definitely prefer the usual black there, and I don’t feel it’s a great contrast here.  Otherwise, though, things work pretty well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Super-Skrull is another purchase courtesy of the one single trip I got to take to the KB liquidation center with my Grandmother, back in the early ‘00s.  I recall this one being one I was particularly excited to find, because he wasn’t one you saw nearly as often as the rest of the figures.  He’s definitely based on a very specific incarnation of the character, but it works, and I think he results in a pretty clean, pretty fun little figure.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0051: Firelord

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

FIRELORD

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

I started the week with som Toy Biz Fantastic Four, why not wrap the week with a revisit to the line?  That’s what a good Flashback Friday Figure Addendum is all about!  So, let’s return to a guy who’s probably not cracking top three on Galactus’ Heralds, Firelord!

“Once a herald of the world-devouring Galactus, Firelord was granted absolute control over all flames by his former master. Now freed from servitude, he wanders the spaceways, using his cosmic power to take what he desires! Unprincipled and mercenary, Firelord conceals his true demeanor beneath a facade of nobility and culture, but always displays his blazing abilities for all to marvel at…and fear!”

After Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced the concept of Galactus, and in turn his herald Silver Surfer, and then almost immediately dismantling it by having the Surfer removed from the role of herald at the end of that very story, it seemed Galactus was in need of a new herald to keep things running. The first replacement for Surfer was Air-Walker, a Xandarian who’s first appearance was not even the man himself, but a robotic duplicate, created by Galactus after the original died. The next herald after Air-Walker was another Xandarian (who was actually a friend of Air-Walker pre-herald transformation), Firelord. Firelord would follow in the path set by Silver Surfer, eventually asking to be released from his duties as herald, and forging out on his own. He’s remained a minor recurring character on the cosmic side of things at Marvel. As a herald of Galactus, he got himself a spot in Toy Biz’s FF line in the ’90s. I’m taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Firelord was released in Series 2 of the Fantastic Four line. Unlike Thanos, who was notably never in the cartoon that the line was tying into, Firelord actually got a brief appearance on the show. Not that it really amounted to much, since it was little more than a cameo, but hey, there it was. Of note, he was actually voiced by Alan Oppenheimer, better known as the voice of Skeletor. Fun times. Until his Minimate release, this was Firelord’s only action figure. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. He sports a sculpt that remained unique to this release. It’s a pretty decent one. Nothing overly showy or anything. Generally it just sticks to the basics, but it’s good at that. He’s got some minor detailing for the flame effects, which are a little on the soft side, but get the point across. The strongest portion of the sculpt is definitely the head, which sticks closer to the comics interpretation of the character, with his rather other-worldly cheek bones and all. Firelord’s paint work is alright. It’s not quite as bold and differentiated as some of his colors tended to be in the comics, but the general look again works pretty well, apart from some slight muddying of the colors without any real clear outlines. That said, it’s not terrible. Not terrible at all. Firelord was packed with his flaming staff, dubbed “Cosmic Flame Launcher” on the package. It’s in two parts, and one part launched like a missile out of the other. I’ve only actually got the missile part anymore, which is the half that looks more convincingly like his staff anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve mentioned before on the site about Ageless Heroes, a comic store nearby that had a rather huge going out of business sale when I was between six and seven. It served as a pretty sizable boon to my 5 inch Marvel collection as a kid. Firelord here was one of the figures from that boon. He wasn’t actually bought as Firelord, since I didn’t really know the character, but instead got initial use as a Jim Hammond Human Torch. I did eventually learn who Firelord was, courtesy of a copy of his appearance in Uncanny Origins, which I got from Ageless Heroes’ back-issues, in fact. He’s not a perfect figure, or anything, but he’s certainly one I got a lot of use out of as a kid.

That review was from 2022, making it an astoundingly new review for a revisit.  Curiously, it managed to only *just* beat the Legends Firelord’s release, so I still reviewed them chronologically.  We won’t bring up that the Minimate should be between the two of them, though, because it makes me look bad, and I don’t do that around here.  Never.  It hasn’t been enough time for me to really change my opinion on the figure, so I shan’t.  I will, however, show off the newly replaced other half of his staff, because there it is!  It’s real bulky, and pretty much impossible for him to hold and seems needlessly complicated, but there it is.

#3949: The Thing II

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

THE THING II

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“Bombarded by cosmic rays during an exploration in deep space, Ben Grimm’s body underwent an extraordinary transformation. His strength, endurance and durability were boosted to super-human levels and his skin became an orange colored, rock-like armor. As a member of the Fantastic Four, The Thing is a sworn protector against villainy and threats of conquest, but his monsterish appearance has always remained his greatest enemy. Often feeling the need to disguise himself when entering public, Grimm’s crude camouflage poorly covers the heart and soul of a true, blue-eyed hero.”

While the team has always shared equal footing within the confines of the book, and have always been equally billed, there’s no denying that there’s an unprecedented break-out character from the quartet that is the Fantastic Four, and that’s Benjamin J. Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing.  Curiously, when Toy Biz put together their line based on the team, Ben was, through odd circumstances, *not* the first to double up on figures, as both of the Storm siblings beat him to the punch.  But, he was the first to get a properly planned variant, and also one that made a good degree of sense.  Since Ben’s rocky-form can’t turn on and off like the others (most of the time, anyway), he frequently had to hide himself away under a baseball cap, a colored hoody, and a pair of Aviators a trench coat, glasses, and hat.  It’s a signature look that’s been adapted a number of times, including as part of the very first Toy Biz line, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Thing II was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line.  He was the only member of the team present in this particular line-up, which was otherwise a much wackier collection of characters.  The figure is just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  His bulky stature means even with the standard articulation, he’s not exactly agile, but you can get some subtle variations of his standing around pose.  While it would seem like a great time to re-use parts from the first version, this figure sported an entirely new sculpt.  The line was generally a loose tie-in to the show running at the time, but Ben marks a departure from “loose,” being a pretty spot-on recreation of his animation model from the show.  Of course, it’s his Season 1 model, which was far more cartoony and goofy, and stands out more from the rest of the line, and which was phased out of the show in the same year this figure was released.  It does okay by the design, though, and certainly captures its more bold line-work and cleaner rock structures.  It’s certainly a more huggable Thing.  The figure comes out of the box wrapped in a cloth coat.  It’s a very thin material, and also not *technically* designed for removal, since it’s tied shut with a very tight knot.  You can remove it, though that certainly makes it more prone to damage.  The figure’s paint work is fairly light, with just the eyes and shorts, which appear to be the same two colors.  It’s perfectly fine it its application.  The shade of orange plastic used for the bulk of the body does seem a touch pale, but it’s at least a bit better than the Marvel Super Heroes version.  Ben is packed with his hat and sunglasses, which are specially molded to fit over his head.  They do okay, and round out his disguised look nicely.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I came into the line a little bit after launch, this was my first figure of the Thing.  Mine, of course, immediately had the coat torn off and thrown aside, since I really just wanted the basic figure.  When my Grandmother took me to the KB Toys Liquidation Center in Delaware about a decade later, they still had a pile of this guy, so I got myself a second one, who has kept his jacket on the whole time, so it’s a little nicer.  He’s a very specific take on the character, and it’s interesting to have such a cartoon-specific version of the character, given there aren’t matching figures of the rest of the team.  He’s not incredibly playable, all things told, but he does make a neat enough display piece.

#3945: Gorgon

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

GORGON

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“A member of the mysterious race known only as the Inhumans, Gorgon is one of the staunchest defenders of their hidden city of Attilan. Possessing the ability to cause staggering shockwaves with a stamp of his hoof-like feet, as well as superhuman strength and stamina, Gorgon is a foe to be reckoned with…as those who would exploit or harass his people have discovered, to their regret!”

Apart from a brief stretch of time where Marvel was *really* trying to push them as X-Men replacements, the Inhumans have kind of been a back burner for Marvel.  As supporting players, they’re neat enough, but as the main feature, it’s hard for people to connect.  They’ve struggled pretty fiercely with proper toy coverage, and it’s been a running gag that in 30 years of them getting toys, the royal family’s never been done collectively in one cohesive style.  Hasbro’s finally doing it this year, but in the mean time, I’m running back to near the beginning, with Toy Biz’s second entry in their ultimately incomplete line-up, Gorgon!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gorgon is the final figure in the Series 2 line-up of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line.  He predates the character’s Season 2 debut on the show they were tying into, but uses a design that’s pretty typical classic Gorgon, in line with what the show eventually used.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 9 points or articulation.  While the arm movement’s perfectly fine, the legs are quite stiff.  The right hip is tied into a kicking (or in this case, I guess stomping) feature, same as the first Gambit, so it’s not really for posing, so much as it is either locked down or extended upward.  The non action feature-y left hip doesn’t have much more motion, though, and his knees are also kind of limited.  That said, he can stand there all menacing like, which is most of Gorgon’s thing anyway.  The sculpt is generally pretty good.  It gets all the major points, and certainly looks the part for the character.  He does feel maybe a little small, especially by more modern standards, but it’s not an unreasonable size.  The sculpt’s also a tad soft on a lot of the details.  I do, however, like the detail work on the head, especially his somewhat unkempt hair.  Color work on this figure is decent overall.  The colors match well with his usual depictions, and application on the paint mostly looks good.  He does have a bit of missing paint on his chin, but other than that, the coverage is pretty consistent.  Gorgon is packed with a pair sci-fi rifles, re-purposed from the X-Men line’s Bishop.  Not really Gorgon’s speed, but I guess there was extra space in the package and they wanted to fill it? 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have a Gorgon figure as a kid.  I wasn’t as personally drawn to the Inhumans, so I just stuck with Black Bolt.  My dad had one, which he got during one of our many trips to Ageless Heroes when it was closing down.  I remember messing with it a few times, but not much beyond that.  Ultimately, he wound up third to last on the list for this line, snagged early this year when Rachel and I took a trip down to Factory Antiques Mall.  He was there, he was affordable, and I didn’t have him, so it all worked out.  He’s not without his drawbacks, but he’s also kind of neat in his own right.