Tag Archives: Hasbro

#2421: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Natasha Romanoff reunites with a group of spies from her past to stop a lethal force.”

Hey, remember when I reviewed that one stray Black Widow figure last week?  Good, because if I’m honest, I only barely do.  It’s been like three weeks my time, so it’s but a distant memory.  Black Widow?  Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in quite some time.  Despite the film’s delay to October, all of the toys were set to arrive just before everything went nuts, meaning they’re all out there and ready to go for a movie that’s now six months out. Hey, who am I to knock new toys, though?  I’m kicking these reviews off with another figure of the title character herself, the Black Widow!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow is figure 1 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends, which is the dedicated Black Widow-tie-in assortment.  She’s the first of the four movie-based figures in the main line-up (there’s also the previously reviewed deluxe Widow, which is its own stand alone release).  The deluxe release gave us Natasha in her all-white number from a lot of the promotional material, while this one gives us her in her more standard color scheme.  I’m actually quite a fan of this particular design, as it’s really the closest that the MCU Widow has gotten to her classic ’70s costume from the comics.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  A lot of what’s here is shared with the deluxe release, as I assumed would be the case when I reviewed that figure.  It’s sensible, as it looks like the two designs are rather similar.  This figure gets a new upper torso piece, which changes out the webgear she’s sporting on her shoulders.  Now there’s a spot for her to stow her batons on her back, something I was happy to see after said feature was absent from her Infinity War release.  Beyond that, it’s the same sculpt I looked at before, which is fine by me, because it was a really good sculpt.  The paintwork on this release is overall an improvement on the deluxe’s.  The color scheme of the costume allows for more of the sculpted details to be properly accented, and is just generally a slightly more engaging design.  The only slight down turn is on the face, which doesn’t quite have the same lifelike quality to it that the deluxe release did.  I’m probably going to end up swapping those two heads for my display.  Though not packing quite the same impressive haul as the deluxe figure, this release of Widow still includes two sets of hands (fists and gripping), her dual Markovs, batons, and the left leg to the Crimson Dynamo Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

With things starting to head back into the beginnings of the path to normality, the floodgates have kind of opened up on toy distribution again, so I didn’t have quite as much of a wait for the full assortment of Widow figures as I’d thought I might.  Having quite liked the deluxe release, I was more invested in this one.  Though the face paint was a slight let-down, the figure is otherwise really solid, and definitely the best MCU Widow to date.  Even with the film pushed back, this figure is definitely worth getting a hold of.

Widow was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2413: Soundwave Spy Patrol 3

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

FRENZY, KNOK, WINGTHING, & SKAR

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON: EARTHRISE (HASBRO)

And yet another new item.  Wow, we are just rolling through these new boys, aren’t we?  For what it’s worth, there’s a week of time between Black Widow/Probe Droid and Drake, and then another week from Drake to today’s subject, even though there’s been no gap for you, the readers.  I’ve just been sitting here worried I was gonna have to dig into my old toys again.  I think I might be losing my grip on the now….where was I?  Or, more accurately, *when* was I?  Eh?  Time traveler thing? …Yeah, it’s really not that funny.  Sorry, I’ve not really had real people to run these things by as of late.  …the toys…should review the toys!  Yes, so the toys for today are some more Transformers.  It’s been over a month, so it’s probably time for some more of those!  I’m on record as being quite a Soundwave fan, and something that kind of accompanies that is the need to pick up his support crew, whatever their current alt-mode may be (since cassettes are so passe), and I’ll be taking a look at Soundwave’s Spy Patrol 3 today!  What happened to 2?  Don’t make me hurt you!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This four-pack is one of the online-only (in theory, at least) Transformers Generations: Selects offerings, officially falling under the Earthrise heading.  As I noted when I reviewed fellow Selects offering Hot Shot, these figures make use of minimal new tooling in order to accent the main retail lines.  Though listed as “Soundwave Spy Patrol,” only two of the figures included here are actually really meant for Soundwave, with the other two intended to go along with the Earthrise Doubledealer figure.  All four are technically compatible with Soundwave (and Soundblaster), of course.

FRENZY

One of the original four cassettes, released along with Soundwave in 1984, Frenzy quite frequently receives the short end of the stick on newer releases.  This figure follows that lead, since when it came time to release one of the two humanoid cassette bots, it was Rumble who got first dibs as part of the Spy Patrol 2 set.  Of course, with that set being practically non-existent for most collectors (myself included), maybe Frenzy’s not in quite as bad shape.  In robot mode, he stands just over 2 inches tall and has 9 workable points of articulation.  As one would expect, what with the two characters being always built on the same molds and all, Frenzy is the same sculpt as Rumble.  This is my first exposure to it, and I dig it overall.  Compared to a lot of the Siege and Earthrise stuff, he’s not quite as sleek, but given his alt-more is just a box, I guess a little bit of boxiness is certainly excusable.  He’s also a bit less of an outright figure of his own than the TR-style Frenzy from the Bumblebee cassettes pack, but with the smaller scaling, I find that to be fairly excusable.  Like all of the Spy Patrol guys, Frenzy turns into a definitely-not-a-cassette rectangle, designed to fit in Soundwave’s chest compartment.  I had heard that he was a little too large to properly fit, but I didn’t find this to be an issue with mine, though I did notice he was a little snugger in there then Ravage and Laserbeak.  Not by much, though.

WINGTHING

After the original four cassettes were released, there was one additional cassette added in 1986, Ratbat.  Ratbat made his way into the Siege line proper alongside Rumble, but much like the Rumble/Frenzy re-use, we also get a re-use of the Ratbat mold here as Wingthing, Soundwave’s Action Master partner, who has subsequently been re-worked into another of his cassette boys.  In bat-mode, Wingthing stands an inch and a quarter tall, and has a moving neck, wings, and feet.  His robot mode is decent, but not super posable, or really posable at all, for that matter.  Mostly, the joints are just there to facilitate the transformation scheme.  He’s kind of rudimentary, and doesn’t stand so well, but it’s a cool enough visual, I suppose.  This body’s transformation turns it into less of cassette-esque box than the previous molds.  Said box is even larger than the one Frenzy turns into, so there’s really no way to put it into Soundwave’s chest capacity, which is a definite bummer.

KNOK

Okay, now we jump into the “not technically cassette bots” segment of this set.  First up is Knok, who was originally Doubledealer’s Autobot powermaster, but has now been made a Decepticon, at least according to the instructions included here.  It’s okay, though, because he’s without any sort of insignia, so he can kind of be whatever you want.  Structurally, he’s pretty much the same as Frenzy, but with a new head (one of two new pieces included in the set).  Using the same sculpt as Frenzy means he’s as good as Frenzy, so I can definitely dig that.  Interestingly, in my case, I found that Knok actually fits into Soundwave’s chest cavity even a bit better than Frenzy.

SKAR

Last up is Doubledealer’s other powermaster, Knok’s Decepticon equivalent, Skar.  Skar makes use of the same basic mold as Wingthing/Ratbat.  He’s got a new head (the other new part in the set), but is otherwise identical.  So, you know, same basic issues that I outlined about the mold just above.  Not really my favorite.  He changes up the colors into something more classically decepticon-y, so that’s cool.  Again, he’s got no insignia, but he’s correctly labeled as a Decepticon.  Whatever the case, he can again be what you want.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never saw the Rumble/Ratbat set once, and I was definitely a little bummed about missing out on the Rumble mold.  I was kinda holding out hope for the Frenzy re-deco, though, so this set’s announcement did make me a little happier.  I was even happier when I was actually able to secure one.  It’s funny, because I realized I’ve inexplicably ended up with a Frenzy to go with each of my main Soundwaves.  I’m okay with that.  Knok is pretty cool by virtue of being more or less the same figure as Frenzy.  Wingthing and Skar, I’m not quite as into.  They aren’t bad, nut they aren’t as cleverly designed as the cassettes, made worse by the fact that they aren’t actually compatible with the cassette feature.  Still, a 50/50 split on this set isn’t the worst.

Thanks to All Time Toys for setting me up with these guys to review.  If you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2411: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Natasha Romanoff reunites with a group of spies from her past to stop a lethal force.”

Oh boy, a second new thing!  …Yeah, okay, I mentioned it yesterday, so I guess you guys kind of new this was coming.  So, after years of waiting, we’re finally getting a Black Widow solo film…you know, six months after we were supposed to.  To be fair, that feels about right for the track record of getting the solo film out so far.  A smooth journey never really was part of the process.  There are some things that you can’t really put a stop to, even if you move a movie’s release date.  In Widow‘s case, it’s all the tie-ins.  While the movie won’t be out for another six months, all the toys are starting to show up now anyway.  Oh darn, new toys.  What am I gonna do?  Write some reviews, probably.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

While there is a specific Black Widow-themed assortment of Marvel Legends that is hitting some places right now, this particular version of Widow is a solo-offering hitting alongside them, and is set up at the deluxe range price point like Archangel and the reissues of the Build-A-Figures.  While the standard release will be giving us Natasha in her more typical black attire, this release is based on the all-white number we’ve seen her in for a lot of the promotional material.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Widow is an all-new sculpt (albeit one that has a large overlap with the standard release in terms of pieces), not relying on prior figures.  That’s good, because much like Cap’s Winter Solider figure got milked just a bit too much, so did Nat’s.  And, while the Infinity War version was a nice figure, the differences in costume design definitely warranted an all-new approach.  It’s the best MCU Natasha sculpt we’ve gotten, and I say this as someone who was quite a fan of both of the prior sculpts.  Something about this particular figure really seems to get down Scarlet Johansen’s build in a way that previous releases didn’t.  In particular, the last two figures were both a little bit skinny for Johansen, at least for any of the movies past IM2.  This slightly more solid build feels like a much better match, and makes for a sturdier figure as well.  The head also has our best Johansen likeness from Hasbro to date.  They’ve been steadily improving with each Widow they’ve done, and it seems to have really paid off here.  The paint work on this figure is fairly basic.  The head’s got the face printing, so that’s quite lifelike, but the body feels a little more devoid of anything.  I feel like a little more accenting would have gone a long way; the all-white nature of the body means that a lot of the really nice sculpted details are a little more easily lost.  Perhaps the standard release will be better in this regard.  As it stands, this version is certainly passable.  What sets this figure apart from the standard release even more than just the color of her suit is her accessory selection, which helps to justify that deluxe price-point.  Widow is packed with three sets of hands (in fists, gripping, and trigger finger), two Markovs (thanks again to Tim for the gun ID), a pair of hooked weapons, seven different effects pieces covering all manner of explosions, gunfire, and her widow’s stingers, and a dynamic display stand.  It’s an impressive selection, and a far cry from the days when Widow couldn’t even get a single pistol of her own.  Now she’s got stuff to spare, and I can definitely see this set being picked up by a lot of people just for the accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The story of how I got Widow here is pretty much the same as yesterday’s Probe Droid: All Time got her in right as I was hitting the peak of my “I haven’t bought anything new to review in a while” phase.  I was definitely planning to get this figure, but didn’t know what to expect.  She’s a lot of fun, both just as a figure, and as an excuse to get a lot of cool accessories.  I’m actually kind of glad I got her divorced from the standard release, because it lets me look at the two Widows on their own merits a bit more.  I think the core figure to this one might have gotten the short end of the stick otherwise.

As noted above, Widow was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2410: Imperial Probe Droid

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

IMPERIAL PROBE DROID

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Tenacious hunters, probe droids are armed with powerful blasters.”

Oh my, could it be?  Could it actually be something new on the site?  Yeah, I’m as surprised as all of you.  I was fully expecting the delving into the back catalog to go on a little bit longer…it actually might still, but at the very least, I’ve two new items for today and tomorrow to keep everyone feeling at least a little bit up to date (or as up to date as a review written a month ago can be…I built up quite a buffer you guys).  So, what’s the new thing?  Well, technically something old.  2020 marks the 40th Anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, and so Hasbro’s kind of re-orienting their various Star Wars lines this year in order to tie in with that a bit.  Some of the vintage-style-cardback figures have slipped out early, but the first real release of the 40th stuff is the next entry in the Black Series deluxe line-up, the Imperial Probe Droid.  As the first thing the audience sees in Empire, I suppose it’s a pretty fitting way of launching things, so let’s get right into it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Imperial Probe Droid is figure D3 in the Black Series line-up, putting him right after the (no longer Best Buy-exclusive) Heavy Infantry Mandalorian.  It marks the Probe Droid’s fourth time in figure form, coming fairly closely to the third, which was released with the Last Jedi stuff in 2017.  On its base, the Droid stands, or floats rather, 8 1/4 inches tall and it has 23 points of articulation.  The smaller Probot was quite well articulated for the line he came from, and this guy does even better, with joints at pretty much all the spots that there are joints on the actual thing.  You’d be surprised how rare an occurrence that is.  In terms of the sculpt, this figure feels very much like an upscaling of the Last Jedi figure, which I suppose makes sense, because it effectively is.  They are adapting the same source material after all.  It’s even more sharply detailed this time, as you would expect for something with this much more canvas to work with.  In general, it’s just a very technically impressive sculpt, and the only way you’re really going to get better is with something on the much more high-end side of things.  And even then, that goes into the question of more details just being more attainable at a larger scale.  While the smaller Probot was light on the paint front, this one is actually pretty involved.  There’s a lot of really nifty little detail work, with all sorts of wear and tear worked in on the body’s main chunk.  It makes him look like a real working robot, and it really sells that signature used styling of the Star Wars universe.  The Probe Droid is a bit hard to accessorize, since it’s not like it uses a lot of stuff.  This guy gets a base to allow for a simulation of its usual hovering.  It’s the one area where I don’t feel this is quite as across the board an improvement on that smaller release, as they’ve opted to go with a more environment based stand, rather than the all clear like the prior figure.  It doesn’t look bad, and the snowy grounds of Hoth are the only time we see the bot in the movie, but it’s a little bit less versatile than I’d like, since I’m not really one for diorama set-ups.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Probe Droid is my first new toy purchase in roughly a month…or at least was when I wrote this review back in April.  I don’t know what antics future Ethan’s gotten up to in the mean time, but I’m sure we’ll all find out together.  While I wasn’t quite as excited as some when the figure was shown off (I was pretty darn happy with that smaller-scale one), I’ve kind of given in on owning most things Black Series these days.  Whatever the case, All Time got them in stock, and I, as previously noted, hadn’t gotten anything new, so, yeah, sign me up for that.  I’m glad I picked him up, because he’s the best Probe Droid out there, and a cool centerpiece to the Empire collection I’m going on only further build during this coming year.

As noted above, the Probe Droid was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2405: Jarek Yeager & Bucket (R1-J5)

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

JAREK YEAGER & BUCKET (R1-J5)

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“Jarek Yeager runs a repair shop on the Colossus refueling station, enjoying the solitude of being so far off the beaten paths of the galaxy. Bucket has been Jarek Yeager’s loyal astromech for years, and despite being a battered, decrepit droid addled by outdated, glitching programming, is also a skilled mechanic.”

I told you there would be one more day of this, and I’m a man of my word.  So, here’s another day of this here Resistance stuff, because what else am I going to review? The other 2,300 figures still left unreviewed in my collection?  Don’t be preposterous.  I couldn’t do that….Today, I round out the Resistance stuff I have with a two-fer–Jarek Yeager and Bucket!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Jarek and Bucket are again part of the launch assortment of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Resistance line, which hit in early 2019.  They were part of the same not-quite-so-basic assortment as Poe & BB-8.

Jarek’s up first, since he’s the standard normal figure of the set.  He stands 4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is not very outwardly impressive, I suppose.  There’s not exactly a lot going on with his design, so at first glance the sculpt seems perhaps a little “meh.”  However, there’s actually a lot going on here, and the detail work on this guy is really sharp.  The head in particular, with its separate hair piece, really has depth to it, and really captures the character’s design from the show.  Like the sculpt, Jarek’s paint is kind of drab and boring at first glance, but it’s got more going on than you might realize.  The face is the sharpest part by far, but the whole figure looks pretty good, with minimal bleed over and slop throughout.  Jarek is packed with a blaster pistol and an extra helmeted head, much like Tora, though unlike Tora, there’s no face in this one.  It’s better when he’s holding it, but has the flipside of looking quite strange when it’s popped onto the body.

Also included is Bucket, Resistance‘s resident whacky droid, and probably the main selling point of this set for most people, I’d say.  The figure’s 2 1/4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  That’s right, he’s got more articulation than the standard figure’s he’s included with.  Yeah, it’s pretty crazy.  It’s all pretty useful, too, and he’s the most fun of these figures to mess around with.  The sculpt is a very technically impressive one.  There are a lot of layers to it, making for a decent depiction of a deconstructed astromech.  The paint’s also pretty eye-catching, especially that fighter helmet he’s got.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Jarek and Bucket here at the same time as Tora and Synara.  I had actually looked at this particular set once or twice before the clearance prices set in, mostly because I really liked the look of Bucket, but I just never got around to picking them up.  When given the chance at a lowered price, it was a very easy sell.  Bucket’s the star here, but Jarek’s honestly no slouch either.  I’d say this set is probably my favorite thing to come out of the Resistance line.  I really wish I’d supported the line in full back when it was first released, because it was really cool.

#2404: Synara San

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

SYNARA SAN

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“A salvager who scours the oceans and islands of Castilon for crashed starships, Synara keeps much to herself.”

Well, I sure hope you liked yesterday’s Star Wars: Resistance-themed review, because there’s two more of these suckers where that one came from.  Yes, let’s jump into the further adventures of Ethan reviewing toys from a show he’s seen like three episodes of!  That’s always fun and exciting, isn’t it?  And this time, I’m even reviewing a character from beyond the episodes I’ve watched!  Yay!  Let’s have a look at *checks packaging* Synara San!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Synara San is another figure from the basic assortment of Star Wars: Resistance figures.  She’s the last of the “heroic” characters from the assortment, with the remaining slots being filled by General Pyre and a Stormtrooper.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  Synara’s another all-new sculpt, and definitely another nice one.  She’s actually a little bit pre-posed, with a sort of shifted weight approach.  It’s a very natural appearance, and sells that she’s got that slightly seedier background than the others.  Sculpturally, she’s also one of the less stylistic figures in the set, and I dare say she wouldn’t look too out of place with the main line figures.  I like the scavanged gear aspect of this figure, and I’m especially a fan of the various Biker Scout stuff she’s got.  That’s a really cool touch.  Synara’s paint scheme is a little more subdued than some of the others in the assortment, but it’s still pretty eye-catching, and I liked how crisp it is, especially on her face.  She doesn’t have any of the major application issues that Tora did, which is a definite plus in my book.  Synara is packed with a removable helmet (which is of a similar design to the one Lando was sporting in Jedi) and a blaster pistol, which is a pretty nice combo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Synara at the same time as Tora, a little bit after the kind of “meh” Triple Force Friday launch.  I was itching for some more toyetic Star Wars love, and these guys definitely worked to tide me over.  While I mostly just grabbed Synara because I was grabbing everything Target had on clearance from the line, and not so much because her specific design appealed to me, I do have to say I really like the figure a lot after getting to sit down and mess with her a bit.

#2403: Torra Doza

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

TORRA DOZA

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE (HASBRO)

“A daring pilot at the Colossus station with a sense of flair and competitiveness, Torra Doza has the combined energy of a hotshot ace and a fifteen-year old.”

Okay, what else do I have that I can review?  *Looks around desk*  Hey, do you guys want to read about some more Star Wars stuff?  I’ve got a bunch of that.  I mean, it’s kind of new.  Demented and sad, but kinda new.  In 2018, Disney launched a sequel-era Star Wars cartoon, dubbed Star Wars: Resistance, alongside a small assortment of figures based on the characters from the show.  Included in the line were a number of the Resistance pilots featured in the series.  I’ll be looking at one of them, Torra Doza, today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Torra Doza is another basic figure from the first (and only) assortment of Star Wars Resistance figures.  She stands 3 1/2 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Torra’s sculpt is all-new to her, and like the others I’ve looked at so far, it’s a pretty spot-on recreation of her animation model from the show.  It’s not quite as sharp a sculpt as Kaz’s, but it’s still got some pretty cool little details going into it, especially on the boots and gloves.  The rest of the details are very clean looking, and the figure’s certainly quite slick.  Rather than getting a removable helmet (which would no doubt be quite difficult with her hair), Torra has a second head, with the helmet permanently attached. It’s fairly nice, but the presence of the eyes makes it look really weird if you have her holding it while unmasked.  Torra’s paintwork is quite colorful, as is the case with most of the Resistance figures.  I appreciate the very bright colors, as they aren’t always as common with Star Wars figures.  The application on the head is very sharp, but the body suffers a bit.  In particular, on my figure the paint on her neck is mostly covered by the blue of the jumpsuit, rather than being the appropriate flesh tone.  Though her hand appears to be molded for a blaster of some sort, Torra’s only accessory is the previously mentioned helmeted head.  It feels a little light, and is made worse by the fact that she’s yet another pilot without a ship to fly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After the lack of any sort of basic line component to the Rise of Skywalker product, I decided I wanted at least a little bit of a 5POA fix, and set about tracking down these guys, seeing as I’d liked the Poe figure so much.  Fortunately for me, that was right around the time that Target was clearancing them out, so I was able to get a handful of the figures that way, Torra included.  The paint’s a bit of a mess, and I wish she had at least one more accessory, but I do really quite like this figure.

#2400: Cobra (The Enemy)

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

COBRA (THE ENEMY)

G.I. JOE: 25TH ANNIVERSARY (HASBRO)

“One of the nameless, faceless legions of COBRA Command. Each COBRA is highly skilled in the use of explosives, all NATO and Warsaw Pact small arms, sabotage, and the martial arts.”

Okay, let’s go back to the well of the randomly generated list of reviews, shall we?  What are we gonna do today, Brain?  Same thing we do every day, Pinky: try to take over the world.  If you’re gonna take over the world, you need some good, solid faceless minions.  Also, if you’re going to launch a toyline with a limited tooling budget which really only covers the main heroes, leaving the space for only a single villain figure, the faceless minions also help there.  When G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was launched in 1982, they had one villain: Cobra, subtitle “The Enemy.”  Later, that same figure would be more commonly referred to as the Cobra Trooper, as the line grew and Cobra became a much larger organization.  But, that name, Cobra –  The Enemy, stuck with people, so when the 25th Anniversary line was launched in 2007, it was used for a couple of figures before “Cobra Trooper” took hold again as the go-to name.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cobra (The Enemy) was released in the second wave of single carded 25th Anniversary figures in 2007.  He was the third Cobra Trooper variant in the line, following the slightly different Cobra (The Enemy) released in Battle Pack #1 and the Cobra Officer released in the first wave of singles.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 22 points of articulation.  As one of the earlier figures from the line, he suffers from some rather restricted movement on the elbows, which can’t quite make a full 90 degree bend.  It affects his ability to properly hold his weapon, but otherwise he manages alright.  He just needs some creative posing.  All three of the ’07 Cobras share the same core body.  It’s a respectable update of the original ’82 design, now with more removable gear and depth to its design.  Both his helmet and webgear are separate, removable pieces.  The webgear’s a little bit on the floaty side, but looks decent enough, but the helmet stays nice and snug.  Perhaps a little too snug, even….I’ll touch on that in the paint section.  Hey, let’s jump over to the paint section.  For the most part, he’s pretty good.  Application’s clean, and everything looks pretty sharp.  Technically, the Cobra insignia being silver’s not really a regular Cobra thing.  Were it not for the black gloves in place of blue, this guy would actually be spot-on for the deco from 1983’s Viper Pilot figure, which didn’t actually get an update, so there you have it.  The only true issue with the figure’s paint concerns that tight helmet, and the fact that it’s placed on the figure in the package.  It got a little stuck on mine and ended up taking some of the skin tone from the sides of the head with it.  It’s a little distracting when the helmet’s off.  Cobra (The Enemy) is packed with a rifle, a short blade, and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Cobra (The Enemy) came relatively early into my 25th collecting, which was, of course, after the line had pretty much wrapped.  I had gotten the Resolute sets and wanted more figures.  Cosmic Comix had a handful of figures, including Hawk, Sgt. Flash, and this guy.  He mostly came along for the ride with the other two, because I didn’t want to just leave him behind.  He’s hardly my favorite Cobra Trooper in my collection, but at the same time, he’s not a bad figure.  He at the very least does a decent job of filling in the ranks.

#2399: Green Arrow

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

GREEN ARROW

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

“Expertly trained in archery and martial arts, young Connor Hawke now fights as the Green Arrow, taking the place of father, Oliver Queen, who died in battle after a lifetime of crimefighting. Armed with his enhanced action/reaction Fractal Techgear mega longbow, the new Green Arrow slings fear into the hearts of criminals everywhere!”

Over the years, there have been a few attempts to capture the lightning that was Kenner’s Super Powers line in a bottle.  The first was a pretty blatant knock off from Toy Biz, under the heading DC Super Heroes.  The second, Total Justice, came after the return of the license to Kenner themselves. As much as Super Powers was a rather timeless collection of evergreen looks, Total Justice is a hardcore product of its time.  One such product was the character line-up.  While there were lots of consistent names, many of the characters presented were new versions.  That includes today’s figure, the Green Arrow of the ’90s, Connor Hawke, the long-lost son of Oliver Queen, who’s now so lost that he doesn’t even exist.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Green Arrow was release in the third and final series of the Total Justice line, alongside Black Lightning, Parallax, and Huntress.  Truly, it was the line’s most exciting line-up for collectors, but I guess it’s not hard to see why the line didn’t have much traction after this.  The figure stands a little over 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  The Total Justice line was privy to all manner of pre-posing, and Green Arrow was no exception.  In fact, Green Arrow is probably one of the most prominent examples, because, though he might have articulation, there’s pretty much only one single pose this guy’s ever going to be in.  At least in his case, it’s actually a pretty sensible one, since he’s holding his bow, arrow drawn, as if he’s aiming at some baddy.  Heck, he’s one of the few Green Arrow figures out there that can actually do this pose, so more power to Kenner on that.  Generally speaking, his sculpt is just one of the nicer ones to come out of the line.  The proportions aren’t quite as whack, the detailing is pretty crisp, and the expression on his face isn’t nearly as “x-treme” as a lot of the others from the line.  He’s just a solid recreation of the design of the character as seen in the comics at the time.  In terms of paint, the figure definitely takes some slight liberties, giving us a color palette that’s far more primary than what Connor tended to sport in the comics, and ultimately giving him a color scheme that looks more like his dad’s first costume.  It hits okay in a broad strokes sort of sense, but it definitely feels ever so slightly off, and is even missing some paint for certain sculpted details, most notably the straps on his chest.  Fortunately, Connor’s mold would get a re-use in Hasbro’s JLA line, where he wound up with a more comic-accurate color scheme, which had all the proper details painted.  The only slight downside to this later release is that his skin-tone got noticeably lightened, reflecting the tendency of colorists in the comics to forget Connor’s mixed heritage from time to time.  Both releases of the figure had the bow and arrow piece included.  The JLA release also got a display stand, while the TJ release got some of that sweet fractal armor that all the kids were clamoring for.  It’s pretty hellishly goofy, but it wasn’t as wonky as some of the other figures from the line.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the JLA release of this figure first, and it actually kick-started my JLA collection.  See, when Hasbro released the JLA figures, they offered them up both as singles and as two larger boxed sets (available only through specialty stores).  The mall that my grandmother used to take me to had a KB Toys and a comic book store called Another Universe right across from each other, and I usually hit up both to find something I wanted when we’d visit.  On this particular visit, I spotted the JLA set that included Green Arrow, but I really just wanted him.  The very helpful guy behind the counter told us he had just seen the single Green Arrow at the KB, so we ran over, but alas, none to be found.  Since he’d been so helpful, my grandmother decided to just buy me the whole boxed set, thereby taking my JLA collection from 0 to 5, and getting me this dude.  He’s been with me since, and I finally got his Total Justice counterpart last fall from a trip to the country’s largest antique mall.  I still like my JLA figure the most, of course, but they’re both cool in their own right.

#2398: Eel

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

EEL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Powered by strong electrical currents, Eel uses bursts of electricity to shock his enemies into defeat.”

Oh man, I’m writing another Serpent Society review.  How the heck do I right a good intro to a Serpent Society review?  Let’s check my last one…I went with a B-52s parody.  Great.  Yeah, that’ll go over real well here.  With Eel.  What am I gonna do?  “Eel if you want to, Eel around the world?”  It just doesn’t have the same flair, the same charm.  At this point, I’m really just stalling.  Onto the freaking figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Eel was part of the Abomination Series of Marvel Legends, which was the third assortment meant to tie-in with Civil War.  Of course, Eel himself wasn’t one of the direct tie-ins.  In fact, he’s got probably the loosest tie of them all, since his only real tie is that he was part of the Serpent Society, which Cap fought from time to time.  Eel himself wasn’t originally a Cap villain, though, and in fact started off fighting Daredevil.  No matter who he’s fighting, he’s not exactly a huge threat.  Also?  Not a serpent, but I guess the society’s numbers were low.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Eel is one of those characters who earned his spot in Legends through sheer cost-out purposes, because there’s literally not a single new piece on him.  He’s the Bucky Cap body, with Blizzard’s head, and the electricity effect hands from Electro.  Honestly, all of those parts are pretty good, and they’re also pretty accurate, so it’s hard to complain about Hasbro going for the re-use here.  If it works, go for it.  That gives the paint the job of the heavy lifting.  It does fine.  Nothing amazing or super exciting, but he’s accurate to the source material, and he looks suitably distinct from the other figures that use these parts.  Eel’s accessories are a little on the lighter side, but he’s not totally without.  He gets a spare set of normal hands (which, for the record, Electro did not, so he’s a step up there), and the torso of the Abomination Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in my review of the Cap from this set, I was in between jobs when this series hit, and I didn’t really have the funds to throw at the whole set.  Eel being as minor a character as he was, and with me not having picked up Cottonmouth, the other Serpent Society figure released that year, I ended up passing, and I can’t say I really regretted it.  But, when Rock Python was released, I realized I had two of the four Serpent Society figures available, and the other two had just been traded into All Time loose, so it felt like the right time to pick them up, lest they suddenly jump in price while I wasn’t looking.  Eel doesn’t offer much new or different, but he’s still a solid figure, and I’d probably rank him as my second favorite of the Society members we’ve gotten so far.

I purchased Eel from my sponsors over at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for other Legends or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.