Tag Archives: Kenner

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0071: Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear

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

LUKE SKYWALKER in HOTH GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

It’s another Friday, and we’re still here…I hope.  It’s…well, sometimes it’s touch and go these days, right?  Well, if you’re reading this than we’ve all made it to the end of the week unscathed.  Yay us!  Go team!  How about a little bit of flashing back to slightly happier times, perhaps?  Yeah, let’s look at this here Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear again!

Doesn’t it feel like I *just* reviewed this figure? Well, I didn’t. Well, I didn’t. Reviewed a very similar figure, of course, because that’s the insanity of toy collecting. But this one’s different, you see. He…ummm….he’s got…goggles? Yeah, let’s go with that.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear was released in the 1997 assortment of Power of the Force II figures. We’d had our first taste of Hoth figures the prior year with a Hoth version of Han. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches and he has 6 points of articulation. He’s wearing the same cold-weather gear that we saw him wearing in the two-pack with a Wampa, but this figure depicts him a few moments earlier in the film, prior to the Wampa’s attack. So he still has the goggles, and his face is un-scarred. His sculpt is unique to him (though parts of it would be slightly re-tooled for a few later variants of this same gear), and it’s pretty decent. He’s still a bit puffy and bulked-up, but with the cold-weather gear, that doesn’t feel quite so off. The level of detailing on the outfit is quite sharp, and looks very good for the time, rivaling even more modern offerings. My figure is missing his little head scarf thingy, which was a free-hanging piece that was prone to breaking off. Luke’s paintwork is about what you’d expect. Fairly basic and an overall decent match for what we see on the screen. Application is clean, and there’s pretty much no slop. Hoth Gear Luke was originally packed with his lightsaber and a blaster pistol, but mine has lost them in the years since I got him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember this figure being rather hard to come by, at least initially. Stores still had tons of Hoth Han, and I was constantly having to explain that it wasn’t the same thing. I eventually got him in the Farpoint Dealer’s room the year he was released. If I recall correctly, it was the same dealer from whom I ultimately got my Princess Leia figure, that very same year. It’s been a favorite of mine for a while, even if it is rather environment specific. 

There’s a sort of comedy to me opening the review by noting I *just* reviewed a similar figure, when said “similar figure” was the 2018 ForceLink release from the Solo product launch, and not, you know, either of the two virtually identical Power of the Force Hoth Lukes that I would later review.  Like, I was complaining about similarity, and I hadn’t even scratched the surface.  Otherwise, pretty straight forward review.  At the time, I was missing his blaster and saber, but I’ve since replaced both of those.  His head scarf is still broken, but at least he’s fully armed!

#4035: C-3PO

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

C-3PO

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Last week’s Star Wars review was difficult for me to get into, but it was Palpatine, and I don’t much care for him.  Maybe today’s will be easier, because it’s C-3PO, and I certainly find him preferable to Palpatine.  My last 3PO review was almost a year ago, and there was a five year gap before that, so I guess he’s a bit infrequent here.  He’s got one of the lowest review counts of all of the main OT characters, but I think that’s less about me not liking him, and more about him having less variety of looks, especially as he advances in the narrative.  Kenner kept tinkering with different ideas for variants of him during their tenure with the license, and his penultimate release came from their obsession with coins, which has now become *my* obsession with coins.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

C-3PO was added to Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line in 1998, as one of the seven figures making up the TRU-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” set.  He’s more all-purpose than most, aside from Chewbacca, who is similarly not tied to a specific film in the Trilogy.  The figure is just under 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  This 3PO represents a sort of “best-of” approach to the available molds for the character.  While the original figure wasn’t *bad*, especially compared to other early line figures, he also wasn’t super accurate in terms of proportions.  This one aims to be more accurate, and uses the upper half of the removable limbs 3PO (with the arms modified to stay in place) and the lower half of the one from the “Purchase of the Droids” set. The end result is the most accurate the line got, sculpturally, to how he looks in the bulk of the movies, which is actually pretty cool.  Beyond that, his color work breaks from those two figures to go back to the approach of the earliest 3POs, which is vac-metalizing for that proper chrome finish.   They even went the extra mile and made his lower right leg silver, something missed on previous chromed figures.  Sure, the foot’s *also* silver, when it should be gold, but it’s a cool idea, right?  Well, it was at the time.  Unfortunately, it’s not an idea that time has been kind to, and almost 30 years later, the gold coloring is all sorts of flaking, and really just not long for this world. There’s otherwise some pretty great paint work on the not chrome parts, with proper coloring on all the wires and the under sides of his hands.  C-3PO is packed with a display stand and the requisite coin, showing him and R2 on Tatooine.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

3PO was probably the figure in this set I was most looking forward to, because of the aforementioned “best of” approach.  I was quite excited to open him up when my set came in…and more than a little disappointed when he started flaking the second I took him out.  It’s a shame, because he looks very cool, but I don’t dare touch him, for fear that he gets worse.  As it stands, the removable limbs figure is still kind of the definitive take from this line, and this guy’s just a spare.

#4031: Emperor Palpatine

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

EMPEROR PALPATINE

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Bleh, it’s another Palpatine review.  I’m bad at intros for these because I just don’t know how to make him interesting.  “Somehow Palpatine returned” is exactly the level of care I personally have in Palpatine, so it landed right at home for me.  Anyway, here’s another Palpatine, from the period of Power of the Force where Kenner felt the need to make another Palpatine, seemingly for the purpose of having another Palpatine.  Palpatine.  Yep, here’s a Palpatine.  Also a coin.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Emperor Palpatine was released in 1998 as one of the seven Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coin” figures from Kenner’s Star Wars: Power of the Force II line.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 3 points of articulation.  Hey, check out all that crazy posability, right?  Like, he can slightly angle his head to either side.  Or slightly move his arms up and down.  The possibilities are endless!  While this line was a re-use heavy one, Palpatine was rather unique in that almost all of his tooling is new.  I mean, sure, he’s clearly modeled on the same basic sculpt that the electronic Palpatine was using, but this one is sans gimmick, and sans any trace of the gimmick, and also just a lot less boxy.  So, I guess that’s all pretty good?  Eh, I’ll consider it a win.  Otherwise, he’s really just a Palpatine figure that feels more or less like all the other Palpatine figures that the line offered up.  He’s an old guy in a black cloak.  Not a lot of room for fun there, really.  Even the paint looks essentially identical to the other Palpatines that preceded him.  The most notable thing here is that he gets a different finish on the clasp for his cloak, so it stands out a little more.  He gets a unique set of electricity effects, which are honestly pretty nice, as well as the stand and coin that all of these figures got.  The coin’s at least pretty nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I make it no secret that I’ve got very little love for Palpatine, and even less love for Palpatine figures.  But, I’m going for the complete run, and I’ve bought all the other ones, and this guy was in a big lot with everyone else, so I didn’t really have to think about it too much.  This one’s fine.  He’s better in terms of posing a detailing than anything other than the Flashback figure, and he’s also more stable on his feet (or lack thereof) than that one, so I think it’s generally the best Palpatine the line had.  And also, it’s the last one I have to review, which is quite nice.  Now I never have to talk about Palpatine again!

#4029: Hawkman

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

HAWKMAN

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

“Born Katar Hol on the planet Thanagar, Hawkman escaped his oppresssive native world and made his new home on Earth, where he vowed to fight against injustice. He is equipped with an anti-gravity belt and enormous wings that give him the power of flight and allow him to launch aerial attacks against villains, swooping down and snatching them up in massive grip talons.”

Hey, it’s Hawkman.  When did I last talk about Hawkman?  …ah, yes, Black Adam tie-in.  Yikes.  Well it could be worse.  For instance, I could be talking about the absolute nightmare that was Hawkman’s backstory post-Crisis!  See, where most of the overlapping Golden and Silver Age incarnations were either similar enough to merge (Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman) or distinct enough to co-exist (Flash, Green Lantern, Atom), Hawkman got to be in the weird middle-ground where his two incarnations were far too different to be the same person (or even connected, really), but also way too similar to both exist.  So, there was sort of this grey area for a while, where everyone just pretended not to notice the issues, until Hawkworld came along and revamped the Silver Age incarnation of the character for the ‘90s, establishing along the way that he was new to Earth, making the prior appearances post-Crisis confusing to say the least.  It was quite a mess, eventually leading to DC just outright ditching the character for a bit, because they viewed him as “too confusing.”  (Grant Morison created Zauriel during their tenure on JLA in part because of Hawkman being off limits).  He would eventually get reworked a few more times, ultimately streamlining things a bit and making him more workable, but it was real touch and go there.  In the midst of the touch and go, we did get an action figure of the ill-fated Hawkworld version of the character, for better or for worse.  Let’s look at that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hawkman was released as part of the second series of Kenner’s Total Justice line.  It was his third figure, after the Super Powers and Toy Biz figures, and the first to be based on something other than his Silver Age design.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Unlike others in the line, Hawkman lacked neck movement, presumably due to the hair. There’s still a peg, it’s just at the middle of his head, where his mask meets his face, and it’s really odd and definitely not meant to move.  Beyond that, he does get the standard shoulder and hip movement, as well as additional movement for the wings.  Most of his sculpt would remain unique to him, as he was one of the few characters not to have any equal in the JLA line.  The wings got re-used for Zauriel, though, which makes sense, because they’re decent basic wings.  His sculpt is based on Katar’s Earth attire from Hawkworld and the bit of time that followed.  At it’s core, it keeps the general set-up of his original design, but definitely ‘90s-izes it.  There’s extra straps, and fingerless gloves, and, of course, the super long hair.  We had three rounds of that long hair thing in Total Justice, which is a pretty dense packing in of it all.  The sculpt is at least pretty good at what it’s doing.  It’s one of the absolute least pre-posed of the Total Justice sculpts, looking borderline like a normal person.  The musculature is still kind of nuts, but it’s the style, so we’re just finding it charming.  The wings and helmet are definitely the best part.  His paint work is fine enough.  It does a halfway decent job with the colors, but ultimately misses a bunch of details on the legs, which is kind of a bummer.  He gets no actual character-specific accessories, but does get the ever-so-present Fractal armor, which in his case is a big ol’ honking set of talons that mount to the shoulders of his chest plate.  It’s…it’s odd.  But, it’s there.  At least it doesn’t impact the core figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In the ‘90s, I was still a child, living the simple life of someone who didn’t know anything about the madness going on with Hawkman.  I just knew there was a Hawkman, mostly from Super Friends and old back-issues my Dad read to me.  So, I saw this guy at Another Universe, the comic shop in the mall my Grandmother always took me to, and I wanted him, because he was Hawkman, and Hawkman was a simple, not convoluted character, right?  And I showed him to my dad, who liked Hawkman, and he was…well, it’s not to say he wasn’t glad I had a Hawkman figure, but there was certainly some discussion about *what* Hawkman I’d just brought into the house (in a joking, sort of nurturing manner, of course).  Not so simple anymore.  Well, he remained simple and un-convoluted for me, at least until I had the Super Powers figure to swap in for him, so I consider all that a win.  Over the years, I lost some of his parts, but I slowly rebuilt him, and here he is, all complete.  As messed up as this period of time is for the character, the figure’s cool.  I’m not taking that away from him.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0069: Boba Fett

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

BOBA FETT

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Well, here we are at Friday.  We’ve made it.  I mean, I hope.  Gonna be real, I’m writing this on Monday, and I’m already exhausted, so we’re just gonna see how it goes.  I mean, I guess you guys already know.  So, there’s that.  But speaking of uncertain timelines and moving back and forth, it’s time for another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum.  Let’s take another look at Boba Fett!

“The most notorious and fearsome bounty hunter in the galaxy is also the most mysterious. Many legends and stories have arisen over the years, but few facts are known of the man called Boba Fett, or his link to Han Solo’s past. Since the Clone Wars, Fett has worked as a mercenary, a soldier, a personal guard, an assassin, and most frequently, as the most expensive bounty hunter in the known systems.”

Is it safe? Can I come out? One never can be too sure when reviewing a Boba Fett figure. His fans are easily startled, but they soon return, and in greater numbers…or something like that.

So, yeah, looking at the Fett-man today. He’s had a lot of toys over the years, but they used to be fewer and further between. The return of the brand in the ‘90s got in on the whole ‘90s anti-hero fad, so he was pushed to the forefront. As such, he figured pretty prominently into Kenner’s relaunch, getting not one, but three figures in short succession. I’ll be looking at the first of those today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boba Fett was part of the first series of Power of the Force II figures, hitting in 1995. The fact that Boba made it into Series 1 was quite a feat, given his relative obscurity compared to the others in the assortment with him. It wasn’t really something that would happen again; he tends to be held back for at least the second assortment now. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation. His sculpt was unique, and as an early offering from the line, he’s certainly filtered through the line’s distinctive style. The big thing is his overall build, which isn’t quite as absurd as a few of the others in the early line-up, but it’s still really puffy for the character seen on screen. Definitely some Mandalorian super-engineering going on here. Similar to the Stormtroopers, his armor takes a bit of a turn as well. Most notably, his helmet, specifically the visor, has taken a slightly different look from the movies. It’s a lot rounder at the edges and the visor is quite a bit wider than it should be. His view-finder is also quite a bit stubbier than it really ought to be; at it’s current length, there’s no way it would be able to come down in front of his eye. The rocket pack and the scarf/Wookie braids are both removable pieces. The rocket’s pretty decent, and actually stays on a lot better than later figures. The braids and scarf rely on a rather bulky shoulder piece to attach, which looks a little off when the figure is fully assembled. Later figures would definitely get these parts down better. The paint work on Boba is based on his slightly more colorful RotJ design, so he gets the blue and orange pack and the red wrist gauntlets. The figure actually does a pretty solid job of getting all of the painted elements in place, and he even gets the bits of chipped paint on the armored sections. Boba included his distinctive blaster rifle, a piece which is missing from my figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As a kid, I didn’t have this figure; I had the deluxe version instead. And I didn’t even have that one on purpose. My cousin got two of them for his birthday, and I got to keep the extra. That figure went missing over the years, and in the mean time, I’ve picked up more of an appreciation for Boba. I got this guy from Yesterday’s Fun. He was out of his box, but still in his tray, and only missing the rifle, so I figured he was worth it. He’s a goofy figure. Since Boba’s a character that’s really only got the cool design going for him, I think he was hurt a bit more by a line that made everybody look really goofy. 

Re-reading this review, I remembered I used to have a troll!  What a guy.  Man, what a simple time, when I just had that one troll, and my biggest worry was upsetting him with my totally accurate Boba Fett takes.  I’m taking a big risk here, honestly.  Oh, well.

I will say, I think I was perhaps a tad harsh on this figure in my original review.  I mean, yeah, he’s goofy, but I see that as less of an issue these days.  I actually like the goofiness.  Anyway, when I reviewed him, he didn’t have his blaster rifle, but I’ve since found him a replacement, which makes him all nice and complete.  It’s neat.  Other than that, he’s really just as he was before.  Simple.  Nice.  Overhyped (joking…mostly).

#4027: Chewbacca

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

CHEWBACCA

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Star Waaaaaaars!  Nothing but Star Waaaaaaaaars!  All with the Cooooooiiiiiins!  Every Thurdaaaaaaay!  Welcome to another Thursday here at the Figure in Question, a day for Star Wars stuff.  Not just any Star Wars stuff, though.  No, it’s Star Wars stuff with coins.  And figures.  And collectiblity.  And also things that are exceedingly similar to things that you already have.  Today takes things to almost a new level of “things you already have.”  This should be oodles of fun.  Let’s look at Chewbacca.  Oodles, I tell you!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chewbacca was released in the Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II from 1998.  Chewbacca was still pretty much operating on “technically he’s got the same look in all the movies” principle, so he’s just got the one standard look here, much like elsewhere.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  While the last two Coin figures had new parts, Chewbacca is a total re-use of the standard Chewbacca mold from the first series of the line.  It’s…well, it’s certainly a distinct sculpt, but also one of the more inaccurate figures from the earlier run of the line.  It was replaced by more accurate figures the same year as this release, but I guess they weren’t on hand for this release.  Alas.  This one gets a radically different paint scheme, though!  ….Nah, I’m just kidding.  What he actually gets is almost the exact same paint scheme, but now there’s some additional grey drybrushing on some of the fur.  Is it worth it?  No, not really.  You’d probably miss it if you didn’t have both versions on hand.  But it’s different?  So, yay?  Chewbacca is packed with the standard bowcaster from the first release (but lacks the wonky blaster rifle), as well as the display stand and Millennium Minted Coin.  That’s where the oodles of fun comes in.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve read my last two Millennium Minted Coins reviews, then you know I didn’t have any of these as a kid.  This one especially wasn’t really on my list because he’s almost exactly the same as the standard one, and I just didn’t know if I needed it.  Clearly I lost that particular battle, huh?  I bought a whole set of these on eBay, so that’s where this guy came from.  Nothing really special, much like the actual figure.  He’s…fine.  I mean, technically better than the original, but that’s not saying much.  Yay for completism!  It’s oodles of fun!

#4025: Robin

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

ROBIN

TOTAL JUSTICE (KENNER)

“As the third person to don the guise of Robin, Tim Drake trained under the watchful eye of Bruce Wayne to become Batman’s crimefighting partner. Using finely-honed martial arts and acrobatic skills, along with a razor-sharp intellect, Robin proves himself an even greater threat to villains with his Fractal Techgear spinning razor disc and battle staff.”

Do you ever find yourself settling for less than the amount of Justice you’d prefer?  Why settle, when you could have Total Justice instead!  It’s all the justice you could ever want!  It’s total!  …Right?  Man, I could go for some actual “total” Justice right about now, but I’m just gonna have to hold myself over with the best thing I can approximate, which is a ‘90s Kenner DC line.  Admittedly, that’s still pretty well up my alley, so I can’t say I’m *unhappy*.  Just, you know, I could be happier.  Ah well.  Let’s look at today’s figure, a Robin who could have none more Justice, for his level of Justice is Total.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Robin was released in Series 1 of Kenner’s Total Justice line in 1996.  Robin was no stranger to action figures at this point, and certainly not from Kenner.  That said, at this point Robin figures that were specifically Tim Drake were still rare, with the only prior one being the odd one from the Batman Returns tie-in line.  He was oddly absent from the Legends of Batman line, despite its mainstream figures all being based on the “Knightfall” storyline, in which Tim was a notable player, so this figure sort of filled in there.  The figure is about 5 inches tall (though a bit shorter depending on how deep you go when posing that lunge) and he’s got 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt is…well it’s a Total Justice sculpt, so it’s kind of intense in every regard.  Posing, expression, musculature.  It’s all very intense.  That’s how we did it in the ‘90s.  I suppose, compared to others in the line, the posing is at least a bit more mild and standard, and he’s without any screaming or major grimacing, so it certainly could be worse.  His costume follows the original Neal Adams design pretty closely, including all of the smaller details, like the ribbing on the sleeves and gloves, and the extra piping on the boot cuffs.  Robin gets a separate piece for his cape (unlike some *other* caped crusader’s in the line), which is…well, it feels a bit like it’s meant for a different figure, if I’m honest.  It doesn’t really have the same flow as the rest of the posing, and it has some trouble staying in place.  Robin’s color work is basic stuff, really, but does alright.  All the standard colors.  The most notable omission is the interior of the cape being black, rather than yellow, as it was in the comics.  That was ultimately fixed when he was rereleased in the JLA line at the end of the decade.  In terms of extras, he gets the standard Total Justice set-up, which is Fractal armor.  In his case, the actual armor is limited to a chest plate, which is honestly a lot less silly than some of the others.  He also gets a rather involved staff with some blades on the edge (making it a spear, I guess?  Or maybe a scythe?), as well as a disc launcher.  The blades could be removed from the staff, allowing for something closer to Tim’s usual collapsible staff from the comics.  The JLA re-release dropped everything but the main staff, and swapped in a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was first entering into the world of action figures, I found myself seeking out figures that looked the most like the characters from the source material.  I remember specially wanting a more accurate Robin (notably one with black hair, which was tricky in a post-Chris O’Donnell world), which was a quest I undertook with my Grandmother.  This was attempt number two (Legends of Batman Crusader Robin was attempt the first, but, while cool, just wasn’t quite it) and he pretty much did what he needed to.  He was my main go-to Robin for a while, and lost a bunch of his parts over the years.  Thankfully, I was able to get myself some replacement gear for him, and here he is, in all his Total Justice-y glory once again.

#4023: Princess Leia in Endor Gear

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

PRINCESS LEIA in ENDOR GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Remember last week when I reviewed a Star Wars figure and a coin?  Wanna see me do it again?  Well, whether you want it or not, that’s what I’m doing, because I’ve already taken the photos and set up the text file to write the review, so I’m locked in.  Sorry guys, my hands are just really tied here.  You know how it is with management.  I mean, sure, that’s also me, but do you think I can really get me to change my mind?  I’m doubtful.  So, let’s just take a look at this here Star Wars figure.  Last week, I looked at Luke in his Endor Gear, so why not follow up with his sister Leia, in her very similar Endor Gear.  Oh yeah!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Princess Leia in Endor Gear was released in the Toys “R” Us-exclusive “Millennium Minted Coins” sub-line of Star Wars: Power of the Force II from 1998.  Like her brother Leia was released in her Endor Gear from the Speeder Bike sequence of Return of the Jedi, and she had likewise just gotten a released with her own vehicle the prior year.  The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  The sculpt has a lot of similarities to the prior version included with the vehicle, but actual parts re-use appears to be restricted to the torso, pelvis, and poncho.  The head is quite similar, but the angle of the neck is slightly different, as is the case with the arms.  The legs are all-new, and remove the knee joints because I guess if you’re going to buy Leia without the bike, maybe you don’t want her to be able to properly sit?  I don’t know.  She’s a bit more stable, so I guess that’s good.  The re-use of the pelvis leaves her with a bit of an odd, almost diaper-like look, but it’s hidden by the poncho, so it’s not really an issue.  Much like Luke, Leia’s paint work is notably improved from her prior release.  Detailing is sharper, and there’s a greater variety of shading and gradation to the pattern on the poncho, as well as more accurate coloring to the uniform underneath.  Leia is packed with her distinctive blaster pistol (replacing the Han-style blaster included with the vehicle pack-in), as well as the coin, and the display stand.  The coin and stand are still pretty cool, and honestly not a bad selling point.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I noted in last week’s review, I didn’t have any of these as a kid.  In fact, I didn’t even have the prior version of this look as a kid.  I’ve had Luke sitting on my shelf unopened for a few years now, and finally decided of snag the rest of the set.  I was initially planning to piecemeal them, but found a complete run of them, so I guess that worked out.  The pack-in Leia honestly wasn’t bad, but this one is overall an improvement, and in general just a fun little extra way of getting the look, with the added bonus of a kind of nifty coin!

#4021: Undercover Bruce Wayne

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

UNDERCOVER BRUCE WAYNE

THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES (KENNER)

Secret identities are a fixture of the traditional super hero set-up, but when it comes to the merchandising fixture of said set-up, they aren’t the most exciting thing to put out there, which can prove a little bit tricky.  But, if the super hero’s popular enough, they might be able to leverage it.  So, Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne?  Pretty safe bet.  Bruce was one of the earliest secret identity figures, as part of the Montgomery Ward-exclusive mail-away set done by Mego.  And, through the magic of media tie-ins, he got quite a few figures under the guidance of Kenner as well.  Here’s the last of those!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Undercover Bruce Wayne was part of the second run of Kenner’s The New Batman Adventures tie-in line in 1998.  He was the other notable “new” figure alongside last week’s Creeper.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  The figure’s sculpt was based on Bruce’s updated, slightly more suave look from TNBA (which was subsequently carried over into Justice League and Justice League Unlimited), so the sculpt was a complete departure from earlier animated Bruce figures.  It was a totally unique offering, though it would be repainted twice, once for the Return of Joker line, and once for one of Hasbro’s four-packs.  The head is a spot-on recreation of Bruce’s show design, and just generally a strong offering.  Below the neck is a different story.  Much like the Superman: The Animated Series Quick Change Superman, the desire for some sort of a quick change feature means that the civilian guise sort of takes on some adjustments.  In Bruce’s case, he gets an overcoat over his standard suit and tie.  It’s generally not a terrible look (sculpturally, at least; I’ll discuss it more in the color work section), though it’s perhaps a bit bulky.  The whole coat piece is an overlay, which can be removed revealing a variation on the Batman suit beneath.  There’s some interesting touches, like the boots having a double cuff thing going on, so that they can look like suit pants when the coat is in place.  In terms of color work, there are some definite choices here.  There’s some more minor stuff, like he’s a bit more pale than on the show, and also lacks his rather distinctive blue eyes from the redesign, but by far the strangest thing is the decision to make the overcoat a bright red color, which feels out of place (Kenner for some reason liked to tie Bruce to red; the original animated line Bruce to Batman and the Mask of the Phantasm Decoy Batman both also use a lot of red), especially because the Batman suit ends up being predominantly red as a result.  The Return of Joker variant made it even worse, shifting it to a neon orange, but the four-pack version swapped it for grey, which was far more appealing shade.  Bruce was packed with a cape/cowl combo, a pair of armored gauntlets, and a weird secret identity shield thing.  The cape and cowl are nice, but the gauntlets are kind of clunky, and I don’t even know what the point of the shield is, but I also kind of like it.  There was even an extra selection of identities printed on the cardback, which you could clip and slide over the standard decal.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had a real want for this figure when he was first released, and I remember putting a lot of effort into getting one.  It was, I believe, after my birthday, and I’d gotten some “Geoffrey Dollars” (Toys “R” Us’ pre-cursor to gift cards), so I remember going to a bunch of TRUs and only finding Creeper, but none of this guy.  I finally ended up finding him at a different store, so I couldn’t use the Geoffrey Dollars, but my parents spotted me the actual cash, and I guess I used the Geoffrey Dollars for something else.  He’s goofy, but also the best version of Bruce that Kenner did during their tenure.  Bright red overcoat aside, he’s honestly not bad.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0067: Luke Skywalker – Ceremonial Outfit

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

LUKE SKYWALKER — CEREMONIAL OUTFIT

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

It’s Friday!  Welcome to Friday!  We made it Friday!  I mean, I hope.  I’m writing this on Sunday, and really just hoping for the best here, because boy has it sure been touch and go, huh?  But let’s not think about that.  Let’s think about the past, specifically mine, as we flashback for another figure addendum, with a return to Luke!

“In the main throne room of a Massassi temple, Luke Skywalker receives an honorary medal for his part in the destruction of the Imperial Death Star.”

There’s a lot of potential Luke Skywalker variants out there. He got one distinct design for each movie, plus his pilot gear, and at least one other major look for each film. For A New Hope, he actually has four distinct looks. My personal favorite is one that doesn’t actually appear for all that long; it’s the snazzy dress outfit he wears during the film’s final scene, set during an award ceremony. It’s had less figures than other looks, but as a variant of Luke Skywalker, it’s still had its fair share.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Skywalker in his Ceremonial Outfit was released as part of the 1997 assortment of Star Wars: Power of the Force II. He was the seventh of the eleven Lukes in the line, and the second-to-last unique outfit, prior to the line switching over to variations of Farmboy Luke. It was actually one of two Ceremonial Lukes released in 1997, the other being part of the Princess Leia Collection. It was a good year for a look that hadn’t yet seen an action figure release. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 6 points of articulation. This Luke marked the debut of Kenner’s second POTF2 Luke head sculpt. As noted in the past, it’s not really much closer than the first attempt at a Hamill likeness, but I do tend to prefer this one. The rest of the sculpt is unique to this particular figure. As far as this line goes, it was pretty solid. Sharp detailing, reasonable proportions, and a fairly neutral stance, all of which add up to an above average figure from this particular line. The paintwork on Luke is pretty standard stuff, which is to say the colors are a good match for the film and the application is all sharp. There’s no slop to speak of, and everything stays within its appropriate lines. Luke was packed with a blaster pistol and his medal from the ceremony, which are both missing from my figure, sadly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This was a fairly early Luke in my collection, and is probably one of the Power of the Force figures I purchased closest to his initial release. I got him from KB Toys, during a trip to the mall with my Grandmother. He was purchased alongside a whole bunch of others, but the others were all meant to stay at her house, with this guy being the one who would be going home with me. He’s remained a favorite of mine, and served as my go-to Luke for a good chunk of time. 

In 2017, I got pretty serious about making Power of the Force reviews a regular feature every other Saturday, and by March of 2018, when this review was originally published, I’d kept it going for quite a while.  I pretty much managed to keep it that way until March of 2020, when, you know, everything fell apart.  This was before my big dive back into the line, mind you, so I thought I was actually getting close to wrapping things up.  Quaint.  My actual review feels pretty basic, but not bad.  Missing at the time were his two accessories, which are now his once more.  Check out that medal and blaster action!