Tag Archives: Kenner

#3524: Shazam!

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

SHAZAM!

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

Fun FiQ Fact #0003:  The character that would eventually become Shazam was originally intended to be called “Captain Thunder” and “Captain Marvelous” before Fawcett Comics landed on “Captain Marvel.”

Kenner’s Super Powers has a very hard link to Christmas for me.  As a kid, for a good stretch of time, I got one every Christmas, and, in recent years, it’s a trend that’s returned.  I’m actually very close to the end of the line, which also means that I’ve gotten to the point where all of the ones I need are nearer the more expensive side of things, and also all hail from the line’s last year.  That includes today’s focus, a Captain Marvel named Shazam!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Shazam was released in 1986, as part of the third and final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  While the character wouldn’t actually take on the name “Shazam” in-universe until 2011, since by 1986, the Captain Marvel trademark was firmly in Marvel Comics’ possession, so whether he used the name in the books or not, no toys could use it.  Rather amusingly, Marvel themselves didn’t really do much with it either, with their first figure based on any of *their* Captain Marvels not seeing a release until the late ’90s.  But, I’m getting side-tracked.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has the line’s standard 7 points of articulation.  Shazam sported a unique sculpt, based specifically on his later DC design, which moved him more into the traditional spandex set-up.  His sculpt is a little stiffer than the others, which is especially notable in the straightness on the arms.  His head seems a bit soft compared to others in the line.  They’re clearly trying to capture the character’s more unique facial features, while keeping him in-line with the house style of the rest of the figures.  The end result is sort of middling.  Definitely not the strongest the line had to offer.  His cape was cloth.  On my figure, it’s a repro; the original had a unique plastic clasp piece, as well as some rather nice printed details.  Shazam’s paint work is minimal, but it’s decent enough.  There’s a little wear on mine, but nothing crazy.  Shazam gets no accessories, but he gets the usual action feature.  In his case it’s a “Power Action Thunder Punch;”  squeezing the legs makes the arms swing in opposite directions.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As has been the trend on the last few of these, Shazam was my main Christmas gift from my parents this year.  While Mister Miracle was one of the line’s finest, and a great send-off from the final year, Shazam is definitely more middle of the road.  He’s okay, and I’m sure glad to finally have him, but he himself isn’t much to write home about.  And now I’ve got four left.  This is getting very exciting!

#3481: Supergirl

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

SUPERGIRL

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

One of the goals of DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths was to streamline not just the DC universe as a whole, but also the background of its most popular characters. For Superman, this meant cutting out much of his “Super-family.” His cousin Supergirl died during the events of the crossover, and wasn’t granted an immediate replacement, so as to keep Clark as the “Last Son of Krypton.” In the comics, there were a few other workarounds to keep the Supergirl name going, largely overhauling the whole concept of the character, but for Superman: The Animated Series, they tried to keep her as close to the original, while still playing by DC’s rules.  So, she was no longer Kal-El’s biological cousin from Argo City, a remnant of Krypton which survived.  Instead, she was the last survivor of Argo, Krypton’s sister planet, thrown into chaos by Krypton’s destruction.  Not the worst change-up in the world, right?  And she got an action figure out of the whole thing too!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Supergirl was released in Series 4 of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series line-up.  After Series 3 got only an international release, Series 4 was set to follow suit, but Kenner was able to make a deal with Diamond Distributors to at least get the series to comic stores on the domestic side, saving this set from the same weird delay that hit Series 3.  She would also eventually see a larger domestic release under Hasbro’s tenure, when she was re-released with some minor tweaks, alongside her series-mates Bizarro and Metello, in the “Super Heroes vs Super Villains” boxed set.  The figure stands about 4 1/2 inches tall and she has 4 points of articulation.  None of her articulation is great, honestly.  The neck is restricted by her hair, her right arm is restricted by the action feature, and she’s got no movement at all below the waist.  Pretty much, she’s just good for standing…although, with no movement on the legs at all, she’s not always so great at that either.  Her sculpt was a totally unique one, and it only got re-used for the one boxed set release later.  None of the STAS sculpts were strictly show accurate, and Kara definitely falls in line with that.  Honestly, it’s not bad.  She generally looks the part from the show, with the only major inaccuracy being the shaping of the skirt; it’s one of those odd things that was common for this line, where they added extra details that they didn’t actually need, with all the folds and flow.  The paint work on the standard release of this figure was pretty straight forward and on point for her design from the show.  For the boxed set version, however, they cut the black piping for the edges of the shirt, which makes her look sort of half finished.  Supergirl was packed with “Aerial Assault Armor,” which is essentially just a snap-on version of Superman’s space suit from the show.  She never wore any such thing, but it’s actually a pretty fun concept, and nicely executed too.  She even gets funky missile launchers!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed out on most of Series 4 as a kid.  I remember seeing them, but they were always back behind the counter at various comic book stores, and always over priced for what they were.  I recall picking up a loose copy of the boxed set release some time after its release, shortly after discovering All Time Toys in 2007.  That one held me over until I was able to get a proper Series 4 version, also from All Time, this past summer.  She’s not a very mobile figure, but she’s a pretty solid recreation of the show design, and at least she wasn’t just another Superman variant.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3476: Anti-Kryptonite Suit Superman

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

ANTI-KRYPTONITE SUIT SUPERMAN

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

Though he may be nigh-invulnerable, Superman is not without his weaknesses. Of particular note is Kryptonite, the irradiated remains of his home planet Krypton, first introduced in the Superman radio show so that Clark’s actor could be absent for a few episodes. It’s become its own thing, with all sorts of different types that do all sorts of different things. But basic green Kryptonite just makes the guy real weak. Not so great when you’ve got people to save, so, with a little bit of outside help, Clark devised a way to protect himself: the Anti-Kryptonite Suit!  The suit’s been around in some form for quite some time in the comics, but also got some pretty notable usage in Superman: The Animated Series, which also netted the concept its first proper action figure, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Anti-Kryptonite Superman follows in the footsteps of Fortress of Solitude Superman, being part of the intended third series of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series, which, despite being shown off in 1997, was not released in the United States until 2001, and as effectively as a KB Toys exclusive at that.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  This line had an interesting relationship with its source material, in that they didn’t pay *that* much attention to it.  A lot of the Superman variants were just made up entirely, so they sort of just did their best to stay on brand, while doing a new design.  In the case of this guy, he *isn’t* made up, but they kind of approached him as if he was.  Some of the more basic design elements of the animated Anti-Kryptonite suit are still present, albeit dressed up a little bit to fit the style of the toys, but it’s all filtered through a desire to tie him back into the classic Superman color scheme, as well as a general move more to the toyetic side of things.  It occupies a weird space because it’s honestly not a bad look on its own…but it’s not the source material.  The sculpt is pretty decent; he got the second best of the Superman heads for the line, and there’s some pretty nifty smaller detailing going into the suit design.  The paint work marks a notable departure for the figure; rather than using the show colors, he’s instead using the standard Superman scheme.  Admittedly, this is an area where you can really see Kenner’s reasoning, since it’s harder to sell kids on the largely grey coloring of the cartoon design.  At least the color work isn’t anything stupidly garrish or anything like that.  Anti-Kryptonite got his removable helmet, as well as a whole big articulated crane thing that goes over his shoulders, and could “capture” the piece of Kryptonite he also included.  Again, it’s a departure from the show design, but it’s also a rather fun gimmick for a toy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was really fixated on the Anti-Kryptonite for a good chunk of my childhood.  I think I had gotten Metallo from this same line not too long before this set finally started to hit, and I had this whole internal team-up arc for him, and you can’t very well have Superman team up with Metallo if he’s not properly protected from Metallo’s Kryptonite heart, right?  Right.  I recall I got this one during one of my family’s fall weekend trips to the beach, back when there was still a KB at the outlets nearby, and I was pretty excited about it.  And then I also got a duplicate one in slightly better condition from All Time back in the spring, so now I’ve got two of them, I guess.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3467: World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection II

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

BATMAN, THE FLASH, GREEN ARROW, HOLOGRAM SUPERMAN, & HOLOGRAM GREEN LANTERN

JLA (KENNER)

“The mightiest heroes in the universe join forces to combat the world’s most diabolical villains – and their own evil counterparts!”

Hey, remember that JLA set I looked at yesterday, where I referenced that there was a second, complimentary set a few times?  Well, absolute shock and awe, if you can believe it, I’m gonna look at that second set today.  Whaaaaaaaaaaat?  This set also gets the extra significance of being the review that marks ten years here on the site, and it’s a more significant one, to boot.  So, let’s check this thing out.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Batman, The Flash, Green Arrow, Hologram Superman, and Hologram Green Lantern were released as “The World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection II” boxed set, the other half of the kick-off for Kenner’s JLA line.  As noted yesterday, both sets were Previews-exclusives, with the three standard JLA members per set also being available in the first single-carded assortment of the line.

BATMAN

“With a brilliantly deductive mind, expert scientific knowledge, and a master of martial arts, Batman watches over Gotham City from its gargoyles and parapets. He’s the city’s last hope against evil.”

With Superman headlining the first set, you gotta have Batman for the second, I guess.  I mean, his name wasn’t above the title of the whole line this time, so I guess he at least needed to have this concession.  He wasn’t going through the weird changes like Big Blue, so he’s just, you know, Batman.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation, plus those wonky sliding wings.  He’s using the Total Justice mold again, and it’s definitely its own thing.  There are a lot of oddities to this one, with the strangest thing definitely being those wings.  Like, why the wings?  It was weird with TJ, but at least there was the armor up gimmick, but with this release, it’s just random wings.  Just one of those weird quirks.  For his Total Justice release, Batman was blue and grey, with yellow accents.  For JLA, it switched two black and grey, with gold accents.  Through all three uses of the mold, the sculpted line for his trunks gets ignored, since DC was still in a “no trunks” mode in the mid-’90s.  Batman was packed with a display stand in black, as well as a backer with JLA #9 on it.  He’s on the cover, so that works alright.

THE FLASH

“A public super hero for almost his entire life. He can reach speeds approaching that of light itself and explode solid objects by vibrating through them.”

Like Kyle as Green Lantern, Wally West as the Flash had gotten his first action figure treatment during Total Justice, and then he got a quick follow-up to that here.  Again, not one that’s incredibly different, but it was at least some coverage.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He re-uses the Total Justice mold, of course, which I looked at when it was Reverse Flash.  As far as the TJ molds go, it’s not too crazy.  The pre-posing is more of a running pose, which works pretty well.  He gets a few additional details that aren’t usually on his comics costume; the flared gloves and all the straps on the boots being the main ones.  It all works pretty well, though.  His paint work is a noted change-up from the TJ figure’s classic red and yellow coloring; instead, he’s a deeper red with gold accenting.  It’s not quite as striking, but at the same time, it really sells him as being Wally’s ’90s incarnation, in contrast to Barry’s usual coloring.  Flash is packed with a red display stand and a backer with JLA #8 on it.  He’s not really the main focus of the cover, but at least he’s on it.

GREEN ARROW

“As the only son of the original Green Lantern, Connor Hawke is a martial arts expert who fires his arrows with almost superhuman accuracy.”

Like Huntress, Connor Hawke’s Green Arrow was a later addition to the JLA line-up.  He was likewise one of the figures in the final assortment of Total Justice, and works as Huntress’s counterpart in this set, since he doesn’t get a Hologram equivalent.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  I looked at this guy’s sculpt before when I reviewed his Total Justice release.  It’s preposed to the point of essentially being a statue, but it also remains perhaps the best sculpt that either of these lines produced.  For JLA, he got a much improved color scheme for the most part, as well as getting a bunch of details that had been left out of the first release’s paint work.  The only downside is that, matching the shift in the comics, his skin tone is very light, not really matching Connor’s proper ethnicity.  Of course, it’s not really Kenner’s fault; they were just following the unfortunate shift in depiction in the source material.  Green Arrow was packed with his bow and arrow (in brown, in contrast to the original green), a green display stand, and a backer card of JLA #10….which is the issue of “Rock of Ages” that features the Hologram JLA….and not Connor.  He *is* prominently featured on the cover of #8, so, maybe that would have made more sense?

HOLOGRAM SUPERMAN & HOLOGRAM GREEN LANTERN

“Embroiled in their greatest battle ever, the legendary JLA confronts its own holographic counterparts in a fight to save Star City from mass destruction. Identically matched in power and ability to the originals, the evil holograms were engineered by the infamous Injustice Gang – a group of such sinister masterminds as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe, Mirror Master, Dr. Light and Ocean Master.”

As noted yesterday, these sets each got two unique Hologram JLA members (and they even did two more in the Collection IV boxed set), mirroring the standard versions in the corresponding set.  This time around, we got Superman and Green Lantern.  Both figures stand just shy of 5 inches tall and they have 5 points of articulation.  I looked at both of the molds for these figures in yesterday’s set, and they kind of are what the are.  The Superman set-up is still a real mix and match and Green Lantern is very, very intense.  Of course, it wouldn’t really make much sense for them to be different, since the match-up is kind of the whole gimmick and all.  They both get funky change-up color schemes, and I honestly think I prefer the looks on these two to the other ones.  In particular, the changed up logo on Superman is a lot of fun, and I just dig the indigo set-up on GL so much.  The figures both come with dark purple display stands and backer cards, with JLA #11 going to Superman and JLA #12 for Green Lantern.  Neither of them actually features in either issue, of course, but both issues *are* at least from the “Rock of Ages” storyline, and their corresponding counterpart is prominently featured on them, so they’re far from the worst choices.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve discussed this set a little bit before on the site, back when I looked at the TJ version of Green Arrow, but I’ll go a bit further into detail now, I suppose.  In 1998, when this set came out, I was five years old.  At the time, I would spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ house.  In particular, it was a frequent tradition that my Grandmother would come and pick me up from school on Friday afternoons, and we would go get lunch at the local mall, followed by a little bit of shopping.  My main interest was usually the KB Toys, but right across from it was the comic chain Another Universe, which was usually a good secondary.  Another Universe had both of these sets, and I really, really wanted Green Arrow, whose single carded release was still very hard to find at the time.  My Grandmother could have just asked me to be patient and wait for the single, but instead, she bought me the whole set.  They got a lot of play time when I was a kid, especially that Green Arrow.  I lost a lot of the parts, as well as the two Hologram Leaguers over the years, but I still have very pleasant memories of the whole set and the story behind them.  My Grandmother died at the end of August this year, and now all I have left are those, and other, memories of our time together.  So, when I had the chance to get a replacement of the set, and carry those memories forward, I kind of couldn’t pass it up.

#3466: World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection I

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

SUPERMAN BLUE, GREEN LANTERN, THE HUNTRESS, HOLOGRAM BATMAN, & HOLOGRAM FLASH

JLA (KENNER)

“The mightiest heroes in the universe join forces to combat the world’s most diabolical villains – and their own evil counterparts!”

In 1996, looking to expand their DC line beyond just Batman, and after the success of the more comics-based Legends of Batman, Kenner launched Total Justice.  Okay, to be more specific, they launched “Batman: Total Justice” because they still weren’t totally sold on non-Batman success.  The line did alright, but only lasted three assortments, two of them abbreviated ones at that.  Two years later, they revisited the concept, in light of the success of the relaunched JLA comic, and dubbed it, rather predictably, JLA.  The whole thing was kicked off by two boxed sets, which repurposed old TJ molds to put the characters back out before delving into new ones.  The sets re-released six JLA members, coupled with four of their holographic duplicates from “Rock of Ages.”  And hey, why don’t I look at the first of those today?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Superman Blue, Green Lantern, Huntress, Hologram Batman, and Hologram Flash were released as “The World’s Greatest DC Comics Super Heroes Collection I” boxed set, which, along with Collection II, kicked off Kenner’s JLA line.  Both sets were Previews-exclusives, though the three JLA members per set were also available in the first single-carded assortment of the line.

SUPERMAN BLUE

“As one half of Clark Kent’s alter ego, Superman Blue is slow to anger, patient, courteous and serious in nature. He shares the powers and strategic thinking of Superman Red, but their different attitudes tend to get in each other’s way.”

While Man of Steel and Total Justice had hit firmly during Superman’s mullet phase, JLA hit right as he was spending a year with a brand-new power set, and a brand-new design to correspond.  So, rather than a classic Superman (who, to be fair, we got later down the line), our main Superman at launch was Superman Blue, who got his first of three figures in short succession right here.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He is, unsurprisingly, the exact same construction as the Superman Red from the single-card releases, meaning he’s the Total Justice Superman sans cape, with the head of the Man of Steel line’s Hunter Prey Superman.  It’s not a perfect set-up.  In fact, it’s not a great set-up, since he still keeps all of the sculpted details for the standard Superman costume, as well as the totally different head gear set-up of the Hunter Prey design.  They straight up just paint over it all and really hope you don’t notice.  And, honestly, it’s fine.  It’s not great, but it’s fine.  The colors actually look really solid; like Red, Blue is bright and vibrant, and really pops off the shelf.  I can definitely dig that.  Superman Blue gets a blue JLA display stand, and a cardstock cover of JLA #15, which does at the very least actually feature him.

GREEN LANTERN

“One of the youngest members of the JLA team, Kyle Rayner inherited a ring, which is considered to be the most powerful weapon in the universe. The ring is capable of generating solid light in the form of anything Kyle imagines”

Since Kyle Rayner was the Green Lantern of the ’90s, he had gotten his first figure during Total Justice.  JLA gave him a rather quick follow-up second, albeit one that’s not incredibly different from the first.  Whatever the case, the figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  Kyle’s sculpt is one that has a lot of trouble standing, due to the severe pre-posing present.  Those legs are just jutting out there.  It’s kinda crazy, really.  The best word I can think of to describe it is “intense.”  Like, he’s very angry, and very into it, and he’s not planning to stop any time soon.  Kyle was generally depicted as rather on the jovial side, but that’s not the case with this guy, who’s got a pretty angry look about him.  Presumably, he just found his girlfriend in the refrigerator.  Shame.  It’s a sculpt that I don’t think anyone can quantify as “good,” but it sure does do…something.  Look, it’s very memorable.  In terms of color scheme, Kyle’s original Total Justice figure was pretty subdued on his colors, with the greens a little on the darker side, the black more of a dark blue, and the white a sort of pearlescent shade.  For JLA, which tended to aim darker, they actually punched it up a bit.  The white and black are much starker, and the green is just a tad lighter.  During Total Justice, GL got some of the line’s crazy Fractal Armor, but in his case it was done up in translucent green plastic, so it looks like a construct, which seems less silly.  For JLA, he got a green stand and a backer with JLA #14 on it.  He’s one of the three Leaguers on the cover, so it works well enough.

HUNTRESS

“In a quest for vengeance against the death of her family, Helena Bertinelli, a Gotham City high school teacher, became The Huntress. With her arsenal of weapons, she preys upon Gotham City criminals.”

Huntress was a later addition to the JLA in the comics, and also had been a late addition to Total Justice, hitting during the ill-distributed final wave of the line.  As such, she’s one of two odd-ball characters included in these sets, without a Hologram duplicate in the alternate.  She’s seen here in her mid-90s attire, which she quite fortunately kept through both Total Justice and JLA’s runs.  I’ll admit, it doesn’t quite hit the same for me as the later Jim Lee redesign, but I guess it’s not a terrible design.  The figure stands a little under 5 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation…technically.  Of course, the hair costs the neck almost all of its movement, and the hips are at an odd angle.  Like, not quite v-hip, but not straight t-hip.  So, it’s really just the arms that do anything.  That all said, her sculpt’s honestly one of the better ones from the line.  Her pose isn’t anything too crazy, she’s surprisingly stable on her feet, and her face lacks the weird intensity of most of the others.  Her cape is also pretty basic, with enough flow to prevent it from looking too stiff, but not anything that looks *too* crazy.  Huntress’s Total Justice color scheme went for the comic style shading, giving her a purple and blue outfit.  For the JLA release, that was translated to purple and black, which definitely looks a little bit sharper.  Her TJ figure got a crossbow and fractal armor (which are both missing from my figure), while the JLA figure got the crossbow, a purple display stand, and a backer with JLA #13 on it…which is interesting, because, in addition to the cover being just a close-up of Martian Manhunter’s face, Huntress is also just not in the issue.  So, you know, there it is?

HOLOGRAM BATMAN & HOLOGRAM FLASH

“Embroiled in their greatest battle ever, the legendary JLA confronts its own holographic counterparts in a fight to save Star City from mass destruction. Identically matched in power and ability to the originals, the evil holograms were engineered by the infamous Injustice Gang – a group of such sinister masterminds as The Joker, Lex Luthor, Circe, Mirror Master, Dr. Light and Ocean Master.”

Exclusive to these sets were the Hologram JLA, based on the purple-hued JLA avatars that the Injustice Gang used during the first issue of the “Rock of Ages” storyline.  They were a pretty straight forward gimmicky re-paint using the existing TJ molds of the JLA members.  This set got Batman and Flash, whose standards were included in the other set.  Both figures are just shy of 5 inches tall.  Flash has the standard 5 points of articulation, while Batman also gets the sliding glider wings of the TJ mold.  I’ve looked at both of these molds previously here and here.  They’re very much products of their time.  To sell them as the holograms that they are, both figures are molded in translucent plastic, with a big emphasis on purple hues, which honestly is a pretty fun and unique look.  They come with JLA logo stands, both in a dark purple, as well as their own backer cards.  Batman gets #16 and Flash gets #17, neither of which features these two, either on the cover or in their contents.  Also, #16 has Huntress, so, like, maybe that one should have gone to her?  I don’t know, I’m just spit-balling here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t get this set when it was new.  I had gotten the Total Justice Green Lantern as a Christmas gift from my aunt, and my cousin Rusty had traded me the Huntress for something else, and I didn’t really care for Superman Blue at the time, nor did I have any attachment to the Hologram JLA.  Over the years, I’ve grown to have more appreciation for this line overall, and I really wanted those Holo guys above all, but I haven’t seen the sets in person since.  But, a couple of weeks ago, Cosmic Comix got this one and the second one in, and I was feeling particularly nostalgic.

#3461: Superman – Fortress of Solitude

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

SUPERMAN — FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE

SUPERMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

“Upon retreating to the distant Fortress of Solitude, Superman wears the traditional costume of his home planet Krypton, rejuvenating his immense powers and developing prototype peace-keeping weapons from centuries-old Kryptonian crystal technology.”

When it comes to the DC Animated Universe, Batman: The Animated Series gets a lot of love.  Deserved love, mind you; it earned its place in history.  However, for my money, the unsung hero of the DCAU is BTAS‘s follow-up, Superman: The Animated Series, which takes the success of Batman, and builds on it, creating the groundwork for the wider DCAU that would eventually spawn Justice League Unlimited, and would craft a wider appreciation for the DC universe as a whole.  It’s genuinely my favorite entry in the franchise, and holds up as one of my favorite takes on the Man of Steel.  One area where I think it really blows away every other iteration of the Superman mythos is its depiction of pre-destruction Krypton.  While the toyline missed most of it, they did at the very least throw us a bone with “Fortress of Solitude” Superman, who I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Fortress of Solitude Superman was released in what was intended to be the third series of Kenner’s Superman: The Animated Series toyline.  They were shown off in 1997 and received an international release in 1998, but they wouldn’t make their way to the states until 2001, when they started showing up at KB Toys, with exactly no fanfare.  Hey, better late than never, right?  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Fortress of Solitude Superman was a largely all-new sculpt when he was released.  He’s based on Clark in traditional Kryptonian attire, as he’s briefly seen in “The Main Man Part 1.”  The look has been modified a bit, which was a pretty expected move for this line.  The biggest change is the addition of a S-logo on the front of the tabard; the look otherwise has no clear branding, I guess, and branding was definitely very big here.  In keeping with other figures from the line, he also gets extra detailing on areas that were simpler on the show, in this case the squares on his arms and legs, which now are properly raised, with further design elements added.  It’s not accurate, but it’s admittedly pretty cool.  There were a few different Superman head sculpts that ran through the line, with a range of show accuracy.  This particular assortment lands somewhere in the middle; not as bad as the first series, but not as close as the fourth.  It’s just a touch too tall and narrow for proper accuracy, but it’s not terrible.  The color work on this guy is interesting, because it *could* be a lot more basic than it is, and be more accurate.  Instead, they go a different angle.  Where his body suit should just be stark black, it’s instead semi-translucent, with metallic flecks, giving him a cool star field looking pattern.  Also, the tabard is removable, and while there’s no reason to have any detailing underneath, he’s got another Superman emblem.  Really pushing that branding, huh?  Superman is packed with a “Turbo-Spin Crystal Cannon.”  Whatever that may be.  It’s big and hard for him to hold, but, you know, there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back in the day, I spent a lot of my time on Raving Toy Maniac, which had a whole bunch of figure archives run by Toy Otter.  One of those was for the Superman: The Animated Series line, which is how I knew about this figure three years before he made it to the states.  I had a printed out picture of the prototype that I’d turned into a paper figure and everything.  Imagine my pleasant surprise when I found him at KB Toys in 2001.  I don’t have a ton of memories about him, but I do recall him being the only action figure I managed to smuggle with me on the one and only camping trip I did during my very short Cub Scouts career.  My original went missing somewhere over the years, but I was able to get a complete replacement thanks to a handy trade-in that came into All Time back in the spring.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3344: Silverbolt

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

SILVERBOLT

BEAST WARS (KENNER)

“Shadows of mystery cloak this silent and proud warrior. Part wolf, part eagle, Silverbolt possesses all the attributes of a great lone warrior: speed, power, wisdom, intelligence. His uncanny ability to track and then ferociously overcome Predacons by himself, only to suddenly disappear into the backdrop has inspired myths describing a fierce winged warrior who has come to defeat their evil ranks one by one. Preferring to work alone, Silverbolt is a ferociously intelligent fighter: extremely dexterous, he seems to be everywhere at once, striking with fearsome talons and firing hidden point-missiles from his wing tips to ultimately surface victorious.”

After being largely focused on machines that turned into other machines for their first decade and some change, in 1996, the Transformers brand reconfigured into Beast Wars, which gave the robots in disguise a bunch of animal-inspired alt-modes, as well as a prehistoric setting.  After rather quiet reception for Generation 2, Beast Wars rather revitalized the brand, and even brought in a lot of new fans.  It had a rather strong four year run as a toyline, as well as a rather successful tie-in cartoon running at the same time.  Both of those also had a follow-up in the form of Beast Machines, but nobody really likes to talk about those.  The whole “Beast” thing is getting worked into the live action films this year, with a number of the characters playing pivotal roles in Rise of the Beasts.  But we’re not here to talk about that today.  No, today, we’re talking about “Fuzors.”  See, while the early run characters were all just one lame animal (totally objective fact, there, by the way), the Fuzors were *two* animals fused together!  The best of the bunch (again, objective fact) was the Maximal Silverbolt, who I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Silverbolt was part of the first Deluxe Class Fuzors wave of Beast Wars, which was released in 1998.  He was one half of the wave, with the Predacon Sky Shadow being the other half.  In his robot mode, Silverbolt stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 11 practical points of articulation.  Due to the nature of his transformation, there are a few spots where he can get a little extra movement from joints that aren’t really meant for articulation, but it’s all pretty minor adjustments.  His movement wasn’t terrible, which was honestly something that was pretty consistent for Beast Wars.  They certainly weren’t as focused on just the transformation as the G1 stuff was.  Compared to more modern stuff, he’s a little stiff, of course, but 25 years removed, it’s not so bad.  The sculpt is a bit rudimentary, but again not bad.  It tracked well with the animation model he got on the show, especially when it came to the head sculpt.  That said, the proportions do look kind of wonky; the torso is particularly blocky, and the limbs are a bit chunky.  He’s also got a fair bit of kibble on the upper half, with his back legs just sort of hanging off the elbows, and the wings not really folding into the main body, instead just sort of sticking straight out from the back.  It’s a little awkward.  There are also a lot of rather obvious joints and hinges in the robot mode, which breaks up the flow a bit.  His color scheme was predominately the grey he was molded in, with a healthy helping of bronze and darker grey accenting.  It was all pretty cleanly applied, and pretty solid for the era, and it’s held up well over time.  Silverbolt was packed with two feather “missiles” that, in robot mode, were meant to sort of be swords.  They looked more like clubs, but that’s neither here nor there, because I don’t have them anyway.  Silverbolt’s alt-mode, the source of his “Fuzor” title, was a wolf and an eagle, making him a pseudo griffin type thing.  It’s a fun mode, and his transformation into it is a pretty well-engineered one.  In the beast mode, a lot of the uglier parts of the sculpt are hidden, and his overall look is a lot more cohesive…which is actually kind of ironic, since he’s supposed to be a merging of two rather different things.  In this mode, the missiles would go at the ends of his wings, and moving the wings inward would fire the missiles.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was not super into Beast Wars as a kid.  I watched the show, but really only because it was between other things I liked to watch, and I didn’t change the channel.  I owned exactly two of the toys as a kid.  One of them was a gift, so I didn’t have much say in it, and the other was this guy.  I actually quite liked Silverbolt; he’s the only character from the series that I have any sort of attachment to, and as a kid I actually made a point of tracking down his toy.  That one took quite a beating over the years, and ultimately wound up a few limbs shy of where he should have been.  The one reviewed here was actually not mine originally, but was instead Max’s.  He was sorting through several large bins of his old Transformers, and this was one of a few figures that he fished out and gifted to me.  He shows his age to be sure, but I do still really love the figure.

#3265: Mister Miracle

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

MISTER MIRACLE

SUPER POWERS (KENNER)

 

“Mister Miracle is an incredible escape artist who can free himself from any trap or ambush. By calling upon a multitude of advanced scientific gadgets, and his remarkable dexterity and agility, Mister Miracle is able to make any impossible stunt look easy.”

It’s that post-Christmas review time of year, and the best way for me to really, truly feel that post-Christmas-y sort of vibe is, quite frankly, Kenner’s Super Powers.  From a rather early age, they’ve kind of been a key piece of the stuff I get for holidays, and that’s become especially cemented in the last few years.  In my last four Super Powers reviews, (the most recent of which was almost an entire year ago; for shame!) I’ve stuck with the line’s Fourth World component, which really influenced the last two years of the run.  I’m continuing that trend with today’s review, which looks at perhaps my favorite Fourth World character, Scott Free, aka Mister Miracle!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mister Miracle was released in 1986, as part of the final year of Kenner’s Super Powers line.  As with a lot of characters in this line, this release was Scott’s first figure, and would remain his only figure until DC Direct put one out in the early ’00s.  Of course, he was still ahead of all of the other New Gods barring Darkseid there, so I suppose it’s not all that bad.  He and his assortment-mate Orion made up the entirety of the heroic New Gods portion of the line, which was otherwise much heavier on the Apokolipsian bad guys.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Mister Miracle’s sculpt is a unique one based on his standard comics design, which was honestly a pretty notable thing for a New Gods character.  Only he and Darkseid got that treatment.  Admittedly, when you’ve got a design as spot-on and cool as Mister Miracle’s, what exactly is there to change?  It translates well to the style of the line, and he’s got a pretty solid set of proportions, as well as a nicely defined selection of costume details.  As with all the caped characters in the line, Scott’s cape is a soft-goods piece, though it does get a rather unique clasp piece, which is quite a bit of fun.  Mister Miracle’s paint work is pretty decent, although it’s rather prone to wear.  Mine’s in pretty decent shape, but that’s no small feat.  Scott is packed with a set of shackles, which are a trick set-up.  They’re on a joint at the middle, and squeezing his legs moves his arms outward, as if he’s escaping from the locks.  It’s a little iffy on this 35 year old figure, of course, but it’s otherwise a good gimmick.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Mister Miracle is the latest addition to my ever growing Super Powers collection, given to me as a Christmas gift by my ever supportive parents.  He’s actually been pretty high on my list of the remaining figures I needed, barred only by the difficulty of finding him in complete condition.  Getting one in this shape is honestly astounding, and he’s just so much fun.  Truly one of the line’s star pieces.  And with that, I only need 5 more.  Crazy.

#3226: Air Assault Batman

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

AIR ASSAULT BATMAN

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

“Gotham City’s most dangerous villains have escaped from Arkham Asylum! In order to save humanity. BATMAN and ROBIN have armed themselves with special rapid-deployment techno-cape backpack equipment and highly- camouflaged suits to track down every last criminal- no matter where they are hiding! Join the BATMAN Crime Squad on their life or death mission to save humanity from its most dangerous enemies!”

Last Friday, Kevin Conroy passed away.  Though perhaps not a household name, he was well known through the world of fandom as the voice of Batman for three decades.  He was the definitive voice for the character, and the one that legions of Bat-fans hear in their voice whenever they think of the character.  Like so many greats, I never met Kevin Conroy, but I’ve heard plenty of stories from people that did that support that, outside of being the definitive Batman, he was also just a really great person, who very genuinely appreciated the support of his fans.  Batman: The Animated Series launched the year I was born, so, for me, Kevin was always Batman.  There was no time where he wasn’t the voice I heard in my head, and his portrayal shaped my view on the character almost entirely.  It’s going to be very odd to not hear him as Batman in future projects.  But, there’s no denying the impact he had, and the legacy he left behind.  So, in his honor, today I’m taking a look at a Batman figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Air Assault Batman was released in 1995 as part of the “Crime Stoppers” sub-branding of Kenner’s Batman: The Animated Series tie-in line.  “Crime Stoppers” was designed as Kenner’s justification for doing a bunch of wacky Batman and Robin variants, under the trappings that these new suits were designed to aid in rounding up a bunch of escaped villains.  The first series has six Batmen and one Robin, and notably no actual villains for them to stop.  This guy was very areal themed, as you might guest from his name.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt was largely unique, apart from sharing his head with all of the standard Kenner Batmen from the line.  The head was, admittedly, a pretty good recreation of the animation model, so it’s a respectable re-use.  The body sculpt was new, and sports a bit of an armored up look. Presumably, it’s to help combat g-force, or something like that.  It also looks pretty sweet, so it’s got that going for it.  The extra armoring details are rather fun, and do a rather nice job of changing him up a bit from the basic Batman look.  The color scheme on this guy goes for a very sky-oriented look.  He’s largely a light blue shade, with some white accenting that got a sort of art deco kind of patterning to it.  It’s funky, and honestly doesn’t feel too out of place with the overall aesthetic of the line.  The finish on mine has taken a bit of a beating over the years, but it’s not as bad as some in my collection.  Air Assault Batman only included one accessory, but it was the source of his whole gimmick: his Transforming Techno-Wing Backpack, perfect for all your assaulting in the air needs!  It’s honestly a pretty fun piece, with a bunch of moving parts, and just a cool overall look.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure’s pretty notable, because, while he’s not my first Batman (that was this guy), he’s still a very early one, more than likely my second, and very definitely my first Animated Batman figure.  I got him for Christmas in 1995, alongside my very first Robin, which sort of cemented the two of them as a pair, especially given their similar gimmicks.  He got a lot of play time as my go-to Batman, until I had more standard versions to replace him (and even then, he just got shifted to being Earth-2 Batman for all of my JLA/JSA cross overs).  And, of course, he always sounded like Kevin Conroy in my head.  Thank you for everything you did, Kevin.

#3106: Darth Vader – TIE Fighter Gunner Station

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

DARTH VADER — TIE FIGHTER GUNNER STATION

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

Back in the far off times of 2018, I reviewed two figures from the “Gunner Station” sub-branding of Kenner’s Power of the Force II line.  The gunner stations served as a more concise and themed continuation of the Deluxe sized figures for the line, and Luke and Han in their respective stations from the Millennium Falcon‘s dogfight in A New Hope were a pretty logical choice.  I guess Hasbro felt that they hadn’t quite heavy hitter-ed it up enough, though, so there was one more figure in the set.  It’s a Darth Vader, whose “Gunner Station” comes in the form of the cockpit of his TIE Fighter.  Yeah, it’s definitely a bit of a stretch.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darth Vader with the TIE Fighter Gunner Station was added to Power of the Force in 1998, alongside the previously reviewed Han and Luke.  Where the other two have designs very much dialed into a very specific moment of the first film, this version of Vader continues the PotF Vader trend up to this point of being a loose amalgamation of Vader’s look in all three of the films.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and he has a whopping 8 points of articulation.  Yes, in addition to the usual articulation for the line, this Vader also got knees.  It’s so much movement, you guys!  Structurally, he’s very similar to the other Vaders of the early run for the line, with the notable difference of having the knee joints, as well as a slightly more rigid stance.  Han and Luke both had some slight sculpting improvements from earlier releases, and this figure also came out the same year as the one with the removable helmet, which sported a far improved sculpt of its own.  So, this one feels a little behind the times, comparatively.  Beyond that, I guess he’s alright.  He keeps all the detail work, and swaps out the plastic cape of the prior figure for a cloth one, which is admittedly better for sitting in a cockpit.  The figure’s color work is generally pretty basic, with mostly molded black.  There are a few smaller accents, which follow the look from the movie closely enough, and keep him from being *too* drab.  Vader includes no smaller accessories, so there’s not lightsaber or anything.  He instead gets the Gunner Station thing.  It’s meant to look like the cockpit of his TIE Figher, which I guess it does alright.  There’s no upper half, of course, nor are there wings or anything.  There’s part of the window, and a weird handle thing, so that you can, like, hold it as a gun or something?  I’m a little confused about the exact intended use, to be honest.  It gets some missiles, which you can launch from the front of the “vehicle.”  And that’s really about it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is one of those items that’s so nonsensical and far reaching, that I actually don’t think I even realized it existed when I was a kid.  I remember the other two, of course, but this one just slipped from my radar, at least until I had reason to really look into it again, after digging more into the whole line.  I got one when it got traded into All Time, because, well, I didn’t have it, and it’s also just really cheap.  It’s an odd piece.  It just feels very forced, like they really just wanted another Vader on the market, but didn’t know exactly how to get to that point logically.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.