Tag Archives: Lobo

#3834: Lobo

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

LOBO

SUPER POWERS (McFARLANE)

“Lobo is crude, rude and nearly impossible to kill. The super-tough bounty hunter wanders the cosmos on his space bike, flying from one assignment to another, with plenty of pit stops at local alien bars along the way!”

When I find myself in times of trouble, Todd McFarlane comes to me, speaking words of wisdom, “Super Powers”…. No?  Not working for you guys?  Yeah, I was iffy on it myself.  But, I decided to go with it, and here we are.  Congrats on getting here with me.  Today’s Super Powers focus goes a bit more modern…sort of.  Well, post-original run…sort of.  It’s a bit of a wibbly-wobbly thing.  See, it’s Lobo, who, in the form most people know, didn’t exist until the end of the ’80s.  But, he was introduced, albeit in a rather different form, in 1983.  So, you know, there’s something there, I guess.  Anyway, here’s Lobo.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lobo is the final of the “standard” release figures from Series 10 of McFarlane’s Super Powers.  He’s another new character for the style, and honestly, on the rather short list of proper Lobo figures.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  First and foremost, this figure is *huge*.  Like, the largest Super Powers figure thus far.  Lobo is traditionally a larger character, but not usually to this level.  I mean, he towers over Darkseid.  That feels a bit off.  But, hardly terrible.  Lobo re-uses the torso from Kilowog, along with an all-new head, arms, and legs.  It’s not a bad sculpt, and it certainly looks the part, but it doesn’t really feel like it matches the usual Super Powers aesthetic.  So, he sort of just exists a bit as his own thing.  I don’t hate it, but it’s different.  The vest is cloth, which is a nifty touch, and is the one thing that definitely feels like it’s trying for the Super Powers aesthetic.  Lobo’s color work is respectable enough.  He’s definitely got some DCAU vibes on the palette, which I definitely don’t mind.  The paint application’s basic and clean, and does generally what it needs to. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never been a *huge* Lobo fan.  To date, the only figure I’ve ever owned of him was the Minimate, and that was largely because he came with Ambush Bug.  I do like his DCAU appearances well enough, so I don’t hate him outright.  I wasn’t sure I was gonna get this guy when he was announced, because he doesn’t quite feel like he fits the general vibe of the line.  But, I ultimately decided I’d rather get him and not potentially regret missing him later.  He’s decidedly a different vibe than the rest of the line, but I think it works okay, and he’s still a very fun figure.

#0921: Lobo & Ambush Bug

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

LOBO & AMBUSH BUG

DC MINIMATES

Lobo&Ambushbug1

So, let’s talk DC Minimates.  Two weeks ago, I discussed Play Along’s use of legal loopholes to get out the first DC-based Minimates in the C3 Construction line.  That line unfortunately ended fairly abruptly, leaving a very incomplete collection of characters.  A few years down the road, DC Direct teamed up with Diamond Select Toys, creating an official line of DC Minimates, which offered a more diverse selection of characters.  Sadly, it too was short-lived, lasting only eight series before ending, once again leaving certain groups incomplete.  The diverse selection of characters ended up as both a blessing and a curse; off the wall characters were fun while the line was running, but after the fact the likes of Lobo and Ambush Bug, who I’m reviewing today, seem like wasted slots in a line that didn’t get us important members of the Justice League.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Lobo and Ambush Bug were released in the seventh series of DC Minimates.  They seem like something of an odd pairing, since I don’t believe the two of them have ever interacted.  Of course, they’re both weird, occasionally fourth wall breaking characters with a tendency to parody popular comics conventions of the time.  So, maybe they aren’t such a bad pairing.

LOBO

Lobo&Ambushbug3Lobo is, by and large, a parody of grungy 90s anti-heroes.  So, of course, he had a large fan base who missed the parody bit and took him as a straight character.  I’ve never been much for Lobo, but I did have a soft spot for his teen-spin-off Slobo, who appeared in Young Justice.  But, that’s neither here nor there; let’s talk about Lobo.  The figure is a little under 2 ½ inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation (due to his boots removing the ankle joints).  Lobo has 5 add-on pieces for his hair, vest, hook-chain-thing, and boots.  All of these parts were new to Lobo, but several of them have seen re-use since.  The parts are pretty well sculpted, and do a suitable job of bulking Lobo up a little bit.  Also, the chain on the hook is a real chain, which is a nice touch.  In general, Lobo is a good example of how great the sculpted work was on this line.  Lobo’s paintwork is fairly impressive; he’s fairly monochromatic, but there’s a lot of detailing, especially on the face and torso.  Lobo included no accessories.

AMBUSH BUG

Lobo&Ambushbug2Ambush Bug is one of the weirder characters in the DCU.  He doesn’t really belong to any particular realm of the universe, and he’s almost entirely absent from normal DCU stories, tending to reside in stories set firmly in his own corner of things.  But hey, he was played by Henry Winkler once, which is pretty cool.  Ambush Bug is mostly a vanilla ‘mate, with one small exception: the antennae on his forehead, which are glued in place.  They’re a pretty good translation of his weird antennae from the comics, so that’s good.  Other than that, everything’s done with paint.  He’s actually surprisingly detailed; DCD could have easily just done a blank green body with only detailing on the face, but Ambush Bug has small wrinkles (just like the ones he has in the comics) on just about every surface.  That’s really nice to see and keeps him from being too boring for the average fan.  I suppose they could have done him in his casual wear he’s known to wear in the comics, but this is his classic look, so it’s understandable.  Like Lobo, Ambush Bug includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with every figure in the DC Minimates line, I picked these two up from Cosmic Comix on the first day they were available.  I’ll admit that I was split on this set; I love Ambush Bug way more than I should, but Lobo’s not my thing.  At the end of the day, both ‘mates are pretty awesome, for totally divergent reasons.  It might be easy to say that these two are part of the reason the line ended so early, but given that the Marvel line just released Dazzler and Howard the Duck together, it’s hard to say.