Tag Archives: Marvel

#0650: Scarlet Spider

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

MARVEL’S SCARLET SPIDER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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It’s a mark of a truly popular character when they get a clone (or are revealed to be a clone, in the case of one Boba Fett). Okay, maybe not. I actually just made that up. Off the top of my head. Sorry if you feel lied to, but I needed an intro for Scarlet Spider, the (first) clone of Spider-Man. So, there you have it. So, yeah, I’m reviewing a figure of Ben Reily, aka the Scarlet Spider. 90s nostalgia activated!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ScarletSpiderML2Scarlet Spider is the first figure in the third series of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s filling the slot of the requisite Spidey variant for this series, so good for him. He’s presented here in his main Scarlet Spider costume, which, in story, was pieced together from some novelty store items in order to fight Venom. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s built on Hasbro’s new Spider-Man body, which is a pretty good start. He has a new head and torso, as well as add-one for his web shooters, belt, and the pouches on his ankles. The head isn’t wildly different from the one we saw on Pizza Spidey, but the outlines on the eyes are slightly more angular and much larger, which is true to the character design. The torso has been re-sculpted to replicate Scarlet Spider’s sleeveless hoodie. It removes some of the shoulder articulation, but it works aesthetically, and the sculpt is appropriately layered. The bottom has even been sculpted to fit around the contours of the belt, which is a ScarletSpiderML3nice touch. The web shooters don’t feature any real sculpted detail; the lines are painted. This is a little disappointing, though I assume it’s to maximize reuse potential. Scarlet Spider actually doesn’t have much paintwork. What’s there is decent enough; there’s a bit of bleed over, but nothing terrible. The logos on the sweatshirt are nice and sharp, which is really cool.  The figure is packed with three sets of hands in web shooting, fist, and open palm poses. They’re the same as the ones packed with Pizza Spidey, but no less cool because of it. He also includes not one but two heads for the series Build-A-Figure Rhino, which I’ll touch on in Rhino’s review.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

He’s a little confusing, and part of one of the more controversial Spider-Man stories, but I kinda love Scarlet Spider. So, I was super excited when Hasbro showed him at this year’s Toy Fair. I’ve been patiently waiting since then, and I ordered him (along with the rest of the series) from Big Bad Toy Store as soon as he was in stock. This figure turned out really well, and he’s a great counterpart to last series’ Pizza Spidey, as well as a tremendous improvement on the old Spider-Man Classics version of the character.

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#0648: Strike Force Storm & Avalanche

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

STORM – STRIKE FORCE & AVALANCHE

MARVEL MINIMATES

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Man, I’ve sure gotten a lot of new stuff lately. So much that certain things have gotten pushed to the side, sometimes for a lot longer than I intended. Case in point, Marvel Minimates Series 60. I’ve had them for two whole months, and I’ve still only reviewed half of the series. Sorry everybody! In an effort to fix that, I’ll be taking a look at Storm and Avalanche today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of Series 60 of Marvel Minimates, which was designed as an X-Men vs the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants set-up. As an added bonus, three of the four X-Men included an extra head to let them double as a second character.

STORM – STRIKE FORCE (PLUS PSYLOCKE)

Storm&Avalanche2Storm’s definitely one of the better known X-Men, so it’s no surprise to see her show up for another turn in the Minimate form. Like the rest of the X-Men in this particular series, Storm is presented here in her Strike Force uniform from the 90s. Like Wolverine before her, she didn’t wear it for very long, but she did wear it long enough to make it a valid variant. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. Storm has sculpted parts for her hair, gloves, and the two sets of straps on her legs. Everything is re-use, but this is an example of just how well it can work. The uniform pieces are the same as the rest of this series’ X-Men, and the hair is a traditionally male hairpiece, first used in the Platoon boxed set for Pvt Gator Lerner. Storm’s paintwork is decent, if not without issue. Storm&Avalanche3The colors are nice and bold and the detail lines are nice and sharp, so that’s good. She also has my personal favorite Storm face we’ve seen so far. That said, she still shares the same thin yellow paint on the shoulders and missing bit of red on the belt buckle with the rest of this set’s X-Men. It’s not really surprising, but it is a little annoying. Storm gets two distinctive sets of accessories: those for Storm and those for the alt character Psylocke. Storm includes a pair of electricity attachments and a flight stand, allowing for a nice representation of her abilities. Psylocke gets her extra head, which features a hairpiece first seen on the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 line’s Jill Valentine, as well as a Psi-Knife attachment and a basic clear display stand.

AVALANCHE

Storm&Avalanche4Avalanche is a longstanding member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, but he always seems to get overlooked. He’s gotten a few toys before (but no Minimates), but he always seems to fade into the background. My only real exposure to the guy was on X-Men: Evolution, where he was merged with Rictor and played as something of an anti-villain, who was conflicted about being a bad guy. That was a cool take on the character, but the comics have always just played him as a rather generic thug. But, he’s important to the team, so here he is. The figure has 7 sculpted parts, for his helmet, chest piece, gloves, belt, and boots. All of these are parts we’ve seen before, but they’re all pretty good matches for the character’s design from the comics. The torso is just a basic powerhouse piece painted to match his armor, which is a little bit Storm&Avalanche5jarring next to the more highly sculpted parts elsewhere, but it looks okay in person. Avalanche’s paintwork is pretty decently handled. The colors are nice and bold, and the detail lines are pretty sharp. His face is a more extreme expression than a lot of others, which is nice to see for a change. Under his chest armor, there’s a fully detailed torso, with a big ol A on his chest, which makes for a neat alt look. For Accessories, Avalanche includes two chunks of road, which are a lot of fun, as well as a set of shoulder pads, should you want to display the giant A look, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was part of the full series 60 set I got via Big Bad Toy Store. Storm/Psylocke doesn’t really represent a standard look for either character, but it’s a well-made figure, and it offers those who missed out on the first Jim Lee Psylocke another chance at the character. Avalanche is an important, if somewhat overlooked and underdeveloped part of the Brotherhood. He’s necessary to round out the team, and he’s a pretty well made figure to boot. This set is probably my least favorite of the four sets available, but it’s not a bad set by any means.

#0647: Marvel’s Klaw

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

MARVEL’s KLAW

RETURN OF MARVEL LEGENDS

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Hasbro’s really been making some great strides with Marvel Legends lately. When they took over the license several years back, they certainly had a rough time managing the line, leading to the whole scale being scrapped for a little while. Then they came back and they came back strong. Now, I’ll admit, I was a hard sell on Marvel Legends after the hiatus. I was happy with my Marvel Universe figures, and Hasbro’s early Return offerings still had some issues to work out. But, they gradually got better, almost sneakily so, and now that they’ve moved onto the Infinite Series, I’ve become thoroughly hooked. So, now I’m playing the catch-up game with some of those Return figures, such as today’s figure of Klaw, major foe of the Black Panther, and a supporting player in this summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Klaw2Klaw was released as part of the Terrax Series of the Return of Marvel Legends, which was the first series of Marvel Legends following the hiatus. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and sports 30 points of articulation. This figure represents Klaw post soundwave-based transformation. Not really much of a shock there, since a pre-transformation Klaw wouldn’t exactly be the most exciting thing, and he’s spent 99.9% of his career as a red sound guy. Klaw is built on the body first used for Hasbro’s take on Silver Surfer. It was one of Hasbro’s earliest attempts at a base body, and it’s definitely before they had quite gotten the hang of designing these things. It’s not terrible, and certainly not as bad as some of ToyBiz’s worst sculpts, but it’s definitely got some issues. For one thing, it’s really scrawny. Klaw’s not the hugest guy ever, but he’s usually shown with a fair bit of heft to him. Also, the muscles are really, really defined, as if he’s flexing really hard, which looks rather uncomfortable. Throw in articulation that can best be described as clunky and obtrusive, and you’ve got a body that holds poor Klaw back. To Hasbro’s credit, the new pieces (the head and his sound converter) are both very well handled. The head does a great job of capturing Klaw’s very Kirby-styled head and is appropriately menacing, and the “claw” is full of fun little details (though it’s been warped a bit by the packaging, which is annoying). The paintwork on Klaw is pretty decent. It’s rather straightforward, but that works well for a character like Klaw. There’s a little bleed over here and there, but it’s all relatively minor. The biggest issue for me is that the reds of the arms and legs don’t match with the torso. It’s really noticeable on such a simple figure. Klaw’s only accessory was the left leg of the series’ B-A-F Terrax. I don’t have any of the other figures from this series and I doubt I’ll be getting them anytime soon, so all I’ve got’s a leg. Huzzah.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t purchase Klaw when he was new. Nor did I buy him any of the many times I saw him on clearance at Target. I really can’t say why. I like Klaw, I really do. I guess I was just cold on Legends as a whole. Anyway, I ended up finding this guy at Yesterday’s Fun while on vacation this year. He was less than I would have paid at retail, so I really can’t complain. Ultimately, the figure’s fatal flaw is the unfortunate choice of body. I’d be curious to see how the head and claw might look on the Bucky Cap or Grim Reaper body, as it might make for a nice improvement. As is, he’s passable, which isn’t the worst thing.

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#0642: Beetle -Deadliest Foes

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

BEETLE – DEADLIEST FOES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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There are very few lines of which I would consider myself a “completist.” Off the top of my head, I believe the only two I’ve really stuck with are NECA’s Aliens and SMC’s Weaponeers of Monkaa. There was a time, back during ToyBiz’s run on Marvel Legends that I gave owning every figure in the line some thought, but I ultimately decided against it, due mostly to the unevenness of figure quality. When Hasbro took over, I backed down even more, and almost quit the line entirely. When they re-launched under the Infinite Series handle, I went back to cherry-picking, but the quality of the figures has been rapidly increasing, leading to me getting figures I normally wouldn’t. Take, for instance, Beetle, the subject of today’s review. Now, I generally like Beetle as a character, so it’s odd for me to say that he wasn’t a figure I’d normally buy. I’ll get to the why of that in a bit.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Beetle2Beetle was part of the first series of Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Officially, he’s not actually called Beetle, he’s called Deadliest Foes, a name he shares with Boomerang, who was his swap figure in this line. While they are swap figures, they don’t actually share anything but the Build-A-Figure piece. Beetle is roughly 6 ½ inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. Beetle’s had a few looks over the years, of varying styles. This figure is based on his Ultimate universe design, which is my least favorite of all the Beetle designs. It’s the one used in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon show, so I guess it makes a little sense, but it definitely turned me off the figure. Beetle features a sculpt that is unique to him (though a fair bit of it will be re-used for a comic-style Ultron later this year). It’s a well detailed sculpt, and it does a nice job of replicating Mark Bagley’s design of the character from the comic. While there are lots of details and bits, the sculpt still maintains certain sleekness, which is definitely cool. The wings and backpack are a separate piece, which clips into place and stays there nicely. The paintwork on the figure is okay, but, for me, it’s flawed from the start. See, the Ultimate Beetle is silver and red, in contrast to the green and purple scheme of EVERY OTHER BEETLE DESIGN EVER. So, yeah, I don’t really care for the color scheme. Aside from that, the paint is decent enough. There’s a bit of slop here and there, but it’s generally pretty clean. Beetle’s only accessory is the leg to the series Build-A-Figure Ultimate Green Goblin. So, now I’ve got two of those. Cool?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Beetle was yet another contribution to my collection courtesy of my Super Awesome Girlfriend. Apparently, she was walking through Walgreens and saw this guy and thought I’d like him. Amazingly enough, I hadn’t actually broken down and gotten him yet! While I’m not the biggest fan of the design he’s based on, the figure is actually a lot of fun. I’m really glad I got him!

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#0641: Vision (w/ Sub-Ultron 011)

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

VISION (W/ SUB-ULTRON 011)

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

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With the last few Marvel movie tie-in toy lines, Hasbro’s been trying out a variety of different scales and styles, just to see what sticks, I guess. Guardians of the Galaxy skipped the company’s signature 3 ¾ inch scale in favor of the slightly smaller 2 ½ inch scale. Age of Ultron has delivered the best of both worlds (sort of) by giving us both scales. I’ve looked at a few of the 3 ¾ inch figures with…mixed results. Yesterday’s Scarlet Witch review was my first look at the smaller line, and, aside from the weird Sub-Ultron pack-in, I quite liked her. Now, Scarlet witch was one of my favorite additions to the team in Age of Ultron, but, for me, the absolute top was today’s focus, The Vision. That dude rocked super hard. Currently, his only movie-based figure (not counting the Pop! bobble-head) is in the 2 ½ inch line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

VisionAoU2Vision (and his pack-mate Sub-Ultron 011) was released in the second assortment of 2 ½ inch Avengers: Age of Ultron figures. Given the scale, it’s no surprise that the figure stands 2 ½ inches tall. This is a slight point of annoyance for me because he’s just a smidge shorter than the Scarlet Witch figure, which isn’t accurate. Vision is played by the 6’3” Paul Bettany, while Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Scarlet Witch, is only 5’6”. Scale’s a bit harder when they’re this small, so it’s sort of forgivable, but still annoying. But what about the figure outside of comparative heights? Well, obviously, he’s based on Vision as portrayed by Bettany in the movie. That being said, he appears to have been based on an earlier design for Vision. He’s not incredibly different, but the headpiece is a little bulkier and more rounded that it was in the final film. Aside from that, he’s got a pretty decent sculpt. The proportions are all nicely balanced, and his “uniform” VisionAoU3has the appropriate texturing. The cape is a little bulky at the top, but not horribly so, and it does a very nice job of capturing the intricate design from the movie. The paintwork is another area where the people at Hasbro were clearly working from a less than finalized design. In general, his palate is far more washed out than it was on screen; the greens are grey and the reds are more of a magenta. The yellow’s about the same, but the cape is missing all of the accent work of the one seen in the film, which puts the very nice sculpt somewhat to waste. Also, his headgear is just straight silver instead of green, and he’s lacking pupils. If Wanda can get pupils, so can he! Vision has no accessories of his own, but he does get packed with yet another Sub-Ultron. This one continues the wheeled theme, though we get a set of treads this time around. I think this particular Sub-Ultron is new to this pack, though the upper torso(s) did show up on a few other Sub-Ultrons in the first assortment. I like 011 more than 008, but the dual upper torso thing does confuse me a bit. Which one of them drives?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My parents went to Hawaii and all I got was this Vision action figure. Okay, not really. I mean, yes, my parents buy him for me while they were in Hawaii, but it’s not like it’s all I got. Plus, it’s the Vision. As I stated above, he rocks super hard. I think he’s on par with Hawaii. I will admit, Vision’s not quite as good as the Scarlet Witch in this scale, but he’s pretty decent, overall. Add in the fact that I like this Sub-Ultron more than the last, and you’ve got a pretty winning set. I do hope Hasbro does Vision in one of the larger scales, though. He’s too cool to be contained in a 2 ½ inch figure.

#0640: Scarlet Witch (w/ Sub-Ultron 008)

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

SCARLET WITCH (W/ SUB-ULTRON 008)

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTON

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Well, Age of Ultron has come and gone. As of last week, it’s officially no longer the hot new Marvel movie. That said, some of the tie-in product is still making its way into stores, or, in most cases, sales on more desired stuff have slowed enough that the average consumer can actually find them. That’s where I come in! Yay! Scarlet Witch was definitely one of the film’s breakout characters, so her (admittedly under-packed ) figures have been difficult to find for some time. But I got one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ScarWitSubUlt2Scarlet Witch (along with Sub-Ultron 008) was released as part of the second round of Avengers: Age of Ultron Avengers Vs. Sub-Ultron sets. The figure stands 2 ½ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. She’s based on the character’s appearance in the big, climactic battle from the film. Seeing as this is when she actually joins up with the Avengers, it’s a sensible choice, and it’s the look we’ve seen on all of the merchandise so far. Scarlet Witch features a unique sculpt, which is pretty good, especially given the scale. There are a few minor issues; the neck is a little too long, and the hips feel a little detached from the torso. However, the head bears more than a passing resemblance to Elizabeth Olsen and the clothes are quite well detailed. It’s also nice to see the hands in a position other than the overly large, generic gripping pose that all of the GOTG figures had. The paintwork is simple and straightforward, but it’s cleanly handled and looks good overall. Scarlet Witch is packed with a pair of hex attachments. They’re a different mold from the ones used for the recent Marvel Legends and 3 ¾ scale figures; I guess that mold was too big. The solid red isn’t as nice as the translucent color of prior figures, but it’s serviceable. What’s that? Does she come with something else? Oh, right, that Sub-Ultron thing. Yeah, she’s packed with that. It has to be an accessory, because I really can’t count it as its own figure. There’s one of these things with every figure in this set. This one’s motorcycle-based; it first showed up, molded in blue instead of red, packed with Hulk. It’s okay, I guess. The Ultron portion is on the boxy side. The arms look to be cannons, and they sort of move at the shoulders. The cycle bit is just a solid hunk of plastic; the wheels are totally stationary.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

No exciting story here. I ended up finding this while at my nearest Walmart. There it is. There’s a clear focus for this set, and it’s Scarlet Witch. She’s a cool figure, and is definitely worth a purchase. The Sub-Ultron…ehhh. It’s not like it’s bad, but it doesn’t really offer a whole lot of fun.

#0639: Invisible Woman

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

INVISIBLE WOMAN

MARVEL HALL OF FAME

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The Fantastic Four have sort of become personae non gratae over at Marvel Comics in the last few years (thanks Fox) but they’re kind of one of the most important sets of characters Marvel’s ever had. Without them, there really isn’t a modern day Marvel Comics. It’s a shame they aren’t getting the respect that they deserve. It’s been a little while since any of the team has graced the toy world, but there’s a pretty decent back catalogue of stuff out there, including today’s focus, Invisible Woman.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

InvisibleWoman2Invisible Woman was released as part of the first series of ToyBiz’s Marvel Hall of Fame line. The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 9 points of articulation. She, like most of the other figures in the line, is more or less a re-release of a previous Marvel figure. In this case, she’s a rehash of Marvel Superheroes’ series 3 version of the character. That figure was available in both color-changing and non-color-changing versions, but this one seems to just have been offered with the feature, hence her somewhat odd coloring. The sculpt for the figure is definitely a dated one; it’s from very early in ToyBiz’s run with the license, so they were still finding their footing. The head is rather small, the articulation isn’t worked in very smoothly, and the figure just feels rather clunky in general. It’s not the worst thing ever, and it’s not even the worst female figure of the time (I’m looking at you, Monkey Face Princess Leia) but it certainly shows its age. The paint on the figure is somewhat hard to judge, mostly due to the figure’s color-change “action feature.” I can’t speak for when it was new, but the feature doesn’t really work anymore, which leaves the InvisibleWoman3figure sort of in this middle state. I tried putting her in cold water, as the packaging says to do, and all it really did was slightly change the back of the figure. Now she looks like a pie…(Tim’s been calling her Miss Meringue). Invisible Woman’s only accessory is…uhh…well, it sort of looks like a Tron disk or a Fantastic Four Frisbee. I don’t know. It plugs into her back. So, there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure’s another piece of the slew of figures I bought from Cosmic Comix a few months back. I actually own the original, non-Hall of Fame release, but I didn’t have the color-change version, so I figured this one was probably worth the $3 I paid. She’s not a figure that’s going to win any awards or anything, but she’s a neat little product of the early 90s.

 

#0638: Wolverine & Blob

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

WOLVERINE –STRIKE FORCE & THE BLOB

MARVEL MINIMATES

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Man, I haven’t reviewed many Minimates recently. There’s no denying that the X-Men, particularly the 90s incarnation of the team, have gotten quite a bit of love from DST. The latest comics-based series of Marvel Minimates has done its best to fill some important holes in the team (and give them a few more foes to fight) while also trying out a new way of distributing some of the characters. Today, I’ll be looking at the guy who’s easily the most well-known X-Man, Wolverine, as he faces of against Brotherhood of Evil Mutants member the Blob!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of Marvel Minimates Series 60.

WOLVERINE (& FORGE!)

Wolv&Blob2Wolverine is no stranger to Minimates, with this being his 57th foray into the line. Hey, a heavy hitter’s a heavy hitter. There has to be at least one in every series, right? The figure depicts him in the standard Strike Force uniform that several of the X-Men wore during the 90s. Wolverine didn’t really stick with it, but he did wear it a few times. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He has sculpted add-ons for his hair, gloves, and the two sets of straps on his legs, as well as a standard pair of clawed hands. The hair is a piece that’s been used several times before. It first showed up on the TRU Series 9 Brown Wolverine, and has been used fairly regularly since then. It’s definitely a good piece, and it’s accurate to that wacky hair of his from the comics. The leg straps are the same as those used on Series 34’s 90s Cyclops, which is fitting, seeing as they’re meant to be the same design in the comics. The gloves are the same as Banshee, released in this same series. They’re a good sculpt, and they sit nicely on the Wolv&Blob3figure. The paintwork on Wolverine is passable, but not the best. The detailing on the face is top notch; all the lines are nice and sharp and the facial expression feels perfect for the character. The torso detail is also pretty good, though it’s hampered a little bit by the sloppy edges on the change from blue to yellow. The real issues with the paint are on the shoulders, where the yellow hasn’t been consistently applied, resulting in the underlying blue bleeding through, and on the pelvis, where the red of the belt does not continue down through the whole buckle. The accessories are what sets this figure (and the rest of the series) apart. In addition to the standard clear display stand, the figure also includes an extra head, hair, hands, and right leg, as well as a shoulder harness and a large gun, allowing the figure to be re-configured as Forge, a previously un-released X-Man. The pieces are all nicely handled and match up well with the regular parts, resulting in a figure that is just as much Forge as it is Wolverine. Also, I really like that the skin tone on the head is different from Wolverine, thus properly denoting Forge’s Cheyenne ancestry, which is far too often overlooked.

BLOB

Wolv&Blob4Fred Dukes, aka the Blob, is actually one of the X-Men’s oldest foes, first appearing in X-Men #3. This isn’t the first time he’s appeared as a Minimate, however, his last figure was based upon his film appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which wasn’t the comics-inspired look most were hoping for.  Blob is no slouch when it comes to sculpted add-ons. He features pieces for his hair, torso, upper arms, lower arms/hands, thighs, and feet, as well as a torso extender hidden under that torso piece. The last Blob figure was somewhat on the small side, but this one moves to correct that, making use of a combination of pieces from the Marvel line’s various Hulks and the Street Fighter vs Tekken line’s Rufus. The pieces all mesh together quite well, resulting in a Blob that accurately represents him as the wall of mutant we know from the comics. One small issue with my figure: one of the shoulders on my figure has a chip missing out of it. It isn’t terribly noticeable, but it’s still annoying. Blob’s paintwork is generally pretty well handled, though it isn’t without issues. The colors are all of the proper shades for the character, which is always good, and the detail lines on his torso and face do a tremendous job of bringing the character to life. However, some of the more base level paint is a little off. The straps on the shoulders don’t quite line up with each other, and the gold bands on the wrists are rather uneven and sloppy, with gold paint ending up a few places it shouldn’t. For accessories, Blob isn’t quite as loaded as Wolverine, but he’s certainly no slouch. He includes a spare set of hands and feet, without wristbands or boots, allowing for the figure to be displayed as the Blob from some of his earlier appearances. This offers a nice bit of extra value, and gives the buyer two possible looks, should they end up with a second Blob while completing their Strike Force X-Men. He also includes the standard clear display stand, which is always appreciated.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, this is actually my second set of these two. When my full series set arrived from Big Bad Toy Store, I opened these two up first, and they seemed fine. Then I took a closer look at Wolverine’s torso and noticed he had…boobs. Seems my figure got a Storm torso by mistake. Hey, secondary mutation, right? Or maybe they were just easing us into X-23 taking over the title. Anyway, I ended up buying a second set from Cosmic Comix, so, there’s that!

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#0637: Ultron

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

ULTRON

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Well, it’s a little late, but here’s my Ultron Build-A-Figure review!  I actually had most of this review ready to go a few days ago, but, as I mention in my Orion and Onigumo review, computer issues left me without access to the lovely photos I’d shot for this.  So, I had to shelf it for just a little bit and work with figures of which I did have pictures.  Fortunately, I was able to get my computer issues mostly sorted out, so we’re back in business!  Yay!  So, he’s my review of yet another Ultron.  I know, it’s a real change of pace.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

UltronBAF2Ultron is the Build-A-Figure for the Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series.  At face value, that might seem a little odd.  I mean, this is the movie version of Ultron, who’s in no way related to Ant-Man.  Wouldn’t he have made more sense as the BAF for the last series of Avengers Marvel Legends?  Well, yeah, he would, but I can kinda see why Hasbro went the way they did.  First of all, it gave them more time to get the details on Ultron accurate to what was seen on screen.  It also gave the Ant-Man series, which had to be something of a hard sell to retailers, more of a hook.  And, seeing as Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, created Ultron in the comics, there’s at least a little bit of a link.  So, as I noted above, this is the movie version of Ultron; specifically, it’s his Ultron Prime look, which was his main body for the majority of the film.  It’s kind of an important look.  The figure is 8 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation.  This is the first of the Ultron figures from the movie not to feel horribly undersized next to his fellow figures, and that’s actually a pretty big deal.  Ultron also gets a sculpt all his own, though, to be totally upfront, it’s not quite as good as it could be.  A lot of that has to do with how the articulation has been worked in, which is to say very clumsily.  It’s forgivable on the arms and legs, but the fact that the ab-joint doesn’t follow the sculpted detail lines feels inexcusable. Also, the  hands are kinda weirdly posed, which is annoying.  In fact, the hands in general feel less detailed than the rest of the figure, almost as if their unfinished.  He’s got webbed fingers for crying out loud!  However, complaints aside, there’s more than a few things to like about this sculpt.  The head is very well detailed and captures Ultron’s distinctive movie look very well.  They’ve chosen a more pondering expression, which some people don’t like, but I think it works for the character.  Ultron’s sculpt is also a fair bit closer to the on screen design than prior attempts, and manages to get pretty darn close.  Like the sculpt, paintwork is something of a mixed bag here.  Not in the usual sloppy Hasbro paint apps way, either.  No, everything’s clean here, it’s just…inconsistent?  I don’t know how to put it.  The figure is molded in a dark-ish grey, with silver painted over it.  The thing is, the silver is rather heavy in some areas and completely absent in others, with no real area between.  It’s jarring to say the least.  Also, many of the red sections feel like they were tacked on at the last minute, and don’t line up with the sculpt at all.  As an accessory himself, Ultron includes no pack-ins.  I can’t really think of anything to give him, so I guess that’s fair.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve been following the Ant-Man Legends reviews, you can probably figure out where this guy came from.  I picked up all but Giant-Man from my local TRU, and then ordered Giant-Man online, thereby getting myself an Ultron.  How about that?  This is the movie Ultron I was most looking forward to, and it’s not wrong to say he’s the best we’ve gotten.  That said, he still has more than a few flaws, which prevent him from being quite as cool as he could have been, which is certainly a letdown.

UltronBAF3

#0635: Cyclops & M. Bison

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

CYCLOPS & M. BISON

X-MEN VS STREET FIGHTER (TOYBIZ)

CyclopsBison1
The 90s were an interesting time to say the least. The X-Men were at the height of their popularity, which, of course, meant plenty of tie-in stuff. Capcom, makers of hit games series such as Mega Man and Street Fighter, licensed the team for a fighting game, called Children of the Atom. This ended up being a success, leading to Capcom pitting the X-Men against the cast of Street Fighter. ToyBiz already held the license for Marvel, so they picked up the Capcom license as well, allowing them to do their own tie-in two packs. One of these sets was X-Men leader Cyclops versus Street Fighter’s big bad M. Bison, which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cyclops and Bison were a two pack in ToyBiz’s X-Men vs Street Fighter line, released in the late 90s. I believe these two were part of the first assortment of packs.

CYCLOPS

CyclopsBison2Cyclops is presented here in his fan-favorite 90s costume, designed by Jim Lee. It’s one of those looks that doesn’t make a whole lot of practical sense and could be considered a bit silly. That said, nostalgia is a powerful thing, so I can’t help but love it. The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and sports 8 points of articulation. That’s a little lower than the typical Marvel figure of the time, due to his lack of both elbow and knee joints. I can’t say why ToyBiz decided to leave those out, but he does at least have some extra shoulder articulation, which certainly eases the pain. Structurally, Cyclops makes use of the body of the Monster Armor Cyclops from the main X-Men line, along with a new head. The body is from towards the end of the X-Men line, when ToyBiz was trying to emulate the higher-detailed, more pre-posed figures being offered by McFarlane at the time. However, Cyclops had one of the tamer sculpts, so he doesn’t end up being too bad. The one real drawback of the original figure, the head, has been replaced CyclopsBison3with a much nicer piece. This new head does a great job of capturing the animated style Cyclops from the cartoon; it’s simplistic, but all the necessary details are there. The paintwork isn’t the best ever, but it’s not terrible. There’s a bit of slop, especially around the yellow spots. Also, the hair and headband don’t quite meet up right, giving poor Cyke a bit of a bald spot. On the plus side, the blue is a darker shade than the Monster Armor figure, which is more true to the character design, and the plastic/paint is much more matte, which has an overall better look. Cyclops came packed with an optic blast piece (Which I don’t have) and a pleather jacket like the one he was known to wear from time to time in the 90s cartoon (mostly when Jean was crazy or presumed dead. It’s his brooding jacket.)
M. BISON

CyclopsBison4Ah, good ol’ M. What’s it stand for? Well, apparently it’s a shortening of Mister, which seems kinda dumb. In reality, Bison, Vega, and Balrog all swapped names when the game was imported to the US, mostly because Capcom wanted avoid the potential legal issues of having a boxer character whose name was Mike Bison. So the villain became M. Bison, with little explanation of what the M was exactly. Oh well. The figure is about 5 inches tall and has 10 points of articulation. He also has a punching action feature, which sort of gives him two more points of articulation. Bison is built on the Spider-Man line’s Tombstone body, with some additional armored pieces added on, as well as a new head. The body isn’t a perfect match for Bison, but it’s pretty good. The proportions are quite exaggerated, but it was the 90s, so that’s sort of to be expected. There are a few oddities, such as the hand clearly molded to hold something that he doesn’t include. The head is a little on the small side and a little light in the details. The hat is really nice, though. Paint is pretty rough here. Some areas make out okay; the red sections have a nice wash to bring out the details of the sculpt, and the armored parts are clean. The biggest issues are on the head. The hair apps are almost totally missing from one side, and the eyes are at best an approximation of what they should be. M. Bison originally included a cloth cape, but mine no longer has it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I first got this set many years ago, purchased from KB Toys while on a trip with my grandmother. I got it purely for the Cyclops, who was the most accurate version of the character available. I had no idea who this M. Bison guy was. I eventually found out, and became quite a fan of Street Fighter II, but Cyclops was still why I got these.  Somewhere in the last 15 years, Cyclops went missing (stupid house gremlins!) and Bison crumbled into pieces. I thought about replacing them, but this line picked up quite an aftermarket price, with this set being one of the highest. A few weeks ago, I came across this pair for a reasonable price and snagged them as fast as I could. Years later, Cyclops is still very much the star, but I’m happy to have them both again.