Tag Archives: Marvel

#3496: Cyclops Light Force Arena

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

CYCLOPS LIGHT FORCE ARENA

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Using the Laser Light Force that only he possesses, Cyclops trains in the Danger Room to hone his mutant ability. The Light Force Arena’s many obstacles test Cyclops’ optic blasts to the limit! Only with constant practice can Cyclops keep his skills razor-sharp enough to cope with the threat of the Evil Mutants!”

Hey, remember back last week when I looked at that X-Men playset?  Wanna see me do it again?  Well, whether you want me to or not, that’s the angle I’m going with here.  Last week gave Wolverine a place to hang, so how about doing the same for Cyclops this week?  Oh yeah!

THE PLAYSET ITSELF

The Cyclops Laser Light Arena was released in 1991 alongside Series 1 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line.  It was the second of the two small-scale Danger Room playsets that accompanied the main line’s launch, serving as a companion piece to Wolverine’s Combat Cave.  The Laser Light Arena is the same basic dimensions as the Combat Cave, being about 7 inches tall, 7 inches wide, and 4 1/2 inches deep.  It’s smaller nature doesn’t *quite* live up to the “Arena” name, but we gave the other one a pass on “Cave” so this one can get a bit of a pass too.  Like the Combat Cave, this one required assembly right out of the box.  Once popped together, you get a set-up that’s not terribly different from the Cave’s assembly; three walls and three gimmicks, plus a spot to plug in a figure.  In this case, it’s designed to work specifically with the Series 1 Cyclops, right down to having spots shaped like the soles of his boots.  There’s also a spot that’s designed to directly work with the button that triggered his light-up feature; shame my figure lacks that these days.  Depending on how the “stand” is configured when you push down the button that would go under the spot where his light-up lever *should* be, you get one of three outcomes.  Furthest counterclockwise splits open the “metal box,” the next over flips back the Magneto standee, and the last one knocks over the stone wall.  Since it’s tied into the light up feature, it all looks like it’s being done by Cyclops’ optic blasts.  They actually all work pretty well, and there’s a good feeling of interactiveness to it.  The color scheme isn’t too far removed from the Combat Cave, albeit with the predominant color being yellow in place of red.  It works fine enough.  There’s more stickers to be had, as well, to keep things a little more interesting.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with the Combat Cave, I missed this one’s original retail run.  I do remember seeing it in the little product catalogue, and I was slightly more interested in this one, it being Cyclops-themed and all.  I remember being slightly bummed about not getting this one at the same time as the Combat Cave.  I wound up getting this one a couple of years later, from Collector’s World, a small comic shop near where my family vacations, which has sadly gone out of business since.  I think this one’s actually a bit more fun than the Combat Cave, and it’s features work a little bit better.  But, they do both make nice display pieces.

#3494: Kingpin

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

KINGPIN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“One of the most powerful criminal leaders in New York City, Wilson Fisk, also known as Kingpin, rules the underworld with a signature blend of cruelty and charm.”

2003’s Daredevil is not a particularly good film, but one of the things that pretty much everyone can agree worked was Michael Clark Duncan’s portrayal of Kingpin.  With his passing in 2012, there was no way for him to reprise the role, and it became a rather daunting one for the next actor to portray Wilson Fisk in live action.  Thankfully, Vincent D’Onofrio was more than up for the challenge, delivering a take on Fisk so memorable that he even became the very first of Netflix’s Marvel cast to make the jump over to the MCU proper when he appeared in Hawkeye.  And with that, he also got an action figure.  Finally!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kingpin is part of the Hydra Stomper Series of Marvel Legends, which is another Disney + based series of figures.  Kingpin is the one unnumbered figure in the set, as he’s sans-BAF piece.  He’s also one of the the two figures in the set based on Hawkeye.  Interestingly, he’s specifically based on his appearance in the photo at the end of Episode 5, rather than his proper appearance in Episode 6, presumably to keep him in a slightly more classic Kingpin get-up.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Kingpin is using a good chunk of parts from Happy, which seems pretty sensible, what with them both being larger guys in suits and all.  He gets a new head and jacket, and a modified upper torso, to remove Happy’s tie.  The head’s sporting a rather strong likeness of D’Onofrio in the role, and the new jacket and upper torso both work well to sell the whole overall look.  Kingpin’s color work is pretty decent; it’s almost entirely molded plastic colors, but they get the proper shades down, and it’s always nice to see Kingpin in his classic colors.  His face gets the printed technique, which works well here, and even gets the couple of spots on D’Onofrio’s face.  Kingpin is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and gripping, as well as his diamond-topped cane.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I loved Netflix’s Daredevil in its entirety, and D’Onofrio’s Kingpin was certainly a big part of that.  I was happy to get Daredevil back in the one Netflix set, but I was always a little bummed there was no Kingpin to go with him.  With his reintroduction into the MCU proper, I was more hopeful, and that certainly paid off.  Kingpin is a somewhat by-the-numbers figure, but that’s really all he needed to be, and I’m happy with the end product.

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.

#3492: Ronan The Accuser

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

RONAN THE ACCUSER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“As Supreme Public Accuser, Ronan enforces Kree justice with his cosmi-rod, the Universal Weapon, which often brings him into conflict with the space-faring races of the Marvel Universe”

The Kree, a race of aliens that got at least some degree of focus in last weekend’s The Marvels (I don’t know specifically how much, because I haven’t seen it as of this writing) made their first appearance in the comics, represented via proxy by their Kree Sentry that was destroyed by the Fantastic Four, and then in person by Ronan, their Supreme Accuser sent to learn what happened to their Sentry.  Ronan began as a purely antagonistic force, but has acquired more complex alliances over the years, at times fighting alongside many of the heroes he had previously fought.  But, at the end of the day, he remains loyal to the Kree Empire, and they’re not always the nicest, so he’s often stuck enforcing their not so nice ways.  At least he’s gotten some action figure coverage, though.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ronan the Accurser is an Amazon-exclusive Marvel Legends offering.  He’s at the deluxe price point, and is part of Hasbro’s small run of comics-style “Guardians of the Galaxy” exclusives, which also includes Yondu, Star-Lord, and the Drax and Moondragon two-pack.  This marks the third time Ronan’s been in the Legends line.  Thus far, we’ve had a Build-A-Figure based on a mid-00s appearance and a standalone based on his MCU figure.  This one goes for Ronan’s classic comics attire, which is by far his most prolonging, and just generally his best.  The figure stands shy of 8 inches tall and he has 28 points of articulation, plus moving shoulder pads.  Ronan uses the Warlock Series Colossus as a starting point, sharing his arms, legs, and feet with that release.  It actually makes for a pretty solid re-use; it’s not spot-on to every Ronan appearance, but it’s remarkably close, and the build is certainly correct.  The only real drawbacks are the limited elbow articulation and the visible pins, but even those are pretty minor.  He gets a new head, shoulderpads, torso, hands, and skirt piece, courtesy of sculptor Paul Harding.  They fit very nicely with the pre-existing parts, and are a strong recreation of his classic design.  He opts for a more general classic design, rather than going for one particular artist’s rendition.  Overall, it’s just a very clean assembly, which fits very well with the character.  His color work is likewise very clean.  He’s got a lot of greens, as you would expect.  The lightest green is metallic, while the others are flat.  The application’s all pretty cleanly handled, with minimal slop and bleed over.  Ronan’s only got one accessory, but it’s a very good one, because it’s his cosmi-rod, aka his real big hammer.  It’s an all-new sculpt, and it’s quite a sizable piece at that.  The angles are nice and sharp, and there’s some impressive texturing on the head.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always liked Ronan, but he’s always had a shortage of good figures.  I never was able to complete his Build-A-Figure back in the day, which was honestly one of those better in the end type deals, since it wasn’t really the look I wanted anyway.  I’ve made due with the movie version for a while, which is honestly fine, because that one’s pretty good.  But, it doesn’t remove my desire for a good classic one.  I intended to get around to ordering this one eventually, but Amazon made it easier for me by giving him a good chunk of a mark down for Prime Day.  I’m glad I got around to that, because he’s actually a really, really good figure.  Certainly the best version of Ronan out there.

#3489: Black Knight & Sersi

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

BLACK KNIGHT & SERSI

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Fearful that Sersi is going mad because of her immortality, the Eternals bond her with her fellow Avenger Dane Whitman, the Black Knight, forging a mental union to make them soulmates”

In the ’90s, it was an unwritten rule in comics that everything was cooler with leather jackets.  Honestly, you can drop “in comics” from that sentence.  Leather jackets were really just everywhere.  Jim Lee notably gave a few of the X-Men leather jackets to wear over their spandex suits (which was honestly following up on Animal Man wearing a jacket during Grant Morrison’s run on that book, but that was actually a *denim* jacket, so it’s not quite the same), and it caught like wildfire.  Soon, all the Marvel teams had them, and that included the Avengers.  It’s not a time that’s jumped back to too much in toy form, but, you know what?  Here it is.  Let’s look at Black Knight and Sersi, shall we?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Black Knight and Sersi are an Amazon-exclusive Marvel Legends, released under the wider “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” banner that’s celebrating the Avengers 60th anniversary this year.  Both figures in this set are based on their time with the Avengers in the early ’90s.

BLACK KNIGHT

We got a classic comics Black Knight not too terribly long ago, back in the Cull Obsidian Series in 2018, but I’m never one to shy away from another.  This one’s like that one, but with a leather jacket.  And how could you not love that?  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Like the last Black Knight, this one’s construction is largely Bucky Cap-adjacent.  He uses the pelvis piece, and a bunch of other parts used in conjunction with other Bucky Cap parts elsewhere.  Specifically, he’s got the more modern head from the last Black Knight, the arms from Cannonball, the torso from Doctor Strange, the belt from Daredevil, the legs from Hobgoblin, and a new jacket and boots.  The mix of parts is a pretty pitch-perfect recreation of his look from the comics, with the new parts in particular really selling the whole thing.  There’s some slight quirks to some of the older parts, with the legs in particular showing a degree of warping.  Black Knight’s color work is similar to his last release, but has a degree more polish to it.  The face is now printed, which adds an extra lifelike quality, as well as giving him his ’90s era stubble, and the rest of the line-work is just overall a bit cleaner.  Black Knight is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), and his Neural sword, which replaced the Ebony Blade during this era of the comics.

SERSI

While Sersi’s gotten the Legends treatment before, it was only her MCU incarnation.  This marks the first time for her comics counterpart, and indeed the first comics Eternal in general.  It’s really not that surprising, what with Sersi always being their most notable member.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Sersi uses a mix of prior figure parts, with the torso and pelvis from Shriek, the coat and upper arms from Rogue, and the lower arms and the legs of Phoenix.  She also gets a new head, belt, and kneepad pieces specifically for this release.  They’re not bad.  The head is giving me Courtney Cox vibes, which I suppose isn’t terrible for a ’90s-based figure.  Her color work is appropriate for the era, placing her in her red and black number.  The jacket is, interestingly, a different shade of brown than Dane’s jacket, and she also lacks the Avengers logo.  Consulting the source material shows that this is actually proper for this look, so, there it is, I guess.  Sersi is packed with two sets of hands (in fists and open gesture) and two effects pieces.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I definitely dig Black Knight, and I don’t want to say no to a comics Sersi, but I wasn’t initially vibing on another Amazon exclusive, so I opted to hold out on these two.  However, the Prime Day sale has struck again.  The price made it hard to pass on them, so I didn’t.  They’re on the older side in terms of parts use, but they do what they need to, and they look pretty sweet with that ’90s Black Widow figure they put out back in 2020.

#3487: West Coast Avengers

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

IRON MAN, MOCKINGBIRD, TIGRA, SPIDER-WOMAN, & HANK PYM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In 1984, Marvel decided they had too many Avengers for just one team, and split them off into two separate entities.  The original team remained in New York, while the spin-off team, the West Coast Avengers, moved out to California.  Originally launching as a 4-issue mini-series, with the original plan being to alternate issues of the main book between the main team, West Coast Avengers was a breakaway hit, and got its own standalone series, which lasted 102 issues, and frequently outshined the original book.  Despite the impact of the team, the direct acknowledgement of them in toy form has been rare.  Thus far, we’ve had a single three-pack in Marvel Universe.  But, Legends is in for some more recognition, so now we’ve got a boxed set on that side, too.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Iron Man, Mockingbird, Tigra, Spider-Woman, and Hank Pym make up The West Coast Avengers box set, which is an Amazon-exclusive Marvel Legends offering.  The set is also branded under the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” banner, which serves as the celebration of the main team’s 60th anniversary.  Iron Man, Tigra, and Spider-Woman are all tweaks on existing figures, with Mockingbird and Hank being all-new offerings.

IRON MAN

When the WCA first got together, it was during Rhodey’s time in the classic Iron Man armor, following the fall-out of “Demon in a Bottle.”  By the time of the ongoing series, however, Tony had reclaimed the title, and was sporting his Silver Centurion armor, which is proudly showcased on the cover of the first issue.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  This guy is using the exact same mold as the Walgreens-exclusive version, which makes sense, since it’s the same armor and all.  It’s still got the visible pins on the elbows and knees, but that’s honestly pretty minor.  The notable change-up to this guy comes down to the color work.  While the Walgreens version made use of metallic silver for the silver parts of the armor, this one goes for a slightly pearlescent white.  On paper, I wasn’t so sure about it, but in person, I actually really like how it turned out.  Iron Man is packed with the same two sets of hands as his single release, as well as the smaller blast effects, in blue this time.

MOCKINGBIRD

Oh, look, it’s Mockingbird, aka the whole reason I wanted the set.  I’ve certainly never had this exact thing happen before with a West Coast Avengers boxed set…Where was I?  Oh, yeah, buying a whole boxed set for a Mockingbird figure.  As you do.  This is Mockingbird’s second time as a Marvel Legend, but the first one was decidedly more modern than what she wore during her time with the WCA.  It’s not her *first* outfit she wore with the WCA, since that version had legs on the body suit, but it’s the one she wore for the longest stretch of time with the team.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Mockingbird is using the frankensteined torso that once belonged to Phoenix, as well as the lower legs from Captain Marvel, and what might be a new set of upper legs between them?  They’re skinnier than the pinless ones that have been used in conjunction with the Phoenix body recently, but they are still pinless, so they’re not anything from before that.  It looks like they might be shared with the Moondragon figure, but I don’t have her to compare.  She definitely gets new parts for the head and arms, though.  I really like how the head in particular turned out; the separate piece for the mask works very well.  Mine has a spot of glue on the face, which I’m not a fan of, but it otherwise is a very strong sculpt.  The arms are a little odd; they kind of are bound to be, given the actual design of her sleeves in the comics was usually cheated for the page, so I think they’ve done their best with the situation.  Her paint work is pretty strong; there’s a little bit of fuzziness on the edges of the shirt, but the detailing on the face in particular is great, and I love the accenting on the hair.  Mockingbird is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and a fist/flat combo), as well as Gambit’s staff, and Netflix Daredevil’s billyclub.  It makes for a good approximation of her battle staves, and is certainly a closer representation than what we got with the last one.

TIGRA

Tigra was not only a founding member of the WCA, she also one of the team’s longer lasting members, apart from that part in the middle of the run where she, Mockingbird, and Moon Knight split off on their own.  She also got a figure very recently as part of the Retro line.  This one is…well, very similar to that one, really.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  She’s using almost exactly the same sculpt as the last release.  That was a really, really good sculpt, certainly one of my favorites.  There’s not much better you can do for Tigra, so I guess it makes sense that you would want to keep using it.  The only sculptural change-up is to the calmer of the two heads, which now gets a new hairpiece, which has more volume to it, better matching her ’80s appearances.  She also gets a new color scheme; the first Tigra was far too pale, while the more recent one got complaints of being too orange.  This one meets in the middle, and it works very well.  The patterning on the stripes remains the same, but her bikini is now a very dark blue, and the faces are printed, rather than strictly painted.  The faces in particular are the biggest improvement of the bunch.  Like her single-packed counterpart, Tigra gets two sets of hands, in fists and clawing poses.

SPIDER-WOMAN

Julia Carpenter’s Spider-Woman was a pretty late-stage addition to the team, first assisting them in issue #70, and officially joining in #74.  Julia Carpenter got a Legends release back during the tie-in to Far From Home, making this one seem initially as if it’s just a retread…but it’s actually not?  Yeah, I was a bit shocked by that, myself.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Despite being the same look as the last figure, this Julia Carpenter shares exactly one piece wit her: her lower torso/pelvis, itself borrowed from the Phoenix mold.  The upper torso gave me a heck of a time ID-ing, since it’s really basic, but I eventually worked out that it was from Dagger, and it appears it hasn’t been used since.  I actually like it, since it’s without all of the odd peg holes that the Phoenix torso has picked up over the years, so it looks a lot cleaner.  She re-uses the arms and legs from Shriek, so she’s got the pinless set-up there.  She also gets a new head, with hair that better matches her earlier appearances, and a much sharper face sculpt.  The color work on this figure is very clean.  Digging the stark black and white.  I do miss the accenting on the hair, but it’s ultimately not the end of the world.  I think the current look still works.  Spider-Woman is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

HANK PYM

Starting with the first issue of the ongoing West Coast book, Hank Pym was a recurring supporting player for the team.  His journey back to the Avengers following his fall from grace served as a background for the rest of the characters’ antics, and slowly built him back up, until he was ready to join the team properly after 20 issues of character growth.  After four different identities, he decided to just stick to being himself, rather than going back to the costumed hero route.  He spent a lot of time in a basic red jumpsuit, which isn’t super toyetic or anything, but it’s gotten a figure just the same.  Said figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He would have 33 is not for the seized waist joint on my copy.  Hank makes use of re-used parts from the Red Skull jumpsuit body.  He gets a new head and torso, sculpted by Paul Harding.  The head is a solid recreation of Hank of the era, and it all fits well with the pre-existing parts.  Unfortunately, that means that the figure is a little too large, just across the board.  Hank’s just an average guy when not using the particles, so he’s about a half an inch too tall.  Hank’s color work is decent enough.  It’s very basic, but that’s expected.  The face gets printing, which is definitely cool.  Hank is includes two sets of hands, a pair in open gesture, and a fist/grip combo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The West Coast Avengers line-up is something I’ve been trying to build in toy form since the 5-inch days, always to limited success.  Legends has been the best spread thus far, but there were definitely some holes in the line-up.  The boxed set seems like a great idea on paper, but I’ll admit to being less than thrilled by the final line-up being 3/5ths re-releases.  So, I wound up holding off, at least until Amazon knocked 30% off of the price for Prime Day.  Mockingbird is exactly the figure I was hoping for, and hands down my favorite release of the three figures the character’s gotten.  Hank has issues with scaling, but I’m generally just glad to have this version of the character at all.  Spider-Woman was actually a pleasant surprise, as she winds up being just an across the board improvement to the older figure.  Tigra and Iron Man are both rather unnecessary, but I do kind of like these versions a little more than the prior ones.  Not so much that I really feel like they justify themselves, but what are you gonna do?

#3486: Wolverine Jeep

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

WOLVERINE JEEP

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Whether he’s on a top-secret mission with his fellow X-Men or off on his own tacking one of his many adversaries, Wolverine needs a powerful rig to cover any terrain he might encounter! Thus, the creation of this custom-made jeep, designed to operate under the harshest conditions—just about the only conditions Wolverine ever finds himself in!”

In the ’90s, when action figure buying was at a definite high, figures didn’t just function on their own.  Oh, no, they also got stuff to accent.  There were playsets.  There were vehicles.  Oh, how we sang the songs of…something.  Look, it was a different time.  There was a Jeep in every toy line.  Or a Jeep in multiple toy lines, at the very least.  Most importantly (to me, anyway), there was a Jeep in the X-Men line.  And, you know what, I’m gonna look at that today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Wolverine Jeep was added to Toy Biz’s X-Men line in 1995, alongside a similarly scaled Mini-Blackbird vehicle.  For the initial release, it was officially titled “Wolverine Jeep” and sold sans-figure.  It saw three re-releases, all of which changed it to “Wolverine 4×4” (presumably having something to do with Jeep not approving the use of their name), and added a 5-inch Wolverine figure to the mix.  The vehicle measures about 9 inches long by 4 1/2 inches tall by 4 inches wide, and it’s scaled to Toy Biz’s 5-inch line, at least at the earlier end of things.  While Wolverine had driven a number of actual Jeeps in the comics and the cartoon, this particular item wasn’t specifically based on any of them, instead crafting something that is vaguely Jeep like, while also kind of being more toyetic, I suppose.  The later descriptor of 4×4 is honestly a more accurate one, which may have added to the push to re-name it.  The sculpting for this thing was all-new in ’95, but of course it would get the three aforementioned re-releases, and was even repainted for Toy Biz’s Spider-Man line as well.  It’s a pretty decent little set-up.  There’s seating for two standard-sized figures, and even some space for storage in the back, if you wanted to throw some accessories or something back there.  The wheels all can spin just fine, and you can even put the windshield down if you so choose.  In its default configuration, it’s just a pretty sensible car.  But it’s also got an action mode, because it was for a toy line.  All four wheels get adamantium claws that pull out, and pressing the steering wheel pops open the hood of the car, revealing a rotating grinder.  For grinding purposes, I guess?  The box shows Sabretooth getting thrown in there, which feels like it would be pretty messy, but he’s also Sabretooth, so he can probably handle it.  Paint work on this thing is at a minimum; there’s a little bit of base work for the blue and black detailing on the main body, but it’s otherwise just down to decals.  They work pretty well, and I especially like the printing for the headlights.  The Jeep was packed a gripping claw piece that mounts on the back, as well as a missile launcher….which launches a claw missile.  Say, do you suppose they really wanted to theme this thing around claws?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In 1995, I was only just discovering my love of Jeeps, so I didn’t jump on this one the way you might assume.  I was more invested in the Blackbird, I suppose.  It was actually a good long while before I got this one.  I snagged it from a store in my family’s usual vacationing spot, back in the fall of 2019.  It was still sealed, and it was pretty cheap, so it’s kind of hard to pass-up that sort of thing.  It’s a fun, if perhaps gimmicky, little vehicle.  Now, I just have to find all the variants on it, I suppose.

#3484: Chasm

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

CHASM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A near-fatal battle between Peter Parker and his clone, Ben Reilly, leaves Ben rising from the quantum goo as the villainous Chasm”

Poor Ben Reilly just really can’t catch a break, can he?  He keeps dying or being evil.  He seemed to get a bit of an upswing when they made him the main Spidey again in 2022, but…then he seemingly died and then went rogue.  I mean, it’s not *exactly* evil, but he’s certainly on the edge.  It’s kind of humorous, because Ben’s not even supposed to *be* the edgy clone!  That was Kane’s whole gimmick.  Ben’s the light-hearted and carefree guy…right?  Well, maybe he’ll get there again.  He *is* currently living in paradise.  In the mean time, he’s a figure of him during his emo phase.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chasm is part of the latest Spider-Man retro card series of Marvel Legends.  He’s another very modern figure from a largely very modern line-up.  He’s also one of two different Ben Reilly figures in this particular line-up, which is an interesting switch up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Chasm is based on the ANAD 2099 body, which is a decent enough set-up, but is slightly hampered by being the inferior version of two different Spidey base bodies.  I imagine this one in particular is a little cheaper to produce, which makes more sense for a more one-off design like Chasm.  It does kind of suck that it means he’s still got the visible pins, though.  He’s got a new head and add-ons for his wrist cartridges, which are generally pretty basic, but well implemented pieces.  The rest of the design is carried by the paint work.  Chasm, to showcase his turn to a more villainous side, gets to be purple and green, the classic bad guy colors in comics.  They’re a particularly nice shade here, which I definitely dig.  Application is generally pretty good, apart from the right elbow on my copy completely missing the purple paint app.  Chasm is packed with a pair of effects piece, borrowed from Scarlet Witch, but in green this time.  That feels exceptionally light, given how few new parts this guy has.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Ben Reilly.  I really do.  I like him enough that I read his whole “Beyond” run in the comics.  It wasn’t awful, and the Chasm angle isn’t the *worst* thing ever, but it’s also a little frustrating to see this character caught in this sort of loop of characterization.  But, a good figure is a good figure, and I’m a sucker for a good Ben Reilly figure.  Chasm’s okay.  He’s pretty by the numbers, but if nothing else he’s got a fun color scheme.

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.

#3482: Elektra Natchios Daredevil

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

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Martial artist and former assassin Elektra Natchios dedicates herself to fighting crime under the mantle of Daredevil when Matt Murdock is sent to prison”

So, it’s Halloween, and it’s usually a time for spooky and scary stuff, but, uhh, I don’t know, I guess I’m not overly feeling it?  Or perhaps I’m reeling from the horror of the very real passage of time and the changes that it brings!  OOOOOOOOOOOO!  SCARY! …Is that it?  Is that doing it for you?  Eh, close enough.  So, yeah, in any sort of serialized fiction, even long-running fiction with a bit of a status quo, there’s always a degree of change and growth.  Over in the Daredevil comics, Elektra has gone from being a rather deadly master assassin to dead to back again to Skrull to back again to actually heroic character, carrying on the mantle of Daredevil while Matt’s been off doing his own thing.  It’s the most recent turn that’s actually finally gotten me to care about Elektra in any way whatsoever.  And that’s perhaps the scariest thing of all.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra Natchios Daredevil is part of the latest retro card series of Spide-Man Marvel Legends, which is notably a very modern series of figures almost across the board.  So modern, in fact, that most of the figures aren’t even on properly retro style packaging, Elektra included.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Her movement is about what you’d expect from a Legends release at this stage.  Some of the joints are a little stiff, and I wouldn’t mind more range on the mid-torso joint, but she generally moves pretty well.  Elektra’s sculpt is an all-new one, handled by Rene Aldrete.  It’s generally pretty solid.  Her look and build is consistent with the standard Elektra from back in the Sp//dr Series, and the details from her new look definitely work well.  I dig the detailing on the hand and feet wraps, and the slight dynamic flow to the loin cloth and scarf is very fun.  If I have one minor complaint, it’s that we only get the one scarf piece, which is covering her face (as it does by default in the comics), meaning you can’t really see her lower face sculpt without taking it off, thereby throwing off her whole look.  But, if we’re only getting one scarf, this is the direction I’d prefer for them to go.  Elektra’s color work is pretty decent.  It’s not really anything crazy; just a lot of red and black, which is accurate to the source material.  A lot of it’s molded, so that’s very clean.  What paint work she gets is also very clean, and I do quite like the shading on the eyes.  Elektra is packed with her twin sais, which are the same ones from the last couple of releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the intro, I’ve never been much of an Elektra fan.  She’s just really never clicked with me in any sort of way.  Not even her portrayal on the Daredevil show turned me around, and that’s the show that got me to like the Punisher.  So, when they moved her into the Daredevil role, I was skeptical…and then I actually started to like her, which was downright baffling to me.  I kind of *had* to buy the figure version at that point.  She’s fun.  I do wish she had an alternate scarf and maybe an extra unmasked head, but ultimately, even as just the core figure, I do really like this one.

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.

#3480: Web Armor Spider-Man

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

WEB ARMOR SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Developed in the Empire State University labs, this short-lived protective armor was created by Spider-Man to protect the wall-crawler from powerful projectile bullets and other dangerous attacks.”

First appearing in Web of Spider-Man #100, Spidey’s first iteration of his Spider-Armor was a short-lived one, not even making it to the end of its first appearance.  It’s distinctive design and the rather memorable cover to its one appearance have helped to cement it as a recurring Spidey-variant, leading to its inclusion in a lot of different toylines.  That includes Marvel Minimates, whose take on the design I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Web Armor Spider-Man was an Action Figure Xpress-exclusive Marvel Minimates release, used as a free-with-purchase incentive starting in November of 2007.  They actually had him for a notable amount of time, and he was also eventually released in a TRU-exclusive two-pack, alongside the Thunderbolts Venom, in 2009.  He’s built on the standard post-C3 ‘mate body, so he’s 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Spidey is a totally vanilla ‘mate with no add-ons, so he relies entirely on paint for his detailing.  It’s a pretty solid paint set-up.  They managed to make the web-lines look distinctly different from the standard printed ones, giving it the impression of dimensions.  He also gets the printing on the feet, which was a rarity at the time, and even more of a rarity going forward.  Apart from the need for the knees to break up the boots due to where the articulation falls, it’s a very nice set-up.  Since he was a promo, Spidey didn’t get any accessories.  Not even that same web piece we got all those times.  Where could I possibly find one of those?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Somehow, despite making orders with AFX a good number of times, I seemed to miss the window on this guy, so I didn’t have him until a very long period of time after his two releases.  I finally managed to snag one as part of the large collection of ‘mates that All Time got in back in 2019.  He’s basic, but he’s fun, and I’m always down for a cool Spider-Armor figure.

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.

#3479: Gray Hulk & Dr. Bruce Banner

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

GRAY HULK & DR. BRUCE BANNER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Caught in the heart of a Gamma Bomb explosion, Dr. Bruce Banner now finds himself transformed when darkness falls, into the most powerful creature to walk the earth – the Incredible Hulk”

Did you know that the Hulk was gray when he first appeared?  Well, if you don’t, you really should; I mention it every time I review a figure of Gray Hulk.  It’s honestly because I’m not really sure what else to say about the look.  I mean, it’s all pretty cut and dry. He’s Hulk. He’s gray. Great choice for an anniversary year, so, he very often is. We got him for Marvel’s 80th in 2019, and now we’re getting him again for the Avengers’ 60th, this time with a comics styled Bruce Banner in tow!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Gray Hulk and Dr. Bruce Banner are part of the “Beyond Earth’s Mightiest” sub-line of Marvel Legends. They’re one of a handful of two-packs from the line-up, hitting the same price point as the similarly balanced deluxe/standard split Destroyer and Thor.

GRAY HULK

This is, I believe, our fourth Gray Hulk for Legends, not counting the Joe Fixit versions. It’s the third under Hasbro’s tenure, with the last one being the previously mentioned 80th anniversary one.  This guy is effectively just a slight tweak on that one.  The figure is 8 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  From the neck down, he’s identical to the two 80th Hulks.  It’s a good, solid base, with a strong articulation scheme and a nice, balanced set of proportions.  It’s been the go-to for Hulk since the 80th introduced it four years ago, and it’s a solid case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”  This Hulk gets not one, but two brand-new head sculpts, both courtesy of Paul Harding.  One’s baring his teeth in a sort of a sneer, while the other is closed mouth, while still very pissed off.  These two are slightly cleaner, and a bit more Kirby-esque than the prior version.  The color work this time around is less nuanced than the prior version, relying more on flat molded colors, and less on much in the way of accent work.  It’s certainly a very clean set-up, which is more directly in-line with the coloring of the comics…you know, apart from the whole being a consistent shade of gray all the way through thing.  Gray Hulk is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture/gripping), the tattered shirt piece that the last one got (which still doesn’t stay on very securely), and the crushed pipe piece.

DR. BRUCE BANNER

Bruce Banner isn’t *crazy* rare when it comes to toys, but he’s not exactly super plentiful either.  This marks only his second time as a Legends release, and the first one was movie based.  In terms of comic coverage, the closest we got before this was the old Hulk Classics figure, which was vaguely Legends compatible, but not quite there.  This guy is clearly designed to match up with his box-mate’s Incredible Hulk #1-basis, what with the classic lab-coat and glasses appearance and all.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Banner’s largely just using the Coulson body, which works well enough, being a basic suited set-up and all.  He’s got Reed Richards’ labcoat in place of the usual suit jacket, as well as a brand-new head sculpt.  The new head is…well it feels just a touch too pretty for Bruce, I feel.  Like, it’s not bad, but it’s a bit young looking, and rather delicate.  He feels more like a model than a scientist.  Not to worry, though, because you can easily hide those good looks behind his super nerdy glasses, which are totally removable, and totally stay in place, and totally look really good.  I believe this also makes him the first Banner figure that’s not a Minimate to have the glasses, which is pretty darn nifty.  Bruce’s color scheme is slightly unconventional for him.  He tends to be all about those purple pants.  However, since he’s supposed to be matching with the Hulk from this set, he’s got blue pants and an orange shirt.  It’s different, but honestly doesn’t feel too odd for him.  The actual paint work is largely confined to the face, which is printed, and looks pretty clean.  Banner’s extras are limited to just those removable glasses (which, by the way, are very easy to miss in the box, so be careful with that).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I already had the 80th Grey Hulk, so I wasn’t necessarily looking for an upgrade.  That said, I didn’t have a suitable comics-style Bruce Banner, so that one at the very least piqued my interest.  Did I *want* to buy another Hulk to get him?  Maybe not.  But I did, and I honestly don’t mind it.  I like the new heads a lot, and I like Banner a lot, so I’m considering the whole thing an overall win.

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.