Tag Archives: Marvel

#2864: Ultron

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

ULTRON

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Robot. Maniacal genius. Science experiment gone wrong. Ultron is the supreme weapon of mass destruction and a mortal threat to the Avengers— and all humankind.”

Ultron is no stranger to action figures, and that extended to even before he was the title antagonist in a multi-billion dollar movie.  That being said, it’s been a bit of up and down in terms of quality of those figures.  Ultron’s classic comics design is pretty, well, classic, but it’s had a difficult time actually making it into proper toy form.  While we’ve managed to finally get it in Minimates, Marvel Universe, and Marvel Select form, Marvel Legends has just sort of been batting around a true classic Ultron figure, many times coming close (though also starting off pretty darn far…), but never quite being there.  Things are finally about to change!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultron is the final single-packed figure in the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  It’s an Iron Man-themed assortment, and while Ultron wasn’t classically an Iron Man villain, the adjustment to the character in the MCU, plus some shifts in more recent story telling have made him a decent fit for such a theme.  It’s also not the first time he’s been lumped in with such a set, since he was also included in the Iron Man 3 tie-in assortment.  So, there’s certainly precedent.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Facilitating the proper classic design means an all-new sculpt, rather than saddling him with yet another re-used body.  In terms of articulation, this Ultron’s layout is quite similar to that of the MU release, but with a few improvements allowed by the upscaling and the decade’s worth of advancement since that figure’s release.  He gets an improved range of motion on the limbs in particular, and is just generally pretty mobile.  There are also some definite improvements to how the movement is worked in as well, since he gets the pinless construction for the arms and legs.  Also, the shoulder pauldrons are much like those on the recent Classified Joes, so they can easily move out of the way for posing the shoulders, while also avoiding popping off too easily, which was a problem with the MU version.  The actual quality of the sculpt is pretty impressive as well.  He’s quite similar in styling to the MU figure, but again a bit more refined.  Things like the antenna aren’t as clunky, and the detailing of the body is really sleek.  In general, they just really get that classic Ultron feel, and it’s by far Hasbro’s best version, if perhaps even the best version of him in figure form in general.  It’s so clean, slick, sharp, and just efficiently laid out.  Boy is this a nice sculpt.  The paint work is generally rather basic on this guy, but it is worth noting that he’s fully painted, rather than being molded in silver plastic.  This makes him look quite a bit better, and really keeps with that slick appearance.  Otherwise, the only change-up is the red for the eyes, and black for his mouth.  He just gets a solid color on the mouth, rather than getting the crackling detailing of the last few figures.  Seems like a letdown, right?  Not quite.  Rather than painting that detail, Hasbro elected to actually make it a separate sculpted element.  It makes it a bit more dynamic.  In addition to the effect piece, he’s also got five different hands (two fists, two gripping, and a left open gesture), and the right arm to Ursa Major.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ultron was the first figure from this set to be shown off, and him being a villain and all, I initially thought he’d be in that series.  His absence from that line-up bummed me out, but then I found out he was instead part of this much cooler line-up (not that I minded the villains line-up; they just didn’t excite me quite as much).  He’s got some solid competition, but he was still the very first figure I opened when I got my set, and he’s probably my favorite figure in-hand.  He’s the Ultron I’ve been waiting for, and any future versions will be hard-pressed to beat this one.  We’ve certainly come a long way from the Toy Biz days.

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.

#2863: Hologram Iron Man

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

HOLOGRAM IRON MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Ever the innovator, Tony Stark takes flight in holographic form, a computer-generated avatar and an enduring force for good.”

Back during the Iron Man 2 tie-in line, there were a *lot* of Iron Man armor repaints, many of them under the heading of “concept”.  One of them was a re-deco of the Mark VI armor in a translucent blue with white detailing, pattered on a holographic representation of the armor from the film.  It was a pretty cool looking figure, and I even reviewed on this very site, quite early into my run.  Apparently, Hasbro was pretty big on the idea, too, since they’ve decided to bring it back around for the larger scale with Legends.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hologram Iron Man is figure 6 in the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the third and final Iron Man variant in the assortment.  It’s technically an all-comics assortment, but I don’t believe that this particular design has actually been used specifically in the comics.  It just seems to be more of a conceptual thing, just like the earlier one.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Structurally, this figure is using the molds of the Civil War Mark 46.  It’s not the same as the Mark VI used before, but we don’t really have a properly upgraded Mark VI mold available right now.  This one’s got a fairly similar, and is, quite honestly, one of Hasbro’s best movie Iron Man molds.  I’ve always been quite a fan, and it has a good distinctive look that works for the single color molding this figure calls for.  The figure is obviously molded in all blue plastic, which gives it that holographic look, but to enhance that, there’s some white detailing, which is honestly more involved than I’d expected.  I really like it, and it gives him a lot of pop.  The figure was packed with two sets of hands, in fists and repulsor, plus two effects pieces.  The repulsor hands predate the move to get rid of the full wrist joints, so these have the full range of motion, which makes me very happy.  Also included is the head of the Ursa Major Build-A-Figure.

 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

At three Iron Man variants, this set does feel a little Iron Man heavy, and I think this guy might just be one too many.  If one needs to go, he certainly feels the most extraneous.  That said, I had the smaller version of this because he looked cool.  I have this one for the same reason.  It’s a cool concept that makes for a cool toy.  I definitely dig that.  He’s nothing if not a fun toy, which does at least give him more merit than some of the more boring and drab variants that have been forced on us more recently.

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.

#2861: Morph – Age of Apocalypse

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

MORPH — AGE OF APOCALYPSE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Toy Biz’s tie-in to the big X-books crossover “Age of Apocalypse” in 1996 was a pretty quick, almost slapdash sort of a thing.  A single assortment, one and done, with no real follow-up.  They covered some of the heaviest hitters from the set, but with a story so widespread, there were certainly some gaps.  Toy Biz wound up filling in the line-up a little bit in the ensuing years via a handful of one-off and oddball releases, including a mail away offer to get our boy Morph out to people.  I mean, really, how can you not have Morph, right?  It would just be wrong.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Morph was offered up as an exclusive through ToyFare Magazine #22, first made available to order in June of 1999, and shipping out later that year.  He was the fifth post-line addition to the AoA line-up, following Gambit, Rogue, Nemesis, Blink, and X-Man.  He wound up being the last addition, actually, which seems both fitting and also downright unreasonable.  I mean, sure, he’s a great character to end the line-up on, but also how could you wait so long to do him?  How could you do that, now defunct toy company?  I demand answers!  Okay, maybe not so much.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  As with all of these mail aways, he was constructed from as few new parts as possible, which was effectively none.  He uses the body of the AoA Magneto, with the modified torso piece from the Battle Brigade release, which adds in the neck articulation.  In place of either of the Magneto heads, Morph instead gets the standard head from the Spider-Man line’s Chameleon.  It’s all topped off with a cloth cape, which is affixed to the back of the torso, which is also really prone to fraying at the edges.  In general, it’s a selection of parts that gets a lot of the specifics of his design down, but misses the broader design elements of the character.  Like, the head is bald, lacks a nose and ears, and has wider eyes, which is all accurate, but he’s also really angry and mean looking, and very square jawed, which isn’t so much.  Likewise, the body gets some of the costume details down, but then it’s also way too bulked up for him.  Given that he’s a shape shifter, you can make it work, but he does feel a little bit like he’s missing the forest for the trees.  Generally speaking, the paint’s not too bad for a Toy Biz release of the era.  All of the important details are there, and he matches Morph’s design from the books.  He’s perhaps a touch too bright, but I don’t mind that so much.  Some of the application is a little sloppy, but not terribly so.  That said, I did have a weird issue with the one in all the pictures here, which is that the cape sat up against his boot in the package, and now he’s got a weird pattern on that boot.  Morph included no accessories, but honestly, what is there to give him?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This figure is the reason I know that AoA Morph exists.  Well, not specifically this figure; this figure is a replacement I picked up last year, when a sealed one got traded into All Time.  My original’s not quite as photogenic these days (like I said, that cape likes to fray), but he was given to me by a family friend, who had ordered him specifically for me back in the day.  It was how I found out about the character, and a few years later, it was why I picked up the first trade of Exiles, because he was on the cover.  Subsequently, I’ve become quite a fan of the character.  This figure may not be the best version, but it was better than nothing, and I certainly have a soft spot for him.

 

#2860: Ironheart

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

IRONHEART

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A certified super-genius, Riri Williams turns a dorm room project into a high-tech, high-flying suit of armor— and becomes a force for good.”

Though Tony Stark may maintain that he and the Iron Man armor are always one and the same, that hasn’t stopped him from handing off the armor to others, from time to time.  The latest in that bunch of people is Riri Williams, an MIT student who built her own suit of armor, and got Tony’s attention.  So, when he got knocked into a coma in Civil War II, she was granted the mantle, at least for a little bit, and ultimately came into her own, assuming the identity of “Ironheart.”  And now, she’s also got herself an action figure.  That’s the biggest victory, really.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ironheart is figure 4 in the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  Given the Iron Man theme of the set, she’s a natural choice.  Also, this marks Hasbro’s first time making an Ironheart, though they were beaten to the actual first figure by Minimates, who did her in 2018.  Still, this is pretty notable, so I’m not gonna fault them too much.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  Following the trend set by Lady Jaye in the Classified line, Ironheart’s articulation is notable for featuring double joints on the elbows.  It works super well, and feels really smooth when in motion.  In general, her articulation scheme gives her a really wide range of motion, which makes for a pretty enjoyable time when it comes to posing her.  Additionally, she’s got the pinless construction on both the elbows and the knees, which helps keep that sleek feel going.  Ironheart’s sculpt is all-new, patterned on Stefano Caselli’s design for her first cleaned up armor design.  It’s very clean and polished, which I really like, and it’s a rather accurate recreation of the design as it’s seen in the comics.  It certainly pairs off well with the more streamlined Invincible Iron Man figure from a few years back, though it honestly even improves upon how that figure was implemented, in terms of both look and functionality.  Her paintwork is generally pretty straightforward, as most Legends are.  It’s very shiny and slick, which is appropriate, and the application’s all pretty cleanly applied.  In terms of accessories, Riri is pretty well off, getting an alternate unmasked head (patterned on her later look while piloting the armor), two sets of hands in fists and repulsor poses, two new repulsor effects, two new smoke effects, and the leg of Ursa Major.  I’m a little bummed that the repulsor hands are back to fixed wrists after the Modular armor had the proper joints, but otherwise I’m very happy with the selection here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m not a Bendis fan in the slightest, so I wasn’t reading Iron Man when Riri was introduced.  I caught her once she moved over to the Champions, and I generally enjoyed her there.  I can’t say she’s a must have character for me, but she’s got a pretty kick ass design, and it’s always nice to add a little more diversity to the shelf.  On top of that, she’s just a very nice toy.  Genuinely very fun.  I can definitely get behind that.

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.

#2859: Darkstar

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

DARKSTAR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Drafted as a Soviet operative on a nefarious mission, Laynia Petrovna eventually broke free from the system and began to use her super-secret skills to her own ends.”

Marvel’s Russian super-powered characters have gotten a little bit of focus recently, thanks in no small part to Black Widow’s recent turn in the spotlight.  Not quite up to bat on that front, at least yet, however, is Laynia Petrovna, also known as Darkstar.  Darkstar was a member of the Soviet Winter Guard, but after being sent to recover Natasha, she instead wound up defecting herself, joining up with Widow’s current super team, The Champions.  The Champions wound up rather short-lived, and Darkstar wound up kind of in the background of the Marvel universe.  Not the best spot for getting toys, but she’s finally crossed that line, and had her own official Marvel Legend.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Darkstar is figure 3 in the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  The set is generally Iron Man-themed, which isn’t really that much of a fit for Darkstar, but I guess she’s not entirely out of place.  I do think it’s a little amusing that, after Widow borrowed a few of Iron Man’s related characters for her assortment, Iron Man in turn has gotten a character that would make sense in a Widow assortment.  Not that I’m complaining about any of it, mind you. Darkstar has had a few designs over the years, but this figure goes with her second one.  It’s not her Champions one, so I’m predisposed to not like it, but it’s also the one that got used in X-Men: The Animated Series, so I’m also predisposed to like it.  What a conundrum.  In all honestly, it’s probably the cleanest and boldest of her designs, so I can get the choice.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Darkstar is built on the Phoenix body, which is honestly a good match for how she’s usually depicted in terms of build.  Her head is an all-new piece, and it does a pretty respectable job of capturing how she’s usually drawn in the comics, as well as differentiating the body from the rest of the characters built on it.  I like the slightly different way that the hair hangs over her left shoulder; it’s a small touch, but it gives her a little extra character.  In terms of color work, Darkstar is pretty straightforward.  The black and yellow makes for a nice contrast, and she’s got quite a bold appearance to her.  The application is all pretty clean, and in general she looks quite nice.  Darkstar includes three sets of hands, in fists, gripping, and open gesture, as well as the torso to the Ursa Major Build-A-Figure.  It’s a little odd that she doesn’t get any energy effects or anything, but I do like getting the full assortment of hands.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Darkstar is one of those characters I wasn’t sure I’d ever see in figure form, though admitedly, it seemed more and more promising as the line progressed.  She’s a solid deep cut sort of character, and I’m always down for having more characters to fill in more of those slightly obscure teams.  I suppose it might be too much to ask for her Champions costume, though?  Yeah, probably.  Well, this one is nice too.

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.

#2858: Stealth Iron Man

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

STEALTH IRON MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Tony Stark designed the Stealth Armor to maximize on concealment over offensive weaponry.”

First appearing in 1981, a Stealth variant of the standard Iron Man armor has become a rather common place variant for the character going forward.  They don’t tend to have a ton of media appearances, but it’s still a pretty easily banked upon variant, since it’s easily justifiable as a straight repaint.  There have been three updates since (at least, going by the comics), but it’s really hard to do better than the Model 7 armor that originated the concept, and which is really only done proper justice when it’s a repaint of the classic armor.  Hey, doesn’t Hasbro have an updated version of the classic armor mold that they *just* put out in the last two years?  Why yes they do.  Maybe they should do a Stealth variant.  Oh, wait, they did.  Sorry, it just snuck up on me here.  It was hard to see it.  Because it’s so stealthy, you see.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Stealth Iron Man is figure 2 in the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s our second Iron Man variant, but he won’t be our last.  It’s the first time in a while that we’ve gotten a Stealth Iron Man in Legends, and the first time ever that he’s just been a standard release, rather than a variant or a very hard to find exclusive like the last two.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Surprising no one, Stealth Iron Man is a complete parts re-use of the 80th Iron Man figure.  Given that the two armors are supposed to look the same, and always are drawn as nothing but a color swap, this is a totally justified case of re-use.  It also helps that it’s just a really good sculpt, so seeing it turn up again certainly isn’t hurting my feelings.  This figure’s main selling point is its new color scheme, which is now all monochromatic and dark blue.  Well, sort of monochromatic; there’s actually some slight changing in the exact shades, corresponding to the red and yellow sections of the normal color scheme, which is honestly a nice touch.  Technically, the armor’s supposed to be all black, and the blue was just a coloring technique in the comic, but I think the blue honestly makes for a slightly more interesting design.  The Stealth Armor keeps the two sets of hands from the 80th release (colored to match, of course), as well as the unmasked head (which also gets a slightly tweaked paint scheme), two blast effects (in red this time), and the left leg to the Ursa Major Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been expecting the release of this guy since we got the 80th mold, so it’s not like he was a shock when he was shown off.  That being said, I was still happy to see him finally crop up.  He’s a rather by the numbers release, but he does very well playing by those numbers, and it makes for a strong addition to the line, and a really fun Iron Man variant that certainly earns its place in the line-up.

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.

#2857: Vault Guardsman

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

VAULT GUARDSMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With armor equipped with repulsor rays, high-carbon steel alloy mesh and radiation shielding, Vault Guardsman turns his sights on the complete destruction of Iron Man.”

Okay, so in today’s entry in “Ethan critiques the bios,” let’s just get the obvious confusion on Hasbro’s part over who the heck this figure is actually supposed to be, and moreover, who the Guardsman is in general.  First appearing in 1970, the Guardsman was Kevin O’Brien, former engineer for Stark Industries, whose faulty armor caused his mind to go haywire, and drove his desire to kill Iron Man.  Kevin was killed in battle, leading his brother Michael to dawn the armor seeking vengeance.  That time, however, Tony was able to convince Michael that the suit was affecting his mind, and talk him down, so that he actually served as Iron Man’s ally.  Eventually, the armor was mass produced for use by the guards at the Vault super prison, which is when they switched over to the name “Vault Guardsman.”  However, the Vault Guardsman isn’t just one guy, nor have they ever been all that invested in destroying Iron Man.  So, you know, there it is.  It’s cool to get a figure, regardless.  Let’s just celebrate that, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vault Guardsman is figure 1 in the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s a pretty strong choice for an Iron Man-centric series, and this marks Guardsman’s first time in Legends form, which is pretty cool.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Guardsman is built on the Reaper body, at least at his core.  It’s a sensible enough choice, at least from a build standpoint.  It does mean he’s still got the visible pins on his arms and legs, but otherwise it still looks pretty decent.  He gets a new torso and head, which aid in making him look like the classic Guardsman we all know and love.  I was honestly a little surprised by the new torso piece, since it seems like the sort of thing that Hasbro previously would have done with just paint, but they instead went the extra mile here.  I’m glad they did, because it really does just look better this way.  The Guardsman’s paint work is generally okay, although, much like the Minimate version, I do feel like the two greens maybe aren’t quite divergent enough from each other.  I really feel like the darker sections should be a lot closer to black, at least going by the illustrations.  It turns out a bit better in the photos, but in person the contrast can be a bit easier to miss.  That said, I do like the metallic sheen that they’ve given him.  It gives him a pretty slick look.  Guardsman is packed with two sets of hands, gripping and in fists, a pistol (borrowed from Yon-Rogg), and the left arm to the Ursa Major Build-A-Figure.  Curiously, the gripping hands are the ones from Kraven, so there are still the sculpted wraps.  Seeing as non-wrapped versions of the hands exist for this mold, I feel like this may have been an unintentional thing.  Also, they’re not designed for actually holding the gun, but that’s not really new for this mold.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like the Guardsman, as a concept and as a design.  I’m such a fan, that I actually bought the Spider-Man Classics Venom back in the day, purely because of that really cool base with the fallen Guardsman in the rubble.  I’ve been waiting a very long time to finally get a proper 6 inch figure of him, so I was very happy to see him turn up here.  He’s a rather basic figure, but that’s not a bad thing.  Sure, I wouldn’t mind the colors being tweaked, and the alternate hands are a little weird, but overall, I’m just happy to have him.  He’s fun.

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.

#2856: Modular Iron Man

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

MODULAR IRON MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A dazzling technological achievement, the modular suit allows Tony Stark to reconfigure sub-systems like boots, gloves, helmets and scanners on the fly.”

For the first couple of decades of his existence, Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor was on an upward trend of advancements.  Everything kept getting sleeker and more streamlined.  The Silver Centurion and Neo-Classic armors marked a slight step backwards, or perhaps maybe just a lateral movement, but in 1994, the trend went back to advancement with the introduction of the Model 13 armor, better known as the Modular Armor, which streamlined down the core armor, and focused more on different systems to add-on for specific needs.  The armor only stuck around for about a year and a half in the comics, but it made its mark in popular culture, thanks to its inclusion in both Iron Man: The Animated Series and Marvel Vs Capcom 2, which kept it in the eyes of a whole generation of super hero fans.  Because of that, there’s been some definite call for an update to this design for Marvel Legends, and Hasbro was kind enough to oblige.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Modular Iron Man is part of the Ursa Major Series of Marvel Legends, which has been just starting to hit retail shelves in the last month.  It’s an Iron Man-centric set, which is something we haven’t seen since the Iron Man 3 tie-ins, which means it’s something we haven’t seen at all in this packaging style.  It feels a little bit overdue.  Likewise, Modular Iron Man also feels a little overdue, since this marks his first figure in this style since when Toy Biz was running things, back in 2006.  That’s a while.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is pretty much the same as that of the 80th Iron Man, which is a reasonable set-up for such a character.  He does get an extra joint at the base of the neck, which adds a little more motion there. The shoulders are a bit limited, at least on mine, but he’s otherwise got a pretty decent range.  He also makes use of the pinless construction for both his elbows and knees, which helps with that sleeker appearance.  Despite his similarities to the 80th base in terms of build and articulation, Modular is a totally new sculpt.  I’m honestly a little surprised, but certainly not upset.  He deserves it, and it was definitely a good call.  The whole thing is very clean and well-rendered, and certainly looks like the armor as it was depicted in the comics.  The various modular hook-ups are all separate pieces, fixed in place on the main figure, which helps sell the depth, and also means there’s room for some later version that swaps out for some of his modular attachments, I suppose.  Other than that, it’s a really good looking sculpt, and a really nice rendition of this armor design.  It’s a good, solid, sculpt.  Modular Iron Man goes for a more real world take on his color scheme, so we’re going for metallic red and gold.  While it’s maybe not as striking as a nice red/yellow set-up, it does match with Hasbro’s usual colors for their Iron Men more recently.  It’s a decent look in its own right, and it’s actually pretty light on any real painting, which keeps it quite clean looking.  Modular Iron Man is packed with two sets of hands (fists and repulser blast), as well as two blast effects.  I’m glad that both sets of hands actually get full wrist movement, but this guy does otherwise feel a little bit on the light side.  An unmasked head and maybe one or two extra effects would have been cool.  As it stands, he’s just pretty basic.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting a truly phenomenal classic Iron Man in 2019, this was my next major want for an Iron Man, driven even more by last year’s also phenomenal War Machine figure.  This guy was my most wanted figure from this set by a good margin, and I was super thrilled to get my hands on him.  While I’d maybe have liked some extra accessories, and I’d also love to see a version with flat colors, there’s still no denying that this figure turned out really, really well.

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.

#2854: Bullseye

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

BULLSEYE

MARVEL UNIVERSE (TOY BIZ)

He’s maybe not Daredevil’s most prominent villain, but Bullseye’s probably his most *consistent* villain.  While DD’s other foes either didn’t start as his, or got passed off to other heroes, Bullseye actually debuted in DD’s book, and stayed with him most of his career.  How kind of him.  Of course, with Daredevil not tending to get his own dedicated toylines, that does mean that there are less reasons for him to get toy treatment.  That being the case, his first figure wasn’t a mainstream release at all, but rather an exclusive.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bullseye was the mail-away exclusive offer in ToyFare #1, made available to order in September of 1997, and shipping out early the next year.  Bullseye’s costume really hadn’t changed much at this point in his career, apart from some minor adjustments here and there.  This one went for the most adjusted possible appearance, in order to keep him more current.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Structurally, Bullseye was built mostly out of parts from Punisher, with the head of Scorpion, both from the Spider-Man line.  Since they’re the same line and roughly the same time, the parts mesh together pretty decently.  The head maybe looks a bit too small, and it’s sort of tilted downward, but it generally works, and the parts do match up alright with Bullseye’s usual depictions.  The paint work on Bullseye is alright.  It gets the important details and he looks the part, but the application could certainly stand to be a little cleaner.  The stripes on the boots and gloves are a little uneven, and the paint on the face doesn’t quite seem like it knows exactly where it wants to go.  Overall, though, he’s about par for the course on these.  Accessories were a rarity on these figures, but Bullseye does actually get one; he’s got the same small knife that was included with Punisher, presumably so as to not leave him forever with an empty sheath on his leg.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bullseye is one of the most recent ToyFare exclusives that I acquired.  I picked him up in late 2019, as part of a collection of otherwise ’90s DC stuff that came into All Time.  I wasn’t really expecting him to be there, you know, being Marvel and all, but he was, which saved me the trouble of tracking one down.  He’s not much to write home about, I suppose, but he does an alright job of capturing the character, and he’s a good choice for re-use, because he really doesn’t suffer much from the lack of new parts.  Ultimately, a decent addition.

#2842: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

AVENGERS: ENDGAME (HOT TOYS)

These days, I pretty much exclusively save my Hot Toys reviews for monumental numbers, but I’ve gotten to the point now where anything less than 500 doesn’t seem worth it, so it’s literally less than one a year.  Despite my last one being not even a whole year ago, when I crossed the 2500 mark, I’ve actually picked up a new one that warrants reviewing, and I don’t particularly want to wait seven months to review him, just to get the numbers to line up right.  If he’d actually come out when he was *supposed* to, I would have been golden, but nooooooooo….  So, anyway, I’m breaking the structure.  I know, you’re all so broken up about it, right?  Let’s jump back to 2019, when the world sucked a great deal less, and discuss the culmination of a decade’s worth of movies in Avengers: Endgame, and, more specifically, Captain America!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America was released as part of the Endgame component of Hot Toys’ core Movie Masterpiece Series, where he’s figure 536.  He winds up being the sixth release of the Endgame figures, though he was originally meant to be a little bit earlier.  His initial release date was projected for June of 2020, but he wound up being about a year later than expected, making him so far the most delayed of the Endgame figures.  Presumably, the need to add some more final battle-specific parts contributed to this at least a little bit, but there was also that whole pandemic thing going on, which I’m sure did not help.  He’s finally here, though, and that’s the thing that matters the most of all.  Cap is based on his all-new super suit from the movie, which places him as a specifically third-act version of the character, which is really where he gets his best look, so I’m all about it.  It’s definitely Chris Evans’ Cap at his Cap-iest.  The figure stands about 12 1/2 inches tall and he has over 30 points of articulation.

As is the norm for masked characters, Cap is packed with two different heads for this release.  The first is a helmeted look, which is a quite nicely layered sculpt that looks like he’s actually got a separate helmet and everything.  For this head, they’ve given him an extra joint at the base of the jaw, for some extra mobility.  It works pretty well, but does result in a slightly noticeable seam at the back.  It’s certainly an improvement from earlier versions of such designs, though, which is good.  The head has a solid likeness of Chris Evans under the helmet, showcasing an improvement even on the already really good likenesses of the older Caps.  Much like the DX12 Batman, the helmeted head has three different mouth plates that you can swap out for different expressions.  The standard is fairly neutral, and has the most versatility, but he’s also got one with the mouth slightly opened, and one with the teeth firmly gritted and bared, which is perfect for the more intense battle poses.  The plates are attached with magnets, and can take a little bit of doing to place, but stay nicely once set, and swap out without too much trouble.  It certainly works a bit better than the straight up pegs that were on Batman.  The paint work on the head is up to the usual HT standards, with a very lifelike appearance for the face, and some really nice wear and tear detailing on the helmet.  The second head gives us a proper un-helmeted look for Steve.  Originally, the photos showed the same unmasked head that was included with the Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron, and Civil War releases, but prior to release, Hot Toys replaced it with an all-new sculpt that more accurately depicts Evans as seen in Endgame.  It’s a very strong sculpt, with a really impressive likeness, perhaps even better than the one on the helmeted head.  Unlike the helmeted head, this one doesn’t have the extra joint.  It makes for slightly less posability, but looks better aesthetically, and given his more composed appearance, it’s not really meant for crazy poses anyway.  The only real downside to this sculpt is that there’s a rather noticeable seam on the sides of the head.  Fortunately, it’s not too bad when not directly lit, but at this price point, you would hope for it to be just a little bit better.

Cap’s new suit for Endgame‘s final battle was a fairly strong point for the movie.  It’s kind of indicative of the MCU movies as a whole,   taking various elements that worked previously, and rolling them all into one slightly more perfected, more direct comics-directly adapted final product.  It looks really cool, and it just really works.  It’s construction is also a bit more involved than earlier designs, as well, which is reflected in its translation here.  His underlying “body suit” is two distinct pieces, a shirt and pants.  The pants have some molded knee pads glued in place, and the shirt has plastic plating for his chest and shoulders, as well as a sculpted insignia at the center.  Beyond that, the detailing is down to tailoring, which looks pretty solid for this scale.  Some of the stitching is a little bit larger than it should be, but, of course, there’s only so much that can be done about that.  The base suit is topped off by his harness, belt, and boots.  The harness is largely cloth, as you would expect, and is again a well-tailored translation of the design seen in he film.  The belt sits a little bit low, but overall looks alright, and is attached permanently to the suit.  The boots are sculpted, but unlike earlier sculpted boots, which sacrificed articulation for the sake of aesthetics, these ones are jointed at the ankles, allowing for much better options when posing.  It’s definitely a much appreciated improvement for me.

Cap’s underlying body captures Evans’ proportions pretty nicely and is one of the more basic ones, which prioritizes function over form.  After the first few Caps placed him on slightly less articulated muscle bodies, I do appreciate one that’s more cleanly designed for posing.  The nature of his costume design does impede some of the movement ever so slightly.  For the most part, the upper torso fares alright in terms of range, though the shoulders are a little tight for some poses.  The pants are rather restricting, especially at the hips, but with some slight shifting, it’s workable.  He just won’t be getting into any deep lunges or anything.

In addition to getting the previously mentioned extra head and mouth plates, Cap gets a rather extensive selection of other extras for a whole ton of options for display.  Included are:

  • 7 hands
  • 2 shields
  • Mjolnir
  • Compass
  • Empty helmet
  • Display stand

The hands include fists, gripping, pointing (right), open gesture (right), and loose grip (left).  They pretty much cover all of the needed options for posing, and look suitably realistic, including some solid detail work on his gloves.  They also swap out pretty easily, considering my prior experiences with Hot Toys.  The two shields give you both standard (if a bit scuffed), and damaged, which also includes the broken shards, which I certainly wasn’t expecting.  The shields also include a piece that can swap out for one of the straps, which allows you to hang one of them on his back.  Mjolnir is similar in styling to the one included with Thor, but this time around the top is plastic, rather than metal.  While it doesn’t have that same impressive heft, it also won’t leave his wrist joint all floppy and loose after a few months posed holding it aloft.  The compass is properly hinged, and even has the small photo of Peggy in it, as seen in the movie.  The helmet matches the helmeted head, minus the head, of course, and can be held when he’s using the unmasked head.  The stand swaps out the old basic oval design for a hexagonal design featuring a design based on the movie branding.  It does its job well, and has a rather clean design, which works pretty well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Completing the first Avengers line-up was really my last hurrah for Hot Toys collecting, and I’ve not really been keeping up with it since.  However, when I walked out of the theater after seeing Endgame, I pretty much wanted this Cap design in any form I could get.  I placed my order for this guy as soon as he was available.  It’s been quite a long wait for him, given he was supposed to be slated for last year, but I was certainly okay with being patient.  Ultimately, this figure wound up as part of my path to figuring out my new normal, since he finally shipped just a week after Jess’s passing.  It’s weird, I suppose, but maybe sort of fitting, since I had moved past Hot Toys collecting when she and I started dating.  It was definitely weird not getting to experience this one with a companion, but I’m starting to find my footing on what I like purely for me.  I do like this figure.  I took me a little bit of time to get back into enjoying a Hot Toys figure the same way I used to, but he’s a good re-entry into the style.  I’m not jumping back into these full force, but I am going to keep up with my Captain America chronology at the very least.

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.