#2472: Dark Beast

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Age of Apocalypse, All Time Toys, Beast, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Sugar Man Series, X-Men July 22, 2020

DARK BEAST

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Dr. Henry McCoy constantly experiments on himself to enhance his superhuman powers.”

Within the AoA universe, there were a handful of characters who swapped over to the other team in terms of morality and good vs evil alignments. Many former villains found themselves as reluctant heroes, but on the flipside, a few previously heroic characters became very much not so. One of the most notable was Hank McCoy, known as Dark Beast in this new continuity. Where the other was a kind-hearted, good-natured man who contrasted with his supranym, the AoA version was just downright evil. He also wound up as one of the four characters to be “saved” from the AoA universe when it reverted back to the standard 616, taking him from a crossover villain to a full X-Men villain proper.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dark Beast is the final single-packed figure in the Sugar Man Series of Marvel Legends, and our first proper antagonist in the line-up. It’s the first Legends Dark Beast, but not the first ever figure, as he was released as a Minimate and as an under-articulated 6-inch figure by Toy Biz back in the day. The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation. The torso, arms, and feet are all shared with the Caliban Series Beast from last year, which was pretty much expected from the word go, what with them technically being the same character and all. I do have to say, it actually works a little more to this particular figure’s advantage, since Dark Beast is typically depicted as being a far more towering figure, making the extra height less of an issue here than it was with the standard release. To fully set him apart, Dark Beast gets a new head, pelvis, and legs. The new head replicates the further mutated appearance of McCoy from the story, with his much wilder hair, and an evil grin cracking across his face. For the hair, there was a lot of variance in the comics as to its actual shape. This one opts for something closer to the wacky Wolverine hair side of things, which I think ultimately helps him read a little quicker as Beast, so it works for me. I do quite like the facial expression, and it furthers my hope to see a calmer head for the standard Beast at some point. The new legs give Hank his funky banded metal capris he was sporting throughout the event. They’re very ’90s. They’re very goofy. But, they’re also very accurate, so, hey, good job Hasbro. Another thing that had some room for interpretation in the books was Dark Beast’s coloring. When he initially appeared, he was very clearly grey, presumably to show he had stayed his initial furry color in this universe, but as he appeared more often, he shifted more to a darker blue shade. This figure kind of splits the difference on that front, going for a rather dark grey with a hint of blue to it. It’s really the best possible choice, and looks good on the figure. His actual paint application is all pretty clean and solid, and there’s more going on with it than you might realize at first glance. Dark Beast is packed with the same two sets of hands as his normal universe counterpart, as well as Sugar Man’s Hammer, which is meant to go with the Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Dark Beast is an interesting concept to be sure, as well as a good excuse for Hasbro to get another use out of that mold they debuted last year, so he was definitely not a surprise addition to this line-up, nor is it a huge shock that he’s the hottest figure in the set in terms of demand. With all that said, while I can certainly appreciate this is a well-made figure, I don’t personally find him to be quite as fun as some of the others in the set. He’s fine, but that’s about where I leave it.

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

#2471: Morph

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Age of Apocalypse, All Time Toys, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Morph, Sugar Man Series, X-Men July 21, 2020

MORPH

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A natural mimic, Kevin Sydney transforms himself into any shape at will.”

Okay, it’s fine guys. We got through Weapon X and Wild Child. Now, we get to the good stuff. Yeah, now we get to the best part of Age of Apocalypse: Morph! After obscure ’60s X-foe Changeling was re-imagined as Morph in order to have a sacrificial lamb in X-Men: The Animated Series‘s pilot episode, he was then further re-imagined in 1995’s line-wide reboot with Age of Apocalypse. Admittedly, he was so far re-imagined that he was practically a new character, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t an *awesome* practically new character. In fact, he was so awesome that Marvel even wound up creating an almost identical version of the character to star in Exiles, meaning today’s figure is kind of a two-fer. Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Morph is figure 6 in the Sugar Man Series of Marvel Legends, and is notable for being the only of the single releases to actually be a new character for Legends. While we’ve gotten two prior AoA Morphs, they were a Minimate and a 5-inch Toy Biz figure. So, this is kind of notable, in that regard. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation. Morph’s built on the 2099 base body. In the series, his shape-shifting meant that his physique was somewhat variable, but this base is a pretty solid middle ground for his usual default. He gets a new head, forearms, and boots, as well as a new add-on for his cape (which I wouldn’t be too shocked to see show up on the inevitable AoA Magneto). The new parts are all pretty clean and cartoony, which is certainly appropriate for the character. I especially like the head, because, as simple as it is, it really just hits all the proper notes. I love the wide eyes and the slight smirk. It’s definitely a “less is more” situation. The new gloves and boots are surprisingly detailed for what they are, but unlike the equivalent pieces for the Bucky Cap body, they aren’t riddled with too much over texturing so as to clash with the rest of the pieces. The cape’s an okay sculpt, but is just a touch floaty for my taste. It’s not quite as bad as some of the earlier Hasbro capes, but it does hinder his playability just a touch. His paint work is, like his sculpt, rather on the clean and basic side. For the most part, I’m a fan, even of the outlining of the mouth and brow. The only thing I’m not quite as big on is how dark the primary blue on the body suit is. If it were just a touch brighter, I think the figure would really pop. Morph doesn’t get any accessories of his own, which I suppose isn’t as much of a surprise given how light the rest of the set has been. That said, it might have been nice to get a few different shape-shifting attachments. He does get another leg for Sugar Man, though, so at least it’s not a total loss.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, as you may have gathered from the intro, I rather like AoA Morph. I mean, I rather like Morph in general, in all of his many forms, but this is AoA Morph we’re talking about here, so I should maintain the focus. I had the Toy Biz AoA Morph as a kid, and I’ve been waiting for an update since we got Blink. This guy was at the top of my list for this set as soon as it was shown off, and he’s, unsurprisingly, my favorite figure from the set. Sure there are a few things that might make the figure perfect, but he’s still a really, really solid figure.

#2470: Weapon X

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Age of Apocalypse, All Time Toys, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Sugar Man Series, Wolverine, X-Men July 20, 2020

WEAPON X

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Armed with adamantium claws and superhuman healing abilities, Weapon X joins the battle against Apocalypse.”

And we’re jumping back into the Age of Apocalypse fray. We last left off with a figure that didn’t fill me with much enthusiasm, and we’re picking up with…another one of those. Yeah, it’s a Wolverine episode, guys. Oh, wait, I’m sorry…Age of Apocalypse…it’s a Weapon X episode, guys. While others around him got new backgrounds and personalities, Logan more or less remained the same in AoA, apart from not being “Wolverine” and being down a hand. Not that either of those ended up making much of a difference. I guess it helps justify the toy, though.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Weapon X is figure 5 in the Sugar Man Series, which seems surprisingly late in the number scheme for a Wolverine, but, well, I guess he’s not a Wolverine, is he? By the way, if you guys think that joke’s going away, you’re sadly mistaken. That joke’s here to stay, unlike the Wolverine name…or Logan’s hand…or self-respect. This marks the third time as Legends figure for AoA Logan, but given that the last one was during the Toy Biz days, an update feels like a good call. The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. Like most Logans these days, he’s built on the body from the Juggernaut Series Wolverine, with the cleaned up shins from Weapon X and a new head and forearms. Essentially, it’s just a pretty straight update on the old figure in terms of part re-use, since that one was also built on its era’s brown costume body. The new head’s definitely the star attraction here. Logan’s hair got crazier and crazier as we got further into the ’90s, and in AoA it was at almost peak craziness. That’s translated here, as this guy’s got one hell of a mane on him. It puts all other Wolverine hair to shame, really. How much hair gel do you think he has to use to get that all to stay in place? I bet it’s a lot. Like, obscene amounts. And in a post-apocalyptic setting no less. The intensity of the hair is matched only by the intensity of his facial expression. This guy’s definitely feeling a need to show all of those teeth he’s got, in just the most intense way possible. On the new forearms front, the right one’s not too different from previous releases, but the left of course gives us Logan’s stump, albeit with his claws extended from it. The paint work on this guy is generally pretty decent. The basics are all pretty sharp and clean, and they’ve done a respectable job handling the stubble and his arm hair. He’s also got his signature forehead tattoos, which beg the question of how exactly does Logan manage to get tattoos? Seems like too much thought for a ’90s comic, I suppose. Weapon X is packed with a spare stump without the claws extended, thereby allowing for his appearance from earlier in the story, as well as one of Sugar Man’s legs. It’s too bad we couldn’t also get an alternate burned head to fully replicate all of the looks from the two Toy Biz offerings. That would have helped to up this figure’s appeal a little bit.

THE ME HALF OF EQUATION

I owned the Toy Biz Weapon X. I sold the Toy Biz Weapon X (well, okay, not the burned head variant). I didn’t really miss the Toy Biz Weapon X. I can’t say I really felt the need for a new and improved version either. But, I was getting the rest of the set, and I’m kind of doing this completist thing with the line, so I guess I wasn’t missing him, was I? He’s fine. Better than I expected, honestly. It’s just that the AoA version of Logan isn’t really as exciting as other characters. But, it’s not like we were going to ever get this assortment without him, so I guess it could be worse.

#2469: Thing & Dr. Doom(s)

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Diamond Select Toys, Doctor Doom, Fantastic Four, Marvel, Minimates, The Thing July 19, 2020

THING & DR. DOOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

While the first year of Marvel Minimates certainly gave us an impressive spread of Marvel characters, there were some very notable areas of the universe left completely untouched. This included Marvel’s own first family, the Fantastic Four, who, like Captain America signaling the first of the the Avengers, were first inducted into the line via Series 5, with the group’s most marketable single member The Thing facing off against their greatest foe Dr. Doom!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Thing and Dr. Doom marked wrapped up the line-up for Marvel Minimates Series 5, also taking the variant slot for this particular assortment. The standard pack had Thing vs a fully-armored Doom, while the variant swapped out Doom for an unmasked version.

THING

For his debut ‘mate, Ben gets a fairly classic Thing design. He’s orange, he’s rocky, and he’s wearing blue shorts. Sure, the shorts aren’t quite standard FF-issue, but they’re close enough for a single release. He’s built on the standard long-footed body, of course, so he’s 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. Like Venom, Hulk, and Juggernaut, Ben’s a large character who’s not very large. That said, with the head piece and the sculpted “Thing Fists”, he actually makes out the best of the bunch in terms of relative scaling. He’s got cartoonish proportions, of course, but he doesn’t feel quite as scrawny as the others. It helps that the sculpting is really good on the new parts. It also helps that the paint does an incredibly impressive job of conveying Ben’s rocky skin, and the painted features end up matching pretty darn well to the sculpted rocks on the head and hands. The only slight nit I have with the paint is that the face is just a touch too high on the head, which means that it doesn’t *quite* interact correctly with the head piece.

DR. DOOM

Marvel’s greatest villain was a pretty natural choice for inclusion here, but his variant ultimately falls into the same level of “this wouldn’t be a separate figure”-ness that Unmasked Daredevil had. Whichever version you look at, he’s got the same two sculpted add-ons, one for his cloak, and the other for his belt/skirt. The cloak is actually kind of nice, and concise. It’s maybe not the greatest for posing, but I find it less obtrusive than the versions that followed. The skirt piece doesn’t work quite as well, being really flat and without flow. Even with the much more streamlined philosophy of the earlier ‘mates, it seems a bit lacking. The paint on everything but the head is identical between the two releases. It does okay for the most part. The armored detailing on the arms and legs is definitely the best work. Comparatively, the tunic feels kind of devoid of detail, but again, that’s owing a lot to the early style. The standard Doom gets his mask, which is nicely detailed, and matches up with the rest of the armor’s details. It’s limited to just having details where the hood reveals it, which isn’t surprising, but does mean displaying him without the cape doesn’t really work. For the variant, we get to see Victor Von Doom’s scarred face. It’s a more minor scarring than some depictions, but it’s still there. Unlike the masked head, this one has detail that goes all around, even under the hood, which is actually pretty darn cool. It just would have made much more sense to include the extra head with the standard release, is all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is another one of those sets that I had as a kid, but I lost most of the parts to over the years. I was pretty rough on these early guys. Of course, I only had the standard Doom, so I was able to go back and get both versions when I tracked them back down again. Thing’s not a bad little version of the character, especially within the confines of the early line. Doom isn’t quite as cleanly interpreted here, but I think he works well-enough, and while he has some trade-offs, so would all of his eventual follow-ups. They wrap up Marvel Minimates‘ first oddball assortment pretty nicely.

#2467: Wild Child

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Age of Apocalypse, All Time Toys, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Sugar Man Series, Wild Child, X-Men July 17, 2020

WILD CHILD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Enhanced regeneration and superhuman senses make Wild Child an excellent tracker.”

First appearing in Alpha Flight #11, Kyle Gibney, aka Wild Child, was a fairly minor character in terms of the larger Marvel Universe when he was re-envisioned for the Age of Apocalypse crossover. In the crossover, Kyle was made into a feral creature, kept in check by the universe’s more heroic Victor Creed. His non-verbal set-up meant he didn’t really get much added depth from the story, but at least it granted him a fair bit more visibility, by virtue of spending most of the story line chained to one of the story’s most memorable characters. Of course, now we’ve got Wild Child and no Sabertooth to go with him…Ah well, might as well review him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wild Child is figure 4 in the Sugar Man Series of Marvel Legends, and marks the first time that Wild Child has gotten a proper figure. Previously, he was included as an un-articulated figurine with Toy Biz’s 5-inch AoA Sabertooth, but that’s it. So, good for Kyle, I suppose. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. He’s built on the Pizza Spidey body, which is certainly scrawny enough for Wild Child, but seems like it’s a bit too tall for Kyle, who I feel should be a fair bit smaller, at least going by the AoA illustrations I recall. Additionally, the joints are a little bit limiting for getting Wild Child into his proper crouched over poses. I know that this body was designed for Spider-Man, and he’s prime for getting into all sorts of crazy poses, but it for some reason feels stiffer for Wild Child than it was for Spidey. He gets a new head and shoulder overlay, as well as making use of the Superior Venom hands and feet. The new parts are decent enough. The head is certainly dynamic, and does its best to capture how Wild Child was depicted in the comics. It’s not a terribly attractive head, but I guess that’s pretty much on par for the character. The color work on Wild Child is okay, but not quite perfect, largely due to the mismatch between the plastic on his torso and his limbs. It should all be one jumpsuit, but he kind of ends up looking like he’s wearing two separate bits. Beyond that, the paint application’s all pretty clean, for what there is of it. He’s ultimately pretty sparse on details, which is in keeping with the character’s design. In a first for this assortment, Wild Child actually does get an accessory! It’s the chain that keeps him on a leash. It connects to the back of his collar, and pretty clearly is meant to go around *someone’s* arm at the other end. Gee, I wonder who that could be. Wild Child also gets another piece to Sugar Man, this time being his…back? Yeah, let’s got with that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite the very first Wild Child (and the AoA Sabertooth that was really more the star attraction) from Toy Biz being my very first introduction to anything AoA, I can’t say that I’ve ever had much of an attachment to the character in the slightest. AoA Sabrertooth I’ve grown to like, but Wild Child? Meh. So, getting him but no corresponding Sabertooth doesn’t exactly thrill me. I mean, I have no doubt in my mind that Sabertooth is coming, but until then, Wild Child feels a bit…incomplete? He’s not a bad figure, but he’s not a particularly great figure either. He’s just sort of here.

#2466: Sunfire

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Age of Apocalypse, All Time Toys, Hasbro, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Sugar Man Series, Sunfire, X-Men July 16, 2020

SUNFIRE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Scorching ionized plasma allows Sunfire to fly, protect himself, and blast his enemies.”

The Pete Best of the All-New, All-Different X-Men, Sunfire struggles to really find his footing in the X-Men ‘verse, but wound up getting some pretty decent coverage, courtesy of Age of Apocalypse, wherein he turned from “stereotyped Japanese guy with fire powers” to “Human Torch if the powers didn’t turn off” or even “Chamber, but with his whole body, rather than just his upper torso.” Or, I guess, if you want to jump companies, possibly Wildfire without the suit. Okay, so maybe AoA didn’t make Sunfire super unique in terms of power or story, but he’s definitely a strong contender for getting the best redesign out of it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sunfire is figure 3 in the Sugar Man Series of Marvel Legends. Believe it or not, this isn’t AoA Sunfire’s first time getting the Legends treatment. He was actually the winner of the 2007 Fan Poll, netting him the third AoA-based Legend ever. The line’s made some strides since then, however, so a new release probably wasn’t the worst idea. The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation. Sunfire is built on the 2099 body, a sensible choice for two reasons. One, it’t the same body that the classic Sunfire used, and two it’s the same body that Bullseye used, and given that the first AoA Sunfire was on the Bullseye body, I’d say that means they’re right on the mark size-wise. He swaps out the forearms and hands for Human Torch’s flame-covered ones, and gets a new head and overlay piece for his shoulders. I like how the flame effects were done here just a touch better than how they were for Human Torch; there’s something that really works about that very artistic curling to the flames. It’s very dynamic. Sunfire’s color work is pretty key to getting his look down, and fortunately the figure does pretty well on that front. The translucent effect on the plastic is really cool, and I dig the slow shift from yellow to orange. The paint application’s a bit better on this figure than the last two I looked at from this set, so things are sharper and cleaner. That’s good, because it really helps with conveying this particular design. Sunfire, like the last two figures I’ve looked at from this set, doesn’t have any extras of his own, but he does get the second set of arms for the Sugar Man Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t really sold on Sunfire being part of this assortment, largely due to the prior Legends release. Of course, I never actually got that release, so I’m not sure why I was so opposed. Maybe I just don’t like Sunfire? Could be, I guess. The figure’s pretty solid, though, and I can definitely get behind his inclusion after getting him in hand. He’s a solid update, and a solid design. Not bad at all.

#2464: Jean Grey

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Age of Apocalypse, All Time Toys, Hasbro, Jean Grey, Marvel, Marvel Legends, Sugar Man Series, X-Men July 14, 2020

JEAN GREY

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Jean Grey can read and project thoughts and stun opponents with pure psionic force.”

25 years ago, the X-Men went to hell…no, wait, sorry, 31 years ago the X-Men went to Hell. 25 years ago, their entire line was overwritten by an alternate reality, the Age of Apocalypse, where Charles Xavier died before founding the X-Men, leading to Apocalypse conquering the Earth, and generally making it…post…apocalyptic….yeah. While not high art, the story was certainly a big splash from a marketing stand point, and made a lasting impression on a good number of X-fans. Every so often, toy companies throw it a little bit of love, and in honor of the its quarter-century marker, Hasbro’s dedicated a whole assortment of Marvel Legends to it. I’m kicking things off with a look at Jean Grey! While many characters were left in strange new predicaments in the AoA timeline, Jean wound up being more or less the same, though she did have a lot less hair and 100% more face tattoos. Yay for face tattos!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jean Grey is figure 1 in the Sugar Man Series of Marvel Legends, which is our first X-Men assortment of the year, as well as being totally AoA-themed. This is our first official AoA Jean Grey Legend, but we were supposed to get one as a variant of the Jim Lee-style Jean in the Rocket Raccoon Series of Return of Marvel Legends. That figure was ultimately scrapped, and would have been based on one of her post-event redesigns, however. This one goes for her look from the main series, which is probably for the best. The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation. Jean’s actually made largely from new parts, at least for her upper half, anyway; the legs originally showed up on the Legendary Riders Black Widow. Everything else, however is new to Jean. What impresses me the most on the new parts is the range of motion, especially on those arms. I was expecting her to be a lot more restricted. The actual quality of the sculpting is pretty solid, too. The wrinkles and folds on her sleeves are quite impressive. Her hair might actually be a touch too short, but it varied between artists, and it certainly doesn’t look too terribly off. It could definitely be much worse. The paint work on Jean is pretty standard overall. The base application is mostly pretty clean, but some of the red’s coverage is a little uneven. She’s got some slight highlights in her hair, which work pretty well to convey the depth and detail in the sculpt. Jean doesn’t get any accessories for herself, but she does get the largest piece of Sugar Man, his face and torso, which is so large that Jean effectively had to be posed Vana White-ing it in the box so that they could both fit in. That was pretty amusing, truth be told.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Jean’s AoA incarnation isn’t one of the more exciting pieces of the story, but it’s got a distinctive look, and is prominent enough that she really was a lock for this set. She wasn’t at the top of my list for this series, but she wasn’t at the bottom either. In-hand, I like her a fair bit more than I’d expected to. She’s still not my favorite piece, but I think she’s solid middle-tier, and that’s not bad at all.

#2462: Civilian Logan & Juggernaut

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with All Time Toys, Diamond Select Toys, Juggernaut, Marvel, Minimates, Wolverine, X-Men July 12, 2020

CIVILIAN LOGAN & JUGGERNAUT

MARVEL MINIMATES

The first year of Marvel Minimates had assortments that were all themed, but when they entered their second year, most of the assortments got a little more mixed. For Series 5, we really saw that kick in, with each two-pack representing a different facet of the Marvel Universe. We got our first taste of the Avengers with the previously reviewed Captain America & Absorbing Man, as well as a return to the X-Men with today’s focus, Civilian Logan and Juggernaut.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Logan and Juggernaut were released in Series 5 of Marvel Minimates. Both would also be included in a TRU 4-pack, alongside Battle-Damaged Daredevil and Masked Spider-Man, and Logan also hit Walmarts and Targets in a two-pack with Masked Spider-Man again. A slightly tweaked version of Juggernaut was also included in the very easily found Darktide boxed set, meaning these two are definitely numerous.

CIVILIAN LOGAN

We got a civilian version of Wolverine in Series 3, but I guess we needed one more, because, you know, Wolverine. This time, he doesn’t have the jacket, though, so I guess there’s that. The figure uses the older basic body (with the long feet), so he’s 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation. He gets a new hair piece, which is a little wilder than the previous ones (it would be re-used a few times), and also re-uses the clawed hands from the prior three Wolverines. It’s a fairly basic set-up, but it works well enough. I myself am not the biggest fan of the larger Wolverine hair, however there’s certainly precedent. The paint work is pretty strong on this guy. He gets a far more detailed facial expression, which is really angry, and the torso block gets quite a bit of detailing, making it stand out a fair bit from these earlier ‘mates it was released alongside. It’s a little weird that his feet are the same grey as the rest of the leg, but it doesn’t look terrible or anything.

JUGGERNAUT

Nothing stops the Juggernaut…is a surprising phrase to attach to this particular iteration of the character, because, quite frankly, he looks like he could be stopped by a stiff breeze. The larger characters were still a ways away from getting any bulked up parts, so Juggernaut just gets his helmet and bracers. It’s definitely a different look, and makes him look a lot punier than he should. At least he has the slightly larger hands to give him something more. That’s better than either Hulk or Venom got. Juggernaut’s paint work isn’t quite as impressive as Logan’s, but there’s still quite a bit of detailing going on, especially on that face. Speaking of his face, since Cain’s visage is pretty much entirely covered by his helmet, Juggernaut was the very first ‘mate to get an alternate hair piece to allow for a sans helmet display. It’s not really the best piece ever, but it’s certainly better than nothing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had this set when it was new, but I can’t say it was ever really a favorite of mine or anything. I mean, it was serviceable, but it was the first of the kind of unnecessary Wolverine variants that would come to plague the line, and Juggernaut feels somewhat underwhelming. I ended up losing most of the parts to my originals, and got a replacement pair when All Time got their big Minimates collection in last year. I still don’t really have much connection to them, but I can admit that they were both better than I recalled.

#2454: Captain America & Peggy Carter

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with Captain America, Diamond Select Toys, I blame Max, Marvel, Minimates, Peggy Carter, Walgreens Exclusive July 4, 2020

CAPTAIN AMERICA & PEGGY CARTER

MARVEL MINIMATES

Even in these times of uncertainty for the line, Marvel Minimates has a fairly steady stream of new product always coming from at least one retailer…provided you can actually find any of that new product. Walgreens has been great for getting lots of new ‘mates on the books, but in 2018, they started kind of having a bit of a back-up in their distribution process, and two years later we’re still kind of feeling it. Officially hitting at the end of last year, Series 11 has a decent mix of things going for it, including today’s set, Captain America and Peggy Carter!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were part of the 11 Walgreens-exclusive set of Marvel Minimates, and are animation-based, specifically hailing from the Avengers Assemble show, though in the case of both ‘mates featured here, the movie-inspiration is also pretty strong.

1940s CAPTAIN AMERICA

“Given enhanced strength, speed and durability in a top-secret experiment, Steve Rogers became a symbol of hope for Americans in World War II.”

We’ve had a couple of these MCU-esque ’40s Caps in the line, and this one’s just another. This marks the first time he’s been animated, though! Structurally, Cap’s just got the one add-on piece for his helmet. It’s a re-use from the ’40s Cap in the Series 55 assortment, which is fair enough. That piece has always looked a bit better than the one we got from TFA‘s line, and its slightly streamlined appearance works a bit better with the more vanilla nature of this figure. Everything else here is paint. This is the animated recreation of the film design, so it dispenses with a number of the details for something a bit cleaner. I rather like it, honestly. There’s a definite simplicity to it, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad in the slightest. Cap is packed with his shield, a spare hand with a connection for it, an alternate hair piece for an unmasked look, and a clear display stand.

AGENT PEGGY CARTER

“Peggy Carter, a British agent who knew Captain America during World War II, was briefly brought from 1949 to the present day by Kang the Conqueror.”

Since Minimates had claim to the only Peggy Carter action figure on the market for a good eight years, I guess it’s only fitting that when Legends got in on the game, they would double their efforts…literally. This is our second Peggy ‘mate, and our third Peggy figure, ever, so that’s all pretty cool. What’s more, it takes my complaints about wanting the Hydra base-storming gear from the end of TFA into account! More looks for Peggy! Yay! Peggy is a pretty basic ‘mate in terms of construction. She’s got the hair piece, and that’s really it. It’s a new piece, and definitely goes with that animated style, but it certainly fits the character. In fact, I like this piece a bit more than the one used on the movie Peggy. It just really feels like it gets the character down. Again, the heavy emphasis here is on the paint. As with Cap, she’s definitely got a very simplified look about her, but that said, the face still looks remarkably close to Haley Atwell in terms of likeness. It also seems a little less void of expression than the last ‘mate. The detailing on the jacket is all pretty sharp looking as well, and this has got to be one of the few times that the somewhat washed out nature of the animated ‘mates didn’t feel totally out of place. What really makes Peggy shine are her accessories. She gets a hat-wearing hairpiece, a spare torso and arms, and a skirt piece, which effectively allow you to build a second figure, of Peggy in her trench-coated appearance. It’s another quite distinctive look, and another really strong design for the character. It also really adds some serious value to a figure that was already really cool, and distracts from the always present issue of the Walgreens sets not getting guns by giving Peggy a much preferred replacement.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve kind of been falling out of Minimates (which is only fair, since so has DST, if I’m honest), but Max has been keeping me at least a little bit invested, and he was nice enough to hook me up with this set earlier in the year. Cap is kind of a nifty figure, presenting something of a what-if scenario where the line hadn’t evolved so much by the time the MCU films rolled around. He’s kind of a movie Cap via Minimates Year One, and I think that really works for him. I’m getting real Series 5 Cap vibes off of this guy. The prior Peggy was good for the time, and had the novelty of being the only one for a while, but this Peggy is pretty much the ultimate version of the character, with two really great looks and a pretty spot-on likeness. This set is pretty much all win.

#2448: Bonebreaker

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with 90s, Bonebreaker, Marvel, They made THIS guy?, Toy Biz, X-Men June 28, 2020

BONEBREAKER

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The villainous cyborg known only as Bonebreaker desires nothing more than the chance to wreak havoc. Employing his robotic abilities first as a mercenary and then as a member of the nefarious Reavers, Bonebreaker leaves a trail of destruction wherever his travels lead him!”

Man, we are just jumping into the deep end with the obscure ’90s X-Men characters, aren’t we? I mean, it’s kinda hard to top Senyaka and his lack of any staying power in the slightest, so that does give today’s entry a slight leg up…okay, so not “leg up”…because, you know, the lack of legs and all. Tank up? Tread up? Ah, this is definitely way too much thought to put into a Bonebreaker intro. Look, he’s half-man, half-tank. It’s pretty cut and dry stuff, really.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bonebreaker was released in Series 7 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line. It was the final series to be released solely on the more character-specific short cards, which actually proved a little tricky for the breaker of bones here, since they had to manage fitting his lower half into the package with him. You have to wonder if that may have slightly influenced the decision to go to the larger cards. By and large, Series 7’s line-up is one of the softer selection of characters in this line, with only two real “heavy hitters” in the line-up, one of them being quite possibly the most boring Wolverine the line ever produced. Of the remaining five figures, Bonebreaker may possibly be amongst the best known (although I myself tend to favor Ch’od and Raza on that front; it really comes down to which era of the comics you’re most familiar with). Why am I talking so much about all of this not Bonebreaker stuff? I don’t know. I’m honestly not sure I can bear to talk only about Bonebreaker for quite this long. But, I suppose I’ve stalled for long enough. The figure stands 3 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation, as well as rolling wheels (though not proper moving treads, unfortunately). There aren’t exactly a lot of potential posing options with this guy, but it’s not exactly for lack of trying; there’s really only so much you can do with the design. The sculpt is decent enough for the time, with a pretty on-brand sculpt for the human portions. His lower tank half is actually pretty impressive, with fairly sharp and solid technical detailing throughout. It rivals Ch’od for the best sculpting work in this assortment. The paint work on Bonebreaker is fairly drab and basic, which I guess is more or less a clean translation of the source material. The tank’s sculpt kind of suffers here, because the nice detail work ends up getting a bit lost in all that un-painted turquoise plastic. It’s perhaps not the best choice of coloring. Bonebreaker was originally packed with two guns, one hand-held, and the other for mounting to the tank. I have neither. For shame.

EDIT 12/25/20 – I now have both of the two guns. Less shame! Also, I found one of his included missiles that I didn’t even list before. For shame again!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bonebreaker’s a figure I remember seeing…a lot. This whole assortment (barring Rogue) was everywhere for a long time, but Bonebreaker is the one I recall seeing the most. I didn’t get one, I guess because the design didn’t really speak to me, and because his appearance in X-Men: The Animated Series wasn’t one of my favorites. But, I’m getting pretty serious about the Toy Biz X-Men collection, so I ended up picking up Bonebreaker here loose while on vacation last summer. He’s honestly a bit better than I’d expected, and I’d like to see how he might turn out in Legends form.