Tag Archives: Nebula

#3111: Nebula

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

NEBULA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Since helping the Avengers defeat her adoptive father, Nebula has become a full-fledged member of the Guardians of the Galaxy who show her the true meaning of family.”

Of all the characters within the Guardians movies, Nebula gets perhaps the most compelling arc. She begins as a wholly antagonistic force towards the Guardians, an angry, violent, and jealous character, focused purely on getting what’s hers. By the final chapter, she’s faced down her genocidal maniac of a father, as well as confronting her former self (literally) and become a central member of the team, deeply concerned with the care of the rest of the group. She’s just a cuddly blue ball of cybernetics. And who doesn’t love that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nebula is figure 3 in the Cosmo Series of Marvel Legends. Like the rest of the team, Nebula is seen here in her full uniform set-up, which puts her into something other that sort of maroonish color for the first time. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation. Nebula is built from a lot of the same bank of parts as Mantis, which was honestly kind of expected. It seems like the sculpt was slightly more tailored to Nebula and then also used for Mantis, as the height is more in line with the slightly taller Karen Gillan, who portrays Nebula. As Nebula has had some of her cybernetic implants removed since we last saw her, the figure gets a new head showing off her updated look, as well as a new left arm, which highlights her new nano-tech appendage. To my eyes, the head seems a touch too large for the body, but only slightly so. It does sport a respectable Gillan likeness, however, and makes the proper adjustments to the older head. The new arm looks the part of the one seen in the movie, and again is distinctly different from the previous version.  I like all of the smaller nanite details that they’ve worked into it.  The color work on Nebula is largely similar to Mantis, which make sense.  Same body, same uniform, same colors.  The application is pretty clean for the most part.  There’s a little bit of slop on the red, but otherwise the lines are clean.  The face gets the now standard printing, which is suitably lifelike…I mean, as lifelike as a blue alien cyborg lady is going to be.  Nebula is packed with a swap-out blade attachment for her cyborg arm, a blaster rifle (re-used from the Vol 2 Gamora), a pistol (re-used from the prior Nebula), and one of Cosmo’s left legs.  I was a little bit bummed that there’s not extra right hand with any sort of grip to it, as well as the fact that the rifle’s lost all of its accent paint.  Ultimately, those are both pretty minor.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Nebula’s a character that I’ve liked more and more with each of her MCU appearances, which is saying something, because I honestly really liked her a lot the first time around.  Vol 3 was a great close to her arc, and I really liked seeing her fully integrated into the team.  This may well be her best figure yet, honestly.  It’s not a lot of flash or flair, but it’s just a well-put-together figure of a well put together character.

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.

#3286: Nebula & Drax

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

NEBULA & DRAX

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Set to the all-new sonic backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos! The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand.”

On December 20 of 2017, I noted in the intro to my Minimates Taserface and Mantis review that I hadn’t picked up the Toys R Us-exclusive Nebula and Drax two-pack. Well, the times they are a-changin…in the spring of 2018…when I actually bought this set.  And…then I took quite a few years to actually review it.  And I’m probably making it worse by drawing attention to it here.  But, you know what, I’m just going for it.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nebula and Drax were the TRU-exclusive pack in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 tie-in assortment of Marvel Minimates, hitting about two months before the film’s release in 2017.  This pair rounded out the titular team from the film.

NEBULA

For the first movie, Nebula was exclusive to the specialty assortment, while this time around flipped the script and moved her over to TRU.  Still exclusive, but differently so, I suppose.  This release places her in her updated outfit she gets from the Ravagers mid-way through the film.  It’s not crazy different, but it’s got sleeves, and it’s a little redder.  The figure is based on the standard post-C3 Minimate body, so she’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and she has 14 points of articulation.  Like her first release, Nebula is a vanilla ‘mate with no add-ons.  It makes sense, since she’s pretty svelte, and has no notable things that would require anything extra on the standard body.  Nebula’s paint is where the main work is going on.  The detail work is pretty solid; she gets things toned down a bit compared to the previous version, but it’s still impressive, as is the base color work.  Nebula is packed with a blaster pistol and a clear display stand.

DRAX

Drax’s look is the least changed of the main characters in the second Guardians, which makes this release seem pretty unneeded at first glance.  However, this one was largely used to correct an issue with the last release, which bulked him up with a bulky chest piece, generally seen as not the greatest choice for the character.  This one’s only sculpted add-on is a generic pelvis cap piece, which gives him a little more bulk without going too overboard.  Beyond the change of sculpt there are also some changes in terms of paint.  The upper half of the figure is fairly similar to the first movie version, but just a touch crisper on the details.  He also gets the blue Nova uniform pants, rather than the all-black ones, which feature a fair bit more detailing than the all-black ones from the first film.  Drax is packed with his two knives and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I got the whole Specialty assortment for this movie within a few months after their release, I held off on this one, for a few reasons.  Firstly, I hadn’t gone out and actually tried to find them, and moreover, I was content with the prior versions.  But, with TRU going out of business in 2018, I had another chance at them, for a much better deal.  Nebula I can take or leave; the first one is still a favorite of mine, so this one’s just different to be different.  Drax is actually an improvement, and I quite like the changes they’ve made here.

#2947: Heist Nebula

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

HEIST NEBULA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Tech savvy and brave, the intergalactic Femme Fatale, Nebula is an intergalactic opportunist in the galaxy’s underworld.”

And we’re back to the Legends reviews.  I left off on Friday only part way through the reviews for the Watcher Series, a largely What If…? based assortment of figures, so for the first half of this week, I’ll be wrapping those up.  The first of those returning reviews is a second figure from the show’s second episode, “What If…T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?”  We already took a look at the episode’s title character, but now let’s take a look at T’Challa’s intergalactic love interest and business partner, Nebula!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Heist Nebula is figure 5 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s designed for pairing off with the T’Challa figure, and really not much else, but I’m hardly one to complain.  This marks Nebula’s second time as a Legend, or third if you count the extra head included in the Endgame Hawkeye and Widow pack, which feels like a real stretch to me.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  Nebula is one of the heaviest parts-re-use figures in this line-up, which was probably a large contributing factor to her getting made in the first place.  From the middle of the torso down, she’s re-using the last Nebula’s parts, along with a set of standard female base body arms.  The head, upper torso, and belt are what’s new here.  Generally speaking, the last Nebula figure wasn’t a bad sculpt, and the costume design remained quite similar, so it makes sense to re-use.  The new parts mesh well, and are generally well-rendered.  I quite like the new head; it’s got a lot of character, and maintains some of the animation style, without going too deep into it the way T’Challa did.  The paint work on this figure supports her overall cleaned up appearance well.  The colors are close to her prior figure, while still being brightened up a bit, making them a little more eye-catching.  Nebula is packed with two sets of hands (trigger fingers and an open gesture/fist combo), her unique blaster pistol, and the upper and lower torso, collar, and skirt for the Watcher.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I quite liked the show’s new take on Nebula, and I really enjoyed her more cleaned up design, so I was certainly okay with her getting a figure.  She’s definitely the most oddball choice of the assortment, but I still like her as a figure.  I think it’s a design that translated well, and I’m ultimately glad she got the nod for this set.  I hope she signifies a chance to get some of the other secondary characters, should they do another assortment of these figures.

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.

#1435: Nebula

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

NEBULA – DAUGHTERS OF THANOS

MARVEL LEGENDS

The product for the first Guardians film covered the main team pretty well, but there were a couple of poor characters who found themselves a bit left out.  Completely absent from all of Hasbro’s offerings were both Fondu and Nebula.  Yondu found his way into the Titus Series earlier this year, and Nebula has followed suit, as part of the more recent Mantis Series.  I’ll be looking at Nebula today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nebula is figure 3 in the Mantis Series of Marvel Legends.  She has the name “Daughters of Thanos,” which she shares with her sister Gamora (who I reviewed yesterday).  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  In a bit of a change from most of this year’s movie-based Guardians figures, Nebula isn’t based on her new Vol. 2 look, but instead keeps her look from the first installment (which, to be fair, she does have for at least a little of Vol. 2’s run-time).  I’m actually okay with that, as I find her Vol. 1 look to be the slightly more interesting of the two.  Nebula is sporting an all-new sculpt, and it’s decent.  It’s a little bit of a disservice to this figure that she’s directly following Gamora, who had one of the best sculpts Hasbro’s ever put out.  This one is certainly passable, but it’s definitely not of quite the same quality.  She almost feels like she was intentionally sculpted to be sort of a half-way point between the 2014 Guardians Legends and the new ones, so she’s slightly summed down.  I felt the same way about Yondu, another figure designed to pull double-duty, so maybe I’m on to something.  It’s also possible that these two might have been sculpts that were started in 2014 and were slightly updated for Vol. 2’s release.  Regardless, Nebula’s sculpt is far from bad.  Apart from some slightly gamely proportions, there’s actually quite a bit to like.  There’s tons of texture work, especially on her robotic arm, and the head is sporting a pretty solid Karen Gillan likeness.  I wish her belt was a slightly less floaty piece, but it’s possible to get it seated so it doesn’t bounce around quite as much.  The paintwork on Nebula is once again up to par with Hasbro’s more recent work.  Everything is nice and sharp, and I really dig all of the metallic tones present here.  There’s one minor flaw: the bottom section of her elbow pad on her left arm hasn’t been painted purple.  It’s only just noticeable though, and I really only spotted it because it was painted the correct way on the alternate forearm.  Said alternate forearm is one of her accessories. It replicates her replacement claw-hand she has early in Vol. 2, thus allowing this to officially be a Vol. 2 figure.  She also includes a small blaster pistol and the other leg of Mantis.  It’s a little bit of a letdown that she didn’t get her cool batons from the first movie, but I guess what she has is acceptable.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Nebula from Toys R Us, same as the others I’ve looked at.  I was rather bummed that she was left out of the toys from the first movie, and was glad to hear she’d be included here.  She’s a decent enough figure overall.  There are some aspects I wish were a little better, but she’s still quite an enjoyable figure, and I’m happy to have her.

#0490: Nebula

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

NEBULA

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VINYL FIGURES

Alright, so after the detour into Marvel Legends land, I’m coming back around to Funko’s Guardians of the Galaxy stuff. This review was actually supposed to be posted last Monday, but it wasn’t. I’m not sure if it had to do with being rather sick last weekend or if I had just had too many “meh” reviews in a row, but when it came time to write this, I just couldn’t. The words wouldn’t come to me. So, I did the ML stuff, which has brightened my spirits a bit, and now I’m back to Nebula. Let’s take a look at how she turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nebula’s part of the first assortment of Guardians of the Galaxy Vinyl Figures. Unlike Star-Lord, Nebula is the only version of the character available in the line (also one of only three Nebula figures available total, like in all of the GotG product). Nebula is a little under 3 inches tall and has no articulation, unless you want to count the bobble head. Nebula’s sculpt is wholly unique to her, and while it is well done from a technical stand-point, there are some questionable choices. Namely, what the heck is up with her pose? She’s standing kind of straight, with her legs wide, and she’s leaning forward just a bit, with her head tilted back ever so slightly. And then there’re the arms, which are outstretched, but almost in a halfhearted sort of way, like she’s been holding them up for a minute and now they’re starting to get tired. What was Funko going for here? Is this meant to replicate a specific pose from the movie? Because I don’t recall Nebula replicating this pose at any point, and if she did it must have only been for the briefest of moments. There seems to be some inconsistency on how the mechanics on her head should be done as well. The bit at the top of her scalp is sculpted, which the stuff around her eye is just painted, so they don’t match. Those things aside, she does have some nice detail work on her costume and such, which is cool, I guess. While the paint on Star-Lord was beyond the Funko norm, Nebula is about par. There’s some nice work on the face, but the paint on the body is fuzzy around the edges and there’s a fair bit of bleed over. Also, the colors are all very similar, which makes the figure a little dull looking. I know she had a limited palette in the movie, but other merchandise has made it work.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Nebula is from the same mall trip (with Super Awesome Girlfriend!) that got me Star-Lord and my SciFi Vinyl Figures. Nebula was the other half of the two GotG blind-boxed figures I picked up. I was initially rather excited to get her, what with Nebula being a favorite of mine from the movie, but I think some of the excitement has worn off. She’s really not as good as she could have been, and it’s sad that this was Nebula’s only figure at the time of the movie’s release. With all that in mind, the figure’s not the worst thing ever. I honestly can’t say why I put this review off for so long. It was actually rather painless.

#0379: Nebula & Sakaar Trooper

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

NEBULA & SAKAAR TROOPER

MARVEL MINIMATES

At long last, all of the Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates are here. And, as of today’s review, I’ll have reviewed all of them. I previously reviewed Yondu, one of the two characters from the movie who can only be found in this lineup. Today, I’ll be looking at the other character, Nebula, as well as her pack mate the Sakaar Trooper.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nebula and the Sakaar Trooper were released in Series 57 of Marvel Minimates. This is one of the two exclusive sets from this series, though only Nebula is actually exclusive; the Sakaar Trooper was also available with Yondu in the TRU assortment.

NEBULA

Nebula is one of the movie’s key villains, but she’s absent from most of the tie-in material. It’s a shame, because Karen Gillan’s performance was definitely top-notch. This is Nebula’s debut appearance in the Minimates line, and it only missed being her debut toy by a couple of months. Nebula is about 2 ½ inches tall and she features 14 points of articulation. Nebula is built on the standard Minimate body, and she’s also a “vanilla ‘mate” meaning she has no other add-ons. Nebula has a very streamlined look in the movie, so this was the appropriate choice on DST’s part. Since she’s just a basic Minimate, a lot of importance is placed on the paintwork. Fortunately, she features some exceptional paintwork. Everything is very even, very vibrant, and very clean. Just like with Ronan, DST has gone out of their way to place the proper etched details of her clothing from the movies. Virtually every surface of the figure features some sort of detailing, resulting in a really sharp looking ‘mate. While the face is really buried under all the additional details, it’s a very good likeness of Karen Gillan. Nebula includes a clear display stand. That’s a bit lighter than the others in this series, but Nebula didn’t have any items of note that would make for good accessories, so it’s excusable.

SAKAAR TROOPER

If you feel like you’ve read my review of this figure before, that’s because you have. Aside from some very minor differences, this is the same as the Sakaar Trooper included with Yondu. If you’d like to see my opinion of the figure, go here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the preceding Guardians ‘mates, this set was purchased from Luke’s Toy Store, along with the rest of Series 57. While this set isn’t as strong a set as yesterday’s Gamora and Nova Corps Centurion, it’s still pretty good. I feel like most of the issue is that I’ve already seen half of this set before, and it didn’t really knock my socks of then either. Still, Nebula is a truly exceptional Minimate. It’s always really nice to see the occasional ‘mate which plays up the strengths of the base body. The Sakaar Trooper isn’t my favorite, but it’s not a bad Minimate, and it does look nice to have Ronan and Nebula flanked by two of these guys.