Tag Archives: Nighthawk

#3519: Nighthawk & Blur

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

NIGHTHAWK & BLUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The high-flying Nighthawk and super-speedy Blur ally with each other and the Squadron Supreme to defend their Earth”

It’s a rarity that I get to return to a Squadron Supreme discussion.  Sure, I’ve brought the team up a few times before, but it’s always about recontextualizing what is inevitably another Nighthawk or Hyperion.  This time, I actually get to build on a set I’m already building….albeit with another Nighthawk…but that’s not the point!  There are others as well!  That’s right, the Not-Batman comes packed with a Not-Flash, The Whizzer Blur!  Let’s check them out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nighthawk and Blur are the second of the two Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-packs based on the Squadron Supreme.  While the first set was a fairly catch-all classic take on its characters, this set more definitively dials in on specifically the Squadron Supreme of America incarnation created by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness.

NIGHTHAWK

Hey, it’s Nighthawk!  The Kyle Richmond version!  Which Kyle Richmond version, you ask?  Valid.  There’s actually four separate Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, and that’s *just* the Kyle Richmond versions.  There’s another four not-Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, but they admittedly get outweighed by Kyle.  This latest Kyle is perhaps the most Batman-y of the Kyle Nighthawks, so he’s got that going for him.  Design wise, he’s kind of a greatest hits of all the Richmonds before him, which is nifty, I suppose.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Vulcan body, which makes a degree of sense, since Vulcan’s supposed to be replacing Bucky Cap, and that’s what the last Nighthawk was based on.  He gets a new head and cape piece.  They seem pretty in line with McGuninness’s depiction of the character, albeit filtered through the line’s usual stylings.  The cape’s a little tricky to keep in place and kind of stiff, but it’s an improvement on the last one for the most part.  His color work is a bit darker than the last Nighthawk, which is in line with the depiction in the comics.  The molded color work is solid, and the paint application is nice and sharp.  Nighthawk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open, and three not-Batarangs.

BLUR

When the Squadron Sinister first appeared back in the ’60s, their Flash equivalent was re-using the name of Golden Age speedster The Whizzer, and when the Squadron Supreme came into existence a decade later, the heroic equivalent was also re-using the name.  It’s a name that’s admittedly a little on the sillier side, I suppose, so the villainous version switched to “Speed Demon,” while the heroic version took on the name “Blur” during Strazinski’s reboot of the team from the early ’00s.  Aaron and McGuinness’s version kept the “Blur” name going, albeit married to a design that’s a pretty strict update to the Silver Age Whizzer designed.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  This figure is based on the 2099 base body, with the upgraded arms and legs to remove the elbow and knee pins.  Speed Demon was built on the Pizza Spidey body, and I honestly was never entirely happy with that.  This one suits the general character set-up a lot better.  He gets a new head and belt, courtesy of sculptor Paul Harding.  The head’s a fantastic piece of work, with a nice, fun-loving grin on his face.  It feels very true to the character.  The color work is pretty clean; the black and yellow works well, and the painted elements are quite nice.  Blur is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly didn’t intend to pick this set up.  I got the first pack mostly because I just wanted a Doctor Spectrum.  These two using the newer designs meant I had less attachment to them, so I was planning to pass.  But, then they announced Power Princess, meaning I’d be able to finally have *some* version of the team completed, and the more I looked at the Blur figure, the more I liked him.  Blur is the real star here for me; something about his simplicity just really works, and he’s close enough to the classic Whizzer design to work for my collecting sensibilities.  Nighthawk I can take or leave.  I prefer the Defenders costume to this one, so it’ll remain my primary version of the character.  Of course, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a first appearance costume for him.

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.

#3241: Thor & Nighthawk

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

THOR & NIGHTHAWK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Early in the run of Walgreens taking their own exclusive sets of Minimates, everything was completely animation based, drawing from Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Guardians of the Galaxy.  While this meant there was a lot of re-hashing of the heavy hitters in their animated designs, it also allowed DST to sneak in a few lower tier characters with animated appearances who had not yet shown up in the main line.  Avengers Assemble‘s inclusion of the Squadron Supreme in particular was taken advantage of, giving us a whole line-up of those wacky not-the-Justice-League guys.  Today, I’m looking at one of those Squadron-inspired sets.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Thor and Nighthawk were released in Series 2.5 of Walgreens’ exclusive Marvel Minimates.  Yes, there’s a .5 in there.  For some reason, the first four assortments at Walgreens used the half-series numbering.  They abandoned it after this one, presumably because it was just kind of confusing.

THOR

“The Prince of Asgard, where magic and science are the same, Thor uses his hammer, Mjolnir, to protect Earth as an Avenger.”

Slowly bust surely, DST pieced out the animated versions of the core Avengers, intermixed with their alternate universe “Dark Avengers” counterparts.  Thor’s Dark version came first in Series 2, and the standard followed shortly after.  The figure is based on the standard post-c3 base body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Thor gets three add-on pieces, for his helmet/hair, cape, and belt.  The cape is re-used from the DCD Superman, while the helmet and belt were first used for the Dark Thor in the prior assortment.  It’s a clean set of pieces that match up well with the character’s animated appearance, and sit well on the base body.  The paint work on this figure is pretty solid.  It’s clean and simple, and it works well for the aesthetic they were aiming to capture.  He looks like the animation models, but also still fits in alright with the pre-established line.  Thor was packed with Mjolnir, a flight stand, and a display stand.

NIGHTHAWK

“Disguised as SHIELD Agent Kyle Richmond, Nighthawk secretly paved the way for the arrival of the corrupt Squadron Supreme.”

Despite his mainstream counterpart bouncing around amongst a number of teams and not being *absurdly* obscure, Nighthawk was not able to get any ‘mate coverage until he showed up in animation.  I suppose it’s not the worst thing.  On the plus side, his animated counterpart kept the character’s classic costume design, so he can at least pull double duty very easily.  Nighthawk’s got two add-ons, one for his mask, and the other for his cape.  The headpiece is just the standard full-face mask, while the cape is an all-new one.  While I would have liked to see a proper sculpted piece on the mask, it’s a simple enough that the full-face set-up doesn’t look too terrible, and if it was either the mask or the cape, they definitely made the right choice.  The cape is really nicely handled, and sits quite well on the figure’s shoulders.  Nighthawk’s paint work is clean, colorful, and a good half step between the animation and the comics, which I certainly appreciate.  There’s a full face under the mask, and he’s also got an extra hair piece (borrowed from BttF‘s Doc Brown) to show it off.  He also includes a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m gonna be honest, I don’t actually recall exactly how I got this set.  It was probably at a Walgreens, but it’s also entirely possible I got it second hand because I just really wanted the Nighthawk figure, and there was enough weirdness with the early Walgreens exclusives that I don’t remember exactly how these particular chips fell.  I do recall being excited about Nighthawk, but also kind of meh on another Thor.  Ultimately, Thor’s not terrible, and I don’t hate having him, but he’s certainly not the draw.  Nighthawk has to make due with the re-used head piece, but he’s otherwise really great, and I’m glad they were able to work him into the line one way or another.

#2019: Nighthawk

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

NIGHTHAWK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Originally a member of the Squadron Sinister, the wealthy Kyle Richmond has a change of heart and joins the Defenders.”

In the past, I’ve briefly touched on the Squadron Sinister, Roy Thomas’s Justice League pastiches created in 1969 for an unofficial crossing over of the Avengers and the Justice League.  While the Champions of Angor, the Avengers parody that the Justice League fought in their own book shortly after, weren’t particular successful in any fashion, the Squad was successful enough to get not only their own heroic spin-offs (the Squadron Supreme), but also to have a couple of its original members worked into the mainstream universe proper.  The team’s resident Batman expy, Nighthawk, actually did alright for himself, going on a path of redemption and eventually becoming a mainstay of the second-tier superhero team the Defenders!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nighthawk..sorry, *Marvel’s* Nighthawk is figure four in the first series of Endgame-themed Marvel Legends.  He’s the second comics-based figure in the assortment, and I guess if I ragged on Living Laser for his spot being questionable, then I have to rag on Nighthawk too, since he’s really more a Defenders character, despite starting off as an Avengers villain.  Despite all that, I can’t really complain too much, since I doubt there are going to be any dedicated Defenders assortments anytime soon.  Plus, we got three other Defenders back during the tie-ins for Age of Ultron, so I’d say there’s some precedent.  Nighthawk is based on his second costume, following his turn to the heroic, which is definitely sensible, since he spent most of his career in variations of this look.  It also further removes him from his Distinguished Competition counterpart, which I’m sure makes the legal department extra happy.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Nighthawk returns to the tried and true method of building figures on the Bucky Cap body, even re-using that figure’s buccaneer-style boots.  It’s a good fit for Nighthawk’s stature, and still a very good body, though I imagine it’s nearing its retirement.  The figure gets a new head, hands, and forearms, as well as brand new cape add-on.  The newly sculpted parts are nice and clean, and fit well on the body.  The head is a pretty basic piece.  It’s a guy in a cowl, so there’s not a ton of unique work to do there.  It’s a good adaptation, and I do prefer the streamlined mask design they went with. I appreciate that they actually sculpted the ends of his gloves, rather than just painting them on, and I also dig that they made his claws distinctly different from Wolverine.  The cape is big and bulky, but it’s also really dynamic, and certainly the best interpretation we’ve gotten of it in three dimensions.  I was expecting it to be a lot more cumbersome than it ended up being, so I was pleasantly surprised to be sure.  Nighthawk’s paintwork is clean, bright, and bold, which is pretty much everything you’d hope for.  I definitely like the palette here more than the Marvel Universe figure from a few years back, and the application is overall pretty clean.  I did see some slight variance on the coverage of his logo on the few figures I looked at, but for mine it looks pretty solid.  Nighthawk includes no accessories for himself, which, while slightly sad, isn’t a huge shock.  An unmasked head would be cool, as would some non-clawed hands, but they aren’t the sort of thing you expect to see on a character like Nighthawk.  He does include the right arm of Thanos, as well as Thanos’s bladed weapon.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been a fan of Nighthawk ever since Kurt Busiek made him a prominent player in his late ’90s Defenders series, and I’ve wanted him in figure form for pretty much just as long.  He and the rest of the secondary Defenders are some of my favorites, and he’s the last one I needed for a true classic Defenders set-up, so I was pretty stoked for his release.  The final figure lives up to my expectations, and I’m happy to have him.  He’s sort of Living Laser’s counterpart in this assortment, another formulaic lower tier character release who’s actually a pretty solid toy.  The difference between the two is that Nighthawk is actually a character/design I wanted, so he resonates just a little bit better with me.

Nighthawk came from my friends at All Time Toys, and he’s currently in-stock at their store, here. And, if you’re looking for other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.