Tag Archives: Peter Parker

#3576: Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN — MULTI-JOINTED ACTION POSES

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

Fun FiQ Fact #0055: Prior to Toy Biz taking the license, no Spider-Man figure had ever been more posable than the rest of his corresponding toy line.

As I was a child when I started collecting action figures (what can I say, I had no choice in this matter), a lot of my earliest entries in my collection were gifts from family members and the like.  My grandparents had a real tendency to bolster the ranks of the collection, and introduce me to characters I didn’t already have.  Since others were buying the figures for me, I didn’t always have a say in *which* version started things.  So, there are some cases where I perhaps *wanted* one version, but got another instead.  But I’m in charge of it all now, and there’s no one to stop me from going back to get the ones I wanted…so that I can discover that the one already had was honestly just as good.  I’m getting ahead of myself.  Anyway, here’s a Spider-Man.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man was released in the third series of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line in 1992.  There were two Spider-Men in the assortment, and this one was the “Multi-Jointed Action Poses” version, which is to say he was extra posable.  The same figure was re-released in Series 5 of the line, two years later.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation.  Up to this point in the line, all of the Spider-Men had used a body that was similar in construction to the rest of the line.  It was bulkier and more pre-posed, and looked more like Toy Biz’s Super Powers-inspired DC figures.  This time around, Spidey is far skinnier, and in fact has a much greater level of articulation.  While the mobility isn’t quite to the heights of later Marvel offerings, it was by far the best this specific line had to offer, and would remain some of the best to come out of Toy Biz’s 5-inch line.  The sculpt is still somewhat dated by modern standards, but showed a real jump forward in terms of how Toy Biz handled things.  There aren’t any major details or anything to worry about, but the proportions were generally much more balanced than others, and he certainly looked the part for the character.  Since the sculpting is on the lighter side, the paint does the heavier lifting here.  It does well enough.  The weblines aren’t terrible, though there are some slight inconsistencies in exact placement on some of the extremities.  This design opts for a smaller eyed version of the mask, which is unique, and also kind of fun.  The biggest issue I have with the coloring on the figure is the near universal issue of the figure’s upper legs discoloring over time.  This figure was packed with no accessories, with the extra posablity being his main selling point.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

When I was a kid, my cousin Rusty got Spider-Man before me, and this was the one he got.  I wanted one too, but when our Nana went back to get me one, the closest match was the later Spider-Man Animated super-posable figure.  He was fine, but I always kinda wanted this one.  I had the chance to snag one loose from a collection that came into All Time a couple of years ago.  Ultimately, he’s fun, and a cool sign of Toy Biz’s progression with the brand.  I can’t really say it’s *better* than the Animated one, though, so I spent a lot of time chasing an equivalent, if perhaps not a little worse, figure.  It makes you think, I guess.

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.

#3563: Six-Armed Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0042:  Six-Armed Spider-Man was one of the earliest Spider-Man figures added to my collections….and I didn’t really want him.  I don’t know why I was so against it, but I’ve come around on it.

Way back at the beginning of 2019, I reviewed a Marvel Legends Six-Armed Spider-Man.  I was prepared to hate him, because of factors that I’d known about since his prototype had been shown off, but, despite it all, I actually kinda dug him.  That didn’t mean there wasn’t room for improvement.  And, so, that room for improvement has been…filled by improvement?  Or something like that.  Look, there’s a new version, okay?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Six Armed Spider-Man was released in a Walmart-exclusive Marvel Legends two-pack, alongside a re-release of the Absorbing Man Series Morbius.  While Morbius is largely unchanged from his original release, Spidey’s a little different.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 59 points of articulation.  That’s one whole extra point over the prior release.  And how does he manage this feat?  With a tweaked torso mold.  The original one was solid all the way through, but this new one, sculpted by Dennis Chan, gets a ball-joint at the mid-section.  It does a lot of loosen up the figure’s posablility, and it’s quite transformative, really.  Beyond that, he’s really just the same as the other one.  In terms of coloring, the paint’s a little bit tighter this time around, and the colors are toned down ever so slightly, but it’s all very minor.  He does make out slightly better on the accessories front, getting both the thwipping hands from the original, and a pair of fists to swap out.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, I wasn’t in much of a rush to get this one, honestly.  While I saw the areas the original could be improved, I didn’t *need* the improvements, and I certainly didn’t feel the need to re-buy a Morbius I already had to get them.  But, one came through All Time loose, and I decided to trade up.  It was a great call, honestly.  The new torso joint adds a lot to the figure.  Now, I just need to do the weblining like I did on the old one…

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

#3548: Amazing Spider-Man

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

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0027: The Marvel Legends assortment that contained tie-in figures for Amazing Spider–Man 2 was one of two that launched Hasbro’s modern era of Legends 10 years ago.

I was pretty staunchly anti the Amazing Spider-Man series when it first hit theaters. Raimi’s films had defined my love of the character, and I was bitter about him being ousted, so I avoided them both in theaters. I did eventually see them both, and I could see some of the potential behind them, but never the full payoff. So, when I say that Andrew Garfield’s return as Peter Parker in No Way Home was one of my favorite parts, I want you to understand the weight behind that. And hey, it got me to review something Amazing Spider-Man related!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Amazing Spider-Man is part of the retro-card style No Way Home tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends. Or is he? Despite shipping in a case with five other figures all on No Way Home cards, Andrew is on an Amazing Spider-Man 2 card. Why? Well, the exact reason hasn’t been stated officially, but we know that the Figuarts NWH Andrew, which had an unmasked Garfield head when solicited, had to have said unmasked head removed at the last minute, with contract issues being cited. Hot Toys’ Andrew Spidey, despite being shown off with other NWH figures was ultimately marked Amazing Spider-Man 2 upon release as well, and Hasbro’s original three-pack release for him under the NWH banner was sold without an unmasked head, suggesting that there’s some sort of hang-up with specifically Andrew’s likeness from NWH. Thankfully, he’s not all that different looking between the two films, so it’s easy enough to just mark him as being the other version without any real change-ups. Much like the Tobey figure, Andrew’s core figure is identical to his three-pack release, with only accessory change-ups. The figure stands a little over 6 1/4 inches tall (making him, accurately, the tallest of the three Spideys) and he has 34 points of articulation. His articulation set-up is the same as Tobey and Tom’s, but I personally found Andrew had the best range of motion. It’s still a little restricted, but not terribly so. His sculpt is all-new, and wow is it an overhaul to the one from 2014. That one was a good basic Spidey, but this one is more specifically tailored to the actual movie costume design. Say what you will about the films, this suit design is one of the best Spidey looks out there and it translates well to this figure. While I felt rather let-down by the paint on Tobey, the paint on this guy is particularly good. I dig the darker tones and the slight metallic finish, which really capture his on-screen look well. The three pack have this guy three sets of hands (thwipping, open gesture, and fists) and a webline. The single drops one gesture and one fist, as well as the webline, and gives him an unmasked head. The extra head is a pretty solid likeness, and feels more on point than the Tobey sculpt, but maybe not as nice as the Tom sculpt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As sort of the dark horse performance in the movie for me, I was definitely down for a new Andrew Spidey. While Tobey’s my favorite of the three for sentimental reasons, I think Andrew is the best Spidey figure in this particular set. It’s nice to see him get his due both in toy and movie form.

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.

#3545: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

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

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0024: Delays in the production of the original Spider-Man movie meant its tie-in line had to be shelved, leading Toy Biz to create Spider-Man Classics to fill the gap, ultimately leading to the creation of Marvel Legends.

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man was a pretty big deal for superhero movies, and proved perhaps the most influential film since Superman The Movie it terms of how the industry treated comic book movies. Though certainly a product of its time, without Spider-Man, there’s not really an MCU. So, it was certainly appropriate for Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker to show up in No Way Home, officially crossing over into the very universe he indirectly helped create. It was also really cool for me, because, much as I love Tom Holland in the role, Tobey Maguire is *my* Spider-Man. I saw all of his movies in the theater, and I loved them all (yes, even Spider-Man 3). A lot of my attachment to Spider-Man at all comes from those movies. And getting new toys based on the characters from them, especially Tobey as Spidey? Just kind of the best.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is part of the retro-card backed No Way Home tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends. Previously, he was available in a Pulse-exclusive three-pack with Tom and Andrew. The two releases are identical core figures, with different accessories, which I’ll touch on in that section.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  His articulation scheme is pretty much the same as the Finale Tom figure, so it’s a slightly more restricted version of the Amazing Fantasy set-up.  It’s still a little stiff, but generally not bad.  Tobey’s sculpt is an all-new one (shared with the three-pack, of course), courtesy of sculptor Dennis Chan.  While he’s billed as specifically No Way Home Tobey, the sculpt goes for a little more middle of the road for all of his movie looks.  The masked head isn’t quite a spot-on recreation of his mask from the movies; the shaping of the eyes and the layout of the webs looks right, but the underlying shape of the head is off.  It’s not terrible, but it’s not quite right.  Admittedly, it was an issue on his figures from during his movie run too, with the super poseable figure from Spider-Man 2 being another prominent offender.  The head also seems maybe a bit large relative to the body.  The body sculpt’s pretty nice, though, and has a nice set of proportions, far more balanced than prior figures.  The paint work on this guy is another area that doesn’t quite hit the mark.  It’s not bad, but the colors seem a little too bright and saturated to properly convey Tobey’s suit.  It results in the weblines in particular getting a little lost.  The application’s still clean, though, so it’s less a technical issue, and more a design choice one.  The three-pack version of Tobey got three sets of hands (in fists, open gesture, and thwipping) and a webline.  For this release, he gains an unmasked head sculpt (handled by Daniel Salas), but loses the webline, the right open gesture hand, and the left fist.  It’s a bummer that we lost one each of the non-thwipping hands, since they were already sculpted and all.  The unmasked head is okay; something seems off about it.  It’s hard to tell which Tobey it’s supposed to be, and it looks more like Tyler Hochlin than Tobey Maguire to me.  Still, it’s not the worst likeness I’ve seen in this line.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Tobey’s return was the thing I was most excited about in No Way Home, and I definitely wanted a figure of some sort.  I actually managed to get a good deal on the three-pack version *right* before the singles got announced, so I’ve have the figure for a bit and opted to upgrade to the single when he finally hit.  This figure’s not perfect.  In fact, I’d say he’s the weakest of the three Spideys in this line-up.  But, I can’t help but love him, and I’m happy to have gotten 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.

#3543: Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0022:  Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is one of the few core MCU characters to have all of their costumes covered in Legends form, starting with his homemade suit and ending with his…other homemade suit.

The MCU Spidey suits have certainly had their ups and downs.  The original Civil War design is a pretty nifty MCU-ification of his classic costume.  Iron Spider grew on me, but wasn’t a basic look.  I was actually a pretty big fan of the advanced suit from Far From Home, because I’m a sucker for the red and black set-up.  I wasn’t so much up on its upgrade to the Integrated suit for No Way Home, but there have certainly been worse designs.  It just was unfortunate that Holland wasn’t wearing one of his best looks when he teamed up with Garfield and McGuire, who were in their best looks.  Thankfully, he moved onto his best look yet (which is admittedly just a pretty straight recreation of his classic comics look) for the film’s final swing.  It’s been late to the merchandising game, but so has everything else good from the movie.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man, who is just called “Spider-Man” on the box, is part of the second No Way Home-themed tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends, which hit right at the tail end of last year/beginning of this year.  As noted in the intro, this figure is based on Holland’s “Finale” suit from the movie.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  This guy is sporting an all-new sculpt, courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete.  It’s got an articulation scheme that’s got pinless construction and follows a set-up similar to what we saw on the Amazing Fantasy sculpt.  The range of motion’s not *quite* as good on this guy as it was there, but he’s still quite mobile.  I just wish he had a slightly deeper motion for the ankles.  The sculpt’s a pretty solid offering, with the appropriate svelte build for Holland in the suit.  The details of the suit are slightly raised, which makes for a nice detailing pop.  In terms of coloring, this figure is pretty bright and colorful, and certainly the brightest of the Holland Spideys, but if you want to get technical, he should be a little bit brighter.  I mean, just a smidge.  It’s not enough to ruin it, and the application is sharply handled.  Spider-Man is well-accessorized, with a full selection of hands, in fists, open gesture, and thwipping.  He’s also got an unmasked Holland Peter hand (a surprisingly rare occurrence for Holland Spideys), which is a re-use of the more serious expression head from the Peter and Ned two-pack.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I was looking forward to this release (because I’ve honestly dug all of the Holland Spidey Legends up to this point), but in-hand, after a lot of hype, I was a little let-down.  At least at first.  But, as I got the chance to mess with him for the purposes of the review, I came back around on him.  He’s not a perfect figure, and sure, he pales in comparison to Amazing Fantasy Spidey, but most Spideys do.  As an MCU Spidey, though, he’s pretty darn great.

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

#3480: Web Armor Spider-Man

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

WEB ARMOR SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

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

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

THE FIGURE ITSELF

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

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

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

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

#3459: Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

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

SPIDER-MAN, ICEMAN, & FIRESTAR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Using their fantastic powers, Spider-Man teams up with fellow heroes and former X-Men Iceman and Marvel’s Firestar to battle the world’s most dastardly villains from their secret crime-fighting lab.”

Going back to the ‘60s, Spider-Man has never been a stranger to animation.  He typically brings with him his own cast of characters, centered around just him.  Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, however, took a different approach, partnering him off with two other heroes, Ice Man and the show-original-creation Firestar (who was created when Human Torch was unavailable due to the same licensing issues that led to the creation of H.E.R.B.I.E.), which not only gave the an additional spotlight, but also opened the door for the wider Marvel universe as a whole, providing one of the deepest mainstream cuts of Marvel characters for a good couple of decades at least.  The show was without merchandising at the time of its release, but has found its way into wider Marvel toy lines a few times in recent years.  Hasbro gave us the first fully cartoon-based set back during their Marvel Universe line, and they’ve followed that up with a proper update to their current Legends scale.  So, let’s check that one out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man, Iceman, and Firestar are a Marvel Legends three-pack, originally released at the beginning of the year. Like Tuesday’s Iron Man, this set was initially a Pulse-exclusive, but it has since moved over to a wider Fan Channel release, going to other retailers at the end of the summer.

SPIDER-MAN

Spider-Man is, of course, no stranger to Legends treatment, but the last year in particular has seen a lot of reinventing of the standard Spidey, thanks to the 60th Anniversary stuff.  This one is another take on that.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 34 points of articulation.  He’s a re-use of the Amazing Fantasy figure from the Anniversary line-up.  I was a really big fan of that one, and I’m still a big fan a year later.  It’s got such an amazing range of motion, and really balances it well with the proportions.  The big change-up here comes down to coloring; the first release was in his first appearance colors, where as this one does him in his classic red and blue.  It’s largely just a straight palette swap, but he does change-over to the proper updated spider-emblems as well.  I had no issues of slop on this one, but he’s still got the slightest bit of mismatching on the reds.  AF Spidey was pretty jam packed when it came to accessories; this guy gets a bit of a down grade on that.  He still gets the three of the four sets of hands (thwipping, fists, and open gesture; gripping gets dropped), but he loses the webline and the two sets of web-wings.  The web-wings he didn’t have in the show, so I get that.  The spots are still there to plug them in, if you’re still wanting a classic Spidey with the wings, though.

ICEMAN

Though not a total stranger to the line, Iceman is certainly less frequent a release than Spidey.  Our last one was back in 2021, and that one was an AoA variant, so he’s *technically* not even the same guy.  For classic, we’re going all the way back to 2019.  So, maybe another one’s not such a bad thing.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Pizza Spidey body, calling back to his Juggernaut Series release.  I honestly rather like the sizing of it for Bobby, especially for his Amazing Friends incarnation.  Its only downside is the visible pins, but even that’s pretty minor.  He gets the head from the retro carded version from 2019, which is a solid choice for a classic Iceman, and it sits pretty well on the changed out body.  The last few Iceman figures have all gone transparent in some way, but this one goes for an opaque look, which better fits the animation.  He’s got a little bit of cel-shading going on.  It’s a little odd from some angles, but it’s largely pretty versatile.  The only thing I don’t like is the white eyes.  In the show, they were yellow (or possibly green, depending on how you view the exact shade), so as to further differentiate them from the rest of his face, and they should really be that way here, but they’re not.  It’s an odd choice.  Icemen is packed with two sets of hands, open and in fists, as well as the small ice-sled piece from the retro card release.

FIRESTAR

Firestar’s run with Legends is a very recent thing; she just got her first figure back in 2021, covering her classic look, with both comics and animation looks covered.  What new ground does this one cover?  Well…umm…elbows and knees?  See, the last one had disc and pin elbows, and visible pin knees.  This one has double elbows and knees, which are both pinless, by virtue of her re-using the arms and legs from Shriek, in conjunction with the all the other parts from the last Firestar.  And I do mean *all* the other parts, including the extra head and hands, the effect pieces, and even Ms. Lion.  The only change-up is that Ms. Lion is now in her cartoon colors, as opposed to the comics colors of the single release, which is actually a pretty nice touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this set was an exclusive, it was an easy pass for me, because there was nothing here I *needed*.  I’ve got close enough versions of all three, so why bother going to the extra effort?  Once it got the wider release, it really *wasn’t* any extra effort, so I figured why not?  It’s an interesting set-up, because nothing here is new or ground breaking.  Every figure here is just a slightly better figure of something else out there.  I do like having the better versions, of course, and I’m sure I’d be singing a different tune if I hadn’t snagged the other versions previously, but it does beg the question who this set was for, especially when it comes to the Firestar figure, who was a Fan Channel exclusive on her own not that terribly long ago.  Still, I do like the set.  Firestar’s just a little better, Spidey’s classic colors on my favorite Spidey body, and Iceman feels like a more complete package than the other versions.  So, it’s an overall win.

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

#3412: Bombastic Bag-Man

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

BOMBASTIC BAG-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Left without a costume, a desperate Peter Parker dons a spare Fantastic 4 uniform and a brown paper bag. And so the Bombastic Bag-Man was born!”

We live in a crazy era for Marvel Legends.  Like, I just can’t be clear enough about that.  It’s an era of getting, serious, actual, fully planned out figures of gag concepts.  Case in point: Bombastic Bag-Man.  After discovering that his black costume was an alien symbiote with its own agenda, Peter Parker enlisted the help of Reed Richards to remove the symbiote.  Left without a suit, he borrowed an older FF suit and a paper bag.  In true Spider-Man fashion, Peter has to stop a crime on his way home, still sporting his makeshift costume, and introducing himself as “The Bombastic Bag-Man.”  It’s silly, and really not a marketable Spidey look, but it’s also a fan-favorite.  It’s come close to figure form a few times, never quite making it to the finish line.  Hasbro, however, has finally made it actually happen.  Crazy.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bombastic Bag-Man is a Target-exclusive Marvel Legends release.  He’s a one-off on the Marvel Super Heroes style retro card, and he was part of Hasbro’s overall celebration of Spidey’s 60th Anniversary.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Bag-Man is built on the Reed Richards modification of the Pizza Spidey body.  Why they didn’t just use the Pizza Spidey body straight is anybody’s guess; perhaps they just thought this one was more Fantastic Four-y.  I’m a little bummed that it means he loses the butterfly shoulder, but it’s still a decent body.  He also re-uses the feet from Shang-Chi, made evident by their lack of peg-holes.  The figure’s topped off by a new head sculpt, for the full Bag-Man effect.  The bag and the actual head are separate parts; the bag isn’t removable, and the head beneath only actually gets eye and chin detailing, but it gives everything the appropriate depth.  The actual bag sculpt is also just really good; it honestly looks just a real paper bag that’s been shoved over his head, down to the mis-shaping for his nose.  The color work on Bag-Man is largely meant to mimic the colors on the Walgreens FF releases.  It’s appropriate, since it’s supposed to be one of the same uniforms, and all.  That said, it’s not an exact match.  The blue is a slightly brighter shade, and the exact sizing of the “4” logo is a bit larger.  Granted, for true accuracy, he’s meant of pair off with the Byrne-era costumes anyways, so it doesn’t truly have to match, I guess.  Bag-Man is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture) as well as the “Kick Me” sign Johnny stuck on his back.  That piece is gonna get a lot of use for sure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I’ve gotten into a few times here, I’ve given up on the exclusives game for the most part.  But, somehow most of it ends up in front of me, just the same.  I dig Bag-Man as a silly concept, so I was glad to get a chance at one when he came into All Time.  He’s not perfect, but he’s certainly fun.  And we live in a time where there’s a freaking Bag-Man figure.  Crazy.

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.

#3386: Spider-Man & New Goblin

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

SPIDER-MAN & NEW GOBLIN

MARVEL MINIMATES

While we’ve gotten a lot of movie-themed Marvel Minimates over the years, they weren’t quite as plentiful in the early days.  Spider-Man 3 marked a turning point, though, getting the full two assortment treatment, covering just about every major character from the movie.  I’m diving back into that set-up today, with a look at the standard movie Spidey, and the vengeful New Goblin!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man and New Goblin were released as a two-pack in Series 17 of Marvel Minimates, notably the first of the two assortments based on the movie.  Both assortments wound up shipping at the same time, in late 2007, as was a common practice for Marvel Minimates assortments during that era.

SPIDER-MAN

Since the two prior Spider-Man films hadn’t gotten any tie-in coverage for Minimates, SM3 our first stab at the standard Spidey look from the Toby McGuire films.  That said, this was the *second* standard issue to hit the line, following the con-exclusive two-pack version that had hit during the summer before these assortments.  While the differences between the two Black Costume Spider-Men were more notable, these two versions of the standard had their differences as well.  The figure is built on the post-C3 minimate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  He’s a vanilla ‘mate, so there’s not extra add-ons for this guy.  It’s as it should be, since he doesn’t need to be bulked up or anything, and sculpting the weblines would certainly be overkill for this style.  He gets an impressive selection of paint work.  It’s not quite as good as the preview pack version, but there’s still a lot going on.  He gets all the appropriate webline detailing, as well as texturing on the blue sections of the costume.  The texturing even goes all the way around, which is pretty cool.  He doesn’t get the weblines for his hands and feet the way the preview version did, but it’s still more than the average Spidey got.  The SM3 figures marked a change in styling for Spidey ‘mates, as this was the first time that the belt of his costume was on the actual waist piece.  It changes the proportions a bit, moving him towards the more modern stylings of the line.  Spidey was without any accessories for this release.

NEW GOBLIN

Harry Osborne’s arc was one of the trilogy’s most invested ones, and Spider-Man 3 paid off his journey following in his father’s footsteps…to perhaps mixed results.  Norman’s Goblin design in the first movie wasn’t really met with universal praise, so they went a different direction for Harry’s “New Goblin” design.  Unfortunately, while it may be less overtly hideous, it’s also a lot less distinctive.  He’s kind of just a generic snowboarder looking guy.  I mean, it could be worse, I suppose.  Like Spidey, Harry is based on the standard ‘mate body.  That said, he gets quite a few add-on parts, all of them new to this figure.  He’s got a mask/hair combo, shoulder harness, belt, thigh pouch, bracers, left hand with pumpkin bomb, and boots.  It makes for one rather built-up figure, but not one that’s actually too bulky, which is certainly a plus.  The harness in particular marks DST actually doing just a harness, rather than a whole bulked up torso piece, which was a rarity at this time.  It all honestly works pretty well.  There are the odd quirks, of course, such as the bracers being loose enough to pretty freely spin even with the hands in place, but it’s not so bad.  Since his sculpted parts handle so much of the detailing, the paint’s not quite as detailed.  That said, he gets all the proper base work, and still gets a little extra detailing for the torso, as well as a pretty good likeness of James Franco for the face under the mask.  He’s packed with an alternate hair piece to show off said face, as well as his sword, knife, and glider.  The glider was the first time any of the Goblins got such a piece; unfortunately, due to the way the boots are molded, he doesn’t peg in place quite right on it, so he can’t actually attach to it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite all the nay-saying about it, I was very excited for Spider-Man 3‘s release, loved seeing it in the theatre, and was thrilled to get the tie-in stuff for it, with the Minimates in particular being high on my list.  I got the full standard set of the tie-ins from my parents for Christmas the year that they came out.  The basic Spider-Man’s not a lot too look at on first glance, but the extra detailing is certainly cool.  New Goblin may not be the most thrilling design, but I think he translated well, and he marked a real turning point for how sculpting could interact with the core ‘mate body.

#3377: Peter B. Parker

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

PETER B. PARKER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Peter B. Parker must decide between protecting his old pal Miles and siding with his more experienced comrades.”

While Peter Parker was the main character of the comics version of “Spider-Verse,” for the Spider-Verse movies, the focus has been shifted to Miles Morales, with Peter, specifically the alternate universe Peter B. Parker, serving as a mentor to Miles.  It’s a change-up, but a decidedly fun one.  And there’s all sorts of goofy slacker Peter in costume looks that we got out of it.  So, let’s have a look at another Peter B. Parker!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Peter B. Parker is the fourth figure in the Across the Spider-Verse tie-in line-up of Marvel Legends.  Technically, he’s not actually an Across figure, and is in fact the line-up’s one Into the Spider-Verse figure, making him the first true repeat.  He does at least get a slightly changed-up look, though.  While the last figure was based on Peter B’s fully civilian look, this one takes the next step in his costume evolution, with his into action look…well, at least the one before he gets his full costume back.  Yay sweat pants!  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Last time around, Peter was the most limited of the Spider-Verse figures in terms of articulation, but this one ends up fairing just a little bit better, largely due to the lack of bulky over coat, but also thanks to some of thinner limb parts, most notably the ankles and the neck, being less wobbly when posing.  Peter marks the sets one tiny little bit of re-use; the sweat pants are the same ones used on the prior figure, which does make a degree of sense.  Everything else is all-new, and it’s generally pretty good.  It’s certainly very on-brand for the film’s styling, though if I have one complaint it’s that his lower torso is definitely too fit and defined.  Those are Peter A’s abs, not Peter B’s.  It’s interesting, because that’s an area where re-using the torso from the prior figure would have solved the issue, and yet they opted not to.  One almost has to wonder if there was a plan to do a full Peter A figure, but they opted for the budget friendlier sweat pants version of Peter B.  Or perhaps there was some sort of a mix-up on the models being used.  Whatever the case, it’s not the end of the world.  Peter’s paint work is quite on the basic side, but that’s not a terrible thing, and he’s at least pretty eye-catching, and what’s there is clean.  Peter is quite on the light side for accessories, getting two sets of hands, one in fists and one in thwipping pose.  They look to be re-used from the last one.  Since we’re getting re-use anyway, getting one or both of those alternate heads might have also been nice, if there wasn’t any chance of any new parts.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this guy.  He honestly perplexed me a bit, since it’s odd to get another Into Peter B. before getting his new look from Across, but perhaps there’s a good reason for holding off on that one.  I was also a bit surprised that we still didn’t get Peter’s full costume.  That being said, I think I’m honestly happier with him this way.  We’ve gotten plenty of basic Spider-Men over the years, and a Spider-Verse one is kind of inevitable, so doing this one first is at least a slightly more unique look, and he’s also just a rather fun figure at 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.