Tag Archives: Rogue

#0178: Rogue & Beast

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

ROGUE & BEAST

MARVEL MINIMATES

Sometimes two things come together in a way that’s more awesome than you can possibly imagine. Such was the case for me with Marvel Minimates series 34. Obviously, the mere fact that it’s Minimates makes it one of my favorite things, but in addition to that, this particular wave was based on Jim Lee’s early 90s work on X-Men. This means they happen to have the same designs as the versions of the characters present on X-Men: The Animated Series, the cartoon effectively responsible for getting me into superheroes and the toys that accompany.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

As noted in the intro, these two were released in Marvel Minimates series 34, and are based on Rogue and Beast’s appearance in the comics in the early 90s.

ROGUE

This isn’t the first time I’ve looked at a figure of Rogue based on this particular design; I’ve previously looked at Hasbro’s interpretation from their Marvel Universe line. As I said in that figure’s review, I think the costume is a good choice because it’s the one most people remember. She’s built on the standard Minimate body, so she has 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. She features 6 sculpted add-on pieces: Hair/headband, rolled up sleeves, leather jacket/belt, and boots. The hair and jacket are brand new pieces and the rolled sleeves and boots are re-uses, seen several times in the line. The hair looks pretty much spot on to Rogue’s style of the time. The jacket isn’t bad, though it might be a bit bulky around the shoulders. The paintwork is cleanly applied for the most part. The detail lines are pretty much limited to the front of the torso and head, though she also has the appropriate x-logo on her right shoulder, which is nice to see because it often gets overlooked. Rogue included no accessories.

BEAST

For many people, this is the definitive version of Beast; a hulking, blue, furry guy in blue shorts with an x-logo and sporting some serious Wolverine-hair. I’m more partial to the more reserved George Perez styled Beast from when he was a member of the Avengers, but I certainly appreciate this look. He’s built on the usual Minimate body, like Rogue, so he has the same basic height and articulation. Beast features 9 sculpted pieces: hair, bulked up torso, elongated forearms, clawed hands, belt, and big, furry feet. The hands come from DC’s Cheetah, the forearms come from the sentinel released in the previous wave (more on that in a second), and the torso and belt are standard pieces; the hair and feet are new. The new pieces are great. The feet are just the right size, and while the hair may be a touch too big, it still looks good. The reused pieces are a bit of a mixed bag. The hands work fine, but the torso cover isn’t one of my favorites, mostly due to those shoulders. The forearms are odd, because they were initially used as blast-off hand pieces in the sentinel. They were cool there, but here they look way too long, giving the arms a strange set of proportions. Fortunately, they can be removed, which greatly improves the figure. The paint detailing is pretty good. I especially love the face, as it’s the perfect expression for Hank. The coloration is off on the bulked up torso, which is a bummer, but you can remove it to reveal a full set of details on the under-lying torso, so it’s not too bad. Beast includes a spare set of feet.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was pretty excited when this series was announced, but I will admit this set is just average at best. It’s easily the weakest of the wave, but it does have some redeeming features. The Rogue featured here is easily the definitive version of the character, and Beast is a passable version of a character who is severely lacking in alternative choices. It’s a solid set, and I’m certainly glad I have it.

#0034: Uncanny X-Men Team Pack

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

ROGUE, WOLVERINE, LONGSHOT & CYCLOPS

MARVEL UNIVERSE (HASBRO)

Today’s review looks at yet another mighty Marvel toy line, Hasbro’s Marvel Universe.  The Marvel Universe line is pretty much Hasbro doing Marvel characters in the scale that they know best: 4 inch(well, technically 3 ¾ inch, but let’s not split hairs).  The line’s been running for a few years, and Hasbro likes to mix things up occasionally and release figures in multipacks.  I’ll be looking at their 80s/90s X-Men Boxed set today.  The set features X-Men mainstays Rogue and Wolverine, as well as prominent 80s member Longshot and a kiddified version of X-Men leader Cyclops.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These figures were released in the 2013 series of “Team Packs”

ROGUE

First up, it’s everyone’s favorite angsty mutant who can’t touch anybody!  Rogue is depicted here in her Jim Lee designed 90s costume.  It’s a good choice, as this is the costume that most people are familiar with.  Rogue stands just shy of 4 inches and has roughly 20 points of articulation.    She’s built on Hasbro’s second basic female body, with a new head and arms, and add –on pieces for the jacket, belt, and boots.  The body sculpt is well done, and the generic body works fine for her underlying spandex costume.  The newly sculpted pieces are passable, if not the greatest.  The jacket’s sculpt is well done, and the boots do their job, though they do kinda stick out as add-on pieces.  The head is far from the worst in the line, or even the worst Rogue figure we’ve seen, but it’s not the best offering.  The hair looks fine, but the face is far too gaunt, and they’ve left her with her mouth permanently open.  The paint is passable, but could be better some places, particularly at the cut joint’s on her thigh, where it’s virtually impossible to get the lines of the yellow parts to line up.

WOLVERINE

Next, it’s the most famous X-Man by far!  Wolverine is depicted in his brown and yellow costume from the mid-to-late 80s, which, like Wolverine himself, is no stranger to the action figure world.  Wolverine stands closer to the 3 ¾ inch mark, making him noticeably shorter than Rogue, and he has 18 points of articulation.  The figure is actually just a repaint of the same version of the character from the Wolverine: Origins tie-in line, but since I never got that one, it’s new to me.  The sculpt is decent, especially the body, which conveys Wolverine’s short and stocky nature pretty well.  The claws are a solid piece on each hand, which is okay by me, since they have a tendency to warp at this scale. Like with Rogue, the head leaves something to be desired.  It’s a bit too squat, and the details are a bit on the soft side.  Paint on the figure is okay, though he does have very fuzzy lines on some of the brown sections, particularly the shoulders.

LONGSHOT

Next, it’s everyone’s favorite, uhhh… no, hang on, it’s just Longshot.  And Longshot’s nobody’s favorite.  Longshot is depicted in his debut costume from the 80s.  Longshot stands about 4 inches tall and features 22 points of articulation.  Hasbro wisely reused the body previously used for Ghost Rider and the AIM soldier.  It’s a nice body, with a whole lot of folds and wrinkles which work great to hide folds and wrinkles.  The reused body is masked with the addition of a new head and hands, as well as add-ons to represent his cuffs, pouches, and belt.  These are all well sculpted end fit well.  The head is obviously a focus point, and it’s a decent piece.  It has a pretty nice determined look, and actually manages to make his mullet look okay.  The paint is nice and clean, with no noticeable bleed over or slop.

CYCLOPS

Lastly, it’s the fourth figure in the three-pack.  So, yeah…that’s a thing.  He’s actually more of an accessory than a separate figure.  In the 80s, the X-Men had a few run-ins with the villain Mojo.  Mojo was a TV exec from another dimension, always looking for the new fad.  After a few fights with the X-Men, Mojo decided that what his viewers really wanted to see was the X-Babies, child versions of everyone’s favorite mutants.  This Cyclops is based on the X-Babies version of the character.  Cyclops stands just shy of 2 inches tall, and has no articulation.  Given the small scale and since he’s technically an accessory, the articulation’s not an issue.  He’s an all new sculpt, and it’s a good sculpt!  It’s nice and simplistic, but in a good way that reflects the source material.  The paint could be a bit better, as there is some noticeable slop, but it’s not terrible.  Cyclops may actually be my favorite figure in the set!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Nothing much to report in this section.  I mostly got this set because I wanted the other sets in the series and buying the whole series was the most practical way of handling it.  I’m certainly not disappointed by this set, but it’s not really one of my favorites.