Tag Archives: Silver Samurai

#3749: Silver Samurai

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

SILVER SAMURAI

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The Silver Samurai has but one goal in life: to become the leader of the Japanese underworld! Trained in the martial arts and wielding a massive katana through which he can channel mutant energy, this honorless samurai has often come close to achieving his desire–if not for the interference of Wolverine and the X-Men!”

Hey, how about some more Toy Biz Marvel?  Would you like that?  Would it be good for you?  Well, it would be good for me, and it’s my site, so I’m doing it.  It’s more X-related stuff today, though it’s worth noting that the focus, Silver Samurai, wasn’t an X-Men character at the start, but rather a Daredevil villain.  These days, he’s not even really a villain, I suppose.  In the ’90s, when he got his first figure, he was a bit more straight forward, and was a recurring thorn in Wolverine’s side.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Silver Samurai was released in Series 6 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line in 1994.  Going by my records, he’s the last of that particular line-up I’ve gotten to reviewing.  The whole assortment was pretty odd-ball, being really light on notable characters, ultimately resulting in it being a rather poorly performing set, and Samurai was one of he worst sellers in the line.  He was, for unknown reasons, also re-packed in a two-pack with Robot Wolverine/Albert from the same assortment.  Because we needed more of him.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He’s exceptionally restricted on the articulation front, curiously having knee joints but not hips, making the knee joints effectively useless.  He doesn’t get elbows or wrists either, just neck, shoulders, waist, and knees.  The sculpt is rather stiff on top of that, so it doesn’t really help.  His helmet is removable, and also permanently attached to his shoulder pads for some reason.  Don’t know why either of those things is the case, but the piece doesn’t really stay in place very well, and also the underlying head is rather oddly shaped.  If there’s one redeeming feature to this guy, it’s the chrome finish on most of him; it gives a literal shine to an otherwise lackluster sculpt, and at least helps him stand out a but.  Silver Samurai is packed with his sword, which is partially chromed as well.  It’s rather prone to breaking, and also not really the proper shape for a katana, but there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It took me an exceptionally long time to get this one, all things considered.  I’ve seen a great many loose ones, always missing the helmet, and I didn’t want to bother with an incomplete one.  I finally snagged a sealed one while on vacation this past summer, which I took as something of a win.  Is he a good figure?  No.  Not in the slightest.  But, I do like the chrome.  So, you know, he’s a bit like Google that way.  Not great, but I do like the chrome.

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.

#2127: Silver Samurai

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

SILVER SAMURAI

MARVEL LEGENDS VINTAGE (HASBRO)

“The Silver Samurai has but one goal in life: to become the leader of the Japanese underworld! Trained in the martial arts and wielding a massive katana through which he can channel mutant energy, this honorless samurai has often come close to achieving his desire – if not for the interference of Wolverine and the X-Men!”

When you get down to it, it’s kind of amusing how many Wolverine foes began their careers not only not fighting Wolverine, but not even fighting the X-Men at all.  Much like he acquired his arch enemy Sabretooth from Iron Fist, today’s focus, Silver Samurai, first appeared in the pages of Daredevil.  After bouncing around the Marvel Universe for a bit, he would eventually be folded into the X-Men franchise, and found himself on multiple occasions paired off against Wolverine, and would even serve as the primary antagonist in 2013’s The Wolverine…albeit in a slightly convoluted sense.  Whatever the case, he’s just gotten a Legends release, which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Silver Samurai is the second the last figure in the third series of Marvel Legends Vintage figures.  This is Silver Samurai’s first time as a Legend, making him the only all-new character in this assortment.  He is, of course, the classic Kenuchi Harada version of the character, the same one to be released in the old Toy Biz line.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Samurai is an all-new sculpt, which is quite the impressive feat for a line that was previously completely recycled parts.  What’s more, I don’t really foresee much parts reuse from this particular assortment of parts. Not exactly a lot of samurai in the Marvel universe.  What really impressed me was the lack of add-on bits; everything is actually fixed in place or just part of the main sculpt, meaning he’s not as floppy as some earlier built up Legends. Silver Samurai isn’t without a few QC issues, mostly to do with flashing, especially on his helmet.  On my figure I actually had to do a little bit of clean up around the eyes, as his left eye was almost completely covered.  It’s an easy enough clean-up, but still a little frustrating that I had to do it at all.  Paint work on this guy is minimal.  There’s really just the rising sun and the eyes.  His logo is a little messy, but not awful.  The rest of it’s molded plastic, which can be a slightly iffy prospect with silver, but it works out better than I’d expected here.  Samurai is packed with two swords, which can be sheathed on his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Admittedly, I don’t have a big connection to Silver Samurai as a character, since he’s only in a single episode of the ’90s cartoon and doesn’t really figure into the periods of the X-Men comics I followed.  That said, he’s certainly got a distinctive appearance and I can appreciate his importance in the line-up. I didn’t know what to expect from him, but he’s actually a pretty solid figure.

I picked up Silver Samurai from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.