Tag Archives: Spider-Man

#3432: Spider-Man Noir & Spider-Ham

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

SPIDER-MAN NOIR & SPIDER-HAM

MARVEL LEGENDS

“In an alternate universe where it’s still 1933, Peter Parker is a hard-boiled private eye who likes to drink egg creams and fight bad guys…a lot!  Peter Porker was a mild-mannered spider before the bite from a radioactive pig transformed him…into the Spectacular Spider-Ham!”

Tie-ins to the first Spider-Verse movie were at a minimum at the time of its theatrical run, so we had to wait until a fair bit later to finally get proper Legends treatment for any of its characters.*  When we finally did get anything, it was folded into a larger Spidey-assortment of the main line, so we got a very barebones version of the cast, leaving some of the side Spiders out in the cold.  One of the most glaring omissions was Spider-Man Noir, the Nicholas Cage-voiced 1930s detective Spidey.  Sure, we had comics Noir, but that’s hardly the same thing.  But, now we’ve *also* got the movie one.  Oh, and another Spider-Ham, I guess.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham are a Target-exclusive Marvel Legends offering from late last year.  They were billed as a two pack, and, well, that’s just wrong.  Like, yes, there are two characters included, but only one of them is a proper figure.  The Spider-Ham is just the same one that was included with Spider-Gwen (albeit with the slightest tweak on the shade of blue), and she wasn’t billed as a two-pack.  I can’t blame them for wanting to get Ham back out there, mind you, especially with Gwen getting an update for the new movie.  I just don’t agree with the billing of it is all.  Anyway, I’m just gonna look at Noir now.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Noir starts with an interesting bit of re-use: T’Challa Star-Lord.  He’s got the torso, pelvis, upper legs, knees, and hands from that figure.  I definitely wasn’t expecting to see them turn back up here, and they weren’t my favorite pieces the first time around, but they actually work out better in the context than I’d expected.  He gets a new head, arms, and lower legs, as well as add-ons for his collar, jacket, and belt.  The whole thing adds up to a figure that’s a pretty good half-step between the first movie’s slightly more dialed into the usual Legends aesthetic set-up and the more animation accurate figures from the second film, which is nice, since it means he fits okay with both.  I actually quite like the dynamic nature of the coat; usually I’m not as big on such things, but the flair works really well for the character, and winds up being more versatile than it seems at first glance.  The one downside to the sculpt, for me, is the hands, which are both gripping.  It’s not the end of the world, but I do wish he had the proper hands for some fisticuffs; they’re just basic black hands, though, so it shouldn’t be impossible to supply my own.  In terms of paint work, he’s actually a lot better than expected.  Rather than go for straight black for the whole figure, there’s actually hightlights, which even have the halftone printing signatue to Noir’s coloring in the movie.  Noir is packed with an alternate head with the hat removed, as well as a small pistol.  And also the Spider-Ham, but he’s not officially classified that way, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Noir is my favorite of the alternate Spiders from the first movie, so I was definitely more than a little let-down by him being completely left out of all the tie-in stuff.  This one fills me with mixed emotions.  He was a Target-exclusive, and not the easiest to acquire at that, and on top of that, there’s the weird two-pack thing and the upcharge that accompanied it.  But I wanted a Noir, and I was getting a Noir, so I did get a Noir.  And he’s a good Noir.  Slightly too expensive and packed with a Ham I didn’t need, but a good Noir figure just the same.

*There was a shoddy repaint pack of Miles and Gwen at the time, but that hardly counts.

#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.

#3384: Spider-Punk

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

SPIDER-PUNK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Hobie Brown is the British punk Spider-Man better known as Spider-Punk.”

One of the more dynamic creations to come out of the original “Spider-Verse” story was Spider-Punk.  He began as a rejected design done by Oliver Copiel for the character that became Spider-UK, but writer Dan Slott liked it enough to spin it into its own full fledged character.  Though he started as a relatively minor player in the original storyline, he’s subsequently become one of the more enduring alternate Spider-Men, which has unsurprisingly translated to inclusion in Across the Spider-Verse, and subsequently led to a little bit more toy coverage than just the one single Legends release he had previously.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is the final figure in the seven figure Across the Spider-Verse tie-in series of Marvel Legends.   This marks Spider-Punk’s second time gracing Legends, though he of course gets his updated film design this time around.  While the original Spider-Punk design stuck pretty closely to the classic Spidey design, and just added a few extra elements atop that, Spider-Punk’s look from Across is much more of a ground-up rework.  He keeps the comics version’s spiked mohawk and vest, but puts them over a design that even more thoroughly embraces “punk”….which in this case seems to mean he borrows more elements from Scarlet Spider than he does Spider-Man.  I’m not gonna knock it.  I dug the original design, and I also dig this one.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Spider-Punk’s articulation scheme is interesting, as it’s technically a bit outdated in its layout and methods, but ultimately it ends up working out very well with the design and layout of the sculpt, making it feel like it’s still very much on par with the other  more recent offerings.   Spider-Punk gets an all-new sculpt, courtesy of Arlen Pelletier, and…it’s just really good, you guys.  There’s just so much personality and style running through this sculpt.  I love the uneven lacing on the boots, and all the varieties of studs and spikes littered throughout his clothing.  And it’s all just got this very dynamic flow to it that just really feels true to the character.  Likewise, the paint work on Spider-Punk is some of the most involved in the whole assortment.  There’s just a lot of detailing, not just base work like we saw on the others.  He’s got the little spots of sporadic webbing, the running paint on the eyes, and all of the smaller buttons on details on his vest, which makes for a very rich look.  In terms of accessories, Spider-Punk gets his guitar (the same mold as the original), as well as an extra left hand with a thwipping pose.  While he’s still only got the two extras, the guitar is at least a more sizable accessory, and, as with the main figure, the painted detailing on it is really impressive.  The only thing I’d have liked to see here is maybe an extra right hand without the guitar pick in it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was pretty excited for the comics Spider-Punk when he was released, and I was likewise quite enthusiastic about the character’s inclusion in the movie.  My expectations were pretty high for this figure, and still he blew them totally away.  This guy just oozes fun, and he’s far and away my favorite figure in this line-up.  Like, it’s not even close.  And he was up against that Spot figure, which I also really loved.  So, you know, that’s really saying something.

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.

#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.

#3371: Black Suited Spider-Man & Sandman

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

BLACK SUITED SPIDER-MAN & SANDMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Marvel Minimates‘ relationship with movie tie-ins is sort of a turbulent one.  The first series of the line only exists in the form that it does because it was 2003, and Daredevil and Hulk both got movies, but the actual ‘mates are entirely comics-based.  The first true movie tie-ins were a pair of waves, one being based on X3 and the other being based on Ghost Rider.  The X3 set was at least able to get by on being X-Men, but the Ghost Rider set is infamously the only specialty series of Marvel Minimates to be outright cancelled.  DST’s next go at movie tie-ins was for something that felt like more of a shoe-in, but still didn’t quite stick the landing, Spider-Man 3, which got two whole assortments of coverage.  Today, I’m taking a look at Black Suited Spider-Man and Sandman, based on their looks from the film.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Black Suited Spider-Man and Sandman were released in Series 17 of Marvel Minimates, which was the first of the two assortments dedicated to the movie (though both of them wound up shipping at the same time, as was a common practice for Marvel Minimates at the time).

BLACK SUITED SPIDER-MAN

With the symbiote playing a major part in Spider-Man 3, there were understandably quite a few variations available in the line.  This one aimed to be the standard issue version…but it wasn’t quite there.  The figure’s on the post-C3 minimate body, so it’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He gets one add-on piece for his torso, because, for some reason, DST decided to make Black Suited Spider-Man really buff.  Not sure why, since it’s still just Tobey McGuire, with his regular Spidey build, under the suit; there’s no reason to bulk him up compared to the regular one.  But, they did, and it makes him look really puffy.  Not exactly what you hope for on this design.  The paint work is generally alright, with a good deal of texturing and smaller detail work going on.  While the preview version of the figure (which also ditched the torso cap) got web detailing on the hands, this one does not, and the shades are a little closer between the underlying color and the weblines on this one too, making him generally seem just a bit too muddled.  His eyes also feel just a touch too close together, which makes the torso look even larger by comparison, and makes him feel even more bloated.  Spidey was packed with no accessories.

SANDMAN

We got two different Sandmen courtesy of this movie, depicting him in relatively human and totally sand forms.  This was the relatively human one.  Seeing as his design was also a rather faithful recreation of his classic comics look, it also allowed him to serve as a standard Sandman, if you were so inclined.  He’s got add-ons for his hair and chest cap, both of which were new for this release.  The hair became a rather common piece, and the chest cap saw use on a couple of other Sandmen that followed.  They’re both actually pretty nice pieces, working well within the context of the film design, but also showcasing the improved sculpting that DST really started to roll out with this assortment.  His paint work is generally pretty solid.  The face sports a respectable likeness of Thomas Haden Church, though he’s perhaps a little too light-hearted looking for the rather sullen Marko from the movie.  Of course, it makes it easier to turn him into Lowell for my Wings display, so I suppose it’s not all bad, right?  Sandman gets a spare set of arms bulked up into sand form, which is honestly a pretty fun extra.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the whole Spider-Man 3 set, minus the variants, from my parents the Christmas that they were released.  I was rather excited for them at the time, I recall.  The Black Suited Spider-Man was always rather a let-down, and is only more so in recent years.  Sandman, on the other hand, is actually a really good figure, and was honestly one of my favorites from the set.  He signifies the advancements that these two particular series really brought to the line, all in one little package.

#3369: Miles Morales

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

MILES MORALES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Miles Morales faces a new villain with abilities that will take more than one Spider-Man to defeat.”

When Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released in 2018, it hit with only minimal tie-in offerings, with the major push for tie-in stuff hitting about 2 1/2 years later.  Since it’s very clear what kind of a marketing success the first film was, the sequel is coming out of the gate strong for its theatrical release this week.  The basic figures have actually been out for the while, and there’s an entire dedicated assortment of Legends hitting right out of the gate, which snuck in real quietly right before the movie’s release.  I’ve got my whole set, because why the heck not.  I’m kicking off with a look at Miles today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Miles Morales is the first figure in the 7 figure Across the Spider-Verse tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  After getting the half-step “What’s Up Danger” look for the first film, this time around we get a fully-costumed Miles, sporting his brand new costume from the movie.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme this time around isn’t quite as impressive as what the Into Miles got; sure, he gets double elbows now, but he also loses the ball-jointed waist and neck, which really added to the prior figure’s posability.  This one can still pull off a good deal of poses, but the joints can get a little sticky, and it’s a little awkward to move him.  On the plus side, he’s still got the pinless construction, which works pretty well for the aesthetics.  Miles is sporting an all-new sculpt (courtesy of sculptor Dennis Chan), and it’s a good looking one.  It matches up nicely with what we’ve seen so far of the animation models, showcasing a Miles that’s a bit more grown up than the last time we saw him.  The texturing on the outfit is truly impressive, and there’s a nice flow to the overall sculpt.  Mile’s paint is more complex than it looks at first glance; obviously he gets the red accents on the black base, which looks nice and slick, but there’s also some subtle dark blue work.  It’s easy to miss, but it adds a little extra pop to the figure’s visual.  Miles is packed with an extra unmasked head and two sets of hands (thwipping and fists).  The last unmasked head didn’t *quite* land the film design, especially the hair, but this one really gets it down.  Also, they don’t have the weird ball joint for each head, so that’s a plus.  Of course, it’s still a smaller socket size than the standard, so swapping isn’t going to really be a thing, but it’s progress.  As with the last Miles, I do wish we’d gotten another set of hands with open gesture, but I’ll just have to continue to be disappointed with every Spider-Man that cuts those, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really enjoyed the Into tie-in Legends, and I’d been hoping for more since that one small release.  One of the things that excited me the most about the sequel was getting more figures.  Miles was a figure that I wasn’t quite as jazzed for on the outset, I think just because he seemed rather basic, at least from the in-hand leaks we saw.  Having him in hand, there are some smaller issues that I’m a little let-down by, but he’s overall a figure that I wound up liking a lot more than I’d expected to.

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.

#3301: Insulated Spider-Man & Electro

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

INSULATED SPIDER-MAN & ELECTRO

MARVEL MINIMATES

In 2009, we were between cinematic versions of Spider-Man, so all of his toy tie-ins were sticking closely to the comics for their inspiration.  This was especially true of Marvel Minimates, who had three dedicated assortments just for comic Spidey, as well as working him into some of the mixed assortments.  Wedged in the middle of the themed set-ups was today’s set, a variant of Spider-Man and one of his classic foes, Electro!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Insulated Spider-Man and Electro were initially released in the fourth TRU-exclusive assortment of Marvel Minimates, before getting a follow-up release in Series 30 of the main line.  The set from this review was the specialty release, but the two sets were effectively identical apart from packaging.

INSULATED SPIDER-MAN

“This alternate costume was created by Spider-Man to counter the devastating electricity powers of the super-villain Electro. By utilizing non-conductive materials and building on his original ‘rubber air mattress’ design, he defeated Electro with ease.”

Introduced in 1997’s Amazing Spider-Man #425, Spider-Man’s Electro Proof Insulated Suit was crafted to battle Electro’s increased powers of the ’90s.  It had graced toy form before during Toy Biz’s run with the license, but with this it had a Minimate.  Different!  The figure was based on the standard post-C3 ‘mate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  His only add-on is a full face-mask piece.  They were standard for Spidey for a brief span of time, but this assortment actually dropped that; the only reason this particular figure got the piece was for the extra padded design.  Everything else is handled with paint.  There’s quite a lot going on, but it does a great job of capturing the design of the costume as seen in the comics.  Under the bulked up mask is a standard Spidey mask.  It’s unfortunately saddled with the peg hole in the head, but otherwise it was really great, and the red was designed to be an exact match for the standard Spidey from Series 24 of the main line, allowing a replacement of his bulked up mask piece from the original release.  Spider-Man was without any extras for this release.

ELECTRO

“Given super-human powers by a freak electrical accident, Max Dillon was transformed from an average electric company lineman into the super-villain known as Electro! Able to absorb and manipulate near-limitless amounts of electricity, Electro can only be defeated by shorting out or overloading his powers.”

This marked Electro’s introduction to this line.  While there were another four variants of the character to follow, but this is to date the only one based upon his classic design.  He got three add-on pieces for this release, for his mask and his two glove cuffs.  All three were all-new pieces.  The mask was a little bit deep at the front, but was otherwise a good piece.  The cuffs take what would become the standard approach for the flared gloves, and add the electric effects to the ends.  His paint work is respectable enough; the colors are nice and bold, and the line work is quite detailed.  There’s a ton of work on the face, which would perhaps be overboard on another character, but actually kind of works for Max.  Electro was packed with two electricity effects pieces, shared with Series 29’s Storm.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I bought this set new from my go-to place for Minimates at the time, Cosmic Comix.  I remember being pretty happy about getting an Electro, and the Insulated Spider-Man was certainly a cool design.  The figures both suffer from a little bit of production issues cropping up, but they’re both pretty good overall, and neither found themself with any real replacement.

#3275: Spider-Man – Web-Racer

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

SPIDER-MAN — WEB-RACER

SPIDER-MAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (TOY BIZ)

“Fighting super-villains in a big city like New York can take a lot out of a super hero – but not Spider-Man! With a quick double-tap on the shooters, Spider-Man is able to swing across town in mere minutes, giving his foes barely enough time to even THINK about crime!”

When Toy Biz’s tie-in line for Spider-Man: The Animated Series launched, it came with it two variants of the titular character.  They weren’t quite delving into the more prominent Spidey variants just yet, so the two that were present were both decidedly mild, doubling as fairly standard looking Spider-Men as well.  Both figures were dedicated to some variation on Spidey’s web-shooting, with today’s focus specifically honing in on his distinctive web slinging.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Web-Racer Spider-Man was released in the first series of the Spider-Man: The Animated Series tie-in line.  He sports a standard Spider-Man design, specifically adapting the look from the show, but functionally working as a fairly classic Spidey.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  The movement on this release was greatly reduced, with the arms permanently held outstretched to facilitate the action feature.  The figure’s sculpt was largely unique to this release.  The only real shared piece was the head, a common part to almost all of the Spideys from this line’s early run.  Lack of mobility aside, the sculpt actually looks pretty solid.  The proportions are quite realistically balanced, and without any shoulder joints, the figure has a nice flow about it.  There’s a channel sculpted into the arms and torso of the figure, which has a string running though the whole way.  He can be picked up by either side of the the string, and he’ll slide to the other end, appearing to swing or climb.  It’s simple, but it’s not a terrible idea.  Spidey’s paint work is nicely handled.  It’s bright, colorful, and all of the line-work is pretty cleanly handled.  I suppose the webs on the red sections could be a little sharper, but they were consistently placed, and generally looked pretty good.  Spidey included no accessories of his own, but he did get a small plastic Venom pin…for those that need small plastic Venom pins.  Not sure why Spider-Man has a Venom pin, but, hey, there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

With Series 1 largely out of stores by the time I started collecting, I didn’t end up with any of them when they were new.  I got to tracking some of them down, but I didn’t exactly have a shortage of standard Spider-Men, so this one was never really high on the list.  This one happened to be a stray figure traded into All Time along with a couple of other Toy Biz figures.  Since I didn’t have him and he was easy to snag, I did just that.  He’s not anything flashy, but he’s a pretty fun little variant.

#3246: Man-Thing & Spyder-Knight

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

MAN-THING & SPYDER-KNIGHT

MARVEL MINIMATES

As one of Disney’s main focuses when it first launched, Ultimate Spider-Man makes up a large part of the early Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates assortments.  It’s not that hard to see why, since it gave them plenty of free reign to do all sorts of Spidey variants, especially with the show running its own take on “Spider-Verse” at the time, as well as still supporting a sizeable stable of other supporting players from around the Marvel Universe.  It certainly made for some interesting pairings.  One of those pairings was Man-Thing and Spyder-Knight, whom I’ll be taking a look at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Man-Thing and Spyder-Knight were released in Series 2.5 of Walgreens’ Marvel Minimates run.  This marked the last half-series before that rather odd concept was abandoned for standard numbering schemes.  Both figures in this pack are based on their appearances on the Ultimate Spider-Man show.

MAN-THING

“Man-Thing is a member of SHIELD’s Howling Commandos. This ‘big guy,’ overwhelms the enemy with his plant-based powers.”

It’s Ted!  He’s suddenly all relevant and stuff!  Awesome!  When the Walgreens-exclusive sets first launched, DST ran a fan-poll, designed to utilize the more obscure guest characters from the animated shows in order to grant unmade characters their first chance at ‘mate-dom.  The winners of said poll were Man-Thing and the previously-reviewed Squirrel Girl, who were both split up and thrown in with a respective Spidey variant for their troubles.  Hey, at least they got made.  This guy was built with the standard ‘mate body at his core, so he’s about 2 1/2 inches tall (thanks to the various add-ons) and he’s technically still got the 14 points of articulation, though he can’t actually make use of most of the joints because of his construction.  He makes use of 10 add-on pieces, with a unique head/torso cover, as well as the bulked-up parts for his shoulders, hands, thighs, and feet, and a torso extender piece.  This allows the figure to maintain Man-Thing’s larger stature.  It also means disposing of the standard head entirely, so there’s that.  The new torso and head does a solid job of recreating Man-Thing’s comics look, especially with the face and the texturing of the shoulders.  The rest of the parts don’t have any sculpted elements, but it ultimately works out alright.  The paint work on the figure is largely just the same drab green, with a little bit of accenting and just a little but of line work on the limbs.  It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to get his design down well.  Man-Thing is packed with a clear display stand.

SPYDER-KNIGHT

“A Spider-Man from medieval universe, this vigilante protects the town of York. He wears a suit of armor with retractable wrist blades.”

Spyder-Knight was a new creation for Ultimate Spider-Man, though he made use of a concept that had been floating around prior to the cartoon’s use of it.  He’s got non-standard upper arms and a new set of gauntlets.  With the add-ons only on the arms, he does wind up a little bit simian in his appearance.  I don’t think it’s quite what they were going for.  My figure has both of his gauntlets fused to the arms, so they can’t be posed or removed, which is kind of a bummer.  The paint work also seems surprisingly drab in its color scheme, but I guess after looking at screen caps, that’s just how he’s supposed to look.  The line work is at least pretty sharp, so there’s that.  Spyder-Knight is packed with an alternate gauntlet with a wrist blade, which my figure can’t actually use due to the previously mentioned issue with the gauntlets not being removable, as well as a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The distribution on the exclusives was kind of a mess early on for these, so despite this pack being released in 2016, I didn’t actually find one of these in-store until early 2018, when things really started getting out there.  Man-Thing’s one time as a Minimate turned out pretty well.  The animated stylings mean that he doesn’t have as in-depth a sculpt, but I actually prefer him that way.  Spyder-Knight wasn’t the reason I was buying the set, and he’s not particularly that good either.  He’s kind of just a space filler.