Tag Archives: Spider-Punk

#3870: Spider-Punk

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

SPIDER-PUNK

MOVIE MASTERPIECE SERIES (HOT TOYS)

There was a time when I used to reserve my Hot Toys reviews for monumental numbers in the review set-up.  But, after a while, those monumental numbers have gotten further and further apart, to the point where it really doesn’t feel like it’s worth it for anything less than 1000, and that’s actual years apart.  So, now I just mostly review them when I get a new one.  Which, admittedly, is still usually quite a gap.  My last one was way back in July of last year.  Here we are almost a year later, but, instead of adding to my Cap line-up, as is the usual reason for me buying a new Hot Toy these days, I’ve gone a bit off the reservation, and I’m looking at a Spider-Man of all things.  In my defense, it’s Spider-Punk, so, you know, there it is.  Let’s take a look!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is figure MMS726 in Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series.  He’s wedged between two other Spider-Man figures, namely Miles G. Morales (also from Across the Spider-Verse) and Black Suit Spidey from Spider-Man 3.  He’s the fifth Across figure to join the line, and he started shipping domestically towards the end of May.  The figure stands about 13 inches tall and he’s got over 30 points of articulation.

As with a great many Hot Toys figures, Spider-Punk features multiple head sculpts.  Right out of the box, he’s sporting the unmasked head, which is sensible, given how much of his screen time he spends unmasked.  Much like the What If…? figures, the Spider-Verse offerings are mimicking the animated style of the movie, and that’s most clearly seen on this head.  It keeps with the generally more simplistic animated style, and matches up pretty closely with the model from the movie.  There’s still some areas for more intricate work, namely the hair, which gets some proper texturing to help it stand out a bit better.  Punk’s eyes are moveable on this head, something that HT’s doing a bit more frequently on the non-deluxes it seems.  They’re individually moving, rather than using the “PERS” system, which means you need to take a little extra care to make sure they both line-up.  On my figure, I did notice that the tool that moves the eyes was just as likely to pop them out of the sockets as it was to remove from the back of them, so that’s definitely something to be careful about, lest your Punk lose an eye.  Punk also gets a head sporting his distinctly punk-ified version of the Spidey mask.  Though perhaps not as technically impressive as the unmasked head, it’s a very clean and well-defined piece it its own right, and quite a striking recreation of his look in the movie.  I did notice while swapping the heads that the neck joints pop out of place the wrong way sometimes, so that’s yet another thing to be careful with.

Spider-Punk’s outfit is a rather involved assembly of pieces.  The belts, boots, bracelets, and other studded bits are all sculpted, while the rest of the outfit is tailored.  I was particularly impressed with the boots, which are soft enough to allow a decent range of motion on the ankle joints, while still looking quite sharply detailed.  The pants being a slightly rubbery material makes me a little worried about their longevity, but as long as the posing isn’t too crazy, they should be fine.  The one thing I was slightly let down by here is the buttons on the vest being purely printed elements; the Legends figure sculpted them, and as it stands they feel a little cheap and easy to miss this way.

Under the outfit, Spider-Punk gets a rather unique body, designed to replicate his tall and scrawny stature from the movie.  The posing is all pretty good; the hips are ratcheted to provide more support and his mid torso joint in particular adds a lot of character to his posing options.  There’s no real areas of restriction, either, and the body hangs pretty naturally in most poses.

Spider-Punk gets a decent, if focused selection of extras, which includes:

  • 7 hands
  • 2 alternate palms for the thwipping hands to attach weblines
  • 4 different weblines
  • His guitar with backdrop effect & pick
  • A cardboard display backdrop
  • Display stand with a posable arm

The hands come in a pair of gripping, a pair of thwipping, right open gesture, left relaxed, and a left fist.  The guitar is a central piece with a lot of cool detailing.  The strings are separate, which is neat, but also worrying when it comes to placing the neck of the instrument in his left hand.  The backdrop effect is a nifty idea, but it’s a little awkward and flimsy in practice.  The pick is bound to be this figure’s most lost accessory for sure; mine almost got lost when it stuck to the tray while I was opening him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been a Spider-Punk fan since his original comics appearances, and was super happy with his move to the big screen.  I’ve thus far avoided all of the HT coverage for these movies, and honestly thought it would be a Peter B that broke me.  They’ve not announced any of those, though, and they *did* announce this guy, and he’s just got too cool a visual to pass up.  I do really like him, but at the same time, there are definitely some issues I haven’t encountered with a Hot Toy in a good long while.  The assembly stuff on the heads is a little worrying, and I dislike the cut corners on the buttons.  But, generally, I do really, really like 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.

#3745: Spider-Punk

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

SPIDER-PUNK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Okay, let’s keep this semi-regular Marvel Legends reviews thing going a bit longer, shall we?  Last week, I jumped into the newest Spider-Verse related stuff, and I’m gonna keep that running here.  Since it’s been a bit of time between assortments and a lot of the other Spider-Verse product has largely disappeared, the latest set of figures has a lot of re-hash, in order to get the main characters back out there.  Spider-Punk wound up as the breakaway hit of Across the Spider-Verse, which has kept his initial Legends figure tricky to get, which I guess adds to the compelling reasons to do another.  Does it make it worth it?  Let’s find out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is part of the second assortment of Across the Spider-Verse tie-in figures from Marvel Legends.  This marks our third Spider-Punk in Legends, and the second one that’s specifically movie-based.  The figure stands about 7 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  For the most part, the mold’s the same Arlen Pelletier sculpt as the first figure.  It was a very good sculpt the first time around, and it remains a very good sculpt still.  This time around, he gets a brand-new unmasked head.  It was a major omission from the prior figure, especially given how much of the movie he spends unmasked.  It fits well on the body and it’s also a solid recreation of how he looks in the film, so I definitely count it as a strong addition the the sculpt.  He also gets the little trans-dimensional goober wrist band, which was missing from all of the first assortment figures.  In the film, Spider-Punk change’s colors from shot to shot, making him look like an ever-changing assortment of punk-rock fliers and photos.  The first figure had his “standard” colors, while this one goes for an alt look, which is a monochromatic purple.  It’s a rather unique look with some decent pop to it.  The paint’s not bad; technically, there’s less applications than the standard, but what’s there remains pretty strong.   Spider-Punk gets the same alternate hand and guitar as the last release, but now in colors to match the new figure.  He also gets the same unmasked head that’s already on the body, but in standard colors, meant for use with the regular figure.  There is, however, no *masked* head for this figure, so he’s in a similar boat to the original release.  The mold’s already there, so it’s a pretty egregious omission.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The first movie Spider-Punk figure was hands down my favorite figure in the initial assortment, and he was subsequently my favorite part of the movie when I got to see it.  I definitely missed the unmasked head on the first one, so a revisit certainly isn’t unwelcome.  I like the additional head for the original, but I’ll admit the missing masked head’s a real bummer.  Still, the figure remains a fun one, and I won’t turn down another Spider-Punk.

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.

#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.

#1715: Spider-Punk

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

SPIDER-PUNK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Spider-Punk causes major rifts in an alternate universe ruled by a corrupt President Osborne.”

Spider-Verse was really just an amazing gift to the people at Hasbro, wasn’t it?  They’ve literally got years worth of completely legitimate Spider-Man variants to choose from, and each time they release another, the demand for the remaining ones just grows.  They’re also getting Spider-Verse writer Dan Slott to geek out pretty hardcore online, which I’m certain helps with the sales of the figures.  The Spider-Verse member I’m looking at today is certainly amongst the coolest; it’s Spider-Punk!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is figure 3 from the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s one of the two Spider-Men in this assortment, though he’s not actually a Peter Parker figure.  He stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 34 points of articulation.  As a Spider-Man variant, it’s probably not a shock to find out that Spider-Punk is built on the Pizza Spidey body, what with him filling out that basic physique and all.  He gets a new head, feet, and even hands (with proper fingering for his guitar, and a pick!), as well as an add-on piece for his denim vest.  The new matches very well with the old, and the vest piece in particular is very sharply detailed and full of texture. The head is surprisingly more than just a basic spidey head with the mohawk added, giving this Spider a more narrow set of eyes than we tend to see. It helps to further separate him from that legion of Spider-Men we’ve got going on.  His paintwork is up to the usual snuff, with the colors matching the basic Spidey, as well as the source material.  Kudos to Hasbro for putting a fully detailed torso and arms under the vest, though I can hardly see myself displaying him without it.  Spider-Punk is packed with his guitar, of course, but also gets a second left hand.  At first glance, it’s just a basic thwipping hand, but if you look closer, it’s actually throwing up the horns.  A subtle, but very important, change, which adds so much to the figure.  Spider-Punk also includes one of the arms of the Lizard, who continues to look very, very cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been loving the whole Spider-Verse theme that’s been going on, and this guy’s been near the top of my wishlist for Spidey variants, so his announcement for the assortment was very exciting for me.  Along with Lasher, he was my biggest want from this assortment.  The final figure absolutely doesn’t disappoint.

As with yesterday’s Lasher figure, I purchased this guy from my friends over at All Time Toys.  They’re currently in the process of recovering from the recent Ellicott City flood, so please check out their website and eBay storefront and give them a little bit of support.  They don’t have Spider-Punk in stock, but they have a few of his series-mates, as well as plenty of other awesome offerings!