Tag Archives: Toy Biz

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0080: Quicksilver

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

QUICKSILVER

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

It’s officially Friday!  Oh yeah!  We made it to Friday!  Let’s do a bit of Flashing back, but, you know, not to this week, no rather to the far away land of 2023, with a look back at Quicksilver!

“The speedster known as Quicksilver belongs to a family of strong mutants, his sister is the Scarlet Witch and his father is Magneto! Quicksilver spend the early part of his career as a member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, before realizing his powers would best be put to use for the good of all Mankind. Since that time, Quicksilver has been a member of several super-teams, including X-Factor and the Avengers!”

Though he hasn’t quite made the lasting impressing that his twin sister has in recent years, Quicksilver is still certainly in a better spot than he was back before 2014. Nowadays, he’s almost a household name…well, one of him is, anyway. Not sure which. Probably not the comics one, but that’s the one I’m looking at anyway, so let’s just stick with that. Anyway, here’s a Quicksilver, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Quicksilver was released in the infamous “Muntant Armor” series of Toy Biz’s X-Men line. There were two variants of Quicksilver available, one in his classic blue and white costume and one in his his then-current white and grey one. Back in 2015, I looked at the white and grey, so today’s review focusses on the blue and white. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation. As noted in the prior review, Quicksilver was built on the smaller male base body, which Toy Biz got quite a few uses out of around this time. He shares his mostly new head sculpt (retooled from the Battle Brigade Archangel) with his variant, and it’s still a pretty good take on the character. His paint work was obviously the main selling point. It’s a pretty solid recreation of his classic design. For true accuracy, it should have the black shorts, but this isn’t horribly inaccurate or anything. Application is pretty clean for the most part, with minimal slop or bleed over. Both versions of Quicksilver got the same accessories, a weird machine gun thing (missing from both of mine) and a dust cloud running effect stand, which was re-used from Meanstreak, but was now in a fun translucent grey, which was generally just a little more effective for the appearance of a dust cloud.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My dad had this version of Quicksilver, while I had the other one when I was growing up. I was always a fan of this one too, but I liked having my own distinct version. Over the years, though, I’ve been slowly working at getting a full run of the Toy Biz Marvel, and I was able to snag this guy at a toy show, in order to help me towards that goal. It’s intriguing that Toy Biz did Pietro with both costumes, seeing as he’s exactly the sort of character that you don’t really need multiple figures for, but now, well, now I have both, and I guess that’s kinda cool, right? 

This review was almost written back in 2018, when one of my ideas for making up for the “lost days” of reviews from my first year before moving ending my fifth was to review a bunch of Toy Biz variants to figures I’d already reviewed.  When I got all the Vipers for the Day of the Vipers, I scrapped the Toy Biz idea, and this guy got shelved.  The final review is from March of 2023, which was the lead-up to my daughter being born, and I was writing a *lot* of reviews in advance to prep for some reduced time devoted to the site.  As such, I was focusing a lot more heavily on stuff I could pretty much slot anywhere, without worry of references being dated or out of place.  This one was written about six months ahead of publication, which is a heck of a lead time. It’s kind of short and loose, but also I’d already reviewed the other variant, and even done an addendum, so I’d said a lot about the release and the mold.  I have since then added a *second* addendum to the variant review, so even more has been said.  As with the last Quicksilver addendum, the big addition here is that I found the weird machine gun accessory, which makes little sense for Quicksilver or the “Muntant Armor” gimmick of the assortment.  He can’t even hold it all that well.  But, he’s got it, and I guess that’s the most important thing.

#4076: Cannonball

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

CANNONBALL

X-FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“Sam Guthrie lived an uneventful life in a small Kentucky town, until a mining accident triggered his latent mutant powers! He found that he could propel himself through the air at fantastic speeds, and, while doing so, his “blast field” rendered him impervious to harm. Sam realized that he had to use his powers to help bring about a better world, a task he strives to accomplish in the company of X-Force as Cannonball!”

Though the original cast of New Mutants are really none of them slouches in terms of long-term viability, perhaps the breakaway hit of the bunch is Sam Guthrie, Cannonball, who stuck with the team through its whole run as the New Mutants, and then stuck around for a good amount of time when the rebranded as “X-Force” and even got moved up to the main X-Men team for a while in the ‘90s.  But, before his main team stint, he remained a major focal point of X-Force, which delved into not only his hero’s journey, but also had a whole sub-plot where he was supposedly one of the Externals, which just kind of got dropped because it was vague and confusing?  Anyway, his only figure during Toy Biz’s run came from the early X-Force days, and I’m looking at that today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cannonball was released in the second series of Toy Biz’s X-Force line.  There were two color variants on the Series 2 release, as well as a third variation released as part of KB Toys’ exclusive X-Men reissue line in 1998, and I’ll discuss the specifics on those in the paint section.  He’s based on his initial X-Force look, which was still current when the figure hit shelves.  It’s certainly one of Sam’s most distinctive and signature designs, so that’s a plus.  The figure stands about 4 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Size-wise, he feels more in line with the first series, rather than the scaled up second series, but in terms of quality of sculpt, he’s definitely more like the rest of Series 2.  There’s a lot of detailing, and especially a lot of character going into his face.  It does kind of make him look a lot older than he should be, but that’s not all that out of place for Sam’s usual depictions, so it kind of works.  Sam’s original release aimed to capture the sort of lavender/lilac hue of his costume in the comics, but ended up a lot more pink than intended.  There was a running change during the X-Force run to a much darker purple shade, which is closer to, like, his colors on the covers I suppose.  The paint masking on the two is the same, and while I think the contrast is a little better on the second one, the general coloring on the first one ultimately feels a bit more true to the character for me.  Clearly that was a prevailing feeling, since his 1998 re-release brought the pink back, this time with a vengeance.  The general application was a bit more punched up for this release as well, with a better layout of colors on the face, as well as a few extra smaller details, and making the accenting silver.  The one weird quirk of this release, however, is that the back of his head, rather than being the proper brown of his aviator cap, is just flesh tone, which is…odd.  All three figures included a silver launching pad, which is a sort of gimmicky way of showing off his powers, but is also fun in the goofiest and best sort of way.  Also, you can put it on his back, if you want?  Why?  I don’t know, but it’s an option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My main knowledge of Cannonball growing up was from his time in the X-Men in the ‘90s.  As such, I’m rather partial to that look for him, which doesn’t much look like this look.  I did end up getting one of these, some time in the mid ‘00s, from an older couple selling off their son’s collection at the Farpoint dealer’s room.  That was the original pink one, and I was always fine with that, but I’ve managed to pull the other two over the years as well, which feels all nice and complete.  I still like the original the best, and would certainly not say no to his X-Men look, but they’re all kind of nifty in their own way.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0079: Corsair

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

CORSAIR

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

And here we are, at the end of the week.  It’s been a hell of a week, but it’s over.  Let’s just celebrate that simple fact.  Last week, I didn’t have a post of the flashback variety, but it’s okay, because I’m bringing it back around this week.  Just in time for Father’s Day, it’s the Summers dad, Corsair!

“Snatched from the Earth by a passing Shi’ar spacecraft, Christopher Summers was pressed into service as a slave of that galactic empire. But Summers burst the bonds of his captivity, and now in the company of his fellow Starjammers, he roams the cosmos as the free booting space pirate known as Corsair!”

“The Phoenix Saga” opened up a lot of new avenues for the X-Men. I guess going into space will do that for you. In addition to contending with the whole Shi’ar Empire, they also came upon a band of space pirates, the Starjammers. Originally pitched by artist Dave Cockrum as a standalone set of characters, they were reworked into the crew of a displaced Christopher Summers, the man eventually revealed to be the father of X-Men Cyclops and Havok (and Vulcan, too, but I don’t wanna talk about it). As the bio above notes, Christopher took on the name “Corsair” and even managed to get himself an action figure, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Corsair was released in the 8th Series of Toy Biz’s X-Men series, officially dubbed the “Phoenix Saga” Series, and designed to tie-in with the storyline’s adaptation on the cartoon. Corsair played a large role in that adaptation, so his presence in the tie-in made quite a bit of sense. Interestingly, Corsair was actually the third Starjammer to grace the line, following Ch’od and Raza’s inclusion in Series 7. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation. He’s a pretty standard offering for the line in terms of mobility and construction, being hampered by no odd lack of joints or the addition of any weird action features. He’s just a nice, basic sculpt. The details are all pretty cleanly handled, and he’s got a nicely balanced set of proportions. He’s perhaps a touch exaggerated, but certainly no where near as badly as later figures in the line. He does go for Corsair’s slightly updated shoulder pad-bearing design, introduced in the early ’90s (because everyone had to have shoulder pads in the ’90s, of course). It’s the one used on the cartoon, and it really wasn’t much of a change from the original design, so it ended up working out okay. If there was one change I’d like to see on this figure, I wouldn’t have minded if his hair had a little bit more of a dynamic flair to it; it was usually pretty fabulous, and it seems a little tame here. It’s not the end of the world, though; I’ll learn to live, I’m sure. Corsair’s paint work is overall pretty cleanly handled. It’s basic, but it’s also bright and eye-catching, as Corsair should be. Corsair was originally packed with a sword, gun, and grapple. My figure’s only got the sword left, but that’s honestly the best part, so I’m okay with it. Interestingly, Corsair is one of only two figures in the Phoenix Saga Series not to gain extra accessories when the assortment was moved over to the larger-style cards. I guess they felt like he had enough already.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Corsair as gift from my Nana back when he was new. I don’t remember exactly the occasion, but I know it wasn’t a birthday, because my cousin Rusty also got one at the same time. Maybe it was an end of school thing? Or possibly an Easter thing? I don’t know. I do know that Rusty had no clue who Corsair was and definitely didn’t appreciate getting him as much as I did. He’s a pretty solid figure, so I definitely am glad he was one I held onto.

Corsair’s a mid-2020 review, in that bliss that was post-Day of the Wolverines.  I think it hits pretty much all the important notes, in terms of reviewing.  I did erroneously state that there were no additional accessories for the larger-carded release.  In fact, in addition to the original sword and pistol, the second release also added a whole zipline thing to the mix, which feels appropriately pirate-y.  My figure only had the sword before, but now he’s got everything, which is pretty cool.

#4072: Grizzly

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

GRIZZLY

X-FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“The rampaging strongman of Cable’s mercenary outfit the Six-Pack, the massive Grizzly balances unequal physical force with a liberal dose of sardonic humor. But don’t take him too lightly, lest he turns his prodigious mutant strength and massive battle-hammers to the attack. Now reunited with his former Six-Pack Comrades after serving with the SHIELD unit Weapon Prime, Grizzly battles those menaces that pose a threat to a safe and prosperous future for mutant and human alike.”

What, new mutant character from the ‘90s who was part of a paramilitary squad and has a “sardonic humor?”  That’s so very unique and original.  Is he also the best there is at what he does?  Well, “unequal physical force” suggests yes, I guess.  The name, though?  Not very original, since Grizzly is the fourth character to sport that name in the Marvel universe, and is, perhaps, the one with the least rational for using it.  But, he’s the only one who got a figure from Toy Biz, because it was the ’90, and we were all about the X-characters.  Anyway, here’s the figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Grizzly was released in the second series of Toy Biz’s X-Force line, alongside fellow Six Pack member Kane.  He was the fourth member of the team, though he’s the fifth and final member I’m reviewing.  Yes, there were six members, but it’s Toy Biz, so they couldn’t finish a line-up; that would be out of character for them.  In their defense, the comics also pretty much forgot Hammer existed as well, so the main five are the ones you’d remember anyway.  The figure is about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He lacked any sort of neck movement, and the shoulders were restricted by the action feature, but he does at least get knee joints.  His sculpt was unique to him, and would remain so for Toy Biz’s whole run.  It’s perfectly fine.  Generally, it looks the part.  I think an argument can be made for him being a bit under-scaled, especially given the slight scale up on the Cable and Kane from this same assortment, but given he was a Liefeld character, his scale was rather all over the place in the books.  Otherwise, the detailing matches up pretty well with his depictions in the comics, and there’s a decent assortment of textures.  Grizzly’s color work matches pretty well to the comics.  It’s odd, for sure.  Like, why is he red?  No idea.  He just is.  And he wears a lot of blue and green, which doesn’t really match.  But, also, there it is.  He’s packed with a pair of “Power Hammers” which he can hold in his hands, and swing up and down using his action feature.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The entirety of my knowledge of Grizzly comes from this figure’s existence.  And, admittedly, that’s not a lot.  I’ve never had much attachment to any of the Six Pack stuff, so I can’t say I really sought it out.  I got Grizzly because I was buying a couple of other Toy Biz figures online and wanted to combine shipping, and he was one I didn’t own.  I can’t say he does much to bring me into being interested, but also, like other X-Force figures, I can’t say he’s a bad figure, either.  And, if you really want that Six Pack line-up, this is the only Grizzly, so, you know, you gotta.

#4068: Kane – 2nd Edition

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

KANE — 2ND EDITION

X-FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“A product of the same Weapon X program that created Wolverine, Garrison Kane’s arms were replaced with a pair of multi-purpose bionic weapons. Now, alongside his mentor Cable, he battles those menaces that would jeopardize the prosperity of the future as a member of the mercenary unit called Six Pack!”

It’s truly amazing to watch a lot of the X-Force cast’s bios evolve as they reappear in the Toy Biz line and have clearly had major developments to their backstories in the comics.  Garrison Kane’s first figure was produced while he was still one of the book’s many mystery characters, but by figure 2 we knew a little more about him, and so his bio actually, you know, talks more about who he is and less about what this figure’s action feature represents.  They even mention Six Pack!  Everybody loves Six Pack!  Alright, let’s take a look at the second Kane figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kane (2nd Edition) was released in the second series of Toy Biz’s X-Force line.  It’s crazy to think that, of all the characters in the first round to immediately get a second go, it was Kane who showed right back up.  Shatterstar, Deadpool, and Warpath all got second figures too, but they had to wait, whereas Kane was just right back at the head of the line.  I guess it was more a case of getting while the getting was good, because he didn’t get any additional follow-ups.  While the first Kane figure was the subject of a downright obscene number of variants, they had it better under control for his second figure, so he just has one standardized release.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  Elbow joints had still not become standardized yet, so he lacks them, but he does get a swivel on his right wrist, even if it’s really just tied into his action feature.  He gets two of them, both tied into his hands.  His right hand, which is permanently in propeller mode, has a spinning mode, while his left has a “super punch,” which really just means it means the hand moves back and forth *a little.*  Beyond the action features and articulation, Kane’s sculpt showcases the rather quick evolution of the line’s sculpts.  His first figure was quite rudimentary, but by this assortment, they were a lot more involved, with far sharper detailing and generally bulkier promotions.  It makes for a decent match for Kane’s non-Liefeld appearances, and is generally a rather nice little sculpt.  The permanent propeller hand is really goofy, of course, so he’d probably benefit from an alternate hand or something, but it was what it was.  He had a removable vest piece, which was later re-used for the Fantastic Four Mr. Fantastic, which adds some more variety to his look.  Kane’s paint work is generally basic, and marks a slight departure from his original colors, but he still maintains enough consistency that he generally looks like the same guy.  Kane is packed with a small gun, which he can hold him his left hand, and only his left hand, because his right hand is a propeller.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kane was added to my collection at the same time as last week’s Cable II figure, when they were traded in at work still sealed and were still quite cheap.  I remember the first Kane, but have very little memory of the second one’s existence when I was a kid.  I think I just lumped him in with the original.  It’s not like I had any real frame of reference on the character.  I didn’t know much of what to expect on this figure, but I actually quite enjoy the final product.  Even with his permanent propeller hand.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0078: Senyaka

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , , , ,

SENYAKA

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Hey, we’re here, and it’s Friday, and we officially made it, you guys.  Last Friday wasn’t a Flashback day, so I didn’t do my whole end of the week motivation, so here’s me getting back to it.  We did it!  And for getting to the end of the week?  Well, here’s some more Toy Biz Marvel coverage.  Unfortunately, we’re looking back at Senyaka.  It’s the best I can offer.  We’ll try to make the best of it?

“A member of the humanity-hating Acolytes, Senyaka is perhaps the most ruthless soldier in Magneto’s war against mankind! Often leading the other Acolytes into battle, Senyaka uses his psionic whips to course pain into his ensnared foes! Even more deadly, however, is his power to energize his own energies by sapping his victim’s very life forces. Though struck down in battle by Magneto himself, Senyaka has returned to plague humans once again, with each attack more lethal than the last!”

Remember in my last two Toy Biz X-Men reviews, where I was discussing characters who were pretty much only relevant during the ’90s? Yeah, so today’s focus wasn’t even particularly relevant *then.* That bio up there? Probably the most that’s ever been said about Senyaka. I think I actually learned stuff from that bio, which I guess is the point, isn’t it? Well, Senyaka got an action figure, so I guess I should maybe review it.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Senyaka was released twice during the Toy Biz X-Men run. Initially, he was offered up as a TRU-exclusive alongside Series 7 in 1994, and then was added to a proper assortment in 1995 as part of the Mutant Genesis Series. He’s the same figure either way, and mostly it just served to make him *incredibly* easy to find. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation. He’s got no movement at his neck or right elbow, due to how the figure is designed, making him a bit on the stiff side. Apparently, Senyaka’s had multiple costumes? Who knew? Well, he’s sporting his Alcolytes costume, which seems reasonable enough. The sculpt is pretty typical for the line. He’s stiff, he’s buff, and he’s got pouches and shoulder pads. There’s not a ton of detailing going on, but it looks like all of the important stuff is there. Senyaka’s paint work is pretty standard. The base color work is all pretty clean, and the colors seem to more or less match what Senyaka was usually sporting. Senyaka had a slightly different accessory selection depending on release. Both included his whip, but the Mutant Genesis release also added a nunchuck-looking thing. Mine has neither, so I guess doesn’t really matter.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Senyaka’s another one of those “if I’m getting the rest of the line, I might as well” figures. I’ve got no attachment to the character, but then who really does? I got mine loose, hence the lack of accessories. Perhaps someday I’ll find them. Ultimately, there’s nothing really impressive about this guy, but he’s certainly not the worst thing the line offered, and fills in a line-up of villains alright.

Ah, a June 2020 review.  After the Day of the Wolverines, I was more invested in getting Toy Biz Marvel back on the schedule, and Senyaka wound up as one of those.  I wasn’t exactly enamored to be reviewing him.  I think I’d probably be a touch kinder to him these days, but I can’t say my review was exactly off the mark.  When last I discussed him, the figure was missing his primary accessory from his original release, as well as his secondary accessory from the later release.  Now he’s got both his whip and his nunchuck.  Hooray!  Compete Senyaka!  That’s the best kind of Senyaka…I guess?  Doesn’t make him less stiff, but I guess it’s kinda cool to have the extras, even if he can’t *really* hold the nunchucks.

#4064: Cable – 2nd Edition

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

CABLE — 2ND EDITION

X-FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“The mysterious warrior called Cable stands ready to battle evil wherever it appears-even in the cold void of space! Armed with a high-tech suit of space armor and weapons that won’t be invented for hundreds of years, Cable seeks out the extraterrestrial enemies of mankind-and exterminates them with extreme prejudice.”

Back at the beginning of the year, a whole six months ago, I reviewed my first Toy Biz Cable figure, which I noted was weird, given how many variations were produced of him during the run.  So, you know, I guess it’s time to go back to that well, with a specific focus on environment-specific variants.  Oh yeah, let’s go ahead and take this guy out into deep space!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cable — 2nd Edition was released in the second series of Toy Biz’s X-Force line.  He’s the second Cable, and the first of two included in the assortment.  This one was specifically sporting his “Deep Space Armor,” which, as far as I can tell, isn’t actually based on a specific comics design.  But I’m getting ahead of myself there.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  His sculpt was totally unique to him, and, as noted above, sees to be a wholesale Toy Biz creation.  While the first series of X-Force followed the same style as the early X-Men figures, the second series started introducing more updated sculpts, and this Cable is included in that batch.  You can hardly tell he’s supposed to be the same person as the first Cable figure.  In general, I think it’s mostly an improvement, in terms of build and detailing, but I’ll admit the head is a bit less on the mark for specifically Liefeld’s version of Cable.  All that being said, it’s certainly not a bad sculpt at all. There’s a lot of neat detail work, and it feels pretty accurate to the character.  The head dome part is removable, albeit after a fashion, allowing a better view of the head sculpt.  The head’s a separate piece, but the neck doesn’t budge on my figure, and I know better than to force it on these guys.  His paint work is pretty nice.  The orange and blue feels rather unique.  The first release of this has a fair bit of detailing, which they’d incrementally strip from him on later releases.  Cable is packed with a rather large gun, to the great surprise of everyone, I’m sure.  Parts of it slide, I suppose to simulate some sort of firing?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I avoided most of the Cables as a kid, because I just didn’t feel the need to have more than one.  I do recall seeing them all on the back of the various boxes, and this one always kind of caught my eye as a counterpart to the Space Suit Wolverine.  Though certainly a departure from the first figure, he sets the standard for the rest of the line’s Cables going forward, and it’s not really a bad standard to set.

Shoutout to my friends at All Time Toys, from whom I purchased this figure for review!  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#4060: Viper

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

VIPER

MARVEL HALL OF FAME (TOY BIZ)

“Bursting onto the scene are the most powerful heroes and villains. Leading the pack against evil is the gamma-powered savage She-Hulk and the she-devil of the Savage Land — Shanna! Keeping to the shadows is the enigmatic ninja, Elektra, while Silver Fox relies on her training as a top secret government operative. But it is the Viper, who uses her powers and abilities for personal gain, no matter what she must destroy to get it.”

Okay, so here we are at Day 12 of the ever growing “Day of the Vipers,” where I look at every version of the—what’s that?  Oh, I’m getting word it’s not one of *those* Vipers.  It’s a totally different, completely unrelated Viper who works for a serpent-themed terrorist organization.  My mistake.  So, let’s look at this here figure of Viper, also known as Madame Hydra, though not for this particular figure.  She’s neat.  Maybe not as neat as a Cobra Viper, but still neat.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Viper is part of the seventh series of the Puzzle Zoo-exclusive Marvel Hall of Fame line, also the third and final to use the “She-Force” branding, as well as the final assortment of the line as a whole.  While the whole of this series is pretty heavy on kind of morally grey characters, Viper is kind of the most emphatically “bad” of the bunch, so I guess she’s the defacto “villain” of the bunch.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and she has 9 points of articulation.  As with the rest of the line, Viper is a total parts re-use figure.  Like Elektra, she’s using Light-Up Psylocke’s body, complete with the now non-functioning battery compartment.  It’s now topped off by the head from White Queen, which is…fine?  It doesn’t at all do Viper’s usual covering the eye look, and seems very short.  But, I guess it’s decently menacing.  The base body is fine, though, as the costume details match up closely enough to work.  She gets a soft-goods belt and…yeah, that part’s not great.  It just kind of looks like someone tied a green ribbon around her waist.  Which, I guess, isn’t inaccurate.  Her color work has a lot of green, which is nice, since it differentiates her pretty well from the other uses of the molds.  Some of the application’s a little sloppy, but it’s not awful for the most part.  Viper includes two black pistols, which are re-used from older molds, and are kind of silly.  She also included a card, which for my figure was Professor X.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I remember pretty much nothing about this figure.  My interactions with Viper in general have been minimal.  I liked her in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and I *didn’t* like her in The Wolverine, and her comics appearances have never much inspired me.  But, she had this Toy Biz figure, and I do like those.  I think I got her at the same time as Elektra from last week.  She was certainly part of a larger batch of figures, I know that.  She’s fine.  Nothing fancy, but also nothing truly bad.  Well, maybe the belt, but it’s minor.  And, honestly, I don’t even think this is her worst figure (that would be the first Hasbro Legends release).

#4056: Elektra

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

ELEKTRA

MARVEL HALL OF FAME (TOY BIZ)

“Bursting onto the scene are the most powerful heroes and villains. Leading the pack against evil is the gamma-powered savage She-Hulk and the she-devil of the Savage Land — Shanna! Keeping to the shadows is the enigmatic ninja, Elektra, while Silver Fox relies on her training as a top secret government operative. But it is the Viper, who uses her powers and abilities for personal gain, no matter what she must destroy to get it.”

Oh, goody, it’s Elektra.  I sure do love Elektra.  Oh, wait, no, it’s the other thing.  I hate Elektra.  Okay, no, that’s not true either.  In actuality I’m generally indifferent on Elektra.  I think she can at times be *fine*.  I even outright liked her during Chip Zdarsky’s run on Daredevil a few years ago.  But in general, I think she’s just kind of “meh.”  She had quite a force of interest behind her in the ’90s and ‘00s, though, so she wasn’t exactly inescapable.  Toy Biz, who held the license during her high point, made use of that popularity to give her a few different figures.  The first was a rather baffling repaint of Psylocke in an X-Men assortment, but she also got a couple of other…repaints, but at least they weren’t in an X-Men assortment.  Here’s one of those!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra was released in the seventh series of the Puzzle Zoo-exclusive Marvel Hall of Fame line, which was the third to bear the title “She-Force.”  This was the final assortment of the line as a whole, and by extension the final “She-Force” line-up as well.  Elektra’s costume choice is a very focused one that’s really not the norm for her, going with her bald look from around “Fall From Grace.”  It’s a noted departure from her designs up to that point, and she’d *just* abandoned it for something more in-line with earlier designs, but it’s part of the story that brought her back into the Daredevil supporting cast, and it also pairs off with the armored DD that Toy Biz did during their Marvel Super Heroes run…if you don’t mind him being a bit too short.  The figure stands 4 3/4 inches tall and she has 9 points of articulation.  The first Elektra was a repaint of the Light-Up series Psylocke.  This one continues with that in, admittedly, an odd way.  The body is once again light-up Psylocke, but the head is retooled from the Ninja Psylocke from later in the line, with the hair removed, a headband added, and a hole in the side for the trail of the headband, which is…just the remainder of the original figure’s sash?  Like, there’s still only one sash piece included, so you need to pick whether it goes in the head or the hip, and just leave a gaping hole wherever it’s not.  Why not just include two?  Budget, I guess.  Now, the weirdness regarding the body is this: Ninja Psylocke is herself a retool of Light-up Psylocke, with the spot where the batteries originally went filled in.  For whatever reason, Elektra is using the original version of the mold, so she’s got an empty battery housing.  Since they were already using the Ninja head, why not also used the modified torso?  Otherwise, I guess it’s fine.  The costume details between Psylocke and Elektra match up decently enough, and the head, while a bit awkward, isn’t terrible.  In terms of paint, she’s got a layout that matches her Light-Up figure, but the outfit is now white, her “resurrection” outfit.  Depending on which production run the figure’s from, she’s either a flat white or a pearlescent one; mine is the latter.  Elektra was packed with a sword, reused from Corsair, and not at all accurate to what she usually uses, but whatever.  She also included a card, which in my figure’s case was Gambit’s ex, Belladonna.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I owned exactly none of the Toy Biz Elektra figures growing up, so obviously not this one.  I sort of remember her existing, but I don’t know if I totally connected that she was the same character as the others.  I ended up adding her to my collection with a couple of other She-Force figures, which I want to say came from an antique mall?  I didn’t really think much about her at the time.  I still don’t, honestly.  She’s got some weird oddities in construction.  But, ultimately, it’s a pretty unique look, and not likely to get another run.

#4052: Ms. Marvel

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

MS. MARVEL

MARVEL HALL OF FAME (TOY BIZ)

“Blasting out of the Marvel Universe are its most powerful heroines, the She-Force! Joining together to fight evil are mutants Marvel Girl, Wolfsbane and Dazzler along with Avengers Tigra and Ms. Marvel. Challenging the threat of the Brotherhood of evil Mutants, the She-Force has what it takes to get the job done. Using their combined abilities, the She-Force takes down the Brotherhood in one explosive battle!”

One of the things that made Toy Biz’s 5-inch run of Marvel figures so—wait, hang on a second, I seem to be repeating myself a bit here!  As it turns out, today’s review of a Toy Biz Marvel Hall of Fame Ms. Marvel from the “She-Force” sub-heading is a *completely* different figure than the one I reviewed a week ago.  Of an entirely different character at that!  See, last week’s Ms. Marvel was Carol Danvers, the originator of the title, who vacated the name for “Binary” in the late ‘70s.  Since brand synergy meant that Marvel really didn’t want to let a name like “Ms. Marvel” lapse, they had to introduce a new character to take on the mantle, which they did in 1985 with Sharon Ventura, a professional wrestler turned hero who first appeared as a supporting player to The Thing.  Sharon rather quick mutation into She-Thing has made that her more generally known identity, to the point that her being “Ms. Marvel” can get lost in the shuffle a bit.  Toy Biz themselves seems to have gotten confused in the above text from the back of the box, which refers to her as an Avenger, despite the fact that Sharon was affiliated with the FF, and wouldn’t have any actual connection to the Avengers until well into the ‘00s, when “Avengers” had essentially become a catch-all title for “group of Marvel heroes.”  Anyway, despite being better known as She-Thing, to date Sharon’s action figure is in her Ms. Marvel incarnation, which I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ms. Marvel was released in the sixth series of Marvel Hall of Fame, as part of the second “She-Force” branded assortment of the Puzzle Zoo-exclusive line.  Sharon is seen here in her original Ms. Marvel attire, which I don’t believe she’d had in a while at the time of this figure’s release.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and she has 8 points of articulation.  Structurally, she’s a total re-use of the X-Men line’s Phoenix.  It’s a good sculpt, with nice balanced proportions, and it’s even got a sash.  I do really think it would be better for Carol than for Sharon, with Sharon, to my mind, making a lot more sense as a re-use of the Spider-Woman body, since that’s a little more muscular, and has straighter hair, both more in line with Sharon.  As it stands, though, this is still a nice sculpt, and the only real drawback is the lack of neck joint due to the remnants of the no longer present light-up feature of the original figure.  The main selling point here is the paint work, and I have to admit, it’s really good paint.  The costume is very bright and eye-catching, and not saddled with any of the “ignore the sculpted details” issues of Carol, and the accenting on the hair is nothing short of inspired.  Like, that just looks really, really cool.  There’s still a bit of fuzz, especially on the yellow sections (it’s Toy Biz, so there’s really no avoiding it), but overall it’s not too bad.  Sharon was just really strong, so there’s not a lot easy accessories to be had, but they tried anyway, and so she gets Quicksilver’s machine gun with the stock?  It was weird for him, and it’s weird for her, and she really can’t even hold it.  Very odd.  She also got a Fleer trading card, which in my figure’s case is a Sabretooth.  Why not?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I always seemed to get the Hall of Fame figures in batches, but this one is decidedly *not* a case of that.  She almost was, as one of my larger purchases was from a lot that did include her, but my Dad got that one, since I was already getting all of the others.  Instead, she wound up added to my collection courtesy of a sizable Toy Biz Marvel trade-in at work about three or four years ago.  She sat carded for a long time, until I decided that was stupid and lame, and opened her up, took photos, and stuck her on the shelf.  And she’s been there until now.  I messed with her for the review, and, apart from my quibbles about body choice, she’s a really cool figure.