Tag Archives: Toy Biz

#3355: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

X-MEN: SECRET WEAPON FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“In an alternate universe very different from the one the X-Men come from, Cyclops acts on his own. Friend or foe, do not get in the way of Cyclops’ powerful optic blasts. With but the blink of an eye, Cyclops can punch a hole through the thickest walls or blast an opponent from the sky. Cyclops’ War Tank Battle Blaster is always at his side ready to unleash its secret weapon on any unsuspecting foes. Cyclops seems to be united against the evil mutant Apocalypse, but has yet to join forces with Wolverine and Jean Grey. Only time will tell if the three heroic X-Men will reunite for one final, ultimate battle.”

By the late ’90s, Toy Biz’s long-running 5-inch Marvel imprint had moved away from purely comics and cartoon adaptations, with their main lines based on Spider-Man and X-Men both getting a more toyetic flair.  In 1998, the X-Men line got the subtitle “Secret Weapon Force,” which meant plenty of wacky variants for the main characters.  The first assortment under this banner placed Wolverine, Cyclops, and Jean Grey in a *very* loosely AoA-inspired setting, with Cyclops in particular taking the “loosely” part of that to heart.  But hey, cool Cyclops is cool Cyclops.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops was released in the “Battle Blaster” series of Toy Biz’s X-Men: Secret Weapon Force line.  Where Jean was a straight-forward AoA Jean (with the slight irony of the package backstory saying she was actually the main universe Jean transported), the other three figures in the set differed a bit in their own ways.  Cyclops was perhaps the most different, since his design had little to nothing in common with the AoA look for the character, instead being more closely linked to the standard Cyclops look.  That being said, this figure sports a design that has no direct comics or cartoon source; he’s instead a toy unique look.  It’s honestly not a bad one, and it’s a little surprising that it never got worked in anywhere over the years.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  The entire Battle Blaster assortment was largely based around what Toy Biz could do with minimal new parts.  For Cyclops’ part, it means he’s almost entirely a re-use of the 2099 line’s Meanstreak figure.  The only difference between the two is the presence of a new visor, sculpted over Meanstreak’s face.  It’s a change that works surprisingly well.  It helps that the Meanstreak sculpt is honestly a pretty good one, meaning that he’s just a very playable figure.  The character specific elements are really kept to a minimum, with only the boots and gauntlets feeling very unique; even then, they read more generically ’90s X-Men anyway, so they still work fine for Scott.  His paint scheme goes for a rather different look for Scott.  There’s notably no blue, which is interesting, but also keeps him further from the Meanstreak origins of the mold, so it makes a degree of sense.  My figure’s paint has taken a beating over the years, as you can see, but he still looks pretty good all things considered.  Cyclops, like the rest of the assortment, was packed with his “Secret Weapon Force” weapon, which is dubbed a “War Tank Battle Blaster.”  It’s big and goofy, and curiously not color coordinated with the figure at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a very big Cyclops fan as a kid, and jumped at any chance for a new version of him in toy form, so I made a point of getting this figure early after his release, during a trip to the nearest KB Toys with my Grandmother.  I remember being very excited for him, and he spent a good while as my default version of Scott, even with the non-standard costume.  He’s a fun figure.  Just a good, fun figure.  And still one of my favorite Cyclopses, honestly.

#3350: Spider-Woman

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

SPIDER-WOMAN

IRON MAN (TOY BIZ)

“Single mother and Stark Enterprises Vice President, Julia Carpenter conceals a fantastic secret: she possesses the ability to weave psionic webs, and has the strength, speed and agility of a spider! Now, in the guise of Spider-Woman, Julia is determined to turn her astonishing abilities to the downfall of the Mandarin and his sinister schemes of conquest!”

Since Iron Man is a character that’s had a spotty track record with supporting casts over the years, when it came time to give him a cartoon in the ’90s, the show had to sort of make due with the super team he was running around with at the time.  Unfortunately, it was during the brief period of time where that team *wasn’t* the Avengers, and was, instead “Force Works,” a replacement for the Avengers West Coast team, which lasted an astonishingly long 22 issues.  Force Works adopted most of the remaining West Coast line-up, which included Julia Carpenter, the second Spider-Woman, who wound up as one of the members chosen to get the largest focus in the Iron Man cartoon, even remaining in the show when the rest of the team left during the show’s second season.  She got a figure out of the deal, as well, and I’m taking a look at that one today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Woman was released in the first series of Toy Biz’s Iron Man line, as not only this series, but in fact the whole line’s only female figure.  Fellow team member Scarlet Witch was less fortunate (a streak that would continue for United They Stand‘s tie-in line), as was the villainess Hypnotia (who remains without any action figures to this day).   The figure stands 5 inches tall and she has 6 points of articulation.  I’ve looked at Julia’s sculpt previously, once in its slightly modified form as Jessica Drew, and also in its completely repainted form as the Invisible Woman.  Apart from issues with the articulation, it’s actually not a half-bad sculpt, and its only flaw when used for Sue was the lack of eyes, which isn’t a problem here.  Other than that, it’s a rather nice, rather balanced sculpt.  The figure’s paint work is decent enough; to keep with her animation look, there’s a slight purple shade to the “black” sections of her costume, which actually doesn’t look half bad.  The application is a little fuzzy in some spots, but it certainly could be worse.  Julia was packed with her Psionic Webs, which were a big goofy purple thing, as well as an ID badge with her bio on it.  She also got an action feature; there’s a lever on her back, which flips her arms up rather spastically.  It was meant to be a “Psionic Web Hurling Action” according to the package, but it really just looks like she’s flipping over a table or celebrating a touch down or something.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Spider-Woman is a figure that I don’t vividly recall getting.  I know she was still new when I got her, and that she was more than likely a gift, probably for either my birthday or Christmas.  I’d guess she came from my parents, since they’re the most likely culprits for purchasing her.  She’s one of those ones that I just recall always being in my collection.  She’s honestly a pretty solid figure, just start to finish.

#3324: Boromir

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

BOROMIR

LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (TOY BIZ)

“Boromir, a valiant warrior and eldest son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, joins the Fellowship to protect Frodo. However, his false beliefs about the power of the One Ring ignites a growing fascination and a desire to possess it.”

I don’t talk much about Lord of the Rings here on the site.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy the franchise, though I’ll admit I really only stick to the first three movies, it’s just that’s a rather daunting thing, and I tend to stick to the fringes of it all.  As with anything, I’ve got my favorite characters in the mix, of course.  Of all the heroes, my absolute favorite is certainly Faramir, who’s something of an unsung hero in the whole thing, but I’m also quite a fan of Faramir’s ill-fated older brother, Boromir, thanks in no small part to Sean Bean’s incredibly memorable performance in the role.  Back when the movies where being released, Toy Biz had the license for the figures, and put out a quite expansive line of figures, which rather unsurprisingly included a couple of versions of Boromir.  I’m taking a look at the first of those today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boromir was initially released alongside Lurtz in a two-pack from Toy Biz’s Fellowship of the Ring tie-in line in 2001, and was later released solo in the wider Trilogy line following the wrap up of the Return of the King tie-ins.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 4 points of articulation.  The Fellowship figures weren’t as posable as the later figures would be, so Boromir’s definitely a little restricted on the posability front.  He’s a little bit pre-posed, with his arms sort of jutting out, and his legs being kind of splayed.  Also, due to how the movement works, neither of his elbows is actually pointing forward, which is kind of awkward.  He does at least have a decent enough action pose about him.  Boromir’s sculpt was unique to this figure, and is fairly on par with the rest of the Fellowship figures.  He’s got a respectable enough likeness of Sean Bean on the face, and the detailing on the outfit’s pretty nice, especially the mail shirt under all of his other garb.  The figure’s proportions are definitely a bit on the chunky side, which isn’t too crazy, but it’s definitely a bit more of a stylistic choice.  It’s a more balanced set-up than other figures in the line, though, so it’s at least not dealing so much with the monkey arms that showed up a lot in the earlier figures.  Boromir’s paint work is generally more on the basic side, with mostly straight forward color work.  Some of the paint’s a little on the thick side, but the application’s pretty clean and consistent.  The grey trim on the tabard is the one exception, as it’s a little bit all over the place.  Other than that, he’s okay, and there’s even some pretty decent accenting on the hair and the chain mail.  Boromir is packed with his horn of Gondor, his sword, his shield, and his cloak.  The horn fits well in his left hand, and can hand from his belt.  The sword seems a little small and is rather bent, but it can at least be sheathed.  The shield’s actually quite a nice piece, with impressive texturing, and a strap for wearing over his shoulder.  The cloak’s a little tricky, as it doesn’t really stay firmly in place, and it also can’t be used when the shield is slung.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I picked up Faramir back in 2016, I’ve been casually on the lookout for a Boromir.  Back towards the end of 2021, a bunch of Lord of the Rings figures came through All Time.  They were largely incomplete and kind of a mess, but there just so happened to be a complete Boromir in the mix, and he was honestly pretty cheap at that moment, so, boom, your boy had a Boromir.  He’s a bit dated, but still a lot of fun.  And now I’ve got the two brothers!

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.

#3320: Jean Grey

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

JEAN GREY

X-MEN: SECRET WEAPON FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“Trapped in an alternate universe, Jean Grey wages a battle against Omega, one of Apocalypse’s minions. One of the most powerful mutant telepaths on the planet, Jean Grey has teamed up with Wolverine to put an end to Apocalypse’s diabolical plans once and for all. With her transforming Catapult Tank Blaster, Jean has a secret weapon that can send any opponent down for the count!”

By 1997, Toy Biz’s X-Men line had firmly moved away from purely comics-based figures, and was fully venturing into the “wacky variants” territory.  Assortments moved to a generally themed nature, with that theme usually being some sort of gimmick.  Both X-Men and Spider-Man took on an underlying line rebranding in ’98, with the X-Men one being
“Secret Weapon Force.”  Though the main purpose of these assortments was have an excuse for wacky variants, Toy Biz did at least throw peopled a bit of a bone, and tried to make some of those variants line-up with something actually from the comics.  In the case of today’s figure, Jean Grey, it allowed them to give her “Age of Apocalypse” look some coverage, after it had been left out of the proper tie-in assortment for the storyline.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jean Grey was released in the “Battle Blaster” series of Toy Biz’s re-branded X-Men: Secret Weapon Force line.  The four figures in the assortment were all loosely AoA-themed, with the pretense of this being our Jean trapped in an alternate universe.  Jean was the most straight forward of the bunch, at least in terms of design.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  Jean marked the second use of the Monster Armor Mystique body, which would become one of Toy Biz’s favorites in the later 5-inch run.  She uses the main body, sans the skirt, with a new head sculpt (though the prototype on the back of the box was just a straight repaint).  The new head is a decent match to her AoA look in the comics, so that’s pretty decent.  The body’s not terrible, though I’m not a huge fan of the enormous right hand, or its general lack of posing.  Also, this release kept the etched-in lines from Mystique’s gloves and boots, which don’t line up with Jean’s costume details.  Jean’s paint work was generally okay.  It follows her look from the comics fairly closely.  Some of the details are a little fuzzy, especially on the costume.  I do like the tattoo on the face, though.  She’s also got a “Secret Weapon Force” insignia on her leg, which isn’t true to the original design, but is still a little cool, honestly.  Jean was packed with her “Secret Weapon Force” secret weapon, which was a Catapult Tank Blaster.  Given the sheer size of this thing, I’m not clear on just how she manages to keep it “secret,” but she *is* a telepath, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite being a main character for the franchise, by this point in the X-Men line, Jean Grey figures were still rather rare.  If you saw one, you got it.  That’s just how it was.  I wanted a non-Phoenix Jean, and this was my only real option at the time, so you know I went out there and got one…with my Grandmother’s money, most likely.  I know I got the Cyclops from this set first because, well, Cyclops, but Jean was a fairly close second.  Gotta have those two together, right?  She’s not a bad figure, I guess.  I mean, not great, but also not bad.  It was a nice way for Toy Biz to get this variant of Jean out there and continue the AoA line-up just a little bit more.

#3315: Quicksilver

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

QUICKSILVER

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“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?

#3310: Meanstreak

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

MEANSTREAK

X-MEN 2099 (TOY BIZ)

“A former researcher for the multinational corporation Alchemax, Henry Huang broke with his corporate masters, and now uses his superhuman mutant speed and dazzling intelligence to battle for mutant rights in the year 2099 as Meanstreak of the X-Men!”

While Spider-Man 2099 has generally been accepted as being an overall successful and not terrible idea, the rest of the 2099 line has always been generally accepted as not so much successful or not terrible.  Marvel tried to launch 2099 equivalents for all of their best-selling books at the time, so unsurprisingly, there was an X-Men 2099.  It was populated by a bunch of characters unrelated to the main timeline characters, who were all just very, very ’90s.  The team’s resident speedster was Meanstreak, who was fast and mean.  Okay, maybe not so mean, but the name sure sounded cool, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Meanstreak was released in the first series of Toy Biz’s X-Men 2099 line, which hit in 1995.  He really only had the one look, so that was the one he had here.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Meanstreak got what became the most basic articulation set-up of Toy Biz’s Marvel lines, which works out pretty well for him when it comes to decent running poses and such.  Meanstreak sported an all-new sculpt at the time, though it would see a little bit of re-use later down the line.  It’s honestly a pretty strong one, perhaps the best basic build sort of sculpt that the 2099 line had to offer.  The proportions aren’t anything too crazy, the costume details are clean and a good match for his design in the comics, and his face is cartoony, while still fitting with the overall vibe of the line up to this point.  One does have to wonder how the baggy boots and all sorts of pouches are going to do on a guy that’s a speedster, but hey, it could certainly have been worse.  In an era of particularly gaudy color schemes, Meanstreak actually had a pretty sensible one, sticking more or less to primary colors.  His paint work followed suit, and the end result is clean, bold, and fairly eye catching.  There were two versions of the paint on this one: one with a dark metallic gold on the bands, belt, and boots, and one where those parts are a slightly metallic yellow.  I personally prefer how the yellow looks, especially in conjunction with the other colors, but they both work in their own way.  Meanstreak was packed with a small gun, which he could fold up and store on his belt, as well as a running effect piece, which would later be re-used for the main X-Men line’s Quicksilver.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve talked before on the site about the store Ageless Heroes, a comic book store near me that went out of business when I was about 6 or 7, whose clearing out sales netted me a whole ton of 5-inch Marvel.  Well, Meanstreak wasn’t added to my collection because of that directly, but he did come to me indirectly because of that.  A family friend ran the Masquerade at a couple of local fan conventions, and she had cleared out a large chunk of Ageless Heroes’ remaining stock when they closed for the purposes of having some goodies to put in the prize bags for the children’s costume competition.  I would help her out with various pieces of set-up, and in exchange I was always allowed to pick out one of the figures from the box of stuff meant for those bags.  Meanstreak was one that I just really liked the look of, so he was one that I specifically chose. 20 some years later, I still know virtually nothing about the character, but I still have a real soft spot for the original yellow-colored version of the figure I picked out all those years ago.

#3305: U.S. Agent

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

U.S. AGENT

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

“U.S. Agent is the ultimate super soldier of justice. And with his awesome shield, he proves it. To prepare shield for crime-fighting action, gently push the extension of his shield along the top of the shield-launcher until it locks into position. Wrist launcher and shield can both be attached separately to his wrist, thus making him ready for any – and every – attack!”

When they first took over the license, before building all sorts of different lines, Toy Biz’s Marvel toys were initially split into X-Men and a larger Marvel Super Heroes line, which covered literally everything else.  The line ran five series, with its final assortment being entirely re-hash…or at least very close to re-hash.  There were a couple of re-paints, and only one actual new character, whom I’m looking at today.  Yes, it’s time for another version of John Walker, aka U.S. Agent!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

U.S. Agent was released in the aforementioned Series 5 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  U.S. Agent’s entire existence in the line was due to his easy parts re-use, so he’s a complete re-use of the standard Captain America molds.  Cap’s sculpt was honestly one of the best from this line, though it’s kind of the best because it’s so specifically Steve Rogers as Cap, which works just a little bit against this figure’s intended purpose.  The clearly denoted sections of chain mail, as well as the vertical stripes on the mid-section, and the star symbol on the front of the chest are all elements that don’t work quite so much for the U.S. Agent costume.  Likewise, the face is very definitely Steve, not John.  That said, the paint does its best with the material, and it’s honestly not terrible looking.  It helps that a lot of it’s black, which hides more of the extra details, and it also helps that the paint work is pretty sharp, so it at least looks pretty good.  U.S. Agent is packed with the same shield and launcher as the basic Cap.  It’s a little clunky, but honestly a fun gimmick, since the shield still functions as a shield, while also working with the launcher.  The shield has been appropriately re-colored, and looks pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve owned this figure three times over.  My first one came to me as a gift from my Nana, who had gotten him for both me and my cousin Rusty, I believe as a “good job with school” gift.  Mine was well-loved, but also wound up losing his foot at one point, in an incident I was never able to explain.  Rusty was kind enough to give me his, so I had one with two feet again, but I lost the shield and launcher from both over the years.  Enter the third one, which was given me just a few years ago by Max, who had gotten a sealed one and decided he didn’t really need it.  As U.S. Agent, this guy’s not quite there.  As The Captain, he’s actually not bad, so I’ll just consider him that way, I guess, because at least then I can enjoy him unimpeded.

#3280: Hulk Buster Iron Man

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

HULK BUSTER IRON MAN

IRON MAN (TOY BIZ)

“When Iron Man’s regular armor isn’t powerful enough to get the job done, Tony Stark devises new specialty suits of armor — each tailored to the needs of a specific mission! The heavy combat armor contains few built-in weapons — but it boosts Iron Man’s physical strength to near-impossible levels!”

First appearing in Iron Man #304 as an add-on for the newly introduced Modular Armor, Iron Man’s Hulk Buster armor has become a steady fixture of the character’s armor set-ups.  It was quickly adapted into animation as part of the ’90s cartoon, and with its official appearance in the show occurring the much-improved second season.  The design was granted its first figure in that show’s tie-in line, and I’m taking a look at said figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hulk Buster Iron Man is part of Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Iron Man line, as one of three Iron Man variants in the line-up.  Though the armor appeared in the show, this figure’s design owes less to that look and more to his appearance in the comics, likely owing to this figure being released prior to the show’s second season, and the final design not yet being ready*.  The figure stands just over 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  The Hulkbuster armor is typically a lot larger in stature than a standard Iron Man, but this one’s only a very slight bit taller, with most of his difference in size being more of a width thing.  He’s certainly bulkier, but he definitely feels somewhat diminutive compared to where he should be.  This was presumably done to keep him within the standard price point range.  As with the rest of the line, the figure’s assembly consists of a core figure with a number of armor add-on pieces, though there are notably a lot less of the armor pieces for this release than there were for the others.  The underlying figure isn’t too far removed from the whole design, but he’s certainly less impactful than the fully-assembled look.  Fully assembled, he gets an additional helmet (rare for these figures), shoulder pads, wrists gauntlets, and boots.  The coloring is a mix of metallic and flat.  It works out alright, but there’s definitely a little clashing between the reds.  At least the yellows match.  Beyond the extra armor pieces, the Hulk Buster doesn’t have any other accessories.  Not that there’s a ton more you could include, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a really big fan of the Iron Man cartoon and its corresponding toy line when I was a kid, so I actually had most of the figures, especially the Iron Men.  Hulk Buster was included.  I don’t recall exactly how I got him, though I assume he was probably a gift from my parents, because they got me most of my Iron Man figures.  While I lost a few of the armor pieces to my original over the years, I was able to snag a replacement that came through All Time a few years ago.  Calling it a win.  I was always the slightest bit let-down by this figure’s scale, but he’s otherwise not a bad little figure.

*Had the Iron Man tie-in line continued, we would have received a more accurate recreation of the show’s actual animation design, also matching the stature and general concept of the Hulkbuster a bit more.  The figure was ultimately scrapped, but the molds would resurface for a few other releases, including the Battle-Action Mega Armor Wolverine.

#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.

3270: Mystique

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

MYSTIQUE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Wanting her foster-daughter Rogue back in her life, Mystique helps Miser Sinister in his plan to take over the X-Men! Shapeshifting into the Beast, Mystique tricks the X-Men into Sinister’s clutches. Witnessing Sinister turn Rogue into a monster proves too much for Mystique and she turns against the villain, using the now out of control monster Wolverine to aid in her revolt.”

Oh boy, late ’90s X-Men line.  When the whacky themes ran rampant.  Early in the line, things were rather focused and comics based, with a little bit of the cartoon input bleeding in here and there.  As the line progressed, the concepts started to get weirder, but not too crazy.  1996 had some weirdness, but it was 1997 where things got crazy, and each assortment seemed to be trying to top the last.  We had Ninjas and Robot Fighters, and eventually they just turned everyone into monsters.  Yeah.  At least we got one new character out of the whole deal, though.  Let’s look at Mystique.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mystique was added to the X-Men line in 1997’s “Monster Armor” assortment, which was the twentieth series of the line.  This marked Mystique’s first time in 5-inch form, though she’d previously been part of the 10-inch line as a rather hastily thrown together Rogue repaint.  Mystique was seen here in her classic attire, likely chosen because it matched her animated appearances.  That was a small grace, since she had some real doozies in the ’90s.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and she has 5 points of articulation.  She marked a rather reduced articulation set-up.  Generally, this assortment marked a move away from practical articulation and into more pre-posing, a la what McFarlane’s offerings of the time.  Mystique’s articulation was good for minor tweaks to keep her standing, but ultimately not much else.  Her pre-posing was at least kept to a minimum on the figure’s sculpt, so she doesn’t look quite as silly as some of the others.  The sculpt has a respectable set of proportions, and just generally looks pretty balanced.  Toy Biz was clearly a fan of this one, too, since it got quite a few re-uses in the following years.  The paint work on this figure is decent enough.  Some of the change-overs are a little fuzzy, but there’s nothing horribly out of place and all of the important details are there.  Mystique was packed with her own set of Monster Armor, which included a mask, hand, and feet clip-ons, meant to turn her into a loose approximation of Beast, as mentioned in the bio.  It’s not spot-on, but it works okay, and it’s actually a pretty sensible accessory set-up for a character whose main gimmick is shape shifting.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this assortment hit, I got distracted by the prospect of another Cyclops, and wound up not actually getting any of the others.  I’ve been slowly grabbing the rest over the years, and Mystique was on the top of my list.  I wound up snagging her from Collector’s Corner a few years ago, when they were doing a sale on a lot of their action figure back stock.  She’s not bad.  I mean, sure, she could be more posable, but otherwise she does look pretty decent, and it was the best option for a very long time.