Tag Archives: Toy Biz

#2510: Archangel II

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

ARCHANGEL II

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“As the high-flying Angel, Warren Worthington III was one of the original members of the X-Men. Years later, Worthington’s real wings were dissected, replaced with razor sharp wings of steel, and he was transformed into Archangel, one of the four Horsemen of Apocalypse. Now, having fought against the conditioning that tainted and turned him into a living weapon, Archangel has embraced his humanity and strives to regain the purity that once surrounded him.”

The Toy Biz X-Men line came out of the gate pretty strong, marking off a good chunk of the core X-Men.  By a few years into the line, they were steadily supplying updates to those core characters.  While characters such as Wolverine or Cyclops were central to the then-running cartoon, and therefore higher on list for updates, Warren Worthington III, aka Archangel only had a guest-starring role on the show.  It was still enough to justify another figure, and so here we are!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Archangel II was released in the Invasion Series of X-Men, the eleventh assortment of the line.  Archangel was included in the initial cases of the series, but was replaced in later cases by the previously-reviewed Erik the Red, making this version of Archangel ultimately the rarer figure.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  Archangel II debuted an all-new sculpt, one that would prove a favorite of Toy Biz over the years.  Though I haven’t actually managed to review any of the later uses (something that kind of baffles me, honestly), it was used *a lot* over the years.  This is where is kicked off, though, so that’s pretty cool.  It’s an okay sculpt, but what’s somewhat interesting is that it doesn’t really feel like it works as well for Archangel as it did for the later figures it was used for, despite being sculpted specifically for this guy.  The build seems perhaps a touch bulky for Warren, but ultimately, it’s the head that seems the most off.  It’s also rather bulky, and I’m not sure exactly what that facial expression is, but it seems a bit unpleasant.  The new wings were actually pretty decent.  They were certainly more sizable than the Series 1 version, and the detail work is a little more in depth.  The softer material used for them make it a little easier to keep him standing, which is definitely a plus.  The paint work on Archangel is pretty decent.  It covers all of the basics of his hideous colorscheme from the time period, and the application is all pretty strong.  Mine’s taken a little bit of a beating, but that’s kind of the usual for these guys.  Archangel didn’t include any accessories, but he did get a wing-flapping action feature.  It’s super goofy, but I enjoy it and all its hokiness.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, so consulting my records shows that I *have* talked about Ageless Heroes here on the site, back when I reviewed Bespin Luke.  I got a good chunk of 5-inch Marvel figures that way, and Archangel was amongst that grouping of figures.  He was one of those figures that was kind of rare when he was new and I was getting into collecting.  I recall seeing him on the back of the packaging for a few of my figures, so when I found him at Ageless Heroes, I was pretty excited.  Ultimately, he’s maybe not the best Archangel, but I still appreciate him for what he is.

 

#2503: Battle-Action Mega Armor Wolverine

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

BATTLE-ACTION MEGA ARMOR WOLVERINE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

Toy Biz’s ’90s Iron Man, though far from a failure, was also not quite the success of some of their other Marvel-based toy lines from the same period.  Following the slow sales of its fourth assortment, the line was brought to a close, cancelling not only its fifth set of figures, but also some off-shoot products, which included a line of items dubbed “Mega Armor,” which would effectively take off from the Hulkbuster armor and give both Iron Man and War Machine larger mecha suits to pilot.  It was a cool concept, but not one that Toy Biz could get retailers to support under the Iron Man name.  However, with the molds ready to go, they had to do *something* with them, so they were quick to repurpose them under two of their more successful brands, X-Men and Spider-Man.  Why Spider-Man and the X-Men were running around in big mechs is anyone’s guess, but I try not to complain too much about such things.  Whatever the case, it gives me a Wolverine variant I haven’t yet looked at, so I might as well jump in on that, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Battle Action Mega Armor Wolverine hit shelves in 1997, under the main X-Men line branding.  To start with, they did Wolverine and Storm with the armor, but others would eventually follow down the line.  The Mech suit is about 9 inches tall and has movement at the shoulders and wrists, as well as a cockpit that opens in two spots to let the standard figure inside out.  Said standard figure is about 5 inches tall and has 10 points of articulation.  Wolverine’s mech suit is the one that was originally intended for Iron Man, and as such it’s definitely got a lot of details that really match up with both the modular armor and with the Hulkbuster armor’s depiction on the Iron Man cartoon in the ’90s.  It’s certainly a cool looking piece, though the very stiff nature of it does make it a little more difficult to really play with.  It’s more of a set piece than anything, and that becomes really even more apparent when you stick Wolverine in it instead of its original intended occupant.  The included Wolverine figure is interesting in that, when you really get down to it, he’s not *technically* a Wolverine at all.  He’s actually a re-use of the main line’s Morph figure, just with that figure’s alternate Wolverine head in place instead of the standard.  While the Wolverine head works fine on that figure as a more quick gimmicky set-up, the two character’s really don’t share the same build, resulting in a very anemic looking Wolverine.  He’s still very posable, however, so he’s at least a pretty playable figure.  When it comes to paint, the mech suit gets a pretty notable overhaul on the color scheme, moving away from the intended Iron Man scheme into something more in line with Wolverine’s usual palette.  It’s not a terrible look, but it’s definitely a departure, and I don’t know that it suits the mold as well as the original set-up would have.  For his part, the included Wolverine also gets a pretty major overhaul as well, with a totally blue number, some silver accenting and a whole bunch of weird gold techno lines thrown in to top it all off.  Really weird set-up, and I’m really not sure exactly what they were going for.  It’s certainly….different?  Oh, and he’s of course wall-eyed, because that’s just how you do, I suppose.  In addition to the Wolverine figure being included, the mech suit also gets a claw weapon thing to hold in one hand, and has a spinning hand feature on his right side and an extending punch feature on the left.  He’s certainly got his fighting options all laid out for him.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have the whole mech suit thing as a kid, but I did have just the Wolverine from it, as it had been found at my Dad’s work, and he ended up bringing it home for me.  I always wanted the whole suit, in any of its many released forms, but I just never did get one.  But lucky me, one came into All Time in a collection, and also lucky me, Christian had just happened upon some really good trade fodder for me at Goodwill, sort of kind of as a birthday thing, meaning I was able to get this guy essentially free of charge.  That worked out pretty darn well.  This thing is so majorly goofy, and I so majorly love it.

#2497: Warstar

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

WARSTAR

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Members of the Shi’ar Imperial Guard, aliens B’nee and C’cll unite their superhuman abilities symbiotically as the unstoppable Warstar! Possessing superhuman strength and the ability to discharge electrical blasts, Warstar stands ready to strike at any and all enemies of the Shi’ar Empire – even if it means crossing the width of the galaxy itself!”

First appearing early in the Phoenix Saga, the Shi’ar Imperial Guard’s original membership were all homages to artist Dave Cockrum’s previous work on Legion of Super Heroes.  When the team reappeared during “The Dark Phoenix Saga” a few years later, Cockrum’s replacement John Byrne was tasked with a few more members to pad out the roster a bit during their fight with the X-Men.  Instead of creating more Legion homage characters, these new characters, including today’s focus Warstar, were wholly original, while still loosely fitting the theme.  No doubt for reasoning related to the potential issues that surround homage characters and toys, Warstar being a non-homage character made him a slightly cleaner choice when it came to toy coverage.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Warstar was another inclusion in the “Phoenix Saga” Series of Toy Biz’s X-Men toy line.  He is by far the most obscure character in that particular mix, but he did at least get a little bit of focus during the cartoon version of the Saga, which made him at least somewhat memorable to the buyer base, I suppose.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 8 points of articulation.  He lacks a neck joint, but in his defense, there’s a sensible reason for that.  As touched on in the bio up top, Warstar is actually two symbiotically-linked beings.  The main body is C’cll, the larger of the pair.  It does a respectable job of replicating his larger mechanical frame.  He’s perhaps a touch more boxy than C’cll tends to be depicted, especially when Byrne was drawing him, but by and large, it’s a pretty close match.  Borrowing a page from the previously released Tusk figure, C’cll has a little hatch and a small lever on his back.  Sliding back the hatch and pushing up the lever reveals a tiny B’nee figurine, who’s been hiding back there the whole time.  Both of them are just a touch underscaled for the line, and B’nee doesn’t get any sort of articulation, but it’s a fun feature nevertheless.  Warstar’s paintwork is pretty solidly handled.  It’s largerly all one color (for C’cll, anyway; B’nee *is* one color), but it’s a pretty slick metallic green.  Mine’s taken quite a beating over the years, but that doesn’t seem like the worst thing in the world for a character with “war” in his name.  The only extra included here is the small B’nee figure; no other weaponry or weird accessories thrown in this time.  Also, he’s one of two figures in the “Phoenix Saga” assortment not to get any additional accessories when moved over to the larger card, presumably because of how sizable he was in the first place.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Warstar was a rather early addition to my collection, purchased for me by my Nana, specifically at my request.  Interestingly, I had no clue who the character was (I hadn’t yet seen his appearance on the cartoon), and actually thought he was a Titanium Man figure, who I wanted to have to face off against my Iron Man figure I’d just gotten.  It wasn’t until later that I realized my mix-up (and got a proper Titanium Man), though I can’t really say I was ever upset to own a Warstar.  He’s a pretty fun figure of a pretty fun character, and is probably one of my favorites from the line.  I’d love to see him get an update as a BaF or Deluxe Legends offering.

#2490: Space Wolverine

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

SPACE WOLVERINE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The X-Man known as Wolverine will travel anywhere for a good fight with the forces of evil – even to the far reaches of outer space! Wolverine’s space armor protects him from the hostile conditions of deep space, while still allowing him to bring his adamantium claws to bear on alien evildoers! Even in this harsh environment, Wolverine is still the best there is at what he does!”

The eighth assortment of Toy Biz’s X-Men line was the first to properly theme itself, being based on the Pheonix Saga, which had just been adapted for the cartoon.  While a number of the character choices were pretty self-explanatory, they were still faced with a need for a Wolverine variant.  So, they kind of made one?  I mean, it’s not too far of a reach.  It’s a space suit variant, and in both comics and cartoon, the team does go into space.  Never in anything that looks like this, but still…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Space Wolverine was, as noted in the into, released in the eighth series of Toy Biz’s X-Men line.  He marked the line’s first dabble into made up Wolverine variants, something that anyone who followed the Day of Wolverines will know was far from at its end here.  At least this one was tame, I suppose.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall (continuing the upward size trend on Wolverines) and has 8 points of articulation.  Due to a returning of the Series 1 style retractable claws, he lacks any sort of elbow movement, but at least the posing isn’t quite as stiff as it was on the Street Clothes Wolverine.  As far as sculpting goes, this Wolverine gets a head that’s really similar to Wolverine II’s, albeit with some slightly sharper details.  The body is kind of on the wide side, at least in contrast to previous Wolverines.  It does match the overall bulking up trend that Logan went through as the line and the decade progressed, however.  The space suit for some reason doesn’t actually cover Wolverine’s whole body, leaving part of his costume exposed.  I guess his costume really doesn’t breathe?  That can’t be all that comfortable, can it?  Like going everywhere in a tyvek suit.  Yuck.  I guess it helps with branding, though, so there’s that.  In terms of paint, Wolverine again stays on-brand, with what we see of his costume being the usual colors, and the space suit continuing those general colors, but in a more metallic sense, so it’s more golds instead of yellows.  It honestly works pretty well.  There was also a variant of this figure released a bit later alongside a CD-Rom including the original Phoenix Saga issues, which swapped out the gold for a metallic blue.  I also have this figure…somewhere.  Unfortunately, all I could find at the time of this review was his helmet.  Maybe I’ll find him and I can run an addendum, I guess.  For the original release, as with all of the Phoenix Saga figures, there were two releases, once with the short card and once with the wider card the following year.  The initial version included just his removable helmet, second version(which is the one I had) added a gun and two of Shatterstar’s swords to the mix.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was still new to the collecting game when these guys came out, so I got most of the assortment new, Wolverine included.  He was a gift to me from my parents, shortly after we moved into the house they live in now, and I recall that he was accompanied by an X-Men carrying case to keep all of my figures in (which was a far more realistic goal back when I received the case and it could actually hold all of my X-Men figures).  He’s a little more gimmicky than earlier Wolverines, but he is at least a somewhat sensible variant.

#2483: Corsair

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

CORSAIR

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“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.

#2448: Bonebreaker

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

BONEBREAKER

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“The villainous cyborg known only as Bonebreaker desires nothing more than the chance to wreak havoc. Employing his robotic abilities first as a mercenary and then as a member of the nefarious Reavers, Bonebreaker leaves a trail of destruction wherever his travels lead him!”

Man, we are just jumping into the deep end with the obscure ’90s X-Men characters, aren’t we?  I mean, it’s kinda hard to top Senyaka and his lack of any staying power in the slightest, so that does give today’s entry a slight leg up…okay, so not “leg up”…because, you know, the lack of legs and all.  Tank up?  Tread up?  Ah, this is definitely way too much thought to put into a Bonebreaker intro.  Look, he’s half-man, half-tank.  It’s pretty cut and dry stuff, really.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Bonebreaker was released in Series 7 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line.  It was the final series to be released solely on the more character-specific short cards, which actually proved a little tricky for the breaker of bones here, since they had to manage fitting his lower half into the package with him.  You have to wonder if that may have slightly influenced the decision to go to the larger cards.  By and large, Series 7’s line-up is one of the softer selection of characters in this line, with only two real “heavy hitters” in the line-up, one of them being quite possibly the most boring Wolverine the line ever produced.  Of the remaining five figures, Bonebreaker may possibly be amongst the best known (although I myself tend to favor Ch’od and Raza on that front; it really comes down to which era of the comics you’re most familiar with).  Why am I talking so much about all of this not Bonebreaker stuff?  I don’t know.  I’m honestly not sure I can bear to talk only about Bonebreaker for quite this long.  But, I suppose I’ve stalled for long enough.  The figure stands 3 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation, as well as rolling wheels (though not proper moving treads, unfortunately).  There aren’t exactly a lot of potential posing options with this guy, but it’s not exactly for lack of trying; there’s really only so much you can do with the design.  The sculpt is decent enough for the time, with a pretty on-brand sculpt for the human portions.  His lower tank half is actually pretty impressive, with fairly sharp and solid technical detailing throughout.  It rivals Ch’od for the best sculpting work in this assortment.  The paint work on Bonebreaker is fairly drab and basic, which I guess is more or less a clean translation of the source material.  The tank’s sculpt kind of suffers here, because the nice detail work ends up getting a bit lost in all that un-painted turquoise plastic.  It’s perhaps not the best choice of coloring.  Bonebreaker was originally packed with two guns, one hand-held, and the other for mounting to the tank.  I have neither.  For shame.

EDIT 12/25/20 – I now have both of the two guns.  Less shame!  Also, I found one of his included missiles that I didn’t even list before.  For shame again!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bonebreaker’s a figure I remember seeing…a lot.  This whole assortment (barring Rogue) was everywhere for a long time, but Bonebreaker is the one I recall seeing the most.  I didn’t get one, I guess because the design didn’t really speak to me, and because his appearance in X-Men: The Animated Series wasn’t one of my favorites.  But, I’m getting pretty serious about the Toy Biz X-Men collection, so I ended up picking up Bonebreaker here loose while on vacation last summer.  He’s honestly a bit better than I’d expected, and I’d like to see how he might turn out in Legends form.

#2441: Senyaka

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

SENYAKA

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“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.

#2434: Random

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

RANDOM

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“If the price is right, there’s almost nothing that Random won’t do! And with forearms that transform into powerful blasters, there’s almost nothing he can’t do!”

Perhaps the most enthralling thing about Toy Biz’s ’90s X-Men line was how many “product of their time” characters made their way into the line, just by virtue of their brief moment to shine being during the line’s hey-day.  Though not quite as exaggerated a case as some of the characters, Random is still a character who really hasn’t found his footing since the decade that created him, which is probably why his only figure to date comes from that same period.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Random was released in Series 6 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line.  He was hardly the most obscure character in the line-up, and marked the second figure in the X-Factor subset started by Strong Guy.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He lacks any elbow or knee movement, which is a little bit of a bummer.  The left elbow makes some sense, but the knees in particular really just don’t add-up.  Maybe the extra plastic that went into making this guy a little larger meant they couldn’t cost out those extra joints?  The sculpt was unique to Random, and its a pretty respectable translation of his comics design.  He’s maybe a little bit squashed, but that’s about it.  There’s a lot of pretty nifty details, including sculpted stubble on his face.  That’s pretty easily missed, so the fact that they included it is pretty darn impressive.  Random’s paint work is mostly pretty basic, but the coolest bit by far is the inclusion of the tattoos on his arms.  Those are a lot of fun, and take what could have been a somewhat drab looking character and make him really pop.  Random included three missiles, which work with the spring-loaded launcher on his left arm.  The two spares can actually be stored to either side of the launcher, which is a nice little touch, allowing you to actually hang onto them when not firing them.  The launcher itself isn’t terribly impressive, since there’s not lock or release; you just put it in and it launches right back out.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In my quest to fill in the holes in my Toy Biz X-Men collection, I actually picked this guy up a couple of years ago from a small place called Shazam Comics.  He was, I believe, the only action figure in the store, and the owner didn’t even realize he had him.  I don’t have much connection to the character, but he does make for a rather nifty figure, and the little touches in the sculpt and paint really make him work.

#2427: Trevor Fitzroy

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

TREVOR FITZROY

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“An evil criminal from the future, Trevor Fitzroy used his power to create portals through time to elude the authorities of his native era by escaping into the past. Now trapped in our century, he uses his mutant abilities and futuristic battlesuit to fulfill his every lethal wish – and to attempt the destruction of his arch-enemy Bishop!”

You didn’t think I was just going to walk away from 5-inch X-Men, did you?  Okay, actually, that would be pretty sensible.  I reviewed 19 of them all in one day, just over a week ago, and that’s like a 30% increase in the number of them reviewed for the site as a whole in the 6 1/2 years I’ve been running it.  I think I technically met my yearly quota already.  Well, in actuality, all the Day of the Wolverines really did was reignite my desire to review these guys, although perhaps not in quite as crazy a fashion.  So, I’m picking up where I left off and diving into the world of ’90s X-Men with a character that exists purely within that world and pretty much nowhere else, Trevor Fitzroy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Trevor Fitzroy was released in Series 6 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, and was quite renowned for being a notorious peg warmer for the assortment.  Even at peak ’90s, nobody really wanted this guy.  Poor Trevor.  Despite general lack of interest in the character, there were two variants of Fiztroy produced, one as part of an FAO Schwarz-exclusive four pack (which traded out his blue for purple), and the other in a KB Toys-exclusive two-pack with the previously-reviewed Maverick, which is actually featured in the picture at the bottom of this review.  Whichever version of Fitzroy you get, the figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  His sculpt was unique to him, and it’s honestly not a bad one.  He definitely reflects the trend of these figures bulking up as the line progressed, but this one looked okay.  He’s exaggerated, but not too insanely so.  The head’s got a decent bit of character to it, as well, and they were finally starting to really get a grip on translating some of those radical ’90s hair styles into plastic by this point.  His paintwork is decent enough; nothing amazing or anything to write home about, but it gets the basics down.  The standard release had a yellow stripe down the middle, while the two-pack version swaps it out for gold.  In general, the two pack version isn’t quite as nicely painted, I found.  Fitzroy is packed with some clip-op armor which, if I’m being totally honest here, was more than a little disappointing.  It pretty much won’t say on the figure at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have a Fitzroy growing up, but boy do I recall seeing Fitzroy…everywhere.  He was just all over the place.  That’s probably why I never bothered to get one, honestly.  Well, that, and his two episodes of X-Men: The Animated Series not being terribly impressive.  After getting Maverick all by his lonesome a few years ago, I tracked down the standard Fitzroy loose, and then discovered that the two-pack one was different, at which point I lost my drive for completion because it meant buying another Fitzroy.  However, when All Time got in their mega Wolverine collection, this pack was in there (because of the small diecast Wolverine included), and it was honestly easier than going through the trouble of getting Fitzroy by himself.  Fitzroy is perhaps not the most thrilling figure, but he’s better than I expected him to be, so I can’t really knock him all that much.

#2418: Wolverines (and friends)

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

WOLVERINE — MODERN AGE/BATTLE RAVAGED/POWER SLAMMER, LADY DEATHSTRIKE, & SABRETOOTH

X-MEN/MODERN AGE (TOY BIZ)

Alright, let’s wrap this bad boy up, bub! When I was divvying up the figures for these reviews, I was doing it by the year of release, and in the process, I actually erroneously listed one of today’s offerings as being from ’99, rather than ’97, as it should be.  With the ’97 review as crowded as it already was, I’m just going to give myself a slight break on that, and group it in here.  It fits better here anyway, since none of today’s figures are truly from the X-Men line proper.  It’s gonna get a little bit complicated, so I might as well jump right in, I suppose.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

“His past shrouded in mystery, the man known simply as Logan was once a Canadian secret agent.  As Wolverine, Logan is a deadly, living weapon.  Besides being a master of a myriad of both armed and unarmed combat, Wolverine’s senses are superhumanly acute and rival many animals, making him a superior tracker and hunter.  Wolverine’s skeleton is laced with an unbreakable metal known as adamantium.  Wolverine is also equipped with foot-long adamantium claws that retract into his hand and can slice through nearly anything.  Coupled with a mutant healing factor that automatically regenerates any damaged or destroyed cells in his body, Wolverine’s ferocity in combat makes him a virtually unstoppable opponent.” 

I’ve delved once before (and rather recently) into Toy Biz’s Modern Age line, which was a direct market line of figures dropped in ’99.  Obviously, Wolverine is a far less obscure entry than Captain Britain, and far less in need of yet another figure, but he was very likely the figure that actually got retailers to support such a venture in the first place.  In that regard, he’s actually a valid comics variant, being a new take on the Brown Costume, which hadn’t actually seen an update since the very first series of X-Men back in 1991.  An update was probably a good idea, though whether this update was an improvement is perhaps more up for debate.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  Structurally, there’s not anything new to this guy.  He’s the Ninja Wolverine with the forearms and lower legs of the Water Wars Wolverine.  It all meshes together well enough, I suppose, but it means the figure is as much a caricature of Wolverine as the Ninja figure was.  With the unmasked appearance, they’re clearly aiming to capture his appearance from the cover of his first solo series, but these parts are pretty far from that look stylistically.  I’m also just not a huge fan of this particular head.  He’s got some major underbite going on there.  Wolverine’s packed with a sword and dagger…and, well, I mean, I think they’re meant to tie into his being based on the miniseries, wherein Logan travels to Japan and makes use of such things.  Trouble is, they’re re-used from the Hercules and Xena lines respectively, so they don’t look even vaguely Japanese in origin.  On the plus side, this guy does bring the trading card back.  Nifty!

“Flying at each other with berserker rage and vengeance are Lady Deathstrike and Wolverine.  Each possessing claws infused with the super-strong metal adamantium, Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike are sworn archenemies.  Believing Wolverine to be the key to unlocking the secrets of her father’s research, Lady Deathstrike will stop at nothing until she has defeated the mutant X-Man.  With a rivalry sure to explode when they next meet, Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike are headed for trouble.”

We now enter into the realm that makes up the rest of this review: two-packs.  Toy Biz was rather fond of them, especially later in the 5-inch run, as they were a pretty quick and easy way to turn around some “new” product with a small, concise theme.  It was also a way to get slightly harder to find figures back out in a way that assured a sale of two figures instead of just one.  The “Greatest __” set-up was a popular one for the two-packs, and this particular set, made up of Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike, was dubbed “Greatest Archenemies,” and hit shelves in 1997 (yes, this is the offending item that broke my whole yearly break down).  I’m a little skeptical about Deathstrike being Logan’s greatest archenemy, but whatever.  The Wolverine included in this pack was a re-deco of the Invasion Series’ Battle-Ravaged Wolverine, which is honestly a pretty solid figure.  He stands 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  Again, he’s quite tall for Wolverine.  And just kind of large in general, really.  This sculpt is one I’m fairly nostalgic about, the original release being my first Wolverine figure, and I do think it overall holds up pretty well.  The paint for this guy is rather drastically different, with it being a metallic paint scheme in contrast to the flat colors of the original.  This one also dials up the battle damage throughout, in contrast to the nature of the sculpt.  It’s not terrible, but I feel the coloring on the original is far superior to this release.  He was also given the weird armor from Patch, which isn’t a good fit for the body, or particularly great just as an accessory, but it sure is here.

Pairing off with this Wolverine was another go at Lady Deathstrike, previously seen in the Battle Brigade assortment.  She had two different decos there, but gets yet another here.  She stands 5 1/4 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation.  Her sculpt’s, uh, well, her sculpt’s not great.  I mean, I guess it’s not terrible, but it’s definitely not great.  I mean, all the important details are there, but the proportions are kinda wonky, and it’s really stiff.  It’s got those v-hips, and that’s pretty much never any fun for anyone.  For some reason, her forearms and hands are really soft and rubbery as well, and I’ve got no clue as to why.  Perhaps they were a safety hazard if cast in hard plastic?  She’s also got a radically changed color scheme, and I’m not really sure what it’s going for.  She’s pretty much only had the one color scheme in the comics, so this is an odd choice.  It’s also not very cleanly applied, and still feels kind of tacky in a number of places.  She gets the infrared headset and forearm cannon from the original Deathstrike release, but loses out on the big gross claw.  Also included in this set is a metal X-Men ring, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into.

In 2000, things began winding down for the 5-inch line.  To somewhat tie-in with the X-Men movie and the subsequent re-runs of the cartoon on Fox, Toy Biz put together a brief line of repaints and re-issues for the 5-inch figures.  There were three series of single-packed figures, and three different two-packs as well.  Wolverine and Sabretooth, whose rivalry was highlighted in the film, paired off for one of the sets.  The Wolverine figure in this set is essentially just a straight re-issue of the Wolverine included in the Power Slammers Series, one of the two Wolvies released in 1998 (a year I’ve pretty much skipped today). The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  While the Rogue and Gambit figures that accompanied this Wolverine figure in his original series were based on the Shi’ar attire they were wearing in the comics at the time, Wolverine had no such attire, so Toy Biz just sort of made up something to loosely match them, I suppose.  It’s not one of my favorite designs, and looks more like a snowboarding suit than something Wolverine would wear.  The sculpt is at least a relatively decent one, with a fair bit of detailing mixed in and a reasonable set of prioportions.  They even kept the pre-posing to a minimum.  It’s really just the costume design that’s whacky.  The original release came with a power slammer contraption, but this one instead gets the splitting door accessory from the Battle Ravaged Wolverine figure.

Packed in with Wolvie was a variant of Sabretooth.  Like Wolverine, the core figure is essentially the same as a prior figure, specifically the Sabretooth from 1997’s Ninja Series.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  His sculpt is suitably large and imposing, something prior Sabretooths hadn’t quite gotten down.  He’s also fairly well articulated, and generally looked as being the best general Sabretooth sculpt of the 5-inch days, despite being such a non-standard design.  He gets him some Wolverine hair (making it a little surprising that this figure was never repainted into Logan), and sort of a onesie.  It’s perhaps not as intimidating a look as his sheer size would tend to hint at, but then again, Sabretooth has never really had much of a sense of fashion.  This figure’s paint is largely unchanged from his single-pack, but he did get white boots in place of the original silver ones.  He gets the two pieces of clip-on armor from the Ninja release, but lacks that figure’s mask and tunic.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, this last round of figures is pretty much all made up of figures that were on the chopping block when I was briefly considering *not* getting every figure I didn’t have from the collection at All Time.  I of course then came to my senses and realized how silly I was being not just filling in the set outright.  That said, this is definitely the weakest selection, with some kind of uninspired repaints, some really goofy toy-original designs that just don’t quite land, and a strangely not artist-specific take on an artist-specific concept.  Nothing here’s as terrible as, say Battle Blasters Wolverine, but none of its as fun as Unleashed or Missile Flyers.

Thanks to All Time Toys for setting me up with these guys to review.  If you’re looking for other cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay Store.