Tag Archives: Toy Biz

#1580: Storm

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

STORM

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Super-villains have learned that this co-leader of the X-Men is perhaps the most dangerous X-Man of all because Storm has the amazing mutant power to control weather! With a quick mental command, Storm can create anything from a simple summer shower to a raging hurricane. By raising her arms she can command the winds to carry her anywhere. She is a master of unarmed combat, though she prefers to use lightning bolts and wind to stun and disarm super-villains.”

When launching their X-Men line in the ‘90s, Toy Biz jumped right into the thick of it, covering some of the most popular team members right off the bat.  Naturally, Storm, one of the very best known X-Men for quite some time now, found her way into that initial set, for better or for worse.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This particular Storm figure had a handful of releases.  She was originally released in Series 1 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line, wearing the black costume from the top of this review.   She was then part of the 1993 re-paint assortment, where she was done up in silver.  Then, in 95, she got another release, this time in white, as part of the X-Men: Classics assortment designed to tie-in with the Animated Series.  Regardless of color scheme, all three versions of Storm stand just shy of 5 inches tall and have 8 points of articulation.  Storm’s not really all that posable, thanks to the slightly wonky layout of the articulation.  Not only does she have the dreaded v-hips, she’s also got a rather similar scheme to her shoulders, plus her neck is rendered motionless by her light-up feature.  The actual quality of the sculpt is rather on the rudimentary side, as was the case with all of the Series 1 X-Men figures.  She’s wearing her Jim Lee-designed leather outfit, which was current for the time, and has the benefit of being rather stiff and squared off by its very nature.  This masks some of the stiffness of the sculpt, I suppose.  Still, it’s hardly the best Storm that Toy Biz put out.  As this figure was re-released, she slowly acquired more and more cape.  The original release has no cape (which would make Edna happy).  The silver gets a more wispy sort of a thing, and the last release finally gets a proper cape, much more true to her comics design.  There were three different paint schemes for this figure, with pretty much the same application across the board, apart from the main base color of the plastic.  The application is generally pretty simplistic on all three of them, but it works.  The white and silver ones both have an extra bit of yellow detailing, which offers some more pop, I suppose.  All three figures include the same light-up feature, which illuminates the lighting bolt on her chest.  They also all three include a lightning bolt piece that can be held in her hand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got these three at various different times, none of them during my childhood.  The white one was the first one, picked up during my 5-inch renaissance back in 2011.  As the latest, I think that’s the best of the three.  The other two were both picked up in the last year, as I set out on my quest to complete my 5-inch X-Men collection.  They’re not terribly different, and unless you’re crazy like me, I don’t suppose there’s much reason to own all three.

#1577: Dark Nemesis

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DARK NEMESIS

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“A survivor from a parallel Earth ruled by the evil Apocalypse, Dark Nemesis now seeks to take over the world of the X-Men. Hoping to start his empire with the Nation of Japan, Dark Nemesis enlists the other-worldly space ninja Deathbird and her advance Sh’ar technology for his plot. With a mind-controlled ninja Sabretooth enforcing Dark Nemesis’s will even Ninja Wolverine and Ninja Psylocke may not survive against his unbelievable power.”

Today, I fully intended to review the Wolfenstein II Terror Billy figure.  It’s been on the schedule for a couple weeks, and everything.  So, why am I not reviewing Billy?  Well, see, Monday night, I dropped my camera and broke it beyond repair….Yeah, wasn’t a great evening.  I’ve got a replacement on the way, but in the mean time, I’m back to reviewing stuff I’ve already got pictures of on hand.  Dark Nemesis just happened to be one such figure, so tangerine jelly bean over here gets reviewed today.  Woo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dark Nemesis was released during Toy Biz’s ‘90s X-Men line.  He was in the eighteenth series of the line, which was inexplicably ninja-themed.  Which apparently was the perfect assortment for Dark Nemesis, cuz he’s always been so tied to the whole ninja thing, right?  It’s worth noting that this character got a name-change from comics to toy.  In the comics, he’s called “Holocaust,” which was rightfully deemed a bit much for a line of toys aimed at children.  So, instead, he was given his pre-Horseman of Apocalypse monicker of “Nemesis” plus the Dark descriptor.  Because the kids dig dark, or whatever.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He gets no elbow movement (which was fairly standard for figures of this build), and due his design also has no neck movement, so he’s a little bit on the stiff side.  But, then, the character was never super mobile either, so it’s not too terrible, truth be told.  His sculpt was unique to him, and it’s a fairly decent recreation of Nemesis’ oh-so-dated design.  I like the internal skeleton thing a lot, and the whole clear plastic construction in general is pretty cool.  They’ve also played down some of the more  crazy aspects of the design, which was probably a step in the right direction.  In terms of paint, a lot of the design relies on the previously mentioned clear plastic, bit he’s got a healthy helping of red accent work, which does a pretty astoundingly good job of capturing Nemesis’ admittedly unique color scheme.  There’s a very cool energy effect, which I think really helps him to pop.  Dark Nemesis is packed with one accessory: a projectile-launching staff.  It’s not really something the character was known for, nor does it really fit the ninja theme of the assortment.  Odd choice.  I guess it’s better than nothing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite actually being familiar with the character around the time this figure was released (I knew him from his appearances in X-Man), I didn’t get this guy new.  In fact, I only just got him in Novemeber.  I found him loose at House of Fun, and grabbed him to help complete my 5-inch X-Men collection.  He’s not the most playable figure, but he’s still pretty fun, and he certainly looks unique on the shelf.

#1574: Falcon

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

FALCON

MARVEL’S GOLD (TOY BIZ)

You know, there’s a surprising backlog of Falcon action figures.  Though the general public didn’t know him until his appearance in The Winter Soldier in 2014, he’s still made an appearance in just about every prominent style of Marvel figures.  Under Toy Biz’s reign, he appeared not once, but twice as 5-inch figure.  His second of those figures is the one I’ll be looking at today.  And awaaaaaay we go!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon was one of the 11 figures in Toy Biz’s specialty store-exclusive  Marvel’s Gold line.  Falcon was one of the later figures in the line-up.  The big deal with this particular figure was his return to the classic design, since the prior Falcon figure was based on his design from the short-lived Avengers: United They Stand show.  The figure stands 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 20 points of articulation.  He was built on the same body as the Spider-Man line’s Daredevil.  This was definitely one of Toy Biz’s best bodies, and it’s a shame they didn’t start using it earlier into the Marvel’s Gold run, as I think Moon Knight would have been much better had they used this base.  Regardless, I’m glad it was used here.  Also re-used are Falcon’s wings, which also come from the Spider-Man line, specifically from Vulture.  They’re a bit more metallic and stylized than Falcon’s usually are, but they get the job done.   At this point in the line, Toy Biz had moved past the pure re-use that was going on at the start, so Falcon got a “new” head sculpt.  I say “new” because it’s technically re-used from the Famous Covers Falcon, albeit shrunk down a bit.  That was one of the best FC sculpts, and it still looks great shrunk down for this figure, especially given the higher depth of detail allowed.  Perhaps the only disappointing part of the sculpt is the fringe at the edge of his legs.  They’re essentially just a sticker, and it’s really lazy and obvious.  I think he would have looked better if those had just been left off.  The paint on Falcon is respectable, but not without its issues.  The basic colors work well, and the accenting on the reds looks pretty solid.  That being said, the actual application is rather messy, especially on the edges of the vest.  Falcon is packed with his trusty sidekick Redwing, as well as a glove with a perch for Redwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Falcon was a rather recent acquisition, picked up from the NJ-based House of Fun this past November.  It’s a figure I’ve wanted for a little while, so I was glad to find him.  He’s definitely one of the best offerings Toy Biz had from this particular line, and he’s just one of the better Falcon figures out there in general.

#1551: Sasquatch & Vindicator

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SASQUATCH & VINDICATOR

ALPHA FLIGHT (TOY BIZ)

“Dr. Walter Langkowski was content with his quiet, fairly normal life as a college physics professor. That was before his insatiable curiosity regarding the effects of gamma radiation upon the human body led him to accidentally transform himself into the mighty Sasquatch! Standing at nearly ten feet tall, covered with orange fur and able to lift nearly 70 tons, Sasquatch is a physical powerhouse of superhuman strength. Led by electromagnetically charged Vindicator, Sasquatch serves Canada as a member of its foremost group of super heroes: Alpha Flight. Together, Alpha Flight fights to protect Canada and the world from the forces of evil.”

Okay, so there’s a bio for one of the two figures in the set, with like a passing mention for the other one.  Kind of an odd choice.  The combined bio thing worked better for Northstar and Aurora.  Here it feels awkward, right? Also, it’s worth noting that the use of just the “Vindicator” name with no pronouns or anything means it could technically be referring to either James or Heather.  Perhaps Toy Biz hadn’t decided which of the Vindicators was going to be included yet when the text was written?  Come to think of it, Vindicator’s not even in the illustration on the top of the box like all the others are.  It’s just Sasquatch.  Weird.  Well, I’m still gonna review them both.  Here we go.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Sasquatch and Vindicator were one of the three two-packs that made up the first (and only) series of Toy Biz’s Alpha Flight line from 1998.

SASQUATCH

Gonna be honest, I didn’t actually know all that much about Sasquatch until that bio up there.  He’s one of the most prominent members of the team in terms of toy representation, with this figure, a Minimate, and TWO Marvel Legends.  He’s rivaled only by Puck in terms of representation.  That’s not bad for what essentially translates to Canadian Hulk.  This figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  He’s a little smaller than Sasquatch tends to be depicted in the comics (where he frequently falls into the 8-10 ft range), but he’s still noticeably taller than the rest of his teammates, which is really the important thing in all of this.  Though his head is a separate piece from the torso, the nature of the neck and hair design is such that there’s no actual motion, an issue that would crop up on most of Sasquatch’s future figures.  Sasquatch’s sculpt was new to him (though it would be re-used for the Dark Side line’s Man-Thing figure not too long after), and it’s not a bad piece of work.  It matches pretty well with depictions of him over the years.  There’s some pretty great work  on the texturing, showing Toy Biz’z slow improvement over time that would eventually lead to the likes of Marvel Legends.  In terms of paint, Sasquatch is actually a bit better than you might expect.  TB could have gone the easy route and just done straight orange, but instead they’ve actually done quite a bit of accenting on the musculature and such, which looks pretty great.  Sasquatch has no accessories, though if you want to get technical, the way the packaging is laid out I suppose you could consider Vindicator his accessory…but that makes me uncomfortable.

VINDICATOR

This is actually the second time I’ve looked at a figure of Heather Hudson as Vindicator, in the same costume no less!  After this, I’ll have reviewed 100% of the Heather Hudson figures ever made.  Yay?  Like the Minimate, this figure depicts Heather wearing her (then) deceased husband Mac’s Guardian/Vindicator costume.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and she has 12 points of articulation.  Vindicator premiered this particular body, but it went on to serve as the basis of a number of other female figures, including the previously reviewed Bloodstorm figure.  It was a decent enough body for Heather, though it has a little bit of difficulty staying standing.  Her head is re-used from the Marvel Collector Editions Jean Grey figure, which isn’t the best sculpt Toy Biz ever put out, but at the same time, the head’s hardly the worst part of the original figure.  Plus, there’s a visor added to it, which helps to mask some of the weirder parts of the original piece.  The hair is still rooted, which isn’t super ideal in this scale, but it could be worse.  The paint work on this figure isn’t quite as interesting as with Sasquatch, but it gets the job done.  The edges are a bit fuzzy, but  for the time not bad.  Like Sasquatch, she includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Unlike the previously reviewed Northstar and Aurora, I didn’t get this pair new.  I saw them many times at retail, but wasn’t familiar enough with the characters to really be drawn in.  I ended up picking up over this past summer, loose, from Yesterday’s Fun.  Vindicator’s just okay.  Not anything really special or anything.  Sasquatch on the other hand, is actually pretty awesome, and I’m glad I finally got one.  Now, I’ll just need to find Puck and Snowbird.

#1530: Avalanche

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AVALANCHE

X-FORCE (TOY BIZ)

“A mutant with the ability to control earth and rock, Avalanche’s powers earned him a place in the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants! Now operating largely on his own, or in the company of his allies, the Blob and Pyro, Avalanche strikes not so much out of hatred for normal humans, but from a desire to make a profit!”

Back in the ‘90s, the X-Men were super hot, and by, extension, the various X-Men spin-offs were super hot.  X-Force, the spawn of everyone’s favorite artist Rob Liefeld, was inexplicably successful, but only the actual team seemed to get real notoriety.  The villains were mostly forgettable, however, so for the toyline Toy Biz borrowed a few classic X-Men baddies, including today’s focus character, Avalanche!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Avalanche was released in Series 5 of Toy Biz’s X-Force toyline.  He was the second of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants figures featured in this particular line, following Pyro.  Seeing how the two of them were a semi-recurrent pair on X-Men: The Animated Series, it was a pretty sensible inclusion, I suppose.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  He got extra disk joints on his hips, which I guess was kind of nice.  It does seem a little bit odd that Avalanche of all people got extra special articulation, but I’m not gonna fight it.  HIs sculpt was all new to this particular figure, and it was fairly decent for the era.  The proportions are a little exaggerated, obviously, but given that he was in the X-Force line, it’s actually fairly balanced.  There articulation could perhaps be worked in a bit better, but it’s not awful.  The details of the costume are pretty clean, and I do like the intensity of the expression on what we can see of his face.  It’s a bit of a shame that his helmet is permanently affixed, since he had it off rather frequently on the cartoon, but it looks good, and that’s ultimately the most important thing.  Avalanche’s paintwork is fairly standard, mostly silver and blue.  It looks decent enough, though it’s perhaps not the most thrilling color scheme.  Avalanche was originally packed with an “Exploding Rock Platform” which demonstrated his powers via action feature.  My figure was purchased loose, however, so he doesn’t include this piece. [EDIT 02/2026 — Now he does! Check out this figure’s Flashback Friday Figure Addendum, here!]

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Avalanche is a rather recent addition to my ‘90s Marvel collection, picked up over the summer from Yesterday’s Fun.  They had a number of old X-Men figures, and this was one I kept meaning to grab, but never got around to.  He’s a pretty decent figure of a character I admittedly don’t have a ton of attachment to.  Nevertheless, I’m happy to have him, and he brings me one step closer to completing this collection.

#1509: Incredible Hulk

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INCREDIBLE HULK

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

“When the Incredible Hulk gets angry he can effortlessly bend steel bars, crush boulders and cause criminals to head for the hills as fast as they can! To demonstrate the Incredible Hulk’s awesome might, place the steel bar or boulder in his hands, press the lever in his back and watch the bar bend almost double and the boulder break apart.”

The Hulk, unlike his other MCU compatriots, hasn’t only recently come to fame.  In fact, he’s one of Marvel’s earlier success stories, thanks in no small part to the Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno led live action series from the ‘70s.  Despite the success of his first foray into media outside of comics, he’s had something of a rough time since then.  Nevertheless, he’s remained a major Marvel player for most of Marvel’s time in the spot light.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of his earlier action figures, and his very first by long-time Marvel toy producers, Toy Biz!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hulk was released in the very first series of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line.  The figure’s a bit smaller for a Hulk figure, standing right at 5 inches tall.  He’s got 7-ish points of articulation, depending on how you count the shoulder joints.  Theoretically, there’s some extra movement granted by the action feature, but you can’t really get them to stay in any given position.  This Hulk is definitely most inspired by the Hulk of the ‘70s; his hair is the real give-away there.  The sculpt is actually one of the better Hulks put out by Toy Biz.  The proportions are more balanced than a lot of Hulks, and the details, especially on the head, are nice and sharp.  I also find myself really liking the hands, and if you can get me to notice the quality of the hands, that’s a good sign.  Hulk’s paintwork is fairly standard.  He’s mostly just molded in the appropriate shade of green.  It’s a little bright for my taste, but not terribly so.  The rest of the work is fairly straight forward, but it’s pretty clean overall.  I do wish there was at least some accenting going on with the pants and stuff, but it all works.  Hulk included a “metal” bar to hold and bend with his action feature, a piece which my figure is missing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is a figure I always admired on the hardbacks of my various Toy Biz figures and the like.  I always wanted one, but his release was just before I started collecting, so I never saw him in person.  I finally ended up getting him just over this past summer, loose from Yesterday’s Fun.  He’s slightly goofy, just like the rest of the Marvel Super Heroes figures, but I still really, really like him.  I’m happy to have finally added him to my collection.  Possibly my favorite Hulk, despite his rather humble nature.

#1475: Mary Jane

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

MARY JANE

SPIDER-MAN: THE MOVIE (TOY BIZ)

Back in the day, when super hero movies actually got dedicated toy lines at mass retail, one of the nicer things they offered were figures of some of the less dynamic members of their supporting casts.  Perhaps one of the best examples of this is the toy line for 2000’s Spider-Man film, which gave us figures of J. Jonah Jameson, Norman Osborne, and today’s focus figure, Mary Jane Watson!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mary Jane was released in Series 2 of Toy Biz’s Spider-Man: The Movie toy line, alongside variants of Spider-Man and Green Goblin, as well as a Peter Parker.  She’s seen here in her red dress she wears during the first movie’s World Unity Festival scene.  While it’s not necessarily a definitive look for her, it’s easily the most distinctive look from the movie, and more exciting than her others.  The figure stands a little under 6 inches tall and she has 10 points of articulation.  Though many of the figures in this line were super-posable, MJ was on the lower end, more on par with the X-Men: The Movie figures.  Like those figures, there’s not a ton of poses possible, but you can get at least a little bit of variety out of her.  The sculpt was unique to this figure, and it’s actually pretty good for the time.  The proportions are still a little bit exaggerated, and the articulation isn’t integrated as flawlessly as I might like, but it looks solid overall.  The detail work on the dress is actually pretty nice, and the likeness on the head isn’t a half-bad Kirsten Dunst.  The paintwork on MJ is pretty solid overall, apart from a few small nits.  The skin’s a little pasty, and the face is a bit sloppy, but the work on the dress is nothing short of amazing.  It definitely makes this figure worthwhile.  MJ is packed with a section of balcony, which is meant to work as a stand, I suppose.  There’s no foot pegs or anything, and it’s only really stable if you’ve got a window to mount it on, but it’s still a pretty cool piece.  There’s a breakaway feature, allowing it to split, not unlike the damage seen in the movie.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

17 years ago, I picked up this figure in a Toy Zain toystore.  She was rarer at the time, so I almost got her, but she was also $7.99, which was a $2 mark-up from the usual going rate, and I just didn’t know if she was worth it to me.  So, I didn’t get her.  And then I didn’t really see her again, until a few weeks ago, when Cosmic Comix put her out, as one of the many figures they’d gotten as part of a larger collection.  The price?  $7.99.  Nowadays, that’s not so bad, and I was hardly going to leaver her behind again.  She’s actually not a bad little figure, certainly not for the time. 

#1467: Rogue

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

ROGUE

X-MEN: THE MOVIE (TOY BIZ)

“The genetic abilities of the young drifter known as Rogue are both a blessing and a curse. The young mutant has the power to absorb the memories and powers of others through the slightest touch, but because she has no control over this talent, she must keep even those she cares for at a distance. She first met Wolverine when he saved her from an attacking angry mob and feels a special kinship with him because she once used her powers to absorb his mutant healing factor and memories in order to save her life. As a result, she understands why the mysterious loner has such a troubled soul.”

For 2000’s X-Men movie, Rogue was somewhat refitted into a focal point character, through whom the audience could be more easily introduced to the titular team of mutants.  Since it’s not a role the character had previously filled, she was refitted with some traits from the last two characters to fill this role, Kitty Pryde and Jubilee, which ended up making her a little less Rogue-like.  Still, she got to be a very central figure in on of the franchise’s most visible offerings, so it’s hardly the worst thing ever, right?  And she got toys out of the deal, which is always a win in my book.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rogue was released in Series 2 of Toy Biz’s X-Men: The Movie tie-in line of figures.  The first two series of the line were actually released simultaneously, something Toy Biz did with a few lines at the time.  The figure stands 5 1/2 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Most of that articulation is rendered essentially inert, thanks to some very low range of motion.  The neck has the hair to contend with, the cuffs of the jeans restrict the feet, and the hips are v-hips that are so shallow they barely even count as v-hips.  Essentially, she’s good for standing, and that’s about it.  Oh, and she can also wave her arms around.  That’s fun!  The sculpt was an all-new venture, and it’s decent enough for the time, I guess.  The body seems a little skinny for Anna Paquin, and the head doesn’t really look all that much like her, but it’s decent enough from a purely aesthetic standpoint.  She looks like an actual person, which is always a good thing.  The paint work is passable, if maybe a little basic for a figure that’s supposedly based on a real person.  There’s at least some fun detailing on her blouse and undershirt.  She’s got a streak of white in her hair, showing that she’s supposed to be from the end of the movie.  It’s only in the final film ever so briefly, and even the prototype didn’t have it, but one can certainly understand why Toy Biz would want Rogue to have at least one recognizable trait.  Rouge included an overcoat and scarf, both cloth, which completed her look from the film.  They were both rather over-sized and goofy, but better than nothing, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After rushing out to get Cyclops and Jean Grey when they were first released, I patiently waited for my 8th birthday to get the rest of the line.  Rogue was near the top of my list, but she and Toad were both short-packed, meaning they weren’t found for my actual birthday.  However, I did get a little money, which I immediately took to the nearest Toys R Us, where I found both Rogue and Toad in one fell swoop.  Nifty! Rogue is perhaps not the most thrilling figure, but she’s a pretty solid standard civilian, and you don’t get many of those.

#1458: The Thing

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THE THING

FANTASTIC FOUR (TOY BIZ)

“Ace test pilot Ben Grimm found his life was forever changed after a fateful trip on an untried spacecraft. Exposure to cosmic rays caused Grimm to evolve into a hulking, brutally strong creature, with a thick, orange, rock-like hide. Dubbing himself The Thing, Grimm, along with Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch, and the Invisible Woman, decided to make the most of his transformation and aid humanity by becoming a valued member of the Fantastic Four. His unbelievable strength and endurance, combined with his bravery, loyalty and innate kindness make The Thing one of the most heroic humans ever to walk the Earth!”

Almost exactly four years ago, I spent several of my earliest reviews on this site looking at six of the seven figures in the first series of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line from the ’90s.  I didn’t review the seventh because he was the only one I didn’t own.  Now I own him, and so now, after four years, I’m completing my reviews of Fantastic Four Series 1.  Let’s look at Benjamin J Grimm, aka the ever-lovin’-blue-eyed-Thing!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

As touched on in the intro, the Thing is one of the seven figures in Series 1 of Toy Biz’s Fantastic Four line, based on the cartoon from the mid-90s.  Ben, like the rest of the titular team, is wearing a variant of his John Byrne-designed costume from the ’80s.  It’s a standard look, and was his main look in the cartoon, so it made sense here.  The figure stands about 5 1/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  This version of Ben was sporting an all-new sculpt, which was only ever used for this one figure (barring a few direct re-releases).  Unlike later Thing figures from this line, this guy wasn’t directly based on the cartoon, and as such presents a slightly more detailed take on the character.  I think this may be the best sculpted Thing figure that Toy Biz ever released, quite frankly.  It’s really very good.  There’s a ton of detailing on his rocky skin, he’s got just the right build, and they even managed to very nicely convey Ben’s attitude on the face.  What’s more, the belt on his shorts even has little wrinkles and some stretching, which is an awesome touch.  Comparing this figure to something like Mole Man, who is from the very same series as this figure mind you, is like night and day.  Whoever sculpted this guy had a fun time.  Now, I’m not going to say that the paint ruins this figure, because it certainly doesn’t, but there’s a definite step down from the sculpt to the paint.  There’s paint for the eyes, the belt, and the shorts.  That’s it.  The rest is all the same shade of molded orange plastic.  That was Toy Biz’s style at the time.  That was the style of action figures in general at the time.  And it doesn’t ruin the figure.  But this sculpt would look a ton better with even the tiniest bit of accent work.  The Thing included no accessories, but he does have a “Clobberin’ Time Punh” action feature: when you turn him at the waist, his arms swing up and down. Fairly standard for this era of figures, but I like that it adds a little something to the figure without risk of ruining the sculpt or posability.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Growing up, my main version of Ben was the trench coat-wearing variant from Series 3, so I never had this one.  I’ve been on the lookout for one for a few years now, but it was never a really a search I put a ton of effort into.  This year at Shore Leave, one of the vendors I buy from pretty regularly had gotten in a stock of new loose figures, and thrown some of the more beaten-up figures into the dollar bin.  I was mostly happy meal toys, knock-offs, and the like, but I did dig this guy out.  He was covered in god-knows-what, but I figured it was worth it to grab him and see what sort of condition he was in.  So, I got him home, and I sat down with my cleaning supplies, and after about a half an hour or so, I had a Thing figure that was in pretty great shape.  And now my Series 1 set is complete.  For a dollar.  Not bad.

#1456: Annihilus

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

ANNIHILUS

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

“Power mad is the only word that can describe the flying nightmare known as Annihilus. He’s not satisfied being the merciless ruler of his own dimension, the bizarre Negative Zone – he wants to be the tyrant of Earth’s universe too! And because he carries the near-limitless force of the awesome Cosmic Control Rod on his chest, he has the power to make his wicked dream a reality! Only the Fantastic Four have been able to block his nightmarish plans of conquest.”

The foes of the Fantastic Four don’t ever seem to get much respect.  Beyond Doctor Doom and Galactus, it’s like they don’t exist.  And that’s a shame, because the FF have a lot of really fun villains.  One such villain is Annihilus, the ruler of the Phantom Zone.  Annihilus has had a few different figures over the years, but he got his very first in 1992, in what was effectively luck of the draw.  I’ll be looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Annihilus was released in Series 3 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line.  Series 3 included Toy Biz’s first versions of the Fantastic Four, and they needed a villain to go along with them.  However, Doctor Doom had already been released in Series 1, meaning TB needed another villain.  Why they chose Annihilus is anyone’s guess.  Perhaps they just thought he had the coolest design?  Who knows?  Annihilus is seen here sporting his classic design, which I believe was still the only one he had at the time of this figure’s release.  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  Like most of the others from this line, Annihilus’s sculpt is rather dated, and looks a little out of place with more modern items, or even figures from just a few years later in TB’s run.  The details are a little more simplified, and, most noticeably, he’s really scrawny.  This was a recurring issue, after Toy Biz moved away from the slightly stockier figures of the first two series, where everyone went too far the other direction.  I don’t believe Annihilus has ever been quite this small.  It should be noted, though, that this is still not a bad sculpt.  There’s some nice work on some of the smaller details, especially on the head, which looks good for the time, if perhaps a little goofy in this day and age.  Though jiust how they’d be handled on later figures would vary, the wings on this Annihilus are permanently affixed to the figure, and much like the original Toy Biz Archangel, there’s a wing-flapping action feature that’s operated by the little lever on the back.  It doesn’t offer a ton of motion, and the wings are sort of small and silly, but it’s a mildly amusing little feature.  Paint on Annihilus is fairly simple.  Mostly, he’s just molded in the proper colors, with only a few actual painted details, which are all just straight colors.  It’s hardly inaccurate to his original design, though, so it’s hard to really complain.  Perhaps some metallics would have added some flair, but beyond that, this feels decent enough. Annihilus included no accessories, but he’s got the wings, so that’s at least something.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t have this figure growing up.  Instead, I had the later one from the main Fantastic Four line.  Unfortunately, that one had a removable head, and I lost mine, so I’ve been without a proper Annihilus for a little while.  I’m slowly working my way to getting a complete run of Toy Biz 5-inch figures, so I grabbed this guy at the Dave Hart Toy Show this past summer, in an effort to get one step closer to my goal. He’s sort of a goofy little figure. There’s no denying that.  But, he’s still entertaining, and that’s really all I look for in an action figure.