Tag Archives: Walgreens Exclusive

#3246: Man-Thing & Spyder-Knight

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

MAN-THING & SPYDER-KNIGHT

MARVEL MINIMATES

As one of Disney’s main focuses when it first launched, Ultimate Spider-Man makes up a large part of the early Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates assortments.  It’s not that hard to see why, since it gave them plenty of free reign to do all sorts of Spidey variants, especially with the show running its own take on “Spider-Verse” at the time, as well as still supporting a sizeable stable of other supporting players from around the Marvel Universe.  It certainly made for some interesting pairings.  One of those pairings was Man-Thing and Spyder-Knight, whom I’ll be taking a look at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Man-Thing and Spyder-Knight were released in Series 2.5 of Walgreens’ Marvel Minimates run.  This marked the last half-series before that rather odd concept was abandoned for standard numbering schemes.  Both figures in this pack are based on their appearances on the Ultimate Spider-Man show.

MAN-THING

“Man-Thing is a member of SHIELD’s Howling Commandos. This ‘big guy,’ overwhelms the enemy with his plant-based powers.”

It’s Ted!  He’s suddenly all relevant and stuff!  Awesome!  When the Walgreens-exclusive sets first launched, DST ran a fan-poll, designed to utilize the more obscure guest characters from the animated shows in order to grant unmade characters their first chance at ‘mate-dom.  The winners of said poll were Man-Thing and the previously-reviewed Squirrel Girl, who were both split up and thrown in with a respective Spidey variant for their troubles.  Hey, at least they got made.  This guy was built with the standard ‘mate body at his core, so he’s about 2 1/2 inches tall (thanks to the various add-ons) and he’s technically still got the 14 points of articulation, though he can’t actually make use of most of the joints because of his construction.  He makes use of 10 add-on pieces, with a unique head/torso cover, as well as the bulked-up parts for his shoulders, hands, thighs, and feet, and a torso extender piece.  This allows the figure to maintain Man-Thing’s larger stature.  It also means disposing of the standard head entirely, so there’s that.  The new torso and head does a solid job of recreating Man-Thing’s comics look, especially with the face and the texturing of the shoulders.  The rest of the parts don’t have any sculpted elements, but it ultimately works out alright.  The paint work on the figure is largely just the same drab green, with a little bit of accenting and just a little but of line work on the limbs.  It’s not a lot, but it’s enough to get his design down well.  Man-Thing is packed with a clear display stand.

SPYDER-KNIGHT

“A Spider-Man from medieval universe, this vigilante protects the town of York. He wears a suit of armor with retractable wrist blades.”

Spyder-Knight was a new creation for Ultimate Spider-Man, though he made use of a concept that had been floating around prior to the cartoon’s use of it.  He’s got non-standard upper arms and a new set of gauntlets.  With the add-ons only on the arms, he does wind up a little bit simian in his appearance.  I don’t think it’s quite what they were going for.  My figure has both of his gauntlets fused to the arms, so they can’t be posed or removed, which is kind of a bummer.  The paint work also seems surprisingly drab in its color scheme, but I guess after looking at screen caps, that’s just how he’s supposed to look.  The line work is at least pretty sharp, so there’s that.  Spyder-Knight is packed with an alternate gauntlet with a wrist blade, which my figure can’t actually use due to the previously mentioned issue with the gauntlets not being removable, as well as a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The distribution on the exclusives was kind of a mess early on for these, so despite this pack being released in 2016, I didn’t actually find one of these in-store until early 2018, when things really started getting out there.  Man-Thing’s one time as a Minimate turned out pretty well.  The animated stylings mean that he doesn’t have as in-depth a sculpt, but I actually prefer him that way.  Spyder-Knight wasn’t the reason I was buying the set, and he’s not particularly that good either.  He’s kind of just a space filler.

#3241: Thor & Nighthawk

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

THOR & NIGHTHAWK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Early in the run of Walgreens taking their own exclusive sets of Minimates, everything was completely animation based, drawing from Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble, and Guardians of the Galaxy.  While this meant there was a lot of re-hashing of the heavy hitters in their animated designs, it also allowed DST to sneak in a few lower tier characters with animated appearances who had not yet shown up in the main line.  Avengers Assemble‘s inclusion of the Squadron Supreme in particular was taken advantage of, giving us a whole line-up of those wacky not-the-Justice-League guys.  Today, I’m looking at one of those Squadron-inspired sets.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Thor and Nighthawk were released in Series 2.5 of Walgreens’ exclusive Marvel Minimates.  Yes, there’s a .5 in there.  For some reason, the first four assortments at Walgreens used the half-series numbering.  They abandoned it after this one, presumably because it was just kind of confusing.

THOR

“The Prince of Asgard, where magic and science are the same, Thor uses his hammer, Mjolnir, to protect Earth as an Avenger.”

Slowly bust surely, DST pieced out the animated versions of the core Avengers, intermixed with their alternate universe “Dark Avengers” counterparts.  Thor’s Dark version came first in Series 2, and the standard followed shortly after.  The figure is based on the standard post-c3 base body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Thor gets three add-on pieces, for his helmet/hair, cape, and belt.  The cape is re-used from the DCD Superman, while the helmet and belt were first used for the Dark Thor in the prior assortment.  It’s a clean set of pieces that match up well with the character’s animated appearance, and sit well on the base body.  The paint work on this figure is pretty solid.  It’s clean and simple, and it works well for the aesthetic they were aiming to capture.  He looks like the animation models, but also still fits in alright with the pre-established line.  Thor was packed with Mjolnir, a flight stand, and a display stand.

NIGHTHAWK

“Disguised as SHIELD Agent Kyle Richmond, Nighthawk secretly paved the way for the arrival of the corrupt Squadron Supreme.”

Despite his mainstream counterpart bouncing around amongst a number of teams and not being *absurdly* obscure, Nighthawk was not able to get any ‘mate coverage until he showed up in animation.  I suppose it’s not the worst thing.  On the plus side, his animated counterpart kept the character’s classic costume design, so he can at least pull double duty very easily.  Nighthawk’s got two add-ons, one for his mask, and the other for his cape.  The headpiece is just the standard full-face mask, while the cape is an all-new one.  While I would have liked to see a proper sculpted piece on the mask, it’s a simple enough that the full-face set-up doesn’t look too terrible, and if it was either the mask or the cape, they definitely made the right choice.  The cape is really nicely handled, and sits quite well on the figure’s shoulders.  Nighthawk’s paint work is clean, colorful, and a good half step between the animation and the comics, which I certainly appreciate.  There’s a full face under the mask, and he’s also got an extra hair piece (borrowed from BttF‘s Doc Brown) to show it off.  He also includes a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m gonna be honest, I don’t actually recall exactly how I got this set.  It was probably at a Walgreens, but it’s also entirely possible I got it second hand because I just really wanted the Nighthawk figure, and there was enough weirdness with the early Walgreens exclusives that I don’t remember exactly how these particular chips fell.  I do recall being excited about Nighthawk, but also kind of meh on another Thor.  Ultimately, Thor’s not terrible, and I don’t hate having him, but he’s certainly not the draw.  Nighthawk has to make due with the re-used head piece, but he’s otherwise really great, and I’m glad they were able to work him into the line one way or another.

#3178: Nova

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

NOVA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Chosen by the last surviving member of an elite intergalactic defense force, Richard Rider ascends from humble origins to continue the battle as Nova.”

Remember all that stuff yesterday’s intro had to say about Nova and his background both in the comics and in the real world?  Cool, that’s super handy, because it makes this intro way easier.  I mean, apart from me not really having much unique or exciting to say.  Oh no.  I’ve become my own worst enemy.  I’ve…I’ve written myself out of a job.  Well, a hobby, I guess.  And I can just go meta for a few sentences until I make it to the review proper.  So, in the end, it doesn’t even matter.  Or perhaps something less emo than that.  I mean, we’re talking about Nova here; let’s try to be at least a little bit cheery, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nova is a Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Legends release, who dropped last year…theoretically.  He was the second in Walgreens’ 2021 line-up of cosmically-themed characters, following on the tails of their “The Fallen One” Silver Surfer variant.  This marked Richard Rider’s third time in Legends form, after the figure I looked at yesterday, and the one from the first Guardians tie-in assortment in 2014.  While the 2014 release brought him up to more modern standards in figure-making, it also did so in his modern costume.  This figure instead updates the classic costume from the first release to the current level.  I like that.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Nova is built on the Bucky Cap body at his core, though he winds up with a lot of new parts.  The head and upper torso are the obviously new parts, but the pelvis and shins are also new.  The new parts are pretty nicely handled.  The head is two pieces, with the helmet and underlying head being two separate pieces, which adds some extra depth to the design.  The new upper torso adds his shoulder pads, which are separate from the core torso, allowing for them to move with the arms for more optimal posing.  The new pelvis and shins don’t really do a lot different, but they add a little bit of variety to the mold just before it got dropped.  So, there’s that.  The color work on Nova is a pretty straight updating of the first Legend.  This time around, the gold’s a bit brighter and the blue’s a bit deeper, which makes for a far better contrast.  The paint work is all pretty crisp, which I certainly like.  Not so big on the molded gold plastic with all the swirls, though, especially since it means there’s quite a line right on the front of his helmet.  Nova is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and flat poses, plus fellow Nova Corps member Qubit, who’s really just a helmet with a flight stand.  It’s accurate to the comics, of course, where he’s “a synthorganic being of the Manufactured Harmonites.”  That’s a totally normal sentence, I suppose.  He’s a cool extra, and follows the trend started by The Phlish’s inclusion with Sam Nova.  I like it, and I’d like to see more of it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Nova a fair bit, especially his classic look.  His first Legend was kind of weak, but he tided me over.  The modern version was better, but not my preferred version.  This one was the one I was waiting for.  And boy was there a lot of waiting, because I never found one at Walgreens.  When Quasaar got offered up to Fan Channels, I was hoping Nova would follow, but no such luck yet.  Thankfully, one was traded into All Time, so I still got my shot at him.  He’s a solid update, and pretty much exactly what I wanted.  Calling this one a win.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3145: Quasar

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

QUASAR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Donning a pair of Quantum Bands, Wendell Vaughn transforms into Quasar, the Protector of the Universe!”

 Before Marvel really exploded in the ’60s, but after Timely’s real start in the ’40s, the company had this sort of nebulous period in the ’50s (at which point they were operating under the name Atlas), where they just tried a little bit of everything. They still tried at the superhero game every now and again, and one of those attempts was Marvel Boy. Though he didn’t amount to much in his first go-round, he would resurface years later in the pages of Fantastic Four, having suffered a nervous breakdown, and ultimately dying in battle. His power source, the Quantum Bands, would find their way to a new wielder, Wendell Vaughn, aka Quasar. Though never a top tier Marvel character, Quasar had a fair bit to do up through the ’90s, as a notable fixture in Marvel’s cosmic line. He’s never been particularly plentiful on the action figure front, but he did at least get some Legends love in the last year. I’m taking a look at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

 

Quasar was a Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Legends release, following last year’s theme of cosmic characters. He has subsequently been offered up for a wider release, which is probably for the best, since he never really showed up much of anywhere on the first time around. The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation. Quasar is built on the Bucky Cap body, which is pretty much on the eve of its retirement at this point. It’s been given a little bit of a facelift, with a new set of arms, which now have the pinless construction on the elbow joints. He also gets a new head, cape, and Quantum Bands. The head has an impeccable likeness of a younger Robert Redford, which honestly works. It looks like his comics counterpart, but with a touch of realism. The new cape is very clean and sleek, and quite well-balanced. The bands are sharply detailed, and a good match for the in-comics pieces. The color work on this guy is pretty solid. He’s bright and eye catching, and I really like how the star field on the cape turned out. Quasar is packed with two sets of hands (fists and flat handed) and a set of effects pieces to go over his fists.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

 I’ve always wanted a good Quasar figure, and there’s never really been a good option for one. The MU one was all modern, and not my thing, so the classic look here is definitely cool. The Walgreens exclusives haven’t been super easy to get, so I was really glad that he got the wider release. It would be great if, perhaps, it were followed up by, I don’t know, maybe that Nova figure that I also could never find. That would sure be nice.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3081: Spider-Man & Hobgoblin

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

SPIDER-MAN & HOBGOBLIN

MARVEL MINIMATES

It’s another Monday, and I’m doing that Minimate thing again.  So, here we are, looking at more Minimatrs.  2018 marked the year that Walgreens’ supply chains got a little gummed up, at least as far as Minimates were concerned.  Technically, four series hit that year, but for a good portion of collectors, those figures didn’t actually arrive for the better part of a year after their first sightings.  While the most infamous case of this was certainly Series 10, the two series prior also were rather afflicted.  Things did eventually level out, though, making things easier to find.  So ,let’s have a look at some of those ‘mates, specifically Symbiote Spider-Man and Hobgoblin!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man and Hobgoblin were released in Series 9 of Walgreens’ Marvel Minimates line-up.  These two were part of the assortment based on Disney’s then-running Spider-Man cartoon, with marketing to match.

SYMBIOTE SPIDER-MAN

“Recovered on a space mission, the substance known as V-252 is actually a sybmiotic creature, which bonds to Peter Parker and increases his aggression.”

We’ve had no shortage of Symbiote Spider-Men (well, not in recent years, anyway), but this does mark the design’s first inclusion at Walgreens.  It also sports the somewhat up-dated design of the cartoon.  It’s not a bad look, truth be told.  It manages to keep the sleekness and simplicity of the original design, while still doing something a little different.  I can get behind it.  The figure is built on the standard post-C3 ‘mate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Structurally, this, like most Spidey ‘mates, is just a standard vanilla ‘mate.  It’s the right course of action for such a design, and it’s never a bad thing to get a good focus on the core body.  It’s the paint work that really sells this guy, of course.  It’s not perfect; there are a few spots where I definitely feel the application could stand to be a little sharper, and those fuzzy edges do hinder the sleek design a little bit.  Overall, though, it’s a solid look, and has the benefit of being one that can integrate with non-animated ‘mates without too much trouble.  Symbiote Spidey includes a webline and a dynamic posing base, both of which have become fairly standard for Spideys.  Unfortunately, on my copy, the stand’s peg for connecting to the figure twisted off.  I’ve not encountered such an issue with one of these stands before, so perhaps it’s limited to my copy.

HOBGOBLIN

“Hiding his true face behind a hood and metallic mask, the mysterious Hobgoblin will stop at nothing to destroy Spider-Man.”

Despite what the bio might suggest, the 2017 Spider-Man‘s take on Hobgoblin is actually something of a departure from how the character is usually handled, being a more heroic identity held by Peter’s best friend Harry.  While the two are initially opposed, and the identity later gets co-opted by Harry’s father Norman, Harry as Hobgoblin serves as an ally for Spidey within the confines of the show.  We’ve gotten only three Hobgoblin Minimates over the years, each somewhat reflecting a different incarnation of the character.  In addition to being the show version of Hobgoblin, it’s worth noting that this design also draws fairly heavy influence from Humberto Ramos’ design for the Phil Urich version of the character.  Hobgoblin’s construction makes use of a single add-on piece for his hood/shoulder pads/backpack.  It’s a little restricting in terms of articulation, and the details do seem a little soft, but it looks fairly decent overall.  It matches well with the character’s design from the show, to be sure.  The paintwork on Hobgoblin is passable overall.  The line-work is pretty sharply handled, and instances of slop are fairly minimal.  The add-on piece is again a little more softly defined, but it’s not too bad.  Hobgoblin’s only accessory is a clear display stand.  This feels rather light, and it’s a shame we couldn’t get any of Harry’s goblin gear.  The glider might have been too big, but his sword, or even an alternate head with an unmasked Harry would have been cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked these two up back when they were still relatively new, with a bit of an assist from Max, who was also scoping out Walgreenses for ‘mates at the time.  I was slowing down by this point, but this pack appealed to me.  It got to the point where it was a little bit difficult to make a new Symbiote Spider-Man distinct, but this one did a decent job, and turned in a pretty fun, somewhat unique figure.  Issues with the breaking stand aside, he’s pretty alright.  This Hobgoblin figure represents a fairly unique take on the character, and is well-removed from previous releases of the character.  While he lacks in the accessories department, he’s still a pretty nifty figure overall.

#3076: Iron Spider & Spot

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

IRON SPIDER & THE SPOT

MARVEL MINIMATES

I guess Mondays are for Minimates, huh?  Well, this month at least.  I guess we should just jump right into that, there.  Back in 2018, Toys R Us closing brought their exclusive Marvel Minimates assortments to an end…a little quicker than DST anticipated, in fact.  While TRU’s last official exclusive assortment was Series 25, there was one more assortment produced and ready to go when the chain went under.  Fortunately for us Minimate fans, Walgreens stepped up to the plate and took the assortment on.  It does, however leave us in the precarious position of just how to refer to the assortment.  Today, I’m taking a look at the series’ Spidey-themed set, Iron Spider & The Spot!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Sinister Six Iron Spider and The Spot are one of the three two-packs of Marvel Minimates originally intended for TRU, before becoming an online-exclusive for Walgreens after TRU’s closure.  Of note with this particular assortment’s packaging was an extra large Walgreens sticker, which was actually just covering the TRU sticker that was already in place.  The figures actually had to be taken back to have that sticker applied.

SINISTER SIX IRON SPIDER

“A mysterious figure has stolen Spider-Man’s Iron Spider armor and now wears it as the leader of the all-new Sinister Six.”

Well, maybe he’s not quite so mysterious, given he was rather quickly revealed to be *SPOILERS(?)* Miles Morales’ uncle Aaron.  Kudos to DST for not spoiling that, I guess, but now I’ve just done it for them.  The Iron Spider armor has been featured three times prior in Minimate form, but this time it’s got a new hat differently colored!  The figure is built on the standard ‘mate body, so its about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  Structurally, this version of Iron Spider is the same as both the Walgreens Series 2 and the TRU Series 21 Iron Spider-Men, meaning he’s a vanilla ‘mate with a harness that has the three mechanical arms attached to it.  It helps keep things sleek, and it also keeps things consistent with the other figures.  On the paint front, Iron Spider is again quite similar to the TRU Iron Spider, effectively having the exact same paint apps (with a couple of minor changes on the eyes), but swapping out the red base of the prior figure for a black one here.  It looks pretty decent, and the contrast’s a little better, so I think it works.  Iron Spider is packed with a dynamic posing base and a standard clear display stand.  Not a bad combo for a Spidey-variant.

SINISTER SIX THE SPOT

“With his ability to create portals to anywhere, of varying sizes, the Spot is the ultimate getaway driver, as well as an unpredictable opponent.”

The Spot is one of those quirky lower tier Spidey foes that’s just absolutely fun every time he shows up.  He’s not been very lucky when it comes to toys, however, as his only prior figure was one of Toy Biz’s 10 inch figures.  Given how easily he can be assembled from re-used parts, that’s a little surprising.  Fortunately, “assembled from re-used parts” is Minimates’ jam, so he finally made his way in here.  Spot’s a vanilla ‘mate, but that’s okay, because that’s exactly what the character should be.  He’s a guy in a form-fitting spandex suit with no add-ons.  That’s just how he do.  The Spot’s paint isn’t super complex or anything, but it does a really sharp job of applying all of the dots all over him, as well as giving him a few lines to represent the man in the suit beneath.  It’s a stark-looking design, and its harsh black/white nature helps it pop out against more colorful characters on the shelf.  Of note, the face on the standard head is another black whole, in keeping with more modern appearances for the character.  The Spot’s accessory selection is a rather impressive selection of common place items repurposed for some fun times.  There’s an alternate head with Spot’s classic design on it, plus two repainted Tron Discs, two smaller display stands, and two larger display stands, all in black.  It’s great because they work perfectly as Spot’s “spots”, and the modular nature of Minimates means you can toy around with disassembling him to make it look like he’s popping out of various portals.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I snagged this whole assortment from Walgreens’ website, back when that was an easier thing to do.  I don’t have much attachment to this version of the Iron Spider design, but I can certainly support a new character being added to the line, and the design’s not a bad one.  He’s a decent way of putting a Spider-Man into the line, while still doing something new.  Spot’s the main reason I got the set, because he’s one of my favorite Spidey foes.  He’s a great example of how clever execution can make a second-string character made from re-used parts the real star of an assortment.  He’s absolutely fantastic, and I can’t imagine him being better if they’d tried.

#2999: In Space Silver Ranger

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

IN SPACE SILVER RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Okay, when I reviewed Zeo Gold, I may have been a little overzealous in calling him the greatest Power Ranger ever.  And why is that?  Because I may have been overlooking this guy, Zhane, aka the In Space Silver Ranger, Power Rangers In Space‘s resident Sixth Ranger.  Because, the thing is, Zhane?  He’s pretty darn cool.  Possibly the coolest.  And I’m down for that.  And now he’s got this brand new figure from Hasbro’s current run, which I definitely a win as far as I’m concerned.  So, let’s explore this win just a little bit further, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

In Space Silver Ranger is a Walgreens-exclusive release from Power Rangers: The Lightning Collection, with limited quantities available through Hasbro Pulse as well.  Thus far, only the Pulse quantities have shown up.  As with yesterday’s Andros, this figure’s release is a bit wonky, since we saw him before Hasbro had officially announced him, and then he showed up on Pulse with no actual quantities, before finally being put up for order, with an actual in-stock status.  Zhane is either the fourth or fifth of the Space Rangers to make it to release, depending on if you count the small quantities of Blue that have made it out as an actual release.  Whatever the case, it’s notable because it’s the first time Zhane hasn’t been the last member of team by a large margin.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s using the same construction as the other male Space Rangers.  It’s a consistency thing, really, and at this point, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?  He does get a new belt piece, which has been tweaked to remove the holster.  Otherwise, it’s the same basic piece.  The colors are where the real changes occur, since he’s now, well, silver.  Unlike the others, it’s more than just swapping silver for the main color, since Silver gets a whole different selection of accent colors as well.  They’ve gone for more of a toy style to the colors, since his suit is actually silver, rather than a flatter shade than the helmet as it was in the show.  It’s a slightly more intriguing design in toy form, so I get the choice.  The silver is molded plastic, rather than paint.  It doesn’t look quite as slick, but it will probably hold up better over time.  Zhane is packed with an unmasked head (which looks a lot better in person than I’d expected), two sets of hands, his Super Silverizer in both blaster and blade configurations, and an effects piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In Space Silver is at the very least tied with Zeo Gold for my favorite Ranger, so I was very anxious to see him show up in this line, especially after he got left out of Bandai’s Legacy Collection.  When he was shown off in-hand with no announcement, I was worried about him being an exclusive, and sure enough, there he was.  Fortunately, I had Max in my corner on this one, and he was able to help me snag one through the Pulse order window.  I’m very thrilled to have this figure in-hand, and I’m very happy to have a decent In Space Silver.

#2786: Dani Moonstar

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

DANI MOONSTAR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Part of a group of young mutants, Dani Moonstar has the ability to conjure illusions based on her enemy’s deepest fears.”

Debuting in 1982, the New Mutants were an attempt to go back to the “troubled youngsters” angle of the original X-Men pitch, which had been since lost in the main book.  Included in the team’s five-member founding line-up was Dani Moonstar, who initially went by the alias of “Psyche”, before switching over to “Mirage”, and then ultimately just going by her own name, because if you’ve got a name as cool as “Dani Moonstar” maybe you don’t need to try to make it cooler.  Dani was ultimately written out of the book before it’s conclusion (though she was at least lucky enough not to be killed on her way out, which was more than could be said for poor Cypher and Karma), and that meant she wasn’t folded into X-Force, so she didn’t take off quite the same way that Canonball, Sunspot, and Wolfsbane.  However, she’s still got some things going for her, such as a Marvel Legends figure.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dani Moonstar was released in late 2019/early 2020, as part of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  She was initially a Walgreens-exclusive figure, and followed in the store’s trend of getting female X-characters as their exclusives.  Earlier this year, she was offered up for a fan channel release as well, making her generally more accessible.  Yay!  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s built on the Phoenix body, with newly sculpted parts for her head, forearms, and boots.  Dani is based on her mid-00s team suit design, from after they’d relaunched the New Mutants in light of most of them not being dead anymore.  It’s an update on their original black and yellow costumes, in turn based on the original X-Men designs.  It’s a pretty basic design, but not a bad one from a team stand-point.  Technically, there should be a few more character specific elements for it to be properly customized to Dani’s look from the comics, but there’s a decent reason it’s not: because this figure’s designed to be more than just Dani.  She includes two extra heads, as well as two extra sets of hands, which allow her to be displayed as her team-mates Karma and Wolfsbane, also in their mid-00s team suits.  The heads are pretty nice pieces themselves, and the overall appearance works out way more convincingly than, say, the Lilandra head included with Mystique, so there’s more out of the box value here.  In terms of paint work, the figure’s overall pretty basic. The work on the suit is nice and clean, and the individual heads all feel sufficiently distinct from each other in terms of how they handle the palette and themes of the characters.  In addition to the whole extra set of head and hands for the two separate characters, Dani does also get a couple of accessories of her own, namely a bow and a single arrow, which both appear to be new pieces, as near as I can tell.  She has a little trouble holding the arrow, but it’s still a good look overall.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m generally not a huge New Mutants fan (though I’m all about Cypher and Warlock), so I wasn’t in a hurry to get this particular release.  That was probably for the best, because it was never all that numerous around these parts.  I think I saw it once, while driving between locations for work, and I just wasn’t feeling it enough to grab it at the time.  That being said, when she was just at All Time, and I was already grabbing a handful of other figures that came in that day, Dani was harder to pass up.  She’s a decent figure, if perhaps not quite as impressive as more uniquely designed figures.  Still, it’s a cool concept, and her being a 3-in-1 is certainly a nifty prospect.

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.

#2766: Clone Trooper Lieutenant

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

CLONE TROOPER LIEUTENANT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Throughout the Clone Wars, Clone Troopers fought the Battle Droids of the Separatists across the galaxy. They were loyal to their Jedi generals and the Supreme Chancellor.”

When introduced in Attack of the Clones, the Clone Troopers originally made use of varying colored stripes in order to differentiate ranks amongst the many identical guys running around during the big battle on Geonosis.  Red were captains, yellow were commanders, green were sergeants, and blue were lieutenants.  Of course, then the final film came along, and pretty much everything of note was done by the all-white regular clones….but it was the thought that counted, right?  When The Black Series‘ first Clone Trooper body was introduced, Hasbro got to work doing the various ranks.  The basic, captain, and sergeant got main-line releases, and the commander was part of a boxed set…and then?  Nothing.  There was a break, and the line eventually got a new clone body.  But before entirely retiring the original body, Hasbro decided to throw some of the longer-term collectors a bone, and actually finish out the original set, with one last release, adding the lieutenant to the ranks after all these years.  That was awfully nice of them, wasn’t it?  And I bet it was super easy to get, too.  Right?  Yeah….

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Clone Trooper Lieutenant is officially the first figure in the Attack of the Clones sub-set of Phase IV of Star Wars: The Black Series.  He was released exclusively through Walgreens, and hit retail at the tail end of last year.  I mean, in theory, at least.  He wasn’t really super widespread or anything.  Granted, he also wasn’t quite as in demand as other Black Series exclusives at the same time, so it was a little hard to track.  It probably could have been worse.  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  He’s built on that original Clone body, which I reviewed first when I looked at the Sergeant.  It’s got some troubles with the articulation layout, especially on the elbows and shoulders, but it’s far from the worst thing that Hasbro put out.  On top of that, it’s still a pretty nice looking sculpt, so it’s certainly got that going for it.  I very much liked it when it was new, and I still do like it quite a bit, even now, when there’s technically a better option out there.  The main thing that differentiates this guy from the other clones on this body is, of course, the paint.  The lieutenants were blue, which is a very nice, and also very familiar look for clones.  The actual shade of blue here’s not really right; the lieutenants were a lighter shade of blue, in contrast to the darker shade of blue that became more common with the 501st troopers.  So, this one’s technically not quite right.  Of course, the Lieutenants are largely theoretical in the films anyway, so it’s not really the end of the world there, I suppose.  Just sort of odd.  I do like that they changed him up ever so slightly from the others in terms of how the paint was applied, giving him a little bit more wear on his paint.  He looks like he’s actually made it through a battle or two, which is cool.  Like all versions of this mold, he’s packed with the two different blaster rifles.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this figure was unveiled, I was excited, then not.  Partially, it was the reveal that he was an exclusive, and partially it was that he was on the old body.  I opted not to really go hunting for him, since I’m expecting he’ll probably get updated to the new body at some point.  However, when one of them came into All Time via a trade, I did find it a lot harder to say no, and ultimately didn’t.  That’s how I’m reviewing him, and all.  He’s not breaking molds, or doing anything new, and honestly, he’s actually a bit inaccurate, but he’s still a clone, and clones are just usually a lot of fun.  This one’s really not different, there.  He’s fun.  And he’s blue.  And that’s pretty cool.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2601: Iron Man – Silver Centurion

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

IRON MAN — SILVER CENTURION

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Tony Stark jets back from obscurity in Silver Centurian armor, a breathtaking technological achievement equipped with a uni-beam, force field, and rapid-fire Pulse Bolts.”

Another Iron Man?  Already?  Look, this one’s worth it, I assure you.  One of Iron Man’s most definitive story lines is “Demon In A Bottle”, which delves into Tony Stark’s troubles with alcoholism, and its affects on his ability to be Iron Man, ultimately culminating in Tony vacating the armor and leaving it to his friend James Rhodes.  Rhodey would remain Iron Man for 30 issues of the main title, as well as being Iron Man during the founding of the West Coast Avengers and the Secret Wars event (something that Mattel’s tie-in toyline got slightly confused about), while Tony built himself back up to the main title.  Tony returned to the identity full-time in issue #200 of the book, sporting a brand-new, all sorts of improved armor, the Silver Centurion armor.  The armor lasted about 30 issues, and it was prominent during “Armor Wars”, another rather definitive story, which has certainly helped to cement its status as one of Tony’s classic designs.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Silver Centurion Iron Man is a late 2020 Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Legends offering, following Moon Knight, who was sandwiched between two different Iron Man variants it would seem.  This is the first Silver Centurion in Legends form since Toy Biz’s version way back in the original Series 7 line-up. The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Like both Iron Man 2020 and War Machine, Silver Centurion uses the 80th Iron Man as a starting point for his construction.  In a similar fashion to War Machine, the only parts that are exact matches, however, are the upper arms and legs.  Everything else is newly sculpted to match these parts.  It’s sensible, since the basic arms and legs fairly standard, and there’s no point in wasting a strong sculpt like that. The new parts match up quite nicely aesthetically with the 80th figure, but with that much boxier and squared off nature of the Silver Centurion as seen in the comics.  There are also some slight tweaks to the articulation scheme with these new parts, which actually do some pretty cool things.  The neck joint is now a ball joint, which works particularly well with this design, and allows for a lot of range in his posing.  The shoulders are also tweaked a bit to allow for a solid range of motion without impeding the design of the armor.  It’s effectively a mix of the universal joint from the standard 80th body, combined with a cut joint at the base of the shoulder plate.  It works surprisingly well.  The color work on Silver Centurion is pretty basic.  For the most part, its molded plastic colors for the red and silver.  It’s a bright and vibrant look, but it’s also one that unfortunately loses a little bit of the sculpted detailing on the red sections.  A little bit of accenting would go a long way here.  It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s just a shame the sculpt isn’t as well shown off as it could be.  Silver Centurion is packed with two sets of hands, one in fists, the other in repulsor pose (sadly missing the wrist joint again), as well as the two different sizes of blast effects included with the 80th Iron Man.  An unmasked head would have been cool, but it’s understandable given everything else included.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m quite a fan of this design, but it’s frequently had issues with translation into toy form, so I was waiting for a solid figure version.  I was hoping to see an update when the 80th figure came out, and I was really excited when he was shown off.  Him being a Walgreens exclusive I was a bit iffy on, especially after the whole thing with them cancelling my Moon Knight preorder, but I was able to track him down in person with minimal visits to actual Walgreens locations (i.e. I only had to stop and look when I was grabbing other things).  He’s a pretty strong figure.  Sure, some accent work on the paint front would help, but other than that, he’s aces.  Now, here’s to maybe building a larger West Coast Avengers line-up?