Tag Archives: X-Men

#1609: Wolverine

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

WOLVERINE

MARVEL LEGENDS – 12-INCH (HASBRO)

Did you know that wolverines are also known as “quickhatch”?  That’s your fun FiQ fact for the day!  Sorry, the last time I looked at a tiger-stripe Wolverine, I went with this gag, so I’m doing it again.  Aren’t I so clever?

Wolverine hasn’t ever had a true break from Marvel Legends, but he was certainly less of a focus for a few years (being dead might have contributed to that).  But, things seem to be normalizing a bit, and he’s finally re-appearing with fairly regular frequency.  Good for him?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wolverine is a 2018 release for the 12-inch Marvel Legends line.  He’s done up in Wolverine’s classic blue and yellow tiger-stripe costume, which actually doesn’t have a Legends release in the scale (since the Toy Biz Icons figure was in his Astonishing costume), so it’s a pleasant choice.  It’s also worth noting that it predates the release of the same design in the regular Legends scale for this iteration of Legends, though that’ll be amended later this year.  The figure stands just shy of 12 inches tall and he has 36 points of articulation.  Wolverine is rocking an all-new sculpt, albeit one that is at least a little bit inspired by the smaller scale brown costume Wolverine.  It’s pretty solid overall.  The texture work on his arms, his boots, and his gloves is very impressive, and while the proportions aren’t exactly lifelike, they do match up pretty well with how Logan is usually depicted.  While I like the head sculpt overall (especially the sheer amount of character in the small section of his face we can see), I do feel that the ears of his mask are shaped a little bit oddly.  It’s possible this was caused by some slight warping from the packaging.  Whatever the case, it’s not awful, and it certainly doesn’t ruin the figure.  Interestingly, despite how most figures in this line have been handled, Wolverine’s design is actually unchanged from his comics appearance.  That’s certainly a bold move.  The paint continues this, presenting his costume in all it’s bright, primary colored glory.  It actually works really well with the sculpt, and it’s applied quite nicely.  I particularly like the accent work on the yellow, which helps to prevent it from looking too bland and void of detail.  Wolverine includes an unmasked head and pulled back mask, a set of un-clawed hands, and an extra head and shoulder pads depicting battle damage.  My favorite parts are definitely the damaged bits, as they make for quite a dynamic look for the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Wolverine was a gift from Super Awesome Girlfriend, picked up from the GameStop where she works.  They had gotten this guy in, and I expressed a slight interest, which, as we all know, is really all it takes for her to buy me something.  He adds to my ever-growing 12-Inch Marvel Legends collection, and he continues the trend of them being very, very cool figures.  This is definitely one of the best Wolverines out there.

#1592: X-23

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

X-23

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A female Wolverine clone, X-23 slashes out uncontrollably when exposed to a deadly ‘trigger scent.’”

I have an extensive enough knowledge of the Marvel universe that these days it’s unlikely for Hasbro to stump me with one of their line-up choices.  That hasn’t always been the case, though, and especially during the Toy Biz days, there were a few times where the announcement of a Marvel Legend was my first introduction to the character depicted.  Perhaps the most extreme case of this was X-23, who joined the line in Toy Biz’s twelfth series, to the chagrin of most of the fanbase, myself included.  She was, at the time, a rather untested character, but Laura’s stuck around over the years and now that she’s gotten her latest Legends release, she seams to be living more up to that Legend-ary status.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

X-23 is part of the Sasquatch Series of Marvel Legends, which is a series loosely themed around Deadpool.  As with Deathlok yesterday, X-23’s ties to Deadpool are somewhat tenuous.  They were both on the covert-ops incarnation of X-Force, but not actually at the same time.  But, as counterpoints for Wolverine, it’s not like the two have never interacted.  This is only the second time X-23’s gotten a Legends release, following her Toy Biz variant from all the way back in 2006, meaning this is the first Legends X-23 we’ve ever gotten from Hasbro.  That genuinely surprises me, given how many Wolverine and X-Force-themed assortments we’ve gotten over the years.  This X-23 is based on her X-Force costume, which is a decent enough choice.  For one, Hasbro’s released a lot of the other members of the team in their matching costumes, and as her first proper costume, it certainly got a lot of recognition.  I’d say only her Wolverine costume even comes close to this one in terms of definitiveness.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She’s built on the Spider-Girl body, with a new head, hands, and boots, as well as an add-on belt piece.  The Spider-Girl body is one I’ve always liked; it’s well-proportioned and moves really nicely.  Definitely a good starting point for any figure.  The new pieces are all really top-notch as well.  Her head is definitely the star piece here, sporting a teeth-bared, grimacing visage that much more fits the character than Toy Biz’s expression of boredom form their X-23.  The hair is done in a dynamic fashion, which doesn’t always work (Hasbro’s own Ultimate Spider-Woman figure is a good example of it holding back an otherwise pretty great figure), but I think it looks really good here, especially in conjunction with the expression on the face.  I also appreciate that it’s sculpted in such a way as to impede neck movement as little as possible.  X-23’s new boots are definitely a lot of fun as well; all those buckles make for some intriguing detail work, and there’s just a nice uniqueness that’s added to the figure by these boots.  The hands work in pretty much the same way as the most recent Wolverines, which is to say they continue the trend of being much better than earlier Wolverine claws.  The belt is a decent enough piece, but I definitely wish it were a little less free-floating.  In terms of paint, X-23 is another solid figure.  The application is all very clean and crisp, and the contrast between the black and grey looks quite nice.  While the color scheme is definitely monochromatic, I admire that Hasbro kept her from looking too washed out.  Perhaps the only downside to this figure is the lack of any real accessories.  She comes with the torso of Sasquatch, but that’s it.  No extra hands without the claws, no extra feet *with* claws, and not even an unmasked head.  Surely there was something they could have thrown in there?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t intend to buy X-23.  She’s never been a character I’ve had a ton of interest in, and I don’t have any of the other black and grey X-Force members.  So, why do I have her?  When I found Deathlok, Toys R Us was running a “Buy one, get one 50% off” sale.  The only new Legends they had were the Sasquatch series, and they only had half of them at that.  Ultimately, it came down to either Paladin or X-23 at half price, and X-23 just looked to be the better of the two figures.  She’s a pleasant surprise, to be sure.  I went in expecting nothing, and I got a downright cool figure.  Hasbro definitely put in the effort on this one, and, apart from the slight issue with the lack of accessories, this is a top-notch offering.

#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

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

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.

#1545: Shanna the She-Devil & Savage Land Reaper

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

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL & SAVAGE LAND REAPER

MARVEL MINIMATES

One the cooler, yet sadly under-used, aspects of the X-Men universe is the Savage Land, a secret tropical area located within Antartica.  It’s a fairly standard hidden land sort of idea, and the X-Men have a tendency to find themselves stranded there every 20 years or so.  Because, honestly, what’s cooler than watching your favorite heroes duking it out with actual dinosaurs?  Very little.  While the typical “lead” in any given Savage Land story is Ka-Zar (Marvel’s answer to Tarzan), in recent years, the breakaway character has actually been his frequent co-star (and eventual wife) Shanna the She-Devil, who, interestingly enough, was actually imported to the Savage Land after she and the location had both been established.  She and her pack-mate the Savage Land Reaper became the first residents of the Savage Land to make it into DST’s Marvel Minimates line back in 2013.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Shanna and the Reaper were released in Series 51 of Marvel Minimates.  The whole series was themed around Marvel’s then-current “Marvel Now!” relaunch.  Shanna was serving as a major player in the Savage Wolverine title, so she found herself in this assortment, with the Wolverine that went with her being packed into the 15th TRU-exclusive assortment released at the same time.  Both figures were packed with a Savage Land Reaper, which served somewhat as an army builder.

SHANNA THE SHE-DEVIL

“Shanna O’Hara is a former Olympic athlete and a licensed veterinarian, and she has made the Savage Land her adopted home. Her fierce hatred of firearms arose from the accidental shooting death of her mother.”

Shanna gained some additional notoriety in the early 00s when Frank Cho helmed a heavily cheesecake-driven solo series featuring the character.  It was actually an alternate universe Shanna, with very little connection to the real character, but it served to elevate her somewhat in the public eye, and it was successful enough for Cho to be able to work her main universe counterpart in when he launched Savage Wolverine.  This figure draws her look from that series, meaning she’s kind of an amalgam of the two Shannas.  She’s built on the standard ‘mate body, meaning she stands about 2 1/4 inches tall and she has 14 points of articulation (though the hair restricts a lot of the neck movement).  She has add-ons for her hair and her belt/loincloth, both of which were new to this particular figure.  The hair’s a little bulky for my taste, but it’s not terrible.  The belt piece is actually pretty nice, and I particularly like the the sheath for her knife.  In terms of paintwork, Shanna’s okay, but she certainly leans far heavier on the Frank Cho alternate universe side of things.  Her hair’s straight blond, rather than the starwberry blond the 616 version’s supposed to have.  She’s also wearing a far more revealing bikini, which is perhaps not the most flattering thing on a block figure.  Ultimately, she looks okay, but I can’t say it’s my ideal take on the character.  She’s packed with a knife (to go in that cool sheath on the belt), a spear, and a clear display stand.

SAVAGE LAND REAPER

“In the Savage Land, the skies are owned by the Reapers, giant pterodactyls who resemble X-Men villain Sauron. When the attack Wolverine and Shanna, they quickly learn that the pair are not easy prey.”

Originally, this ‘mate didn’t just resemble Sauron, it actually was him.  When 51 was originally solicited, the Reaper was just called Sauron, despite being based on the more generic group of pterodactyl men from Savage Wolverine.  A number of people brought up the various design differences between them, and ultimately this figure was re-labeled.  24 Series later, the real Sauron still hasn’t made an appearance.  Poor guy.  This figure starts with the same basic body as Shanna, but gets a unique head, hands, and lower legs, as well as add-ons for his wings and tail.  The new pieces help to sell him as one of the Reapers, without removing him too much from the usual Minimate aesthetic.  His paint is mostly just a lot of the same shade of green, but it’s appropriate for the character, and the detail lines are all pretty decent.  The Reaper is packed with a clear display stand, specially molded to fit his slightly smaller than average feet.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When Series 51 was released, I was in the habit of ordering full cases of the latest series, so that’s what I did here.  While this wasn’t a set I was dying to have, I like both characters (or at least the characters that inspired both characters) enough to want them on my shelf. Both ‘mates are decent additions to the line, but neither is particularly thrilling.

#1530: Avalanche

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

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.

#1472: Cyclops & Dark Phoenix

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

CYCLOPS & DARK PHOENIX

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Though Scott Summers and Jean Grey shared a psychic link, Cyclops was no match for the Dark Phoenix. As Grey came to possess the power of the Phoenix Force, the Dark Phoenix rose, mastering telekinesis to overthrow her opposition and ascend to cosmic dominance.”

There’s much fan debate over what’s truly the “definitive era” of the X-Men.  For most people, it’s really just the era that introduced you to the characters.  For me, it’s the “All-New, All-Different” era (the first one, not the Bendis one).  Few people would debate the impact of that era’s climactic story, The Dark Phoenix Saga, a story that not only helped define the course of the X-Men going forward, but also the course of the comics industry as a whole, for better or for worse.  The story has been the source of a handful of toy adaptations, including the item I’m looking at today, a two-pack of the two central players, Scott Summers and Jean Grey, aka Cyclops and the Dark Phoenix.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cyclops and Dark Phoenix (or Marvel’s Dark Phoenix, as the box so possessively names her) are a Toys R Us-exclusive two pack from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  They’re one of four such packs this year, and were the first one to hit shelves, back in June.

CYCLOPS

Cyclops has had a lot of looks over the years, and while I’ve quite liked some of them (the Jim Lee look in particular is a favorite), this one’s really the top of the game.  It’s also the one that seems most neglected in the realm of action figures.  It was only released once in Toy Biz’s 5-inch X-Men line, as a rather hasty repaint, and then later in a two-pack as another hasty repaint.  There was a Toy Biz Marvel Legends release, but the less said about that, the better. This figure follows the formula established by the Warlock Series release, taking advantage of Hasbro’s new system to make the best version of this design out there.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Like every other Hasbro Cyclops in the last five years, he’s built on the Bucky Cap base, which makes for some nice consistency, and also very much fits this incarnation of the character.  In addition to the base body, the figure makes use of the standard buccaneer boots, the special left hand from both the Warlock and Puck Series releases, and an all-new head and belt.  The belt is pretty standard fair; it’s a little floaty, but it gets the job done.  The head is very similar to the one we saw on the Lee Cyclops, just sans the hair. I liked the sculpt the first time around, and I still very much like it here. It definitely captures the character.  The paint’s an area of this figure that had the opportunity to be rather bland if not handled well.  In the comics, the bulk of the costume is blue, but it was always heavily shaded.  That’s a look that’s hard to pull off on a three-dimensional figure, and many others have tried an failed to make it work convincingly (including Hasbro themselves).  This figure looks a lot better than its predecessors.  The base color is a darker blue, and they’ve gone in and airbrushed in some light blue highlights.  The end result can be a little inconsistent in some spots, but it’s overall quite nice looking, and gets the idea across pretty well.  Cyclops includes no accessories, which is a slight letdown.  I would have liked an alternate screaming head, so as to help recreate the cover of #136.  As is, he certainly feels light.

DARK PHOENIX

We actually saw this figure a little while before this pairing was officially announced.  Her head sculpt was shown in one of Hasbro’s slideshows, unpainted.  It wasn’t much of a shock, mind you, since to date no company’s done a Phoenix without an accompanying Dark Phoenix close behind.  That guaranteed second use of tooling is definitely appealing.  The figure is about 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Despite what might seem like an obvious chance to re-use some parts from the original Phoenix release, this figure is actually rather different from that one.  She starts with the same basic starting point, but with a different upper torso, thighs, and feet, and a brand new head sculpt. Most of the changes are minor, and virtually unnoticeable.  I certainly appreciate the new feet with flat heels, since it makes her a fair bit easier to keep her standing than the last one.  The new head is a really nice piece.  The hair in particular is really lively and dynamic, and just generally cool looking.  In terms of paint, this figure’s pretty decent all around.  She’s got a similar style of shading to the Cyclops on the red sections, and the yellows are pretty much the same as the first Phoenix.  The head takes the cake, though; the eyes are blanked out, but not straight white as they’re usually depicted.  Instead, they’re metallic, and accented by black on all sides.  The hair starts as a normal dark red, and then slowly becomes translucent, creating an almost fire-like quality.  It’s pretty cool.  Dark Phoenix makes up for Cyclops’ lack of extras, with two extra heads and a phoenix flame construct.  The first head is the same as the standard one, but with fully opaque hair and pupils in the eyes.  It’s not quite as cool, but it’s perfect if you’re looking to upgrade your basic Phoenix.  The second head is my least favorite of the options; she’s just got a calm expression, pupils, and straight hair.  It’s well done, but not particularly exciting.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been looking forward to this set ever since the prototypes were first shown off.  Unfortunately, the two-packs appear to be the new scalper bait.  I found a small stash of this set back in June, but only had the money for one, which went to my Dad, since he had neither of the single releases and is the one who got me into this whole X-Men thing.  I didn’t see another one of these for a whole four months, but when I finally saw them again, I picked them up so fast.  I like this pair a lot.  I’m happy I found them.

#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.

#1387: Sauron

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

SAURON

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“Sauron is the most terrifying Evil Mutant. Sauron loves to silently swoop down and use his mutant power to hypnotize and drain the energy out of his victim! Then in the blink of an eye, he flies away ready to strike again! The more energy he drains, the more powerful he becomes. Because he can drain the energy from anyone, even another Evil Mutant, even Magneto, the leader of the Evil Mutants, fears him!”

Not to be confused with the evil ruler of Mordor, Sauron is one of the X-Men’s older foes, predating quite a few of the team’s more popular members (including a certain Canadian who goes “snikt”).  Interestingly enough, despite what the bio above may tell you, he’s not a Mutant.  At least not in the same way as the X-Men.  He actually got his powers after being bitten by an Antarctic pteranodon and then being exposed to the mutant energies of Alex Summers, aka Havok.  Yes, really.  Just go with it.  Despite the inherent coolness of a Pterodactyl-man, Sauron himself has only ever gotten a single figure, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Sauron was released in Series 2 of Toy Biz’s ‘90s X-Men line.  He was one of four villains in the line-up, and he was the most obscure of the set (though that would change in quick fashion).  The figure stands about 5 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  He lacks the elbow and knee movement that were standard at the time, but makes up for it with the addition of not only outward movement on his shoulders and a cut joint at the base of his tail, but also a hinge on his jaw, allowing for his mouth to open and close.  That’s a pretty wizard!  Sauron had a unique sculpt.  It’s a fairly decent sculpt, on par with the rest of the line at the time.  It does a nice enough job of capturing his classic comics design.  The shoulders are a little weak, and prone to tearing under stress.  Also, I’m no 100% sure what he’s supposed to be wearing, though.  Usually, he would wear the tattered remains of Karl Lykos’s pants, or perhaps a loincloth of some sort.  This is neither of those.  It’s some weird conglomeration, I guess.  Still, a solid sculpt overall.  The paint work on Sauron is pretty simple; he’s mostly just molded in a dark green plastic.  There’s a bit of paint for the eyes, the interior of the mouth, and the…whatever it is he’s wearing.  It’s all pretty cleanly applied, and what’s there works.  Less is definitely more on this one.  Sauron was packed with a big ol’ club.  You know, for clubbing stuff.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been looking for a Sauron for a little while. I haven’t been looking particularly hard, but I’ve been keeping an eye out.  The trouble with this guy is the shoulders; loose figures will almost always have one of them broken or about to break, which doesn’t work for me.  Recently, I decided to start working on completing my Toy Biz X-Men collection, and I went to the Dave Hart Toy Show last month with this in mind.  I looked though several bins of loose figures, and put back a handful of broken Saurons, before finally finding a fairly cheap packaged sample and calling that a win.  Not a bad figure overall.  A shame he’s not a touch more durable.

#1385: Raza

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

RAZA

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“His body rebuilt as a cyborg after a near-fatal accident, the freebooting swashbuckler Raza travels the galaxy in the company of the star-spanning Starjammers, lending his sword and his courage to any battle for freedom and justice!”

The sheer character depth of Toy Biz’s ’90s X-Men line is perhaps its greatest strength.  They took full advantage of the popularity of the X-Men in the ’90s and used that to produce a very large chunk of the major and minor players in the franchise.  Even slightly older characters and groups eventually found their way into plastic form.  One of my favorite teams represented was the Starjammers, the group of space pirates introduced during the Phoenix Saga.  Today, I’ll be looking at one of the more minor Starjammers, Raza!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Raza was released in Series 7 of the X-Men line.  Believe it or not, along with Ch’od, Raza was the first appearance of the Starjammers in this line.  The figure stands a little over 5 inches tall and he has 11 points of articulation.  The sculpt was unique to this figure, and patterned on Dave Cockrum’s illustrations of Raza from the comics.  It’s an okay sculpt; it’s overall decent, but definitely not without issues.  A lot of the issues are to do with posing.  Raza’s pose is a little odd.  He’s a bit pigeon-toed, and his shoulders are oddly thrown back.  And, for whatever reason, his right hand has his palm facing forward.  In addition, the articulation, especially at the shoulders, isn’t well worked into the sculpt at all.  On the plus side, he does fit in pretty well with the rest of the line overall, and there’s plenty of solid work, especially on his head, which really capture’s Raza’s distinctive look.  In terms of paint, he’s pretty decent.  The colors match his colors from the comics, and the application is all pretty clean.  The colors are also nice and vibrant, which is always a nice thing.  Raza was packed with a sword and a pistol, both of which fit quite nicely in his hands (though it’s a shame his right hand doesn’t have an extended trigger finger) and stay pretty well put.  There’s also an action feature, where his arms rock back and forth at the shoulders.  It’s kind of hard to explain, and I’m not 100% sure what it’s supposed to do…

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When I was growing up, my Dad had a Raza figure.  I always thought he was pretty cool.  I almost bought one of my own numerous times over the years, but never got around to it.  In actuality, I kept thinking I already had him for whatever reason.  After verifying I definitely didn’t have him, I eventually ended up getting him at the Dave Hart Toy Show in Timmonium, just about a month ago.  He’s not one of the star figures from this line, but he’s still pretty nifty.  At least he’s better than Ahab, right?