Tag Archives: X-Men

#0358: Cyclops & Marvel Girl

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

CYCLOPS & MARVEL GIRL

MARVEL MINIMATES

The X-Men may not be the merchandise powerhouse they once were, but they still maintain a decent hold on the market. One of the things that makes old fans of the series love the team while simultaneously scaring away new fans is the sheer level of backstory involved. In an effort to help make the team a bit more approachable, Marvel has done an interesting move: they brought back the original X-Men. Yeah, the founding five have been brought forward in time, allowing for the series to present them in a more innocent, less complicated form. Diamond has decided to base their most recent series of Marvel Minimates on this incarnation of the team. Today, I’ll be looking at Cyclops and Marvel Girl.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cyclops and Marvel Girl were released as a two-pack in Series 59 of Marvel Minimates, which is based on the team as they’ve appeared in recent issues of All-New X-Men.

CYCLOPS

Perhaps the character to benefit the most from a “continuity reset” is the team’s leader Cyclops. Cyclops is a character who writers don’t really seem to know what to do with, resulting in a lot of questionable things being done with him in the last 20-30 years. Recently, a lot of those things have piled one, leading to the character coming off as a tremendous jerk and becoming essentially a villain. A Cyclops without all of these things is a breath of fresh air. Cyclops is about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. He’s based on All-New Cyclops’s second costume, designed by Staurt Immomen. It matches the rest of the team without being too similar, and it’s all-around not a bad design. Cyclops is built on the traditional Minimate body, with an add-on for his hair/visor. This is an all new piece, and it does a pretty great job of capturing the design from the comic. The rest of the figure is reliant on paint. It’s not bad overall, but it could be better. The base paint is rather sloppy, especially on Scott’s visor. Fortunately, the detail lines are all nice and sharp, which helps to offset the questionable base paint. Cyclops includes two alternate hair pieces, one sans-visor(a re-use piece, seen on numerous figures) and one with his optic blast in full force. He also includes a standard clear display stand. The sans-visor hair is nice, as it allows for you to display the sunglasses painted under Scott’s visor, and the optic blast head makes for a lot of fun setups. I am hopeful that the optic blast piece is the new standard for Cyclops Minimates going forward.

MARVEL GIRL

Marvel Girl, aka Jean Grey, aka the Pheonix, aka the Song that doesn’t end, also benefited from the reset. Her present day counterpart is dead and all, plus now she just has the one code name, as opposed the 37 or so she had before. Marvel Girl is about 2 ½ inches in height and she sports 14 points of articulation. Like Scott, she is based on her second, Immomen-designed costume. I really like the green accents on hers; they really make her pop. The figure makes use of the base Minimate body, with the addition of a hairpiece. The piece is a re-use, first seeing use on The Spirit’s Sand Serif. It was also used on the first appearance Jean from a few years ago, so it’s a nice call back to see it here. I think it’s one of the nicer female hairpieces. The paint on Marvel Girl is similar to that of Cyclops: the base work is sloppy, but the detail lines are nice and sharp, which helps save the figure. I do wish the patterns on her legs were actually mirrors of each other, but they aren’t terrible. Marvel Girl includes a spare head/hair for a full “powered-up” effect (I’m gonna assume it has something to do with the Phoenix, but I haven’t read All-New X-Men, so I can’t confirm), a “jumping stand” and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Cyclops and Marvel Girl were picked up from my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix. Initially, this was the only set I had planned on getting from this series. I don’t read All-New X-Men, but I have been following Cyclops, which stars this version of the character. Ultimately, I ended up getting the rest of the series, but these two still remain my favorites. There are a few paint issues that could stand to be worked on, but other than that, this was a really strong set.

#0357: Young Magneto & Mystique

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

YOUNG MAGNETO & MYSTIQUE

MARVEL MINIMATES

 I realize as I write this review that I have made nary a mention of X-Men: Days of Future Past on this site. I guess that’s what happens when there is minimal merchandising for a movie. Well, there’s no time like the present. Simply put, Days of Future Past was the X-Men movie I’ve been waiting for since the very first X-Men movie was announced. It handled the characters brilliantly and had one of the best emotional through lines I’ve ever seen in a super hero movie. It was a very, very good movie. When it was first announced that the roles of Charles Xavier and Magneto were going to be recast for X-Men: First Class, I was hesitant. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen set the bar pretty high. However, James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender did an exceptional job filling those shoes. Fassbender in particular has become one of my favorite parts of the franchise, thanks to his wonderful performance as the younger Magneto. Today, I’ll be looking at the Minimates of Fassbender’s Magneto and Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Young Magneto and Mystique were released as a two-pack in Series 58 of Marvel Minimates. Originally, Young Magneto was supposed to be packed with old Xavier and Mystique was supposed to be packed with old Magneto, but Diamond changed the pairings at the last minute. I find that this pairing makes more sense, as Magneto and Mystique’s conflict in the 70s is a major point in the film.

YOUNG MAGNETO

Magneto, as far as the movie goes, is actually the more minor character in this set. He still has a pretty substantial role, but he kind of takes a back seat to Charles and Raven during the movie’s climax. This is the second time we’ve seen Fassbender’s Magneto in Minimate form; the first was in the TRU exclusive series based on First Class. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. Obviously, he’s based on Magneto from the 70s timeline, but more specifically he’s based on Magneto’s fully costumed look from the second half of the movie. It’s a slightly toned down version of the costume we saw him wearing at the end of First Class, and I think it’s one of the better costume designs we’ve seen in an X-Men movie. The figure makes use of the traditional Minimate body, with add-ons for his half-cape thing and his helmet. Both of these are new pieces, and they both look pretty good. I wish the helmet was just a tad smaller, but it looks pretty good, and it’s a pretty great replica of the helmet seen in the movie. I’m not sure what movie-verse Magneto’s obsession with half-capes is (he sports one in both timelines) but they’ve done a good job translating this one to the Minimate form. The figure’s paint work is all pretty great. Nothing is too sloppy and there’s no bleed over to speak of. The detail lines on the head, torso, and legs all look nice and sharp, and the head bears a pretty decent Fassbender likeness. Magneto includes an alternate hairpiece, a flight stand, and a clear display stand. Like the helmet, I feel the hair is just a bit too large, but it isn’t monumentally off.

MYSTIQUE

Mystique is arguably the lead character of Days of Future Past. She’s very definitely the most important character. It was nice to see her get some serious screen time, especially after she was essentially a bit player in the first three movies. Like Fassbender’s Magneto, this is the second time we’ve gotten Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique in the Minimate form. And, as an added bonus, she works pretty well as a Rebecca Romijn Mystique too! The figure is about 2 ½ inches in height and she sports 14 points of articulation. Mystique’s pretty much just got the blue-scaly-naked look, so that’s the one they went with. Mystique is built on the usual Minimate body with the addition of a hairpiece. The piece is brand new to the figure, and it looks to be a pretty spot on recreation of Mystique’s hair in the movie. It has some very nice detail work, so that’s good. The rest of Mystique’s look is done with paint, so a good paint job is key. Fortunately, Diamond has delivered on that front. While it’s hard to mess up straight blue, they’ve also done a tremendous amount of detail work, all of which has turned out really well. What impresses me most are the eyes, which have way more detail than you’d expect at this scale. Mystique’s sole accessory is a clear display stand. It’s a bit of a letdown after the comic DOFP set did such a great job conveying Mystique’s powers with the accessories. A Trask head on par with the Senator Kelly head from that set really would have put this two pack over the bar.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was purchased from my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix. I must admit I was a little underwhelmed by the Days of Future Past Minimates when I first saw them. Still, I enjoyed the movie, and they were still Minimates. Plus, I certainly wasn’t going to pass up a figure of the 70s Magneto design. I’m glad I decided to pick this set up, because these two are truly impressive. Mystique is a long needed figure, and Magneto may very well be one of my favorite Minimates.

#0352: Days of Future Past Minimates

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

FUTURE WOLVERINE, FUTURE KITTY PRYDE, MYSTIQUE & FUTURE SENTINEL

MARVEL MINIMATES

Minimates! Oh, how I’ve missed you. It’s been almost 30 reviews since I last looked at a set of Minimates, and almost 50 since I last looked at any Marvel Minimates. I’m not sure how I let that happen. I guess I was just buying too much other stuff. So, here’s a set based on one of the best known X-Men stories of all time!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive, just this summer. It’s based on the “Days of Future Past” story that ran through X-Men #141-142. The set was released to coincide with the movie adaptation of that story, released this past summer.

FUTURE WOLVERINE

It wouldn’t be a proper X-Men set without Wolverine, now would it? Wolverine is, as the figure’s name notes, based on the version of the character from the bad future presented in DOFP. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this version of Wolverine in Minimate form, as it was also a variant all the way back in Marvel Minimates Series 13. However, a few things necessitate a re-do of this particular look: 1) The style of Minimates has changes since then, 2) This figure actually represents what wolverine looks like in the actual issue, while that one was based on the slightly different look from the cover, and 3) the old figure just isn’t very good. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation. He’s built on the basic Minimate body, with a set of clawed hands and additional pieces for his hair, coat, belt and the pouch on his leg. All of these pieces are re-use. The hair and hands have been used on a handful of previous Wolverines. Thecoat is from the Street Fight Wolverine from Series 52. The belt is a generic piece used several times before, and the pouch has been used before, but I don’t know where. Aside from the coat being a touch long for the one Wolverine was sporting in the story, all these pieces are spot on, and they do a great job translating the look to the Minimate form. For the most part, the paint on Wolverine is relatively basic, but it’s pretty good. There are a few areas on the coat and around the boot lines where the lines are a little sloppy, but otherwise it looks pretty great. The face and torso also have some very nice detail line work, which give the figures some pretty good dimension. Future Wolverine includes a clear display stand. 

FUTURE KITTY PRYDE

Okay, so right off the bat, I have a slight bone to pick with DST: In DOFP, Kitty isn’t Kitty Pryde, she’s Kate Pryde. It’s a small but important difference. That being said, I suppose for marketing purposes, it makes sense to call her Kitty. Anyway, she’s the main character of the comic version of the story, so it’s good to see her included here. She is, of course based on the future version of Kitty from the story. In her default setup, she’s meant to replicate Kate’s look from the cover of X-Men #141. Kate stands about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. She’s built on the standard Minimate body, with additional pieces for her hair, collar, and coat. Like Wolverine, all of the pieces are re-use. The hair is from the Shadowcat Minimate from Series 31, the coat is from the Series 46 Peter Parker, and the collar is just a generic collar piece. These pieces make for a decent approximation of Kate’s cover look, which is good. The coat has a small hole on the right shoulder where Peter’s book bag originally attached, but it’s forgivable since it’s re-use. The paint on Kate is basic, but clean. The jacket, pants and shoes are all solid colors, but at least she doesn’t have any slop. The facial expression is a near perfect recreation of her face from the cover, so that’s great. Kitty includes a clear display stand, a spare hairpiece (re-used from Series 43’s Aunt May), and extra arms and legs. By removing the coat and replacing the arms and legs, you can recreate Kate’s prison camp look, which is the look she actually has in the story itself. It’s a masterfully done extra look and it’s absolutely spot on to what she looked like in the story.

MYSTIQUE

Mystique is the only “current” figure in the set. She’s a great choice, seeing as she operates as the main antagonist in all of the present day sequences, plus she was in dire need of an update. Mystique is in her classic costume, which is the one she was wearing in DOFP, so that’s cool. Mystique is about 2 ½ inches in height and features 14 points of articulation. Like the others, she features the standard Minimate body as her starting point, with add-ons for her hair and skirt. The hair is re-used from the “Curse of the Mutants” Vampire Jubilee and the skirt is from the Series 38 Elektra. These are both very nicely sculpted pieces, and they work great for Mystique. Mystique’s paint is very well done. Everyhing is clean and sharp, and the line work brilliantly translates Mystique from the page to the Minimate. There are even ties on her sides going from the front to the back of her dress! Mystique includes a clear display stand and two extra heads: one Senator Kelly and one half-Kelly/half-Mystique (both of which make use of the hair previously seen on the Lost in Space Minimates Doctor Smith). The heads are a great idea. The half-and-half head makes for a perfect illustration of Mystique’s abilities and with the addition of a spare suit body, the Kelly head allows you to make your own Senator Kelly, another character pivotal to the story. (For reference, I used the body of a Series 43 J Jonah Jameson, which I have several of thanks to SHIELD Agent army building.)

FUTURE SENTINEL

This particular Sentinel could work equally as a current day and future Sentinel, but the box says “Future” so that’s what I’m going with. The Sentinels are the antagonists of the future sequences, so the inclusion of one here is perfect. I just wish it were available outside of this four pack because I’d love to have a few of them. The Sentinel is based on the classic Sentinel design, as was seen in DOFP. The figure is a little over 2 ½ inches tall and features 12 points of articulation. The height puts him way out of scale with the rest of the set, but that’s just a thing we’ll have to live with. The Sentinel is built using the standard Minimate body, with add-ons for the helmet, hands, torso extender, and feet. The helmet first saw use on the Marvel vs Capcom 3 Sentinel, the hands are from the TRU exclusive Annihilus, the torso extender has seen a few uses, and the boots are from the TRU exclusive Box. All of these pieces add up to the best looking Sentinel the line has offered yet. The paint on the Sentinel seems particularly good. All of the details are very shard and clean, and the shades of purple and pink are just right, which was something I always found off about the previous Sentinels. The Sentinel includes an alternate battle-damaged head, an orange flight base, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I did not attend San Diego Comic Con, this set was picked up from my very favorite Minimate retailer, Luke’s Toy Store. When Diamond first announced they were planning on doing a set based on the story, I was pretty excited, and this set really lives up to my expectations. Mystique and the Sentinel are easily my default versions of those characters now, and Wolverine and Kate are fun variants. Throw in the fact that I can build my very own Senator Kelly, who I never though in a million years we’d get, and I’m as happy as I could be with this set.

#0311: Marvel’s Cyclops

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

MARVEL’S CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

CyclopsNow1

Ever since I first got into the marvelous mutants of the X-Men, I’ve been a pretty big fan of Cyclops. Well, the idea of Cyclops, I suppose. His powers are cool, and he’s been graced with some of the cooler costume designs in comics. In the 90s, every X-Man got a figure, and Cyclops even got several. They were of varying quality, but I had just about all of them, and I loved them all. When Marvel figures moved to the 6-inch scale with Marvel Legends, I patiently awaited that awesome figure that would live up to my expectations of good ol’ one-eye. Sadly, while Toybiz did eventually produce a Cyclops, it was far from what I’d hoped. Cyclops made a few more appearances in the Marvel Legends style, but none of them did much for me. I recently picked up my first Cyclops figure in what feels like forever, courtesy of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Infinite Series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CyclopsNowWilsonThis version of Cyclops was released in the recent X-Men themed series of Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The series is done to loosely tie-in with Days of Future Past, and it is exclusive to Toys R Us. Cyclops stands a little over 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. He’s based on the character’s “Marvel Now!” look. Well, one of them anyway. There are currently two versions of Scott Summers running around the Marvel universe. This one’s the older one. He’s all surly. According to the back of the box, Scott has lost control of his powers. Well, more so than before, I guess. What that means design-wise is that instead of the traditional visor we’ve all grown accustomed to, Scott now has a big red “X” on his face. Yay comics! Cyclops is built on Hasbro’s new standard male buck, used on figures such as Boomerang and Zemo. It’s a pretty decent, medium-build type body that works for a lot of characters, so that’s cool. Scott also has a pair of fists stolen from the recent Nova figure, as well as an all-new head sculpt and belt add-on. The head is actually a very nice sculpt. The X-visor has been etched in place, and Scott’s been given a facial expression that befits his older, surlier self. The belt is a basic belt with pouches, but it’s well sculpted, so that’s cool. It’s generic enough that I could see Hasbro putting it to use elsewhere. The rest of Scott’s details are handled via paint. The figure is CyclopsNow2molded in black, with red, orange, and flesh-tone paint providing the various details. The paint is fairly cleanly applied, but it’s not perfect. The red lines on his costume are pretty good, but his visor’s a bit of a mess. It seems like the paint didn’t want to stay in the lines. In addition, the “x” on Scott’s belt is off center, once again failing to follow the sculpted line work. Still, this isn’t as bad as some Hasbro efforts, and the figure does end up looking better as a whole. Cyclops’s only accessory is the arm to this Series’ Build-A-Figure, Jubilee. I don’t know why, but for some reason this BaF figure piece seems more morbid tan previous ones.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In all honesty, I was not a fan of this Cyclops design when it was first revealed. But, as other artists (read: NOT Joe Quesada) started to draw it, I actually kind of warmed up to it a bit. It’s one of those rare modern costumes that doesn’t suffer from being too over-designed. So, when this series of Marvel Legends was announced, I was a little bit interested in the figure, but I wasn’t 100% sold.

The other day, I had a rough day at work, and decided to stop by my local TRU, just to see what they had. I found the remnants of a case of this series. All that was left were two Wolverines and this guy. In person, I was even more impressed with the costume’s design, and so I decided, what the heck, I’ll go for it. To be honest, he’s probably the best Marvel Legends version of Scott produced. Also, now I kinda want to finish Jubilee, but that means I’ll have to buy a Stryfe figure. I’m not sure I’m ready for that…

CyclopsNow3ALT

#0263: Wolverine – Brown Costume, Woverine – Brood-Infected, & the Brood

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

WOLVERINE – BROWN COSTUME, WOLVERINE – BROOD-INFECTED, & THE BROOD

MARVEL MINIMATES

Wolverine&BroodBroodverine&Brood

Okay, it’s time for another review from the wonderful world of Minimates! Once again, the figures in today’s review hail from the flagship Marvel Minimates line, which is a pretty huge line of figures. This time around, it’s two versions of Wolverine and the alien race the Brood from the X-Men side of things. Let’s have a look!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Wolverine, the Brood, and Brood-infected Wolverine were released as part of Marvel Minimates Series 47, which was based around the “Outback” era of the X-Men comics during the 80s. Basic Wolverine was the basic release, with the Brood-Infected Wolverine as the one-per-case variant. One Brood was packed with each of the Wolverines.

WOLVERINE

This was this series’ normal Wolverine. He’s based on Wolverine’s brown costume, which he quite prominently wore for most of the 80s and a short period of the 90s. The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. The figure features a sculpted mask, belt, boots, and hands. All of these pieces have been used on previous figures, but given the similarities between this and other Wolverine looks, this is a completely understandable practice. Generally, they are the best available Wolverine pieces, so that works out well. The paint work on Wolverine is okay, but not the greatest. There are a few sloppy lines here and there, and my figure was missing the upper part of his left glove entirely. Obviously, the last one was an isolated incident, but it speaks poorly for the general quality control of this series. Wolverine includes a spare hair piece and a pulled down mask to hang on his shoulders. Both are new, which is impressive for a figure that is otherwise re-use.

WOLVERINE – BROOD INFECTED

The Brood infected wolverine is a tweak on the basic Wolverine in the series. He is meant to depict Wolverine in the midst of being transformed into one of the Brood. He’s in the brown costume, like the normal Wolverine, but this time around it’s a lot more greyed out, to match his different skin tone. Like the regular Wolverine, this one is built on the standard Minimate body and features a sculpted mask, belt, boots, and hands. The belt and hands are the same as those seen on the regular figure, but the mask and boots are different and in fact are brand new to this particular figure. Both pieces represent slightly more exaggerated proportions than the regular versions, which lend themselves more to the Brood-transformation. The paint work is okay, but not great. There aren’t any outstanding issues like with the normal version, but he still suffers from some fuzzy lines, and a few misplaced details. This Wolverine includes a pair of Brood tentacles, which can be put on in place of his normal hands.

THE BROOD

The Brood are one of the more prominent alien races to grace the pages of X-Men. They have quite a few similarities to the Xenomorphs of the Alien franchise, though, interestingly enough, I’m not a huge fan of them. This is meant to be a basic Brood drone, which is the most common design choice, and the one that is best to army build. The figure is sort of based on the base Minimate body, but he does not make use of anything below the waist. The figure makes use of several unique sculpted bits, and sits horizontal, so it measures a little under 2 inches in height and about 3 inches long, with 20 points of articulation, thanks to his six arms. The figure features a sculpted head, torso cover with ball joints for two extra arms on either side, a tendril on each arm, and a tail that plugs into the bottom of his torso. All of these pieces are new to the Brood, though the tendrils are shared with the infected Wolverine. They all work pretty well, though the head is more like a hat piece to the normal head, which makes it look odd when viewed from bellow. The paint work on the figure is mostly just the basic green-brown, with a few details on the head and tail. Everything is pretty clean, though there are a few instances of slop. The Brood includes no accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with many other Marvel Minimates sets, these two were purchased, along with the rest of their series, from my local comicbook store on the day of release. I was excited for the series overall, but these two sets were probably my least favorite. Initially, I hadn’t even intended to pick up the Brood-Infected Wolverine set at all, but when I saw them at the store, I figured they looked cool enough. I’m still not the biggest fan of the Brood, and that figure in particular pushes the use of the base body almost to its breaking point, but I can’t think of another way to translate the design. These sets gave us a pretty great version of Wolverine’s brown costume, a neat Brood-Infected version, and a decent Brood figure for those who are fans. All in all, I’d say these sets are a pretty decent win for the line.

#0259: Professor X – Space Rider

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

PROFESSOR X

X-MEN SPACE RIDERS

SpaceX1

X-Men. In Space! Yeah, I know, it’s a really highbrow concept. It was the late 90s, what do you want? Besides, the X-Men have actually spent a fair bit of time in space, so outfitting them with Space gear isn’t the worst possible idea, now is it? Plus, it totally gives the toymakers another excuse to re-release all the main X-Men that people just love buying. How could it go wrong? It couldn’t, it just couldn’t. Fool proof plan here. So, let’s just take a look at the Professor X from this line up, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SpaceX2Professor X was released as part of the first, and only, series of X-Men Space Riders. The line was an off-shoot of the main X-Men line, much the same way the Savage Land line was. The figures were released as boxed items, along with some sizeable accessories. Space Riser Professor X stands about 5 inches tall and features 7 points of articulation. As far as I can tell, the Professor got a whole new sculpt for this line. They didn’t even reuse the same head like they did on the last one! The sculpt is a bit strange in a few areas, most notably the strange way his legs connect to his torso. One thing I do really like is the hydraulics on his legs, as they make for a good explanation to how exactly Charles is up and walking around. The right hand is sculpted around a bit of metal to aid in the figure’s interface with his vehicle, so it ends up looking a little bit on the odd side. The paint work is basic, but for the most part it’s cleanly applied, with very few issues of slop or bleed over. Professor X features a removable helmet, which fits nicely and looks super cool, and a “Space Sled,” which includes two missiles and at one point had a light up feature. The sled is an interesting piece, and interlocks with the sleds included with the rest of the series to form one big space ship. Thrilling!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Professor X was purchased from my local comic book store just a few weeks ago. The owner had just gotten in a selection of older action figures, and had them all sitting on a table for $5.99 a piece. I had never gotten any of the Space Riders back in the day, apart from a Cyclops I got loose, but I was always fascinated by the figures. So, for $6, I figured it was worth the purchase. Professor X is a little dated compared to more recent figures, but I can’t help but look at this figure and think “Man, that looks cool!”

#0254: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

S-WORLD MINIFIGURES

Cyclops1Lego

Okay, one last look into the dark back alley of toy collecting that is bootleg toys! I’ve looked at Black Lantern and Captain America, now I move on to the franchise that actually introduced me to the world of bootlegs, X-Men! See, back in the 90s, I so loved X-Men figures that I actually ended up with at least one knock off, but that’s a story for another review. Today, let’s take a look at Cyclops.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is yet another Bootlego from the very generically named “S-World Minifigures” line. As with Cap, I haven’t been able to tie him to any particular set. Cyclops is about 2 inches tall and has 7 points of articulation. He’s on the same Bootlego body seen before, which is an impressive mock of the original. He looks to be based on Cyclops’s 90s look, which is also the main look he sports in the Lego Marvel video game. His one add-on piece is a hairpiece, which is the same as the one used on Black Lantern, which is in turn a copy of one of Lego’s basic hairpieces. Cyclops’s paint is perhaps the least impressive of the three bootlegs I picked up, but it’s still surprisingly good for a bootleg. The only real issue is that the yellow used is a bit too thinly applied, which allows the colors under it to bleed through. Cyclops is accessorized with two Lego antennae cast in translucent red plastic and a black display stand. I assume that the antennae are meant to simulate Cyclops’s optic blasts, but they just end up looking goofy. Also, the stand is notably not the new piece seen on the other two, but rather a copy of Lego’s own minifigure stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the previous two Bootlegos, Cyclops was purchased from a dealer at Mego Meet, prior to my knowledge of their sketchy nature. I’m actually quite fascinated by how close to the real thing all three of these were. I’m also impressed by the fact that these have such a large selection of lesser characters and looks. Obviously someone involved with S-World Minifigures is a comics fan who wanted more characters.

Cyclops2Lego

#0244: Professor X – Astral Projection

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

PROFESSOR X – ASTRAL PROJECTION

X-MEN

ProfXAstral

Professor X is typically a guy in a wheel chair, typically wearing a fairly average suit and tie. As such, he might not seem like the most toyetic character. However, he’s actually gotten quite a fair share of action figures over the years, of many different varieties. Today, I’ll be looking at one of the more out there versions.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Professor X was a part of the “Mutant Armor” Series of the Toybiz X-Men line. He stands about 5 inches tall and features 8 points of articulation. The figure is based on the look Xavier would sometimes sport when having one of his “battles of the mind.” None of the pieces are original to this figure. The head comes from the previous Professor X figure. The body is an interesting story. Originally, it was meant to be released as US Agent in the third series of Toybiz’s Iron Man line, before the figure was cut from the lineup (Ironically, the figure did eventually see an unsanctioned release overseas). Then, the mold was retooled slightly to be used as Living Laser in the fifth series of Iron Man. This series ended up cancelled entirely, and the mold was once again in limbo. Finally, Toybiz got it out with this figure. Oh boy. Honestly, it’s not even the greatest sculpt. On both of the previous figures to use the body, the head was the main draw. The body’s a bit pudgy, and the torso just looks weird. On the plus side, the figure is molded in some pretty sweet translucent red plastic, which always makes a figure better. He has minimal paintwork, but what’s there is pretty solid overall. The eyebrows seem a bit bold, but maybe Professor X just pictures himself with big bushy eyebrows. The figure included a two piece snap on chest plate, a two piece belt, shin armor, a lightning bolt, and a launching disc shield.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Professor X was yet another purchase from the Balticon dealer’s room. Hey, they had $3 X-Men figures, and I’m weak, what can I say? In the 90s, when these figures were still new, finding old releases was virtually impossible, so getting the more basic Professor X was a no go. So, my dad had this figure as his default Professor X for his X-Men shelf. I never had one of my own, but I was always fascinated with the figure. So, when the opportunity presented itself, I was thrilled to get this guy. I know I was a little rough on the body sculpt, but this figure really is just a lot of fun.

#0243: Wolverine – Spy

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

WOLVERINE V – SPY WOLVERINE

X-MEN

SpyWolverine

You can’t venture far into a discussion about X-Men without running into Wolverine. This is even more true when it comes to the X-Men in the 90s, when Wolverine was at insane levels of popularity. As a young, impressionable child at the time, I was of course a huge fan of the character. More recently, I’ve started to enjoy the character less and less, mostly due to his severe over-exposure, but he’s spawned more than a few action figures, and I can always appreciate a good action figure. So, is today’s figure a “good action figure?” Let’s find out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This is the fifth version of Wolverine released in Toybiz’s X-Men line. He was part of the fourth series of the line. The figure stands about 5 inches tall and features 11 points of articulation, as well as a mechanism that raises his arms when his torso is rotated. You know, for claw-slashin’ and the like. This particular version of Wolverine is based on his “spy” look from his time working for Weapon X. The sculpt appears to be unique to the figure, though it is possible that the head may have been shared with one of the other Wolverine figures from the line. It’s not a bad sculpt, and it fits in nicely with the rest of the line style-wise. His goggles and com-link thingy are attached via a swivel joint, so they can be swung out of his face or removed all together. Unfortunately, they end up being a bit on the large side, which makes Wolverine look more like a snorkeler than a spy. The paint work is fairly minimal, but it’s mostly applied pretty well. The face, however, seems to have gotten the worst of it. He’s kind of got this wide-eyed stare, and his pupils look way too big, which makes him look a bit high. Makes you wonder exactly what kind of stuff Weapon X had him on. Maybe that’s why he can’t remember his past! Wolverine comes packed with 6 knife-type weapons, which can be stored in the various slots on his uniform. How convenient.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Wolverine is yet another figure purchased from the Balticon dealer’s room this past Memorial Day. Like yesterday’s Iceman, I got him because I didn’t already have him, and he was $3. He’s not as good a figure as either of the Icemen, but I suppose he’s not terrible. I certainly won’t be singing the figure’s praises, though I will admit I got quite a laugh upon removing the goggles and seeing those eyes staring back at me.

SpyWolverine2

#0242: Iceman -Armored

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

ICEMAN – ARMORED

X-MEN

IcemanArmored

Like I said yesterday, the 90s X-Men line was very important to me when I was growing up. It’s still one of my favorite lines, and I still enjoy picking up figures I don’t have when I see them. Today, I’m looking at another version of founding X-Man, Iceman. Let’s have a look!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iceman was released as part of the “Mutant Armor” Series of the Toybiz X- Men line. Or, if you’re a fan of typos on mass released toys, the “Muntant Armor” Series. The figure stands around 5 inches tall and features 9 points of articulation, as well as an action feature that allows the height of the ice on his back to be raised. The figure is based primarily on Iceman’s design from the 90s X-Men crossover “Age of Apocalypse.” The figure creates this look by reusing the body of Iceman II, released in the “Invasion” series of the X-Men line, with a new head. The body is a nice replication of the “spiky” look that Iceman sported for a good portion of the 90s. The head features the character’s mouth-less look from the crossover, which looks pretty cool! The figure’s paint is a little uneven, in all honesty. They’ve attempted to do an air-brushed mist look on the figure, but it doesn’t really work. It’s really heavy on the head and neck, but practically non-existent on the rest of the figure, which makes for a jarring change. Being part of the “Mutant Armor” Series, Iceman is packed with hand and feet attachments to armor him up.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Just like the last 3 reviews, this Iceman was purchased from the Balticon dealer’s room. I mostly picked him up because he was a 5-inch X-Men figure I didn’t already have, and he was $3. He’s a pretty neat figure, and probably one of the more interestingly sculpted figures in the line. He was definitely worth the purchase!