Jack Kirby

 Jack Kirby

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I never thought this would happen...A JACK KIRBY ACTION FIGURE!

I promised myself I wouldn't harp on the "legacy" of Stan Lee on this one...but it's beyond time "The King of Comics" got the treatment he deserves.  One action figure is a step in the right direction.  It's not much, but its something.

Shameful that it wasn't Marvel or DC that gave us this shot.  Many thanks to NECA on being completionists with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic line.  And sending that "thanks" back in time to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman for giving props to one of their idols.

The figure is going to look most at home with the Turtles.  All those harsh lines and bright colors and all.  He looks like he jumped straight from the pages of the Donatello one-shot.  If you don't get the homage, a common "man" action figure may not be all that appealing.  He did come with a little Black Horde imp figure to help push the sale to these folks.

For those that do get the homage that is "Kirby", you should be over the moon.  He scales well enough with "other" figure lines.  So if you want to recreate the scene from the books where the Fantastic Four meet "God", all systems go!  

Maybe there's hope a digital Jack Kirby might show up in the new FF movie?  It would be nice, but it not like Disney gives that much credit to Ub Iwerks, so...

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jack-kirbys-son-neal-kirby-responds-to-stan-lee-disney-documentary/

"My father retired from comic books in the early 1980s and of course, passed away in 1994. Lee had over 35 years of uncontested publicity, much naturally, with the backing and blessing of Marvel as he boosted the Marvel brand as a side effect of boosting himself. The decades of Lee's self-promotion culminated with his cameo appearances in over 35 Marvel films starting with "X-Men" in 2000, thus cementing his status as the creator of all things Marvel to an otherwise unknowing movie audience of millions, unfamiliar with the true history of Marvel comics. My father's first screen credit didn't appear until the closing crawl at the end of the film adaptation of Iron Man in 2008, after Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Larry Lieber. The battle for creator's rights has been around since the first inscribed Babylonian tablet. It's way past time to at least get this one chapter of literary/art history right. 'Nuff said."

Jumanji

Jumanji

Lanard

Lanard does it again!  Another movie tie-in with great sculpting, features, and variety that is also low-cost to the collector.  I couldn't give two $*%@# about the Jumani movies (even though I love the Rock), but an animal kingdom in roughly 6-in figure scale?!  Just bring it!  Suck it, Schleich and your over-priced PVCs! 

Taking a cue from Mattel's Jurassic world deluxe dinos, the mid-range animals feature leg and head articulation with a built-in action and sound feature.  Some collectors are still going to hold out for more articulation, but this is over the moon for $10.  At first, I was just going to get the bear...then I went back for the Jaguar...then the deluxe set with the lion.  

The deluxe set with the lion is $20 and comes with a cheetah, warthog, and eagle.  The smaller figures don't have the sound and action features, but still have a fair amount of articulation.  What really sold me on these was seeing the set side by side in the toy aisle with the 80th anniversary Marvel Legends Captain America.  Cap needed that eagle.  Superman needed that eagle.  I needed that eagle.

Hinged jaws!  Loud roaring sound effects with head rearing at the push of a button!  With more to come on the back of the box!  I'm on the hunt for that awesome Tiger for my Shazam figures.  And those larger, $15 animals are now necessities to track down.  I hope this line keeps going for some time. 

This line is a Walmart exclusive and should be hitting shelves now.  If you're a 6-inch figure collector, I don't know how you could pass these by!  

Hydra Supreme Captain America and Arnim Zola

Hydra Supreme Captain America and Arnim Zola

Marvel Legends - Hasbro

The ranks of Hydra expands on my toy shelf with two new additions...well, sort of.  Arnim Zola is a retool/repaint/rerelease of an older Hasbro Legends build-a-figure that I never completed, so it's new to me.  And Hydra Supreme is Captain America...well, an alternate version of Cap.  Splitting hairs...they both look spiffy in their new duds!

Zola's modern look retains most of his color scheme, minus the orange.  I would prefer a classic paint job as one of the first comics I remember getting was Captain America #277.  Man, those colors pop on those characters...it's hard to accept any less (plus fur on my Zemo, please.)  They included an alternate classic head and his remote control (repaint) if you do want to switch it up, but I do have to say I like the new "turret-head-with-Dalek-eye" look.  And, while nothing can displace Jack Kirby, I also dig the modern "screaming-manic" face in the torso.  

There were some weird debates about this "ape arms" in on the nerd toy boards that almost approached Thing "teeth-no teeth" levels of nonsense.  Vary art depictions validated the figure, while some continued to gripe.  I love that he's a stocky, robo-man with ape arms.  Along with the tiny head, he reminds me of the old Death Hug Dean figure from the Tick.

Hydra Supreme Cap is a (mostly) new figure.  I think some parts of the arms might be Iron Man reuse?  In any case, its appropriate for the armor.  Everything here looks great.  There are some cool, armory grooves and lines here and there, and the chain-mailish legs are fantastic...Hasbro has yet to deliver a regular Cap with sculpted mail!  

There are only two gripes with this figure.  One is that I wish it came with an unmasked Steve Rogers head.  I mean, it's not like they haven't already made one before.  The other is that, while the shield does clip to the arm just fine, there's no peg hole in the back of the figure to store it on his back!  C'mon, isn't that standard on Cap figures?  Heck, they put holes on the backs of characters that don't ever carry things!

This is a great set if you missed out on Zola the first time out.  Even if you didn't, I think it would be hard to pass up this evil Cap.  At $40 for the set, that's a bargain for a full build-a-figure. And, besides who doesn't need more army builder figures? Hail Hydra!

Secret Wars Captain America

Secret Wars Captain America

Hasbro Marvel Legends

"When Captain America throws his mighty shield..."  Duck!  Because Vibranium will knock a lot more than just teeth loose!  I got this figure as an Amazon add-on item for about $4.  The costume is a modern take that I have no reference to (although it does look quite spiffy), but what drew me to the figure was the accessories.  This is the first Cap to have an alternate, shield-throwing effect hand!  

The shield also pegs into his back and can be clipped to his wrist when not flying through the air to KO Nazi weirdos.

Not my ideal look for Captain America (gotta stick with the classic colors and wings coming off the head), but for $4 he's more than worth it.  The paint apps are shiny and clean and, again, the shield gimmick puts him over the top.

Marvel Legends Icons - Spider-man and Captain America

Marvel Legends Icons

Spider-man and Captain America

Hasbro - 12-inch figures

It's been over 10 years since Toy Biz introduced their 12-inch line of Marvel Legends Icons, and just this last year, Hasbro brought them back!  The sculpting and quality have improved, as have the accessories...but is it enough to ease the jump in price from $20 to $50 a figure?  Nah.  I have some of the older figures, so these were a "pass" until I saw them on clearance for $20-25 at Wal-Mart and Amazon.  For that price, make mine Marvel!

It's your friendly neighborhood Spider-man!  Just a little bit bigger!  This is an up-size on the 6-inch "pizza" Spidey that Hasbro released last year, so the sculpt and articulation are comparable. You get the half-masked head and interchangeable hands, but instead of a slice of pepperoni, you get a fully unmasked Peter Parker head.  The only other change would be that the shade of blue on the 12-inch figure is much darker, almost navy.

(What the hell?  I didn't know Zack Snyder was doing Marvel now?!  ...Oh no?  Thank goodness. If there is one character that shouldn't have the joy sucked out of him, it's Spider-man).  Anyway, at least the smaller figure is the appropriate true-blue. 

Captain America's blue is a little dark, too.  That might be appropriate with this more modern costume choice for all I know.  The detail on the lines and scales is great, as is the metal scuffing paint job on the kneepads. Accessories: extra hands, unmasked head, and separate headpiece to hold.  The shield has straps to hold it on his arm.  It can also be plugged into his back.  To do so, you press the star on his chest to pop out the star on his back, revealing the hole to plug the shield...yeah, it's almost a weird action feature. Careful: I almost threw away the star from his back, as I apparently pressed the star on his front while I was unboxing him. I didn't notice the back-star drop out, but, luckily, found it on the floor later.

The biggest complaint I have with Cap, aside from the blue, is that both heads are kind of dead-eyed.  Not even a hint on the mouth that he could be capable of smiling and...oh no!  Damn you, Zack Snyder!  

Must...combat...grim...superhero....syndrome.....

Whew!  That's better!  Thanks, big-noggin Spidey!