The Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four

Marvel Legends - Hasbro

 

Like the X-Men, Hasbro has lifted the shameful embargo on another non-Marvel Cinematic Universe family:  The Fantastic Four!  Although the catch is that they are Walgreen's exclusives.  That's not a terrible thing, as I have had no trouble with their exclusive figures thus far.  The downside is that you have to wait so long, quarterly or longer, between figures. 

 

Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman, was the first figure.  Man, Hasbro has really come a long way with the female body sculpt!  Sue looks great from head to toe. She's got a nice "phasing" effect with one of her arms to show off her invisible powers.  This is decent, but you'll have to use your imagination to go full-on invisible or wait for a fully translucent figure.  It would have been nice if they had included some sort of force shield or other effect like Toy Biz did with the Jessica Alba figures way back when.  Jessica Alba...ha...talk about phasing out.

Lack of demonstrative power aside, the Invisible Woman does come with a big accessory: H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot, B-type, Integrated Electronics).  Herb was a cute robot designed for the 1978 cartoon when they couldn't use the Human Torch for some reason.  He made his comic universe debut shortly after.  Stupid, yes...but he's got the mark of Jack Kirby about him, so he's cool in my book.  He's got a ball-jointed head for articulation and a clear flight stand.

 

Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, made his Walgreen's debut months later.  He's in full "flame-on" mode, which is a challenge to bring variety to a potentially one-color figure.  I feel that Hasbro did okay.  I like that you can still see some of his uniform, like the belt and symbol, and they varied some translucent plastic effects here and there.  He's got some sculpted on flames on the hands, boots, and head and comes with removable shoulder flames, like Iceman did with his ice effect.  He also comes with some hand flame effects that are similar to what was used with Sunfire.

Dr. Reed Richards, the leader of the Four known as Mr. Fantastic, had to have been one of my most wanted Hasbro re-dos.  And they did not disappoint.  He's got a set of "stretchy" bendable arms to demonstrate his powers. He's thin, reusing the "pizza" Spider-Man body with new feet and hands.  And the head, of course...not a bad take on the smartest man in the Marvel Universe.  I only wish they could have included a pipe accessory.  Ah, I'll settle for the Ultimate Nullifier!  This tiny accessory is supposed to be one of the most devastating weapons in all the universe, able to eliminate any target the wielder has in mind and instilling fear into the mightiest of beings like the world-devouring Galactus.

 

 

Even though there is a new Thing figure coming down the line, it's gonna be hard to top this Toy Biz version in my line-up.  The same goes for Hasbro's Dr. Doom from some time back.  I feel that I have my ideal fantastic family here.  So, load up in the Fantasticar and let's get into some Kirby-esque, cosmic adventure that is sorely lacking in the MCU!  Sorry, Guardians of the Galaxy...you were just a placeholder.

Cable and Domino

Cable and Domino

Marvel Legends Deadpool Wave

Hasbro

More Deadpool goodness in celebration of the "Merc with the Mouth's" big-screen sequel.  Marvel Legends brought out some comic versions of two character featured in the new movie:  Cable and Domino.  The X-Force roster is growing more and more as time passes!    Now, I'm not the biggest fan of Rob Liefeld designs, but their ridiculousness translates into some fun toys! Viva la 1990's!

I have a more modern Cable from a few waves back, but I just couldn't pass up this first-appearance take.  The oversized shoulder things, the over-used utility pouches, the giant guns, the gross color scheme...so cheesy-good!  The detail is great here, like he leapt from the pages of the comics.

"Your pouches...give them to me."

I like what they did here with the plastic, cybernetic eye thing.  Even that thing on the side of his head looks great.  What is that?  A giant  Bluetooth device from a future that has never come to pass?  Ah, time travel inconsistencies...maybe he's kicking butt while listening to the Cubs win the 2015 World Series?



 The Domino figure fairs a bit better in the style department with her modern look.  Like my previous review of the Deadpool/Venom figure, its hard to beat a clean black-and white paint job.  Unlike Cable's eye-thingy and his plated-arms, you have to use your imagination in play to show off Domino's mutant power of luck.  It sounds ridiculous, but "Deadpool 2" made sense of it in some pretty great sequences.

She does have some nice, metallic armor here an there for variety.  There are some good, battle-damage nicks and scratches in the detail.  I'm not sure if that's a comic-accurate thing, but the purple guns?  Whatever...a bit cartoony, but some variety at least.
























All in all, I am happy to add these figures to my growing Marvel Legends X-Family.  *SPOILER* - If you are a die-hard Shatterstar fan, you might skip DP2.  Wait...what am I saying?  Shatterstar "fans?" Does. Not. Compute. Go see DP2 now!

Deadpool: Back in Black

Deadpool: Back in Black

Hasbro Marvel Legends





Hey, you got your Deadpool on my Venom!  You got your Venom on my Deadpool!  Another needless crossover, but I do like the clean black and white paint job.  I picked this one up as a cheap Amazon Warehouse deal (damaged package...MIB/MOC collectors are lame).  Did I need it?  No, but "Deadpool 2" is hitting theaters now and I'm feeling the hype, baby!




















"Are you lookin' at my bum? Cheeky Monkey!"

It's got the same body build as previous Deadpools. Accessory-wise, he has some funky, translucent purple katanas and some symbiote arms.  The arms come together in the back, and port into a hole in the figure.  Both this and the swords are repaints/repacks from other figures.  The same goes for the hands.  You get a set of claw-like hands, but only one web-slinging hand?  Not sure who made sense of that...probably saved a fraction of a cent in production or shipping costs.  And just because you have alien powers means you don't need guns anymore?!  Pffft! Oh well, at least we got an alternate head.

Again, cheap (in price and concept) but fun, and...why the hell not...I've already bought my share of symbiote crap from the 90's onward.  What's one more on the pile?
 

"Ooo, scary! Now say "We are Venom" in the Bane voice!"



"Squad Goal: Color-coordinated costumes!"

"Because I needed to look more like Freddy Kruger..."

"GO, WEB, GO!"

 



Bill and Ted Trading Cards

Bill and Ted's Most Atypical Movie Cards

Pro Set - 1991

Action figures by Kenner

This was a most excellent flea market find:  a sealed box of Bill and Ted trading cards for ten bucks!  I've had these for a couple of month's now, but with the recent, official announcement that B&T 3 (Bill and Ted Face the Music) is actually happening, "the best time to be review these cards...is now!"
So with a little help from my most outstanding Kenner Bill and Ted action figures, let's take a look!

That's 36 packs with 10 cards each.  360 cards in a box with a 100 card set meant I ended up with 3 complete sets and some leftovers...not bad, dude!

You get some nice, full color shots from both "Excellent Adventure" and "Bogus Journey", production shots, promotional pictures, and even some scenes that didn't make the cut.  Station!

 

There is a promotional game piece in every pack that has a spot you can scratch to see if you win a grand prize trip to San Dimas, CA...which is kind of bogus considering most of the first movie is shot in Arizona.  I would rather have the non-heinous first prize of a phone booth! 

 

The scratcher part didn't hold up well, so the few I did scratch were either hard to read or rubbed straight through the card.  Oh well...while it was tempting to see if there was a winning ticket buried on a dusty shelf of a flea market in Springfield, MO, it probably would have been heartbreaking as you couldn't turn back the clock to redeem it.  Unless, of course, you're a master of the time game...

Alternate ending?!  Righteous!

Deleted scene...catch you later, nightmare bunny!

Finding cheap sets like this is always a bodacious trip back in time.  While I wish there were some fun chase cards like holograms, I definitely got my money's worth in nostalgia.  Like phone booths, trading cards are a rare breed these days here in the non-movie, actual future. ("Heavy!)  Will the third movie get a set?  Here's hoping!  Until then, be excellent to each other.  And...

PARTY ON, DUDES!

Rampage

Rampage

Big City Brawl - Lanard Toys

The Rampage movie is big, dumb fun, as are these large-scale figures from Lanard Toys.  While you should know exactly what you're getting from a Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vehicle with giant monsters, the real surprise comes from seeing a big license go to a low-tier, budget-line company like Lanard...and blow us away!  While they do come packed with some cheap looking Corps figures as destruction fodder, the monsters are far from it.  That's not to say that their aren't some shortcomings, but for a figure that size at $14.99 its hard to complain.

George, the albino gorilla is the weakest figure of the three.  Sculpt-wise, he looks great, and could stand in well with my Planet of the Apes figures or Gorilla Grodd.  However, he takes major hits in the articulation department.  He's got a hinged jaw and an arm that rotates out or smashes down as an action feature...that's it.  It's frustrating that there should be at least joint cuts where its obvious the figure was put together.  If any of these figures needed articulation, it was the ape!  He comes with a weird, tiny helicopter, soldier, and fence accessory.  If I didnt know these were reused Corps pieces, it would be even more frustrating.  Save that plastic and put more into the monkey, dammit!

Ralph, the wolf, fairs a bit better with articulation.  He's got a few added points in the front legs, back legs, and tail.  You can press up and down on his neck to make his jaw open and close.  He comes with a doofy Corps figure and an awesome little diorama piece:  half of a city bus with a removable damaged panel.  I look forward to using it with the Jurassic World T-Rex figure to recreate the climax to Jurassic Park 2...wait...that movie sucks!  Nevermind!

Saving the best for last, Lizzie is the biggest and best of the line.  The money saved and corners cut on George and Ralph must have gone into Lizzie because this figure definitely has some weight to it.  The detail and paint on the scales, spines, and tusks are excellent.  She has a tail swinging feature and a chomping jaw, which also causes her head fins to frill out.  The legs move a little, but this figure doesn't need all that much articulation to begin with.  It succeeds with scales and teeth alone!

I had a lot of fun with my Readysets Urban Playset and a gob of generic World Heroes soldiers I've amassed over time.  Again, these figures are great for the price point and if you are a fan of the movie or video game they are totally worth it.