Friday, September 27, 2019

Killer Croc Wave

Killer Croc Wave
DC Multiverse

The newest (and possibly last) wave of Mattel's DC Multiverse is all bat-family and a couple of villains:  Red Robin, Red Hood, Dick Grayson as Batman, Katana, Alfred, and KGBeast...each with a piece of a large Killer Croc figure.  

I need another Robin figure like I need a hole in the head, but he sure does look nice with the newer, smaller male buck from Mattel.  He's perfect in sculpt, paint, and poseability. I was using the Batman Missions Robin as my go-to Tim Drake, but this guy is the new champion.  He comes with an extra set of closed-fist hands and his battle staff.









Though this may be the best comic-accurate Red Hood figure to date, I was happy with my Gamestop exclusive Arkham Origins version.  However, once I saw he came with an alternate, unmasked Jason Todd head...beat it with that "Robin is the Arkham Knight" nonsense!  He also comes with alernate hands, trigger-fingers ready to...wait...the guns in his holsters are non-removable?!  WTF?!  Sigh...I guess we pretend those are his "last resorts" and bum some other firepower from his predecessor.













Lots of people online are giving the Dick Grayson Bats flack for his cape and feet.  The feet aren't as big as they say, but the cape could have been a bit wider and more dynamic.  I don't mind that it is made of fabric, but you just can't do much with it.  Oh well...it works with the extra "cowl down" accessory and the first unmasked Dick Grayson head.





















Katana is the weakest link in the Batman-themed wave.  Sure, she was one of the Bat-mentored Outsiders...I just wish we had gotten a modern Cassandra Cain figure in her place.  She's not a bad figure, probably the best Katana we could hope for.  So long, "Suicide Squad" movie figure stand-in!  I wanted to take a pic with some of the other Outsiders we have gotten, but I seem to have misplaced my Black Lightning figure.  Static Shock is covering him in his absence.  

















Speaking of Outsiders...we come to the "ultimate" Alfred figure.  Not only do I have a superior-articulated figure to replace the DC Direct Hush Version, but he comes with some fantastic accessories.  You get a silver tray to hold Batman's removed cowl and a glass of water to cool down on after a long night on the beat.  You also get four different Alfred headsculpts!  66' Alan Napier and '89 Michael Gough?!  Sheer madness!  Who would have ever though we would get figures of these Alfreds?  Near perfect actor likenesses, and Mattel has nailed two different styles of glasses to boot!  (Figure companies are finally figuring out how to make small, durable glasses after all these years.)





The comic heads are also near perfect.  True Alfred and his Outsider persona from waaay back in the day when he died and came back as a zombified supervillain.  Obscure and awesome!  I intend to put the Oustider head on a different body (like the mod Joker) to represent the modern, Earth 3 version of the character.  Meanwhile, I have given the standard Alf his much-needed shotgun (from the DKR Son of Batman figure.)  When your Batcave's high tech security measure fail, nothing beats the Batman's most trusted ally and his primitive firepower!










Next, bring on the baddies:  two in this wave!  If a new Alfred figure wasn't shocking enough, can you believe we finally have KGBeast!  And re-using some of Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics heft, what a beast he is!  He comes with a big, permanently attached arm canon that has a removable missile and bayonet blade and a couple of knives that fit into his boots.





















And if a super-assassin wasn't enough to take a bite out of the bat-family, the massive Killer Croc collect-n-connect figure will play clean up.  Mattel did a strange, tailed Croc waaay back in 2003 with their "Batman" line.  That figure was retooled for the DC Superheroes line with a more traditional head and paint scheme, but lacked additional articulation.  So I guess a re-do was a long time coming.  Some fans take issue with this figure's size.  Sure, he could go toe to toe with my Marvel Legends Hulk figure, but I'm fine with it.  Croc's size has varied artist to artist.  This one is comparable to the tall Arkham Origins take...he's also replacing that figure on my shelf.








He shares some leg parts with the King Shark figure from many waves back, but other than that, he's a new sculpt.  The detail on the scales and the opening jaws make him a must-have.  I modified a torn up shirt from the earliest Mattel Croc I mentioned.  It's a bit small, bit I do think it adds something to him visually, just a bit to break up the blue-green combo.

Unlike most Mattel DC product, this wave has been readily available at Walmarts and online retailers.  Maybe it's Mattel going out with a bang before handing over the keys to the DC kingdom or they wanted to go big for Batman's 80th Anniversary.  In any case, this wave was pure win.  Bittersweet...this may be the end of my days as a DC collector unless McFarlane can make something in-scale.  I have my doubts...

The beginning is the end is the beginning:  1st and Last Collect-n-Connect Figures


Tuesday, September 24, 2019

He-Ro II, Intergalactic Skeletor and Faker

He-Ro II, Intergalactic Skeletor and Faker
Masters of the Universe Classics - Mattel

More clearanced-out Masters figures from Big Bad Toy Store!  I mentioned Skeletor's evolution into the space theme in our last review, so here's a look at his final incarnation.

The color scheme is a bit bonkers (never liked the magenta/maroon over the classic blues/purples), but the overall sculpt is fantastic.  Look at all those gross techno-veins!  There's a lot of detail in the new armor.  His helmet is removable for a look at the claw-like machinery feeding into his skull.  His skull itself is far more detailed and gruesome than previous incarnations.  

He's a lil bulkier than usual as well, with the cape attached to a removable chest piece.  The only downer here is that it doesn't completely run down to the waist in front, exposing the evil one's belly button.  It makes him look like he is insecure about his physique, needing some sculpted muscles with his body armor.

Ah well...to make up for it, or at least distract you from it, he comes with his big-ass staff and an alternate head for an older figure, Faker.  Not sure why they decided to throw this extra head in here, but honestly, it sold me on the Skeletor.  Who doesn't love battle-damaged sculpts?!  The robotic duplicate of He-man is now exposed like the T-800.  If the blue skin didn't give away that this is not He-man...It looks great!  I gave this old bot a further face lift (or face off) by adding the slime green power sword, shield, and battle ax from the End of Wars Weapons Pack (also clearance.)  He only came with his orange power sword in his initial run, so now he's ready to rumble, bigger and badder than before!





I figured I better pick up a next-gen He-man to go with the next-gen Skeletor...but all I found was He-ro II, his wimpier looking offspring.  His name is Dare and he has a ponytail...nuff said.  Eh, he's not a terrible figure.  I like the techno-vest and the updated power sword, which is an homage to it's original mini-comics appearance.  But, c'mon, bro...my He-man is never going to give up the one true sword, especially to someone like you.  



So to recap: a decent, mid-riff baring Space Skeletor and the Unnecessary Teen-man, plus a Terminator face equals "meh?"  Maybe higher than "meh."  Again, these were discounted figures that are definitely worth the price I paid.  But still, there's a reason no one wanted them the first time around.  Oh well...battle-damaged Faker and a complete Hall of Skeletors for the win!


Friday, September 20, 2019

WWE Ghostbusters

WWE Ghostbusters
Mattel - Walmart exlusives

Who ya gonna call?  No, after them...Transformers!  No....Ninja Turtles!  No...Stone Cold Steve Austin?  GIMME A HELL YEAH! (Cue breaking glass sfx.)  Just when you think a Ghostbusters crossover couldn't get more bizarre than a turtle with a Winston stache, comes a death knell from Mattel.  Gotta squeeze a couple more bucks from a license we're losing to Hasbro, right?  Anyway, weird and goofy?  Yes, but are they cool?














I think so.  The wrestlers they chose to strap proton packs to may not match the characteristics of the true Ghostbusters, but make sense as recognizable faces of the WWE brand: Shawn Michaels, John Cena, The Rock, and Austin.  Solid choices, but I do wish they had thrown in at least one 80's classic.  Or a whole team to be era appropriate.  Maybe Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, Junkyard Dog, and Macho Man?  Slimer with the head of George the Animal Steele?  Oh well, I'm happy with the two Attitude era choices.

















Austin and Rock get the most costume variance, with full removable jumpsuits and slime-green undershirt decos.  Shawn adds some tan to his already green DX gimmick, plus a name-tagged half-shirt and GB logo hat.  Cena has some GB logo sweatbands and a bigger one on his removable shirt.



















  




GB accessories include the removable proton packs from the Mattel figures at the end of the Mattycollector era.  You know...the ones they released to bait fans into committing to a make-or-break Ecto-1 campaign.  Good times.  The packs are a bit small on these guys, considering they are almost 7-in figures and the Matty GB figures were on the short end of the 6-in scale.  I would compare it to a large man wearing the scaled-down Spirit Halloween pack.  They also have removable belts with walkie talkie, belt gizmo, and such.  Shawn is packed with the ghost trap that has opening doors to plug in the trap effect.  I'm disappointed by the lack of PKE meter.  Hell, they could have thrown in so much more considering they already have the molds:  video camera, tripod trap, sniffer.



























These are Elite figures, so at least they didn't go cheap with basic articulation.  They are Walmart exclusives, priced less than your standard Elites elsewhere:  $15.88...not too shabby!  There is a translucent purple, "ghost" Undertaker figure that I missed out on picking these up.  From the wrestling toys forum, I gather that strict wrestling fans poo-poo this GB gimmick save for Taker and his slime-green classic championship belt.  It's easy to say these will "peg warm" when you are helping to ensure that GB and completist fans can't find a full set, you sacks of monkey crap!









In the absence of Undertaker, I threw in some 7-in articulated skeletons to take the smack down.  These are under $5 at Home Depot, and feature 24 points of articulation!  The plastic is flexible, allowing you to pop off joints for customization.  They scale okay with the wrestling figures, and should work great with Masters of the Universe Classics and most spooky NECA offerings.


























Bonus:  I also recently picked up an older Mattel Egon figure with removable pack from Ebay to complete the larger No-Ghost Logo build-a-figure (mentioned in an earlier review).  It doesn't do much as figures go, but it looks nice in the background and glows in the dark.  Man, does it glow!