The Fantastic Four Returns

More Fantastic Four

Marvel Legends - Hasbro

Modern costumes...meh.  However, not as bad as sans-external-undies Superman and Batman, and they come with new headsculpts and accessories!  

Oh, and weird, cleated feet so the villains won't know whether Johnny is going to "flame on" or Pele kick them in the head.  It's great to have a standard Johnny head that ports to the Torch body.  Also great to have a Johnny that can ride in the Fantasticar without burning up the seats.

The bearded look suits Mr. Fantastic.  And I'm sure the creepy, elongated fingers suit Sue...eww.  Kind of an odd choice for powers demonstration, but at least it's new and different.

Speaking of Sue, she's rockin' a new windswept hairstyle.  She also includes an inviso-shield power accessory. 

Thing has the classic brow we all wish had been on the Walgreen's release.  It can be exchanged, but Hasbro decided to paint the oranges different.  Wah-wah!  Guess we'll have to wait for the inevitable third release in the full leotard to be able to mix and match to perfection?  I won't mind if they throw in the scarred look and helmeted head!

The big draw in getting me to rebuy the Fantastic Four was for the baddies and part-time member:  Dr. Doom, Super Skrull, and She-Hulk.

Another one I didn't get to...the Savage Gray Hulk is worth it for that new mug!

She-Hulk is an all-new female sculpt and it is fantastic.  I like that this is a modern take, giving her the best of both worlds in hulking out both green and gray.  The paint is just superb, and that may be some of the best sculpted tattered clothing ever.  We're still waiting for the perfect classic She-Hulk, but this one is a beyond great placeholder.  It is strange, though, that they didn't save this one for a Hulk or Avengers wave and instead put her in the Fantastic Four duds.





























Like the new She-Hulk, this Dr. Doom knocks all previous Marvel Legends figures off the shelf.  He's perfect.  Just check out the sculpted chain mail in the joints!  Plus, you get a classic, Jack Kirby-looking head as a bonus!

The unmasked head from the Walgreen's exclusive Infamous Iron Man fits this new body just right.  I only wish they had included a scarred up head with a removed mask.  Sorry to Hasbro's previous Doom (who was great, save for lack of paint apps)...your head was needed for the cause!  This took some dremeling of course, but nothing a novice customizer couldn't handle.

Never got around to reviewing this one...multiples make excellent Doombots!

While the "Hyperion" body buck is tired, it suits Super Skrull okay.  He's got powered up and regular interchangeable arms and two head options.  You can always use the extra as another Skrull grunt or superhero impostor.  He's much cleaner looking than the Toy Biz version, but nothing to go out of your way for if you already have the predecessor.   And even if you do, can one have too many Skrulls in the army?





























While it may be easy to pass on the modern costumes, the other three are "can't miss."  Buy the full wave to get Super Skrull, and be happy to be getting Fantastic Four at all!  Here's to more waves down the road before the Marvel Cinematic Universe botches the deal...I need a new Annihilus figure!  And where are the classic Doombots?

Previous reviews:
The Fantastic Four, Galactus, and Fantasticar
The Thing and Silver Surfer

More Mario Kart!

More Mario Kart!

Hot Wheels - Mattel

Mattel has cranked out several more waves of Mario Kart Hot Wheels since my initial review.  They haven't quite hit the whole racer roster yet, but if it did stop here, I'm glad we got Donkey Kong, Wario, Waluigi, Toad, and Koopa Trooper joining the fray.

While the standard karts get a pass for repeating molds, the biggest disappointment in this set is seeing Waluigi in the Badwagon.  So many other kart options, and they go with one that is so specifically Bowser.  I guess I should just be happy no one is on a motorcycle.  No bikes in Mario KART!!!  Toad's Sneeker is the most unique in the set, but im partial to Koopa Trooper in his Circuit Special.  If you have the need for speed, KT never lets you down!

There are a few Yoshi color variants out there (a black one is part of a multi-pack of cars I already have...lame), and I passed on Tanooki Suit Mario...but I'm calling this done until I see some Shy Guy love.  Well, maybe Birdo...and Bowser Jr...a box set of Koopa Kids would be nice...Anyway, these have started showing up at Walmarts recently.  No more Target exclusives!  Yay!  Target needs blue-shelled in the worst way!

Mario Kart Hot Wheels - Part 1

Masters of the Universe Movie Figures

Masters of the Universe Movie Figures

Super 7 - William Stout Collection

Masters of the Universe Classics

Super 7: "Coming Summer 2019...movie He-man figures! Pre-order now!"  Were they worth the legal-rights wrangling and delayed subscription release?  These immediately  rank right up there with realistic Popeye!

Even with it's shortcomings, I've always enjoyed the 1987 live-action Masters of the Universe.  It's one of those Saturday afternoon movies that my local UHF station probably picked up cheap (or ran illegally) with the likes of TRON, Superman IV, and Flash Gordon.  A guilty pleasure with mostly endearing qualities...and totally 80s!

They may not have spent much time on Eternia due to budget restraints, but the elements we did get looked awesome.  These figures bring some of the best costumes and accessories to life, taking a few liberties here and there to keep in line with the MOTUC proportions.

While not as good a Dolph likeness as NECA's Ivan Drago, this He-Man strongly suggests Dolph.  At least the one head does...not sure what the other one is supposed to be...concept art?  Harry Hamlin?  Anyway, his armor looks to be screen accurate.  The cloth cape is a strange departure for Classics, but may have been necessary for his sword connection in the back.  His armor straps may have been a bit too skimpy to support a full plastic cape as well.  

They've given him some actor-accurate lank in the arms and legs, which is another Classics departure in body bucks.  He still fits in, but there's just something a bit strange about it after all these years of same-body builds.  Meh, not a dealbreaker at all, just something to note.  The only real detractor is the knife accessory that is supposed to port in his boot.  It does port, but not well, and without it, it leaves a strange gap on one of He-man's legs.

Karg is pretty much a straight movie repaint of Classics' first release.  I skipped the first one, not having a full movie line-up...score!  Though here is the opposite of my He-man buck dilemma:  Karg is way too tall and muscle-bound on the Classics body.  Everything else is fine, especially his grandma-like wrinkles and pompadour. 

Skeletor was always going to be my favorite here...and they gave us a double-dose!  Frank Langella's take on the character, while devoid of any of the silliness we love about cartoon Skeletor, is totally boss.  The figure brings the same menace and grandeur to life on a smaller scale.  And the details on his armor robes...he's all business.   Like Karg, he may be a little more muscly than he should be.  He would have benefited from a flat, plastic covering over that six-pack.  Maybe Frank Langella likes sit-ups? At least he has no visible belly button like Space Skeletor.

As if a screen-accurate Ram Staff weren't enough (maybe my most wanted full-scale prop), he comes with the best accessory of the lot, the cosmic key...correctly scaled and colored, of course.  I guess previous key releases can be dismissed as prototypes?  Gwildor does have tiny hands after all...easier to go big in the planning stages.

"Tell me about the loneliness of good, He-Man. Is it equal to the loneliness of evil?"

God Skeletor is mostly a repaint with a new hat...but what a new hat!  Spiny and shiny!   All those weird variants of Skelly in the original and 200x line-ups were just filler for the hole that God Skeletor has now filled.  (The closest may have been Fire and Ice Armor Skeletors, what with their extra armor and pointy hats.)

"Kneel before your master!"

I'm over the moon in having these figures join Blade, Gwildor, and Saurod in my Classics collection. If these mark the end of my Classics collecting, good job and good journey, Super 7...what a finale!  They may have been a bit pricey, but there was no other way to do it.  If you didn't do the preorders on their website, these are available for a small mark-up on some e-tailer sites like Bigbadtoystore.  I can see these fetching quite a resale price on down the road, so don't hesitate if you're on the fence.