Aunt May and Doctor Octopus

 Aunt May and Doctor Octopus

Special Guest:  The Spot!

Hasbro - Marvel Legends

We've been given plenty Alfreds.  A handful of Commissioner Gordons.  Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, and Perry White have made the cut.  In the same department, Mary Jane Watson, Gwen Stacy, and J. Jonah Jameson.  Still, when it comes to great supporting character's in comics, one big name has eluded both the extensive Toy Biz days and early Hasbro.  No, Jarvis, sit down...I'm talking about Peter Parker's biggest fan, Aunt May!  

Toy Biz did make the strange choice to include Aunt May in their 8-inch cloth-clothed Mego throwback line.  The execution was...um...lacking, to be kind.  Granted, most depictions of the character up to that point made her look pretty decrepit.  That old catcher's mitt puss:

Spider-Man the Animated Series in 1994 gave Aunt May a much needed facelift.  And a blonde-ish dye job to maker her younger?  I don't mind this in comparison to the overboard approach with Marisa Tomei.  I know Marisa is pushing 60, but c'mon...who was Uncle Ben in that universe?  Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson?!

The animated look is a good medium if this is the only figure we are going to get of her.  Not too animated, there's an appropriate amount of wrinkles and lines on the face.  The outfit has an appealing amount of color, and is a step up from aprons and house shoes.   While she should have been packaged in an "Amazing Friends" boxed set, they did ensure she'd sell better than just being partnered with Ms Lion.

Animated Doctor Octopus is here as well!  I can't remember if the cartoon covered the "Doc Ock marries Aunt May to get at her newly inherited nuclear facility" plot, but I'm sure he at least menaced her a time or two.  

As a kid, I was always puzzled by the slightly muscular, accented approach to the character.  Digging into greater Spider-Man lore, one could assume this take was inspired by the the failed approach to bring web-head to the big screen in the late 80s/early 90s:  the one where James Cameron was to direct Arnold Schwarzenegger as Doctor Octopus.  I dig it, and would welcome a retool of Doc in his white suit (specifically thinking Erik Larsen's art) with this as a base.

One big area he has over the traditional, dumpy Marvel Legend figure, is the bendable tentacles.  He can mostly support his own weight if you want the tentacles to do the walking, and you can get better poses than before.

This set is a Hasbro Pulse exclusive.  This may be a 50/50 for most, but I was all in as soon as I saw the promo pictures.  Now, if you'll excuse me, my Aunt May figure is off to beat her 984 pies baked record as detailed on her Marvel Universe trading card:

Bonus!  A fairly obscure Spidey/Daredevil adversary, The Spot, makes his six-inch debut!  I don't mind that his animated form is weird and gangly since you cant see his face.  Just pretend that its a side effect of traveling through his interdimensional portals!

Space Force

Space Force

Amazo Toys - Kickstarter exclusive

Taking the wacky proposal of a US Space Force to the extreme, and partnering it with some good old 80s, Cold War nationalism equals the most bananas 3 3/4 inch figure line in a long time.  Trump and Obama combine forces against Putin and the Russians in the re-ignited space race for Mars!  

Sure, the inclusion of recent political figures, even the Space Force notion, have become more than dated since the inception of this Kickstarter project.  (It took almost two years for them to get to my door.)  But the imagination's the limit with all the extra incentives that were unlocked.  I bought in for the historical heads alone. 

The gamble paid off, because the new Indiana Jones movie will focus on the space race in the late 1960s.  I have no idea if we'll see Indy in a space suit, but...

Hey, that "Nick Fury" looking guy also kinda looks like Charlton Heston!  And they included a damn, dirty ape headsculpt as well!

Chuck's not the only undercover actor here.  This "Russian" guy with the cigar looks an awful lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger!  And that "Rasputin"? A very specific "John Wick" Keanu Reeves!

Anyway, back to Indiana Jones and the Lost Cold War Adventures...

Einstein and Tesla...alive?  A meeting of the minds!

Hearing problem, comrade? 

I said, "I LIKE IKE!"

Alt-Right fantasy?  Or a glimpse of things to come?  

As for a more plausible future, I hope some of the locked campaign items make it out with Fresh Monkey Fiction's Eagle Force figures (exclusive to Big Bad Toy Store).  I love the Ghost of Ronald Regan head, but would love even more to have one fleshed out along with other presidents:

Silly, but damned if I don't want a beefy, gun-toting Super Mario, too!

Conan the Barbarian

 Conan the Barbarian

Super 7

This particular version of the Conan legend may not be on the top of my list of 80s franchises, but it’s still noteworthy for many reasons.  Arnold and his muscles are in top form, ready to jump into even bigger better things down the road (He’ll be back...)  James Earl Jones is always a formidable force. And there’s plenty of testosterone-fueled violence on top of a decent helping of sex and nudity!  Blood, guts, and glory...the kind of stuff they now teach as negatives in our “progressive” society.  So it must be worth a watch, eh?

Eh, if not, at least these figures fit with your Masters of the Universe collection twice-fold.  First off, Conan is part “My Two Dads” for the He-man (Flash Gordon being the Paul Reiser?) concept.  And the second, these figures are quite literally cut from the same mold.  Super 7 took over from Mattel some years back with the MOTU Classics line, and they’ve given the basic body bucks a longer run for our money.  

Are they perfect?  No.  The articulation is a bit lacking (i.e. no double-jointed knees and elbows), but there are still plenty of things to like about them, especially translated to the Conan character.  I like the slightly larger, exaggerated physique.  I also don’t mind that this softens some of the sculpt.  It adds to the fantasy appeal and, again, allows a seamless integration into Eternia. I can still tell that this is Arnold, even without every bulging vein. 

This Conan is “Pit Fighter Conan” from closer to the beginning of the film.  He may not be poster iconic, but I love this outfit:  all the spikes on the helmet, the rugged furs (again, adding to the He-man aesthetic), extra battle gauntlets and blades.  He also has the Atlantean sword and a broken version of his father’s sword, so you have plenty of options to dispatch foes.  

You also get a regular head, and a screaming head (“Crom!”). The ball joint was a bit tight getting these on and off.  I might attempt to sand it down a bit.  They look great swapped onto various He-man figures as well.

Not that James Earl Jones isn’t a big, intimidating guy, but the exaggerated body might be less appropriate for baddie, Thulsa Doom.  But, hey, chalk it up to the bulky armor...which looks spectacular.  Move over, King Hiss!  If Conan can fit in with the Masters no problem, then this suit gives Thulsa an automatic membership into the league of Snakemen.  

Scales/Chain mail sculpting is always a win.  And if armor wasn’t enough, he’s packin’ five blades.  The two larger blades come in removable sheathes...puzzling that they don’t clip onto the figure in any way, but whatever.  

Thulsa has a helmeted and unhelmeted.  I think the sculpt/likeness is stronger here than it is on Conan.  Is this they first James Earl Jones figure proper?  Barring the voiceover work for Darth Vader?  In any case, very cool!

 

I like these, though I’m not sure I’ll be adding any more characters or variants from the franchise.  At close to $50 a figure, I’m just not sure I’m that big a fan.  Still I do like these figures in execution.  And for the fact that Vikor now has a riding partner.