Fortnite Crackshot and Rabbit Raider

Crackshot and Rabbit Raider

Jazwares - Fornite Legendary Series

I have never played Fortnite, but Jazwares' 6-in line is an action figure collector's dream!  Since I have no connection to the characters, this line offers a multitude of goons, lackeys, and henchmen to my DC and Marvel Legends collections.  I have several Skull Troopers for the Scarecrow,  Wild Cards working as a stand-in Royal Flush Gang, and random thugs and mercs here and there.  At first, I was gonna pass up this cool looking nutcracker guy, but then I remembered something...the Terrible Toyman!  I got two of these Walmart exclusives to go with my DC Universe Toyman and his oversized marionette from DC Direct.  And right in time for a Christmas review!

Each Legendary figure comes with swapable faceplates, so you can have something different on disply with your multiples.  Crackshot also comes with a candy cane staff, a rifle, a balloon, a bundle of dynamite, and a "wooden" cuckoo bird that fits on his back.  Toys with toys!  The articulation on these are over the top, probably because some folks from the Toy Biz Marvel Legends days work on this line.  The old-school hand and toe hinges are as unnecessary as ever, but man do they ever look great!

I also threw their Rabbit Raider figure in the mix because...well, duh!  It's freakin' Ralphie from "A Christmas Story!"  I gave him one of the nutcracker's more lethal rifles to him as an upgrade from the Red Ryder.  Now he's Toyman's right hand cheermaster!

This line is super expansive and so much fun, even if you have never played the games.  I hope Jazwares keeps the goods coming.  They are certainly leaps and bounds above the McFarlane 7-in line...cheaper, too, at around $18 at Wally! 

Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel

Marvel Legends - Hasbro

Don't care for the character.  My feelings about Carol Danvers aligns closely with this article.  Didn't see the movie, and Endgame used her about as well as I thought the would: ham-fisted and unnecessary.  They should have saved her introduction for MCU phase IV.  Anyway, the less energy spent on her the better, because her Marvel Legends themed wave did produce a few decent figures worth discussing.  And before you get too riled up and label me a card-carrying member of the He-man Woman Haters, I DO have a comic-based Carol in my collection...she was hard to pass up on clearance for $9 at Walmart.

Despite the handling of the characters (Skrulls are misunderstood "good guys?"), Talos and Yon-Rogg look great and have army building potential.  More Kree and Skrull, please!  Rogg's helmeted head is pretty generic, so they don't necessarily scream "clones" at first glance if you have a batch of them, and you can mod Talos' soft plastic jacket with some heat and an exacto knife to add some variety to your Skrull multiples.  I'm not sure why Rogg has a gun but no holster (or even needs a gun for that matter, since he has some sort of built-in wrist weapons), and why the Skrulls get bupkis.  Even if you wanted to give them guns, the don't include extra hands to be able to hold anything.  Oh well, at least you should be able to interchange their heads on other figures to simulate their shape-shifting ability.

Crazy hero-turned-villain Genis-Vell looks great with the rest of the Star Force gang in this lineup.  Like Mar-Vell (where the hell is his re-do in this wave?!) in the Toy Biz Modok wave, I missed out on his Legends debut figure.  His head sits a bit high on the peg imo, and his gun is a straight-up repaint from one of Hasbro's earlier attempts at a Kree soldier.

Grey Gargoyle is a puzzling space filler where theme is concerned.  I think he would have been better off in a future Thor or Iron Man wave, but either of those could be a long time coming.  The sculpt is good, but the "concrete" look of the plastic can look a little "cosmic" translucent around the edges and thinner pieces.

I sold the Carol figure just to have the BAF part, but I kept the Young Fury.  I figure I can always use suit bodies for generic goons and other customs.  Plus, his inside jacket holster is neat!  I also kept the Chewie Goose the cat figures from both.  I had to buy two Carol figures to get what I wanted this time around:  I also picked up the Target exclusive Star Force Marvel who had interchangeable parts to make Minerva.  More Kree helped me to bite the bullet.  Miverva is great and has some extra accessories like her scarf, ammo belt, and hardware. 

I'm late in reviewing this MCU 10th Anniversary Ronin the Accuser figure, but since this is a Kree fest...

The BAF (along with Skrull multiples) was the drive to complete this wave for me.  The Kree Sentry is full-on Jack Kirby here!  Dig the lines and angles...hail to the King!  Lots of fans online have been complaining about his blockiness, inconsistent appearance compared to the comics, and range of motion.  Get over it.  He looks great and moves as a big, lumbering robot should.

Since this wave does come up a bit short, I thought I would showcase the ones I did pick up with the parallel universe equivalent of Star Force:  the Green Lantern Corps.  The ReadySetz Space Base playset was born to make cosmic adventures in either word a reality!

Wonder Woman - Dr. Psycho wave

Wonder Woman - Dr. Psycho Wave

DC Multiverse - Mattel

So, Im waaay behind on my Mattel figures.  Now that Mattel is losing the DC license to the likes of Spin Master (WTF?!) and McFarlane (Eh, scale and fagility issues), I'm catching up on some great figures almost as if it they were "in memoriam."  Also, the "Lady Captain Marvel" movie is out now, so I wanted to remind people that the true "Wonder Woman" is one success that Marvel didn't beat DC to at the box office.  Anyway, this mini Wonder Woman wave was shipped with two long-long overdue Superfriends versions of Superman and Aquaman.  Nothing too exiting there, other than Supes finally getting a more powder-blue outfit.  I had to buy them as a set to get these, otherwise I would have passed.

I would have passed on The Dark Knight Strikes Again Wonder Woman as well, because Frank Miller is a one-trick pony and that book is trash...but I needed the Cassie Sandsmark Wonder Girl and Dr. Psycho!  Not that this WW is a bad figure or anything.  I do like that she is an imposing Amazon here, making the best of the larger Masters of the Universe female figure body.  She really does look like she's ready to kick some ass!  Maybe I can convince myself that she is another Amazonian warrior for my army building purposes.

The Cassie Wonder Girl looks to be made similar to the standard DC Universe Classics female buck, which was only terrible when figure proportions were off other places (pinheads, bigheads, small hands.)  The costume is comic accurate in sculpt and color.  The only gripe here is that her lasso is glued to her hip (like previous WW releases) and she comes with no other accessories.  Still, I am glad to have her next to the Donna Troy WG.

The hilariously small collect and connect figure for this wave is longtime WW villain, Dr. Psycho.  Good thing you only needed two figures to build him, but even that is a stretch.  Seriously?  Arms in one pack, everything else in the other?  He should have just been packed with Cassie!  From the waist down, he's one solid piece.  The arms only have articulation at the shoulder.  The head moves, but that's it.  Worth it?  Heck yeah!  You will never get another chance at this bizarre character, so take it while you have the chance!  For all of their inconsistencies, for all their ups and downs, Mattel did deliver a robust DC Universe over the last decade or so.  It's the end of an era, and I don't think I will see another like it again.

Animal Man and B'wana Beast

Animal Man and B'wana Beast

Justice in the Jungle 2-Pack

Mattel - Mattycollector Exclusive

Ew...Mattycollector.  At least this pack was readily available on their website and not part of their abhorrent, all-in subscription service.  Animal Man and B'wana Beast are kind of oddball heroes with oddball powers, so I can see why Mattel decided not to take a chance on them pegwarming at retail.  However, if you are a DC fan, you definitely need these oddballs.  You should want these oddballs!

Animal Man can "borrow" the abilities of animals, which is hard to demonstrate in action figure form, even with an action feature gimmick.  I guess the old Kenner Superpowers line might have given him a "Gorrilla Press" arm lifting feature when you squeeze his legs?  Anyway, at least he has a spiffy costume.

The glasses look great and, unlike some other spectacled character, you can see clearly through the "glass."  You would think Mattel would have gone lazy (er) and slapped the Mr. Terrific jacket on him...wrong!  Totally new sculpt!  

B'wana Beast has more reused parts, but what do you expect from a guy in a loincloth?  The cloth and the head sculpt look great and...it's a B'wana Beast action figure!  That should be exciting enough!  Not exciting enough for Mattel to even give him nipples.

His powers of being able to combine two animals into a chimera is where I wish Mattel had given us more bang for the buck.  Even the smallest, most absurd combination of animal pack-in would have made a nice, fun accessory.  Maybe a chimpanzee with eagle wings?  A snake with the head of a cat?  I might just buy some cheap plastic animals and go all "Frankenstein" on them myself.

With Mattel's DC Universe coming to a close I needed these guys to round out the collection.  Luckily these are still available on Ebay for the original price (around $30).  Get 'em while the gettin's good!

Bizarro

Bizarro

DC Multiverse - Mattel

Walgreens Exclusive

"Me no am last DC Mattel exclusive!" - Correct, you are the last of your kind, Bizarro Superman.  The end of an era.  But what a better way to close up shop than with a great, new rendition of an old favorite?  Well, maybe a classic-colored Superman on the new buck they are using here?  Sigh...Anyway, Biz is showing up at Walgreens stores now and you definitely need him in your DC collection.

He sports the same buck as the Rebirth Superman from a few waves back.  It's a great attempt at a new articulation set-up.  Some would argue not as good as Marvel Legends, but it gets the job done.  Like Superman, you get some interchangeable, flat flight hands good for salutes, karate chops, and...well...flying. 

While he does not come with a Collect-and-Connect part, he is packed with accessories that make it worth the $20 price point.  He's got a removable cloth cape, a-la the old Superpowers line.  The clip around the neck does look as bulky as in olden days, but it's not so much of an eyesore that I'm going to cannibalize another figure for a plastic cape...especially since this one has the correct, classic yellow "s" shield on the back (backwards, of course.)  I'm not usually a cloth cape fan, but it's necessary here for the awesome accessory gimmick.

"Me am Superman, me no am Kent Clark!" - It's so rare to get the alter ego and super persona in one pack!  Removable glasses, necktie, and tattered jacket...Lois can't see past Clark's glasses, so this should be good, right?  And to make it all the more appropriately silly, the cloth cape shines with the ensemble. 

The final accessory is the "Bizarro #1" neck stone.  You know...so you can tell him apart from the rest of the other-worldly clones.  - "What a "terrible, terrible" figure!  Low, low recommendation.  You no need Bizarro today!  No buy him right now!"

Jonah Hex and Ghost Rider

Jonah Hex and Ghost Rider

DC Universe Classics - Mattel

Ghost Rider movie line - Toy Biz

Red Dead Redemption II is here!  Greatest games of all time...but why, oh why does Rockstar refuse to make action figures based on their properties?!  Call me old fashioned, but I need a 6-inch line of cowboy figures in my life.  I've only got a couple to fill the void, and they've been around for some time now.

Jonah Hex was part of Mattel's DC Universe Classics wave 16 (Bane wave) back in 2010, the same year as the first Red Dead Redemption.  For whatever reason, I skipped most of this wave...big mistake.  Though, I am happy to have picked up a majority of it on Ebay recently at decent prices.  Jonah is a pretty unique figure for this line, as they didn't get to get away with any parts reuse.  He's dirty, ragged, and scarred appropriately.  His six-shooter and sawed-off shotgun can be holstered and unholstered with ease.  He's a great looking figure, but an odd fit for a mass-market superhero line.  We're lucky to have him, and have him done so well.

The other cowboy in my collection is even older, in toy and character chronology.  Carter Slade was the original, cowboy Ghost Rider (later know as the Phantom Rider.)  He was briefly featured in the awful Ghost Rider movie (played by the awesome Sam Elliot), and was the star figure of the Toy Biz Ghost Rider figure line.  In fact, he's the only figure I bought from that line.  Seriously...a skeleton cowboy!  With guns and fire!  How could anyone not get excited about that?!  Well, his missile-launching,  skele-shotgun was lame and has been ditched for one of Bishop's, but the figure itself is bad ass.  To top it all off, his hat is removable and he features a hinged jaw for maximum creepiness.  It's a shame that Toy Biz didn't make an equally awesome skeleton horse for him.  Oh well...you could track down one of their Lord of the Rings dark rider horses.  For these pics, I used the horse from the deluxe Sleepy Hollow Headless Horseman set (McFarlane Toys.)

If you can track these two down on Ebay, they come highly recommended.  Even if the cowboy thing isn't your bag, every superhero line needs an odd duck in the lineup.  Until a better figure offering comes around, you can find me immersed in Red Dead Redemption II.  Adios and happy trails!