Jack Kirby

 Jack Kirby

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I never thought this would happen...A JACK KIRBY ACTION FIGURE!

I promised myself I wouldn't harp on the "legacy" of Stan Lee on this one...but it's beyond time "The King of Comics" got the treatment he deserves.  One action figure is a step in the right direction.  It's not much, but its something.

Shameful that it wasn't Marvel or DC that gave us this shot.  Many thanks to NECA on being completionists with their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic line.  And sending that "thanks" back in time to Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman for giving props to one of their idols.

The figure is going to look most at home with the Turtles.  All those harsh lines and bright colors and all.  He looks like he jumped straight from the pages of the Donatello one-shot.  If you don't get the homage, a common "man" action figure may not be all that appealing.  He did come with a little Black Horde imp figure to help push the sale to these folks.

For those that do get the homage that is "Kirby", you should be over the moon.  He scales well enough with "other" figure lines.  So if you want to recreate the scene from the books where the Fantastic Four meet "God", all systems go!  

Maybe there's hope a digital Jack Kirby might show up in the new FF movie?  It would be nice, but it not like Disney gives that much credit to Ub Iwerks, so...

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jack-kirbys-son-neal-kirby-responds-to-stan-lee-disney-documentary/

"My father retired from comic books in the early 1980s and of course, passed away in 1994. Lee had over 35 years of uncontested publicity, much naturally, with the backing and blessing of Marvel as he boosted the Marvel brand as a side effect of boosting himself. The decades of Lee's self-promotion culminated with his cameo appearances in over 35 Marvel films starting with "X-Men" in 2000, thus cementing his status as the creator of all things Marvel to an otherwise unknowing movie audience of millions, unfamiliar with the true history of Marvel comics. My father's first screen credit didn't appear until the closing crawl at the end of the film adaptation of Iron Man in 2008, after Stan Lee, Don Heck, and Larry Lieber. The battle for creator's rights has been around since the first inscribed Babylonian tablet. It's way past time to at least get this one chapter of literary/art history right. 'Nuff said."

Hela and Destroyer

Hela and Destroyer

Marvel Legends/Marvel Select

Hasbro/Diamond Select Toys

 Even though I'm not a huge fan of the Marvel movies, I'm happy they keep making them so we can get some old characters in action figure form that may not have been made any other way.  With the upcoming release of Thor Ragnarok, we got the best Cate Blanchett figure yet!  I mean... we got a Hela figure!  Also:  released some months ago but tying in nicely to this review... the Destroyer Armor.  You know, non-comic guy...from Thor One?  Way back in Phase One of the Disney/Marvel Cinematic Universe?

 

Hela  comes with two heads:  One with her awesome Kirby-esque headdress and one without.

"Careful, those things are sharp" and "Yep, definitely Cate Blanchett.

 

The headdress, along with the rest of her outfit, is close enough to a comic look that I won't complain... much.  The green could be a couple shades lighter, but I guess we get the Hulk to make up for that in the movie.  The outfit detail is all sculpted and painted in different hues of black/green to keep it interesting.  The cape is a removable piece, and she comes with what I assume is a movie accurate sword.

 

The Destroyer Armor is actually packaged as Odin in the Destroyer Armor.  As a Marvel Select figure in the 7-inch scale, the head is a bit too large for my tastes.  Oh well, I can mod an Odin build-a-figure Legends figure that I never completed to fit if it bothers me that much. 

 

Destroyer comes with a big-ass sword and some decent detail for a figure that could have been one shade of aluminum and call it a day.  He's shiny, but has a nice black paint wash that makes it work.  The little spikes are actually pretty sharp.  He's not overly articulated, but its appropriate for as big and lumbering as the suit is.  He's pretty heavy, too...a decent hunk of plastic for $22! 

 

These are nice additions to the greater Marvel Universe collection.  And I do so love those crazy Jack Kirby designs.  We should be on overload with them at the movies between Thor 3 and the Justice League taking on Darkseid's legions... wait... never mind.  Steppenwolf got Snydered.