The Suicide Squad and the Winter Guard

 The Suicide Squad and the Winter Guard

DC Multiverse - McFarlane Toys and Marvel Legends - Hasbro 

So, the first Suicide Squad movie sucked, but at least I got some obscure DC figures out of the mess.  Expectations for a second movie are low, but like hell I’m gonna pass on a figure of Polka-Dot Man!

I don’t dislike Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn, I’m just a lil tired of that character carrying the bulk of the weight of the DC Cinematic Universe.  Having been Harley(ed) to death with figure variations since 1993, I would have passed on this one altogether had it not been for the King Shark build a figure piece.  Still, the red dress is something new, and the applications of her bonkers tattoos are clean and crisp.  There is something a bit off with the face…almost there, but not quite.  It really depends on the lighting and angle.

Same goes for John Cena’s Peacemaker.  Being a WWE fan, Ive had my fair share of better likenesses from Mattel.  It’s there, but not quite…which may be a minus for a face covered 50% by a helmet.  The costume looks great.  See, Marvel…you can do movie-ized versions of comic outfits and get away with it…if you arent secretly ashamed of the material you’re writing for.

The Idris Elba likeness is…um…nonexistent.  Yup, Todd McFarlane wants you to buy a figure with 95% reuse just so you can get an alternate head.  It’s always 1997 in Todd’s world!  Eh, I like the helmet anyway.  Has Bloodsport had an outfit or color scheme like this in current comics?  It’s a lil too “placeholder for Deathstroke” if you ask me.

Saving the best for last, Polka-Dot Man is here is all of his goofy glory!  And he has a fairly comic accurate costume!  Love the removable goggles. Not sure how they are going to explain his bizarre dot powers, but at least he comes with an appropriate weapon and blast effect.  Now, If we could only get Kite Man for SS III…

Oh, speaking of weapons…I assume the movie will explain the weird swords and staff included with these.  Apparently, Warner Brothers will approve you to make toys of your violent, not-for-kids movie, just as long as they don’t have guns.  Um, that kinda dulls the MO of two world class assassins being on the team (one having once shot Superman with a Kryptonite bullet.). Sigh…Thank goodness for Jazwares’ Fortnite figures and their plethora of ammunition.  I was able to grab a few appropriate firearms for this photo shoot.

I already have a King Shark from Mattel some years back, but this is a unique take:  chubby and deceivingly friendly looking.  From they trailers, I assume he’s the team’s big, dumb tank.  And he’s voiced by Stallone!  

Sharky may be one of the weightiest figures in some time…lottsa solid plastic.  His articulation is fair for a figure of his size, but the shorts restrict most of his knee movement.  No team running pics for this guy.  The articulated mouth makes up for it.  Nomnomnomnom!

Aside from Harley overload, this is a pretty solid wave of figures.  I know there are a ton of characters on the team this time around (though who knows who survives more than a few second of screen time), so I hope the movie is successful enough for another wave or two.  The Thinker, Ratcatcher 2, and Mongal are musts for me.  They can keep the Pete Davidson figure, though…he looks like you could catch something from him just by standing next to him, and I don’t need any of that near my action figures.

One good, wacky team deserves another, so I’m pairing the Squad with Marvel’s Soviet Super-Soldiers, the Winter Guard!  Not much to say about Marvel Legends in general…more of the reused bodies, but great articulation and head sculpts.

I’ve covered the awesome, steampunky Crimson Dynamo before, and Red Guardian came out several years ago at this point.  Darkstar and Build-a-Figure Ursa Major are new additions.  It’s hard to keep track of Legends…I think we’ve had four waves hit in one summer!

 

 

It’s the summer of shark man and bear man…how epic is that?!

Cowabunga!!!  Let’s hear it for more completed action figure teams!

Take a look back at a slimmer, scarier looking King Shark:

https://terribletoyman.blogspot.com/2017/06/king-shark-wave-dc-multiverse.html 

Back to the Future Part II Hoverboard and NECA Ultimate Figures

 Back to the Future Part II Hoverboard and Ultimate Doc Brown and Marty McFly

Fun.com - NECA

Missed out on Mattel's already overpriced ($120) for 2012 Hoverboard replica?  Not willing to pay nearly three times that on Ebay?  Well, good news...Halloween shops across the internet have a cheap, but comparable, alternative flying your way right now!

Halloween store props nowadays range from disposable to fairly decent...just look at all the Ghostbusters gear we've gotten over the last couple of years.  This new hoverboard is definitely for the fans, and not just an accessory for a one-night, slutty Marty McFly ladies costume.  

For about $60, I was surprised at how heavy this thing is.  The plastic feels extremely durable, though I'm not sure about testing it on the ground.  It has the tempting, Velcro foot strap, but not disclaimer about it being just a prop with a weight limit.  I wouldn't want to scuff up the hover discs anyway.  It's an under-the-arm prop only, or for collector's display.  I hope to mount it to the wall next to my Christopher Lloyd autograph and framed 2015 BTTFII USA Today special printing.

The colors are spot on, as bright and vibrant as you would expect.  Most of the board is one large decal.  This is where your satisfaction may vary, as there are wrinkles and air bubbles to work out.  Prop snobs would shun away, but it still looks good enough to me.  As this is not a Mattel release, it is missing the two large Mattel labels.  These can be replicated from scans in a Google search and printed at home, or Etsy has some alternative.  Either way, easy fix.

There isn't much more to say about it, as it doesn't have sound features or fly.  Again, for $60, it's not a bad mass-produced replica.  It's available for shipping now, well before the Halloween season.  As Halloween gets closer, I could see these disappearing, so don't stay on the fence about one too long.

As you can see from the pictures above, I have some new NECA 7-inch Back to the Future II figures.  Well, Marty has been out for some time, but Doc is just now hitting wide release.  He was a Target exclusive around Father's Day, then a full release to all parties late-summer/fall.  Not sure what sense that makes, but you know my feeling on Target exclusives.  I was lucky to snag this one, but lost out on "The Thing" MacReady first release.  *shakes fist*

While there is something not quite there in the Michael J Fox likeness, NECA has Christoper Lloyd down.  Maybe it's something to do with his expressive face, or they just love the character of Doc that much?  It is perfection.

These come with all the necessary, alternate 2015 accessories you could think of:  Pepsi Free, Sports Almanac, Hoverboard, etc.  My favorite is the opening briefcase with money for different time periods.  The handle popped off of mine trying to fit it into the figure's hand, but a couple drops of super glue fixed it up just fine.  

They make a big deal out of Marty's self-lacing Nikes, but have you ever had a good look at Doc's shoes?  Wild!  I wonder if there is any text out there explaining the gadgetry on these?  The little antennas feel as fragile as they look, so be careful when positioning those feet.

I've got some first movie figures I still need to review, but NECA has more on the way.  Expect to see those in the near future! 

The Rise of Evil

The Rise of Evil

Masters of the Universe Origins - Mattel

The Rise of Evil…fitting name for a Target exclusive!  As usual, distribution is uneven and spotty, region to region and store to store.  Target’s online stock comes and goes in the night.  Literally…you get once chance at the in-stock alert and you better be prepared to jump outta bed and fight armies of online bot buyers.  Having the worst Target that I have ever been to as my home Target, I gave up early in the game.  Gas prices are too high, and my time is better spent elsewhere.  E(vil)-Bay scalpers seemed to be the only other option, but I wasn’t ready to jump at prices starting at $60 and rising for a $30 set.

Considering all that, is it worth the headache for a goofy looking, pre-transformation Trap Jaw and the handsome, pre-acid burned Skeletor?  How often is one going to be playing out pre He-man scenarios in their Eternia? 

Kronis’ face is the worst of the line so far.  He looks like Horace from “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman”, Billy Cole from “Fright Night”, or any terrifying human characters in Gumby’s world.  Neck down isn’t much better. 

 

He doesn’t have the skull and crossbones cummerbund, but does have a fuller shoulder harness.  The harness has slots for extra accessories like the bund does, but he gets nothing extra to store there.  Just weird foreshadowing for his extra claw attachments?  He does have a rather large rifle, but its too big to store.

Keldor is the big seller for this pack.  I’m sure he would have done just fine on his own, in a regular assortment, but nooooo…just had to go the exclusive route.  He looks great.  The purples are a bit darker than on Skelly, and I’m not sure why his future self would ditch the extra green paint detailing and awesome cape in the future.   I get the arm bands and boots, as he becomes a bit more monstrous in those areas…feet and forearms needed some room to grow, apparently.

He comes with his staff and sword, but with a unique, fading/translucent green and purple scheme.  I’m not sure if that is supposed to illustrate his magic powers, or his transformation from the acid wash/melding with Demo-man.  It looks cool, nonetheless!  

What’s more is he comes with a great Alfredo Alcala inspired alternate Skeletor head.  Gotta be honest, this is what drove me to keep pursuing this pack.  I love the old mini comics art.  I have one like it in the Masters of the Universe Classics line.  Where this one differs AND sets the bar higher, is they have given him some ruby, reflective eyes!  Way to amp up the creepy on this already awesome character!

How did I finally snag this set?  Well, Target didnt want my money any more than Mattel did, and I didnt pay an internet scalper.  I follow a fan page for the line on Facebook, where a kind fan was able to grab an armful for other collectors and was selling them at cost plus shipping.  Shipping is a bit high these days, so that’s about all the extra I paid out.  It’s great to be a part of such a giving fan community where there are others looking out for their fellow collectors.  Quite a contrast to the recently violent and greedy turn for the sports card community.  Out of control market speculation has lead to even more Target insanity.  Blind card packs are one thing, but they started limiting action figures to one per customer…with some not realizing that assortments contain different figures in a series AND some contain build-a-figure parts!  Target is the absolute worst in so, so many ways.  I am glad to be done with them…for now, at least.  The evil kingdom of Tar-get sinks back into the abyss, biding it’s time until another ludicrous exclusive is inexplicably given to them to bungle.

Ghostbusters Action Vinyls

 Ghostbusters Action Vinyls

The Loyal Subjects

Who would have thought we’d ever reach a point in time where there are too many Ghostbusters toy lines?  As great as the Real Ghostbusters was, my kid self always wanted a true movie line with actor likenesses and all the ghosts.  Now we have at least half a dozen of those in different shapes and sizes…and here is one of those unique sizes with the Loyal Subjects’ Action Vinyls line.

I’ve got a couple of their Masters of the Universe figures, and I have reviewed Hank from King of the Hill.  This is more of the same:  nicely sculpted and articulated, 3inch figures with oversized heads.  I used to love “super D” or “deformed” figures back when they hadn’t been done to death, so I wasn’t exactly knocking down the door to get these at $11-12 each.  However, I jumped on them at a local GameStop sale for $2!  Two dollars!  I would say they are at least worth $5, so that’s a steal!  I even got to keep the display box.

 

Slimer has a ton of accessories…but, once again, no GB1 accurate butt crack.  Wah waaa!

I was able to snag the four boys in gray, Janine, and Gozer in this sale.  The others, according to the cards, are more rare.  Good enough…but I kept my eyes peeled on EBay.  I picked up Stay Puft from Amazon in the meantime.  As a larger figure, he was separate from the assortment.  Weeks later, one EBay seller had Slimer, the Librarian, and the ultra-rare Dana…at $10 each!  Close to retail price, and I was actually able to complete the line.

Dana’s rarity pays off in the form of the most awesomely bright, glow in the dark feature I have ever seen!  Are we sure the paint they used isn’t radioactive?

 

Sadly, I nor Loyal Subjects was able to complete a full lineup.  Old Toy Fair images showed prototypes for Terror Dog, Louis Tully, the Cab Driver ghost, and even a pre-transformation Librarian.  Short of the subway ghost, this could have been the first line to deliver a complete Ghostbusters roster!  Sigh…

Also, RIP Ray’s cigarette.  Good on Loyal Subjects for the attempt, but the kibosh just leaves Ray with forever-frozen-in-plastic dumb look on his face.

Anyway, they’re still fun to play with and look really nice with the too-small Plasma Series Ecto-1.  Their big heads wont allow them inside (and their packs don’t come off, either), but they still size up nicely and give off a Sega Genesis Ghostbuster vibe.  If you can nab them on sale, go for it!

On another Ghostbusters kick, I learned that Janine’s lucky coin from a deleted scene actually exists!  Thanks again, EBay!  If you haven’t seen this cut scene, it’s worth a gander: