I open a toy & post it here... VOL 2!

[WhenGeeksCollide]

MARVEL Legends T’Challa Star-Lord
https://youtu.be/1XinGi-2ouY

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by DanM

Don't remember him from the books. He was in the Impel Marvel Universe cards though. Series II lists his height as 7'.

Sam Keith was awesome.

See? A seven foot Sleepwalker would have been amazing.

I?ll just be happy with what we got.

[Team Jetfire]

S-9
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Kumail “Kingo” Nanjiani



**HOT TAKE WARNING**

*Deep breath*

I liked The Eternals. Phew, there I said it. That wasn’t such a big deal to admit; feels pretty good to get that out there. I mean, sure it wasn’t the best MCU movie to date and I probably had the lowest expectations possible, but my initial viewing was good and it has only gotten better with each subsequent watch. Now, I’m going to keep it brief and will probably expand on it in subsequent reviews, but thought I’d provide some quick thoughts on why I liked it.

Firstly: It was something different in the MCU. Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the D+ series, but we are in a bit of an ENDGAME holding pattern, no thanks due to the lingering effects of the Pandemic, but I was ready for something that was looking forward to something new.

Secondly: It was still in the MCU! They didn’t shy away from keeping it in universe and while this sometimes raises more questions than answers (Like how did everything just go back to normal after Endgame) it actually feels like a Comic crossover come to life.

Thirdly: I LOVED the look of everything. MCU movies follow very similar beats that typically end with a giant CGI fest third act and while the Eternals had their share of CGI, the sets looked practical, lived in and real.

Fourthly: The Characters. A cast of eight can only be described as bloated, but I thought that like each hero’s superpower, the character was only featured in the way that was needed.

Fifthly: I like an adventure and this felt like one. Granted the adventure was through time, but I liked seeing how The Eternals moved through Earth’s history while learning more about their purpose and mission.

Lastly: I really like Kumail Nanjiani and will support anything he does. Not surprisingly he was my favorite Eternal and despite not loving his choice in the end,I feel that his inclusion made the movie that much more enjoyable. In fact, I was going to skip this rather uninspired wave of figures entirely until I saw the Kingo figure on the peg and I knew I had to get him. I wish I could say the toy was as much of a pleasant surprise as the movie, but once again, Hasbro can’t get out of their own way with hard plastic skirts that limit articulation.

Pros: I’m a huge Kumail Nanjiani fan and was delighted to see him in action figure form, even if the head sculpt is a bit much. The armor has some great detail and while looks similar to his teammates, I believe it to be all unique from each other. I also am a sucker for the energy effect “gun hands” that he uses throughout the movie.

Cons: As soon as I saw the long plastic tunic design I knew I was going to be dealing with some articulation issues and boy did Hasbro disappoint. These figures have a ton of great articulation and pose-ability potential below the waist, but is squandered due to stupid hard plastic.

[Team Jetfire]

S-10
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Wong



For a guy who isn’t collecting Marvel Legends anymore, I certainly am picking up a bunch lately. Turns out that I’m just not ok with buying EVERY Marvel Legend and definitely not any more character doubles (unless they are really cool), but the truth is that I just can’t afford what they are charging any more. $36 at Walmart and Amazon is a stretch and TRU has just lost their damn minds with $40+: I mean, these are just toys right? And don’t get me wrong, I’m not against dropping some cash on a cool figure, an import or even an older toy, but I have to draw the line somewhere and Hasbro’s made that decision pretty easy. So where does Wong fit in this metric? I mean, where doesn’t Wong fit? He’s literally EVERYWHERE in the MCU appearing in half of the MCU releases since Infinity War, which I think is more than any other MCU character and didn’t have a Marvel Legends release until now. How is that possible? Thankfully that oversight has been rectified and Wong received a very impressive looking figure as part of the forthcoming Dr Strange movie wave and I thought it to be a wise decision to pick up the character while I had the chance. Will this be my last Marvel Legend figure? Hard to say at the moment and never say never, but let's just say I’ll be checking those Amazon sales and Winners shelves a little more often.

Pros: Wong’s drip is looking fresh (I think that means his clothes look nice) and I wonder if this bright color palette is a taste of what is going to be on display in the Multiverse of Madness film? Something tells me it will be. Outside of the fit, I was also drawn to the accessories included: two magic effect hands, two normal hands and a sword? What year is it? I mean, it’s still not on par with the accessories from the good old days, but this is a step in the right direction.

Cons: Does Hasbro know that Wong is a trained fighter? Do they know that a fighting stance requires legs to be more than shoulder width apart? Do they know that collectors like to buy these figures and put them in fun poses to take advantage of the amazing articulation sculpted on the figure? If so then why god why do they keep giving these figures the stupid hard plastic skirts, tunics, robes ETC that make all of the above next to impossible? You want me to drop $40 on a figure Hasbro? Fix this damn issue please!

[Team Jetfire]

S-11
Mcfarlane Toys- DC Multiverse: The Batman



I'm going to be completely honest, picking up “The Batman” was a surprise, for me anyways. To be clear, I knew that I was going to watch the recently released movie, but I didn't think that I'd like it as much as I did. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still a huge Batman fan (if you could see past the double chin in my computer's reflection, you would see that I'm currently wearing a Batman t-shirt), but I've kind of fallen out of love with the live action iteration of the character. The Dark Knight Rises was fun, and I've started to appreciate it more in the past few years, but I really did not care for it when it first came out. Batman V. Superman was fine and I thought the Ben Afleck Batman had potential, but was bogged down by a bloated script that tried to accomplish a Marvel sized feat with character intros and world building in one movie. Justice League was just terrible and don't give me that BS Synder cut made it better. If it takes millions of dollars, years of post production and two and a half more years to make an existing movie more palatable and it's not the best movie in the history of cinema then there is just no hope for the franchise.

Now all that being said, my expectations were firmly in check when The Batman was introduced and was kept there until I sat down in the theater opening night. But I have to say that overall I was impressed and in true fashion wanted to share my Good, Meh and Ugly thoughts about the movie. Keep in mind that I'm writing this a few months after seeing it, so I might be hazy on details, but bear with me.

Pros: I've really slowed down on buying McFarlane DC figures, as there is simply too much product to keep up on and I had no intention of getting anything from this movie, but given how much I enjoyed The Batman, I thought it a good enough reason to pick up and I'm glad I did as it's pretty awesome. The sculpt is great and the articulation works great for a number of nice poses.

Cons: A karate chop hand with a peg for the grapple gun? Really? This is what we are doing now? Either mold the hand around the gun, or give him a trigger hand with a removable gun: don't start this 70's Kenner Star Wars BS.

[Team Jetfire]

766-2
Hasbro- G.I. Joe- Sigma 6 A Real American Hero: Lockdown.




Well, here we are. At the beginning of a new, yet similar era of this G.I. Joe 8? toy line. For those not aware, the G.I. Joe Sigma 6 line was cut short, presumably due to the failure of the media blitz of the same name and morphed into something equal special and divisive. Keep in mind, this was a time before the modern 3 ? 25th anniversary line and well before the typical 6? Classified line, so Hasbro was taking an already big swing on a fandom that was keen on something new for the series. Those who loved the Sigma 6 style LOVED what preceded it, but those who hated it? Well let's just say G.I. Joe fans are a fickle bunch. Basically what happened was that Hasbro moved on from the main Sigma cast and developed and updated Joes and Cobra?s in the Sigma style. This meant a whole host of new characters that we were used to from the ARAH line and more important, figures that were not all either Duke, Snake Eyes or Storm Shadow. This led to some really interesting characters and some figures that I have been looking forward to opening for a long time.

Pros: Lots to love about Lockdown including an all new Sigma 6 style sculpt with lots of molded details, a good amount of articulation including a gimmicky, but fun, ?Kung-Fu Grip? spring loaded hand joint and a good amount of accessories including a removable helmet, sidearm, handcuffs, SWAT shield and battering ram.

Cons: How do I say this without sounding too political? Lockdown is a cool figure, but kind of has that ?militant? police force vibe that feels a bit off in this day and age. Not saying that Lockdown isn?t above board, but given his overall look and head sculpt demeanor, I wouldn?t be surprised to see a punisher bumper sticker on his all black, Ford Raptor with the aftermarket lift kit. Also, and while I gather this is par for the course on these newer figures, Hasbro cheeped on not including the shoulder strap for his battering ram. It?s molded for it and is shown on the package, but alias did not make the cut.

[Team Jetfire]

767-2
Mattel- Masters of the Universe Revelations: He-Man.



As of this writing. Part 2 of Revelation was released on Netflix and while I have not seen the show yet, I understand that some apologies may be in order from some overly dramatic ?fans?. I mean, there is a good chance that they won?t admit they are wrong even if they did enjoy the second part, but it?s nice to see some positive things written about it nevertheless. I will say that this entire situation has really soured me on current fandom in general. I mean, I?ve been through many fandom implosions throughout the years, but this felt different as it was all based on an incomplete story line. Everyone was so quick to cast judgement and vilify a guy who has only been a geek culture supporter that it makes me wonder why he continues to try; now I see why Lucas was moved to sell Star Wars to Disney. More to come after I watch the series, but if it?s anything like the toys, I?ll be more than satisfied.

Pros: In effort to not just say everything is good, I?ll try to break it down a bit. The mold itself is well detailed and looks great. The articulation is solid and works for a number of great poses and comes with his shield and trademark sword of power.

Cons: A few nitpicky things that I had with Skeletor too: the joints are very tight and feel fragile or rubbery. Also, I would have appreciated it if they included his Axe even though it's not something that was featured in the show.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

768-2
Hasbro- Transformers Prime: Soundwave



This makes sense right? I mean, should modern day Soundwave not have an unmanned drone as an alternate mode? I suppose it makes sense given that his main role on the Decepticons is being the master of communications, so a drone fits the bill, but I wonder if another current vehicle or item may engulf the other big part of the character: his various minions that used to take forms as cassette tapes. A smartphone or tablet could work, but they don?t typically have supporting devices. Perhaps a video game system like the PS5 with Ravage and Rumble being controllers? I suppose the best answer is literally right in front of me: a laptop computer with the minions being either an external drive, or wireless mouse/keyboard. Is it fun? Not really, but let's be honest, neither was a Walkman.

Pros: It?s small, compact, can transform, looks decent in both modes considering and even comes with a weapon. Great deal for 3 bucks.

Cons: For the price, how can I really complain?

[Team Jetfire]