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

[Team Jetfire]

382-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Superior Venom.



You ever think that the collecting gods are just not happy with you? Maybe you messed up on something and they decide to take their anger out on you? Well they happened with old Superior Venom. I’ll be honest, I guess it's my own fault as I passed on him at retail a handful of times, but at that time I was not going full bore on Marvel Legends. Then after I picked up all his line mates he was nowhere to be found and commanded a rather steep price. Only after I got screwed on an amazon listing that was clearly too good to be true, I finally decided to pull the trigger on an Ebay listing. Everything was fine and the figure showed up without any issues, but wouldn’t you know that after opening, posing and taking pictures his left arm snapped at the biccept swivel. Literally the most expensive ML that I bought and it broke. Heed my warning readers, do not piss off the collecting gods and if you see a figure at retail that you MAY want to pick up eventually, DO it.

Pros: I’m honestly not sure why I did not pick Superior Venom up when I saw him on the peg as he has a fantastic sculpt. I also like the Venom aesthetic on the skinnier, more articulated “Spiderman” mold. Lastly the four symbiote legs are a nice tough and add the “superior” flavor that was missing on the Superior Spiderman figure.

Cons: Unfortunately my figure broke at the bicep swivel so that was very disappointing; especially considering how much I paid. I’m also annoyed with how expensive this figure is. I get supply and demand, but consider this is the same wave with Misty Knight, a figure that STILL can be found on store shelves. Why they decided to release the Rhino torso with two female figures that no one cared about is beyond me…

[Team Jetfire]

383-2
Hasbro- Transformers Combiner Wars: First Aid.



Much like Hotspot before him, First Aid was slightly spoiled by Off Road, the figure that preceded him. And why I say spoiled, I mean that given that First Aid was the original G1 character that was also an Ambulance, the benefit of the first to market toy should have been First Aid as every figure after the original release is by proxy, a re-tool/repaint/re-release and therefore less desirable, in my mind anyway. I’m not sure that the argument holds water, or if it even makes sense, but it's been a long day and that is all I got.

Pros: Overall First Aid is a fine figure, looks decent in both modes, has a good amount of articulation and despite not making a whole lot of sense for the character, I like that axe.

Cons: I’m honestly not a huge fan of the mold as I think there are a lot of pieces and kibble that get in the way. I also wonder what kind of ambulance that is supposed to be? Wait, is that even supposed to be an ambulance? If not then I dislike this figure even more...

[Team Jetfire]

384-2
Hasbro- GI Joe Renegades: Cobra Commander.




I’m continuing to review each episode of the short lived G.I. Joe Renegades show; see review 275-2, 302-2, 330-2 & 357-2 for previous thoughts.

EP 4: Dreadnoks Rising

Basic Premise (from Wikipedia): The Joes make a pit stop in a small town in Kansas and quickly find themselves tangling with the Dreadnoks, their leader Zartan, and a cowardly local sheriff. Now they must race against time to help the locals free themselves from the biker gang's reign of terror, give the sheriff his courage back, put the whole gang behind bars, and get out of dodge before Flint arrives to arrest them.

Thoughts: I’m really a sucker for anything related to the Dreadnoks, but this episode and their characters was not exactly what I was looking for. Sure there were some decent moments, but for a rag tag group of rather unique looking bikers, they all kind of looked the same. I’m also a bit put off by how they made Zartan, who typically is a master of disguise, mercenary and assassin, into a bully who simply imitates people to make fun of them.

Pros: Right from the jump there is something unique about this version of Cobra Commander: they have released him with a (semi) uncovered head sculpt. I mean, he’s a fairly nondescript, white bald guy, but still cool that CC’s face was shown and he is NOT a crazy snake man as seen in the GI Joe movie. In addition to that CC has a great overall sculpt in the Renegades aesthetic, has two fantastic heads and some nice character specific accessories including a Cobra cane, a pistol and a little snake animal buddy.

Cons: While I’m not expecting a huge range of movement on a character like Cobra Commander, I am still annoyed by the hard plastic skirt that hinders any leg movement.

[WhenGeeksCollide]

https://youtu.be/jyY1WMgiPOg

My unboxing video for the Marvel Legends Red Hulk.

[Team Jetfire]

385-2
DC Collectibles- The New Batman Adventures: Roxy Rocket.



Continuing my quest to re-watch all the DC Animated features to date and give some thoughts regarding 3 key touchpoints: Animation Style, Voice Acting & Story. These are really just rough notes as I watched the movie and might not make a whole lot of sense unless you have recently watched it. See 290-2, 303-2, 318-2, 331-2, 344-2, 358-2, 369-2 & 371-2 for my previous instalments.

Superman Batman Apocalypse 2010.

Animation Style: It is still a bit different from the previous animation attempts, but for the most part I like the look. That said, I do not like the look of male superheroes, or rather the look of their faces. It’s almost like they are too boxy or angular and the outline of their lips looks very strange. Batman’s ears are also way too long. There was a time when I liked that look, but it looks silly now. It is also interesting the design differences between the two male leads: Superman is all out there, larger than life, with his classic costume and Batman is often shown completely cloaked with his massive cape ready to hide in the shadows. One last point on Batman, I like how he actually donned a specialized bat diving suit; just like you would find in the toy aisles! Despite the issues with the male designs all the female hero’s look amazing and really match the art of the original comic that this was based on.

Voice Acting: With a lot of old favorites I think this cast is about as good as you are going to get: Kevin Conroy, Tim Daly and Susan Eisenberg reprise their (proper) roles as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman respectively, Andre Braugher (Brooklyn 99) take on the role of Darkseid, Summer Glau (from Firefly and Serenity) captures the young and impetuous Super Girl and for crazy casting: Ed Asner (Carl from Up and a million other things) lends his voice to Granny Goodness!

Story: One of the things that these DC animated movies do well is to present a DC based story in a way that anyone can watch and understand what is going on without having knowledge of the character or the larger more grand world that these characters exist in. Sometimes this is a good thing as it makes the movies and stories accessible to anyone, which is a good thing in order to grow the fan base. Unfortunately it creates a bit of an issue for story and continuity as none of the movies actually line up with each other, making character development somewhat difficult and a tendency for the viewers to experience the same moments over and over. This flattens overtime as the mainline movies eventually stay in the same “universe” but it can be frustrating in these early movies. Outside of that, I’m a big fan of this Super Girl origin and rank this movie very high compared to the other DC films. I really enjoyed seeing Kara’s coming of age, her learning abilities and the inclusion of so many DC universe characters including Darkseid, Wonder Woman and Big Barda. I also really appreciate the ending and am constantly surprised every time I see it. I won’t spoil it, but I will say that I am happy that Superman had the final heroic moment as it would have been easy to let Super Girl take all the honours.

Pros: I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Roxy Rocket and the figures like her. On one hand I love that they made a figure of an obscure character from the comics and New Batman Adventures, but on the other hand I’m annoyed that she a) was released before some other major characters in the series and b) was a deluxe figure released with a giant “rocket”. DC seriously could not think of something better to release in the place of this? Anyways, much like the other DC Animated offerings, the figure looks great, has a bunch of character specific accessories and looks pretty cool riding around on her trademarked rocket. Also, kudos to DC for including a plastic stand for the rocket; it’s a really nice touch.

Cons: Not sure if this is just mine, but her joints are super floppy making it difficult to pose her, even with the stand that she comes with. Also, I’m a bit underwhelmed with her rocket vehicle as it is a bit basic and plain looking.

[Team Jetfire]

386-2
Hasbro- Transformers Generations 30 Years: Jetfire.




I’ll be honest, I have been looking forward to cracking this new Jetfire open since I got him a few years ago and it wast as good of time as any given that I recently picked up the new-new Jetfire from the Siege line that should (Primus willing) not take another 4 years to open up. I remember that there was a ton of hype for this Jetfire given his somewhat classic look and formidable stature, but now that I have him in hand, I now understand some of the misgivings that people had.

Pros: First thing to note is the amazing job Hasbro did on Jetfire’s Jet mode. While it is not a perfect representation of the F-14 from his G1/Macross days, it’s pretty darn close. I also appreciate the extras including the armour/jet boosters, the front landing gear and the cockpit door that you can open up. His robot mode also shares a G1 look with a clean red and white colour scheme and backpack made of wings. As with the jet mode, his familiar rocket boosters are present in robot mode and really gives a classic G1 look to the figure. Articulation wise he is pretty well equipped for a good range of motion allowing for a number of decent poses. Lastly I love the removable mask/helmet and always appreciate when they include this homage to the G1 show.

Cons: Eh… overall he’s a bit basic for a figure of this size and would have been better suited as a voyager sized figure. The transformation is also fairly simple, and while I’m not a fan of complex transformations, I feel that a figure of this size/cost should warrant the inflated price tag. I also question some of the design choices. For example, I love that, in robot mode, he has the boosters, but hate that they extend WAY over his height and looks stuipd. I also hate how cheap he feels. This is due to all the plastic cut outs that Hasbro was doing at this time and I feel the overall quality suffers because of it. I also do not understand why they did all the chrome. Who said they liked chrome? I would have much prefered the two tone painted weapons that were featured on the box art.

[Team Jetfire]

[Team Jetfire]

387-2
Disney Toy Box- Pixar: James P. Sullivan and Boo.




Rating of worst to best of the a the Pixar movies continued; see review 205-2, 219-2, 231-2, 240-2, 264-2, 270-2, 285-2, 292-2, 297-2, 303-2, 313-2, 320-2, 325-2, 333-2, 341-2, 347-2, 360-2, 374-2 and 379-2 for the previous instalments:

1. The Incredibles.

Well, here we are. I’m finally done ranking all the Pixar movies just in time for another Pixar movie to be released; I suppose when I take too much time with this it is bound to happen. I’ll maybe throw Onward in the ranking at my next Disney figure review and while I enjoyed it, I’m not sure that The Incredibles should be worried about losing their top spot.

It’s difficult for me to put into words how much I love this movie, but I will do my best. That said If you have not seen it and are a reader of my reviews then: a) what the hell is the matter with you? and b) please go watch it right now.

I think my admiration of this movie comes from a few different sources. Firstly, while this was not the first “superhero” movie, it was a very early player in the now very popular superhero genre and managed to do a lot of things right. I suppose it can be chalked up to its similarity to another popular superhero family, the Fantastic Four, but given that The Incredibles is beloved and the F4 flopped, some of the success had to have been earned on its own merit. Secondly the characters are all fun, interesting, likable and yet still somewhat relatable for a lot of different people. Bob appeals to the office drone who yearns for the good old days, Helen appeals to those who have accepted their new life and is now managing the day to day difficulties of raising a family, the kids have their own challenges that we all had growing up and even Buddy/Syndrome is forced to deal with the disappointment of meeting your heroes and how that might affect your world outlook. Lastly and most importantly is the fantastic story. From the Supers having to go into hiding, to Bob’s midlife crisis, to Syndrome’s plan to weed out all the Supers and finally for the family to come together to beat him? It’s all good! One scene in particular has always stuck with me which is when Helen and the kids are enroute to Bob’s position on Syndrome's Island and he opens fire.

https://youtu.be/fM7TZn3xvrE

Like that is some pretty crazy/dark stuff for a Disney movie. My only wish would have been that they released a sequel earlier or just left this as a solo movie. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the Incredibles 2, but much of the forward movement that they made was eliminated right off the bat and they were dealing with the same issues that they did in the first movie, with more enjoyable results.

Pros: James P. Sullivan (Sully) is another one of the larger figures that Toy Box released and for good reason: he’s a big guy! The sculpt blends the animated model and the Infinity look really well and the figure still maintains a good amount of articulation and poseability. Kudos to Disney for including a little Boo in her homemade monster costume and she looks perfect.

Cons: This really should have been released as a 3 pack with Sully, Boo and Mike Wazowski as you really can’t Sully without Mike. Outside of that, Sully is a great figure with no real issues.

[Team Jetfire]

388-2
Jazwares- Fortnite: The Visitor






Well this is a bit of a bummer. Today I learned that Jazwares Fortnite figures are Imported to Canada from a toy company called Everest and not sold directly from the source. This apparently creates some issues with ordering from companies like Amazon for figure exclusives as they are not licensed to ship to Canada and guess who has a totally kick-ass exclusive Jazwares Fornite figure? Amazon. I was going to arrange to ship the figure to my AIRBNB on an upcoming trip to Florida, but NOOOO, at the time of this writing we are in pandemic mode and all travel has been cancelled. I also could go the EBAY route, but I would rather not pay those prices, especially considering the cost is so much cheaper via Amazon. I think I will eventually send to a border store and make the trek down, I just don’t know when the borders will be open for that type of thing. Maybe I’ll get luck and it will just magically show up at TRU or WalMart, but who knows with these smaller toy lines/companies.

Pros: If you are a fan of toys and have not picked up any Jazwares figures, you are really missing out as they are some of the best figures that I have played with in years. Let run down the pros: They are a good size that fit well with Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series, they have a massive amount of articulation, they come with a ton of accessories and they are all so different that one of these skins has to appeal to you, including a Banana who is literally a peel. I’ve said it before, but they are raising the bar for toy producers and Hasbro should be taking notice as they have been coasting for a long time.

Cons: I love this figure, but as with other Jazewars figures the articulation of the hands is just unnecessary and makes it more difficult to hold onto their weapons. If they would just stop that, this would be an A+ figure.

[Team Jetfire]

389-2
Hasbro- Marvel legends- Marvel Studios First 10 Years. Captain America & Crossbones.






I feel strongly that if the movie Captain America: Civil War did more than the Marvel Cinematic Universe than any other Marvel movie and without it Infinity War and Endgame along with any additional upcoming phases would not have been possible. I’ve already reviewed it and rated it very high on my list and I stand by it as it has some of the best moments in MCU history, including the start of the hero registration and the subsequent events leading up to the titular “Civil War”. That said, I was very excited to see that they were releasing a MCU version of Crossbones, but would be remiss if I did not share my disappointment that Zemo, the movies clever antagonist, was not included WITH crossbones, insead of a repack of another Captain America.

Pros: I feel like Hasbro did a fantastic job Crossbones with an excellent, detailed sculpt from head to toe. I also appreciate all 4 head sculpts, but again Crossbones shines as both are great. Lastly the included accessories are perfect for the pair, Capt as his shield and Crossbones comes with his punchy things that are surprisingly easy to hold in place, or remove.

Cons: Capt is basically a repack from the Civil War line, so that is a bit of a bummer. Also, Crossbones has a handgun in a holster that they literally sculpted in place, why didn;t they make it removable. Also there is a random clip/attachment that fell off his vest that I had to glue back on. It was a nice detail, but I could see getting lost immediately.