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

[Team Jetfire]

410-2
Disney Toy Box- Star Wars: Darth Maul



When I first saw that Darth Maul was going to be released as part of the Disney Star Wars Toy Box line my first reaction was to quote Palpatine: “A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one”. I mean, these Toy Box figures are really geared to kids and for them to release a character that originated over 20 years ago from a movie that most people can’t stand is a pretty gutsy play. That said, I can only assume that Disney has their hands on the pulse of what people want to trust that nostalgia for some of these characters can fuel a lot of potential sales. And don’t get me wrong, I love it and would be happy to pick up any and every Prequel character that they want to release, including Jar Jar and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Pros: OH MY GOD. Could it be? Could someone from Disney be reading my reviews and actually care that my most common issue with any given figure is that hard plastic limits articulation? I doubt it, but it seems as though they found a great compromise and put it to work in the design for Darth Maul. Yes there is a plastic skirt there, but it's made from a more pliable, soft plastic that allows for movements and full use of the hip articulation…amazing. Outside of that Maul has a fantastic sculpt, above average articulation for the Toy Box figures and his trademark double edged lightsaber that can split into two. This is really a fantastic figure and it is clear that the designers wanted to give fans of the character something nice.

Cons: Not a thing, I just wish there were more prequel figures to join him.

[Team Jetfire]

411-2
Hasbro- Marvel Legends: Misty Knight



If you look up the word ‘shelf warmer’ in the dictionary you may find a picture of a particular Marvel Legend in a beat up, dog eared package who looks more like a heroine from a 70s Blaxploitation movie than a comic character. And that’s not meant to be a slam, it’s just what I thought when I saw many Misty Knight’s just hanging on the shelves, month of month, year over year getting passed up for yet another Ironman or Captain America. See, Misty suffered three issues. 1. As part of the Rhino BAF, the torso was included with both her and a wave mate, the White Tiger. Why people would buy two torsos to get each figure is beyond me. 2. Misty is an unknown character, even before the Netflix Luke cage series. 3. And this sounds terrible, like really terrible, but she’s a person of color. Unfortunately this likely leads a number of people to miss out on a really fantastic figure, but what are you gunna do?

Pros: Misty Knight is one of those diamonds in the rough figures that you think are not going to be good, that really end up surprising you. She has a really nice head sculpt with a lot of detail in the costume. I also love the separate belt / holster attachment that she can store her golden sidearm in and wish working holsters were standard for all figures.

Cons: It’s not clear why both her and White Tiger came with the same BAF piece and I’m glad that Hasbro stopped that practice as I would not be too keen on buying multiple BAF pieces just to get the main draw. Also, why did Hasbro not do better with explaining who this is and what her back story is. Again, they have the back catalogue and including a digital download would cost nothing.

[cloud]

I don't know much about Misty Knight but her unique hair style does add variety to my display and over all a pretty cool and yet simple design.

[Team Jetfire]

Originally Posted by cloud

I don't know much about Misty Knight but her unique hair style does add variety to my display and over all a pretty cool and yet simple design.

Right?? I was very impressed with this figure; too bad was a shelf warmer for so long. Still highly recommend.

[Team Jetfire]

412-2
Hasbro- Transformers Combiner Wars: Streetwise.



Well, this is it: my last official Combiner War appendage. I have a number of other ancillary figures, including the basic “Groove” figure, that I’ll review before I’m done with the wave, but it feels a bit bitter sweet as it is really the last Transformers wave that collected the majority of. In upcoming reviews I’ll take a bit more about where Transformers are going and why I took a step back, but for now I’ll just say I think this series was very ambitious with all the G1 homages in a line that is both fun for kids and enjoyable for collectors. My only gripe was the use of repaints and changes to the G1 characters, but ultimately, when the figures are all combined you can barely notice.

Pros: You can never really go wrong with a race car police vehicle right? Even though this is a retooled version of Deadend from the Stunticons, I actually really like this mold. Both the vehicle and robot look sharp, the Transformation is super enjoyable and I LOVE the shotgun that he comes with.

Cons: Outside of the obvious retool of the mold, I have no issues with Streetwise.

[Team Jetfire]

413-2
Hasbro- GI Joe Renegades: Ripcord





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, 384-2 & 398-2 for previous thoughts.

EP 6 & 7 Return of the Arashikage pt. 1 & 2

Basic Premise (from Wikipedia) EP 6- The Joes take refuge at Snake Eyes' dojo where they train with him and meet his first apprentice, Jinx. They also learn about his connection to Jinx's cousin Storm Shadow and their connected past to the Arashikage ninja clan. EP 7- The Joes regroup after an ambush from Storm Shadow, who has kidnapped Jinx, and make a plan to hunt down the former and rescue the latter.

Thoughts: Every Joe fan loves some good Mystery coupled with a good ninja battle and Snake Eyes vs Storm Shadow has become a story for the ages. I have always loved both characters and will enjoy a story that builds on these beloved characters. I like that they stayed true to the historical telling of their relationship and am ok with including Jinx to the mix. Hopefully they have an opportunity to circle back to tie up some loose ends on the story, but given that the series was short lived I’m thinking that it might be unfinished.

Pros: Well there is a lot to love about Ripcord, which is more than I can say about the character in the cartoon. Has a really nice overall sculpt, multiple great accessories and a few nice helmets and glasses that fit really well. I would have had a lot of fun with Ripcord if I got him as a kid.

Cons: While there are some artistic licenses taken with the designs of these figures, it is curious as to why they did not give Ripcord any hair.

[Team Jetfire]

414-2
DC Collectibles- The New Batman Adventures: Nightwing



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, 385-2 & 399-2 for my previous instalments.

Green Lantern: Emerald Knights 2011

Animation Style- Overall Green Lantern Emerald Knights looks to have a bit more of a anime inspired look to it and features some great character designs.

Voice Acting- Again, a lot of great actors lending their voices to these characters: Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) who is my ideal choice takes the role of Hal Jordan. Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy and other DC movies) does well as Sinestro, Elizabeth Moss (Mad Men and A Handmaid's Tale) plays the young Arisia pretty well and Henry Rollins, yes THAT Henry Rollins plays the hard nosed Kiliwog. In crazy casting, one that I have never seen before is Roddy Piper (Who I just learned was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) lent his voice for Bolphunga… insane.

Story- Not really sure what DC was thinking here. I mean, it’s no wonder why Green Lantern never could get off the ground: people were probably just sick of it, which is a shame, but why release another movie, a year after the first GL movie and discard everything that happened in favor of this one. I mean, Sinestro left the corps and became a Yellow Lantern, why bring him back so soon without an explanation. That said, I do like how the back stories were presented to the new recruit, so we could learn at the same time. First story with GL history and the First Lantern is nice as it was missed in the first one. Basically an origin story for all the lanterns. Second Story w/Kilowog is cool, Third story with Laira was interesting, but given that I have no idea who she is it kind of felt a bit boring. The fourth story with Bolphunga was a cool way to introduce Mogo. The fifth story was nice to see Abin Sur’s back story a little bit. And the final battle was action packed and interesting to see how the new girl managed. As a standalone movie I liked it. It was cool to see the other members of the Corps and their backstories, but given that nothing else happened for the GL franchise after, it all seems like a bit of a waste of time and money when they could have easily made Darkest Night/Brightest Day storyline.

Pros: I’ve always been a fan of the character growth for Dick Grayson and in turn am a big fan of Nightwing. DC collectibles capture his look to a tee, including the rather ridiculous mullet, gives him a decent amount of articulation and a few character specific accessories and hands to help him work his way out of Batman’s shadow.

Cons: I feel that Nightwing is a little light on accessories. Not sure what else he had to work with from the episode that they based this off of, but I’m sure it was more than a Nightwing-a-rang and a set of binoculars.

[WhenGeeksCollide]

I unbox the whole AOA Marvel Legends Wave.
https://youtu.be/_8EL5Vb2ARs

[Team Jetfire]

415-2
Hasbro- Transformers Generations- Fall of Cybertron: Kickback




As I mentioned in my previous review for Rumble and Ravage, I am more of a Transformers cartoon fan and tend to follow that backstory over the admittedly more interesting comic series. So with that said, I never really understood how the Insecticons, bugs that were based on Earth’s insects, were present on Cybertron. I suppose it is fair to assume that there would be some kind space bugs out there and they would exist in some form, but it’s the story inconsistency between the comic and the cartoon that bothers me more than anything. For the record I also feel the same with the Fall of Cybertron Combaticons, so at lease I’m consistent.

Pros: Truth be told, of all the Fall of Cybertron figures that I have open so far, Kickback is probably the coolest looking, as it seems as though the designers really had a lot of fun. In fact, his design is reminiscent of the old Beast Wars Transmetals 2 figures which is delightfully nostalgic for me. His robot mode looks great, is full of detail and has a decent amount of articulation. I also appreciate the rather huge disk weapon that is included as well as the two melee blades(?) that can be incorporated in the gun or held.

Cons: I initially had a bit of an issue with the transformation as the “biological” style figures have many arms and appendages that do not really snap into place like a car panel would and the instructions do little to help. I also don’t love his front arms as they don’t fit into place very well and are too small as front supports.

[Team Jetfire]