#30
About this time last year I said I would kill for a Black Adam figure, thankfully I don't have to.
Black Adam has been a favorite villain of mine since I was a child. I honestly am not sure when I first saw him or how he was introduced to me as a character. But I know he made an impression on me very early as one of the first "What if..?" battles I played out in my mind that I remember was Black Adam vs. Superman. In fact I have always felt Adam served better as a Superman villain as his powers were equal to supes but he also had a keen intellect (unlike say Bizzaro who was just as powerful as Superman but dumb as a box of hair). I think it is especially true when you weigh Adam against other members of Captain Marvel's Rouge's gallery (Such as Mr. Mind who seems like a Saturday morning cartoon joke rather than a devious world conqueror). Adam on the other hand was an evil version of Captain Marvel, just much more interesting. I also think Adam really shows the idea that the Villain is much more fun than the hero, at least in relation to Captain Marvel.
Adam's shortcoming is that he has rarely been given a chance to shine as (at least I feel) a villain of his caliber should. Lately DC did do some interesting stories with him (that commentated in the "event" World War 3" which was one of the very few "events" that I felt ever paid off in recent years). However, The few previous stories in Justice Society of America were weak in the respect they tried to "Good guy" Adam and I feel that whole idea never really works in comics. The Villains are fine where they are at (the exception being Hawkeye who worked out great, and the original Thunderbolts team who were cool as the "Wanting to redeem" characters).
Adam is a bad guy and should stay one forever in no uncertain terms. He should be a JLA level threat any time he sets his eyes on a goal. What his future holds is up in the air at this point (as is with most of the DCU) but I am willing to bet eventually he will be at the center of another interesting DC storyline.
As for the figure, while many are massively disappointed in the DC Infinites line, I tend to see some good things coming out of it. Adam is a figure I honestly never thought I would see in my lifetime, now he is here (so never say never). His articulation is pretty standard (Neck, arms, legs, elbows, knees) and his mold is tolerable (but could be better). I think with a better mold he would probably top the list, as it is he is at the bottom, but the list has some impressive members and the bottom isn't all bad. Still the DC Infinites line needs some improvements before I put too many more on this list.
How will I use him? Adam is "The bad guy" kind of an enforcer of 1:18th town. How that translates you will have to wait and see.
#29
So I said no generic troops or army builders, so what is this guy doing here? Well since there is only three of him according to the back of the card I figure he is not another nameless trooper. Thus he gets on the list by a technicality. On May 1st of this year when the Crystal Skull figures finally debuted I wondered what the heck this guy was, is Indy now fighting the undead? As it turns out no, the Cemetery Warriors are very much part of the realm of the living. If you have not seen Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the Cemetery Warriors guard a cemetery, while I don't want to ruin the movie, I will say they have tunnels throughout the cemetery and jump through them to confuse opponents (i.e. Indy and Mutt).
What really makes the Cemetery warrior stand out is the skull mask. So much so I bought him the second I saw him. I am glad I did as I have not seen him since, I wanted to get three to match the card description but have only gotten the one. Still he is an awesome figure for being so simple.
I have mentioned the skull mask, I saw a post on a message board that said they had removed the mask to find Indy's face underneath (and apparently the hair is glued on as well) this would make sense since why would Hasbro mold a whole new face for a masked figure that has no intention of being unmasked.
Of course you can't mention the Indy line without invoking thoughts of what could have been. The line was marred by mismanagement and over packing of Mutt Williams in every case, this lead to a glut of figures no one wanted and killed the line. Some argue the line couldn't last longer than a year, I beg to differ. The line could have lasted a good 3 years if the case ratios had some semblance of sanity to them I think. While I see the need for key characters, it is asinine to keep packing the same versions of the same characters (Mutt and Indy) over and over again in different assortments. It creates a clog on the shelves, the Masters of the Universe line taught Mattel that. Even Star Wars with all its purchasing power wouldn't last under the same conditions (although Hasbro appears to be testing this with Commander Cree). A better idea is how they have handled the Legacy collection by packing the previous waves figures with the new wave, then the next wave having the last wave packed in. This seems a great way to space out the figures while making sure enough of them are on the shelves. I will now stop ranting.
The Cemetery Warrior is a simple sculpt, he has a tattered shirt and pants and a skull mask. Still it is very effective as sales seem to indicate (at least where I live). I admit up front I felt the desire to grab him almost immediately, and having not seen him since I am glad I did. He also packs a simple stick weapon. The Cemetery Warrior is a good example of "less is more" as he is not overdone by details that are needless and flashy colors. He is a simple, somewhat creepy figure that screams "buy me." on the shelf.
My main use of the Cemetery Warrior thus far has been a case of mistaken identity (Young Indiana Jones thought he was a Zombie during the zombie invasion in the first chapter of scale wars). After that I have a few plans but nothing concrete at this time.
#28
To say this character is a pinch controversial would be accurate. The story goes that Adi Gallia (who was seen in Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2) died in the original Clone Wars cartoon. However when Episode 3 arrived we see a character that looks a great deal like Adi being shot on the back of a speeder. The response was the character was actually Stass Allie, Adi Gallia's cousin who took her place on the Jedi Council after her death. Apparently Star Wars is now borrowing from the old Patty Duke Show to make its characters fit.
Personally I think it was a fopar on the part of the makers of Episode 3, but really I suppose we will never know for 100% certainty. Either way we have a figure released this year of Stass and she made my list of favorite figures.
At one point I remember the idea from Hasbro was that female figures never sold and that Jedi that were not Luke Skywalker or Obi-Wan would never sell. With how hard this figure has been to find it appears both judgments are drastically in error, which is fine by me.
I admit if I knew more about Stass she might have placed higher on the list. All I really have on her is that she was killed on her Speeder bike and that she is Adi's cousin as well as "A skilled warrior, political advisor and healer" all gained from the back of her card. But she is a good enough figure that she placed.
Stass is a simple Jedi figure with basic robes and of course a lightsaber. Her robe is a tad too big as it appears she was packed with the same robes that have come with much bigger figures like Qui-Gon Jinn. Still she works really well otherwise and has a great deal of possibility.
Personally I love the Jedi's that are side characters as they tend to fill out backgrounds really well. There is sort of a "Hey that's (insert name)" reaction to the pictures that feature them. Also they are "new" to the mind even if you have seen them several times. Stass's first version came with a speeder and I passed on her. This time she is vastly improved and honestly a great fit into my collection.
Her purpose in the Toxie swing of things. At this point she serves as a background character, I have no real plans for her yet. However I wouldn't discount the idea of using her for something in the future.
#27
When Wraith first appeared in the DD comic run I hated him with a passion. Here was a character that was not wholistically original (he reminded me of Zartan from the old Sunbow Cartoon) who in his first outing almost kills Snake-Eyes. Another uber-bad arse cliché' that has been overused in comics for far too long. So with that in mind how on earth could he become a favorite of mine from the past year? Well there are many reasons for that.
First and foremost he is a new character, that alone is reason enough to want him after an endless string of "redone" characters in the 25th anniversary GI Joe line. I mean no offence to people who love the line, but really I don't need another Duke. This has been a ,major weakness in this line (and pretty much any GI Joe line) that appears to have had some remedies this year.
Another reason is that Wraith's armor hides the ungodly hump of the mid-torso region that Hasbro insists on using for this line. I have said on every message board I can think of how much I hate it. MANY toy lines from Microman to Hasbro itself (with Darth Maul from the Evolutions set last year and many clone troopers) have shown the articulation can exist without destroying the figure. Why Hasbro insists on a torso "hump" like on Duke or Snake Eyes is beyond me, how they sell is as well. But with Wraith at least its not there and you can cover it.
Lastly and most important, the figure inspired me. I created my own back story that fairly well demolishes anything Devil's Due created. In my back story he stole his tech from Zartan and in actuality is a complete and total coward without his armor. I mean why else have such a thick looking armor all over if you aren't trying to avoid injury? I keep thinking that adding the cowardice actually adds to the character, after all a coward would hide and that is Wraith's specialty.
The figure reuses several different parts which is fine by me as long as they look different enough not to notice (in this case it works). This is an old practice of Hasbro's (See figures like Steel Brigade) to make new characters and I think it can be an effective cost cutting technique. Since Hasbro insisted on giving us 5 waves in just 4 weeks for the holiday season I can see why they might use this technique again.
Wraith has guns on his forearms (Gauntlets) that have been prone to breakage (specifically the tubes leading to the guns). I have yet to have this accident happen but one has to wonder why Hasbro put out a figure with such a massive flaw that should have been caught in the prototype stage.
His face mask lifts up to reveal one of the most signature "I am annoying French" faces I have ever seen. In fact the face just adds to my idea for him in the Toxie universe.
Overall I like the figure though, he is a solid one however his character could use a great deal of work.
In the Toxie world he serves as an annoyingly French Mercenary who hides, not far from my "serious" portrayal at all.
#26
Asajj Ventress is one of those characters I missed the first time around. I really didn't like the structure of the original Clone Wars cartoon (as five minutes per episode got annoying rather than being able to watch the whole thing in one sitting). The new half hour clone wars series fits what I feel is a good series and I have finally been introduced to this character.
Ventress is a bit confusing as she violates the whole "rule of two" in the Sith universe. Dooku has an apprentice yet he is the apprentice to Darth Sidious. I am not sure if the first Clone Wars cartoon ever addressed this, but the fact that he had several more apprentices in the comic suggest that Darth Bane's rules were more a suggestion than a fact or law. Still she is a villain you can like very easily, she is brazen and yet sneaky at that same time. A very cool character.
She fits into the Star Wars universe so well I find myself not really questioning her defiance of "the rule of two" very often. She is an assassin, a recent episode of Clone Wars actually put her in my mind of an evil version of Orlando Bloom's portrayal of Legalos from Lord of the Rings.
Asajj received two figures this year one realistic and one based off her look in the clone wars series and both have their merits. That becomes very interesting when you consider the heads are actually painted different. Still both work for me quite well and I was more than happy to add her to my SW universe of characters.
Her lightsaber splits in two which is something Darth Maul might have considered for his double bladed lightsabre. It is an unusual and fun feature to the figure.
Her Comic pack version has no articulation in the knees but has it in the arms whereas her Clone wars version has articulated legs and no bends in the arms. What is funny is that if you combine the two you have a great figure. Separately the two figures are an interesting set of how a character can be portrayed in any medium.
At this point my plans for Asajj are simple, she has a huge crush on Dooku and feels scorned as her advances are not reciprocated.
#25
When I was a kid I remember seeing Snake Eyes walk out of the cavern in Mass Device and thinking he was going to eventually die. He glowed so bad from radiation that even the Cobra Troopers wouldn't shoot him. In fact they appeared to feel sorry for him. Of course he survived with the help of an old hermit that wrapped him in leaves, even I knew back then that you couldn't kill radiation with leaves, but hey its a cartoon not real life.
When Hasbro released its DVD packs this year, the figure that stuck out was Radioactive Snake Eyes. As I said the Mass Device mini series was huge to me back in the day, and having a figure for that moment kind of made me feel like a kid again. He looks like something I would have imagined back then and hoped Hasbro would release somehow, someday.
In the GI Joe Mythos, Snake Eyes is nearly indestructible which I think takes a great deal away from the character. Up until the Devil's Due series he was never bested (although he was in Devil's Due the defeat was rendered ineffective since it was by a new character, Wraith, rather than a long established character like Storm Shadow, Firefly, Zartan, or a host of other Cobra Operatives).
Snake Eyes, to me, is a very good commando with some ninja training to help augment his already great skills, but he is not unbeatable. When I did some "serious" GI Joe stories I had a situation where Beachead defeated Snake Eyes. Some people responded negatively to this idea (I suppose they like the idea of Snake Eyes being unbeatable). I intended to have Firefly defeat him next just to establish Snake Eyes was indeed a person who could be beaten, although not easily. Also I wanted to make some other characters appear a great deal stronger than they had previously. It appears my attempts were not effective to some, oh well.
Over the years Hasbro has given us almost 50 versions of Snake Eyes. Finally this year they decided to do something interesting with him, once with this figure and once again with his battle damaged version (who just fell short of this list of my favorites). I understand that they feel the need to have prominent characters in the line, but I wish they would do more interesting variations rather than repeating the "Man in black" syndrome (NOTE: HASBRO has a similar problem with the Star Wars line and Darth Vader which I will address later).
If I ever go back to the "serious" story I will say that the Firefly/Snake Eyes match-up will occur as I said. Sorry to spoil it but then again the passion in my heart for that story appears to have left me, so at this point I doubt I will pursue it.
Snake Eyes does have the "annoying hump" issue that plagues the 25th line. I really can't say enough how this design flaw ruins so many great figures. In Snake Eye case at least the effect is lessened by the use of his harness over the most detracting parts of the figure (the front and sides of the chest). Also to be fair while he does have the hump it is less pronounced than in many of the Joes (such as Duke). He also comes with a great canister that mimics the one he carried at that point in the cartoon (which contained the radioactive crystals the Joes were after in the episode).
His most striking feature is the translucent parts on his legs and arms. While not entirely opaque they are clear enough to see into at least. What is striking about these is the red plastic they are made from captures light just right and gives him a slight glow, a great way to mimic the effect of the radiation he was suffering from at the time.
Snake Eyes has some running jokes coming up in the Toxie universe. This specific figure of him I have an idea for and if it works out the way it does in my mind I hope people will be rolling on the floor. The real question is when I can place it into a story.
#24
A long time ago, in a galaxy-really close by, Timothy Zahn wrote a series of books that depicted what happened five years after Return of the Jedi. In that book the Empire was now run by the last of the Grand Admirals: Thrawn. To say Thrawn was interesting was an understatement, he studied art to understand a culture's way of thinking and thus the tactics they used in battle. He also was a genius, always one step ahead of the opposition. He was also the only non-human to reach his rank, he was that good that he got around Palpatine's racism.
I had hoped in the Star Wars Prequels that Thrawn might be seen in the background somewhere, it was later established that he couldn't fit the time frame, still I thought it would be nice to make a nod to this impressive character as had been done in the Special Edition of the original Star Wars (when Dash Rendar's Outrider is seen flying over Mos Eisley). But alas it was not meant to be.
Thrawn was also unique in that he actually had the respect of his men. Rather than rule by fear he ruled by charisma and grace. That is not to say he wasn't cruel nor that he wasn't evil. He was the type of evil that we tend not to see in our society. The kind of evil that can lead people to move against their own beliefs for the "greater good." This characterization made him decidedly different than previous bad guys in the star wars universe.
Thrawn didn't get into personal conflicts or one on one fights which makes his action figure a bit of an oddity. I am sure he had military training but he is and was an not physical character who relied on his intellect rather than his brawn. As such he is somewhat difficult to place in an action figure world. Its hard to make a character interesting barking orders at Stormtroopers rather than engaging in the fight himself. Still he is that great of a character and defiantly deserved a great figure.
Thrawn had one figure previously that disappeared from the
shelves. The figure was a good one but lacked articulation, this new
version more than makes up for it. He is dressed in all white of a Grand
Admiral of the Imperial Navy and comes with a Ysalamiri
(a creature that repeals the force, Thrawn had one to keep an insane clone
of an old Jedi Master in check). His one flaw would be his neck looks a
bit elongated with out the Ysalamiri, obviously this is to accommodate the
creature on his shoulder and I can't really think of a way to include it without
the neck problem so that is how it will have to be I suppose.
Thrawn is a rather serious character and as such doesn't lend himself to comedy of the Toxie universe. However I am thinking why try to make him comedic, in fact his comedy might simply be the fact he doesn't try to be funny. It's kind of hard to explain but if I get specific it blows a major plan I have for the next year in the Toxie universe so I will have to leave it there for now.
#23
Oh god there is that number again. Jim Carry must be having a conniption fit :-)
So I am going to say something now that will probably cause a great deal controversy as well as arguments. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gave me my childhood back. Maybe I should say the childlike qualities of my personality. Ever since the movie opened I have heard complaints of "unrealistic" so some going so far to call it a flop. Of course it was the #3 top grossing film of the summer at somewhere around $300 million domestically, if that is a flop I only hope I can fail so miserably someday. As for unrealistic, I hate to be blunt and bold on this but I can't help but wonder why boxes with ancient spirits, people getting their hearts ripped out and still living, and a cup that keeps a knight alive for over 1000 years in a cave (and he doesn't go completely mad from loneliness) are acceptable and creatures from another dimension who resemble the classic descriptions of "grays" aren't. Now I will say up front that it ends up being my least favorite Indy film, but that doesn't mean I don't like KOTCS, in fact I enjoy it a great deal. Yet some people don't, ok.
But this is about toys, and I could go off on another tangent on the Indy line and the case ratios, but I won't, for now.
KOTCS Indy is still easy to find on the shelves due to overstock. What makes this version of Indiana Jones special is that he is the only one that has a removable hat. I had really hoped for a version of "Younger" Indy with a removable hat but that apparently will not come to pass. Still we have an older Indy who can remove his hat.
Indy is one of my all time favorite characters, his snarkyness, demeanor and never say die spirit resonate with each of the Indiana Jones movies. One great thing I have to say is at least we got some Indiana Jones related figures regardless of how it was handled.
This Indy is of course the classic look with fedora, leather jacket and button up shirt. His hair has been painted to reflect his slightly older age, but with the fedora on it is hard to tell that he isn't a younger Indy. The face sculpt doesn't reflect the age of the character too much and while I don't mind the idea of Indy getting a bit older I think that this figure becomes more effective without the age showing so much.
I have used this Indy a few times when I needed to change his hat in Scale Wars. No one seemed to make mention of the fact that it was older Indy so I suppose the age defiling properties of the face sculpt are good. Otherwise I have only used the Fedora on RPG Indy when he was attacked by Randy Orton and he stole it from Indy (If you just said WTF, I tried to tell you I live in a pretty odd little world).
#22
Confession time, when I was around 11 or 12 I read the Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe as many other children did. At the point Aslan is killed I was very angry. I loved Aslan. I picked up the book, slammed it shut and in a fit of grief threw it across the room. Now here is the confession, I never knew Aslan came back until I watched the movie a few years ago. No I didn't realize C.S. Lewis was using Aslan as an allegory for Jesus (Not sure if that actually works either but I won't get into that here).
Aslan is one of those characters I throw in with Optimus Prime and others as being that "perfect" hero. Always willing to fight for what is right and seemingly without character flaws. Most of the time these characters fall short of what I would consider an effective character but there are rare exceptions as in this case. Most times however a character like this is rather boring.
Many times, especially in fantasy stories, the flaws of the hero is exactly what makes them interesting (i.e. Argorn's struggle with his destiny in Lord of the Rings or Frodo's lack of stature from the same books).
There are inevitable comparisons to Lord of the Rings and Narnia. However one note is that some have viewed LOTR as demonic while Narnia as being "pure." What is funny to note is that C.S. Lewis and Tolkien were contemporaries and by many accounts Narnia would never have been written without Tolkien's encouragement. It has been kind of funny when I point this out to certain people who maintain that LOTR shouldn't be viewed (Yes they actually exist in the world).
Perhaps the part that makes Aslan not dull is the fact he is a talking lion. After all if someone saw a huge lion begin speaking in almost perfect English I doubt they would go to sleep from boredom very quickly.
Aslan always seemed to know the right things to say and when to say them. Of course that would make him an effective leader as he was the "king" in Narnia. His face sculpt is interesting as it can move from threatening with the jaw open to seemingly calmer with the jaw closed. The action attack that creates this effect is interesting but unfortunately its inclusion does limit his mobility somewhat. His front paws cannot get into an effective "pounce" stance for an action shot.
Aslan was voiced by Liam Neson which invokes odd memories of Qui-Gon Jinn in me. That combination of a talking lion and Star Wars memories kind of force Aslan into a combo of Tarzan and Jedi master in my mind.
Aslan is huge even for a lion and his figure reflects that. He stands almost even with any 1:18th figure (and keep in mind that means he is near six feet tall on all fours). The Narnia line from this year did give a great many interesting monster figures but Aslan is a character that sticks out from the rest. He is the king, the great cat and his figure fits that role perfectly. He is a great likeness to his movie counterpart (which was of course a Computer Generated image).
How do I use Aslan, I do admit mostly if I need someone in a leader type role I grab him (also he is a good contrast to the "All human" cast once in a while).
#21
Firefly is my favorite Cobra figure and character ever. In the old cartoon he tended not to say much but when he did something it was rather devastating. One of my favorite memories of Firefly was when he took down all the GI Joe Vehicles by himself by pouring acid into the fuel supply at the Joe base. Yes I love Firefly. I love him so much in fact I have every release of him up until this year (I will speak about that later) he is that huge a character to me.
When I did some serious GI Joe stories I tended to add some levity to Firefly. Some people loved it and others the idea went over like a lead balloon. Really its hard to say why something work for some people and don't for others, I cannot really explain it. Still Firefly tended to be an outlet character for me as the narrative of the tale of Cobra taking over 2/3rds of the United States tended to get dark rather quickly if I wasn't careful.
Last year, however, Hasbro released its version of Firefly for the 25th anniversary line. When I got the figure my heart dropped. Not since the lime green outfit of the early 90's was I so disappointed in a Firefly figure. His bandolier was riding up his neck and appeared to be choking him. He had one of the worst chest bumps to date (I have already spoken on this once, sorry this will be a bit of rant for me as I go through this list)., his arms were an ungodly level of thin, he was horrid. Hasbro repainted that mold and released it as a "Firefly vs. Greenshirts" pack (this time with blue came) and I just couldn't bring myself to buy it. First it was a far inferior mold for my beloved character and never mind the fact that it came with a group of army builders I had no interest in, I couldn't justify the price tag for just one figure. So what I am saying is that Hasbro stopped me from a collecting record I have had for over 24 years. I just couldn't do it anymore, the paint job was terrible and the mold was pure crap. When you think about it that is an amazing thing to do to a fan. I am sure people will disagree with me and that's fine, but the fact remains I can't bring myself to aware this lackluster figure.
However I do give praise where it is due and also this year Hasbro released a Storm Shadow and Firefly Comic Pack that did a great deal to solving many of Firefly's problems. The most important change was the alteration of his chest gear, rather than the criss-cross bandolier he now had a type of flak vest that also hid his mid torso hump. Actually the vest kind of limits his movement of the chest joint which brings me to something.
Every figure of the 25th line that works tends to have a part that limits movement but also hides or disguises the torso hump of the figure. This confuses me as it shows the design teams recognize the weakness of the design but at the same time they continue to use it. The only way to effectively work around it is to hide it and effectively limit movement. So I guess I am asking what is the point. The joint doesn't automatically create the hump as shown in many Joe figures (Destro, Storm Shadow) and other Hasbro lines (Star Wars with Darth Maul and several Clone Troopers all without said hump) and even other toylines (Most commonly Microman from Takara but also Super Hero Showdown from Toy Biz). I do think without this flaw the sales would massively increase (as I have noticed some older re-released figures have been clogging the shelves for months locally). Back to the figure.
Firefly's arms are still a just as thin as the original release, however with the chest being covered the other flaws don't glare so prominently. But also he has some new gear as well, a backpack that opens to reveal a gas can, C4 explosives, a set of wire cutters and a flashlight. He also comes with a different machine gun than his previous release as well as an Uzi.
All this gear does something to make this version of Firefly different than the other two, he looks like an upgrade rather than a step backward. This is extremely rare in the 25th anniversary line as most of the figures are meant to look as much like the old ones as possible. Still these small changes vastly improve the figures overall presentation and make him a must have in my collection. I may not be trying to get every release of Firefly but now at least I can see a really great one.
One phrase sums up Firefly's role in Toxie's universe "You are underestimating the power of the sneaky." What that means will be shown soon enough but its a clue to what he is and does. Currently he is trapped in "The girls room" with the other GI Joe Characters, but of course he won't stay there (Hopefully that isn't too much of spoiler for many of you).