For today's installment of 31 Days of Toy Terror X I've got a lizard man for you. The Lizard, to be precise. Lizard is part of the Marvel Legends Spider-Man Retro Collection, so he comes packaged in the classic Toy Biz inspired packaging from the 1990s. I actually owned the vintage Toy Biz figure of the Lizard from that line and I distinctly remember picking him and Peter Parker out from the store. I think the Lizard, Peter Parker, and some version of Carnage were the only figures from Toy Biz's Spider-Man line I owned (most of my other Spider-Man figures were from the Marvel Superheroes series). I've been wanting a classic styled Lizard for quite awhile as I haven't been overly impressed by any of the more modern looking versions over the years, and this one works perfectly in my collection. Ready for a look at Dr. Curt Connors, AKA the Lizard? Then join me after the break...
The Facts:
Height: 6 3/8ths inches
Articulation:
Swivel/hinge ankles, calves swivels, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball-jointed
hips, hinged waist, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps,
double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck base, hinged neck, and a balljointed head.
Accessories: 4 swappable
hands, tail, 2 flasks, and 2 swappable heads.
Non-Scalper Price: $27-$30 dollars
The Positives:
* This is a very classic depiction of the Lizard who looks just perfect to me. He's slender but muscular and sporting his very classic outfit of a black shirt, purple pants ripped at the calves, and a white lab coat ripped at the forearms. The clothing is fairly detailed, fitting with the Marvel Legends comic style, and the colors are nice and vibrant, especially on the Lizard's skin. The body of the lab coat could probably be removed but since the sleeves are sculpted as part of the arms there's no real point. The ripped parts of the clothing look excellent and the Lizard's limbs do continue up inside the sleeves and pantlegs, really selling the effect of his limbs coming out of the torn garments.
* Dr. Curt Connors comes with two heads, one of which looks a lot more vicious. He's got lots of sharp teeth, a long, slimy tongue, and piercing yellow eyes. This is probably the one I'll display him with on my shelf as it looks pretty fantastic and rather intimidating.
* The second portrait is a bit sillier, but I actually really like it. He kind of looks like he belongs in one of the "Me and the Boys" memes based on the 1967 Spider-Man animated series. He just has the look of a Space Ghost villain to him, which is actually A-OK in my book. I like this one as it's quite humorous and looks a bit like the old Mego Lizard. I'm really not a Spider-Man expert so if you know exactly where this portrait is sourced from please let me know.
* His hands and feet are appropriately lizard like and have some excellent reptilian features on them. So far as I can tell, most of this figure is completely new and unique to the Lizard.
* The Lizard's tail is a separate piece and attaches onto a peg. Not only does it swivel at the base but the tail is also bendable.
* Like most Marvel Legends figure, the articulation is excellent and really, really fun. The range of motion is great and elements like the balljointed mid-torso and the multiple joints on the head and neck really allow for some very expressive lizard-like posing. This guy can look like he's creeping along with the best of them.
* There are four swappable hands included. You've got a right handed fist, a left hand for holding the included flasks, and a pair of hands with the fingers all spread out and menacing looking. They swap in and out easily and give the Lizard a nice range of options.
* The Lizard comes with two pieces of lab equipment, the first being an Erlenmeyer flask filled with a red liquid. Is this Dr. Connor's special lizard serum perhaps?
* The second is a Florence flask, a clear plastic flask filled with a yellow mixture. The yellow mixture oddly seems to be just hovering in the middle, but it's still a pretty cool and unique accessory. I'm always down for lab equipment.
The Lizard just might be one of my favorite Marvel Legends releases of the year. While I'm not the biggest Spider-Man fan, Hasbro has done an excellent job with getting out so many excellent figures of his iconic allies and villains over the past year or two and most of them have been hits. The Lizard is fantastic: Two portraits, excellent articulation, and some fun lab equipment accessories really make this guy a star. He's been kind of tough to track down (I preordered mine when they first went up for order) so good luck to those of you needing the Lizard. He's a Great and a 1/2 figure and everyone deserves to add him to their collection.
This is the first figure of Dr. Curt Connors/ the Lizard I've reviewed. For more Marvel Legends: Retro Collection reviews check out the following:
Marvel Legends Retro Collection by Hasbro
Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Fantastic Four by Hasbro
Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Spider-Man by Hasbro
The alt head is based on the Lizard's early appearances in the 60s.
ReplyDeleteI suspect the real reason is that is just made things easier to draw and animate over and over in the past rather than having to keep up with each rip and tear. There have been some cool Lizard figures released but if I'm going to own one, I prefer the looks from the 1970s through mid 1990s the best and this one captures that nicely.
ReplyDeleteGotcha. Thanks!
ReplyDelete