Action Figure Review: Wolfsbane from The Order of the Crimson Moon by Fresh Monkey Fiction & Big Bad Workshop

 

   I'm finally ready to check out the last of the four action figures I picked up from Fresh Monkey Fiction & Big Bad Workshop's The Order of the Crimson Moon line: Wolfsbane! Who is Wolfsbane? He's a mercenary who supplies weapons and provides knowledge on arcane magic to the Order of the Crimson Moon. He's a cool arms dealer sporting black leather with red highlights, metal hands, and wrist mounted weaponry. Oh, and he comes with an alternate robotic head. Hey, wait a minute... this guy sounds just like.... Red Jackal from Action Force! That's it, Red Jackal. Red Jackal does kind of look familiar too, though, right? OK, yes, Red Jackal was a repaint of the G.I. Joe Destro figure. At some point during the run of Palitoy's Action Force run, Hasbro began taking more control of Palitoy and released many of the G.I. Joe A Real American hero figures with different names and different paintjobs. Destro was renamed Red Jackal, the driver of the Hyena, and was given a slightly different paintjob with the Red Skulls skull and crossbones on his chest. This is a cool figure who can supplement your Order of the Crimson Moon team, help out the bad guys in Operation: Monster Force, aid the Garrison in Valaverse's Action Force, or help out Cobra or the Iron Grenadiers. He's versatile and cool as heck. Want to check him out? Then let's take a look at Wolfsbane after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 6 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/ hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, balljointed drop-down hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid-torso, lateral pectoral hinges, swivel/hinge shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, forearm swivels, swivel/hinge wrists, balljointed neck base, hinged neck, and a balljointed head. 

Accessories: 2 swappable heads 2 swappable necks, pistol, magazine, 2 firing effects, 2 thigh pads, knife, 10 swappable hands, 2 wrist computers, 2 wrist launchers, 2 missile barrel attachments, 2 gun barrel attachments, 2 firing missile attachments, briefcase, two canisters, two removable canister cores, and display stand.

Non-Scalper Price: $38-$40 dollars

The Positives:

* Red Jackal Wolfsbane definitely takes inspiration from the flashy villain school of fashion as, like Destro, he absolutely stands out in the best way possible. He's presumably sporting a black leather coat with a white (maybe fur, maybe faux fur) collar, black tactical pants with thigh straps, and a red sweater that's rocking the skull and crossbones logo used by pirates, the Red Shadows, and infamous Yale secret societies. There aren't a ton of paint applications here but the skull and crossbones logo is sharp and centered correctly. Besides the black and red details, Wolfsbane is also sporting massive metal gloves and hands that are either covered with armor or robotic. There's an explanation for that in a moment, though. This guy is super sharp and just looks like he's ready to cause some havoc. 

* Wolfsbane's portrait is a red balaclava which fits well with his sweater and the rest of his outfit. He looks quite angry underneath, or at least very intense, and definitely is giving me Firefly vibes here. I'm pretty confident this is a reused/ shared portrait from some of the Soldiers of Fortune figures but it's still a decent look. I don't own anyone else who uses it, so it's new to me. 

* Of course, the better portrait is this robotic one. Heck yes, it is. This is amazing. Look at this! He looks like a mixture between Destro, Dr. Doom, Ultron, and Vinnie, Pizza the Hutt's sidekick. According to the lore of the line, this portrait is a "Robo-Sapien Army Builder" portrait, but I think this looks better as being Wolfsbane himself. The sculpt is really crisp and I love the painted facial details. This portrait alone probably makes Wolfsbane my favorite from this series to date.

* Wolfsbane has some seriously cool gauntlets. The gauntlets actually have sockets on them so you can swap out the red pieces and weapons attached to them. If you want Wolfsbane to look pretty basic you can pop on these incredibly nifty computer panels. Two are included and they have some pretty solid detail for their size. 

* Maybe you want some firepower, though.... how about these wrist mounted machine guns? OK, awesome; just pop these bad boys on. How cool do they look, right? The wrist attachment part is one piece and the barrel is a second. They even have hollow barrels for firing effects. 

* What's that? You'd rather have wrist mounted mini missile launchers? OK, then slap on some wrist rockets! The gun barrels can pop out and the miniature missile rack can attach, showing seven mini missiles ready to be fired. 

* Want to see these wrist rockets in action? Then swap out the missile rack pieces with firing pieces! These look glorious. Even the miniature missiles or projectiles get a silver paint application as they're trailed by a fiery tail. 

* I don't have too much new to say about the articulation on Wolfsbane that I haven't said on the other figures in the line (and all of the figures in the other Big Bad Workshop/ Fresh Monkey Fiction lines) since there's so much reuse here. The figure feels incredible in hand, though, with the plastic quality a bit more flexible than earlier released from the company and the joints smoother. The coat is nice and open and doesn't really interfere with the movement at all, so he's free to strike dramatic poses and wildly fire his missiles around.

* Ten hands are included, which is eight more hands than I myself have. Eight of them are standard, gloved hands, making Wolfsbane just a dude wearing incredibly cool gauntlets. There are open hands with splayed fingers, pistol grips, standard grips, and fists. 

* The second pair are robotic looking, either meaning Wolfsbane is wearing some incredible gauntlets, has cybernetic hands, or is himself a cyborg. 

* This very cool pistol is quite reminiscent of the vintage Destro pistol/ laser gun. I love the design and it's also included with Major Noir. It definitely has something of a retro-futuristic vibe to it but it also has a fairly large forward magazine, so it's clearly a projectile weapon that fires ammunition. The barrel holds a firing effect and the weapon gets a dark wash to emphasize the details. 

* The pistol's forward magazine is also removable. With the magazine removed, the pistol looks a bit like a German Bergman No. 1 (the inspiration for Din Djarin's blaster in The Mandalorian. 

* A combat knife is also included for when all of Wolfsbane's armaments just aren't enough. It's a great sculpt with crisp detail and a color difference between the blade and hilt. 

* This little sheath is on Wolfsbane's right shin, allowing the combat knife to be carried around easily. 

* The standard two firing effects are included, both of which can attach to either the wrist mounted gun barrels or the pistol. You get a standard firing effect and a wisp of some from a freshly fired round. 

*  Wolfsbane is also toting around a very cool black hard-shell case. I first saw this included with last year's Doctor Caligari from Operation Monster Force and it's a great piece, so I don't mind seeing it again. 

* It opens! The top of the case looks to have protective foam of some sort while there are slots for the case for the two included canisters that have the Crimson Moon contagion inside of them, a substance which can turn humans into werewolves. 

* The black canisters are removable from the case. The sides are basic and smooth but the tops and bottoms have small grips and details that look like vents. 

* The core of both canisters can slide out to reveal multiple racks of tiny red spheres. I presume these are individual doses of the Crimson Moon contagion. They look fantastic and the red really fits the colors and theme of this series. 

* Lastly, a display stand is included with Wolfsbane. It's the same flat rectangle stand included with the Soldiers of Fortune and C.O.P.S. figures, though now it's emblazoned with the logo for The Order of the Crimson Moon.

The Negatives:

* Swapping heads is easy on these figures but swapping the necks is a real pain in the... well, a pain in the neck, actually. I'd love to see this worked on a bit as it makes swapping the portraits and their corresponding neck pieces a real chore. 

   Wolfsbane is incredible and is definitely my favorite figure in The Order of the Crimson Moon to date. Besides just looking cool as a base figure his accessories are incredible and intricate with both the case of the vials of Crimson Moon contagion and the swappable wrist mounted weaponry working well. That alternate cybernetic headsculpt is impressive, too. I absolutely love it. Whether you're using this as Wolfsbane, Destro, Red Jackal, or something completely different, this guy is loaded and a blast to play with. He's an Epic figure and the gem of this line in my book. 




This is the first figure of Wolfsbane that I've reviewed. For more The Order of the Crimson Moon reviews check out the following:

Count Ironmoon

Major Noir

Order of the Crimson Moon