Action Figure Review: Ryback (Series 41) from WWE Elite by Mattel

 Hungry for some more WWE review? Then let's take a look at Mattel's newest Elite version of Ryback from WWE Elite series 41. This is my first Ryback figure and he's sporting the Big Guy's colorful duds from Wrestlemania XXXI when he competed in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. He didn't win, though, but he did get somewhat of a push last year when he won the Intercontinental Championship at Elimination Chamber and held it for 112 days until Kevin Owens defeated him at Night of Champions 2015. Sometimes I really like Ryback and sometimes he kind of leaves me cold. He's a solid mid-carder, I guess. Anyways, let's take a closer look at this figure, shall we? Join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Dean Ambrose (Series 41) from WWE Elite by Mattel

   6 months ago in my review of the WWE Elite series 36 Dean Ambrose figure I said that Dean Ambrose was without a doubt one of the most entertaining guys on WWE's roster. That still holds true today! You just can't help but love the out of control wrestler lovingly referred to as the lunatic fringe. Whether he's (literally) stealing WWE titles, driving vehicles into the arena, or passing out flyers for his new talk show, "The Ambrose Asylum," during a match, Ambrose is always bringing something crazy to the shows he's a part of. Today I'm looking at the most recent Dean Ambrose figure from series 41 of Mattel's Elite line of figures which features Ambrose in his ring attire from the May 25th, 2015 episode of WWE Raw when he drove a NYPD police vehicle into the arena to join Roman Reigns in a fight against Seth Rollins, Kane, and J&J Security. Let's turn up the music and charge into the ring, shall we? Join me after the break...

A New Batgirl Review: Batgirl #3 (GameStop Exclusive) from POP! Heroes by Funko

  Today I'm taking a brief look at an exclusive Funko POP! that was released last year as a GameStop Black Friday exclusive: Batgirl! Last year for Black Friday 2015, GameStop and Funko partnered together and released some mystery boxes that included an exclusive POP!, 2 ReAction figures, a POP! keychain, and two POP! pins for $20. It was a heck of a deal but you certainly didn't know what you'd end up with. I opted to only buy one box last year and ended up with a Gold Superman that's still sitting around (if you want to trade for a Gold Batgirl, let me know!). I finally snagged this version of Babs from an online auction and removed her from her box briefly to snap a few pics and log my thoughts. I have the original Batgirl POP! from a few years back and, since she has become so rare,it was cool to see Funko rerelease the sculpt. Ready for a closer look? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Justice Buster from DC Comics Multiverse by Mattel

 Looking back at Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's incredible 50 issue run on Batman, I think we've seen one of the strongest, most consistent Batman runs ever. I mean, Batman has typically always been a pretty strong title but Snyder and Capullo really elevated things to the next level. Someday in the future, I feel like this will be the run that future films, video games, and other comics will pay homage to. Not only did Snyder and Capullo tell some great Batman stories but they also introduced some cool new hardware into Batman's arsenal. Today I'm looking at Mattel's interpretation of one of those new pieces of Bat-gear from their new DC Comics Multiverse series: The Justice Buster! Appearing in the "Endgame" storyline, the Justice Buster is a suit of armor which Batman uses to counter a "Joker-ized" Justice League. It's like the Hulk Buster, but more versatile. The Justice Buster is the "Collect & Connect" figure from the first standard Multiverse series and you'll need to purchase six figures to assemble it: The Arrow, Earth 23 Superman, the Flash, Reverse Flash, Endgame Joker, and Zero Year Batman. I picked up all of those figures except for the Flash (I just ordered his part online) simply because I really wanted a Justice Buster. Since DC is getting ready to start Rebirth, who knows if we'll see any toys from the New 52 for awhile other than stuff already announced? Also, I was jonesing to complete a build-a-figure again since the last one I completed was in 2013! Ready for a closer look at the Justice Buster? Then join me after the break...

A New Batgirl Review: Batgirl (Red Card Variant) from World's Greatest Heroes by Figures Toy Co.

 Today I'm not really doing a review as I don't plan on removing this figure from the package. Instead, consider this more of a "show & tell" of a cool Batgirl piece that I've recently added to my Batgirl collection. It's a variant version of Figures Toy Company's Batgirl from their World's Greatest Heroes line that is packaged on a red backer card. It's a limited edition of only 100 and is sold exclusively through Big K Toyz. I already owned the standard version of this figure but the limited run on this intrigued me. Ready for a closer look at another fun Mego styled offering from Figures Toy Company? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Revew: Silk Spectre II from Watchmen by Mattel

  We're now at the last figure I'm reviewing from Mattel's Watchmen series: Silk Spectre II, AKA Laurie Juspeczyk. The daughter of the original Silk Spectre, Sally Jupiter, Laurie has taken on the mantle from her mother and is thus a legacy character (similar to Nite Owl). Since this is the 6th and final figure from this series I'm going to make some statements about the overall line. This line was released in 2013 and thus is about 3 years old now, as is the tie-in series it was released along side of: Before Watchmen. I haven't actually read Before Watchemen yet but I'll probably be doing so in the next few months as just rereading Watchmen and picking up these figures has piqued my curiosity. Still, I think it's clear that neither Before Watchmen nor this series of action figures lit the world on fire upon their release. For this line, I feel that the reason it didn't excel was the reason a number of MattyCollector properties such as Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and the DC Universe Signature Collection have failed: Matty's tendency is to over promise and under deliver. Rather than just making solid figures or striving to make incredible figures, Mattel makes average to solid figures and then bills them as high quality collectors items. Considering the incredible packaging and marketing, the Watchmen figures just couldn't cover the checks that MattyCollector's marketing department tried to write. Today's review of Silk Spectre II is the perfect example of Mattel's handling of these lines: A mixture of good, bad, strange, and lazy. Let's take a closer look at her, shall we?

Action Figure Review: Superman from DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman by Mattel

 I'm not usually that big of a Superman fan. I mean, I have no ill will towards the guy and certainly respect his iconic status while appreciating the Christopher Reeve films, but I'm rarely going to pick up a Superman action figure or collectible. Prior to the last week or two the only Superman figure I've purchased in years was probably one from DC Universe Classics. Heck, something from DCUC or DC Superheroes was probably the first Superman I ever owned, too. I've bought two Superman figures in the past week though: The Earth 23 Superman (which I reviewed yesterday) and this Henry Cavill Superman from Mattel's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice subset of their DC Comics Multiverse line. What's crazy to me is that Superman is actually difficult to find in Mattel Batman v. Superman line. I saw a couple Supermans back in January when I purchased my Armored Batman figure and haven't seen any since just this past week or two. And Wonder Woman? Forget about it! Mattel is all Batman, all the time, baby. Anyways, I enjoyed BvS:DoJ (check out the 3 1/2 hour podcast I discussed this film on) and decided that I definitely wanted to add this version of Supes to my collection. Ready for a closer look at this figure? Then join me after the break...