Wrapping Up 2022: Princess Leia Organa from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro

 

   
   Today I'm checking out the last Star Wars: The Black Series figure I picked up in 2022 and it's actually one I received for Christmas: Princess Leia Organa from the 2015 Star Wars: Princess Leia Marvel series by Mark Waid and Terry Dodson. I've been loving Marvel's Star Wars output, particularly anything involving the Original Trilogy era and characters, and the Princess Leia series was quite good. Beyond the story, though, Terry Dodson draws the most beautiful depictions of Princess Leia we've ever seen outside of Carrie Fisher's portrayal of the character, and I've long wanted an action figure based on Leia's look in the comic. This is a fantastic version of Princess Leia in her adventuring and combat gear and she comes in one of the 5-panel boxes depicting the art from the cover of issue #5. She's part of the series that features comic depictions of characters, both from the New Canon and the Expanded Universe, but which are a few bucks more than your standard figure for some reason. Let's take a look at one of the best Princess Leia Organa figures ever made, after the break...

Wrapping Up 2023: Migs Mayfeld (Morak) from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro

 

     I've got another Star Wars: The Black Series review lined up for today as part of my wrap up of my figures from 2022 and this time it's Migs Mayfeld in the Juggernaut Pilot disguise he wears on Morak during season 2 of The Mandalorian. There's also a more unique version of Migs Mayfeld from season 1 that's starting to show up but I haven't found him or picked him up yet. This one was on clearance at a GameStop I was at last month and, with the clearance price and my monthly $5 credit, I paid around $5 bucks for him. I like disguised figures, especially in Star Wars, and it's kind of funny to have a little Bill Burr hanging around. Now that Hasbro has a massive library of parts for this line we're seeing more and more figures made from the parts of others. At a glance Migs Mayfeld is a good example of this down right, but there are some weird issues on the figure that definitely detract from an otherwise solid figure. Let's take a look at Migs Mayfeld (Morak) after the break...

Wrapping Up 2022: Galen Erso from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro

 

   I'm here again with another bargain bin goodie! Yes, the bin store I've been shopping at a lot lately (and some of y'all are all jelly) has had a shelf full of the Target exclusive Galen Erso figure for a couple months for $10 each, but when I found one in the bargain bin (three for $14 dollars) I finally snagged him. I love Rogue One. It's not just the best of the Disney era Star Wars movies but it's even one of the best when looking at all of the films as a whole. When I made my list of the top 10 figures we still needed from the Sequel Trilogy era of films (2015-2019), a few Rogue One characters did make my list, but not Galen Erso. He's a significant character in the overall story, even though he doesn't have a lot of screen time, and since Hasbro went back last year and this year and really filled out the Rogue One cast he was a good choice. He's not a very exciting figure, though. He's kind of the equivalent of some of the Episode 1 figures like Chancellor Valorum, or the vintage Imperial Dignitary, in terms of excitement factor. Let's take a look at the Black Series Galen Erso and see how he fares after the break...

Wrapping Up 2022: Krampus from The Naughty or Nice Collection by Fresh Monkey Fiction

   Today I'm really excited to check out the first of three of the figures I received from The Naughty or Nice Collection by Fresh Monkey Fiction. Yes, this is a toyline based on Christmas characters from the Santa Claus stories. You've got different versions of jolly old Saint Nicholas himself, Krampus, a zombie Santa, a robot Santa, and even an army of elves and nutcrackers, both good and evil. Or naughty and nice. Aha! Yes, this series features both heroic and evil Christmas characters and so far seems to be a hit with collectors. The first figure I'm checking out is Krampus, a deluxe Big Bad Toy Store exclusive. These are from Fresh Monkey Fiction, a company whose work I've been intrigued, but whose releases have been in the smaller 4 to 4 1/2 inch size. Since these figures scale well with most everything else I collect (Krampus is 1/12th), I jumped in and picked up a few. My figures arrived shortly before Christmas, but after Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night, the evening of December 5th. This line is a lot of fun and I'm excited to check out the first release in the series. Come join me (and I hope you've been well behaved this year!) after the break...

Wrapping Up 2022: Cobra Viper (Python Patrol) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

  The Target exclusive figures for the Tiger Force and Python Patrol subsets were much easier to find than the previous Target exclusives, so if you wanted to pick up a whole squad of these guys you probably could have. I still have my original Python Patrol Viper from the vintage A Real American Hero line and, like that figure from 1989, this modern version is largely just a repaint of the previously available Viper figures. The 2021 Cobra Viper was also a Target exclusive. I wonder why he's been selected as a Target exclusive twice now? Let's take a look at this elite Cobra Trooper after the break...

Wrapping Up 2022: Mekaneck and Ground Ripper from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

   We're into the new year and I've still got three or four Masters of the Universe Origins figures to review. Today I'm checking out a special two-pack of Mekaneck and the Ground Ripper. I'm honestly surprised that Mekaneck didn't come out earlier since he's such a memorable figure with a very basic design, especially in MOTU Origins where he doesn't retain his vintage action feature. Like the Masters of the Universe Classics version of Mekaneck, this one has a removable head and a neck extension piece that pops on. The Ground Ripper (which is the name Mattel now uses for the vintage Road Ripper) also doesn't have it's vintage ripcord action feature; it just rolls around. Why did Mattel pair these two together. I'm not aware of a vintage two pack or gift set with these two (there was a set with the Road Ripper and Battle Armor He-Man) but there was some cross-sell art with Mekaneck on the Road Ripper. Maybe that's the inspiration? They're also both 1984 releases for the Heroic Warriors. They're finally in MOTU Origins, so let's check out this set after the break...

Wrapping Up 2022: Dr. Mindbender from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

    Happy New Year! It might be 2023 but there are plenty of cool toys from 2022 that I just received over the last month which I still need to review. I've still got about five G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures left to review and today I'm looking at Dr. Mindbender. Originally released as part of the 1986 assortment of A Real American Hero figures, Dr. Mindbender became a successor to Dr. Venom, a prominent character in the early comics who never had a vintage action figure. While Dr. Venom was just a guy in a lab coat, Dr. Mindbender is... well, something else. Black leather boots. Purple pants. A silver harness. A metal codpiece. A cape. A mustache. A monocle. All of that and no shirt! He's out there and while Hasbro has updated his appearance in the traditional 1/18th scaled line over the years, for the Classified Series they went with his vintage outfit. He's a deluxe boxed figure who was available as an SDCC exclusive while also being pre-sold through Hasbro Pulse. Mine showed up at the end of November but there's been so much cool stuff around that I'm just now getting to him. Let's take a look
at Dr. Mindbender after the break...