Action Figure Review: Synthoid Pack from Final Faction by Greenbrier International

 

   

   And... here's another Final Faction review from series 1! The Synthoid was released in 2020 and so was this set of extra arms and weapons for the synthetic Kharn troopers. This is a pretty nifty set that really allows you to diversify the Synthoids in your Kharn ranks with not just a different pair of arms but also with some shoulder mounted laser guns. Pretty cool stuff. Let's take a look at the Synthoid Pack after the break...

Action Figure Review: Boba Fett (Throne Room) from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro

    Well, I bit the bullet and picked up the deluxe Boba Fett (Throne Room) figure from Hasbro's Star Wars: The Black Series. Billed as a deluxe figure, Boba comes in a larger than normal box with a price tag about $7 dollars higher than usual (around $32 at Walmart). I really feel like this is an instance of Hasbro using the "deluxe" case packing (a full case of the same character) to make Boba Fett more readily available and using the "deluxe" pricing to make him a bit more profitable. While this figure is sourced from The Book of Boba Fett, he's really based on Fett's appearance in the stinger at the end of season 2 of The Mandalorian, as he's wearing his more billowy robes rather than the pants and boots he wore during most of BOBF. I'm sure Hasbro will release that figure at some point in the future. There's a Walmart exclusive Boba Fett from Mando Season 2 when he first gets his armor (it's called Boba Fett (Tython Jedi Ruins) that seems to reuse most of this figure so it seems likely we'll be seeing lots of Boba Fett figures in the near future. Let's check out the one I've got in front of me, though. Join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Medusa from Marvel Legends Series: Inhumans by Hasbro

 

   During the same trip to Back in Time Collectibles in Gastonia, NC when I picked up Black Bolt I also snagged Medusa. Black Bolt needs someone to hang out with, right?  Medusa was released in late 2017 as a Walgreens exclusive, around the same time that Black Bolt came out in the mostly movie based Black Panther wave and shortly after the debut of the Inhumans TV series. Since the TV series didn't do well, it seems that Hasbro has largely ignored the Inhumans in Marvel Legends, but who knows what the future might hold? While I never owned her (or any figures from the line), my first recollection of Medusa was from the Toy Biz Fantastic Four toyline where she had a display base that attempted to recreate her control over her hair. This version doesn't have any special action features or anything but she does have some amazingly long hair. Ready to take a look at a Medusa who won't turn you stone when you look at her? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Ninja Spawn from Spawn by McFarlane Toys

 

   Action figure toylines of the 1980s and 1990s were obsessed with ninjas. While it was legally mandated that every toyline had at least one ninja appear (Ninjor, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, White & Black Dragon Ninjas, Nightstick, Space Sumo), some companies just straight up released ninja based toylines. Think of lines like TMNT, Secret of the Ninja, and Chuck Norris and the Karate Kommandos. By the 1990s, the main characters were getting into the ninja game. Batman was a ninja. The Shadow was a ninja. G.I. Joe had Ninja Force. The Power Rangers became ninjas, so they were kind of double ninjas, I guess. And Spawn was a ninja. Well... kind of. The cool thing about many of the Spawn variants is that they're not actually Al Simmons, the guy most folks think of when they think of Spawn. They're often different individuals through history who have become Hellspawn. The vintage Ninja Spawn (released in 1995) was an unnamed man who lived centuries ago in Japan. This new version is also mysterious and has only appeared in the comics recently. Is this the same Ninja Spawn as the previous version? There was a Ninja Spawn 2 in 2006 which this figure seems to borrow more design elements from. Ninja Spawn's identity might still be secret but it's a cool looking figure so we can still go ahead and give him a review. Let's check out Ninja Spawn after the break...

 

Action Figure Review: Air Assault from Final Faction by Greenbrier International

 

   May has definitely been the month for me to go back and complete reviews of the first series Final Faction releases from 2020 and I'm continuing with another one of the first series accessory packs: The Air Assault pack. While the name doesn't specifically label this as being for the A.C.R.M., it's clearly designed for the mech as the pieces snap onto the figure perfectly. This set definitely improves the A.C.R.M. but can also be pretty fun when used with Churro's FD-0 mech. Let's take to the skies and check out the Air Assault kit after the break...

Action Figure Review: Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro

 

   Well, I feel like I went through quite a dry spell with Star Wars: The Black Series figures but recently I happened to stumble into quite a few new ones that I was actually looking for. I'm sort of worn out on endless, overpriced Clone and Stormtrooper repaints but new versions of beloved characters and stuff, especially from The Mandalorian? I'm down for that. Today I'm excited to take a look at Ahsoka Tano from The Mandalorian. Ahsoka appeared in season 2, played by Rosario Dawson. While I'd always dreamed of Ashley Eckstein getting the chance to play Ahsoka Tano in a live action Star Wars project, Rosario Dawson has done a fantastic job of bringing the character to life during a different stage of Ahsoka's journey. In The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett Ahsoka is in her early 40s and is a more mature, seasoned... Force wielder? Is Ahsoka a Jedi again? While she left the Jedi Order during The Clone Wars and stated that she wasn't a Jedi in Rebels, she definitely seems to have embraced her Jedi roots again in The Mandalorian and BOBF. She's had lots of training under experienced masters and years of experience, so perhaps she's helping to teach Luke Skywalker some as well. Let's take a look at Ahsoka Tano from The Mandalorian after the break...

Action Figure Review: Black Bolt from Marvel Legends Series: Inhumans by Hasbro

 

There might be spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in this review!   

   So... Black Bolt made his MCU debut, huh? I actually haven't watched the Inhumans show but I was still excited to see the character make an appearance in a very classic looking outfit as part of the Illuminati in Doctor Strange: Strange Harder. Also, of all of the chaos that Wanda caused, I'm pretty sure Black Bolt's untimely end is the most memorable. I mean... sheesh! Like many others who skipped out on this figure previously, I quickly went back and picked this guy up from one of my favorite retro toy shops, Back in Time Collectibles in Gastonia, NC. Black Bolt was originally released in the Okoye Build-a-Figure series which contained the first set of figures released for the Black Panther movie and a few comic based figures as well. At the time I kind of remember Black Bolt being a bit of a pegwarmer. Will his cameo in Doctor Strange: The Strangening be enough to get Blackagar Boltagon and the Inhumans back in the spotlight? Who knows? Let's take a look at this nearly five year old Marvel Legends figure after the break...