Sunday, June 30, 2019

Minifigure Review: Monkey Tiger from Imaginext Collectible Figures Series 12 by Fisher-Price

   Today I'm checking out the fifth figure in series 12 of the Imaginext Collectible figures and this time it's something pretty unusual: A Tiger Monkey. That's what I've seen it called, anyways. Fisher-Price doesn't really give these figures official names, so I'm just using the designation I've seen most commonly online. Series 12 hasn't been the most exciting series for me and while I wasn't initially looking forward to this figure that much, having him in hand has changed my opinion greatly. He's excellent and really unique. First things first, though: What the heck is this guy supposed to be? He definitely has the fur color and pattern of a tiger, but he's clearly simian in nature, right? And is he a mechanic? I don't know why, maybe I'm thinking that he is because of the gloves and the blue suit. It makes me think of some sort of a space mechanic. But is that some sort of magic staff he's wielding? Perhaps he's a street mage of sorts. Anyways, I gotta give Fisher-Price credit for the fact that this guy is interesting. Series 12 has been rather basic overall but this guy is just a ton of fun. I keep getting a ThunderCats, Legends of Chima, and Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys vibe from this fella. Let's check him out in more detail after the break...

Saturday, June 29, 2019

Action Figure Review: 0-0-0 (Triple Zero) from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

   Today I'm checking out 0-0-0 (Triple Zero), another character from Marvel's Star Wars comic series. Alongside his murderous companion BT-1, 0-0-0 roams the galaxy looking for savage and sadistic ways to harm humans. Wouldn't this guy get along well with HK-47? 0-0-0 is the result of  something called the Triple-Zero protocol personality matrix, a device studied by Wat Tambor, later being put into the body of a standard protocol droid shortly after the Battle of Yavin. In the most recent series of Black Series figures Hasbro has included three characters from the new canon: BT-1, 0-0-0 here, and Doctor Aphra. What's interesting is that all three of these figures largely rely on reuse. Smart reuse, however. While Hasbro has definitely reused sculpts for figures like Stormtroopers, Clone Troopers, and other figures of the sort, reuse has been pretty minimal in this line. With smart reuse, however, hopefully Hasbro is more willing to give us more figures from both the New Canon and the Expanded Universe/ Legends that might not warrant completely new sculpts. Let's check out 0-0-0 and see how effective a figure that's 95% reuse can fully be!

Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Confirmed Epic Podcast #105: Are the X-men Back?





The Reel Brad Bell is proud to Welcome you back to The Confirmed Epic Podcast with episode #105.

In episode #105 we discuss:

-Is Andrew Garfield really the best live action Spider-Man? (Epic Games)

-Detective Comics 1000, Heroes-Con 2019, and Chasing Amy (What we have been checking out)

-What is more important when collecting Quality Vs. Budget? (Collecting)

-Why do people hate the FOX X-men film franchise now? (FILM)

-Is HBO's Chernobyl the most important piece of entertainment in 2019? (TV)

-Are the X-men getting ready to make a cultural comeback? (COMICS)


-We also have some random tweets, and our weekly CONFIRMED CRAP & CONFIRMED EPIC ratings of the week

You can always contact the show directly via email at thepicreview@gmail.com or on twitter @thereelbradbell

Minifigure Review: Female Backpacker Camper from Imaginext Collectible Figures Series 12 by Fisher-Price

 Last month I reviewed the first three figures from series 12 of the Imaginext Collectible Figures line and now I'm going to be wrapping things up with the final three figures. Today I'm checking out the lone female figure in series 12, the very clumsily named Female Backpacker Camper. Yeah, I'm not really sure where these names come from. I think they're how the figures are listed in retailer inventory systems or something. Unlike a lot of other blindbagged lines the Imaginext Collectible Figures are not truly blindbagged, as the foil packaging has a unique number stamped on it for each figure. Series 12 feature a few figures with a lot of reuse and one of those is the Female Backpacker Camper, which I'm going to just refer to as the Backpacker. I'm pretty sure she's made up of parts we've seen before and I know that her backpack has been features in other Imaginext lines such as Jurassic Park, the desert adventure line, and even the DC Super Friends line. Still, I was kind of excited about this figure as she fits in well with the adventurer line (which my daughter loves) and kind of looks like a gender-swapped Race Bannon from Jonny Quest. It turns out that this figure is kind of disappointing, so check her out along with me after the break...

Monday, June 24, 2019

Action Figure Review: BT-1 (Beetee) from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

    The newest series of Star Wars: The Black Series figures have started showing up and today I'm checking out the first figure from the series I managed to get my hands on: BT-1 (Beetee). A BT-1 assassin droid disguised as an astromech droid, BT-1 is half of the infamous and murderous droid duo alongside his killer counterpart 0-0-0. Originally appearing in the third issue of Marvel's Darth Vader comic series, BT-1 now appears fairly regularly in the pages of Marvel's Doctor Aphra comic. I was pretty excited last year when Hasbro announced Doctor Aphra, BT-1, and 0-0-0 as these are the first figures based on books or comics from the New Canon. Hasbro used to release a lot of Expanded Universe/ Legends stuff back in the day, and still does on occasion, so it's nice to see the New Canon supported as well. The various Marvel series have been very, very good with some strong character designs. I picked up BT-1 on my lunch break at a GameStop near my office and, apparently, they were only getting in 1 per store. Weird, huh? GameStop is getting these in separately rather than as cases. Let's check out BT-1 after the break...

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Action Figure Review: Teela from Masters of the Universe by Super7

 Today I'm reviewing the fourth and final figure in the second series of Super7's Filmation inspired, vintage styled Masters of the Universe figures: Teela! Of the four figures in series 2, Teela was probably the one I was most looking forward to. While Robot He-Man is technically a new character and Man-At-Arms with his mustache was a long anticipated addition to 5.5 inch MOTU collecting, I really was looking forward to a Filmation inspired Teela. Sadly, Teela turned out to be a fairly disappointing figure. She's not terrible but she definitely has some flaws that hold her back from being recommended to all but the most enthusiastic MOTU collectors. Let's check her out after the break...

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Action Figure Review: Trap Jaw (Cartoon Colors) from Masters of the Universe ReAction by Super7

  Last weekend I had the chance to go to HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC and  ended up with some pretty cool stuff. One item I picked up was this incredible Masters of the Universe ReAction Trap Jaw from Super7's blind boxed assortment. Trap Jaw is one of the four characters in the villain blind boxes and he's available in two flavors: Cartoon Colors and Metallic. A vendor actually had these available opened and labeled so I scooped up the Cartoon Colors version of this evil menace. Oddly enough, I don't actually own a carded ReAction Trap Jaw so picking one up seemed like a pretty good idea. It turns out that Trap Jaw is actually one of the cooler figures in the series as he not only really looks like his Filmation counterpart but he has a working action feature as well. Let's check out Trap Jaw after the break...

Friday, June 21, 2019

Action Figure Review: Robot He-Man from Masters of the Universe by Super7

    I'm slowly making my way through series 2 of Super7's vintage styled line of Masters of the Universe action figures and I'm only now coming to the third figure in the line: Robot He-Man, a bizarre He-Man variant from the Filmation episode "Disappearing Act." When Prince Adam is kidnapped, Man-At-Arms builds a robotic He-Man to take his place. Well, not quite. Robot He-Man serves as more of a decoy so that Skeletor (and everyone else not in on the secret) won't realize that Adam is really He-Man.I know that companies always want to get more mileage out of their tooling dollars, so being able to slap a new head on He-Man and sell another figure is an easy win. Now that Mattel has revealed that they're doing their own vintage styled line (possibly called Masters of the Universe Origins), it seems we have an answer as to why Mattel has apparently been fairly controlling about what Super7 is allowed to make in this toyline. Apparently, Super7 is mostly limited to the Fimation license. That's not too limiting, though, although there are far fewer He-Man variants in that cartoon. Probably why we got Robot He-Man so soon, huh? Let's check him out after the break...

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Minifigure Review: Skeletor (Blue) from Masters of the Universe Micro Vinyl by Super7

 A little over a week ago I reviewed Super7's Micro Vinyl He-Man they sold at the Five Points Festival and now I'm checking out his arch-nemesis: Skeletor! Both He-Man and Skeletor were available in either blue or orange so rather than buying one of each (these guys were a tad pricey at $10 each) I went with an orange He-Man and a blue Skeletor. Blue just seemed more fitting for Skeletor, you know? I don't own many Japanese vinyl toys of this sort so getting these two guys in the mail definitely added something a but unique to my collection. Let's check out this miniature Skeletor after the break...

Sunday, June 16, 2019

Action Figure Review: Mothman #484 from POP! Games by Funko

   I haven't played Fallout 76 nor do I have any intention of playing it. I bought this POP! vinyl simply because it is based on Mothman, a legendary cryptid that I've been fascinated with since I was 8 years old. In addition to having a small but respectable collection of Mothman items and artwork and a shelf full of Motham books I've also made the pilgrimage to Point Pleasant, West Virginia a few times (including once to attend the Mothman Festival), so I'm always down for anything Mothman related. Since Fallout 76 takes place in Appalachia and the Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant is a location in the game, it's no surprise that the Mothman makes an appearance. I was really pleased that Funko added this legendary being as a POP! to coincide with the game's release. Let's check out the mysterious Mothman of Point Pleasant after the break...

Friday, June 14, 2019

Action Figure Review: Mercy and Pharah from Overwatch Ultimates by Hasbro

  It's been a few days so it's time for another review from Hasbro's Overwatch Ultimates toyline. As I've stated on all of these reviews, I've never played Overwatch. Prior to picking these figures up I wasn't even familiar with the story. Heck, other than recognizing a few of the main characters, I was completely ignorant of the property. Cool action figures is enough to get me excited, though, and now I'm starting to pick up on some of the lore. Today I'm checking out a very cool two-pack that features two of the more popular characters from the game: Mercy and Pharah. Mercy is the code name for Dr. Angela Ziegler, a 37 year old Swiss field medic and first responder from Zurich while Pharah is the code name for Fareeha Amari, a 32 year old security chief from Giza, Egypt. While the characters in Overwatch have multiple different "skins" that showcase different appearances for the figures, Mercy and Pharah come in their standard looks. Let's take a look at this two-pack after the break...

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Minifigure Review: He-Man (Orange) from Masters of the Universe Micro Vinyl by Super7

   Just last week Super7 listed a few Masters of the Universe vinyl toys which they originally released at the Five Points Festival earlier this month. While some of the figures were fairly expensive, I really wanted to add at least one of the He-Man and Skeletor minifigures to my collection. Each of the figures came in either orange or blue so I ordered one of each sculpt: An orange He-Man and a blue Skeletor (that made sense to me). Super7 shipped these quickly and they arrived on Saturday. Ready for a quick look at a Japanese vinyl styled He-Man? Then join me after the break...

Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Action Figure Review: He-Ro from Masters of the Universe: The Powers of Grayskull by Super7

   Yesterday I checked out Eldor, the heroic mentor from Super7's Masters of the Universe: The Powers of Grayskull and now I'm checking out He-Ro, the Most Powerful Wizard in the Universe. I talked a lot about these figures yesterday and their significance in Masters of the Universe history so today I'm going to give less of a history lessen and more of some general thoughts on Super7's efforts here. Super7 has done some really cool stuff with the Masters of the Universe license and while they have had some criticism due to pricing and delays, overall I think they've done a pretty good job of doing something with a license that Mattel kind of threw away for a few years. Honestly, I wonder if if it was the fact that so many companies like Super7, Mondo, Funko, and The Loyal Subjects wanted the rights to do MOTU product that Mattel seems to now be interested in getting back into the game and is really pushing the upcoming film. Hopefully there is room for everyone at the table so that collectors are presented with a wide array of MOTU offerings. Super7 does a stellar job on packaging and art design and in these respects He-Ro truly excels. Let's check out He-Ro in detail after the break...

Sunday, June 9, 2019

Action Figure Review: Eldor from Masters of the Universe: The Powers of Grayskull by Super7

    There's no denying that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was a wildly successful property back in the early to mid 1980s. Beginning in 1982, the line grew in popularity until 1986 when the toyline was doing around $400 million in sales. Sadly, in 1987 the line dropped in sales. Despite the release of the live action film that year the line dropped to around $7 million in sales, causing Mattel to scrap plans for the next planned expansion: The Powers of Grayskull. Mattel's plan for the future of Masters of the Universe was to go back in time to Preternia, Eternia's ancient past filled with wizards and dinosaurs. The new main hero of this series would be, well He-Ro, a powerful wizard. It's interesting that Mattel went backwards, attempting to do the prequel thing before pretty much anyone else. While Mattel did limited releases of the three dinosaurs from the line and the two giants (released only in Italy), the figures were scrapped. For a number of years now fans have know about Mattel's planned figures for He-Ro and Eldor. The two characters were released in Masters of the Universe Classics but fans of the vintage line would always have an empty spot on the shelf where these two characters should have been...until now! As part of their mass amount of MOTU product Super7 has done a remarkable job of finally getting these never before produced vintage prototypes out to collectors as legitimate figures. Let's start with Eldor, the Heroic Guardian of the Book of Living Spells, after the break...

Friday, June 7, 2019

Action Figure Review: Reaper (Blackwatch Reyes) from Overwatch Ultimates by Hasbro

    Today I'm checking out another figure from Hasbro's Overwatch Ultimates line and this time it's Reaper (Blackwatch Reyes). That's a rather oddly named figure, isn't it? I'm no Overwatch expert by any means (I have not actually even played the game) but a brief glimpse through the Overwatch Wiki gave me some information to help make sense of things. While Reaper is one of the most recognizable characters in the game, this isn't how he usually dresses. While most of the alternate skins for characters are simple palette swaps, sometimes they offer up a truly unique appearance. Reaper's real name is Gabriel Reyes and before he was a mercenary and a terrorist, he was the commander of a US Army group called Blackwatch, were he served alongside of Jack Morrison/ Soldier 76. At some point I'm sure we'll get Reyes in his Reaper outfit but to kick things off Hasbro's offering up this "prequel" version of Reyes that is one of his Legendary skins. I have to admit that the story and character connections in this game are making me more interested in playing this than anything I've heard about the game itself, which doesn't appear to be very story based. Are there novels or comics that anyone would recommend? For now, let's check out the Blackwatch version of Reyes/ Reaper after the break...

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Action Figure Review: Battle Cat from Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls by The Loyal Subjects

    I have quite a few of the Masters of the Universe Action Vinyls from The Loyal Subjects, but you know what? This is the first one I've reviewed on the site! Just as the cases of the second series of figures is starting to hit store shelves (Hot Topic had an exclusive case of series 2 at the end of 2018), cases of just Battle Cat and Panthor are also starting to arrive. The Loyal Subjects has evolved on their approach to blind boxes and while Series 2 has a mixture of blind boxed and regularly packaged figures, Battle Cat and Panthor are packaged in traditional window boxes. Pretty cool, right? Cringer is easily one of my favorite Masters of the Universe characters so that means Battle Cat gets pretty high marks in my book, too. Let's check out this very cool miniature Battle Cat after the break...

Monday, June 3, 2019

Action Figure Review: Ana (Shrike) and Soldier: 76 from Overwatch Ultimates by Hasbro

    Sorry that it's been a few days since I posted a new review! Something pretty cool arrived in the mail this weekend and it's been keeping me busy. I'll be showing it off shortly but today I'm going to be checking out one of the 2-packs from Hasbro's Overwatch Ultimates line: Ana (Shrike) and Soldier: 76. As I said in my review of Sombra, I really don't know that much about Overwatch. I'm familiar with it but I've never played it nor have I read any of the tie-in comics. I really just dig the character designs and I like the product Hasbro has put out. This set includes two completely unique action figures. The Overwatch characters have multiple different "skins" they can wear which usually seem to be just new color schemes but some, like Ana's, feature different elements such as the Tron-like helmet seen here. Let's check out Ana and Soldier: 76 after the break...