Action Figure Review: Duke from G.I. Joe Classified Series by Hasbro

   It's been awhile since I've purchased a new G.I.Joe item. I have written a G.I. Joe review or two since then, because the Sigma 6 line is one of my favorite toylines ever, but I haven't really been very interested in any of Hasbro's releases over the past 7 or 8 years. Honestly, Hasbro hasn't done much with G.I. Joe since the film Retaliation other than things like the failed Kre-O brand or the subscription figures put out by the G.I. Joe Collector's Club. With the move towards 6-7 inch action figures sort of becoming an industry standard collectors have long speculated when we would see Hasbro tackle G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero in the 6 inch scale. The G.I. Joe Classified Series is the answer to that speculation and it launched with an exclusive Snake Eyes figure and a case of five of the most well known names in G.I. Joe fandom: Snake Eyes, Destro, Scarlett, Roadblock, and Duke. Today I'm checking out Duke as he was the first figure I was able to get my hands on. I would wager that G.I. Joe fans have kind of a love/ hate relationship with Duke as he's a solid character and has been one of the faces of the brand for decades now, even though he wasn't part of the Original 13 members of the G.I. Joe team. Hasbro sure loves him, though, and during the 2000s and early 2010s they put out dozens of Duke figures. He was the face of Sigma 6 as well as G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, so it only makes sense that Hasbro would include him in the first series of figures. Duke provides a nice dose of the military realism that has always been part of G.I. Joe's DNA since the 12 inch era while still sporting some of the futuristic elements that are part of the design aesthetic of this line. Ready for a closer look at Duke? Then hop to attention and join me after the break...

Trap Jaw-ly! Stratos, Trap Jaw, & Prince Adam from Masters of the Universe Classics by Super7

   Today you're getting a triple-sized review for Trap-Jawly as I'm checking out Super7's 2017 PowerCon exclusive 3-pack which includes Stratos, Trap Jaw, and Prince Adam in their minicomic looks. Super7 took over the Masters of the Universe Classics line from Mattel in 2017. During that first year they offered up some reruns with only minor differences called the Ultimates figures (which may have been produced at Mattel's factory if I recall correctly) and two exclusive 3-packs for PowerCon 2017 which were the first MOTUC sets Super7 produced on their own. Collectors of MOTUC had long wanted to see more comic themed variants in the line and Super7 definitely delivered by offering up three of them at once. This is a large review and I'll be talking a bit more about each character while reviewing them so let's get things started after the break...

Action Figure Review: Webstor #997 from POP! Television: Masters of the Universe by Funko

   Funko put out POP! vinyls of quite a few of the main Masters of the Universe villains previously but this series adds yet another to the ranks of the Evil Warriors: Webstor! Webstor did appear in the Filmation cartoon series, both in He-Man and She-Ra, where he looked quite faithful to his vintage action figure. He was released in the 3rd series of figures in 1984 and was quite popular due to his menacing appearance and his cool working grappling hook feature. Yes, Webstor is based on a spider (an early working name for the character was Black Widow) but he uses a grappling hook to get around. That's MOTU for you! There's apparently a metallic variant coming out as a Hot Topic exclusive, too, which really makes this a big year for Webstor based figures. Has there ever been a time where we got two different Webstor toys in the same year? I don't think so, so there's one good thing about 2020 at least! Let's check out the POP! Webstor after the break...

Trap Jaw-ly! Trap Jaw (Lavender Stem) from POP! + Pez Dispensers by Funko

   Let's kick off Trap Jaw-ly with a look at the the chase variant of the Trap Jaw POP! + Pez dispenser from Funko! This version is based on Trap Jaw's appearance in the vintage minicomic "The Menace of Trap Jaw" where the character was depicted with pale green skin. I actually got this guy for my birthday last year as a present from my wife who ordered me a couple of Masters of the Universe t-shirts from Hot Topic. She ordered a Trap Jaw Pez dispenser, too, and I was surprised that the Chase edition arrived. I was was really excited about this and I thought my wife had tracked this one down. It turns out it was just a happy accident; my wife didn't even know I already had the standard Trap Jaw dispenser. Funko has used the minicomic version of Trap Jaw for a few different variants (the POP Price Guide refers to this as the Lavender Stem version) as it's really the only easy paint variant for Trap Jaw. I've reviewed a few of the POP! + Pez dispensers over the last few months and while there isn't a ton of new stuff to say about them they're still fun to check out. Let's check out this minicomc inspired Trap Jaw after the break...

Action Figure Review: Tung Lashor #994 from POP! Television: Masters of the Universe by Funko

    Funko's Masters of the Universe POP! vinyls keep coming (on June 30th they announced the "SDCC exclusive" Clawful and Blast-Attak) and today I'm checking out the first representative of the Snake Men in the POP! vinyl range: Tung Lashor! Seemingly more of a Poison Dart Frog rather than a snake, Tung Lashor was one of the original Snake Men from the 1985 Masters of the Universe toyline. While you'd expect that we would see King Hiss first Tung Lashor was a nice surprise. Oddly enough Tung Lashor appeared in the Filmation She-Ra: Princess of Power series but he looked completely different. I prefer his vintage toy styled appearance but I still find it funny that these figures are listed under the POP! Television brand and yet we didn't get the version of Tung Lashor from the cartoon. This guy has a great color scheme, though, and it makes him an amazing looking figure for the shelf. He sure does stand out, doesn't he? Let's check this guy out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Clone Commander Bly from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase III by Hasbro

   I recently found Commander Bly who was the only figure from the most Black Series set I was looking for (I'm skipping the Sith Jet Trooper), so let's take a few minutes to review him. Clone Commander Bly, officially known as CC-0252, appears in a few Clone Wars episodes, some Legends comic books, and in the film Revenge of the Sith where he receives Order 66 on Felucia and assassinates Aayla Secura at the Emperor's command. The clones have been extremely popular among Star Wars collectors and Hasbro has done a pretty admirable job of mixing them into the Black Series. They haven't flooded the line with them but they do keep them coming at a steady pace to keep interest. Let's check out Clone Commander Bly after the break and see if he is another worthy addition to the ranks...

July 2020 is Trap Jaw-ly at Action Figure Barbecue!

July 2020 is Trap Jaw-ly at Action Figure Barbecue!

Why Trap Jaw-ly? Why not? Trap Jaw is one of the most popular of the Evil Warriors and his name made a good pun when paired with July. It was just too perfect to pass up! I'm really having fun with these themed Masters of the Universe months and I hope you're enjoying them, too. So far we've had Moss May and JuNe Adventures and now we get a month filled with Trap Jaw reviews. Awesome!

Before things kick off, here's a sample of the Trap Jaw reviews already featured on the site:

Masters of the Universe by Super7 (2017)
Trap Jaw

Masters of the Universe: ReAction by Super7 (2015)
Trap Jaw (Cartoon Colors)  

M.U.S.C.L.E. Masters of the Universe by Super7 (2015)
#1 Masters of the Universe Set (Green)
Skeletor, Beast Man, & Trap Jaw