Action Figure Review: Wolfsbane from Marvel Legends Series by Hasbro

 

   It's actually been a little over two months since I last reviewed a figure from this series! Hey, I was busy this summer and a lot of my time has been spent prepping for 31 Days of Toy Terror. Wolfsbane's not the only werewolf I've been hanging around with as of late. She's definitely the most heroic, though. Getting Wolfsbane, AKA Rahne Sinclair, in her X-Factor uniform is definitely a very welcome addition to my collection. Hasbro previously released a Wolfsbane headsculpt and hands as a pack in with the Walgreens' exclusive Dani Moonstar figure back in 2019 (Dani also came with a Karma headsculpt as well), but this is the first time she's gotten an action figure of her own since the Toy Bix pre-Marvel Legends days. This series was a bit of a mishmash with two absolutely X-Men/Mutant characters (Cable and Wolfsbane), two X-Men/ Mutant Adjacent characters (Ka-Zar and the Zabu Build-a-Figure), and four other figures (an Iron Man variant, Red Widow, Ikaris, and Black Winter) and I'm kind of wondering if there was ever a point where Hasbro was going to include some Deadpool figures in here to capitalize off of Deadpool and Wolverine but instead went with making them their own series (the Deadpool Legacy Collection). Anyways, Rahne is a fascinating and complex character who can transform into a wolf or something more akin to a werewolf and has been a member of multiple X-Men adjacent teams such as the New Mutants, Excalibur, X-Factor, and X-Force. Ready to check out Rahne? Then let's get stated after the break...

Action Figure Review: Mister Zsasz from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

   

   When it comes to collecting superhero action figures my two biggest loves are X-Men characters and Batman heroes and villains. With Marvel Legends being such an expansive line with a long history and a fairly unified style, I don't have to stray outside of that line to get the X-Men characters I need. With Batman heroes and villains, though, my collection is more of a hodgepodge. While I have multiples of many Batman villains (so many Harley Quinns and Jokers), I have a shelf with my favorite action figure incarnation of each Batman villain that really has a mixture of releases from different lines. There are DC Direct and DC Collectibles, Mattel's DC Universe Classics and its various spin off lines, and plenty of McFarlane Toys DC Universe releases. McFarlane is really digging deeper and they do surprise me quite often with some of their deep cuts. Speaking of deep cuts, here's Mister Zsasz. Victor Zsasz, or Mr. Zsasz (that's how it's usually written), is a psychopathic murderer who believes he's liberating their victims from a meaningless existence. He then keeps a tally of his victims by making cuts on his own body. Mr. Zsasz was created by Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle and first appeared in 1992, just in time to play a role in the events of Batman: Knightfall. That's the era this figure is based on, and it's the first time a truly comic take on Zsasz has been made (DC Direct made an Arkham Asylum videogame based Zsasz and Diamond Select Toys made one based on his appearance in Gotham). This guy was exclusive to the McFarlane Toys Store and went up for sale in early April. How is he? Ehhh... he's kind of a disappointment. Why? Well, let's take a closer look and find out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Gnawgahyde, Porkbelly, & Yobbo from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

  It's been at least a week since my last review, but I assure you that I'm fine! I'm reviewing a hunter of sorts today, but I've been spending my time with a hunter of a different sort, a predator who turns the hunters into prey. October is getting closer, you know...

   At SDCC this year Hasbro showed off lots of new G.I. Joe: Classified Series stuff. G.I. Joe was even mentioned as a brand that grew for Hasbro in their most recent earnings report, so it's clear the line is doing well. Today I'm checking out another of the figure and animal companion 2-packs, though this one actually includes two animals and is labeled as a 3-pack (even though one animal companion is a nonarticulated minifigure): Gnawgahyde, Porkbelly, and Yobbo. Gnawgahyde is a Dreadnok poacher and was part of the 1989 series of figures. He's a figure I absolutely remember picking out from store shelves at a fairly young age as 1989 was a great year for G.I. Joes and was one of the years that I had every standard figure (all 17 of the basic figures). The 1989 line had some of the best accessories in the vintage run and Gnawgahyde certainly impressed. Hasbro has really loaded up this figure, too, though many of the weapons are reused from previous releases. Making the vintage figure's unnamed boar companion into a fully articulated and named figure was a nice touch, too. Ready to check out Gnawgahyde, Porkbelly, and Yobbo? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Leech from Masterverse: Princess of Power by Mattel

 

   I've definitely not been putting out as many reviews over the past month as you're probably accustomed to, so some of you have probably wondered if I'm OK. I am! I've been working on a special project that involves another swamp creature. October is less than 3 months away, you know...

   Masterverse is putting out the Evil Horde very slowly in the Princess of Power subset but Leech gives us at least one one new member for this year. While he's not an exact match for the Filmation version of Leech from She-Ra: Princess of Power, this take on Leech does seem to be inspired by the design of the Filmation version mixed with the vintage toy. I'm surprised we got this take on Leech rather than the Masters of the Universe: Revolution but only because it's the most recent show the character appeared in. Personally, I really hope Mattel gets to some of the Great Rebellion in the line. Anyways, I'm excited to have Leech as he's not a character we've seen in Masterverse yet. Ready to check him out? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Moss Man from Turtles of Grayskull by Mattel

 

   I'm absolutely loving Mattel's Turtles of Grayskull line and I was pretty thrilled a month or so ago when I walked into my local Walmart and stumbled upon a full row of the Turtles of Grayskull Moss Man. Turtles of Grayskull is far more well thought out than most of the TMNT crossover properties and there are some pretty interesting changes made to the characters. Moss Man is another of the unfortunate heroes who has been transformed by mutagen ooze and is now at the beck and call of Shredder and Krang. An evil Moss Man who reminds me of a Resident Evil villain? Sign me up! Let's take a look at Moss Man, the Mutated Master of Nature, after the break...

Action Figure Review: Royal Guard from Savage Crucible by Harvinger Studios

 

  Back in mid June I was at HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC and stumbled upon the Harvinger Toys booth which was selling figures from their Savage Crucible line. I'd heard of Savage Crucible before but I wasn't very familiar with the line. It started out as a Kickstarter funded line in 2023 and the first series of figures has already dropped. At the show the Harvinger Studios team also had test shots and prototypes of series 2 and a couple from series 3, all of which got me pretty excited for this line. I practiced a little restraint, though, and only ended up with two figures and one of the accessory packs. Kind of a big mistake on my part as these are some extremely impressive figures and I now wish I'd picked up a couple more as these are tough to find and pricey most everywhere else now (Harvinger Studios seemed to be giving a nice discount at the show). The first figure I'm checking is the Royal Guard, a Lemurian warrior. The Lemurians are a race of lizard people. This guy really appealed to me because of his cool black and white color scheme and there was an accessory pack for sale that had an alternate head for this guy with a raised crest or hood, kind of like a Dilophosaurus. Ready to check out my first figure in a new line? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Kirby from Eastman & Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by NECA

 

   I haven't seriously collected a TMNT toyline for at least a decade now, though this year I have been collecting Mattel's Turtles of Grayskull due to their Masters of the Universe connection and I've been secreting away the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Universal Monsters (which are being set aside for some terrifying purpose!). I've been aware of this upcoming Jack Kirby figure from NECA's Eastman & Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toyline based on the 1980s Mirage Studios comic book series since it was revealed last year. I've read quite a bit of the Mirage Studios TMNT comics through the excellent hardbound editions released by IDW and I was familiar with the story that Kirby appeared in, "Donatello: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle #1" (Kirby King also appears in the 2003 series in the episode "Kirby and the Warp Crystal"). In the story Donatello meets Kirby, a new tenant of April's building, who is an artist utilizing a magic crystal he has found that brings his drawings to life. Kirby and Donatello end up travelling through a portal into another world where Donatello and Kirby help the human population fight off the monsters that Kirby has been drawing. It's a simple and neat story that was Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird's tribute to Jack "The King" Kirby, one of the most legendary creators in all of comics. Kirby is a Target exclusive and is part of their Haulathon promotion. I managed to just stumble upon him on a shelf one night right after it seemed like a fresh display had just been set. I didn't buy this figure because he's a TMNT character; I bought him because he's a tribute to Jack Kirby. Let's check out Kirby after the break...