Action Figure Review: Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classic Collection:The Secret of the Ooze by Playmates Toys

 Today I'm looking at the second figure in the newest installment of Playmates Toys' new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Collection based on the 1991 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Secret of the Ooze: Leonardo! These are exclusive to Walmart and I managed to track down the entire set about a week ago. I have to admit that while I haven't picked up any figures from Playmates' Nickelodeon inspired line in at least a year I have a true weakness for the original movies. Heck, I love the 2007 TMNT as well (and the accompanying toyline). For someone who was the perfect age at one of the heights of Turtle-mania in the late 80's and early 90's I have such incredibly fond memories of these films. I remember being so excited for the original film that I threw up in line, unfortunately meaning that I had to go to a later showing of the movie. While The Secret of the Ooze definitely doesn't hold up as well as the first film, I have to admit that as a kid and for years afterwards it was my favorite TMNT film. I liked the original movie as a kid but TSOTO just felt more like the cartoons and toyline to me which were my preferred methods of TMNT consumption as a child. While I sadly thought that the 2014 film was rather lackluster and forgettable (something that I find difficult to conceive of in a TMNT film) I do have high hopes for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows as it seems to be trying to capture the over-the-top feel of the current animated series. Will that movie turn out to be any good? Who knows? For right now let's focus on this Leonardo figure! Since there is a good amount of reuse between these figures, expect a good bit of reuse from my earlier review of Donatello from this line. Ready? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Donatello from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classic Collection: The Secret of the Ooze by Playmates Toys

 Today I'm looking at the first figure in the newest series from Playmates' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classic Collection: Donatello from 1991 cinematic classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze! Back in 2012 Playmates released four 6 inch, highly articulated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures in a series they called the Classic Collection. These were the most well articulated and possibly most cartoon accurate TMNT toys ever at that time and fans gobbled them up. With that kind of success, how did Playmates react? Well, they released Rocksteady and Bebop and then proceeded to cancel the line. You're telling me Masters of the Universe fans will buy figures of nearly every character in existence but Playmates doesn't think they can make a dime off of classic interpretations of characters like Casey Jones, Shredder, April O'Neil, and Master Splinter? Perhaps they were too focused on the wildly successful Nickelodeon line and the then upcoming movie but eventually they did release movie versions of the four turtles in 2014. Now they've essentially just repackaged those four figures with more accessories and have released them as a Wal-Mart exclusive, just in time for the newest TMNT film. I skipped out on these figures the first go around, so I'm pretty excited to see them available again with cooler accessories and alternate portraits. I'll be reviewing the rest of the set early next week since I bought them all in one go but today I'm starting with Donatello, the brainiac of the group. Ready for a closer look at this new version of Donatello? Then join me after the break...

A New Batgirl Review: Batgirl (Pensive Face) from DC MyMojii by Funko

 Last Saturday I was out with my wife and the little one and we ended up at a Books a Million. I typically don't purchase many blind bagged items but I'm always curious to see what's out there. I was quite surprised to find out that there were two series of blind bagged trinkets that featured Batgirl items I just had to have. The first and most recent of these two collections is the DC MyMojii collection of little plastic emojii heads by Funko. Fortunately, these were blind bagged and not blind boxed so I was able to sit on the floor of the Books a Million with my very helpful two year old and track down a Batgirl. I was right on my first try! Go me! Each minifigure in this series is available with three different facial expressions (mine is the "pensive" version but there is also a happy and a really happy version) and also comes with a download code for a free emojii. Are emojiis something people actually buy? I thought they were just images you used on message boards to temper passive aggressive posts? Anyways, let's take a look at a pensive looking Batgirl emojii, after the break...

Action Figure Review: Batman from DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman by Mattel

  I first saw this figure on January 1st, 2016 when Toys R Us put these out on shelves. I originally wasn't sure I was going to pick up the entire set so I just grabbed the Armored Batman figure. Fortunately, Batman has been insanely easy to find and I waited until I could get him at a discount. Just recently did I manage to get him from a seller on Amazon who only wanted $12 bucks for him (with free Prime shipping), so now I have a new Batman figure to review. I've already reviewed the Toys 'R Us exclusive unmasked Batman figure which reuses most of this figure, although it does have a different cape and a unique head along with a different paint job. Honestly, that's quite a few differences and it totally justifies me snapping up another Batman figure! Ready for a look at Batfleck? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Lex Luthor from DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman by Mattel

   Today I'm checking out another figure in Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman themed series of figures: Lex Luthor. Zack Snyder's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice definitely made some changes and took some risks with reinterpreting characters and one of the most drastic just might have been Lex Luthor. While Luthor has almost always been portrayed as a powerful alpha male (the guy has been POTUS in the comics) BvS subverted that by casting Jesse Eisenberg, who gives Lex a very different vibe. He's more Mark Zuckerberg than Kenneth Lay. Of course Lex had to make his way into the toyline but while the more kid friendly received made-up versions of Lex in his Warsuit, the collector focused Multiverse line gets a more standard Lex. Is he a decent toy or something you're going to have to buy just to complete the Grapnel Blaster "Collect & Connect" accessory? Find out after the break...

Action Figure Review: Sting (Series 39) from WWE Elite by Mattel

 Tonight, May 22nd, is WWE Extreme Rules 2016 so in celebration I just had to throw up a WWE review! Today I'm looking at an older figure I actually just purchased fairly recently through a Ringside Collectibles sale: Sting! Sting was a WCW guy for years and years who wound up in WWA and TNA, not signing with WWE until 2014. He first appeared at Survivor Series 2014 and debuted on RAW in January 2015 where he feuded with the Authority, fought (and insanely lost to Triple H) at WrestleMania, and fought a pretty good match against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015. Unfortunately, he was injured in that match and it pretty much seems like it has ended his in-ring career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame this year, which is pretty cool, and of course now that he's an official WWE player Mattel is cranking out the Sting figures. This one was part of Elite series 39 which was released at the end of last year and is the first modern Sting figure from Mattel (the others have been Flashback figures). Ready for a meeting with the Icon? The Franchise? The Vigilante? The Man They Call Sting? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Bat Creature from DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman by Mattel

 Don't you love when a movie based toyline releases a completely out of left field character who gets only a fraction of a second of screen time? You have to admit that it's interesting to see what secondary (or lower) characters make their way into a toyline and I think you'll be hard pressed this year to find an action figure based on a more obscure character in a recent movie line than the Bat Creature from Batman v. Superman. This guy was a pretty big surprise, especially considering that he's a hallucination in a brief dream/vision sequence fairly in the film. I respect Mattel for picking a fairly toyetic character although I do wish that this spot had been given to Lois Lane. Or Bruce Wayne. Or a Parademon. Alfred. Or Diana Prince. Or Anatoli Knyazev. Or Zod's corpse. Seriously, any of those characters had more screen-time than this guy. Still, that doesn't mean it's a bad figure does it? Let's take a closer look and see what we can see, after the break of course...