Action Figure Review: Dormammu from Marvel Legends Series: Super Villains by Hasbro

 

    Yesterday I reviewed the Hood from the recent Super Villains/ Xemnu series of Marvel Legends figures and today I'm reviewing the source of the Hood's hood: Dormammu! OK, so Dormammu is far more than just the source of the Hood's hood but it is a connection to the previous figure so I went with it. I was quite excited for the release of this Dormammu as the last Dormammu was a modern styled build-a-figure from the series of figures released with Doctor Strange back in 2016. Dormammu is one of the big bads of Doctor Strange (perhaps his primary antagonist?) and getting a classic version is a welcome addition to the Marvel Legends ranks. While I'm still waiting for a classic Doctor Strange from Hasbro a classic Dormammu helps to bring in some old school Marvel goodness. Let's see if Dormammu is a good bargain after the break...

Action Figure Review: The Hood from Marvel Legends Series: Super Villains by Hasbro

 

      I'm slowly making my way through the Xemnu/ Super Villains series of Marvel Legends figures and today for my third review from the set I'm checking out The Hood! There are a couple characters in this set who I wasn't aware of before the series was announced and the Hood is one of them. Created in 2002 by Bryan K. Vaughan, Kyle Hotz, and Eric Powell, the Hood is the name give to smalltime criminal Parker Robbins after he acquires a magical hood and decided to go big time. Even though he's been around for nearly 20 years at this point I can't recall ever seeing or hearing about the guy. I still picked him up, though, because I was planning on buying over half of the figures anyway and I wanted to build Xemnu, he was one of the first figures I found from this series back in late June, and he just seemed like a fun toy. The Hood has become somewhat of an action figure punchline lately because what do you get when you remove his hood and pistols? A screaming average guy. Need a regular criminal for your figures to fight? Why not the Hood? Want to represent an action figure collector ranting about exclusives or fighting with a Target employee about the release of G.I. Joe figures? here comes the Hood! He's far more versatile than you might think! Let's check out a rather interesting Marvel Legends Series release after the break...

Action Figure Review: Asajj Ventress from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV by Hasbro

    New figures from Star Wars: The Black Series Phase IV have been very tough to find this year and somehow I managed to stumble upon Asajj Ventress when she was listed on Amazon at a regular price. While she's never appeared in any of the live-action films Asajj Ventress is a popular character with an excellent storyline spanning The Clone Wars animated series and some of the best books in the new canon, particularly Dooku: Jedi Lost and Dark Disciple. This is probably the most classic and recognizable look for Ventress and it was a great choice for her first Black Series figure (I'd love a Dark Disciple "hero" version of Asajj Ventress along with Quinlan Vos, too) and Hasbro did a pretty nice job with it. Let's take a look at one of the popular non-film characters of the Prequel era after the break...

Action Figure Review: "Buzz Saw" Hordak from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

   Buzz-Saw Hordak was released in 1987 as the third and final Hordak figure released in the vintage line. While he has a cool gimmick I've always found it kind of odd that Buzz-Saw Hordak didn't really look any different from regular Hordak. At a glance he's the exact same figure. That's the direction that the Masters of the Universe Origins version of "Buzz Saw" Hordak has gone in as well: He's very similar to the standard Hordak from the fourth series of figures but with a new torso and some new heads. "Buzz Saw" Hordak is one of the deluxe MOTU Origins figures which was definitely the right way to release him. Not only have the deluxe figures included lots of extra pieces and alternate heads but the figures also mostly have functioning action features. That's pretty cool! And, yes, it means "Buzz Saw" can actually launch saw blades from his chest. Let's jump in and see what all of the....buzz...is about after the break...

Action Figure Review: He-Man from Masterverse/ Masters of the Universe: Revelation by Mattel

 

   Ready for an all new He-Man review? Of course you are! I watched all five episodes of the first half of Masters of the Universe: Revelation with my family on Friday and while I am really enjoying the series so far I understand some of the reasons why it has been so divisive. It's a bold, interesting take on MOTU that draws from multiple sources and tries some new stuff. At this point I'm going to avoid spoilers as much as possible since the show hasn't even been out for a week yet. So, where to start? Well, this is He-Man from the new show. While the style is a bit different overall he looks like the He-man you remember, particularly if you're most familiar with the cartoons. There are some minor differences but overall he feels like a combination of the Filmation character design with some elements of the 200x style. I like the look of these Masterverse figures overall and am really enjoying the line. While I was watching MOTU: Revelation I kept seeing characters in the show and adding them to my mental wish list of figures I hope to see in Masterverse. Of course, who would collect this line without picking up He-Man? Let's take a look at He-Man after the break...

Action Figure Review: Evil-Lyn from Masterverse/ Masters of the Universe: Revelation by Mattel

   The release of Masters of the Universe: Revelation on Netflix is almost here and I am absolutely thrilled! I'm also pretty excited that Mattel actually managed to get the figures out in time for the show. I didn't have a hard time at all finding the first series of Masterverse figures and since it seems like they're reliably popping up in large display bunkers at Walmarts I'm guessing lots of you are having success as well. I'm super excited that MOTU:Revelation seems like it will do some pretty exciting things with the property while still being a semi-transitional MOTU show. While some of the characters look very traditional (He-Man and Battle Cat) others are getting some different looks that seem to signify new roles and directions for them. Today I'm checking out Evil-Lyn and of the four basic figures in the first series of figures I think she's the least traditional looking. I've tried to keep myself fairly in the dark about most story elements of the new show but I'm speculating that at some point Skeletor becomes so powerful that Evil-Lyn turns against him or attempts to usurp his power. It's a look for Evil-Lyn that retains some of her classic design elements while also offering up something new. Let's take a look at the Masterverse Evil-Lyn after the break...

Action Figure Review: Arcade from Marvel Legends Series: Super Villains by Hasbro

 

   I'm back with another review from the Super Villains/ Xemnu series of Marvel Legends and this time it's Arcade! While Arcade has been plaguing the Marvel Universe since 1978 I remember him from the wicked cool artwork of the 1989 PC game X-Men: Madness in Murderworld (which I probably saw in some gaming magazines) and from the 1992  game Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcades Revenge which I recall renting for SNES as a kid. While he's just a dweeby guy in a white suit Arcade really stands out and makes for a very cool figure in this series chock full of super villains. Arcade and his Murderworld have challenged many heroes over the years but I'll probably be placing him on a shelf with my X-Men villains as that just seems to be who he has battled with the most. Let's take a look at Arcade after the break...