POP: Psylocke

One of my favorite Marvel heroines! Sexy, convoluted, and just downright badass. It's only fitting that she will join my army of POPs. So let us move on to the review!

Once upon a time The X-Men were it within the realm of the Marvel Universe. They were the cash cow and the Avengers were barely a shadow compared to the Mutants of 616. Thanks to Jim Lee, we had some of the greatest artwork of X-Men comics and Psylocke's sexiness came to be known with her 'bikini-kunoichi' costume. Go figure.

While this POP version of her does not capture the sexiness that Jim Lee placed on the British turned Asian Psychic Mutant, it does still hold some awesome homage to the character. As I said before, there are characters that challenges POP to wander away from their standard and mold. Having her katana and Psychic Blade definitely solidifies the idea that Betsy needs to have her own posture to accomodate for these 'accessories'. Of course she still has to retain that blocky hair.

Here she is next to her lover, Archangel. A classic look pair up for these two. Again, I won't mind the X-Force variants of these two!

A favorite character of mine has to have a POP version of her in my collection. Growing an army of POPs definitley justifies a sexy psychic ninja in the pack and who better to fit that mold than Betsy Braddock herself? 

POP: Archangel

Archangel was an on and off favorite character of mine in the X-Men/X-Force line up. I do like Warren; he has a good set up, his powers are pretty cool when he was Archangel, he has a smoking hott girlfriend(Psylocke), not to mention, he looked the most badass when he was in the X-Force. But this is his X-Men POP version so let's check him out.

If Funko gets the black version of Archangel, I'd get it. Other than Psylcoke and Storm and maybe Cable, the set is something I won't be completing. Though a Sabretooth isn't bad; Quicksilver is out of the question though.

While I do adore the POP line, it is easy to say that they are stagnant in terms of 'what they can/and are doing'. Sure they come out with big ones here and there. Sure they come out with cool variations and an assortment of characters(Where is my Jessica Drew Spider-Woman, FUNKO?!), sure the molds are posing away from your normal "stand like this" stance, but they are as they are.

But there are times when you get a character that forces Funko to do more. Case example: Archangel. The wings on his back X-Forces(ha!) this POP to have something POP out of him. Okay I'll stop.

He looks pretty neat though considering.

Again, POP is really growing. This month will probably feature the last few that I have left over from last year's collection.
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ML Jubilee BAF: Storm

If Magneto and Cyclops of this wave was the disappointment, Storm would be the highlight of the X-Men Jubilee BAF! There is a lot to like about this figure and I can see why she is one of the most wanted Hasbro figure there is! So let's talk about this then.

Right off the get go, one can truly see that there is something amazing about this figure that shows that Hasbro can deliver good figures if there is some effort put into it. At any rate, let's move on.

Hasbro has been on a role with their female figures that I have bought(Still interested in Moonstone and Satanna) because of their molds, their faces, and of course the fact that they are coming out with more female figures is something! Though there is one thing different about Storm that I haven't seen Hasbro pull off before: cape. Now yes, Hasbro has done caped characters before and I have some in this wave as well but the one thing great about Storm is that she doesn't have a statue cape; it's made out of some kind of nylon material. Not sure why they just chose Storm to have this feature. Maybe it's the distinguishable cape? The rest of the figure is amazing as well. The paint job isn't stellar as Hasbro(something consistent with Hasbro), but the face of Storm is amazing, the hair detail is superb, and they picked a good costume.

Accessory wise we are still lacking. Again something Hasbro needs improvement on. But Storm does come supplied with Jubilee's 'largest' and/or most of her body. Does it really bother Hasbro to ADD special affects? Lightning affects would be amazing on Storm.... honestly.

If we are going to scrutinize articulation, it's pretty much just being redundant because it's a standard feature that Hasbro has displayed before. She was really fun to pose thought because she is just above average amazing. Again with the lack of special affects there are a lot of things taken away but we're use to that. The one thing detrimental about the cape I love so much is that articulating it to flying posing is a bit harder to make it look convincing since it is VERY flimsy. Maybe bending wires inside the cape would've helped, but again, just like special affects, that would be TOO much work for Hasbro to implement to give far more quality figures. With how much they are inflating the figures, it shouldn't be a problem....

"Storm, Mistress of the Elements! Commands you to release that child!"

One of these days, Hasbro has to up their game to truly start appealing more of their buyers. I know I sound redundant and I may be a bit of a whiner but one can't help but have qualms with missing stands, no special affect, and less than impressive BAFs.

All in all, she is probably my favorite figure of the wave. Again Hasbro has been on the roll when it comes to their female figures so I can't truly complain about her. I've already pointed out what Hasbro needs to do to have a pretty immaculate figure, but as of right now, this is what we can say they have. Very happy to have her though; VERY pleased that they chose this costume. For sure the funnest figure to pose out of all the other figures for sure! So with that said, it's time for the BAF herself then!

ML Jubilee BAF: Unmasked Astonishing Wolverine

Just how many Wolverines are we going to get nowadays? As much as we can get Iron Man and Spider-Man! So this is another one from the X-Men Legends wave with the Jubilee BAF. The unfortunate thing, it doesn't come with a BAF! So he is truly unnecessary! So moving on!

Yaaayyy Wolverine! Unmasked! Toys R Us exclusive! Moving on!

This guy stands awkward. He can't stand straight because the joints on his knees are warped so bad that if I try to take a picture of him 'standing tall', it looks like he needs to go to bathroom. So this mold is an exact duplicate of two other Wolverines. One I have, one I don't and the latter I'm glad I don't have since this is probably a better one than that. Paint wise, it's a Wolverine blue and yellow. He has the 'mask' folded behind him since it's showing that he decided to take off his mask because he has a handsome face. one thing about these Wolverines is that the claws are great! Far better than past Hasbro AND past Toybiz ones!

Again he comes with no piece for Jubilee so lets move on to the articulation which I won't spend too much time on since he is just like the X-Force Wolverine and the ML Puck BAF. One thing to point out is that I don't remember the X-Force Logan being this hard to stand straight but I guess so. He has these weird joints on his legs that forces one to truly use the upper thigh swivel. Head is hindered by the mask so 'looking up' isn't as possible. Everything else about him is pretty decent. Still not a big fan of the current ankle pivots.

Pretty fast ball special guardian special attack. Seriously, isn't his face just peculiar for a freaking rugged Canadian badass?! Is he attending a wedding so he fixed his face up?!

All in all he is a pretty good figure. He is an exact copy of the X-Force Wolverine that I love so much. I'm still a bigger fan of his X-Force costume so the yellow and blue wouldn't be my first choice if I have to pick between the two. So for those who already have the ML Puck BAF version, this one isn't as necessary aside from the fact that he is an unmasked version. If one has to pick between the two yellows, I'd say this one because it has more addition to the mold and it's better colored. I believe both of them don't include the BAF so for anyone trying to finish the Jubilee set, Logan is not necessary. But canon wise, the two are like Batman and Robin.

So with that said, until I get Magneto and Storm, I'm going to be on pause on this set! Not a bad set so far though!

Bishoujo: X-Force Psylocke

Well, it's been a while since I have had one of these! First of the year and what a way to truly own up to the Bishoujo line than getting Psylocke! I thought she would be a 2013, but instead she became a 2014 steal!!!! VERY ELATED to have her in my game room! There is a classic Psylocke in Bishoujo form where the blue 'kunoichi' outfit adorns her alluring stature. That one is asking for a dollar amount that is far too heavy considering this one BLOWS the other one away by miles! While I don't have the other one, just from pictures alone, this one is for sure far more enamoring in many different ways! Why?

If I was to point out one thing that stands out right away(and that's hard because this statue is just damn hott) it's the pose. Now it's not the MAIN reason why this figure is hott and personally now my favorite Marvel Bishoujo; if anything, it just accentuates the statue's hottnes! But that pose… I know she's a ninja that just landed and ready to cut someone's throat to comply with the X-Force's clandestine killing operation, HOWEVER, she just did it the sexy way!

Kotobukiya lived up to its past reputation and work with X-Force Psylocke. The detail itself is astounding even to the stand itself. The pagoda and oriental like theme with the stand is a good selection for this lovely kuboichi.

And this view is…. erm… yeah… well it's a good sculpt. Look at the detail on the shine on her… outfit. Look at the nice fix of her sheathe! And yeah, I suppose looking at her nicely toned behind is a rather great view. I guess it's a minor perk for taking the picture like this I suppose.

Top view gives us more of a chance to see the minor detail put into the stand. The combination of rocks and snow just makes it adequate for the ambiance this whole piece is trying to capture.

Of course Bishoujos never fail to impress me with their anime influenced beauties. Well, Psylocke isn't hard to depict as anime since it is a British Psychic transferred over to a femme fatale's body who happens to be a hott kunoichi! So with that, they got Psylocke's new face with beauty as well as a lethal tone to her! The fluidness of her hair too and with the translucent tips adds far more exuberance in her overall aesthetics too! Pure beauty!

Overall, she is a good catch. Worth the wait since I preordered her from some time back. I have to say that for now, she is indeed my favorite Marvel Bishoujo. Nothing against Elektra, Black Cat, X-23, and Black Widow! They are all enamoring Bishoujos to say the least! Something about Psylocke that makes her the most attracting one out of all of them! Probably because she is probably pretty high up there as my Marvel heroine! 

2013 Collection Highlights

Last couple of years it has been about "Video Games of the year". Well, with how things changed this year, I don't think I have enough gaming time(or games played) to even make the yearly post possible. There were a couple of games, however in the end, my hobby turned more towards my collecting(fervently). I collected quite a bit this year, and honestly, it was a really tough choice trimming down the choices to what they are in this list but I think it pretty much has a good enough impact to make this first year post worth it. If this continues on to next year or maybe a couple, perhaps we can make more categories but for now…

Marvel Legends -This is where my collecting began. To me, this will be the area where there will always be growth. Now I have slowed down quite a bit in terms of the 'what' I collect since room is becoming scarce(that's a collector's bane right there. Space or money). Again, narrowing these guys down was quite a thought process since I did snag a plethora of these guys this year! So to my top five on the list…

Betta Ray Bill, Iron Man(T.B.), Scarlet Spider-Man, Pyro, Wolverine

Marvel Legends falls in two 'time lines' with Hasbro being the newer supplier and Toybiz being the 'legendary/retired' one. Suffice to say, Toybiz is still in my sights and I will probably collect more of the past waves. This year, both companies received my money and my unbridled attention with the top five pictured above. Figures like Thorbuster Iron Man, Betta Ray Bill, and Pyro have so much vibrancy in their painting that they represent the past of what we used to know Marvel Figures to be! Not only that, a lot of Toybiz's production truly signifies that they were targeting the core of Comic Book collector/fans. Of course Hasbro followed after Toybiz's footsteps and while their start wasn't exactly as elating as one would hope, they eventually caught on with great characters and figures like Scarlet Spider and X-Force Wolverine.

Top Legend:

Articulation? Detail? Character? Biased? What made X-Force Logan take the spot for my favorite ML for 2013? It's an amalgam of all of those factors and then some. This is my favorite Wolverine costume and I was more than elated to see that he was to arrive to retail price(affordable). He is as a Hasbro Legend would be in regards to details, articulation, or what not; he has a bit more to offer and his pose ability is something to deem worthy. His claws are one of the most notable things to point out since it isn't flimsy like a LOT of the Wolverine figures out there. 

Build-A-Figure (ML) -This year is something I would call the year of the BAFs. For a huge portion of mid year I was very vehement about collecting some of these guys. From classic Toybiz to some of Hasbro's attempt to be part of the legend of the past, I am more than proud to say I was able to snag some of the most popular(and expensive) collection and all the while being able to fill my shelves like there is no tomorrow! So without further adieu, the top five is here!

Iron Monger, Onslaught, Galactus, Terrax, Modok

Toybiz wil always hold the trophy for creating some of the most colossal and well detailed Villains of Marvel. Articulation had always been Toybiz's forte as well with just about every single joint needed having the pose able perk that made the gargantuan BAFs so much fun. Galactus and Onslaught is indeed a testament of articulation and detail. If they didn't have articulation, figures like Modok stand out for their uniqueness and of course the details. The details were just astounding that one can always recognize the work put into it. When Hasbro took over Toybiz's office chair, there was a bit of a rough start. Fast forward into the future, well, we get some noteworthy ones and in my opinion, characters like Iron Monger and Terrax is really something that evokes gratitude from me that they are the new future(and have been for a few years now) of Marvel action figures.

BAF Legend: 

I contemplated a lot on which BAF should get this year's trophy. I gathered a lot of them this year and it was truly ambivalence in play as I shuffled through all of my gatherings. If I was to talk about size and articulation, Galactus would've taken the throne without so much of a hinge. As for the character favorite and detail, it would have to go on Onslaught since I have a lot of nostalgia when this abomination came into the scene of the Marvel Universe. If I was to judge a BAF for the figures it came with its pieces, Modok would have to take the seat since a lot of his figures had characters that I really liked! So why does Onslaught in the cake? He has a lot of controversy since he came after the gargantuan Apocalypse, however to me, it wasn't about his size. Honestly, if I was to straighten out his legs, he would be taller than what people give him credit for! His articulation is surprisingly in abundance and in every nook and cranny that wouldn't (or would) expect! Details are indeed in full nerdgasm with him! So when I think of 'awesome' BAF that I managed to snag this year there are a few that came to mind, Onslaught however manipulated my thoughts I suppose to deem him number one.

Bishoujo -The majority of the characters produced in this line are Western Female Characters from comic books, video games, etc. Splashed with a bit of gorgeous anime detail(I wish the ML lines could learn how to depict female faces like this line can), The likes of Wonder Woman and X-23 are sculptured and painted with so much enamoring detail that one can't help but capture these lovely ladies! Last year was indeed the year of Bishoujos for me. This year however I came out with a meager two. So there really isn't much to do in regards to a competition, but since they are both so enamoring, might as well list them out for what they are worth.  

Huntress and Commander (Fem)Shepard

Some Bishoujo comes with their own uniqueness while some are just plain beautiful. These two that I managed to acquire this year definitely lives up to those two perks I just mentioned. I can't sit here and spend a redundant time pointing out every great detail with these two characters since I already did their reviews but let me just say that only getting two this year(Was hoping to get Psylocke this year), I'm more than happy to say that the Bishoujo department didn't necessarily get short handed!

Playarts Kai -These figures are probably my gateway figures to the eastern realm(well at least the "none Kai" version of them from my exuberant Final Fantasy collecting days). Back in the day they were a bit more affordable and didn't punch a huge hole(relatively) in my pocket. Now with the newly formed 'kai' versions, Playarts seems to be trying to stand up in the department of "high end" figures. They are justified with JUST HOW MUCH details and fun factors most of their figures offer nowadays! With that said, let's just delve into the three I managed to acquire for my collection.

Tali, Batman AA, and FemShep

Normandy crew and Batman! That is a dynamic team right there to say the least! Though I would say if Batman was ever put into the world of Mass Effect, he would have to do some brushing up on the tech to be a bit more useful than being a target practice dummy. Still, a Batman/Mass Effect crossover? That would be something to be enthused about. Anyways, with these three, I have to say that all of them offered what I would expect from a Playarts Kai. With the details depicting their video game counterpart amazingly, the accessories that play homage to the character/s(Batman not so much though), and of course the pose ability that comes with them, these three gave me some great stripes on my Game Room!

Winning Playart: 

There was really something about the Batman Playarts Kai that I found intriguing that it beat Tali and Shepard. Details, articulation, paint, and homage were all present in all three action figures so how did Batman get the drop out of the two Normandy Crew(that and I think Tali's hot and Bruce isn't really my cup of tea)? Well to simply state the fact that while I enjoyed posing Tali and Shepard, I abhorred how they were so hard to keep standing. Batman just stood strong pretty much HOWEVER one poses him. Must be the ominous cape he has flowing behind him. Though he may not be as nimble as Tali or Shepard because of the said cowl, when 'play time' was over, it's nice to just be able to put a figure away without worrying about him/her falling down when one walks away. Is it truly fair to base a figure's rank on that? No, not at all. I really do think this figure is badass so… there. 

Anime -My "Asuka Shelf" grew this year thanks to my new found love for Figma figures. While this category just doesn't have Figmas since it has Bandai, Revoltech, and soon to have S.H. Figuarts, there is really not enough of each figure to start a category for them(perhaps next year). But the one thing about eastern action figures that Western toys are perhaps starting to catch up to are the amount of hand variations, face/head alternates, and the plethora of accessories that comes with them. Damn shame that ML figures and the such have yet to catch up to the pretty faces of their females. Well, with that said, here we go with the top three.

Mari Illustrious Makinami, Eva Unit 2, Rin Tohsaka

I was late to catch up to the Figma trend since I only started this year. I'm even later to catch on that there are better Eva figures out there than the Revoltech ones that I have. So with that said, the three that made it to the list are indeed the better aberrations of their Revoltech counter parts. While being smaller statured versions, Mari and Rin holds true to their anime counterpart far more than their Revoltech reflections. Then we come across the Bandai Tamashii of Eva Unit 2 that is far more enamoring than the Revoltech version! So while I am sitting here admonishing Revoltech, I do have to say that all of these anime toy companies are very exuberant with accessories, details, articulation, and vibrant(accurate) paint detail. And as a bonus perk, some of these figures come with an exclusive stand that makes things far more dynamic when posing and such. While only three really made it to the list, I do appreciate all of my anime based figures I acquired this year.

Most Enamoring: 

I think Asuka would ask me her infamous question if she didn't win this one. She did have a Figma version I did buy this year and she didn't make the list; not because she wasn't worth it, it's just that with the list being three, suffice to say, Mari takes the cake and Rin of course was a good duo no doubt so how come Asuka didn't win anything? Well, her Eva did and I'm sure that's more than enough for her until the day they make more Figma figures of Asuka's original(Or maybe her "Q" plug suit), I think her Eva Unit 2 by Bandai will be more than adequate. With a far more stable posing capability, great paint job, articulation to boot(and possibly a really miniscule version of Asuka piloting in there), I'd say that her Eva should suffice to please the more than berserking Eva pilot! 

"THE ONE"

Mark V Hot Toy

Who gets a 'lone' Hot Toy and NOT make it Toy of the Year. I mean, after all, until the day I can afford Three to FOUR TO FIVE Hot Toys a year, I'd have to say it's almost a safe bet that almost every time I get a Hot Toy(Iron Man probably. Silver Centurion anyone?!) it will most likely win "The One" award. So what about this toy? Well, the gamut of the things I have already said can be in the review of this said toy. I won't delve too much into it since my zealous tendency took over when I wrote the review. Just know that there is a lot that Hot Toys have to offer and as they should for the price that they ask for! 

After Word

2013 was a good collecting year. I couldn't name every single catch that I adore in this single post since well, I had to break it down to the ones that REALLY stood out! Now technically my 2013 spoils aren't all here since I was 'good this year' since Santa was more than happy to supply me with plenty of spoils I have yet to truly delve into. So those reviews are coming up here within the next month(more or less). So 2014 is in the horizon! Let's see who will make it to the list, shall we?

And on a side note …. Maybe a 'Christmas Presents' topic for next year? Oh well.