ML Thanos BAF: Batroc the Leaper

The first review of the Thanos BAF and it's none other than Batroc the Leaper! This less than C-List villain was never in my radar until the figure came to be and the story arc of Wolverine: Killable! Heck, Batroc came into my radar even more when we see a version of him in Winter Soldier! So here's his figure; what to say?

Right off the get go, we resume the same Hasbro packaging with a much more aesthetically pleasing artwork on the side. Here we have Batroc doing some of his popular leaping kicks in black and white art form!

This mold should be familiar more so now than ever with how much Hasbro has used it. I'll keep stating it until my opinion changes: I don't mind though if they did a few certain things to hide the fact that it is overly recycled, that would be great. Like for example: cover the shield hole on the back, give some alternate hands, or sculpt a few more things to make the figure 'special'. Though the head is a new sculpt I believe and it's really one of the things that makes him stick out!

I mean, look at that pompous grin! That mustache!

Batroc doesn't come with any accessories or alternate hands or anything. Just Thanos' upper body and shoulder pads. Shame. I can't really count a BAF as an accessory, sorry Hasbro, but you failed in this department.

Articulation is of no surprise to anyone I hope with this mold being a familiar one. Batroc in the comic book is a french savate fighter, so his moves includes high flying kicks and such. He is often seen fighting Captain America and his kicks often led to nothing with Cap just blocking it with his shield! So with that said, the bucky Cap mold does the job and it provides Batroc the proper movement that he needs. I had a mild problem with his waist the first time I opened it though. It was stuck and I had to use a box cutter just to give him the proper movement; with that all good I think he is back to the way he should be.

Spider-Girl, Ms. Marvel, Gamora, Black Widow

And with a grin like that and that mustache, one can really fit him in with a dastard villain posture. And what is a classic villain without his damsels in distress, right?

All in all, I think this figure was another under dog. While I'm not overly impressed, I am taken aback with how fun this figure is. Batroc, being a C-List villain became a familiar one for me and I had tons of fun reading some things about him and posing him to coincide with his comic book self. All in all, while he is a must because he hold Thanos' bigger BAF, he also is just a great addition to one's rogue of villains in their Marvel Legends set. 

Marvel Legends BAF: Mandroid

Winter Soldier Cap, WWII Cap, Black Widow, Red Skull, Baron Zemo, Marvel Now Cap, Winter Soldier

Well after some months of hiatus from collecting BAFs, here I am with the Winter Soldier infinite series: Mandroid. It's Black Widow's fault why this unknown character from the comics wasn't completed earlier(or the scalpers' fault). So who is this guy? I had a misconception on who it is so I won't delve into that. Making a BAF like this who is not well known, I would assume that they put him in the movie or something, but I heard he wasn't. Which is kind of odd. I'm not even sure if Mandroid has made an appearance in comic books as of late but give him a S.H.I.E.L.D. logo and we have ourselves a movie BAF, right?!

To jump right into the figure, it's pretty obvious that the limbs are borrowed from none other than Iron Monger from the Iron Man 3 BAF wave. Repainted and some accessories sculpted in, the arms with the close fists are easily distinguishable along with his leg. Not going to say it's a bad choice since the Iron Monger is a robot indeed, but why this guy anyways/ I just don't get this BAF for a hard hitting movie like Winter Soldier.... though moving on, there are some things to enjoy in this figure, and the paint detail(or lack of) is not one of them. The molded in weapons on both arms, the turrets, all fresh and new addition to a recycled limb. The new torso and head is okay, but not bad.

Sentinel BAF

Mandroid still falls short in the size comparison with my last BAF completed which is Sentinel. Until I own Fin Fang Foom(Hasbro's giant BAF), I don't think I can say that any of Hasbro's BAFs can ever match up to some of Toybiz's Legends. I won't get into the smaller BAFs, but man, Mandroid is not a small average figure but to put him next to Sentinel....

Articulation wise, he has the same as Iron Monger(surprise!). His joints are slightly more warmed up so he can move quite easily compared to his limb-lendor predecessor! But just like the blue monger before him, he lacks a bit more than he should for his size.

Though some of the lack of movement can be forgiven with his added weapons. Unlike Iron Monger who had closed fists and truly had to have fire power insinuated, Mandroid can at least show 'action' shots with his attached weapons, right?

No seriously, he can be just like another War Machine who have had too much doughnuts for his own good, right?

Between the two, I still like Iron Monger better since he just has a bit more story to him that I know of. He made sense to be a BAF because he was one of Stark's main rivals until Ezekiel took over his father's mantle. Monger's coloring is also far superior in my opinion despite it not being amazing.

So there he is in the background somewhere in my Villain Shelf 1 along with Monger, U. Goblin, Modok, and other villains.... I know I have talked a lot of nonsense about this BAF because I really don't have a big wow factor in regards to him. I don't understand why it was him that was the BAF, but I suppose for the sake of saying I completed another BAF he was well worth it. For the figures that came to build his set, yes he was worth it. If the figures were different, I'd say he isn't worth it. 

ML Mandroid BAF: Black Widow

The elusive Natasha Romanov finally in my possession for what seems like ages ago since I last posted about the last piece of the Mandroid BAF(Captain America movie version)! It was a hunt that was fruitless for a little while and to beat the scalpers, one must just adhere to the 'waiting game'. So here we are now with the Black Widow Hasbro Legend! The cost was just a little below retail price so I'd say it was well worth it! So is she worth all of that craziness?! Let's find out!

Hasbro box! Nothing new here and this is a pretty older set up box so we should all be familiar with this! Time to scrutinize the details of this figure!

Okay so this figure is pretty good. Hasbro did a magnificent job with the mold making her damn sexy. The Widow costume is pretty movie accurate from what I have seen in the Winter Soldier previews but it can do a good pass for Avengers. It doesn't have a whole lot of paint details to go with it, but it is a grey and black figure that truly represents Natasha's costume in the movies. The face is pretty good for a female character; both faces(I'll get into that in the next section). I'm pretty pleased with this figure except for one gripe that probably brings this figure down a notch: molded guns on her hips equals SHE COMES WITH NO FIREARMS!

These are her accessories! She comes with the biggest part of the Mandroid BAF which is the upper body and the turret on its shoulder. The alternate pair of hands is welcome as well as the Avengers variant head... though as I mentioned, she came with no guns! NONE. I mean come on! It's Black Widow! Her main weapon in the movies are two pistols! What the heck?! What was Hasbro thinking?! For being so elusive and costing so damn much, she should've came with guns! Where did the silver dual pistols come from? It's from the Captain Steve Rogers figure from the Terrax BAF! He isn't on display so it fits her. Alright enough venting on that. Let's look at the variant heads.

I wouldn't go as far and saying that it is an uncanny resemblance to Scarlett, but I will say it's a good face for a female figure. Hasbro(and even Toybiz) has had a hard time making their females look attracting more often than not but the two faces seem to have a good enough attractiveness to them! Surprisingly, I like the short hair version better than the long haired one.

Articulation is pretty standard though I do have some qualms with it and depending on which head one chooses to pose Natasha with, the hair can hinder. I'd say for more head rotation, the short one seems to be the better choice. Alternate hands lack the wrist joint, but not a big deal. Legs are what I have problems with and this isn't necessarily a perverted thought: she can't spread her legs wide enough for a split! Now why is that full of libido? Anyways, Natasha is agile, flexible, and nimble! The splits should be possible with her but the way the lower part is molded deters that. Oh well. She's also a bit difficult to stand due to her small feet and that ankle pivot is a killer; she has peg holes on the bottom of her feet so very possible to use some kind of stand.

That's as far as she can do the split. I know, what an odd notion to complain about. Nothing incredibly earth shattering with her articulation, but it doesn't necessarily fail.

So the elusive Natasha Romanov worth the price of way back when with scalper prices? No. For that much, it should be on the same caliber as a figma figure then with great articulation, accessories(trademark weapons that aren't sculpted!), more variant hands, and better looking face! She is a standard Hasbro toy and I can't believe we are reaching the stage of collecting where we have to endure the jerks of this genre with their hunting, scalping, and inflated prices. All in all, she is a good figure for her standard price. She is a must for any Avenger, Legend, Marvel, and femme fatale fans for ANY reason. Some few months later, I can say that Mandroid is complete and his review will finally come! 

Avengers Assemble(Comic books) #21-22

Haven't done one of these in a while and I guess it's kind of an odd thing to have in my blog spot, but hey! Spider-Woman in the cover with two other Spi(spy)der gals?! For sure had to pick this up!

So Avengers #21 starts out with Spider-Girl seeking out the help of the Avengers. She ends up teaming up with the two spider related gals(a humorous few interaction with the likes of Iron Man and Ms. Marvel on Anya's part!) none other than Black Widow and SPIDER-WOMAN! This little elevator scene is quite nice. I haven't been in touch with comics but Jessica seems to be more jovial and comfortable in her position as an Avenger. Then of course there are battle scenes that ensued when penetrating the A.I.M. headquarters that these gals needed to break into. It was a pretty cool battle scene as terse as it was!

 

And the gals get a cool little pose too and plenty of Spider-Woman exposure on the pages! Something I always like! What's better though than Spider-Woman teaming up with two other spider-related hott babes of the Marvel world?!

Another Spider-Woman chair tie scene! Okay it's nothing really to get excited over. Okay with the three of them bound to a chair with blue ropes, perhaps it is!

But blue ropes... okay. Sensual. And yet with such an sensual rope color and pose, why the heck did A.I.M. NOT gag at least Spider-Girl! or how about gag Spider-Woman too since they just need Black Widow to talk, right? Better yet, why not secure the gals even more?! Like at least give Spider-Woman some leg bindings!

Here's a better idea by A.I.M.! Let's just shoot them! Okayy..... on to the next issue.

So take out Black Widow and put another popular Avenger in and we get the cover for Avengers #22! So let's continue on to the perils of the Spi(spy)der gals shall we!?!

Okay(the next few comments will be a D.i.D. lover instead of actually 'reviewing' this comic book), so let's gag one of the gals. If I was one of the A.I.M. soldiers I would've gagged Spider-Girl right away since she is the rather obnoxious and fiery talkative one! I mean after all, there is something peculiar going on with Spider-Woman while Anya is talking her mouth off about Natasha being a Princess Damsel like Zelda(lol)! I mean... why not a great cleave gag, right?

Oh and yes! Another fail bondage on Spider-Woman. I mean, those were just ordinary ropes and everyone knows she has super strength, right? It's not like the knots were intricate! It's not like they were tied up efficiently at all! And she can release pheromones and have venom blasts. Stupid.

Sad moment of course. Which reminds me, I missed the whole point of this story anyways. I read it and got it but I didn't touch on this at all.

Spider-Girl needed help, the Black Widow and Spider-Woman offered assistance. They tracked the intended goal to A.I.M., they get captured and get info through their 'peril' and so here we are. Honestly I was merely touching base with just how bad villains are at tying Spider-Woman up still. Regardless, it was a neat scene even if it was faux the whole time. Alright that's it for that! 

"This Movie"

It's pretty clear to the whole entire genre that this movie was probably the biggest hit. The Avengers hit certain points that would perhaps pave the road for MANY comic book movies along the way. suffice to say, it's no wonder it's my #1 movie. With the right cast (both fiction and actor wise), the proper amount of story, some easter eggs for comic book lovers, and of course the extraordinary action along with the somewhat cheesy but whimsical humor, this movie will be hard to tackle.

Avengers Appreciation!

Rise Against The Avengers... and (not) Survive.

Song: Survive
Artis: Rise Against
Theme: The Avengers


So this is my fourth (well fifth, but the other one I made is for a special someone that will never go public) Music Video that deals with the newly Blu Ray released Phenomenon, Marvel's The Avengers. I can't exactly describe just how much the movie is the pinnacle of Super Hero/es Movie. It is (In My humble Opinion) The best Comic Book movie by date.

Now it is by its right fallible, but no movie can be perfect, but with a legendary Team Icon put into the big screen, an exhilarating casts (both well known and not so much), a good spin of comedy, action, and drama... Special Effects that adheres to the capability of what Marvelous things the Super Heroes can do.... well it only spells a mixture of what we call 'Spectacular' and/or 'Amazing'.

So... I enjoyed making this Music Video! I hope my illusive fans will concur with the work I have put into it!!! (Truthfully, it wasn't that tedious, just intricate at times).

Marvel Femme Fatale: Bishoujo

I have always had a fascination with these toys the moment they were in the trajectory of my ever so hungry eyes for toys. For the longest time I only really had Black widow on display. One particular good reason is that these said toys aren't exactly on the thrift side, in fact their price are a bit hefty and not so shy to gloat about the artwork and the handwork put into each one. And truth to be told, I can concur with their price; I really can. Doesn't mean I always have such amount available on the whim. But like I have mentioned, July has been more than gracious in this department. My Bishoujo collection grew by two, and trust me when I say this, That on it's own is a lot in such a small amount of time.

Elektra

Now Elektra, the first time I have ever laid my eyes on this toy on some random toy site I can't help but feel a bit astonished on how attracting this piece of work is; and it's not that I had a doubt that Bishoujo lacked the ability to make such fine piece of statue, it's just that Elektra's design is more than catching for the eye that she outshines some of my more prominent Marvel femme fatales (Pyslocke is one of them). While I do not exactly dislike Elektra, she isn't exactly my first thought in regards to the female line ups of Marvel. At some point she had become a bit obsolete since my attention was with other Marvel heroines. I can't exactly disregard that same opinion now, however this toy itself doesn't exactly put a huge factor on my want to have her in my collection.

In The box she is done justice.

While I collect toys and keep them sealed in their box/containers more often that not, the Bishoujo (much like a lot of statue collection in this day and age) are more vibrant and well justified to be displayed outside of their said box. Just taking her out of the box just clearly demonstrates how well painted she is from her skin, to her very lust red costume, the intricacy and the attention on the hair and the face, just pure magnificent. 

Detail as I have mentioned before is for sure not lost in translation in this work on Elektra. In fact it is obvious just how much effort is put into making sure she is as attracting (if not more) as she is in the comic books. They even captured her trademark sais rather immaculately as well as to how she is shown to hold them. Even the detail on her stand, which is obviously an oriental structure, that alone gives off more positive things about this statue.

The affects on her hair is astonishing.

And that is a great view. 

X-23

The same kind words can adhere to Logan's ever so beautiful clone, Laura Kinney aka X-23. Again I don't' want to sound redundant but Bishoujo's box has a great aesthetic on its own for they allow the collector (if s/he chooses to do so) to keep the statue in the box and still having the pleasure of being able to view their said item. The laid out decor on the box both on the sides and the back are well organized as well. Again it makes the box appealing and not just some transparent case that has no real eye catchy trait about it. I also like the fact that they show the anime drawing based on the model (or the model is based on the drawing, I don't know). And of course for those interested, it even gives you a glimpse on who else is still collectable (Storm being shown there).

Again, window viewing on the side of the box.

Laura seems a bit too peaceful before cutting someone up.

Now out of the box, X-23 doesn't offer as much jubilation for those who are seeking very vibrant and potent colors like Elektra does, but Laura doesn't really fancy a colorful set of threads like the rest of the X-Men. In all her alternate outfits she had always allowed darker colors to adorn her figure (X-Force uniform being my favorite). In fact she is even drawn a lot just wearing casual attire. But regardless of that, this statue still doesn't fail in regards to being a really good testament on the work the Bishoujo series applies on their merchandise. From the elegant detail put into her a face (a more than serene look for someone who has been a living weapon way before her puberty), the whimsical glow on her hair, and of course let's not forget the fact that the details on her body is rather noticeable and attracting.

The stand having less remarkable details as Elektra, but it's just a slab of concrete. How much detail is needed in that?

Even Magneto has to shout, X got back!

Black Widow

Now I purchased Natasha way back when and she is the first Marvel Bishoujo statue I owned. Now I'm not trying to degrade this piece of work, not at all, but truth to be told she is my least favorite. Muse at the thought that Black Widow had never been one of my favorite femme fatales. Even now that she is popular among the mainstream because of her appearance in the Avengers movie (played by Scarlett Johanson), to me she isn't bad, but she doesn't stick out as a very 'spectacular' character. Now eye candy wise, she has been drawn into good and bad light (like all femme fatales of all Comic Book worlds). But regardless, this figure I couldn't help but pick up. The moment I found out that there was going to be anime adaptation of some of the more attracting females of the Marvel Universe, of course I jumped for joy. Black Widow was one of the first I saw, so picking her up was inevitable. 

Same detail in the back as the others.

Now one thing I have to say is that her box art conveys her as having a dark blue tint in her outfit. While the color has fluctuated in the past from black, blue, and grey, it has mostly been black (BLACK WIDOW!) and thus this figure does it right. Again, great details showing her every alluring assets. The curves, the fine shine on the leather skin tight outfit, her 'bullet' bracelets and her Widow emblem belt. Of course the face looks seductive and of course holds a bit of attraction to it and while the hair lacks in the more 'anime'ish' affect like the other two, the red still holds a very remarkable shine to it that for sure duplicates Natasha's in almost every way. However there is one 'minor' but very outstanding flaw that makes her even less of a favorite in contrast to the other two.... the stand. It's a bit too insipid. A white stand of some sort that has no real shape or form about it. It's just a white stand. Again its' not that big of a deal... but in essence it really does stick out!

Again, great backside view!

All in all, I am really happy I got three of them. For the hefty price, they add a good flare to my already super busy game room (Bat Girl!). I have to say that I'll be looking forward to owning more of the Bishoujo series because of all the things I had mentioned about their qualities. The one thing (a very major thing) that gets in the way is the price and the other less than major is the space in my room is shrinking. Meaning... I'm running out of room to put these!!!