Geek Moment: Power Rangers and.... A MOMENT OF CIVIL WAR

Entertainment Weekly

Huh. I grew up watching Power Rangers and I expected this reboot to be radical and a bit more in line with what is popular these days.... well. Here we are. I don't have a very strong opinion on the suits just with this still image. I have to say that I'm not surprised they went the route with the "Iron Man"/Guyver look since it just makes sense. Lycra and/or spandex won't do. I have to say that some discretion would have been nice, but the over all vivid and outlandish platings and stuff could be appreciated. Just have to see them in action.

And this is what our originals look like now. Modern and hip, I suppose. The gals are cute and the guys aren't as 'obvious' in their color spectrum. Let's give them a chance.

"Magic wand, make my monster.... glow!"

Now as for Rita Repulsa..... I can't say much. The look doesn't bother me since we are trying to go modern here. Though the speculation with the colors obviously ties in with the Green Ranger. LOL. She'll be making Anacondas grow with that Nikki Minnaj get up! HA!

----------In OTHER NEWS-----------

I'm going to try and let the dust settle before I really talk about this movie. One thing is certain, I TRULY enjoyed it! It was great! Definitely not the comic book version of the Civil War, but still a good take for a Cinematic Universe. Though I have to say, I'm not that impressed with the Spider-Man. He isn't worth all the hooting and hollering. And Aunt May? Really? Regardless, good job Marvel! Now I have to see Dawn of Justice for a good comparison! 

New Trailers

I'm a bit late on these but it's time to add a little more nerd zest in this glum and gloom side of my web. So... let's take a gander at Marvel's line up:

Civil War: While I didn't expect it to go canon wise with the comic book, it does feel a bit.... TOO different. Civil War is one of my favorite story line in the Comic Book realm of Marvel. Really struck a note in me. While I have faith in this movie rendition, I just really miss that grand feel that was conveyed in the comic book realm.

X-Men Apocalypse: I have to say, I haven't been excited about an X-Men movie for a long while now. Here it is then! I hate to say it, I wish there was more Psylocke in the trailer. It's probably the ONLY reason why I want to watch this movie.

Well... here's DC's line up:

Dawn of Justice: Okay so I'm not going to say I'm not impressed with this trailer because I am. There definitely is a lot for Comic Book fans and for any who are Big time DC fans, this should evoke nerdgasm or two. For me.... WONDER WOMAN! Doomsday though?

Well, there you have it. Personally, I'm looking forward to ALL the Comic Book movies coming out in 2016. These two are the heavy hitters though to the majority of fans. Though I am a bit excited for Suicide Squad.

And on the GAMING WORLD......

Final Fantasy VII: THEY ARE NOT F@CKING around! Woo boy! Looks like the old ways has joined the new! If I don't have a ps4 by the time this game comes out, I'm going to buy one! 

Marvel Legends BAF: Thanos

Hellcat, Spider-Woman, Batroc, Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man

I'm going to be honest when I say that I was super excited for this wave. Now if you just look at the line up, it's not exactly the best but I do have to say that Spider-Woman in the mix and Thanos as the BAF isn't such a bad idea. I adore Spider-Woman and Thanos is one of my favorite villains from Marvel. I didn't do the hunting since I knew that there would be some complication finishing this set due to Spider-Woman being a female figure and she has a decent fan following. I just ordered the whole wave and lo and behold here it is. I've had this set since March but reviewing has been slow for a lot of reasons. But finally got the actual BAF his own review post so, how does he fare?

Right off the bat it's easy to tell that this is not the classic Thanos that everyone is familiar with. To be honest, there is a handful of people out there who only recognize Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet and during that time he wore the classic outfit. Suffice to say, this is a revamped and 'modern' look of his (in)famous look way back when he slaughtered the entire Marvel Universe with the Gauntlet. Truth to be told, I like the classic look but I also understand the need for this new one. It has a much more 'now' look and hey, every character has to upgrade their looks(sadly, Spider-Woman didn't have to). Sad to say, I haven't read an issue of him wearing this costume but from the images I have seen, Copiel I believe drew him wearing this so I liked how he was in drawing form. His figure form, great mold, new body mold might I add, nice sculpting, and for the most part, aesthetically, I don't think too corners were cut. Nicely done.

Size wise, he isn't gigantic. He falls on the same height as Odin to be honest and I don't have a problem with that. A lot of peoples' complaints with this Thanos is that he isn't as colossal as the Thanos Select(one that I have that is still in its box) and/or lacking the gauntlet and Death. Again, this costume doesn't have Thanos wearing the gauntlet for a reason.

I can't say the same thing about his range of movement as I have said about his looks. Thanos lacks in articulation BECAUSE of some of his designs. That shoulder pad blocks movements, the waist 'guard' definitely prevents leg movements, and not to mention, there isn't a whole lot of wide range movements for Thanos that is 'iconic'. His standard pose of holding his hand up with the gauntlet is as epic as Thanos can get and lacking the energy flash and all that.

Then of course there's this particular thing he can do just fine with certain figures. Sure does look great when he is holding up one of his prize win, doesn't it? That arrogant grin along with the perfectly aligned fingers, then the well built stability of his weight makes poses like this well worth it. Truth to be told, I'm sure there are other Marvel characters that would be canon to this pose, but hell... why not put my favorite Marvel Super Heroine in distress(or the prelude to her real distress)?

Of course a standard rivalry! Captain Marvel versus Thanos!

As much as I like Iron Man, he doesn't stand a chance against the Mad God Titan!

In conclusion, Thanos is a magnificent figure. I can't really say that he will be the best BAF of 2015 as much as I'd like him to be. He has flaws and I'm not sure his aesthetics are enough to relieve him of those mishaps. One thing I will say is that despite all those, I am still highly enamored with this BAF for his reasons alone AND he came from a set with Spider-Woman as one of his BAF holder! Barton was a great addition to our obscure Marvel characters as well as Hellcat. The AoU figures were good but I could've asked for others. All in all, I'd say I'd give him a B-! Though he is a great addition to my villains galore! 

ML Thanos BAF: Captain America (AoU)

The Age of Ultron craze keeps coming in! So with the last of the Cinematic figure from this wave is Captain America, played by Chris Evans once again! For those of you who are Captain America fans, Age of Ultron did not fall short of Captain America amazingness! As for the figure itself, well, let's review him shall we?

That shield looks huge!

Right off the get go, I immediately saw the repaint version of the Winter Soldier outfit from the Mandroid BAF. But I do have to say that the contrast of paint compared to the 'darker' stealth costume definitely almost makes it seem like a different figure altogether! Definitely mirrors Captain America's appearance in the movie and this mold was always a favorite of mine in terms of durability feel and just how much things are sculpted in him. The shield still still mars the potential fun factor of this figure(and the Stealth Suit Captain America that came before) since it's too big for him. That and I'm not a big fan of the way one has to do to put the shield in his arms. Still, a good looking figure aesthetically.

He does come with a mask-less variant head and pretty much the same alternate hands as the Stealth Suit Cap. Of course there goes the Thanos leg and the gargantuan vibranium shield. Not too much to look in here.

While he slightly resembles Chris Evans, it's still a good Steve Rogers head. I do like it better than the masked version so it's going to be pretty obvious that I preferred mask-less Cap. Besides, most of my Captain America figures have a mask/helmet on so this one is a change.

The articulation is nothing to get exuberant about because it's very familiar. It is the same mold as the Stealth Cap and Bucky Cap. He has all the proper articulation that everyone loves and wants. Suffice to say, this Cap can get into a bunch of pose that one can really expect. Again I'm not fond of that shield and I think it hinders a few great poses since it is so huge. And he doesn't use a gun in the movie, so it makes sense that he doesn't have one here. Though I would like it if he does have one.

Standing side by side with his First Avenger and Winter Soldier outfit, I have to say that it's quite a treat to see his costume changes. I don't have his Avenger uniform and I have to say, seeing his Age of Ultron suit, I don't think I can stand the mundane designs of that one. Though it could be considered 'classic' since it's his first cinematic appearance in a 'modern' costume with the rest of the crew.

If I was to pick one Captain America movie figure, I'd probably pick this one. He comes from an awesome set, and I happen to really like his outfit. All in all, I think this figure would be worth it. As a casual fan of Captain America, I hate the notion that my Caps are pushing the space to the limit... but hey, Captain America is probably the shining glory of Marvel. Can't have Marvel without this guy.

Marvel Legends: Trio Pack

This is the first review I will be doing on this sort of Legends pack since they don't come very often. I guess it's about time that Hasbro tries to do something aside from BAF pieces, right? Well regardless, this is a Target exclusive set and one again the whole 'rare' events of scalpers and greedy collectors came to play but alas, this wasn't very rare at all. In fact, my local target had them for a while and I found myself passing it up more than once after I got mine. So with that said...

Again the first time I'm reviewing a box with all three figures in place but it does hold true to a regular Marvel Legends box; despite it longer and bigger, one can truly recognize and feel that it is a Legends with the window box, the side panel and back designs... nothing new to truly talk about so let's get right into the figures then.

The first of the set is Captain America. Can't have too many Caps in your collection, right?! I have no idea if this is a current Captain America, ultimates, or what not, but we have seen this face before of the unmasked version with the Captain Steve Rogers head sculpt from the Terrax BAF. The body, I'm not sure if this is a familiar one but regardless, it's the most unique out of the three in the sense that it gets a variant head. Now we've all seen a Captain America figure before(plenty of ones thanks to the Mandroid BAF earlier this year) so it is a resemblance of him. The shield isn't its original one since the original one's peg broke because this one's wrist is too big. A major flaw. So the inside of its shield is actually silver/metal so... a bit more 'realism' to it rather than the red insides. Regardless of what mold this is, he does get the belt, and the shoulder straps. Other than that, nothing stellar about this Cap.

He is pretty standard in articulation with the exception of his wrists which is missing. Makes it hard for some poses and partially the reason the original shield's peg broke. Won't go in detail with this one's articulation but for sure not the best Cap figures I have.

So this Captain America is sealed away and not displayed. Oh, and that's the original shield.

Next on the line up is this jolly green guy who is Radioactive Man; one can tell with his glowing green body. I don't know what his power contains or why he has a Captain Marvel(Mar-Vell) symbol on his chest but... yeah. Not sure why he is wearing that outfit either.... But truthfully, this transparent skin is a good change. He is a Drax body mold so there are some odd poses when profile. Nothing too stellar in terms of his design. Oh his emblem does glow in the dark. Wouldn't it have been better if his exposed skin glows in the dark in general?

Articulation is familiar since it is Drax's body mold. I think his little skirt does get in the way but with very little knowledge of the character, I'm not even sure what he would be doing other than stand real close to someone and poison the heck out of the said person.

In conclusion, he falls short with a cool perk of glowing in the dark and with his lack of anything else in terms of accessories, he is a mediocre figure. Still, to add him in the rogue of gallery for villains isn't such a bad idea after all. Still, he is the lackluster of the trio but he certainly is a bit more peculiar than them.

Now if any of these figures came in singles, I would've gone with Ms. Marvel in a heart beat! Why wouldn't anyone, right? This mold is familiar since it is Black Cat's mold with the head being sculpted for Carol Denvers and the paint job being made for her costume. The sash is new of course and overall this figure is beautiful. There are some paint mishaps here and there but other than that, it's not so bad. Can't say it's amazing in that department but it isn't bad at all.  Though Hasbro has been on a role on at least making their female figures look attracting so hats off to them! Ms. Marvel is no exception and truth to be told, I have high hopes for the future femme fatale of the Marvel Universe on Hasbro's guideline! So on to articulation...

Standard articulation for sure in terms of the female bodies! Won't go in detail on the body but I do want to say that Hasbro now has to find ways around the hair. Sometimes it is too much and the hair being stiff, movement on the head area is sometimes sacrificed.

Out of the three she is my favorite. Beautiful figure but again, lacking accessories make her flight short handed still. Though in the grand scheme of things, with the three lacking in that department(Cap not really but still), I'd have to say that Ms. Marvel has the most to offer.

So is this trio worth it, I can't say yes or no. It just truly depends on how much you love each character together or separately. The price is high but cheaper if they were sold individually. 

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!