Marvel Select: Hulkbuster Iron Man

Well, here's a sight for sore eyes! Iron Man's Hulkbuster Armor had always been a fan favorite as well as my own! Based off one of the most iconic armor he wore in the 90s, the Modular Armor, this bad boy is named to do exactly what it sounds to do: go toe to toe with the Hulk. There are plenty of things to say about this figure, but suffice to say, it's my first Marvel Select review; not my first Marvel Select since I have a few (check out my last The Red review to check them out; they're wall mount displays), but this is the first one I decided to open and let me tell you, it was a good decision!

Marvel Select packaging reminds me of the way back when Toybiz in their 'pre-Marvel Legends' days. Unfortunately, this kind of packaging almost always guarantees that once it's out, it's no longer going back in(there are ways to open it so it can be put back in the case as if it was never taken out. Too much meticulous moments for me though). Though I have kept Marvel Select as wall mount displays because they look good in the case; this one just screamed to be opened though for a few simple reasons; one being more prominent than the others:

I have the Hulkbuster from the rider series still 'mint' in the box. I doubt I will ever open that guy because the price for a MIB Hulkbuster from the rider series is a bit too much nowadays. Had to get one open because of that reason. So moving on to Hulkbuster Marvel Select...

First and foremost before I go in depth I just want to point out that this is a beautiful figure. Again, I'll do some comparison in height, but just by built, it's a pretty steady thing. Solid. Sculpt is amazing and some of the details put on the armor is just breathe taking. So many things sculpted for fine details and not a lot of shortcuts(if any are noticeable). One thing I will say as a gripe is that Marvel Select is known for its details, and details include paint job--I have some minor paint distortions here and there especially on the chest area. Not noticeable, but up close it is. Though for the price of this figure, it's still well made and I can't really complain.

Now it's time to talk about his articulation to which, I'm really really impressed. There was a time when Marvel Select is just a detailed statue with some minor articulation. Well, from what I have seen with some of their recent figures, that isn't the case anymore. Just looking at this figure inside his box, it seems it's going to be limited but again, I'm impressed. He actually has some of the basic articulation that a Marvel Legends has; of course with the way this one is sculpted, certain things are hindered, though not by much.

One of the main things that will probably annoy most people is the fact that his head is so hard to move; it can swivel, but since the joint is so taut, it's hard to move his head. Some of these shots I took, it was hard to get his head to really move so it's not a perfect picture, but it's enough at most times.

And since we are talking about the negative, I do have to say that lack of alternate hands hinders a few of his pose. The open palm on the left makes a lot of sense for the repulsers, but two fists would make a lot of sense too since he is a melee armor to fight a being that is all punching and smashing. At least they gave us a right fist. Well, since this is a Hulkbuster figure, I can't not show him without fending off against the Hulk, right?

Was a really fun time doing all that. As you can see, he is a good size for Marvel Legends Hulk! AoU Hulk fit the spot just right! But what's a Hulkbuster without fighting more Hulks?!

vs AoU Hulk, Rulk, and Grey Hulk

It's probably a bit unrealistic that Iron Man beats ALL these Hulks, but it's all for fan depiction. Again, fun posing him and all. So here's a comparison of this Select with other loose Hulkbusters I own.

He is almost a bigger doppleganger of the 3.75 movie figure Hulkbuster. Almost identical, just obviously bigger. Th other "Hulkbusters" are a far cry; of course I don't have the Toybiz Marvel Legends loose for comparison. But how does he look next to 'regular' Iron Man armor?

I've always loved the Extremis Armor; it being part of the Terrax wave was a bit underwhelming since it was the first wave of Hasbro's 'new' Marvel Legends. So what I'm trying to say is that it's out dated now... but still a wonderful pose next to the Hulkbuster to try and replicate this cover:

One of my favorite comic book covers to date. The Marvel Select Hulkbsuter actually looks a lot like the one in this cover, actually.

Minor paint scuffs, tight joint on the head, and lack of accessories... sounds like Marvel Legends complaint right? Well, it doesn't hurt this figure that much since for the price, it's a damn good figure. It's a damn good figure period. For my first Marvel Select out of the box, it did its magic. Of course adding it to the red and gold hall of armors is a great thing! Love this figure! In conclusion, anyone who is an Iron Man fan(and is a fan of the Hulkbuster armor), this is a freaking must! I think it's a good substitute for the Rider Series Toybiz one. Least you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get a Hulkbuster now!

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: Hulk (AoU)

The green Goliath! Hulk has always been a stapled member of the Avengers despite his overall lack of control of his personality. Over the years that has changed and he has become more of a team member, and of course, with the movie Avengers, he seems to be more suitable for the job than the earlier comic book counter part of his. Being the first cinematic Hulk figure I own, how does this fare to the rest of my Hulk collection?

It's almost insulting to have Hulk smashed(pun) inside a small Hasbro box such as this one. If we were judging on size alone, I think Hulk would've made a good BAF, but let's be honest, if there are a five other Hulks that came before that weren't BAFs, why on Earth would it make sense that he would be one here? Well at any given rate, let's just jump on the figure and check him out.

I'm not a huge Hulk fan and I think I have made that known more than once. There is something awfully boring about Hulk and it may just be his aesthetics. Big brawny characters were never my type in any genre I am into. Slow, powerful, and just down right muscle is what Hulk is about; though he is the epitome of rage. Though for a Hulk figure, I say this one can pull it off both in cinematic point of view and comic book. This figure has the size, the mean look(does retain the Mark Ruffalo look, but Hulk has been drawn so many ways that this one can pass as comic book), the details on the muscle, and the right amount of green. Though one thing is that his pants does have an "Avenger" logo on it. It implies that Banner gets special pants that likely concurs with his 'condition' of always being angry. Oh, and this is 5th most used body mold Hasbro has; usually leans on the REALLY big male figures. Hulk is a proper candidate.

He lacks in accessory department. The right arm BAF piece of Thanos is the only thing he has to really offer. Wish he had the 'shock wave' clap alternate hands!

Articulation wise, well, he is surprisingly nimble for someone who just smashes, jumps really high, and yells for popularity. It's even more ironic that he has more agility to offer than some of the smaller figures that are suppose to be the fast, agile characters. It mostly has a lot to do with his leg articulation. This guy can do the splits if one really wants him to be in the pose. The one thing about this figure though is that he is too heavy for any of the figure stands that I own so no high jump poses for him. Also, no alternate hands leads him to limited dynamic poses.

House of M, King Hulk, Rulk, Grey Hulk, Planet Hulk, Maestro, and Spider-Hulk

So for someone who isn't a big fan of Hulk, I sure how a good amount, don't I? Honestly, it's hard not to have Hulk since he is a pretty popular character. I would imagine that I have a couple of other characters that fall in that category.

So all in all, I am glad that a movie Hulk is now in my possession. It's honestly a good figure and probably one of the most articulated ones I own. Would I want to own another Cinematic Hulk? Well if they do something to change his look, then possibly. All in all, I think I'm good with this Hulk. He does come in one of my most anticipated BAF set so why not? 

Marvel Legends BAF: Galactus

Galactus Series: Bullseye, Nightcrawler, Hulk, Dr. Strange, War Machine, Deathlok, Professor X

The world devourer! Galactus finally assembled and here within my game room! Unlike most BAFs that I completed this year, Galactus started from scratch. I had zero of the pieces but somehow and someway, SOMEONE enticed me to get him. Personally, I had no qualms with that because Galactus had always been in my crosshairs in regards to the BAF lines. One of the 'originals' in the BAF days of Toybiz, Galactus came with some pretty respectable characters. With the exception of Deathlok, the rest are pretty well known. And in my honest opinion, with the exception of Bullseye, everyone are adequate to fill the pieces of the World Devourer(there could've been more hard hitting characters put in no doubt).

Right off the get go I'm going to mention that this is indeed my top, if not CLOSE to my top favorite BAF I have gathered this year. Admittedly, Galactus' story was far more 'out-of-this-world' at his debut. Now with him just being 'there' and him constantly and redundantly taking and keeping his promise to spare Earth from his hunger, I have to say that he has become a bit bland(story wise). But back then and partially to this day, there is something unique and intimidating about the story of Galan so does his BAF from way back when do him justice? 

The details are there with him. Aside from his chest piece that was updated with this toy, his costume design is indeed etched into this BAF with an almost infallible work. Not entirely sure WHAT a cosmic being with a hunger as grand as eating up a whole planet would be wearing, but I suppose there is something to be said about his costume design. The most intriguing part of his said costume would have to be his helmet; more so the front since it has the details. It is his signature after all and even the infamous movie that he 'appeared' in showed the silhouette of his helmet. The designs sculpted on the helmet really concurred with the paint job; speaking of which, from head to toe, the blue, purple, and bordeaux combination fares better in his plastic form than a LOT of his comic aberrations. Facial expression remains to be stoic but still somewhat of an intimidating look; the 'square' eyes also keeps the detail that he has in the comics.

Now I didn't scrutinize his articulation as well as I would with the other BAFs. He offers quite a bit more than what one would expect but not a slew of them. But unlike Rulk and Iron Monger where they are very limited, Galactus does have articulation in his hands that allows for more than just closed fist related stances. Though Galactus is hardly EVER in melee actions or the such so having him mostly standing in a supreme pose is far more adequate. Thus the reason why I kept a lot of his pose simple. Suffice to say, he does have the expected movements. For those overly into leg articulations, do take note that his 'loin cloth/skirt' does get in the way. But again, I highly doubt that Galan will be indulging in doing splits.

Next to Apocalypse BAF, Terrax BAF, and Silver Savage

Rocket Raccoon?

As expected, Galactus is a big BAF. Toybiz had the affinity for giving us the BAFs in the size(Hasbro fails to do so). He stands nearly toe to toe with Apocalypse. With his helmet, he stands slightly taller but he doesn't have the mass that Apocalypse has. Next to the 6 inches, he is for sure a force to be reckoned with! And speaking of Hasbro and their recent BAFs, that's Rocket Raccoon with the devourer of worlds! While Galactus was bigger than a planet, he did have the ability to change his size on the whim to fit the situation. Though if I was a devourer of worlds and I need not fraternize with the inhabitants of the planet I'm about to use to sate my hunger, then I won't have to dwindle my size to their liking. Better yet, don't play with one's food!

In short, Galactus has been a long time coming. I had every intention to add him as part of my collection some time ago(Sentinel and Nemesis as well) but just have put him off. Well, here he is now. Suffice to say, I'm very happy that he has become part of the number!

And considering his size, he did not fit in the typical shelf of the 'baddies'. Besides, Galan's hunger doesn't entirely make him evil; the same notion of a 'force of nature' I suppose. With that said!!!! 

Marvel Legends: Klaw Sucks.

Ulysses Klaw

I am well aware that Marvel and DC both have a myriad of E-Listers on their roster both villains and heroes alike. Hell, I'll be the first one to admit that I even like some of these said E-Listers. But there are some characters that JUST don't deserve the light of day and Klaw is one of these abhorrent characters. Suffice to say he did get that certain light since he did end up on the Marvel Legends line up with Hasbro's revived Legends series. Sucks. I don't know or care to know anything about this guy. His first name is cool. "Ulysses" however is too prestige of a name for this A-hole to have. However, I did give this guy a bit too much attention to day... and this is the fruit of my labor:

KLAW vs EVERYONE BETTER THAN HIM

Abomination vs Klaw

Now I'm no big Abomination fan, but this is something I'd like to see. Talk about 'smashed'.

Carnage vs Klaw

Talk about Maximum Carnage. Although Klaw may have something Carnage doesn't like and that is sound distortions, let's be honest, Kletus Kassidy is a serial killer in a symiote. That equals Carnage for sure. Klaw would be so hacked and slashed that he won't be allowed a second life even in comic book ordinance!

Constrictor vs Klaw

Now there will be no sensual tentacle bondage here at all! All there is constricting and taking his ability to breathe within that ugly and creepy mug. 

Deadpool vs Klaw

Deadpool may have a very obscure sense of humor but I would laugh every time I see him drop this guy. Wade would probably be REALLY gory with it too.

Deathstrike vs Klaw

 Klaw may have something for women, but the one thing that he doesn't get reciprocated is that women don't flock on his side. The ones who do are probably just as lame and lack of aesthetics like him. Deathstrike would oblige to rip his life to a painful and agonizing death every second that she gets. This will be a deviant death to Yuriko's standards.

Green Goblin vs Klaw

Norman Osborn is probably going to be doing him a favor by handing him a pumpkin bomb. Nothing like brewing up a good pumpkin to blow up a useless character.

Iron man vs Klaw

Nothing about this pairing is even a semblance of justice for both characters. Tony Stark is too damn good to be put next to him. Basically, Klaw is out of his league. But always nice to see Iron Man lay down the law.

Rulk vs Klaw

Yeah. Rulk smash. Enough said.

Spider-Woman vs Klaw

As I was mentioning, Klaw is lame. So lame that he is inept to handle a bound and gagged damsel. Talk about a deviant match, this one for sure may be sensual to a certain preference, but in the end it would be to Klaw's humiliation.

Spider-Man vs Klaw

If Spidey ever had to snap again like the whole 'Back in Black' story line, it should be implemented on Klaw. But hell, Spider-Man's too good of a character to be fighting Klaw. 

Terrax vs Klaw

I would fathom that Terrax holds a grudge with the notion that this inadequate was part of his BAF toy line. I'd be pretty livid myself. Off with this guy's head!

Venom vs Klaw

I was never a huge fan of the McGargan Venom though his action figure aberration was pretty damn cool! Though Klaw over here doesn't concur. 

Wolverine vs Klaw

Shredded in every axis known to man. Since Logan is in his X-Force duds he would have no qualms ending Klaw's pathetic existence. Berserker Barrage! 

Hard to imagine I didn't use anymore of my toys to beat up on this guy. Though at a certain point it would've been redundant! That and putting Onslaught or all of my Iron Men to beat up on this guy would've been WAY too much work for my liking. Though it was fun. Sadly, the guy did find a place in my Villain shelf #2 .... in the back corner which I'm sure one can see. I'll probably take him down when I am in need of space for better people. Klaw is just a filler and a MUST to complete Terrax.