This is going to be a BAF review that definitely stands out compared to my other ones. First and foremost, I
get the wave as a whole; I bought the completed BAF through Ebay and the ONLY figure that I purchased was another figure from another wave that just happens to carry the alternate(original) head of Onslaught, which is Kitty Pryde from the Juggernaut BAF(which I did not and am not planning on completing). So this review will more or less be a
review, but I will touch base on the notion as to why I didn't go ahead and finish (Red) Onslaught by buying every figure.
So this BAF was not exactly the Onslaught I was introduced to way back in Marvel's X-Men days. This BAF is actually the newest form of Onslaught known as "Red Onslaught". Basically, Red Skull managed to use the Onslaught powers and.... there we have it. The thing is, Onslaught is dominantly red and instead of getting a newer version of Onslaught's armor, he just replaces the cool "Magneto" helmet with his Red Skull face.
I don't read comic books anymore to get a grasp of how good that storyline was (which turned into Axis), but I will say that Red Onslaught does not interest me. Basically, just like that
, I will be shelving the idea of Red Onslaught; or at least his variant head. Just to give the Red Skull head a quick review, it looks pretty detailed; it looks like Red Skull. But I only took two photos of it. So this review will go on as just "Onslaught".
Right off the get go, we can see that this is definitely a vibrant looking figure. I mean, Onslaught was pretty colorful with the Magneto colors, but the color palette on this figure is
really animated. And as always, aside from the Red Skull alternate head, Onslaught comes with NO paint details, no shadowing, nothing to signify some kind of attention to detail to make him look slightly less cartoony. The plastic used is shiny, and it does serve its purpose to make him look like the Onslaught that I remember from the major crossover of Marvel in those days.
As for his sculpt, there is plenty to like. Right off the get go, this is a unique mold, and perhaps
no one else will use it; I can see Hasbro recycle some pieces, but for the most part, it is for Onslaught to own. Every rivets, every cracks, design, armor details... this is Onslaught, and it looks awesome. He does look menacing, but as I mentioned earlier, the cartoony coloring does take some of it away... but it stays faithful to his first comic book appearances, for the most part.
Now to compare him with another BAF I just recently reviewed,
Dormamu. He is pretty much in scale with the recent BAF addition in my collection. He towers a standard 6 inch, but he isn't gargantuan like BAF of days passed. He is a bit bulkier so I suppose that's something. But just to get right on to another comparison:
People complained that
Toybiz's Onslaught BAF from way back when was too small and had 'fragile', rubbery material... Putting the new and the old together
and... My verdict is on the original Toybiz Onslaught BAF and there are several reasons: DETAILS. The Toybiz Onslaught has way more attention to details, paint articulation, nooks and crevices, and much more darker theme; he looks menacing in a 'realistic' way, if that makes sense. In terms of size, they are just about the same size wth Toybiz Onslaught slightly taller if legs are fully extended. Lastly, Toybiz Onslaught as a set was a bit more 'special themed'; as in it was all villains and it wasn't a bad set either.
Now this is Onslaught's biggest downfall: his articulation. For some reason, despite him having some standard and expected range of movements, Onslaught fails to deliver a lot of dynamic poses that are convincing. I'm not quite sure how to put it, but I will lean on the notion that he just needs some kind of special effects. His whole "behold my mighty hand" phrase does not quite flare up with just him just being vanilla. The stands I have are also unable to hold his weight so no flying poses there. Without alternate hands or anything of the sort, I feel as if there are only 'standing' poses I can accomplish easily.
Really, I think adding some special effects on him is something that would have amped him up. I think Hasbro needs to really start getting into that department.
Seriously, behold his mighty hand because it's just about what you are going to be seeing. Less intimidating though without that special affect. As for the Set grading:
I didn't exactly purchase the set and I only have
one figure who is an OPTIONAL figure from another wave. But IF I would have bought the set and judging from what I have seen...
(Would have been)My Favorite: Scourge OR Mockingbird
(Would have been) My least favorite figure: Cottonmouth
Obviously I can't give the set a proper grade BUT since it didn't convince me to BUY it, it's a little bit below mediocre for me. A couple of figures I want like Mockingbird, Scourge, Whirlwind, and MAYBE the new Taskmaster, but not enough to get me to buy the BAF. Though I did buy
Kitty Pryde with the knowledge that I will have this BAF by itself in the future.
Onslaught was an anticipated BAF for many especially this version of him and suffice to say, Hasbro delivered. I wouldn't say he is a failure, but I can't say that he surpassed the Toybiz version. Then again, I always liked the Toybiz figure since it offered so much that a lot of BAF collectors just can't see. But regardless, I do like this. I don't think he offers much, but he does look great and he is the definitive figure of Onslaught that we are going to get... unless we get another one in the future (I doubt it).
