Odds ‘n Ends > New DKR Movie Masters, Hot Toys Arkham City, Weekly Roundup

March 9, 2012 | Poe

  • Mattel revealed two new Dark Knight Rises Movie Masters figures: Alfred and Officer Blake. I remember being very excited for the MM line in 2008, but I’m not quite as enthused this time around – maybe because I’m just not as into Batman at the moment, maybe because an action figure of Joseph Gordon-Levitt wearing a cop outfit just isn’t that exciting. It’s great that we’re getting Alfred, though, and the new packaging looks a lot more dynamic than the DKMM stuff.
  • It seems the Flash and Larfleeze have been removed from DC All Stars Wave 1 and the new lineup is JLA Superman, JLA Batman, Red Robin, and Superboy Prime. No word on why this has happened; perhaps they’re just shuffling around the lineups.
  • On a related note, you may or may not have noticed that Hot Toys is doing Arkham City figures. Given that I can’t think of a single Hot Toys figure that wasn’t based on a movie character, I’ll be interested to see how these turn out. I won’t be getting them, though, because I don’t make enough money. Or collect 12″ figures.
  • I didn’t put up a post about the passing of Ralph McQuarrie, mostly because better tributes have been posted elsewhere and this isn’t really a Star Wars site. But it definitely deserves to be noted, given the legacy Mr. McQuarrie’s designs have had for all of us, especially toy collectors.
  • This somehow flew under my radar until now, but C.S. Moore is apparently getting back into the action figure business. First up is a line of articulated 6″ figures based on the Zenescope comic Jurassic Strike Force. You can see in-design pics here and preorder them from BBTS here. They’re also making articulated Monster Hunter figures from the Monster Hunter Survival Guide.  I am all aboard for a 6″ articulated Sasquatch. ALL aboard.
  • Weekly Roundup: This week in PGPoA, Doc Thomas reviewed the Star Sisters, Poe reviewed Hurricane Hordak, Shadow Weaver and the Mutant Gorilla from Papo, and discussed the bios of Megator and Leech. Toy Aisle Trolls here and here, Odds ‘n Ends here, and Figure It Out here.
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Toy Aisle Trolls > BeachHead & Wild Bill’s Bogus Journey

March 9, 2012 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe@poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: makelittlesharks

Found this amalgamation of Marvel Universe and G.I. Joe Comic Packs at a Toys’R’Us in Florida. I read alot of Marvel G.I. Joe comics back in the day but somehow missed BeachHead and Wild Bill’s  “Greatest Battle.” This took some thought on the Troll’s part, considering how the transplanted figures slightly resemble BeachHead & Wild Bill, who are from two different Comic Packs. He wasn’t brave enough to put the comic book in facing the right way, though.

Karmic Curse: May you grow so wealthy you can afford the finest hospice care.

Review > Shadow Weaver (Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel)

March 9, 2012 | Poe

Almost every great toy line has a few major gaps. The 1980s Star Wars line lacked Grand Moff Tarkin (who finally got a figure in 1997, and will get a new one later this year). The vintage Masters of the Universe needed a Queen Marlena (last year’s SDCC exclusive). Perhaps most famously, Playmates never produced a Maude Flanders for their late-1990s Simpsons line.

The 1980s Princess of Power had Shadow Weaver.* Shadow Weaver was the antithesis of Eternia’s Sorceress: a powerful wizard who worked with the bad guys instead of the good guys. With her vast powers, mysterious appearance, and hefty role in the cartoon (she appeared in 52 of 93 episodes), Shadow Weaver was a very notable absence from the 1980s toy line. And since she was created by Filmation and never had a vintage figure, Mattel didn’t have the rights to produce a toy based on her until the deal with Classic Media came through last year. (more…)

Toy Aisle Trolls > Transdeformers

March 8, 2012 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe@poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: @more_jetpacks

Found these sad sacks at a ROSS in Olympia, WA. Wreck-Gar has been swapped with an busted AT-AT and Turbo Tracks has been swapped for some random TF. Even $6.99 is too much for the trolls.

Karmic Curse: May you grow so rich that your widow’s second husband never has to worry about making a living.

MOTUC Bio Discussion #51 > Leech

March 8, 2012 | Poe

Inspired by He-Man.org’s Roast Gooble Dinner podcast, welcome to PGPoA’s latest MOTUC Bio Discussion!

Leech

Real Name: K’ull’leusshhhh

A Slebetor Slug-man from deep in the Lake of Gnarl, Leech was called from the depths by a magic spell of Hordak to bolster his forces against King Grayskull and the Snake Men during the Great Wars. Mindwiped by Hordak’s lead witch, Leech became a loyal member of his Horde Army, using his magically enhanced energy-draining powers to suck enemies of their strength. He later played a key role in the Horde’s fight against the Great Rebellion after Hordak claimed Etheria as a new homeworld during their banishment in Despondos. When called upon in battle, Leech sucks the power from his enemies!

For the most part, this is a fairly standard bio. Yes, the real name is ridiculous as usual, and I was unable to find an earlier source for “Slebetor,” so that may be new. The rest of the story (Despondos, the Rebellion, etc.) has already been pretty well established as MOTUC history.

The only serious point of contention here is why in Nyarlathotep’s name they felt the need to “mindwipe” Leech (or for that matter, summon him from the depths via a magic spell instead of just recruiting him). This is the second time we’ve seen this, the first being Grizzlor (and Adora may have been at least partly brainwashed, although I’m not sure if it’s been explicitly stated in MOTUC canon). Is Hordak so uncharismatic a leader that his every follower has to be either brainwashed or is actively plotting against him?

More importantly, why was it even necessary to use this hoary plot device again at all? Now we have to wonder if Leech is a relatively peaceful fellow who’s been pressed into service against his will. Like Grizzlor and Adora (and perhaps Keldor), Leech is now arguably a victim as much as he’s a villain. Skeletor doesn’t seem to have this problem – his followers may be ambitious (Evil-lyn), argumentative (Tri-Klops), or dumb as rocks (pretty much everyone else), but they’re genuine bad guys.

I want to think the odd fact of both Grizzlor and Leech being brainwashed will play into the plot later on – e.g., the brainwashing is somehow reversed and the two turn on Hordak – but I’m afraid I doubt we’ll get a payoff like that.

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Quick Review > Mutant Gorilla (Papo)

March 7, 2012 | Poe

I first came across this figure from this post on Toywalker’s Blog. Being a love of all things gorilla, I knew I had to own it – fortunately Amazon had it.

I don’t know anything about this toy line or why it includes a post-apocalyptic warrior ape, but it’s awesome. (Side note: there’s a whole bunch of weird animal-men from this line, some of which were reviewed by Rustin Parr over at OAFE.) The sculpt is excellent (although I absolutely hate that sneaker, for some reason), and the paint, as you can see, is very well done too. The sword is interchangeable with the axe, although only the sword can be sheathed on his back.

Sadly, the figure has no articulation at all, so it’s mostly just a neat shelf tchotchke.