He-Man.org has posted new photos of the Masters of the Universe Classics Skeletor. I love that the vintage Skeletor in the last photo is all dusty–looks like most of my vintage figs.
My one concern about this figure: I hope the loincloth is flexible, so Skel can sit on a throne or in a vehicle. King Grayskull’s loincloth is made from very stiff plastic (hold the giggles, please).
All apologies for the lack of updates–a combination of a busy week and a general lack of items of toy-related interest is to blame.
As any regular reader of this blog knows, I don’t collect any G.I. Joe figures. However, I’m always interested in a great toy (for instance, I own the Sigma Six Sky B.A.T.–that thing is just a cool). And I have to say this guy looks awesome:
I know nothing about the character, although the short bio on Hasbro’s site sounds pretty cool:
MERCENARY WRAITH was known for years by the G.I. JOE team and the COBRA organization. Each group hoped that the skilled spy and fighter would choose to join them. In the end, DESTRO was the only one who discovered what MERCENARY WRAITH truly lived for: chaos and destruction. MERCENARY WRAITH doesn’t care about causes or sides, right or wrong; he cares only about the next mission or battle, the next chance to cause harm. Using stolen technology, he acquired a stealth assault suit that makes him virtually invisible. He is protected from weapons fire by impenetrable ceramic plates and is an expert marksman with the built-in forearm cannons. The only flaw in the suit is that an outline of him can be seen if he moves too fast, but by then he is so close to this target that you only get a quick, shadowy glimpse before MERCENARY WRAITH makes his move.
He looks and sounds like the Joe-verse’s Boba Fett, specifically designed to make geeks go wild. Heck, I’m surprised he hasn’t given Snake Eyes a run for his money in popularity.
Anyway, he’s such a cool-looking toy that I just might have to get him…if I can find him. He’s so cool I assume he’ll be shortpacked or otherwise impossible to find. For those of you in the Joe loop, when is he due out?
This is amazing.
Codename: Monte
Specialty: Educator. Father. Amateur Photographer. Geek.
Base of Operations: Geek Creek
History: In the early ’90s, Monte Williams sold all his G.I. Joe toys to his uncle Ronnie for twenty bucks, so he could drop acid with his best friend, Poptart. Today, he is a columnist for Popmatters.com, a hopeless Sigma 6 nerd, and arguably the only Atheist teacher in all of Idaho.
POE: First off, let’s establish some groundwork. What was the heyday of your childhood toy collecting–i.e., what were your favorite toy lines as a youth?
Like you, Poe, I was a child of the ’80s, and so my favorite toys should surprise no one: G.I. Joe (A Real American Hero), Transformers (I liked Go-Bots, too; their corniness was part of their charm), Thundercats, Masters of the Universe… The heavy hitters, basically, but supplemented with obligatory weirdness like Inhumanoids, Centurions, M.U.S.C.L.E. Things, Rock Lords…
The last series of toys that I became obsessed with before temporarily “outgrowing” toys altogether was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Indeed, I blame that property for all my eccentric personality defects; a lawsuit is in the works.
I guess the only really notable quirks of my childhood toymania are that I was never a Star Wars enthusiast, and I really loved me some Marshall Bravestarr. (more…)
ODD: As you may have noticed, we’ve made some changes to the site. For one, The Toybox is gone as a menu item. RK and I were just having too much difficulty keeping up with it; however, fear not, for we have other plans in store (particularly for October…) RK also whipped up that new menu image next to Poe’s Point–an “Alien Demon” from the old Blackstar toy line from the 1980s (more on that in a few weeks).
END: As of last week, I’ve got a brand-new home PC. It’s a Dell 530s, with a 22″ widescreen monitor. It’s amazing how much more defined and vibrant PGPoA is when your monitor isn’t six years old. Any recommendations for PC games? I’m thinking I might try Diablo III when it hits. I was addicted to the original Diablo for about three months straight, from June through August 1997. Then I was never able to play it again… (more…)
NOTE: Originally published , in a longer format, by OAFE on 10/5/04.
This is the second time I’ve re-used this article for another blog. What can I say–it’s my masterpiece of toy reviewing, and fortunately, it also makes a dandy “Hall of Fame” entry.
I can trace my awareness of the X-Men comics—and by extension, the mutant superhero called Wolverine—to its original source: an advertisement in the back of a comic book. The ad featured a “cool” kid—you knew he was cool because he was wearing a denim jacket and sunglasses—holding some X-Men trading cards, I believe. Far more effective than the kid himself was the tagline above him: “It’s a good bet the kid’s favorite MUTANTS ain’t TURTLES.”
Now, at the time, I was a hardcore acolyte of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fad. However, I was also dimly aware that the Turtles—with their cartoony, anthropomorphic toy line and surfer-lite catchphrases—were perhaps targeted toward an audience that was a bit younger than I was at the time.
Thus, this sunglasses-wearing kid threatened me. The ad tapped the core of my adolescent insecurity—dear God, was I worshiping the wrong mutants? While I would say advertisements have never worked particularly well on me (the only thing ads have ever done for me is made me aware of when things I might want, such as new action figures or films, will be available), this one, I have to admit, succeeded in spectacular fashion.
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I mocked up this MOTUC Prince Adam using a He-Man photo from Mattycollector.com…and, well…he looks like Prince Adam. That’s about all there is to say.
And yes, I want him to come with the purple sword.
Poe here with another installment of It Figures! By popular demand, as determined by a reader poll, my guests today are the six members of DC Universe Classics Wave 3–namely, Robin, Nightwing, Deathstroke the Terminator, Hal Jordan, Sinestro, and last but certainly not least, the vegetative zombie known as Solomon Grundy. Welcome, all!
Robin: Thanks for having us, Poe. This is pretty cool.
Nightwing: Yeah, this is neat. I’ve never had Thai food before.
Sinestro: I specifically requested not to be seated next to Jordan. It was a rider on my contract! A rider!
Hal Jordan: Oh, let it go, Sin-bad. By the way, the Leader called. He wants his fivehead back.
Sinestro: How dare you–! (more…)
As I’ve discussed before, I’ve yet to be completely satisfied with a Batman action figure. I may never be. But that didn’t stop me from trying to make one.
I bought the Toys R’ Us exclusive Batman and Robin set months ago. I liked the figure’s more slender build and the color scheme (dark gray with black highlights), as well as his hands, which could hold a batarang quite easily. But the figure had a few things I didn’t like: a cloth cape, a lack of a ball-jointed head, and no hinged hips or thigh swivels. (more…)
ODD: Well, it seems most of you want the next installment of “It Figures” to feature DCUC Wave 3. Which means a lot of writing for me. I had my fingers crossed for the Mousers exclusive….all right, DCUC3 it is. I’d better start writing now.
END: After weeks of seeing nothing but Movie Master Batman Begins and Scarecrows on the shelves, I finally found some Dark Knight Batmans and Jokers at Wal-Mart over the weekend. I picked up one of each for some friends and only just this minute realized I should have picked up an extra Joker and raffled him off here. Dammit! (more…)