Just Talking About Toys.....

While I've slowed down a bit in my collecting of Marvel Legends figures, choosing these days to cherry-pick what I want, rather than go all-in  on waves for the sake of completing BAF's, that doesn't mean I'm not still constantly thinking about them and the waves I've yet to see in stores near me, and all of the future waves yet to come, both this year and next.

So far I've yet to see any of the recent Spider-Man Venom BAF wave figures (Although I'm betting some of them are at Gamestop) in stores by me.




The same goes for the other Spider-Man Wave, The Lizard BAF wave.

I only have that Gwenpool figure because I bought her off Amazon.com, otherwise I'd still be waiting for her and her fellow wave-mates to show up.

And then there's yet ANOTHER Spider-Man wave out (You'd think 2018 was the year of the Spider over at Hasbro the way things have been going lately) with a Spider-Bot BAF wave.
We finally get a Cloak and Dagger ML figure (I can finally cross them off my wish-list now) , as well as a new Elektra, Shadowland DD, House of M Spider-Man, and a new, definitive, classic Doc Ock.

Then there's the other major subject for ML waves, the X-Men and their respective BAF waves that have come out recently, such as the Apocalypse BAF Wave, which gives us new versions of the older ones made back during the days of Toy Biz, with Tiger strip Wolverine, Jim Lee's redesigns of Sabertooth and Psylocke, a punk-haired Storm, recent red and black Magneto, a re-issued Gladiator figure, and for the first time ever, Multiple Man in his Peter David 90's-era costume. I fully expect most people to buy multiple Maddrox figures in order to faithfully recreate his gimmick.
Oh and we got a brand new Apocalypse BAF, which is a definite improvement over the last one from 2005.

Then there's the Deadpool Sauron BAF Wave:

Again I was forced to have to online just to buy the Deadpool/Madcap figure I just got since I know it'll be a good long while (probably by Christmas) before I see any of these figures in stores. 

Major props to the sculptors who created that Sauron figure because they damn sure knocked it out of the park with this one. Look at how faithful to the comic version he turned out:

 All these beautiful waves that I have yet to see in stores near me. That dear friends is why I'm forced to do must of my shopping online. Might not always be the cheapest option, but at least I'm guaranteed for the most part to get the figures I want sooner than having to being at the mercy of my region's beyond-shitty distribution schedule.

And I haven't even mentioned the exclusives yet, such as the Walgreens' exclusive Silver Surfer and Thing figures that have yet to show up here.

Now while I already have figures of both these guys, these newer versions really are THE definitive versions of those guys.....for now at least. All in all, despite the hate they unfairly accrued on the publishing and video game end, as far as figures go, the FF have been pretty well-represented, thanks to all of those Walgreens' exclusives figures.

Sadly, the Thing will be the last of the FF-themed figures. That's right, no new Dr. Doom, or even potential new figures that should've already been made that make sense now more than ever such as the Molecule Man, the Puppet Master (ok, that one might be a hard sell unless you're a die-hard FF fan) the Psycho Man, a new Super Skrull, Mole Man, or the Wizard.

Nope instead the X-Men will be the new subject for the chain, with the first exclusive being a re-issue of Magik, who first showed up in the 2015 Dr.Strange Eye of Agamotto SDCC Exclusive Box-set.

I have no idea who'll follow her, but hopefully we'll get a good mix of original and new remakes of popular X-Men characters.

Personally I'd like to see characters that either don't fit into certain BAF-themed waves or deserve their own separate exclusive figure they might not have gotten normally or deserve a remake.

My picks would be characters like Mimic (the original who could and should be a BAF himself to get the full effect) a new and improved Banshee figure, Destiny (To go with the upcoming 2019 release of a new Mystique figure) X-Cutioner, Maverick, Cannonball, Sunspot, Strong Guy( even though he'd also be better served to be made as an official BAF) and Wolfsbane.

Or something like that.


As for what's coming up next year, here's a small sneak peak:

The future looks bright indeed. 

What's that saying?

                                                                  Oh yeah. Dead on. 

The Private Sex Lives of The Doom Patrol Part 1: Robotman

What's up people?


Quick update in the Swag department, as last week the three figures I ordered off Amazon showed up on my doorstep.

I bought the newest Civil War Black Panther figure;


The very first Marvel Legends Magneto figure by Toy Biz,


and the new Walgreen's' exclusive (but still bought off Amazon) Namor figure.



And fuck me, is he a sweet-looking figure or what!?

He comes with an alternate set of hands for those swimming poses and that's it. Maybe another set of hands like closed fists would've been nice too, but hey, I can't complain overall.

And now onto the main topic of today's blog, as I delve into a multi-part investigative journey into the weird and strange private sex lives of the Doom Patrol.

Yes I know, no one asked for it, but you're getting it anyways;)

Today in part of the series, we're exploring the deeply dark and lurid sex life of Robotman.....
Enjoy......

Shocking!

Tune in next week for Part 2 of the Private Lives of the Doom Patrol....

More elusive than the Fountain of Youth, the Loch Ness Monster, and any other mythical being.....

....but that doesn't mean I wouldn't still welcome this though;)

So, Who Would Win: Black Panther vs. Bronze Tiger

Happy Hump Day people!!!!!

So, Goo(a.k.a. Chuck Topley) and I were talking this past Sunday about the lack of figures around our areas, and how the ends of both the DCUC and ML lines meant we'd really start to be hurting in that department.

It's why I've been buying up so many back issues like crazy recently. Because I have a sudden availability in funds that would've been spent towards action figures.

Well yesterday I hit the jackpot by when my buddy that works at my local comic shop informed that they just received a shipment of the latest ML figures. The Rocket Raccoon wave to be precise.

I will say this, at least you only have to collect 3 figures instead of the usual 6 or 7 just to get a complete build a figure.

Anyways, I raced right over and bought the new ML Black Panther figure.
Then I discovered another figure I didn't think I'd see, the DC Unlimited Vampire Batman figure based off the Red Mist trilogy by Doug Monech and Kelley Jones.


The son of a bitch kept me up all night long singing the old Chili's baby back ribs song, except he has singing about Sooki Stackhouse instead.

He was all like "Sooki........Sooki Stackhouse's hot ribs!!!!! That's not barbecue sauce!!!!

     

"Sooki!"

Then went to Wal-Mart(or hell-mart as my mom calls it) and bought the ML Iron Monger series Ultron figure for only 11$.

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

So yay!

Okay, so this edition of So who would win, has got to be Omega's wet dream come true right here:
Black Panther vs. Bronze Tiger.

So.......Who would win and why?

Will it be the Bronze Tiger/Ben Turner?

or

Will it be the Black Panther/T'Challa?

Tell me your thoughts in the comments section.

Back-Issue Spotlight: Excalibur#14 (Vol.1)

TGIT!!!!!!!

So I watched Arrow last night, and  it wasn't too bad. More action in this episode for sure, but what a waste of a set-up regarding the villain of the week, Mr.Finch.

He started out bad-ass, killing his lawyer really quick and sneakily, and then had a bad-ass line that related to his stay in prison, Iron Heights, to be exact(Fans of the not so old DC continuity ought to remember that popular place, especially in regards to the Wally West Flash stories)

He said just like in prison, you have to find the biggest, baddest guy there, and take him down, and that Arrow qualified as the biggest, baddest guy at the moment.

Then he kidnaps Laurel, who did manage to hold her own against Finch's thugs, before being taken out by a taser. "Nothing blocks a taser" he says. Funny and true.

But then after that he's taken down rather too easily, despite Arrow complaining that his hideout was built like a fortress, and that he couldn't take it alone. But that's exactly what he does, while Laurel's father sneaks in for the cheap-shot on Finch.  Totally nonsensical.

The only other thing worth a damn, was the flashback part.
Apparently the masked guy we all thought was Deathstroke, a.k.a. Slade Wilson, really wasn't.

Nope. He was Deathstroke's former partner in the AIS, Australian Intelligence Service. And that they both wore the same type of Deathstroke mask to as a means to not be identified or something like that. They were sent to retrieve the Chinese hooded guy, but shit went sour, and Slade was forced to hide out.

Idk, it could still be a load of shit, but that's where we stand on that one. I guess the real Slade's gonna' be the main guy to train Ollie now or something like that, before they go rescue the hooded dude.

So yeah, I guess Deathstroke's an Aussie now. Dan should get a good kick out of that one.

Oh, and the show ends with Ollie confronting his mother over the other notebook Walter found.

Next week's preview teases us with his mother actually shooting and nearly killing Ollie, and the obligatory near-death fantasy experience that's really, really super-cliche' now. Hmm.


But yesterday wasn't a total bust.
Nope, I bought more action figures yesterday. Hey, I told you it was sickness and I wasn't lying;)

I was too late to buy the loose DCUC wave 10 Joker figure I had my eye on, but I did manage to snag the wave 1 Penguin figure, a ML Havok, Captain Britain, and blue variant Angel figure.

The day before I bought the huge ML Juggernaut figure and ML Kang.
I'm telling you, that Juggernaut figure is solid and huge, so expect plenty of rape jokes to come featuring him.

And now, onto today's Spotlighted Back Issue.....

Today's pick is Excalibur#14(Vol.1) from November 1989, "Too Many Heroes" by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis.

Ahh, love this cover;)

This takes me back to when this actually came out. I hadn't moved from West Germany yet, and was visiting the states for the 1st time, specifically Florida where my grandma lived.

I remember I was at the beach, because only in states like FLA, CA, and Hawaii can you actually go to the beach in November, and stopped by an Eckard's drugstore. Remember them?

Anyhoo, this was sitting in the spinner rack, and for some reason the cover just stood out to me amongst all the other comics on the rack. I don't know why, but it just did. 

Seriously though, how cool is that wraparound cover right?

So despite never having picked up a single issue of Excalibur before, I did with this one, just based off the cover alone. Hey, it wasn't the 1st time, and it damn sure won't be the last;)

This issue was part of a a few issue mini-event, dubbed The Cross-Time Caper, where the gang went through different dimensions and alternative worlds that usually were fucked up in a very wacky and funny way.

This particular world is ultimately deemed to be to stupid to live by Galactus...or a Galactus, not sure on that one.

You'll see why if you pick this one up, but mostly it's a world filled to the brim with countless jokes, jabs, and   

humorously ridiculous versions of your favorite Marvel Universe heroes and villains.

Here's some examples:

Cracking on Wolverine's super-cliche' trademark line. It was actually ahead of it's time, as I don't think it had quite wore thin yet, but it could really apply now.

An inside crack on both Claremont and John Byrne.

Baby Hulk. Just hysterical.

And there's plenty more gags as well like:

-Medusa getting a haircut

-Bullseye getting the William Tell treatment by Hawkeye w/ an arrow to the head.

-A funny FF that has all of the normal powers mixed up, like Sue being a Thing.

There's more of course, but you really should read this one to spot them all.

This was a very solid period for the book, with both Claremont and Davis doing a damn fine job entertaining the fans with their unique brand of humor, and basically that's essentially what this book was for awhile, a comedy featuring super-heroes. Hence the emphasis on the word "Comic" book.

Alas this world is doomed to end by Galactus' hand, as the team manages to get the hell out of dodge right before that happens.

Like I said, this is a funny read, with funny gags, so do yourself a favor and pick this one up in case you don't already have it. You won't regret it.

And that's me for this week.

Have a good weekend people wherever you may be:)

"A look at what could have been....."

Hey people,
How was your weekend? Was it everything you'd though it be and more?

I didn't really do too much this past weekend myself. I was mostly lazy(as is usual huh Goo?)
Although I did manage to snatch up the Green Lantern Classic 3-pack(but more like 2-pack) of B'dg, Dex-Star, and Despotellis.

I admit that I mostly got these little guys because they were are on sale for $12, and the C&C Stel torso piece. So he's almost up and running, but is missing both arms, and a leg. Poor bastard!

Then friday, I broker down and bought Cheetah; again mostly for the part she had with her, namely Trigon's other leg. My K-mart had both the modern version w/black top and black pants, which does look good, but I prefer the original, so now I have one more OG member of the Legion of Doom.

I don't know why, but I have a funny feeling I might actually buy the modern one later as well. Don't ask me why, but I guess I'm just a masochist that way. Plus I saw online, how someone made a cool custom Tigra figure using the modern Cheetah base. Not bad either.
Here's the link:
http://kylerobinsoncustoms.com/toysoup/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=2079
 and here's the picture:

Speaking of, it's a shame to see the DCUC line end so prematurely. From what I've gathered from Itsalltrue.net, the line won't restart until next year. There are lots of reasons why the line was stopped for now, depending on who you ask, but it all boils down to consumer backlash over poor distribution and the last assortment of figures. Then the whole Club Infinite subscription-only  line began, and fan enthusiasm plummeted, especially after being told of the DCUC line being converted into an all-new All-Star line, and the NuDCU figures that were advertised . At least I think it is, because those figures looked craptastic. Well maybe not the Flashpoint Plastic Man, but that's just me.

It's a real shame the GLClassics and Batman:Legacy lines didn't last long either. I think I know why the GL line didn't last, and that was probably due to an over-saturation of GL figures. I know that sounds silly considering this was during last year's "Year of Green Lantern", but I think that, plus a poor economy caused this line's downfall.

Personally, I'd have loved to see two more waves. Think about it, we never did get a proper Parallax figure, and that could've easily been solved by using the GLC waves as a way of doing it. Just use the CSA's Power Ring head, and a new body, and there you go. And here's a thought; the Lantern Deputies of DCUC Wave 18 could've been  GLC Wave 3. Just think of the assortment of characters we could've seen instead.

And then there's the other villains that Mattel and Geoff Johns have seemingly forgotten. I'd fix that in these two waves, and add some other GLCorps members.


Wave 3:


1). Parallax.


2). Evil Star w/ small Starlings


3). Count Vertigo


4). GL Kyle Rayner( traditional 90's costume)


5). Arisa


6). Saint Walker


7). Indigo Lantern  Indigo-1?


 C&C: Hector Hammond

Wave 4:

1). Lord Sonar


2). Goldface


3). Major Disaster


4). Alpha Lantern, maybe Boddika?


5). Dr. Polaris


6). Red Lantern Bleez


7). Star Sapphire Fatality?


C&C: Krona or a Guardian


These are mere suggestions, but I imagine a good bit of these like the old school silver age villains such as Dr. Polaris, Major Disaster, Count Vertigo, and Lord Sonar would sell pretty well. I can only hope right?

Next up, is the Batman: Legacy line. Poor sales and poor character selection combined to doom this line to cancellation as well. If another 2 waves could have been squeezed out, we might have seen the rest of the more popular members of Batman's Rogues Gallery, and even a few heroic supporting characters as well.
I add more figures to the wave and the traditional C&C's to help boast the "gotta' have it" factor of the line. Here's how the line-up I'd make for Waves 3 and 4:

Wave 3:

1). NuDCU Batman


2). The Ventriloquist w/Scarface


3). Dr. Hugo Strange or Doctor Hurt


4). Jason Todd Robin


5). Talia Al Guhl


6). Batwoman

C&C: KGBeast


Wave 4:


1). Super Powers Penguin


2). Jason Todd Red Hood


3). SA Clayface


4). Batzarro


5). Ra's Al Guhl


6). Azrael(Michael Lane)


C&C: Killer Croc


With those out of the way, the next logical possible lines of figures, at least for me, comes down to Superman and Flash. More than the other JLA'ers(sorry Aquaman and Wonder Woman) Superman and Flash have the more recognizable cast of villains and heroes that would make up and ideal wave of figures, not to mention cover those that haven't already been made in the proper DCUC line.

Here's my suggestion for figures that would make up the two waves each of both respective franchises.

Superman: Man of Steel:

Wave 1:


1). SA Metallo w/chest piece that opens up and holds tiny piece of glowing kryptonite


2). GA/Earth-2 Superman


3). Proper Guardian or Jor-El or Red Sun Superman


4). Pre-Crisis Supergirl


5). Modern Parasite


6). Turtle Boy Jimmy Olson


C&C: Modern Brainiac

Wave 2:


1). Business Suit Lex Luthor


2). Gangbuster


3). Emperor Joker Black costume Superman 


4). Lois Lane w/Mr. Mxylpltz


5). General Zod


6). Conduit


C&C: Doomsday


Now for the Flash wave of figures I'd suggest:


Flash: The Fastest man alive:


Wave 1:


1). Wally West Flash


2). Max Mercury


3). Weather Wizard


4). GA Johnny Quick


5). The original Trickster


6). Black Flash/Death Flash


C&C: The Turtle w/ floating turtle craft


Wave 2:


1). The Top


2). Heatwave


3). Abbra Kadabra


4). Jesse Quick


5). Bart Allen Kid Flash or Impulse


6). Zoom II or SA Captain Boomerang or Captain Boomerang II(Owen Mercer)


C&C: Girder or Solovar


Finally, if it ever came to this, I'd like to see a Justice League-specific line of figures. This would complete the rest of the popular silver age villains and heroes that never made or wouldn't normally be included in future DCUC waves.

Justice League:

Wave 1:


1). Elongated Man(Red and black costume/ w purple and white costume variant)


2). Vixen


3). Felix Faust


4). Chronos


5). Prometheus


6). Vandal Savage or Ocean Master


C&C: The Shaggy Man

Wave 2:

1). The Key(SA w/ MA variant)


2). Queen Bee (MA w/SA variant)


3). Dr. Light


4). Vibe 


5). Satellite Era Zatanna


6). Proper SOTA Atom or Fire or Ice


C&C: Proper Despero or Congorilla


Whew! So that's what I'd do if I was in charge of Mattel and had a lot more money to spend as far as materials and supplies go. I know Mattel claims they only have so much money to devote towards sculpting, accessories, etc. But it would be nice to get better quality figures to reflect the rising costs. I don't blame the 4Horsemen because they have to work with what's given to them, but it would be nice to see consistent double-joints/double-knees, etc, from now on with future waves.

Here's hoping DC/Mattel gets its shit together for next year, both retail-wise and subscription-wise, or else the same problems are going to pop up again. God I hope DCUC doesn't become on-line retail only!