Action figures, Movies, Games, TV shows, things I like, Things I hate, weird news old or recent... they're fair game for my rants.
DISCLAIMER: OPINIONS POSTED ARE EXAGGERATED FOR COMEDIC EFFECT!! Got it?
The movie seems to have the correct grasp on Super Mario's World. Even Luigi's VA is doing something to kinda sound what people expect Luigi to sound. It's clearly not Charles Martinet, but there are some elements reminiscent of Martinet's Luigi... the only bad thing I have to say about the movie is Chris Pratt.
Chris Pratt Sucks as Mario BECAUSE HE SOUNDS LIKE CHRIS PRATT MAKING A CHRIS PRATT IMPRESSION OF CHRIS PRATT MAKING A MARIO IMPRESSION OF THE LOU ALBANO MARIO.
Other than Starlord, the movie looks pretty sweet. I can't believe I'm going to watch an Illumination movie at the theatres. My only fear is that at 85 minutes long and based on this second trailer full of Easter eggs and nods to Mario's legacy in videogames, the movie is going to be super short yet padded out.
I know it's a Mario movie and story isn't Mario's strongest point. With that said, it's not a game, it's a movie. Movies NEED story to work and by the looks of it, Peach is not a damsel in distress... Which is literally Mario's main plot.
There's this rumor going on that Playmates is kinda angry at Super7 because "they're making money with Playmates' designs". 8-9 waves in and now they complain? Seems rather odd. This is a rumor that I read on Facebook and the only thing I found online was an excerpt of a video podcast, where it was stated.
Something about a "leak" from a Playmates insider where Playmates, as Master License holder is not happy about Super7's TMNTU.
Assuming this is true, Playmates will once again be seen as the jealous bitch who is mad because everyone else is doing what they did but better and now will take their toys home in a tantrum.
The collecting community rembers how Playmates did NECA dirty with blocking the Mirage Line.
If this is true, characters like Pizzaface, Scaletail, Bandito Bashing Mike, Shogum Shoate, etc. would suffer, because they might become Off-limits. This might even screw over the othwr 2 Neutrinos (I hope not, as I want Kala and Dask)
On the Other hand, it could turn the line into the TMNT-SKINNED-MOTUC Line it was meant to be. New idealized versions of the characters filtered through the art style of 1980s era former Mattel Employees snatched by Playmates.
For example, Pizzaface wouldn't be the 1980s stereotypical Italian Chef, but it would be an 80s-ized Man-Pizza chef creature from the 2012 toon. Irma would probably be Toon accurate colors with a slightly tweaked design to not ruffle any feathers from Playmates.
It could give us a $65 Super Shredder that would be like a "MOTUC-IZED SOTO Super Shredder". I'm picturing a couple of ways they could do him.
-Movie Accurate
-a brand new Hulk/Doomsday Shredder thing with Bony Protrusions being the Super Shredder spikes... but made very 80s-like.
I hope this rumor is some Groundchuck shit. This line shouldn't end wothout Krang's Android body, Traag, Rat King, Napoleon Bonafrog, Tokka, Rahzar, Super Shredder, Groundchuck, and Dirtbag.
But I don't give a rats ass about Signal. I once mentioned his Outfit looked like a love child of Spider-Man and Wolverine. While, yeah, it's nice that a member of the Bat-Family who isn't a (former or current) Robin is getting some love, there are far more important characters than Signal. An actual Riddler that's not a zodiac killer wannabe, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, and a Ventriloquist with Mr. Scarface, just to name a few abat villains. On the Bat-Family side, I'm thinking, Stephanie Brown (preferably a Spoiler, but right now I'd take a Robin Stephanie), Cassandra Cain, Jim Gordon, and most importantly, a $25 Alfred with Ace the Bat Hound. (Or a $20 Alfred WITHOUT Ace) Sure, I have the Mattel Alfred, which was decent, but is not in scale.
I noticed something:
While Dick and Jason have gotten plenty of figures, They're all Nightwing and Red Hood figures. Tim has gotten his Robin and Red Robin looks.Damian has gotten his normal Robin and now grey Robin looks... Where's my Robin Jason and my Robin D... Grayson as Robin?
Like say, Traditional Robin for Dick and New 52 for Jason for the sake of "variety".
I know that DC is the one pushing for "recent stuff" but at the same time, fans also want Iconic Looks for characters.
I got Gal Gadot WW because there isn't a Classic WW. I got Cryborg as a present, because the TY Cyborg is too cartoony. I'd kill for a Classic Starfire, Raven, and Beastboy... though I wouldn't say no to Nu52 Starfire just to have one. And yes, the reason I want these and the Dick Robin is to use the Arkham Origins Deathstroke for a Teen Titans display.
Hawkgirl is another one I'd like... a single carded Hal Jordan would be nice.
I would like a Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen. An Arkham City Bruce Wayne would be nice too! I would've loved a Classic Outfit Harley Quinn that wasn't from BTAS.
*=Just Breaking Bad, the Spin-offs are on my to-do list. I wasn't a fan of the show way back then. I got a bit into it during the Beer Virus time, but not like " Jesse, we need to cook!" Super into it. I was kinda tricked into watching the LatAm knock-off which I praised seconds before realizing that it was a Breaking Bad knock-off. It wasn't bad, but the moment I realized there's a superior version, my brain was like: Forget this crap... still, I wasn't interested in fully watching it until I saw a video of Aaron Paul on The Price is Right...
My friend was laughing like Crazy and I was confused, about why having a contestant finishing every sentence with "bitch" was funny. So my friend asked me THE question: "Have you even seen Breaking Bad?"
So, I decided to start binge watching. I learned a lot about life with this show. Before I start going down the rabbit hole. I will be talking about hardcore drugs here like Mathemphetamine. The typo is on purpose to avoid some issues with the algorithms. Also, there's a joke hidden in Science teacher becomes Math Kingpinthat only I find amusing.
The US Healthcare system sucks ass in how it makes people choose between getting Healthcare or become homeless due to the astronomical bills.
"BuT wHy DiDn'T wAlTeR aCcEpT tHe HeLp FrOm HiS bIlLiOnAiRe FrIeNdS?"
The same friends that bought him out for $5000? I know Walter SOLD his part, because "reasons" (mainly feeling like a lesser man because he wasn't in the same socioeconomic spheres as his then girlfriend). Yeah, accepting a handout like that wasn't in the cards for Walter. This would've made his inferiority issues a lot worse.
I also learned that his family treated Walter like crap and that helped Walter's Supervillain Origin Story. I mean, Walter Jr. is obssessed with his uncle Hank. Kid practically worships Hank. Now that I emntioned Hank, Walter's brother-in-law, the guy pretty much takes over every room he enters. Hell, Hank was the center of attention at Walter's 50th Birthday. He completely overshadowed the Birthday guy. Then we have the Elephant in the room, Skyler White. The domineering wife, who is a stay at home mom while Walt had to work 2 jobs in order to keep the household afloat. Hell, She couldn't even put enough effort on a birthday handjob! She's paying more attention to the laptop and making random conversation than actually pleasing the birthday guy. Then there's the whole smoking through both pregnancies. Smoking while pregnant is one of the causes for cerebral palsy in children. If Walter had ditched his toxic family years ago, he wouldn't have become a deranged Math Kingpin.
So, with Walter being the Universe's Punching Bag, getting Cancer was the straw that broke the camel's back. I get it, the guy was pushed beyond breaking point with everyone in his life shitting on him to then find out he was in "borrowed time" mode, made him snap and thus began the fall of Walter White. He DID start out with good intentions, but road to hell's pavement and all that. When he realized he was the Wolverine of Mathemphetamine, it got to his head and his inferiority issues took over the wheel. In a warped way, it makes sense. He had nothing to lose and everything to win. So, in order to help his family, he wanted some quick and easy money. The Math business seemed easy enough for a Nobel Prize winning chemist.
Problem is that Walt got greedy. He saw he was good, but wanted to be the very best. So he kept going deeper down the rabbit hole that the only people worse than him were literal Neo-Nazis. Like Antonio Montana before him, people rooted for Heisenberg, DESPITE being a monster willing to kill children to obtain his goals.
Pinkman was everyone's bitch... He was used by pretty much everyone in the series.
Walter, Hank, Tuco, Fring, Jane, the Neo-Nazis, Hell, even Skyler White yo, used him to piss off Walter in that awkward dinner. Not to mention he was an addict, so drugs made him their bitch. I was going to make a joke on how Pinkman was reaching Princess Peach levels of consistently needing his bitch ass saved by Walter, but I haven't seen El Camino to know if he gets Princess Peach'd in there too.
The only wholesome character in the show is Holly White, a Baby. Everyone else is "tainted by evil".
So, it's a great show, but it's far more memetic than I expected. I wonder how many Jehova's Witnesses have been given this response to their calls.
Nothing personal against Jehova's Witnesses, but when they're evangelizing, they feel a bit too aggressive and borderline in harassment. Especially when one repeatedly tells them politely to not bother with me, since I'm not interested in their beliefs. Especially knowing that I would've been an orphan my entire life if it were up to them.
Shiba LOVED scaring the living crap out of JWs when they tried to get too close to the gate. She also did it to the mail carrier, the neighbors, and pretty much any person who got a bit too close to her turf. Trying to hold back a 70lbs. fully soaped Labrador while telling the JWs to stay back was not a fun thing to do. One good thing that came out of the Beer Virus was that they only send junk mail now instead of interrupting me at the most inconvenient times. Again, nothing personal towards them, just leave me alone, as I have requested multiple times.
But back to Breaking Bad.
The cast did an amazing job with their roles. Especially Brian Cranston and Anna Gunn as Walter and Skyler White yo. I mean Skyler White was the Next Joffrey Baratheon... in the unlikable characters performed so magnificently by their actors that they got hate mail list. Seriously, how did I missed out on this show? Hopefully I won't get involved with the other AMC show... the one with Sam Porter Bridges.
Microsoft has been attempting to buy Activision. It has encountered some issues on Britain and apparently the US might have some issues with the purchase. Of course the XBox fans are making some crazy conspiracy theories blaming Sony for this. Sony who "is too poor to afford buying Activision" is suddenly "rich enough to bribe various trade commissions accross the globe". How does that work? Newsflash, it doesn't. The reason they're investigating this is quite obvious: It's Microsoft... who has had an actual Monopoly on the PC OS market for decades. So, with Microsoft's track record, it's logical that an investigation has to take place. Then again, if they're willing to throw 60+ BILLION dollars at Activision; surely some people would see red flags even if Microsoft's past monopolies are ignored. Hell, if Nintendo or Sony were to throw 60+ Billion at ANY company, red flags would pop up as well.
While I'm not exactlya fan of Activision's current offerings, I can see why people are worried. Activision Microsoft Bought Rare and barely anything good came out of that. They bought Bethesda and now Elder Scrolls 6 will be xbox exclusive "because it's not a huge game", despite Elder Scrolls 5 selling a shitton of games on multiple consoles including the Nintendo Switch. It's not like Xbox's Phil Spencer has said that console exclusives are bad for gaming... oh wait, he did.
Think about this:
While it hasn't become a Monopoly yet, these acquisitions have one goal: Starve the opposition from games.
Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout, Wolfenstein are 4 of Bethesda's biggest IPs. Now XBox exclusive, when they were Multiplatform earlier.
To that they want to add the Activision brands.
Even though I don't care much about Activision, that would add a sizable bunch of brands XBox exclusivity... and they were mostly Multiplatform.
Sure there's still Rockstar, Ubisoft, EA, 2k games, but what's stopping Microsoft from going after them? Since Japan seems to be a no go zone for MS, it makes sense for them to try and dry up the Western well. It's not necessarily illegal, but it's scummy. Before anyone tries to bring Street Fighter V, or Final Fantasy VII Remake, remember this:
Capcom made SFV with help from Sony who invested economically for the development of the game. Why would Sony fund the making of a game that will appear on its biggest competitor? That would make no sense.
With FFVII Remake, I have no idea why it hasn't been made available on Xbox since the timed exclusive deal ended. Maybe Square Enix doesn't want to release it on Xbox? Maybe they've run into some issues? I don't know. It SHOULD come out on XBox if there's no exclusivity contract on it now.
But with Microsoft attempting to dry up the well of Western developers in a different manner than Nintendo did back in the 80s, we should all be worried. Gamepass is the new "lock out chip"... This should have more people worried, but they get blinded by the whole Gamepass being a "cheap way to get games accessible". Let's face it, gaming has been slowly becoming anti-consumer with (especially in-disc) DLCs, migrating games to Digital only, requiring constant online access to servers, among other things that ruin gaming. With Microsoft pushing the Hell out of Gamepass, WE lose more power than we already lost. Same thing applies with PS Plus.
After a couple of years we FINALLY completed the Life Foundation Symbiotes:
Scream, Lasher, phage, Agony, and Riot. Also, we have a new Venom.
The LF Guardian Symbiotes are a group of Symbiotes forcibly spawned from Venom. These symbiotes were originally attached to members of the Life Foundation Security team. These symbiotes have had multiple hosts throughout their lifetime. The figures are supposed be based on their fusion to their fist hosts. The set only has Agony and Riot, since Lasher, scream and Phage were single releases.
Phage was part of the Venompool BAF wave, scream was part of the Monster Venom BAF wave, and Lasher was part of the Lizard BAF wave.
I'm mentioning the past releases, so if anyone wants to complete the LF5.
Now unto the figures:
Articulation
Riot is based on Monster Venom, so all of its flaws are repeated here. Though his back doesn't pop off as easily as Monster Venom.
Venom: Parker! We NEED your help!! Spidey: Can you let me go, Brock!? Venom: Only if you swear you won't double cross us!! Spidey: Only if you don't commit crimes!! Brock: My other's Spawn... Spidey: Spawn? That's a Todd McFarlane thing! Brock: No, you idiot!! The Life Foundation Symbiotes are back!! Spidey: No Carnage? Venom: No Carnage, just the other 5. Spidey: What 5? Venom: the ones from separation anxiety... Spidey: Maximum Carnage was better.
Agony is based on the recent female buck with double elbows.
Venom VO: We were burning out the effects of a foreign chemical that bulged us like steroids do to normal humans when we stumbled upon Riot. Riot: Da-daddy? Venom: What the Hell!? Riot: Wait until my siblings find out that Daddy is in town! Venom: Who ARE YOU!? The only kid we have is Carnage and right now We're not even sure if he's our son anymore, since Cletus has corrupted enough Klyntar and made multiple Carnages... Riot: Life Foundation... Venom: Oh! Didn't y'all go Voltron and become Prius or something? Riot: I need to tell the others Venom: and he's gone: Venom VO: That's pretty much it.
Phage, I believe is in the Cyclops Body, which is decent, but I would've preferred one with butterfly shoulders, since he has a bladed alternate hand.
Venom is no longer on the Hyperion body and is on the Omega Red Body. This gives him them a bit more size and butterfly shoulders.
Riot: 3.5
Agony: 4.5
Phage: 4.0
Venom: 4.5
Phage: Oh look! If it isn't Daddy and Grandpa... Spidey: Yellow symbiote said whuuu? Venom: Since you were our first and then we got our eggs fertilized in vitro... Spidey: It doesn't work that way. The only way I could be a grandfather is if you were my son, Brock and neither you nor the symbiote are my children! Phage: Hate to cut and run, but the rest of the gang need to hear about the upcoming family reunion! Spidey: Just no Carnage!! Venom: *whispering* What are you doing, Parker? Phage: Don't worry, Carnage is a douchebag! We don't need his redneck ass! Spidey: *whispering* It's working, Brock!
Paint and sculpt
Phage is in a golden plastic with a few black accents. The only new pieces are the head, forearms, shins, and back attachment. Like I said, the body is mat likely the Cyke buck and carnage hands.
Riot is clearly Monster Venom with a new head and Scythe attachment. Didn't take pics of Riot wearing it, because for some reason I can't pop off his hands. He has purplish grey accents that are barely noticeable aside the one on his face.
Speaking of his face, for some reason he looks extremely concerned. I'm not sure if it's his eyes or his mouth that need to be redone, or if it's the combination of both that make him look not so menacing.
Scream: OMG, Phage! Daddy and Grandpa are coming!? Agony: I hope they bring belated Christmas presents. Scream: We should get a manipedi... Agony: I hope Grandpa sits me on his lap and plays horsey... Scream: This is NOT Alabama... but Grandpa has a tasty butt! Phage VO: Gag me with a spoon...
Agony, like I said is in the new female buck, but with double shoulders, so she has a decent range of articulation from the neck down. Her head is severely problematic. The neck peg is too tall and the head fits in too tightly. I had to use a hairdryer and I'm in the Caribbean and the box sat for at least 2 hours with noon sunlight at 90+ degrees before I opened it.
Even if the head wasn't so tight and the neck peg a bit too long, which worries me if she were to shelf dive... she's a center-back of the shelf figure. But the real complaint I have aside the figure being more pink than purple and the lack of gloss or metallics. Phage, Scream, and Lasher have metallic accents. Something that is lacking on Riot and Agony. Also, why didn't she get Symbiote hands?
Venom: We can lick... Venom 2: WE DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU CAN LICK!! Venom: all the Ice-cream in a single flick... what where you thinking? Venom 2: That you can lock Deez Nutz! Venom: This is why Parker hates us! Venom 2: Yeah, it's totally that and not that we used to threaten his Aunt May or that we almost tentacled Mary Jane. Venom: Oh... Spidey VO: Brock! Wake up! We need to ambush the symbiotes... I have chocolate!! Venom: We need to wake up!
Finally, Venom is in the Omega Red body, which is a bit better than the Hyperion body previous figures used. My only complaint is the tongue in his their full Venom head. It's far too long for my tastes. Even if the blacks don't exactly match, I might use the McFarlane era tongueless head for my "ultimate Venon". I lied, I have another complaint: the plastic on his knees is a bit too soft.
Riot: 3.0
Agony: 3.5
Phage: 4.0
Venom: 4.5
Accessories
Here's where these figures fall flat.
Riot: Oh crap! Grandpa' here too!? I didn't bring enough food and drinks! Lasher: Calm down, big guy! Phage: We could always order a pizza!! Agony: Spank me Daddy! Venom: We don't spank, we beat the crap of our unruly Children!! We are Venom! Spider-Man: Gee Kara know she shaw Spider-Man! Scream: What was that, grandpa? Spider-Man: I am the emissary from Hell, Spider-Man! Phage: Gag me with a spoon... Agony: Grandpa's a weeb! Ew...
Riot gets a Scythe attachment that he can't use because I can't pop out his hands and I ain't gonna risk it. So in my case, he has zero accessories.
Agony on the other hand has a pair of fists. That's it.
Venom is the only one who got a better deal , because he's they're the bigger name in the setpait of fists and an Alternate mid-transformation head.
Phage is given the short end of the stick due to Venompool BAF stealing a pair of spots on his accessories slots. He could've used another bladed alternate hand
Riot: 2.5
Agony: 3.0
Venom:4.0
Phage: 3.0
Overall
Now we need to look at each figure individually and then take the ones from the 3 pack and do some Mathematics to find the value of the pack.
Riot:
He gets a 3.0 as his final score. The lack of metallic accents like previous LF5 figures hurt it a bit, not to mention the fact that mine has unintentionally unremoveable hands. But the biggest issue is the concerned face.
Agony:
She gets a 3.67 as her final score. The lack of proper Symbiote hands hurt her a little bit. The neck issues scare me more.
Venom:
Their final score is 4.33 for a couple of reasons. The lack of a head without a ridiculously loooooong loooooooooong tooooooooooouuuuunnnnnnge!!
Now we use some fancy Mathematics to determine the set's overall score, which is:
3.67 a decent score but, it COULD'VE been a bit better.
Mr. PHAGE, the lone figure that wasn't in a multipack gets a 3.67 as his final score.
And it was good!! I'm pleasantly surprised with Catherine Zeta-Jones, which was the one I feared the most. She actually did a good Morticia. Luis Guzmán NAILED it as Gomez.
Jenna Ortega as Wednesday is the focus of the show and she pulls her weight nicely.
So, the premise of the show is: Wednesday gets expelled from School and is sent to Hogwarts. At Hogwarts she Harry Ron and Hermiones her way through a school murder mystery. Addams purists, this MIGHT NOT BE the show for you. It wasn't the disaster many were expecting. I'm being purposely vague because I don't want to spoil too much. You SHOULD see it before judging. Tim Burton is involved but the show doesn't go TOO Tim Burton that you get distracted by the Tim Burtonness of it.
Is it perfect, no. It has a few moments that can be a bit cringy, but these are very few and don'thappen at the same time... (less than 5).
Some of the effects are really good, others feel like they were made in my offline computer with Windows XP. Before one of my readers asks. No, that PC had zero stuff about Sprite editing. That is a work PC, not a hobby PC. Hence the whole it was 100% offline. It doesn't even have minesweeper or solitaire.
Point is that some effects look good and others do not.
While not perfect, it's better than a CW show. Now. Let's be serious about this and accept that the show can be better than expected.
With that you might guess that it's related to Marvel Superheroes, the 1995 Arcade hit and Sequel to X-Men: Children of the Atom. But if you know your Marvel Legends, then you know it's the Retro Series Ironman inspired by the 1990s ToyBiz Ironman line that had merchandise from the cartoon... but this fogure is a tribute or homage to the Capcom games and not just the cartoon.
Spike! Roll the Iron Man intro!
Not that one! The cool one! The one with Tony Rocking his mullet AND with the super hard lyrics:
I!
I! Am!
I! Am! Iron man!
I! Am! Iron man!
*cool guitar riff*
IIII am Iroooooon maaaaaaaaaaan!
Now some Ironman from MSH...
I have to congratulate Hasbro for paying some attention and care on this figure while attempting to cater to two different groups. At the same time, I have to mention that the figure is inaccurate to both sources...
Stark: Magic Mustache? Ha! Strange: Your ignorance is almost as strong as your arrogance, Stark. Puck: What are we doin' here, Logan... Logan: Apparently, it's some facial hair duel... My mutton chops will beat their mustaches... Puck: Now I wanna compete. Reed: This is ridiculous, a Facial hair contest. Who would bother to compete in that. Spidey: Then what's with the beard, Stretch Armstrong?
As a Marvel Legends figure, he has standard Articulation for the line. He even has a boot cut. Most of it is reasonably hidden by panel lines and the only "ugly" Articulation point is his waist. I point this out because he has nearly the same articulation as his ToyBiz counterpart, but it's more aesthetically pleasing in the Hasbro figure. Also, I have to point out that the Repulsor hands FINALLY have a hinge on the wrists.
4.5
Ironman: UNIBEAM!!
Paint and sculpt
The sculpt part is still mostly the same. It appears that the upper torso was redone to fit in the Unibeam attachment. The paint is what changed here. This time the paint work is heavily inspired by the 1990s toy. It has glossy bright red and bright yellow instead of the gold that the previous figure had.
Ironman: REPULSOR BLAST!!
The yellow is very bright it's mustard container yellow and the weird thing is that I'm not a fan of yellow on Iron Man but this time it works. Probably because it has this kind of Capcom vibe to it. I can't believe I'm saying this but I like it more than the previous release.
4.5
Ironman: PROTON CANNON!!
Accessories
-Toon helmet
-Capcom helmet
-"Superior Tech!" Effect it can KINDA be used as a Capcom Repulsor Blast effect with creative placement.
-"Unibeam" effect
-Toon Mullet head
-Proton Cannon holding hands
-Repulsor blast hands (Repulsor blasts not included)
It's a shame we don't have the standard Hasbro Repulsor blasts since the repulsor blast hands have holes for them.
On its own separate box comes the Proton Cannon in it:
Proton Cannon
Stand
Wimpy blast effect.
Seriously, the blast is incredibly wimpy. It's bigger than a normal repulsor blast, but by Proton Cannon standards, it's lame as hell.
It almost looks like desigh was ready to make a decent blast but the bean counters said no.
5.0
Ironman: SUPERIOR TECH!!
Overall
Retro Iron Man gets a 4.67 as his final score. He's an improvement over the previous MAIM figure, but It could've been better with a bit more stuff. I'm not talking about the shoulder mounted missile launcher or the smart bomb launcher from the Capcom games just to name a few newly sculpted parts that would'vebeencool to have. I'm talking about the overused repulsor blasts. Getting 4 of them (2 for hands and 2 for feet while using one if the many third party stands. It also works for the games since the crouch fierce kick had a repulsor effect.)
Marvel Legends are becoming pricier and pricier, which makes me super picky about them. Just got the Retro Modular Armor Iron Man with I ain't gonna call it a Plasma Cannon because everyone knows it's a Proton Cannon!
It's a sweet figure, ICFTTC coming soon. The problem is that it's a bit pricy and Hasbro is taking the route of too much product at the same time... add some weird product distribution issues and I've missed out on ENTIRE waves. Not counting Target exclusives that make me check third parties and get screwed. These are making me want to quit the line like I did in 08.
I'm going to make a list of my Top Wants. These won't be "balanced" with some Popular figures that I'm slightly indifferent about. This will have the ones *I* want, but you may not. These are fogures that I WILL BUY unless they're put on a Hasbro Pulse exclusive 5 pack, because that would be nearly $200 between the set, taxes, and shipping.
I got a crazy idea for 2 Spider-Man Multi Packs:
These packs are meant to go with each other and the AF15 Spidey figure. The idea is to launch one early on the year and the second one on the second half of the year, say March and September.p
Spider-Man: With Great Power
This 3 pack would have:
AF15 Wrestling Outfit Peter Parker
Crusher Hogan
The Burglar
I know that The Burglar incident is NOT related to the time Peter was a Wrestler, but it would be a bit too dark to have The Burglar and Uncle Ben in the same pack.
Comes Great Responsibility! -Spider-Man
I know the structure of this pack seems odd, but both packs should be displayed side by side.
This 3 pack would have:
AF15 Peter Parker (with alternate Spider biting him hand)
Uncle Ben
Aunt May
If you're an opener, you have the pieces to create a kickass Spider-Man's origin display with both sets and AF15 Spidey.
You can go Movie Poster like or horizontal storytelling. Peter gets bit. Then becomes a superstar. Followed by Spidey letting the Burglar go. Lastly May is cradling the dying Ben.
90s Kaine
We have Spidey, Spider-Ben, and Scarlet Spider. We need a 90s Kaine to at least have the main clones... that aren't Spider-cide.
Generation X Emma Frost
Something as close to this custom as possible, please. This was kitbashed from a lot of preexisting parts. Only the lower thighs, I believe are custom made.
Classic Banshee The Yellow and Blue Banshee has plenty of parts that could be reused on a classic Green and Yellow Version.
COTA-94 CLASS Sentinel
You MUST KNOW WHY I want this specific Sentinel. Hes the missing piece to complete the 1994 X-Men: Children of the Atom roster. If Jada Toys makes Akuma in their SF line, I could yoink one to TRULY complete the roster. Preferably I'd take the Third alternate palette from MVC2 which is based on classic Sentinel colors.
Cable (Blue and Yellow outfit)
You might guess the common thread here: Whatever appeared on a Capcom Game, I want something as close to it as possible.
The Brown and Blue Cable from the Sasquatch wave is decent, but it's not the Cable I want. I believe that this could be kitbashed from existing parts.
Apocalypse (blue and grey matching the ToyBiz BAF)
Repaint of the cool Hasbro BAF in ToyBiz BAF colors. It's self Explanatory.
Brood 3 pack
Remember the Brood Queen from the Hasbro Dark Ages? If they can upgrade her and give us 2 Normal Brood (drones?) That would be awesome... Hell, even rereleasing her with 2 Normal brood (Drones?) Would be cool.
Smart Hulk
Matching the colors of Classic Hulk and reusing parts from that Hulk. He might need a new torso, because a painted tanktop would be too cheap even for Hasbro. New head and new feet with slippers complete the look. The reaspn why smart Hulk should match the 80th Hulk is for making a Capcom Hulk. (You knew this, right?)
Bruce Banner
I've been suggesting Puny Banner for ages. Aside the lower legs, and head, we have pretty much everything for Banner.
The Mandarin
IronMan NEEDS his main villain and the ToyBiz figure is horrible.
Spiderling and Spider-Girl 2.0
Both would be made in the teen buck with the double shoulders. Extra unmasked heads abd the required hands.
Power Pack
I'vediscussed this set already so I won't go into detail with things like new child buck, female teen buck, Miles buck, and Pizza Spidey buck for the 4 members.
I had to cull my list a lot to keep it under 25 figures.
According to James Cameron, it needs 2 BILLION dollars to break even. This is a ridiculous amount of money for just "breaking even". Could James Cameron reach those numbers? Probably. We must remember that on its first release was from December 18, 2009 to August 8, 2010. 10 days shy of 8 months. Followed with a rerelease on the 27th of August, 2010 all the way to November 18. Then it had 2 international rereleases in 2020 and 2021 and a domestic rerelease in 2022.
In 13 years it has made Domestically $785,221,649 which is a big amount, but it took 3 domestic releases and 5 international releases to reach the $2,929,917,914 it made.
Avengers Endgame was released on April 26, 2019 to September 12 of the same year. Only 4½ months and it made globally $2,797,501328... and $858,373,000 of the total was Domestic.
Let's look at numbers,shall we?
Avaturd's OG release had:
$749,766,139 which is less than Avengers Endgame and Avaturd had nearly TWICE the amount of time at the cinemas.
Globally, the nearly 8 month OG Release of Avaturd, had $2,743,577,587 which is less than the nearly half as long run at the cinemas of Avengers Endgame.
Also, taking the Dosmestic numbers of the same amount of weeks as Endgame Avaturd gets
$736,878,519 which is over 100 million LESS than Endgame. The reason I'm using Donestic as an example is becaise it's easier to calculate the sum of weekly earnings for the same period of time in order to have apples to apples comparisons. Avaturd did well, but Avengers Endgame did better.
After the Pandemic, the amount of people watching movies at the theater has decreased dramatically. Movies being too expensive, or them appearing rather swiftly on streaming services have been 2 of the main reasons for this reduction of audience. Hell, I'm waiting for Black Panther 2 to pop up on Disney+ to watch it. Same thing would apply for Avaturd 2 *IF* I bother to watch it. Like myself, thare are others who will wait for Disney+ because it's cheaper.
I don't think Disney will do an entire year of Avaturd at the theaters like Fox did, nor wait 13 years of rereleases to reach a profit.
It seems to me like James Cameron is either readying himself for failure or he's trying to hype the hell out of his fans to avoid the very likely failure. All I know is that the visuals will be amazing, but the storyline will be weak and forgettable.
It's kinda weird to think that Hannah Montana's a 30 year old. Yes, I'm well aware that Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana are two different people. Miley is the real person while Hannah is the character she played on Hannah Montana. Now the thing is that both Miley and Hannah share a body and that makes both of them a 30-year-old woman. We know that Mikey murdered Hannah after she got free from the Mouse. But the problem is that slowly, but surely, Hannah has been trying to claw her way out of Miley. Don't believe me? Here's a pic of Miley and Dolly Parton.
At a glance, I thought this was an old unused pic from Hannah Montana... but no, this is the soon to be 30-year old Miley Cyrus sporting long blonde hair. What do you get when you have a Blonde Miley Cyrus? Hannah Montana, of course! She killed Hannah Montana so hard that she's becoming Hannah Montana once again...
That royally sucks, especially for a person who is a parent. Because let's face it, Alzheimer's royally sucks! It and Cancer are the worst 2 things that a person can suffer... while he wasn't diagnosed with it, he seems to be trying to get his affairs in order BEFORE he gets a diagnosis. Hopefully, the diagnosis won't come and he gets to live a fulfilling life.
I don't know what to say, I mean, aside the obvious condolences to friends, family, and fellow Power Rangers, what can I say? Depression sucks? Yeah it does and I know this too well, because I struggle with it... My greatest fear is reaching a point where Soloing Task Force X sounds reasonable. I don't know JDF's struggles, but he must have been struggling for quite some time if he did what he did. It's a shame that he wasn't able to get the help he needed.
It's kinda hard to seek help when you're severely depressed, but you should do it because YOU matter. If by any chance you feel like you might permanently solve a temporary problem, contact your local suicide prevention hotline. Self-Termination is NEVER the solution.
This is not a joke or my standard type of rant woth my traditional immature humor. That's because this is a VERY Serious matter. If you're struggling with depression, PLEASE seek help.
I'm mocking the fact that they have to go to Arizona to build the park instead of say, Texas, Florida, or even Mattel's native
California... We all know that this is because it was most likely dirt cheap to make it there... also it's not Iowa whose points to fame are: Corn, American Gothic farmhouse... you know the one with the farmer and his wife daughter... and the future birth place of James Tiberius Kirk.
You can see Desert... More Desert... A Gash in the ground that is in, you guessed it, the Desert... a Tourist trap made famous because Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner played played a dude that got in a shootout with some other dudes in that town. Did I mention the Desert? Also there's desert... where everyone would dehydrate and need some overpriced Ice cold Coke... as they wait in line to the Mattel themed attractions... Probably Barbie, Hot Wheels, and goddammit... They're going to make a He-Man ride. Hopefully based on the REAL He-Man and not based on any of the Netflix Bastardizations.
Supposed to open in 2023... wonder if Max Steel will get any recognition... I have to wonder if Mattel is being a pioneer here of if they're copying Hasbro...
Looks like Hasbro is making a park South of the Border and has one Above the Other border, eh?
At least NECA and McFarlane are above such crazy Shenanigans... Now that I said it, I'm expecting the following announcement
"Ever gone to a public bathroom in a gas station and seen a hole in a urinal stand? The hole is at groin height and seems big enough to look into the next stall.
Hi, I'm Todd McFarlane, creator of Spawn, and Al Simmons made a horrible mistake and looked into the hole. He ended up with Baby batter in the eye. That's why I'm making a Spawn themed Horror park! It will be open only at night because it's time for Spawn!"
Crom! And all that. Honestly, all I want right now is the Wizard Akiro... for no reason whatsoever.
But it has gotten me thinking. NECA made Commando, Terminator, and Predator Schwarzenegger... but Super7 made Conan. I'm gonna suggest a Schwarzenegger Ultimates line... same vein as the Bruce Lee Ultimates. Predator, Terminator, and Commando are obviously out of the picture... Mistuh Fweeze too, sadly. I wouldn't pick too many movies with Arnie in normal clothes, because it's Arnie in Normal clothes... so, I'm going to go for my top 10 Schwarzenegger Ultimates.
Shuwaruztu-eneggā-kun:
This is the Japanese Commercial Arnold. Mainly the Nissin Cup Noodle ads. Specifically the one he's wearing traditional Japanese clothes...
Not for getting a Super7 scaled Japanese traditional outfit to use on a custom Tatsu... Noooo... mostly for the fan and Ramen stuff. It's better than the one where Arnold is dressed like Mr. Clean.
Comrade Schwarzenegger:
This is a reference to Red Heat... I only remember 1 scene from that movie... yes it's Cocainum. Does anyone remember any other scenes?
Mother Arnie:
Yes, a pregnant Schwarzenegger from Junior with a similar gimmick to Pregnant Midge.
Of course, the baby has to be the Schwarzenegger faced baby from his nightmare.
Movie Hero Arnie:
This, of course, is Jack Slater from Last Action Hero and so far the first "Normally dressed Arnold Schwarzenegger" figure in the lineup. Not gonna say it's a way to test the waters for a Last Action Hero line.
Herculean Schwarzenegger:
Hercules in Manhattan... Toga, MOTUC body... not saying he could work for a New Adventures Adam, but he could totally work for a new Adventures Adam.
The Bodybuilder:
We can't ignore Arnie's past as a body builder.
The figure would be Arnie in a Banana Hammock for bodybuilding with fabric clothes from Pumping Iron... specifically THAT Scene.
Turkish delight:
Around the World in 80 Days gave us one of the Most Bizarre Arnold Schwarzenegger looks ever...
Heroic Father:
It's Turbo-Time! Let's face it... you secretly want a Turbo Man figure. I know I do. He should come with a Turbo Man figure to give away.
Gameshow Schwarzenegger:
This is of course, a reference to The Running Man, a movie that I haven't seen since 1989... but I remember the X-Men reject spandex suit...
The Governator:
I know that political figures can be a bit risky, but it would be Arnold Schwarzenegger in a business suit AND his Conan sword, which he kept in his office when he was Governor. This is totally not an excuse to get Super7 scaled figures with a business suit... maid not included.
Now out of those, the ones I want the most are:
Ramen Commercial, Governator, Junior, Pumping Iron, and Turbo Man.
I've made plenty of Batman jokes. Most of them stemming from his Child Soldier rearing, How he sees Orphanages as Army recruiters see High School Seniors and
Zack Snyder's piss poor understanding of Batman and Superman. Now I'm going to do something that may appear as shocking. I'm going to defend Zack Snyder's Martha scene.
Hold your horses... the defense is not that deep. The execution of the scene, which lies on Zack Snyder, was still awful. The idea of it is not THAT bad. The idea that Batman has gone off the deep end and is becoming what he swore to fight against is interesting IN THEORY. It's something that could be explored in a FINAL Batman movie before transitioning to Batman Beyond. This is not something to use as one of the building blocks of a Cinematic Universe, which is one of the many areas where Zack Snyder failed...
But this isn't about Snyder and his shortcomings as a director. This is about Batman and my thoughts of him as a character. I'm a bit clueless on how to tackle this, since it's Batman. I have to tackle the topic I dread the most, since I fear my own demons, and how they make me feel guilty of my Mom's death... Just like I assume Bruce must feel. Think about it: Why did the Waynes die? They were mugged by Joe Chill when they crossed through "Crime Alley" (the name Crime Alley was given AFTER the death of the Waynes). Why were they crossing "Crime Alley"? Because they were leaving the Morarch Theatre. Sometimes it was because they finished watching The Mark of Zorro, in others, Little Bruce, who was 8-10 years old, was frightened by a movie or Opera concert. The Waynes get mugged and killed, with the child being the only survivor.
Now, here's the thing: No matter how much normal people can rationalize the ridiculousness of Bruce Wayne's motivations, it hits closer to home, when one has Survior's guilt. In Bruce's case: "If I hadn't pestered my parents to see The Mark of Zorro, they wouldn't have died." Assuming it's the Bruce watched The Mark of Zorro before his parents were killed continuity. If it's the Bruce got afraid at the Opera continuity, his Survivor's Guilt manifests with the mantra " If I hadn't been afraid, they wouldn't have left the theatre earlier and they wouldn't have died." How can I be so certain about this? Because "If I hadn't been born, My Mom wouldn't have gotten a transfusion with tainted blood and she wouldn't have died years later from complications with treating her Hep C." Survivor's guilt can leave some common points of view on people.
Theoretically speaking, Bruce clings to his survior's guilt to push forward. While he's aware that Joe Chill was the actual murderer, he feels guilty about being the reason WHY the Waynes crossed paths with Chill. On the rational level, he gets it, but emotionally, he must feel like it was HE who pulled the trigger... again, he was 8-10 when he lost his parents. I was 33 when my Mom died, yet emotionally, I feel like I was the one who tainted her blood, since my birth was the reason she needed a blood transfusion. (Back then blood tests couldn't detect Hep C. Also. I'm going to therapy to work these awful feelings out) So, having an 8 year old feeling horribly guilty about his parents' death, despite not being actually guilty makes sense.
Many have wondered why Bruce "never got therapy". Real world reason, back when Batman was created, Therapy was uncommon, especially on children. But think about this: Bruce is obsessed with that moment. He swore to his parents' souls that he would not only avenge them, but he would dedicate his life to avoid the suffering he went through. He used that trauma to push himself, not exactly healthy, because he isn't allowing himself to heal, to let go... I get it... I don't remember My Mom's voice, or scent. I get to remember what she looked like because I kept a picture of her.
I suppose Bruce has more luck there since his parents were celebrities of sorts and he can find footage of them, so he can hear their voices, see their faces, etc.
Also, I've been triggered by people who knew me through my Mom and recognize me as her son. I wouldn't want to imagine how horrible it must be being in a city where EVERYONE KNEW OF YOUR DEAD PARENTS and always found a way to remind you of them. Especially since Thomas and Martha Wayne were borderline saints in Gotham.
It's funny, Bruce is going on a self-destructive path, but his path to self-destruction is paved with good intentions and it yields results. They aren't exactly the results he wants, seeing that there have been mishaps like the Death and Resurrection of Jason Todd, the existence of Damian Wayne, his creation of child soldiers, but at the same time, he was able to save Dick Grayson from following a darker path. He even took Tim Drake under his wing, when the third Robin lost his family, and proved himself worthy of being Robin by rising above the parh of vengeance. If it wasn't for Bruce, the Justice League wouldn't have been a Justice League... since guess whose deep pockets fund the league?Batman's... especially in continuities without Oliver Queen and Ted Kord.
But what do I mean with Self-destructive behavior? He literally goes out at night picking fights with criminals and some of them are strong enough to snap a man like a twig. He does this FOR FREE, so the excuse of "it pays the bills" that policemen and firemen have to risk their lives isn't useful here. Batman has fought literal gods. Can you fight a literal god and live to fight another day? I know I can't fight an average mortal and leave unscathed. A god would kick my ass so hard that all my ancestors would feel it.
Then there's all the philanthropic work done by his Bruce Wayne mask. Batman doesn't simply punch people as some ill-guided critiques state.
The way Batman attacks crime is a two-pronged approach. Billionaire Playboy and Philanthropist, Bruce Wayne makes the news by being a socialite in many charitable soirees. There he helps fundraisers to various social programs. Not to mention that he has 2 foundations working to alleviate the issues plaguing Gotham. The Thomas Wayne Foundation deals with stuff related to the medical field. The Martha Wayne Foundation deals with stuff related to social and education issues. The problem is that Gotham is rotten to the core. The Mob has its tentacles shoved up many crevices. Throwing money won't make the Falcones back off. Crazy man dressed up like a bat does. Hell, Gotham is so corrupt that Jim Gordon had a hard time cleaning up the GCPD and despite his efforts, it's not exactly squeaky clean. By simply throwing money at the problems, those who would embezzle the funds will do it anyway. By dressing up as a bat, Bruce instills fear on Gotham's criminal elements and does what the GCPD can't or WON'T do.
His Countermeasures seem paranoid, but they make sense. I don't mean it in the "The justice League are too powerful and they need a way to stop them if they ever go rogue" way. I mean it in a "Bruce Wayne suffered his greatest loss by a random mugging that he wasn't prepared for" kind of way. Not to mention that most of Bruce's own rogues gallery are Doctors, Scientists, and other positions of high esteem, when people who aren't "criminally insane" hold said positions. Or that Gotham is rotten to the core and the Waynes are the only "source of hope" for Gotham. He's so used to see the worst in humanity, so he's preparing for the event of any League member having a bad day and snapping.
Returning to the whole "why doesn't he get therapy" thing. Sadly, about 93% of people who go to therapy lie to their therapist. I, regrettably did lie to a previous therapist. I did it out of fear of facing a truth about myself and out of fear of being interned... at the time I was contemplating Soloing Task Force X. Fortunately for me, I managed to shake off those thoughts. With my current therapist, I've been able to open up a bit more and was able to face the fact that I once did contemplate to take a permanent solution to a temporary problem. I'm not proud of that moment of weakness, but I can acknowledge that it did happen. If *I*, who am terrible at lying, was able to do so to a therapist; then I can easily believe that the guy who can beat the Lasso of Hestia WILL lie to his therapist. Not to mention the "Billionaire Playboy" persona fits the outlook on life of people who have gone through a Near Death experience and have had some sort of trauma. So, a person like that would have some seemingly shallow responses to the therapist.
Out of the Mainstream DC Superheroes, Batman is the most interesting of all, due to his traumas and tragedies. Sure Kal-El being "The Last Son of Krypton" is very tragic and all, but the love given to him by the Kents, who raised him as their own, protected Clark from what he lost in Krypton. The Kents showed Kal-El the Best Humanity has to offer. Wonder Woman was the daughter of Zeus and Hippolyta... (Zeus, you horngod...) at best the worst thing she has is daddy issues, but then again 99% of the children of Zeus suffer from that. Hell, they tried to batman-ize Flash by having Reverse Flash go back in time to kill Barry's mom and pin it on Barry's dad.
His skills are a very, VERY divisive section. Mainly the whole "Prep Time" meme. It's cool to see Batman using Logic and detective-ing his way out if a trap, showcasing his mind as his greatest weapon. Problem is when his exploits defeat all rules of physics including the DC superpowers with:
"I'm BaTmAn!"
I know that Batman overplays that to terrify criminals, but when writers are having Batman defeat characters waaaaaaaay out of his league with "He's Batman" as the reason, that. is. bullshit.
Now I have to tackle THE most polarizing thing about Batman... yes, even more polarizing than the Prep Time meme...
The One Rule... yes, I'm aware that most Cinematic Batmen have ignored it. Why, say Keaton's Batman gets a pass while Affleck's doesn't? This is a loaded question. I'll try to answer it as honestly as possible. There are various factors:
-Faithfulness to the source Material:
Tim Burton not being a fan of the comics us a well known fact. He also never pretended to be a superfan unlike a certain dollar store Michael Bay wannabe who hides behind his daughter's Soloing Task Force X. Snyder pretended to be a super DC fan after he had derided DC. Remember the whole prison rape comment. If Snyder had never painted himself as a superfan, his ill-guided universe might have received less scorn.
-Hypocrisy:
Keaton's Batman killed various henchmen... true, but he also killed or didn't save Joker and Penguin. While not accurate to the source material, it's honest and consistent. This Batman was judge, jury, and executioner. On the other hand, we have Affleck's Batman, whi killed various henchmen, yet lets Robin's murderer run free. Dude was hellbent in killing Superman "because he could be evil" yet Joker, who everyone knows he's evil, is alive and kicking. If Batman had gone dark and began killing, Joker should've been first one on the list.
But enough about movies... wait! Fun fact: George Clooney was the only Batman who actually stuck to the One Rule... until Pattinson came along. Now Clooney is the First Cinematic Live Action Batman to not have killed... that means even Adam West has killed...
Back to the comics and the One Rule... For the most part, I like the One Rule. I know that it would make sense to break it in Joker's case, but while Batman's activities aren't exactly legal; even if GCPD supports them. Especially with the big ass Signal Light atop the GCPD HQ. If Batman were to cross the line, a shit ton of trouble would fall in Gotham. The GCPD would be in deep shit for collaborating with a murderer, then the entire police force would be disbanded, probably replaced by outside agents, total chaos. Hell, I'm not even sure if the repercussions would reach the JLA. To me that makes more sense than the "If I kill one, then I won't know how to stop" argument. I would also prefer to consider the idea that deep down Batman HOPES for the rehabilitation of Gotham's "super criminals" since many of them would be highly productive members of society if they weren't criminals. To me, it fits the mentality of a child who wants to prevent Gotham's children from suffering the same pain Bruce Wayne did. Killing criminals would make more kids having to suffer the loss of a parent. Beating them up keeps the kids from becoming orphans. Sure, they might have their parent away for some time with the whole ending up in jail, but they're alive.
Because the thing is that Batman is still a child. He might be on the top 2 most intelligent people in the DC Universe's Earth. He might be the 21st Century Sherlock Holmes with his cunning. He might be a Martial arts prodigy with a dash of Houdini, but deep down he's an 8-10 year old who hasn't processed the death of his parents.
Batman is everything Bruce wasn't that night.
He is strong where Bruce was weak. He is intimidating when Bruce was meek. He literally went across the globe learning all the skills he could to become a supercop and stop crime all over Gothan. That's not something a mature adult would do. That's what a child would do. Then we have the whole dressing up as a scary monster. That's literally a child's move.
Is Batman nothing but a chronically depressed child with severe PTSD trauma that has been festering inside for decades, while pretending to be a functional adult? I'm no psychologist, so I couldn't make a proper assessment for multiple of reasons. But it's obvious that Batman has some severe issues. They hit closer to home when one goes through the loss of a parent and one feels like it's their fault. I could say that Batman changed a lot for me after my Mom's death.
Most of DC's heroes are unrelatable to normal folks... the biggest exception is Batman, because of his pain and suffering gives the audience something to hook them in. Sure he may do some incredible acts of unrealistic bullshit because "he's Batman" but at the end of the day, he's a severely flawed individual who is trying to do the right thing, even if his methods aren't exactly right. He's one of the more "imperfect" DC characters and it's those imperfections what make him more interesting.
This I almost expected due to Tomohiro Ishii's big chunky chest. The top of the clothes I bought for him are a bit waay too tight since his torso is a wee bit too chunky.
The pants work rather well. So now I need to figure out how to make a bigger top...
He doesn't look bad but his arm articulation is at <10% which is not good.
But he can at least stand in the "Ninja Vanish" pose from TMNT2SOTO. Now for a quick and easy no sculpting or painting custom, it does what's needed.
I am currently way disconnected from Wrestling. Not following US Wrestling, much less Mexico or Japan... Don't get me started on Puerto Rican Wrestling. My Mom was alive last time I actually paid attention to local wrestling. Mostly because My Mom and Stepdad knew some local wrestlers. Maldo el Poderoso, Chicky Starr, I think one of the Invaders, and Carlos Colón. His forehead is far more terrifying in real life (due to the excessive blading he has done for decades). So, pardon my ignorance on the subject... I honestly bought this figure for 1 reason:
I know that "it COULD seem racist" that I'm picking a Japanese bald dude to replace a different Japanese bald dude. I don't know how to make realistic face sculpts that could be used as action figure heads. I don't have the materials to make the head either. I barely can sculpt shirts on bare torsos. I have been unsuccessful at sewing a sleeved tunic for Splinter. Yes, my stance against soft goods clothing has softened up a bit... it had to in order to make this Theoretical Tatsu. Even if I had the skills to successfully make a posable action figure that could fit in with Super7's TMNTU, I don't have the time or money to do so.
Hopefully, the stars will align and this Theoretical Tatsu will work.
Now on Tomohiro Ishii: I know he's a NJPW wrestler, since he's on the NJPW Ultimates line by Super7. I KNOW he had a brief stint on AEW, since AEW has done some partnership events with NJPW. Again, I don't know much about him... Then again, that hasn't stopped me from buying figures before.
So, let's get cracking and tackle Tomohiro Ishii.
Articulation
He has the same articulation as a Thundercats figure, but with pinless joints. Aside the Ab Crunch, which is very limited and lack of boot cut, he has a decent range of articulation.
4.5
Paint and sculpt
He has a decent likeness to Ishii's. Sadly, mine is a bit derpy eyed on the opened eye look. Sadly, his chest is lightly stained by his shirt... apparently it bleeds dye. It's not very noticeable, but it's there.
4.5
Accessories
He has a second head
Removable Shirt
Removable Elbowpad
Steel chair
Various hands
Removable title belt
Now I understand what the Hand pack is for. Tomohiro Ishii and other figures from the wave got some habds mixed up. Ishii's gripping hands have some flesh colored wraps that are not in the rest of his hands. His title belt had fragile pegs and holes.
4.5
Overall
Tomohiro Ishii gets a 4.5 as his final score. He's not a bad figure, but I only got him for fodder to make Tatsu. The hand issue and a few others slightly lowered his score. I know he isn't a Perfect Tatsu likeness that could be displayed with NECA, but he might work better for Super7.
