July 1, 2026

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Archangel

By Joe
“Behold my angel of death!”

On July 1st, 2026, our long wait ends. X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ with its greatly anticipated second season a little over two years after the conclusion of the first. It’s something I have been looking forward to pretty much ever since credits rolled on the finale and the only thing that stinks about it is that it arrives when I’m on vacation. As a result, I likely won’t have any thoughts up on this blog for a little while where that debut episode is concerned, but to tide things over we do have a toy to look at and it’s of a character that figures to be featured somewhat prominently in the second season of X-Men ’97: Warren Worthington the third, also known as Archangel.

Archangel made his debut in the first season of the original series. He’s ambushed by Cable over his funding for a cure for mutation and winds up being the first victim of said cure when Mystique turns him into a slave of Apocalypse. In the process, Worthington’s feathery, angelic, wings were replaced with cold steel and his skin turned blue. He’d break free of Apocalypse’s control by the next episode, but his quest for revenge consumed him in his next appearance, “Obsession,” before a slightly milder version of the character appeared during the “Beyond Good and Evil” arc. That story was intended to be the show’s finale and at the end of it Archangel was to join the X-Men where he belonged, but a surprise order for new episodes extended the show and such plans were scuttled. During that arc, Archangel had returned to his Angel persona of blue and white, but for some reason when we meet him in X-Men ’97 he’s going to be sporting his original blue and pink Archangel look which is what this figure is based on. Will a reason be given in the show for the switch back? I don’t know. It could be whoever was in charge of the character designs just likes this look better, but I guess we’ll have to watch to find out.

Archangel is a pretty standard height for a superhero.

Archangel is considered a deluxe offering so he comes at an inflated sticker price and in a box as opposed to a blister card. The base figure is the same as the previously released Angel of a couple of years ago which is essentially just a modified version of the Vulcan sculpt. The only difference from that mold is that the torso had to be redone to exclude the butterfly joint in the shoulders in order to fit the ports for the wings. The body even still has the grooves in the forearms intended for characters with long gloves because it’s apparently too much to ask for Hasbro to just sculpt some smooth forearms. The costume is very similar to its appearance in the original series which is also quite similar to the look from the comics. It’s still blue with a pink design painted onto it and the application is pretty clean. The opacity of the pink varies as it transfers to different types of plastic which make up the body. It looks pretty damn good on the torso where the paint has a nice matte appearance. It gets a little thin on the thighs, but it’s not as noticeable as it was with the Gamerverse Venom and its white logo. The only difference between this version of the costume and the one from the 90s series that I can see is that the hands are the same color as the rest of the costume. In the older show, the sleeves ended at the wrist and Archangel’s hands were bare and matched the shade of blue of his face. He also tended to have dark, black, lines under his eyes which are not present here, but that’s probably for the best. They also decided to give him clawed hands which is an interesting choice. I would have preferred that they didn’t, but this (and the color of his hands) all appears to be part of the character design in X-Men ’97 so these aren’t critiques of the figure, but of the design.

The two wing setups available.

Archangel’s distinguishing feature is the pair of big, steel, wings on his back. For the show, Archangel’s wings are fairly simple and are represented by two somewhat triangular pieces of metal. In the comics, he could have all kinds of panels and metallic feathers and there are definitely some designs that are quite busy. This is a simplified look and it’s one I prefer. The wings clip into the figure’s back, but there’s also a joiner piece in the center they port into. The center piece basically just exists to match the look of the show, but it does provide some stability as well. There’s a hinge close to the center for flapping, but otherwise this central piece basically holds the wings in place. If you want to shift them up and down you’ll have to remove that piece, though it leaves behind something ugly. The wings are basically a light gray plastic and there’s no metallic paint applied. It would have been nice to see them fully painted to better reflect their look on television, but that’s not really how Hasbro does things. They do look fine, though I’m torn on how much I like the curve sculpted into them. Maybe something a little less severe would have looked better? If you don’t like them, Hasbro did include Archangel’s retracted wings. Resembling a tuning fork, this just plugs into the back like the standard wings and will take up far less shelf space. It’s a nice option to have, though I don’t know if I’ll be able to resist posing him with his wings out in a flying pose.

He comes with an alternate version of Cables’s gun for some reason.

The other accessories are a bit minimal. Archangel has two portraits: neutral and a teeth gritting one. Both are cowled and it’s a shame we didn’t get an un-cowled look. If Ka-Zar wasn’t so expensive I’d consider buying one and painting the face blue as I always preferred Archangel with his blonde locks showing. By default, Archangel has a trigger finger right hand and a left fist. He also comes with a set of open, clawing, hands which are okay, but I already mentioned how I’m not a fan of his new talons. I’m also irritated we don’t get a right fist, despite one appearing on the back of the box. What would that have added to the budget? A penny’s worth of plastic? If that? The trigger finger hand is unusual, but they did decide to include a gun. Cable’s gun, to be exact as it’s the same one that came with the X-Men ’97 figure. It’s the bigger of the two guns and it has a new deco. The colors are more matte where as the original used a shiny plastic Hasbro loves for metallic objects. This new deco makes it a bit more animated looking, but it’s an odd accessory to include with Archangel. I assume he wields the gun at some point in season two, but getting it over a third head option, extra fist, or some feather blade accessories kind of sucks. A flight stand would have also been nice and, honestly, should be standard issue for a deluxe figure that has big wings on its back.

It’s like they gave him two fists on the back of the box just to call attention to the fact that we’re missing one.

Archangel’s articulation is pretty standard for the line. If you have a figure on this Vulcan body (like Cyclops), then you know what to expect for the most part: hinged neck, ball-hinged shoulders, ab crunch, waist twist, bicep swivel, double-jointed elbows, wrist hinge and swivel, ball-socket hips, thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, shin swivel, ankle rocker and hinge. As stated earlier, the only change is the removal of the butterfly joint which does kind of suck for a flying character. Range otherwise is fine at all of the joints though the various swivels break-up the sculpt of the pink linework and musculature in a rather ugly fashion so they have limited utility. If you want Warren to wield the gun, the trigger hand does have a vertical hinge though the open, clawed, left hand is only so-so as as a stabilizing hand for the barrel. The wings have a hinge where they plug into the back and towards the middle so they can “flap,” and they can also wrap around to the front of the figure. As I mentioned earlier, you can take out the central mount to get swivel articulation, if that’s your preference. The joints are the usual tolerance for a Legends release with the exception of the left elbow. Mine is a touch on the loose side, but not so much that it can’t hold a pose or support the weight of the gun. I’ve never seen a loose elbow joint on a Legends release since they moved to the pin-less design so I’m thinking it’s a one-off with mine and likely not something afflicting all copies.

He should mix in fine with other characters from the animated universe.

This X-Men ’97 Archangel is not an unwelcomed addition to the collection. As a reoccurring guest character in the original series, it always made sense to do a figure of Warren. While I don’t think any of the subtle changes to his look are an improvement, it’s not far enough removed from the 90s look for me to care all that much. What I do care about are the lackluster accessories and Hasbro getting cheap on us with the hand assortment while simultaneously upping the price. They’ve been doing that more and more with releases and it’s getting pretty annoying. Most Legends figures pull from the same pool of already sculpted hands so we’re just talking about the cost of plastic in most cases which is pretty damn negligible with something as small as a hand. And at the asking price of $40 it’s not as if this is a basic release. We’re paying an extra charge just because this guy has wings which is honestly kind of ridiculous. Back in the old days, Archangel was the same price as anyone else, but Hasbro likes to take any excuse it can to raise the price which is why they recently solicited a Doc Samson figure for $35 even though he’s really not deluxe sized and only comes with one extra head and one extra set of hands. I shudder to think what the X-Men ’97 Beast is going to cost since he actually has a backpack accessory – they’re practically breaking the bank! As a result, I’m far more excited for the return of X-Men ’97 than I am for this figure of Archangel. It’s not an underwhelming release, nor does it overwhelm the synapses. It merely whelms. He’ll slot into my animated X-Men collection, though I’ll always wish he had an unmasked head or another fist.

For more X-Men ’97 and ’97 adjacent releases from Hasbro, check these out:

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Cable

Today we finish our look at wave 3 of X-Men ’97 Marvel Legends action figures and I think I saved the best for last. Cable was one of the non-members of the X-Men to play a pretty substantial role in the original animated series. He showed up in multiple episodes in both the first and…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Rogue

Previously, on X-Men reviews we looked at Magneto from the upcoming series X-Men ’97. The animated series may have been delayed into 2024, but the action figures from Hasbro are already here. And if you were collecting Hasbro’s line of figures based on the animated series from the 90s, this new line offers a chance…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men Retro Card Series Apocalypse

It is Halloween and that means it’s time for costumes, candy, and spooky fun. It’s also Halloween 2022, a pretty important date if you grew up loving those mutants who ran around in colorful spandex fighting for a better tomorrow. That’s because 30 years ago on this very night, the animated series X-Men premiered on…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Television, toys

June 29, 2026

The Return of X-Men ’97

By Joe
I’m guessing you already heard the news, but in case you haven’t: the X-Men are back.

The return of the ’92 era X-Men featured in the classic animated series could not have gone any better. I was extremely excited for that show’s continuation via X-Men ’97, but at the same time a bit fearful. Could it really live up to my own expectations even as I tried to tamp them down? It turns out that it absolutely could and I truly feel we were gifted something unique. Not many shows are allowed to grow up with its audience. Even long-running shows like The Simpsons or Sponge-Bob Squarepants mostly stay the same and rely on picking up new fans as older ones fall off. X-Men ’97 really did take a show crafted for 7-12 year olds in 1992 and age it up for that same audience 30 years later. And the fact that it worked was pretty remarkable. That first season ended two years ago so it’s been a bit of a wait for the show’s second season. For that first season, I reviewed every episode and intended on doing a season one wrap-up or overall review, but I never got around to it. As a warm up for this second season, now seems like the appropriate time to share my final thoughts on that first season while also getting hyped for what’s to come.

I watched quite a bit of the first season of X-Men ’97. When a new episode would premiere, I’d get up and watch it while riding my exercise bike which really helped get my heart rate going. My son also took an interest in the show so we’d usually watch it together after school and then I’d watch it again the next day to prepare for my review which I’d post on Friday. Recently, with the release of the new trailer for season two I went back and watched the whole season again in one sitting. It was a rainy Sunday so a perfect time to refamiliarize myself with the show again. Before that rewatch, my opinion of the first season was that it was quite good, but also felt rushed at times. Upon rewatching it, I felt it didn’t go by as fast as I remembered. Some stuff certainly did like the entirety of the “Inferno” plot being condensed into one episode. I still don’t like how that one ends with Cyclops declaring he won’t abandon his son and then immediately flipping or how the clone Jean Grey just pulls the name Madelyne Pryor out of thin air. The “Lifedeath” arc was the other one I felt got rushed, but upon reflection I no longer think so. It was probably my least favorite plot in the season so the idea of spending more time with Storm and Forge isn’t really a recipe for making the season better. Once the show hit the fifth episode, “Remember It,” it moves at a nice clip. The events of that episode are felt throughout the rest of the season and dedicating three episodes to the finale was also a smart move. The final episode of the season is more of an aftermath episode with a lot of character work. Cyclops and Jean seem to resolve their differences and have that nice moment with Cable while Xavier and Magneto reconcile with the damage they’ve inflicted upon each other over a lifetime despite their love for each other.

Effect shots like Nightcrawler taking Wolverine and this jerk on a ride through his teleportation simply were not possible in the original series.

The production values of the first season were also wonderful and the biggest upgrade over the original series. Much of the voice cast returned and while many sound a bit older, their acting chops have only been further honed over the decades. The redone X-Men theme is grander and worthy of cinema and I am delighted that Marvel seems to have settled on it as the theme for the X-Men from here to eternity. The animation though is the clear upgrade. Going from the original series to this one reminds me of the first time I saw the Star Wars prequels. No, not in terms of the quality as a whole, but just in what we were allowed to see the characters do. The technology is now available to match the imagination of the writers and storyboard artists. The old show would never have been able to pull off the action that this show possesses. The action sequences from that show are what have arguably aged the worst. And you don’t have to watch X-Men ’97 for very long to see this on display as in the very first episode we get that incredible sequence where Storm enters the battlefield and uses her powers to blast the desert sand with lightning turning it into a sheet of glass. She then unleashes a tornado on the same which shatters and grabs the shards of glass to create a violent, Sentinel-destroying, freak of nature. Such a thing would not have been possible in 1992 either due to the talent of the animators or the budget supplied by Saban.

The prospect of topping that first season is what really drives my excitement for the second season set to premiere on July 1st. Last year, attendees at New York Comic Con were treated to a new trailer to hype that season which was sadly never made public. While there were leaks, us regular folk had to wait until fairly recently for a proper trailer. A follow-up has already been released and the hype train is now traveling at full speed. When that first season ended, the X-Men were scattered across time. Some appeared to be stranded in the present like Wolverine and Morph, while a small group was sent to ancient Egypt where they meet En Sabah Nur, better known in the present time as Apocalypse. Cyclops and Jean were also shot forward in time where they meet Mother Askani and their son, Nathan, who is now a boy of about 10 by the looks of things. And if that wasn’t thrilling enough, the final stinger for that first season featured Apocalypse combing through the ruins of Genosha and uncovering a playing card while musing on the subject of death, an obvious foreshadowing for what is likely in store for the fallen Gambit.

The sister of Colossus, Magik, is an unexpected casualty of the Genosha massacre.

I’m not going to go through all of what is in the trailers for season two, but I wanted to touch on some things featured prominently. One, it sure looks like we have more Genosha fallout to deal with. One of the scenes featured in the trailer is Colossus, wearing for the first time his yellow and red costume, cradling the body of his sister Illyana, also known as the mutant Magik. We later see a scene where Colossus, now in his Acolytes outfit, is leading Rogue and Nightcrawler to a shrine where his sister’s picture is front and center among others lost in the attack on Genosha (and now that I look at it more closely, is that a picture of Iceman to the left of the Never Forget sign?). This is an interesting development as in one of the final scenes of the first season we see Forge and Bishop conversing in front of a wall of portraits of mutants as Forge is attempting to account for them. Magik is featured and is noted as being alive, but clearly something has changed since then if she actually fell in Genosha. It was a huge catastrophe and it’s reasonable to assume more bodies were still being recovered, though at that point they probably would have had a firmer idea on who was alive and who was presumed dead. Much of the second season had already been written by the time the first aired, but just before the show premiered the showrunner Beau DeMayo was fired by Disney. It stands to reason that a new showrunner would likely have ideas of their own and things may have changed.

Is this a bad sign for Bobby?

The Magik reveal further interests me because it calls into question other names on that bulletin board. My beloved Iceman is seen on it and seemingly fine, but there was also a blink and you’ll miss it moment in the fifth episode where an ice cream man on Genosha uses his mutant powers to make a treat for Leach. He certainly looks a bit like the Bobby character model from the original series so was he on Genosha too? With this show being far more willing to tackle social issues it would surprise me if the most prominent gay X-Man was unceremoniously killed off like that, but you never know. In the trailer, we see Bobby’s ex-girlfriend Lorna return to what appears to be the mansion and a photo of her and Iceman together is shown. Is she reflecting on the loss of him as well as the X-Men?

That you, Bobby Drake?

Lorna’s presence also coincides with the return of X-Factor and the apparent formation of Cable’s X-Force. Both teams are featured prominently in both trailers and it does make one wonder if the cast is perhaps getting too big? That’s a whole lot of people to follow, not to mention we see scenes of Wolverine and Morph paling around with the likes of Sabretooth and Deathstryke plus some young mutants including Kid Omega. In the old show, it wasn’t unheard of for groups of mutants to drop in and out so this could end up being nothing. We had episodes with Alpha Flight, X-Factor, The Morlocks, or episodes like “Slave Island” which were full of cameos. Not everyone is going to get the spotlight shined on them and that’s probably for the best with a cast as big as this one. I do think some characters will be featured more though and Polaris definitely seems to be one. The show also has yet to reveal that Cyclops and Havok are related and we saw their other brother, Vulcan, among the Shi’Ar in season one so that could come into play at some point.

During some part of the season it would appear that Wolverine will dawn a costume evocative of his feral appearance from the comics, but perhaps without the feral personality?

What does intrigue me perhaps the most is Wolverine’s arc this season. He is shown prominently in the trailer since he was given the line, “We’re back,” and he delivers it while striking a pose identical to the cover of his first mini series by Frank Miller. As he does, his claws pop out and they have been re-bonded with adamantium. What further intrigues me are the sequences we see where he’s in his skull cap look with bone claws. This harkens back to the “feral” Wolverine era in the comics. Some time after losing his adamantium skeleton during the “Fatal Attractions” arc, Wolverine is lured into a trap by Genesis, the son of Cable corrupted by Apocalypse. He tries to replicate the adamantium bonding process with Wolverine to turn him into a weapon for himself, but Wolverine’s body rejects it leading to this feral transformation. Perhaps that happens right after his skeleton is returned? It looks like he’s in his brown and tan costume in the trailer when he flashes those claws, but the feral look is yellow and blue so I think it’s something from later in the season. There’s also a group shot of Wolverine with his adamantium skeleton and brown costume that could take place anywhere in the second season timeline. We’ll just have to wait and see.

This feels like an homage to X-Men vs Street Fighter and I am here for it!

And then there’s Apocalypse. He’s obviously the big baddie this season and it looks like the X-Men will be confronting him across timelines. I can see this being the season long arc. Maybe not every episode will deal with that conflict (we know that Danger is featured), but I would be surprised if there isn’t some big showdown in the final episode with Apocalypse and perhaps a new set of horsemen. Nothing is teased about Gambit possibly returning as Death (unless you consider Rogue being handed a playing card foreshadowing) and that makes sense. They should refrain from such to preserve the surprise as much as possible so I think there is much that is still to come. I have seen some speculate that the events of this season could give rise to an Age of Apocalypse third season. That would be interesting since the original series already did something similar with the “One Man’s Worth” episodes, but that arc also didn’t involve Apocalypse so it wouldn’t be as redundant as it seems at face value. Those episodes were the genesis for the hypothetical “What if Charles Xavier were assassinated before starting the X-Men?” question that gave rise to the Age of Apocalypse in the comics which is why many of the character designs from that arc were featured in the episodes. And since we’re following the show’s version of “Fatal Attractions,” the prospect of Onslaught still looms. Hasbro even re-released Onslaught (or is set to) in its Marvel Legends line and they usually don’t do stuff like that with very specific characters unless there’s an outside reason for such. Perhaps that will be our season three which is right now scheduled to arrive in 2027 so we won’t have to endure an extra long wait to find out.

I am completely and utterly hyped about this second season and I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. Unfortunately, the premiere arrives while I’m on vacation so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to share my thoughts on it. I do plan to take time out of my vacation to watch it, but if I had been home I probably would have spent the Tuesday before binging the first season once again. Whenever I do get to it I am sure it will be a fun time and I plan on reviewing every episode right here on The Nostalgia Spot.

To help you get hyped for the return of X-Men ’97, here are the reviews of my favorite season one episodes:

X-Men ’97 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”

The first episode of X-Men ’97 left me grinning from ear to ear and eager to see what would happen next. I’m happy to say, the show’s second episode left me feeling very much the same. “Mutant Liberation Begins” starts off right where the previous episode ended. Magneto, has revealed that it was the wishes…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Remember It”

Last week’s episode of X-Men ’97 saw the show take a breather with a fairly low stakes plot involving Jubilee and Roberto getting sucked into a video game. The last 7 or 8 minutes of the episode concluded with a more serious tone as Storm and Forge found themselves at odds in the wildlands of…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Tolerance is Extinction – Part 2”

Magneto was right. That was the realization many characters seemed to share at the end of last week’s episode of X-Men ’97. As we roll into the penultimate episode of the show’s first season, a lot is on the line and the show is drawing inspiration from several different sources related to the X-Men over…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Comics, Television

June 24, 2026

Jada Toys Ultra Street Fighter II Blanka (Player 2 Version)

By Joe
Player 2 has entered the game.

I have been admiring Jada Toys and their action figure line based on the video game Ultra Street Fighter II from afar. As I mentioned in my reviews of the Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 figures, I am just a casual Street Fighter fan. I never owned Street Fighter 2, but I still managed to play it a lot because it was ubiquitous. I did own the first Street Fighter Alpha so I have more nostalgia tied into that series, but going back to the original sequel my favorite character was one that didn’t appear in Alpha: Blanka. Blanka was just cool to me. He was this monstrous creature in a roster of characters that looked far more conventional. I also wasn’t that great at the game so when I learned that he had a super move that just required me to hit one button repeatedly (his electric attack) that made me like him even more. Much of my Street Fighter 2 playtime came at the home of my nana and grandpa as my cousin would bring his Super Nintendo and a copy of the game over. Since I was one of the younger cousins, I was almost always player two which meant I would play as a blue Blanka often. That would come to be my preferred colorway for the character over his standard green (never mind that Blanka translates to white in Spanish, though he’s from Brazil where most speak Portuguese. It’s all so confusing,) and that’s true to this day. As a result, I opted to pass on the Jada figures even while they received glowing reviews from fellow collectors, but I promised myself that if Jada ever did a version of its Blanka in blue and yellow then I’d get it. Promise kept.

Different lines, but the sizing seems to work all right.

Big Bad Toy Store was given this exclusive player two variant of Blanka to sell on its store for $35. Blanka, classified as a deluxe release by Jada, does run a little more expensive than their other Street Fighter figures, but $35 is still a pretty good price in today’s market (this figure is a lot better than one we’re looking at next week which set me back $40). The packaging is big and flashy as it resembles an arcade cabinet with game artwork on the sides and photography on the back featuring the character. There’s also an expansive cross-sell featuring the character select artwork from the game which really captures how big the line is at this point. As nice as it is, I do have to say that getting into this box is a bit of a pain in the ass. There’s different layers of plastic inside and they’re held in place by those god-awful translucent tie-downs that NECA loves so much. This isn’t the sort of packaging that will easily go back together if you want to re-box the figure, though that really shouldn’t be a concern for Jada. There is a backdrop inside the box that refers to Blanka’s stage in the game, but it’s probably too small to be of much use outside of the box. Still, if you are one of those weirdos that doesn’t like to play with their toys, (I kid, I love you too) this will display nicely and there’s a window on top of the box which helps light to filter in and really show off the figure inside.

There isn’t a ton of paint on this guy, but what is there is pretty clean.

For those who do bust Blanka out of the box, they’ll find a big, blue, boy who stands at about 6.75″ to where I assume his head would end. To the top of his blazing yellow hair he’s about 7.25″. Some of that is irrelevant since Blanka, like last week’s fellow blue boy Beast, is almost always crouched to some degree when moving about in the game and I assume most will pose him as such. I don’t have any other figures from this line, but comparing him to the Storm Arena figures and he looks to be well sized. The sculpts for this line run soft compared with Storm Arena which is partly why I’ve preferred the look of their figures to what Jada was doing, but I do think this does a solid job of capturing the artwork associated with Ultra Street Fighter II. Not the sprites, but the artwork. The default portrait, for example, is definitely modeled on his portrait in the character select screen with the frowny grin that’s wider on his right side. It’s captured well and I like the cleanliness of the edges and the paint. Where the softness comes in is with the musculature. He’s ripped compared to a normal human, but not to the same degree as other figure lines. The biceps show this best as they just wrap around the base of the shoulder without really separating from them. It’s better than the Marvel Legends tiny shoulder syndrome, but I’d have liked to see more definition in that particular area.

“So, what made you blue?”

What obviously jumps out about this figure is the deco. This powder blue skin with bright yellow hair and trunks just pops. I love the blue and yellow combo, maybe it’s why I’ve always liked a lot of the X-Men costumes from the same era, and this looks great to my eye. The blue body is mostly colored plastic, but it has this tendency to eat light. It’s not shiny and it doesn’t have that “plastic” look some figures possess. There does appear to be some shading on the muscle groups in places which helps give it a nicer texture. The painted portions include the yellow patches of fur on the torso, forearms, and shins. It’s applied cleanly and the yellow is applied heavy enough to overcome the blue underneath. I have a tiny bit of chipping on the shins, but I think that’s from the bronze shackles around his ankles which are floating. I probably need to be more careful when posing his feet. The hair and trunks are molded yellow plastic with the trunks having white trim at the top and bottoms which is nicely applied. We do have some slight color mismatching though as the painted yellow is noticeably darker than the hair and trunks. The upper torso is also a stronger plastic and is a slightly different shade of blue from the arms and abs. It’s not egregious and I’ve seen worse on more expensive figures than this, but it is noticeable under certain lighting conditions. The previously mentioned shackles also appear to be painted which is probably why they have a nice metallic finish.

I think this was his fierce strike? It does draw attention to the fact that his arms probably aren’t as long as the sprite’s.

The figure looks good and my only nitpicks with it really are more stylistic than anything. If you dig the source artwork then you’ll probably dig this interpretation of Blanka. I will say, the in-hand feel of this figure is not as premium as Storm Arena. I don’t know how interested people are in hearing comparisons between the two, but since they are my only reference point for Street Fighter figures (unless you want to count the 90s Hasbro offerings) it’s a comparison that’s begging to be made. Blanka has a very similar feel to the Jada Frosty the Snowman I reviewed back in December of 2025. There’s a heft and a chunk factor, but not really that smoothness I often find with more premium offerings. Of course, he’s $35 so it’s not like we’re talking about MAFEX or Mezco here, but those Storm figures are in the same price range and come with about the same amount of stuff. Blanka feels more like a toy to me which is good in some respects as he definitely feels durable. The plastic is very hard in most places and offers little give. There’s not a smoothness to the joints and even compared to a Marvel Legends it still possesses some of that toy feel. It feels similar to a McFarlane figure, which again is not a bad thing on its own, but it’s just my impression. I’m not sure how I expected the figure to feel in-hand, but it took me a little by surprise.

Simple, but effective.

The accessories in the box are pretty typical from what I’ve see of this line. We get an alternate head, an alternate set of hands, and an effect apart from the game. The alternate head features Blanka with a yelling expression. The hair is slightly different and a bit more wild befitting the expression. It’s a good look and I honestly don’t know which I prefer. He comes with a pair of fists by default, but also has a set of clawing hands which is appropriate for the character. For an effect part, we actually get two lightning effects designed to be placed on a surface around a crouching Blanka to mimic his lightning attack from the game. They’re not the same sculpt with one being a little taller than the other, but both are done with soft, translucent, plastic that starts off yellow and finishes clear. It looks great and makes the most sense as an effect part for Blanka though if you wanted a stand in the box I wouldn’t blame you.

The lightning move was the easiest to pull-off in the game, but the head bite was my favorite.

What I was most looking forward to with this figure was just having this colorway in my hands, but not far behind that was checking out the articulation. For a company that has only been in the action figure business a short while, Jada really knows what it’s doing where articulation is concerned. They seem unafraid to take risks and I get the sense that their figures are designed by people who like handling action figures. Take the head, for instance. I haven’t even mentioned it up until now, but the plastic used for Blanka’s hair is very soft and very pliable. It’s basically in two parts: the front which frames the face, and then a center part that’s basically hollow. It looks good, but best of all, it doesn’t impede the figure’s ability to look up nor does it add substantial weight. I don’t know how this would work with something like Dragon Ball Z, but with this figure it works very well. As for joints, just get a load of this roll-out: double ball peg head, neck joint, butterfly, shoulder hinge, bicep, double elbows, wrist hinge and swivel, ball-jointed diaphrahm, ball-jointed waist, ball-socket hips, thigh swivel, double knees, shin swivel, ankle hinge and rocker. And it’s not just what is articulated, but the manner in which Jada does it. The diaphragm has great range weather it’s tilting or rotating. There’s plenty of clearance between it and the abdomen so there’s no paint rub on Blanka’s patch of stomach fur. The waist ball has a little cut-out in the front to help it rock forward that you would only know is there if you popped the figure apart. The thigh swivel is under the shorts so it’s not visible and the shin swivel is hidden by the ankle shackles. The fur on the front of the shin even starts above the cut but hangs over the joint and thus isn’t split when the joint is utilized. It’s a small attention to detail, but how often do we see Hasbro say “Screw it,” and just put a cut through some part of a figure’s sculpt? Doing so renders the joint almost unusable for many because it looks so bad, but Jada took care not to create such issues.

He can kind of do the rolling attack though finding a stand that can support him was a bit of a challenge.

That’s not to say there isn’t any room for improvement. The neck joint on mine doesn’t seem to want to do anything. I checked out some videos to see what it’s supposed to do and it looks like it should click forward and back, but mine is binding. There’s also a lot of plastic cut out of the inside of the elbow joint so it’s not the prettiest double elbow you’re likely to see. The range is great as this big-armed monster can bend past 90 degrees, but some might not like the trade-off. Apart from that though, it largely works really well. The figure, even with a semi-functional neck joint, can look up well enough to get into a crouch and it’s even capable of a decent rolling attack look. The range in the torso and hips is terrific and about the only joint that’s semi-compromised when it comes to range is the butterfly joint. I assume that was an aesthetic choice to not cut more into the pectorals and it’s one I’m personally fine with. It also means his shoulders sit where they should which preserves the silhouette. I hope Jada gave its designers a nice bonus last year and that other companies are buying these things with the intent to copy them because more companies should make figures that articulate like this.

I’d say set it and forget it, but he’s too fun to pose to leave on the shelf for too long.

That’s a lot of praise to end the last paragraph on and it’s justified praise. Everything I’ve heard about this line is captured well in this Blanka figure. The figure looks good, the construction is solid, and the articulation is fantastic. And it all comes at a pretty decent price especially considering that this is an exclusive variant. If you’re just interested in picking up a good action figure you’re unlikely to find one that’s appreciably better than this Blanka. While I prefer the aesthetic Storm Arena has settled on for its Street Fighter line, that doesn’t diminish what Jada is doing. If I was a bigger fan of Ultra Street Fighter II then I’d be more than happy to collect this line. As it stands, I may still cave and grab Vega if I ever see him in the wild and I look forward to seeing where Jada goes from here. It may only be June, but I’m pretty sure this Blanka will be part of my own personal top ten when all is said and done this year.

We have a few other Street Fighter figure reviews if you’re interested, and also more blue:

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Sagat

As my collection grows, I try to be more regimented in my purchasing decisions. I have toy lines that I’m more or less all-in on and I rarely question myself with those. They have the most room budgeted in my house and in my actual budget. And then there’s the stuff I’m less invested in.…

Keep reading
by Joe

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Ken

One of my most anticipated releases of 2025 came out of no where. I was a kid during the early 90s and into video games so I know a thing or two about Street Fighter. Street Fighter II was everywhere and is pretty much the reason why the one-on-one fighting game became a huge genre…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends Gamerverse Captain America vs Venom

We’re going to be doing a lot of 2025 catch-up here as Christmas always slows things down. Toy producers also like to push product for the holidays so I seem to always end up with a backlog at the end of the year. Especially when stores are doing generous sales and convincing me to buy…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in toys, Video Games

June 17, 2026

Mondo X-Men ’97 1/6 Scale Beast – Limited Edition

By Joe
I don’t normally do this, but for once I figured why not try to emulate the box art with the pose?

Back in the old Toy Biz line, it felt like we had to wait a long while for an action figure of Beast, or The Beast as the opening title of X-Men: The Animated Series referred to him as. Perhaps that was due to the character spending the bulk of the first season out of sight and out of mind thanks to being incarcerated. And I say it was a long wait, but what is a long wait to a child? It may have been about two years, but Beast eventually arrived with flipping action and an accessory that let him hang off of a smooth surface via a suction cup. I believe I got my figure for Christmas in 1994 and it felt like a big deal as he arrived alongside Morph and nearly filled out the roster from the cartoon. All that was missing was a proper Jean (we’d have to settle for her as Phoenix) and Jubilee (who eventually received a figure in the Generation X subline) while Rogue would arrive shortly after, if memory serves (action figure producers in the 90s were quite reluctant to make women). When Hasbro returned to X-Men for its Marvel Legends line based on the show, they made sure to get to Jubilee and Jean pretty early, but never did release a Beast. For the X-Men ’97 line, once again Jean and Jubilee made it out along with Rogue, but Beast got the shaft yet again. Finally, Hasbro unveiled a ’97 version of Beast on June 8th which is set to go up for preorder in August and will presumably release at some point in 2026. And that very same week I got a shipping notification from Mondo for its take on Beast who will get us ever closer to completing the main roster from the original series.

If you stand him up as tall as he’ll go then he’ll look down on the likes of Wolverine, but I think this is about right for his posture.

Beast has the distinction of arriving before Storm despite going up for preorder after her. And in this case it was well after as Storm went up around Halloween while Beast went up in February, but for some reason the blue guy beat her out of the factory. Maybe it’s the soft goods needed for Storm’s cape? I’m not sure, but I’d be lying if I said I was disappointed for while I do look forward to getting Storm, Beast was a pretty sizable want for me (literally). He’s just a fun design and we really have never received a proper animated Beast. Even that old Toy Biz figure featured more of a comic look as Beast had his whited-out eyes while the animated version had normal, blue, human eyes. Most of the Legends versions have followed a similar pattern with perhaps the only deviation being the very first Marvel Legends Beast which, apart from the eyes, didn’t bare much resemblance to the cartoon version (not that it was aiming for that). This Beast unquestionably is and like most Mondo releases in this line it arrives first as a limited edition with a bunch of extra goodies thrown in the box. It is yet another wonderful sculpt by Alex Brewer with paint by Mara Ancheta and packaging artwork Dan Veesenmeyer. The packaging does follow the same design as Mr. Sinister with no flap on the front and a write-up by Eric and Julia Lewald on the back detailing their affection for Hank. It would seem this is the standard going forward which is honestly fine as the front flap on the old boxes revealed little since these figures ship wrapped in plastic to protect the paint.

“Eureka!”
“Let me tell you about this wonderful resource.”

Beast is a big hunk of plastic coming in it at about 11.75″ per Mondo. Since he is a character often depicted standing with a bit of a hunch, exactly how much vertical space he’ll occupy on your shelf is certainly variable. He does pack some heft though as he’s solid. He doesn’t look out of place among the other figures and I do like that Mondo appears to have a mostly no compromises approach to size and scale with these releases. He’s also very much a ’92 design. While there isn’t much separating Beast from the original series and its sequel series, there are some subtle differences most notably in the shape of the face and the linework of the body. This Beast has the wide face of the original series with tufted bits of fur along the jaw line. His stark, black, eyebrows also sit more in-line with the eye as opposed to stretching well beyond them and his hair is a bit more unrestrained. It’s also reflected in the paint job as the original series was more likely to paint the inner lines of Beast’s musculature in a rougher manner. Instead of one, curved, line it was more like several shorter lines arranged in a curve shape to create a subtle illusion of fur. The ’97 art mostly goes with an all blue body with the fur only appearing as a means of breaking the silhouette in key places, something the original series also did. For this figure, Mondo did not sculpt any fur inside the body, but painted it withing the muscles such as in the base of the pectorals and basically along all muscle groupings. It means Beast has a slightly furrier appearance in plastic than he does on celluloid, but given the scale I think it’s a necessary touch to give him a bit more depth and the paint job is subtle enough that it doesn’t detract from the source material. Instead, it feels like this is how Beast is represented in the show on episode’s with the biggest budget or in close-ups as opposed to when he’s just lost in the background.

Beast is known for being well-read.
He’s not really known for being well-dressed. This is as formal as he gets.

Apart from the paint job, this is just a really great looking take on the character. Initially, I thought the shoulders looked a little bulbous in the promotional shots, but in-hand I don’t see the same. Beast always had quite large shoulders on the show and sculpt reflects that rather accurately. My favorite X-Men character designs are the ones that bely the personality of the individual underneath. A great example is Nightcrawler, the character who looks like a demon but is actually a devout Christian. In the case of Beast, it’s a monstrous individual who is actually a scholar and medical doctor. What makes me prefer the animated design over all others rests with his face. Beast has this very gentle, human-like, visage as opposed to the more primal one he is often given by comic book artists. And for this one, Brewer really nailed the different expressions contained in this set. We get a neutral face by default that has a faint hint of a smile which feels like the perfect default Beast. There’s also an angry one, and a yelling one if you want more of a battle setup. We also get this humorous toothy grin which is the only face that might be from X-Men ’97 though it still reads as a ’92 look to me. Lastly, there’s sad Beast and this is likely pulled from his spotlight episode, “Beauty and the Beast,” though he does have moments of sadness in other episodes that it could work for. I really like that Beast is the chosen character to wear his emotions on his sleeve as he’s basically the first to cry in X-Men ’97 when things get heavy.

It’s not easy being a beast.
A Howard the Duck shirt will be a smile on even the saddest face.

Those are just the expressions available, for hands we get a solid spread that includes sets of fists and gripping hands. There’s also another set of gripping hands that are asymmetrical, a very wide or style posed right hand, a pointing right hand, and an open left hand. He also has two books, one that is open and one that is closed. The closed book contains a shoutout to showrunner Erik Lewald and writer Julia Lewald as it’s titled Lewald’s Book of Words. The open book is The Genus of Genius, a bit smug for someone like Beast. For seeing that small print, Beast has his glasses which slot over his ears well enough without the need for any ugly cut-outs. They’re just black, plastic, frames without a lens and I think it serves the prupose here. He also has his tactical backpack which has a few different accessories all pulled from the original series. There’s a set of goggles that come up and over the head as well as a little blaster that pops out. These just plug into the backpack if you wish to use them or you could have the backpack appear closed. The goggles don’t slot into anything on the face, so you basically have to position his head and the pack itself to get it to sit right. Even so, you’ll probably have a hard time getting him to look in any direction other than straight ahead with these on. Beast also has a little handheld device that served as a communicator in “The Phalanx Covenant – Part One” in conjunction with a radio inside the pack, but that would have been a little too ambitious to include the whole thing. If you don’t want him out in the field though, there’s also an included lab coat accessory which he actually comes packaged wearing. This necessitates the swapping of arms as it’s setup just like the coats that came with Logan and Cyclops. It looks nice when in place and there’s even a little pocket with optional tongue depressor on the left breast, something that showed up in both shows. Because the coat adds a little more bulk to the shoulder area, I’d say it actually casts the slightly better silhouette as a result which was also true of the Cyclops figure. Lastly, Beast also comes with his Howard the Duck shirt as seen during The Phoenix Saga episodes. Unfortunately, it’s just a lump of painted plastic meant to represent the shirt folded up and it’s not something he can actually wear. An actual soft goods one he could wear would have been the icing on the cake. Beast also has the typical Mondo display stand. Unfortunately, they didn’t deem him worthy of the flight stand which is what I’d prefer to see become the standard for the line as these doll stands are pretty poor. If you think it’s a matter of heft my counter to that would be the recently solicited Goliath from Gargoyles comes with a flight stand so if it can support him then it could likely support Beast.

Beast is ready to head out into the field.

Beast has a pretty standard array of articulation for Mondo, but to my surprise, it’s among the most well-executed. For joints, we get a double ball head, hinged shoulder pegs, bicep, single elbow, ball-jointed wrist, diaphragm, ball-jointed waist, ball socket hips with swivel, double-jointed knees, ankle hinge and rocker, and a toe hinge. The head is perhaps the most limited as his sloped posture and large head means his range is a bit subtle and it’s easy to pop the head off by mistake when posing him. The shoulders have terrific range for what they are and the elbow hinge is pretty deep so Beast has no issues bending his arm 90 degrees, be it sleeved or not. The diaphragm joint actually works and he can arch back and crunch forward a bit and the waist enhances both directions. Both spots swivel and provide for a little rock. Nothing outrageous, but better than other figures in the line. All of the joints are also firm, but smooth, out of the box so I’ve had more fun messing around with Beast than a lot of figures from Mondo. The heads and hands are pliable enough to easily swap and all of the pegs are nice and thick so there’s no durability concerns here. Still, without a neck or butterfly joint, Beast will be confined to mostly simple poses. He can’t quite get down into a three-point stance nor can he look up well enough to emulate his pose on the cover of X-Men #1. He can crouch down and I was able to do so without the aid of a stand. I probably wouldn’t trust him on a shelf without one in such a pose (and I did have him take a dive already), but it is doable.

“Open your mouth and say, ‘Ahh,'”
Like Nightcrawler, Beast can get into a crouch.

As a result, Beast is probably the most fun character to handle since Nightcrawler, with Nightcrawler being the only one that’s obviously superior to him in the articulation department. He fits in really well among his teammates and I do love the big splash of blue it adds to the shelf. Or rather I will when I find a way to fit him in. The Mondo shelf is getting extremely crowded and it only gets worse when figures are released. I’ll have to find a home for Storm as well at some point this summer and eventually there’s Jean. That’s all that’s been shown so far and with the release of Jean that essentially completes the default team from the ’92 show with the exception of Professor X. And honestly, I don’t know if I want a Professor X for this line given the likely size and cost of such a thing since he has to come with the hoverchair. I do absolutely feel that we need a Morph since he was in the first episode and is a full-time member in X-Men ’97. After that, there’s Bishop, Cable, and Archangel which would all be nice to have, but aren’t necessities for me. If Mondo thinks it can do Apocalypse justice without a massive price hike, then I’d certainly be interested in him as well. He is really the only villain I feel like I need. Juggernaut would be cool as well, but he really didn’t show up much in the original series and has yet to make an appearance in X-Men ’97.

That’s a lot of plastic.

All that is to say there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for this line, but also not. I just listed out probably a couple grand in “maybe” figures not to mention shelf real estate so I guess we may not be as close as I would like to think. With San Diego Comic Con on the horizon, I am sure we’ll see a new figure or two in this line, though it would not shock me if Mondo prioritizes Spider-Man a bit more since that line has only put out three characters so far. Then again, X-Men ’97 returns to Disney+ in just two weeks so they’ll want to strike while the iron is hot with some new reveals. For now, Beast is a clear enhancement to the collection and one of Mondo’s best. I feel like I say that a lot with new releases in the line, but Beast really does vault up to the top or near top of my personal rankings for the line. He’s definitely one to get whether you’re cherry-picking the line or looking to assemble a full squad. And best of all, this limited edition version is still available on Mondo’s website. He is not cheap coming in at $255 and Mondo charges a lot for shipping these days. He is also still listed as coming with a tariff surcharge even though they’ve been reduced dramatically. That’s probably to not enrage the customers who preordered and paid that upfront. With the limited edition of 1,500 units not selling out, it’s possible that a standard version is not inbound either and there’s no indication on the listing what is part of the limited version and what would not be in a hypothetical standard edition. I’m not sure if any of these figures are truly worth what they cost, but if any are then Beast is among them as he’s very well executed. I am certainly happy to have him in my collection.

For more Mondo X-Men figures, check out the below:

Mondo X-Men ’97 1/6 Scale Nightcrawler

Yes, I’m afraid this is another toy review that needs to begin with a word about tariffs. It was the talk of 2025 in the toy collecting community because it caused considerable delays, disruptions, and worst of all, increased prices across the board. One line impacted by the introduction of these new costs more than…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mondo 1/6 X-Men ’97 Wolverine – Limited Edition

Back in 2021, Mondo unveiled for San Diego Comic Con a sixth scale Wolverine action figure based on the X-Men animated series from the 90s. It was a presale to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the show’s premiere and product went out in 2022 closer to that actual anniversary. At the time, Mondo wasn’t…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television, toys

June 10, 2026

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Son Goku & Dragon 40th Anniversary Edition

By Joe
“Hi! I’m Goku!”

It was last year that Bandai and Tamashii Nations announced a selection of special releases in the S.H.Figuarts line of action figures celebrating the 40th anniversary of Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball. Among those announced was a brand new version of kid Goku and Shenron from the cover of the very first volume of manga for Dragon Ball depicting Goku in a pale orange gi riding atop a rather adorable version of the mighty eternal dragon. At the time, it was a Japan-only exclusive and I patiently waited for it to show up on Premium Bandai like other 40th anniversary figures, but it never came. The figure would be added to the pop-up shop circuit, but those never came anywhere near my geographic location and I’m not about to make a five hour drive in order to secure a figure, no matter how much I might want it. Thankfully, this spring Bandai partnered with Big Bad Toy Store to make this exclusive figure available to customers unable to attend one of these events. Ordinarily, when exclusives from this line show up at BBTS it’s because the store purchased them like an actual customer from Bandai making the price for anyone buying it off of them MSRP+. For this release, it looks like BBTS was able to get a bunch of these at wholesale as the price is $100 which is certainly steep for an action figure, but as far as I know it’s the price of the figure at the pop-up shops.

Not the worst set to keep in-box, though since he wasn’t packaged riding the dragon the temptation may be too great.

Previously, the only 40th anniversary figure I had purchased was the reissue of Cooler. He’s a bit of an odd one to release for such an occasion since he didn’t even appear in the manga or anime and is instead a movie character. In this case, the occasion just seemed like an excuse for Bandai to reissue one of its more popular and well-received exclusives for those who had previously missed out and to tie him into the event they just stuck a special base in the box. With Goku, the homage to the first cover is a much more worthwhile way to celebrate such an historic occasion and should make for a wonderful display piece whether it’s kept in-box or taken out. The box is oversized and more of a cube shape than typical with a generous window showcasing the figure riding atop the dragon. It’s presented so well that it did almost pain me to remove it, but I really wanted to get my hands on this all new Goku figure so it basically had to happen. I’ve repeated many times that my favorite era of Dragon Ball is the kid Goku era. There’s a charm to it not present in the later iterations and the cast is pretty tight. The original SHF Goku figure was fine at the time i purchased it, but he’s not even remotely in-scale with other figures in the line. He’s much too big plus he doesn’t really embody the proportions of the character from either the manga or anime. In both, Goku is kind of chubby looking with an egg-shaped body with stubby little arms and legs. He’s designed to look cute, not powerful, while the figure was more stream-lined and quite tall. More than the height though, it’s just that the overall proportions don’t look right. Place him beside a Dragon Ball era Bulma and the two don’t even look like they’re from the same toy line. Roshi was a bit on the large side too so the scale there is a bit better, but overall it’s not the best representation.

We keep getting closer and closer to my ideal kid Goku.

Since then, we’ve received smaller versions of Goku, but none based on his look from Dragon Ball. There’s a Dragon Ball GT Kid Goku release as well as the Daima Mini Goku and both are quite small by comparison. This new version takes after them and likely utilizes some of the same parts. Or at least that was my thinking going in, but in the case of this figure vs the Mini Goku there’s virtually nothing shared. Even the hands and Power Pole accessory are different. I can’t attest to the GT figure since I don’t have it, but if Bandai went to the trouble of making so many new parts for this figure then it bodes well for those hoping to get a blue version or a red one. This little guy stands a tick under 3″ putting him in similar territory to the Daima figure. What’s different though is the approach to the sculpt. Daima Goku is slimmer and more like a shrunken down adult Goku. This new Goku has those rounded proportions of the manga character with tubular arms and a round tummy. His legs are a bit long for the design, but since he had to match the pose from the manga his legs needed to be a bit long. When Goku is just standing still in the manga his legs definitely “shrink” as Toriyama was able to take some liberties with the character, but for a 3D representation some adjustments are needed. The gi is orange and a more saturated shade when compared with the Daima figure, but not as red as what appears in the anime. This is in keeping with the look from that cover which also has small, slipper-like shoes and red wrist bands and trim at the end of the pants. It’s basically just a different color of his traditional blue gi and he has an off-white sash and a turquoise pouch hanging from it where his Dragon Ball is stored, a nice little attention to detail.

He’s got some cheeky little expressions.

For heads, we get two with four total expressions. The default head features Goku’s trademarked spikey hairdo with a big open mouthed expression to match the cover image. The eyes have a rounded look which is consistent with Dragon Ball and the inner mouth is just painted pink which is very similar to an expression the original Kid Goku figure came with in both appearance and execution. His other expressions feature a cocky little smirk and a mischievous side-eye grin. The side-eye expression is pretty cute, though it looks a bit off-model to me. It could also be the pink outline around the mouth that’s throwing it off for me as that’s not usually present in the art or the figures. The alternate head is an even spikier version of Goku’s hair with an open-mouth expression. It’s pretty goofy looking, but it’s a direct pull from the cover of volume 10 (and the anime’s ending credits) where Goku is just sort of floating in the air with his Power Pole across his forehead while Bulma mugs for the camera. I do enjoy this rougher looking version of Goku’s hair, but it seems the only portrait that works with it is the one that’s on it by default. That makes it very scene specific and I don’t know if I really see myself using it, even though I do like it. In addition to that, there is an assortment of hands in the box: waving, gripping, fists, peace sign, relaxed (a cupping Kamehameha-like pose), open, and a pair of gestured hands that seem specific to how Goku often placed one hand at the top of his Power Pole. There’s an alternate set of bangs for the default head that’s barely different from what’s on him to start with. I guess one is slightly askew and maybe it’s just to match the cover while the other represents how he’s typically drawn? There’s a secondary bow for his sash which is more of an action pose as well as some weapons. For one, we get the Power Pole and included sling. There’s a version for Goku to hold and a little stub to plug into the sling when the weapon is holstered. He also has a pair of tonfa which are tiny and cute. These are taken (along with the mischievous side-eyes grin) from the cover of chapter one of the manga. They’re brown with some red trim and provide for some more display options. To insert them into Goku’s gripping hands, the red banding needs to be removed from the handle first. It’s a tiny piece so don’t drop it or the carpet monster will eat.

There’s tonfa for when Goku tires of using his Power Pole. The “O” mouth head certainly makes for an interesting display.

That is, if you aren’t planning on displaying this Goku atop the dragon. The little Shenron included is a cuter depiction of the character meant to match the artwork and he’s basically a glorified display stand for Goku. Shenron is well-painted and his whiskers are the only parts that need to be attached out of the box. In addition to the head itself, they’re also the only articulation points and he’s meant to sit atop three, translucent, clouds which are atop transparent, acrylic, posts. They plug into the included base which has a 40th anniversary graphic printed onto it and Shenron affixes to these clouds via magnets, which is a nice touch. Just in front of his forelegs is a section of his spiny fin that can be removed and replaced with an acrylic seat for Goku. It’s meant to allow the small piece between his legs to get a secure enough grip on the back of the dragon for his riding pose and there’s also a slot for his tail. If you don’t want him atop the dragon, then you simply leave the fin in place. The clouds do have to be inserted by the user and in order to do so the little pegs in the base have to be popped out which can be done from the underside. There’s also an included, orange, piece of plastic that’s basically a pry bar. This is used for swapping the bow on Goku’s belt since the instructions flag it as a potential damage point, but you probably won’t need it since both bows are rather pliable. With everything assembled, Goku sits atop the dragon with relative ease. He can be posed to resemble the manga cover, or he can be doing something else. The dragon sits a little over 2″ above the base and its silhouette doesn’t extend much beyond the base so the shelf space needed for this one is surprisingly minimal. It might have been fun to get three additional posts for the clouds to sit the figures even higher above the base, but as is it displays very well.

Let’s not forget about the dragon.

For articulation, Tamashii Nations made some alterations to this one when compared with other smaller Goku figures from the past. I’m guessing some of these are similar to the Pan figure they did, but that isn’t one I actually bought. The neck is a standard double ball peg which has solid range that’s aided by a single ball at the base of the neck. The shoulders are hinged ball pegs with a butterfly joint, but not the kind that gets a whole lot of range. There’s a ball joint in the waist, and the legs affix via straight ball pegs and have suitable range out to the side and forward. The knees and elbows are single hinged and they do swivel. A 90 degree bend is possible, but no further. Interestingly, there is a visible peg on the inner knee and elbow which is something I can’t recall seeing in a Tamashii Nations release prior to this one. It’s not ghastly or anything, just something I noticed. The wrists and ankles are the most unique and the most basic as they are like the hips in that they’re just straight pegs with a ball at the end. On one hand (no pun intended), I don’t mind it since it makes swapping hands easier than having to fiddle with a tiny hinged ball joint like the Goku Mini. At the ankles though, it’s a bit limited and I don’t know why the Daima Goku can have a more traditional hinge and rocker setup and this Goku can’t. I can only assume it was an aesthetic choice more than anything as the slipper look does present better this way, but it does come at a cost. The tail also swivels on a ball peg as does the bow on the sash.

With this set you can reference multiple pieces of Toriyama’s artwork beyond just Goku riding the dragon.

The articulation is certainly functional, but is more limited than other kid versions of Goku. He can do a decent Kamehameha charging pose, but a firing one is a little less convincing. The ball joint at the waist mostly provides rotation and a little pivot without much crunch. That’s pretty much expected though given the size and shape of Goku. The original had that hinged diaphragm joint to extend and bend, but that just doesn’t really work with these rounder dimensions. This is a more scene specific figure and as far as that goes he can do it, but it’s a little less fun to play with in hand. Does that mean I actually wouldn’t want to see this repurposed for other Dragon Ball looks? I certainly would not go that far. The articulation may have limits, but the trade-off is worth it to me so if Bandai wants to come back with this figure in blue I’d probably be all over it. Especially with some more scene specific expressions. That’s where most of the charm lies in this figure for me and it’s a great base for others. Goku has plenty of looks in the series, but Bandai hasn’t done a brand new Dragon Ball figure since Launch back in 2022. It seems like a dead line, but I hope this leads to more. This body could be repurposed for Krillin and we never did get a training uniform version of him. There are numerous looks for Bulma and the main antagonists of early Dragon Ball, the Pilaf gang, have yet to be made and this body could probably work for Shu. Not to mention all of the characters that come later like Tienshinhan, Kami, Chi Chi, and Piccolo Jr. If we could only get one figure though I’d have to go to bat for Yamcha in his first appearance look. That one seemed like a given, but we’re still waiting.

A wonderful way to celebrate Dragon Ball’s 40th. Here’s to 40 more!

I’m getting ahead of myself. What’s important here is we did get a new Dragon Ball figure of Goku and it’s a special one because it celebrates one of the earliest depictions of the character. As a very specific release, this works pretty well. Sure, it’s a bit tough to perfectly nail the pose, but it definitely can get close enough. A more determined individual may even be able to get something more accurate with persistence. The Goku and dragon turned out well and it’s a pretty attractive piece for anyone’s collection. It does come at a cost, but for what’s in the box I think the value is decent. Not great, but not the worst thing in the world. If you love Dragon Ball and wanted something to celebrate this milestone then you’d be hard-pressed to do better here. There is an adult Goku on the way with his turban and tiger pelt, but I have no attachment to that particular artwork. This, on the other hand, is one I’ve always adored so it’s the best release for me. And if it leads to more Dragon Ball figures then all the better.

For plenty more Dragon Ball, take a look at these:

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Daima Super Saiyan 4 Son Goku (Mini)

It’s no great secret that the black sheep of the Dragon Ball universe is the anime Dragon Ball GT. Created in-house by Toei animation, Dragon Ball GT was a continuation of Dragon Ball Z without creator Akira Toriyama. While Toriyama had to grant approval to many aspects of the series, he wasn’t directly involved with…

Keep reading
by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Lunch

It’s no secret my preferred take on the world of Dragon Ball created by author/artist Akira Toriyama is the original one: Dragon Ball. Of course, in the manga it’s just all Dragon Ball up until the more recent Dragon Ball Super, but for anime viewers there’s Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television, toys

June 3, 2026

INART The Dark Knight Rises Catwoman

By Joe
“The cat came back the very next day…”

Queen Studios is back with another installment of its INART The Dark Knight Rises action figures and this time we’re talking about Catwoman. Portrayed on the screen by actress Anne Hathaway, Catwoman was something of an anti-hero in the film. In a post Occupy Wall Street world, her anger and frustration with the ruling class was meant to humanize her and make her sympathetic, but when she set her sights on one Bruce Wayne she did unknowingly risk her reputation with the unseen audience watching all. Still, this was an action film based on a comic book so Catwoman did get a chance to demonstrate her ability to kick ass and rock a skin tight suit and while she didn’t have the kind of tech Batman possessed, she did have some toys of her own. The portrayal was fine, but perhaps a bit too conventional for movies. It certainly lacked the camp of Julie Newmar and proved less memorable than the Michelle Pfeiffer portrayal which makes this Catwoman feel a bit like a lesser Catwoman. The character didn’t stay with me once the credits rolled and not helping things is that The Dark Knight Rises was the weakest film in the Christopher Nolan trilogy. Not a bad film, just not as good as what came before. As a result, I’ve never felt the pull to add Catwoman to my action figure collection, but then along came INART with its take on Batman last year and now this Catwoman. The look of the figure blew me away in promotional shots and the early reviews that showed up last summer were able to sway me. Now, the figure is in-hand and I have to figure out if this was really something I needed, or if my impulse control got the better of me.

This looks pretty good to me.

Catwoman comes in a plain shipper box with a nicer black box lurking within in a style very similar to what Batman came in. The packaging is accessible without destroying it and the trays inside contain the figure and all of the accessories free from any sort of aggravating tie-downs. It’s a nice setup, though I do find it odd that Queen Studios literally puts a request (more like a demand) that you record your own unboxing in case there are any defects or damages to be found. I guess if you don’t have proof that you didn’t cause the damage or lose the part then they’re less likely to help you in the event something went wrong between the factory and your hands. I guess this would have made for an opportune time for me to pivot to video, but a bunch of toy reviewers got this thing last year so what would be the point? INART has an interesting production schedule where they send reviewers final copies of the figure just as preorders are going up for the rest of us scum. It seems weird to produce just a handful of figures upfront for the purpose of reviewing, but I guess it works for them. And if it’s costing them a lot it’s not reflected in the price compared with other premium collectibles as Catwoman is somewhere in the $65 – $75 range. She is only available overseas for folks living in North America so there will likely be a not insignificant shipping charge attached to that, but even after all is said and done I think I’m in the hole about $80 and given what Medicom and Bandai are charging these days that ain’t bad.

Goggles down.
You’ll have to trust me when I say this portrait looks better in person.

Out of the box, Catwoman stands at just a tick under 6″ in height. INART is a 1:12 scale brand and since Anne Hathaway is a real person that sent me to the Internet to see if I could get a height on her. And if said Internet can be trusted then Miss Hathaway stands at 5’8″ or 68″ tall. At 1:12 scale that would place her at about 5.67″ – but wait! Cawoman sports some rather large heels. It’s a little tricky to measure them, but I have them at about 5/16ths of an inch. Convert that to 1:12 scale and add it to the figure and we come out to 5.98″ which is almost right on the money. Impressive. She is a figure comprised mostly of black plastic, but it’s plastic with different textures and finishes like Batman. The long boots and gloves have a sheen to them like leather, while the body suit is more matte and textured like Kevlar. There is some shiny black piping along the inner shoulder and the zipper down the front with a little hit of silver on the zipper grasp itself. The end of which is coated black which is an impressive attention to detail. There are also some faint hits of silver along the pouches of her belt with some of them looking quite faded. Is this to simulate use or an imperfect paint app? In looking at stills from the movie, I don’t think these are meant to be silver, but instead supposed to just give it some gloss. The same is true of the mask over her eyes. It’s a gray or silver paint, but it seems to exist to just provide some gloss and break-up the otherwise all black look. The other paint hits are reserved for the red of her lips and the brown of her hair which leads me to the faces in the box.

Back off, rich boy!

Just like we saw with Christian Bale, the likeness here is almost so good that it’s eerie. The likeness is really all in the shape of the face as Hathaway isn’t someone with obvious creases or hallmarks on her face. It’s the size of her eyes, the shape of her lips, and the angle of the jaw and cheekbones and whoever sculpted these portraits did a fantastic job. There are two portraits in the box: one with the mask sculpted on and one without. The one with the mask has two ports on the temples for the included goggles, of which you get two. One is designed for when she doesn’t have them in use and they sit atop her head like cat ears. The other piece is for when she actually needs to wear them. They have translucent red lenses and are well sculpted. The expression for both portraits is a fairly neutral one. There may be a tiny hint of a smile, or maybe that’s my imagination. If there’s one failing with both portraits it’s that the hair is a bit flat and unconvincing. It’s obviously plastic and I don’t typically dock points from an action figure for not being able to create the illusion that it’s actually a tiny person, but so much of this figure does accomplish that for me so it sticks out a touch. It’s especially true with the unmasked portrait as her hair is just as taut as it is on the masked version, and as a result, I’ll probably never use it. Hair is tough to make look real so it’s easily forgiven. Some probably wish she had more expressions though and I do agree. Something a bit more cheeky or angry would have added some nice variety.

“What?! You’re not my Selena!”

Even though she doesn’t have a host of expressions to choose from, Catwoman is hardly lacking in the accessory department. For hands, we get six sets: relaxed, fists, a wide grip, trigger finger, pinching, and a two finger gesture. I assume these are pulled from the movie. The two finger gesture looks like a good adjusting goggles kind of hand while the wide gripping hand is probably for putting her hands on her hips (INART actually lists their intended use in the instructions which is pretty cool). The trigger finger hands are for use with her included gun which is a very small handgun cast in black plastic. The more pinching gesture is for her to hold the included smashed Batman mask. The relaxed hands can also hold it just fine and the trigger finger hands could too, but the instructions in the box specifically call out these hands as being intended for that. The wide grip can be used to cradle it as well. Also included is a swappable hair piece that has a swoosh effect to it if you want to add a dynamic element to your display. There’s also the same stand with an articulated arm that came with Batman only this one is labeled Catwoman on the underside so you don’t get them mixed up. It’s a nice stand as the base has some heft and the armature is nice and tight. The film’s logo is stamped on the front in a shiny plastic that’s cool, but also hard to read.

Catwoman’s articulation is fairly robust. There are joints at the head, hair, neck, shoulders, bicep, elbows, wrists, diaphragm, waist, hips, thighs, knees, ankles and toes. The head is a little limited in looking up because of the hair, though swapping to the swoosh hair alleviates some of this. That joint is mostly a pivot point and exists mainly to facilitate swapping the parts, but it has some utility when posing the head. The shoulders feel like they’re just on ball pegs to get a little butterfly action forward and back. There are no cuts into the torso for a full-on butterfly joint which I think was the right call for this sculpt. Since she’s fairly slight, the range is solid for such a joint. The bicep swivel is a little lower than usual as they put it at the part above her elbow where her glove meets the arm – a logical spot given the design of the suit. The same is true for the thigh swivel as that’s where her thigh-high boots meet her leg. Knees and elbows bend way past 90 degrees as both spots are double-jointed. The wrists utilize ball joints so they’ll move in any direction you need them to. The diaphragm joint has solid range forward, but is a little more limited going back. It will rotate and tilt and the waist does the same as it feels like a ball joint. The hips are these nice, big, hinges which allow Catwoman to hit splits and kick forward quite far. There is a diaper piece at the hips, but it’s quite small so it doesn’t hinder articulation much. If anything, it’s so small that you’ll risk grinding it up as the hip joint slips over it so do be mindful if you’re attempting something more extreme. The ankles do feature a hinge and rocker, though her stiletto type boots limit the ankle rocker’s range. They swivel as well. Despite the rather extreme heels, this figure is fully capable of standing without the aid of a stand. You may not get her into the most dynamic of poses without utilizing her stand, but you also don’t need it if you would rather not display her with it.

She poses well, but it’s the more casual poses that seem to work best.

The abundance of joints combined with Catwoman’s lithe frame makes her relatively easy to pose. There’s a lot of room for nuance adjustments which is great for a subject sourced from a live-action film. Splashy comic book poses are great for figures based on actual comic book characters, but are less useful for a character like Catwoman. Though given how robust the articulation is, if you wanted to do such with her then have at it. The combination of accuracy, accessories, and articulation (the three A’s of figure making) really makes this Catwoman from INART a true home run. I’m lukewarm on the character, but this figure blew me away in promotional shots and it blew me away in person. It’s almost too perfect – where do we go from here? I expect this level of detail from everyone going forward even though I’m sure to be letdown. I’m also not sure how Queen Studios is able to keep the cost on these figures down as much as they do – is that simply because they’re not paying for a North American distribution license? Maybe, though there’s still little reuse potential in a figure like this and yet that didn’t stop them from going all out. I had some nitpicks in here, but they’re just that – nitpicks. I really couldn’t be any happier with this one and she looks awesome beside my Batman. Does this mean I’m going to get Bane too? I don’t know. He’s less interesting, but they did show a Joker prototype last year (or very early this year) and that could certainly get me. If you’re interested in this one, but reside in the United States, your options are limited as far as where you can purchase this. INART can’t sell directly to folks in North America, but other non-US retailers certainly can. I got mine from Bombusbee (no affiliation or anything, just sharing where I got it) and I was content with both the price and customer service. This one may have gone up since, and I assume she will in general just like Batman did, so it’s probably best not to wait. You may not feel you need a Catwoman from The Dark Knight Rises, but you’ll probably be happy to have her should you change your mind.

For more Batman releases including the previous INART release, check these out:

INART The Dark Knight Rises Batman – Deluxe Version

Is this a review I really need to do? Probably not, but I’m doing it anyway. Queen Studios wasn’t a shop that was on my radar going into 2025. I’m guessing that’s true for a lot of folks and that’s probably why they had a media blitz when it came time to promote their brand…

Keep reading
by Joe

The Dark Knight Rises

I mentioned in my look at Batman’s best films that I had gone into total lockdown mode for The Dark Knight Rises.  I got off of social media, stayed away from review sites, and just basically blocked the world out where Batman was concerned.  I wanted to walk into this film with an unformed opinion.…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mezco One:12 Collective Batman (1989)

When it comes to the world of more high end action figure collectibles, I’ve been able to get my hands on a few. Some rather prominent companies have yet to cross my path though, and it’s not really for any reason other than they either don’t make what I like or I don’t really like…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Film, Comics, toys

May 27, 2026

Lone Coconut PlunderFrog Tinker Makoh

By Joe
Plunderlings are back with a frog attitude.

It’s been a little while since I got in the Lone Coconut PlunderFrog Tinker Makoh, but the dreary spring we have been having in New England made talking about a cute, frog, creature feel out of place. It certainly wasn’t my enthusiasm for the action figure that has kept me away from talking about it because this little guy is charming as hell. If you’re new to Lone Coconut, they launched their Plunderlings line a few years ago via Kickstarter and it’s lead to even more characters in a similar style. The latest is the PlunderFrog which finds a way to leverage a lot of the tools from the prior figures to create something all new. The characters are so cute and charming that it’s hard not to just buy them all, but I was able to narrow it down to the Tinker Makoh and now I’ll tell you what I think of it.

Lone Coconut always makes sure you get bang for your buck.

The PlunderFrogs comes in a package similar to the Plunderlings only without any extra bits to tab in. It’s an attractive box designed to look like a crate with the window in a giant smile reflecting the look of the character in the box. They also add a clear top so light can filter in so if you like keeping things in box this will work pretty well. Out of the box, the figure feels and looks so unique that it’s almost easy to overlook that it’s a lot of reused parts. The body is that of a Plunderling so he’s a little fella. The webbed feet come from the drench variant while the hands are just standard Plunderling hands. The unique aspect of this design is the new head as well as the very obvious four-armed setup. The upper arms are taken from the Plunderlong while the lower arms are from the Plunderling. The only difference between the two is the upper arm features a bicep swivel while the lower arms do not. The head is brand new and has a frog/tadpole look to it. It’s much rounder when compared with other characters in the line, but retains the shiny, black, eyes. The rear of the head extends into a tail making this almost look like a tadpole that somehow sprouted a body. This particular character is done in a soft purple with a leopard frog-like pattern to the limbs where they end in green with a touch of yellow in the transition. There are patches of black to break things up and the shorts and belt are also painted. It’s a simple paint application, but the cleanliness at which it’s executed works really well and it’s on par with past efforts from Lone Coconut.

The tongue accessories are pretty cool.

For accessories, Makoh comes with a mix of old and new. I’ve only dabbled in the Plunder Planet world so I’m not sure if the accessories are all reused or not, but most of them are new to me. For heads, we get three: smile, open mouth, and an angry face. Even when he’s frowning, this little guy is still cute. Swapping heads can be a little tough out of the box, but some hot water should cure that just fine. For hands, there are gripping, open, and fists and what I really like is that you get four of each so if you want four punchy hands you can do that, or if you want each arm to hold something you can do that as well. And he has plenty to hold. For weapons, Makoh comes with a pair of hand crossbows which are weapons we’ve seen before. He also has a trio of viles that all are of a unique shape with a unique stopper that is removable. They also have a translucent, colored, filling that are all molded to look like they’re sloshing around in the bottle. For stoppers, there’s a skull, mushroom, and what looks like a piece of coral. They’re pretty tiny so do your best not to lose them, but I love how toyetic these accessories are. There’s also an included hood which can fit any head and this steampunk looking mask. It can fit on any portrait, but it appears to be molded to fit the angry head and it does fit better on that one. It has this nice, bronze, finish and the goggles on it are painted teal with a little reflective lens effect that works really well. There are two little hooks included for weapon storage and one unique application. One slots onto his scarf, which is removable, and it’s intended to holster a crossbow though it could carry a potion bottle, if you wanted. The other though has a much more interesting purpose. For the open mouth head, there’s a swappable tongue. There’s just a plug piece to give him a tongue and add to the smile, but there’s another one where the tongue is extended and it’s this one that can use the other hook. It plugs into the tip and basically gives Makoh a way to hold items with his tongue which is really cool. And since the peg hole is on the back of the tongue, if you don’t want him to hold anything it won’t be an eyesore. The only real challenge is trying to decide between the masked look or the tongue out look.

He likes to party.
But don’t steal his booze. It makes him angry.

If you’ve handled a Plunderling then you know what to expect of Makoh where articulation is concerned. He has joints at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, diaphragm, hips, thighs, knees, and ankles. The knees are double jointed and bend past 90 while the elbows are single-hinged and can only hit a 90 degree bend. As mentioned before, the upper arms do have a bicep swivel while the lower arms swivel at the elbow. The gripping hands have vertical hinges and the feet do have hinges and rockers. The diaphragm is a little tough to get much out of with the extra arms in the way. It mostly swivels, but there’s a little pivot too. The thigh swivels are just straight cuts and one thing Lone Coconut does that I wish they had rethought is they put the cut through the shorts. If they could have hidden it under them that would have been better, but it’s not bad. Some of the joints are a bit tight, but nothing is loose. I did have to heat the knees and some of the elbows, though some of that was out of an abundance of caution. This is a durable feeling figure and it’s fun to pose. It’s a little cumbersome with the mask and something in each hand, but that’s a good problem to have.

I love his cute face, but this mask is just too cool to not use.

I don’t know if I expected Lone Coconut to come back with a four-armed frog Plunderling, but I am certainly happy they did. This is a nice addition to the building Plunder Planet toy line and this little frog might be my favorite so far. I am a sucker for any figure with extra limbs, but I love the mask and the vials he comes with as they just exude so much personality in an otherwise tiny package. Those accessories are what motivated me to select Makoh, but I was sorely tempted by Koqui for his red and blue color pattern. I could always go back for more, and maybe I will. I got mine direct from Lone Coconut, but if you would like to get a PlunderFrog of your own they’re currently being carried by Big Bad Toy Store and will set you back $35 a piece. I think the price is fair for the amount of stuff in the box and the quality. This company also takes care of its customers and you never know what could be coming next (they gave everyone a free, unannounced, figure who backed the Plunderstrong and Plunderlong Kickstarter), but there’s some hints if you check out their YouTube channel which is home to some awesome stop-motion animation. I am definitely looking forward to what’s on the horizon with Lone Coconut and their Plunder Planet line of toys.

It’s a pretty fun looking group, and this isn’t even all of them!

For some more Lone Coconut, check these out:

Lone Coconut Plunderbeak Berserker Quervo

Lone Coconut is back with more characters for its line of little, pirate, monsters. It started with a Kickstarter for Plunderlings, little imp like creatures that came with weapons and armor pieces to form various factions. The line continued with new iterations including the Plunderstrong and Plunderlong and now we have Plunderbeaks. As you can…

Keep reading
by Joe

Plunderlings Raider Fwush

When I first came across the Kickstarter drive for a series of action figures called Plunderlings I was almost instantly smitten. The little impish creatures reminded me of some characters I used to doodle as a kid. In my mind, they look a lot like what I used to draw, but given I was much…

Keep reading
by Joe

Plunderlong Feral 8-Ball

When Lone Coconut came back last year with a new Kickstarter to build out its Plunderlings universe, I was immediately smitten with the brutish new Plunderstrong. The big, chunky, boy looked like a fun character type to pair with the diminutive Plunderlings. The Plunderlong, on the other hand, took a bit for me to get…

Keep reading
by Joe

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in toys

May 20, 2026

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Sagat

By Joe

As my collection grows, I try to be more regimented in my purchasing decisions. I have toy lines that I’m more or less all-in on and I rarely question myself with those. They have the most room budgeted in my house and in my actual budget. And then there’s the stuff I’m less invested in. As a kid, I spread my wings from time to time and was lured in by a flashy commercial or maybe I just liked what someone else had and as an adult I’ve gone through similar periods when it comes to toy collecting. I try to avoid that now, but every so often a toy comes along that looks so damn good that I just give in. Sometimes I end up regretting it, and other times I do not. It can be hard to tell in the moment which I’ll truly regret as I might like the product well enough when I open it up and mess around with it, but over time I might see the space it occupies on a shelf as something better spent elsewhere. In the case of today’s post, I don’t think I’ll have such qualms in the future.

Whether you place him with other Storm Arena figures or characters from other lines, Sagat is going to have some size to him.

I liked Street Fighter well enough as a kid. Street Fighter 2 was impossible to ignore and gave rise to an explosion of one on one fighting games in the 90s. That particular game saw the player select one of eight fighters and progress through a series of opponents culminating in a battle against the big bad guy M. Bison. For me though, he was a reprieve as the one character I always seemed to struggle against most was Sagat. Sagat was the villain of the original game, the one barely anyone played, and was demoted to the penultimate fight in Street Fighter 2. Not only was he difficult to topple, he was supremely annoying as he constantly called out his attacks by name. Being an ignorant kid at the time, I didn’t know precisely how to pronounce his name and I’m almost sure I used a slur to rhyme with it that was quite in fashion in the 90s. We’ve since become better educated about such things, but the fact remains that this guy gave me more trouble than any. When Street Fighter Alpha debuted on home consoles, it came with a bit of a glow-up for the returning fighters including Sagat. When rendered for 16 bit consoles, he was a bit slender and always stood hunched forward slightly with his hands up. In Alpha, he was a hulking brute and just as much of a pain to defeat as he always was. Now, he just more looked the part. He was also quite fun to play as with a very balanced move set and terrific reach. Picking Sagat wasn’t quite like using a cheat code, but I don’t think I had an easier time to plowing through the game with any other character – Akuma included.

There’s a lot of personality in this sculpt.

When it comes to media outside the video games, Street Fighter and I don’t have much of a relationship. And yet, when Storm Collectibles unveiled its Storm Arena line of 1:12 scale action figures I felt that pull. It helped that both Ken and Ryu came in at around $25 which feels like a steal in this day and age. And with both, I was able to talk myself into adding them to the small, but growing, Marvel vs Capcom display in my home as it’s the Alpha looks of the characters that were adopted for those legendary brawlers. When Storm showed off their Sagat, my immediate reaction was, “I want that!” The problem is, he’s actually never appeared in any of those Marvel crossover titles. It’s a bit of a surprise in hindsight since he is one of the titans of the franchise, but it’s true. I guess it’s because his play style is very similar to Ryu and Ken as it is and Capcom likely wanted to highlight some different fighters. And then once the roster went beyond Street Fighter to include all of Capcom well then it made no sense to add anyone else from those games. If I were to remain disciplined in my spending habits, I would have passed on Sagat for that reason, but I just couldn’t do it. The look of the figure combined with the still pretty low price point of $30 was too much to ignore.

Suck knee, Ryu!

Sagat is a big boy compared with Ryu and Ken checking in at around 7.5″ tall. As this line is based on Street Fighter Alpha 3 his proportions reflect the bulkier version of Sagat from those games with broad shoulders, a wide chest, exaggerated muscles, and long limbs. He’s a brick and he looks damn near perfect. His neck is massive and the size of his head is slightly undersized conforming to popular artistic design when creating what are essentially super humans. I love how Storm is able to integrate a butterfly joint into the figure without lowering the shoulders to comical levels. His shoulders are big and sit above the midpoint of his pectoral muscles. When viewed from the side, there’s real mass to the chest which is something expensive brands like Tamashii Nations sometimes struggle with. Paint is a bit sparse, but this isn’t a design calling for much. He’s mostly flesh tone and the soft overlay of the chest Storm likes to utilize is perfectly matched in shade to the other, harder, plastic parts. There’s some subtle shading on the muscles that works really well and the wraps at the forearms and shins have a nice wash applied. His scars and facial details are painted well and if there is one area that’s a touch imperfect it would be the yellow stripe on the side of his trunks. The blue plastic underneath pokes through ever so slightly which is a frequent issue with yellow paint. There is a variant figure in white trunks with red stripes and I would guess that one is slightly cleaner as a result. Still, I prefer the blue look and this guy is absolutely gorgeous and everything I want out of an action figure sculpt.

It’s supposed to go on his right leg, but I can’t get the damn thing to stay.

Accessories for Sagat are a touch sparse. For heads we have a neutral portrait and one where he’s showing some gritted teeth and looking pretty pissed off. For hands, we have a set of fists and and a set of clenching hands. I love the expressiveness of the clenching hands while the fists are obviously needed. Like other figures in the line, the hands are fairly soft and flexible which makes them very easy to remove and swap. Other companies need to start doing this. For an effect part, we get a flaming, lower leg attachment to simulate Sagat’s Tiger Raid super move. It splits into two pieces and it’s designed to be fit over the lower leg and snapped together. It’s not intuitive and I’ve struggled with it. I even looked up videos on YouTube and found one by D-Amazing who does it on camera and seems to have no issues. I have no idea what I’m doing wrong. The effect looks fine, it’s translucent plastic and is a mix of red, yellow, and orange, to simulate flames, but it’s definitely not the first effect I think of with Sagat. I’d have much preferred his “Tiger” fireball, but I think that comes with the variant. He also has the same stand as the other figures with both a clear plastic insert and a black, metal, one. He’s a big boy so balancing him on this stand is not as easy as it is with Ken and Ryu. He probably would benefit from a wider base, especially when posing him for the Tiger Raid attack. The stand really can’t support him in airborne poses and, at best, it can help add a little stability with one-footed stances.

He’s got some great range in the shoulders thanks to good engineering and a soft torso overlay.

When it comes to articulation, Storm really has this thing on lockdown. I don’t know if they’re the best in the game (Jada and its own Sagat are damn fine), but they’re in the discussion. Sagat is pretty well loaded when it comes to joints: double ball peg head, neck, butterfly, shoulder ball peg, shoulder hinge, bicep, double elbows, wrist ball hinge, diaphragm ball joint, waist ball with a hinge, drop-down ball socket hips, thigh swivel, double knees, shin swivel, ankle hinge, ankle rocker, toe hinge. See anything missing? I don’t. And what’s great is there doesn’t seem to be any one joint where the engineering is lacking. You get tremendous range and nuance at the head and neck to get Sagat looking in all directions. The butterfly joint is terrific and Sagat can hit all of his most “Sagaty” poses. The aesthetics on all of the joints are great and I commend Storm for reacting to fan response of the initial product images which had the ab crunch visible on the prototype like it is with Ken and Ryu. Those figures have a gi to hide the joint behind, but Sagat did not, so they shortened it and it now sits behind the trunks. I’ve said before in other reviews that I’m not a fan of drop-down hips, but the way Storm does them works as well as can be. It’s a thick, heavy, hinge that’s not loose or flimsy and using it doesn’t create huge gaps between the thigh and hip. The one thing this figure can’t do as well as others is crunch forward. That’s not to say that it can’t, there’s just figures that can go a little further. I think this one goes plenty far enough, but I’ve seen enough people point it out that it felt like something that was worth mentioning.

The only downside is he’s so damn big that finding a good stand is tough.

Simply put, this Sagat from Storm Collectibles is hand candy. Even with him not appearing in the games, I have no problem putting this with my Marvel vs Capcom collection, but I don’t know if I want this figure to leave my desk. It is so fun to mess around with and pose which is something true of both Ken and Ryu from this line, but Sagat manages to do it even better. I love big, chunky, figures in this scale so I am predisposed to liking Sagat. He just looks so damn good in almost any pose that it’s almost not fair. This release puts other companies to shame. Look what Storm is doing for 30 bucks (BBTS has since raised the price to $35, but the point still stands) – there’s no reason other companies can’t be doing something similar. This is a marvel of engineering, sculpt, and design. My only criticism is with the effect part and the stand. The effect part just doesn’t work well. It obviously can since I linked to a very video that shows it in action, but I can’t get the damn thing to work. The stand is also too light to support the figure and suggests to me that Storm should revisit the one-size-fits-all approach it has with action figure display stands. I also would have loved a gripping hand so he could grab foes by the neck. The clenching hands can kind of pull this off, but a dedicated hand for such would have been welcomed. As I said though, these are nitpicks. For $30 you’re not going to get a better figure on the market. I’m not sure if you can even get one this good for $80. If you’re a Street Fighter collector then absolutely go out and get this one. If you’re more of a casual one like me, go out and get this one. If you don’t care one bit about Street Fighter but love good, quality, action figures, go out and get this one. It will blow you away.

For more Capcom related figures, take a look at these:

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Ken

One of my most anticipated releases of 2025 came out of no where. I was a kid during the early 90s and into video games so I know a thing or two about Street Fighter. Street Fighter II was everywhere and is pretty much the reason why the one-on-one fighting game became a huge genre…

Keep reading
by Joe

S.H.Figuarts Marvel Gamerverse Cyclops

A funny thing happened in 2025 where two companies revealed they were going to be making action figures based on the hit video game series Marvel vs Capcom only for neither company to actually mention the words Marvel vs Capcom. It would seem that neither Hasbro nor Bandai wanted to compensate the Capcom portion of…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends Gamerverse Captain America vs Venom

We’re going to be doing a lot of 2025 catch-up here as Christmas always slows things down. Toy producers also like to push product for the holidays so I seem to always end up with a backlog at the end of the year. Especially when stores are doing generous sales and convincing me to buy…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in toys, Video Games

May 14, 2026

Mondo The Real Ghostbusters Ray Stantz

By Joe
We’re finishing off a collection today, folks.

And with that, another bucket list item can be crossed off for Mondo has released the fourth action figure in its line of The Real Ghostbusters toys: Ray Stantz. Ray follows Peter, Egon, and Winston and completes the quartet from the 1986 cartoon series which has been sorely underrepresented in the adult collectible market. There have been quite a few attempts at figures based on the movie versions, but for The Real Ghostbusters there was basically Mego and Diamond Select and neither represented on-model interpretations of the characters in a format befitting an adult collectible. It was a bit incredible to know that few companies had even attempted it given how popular the vintage Kenner toy line was. Hasbro has done reissues and even releases of figures based on cancelled projects in a retro style, but for whatever reason the company has never waded into the waters of the Dic cartoon series with a modern toy line. Supposedly, there are reasons for that some of which has been reflected in Mondo’s hefty price tag of $101 per figure, but for 80s kids and longtime toy enthusiasts such as myself, having a premium version of these characters for the shelf is a bit of a dream come true.

If you have experienced any of the prior releases in Mondo’s line then Ray isn’t going to feature a whole lot of surprises. He is quite familiar and shares a lot of parts with the past figures as well as some accessories. He is another sculpt by Alex Brewer with paint by Mark Bristow, art direction by Hector Arce, and packaging by Jordan Christianson. I received the standard edition which comes in the box modeled after the ghost trap from the show. It has a nice window on the front, but since there’s an abudance of protective material inside the box it’s not going to display all that well for those who choose not to open the figure. There is a lot more in this box compared with both Egon and Winston so it presents as more full. Even Ray’s head is partially cut off by the window border since he’s placed high in the tray.

I think the sizing could have been a little better.

Out of the box, Ray is going to stand a tick over 6.5″ on your shelf putting him basically at the same height as both Peter and Winston. Egon, by virtue of a longer neck and head, stands the tallest. The show can be inconsistent with how it portrayed the busters, but Ray was almost always depicted as the shortest of the four by a noticeable amount. Given that these are likely the most on-model representations of the show we’re likely to get in plastic, it’s a bit of a shame that Mondo did not go out of its way to capture the different heights of the characters. There is so much reuse between the four that it would have been nice if Ray could have received unique legs. He does, at least, feature a unique torso to capture his heavier build which I appreciate. He also appears to have a unique neck that is a little thicker than the rest which is appropriate. I do feel like his head sits a touch too high as the silhouette is off just enough for me to notice. Yes, I am nitpicking a bit with that critique, but as I’ve pointed out in all of the other reviews for this line we are talking about a figure that retails for over a hundred dollars so nitpicking is expected.

Goggles up or goggles down?

Apart from my critiques with the proportions, the rest of what is presented here looks quite nice. I think Mondo did a good job of finding the right shade of beige for Ray’s jumpsuit and the paint applications are quite clean. The “No Ghosts” logo on the right arm has the right opacity to the white which is something that has either improved as the line has gone on or is a function of Ray’s suit being a fairly light color. He has that nice, matte, finish and the flesh tones are warm. His default expression is a bit of a happy one and the roundness of his cheeks and nose look to be quite on-model. It’s funny that when watching the cartoon I’ve never seen any of the actor’s likenesses in the characters which was by design since Dic had no interest in paying for those likeness rights, but when I view this portrait at a 3/4 angle I do see a bit of Dan Aykroyd in Ray.

Beware the Pink Nightmare!
“We rabbit people demand your respect!”

Ray’s accessories are a mix of both familiar and new, and to my surprise, there is a bit more “new” than we’ve seen with other releases. The repeats are what you probably expected: a proton pack, stream effect, trap, gloved hands, and a disc stand. Like the other guys, Ray comes with one alternate portrait and it features a determined expression, let’s say. He doesn’t quite look angry, but he’s definitely busting ghosts or looking to. He also has a trap effect which features the ghost Mr. Gash, who is the included ghost with the deluxe version. I’ll admit, he’s a cool design and I was slightly tempted to go for it, but I really don’t remember the ghost from the show so I decided to pocket the $100 (and they ended up getting me for Janine anyway, so don’t weep for Mondo). It looks great and slides in with relative ease, though like the other trap effects we’ve received so far it can be a bit of a challenge to get it to stay flat on a surface. I also noticed that the standard trap insert is a bit looser this time around. It will stay put when inverted, but the slightest tape will cause it to slide out. Ray also has a companion ghost of his own and his is Drool, the dog-faced goblin. Admittedly, I don’t remember this guy from the show, but he does possess an interesting design. More bug than ghost, he has eight limbs and a big, grinning, open maw. Each limb can articulate via a swivel point as does his tail and head. It’s not much, but it allows for at least a little bit of variety in your display. The sculpt is great and so is the paint so even if you have foregone the big ghosts of the deluxe packages, you should still have a nice little ghost display if you have all four Ghostbusters.

He’s a good boy.

For unique accessories, Ray has a trio. Like Egon, he comes with some additional equipment in the form of his goggles. I think all of the Ghostbusters have such in the show and may even use them from time-to-time, but they are definitely most associated with Ray going back to the original film. They are well sculpted and painted and feature a soft, plastic, strap to fit over his head. If you want Ray to wear them over his eyes, I recommend taking off the head and putting them on from the bottom. If you want them on his head as he is so often featured, it will take a slight amount of elbow grease to get them onto his tuft of hair if you want them to feel secure. You could also just attempt to rest them on his head which may be the better move for a long-term display to avoid stretching of the strap. For additional headgear, Ray also has his pink bunny hood. This is taken from the episode “Look Homeward, Ray.” when Ray goes back to his hometown and takes a job at a shoe store that requires a rather embarrassing costume. He ends up doing some busting with the hood on which is likely why Mondo included it. Depending on the head you want to display it with (his serious expression takes on a grumpy feel with the hood that I appreciate), you will want to pop it into the hood first before putting it on the body. It sits well and there doesn’t appear to be a ton of rub so I don’t think paint transfer will be much of an issue. The hood is really well painted and features some nice shading so it will work well if you want Ray to look like a pink nightmare on your shelf. Finally, we have a mini Stay Puft doll. It looks just like a scaled-down version of the old Kenner toy and features some nicely painted details. I think this was just a doll Ray (and possibly Slimer) would be seen sleeping with. It almost looks like the arms should swivel, but nothing appears to be articulated here which is fine. It’s a fun inclusion and all of the extra bits with Ray make me wish Peter and Winston had received some unique accessories too. Egon had the ghost bomb and PKE meter.

So long, Mr. Gash.
It’s like a security plush.

Ray being almost a direct copy of the figures before him features exactly the same articulation as his ghost busting brothers. For a quick rundown, there’s head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. Knee and elbow joints are single hinges while the hip joints feature built-in swivels at the ball joint. Ray pretty much has the same strengths and weaknesses as the others. The shoulder joint almost looks like a butterfly, but it doesn’t really do anything special. To wield his proton wand properly, he has to basically hold it across his body. The knees won’t bend 90 degrees while the elbows get close and the waist mostly rotates as there’s little room for forward and back. Ray’s articulation is a bit more smooth than his predecessors. I notice it in the right hip mostly which almost comes up a full 90 degrees. The left not so much and even if it matched the right hip I think he’d still be hard-pressed to sit convincingly in a potential Ecto-1. The ankle hinges are borderline loose with Ray and he has fallen over once in the short amount of time that I’ve had him. I hope they don’t get any looser as that would be a drag since even the disc stand is unlikely to help with that. Like the other guys, Ray is capable of just the basics and won’t be able to do much more than that. I do like that he’s a bit smoother out of the box, though the ankles are a bit of a bummer.

Say it with me: busting makes me feel good!

If you have the other three Ghostbusters from Mondo and like them then you’re going to like Ray. If you have experienced these figures before and came away unimpressed, then Ray isn’t going to change your mind. He is relatively on-model with the cartoon series with exceptional paint and a solid assortment of accessories, but he does come up short if you were hoping for 100% or even 99% screen accuracy. And that may be fine as few action figure releases achieve such a hit rate, but not all of them retail for $101. That’s the question facing us all when we go to make a purchasing decision and the higher the price the more scrutiny is invited. I don’t like settling at this price point, but I also don’t expect another company to come along and do a better job than Mondo. That’s the simple fact for me when it comes to The Real Ghostbusters and I am content to let these be my one and only. And with Ray being the fourth and final Ghostbuster, it puts me in a reflective mood. I do understand and take Mondo at its word when it was said the price was something out of their control. However, I do think they could have done a better job of putting value into the box. I like the extra stuff with Ray, but what I would like more is for him to be more on-model. I also think we should have received at least three portraits with each Ghostbuster, something like a spread of neutral, serious, and scared. Neutral would vary as I think Peter’s smug expression is a good neutral for him just as I think Ray’s happy expression is a good base expression. We also really need more hands as Mondo only included gripping hands. I get wanting to do the gloves, but I’m never going to use them. What I really want are some relaxed hands as well as pointing hands so they could imitate their strut from the ending credits. What I’m getting at is the approach should have been “Let’s make these the ultimate Real Ghostbusters figures,” and I don’t get the sense that was the goal. It absolutely has been with the sixth scale X-Men and even looks be the case with the 1:12 Masters of the Universe, but not with Real Ghostbusters. Mondo doesn’t really do accessory packs from what I’ve seen too so I don’t think that’s a possibility, but maybe I’m wrong and they’re working on something. At the end of the day though, I stand by what I said in that I don’t think anyone else is going to come along and do this line better so if you want The Real Ghostbusters on your shelf in this format then you know what it’s going to cost you.

That’ll do, Mondo, that’ll do.

To read what I had to say about all of Mondo’s Real Ghostbusters action figures see below:

Mondo The Real Ghostbusters Winston Zeddemore

We are now three deep into Mondo’s line of 1:12 scale action figures based on The Real Ghostbusters. Well, we’re now six deep counting the ghosts, but I personally passed on both Boogie Man and now The Sandman who has been released in tandem with our third Ghostbuster, Winston Zeddemore. At this point, we know…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mondo The Real Ghostbusters Egon Spengler

It’s a Halloween miracle! The second figure in the Mondo The Real Ghostbusters line of action figures, Egon Spengler, had been bumped to November. Even when I got my shipping notification from Mondo it said a delivery date of November 1st. It felt almost cruel to receive a Ghostbusters toy the day after Halloween, but…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mondo The Real Ghostbusters Peter Venkman and Samhain

I didn’t do a big 2024 wrap-up type of post like I sometimes do, but if I did I would have awarded toy producer Mondo with the biggest reveal of the year when they debuted their line of action figures based on The Real Ghostbusters. The Real Ghostbusters was one of many 80s properties to…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Television, toys

May 12, 2026

NECA TMNT Garfello

By Joe

Before they teamed up with the likes of Batman and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had an encounter with an orange cat with a love for Italian food. I am speaking of none other than Garfield, the Jim Davis creation who was everywhere in the 1980s. The two franchises came together for a one page comic in the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine in 1992 in which Garfield, disguised as fellow ninja turtle Garfello, tries to dupe the turtles into letting him guard their precious pizza while they go do crime-fighting stuff only for Odie to blow his cover when he can’t get his turtle costume on right. The comic was written by Garfield creator Jim Davis with inks by TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Art was handled by Gary Barker and Larry Fentz with color by Steve Lavigne and letters by Mary Kelleher. This little comic was apparently popular enough to attract the attention of not one, but two toy companies 23 years later. It was at San Diego Comic Con in 2025 that NECA unveiled their take on Garfello with Odie along as well. The reveal was perhaps the highlight of NECA’s booth for the convention and something that seemed to attract a lot of attention online. Shortly after, Boss Fight Studio (who has a whole line of Garfield action figures) revealed its own Garfello and Odie two-pack that is so similar to what NECA showed that I honestly felt bad for them. Did Garfield rights owner Paramount even alert either toy company to the plans each had? Most licensors won’t greenlight the same thing across licensees because they would just be competing with each other, but evidently Paramount wasn’t too concerned. Both sets look fine from a sculpting standpoint, but the NECA approach of painting all of the little details and the fact that I’m well into their TMNT collection sold that set for me, but I’m guessing those who already have Boss Fight’s Garfield figures would opt for that version.

“We can be ninjas Odie. How hard can it be?”

NECA’s take on Garfello is sold as an “ultimate” release with new box art by Jason Yang. It features all TMNT branding putting it squarely in the turtle toy line. The figures inside are based on sculpts by Tomasz Rozejowski and Kushwara Studios with paints by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. Even though it’s an ultimate style release, the price tag is a bit elevated which could have something to do with the dual license or perhaps the lack of reuse potential contained within. Or at least that seems to be the case everywhere but Target who prices the set at $38. Many specialty shops are $45 and up which is a bit of a tough sell for such small figures. Is there even enough in the box to make consumers happy at $38? We’ll try to answer that one today.

The two smallest turtles around.

Garfello stands at a miniscule 2.75″ to the top of his head and right around the 3″ mark to the tip of his ears. He’s a little guy, but he’s also a house cat and meant to be in-scale with the turtles. Just which turtles is a legitimate question as the ones from the one-shot are kind of their own thing. Stylistically, they probably most resemble the Jim Lawson turtles, but with colored bandanas. They even look a little like the recently made Stan Sakai turtles, but it’s funny that my memory of the brief comic seems to always insert the Archie turtles into the page and only viewing the actual source gets them out. There’s only one group shot in the comic which puts Garfield at a little past the mid-thigh point of the turtles which does make the figure scale best with the Lawson turtles. With the toon, he’s closer to the belt area, but I think the scale is close enough that he’ll work for whatever turtles you prefer to place him with. And since this is Garfello as opposed to Garfield, he is clad in his turtle costume which is non-removable. The black bandana is part of the sculpt and he features a belt, plastron, and shell. He’s also sporting brown elbow and knee pads and his belt has a big “G” in the middle of it as that was the style at the time.

The shell continuity between the two is pretty nice.

The sculpt for Garfello is quite good and on-model for the comic. The head has that oval shape to it and the eyes dominate the space available on the front. The ears are situated close together and the black markings of the fur are visible from all angles. NECA did take some liberties with the design as they included the little pieces of fur that are often found sticking up and out from the sides of Garfield’s head, something the comic omitted. Here they’re coming out of the bandana which is a little odd, but honestly feels right and I was actually surprised to see that detail wasn’t present on the page. The figure has a very matte appearance as everything is painted over. There’s black linework throughout the shell and plastron which really helps to capture that comic style and helps give the figure a striking appearance. Perhaps the best part of the paint job is reserved for Garfello’s lone weapon: the pizza cutter! It features a brown handle and real working cutter wheel (not sharp, likely terrible for cutting actual pizza) that’s painted a combination of white, blue, and black. The blue helps to give it that comic shading which we see often in NECA’s comic figures while the black lines add detail and create the illusion of a whirling pizza cutter. Painting metal objects as they appear in comic books is honestly one of NECA’s biggest strengths and it really puts to shame other companies that go with just one color or swirly plastic.

“Is there a prettier sight?”

The majority of Garfello’s accessories are reserved for altering his expression or hands. The comic is brief which allowed NECA to literally recreate every expression Garfello is responsible for in five of the six panels. The only one he can’t do is his final, disgraced, posed where he’s smushed on the road and glaring at Odie – a pose the figure had no prayer of recreating so why bother with a portrait of the same? The three heads are smiling, smiling with teeth exposed, and smiling with the ears flattened. To swap between the three are three sets of eyes: half-lidded, open, and open with tiny pupils. You can find all three in the comic so it’s hard to argue that anything is missing, even if it would have been fun to get an open-mouthed expression for devouring pizza. To remove the eyes, NECA included a little, plastic, tool that resembles a railroad spike or flooring clete. You can use it to push the eyes out from behind, or just carefully use a fingernail from the front. The pegs that hold them in place are pretty short so they’re fairly easy to remove and replace. For hands, Garfello has a set of fists, gripping, open, and open with claws. They too have fairly short pegs which makes taking them off and on fairly painless. The only danger is that his arms are so short that it’s a little tricky getting leverage, but not impossible. Heads are a little more stubborn, but there’s just a big old ball joint under them so there’s not much risk in damaging anything when removing or seating one. The bandana tails are shared between all three portraits so it’s a good idea to remove that part first. If you do get into any trouble then just turn to some hot water and that will likely cure what ails you. To complete the look, NECA included a stack of pizzas for Garfello to drool over. They have a nice, messy, gooey, quality that makes them appear both delicious and gross. Seriosuly, who removes their pizza from the box to stack like this?

“Stand back, Odie. I don’t want you to see what I’m about to do.”

The other accessory of sorts is Odie himself. Unlike Garfield, Odie can appear on your shelf as his costumed version or just as a garden variety Odie as NECA included two portraits. By default, he’s just Odie with a closed mouth portrait that looks pretty cute. He’s just a tick over 2″ to the top of his head with the ears bringing him to about 2.75″. If you remove that head you can swap it with Odie’s turtle costume which is just a shell with his tongue sticking out of the neck hole. It’s a bit tough to get on, but the figure is pretty sturdy. As always, use heat if it’s being stubborn. Odie’s head connects via a double ball peg so it’s not quite as durable as Garfello’s connection, but hardly weak. Paint for Odie follows the same style as Garfello with lots of linework, especially on the shell head. His soft yellow fur does seem to be a magnet for dirt as he came out of the box looking slightly dingey when viewed up close. Mine also has a black dot on the lower part of the right eye that’s a bit annoying. He looks like Odie though with the only caveat being that I tend to always picture Odie in my head with his mouth open and tongue hanging out. He never actually appears unmasked in the comic so it’s hard to quibble with what is essentially a bonus head. I suspect other Garfield fans will be more disappointed in the fact that Odie can appear as just regular Odie while Garfield is forever in his Garfello attire. There would have been no easy way to make him a two-way figure. It would have been cool if NECA had devised a way to do so, but since we’re already dealing with a full-priced offering I don’t think I’d have wanted to spend more just to make Garfield be able to take the costume off. Especially since I would be unlikely to ever do so.

“Oh, the heck with it – I’ll just use my claws.”

Garfello and Odie are little guys. They’re also NECA figures so it’s a given the articulation is going to be underwhelming with the pair and that much is true. Garfello is articulated at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles which includes both a hinge and a rocker. As I mentioned before, the head is just a big ball socket so it rotates and has a minimal amount of tilt. The shoulders, elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles are standard hinged-peg joints. They’re small, so they have a delicate feel to them and range is fairly limited. The gripping hands do not have a vertical hinge which would have actually served the pizza cutter accessory far better than the standard horizontal hinge. The ankles were tight on mine at the hinge, but other joints were fine. His tail is also articulated, but it just swivels and is best served as a third leg to help balance the figure. The hips are the oddest part as I think they’re just ball-socket connections, but they appear to connect to a ball-pin that’s angled down as opposed to a standard horizontal angle. This limited the movement at the hips to mostly a swivel, a shame if you want your Garfello to kick Odie in the butt for messing up his plan. As for Odie, he has the double ball-jointed head while each leg barely moves. I think they’re all ball joints with the rear legs having slightly more range than the front. The feet feature hinges and rockers which really only exist to get his feet flat on the ground. That’s all Odie is capable of and I’m honestly surprised they didn’t trim the budget and just make his body static. He’s basically articulated just for the sake of saying that he is articulated. Functionally, it’s mostly useless.

“Bon appetit”

Likely no one was buying these figures for their posing ability. It doesn’t meant we can’t expect a little better, but if you just want a silly looking Garfield and Odie for your TMNT display then this will get the job done. The only real question is how much is that worth for you? On a purely value level, I don’t think this set is equivalent to a typical NECA ultimate release. It would have been awesome as a $30 item, but this is a world in which Super7 and Mezco are charging over $20 for figures with five points of articulation. Garfello is like a step up from such and I do wonder how I would have reacted if he was by himself for $30? Would I consider that a good deal? If so, doesn’t that make Odie worth the extra $8? That’s, of course, if you can find him for $38 at Target. NECA did offer Garfello on their website, but with a steep shipping cost. Big Bad Toy Store is charging $47 for this release which does feel steep and I can’t fault the person who looks at that price and decides to pass. This is a novelty figure and the price for that novelty is going to vary from person to person. For what it is, it’s pretty nice. The sculpts are on-model and the paint is great. I’m guessing if you’re a big Garfield fan that this set makes you wish NECA was doing more Garfield if it’s going to look this good. Unless you’re looking at the price tag and feeling thankful your toy budget doesn’t need to make room for more stuff.

I don’t have any other Garfield toys to link to below, but I do have some other stuff:

Dec. 5 – A Garfield Christmas

This year, I’m bringing back a feature from last year where I take another look at, what I consider to be, the greatest Christmas specials ever made. I explained my reasoning for doing this in prior posts, but in short, the first time I looked at some of these specials I did just a short…

Keep reading
by Joe

Dec. 20 – The Garfield Show – “Caroling Capers”

Back in the 1980s, Garfield was pretty damn popular. His presence was pervasive in pop culture, so much so that younger people today would probably be surprised. He originated as a comic strip by Jim Davis, but his popularity grew enough to pave the way for some prime time animation specials. These proved popular, and…

Keep reading
by Joe

NECA Mirage Studios Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4-Pack

When it comes to the popularity of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a lot of the credit goes to Playmates Toys. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the characters born out of a joke. Credit them for having the vision to think this joke had appeal beyond their small circle as they self-published Teenage Mutant Ninja…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, toys