Ms. Marvel Universe

Judging from what I see by looking at Hasbro's new Ms. Marvel figure, the superheroine's powers come from both her huge jugs and a costume that shows off plenty of leg. Not that it's Hasbro's idea, and honestly... it's not like I mind either, but this is one of those times when I imagine the average parent thinking, "Whoa! What's with the huge bazooms on that?" when they see it at Toys"R"Us.



Cliché comic book imagery aside, I picked the classic version of this character over the modern version (also released), because I prefer the way it looks. I think that Hasbro's done just about the best job of rendering blond feathered hair that anyone can do. That, and because all of the modern Ms. Marvels that I've seen had terrible paint.



Ms. Marvel comes with the same mix of strong and weak elements that all of the figures from this line have. On the one hand there's some nice detail, and the articulation for a 3-3/4-inch figure is good. But on the other hand, some of the paint lines can be loose, and a few of the articulation points seem poorly placed.

My earlier comments about "proportion" are related to how Hasbro put the torso joint where they did. Instead of using a ball joint near the waist, her chest seems large, because they've put the joint so high. They've done this with the male figures also, but it really stands out and seems weird with the female figures.

Little things like that don't kill the fun factor though, and ultimately it's a winner, if not absolutely perfect.

Power Loader

Released by Kenner in and around 1992, it would have been an entirely different sort of movie, if Ripley had driven a Power Loader like this one in the film Aliens.



Oh sure, the real thing had those "grabbing claws" and all, but imagine if Ripley had been given a few "alienator missiles" as well. Silly as it is, the Power Loader is great. Aside from the fact that very few kids "ages 4 and up" would have seen the film Aliens, it's got all of the right ingredients that make up a good sci-fi toy.



It's bright yellow, has robot-like arms, and fires missiles. What more could a kid want? Well... aside from a pilot that can actually hold the controls.

Not to say that the Ripley figure is terrible, because she has her positive points. But a "New Wave" haircut doesn't make up for the fact that it looks just about nothing like the character from the film.



But again, who really cares? It's easily assumed that no kid would have a clue about the details of the film, and the thing they'd be judging the figure by would be the size of its crazy flamethrower weapon.

If your using that as a gage, then you'd have to call this one of the greatest action figures ever made.

Review: Kabuki by Shocker Toys

"Kabuki is written with three Chinese characters meaning 'song,' 'dance,' 'action.' Apparently she wants to do a little song and dance on your grave... and her actions are quite lethal."

I've made the comment before, and I'll probably make it again, but one of the things that I love about a company producing action figures of obscure characters--be they from a film, comic book, or whatever--is that it inspires me to learn more about a character if I'm not very familiar with it. And that's especially true when the character is unique looking, doesn't fit the "superhero" stereotype, or is just something that I've never seen before.



(Click on images to see them larger.)

Over a month ago someone from Shocker Toys e-mailed me to ask, "Where should we send samples for review?" It was a short, sweet (if not a little cryptic) request, and after responding, I was mailed a single figure from their new Indie Spotlight line.

Up until this point, my only experience with Shocker Toys was seeing their Shokini mini-figures, and then a few years back I took a look at the prototype for their GWAR figure at San Diego Comic-Con. (And not to get off on too much of a tangent, but I'll admit to thinking that the whole GWAR idea was awesome, and would like to have seen how a complete line of figures turned out.)

The Indie Spotlight line features "classic characters as well as underground favorites," and as I understand it, is a line that Shocker has struggled to produce for a few years now. But like I said, I'm all for the idea of something new and different, and love that a smaller company is willing to give it a go, especially these days, when even the big guys like Mattel and Hasbro are having a tough time.

Series one, the "Maxx Series," features figures of The Maxx, SCUD, Shadowhawk, Katchoo, and Kabuki. Shocker mailed me the Kabuki figure to review, and I've had a little time to play around with it, as well as some time to go back and read the first volume of Kabuki books.

     

First of all, I really like the style of packaging. Shocker has decided to use a bubble with removable backing that's very collector friendly. It lends itself easily to a situation where it's possible to pull a figure out, play around with it, and then re-card it for display. An even better idea, if you're talking about a figure like this with different parts that might need to be stored when not in use. Kabuki comes packed with a removable mask, two choices for hands--one set with sickle weapons and one set of fists--as well as an "Isz," which relates to it being a "The Maxx" anchored wave of figures.

The Isz figurine is nothing special, but it's a fun pack-in, and if you're a fan of The Maxx, you'll probably be happy to get them.

Kabuki is a mixed bag for me. In general, I think it's a good figure with some cool and very ambitious details. There are things about it that I love, and there are some things that I think could use a little improvement.

After having read through the first volume of Kabuki books, my initial reaction is to focus on visual accuracy. The biggest mistake as far as I can tell, is that when you remove the mask, Ukiko (the character's real name) is missing the scars that should be on her face. It's not a small error either, as it happens to be a significant physical trait that plays a big part in the story.



It's hard to be too critical though, because I think the facial sculpt and paint job are otherwise perfect. The mask is great also... it's really beautiful actually, and fits on the figure's face just right.

Another error, is that Kabuki's costume is missing some cool details. She's shown with a belt, which would have been a great addition, as well as shoulder straps, throughout most of the book. I'm aware that her costume tends to vary, where from time to time she'll have sleeves also, but it's those details in particular that I'm missing the most.

     

I mentioned being impressed with some of what I thought were ambitious elements, and suppose I need to give Shocker Toys credit for turning out what is, generally speaking, a very nice looking female figure. Not everyone seems to be able to do this, and seeing as how we're looking at a first of sorts for this company, I'm more than impressed by the aesthetic quality. Something in particular that I'll point at as being cool, is the way that they handled the back tattoo. It's a detail that you'd totally miss if you kept her carded, but Kabuki actually has the Noh dragon tattoo on her back.

The thing's not constructed too badly either, which is again impressive, seeing as how Shocker has just managed to get this line off the ground. I have no weird issues with loose joints, weak or warped parts, and nothing was broken when I pulled the figure out of the packaging... not something that every toy line can be proud of.



So, Kabuki has been standing vigil on my desk for a few weeks now, and after endless moments where I've idly fiddled with or posed the toy, my thoughts about "play value" are pretty similar to everything else. There's some great and ambitious things going on when it comes to design and articulation, but I can still see room for improvement.

I love the shoulder joints, and off the top of my head, can't think of anyone else whose doing them exactly this way. The elbows and knees work very well, but I'd like to see joints mid-thigh and at the bicep to give her a little more range. The torso articulation is great, with the double joints at the rib cage and the pelvis, but I'm not so sure about the hip joints. Something about the way that they work with the pelvis is a little bit off... but close.

And that's really it for the figure as a whole. It's very close to perfect, but isn't quite there. I give Shocker Toys a huge amount of credit, and not just for inspiring me to read one of the volumes of Kabuki books (which they did), but for setting out to make a figure that no one else would probably try to make. It's a great character, and I'm glad that I've had a chance to look this toy over. It's got me excited about reading more from this author/artist, and it's got me even more excited about the future of this "indie" comic book heroes line.

Warrior Princess

Seeing as how it's Mother's Day, I thought it might be nice to focus on the ladies for just a while.

Between 1995 and 1999, Toy Biz put out a variety of figures for both the Hercules and Xena toy lines that represented women characters in a somewhat unique way. Sure, action figure lines have always had their token females, but "Xena Warrior Princess" was one of the first to focus on strong, attractive, and fully realized female characters.

Not to take away from the accomplishments of the Bionic Woman, She-Ra, or even Rainbow Bright, but more often than not action figures based on women have tended to be an afterthought, relegated to a short-packed figure with very little charm or play value.

Not surprisingly, it was the exact opposite for Xena.



It started with a very simple 5-inch figure from the Hercules toy line that exceeded most everyones expectations, and for one reason or another was pretty hard to find. I remember scalpers hoarding these initially, but later they seemed to flood the market.

Aside from the fact that the first version of Xena sports a terrible likeness, it also happens to be an ugly looking figure in general. But a year later, Toy Biz revamped Xena by giving her some new weapons, a different costume, and they opted for a slightly "cuter" cartoonish version of her face.



All things considered, version two with chakram, spears, and red dress, is a big improvement compared to the first version.

The new design carried over to the 10-inch boxed figure, as did a choice of both costumes and two weapons. But sadly, Toy Biz continued to use the fisted right hand that the smaller figures featured. I'm not happy with how it limits play value, or that Xena can never hold two weapons at once, but at the same time, it's amusing how you're almost forced to pose her with a fist in the air... or maybe she can be punching a monster... or whatever.

     

Two years later, with the Xena line in full swing, we're starting to see much better sculpts, as well as a whole new focus on various "attack" effects. Xena with "Sword Drawing Action" is probably the best of the lot, largely because the sword drawing gimmick actually works. As a rule, I'm not a fan of push-button action effects, but this one is fun enough, and it doesn't completely spoil the look of the toy.



Another high note for the line is the series of 12-inch figures where Toy Biz focused mainly on costumes. These are really just Barbie-esque dolls with limited play value, but they looked great, and round out the collection very well.



I'll admit that collecting Xena toys wasn't exactly my idea when they were first released. I enjoyed the show well enough, but it was actually my wife that started picking up a figure here or there when we would wander the toy stores.

Over a decade later now, she probably couldn't care less about them, and though they haven't found their way out of storage many times in the past few years, it's nice sorting through the lot, while remembering a toy line where female figures were the norm, and the occasional male figure was a rarity.

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