B.A.T.
G.I. Joe (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
The launch figure for Super7's G.I. Joe line was not something from the main line, but rather a Comic Con exclusive of the B.A.T. (Battle Android Trooper)'s comic design. I made sure to order one when I had the chance, and it was a great start to the new line. Now, here's the cartoon version. As I mentioned in my review of the comic B.A.T., both it and the cartoon version share much of the same tooling, but with some areas of difference. One of those different areas of the head, as the cartoon version has a much different head shape, and also seems to be a little smaller in size. The head is very accurate to the cartoon, and gets some nice paint as well, utilizing a bold red color for the "face." There's also a battle-damaged portrait, but while the comic head had some denting and a...[See More]

Cobra Commander
G.I. Joe (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.65 stars by RMaster007
One of the most iconic 80s villains, and would-be most dangerous terrorist… if the Joes didn't foil his plans every other day, and if he didn't run away every time. As a foe whose true identity is a mystery, just like the person who sculpted this figure, Cobra Commander is commonly seen wearing what appears to be a metal mask, along with a blue helmet. The sculpt for the head looks good, since it's hard to screw up a portrait with no visible face. I thought the helmet was too high up on the head at first, but it looks fine in-hand aside from being a little off-center. Although the hooded look was just as common in-show, Hasbro barred Super7 from doing it for some reason. Instead, they threw in another masked head without the gray stripe on his helmet, a nod to the original CC figure....[See More]

Sasuke Uchiha (Curse Mark)
Naruto (Mattel) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by InfamousInevitable
One of if not the hardest figure to find in the series! I remember seeing one at my local Walmart as a kid but unfortunately did not have any money of my own at the time and did not get it purchased for me. In hindsight, it was probably for the best, but it still bothers me to this day. As for the figure itself, the painting and sculpt work is excellent. The accessories are fitting for the character and was so good it was rereleased later on (equally difficult to find). My only nitpick would be that because it's an older figure, it lacks hip pivot, so it cannot kick out to the sides....[See More]

Ultimate Foot Ninja
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Mirage Comics (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
The Foot Clan, countless numbers of faceless goons who live to serve the Shredder and do his bidding… and they make darn good toys as well. NECA has done a handful of Foot members across different incarnations of the TMNT franchise, and the latest comes from the Mirage comics that started it all. The packaging is similar to what the Mirage line usually gets, except since this is an "Ultimate" release, there's a front flap attached to it. The flap gets some great artwork by Kevin Eastman, and the reverse side of it gives us plenty of shots of the figure. Other than that, it's all the same, including a couple of annoying plastic ties to cut out. The Foot Ninja recycles the mold used for the first version made back in the late 2000s by Four Horsemen (but not released until 2016), but with...[See More]

Slimestone
Rock Lords (Tonka) - Evil Rock Lords
Rated 4.75 stars by Karl T. Face
It's the mineral to Beast Wars' animal, Rock Lords! No, really. An offshoot of the main Gobot civilization took on naturalistic altmodes too, just with rocks. And here's one of the bad guys now! Slimestone is a silver nugget, but seems to enjoy hot oil baths, which is apparently disgusting to others. He's implied to be pretty low-down and sleazy, using a slime gun to, presumably, make his opponents feel really icky. As it should. The toy is a thing to behold, really. A short little robot with enormous shoulder pads and gigantic, wide-set feet. His vicious little nubbin of a head has crablike eyes above a slack-jawed jack o' lantern mouth. And it's almost entirely chromed. I'm terrified to handle it without a microfiber cloth handy. The aforementioned slime gun looks more like a scanner...[See More]

Burnheart
Super Naturals (Tonka) - Forces of Evil
Rated 4.40 stars by Karl T. Face
Well, that's all three. The final member of the villainous trio has arrived, and he is almost great. Right off the bat, this is the usual 4 POA spread. These are stiff, stoic figures. That said, they generally look good. The leather of his boots and the grey armor on the upper body are picked out cleanly, and a crosshatched texture does a surprisingly good job of suggesting scale mail. The chestplate is picked out beautifully in red, as are the spooky belt buckle and a few gems. This guy is just overloaded with early fantasy tropes. The visor, a slatted number with harsh angles, is hinged rather than being removable, and offers a decent glimpse of the hologram. Taking off the chestplate reveals the full image: a muscular fellow with a maniacal grin and a large bat necklace, turning into a...[See More]

Godzilla (Godzilla vs Biollante)
Godzilla (Super7) - Ultimates
Rated 4.10 stars by RMaster007
We all know him, the undisputed king of the monsters. Godzilla has been around since the 1950's, and has been a global phenomenon ever since. It's no surprise that he's gotten plenty of figures, with some of the latest being Super7's Ultimates. The first wave's been out for a while now, and it's focused on the Heisei-era Godzilla vs. Biollante. The packaging is a lot deeper than usual for Ultimates, due to the size of the character. The slip cover bears Japanese text on the front and English on the back, and the Godzilla-skin-like texture is a nice touch. The box underneath has simple but nice graphics, though I wish the bio on the back was character-specific rather than generic text I'm certain Super7 copied from somewhere. There's a few ties holding in the figure, but you can get those...[See More]

Prowl (Animated)
Transformers - Legacy - Evolution (Hasbro) - Deluxe Class
Rated 4.00 stars by RMaster007
While I haven't consumed a whole lot of Transformers media, I will say the late-2000s "Animated" series by Cartoon Network is my favorite. The unique characterizations, great writing and art style, and noteworthy voice cast hit all the marks for me, and getting a more screen-accurate than usual toyline certainly helped. When news came out that it would become a part of the current Legacy line, I was hyped, and even more by the fact that my favorite character, Prowl, would be the first one. When transitioning from just Legacy to Legacy "Evolution", the packaging colors went from purple to blue. The graphics and illustrations look great, and it's easy to get the figure freed up using some scissors. Yes, it's the plastic-free packaging Hasbro likes doing, but with some of their products...[See More]

Battle Armor S.N.A.K.E.
G.I. Joe (Super7) - Super Cyborg
Rated 3.75 stars by RMaster007
Although ReAction and Ultimates are what Super7's most known for, they've done a few other kinds of toys. There's their "supersize" vinyl figures, their Shogun Warriors tributes, known as Super Shogun, and their Super Cyborg line, dedicated to producing large-scale figures of robots and mechs (and for some reason, the Creature from the Black Lagoon). The latest Cyborg release, as well as my first one, comes from none other than G.I. Joe. Specifically, it's the S.N.A.K.E. Armor, based heavily off the original toy. The box for this thing is massive, which is fitting given the figure is equally large. The graphics are simple, but are based off the old Joe toy card/box art. There's a bio for the armor on the side, and the back provides an X-ray view of the figure. What I don't like about the...[See More]

Broadway
Gargoyles (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
Yes, in the midst of all the Turtle product NECA's putting out, we're still getting plenty of Gargoyles figures. One of the recent releases brings us closer to completing the Manhattan Clan with Broadway. He hasn't been too common to find in brick-and-mortar stores, my preferred method of getting figures, but Walmart was kind to me. As usual, we get some great, original box art for this line, featuring Broadway menacingly swooping over the streets of Manhattan. There's plenty of shots of the figure itself, but I wish they'd give each character a bio on the back rather than the same generic text. There's a few of those plastic ties to remove, but aside from those, you won't have much trouble getting the figure out. Like Brooklyn, Broadway isn't as human-like in his facial features as...[See More]