#84: Minecraft - Creeper

Thankfully Target restocked their Minecraft figures section, so I was able to pick up the Creeper figure. Of the various Minecraft mobs, it is the most iconic, and the figure I most wanted. It's a fairly simple design, so the figure accurately follows suit and it fairly simple itself. The head rotates and the legs are on swivels.

For accessories, the Creeper comes with a piece of gunpowder, which Creepers are known to leave behind after being killed, and a TNT block. Very appropriate.

#83: Star Wars The Black Series - Han Solo

The coolest smuggler in the galaxy has made the jump to the six inch Black Series, and I'm going to suggest that it is the best Han Solo figure Hasbro has made to date. This is Han in what is probably his most iconic look, his outfit from the original Star Wars. The Harrison Ford likeness has been all over the place through the years, and this one turned out decently enough. It's definitely better from some angles, but it's there. For accessories, Han includes his trusty blaster, and a removable gun belt.

Swappable hands are fairly uncommon in domestic mass market releases, but Han gets an extra pair sporting his piloting gloves.

His other accessories are a Stormtrooper blaster and a removable Stormtrooper belt with holster. The use of accessories for Han is pretty great, as it allows for display in various scene specific looks, without having to buy a new figure whose only difference is a pair of gloves. Also, I would like to point out that the Correllian bloodstripes on Han's pants are sculpted on. It's still amazing to get six inch figures with so much unique tooling.

"I don't remember the cockpit being so small."

While my favorite look for Han is his outfit from Empire Strikes Back with the blue jacket, I'm glad I didn't wait for it and got this figure. This is making me really look forward to the upcoming Chewbacca figure.

#82: Star Wars The Black Series - Boba Fett

Boba Fett was the first Star Wars Black figure, but only available as a San Diego Comic Con Exclusive. Fortunately, Hasbro didn't keep the rest of us waiting too long, and he was included in the second series of figures. Hasbro has been impressing with their foray into six inch Star Wars figures, and Boba Fett keeps that going. While I'm sure there is an eye towards tooling reuse, it is refreshing to see figures in this scale with so much unique tooling. It's a great sculpt, with generous paint apps. For accessories, Boba Fett includes a blaster pistol, a blaster rifle, and the jetpack is removable. The pouches on the front of the belt do somewhat block forward movement on the legs, but it's not too terrible, and the belt can be somewhat repositioned. I really can't wait to see how the Black Series Darth Vader turns out.

#81: DC Universe Signature Collection - Ra's al Ghul

After having made a couple Liam Neeson figures, Mattel finally decided to get around to making the comic book version of Ra's al Ghul. Unfortunately, it was part of the online only line, so it's double the price of a retail figure after shipping. Mattel loves reusing the old suit body, so here it is again. Ra's gets a new headsculpt, of course, as well as a new cape, and a scimitar. Paint is pretty minimal, restricted mostly to the head and chest. For the most part it looks good, although it is a little off on his facial hair. Articulation is exactly the same as it has been on every other use of the suit body.

Really, they should be shirtless.

#80: Minecraft - Overworld Zombie

I guess Minecraft has finally achieved enough mainstream success that it has a toy line that is available at more than just online outlets. Thanks to the simplistic style of graphics in the game, the zombie is a spot on representation of the game model. Articulation is fairly limited, but that is an accurate representation of how the zombies are able to move in the game. The head, shoulders, and legs are all swviel joints. In fact, I think the toy might have more articulation than in the game: a waist swivel.

Although the zombies in the game aren't armed, preferring hand to hand combat, the figure includes a sword. I think the Steve figure comes with a pickaxe, so this would be useful for arming him against the various mobs of the Minecraft world. In either case, the zombie is fully capable of holding the sword. The hand is shaped perfectly to accommodate the pixelated shape of the sword's hilt, and it fits snugly.

The zombie's other accessory is a block of iron ore.

The Minecraft figures are a bit pricy at ten dollars each, so at least they get a couple accessories each. For fans of the game, these are definitely cool to have.

#79: Batman Unlimited - Batman (Arkham Origins)

Despite being a fan of Batman in general, and the Arkham series video games specifically, I never bought any of the Batman figures based on the previous games. I knew that DC Collectibles had a line for Arkham Origins, but the Mattel figures based on the game were a surprise, showing up around the same time as the game's release. It's a pretty solid representation of Batman as he appears in the game. The cape is billowing dramatically, perhaps from the wind, or perhaps he's coming out of a glide to swoop in on some unsuspecting goon. The cape is a fairly soft plastic, but it's massive enough to throw off Batman's balance and make him a bit back heavy. Articulation isn't the DCUC standard. Instead of bicep swivels and hinge elbows, Batman gets swivel/hinge elbows. He also gets double hinged knees, and the head can actually look up or down. Although the array of gadgets is one of the aspects of the game that really helps it feel like you are Batman, the figure has no accessories at all.

#78: Hot Wheels - Bump Around

Usually I restrict my Hot Wheels purchases to representations of pop culture vehicles, other oddities, or cars I happen to particularly like. The Bump Around definitely falls into the category of oddities. It's a bumper car! With wheels. I'm not sure if it's meant to be a car that looks like a bumper car, or a bumper car that has wheels so that it lives up to the toy line's name. Either way, it's pretty cool. It even includes the pole on the back that touches the ceiling of the ride, helping give the car its power. The packaging identifies Bump Around as part of the HW Racing grouping, and is numbered 145/250.