#150: DC Universe Classics Joker

HAHAHAHA HHHHAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHA
HHHEHEEEEEEHEHEHEEEHEEEHEHEHEE
HAHA
HA
HA
HA
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

POW

Ahem.

At last we have arrived to the final Christmas gift, and quite possibly the last toy of the year (I'm heading to Target after I post this, we'll see what happens). The Joker is from A.J. I'm glad to have finally added this to my collection, it's a really cool figure. It's pretty much everything I would like out of a Joker figure, and it looks good with the Harley Quinn figure. He comes with a cool collection of accessories, most of which aren't in the picture here. Aside from the big mallet, he has a walking stick with a jester head, a fan of playing cards, and a Joker fish. The Joker fish is from a classic story in which the Joker tried to patent fish that he had altered to have the Joker grin. That story was adapted into one of my favorite episodes of the animated series. Anyway. With the addition of the Joker, I feel like my rogues' gallery for Batman is really taking shape, although there are still some sizable holes. This is definitely one of my favorite figures of the year, I think you should get one.

#149: Boba Fett (super deformed)

The next gift from Christmas is this plush super deformed Boba Fett, from my friend Natalie. I'm not sure if it or the Mighty Muggs Boba Fett is more cute. This is actually the second Star Wars plush in my collection, the first being a Salacious Crumb (Jabba's lizard-monkey) I picked up a few years ago.

#148: DC Universe Classics Green Lantern

A few days late, but now I'm getting to my Christmas gifts for this year. The Green Lantern was a gift from James. Despite his appearance in the Super Friends, and the really cool Green Lantern: First Flight cartoon, and the whole Blackest Night thing going on, Green Lantern is one of those figures that I would like to get, but not quiet enough to buy for myself. Those make the best gifts. Green Lantern here is a good figure, although the only uniquely sculpted elements on him are his head and his right hand. Oh, and he has the lantern, so he can charge his ring.

Although it will change pretty soon, Hal Jordan here is the only currently available member of the GL Corps in the DCUC line. Although the Green Lantern I've read the most of in the comics is Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan is still the one I think of as the "real" Green Lantern, so I'm glad they made him first.

#147: Star Wars Legacy Collection Commander Cody

Cody is the only clone to have a given name used onscreen. Despite his prominence, it took about a year after the movie for him to get his first figure. This is actually his fourth figure. I skipped the holographic version, so this is my third Cody. It is an improvement over the original, since it doesn't have that odd wide stance, and lacks the not entirely convincing dirt on the lower legs. Another improvement this one makes is in its accessories. It comes with a little holoprojector and a projection of Palpatine. It also comes with Obi-Wan's lightsaber, which is supposed to plug into his belt, but the hole is too small for it. Also, the belt is upside down, which is pretty common on the clone figures. This is a nice improvement, and for now the best Cody figure you can get. I don't know if they'll upgrade him again, but if they do, hopefully they fix the belt.

#146: Star Wars Legacy Collection Plo Koon

Plo Koon is one of the Jedi fortunate enough to have screen time in both the movies and in the animated series. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't one of those lucky enough to survive the Jedi Purge. I have a Plo Koon from Revenge of the Sith, but I got this one because it has improved articulation. And a removable face mask! I think the removable face mask is the big selling point for me. It just sort of plugs into his face, which is so bumpy that there aren't any artificial looking holes for the mask to plug into. It holds pretty well, although I won't be surprised if it starts falling off during the warm weather. He also has a double bladed lightsaber gauntlet that his animated figure also has. He hasn't used it in the cartoon, so I'm not sure where it comes from. It seems kind of goofy, but whatever. As far as I'm concerned, this is the definitive Plo Koon figure.

#145: Star Wars Legacy Collection Agen Kolar

Agen Kolar! You may remember him as one of the three Jedi that the Emperor takes out with no effort when they try to arrest him. Now I have all the Jedi in that scene, which is the main reason I got this figure. Yeah, there is a battle pack with all the characters in it, but I didn't want to re-buy all the figures just for this guy. And this version is an improvement on previous releases, with all the articulation and whatnot.

This guy is the same species as Darth Maul. The Zabrak come in all sorts of colors, even blue. That's the only thing interesting I can think of that I know about this character. Outside of his appearance in the movie, I don't know anything else about him.

#144: DC Universe Classics Black Canary

I picked up Black Canary on the same trip that I picked up Deadshot. She's part of the still difficult to find wave 9, which incorporates some extra sculpting on the plastic tray the figures come in. In this case, it's a ripple meant to represent the sound waves from her Canary Cry, a neat touch. At first I thought it might have been cool if she had been sculpted with her mouth open, as if she were giving her cry. Then I realized it would probably be a bad idea.

Wow, those are some skinny arms. I know it's a figure based on a comic book character, so realistic proportions (especially on a woman) are out the window, but for someone that's so good at hand to hand combat, Black Canary should have some thicker arms. If she had bare arms or a form fitting costume, that would be more excusable, but she is wearing a leather jacket.

Other than that, she's a cool figure. The most notable feature is that she is wearing actual fishnets. Since all the capes are plastic, this is probably the only DCUC figure that will have some sort of fabric on it. They could have just painted the fishnets on, and that probably would have been cheaper, so this is a bit of a mysterious move on Mattel's part since they are so cost-conscious otherwise.

#143: DC Universe Classics Deadshot

I was at Target last week and quite shocked that the shelves suddenly had a couple rows of DCUC figures. I can't remember the last time I've seen so many all at once, and there was actually a good selection of figures from different waves. I guess it was a Festivus miracle, as that is the day I was shopping.

Deadshot here was on that shelf, and although he's not a figure I would have gone out of my way to find, I decided to get him based mainly on his status as a Batman rogue. He's got a really goofy costume, so that wasn't selling him to me. Batman can always use more foes to punch. Also, his only appearance that I've read involved him fighting Batman on a giant typewriter. That kind of absurdity really gets me.

What I really like about this figure is that he has a lot more unique tooling than the average DCUC figure. None of his joints were stuck. If you aren't turned off by his costume (it's pretty awful, but I don't think it is delightfully awful like Killer Moth's), this is definitely a cool figure to pick up.

#142: Star Wars Legacy Collection AT-ST

Last year, Hasbro released two big vehicles, a new Millennium Falcon and the AT-TE. This year, we got the Turbo Tank and a Clone Wars era Y-Wing. The AT-ST isn't quite in the same league as those in size, but with this new release, it gets the deluxe treatment, making for a fairly definitive release of this classic vehicle.

Unlike the previous version, the new AT-ST looks to be properly in scale with the figures. Another improvement is the articulation. The old one had an action feature where by pressing a button, the legs would move up and down to simulate walking, limiting the way it could be posed to just standing there. This one has joints all over the legs, presumably representing all the ways a "real" AT-ST would be able to move. It has two chin guns, the one pictured is more screen accurate, and the alternate one is bigger and fires missiles.

Also included is a pilot figure. It is lacking in articulation (no knees or ankles) and the arm articulation is questionable (the right elbow is stuck at a 90 degree angle, the left elbow is one of those annoying swivels). But it sits in the cockpit like it's supposed to.

This is a Wal-Mart exclusive, so you may or may not be able to find one, depending on your location. It's definitely worth picking up if you are interested, it's a really good update of an older toy, and it definitely blows its predecessor out of the water.

#141: Star Wars Legacy Collection Rum Sleg

Rum Sleg here is one of those background characters that don't have lines or do anything important onscreen, but they look cool and allow Hasbro to make new figures instead of even more retreads of the mainstays like Darth Vader. He definitely looks cool, and that was his main selling point for me. With the skeletal mask on underneath his helmet, I think he looks like some sort of phantom spaceman. In fact, he kind of reminds me of the Vashta Nerada figure from Doctor Who. But Doctor Who figures are kind of expensive, so I probably won't get one of those. Rum Sleg is just as cool. His helmet is removable, and it attaches by a couple of hoses to a removable gas tank that plugs into his back. With his helmet off, I think his mask is even somewhat reminiscent of the goalie mask a certain Jason wears. He's also sporting a couple of mismatched blasters and has a holster for each. Lacking only ankle articulation, Rum Sleg is probably my favorite figure based on a completely random background character for the year.

I had been looking for this guy a while, and never saw him even though I knew he was out there. On one visit to Target, every figure from his wave except for him was on the shelves. But when I did find him, there were two on the shelves. It is a good reminder that patience pays off. Usually.

#140: Hot Wheels '81 DeLorean DMC-12

Thanks to hearing about this on the blogosphere, for the first time in my adult life I actively looked for a Hot Wheels toy. After a couple weeks, I finally found the DeLorean. Thanks in large part to the Back to the Future films, I think DeLoreans are really cool. So of course I wanted to get this one as soon as I learned of its existence. With my BttF II DeLorean, this makes two DeLoreans in my collection. I wonder how many people have modded these to make them resemble Doc Brown's time machine already. The packaging claims that the back hatch opens up, but I haven't been able to pry mine open, and I don't want to force it and end up breaking it. I don't own any of the Back to the Future Minimates, but if I want to crossover Batman and Back to the Future, now I can at least do it in vehicle form.

#139: G.I. Joe The Rise of Cobra Cobra Viper Commando with Serpent Armor

You may have noticed that I like throwbacks to 80s style G.I. Joe. This deluxe figure set is a Target exclusive, and is somewhat hard to find at the moment. I've only seen the one that I bought today. This set is a nice blend of the old and the new of G.I. Joe. The main reason I wanted this is the SNAKE armor, which has been updated by painting it in black and calling it Serpent Armor. It's pretty cool! It pulls apart, and a figure can fit inside. I was a little worried since this is a straight reuse of the original version, that a modern Joe figure wouldn't fit inside, but the included figure fits inside with no problems. There are four interchangeable weapons that fit on the ends of the arms. And you get to apply the stickers yourself, something I always dig about the Joe toys.

I don't have any of the movie Neo-Vipers or any of the faceless MARS industries troopers, so it's cool to get a version of a figure I wouldn't have otherwise bought. It's a cool figure, and its color scheme matches the armor. He's also a well armed guy. In addition to the handgun, he has a couple of bigger guns that can hang off the sides of his backpack.

Some deluxe figures can be kind of a letdown, but I really like this one, it's a cool throwback. I don't know if it will remain scarce, but if you find one, this is definitely worth picking up.

#138: Ghostbusters Minimates box set series 2

I pre-ordered this set a few months ago, and almost forgot about. Then it arrived in the mail yesterday, and I didn't even know it had been sent. Yay for surprises! I got this set mainly because at the time, the only Winston that was available was the Ghostbusters 2 version, which has a different colored uniform, and is clean shaven. I definitely prefer the original Winston with a 'stache. Also, it includes both of the Ghostbusters I needed to complete the team, and both forms of Gozer from the movie.

So this set comes with Ray and Winston. Winston is Winston, he has a 'stache. He's solid. Ray comes with a trap, so my team finally can actually trap ghosts. He also has goggles which help him look more "Ray" because the face really isn't the best likeness of the bunch. And as usual, they come with detachable proton streams.

Gozer's body does its Minimate best to replicate the odd covered in bubbles look seen in the movie and does a pretty decent job of it. The flattop 'do is in place, so this is unmistakably Gozer itself.

20 years ago, if you wanted Ghostbusters toys, they were all based on the cartoon. Fortunately, the Stay-Puft marshmallow man made a couple appearances in the cartoon, so he got a toy. I had one way back then, but since I don't have it any more, this is a fun replacement. Ol' Stay-Puft is basically a handless and footless Minimate body with a bunch of attachments to cover it up. They bulk him up a bit so that he is noticeably taller than other Minimate figures, although they also hinder the articulation a bit. But it looks good, so I am not complaining.

I'm glad to finally have the team completed, although I am still thinking about getting a regular, non-slimed Peter. I think Stay-Puft is only available elsewhere as an "exploding" variant, so if you want him or Gozer, this is the set to get.

#137: DC Universe Classics Man-Bat

As a toy collector, it can be advantageous to have a network of others on the lookout for toys you want. This is especially true when you're dealing with a Wal-Mart exclusive, since those tend to be unevenly distributed (or perhaps mythical). And so, thanks to my friend AJ's brother, I now have Man-Bat, from the even harder to find than normal Wave 10 of DCUC.

Originally, Man-Bat was supposed to be released as part of the DC Superheroes line, but that didn't work out, and finally he is available (if you can find him!) as part of DCUC. It's a very cool figure, and has a completely unique sculpt. He'll definitely stand out amongst your other figures. Man-Bat can double for a giant mutant bat for your other toys to fight, which is cool too. If you find one, Man-Bat is definitely worth picking up.

#136: G.I. Joe Defense of Cobra Island

I was doing some gift shopping on Entertainmentearth.com, and they had a deal going on where if you buy a certain amount of merchandise, you get free shipping. So I was looking around to see if there was anything else I wanted to order, and this set popped up and was exactly enough to bring my total up to what was required for free shipping. Sure, it would have been less expensive to just pay shipping on the one item, but I've had my eyes on this set for a while, and it has been out of stock. So why not?

One of the reasons I wanted this set is Dr Mindbender, everyone's favorite evil orthodontist. Anybody that rocks a cape without a shirt, as well as a monocle, makes for a classy figure in my book. I'll even forgive him for his part in creating Serpentor. Oddly enough, he has no nipples. An oversight? Or did he lose them in some evil experiment? The world may never know the full extent of Dr Mindbender's secrets.

Moving on, we have a Lamprey, one of Cobra's amphibious assault troopers. Basically they are Cobra Eels, but with more experience. I think his outfit looks more like a flight suit, but whatever. The clear dome on his helmet is removable, neat!

One of the other main reasons I wanted this set is for the Range-Viper. I had one when I was a kid, and I really dig that skull-like helmet. This new, updated version has a removable helmet which is both a good thing and a bad thing. It's good because removable helmets are cool, but bad because it has eye holes. The original had red lenses over the eyes, and I think that is a cooler look than regular eyes looking through. Still a cool figure!

The Alley-Viper is the main reason that I wanted this set. Again, it's a figure that I had when I was a kid. I am partial to Cobra figures that are ridiculous, and the Alley-Viper is a great example of that. Bright orange camouflage? I love it! This is definitely my favorite figure of the set, and if they put out a set that was just a few of these guys, I would definitely consider buying it. He has a crazy riot shield as well as a couple different guns.

Up next is the Night Creeper. He's a ninja, apparently. In the world of G.I. Joe, a ninja can wear a purple outfit. That's just the way it is. He's got a crossbow and a sword with a wavy looking blade.

I already have a regular B.A.T., and I wouldn't mind having a couple of them, but I am glad that this one is different. It has battle damage! The chestplate and head can both be swapped for undamaged versions. Instead of all the swappable arms, this B.A.T. has one set of arms, a couple guns, and a new backpack to hold the spores for mutant creeping vines they apparently use in battle (fully grown purple mutant creeping vines also included, though not pictured).

The final figure in the set is the Air-Viper. It's not the most flashy figure, but I like his look. He comes with a pistol that doesn't fit well in either of his hands unless he holds it by the barrel. I'm sure he prefers to do all of his fighting from a cockpit anyway.

All in all, I'd say this is a good set. I was only particularly interested in three of the figures, but it's cool to get three completely new to me trooper figures as well as another B.A.T. figure. It's a good deal, and works out to less than six dollars per figure, which is slightly cheaper than a single figure at retail. It also comes with a good variety of weapons for the figures, some of which aren't even pictured here. My Joe to Cobra ratio was already skewed in Cobra's favor, and the addition of this set isn't doing the Joes any favors. Good thing we all know that Cobra troopers are such terrible shots!

#135: Playmobil Advent Calendar

As a kid, I had advent calendars with chocolate in them. I also had Playmobil toys. For the first time, I have a combination of both, with the Playmobil advent calendar. What's inside? We'll find out! Throughout December, leading up to Christmas, I will be posting daily as I open each box in the calendar. I must admit, a large part of the inspiration for this is the annual advent calendar countdown on X-Entertainment. It does take a little of the fun out of it that I know what's coming because I had to put the thing together (and it's detailed on the back of the box, as well), but I think that will be made up for.

#134: Qui-Gon Jinn and eopie

After a less than stellar track record from Hasbro for sending out their mail away figures, this set arrived in a basically timely manner. I've already got a Qui-Gonn, so if this set had been released in stores, I would have passed it by. But for less than the cost of a regular figure, and sold as a mail away exclusive? I'm interested. It helps that this is poncho Qui-Gon, while the other one I have is wearing Jedi robes. Of course, he comes with a lightsaber because Hasbro is contractually obligated to include a lightsaber with any Force using figure it makes. That explains why the recent Luke figure from the final scene of Empire Strikes Back includes one. Also, I don't have many creatures in my collection (a rancor and a kybuck), so a new one is a nice addition. It's a cool set, but if I had missed out on it, that wouldn't have been a big deal.

#133: Star Wars comic pack Darth Krayt and Sigel Dare

On the same trip that I found Hawkgirl, I found this comic pack, featuring two characters from the Legacy era of Star Wars (it's something like 80 years after the movies). I only got this set for Sigel Dare. Last year, I got the comic pack with the two male Imperial Knights solely because I liked their design. The comic they came with had them as well as Sigel Dare on the cover, and I wished they had made her for the pack as well. About a year later, the comic pack featuring her is finally out.

I'm not entirely clear on Darth Krayt's history, but I gather that he was a Jedi that was active during the Clone Wars, and that he managed to survive Order 66 and then lived a hundred years or so longer to still be around during the Legacy period. And at some point he became a Sith. Whatever. I'm not too keen on the figure, either. His armor looks kind of ridiculous, and it's all one flat color. I think a paint wash would have improved its appearance. Oh, and those shoulder pads get in the way. At least his helmet is removable. And hey, it's another Sith. Off the top of my head, I have a figure for every Sith that is currently available.

Clearly, Sigel Dare is the main selling point for this set. As an Imperial Knight, she's sporting a cool suit of armor and wielding a clear-bladed lightsaber (in the comic, it's white with a slight touch of blue). She's about as well articulated as any other Star Wars figure and looks cool. It's too bad that Hasbro mostly refuses to release expanded universe characters outside of the comic pack line, because I would have been perfectly happy to buy Sigel Dare on a single card.

#132: DC Universe Classics Hawkgirl

You know how Target no longer seems to carry DCUC figures on pegs anymore, instead just setting them on a shelf below? As I walked down the aisle, Hawkgirl was the first DCUC figure I saw, because she had been set on top of all the DCUC figures. I've been looking for her forever, so it was a nice surprise.

When Hawkman came out, he seemed to be universally regarded as a classy figure. And he definitely is. But then I found out they would be releasing Hawkgirl, and decided to get her instead. Outside of the Super Friends and Batman, I'm not really well versed in the DC universe, so I don't know if Hawkman is any cooler a character than Hawkgirl. But I think her wings look more impressive because she is an otherwise smaller figure. And really, the wings are a huge selling point here. The wings take up a lot of space, and can be moved forward or backward as well as folded up or stretched out. They are covered in detail and just look all around really cool. Hawkgirl also includes quite an arsenal: a mace, a spear, and a sword. Unfortunately, she has no way to store any of her spare weapons on her belt or anything, so one will always be loose. The weapons themselves are well done, with a lot of sculpted detail. The mace and sword are different pieces than those included with Hawkman. DCUC figures feature heavy reuse of body parts, so I am somewhat surprised that she has a new chest (the top of her shirt is sculpted) and new lower legs. The tops of her boots and the little "feet" are sculpted elements. Way to not be completely cheap, Mattel!

In the more recent waves of DCUC, the "name" figure in each wave comes with a stand, rather than a piece of the build-a-figure, so Hawkgirl comes with a stand. A stand is a lot more useful than a random limb to a figure I'll never complete, so I'm okay with this. As always with DCUC figures, the issue of quality control arises. For the most part, Hawkgirl is okay. Her torso swivel is a little loose, but not too terrible. Unfortunately, the swivel on her right thigh is pretty well stuck. I left her in the freezer for a while, but it didn't help. It could be worse, and I'm glad I didn't break it, but it is still annoying. Hawkgirl is definitely worth picking up, if you are lucky enough to find her.

#131: Star Wars Legacy Collection R3-M3

This is the third build-a-droid I have built. As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the reasons I decided to get the Scout Trooper was because it came with the leg that I needed to complete this droid. It's your basic astromech with wheels on its feet, nothing fancy. The dome is frostily transparent, which is cool. It would be even better if it was more transparent, but I'll take it. According to Wookieepedia, R3-M3 was on the Death Star, so it got blown up. I wouldn't go too much out of my way to complete this droid, but it does look nice, and you can always play mix and match with other droid pieces you may have sitting around.