#36: G.I. Joe Para-Viper

Remember when I mentioned army building with G.I. Joe? Well, this is my next step in that direction. My roommate picked up one of these, and after seeing it I decided I had to get one too. What makes this guy so cool is that he is loaded with accessories. And they're all removable. The helmet, the goggles, the harness, the fins, the knife in his boot, those all come off. Then he's got two guns, and the sniper rifle has a removable magazine and bipod, and a folding stock. Neat! The only complaint I have is that it doesn't come with an actual working parachute. With all the accessories it does come with, that is probably asking too much.

#35: Transformers Animated Wreck-Gar

Put down that chainsaw and listen to me! Weird Al, in toy form! For a variety of reasons, I love this toy. It's Transformers Animated. It's Weird Al. Wreck-Gar has probably the best line of the entire Animated series: "I am Wreck-Gar. I dare to be stupid!" You see, the original Wreck-Gar was voiced by Eric Idle (who is also awesome), and when he was introduced, Weird Al's song "Dare To Be Stupid" was playing. So in Animated, he's voiced by Weird Al. And he says that line. Too cool.

Anyway, this toy is great too. The toys in the Animated line all seem to be. The transformation is pretty easy, his robot mode is mostly just folded up inside of the dumpster part of the garbage truck. Despite having a big backpack hanging off of him, he is actually pretty well balanced. His alt mode even has a cool action feature, you can flip switches on the loading arms to raise and lower them. My only complaint is that the head only has swivel articulation. A balljoint would have been cool, but it's not a big complaint.

This is definitely one of my favorite Transformers so far. Remember: mashed potatoes can be your friend!

#34: X-Men Origins Wolverine Comic Series Deadpool

Apparently, I am only interested in the comic book versions of characters from the upcoming Wolverine movie. I may pick up a movie version of Logan, but when it comes to Deadpool I am going to stick with the classic. The movie version of Deadpool is just... Well, he's three miles of bad road. It's along the same lines as the movie version of Cobra Commander. Bad news.

This Deadpool, however, is great. The Deadpool we all know and love is right here, loaded with weapons. Two swords, a giant sai, an AK-47, and a handgun. A couple complaints, though. I think that his swords look a little high up on his back while they're in their sheaths. Also, the ball/swivel hip articulation isn't my favorite style of articulation for hips. I'd prefer the DCUC style hip articulation.

Deadpool may not look like this in the movie, but if they give him that spinoff movie, maybe he'll look more true to his comic from then. Here's hoping!

Disassociated ramblings

My Crystal Skeleton still has not arrived. Maybe tomorrow! That is what I am saying every day.

Recently my friend James picked up a comic style Deadpool for me, so I will be posting about that after I see him next. I found out that there will be another wave of comic style figures in the Wolverine movie line, and Iceman will be part of it. I wonder if he'll be transparent like the Iceman I had back in the 90s.

I thought about getting the Marvel Universe Hulk, but I am really not a fan of his head. It's a little too angular for my tastes, and is kind of reminiscent of Frankenstein's monster. The upcoming Red Hulk has a much better looking head. So for now, I'll stick with my Marvel Legends Hulk. According to his profile on the Marvel website, he is 7 to 8 feet tall. This makes him a bit too tall to properly be in scale with the Marvel Universe figures, but I think I will be okay pretending he's grown a little.



The toy based on the movie version of Cobra Commander was revealed this week. Like almost every other nerd on the internet, I am not a fan. Supposedly, they didn't go with the classic hooded look because it looked too similar to a KKK member's hood. I call bullshit. Cobra Commander's hood is not white and pointy, it's blue and rounded. He looks more like one of the ghosts from Pac-Man. Why couldn't they have gone with his other iconic look of a helmet with a reflective face plate? That is inoffensive by itself, and it would have been a cool look. Bah.

#33: G.I. Joe Cobra Viper

Hey, everybody, it's Cobra Viper Week! Wait, that's already been done. Go check out the real thing at Dan's Toy Museum. Anyway, according to the file card on the back of the packaging, the Cobra Viper plays the role of cannon fodder in the Cobra army. I'm guessing that this is based on the comic, which I never read, because in the cartoon it seemed like the regular Cobra soldier in the blue outfit with the black face mask took the position of cannon fodder. I have been meaning to pick up one of these guys for a while, and I am glad that I finally did. As my fondness for clone troopers and Imperial troopers shows, I like army building. Cobra has such a wide variety of interesting minions, I think I might start getting more of them.

About the Cobra Viper specifically, this guy exhibits the quality I have come to expect from the resurgent G.I. Joe line. He looks cool, and is poseable. My only complaint is that the goggles on his helmet don't stay in place very well. Why does he have goggles, anyway? They seem redundant with that faceplate. The insanity of the Cobra method of warfare is what makes you so charming, Cobra Viper.

#32: X-Men Origins Wolverine Comic Series Wolverine

Currently, there are three Marvel lines running right now that are in the same scale, and two of them have Wolverine in the name. If there was any doubt about how popular this little Canadian is, that should put it to rest. This Wolverine is from the movie line, which is divided into a comic series (which this figure is from), and a movie series. This is the costume I was first familiar with for Wolverine, and it has stayed my favorite. Unlike more recent Wolverine figures, his claws aren't each a separate piece of plastic. Instead they are one piece that is sculpted and painted to give the illusion of being three claws. He also comes with the red Muramasa sword, which isn't the most exciting accessory he could come with, but at least it is something that makes sense for him. This is the first Wolverine figure I've had since I was a kid, and I'm glad to have it.

#31: Marvel Universe Spider-Man

Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Of course I had to get the Spider-Man figure (and I will again, when the release the black costumed version), he has always been my favorite non-mutant Marvel superhero. He comes with a shooting web accessory that doesn't really work well at all. There is a spot for it to clamp on to his wrist, but there is also a bunch of extraneous webbing loops that end up behind his hand, ruining the illusion that he is shooting the webbing from his wrist. I like the figure itself, although the hip joints seem a little loose. Good thing he doesn't weigh a lot. I'm amused that his web shooting hand looks more like he is showing that he is a heavy metal enthusiast.

Tony vs Tony

Poor MU Iron Man can't catch a break in his fight with movie Iron Man.

I think my blog needs an image header, but I haven't come up with a satisfactory idea what to use yet. Hrm.

Although I hadn't mentioned it in any of my posts yesterday, there were a couple comments about the cost of the Marvel Universe figures. I agree, they are too expensive. I remember a couple years ago when you could get a Marvel Legends figure with a piece of a build-a-figure for the same price. Alas, there's inflation, oil price fluctuations, etc. I am glad that I have never been the type of collector that has to get a complete collection. If you're here in the States, be sure to pick up your MU figures at Target instead of Wal-Mart, if you can. Currently, Wal-Mart is selling them for fifty cents more than Target.

Last week, I complained about waiting on my Joker Squad to ship. This week, I will complain about waiting for my crystal skeleton to arrive. I sent out the order form and check at the beginning of January, and the check was cashed on the 2oth of February. It should be here any day now! Unfortunately, there is no way to check on its status, and no shipping confirmation e-mail. I am a fan of mail in offers like this, last year I got Captain Rex, and they are going to do another one later this year for Qui-Gon Jinn on an eopie.

I still have a couple toys left to post about from yesterday's haul, those should be up soon.

#30: Marvel Universe Iron Man

Nobody loves him! This version of Iron Man is his Extremis armor, which the armor in the movie was heavily influenced by. Aside from the movie, I've never been particularly interested in Iron Man, and I suspect that is true of the general public, so making this the first Iron Man figure in the line is a good idea. Later they are releasing a version based on his more classic suit, which I don't really like as it looks too muscular and not enough like armor. Anyway, this figure looks great and is articulated well. His accessory is a repulsor ray blast which is removable. This may not be the classic look for Iron Man, but I think it is his best, and this figure is definitely worth picking up.

#29: Marvel Universe Green Goblin

Insanity! This is the one and only original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. One of Spider-Man's oldest and most dangerous foes, there is a reason he was picked to be the villain in the first Spidey movie. As I am coming to expect from Marvel Universe figures, he has a very well done sculpt. His arms and legs are textured well, and his clothing has some good wrinkles and stitching on it. His mask has a great maniacal grin on it. He also is well articulated, and can ride his glider easily. So far, he has the most accessories of my MU figures, leading the pack with three. He has his glider, a satchel, and one of his trademark pumpkin bombs. The pumpkin bomb plugs into his hand, although it doesn't stick too well on mine, as the peg is a little large for the hole. There's not too much to say other than this is an all around great figure.