Mattel Masters of the Universe Classics Lord Dactus

When toy lines run for a few years, it can become hard to think of new things to say about what become increasingly old toys. Sure, some details might be different and represent different characters, but the underlying architecture is still the same. Like adding vinyl siding to an old house, you can change the appearance, but only so much. Masters of the Universe Classics was a line designed from the ground up to use as few original parts as possible. In theory, this leads to more affordable figures and happier collectors. In practice, at least in Mattel's case, this leads to premium prices for figures that often feature at more two or three new parts.

Mattel Total Heroes Deluxe Batman Beyond

I love Batman Beyond. I remember the Saturday that I saw the very first episode. The introduction told me that this was going to be something very different than the Batman cartoons that had come before. It was, as others have noted before me, Batman blended with Spider-Man and a liberal dash of futuristic sci-fi. In other words, it was guaranteed to win me over. Some of the episodes were fantastic while others were meh, but the dynamic between Terry McGuiness and Bruce Wayne was always spectacular, and I don't know that there have been many voice acting casts that have done better or been more memorable.

Hasbro Transformers Beast Hunters Commander Class Optimus Lime 2013

I've been on a roll with good Transformers reviews lately. Springer is an all-time, immediate classic that is often rated as the very best Transformer ever made. The various Commander Class figures that I've looked at have featured great appearances and wonderful articulation. Because of this, I figured while Amazon had the figures on sale, I'd go ahead and grab my very on Commander Class Optimus Prime. Of course, it was a "stealth" mode that just happened to be lime green.. and that really should have been my first hint. Just so you know, I refuse to call this character Optimus Prime. No, this is Optimus Lime. I like to think of him as the Randy Quaid character from the National Lampoon movies.

Mattel DC Signature Batzarro

My wife isn't nearly as interested in action figures as I am. She's very tolerant of my hobby and appreciates that I tend to budget shop and dig through bargain bins, and in return I try not to bother her too much with my talk about it. One topic we do talk about, and she finds interesting, is the tendency of Mattel to make idiotic decisions with their action figures. Mattel makes its money from Barbie and Hot Wheels, make no mistake. The action figures are very secondary. Still, one could suspect that they are secondary solely because of Mattel's amazingly bad decisions. After all, the have the DC Universe characters, Masters of the Universe, and... uhm.. well, actually that's pretty much it for its boy line. They were once making a killing on Frozen toys, but that license is going to Hasbro now. Sometimes, I suspect the only reason Mattel still has the DC license is because Hasbro makes Marvel toys. The fault for this lack of licenses, however, lies squarely with Mattel. It's not magic that causes other companies to get more licenses. It's good decision making.

Hasbro Transformers Voyager Class Springer 2013

Transformers has been on toy shelves for 30 years. Let that sink in... for 30 years, Transformers have been valid and popular toy options. Naturally, some years have been better than others, and come concepts have been rather, well, lacking, but the constant reinvention of the line has been key in making sure that children of many generations all enjoy the characters. While lines like Masters of the Universe and Cabbage Patch Kids struggle to exist, Transformers and GI Joe keep trucking on.

Hasbro Transformers Generations Hoist 2012

When I first started getting back into Transformers last year after a very long break, I was most intrigued by their Cyberverse Commanders, as they seemed to really be the best of both worlds. All of the transformation and articulation of larger bots, but with a much smaller size and price tag. A combination of this curiosity and very cheap prices on Amazon led me to grabbing a few of them to see what I thought. Today's review, Hoist, is one of those first figures that I picked up, and he did nothing to deter me from buying more.

Mattel Batman Unlimited Vampire Batman 2013

I don't do a very good job of my loving bizarre figures. When Amazon offered a lot of action figures for dirt cheap, I happily snapped many of them up. This figure, for example, I managed to get for five dollars. When prices get down that low, I become far less picky and far more willing to take a risk. Granted, sometimes it doesn't work out, but sometimes I am thrilled with the end result.

Mattel '66 Batman and Robin 2-Pack 2013

When Mattel announced they had the license to make toys based on the television show, Batman, there was immediate joy at the idea of finally having figures of Burt Ward, Adam West, and all the other fantastic actors involved. This lasted for about forty-five seconds before those same people then realized that it was Mattel making the announcement. We knew, then, that it probably wasn't going to end well.

Transformers Beast Hunters Ripclaw 2013

It's been a little while now since Transformers: Beast Hunters has been on the air, but it still is a very memorable toy line. While there were a few misses, most of the figures were well sculpted, unique, and featured great paint applications. Current toys are in the process of dialing back on articulation and paint (as well as plastic quality) in the interest of cost-cutting, but Hasbro has done a pretty good job of avoiding that with their Transformers toys so far.

Spider Monday - Amazing Spider-Man #19

It's that time again, True Believers! Another week and another exciting (hopefully) issue of Spider-Man! Last week, we had a bit of a downer, place-holder issue with Peter spending his whole time moping. This time, however, the cover declares that "Spidey Strikes Back!" and promises appearances by Human Torch, Sandman, and.. well.. The Enforcers. Sigh. Two out of three ain't bad, I guess. Are we going to do better this week and get some great drama and action? There's only one way to find out!

Spider Monday - Amazing Spider-Man #18

 It's the eighteenth edition of Every Amazing Spider-Man Reviewed, our weekly Monday feature. It's hard to believe I've done over four months of these, and I still haven't even reached issue 20.. out of 700. 700. I'll have to throw a party in a year or so when I hit issue 70, just for being a tenth of the way there! I just hope to get this project done before I die, no matter how many websites I have to transfer it to in the meantime. I should know a bit about Spider-Man before it's all over, too!

Spider-Monday - Amazing Spider-Man #17

 If there is one thing that Stan Lee is genuinely good at, it's recognizing what people love and respond to. Today, we're looking at the 17th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man, and not only does it feature the second, improved (we'll get to it) appearance of The Green Goblin, it also features another team-up between Spider-Man and the Human Torch. The Green Goblin made enough of a splash on his own, but fans were eating up any team-ups between Fantastic Four's hothead and our favorite web-slinger. Stan Lee has always been about fan service, and it's on total display in this issue. The only question is whether it can climb over the low bar set by the guest appearance from Daredevil, and I think it won't have any problem with that!

Mattel '66 Penguin 2013

I've been looking at a few of the Batman '66 figures that Mattel has produced lately, and this one is no exception. Technically, this is a review of the character The Penguin, but I don't really care about all of that. No, to me, this is a review of Burgess Meredith. Why is that? Well, come inside and we'll find out!

Mattel '66 Surfing Batman 2013

I feel like I should say right away that you did read the post title correctly - this is Surfing Batman. In a list of action figures I never thought I'd own, this is one I never even dreamed of putting on the list it was so obscure. Not only did figures from the 1966 Batman television show seem unlikely, but having a one-off figure from a few minutes of one episode was just never even talked about. Why waste our time talking about the impossible - but here it is! I'll get into the history in a moment, but for now just bask in the beauty that is Adam West's baby blue gaze. And remember, for this article especially, embiggening the pictures is possible just by clicking on them! I upload them huge, just for you!

Spider Monday - Amazing Spider-Man #16

 In the past two issues we've had The Green Goblin and Kraven the Hunter. After those smashing issues, can The Amazing Spider-Man #16 possibly keep up? We're going to find out as we dive into today's issue, featuring Spider-Man's first team up with Daredevil, and the menacing villain The Ringmaster!

Mcfarlane Toys Ratonhnhake:Ton 2013

After a brief hiatus, we're back with another toy review, and this one is unlike any I've ever done before. This one is of the character Ratonhnhake:Ton from the game Assassin's Creed III. I don't have a lot of experience with the Assassin's Creed franchise - the first one was a bit off-putting and I never could figure out which Assassin's Creed II I was supposed to play.. apparently there were about fifteen of them. I did play Assassin's Creed III, however, and really enjoyed the experience. Because of that, when Amazon.com offered one of the figures for less than five bucks, I jumped at the chance to pick one up.

Spider Monday - Amazing Spider-Man #15

 It's that time again! Unfortunately, I had to miss last week due to a family situation that took priority, but hey - we've got 700 issues to get through! That means I don't have time to miss a week if I want to get this done before dying from old age, so this week there are two reviews! The first one is issue 15, which introduces Kraven the Hunter and brings back The Chameleon, while next week will have the very first team-up between Daredevil and Spider-Man. And, did I mention this is the first "appearance" of Mary Jane Watson? It's true! Let's dive into this issue and see how it goes!

Mattel '66 Riddler 2013

Ah, Mattel. We have a love story for the ages tracking back to my childhood. You've pleased me and disappointed me, lied to me and delivered on promises! When I heard that you were making figures based off of the Batman 1966 television show, I had to wonder which Mattel was I dealing with. Were you going to be the drunken Mattel slurring your figures and hitting me with quality control issues and too-high prices, or would you be the repentant Mattel, promising that you love me and will never do that to me again? Well, today we take a look at their figure based off Frank Gorshin's portrayal of The Riddler, and we'll find out the answer.

Spider Monday - Amazing Spider-Man #14

 Hey, and welcome back to another week and another issue of The Amazing Spider-Man! This week, we have issue fourteen, and I'm going to have to ask a favor of my readers. I don't do this often, but this week is important. As you read through my recap this week, I have to ask that you pretend you have no idea who the Green Goblin is. This issue is the first time that he's introduced to the Marvel Universe and fights Spider-Man, and at this point he had the potential to be just another villain. In fact, a cameo by The Incredible Hulk gets almost as much space on the cover! Oh, how little they knew. For this week, however, let's approach The Green Goblin as an entirely new character and dig into this issue!

Hasbro Transformers Beast Hunters Cyberverse Commander Huffer 2013

Thanks to the Amazon.com Christmas sale, I was able to snag some pretty nice Transformers at a REALLY nice price. The ones that impressed me the most at that time were the Cyberverse Commanders. These are smaller figures with limited paint applications and a lower entry price, but still retain a lot of play quality. After my first couple of purchases, I decided to get some more and found Huffer for a steal. Since it's been a while, I figured today was as good a day as any to take another look at a Transformer, so let's check out Huffer! (Also, just a reminder - most of the images I upload to my reviews are pretty massive.. feel free to click on an image if you want to see it larger and in more detail!)