McFarlane Toys Solomon Grundy - Arkham City

 

Solomon Grundy has a few different origin stories. I believe the name (but not the origin story) is inspired by the 1842 English nursery rhyme of the same name: 

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday,
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy.

This poem is quoted in the game, but the origins of the character differ. Initially, in the late 19th century, a wealthy merchant named Cyrus Gold is murdered and his body is disposed of in Slaughter Swamp. Fifty years later he comes back as a revenant type supervillain and occasionally anti-hero. He is initially a villain for Alan Scott's Green Lantern but crosses over and becomes a problem for other heroes. He's basically unkillable with both super strength and stamina. He seems to be partly made of the same life force as Swamp thing and is nearly invulnerable to fire, cold, magic and other energy attacks. 

In Arkham City his origin story is a bit different: first appearing in Batman: Arkham City, this version was a merchant who was murdered and had his body dumped in a swamp-like Lazarus Pit, where a strange thunderstorm combined with the pit's mystical properties to resurrect him as an effectively immortal zombie-like monster. He temporarily became part of a travelling circus before he was found by Ra's al Ghul, who realized the swamp's true nature and took him to Wonder City. Seeking to understand the pit's properties, Ra's repeatedly murdered Grundy until Wonder City was eventually shut down and Gotham City built over it, with the Iceberg Lounge being built over Grundy's prison. After the Penguin finds him, he uses Grundy to kill traitorous underlings and attempts to kill Batman, who eventually defeats Grundy.

McFarlane Toys Batman - Arkham City

 I have a lot of Arkham Batmen. Between DC Collectibles and DC Direct versions, I now own 9 different Arkham versions of Batman. Crazy! This one is better in a couple of ways than the Arkham Asylum version by McFarlane Toys, but disappointing in others. 

First, it uses nearly the exact same mould as the Asylum suit. The rivers and suit lines are the same, the arm and leg sculpt, and the boots, hands and neck build are identical. The articulation is almost identical except for one improvement and one stagnation. The Arkham Asylum Batman had these odd single jointed ratchet joint elbows that didn't move very far. Given that it was the start of McFarlane's venture into DC Multiverse licences and others, I let it go. Now though, everything, including shorter kid figures like Robin, has double-jointed elbows, so there's no excuse not to have that in all the figures. Hell, even Penguin had double-jointed elbows. It's insane that this Batman still uses the super old elbows. 

To the figure's credit, it's engineered slightly better at the torso. Now you can bend it better at the waist both back and forth and side to side. They must've raised the ball joint connection inside the torso because it is better that way than the Arkham Asylum figure. 

Other differences are the head sculpt, which has white eyes instead of the standard eyes in the game, but I don't mind that. The ears are still long while the face is a bit more reasonable in proportions. The gauntlets match the Arkham City suit and the cape has the side swoosh to emulate how the game has it drifting in the wind all the time in-game. The paint is much more lacking here than the other Arkham Asylum version, so that's also disappointing. It's an ok Batman figure, but given how many Arkham figures I have, I could have potentially skipped this one and gone straight for the Gold Label Solomon figure. 

McFarlane Toys Catwoman - Arkham City

 

I previously reviewed the story and the old DC Collectible figure of Catwoman here. This version of Catwoman is leagues better. First of all the face sculpt and paint apps are great. They are very accurate and most importantly don't look bloodshot! This has far more flexibility and articulation than even the Arkham Knight version of Catwoman, and comes with her signature whip! 

I didn't get to do any comparison pictures here since I had to pack away a bunch of figures to make room in the hobby room. The size is roughly the same as the DC Collectibles, but the DC collectibles has very strange proportions. 

My biggest gripe though has to be the rubber crotch area. McFarlane always makes rubbery crotches and most of the time they pass inspection. Usually, a character has a belt or some waist feature that visually blocks it off and reinforces the illusion. Here though, the diaper crotch part is really big. WAY too big, especially the butt. To make matters worse, because she has a flexible ab crunch, leaving it in that position exacerbates the gapping, making it look even worse than it usually would on these figures. Eeeesh. Still very fun to pose though! 

McFarlane Toys Penguin - Arkham City

 I've previously reviewed the DC Collectibles version of the Penguin from Arkham City here. I do like this version in terms of personality and how it is Arkhamfied to fit the game's aesthetic and darkness. This release I mostly bought for the Solomon Grundy parts, not cluing in early enough that of course they would release a gold label version with some more interesting paint apps. Foiled again like one of Batman's C-class villains! 

This version of the penguin purports a more sneering angry face! His accessory umbrella is about the same with more brass instead of silvery paint. He's actually got moving joints on his legs! Wow! That said, Penguin isn't much of an action character, so while you can do some limited things here, it's not over the top. One thing I don't quite get is that his hat isn't removable. His bandaged hand clearly looks like it is meant to both tip his hat and carry it! He's a decent figure all the same if you missed out on the first DC Collectibles penguin or if you just wanted the Solomon parts and he was an alright addition! 

McFarlane Toys Ra's Al Ghul - Batman: Arkham City (Build-A-Solomon Grundy)

 I've reviewed a Ra's Al Ghul figure before for the more realism-bent Christopher Nola Batman trilogy, but today I finally have a figure of the Arkhamverse version. In an attempt to rid Gotham of its worst criminal elements, Ra's and his league of shadows secretly fund the plan to create Arkham City. Batman, on the heels of the last game having been poisoned by Joker's Titan toxin needs some decades old blood to fight off the side effects, and who better than Ra's to get it from! After a tense encounter, he defeats him and takes some of Ra's blood. He later meets Ra's again when, unsatisfied with how Hugo Strange is handling Protocol 10, sees Ra's plunge his sword through Hugo! The more I think about Arkham games (except maybe Arkham Knight) the more I realize they put in too many villains from Batman's rogue gallery, giving each of them not quite the time they deserved (or maybe too much in Riddler's case).

The figure is pretty close to the game appearance, with some pretty impressive details, such as the well done tattooed dragons on his arms. It's a pretty good figure, and miles better than what I saw of the DC Collectibles release back in the day! After getting Talia Al Ghul from the older figures back in the day and seeing how bad it was, I decided not to buy all the figures. He's got good articulation and is a welcome addition to the Arkham rogues! 

S.H. Figuarts Naruto Uzumaki - Naruto Shippuden

 Naruto is the title character, so here's the best for last! I love the character, and even though the latest show is about Boruto, his son, they put so much of him in it anyway cause they know what the fans want! If you don't know about Naruto, he had one of the most powerful chakra creatures in the world sealed inside of him as a baby, was ostracized by his village and yet kept under watch at the same time. Through trials and the irresistible power of his friendship, he managed to overcome and rise to become a hero of the village. 

 This version is the base form of the Shippudden character: the teenage, pre-Kurama and pre-Sage mode versions. Don't let that deter you though, this is my current favourite Naruto figure and the best engineered and proportioned in my collection! This one comes with a lot of great options and does so many things very well. Believe it! 

S.H. Figuarts Kakashi Hatake - Naruto Shippuden

 Kakashi is definitely one of my top 5 favourite Naruto characters. He's cool, extremely knowledgable, calm to the point of seeming catatonic, and has some interesting parts to his backstory. Add to that that he became Hokage, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Ninja village for a period of time. He's capable of taking down nearly any character in the Naruto universe with the exception of Moon people and Tailed beasts, though I reckon at the height of his power he could give them a pretty good run for their money solo. Here I though the previous SH Figuarts Kakashi was super well done, this one is better in most every way! 

He's got superior articulation and range as well as some more interesting face swaps. I have one minor issue with the articulation and one major one with the accessories. I love that they extended the shoulder pads out and gave you more posing options here. 

S.H. Figuarts Sasuke Uchiha - Naruto Shippuden

 I didn't love Sasuke's character in Shippuden. He seemed more irrational and less relatable than ever before. In Part 1 you could understand his motivation and really get it even though he wasn't particularly likeable. He had episodes where he showed a more childlike or human side to himself that made you understand, even in the battle at the end. 

Shippuden's writing needs to make more sense. That said, the character grows and he does get some pretty sweet lighting and doujutusu (eye) abilities that make him an intense force to be reconned with. This figure is of him post-Itachi fight, in his gray collared shirt, armbands, blue robe and purple obi rope belt. 

They did kind of an amazing job with all this clothing junk he has on his outfit. First of all, amazing range for the arms, neck, diaphragm and legs, especially when you consider how the robe restricts movement. The belt bows move independently which is nice! He has a very clean place to put his sheath, with or without the sword in it. His chidori effect is pretty good, though not any better or worse than the previous release. There's quite a few differences between this release and the last Sasuke release they had (Itachi Battle ver.). He comes with a lot more face options, and some nice sword options to go along with his chidori (lightning). I'll be comparing the other Sasuke by SHF which I'll refer to herein as SFB (Sasuke final battle). 

S.H. Figuarts Sakura Haruno - Naruto Shippuden

 

I'm super excited to reintroduce new figures for the Naruto line! I didn't know this would ever happen, so thanks to one of my readers for alerting me to this earlier last year. To be fair, most of them are figures we've seen before, but with entirely new engineering, facial expressions, and prices. They initially released Shippuden versions of Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, and FINALLY SAKURA. It only took forever to release female character. With this, I finally complete an original team 7. I don't know why it took so long to make a female figure, especially considering how easy it is for some of their builds and accessories, but here we are. SH Figuarts ALSO is making kid versions of Naruto and Sasuke, which I have preordered out of Japan. 

This is fantastic stuff, and the very first I want to go over is Sakura Haruno. Sakura's parents and origins aren't featured much in the original two parts, and this is mostly because Kishimoto is 1) Bad at writing female characters and 2) Thinks they are secondary to males, so they never get as much screen time or good fights. Sakura DOES get one or two good fights in Shippuden, but mostly she's around to beat up Naruto, have interrelational conflicts with Ino, and swoon over Sasuke. Gross! This is a shame because as one of the new Sanin, Sakura is absolutely a powerhouse. 

Early in the series, she is a genjutsu sensory expert and learns early on from Tsunade the art of healing and concentrating chakra so pointedly she can break through the earth with her punches and kicks. Later on, in the Boruto series and the light novels, it becomes clear Sakura is even stronger than that, and can completely regenerate using the same principles as Tsunade by banking chakra into a diamond seal on her forehead. They definitely do female characters dirty in Shippuden and Part 1, but at least Sakura is featured more than most, what with being a crush on Naruto and a main team member of Team 7. 

The figure is fairly simple, but very well done. The proportions are nice, and the articulation they've put on all these figures is also very well done. Sakura has some good engineering, and while she doesn't have a ton of accessories, it's enough for her character and what she does in the show. 

Mafex Hush - Batman Hush

 

Hush is a villainous foil to Bruce Wayne/Batman who tried to kill his parents as a child. He grows up a bit of a psychopath and uses his surgeon skills to literally impersonate other people by sewing on face parts to infiltrate, cause chaos and assassinate others! This is Face-Off but upgraded! In the Hush storyline where he makes his first appearance, Hush is first thought to be Jason Todd in an epic battle at the end, then melts to be revealed as Clayface, THEN the real Hush eventually shows up, and is shot by a reconstructed Two-Face (aka One face now! hah!). 

Hush makes a bunch of appearances after this, because what is a Batman villain if they can't escape and do more crime again?! Anyway, this is a pretty great figure. The joints in the foot/knees are a bit loose on mine, but a lot of range here! There's a ton of extras (some of which are VERY small and loseable!!), and they've done some things to make the figure more flexible: the pouches on the belt actually have a hinge that flips up, and the coat is a softer plastic that allows some movement. Being able to swap out the chest decal and belt is a cool feature! 

Mafex Medicom Superman - Batman Hush

 

Superman in Batman Hush plays in another bizarre event in the comics. Amongst all of Batman's rogue gallery, all of whom are acting strangely, Superman adds to the list. Poison Ivy has managed to use her pheromonal control and is manipulating Superman into killing Batman. Batman notices that Superman is subtly resisting Ivy's control, and after a classic Batman v. Superman fight, triggers him into wrestling control back. He gets Catwoman to drop Lois off a building. Jeez. Anyway, so he breaks free from Ivy's control to save her, so good thing that worked! 

I only own a few Superman figures, but this is my favourite. It has all the classic look with lots of poseability, a wired cloth cape, and a few different head sculpts. The proportions are nice, and the paint is really clean. 

Mafex Medicom Catwoman - Batman Hush

Catwoman has always walked a tightrope between being a burglar-style villain and an antihero that helps out Batman and his allies. I have always liked her character in the comics because of how she balances and foils Batman's way too serious demeanour and tone. The Hush comics put Catwoman front and center to a whole wack of crazy plots, including ones that go against and for Batman's goals. Catwoman starts off by being mind controlled by Poison Ivy into stealing some ransom money, but eventually is freed from her grasp, and gains the trust of Batman. He reveals his identity to her and a romance blossoms in the story. 

This Catwoman has a classic plain black suit with goggles that became popular post-post-crisis storyline. The whip is more ropelike than the typical black whip you see in other iterations. This version sports the large belt buckle and nice sturdy boots as well, which REALLY helps keep the figure stable. It comes with a handful of accessories and is probably the most poseable Catwoman I own. The feel of the figure is a bit light but the joints are solid and neither stick nor are they too loose. Yay! 

Mafex Medicom Batman (Black ver.) - Batman Hush

 

The Batman: Hush storyline is an iconic Batman series of comics from Oct 2002 to Sept 2003. It's a pretty convoluted back-and-forth storyline, but it all boils down to a mysterious villain Hush who is manipulating Batman's villains and allies to destroy Batman. These involve pretty elaborate schemes that cause his typical rogues' gallery to behave in unusual ways, all cumulating in the final reveal: Who is Hush? 

I read the story and while I liked it and the art, like many comic book stories it's all over the place and tenuously connected. That's just the reality of comic books it seems, no hate! The version of Batman here is very plain and classic: blue and grey with a yellow utility belt. I prefer black and grey so when Mafex offered the alternative, I had to scoop it up!

This figure is fantastic: well-painted and sculpted, poses smoothly, comes with a bunch of accessories and is fun to play with. Unlike the original blue and grey release it comes with a cool gargoyle piece stand! Makes for some iconic posing! Unfortunately, it doesn't come with the unmasked Bruce Wayne head, which I think is one of the best comic forms of his face in figure form! 

Kaiyodo Amazing Yamaguchi Arkham Knight - Batman: Arkham Knight

 

Amazing Yamaguchi is a line by Kaiyodo of action figures with hyper poseability. So much so that when I read or listen to reviews about them, the largest complaint is how difficult it is to get into poses due to all the joint rotations, but once you do, they look...well, amazing! Using the Revoltech joint system (two pegs with a ball joint swivel), they're able to achieve extreme poses, albeit with exaggerated proportions compared to the source material. 

This figure of the Arkham Knight from the game is pretty cool. Aesthetically, not as bulky or imposing in this scale, but maybe that's because there's no equivalent for this line for Batman himself. This is an expensive import though, and as such the quality is fantastic. The sculpt is so detailed and the colours are vibrant, especially the shiny bits. The figure is solid and fairly easy to pose around, though like many Amazing Yamaguchi figures, there are certain poses that show surreal gaps, especially raising the arms above the shoulders. 

There are so many great accessories here, specifically for switching the figure into the Red Hood version. The weapons are very odd here, and it's something that has put me off buying a lot of McFarlane DC Figures. He comes with a couple of laser swords and two kris knives....which...I gotta say I played the game 3 times and never saw him use a laser sword once or those knives. This is a weird choice, but it's pressured by WB's decision that started with a mandate to remove guns from their figure marketing properties. This effectively means that since February of last year, no figures sold using WB's license can be marketed using guns. I don't know how this decision came to be, but now toy companies are selling figures with trigger fingers that are supposed to use guns, but don't come with them. This makes it a harder decision: Do you buy them and then hope the decision is reversed? Hope McFarlane or other companies sell a weapons pack later? Do you buy them and use your own weapon arsenal to substitute in? For the most part (this figure being the exception), I don't buy them. 

This doesn't affect most figures, but I passed up on the Arkham Knight Red Hood by McFarlane because...well the character isn't much without the guns. The same goes with Hush or a multitude of other characters. I just have those already with guns, so I don't need to buy a newer one that comes with less, you know? 

Creative Field Grave Frog - Number 57

 You know those totally random purchases when you get something just because it is both A) On sale and B) cool looking? This is one such purchase! This model kit was featured on Hobbylink Japan on a pretty steep sale, and just looked cool, so I went in to see what it was like. I wasn't disappointed! It was a lot of fun to build, and you get a lot of choices. They come in pretty short at only a couple of inches though, so may not necessarily jive with all your other figures. 

One of the first is deciding to build an aquatic body grave frog or a terrestrial one. I went for the aquatic body with the toad face and cigar cause it looks like it has a lot of class! You can switch the weapons to make them side-mounted onto the suit or held in the hands (albeit a bit loosely). You can equip a backpack, computer and walkie-talkie if you want as well. The aquatic look has a clear helmet to put around. The joints are pretty great, all extended ball joints that hold together well and allow for tons of flexibility. 

I looked up Fifty-Seven and their lines and while I found some cool Shark-type ones with a similar body, I didn't really figure out what the story is behind the creature aside from them being a model kit with a cool look. I'm happy with that, but was just curious! 

Kaiyodo Asian Giant hornet - Revogeo

Occasionally, I'll purchase or be gifted a figure I was not anticipating. This is one of those! I had seen Kaiyodo previously release a beetle and scorpion, thinking they were really cool looking but at the time not sure if my action figure budget could sustain the purchase at the time. Ultimately I didn't have to make that decision because this was a wonderful birthday gift! 

The Revogeo line is a set of realistic animal figures created by Kaiyodo with amazing accessories and moving parts that use the Revoltech joint system. I absolutely love this figure, and it being from my Japanese in-laws, reflects the absolute terror everyone has for the Asian Giant hornet or Suzumebachi (literally "murder hornet". I have personally never seen one (and was slightly disappointed) despite warning signs of them when I was on Miyajima island in Japan. 

This figure has a TON of range in every segment of its body. It has a better abdominal crunch in the thorax end than most humanoid figures, replaceable wings, moving jaw parts and a stinger that can unsheath with some finagling! The stand attachment is good and while this is one of my first Kaiyodo figures, I've heard of the number of extra joints it comes with in case of breakages and that's always a good thing. 

McFarlane Toys Genestealer - Warhammer 40k

While I did like the colour scheme and look of the Blood Angel Space Marine chapter and made them my primary sci-fi models when I started the miniature hobby, I did think the other armies also looked pretty cool. The Tyranid race is a cool, dangerous look space alien that likely inspired things like the Zerg from Starcraft. A foundational footsoldier of that army of colonizing aliens is the genestealer, a many-armed clawed creature who is fast and deadly at close range. They reproduce by using their tongue as an ovipositor into victims, directly injecting their viral DNA into the host. The DNA slowly takes over, converting the (usually human) into a Genestealer cultist, a sort of part human part Tyranid that continues to spread the virus across the planet. 

I love the dynamic attacking look, and I needed some kind of enemy for the one Space marine I had for battle! I'm not keen on necessarily doing army building or collecting the other 40k offerings McFarlane has, but I would probably buy a cool Aeldari or something like a Terminator if they did come out with them. 

This figure does the many armed thing well and has good paint application. You can get it into all kinds of interesting dynamic poses! I love it even though it's not, particularly my favourite army in 40k! 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Titan Joker - Arkham Asylum

 The more I think about the first couple of Arkham games, Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, the more I think it's just a giant warning message about going straight to human drug trials. Most of the boss fights in Arkham Asylum directly involve the use of the Titan formula, kind of an untested mix between Bane's strengthening venom and poison ivy's control poison. The result is a crazy hypergrowth that creates insane henchmen. Joker, being the chaotic evil person he is, tries it on himself as a last resort to take down Batman, and becomes Titan Joker, a massive, clawed, mohawk-touting monster who also managed to grow like 10 feet tall. 

Not everyone loved the Arkham Asylum boss fight, though to be fair many of the boss fights were pretty simple in their attack and dodging patterns. I just thought it was funny to introduce this bane-ish Joker, then they manage to make it near tragic after-effect for the rest of the next game. This Joker is an absolute beast of a figure, and being a Megafig it doesn't come with anything but a card. No stand is going to hold this thing, are you kidding. It is EXTREMELY top-heavy, and I like the paint but the finish is so extremely glossy, it reflects a bit too much. I love the detail, but some joints are useless, like the diaphragm. I can't move mine at all. The elbow double joints are appreciated, but the plastic they used for them is really weak. Mine snapped off with just a couple of careful turns. They of course ratchet everything, which I get in practice since it makes it so big limbs don't just flop, but it was a bit too much. It grabs the joints to the point where moving it leads to weakening. I had to boil and pop the pin and rebuild the joint, and now am not too sure I'll be able to move it much at the elbow again unless I want to risk the same problem. 

Overall, it's a decent figure and I'm glad I got one that isn't a crazy aftermarket price like the original DC collectibles one. That one is like 300+ dollars everywhere I look, so it is nice this was made. 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Batwoman - Batman Beyond: Futur'es End Build-a-Fig

 

The daughter of Dick Grayson, Mayor of Bludhaven, is Elainna Grayson. Through involvement with Matt McGuiness, Terry McGuinness (Batman), Bruce Wayne and her father, she became aware

and involved in various crimefighting plots. Though she promised her father she wouldn't become involved in the hero's life, she eventually took up the Batsuit when Terry McGuiness had his identity stolen by False Face. She's had some combat training in the armed forces, and is also a bit of demolition expert! She demonstrates this in her fight with Blight where she levels a building on him! 

I like the style of the suit's shoulder pads, belt and eyepieces. The wings have the exact same problem as the Terry McGuiness Batman figure. The figure has a bit more range even than the Batman figure in the build-a-fig wave, and the diaphragm joint has an improved back bend. Nice!

Overall a really nice figure, the alternate figure has the unmasked head and jetfire for the boots, which is very tempting! One criticism I have is the same I have for many female figures, the FEET. They are very human barefoot shaped at the bottom as well as being small which makes them hard to balance and pose. DAMMIT. I need toy companies to listen here, stop doing this. In fact, all figures except big, animals, and bare-footed figures, make the bottoms of the feet flat. I don't care canonically what it is supposed to be, make it FLAT. 

Mafex Medicom Bane - The Dark Knight Rises

I'm a big fan of things Batman in general, and The Dark Knight trilogy is one of my favourite live-action Batman films (yes, I did also very much enjoy The Batman as well). The first film was great, the second was even better, and the third was...ok. Despite wanting to collect this Bane figure played by the very talented Tom Hardy in the film, this was more for the completionist's sake than my love for how they wrote Bane. Overlooking the interesting voice he uses for the film, this Bane is far less imposing and threatening than your average venom-roided Bane. He is portrayed as a clever villain, which fits his character, but he just wasn't that interesting to watch in Nolan's Batman universe. 

That said, Mafex absolutely nailed this figure's rendition. His articulation is great, the digital face printing and paint details are very accurate, and he comes with pieces to swap out his jacket for bare arms. I can't think of any way they could improve the figure honestly. 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Batman - Batman Beyond: Future's end Build-a-figure

 

Bruce Timm's Batman: The Animated Series is probably one of the most beloved animated Batman shows of all time. I certainly loved it as a kid, even though at the time I wasn't actually super into Batman (TMNT and Xmen was more my thing at the time). The show was followed up by New Adventures and then eventually Batman Beyond, a futuristic sci-fi cyberpunk setting 20 years later. That means 2019. Oh dear, if only they knew what we know now! 

Terry McGuiness is the new Batman under the tutelage of a very old Bruce Wayne. The themes of the show are much darker than the first two shows despite being developed by the same people. I quite liked the show, and am in general fond of when shows take characters ahead in time to tell different stories of how they've grown and changed. The new Batman of the future has a suit that conforms to his body, has thrusters and gliding wings for flight, and is generally immune to bullets, lasers, electrical shocks etc. Pretty supped up! It isn't hard to make a good figure out of this iteration of Batman, and for the most part, McFarlane nails it.

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Lobo - Rebirth

 Lobo first appeared in comics in the 80s, as a bounty hunter alien from the planet Czarnia. He was shelved for a while and came back in the 90s. From the animated shows and movies I've seen, he is a mix of personalities between Wolverine and Punisher. I'm not even 100% sure of his abilities all the time, except maybe super strength and regeneration. Is he immortal...I think? Perhaps he's a bit Deadpool-like as well? At any rate, he rides around space in his space hog motorcycle, taking contracts. Sometimes he sides with the heroes and other times takes the villain's money. 

Every time Lobo has shown up, he's been kind of a badass. I sort of like this figure as something that could be good, evil, an alien biker gang leader, or whatever! He fits a few niches. They did an awesome job of the biker look, kneepads, facial expression and special mention for the awesome back of the biker vest! He comes with his signature hook and chain which is done fairly well. He's got a good heft to him and can get in some decent poses. This purchase for me was sort of out of left field, since I know very little about the character, don't have a lot invested in buying him, and wasn't even planning on buying him when I first saw the release. That said, I'm happier with him than I am with some other McFarlane figures! 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Red Robin (Tim Drake) - New 52

 

Who is the best Robin? Well out of the primary 4; Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne, my favorite often changes but I quite like Damian Wayne's brutal intensity alongside Batman. One thing is for sure, Tim Drake is the most analytically intelligent. He spent the shortest time as Robin before he was deployed to do his own thing as Red Robin. Then going back to Robin. Because comics! 

McFarlane Toys Sokka - Avatar: The Last Airbender

 

Sokka is one of the most hilarious characters in the show. He's a smart, tactical warrior of the Northern Water tribe who spins out endless jokes, witty sarcastic remarks, and overblown dramatic reactions. He's one of my favourites and is still a respectable and intelligent fighter. This is a really good representation of his appearance throughout most of the show. They put him in with all his weapons which is cool and the colours and sculpt are well done. His facial expression is animated enough in style, but his smirk seems more on the smarmy side than the coy side. His eyes should have been bigger. Anyway, still good. 

McFarlane Toys Aang Avatar State Gold Label - Avatar: The Last Airbender

 

Aang being the titular character of the show has a lot to do from the very start. First, his entire nation of Air monks has been completely wiped out by the Fire nation, so does he rebuild? He has been in a hibernating state for the last 100 years, allowing the Fire Nation to take control and commit atrocities when left unchecked. How does he deal with his guilt over running away from his destiny? Finally, how does he restore balance to both the physical world and spiritual world while also finding masters to help him learn to bend the other elements? I love how despite his changes in the show, he maintains a peaceful and harmonious outlook no matter how awful things become. 

McFarlane Toys Zuko Book One: Water Unhelmeted - Avatar: the Last Airbender

 

Avatar the Last Airbender is one of my favourite shows of all time. I have watched it from beginning to end at least 10 times, and have never stopped enjoying the great world-building, dialogue, and analogies to real-life societal issues. The "magic" system of bending is great, and they really explore what it is to be able to use those abilities creatively in the show. All the main characters build and develop throughout the 3 seasons, and there's a lot of other great lore out there in comics and the next story, The Legend of Korra. I've been hesitant in buying this line for a few reasons, most of which are that the sculpts end up being pretty sloppy and the poseability of the figures isn't generally very good.