I don't currently own any other Marvel Legends 1:1 scale roleplay toys, but purchased this Avengers Endgame Power Gauntlet at a significant discount at the end of 2019, and shot video for the YouTube presentation below shortly thereafter. For whatever reason I fell behind getting it together, but am finally putting this out. I have had this piece on display since I got it and am quite fond of it. Check out the video:
At 8 x 22 x 12", with lights and sounds, it is quite the display piece. From the Manufacturer:
Lights, Sounds, Electronic Articulation, and Display Mode
The Power Gauntlet electronic fist from the Marvel Legends Series features premium design and intricate detailing across the entire gauntlet and its 6 light-up Infinity Stones. Each colorful Infinity Stone is equipped with a pulsating glowing light effect. Pushing the stone at the center of the gauntlet activates Avengers: Endgame movie-inspired sound FX. The Power Gauntlet Electronic Fist also features individually articulated finger joints for open hand and fist roleplay. The Gauntlet’s fist-lock feature mechanism allows the item to be displayed in an appropriately powerful clenched fist pose.
My pursuit of 8" Mego DC Heroes continues with these new Flash and Green Lantern that I happened upon in a regional chain, V-Stock at a fair retail price, $16.99. I picked up a Mego DC Villain while getting these, but we'll get to that in a later post. Mego didn't produce a Flash or Green Lantern among their World's Greatest Superheroes line in the '70s, so these have the additional "fulfilled wish" attraction.
I was made aware of an upgraded suit available from Absolutely Retro that was more vivid in color, with vinyl material details better matching the figures boots and lantern. The buck on these new 8" Megos seem to be of sturdy construction. In true Mego fashion, the shoulders and hips are banded- mine won't see much action, so your mileage may vary. I wouldn't pull the arms and legs hard, but we were probably rough on our Megos in the '70s- none of mine survived. They must have been a fun toy for kids because we are still here talking about Mego.
The suit upgrade was totally worth it, elevating this John Stewart Green Lantern to the next level with cleaner, more vivid materials. By and large, I've been happy with the outfits on my new Mego figures, but this really made a difference. Very nice...
Below, 8" John Stewart Green Lantern with my Mego 14" Hal Jordan Green Lantern, a figure I personally modified the body on to fix a loose pelvic joint. I detailed the process of that within the video on that blog post, check it out. This larger Green Lantern could have benefitted from a gripping hand to hold his lantern better like the 8", though the newer 14" Megos are coming with extra hands.
Below, Mego John Stewart next to Mattel DC Retro-Action John Stewart. Mattel released four GL Exclusives on MattyCollector in 2012. I had been reading a lot of Green Lantern, and have them all on card to this day...
This isn't the only Flash, Mego or otherwise, that I've seen have red stains on the yellow boots, though it's somewhat pronounced on my sample unfortunately. Regardless, I love the vivid colors on this figure, which hits all the right notes for a classic Flash. Interestingly, Mego released a Teen Titans Kid Flash, but never a classic Barry Allen Flash. In truth, this 8" Mego could arguably be the Wally West Flash of the DCAU with his whited-out eyes and simpler waist and arm bands, though his chest insignia is more classic Siver- Age Flash.
As with Green Lantern, I also have a 14" Mego Flash in my collection. The lightning bands around his waist and cuffs are more traditional, like the Mattel Retro-Action Flash pictured below, both of which are style-guide perfect Silver-Age representations.
I had intended to restrict my Mego collection to their new 14" DC figures, but I caved when they recently introduced their 8" DC Heroes. When Mattel released their 8" Retro-Action figures in 2010, I had just started this blog, and I really got into other figures around this same scale with cloth outfits, like ToyBiz's 9" Marvel Famous Covers. Fun Times! Revisit the halcyon days of Mego in the '70s and keep up with the resurrected Mego of the 21st Century at the online Mego Museum!
I've owned maybe three Figures Toy Company figures, which is odd because of how much I loved Mego's World's Greatest Superheroes as a kid. This Figures Toy Company Green Arrow looks a lot like it's '70s counterpart, complete with his green Mego boots. I purchased him on the secondary market, advertised as "new in factory bag". My sample looks fantastic, only a somewhat loose right knee to complain about.
While going through more than one Batman and Superman, I never had a Mego Green Arrow as a child, making this a fun grab for me. I don't remember knowing Green Arrow as a character distinctly then, learning far more about him reading comics as an adult, as with many DC characters. Millionaire businessman Oliver Queen does draw comparisons to Bruce Wayne/Batman, but has his own flair...
GA's shoulder straps on his fence of arrows are clunky and his belt doesn't tab well, but he holds his bow nicely, and his soft rubber cape stretches over his head in a nice way. I'm not sure if the original GA had any of these problems but doubt I would have noticed as a child. Still, mine displays well enough- a really nice-looking figure.
Below, 8" Figures Toy Company GA with my 8" Mattel Retro-Action GA. That Mattel line really sparked my nostalgia for my Mego figures of the '70s and sparked my interest in action figure collecting back in 2010 when I started this blog.
And below, 8" Figures Toy Company and Mattel Retro-Action 8" Green Arrows with my 6" DC Universe Classics Green Arrow, my 10" and 4" JLU Green Arrows, and my 13" DC Direct Green Arrow. Not all my GA figures, but a greater portion of!
My third 14" Mego Batman, this new black/gray version was purchased after enjoying the other two 14" Mego figures recently dropped, the new classic Superman and Shazam. This new wave of 14" Mego seem to run about $35.00, a substantial price hike after paying $20.00 at Target for the first few waves. New bodies, improved sculpt, and extra hands were improvements used to justify the price increase, and while they are nice, I could never understand how Mego could make money selling the first waves so cheap, many of which I purchased at a heavy discount. Pleased with the two I had, picking up this Batman wasn't in my plans, but Kokomo Toys out of Indiana was selling these shipped at thirty bucks so I took the bait. Check out the video:
Mego gave us a batarang with this Batman, and the hands to hold it. The same grapple hook was also included, which I've tied yellow nylon cord to with my other Batman figures. I like having extra fists with my Batman figure, but hands that actually hold the accessories better is really nice too...
Below, the new Mego 14" Batman with my blue/gray Classic Batman and Dark Knight Detective Batman, both from 2019. I don't like the new Batman more than these two previous versions. In fact, I like the way their suits fit better, and I don't mind the beefier build. I do like the batarang and extra hands, but it seems like the clothes size stayed the same when they built the newer, slightly smaller buck. Even the belt has a somewhat hard time knowing where to sit. You can wiggle things around to fit, but it's not as good as the previous Batman figures.
Below, the new 14" Mego Batman with his smaller counterpart, the 2021 8" Mego Batman. I had intended to avoid Mego's new 8" figures to save space for my 14" DC Heroes but made an exception for this Batman. I have since picked up other 8" Mego DC characters you will see in future posts...
Below, Batman with the other two new 14" Mego DC Heroes, a classic Superman and Shazam! I was thrilled to finally see these produced after a pause in Mego 14" offerings. Shazam was supposed to be released in the 4th quarter of 2019, but when the manufacturer/factory closed, they had to start all over again...
And finally, Batman with my 14" Mego Joker. Like many of the other 14" Mego in my collection, I picked Joker up quite a while after he was released, ordering a jacket from Dr. Mego to supplement my vested, but not jacketed figure- the jacket originally came with the first Joker which had only a printed vest. Joker is on an older male buck that is beefier than the new Batman. Regardless, I'm really enjoying seeing all the new Mego since their 2018 resurrection and love their 14" DC figures. I've been tempted by their 14" Star Trek and Monsters but would be more interested in seeing new DC characters like Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, or Jor-El. Recommended!
The last two of the 12" Batman/DC figures I snagged on the secondary market recently were these Mattel Batman Missions 80th Anniversary figures. Full disclosure, the figures Mattel made, then later Spin Master, are really 11.5". I label them as 1:6 scale here on the blog, but only to clump my larger action figures into one group for ease of perusal. I remember admiring these in 2019 but passing because you can't buy everything you like. I'm a longtime fan of "big dumb action figures" though and think these are top shelf examples.
Below, Mattel 12" 1st Appearance Batman with Hasbro's 9" Masterpiece Edition Batman. I'm pretty sure this Hasbro Batman was produced in 2000 and came with a book. Hasbro produced several DC figures in this scale with soft goods outfits in the years around this era, while ToyBiz gave Marvel characters a similar treatment with their Famous Covers line, of which I own several. The 12" Mattel Batman doesn't have a wire cape like the Hasbro Batman but was cleverly cut and stitched to drape over the shoulders. Mattel's inclusion of a batarang seems deluxe as their 12" figures more often included no accessories.
Below, 1st Appearance Batman with an earlier Mattel Batman Unlimited figure, which had not yet adopted the knee joints Mattel would include on the 12" Batman Missions figures.
It's hard for me to tell if there are subtly different tones of black/gray or merely surface texture variation on this Batwing figure, but he reads all black from afar. While that's a little unfortunate, it doesn't negate the fantastic futuristic sculpt of this figure. Great value for a $10-$12 "boy's toy" category.
Like Mattel's 6" Batwing, the 12" has removeable wings, only split into two separately pegged sections. They look very similar! I've held onto this 6" DC Multiverse Batwing for the last four years for his uniqueness among my 6" Mattel Batman figure collection. I loved Mattel's DCUC line when I started collecting figures as an adult, and have held onto many of them I bought, even circling back to pick some up years later.
There is a real comic book quality to the aesthetic of these Mattel Batman figures, the 1st Appearance Batman most notably, for which the head sculpt takes a lot of cues from the Justice League Action animated series (2016-2018). I didn't really see any of that show, but Mattel did produce 12" action figures of the characters in that style. Spin Master now has the licensing for this class of DC action figure, but Mattel did produce a few of note.
