ToyBiz Famous Covers Nightcrawler

The ToyBiz Famous Covers series were some of the first action figures I collected when starting the Super-DuperToyBox. Like Mattel's 8" Retro-Action figures, these reminded me of my Mego World's Greatest Heroes dolls from childhood- large action figures with real fabric costumes. I scored this guy three years ago, and have even had him on display in my home, but haven't properly documented him until now. These toys had great packaging that the figure could easily be put back into for display or storage- I have fourteen of these, and they are still among some of my favorite action figures. 

Nightcrawler here is from 1999, and is in tip-top shape, all his joints tight, and costume in mint condition. These toys had pretty good articulation, including hinge-swivel shoulders, hips wrists, and ankles, all of which work well on a character like Nightcrawler.  Since he doesn't wear oversized rubber gloves or boots some of these toys have, his ankles and wrists are more useful.

The feature of this toy that really makes it is Nightcrawler's bendable tail that can be posed in any position! Really fun! his costume looks good, thought the overlay is a little bulky, the back a little diaper-like at the velcro adjustable seam above the tail.The overall impression is really good however, and he's great fun to play with!

I thought of this toy recently when in discussion with Miss M on which X-Men character we'd be, quickly deciding she would be Kitty Pryde for her child-like enthusiasm and good natured demeanor. She asked who I'd be, and I said Nightcrawler just as assuredly. I'd loved to have said Wolverine, Colossus, but I'm not ruthless, powerful, nor genius. No, I'm more plucky and playful, like the swashbuckling blue elf, and perhaps more sensitive/spiritual like Kurt Wagner as well.

 I was also reminded of Nightcrawler recently when picking up Amazing X-Men #1, the first five issues featuring the character's return from the afterlife in "The Quest For Nightcrawler". I guess I hadn't really kept up on him, because I hadn't realized he was killed off in 2010. While it's true the character that artist Dave Cockrum introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1 back in 1975 doesn't get the same marquee status that Wolverine enjoys, he's classic X-Men to me, and Ed McGuiness' great illustration of Nightcrawler on the cover of Amazing X-Men sold me instantly. I'm two issues into this new title and really enjoying it!  

Some collectors weren't crazy about the open mouths on some of the Famous Covers toys, but they did do a great job on the teeth here. I'm not crazy about the 90's haircut they sculpted on Kurt, but he looks good and is an outstanding figure in many ways, both among this line and on his own merit.

Pictured below is my Famous Covers Nightcrawler with Magneto and Wolverine. ToyBiz released some X-Men movie figures later on around 2000, before Hasbro got the Marvel licence and produced their own short-lived line of 9" dolls.

-Read Thomas Wheeler’s Flashback Review of the Marvel Famous Covers line, and be sure to check out my other Famous Covers posts on these interesting toys.

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A Short Marvel Avengers/Famous Covers Tribute

 

In response to JBoy's "Shadow Avengers" post on Revenge From The Cosmic Ark, I pulled the Avengers lineup right out of My ToyBiz Famous Covers dollies action figures for a little video   :D

Yes, I went off on an Avengers tangent and failed to really make up any kind of unique combo like JBoy did, but it was fun  :D   And this summer was so great with the new Avengers film coming out- Marvel has done some great stuff with their movies in recent years, making it a great time to be a fan! See more pictures of some of my Famous Covers Avengers at my post from May 7th post, Vision & Scarlet Witch on my 2011 post, and Falcon on my 2010 post...

 

Check out my recent post on the Wal-Mart exclusive 6" Avengers by Hasbro...

 

 

See more pics of my Marvel Universe 3 3/4" Classic Avengers Box Set...

 

 

I also mentioned the Marvel Masterworks Avengers & The Avengers: Kree-Skrull War trade paperbacks where it all began for the World's Mightiest Heroes. I might also suggest Avengers-Defenders War, and the hilarious Avengers: Infinity Gauntlet!

 

 

 

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ToyBiz Famous Covers Hawkeye and Avengers

I got this 9" Toybiz Famous Covers Hawkeye back when I started the Super-DuperToyBox, in the autumn of 2010.  I took to my new hobby with such enthusiasm that properly photographing & writing about every purchase I made became impossible. With the new Avengers film dominating all previous box office numbers this past weekend, now is a good time to stop and look at him. I'll be seeing the film in 3-D on a "super-screen" this Thursday with a couple pals, so this won't be a critique on Jeremy Renner's big screen performance.

I showed the spectacular packaging ToyBiz put these in my post on the Scarlet Witch- really snazzy. The front/fifth panel opened to show a biography on the verso and the entire figure posed within a clear window- no ties were used, the figure posed within a molded gold plastic tray. The whole box was glossy with embossed, metallic labeling- they really went out of their way to make these deluxe. I've kept all the boxes for these in case I ever want to sell them- they take up a lot of room in the toy vault, but are too beautiful to throw away.

I'm pretty sure Hawkeye came with 3 arrows originally- being new at collecting on eBay back then, I neglected to ask the seller and was disappointed when he arrived with only one. I do remember getting him for a decent price however, and his outfit was really clean. ToyBiz did a lot right on this figure, including a decent black paint wash on the accessories, particularly the design adorning the ends of the quiver.

I was a little disappointed they didn't put Jeremy Renner in an outfit a little more like Clint Batron wears as Hawkeye in Marvel Comics. Like DC's Green Arrow, Hawkeye has such a great costume- must be the cool vibe of the archer. Absent from the updated Hawkeye is that great mask with the "H" emblazoned on his forehead- yes it's outdated against today's modernized heroes, but I love it. Hawkeye's outfit was a dark compliment to Captain America's red white & blue uniform. The glossy purple pleather on his cuffed boots and other outfit appointments have survived pretty well on this one, which have a tendency to crack and shed. There's a tiny ding in his chin, but he looks pretty good for being 14 years old!

The bow is limited in it's pose applications due to both the figures articulation and the bowstring's limited elasticity. His clawed forefingers can be difficult to get around everything, but look cool when all is in place. The joints on my Hawkeye, as on most all my Famous Covers figures, aren't super tight, so posing takes some patience.

Now for some pictures of Hawkeye with my other Famous Covers Avengers dollies action figures: Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, & Hulk. I was inspired to do this grouping by an October 2011 post on the Almighty TOYHAVEN- my vision for the Super-DuperToyBox was born looking at Alex's great blog, searching for info in these ToyBiz figures. Along with several of our mutual friends, he has been a valued source of great encouragement. While on the subject of inspiration, perhaps BubbaShelby can think up a limerick about Hawkeye and the boys... you know of course that he owns a few dollies himself   ;D

*Read more about Hawkeye at Mavel.Com

*Read my post on Marvel Masterworks: Avengers Vol.1 -Clint doesn't join the Avengers until issue #16, but this was the beginning of the legendary Marvel super group!

*Read my post on the Marvel Universe 3 3/4" Classic Avengers Box Set!

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ToyBiz Famous Covers Storm

According to Thomas Wheeler's "Flashback Review" on these, this is the second version of Storm in ToyBiz's Famous Covers line of 9" dolls action figures, created for the X-Men movie line of toys. I have dug deeply into the outer internet space and found zilch on her. I scored this on eBay quite some time ago from a seller who also had a Storm and Wolverine in black leather outfits styled after the movie outfits. He wasn't asking much for any of them, and I bought this white Storm on am impulse. To be honest, I can't find a thing about her on the internet- she might be somewhat rare!

She has a silky-feeling, luxurious cape- really nice! Some of the Famous Covers females looked as though they were ...a miss. But not Ororo, here- she's one of the prettiest dollies I've ever seen!  :D   The paint apps on her delicate face are flawless. Her head is on a ball-joint, too, making her more expressive than many of these sometimes "clunky" figures. She's a dainty flower. Ororo came to me with her silver mane banded in a long ponytail which I never let down- who would ever cover that angelic face?! *GASP*

The put some cool boots on this girl, thigh-high and fashioned from vinyl, simulating white leather. She does not like to stand in them, however. She definitely needs a doll stand. I just sold her off, so that's someone else's problem. Yeah, that's right... we broke up.

I had an initial photo session with this diva, and put her in the glass cabinet directly after where she lived the rest of her time with me. It's funny, feeling now I never appreciated her until I had her sold... maybe she was, ummm... a little too much like a Barbie doll pretty to live with me. Not that there's anything wrong with that!   :D   All joking aside, I've just been trying to thin the toy collection lately. Thankfully, I got a few decent photos of her before she left. I... I think I miss her...  Women! 

Believe it or not, I have another Storm figure by ToyBiz- one of those 10" Marvel Universe figures from the 90's. I've never opened her, and in retrospect somewhat wished she'd sold instead. While researching the Famous Covers Storm, I found that a 12" Storm that looked a lot like a Barbie was produced at some point- she was in white as well, and even included a casual change of clothes & accessories. If Hasbro produced a 3 3/4" Storm in white I'd buy it. I liked the Storm in the Marvel Universe Giant Size X-Men box set- Slangards gave her a thumbs down over at Joint Junkie. I wonder if Hasbro will take another whack. They gave us 35 Wolverines, after all!

Here's a shot of Storm with my Hasbro Cyclops- they made a dashing pair, don't you think?

I've learned a lot about Storm recently. I was unaware that Ororo married T'Challa (Black Panther) in 2006. She was created by author Len Wein & artist Dave Cockrum for the famous 1975  Giant Size X-Men #1 comic- I discovered who Cockrum was simultaneously, having read about him recently on Tony Isabella's blog. I've recently read some of the early 60's X-Men and 80's Uncanny X-Men. Chris Claremont took over the latter after Wein & Cockrum's Giant Size, fleshing out her backstory and making frequent use of the popular heroine in all the X-Men story arcs- even making her the leader of the mutant supergroup when Cyclops takes a leave of absence.

Ororo Monroe was the descendant of an ancient line of magic African priestesses, their shared physical traits that of white hair and blue eyes. She was orphaned at five, her parents killed when an airplane crashed into their home in Cairo, Egypt.  Found by a gang of street urchins who trained Ororo in the arts of thievery, she quickly became the star pupil of their master, Achmed el-Gibar. This was how Storm first met Professor X, having tried to pick pocket him long before she knew the extent of her mutant powers, and before he recruited her to the X-Men.

From the Comic Book Database:

Storm  possesses the psionic ability to manipulate weather patterns over limited areas. She can stimulate the creation of any form of precipitation such as rain or fog, generate winds in varying degrees of intensity up to and including hurricane force, raise or lower the humidity and temperature in her immediate vicinity, induce lightning and other electrical atmospheric phenomena, and disperse natural storms so as to create clear change. Storm can direct the path of certain atmospheric effects, such as bolts of lightning with her hands, and manipulate ocean currents. She is able to fly by creating winds strong enough to support her weight, the weight of others, and to propel her forward through the air. Storm can thus travel as fast as any wind can, and has reached speeds up to 300 miles per hour. Her powers over the atmosphere enable her to breathe at any speed, protect her from air friction, and grant her limited immunity to extreme heat and cold.

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Addendum 1/7/12

This figure was included in a "X-Mutations"2-pack that also featured a Halle Berry Storm from the X-Men motion picture (2000). A similar box set was also produced for Wolverine:

BIG TOY/little toy Part 2

I just wanted to share some more shots from my session with the 9" Marvel Famous Covers & their undersized counterparts from the Marvel Heroes & Villains mini figures I picked up last year. As you may know, one of my favorite ways to play here at the Super-DuperToyBox is BIG TOY/little toy  :D  If you click the BIGTOY/littletoy link in my categories cloud in the sidebar on the right you can see any post that features such a photo. In my last post I showed you Hulk & his diminutive doppelganger (go back & read it!), and here are the others- click on the links for each toy's original post:

*Hasbro Origins Wolverine  and Marvel mini Wolverine...

*ToyBiz Famous Covers Daredevil & Marvel mini Daredevil:

*ToyBiz Famous Covers Iron Man & Marvel mini Iron Man:

*Hasbro Origins Spider-Man & Marvel mini Spider-Man, ToyBiz Famous Covers Green Goblin & Marvel mini Green Goblin:

*ToyBiz Famous Covers Magneto & Marvel mini Magneto:

Be a Good Kid- Go Play With Your TOYS!