Marvel Legends Infinity Gauntlet Thanos & Obsidian Surfer

 I acquired the Marvel Legends Deluxe Infinity Gauntlet Thanos and Walgreens Exclusive Obsidian Surfer within a week of one another, the former for free using Amazon points, and the Surfer during my only sighting in the wild since. I'd been on the fence regarding Thanos, as I've owned a fantastic classic Marvel Select Thanos for years. This long awaited Marvel Legends Thanos had some extra articulation points however, and may scale better with other 6" Hasbro figures. Also included was an alternate snapping-fingers left hand, an accessory that seems almost crucial at this point.

While I've read The Infinity Gauntlet, I've not read the story from the recent pages of Thanos, were King Thanos brings back young Thanos to fight the Fallen One, or Obsidian Surfer, wielding Mjolnir, returning to kill the Titan for destroying everyone in the Universe.

Obsidian Surfer includes flame effects for his hands in addition to Mjolnir, and Thanos an additional King Thanos head sculpt, allowing fans to reenact the Thanos Wins storyline. I'll refrain from spoiling much, though will say Obsidian Surfer does not emerge the victor.

Below, Infinity Gauntlet Thanos with Marvel Select Thanos and Hasbro Marvel Universe Thanos, and with Marvel Legends Walmart Exclusive Modern Thanos further below...

Below. Thanos with a few other larger Marvel Legends: Thing, Venompool, Beast and Hulk...

And finally, Obsidian Surfer with Marvel Legends Walgreens Exclusive Fantastic Four...

While I have the regular Marvel Legends Silver Surfer still  boxed, on ice, and more than one Thanos figure, I like this darker release of the Surfer, and I didn't pay anything for the Infinity Gauntlet Thanos. Both are really nice figures! Recommended! 

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Incredible Hulk, V.1, No.250

I always go for those double-size collector item when hunting for used comics, and the art by Sal Buscema in this Incredible Hulk issue I found back in January is right in my Bronze-Age wheelhouse. I've recalled fondly upon the Hulk of this era before on this blog, The Incredible Hulk TV show airing on CBS Friday nights, and being just the right age to appreciate this action oriented, fantastic character. Several panels of the art looked so familiar, that I questioned if I'd had the issue as a boy, but didn't recognize the cover. Because I wasn't 100% certain, I didn't tag it under Comics From My Youth here on the Super-DuperToyBox. Still, it would have been about the time I was obsessed with the Hulk and Spider-Man, two childhood favorites.

Though I was somewhat unfamiliar with the Sentinel of the Spaceways at this point, the Silver Surfer costars in Incredible Hulk #250, seeking to tap the seemingly exponential power of the Green Goliath to break free of Galactus' cursed imprisonment on Earth...

In exchange for his cure of his gamma-induced condition, Dr. Bruce Banner assists the Surfer in recreating the conditions that made him the Hulk! For awhile, Banner enjoys domestic bliss, developing a relationship with widower Clare and her daughter Mary Beth, both unaware of his past and the Silver Surfer's ulterior motives.

Driven mad by his ability to gain enough power, the Surfer goes mad, demanding Banner expose him to higher and higher doses of gamma, alerting the townsfolk to their clandestine experiment.

The gamma infuser damaged by the townspeople, and further by Banner's transformation, an angry Silver Surfer swoops in to drag the green behemoth into space! There, the cosmic being saps all of Banner's power, using it to finally break free of Galactus' prisoner force field, but dropping the helpless doctor into the vacuum of space!

Ironically, the Surfer rushes back to Earth in order to save Banner, returning the tortured scientist to his lonely curse, abandoned in the wilderness like so many times before. This was as much a Silver Surfer story as a Hulk story, the two cursed beings of great power, trapped by their respective pasts, bereft of understanding by those they encounter. I dunno if I'd call it great literature, but Incredible Hulk #250 is a fun romp through the Marvel of my childhood!

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TRU 15 Transforming Thing/Herald Silver Surfer

I passed on this one a few times, but with the release of Series 48, that included three other members of the Fantastic Four and Blastaar, a plan started to formulate in my head. Clinching the deal was the Silver Surfer, whose betrayal of Galactus in Marvel Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 3 TPB thrilled me just three years ago. I soon after dug deeper into this character, picking up Marvel Essential Silver Surfer, Vol.1.  These are the books to read if you want to see the genesis of Galactus, the FF, and Silver Surfer coming together. Great stuff! This 2-pack is another with a double tray due to the deluxe accessories included. This should be real fun!   :D

While the Surfer is relatively vanilla, the translucent magenta accessories help out quite a bit. The board pegs onto a clear plastic flight stand Diamond included. His buff physique is tamped onto the torso, front and back, and his clenched teeth and furrowed brow look great.

Surfer's board-blast accessory is really supposed to fit onto the tail (below), though I had fun putting the blast below his flight stand for photographing. It's a nice touch that Diamond thoughtfully added Kirby-dots to for that Silver-Age feel I really enjoy!

Herald Silver Surfer with his master, Cosmic Power Galactus...

I'm glad I got into MiniMates after the larger characters started getting the sculpted overlays to beef them up, a most especially important upgrade to the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing! The boots on these larger MiniMates are prone to slippage, but they sure look cool. Diamond sculpted Thing's craggy orange hide really well, tamping a serious face on the figure that only his Aunt Petunia could love! He looks great...

Thing with my TRU 16 Indestructible Hulk...

What makes this Thing MiniMate special is the ability to strip off the rocks, and pop on the extra head, feet, & hands to make Ben Grimm. The Thing has reverted to his human form from time to time, adding dramatic effect to this tortured character, and it was revealed later that Franklin & Valeria developed a potion that allowed him one week a year to be his old self again. I love the details on Ben's orange flight suit- transforming him is a job, but worth the effort.

With the Nova Flame Human Torch to keep Ben company, I now have half the team. As Sue and Reed do, Johnny and Ben create a lot of human drama that made the Fantastic Four special in it's time. Trapped in their cosmic ray conditions, the gruff Ben bristles at Johhny's immature showboating and trouble making, but cares deeply for the youth nonetheless. In my opinion, this relationship is a foundational cornerstone of the book that made Marvel the giant it is today.

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Silver Surfin'

I bought these two cheap rotary display bases off Amazon a couple weeks ago, and gave them an inaugural spin with a couple of my Silver Surfers. They have solar power, but if you want the lights to really blare, a double A plugged into the underside helps a lot- I picked up another pack of Rayovac Platinum  rechargeables, which have worked great with my camera. The rotary direction, which spins about 4.5 revolutions per minute, can be reversed by braking the turntable- it's a nice slow speed that's just about right. They turntable is only 3 1/2" wide, so they won't hold everything in my collection, but they will hold any 6" figure with a tight footprint stance, any mini figure, my Brave & The Bold figures, and Marvel Universe- all of which I have many. They are about as inexpensively manufactured as they could be, but spin evenly and will work fine for my videos, like this one...

 *See my post on the 4" Marvel Universe Silver Surfer.
 *See my post on the Marvel Heroes & Villains mini Silver Surfer.
 *See my post on the ToyBiz 14" Cosmic Power Galactus.

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More From the Dollar Comics Bin...

While digging up the remainder of the X-Force/"X-Cutioner's Song" crossover event in the dollar comic bins at V-Stock this week, I found some real gems, including the Dr. Strange #32 pictured above! I mean, will you look at that cover? You know that'll be fun  :D

*Warlock Chronicles #1 & #2, 1993

Since reading Infinity Gauntlet this summer, my interest in Thanos, Adam Warlock, & Dr. Strange has piqued. They are all characters I knew little or nothing of just a couple years ago before I started this blog & started reading comics again, and though I always thought of myself as a meat-and-potatoes kinda superhero fan, these cosmic characters were an unexpectedly fun read. That #1 has a  foil/prizm background, and embossed Adam Warlock on the front- really great! This should be entertaining  :D

*The Silver Surfer/Warlock Resurrection #1  and What If... #49, 1993

Again, more Adam Warlock WITH Silver Surfer, AND Drax the Destroyer on the cover! Cannot wait to dig into that! I've never had A What If.. issue, and read this from front to back last night before bed. Wasn't head-over-heels about the art, but I was entertained by the story.

On an earlier trip I picked up some Infinity Gauntlet-related 1991 issues of  Dr. Strange and Silver Surfer, in which the good Doctor must take on Adam Warlock and the Sentinel of the Spaceways, comrades against the Mad Titan Thanos in the Infinity Gauntlet, and Silver Surfer suffers the mind-bending vengance of Thanos- far out! I've also read Defenders # 78 & #79 from 1979-80, which feature the reluctant teamates Sub-Mariner & the Hulk- intense!

 

I sincerely enjoyed all these, and at a dollar an issue, that's hard to beat. I finally broke down last month and got a couple boxes to help keep me organized, but will need another soon as the "Have Read" box on the left, below is nearly full. Keep in mind there's also a huge tote full of comics from my youth, and a bookshelf in my room packed with trade hardbacks, paperbacks, and single issues. I wish I had time to write about each and every one of these, but I read A LOT of comics- far more than I ever did as a kid :D

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Marvel Universe Silver Surfer

I was almost shocked to find this one on Sunday afternoon- decided to switch things up & check out what Target had of these Marvel Universe figures- they had several I would have bought on any other day, but I wasn't feeling it, so I only walked off with this Silver Surfer. 

Like a lot of these, Silver Surfer could have used a cut joint in the calves or thighs- this would have helped with posing on the surfboard, though he does okay. I'm not sure how you could go wrong with such a simple character, really- he looks like you'd think. Though I'll say, I think they did a good job on nature boy's... ummm, ...face.  He really does look like the Sentinel of the Spaceways.

Silver Surfer came with a "Top Secret" S.H.I.E.L.D. files- at one time you could enter a code at furyfiles.com, but the web address just takes you to Hasbro's site now- I'm always late for the dance... We already know he was Norrin Radd, an astronomer from the planet Zenn-La before pledging to serve as herald for the planet-consuming Galactus in exchange for mercy on his people. Boy did that cause him some trouble!

I had a couple Silver Surfer's already, so I could play BIG TOY/little toy with this one :D   Marvel Universe Silver Surfer with ToyBiz 10" Deluxe Edition Silver Surfer and Marvel Heroes & Villains mini Silver Surfer:

My interest in Silver Surfer only goes back a few months, having read Marvel Essential Silver Surfer, Vol. 1, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wanted to read more, but was quickly overwhelmed with a reading list that seems to have grown  exponentially. Getting back into comics after twenty years off has been a fun, but insurmountable endeavor- I have neither the money nor the time to read everything I want to, everything I missed. That is both frustrating and oddly comforting.

Though printed in only black & white, the artwork is GREAT in this book (John Buscema)! The moment of truth, when Norrin Radd is transformed into The Silver Surfer...

And while on the subject, we shouldn't forget my 14" Cosmic Power Galactus- I know they've made more modern, superior toys of this character since ToyBiz pooped this out in 1997, but I kinda like THIS one. He's simple and fun, like a toy SHOULD be  :D

A short video of Galactus & I sharing a little snack last night...

Be a Good Kid- Go Play With Your Toys!