Marvel Select Vision & Red Hulk

 Diamond's Marvel Select line has had several new 7" figures solicited recently, including comic book versions of classic Vision and Red Hulk. While there are several such characters, Vision is one I get a little more excited for regarding action figures. I'm unsure Vision even registered on my childhood brain with so many other Marvel characters hogging the spotlight, but I took to him much later as an adult after reading Avengers: Kree-Skrull War (issues #89-97). While this newer Marvel Select does included articulation improved well beyond a lot of older figures from Diamond, it's not on the level of a Marvel Legends. It's serviceable however, and the classic look is intact, like Vision walked right off the paged of a Bronze-Age comic. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the number of accessories that came with Vision. including a blast effect hand, flattened/flight hand, blast effect for the wrist, and extra teeth-gritting head with removeable Solar Jewel (later the Mind Gem in the MCU) and forehead blast effect that mounts into the port. This all adds a lot of display value.

Below, Marvel Select Vision with my 9" ToyBiz Famous 

Covers Vision, and 6" Hasbro Marvel Legends Vision...

I kind of regretted not picking up the Marvel Legends Red Hulk Target was selling three or four years ago, so I was happy to see this new Marvel Select Red Hulk. I love the head sculpt, but we got TWO head sculpts with the recent Marvel Select Immortal Hulk, which shares 100% the rest of this figure's body- we should have got a Robert Maverick head with shades and a mustache.

While I sold most of my 3.75" Marvel Universe collection, I did keep some of the Hulks, including my Red Hulk. Ironically, I've taken to collecting Hasbro's more recent 3.75" Marvel Legends on those retro cards. So cool.

While the bare minimum was put into this Red Hulk, I did love that Immortal Hulk body, and the head sculpt is fantastic. Great figure! Diamond did throw down on the accessories for Vision, so in spite of his smaller stature, he felt a little more special. I don't buy every Marvel Select, but these are two I wanted for my humble collection. They have more updated articulation than the earlier Marvel Select and do capture the essence of both characters. Recommended!

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Marvel Legends Retro 3.75" Stealth Iron Man, Storm, and Vision

 I've been slowly building a collection of these Marvel Legends Retro 3.75" figures for the past year or so, acquiring Vision, Storm, and Stealth Iron Man recently on GameStop's website at a decent price. I've only enjoyed these on card so far, a big part of their appeal with the great artwork and throwback styling. Below, the 3.75" Retro figure with their 6" Marvel Legends counterparts, Vision, Storm, and Stealth Iron Man.

I'm a big fan of Vision, so I was happy to get him in particular, but it was nice to get another X-Men character with Storm, in her classic outfit nonetheless. I had the 3.75" Classic Iron Man, but quite fond of his Stealth mode, and have collected some blue Iron Man figures over the years.It's Ironic I sold off most of my 3.75" Marvel Universe figures only to start collecting these, but as a kid raised on 5-point Star Wars figures, there's a nostalgia engrained  into my soul. They also remind me of Hasbro's Marvel Secret Wars figures, which were larger, but simple in articulation, colorful, and simple.Good ingredients for a fun toy. Recommended! 

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Marvel Legends Retro Series Wasp, Vision, Hawkeye

I've had the Marvel Legends Retro Series Vision on card for a year, picking up Wasp and Hawkeye more recently to round out a classic Avengers team for my collection. We all know this variant of Wasp was teased as a variant in 2006, then not produced- while I have no personal connection to that unreleased figure, nor the obscure costume, I do like the way she fits into what I have going on. Check out the video:

Below: Wasp, Vision, and Hawkeye with Hulk from the 80th Anniversary Hulk/1st Appearance Wolverine 2-pack, and the 80th Anniversary Classic Capt. America, Thor, and Iron Man. While the Retro Series figures don't have quite the sheen the 80th Anniversary figures enjoy, they fit in well enough with them. As plain as Hawkeye's deco is, I was surprised by how much I liked him- his sculpted armor scaling goes well with Capt. America's. And I'd been waiting for the right moment to crack that Vision open- love that classic styling!

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Funko Age of Ultron Mystery Mini Vinyl Bobbleheads

I discovered these Funko Mystery Mini bobblehead vinyls last December, She-Hulk and Captain Marvel being my first, and fell in love with their styling! I've said before, I'd likely prefer they were just vinyl figures as opposed to bobbleheads, but their charm is undeniable. These AOU Mystery Minis were found at a local resale shop, bagged among pegs of other loose figures for $3.00 - $6.00, so I took a few home. Check out the video:

Pictured below, my Hot Toys Artist Mix-Touma Iron Man and Iron Legion with their Funko Mystery Mini counterparts! Be sure to follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram to see more pics of my toys!

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Hot Toys Artist Mix Avengers AOU Deluxe Set- Series 2

I'd coveted this Hot Toys Series 2 Artist Mix Avengers Age of Ultron Deluxe Set for some time, but recently found it at half price- a deal too good to pass on. Their bobble heads gave me mixed feelings initially, Japanese vinyl artist Touma's wonderful designs eventually washing away any objections I felt. You can buy these separately, but the more gray Savage Hulk and Iron Man XLV are exclusive to this set. The Series 1 Captain America I picked up separately just made it a more complete set of Avengers- I'm mad for these! Check out the video:

Below, I size comparison with a couple other toys I recently posted on, the 6" Jada Diecast Hulkbuster, and Hasbro 14.5" Marvel Legends Series Hulk, both characters that have their own sub-collections within the Super-DuperToyBox collection at large. Be sure to watch the videos for more pics!

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More BootLego Marvel!

I'd been posting on Lego and BootLego minifigures last year, before being swept up in whatever other fascination that overcame me, neglecting to show some of the other things I'd found on eBay. So let's take a look at some of these Marvel minifigures...

I totally forgot this great little Iron Man with the flip-up mask and robotic arm accessory:

Looks like Hulk wants to help out with repairs... hopefully he won't get frustrated and smash!

I had two color variants of the Vision, one with a ray gun and pop-up base...

Wolverine and Deadpool seemed like partners to me with all those blades...

Perhaps best of all these were the three Spider-Man minifigures!

I loved the web ropes that came with Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man, who also came with a lamppost accessory. Iron Spider's tentacle arms sit on a brick behind him, but he still looks great...

And finally, a size comparison between Lego minifigure Spider-Men and a couple of my MiniMates Spider-Men to show just how tiny the former are...

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POP! AOU Vision

I passed on this Target exclusive "phasing" POP! AOU Vision for the last time, finally picking him up this weekend. I have a few of these adorable Funko figures, and while I prefer the ones that are straight figures as opposed to bobble-heads, I could not resist the Vision! Check out the video:

Be sure to check out my 2013 post on the Funko POP! Iron Man 3 & Amazing Spider-Man!

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Vision & The Scarlet Witch #1

For Halloween, I bring you Vision & The Scarlet Witch #1, from a 1982-83 four part Marvel Limited Series by writer Bill Mantlo & penciller Rick Leonardi. I picked this up a couple weeks ago at BAM! for a buck, but had no idea about the storyline, so pertinent to the holiday until I read it last night  :)

One of the oddest pairs in comics, synthezoid Victor Shade and magic-wielding mutant Wanda Maximoff are freshly retired from the Avengers & ready to settle down together in New Jersey. Bearing a parting gift of a druid spell book to Wanda from Captain America, the Avengers butler Jarvis arrived at the couple's new home ahead to help unpack.

But the ancient tome is more than would appear on this Halloween night, and three trick-or-treaters are made servants of a spirit trapped within it's pages that seeks the ScarletWitch's magic to set it free- Samhain, the eternal embodiment of All Hallow's Eve!

Vision and Jarvis must free the kids from the apparitions that have taken them over before getting to Wanda, who's caught in a struggle with Samhain. But the Vision is caught struggling against one of their spirit attackers in an intangible state & unable to assist, so Wanda must hold her own against the druid deity. Realizing the hex power of her mutant abilities won't alone be enough, Wanda resolves that a combination of those with the real magic she was taught by Agatha Harkness might defeat Samhain. Casting a spell while sweeping the book from which he came into the fireplace, she dispatches the evil spirit, who was really still bound to it by a magic mightier than it's own. 

Samhain gone, the children are all freed from his spell unharmed, and Wanda, the Vision & Jarvis are safe at home once again. The battle took a mental toll on the Scarlet Witch though, and her acutely aware, android husband is particularly sensitive to his lover in spite of his inhuman physiology. Pretty mushy stuff, huh?!  :D

*See my post on the 9" Famous Covers Vision & Scarlet Witch dolls!

Have a Happy Halloween!

Famous Covers Vision & Scarlet Witch

In my last post I wrote about The Avenvers: Kree-Skrull War, using my ToyBiz Famous Covers Vision and Scarlet Witch for the photo with the trade paperback. An unlikely choice you might say, reasoning that my Hasbro Legends Skrull Soldier/Kree Soldier 2-pack might have been a better choice. But the Vision and Scarlet Witch came to mind first because  a.) It was the first time I read very much about these legendary characters, b.) I was unaware of their long-standing romance, and c.) I had these two very cool dollies which I had never given you a good look at... like I'm gonna do right now  :D

All these ToyBiz Famous Covers came in beautiful 4-color window box with a fifth panel, which through a porthole exposed their face, the toys secured in their individual poses within gold foil trays. I hadn't opened Scarlet Witch until yeterday in fact, her box remained sealed in the back of my closet since I bought her for a song off eBay last year while accumulating as many of these as I could find. I loved my Mego figures with fabric costumes as a child, so these appealed to me greatly when starting my toy collection.

The Famous Covers series were some nicely made toys with exceptionally tailored fabric outfits. The capes on these dolls were outstanding, and Scarlet Witch's is particularly bitchin'- velvet outer and satin on the inside with a neat little strip of velcro securing around her neck. Her comically large hairdo sculpted in plastic is too heavy unfortunately, making it difficult for her to stand. Still, Scarlet's a looker! The red vinyl forearm, bustier, and boot leggings are a nice, glossy contrast to her lavender leotards. She's quite the luxurious dolly :D  I put her up front in my glass display curio last night so I can admire her better!

Daughter of Magneto, sister to Quicksilver & Polaris, Wnada Maximoff is a mutant who can alter probability by using a "hex" on anyone within range of sight. In this way she can perform all kinds of tasks as part of her team of Avengers, including, but not limited to:, stopping a projectile, exploding an object, short circuiting machinery, creating forcfields, contain volumes of atmosphere, and once even ressurecting Wonder Man from the dead. If not performed carefully, her hexes can backfire on her, causing "bad luck" or undoing hexes cast earlier.

Equally cool is the Famous Covers Vision I got before her. While the Marvel Legends & Marvel Universe Vision seems to go for way more than this rendering of the Android Avenger, he really is the best version money can buy. Like his lover, this figure comes with an awesome cape, and hands colored to match his forearm sleeves, givng the illusion of gloves and avoiding the use of  "oven mitts" that some of these sport. Some weren't so crazy about the chunky boots on these, but I like the way they look- they help him stand better, too. He's a GREAT toy  :D

According to the box, The Vision is a synthezoid, an android with his own will and intelligence. He is both logical and mysteriously passionate. Gaining part of fellow Avenger Wonder Man's life force, the Vision acquired a more human personality, allowing him to fall in love with the Scarlet Witch. His ability to adjust his molecular density to extreme levels enables the Vision to become super dense and immovable as well as intangible, so that he can pass through nearly any solid object. Combined with his extreme intellect and steely logic, the Vision is nearly invincible.

As I said, I was unaware of this odd romance until reading The Avenvers: Kree-Skrull War. The strange new "feelings" Vision was having for Wanda were nearly unrecognizable by him as they were by his unbelieving Avenger teammates who shrugged of their suspicions as absurdity. Pretty hilarious for a group of people fighting aliens across the universe in their tights! Speaking of comedy, let's see how long it will take for my pal BubbaShelby, known dolly persecutor, to drop one about my pretty dollies   :D

Here's something kinda fun I dug out of my old comics: Scarlet Witch & The Vision's pages from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series I had from childhood. Click on the images to read all about these characters circa 1983:

*Thomas Wheeler's Flashback Review of the Toybiz Famous Cover's Series.