ToyBiz Marvel Universe Dr. Doom & Mysterio

My collection of 90's ToyBiz 10" figures is quickly amassing, joining the ranks most recently "Spider Wars" Mysterio & "Metal Warriors" Ultra Doom! Two mean, green villains! Some of these Marvel Universe figures were given these sub-categorical titles, like my "Heroes Unmasked" Spider-Man/Peter Parker. I love the carton backers on these two packages from '98, detailed in Silver-Age Marvel graphics- it's hard to see head on, but when the package is handled the illustrated lining is a nice touch.

There is a another version of this Dr. Doom that has a brighter green cape & tunic packaged in a Fantastic Four box, but I found this "Metal Warriors" Ultra Doom more to my liking. While the paint apps are simple, the drybrushing on his arms & legs are really great, making Doom's armor look like distressed metal! His gold belt buckle & eyes were painted very carefully as well, and his tunic has a dull green wash filling the cuts in the sculpt. Whereas some of these ToyBiz figures were somewhat flat in their appearance, Doom has some depth.

Doom's comically oversized gun fits in his left hand snugly, his right arm featuring a swivel joint at the gauntlet as opposed to elbow articulation. The gun has the same silver paint has Doom's limbs, but is peppered with a black fly-speck paint application- cheap, but effective.

While slightly more poseable without it, Doom's cape looks pretty cool, and is a great flowing sculpt, attached only by wedging the collar around his neck. It's weight also limits his already narrow poise, but he stands pretty well with it on. A child would instantly discard the bulky accessory, but it does look great!

The skirt on Doom's tunic is split at the crotch like some of those old Star Wars figures, but hollow inside near the thigh- I prefer this to the legs being immovable, and it works okay visually. Truth be told, getting him in these poses took some patience anyway, and he'll be standing up straight in my display, so the split tunic will be no more visible than the seams in his leg molds.

I have to say you'd be hard pressed to find a better representation of the Latverian dictator in plastic form- this action figure totally rocks!  Yes, these cheap, goofy ToyBiz deluxe figures have limited articulation, but their simplicity appeals to me greatly. And Doom here is just a wonderfully fun toy  :D

Here's Ultra Doom with 3 3/4" Hasbro Marvel Universe Doom, Mattel Secret Wars Doom, and ToyBiz Famous Covers Doom. Consider yourself DOOMED  :D

Equally great is the enigmatic Mysterio, a clear dome in place of his head! Creepy! To the best of my knowledge, the "Spider Wars" reference on Mysterio's packaging is a reference to the finale of Spider-Man animated T.V. show in 1998, the year this particular toy was packaged. In my research, I found no ties between the villain and the two final episodes where Spider-Man meets his interdimensional counterparts, perhaps the association with the popular television show meant only to help sell the unusual figure. If he was hard to sell at KayBee Toys in '98, that's certainly not the case now, Mysterio being one of the more sought after of this line of 90's toys. I won him in an eBay auction for about eight bucks, but shrugged him off many times before due to the price being too high for the limit I'll spend- I'll pay twenty bucks for one of these (if that price includes shipping), but not much more.

Mysterio is a stand-out in this line! ToyBiz did a great job at capturing this villain, a former stuntman & illusionist who took the unintended advice that "toppling a superhero" would bring him the movie industry fame he desired, Spider-Man mistakenly chosen as an "easy target". There was another version boxed in the 10" Deluxe Spider-Man Animated Series packaging that has a white-to-green fade color scheme on his dome, but it just doesn't look as cool as the clear dome with no head. Again, creepy! 

You can't see much down inside Mysterio's domed head, which made it all the better. Dur to age, the plastic was mildly discolored, but not badly considering his age. While I was all "grown up" and past my childhood fascination with toys (Boy, did that come back with a vengeance!),  it's weird to think that these are nearly 15 years old. Boy does time fly! The figure's cape attaches to his collar via a slot behind the dome, and stays in place.

The Spider-Man Animated Series release of this figure has a lighter color scheme, and does not have the tampographed grid pattern on the body that make this such an interesting figure. Additionally, the "eyes" on this Mysterio's pectorals are only yellow dots on the Spider-Man version, cleanly tamped in black atop the red badges. Small details like this & the clear dome make the Marvel Universe version so much better looking in my opinion.

Boy, were these great to find and a lot of fun to photograph! Again, feel free to share any experiences good or bad you may remember about this line of toys. I was past collecting toys in these years while attending college, and some of you may remember them when they were new. BigDaddyDarth said he has a pile, and just posted 'em on Plastic Mayhem  :D   Thanks Pal! In spite of and because of their dodgy quality, and somewhat unspectacular construction, I'm somewhat fascinated by these  :D

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Hey, Mr. Postman!

Holy Toledo, have I scored a bunch of these 10" ToyBiz figures- these just came on Friday afternoon!  :D   These are all characters I just read about in the "X-Cutioner's Tale" crossover event recently, so that's fun:

*Mr. Sinister & Archangel II 

Mr. Sinister & X-Man Archangel play a big part in "X-Cutioner's Tale", and are a couple of wicked looking creatures. These bizarre characters look especially strange in this format/style of toy! These are far out! I mean, really... look at them:

*Bishop & Forge

Well okay, Forge wasn't involved in "X-Cutioner's Tale", but I did read about him & Ororo in "The Fall of the Mutants", and I wanted some more blue & yellow uniformed X-Men. I like that, and Bishop, conflicted X-Man from the future, also sports a variation on that theme. 

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Hey, Mr.Postman!

The weather was somewhat treacherous Thursday morning with the snow, but that didn't stop the United Stated Postal Service from bringing me the treasure I'm about to show you!

Yes, another 10" ToyBiz Deluxe Marvel Universe action figure! Hooray! This one's a special Heroes Unmasked version of Spider-Man/Peter Parker from 1998, not in his classic red & blue, but the Clone Saga variant outfit that Ben Reilly wore before becoming Scarlet Spider. Both the hoodie wearing Scarlet Spider outfit and this updated spider-suit were designed by Mark Bagley, the latter version my favorite. There was a classically styled Heroes Unmasked Spider-Man/Peter Parker and a 10" Marvel Universe Scarlet Spider, but I was really looking for this one! I scored him in an eBay auction for about $13.00, a great price as he is hard to find and usually goes for fifty bucks or more- hold out for the right auction, and switch your keywords around/try fewer keywords in searches.

He has the same body as my ToyBiz Spider-Man 2099, and a removable mask which obviously appears only large enough to cover his face  :D  I'm unsure how the mask is supposed to stay on the head, but I'm certain it's not pretty! I want to enjoy him for awhile in this big, fun window box, one of the things I love about these figures...

In other news, I hit over 100,000 page views some time today- that's since I started in October of 2010, about 15 months. Not astronomical, but it seemed like a lot to me  :D   Thanks for coming to this happy place- you make it fun!

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ToyBiz 10" Deluxe Gambit

This ToyBiz Deluxe Gambit was manufactured in 1994 under the X-Men banner, following the height of  comic book group's popularity. It seems these 10" Deluxe figures were released under the Iron Man, X-Men, Spider-Man banners before ToyBiz started marketing them under the Marvel Universe logo, like the Polaris figure in my last post. There are a variety of these available on eBay, but little documentation about them online, perhaps due to their somewhat unextraordinary construction. I have  several of these large, simple figures and enjoy them for just those traits, along with their garish color and occasionally "awesome lameness" as BubbaShelby described   :D  My friend went on to recollect their sheer goofiness upon their release, specifically citing the She-Hulk from this series that was a repainted Xena figure that was so "amazingly ridiculous" he regrets losing it!

As I post on these, please feel free to share any experiences good or bad you may remember. While I think I have a grasp of how they were received, the more comments I hear, the better I'll understand them in the context of their time. I was way past collecting toys in these years while attending college, and some of you may remember them when they were new which interests me. I'm quite fond of them in spite of and because of their dodgy quality- call me crazy...

The back of Gambit's window box shows Bishop & Mr. Sinister figures also available from this line, all of which I've been reading about recently in the "X-Cutioner's Song" crossover event from the early 90's. This is the first Gambit action figure I've ever had, and truth be told, I'm not at all disappointed! His articulation is as simple as the rest, but the sculpt on this figure is pretty great...

The pleather trenchcoat they dressed Gambit in is cheap & restricts his already limited articulation, but takes him up a notch visually. For whatever reason, the coat collar is actually part of the figure's sculpt, which doesn't matter a lot unless you remove coat. If there was concern by the designers about the collar staying up it was unfounded, as I had no problem getting the stiff material to stay in position for my photos. Somewhat lame, but no concern of mine.

Gambit's accessory is a shiny black, vaguely futuristic staff- my Ninja Rouge has one just like it! If you think Hasbro has gone too far reusing parts on their current 3 3/4" Marvel Universe line, you don't know the half of it  :D  It was difficult to get through the hole in his hand, but looks cool with it in!  

I really like the overall slender nature of the sculpt on this guy. The head and outstretched left hand are cool, giving him unique personality among these somewhat bland figures. I'm also a fan of his shin guards- they have a sleek look, and I like the brilliant blue. I've seen clowns dressed less colorfully than Gambit, and this toy really drives the point home  :D  On the subject of color, the paintjobs are slapdash pretty much accross the board, and Gambit shows this around the facemask. Some would find this repulsive, but I've seen how atrocious they can be, and I find that somewhat endearing.

I've got to say that this is one of the most exciting figures from this line, only unsurped by one of my favorite toys, the X-Men Deluxe Beast. I'd easily give him a four out of five stars, one nick for the shoddy facepaint. He rocks!

*Read about Remy Etienne LeBeau, aka the cajun mutant Gambit, at Marvel.Com!

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ToyBiz Marvel Universe Polaris, 1997

I got this ToyBiz Marvel Universe Deluxe 10" Polaris in November of 2010 with some other ToyBiz figures for a really low price. I've been bidding on these again on eBay, and wanted to open Polaris here because I've been reading the X-Force "X-Cutioner's Song" crossover event that spills over into some of the 90's X-Factor issues, of which Polaris is a member.

I'm not sure how these were regarded by fans in the 90's, or if these big, dumb action figures were targeted at children, meant to impress with size & color- I suspect the latter, as in all fairness they aren't that great even by 90's standards. Some of them have a rather slapdash paint, comical sculptural sameness, and extremely limited articulation, evoking an almost bootleg appearance in their cheapness. I find this very appealing however, so they're perfect to me   :D

Polaris has the same head, body, and everything that the Jean Grey, Rogue, and Mystique have! It's comically bad, I swear!  Polaris was given a big gun merely to fill the need for an accessory- her powers of magnetism frees her of the need for weapons, but I'm glad they included it! Made of translucent green to match her hair, it's cheesy & hilarious  :D

One odd design choice was the belt on this girl, which hangs in a somewhat hipshot position, a peg securing it to the figure. Very odd...  perhaps a stylistic choice reflective of the comic art at the time, female figures often rendered with hips thrust, head thrown back, and in somewhat explicit positions. Her jacket is the same cut as the Mystique from this series, but made with a bright blue fabric, opposed to white faux leather. Like Polaris' hair, her clothes reflect the extremity of style prevalent in the 90's.

Polaris with ToyBiz Storm & Ninja Rogue- though Storm's belt is different from Polaris', she still has a hole in her left hip...

The trio of X-Ladies take on Dragoness, showing X-Force member Cannonball what kinda force is need when taking on an MLF (Mutant Liberation Front) member! From X-Factor # 85, Part 6 of "X-Cutioner's Song" crossover event, Dec. '92:

Polaris with ToyBiz 10" Deluxe Cable...

And now something fun from my old comics: Polaris' page from the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe series I had from childhood. Click on the image to read all about Polaris circa 1983! Daughter of Magneto, Lorna Dane controls magnetism like her father, generating magnetic energy pulses, creating force fields, and manipulate the Earth's magnetic field which gives her the ability to fly. She was once engaged to X-Man Havok during their ongoing & complex relationship. In the past she has dyed her bright green hair brown, but now proudly sports this unique result of her mutation.

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