MOTU Origins Castle Grayskull (2021)

My October 2020 preorder of the MOTU Origins Castle Grayskull finally arrived this past weekend after a month-long delay, and it was worth the wait. This is the crown jewel of the Origins line, and wonderful reboot of the 1982 fortress of mystery and power that captured my imagination as a child! Check out the video:

It's almost unbelievable to have this show up on my doorstep 39 years later, and while there have been a few cosmetic changes, the Origins Castle Grayskull hits all the same notes as the 1982 original. The Origins Series packaging art has been fantastic, on full display with this huge 26 x 18 x 6" box, which has a fantastic cross-sell scene on the verso.

Gone from the interior are the old carboard inserts, replaced by tougher plastic computer modules, while a lot of the other features remain similar to the original playset- the elevator and trapdoor/throne are virtually the same. There is some added sculptural detail in the castle floors, and a little more room at the third level. The stickers are certainly in the spirit of the original, at first glance nearly identical. I'd have preferred more weapons for the armory rack as opposed to the additional, smaller rack included, but am hoping for an accessory pack will be offered later.

Not to be undervalued is the special edition Temple of Darkness Sorceress included with this playset- I'm certain we will be offered a colored single-carded version of the Sorceress in the future, but this adds a lot of value to an already great package. It's also nice having another female in the MOTU Origins lineup.

A lot of collectors are showing side-by-side comparisons of the new Grayskull with the original 1982 version, but I only have the Funko Primal Age Batcave to measure it against. I got a great deal on this MOTU-inspired playset last year, in anticipation of the forthcoming MOTU Origins Castle Grayskull- while enamored with the new Grayskull, no love was lost on this fantastic playset. Any MOTU fan would enjoy having this Batcave, which makes a great lair for Skeletor and his evil minions, in lieu of Snake Mountain.

See the 1982 Castle Grayskull and more of the original He-Man and 

the Masters of the Universe line at the Battle Ram Blog!

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Marvel Legends Shang-Chi Wave

 I try to avoid buy entire waves of Marvel Legends because I have a ton of them, but this Shang-Chi wave looked good, and as a fan of classic horror characters, I loved the Mr. Hyde BAF. I got back into Marvel Legends in 2017, collecting way more of them than I had in years past while writing this blog. Around 2016, Hasbro really raised the bar on this line, the MCU figures really improving in both their sculpt detail and facial portraits. While the Shang-Chi portraits have somewhat blank expressions, the sculpts and paint are fantastic! Check out the video:

Below, the Mr. Hyde BAF built with parts included with the Marvel Legends Shang-Chi Wave, next to my Marvel Legends Joe Fixit BAF. I assembled Joe Fixit after purchasing his Marvel Legends wave in November of 2020, and while he's the Gamerverse version of the character, I'm quite fond of him. Mr. Hyde's coat doesn't have a cape like the classic version I grew up with, but he retains the comic book aesthetic by and large.

I have two other Iron Man figures built on this buck Hasbro produced for the 80th Anniversary Iron Man, but it sure looks good in the classic comic book colors. It looks good next to my 3.75" Marvel Legends Retro Series Iron Man, below. Both really take me back to the Mattel Secret Wars Iron Man I loved as a child! See more comparisons of the Shang-Chi Wave next to other figures in my collection in the video above!

While I've seen none of the Disney channel Marvel shows, I'm definitely interested in the forthcoming Shang-Chi movie, as well as the next chapter of the MCU. This was a great looking group of figures, and a great way to pick up a classic Iron Man if you missed the initial 80th Anniversary Iron Man, nice translucent Tony Stark A.I. head included. Recommended!

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Marvel Legends Retro 3.75in. Iceman & Hulk

 As I said in my last post, I'm just enjoying these Marvel Legends Retro Series 3.75" figures in their colorful packaging in the moment, and was glad to find the last couple of figures from that first wave at a local Walmart tonight, Iceman and Hulk. I had passed on Iceman once, but had been waiting for the Hulk, a childhood favorite. Big Tone pointed out that if by chance we got a Firestar in the future, I'd need Iceman to fill out my cast of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

I neglected to show how nice the backs of the cards are on these, the colorful character art and description in five languages. Kids everywhere should have these, no matter what age... 

This classic Hulk evokes all the great memories from my childhood regarding the character, from the 1978 TV series, to the comics I read from that era, and of course my Mego action figures. Yes, I sold off most of my 3.75" Marvel Universe figures, but I can't resist the simple charm of these Retro Series figures- I'm interested to see how far Hasbro takes the line!

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Marvel Legends Retro 3.75" Figures

Last year I preordered three of the Hasbro Pulse exclusive Marvel Legends Retro 3.75" figure 2-packs, which I still haven't opened! I love the card art so much that I'm kind of just enjoying them that way for now. Yes, I sold off most all of my 3.75" Marvel Universe collection to make room for other things, but the retro style of these simpler figures really appeal to me.

Below, 3.75" Spider-Man and Electro with Marvel Legends 6" Retro Series Spider-Man and Electro- I have that entire wave of 6" Spider-Man Retro Series figures I've not opened either...

There was another 2-pack available of Iron Man and Black Panther, with metallic deco in limited edition foil packaging, but I opted for the Iron Man/Cyclops and Black Panther/Capt. America 2-packs...

This past March I bumped into Daredevil and Elektra, two characters that seemed to be unconventional choices so early in the line, giving me hope as to who might be coming in future waves. I really appreciate the inclusion of accessories for these two great looking figures...

And finally, I found Magneto and Human Torch this past weekend, just a couple weeks after finding Carol Danvers in her Ms. Marvel outfit. There is an Iceman and Hulk out there as well, the latter of which I'm particularly interested in. I have no idea how far this line will go, but there are a lot more characters I'd like to have in this style.

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Marvel Legends House of X Marvel Girl, Moira MacTaggert

 I liked most all the figures from this Marvel Legends House of X line, though am unfamiliar with the two 2019 Jonathan Hickman House of X and Powers of X books. While I like all the other figures in this wave, the main attraction to these two figures for me were a classic Marvel Girl portrait and a female in both civilian dress and lab coat. The sheer volume and expense of what Hasbro is putting out in the Marvel Legends wave prevents me from buying entire waves often, but these two are popular among the line for good reason.

Below, Marvel Girl with fellow X-Men, my Marvel Legends Nightcrawler and Beast...

Jean's Flower of Krakoa has powers to extend human life, cure disease, and create self-sustaining biome. In House of X, the X-Men use them to leverage diplomacy with mankind into their acceptance of Krakoa's sovereignty. This is just a fun, futuristic accessory I enjoy on it's own aesthetic merit.

In House of X,  it is revealed Moira is a mutant with the power of reincarnation, having lived many lives connected to Charles Xavier and Magneto, sometimes at odds with their place among mutantkind across timelines. Regardless of Hickman's thick history of Moira's ten lives, I just liked having both a scientist and female in civilian dress.

Below, Moira with my Marvel Legends Jubilee and Dazzler...

I'm unsure if I'll pick up any of the other House of X figures, but these two were unique among the wave in my eyes. Their skirts prevent great leg articulation, but they look fantastic. There's a ton of great X-Men stuff I've not read, but these figures have me curious about House of X/Powers of X by Hickman.

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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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ReAction Terminator 3.75" Figure

Just a quick post related to my last on the ReAction Arrow figures, another I picked up cheap on eBay, a ReAction T800 Terminator figure. The '80s were a great time to be a kid, renting VHS sci-fi movies like Terminator. Arnold Schwarzenegger was the action star of the decade, and I watched anything he was in.

I said in my last post that I'm less likely to pick up more recent ReAction figures due to their steep retail price of $16.00 - $18.00, but I have been buying Hasbro's ten dollar 3.75" Retro Marvel Legends figures. This 2013 Terminator series had a few other figures, including the metal skeleton T800, but I liked this one with the leather jacket, machine gun, and shotgun! 

Below, Arnold with my ReAction Arrow figures...

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ReAction Arrow 3.75" Figures

I picked up a few of these 2015 WB Arrow figures on the secondary market; as child of the '70s, I had many 3.75" Star Wars figures, and enjoy the retro-appeal of small, simple figures like that. I never watched a single episode of Arrow- surprising in that I like Green Arrow from the comics. I like the sculpt on these, and would have loved them as a kid.

These come with appropriate accessories, two bows for Arrow, and a sheath for Deathstroke's sword on his back. Black Canary has somewhat loose arm swivels, but I like them overall. I've bought several of the new Hasbro 3.75" Retro Marvel Legends figures at ten bucks each, which is a better value than Super 7's recent $16. - $18. ReAction figures. While I enjoy the sculpt and deco on these figures, I'm less likely to pay that price.

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