Tag Archives: x-men

Mar 1 2012

Marvel Legends: Hope Summers by Hasbro

Yep, as we’ve seen there are quite a few figures in the initial wave of Marvel Legends that have recently appeared in Marvel Universe. Technically Hope Summers is one of them, but the last time we saw her she was an itty bitty baby attached to Cable. Well, Hope is all growed up and looking pretty damn fine. Let’s check her out on this fourth day of Marvel Legends week.

Bam… Marvel Legends packaging. I’m still digging the overall design of the card in all its obnoxious action-packed comic book glory. I’m not all that keen on the character art on this one. Its not terrible, but I’m not sure it quite does the lovely Hope justice. Hope comes with Terrax’s head and Morg’s axe, both of which are displayed to the left of the figure.
Out of package, and the first thing that strikes me about the figure is the overall excellent head sculpt. Hasbro’s sculptors sometimes have their issues with the ladies, but Hope here is absolutely gorgeous. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say this is one of the best female head sculpts I’ve seen Hasbro turn out in a long while. Ok, maybe that’s a loaded compliment, but I can’t understate just what a great job they did with her. Raaawr!!!
Hope’s body is a nice mix of generic female body, painted costume, and some original tooling. The unique sculpted parts include the armor on her lower legs and forearms, and the cloak that hangs around her neck. The cloak looks good, but it is sculpted in a windblown configuration, which means she takes up more room on the shelf and it can interfere with some poses. Fortunately, the cloak is removable, all you need to do is pop off her head and lift it off from around her neck. The paintwork is a little inconsistant on my figure. The face is perfect, but there’s a wee bit of slop along the yellow striping on her green costume.
The articulation here is pretty solid, but missing a few key points. You get ball joints in the neck, shoulders, and hips. The knees are double-hinged, but the elbows only have a single hinge. The wrists and ankles feature both hinges and swivels. Hope also has a ball joint in her torso. Besides the conspicuous absense of the double joints in the elbows, I really miss the swivel in the bicep. These two points are primarily to blame for Hope not being able to hold her gun as well as I’d like.

And looky here… accessories! Well, one anyway. Hope comes with her big gun. It looks nice, but I do wish she held it better. Her hands are sculpted so that she can grip the handle with her right hand and cradle the stock in her left hand, but unfortunately she’s prone to dropping it.
I’m counting Hope Summers as another big win for this inaugural wave of Marvel Legends. The figure has a few minor issues, and articulation should have been better. My guess is that Hasbro needed to cut back a few things in order to cost out the extra tooling on figures like Ghost Rider, Thor, and Steve Rogers. The only thing that concerns me is this Hope Summers body will likely be repurposed for more female figures down the line, which means a lot of Marvel chicks may be missing these extra bits of articulation. That having been said I’m really smitten with the head sculpt and the overall look of the figure. She’s certainly a solid representation of the character and I’m glad she got a slot in this initial wave.

Who’s next? …It’s Klaw!!! Er… I mean… MARVEL’S Klaw!!!
Feb 24 2012

Marvel Universe: Storm by Hasbro

When I first saw the breakdown of this newest wave of Marvel Universe figures, I wasn’t exactly thrilled with the roster. Psylocke was a good pick, Iron Fist and Shadowlands Daredevil were easy passes, and Marvel’s Patriot didn’t get me too excited. There was, however, one shining star in the batch and that was Storm. Sure, she’s basically the same figure that was released in that TRU exclusive X-Men set, but I wasn’t about to buy the whole set for just two figures in the set that I needed (Storm and Nightcrawler). Let’s check her out!

Yesterday, we saw the subtle changes made to this wave’s Marvel Universe packaging with Psylocke. Storm also comes with one of those ridiculous little “Collectible Comic Shot.” I’m much happier with Storm’s character art than I was with Psylocke’s questionable portrait. The back of the card features the usual little bio-blurb and our new friend Deadpool with a unique quote for this cardback: “Fetch me a churro.” Oh, Deadpool, don’t ever stop being you!
Out of the package, we find that Storm uses the same basic body as yesterday’s figure, Psylocke, and uses only paintwork to make up her costume and skintones. She does, however, have a newly sculpted cape, which goes a long way to make her costume more unique. Storm’s headsculpt really is fantastic, and I have to say one of the better ones Hasbro has churned out in this line, particularly from the female side. They really captured Ororo’s characteristic beauty, her long mane of white hair, and her trademark headdress. Storm is definitely one of those figures that gets away with heavy reuse and yet still manages to pull it off without me giving it a second thought.
Articulation? Dejas Vous! Storm shares the same body as Psylocke so articulation is identical. You get ball jointed neck, shoulders, and hips. You get hinges in the elbows, knees, and ankles, and you get a ball joint in the torso.

Storm comes with two soft plastic lighting pieces that clip onto her wrists and make for a pretty decent effect. I don’t usually display my MU figures with these energy pieces, but Storms look good enough for me to make an exception.
Storm set me back $15 shipped. Again, its pretty damn steep for a 3 3/4″ figure that reuses a standard body, but considering how many figures in this wave I’m passing on, I’m still coming out ahead of the game. Psylocke was an ok figure, but Storm is pretty fantastic. She’s a great addition to my MU X-Men shelf and I’m so happy that I didn’t have to buy the TRU exclusive set to get her. I’m also pretty plesed to finally be able to take that terrible Secret Wars Storm off my table as a placeholder in my collection.
Feb 23 2012

Marvel Universe: Psylocke by Hasbro

I had other plans for today but seeing as how I’m gearing up for a very special Marvel Legends Week (starting next week… spoilers!) I wanted to get these two Marvel Universe figures out of the way sooner rather than later so that y’all aren’t all too marveled out. I’m opting not to pick up this wave in its entirety. In fact, the only figures I am picking up are the two ladies in the assortment: Psylocke and Storm. We’ll check out Psylocke today and Storm tomorrow.

Looks like the standard Marvel Universe packaging. But wait! We’ve got some new design elements here. The front of the package now boasts a “Collectible Comic Shot” where the SHIELD logo used to be, but more on that in a minute. My favorite change to the package features Deadpool on the cardback making a random wise-ass comment for each figure in the wave. In this case: “What am I? Leftovers?” No doubt referring to the fact that he hasn’t seen a single carded release since the Wolverine Origins line. I love it. Sorry, but to me Deadpool is like bacon, in that he makes everything better. Ok, except for Wolverine: Origins. Moving on… Psylocke’s character art on the front of the card is downright terrible. Not sure what happened here, but I’m just not digging it.
The “Collectible Comic Shot” has to be one of the most worthless ideas ever because all it is is a tiny little cardboard insert with some miniscule character art on it. WTF Hasbro? Is this supposed to make up for the fact that you aren’t including figure stands in the packages anymore? I seriously don’t care about the lack of stands because I prefer to use generic clear stands, but to call attention to these cards as if they’re some kind of cool collectible is ridiculous.
Moving on to the figure, Psylocke is basically one big kitbash and while part of me thinks the character deserves better, ultimately I think the final result works pretty well. You get the same generic female MU body that was used for Ms. Marvel, so Psylocke doesn’t benefit from any of the newer points of articulation. And speaking of Ms Marvel, you also get a straight reuse of the modern Ms Marvel’s red sash. The only thing new here is the head, which at first I thought was going to be a resculpt of Jean Gray, but happily that’s not the case. The paintwork is overall good on my figure. There’s not much slop or bleeding as is sometimes the case with the MU line. However, the paint used for her lower legs doesn’t look the same as the rest of her costume. Close, but not quite.
Psylocke comes with a couple of translucent purple accessories. First you get a web of psychic energy that clips nicely onto her wrists. The effect is pretty good, and let’s be honest, its a huge plus that we just didn’t get that stupid energy funnel that comes with every other Iron Man and Spider-Man figure in the Marvel Universe. She also comes with an energy katana construct, which she can hold nicely in her left hand.
Articulation includes a ball jointed neck, ball joints in the shoulders and hips, hinges in the elbows, knees, and ankle, and a ball joint in the torso. She has serviceable poseability, but I really wish Hasbro would get more consistant in using the extra articulation that they’ve been adding to the line every now and again.
Psylocke seems to be one of the harder figures in this wave to find. I wound up picking her up online for about $15 with shipping. Its kind of steep for what she is, but considering I’m only picking up two figures in this assortment, I was willing to splurge rather than worry about missing out on her. She’s not going to blow anyone away, and you diehard Psylocke fans would probably be justified in complaining about the reuse of parts, but in the end I’m happy with how she turned out.
Feb 2 2012

Marvel Universe: Cable by Hasbro

Holy crap, I’ve been trying to track down Marvel Universe’s Cable figure for ages now without having to pay a premium online. In the end, I sort of caved and wound up getting him off of Amazon without getting beaten up too badly in my wallet. But, honestly, if I knew just how great this figure was going to be once I got him in hand, I would have been a lot more willing to pay a premium.

Standard Marvel Universe package with some really kick ass character art on the card. Between his sheer size and his embarrassment of accessories, Cable really fills out the bubble beautifully. As with the newer figures, you get a standard, personalized figure stand.
And there’s Cable, folks, and he is one awesome figure. In a line where we’re used to getting the same standard buck over and over again with a few tweaks to the tooling and a painted costume, Cable shines like a rare gemstone. Starting with the head sculpt, as far as I’m concerned it is one of the best Hasbro has put out in this line to date. Cable’s grim, chisled look translated to this figure perfectly. His chest harness, shoulder armor, belt, and holster are all sculpted in separate pieces. Yes, you’ll note my figure is sans Baby Hope, and I’m perfectly fine with that. The holster holds his pistol perfectly and there’s a peg on the back of his harness to clip his rifle onto. When you look at all the beautiful work that went into this figure, it really puts a lot of the other figures in this line to shame.
Accessories aren’t usually the MU’s strong point either, but once again Cable flies in the face of convention by coming packed out with his own little arsenal. You get his pistol, assault rifle and spear. The weapons are really nicely sculpted and as mentioned you can store both of his firearms on his person.
Cable features the more modern level of MU articulation. You get the ball jointed neck, with an additional hinge so he can look up and down better. He has ball joints in his shoulders and hips, swivel cuts in his biceps, wrists and upper thighs, double hinges in his knees and hinges in his elbows and ankles. Cable also swivels at the waist and features the ball joint in the torso. Nice!
Yes, I gave a lot of the other MU figures a lot of shit over how great a figure Cable is, and I realize that’s not entirely fair. A lot of Marvel’s characters are little more than people in colored costumes and there simply isn’t a lot of unique sculpting needed. On the other hand, Cable has a really detailed and unique outfit that demanded a lot of new sculpting and Hasbro stepped up to the plate to deliver. All that having been said, Cable really stands out on my MU display shelf. He just looks so damn good that its almost like he’s a figure from a completely different line.
Jan 3 2012

Marvel Universe: X-23 by Hasbro

It’s sad but true, every now and then a figure you really hotly anticipated turns out to be a disappointment. As is the case with my latest acquisition from Marvel Universe. There’s no doubt that I was really anxious to get X-23 into my collection. Besides just wanting the figure of the character, I was excited to see the much hyped brand new female body for the MU. Now that I have her in my hand, I’m content, but not enthralled, with the final product. Let’s see what happened…

Typical Marvel Universe card, but the character art is just weird. Its kind of a similar artsy-fartsy direction Hasbro took with Doctor Strange, but I don’t think it works as well here. As for the rest of the presentation, little X-23 doesn’t fill up the bubble all that well, even with her arms and claws held outward. She does, however, come with the standard personalized MU figure stand.
On to the figure itself. Now, to be fair, there’s some solid sculpting here. In fact, it starts out pretty great at the top and gets worse the further down you get. But before I get to the sculpt, I want to point out how disappointed I am with the plastic used on this figure. It feels soft and rubbery and a lot more like the subpar materials used for some of the Secret Wars comic pack figures. This is particularly the case with her legs, which required some gentle heating in order to get them straight.
So, from the waist up, I’m pretty happy. The head sculpt is simple but well done. It’s attractive, which is something that tends to be hit-or-miss with Hasbro and their 3 3/4″ ladies. The straight sculpted hair looks great and the paintwork on the mask, red eyes and lips is all expertly applied. I like the way her ab joint separates her painted top and her exposed mid-riff and the way the shoulders of her top are painted on works well. Her arm bracer belts are actually separately sculpted pieces, which is cool and her claws are understandably sculpted in bendy soft plastic so that kids don’t claw their eyes out with them. Ok, so far so good.
Besides the soft plastic, the legs just have preportional issues, and the fault lies in her huge boots. Here’s what happened: Instead of sculpting new legs, Hasbro sculpted a pair of faux, rubbery leg warmers for her made to look like boots and fitted them around her lower legs. The effect just doesn’t work for me and it really interferes with X-23’s otherwise lovely womanly form. Even though her upper legs are matched pretty well with her torso, taking in the whole figure creates the illusion that her top half is way too small for her bottom half. There is some slop in the silver paintwork on her legs, but its nothing worse than we’ve seen on past MU figures, so I’m not going to make a huge issue of it here.

Now in terms of poseability, there’s some great articulation on this figure. You get a ball jointed neck, arms with ball joints in the shoulders and elbows, and swivels in the wrists. The legs feature ball joints at the hips, double hinged knees, swivel cuts in both the thighs and above the boots, and ball joints in the ankles. The torso is lacking the usual waist swivel, but you do get the ab ball joint, which suits me pretty well.
I do not hate this figure. I don’t even dislike her. In fact, the more I fiddle about with her the more I’m digging her. She’s grown on me enough that I even considered going back and rewriting this whole feature in a more positive light. But in the end, the gripes I had when I tore the package open are still there. The proportions combined with the rubbery plastic was a shock when I got her out of the package and the fact that she was pretty highly hyped among collectors didn’t help to soften the blow. She’s without a doubt a decent pick up and a great addition to my Marvel Universe collection, but I’m very glad I didn’t wind up paying a premium for her.
Oct 12 2011

Vintage Vault: X-Men X-Force Warpath by Toy Biz

I’ve been sitting on a whole box full of unopened Toy Biz X-Men figures for a while now and since things have been slow here at FigureFan, I decided to bust some of these open and take a look. I’ll start peppering them throughout the next couple of weeks. If you weren’t collecting toys in the 90’s or perhaps you just collect Toy Biz’s Marvel figures with the Marvel Legends line, then these guys are going to be quite a departure for you.

One thing I’ve always loved about Toy Biz’s Marvel figures from this era? The packaging. I mean, just look at that. It takes all the colorful and exciting qualities of a comic book cover and transfers them onto the cardback. You get some awesome character art, Just check that out. The Marvel Universe package art is often good, sometimes mediocre, but this image of Warpath is capital stuff. Not to mention the exposition explosion that tells you what the figure’s special play gimmick was. In this case? “SMASHING POWER PUNCH!” Hell, there’s even a sticker advertising a T-shirt. The front of the card is just bursting with activity. The back of the card has a little bit about the character and photos of some of the other figures in this line.
If your only action figure experience with Warpath is the Marvel Universe version then this guy is likely to shock. His design is deliciously comic book inspired and he’s certainly got that wonderful bright and obnoxious 90’s toy motif that meshes so well with comic book and animated inspired figures. There isn’t even a remote attempt to go for realism here. Warpath is a brick wall of a mutant with a neckline that nearly matches his waistline. The glossy, retina-burning red and blue paint job is just stellar. There’s no way this guy is going to appear in any multi-million dollar live action movie treatment. Nope, he’s straight from the panel of a funnybook.
For a 90’s era figure, Toy Biz’s Warpath sports some pretty decent articulation. The arms rotate at the shoulders and he has hinged elbows. His legs rotate at the hips and he has hinged knees. His roast beef sized neck doesn’t move at all, but this is still better than the standard 5-points I’m used to seeing in figures of this era. Warpath also swivels at the waist, but that’s more a part of his “Smashing Power Punch” gimmick. Swivel him at the waist and his right arm goes up. Let him go and he springs back and his arm comes down. It’s an ok gimmick in that it really doesn’t screw up the figure or mar his articulation.
I’m not knocking the more realistic approach that Hasbro takes with their Marvel Universe line, but from package to figure, Toy Biz’s Warpath represents everything that is awesome about comic books and their characters, distills it, and pours it into action figure form. Granted, as we’ll see in the coming weeks, these X-Men figures could be hit and miss (just check out the fright face on Rogue down there), but when they were great, like Warpath, they were really great. What’s better is you can usually buy these guys carded for next to nothing. Certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but I absolutely love this guy.
Aug 7 2011

Marvel Universe: Mystique by Hasbro

Hasbro has done MU collectors a solid by reissuing some of the earlier, harder to find, figures in this line and I’m eternally grateful for it. While I still get a majority of my MU figures online, I’ll concede that’s its been easier to find these guys at retail and I’ve been able to fill in some of those nagging holes in my collection. Today we’re looking at Mystique, who is by no means a new release, but one that I wanted pretty badly and finally found hanging on the peg in one of my local toy aisles.

Yep, it’s the same basic style of card we saw when we last looked at the Marvel Universe line, only Mystique was released under one of the HAMMER waves. The card also points out that she is a Fan’s Choice Winner, which probably isn’t a big surprise to anyone. The character artwork has been kind of hit and miss lately, but I think Mystique’s is definitely a hit, as its a nice dynamic pose, that’s got her in mid leaping kick. Mystique doesn’t exactly fill out the bubble like some figures, but she’s helped along by the huge assault rifle that’s mounted next to her.

Overall, I think Mystique’s sculpt is pretty solid, albeit simple. I’m very happy with the way her head turned out, and the rest of the body is standard female buck with white paint apps to make up her gauntlets, boots, and top. Her skirt, for lack of a better word, is sculpted in soft plastic along with her belt of skulls and hangs loosely on her hips. I like the way Hasbro went with this, as it doesn’t inhibit her leg articulation at all. Alas, Mystique does have a bad case of man hands. They’re seriously huge and out of proportion with the rest of the figure. The paintwork is so-so. It’s pretty sloppy on her boots, but does feature some decent blue shading on her back and boobs.

Mystique features the standard female MU articulation. Her neck is ball jointed, but her hair makes it act more like a swivel. Her arms feature universal movement at the shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the wrists, but are missing the bicep swivel present on the male figures. Her legs have universal movment at the hips, double hinged knees, and ankles with swivels and hinges. She can swivel at the waist and has a universal joint in the torso.

Accessories include a personalized figure stand and the Top Secret documents. You also get the assault rifle that we’ve seen in this line before. I thought the gun was a strange choice for Mystique, but I’m not one to complain about extra accessories.

All in all, this figure gets the job done, but when compared to some of the newer MU figures I’ve been getting its easy to see that the line has come a long way from when Mystique was released. She still features some of the nagging paint issues that the line was struggling with at the time and the lack of a bicep swivel in the females still irks me. I’m pretty happy with her, but I wouldn’t mind seeing her revisited later on down the line. In the meantime, I may pick up a second Mystique and try to customize her into Copycat.

Aug 6 2011

Marvel Universe: Gladiator by Hasbro

Finally, a serious gaping hole in my Marvel Universe collection has been filled. Yes, Gladiator has arrived! That’s called sarcasm, folks, as I was not exactly jonesing for this figure’s release. I mean, really Hasbro? If you’re going to release one of the Shi’ar, you think Gladiator deserved to be first over Lady Deathbird? Ooook. The fact is, the only appearance of Gladiator that I can remember from my funny books is when he went apeshit and punched the USS Enterprise in that priceless Star Trek and X-Men crossover. Now, granted that was a pretty epic panel, but still. Nonetheless, the figure looked really nice hanging on the peg, so I tossed him in the cart as well as some other MU figures. Let’s check him out.

I still enjoy the Marvel Universe cards, although Gladiator’s character art is a tad bit understated. He should have been caught in mid scream as if about to punch his way off the card. Instead, he appears to be just staring off with a curious gaze of slight approval. He’s from one of the more recent waves, so the deco has gone back to SHIELD. He fills out the bubble nicely, especially with his cape. The package notes that he comes with his personalized figure stand, but keep in mind, this is a newer release and the Top Secret files are no longer included with the figures. Boo!

And yes, I do like this figure quite a bit. The body is a pretty standard MU buck relying on paint apps to make up Gladiator’s costume, but the metallic blue and red look very nice and he’s got a bit of wash to bring out the sculpt in his muscles. Unlike some of my past MU figures, the paint lines on Gladiator are very clean. The head sculpt is excellent, much better than a number of MU figures that come to mind, again with nice clean paint and a pronounced mohawk sculpted on. The cape and collar are all sculpted in one piece from softer rubbery plastic and just hangs on over his shoulders. If you pop off the figure’s head you can easily remove it so that Gladiator can lay it aside and issue forth some intergalactic ass kickings without being burdened by the extra garment.

Gladiator features standard MU male articulation. You get a ball jointed neck; Universal movement in the shoulders, hips, and ankles; Swivel cuts in the biceps and wrists; And that great universal joint in the torso. For some reason I was expecting the new swivel cuts in the thighs, but nope. I guess he isn’t new enough.

All in all, Gladiator is some really nice work on Hasbro’s part. The figure is a great mix of sculpt and paint to make a figure that really pops. The MU line has been touch and go in the past, no doubt, but it has certainly been heading in the right direction and drastically improving with every wave. Gladiator is a fine example of that. He may not be tops on a lot of collectors’ lists, but he’s still well worth picking up if you have an open mind and are hankering for another MU release.

May 16 2011

Marvel Universe: Apocalypse by Hasbro

So, it’s pretty rare that I’m actually able to pick up a Marvel Universe figure from the current wave, but as mentioned last time a little out of town shopping netted me this Series 9 figure, Apocalypse. This is definitely one of the MU releases I was looking most forward to and I was really thrilled when he turned up on the radar. And unlike some of my more obscure favorites in the MU lineup, I’m certainly not alone in my anticipation of this figure. Apocalypse routinely ranks pretty high in the annals of Marvel villains and I have to imagine that he’s going to be one popular and welcomed release, especially among those of you heavy into the X-Men figures.

Standard Marvel Universe packaging, with some very nice character art of the Big Bad himself. As this is a current release, the Dark Reign of Osborne has ended and we’re back to the SHIELD emblem adorning the front of the bubble. And a mighty big bubble it is, which the figure fills out quite nicely. Apocalypse comes with a custom stand, but in case you missed the memo, Hasbro has dumped the Top Secret documents that were included in past waves of the MU figures. Normally, I’d rather have the figure stand, but in this case, Apocalypse just doesn’t need it. He’s huge and stands just fine on his own.

Considering the gravitas of this character, one would presume that Hasbro would put a lot of effort into the figure, and you’d be right. Wow. Critics of the MU series may point out that so many of the figures are just a standard body with a new head and some paint apps to make a costume, but you sure can’t say that about Apocalypse here. He’s huge and beautifully sculpted and fits the character design perfectly. Check out the detail in his giant boots, gauntlets, the musculature of his body, or the amazing head sculpt and you can easily see this figure was crafted with lots of love. Even the treads on his soles of his boots are detailed. The huge shoulder pads are sculpted in softer plastic and hang over the shoulder joints so as not to inhibit his arm articulation and the hoses leading from his gauntlets and on his back are also soft plastic and move fluidly with the figure to allow for prime poseability.

I’m particularly happy with the coloring on this figure as well. The blue on his armor has a satisfying metallic sheen to it and the grey of his skin is washed to bring out the detail in his sculpted muscles. The paint apps on the head are crisp and clean and the whole figure is free of any slop or bleeding. Compare this guy to some of the earlier MU figures and it’s hard to tell their from the same series.

Apocalypse includes all the articulation we’ve come to expect from the male figures of the line. His head rotates, his shoulders are ball jointed, he has hinged elbows and swivels in his biceps and wrists. His legs feature universal movement at the hips, hinged knees and ankles, and swivel cuts in the thighs. He also rotates at the waist. The only thing missing is the ab crunch that is present in most of the smaller proportioned figures.

Yep, Marvel Universe continues to be a damned frustrating line to collect and Apocalypse here is a perfect example of why. I try to convince myself that these figures aren’t worth the bother to hunt down. I try to convince myself that at $8 at retail, and often a lot more online, they aren’t worth the price either. And yet whenever I do happen to stumble upon a new figure in the line, I buy it and fall in love with the Marvel Universefigures all over again. I had high expectations for Apocalypse and Hasbro managed to satisfy. He’s worth the hunt and definitely worth the money.

May 5 2011

Vintage Vault: X-Men X-Force Quark by Toy Biz

Time to start ripping open some good old fashioned Toy Biz X-Men figures. Why? Well, why not. They’ve been hanging around in my closet for long enough, there’s nothing new on the pegs around here, and I’m hankering for some new figures to look at. Or at least newly opened. I’ve got a whole tote full of these guys, so there’s plenty to go round. Today we’re going to start with Quark, and I don’t mean the guy slinging drinks on Deep Space Nine. 

How can you not love this packaging? The super colorful card is set up to look vaguely like a comic book with the little Marvel Comics tab up in the corner. The artwork and logo are both really exciting. I particularly love the way Quark’s smoking gun is positioned in front of the X-Men logo. Very cool. The bubble is huge to accomodate both the figure and his big weapons. This is the kind of awesome packaging that we got in the 90’s by the likes of Toy Biz and Playmates. I’m sad to say that apart from Star Trek figures, I really wasn’t collecting a lot of figures in the 90’s, and this is the kind of stuff I was missing out on. I am not usually a Mint-On-Card collector, but even I have to admit, tearing open this thing made me cry a little inside. 

Out of the package, you can’t help but love Quark. He looks like a hyper-muscled ram-man with a pirate’s eyepatch, but in reality he was one of the race of slaves Mojo had created to help his kind with the hard labor. It’s tough picking up after yourself when you haven’t got a spine! Of course, as is often the case with those pesky slaves, they tend to turn on you and so Quark was part of Longshot’s revolt on the Mojoverse. He may look tough, but he was a good guy at heart.

The sculpt is simple enough, but it’s got it where it counts, particularly the head sculpt, which gives the figure a ton of attitude. Quark looks like he’s ready to drive his head through the nearest wall, and he’s got the horns to back him up. Apart from his belt with side pouches and bulging muscles, there’s not a heck of a lot of detail here, but the whole thing works as a comic/animated figure and I really dig the high gloss used on the paint.

Quark’s articulation includes a rotating head, arms that rotate at the shoulders, legs that rotate at the hips, and hinged knees. He’s not what we would call super-articulated by any stretch, but he’s got better than the five points we’re used to seeing in figures from this era. Quark also has an action feature, triggered by the lever in his back, which shoots his arms up so that he can quickdraw his weapons. Those weapons include a silver shotgun and a silver assault rifle. The shotgun is hinged in the middle so when you activate his gimmick it snaps up into place. It’s kind of a dopey gimmick, but it doesn’t really detract from the figure, so s’all good.

Quark isn’t what you would consider an A-lister in the Mutant Hall of Fame, but he’s a really cool character that I actually first encountered just a few years back when I was reading up on my X-Men comics. The figure really does him justice and he’s definitely worth picking up and certainly reading up on. You just can’t go wrong with a trip through the Mojoverse. It doesn’t hurt that you can probably find him carded for just a couple of bucks if you look hard enough.