Everyone is already wetting their pants over next year’s Spider-Man 3. The recently leaked trailer showing Venom was just more icing on an already huge cake of hype, and expectations haven’t been this high since Peter Jackson released the final film in the LOTR trilogy.
Of course, everyone will be on this bandwagon, and the Spider-Man toys will be hitting from every angle. One of those angles is called nostalgia, and that’s clearly the angle Hasbro is going for with the new Spider-Man Origins 9″ figures.
What? Did I say Hasbro? Yes, unless you’ve been partying with Lindsay Lohan for most of 2006, youi know that Toybiz is no more, and that Hasbro will be picking up the manufacture of the Marvel figures, including all new Spider-man goodies. The very first of Hasbro’s new product is now hitting shelves, including these 9″ guys.
This line is not intended to be the finest sculpts, although they aren’t too bad. It’s not intended to have the ultimate articulation, the largest number of accessories, or even the most realistic costumes. These things have been left to the more expensive line ups, like the work from Medicom in their 12″ Marvel line. No, this series is intended to tap into the kids (and adults who can still appreciate it) out there who have an affinity for the old Mego style of action figures.
Many adults grew up playing with the old Mego Spider-man and his friends, and now those same adults are the target audience to buy these for their own kids – or perhaps themselves.
“Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus”
This first series includes four figures – Spider-man, Symbiote (black costume) Spider-man, Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus. If there was any question as to whether the movies had an influence, look no further than this debut line up for proof.
I’m going to review two of these – Doc Ock and regular Spidey – here today, with the other two getting the treatment at MROTW. Fans of DC 9″ figures, Famous Covers and yes, even Megos should be pretty happy. For everyone else, these won’t be your cup of java.
Packaging – ***1/2
I like these boxes quite a bit, although they aren’t the most collector friendly. You don’t have to destroy anything getting them out, but there’s enough twistie ties and rubber bands holding them in place that you’ll never put them back again. Too bad they couldn’t follow the Famous Covers route and just use the molded tray to hold them in position.
Yes, that’s the black costume Spidey in the photo above. Each of the boxes is personalized to the character with the large head shot to the right (or his left), and the coolest of these is Green Goblin, whose eye is actually done in ‘3-D’.
Sculpting – Spider-man ***; Doc Ock **1/2
These figures are done using the same bodies as the old DC 9″ figures from a few years back. You may remember characters like Batman and Penguin, Joker, Martian Manhunter, Batman Beyond, or even the NASCAR drivers that were produced 5 or 6 years ago using this body. Now that Hasbro has the Marvel characters under their wing, they’ve decided to release some of those comic characters in the same style and size.
Both of these figures sport sharper lines and deeper cuts than you might have expected, but it works well for the most part. The Spidey sculpt on the head, hands and boots actually remindes me a bit of the Icons version, with the deeply set lines for the webbing. However, unlike the Icons version, he appears to have a nose underneath the mask. His left hand is sculpted in the usual kung-fu grip style, but the right is done with the fingers in a permanent web shooting pose.
Both heads are solid plastic and not hollow, thank goodness, which means they hold harsh detail much better. Perhaps the detail is a little too harsh on old Ock though, who has a deeply etched face. His hair has great detail though, and while the expression isn’t one of my favorites, it’s accetable.
The boots and gloves are done the same way as the old figures, with solid plastic uppers on the forearms and calves, and sculpted hands and feet with articulation. The suits are glued up underneat these plastic uppers, holding them firmly in place.
Paint – Doc Ock ***; Spider-man **1/2
While the paint work on these isn’t stellar by any means, it’s fairly consistent with other mass market toys.
Doc Ock has the better technical application, with clean lines between colors and little to no bleed. The small teeth are well done, and there’s no sign of the black from the glasses on any of the face. However, his skin tone is the color the head was cast in, and that makes the finish on the skin quite glossy. I’d have prefered a painted face as well, but at this price point I’m not surprised.
Spidey isn’t as clean, particularly aroudn the eyes and webbing lines on the head. There’s quite a bit of slop with the white in particular, and it’s not as consistent in thickness and coverage either.
Articulation – ***
If you picked up any of the old DC 9″ figures, you’ll know what to expect here. There’s a cut neck, ball jointed hips and shoulders, pin elbows and knees, pin wrists and ankles, cut biceps, cut waist, and the hinged chest joint. Oh, and let’s not forget the pin joint through the fingers, allowing them to open and close all as one unit.
This isn’t exactly Medicom articulation, but it works pretty well in this scale. The ball jointed shoulders are a little restricted, and I really would like to see a ball jointed neck, but the figures can still take quite a few decent poses. On top of the standard articulation, each of the four tentacles on Doc Ock are bendy, and work pretty well.
Accessories – Bupkis
If you count the good Doctor’s arms and belt as part of his overall outfit, then these figures are accessory-less. That’s a bit of a disappointment, considering the price point, but it does seem that short of getting goofy, coming up with good accessories in the Spider-man lines has always been a problem.
Outfit – ***
Both figures have cloth uniforms, sewn up tight in the back and glued in under the cuffs and boots. They fit pretty tightly, or at least as tightly as this thicker material can. Any time you twist or bend the arms or legs you’ll see wrinkles, but that’s the nature of cloth.
In fact, the outifts fit a little too tight in some areas, sucking their way into the hip joints a bit more than you’d like. I’m not going to complain too loudlly though, since I prefer too tight to too loose.
The printing of the web pattern on Spidey’s costume looks great, and the bright blue and red are nice and consistent. The red of the costume doesn’t quite match the red of the plastic, but it’s fairly close considering the differences in the materials.
Doc Ock also has a removable belt with his outfit, which is very plain and basic. His glasses are part of the head sculpt and not removable.
Fun Factor – ***1/2
These aren’t the prettiest figures you’ll see on the shelves, but they are a lot of fun. I also think the size is really good, coming in between the large and often difficult to handle 12″ figures, but more meaty than the 6″ scale. Of course, for the adults who collected either the old Famous Covers line or the DC 9″ Heroes line, these will fit right in.
Value – **1/2
I’m not in the least bit surprised these are $15 – I can’t see them really being offered for less. Still, it’s merely an average, getting what you paid for value, unlike the much larger Icons which cost the same amount.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. I popped off a tentacle when posing Ock, but it popped right back in again. I think they’re all supposed to be glued, but I wasn’t going to start yanking on the rest to see. Even if they are removable, it’s unlikely you’d pose him without them.
Overall – ***
If you’re looking for cutting edge, you best be looking elsewhere. These are old school through and through, and are likely to appeal to geezers who fondly remember Megos more than kids and adults looking for hyper-articulated, ultra modern sculpts. But if you know what you’re getting going in – and don’t unfairly compare them to things that they were never meant to compete with – then you may be pleasantly surprised.
Scoring Recap:
Packaging – ***1/2
Sculpt – Spider-Man ***; Doc Ock **1/2
Paint – Doc Ock ***; Spidey **1/2
Articulation – ***
Accessories – Bupkis
Outfit – ***
Fun Factor ***1/2
Value – **1/2
Overall – ***
Where to Buy –
Stores like Toys R Us and Target are your best bet at this point.
Related Links –
I have a ton of Spider-Man related reviews out there of course, but the two most recent – and relevant – include the other half of this review, which looks at the 9″ Symbiote Spider-man and Green Goblin, and the new 12″ Spider-Man in the Marvel Legends Icons line up.
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