Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Marvel Universe 3.75" Wave 14 Skaar!

The idea of Hulk having a son he didn't know about born from the destruction left behind on the planet Sakaar was an intriguing one.  And I have to say that despite the distraction that was the whole Red Hulks saga, Skaar's story was the more important one, both to the continuing saga of Banner's struggle to rid himself of the Green Goliath and to the Skaar character himself.

Basically, Skaar's got abandonment issues with Dad and wants to kill him for leaving him and Sakaar to die.  So Skaar cones to Earth and locates his father.  But it's the Green Scar he's looking for and not the Savage Hulk so Skaar says he'll return when King Hulk does.

When he next meets Dad, Bruce Banner's been robbed of the ability to transform by the Red Hulk.  But Banner is confident that the Hulk will find some way to return n decides to train Skaar for that eventuality.  Banner is forced to absorb radiation from a gamma bomb in the middle of a city to save lives.  But the radiation triggers his transformation into the World Breaker--father and son fight.  After handily beating the young upstart, the Hulk remembers how Banner's Dad abused him.  An instead of finishing Skaar (who's reverted to his childlike human form) off, he embraces him as his son.

So long story short, we get the Marvel Universe version of the character and one of Hulk's new crew!








Like: His head sculpt.  Though he's not as youthful and has a squarer jaw than he is usually drawn, you know it's not the Hulk.  His hair is also especially well done.  It does get in the way of him looking up but thanks to the wonderful swivel/hinge his got, he can even look straight down at his chest.


Like: The tone of pale green for his skin.  His Old Power tattoos are also well done, a light enough shade to indicate they are tattoos but not so light that they seem like they've faded over time like some old tats do.

Like: His kickass sword. To bad the blade is a dull plastic looking gray.

Like: His sheathe!  Nice and wide, sculpted to look like bound leathers.

Dislike: Lots of his leather aren't painted or washed--his sheathe, the loincloth and belt combo, his boots.  They're excellently tooled, so it's a pity they look glaringly plastic.

Like:  He's got two gripping hands.  Like Dad (WW Hulk version) he's able to be pimped out with more than one weapon or a weapon and shield.  Or you can make him grab things just as easily--he's got Dad's hands!

But unlike Dad, who's got two spindly weapon grips he can't quite hold onto, Skaar's sword's got a thicker handle so that he can grip it firmly.  All he better to hack 'n' slash with!

Dislike: That he only comes with one weapon. They gave WW Hulk two weapons and a shield so maybe an additional spear or axe would've been cool.

Like: The small but important parts they've added to set Skaar apart from other chunky figures.  Make no mistake, Skaar is a Juggernaut body except for he head, the hands and the lower legs (and feet).  But separately and remarkably sculpted armor and clothes make him very much unique.

Usually , toy makers can change the color on a figure and you'd still be able to tell which character he originally was.  But Hasbro are the kings of color variance, intricately tooled parts, and figuring out which parts have to be changed to make a figure unique.  And a great job they do of the latter because those parts they re-tool for, like heads, are usually completely brand new!


RATINGS

Aesthetics: 9/10 - Skaar's really wonderful to look as.  Yes he's got a few issued with the underpainting/lack of washes for his harness/sheathe/loincloth/boots/sword, but detail on these are so sharp and well-tooled it's easy to close one eye and let it slide.

His loincloth, bracers and harness are all separate pieces, showing that Hasbro are willing to go that extra mile to make what is a generic big-guy sclpt unique. Skaar's also got a great stern face and nicely tooled hair, so the figure looks excellent all round!

Poseability: 9.5/10 - Thigh cuts, big feet, and a good chest pivot form the base of good poses in most all figures and Skaar has them.  Throw in a swivel/Hinge head with neck swivel and a big ass sword and you got quite a bit of "pose" on your hands.  Then there's the usable sheathe for his sword and the attached removable harness...for those bare-chested times...

One thing he doesn't have that similar sculpts like Thanos and Juggernaut do: boot top swivels.  It's not a big deal though, unless you absolutely must have his feet flat on the ground in every pose. Lol.

Fun: 9/10 - He's part of the Hulk family and one that's truly rated to Bruce Banner.  In fact, only he and Jen Walters are truly blood relations.  Yeah, he's got that other son but ya know, one son we can take.  Two sons?  I dunno...

What truly intrigues me about Skaar is the character itself.  That by extension really makes me dig the figure.  He's the one character that changes the Bruce Banner/Betty Ross relationship because he's a constant reminder that Hulk got it on with his alien queen and produced offspring, something that Bruce and Betty never really had the chance to do.  That he found Hulk found true happiness with someone else hasn't really gone down well with Betty/ (***Spoiler Alert***) Red She-Hulk.


Toy-wise, while having a sword is great, I find myself wanting to give him a spear or Dad's shield or axe.  He needs a little more to make him truly great in terms of having fun with him alone.

That said, he does pose well with any of the Hulks, Red Hulk, or even the other large figures like Juggernaut, Thanos, or Thing.  And as long as Hasbro keeps giving large MU figures thigh cuts, I have to say the level of fun/playability has gone up a couple of notches!

Like father like son...
Value: 8/10 - Not one of the value for money figures in terms of accessories. He's also missing the Fury/H.A.M.M.E.R Files and ID card since the 'Bro has stopped printing them with this wave.  He is a large figure though and does come with one accessory and  stand, so overall he's god value.  He ain't no WW Hulk, of course, but then it's always tough to live up to your super famous Dad's reputation.


Overall: 9/10 - I'd take your arm and leg (non-plastic) for this figure.

Like father like son II
As far as large characters go, Marvel Universe has not dropped the ball at all.  In fact, since the days of the first Hulk figures, they've gone from strength to strength, be it in the head sculpts or the articulation.  I can understand many people passing on this guy because he's a rather new character and a Hulk B-Lister at most.  Others may not even know who the heck he is.  But as far as I can tell, it seems like he's here to stay.  So picking him up for a reasonable price may not be a bad thing at all.  Maybe he'll do something awesome in one of his future stories and you'll get to like him loads. :)

Meanwhile, all that's left is for Hasbro to roll out their large-sized female characters--She-Hulk has already been revealed but Red She-Hulk, Titania, Thundra, and Savage She-Hulk (just to name a few) come to mind when thinking of sculpt re-use.  From what we've seen so far from their SDCC reveals. the 'Bro have shown they can do a great large-sized female as well as improve the current female buck.  Check out Scarlet Witch!  Or you can just enjoy the rest of these Skaar v Hulk action shots! ;)

Who's your Daddy now?

19 comments:

  1. Very cool! I'm considering one if I find it - using the Juggernaut/Thanos body does tell me a lot about posing options.

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  2. Hmm. I don't really like the look of Skaar here. I think the Juggernaut body makes him look far too bulky. I like him to look a little more lithe, and to be a little more bluish in colour too. Still, after the showing at SDCC I can forgive the MU team the occasional slip up.

    Nice review once again regardless of our differing taste.

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  3. Meh, I think I'll pass on this one. The only must have for me is Doc Strange. (Although I wouldn't mind getting the Falcon, either)

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  4. I only wanna get the Doctor Doom in this wave , since i missed it in the secret wars 2 pack...wow, in fact i dont even see jim lee cyclops in most department stalls...should not have got that secret wars HULK , the new HULK looks amazing!!
    BTW Great Review here!

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  5. @Ridureyu, AFLI - Thanks, dude!

    @Meangreen - You have agreat point there. Skaar's been drawn slimmer than Hulk but bulkier than most more often than not in his short career so far. I think the only one that draws him as bulky a the Hulk is Ed McGuinness. I do love Skaar as a toy on his own, though. But I do admit, I'd like Hulk to be the biggest, baddest, meanest and greenest bar none! :)

    @Soundwave - Pass?!?!?! Nooooooooooooo!!!!! :P Yeah, he's not a character that you can get into just by looking at his design. Dr. Starnge does have effect though. It's that Eye of Agamotto, I tell you! ;P

    @TPS - Thanks! Yeah, I've not seen this wave in department stores yet either. Gotta go to specialty shops like Simply Toys or any of those in CSC.

    Actually, I do quite like the Gamma green plastic they used for SW Hulk. Only that version could carry that color skin! But we're all gonna get that new Hulk anyway! ;P

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  6. Hah. There's a Simply Toys 2200 miles from me... or maybe it's a SImply Kids. They have Japanese stuff, and I visited it while out in California to attend a friend's wedding.

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  7. @Ridureyu - Lol yeah, it's probably Simply Kids or something else. Simply Toys is a Singaporean franchise. 22000 miles, eh? Multiply that by 10 (more or less) and you'd be in Singapore! ;P

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  8. But I don't have any friends getting married in Singapore.

    Anyway, the wedding was great. I got set on fire.

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  9. If you don't get (seriously) hurt, it's a funny story!

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  10. Hahaha..i dun get the point where set on fire = F.U.N!! still hunting down doom and cyclops!!

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  11. Think about it his way. If it's the kind of party where one can casually say, "I had fun. Also, I got set on fire." Then it's a FUN party.

    In other news, I missed a transluscent Human Torch(awwwwwww) that apparently sold on my way to Wal-Mart, but I DID pick up the last Spidey/Thunderball set in the area, thus finishing my set of the Wreckers. Although I kind of lack shelf space to put all four for now. Hmmm.

    http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y185/Ridureyu/figures/marvelshelffull.png
    I just need another shelf, then.
    (updated isnce last time.)
    (With a space for Dr. Strange when I find one)

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  12. Nice shots, dude! But nah, you can cram a dozen more figures in there. But yes, another shelf never hurts! ;P

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  13. Yeah, but I couldn't actually pose them doing stuff if I crammed too many more in!

    (The question is, which will give people more fits trying to ID? The Superhero Showdown figures? The random Fist of the North Star guy? Or the other one who doesn't look like he belongs?)

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  14. Saw you on the morning news, SirDragonBane! Did a quick search and it turns out you're a "celebrity" as well?! Haha that was all a pleasant surprise. Nothing new to you but an excellent review once again. Great that this figure is somewhat value for money but the size of Skaar is the only thing that bugs me, as mentioned by Meangreen.

    But similarly, as pointed out by Meangreen as well, it seems that this line is here to stay and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if this line of toys eventually play a larger role than simply being a "complement" to the ML line.

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  15. @Ridureyu - Of course you could! It's called the Hulk beats other guys into a pile pose!

    And the answer is: if Hulk has beaten them into a pile, I don't think it would matter. Lol. ;P

    @vernisgood - Haha, no, no. I'm no "celebrity." Just have to work like everyone else. ;) I was also on 938LIVE giving an interview about toys later that afternoon, strangely enough. Yes, busy day at the office for me. Lol.

    Thanks for reading and commenting. Yes, the size issue is a fair enough criticism of the figure. But right now I think Hasbro have nothing in between in terms of the right buck size for Skaar. Somehow someone thought "as large as the rest" would be ok.

    No doubt the line is here to stay. It's been thriving in the last few years and I'm sure it's not for the lack of ML figures--fans of the 6" scale would rather do without ML than buy into 3.75", I suspect. But with the relaunching of Legends, I can imagine lots of 3.75" fans "dabbling" into the line, myself included. ;)

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  16. Is it just me, or is there more than a trace of Lou Ferrigno in the face sculpt on Skaar? Give it some shorter hair and a different body and that could totally pass for a TV series Hulk!

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  17. Heck, you're right! I hadn't even noticed but that would've been a great SDCC excusive for the summer: Marvel Universe Lou Ferrigno Hulk!

    And it would fetch a pretty penny on the secondary market as well.

    Customizer alert! ;P

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