Marvel Universe 3.75" Fantastic Four 4-Pack: Future Foundation

Here's the problem with all the Marvel Universe Fantastic Four figures--There isn't any four of them in the same uniform!  The single-carded light blue modern/ultimate versions of the Human Torch and The Thing (in full pants) came first, but there was no Reed Richards or Sue Storm.  Then came the running change of the Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm in dark blue with white gloves/boots.  By this time, the Secret Wars two-packs series had a Mr. Fantastic in the same dark blue (packaged with Ultron).  Secret Wars also had a dark blue Speedos Thing (packed with the Wrecker.)

Still no Sue though.

Then came this 4-pack all in modern light blue or in Future Foundation white: Mr. Fantastic, the Thing, Sue Storm (Yay!!!) and...Herbie?  Wha?...

Ok, well at least now we have all 4 members of "a classic" Fantastic Four.  But all the 'Bro really had to do was just toss in a dark blue Sue and viola!--we'd have had a complete 'Four.  Instead, now we get the three guys in dark blue and Sue in light blue...Hm.  Ok.  No problem.  We'll just have to put the light blue Sue with the light blue Johnny Storm and Thing and Mr Fantastic.  Only one problem though--I went for the dark blue releases instead of the light blue, so I'm effectively screwed.  Lol.

Moral of the story: prepare to get teased as you wait to complete your favorite superhero team, even if it's a team that's this classic and more famous as a team than as individuals!

My solution: get the Future Foundation white.  At least the previous members of the 'Four you got can still be completed separately as a classic team (if they make 'em...) while you get yourself a variation of the modern day Fan Four!

So let's see how this 4-pack measures up!

Marvel Select Thing

I remember when I first saw photos of the Thing: I wanted to get him--but only if I had a suitable large Hulk to go with him.  But then Marvel Select's Hulk turned out to be less than ideal.  Hulk's head sculpt didn't quite do it for me. Too zombie-like instead of angry.  So I passed on the Thing, happy that I'd gotten Marvel Select Ultimate Hulk, who didn't quite belong to the same Universe.  Anyway, Hulk always strongest one there is (!!!) so he didn't really need a friend.

"You want the Thing, you gotta feed me first, Father's Day or not!"

Until now.

Whoddathunk that I had to get married and become a father first.  Why?  Because the Thing turned out to be my first the Father's Day present!  How?  well, the wife said, "I'm not even gonna try and surprise you because I'm not sure what's the next figure on your list.  So we're gonna go to the store and you're gonna pick out something."

Funny.  SomeThing was exactly what I chose.  So thank you, Mel my dear, and little Christian for a fantastic (Four) first Father's Day gift!

It's Good to be a Dad...

This Thing is Heavy!

Naw, it's great!

Then again, it's got to be the best job in the world.

Not only do I get to see my son grow up, his smiles and the new things he learns each day, but I also get to learn a little bit more about how my own Dad had to take care of my brother and I when we were the same age.

Absolutely the best job in the world!--I can't wait until he asks me for his first action figure. ;)

And as if I weren't lucky enough just to be a Dad, the wife and the little boy got me this for Fathers Day!

Come to think of it, he kinda looks like my buy when he's hungry. Heheh.

Well, I wasn't to be outdone, no sirree.

So I picked myself up the latest loose offerings from Davetoylet at the local Sunday Flea Market:

DC Universe Wave 17's White Lantern Hal Jordan and Yellow Lantern Scarecrow!

I hope all of y'all out there, fathers, step-fathers, foster fathers, Godfathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, All-Fathers, and pimp daddies have a mighty fine Father's Day too! ;)

Loose as a Goose!

That's what 3 3/4" Marvel Unverse Thing turned out to be. So much so that I posed him like this right out of the packaging:

How could he possibly be so loose? Both shoulders are super loose, especially the right shoulder, his chest joint is loose, making him extra swivel-ly, and his thigh joints are loose as well.

I wonder if it's a deliberate thing done by Hasbro to make 'em more children friendly? Cos his fists, feet and head are nice and tight. Hm.

Still, the figure does look awesome, especially his stoney mug:









And somehow, despite the loose joints, he still poses ok.

And size-wise, Hasbro has done a great job--The Thing is a big figure, but he's still smaller than The Hulk (as he should be), but larger than Wolverine and Cap. (Yay for proportions!)

It's Clobberin' Time!

Still, I did have fun playing and posing this figure. I still have classic Iron Man fresh on card, and I can't wait to get more of this line.

Oh, and a word to the wise: if you do buy the plus size figures, try not to pay more than retail for them.

Scalpers tend to charge more and they'll tell you that the figure is heavier than the rest, thus shipping costs more. It's all crap.

The retail price is the same for all figs, so that means the price of a skinny Ms. Marvel = the price of a 1040 pound hulk. That is if they're 3 3/4" figs of course. ;)

Ratings!

Design Accuracy: 9.5/10 - Instantly recognizeable as the Thing. The colour is spot on, and not completely uniform for all his skin panels, with patches of darker orange here and there. The head is also one of the best I've seen on a Thing figure. Bonus points for the blue eyes! (Otherwise the Ever Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing he would not be. ;])

Aesthetic: 9/10 - He's nicely proportionate to, well, himself. Head is small but not too small, his hands are large but smaller than the Hulk's, and those blue eyes! He's also got a really sad look on his face, which matches Ben Grimm's depressed state while he was struggling to accept that he'd never look normal again. The shading of his skin is also nicely done. And the jutting jaw adds to his brooding look.

Poseability: 7/10 - 14 points of articulation, same as the Hulk. But he loses points for loose joints. and also, there's also a problem with his legs. The lower half of his right is longer than his right! It seems that Hasbro tried to make up for this by hinging the lower right leg a little deeper. Well, it didn't work. So Thingy-poo doesn't stand straight. Luckily he's all about the Clobberin' Time so he'll be in more dynamic poses most of the time.



Overall: 8.5/10 - Still a good solid figure. Better yet if the loose joints are only inherent to my figure. Oh well, I'm sure there's some way to fix him. But meanwhile, he wont be doing any heavy lifting. Just some light stretching.