Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Hasbro)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Hasbro
2015 - 2016

Ah, Star Wars. How you rose to the top, only to fall into a deep slumber, then be awoken...Ha...Puns. Technically though, to be as accurate as possible it would either be the Power of the Force II Awakens or the Thrawn Trilogy Awakens. Those were the start of new life being breathed into the lungs of Star Wars.

We have a love / hate relationship with Star Wars toys. By that we mean that we love there are still Star Wars toys being produced today, but we hate the majority of them. We'll go into details during our whining session below.

With Rogue One right around the corner, we thought we'd take a look at last year's hype machine, The Force Awakens. Though the movie was well received by the general population, there were of course many people who scorned the film for being nothing short of a retelling of A New Hope. Admittedly there is some merit to that argument.

After the reception that was the George Lucas Prequel Trilogy, Disney definitely played it safe with the first entry in their Sequel Trilogy. By that we mean they seemed to fear stepping anywhere outside the box of the Original Trilogy so much to the point that they did indeed mirror A New Hope almost to a "T".

We're sure this topic could be debated ad nauseam by Star Wars fans on both sides of the fence. So, we're going to go ahead and shift the attention now to the toys themselves in attempts to sidestep that argument.

Hasbro has produced hundreds, if not thousands of Star Wars figures since acquiring Tonka / Kenner in mid 1991. Though it was public knowledge, the Hasbro brand didn't appear on the front of Star Wars figure packages until the Flashback Series of the Power of the Force II line which was released in 1998. Many figure collectors of course remember the entire PotFII line as both a joy and nightmare at the same time for its ever leaching effects on wallets as well as a breath of life in Star Wars returning to toy isles back in 1995.

Since then, Hasbro has launched and ended numerous Star Wars related lines coinciding with the 3 3/4 inch scale figures. They not only covered all three of the Prequels; The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones (known in the toy isle as Star Wars Saga) and Revenge of the Sith, but also the various television series; Clone Wars, The Clone Wars and the recent Rebels iteration. They even produced a throwback to the vintage line with their highly popular Vintage Collection series. These of course are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of lines as there were many others.

It was inevitable that 2015 to 2016 would be The Force Awakens' turn. Though there were many figures released, the series as a whole seems incomplete. Where is Leia, Luke, Lor San Tekka and the various creatures seen in Maz's "palace"? Heck, you can't even get Maz Kanata if you don't buy a multipack. Meanwhile, characters that weren't even part of the film got thrown into the mix to "flesh out" the line. Overall, it just seems like a missed opportunity on Hasbro's part, but then again, they've been missing the mark on Star Wars lines for quite some time now (more on that below).

With that said, we get it. Hasbro has shifted their production to gear it more towards children as opposed to collectors. They created the six inch Black Series for the collectors, and essentially said, "This will suffice you because that's all you're getting." Since then they have cut back on articulation and in general the quality of their 3 3/4 inch line. Oddly enough, the prices still remain the same in toy isles, if not a little higher at this point.

Rather than focus on solid figures and vehicles that carried the various Star Wars lines through success for years, Hasbro has resorted to gimmicks - Such as this line's "Armor Up" collection - AKA big bulky accessories that are irrelevant to the character, but add eye candy to the package for children, and additional dollars to the parent's buying price. Even some of the basic figures seem encumbered with large accessories that serve no purpose - Why does Captain Phasma come with a large green bladed unicycle?

In all seriousness, we do know why. See, that's Hasbro's other gimmick. Each basic figure comes packed with an accessory to create an even larger irrelevant accessory when combined. Man do we miss the days of "Build A Droid" - You know, when each figure came packed with a piece of a droid that when combined at least made for an awesome figure to add to your collection.

With all this "hate" for the line, it makes you wonder if there was anything good that came out of it. Short answer - Yes.

As someone once said, "Hate leads to suffering." Which oddly enough is what many fans of Star Wars who hate what has become of the toys, but still buy them, are doing.

The line isn't terrible. It's just disappointing in terms of what characters got left out. Still, if you're looking for the main cast of new faces, you will find that here. Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren are all here - The majority in multiple iterations. Furthermore, you can find them all in the basic packs, so you're not having to buy the bulky deluxe editions if you don't want to.

Even then, it's not like you have to utilize the packed in accessories from either the basic or deluxe versions. Heck, if it bothers you that much, you can just throw them away - Though we don't know why you would buy them if you were just going to throw pieces out.

Hasbro released three waves of basic figures, each comprising of twelve figures. A unique twist they came up with was to split each wave in half, designating one half to the Desert / Snow theme, and the other half to the Forest / Space theme. This theme carried over to the deluxe, or "Armor Up" series, which includes a figure from each theme in each of its two waves. Well, to correct that statement, it would have, but it appears that the Forest Gear figure from wave 2 was cancelled.

Toys R' Us released two "Armor Up" exclusive packs. The first pack contained a Desert and Space themed set of figures, and the second pack covered the Snow and Forest themed ones.

Speaking of store exclusives - Though there weren't many multipacks produces for The Force Awakens line, two of the three were exclusive to specific retailers. Amazon got the First Order Legion - A pack that contains pretty much every form of First Order Stormtrooper you can think of (seven figures in total). Kohls on the other hand received a pack refereed to simply as Kohl's Exclusive Set. It contained four figures in a Forest theme.

The series was rounded off with numerous vehicles. Much as the standard of any Star Wars line these days, the vehicles are separated into one of three classes; I, II and III.

There were eleven vehicles in total produced - five from Class I, Three from Class II and three from Class III. The Class I vehicles contained an exclusive walker which could only be purchased from Entertainment Earth.

The most expensive vehicle to come from the series was the Battle Action Millennium Falcon - AKA a Transformer. Really the only "neat" thing to come from this toy (for us) was the new radar dish. With that said, we can definitely see why kids would get excited about it. Sure, it's not screen accurate, but look at that massive cannon that pops out! Fun times indeed! It's always great when toys incorporate projectiles or sound effects, or (mind blown) both!

For us, and yes, this is totally a personal opinion - Hasbro has been missing the mark on their Star Wars toys for quite some time now. In general there doesn't seem like too much care goes into a Star Wars line these days. It's as if they don't listen to the fans anymore. Remember when there used to be a yearly poll for a "Fan's Choice" figure? Where is that these days?

Hasbro wants so desperately to cater their toys to kids, and has for many years now. It seems so obvious with all the silly gimmicks and pack-ins they're focusing on. The problem with this is that they seem to have forgotten that it was collectors that took them from 1995 to present. Grown up fans of the Original Trilogy were the ones clambering over each other in the 90's to get to the newest figures, not children. We're not saying that kids didn't want these figures, but let's be real about it. The majority of Star Wars toy buyers back then were in the age range of 20 - 40.

Don't get us wrong. We don't hate the idea that a toy line is being geared towards children. We suppose that this is how it should be. However, in the past Hasbro seemed to have been on a path where there was still somewhat of a balance. Main characters were the focal point for those young and old, but then Hasbro would throw in a gem here and there strictly for collectors. Those days seem gone.

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Robot Chicken (Jazwares)

Robot Chicken
Jazwares
2009 - 2010

Robot Chicken is kind of like Saturday Night Live. Some skits can be incredibly funny, while others are so dull you just wish they would hurry up and end. Though it is skit based, many characters are used in reoccurring roles, and sometimes even cross over to other skits to make appearances.

The biggest draw for many to the show is its use of vintage action figures and stop motion animation to create comedic scenarios that are often times over the top to the point of parodying the source material - Think Twisted ToyFare Theater, but on television as opposed to in printed pages - P.S. Twisted ToyFare Theater is better.

Jazwares is a company that is known for producing toys based on animated series, and that's rightly so - They do it well. Their entry into the Robot Chicken universe is nothing short of spot on to their television counterparts, and even include iconic accessories as seen in the show.

Because a lot of the characters in the show aren't owned by the developers, this would explain why the series is so limited in terms of what it's offering. You'll only find characters that were created specifically for the series that don't infringe on the copyrights of other toy companies - Not that we really need a Cobra Commander from Robot Chicken anyway as it's nothing short of the vintage Hasbro version.

The end result was only a handful of figures, one of which was limited to a San Diego Comic Con release. The series includes; Mad Scientist and Robot Chicken, Robot and Washing Machine,Candy Bear and Convention Exclusive Nerd.

The last piece developed for the series was the large lights and sounds Robot Chicken. By far this is the hardest item to come by if you're collecting the toys. Not only is it difficult to find, but it's challenging to find one in good condition boxes. The packaging is prone to crushing and bulging - Most likely caused by poor storage from the owners.

Overall this isn't a bad series - Especially if you're a fan of the show. The look in the sculpting is definitely there, leaving no question as to which characters they represent. 

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Nintendo Classic Edition - Commercial Success, Public Failure (and The Continued Deterioration of Humanity)

In a turn of events that is shocking to nobody, Nintendo has once again botched the release of one of their consoles. However, unlike the Wii U, which was released seemingly overnight to an audience unaware of what it actually was, the Nintendo  Classic Edition was a highly anticipated piece of hardware that fans had been asking about pre-ordering since the day it was announced.

With such high demand, retailers actually ended up going in the opposite direction, denying pre-order sales for fear they wouldn't be able to accommodate the many purchases that would have been made in advance - That fear turned out to be justified.

Stores across the US and Japan were selling out of the console within ten minutes (or less) of opening their doors on the day of release - Friday, November 11, 2016. The problem was one Nintendo should have seen coming a mile away.

Retailers such as Target, Toys R' Us, Best Buy, Walmart and even GameStop had less than twenty consoles to distribute per store. If this weren't bad enough, they didn't even have enough extra controllers to sell alongside the systems. Stores were lucky if they had received two controllers - With several reports of many getting one or none.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm sure Nintendo is pleased with their sales numbers as of this morning. I'm sure that in some board room somewhere, somebody is getting a massive pat on the back for their ingenious idea to release a Classic Edition. I'm sure as they count the cash in hand that their smiles are growing wider and wider with each stack. Yes, Nintendo can claim their NES Classic Edition a commercial success.

HOWEVER...

A commercial success doesn't mean a public one. If you were to ask me, I'd claim the NES Classic Edition to be a massive public failure.

Why?

Because Nintendo couldn't meet with supply and demand, and there was no reason for this beyond Nintendo's ever growing incompetence to determine the amount of product needed for a public launch. Here's a perfect example;

I arrived at my local Target at 6:45 AM for an 8:00 AM opening. There were just two people in line already. By 7:30 AM, there were forty people. This line continued to grow. At 7:55 AM, the manager of the store came out, and asked, "Is anyone in this line NOT here for a Nintendo?" Only one hand went up, and we'll go into that person later in this article. The manager then announced, "We have only fifteen Nintendo consoles."

Disappointment obviously began to be audible at this point. He then said, "When we open, it's going to be first come, first serve. You may not hold one to shop for further items. You need to pay for it at the counter, and if your card is declined, you will forfeit your purchase. This line will move in an orderly fashion in the order of individuals as you are now, and it is limited to one per customer."

He then asked if anyone had any questions. I did. I asked, "How many extra controllers do you have?" One was the response. Fifteen consoles...and one extra controller. Well, I was third in line, so I was not getting an extra controller.

During our time in line, I met several people. Many of them had attempted to go to Walmart at midnight to get the console, but were told that it would go on sale at 7:00 AM. Shortly after the midnight hour, someone at Walmart tired of being asked about the console, and decided to sell them. In other words, by 7:00 AM, the whopping six that they had received were long gone.

The local GameStop received ten consoles, and two controllers. Best Buy got twenty consoles with no controllers, and Toys R' Us got nothing.

What does all of this mean? It means that for every one person that got the Nintendo the second the doors opened (because remember, they sold out everywhere), about five or more people were turned away. So if GameStop got ten consoles, theoretically, they turned fifty people away before an hour had even passed from the time the store opened.

Now let's take a step back to my personal experience at Target. I want to mention how scalpers just really tick me off. As I said, I was third in line. Ahead of me was a guy with his girlfriend. Behind me was a family of four. The guy's girlfriend was letting everyone know that she was going to buy a Nintendo too because she could, "Get $300 for it on ebay." She didn't want one. She just wanted to sell it. The family of four behind me - Yeah, they each wanted one for the same reason. Right there that's five consoles going in the hands of scalpers.

Now let's take a step even further back, and revisit that one lady that was in line for something other than a Nintendo. She wanted a Hatchimal, which the manager announced that they had two of. She was the only person in line that wanted this item, and she was number 12 or so back. The people in front of and behind me all asked, "What's a Hatchimal?"

While these people had no clue what it was, their greed instantly kicked in as they fired up their cell phones, and saw the asking price on ebay. The girlfriend, and one of the guys in the family bought the two Hatchimals that this one woman had gotten in line for. That's terrible. It's so awful and wrong that I'm sputtering over words because I just can't come up with something to describe how despicably greedy and...just wrong...that it was for these people to buy this item.

Has society gotten so greedy that we've chosen to forgo the simplest bit of courtesy for our fellow human beings? I guess I just don't understand how making a couple bucks off of something is more important than the joy an item will bring to someone else. For all we know, that person was in line for her daughter who was home in bed with some ailing disease, and she was just trying to bring a momentary smile to her face. Sure, that's an extreme example, and probably not the case, but do you see my point? People don't take two seconds to consider the person standing twenty feet behind them.

I'm truly sorry that this woman didn't get what she was there for. In hind sight, I wish I would have bought the last Hatchimal so I could turn around in line and hand it to the woman, and say, "I hope you enjoy it!" With my luck...She would have probably turned out to be a scalper too.

All of this comes back on the companies producing these items. Their incompetence to properly provide product to a public that clearly wants to hand them their money is unfathomable. For as long as I have been a collector, I've never understood why companies want to hand third party groups (ahem, scalpers) money that they could be putting in their own pockets. The solution is simple - Meet supply vs. demand.

The perfect example of all of this is the NES Classic. You have two million people (hypothetically) that want to give you their money to buy an NES Classic, yet you only produce one million consoles (hypothetically). You just passed on $60,000,000.00 because you couldn't be bothered to provide your product to those people. Either Nintendo is truly being run by incompetent people, or they simply don't care about their potential customers. Whichever option it is, neither of them are good business practices.

Even as someone who got an NES Classic Edition this morning, I can't help but feel angry about how this was handled. It angers me that as of this post there are over 3,000 consoles on ebay - clearly purchased by scalpers. It infuriates me that I had to stand in line with said people on a cold sidewalk as they talked openly about their intentions as if to scoff at those who would be "forced" to buy from them or one of their unknown cronies if they wanted one. To an extent, this also makes me angry at the people who support this type of behavior by buying from scalpers.

Additionally, it saddens me that for as many people who got one, there were numerous others told, "Sorry. Better luck next time." I'll even admit that part of the reason I'm bent out of shape is because I couldn't follow through with my initial plan, and purchase two more as Christmas gifts for my siblings because due to (lack of) supply everyone was limited one, and who knows when anymore will be available.

Thanks, Nintendo. Thanks for screwing up yet another highly anticipated release.

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McFarlane's Fantasy (McFarlane Toys)

McFarlane's Fantasy
McFarlane Toys
2008

When it comes to unique characters, Todd McFarlane certainly has an imagination on him. The characters that have appeared in both his comic book and action figure lines have been the stuff of nightmares at times. His characters from the 2008 McFarlane's Fantasy (AKA McFarlane's Fantasy Legends AKA Legend of Blade Hunters) don't fall short of that bill. They're twisted, gruesome and awesome all in one.

Much like a lot of the lines that get produced at McFarlane Toys, this one was intended to be an ongoing series. Unfortunately it never found a foothold in toy isles to produce a demand worthy of more figures. Sadly, the end result is that the denoted "Series 1" on the bottom right of the package is all we ever, and most likely will get.

The figures are pure quality in terms of sculpt, articulation, color and overall design. Then again, it's often difficult to find a "bad" figure produced by MT. Quality has always been a top priority for the company, or more appropriately stated, founder Todd McFarlane.

Ogre (Guard Class)

Basilisk

Tyr (Dragon Rider)

Eternal Dragon

King Draako

A second series was planned at the same time the first was produced which would have included; Cursed Dragon, Goblin (Scout Class), Knight (Captain Bayle) and Cronus Necromancer. Prototypes are known to exist, and online websites were even taking preorders for them until production was halted and cancelled.

The figures are rather uncommon these days on secondary markets. They can be found here and there, but don't typically sell even when listed for as little as $9.00 each.

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Artwork taken from; YoPriceville and Mystic Mornings.

Little Dracula (DreamWorks / Bandai)

Little Dracula
DreamWorks / Bandai
1991

Happy Halloween, all! In honor of the day, we're going to cast our sights at a relatively unknown / forgotten series from DreamWorks / Bandai. 1991's Little Dracula!

Little Dracula was a character created for UK children's books by Irish Author Martin Waddell which became a US television series...Whoa, that's a lot of countries involved with one series. The stories began being published in 1986 with the first book, "Little Dracula's First Bite". It would be followed by seven more books, unofficially ending with 1992's, "Little Dracula's Other Monstrous Poster".

In 1991, Fox Kid's picked up the rights, and developed it as an animated series. Unfortunately appeal never really took hold, and as such the series was cancelled after just one season (13 episodes). However, just because US children didn't enjoy the series didn't mean that it was a total flop. France and Germany television studios ordered an additional 13 episodes for a second season which aired throughout various European countries.

The year Little Dracula debuted on television, an action figure line was produced by DreamWorks / Bandai. Why DreamWorks and Bandai? That's easy enough to answer. DreamWorks released the figures in the US, while Bandai handled the remaining globe.

Each figure featured numerous accessories as well as an action feature which was activated by twisting arms, legs, hands, feet, or simply by pushing a button - Corresponding to each figure as denoted on the bottom left of each package. Unfortunately for the toy line, it was as short lived as the television series in the US.

With that said, nine figures did manage to make their way to retail shelves. This wasn't bad considering it covered the majority of ground of the characters from the show. In fact, the only figures that didn't make it to plastic were; Big Dracula, Granny, Millicent, Ms. Dracula and Hannah the Barbarian - Certainly enough for a second series should popularity have garnered such a release.

In addition to the figures, four vehicles were produced. While all of them were made available in Europe under the Bandia banner, only two made their way to the US via DreamWorks. What's interesting to note is that depending on which area of Europe you look for the Coffin Car will depend on what it's called. It's been found in boxes denoted as; Coffin Car (obviously), Drac-Mobile and Voiture Cercueil.

Unlike the Coffin Car, the Drac-Moto appears to have only come out entitled as such. We have not been able to locate any other versions that contain a different name, or language other than English. That's not to say they don't exist. We just haven't seen them.

Because we are mentioning the various variants for the vehicles, it's worth noting that an Italian version of the Garlic Mobile can also be found. However, you're going to want to search for Spar Agilo - Which translated apparently means Spar Garlic. Much like the Cereuil, we have no clue what Spar means. We have not been able to find any variants to the title for The Dracster despite our searching.

UPDATE

Reader Da Cu writes to tell us, "Spara Aglio means (Shots Garlic). Because the car "shots" (or better Launch) pieces of Garlic."

However, in our search we did find the awesomeness that is...

...Dracula's Dragster from Polar Lights!

No, this isn't related to Little Dracula - As we're sure many of you deduced just in looking at it. Instead, it's a re-issue of the original 1964 released version of the same name from Aurora. It's just a simple model kit that requires mad painting skills, and of course, glue. Good times for model and Dracula fans.

We digress though. Back to Little Dracula.

The last piece released for the series was the cosplay Little Dracula Scepter & Amulet. This to date is the most difficult and expensive piece to track down in the line.

Little Dracula remains popular in European countries, and had a short lived revival in book form through 2001 when a handful of the prior titles were re-issued in print. However, nothing new seems to be brewing around the character currently. Perhaps much like the resurgence of 80's cartoons and toys, in a few years demand from children of the 90's will take its toll, and we'll see a resurgence in nostalgia from that decade.

That about wraps it up, folks. Enjoy your Halloween. Keep it safe, keep it fun, keep the candy coming and scare some little kids in the good spirit of all three.

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The Toxic Avenger (Reds, Inc.)

The Toxic Avenger
Reds, Inc.
1999

They're poorly written, they've got the worst "actors" and "actresses" the studio could find, and they're some of the best of the worst films to sit through with your friends. Yes, you haven't had bad TV night until you've had a night of Troma! Featuring such classics as The Class of Nuke 'Em High, Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D., Cannibal! The Musical, Surf Nazis Must Die, and of course, The Toxic Avenger. Mind you, that list doesn't even scratch the surface of the awful, awful films this studio produced - Awful in a good way.

Out of the Troma library, The Toxic Avenger was the only character to really expand into mass media with the very short lived The Toxic Crusader cartoon which ran for thirteen episodes and spawned its own toy line. However, we're not looking at that particular series today. Nope, today we're looking at the one and done The Toxic Avenger from Reds, Inc. which was produced in 1999.

This figure had it all...If you were a fan of Toxie. The sculpt was meticulous to that of the character, and even featured his trusty mop as an accessory. Even the base that came packed in wasn't shy of detail featuring a toxic waste spill complete with drum. For such an unheard of company, this toy was quite frankly one of the best for its time.

The unfortunate side to this figure is that if you're looking for one today - Good luck. They're few and far between, and they're not cheap. You can expect to spend upwards of eighty dollars if you can track one down. That's a lot of cash for....Well, quite frankly anything Troma related. We dare say the figure costs more than Troma's average film budget - Kidding of course!

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Escape From New York (NECA)

Escape From New York
NECA
2014

You know, as we sat down to post this particular...er, post...We had to honestly take a step back, and ask, "Does Kurt Russell actually make good movies? Or are they just cult classics due in part to the iconic characters and one liner quips?" Don't get us wrong, we enjoy films such as Big Trouble in Little China, Tombstone, and yes, even Overboard (to an extent)...But, did the general public and critics?

Kurt Russell ranks number sixteen on IMDB's list of Worst and Overrated Actors. However, in general it's rather difficult to take this list serious when it includes (at the time of this writing) the likes of Michael J. Fox (#17), Sylvester Stallone (#24) and Hugh Jackman (#4) - Just to name a few. Sorry, but Back to the Future, Rocky and the X-Men films were pretty good as far as we're concerned - As were the actors who played their respective rolls in them. So again we ask, Does Kurt Russell make good movies?

UPDATE Before it's even posted...

As many of you know, we prepare posts well in advance. The particular one has been ready to go since mid August. The answer to our question above oddly enough came a few weeks after we scheduled this post, and that answer is yes. Cool and Collected host Brian loves Kurt Russell so much that he wants a life size wax figure. Brian, you answered our question, and you didn't even know at the time that we had asked it.

We may never know the answer to that question - Past our own personal opinion. However, what we do know is that in 2014 NECA produced a one and done Snake Plisskin based off of Russell's 1981 film Escape From New York (Written and Directed by Horror Icon John Carpenter). Whether you like the man or not, there's no denying that the amount of detail that went into this particular figure is spectacular! It captures the character to a "T".

Because it's a relatively new figure, Snake isn't difficult to come by. You're looking at spending about twenty-five to thirty on him - Which in reality is only about ten dollars (at the most) more than the original retail price. Of course, much like the list of Worst and Overrated Actors above, these prices were noted at the time of this writing - Which in all actuality is August of 2016. We work rather far in advance here at The Toy Box to ensure that there's a new post each and every week.

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Eek! The Cat (Marchon, Inc.)

Eek The Cat
Marchon, Inc.
1992

"It never hurts to help." It was the catch phrase of Eek the Cat that often times would lead to trouble, and the premise of each episode. The show often times featured slapstick humor, and pop culture references making it popular with many fans of 80's television and movies.

The series ran for five seasons, encompassing seventy-five episodes from 1992 to 1997. What made it stand out the most among cartoons of the period was that several seasoned actors were drawn to it to loan their voices to various characters. Actors and Actresses such as William Shatner, David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson. "Weird Al" Yankovic, Tim Curry, Dee Snider, Phil Hartman and Mr T. were just a handful of the popular names to appear on the show.

In 1992, one of the very few Eek! the Cat toys was produced and released by Marchon, Inc. The plush stands approximately fourteen inches high, but unfortunately doesn't contain any features such as a pull string voice activation or...Well, anything. It's just a plush doll.

That's not to say it's a bad plush. It's certainly Eek! the Cat - Right down to his purple fur. Considering there weren't exactly a ton of Eek! toys, it's kind of one of those take what you can get things.

You can find a few of them here and there on secondary markets, but what you're not going to do is get it for too cheap. Opened plush dolls can set you back as much as $60.00 to $70.00. Plush Eeks still in the box will set you back about twice that amount. 

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Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (DC Direct)

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne
2011
DC Direct

Batman posts seem to always come in pairs of two around here. Not sure why that is.

The Return of Bruce Wayne was a six part story arc which took place in the various Batman related titles in  2010. The story is written by Grant Morrison, and featured six different artists (one for each book).

The story revolves around Bruce Wayne being lost in time after being deposited in the past by Darkseid in the pages of the story Final Crisis. Each story takes Wayne through a different period of time, respectively - Prehistoric, during the period of witch hunts, pirating, the wild west, noir and present time.

Since being published original, the story has been collected into an individual volume which can still be purchased from various book retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

In 2011, DC Direct produced four figures based on the various time frames in which Bruce Wayne visits - High Seas, Prehistoric, Wild West and Witch Hunter. No, you're not going to find your Jokers, Riddlers or Two-Faces here. Everything is Bruce Wayne related - As it should be. If we had one complaint it would be that DC Direct could have, and should have released the remaining two Bruce Wayne figures as depicted in the other two remaining books - Noir and present time.

 Batman: High Seas

 Batman: Prehistoric

 Batman: Wild West

Batman: Witch Hunt

Prices are somewhat all over the map for these figures. A lot of sellers price them for fifty dollars or more, when in reality most people are willing to pay between twenty and forty dollars a piece for them.

Additionally, if you're interested in reading the story arc, you can track down the individual issues fairly cheap. A lot of comic sellers drop these into their dollar boxes - Which is far cheaper than the $16.00 to $20.00 that you'll spend on the collected trade paperback.

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Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (DC Direct)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
DC Direct
2004

We touched on The Dark Knight Returns in our post about the comic series by Frank Miller. In that post we pretty much covered the entire history of the story, so there's really no reason to repeat it all here.

2004 brought with it yet another Batman line from the hot, hot, hot multitude of DC Direct lines. The series features just four figures, but boy oh boy are they good ones. We of course get Batman with that iconic look as seen in the pages of the Frank Miller story. In addition we also get Carrie Kelley as Robin, Joker and Superman.

 Batman

 Robin

 Joker

Superman

Unlike a lot of DC Direct lines, this one isn't going to break the bank should you want to add it to your collection. On the low end, you can grab each figure for $25.00. High end, you can expect to pay about $40.00 each. Granted that's not too cheap, but it's still not terrible as compared to some of the other DC Direct figures which can sell for over a hundred dollars each.

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Mighty Crusaders (Remco)

Mighty Crusaders
Remco
1984

The Adventures of the Mighty Crusaders began in the pages of Archie Comics (the publisher, not the series) in 1965. Though it was intended to be an ongoing monthly title, popularity quickly waned - Or possibly never even grew. Whichever it was, the series ended after just the seventh issue in October of 1966.

The series was revitalized in the pages of The New Adventures of the Mighty Crusaders in 1983 under Archie's Red Circle Comics. After thirteen issues the series was once again cancelled (in 1985).

A third attempt to launch a comic series came in 1992 when the characters returned for The Crusaders. This time out, DC Comics licensed the rights, and produced the series under their Impact banner. Much like the prior attempts, the series was short lived, lasting for just eight issues.

In between the original and New Adventures comic series, Remco produced eight figures based on the Mighty Crusaders - In 1984 to be specific. What's interesting to note about some of the characters produced in plastic was that they didn't actually appear on the team (officially) until the 1992 comic series - I.E. 8 years after the figures were produced.

 The Comet*The Fox

 The Web*The Shield

 The Brain Emperor*The Buzzard

The Eraser*The Sting

Unlike many Remco lines, Mighty Crusaders isn't all that pricey to obtain these days. Figures can sell for as little as $8.00 each, mint on card - A far cry from the $60.00+ that you'll spend on each of Remco's Karate Kid figures. They're also not to difficult to find, so putting a set together is fairly easy to do. If you're looking for a line to pick up for little cash, this is definitely a good one.

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Portal 2 (NECA)

Portal 2
NECA
2013

Portal was designed to be a simplistic puzzle game by developer Valve, and quickly evolved into one of the biggest hits for the company when it was released in 2007. People fell in love with not only the challenging puzzles through each level, but also the quickly quipped one liners of GLaDOS, the series antagonist.

In 2011, Portal 2 brought us back to the world of Aperture Science in the roll of test subject Chell. The story follows Chell and robot Wheatley as they band together to escape the test facility, only to accidentally reactivate GLaDOS in the process. We won't spoil the whole story, nor the ending here for those who have yet to play.

In 2013, NECA developed some pretty top notch figures based on a handful of the characters in the Portal 2 world - Not that there are many of them. The two robots below, Atlus and P-Body actually come from the games fantastically developed co-op mode where each player takes on the roll of one of the robots as they run themselves through the various Aperture Science testing sites.

 Atlus

 P-Body

The last figure produced was the leading lady of the series, Chell. Much like the two above, she comes with a portal blaster and figure stand.

Chell

The figures have definitely seen a boost in price on secondary markets. The two robots will set you back about sixty to eight dollars a piece. Chell isn't much cheaper at around forty dollars.

For those looking to expand on their Portal 2 figures, NECA has also produced multiple series of mystery packs that include the likes of various turret designs and companion cubes.

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Manglors (Ideal)

Manglors
1984 - 1985
Ideal

Manglors are not a very commonly known toy from the 80's, but for those that had them they are fondly remembered. The line was produced by Ideal, and featured characters made from a material known as Sobothane - a synthetic polymer. The figures contained no joints, and were boasted as being able to be cut apart so that you could mix and match the pieces of the various figures to make your own creations.

Toys that could be cut apart and adhered to others in the line? It was a brilliant marketing scheme that would later be put to the test by Consumer Unions own Penny Power. Long story short, the tests failed, and the product was determined to be sold under false advertising as while the pieces could be cut apart, they didn't adhere to each other as advertised. The end result was a series that lasted only two years.

When the series began, three individual figures were made available as well as one playset. The figures came packed inside cardboard peg boxes that held the figures inside of plastic to ensure their sticky limbs didn't dry out.

Manglodactyle*Manglord*Manlosaurus

The highlight of the series (in general) is Manglor Mountain - The one and only playset produced during its run. It came packed with not only the volcano playset base, but also a Manglord figure, a cage to encase the figure in, and the biggest selling point for its era - Slime!

The playset worked by pouring the slime into the top of the volcano, and then placing your Manglord figure inside of the cage. Drop the cage into the volcano, and then pump it back up to the top by pressing the red button located in the mouth of the volcano - Literally. The end result was a figure that would rise out of the top of the playset covered in gooey slime. Awesome!

Manglor Mountain

A second series was released which featured the three original released ones as well as three new ones. Each figure came packed in its own window box, and encased inside of an egg. The figures were made from the same Sobothane material, and still boasted that they could be cut apart, and adhered to each other.

Manglolizard*Maglodactyle*Mangloedemon

Manglodragon*Manlord*Manglosaurus

Because many people don't know about the series, selling points are all over the map. The playset, which is the most commonly found item in the series, can sell for as little as $2.00 (loose with all components), and $100.00 (mint in the box) with price points all over the place in between for loose and sealed.

The individual figures are far more scarce, and priced so high that most people don't buy them. Sellers ask as much as $150.00 to $170.00 for each of them. With that said, Manglodragon and Manglolizard are the only ones we've seen cropping up as of late.

Because of the nature of these figures, it's not easy to find them in a condition that is desirable. Due to the material they are made from, they are prone to drying out. This could contribute to why so many sellers are asking such a high price - There honestly may not be all that many of them out there that are in good condition, or salvageable in general.

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