Odds ‘n Ends

November 25, 2008 | Poe

ODD: Not too much to discuss today…just trying to survive until the four-day weekend. Come this time next week, PGPoA–and the Poe household–will be in full holiday mode.

END: The DCUC Toys ‘R Us two-packs have started to show up, which is just a bit earlier than I predicted (early December). The only set I’m praying I ever see in person is the Orion/Lightray one, but there’s also a Batgirl/Azrael set (both of whom were previously released) and one with Hal Jordan (in his first appearance duds) and Abin Sur. (more…)

Review > Movie Masters Batpod

October 22, 2008 | Poe

Every knight needs his trusty steed–even a Dark Knight.

As I’ve related twice already, I had the good fortune to find the Target-exclusive Movie Masters Batpod over the weekend, just a couple days after the first few sightings across the country. I don’t think I can stress enough how unlikely it is to find a new mass market toy in Massachusetts this early–because we’re so far from where the ships from China arrive and the warehouses their cargo is stored at, we get everything dead last. Really, the only explanation I can think of is that the MM Batpod had a street date and had been sitting in the back rooms all over the country, waiting…waiting… (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Dream Warriors

October 21, 2008 | Poe

ODD: I still can’t believe I found a Batpod on my first try. I still haven’t seen a single DCUC4 figure anywhere. I’m going to briefly interrupt the DCUC4 reviews for a Batpod review this week–BECAUSE YOU DEMANDED IT!!! And also to hopefully head off any other reviewers. (more…)

Intereview > Batman Beyond (DC Universe Classics)

October 21, 2008 | Poe

Welcome back to my week-long series of “intereviews” with the members of DC Universe Classics Wave 4. For those unfamiliar with the format, I basically pretend the figures are real and “interview” them, sneaking in my review in the process. Writing genius or borderline psychosis? You decide!

My guest today is Batman Beyond. BB, you’re an interesting choice for a DCUC figure, given that you were originally created for your eponymous cartoon and have only made a few brief cameo appearances in the DC comics universe. Why do you think you were added to the roster?

Well, I’m pretty popular among fans of the DC animated universe. And I did get a figure from DC Direct in their Superman/Batman line a couple years back, though it was a ‘roided-up Ed McGuinness version. And obviously there were tons of figures based on the cartoon.

But, if we’re going to be candid here, I suspect the real reason I got in is because I’m an easy retool. I’m the basic large male body with new head, belt, and forearm sculpts. (more…)

MM Batpod in the house

October 19, 2008 | Poe

After reading that the Movie Masters Batpod had been found in Connecticut, I decided to check around here. When a search of three different Targets proved fruitless, I was ready to give up and head home–until Dr. Mrs. Ghostal suggested we check one last one (the Quincy Target, just off 93 South).

After taking the wrong exit and getting lost, we finally managed to reach the Target–and you’ll never guess what was there:

Review later this week.

Lego Batman

September 29, 2008 | Poe

I’ve been running a bit short on toy-related topics recently (the oft-mentioned backlog of posts that I have require a significant amount of writing and photo-taking, and so I’ve been a bit lazy about getting to them), so instead, today you get a review of a toy-related videogame.

Like most kids for decades now, I grew up with Lego, though all I ever had were the basic blocks. Since then, Lego has made a fortune licensing all sorts of brands, from Star Wars to Indiana Jones to Batman. In another brilliant move, someone came up with the idea of creating videogames based on the Lego sets, and lo and behold, they were lots of fun.

Some of the reviews for Lego Batman have been tepid, lamenting that the game offered nothing really new from the earlier Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones games. Having only played one of the Star Wars games, I guess I’m not as burned-out on the concept as others might be. (I think IGN may just have felt obligated not to break Batman’s epic run of mediocre-to-terrible videogames.)

I think the game is a blast. I bought it on Thursday and have already spent a good six or seven hours beating the first half of it. Like the other Lego videogames, it’s broken down into “episodes”; there are three superhero episodes and three supervillain episodes. (more…)

Hark, Knight

August 20, 2008 | Poe

As I’ve discussed before, I’ve yet to be completely satisfied with a Batman action figure. I may never be. But that didn’t stop me from trying to make one.

I bought the Toys R’ Us exclusive Batman and Robin set months ago. I liked the figure’s more slender build and the color scheme (dark gray with black highlights), as well as his hands, which could hold a batarang quite easily. But the figure had a few things I didn’t like: a cloth cape, a lack of a ball-jointed head, and no hinged hips or thigh swivels. (more…)

Poe Gets Married

August 11, 2008 | Poe

I’m back!

Wow, so much has happened since my last post. I got Lobo, King Grayskull, DCUC Wave 3, a new computer, and oh, I got married, too. I’ll get to all that other stuff later in the week–today is the official post-wedding post. (more…)

Movie Masters Batman Begins Batman and Scarecrow

July 18, 2008 | Poe

(Jeesh, that title’s a mouthful, ain’t it?)

I’m not going to do an official review of these, since Michael Crawford’s does the job nicely. This being the Weekend of the Bat, though, I thought I’d talk about them a bit in honor of The Dark Kuh-nigghit, as an outrageously-accented Frenchman might say. (Incidentally, the word “knight” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word cniht, which was pronounced “keh-nikt.” At some point English speakers stopped bothering to pronounce the “k,” thus giving modern Batman writers their beloved “dark knight/night” pun.)

I already reviewed the Movie Masters Dark Knight version of Batman for OAFE (link), so I’ll just crib that review for my basic take on the MM line.

In 2005, Mattel’s line of kid-targeted 5″ figures held little interest for collectors (outside of a not-bad Collector’s Edition figure). Collectors wanted 6″ figures with the sort of articulation that was beginning to appear in Mattel’s DC Superheroes line. Well, guess what? Mattel delivered this time around.

For The Dark Knight, Mattel has created “Movie Masters,” a line of 6″-scale action figures featuring detailed sculpts by the Four Horsemen and featuring the extensive articulation found in their comic-based DC Universe Classics line. While the initial Movie Masters waves are limited to The Dark Knight and Batman Begins, Mattel’s license extends to all the DC movies, so it’s possible we’ll see a 6″ Christopher Reeve Superman or Michael Keaton Batman in the future. (more…)