Captains America

On last Friday's Friday Breakage at Articulated Discussion Wes called me out on my description of my recent Marx Marvel Superheroes finds, saying "There’s a part of me that strongly doubts the reported size of these things — size comparisons with modern 6″ figures would have been awesome — but they’re still pretty cool finds." 

You dare question the great and powerful BubbaShelby?!?!?! Haha just kidding, a size comparison would have been keen, right?

Right.

So here ya' go:

Here's the Marx Captain America and the Marvel Legends 1st appearance Captain America side by side!

I tried my best to pose Cap like Cap to show that yes, these guys are for all intents and purposes in the same scale.

No trick photography here folks. That's how big these things really are!

Would I lie to you?

Under the Sea

Do not adjust your set. You are indeed seeing an honest to goodness dolly here on Toyriffic. Not a Mego dolly or a GI Dolly for boys; an honest to goodness Monster High dolly for girls!

And NO, this is not my dolly! It belongs to my daughter. Really. According to my daughter she had been searching for Lagoona Blue for a long time. We spotted this 'daughter of the sea monster' this past weekend at Toys R Us, so I bought it for her 3rd grade graduation present. She then spent the evening on MonsterHigh.com, watching cartoons and discovering that there are actually Monster High novels, which she now wants to read! Now that she has Lagoona Blue she is looking forward to adding Clawdeen Wolf to her collection next.

Toyriffic totally supports monster themed dollies.

Avengers Assemble!

The final bunch of stuff I hauled away from the swap meet this past Saturday literally gave me the shakes, I was so excited to find them!

6" Marvel superheroes by Marx! Thor, Iron Man and Captain America - Avengers Assemble!
Made of solid plastic and molded like your typical little green army man, these toys were originally manufactured by Marx in 1967. I believe the first run of these guys was a silver/grey plastic, and that these colorful guys were a later release from some time around 1971 or so.

There I was at the swap meet last Saturday when I spotted a pile of six colorful toys from a few feet away. I casually made my way towards them and walking up to them asked the vendor how much he wanted. He said "$3" and I said "for all of them?" He said "Yes" and I could barely contain my excitement! Now understand the pile had six figures in it, so without inspection or any delays whatsoever I grabbed them all and payed and skipped away like Gollum having just secured his precious. I later discovered three of them were in pretty sad shape, with their fingers chewed to the point that they look more like Arthritics than Avengers. I won't show them here because treating toys as such is blasphemy here at Toyriffic, but they would have been pretty sweet if they (2 Spider-Mans and a Daredevil) weren't used as a teething ring for some dumb kid. I hope he got lead poisoning, whoever he is!

But I digress. Let's turn our attention back to the three great examples I got - still more than worth the three bucks I paid for them! 

First up is Iron Man! Stark is showing off by breaking a chain in an awfully strange manner. Yeah that was impressive in 1938 when Superman did it first, dude.

Iron Man is a little roughed up around the head but is otherwise in great shape. It's fun to imagine this toy being one of the first toys of Iron Man back then, having been sculpted a mere four years after Iron Man was introduced in the comics! And what a sculpt - you can even see Tony Stark's eyes inside the mask's eye holes! What must kids have thought of this strange metal man, and what could they have foretold of his pop culture destiny at the time?

Next up is the good Captain America. The Cap gets a pretty sweet sculpt here too, with his shield being held out in front of him in a defensive posture instead of stationary at his side, which would have been a lot easier to pull off I imagine.

If I had an old car I'd cast this in chrome and make it my hood ornament.

The final of the big three and the figure that is surprisingly (given some dumb kid's penchant for sticking his toys in his mouth and all the nice chewable parts sticking out of this one) in the best shape of them all is the God of Thunder himself, THOR!

I love how all these guys are not overly musclebound, reflecting the art and aesthetics of the times the toys were were made. You will never see a skinny Thor in this day and age, that's for sure! Plus, whosoever holds that version of Mjolnir, be he worthy, is probably hanging a picture in his girlfriend's apartment or repairing a broken wheel on a small wooden toy duck, not calling down thunder from the heavens! I love it!

These Marx plastic superheroes have amazing sculpts and are a fun look at the type of toys kids of yesterday would have played and cemented their love for superhero lore with. They were before my time, but I know some of my readers are a little older than I am; I'd love to hear from those of you who had these or remember them from your youth!

Mighty Crusaders

Back in 1984 toy manufacturer Remco released a series of superhero action figures based on little known Archie Publishing superhero properties. Many of these superheroes were old forties 'also-rans,' making them pretty unique on the '84 scene and something my now 36 year old self would have been all over like four color ink on newsprint.

Alas I had no idea these guys existed back then, I only discovered the existence of these toys in the internet age. But thanks to the magic of the swap meet, I now own two of them!

First up is The Fox. Originally debuting in 1940 and probably my favorite of all the Mighty Crusader toys because of his Batman-esque vibe, news photographer Paul Patton used his alter ego to get sweet shots of crimes as they happened (sounds like a familiar friendly neighborhood wall crawler, doesn't it?)

His costume is pretty straightforward and simple and reminds me a bit of Wildcat.

Fox's chest symbol was the head of a fox in his original comic art, but it has been highly stylized/simplified for his action figure debut.

The second figure I found is the Buzzard. Buzzard reminds me a lot of Spider-man villain The Vulture, another balding old man with flight capabilities. The Buzzard (and Fox for that matter) originally came with a load of sweet accessories, but sadly both of the ones I found came with nothing. Not sure how difficult it would be to rectify that (probably not very) but they are still pretty cool as they are, so I'll probably not sweat it.

According to MightyCrusaders.net, Buzzard did not make his debut until 1985, so maybe he was created first for this toyline and later appeared in a comic book? I don't know, I'm no Mighty Crusaders expert.

Regardless, these are pretty fun little guys and of course I got them on the cheap - $3 for the pair!

Whenever I would see these toys online I assumed they were the size of original Masters of the Universe figures based on the similarity of their construction. But these guys are actually only about 4.5" tall, making them a little more fun in their cute, compact size. They do sport an action feature, a spring back fist for superhero punches! Aw yeah uppercut!

Harley Qwednesday BONUS :: Mad Love DCUC two pack by Mattel

SWOON!

With less than two hours left of today's Harley Qwednesday I was just informed of an upcoming Mattel DC Universe Classics two figure set featuring Harley Quinn and the Joker!

Repainting and re-releasing previous DC Universe Classics figures, this set looks awesome in box as it emulates Alex Ross' famous Mad Love image. The set will probably stay displayed in box in my collection too, since I already own the original release of Harley Quinn.

Originally spotted on this foreign auction site, this figure set is currently speculated to be an upcoming Walmart exclusive (blergh!) (EDIT: Word coming in from TNI is that this will be a Toys R Us exclusive) and is of course destined to be my next MUST (try like hell to find at retail) HAVE!

I'll keep you posted as I find out more!

Harley Qwednesday :: Thrillkiller Harley Quinn

'Thrillkiller '62' is an Elseworlds graphic novel that reimagined all the players in Gotham City, with a primary focus on Batgirl/Barbara Gordon. Published in 1998, it is a sequel to the Elseworlds story 'Thrillkiller.'

But we're not here to talk about Batgirl. We're here to talk about Harley Quinn! Harley was also reimagined in Thrillkiller '62, written by Howard Chaykin with art by Dan Brereton:

Not a huge departure from her standard look. More leg, and three thingamobobs on her head instead of two. Plus bangs.Otherwise that's unmistakably Harley Quinn! Oh yeah, and a female Joker.

Ultraman Jack be nimble

The third and final Japanese vinyl figure I swapped from the swap meet last weekend is the one and only Ultraman himself! The best part is that I scored all three (Bat Man, Bee Woman and Ultraman here) for $5! Aw yeah!

I think he's most correctly referred to as Ultraman Jack, but I couldn't tell you why. (EDIT: Soundwave810 says "As far as I know this Ultraman was just named New Ultraman but was given the name Ultraman Jack in 1984 due to licensing issues.")

This figure is different from the Bat Man and Bee Woman that I found with him. Standing at a whopping 5.5", Ultraman is taller than the others he was lumped in with for who knows how long at that swap meet vendor's booth. Ultraman is also ultra articulated (compared to his compatriots,) with neck, shoulder and hip articulation!

I just love the crazy designs and simple engineering of these Japanese vinyl toys. They're colorful and crazy and super simple, but tons of fun to look at and play with. Imagine being a kid in Japan in the seventies and eighties and having a ton of these toys all over your bedroom floor. What fun!

Here's what it says on the bottom of Ultraman's feet. Any help on interpreting this would be greatly appreciated. (EDIT: Again Soundwave810 saves the day: "...on his left it says (c) Tsuburaya Pro(ductions), Ultraman (I assume this was produced before 1984?) and on his right foot it says Bullmark..."

Thanks again Soundwave810!

Let it Bee

A second approximately 4.5" Japanese vinyl figure I grabbed at the swap meet this past weekend appears to be 'Hachi Onna' or 'Bee Woman' who made her television debut in Kamen Rider episode 8.

The funny thing about this figure is that I originally thought it represented a male of less than ideal body type. With swirls on his man boobs. But my internet sleuthing for yesterday's Bat Man revealed to me that this little toy is actually a 'she.'

I assume this says 'Bandai' just like yesterday's toy. Clearly from the same sub-series as Bat Man, Bee Woman was also made by Bandai back in the seventies.

I still don't know exactly what this says, but it's clearly copyright info, probably for the show's production company or something.

Here's what Bee Woman looked like on the show. Dig those swirly boobies:

And here's her toy. More swirly booby fun, with the likeness falling a little short of uncanny:

My Bee Woman has a small crack in the vinyl on the top of her head, but otherwise she's in great shape. She's the bee's knees hahaha!

The Terrifying Bat Man

No, it's not who you think.

This refugee from the National Enquirer is actually (as far as my internet detective skills have revealed to me) 'Kyōfu Kōmori Otoko' (or Komorii-Otoko) or 'The Terrifying Bat Man.' He was a villain from the Japanese Kamen Rider TV show of the seventies, apparently making an appearance in episode 2, 13 and the first movie.

I had another epic Swap Meet run on Saturday, and I think this little 4.5" vinyl Kaiju figure may be the best of the bunch.

If anyone reads Japanese, please feel free to enlighten me as to what this says. I assume this guy was made by Bullmark or Popy or something like that, but I could use some specifics if anyone can help. But dig the sculpted belt details on the back. Haha love it!

Here's what it says on the bottom of his foot. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? EDIT: According to Soundwave810, this says 'Bandai.'

And here's what he looked like on the show. Terrifying indeed!

In brightest day, in blackest night, this isn't the droid you're looking for, alright.

I wasn't planning on picking up any of the Green Lantern movie toys. They're cool enough, but I'm not yet in love with most of their designs (that may change after I see the movie though. We'll see.)

I do like the fact that there are so many funky looking aliens in the toyline (and movie.) If I were a kid I'd be all over these. But as an adult I prefer a more comic book or cartoony look for my GLs - it's like I've regressed or something. Maybe I'm actually from Ork.

There should be a Green lantern from the Ork sector. Nanoo nanoo.

Anywhoo, today I was undertaking the very adult task of buying pants when I spotted all the new Green Lantern toys. There are about fifteen thousand of them, in sixty three different scales; figures alone and in multi packs and with pets and removable pants and riding motorcycles and big green rubber fists for...playtime fun...ahem...and masks and rings and...okay I exaggerate. But only a little bit - the part about the green rubber fist is true.

In the 4-5 inch scale figure collection I found Stel and decided I had to have him. First of all, this scale is on sale at K-Mart for $5.99. A fair price for a toy this size. Second, Stel here is a figure based on early production art. The character as he will be seen in the movie is vastly different. Making this guy the Blue Snaggletooth of the Green Lantern movie.

If the movie and toyline is a hit and there is a sequel, I am sure Stel will be re-released to better reflect his on-screen design, which means this might be the only release this version ever sees. Not that he'll be of any value ever, but as a conversation piece that makes him pretty neat-o.

Stel comes with a green construct (in fact all the figures in this scale do) that is specific to his character. Stel's construct is a mechanical armature/blade. Fun times.

He looks like he's flipping the bird in this picture. "Number Five is alive, you f*&(ers!"

Stel is a pretty simple toy. Four points of articulation and simple paint applications. Still, he looks like a neat robot that might mosey into the Star Wars Cantina at some point. If they allowed his kind, that is.

Each figure in this scale comes with a Green Lantern ring. It's pretty nice and solid, a little on the small side (yeah, I know I know, these are for kids) but flexible enough to fit if you force it. I'll probably wear it to the movie and embarrass my girlfriend. Or use it to propose to her or something. Just kidding, if I were to propose to my girlfriend with a nerdy ring, I'd use a Legion ring. Sillies.

Harley Qwednesday :: Two of a Kind

Harley Quinn made her 'The Batman' debut in the season 4 episode 'Two of a Kind.' As of writing this I haven't even seen the episode myself, but I was able to find it at veoh.com. That's how much I loves all my kiddles out there in cyber land!

So check it out!


Watch The Batman - Two of a Kind in Animation  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Leapin' Lizards!

I like Spider-Man as much as the next guy. He's no Batman of course. But since he's one of the top moneymaking Marvel superheroes of all time there have been a lot of toys of him and his villains over the years, and I have collected my share. I've gotten rid of a lot of them as I've thinned/refined my collection over time, but one that I have held on to is Lizard:

Dr. Connors, in an effort to regenerate his missing arm, instead transmogrified into the villainous Lizard! Rawr!

That's about all I know about The Lizard, based on what I've read in a handful of Spider-Man comics and seen in the old sixties cartoon. Dr. Connors did appear in some of the Sam Raimi Spider-Man flicks and the Lizard is supposed to appear in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, so after that I'll know more. But let's face it, what's to know? He's a lizard-man, a werelizard if you will. Cool enough for me.

This Lizard figure was hard to find at the time. I recall only seeing this one and finding him at a Mervyns or a Sears of all places. He came with some accessories which I didn't care about and have long since misplaced. He was part of some Spider-Man-centric Toybiz toyline and not a Marvel Legend per se. Released  in 1997 these Spider-Man 6" scale figures acted as sort of a predecessor to Marvel Legends. His articulation is pretty good but his pose limits it. I'd prefer less artic and a dynamic pose over heavy aritc and a static pose. They tried to combine the two here with mixed results. The arms are great, with (then) standard shoulder rotation and bicep cuts that allow his forearms to spread out wide. But his knee and hip joints are useless with the single pose his stance allows him to take while still remaining upright. They did give him a hinged jaw which is real nice for display and play, so you gotta give 'em props for that! And his tail can rotate fully through his lab coat and be posed up or down, another nice design feature.

"Jazz hands!"