Transformers Titans Return Windblade review

Can you believe it's been  a decade since Titans Return happened??? You bet Oprah Winfrey went all out and said "You're a Headmaster, and you're a Headmaster! You're now all Headmasters!" while making that a line wide gimmick from Deluxes to Leaders. Even the Legends had some compatibility as vehicles for them to ride if they already had no other vehicles in their dedicated size class. I don't know if I prefer that over making everyone a Combiner, but at least the retooling was much more effective this way, and we can see that with Windblade. Remember when she used to be marketed heavily in any new media between 2014 to 2020? Then Elita-1 returned just to mostly have beef with Optimus for different reasons depending on what media you're watching. Anyways, the mold Windblade uses for this line originally began as Scourge (who I never got) but was later heavily retooled as Highbrow (who I reviewed 5 years ago). Now I shall see how well she holds up as someone who never got the Thrilling 30 version.

Here we have Windblade in her jet mode. This is a different take from the design we usually see in the IDW comics, with more red and back swept wings reminiscent of Animated Starscream. While she has similar design traits with the VTOL fans as well as the legs on the back, this is generally deviated from the norm given it is also reusing a mold with altmodes mostly fit for male bot designs. The sleeker jet mode for a gal like Windblade is at least consistent with her.

Her cockpit holds the Titan Master known as Scorchfire, who only had the face painted and can also sit in the combined sword set up like some kind of sleigh. 

Both swords tab underneath the wings so you can have her joust at the risk of her wings breaking off. At least the fans can face any direction but they could really use some silver paint. 

For an altmode comparison, here she is with her Cyberverse version, which is slightly closer to the design her altmode usually has in fiction. Specifically it is the Legacy United version. I have no preference for either altmode design, but I like the silver paint for the fans on the more recent toy.

Transformation is very basic, as you have the forearms face forward, straighten the legs with a whole 180, hinge the front section all the way on the back, and shift the spine all the way up. Of course, the transformation ends with the Titan Master gimmick one should expect for the whole line. I love that feature, no doubt thanks to the optional head swapping between different figures and other versions of a specific character (like Voyager Optimus Prime and Legends Ginrai's heads or using the Titans Return Apeface head instead of the Siege version), and it's nice to see it continue even as recent as AOTP Horri-Bull. I don't remember how involved the original Windblade's transformation was, but if the fanbase complained about the engineering then, maybe this might be an overcorrection? At the very least, the robot mode looks good, if thiccer in the right spots according to longtime friend Ernie. I don't mind that since she at least is still feminine in her build in spite of reusing the Scourge/Highbrow engineering. In addition, she doesn't suffer from stability issues thanks to he added bulk in her legs and competent heel spurs. Not even the backpack leans her to the point of toppling over, though she is still hollow in some areas. 

Head sculpt is decent for a Titan Master take on her design, and despite having a robot folded on the back, at least we keep the Japanese influence intact for the most part. Her fan won't come off her head for obvious reasons. Articulation consists of a ball joint for the head and shoulders, bicep rotation, hinged elbows, universal hips, thigh swivels, and hinged knees. Instead of the single purple sword usually associated with her, we can now use the same swords showcased earlier as intended. They can also tab into the thighs for storage.

The Takara Legends version is slightly nicer than the Hasbro version, mostly due to them adding some extra paint apps that the Hasbro version sorely needs. The Titan Master has less black visible, but more importantly, she comes with Targetmaster Pinpointer, who comes with her since we didn't have a new version of G1 Crosshairs until Siege came out. Also, her swords are replaced with a more traditional one similar to the Thrilling 30 version.

For another Windblade comparison, here she is with the Flame Toys and Legacy United versions. I don't have that many versions of her, but it is funny that the Flame Toys version was the first one I got, and we know how that pissed so many people off on Twitter (you know who I'm referring to), and it wasn't until a decade after her debut that I got a transforming version of her to begin with. As for the Titans Return version, she is way better than I thought she'd be. Some of the initial photos always turned me off with how unnecessarily bloated she came across, but then hearing more positive things about her stability and being a heavy retool that almost makes her feel like a new toy won me over. Now I own her and am generally happy with her, though I heard she is pricey in the aftermarket. If you can get her for less than $60, dewit.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

McFarlane Collector Edition Hellboy review

Discovered as an infant near the end of World War II, Hellboy was adopted in New Mexico and would later be part of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, an organization aimed to go after occult occurrences and any similar threats to society. He would team up with the likes of a folklore professor as well as Abe Sapien during their encounters with beings stranger than him. More casual comic fans would recognize his duology directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Ron Perlman (we got 2 reboots that get less attention), or they would probably have picked up the DLC for Injustice 2. After Spawn, I always wanted to do a figure review on Hellboy, so let's see if this Collector Edition from McFarlane is worth picking up!

Here we have Hellboy in-hand, shirtless and gun in holster. As a figure built from the ground up, this appears to be generally accurate to the artstyle and the overall character design. The proportions can be seen as a bit inaccurate to some, mostly the left arm being as long than the right arm (which should be accurate) or the legs having a bit less muscle than some would expect. Given his demon history, it works as well as it should, though I want to talk about the shades of red used all throughout: the torso appears to be matte (and the chiseled pecs turned out decent), yet the arms are a little shinier than they normally would be on other figures. I'm not sure if it's because they were made on specific kinds of plastic with different durability concerns in mind, but it can be distracting without the trench coat. I also have similar thoughts regarding the Right Hand of Doom; I love the sculpt overall, and the size is perfect, but it could use a darker wash to distinguish itself from the rest of him. As for the tail, it is pre-posed with no bendy wire implemented like with Page Punchers Cheetah. While I can sort of see the design limitations on her thinner tail, I'd argue Hell out shouldn't have that issue on top of being priced higher. So for the most part, I like what McFarlane cooked with their take on big red here, though there is always room for improvement in some areas and missed opportunities in others. 

Head sculpt is perfect, and I love the craggily texture on his face as well as the heavy eyebrow below his filed horns; this combined with his side burns and goatee give him the right kind of permanently pissed-off face that only someone like him can pull off. While similar to the other McFarlane DC Multiverse line, I'll go over the articulation for a new body like this. It consists of a double ball neck, rotation via the ball joints connected onto the shoulders, hinges for in and out movement, washer joints to serve as additional shoulder range a la butterfly joints or further arm raising, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, double wrist pegs with a hinge in the middle, a diaphragm joint as well as a lower ball joint for the stomach area, slightly clickity hips with deecnt enough range in spite of his gear, slight thigh rotation, double jointed knees, ankles that swivel, hinge, and pivot, with hinges toes to boot. No pun intended.

His accessories include fists meant for the Right Hand of Doom and the left arm, but we also have the trench coat to keep his rocky body warm...though I wish it was a slightly thicker material than what it's made of. I know McFarlane gets some flack for the inconsistencies between cape materials, but something like the cloth goods on BvS Armored Batfleck would be better. At least the collar is there, but he also comes with a left hand holding a cigar. Looks more like whipped cream, so maybe an alternate head chomping on a cigar would have been better.

He also has the aforementioned gun, known as the Samaritan. The sculpt is decent, though the ring in the bottom of the handle always has me worried it'll tear itself off from how flexible it is. Not as annoying as the holster peg refusing to go in place, and equally as annoying is the Platinum version with horns unfiled, the Excalibur sword, a flame effect part, and a possibly better wash. Oh and you can see his collector card and figure stand. I guess you gotta display both versions of Hell out at once, but make that an option

For a size comparison, here he is with ol' reliable in the form of Godzilla Superman with the Action Comics 1000 head. Some sources say Hellboy's height is 6'11", meaning he should be taller than Superman by a few centimeters here. I know Ron Perlman is slightly shorter than Superman's comic height, but this isn't the 2004 movie version. That aside, what's the verdict? In general, I like this Hellboy figure, but as is the case at times with some Collector Editions of late, there are some things I would rather they change or include, especially with the coat materials and the cigar. On the other hand, I am so happy he isn't an Elite Edition; I theorize that's due to him not originating from Image Comics (he is instead from Dark Horse, same company that used to do Star Wars comics for the Expanded Universe), but then again Doomslayer and I believe some stuff from Warhammer and Fallout are given that treatment IIRC but I am unfamiliar with either. Regardless, the lower price at least makes him easier to recommend than the Elites...now to hunt down the chase variant...

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Age of the Primes Liege Maximo review

The Fallen may have been infamous for betraying his brothers, but there is another evil Prime who eventually grew into a similar status, but for different reasons: Liege Maximo. Appearing in the Generation 2 comics as a tease for an impending threat on top of being said to serve as an origin for the Decepticons, he would eventually be reworked into one of the original thirteen Transformers for the semi-official Alignment story, he would eventually see more use in the Aligned Continuity as well as the IDW comics; even Earthspark had some use for him apparently, where he was said to look all cloak and facially resembled Ultron more than ROTB Scourge did mask less. Some media redesigned Liege to resemble Loki from the Marvel Universe, yet it was the old, ugly villain and not the version from the MCU that made all the girls normally not interested in comics into fan girls. So while he may believe that evil is infinite, we shall see if it's $55-60 worth that amount too.

Here we have Liege Maximo in his vehicle mode, which resembles the motherships from Dark of the Moon but with his signature horns. If that was the intent, I am all for it; given how "round" his armor comes across, that kind of ship makes perfect sense for someone like him, and I love how it retains an even creepier, almost technorganic look than what we see in the movie aesthetics. Even the front section gives it the look of a sentient ship rather than something traditionally technological, almost like the machines used by the Yuuzhan Vong. The only issue I have would be that his blaster doesn't tab in that great in the front, but this otherwise looks badass.

For an altmode comparison, here he is along with Quintus and Amalgamous Prime, all three of them having way better altmodes than Nexus Prime. I like that there is a bit of a pseudo animal theme to these; we know of the Squid motif for Nexus and Amalgamous looks a bit like a frog, so what would that make Liege Maximo? Bug like seems to fit well but the spikes and horns are comparable to thorns, so maybe he could also resemble a flytrap. 

Transformation is weirdly close to a mix between Cybertron Megatron and Siege Starscream. I say that because the arms work similarly to the former while the use of a waist swivel is comparable to the latter. I do wish the leg panels could look less shellformery while the shoulder pads could stay on better. The robot mode is very close to his G2 design, but with a few design elements from the concept sketch by Aaron Archer as well as being generally original. I love how gnarly he comes across, almost like a mix between Swamp Thing and TFP Unicron; they went all out on making him as antagonistic as The Fallen, and the shades of green in addition to the mechanical details throughout the torso and arms gives that toxic look. He also has a decent bit of planetformer in his DNA, and going back to the Unicron comparison has me wondering if this would eventually be retooled as the rumored Unicron Soldier for the line. I already mentioned the issue regarding the shell pieces clashing with the lower legs, but I hate how we have a bit of gorilla arm syndrome where the nicer arm details mean the elbows bend inwards, though at least the wrists can rotate.

Head sculpt is a little busy given you're dealing with all of the spikes on the head as well as chin guard almost resembling a weird jaw. I kind of wish he would have the horns that are pointing downwards at part of his head, but requiring normal neck articulation means that had to be altered. Speaking of, his head is on a ball joint, shoulders rotate as well as hinge in and out, biceps rotate, elbows bend, wrists rotate as well as utilize finger articulation and a hinge for the thumbs. Waist rotates, hips are universal, thighs rotate, knees bend, and the ankles are on pivots. I wish he can hold his gun better since the design of the hands means the shorter peg let's it slide out, but I like how it's another weapon without utilizing an existing design like the Requiem Blaster from Megatronus. His artifacts, however, are the Liegian Darts uniquely designed from each other.

The cannon can also peg into the left forearm despite that intending to be a cannon to begin with, but I like the way it looks even more this way; it's almost like it transformed from his arm! An equally cool thing about this toy is that it is compatible with the throne of Coronation Starscream. It's a bit undersized, but I like this way more given how well it matches the G2 comic panel he was seen in; the horns on the back even fit behind the throne!

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is with the other 2026 Primes we got. Don't worry, we'll bring em all together when AOTP Vector Prime pops up. Until then, let me say that Liege Maximo is worth gushing over. I thought I was going to like Amalgamous Prime the most since he had a shitton of potential from his play feature, but Liege Maximo ends up taking the throne, literally, as far as overall design and engineering goes. I still like Megatronus a tiny bit more, and laying over $50 isn't ideal, but in this economy, he earned it for the most part.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Age of the Primes Powerglide review

The Year Two Minibots finally get completed after we just did the Year One characters in that size class (and even then, we get new versions of Bumblebee and Cliffjumper once more). We first began with Kingdom Warpath as a regular retail figure before the foolish decision of making Legacy Cosmos a retail exclusive happened, and things were back to normal with Evolution Beachcomber until we got a gap for the Season 2 mini gang prior to Retro Seaspray. And now that Age of the Primes is getting closer to its sunset, Powerglide will take the spotlight after waiting so long for him to exist. For those unfamiliar with him, he is a bit of a bad boy and is known to say "And aawwaaayyy we goooo~!" before having a crush on a human whose leg he can never hump like ROTF Wheelie could (but at least he wasn't a victim of Kiss Players). He's had some CHUG figures with an Ultra Class I want to get for how badass it is as well as a Combiner Wars figure that is smaller for Geewun scale reasons yet can work as a gun for Superion. Let's see if Powerglide is either as solid as Wheelie or as poor as Windcharger.

Here we have Powerglide in his A-10 Thunderbolt fighter plane mode with some license-avoiding tweaks to keep him a bit genericized. The proportions aren't super deformed like on the old toy but they are a bit closer to the cartoon depending on how well drawn the altmode was. It looks like what it's supposed to, and while the deco is minimal, I with the silver wasn't super thin on the red plastic given how prominent it is throughout him. The cockpit looks fine but the turbines on the back almost have the base red plastic bleed through while the Autobot insignia could stand out better with white borders. One interesting aspect about the altmode is the faux rubsign on the back. He is the only character to get this treatment unless we count the Galvatron II repaint, and with the line just now giving some acknowledgement to a more mainline release for Generations, it seems weird but I guess something had to do with breaking up the deco. Also, no, it doesn't reveal his shield because of the transformation.

The weapon can store on top, but so can the mask as the ridge on top let's the mask slide on top of it. It's almost like it's trying to be the Happy Toyz Truck from Maximum Overdrive, the one with the Green Goblin face on the front, but not as effectively.

For an altmode scale comparison, the closest he would naturally scale with someone in this scale would probably be Cosmos. He might fit well with Warpath, but Seaspray will be so-so while Beachcomber looks goofy next to everyone for scale. Then again, G1 scale makes as much sense as The Last Knight or the entire concept of Autobot Megatron.

Transformation is a bit involved than what I expected, mostly with the panel that ends up on his back to keep the wings in place. The legs also end up becoming a bit more compact with the turbines hinging downwards after the vertical tailfins become feet for the robot mode. The arms now have the fists fold out to make the front section a little less awkward, but the elbow joints make no sense; bending them backwards doesn't affect the mushroom joint, but trying to bend them forwards for a deeper range results in them getting stuck and the forearms popping off the joint. One cool thing I like is that the head's face panel can rotate 180 to reveal the face while the point on the nosecone tabs it in place securely. The robot mode is generally good, especially given what to expect for the engineers going for the whole Mini-Masterpiece route. We got the wings sandwiching onto the torso, the rear makes up the legs, and the color layout is present as one would expect. However, we have the robot mode facing forward a without having anything rotate like on the old toy, which is fine since the rubsign halves would be distracting like the slit of blue and yellow on his crotch (what is that implying, HasTak???). I appreciate that there is a bit of red to make the forearms a bit less bland, but if there was one issue I'd have with the robot mode, it would be the look of the feet. Kudos for trying to use them from parts of the altmode creatively, but they look flimsy and a bit underdone compared to the rest of him. That aside, he still works well as far as the design goes.

Head sculpt is about what I'd expect, but the eyes appear a bit oversized than they should be, almost like what happened with the Classics Deluxe Optimus Prime. Hopefully the Reprolabels set I got for dirt cheap will fix that, and he same goes for a long overdue Windcharger upgrade set. Articulation consists of a slight ball joint, swivel shoulders, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, and elbows that almost bend 90 degrees if not for the ridge that stops it in place before it bends much deeper while getting stuck (already talked about the joint popping off). The waist rotates, the hips are universal, the thighs rotate, knees bend, and the ankles rotate as well as pivot. His gun may look similar to other generic Autobot guns but is new for him. Sadly, he lost a second gun that was included on a sample copy for a Hasbro China display.

The mask goes over the face once you rotate it away, and you can recreate the time he was pretending to be some kind of alien monster from the episode Hoist in Hollywood. No, it is not compatible with the other robots that wore the mask. The other episode Easter egg comes in the form of a heart hidden underneath the chest panel, and while it's a cool tribute to The Girl Who Loved Powerglide, the heart does blend in a little too much with the rest of the inner workings. Maybe it if was darker while the heart remained the same, it could work better.

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is alongside the other figures from the same Year 2 lineup. For some reason, he is shorter than everyone else, even the stumpy ass Cosmos. And with the price hike striking the line once again, that is extremely unexcusable. Honestly, I get that Powerglide is a fan favorite and all, and while I like his design and transformation for the most part, the elbow issues as well as the height hit him more than any other Minibot we got in the past. While he is cool, he ends up feeling more like another gap filler; people would defend him by bringing up two easter eggs that justify picking him up at full price, but two Sunbow nods, a 5 out of 5 it does not make.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

McFarlane DC Multiverse Mongul vs Superman review

After Superman died, four other heroes each went after the mantle as either a successor or claiming to be the real Man of Steel. While Superboy, Eradicator, Cyborg Superman, and Steel each had separate priorities that would all intertwine as they mostly clash with each other, the real Kal-El would eventually return back in black with a recovery suit that slowly helps regenerate his powers while utilizing rocket boots and guns if need be. Meanwhile, Mongul II stands out from his Pre-Crisis counterpart as the ruler of Warworld, and during the busy ass 90s-era of DC stories, he would destroy Coast City and establish his rivalry with not just Superman but also the Green Lantern known as Hal Jordan. He would later be an ally with the likes of Hank Henshaw, who also had beef with the two heroes I just mentioned. I'd rather let you all read the comics instead, so let's instead review these two!

Here we have Superman in hand, seen here with a Punisher-like design thanks to the bullet harness, mullet, and dark color scheme. Hell, if he had the silver boots (which would be better as we'll get to), that would have been a step closer to resembling Frank Castle. Yeah, Twitter normies, I bet those jokes on Batfleck being compared to the Punisher come off being weird with this revelation, huh? As for the figure, it is a reuse of the Earth-2 Superman body, which makes sense and should be the standard for general comic Supes. However, we don't have any new parts for the trunks nor the boots; the former shouldn't have the belt, and the latter could have easily been painted silver to make the leftover tooling work fine. I'll give McFarlane credit and say they sculpted the sheath for the knife that doesn't even come off (and that sounds like a problem already), but we have the parts for legs without boot tops or a belt buckle, so why not opt for those unless they're undersized next to this figure? Also, while McFarlane figures are easy to disassemble, I haven't gotten around to removing the harness on his chest so I can appreciate the logo. Don't get me wrong, the figure is fine if a bit standard for the line, and the black suit looks cool with the harness, but the tooling could have been more effective without the leftover costume details that made sense on his old suit.

His head sculpt is the same from the Page Punchers version of the character, though slightly better painted and just as fitting for the costume we have here. My favorite part has to be the blue shading, as it helps compete the look of mullet Superman. I still want to get the Mullet Superman head from the Return of Superman body, the same one reusing the TDKR version, but he is pricy as hell. Much like the body as a whole, articulation is the same as well as coming with the alternate splayed open hands we've seen before. They do appear to have the muscular veins present so these should have been resculpted to be proper gloves unless they are super tight on him.

The guns are the biggest highlight of the set, and the sculptwork on them is pretty good for the most part. Would love to see some ports to allow some blast effects as Supes shoots bad guys (which would probably trigger the LARPers who only know of Superman from Redditors and shitty video essays saying he should be wholesome), but the paintwork is at least reminiscent of the comic shading in a way.

For a few comparisons, I have the Snyder Cut black suit version to show how much changed between the two, even if Cavill still had no issues with his powers once he regenerated in the sun. The differences with the Cavill version still coming with the cape and not coming with the silver cufflinks may not be comic accurate, but I am still forgiving of it since the suit was already great (especially the richer blue on BvS compared to MOS) and it makes me think of the equally sexy black suit for Spider-Man 3. The comic figure we have here is not to be confused with the Sonar Suit we got earlier; that is a post-Crisis version that operated in secret throughout the New 52 universe for the storyline Superman: Lois and Clark (not to be confused with Lois & Clark: The Adventures of Superman starring Dean Cain or the CW show Superman & Lois).

As for Mongul, this figure is a repaint of the Mega-Fig we got a few years back, only in a more classic color scheme of hot pink and silver. While a wash is applied to help accentuate this larger figure, it does present a problem on the upper arms; they're still textured and veiny like bare skin despite having them covered by sleeves! I don't know if it's supposed to be that tight in his body, but wouldn't it make sense to smoothen the details of his arms?! On the bright side, those are still his arms rather than belong to a different character, but I am reminded of how Hasbro reused the arms of Hulkling for one of the Wrecking Crew members (Bulldozer specifically) and would have accentuated the details of bare skin on the arms if a wash was applied. It doesn't ruin the figure 100% like the errors on the first Hush Batman or the everything in New 52 Superman, but it makes me wish they spent a little extra on more than just the paint since it looks cool on him.

His head sculpt is similar to the original release of the character, and the paintwork might be even better with the wash applied in his skin to go with the maniacal grin showing his rotting teeth and his soulless dark eyes. Being a part of Warworld does that to a motherfucker. His articulation is slightly different from the normal figures, including a ball joint with the neck system burrowed within the torso, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, rotation at the elbow, single jointed elbows, wrist rotation, inward hinges for said wrists, a single ball joint for the torso, standard McFarlane hips with slightly worse range with his thicker diaper piece, decent thigh rotation, double jointed knees, and ankles that barely pivot and hinge yet have very tight toe-ticulation. He comes with no accessories but he previously came in his modern colors individually. I would almost prefer this one if it weren't for the solid green forearm guards. 

Here we have Mongul next to a regular Superman as well as Green Lantern, which almost makes sense given the two share a rivalry with the Lord of Warworld himself. Makes me want to get a few more villains for the GLC since Supes has enough of the main faces for his Rogues Gallery.

Overall, as much as this set does some things good, Ink know there is room for improvement. Mainly for the specific costume details on Superman and not having the arms textured on Mongul. If those had been fixed, all I would complain about is the lack of blast effect potential for the guns and no alternate hands still included with a Mega-Fig. A set like this goes for around $80, and I paid around $65, but at this rate maybe I should be happy the license transfer means I won't have to give a fuck about what Mattel does since I'll be one step closer from retiring full time collecting.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐