McFarlane DC Multiverse Poison Ivy & Wonder Woman review

It's that time again for another girls' night out, and doing the rounds this time are the duality of female DC characters: the hot yet deadly Poison Ivy and the glorious Wonder Woman. We've seen WW plenty of times before, so why don't we give a bit of background on the Batman villain herself? Originally known as Dr. Pamela Isley, she was originally a plant expert who was later turned into an eco-terrorist as she tried to fight in the name of Mother Nature, so kind of like the global warming crowd but far less cringe than them! She is usually depicted as one of the more prominent foes of The Dark Knight, but she has reluctantly helped him out from time to time if need be. Of late, likely thanks to appealing to not making "environmentally-friendly" crowds look bad while also tying in with Harley Quinn's history with the Joker, they're now depicted as a lesbian couple that probably have something like "be gay, do crime" written in their promo art (though tbf, Marvel tried doing that with Mystique and some other X-Men character). Anyways, let's see how these two turned out!

Here we have Poison Ivy in-hand, reusing the Batman & Robin version of the character we got while back. Honestly, that doesn't bother me all that much since it's not like the costume is that dramatically different. I will say that the Uma Thurman version is better painted overall, between a wash in the torso to accentuate the toxic leaves and the fade to black as we reach her boots. That said, I assume this was done to distinguish the two without going for a mere headswap. And while the torso looks kind of under detailed in terms of deco, they at least used a different shade of green for the sleeves and leggings so the ivy wouldn't blend in that easily. The skin is naturalistic as one would hope, and you have good anatomy for the figure overall (especially for those who are looking at her cleavage). And hey, she has a set of hands for probably holding the strands of ivy she comes with.

Head sculpt is better than the initial images made it out to be, but what I can appreciate is that they slightly painted the hair so it isn't the neon plastic color the B&R version had. She also looks like an evil Jessica Rabbit if you think about their similarities. While the articulation is the same as usual, she had the same alternate hands found from the B&R version as well as the strands of ivy to wrap around her arms or legs. That's it. No deadly plants in vases, no alternate faces, just those two little things and that's it. How is that worth $35??? Just as horribly cheap for an overpriced release as the Max Shreck figure that came with nothing but an alternate head! This has as much value as a regular release that comes with one pair of hands only, and the only reason McFarlane made her a collector release was so they can lock a more desirable character behind a slightly higher price tag, knowing the hunger for this character. As for the Platinum version, she has green skin with even more of it showing than the flesh tone version, as there are no sleeves or leggings on her. Would love to see that treatment on the regular version. That is meant to match the more modern appearance she's had since Hush, iirc. As for the hair, it is more orangey but not as neon as the Uma Thurman version.

Speaking of Hush, here she is for a size comparison between Batman from the sequel comic and my modified Godzilla 2-pack Superman. I bet you can get those strands of ivy on Supes to recreate the time he was under her influence, even if that isn't the actual version of Hush Superman.

As for Wonder Woman, we mostly get the same figure from the Collector Edition, and while the reds and blues may be closer to its Platinum releases you still have gold instead of yellow, and we have a brand new head sculpt based on her 80s appearances with hair comparable to the Sensational She-Hulk. And looking closer, the gold and skin tone apparently to be slightly lighter on the newer version. The accessories as well as the alternate hands are the same from what we got previously, do you could let the Vault reissue use the new one's axe and shield if you so desire. As for her Platinum release, it is based on the New 52 series, and while everything is almost accurate, the hair is not even close to how it appeared in that run (it's closer to the regular version but with a silver tiara); knowing McFarlane, retooling wasn't on the menu for Platinums in general, so maybe his should have been reserved for a different look that can still rock the 80s hair? At least they know she sometimes has the bikini bottom in the New 52 (though pants are also worn on the occasion).

Overall, while Wonder Woman is just as recommended as she was in the past prior to the original release's scalper epidemic, Poison Ivy is in no way worthy of the Collector Edition tag. What difference does the value make between the original Batman & Robin release that came with a part of Mr Freeze versus an extra pair of hands and some strands of ivy? This review is kind of short given we already looked at one figure whereas the other has little to offer, but I'll say this: get the Vault Wonder Woman to accompany this new one and wait for Ivy to go on sale.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Wonder Woman)

⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Poison Ivy)

Transformers Titans Return Alpha Trion review

While we have had more toys of Alpha Trion than we did in the past, Titans Return was the first time the character got a mainline, properly transforming figure made in-house by the HasTak crew. Before then, all we mostly got were nontransforming figures from third party licensee, Kreons, or canceled repaints of other figures. And it almost seemed like we would get a new toy of this character within the decade since the TR Voyager came out. He would later get a Prime Master release, a Cyberverse Ultra, a Voyager released in Legacy and a second addition for Age of the Primes, and a few TFOne tie-ins to go with Laurence Fishburne being one of the few good parts of that flick. As for the Titans Return version, he may be seen as an anomaly for today's collectors, be it people who mostly prefer the super duper Sunbow accuracy in recent toys or casuals who probably got into the Skybound toys...and also want the super duper Sunbow accuracy with those comic touches. That being said, I'm sure there is still some value to it than just being a "temporary" gap filler for CHUG displays. Let's see how well this holds up.

Here we have Alpha Trion in his horned lion mode. It's a pretty good take on what kind of beast mode would be associated with AT, especially with a mythical twist given how old he is in-universe. The face using the purple to represent his helmet in robot mode while his mane is silver fucking rocks. The rest of the body varies from appearing organic in shape like a Transmetal to the back looking more like a blocky G1 Predacon. However, what sucks is that the articulation is about as effective as the one G1 Predacons, or the original Cheetor: very little leg articulation, and no jaw-ticulation so to speak! On the flip side, the tail sword is a common trope done here again.

Here he is with the TFOne version of himself, just to show how much smaller the layer figure is in addition of being even more pitiful in comparison. It hangs its head in shame and waits for the Titans Return version to kill it. We just need for the TR version to not be only poseable at the forelegs.

The transformation into spaceship mode is almost like a brutal yoga pose, mostly because you're compacting the hind legs and splitting the beast head in half. As for how it turned out, you can see the seeds of an inevitably heavy Broadside retool in the works with how much it resembles an aircraft carrier. It's meant to resemble the spaceship mode he later got in other G1 media but it doesn't look that great.

For a vehicle mode comparison, it doesn't compare to the altmode he once had as a younger bot from Age of the Primes, nor is it as good as even the Scourge recolor. But hey, triple changer.

Transformation is pretty easy to follow, mostly because everything goes where you would need it to for a design like this: shoulders formed from the lion head halves, shins made from the hind legs, front paws forming torso armor, and Sovereign turns into the robot head. The resulting robot mode is much more barbaric than we're used to seeing with Alpha Trion, but it kind of fits if we remember his history as an ancient Prime and not just being a father figure of some kind to Optimus. I love this reimagining of him, and even if you were to make him more greebly and desaturated, he would look good as a Movieverse take on the character. I will say that the shoulder halves being made from the lion head looks good from the front, because most other angles reveal how flat they are from the back on top of the screws and other unsightly stuff like with AOE Voyager Grimlock. Maybe a larger toy or ditching the spaceship mode can help. Regardless, this design looks awesome, even with the colors he has; makes me wish we got another series with an Alpha Trion like this. I bet Cyberworld would put him in there and have him be a bootleg Master Roshi (or whatever the quirky chungus writers think Roshi is like).

The head sculpt by itself pretty good making a more badass take on the archivist bot with an angular style that contrasts his older faces from G1. Even the horns compliment it better than other gimmicks with the spring loaded "head-add ons"! Articulation consists of a ball jointed neck by itself with only a slight bit of rotation at the base, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, hinged elbows, ball jointed wrists, swivel hips that are a little too tight from the painted waist piece, outward leg movement, thigh swivels, hinged knees, and slight ankle hinges due to transformation but no pivots. Also, he has a sword and gun, with the latter serving as a seat for Titan Masters.

For a more direct reuse, this is Legends Lion convoy, who looks majestic kike the lion from the Manticore Megazord. The head is repainted from Sentinel Prime, and it represents one of the characters forms in that wild ass storyline associated with Takara's takes on some early Prime Wars toys.

The figure was heavily retooled into Broadside, and while I always hated this character, at least the Titans Return figure is decent in bot mode. The aircraft carrier mode scale is wild with the included Combiner Wars Aerialbots and the jet mode is as bad as the original.

Broadside's Japanese release is cartoon accurate, including painting over the wings, and he comes with the Repugnus accessory as did many Voyagers in the line. The Legends manga has the Titan Master actually change size, too! 

For a genuine surprise of a retool, this is Tidal Wave, included with the Siege on Cybertron set. I wish I got this because that may be the version of the mold I would get. That stems from Tidal Wave being way cooler than Broadside, anyhow. I bet you can come up with some fan modes to make him more Armada accurate in jet mode.

Here he is with his fellow Alpha Trions from years since this came out. The other two certainly look more scholarly, yet the Titans Return version can represent either a different continuity or an era where he was a warrior before retiring his mantle. However you see him fit in your version of G1.

Overall, this version of Alpha Trion may not be the figure many would want now that we got the more recent versions, but I am always happy to keep him in my collection purely from how unique he is. We get a nod to his Beast Machines/Wreckers era look, he turns into a version of a ship mode he might have had if he transformed, and the design of the bot mode is very underrated. Lio Convoy is the better version of this tooling, but I am happy with owning this as someone who kind of likes this mentor for Optimus. And he beats the shitty TFOne figure once again. Now then, where can I get a cape like in the promo art?

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

McFarlane DC Multiverse Collector Edition Hawkman & Hawkgirl review

Ready to revisit the ever confusing nature of Hawkgirl History? No? Too bad, we're delving into it again with Hawkman doubling the confusing nature of these characters! At least this is clearly the Kendra Saunders version and not another identity, though then again, that's likely from her being in some of the more recent material as well as loosely tying in with her appearance from last year's Superflop (without making a figure of her live action screeching counterpart). As for Hawkman, we have to keep in mind that he was around since World War II, first as a human trapped in an ancient Egyptian curse of endless death and rebirth, then an alien police officer sent to protect Earth. McFarlane even acknowledged the crazy nature of this character by saying he's sometimes a mix of the two identities, lined up well with the Hawkman focus for Zero Hour. Apart from that, let's see how well these two turned out!

Here we have Hawkman in-hand, with a fairly dark color scheme that almost makes me think of a Gargoyle instead of the usual Hawkman. This stems from being an amalgamation of all versions of Hawkeye prior to his comic relaunch, also stemming from the aesthetics tone comics had at the time; that shade of blue for the pants fits well with someone like Batman, while the hair on the chest as well as the darker colors of the wings almost make him much less "classic" and more mythical and gritty in comparison. Some superhero redesigns and new faces had this at the time, and while it was edgy, it beats turning characters into himbos or girlbosses. The blue grey fade on top of the wings makes him feel slightly gothic, while the chest hair makes him feel more barberic with the harness and nothing else covering the upper body, a contrast to the fresh, clean look associated with someone like He-Man. Other than that, this almost makes me think of the kind of "Mythic Warriors" toyline Todd McFarlane would have done, only trading a heavy level of weathering and deco for articulation.

His head sculpt is meant to fit with the tweaks Hawkman had in his 90s relaunch, between the bird-like eyes to go with the organic wings and the black mullet that further pushes to the edge of that era. I wish the fins of the helmet weren't that flexible, but at least the paint looks nice. I like thay the beak is more vibrant gold than the rest of the helmet. Articulation is the same as usual, but the wings are not only removable, but they can flap as well as hinge up and down. They are stuck in this look, but at least they're not collapsed like with the 2014 Angel from the All New X-Men boxset. Other than that, the collector card, and the stand, he comes with his mace with some color separation at least.

The newest Hawkgirl is a straight recolor of the original, almost appearing like it got a suntan, yet it fits with Kendra Saunders being of Latin descent. I love that the wings are silver and caramel colored, and while the costume may seem similar to Kendra, it is actually painted differently in some areas, mostly the helmet and and the aforementioned wings. Being a suntan version of Shiera, though, she retails the painted skin for the upper body above her breasts, which could have been prevented if McFarlane wasn't using the same tooling.

The Platinum releases of these two go for more classic looks, with Hawkman being closer to the Silver Age, whereas Hawkgirl is closer to the Golden Age. I say Silver Age because that is the closest HM looks in spite of the mullet in his head. I believe Hawkgirl should have normal eyes, too. Then again, McFarlane is as confused as us thanks to DC continuity.

And here they are together as a flock, I guess you could say! With both Hawkgirls using the same tooling as Wonder Woman, they end up being as tall as Hawkman. Now that I have a version of Hawkman in my collection, I have to admit he looks cool but is far too undeserving of being overpriced in the aftermarket. Especially when the only accessories he'll have are wings that are almost always stuck on him and a single weapon. At least Hawkgirl has more hands and better wing articulation, but I would have preferred if these two Hawkgirls were released together while the classic ones were their own regular and Platinum duo. I can only guess McFarlane didn't do that because people wouldn't be as invested in getting the Platinums if they were slightly different versions of what the regular retail releases are. So I recommend the new Hawkgirl as much as I do the original, whereas you better prey Hawkman is easy to get at a good price.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Hawkgirl)

⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Hawkman)

Transformers Age of the Primes Onslaught review

We took a look at Mega-Octane in both RID 2001 and later Unite Warriors, and then we got a figure named Onslaught who was actually reused from Energon Barricade. Now we have a proper Onslaught to look at, and what better way to do just that than review his recent Age of the Primes appearance? While I first heard the name "Onslaught" form playing Marvel vs Capcom, I did get to hear of a Transformer possessing this name back when the days of TF video games were real and not just mobile slop. Fall of Cybertron had the best use of the Combaticons, though they sadly failed with their Deluxe figures making a so-so Bruticus. Combiner Wars later did versions with better scale and engineering, but I got those as Ruination instead. The latest Generations line may leave us leaving with a slow ass rate to get the newest Combiners, especially with Vortex appearing a year before everyone else, let's see if the wait is worth it as we get to the torso Commander of the year: Onslaught.

Here we have Onslaught in his entire vehicle mode. It looks like a more elaborate take on his G1 altmode, which will have purists whining it isn't exactly like the old toy. This time, the cab area is more independent from the rest of the altmode, being able to rotate at the trailer hitch somewhat before bumping into the hips of the gestalt frame. Speaking of, having the thighs visible is one of the issues I have with the figure, and while that was always going to be a factor for at least one of the modes to be compromised, I'm sure there could have been a way to conceal them better. At least the cannons are painted silver, though they are separate pieces this time around. The green stems from the need to match the source material, and while it does look like a nasty shade of green, at least it fits Onslaught mostly.

The truck can be a separate piece from the rest of the altmode, no doubt something Commanders based on gestalts have done. I can see what they're going for with making the altmode independent for the robot mode, yet there isn't much to say about it since it looks nondescript and incomplete without the rest. Reminds me of one of those truck GoBots that got a third party MP figure. Stacks, I think was the name.

Here he is with his fellow Combaticons, minus Swindle because he is on the way. As G1 scale logic is stupid, I will just pretend Onslaught is mostly normal size while everyone else is intentionally based on the smallest possible versions for the altmodes they assumed. Didn't FansProject do something similar with their version of Blast Off that combined with the Energon Bruticus mold?

And here he is with Mega-Octane, just showing how undersized the Combiner Wars altmode looks in comparison. You can just about fit MO in the trailer with one of the tires barely slipping off the surface!

Transformation is pretty similar to what the G1 toy did with its sequence, mostly with the front end becoming the arms, the back becoming the legs (albeit like the Universe version), and the backpack serving a similar purpose to the cannons we used to get as an accessory, albeit this time they are faux parts due to the real ones being oversized. As for the bot mode, it is heavily based on the cartoon models, which were very different from the toys (either because they can't translate them fully or the designs of the toys were too awkward to work with). You can tell the difference between which one is closer to the media when you watch the G1 cartoon Combaticons next to the RID 2001 Commandos. As for the way the accuracy turned out for Onslaught, it's fine. He is a blue robot with the cartoon accurate details where you would need them, and undersized cannons on the back made from the cab or the altmode. I haven't mentioned this yet, but I don't like the way the blue on the arms and feet are slightly different shades from the rest of the toy; makes me think they will yellow overtime like on many early 2020s Transformers. At the very least, he has a good enough set of heel spurs to keep him from falling over.

Head sculpt is the one thing carried over from the old toy, and it's got the right shade of color for the visor and the mouthplate. Not much else to say about it. Articulation is standard for a figure of this style: ball jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation that clashes with the elbows due to the design of the forearms, waist rotation, ratchet joints for the hips moving front and back, standard joints for outward leg movement, thigh swivels, hinged knees, and ankle pivots. No wrist or finger articulation seems standard for the combiner Commanders, but what is not standard is the lack of a weapon! A military dude not coming with any guns is already a stupid decision to go for, and while Hasbro stated Swindle will come with a rifle for Bruticus, how will that really benefit the Combaticon leader? Yellow won't fit him unless he was in G2 colors (coming soon in 2030, I bet). It's almost like when Hasbro didn't give Energon Barricade weapons, but at least all Deluxe torso bots didn't come with accessories, AND you can easily give Barricade the guns that came with Blight and Kickback, which is how things work in my (and Classic Thew's) house when you remember that those two had arm cannons. Fof nearly $100, there was 

I mean, the trailer can turn into a turret for Onslaught to man, and while it looks the most like the old toy's base mode, I'm sure he would want to run towards the battle with his own weapon in hand. As for a look next to Mega-Octane in bot mode, he is slightly shorter than him due to being only part of the torso rather than being the entire torso. Once again, I don't mind that they're unique from each other, especially since they would need more than just different paint jobs to give them their identities.

And here he is with the other Combaticons. We could really use some yellow ATP, even if he will be the same height as fellow short Voyager Brawl.

Transforming him into the Bruticus frame is like with what we've seen before. The trailer becomes part of the body while the rest forms the bare arms and legs waiting for the others to attach onto them. As expected, the arms can extend while detaching the front and back halves of Blast Off and Vortex, though leaving the arm frames green instead of grey does make them blend in less. At least the leg set up is new when Swindle and Brawl are absent: instead of looking like he has no shins, he now looks like he uses what amputees have when they need to sprint in the olympics. At least the toes are painted to show who goes where. The chest and cannons look awesome, even if the former looks a little cut off at the winglets.

Head sculpt looks spot-on to how Bruticus looked in G1, though I wish the grey plastic used wasn't as cheap as it kind of is. At least the mouthplate and eyes pop enough from this. ball jointed neck, ratchets for the shoulders front and back as well as in and out, rotation at the elbows, ratcheted elbows, wrist rotation, a waist rotation, ratchets on the hips moving front and back as well as in and out, thigh rotation, ratchets in the knees, and ankle pivots put much higher than normal due to the integration of the leg bots.

Although SS86 Shockwave is intended to go with this set, the Siege version can tab in place fine enough if you want to stick with this and not spend slightly less for a Voyager that comes with less than a Leader did in 2019.

And here he is with Ruination, who has the benefit of not missing a leg. You can see just now different the design philosophies are between Legacy/AOTP and Combiner Wars, between figure integration, size class difference, and overall aesthetics. As I said before, I like having the UW set to make Ruination distinct from Bruticus, even if Hasbro wants to make a repaint set in the future. It won't do the Air configuration though! As for Onslaught, while I like a lot about him, I'm not a big fan of how the green looks on the arms, the truck by itself looks bad, and the lack of a weapon takes points away for a dude who is a military Transformer. That said, he still has the best play value with his teammates, and the combination is just as satisfying as before with Menasor and Superion. He isn't worth $100+, but if your Studio Series MTMTE preorders for Starscream, Prowl, and the Insecticons got canceled, go to Target Customer Service and use any gift cards they cancel to lower the total price of Onslaught if he is still in stock over there.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐