McFarlane DC Multiverse Batman v Superman Batfleck review

Batfleck is my favorite live-action version of the character, much like how Kevin Conroy is my favorite animated version of the character. The way we don't focus on the origins of the character beyond the opening and whenever his PTSD is focused on, his Arkham-esque combat skills surpassing other iterations in the movies, and the fact that he gets to interact with other DC superheroes in a way not commonly done in prior team-ups. Seeing him ascend to redemption after his dark path made him break his rules was also great, especially after witnessing Superman's self-sacrifice. I once took a look at the ZSJL version of Batfleck, but now we have the BvS version to look at! Let's see if it's worth revisiting in spite of the Tactical suit already being great.

Here we have Batfleck in-hand, representing his TDKR-inspired suit majestically...for the most part. I say those last few words because of key aspects regarding the figure in question, notably the coloring of the suit and the proportions. For the former, the gray is closer to a bluish shade than how it was normally depicted in the movie. While the movie's lighting was done in a stylistic manner that contrasts the usual reference photos, regular set photos didn't make the gray closer to the bluish tint we see here on the figure. It kind of fits him well but I don't think would be accurate if you saw the suit outside of the film. Proportions are also an issue, mainly with the upper body not being as broad as it should be combined with the neck being longer than it should be on Batfleck. I know he was taller than every iteration other than Adam West (who was just as tall), but not with a longer neck that contrasts his physique. The cape this time is made of cloth, but it sadly lacks the bendy wires McFarlane recently implemented to make it more dynamic for photography and display. At least it's better than the Mattel ones.

His head sculpt is mostly good, though it does lack that certain something that completes the look of Batfleck in the movie. Not the slight paint mishap near the left side of the mask but mostly the mouth region and maybe the proportions of the mask being somewhat narrow. The mouth appears to have a better likeness to Ben Affleck's unique facial features, though the butt chin is far less noticeable and almost makes him younger without the five o'clock shadow. His articulation consists of the usual McFarlane DC Multiverse range, such as the double-ball jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, washer joints that work similarly to a ball joint for further movement (butterfly joints, bringing the arms inwards, and further moving the arms upwards), bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, a double-wrist joint that allows either laterally or vertically joints for both the upper and lower torso regions, hips that move front and back, in and out (both of which are much stiffer here than on my Tactical Batfleck), slight thigh rotation that is somewhat hindered by the tightness of the joints and the PVC waist, double-jointed knees, vertical ankle movement, ankle pivots, and toe joints. The tightness of the hips combined with the left shoulder not being as tight as the right shoulder is making me wonder if my copy has weird quality control, making it hard to pose him properly (and that's without the cape being on bendy wires).

One of his accessories, beyond the alternate hands made for holding weapons, includes a grapnel gun that I wish came with the Tactical version...in theory. See, the size of it, while more fitting for a sci-fi blaster, looks oversized in his hand. My theory was that McFarlane intended the larger scale to be for the Kryptonite Grenade Launcher used initially against Superman and then against Doomsday, but then there was a reminder that Warner Bros and DC demanded there be no realistic guns in their figures, meaning they were instead forced to use the grapnel gun without altering its size. As a result, the width of the weapon-holding hands means he cannot give this to the Tactical version without trying to mod the hands or using hot water to remove them. At least the grapnel gun isn't as ridiculous as the Batarangs. If you thought the ones that came with earlier McFarlane Batmen were bad, then this is even worse with how thick they are! Were they also not altered to be in their proper dimensions?

Here he is next to his ZSJL counterpart. The Tactical suit version was already my favorite McFarlane DC Multiverse figure of all time, thanks to its impressive sculpt work, a nice level of paint apps, smooth articulation, and matching the unique Batfleck proportions we haven't seen other figures do right. This new BvS version should be an even bigger winner since I like the regular suit more, and while it is good, this figure doesn't manage to be as good as the Tactical suit we got in 2021. With a few tweaks in the proportions, adding some gold on the knuckles, and a cape that could make the figure feel dynamic (either that or stick with the cape we got in 2021 since it fits Batfleck perfectly), we might get the perfect 2016 iteration of the character. Getting an up-close look with their batarangs in their hands shows how the Tactical suit not only has better batarangs, but the head sculpt manages to look more like Batfleck even with less of his face being visible. That butt chin and the somewhat rounder head shape scream Batfleck, and it's ironic how that version is proportionately closer to the BvS version than the actual BvS version!

And here he is next to Superman from the 2021 ZSJL wave, which was a Target-exclusive recolor of the black suit version seen more prominently in the movie while this regular color version was instead seen in Josstice League, though you are free to have this be the BvS version since it's the same suit (and by extension, Superman in the Knightmare). With McFarlane now altering how figures articulate and look, it makes me wonder if there are plans for a future wave of Snyderverse figures coming soon that were from earlier movies. With these two already present as well as Wonder Woman from the 1984 and Shazam 2 waves waiting to be modified to match her present-day appearances, it makes me wonder if we'll get figures like Zod, Faora, metahuman footage Aquaman, Knightmare Flash, Doomsday (maybe in a 2-pack with Lex Luthor), and other Batfleck suits. I doubt it given how DC today is (and considering it's being ran by a jammed gun), but with the Nolan trilogy and the Schumacher Batman movies getting dedicated waves, we'll see if the pre-2017 DCEU movies will get the McFarlane treatment, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Until then, this is a figure I would recommend, but not without some alterations to make him better than he currently is.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thoughts of the Surge - 5 Year Anniversary!!!!!

Can you believe it's been 5 years since I've been making reviews?! I certainly don't, so I'm making a blog post about the many reviews I've done since the beginning. For today's post, I'll cover the different franchises/toy brands I covered since 2019, look into the reviews that never happened for varying reasons, and take a look at future reviews that I hope to cover before the year ends. Let's get started!

Why Did I Make a Toy Review Blog?

Whereas many people today stray away from how toy reviews normally work and try seeing them as "essays" that often sound pretentious or desperately quirky, I felt that doing text-based reviews would be the better option for me to work with. Not only would it feel like a decent way of avoiding the annoying voice or tryhard personalities of toy reviewers today, but it's something I took by heart after seeing the way 4chan users in /toy/ would make fun of Optibotimus, RetroBlasting, etc and see them as lolcows. Granted, only some people in the toy reviewing community are like that, such as DarkSpiderDavid and Runestone, but that's the bare minimum. Doing text-based reviews might help others learn to read more often than they normally would, even if I admit my writing skills can fluctuate between sounding formal and casual.

I also felt busy dealing with college work at the time and barely had any plans to deal with YouTube uploads. Trust me, I was foolish in thinking I could be a superstar when I had jack shit in 2014 and other people making noises in the background with no proper editing software or phone stand I could use. Nowadays on YouTube, I upload whatever I want, but I tend to experiment on topics every once in a while. Writing toy blogs felt like practicing scriptwriting, especially when I want everything to be top-notch to the best of my ability. Granted, nothing is truly perfect, but it's the thought that counts as many would say.

The commitment to making the best blog posts can also include the many pictures taken of the action figures I buy. For the most part, these are usually given the spotlight on Instagram, where these pictures pop up the most and remain as such. On YouTube, I tend to do community posts covering these toys, and arguably more than I do normal ass videos. But enough talking about how things work in my house, let's take a look at the franchises covered on my site!

Since the beginning of the blog, Studio Series undoubtedly took the spotlight as the main Transformers line I reviewed. Every new mold or heavy retool was reviewed by me, while some of the repaints were covered either in a group review like the Core Classes or were mentioned in a repaint history segment. While the 2018 waves were first covered in 2019, I do admit that things were handled well enough given the old days of my review scheduling. They were fairly prominent at first until around 2021 when I caught up with everything, and they started becoming fairly periodic given the release schedule slowing down. At the very least, I enjoyed giving the spotlight to the live-action movie characters, even if they started putting more spotlight on the 1986 movie characters and High Moon Studios cast.

Transformers related to the Bayverse, however, weren't the only lines I got to cover regularly. The War for Cybertron Trilogy, despite my initial hesitation towards more G1 oversaturation, turned out to be a very high-quality toy line overall. Siege itself was a surprise given the consistent articulation between sculpts, the high levels of detail, and the versatility of 5mm posts not seen since the days of the DOTM line and (to a lesser extent) the Arms Micron line. The scale was also good, even if Leaders took a hit in plenty of ways. Earthrise was also pretty good, if less interesting given we have Earth modes that aren't different from the usual G1 flare. Some figures were pretty good like Optimus Prime and Wheeljack, while others felt held back like Cliffjumper and Starscream, and then there's the garbage like Arcee and the Quintesson judge. Kingdom at least added Beast Wars characters into the mix, and I loved seeing them fill in gaps with two major franchises in one go.

The Legacy line added plenty of G1 characters in varying degrees of iterations, such as the Marvel Comics, the IDW Comics, Japanese G1, and some toy-accurate colors to go with the Diaclone homages. Beast Wars characters had new figures of their own, but the addition of the old RID Series, the Unicron Trilogy, Animated, the Aligned Continuity, and Cyberverse made Legacy feel more reminiscent of the fairly diverse days of CHUG pre-Combiner Wars. Granted, there have been some ups and downs for the Legacy line, such as the Geewunification of earlier TFP figures, or how they started being less prevalent given how weak sales were for Hasbro lines overall and not just Transformers. Still, I do appreciate having a varying degree of characters to get, and it was neat seeing Buzzworthy Bumblebee add more characters before it was phased out, in addition to the Walmart WFC lines combined with the Velocitron, Toxitron, and Star Raider lines.

The current Generations lines are not just Hasbro's most focused lines I've reviewed, as I got to review a few characters from the Prime Wars trilogy, from the Stunticons to the occasional Titans Return and Power of the Primes character. I also got to cover plenty of pre-Prime Wars CHUG toys, with a few Generations figures (with some spotlight to the FOC and Thrilling 30 sublines), and even the regular Universe and Classics lines. It doesn't stop there, however; I was happy to review mainline Transformers ranging between 1984 to 2023. Bits of G1/2, Beast Era, a good chunk of RID2001, some Unicron Trilogy, plenty of regular movie toylines (except for the first movie, the Bumblebee movie, and TF One as of this writing), at least one Animated set, plenty of characters in the Aligned continuity (moreso the TFP characters), and some Cyberverse, mostly with the Deluxes. It was even cool to get some Masterpiece figures, initially only the Bayverse characters but now I have 5 G1 characters; the Collaboratives were cool to buy, as well. So far, I don't have anything from Animorphs, 2003 Universe, Alternators (and by extension, Binaltech, Alternity, and heaven forbid Kiss Players), and whatever Label, among others.

Power Rangers was pretty secondary in the review site, especially back in the early days when Hasbro owned the brand in 2019. I never got to be super-delved into a line as much as I did with Beast Morphers, where I was able to buy every figure in the mainline, the morphers, and the Zords. While there were some minor issues with distribution, mostly with Steel, the Triple Changer Zords, and the Triple Dino team-up 3-pack. That being said, I am happy to have been able to get a good chunk of stuff from the Hasbro line. The 2020 offerings being more MMPR rather than the rest of Beast Morphers season 2 is annoying. The same went for Dino Fury, even though things were a little rocky with us not getting Green and Black initially, on top of the regular Dino Fury Morpher being disappointing. The Zords were a step up, especially in the articulation and quality department. All of that was ironic since I initially didn't seem super excited about Ryusoulger being adapted until I saw Dino Fury. That being said, for a season meant to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Power Rangers, Cosmic Fury was far too small, and the sole merchandise was a shitty representation of the show's Morpher, a costume of the Zenith Ranger yet no action figures, and a Megazord comparable to Bandai America rather than Hasbro is embarrassing.

The Lightning Collection, however, was where I really fell in love with Hasbro's approach towards the Power Rangers line. I absolutely loved scale-matching the likes of Marvel Legends, Black Series, etc, especially since I was a fan of those other franchises. The fact that we had slightly better articulation than the Legacy Collection, quality paint apps, and a plethora of accessories, varying from effect parts to alternate hands and especially civilian heads for a majority of characters...it was good! Sadly, mid-2022 through 2023 was when the line started to shit the bed; firstly, those plastic-free packages we got with the ZAP line, Time Force Blue and his cycle, Wave 16 and onwards, etc were a huge downgrade that was prominent in other Hasbro lines. On top of that, the beautiful package art from the awesome Tom Whalen was phased out, with CG renders of the toys taking over the windows from the old boxes. Things got worse with the quality control being worse for the releases from those years, from wibbly parts on my copies to others having pieces breaking off on a widespread level. Worst yet, in a year without a new season or reboot show, Hasbro could have focused on the Lightning Collection to complete missing seasons OR reissue older figures fans never got for a catch-up year. 

But nope, gotta give attention to the third-party licenses before giving Playmates some permission to make toys. Oh yeah, we're getting Playmates Power Rangers toys in 2025. They're said to be additional cross-category toys, with SDCC 2024 showing a very small tease of what to expect from the line (spoilers: it's MMPR). I'm starting to get annoyed with this being a thing while Hasbro doesn't have the balls to say "Oh we'll be continuing our lines soon, too" since we don't know if the Lightning Collection is going to continue, nor do we know how committed they are in making their reboot show beyond "we're looking for a partner because Netflix dropped out". So if we're not going to get any new Lightning Collection or ZAP stuff, I'll have to go back to the past and collect Figuarts or comparable sizes to the Hasbro stuff. As for the Megazords, I'll be more than happy to get some Bandai stuff since I got the Thundersaurus Megazord as well as both the Delta Squad and S.W.A.T Megazord, the former being Bandai America and the latter two being Bandai Japan. Oh, and I ain't becoming a Sentai pig because fuck being an insufferable elitist; that being said, there were some things from King-Ohger that I did like, especially seeing the updated versions of Kyoryuger mecha that I could easily use as Dino Charge Zords given their articulation.

I never thought I'd go all-in with collecting Legends as much as I normally did. Back then, I kept searching for the definitive Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Wolverine, among other examples, thinking I could never get a chance to go back and get the figures I missed out on. Boy was I wrong! I managed to get plenty of characters past the usual comfort zones, especially when I found the perfect deals for a majority of characters! That and getting the designs I wanted for said characters nine times out of ten. It was pretty cool changing up how Legends figures were obtained now compared to the last few parts of the 2010s. I guess it could be seen as me initially getting more characters than the norm, starting around 2020 when I got characters that weren't just Spider-Man or Iron Man; MCU Daredevil and Sonyverse Venom were the figures I got, while 2021 saw an increase of purchases like the Fox X-Men Legends, Into the Spider-Verse, and the duo of main characters from Iron Man 1. 2022 saw me getting the NWH wave, and then the MCU Cap 2-pack.

Those were done sparingly, however. Around October of that same year, I got the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom, two versions of Spider-Man, and MCU Black Panther (his Civil War suit); those were generally obtained via discounted prices. Seriously, the Fantastic Four figures might have been flops to the point where I got them for $40 in total! Thus, I got the spark to collect various Marvel Legends figures whenever there was a good deal or a discount price, though new molds did get preordered. A lot of 2023 offerings were pretty weak, so I chose to be selective, but a few like Hawkeye and Ultron felt fairly disappointing for different reasons. 2024 has been a bit better, but I am still selective for characters that I want or characters that are well done, even if there is the occasional dud. I managed to get a good roster of X-Men and Avengers, though there have been a few moments where I wish I didn't deal with high prices when I got certain characters on discount.

Ultimately, the future me buying Marvel Legends will depend on how much interest I have in continuing getting the same characters again. I know Hasbro will do well, but I bet most of the releases will be poor. From here, I aim to reduce getting Hasbro Legends and focus more on prioritizing space while spreading out the ones I do want to get. Let's wait and see how 2025 will turn out.

While the Black Series began around 2013, my first figure from the line wasn't until 2016. Back then, I could basically have a hyper-focus on one franchise compared to now where I could put all my eggs in one basket. For example, 2015 began with me being excited for Dino Charge and RID15 but I barely bought stuff from one series and none from the other. Then 2016 it was Lego and Marvel & DC. After I rebooted my methods and plans of collecting figures, I didn't really buy anything from Star Wars given Disney's priorities being the Sequel Trilogy and their spinoff films. As for my first ever Black Series figure, it was Darth Vader as he experienced the Emperor's Wrath as he has a translucent helmet with a skull underneath to represent when he was electrocuted by the aforementioned Palpatine. 

I didn't buy any Black Series figures since then because the character selection I wanted was either unavailable or short-packed compared to the constant barrage of Disney characters. 2019 was when I got myself Captain Rex as well as Phasma for a relative. Rex tempted me to collect more characters from the Black Series again, especially since he was a surprisingly good figure. Nothing in 2020, but 2021 saw me obtaining Ahsoka Tano, Mace Windu, and Jar Jar Binks. Boba Fett was bought a month later, and then it was Luke Skywalker based on the Power of the Force line. Then came a gap in 2022 in the first half until I got Ahsoka Tano as she appeared in The Mandalorian. Months later after TFCon, I got Commander Cody and a George Lucas Stormtrooper. And at this point is where I said "This is where the fun begins".

In addition to a fresh copy of Vader based on Obi-Wan Kenobi, I got Clone Wars 2003 Grievous and Archive Leia before the year ended, and I was delighted to start getting more characters I always wanted back then, with some at lower prices. Episode 3 Obi-Wan and Threepio were cheap to get, and Jango was obtained at the normal retail price on Mercari. Meanwhile, the Phase 2 501st Clone, Padme, Yoda, and Ayala Secura were at standard prices compared to Anakin being somewhat scalped. The Emperor and Phase 1 Clone 2.0 were obtained at regular prices, but Mandalorian Luke was the first preorder I did on a Black Series for a long time. The same goes for Mara Jade, but we went back to the aftermarket for discounted Chewie, Thrawn, and ROTJ Lando as well as a somewhat pricey Dooku. Later on, I got Endor Han and Battle Changer Mirage a day before I saw Rise of the Beasts. Purchases went on and off depending on what went on, but I feel soon I'll have a collection I want consisting of Prequel, Original, and EU characters.

Between Mattel and McFarlane, DC's reputation in the 1:12 scale market has been pretty rough. Mattel's DC Universe line began around the same time Hasbro started to make fewer Legends figures. Even back then, issues arose with the frequent reuse of the same bucks not unlike Bucky Cap, while the figures each had far less articulation thanks to the single-jointed elbows and knees, with ankle rockers missing as well. This was especially made worse when Hasbro brought back Legends for a revival while Mattel did this DC Comics Unlimited thing that attempted to be a rival line of sorts. Oh, and they did the Movie Masters line, which at least kept them fairly independent from the comic lines much like with ToyBiz's Marvel movie lines, and in contrast to Hasbro adding movie characters in Legends waves. This all changed with the DC Multiverse line, which brought in some new sculpts with redecoes of older ones. It was all a mixed bag.

My first ever purchase from the line was the Batman v Superman Batfleck figure, and while I was excited to hear my friend Ernie talk about the line as a whole at the time (though both of us agreed that a grapnel gun was not a good choice for a BAF), I got my own copy of the character and was very disappointed by how it turned out. The limited range for the torso and hip joints, outdated use of T-hips, no accessories or alternate parts beyond the stand for the BAF, what a joke! I didn't get the other characters right away, but I did buy Lex, Armored Batman, Knightmare Batman, and the Bat Monster from Bruce's Nightmare from my friend before 2018 ended. Lex should have been in a 2-pack, Armored Batman should have come with alternate parts, same for Knightmare Batman, and I don't know what happened to the Bat Monster. Before these, I did get Superman from Best Buy around my birthday earlier in 2018, but it was the Josstice League version with a face that looks somewhat better than the CG mustache removal version. I did get BvS Wonder Woman but she was replaced by the Josstice version since that one looked closer to Gal Gadot. I got Tactical Batman for free at a toy shop I usually go to, Aquaman in 2019, who was also okay, and finally completed the Steppenwolf BAF with Flash and Cyborg in 2020...just around the same time the Snyder Cut was announced.

I did later get 7 DCUC figures in 2023, but before then, I mostly bought figures from the McFarlane line, something I didn't want to do initially because of the height difference. A 7-inch figure won't be in scale with a 6-inch figure, but after seeing that the Snyder Cut figures were going to be the only ones we'd have for a good while, I bit the bullet and got the wave without issue. The variants were ones I couldn't get, such as Flash who looked like he fell onto a wall or chair with wet paint drying up, Batfleck with various alternate heads he should have had, and Cyborg with the fully masked-up head and possibly extra arms. I did get Superman in the normal colors, but I was close to getting a fully armored Darkseid. There was no Wonder Woman for the Snyder Cut so I had to improvise with the WW84 version still waiting to be modded. Comic figures were purchased, though; Green Lantern based on the 2018 JL relaunch, Knightmare Batman in both blue and black, BvS Batfleck, and Superman based on his Action Comics #1000 appearance, the latter two of which is coming soon for a review. I may get more McFarlanes, but we'll see.

Imports

Yes, the increase in imports has been prominent of late. Back in 2018, I got my first ever Figuart in the form of Mario, with Luigi following suit a year later. I didn't get anyone in 2020, but I did buy Gokai Silver for my friend Ernie. As for 2021, I went all out in trying to delve into an anime series I could like after not delving into the genre(?) for so long. Having the Sailor Moon series be a franchise that I'd dip my toes into for the import side of things may be unusual at first, but it helped diversify my interests for collecting a new franchise before I delved into other anime franchises like Dragon Ball, Ranma, Evangelion, Inuyasha, and Urusei Yatsura.

Most of these were Figuarts, but I was surprised to get some other franchises that mostly involved chibi figures, plushes, and some gashapon figures. Most of these were from Sailor Moon once again, but I plan to get more from other franchises. As for non-anime imports, I want to go back to the Figuarts side of things to talk about Pac-Man and Spider-Man. The former was probably my most affordable Figuarts yet, and I was happy to have an articulated Pac-Man that looked like his classic design, even if it was more in line with his 2010s appearances since Smash 4 (also seen in Ultimate, Re-Pac, etc). Meanwhile, Spider-Man was the essential Sam Raimi version of the character we waited so long for. It easily trumps the Hasbro version of Legends. We'll see how much more we'll be able to get from there when it comes to imports.

Miscellaneous Lines

There are a handful of other reviews worth looking into based on franchises I covered that aren't strictly part of the other categories I covered, such as the Ninja Turtles vs packs, which is one of the few franchises to not have a major presence in the review site. I'd like to get more from the franchise, but it'd mostly be from the old cartoon, the comics, the 2003 series, and maybe the Bay-produced TMNT movies. The 90s versions sound interesting to have, but I feel like it'd either be NECA or the like. There were some World of Nintendo reviews, some figures of Master Chief that got the spotlight, a small bit of Toy Story love, and I remember also reviewing one of the characters from the Fortnite series, the Foundation because he was a designer I felt was cool. It was even cool to review NECA's King Kong and Robocop! There is also the occasional Sonic review, though it may be thanks to the articles I made elsewhere rather than on this site specifically. Jada Toys' Street Fighter line is especially great for the budget and accessory count, putting a lot of other characters to shame. It's great to cover lines that aren't from Hasbro or Tamashii specifically.

Reviews aren't the only things I cover on the site; ranking posts for Transformers has been a thing I covered plenty of times, especially when it comes to a year's worth of Studio Series, Generations, and miscellaneous purchases. Sometimes, I cover things like show reviews, my lack of plans for reviewing Cosmic Fury and Earthspark, and my experiences with games and what have you. It's stuff I don't always talk about too much, but it happens every once in a while. Heck, this 5th-anniversary post is an example!

Future Reviews

I've tried making a consistent schedule of reviews that would pop up over the next few months, but because of things going on in my life involving work and trying to balance other projects, things can be hard to juggle. That being said, I have a plan of reviews coming soon that should hopefully arrive before the year ends. In terms of reviews I have set in motion, they include the following:

A Miscellaneous Transformers Review Set

Transformers Prime: Robots in Disguise Wheeljack/Gear Factory Wander Warrior

Transformers Masterpiece MP-21 Bumblebee

 

Transformers Classics Devastator

Transformers Studio Series 86 Springer vs Legacy United Soundwave

Transformers Movie the Best Jetfire

Transformers Masterpiece MP-08 Grimlock

Transformers Masterpiece Movie Brawl

Power Rangers Zord Ascension Project MMPR Megazord

Power Rangers Dino Thunder Thundersaurus Megazord

Power Rangers SPD Delta Squad Megazord

Power Rangers SPD SWAT Megazord

Marvel Legends Black Widow and US Agent

Marvel Legends She-Hulk and Whiplash

Marvel Legends Iron Man 3-in-1 set

Marvel Legends Iron Man Mark II and Origins Wolverine

Marvel Legends Silver Surfer 2-pack

Marvel Legends Kingpin (Comic and MCU)

Marvel Legends Retro Deadpool and Astonishing Wolverine

Marvel Legends Giant-Man and Wasp 2-pack

 Marvel Legends Cowboy Wolverine and Sabretooth

Marvel Legends No Way Home Green Goblin, Doc Ock, & Sandman

Marvel Legends Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse 7-in-1 set w/Cyborg Spider-Woman

 Spider-Man 2 Super-Poseable 18-inch figure review

Star Wars The Black Series Rebel Trooper and Stormtrooper

Star Wars The Black Series Commanders Fox and Wolffe

 Star Wars The Black Series Ki-Adi Mundi and Darth Sidious

 Star Wars The Black Series Clones and Droids 4-in-1 review

McFarlane DC Multiverse Batman v Superman Batfleck

 SH Figuarts Son Goku (A Saiyan Raised on Earth)

SH Figuarts Scouter Vegeta 2.0

SH Figuarts Piccolo (Z & Super)

SH Figuarts Bulma (Adventure Begins & Planet Namek)

SH Figuarts Kid Goku and GT Goku

SH Figuarts Frieza (Final Form)

SH Figuarts Lunch

SH Figuarts Sailor Moon (Original Animation Color vs Crystal) Comparison

Figuart Mini Sailor Senshi 5-in-1 review

SH Figuarts Ranma Saotome 2-in-1 review

SH Figuarts Akane Tendo

SH Figuarts Ryoga Hibiki

SH Figuarts Shampoo

Figma Kagome Higurashi review

Dasin Model Inuyasha review

Nendoroid Inuyasha and Kagome review

Inuyasha 12 inch doll

Jada Toys Street Fighter Ken

Jada Toys Street Fighter M Bison

Toy Story Signature Collection Buzz Lightyear

Gundam Heroes RX-71 figure

Miscellaneous Review 6-in-1 set

As for future reviews, there are plenty of figures to look forward to that weren't listed earlier. I don't have their review posts set up at the moment, but I will once I start taking care of the other items. Expect the following reviews around late 2024/early 2025 (may not be final):

-Transformers

    >Studio Series Gamer Edition Ratchet

    >Studio Series One Megatron

    >Studio Series Core Class Bumblebee Movie Starscream

    >Studio Series Core Class 86 Steeljaw review

    >Studio Series Core Class Concept Art Frenzy

    >Studio Series 86 Optimus Prime

    >Legacy United Energon Galvatron

    >Legacy United Geocron

    >Legacy United G1 Optimus Prime

    >Legacy United Quake

    >Legacy United Armada Wheeljack

    >Legacy United Dinoking

    >Comic Edition Straxus

    >Comic Edition Flame and Emirite Xaaron

    >Missing Link Optimus Prime

Marvel Legends

    >Venom, Carnage, and Scarlet Spider

    >Warbird (to be added with Black Widow and US Agent)

    >Deadpool (DP&W)

    >Wolverine (DP&W)

    >Logan and Headpool

    >Colossus

    >Retro Green Goblin

Star Wars: The Black Series

    >Plo Koon & Ahsoka Tano

    >Delta Squad (Republic Commando)

    >ANH Luke and Leia

    >Force Unleashed set

    >Possible Force Ghost set

  

Other reviews:

    >McFarlane DC Multiverse Superman (Action Comics 1000)

    >SH Figuarts Black Lady & Zoisite Moon

    >Future Inuyasha and Evangelion Nendoroids

    >Possible Dragon Ball Daima reviews

    >Jada Toys Cammy

    >Play Arts Kai Cloud Strife

    >Whatever else I get

Cancelled or on-hold reviews/purchases

Not everything I want to review goes out as planned. While I have done a shit ton of content, there are moments where certain figures don't get purchased, or they pan out in an entirely different way than intended. Some of these I could go back and cover, but it depends on when I change my mind and what makes me want to buy something that got scrapped. Here is a list of reviews that got canceled:

-Transformers × Canon Refraktor: Initially a figure I wanted since a camera bot that isn't a big name character like Optimus (who Refraktor was retooled from) sounded enticing, but the design of the toy combined with the high price tag didn't sit well with me. If this goes on clearance, I could change my mind.

-G1 Starscream: Not entirely canceled, but my copy of G1 Star scream is an incomplete version of the Collection reissue that has the wrong fists and no G1 Megatron gun. I may go back and review this or buy the Retro Walmart reissue...if I can still find it on clearance that is...

-G1 Motormaster: Given how little there is to talk about this toy, I'd rather wait to get the other Stunticons. For now he ain't canceled but put on hold.

-Lord Drakkon Evo 3: I was hoping to get this version of Drakkon, but the handling of convention exclusives was a mess in 2020/1, which meant I could never get my hands on the set. Also hated how there was a shitton of lightning but no throne. Maybe some day I'd get this but not today.

-Dino Fury Gold Ranger Morpher: I kind of wanted to get it because it was said to be as good as the Japanese version, but I never got around to it. Wish it was on discount.

-Dino Fury Green & Pink Rangers (2023): I lost interest in getting figures that'd permanently have the power ups sculpted in them when they could have done an armor swap gimmick.

-Dino Fury 5-pack: I never liked how this was the only way to get regular Green and Black, so another pass.

-Marvel Legends 80th Anniversary Cap, Iron Man, Thor: I never got a chance to buy these figures, but I did manage to buy the Legends 20th Cap and Iron Man figures as well as Ragnarok (I'd still get a normal Thor, though).

-Marvel Legends Retro Vision: This figure was hard to get, and I question that since it's another Bucky Cap reuse. After not being super satisfied with the white version, I got Select Vision and prefer it to the Hasbro ones.

-Star Wars The Black Series Mandalorian: Lost interest in the Mandoverse stuff

-Mattel DC Multiverse Black Suit Batman: He wasn't the Batman Forever version but it would have been the closest to a Keaton-esque Batman that I'd have. Lost interest.

-The Dark Knight (2008) 5-inch figures: My copies are missing accessories, and I haven't gotten around to finding the perfect Nolan Batman stuff to review, not even McFarlane's. 

-The Super Mario Bros Movie Wave 2 figures: Lost interest due to the price tags, may come back if I see them on clearance.

-Overwatch Tracer figure: Had planned to review it but the figure was annoying to mess with, and one of the hands broke. Also fuck Blizzard Activision, and IDC if people simped over Tracer's ass, the figure is mid.

-Solo review of Sailor Moon: Never found a right moment to review her on her own until I got the rest of the team.

Epilogue

It has been an honor to post 5 years worth of toy reviews, no matter what pops up in my life and whatever keeps me stuck in a writing block. I do have like 80+ reviews to cover before the year ends if you include the lists without pictures so no pressure, right? In all seriousness, whether you left a comment, reshared my posts, or simply read through a review, I want to thank you for being with me through the past 5 years. Idk what to expect in 2025 beyond more Transformers upcoming and previously released, any 6-inch scale stuff I get, whatever old PR merch I get in case the Lightning Collection is not coming back, and more, but let's hope the next 5 years will be as eventful for the site as things have been since 2019. May the power protect you, may the Force be with you, and till all are one...too on the nose, I think so uh...