Marvel Legends Gamerverse War Machine vs Omega Red review

The Gamerverse subline for Marvel Legends gives us a stab at collecting the characters as they appeared in Marvel vs Capcom...albeit without the Capcom so it's more like Marvel Super Heroes but with a few characters from the later games. Unlike the last attempt at an MvC themed line, which was themed after the Infinite entry from 2017 with shitty 3 3/4 inch figures, this subline goes for the 6-inch scale and retools the characters to better match how they appeared in the game wherever they see fit. With this, Maximum Hulk and Spider-Man loosely fitting in with the classic MvC aesthetics, and Tamashii Nations announcing their similarly themed Cyclops and Spider-Man, we'll probably have a good time all around with the Gamerverse subline. With all that said, let's see if the Walmart-exclusive War Machine vs Omega-Red set turned out!

Here we have War Machine in-hand, and he is a reuse of the 2020 Deluxe version they later saw reuse for the retro Iron Man wave. Everything from the waist up is newly sculpted, consisting of the arms, torso, shoulder pads, and head. You may notice that the shoulder cannon is missing, and that is due to it coming out of the box disassembled. It is also the only shoulder cannon he comes with, while the original version has hinges for both. Thankfully, Hasbro had the decency to fill in the right space, though I do question why they couldn't go an extra step further and give him painless knees. Listen, I don't mind if an action figure has them or not, just don't do this half-and-half skimpage. I do like the metallic blue that better matches how he appeared in MvC1 and 2, but only the faceplate is painted while the rest of him is marbleized plastic. It's better than last attempts, but with a set this pricey, some paint would go a long way.

His helmet is retooled to match the overbite motif that his artwork drew him as, which looks weird but it was part of that aesthetic he had in the game series. Personally, I would have preferred the old face painted blue, but at least this is accurate. His articulation consists of a double ball neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, wrist rotation and inward hinges, an ab crunch and waist swivel, ball jointed hips, thigh swivels, double jointed knees, and ankles that hinge as well as pivot.

His sole shoulder cannon is newly sculpted and is compatible with a blast effect, which thankfully has a paint app to simulate it being much hotter at the front while fizzling out at the back. He also comes with a missile that could go for a flight stand to aid it, and considering how Maximum Spider-Man had one for the web effects, surely that would have been appreciative, Hasbro. Also, you're giving a War Machine figure repulsor blast hands yet no blast effects to go with them. Why? 

Here we have him along with the other War Machines I own, with the one on the left being the 2023 fan channel version recolored from Modular Iron Man and the one on the right being the original Deluxe version. I love War Machine, and I also appreciate representations of the character both as he appeared in the promo art and his sprite work, though the black on the Gamerverse version has a somewhat reddish tint that matches the way he was colored, meanwhile Modular is depicted with a piano black that makes sense outside of that aesthetic. 

As for Omega Red, this is a more classic version of the character compared to the tooling used on the shoulder pads/harness and knee pads with the Sauron BAF version, which had a more saturated reuse for an X-Men 5-pack. The figure itself is honestly comparable to both versions with the shades of red and white being somewhere in the middle. As the original owner of this body buck, I think it's a more appropriate comic book physique than what we usually see from the Sunfire and Vulcan bodies. Most of the paint comes from the torso harness and kneepads, with the red and white plastics on the rest of the body being flat plastic. Some shading would have been nice, though without making it too pixelated. And thankfully, the Omega logos are nice and crisp. However, if there is one complaint I have with Omega Red, it's that Hasbro went ahead and added pinless elbow joints yet couldn't be bothered with the legs. I guess the kneepads hide the pins on the side where the upper and lower leg regions connect during assembly, but much like War Machine, this mismatch of parts makes zero sense when you're reusing existing bucks that could have went a step further with their tooling. War Machine, yes, has new tooling to match the MvC aesthetic, yet the consistency between joints would have been appreciative. Same for a figure who could seemingly be unchanged from the original version back in 2018.

His head sculpt is still the best part of the figure, and I'll always appreciate when none of the details are left unpainted. Even his hair is painted to have some form of dimensionality to it, and the Omega logo is once again aligned with the sculpted surface area. While his articulation is mostly the same as War Machine's, he does at least have a ponytail that can swivel like with Stephanie Brown Batgirl. However, I wish the tendrils were articulated via bendy wires. It would be fine if the shorter ones were left without them, but the longer ones desperately needed them more than anything. If Machine Man could have his extendo arms with that benefit A DECADE AGO, surely we can have some needed progression with this dude. Just imagine the posing potential they would have with the wiring implemented! 

Here is a look at the original Omega Red, which has a different version of his torso harness in addition to the knee pads. He was part of the Sauron BAF wave, and saying that makes me want to get the Marvel Snap version that came with half naked versions of Rogue and Shanna.

Overall, this is a cool set as a War Machine fan and as someone who always wanted a version of Omega Red to expand my X-Men villain roster, but there is always room for improvement. Having a few extra accessories for the repulsor blast hands and a stand for the rocket is already needed, and we already know how I feel about the lack of consistency between pinned and pinless joints on the same figure, but it would have been great to see some bendy wires implemented in the tendrils just to show some progression on what could have been a more definitive Omega Red. At least the set is $50, which is cheaper than the other 2-packs revolving around this theme. If the set is still at Walmart.com, I recommend it in case it does get harder to find, but maybe have some gift cards you have lying around from anyone who gave them to you.

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

Transformers Energon Demolisher review

The Energon series had Demolishor remain as a Decepticon after the Unicron Battles, and where there was a peaceful allegiance between both factions as they rebuilt Cybertron and formed a city to mine Energon from the Earth. While he formed a bit of a friendship with the dorky punk Ironhide (a name ironically used for Demolishor in Japan while the Autobot was named Roadbuster), he resumed his loyalty towards Megatron after the Decepticon leader was resurrected. After having an internal struggle between reuniting with his friends or staying with the faction he's been a part of since Armada began, Demolishor sacrificed his life to save his leader, then he bid farewell to Ironhide (or randomly blamed Prime for his death). Megatron, retrieving his spark, later gave Demolishor a new body as he did previously with Cyclonus and Tidal Wave; while those two were renamed Snow Cat and Mirage, Demolishor was not given a new name. In Japan, where Cyclonus was Sandstorm and Tidal Wave was Shockwave, parts of their names were changed to become Snowstorm and Shockfleet. Ironhide was renamed Irontread, while Hasbro intended the toy to be named Long Haul. That and he was meant to be a separate character, a common idea within Hasbro's repaints compared to the show Takara worked on. Regardless, does the toy still hold up if we set aside a messy production for Energon? Let's find out!

Here we have Demolishor in-hand. As an earth-moving dump truck, this manages to look pretty good outside of the arms folded up in front. The giant wheels, a decent level of sculptwork, and a handful of paint apps that are realistic for a dump truck yet also keep it from looking drab help make this feel less Playskool than what Unicron Trilogy haters whined about at the time. I especially love that we have a champagne tint for the hoping used on the grille and rims to make it appear somewhat dirty (which goes well with the intentionally scuffed bumper that would probably be skipped on a modern reimagining). While he can't really dump his load, he can at least lift the bed up and use it as a turret. Sadly, only four of the missiles work, and while his truck bed may be translucent, there are no lights and sound gimmicks. Would have been cool given the possible space included.

For a size comparison, here we have him with his Armada counterpart. While dump trucks are normally used as Voyagers and the like for Transformers, I think the scale between both versions of Demolishor work fine enough. Sure, a dump truck isn't as practical for combat as a tank, but at least he's a big dude for his size class and has a bit of tank-like functionality.

Transformation is similar to G1 Long Haul, only his truck bed becomes the backpack instead of the legs. That and his arms make the aforementioned front section has the arms folded in plain sight. The resulting robot mode is a more stylized take on that design, but with some new tweaks, such as the grill folded away to make it look like he has a purple shirt underneath his green coat, and the clear arms that I'm surprised haven't broken off on me. S toy that is over 20 years old lasting longer than SS86 Jazz, get me! His proportions are chunky,  but not to the same extent as the obese-looking Combiner Wars Long Haul. One funny detail is how he has a tiny Decepticon logo on his chest, yet there's a huge one on his back, so he still feels more prideful of his faction than the PRID Airachnid toy. He has an Energon Star port on his belly button, but hey, he has paint apps on his toes that could easily be skipped. TF budgets were so good back then for paint apps.

His head sculpt is a little different than the blockhead usually found on G1 Constructicons. It looks like a mashup between G1 Gnaw and RID X-Brawn. The card art has him with an actual mouth, but the show has him without any proper face details beyond the eyes and nose. Probably something the animators did to save time with their already cheap ass show. The articulation consists of a neck swivel and slight up and down movement for a hinge, swivel shoulders, outward arm movement, bicep rotation, hinged elbows, and ratchets for the waist, hips, and knees (with rotation above the latter).

Decepticons in Energon had Hyper Modes, which were their linewide gimmick to go against the Autobots Powerlinking. For Demolishor, his inner torso hinges forward and the truck bed hovers over to make him a hunchback missile pod nothing exciting but it still is something.

Here he is next to his old self, and while a prefer the Armada design, I will admit that the Energon version has better articulation overall. Honestly, in spite of the series reception, Demolishor is still a cool toy to buy regardless if he is canonically an upgraded guy or meant to be Long Haul. He should be fairly cheap in the aftermarket, but be sure he has all 4 missiles. Sadly, no repaint options are out there, though I expected a Constructicon repaint or Landfill with Double Targetmasters.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

McFarlane DC Multiverse New Teen Titans Nightwing & Rebirth Cyborg review

As we give a bit of Teen Titans rep for the review site, we get to finally give some attention to a version of Dick Grayson and cover an uncommon yet still present guest in the form of Victor Stone, aka Cyborg. As many know, one was the first ever Robin before growing out of the sidekick role and becoming a hero of his own after some mentoring from Superman. The other is an individual who had a life-changing experience after his mutilation where he gained cybernetic limbs and other technological abilities that made him a benefit for either the Teen Titans or the Justice League. While many would debate over which team Victor should be a part of, he will stick with the NEW Teen Titans as we review both characters this time.

Here we have Nightwing in-hand. As I understand it, this figure is a retool of the Blue Beetle buck, which is a common blank body for McFarlane to reuse on simpler superhero costumes. While they're just as guilty of doing this like with Hasbro, they have at least got a more proportionate superhero body, and the figure has also retooled the boots and collar to better match the costume he wore back when he first became Nightwing while also removing any carry over sculpted details from the buck he's using. The figure generally looks good, and while I wish the yellow detailing on the torso and shoulders was sculpted, at least the linework is crisp, and the blue lining that matches the rest of his costume gives him some dimensionality. And while most would prefer he had a darker blue like on the SDCC Knightfall or No Man's Land Batman, at least it's a regular blue and not one as bright as his collar. One complaint I do have is that his rotator cuffs are left blank without any paintwork to connect the shoulder detailing and the torso; it isn't a complaint I normally have for plenty a McFarlane figure, yet it is egregious here given how his costume works.

His head sculpt is easily the best part of the set, with a smile that befits Dick Grayson and blue shading applied through the hair and mask. While his articulation is naturally the same as with all other figures in the line, his sole accessory is a Wingding with a hole likely meant for a string to tether through. First Adam West and this Nightwing have that weird quirk, is it hard to get him the string? Next to the Knightfall Nightwing, I appreciate that the costumes aren't mere deco tweaks, though I think I prefer elements of the Knightfall suit better. I just wish he didn't have his shot details painted over pre-existing Blue Beetle costume details. Btw, I am referring to Ted Kord, the second mantle bearer, and not Jamie Reyes.

As for Cyborg, this is how he appeared in DC Rebirth. While I don't own that many versions of the character in the Rebirth aesthetic, Cyborg is still a design I like overall. The blend of classic and modern is already balanced perfectly here, and I always appreciate how Cyborg wasn't trying to mimic the look of his Snyderverse design considering how Disney would have it's corporate-approved Marvel promo art match the MCU. While I'm sure some would want a more classic version of the character design, I always preferred it when Cyborgs had a more fully covered look to his bar the remaining portions of his face that represent what little of his old self remains. He may be more machine than man, but he is not twisted and evil. He could be a bit bulkier, but at least he has silver paint paid with a bit of a wash. It beats having to deal with Hasbro making marbleized silver plastic instead of painting their figures proper silver. However, my copy appears to have some poor QC on the back with the smudge of paint. Hopefully, it's just my copy, but I fear those who want to remove any paint errors will resort to using extra silver paint instead of removing the mistake because that will remove what's intended to go on his back.

As for his head sculpt, I think it's great! Sure, the weathering makes him less pristine, but with all the hell he went through either as a League member or a Titan, can you blame him? While I wish he had alternate hands, he does at least come with a giant arm cannon. It slides over his right arm, and the friction is tight enough for him to keep it in there. Would it have been better to have more display options? Yes. But is this still a good accessory compared to the more Wingding? Also yes.

Overall, while Nightwing is a better version of his classic look than his Knightfall counterpart, Cyborg is an arguably better figure. Sure, you get a digital card for a 3D showroom with the former Boy Wonder, but the price that the Digital line is going for is not as good as the regular line-up. I admit that Cyborg should come with extra hands, or at least something for his left hand to hold, but he had a bit more value for money than his fellow Titan. Maybe wait for a sale on Nightwing, but definitely go get Cyborg. 

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

⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Cyborg)

Transformers Studio Series KSI Widow review

A year ago, the Concept Art series was introduced in the Studio Series line, and it would have been the best opportunity to showcase any scrapped character designs that didn't make it in the seven live action movies. Naturally, the elusive Bumblebee Movie Megatron design is finally immortalized as an official action figure, and despite my negative opinions contradicting that of the Gooneration 1 purists, it was cool to see a tangible version of something previously left in the cutting room floor. Then we got Rumble, who never got alluded to within any BBM concept art showcases. An online listing has the mention of a Sunstreaker, but with an MV6 tag (with MV & a number following it referring to a specific Transformers movie, like MV1 equals the 2007 film, MV2 equals Revenge of the Fallen), it only meant that we got a Concept Art Sunstreaker. Once again, another dude who seemingly never existed even as 2D art. Worse still, Hasbro kept doing rep for that overrated flick, and it took them long enough to finally make a figure more exciting and unique than the BBM dudes. Enter KSI Widow!

Before we delve into the review proper, here is a bit of a history lesson regarding the development of KSI Widow prior to her removal. Most of the concept art we have of her dates back to late 2012, around 2 years before Age of Extinction was released. A female Transformer design known as Widow Maker at the time, she sported aesthetics more comparable to the original trilogy era of Transformers rather than the duology consisting of AOE and TLK. I say this because she is a much skinnier character design than what the toy ended up being, though it's possible this would have not been the case. Created by Steve Jung, one of the robot designers for Revenge of the Fallen, Widow Maker sported a red color scheme and would have had either a tail or a chain whip. Initially, she had car kibble of the Pagani Huayra, which was later given to Stinger.

Various alternate head designs were made for this character, ranging from resembling a proper Cybertronian to having a bizarre human look that likely popped up when the man-made Transformer subplot was part of the script.

It appears she was going to have a rivalry with Drift, in addition to having twin laser swords rarely seen in the concept art. Of course, we all know that either Hasbro or Paramount wanted to make a bit of a rivalry between Bumblebee and Stinger, the latter stemming from making fun of Transformers knockoffs, and that's what we ended up with. The two military robots in the background are probably Hound, but that likely isn't the case.

A different version of Widow Maker was created by Vitaly Bulgarov, which represented a far more alien design where she felt less like a standard Decepticon and more like an upgraded Quintessa. 

This is one of the many alternate head designs she had, with different lengths for the tips of her head and optional extensions below her head that may be comparable to head strands. Needless to say, these don't appear to have any influence on the KSI Widow figure we ended up with.

The vehicle mode she was supposed to transform into was a McLaren MP4-12C, and it was painted red instead of the orange we end up with for the toy. Certainly a beautiful car, but it was not fully part of the main selection of vehicles Paramount and Hasbro chose for their Transformers cast. Rather, the McLaren, along with an Aston Martin and two Lamborghinis, were privately owned vehicles meant for the Hong Kong shoot instead of deliberate choices for any robots associated with them. That is why they're only shown following Galvatron on the bridge and disappear in place of the KSI Sentries, Bosses, Junkheap, and Two-Head.

With that history lesson covered, here we have KSI Widow in her vehicle mode. And in a twist of irony where Hasbro can't get a Ferrari license for a final cut character like Dino, we get an official McLaren MP4-12C! It is cast in an orange shade rather than the proper red we saw in the vehicle prop and concept art though I can theorize this is due to Hasbro wanting to distinguish her from Stinger. Thankfully, it is a somewhat metallic shade and doesn't look too cheap, nor does it wash out any of the details. I also love that we have some black paint apps to break up the orange in the alternate mode; even using metallic paint for the headlights is an added bonus without using any parts of the sprue. The only discrepancy I can find would be the orange paint used on the windows, which are distracting yet thankfully this isn't an issue found on the rooftop.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here we have KSI Widow next to Stinger, who may be inspired by Bumblebee yet was also influenced by the scrapped fembot. These two sleek and stylish alternate modes are always a treat to have as part of the AOE Decepticon line-up. While it may not be as iconic or lacking in personality compared to the prior representations of the Movie Decepticons, at least they served as a reminder of why humanity should not create a man-made Transformer, especially using the head of Megatron for any data.

Transforming KSI Widow is a genuine surprise when you consider how she not only uses a similar shoulder design to what Stinger has, but we also have the roof and rear of the altmode folding into itself like with the PRID Vehicon figure we had over a decade ago! While it results in her legs being bulky and her arms kind of small when compared to the rest of the body, there is so much a Deluxe based on a Movie design can do. After all, it's still better effort than Devastation Prime and the two Deluxe Constructions. The resulting robot mode ends up having less of a backpack than most Deluxes in the line, unlike the many Movie Bumblebees we've had since Studio Series began. In fact, I wish ROTB Mirage had a cleaner design like this than what his figure ended up with. I mean, sure, some will complain about the bulky legs or the kibble chunk on the thighs, but the way it manages to be reasonably close to the concept art while having the Deluxe restraints is highly commendable. And as a bonus for her lack of back kibble, we get to see a bit of the dreads or hair locks behind her head. They almost seen to belong to a scrapped design element for her tail or whip, but we'll cover that later.

Her head sculpt appears to be an amalgamation of the designs we previously looked at, as the face doesn't quite match any of them and instead appears more robotic and alien instead of having that human look to her. Her articulation consists of ball joints for the neck, shoulders, and hips, swivels for the biceps and thighs, and hinges for the elbows and knees. The weapons she comes with clip onto her forearms, and while those cleverly integrate with her forearms via clips instead of pegs, I have to admit I'd love to see her come with a chain whip. Weirdly, it was mentioned in the listings despite being a nonexistent accessory, though it could have been scrapped during development due to any lack of weapon storage options. Her guns can thankfully under the door wings and fit decently well! They also store inside the vehicle mode from within the legs. 

Here we have her along with Stinger and Galvatron from the Studio Series line, with the former being made early on in the line and the latter in-between their releases. You can see some of the slight influence Stinger took from the scrapped KSW Widow design while also having more stylized versions of Bumblebee's own character model to represent his aesthetic evolution from the classic trilogy to AOE at least. Honestly, it feels great to see Hasbro acknowledge there can still be ways to make Studio Series rep to a nearly complete cast of robots with the Concept Art series. While many would scoff at her and say "erm she is as valuable as a glup shitton ☝️🤓" and then beg Hasbro to do more G1 characters than necessary, I think she could easily be a Top 10 or maybe even Top 5 figure in a list made by less biased fans. Stay tuned for my Studio Series 2025 ranking list to see where she's placed amongst her peers! Until then, I recommend you get her to show we could use more scrapped characters like ROTB Transit, TLK Dragon Megatron, DOTM Hot Rod, and ROTF Springer. Hell, I'd take updated versions of 2007 Wreckage and ROTF Breakaway just so we can have new versions of characters that were scrapped yet did have toys made for them; I'd argue they could hold up fine for Studio Series provided we get some retooling to make their sculpted details sharper.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐