Marvel
Toys' Legendary Comic Book Heroes PITT Series
with Mr. Stinkhead
Marvel Toys, formerly known as Toy Biz, is applying their much celebrated Marvel Legends body, known for their articulation (including ankles and sometimes fingers) and their infamous Build-A-Figure campaigns (affectionately called BAF) to some strong independent comic heroes. The Legendary Comic Book Heroes shines its spotlight on Judge Dredd, Madman, the Savage Dragon, Witchblade, Super Patriot, and Ripclaw. The gargantuan (and super-articulated) PITT can be assembled once you purchase each of the six figures.
Let me tell you about the figures I especially enjoyed, first. I really got into the Image/independent comic scene in the early nineties. I own Spawn #1, I bought the holofoil embossed ShadowHawk, I would generally check out the first run of any title that caught my eye. It began with tracking down black and white early issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So when we got to see these heroes at Toy Fair a few months ago, I was intrigued. I couldn't keep my eyes off that PITT, but I'll get to him in a minute.
Ripclaw
I have the original Cyberforce comics that Ripclaw
came from. It was hard differentiating him from Wolverine
at first. But after Rob Liefeld's Bedrock, er Badrock,
we were all on our guard. So here is the Ripclaw action
figure. The head sculpt is dead on. Between the pupilless eyes
and flowing hair, I'm pretty pleased. You may know that
Ripclaw has sharpened blades instead of fingers, on his
figure, each one is independently articulated. This allows
for some great poses. I also like how there is an additional
hinge between his ribcage and his shoulders, that allows
for some additional poses. I also like the texture added
to his sculpt and paint job. Kudos to Marvel Toys for really
paying attention to each individual character when deciding
the paint applications and texturing. My only complaint
on this figure is that the legs appear a little on the slim
side. I think Ripclaw would need hulking legs to support
the sheer power his arms exert and the over-the-top styling
his face has. Small complaint, I still like this figure.
SuperPatriot I don't know if I'm more mystified by the success of Super Patriot's design or the fact that I (yeeeessss, moi) is mystified by his design. If you told me that there's a cool book I gotta read staring a cyborg wearing an American Flag, I'd probably curl my lip at you and "put it on my list." But I really liked the Super Patriot comics (I have the first couple issues of this too), I loved how Cory Walker drew robotics, and I really like how Marvel Toys translated those illustrations into plastic. The rifle arms capture the artist's look perfectly. When I shot his profile, it looks just like a frame from the pages of the comic. There's a maskless variant available, and I really appreciate how Marvel Toys provided an alternate arm on the variant, so it's not simply a head swap. I think this is my favorite figure of the bunch for capturing the true look of the character from the comics. I wouldn't change a thing.
Savage Dragon
I love the Dragon. I have the first couple of Erik Larsen's
issues (my favorite is that TPB of the first four or five
however) yet had never picked up a Dragon figure in the
past. There is the white wife-beater shirt and the shirtless
variant. I kind of wish Marvel Toys did a police uniform
variant instead, but this is cool. The face is perfect,
it looks perfect from any angle. The cheekbones, longing
eyes, and dynamic fin are pulled off perfectly. I wish the
legs were a little thicker, however it kind of matches the
bigger from top down look that the Dragon possesses, so
that's more of the original character's design and not Marvel
Toys' decision. I like the additional ankle articulation,
and the fingers are nice. There are two knuckle joints per
finger! I wish I could move the shoulders/arms just a little
bit to do my favorite fist-in-hand-across-the-chest-tough-guy
look, but what can you do? This is a great Savage Dragon
action figure.
Madman I have never read Allred's Madman comics, so I'm not too up on his mythos, this is a very clean execution however. I familiar with his style, and previous action figures, and this is really nice. If you told me 5 years ago that you could stroll into your neighborhood Wal*Mart and buy a Madman figure, I'd tell you that you were mad, man. (Ouch... I just had a baby and am operating on no sleep, cut me some slack here). The eyes are perfect, and that's one thing that would be easy to screw up, but leave it to Marvel Toys to nail it perfectly. He comes with his pistol. There will be a variant of Madman available in the Monkey Man wave of LCBH.
Witchblade
I only ever bought an issue or two of Witchblade when it
came out. I loved the design of the character (duh), but
never got into the story. This figure looks pretty good.
It's extremely hard to pull off a good looking female form
as action figure, you either have smooth curves or articulation.
This toy is highly articulated, yet still maintains a decent
looking female figure. I think we have yet to see the most
perfect execution, and when we do, hopefully I'll be there
to enjoy it. The hair and micro details in her symbiotic
armor look fantastic.
Judge Dredd The Judge is from a British comic book 2000 AD. I'm not a fan of the character (or that movie, blecch), but this figure does a decent job of bringing Dredd to life. The black wash on his armor makes the knee pads look great. I like that his pistols holster nicely to his person (there's also a blade in his left boot.) I thought the helmet would come off, but alas it does not. If you like the Dredd, this is a great action figure. The articulation is great, and the figure really brings to life the essence of the character.
PITT Oh jeez. This... is... amazing. I got hooked on the BAF phenomenon way back with the first one, the X-Men Sentinel. It's my favorite robot action figure ever. But seriously, Marvel Toys outdid themselves with this 10" PITT figure. He's awesome. (drag that out over 4 syllables to get the full effect). His size is massive. His arms and legs are bigger and hulkier than any figure I've ever owned. In sheer size, this figure would kick Monev the Gale's shiny purple ass. (I don't know how well he'd stand up to the twin gattling guns, but that's a different article).
The finger claws are articulated. These are about the best articulated hands I've ever seen. Each finger has two knuckle joints. Though the thumbs are in place, it looks natural if the fingers are a fist or splayed. Aside from the size, this is the feature people will be writing home about. Check out his skin, it has a great texture to it. Marvel Toys went all out sculpting areas that you won't normally see (the chains go under his leather jacket) and there's dangling pad locks. It's more expensive to have separate pieces instead of just one chunk of rubber, and I don't think it would have taken away from my enjoyment if it didn't have that, but it does and that's what makes it so badass. Even if you're simply a fan of action figures (and not PITT in particular) then you really should add this one to your collection.
I haven't had too much problem getting him to stand. The hinged toes are nice. There is a nice range of poses you can get, but his size is a little limiting. But still, it's pretty impressive in any pose. You also get a non-articulated Timmy to round out the set. One thing I would have done, if I worked for Marvel Toys, would be to include the Timmy figure with one of the chase variants, instead of getting two left arms. I am thinking of making a PITT sinking in a pit diorama with my left over arm and leg pieces. Help me Iron-Cow, you're my only hope.
Overall This is a great series. I'm currently leaning towards thinking PITT is a better BAF than the Sentinel. This really is a sweet figure, and I'll say it's worth finding each of the figures to complete PITT. (In the interest of full disclosure, these figures were provided to us for review— but still!) I think Marvel Toys really nailed it with these fingers. They're functional, but the hinges don't really detract from the overall look. The different textures used really show a love for the essence of PITT. Oooh, that sounds like a new Britney Spears perfume.
The next series, featuring a 10" Monkey Man BAF, will include the 6: Star, Stryker, Ann O'Brien, Marv, Judge Death and Darkness. There will be variants of Judge Death, Ann O'Brien, and Madman.
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