Hasbro's Xevoz: Wave 4 —Thunder Shaman
by Mr. Stinkhead

Click here to skip to the banana boat load of pics.

We're all nervously nibbling our collective twist-tie blistered nails waiting for Wave 4 to hit shelves. The fate of the Xevoz line is not that promising, and retailers across the nation are stuck with peg after peg of Wave 1 and 2 figures. When I saw the images of Wave 4 figures, my jaw hit the floor. A monkey! I love monkeys. Wait I need to go back and italicize that, I love monkeys. The entire run of Wave 4 figures hasn't arrived yet, but Thunder Shaman has started to appear places. James at Imagination Station was gracious enough to slip me this one to check out. I recommend contacting them to get your own set, because as of right now, your local store isn't getting them.

Overall
Thunder Shaman is a beautiful figure, I'll attempt to put my embarrassingly unhealthy love of monkeys aside to give you a fair and balanced review. We'll see if that sticks. He's big, he's in the league of Crypt Curse. He's got a neck post like Transcorcher, in that it's like a light switch with a ball joint at the end. This gives a great range of movement. He also comes with a big load of accessories, weapons, armor and extra heads.

Articulated Hands
The first thing you'll notice from pics and packaging are the jointed fingers. That's right, his three fingers, and thumb are all ball joints. Having large gorilla hands makes sense that he'd have oversized hands, allowing for the extra joints. I felt I could make open palm and fists easily, and they looked pretty good either way. I also like how there's a groove in the palm that will hold his (and most others') accessories without relying on a closed fist. These hands would not work on say Skull Jack or the Omega Guard, they would look ridiculous. But on an oversized gorilla, they're perfect. I'd love to see this on Wave 5's robot....

Monkey Feet
I'll segue here straight to the feet. These are by far my favorite Xevoz feet yet. They look perfect from the top and sides. Underneath, they have a similar "holding" groove so his feet could grasp a weapon like a real monkey. Ever seen those weapon-wielding primates at the zoo? The ones with ninja throwing stars are the most lethal, so look out. Without revealing my secret foot fetish, I'll tell you they're beautiful. They're functional (as you can see I was able to balance Thunder in multiple one-legged poses) but also great looking. Muy bien.

Weapons and Accessories
Man oh man did they stock me up with weapons and crap. I gotta mention his sweet weapons rack for his back. Most times I notice a rack, it's not on someone's back. [Ed note:...knock it off] He's got this great comb type thing that can hold all of his weapons. I wish all my other Xevoz would be able to stow their not-in use weapons. Sledge Trooper kinda of does, but I prefer using his communications backpack. Anyway... this is a great feature. He's got a ceremonious looking staff with two hanging skull piles. These can be detached for some great looking clubs. Head bangers if you will. [Ed note:that was awful]. He's got a sword, a spear, and a boomerang looking thing. He also has some great tiki-themed armor. He looks good with it on or off of him. I absolutely love the large tiki mask that can plugged in his chest. You really should buy the figure based on this accessory alone. His drain attack prop is a banana peel. Ok ok, my super-favorite accessories are the alternate heads. One is a chimp face with a real red fez! The other is a mandrill with a hinged jaw. Wonderful!

What I Don't Like, or The Action Feature
Back in Wave 3, Hasbro started inserting action features into some of the larger features. Crypt Curse has a hurricane attack that spins his torso, and Transcorcher has an arm slamming action. These two additions did not take away from the overall aesthetics or poseability of the piece, but actually added to the play value. Honestly, on Thunder Shaman, it's not awful, but I'd just as rather it wasn't there. It's not a deal breaker, this is still by far one of the best Xevoz, but his action feature does get in the way a little bit. His forearms are both telescoping. Press the wrist piece into the bulk of the forearm until it locks into place. Tap the tuft of fur near the elbow, and it's spring loaded shaft juts out. They call this Thunder Punch, I call it a minor pain in the monkey pants. That's a silly word. Anyway, the hollowness of the arms kind of makes it feel less robust than other Xevoz, and it affected my photo shoot in that they were popping to the extended position with the slightest tap. Again, this isn't a deal breaker. It's just something I would have handled differently.

Final Verdict
I fully recommend this figure. He's one of my favorites right now. Hell, he's one of my favorite toys right now, and I have a lot of toys (so there... nyah!) If this is the only taste we're getting of Wave 4 for awhile, then consider me satiated [Ed note: but not inebriated]. I'm satisfied, but as anxious as ever for the rest of the figures.

You Can Win This Guy For Free
Right now, MillionairePlayboy.com and the Xevolution message board are attempting to change the world with our Save The Xevoz campaign. Go out and pick up some of the peg warming Xevoz, build a mega cool custom. You can mix pieces, paint, sculpt, photoshop, simply build an army, whatever. Snap some pics and send em in before November 20th. We'll hold an open vote and the winner will get a whole host of prizes, including a brand new, unopened Thunder Shaman, thanks again to James from Imagination Station for supporting the cause. Yes, we know we can't change the world, but we can help the retailers put out Wave 3 and 4. Also remember Toys for Tots is collecting toys for less fortunate kids now until the holidays. So pick up some lonely Xevoz and pitch them in the TFT box. You'll make someone's day.

Alright, for the time being, the best place to get this figure is Imagination Station. Call 1-888-305-2301 and ask for James. They have a bunch of other Xevoz too, so you can round out your collection a little bit. Tell em Stinkhead sent you.

Check out our extensive Xevoz Coverage, including a break down of each figure from each wave, some cool customs we found, and some more links to visit.

All figure likenesses, names and properties are copyright Hasbro. All photographs are ©2004 MillionairePlayboy.com.