The Legends Return!

First off, I hope everyone is having (or has had) a great Holiday season! Mine was very good - got to spend lots of time with family and friends and of course my traditional X-Mas bottle of  Drambuie .... (mmm...sweet golden liquor...). Warmest wishes to everyone who helped make this a great winter holiday (you'll note I'm being non-denominational here), May the Force be with you, one and all..

And now back to the expected nerdy weirdness...

I've accquired a few new action figures lately, as well as having parted with a few old favorites. Power Man is gone, as well as Kingpin, both casualties of the recent Central Canada Comic Con this last October. (You've read all about that here already, right?) Theirs was an acceptable loss, since each went for a good price, and I brought home this awesome replacement:

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Marvel Legends

Elektra / Ronin

Two-Pack

I've never really followed the stories of these two characters, and I don't really know much about them, but I'll share what little info I've got on them. Of course, I could link you to their respective Wikipedia pages or their entries on Marvel.com, but nothing is more fun than reading a review by someone who doesn't know jack, am I right?



- Elektra is a former love interest of Daredevil. Where their relationship stands at this point, I don't know or care.

- Elektra first appeared in Daredevil #168, was killed by Bullseye in Daredevil #181. Since then, I'm sure that Marvel's writers and artists have resurrected/re-killed/re-resurrected her a bunch of times. (Comics do that a lot, eh?)

- Ronin is actually a bunch of characters who all apparently look the same and kill people with swords & nunchuks. This version is alias Clint Barton, better known as Hawkeye (the archer, longtime Avenger). Although I haven't been current with Marvel books lately, I've read that Ronin was at one time a deaf girl and also one of Moon Knight's multiple personalities.

Like I said, I'm not really a fan of these characters, but I couldn't pass up this deal. I wanted the Elektra figure so I could have another female in my collection. She's way better than the mostly non-poseable Wonder Woman that I have, and comes with all the cool stuff you see in the package above. I like that she can hold a sword as well as her trademark sais, but why they gave her an extra head with a different hairstyle is beyond me. Ronin is a pretty cool-looking figure too, complete with a katana and a pair of nunchuks (which I can't seem to remove from his left hand without breaking his arm). He's pretty much your standard ninja, and I definitely needed to get one of those.

These two were purchased new in the package, which is rare for a cheap-ass like me. As you've already seen in Everyday Heroes, there's a boatload of comedic potential with these two, and I'm very happy with them. 

So, as a note to Power Man and the Kingpin:

So long, suckas!!

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Marvel Legends

Ghost Rider

(Series 7)

This guy was on my list of 'Holy Grail' action figures - the most desireable and hardest to find characters; a list that also includes The Juggernaut (Ser. 6), Tigra, Savage She-Hulk, Vindicator, Brown Suit Wolverine and The Silver Surfer (see below). There have been a few Ghost Rider figures in the ML line, but this is the one I wanted most. I mean, check out those flames!!

The sculpt of this figure is amazing if you ask me... I love the detail of the skull and neck, and the realistic-looking leather riding outfit. His motorcycle looks pretty good and stands well on the shelf. You can remove the front shield portion of the bike so it looks more like a bad-ass chopper. I bought this figure mint in the package from a seller on Ebay, and though I considered keeping it this way to retain its value, I think I lasted a whole 5 minutes before I ripped the box open. Ghost Rider is just way too cool to be stuck in the package.

Here's some facts about the character:

-Real name: Johnny Blaze - motorcycle stuntman. First appeared in Marvel Spotlight #5 (1972).

-Made a deal with the Devil to save the life of his adopted father who was dying from cancer. He ended up dying in a motorcycle accident immediately after he was declared cancer-free, and Johnny was still indebted to Satan. (Just goes to show ya....)

-Transforms to the Ghost Rider when evil is present.

-Fights for the innocent and punishes the wicked.

- Was once a member of the ill-fated (and rapidly cancelled) super-team known as The Champions, which also included the Black Widow, Iceman, the Angel and Hercules.

-Was (horribly) portrayed in the (half-assed) 2007 film by Nicolas Cage. I've just read that there is a sequel scheduled for release in 2012, for reasons that are beyond my understanding...

- Has often worked with Marvel heavyweights like Spider-Man and the Thing (Marvel Team-Up and Marvel Two-In-One, respectively).

There's lots more history and stories about him, but basically, he's a flaming skeleton on a motorcycle - and that's about all you really need to know. 

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Marvel Legends

Silver Surfer

(Series 5)

w/Howard the Duck

What these two guys are doing together, I don't know. One is the cosmically-powered sentinel of the spaceways and a former herald of Galactus; the other is a three foot anthropomorphic waterfowl. As far as I can recall, the Silver Surfer and Howard never appeared together. The toymakers decided to package them together for some reason, but the Silver Surfer packaged without Howard the Duck (and otherwise exactly the same) is actually worth a lot more. I really only wanted SS anyway, but when I ordered him loose, he still came with the Duck.

- Silver Surfer first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (1966) and has been going strong in Marvel Comics ever since, having had at least 3 ongoing self-titled series. Often teams up with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, and was once a member of the Defenders along with Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Hulk and Dr. Strange.

- Howard the Duck first appeared in Adventure into Fear #19 (1973), alongside the Man-Thing. Howard himself is not at all fearsome in any way, but he can sometimes be dreadfully un-funny.

- The Silver Surfer has battled Thor, the Hulk, Spider-Man and many other Marvel characters, but is for the most part a good guy - just misunderstood.

- Howard the Duck has battled no one in particular. I don't think I've ever seen him throw a punch. Most of his comics are concerned with political and societal disapproval, and there's not a lot of action.

- The Silver Surfer travels the universe on his Cosmic Surfboard.

- Howard the Duck lives in Cleaveland.

As you can see, these two are as different as night and day, and have no business being together. I guess that they really wanted to make a Howard the Duck Marvel Legends figure and couldn't really sell him on his own. I think he would have been better suited as a sidekick for the Man-Thing, since they've at least been in comics together. Either that, or they should've packaged him with a figure of Beverly Switzer, his longtime human female companion. His actual figure is a bit disappointing too - his feet aren't very stable and he falls over all the time. His beak is stuck wide open, and he doesn't come with his trademark cigar (but then again, you don't see a lot of toys with tobacco-related accessories). Actually, since he's in the proper scale, Howard the Duck looks kind of cool next to the other Marvel Legends figures that I have, and I have to admit that he does look pretty funny riding Ghost Rider's bike.

The Silver Surfer rocks. He comes with a cool stand and his feet are actually magnetized so he sticks to the metal on his board. He's well sculpted and painted, but I wish he had poseable fingers like some of the later figures, such as Spider-Man, Power Man and Moon Knight. Still, he's pretty awesome.

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I'm sure you'll see all of these figures in on this blog in the near future. I've also just recently got a 6" Superman figure as well, but since he's just a lowly DC character and not from the Marvel Legends line, he's not worthy of being in this blog entry. (Calm down DC fans, I'm only kidding...)

Happy New Year, and

May the Force be with you...