John Ary here with a quick look at a few action figure lines that are making headlines this week... As always click on the photos for an embiggened version and for more pics follow the pre-order links...
New Masters of the Universe Classics Releases from Mattel
Matty Collector made three big Masters of the Universe Classics announcements last weekend at New York Comic Con. 1) Everyone’s least favorite version of He-man will get a new figure. “New Adventures” He-Man will come with his sword, shield and a new space Bandelier armor. He will represent the third quarter 2013 variant figure. 2) The only African-American Master of the Universe will make his debut in the Classics line. Clamp Champ will ship as the July 2013 figure of the month with new armor and his clamp weapon. 3) Pre-orders are underway for the new Castle Grayskull. If the set reaches its target goal of pre-orders it will ship in late 2013. The plans for the fortress are still being finalized, but Matty is hoping the $250 price tag won’t be too much to dissuade He-Man fans from ordering it.
Play Arts Kai Batman and Robin from Square Enix
Frank Miller's version of Batman from The Dark Knight Returns and an Arkham City version of Robin are the latest additions to the Play Arts Kai line of action figures. Both figures feature 26 points of articulation, an interchangeable head and hands and their signature weapon accessories. They will arrive in February or you can pre-order Batman here and Robin here.
Team Fortress 2 from NECA
All the cool kids call it TF2. The free-to-play sequel to Valve’s Team Fortress multiplayer class-based shooter will soon have its own line of action figures courtesy of NECA. Each figure features 25 points of articulation, their signature weapons from the game and a standing height of 6.5 inches. They will release in February or you can pre-order Pyro and Demoman.
Jumbo Power Droid from Gentle Giant Ltd.
Gentle Giant Ltd. continues its over-sized Star Wars line of figures with this 7.5-inch Power Droid. Based on the original Kenner molds, this fully articulated figure has been faithfully reproduced with the original’s “clicking” leg movement. It will come packaged on a retro blister card with the “21 back” artwork and a resealable plastic outer clam shell. It will waddle its way into toy collections in June or you can pre-order him here.
Realm of the Underworld from Zoloworld
What do you call a toy line that’s inspired by Remco’s knockoff series of muscly Masters of the Universe action figures? Realm of the Underworld is an independent toy series from Zoloworld LLC that features heroic dudes with giant swords and humongous pecks along with evil skeleton warriors. The first wave has recently gone up for pre-order and it includes two different Archfiend Skeleton Minions, an Arcomancer and Hercules.
And finally this week, this 1 minute spec promo for a new line of Superman movie toys has given us some valuable clues as to what we can expect from Zach Snyder's new flick. 1) It tells us which villain Superman will battle. 2) It kind of gives us an idea of the film's costume design. 3) We learn how people from Krypton fight. Apparently Kryptonions don’t engage in melee combat like Earthlings. Instead of throwing punches and kicks, they have giant children hurl their stretchable bodies at their enemies. Hopefully there will a stretchable version of commercial fisherman Clark Kent in wave 2.
Look for this toy line to debut in the Spring.
That's it this week. Be sure to follow my toy blog ArticulationTimes.com on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to the AICN Youtube channel.
