Punker Don came from Big Bad Toy Store in a poly bag. Super7 had a cardboard sleeve wth Punker Don’s face on a manhole cover. I’ve seen this before on Conan the Barbarian figures but also on TMNT Metal Head. Oh yeah. And Cobra B.A.T. and Snake Eyes. And The Worst Black Falcon. I guess I have a lot of Super7 Ultimates! figures at this point. (I haven’t bought one in a while because I just feel that Mythic Legions, etc has been better.)
When you take this sleeve off, you can see Punker Don in a nice blister with TMNT sewer bricks around it. On the back is a bio.
These bricks are so nice looking…I can’t help but repurpose them.
FIGURE REVIEW
Here’s what you get in the package:
Punker Don figure
Keytar
Mic with stand
Spiked Goggle mohawk head
Purple Spiked hairdo head
six alternate hands of pointing, punching, and open varieties. The left has improvised brass knuckles.
Punk-Funk Flute Bo Staff
Record
Tuning Fork
Chain (made of rubber)
also notable, he is wearing a removable necklace with a turtle head charm. This has a metal chain.
He is sculpted very nice, with every wrinkle in the bo staff, rip in the jeans, zipper in the jacket etc. But the real story is the paint. Wow! He feels so 1990’s for real! We would call this “neon.” Above I have him pictured wearing the spiked goggles head about to play that flute instrument. Notice how he is leaning on his left leg…this is because right out of the box as I checked his articulation, it seemed like the right knee peg was going to snap right off. This is a pretty big limitation for articulating him.
But wow! I don’t remember if I had this as a child or not. Remember, by the time TMNT was big, I was around 11 or 12 years old. And even then I couldn’t really let He-Man go. I did (and still do!) like the Ninja Turtles, but there was an element of resentment there also. This didn’t stop me from getting the cool toys and watching the show. Back to “did I have it?” I know we had Basketball Mike and Spaceman Raph. Definitely Samurai Leo. I just don’t remember. I do know that Donatello was and is my favorite, so if I saw this I likely DID get it. But I don’t remember it.
ACCESSORIES
Every accessory here is very cool. The record is a stand-in for what would have traditionally been pizza, kind of humor on Super7’s part. The chain feels kind of weak and forgettable. But the bo staff flute is unique and different. And then there’s the keytar. If you remember my review of GI Joe Classified Series Cold Slither then you know that even as a guitar and chorus teacher with degree(s) in music, I haven’t seen many real-life Keytars. I kind of with there was more color on the buttons and switches. Instead we just have this banana yellow casing around the piano keys.
The microphone stand was a real draw for me to get because Cold Slither didn’t come with one…how did that even happen? I like how it has purple wrap around the stand. The base is not removable. You can remove the mic, but it always has the holder attached to it.
What’s up with the tuning fork? You don’t have to play punk rock in tune! (Well…it isn’t the most important thing)
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Sir Uczajk holding a REAL TUNING FORK and Super7 Ultimates! Punker Don holding his plastic tuning fork.
Super7 gave us a variety of hands. Remember, the turtles only have three fingers, so if he is pointing at you…
I have had a lot of fun with this. And that needs to be the key thing. In fact, I am about to review the Party Wallop Transformers crossover thing, and it is also way fun. The Turtles are bringing the fun, is all I am saying.
I award Punker Don a 4/5. Everything about his is spot on. I can add more paint apps to the key tar. Otherwise the paint is wonderful, the sculpt is interesting, it has plenty of accessories, and it is adding so much to the SpartanNerd’s collection. But I have to deduct a point because of that right knee issue.
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
Once again I took a trip to Summerville, SC for a teacher retreat, and decided to look into the Target down there, where I saw two Chronicles figures…Skeletor and Trap Jaw. I like the Skeletor…but the issue is…I have at least five already! Now yesterday they announced Gym Bro Skeletor, and that looks cool…I am waiting on Office Bro Skeletor. That will be amazing! Maybe they will name him Darrel?
But I have wanted the Trap Jaw, AND this was the last one. Trap Jaw had a huge role in the 2026 movie, with at least three big fight scenes and a rivalry with Man-At-Arms. So did the figure turn out as great as expected?
PACKAGING
This is the second Chronicles figure that I have opened with retail packaging, the other is Battle Cat…but I also have the Mattel Creations Chronicles King Grayskull. My point is, this packaging is pretty similar to Masterverse packaging, but a noted difference is the DELUXE articulation mark instead of some kind of number like “30 points of articulation.” It turns out that some figures might just have MORE articulation if you thing about it, but also some might have less. You can see Trap Jaw just fine in the window as well as all that comes with the figure. “Evil & Armed For Combat.” Keep scrolling for more images
Nick Galatzine’s He-Man. Links to 2026 movie review.Another little window in and a full but small image of Trap Jaw from the image on the front.
The back features a photoshop image of Trap Jaw on purple Snake Mountain details. There are little call-outs showing us his action features, which is the interchangeable arms of course. There is cross sell on the bottom featuring Skeletor and Trap Jaw.
When I opened the box, I realized there was this table of contents, but more importantly when you remove the blister…
BOOM! A nice Snake Mountain backdrop!
I don’t rate figures based on their packaging…so here is a rundown of how I will rate Trap Jaw or any other figure since around 2016. I use a five-point scale, each point is listed below:
Sculpt
Paint
Articulation
Accessories
“Feels point”…why did I want this and what does it represent to me? Most figures I buy at least have this! (Otherwise…why did I buy it? But it has come up)
FIGURE REVIEW
Here is what you get in the package…
Trap Jaw figure
alternate left hand
sword arm
hook arm
cannon arm
One of my complaints about the Chronicles line for most of the figures is the lack of accessories. King Grayskull was loaded out, but He-Man only comes with the sword. Evil-lyn only comes with the wizard staff (typically…I don’t have a chronicles Evil Lyn). But here, Trap Jaw has plenty because that is his gimmick, after all!
There is no storage on his belt for the accessories, which is a bummer. Also notable, you can’t interchange the weapons between Chronicles Trap Jaw and New Eternia Trap Jaw. This is a big miss for Mattel. Why limit our fun? NE Trap Jaw’s weapons could go to NE Roboto, NE Hordak, or Revolution Man-of-War.
PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Man-At-Arms riding on Chronicles Battle Cat. He is armed with the Masters of the Universe Classics 200x style arm cannon. Chronicles Trap Jaw is riding on New Eternia Panthor.
The paint is one of the best features…it looks like it came right out of the movie! Most of the paint is glossy, and there is a glossy finish to even the more boring parts like the lower legs.
PICTURED: Chronicles Trap Jaw with one of the prize pieces in my collection, vintage Transformers Shockwave. Both have upgraded their unfortunate arm incidents.
Articulation…it feels like a different toyline actually…remember the old Halo figures that were 4-6 inch scale? The joints move similar to those. Now at first the lower right boot-cut wouldn’t work, but over time of me posing him and taking photos, this loosened up. So it doesn’t count as what I call a “stupid problem.”
ACCESSORIES
If they didn’t include accessories, would Trap Jaw be who he is? NOPE. Luckily they did!
PICTURED: Chronicles King Grayskull and Trap Jaw.
The hook is my favorite attachment. I thought it an odd choice that this was used the most in the movie, considering that Karg was also in the movie and using a hook hand. (I have always felt that Karg was a stand-in for Trap Jaw in the 1987 movie…budget limitations. Just the same I am glad they included Karg in the 2026 movie. Figure please)! This hook became the signature move for Trap Jaw in the movie, and it looks great!
In the picture above, where Trap Jaw is about to lose to Ram Man, he has caught Mekanek’s head with his open hand and is about to use his sword arm to do some chopping. But…Ram Man is going to use Mortal Kombat’s Raiden move on him.
The accessories are great, but they didn’t include the classic “gripper arm” from the vintage toy or the Filmation show. However…that didn’t appear in the 2026 film either. The only thing that bugs me about the accessories is that they aren’t swappable with the Masterverse action features that are similar. I should note that the hand is also not compatible with Masterverse…it has a socket in the hand with a peg on the figure, but Masterverse figures had it the other way around. The accessories are painted the same glossy gray that the boots are. They could have more paint applied, but they also look like they look in the movie so that passes my test. I DO wish there were loops on his belt. (But once again, not in the movie).
PICTURED: A semi-recreation of the movie scene where He-Man rips Trap Jaw’s arm off and uses it as a blaster. This is Kitbash Masterverse Battle Armor He-Man (with a beard!), Kitbash Classics/Revelation Teela, New Eternia Man-At-Arms and Roboto, fighting against the disarmed Chronicles Trap Jaw and the New Eternia Terror Claws Skeletor.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHRONICLES TRAP JAW
He gets a 5/5. I really can’t take any points off. I do think there are ways that Mattel could have made him better…belt loops…claw arm…interchangeability with similar figures. But the sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and feels point are all there for the SpartanNerd! And he looks great with other bounty hunters!
I have done a YouTube review of this, and it has been up for awhile. You can find it here!
I don’t know how…I guess things got away from me during the end-of-the-school-year concert season…but I never did a proper SpartanNerd.com written review of Névé! (Forgive me…it is pretty hard to type out her name. Also I don’t know how to say it. So sometimes, I am going to do Ne’ve’ instead of the French or whatever is going on there sometimes!)
I’ve had her for a little while, and she has become one of my absolute favorites! Keep reading to see why!
PACKAGING
I purchased this at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC. I was looking for … I wasn’t sure…that new Mythic Legions bear was a possibility. But when I saw her, I knew this was what I wanted! (Notable, today I was there and it was double the price!)
I don’t know…when I saw this, it struck a nerve. I was looking at Alloy. ACTUALLY, I had just purchased the video game Crimson Desert, and she more rightly resembles the Graymanes with that blue warpaint. You can see all that you get in the package clearly.
I really need a new iPhone. There is a bio on the side that basically reads that she is kind of an outcast. She is a frost giant, actually, which begs the question, is that blue warpaint a scar or an injury…does she have frozen blue blood? Her eyes are also solid blue.
The back shows off the other figures from this wave. I looked very hard at the minotaur guy. There are also a pair of dwarves in this set that I missed…(I thought about getting them but came away with Ne’ve’ instead.). We also have some Oni looking guy riding a black unicorn with war spikes.
WHAT DO YOU GET IN THE PACKAGE?
Névé figure
Shield with a bear emblem
Alternate helmeted knight head with metal “horns”
Double-headed battle axe
a medallion(?)
Sword
Pair of alternate hands
shoulder pauldrons
Arrows with different colored fletching (in the plastic still so I didn’t lose them)
Not a bad load out, really.
FIGURE REVIEW
This is a “1.0” female Mythic Legions figure. In other words, she has the same kind of parts and build as the first waves that came out. Most female figures from the past couple of years are of the 2.0 type, with a slimmer build. I only became aware of the differences when I got the Figura Obscura Father Christmas. Beneath his robes is a 2.0 supposedly male knight’s build. (mostly unpainted at that). Later I would get the Undead of Vikenfell skeleton figure, who shared some of those parts, and then I got the 2025 SpartanNerd figure of the year, which was Belualyth the Beastmaster. Essentially a modern lady. AND last week I reviewed the Cosmic Legions Cosmic Ladies. Check that out HERE.
Anyway, my point is, Névé is a bit heftier than some of the more recent ladies. But that fits her MO as a Frost Giant I suppose.
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Névé, Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela (kit bash), MASTERVERSE New Eternia Evil-Lyn, and Masters of the Universe Origins Sharella. Névé feels a little more substantial than any of these.PICTURED: Mythic Legions Névé fights against Demistros and a zombie build from the Mythic Legions Undead Builder Pack. Demistros (Not technically a Mythic Legions) is sporting one of the recent skull heads from a head pack, this one with vampire teeth.
Névé is super articulated, as are most Mythic Legions. Does that mean she balances well? there are things about her that are top heavy. Her hair is pretty substantial, and those pauldrons hinder her articulation so that her arms can’t help her balance. But it isn’t terrible, just something to keep in mind.
Her sculpt and paint are great as always, and I love the blue and gray details over her more barbaric pieces. She doesn’t seem to be old, but she has gray hair like a senior citizen. Maybe an artifact of being a frost giant? The pauldrons are one of the best colors…it is kind of a silver with a purple hue. This color reminds me of Micro Machines…long ago in the early 1990’s I had the set that changes colors in the sun. One of them was a jetliner in this exact same color. To me, one of the draws to getting this figure was the helmet, which is also in this brilliant color. And the pauldrons look best with the helmet, even if the articulation is compromised.
I feel that Névé is at her best without the knight armor. But we kind of have two characters sort of don’t we. And that is one reason why this is a terrific Mythic Legions figure.
I keep talking about those pauldrons and the helmet. The problem with pauldrons like this in Mythic Legions is they are so dumb to get on the shoulders…and the point of them is just that. Shoulder armor. You have to peg them into holes on her back that every Horsemen figure has. And it is such a tight fit. Sometimes I’ve had to use a hairdryer or run hot water to get it to work. Luckily this line isn’t for kids. They would be very frustrated, and parents likely would be too. Other than this problem, I like how they kind of have that “Bowser shell” look to them. That helmet is the exact same helmet we have a few times over, but this time with different side-horns. And of course this is the only one in that silver-purple color.
The next big and obvious accessory is the shield. This is the first time I have this round shield. It works like other Mythic Legions shields in that you could swap the bear emblem out from the middle. I won’t be doing that, but I could with the deer from the Xylernian Guard or the thing from Cosmic Legions Wal-torr the Mad (both would look dumb). What is new tech, though is that there are holes in the shield to install arrows! YES! At first I thought I must have been cheated a bow. But then I realized…that was what the arrows were for!
The double headed axe is nicely detailed, and you can store it or the sword on a loop that is on her belt. The belt has nice details, with an animal skull as the belt buckle. The sword, I know I’m bringing it up again, but it looks like it is a part of the Abyss in Crimson Desert. Also, the Masters of the Universe movie trailer has been showing some interior of Grayskull, and this sword looks like it could belong there. The axe has a sculpted “wooden” handle, with flat-topped curved-under heads. The rope is painted well.
I know these figures cost a little more than other lines (Masterverse, GI Joe Classified Series, Super7 Ultimates), but the Horsemen really are outclassing everyone else, for really not that much more. And the fact that this is a line of “generic” characters, it is like they are really rubbing it in to Hasbro and Mattel maybe for not contracting them anymore.
Oh yeah…I keep almost forgetting. Névé came with a medallion. This was bent in the package. It is a circle with a cross on it, and looks very Viking-ish. I have no idea what this is about. I usually hang it from her belt. It looks good, and I think it is not supposed to be bent or curled, so I’ve tried to flatten it out, but it keeps reverting.
ADDENDUM
This time it has been awhile since I first did the review, and I have some additional “BOOM!” pictures
PICTURED: All Mythic Legions: Sir Godfrey, Sir Uczajk, and Névé. Some of the best looking knights. BOOM!PICTURED: Masterverse 1987 Masters of the Universe Movie figures, Chronicles 2026 Master of the Universe Movie Battle Cat, who is ridden by Mythic Legions Névé. Also notice the vintage storybooks, and also the popcorn bag I purchased when I saw The Mandalorian and Grogu. Névé has the blonde head from the Cosmic Ladies heads pack. BOOM!
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MYTHIC LEGIONS NE’VE’
I give my ratings based on sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and “the feels.” It is excellent in all areas except for articulation. The figure has great articulation…but when you put the pauldrons on you lose the range of motion in the arms. BUT also with the default white-haired head, those braids are just too awesome for her to be able to turn her head. (Same with the blonde head pictured above)
This figure is solid awesome otherwise. It was a moment when you didn’t know you needed something until you saw it. It was that kind of thing. She looks great with Masters of the Universe. I kind of chose skeletons as my faction to collect in Mythic Legions, but knights are turning out to be a close second place.
I am giving Ne’ve’ a 4/5 rating, taking a point only because of that situationally limited articulation. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
(Hasbro just released a Studio Series Thundercracker that is Voyager Class. No one out there reading this should get confused…the one I am reviewing is an old toy from 2015).Link to Hasbro Pulse …like they need it.
This is an old toy. By my calculation, maybe 11 years old? But I have seen a few of them on shelves at different toy stores, with different asking prices. I picked up mine at Toy Federation in Greer for $50. I always preferred him to Star Scream simply because Star Scream kind of got on my nerves trying to overthrow Megatron. And kind of a whiny voice and all of that. Yes…eventually I realized it was the same voice as Cobra Commander. Just the same, Thundercracker was a more likable guy to me. And I also preferred the blue color scheme.
As a kid I didn’t have Thundercracker…in fact we had no large Transformers that were popular characters. So why Thundercracker, why now? He is on my mind because of the Energon Universe. He is making himself a main character in that story, switching sides (link to Reddit) realizing most of the Decepticons are really in it just to enjoy the violence. Thundercracker has some respect for human lives, and that makes him different than say … Star Scream, who calls us humans “squishes.” Or Shockwave who really doesn’t respect anyone.
Also, though I have a desire to collect these Leader Class size modern Transformers, and the Combiner Wars is apparently the line where they began making in the way they make them now. So how does he hold up?
PACKAGING
Thundercracker came in this nice window box packaging, where you can see everything in the box very well. One thing of note, there are Autobot symbols all around this box, and this might have dissuaded someone like the SpartanNerd from looking at it, knowing I was looking for a Deception. (My preference, all but a few exceptions…Optimus Prime…etc 🙂 )
I need to remember to look at these boxes that have an Autobot in a comet. Maybe I am more of a Decepticon guy, but Hasbro must believe that only Autobots can sell.
The back shows us an illustration, and tells us pretty much what we already know about Thundercracker being a Transformer who thrives on fear. And then we have the same “17 steps” kind of graphic that Hasbro still uses to tell us how difficult of a transformer this is.
FIGURE REVIEW
What do you get in the box?
This is everything except for the missile, which I lost to unintentional firing. WE NEED A SAFETY!
Well…the thing is he comes with a ton of guns! Most of them are attached to him. But there is one spring-loaded missile launcher. Otherwise you have the impressive and tall Thundercracker in his Leader Class glory. OK. An instruction book also that isn’t that great.
So what about it? Well he stands very well. There are some parts that seem looser than I am used to seeing on new toys. For instance he has a bit of a bobble head. On the subject of his head, the face sculpt looks like Thundercracker, and he has light-piping to make his eyes glow, though it is sadly ineffective. (I would prefer battery powered lights, which the Heatboys Donatello proves can be done).
But his main joints are clicky and work very well. This Transformer hasn’t fallen down on me yet, and I have had him for about three weeks. I especially like the ratchet joints in his knees and in his upper leg area, and he also has clicky shoulders and elbows. There is no wrist articulation, and actually very little you can do with the feet. But they hold the figure up very well. The waist area ties The whole thing together and is an unchanging point for the transformation.
He looks good from behind too, with only the front end of the jet with the cockpit and nosecone visible as a backpack, which s what he is supposed to look like in the first place.
One thing I don’t like, though is that there is no way to attach the guns to his upper arms, which would be accurate to the G1 cartoon. And why not? Hasbro missed an opportunity there…speaking of…
ACCESSORIES
Thundercracker has SEVEN guns. That’s a bunch! The two big and obvious blue cannons, the two machine gun types, the missile launcher that he can hold in his hand, and there are two undocumented removable guns on his legs! (It is said that if you remove these you can get more of a show-accurate look)
Now with these you can arrange them in all kinds of ways. You can place them under the wings of the jet however you like. You can combine them into one big weapon sort of like the Power Rangers like to do (the only actual “combiner” kind of feature to this Transformer.) You can attach them to his arms, to his legs, to his wings so many ways.
TRANSFORMATION
It isn’t that difficult, but it does have a quirk. (So far every one I have has such a “quirk.”) Basically you get the arms up and out of the way, pull down the torso, and wrap the legs up behind where his head was. Then you extend the cockpit forward and the wings out. The aforementioned quirk is where the torso connects back to the bottom of the jet. This has to be lined up perfectly or it won’t go.
But to transform him back from his F-15 Eagle Fighter Jet mode, that quirk is the easiest part. There are these tabs that you lift up, and then just press behind in the recess with your fingers. After that this Transformer almost transforms itself.
The accessories integrate right in to the transformation, and you can place the guns however you want. I prefer to have the big blue cannons on the inside and the machine guns on the outside. The instruction indicate putting the missile launcher under the nosecone, something I dislike very much.
FUN WITH THUNDERCRACKER
You can combine all of the weapons together to create a super weapon. And then nobody will be able to steal the coffee!I have a Cybertronian base set up, where Heatboys Donatello and Thundercracker are on display among other technological beings. It seems like Super7 Ultimates! Cobra BAT is always getting busted up.Vintage Shockwave and Shrapnel, along with Studio Series Soundwave with Lazerbeak, and Combiner Wars Thundercracker. Oops, looks like I have Soundwave’s waist twisted backwards. Also, Soundwave is supposed to be Leader Class. But there is a huge size discrepancy. Leader Class should mean pretty much as big as you get without going Titan Class.My vintage Shockwave really is a centerpiece of my entire toy collection.You can put the missile launcher on the other side of Grimlock’s tail. That is the best solution. (sarcastic)
THE SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF COMBINER WARS THUNDERCRACKER
It is pretty good for a 10 or 11 year old toy. I understand that this is a re-use of Jetfire’s mold, which is also used for a Skywarp and a Starscream release from the same time period. (There are vestigial slots on his back where Jetfire had some boosters). This means that some of the loose parts are construction related and not only an artifact of sitting in a box for all this time. (You can tell from my pictures that box has been through it.) I think it is pretty dumb that they didn’t give us a better way to deal with the missile launcher in the F-15 jet mode. Placing it on the front is pretty stupid…but you could consider it like another 1980’s nostalgia piece- Galaxian, Galaga, etc. Video games where large guns seem to attach to the front of a jet-like vehicle.
Still, he has no stupid problems. I got him because I wanted a Leader Class Thundercracker…the right Transformer for NOW. I like the paint pretty good…the only paint here is a splash of orange for the “fake” cockpit on his belly and the red on his wings. The accessories are great even if the missile launcher is a miss of the big-stupid type. The only thing I dislike about the sculpt besides the lack of a way to attach the guns to the upper arms, is that recess in his shoulder area where the “quirk” of this toy is. I wish there was some way to cover those little holes is all.
But I don’t have enough complaints to subtract any points. The SpartanNerd rates the Combiner Wars Thundercracker a 5/5. He checks all of my boxes, and is exactly what I wanted…a Leader Class Thundercracker. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
By the way, the Blog and the YouTube Channel are doing very well compared to all the years prior. Thanks for reading and watching!
I picked up Zarana and Jinx at the Toy Federation in Greer, SC. (Also Studio Series Soundwave). Why these two?
My favorite scene from he 1987 GI Joe movie was where Beach Head is training with Jinx. (I in fact love the whole part of Beach Head in this movie!) Beach Head interrupts Jinx while she is training, and proceeds to kick her butt…then PG-13 cussing at her (remember…this movie released on TV only!) As he begins to leave, she puts on her blindfold, breaks the training pole into two, and then beats the snot out of Beach Head.
Zarana is THE girl on the Dreadnoks team. There might be more, but I don’t know them. She is Zartan’s sister, and this came crashing back to me when I got the 2025 SDCC Cold Slither set. As you open it up, Zarana is sitting in the ticket booth. I knew then I would be picking her up if she was available. So here we are.
A “good girl” and a “bad girl.” Who will win?
PACKAGING
Zarana’s packagingThe back of Zarana’s packagingJinx’s packaging. More modern, but less splashy.The back of Jinx’s packaging.
Both figures come in the kind of GI Joe Classified packaging you expect. I believe that Jinx’s is more recent, while Zarana’s appears to come from one of the early waves. As such, Jinx package is more sporty and as a consequence boring, while Zarana has actual illustrated comic-style art on her package. I am not figuring the packaging into the head-to-head score. I am grateful that neither was in a windowless package! So what will I use to score? The same criteria I always use. Sculpt, Paint, Accessories, Articulation, and the feels point.
FIGURE RUNDOWNS
What do you get in Jinx’s package?
Jinx figure
alternate head
Double-bladed Naginata (Bo staff with sai on both ends)
alternate fists
katana with sheath
Bandana
choker necklace (I’m counting this as it is easily removable)
What do you get in Zarana’s package?
Zarana figure
alternate hair
machine gun with skill saw blade
backpack
heat knife
ice-pick style dagger
The figure articulations are exactly the same. Notable…I hadn’t payed attention to this before…they both have butterfly shoulder joints! This is just now making it into Mythic Legions, for instance. And it will be a feature of the upcoming Masters of the Universe Chronicles line. And so once again they both receive a point. Jinx 2 points, Zarana 2 points. Jinx feels like the more important to have great articulation, as a martial artist. I suppose it is worth saying that Zarana’s upper arm pads kind of restrict how far up you can raise her arms…but actually it isn’t bad enough to count off a point.
The sculpts and paints. Here is where there is more a clear winner.
Jinx is a red action figure. Hasbro has painted details over the red jumpsuit. And her shoes are not military…they are workout shoes. And if you use the alternate head, that is also molded in red plastic. Her arms are bare, but she has a flowery tattoo printed on her arm. Her face is a strong representation of the character, which is to say she aint no Scarlett or Baroness. In the movie, before she tries sparring with Beach Head, she makes a kissy face at him…and this ticks him off. He isn’t about playing around. But I don’t think he would have had the same reaction with Scarlett or Cover Girl. She just isn’t very pretty if you ask me. I’m just not a fan of that red plastic and sparse paint…do the clothes make the woman? They do in Jinx’s case, because this is all she has going for her. You could put almost any other female figure’s head on this body and it could work to make a new ninja.
PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Cold Slither with Zarana.
Zarana is a different story…and I don’t think she’s pretty either. More like tough. But clearly more care was put into sculpting the details into her denim. Every tiny hook, buckle, strap, etc. is sculpted and has a paint hit. Her boots cover all of her lower legs and end with knee guards at the top. And this is painted and includes stirrups. Her jeans have large rips with pink tights (leggings?) visible underneath. I looked up an image of the vintage figure thinking this might suppose to be exposed flesh, but no it was pink back then also. I believe it was stylish patches, but they have updated it for the fashion of the 2020’s. Her top…this exposes a midriff with … abs! I looked at all of my female action figures, and none of them have abs like this. (Masters of the Universe Classics Battleground Teela barely has abs). This crop-top is pink with silver details and a brown strap. You get my point…her sculpt and paint are far superior to what Jinx has going on. Her face is very Dreadnok. Not pretty…more like an “I will mess you up” kind of face. She has shoulder protection that is also pink. Her hair is two-toned…or maybe even three shades. She’s a beast!
So Zarana gets these two points.
Accessories.
OK…I eventually got a Beach Head! Review coming soon. (PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Retro Cardback Beach Head)
They both have a similar number of accessories actually. I do wish Jinx came with a gun. On the other hand, she came with hands (see what I did there)? You can count her blindfold and also her choker as accessories. But on this line of thinking, you probably could remove Zarana’s top. (I’m not into customizing like this, but you probably could with a hair dryer). Jinx’s accessories tell a story of a ninja. Especially the katana and naginata. Both are painted well and she has no trouble posing with them. Zarana’s accessories are a little bit wingnut…a machine gun with a skill saw on the end? It took me a little while to figure it out, but the “heat knife” is an electric turkey carving knife! My grandma used to use one…but hers didn’t heat up. So I guess Zarana can cut the turkey and cook it at the same time! She has a backpack which also serves a storage for that knife. I believe Jinx wins this one only barely…she can’t be who she is without her weapons. Zarana’s stuff is in line with what a Dreadnok would have as a weapon.
PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Zarana vs. Night Force Shooter. Shooter is “cuter” than either of them in this review.
Zarana- Articulation, Sculpt, paint- Three points.
Jinx- Articulation, Accessories…and THE FEELS POINT.- Three points
So why would I give the feels point to Jinx and not Zarana? Well I wanted both figures, so there’s that. But Jinx is in my favorite GI Joe The Movie scene (besides that hair-raising introduction music video. CObra–coBRA!) I just needed to have her, which also gives me most of the Rawhides movie scene. While Zarana is of Cobra and is a Dreadnok, which I also love.
So these ladies tie in this contest. It was my contest anyway. I said this could happen!
BUT LET’S GET OBJECTIVE
Zarana is clearly a better action figure when you take away the feels point. Just better paint and sculpt. You can tell she is huge on personality even if you don’t know anything about her character. These two tie in my contest, but if I put them against Mythic Legions or MASTERVERSE or any other modern action figures aimed at the SpartanNerd, then actually Jinx is more like a 3/5 and Zarana is a 5/5.
Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
Whiplash is the only villain in modern form for Masters of the Universe that I feel I am really missing, besides maybe Modulok and Screech. That MASTERVERSE figures are very affordable and generally excellent, and plentiful unlike the superior Masters of the Universe Classics figures has allowed me to have a goal and complete that goal. Reclaim all of the figures I had as a kid. So to me Webstor isn’t important. Jitsu and Ninjor, not important. I didn’t have these. I like the Evil Horde, and will get some of them, but I don’t have the same connection to them as I do Skeletor’s friends. I’m ready for them to release some MASTERVERSE Snake Men. There are also a lot of holes to fill in the Heroic slot for me.
The MASTERVERSE Whiplash figure Mattel has put out just isn’t that great. I haven’t seen it in person, but the pictures I have seen of it just don’t do it for me. Like most MASTERVERSE figures he is too lanky, and I believe Whiplash should be bulkier if anything. The head seems too small and kind of wrong. And the weapons and stuff seem off too. The secondary market price is around $40, and I just figure eventually they will come out with a better one. (I have seen a sealed Classics Whiplash for $200. PASS!)
But then there is this…I saw it at Toy Federation in Greer, SC. (Maybe that is more like Taylors or Simpsonville?). (Excellent store. I can spend hours in there and would if I lived closer!)
So this is SSKUR’GE. A Cosmic Legions figure (and my first one!). In case you didn’t figure out from the context clues, Cosmic Legions is the science fiction version of Mythic Legions. You can see a cross sell from the back of the packaging below.
You can see that there are some other Masters of the Universe tributes in this line. Slush Head and Man-E-Faces.Because this is my first Cosmic Legions figure, I wanted to show off the packaging a little more. Check out the font of SSKUR’GE’s name below.
This little story lets us know that SSKUR’GE is a bounty hunter, and as I read this and the story online about him, I get the feeling that he is kind of like The Skuxxoid from The Transformers.
Outpost Zaxxius is apparently the name of the set that SSKUR’GE was released in.
So what the Four Horsemen studios are doing is kind of one-upping Mattel. They have their own IP, but are doing their figures in tribute colors to the Masters of the Universe. Case in point, I ordered Anthophilees immediately when I saw him. (Maybe get him by Christmas next year. (Sigh.). Anthophilees is the strongest example of them all (Buzz-Off tribute), but here SSKUR’GE is very strong in the Whiplash hole. He really only has one weakness…neither head looks like Whiplash.
(If you want to see another example I have of the Four Horsemen tributing a figure, check out my review of Demistros, the Skeletor tribute.)
When you get him out of the box, this is what you get. You have to attach the tail…
So to accomplish this, you have to take your brand new $75 giant figure and separate the torso from the waist. This was not easy. And then you have some soft goods for furry shorts (not furry shorts), which complicates getting it back together correctly. I am never removing this tail again, or swapping the parts of this figure, so at least I won’t have to do it again. (In case you don’t know, Mythic Legions and Cosmic Legions are entirely parts swappable in their own scale. The scale of this figure is Ogre scale.) I made good use of the hair dryer.
If you watch these little turntable clips, you can hear my birds chirping in the background!
Here I am showing you the figure assembled and everything you get in the box, and also including the inside of the box as the diorama. (He is standing on the box for Skeletor’s Throne)
In the box, you get
SSKUR’GE figure, who is “ogre scale” and of the apparently new “dragon” buck.
Two heads, one dragon “default” and the other alien.
Four alternate hands, two of which are fists
A large spear with a mace head
A scythe and trident intended to combine into one weapon.
THE SCULPT
The Four Horsemen are just the gold standard. That’s it. They have built these lines on this quality pop-art form. Think about it, did you need Mythic Legions or Cosmic Legions in your life until you saw them? There is no cartoon or comic book. No video game. Just the toys. They have created a line of generic fantasy that is positively KILLING IT. They made it for the Elden Ring fans and Dungeons and Dragons crowd. They made it so it goes with Masters of the Universe, or in this case also Star Wars or Transformers.
We have seen elements of this sculpt before in MOTUC Draego Man. I don’t have that figure any more, but I went back and looked at some pictures. They have truly advanced their ideas. Draego Man as a figure appears to be much stiffer and have less character. You don’t see the joints right off like you did in the old MOTUC days, and that has something to do with it.Here SSKUR’GE (I really like typing that name) has similar scales and toothy, horned elements. (This exact same sculpt with different paint is available as Mythic Legions Araccagor.)
I don’t know if you can tell, but I don’t care too much for that alien head. To me it looks like some kind of sad duck. The reason I almost punted on this figure is that neither head really looks like Whiplash…But…
PICTURED: Mythic Legions Balthor the Tower Ogre, armed with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom’s gold axe. And SSKUR’GE armed with the scythe and trident spear.PICTURED: Same as above, but this time Balthor is throwing a Skeleton Legion Builder figure at SSKUR’GE, who is ready to to use the Whiplash tail. Notice the plugs on the back of the harness…I haven’t removed it, but likely one day we will get some wings.
PAINT
(Continued from …But…). The green and blue paint apps on this just overrides the weakness of the head sculpt when you put him with the other MASTERVERSE villains.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Two-Bad and Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE. Don’t these two just “seem” to go together?
The green is intentially two-tone Whiplash colored. The lighter green highlights his face and underside parts like hands, and the darker represents armor on his back. Not only do I get Whiplash vibes, but also Killer Croc vibes.
The armor pieces like the bracers and the waist pieces have a metallic sheen that I really like. That soft goods loin cloth is a kind of felt with fancy stripes. I can’t tell if the metal ring on his back is actually metal or plastic, but it is painted in the same color as the shiny parts of green on the harness. There is a pop of gold on his belt.
ACCESSORIES
Oh boy. Here is a weak part.
So the long pole mace that he comes with has the same handle as the weapon that came with my other ogre scale figure. Can’t the Horsemen give us something different? This time it is painted in gold or brass. And what even is a mace like this?
The other two weapons are designed to fit together in tribute to what Whiplash came with in the 200x line. The problem is, the handles are for a different scale of a figure.
PICTURED: Comparison Time! I don’t’ have a vintage Whiplash, but I picked up a loose 200x Whiplash the day before I decided to go back to Toy Federation. To me, everything is similar except the head sculpt.PICTURED: SSKUR’GE fights against a Legion Builder gold knight (review coming soon) and also Mythic Legions Sir Godfrey (I think I have the name correct.) My point is that the trident and scythe don’t fit on the other pole.
But wait…there’s more…(facepalm)
These weapon pieces would be better if they could fit together on the pole pieces that came with the mace. But they don’t. I tried jamming them together…it just wasn’t really meant to happen. And it would be far cooler if it would work.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LEGIONS SSKUR’GE
I’ve said it before and want to re-iterate. As an adult collector, I have a job. Sometimes I have two. I have real life responsibilities, and this side hobby is pure escapism. It is escapism from the constant bad news. The constant political news. The constant culture wars. Getting this was an alternative to buying new Magic the Gathering cards, or a new video game, or going out to eat somewhere, or going to the movies. The nostalgia factor here is a key part of it. But also, like I said above, the Four Horsemen have created things that you didn’t know you wanted until you saw it. Kind of like Steve Jobs/Apple did with the iPad I am typing on right now. I happened to be going through the area where the Toy Federation is two days in a row. I walked around with the box on the first day, but then bought the 200x version instead. When I went home, it was nagging at me. So the next day when I was in town I went ahead and grabbed it.
SSKUR’GE here checks every box. Can I chalk up the head sculpt not being like Whiplash as a weakness? Not for this product. Both head sculpt options are sculpted and painted terrifically, just neither looks like Whiplash, which at a certain point the Horsemen probably aren’t allowed to do anyway.
I do think the accessories are the weakest point, and believe the Horsemen could have given us a proper scaled trident but cut the corners here. On the other hand, both parts of the weapon have good paint. Still not sure how practical a mace on a long pole would be. But it does look cool, and will be modular with other weapons in ogre scale for the line. And it isn’t like he can’t hold the trident…it is very loose. But this weapon is in scale for the other Mythic Legions that I have so it has additional use.
I couldn’t be happier with this figure. It is one of the best that I purchased over the summer. 5/5. I MIGHT look into getting a proper Whiplash head sculpt on the customizers market. Or maybe I will wait and see if Mattel comes out with a better MASTERVERSE Whiplash. But if they do, it won’t be as awesome as SSKUR’GE. And when assembled with all the bad guys, he really completes the picture.
My “bad guy” collection. Everyone’s here (Except Modulok and Screech). One Day I might update this to be a better pic with a proper diorama backdrop.
So SpartanNerd’s rating of Cosmic Legions SSKUR’GE Whiplash is 5/5. Do you agree or disagree, oh Hub City Geeks? Let me know in the comments!
