OK….the problem with getting so much stuff at once….
I lost my photos of Super7 Snake Eyes packaging! ARGGHH!
And just yesterday (October 20) I threw away the box, thinking I wouldn’t need it. (Yes..the most first-world of problems. Don’t be a hater.)
So I’m telling no lie. I purchased Snake Eyes in Columbia SC for $40 at the end of July. Here was my go-around with this figure…I had seen it at Walmart marked $25. When I took it to the cashier, it rang up $55 (the normal price for an Ultimates! Figure,) but I didn’t want it that bad. Then I saw it for $40 and was like “why not?” And that is the true story.
A $25 Snake Eyes isn’t that far fetched…after all a bevy of Super7 Ultimates! Were put on sale for $25 during Cyber Week last year. Some of them, like the TMNT Slash were an unbelievable deal for that price. (I didn’t buy that, but I admired from a distance…)
So this time, no package photos. You could go back and look at my review of the Cobra B.A.T. and see what the packaging was like, however. Mine didn’t come with a sleeve, and maybe that’s why it was marked down. Snake Eyes had green metallic box on theme with GI Joe instead of Cobra, with some images from the A Real American Hero show, and some information that mostly didn’t tell us anything. Otherwise it was the same. It also had a double blister to display the contents, however if I remember correctly the back blister was smaller.
WHAT DO YOU GET?
Here’s what you get.
Snake Eyes figure
Timber figure (that’s the wolf.)
Jetpack
Laser Rifle
Laser pistol
Walkie Talkie
“Radioactive canister”
Fist hands, trigger hands, gripping hands, and open palm hands.
At first, I thought the Jetpack was a scuba tank! I used to watch GI Joe as a kid, but I have to admit I don’t remember many of the episodes. I did watch the movie many times on BETA Max…it was a blurry thing we recorded from the TV. But I loved it! I remember the “we combed the tombs…etc” and Cobra making Serpentor. And I remember an episode where there was a gigantic amoeba. That’s about it.
We had a small army of GI Joes and the generic “C.O.R.P.S.” Figures and vehicles. Because GI Joe was more expensive than He-Man or Ninja Turtles…
I suppose that was a tangent. My point is, the jetpack and the “radioactive canister” mean a little more to people who remember the episodes. That canister can’t be comfortably held by Snake Eyes, and it doesn’t attach to Timber in any way.
I think it is funny that he has a Walkie Talkie. Snake Eyes never spoke in the show!
Timber was a big draw for me in getting this figure. All of those hands…I wish there was a gloved option. But I went back and saw some YouTube clips of the old show, and Snake Eyes never wore gloves back then. So that explains it. But I suppose we live in a post 1989 Batman world, where awesome gloves help make the look complete.
ARTICULATION
Well here I have two figures to discuss. First of all, Snake Eyes moves all the ways you would expect a Super7 Ultimates figure to move. Supposedly there is a famous scene where Snake Eyes break dances. So here’s my take on that. (I looked it up. It’s cool, but short.)
Maybe someone should tell him….
You can see, there is no hindrance to the figure’s articulation.
Now Timber on the other hand. (Face palm)
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates Snake Eyes with Timber and GI Joe Classified Sgt Slaughter. These guys are exactly the same size. Yes…the sarge depicts his real human self. But in scale, they are the same.
Timber can move his head side to side. But it breaks up the sculpt and the paint badly. His forelegs can splay out and his feet are on ball joints, but this articulation is limited. His back legs have no spread, so they are always too close together in my opinion.
SUPER7 VS HASBRO
So which is better?
Timber is about to change the odds….He better watch out though, Cobra Commander is known to kick puppies. PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes with Timber and GI Joe Classified Cobra Commander.
I don’t know if you can tell from the photos, but Snake Eyes is exactly the same size as GI Joe Classified Cobra Commander. He seems a little chunkier, and yes he represents his cartoon appearance. But Cobra Commander has so much more detail. And the articulation is EXACTLY THE SAME. But one big difference…Cobra Commander was less than $25 if I remember correctly.
PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes and Timber vs. Super7 Ultimates! Cobra B.A.T. And this is a real Karate move…I witnessed my brother’s black belt test for Shotokahn style. The instructor taught him how to take out a guy with a gun, and this was the move. This lesson came with a heavy dose of “It probably isn’t worth it.”
You can see that he is a little smaller than the Cobra B.A.T. And if you read my review from way back when I did it, I am of the opinion that the Battle Android Trooper is a big boy compared to your average guy. Maybe Cobra Commander has a Napoleon complex. But when I put Snake Eyes with Sgt. Slaughter, they are the same size.
My point is, I don’t think I will get any more Super7 Ultimates! GI Joes. The Hasbro GI Joe Classified series is cheaper, features the same articulation, practically the same accessories, better details and sculpts. Just better value.
SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF SUPER7 ULTIMATES! SNAKE EYES (AND TIMBER)
The paint and sculpt are good, depicting the way they look on the cartoon.
The accessories would be kind of bland if it wasn’t for Timber. It is a bummer than no one can hold the canister.
The package was pretty, and if you wanted to keep them in box it is collector friendly.
The value is here…there is just better value in Hasbro’s offerings. Yes…this is a Masters of the Universe Classics Snake Eyes figure….like a distant cousin to MOTUC at this point. He feels chunky in your hand. Timber on the other hand seems like he could be a cheap dollar store toy.
Right now I have Snake Eyes stored with the Cobra B.A.T., and Timber, being a generic wolf is on display with my barbarians. So he adds a lot to other property.
So I rate Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes 4/5. He’s OK. Not bad. But there could be some improvement.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Orko, armed with Animal Warriors of the Kingdom magic staff, displaying Heroic and Evil Magic blast effects.
Maybe you didn’t know, but in addition to being a SpartanNerd and Reverend, he is also a chorus teacher…Yep. With a MMED in Music Education with an emphasis on sight reading music.
Now that I got that qualification (perhaps dis-qualification) out of the way, here is something they teach you at Music Teacher school. You shouldn’t tell the kids that Major sounds happy and Minor sounds sad. They can be either one. A great many country songs with sad subjects are in a Major key, and plenty of party-down rock and pop songs are in a Minor key. So…where is this going in regards to reviewing toys?
Did you catch what I might be talking about from looking at the above four images? The Four Horsemen are presenting the primarily blue and green magic effects as good, and the red and purple as evil. I have learned that the image on the back of the heroic effects depicts Aracagorr, who is a good-guy boss, and the one on the back of the evil effects depicts Poxxus, a bad-guy boss. Why are they pigeon-holing these effects? Outside of Star Wars, this kind of color-coding doesn’t happen much. I mean, it does. It seems like GI Joe might have green-blue blasts and Cobra has red-pink blasts. But some things turn this thinking on its head. The Joker looks cheery and happy, and someone who never saw him before might not think he was evil, but Batman might be construed as evil with the black cape and dark armor. Magic the Gathering flips this script also, Liliana is part of The Gatewatch and is a black-aligned character…White-aligned Heliod showed himself to be a Villain. Final Fantasy X and X-2 also have black mages on the good side. Elden Ring…is anyone good and evil?
How about this? Elemental magic. Lightning is orange or yellow. Ice is clear or white or blue. Life magic tends to show green. Fire orange, red, black. My point is that magic effects is one of the areas of the toy collecting and photography hobby where the fans can be more creative. Right off the bat I disagree with the philosophy the Four Horsemen are giving us for magic and blast effects. And I intend to prove that in the review below.
What do we get in the boxes?
Both are identical, but with different color schemes. You can see them in the packaging clearly, but here is one unpacked.
I’ll go from left to right. A long stringy swirl. 2 large discs, 2 medium discs, and 2 small discs. 2 swirling mists. (I believe the one on the left to be warped…even better then). A long lightning effect and a short lightning effect. A long magic snake effect. And a short skull effect.
Photos of the Mythic Legions Magic Effects in action
I am not going to show that many Mythic Legions toys in this review. So brace yourself. I don’t actually have that many, but I have wanted magic and blast effects for a long time for my action figures. These are the perfect size of six-inch scale. So prepare to see Masters of the Universe Classics, MASTERVERSE, Marvel Legends, and maybe some other things, as well as Mythic Legions.
Pictured: Marvel Legends comic book Thanos with Infinity Gauntlet hand. Mythic Legions Evil and Heroic magic effects skulls.
The little skulls are my favorite. The different colors highlight that Thanos is holding two different souls. Not necessarily good and evil. Because I am talking about mixing it up, why couldn’t one be Green Lantern and the other The Flash!
Pictured: Marvel Legends comic book Thor with Mythic Legions Heroic and Evil lightning effects. What we really need is that lightning in yellow, orange, or white.
Marvel Legends comic book Thor is my worst action figure. The lightning effects really add something to a character like this!
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn and Teela, both with their hair-down head scupts, and MASTERVERSE Revelation Sorceress. Teela is also armed with the MOTUC Great Unrest Staff of Ka. Also pictured are a variety of Mythic Legions Heroic and Evil Magic effects, and the two halves of the Power Sword from MASTERVERSE Revelation King Greyskull.
That “Pictured” caption took forever to type. Anyway, here I depict a scene where the Sorceress tells Teela and Evil Lyn about the two halves of the Power Sword. The magic effects add a lot to the scene.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull with Mythic Legions Heroic and Evil magic effects.
The back of King Grayskull’s box depicts an image that looks something like this. (I suppose I need to post a review of King Grayskull and the Sorceress soon.)
Pictured: Four Horsemen Studios Demistros, Mythic Legions Skeleton Legion Builder, who is armed with MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor’s scimitar and MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela’s shield.
Here they are with some actual Mythic Legions figures. Demistros is bringing this skeleton warrior back to life. The swirling mist adds something. It is given life by the green soul skull escaping from the red portal. If I had used the red skull, would that story be as clear? Nope.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Comic-Con exclusive Scareglow with diorama box, MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela, armed with The Great Unrest Weapons pack armor and staff of Ka. Cosmic Legions Silver Figure Stand, Mythic Legions green snake effect and green skull effect. An aquarium plant hides the stand.
I didn’t realize that the snake effect was actually a snake until I took this picture. While I am at it, notice that I have Scareglow mounted on the Cosmic Legions Action Figure Stand. So I am going to take a break for a quick review of that as a bonus under the ratings section below.
Pictured: MASTERVERSE Revelation Evil Lyn and Teela. Evil Lyn has Mythic Legions swirling mist effect. Teela has the red snake effect.
It seems to me that the red snake effect is perfect for the Staff of Ka. Which brings up another point. The Four Horsemen sculpted the Masters of the Universe Classics, and there were a bunch of snake staves sculpted for that line especially for the Snake Men faction. Dare I assert that this magic effect calls back to that?
SpartanNerd Rating of Mythic Legions Heroic Magic Effects and Mythic Legions Evil Magic Effects
Before this review, I actually already used some of the effects in my pictures in reviews on this site. This is a new and very useful item. It adds so much to really so many toys. I only scratched the surface! We need more things like this. The Mythic Legions Magic Effects plays nice in any sandbox. You could definitely use that lightning in Star Wars. You could put those smoke effects behind a Hot Wheels car or something. Disney Barbie dolls. Maleficent. Pokémon. Zelda action figures. I don’t own any of these, but oh the potential! Multiple scales, too. And apply them to the vintage toys like you always wanted.
My hangup is the assertion that the red effects are evil and the blue effects are good. That’s like saying you could only use Metallic crayons for transformers. You can only put ketchup on french fries. You can only add rubber ducks to Jeeps, not Ford trucks (I saw one today with ducks on the dash). I am surprised that this assertion came from such a well-rounded studio.
The sculpts are nice. The product does seem a little bit brittle. I am careful, but some kid out there probably wouldn’t be. But these were made for adult collectors, so…
I bought both sets and am scoring them the same. 5/5. They add very much to all of my collection, and I know they will to yours too!
BONUS:Cosmic Legions Silver Figure Stand.
After such a glowing review…time for a not-so-glowing one, lest you assert I am some kind of loyalist…(Everyone who reads this stuff knows I am honest to a fault perhaps.).
The stand stinks!
The stand came in this polybag with a yellow sticker- (see the photo near the top of the page.)
When you assemble it, well…it seems like the vertical end of the stand should be flush with the platform, doesn’t it. And in fact I have seen pictures of other peoples stand where it is. But mine would not click in. And I used a good screwdriver and a good wife to try and tighten it up. No matter what pressure I put, no matter how tight I made the screws, this “daylight” wouldn’t go away. I was afraid I was going to break it if I kept trying to force it.
If only that was the only problem.
When I was posing my figures outdoors reviewing the Animal Warriors of the Kingdom Red Weapons Loot box, I made a picture of Man-At-Arms using the bow and arrow. (See the review with the picture here.)
I put Duncan in the stand, but realized a problem.
The business end of the stand has this metal claw. Now there were these little rubber bits that covered the metal “points” of this claw. As I was posing the figure, they came off! Luckily no damage was done, and miraculously I kept them from being lost in the grass. But they didn’t make it this review, did they? Now if I use the stand, I have to consider that it might scratch the paint or damage the figure. (You can see these rubber pieces in the Scareglow picture).
My advice, SKIP THIS ONE!
Rating of the Cosmic Legions Silver Figure Stand: 1/5. This thing is awful. I know it is for the science fiction version of Mythic Legions, and I don’t even mind the silver metallic stand. That is fine for whatever. But the assembly went wrong. The rubber things came off and have since been lost while using the stand for its intended function. I worry about damaging figures if I use it. There are better stands out there for your money.
One might argue that it is because I used MASTERVERSE figures instead of Four Horsemen figures. To that I assure you that there isn’t enough difference in the thickness of their waists. I also assert that a figure stand should be versatile. Any action figure within reason should work. Thanos wouldn’t be within reason, so I didn’t try that one. Man-At-Arms should have been fine.
I mean…I keep waiting on some Conan the Barbarian Ultimates! figures to show up, and they keep getting pushed back. So now I am expecting Battle at the Mounds figures in June and King Conan in July…I ordered both going on a year and a half ago! In the meantime, I have been building a MASTERVERSE collection, with a minor emphasis on skeletons. I already think Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor looks great fighting skeleton warriors, and that will be the perfect thing for Conan figures to fight. I am also on the lookout for a giant snake…
The Four Horsemen had a special sale, where I picked up Demistros. And because Super7 pushed King Conan back another two months, they gave me a 15% discount on my next order…which is why I picked up Black Falcon.
Both are great skeleton warriors, but I would like to do a little throwdown here. Both are kind of generic…I mean they have names but who knows who they are? Not me! Who will win? Let’s start with Demistros.
DEMISTROS
Demistros came in a plain box in the mail…it was small enough to fit in my grandma’s mailbox! (long story). But it was the perfect size. I don’t usually care, but it was nice to have a little less trash. Demistros’ package was no bigger or different than other Mythic Legions figures….But wait. Here’s a point. Demistros isn’t a Mythic Legions figure! They actually made him to be one of the generic baddies you might have encountered in 1980’s cartoons. They say so on the side back!
So back in the 1980’s, you would have Masters of the Universe to purchase, but sometimes you might go to the store and they only had figures you already owned. What to do? Get a KO. A knock-off. And there were plenty. Sometimes they would be named “Galaxy Warriors” or other nonsense. But I had a little collection of guys who could hold Masters weapons and ride their vehicles and really just blended right in. And this went along with the M.O. of the Filmation show also, didn’t it? There were Count Marzo, Lizard Man, and Strongarm just to name a few. Also, WWF/WCW wrestlers were big, and their toys also sometimes went right along with MOTU. So Demistros here kind of fits that bill. And how did I come across purchasing it? A random side impulse. “Store Horsemen In Stock Sale!”
The package has a nice illustration, and I prefer the blue/purple background to the red/yellow on the back of Mythic Legions. So let’s open this collector friendly Mythic Legions style box.
Oops…the cat’s out of the bag. (This little piece of paper!)
Here is everything you get in the package. The Demistros figure, who has all of the articulation and swapability of a Mythic Legions figure, a giant sword, a lance/spear thing, and a morning star weapon. Also, the cape is soft goods and separate, the pauldons are removable, and necessary to hold the cape on.
So here are some things. That head sculpt…when I ordered it, I didn’t realize how much of a BUTT CHIN it would have. I mean…severe BUTT CHIN. I mean, giant spikes coming from the chin! It is a very nice sculpt, and that is just a wacky detail. Green evil eyes. Kind of a repugnant smile. I think it was the horns that sold me. I am very partial to horned helmets. I did remove the horns with some force, and I am uncertain if they were meant to be removed, unlike most Mythic Legions parts. They snapped right back in, but caution, everyone! After I ordered this, I saw what must be the exact sculpt but red at the Toy Federation store in Greer, SC. With red, it looks like Satan. no other way to say it! It is amazing how much the paint changes the character.
Now I am of the mindset that Demistros is supposed to be a KO Skeletor. Skeletor is often depicted in modern media as having horns like this. From DC and Dark Horse comics to Skele-God in Masters of the Universe Revelation. It’s just that the Four Horsemen did it first in figure form, and they couldn’t call him Skeletor. Here is Skeletor’s head on the figure with proper weapons. I mean really, it is terrific! But as before, the head doesn’t fit the neck joint, so it is actually just sitting there. But in this case, there is a big “collar” that goes around the neck so that it isn’t obvious at all.
Pictured: Demistros body with MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor alternate head, MOTUC Havoc Staff from The Faceless One, and purple Power Sword from MASTERVERSE King Grayskull.Pictured: MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor body with Demistros head and spear.
The cape…I really would like to put it on someone else. But after attaching it, using the hair dryer, etc. Way too much effort to be worth the fun. The trouble I had with it…That is probably never coming back off. It’s a shame, really. This is easily the best soft-goods cape on an action figure I own at this point.It really took me a lot of effort. The problem is that the peg doesn’t want to fit in the hole snuggly with the fabric of the cape in the way. (There are holes cut in the fabric that line up with the holes in his back.)
Articulation is just like Mythic Legions. All easy to move joints and modular parts. Only the head has trouble moving because of that glorious BUTT CHIN.
I think the whole sculpting on the figure is insanely good. And this is what the Four Horsemen do. No one is better at it in the business.
The weapons are a nice little variety. The sword is of the anime style…ridiculously huge. There are green “runes” sculpted on there. This is sculpting with paint details, and the figure appears to be powering up this sword. The morning star is cool. It has a real metal chain. My problem with this weapon is…how do you display it?
It just hangs. You can’t pose it swinging or anything. The spear/lance is the same weapon we already have gotten with other skeleton warriors, but this time we get a little bit of oxidized copper finish. It kind of reminds you of those bronze or brass grave markers. (Here is an example.)
So not many accessories. I believe the sword to be the best, but there is potential with the morning star…maybe I can figure out how to rig a wire through that chain so that I can pose it.
Black Falcon
Black Falcon came in just the opposite. A large piece of trash box labeled Super7. Which just meant that a FedEx man had to set it down outside my grandma’s door.
Inside that box was Black Falcon in a “The Worst” mailer.
And so let’s talk about The Worst. Who really cares about them? Who are they? No clue. I remember when The Worst was first released as ReAction figures. They were the first to use the Masters of the Universe Reaction molds for Battle Cat, which I thought looked ridiculous anyway. I couldn’t get behind the big hole in the back where you had to put the poorly articulated three inch figure. I have seen Masters ReAction figures on pegs, and I just think they are dumb, which is why I don’t own any. I prefer Dollar Tree minis, or Eternia Minis, or really almost anything to those figures that aren’t quite as good as GI Joes. (I don’t mind ReAction figures of stuff where there will be no other action figures, for instance, Parks and Recreation.)
But I have to admit, I thought Black Falcon was the coolest one of the bunch. And in Ultimates! form, his design is the best when compared to Captain Deadstar or Batula (which were in the same wave). Not that I am against either of those, but the horned helmet skeleton wins the $50.
Here is what was in the mailer.
This box cover. Now I don’t even like this illustration. And what is he holding? A brick? The problem is I think this is a good illustration for the ReAction figure, but the Ultimates! figure deserved better. This is a shiny cover…but what to do with it? I have the Cobra B.A.T. still in his covered box. And I think it fits so well. I considered keeping Metalhead’s, but it came damaged. This one isn’t damaged, but why would I keep it?
Finally, what does the box look like?
You get this shiny foil background and this coffin shaped window. You can see the contents very well! And like the Cobra B.A.T. there is a double blister inside. Here’s the back for more of a description of who Black Falcon is supposed to be.
So after taking the figure out, I just tossed the box. I don’t have room to keep every box. Still…it is a very good box, and on par with the other Ultimates! boxes I have. I think I may keep the Conan boxes when they arrive, so I need to eke out room.
So what do we get?
Oh Boy! A long list. First of all, three heads. (standard, smiley with a cracked skull, and fiery orange). a removable, posable soft-goods cape. It appears that I received an extra gripping hand…(this was floating around in with the figure in the box. Hope I don’t have someone else’s). So I got nine hands in total. (two fists, three gripping, two open claws, two fiery gripping, and one “circle game”). I got a falcon boomerang, a necklace with an X on it, a bident spear, a sword with horns, a falcon shield, a bagged lunch, and a coffee or soup canister with a removable cup/lid.
I don’t believe I have ever opened an action figure with so many accessories!
All these accessories will make for tons of fun, but lets just talk about the figure first.
In the box he has the cape and necklace on. The cape is terrific, and like Demistros it has rips and holes. But this one has a wire that is posable (or posable some other way I don’t know how it works). But it has this gold snap in the front that is just too conspicuous. But it is much easier to remove than Demistros cape, and could easily go on another figure if I wanted.
While you keep looking at that circle…(other The Worst figures have middle fingers, so…) notice the paint. For a guy named “Black Falcon,” the only black apparent on the figure is in the eyes of the skulls. He is generally gray and copper colored with some splashes of gold. The paint is very nice. The sculpt is also very good, but of course not as great as a Four Horsemen sculpt. However, his sculpt is more detailed than the Cobra B.A.T., more detailed than Metalhead, and it fits in well with MOTUC Vikor. Important, because the original Ultimates! figures were Masters of the Universe Classics. All of this is an evolution of that line of toys.
Pictured: Black Falcon with sword, shield, and cracked face. Vikor with Mythic Legions battle axe.
The helmets on these three head sculpts remind me of old football helmets. The only thing that bothers me about Black Falcon’s sculpt is the falcon on his right arm is non-removable. Why? This is a missed opportunity, especially since Captain Deadstar seems to come with two parrots. (I only know about him from pictures).
Back to accessories. Notice that the shield doesn’t have straps, but has one of those dumb handles. I am pretty sure I’m not wrong in thinking shields are never wielded this way, but rather worn as a type of armor. Still, plenty of action figures have shields like this. The sword is very detailed and also painted with pride, which is more than I can say for at least the morning star weapon Demistros has. (I believe that is a green “wash” on the spear…should I consider that paint?). Most MASTERVERSE weapons don’t have this level of paint work.
I was baffled to hear another reviewer not seem to understand the purpose of the translucent-ish orange face and hands. Seriously…that guy needs to read some Ghost Rider comics and play some DOOM. Flaming skulls all over the place. And maybe I am the first to point this out…remember in the 1987 Masters of the Universe movie, where Skeletor unlocked the power of Grayskull and transformed Into a god? One of the featured colors in that transformation was THIS EXACT SHADE. (Super7, please send me a reward for pointing this out). I do wish there was more paint on the eyes and in the mouth on this head sculpt. OK. Why the bag lunch and the coffee. These are hilarious! And that the top comes off to become the cup, like most real coffee thermoses, is just an added design detail that makes this even more fun. Here I imagine that coffee was really hot! Then his face caught fire. Remember that the front illustration featured Black Falcon holding a box. Nope. It was the bag lunch. (Another reason that illustration isn’t so great.)
Here is another one I haven’t seen anyone point out. (Brian Flynn…are you reading?). The falcon-a-rang weapon fits in the crack on the alternate head sculpt. This would be a Batman reference…there is a villain, “Bat-a-rang Face.”
THE SHOWDOWN. WHO WILL WIN?
Well there’s no question that I was able to write a lot more about Black Falcon than Demistros, mostly on account of all the many accessories. And all around, Black Falcon is more fun. So Black Falcon gives the first punch, right to the spiky BUTT CHIN face of Demistros.
On the other hand, in the sculpting department, with the work of the masterful Four Horsemen Studios, Demistros is eating Black Falcon’s lunch.
Demistros looks great with other Mythic Legions skeletons. I have Maximillius on order to be the boss of my skeletons, but Demistros is a terrific boss. He can do what bosses do best…stand in the back and send the underlings forward, and looks great doing that.
Pictured: Mythic Legions skeleton “legion builders” armed with MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking Skeletor” scimitar and MASTERVERSE Revelation Teela’s shield, McFarlane Toys Raven Spawn scythe, Masters of the Universe Classics Vykron barbarian axe and armor, Masters of the Universe Classics Vikor shield, and Demistros commanding them to battle.
But Black Falcon is more fun in a mix of characters.
Pictured: Black Falcon surrendering to MASTERVERSE New Eternia “Viking” Skeletor, who is armed with the MOTUC Faceless One Havoc Staff and Black Falcon’s cape, and also surrendering to Demistros. Notice that Black Falcon is holding MASTERVERSE Revelation Mer-Man bident and his own bident. You can clearly see the Super7 spear is more detailed by far.
I mean…it could be a tie…
For me…I don’t “play” with my figures as much as I pose them and take pictures. So to me I value sculpting and paint higher up. Putting Demistros in the lead. I can’t wait to have Demistros sit on King Conan’s Throne of Aquilonia.
On the other hand, the many, many accessories that Black Falcon brings to the whole activity actually enhances the fun of other figures a good bit. A great bit actually. I can’t wait to have Conan Ultimates! figures fight against this guy.
I have to reluctantly say Black Falcon is the winner! Both are generic jerks. They are bad to the bones. They are evil inside and out. They are twisted with their circle game and BUTT CHIN humor.
So Hub City Geeks, do you agree with me?
Do you think I should do more Action Figure show-downs? This was my first time of trying that and I really enjoyed it. Let me know in the comments!
So I had these “Mummy Bucks” burning a hole in my pocket. And then on Valentines Day, they said, “Order any two items and get 15% off!” And so I positively was ready to double up on the savings. $15 of Mummy bucks from purchasing the Ultimate Cobra BAT and Pre-Ordering Conan the Barbarian, plus 15% off…
I began looking at either Bebop and Rocksteady ultimate figures, or Donatello and Metalhead.
I decided on the evil duo…only to be told basically that the mummy bucks are not actually a gift certificate. BOOOOO!!! I couldn’t stack the offers. BOOO!! BOOOO!!!
I wound up ordering April Ludgate and Andy Dwyer Reaction figures from Parks and Recreation instead and receiving that discount on my first Super7 Reaction figures.
(I am keeping these in the package. Andy Dwyer looks pretty close to Chris Pratt, but April Ludgate looks way too frumpy to pass as Aubrey Plaza. It is cool that Andy gets his guitar and his Mouse Rat shirt, And it is also cool that April comes with Champion, a three-legged dog. I appreciate the flavor on the backs of the packages. The only thing I wish is that the photos matched the figures clothes. And maybe if they had Star Lord holding the guitar inside the blister. Eh….I give them 4/5 for what they are, something to keep in package and hang on a wall somewhere.)
So I still had to use my mummy bucks by February 28, and decided on just getting Metalhead. I was waiting to see if something else awesome dropped, but I didn’t really want anything they offered. I will say the Cliff Burton Ultimate figure is pretty cool, but I didn’t want to do a pre-order on something like that. Some of my dilemma…If I get one ninja turtle, then I will begin a rabbit hole of wanting them all. I am clearly a Rocksteady fan, but he needs to be with Bebop. You need Splinter and Shredder. You see where I am going here? Likewise they don’t have a full license for Metallica apparently, and so I had to pass on Cliff.
But at least Metalhead reflects a couple of things about myself. I listen to lots of Heavy Metal music and also spend my summer shredding this kind of music up on my guitars. I like robots a lot, and he should go nicely with that Cobra BAT. And I had Metalhead when I was a kid, though I called him “Mecha-Turtle” from the original TMNT NES game. To me, “Metalhead” was the baby name they gave him for the cartoon in order to have more appeal to kids. Does anyone else out there think this?
Metalhead came in similar packaging to the Cobra BAT. There is a nice sleeve over the top. You know you are getting a premium product! This sleeve has a nice manhole cover on the front of it featuring Metalhead’s … head. And on the back the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo.
When you remove the sleeve…WOW. This package is great! You can clearly see what you are getting. I am going to spoil ahead because apparently I lost the picture of all of the accessories. However, you can see everything here! At the top left (and going around counterclockwise…An alternate head, a hand with a finger-whip, two grenades, a backpack, a radar dish, and robochucks, and as you keep going you can see an inner blister with more robochucks, a weapon rack, and alternate hands. And Metalhead is prominent in the center. The background is a graded orange and yellow. Saying all of this, it still isn’t quite as awesome as the Cobra BAT package. You get a bio card on the back, and this looks like a retro-1990’s graffiti wall.
Now for the bad news. This package arrived mutilated.
And so I won’t be keeping it. See the bricks folded over, and then across the top is a seam from what might have been a box cutter going too deep. I also found it to be ripped as I opened the top. So I cut off the cool back and out the sewer cover sleeve, and tossed the rest. I don’t have that much room in my closet anymore. (The reason why I got rid of my terrific MOTUC collection.)
This was the pic that was supposed to show off the accessories. But at least you can get a good look at the weapon rack. It stands up pretty well on its own. And also Metalhead does as well. I spent a couple of hours playing with him and getting different poses. The joints aren’t quite as tight as you might like. But he really doesn’t have much trouble standing.
Because this is the first TMNT ultimate figure, or indeed seven-inch TMNT figure I have ever owned, I thought it extra interesting how they handled the shell and the plastron (that is, the underside of the shell.). Basically you have another buck underneath which seems to have an ab-crunch and everything, but they have made this shell into permanent armor that fits over that. It looks great. I have no desire to try and remove the belt. The backback fits nicely on his back in the same way the original did, with little holes in the chest that are for pegs. (Am I remembering this correctly, Hub City geeks?)
The weapon rack is unpainted, and the only reason I figure they include it is for nostalgia, as the original figures came with a sprue of ninja weapons that you had to tear out. Somebody out there has disassembled one of these that came with their Metalhead, and I say to you, you are a sad person.
I mentioned above that there are two sets of robochucks. One is to attach to the backback, and the other goes on his hand. These hands are removable and swappable, but I was extra careful, not wanting a repeat of what happened with the Cobra BAT. You can see in the pic that he holds the grenade just fine.
And here we are with the whip. When I saw the pictures on the internet, I couldn’t tell what this was supposed to be. Upon getting it, I realize it is an alternate hand with the finger opened up like a door so that this snakey cable can come out and…shock people?…whip people?….grab stuff?…It must be a relic from the cartoon. Someone out there should inform me in the comments. Notice (you probably can’t) that this is the other head. You see, the proper head for this figure has a translucent red “brain” exposed, and light can come in and make his eyes glow. The alternate head is fully painted. Seems like a waste. They should have given us a different expression or something.
Comparison time…
When I got Metalhead, I was thinking of what things would go nice together. And why not a robot ninja turtle to go with my robot Cobra soldier? You can see here that the Cobra BAT towers over Metalhead. Both are seven-inch scale, but I suppose the TMNT guys are supposed to be diminuative. And maybe the BAT is a tall boy.
One other suprise. I thought we probably could swap parts. NONE OF THE PARTS ARE COMPATABLE. You can’t attach the robochucks to the Cobra BAT, or Cobra BAT’s drill arm to Metalhead. The heads are also not compatable, (But why would you do that?). At least the colors are complimentary, as both are based on a cartoon appearance.
But it doesn’t matter. Good triumphs over evil! (Technically, I guess Metalhead is more of a good guy. Mecha-Turtle, from the NES game…that guy was all bad.)
How do I rate Metalhead?
The package was cool…too bad mine was messed up. But I cut out the nicest looking pieces to keep. The graded orange-yellow cardboard behind the figure leaves a little to be desired. (Cobra BAT had a terrific explosion, reminiscent of the vintage GI Joe packaging.)
His joints are kind of loose, and I worry about breaking the pegs. I have to admit, the alternate head hasn’t snapped on tightly and I am afraid to force it. I don’t even like it, so why risk breaking the ball and socket peg?
Metalhead came with plenty of accessories including alternate hands and a weapons rack.
I think I have to give this one a 3/5. It hits all of the average marks. And I kind of “settled” on getting it.
What do you think, Hub City Geeks? Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
(Sorry about the red background cloth being wrinkled. I need to upgrade my gear, I think.)
Deck the Halls will Boughs of Cobra. Cobra La la laa, la lah la laaa.
Beautifully done, chorus teacher SpartanNerd. I ordered this as a part of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales on Super7.com. It had been a long time since I ordered one of the Ultimates. Back when they did the Masters of the Universe Classics, I got Ram Man, and if I reviewed him, the post has been deleted because it got NO VIEWS. Come on, Hub City Geeks. Send some love! Ram Man was nice, but I don’t have him anymore. He was given up with the great purge that got me into the Mega Bloks/Construx/MEGA figures.
But I saw this figure earlier in the year and wanted it immediately. I didn’t bite then, though. Same problem as before. Where is the room? My sad little shelf is way overstuffed now. And I surely can’t go into collecting GI Joe’s. (I think if I did, I would go for collecting the vintage ones.)
But I bought it anyway. It was on sale. I figured to keep it in box beside Cobra Commander. (A similar thought pattern went into purchasing GI Joe Classified Series Sgt. Slaughter from GameStop.)
The Cobra B.A.T. came in a very nice package. I was totally floored at how nice this was! After opening Sgt. Slaughter, no comparison. This sleeve leaves me with a dilemma. I want the figure on display. But this part of the box, wow! It has this foil coloring, with Cobra blue camouflage designs, and silver outlines. Just this much did it for me. This puts Mattel’s MOTUC packaging to shame, and definitely puts the Hasbro windowless box to shame! When you remove the sleeve, you can see the figure still in a nice box, and you can read the details on the back. The back has this cartoonish robot feature with a screen that gives us what serves as a bio card for the Cobra B.A.T. Not a single person who purchased this would not know what the B.A.T… is about. But I paid $36 for this figure, and felt right away upon opening it that I was receiving a premium treatment. (Recently, the MEGA Snake Mountain box has underwhelmed me.)
As we continue, it becomes apparent that this is a collector-friendly package. You just slide out what turns out to be TWO LAYERS of blisters. This guy has alternate hands, a pistol, a machine gun, two backpacks (one traditional and another a barrel-shaped container), an alternate damaged head, and a spark damage effect.
He stands tall with no problem. He is tall and posable. In fact, it is just about exactly like the Masters of the Universe Classics figures. The pistol pic below was no problem to pose him into. His damage effects are also really cool…On the cartoons Cobra’s disposable army were really easy to beat up. I will say that I had trouble removing the clear chest piece in order to plug in the spark damage effect. Turns out there is a tiny little tab for your fingernail hiding behind the grenade strap. (Those grenades are not removable as far as I can tell.). The traditional backpack has holes that you can use to store his arm attachments or extra hands. The barrel has room for stuff, but contains some purple spark things. There is a silver feature on his right thigh that I am unsure of the function. It isn’t a holster. (He has a holster for the pistol on his right thigh.). I think this must be from the vintage designs or something. Nothing seems to peg into that, and I haven’t found any pics on the internet showing it used for something. I like to think it is a communicator or a charging station or battery or something.
His arm attachments are a futuristic gun, a claw hand, and a drill. He comes with open hands, trigger fingers, and fists, and these are in a detailed style as well as in a more plain cartoon accurate style. These are alot of hands! I will say the peg joint in the neck is slightly loose, while everything else is very tight. The pegs on the arm attachments and hands might be too tight….
The backpacks attach by pegs that resemble straps. They peg in to the shoulders. I always feel that I have to force them just the tiniest bit.
The plastic on this guy feels pretty good. Maybe a little soft, which is surprising because the joints are so tight.
Here I have him posed with the GI Joe classified figures. You would think the scale discrepancy would be jarring, but in this case it really isn’t. Maybe Cobra Commander is a Napoleon type? Maybe Battle Android Troopers should be on the taller and bigger side. Sgt. Slaughter’s beefy sculpt offsets the tallness of the B.A.T. (What are the sparks in the barrel backpack? They are like sharp “devil-heads” and can be removed). The photos don’t show it much, but the Super7 figure does have larger feet and legs. I used the box background card (also removable!) to take the classic pic that looks like a vintage cardback. By the way. Why don’t GI Joe Classified figures contain this feature?
Below shows two more comparisons. Here with the few MOTUC figures I have left, you can see he really does fit right in as far as size is concerned. Of course he would fall to the barbaric awesomeness of Vikor and Despara. Check out how close he fits with Sir Lazer Lot.
Just for fun, I put him with the Snow Cat and Frostbite, and you can see how big he is compared to the vintage stuff. You get a “frost giant” kind of story.
I was having so much fun posing him and swapping the parts and taking pictures. And then it was time to put him back in the box. I thought to put the hands back the way they were when I opened it. And then…SNAP.
Just like that. I had another childhood memory. How many GI Joes, Corps figures, and others suffered such a fate? This really stung. After all that positivity, something had to go south. Maybe I wasn’t careful enough? Maybe it’s something more problematic, like cheap soft plastic. These pegs are really tight. But the hands are supposed to be swappable as a feature of the toy, and I can’t say for certain, but I bet they swap with other ultimate figures or MOTUC figures like Trap Jaw and Roboto who have a similar gimmick. (Edit: probably not). I was able to soften it with a hair dryer and dig out the peg with a tiny screwdriver. But man. This really burns. He came with other hands, so it isn’t the end of the world. Only a little sad. And sadness should not go with this hobby.
I had my eye on an Ultimate King Conan the Barbarian with the Throne of Aquilonia. I mean, this made me think twice. (I caved and ordered it just before typing all this even though this tragedy is in my mind.)
So, it is time to grade.
My chorus teacher self wants to give this figure an A-. A 91. I wanted him earlier in the year. Waiting paid off as I got him much cheaper. His packaging was stellar. He went right back in the box and that sleeve went right over for future fancy feeling. He has tons of accessories and posing options. The joints feel good. He looks good.
The only negative would be the breakable nature of the peg on the forearm. Still, I am giving him a 5/5. It would have to be like 4.8/5, though. Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Have you had similar issues with Super7’s ultimates figures? Do you think my issue should sully the experience of this guy too badly? Should I cancel my order for Conan? Let me know in the comments.
spartannerd 