I did SO MANY YouTube videos this Summer. (www.youtube.com/@chosen1heath) But not so much typing out my thoughts. Sorry about that guys! I will have to catch up, Hub City Geeks. All the while, the stats on the blog appear to be pretty strong anyway.
So here are three comics made with figures from the SpartanNerd collection…A trilogy!. Some older stuff, some new toys. Hope you enjoy!
You can hear the SpartanNerd read these comics aloud (with voices!) on the reviews of Super7 Ultimates! Punker Don, Valaverse Action Force India II and Juliet II weapons packs, and also GI Joe Classified Series Lt. Falcon.
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!
Mostly I haven’t been too pleased with Mattel Creations “Club Grayskull” subscription. It is $10 a year with the promise of exclusive pre-release access of products. But most of this has been Origins figures that pretty much nostalgia fans aren’t that interested in. I mean, Geldor, and He-Ro. And even more obscure that I did get, Sharella. What Masterverse figures did they offer this year? Panthor, Moss Man, and … Dragstor? Well they offered Blade but even I, a club member, missed that one.
So they announced the club at the beginning of April last year, and behold they knew they would get most of their renewals in April this year IF THEY OFFERED SOMETHING GOOD. Well here he is. Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull.
There has been a few leaked Chronicles Scare Glow figures out there, but King Grayskull is the first official Chronicles release. So all members surely ordered one to you know, have, a Chronicles figure, but also King Grayskull is pretty cool of a character anyway. It is still a mystery if he will make an appearance in the film, but there seems to be a possibility, possibly played by Dolph Lundgren. It seems like an odd choice to undo the race-swap they gave him for the Kevin Smith show. (That was an excellent rendition, and has been my favorite King Grayskull…no I think favorite KING figure. And that is saying something for a guy who has a few figures of kings.)
So how did he turn out?
PACKAGING
This packaging is similar to other offerings from Mattel Creations in that it doesn’t have a blister bubble or window box. it is all artwork, and the figure is tied into the box using paper strings. A great way to give us non-retail figures in appealing packaging that we will want to keep using.
The front features a great illustration showing us the Pharaoh King Hiss, Lady Slither, Sqquueeeze, a REMCO DRAGON (or similar, cool!), the Turbodactyl, Battle Lion, and of course the king himself on top of some skull cave stuff channeling lightning between not only his power sword, but also the battle axe. And that is AWESOME! The Mattel guy at Toy Fair told Pixel Dan that the red Masters logo means movie focus, and the blue logo means cartoon. But this figure wasn’t revealed there, and it is a black Masters logo. Just interesting.
Some of the things I wondered going into this was how much this figure would share with the previous King Grayskull. This package gives is in illustrated form much of the same details. KG has the 200x asterisk symbol on his chest, and also sports a cape with comfy pauldrons. The previous King Grayskull had a problem with those pauldrons being soft goods…
The back shows us some of that photoshop artwork I am not too fond of. We can see King Graskull decked out with the shield in the side window, and in action with the battle axe on the other.
The side has another barbarian illustration. And it invites you to look inside to see any changes to the character.
As you open the box, you can see this same illustration covering the figure. But you now have a logo-free poster if you want. Also notice that you can see King Hiss. Flipping this over lets us have this scene also.
This is the Snake Lair. All of this about the Snake Men kind of burns, because in MASTERVERSE, the only Snake Man we got was Kobra Kahn, and he was a pitiful figure. Maybe this is all a hint that Snake Men will be coming out soon. But we have seen them repeatedly on Masterverse packaging, but have really none to show for it. (See Snout Spout’s packaging, as well as Terror Claws Skeletor)
FIGURE REVIEW
Here he is in the package
Right between Revelation King Grayskull and King Conan. On the YouTube version of this video, I actually play the Palace Theme on this piano, in case you were wondering. I wanted to do something different!
What do you get in the package?
Chronicles King Grayskull Figure
Power Sword
Battle Axe
Shield
pair of punching fists.
You could count the gauntlets on his wrists as well.
I am going to go about this two ways. First I want to know about this new format. How is he different than a Masterverse Figure? And then I want to talk about this specific figure an offer a rating at the end like I do always.
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE Revelation King Grayskull and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. I am showing them in the same basic pose. Notice the 200x sword I have is from the 200x Castle Grayskull set that belonged to my brother. (I never owned this myself, but only wound up with pieces of it somehow. I am not a fan of the design.)
When you compare the Revelation KG to the new Chronicles KG, the scale is very slightly smaller. Where the size difference makes its appearance is in the knees and elbows. It is like there might be a slight “shave” off all around the figure for this new scale. It is something you notice if you look for it, but you probably wouldn’t at a glance. But it is enough to make black King Grayskull feel just a little bit more beefy and muscular than caucasian King Grayskull. (Just so you know, I believe the OG Masters of the Universe Classics figure would be shorter but still appear more muscular than either of them. I don’t have that figure, so…)
PICTURED: MASTERVERSE New Eternia Fisto riding Mythic Legions Boreus, and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull riding Masters of the Universe Classics Battle Cat. I title this one “Sunday Ride.” You can see a good size difference in these two, even though it isn’t as drastic when comparing to Revelation King Grayskull.
Revelation King Grayskull had stunted articulation at the knees, but the new knees on the Chronicles King Grayskull are perfect to hinge all the way back to where he can kick himself in the butt. The forearms on the new figure are also new and skinnier, and no longer is there a hole at the end for a fist to peg in…now the fore-arm is a peg, and the hand is a double-jointed wrist. Nice improvements! As a consequence, the new hands are even smaller than before and could get lost easier. (But I haven’t lost these…yet). So what I am saying, you kind of feel the difference in scale around the wrists, knees, and feet most of all.
The only soft goods on the new figure is the cape. The pauldrons are thankfully sculpted in plastic. And I thought this power harness might be 1-to-1 the same, but it is a new sculpt.
So what about this figure specifically. I like the new thing they are doing with his hair. The 200x version had these long viking ponytails coming down, like a barbarian Wendy’s mascot. The Revelations version had Native American-type of braids. This figure has a sloppy top-knot with long locks, and so it is different. The face sculpt is passable for He-Man, but obviously a different character. Dare I say more “American” looking (as opposed to European). I mean, I am trying to see Nick Galitzine here, but he doesn’t look like him. He also doesn’t look like Dolph Lundgren. I think he kind of resembles Vanilla Ice.
His muscles are chiseled very nicely why the same ab-crunch that most MASTERVERSE figures have. He wears a girdle over his furry shorts making a more royal look. This new figure doesn’t have a thigh-cut, something I don’t think we will miss. I already mentioned the knees, but the elbows are also double-jointed. He has the furry boots you expect, with a leather strap look to them. The power harness has a ring on the back that allows the sword to be displayed outside of the cape. This cape is not removable without removing the harness as far as I can tell. (I haven’t done this). It does appear that the pauldrons have pegs that might make them swappable in the future. He doesn’t have trouble with articulation…he stands very well, but his lower legs…like at the boot cut is slightly loose, he can go pigeon toed pretty easily. Still I am giving him the full point for articulation. No real problems! He even has decent head articulation considering the sculpted hair that he has. And Mattel made a lot of that this figure can grab the sword while it is in the holster on his back…that no other figure could do that. But I think 1987 Movie He-Man might have something to say about that.
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull and MASTERVERSE 1987 Movie He-Man. Contrary to what Mattel asserted at Toy Fair, King Grayskull is not the first figure that can grab the sword on his back.
ACCESSORIES
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Origins Cartoon Collection Faker and Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayskull. Seriously, Faker’s sword is slightly bigger than King Grayskull’s, and this is wrong. KG’s sword does feel like it has more finesse somehow, though. Here is also a chance for you to compare an Origins figure to the new Chronicles figure.
We have the three main accessories that every He-Man needs. I even think they should include them with all the variants, but they don’t unless your company name is MONDO. I wondered if at least the shield would be the same as Revelation King Grayskull, but no it is a different sculpt. Larger and less cartoony, with gold highlights and fancy, barbaric texture.
The battle axe is pretty nice, with some color on its inner texture and the cap (don’t know what it is actually called) a circle with the 200x asterisk symbol.
But here is the big problem…maybe I should say small problem…This Power Sword is shorter than all of The Masterverse swords. It is a step backwards. Honestly, it almost feels like an Origins Power Sword as far as its size. Why did they do this to the most iconic weapon outside of a lightsaber?
For what it’s worth, I also think it is a missed opportunity to give us a new version of the 200x Power Sword.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHRONICLES KING GRAYSKULL
If I separate my feelings about differences in this and MASTERVERSE figures, it is a solid 5/5. He checks every box I ask for. Sculpt looks good, and paint also, if it isn’t conservative. He is better articulated than the MASTERVERSE KG. His accessories are what you expect, but the sword is too small. But he gets the Feels Point also…mostly because I generally like the character and also am excited to be one of the early reviewers.
And so I posted a rash of review videos. Anthophilees. Ne’ve’. Oh…and a little guy called MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CHRONICLES KING GRAYSKULL! Each of them with the promise of a written blog review. So here’s Cosmic Legions Anthophilees. (I keep getting sidetracked by real life, and also Crimson Desert.)
PICTURED: Masters of the Universe Chronicles King Grayksull, Mythic legions Ne’ve’, and this review…Cosmic Legions Anthophilees, who is a Buzz-Off KO. Also pictured are skulls from the recent Mythic Legions skull head pack, and Masterverse New Eternia Panthor.
I ordered him in June or July of 2024. That’s a long time ago, Hub City Geeks. I am trying not to order things I won’t see for like a year-and-a-half in the future. I did this before with some Conan the Barbarian stuff…and did I really learn my lesson? Well no, I just ordered the Optimus Prime/Jetfire combination from Hasbro Pulse. BUT, that is supposed to come in September/October or something. I also ordered that witch lady from Critical Roll (I know nothing about this). But she is supposed to come in the Summer…we’ll see I guess.
So was Cosmic Legions Anthophilees worth the wait?
PACKAGING
Anthophilees came in the kind of packaging that other Cosmic Legions figures I have were packed. More of a window box…less like a blister card. In that box you can see the figure and some of what you get. You can also see his alternate head (let’s be real…this is the main head!). But what isn’t clear is whether or not that is an alternate head or a helmet. Because you see, Anthophilees is not a regular Cosmic Legions, but is instead a Masters of the Universe KO figure of Buzz Off. And this is why I wanted this figure so bad. At the time I was collecting up all the MASTERVERSE figures I could, trying to get one of each of my childhood figures, just in updated form. And they made a Buzz-Off, but I have never seen it in person. But when I saw this Four Horsemen Studios version, I knew I would rather have it instead.
Anyway, the box is largely orange with green highlights. You can see if you look closely he as more hands and some other pieces that I will get to later. And he has a huge halberd axe!
On the back you can see the bevy of Cosmic Legions offerings…this is a growing line. I have some of these figures, but not even close to all of them. Notable, there is a guy with some of the same parts as Buzz-Off. (Anthophilees). It is that large white and pink bug guy…He actually has wings that they aren’t picturing. The two side panels have unreadable font on them, but you can see what it says about him on the FH website. Basically in this story Anthophilees is a hardened warrior. (The Four Horsemen say that the MOTU homage figures don’t carry any significant bearing on the actual story…Uh…what story?)
But the real extra gem of the packaging is the insert, which you can’t really see from the window so well. It is of some kind of Cosmic Legions vehicle! It would be cool (and probably expensive) if we ever actually got this vehicle!
FIGURE REVIEW
First of all, what is in the package:
Anthophilees figure
Alternate head (He comes with the yellow head default)
Pauldrons
Halberd
Traditional-style Buzz-Off axe
Pair of Wings (with a backpack attachment)
Two sets of alternate hands which have varying grip.
Antennae
Mouth Parts
Most of the time I get a shot of this right out of the package…vanilla. I even usually see if they can stand right out of the package, like that matters. But this time, I knew I had to mess with it in the same way I have been having to mess with Transformers for awhile before I drop the official SpartanNerd Review. There is so much set up really involved, and I want to know how well it all works up front so I can be as clear as possible for readers to expect based on my experience.
So I assembled the wings first. (Duh!). This involves plugging the adapter backpack into the slot found on the back of most Mythic Legions figures. Thankfully this backpack is painted in the same brown color as the brown that appears on the figure. The wings have tiny little pegs that go into the sockets on the backpack, and here is the beginning of complaining time. These wings look really nice. BUT, they are two wings attached together on a joint. In other words, they are not separately articulated, and that is kind of a bummer. But the complaint is how loosely, especially my left wing goes into the socket. It is basically hard to get in and easy to fall out as you pose the action figure. I mean…every time I do ANYTHING with this figure, that back wing comes out.
So let’s forget about those for a second, and admire what we have that is great. This is OBVIOUSLY 200x Buzz-Off, adapted into Cosmic Legions. It is said that a fan designed this, but let’s be real. The FH studios designed all of the toys for the 200x line, including Buzz-Off, and it seems that this design is AT LEAST an homage to their previous work.
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Anthophilees (Buzz-Off KO) along with the Cosmic Legions flight stand. The flight stand is one of the worst Four Horsemen things I have, by the way. I thought it would be funny to photograph him with this cereal! Post Honey Bunches of Oats and General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios.
The colors are spot-on for Buzz-Off even going back to the vintage line, and as usual there is no slop at all.Every rivet on the armor, every stripe, every detail on his girdle. The bracers, the boots, the headsculpts…wow! This is the best sculpt and paint anywhere, especially at the price point. (By pre-ordering this, I locked in a 35-ish dollar price rather than the more typical upper 40s). His arms end in these claws that are perfectly insect like, a big improvement on the vintage design that was crab claws.
These legs might be used on another Cosmic Legions figure…I don’t know. But these are reverse-knees, with big two-toed feet reminiscent of Ninja Turtles. These big feet hold up the figure rather well, considering the forces of balance that come in because of the wings. And I know I complained about the wings, but they LOOK incredibly creepy! Perfectly detailed!
The yellow head is creeptastic, with the six-eyed design we are seeing in a good bit of Cosmic Legions. These rows of eyes were also a component of the 200x designs, though if you can think back. Think the Griffin, and Webstor. But the other head…that one looks like Buzz-Off! It has a pair of antennae to install. And while these are identical, the recesses where you seat them are not symmetrical, adding some motion to what could be a much more boring design. And you can slot in mouth parts on the cheeks or leave them off…however you want to see this KO Buzz-Off. There are two options. One with a single blade for each mandible, and the other with a double blade.
(I prefer the Buzz-Off head with the antennae and the double-bladed mandibles)
ACCESSORIES
So if you don’t count the wings, the claws, the antennae, or the mouth parts (perfectly fine not to count these because of the nature of the figure) then you still have to consider the pauldrons and the two weapons
The pauldrons are of the same type that the Four Horsemen have been using since I began collecting this line at least. There are little pegs on the underside of the armor that you line up and insert in to the holes on the back of the figure. And it is pretty hard to get those pegs into the holes. I had to break out the hairdryer, of course. But they look great! At the same time, they create some competition with what is going on with the backpack and the wings. Things are kind of crowded back there.
The halberd…this is a weapon that we had before, but not with these colors. In fact, I am looking at the gold knight guarding the change cup right now…he is holding this. But Anthophilees’ halberd came painted very nicely. And the other axe is very well done also..I don’t have another axe like this with the tapering handle, spiked top, and severely swooped blade. There are also paint hits on the rivets here as well!
PICTURED: Bug Battle. Masterverse New Eternia Mosquitor vs. Cosmic Legions Anthophilees. Notice the antennae and the mandibles. Also, on Mosquitor’s red spikes and eyeball, you can see paint slop. This doesn’t happen on the Four Horsemen Studios stuff.
SPARTANNERD RATING OF COSMIC LEGIONS ANTHOPHILEES
I don’t say it about male figures too often. But he’s pretty cute! Look at him in the flowers! Wait…is the antenna missing?
It just so happens that the SpartanNerd has a little bit of history dismantling bugs, but I didn’t mean for the antenna to fall off. You know why it fell off? because I kept having to re-attach the wings.
PICTURED: Mascara verse (OOPS!) I mean MASTERVERSE Thunder Punch He-Man and Cosmic Legions Anthophilees. Both have a “Backpack Backpack”. (I’m joking because that He-Man looks like he is wearing makeup.)
The wings are such a sticking point on this otherwise excellent figure. And this is why I have to take a point off. It is what the SpartanNerd calls “a stupid problem.” Maybe everyone’s isn’t like this. But mine is the one that is important. My other complaint about the wings…they should be individually articulated. The little hinge is good when the peg stays in, but it is kind of bad that you have to move the wings in sections because they just aren’t designed to be apart. And for me, the SpartanNerd…kind of an adult…ahem…this is OK. But some kid could try and force them to separate, and break them.
BUT…for what it’s worth, with that complaint…the vintage Buzz-Off’s wings worked like that. (I still have mine from childhood!)
PICTURED: Cosmic Legions Anthophilees, who is a Masters of the Universe Knock-Off of Buzz-Off. He is standing next to the SpartanNerd’s original Buzz-off from the 1980s…He has stood the test of time but I don’t have his helmet or weapon anymore. Also pictured is the MEGA Buzz-Off from the Eternia Tower set.
His sculpt, articulation, and accessories are all good. He gets “the feels” point because…”Buzz-Off…” I mean, he was absolutely WORTH that long wait. But the stupid problem with the wings means he is taking a hit on articulation. So the SpartanNerd rates Cosmic Legions Anthophilees a 4/5. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments!
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!
As a longtime G.I. Joe fan and now the owner of a real-life German Shepherd, this Classified called my name throughout December. Between nostalgia from the G.I. Joe movie and modern Classified Series design, Law and Order was exactly what the SpartanNerd wanted with some of his Christmas money.
(What I really spent it on was Heatboys TMNT Donatello…you’ll have to wait for that review to drop…let’s just say SOLID 5/5!)
Packaging
Law and Order came in the typical GI Joe Classified Series window box. The last two Classifieds I reviewed came in that dumb windowless box. But I’m not sure they could sell this figure without such a good window where you can especially see the K9 dog.
The side has artwork similar to other GI Joe Classified series figures. I will be removing this and adding it to my diorama.
The back features a photoshop scene from the 1987 GI Joe movie. Law was one of Beach Head’s new recruits in training. Beach Head sent him in to a mockup town to find a bomb. But what Beach Head didn’t know was that Law was going to cheat, calling in Order to help. Order finds the bomb right away and brings it to Beach Head, but wants to play tug-of-war with it. Law gets it away and throws it, where it explodes away from the town. And then Beach Head says a famous line, (but doesn’t cuss this time), “I hope you both get fleas!”
Too bad the figure didn’t come with a bomb accessory. I kind of hoped that I just couldn’t see it in the package, but nope. There would be no hiding it with this window, and there was no surprise bomb this time. (Jokey Smurf reference!)
Of course, the other side of the box is useless, containing the coded bio symbols and a QR code that links to Hasbro’s main site.
What Do You Get in the Box?
Law action figure
German Shepherd K9 figure “Order”
Order has a K9 helmet and, collar, and harness
Multiple interchangeable hands
Alternate snarling dog head
Removable hat
Handcuffs
Nightstick (tonfa)
Uzi submachine gun
Pistol
Dagger
I mention the K9 helmet, as it wasn’t clear that it was removable. (for all we know it could be hard-sculpted on.)
Articulation
Law
Law features the standard G.I. Joe Classified articulation we’ve come to expect: excellent range of motion at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, torso, hips, knees, and ankles.
His removable hat fits well, and his tactical vest appears removable with some effort, but I don’t feel the need to take it off. (There might be a glued seam under one arm. Sculpted details like the flashlight and body cam add realism, making Law feel like a true modern military police officer.
Order
Order can rotate his head and has a slight up and down on his neck joint. He has jointed knees and elbows, as well as ankles on some kind of joint that can be angled in any direction. His tail is also on a ball joint. His front and back legs have “splay” and he can stand very well. There is also a mid-body articulation (do we call this a “torso” on a dog?)
The mouth does not close—Order always has his tongue out in the default head sculpt—You can swap the head for a more menacing “snarling” look.
Accessories
We have a lot of similarities…We can remove our helmets, and have large scary pets! PICTURED: Masterverse New Eternia Battle Armor Skeletor and Panthor, and GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order. Both are posing with their helmet and pet.
The Uzi machine gun is painted green-on-black, and looks like real guns I have likely seen at shows or just around my son who was in the army. I don’t know hardly anything about guns, but this one looks very realistic.
PICTURED: Law leads some NPC GI Joes and Tunnel Rat, while busting Cold Slither. Notice Zartan is escaping! All GI Joe Classified Series figures.
Be careful with these handcuffs. They are made of the thinnest plastic. Honestly they feel like that plastic that Hasbro uses to tie figures into a blister card. Flimsy stuff. There isn’t a way to unlock them…they are permanently closed. If you want to put them on a figure you have to remove their hands.
My son says he believes this pistol is not styled after a real pistol. I tend to believe him…
The knightstick is a nice piece, but I wish the flashlight wasn’t permanently attached to the belt. I know some real police, and these flashlights are also meant to be used as nightsticks if necessary.
The dagger…I never could find a place on the figure where this dagger was supposed to sheath to. This was some kind of oversight at the Hasbro I believe.
No problem removing his helmet. It comes right off past the ears with a little force. BUT, in order to remove the harness…this is where there is a problem. There is no buckle or snap on this harness, instead you have to remove the head and neck (the neck doesn’t come off easy), and the two back legs.
It works, but it feels wrong—especially for younger collectors or anyone sensitive to pulling apart a dog figure. But he looks great without it on, and I prefer him not to wear it, though I know he is supposed to.
Order is of a similar scale to Mythic Legions Belualyth’s Chimera skeleton pet, Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes Timber wolf companion, GI Joe Classified Series Gnawgahyde’s Porkbelly warthog is bigger, but I believe this is accurate. (In a fight, my money is on the Warthog)
SpartanNerd Rating of GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order
Such a good boy…he has Cobra Commander’s gun!
I am rating GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order a 5/5. I award points for sculpt, paint, articulation, accessories, and “feels.” The set gets all of these, especially the feels point because I also now have a German Shepherd, but also because of my love for the 1980’s GI Joe movie. I believe I will be completing the “team” of Beach Head’s recruits, because now all I need are Beach Head, Jinx, Big Lob, and Lt. Falcon.
I rate GI Joe Classified Series Law and Order a 5/5. Do you agree or disagree? Do you have a German Shepherd of your own?
Let me know in the comments, and don’t forget to like, subscribe, and check out more GI Joe Classified Series reviews on SpartanNerd.com.
