Sometimes a toy collector faces a hunger. A desire to buy toys which is so strong, that denying it would surely result in spontaneous combustion. Today I faced that urge, and for fear of scorched parts, I wisely didn't deny it. I don't know why I bought these five new figures, but I'm mostly glad I did.
In my ravenous toy-hungry state, I made a stop at all three of my local toy providers: Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys R' Us. Target was first, and had absolutely nothing that caught my eye. It never does lately, and I often even question why I go at all. I guess the hope of a sweet surprise keeps me coming back every time, despite the constant failure. Next up was Wal-Mart, which resulted in a debate over the Marvel Universe Secret Wars two-pack you'll see below. I think it's pretty obvious which side of the debate I ended up on. As it turns out, the losing side.
I essentially paid $12 for a 4 inch Hawkeye figure, because I've literally never heard of "Marvel's Piledriver". He's the epitome of generic looking super hero, and I never had, nor have any desire to own him. I suppose a basic punching bag is never a real burden, yet it still seems like a waste to me. So you're probably asking whether or not Hawkeye was worth $12, and the answer is a pretty sturdy "no". I'm always disappointed by Marvel Universe figures, and even though Hawkeye looks nifty at first, thanks to some loose and flimsy joints, as well as a questionably useful bow and arrow, he's really not very good. Piledriver suffers from the loose and precariously weak joints too, so it might be a consistent issue. My early conclusion on this two-pack is an easy "avoid".
Not all my superhero purchases were a disaster, because I'm totally thrilled with Batman. This is the perfect black-symbol Batman I've been looking for for quite some time, and despite a pouch-light belt, I really love him. He looks fantastic on his own or in the midst of his enemies, and this is the DCUC's best Batman release yet as far as I'm concerned. It may not be quite as strong as the last DCSH Batman, but the style is a little more comparable to modern DCUC, and I recommend tracking down this All Star release if you're curious, as I don't think he'll disappoint.
The other two figures pictured above, the BioShock 2 Big Sister and Subject Delta, were both something I've had my eye on, and just couldn't resist when I spotted them today. I haven't picked up the game they're based on yet, but I loved the first dive into Rapture, and these designs translate so well into plastic. Both of these figures are stunning, poseable, and well-made. NECA is doing some amazing stuff with these Player Select lines, and I'm so very glad I picked up these two wonderful toys. That NECA smell is starting to build some classically conditioned joy with me. I do believe I'll be tracking down the rest of these releases, and you might want to consider doing the same.
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