Points of Articulation - Back With an Onslaught!

First, an apology. When I said I intended to write a "semi-regular" column, I hoped to post more frequently than once every six weeks. However, in my defence, I'll say that I've been out of town for work - and it is really difficult to review action figures when you're in Calgary and your toys are in Toronto. I'm back home now, and I just picked up a bunch of new figures, so I should be able to crank out a few new articles in short order.

Let's kick things off with a look at all six regular figures from the Onslaught Series! They weren't hard to find, I walked into one of my favourite stores today and walked out with the whole set.



The all-villain roster consists of the Green Goblin, Lady Deathstrike, Pyro, Abomination, Loki and Blackheart. There are three variant figures: melted-face Abomination (same figure, different head), Crown of Lies Loki (same figure, different hat) and unmasked Green Goblin (same figure, Norman Osborn head). I might get the unmasked Goblin, if I ever see it at a reasonable price. Why is that, you ask?

Well, in my opinion, the Green Goblin is the best of the lot. Let's take a look.

The figure is nicely sculpted, with a look faithful to the comic book - and less cartoony than some other Goblin figures. Norman is holding a metallic-orange pumpkin bomb, although it won't seem to come loose from his hand. The base nicely approximates Norman's glider, and he has no difficulty posing on it. He also comes with his man-purse and a reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #122, the issue that follows the death of Gwen Stacy - a great read!


Combined with a Spider-Man 2 movie figure, you can create a pretty neat fight scene. I'm using that pic as my current desktop.









Next, let's look at Lady Deathstrike.

Deathstrike is also a pretty cool figure, even though she comes with no accessories. As you can see, she makes a good opponent for Wolverine. Even with those long arms, Yuriko manages to maintain her balance quite a bit better than some of the other figures in this series.


















It would have been nice if she came with interchangeable arms, a normal set and her elongated metal arms - but I suppose that's just me being picky. You get a copy of Wolverine #77 with this figure.

Next up is Pyro.

I like the overall look of this figure, but the plastic seems really cheap. I'm not sure what exactly bothers me about this figure, but it doesn't seem to match the overall level of quality for the rest of the series. Plus, the paint scheme on this particular figure is a little sketchy, with some tan plastic bleeding through.



However, I think Pyro looks pretty keen with the addition of the flame accessory from the ML Iron Fist figure. All in all, a decent addition to my line-up of X-Men villains. Here's a shot of Pyro fighting Iceman. Pyro comes with a copy of Daredevil #355.















Now we'll examine Loki.

Loki is a good figure, but the heavy cape causes him to have some serious problems staying upright. Thankfully, you can remove the cape. He also comes with a sword. His face looks really, really old - I haven't read much Thor, but I didn't realize Loki looked worse than Dr. Doom!

As you can see, even taking the crown into account, Loki is pretty tall - here he is standing next to Captain America. I don't have a Thor figure, so you'll have to settle for this "Last Hero Standing"-inspired picture. Loki comes with a reprint of Thor #112, another great issue by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

















I really dig this Abomination figure, even though its fairly simple.

He's a serious brick o' plastic, really solid. I would have liked some articulation in the torso, perhaps a hinge at the ribs or some articulation in the biceps. Inexplicably, he also lacks a cut at the wrist, so you can't turn the hand. There is only a hinge at the base of the fist that allows you to angle the hand along the long axis of the arm. Also, is it just me, or does the head look just a bit too small for his body?

Abomination comes with a copy of The Incredible Hulk #25 (April 2001).

He looks like more than a match for my First Appearance green-skinned variant Hulk!
















Last, we've got the worst of the bunch, Blackheart.

My main quibble with this figure is the feet. He's designed to balance on his toes - a bit like the McFarlane Aliens figures, if you're familiar with that line. That wouldn't be so bad, but his tail is very stiff when it needs to be flexible - you need the tip of the tail to touch the ground and provide some extra stability. As a result, he has serious trouble standing up. Also, in terms of colour, I think he's too purple when he should be deep black. A blue wash might have looked better.

Blackheart is really tall, almost as tall as Abomination. Here he is fighting Ghost Rider. The chain comes from a different toy. Blackheart comes with an issue of "Ghost Rider/Wolverine/Punisher: Hearts of Darkness" - a team-up I've never heard of before.














If you buy all six figures, you can build an Onslaught figure.


















I don't think all that much of this build-a-figure. Truth be told, I wasn't reading comics during the Onslaught saga, so I don't really have a clear understanding of who Onslaught is or his significance in the Marvel Universe.

Even if I was a rabid Onslaught fanboy, I suspect I'd be a little disappointed. Most of the major joints - ankles, knees, hips, shoulders and elbows - are ball joints, which in theory should allow for a wider range of motion. Unfortunately, several of these joints are frozen or very stiff, and they seem likely to break if forced.

Also, the Onslaught BAF isn't very big, certainly no comparison to the Galactus, Sentinel or Apocalypse build-a-figures. In fact, he isn't much taller than Abomination or Blackheart. Here, take a look.

Somewhat mysteriously, each figure comes with a little stand for a diorama. However, no diorama picture is included with the figures other than the standard plain blue card, which it appears you are supposed to trim and use as a background. Maybe for Namor swimming underwater, otherwise its a pretty stupid idea if you ask me.

My overall take on the series? I like an all-villain wave but the Onslaught BAF leaves me cold. I think I would have preferred this series as originally conceived - a "Bring On The Bad Guys" wave, where each figure would have been a two-pack, with lackey soldiers like Hydra terrorists or Brood aliens.

That's all for now. I hope to be back with another column soon, hopefully one that answers where Ghost Rider's chain came from. As always, you can post your questions or you can email me at notoriousuli@yahoo.ca. Look for more Points of Articulation right here at Waiting for Wednesday!