Wonder Woman

Finally, after weeks of waiting, my DC Universe Classics wave 4 action figure set has arrived. The set consists of Wonder Woman, Ares, Batman Beyond, Captain Atom and Cyborg. Each character comes with a "Collect & Connect" piece to form Despero. I'm going to review one figure at a time and today we'll start with who I think is the main character of the set, Wonder Woman.

The first noticeable thing about Mattel's Wonder Woman is that her body is somewhat of a new sculpt compared to some of the previous female action figures Mattel has given us like Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Batgirl and Supergirl. My fear was that Mattel, would just reuse the same parts and she would be too small in comparison to Superman, Batman and the others. Well, that's not the case. The body parts are similar yes, but Wonder Woman's parts are thankfully on a bigger scale than the others as you will see the difference in the picture below of Wonder Woman next to Harley. The size difference is just right in my opinion. An Amazon Warrior should be taller than a regular female like Harley.

Superheroes

On to the second half of Mattel's Super Enemies Figure Pack from their DC Universe Classics 2 pack series. My last review was of the re-released Cyborg Superman so today I'll review the other figure from that 2 pack, Mongul.

Mongul's face sculpt is very angry looking. Someone really ticked this guy off! The face is very well details with a lot of wrinkles.

The body is thick and muscular. Mongul's hands and fee are huge.
There is also a lot of design work through out the body. His costume is very detailed.

For an action figure which I didn't really care about, he's actually pretty cool looking.

Mongul's paint job is also pretty good. The face is shaded with a darker yellowy brown.

His eyes are bright red with black outlines and are painted on cleanly. Looking over the rest of his body, there really aren't any major painting flaws to speak of.

Pool Predators

Sure, playing around in your pool is fun and refreshing, but where’s the danger that gets your blood pumping and helps you feel alive? Not to mention scaring that bikini clad cutie and having her jump into your arms.

Sure, you can raft down the Amazon looking for piranhas, but it’s safer and more fun to populate your pool with POOL PREDATORS.

Coming as either a hungry croc or the a Great White shark, these Predators are easy to set up.

Just toss them in the pool and let them fill with water until they look like they’re just barely on the surface.

They look just realistic enough to grab a second look or to sneak up and scare that unsuspecting pool cutie.

The Pool Predators are made from sturdy PVC plastic and have a water bladder that also makes them into an intimidating water gun with a giant squeeze of their sides.

And with a cost of about $20 US a piece, Pool Predators make for some serious fun on a hot summer day at the pool. But don’t bring them to the beach because we all know how that usually ends up … mass panic!

Hovering surfer toy screams Cowbunga

This radio controlled 9-inch “space surfer” hovers in the air, spins 360 degrees and moves left, right, backwards and forwards.

And it looks like it’s catching a wave, even though it’s hovering in mid air.

Adventure Heros line

It’s kinda tough to get kids into action blockbusters like Indiana Jones and Star Wars. Yeah right. More likely, it’s kinda tough to get parents to swing cold hard cash for toys based on movies which, admittedly are a tad violent.

So, Hasbro has softened these action toys with a new line of Adventure Heroes, specifically designed for smaller kids who may enjoy the action, but don’t get the violence, just yet.

Originally launched with Star Wars as Galactic Heroes, Hasbro expanded the line with the eye towards the 4th blockbuster in the Indiana Jones Trilogy – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Now, they’re going back to the classic trilogy with this set from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The Pack, second in the series, includes our heroes Indy and Henry Jones, plus the love interest turned bad Else, and the a set of Nazi bad guys. There’s even the grail knight who warns not to take the grail past the seal.

As looking as if they were based on a Saturday morning TV serial, rather than a series of PG13 adventure epics.

And that’s what make them fun as these toys will make fans of these kids even before they know what a Lost Arc is.

Star Wars AT-TE has a little problem

Hasbro has acknowledged that it is aware of the legs of the new Star Wars AT-TE toy are incapable of supporting the weight of the toy and pop off.

The issue apparently stems for problems in quality control and Hasbro is working on a solution which it hopes to have to customers soon.

The AT-TE sells for around $100 and includes the unassembled vehicle, 6 “laser” barrels, 1 cannon projectile, clone trooper figure, blaster, 8 wheels, label sheet and instructions. Hasbro promises to either repair or replace the defective AT-TE, or customers can opt for a full refund.

For more information, visit www.hasbro.com or by calling toll-free, 800-327-8264.

Holiday grabs

This segment of our Toys R Us hot holiday toy list looks at toys for kids aged 2-4 years.

They are filled with classics, go hitech, and look to give kids a lot of fun on Christmas morning.

It wouldn’t be a holiday season without girls getting Barbies from Jolly Ole St. Nick. And Toys R Us is betting that the “Barbie & The Diamond Castle Princess Liana and Princess Alexa Dolls” from Mattel will be the hot ticket.

Barbie becomes Princess Liana (sold separately) and with her best friend Princess Alexa, go on a journey to discover music, magic and the power of friendship. The Princess Alexa Doll sings two songs from the Barbie & The Diamond Castle movie and wears a glittery gown which magically transforms with the pull of her pretty purple ribbon.

Cost is about $25. (free shipping on orders of $50 or more)

Bratz deadline extended

MGA Entertainment Inc. may have been convicted of violating Mattel’s copyright over their Bratz toy dolls, and they may have to pay a whopping $100 million in restitution for it, but it appears that the judge in the case has decided it’s more important for MGA to stay in business than it is to uphold Mattel’s copyright, at least until the end of the year, that is.


Under the original terms of the court’s decision, MGA Entertainment Inc. would be prevented by injunction from manufacturing and selling the Bratz toy dolls as of February 11th.

But MGA argued that doing so would cause toy retailers from ordering the toys and would cause irreparable financial damage to the MGAs bottom line. As such, the judge in the case granted them a reprieve which would allow MGA to continue making Bratz toys for most of 2009. Again. Huh?

I rather thought that was the whole point of the fine and the injunction – to prevent the violators of the copyright from continuing to violate said copyright. And it would seem logical to assume that a hefty fine and injunction would cause financial harm, but that is the punishment for causing financial harm on the original copyright holders, isn’t it?

No word on Mattel’s next move in this chess game, but if this decision is allowed to stand, it will only serve as precedent for other pirates seeking to leach of someone else’s intellectual property.

Barbie - The old gray hair is still a buxom blonde at 50

She’s the object of every girl’s dreams, the obsession of many collectors’ desire, and the bane of some activist’s existence.

But as Barbie approaches her 50th birthday on March 9th, there’s no denying that this iconic toy has changed the way little girls play and how a toy company markets her.


Somewhere in the world, a Barbie doll is sold every three seconds somewhere in the world. Mostly for little girls, but Mattel has noticed over the years a growing demographic of adult collectors who are buying her up from the toys stores as well.

This growing market place has caused Mattel to begin to market Barbie to a whole new demographic – adults who not only grew up with the iconic toy, but who are obsessed by her as well.

Mattel is marketing special Star Trek themed Barbie’s, life-sized Barbie fashions and a line of Barbie clothing, cosmetics, and even a printer which prints custom nail designs onto girls fingernails.

So, at 50, Barbie has never been bigger.

And even though it may be that the economic downturn may damper earnings figures, to survive nearly a half century of pop culture proves only that the future has never looked brighter for Barbie.

Terminator Toys take over Toy Fair

With the upcoming sequel to the Terminator movie epic, Terminator: Salvation coming this summer, Playmates is gearing up with a whole spate of Terminator toys which will allow kids to pretend they’re the treaded T-600 assassin.

And although the T600’s mission is to take out John Connor before he can mount a resistance, the heavy price tag on some of these toys make do Connor’s work for him. Still, they’re pretty cool toys that deserve a look.


The first toy of the Terminator line is a flying fist toy which shoots a out from the forearm to attack anyone in it’s path. Pretty cool, but with a cost of $75, one has to wonder who’s going to take it on, much less play with it.

Next is T-600 Voice and Vision helmet with light up eyes that makes the wearer look very ominous.

Lastly, there’s the Terminator Endoskeleton Tatoos’ which will let kids pretend they’ve got some T-200 titanium under that fleshy covering of theirs.

The toys are due to be out in time for the premiere of the movie May 21st.

Disney Princess the Magic Kingdom

Arriving at the New York Toy Faire with pomp and pageantry is Princess Tiana, Disney’s latest royal princess from the upcoming “The Princess and the Frog.”

Voiced by Tony Award-winning actress/singer Anika Noni Rose, Princess Tiana is the first Disney princess in over a decade and is a timely addition to the ever popular Disney Princess line that has girls dressing in costume as they walk the Magic Kingdom and get in touch with their inner royal.


These Mattel toys, ranging from cute baby dolls to hour glass collectibles in Barbie-esque glory, also include play sets and role-play dresses which will help young girls pretend to be Princess Tiana, who is also the first African American Disney princess to enter the pantheon.

A distinction that’s long overdue.

The first wave of “The Princess and the Frog” merchandise, which will include apparel, home décor, consumer electronics, school supplies and personal care products will flood the Kingdom starting in late October / early November, while the Disney movie – the first hand drawn animated feature since Home on the Range – will arrive in theaters Christmas Day – perfect for little girls who get their Princesss Tiana toys from Santa!

Disney Star Wars Training Academy

Lately my interest in the Lucas attitude of “if you build it, they will come” towards Star Wars/Disney merchandising has been rather waneing.

I mean, when Disney slaps Minnie Mouse in a slave Leia costume, how can not every red blooded American male not lose any interest in the a woman in a bikini.

The image is seared into my mind! Well, thankfully, Disney has redeemed itself by releasing through Hasbro a fun set commemorating the Disney Parks Jedi Training Academy.


But what is a little sad is that Disney doesn’t appreciate that the average Star Wars/Disney fan would know the name of the generic “Jedi Master” who chooses the youngling padawans from the crowd. Then again, I can’t seem to, so maybe it’s a non starter.

But I digress. The cool thing is that any of the 25 youngsters who are chosen to learn the way of the Force and battle Darth Vader and Darth Maul can take home this 5 figure set and actually believe that one of them is him! And then relive the memory over and over again. Impressive, most impressive.

And what’s really cool is that the Jedi Training Academy is now a permanent fixture at both Disneyland and Disney Hollywood Studios (where it’s in the shadow of a 35 foot tall ATAT).

The toys will be sold exclusively during Star Wars Weekends for an obscene $40.

Power Rangers Toy

There’s a trend going on in toy making right now … using the Internet to poll toy fans on what new toy to make.

And that’s not only very democratic, but cool to boot.

Hasbro has been doing it for about a year by letting Star Wars toy fans vote on what toy to release next and now Power Rangers toy maker Bandai is doing the same thing through Wizard Universe.

The idea is for Power Rangers fans to choose the next classic Ranger toy and it’s bringing the Power Rangers franchise around full circle.


Going back to even the beginning, users can vote on a sampling of Rangers from several series incarnations over the lats 15 years.

They include the Pink Power Ranger from the first season of Mighty Morphin PR, the Red Zeo Ranger from the second season, the Quantum Ranger from Time Force, the Red Ninja Ranger from Ninja Storm, the Blue Dino Ranger from Dino Thunder, the Omega Ranger from S.P.D., and the Solaris Knight from Mystic Force.

Fans can log onto wizarduniverse.com to make you’re their heard and decide which of these classic Power Rangers figures will get a makeover.

action figure collections Mattel is putting out include a new three pack of Gotham Knight Batman

Other action figure collections Mattel is putting out include a new three pack of Gotham Knight Batman including the Caped Crusader taking on Scarecrow and based on the DC direct to DVD anime Movie.

There’s also a Gotham based Justice League collection which includes villains such as Bane, Harley Quinn,
and yet another Scarecrow; as well as several animated Justice League heroes and Batman: Brave and the Bold (which is based on yet another animated Batman series to hit the cable nets in January).

Mattel has created a new round of DC comics super hero action figures

Mattel has created a new round of DC comics super hero action figures that kids are sure to love … especially if they’re into comics.

The figures include: Wonder Woman, Hawk Wingman, Gordon in Swat gear, Sinestro, Atom (classic costume), Blue and Gray Batman (old school), Crisis/70’s Supergirl, Black and Silver Superman Prime, Alex Luthor.

While no one will probably care about Alex Luthor or even have a clue who “Omac” is, the old school Detective comics Batman and classic Wonder Woman make this a pretty cool collection of figs to consider.

And even the disco 70s Supergirl is rather kitchy and could appeal to girls who don’t particularly want Barbie as a role model.