Never Forget

The Black Widow didn't have heroic roots. She used to be a villain. She committed crimes in the past and S.H.I.E.L.D. has a record of these crimes.  During the Hydra's takeover of S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Widow was willing to reveal her dark secrets to the world if it meant taking down Hydra. 

I find this very interesting because these days, there are people who are trying to cover up their crimes. There are already public records of the crimes and some people are spreading false information to make it look like the crime never happened or trying to place the blame on someone else. These are the same people who claim that the dictator responsible for these crimes was a great leader. These are the same people who fault other people who can't forgive and move on from the crimes even if they were committed decades ago. 

Maybe if they admitted the crimes and subject themselves to the authorities, the way Black Widow admitted her crimes and subject herself to a Senate subcommittee, maybe there is a chance to see them in a different light.

Revisionism

This is the Marvel Universe Avengers: Age of Ultron Captain America with motorcycle.  The box indicates that it is Marvel Legends Captain America: Civil War Captain America with motorcycle. The Marvel Universe toy line is for the 4-inch action dolls while the Marvel Legends is for the 6-inch action dolls. Now, Hasbro is revising the toy lines and calling all their Marvel action dolls, whether it's 4, 6 or 12 inch, as Marvel Legends. This has brought  a lot of confusion among toy collectors. Hasbro doesn't care as long as their products sell.

The toy is being associated with the Captain America: Civil War movie. I don't remember Captain America riding a motorcycle there. He did use a motorcycle in the Avengers: Age of Ultron movie. The action doll's uniform looks closer to that of the Civil War movie than the Age of Ultron movie, though. Still it's not exactly like the ones from those movies.

What's the problem with this revisions? It is an outright denial of what happened. It is an attack on the truth. If there is anything good about the Captain America: Civil War movie, it gives some attention on the victims of the tragic events. People died. There was no denial. The characters were not treated as if they were not affected. They didn't move on just like that.  They tried to learn from the past.

This toy defeats the aim of upholding the truth. It is just another denial exercise. It associates itself to the wrong movie for it's own benefit. The buzz for the older movie has died so marketing it along with the newer movie is the practical move. It may be a practical move but it certainly isn't truthful. I find it villainous.  Their exercise of power on naming toys reminds of how a dictator name his humans right violation and corruption as progress and development using state owned mass media.

It's a good thing I didn't pay for the full price for this. (I paid 50%.) That's what it's worth with its half-truths and reduced articulation. With all the undesirable revisions, I'm going have to revise my desire to collect this line of toys and watching the movie versions of these characters. I may just settle for watching the pirated version and just stop with the Age of Ultron. Not all characters in the Civil War movie will be made available, anyways. Another option is to just buy the knock off toys. They have more than five points of articulation and a whole lot cheaper. Plus, it is a good idea to know where to stop. Here.

Cheese

This first Captain Marvel action doll fits more in my collection than the current Captain Marvel, although I don't know much about him. I googled and saw cheesy (by today's standards, although they might been acceptable back in the days) comic book covers and decided to recreate them.

Gotta love what you have.

Reconsideration

I'm not a Ms. Marvel/Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel fan. I bought this figure because of the possibility for turning it into another character.  That shouldn't keep me from enjoying this toy in its original form. 

I heard a new movie will be made based on this character but that will be released around 3 years from now. I bet the comics will make this character more interesting. But then again, a Black female lead is overdue. The female Captain Marvel could be the Monica Rambeau. That's far-fetched, of course. You can't expect too much  from the Marvel Cinematic Universe writers/producers/directors.

I might like the character by then. I might regret not having a Captain Marvel action doll. There is no urgent reason for me to create a new character out of this toy, anyways. Who knows, other toy releases would be more suitable for the character I have in mind, or they will release a toy version of that character. This toy will remain as is, for now.

The toy came with a comic book. Unlike previous comics that came with toys like this, this comic book has an ad for another toy line. I feel that Hasbro is really pushing us 4-inch collectors to switch to the 6-inch line. No way!

They can end the 4-inch line, for all I care. I'm quite satisfied already with my 4-inch collection. I really don't need this toy. It was just accessible and available and I have the funds and it takes so little space to store this. I would have preferred the unmasked version, since one can do more with that head sculpt than this one,  but it sold out. No big deal. Toys aren't.

Denial Exercise

I have a problem with the look-at-the-bright-side mentality. The not-so-bright side doesn't get enough attention. I think that is why we have necks, to help us look at every side, bright or not. I'm a self-confessed pessimist so that should be expected of me.

At least, I don't know anyone personally who was affected when it was revealed that Captain America is an agent of Hydra. I did saw online reactions of some fans, mostly of disbelief, thinking/hoping that there will be a twist somewhere down the line. 

I'm more concerned with how people are not reacting when someone says that if you are a corrupt journalist, you might as well expect to be assassinated. This is from the same person who finds it appropriate to kill criminals even before they are tried. Look at the bright side. At least, there will be less criminals and corrupt journalists.

As of late, there has been a number of alleged criminals being killed. What can stop a cop, or somebody else, from killing a civilian and make it look like the victim is a criminal? How difficult could it be to plant evidences against a dead person? Bag and tag the body as a drug dealer or as a corrupt journalist and a common person will sleep soundly at night.

After reading the news about an alleged criminal who was killed, how many people will ask themselves if the dead person was indeed a criminal? Who can review the evidences? How can someone appeal to reverse the judgement? Due process, all that is taken away, not just from the person who was killed but from everybody who knows that the due process is part of what keeps us safe.

Somebody is killing our due process. Should we kill the murderer?

Vision

I've had this young Vision action doll for some weeks now. I wasn't excited with it because it is not the Vision I know. I plan to modify it to make it look like the original Vision, but after posing it to take the photo for this entry, I realized that the cape design keeps the action doll from standing up on its own. It already has reduced articulation and for it not able to stand is adding insult...

No wonder this is hard to sell locally. I should have waited instead of buying this right away. Had I waited, I could have gotten it at a lower price from an online seller.

Divisoria Marvels

Divisoria never ceases to amaze me. I just never know what to find there. I try to visit there every month, if time permits even if I have nothing specific in mind to buy. It's a good excuse to walk for hours as an exercise.

Marvel Universe action dolls from Divisoria.

Here I am with the West Coast Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy action dolls, toys I didn't plan to have. Those toys just presented themselves to me while I was visiting Divisoria. It wasn't that I hate them. I just didn't want to exert any effort to get them. I didn't went toy hunting for those. I didn't buy online even if they weren't sold in local toy stores. (The GotG pack was sold in local stores but that was before I became interested in collecting the toy line.)

The monetary cost, the amount of time to search, the wait for the arrival, the risk of poor quality when buying online, the bargaining with the seller, etc., in short, all the trouble to get them wasn't worth the satisfaction of having them. The ease of having a toy has always been a major factor for me in toy collecting. It shouldn't cost much and it should be available in local stores. I enjoy the shopping experience wherein you get to touch the box, examine what's inside before making a decision to buy an experience that is lost when buying online. When I found the boxes above in Divisoria, I knew they were going home with me.

These toys aren't sought after, to be honest. The popularity of a toy isn't a major consideration for me in buying a toy.  I never bothered with the resale values of any toy I buy. It was just that the opportunity to get these toys easily below the retail price is there. I felt that the opportunity will not present itself again. That is just me trying to make sense of this impulse buy.

Hero vs Hero

After watching the hero vs hero movies from DC and Marvel, I can't help notice some similarities. Here are some.

In Batman vs Superman (BVS), there was no clear motivation why Lex Luthor is doing what he's doing. He just seems crazy. Making  a character crazy is an easy way out compared to creating a backstory to explain the villain's motivation.

In Civil War (CW), Helmut Zemo may have a backstory but it wasn't shown. It was just told. The objective was, of course, not to make the audience empathize with the villain. The reveal of the villain's backstory was used to enlighten another character, T'challa. I also didn't get why Zemo had to reveal that he framed up Bucky. He could have destroyed the evidence and released the video of Tony Stark's parents, to further fuel Tony's anger earlier on. 

Both movies lack an interesting villain. At least, BVS had Doomsday.

In both hero vs hero movies, I wasn't moved by any side. I didn't empathize with Superman and I feel Batman is too angry and afraid. I thought Batman was a good detective. He should have made a thorough investigation to see if Superman was indeed a threat. Superman, on the other hand, just didn't seem to care at all with what's going on around him.  He didn't have a clue that he was being set up. A quick x-ray scan of the building could have saved a lot of people.

I wasn't Team Iron-man nor Team Cap as well.  I understand Tony felt the guilt for the collateral damage while Steve has this guilt of not being able to save his friend. The thing is, it was hard to share their guilt. Didn't we celebrate when the heroes defeated the villains even if we knew that there was some damages, some lives lost? Didn't we rationalize how the death toll could be higher had the Avengers didn't do what they did? Tony's guilt may be sensible but I felt it wasn't strong enough to make me side with him. I've always seen him as a person with a big ego so his wanting himself placed under some organization's control also doesn't make sense.

I don't also didn't get Cap. How could he place so many people's life in danger just to save someone who can already save himself? I feel for all the soldiers he beat up just to keep Bucky safe. Also, Chris Evans is not a great actor. For those who is used to watching action and sci-fi movies may find his abilities good enough but not me. Maybe I'd appreciate him more if he had a nude scene.

The issues between heroes for both movies could have been settled diplomatically but then the movie would have a lot of talk time, less action scenes. The truth is, a lot of us only wanted to see a brawl between two or more heroes. At least, we got that. It doesn't have to make sense.

Losing a parent is no laughing matter but when it is overused, it becomes a cliche like in both movies. People who get to hear that story over and over will eventually get desensitized.  Yeah, it adds to the backstory, giving a clear motivation. It's also adds to the drama but it's getting... *yawns* Speaking of drama, Steve should have died in CW, for the sake of drama... or comedy if you get the point.

Both BVS and CW introduced new characters that will eventually be part of the team. BVS storytellers are really too lazy imagining an incident where the introduction was called for. The introduction doesn't really add to the story. The same is true with adding Ant-man and Spider-man, even the return of Hawkeye. They were just added for the rumble because it is what we really paid for. (T'challa's appearance fit in the story, so I don't see a problem there.)  If you are going against your own team, the same people whom you somewhat trusted before, why would you turn to someone new, someone whose reliability hasn't been tested yet? Why did Steve trusted Ant-man and why was Tony bringing in a kid to a fight? What have these new characters done to gain the trust of the older characters? What if they were Hydra? Are Steve and Tony really evil such that they are willing to sacrifice the safety of other people just to further their goal?

I really think some of them should die already, like Cap and Hawkeye. They died in the comics. It reminds me of beauty pageant question: if you're going to die, why not now? At least, Superman died.

The Dark Knight Rises: Battle for Gotham City, Batmobile with Batman (2012)

This Batmobile toy was initially released in 2012. I'm assuming it was a flop since I have been seeing this being sold in Divisoria for quite sometime. I don't collect DC toys so I didn't buy it then but every time I was in the store, I kept looking at it. The Batman toy also looked crappy. The Batmobile, aka the Tumbler looked really cool, though. It can work with my 4-inch Marvel Universe action dolls. For PhP700 (less discount), it feels like a good deal. (It is being sold online locally for PhP1100.) I did enjoy the Decool Tumbler I got for my nephew and I thought I should get my own version.

As with a lot of Mattel toys, this, too, is difficult to remove from the box. It has some locking mechanism I don't understand. I did try following the illustration but it didn't release the toy. I just pulled the car from the cardboard. A strong force is needed. I don't think a kid can do it. The kid would just be frustrated.

the locking mechanism

From the photos on the box, the spoilers(?) on the car are raised. I felt fooled when I found out that the spoilers cannot be raised. They are also made of rubbery material which is good. The spoiler could be the first to break if they are made of hard plastic. This toy just invites the player to handle it roughly. 

The spoilers can't be raised but they can be bent.

The Batman action doll feels like a knock-off. The plastic feels cheap. The one I got has splayed legs. It has poor articulation when compared to Hasbro action dolls on the same scale. This poor standard was the Mattel standard for action dolls in this scale.

The Batmobile feels light since it is mostly hollow. It has enough details making it look good in pictures. Most 4-inch action dolls can fit inside although it is very cramped.

The rear wheels are made of rubber while the front wheels are not. They roll quite easily. The body is made of hard plastic but it doesn't feel like it can crack easily. The car can survive some rough playing. It can be bumped to the wall or other toys. It may have some dents and scratches but it could give cool a battle-worn effect.

For less than PhP700 (around US$15), this is a good buy compared to the Captain America with Motorcycle from the Captain America: Civil War toys. I don't even remember Captain America with a motorcycle from that movie. It was Bucky who did an awesome trick with a motorbike.

This is one of the most iconic Batmobile design from one of the best Batman movies. The Batmobile from the Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice has a sensible design as well, but it wasn't offered in a scale for 4-inch dolls.

Removing The Mask of The Daredevil

While season 3 of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D is painting the danger in the rise of super powered humans, the hero or vigilante question was built up in season 2 of Daredevil. Both will eventually lead to the issue of controlling and regulating these extra-ordinary beings by the government, which will be tackled in Captain America: Civil War. We'll be getting too far ahead with the story so we'll just dial it back to the Netflix series.

To paint the hero or vigilante question, the Daredevil's style of fighting crime is juxtaposed with that of the Punisher from the get-go. While both of their style is bloody, the Punisher leaves a lot gruesome dead bodies. The Daredevil just leaves a lot of broken bones. The Punisher is clearly a vigilante while it seemed like the Daredevil is a hero trying to save lives, not take it. Then comes Elektra to further reveal the Daredevil's character. The Daredevil continuously tried to respect life despite Elektra's rationalizing the need to take lives. He still appears to be a hero. He actually tried his darndest to be a hero even reaching the obnoxious level of disregarding his daytime responsibilities.

More than the expectedly awesome fight scenes leading to the fall of the villains and clues on what could still happen in case there will be a season 3, what I felt was most interesting in the finale episode was the revelation in the Daredevil's hero status. He unmasked himself with the following statements:

"...this is a part of me that I need and you're the only one who gets it. Without this I'm not alive, I'm not, not really. And I know that now, thanks to you."

Although not explicitly defined, which part he was referring to, the part that he needed, the part that Elektra got, one can assume that it was being the Daredevil, something he has kept a secret for the majority. And for those who knew, like Claire and Foggy, they are opposed to it. They don't get it.

In the same conversation with Elektra, the Daredevil was willing to abandon the city he was trying to protect so he can go disappear with her. What's the Daredevil without someone to save or worse forsaking the your beloved city? Not a hero, for sure. The part that makes him feel alive is not really the saving of lives. It's being a daredevil, the daring stunts, the danger. He can give up being a hero just to feel alive.

 

It seems too simplistic to reduce the Daredevil to someone who just get a kick out of living dangerously. One cannot discount the lives he saved. This season showed us that maybe the saving of lives is just an excuse so he can live as a daredevil. For me, it is a satisfying enough answer on whether the Daredevil is a hero or not; but hero or not, I enjoyed the Daredevil series.

Divisoria Deadpool

Ever had that feeling of wanting to buy a toy, any toy, even if you don't really want it? You then make up justifications of buying the toy, like you can sell it if you're sure you don't want it, or you can customize it to something you really want.

That's the case for this 4-inch Divisoria Deadpool action doll. This gray-black suit is Deadpool's uniform when he was a member of the X-force, the more millitant version of the X-men. Hasbro released an official X-force Deadpool (middle and right images above). It can be seen how the gray Divisoria Deadpool is different from the official release, from the scabbard, to the belt pouches and the holster. This Divisoria figure won't pass as the original. No wonder, online sellers are not selling this.

The same thing can't be said about the red Divisoria Deadpool. It looks like the original X-men Origins comic version Deadpool. The gray Deadpool is just a repaint of the red, except maybe for the head. They have different head sculpts. The gray is bigger.

A lot of Deadpool stuff are being sold in Divisoria. They have the Marvel Legends and Select scales. I only care about the 4-inch stuff. The red or gray Deadpool is being sold for PhP500 each.

I found this toy car while thrifting. I thought it was cute with the opening doors. The 4-inch dolls could also fit in. It is missing the roof but I don't care. I might create a makeshift roof or I could just leave it as is. It's a Lil Bratz Lil' Coupe.

Spideypool

It's a funny ship.

Deadpool

I'm not a Deadpool fan, not yet anyways. The movie trailer got me interested. I was also intrigued by the multitude of Deadpool fans. He has quite a following. There's got to be a reason why people like him so much. Maybe I'll find out when I see the movie.

Being a popular character, Deadpool toys are easily sold out from toy stores, with the help of toy scalpers, of course. A lot of Deadpool toys are exorbitantly priced. This includes the 4-inch action dolls.  It was a good thing that I'm no fan otherwise I would be pissed about acquiring a Deadpool toy.

I saw an ad online about this possibly unlicensed version of Deadpool. It came loose so there is no way of verifying its authenticity. It looks and feels like the original, including the Hasbro markings. I checked one of the offline stores the online seller uses for his transactions. It wasn't on display. He could just have displayed a couple toys on the offline stores and I would have bought immediately. I wanted to verify some things before actually purchasing it. The seller was too lazy to post actual photos or comparison photos with other figures, so he might be to lazy to answer my queries. Plus, the seller gives off a certain attitude that I don't like. 

Since the seller is doubting if the toy is a clone or not, he must have gotten it from where most things sold are clones, Divisoria. Divisoria is a big place to look for a small action doll. I saw a number of Deadpool merchandise in different stores but I saw only one store selling the 4-inch doll. There was also the gray version but since I'm no fan, I just bought the one with the popular color scheme.

I'm just happy that I didn't have to pay a crazy amount for this toy. I'd be happier if it was indeed a clone. That means someone out there can do what Hasbro is doing. Since Hasbro is doing a stellar job in disappointing the fans of the 4-inch Marvel toys, I don't mind an alternative option, even if it is unlicensed. If these are indeed authentic toys that someone just hoarded for a profit to later find out that not a lot of people are willing to pay an arm for so it is being sold at a more reasonable price in time with the upcoming movie, that would be the best.

Recreating Moments

Wait for It

There is no new toy release for the first two months of the year in our country, at least from the toy lines I'm interested in. It is a good time to rest from the mindless spending or one can use the time to look for older releases. Not being able to buy the desired toy right away is not the end of the world. Sometimes, it is just a test for the must needed ingredient for anyone's peace of mind, patience. 

The 4-inch Black Cat action doll was released locally last year. I held off buying then because of the price increase. She immediately vanished from the toy aisles and made her way to online sellers and toy conventions with a mark up. I didn't buy with the suggested retail price (SRP) and there is no way I'm buying with a higher price. I waited for the day some sensible seller got wise and realize that it's not going to sell at a higher price. I got it for for a price lower than SRP. 

Inspired by...

Marvelee Avengerses 2 Age of Ultron Titan Hero Tech

Marvelee? Avengerses?  They are not the usual typographical errors you encounter in this blog. It's a way around copyright laws, I guess. Some countries have their own versions of copyright laws and I guess in some country they only cover names but not the design. They can copy a design but not the name, I guess. I guess a lot, don't I? I just don't get why they have to change the "Avengers" to "Avengerses" when they kept using the word "Avengers" all throughout the box. I also find it funny and cute how they "translate" Hasbro in Chinese. Harharhar.

front and back of knock off Titan Hero Tech Hulk Buster box

I forgot to take pictures of the earlier 3 Titan Hero Tech knock offs in their boxes before I gave them away. Knock offs need to be documented as well, as a validation of their existence. I have these two left to be given away later on so I decided to document them.

front and back of knock off Titan Hero Tech Thor box

The three earlier characters came in a box similar to the Hulk Buster box above. The back of Thor's box is different. One thing lacking about clones and knock off's is the consistency. It could be because a number of manufacturers are copying the same products and they each have their own recipe. Since they are copying the same product, they generally look the same but some details vary with each copy.

When one buys knock offs, limitations are to be expected. For one, the recorded sounds are not appropriate for the characters. They are actually from a Transformers movie. For Thor, the hip joint is done away with. The metallic plates on his chest doesn't look metal. Mjolnir also has a different color from the original. 

The Hulk Buster on the other hand is too short. The size of the box is totally misleading. It has the biggest box but it has the shortest figure inside! The steel parts which are supposed to be in silver are in plastic gold.  The hands are in gold instead of red. The punching action from the original is not copied. The sculpt is also different from the back, with some details removed. (I forgot to take a picture of that.)

With those limitations, one has to weigh things if these toys are worth getting. Personal criteria may vary but after some thought, I personally think that they are worth the price and is still a better alternative than the original. The intended kids who will play with this don't understand English very well, so the recorded voices will be alien to them. They don't understand what they are saying. The removal of some features (the hip joint and  the punching action) is okay. I've seen how the kids play with these toys and those features adds little value. We don't buy these toys for their articulation or life-like action, right? Moving parts tend to break easily as well so less moving parts, less breakage. As for the different colors in some details, I honestly didn't realized them until I nitpick. The size of the Hulk Buster is a let down but it still is a big figure that looks like a match for Hulk.

The original Titan Hero Tech Hulk Buster retails for about PhP1200+, while the knock off is just PhP350. That is less than a third of the price. The knock off Thor is even lower at PhP250. Original regular (not Tech series) Titan Hero (comics version) are priced at PhP600+. The sculpt on these knock offs are good enough. Personally, I like the sculpt of the knock off  Hulk better than the original. For the price of these knock offs, I can get the original 2.5-inch figures at their current discounted rate but those small toys can easily be lost by the kids I intended to give them to.  Plus, buying these knock offs feels a lot better especially for someone who has been disappointed by Hasbro a number of times.

comparison with Ken doll

Titan Knock Off

I understand the need for less articulation.

I have two nephews. While one can properly play with brick sets, the younger one (age: 3) tends to "ruin" those and lose some parts. It's a good thing that I didn't spend a fortune on their toys. I know sooner or later the toys will be lost or destroyed.

Instead of toy bricks, I wanted to give them something more durable and big, so it won't easily get lost. The Hasbro's Titan Heroes action dolls seems to satisfy all that but they are priced unreasonably. Good thing, there are knock offs!

They cost about a third or less the of original's price. With that, expect the quality to be lower. I picked the Titan Tech Heroes knock offs because they are based on the movie version. Regular Titan Heroes are based on comics version. The "tech" part refers to the light and sound effects. There is a button on the chest and a pre-recorded sound is played as the chest lights up. The recorded sounds do not match the characters on these knock off dolls, though. They also don't have the hip joints and the hollowed plastic is visible from under the feet. Despite all that the kids loved it.

They loved it more than the 12-inch articulated Spider-Man I gave them. They find it difficult to make Spider-Man stand. When kids simulate a fight scene, they don't pose the dolls in different fighting poses. They try to smash the toys together. The jointed body of Spider-Man leaves him posed like a broken doll, looking like he's defeated. The knock offs, without hip joints, retains their strong stance after the "fight", looking very much like a winner.

So having less articulation has it's benefits especially for kids. The same goes for fashion dolls. How often do our dolls need to do yoga poses? Even with higher articulation, have you seen how many people still pose their dolls like the  model muse bodies with one or both hands on the waist? It's like the articulation is wasted.

Lanard Toys The Corps Storm Strike

This is another unplanned purchase. While buying Christmas gifts, I saw this Total Soldier Storm Strike jet. I'm not a fan of military toys but my Marvel Universe action dolls fit in it so I bought it. It didn't come with an action doll so Black Widow will model for us.

There is also an available chopper but it only fits one figure so I'm not interested in that. Plus, a fighter jet seems like a better choice in fighting Marvel supervillains. A toy review in Youtube (posted 4 years ago) shows another variant in black but it's not available locally. I would have preferred the black.

The jet looks stubby with a bulging canopy and short fuselage. The orange color seems funny especially now that I plan to paint the jet black. Black and orange seems Halloween-y. Maybe, I'll just retain the color.

I like that it has variable-sweep wings. The landing gears are retractable but don't roll. The missiles can be easily clipped on the underside. Another cute feature is the light and sound effect for the afterburners.

I still don't know what to do with this toy. Maybe, I should have waited for the sale season before buying this. It is around US$17 (PhP800).