Transformers Legends LG22 Skullcruncher

While Titans Return is it's own line (sort of... it's a sequel to Combiner Wars and still part of Generations in essence) around much of the world, Takara has chosen to incorporate those figures into its ongoing Legends line. The line is intended to be in the same universe as The Transformers from the '80s. Newer bodies for the original characters. Their toys generally have decos that closely follow the cartoon. In Legends the figures are not Titanmasters but Headmasters. And when it comes to the original Headmasters characters - such as Skullcruncher - the figures has been remolded to better match the source material.

In the Japanese version of Headmasters the smaller components were not binary-bonded allies but the true Transformers. They each has a transtector they could pilot or combine with the form a larger robot. That said no one can stop you choosing to view this toy as either version of Skullcruncher, or an entirely new version.

Headmaster:

Depending on which version of the Headmasters you prefer this is either Grax or Skullcruncher himself. The little guy is your standard Titanmaster/modern Headmaster - balljointed neck and shoulders, hinged hips and knees. There's a tab on the back of the legs and holes on his feet to allow him to interact with any of the new Titans Return molds.

The paint on the face here is quite impressive. The face is gold and the tiny eyes are picked out in red. The face in this mode is actually cleaner than that for robot mode.

The molding on the Headmaster is evocative of the original toys Headmaster component. Interestingly enough the plastic colors are reversed. This is to the new Headmaster's benefit as it avoids the two-tone look a lot of the original Headmasters had.

Beast mode:

Skullcruncher's beast mode is a crocodile. A green and pink crocodile. Got to love those late '80s colors! As you can see in the above picture the crocodile mode is well detailed. All the little scales and plates molded into the body of the crocodile are sharp and angular so that, while it's very recognizably a crocodile, it still has a very mechanical feel.

The crocodile mode has some decent articulation. The rear of the croc is limited. There's a single point at the base of the tail that doesn't have much range. The rear legs have ball joints in the hips. They're molded in a squatting position which means you can't get a lot out of them either. The front legs are another matter entirely. Swivels at the shoulder, an elbow joint, swivel forelegs and hinged claws mean there's a lot of poseability.

One of the things this mold has been receiving praise for is the expressiveness of the crocodile modes head. There is just a single ball joint but it works so well. The head has a good range in all directions.

The teeth and tongue are molded in soft plastic. The Takara release has an advantage over the Hasbro toy here in that these pieces were cast in a semi-translucent red plastic. The teeth are painted but the the tongue and roof of the mouth get an almost organic look from the plastic used.

There's a hatch on the back of the crocodile that opens to reveal a cockpit for a Headmaster/Titanmaster. Inside is a seat and a little control panel molded in there. To me this adds weight to the Takara p.o.v. that the little robots are the real Cybertronians and the larger compenents are lifeless piloted robots. But that's just my personal preference.

Side by side with the G1 toy and you can see a lot of similarities here. It's a good update to the original figure. Legends Skullcruncher hits the right balance between familiar and new, and I'm happy overall with how his beast mode has turned out.

Transformation:

Start by untabbing the tail and removing the Headmaster/Titanmaster from the cockpit. Fold the rear of the croc around and split in half to form the legs. The lower legs will snap into the knees keeping everything secure. The croc rear legs will fit snugly into gaps at the rear of the leg. The feet flip out from the front of the leg.

Take the croc head and fold it back. You can use the ball joint in the neck to get this as flush with Skullcruncher's back as suits you. The crocs front legs will swing down to become the robots arms. Use the swivels at the shoulder and forearm to straighten everything out. The claws fold back and snap onto the forearms and the hands flip out from inside. And now the headless robot is complete.

Robot mode:

As an updated Headmaster one thing is obviously missing from the larger figure. The transformation of the Headmaster/Titanmaster figures is simple. Fold them into a ball. Then plug the head in. Every Headmaster/Titanmaster in the new line is the same size and they all work with each other figure.

Skullcruncher's robot mode is very nice. There's some white plastic now visible breaking up the green and pink of the beast mode. The robot design is fairly simple. The broad shoulders and chunky arms and legs make Skullcruncher look powerful and intimidating. As a Decepticon should.

The articulation in this mode is decent. The head is on a ball joint with an ok range. The shoulders are on ball joints and can also use the hinges from the transformation. Swivels at the upper and forearms combined with the 90 degree elbows give a lot of range of movement in the arms.

The hips are on ball joints which are sadly a little loose on mine. This has been a problem with a lot of Skullcrunchers and Skullsmashers. There's a thigh swivel and a 90 degree knee. Untabbing the knee from the lower leg can give Skullcruncher a double jointed knee.

The main reason I went for the Takara version over the Hasbro was the face sculpt. I really like the head on the Takara version. The boxy black helmet, gold face and red visor were all much more to my taste than the Hasbro head design. As you can see in the picture above a little of the red paint ended up on Skullcruncher's nose but it's not a big deal.

The color layout in robot mode very clearly matches the original toy. Like the beast mode there's enough here homaging the original toy but also enough new engineering and style that Skullcruncher falls in that sweet spot of being a great update to a classic character.

Accessories:

Like most Transformers toys Skullcruncher comes with weapons to help him wage war on his enemies. The first of these is a gun molded to resemble that used by his G1 self. It's pretty standard fair for a Transformers figure.

Skullcruncher's crocodile mode tail also becomes a weapon. He's no longer able to hold it like a club as the original did. There are two pegs, one on either side, that leave him holding the tail like a gun. I prefer the inner peg which makes the tail look like an extension of his arm.

The tail and gun can plug together. Skullcruncher can wield his weapons this way but it is intended to be used as a manned weapon by a Headmaster/Titanmaster. There's some molded detailing of a set behind where the gun plugs in.

The tab on the back of a Headmaster/Titanmaster's legs holds them in securely. There are a few places this can plug into Skullcruncher - shoulders in robot mode, tail in beast mode - but it is intended to be used with the Leader-class or Titan-class figures as a weapons placement.

Skullcruncher also comes with a recolored version of the dinosaur drone from Crashbash. See Crashbash's review for details.

The drone uses the standard pegs found on most Transformers now-a-days. As such it can be combined with the crocodile tail to make a BFG if one is so inclined. It looks a bit goofy but it's possible.

Final Thoughts:

Skullcruncher is my first Titans Return mold outside of the Titanmasters. He does everything I'd expect from a Deluxe-class figure homaging a classic character. While I can't say I have any desire to go completionist on this line I do have his fellow Headmasters Weirdwolf and Mindwipe pre-ordered. This is a standard modern HasTak figure. If you've bought any Deluxe-class toys recently you should know exactly what you're in for. If you like what you see you're likely to enjoy this toy.

Marvel Legends Space Knight Venom wave

I'm a big Spider-Man fan and have really been enjoying each of the Spider-Man themed 6" Legends waves over the past couple of years. So I very pleased to give you a look at the latest wave of figures. This is going to be less of a review and more of an overview of each of the figures in the latest wave.

Ultimate Spider-Man (Miles Morales)

Miles Morales was bitten by a spider intentionally mutated by Oscorp in order to recreate the powers of Spider-Man. Although he possessed super powers before the death of the Ultimate universe's Peter Parker he was reluctant to use them. Peter's death - along with some encouragement from his best friend Ganke and Gwen Stacy - motivated Miles to become the new Spider-Man.

Why start with Miles over Pete? Honestly, as much as I love Peter Parker, I already have a number of figures of him. Miles was one of the figures in this wave I was most excited to add to my collection.

Miles is using a new teenage male body. It's not quite as poseable as the 'Pizza Spidey' body but has plenty of articulation to get all the web swinging poses you'd want out of the figure. His black-and-red costume is nicely detailed and cleanly painted. You'll be reading that a lot as you go down this list but this set has some of the most consistently good paintwork I've seen across a wave of Legends figures.

Miles comes with both a masked and unmasked head. Both are nicely sculpted and painted. I don't think the likeness on the unmasked head is quite right to how Miles looks in the comics but it's still well sculpted.

I would imagine Miles here is going to be a pretty popular figure. The previous 6" scale figure has a hefty mark up on eBay so I am very grateful to have an affordable and easy to find figure of Miles.

Ultimate Spider-Man (Peter Parker)

On a school field trip to an Oscorp facility Peter is bitten by a spider which has been exposed to the OZ drug. Much like his main universe self he develops superpowers. His guilt over not stopping the murderer of Uncle Ben when he had the chance convinces Peter to become the crime fighting Spider-Man.

Pete uses the same body as Miles so apart from the paintwork and sculpting on his unmasked head he's exactly the same.

Both head sculpts are nice. The eyes on Pete's mask are a little iffy around the edges of the lenses but it's not too bad. The unmasked head is very youthful in appearance and a good likeness to the Ultimate version of Peter Parker. You could easily use this figure as a young main universe Spider-Man.

While the new body and unmasked head do make this different from other recent Peter Parker Spider-Man figures I think Miles has the bigger appeal of the two. That said this is a good Spider-Man figure and a good option if you don't a Spidey in your collection. Especially if you don't have easy access to 'Pizza Spidey' or the Sensational Spider-Man figure from earlier waves.

Silk (Cindy Moon)

Cindy Moon was at the same science exhibit where the main universe Peter Parker got his powers. After biting Peter the very same spider bit Cindy. She was hidden away by Ezekiel to protect her from the Inheritors. Having been locked away from the world for a number of years she's now searching for her missing family and trying to adjust to the modern world.

When I first saw pictures of this wave I thought both Silk and Spider-Woman would be using the same body as other adult female heroes like Captain Marvel or Spider-Woman (Jessica Drew). I'm not sure that the whole body is new but the upper torso certainly is. It's less busty and the arms are sadly less articulated than the other body.

This body makes her articulation equal to that of the teenage female hero body used for White Tiger, Spider-Girl and Spider-Gwen among others. You can still get some very dynamic poses out of her but not quite to the level of some of the other figures in the line.

The lack of swappable hands also hurts the figure. This is not something that affects just Silk. Most female heroes I've bought figures of lack alternate hands. It would have been really nice to see even if it had just been a pair of fists and a pair of open hands.

Both included heads are very nicely sculpted and cleanly painted. Like Spider-Gwen from the previous wave Silk has a small piece that goes around her neck to simulate her mask being down. The hair does limit poseability to a degree. The paint work for the rest of Silk's body is also nice and clean.

All in all this is a very nice representation of one of the most interesting new additions to the spider-family in recent years. I'd highly recommend you check out Silk's solo series if you haven't already and I'd certainly recommend this figure for your collections.

Spider-Woman (Ashley Barton)

I knew little to nothing about this version of Spider-Woman apart from the fact that she sided with the Superior Spider-Man during the Spider-Verse event. Turns out she's the daughter of Hawkeye and Tonya (Peter Parker's youngest daughter) from the Old Man Logan series.

This figure uses the same base body as Silk and as such has the exact same limitations I've talked about above. Her hands are different, as is obviously her paint and head sculpt, but otherwise this is the same toy.

The paint work on Spider-Woman is again very clean. The head is very nicely detailed. Her shorter hair means you can get more out of her neck joint than Silk.

As I have little connection to this version of Spider-Woman this is my least favorite figure in the wave. I don't dislike it but if it'd been swapped for someone else I certainly wouldn't miss it. I think most people will end up picking her up for Venom's torso or to complete the set more than on her own merits.

Electro (Max Dillon)

Struck by lightning while repairing a power line Max Dillon gained the power to generate, store and discharge electricity from his body. Now calling himself Electro he took to a life of crime.  From that point on he's been a long time antagonist of Spider-Man.

Electro uses the same base body as 'Pizza Spidey' and as such is very poseable. All the details on his costume are cleanly painted. The translucent lighting effects on his hands look very cool. Sadly he has no alternate hands so is permanently trying to zap someone or something.

Both head sculpts are good. The paint on my lightning burnt face is a little off from the sculpted detail but not enough to hurt the toy. The classic lighting mask is very clean and appropriately goofy looking.

As I was not a fan of Electro's portrayal in The Amazing Spider-Man: Rise of Electro I'm happy to have a classic version of the character. I'd say this figure is on par for a Marvel Legends toy. It's a good representation of the character at an affordable price.

Hobgoblin (Roderick Kingsley)

Roderick Kingsley was a fashion designer with strong ties to the criminal underworld. One of his employees stumbled across a hidden stash of equipment that had belonged to the (at the time) deceased Green Goblin and Kingsley took it for himself. Redesigning the costume Kingsley uses the equipment to become the Hobgoblin.

Hobgoblin has the standard articulation for a Marvel Legends figure. While the cape is one solid piece it has enough room to move at the neck not to interfere with the figures poseability. The sculping on the folds of the cape and hood as well as the scales on Hobgoblin's arms and legs is very nicely done.

I'm not sure if this is a new body sculpt or not. It certainly doesn't share any parts from the Build-A-Figure Hobgoblin. Either way I'd not be surprised if the Green Goblin is included in a Legends wave in the near future reusing the figure as it's base.

Hobgoblin comes with two heads. One is the classic look which is the head I prefer. The alternate is more animalistic with sharp teeth and a long tongue. I'm not sure where this particular design comes from. The paint on the classic mask is very clean. The other has very well painted eyes but the teeth are a little sloppy.

Hobgoblin also comes with two accessories. He has a pumpkin bomb (pictured above) which is the same as the one included with the Build-A-Figure Hobgoblin from a few waves back and Jack O' Lantern. His hands are open enough that the bomb fits comfortably into the palm of his hand.

The other is his glider. His feet fit snugly into place and hold well. The glider itself is fairly thin and plain but that is accurate to how it looked in the comics. I would have liked to have seen a peg hole on the underside of the glider so it could be used with a display stand.

I really enjoy the Hobgoblin as a villain so this was a standout of this wave for me. The figure feels like it's jumped right off the page of one of Roger Stern's Hobgoblin stories. Definitely worth picking up if you like this classic Spidey villain.

Venom (Flash Thompson)

For the past few years the Venom symbiote has been bonded to Flash Thompson. Working for the Avengers he became their representative on the Guardians of the Galaxy. Flash/Venom eventually ended up on the symbiote homeworld where, with the help of Venom's people, Venom and Flash were able to be properly bonded and now have a true symbiotic relationship.

Like the other large Build-A-Figures I've gotten Venom is very solid once assembled. He's big and imposing. The little details on his body really add to the whole armored knight feel over the more organic appearance of other Venom/symbiote figures.

The paint work is very clean. The whites are nice and bright and pop against the rest of his black plastic body. The Guardians emblems on his shoulders are both very clear.

While he is well articulated I have found him to be a little less stable than some of the other figures when trying to pose him. I think this just comes down to the fact that despite his size he feels rather hollow. It doesn't take much to knock him over.

The head sculpt is very different to what we've seen in previous versions of this character. It's very angular and looks more like a helmet than a head. I know this is intentional, it works with the Space Knight design, but might not be everyone's cup of tea.

The prices on the Agent Venom figure are too high for me to justify. So having this BAF works for me. I've now got a Venom to stand alongside my Guardians of the Galaxy figures. Even if you're not a Guardians fan I'm sure this figure will have appeal to collectors of Venom/symbiotes.

Overall

Miles, Silk and Hobgoblin are the clear winners of this wave in my opinion. Each of them is worth a purchase even if you have no thoughts about picking up anyone else in the wave. The wave as a whole is good though. None of the figures are duds. I'm personally happy with the set.

Marvel Legends Superior Spider-Man (Ultimate Green Goblin series)

In issue #700 of The Amazing Spider-Man long time foe Doctor Octopus took over Peter Parker's body in an attempt to escape death. The following month Amazing was replaced by The Superior Spider-Man which ran for an initial 31 issues plus an additional 2 issues to tie into the Spider-Verse event. Opinions I've seen of the series have been mixed at best but I personally enjoyed it.

Of course a new Spider-Man needs his own costume. And a new costume means a new toy. Released in the same set of figures as the movie inspired Spidey was this so-called superior Spider-Man.


Sculpt:

Unlike the textured costume of movie Spidey this figures body is pretty much flat. The musculature is sculpted but pretty much all of the costume details are done through paint. He also has sculpted eyes on his mask and his finger tips have small bumps on them to replicate the spikes on Superior Spidey's gloves.

Paint:

Most of the paint applications are nice and clean. Like the movie Spidey the eyes are a little off but it's really only noticeable when you go looking for it. As the costume is primarily black there are a few areas red detailing was painted onto black plastic. These do not quite match the red plastic used on other parts of the body. The spider emblem is very cleanly done and looks great.

The webbing isn't quite as clean. There are a few places where the lines don't quite meet as they're supposed to. The webbing pattern is also irregular especially on the mask. Flipping back through the comics to compare it seems this varied from issue to issue. Some pictures have very regular webbing, others more random.

Articulation:

The superior Spider-Man actually has less articulation than his movie inspired wave-mate. He lacks the cut on his calves. It's no great loss though. This Spidey can jump, swing and crawl with the best of 'em.

Accessories:

Again, like the movie Spidey he comes with two sets of hands and that's it. The web-slinging hands are nicely done in the classic pose. Instead of fists he comes with a pair of closed gripping hands. These work well enough when posed punching and add some extra playability allowing Spidey to also hold things. He could have done with some open hands like the newer Spidey figures but it's not essential.

Final Thoughts:

Superior Spider-Man is a really nice figure. But, like the end of the comic, it turns out Peter Parker is the superior Spider-Man after all. If you're looking for a single definitive Spider-Man for your collection this is not the figure for you. If you enjoyed the series and/or really like the darker costume then I think you'll be happy with this toy.