FLASH GORDON — FINAL BATTLE, MING THE MERCILESS — MILITARY SUIT, & PRINCE VULTAN FLASH GORDON (NECA) Fun FIQ Fact #0087: Despite my love of Flash Gordon, Queen, and most of the actors involved, I didn’t see the 1980 Flash Gordon in its entirety until 2016. I’ve been a Flash Gordon fan since I was very young, thanks to my Dad’s copies of the movie series on LaserDisc.  Yes, we were that family.  When I was a kid, the only option for Flash Gordon toys was Playmates’ rather small line of figures from the ’90s cartoon, but boy how things have changed.  There’s, like ..read more

CAPTAIN AMERICA MARVEL SELECT (DIAMOND SELECT TOYS) Fun FiQ Fact #0086: Captain America makes up 1/8 of all of the Marvel Select reviews here on the site. You know, I don’t really jump on Marvel Select that much, especially in more recent years, with the crazy onslaught of Marvel Legends product.  I’m not *entirely* out of the line, though, and there are certainly still figures that can pull me back in.  Like, you know, a solid take on a character I love.  Take, for instance, Captain America, who’s no stranger to Marvel Select, and was in fact one of th ..read more

MR MIRACLE JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED (MATTEL) Fun FiQ Fact #0085: Mr. Miracle is voiced in Justice League Unlimited by Ioan Gruffud, who that same year played another super-heroic “Mr” as Mr. Fantastic in Marvel’s Fantastic Four. The New Gods play a rather pivotal role in the DC Animated Universe, with each of the pivotal players getting their own focus.  Though largely in the background, Mr. Miracle gets his one focus episode, “The Ties That Bind,” which is a fun little summation of Scott’s comics background.  The comics adaptations were even kinder to Scott, as he got several ..read more

THE TICK IN DISGUISE, BARRY HUBRIS, & MADMAN LONGBOX HEROES (FRESH MONKEY FICTION) Fun FiQ Fact #0084: The Tick and Madman are both associated with the name “Townsend”, Tick having been played by Townsend Coleman in his ’90s animated series, and Madman’s original pre-death name being “Zane Townsend.” Back in November, I took a look at The Rocketeer, the first offering from Fresh Monkey Fiction’s Longbox Heroes.  I’ve been patiently waiting for the rest of the figures I had on pre-order to arrive, and they’re finally here, and I’m very happy about that.  So, now I get to talk abo ..read more

DAREDEVIL VS HYDRO-MAN MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO) Fun FiQ Fact #0083:  Despite both characters making appearances on the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man cartoons in the ’90s, Daredevil and Hydro-Man were never both present in the same episode. I gotta be honest, of all the ’90s Marvel cartoons, Spider-Man: The Animated Series is probably my least favorite.  I know, bold statement.  I’m a guy that defends Avengers: United They Stand and Silver Surfer; how can I take a swing at one of the big ones?  Hard to say.  Something about the show’s pacin ..read more

FARAMIR LORD OF THE RINGS (ASMUS TOYS) Fun FiQ Fact #0082:  David Wenham, who portrays Faramir in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, has been part of two comic book adaptations: 300 and Iron Fist.  Look, he was good in Iron Fist, even if the show around him…wasn’t? The Lord of the Rings movies were pretty much an inescapable part of the cultural lexicon when I was growing up, hitting theatres during the back half of my elementary school years.  So, I obviously couldn’t really avoid them, and I’ve got my own particular interests within them.  I’ve never ..read more

ANGEL MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO) Fun FiQ Fact #0081: Warren Worthington III was the third mutant to join the X-Men, following Cyclops and Iceman. As a kid, the real centerpiece of my X-Men collection was my Toy Biz First Appearance boxed set.  Missing from that set for a good chunk of my childhood was its Angel figure, who was my favorite figure included.  Though Warren hasn’t held his high spot in my X-Men rankings as I’ve gotten older (which is less about me liking him less, and more about me finding other X-Men I like *more*), I do still have a soft spot for him, in both of his main ..read more

STRIPE DC UNIVERSE CLASSICS (MATTEL) Fun FiQ Fact #0080: The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy are a unique instance of a kid superhero having an adult sidekick, with Pat “Stripesy” Duggan serving as sidekick to both Sylvester Pemberton and Courtney Whitmore during their turns in the role. When I was a kid, I got my first introduction to the “modern” incarnation of Stars and STRIPE via their guest appearance in Impulse, an issue I got as a free give away at an early Baltimore Comic Con I attended (which was also my introduction to Impulse himself). I had known of their golden age incarnation tha ..read more

NIGHTCRAWLER MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO) Fun FiQ Fact #0078: Nightcrawler’s creation predates the All New, All Different X-Men, and in fact predates his creator Dave Cockrum’s time at Marvel; he was originally intended to be part of Legion of Super Heroes spin-off book from Cockrum’s time at DC.  When Dave left DC, he took Nightcrawler with him. Though certainly a popular X-Man, it feels like we never get enough Nightcrawler figures.  He’s always just a little sparser than you might expect.  Since the introduction of Marvel Legends, he’s gotten two, now three figures.  Th ..read more

GOBLIN QUEEN MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO) Fun FiQ Fact #0076: Though she’s existed since 1983, Madelyn Pryor has had, to date, only two action figures, more than 20 years apart from each other. I find Madelyn Pryor a generally tedious character.  The concept’s not awful, I guess.  I can certainly understand Claremont’s initial desire to give Scott Summers his planned “happily ever after” even with the adjustments to the end of “The Dark Phoenix Saga” resulting in Jean’s demise.  But, it does put Madelyn in an unfortunate spot of being nothing more than a placeholder, which isn’t ide ..read more