Marvel Icons Colossus

 

Originally posted at slangards.i.ph on Sept 28, 2009

Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin is what a comic book superhero should be. Period. All you Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, Wolverine lovers can eat my shorts. All of them suck. Colossus is what a hero is supposed to be. Idealistic, noble, self-sacrificing; a rock that his teammates can lean against and a shield that protects them from harm. I literally cried after reading Uncanny X-Men #390. Granted the pseudo-science was worse than an episode of Fringe (just discovered cure to Stryfe’s Legacy virus requires a catalyst to start the process; the life of a mutant), the issue left a lasting impression with me and I haven’t enjoyed the X-men the same way since.

In hindsight, having divorced myself from comics for the past few years, I can see why Lobdell and company would choose this route. Although Colossus was a mainstay of the team in Claremont’s day, writers during the late 90’s didn’t really know what to do with him. Despite a great role in “Age of Apocalypse” (his entire team is decimated AND he steps on Kitty), his arcs were pretty lame. After the whole death of his parents, Illyana, his brother, they kind of went, “who’s left to kill?”. Of course the answer was, “Piotr”.

Of course, this being comics, they decided to bring him back a few years later in an even more preposterous sequence of events. Something about an alien stealing his body shortly after his death and leaving a double for the X-Men to cremate so that he could secretly use Piotr’s blood as a basis for a mutant “cure” that would eradicate the species from the face of the Earth.

You read that right.

Idiotic ret-cons aside, I am still elated when another Colossus figure arrives on the shelf. Unlike some of his teammates, Colossus isn’t one of those characters that get a lot of plastic love from the toy companies. He’s a big guy, which requires a lot of material and non-standard packaging, and he’s silver, which requires paint. If you pick up say a Daredevil Icon and Colossus, you can feel the difference in weight. However, the size and heft of this guy is about all that’s in the plus column. I expected a lot from this figure, based on all the hype around the Icons line and the premium collectors were willing to shell out for toys in this scale, I thought it would be a very good figure to add to my meager Silver Slavic Stud collection.

I was dead wrong. Like the last time I ventured into toys this height (see my Masterpiece Ultra Magnus review), I found that size doesn’t always matter.

First off, what you’ll see on the shelf. The Hasbro Icons line has some really nice packaging, which sucker that I am, is one of the things that sold me. It’s sort of a card encased in a plastic box, which means the “box” is one big window. You can easily see the figure you’re getting through the plastic. If this guy was easily available, that might be a plus since his paint applications aren’t the greatest. As it is, you’ll be lucky if you find him in a specialty shop, let alone retail. The box is relatively easy to open and you can place the figure back for storage which makes Mint-On-Card/Mint-In-Box collectors happy.

Once he’s out of the box, then the problems with him become more apparent. First off is his paint. Hasbro is notorious for it’s lack of paint washes in the collecting community, and while I understand the need to cut costs at the mass produced 6″ and 3.75″ lines, the Icons line is supposed to be more of a collector friendly line, hence a higher standard is expected. We don’t get that here. Colossus; torso is cast in yellow plastic, and then painted a flat silver or red as required, while his arms are red plastic with a silver coat. His thighs are gray in silver and his boots are cast red. Though the overall silver coat gives him an even shade, it’s very one-dimensional. There is also a lot of paint slop over the lines of his costume which is obvious once you can get closer. I find myself wanting to paint him so bad.

Sculpt is ok, but a little to much on the realistic side for me. His feet for example, seem tiny. It also severely limits his range of motion. Unlike his Marvel Legend sized counterparts, he can’t do much of anything. His forearms will only move about 15 degrees which is good to get it from the straight, locked arm, to a relaxed state. There won’t be any flexing of biceps for this strongman. Similarly, he can’t bend down or crouch if his life depend on it. His ball and post hips are limited by his briefs and the tiny feet don’t offer enough support for his mass. I regularly find him on the floor in the morning after he’s fallen from my desk.

So yes, you have a great big Colossus figure at a relatively good price (p1,600.00 retail), but you can’t do much of anything with him besides this:

 If you’re planning on getting into the Icons line or 1/6th scale figures, I’d suggest you start with the Daredevil/Nightcrawler figure, or shell out for a Hot Toys piece. The Icons Colossus really is a waste of money to anyone looking for anything but a display piece. Here’s hoping that once Hot Toys has churned out a few Wolverines and Hulks, they’ll give us a version of Colossus worthy of the name.

Green Lantern

Last weekend I went out with several geeks to tackle the new comic movie, Green Lantern. Of the 4 geeks in our group, only one really liked it. The rest were varying degrees of lukewarm. Two resident non-geeks (female) were both on the same page. So why bother with this review?

I'm the dork who liked it.

Martin Campbell's adaptation is nowhere near the awesomeness that was Iron Man or Hellboy, and it doesn’t come close to the squidgy goodness that was Thor. It was however, satisfying. It's like the Big Mac that you have every now and then when you're too tired to cook yourself a steak dinner; it's not as succulent, but it still hits the spot. Green Lantern is exactly like that Big Mac. Somewhere, there's a big poster like the ones you see behind the counter at McDonald's detailing how to assemble a comic book movie from the prepackaged parts. Start with a bankable star (Ryan Reynolds), add a respected actor as the villain (Peter Sarsgaard), and top it off with a romantic lead (Blake Lively), you know, for the chicks. Scoop in some daddy issues, angst-ridden drama, and purple aliens and you've got a nice prefab hit!

If you’re not familiar with Green Lantern, don’t worry. The film has an intro full of ready-to-eat exposition. Think of Hal Jordan as a Space Cop; he patrols the galaxies in his sector of space, arresting cosmic evil-doers using sheer willpower.

Of course, willpower is colored green and its one weakness is the color yellow. Don't ask.

I liked the film for the same reasons I like that metaphorical Big Mac. It's big, it's tasty, and it gives you that sense of satisfaction, even if you know that it's essentially empty calories.

Ryan Reynolds is much better cast in the role of Deadpool than he is as Hal Jordan, but he is one of those actors I find imminently watchable. I sat through Buried and came out liking the film, even though it's essentially Reynolds in a box for 2 hours yelling into a cellphone. It’s been pointed out that his character is more Kyle Raynor (man trying to overcome fear) than he is Hal Jordan (man denying that he has any fear), but it still works in the context of the film.

Blake Lively as Carol Ferris I'm not entirely convinced of. She comes off too much like Liv Tyler in the second Hulk movie. Peter Sarsgaard was probably the weakest link, not because he was bad, but because Hector Hammond felt so unnecessary; like an excuse to ground the movie on Earth when all we wanted to do was see Green Lantern doing his Space Cop thing.

Aside from the cookie cutter cast, there's also the lackluster CGI. The animation of the characters comes off more like an animated TV series.  I also have problems with the character designs. Hollywood seems to think that everything HAS to be complicated to be taken seriously. The worst example is Parallax, the big bad, who looks like a huge pile of shit with a face. If you don't believe me, go to your local Toys 'R' Us and find the " The Final Showdown: Parallax vs. Hal Jordan Figure 2-Pack".

The last sequence was what sold me on the movie, with Hal Jordan fighting Parallax for the fate of Earth. Those shots of Parallax killing thousands and descending on Earth with Hal Jordan the only one to stop him… wow. Despite the fact that it looked like some cosmic deity was having a rather loose bowel movement over the city, the sequence got a dropped jaw and a slow exhalation of breath from me, and the ultimate triumph of Jordan got a quiet "YES!" if not an "AWESOME!".

Green Lantern rates somewhere in the middle of the collection of live-action comic book movies; around where Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Ghost Rider are. I would suggest, however, getting the two DC Animated Universe films over this one if you're new to the character. Both I and Green Lantern: Emerald Knights are far superior films and are more entertaining than the live action version.

Marvel Universe Greatest Battles: Deadpool vs. Taskmaster

Though I don’t normally have to hunt toys down these days thanks to the awesome steps that retail stores and the distributors have put into effect, there is the occasional toy that is under ordered and overly popular, which leads to weeks of running around Metro Manila trying to get ahead of the pack. This was the case with the recent Marvel Universe Greatest Battles Comic Pack: Deadpool vs. Taskmaster.

I'm going to call it the MUGBCP: DPvTM.

So the MUGBCP: DPvTM was shipped with the Marvel Universe Greatest Battles Comic Pack: Silver Samurai vs. Wolverine (or MUGBCP: SSvWV for short) but due to the recent popularity of Deadpool, it sold out quicker than it could be stocked. It wasn't uncommon to see Patch and Sammy on the shelves days after a sighting, but Wade and Tony were always scooped up faster than you could say sociopathic tendencies.

I finally lucked into a set at SM Centerpoint in San Juan, after attending a birthday party in the area. They had just shelved the single case that arrived and I had my choice of figures. It goes to show that it pays off to check the toy stores whenever you visit places outside your normal run.

The package is the same as the previous Comic Packs like Secret Wars Storm & Nightcrawler. A simple plastic shell attached to a paperboard back sandwiching a reprinted comic and a plastic tray that holds the figures.

In this case, the comic is Cable and Deadpool #36, where Deadpool, eager to get back in the mercenary-for-hire game, kidnaps Taskmaster and proceeds to have an exhibition match against him for the benefit of various VIPs from the military and the government. But wait, there's more. He decides to do it handcuffed.

Guess who wins?

Cover to Cable and Deadpool #36 by Patrick Zircher (Marvel Comics)

Once you're through with the comic and have added it to your pile of Toy Biz "not-for-resale" issues and Free Comic Book Day hauls, you can snip the plastic rubber bands and get the two figures out of the tray.

For this assortment, it looks as if Hasbro switched things around a bit. Instead of two sets with one new figure each, we get one set (MUGBCP: SSvWV) with two new figures and another set with retools of old figures. It's ok though, since both Wade and Tony are made from awesome figures.

Taskmaster, is arguably the "accessory" in the set since he's kind of a B-list villain with simple copy cat powers. Despite this, he's a great figure that really deserves a closer look.

He's a kit-bash from several figures it looks like, though the majority of the parts look to be from Secret Wars Hawkeye. We've seen this body re-used before with the Marvel Universe Constrictor and it turned out great. The same holds true here.

Tasky gets some new parts as well, the best being his head. The sculpt is an excellent skull face in a hood that doesn’t look at all ill-fitting like some of the re-tools that have come out of the House of Hasbro.

Since he's made from the first batches of Marvel Universe molds, Taskmaster still has those awful peg-joint hips that restrict his poseability. Although they work to nice effect in the G.I. Joe line, I still wish they'd let this go the way of the old 5 point articulation. Deadpool, being a re-tool of the X-Men Origins: Wolverine single pack Deadpool, or XMO:W DP, sports both ball jointed hips and ankle articulation that allow it to stay upright in more poses.

Tony still has got a lot going for him. Accessories alone put him over the top.
He comes with the quiver and bow you saw with Hawkeye, a new sword (with scabbard), a re-painted Captain America shield, and a Luger pistol which looks as if it might be the same one that came with Doctor Doom, though I can't be entirely sure. It could also be the same as the one that the old Bucky Cap carried, or it could be that all three of them are the same thing, or it could be that I'm too lazy to find them all to compare.

His cape is especially good, and brand new. It's molded to look as if it's going AROUND his quiver. How's that for forethought? It's very dynamic looking and is great to photograph.

The sword and pistol, though, are both too small for his hands, so tend to fall out. I don't know why Hasbro can't mold their handles to fit hands like they did with the Movie Loki. Is it really that hard?

The other issue is paint. Hasbro can't seem to find a factory that can stay within the lines, so if you have a choice, check the paint lines (especially on the cloak) for slop.


Deadpool on the other hand doesn't seem to have a lot of issues with paint, but that's mostly because he's cast mostly in a pinkish red already. Though I prefer the deep, rich read of the Deluxe XMO:W Deadpool (Dlx XMO:W DP), I wasn't too bothered with the new shade.

It's probably because the rest of him is so cool.

He's basically got the XMO:W DP's body but with a new head that looks less cartoony. He's still got the eyebrow lift going on, though. He's also got new hands. Get this; the right hand has his pinky sticking out. You know, like time for tea, where's my teacup. It's a nod to how he was drawn in a few comic panels, holding his gun with the last finger stretched out. Honestly, its stuff like that really sells toys like this to me.

There are some minor changes to his chest and arms, too, but they're probably to accommodate the new pieces.


He's also sporting a new, less Liefeldian, harness. The first two 3.75" Deadpools, as well as two 6" Marvel Legends figures, all sport the Y-straps in the front with his teleporter (does he say "bodyslide"? I forget. Cable's jargon was so cool) button on the front. Attached to the back of these straps are scabbards that hold his katanas. These were always a problem for me, since I like to display him on his Vespa. The new 6" version from the 2-pack solved that by making the swords and sheaths removable, but they took a different tack here. They removed the scabbards altogether and just put loops in the straps to allow the swords to hang there. Nice.

I love how all his gear can me stowed to leave his hands free. Swords in the loops, gun in the holster, and the knife goes in a sheath at the small of his back. That means his hands are free to hold all the G.I. Joe weapons you can load him up with.

Articulation is another area that's improved from my old Dlx XMO:W DP. I hated the fact that he couldn't look up when he was riding his moped. The combined limitations of his stomach and neck joints meant he hunched over the handlebars no matter what you tried.

The head on this one is much better designed, and without the scabbards, he can move his chest back a little. Sweet.


All in all, this was one of the best sets I've ever picked up. Both figures are excellent, despite not being entirely new. Both are well accessorized, well articulated, and well sculpted. The only problem really is the paint and the gummy plastic used for Deadpool's gun (what's up with that?).

I definitely would have paid more than retail for this. Which is what you'll probably have to do since the pack is hard to find in the wild.

Happy hunting.

Super Hero Team Packs: Classic Avengers

Time to take a look at one of the two Marvel Universe team box sets; The Classic Avengers 5-pack.

The "5-pack" term that's being used a lot in the online marketing of this set is a little misleading. What you're actually getting is a 3-pack with 3 extra accessories. There are 3.75" scale Classic Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man figures, and 3 small scale figures of Wasp, Antman, and a flying insect for Antman to ride on.

Nice, Hasbro...

It's still a sweet deal since both this and the X-Force set that came out at the same time were only Php 1,350.00 at retail. That's a great price since Hasbro's 3.75" lines are all set at Php 500.00 each. Seeing how most of these toys are repaints and retools of older figures in the various movie lines, the Php 150.00 savings seems only right.

The package is the same general shape as those we saw in the previous 3-packs like the Spidey-Friends; a rectangular box with the corners cut off. The figures are placed in a straight line on a plastic tray held by a printed cardboard tray that slides into the printed paperboard slipcase.

The boxes are overly large for the actual merchandise they're holding. Easily 60 % of the box could have been dropped. I had thought that the recent Marvel Universe 2-packs meant that we'd see smaller boxes from now on. I guess Hasbro wants to really wow the customers who pass by the shelves they rent in the toy store. Bigger is louder.

Let's start with the smaller figures and work our way up.

The two mini-figures really aren't' that impressive. At this scale, they're basically just featureless lumps of plastic in vaguely human shapes. Their faces have no detail at all, but they are molded in pretty nice action poses.

The Wasp figure sports a completely different costume from the first figure that came in the Secret Wars Doctor Doom/ Absorbing Man Comic Pack; this time red instead of green. The pose is also different from the first one, though the wings may be the same ones recast in translucent red.

Antman is also a new figure that sports a new pose from the one included in the Marvel Universe Yellowjacket figure I got from last year's last year's Hasbro Toy Fair. This one is made to sit astride the flying ant that comes with the box set. Sadly, he's not really made very well. The figure's position isn't a good match to the ant, so he can't really hold on very well. You're going to be spending some time searching for your Antman on the floor unless you glue him onto the bug. I'm seriously thinking about doing just that, but since I'm not an Avengers collector, I might still sell these guys off.

The one thing that really rubs me wrong is that Hasbro failed to include any kind of stand for these 3 miniatures. Considering how awkward they are, a tiny wire stand would have been appreciated. As it is, I'd suggest you MacGyver one ASAP before you lose these things.

The next one up is the First Appearance Iron Man, in his gold costume. This was one of the reasons I got this set. Being an Iron Man collector means that any new toy is another suit in your armory, even if it is a retool and repaint of the Iron Man 2 First Appearance Armor.

Instead of rusted steel, this one sports a slick yellow color. It's supposed to look like his Golden Avenger armor from Tales of Suspense #40 (April 1963). The new paint job was supposed to make it friendlier to the public. Maybe that's why it looks like a huge "meh" emoticon (-_-).

In reality, the figure is just the same as the Iron Man 2 Comic Series Mark 1, but with the addition of a collar, an antenna, and a new head. It's even still got the pits and ruts that were sculpted into the originally to look like areas that were eaten away by rust.

The good thing about that though, is that the figure retains all the great articulation that the first figure had, with the exception with some sacrifices at the neck joint because of the collar. Be even that's not too bad since there's a wide clearance to allow movement.

I would have liked it if he was a little less... yellow though.

The second toy is another I'm thinking of passing on to another collector who can appreciate it more than I can.

I've sold the Secret Wars Thor twice already, thinking that I wanted it and then changing my mind. Though this new figure sports a new head, it still doesn't do anything for me.

The original head looked cartoony, this head looks far, far worse. The sculpted features look like something out of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It could be a nod to one of the old school artists who made their name on the book, like Kirby, but it doesn't really look like Kirby's Thor. Plus, it's slightly too big for the body, and a mite too tall on his neck.

The rest of him is a straight up re-paint of the Secret Wars version, with maybe a few extra applications of paint. His skin tones for example, are improved.

Still, that head really bothers me. If he had something like the SDCC Thor's head, it might have stood out. Even the Modern Thor's alien head would have been better than this.

Oh, well. Like I said, he was never really one of my targets when I picked this set up.

The Hulk is my favorite for the group.

He's yet another example of why the Juggernaut body is such a gold mine for Hasbro. We've already seen it turned into Thanos so readily, and the newest wave of Marvel Universe figures to hit stores here included Apocalypse, also a re-tool of the same mold. For this boxset, Hasbro took the base body, gave him new hands, feet and a Kirby-inspired head and PRESTO! Classic Hulk.

He looks loads better than the first Hulk we got from Toy Biz Marvel Legends, but I think I still like the 1st Appearance Gray Hulk from Series 9 better. Still, as 3.75" figures go, this one rocks.

He shares all the same great articulation as the Juggernaut figure, but since there aren't any of those costume elements that Juggs has to deal with around, the joints enjoy their full range. The double-hinged knees especially blow my mind.

I love that this version of the Hulk also enjoys two-fisted action. I hated the fact that both of the original Marvel Universe Hulks had an open hand. I still like my Hulks to SMASH, so the open hand is pretty useless, especially when there's nothing that he can actually grip in it.

The biggest complaint I have is that because they didn't really bother to tweak the original mold other than to add the new parts, the groin section looks a little weird. Hulk was classically portrayed in torn, purple pants. Hasbro took some short cuts and gave us a Hulk in an intact pair of Speedos instead.

Iron Man says (-_-).

If that hip joint were reworked a bit to give a torn fringe to it, I think this would have been perfect for me.

The set isn't for everyone. The classic look of the figures can turn off some people who have grown up on the more modern versions of these heroes. If that's the case, I suggest you stick to the main line and find yourself the the Comic Packs that include Modern Thor and the one with the Hulk, and then find yourself a Modular Armor Iron Man. Those are probably more your speed.

If you remember the old days fondly though, you can't go wrong with this set. Even if you're not a hardcore Avenger completist, it's got a bit of everything at a price you can't beat.

That is, if you can find it at retail. It sold out like schoolgirl panties at Pedo Con during the Captain America Toy launch.

Your Highness

I doubt we'll be seeing "Your Highness" in theaters here in the Philippines. I've noted that local distributors don't really like fantasy fare and tend to not bother getting the rights to screen hardcore genre films. Scott Pilgrim was one such casualty of the one note Philippine movie market.

It's not a great loss that we won't see this one, though. It's solidly in the category of "rental" and I may be giving it a pass at that. I was honestly looking forward to this, thinking it was some kind of Cheech and Chong Go to Camelot, like Robin Hood: Men in Tights. It didn't hurt that Natalie Portman looks great as a warrior woman in the set photos (I thought she was an elf which would have been mind-bogglingly hot). I probably should have watched a few of the trailers first, though.

The plot is familiar to anyone who's a fan of sword and sorcery stories. Thadeous (Danny McBride) and Fabious (James Franco) are princes of a kingdom. Thadeous is a lazy good-for-nothing, while Fabious is the golden boy, in line to be king and hero of song and legend. When an evil wizard, Leezar (Justin Theroux), kidnaps Fabious' virgin bride, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), the brothers start on a quest to free her before Leezar can complete the "Fuckening" and spawn an all powerful Dragon.

...

I was expecting more Harold and Kumar than Princess Bride as I was going mostly by the marketing material which featured McBride's face puffing away. It's nowhere close to either of those movies though; it takes itself far too seriously to be a stoner film, and it's too hard edged to be a fairy tale.

*SPOILERS*

For example, there's a scene where the two brothers go to visit a wise wizard for some advice about their quest. I was thinking oh, like Miracle Max, right? When they find him, it's a Muppet with a shower cap and a catfish mustache, puffing out of a hookah. Ok, that's good. I like Muppets. Muppets are cool.

Then the Muppet asks them to jack him off. And they proceed to do it.

O_O

*END SPOILERS*

The whole movie feels like a huge in joke between the cast members and crew. I can imagine them sitting around, smoking and drinking, trying to figure out the next improv line, laughing at their own genius. The problem is, none of it really works as a coherent film. There are a few funny moments (like the Minotaur with a boner) and a few WHOA, AWESOME! moments (every single scene with Natalie Portman in it), but it never really adds up into anything that makes much sense.

There are some good things about the movie. The aforementioned Natalie Portman is gorgeous as the resident kick-ass girlfriend trope (she's far more fappable here than in the last three Star Wars films), and James Franco hams it up to an unbelievable degree as Fabious. Zooey Deschanel is woefully underused and only has a few scenes, none of which stick out.

 Sadly, the thing is mostly a Danny McBride vehicle and he is the weakest part of the whole project. There isn't a moment in the whole film when I can connect with Thadeous as a character. When he gets the girl in the end (duh) there's a huge part of me that goes, "what the fuck?" He's like a cruder, less loveable, Jack Black, only not at all funny.

In fact, I think I'll just go and watch Kung Fu Panda 2 again to wash the taste of this movie out of my mouth.

X-Files: I Want to Believe

Originally posted at http://slangards.multiply.com/reviews/item/56 on August 11, '08


I wanted to believe, too, but they're really making it hard for me.

This movie is like an extra long episode. It's got no real tie to any of the plot strings in the series and is really more like a stand alone story with the X-files characters pasted in.

It doesn't focus on the alien conspiracy. I would have said that's a good thing before, since most of the good episodes were focused on the unsolved mysteries and ghost stories, but this one doesn't really work, especially for a big ticket movie.

Sigh.

Happy Meal's Balance of Justice!

I really loved Kung Fu Panda 2.

While it's not as spot on as the first movie, the way Jack Black's antics translate to Po remind me of the way Tom Hanks and Tim Allen inhabited Buzz and Woody. There just aren't a lot of actors who can do that. Will Smith failed at it. So did Brad Pitt. The list goes on. There are certain qualities that a voice actor needs that guys like Black have in abundance.

The Kung Fu Panda line from 2008 is one of the toy lines I regret not picking up when I had the chance. Those oversized toys looked awesome (Tai Lung was especially savage looking), but at the time, I was just starting to build my collection and was concentrating on getting Marvel Legends figures.

With no toys out locally to coincide with the second movie's release, I was forced to patronize that mainstay of cheap movie toys, the McDonald's Happy Meal.

Solicitation photo from McDonald's

There are two choices if you want to get a Po the Panda toy (or there WERE two choices - It looks like they've sold out of both); the adult Po with Mantis, or the Baby Po. I chose the adult Po and the BALANCE OF JUSTICE!

This particular toy is really 2 figures in one; the somewhat articulated Po, and an unarticulated, unpainted Mantis figure.

The gimmick is that Mantis the praying mantis, who like all martial artists in kung fu movies is super powered, can hold up Po the Panda with one hand. Mantis' upheld hand is a tiny cup, and Po has a hole in his back with a little nipple inside the depression.

But wait! You need to be a kung fu master like the furious five to get Po to balance!

Po's arms are weighted so that the center of gravity of the toy shifts depending on the position of the arms. In order for him to balance on Mantis' hand, you need to position the arms downward (which when he's laying flat, is towards the back of the figure). You can also point them up, but it makes it harder to find the sweet spot.

Personally, I don't find the gimmick that great. I prefer the gimmick they used during the first movie Po (a voicebox). The 2008 set was something else, and I really regret selling off the Furious Five.

Compared to the 2008 Po, the new one doesn't really cut it for me. He's not as round, he's not as cute, and he looks distinctly evil. Plus, since he's a glorified accessory to Mantis, he's not posed in a particularly good looking stance. On the shelf, he doesn't compare with the 2008 Po.

Sadly, I completely forgot to go back and get another Happy Meal to secure the Baby Po toy, only remembering it when I watched the movie again yesterday night. Since the film has been out for several weeks now, the toys have of course sold out. Unless you want Shen.

Really, who wants a toy of Shen? I'd rather have seen a toy of Master Thundering Rhino. Stupid Mcdo.