I didn’t
buy this figure until after I saw The
Amazing Spider-Man 2.
I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like Jamie Foxx in the role and
I wanted to see if maybe the character was still cool. The character
was handled very well and Foxx was, indeed, terrible. As I noted in
my review of the movie.
Me
and Lil’ Troublemaker stopped by Target on the way home from the
movie and I went ahead and picked up this guy and the Amazing
Spider-Man figure, as well as a Spidey versus Electro LEGO set for
Lil’ Troublemaker. I had all of the other figures from the ML
Spider-Man set and finishing that Ultimate Green Goblin was just too
enticing, despite the fact that it’s just a Hulk figure in Goblin
drag.
I
don’t have a particular attachment to Electro. He’s a fine
villain and I do have fond memories of Spidey battling him on the old
70s cartoon, but he’s no Doc Ock or Green Goblin. The traditional
Marvel Universe version is visually… noticeable… but that’s
about it. The Ultimate
version is definitely a step up, and that’s the one the filmmakers
went with for The
Amazing Spider-Man 2.
That’s fine by me because as much as Jamie Foxx might be awful it
made for a very cool looking action figure. As a matter of fact, that
was the first thing I thought when I saw Electro’s character design
– that regardless of how Foxx was it would be a good toy.
FIRST
GLANCE
I
dig the contrasting colors here. The blue of Electro himself against
the black of his containment suit is a great look. This looks like a
good toy. You know me – I’m a sucker for translucent parts. And
not only does this guy have translucent parts, he has extra
parts.
He’s visually striking and
he has a bunch of accessories. So far he’s a totally win. Let’s
just hope none of his limbs break off.
PACKAGING
There’s
one thing that I haven’t mentioned about these nifty new boxes that
I claim to like so much – it’s actually kind of a pain to get the
tray that holds the figure out. It’s a plastic tray that sits in a
cardboard tray and because of the shape of the box it takes a little
effort to slide them out the side. Now, I could certainly just rip
the box open. I should, given that I just throw the box in the trash
anyway. But something about the effort that went into designing this
appealing, resealable box makes me not want to just tear it apart.
Not
even a mention of Electro’s real name on the box. Weird.
LOOKS
First
let me go ahead and address the fact that neither of the head sculpts
bears even a slight resemblance to Jamie Foxx. My guess is that
Hasbro didn’t want to pay likeness rights for a guy that basically
has a light bulb for a head. Normally I might take issue with that,
but in this instance I’m just going to be glad I don’t have to be
reminded of Foxx any more than is absolutely necessary.
The
main head – the one without the electric eyes – is translucent
blue with some paint detail. I am thankful for the paint detail. I
recognize that we are lucky to have gotten it. There’s some black
for the collar and the power level circuit on the right temple. The
eyes are a sort of iridescent white. So I guess they’re still
electric, they’re just not powered up.
The
figure’s body is the containment suit from the movie. Well, the
best rendition of the suit that Hasbro could do with the resources
they had. Like the Winter Soldier
figure, there are a few details that were added in post-production
that didn’t make it onto the figure. The most noticeable being the
missing lightning bolt on the left arm:
It
was there in the movie (probably on both arms, but I didn’t notice
the right), so I’m guessing it was added digitally. I thought it
was a cheesy but neat touch.
Side
Note: I have referred to Electro’s black suit as a containment suit
here and in my movie review. I don’t know if that’s actually what
it’s called. It just makes sense to me that that’s what it is. It
was never really explained in the movie.
The
sculpted detail of the suit does mostly match what’s in the movie.
To me the most important part of the profile were the nodules stuck
to Electro’s body at Ravencroft. They added a weirdness to the
character’s look that helped get across his powers (because his
glowing, blue, see-through body wasn’t enough). They got the ones
on his back, shoulders, and abdomen, but in the movie he had a couple
on his chest as well. Those are probably just more things that were
added in post. As-is the figure still looks cool. The suit has a ton
of detail. Lots of seams and textures that work well to blend with
the points of articulation.
I
didn’t get a good look at Electro’s footwear in the movie, but
here it looks like he has pro wrestling-style kickpads. It’s
different but kind of cool. The only issue is that because of that
the ankle joints don’t really work.
The
suit is mostly black, but there are a few subtle paint apps. The
kneepads and collar are a very dark metallic grey. I would like to
have seen this color used in a few more spots – the elbow pads and
the flex points on the hips would have been nice. Even the seams. But
the point isn’t so much the suit as it is the entirely un-subtle
electrical paint job on the shoulders and forearms. These apps look
great.
It’s funny because almost the exact same technique was used on the
old Toxic Crusaders toys and I hated
it on those. It was supposed to be splashes of toxic nastiness, but
to me it just messed up a cool figure design. That all goes back to
my dislike of “battle damage” and dirt deco on my figures.
Side
Note: This dislike does not extend to vehicles.
But
the deco looks great on Electro. It’s a great mix of brilliant
white and blue and does a great job of mimicking the luminescence of
his skin reflecting off of the suit. I especially like how it
spatters out at the edges. The coloring on his forearms doesn’t
quite make sense when you have the gloved fists on, but I don’t
care.
ACCESSORIES
Electro
comes with an extra head, an extra pair of hands, and one of Ultimate
Green Goblin’s arms, which I forgot to include in the picture
because I had already put the figure together. You’ll notice that
the packaging pictures are on a different background. That’s
because me and Lil’ Troublemaker were staying up late upstairs and
I didn’t want to take the time to take pictures in my office. I
did, however, run downstairs and grab the rest of the Goblin so we
could put him together.
The
alternate head is basically the same as the regular head except for
the molded effects around the eyes. These look great and are painted
the same white. As cool as those eyes look, I wish the face had an
enraged expression. That neutral look doesn’t make any sense for a
near-deity (named Sparkles) that is displaying the extent of his
powers. Electro was a very
angry bad guy. That was the point. And it should have been expressed
in this face.
The
hands look awesome. They do look fairly angry – for hands, I mean –
and the electrical bolt effects are cool. I suppose they could have
been a little longer like some of the Emperor Palpatine figures from
the Star Wars line, but they look cool.
The
head and hands swap out very easily and stay put.
FUN
Thanks
to a ton of meaningful articulation, the swappable parts, and a cool
design this figure is a lot of fun to play with.
All
of the joints work nicely except for those ankles. They’re the same
design as all of the new Marvel Legends, but because of the kickpads
(or whatever) hanging down the feet barely pivot. This makes the nice
double-jointed knees a good bit less useful than they should be. You
can still achieve some decent poses, but it’s a shame that what
should have been a great range of movement has been limited.
The
arms are very impressive because despite the nodules on the shoulders
you can still do a lot with them. The elbow pivots are nice and deep
and the shoulders have a very good range.
The
head works like all
superhero action figure heads should. It’s a damn shame that Mattel
didn’t figure this joint out for its DC Universe Classics line,
which featured a huge number of characters that should
have
been able to pose in a flying position. Sadly, they never made a
Superman that can fly as well as this Electro. Or Captain America.
Or any other Marvel Legend figure.
OVERALL
This
is a very good Electro. Even if – like me – you thought Jamie
Foxx was terrible in the movie, it’s still a passable Ultimate
Electro. And the bottom line is that it’s just a cool figure.
4
out of 5
You
should have no problem finding this figure at Target or Toys R Us.
It’s one of four figures from the current Infinite series that are
always
on the pegs. These are currently on sale at Target for $17.99 and
marked up ridiculously high at Toys R Us to $22.99. That is obviously
fucking absurd.
I
recommend you order one from Amazon and make Needless Things a little
money:
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