This Week in Geek- 5/1

Bringing Back the 90's, this week in geek!

First Look- Jubilee and Jean Grey in X-Men Apocalypse - I love, love how Jubilee is very much her comic book costume. It helps that the film is period-set in the 1980s, where her look would have been very fashionable to begin with. Seeing this kind of stuff is always fun, especially when it shows how close a director is willing to go to the source.

Stephen Amell as Casey Jones - Straight from Michael Bay himself, we have a look at a fan favorite returning to screen in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2- Casey Jones. Amell is a good  Green Arrow and I don't doubt he can make the best of what material he's given in the sequel. .However, on a general design note, I feel the  Casey Jones mask makes the same mistake as the current cartoon in trying to over-design the simple look that worked so well in the comics and first movie. What made the first design work was the simple fact it was an easy graphic design. The new movie- and the 2012 show- overcomplicate it.

NECA unveils Terminator exclusive figure - NECA is making a very nostalgia-driven exclusive for San Diego Comic Con this year. They are homaging the Kenner toyline for the film by creating a new Terminator endoskeleton figure based on the Endo-Glow Terminator figure from the line, complete with glow in the dark pieces. This is pretty cool and a perfect choice for an SDCC exclusive- a fun idea that isn't exactly essential to complete the line.

Power Rangers reboot pushed back to 2017 - Perhaps this falls more under 'pushing back the 90's', but Lionsgate has announced a push on its in-progress Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers film reboot to January 2017. This is not a good sign. January is a dumping ground for films that a studio doesn't have faith in- and with no stars attached and no shooting done, this means the movie is one step closer to simply falling apart. Hopefully, it will emerge from this with more direction and quality. However, I can't say I find that premise terribly realistic.

It Figures: Rocky Balboa

After going over a license I had attatchment to that made for a mediocre toy, I figured this week I'd go the other way, and look at a toy that impressed me enough to buy in on a license I had very little attachment to. From NECA, here's a look at Rocky Balboa from Rocky III.

NECA is surprisingly the third company to take a go at making action figures of the Italian Stallion, with a line contemporary to the third movie by Remco, and a toyline spanning the series by Jakks Pacific in the mid-2000s that gave us the infamous 'The Meat'- a novelty single-carded figure of the slab of meat that he beats up to train. Jakks at the time was pretty experienced at making modern articulated figures of muscled up men thanks to their WWE  license, so few people foresaw NECA bringing much more to the line. That notion was dispelled when the figures were revealed. Rocky is beautifully detailed with an amazingly realistic skin texture to the sculpt, and plenty of anatomical detail like raised veins.

More than that- the skin manages to look a lot more like skin than any other toy on the market, and there's a reason behind that. Because so much of the figure is uncovered skin, NECA was able to experiment in the production with mixing dye into translucent plastic. The result is a quality of reflection that is unique and manages to look almost like real skin.

But unsatisfied to beat the Jakks effort on looks alone, NECA made their Rocky line more articulated as well. Rocky has hinge-swivels in the shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles and hips, with ball-socket wrists, hinged toes and an ab-crunch. This means he can reach just about any ring pose you can think of. The sculpt, covered in veins and precise cuts, also helps to hide these joint, as do the soft rubber boxing shorts.

The combination of realism and articulation in this figure makes for an amazing piece that transcends toy and goes directly into art. Whether or not you have any attatchment to Rocky, if you like toys, the level of artisanship put into making the most realistic figure they can makes it worth it to pick up one of NECA's several figures from the Rocky line.

This Week in Geek: 4/24

A Super-size helping of news, this week, in geek!

DC Launching Super Hero Girls Initiative- This is definitely a sound idea and a step toward creating a gender equality in comics. I do not object to the basic idea behind this campaign of product or the animation. I do feel like Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy are terrible choices for the simple fact they're villains, not heroes, and this would have been a perfect place for DC to rep their lesser known female heroes like Mary Marvel, Amethyst, or Iris West as Impulse.

Frank Miller writing Dark Knight Returns sequel - Now this is a DC decision I just cannot fathom. Frank Miller at this point has run the character into the ground once that got published as a sequel, again in a spin-off that's unrelated, and in another comic so terrible, he had to rewrite it with a new 'original' character. I have no idea what DC thinks is going to come out of this but if it's anything good, I will be immensely surprised.

TMNT 2 has Cast Baxter Stockman - Baxter Stockman shows that the new Ninja Turtles movies are not afraid at all to go deeper than films have gone before. Stockman was a throwaway character in the original comics- an inventor turned terrorist, whose pest-extermination robots nearly proved deadly to Master Splinter in the original comics. He was a serious figure. The good news is, Hollywood hasn't decided to white-wash him. The bad news is, he's being played by Tyler Perry. I intend to do my best to refrain from making a judgment call until I see the movie.

Sony reveals Spider-plans... Getting deja vu? Now that Marvel's gotten its word out, Sony has announced that it is creating, separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and prospective live-action Spider-Man movies that would intersect, they have hired Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the brains behind the Lego Movie, to work on an animated Spider-Man picture. This is brilliant and allows a truly unique angle on the character to be explored while not being confused with the MCU character. I'm going to call this movie a winner on Sony's part.

It Figures: Weird Al Yankovic

Today on It Figures, something a little unusual, which is itself a bit strange to say when this column usually features things like dismembered Statue of Liberty heads, muscleman Stan Lee and the Ninja Turtles cosplaying. Today's subject is an action figure of the sort I would barely qualify as an action figure. Today's subject is Weird Al Yankovic, from NECA's recent Simpsons 25th Anniversary line, which focuses on pop culture celebrities as they appeared on the famous television show.

I have very little knowledge or interest in The Simpsons. I know the general characters and the setup, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the early 90's arcade adaptation, but otherwise I could care less. The reason I felt the need to shine a light on this figure is the simple fact that there is now an action figure of Weird Al Yankovic. As a big fan, I have to say, it's a long time coming. It's interesting that the first and, thus far, only figure of him would happen in this series. A very possible explanation for this would be that his popularity was on a wane during the music action figures trend of the early 2000s. This toy itself just barely hits enough points of articulation for me to consider it a true action figure- it has swivels in the arms, neck, and waist. These just barely allow for some posing variation, and even then, the arms are clearly intended to do one thing- hold his accordion. It's a well-detailed accessory. The likeness is quite recognizably Al, even with the filter of the Simpsons art style.

Overall, this one is much more a matter of taste above all else. I can't really recommend this toy on its merits as such- it all depends on if you like Weird Al Yankovic enough to want a toy of him- and can tolerate the Simpsons enough to settle for this. It's a good toy for what it is- but what it is is very, very niche.

This Week in Geek- 4/17/15

It's heavy on the Galaxy Far, Far Away, this week, in Geek!

The Force Awakens- Teaser 2 First off, the elephant in the room. Star Wars Episode VII had a new trailer released this week- and it looks awesome. It shows off the new villain ,the new Stormtroopers, and an AMAZING set piece that looks to be a highlight of the film. So what're you doing here, if you haven't seen it, click through!

First non-film Black Series figure revealed!  Yes, Hasbro's 6" offerings are finally expanding beyond the screen, with Anakin's favorite padawan, Ahsoka Tano. I love the look of the sculpt- the people at  Hasbro did a great job making her realistic enough to blend next to their authentic likenesses in the other figures of the line.

Marvel announces Spider plans - Marvel has said though Kevin Feige that the new Spider-Man of the Marvel universe will be introduced already active, without an origina story, and will be in high school. I am personally  VERY much behind this plan and glad to not sit through a third telling of the Spider-Man origin.

Rocky Horror Picture Show to be Remade for TV.  As much as I love the idea of new Rocky Horror, I can't say I'm behind this. Glee had enough trouble with the FCC. I can't believe any form of faithful production of the show itself would be remotely possible on network television. Still, at least it could be fun, hopefully.

It Figures Special: Lady Liberty Playset

Ah, the playset. A classic part of any action figure line in the past, we are seeing less and less of them now. And as time marches on, the more iconic seem to be rising steadily in value. However, I seem to have found one that has sank to obscurity over time- the Lady Liberty playset from the 1999 X-Men action figure line. And while the reasons are understandable, I believe now is a perfect time to shine a light on it.

The interior is filled with gimmickry designed to emulate the climax of the first  X-Men film, and particularly the powers of Magneto- it has a springing trap of the statue's internal frame as well as a section of warping rubber girders. But the real star of the show is the facade- a perfectly sculpted and detailed replication of the famous lady of New York's harbors. It looks great, with the only real toyish aspect being the nameplate that adorns the front of the piece.

The main issue of this playset is that, in the line it was designed for, it was grossly out of scale. It was designed for a line of 6" figures and barely hits a foot tall without the crown.  However- 6" is no longer the dominant scale of the action figure market. Most lines now work in a 3 3/4" scale. And while still a good degree undersized  in terms of true scale, it makes for a much very fun piece for them, as there is much more to be done with the facade, which is close enough to  be taken as minor artistic license. The top of the lady is level enough to decently stand a figure on, and with figures that have modern level articulation, it's no trouble to pose a team of heroes standing all over it!

Perhaps the best part is, this is a rare playset that won't break your budget in the finding! Lady Liberty averages $10 to $15 on the aftermarket, and is definitely well worth the money if you're a Marvel fan- almost any Marvel hero you can think of is based in New York, and it makes a very nice display piece with any 3 3/4"  superhero figures.

Hot Imports: Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger

Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger (非公認戦隊アキバレンジャー) is a love-letter to nerds, straight from Japan. The show is the official parody of the long-running tokusatsu series Super Sentai.  You may not immediately recognize the words tokusatsu or Super Sentai, but the odds are you know them. Tokusatsu is a term for a genre of Japanese movies and television- the term most analogously translates to 'special effects' movie, but largely is applied to series with giant monsters, giant robots, and men in spandex. Super Sentai specifically is a franchise of tokusatsu television series. Its hallmarks include a team of color-coded heroes with martial arts skill, fighting the forces of evil using giant combining robots. If this sounds familiar to you, this is because it's precisely the hallmarks of Power Rangers, and with good reason- Power Rangers is the official United States localization of Super Sentai. Heavily cut, and with much new footage, but the core is there.

So with that explanation out of the way, Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger is a comedic deconstruction and reconstruction of Super Sentai for adults. Our lead, Nobuo Akagi, is a hopeless otaku and Super Sentai fanatic. Approached with the chance to become a Sentai leader, of course he is champing at the bit- but this is both more and less real than it seems. Nobuo has been recruited by  Hiroyo Hakase to be AkibaRed and lead the Akibarangers- a team that fights battles entirely in their minds, to protect the real world from being invaded by the Delusion World- the world of illusion and fantasy. His teammates, like Nobuo himself, reflect the typical fans of any media. Yumeria Moegi, AkibaYellow, is a cosplayer and incorrigible slash fangirl. Counterbalancing her is Mitsuki Aoyagi, the most grounded of the team. Mitsuki is the archetypical closeted fan, more cynical and worldly, with a professed interest in Super Sentai only so far as its use of martial arts.

Where do things go from there? Well, I don't intend to spoil the series- which can be easily found on licensed subtitled DVD on eBay- but as the show progresses, the bounds between the Delusion World and the real world become blurred, and it becomes increasingly metafictional, with an unexpected degree of depth for a Japanese comedy show. It's rather telling that while most normal Super Sentai get only one season, Akibaranger became beloved enough to receive a second-  and at a short 13 episodes per season, watching it is no heavy task. Hikonin Sentai Akibaranger is something we are increasingly lacking- a parody with heart and a love of what it's making fun of. And that is enough to carry the humor, by and large. If you have any investment in any internet fandom, or Power Rangers, Akibaranger is definitely worth looking at.