Apocalypse, Now!

First off.  I would like to say, that I know that the title of this post is cheesy.  But c’mon, how could I not use it?

I was perusing the toy aisles at Target, and with no luck in the Transformers department, I decided to check out the comic-related releases.  I have heard mixed reviews about the Marvel Universe line, and I myself haven’t been too impressed.  Up to this point, I haven’t bought a single figure from the line.  Don’t get me wrong, I have seen a handful of figures that I would like to have(gray Hulk, Spiderman 2099 etc.).  But most of the time I couldn’t find a figure on the pegs that I wanted, and $7.99 seemed steep for the size of the figures.  That thought changed when I spotted this guy!

Apocalypse here is massive!  The heft of this figure justified the $7.99 price tag, in my mind.  Apocalypse has long been one of my favorite villains(along with Thanos), and this is the best looking figure of him that I’ve ever seen.  We have come to a time where action figures for comic book properties are on par with how they are meant to look.  The articulation is getting insane, and the same mold isn’t getting used for the whole line.  Just as an example, here is a comparison shot of the above Apocalypse and the 1991 Toy Biz version.

See what I mean?  The 1991 version looks like a tall skinny version of someone who looks like Apocalypse.  The new Marvel Universe version looks like the real deal.  He’s big, bulky and intimidating.  I don’t think there’s a figure I have that he couldn’t take.  🙂

Intimidating, right?  My only gripe is his shoulder pads.  They’re not necessary and they inhibit his arms from going up very high.  Other than that, I have no complaints.  I’ll give him a 9.5 out of 10.

Remember when I said that I don’t think that I have a figure that could take him on?  I caught him shaking down Iron Man for his milk money.

Random Quickie #1 – Bowen Designs Mini-Bust : Apocalypse

I wanted to have this post up on Friday, but I have been fighting a bad cold for the past couple of days.  For the first post in this ongoing series, I decided to go with something that is not a toy, but a work of art.

I bought this mini-bust at Midtown Comics sometime in 2000 or 2001.  I used to visit Midtown Comics every week to get my comic fix.  Well, one day I went in and checked out all the mini-busts and statues that they had in a glass case.  Apocalypse, being my all time favorite villain, caught my eye quite quickly.  Not being one to spend a large amount of money on a single item, I perused the rest of the store, to give me some time to think it over.  A short time later, I approached the counter with a few comics, and was asked, “Can I help you with anything else?”.  I replied with something like, “Yes.  I would like one of those mini-busts in the case over here.”.  Ten or so years later, I still think the $55.00 I spent on it was well worth it.

And for those wondering, this is numbered 1993 of 5000.