Action Figure Reviews

The Conan Series II Figures, McFarlane Toys consist entirely of characters from Robert E. Howard's only Conan novel "Hour of the Dragon" (a.k.a. "Conan the Conqueror" for those of us who read the Lancer paperbacks with the Frank Frazetta covers that we ran to once Marvel's "Conan the Barbarian" comic book reintroduced the character to a new generation of fans). The story is of Conan when he is the middle-aged king of the ancient kingdom of Aquilonia who has to fight a final battle against Xaltotun, a resurrected sorcerer. Armies are not going to win this one and Conan has to find the fabled Heart of Ahriman to defeat his enemy. Along the way he will meet a slave girl in Nemedia that he will make queen of Aquilonia.

This 6" figure is of Xaltotun the Undead (the short and sweet way of saying he is resurrected), who is brought back by the the conspirators Orastes, Amalric, Valerius, and Tarascus using the power of the magical gem called the Heart of Ahriman. The skeletal sorcerer comes with scepter and a book of evil spells, along with a base to stand on as he comes right for you. Obviously the figure looks like something out of an ancient Egyptian nightmare, but, of course, in the Hyborian world created by Howard he is a Stygian. As the end result of a long line of necormancers, Xaltotun represents evil incaranate in the novel, so it is probably a good thing that he is not aware that he has been raised from the dead. This is a pretty creepy looking raised from the dead Stygian necormancer.

Series II includes the King Conan of Aquilonia on his throne, which comes in a big square package as opposed to the blister packs like the Battle Conan figure. The rest of Series II consists of Pallantides of the Black Dragon, Conan's field commander in full battle armor; Zenobia, the beautiful harem girl; and the Haunter of the Pit (which links up with the Battle Conan to make the Series II diorama).

The Hour of the Dragon was Robert E. Howard's full-length Conan novel and one of his best stories in my opinion. Conan has become King of Aquilonia, usurping the throne from the tyrannical and crazed King Namedides by strangling him on the throne. Now the righful heir Valerius, a defrocked Priest, and other conspirators plot to take back the throne and to this end use an artifact called the heart of Ahriman to bring the Necromancer named Xaltotun back to life after 3,000 years. Xaltotun was a High Priest of Set in Acheron in what is now Stygia in the present day Hyborian world and is first seen in his tomb has a mummy as slowly his dusty limbs renew with the vigor of life.

In the actual story, Xaltotun was full restored. In Howard's own words, "For as they watched, an awful transmutation became apparent. The withered shape in the sarcophagus was expanding, was growing, lengthening. The bandages burst and fell into brown dust. The shiveled limbs swelled, straightened. Their dusky hue began to fade." From this we gather that he really didn't appear as a mummy after being brought back to life, but what the heck, it sure makes the figure look much cooler. Very nice figure. Great display piece.

This is very good figure as he has great sculpting and a incredible likeness as its pretty movie accurate. I recommend Marvel Movie/Marvel Legends/Spider-Man figures for age 10 and up due to the fragileness nature of the figures. Bottom line this is a must have figure if you are a big Fantastic Four fan! I strongly recommend this figure!

I had a hard time deciding on which Thing figure to buy from the Fantastic Four movie since Series 1 and 2 came out at almost the same time and they both feature a Thing action figure. I compared the two the best I could without opening them and decided on "Clobber `N Crush" or "Clobberin' Time" Thing. Not because it's better than the other one, but because it seemed to have more of what I was looking for--I went for poseability and articulation rather than sound effects. Both figures do a very good job of looking like the Thing from the movie. The head sculpts and the Thing's rocky, orange exterior is a little different on both figures, but both are nice and I really like each one. However, Clobber `N Crush Thing is more articulated than the Thing from Series 1. Both arms and both legs can move up and down as well as in and out. The Series 1 Thing doesn't have this articulation on all limbs. Both arms have action features, too. The right arm can be pulled down and then let go so the Thing can deliver an upper cut-type punch. The left arm is operated by a button on his back. When you press the button, his left arm comes hammering down. His left hand is a fist and his right hand is slightly open. Personally, two fists would have been more of the Thing's style, but one is good, too. The button isn't too obvious, but it sticks out a little. The joints are all nice and tight and are placed very well on the figure--even his wrists. Despite his weight, the figure stands up very well. His ankles joints are done well so they can support the figure effectively. The only gripe I have is that this figure doesn't have the little "4" symbol on the side button of his boots like the Series 1 figure has. That would have been a nice detail to keep on the figure. But, that's not worth a bad rating in my mind. This figure also comes with a collapsible sports car accessory. You can have the Thing hit a button on the front of the car and it will look as if he crushed it. It's supposed to represent Johnny Storm's sports car in the movie after Thing crushes it into a ball. You can do with it as you choose, but you really don't need it to enjoy what the figure has to offer. So, if you're looking for a Thing action figure that is poseable, durable, and lots of fun-pick this one up. You'll be glad you did.

This figure rocks. Monty Brown is in his red attire and the face scan is cool and it looks just like the alpha male This figure is a must have to go along with any TNA collection.