Toy Review: Secret Weapon Force Colossus

Secret Weapon Force Colossus

It took me a while to figure out what line this figure came from, but it looks like my google-fu still has some kick. Found out it’s from a Toybiz line called “Secret Weapon Force” that ran from 1997 - 1998 and included 4″ figures of Apocalypse, Beast, Colossus, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Magneto, Omega (???) and 2 Wolverines. The apparent draw was that they all had BFGs which were roughly the same size as the figures and looked absolutely ridiculous. Toy manufacturers are convinced that kids want to see BFGs with their toys, and who knows, maybe they’re right. Kids are dumb.

Thankfully, I didn’t need to worry about it since I found mine at a specialty shop second, third, or fourth hand. You never can tell. There was some gum stuck to his shoe, some playwear and loose joints, and he didn’t have his stupid rocket launcher, but you can’t expect much for p200.00 these days. As luck would have it, his going rate online is about $35.00 to $40.00, so it seems to be a pretty good deal considering Colossus has no need for silly guns.

Picture from kelly heller at Amazon.com

Back in the day, I used to think Toybiz was the worst toy manufacturer ever. When they first came out with Marvel Superhero figures in 1990, I thought their sculpts were awful looking, so I never bothered to keep tabs on their lines. They apparently improved during the years between those first attempts and Marvel Legends inception in 2002. The “Secret Weapon Force Colossus with Transforming Tri-Blaster Super Shooter” was one of those figures I missed out on.

He is based on the uniform he wore during fan favorite artist Joe Madureira’s time on the X-men books. I’ve got quite a few of those arcs, and loved them to bits. Naturally, when I saw this figure with the uniform in the cabinet at Comic Alley, I couldn’t resist. There are slight variations from the design in the comic, like they big “X” on his shoulder and some tiny color issues, but the half-pants are there so you can’t argue that it’s not his.

Sculpt-wise, he’s very good, rivaling the one from the XMO Colossus. Since he’s got more articulation than that one, I’d say he’s the better figure. He is a little taller than the Marvel Universe figures, but not so much so that he’s totally out of place. If Iceman is a little under 6 feet, Peter would be something like 7 and 1/2? Nothing a little imagination couldn’t cure.

His head design looks a little funky though. Sort of evil, with his hair flapping about in the wind. I prefer him stoic and frowning. like the Icons Colossus. This figure looks like he might go off and slam someone into the ground at any second. Like this.

So yeah, it kind of works.

Thankfully, they gave him one fist and one gripping hand. The fist has a huge hole for the BFG, but it still looks like a fist. Both hands are on swivel joints, connected to elbow hinges, to ball-joint shoulders. His heads on another swivel, and he’s got more swivels on his hips, knees and ankles. Total of 13 points of articulation. Not bad for a pre-Marvel Legends figure. It’s enough to get him into some nice poses.

He’s not a must-have, nor is he easy to find, but he really is a great looking toy. If you can find him at one of the shops in Greenhills, online, or at one of the upcoming Toy Conventions, I’d suggest picking him up for your X-men collection.