H.A.M.M.E.R. Files Kitty Pryde
Most comic book characters fill some sort of archetypical role in their respective books. They’re not always particularly deep, and often very 1 dimensional. This is often because comic book fans come back to these books because they identify with them. If a writer were to say decide to do a 360 degree change and get The Hulk into some anger management classes and put him on some new-fangled anti-psychotic that would totally solve his problems, then what fun would that be? If Doom were to suddenly realize that no, it’s not cool to keep working toward global domination and absolute power and auction off his various ray guns for the benefit of Habitat for Humanity… well, who would buy that comic?
That’s the reason that Kitty Pryde has always been stuck in the role of that Unicorn that nerds everywhere have always sought; the geek girl.
Let’s examine her finer points:
The latest toy version of Katherine Anne “Kitty” Pryde ir Shadowcat, doesn’t completely live up to the comic version.
The package is the same simple package that all the Marvel Universe figures come in. A small blister pack that doesn’t have too much wasted space. It has a nice open blister with windows to 3 sides of the figure, a must with Hasbro’s poor quality control these days.
The pack is very sturdy and will stand up to a lot of abuse on the pegs. The inside plastic tray holds the figure in there securely AND supports the outer bubble, so you’ll see fewer dents. The J-hook is also supported now by a plastic piece that’s glued to the back. A nice thing that I just noticed. It’s great for MOC (mint-on-card) collectors since it means that fewer cards will get ripped on the pegs, a problem that was prevalent back when it was Marvel Legends that we were looking for.
Unlike DC toys, Marvel and Hasbro have stopped putting the figures in action poses in the package. While it was a great way to catch the attention of buyers, it also meant a lot of the toys were getting deformed in the packages. Thankfully, we don’t have to deal with that any more. With the lack of twist ties and the nuetral pose in package, most figures seem to be free from the warpped joints.
The tray is easy enough to remove. If you want to keep the package to store the figure later, you can cut around the bubble fairly easily. If you’re just going to toss it, you can just rip it open.
You can see that the Kitty Pryde figure comes with the standard H.A.M.M.E.R. Files file envelope (which includes a file card, a small folded memo from a H.A.M.M.E.R. agent to Osbourn about Shadowcat, and an advertisement for the H.A.M.M.E.R. Files website with your password). I find these less of a draw than I do the [url=http://slangards.i.ph/blogs/slangards/2010/03/12/toy-review-iron-man-2-mark-iv-and-vi/]Iron Man 2[/url] Armor Cards. For one, the artwork on the card has Kitty Pryde sporting pornface. It’s not that flattering.
She also comes with her pet, the purple alien dragon, Lockheed. At this scale, he’s about as detailed as the Wasp that came with Dr. Doom, whcih is to say he’s a blob with a neck and wings. Sad to say, he can’t really do anything by stand on the ground. I would have liked to have a way to make him fly next to her, or sit on her hand. No such luck.
The figure’s design leave much to be desired. I’m a fan of Shadowcat’s blue costume, the one with the mask, poofy sleeves, and skin tight leggings. That one was pretty hot.
Hasbro decided to put her in the standard X-Men uniform though. Blue and gold body suit. In this case, it looks more like black. It’s boring as all get out.
This was probably done to save money, since she’s likely just a re-color of most of the other female superheroes that Hasbro has done in the past, like Ms. Marvel, or Black Widow. I’m sure we’ll see Sue Storm with this same body soon.
The head is a new sculpt though. It looks appropriate, with brown curly hair and a hooked nose, characteristics that she was originally portrayed with. It is kind of soft looking though.
Articulation is sub-par, as with all Marvel Universe female figures. She lacks both thigh and upper arm swivels, which sorely limits her poseability. With her tiny footprint, that means she can’t really do anything without her stand.
You also need to watch out with paint. A friend was able to get this for me and told me that there was another figure there as well and it had some messed up applications on the face. I saw another example at Rustan’s Shagri-La and it had some very ragged lines between the yellow and black portions of her costume.
But then considering how few boxes there were in the initial delivery, beggars can’t be choosers.
She’s nicely scaled with the [url=http://slangards.i.ph/blogs/slangards/2010/05/12/toy-review-hammer-files-colossus/]H.A.M.M.E.R. Files Colossus[/url], who is about a head and a half taller than her. I love that I now have both of these X-Men on my roster. If you’re a fan of the couple, then you’ll need to get both.
Unfortunately, I can’t recommend the figure if you’re NOT a fan. Aside from the head and the tiny Lockheed figurine, I don’t think she has anything to offer a non X-Men collector. Kitty Pryde is a very plain figure, with passable articulation and iffy paints.
If she had come in her classic costume, in a semi-phased state to display her powers, with a nicer Lockheed, I probably would have felt better about her.
Other Related Links: H.A.M.M.E.R. Files Colossus
X-Men Origins Cyclops & Iceman
X-Men Origins Wolverine with Jacket
Iron Man 2 Mark IV & Mark VI
Marvel Universe Dr. Doom & Absorbing Man
@Wes GRogran, I know right? It’s weird that they can make great looking figures like the 25th Anniversary Baroness, Desert Ambush Scarlett, and the Marvel Legends SHIELD Agents, but still turn out ones like the latest Cover Girl.
Posted by slangards at June 14, 2010, 9:59 pmAll comments are moderated. Your comments will not appear here unless approved by the blog owner. Thank you.
If you're looking for biased, one-sided views of toys and other assorted geekery, then you're in the right place. If you want objective, you'll need a blog written by someone who isn't an obsessive geek.
These are my views on various toys, movies, places, and things, along with assorted pictures and the the occasional link to stuff I find sufficiently geeky.
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Slangards
I may give you a half-way serious answer.
It’s a shame about the MU females. Why there can’t be consistently decent female action figures is entirely beyond me.
Posted by Wes GRogan at June 14, 2010, 11:30 am