Marvel Universe Ghost Rider
I’ll admit that I didn’t really know anything about Ghost Rider before the debut of the second series in 1990 with , Howard Mackie and Mark Texiera. Hence, my image of Ghost Rider has always been more Hell’s Angel than Evel Knievel. That’s not to say that I don’t look forward to toys that depict the Johnny Blaze version of the character as much as I like the Dan Ketch one. Both are instantly recognizable and as far as I’m concerned, equally cool.
I probably wanted the Marvel Universe Ghost Rider more than most, since I never did see it “in the wild”. Wave 10 came out around June or July with Captain Britain and Mystique, two figures I’ve never seen at retail and that go for about Php 1,000.00 each now at hobby stores. Only the Team X Wolverine has been hanging around shelves at Toy Kingdom (and that’s cause no one really wants ANOTHER Wolverine) and the only reason I got my Multiple Men was because another collector was letting his go.
So when I heard that the figure was going to be available at the SM North leg of this year’s Hasbro Toyfair, along with the Wave 11 figures Thanos, Ironman 2020 and Constrictor, I jumped at the chance to get him at Php 450.00.
The Marvel Universe line is a 4” line, meaning that 4 inches are equivalent to about 6 feet in the real world, about the size of most superheroes. It’s a line that has been greatly improved since it was introduced in March of 2009, and Ghost Rider is a perfect example of that improvement.
For one, the sculpt has become much more detailed from Hasbro’s earliest efforts, with more effort put into getting the figure to look more realistic. Second, articulation has finally been improved, topping GI Joe’s (the line to beat for 4” toys) in terms of flexibility. Third, we’re finally seeing the figures coming with accessories and a much needed figure stand to help you with the harder poses.
First off, let’s look at the sculpt of the figure. Compared to my Superhero Showdown Ghost Rider, which was released back in 2005, the skull is so much more recognizable as human. The old one, while nice, was still more of a rough sketch of a skull, and as far removed from realistic anatomy as those old Texiera panels. The new one looks just as good as those ones you see in science classrooms throughout the States.
The costume is a stuntman suit that Johnny Blaze might have worn back when he was the Spirit of Vengeance. There are folds and wrinkles in all the right places on his overalls, plus some realistic looking creases on his leather gloves and boots.
You might think that the body looks familiar, and you’d be right. It was used in Wave 8 for the AIM Soldier. It’s a nice little trick that Hasbro’s played on us. These new bucks they’ve created are modular and able to be broken down and mixed with new parts to create better looking re-tools. If you’ll look at the Thanos and Juggernaut, you’ll see what I mean. You can also look at the Iron Man 2 Hulkbuster and the subsequent Comic Iron Monger. The core of the toys is the same, but the extremities and various doo-dads are added to diffentiate them.
In this case, Hasbro used the body of the AIM Soldier, then added the new head, a collar, and I think they either retooled the crotch, or just removed a belt from the first toy. Presto! Classic Ghost Rider!
It’s pretty awesome.
To find out just how awesome, click HERE.