Ahh the Negative Zone, that strange extradimensional part of the Marvel Universe where all things strange and cosmic live. Especially those with the ability to shoot blasts of power out of their hands, like Blastaar. Making his first appearance in 1967, this perennial Fantastic Four baddie continues to play a major role in disrupting the lives of Richards and company, as well as the Marvel Universe as a whole.
Marvel Universe, the 4-inch action figure line from Hasbro based on Marvel Comic characters, does turn out a lot of good, solid figures. For anyone with an interest in 4-inch figures like Microman, GI Joe, and Star Wars, Marvel Universe is the perfect companion. Blastaar was part of the 2012 Series 4 lineup and is based on the 2009 Series 2 Juggernaut body. (Don’t get too caught up in knowing the series naming convention as I get confused as well.)
This is a good, solid figure. It has plenty of articulation: hinged ankles, swivel calves, double knees, swivel thighs, ball hips, ball abs, ball shoulders, swivel biceps, hinged elbows, swivel forearms and a ball head. All of the articulation works perfectly and there is a ton of play value in the figure as you can pose him kicking Marvel-hero ass. I wouldn’t mind if there were more articulation in the wrist — I feel as though the figure might get a little more “ka-zaam” if it had some posing possibilites there, but that’s just being way too picky and really going out my way to find fault with an awesome figure.
The sculpt is also top notch. Again, the figure this was based on, the previous Juggernaut sculpt (pics here), is older, but it continues to hold its own. This is a big, bulky figure with a lot of articulation cut into it. Everything could go horribly wrong with this figure, yet the execution is spot-on. The sculpt and the articulation blend perfectly together and the figure doesn’t lose the sculpt in forfeit of the articulation. The best part of the figure is the head sculpt. This is a fantastic sculpt at a small scale. Tons of personality and life in this sculpt. And the paint really works wonders on this small figure.
The paint is actually really good on this figure. I was surprised — it is crisp, clean and really well done. It looks like there is a decent wash on him and it really brings out the pop in the sculpt. There is a lot of good in this figure, and a lot of good fun as you use him to tear through your 4-inch action figure universe. He really needs a Marvel Universe Annihulus to battle. Personally, I’ve transported him over to the Microverse where he will be causing much havoc with the Microns and my growing team of Micronauts.
You can still find him on Amazon.com.
And packaged with Jubilee and Professor X at Big Bad Toy Store.
As always feel free to discuss this figure further on the Fwoosh forums.
