As for the set. I'm fine with Hydroman. I didn't like that previous figure. His has this hillbilly stupid looking face and one of his arms broke on me. I'm sure they will release a normal version on a retro card in the future. In the meantime, this one will do
Not sure about Daredevil.
I actually like the cel-shaded Daredevil.
The Hydro-man is ok, I don't have an issue with the all-water look as it obviously fits the character, but I was one that wanted regular arms with the previous release and yet this is the one that gets regular (regularish) arms, when the water-burst arms would have fit better on this figure. Hasbro so crazy sometimes.
Not my cup of tea but happy for whoever gets their boat floated.
That said, they had this line perfectly set up - retro cards, speaks to the 90's ToyBiz line, but doesn't try to be it. No cel-shading. It was right there in the first wave. Perfect, they just had to keep it going!
AND THEY STILL BLEW IT
Cel shading appears. Then it goes away. Then sculpts are Animated specific. Then VHS packages appear. Then they pivot to retro carded waves mixing modern & retro characters. Then cel shading comes back, along with VHS.
Can't we just have one retro carded Spiderman wave with no cell shading? Can't we get a regular Aunt May? Can't we get a carded Doc Ock with bendy tentacles? Can't MJ get a classic Romita headsculpt? Can't we get a retro carded Venom that ISN'T cel shaded?
This is not hard. Inconsistency destroys brands.
Not something I would have asked them to do, and it's not a figure I'll go out of my way to get ahold of, but I actually really like the way this Daredevil looks. Too bad he's a Pulse exclusive AND packed with a character I couldn't care less about. Not counting on it, but if I can find him on his own on ebay later this year for really cheap, I might get him. Otherwise I'll wait to see what they hopefully do for Daredevil's anniversary.
I love this daredevil. I have been waiting for a proper cel shaded Daredevil since the 90's and I cant believe its taken a company this long to make something like this. Daredevil's costume is so distinct in part because of this heavy black shading. It's a cold hard lesson in pop art and iconography which dates all the way back to the 1960's. This is how it's supposed to be done. period.
This was a surprise today, and I appreciate that!
Not including the water arms on a fully waterized variant is definitely a weird choice. And they aren't really swappable. So that's a bummer. Especially as a deluxe release. I would have also liked a different head for the regular Hydro Man - the first release has always looked more like Toad to me with the super pointy chin.
But I guess Hydroman's complete lack of paint helped them overpaint DD. Including Daredevil here is definitely a headscratcher and it reeks of Hasbro'ing and not what's best for the line/the fans.
Pick up on a sale, if ever.
BTW - who made those renders of the May/MJ parts swap? I'd love to see those again because I have extras of both and I might do it, but I can't remember what swapped where.
I definitely think this DD would be better off if it was cast in black with the red painted on. The cel shading that's there is well applied, it's just that it looks incomplete, especially the untouched areas inside the arms and legs. Also the gloves and boots being unpainted is inaccurate, Matt's entire costume had that stark shading in the Spider-Man cartoon. They were only left blank in his appearances on the F4 show if Google Images is anything to go by. Still, if someone were to give this figure a dull coat, I feel it'd help a lot.
As someone who has always wanted animated Spidey figures, I'm honestly very lukewarm on this line as a whole. Feels like half the packs have been excellent and the others were phoned in. The Carnage/Symbiote Spidey one was very lackluster, the Doc Ock/Aunt May set was superb, the Green Goblin/MJ set was half and half, and the Smythe/Parker set looks excellent but I haven't picked it up since I don't think I need either character in my collection. This set looks alright. Probably not gonna pick it up. Even if I would like DD on that updated body, I just don't need a second Hydro-Man.
The release strategy has also been, off putting to say the least. Yeah, release Venom as a con exclusive and Spidey as a Walmart exclusive. The two most popular and best selling characters. Surely that's gonna get new collectors on-board. I managed to get them and they're both excellent, but why would you do that?
I've actually been pondering picking up the Animated Venom because I really like the cel-shading/highlights on him. Probably gonna go for a knock-off after Chinese New Year is over because no way is that figure worth what some people are asking right now.
Cel shading appears. Then it goes away. Then sculpts are Animated specific. Then VHS packages appear. Then they pivot to retro carded waves mixing modern & retro characters. Then cel shading comes back, along with VHS.
It's so flip-floppy it's unbelievable. Even within a three pack (Spidey's Amazing Friends) they can't decided if it's going to be cell shaded or not! Are you kidding me? They're created to be a set......to be displayed together!
Whenever Hasbro pulls a totally baffling move like this I ask myself, "What's the money-saving angle?" That usually answers all my questions. I still don't get this one. How does purposeful inconsistency save them money?
after all these years, it's nice to finally get a cell shaded Daredevil.
He seems to usually be portrayed with heavy dark shadows to break up the red in the comics as well. I think the new figure seems to do a fine job of it.
I definitely think this DD would be better off if it was cast in black with the red painted on. The cel shading that's there is well applied, it's just that it looks incomplete, especially the untouched areas inside the arms and legs. Also the gloves and boots being unpainted is inaccurate, Matt's entire costume had that stark shading in the Spider-Man cartoon. They were only left blank in his appearances on the F4 show if Google Images is anything to go by. Still, if someone were to give this figure a dull coat, I feel it'd help a lot.
As someone who has always wanted animated Spidey figures, I'm honestly very lukewarm on this line as a whole. Feels like half the packs have been excellent and the others were phoned in. The Carnage/Symbiote Spidey one was very lackluster, the Doc Ock/Aunt May set was superb, the Green Goblin/MJ set was half and half, and the Smythe/Parker set looks excellent but I haven't picked it up since I don't think I need either character in my collection. This set looks alright. Probably not gonna pick it up. Even if I would like DD on that updated body, I just don't need a second Hydro-Man.
The release strategy has also been, off putting to say the least. Yeah, release Venom as a con exclusive and Spidey as a Walmart exclusive. The two most popular and best selling characters. Surely that's gonna get new collectors on-board. I managed to get them and they're both excellent, but why would you do that?
to be fair this style of shading on Daredevil is far more accurate to the comics than the tv show. So if you're looking for a truly classic DD figure, it doesn't get much more classic than this.
Not to beat a dead horse, but that cell shading is atrocious. Hasbro isn't good with it.
I would have also liked a different head for the regular Hydro Man - the first release has always looked more like Toad to me with the super pointy chin.
This is a new head that's I guess more cartoon accurate. The original one did look awful and is one of the reasons I never picked him up
Whenever Hasbro pulls a totally baffling move like this I ask myself, "What's the money-saving angle?"
Simple. You don't have to paint Hydroman. I like it, especially if you display him with new "Water Blue" effects from Bandai.
He's just a reuse of the old mold with a new head. Made from clear plastic, zero paint. That's the money-saving angle. Just like with Carnage\Spider-Man set: old figure packed with new.
The thing is...why Daredevil? Pack him with Classic Animated Spider-Man on Renew Your Vows body. Then you can release Daredevil on a retro card. Or give us another Animated series character like Vulture. Sometimes I wonder it's what they like or think is cool. Because no one really asked about that Haslab Doom Head...
Whenever Hasbro pulls a totally baffling move like this I ask myself, "What's the money-saving angle?"
Simple. You don't have to paint Hydroman.
He's just a reuse of the old mold with a new head. Made from clear plastic, zero paint. That's the money-saving angle. Just like with Carnage\Spider-Man set: old figure packed with new.
For sure. I was more wondering what's the money saving angle with making a whole line of animated figures and only cell shading 50% of them? How does this inconsistency save them money? And if the inconsistency isn't a money saving issue, then what's the reason?
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