The brainchild of legendary comic book writer Stan Lee, and artist Jack Kirby, Juggernaut aka Cain Marko first appeared during the Silver Age of Comic Books in X-Men #12 published in 1965. When Toy Biz issued this 5-inch Juggernaut action figure as part of the Evil Mutant subset of characters in the first series of its hugely popular Uncanny X-Men line decades later in 1991, the villain was riding a surge of new notoriety thanks to the 1990s X-Men animated television show. Indeed, he got his own … [Read more...]

When Marvel Comics launched a new super-villain in 1969 to do battle with the X-Men, writer Roy Thomas and artist Neal Adams found themselves with the tricky task of inventing a monster that would pass the strict rules of the Comics Code Authority, a 1950s body that still censored depictions of horror or violence in comics and even banned the use of centuries old legendary figures such as vampires and werewolves. Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention, so Thomas and Adams brilliantly … [Read more...]

I recently watched X-Men Origins: Wolverine on DVD and was reminded of this 1992 Uncanny X-men figure of Gambit, the human mutant whose kinetic energy powers, card-throwing skills and wicked moves with his trusty bo staff are given quite a showcase in that movie, the first of the X-Men series in which he has appeared. Whilst Taylor Kitsch's portrayal of Remy LeBeau was a good match for the smooth talking Marvel Comics Gambit, this Toy Biz action figure, however, was clearly aimed at being a … [Read more...]