The Internet has been a-buzz this month with X-Men news as work started on X-Men: Days of Future Past with some of the movie's stars spotted in Montreal for filming. Excitement has also been fuelled by director Bryan Singer tweeting some great behind-the-scenes photos (@BryanSinger), and a brilliant April Fool's Day Tweet that Lady Gaga would be joining the cast! Erstwhile Twilight actor Booboo Stewart has been enlisted – probably as Warpath – although early speculation had cast him as a young … [Read more...]
Uncanny X-Men: Cyclops with Laser Light Eyes!
Long before Simon Cowell launched his reign of terror over TV networks the world over, in the 1980s our Cyclops here was already part of a very different X-Factor team in the Marvel Comics X-Men spin-off comic book series of the same name. One of the mutant X-Men since the very first issue in 1963, the Stan Lee / Jack Kirby creation is one of the most enduringly popular characters of the entire X-Men universe, so when Marvel relaunched the X-Men in 1991 Cyclops was swiftly incorporated back into … [Read more...]
Juggernaut with Power Punch – the Unstoppable X-Men Villain!
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...]
Trouble and Stryfe! The Uncanny X-Men villain from Toy Biz X-Force line
Marvel super villain Stryfe, leader of the Mutant Liberation Front and sworn enemy of team X-Force, first appeared in 1990 in issue #85 of X-Men spin-off comic The New Mutants. In the final issue #100 readers were in for a huge surprise when he removed his helmet and revealed himself to be none other than his own enemy the mutant Cable! Confused yet?!As Toy Biz explained on the back of the packaging for this 1992 Stryfe action figure:Stryfe is the mysterious evil mutant who could be … [Read more...]
Armored Daredevil by Toy Biz!
In 1993 Marvel Comics decided to revamp Daredevil's costume and kit out Matt Murdock in a snazzy new armored costume in the “Fall From Grace” storyline. This wasn't such a bad idea in theory – Daredevil may be the “Man Without Fear”, but surely a little protective gear isn't cheating – nobody thinks any less of Batman because he wears a Batsuit after all! Daredevil fans loved the old look, however, and by October 1995 he was pictured on the cover of issue #345 back in his red leotard and holding … [Read more...]
X-Men Super-Villain Sauron with Savage Attack Wings!
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...]
Speed Surfing Silver Surfer by Toy Biz
Long before the name “Silver Surfer” was adopted as the Web's favourite nickname for elderly Internauts, this alien superhero graced the pages of Marvel Comics, first appearing in the Fantastic Four issue #48 in March 1966. Of course, the Silver Surfer never actually required anything as ordinary as waves in the ocean to surf, when with his cosmically powered flying surfboard-like spacecraft he could surf the universe faster than the speed of light!Before taking a brief blogging break in … [Read more...]
Snikt! Wolverine gets his claws out with Toy Biz!
Several years ago I posted a great vintage advert for the first wave of 5-inch X-Men action figures produced by Toy Biz, which appeared in issue #1 from the October 1991 relaunch of the comic book starring the mutant superhero team as simply "X-Men" (rather than "Uncanny X-Men").I finally got around to tracking down a few of these enduringly popular figures recently and will be posting them here, starting today with what seems to be everybody's favourite figure from the line – Wolverine! … [Read more...]