Darth Vader (Star Wars 40th Anniversary)

Darth Vader, the dark lord of the Sith is one of the cinema's most iconic villains. The samurai-inspired armour and James Earl Jones' deep voice have excited and terrified generations of kids. There are times when I eschew more popular characters for the overlooked weirdos with whom I feel a deeper connection. This is not one of those times. Darth Vader is just too flippin' cool. He is probably the only Star Wars character of whom I have more than one action figure. I already spotlighted the smaller figure from the Star Wars Rebels line, and somewhere I have a more deluxe but still 3.75" scale Vader but this special edition 6" figure was too good to pass up. Especially since I managed to get the deluxe set with the retro figure display stand on sale over the holidays. The figure I'm sure is the same as the one released as part of the regular "Black Series" line but I wasn't paying attention to Star Wars figures then. Plus I thought the dark background of the space battle on the figure stand would be useful for figures that get lost in the white of my current set up. What I didn't really count on was the fact that the assembled stand is too wide to fit in my photo box. It's still cool and will fit on a shelf in my cabinet of collectibles.

Iron Man (Marvel Legends Retro Series)

It seems very bizarre to me that a wave of Marvel Legends figures meant to harken back to toys I had as a kid are being labelled "retro" or "vintage." I mean I'm probably too old to still be collecting toys but I'm also not THAT old. Regardless I did get a kick out of the backing cards that look exactly like the ones from the early 90's "Marvel Super-Heroes" line. Looking back I was a pretty spoiled kid because I had basically every figure from the first two waves of that line and also the zany "Training Center" that looked nothing like anything from the comics. Well aside from throwback packaging this figure is a modern Marvel Legends representation of Iron Man in the chunky armour designed by Bob Layton in 1988. This basic design defined Iron Man for the next few years and even though it's not exactly what appeared in the Iron Man cartoon it's what I picture when I think of the Iron Man cartoon. Memories are weird. He's a decent figure but a little weird and I'm wishing he came with a couple alternate hands but that's probably asking too much. The little boot jet accessories are fun though.

Steel (DC Total Heroes)

John Henry Irons is one of the four replacement Supermen to debut in the aftermath of Superman's death back in 1992. This figure is from the Total Heroes line of action figures that are actually meant for kids. Apparently released in late 2014, Steel and his wave-mate Hawkman were clearly peg-warmers as I scooped up this guy in late 2017 for about $5. He's a pretty good, if basic, figure. The articulation isn't bad, better than the 90's but not quite as versatile as DCU Classics or Marvel Legends. The armour is definitely based on his original look with the riveted S-shield on his chest. He's had a variety of redesigns over the years but they were mostly just tweaks to this general motif. The hammer is fun but it would've been nice if his other hand were open as well in order to hold it with both hands. Of course the articulation may have limited that possibility. For a steal of deal I'm really glad I picked him up.

Dr. Strange (Marvel Legends Infinite Series 6")

This is the outfit Dr. Strange adopted after the "Fear Itself" event when he joined a new team of Defenders in a 2011 series written by the great Matt Fraction. This is not really a huge departure from the Sorcerer Supreme's classic garb and actually recalls the uniform of Doc Magus, Stephen Strange's successor from the MC2 line of comics from the late 90's/early 2000's that were among the earliest comics I seriously collected.

He's ditched the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamotto for a flowing skirtlet that I'm sure has a more proper name. This costume lasted a few years but with comics moving at a much quicker pace than the action figure industry this look was probably obsolete or nearly so by the time this figure was released in 2015. But I still like it. I'm occasionally a sucker for cool-looking variant costumes. I try to stick to getting only my "ideal" version of a character but sometimes there are exceptions like with the good doctor here, and the "Ocean Camouflage" Aquaman seen here.

The figure is your basic Marvel Legends body, the skirt doesn't hinder the leg articulation too badly. The hands are in classic Dr. Strange spell-casting poses and he comes with some cool translucent green energy accessories. I found his wrists to be a bit big for the actual wrist holes but was able to wedge them on securely without worrying I was going to snap off tiny bits.

Slugslinger Body All Titan Masters Gallery

Here is perhaps the nerdiest endeavour on this blog. I've taken pictures of all my Titans Return figures with all of the different Titan Master heads on them. These galleries will be updated as more Titan Masters are acquired. The heads are in no particular order after the first which is the head that "belongs" on the body.