Batros (Masters of the Universe Classics)

Batros is a figure I bought on looks alone. I haven't yet seen the episode of He-Man in which he appears but he looks so much like Batman by way of Eternia that I couldn't resist. The figure has decent articulation and the wings don't really get in the way all that much. His spiky mace thing was a bit tricky to get in his hand at first but now it's not so bad. Here's the bio from the back of his packaging:

Glow-in-the-Dark No-Ghost Collect & Connect Ghostbusters Classics (Mattel)

Today I give you the finale of my Ghostbusters Spotlight.

This "figure" is more of a statue and came piecemeal with the Ghostbusters Classics Figures. I tried to get shots of him glowing but that was tricky especially since it was daytime. I love all things glow-in-the-dark. When I was younger I was going to build a "glow-in-the-dark space farm" but wanted to make it mobile and not just stuck to my wall or ceiling and never quite finished it... C'est la vie I suppose.

Peter Venkman Ghostbusters Classics (Mattel)

The incomparable Bill Murray brought the sarcastic Dr. Peter Venkman to life. Venkman is the wry, flirtatious, "party animal" of the group. The Venkman character was originally written for John Belushi who sadly died before the film could be made. Murray's star power in part increased Peter's role in the film at the expense of Winston's. This figure differs slightly from the others in that Venkman doesn't tuck his pant legs into his boots like his colleagues but rather slips them over his boots. Maybe this is to show he's a bit more casual than the others but I have no idea. Nor am I a big enough Ghostbusters nerd to know in what scene(s) in the movies he sports this look.

Egon Spengler Ghostbusters Classics (Mattel)

The brainiest Ghostbuster, Egon Spengler was played by the late, great Harold Ramis. He invented and built most of the Ghostbusters' equipment and collects spores, moulds, and fungus. Egon also has the most ridiculous and therefore best name of all the Ghostbusters. Seriously if it wouldn't be so much of a teasing target I'd name a kid Egon. If asked as a child I'd probably have picked Dr. Spengler as my favourite Ghostbuster as he fit the brainy stereotype I gravitated toward (like Donatello, Newton Gimmick, and the Mighty Morphin' Blue Ranger). He's still probably my fave though I'd have a harder time definitively saying so today (I'm less decisive as an adult). Egon's articulation is the same as all the other figures. That weird clear tube still kind of gets in the way sometimes. The proton packs are gorgeous though.

Ray Stanz Ghostbusters Classics (Mattel)

Dan Aykroyd, the mastermind behind the Ghostbusters played Ray Stanz the slightly goofy parapsychologist but arguably the most committed to the team. Ray is central to what is probably the most forgotten scene in the original Ghostbusters film that upon rewatching the film with their kids parents have that "oh crap I hope they don't get it" moment. You'll know it when you see it and then you get have that "I can't believe I watched this as a kid" moment. It's good family fun. Aykroyd's original concept had a bunch of inter-dimensional and trans-temporal travel that would've killed the budget but would've been super sweet.

Winston Zeddemore Ghostbusters Classics (Mattel)

Winston Zeddemore (played by Ernie Hudson) gets no respect. Well that's not entirely fair. In the earlier drafts of the script Winston has a much deeper backstory and was originally the one who got slimed by Slimer at the hotel as chronicled by Brian Cronin here. To make matters worse Ernie Hudson auditioned to play the role of Winston on "The Real Ghostbusters" cartoon and lost it to Arsenio Hall. So in a small way to show my appreciation for Winston and Mr. Hudson I've elected to have his figure come first in my posts of the classic team. Winston was also the central character in my most watched episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" that was on a VHS tape of cartoons taped from TV when I was very small. (The episode in question is Boo-Dunit, and may also have contributed to my interest in murder-mysteries)  These Ghostbusters Classics figures seem to be fairly identical apart from the heads and name-tags but slightly different toolings from the new female Ghostbusters.

Rowan Ghost Ghostbusters 2016 (Mattel)

Rowan North (played by Neil Casey) is the villain of the film who at one point turns into a ghost reminiscent of the one in the Ghostbusters logo. This figure has a bit more articulation and a different face and hand sculpt than the Collect-and-Connect figure who came with the individual Ghostbusters.