Spider-Man
Yes, I am a big Marvel/DC Comics fan but most of the US companies haven’t done any of the characters’ justice in terms of likeness and playability. The Mattel lineup of figures for DC is a key example of a company that was doing a public injustice to many of the DC characters (including my personal favorite, Batman). But things are starting to look up for comic fans. Toy Biz is coming out with the Marvel Legends lineup while DC Direct is serving up their own worth-owning collectible toy figures to their loyal comic viewers.
Medicom Toys also did some work with some of our beloved super heroes. This 1/6 Scale Real Action Hero Spider-Man being one of the elite first round line-up. Released this figure in the summer of 2005, it was only limited to 1000 pieces worldwide. Sale of the item was exclusive only to Japan but I was lucky to get a hold of one of these figures from the great folks at www.betatoys.com. Shipment arrived fast, couldn’t wait to get it out of the box, and I was thank God that they still had one available!
Scale (based from * to ****)
Packaging:
The figure came in a Very nice colorful detailed sturdy comic-style box. It has a viewing window with an open/close flap which can be secured via velcro located on the front side of the box. The front and back side of the box depicts a famous shot of Spidey in one of his many Marvel Comics. – ****
Paint Detail/Sculpt:
I have to say this is the best representation of the comic version of Spidey to date. The outfit is created by nylon fabric, which is stretchable allowing full range of motion for the RAH body to move, does not lose any points in the quality department. The outfit actually looks like Spidey’s costume, from the weblining on the red patches of the outfit to the big red spider symbol on the back of outfit. Too bad, you can’t take the costume off. The figure itself matches what Spidey’s actual build in the comics and nothing seems out of proportion. No criticisms here. – ****
Articulation/Poseability:
With a whooping 30+ points of articulation, it rivals the figures in the Marvel Legends lineup and SOTA Street Fighter figures.
It’s true folks, he can do whatever a spider can! The ball-joint head and shoulders let’s Spidey move freely while elbows, wrists, knees, ankles, waist, and torso all allow normal motion. Although I haven’t tried too many poses yet, I haven’t found one that he can’t do yet. – ****
Accessories:
Spidey’s comes with a six different interchangeable hands (three for each hand), two weblining that can be attached to the hands for web shooting/swinging effect, a clear display stand, and an alternate interchangeable head revealing the face of Peter Parker! Tidbit note for Spidey fans: On the box, it states that the head is actually Peter Parker’s clone, Ben Reily (see Clone saga for details). Awesome set of accessories which adds to poseability points to the figure although I wish they could have done a little better with the display stand. It feel very poorly constructed and thus, does not hold Spidey well in aerial webslinging poses. – ***1/2
Fun Factor:
I can’t tell you how much fun this figure is. At first, it was hard to get into posing Spidey (for fear of ripping it’s outfit) but now I’m starting to explore it’s untapped potential and just trying out all these cool things with a figure that not only looks good but is also highly durable. Much more fun than having a vinyl/resin statue of Spidey sitting around doing nothing. – ****
Final Comments:
The availability of this item is pretty rare although eBay sellers has some for sale. Betatoys.com may still stock on some more but be prepared to shell out some hard earned cash for these Medicom Toys. The figure goes around for $164 retail but may see a price drop once Sideshow Collectibles brings the item over later this year. In other words, by all means go get this figure!
