TMNT Classics Bebop and Rocksteady Toys R Us exclusives

I was very lucky to fall into the brand new TMNT classics Bebop and Rocksteady just a few days before Thanksgiving. I will never understand the mentality of releasing toys the week of Thanksgiving or Christmas, it's infuriating when you collect modern toys and one of the many reasons I don't chase down toys at retail anymore. This was one of those exceptions for sure. While I didn't pick up the turtles I had made plans to get Bebop and Rocksteady from the moment they showed the production samples. I had my pre-order in with one of the major online retailers but when my order was cancelled (due to it being announced as a TRU exclusive) I knew I'd find myself wandering the aisles of Toys R Us with other forsaken man-children like myself. One good thing about the local TRU near me is it's rarely busy with other collectors so if there's something I want I can get it with little to no struggle which is good, after the 2nd strike out at retail I either give up looking for the figure or contemplate making an eBay purchase.

Rocksteady

Rocksteady comes in 6 inch scale with ample amounts of articulation, detail and decent paint applications. He also comes with updated reproductions of the original weapons he was packaged with in the late 80s; a military knife that would make Crocodile Dunee proud and some kind of automatic assault rifle that you'd expect to see Terry Crews carry in the Expendables movies. In fact, after mentioning that I would love to see Crews play Rocksteady, someone in Hollywood make this happen for me. Anyways, he comes with the standard display base with Rocksteady printed on it. the figure is a great mixture of 3 sources of media; the TMNT comic book, cartoon and original Playmates figure. The package is even embossed with the statement "inspired by the 1988 release". The face sculpt really stands out on this figure, it's probably my favorite part of the whole toy. The only fault I really found with him was the goggles weren't painted on his helmet like they were in the production samples but the helmet is removable with for me kind of balances out that flaw.

Bebop

Bebop was my favorite of Shredder's bungling henchmen. I was always drawn to the really rebellious punk look about him with his signature purple mohawk and matching sunglasses set him apart from Rocksteady. Bebop is reimagined in 6 inch scale by taking the best of what made him visually stunning in the TMNT comics, cartoon and Playmates figure. Bebop also has roughly the same range of articulation that Rocksteady has. He's looks a great deal bulkier than Rocksteady and comes with a reproduction of his signature drill gun. Sadly, Playmates omitted his other weapon from his debut figure; the trash can lid shield. While for most people it won't cause too much of a big deal to die hard fans it's kind of a glaring omission. I guess becuase he's a hair broader than Rocksteady they decided to do without the shield, for $20 I guess I expect too much. It's still a great figure either way.

 

 

I know I said I didn't get the turtles and I still don't plan on getting them any time soon unless they are on the cheap side. Roughly 2/3 of the ones I found at retail had off-centered eyes; they were either lazy eyed, cross eyed or wall eyed. The only "perfect" ones I found were at conventions and I wasn't willing to pay 30% over retail to get better painted ones. Even at that the turtles a friend of mine got suffered from Marvel Legenditis, where the knee or ankle joints (or both) got weak and couldn't support the weight of the figure. I have an intolerance to figures that collapse for no reason, especially when they "domino" other figures along with them. It's part of the reason I don't own Marvel Legends figures anymore (the other part was they were worth a ton of money and I was between jobs so they had to go). Anyway, even with the heafty price tag of $19.99 each at Toys R Us ($22.99 in some markets, check your local one for pricing) they are totally worth picking up and I don't get excited by modern figures much anymore unless they are imports or some kind of special release. Good for fans of the OG series and people just picking up on how cool TMNT is.

Icon series Captain America from Marvel Toys/Toy Biz

Who doesn't know the story of Captain America? To explain the back story on Cap who be like rehashing the Superman or Batman origin, basically useless filler. He's the most iconic hero of the Avengers and not much has changed about him over the years (well, except for that unfortunate “death of Captain America” story that led us all into a really convoluted and boring series of comics that turned the whole Marvel Universe upside down). The Ultimates story brought us a really more well equipped Captain America, a more detailed costume that showed off a better designed utility belt full of just about anything a super soldier could need while taking on a Nazi stronghold or just simply paying for a $8 cup of Starbucks coffee. Marvel Select and Marvel Legends (ToyBiz or Marvel Toys) gave us their interpretations of Ultimate Captain America, but the Marvel Legends Icons version tops them all.

(What do you think the "A" stands for, FRANCE?)

Over the years, Toy Biz's Marvel Legends gave the collecting world some of the best figures we had ever seen. Also, they dropped the ball several times but they had far more wins than losses if you ask almost any collector. I'm a sucker for large scale figures if they are done well and the Icons series was no exception. Exceptionally detailed and painted 2 up scale figures of all the Marvel heavy hitters really appealed to the collector in me. My favorite from the line was Captain America, even after I sold off all my Marvel Legends I kept him because I felt it was the only version that had actually captured the iconic Cap'n. In my opinion they captured every pen stroke of the Ultimates Captain America, from the wrinkles in his boots to his stone hard look of determination across his face. The also succeeded where the 6 inch line had failed in my opinion by re-enforcing the joints with a ratcheting system that held the figure's pose, even under it's own weight. No detail was left out of his utility belt and the face sculpt is so life-like I almost wait for him to yell “AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!” I consider him a treasured piece of my collection and a must have for any Captain America fan.