Sideshow has the (Iron Man) MIDAS Touch – preorder now!
Hot Toys exclusives can be maddening for collectors. Often available only internationally, collectors must rely on eBay to get the exclusive figures or pieces. One such item was the Iron Man MIDAS Armor, with it’s metallic golden sheen. An international convention exclusive, the MIDAS armor sold on eBay for nearly $1,000 before settling down to a price of about $600. As no indication of US availability was given, fans started to lose hope.
But now on Cyber Monday Sideshow Collectibles has FINALLY released the Hot Toys Iron Man MIDAS armor, and it’s up for order now!
This armor WILL sell out fast. It has so many factors leading me to believe this: 1) It’s Iron Man. While Spider-Man and Captain America may sit in Stock at Sideshow for a while, Iron Man always pre-sells out and goes for higher secondary prices. 2) It’s an exclusive piece. The Iron Man Battle Damaged MK VII is what I would equate this to and it sold out in a day–I expect MIDAS may even go faster due to the pent up demand.
- Authentic likeness of Midas (Mark XXI), the high-altitude suit, in the Iron Man 3
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Over 36 points of articulations
- Special features on armor:
- Multitude of layers and shades of metallic gold-colored painting on armor
- LED-lighted eyes andcircle-shaped RT on chest (white light, battery operated)
- One (1) removable chest armor
- One (1) pair of interchangeable forearm rockets
- Three (3) pairs of interchangeable palms including:
- One (1) pair with improved articulations, movable fingers and light-up repulsors (white light, battery operated)
- One (1) pair of forceful fists
- One (1) pair of repulsor palms
- Two (2) sets of interchangeable shoulder armors (normal & missile styles)
- Improved articulations on waist armor which allow flexible movement
- Fully deployed air flaps at back of the armor with built-in metal flaps
- Articulated flaps at the back of armor on left and right legs
So if you THINK you want this, head to Sideshow’s site now! And remember to support Marvelicious Toys by using our link in this post, or the link to Sideshow from the MarveliciousToys.com home page whenever shopping at Sideshow. It also helps us get prizes for us to give to you like the Hot Toys Captain America donated by Sideshow for the Marvelicious Toys 100th epsiode. And thank you for your support!
New Podcast: Issue 103: Black Friday and Sweet Christmas Gift Guide 2013
It can be hard to shop for a Marvel collector. If they love action figures or statues, video games or movies, finding just the right gift can be difficult. Never fear–just listen to the Marvelicious Toys 4th Annual Marvel Holiday Gift Guide and Black Friday shopping companion!
In this issue of the podcast Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie look back at all the Marvel items out there and pick only the absolute coolest to go on the Marvelicious gift list. With a focus on retail or discount priced items readily available, you can find the perfect object to put under the tree to give your Marvel collector a SWEET CHRISTMAS!
And also on this podcast the hosts look at all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday bargains. Should Marvel collectors brave the crowds for discounts on LEGO, Hasbro, and other items, or should you just shop online from the comfort of your home or office? Listen to find out!
With an update on Sideshow’s orders of the Hot Toys Iron Man in MIDAS armor and a Deadpool Premium Format in X-Force colors, it’s all in this jam-packed Marvelicious Toys podcast!
And don’t forget to sign up for the 2013 X-MAS Gift Exchange! Sign-ups end December 2nd. Get and give some Marvel joy this season by joining this Secret Santa gift exchange! Find out all the details.
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT103.MP3
Category: Arts
Sideshow Exclusive: Hot Toys Chitauri Footsoldier and Commander Duo
You have assembled your Hot Toys Avengers figures, but they need someone to fight, right? Never fear, now up for pre-order are the Hot Toys Chitauri Footsoldier and Chitauri Commander figures!
The Chitauri Footsoldier has 22 points of articulation, 2 pairs of interchangable hands (clenched fists and relaxed), a removable mask, headgear, body armor, and a Chitauri Arm Cannon. It scomes with a city rubble diorama “stage” base.
The Chitauri Commander has 22 points of articulation and 2 pairs of hands, but more armor. It comes with the Chitauri arm cannon and a grenade, and stands on a city rubble “stage” base also.
You can buy each individually, but only from Sideshow can you get the exclusive pair! It’s $5 cheaper than buying the two alone, AND you get an exclusive Chitauri Rifle, and a special Left palm to hold it!
Army build or just buy one set, but order now because these guys may disappear as fast as they did in the battle of New York.
New Podcast: Issue 102: The Puck Stops Here!
Rocket Raccoon, Scarlet Spider, The Wrecker, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Jean Grey, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Cyclops, and Puck–no, it’s not a new Marvel Event team-up but the last two waves of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends figures! On the latest issue of Marvelicious Toys Justin, Arnie, and Marjorie review these 11 new releases. Some of them are very hard to find, listen to find out if they’re worth the hunt!
Also in this week’s show, listen to be enLIGHTened about three new Iron Man 3 Assemblers, the final wave of Marvel Universe, including Black Knight, showing up in stores, and how to get a Quinjet and Helicarrier for half off!
With new Disney Store exclusive Diamond Select figures and a brief review of Thor: The Dark World it’s all in the 102nd issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
And join us next week on Thanksgiving for our annual Black Friday sale guide and Sweet Christmas shopping list!
Dont’ forget to sign up for the 2013 X-MAS Gift Exchange! Get and give a Marvel themed gift this holiday season! Find out all the details.
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT102.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 101: Super Thor Bros!
Tomorrow the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to grow with Thor: The Dark World. With the mighty Avenger back on screen he is also back in toy stores with Hasbro’s new line of 3.75-inch Thor figures. This line features two versions of Thor, plus Loki, Kurse, and a Dark Elf. On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast hosts Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie provide hands-on reviews of these figures. Is this a figure line collectors should pay attention to? Listen to find out!
Also on this week’s show the hosts discuss the two newest Marvel movie trailers – Captain America: The Winter Soldier and X-Men: Days of Future Past.
With a review of the new LEGO Marvel video game, an update on some Uncanny Marvel Universe figures, a run-down of new figures in the latest two waves of Marvel Universe figures, and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT101.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 100: Our Marvelicious 100th Episode — LIVE!
Welcome to Marvelicious Toys’ 100th podcast! Recorded live October 17th the Marvelicious Toys hosts Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin got to chat with podcast listeners and give away over a thousand dollars in prizes from sponsors Gentle Giant, Sideshow Collectibles, Kotobukiya, eFX Collectibles, Diamond Select Toys and more!
And on this episode Marjorie and Arnie ran down the latest news from New York Comic-Con, including Hasbro’s off-site press event where they showed figures from the 2014 toy lines–including Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2!
With new Bishoujo and Art-FX+ statues from Kotobukiya, a review of eFX’s NYCC exclusive Phil Coulson badge, and more, it’s all in this IGOR-sized recording of Marvelicious Toys LIVE!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT100.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 99: It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Xavier!
Action figures! New action figures are shipping from Hasbro in the Avengers Assemble, Marvel Universe, and Iron Man 3 toy lines! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin give you the run down on what’s new, and where you can find it!
Also this week, with the holidays coming, and by holidays we mean Halloween though the stores think Christmas, stores are full of cool swag Marvel fans can use to show their love of their favorite heroes. From Spider-Man Jack-O-Lanterns to Avengers lawn inflatables, the items range from uber-cool to ultra-tacky. On this week’s Marvelicious Toys we tell you about the items you’ll want, and want to avoid, for your house this season!
An announcement–our next podcast will be Marvelicious Toys’ 100th episode! To celebrate we’re having a LIVE SHOW on Thursday, October 17th at 8:30pm EST. If you join us live at marvelicioustoys.com you can listen to our show and have a chance to win one of the following great prizes:
A Ghost Rider Statue donated by Gentle Giant Ltd. A Hot Toys Captain America – Star Spangled Man figure donated by Sideshow Collectibles An Iron Man Mark 42 Art-FX statue donated by Kotobukiya The Avengers Phase I Blu-Ray Box SetPhil Coulson Agent of SHIELD NYCC Exclusive Badge donated by eFX Collectibles Kotobukiya Bishoujo Black Widow StatueThe SDCC Exclusive Old Man Logan Marvel Universe Figure Pair of Unmasked Wolverine POP Vinyl Variant Bobbleheads Diamond Select Storm Figure Diamond Select Deadpool Figure Marvel Legends Scarlet Spider Figure
To win you must attend the live show at 8:30pm EST on the 17th at MarveliciousToys.com. (International winners are responsible for all taxes and shipping costs, please see all official rules here)
We hope to see you there!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT099.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 98: Earth’s Mightiest Handwipes
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! It’s not just a battle cry, it’s a toy line! Tying into the new Disney XD animated series, and picking up where Hasbro’s Avengers movie line left off. Are these figures that 3.75-inch Marvel collectors need? Listen to this issue of Marvelicious Toys as Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie review Wave 1 of this new toy line, with Red Skull, The Falcon, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hulk!
Also in stores are tons of other Avengers items. Micro Muggs, Diamond Select figures, T-Shirts, shoes, and even HAND WIPES! Listen to this week’s show for a run down of the new stuff.
With SDCC Exclusives on sale at Entertainment Earth, a hands-on review of the Marvel Unlimited Plus gold Ultron figure, and a look at two new educational and fun items from Uncle Milton, it’s all in this issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT098.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 97: The Iron Man Blu’s
Iron Man 3 had a high bar for success. After The Avengers made over 1.5 billion dollars in the box office, could a solo avenger fly nearly so high? But the armored Avenger delivered, becoming the number one movie for 2013 and getting over a billion dollars in worldwide box office. Now it’s time for Iron Man to fly into your home video collection! The movie comes out in the USA tomorrow! But where are the exclusive versions? Listen to this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast where Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin discuss this.
Also in this issue, Hasbro’s Marvel Universe figures are hitting fast with three new case assortments shipping in the past two weeks! There are now 22 figures released in the 2013 line. Arnie has them all in hand, so listen to find out which are new, which are “new enough”, and which are difficult to tell.
With a final review of Sideshow’s Deadpool Premium Format Figure, the coming of the Sideshow Galactus Maquette, a report from Project Comic-Con 2013 in St. Louis, and a Mego birthday to remember, it’s all in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT097.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 96: FIGURE-ing Out Hasbro
Could Hasbro make Marvel action figure collecting more complicated? Currently at many toy stores there are three distinct toy lines, two current and one peg warming. More, the Marvel Universe toy line, once Hasbro’s flagship Marvel brand, is being retired and coming in 2014 in its place is a new line named, you guessed it, AVENGERS! Add to that 3.75-inch figure lines for Spider-Man, Wolverine, Thor, Iron Man 3, and more, keeping track can require a spreadsheet.
Or a podcast! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie run down all the current and future Hasbro Marvel toy lines. They look at the last four waves of Marvel Universe figures–all shipping in the next two months! Plus they outline what has been revealed of Hasbro’s future figure plans.
With a Sideshow Premium Format quality update and more, it’s all in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT096.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 95: Exsmellcior!
The Marvel Universe is winding down but some great characters are still to come in the line’s final waves. On this issue of Marvelicious Toys Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie look at the newest Hasbro Marvel Universe figures showing up on pegs with Elektra, Mysterio, Rhino, and Captain America! Plus also reviews of the new Avengers Assemble All Star and Iron Man 3 All Star figures from Hasbro. Also on this week’s show, Arnie has received two new Sideshow Collectibles Premium Format figures, but what does it mean when both are damaged out of the box? And what is Sideshow doing to make it right? The Marvelicious hosts examine a sharp decline in service and quality from one of the best-known Marvel collectible makers on this week’s show. With a new Stan Lee scent and so much more, it’s all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT095.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 94: The Vonner Files
From 2006 to 2012 David Vonner was a Senior Product Designer at Hasbro, and the face of Marvel Universe action figures. Arguably, no other single person had as much influence over the creation, character selection, and design of Hasbro’s flagship 3.75-inch Marvel figure line. Even figures just now hitting retail were made due to Vonner’s passion and direction for Marvel. But as announced at San Diego Comic-Con International the Marvel Universe line is ending, replaced with the stylistically similar Avengers Assemble figure line. On this issue of Marvelicious Toys Vonner sits down with Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie to discuss his passion for Marvel figures. Everything is discussed, from figures he’d championed that never got made to figures he would never make. Which real-life starlet was the model for Ms. Marvel’s bust? What does David think of the change in direction for Marvel action figures? Are smart phones and internet killing action figures? And do collectors really need Hyperion in two figure scales so close together? Listen for an unprecidented look behind the scenes of action figures from the man who saw it all unfold!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT094.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 93: Hot Toys — Feelin’ the Burn!
If you thought the build-up to The Avengers was heavy with Hot Toys pre-orders, the recent few weeks make Spring 2012 actually seem calm. With three new Marvel Hot Toys going up for preorder in one day, including two exclusives, the Mandarin put up shortly thereafter, and the tease of the Midas armor Iron Man, even Tony Stark would have to question the expense of buying them all! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast, Arnie and Marjorie, back in the studio, join Justin to discuss this frenzied release schedule and what it means for the Hot Toys collector.
Also on this week’s show, Marjorie and Arnie no sooner got back to the states before they went to Chicago for the Wizard World convention. Full of toys, cosplay, artists, and more, listen to find out if you should attend the next Wizard convention in your area!
With new toys showing up in stores, including exclusives, and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT093.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 92: SDCC 2013 – That’s a Wrap!
Arnie & Marjorie are off exploring Europe, but the show must go on! Join Justin, Jerry & Geof as they discuss the highs and lows of San Diego Comic-Con 2013. They try to bring some clarity to changes coming to Marvel Universe & Marvel Legends and try not to drool too much on Play Imaginative’s Super Alloy Iron Man offerings. Plus news on pre-orders for Hot Toys best pair of shoes to date!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT092.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 91: Hasbro Panel & Marvel Studio Press Conferences SDCC 2013
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).In the universe of Marvel collecting the center is Hasbro. From Marvel Legends to Marvel Universe, movie tie-in figures and more, Hasbro holds the exclusive license to Marvel action figures. With all the changes lately, from lower articulation figures aimed at children to Iron Man Assemblers, fans and collectors were anxious for news on what Hasbro will do next. You heard a brief recap in our last issue, but now hear the entire Marvel brand presentation. And view the slides from the show on our web site, or the enhanced podcast!
Plus hear the press conferences for the upcoming Marvel Studios films Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT091.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 90: Marvelicious from SDCC 2013
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).San Diego Comic-Con International has the largest gathering of celebrities collectibles, comics and pop culture in the world. And for the third year in a row Marvelicious Toys was there to cover it all! Join Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin as they come to you from the show floor and report on the new statues and figures revealed, and the chaos of the exclusives. They are joined by several special guests this episode. If you couldn’t make it to the con, this issue of Marvelicious Toys is the next best thing! And if you were at the con, take a listen and relive the memories!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT090.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 89: SDCC 2013 Preview Night
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).San Diego Comic-Con International opened today with Preview Night! The Marvelicious Toys Podcast hosts were there and standing in lots and lots of lines. Listen to their reports now that they have purchased the Deadpool Corps Taco Truck figure set, the Thunderbolts Marvel Legends sets, a handful of Old Man Logan figures, and so much more! With reports on new high end collectibles to drool over, it’s all in this short live report from Preview Night! And stay tuned with Marvelicious Toys on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for all the latest SDCC Marvel Collecting news, and next week we’ll have our full recap!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT089.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 88: Prepare For a Ducking Good Time
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).
The countdown to Comic-Con is on! Now join Marvelicious Toys as Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down the final exclusives, from glass coasters to bust banks to Betsy Ross, listen to find out what’s for sale and where! Plus find out about a celebrity attending the con that is sure to fit the bill!
Also on this week’s show, did you know of the Marvel Universe comic pack paint variants? This subtle running change has gone under the radar of most collectors, including the hosts! Find out which comic packs you need to complete your MU variant collection.
With a hands-on review of the second wave of Iron Man Assemblers, a POP Vinyl that is nothing to shake your head at, and so much more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys!
We want your feedback! Please take a few minutes and take the Marvelicious Toys listener poll and tell us what you’d like to hear on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT088.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 87: The Marvel Shop
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).
After nearly a year of speculating it has been confirmed that the Hasbro Marvel Universe Old Man Logan figure will be released at San Diego Comic-Con. it is but one of the many Marvel exclusives that will be available in Marvel’s new SDCC presence–The Marvel Shop. With limited edition statues, comics, figures, iPhone covers, shirts, and so much more, Marvel has single-handedly changed the scope of Marvel toy and statue collecting at SDCC. On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast Justin, Arnie, and Marjorielook at the announced exclusives and help you decide which you should get right away!
Also on this week’s show the hosts look at Funko’s two new unmasked Deadpool POP Vinyl bobbles, as well as several other collectibles that POP out at you!
With more news on shirts, a totally tubular figure from Diamond Select, and so much more, it’s all on this countdown-to-Comic-Con issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT087.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 86: Too Many Titles to Choose From!
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).
San Diego Comic-Con starts 3 weeks from today, and there are so many Marvel Comics collectibles exclusives even Galactus couldn’t carry them all! Join this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast as Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down the latest exclusive collectible announcements from FunKo, Diamond Select, Gentle Giant, and an especially shocking announcement from Sideshow Collectibles.
Also on this week’s show, the second wave of Iron Man Assembler figures have shown up online. Are they worth a look? The hosts review the pre-release photography and share if they are all in or all out on these 3.75-inch movie figures.
With Marvel Vinylmations from Disney, discounted Marvel Universe multi-figure packs, and so much more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT086.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 85: Right on the MUNNY!
Note: Starting in May, 2013 with version 11.0.3 an Apple iTunes update changed the iTunes Miniplayer. This update changed what must be done to view enhanced podcast images in iTunes. To view these images:Start playing the podcast in iTunes. At the top of iTunes you will see the player bar with a small icon of the show cover art.
In Windows hold down Ctrl and click the cover icon. In Mac hold down Command and click the cover icon. This will pop up a new window where you can see enhanced images. (if you just click on the icon it only shows a larger icon, no enhanced images).
The next big super hero movie is just around the corner — The Wolverine! Hugh Jackman returns to his career-defining role as Logan this July, and to capitalize on this Hasbro’s Wolverine toy line has started to show up in stores and online. On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast Justin reviews one of these figures. Listen to find out if 3.75-inches of Wolverine is enough or if you should wait until the 6-inch Legends figures are released later this year.
And while Wolverine is in theaters, Marvel movies are also dominating home media. Sony has released new Blu Ray releases of Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man. There are no bonus features on the discs but they tout a clearer video mastered from a 4k video source. On this podcast Marjorie and Arnie share their view comparing the 4k Blu Ray and last year’s Blu Ray release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. Arnie also reviews Shout Factory’s new Blu Ray of Captain America — the 1990 version!
With a new segment dedicated to international toys based on Marvel Comics characters, new lines of vinyl collectibles, and oh so much more, it’s all in this Galactus-sized Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT085.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 84: Thunderstruck
San Diego Comic Con is just a month away and Hasbro’s must-buy convention exclusives have been announced–A Marvel Universe Deadpool Corps figure pack and a Marvel Legends Thunderbolts figure pack! With tons of new characters to each scale, they’re sure to top many collectors’ wish lists. On this week’s Marvelicious Toys hosts Arnie, Marjorie, and Justin give their first reactions to these figures, as well as other Marvel exclusives from NECA, Funko, and more!
With a review of the Diamond Select Gambit and Colossus and a recap of the Marvel Superhero charity walk, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT084.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 83: 15 Bucks a POP!
Iron Patriot, Iron Man Mark 42, and Ultron–these are the figures in Hasbro’s second wave of Iron Man Marvel Legends 6-inch figures. With collectors collectively disappointed by the 3.75-inch Iron Man Assemblers line, do these new Legends make up for it? Listen to Justin, Arnie, and Marjorie’s review to find out!
Also on this week’s show the Marvelicious Toys hosts review two new X-Men figures from Diamond Select: Storm and Nightcrawler!
With a look at more San Diego Comic-Con exclusives from FunKo, a Timely Review by Jerry, and a striking new Thor from Bowen, it’s all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT083.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 82: Arnie’s Law
Marvelicious Toys is back! Hosts and Marvel collectors Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin are back in the studio and on the road bringing you news and reviews of Marvel Comics action figures and collectibles!
On this week’s show you can hear about upcoming, still unannounced, Hasbro action figures. They’ve been showing up on eBay–listen to find out which characters they are and where you might be able to find them! Plus information on how to find the elusive Thor Heimdall figure at a great bargain!
Also on this week’s show, Marjorie and Arnie went to the latest Toy Man Toy Show in St. Louis. Listen to find out what Marvel bargains were had big and small, plus a report from the Star Clipper sale event.
With a review of a chromed life-sized Thor’s hammer, your voicemails, an update on ThreeA Marvel collectibles, and more, it’s all in this jam-packed issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT082.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 81: House Party Protocol
Iron Man 3 continues to blow up at the box office as Marvel fans old and new watch the armored Avenger’s latest adventure. On last week’s podcast Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin gave their thoughts on the movie and its toys. This week, it’s a House Party! Justin is joined by Jerry, Jen, Geof, Berent, Jayson, and Chris to give their thoughts on the movie. Listen to find out what they plan on collecting now that they’ve actually seen the film!
Plus listeners give their thoughts on Iron Man 3, all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT081.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 80: Iron Man 3–This is Getting Expensive
It has been a year since Avengers blew us all away with it’s action, effects, and wit. Finally last Friday (in the US) the armored Avenger has returned for his fourth big-screen outing. Iron Man films have always been accompanied by toys and collectibles, but after Avengers made more than a billion dollars, Iron Man 3 has more than ever before. There are, of course, the Hasbro figures, but also the Micro Muggs, Superhero Squad, Kotobukiya Statues, Sideshow Life-Sized Figures, and the Hot Toys, oh lord, the Hot Toys.
On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie give their reactions to the film. They also look at the collectibles and discuss exactly how many suits of armor is too many.
And we want you on a future Marvelicious Toys podcast. We want your thoughts on Iron Man 3, as well as on high-end Marvel statue collecting for a future show! Leave us a voicemail at 803-MARVEL4 or send an MP3 to show@marvelicious.com so we can record your thoughts!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT080.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 79: C2E2 2013
The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, more commonly called C2E2 convention, happened at Chicago’s McCormick Place last weekend. It was the fourth C2E2 convention and thousands of people filled the show floor looking for comics, toys, autographs, collectibles, and a great time with friends. Marjorie and Arnie were at the con and you can hear their report on the toys and art they found at the show. Joined by Marvel collectors Sarah and Chris, they look at secondary market prices for Marvel Universe figures, discuss the new toys shown at the Diamond Select booth, and discuss new information revealed by Kotobukiya at the con.
Back in the studio with Justin, the Marvelicious hosts look at some hard to find figures that are hitting stores and online at bargain prices, and not one, not two, but four new Hot Toys Iron Man figures. All this and a disco cup on this week’s Marvelicious toys podcast!
And we still want your thoughts on high-end Marvel statue collecting for a future show! Leave us a voicemail at 803-MARVEL4 or send an MP3 to show@marvelicious.com so we can record your thoughts on Sideshow, Bowen, Koto, Diamond, and others!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT079.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 78: Is That Iron Man In Your Pocket Or Are You Just Happy To See Me?
Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line was an in for many Marvel collectors, at the more affordable and shelf-friendly 3.75-inch scale, but news of Marvel Universe figures had been scarce. Fear not, true collectors! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down a new wave of figures just put up for pre-order including Mysterio and Elektra! Plus some of the hardest to find Marvel Universe figures, the Marvel DCU mail-away figures, have been going up for sale for $15 each online! Listen to find out all the details!
Also on this week’s show, we run down several new Iron Man collectibles. From the 86Hero iPhone 5 Iron Man case to the Nendoroid Iron Man Mark VII to the three new Iron Man armors coming from Hot Toys. And a spatula! All this and more on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
(Note: This episode was recorded before Sideshow Collectibles put up the Red Snapper armor for pre-order yesterday. You can check it out at sideshowcollectibles.com
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT078.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 77: A Combination of Awesome and Awful
There’s a new Hasbro 3.75-inch Iron Man figure on shelves and online, and it’s not a poorly-articulated Iron Man 3 figure. No, out of the blue a new Avengers figure 4-pack has appeared at Kohls and online retailers. On this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie review these figures to see if they are worth assembling for your collection.
And also this week they look at some blind bagged collectibles from Zags Toys, the Grab Zags Collect-A-Balls and Nog’nz, and Arnie talks about the Master Replicas Thor Comic Scene Replica that has been showing up on eBay at a deep discount. All this, and a new Die Cast Hot Toys Iron Man, on this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT077.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 76: Stan Lee is Classy
Wizard World conventions are a staple for sci-fi and comic book fans. In 2013 they have added a new convention in St. Louis, MO with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee as a featured guest! Marjorie and Arnie were at the con, shopping and attending several Stan Lee events, and on this issue of Marvelicious Toys they report to tell you if this is a trip you should make when it returns next year!
Also this week, as we ramp up for Iron Man 3 even more new Iron Man products are being announced. For Hot Toys collectors the latest armor upgrade is to die cast, as a Die Cast Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Iron Patriot was put up for preorder, and a Mark 42 Die Cast Iron Man yet to come. Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie take a look at what this means for Hot Toys fans…and their wallets.
And as Iron Man 3 toys start to already go on sale in stores, a legendary Iron Man 2 pack was released in the UK–the Iron Man Undercover Assault pack with unmasked Iron Man and War Machine as well as the only Iron Man 2 Black Widow figure! Arnie has this set in hand and reviews it this show.
All this plus limited art prints from J.K. Woodward in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT076.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 75: Iron Man ASSEMBLED
Have you seen all the latest Iron Man advertisements with the 42 awesome different armors Tony has built? There’s the Mark 38 Heavy Lifting “Igor”, the Mark 33 Enhanced Energy “Silver Centurion”, the Mark 40 Hyper Velocity “Shotgun”. Then for collectors there’s the Heartbreaker…breaking our hearts to know that none of these cool armors will be translated into well-sculpted, painted, articulated toys like we got for Iron Man 2. Instead, for Iron Man 3, Hasbro has given us the Assembler’s lines of toys, and in this issue of Marvelicious Toys Justin, Arnie, and Marjorie discuss the toys we want while reviewing the toys we’re going to get. Are the Assemblers passable 3.75-inch toys to go with your Iron Man 2 figures? Listen to the review to find out.But not all Marvel collectibles are disappointing. Also in this week’s issue, Arnie and Marjorie review two high-end items recently added to their collection. The first is Sideshow Collectibles’ Exclusive Premium Format Storm statue, limited to 500 pieces, standing 20-inches tall, and coming with two interchangeable heads. Next is a strange, cute, deformed Iron Man figure found in a toy shop in Manhattan–the Tideway Iron Man Mark III.With a look at Marvel’s new audiobook adaptation of Stuart Moore’s Civil War novel, figure stands that make your figures fly, and something to knock your socks off, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT075.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 74: Going Rogue
Hasbro’s Marvel Universe is an exciting line for action figure collectors. Offering the articulation and detailed sculpts collectors crave at a much lower price point than the 6-inch Marvel Legends, this 3.75-inch line has drawn in tons of new Marvel collectors. But in 2012 distribution of Marvel Universe figures was spotty, with the Professor X wave barely seen at retail. Now, though, there are a dozen new Marvel Universe figures hitting stores! First is a new wave of single-carded figures with such fan favorites as Puck, Nova, and Angel. More, there are 3 new team packs shipping now with the West Coast Avengers, the Inhumans, and a classic X-Men pack! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie give hands-on reviews of these new figures.With a look at the recent Toy Man Toy Show in St. Louis, Marvel’s reveals at SXSW, and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT074.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 73: Double Blind
With all the new Marvel collectibles hitting stores it’s hard for a collector, a budget, or a podcast to keep up! In Issue 72 Marvelicious Toys podcast hosts Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin updated you on all the new toys being found in stores. With Issue 73 they start their detailed reviews of these products. Listen to hear a review of the first three Iron Man 3 6-inch Marvel Legends figures. With some reuse of old molds and no movie based sculpts, hear the Marvelicious Toys review to see if these are worth your money.Arnie also has a hands on review of Diamond Select’s new Venom figure. With a classic sclupts and multiple heads and hands, hear his thoughts on if this is a good buy for a Select-ive collector.Then Marjorie indulges in her favorite collecting niche of blind bagged items as she literally tears into Ultimate Spider-Man Fighter Pods and Iron Man 3 Micro Muggs! There are even some blind packaged Spider-Man toys in the Easter candy aisle at Target. Listen to get a hands on review of these products!With some PJs that make you say pee-yew, an new entry into 12-inch Marvel figures, and more, it’s all in this jam-packed issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
(Correction: On the show the hosts refer to the Fighter Pods as “Spectacular Spider-Man”. The Fighter Pods are actually “Ultimate Spider-Man”)
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT073.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 72: Super-Size Store Report
At New York’s Toy Fair the new toys of 2013 were revealed to press and corporate buyers. But for collectors don’t have to go to the web to see the new toys, they can just head to their local toy aisle! New action figures from all of Hasbro’s major lines are hitting stores including Iron Man 3, Marvel Universe, Iron Man Marvel Legends, Iron Man Micro Mugs, Spider-Man& Fighter Pods, Chibis, Pop Vinyl, and so much more! Listen to this week’s podcast to find out which stores have new toys to buy!Not only are there new toys in stores, but online preorders for new collectibles have hit as well. From Sideshow there is a new Bronze Spider-Man and an exclusive Ultron comiquette. And Hot Toys offers up a Power Pose Iron Man Mark 42. The hosts give their impressions of the new offerings on this show.With a long lost Iron Man 2 figure set hitting the UK and eBay and a patch of Potato Heads, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT072.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 71: Toy Fair 2013 Part 3 – Statues, Toys & More!
While Hasbro is the core of many Marvel toy collectors, there was much shown at Toy Fair 2013 for fans of LEGO, high end statues, Diamond Select figures and Mini Mates to be happy about! Previewing the products that will consume your wish list in 2013, Marjorie and Arnie bring you reports recorded live from the floor of Toy Fair, including exclusive interviews with Uncle Milton, Kotobukiya, and more!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT071.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 70: Toy Fair 2013 Part 2 – Hasbro Marvel Brand Presentation
Hasbro had lots of news and reveals for Marvel collectors at this year’s Toy Fair 2013. Several new waves of Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends figures, figure lines typing into the releases of Iron Man 3, The Wolverine, and Thor 2, toys for the animated Avengers Assemble and Ultimate Spider-Man cartoons, and more!But you’ve heard Justin, Marjorie & Arnie’s thoughts, now hear from Hasbro themselves as we present their entire Marvel Brand Fan Media presentation! Then when you’re done listening, let us know your thoughts! Leave us a voicemail at 803-MARVEL4 or send an MP3 to show@marvelicious.com so we can record your reaction to all the Star Wars Toy Fair collecting news!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT070.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 69: Toy Fair 2013 Part 1 – Hasbro
Toy Fair 2013 is here and Marvelicious Toys is your podcast source for Marvel comics collecting news coverage! On this podcast, Justin, Marjorie and Arnie recap and review the Hasbro Fan Media presentation. From the Marvel Legends, Marvel Universe, Ultimate Spider-Man, Wolverine, Avengers Assemble, Thor 2, Fighter Pods, Micro Muggs, and more. Listen in for some astonishing news of X-Men figures to come, a run-down on new figures, and Hasbro’s plans for all three Marvel comics based films this year! With an exclusive interview with a member of Hasbro’s Marvel brand team, it’s all this and more in the first part of Marvelicious Toys’ 2013 Toy Fair Coverage!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT069.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 68: Would You Like To Touch My Hit Monkey?
It’s not in stores, but the first new Marvel Legends figures of 2013 have been shipping from online vendors. Now Marvelicious Toys host Justin has the wave in hand, and he joins Marjorie and Arnie to review the six new figures in this wave, as well as the smallest build-a-figure yet–Hit Monkey! Listen to this week’s podcast to find out which variants are shipping first, and if this is a wave worth ordering.
Also on this week’s podcast, as the hosts await the new toy news coming out of this weekend’s Toy Fair they scour the web to find some of the oddest Marvel collectibles online.
With a chance to win a Diamond Select Barbarian Hulk figure and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT068.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 67: Official Bootleg
New York Toy Fair, where toy makers reveal their 2013 products to wholesale buyers and press alike, is just a week away. But over the past week, due to Toy Fair in the UK, Marvel toy makers of all types have announced their 2013 plans. From Hasbro to Hot Toys to Diamond to totally new companies entering the Marvel market. Die cast figures, statues in every scale, four inch figures, six inch figures, eight inch figures, twelve inch figures, and so much more, and on this week’s Marvelicious Toys we try to make sense of all the exciting new collectibles coming in 2013!
But while there are new high end products coming in many scales, the announcements from Hasbro have been met with a more tepid response from adult Marvel collectors. It seems Hasbro is focusing on play features and low cost rather than articulation, paint apps, and sculpts. Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie review all the news for the Hasbro 3.75-inch and 6-inch lines and discuss the future of Hasbro and Marvel collectors.
With a chance to win a Diamond Select Barbarian Hulk figure and so much more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT067.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 66: Iron Man 3 — Fall of Armor
While still five months away, Iron Man 3 promotion has begun in the toy store aisle. Hasbro’s 10-inch and 15-inch figures have started to show up at Toys R Us, but what collectors really wonder about is the upcoming 3.75-inch line of figures. While Hasbro is keeping mum until Toy Fair in February, Marvelicious Toys has gotten three of the upcoming figures! The Iron Man Mark 47, War Machine, and Iron Patriot War Machine are reviewed in this issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Also on this week’s show, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie review two SMASH-ing figures from Diamond Select, the Unleashed Hulk and Barbarian Hulk figures. How do these two figures compare, and which parts are reused from figure to figure? Listen as the Marvelicious Toys podcast hosts give a detailed review.
Plus YOU CAN WIN a Barbarian Hulk from Marvelicious Toys and Diamond Select! Listen to find out how. All this and more in this week’s issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT066.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 65: Buy Less Trash
It’s a new year and Marvelicious Toys is back looking forward to all the new toys that are coming! From the Hit Monkey wave of Marvel Legends, the Angel wave of Marvel Universe, and even Iron Man 3 figures, join Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin as they reveal their collecting resolutions of the new year, and review new additions to each of their Marvel collections obtained over the holidays! With new preorders from Sideshow, Hot Toys, and more, it’s all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT065.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 64: Toys of Future Past 2012 Part 2–The Comic Toys
It’s been a tremendous year for Marvel fans and collectors. Marvel Legends returned in a big way, Marvel Universe continued to fill out the ranks of Marvel heroes and villains, and Avengers came out and was a movie that actually lived up to the hype.
In this issue of Marvelicious Toys, join Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin, as well as Marvel collectors Geof, Jayson, Jerry, and Dan Curto in this second part of the 2012 year in review as they look back at the comic based Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends figures of 2012 as well as the high end collectibles that made a dent in their wallet this year!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT064.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 63: Toys of Future Past 2012 Part 1–The Movie Lines
It’s been a tremendous year for Marvel fans and collectors. Marvel Legends returned in a big way, Marvel Universe continued to fill out the ranks of Marvel heroes and villains, and Avengers came out and was a movie that actually lived up to the hype.
In this issue of Marvelicious Toys, join Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin, as well as Marvel collectors Geof, Jayson, Jerry, and Dan Curto in this first part of the 2012 year in review as they look back at the Marvel Movies of 2012 and the toys and collectibles that they brought!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT063.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 62: Iron Monger — More Advanced In Every Way
They made Iron Man in every armor seen in the films, and some not seen. They made two War Machines, Whiplash, and even Black Widow. So for Hot Toys to continue the Iron Man figure line it was time to go big or go home, so they go big. Very big. Arriving at homes last week is the biggest Marvel Hot Toys figure to date–Iron Monger! As seen in 2008’s Iron Man and with a meticulously detailed head with Jeff Bridges’ portrait, it’s a big toy, but comes with a big price tag. Listen to this week’s podcast to find out if its worth it!
Also this week, from big to small, the Marvelicious Toys hosts also review the new Diamond Venom Through the Ages Minimates box set, and a new line of HeroClix figures released along with an iPad app to play HeroClix single player!
With new plushies and blankets, a blonde Black Widow Marvel Universe figure, and so much more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT062.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 61: X-Men 90’s Style
The holidays are in full swing and it’s a great season for Marvel fans, with new Marvel Universe figures hitting pegs and discounted items all around. On this issue of Marvelicious Toys, Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin tell you where you can find the latest figures and the greatest bargains. Plus we play some listener voicemails, hearing your thoughts on new figures and what you’ve been finding.
Also this week, your hosts run down the latest on line sales, from the most recent Avengers Hot Toys figure to a huge Bearbrick announcement and even preorders for upcoming waves of Hasbro Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends figures.
With a Timely Review of a 90’s X-Men enemy and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT061.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 60: Sweet Christmas – Black Friday Sales & Holiday Gift Guide 2012
It’s Thanksgiving Day in America. Parades are on TV, and stores are opening earlier than ever before to bring you savings on all types of goods, including Marvel toys, games, and collectibles! So join Marvelicious Toys for the third annual Sweet Christmas episode, as Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie run down all the sales on Marvel goodies.
And then the Marvelicious hosts run down their suggestions for holiday gifts for the Marvel collector in your life. Toys, statues, books, games, and DVDs, listen in as they cover the entire gamut of gifts!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT060.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 59: Hasbro’s Future Imperfect
It’s early in November, but the stores want us to think it’s Holiday time, virtually New Year’s, so why not look towards the toys of 2013? Hasbro’s plans for 2013 have leaked, including a line of toys based on the Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble cartoons, customizable Iron Man 3 figures, Spider Pods, and more! We run it down on this week’s podcast!
And did you buy The Amazing Spider-Man last week? We run down the retail exclusives and which are worth capturing in your web. And we also review more Amazing Spider-Man figures, this time the figure 3-packs found at TJ Maxx and HasbroToyShop.com. We even review the Build-A-Bear Amazing Spider-Man outfit!
With a hands-on review of two rare figures, Old Man Logan and unmasked War Machine, a sneak peek of Marvel Universe Wave 20, fashion accessories for action figures, and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT059.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 58: The Marvelicious Spider-Man
Though the glut of Amazing Spider-Man figures hit early last summer, there are still plenty of new Amazing Spider-Man comic series figures to find–if you know where to look! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie review the on-line exclusive Amazing Spider-Man Gift Set, the Miles Morales Ultimate Spider-Man figure, and a Spider-Man 3 pack you can only find down under!
Also on this week’s show, we give a cautionary tale of preorders gone wrong telling you where NOT to shop, and review all four Kotobukiya Bishoujo Black Widow Statues.
Plus hard to find team packs finally hitting stores and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT058.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 57: Keeping Cool
Stores are ramping up for the holiday toy-buying spree, but for Marvel collectors new product can be hard to find. But there are toys to hunt for! Listen to this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast to hear where Marvel Legend’s third wave of 2012 is showing up, as well as more variant 6-inch Wal Mart figures shipping and some TJ Maxx specials.
And there’s even more to be had online. Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie review two new comic packs available from Hasbro Toy Shop.com, including the Captain America and Falcon pack and the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange pack.
With a new Japanese collectible to keep an eye out for, a Premium Deadpool you may be chicken to buy, and more than just the temperature cooling, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys Podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT057.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 56: The Variant Show
Variants! Love ’em or hate ’em, if you collect Hasbro’s Avengers figures you have to decide which version of the figure you want, or perhaps you want both! At Wal-Mart, there are variants of the six-inch exclusive Avengers figures. At Target there is a 3.75″ set of Avengers figures most of which differ from their single-carded counterparts. And at Costco there is a Quinjet set that not only has a repainted vehicle but also two repainted figures! On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast, Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie detail the differences between the versions of the figures and tell you if they prefer the regular release or the variant!
Also on this week’s show we bring more Marvel collecting news from New York Comic-Con! Mitch Hallock was in attendance every day of the con, and brings us his reports of what cool new toys he saw, as well as interviews with Kotobukiya and Comic Images!
With a new Bishoujo you can buy with Pryde, Agent Coulson’s trading cards, and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT056.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 55: Oh man…LOGAN!!
Collectors always want what they haven’t got, and this week what you probably don’t have is an Old Man Logan figure. Initially stated to be released at New York Comic-Con to subscribers to Marvel’s Digital Comics Unlimited, many con goers waited in line to find out that Marvel had no Logan, but just the same Dr. Doom figure they had last year. On this week’s Marvelicious Toys, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie run down the facts and the rumors surrounding this kit-bashed exclusive.
Also on this week’s show, Marjorie and Arnie report from the Toy Man Toy Show in St. Louis, and Fallcon in St. Paul, MN. Listen to find out about the toys from the 90s through today as toy show bargains!
With reports of two new exclusive items hitting shelves, some barware that is the best bar none, discussion of 3 new Marvel Legends, and more, it’s all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT055.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 54: Stuart Moore’s Civil War
Civil War is one of the most successful crossover events in Marvel history. Pitting hero against hero, it both fulfilled fanboy fantasies answering the endless “who would win in a fight…” debates, and also providing an intelligent allegory for real-world American politics. Now, as part of the new Marvel prose novel series, the Civil War is being fought again–this time in a streamlined, novelized form. On this issue of Marvleicious Toys, Civil War prose novel author Stuart Moore discusses the genesis of the novel, what it takes to adapt an arc of Civil War’s size to a single book, and the future of the Marvel prose novels.
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT054.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 53: Lights, Camera, Action Figures!!
What’s cooler than a Lizard figure? A Lizard figure that GLOWS IN THE DARK! At least that’s what Hasbro thinks! A Toys R Us exclusive line of glow-in-the-dark Amazing Spider-Man figures has shown up in stores, and on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin see if this is a bright spot for collectors, or a dim-witted gimmick.
Also on this week’s podcast, we take another look at the fourth wave of Avengers figures showing up coast to coast, discuss a Classic new line of Sideshow collectibles, and use our Nog’nz when looking at a new line of Marvel toys from the makers of Grab Zags. It’s all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT053.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 52: Legends Accessorize
Hasbro has returned to 6-inch Marvel figures big time in 2012, and now shipping to stores is the third Marvel Legends wave of the year! With Deadpool, Mystique, Dr. Doom, Punisher, Iron Man, and U.S. Agent, we have them all and review them on this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Also this week, Halloween is coming and with it come tons of Marvel costumes in different variations, plus Jack-O-Lantern kits, non-edible trick-or-treat items, and more. For both adults and kids, we discuss it on this week’s podcast.
With bargain Marvel dog toys, Build-A-Bears, the Avengers Blu Ray release, and more, it’s all in this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast! Plus listen to win a copy of The Avengers on Blu-Ray and DVD!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT052.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 51: Straining the Lizard
It’s time for another weekly issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast, and in this issue we discuss the tons of new figures hitting stores. We discuss the Wal-Mart exclusive six-inch Amazing Spider-Man figures, including Miles Morales as Ultimate Spider-Man, and the Toys R Us exclusive Glow-in-the-dark 3.75-inch figures, and the 4th wave of Avengers figures with Nick Fury, the Chitauri soldier, and a more articulated Iron Man!
With details on Amazon giving away Avengers Blu-Rays, a sale on Gentle Giant Marvel mini-busts, and a new Marvel licensee releasing 18-inch Marvel figures, it’s all in this issue of Marvelicious Toys, with Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT051.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 50: A Brief Case for the Briefcase
The announcement of Marvel’s Phase One Blu Ray Collector’s Set was met with a mixed reaction. No one could doubt the coolness of the special artwork and the supplemental materials included with the set, but the high price, and the fact that most Marvel fans already own all the films leading up to Avengers, put off some buyers. But it turns out that Rimowa GmbH, manufacturers of the briefcase used in the film, didn’t give permission for Marvel to copy it for the collector’s set, and now the Blu Ray set is delayed until Spring. On this issue of Marvelicious Toys, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie discuss this development, why it happened, and speculate on the set’s future.
But with one exclusive gone, two more pop up in its place! In a follow-up on the conversation from Issue 49, listen to find out about all-new exclusive items that you can get with the Avengers Blu-Ray.
And for toy collectors, we have a hands-on review of all the figures in Marvel Universe Wave 19. Kang, Scarlet Witch, Future Foundation Spider-Man, Punisher, and She-Hulk! Listen to find out if this wave was worth the wait!
With all this and a flying Helicarrier too, it’s all in Marvelicious Toys Issue 50!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT050.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 49: What a piece of Chit-auri
Hasbro is shipping tons of new figures right now. Avengers Wave 4 with Nick Fury and the basic Chitauri, the new Deluxe Chitauri, variant six-inch Avengers figures, a new wave of Marvel Legends, and two waves of Marvel Universe! All combined make it a great time to be a Marvel toy collector, and we run down all the new releases and where you can find them on this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast. New figures from this year, and hard to find figures from last year, Justin has the scoop on where you can get them yourself!
For the high-end Marvel collector new items are released as well. Hot Toys put up for pre-order their second Wolverine figure, this one from X-Men 3: The Last Stand. With a sentinel head and a leather-like outfit, listen to hear the hosts’ thoughts on this latest 1/6 scale figure.
Finally, Avengers was in theaters this past week, but the DVD is coming soon and every major retailer has an exclusive bag, print, disc, or comic to go along with it. We run down all the exclusives and rank which ones you have to have. It’s all this and more in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT049.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 48: Beta Wave Bill
With the high profile launches of Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man figures, plus Marvel Legends returning in a big way, Hasbro’s core 3.75-inch Marvel Universe line has been stagnent, with collectors staring at the same white-outfit Iron Fist and Shadowlands Daredevil since Spring. But on this episode of the Marvelicious Toys podcast the spotlight is right back on Marvel Universe! Wave 18 has hit stores, Wave 19 is showing up as well, and there are seven new comic packs too! With all new sculpts, repaints of some old sculpts, and the return of some older figures, Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down 20 new Marvel Universe figures on this podcast!
Also on this show, we have a Hulk! A Hot Toys Hulk that is. The green giant that stole the show in The Avengers has finally gone on preorder from Sideshow and Hot Toys. We run down the figure’s scale, articulation, and features.
With Avengers Superhero Squad, MODOK Minimates, and a report on Wizard World’s Chicago Comic Con, it’s all in this Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT048.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 47: Tanya Tate and Toys
Back from San Diego Comic-Con, Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin have finally had time to open the toys they bought! Marvel Legends Archangel, Marvel Universe Radioactive Man, and the Super Helicarrier! On this issue of Marvelicious Toys they review all the Hasbro SDCC exclusives, and also run down the new Superhero Squad and Marvel Universe figures hitting stores right now!
Also in this issue, the hosts are joined by toy blogger Tanya Tate! She discusses how she got started collecting, her first time at San Diego Comic-Con, and how fans of her adult film work meld with fans of her toy reviews.
With news on not one but three new Hot Toys, SDCC variant Comic-Cons showing up at discount stores, and a Ferrigno collectible that’s not FIT to own, it’s all in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT047.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 46: Comic-Con 2012 — The Marvel Universe Grows…
Comic-Con International always brings an onslaught of news, but this year Comic Con brings the biggest issue of Marvelicious Toys ever!
First, the toys and collectibles revealed were too many to number. From Hot Toys, Sideshow Collectibles, Diamond Select, Hasbro Marvel Universe, Marvel Legends, and more, we run down all the highlights of the toys you’ll want to buy over the entire next year, as well as in-person reviews of many of these items.
And to dig deeper into the collectibles, we bring you an exclusive interview with Hasbro’s Marvel brand team, discussing Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends distribution, build-a-figures, and a Big Time problem with a certain figure. We also have exclusive interviews with Kotobukiya discussing their Fine Art Statues and Bishoujo statues, Hallmark looking at their Keepsake ornaments for 2012 and 2013, Gentle Giant talking about their upcoming mini-busts, statues, bookends, and more, and eFX Collectibles giving us on-sale and price information of their Avengers prop replicas, some of which you’ve seen and some of which you haven’t!
But if all that isn’t enough, we also look at Marvel’s information on their Cinematic Universe Phase II! Be bring you a private press conference with Marvel Universe mastermind Kevin Fiege, Iron Man 3 stars Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, and Iron Man 3 director Shane Black, talking about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Iron Man’s place in it! And we run down the news and footage shown in Marvel Studios’ big presentation, including a look at the Mark VIII armor of Iron Man 3, and some test footage of Ant-Man!
Yes, true collectors, all of that and so much more is in this Comic-Con Special from Marvelicious Toys! So listen now, and head to MarveliciousToys.com to see pictures of all the items (and people) talked about on the show!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT046.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 45: A Toy Run That Paid Off BIG TIME
It’s another bonus issue of Marvelicious Toys!
While San Diego Comic-Con International looms large in the minds of collectors, some great new Marvel toys and collectibles are showing up in stores and on doorsteps! To bring you the latest in Marvel Collecting, Marjorie, Arnie, Justin, and guest reviewer Berent are here to review it all! The alternate versions of the four Marvel Legends Wave 2 figures have shown up, with Big Time Spider-Man, masked Dark Wolverine, Madam Masque, and Thunderball! Plus, a third wave of Amazing Spider-Man figures have hit with three new Spider-Mans and a new Lizard, and a special bonus–a variant of the first Lizard figure! With new Marvel pillows, Squinkies, and an Avengers 3-figure Battle Pack, we provide hands-on reviews of it all!
But for the high end collectors, an item revealed at last year’s Comic-Con has finally come home–the Iron Man Suit Up Gantry. With a re-release of the now-rare Iron Man Mark IV Hot Toys figure, and the suit-up gantry as seen in Iron Man 2, it’s an impressive piece that comes with an equally impressive price tag! Arnie and Marjorie have set theirs up. Listen to find out if this is a Hot Toy that you must own!
With a final Marvel novelization review, Peter David’s Spider-Man 3, a report from the St. Louis Toy Man Toy Show, and the latest on all the SDCC exclusives hitting in just 2 days, it’s all in yet another jam-packed Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT045.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 44: Holy Ballz!
San Diego Comic-Con International is still 2 weeks away, but now you can order many of the exclusives to be delivered to your doorstep! Eschewing the common idea of “exclusive”, many companies including Sideshow, Gentle Giant, Kotobukiya, and Diamond Select Toys have Comic-Con exclusives up for non-attendee pre-order already. Click, add to cart, and get them in, and on this Marvelicious Toys podcast Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin tell you about all the exclusives up for pre-order for delivery, pre-order to pick up at the con, or that you have to physically be at the con and wait in line to get! From a bust of Thanos to Rescue Mission Captain America to a pair of mutants you wont want to miss, we run it down in this issue!
But not all collectibles are saved for the con, new Hasbro toys are shipping and we’ve got ’em! Arnie and Marjorie received the toy that’s been teased since Toy Fair — The Avengers Helicarrier! Over 3 feet long with a bevy of guns and play features, we have assembled it and are here to give you our hands-on review, as well as comparisons to the images released of the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive version, and an idea on how you may be able to build your own hella-big Helicarrier! Also shipping is a new variant of the Marvel Universe Fantastic Four Team Pack with a fully translucent Invisible Woman! Is the variant worth another purchase? Listen to find out!
With a hands-on review of Bonkazonks, a brand new body for a Black Widow, the new Amazing Spider-Spud, and a mismatched pair of Spider-Man Beanie Ballz, it’s all in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT044.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 43: Secret Stores
Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin are back with a bonus episode of Marvelicious Toys! With so many new toy releases grabbing collectors’ attention, on this issue your Marvelicious hosts look at some older toys that have been found at antique stores, toy stores, comic stores, and elsewhere. Looking at the first dedicated Marvel figure line, Mattel’s Secret Wars, as well as Toy Biz figures from all eras, including a super-sized super-articulated Spider-Man! And when discussing these older Marvel toys no one knows more than Marvelicious Timely Review host Jerry, who joins the others to share the history behind some of these older toy purchases and share a couple unique buys of his own.
But not all the toys are old. Marjorie has also picked up some Japanese Ultimate Spider-Man blind boxed figures. Listen as she opens them live and gives her first-blush reaction!
With Arnie reviewing Peter David’s novelization of Spider-Man 2 to tie into Now Playing’s Spider-Man movie review series, and a run down of the Wal-Mart Amazing Spider-Man DVD, it’s all in this bonus Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT043.MP3
Category: Arts
Amazing Spider-Man Episodes 2 and 3 – The Deadly Dust
A group of students steal radioactive materials as a sign of protest, but they learn a lesson in nuclear weapons when an arms dealer takes advantage of the situation.
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| The Deadly Dust (Part 1 and Part 2) |
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| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 2 and 3 |
| Air Date: | Part 1: April 5, 1978 Part 2: April 12, 1978 |
| Director: | Ron Satlof |
| Writer: | Robert Janes |
Recently I watched Spider-Man (1977), the pilot movie for The Amazing Spider-Man TV series, which you can hear us review at Now Playing. While I felt that movie was a bit slow, it was also so wacky and gonzo I could not look away. More, I couldn’t imagine how CBS would turn this concept as presented into a weekly series. I had to see more, so I eagerly jumped into the next episode, The Deadly Dust.
And man was that a mistake! I’ll get into why.
The Deadly Dust is a two-part episode that aired over two weeks. It was released internationally and on VHS and Laserdisc as a single movie. As it is a single story I will be reviewing both episodes here.
I was still excited during the opening credits sequence, and noticed the title has changed. While the movie was just Spider-Man, now the series is The Amazing Spider-Man, and the opening credits is no longer a tiny window of Spider-Man wall crawling–instead it’s a montage of the opening movie set to some generic 70s music. I was disappointed to see the more rockin’ disco music from the pilot movie replaced; this isn’t nearly as groovy.
In addition to the title, in the year that passed between the airing of the pilot movie and this first episode the series cast had changed. Peter Parker is still played by Nicholas Hammond, but gone was Dave the lab partner, as was Peter Parker’s Aunt May. Instead there is an entirely new supporting cast.
J. Jonah Jameson, editor of the Daily Bugle where Peter works as a photographer, was played in the pilot by Bewitched’s David White. White was replaced by Robert F. Simon (who had a recurring role on Bewitched), to whom I take an immediate dislike. His Jameson is far too quiet. Jameson should have a flaming temper and wild ideas about Spider-Man. That’s how the character is still written, but as acted by Simon the character just comes across as cranky, and perhaps a bit constipated.
In the role of the Daily Bugle’s token African-American, Robbie Robertson (Hilly Hicks) is gone and replaced by a new character, Jameson’s secretary Rita Conway, played by Chip Fields. Fields is the spitting image of Glory Grant, who was Jameson’s secretary at the Bugle, but inexplicably that’s not Fields’ character. Conway is shown to be a sassy woman who keeps Jameson in his place.
Though again in these opening scenes I’m not taken with her. She seems to have the temper Jameson should have, blowing up too easily at her grumpy boss. Plus the portrayal is a bit racist. When Peter tells Rita he’s afraid Jameson will fire her, and that he has friends that would make it hard for Rita to find another job, Rita replies that she has friends that could make it difficult for Jameson to keep the tires on his Rolls Royce. Why must the black character’s friends steal car tires? I suppose because it’s the 1970s and on television.
But I am happy to see the only returning supporting character, Michael Pataki as Captain Barbera. His Colombo-like persona was a highlight of the pilot movie. When this episode opens it’s with Barbera trying to stop a woman from jumping off a building. She says it’s her boyfriend’s fault and is ready to jump, but of course Spider-Man comes in and saves the girl.
I was immediately enthralled. Who is the girl’s boyfriend and why is he making her commit suicide? The title is “The Deadly Dust”–is that deadly dust Angel Dust and the girl is on a bad trip? I thought back to the controversial issues of The Amazing Spider-Man comic where Harry Osborne goes on drugs and thinks he can fly, and I’m really taken in. So you can imagine my disappointment when I discover this is just an introductory action scene that has no bearing on the plot of the episode.
The actual plot is about a nuclear bomb. Peter’s college professor Dr. Bailor is about to open a nuclear reactor on the college campus. Peter and his classmates are outraged at the thought of having radioactive materials on campus as the reactor will produce the titular “Deadly Dust”, also known as plutonium oxide, the byproduct produced from the nuclear reactor. Bailor refuses to relent despite the sutdents’ heated arguments, so three of the students decide to teach Dr. Bailor a lesson and steal the plutonium. When that doesn’t get enough press, they then take it a step further fashioning the plutonium into a makeshift nuclear bomb. Lacking only one ingredient, plastic explosive to use as a detonator, the students hope the bomb will strike fear into the university and make Bailor rethink his blasé attitude towards such dangerous materials.
This was a plot line I could get behind–extremist activists going too far to prove a point and a nuclear threat are concerns big enough to warrant a superhero’s attention yet real enough to relate to the fears of the audience. If that wasn’t enough to warrant Spider-Man’s attention, the masked vigilante is thought to have stolen the plutonium. Now his biggest supporter, Barbara, is partnered with the FBI to investigate Spider-Man for causing a nuclear threat. More, as Bailor said the only student capable of fashioning the plutonium into a bomb was star pupil Peter Parker, and Parker is known for his connection to Spider-Man, the feds think the two are in cahoots on the theft.
It’s a really good set-up that I enjoyed watching.
I was also enjoying the B-plot introduced. Barbera’s public praise of the vigilante gets the attention of Miami Beach supermarket tabloid The Weekly Examiner, who sends Gale Hoffman to get a cover story on Spider-Man, using Spider-Man’s photographer Peter Parker as a lead. Gale is sexy and smart and Peter is interested in her, but her refusal to leave Parker’s side hinders his ability to investigate the plutonium theft. Gale acts in this episode much like a Lois Lane to Peter Parker’s Clark Kent–she’s a good reporter aiding Peter in the investigation, but needing to be ditched when it’s superhero time.
There’s many good scenes between Peter and Gale, with Gale suspecting Spider-Man of stealing the plutonium. Here, for the first time, we get to the root of why Peter is a superhero. Gale rightly points out that no one asked Spider-Man to save the world, and if he doesn’t like it he can just hang up his blue tights. Peter responds very gravely saying “What about his conscience? What’s the point of having a special power if you don’t use it to help people?” He also says “I think Spider-Man does a lot of good but if people knew who he is it wouldn’t be the same thing?” He goes on saying how lonely it is for Spider-Man, and it’s hard because Spider-Man has to lie to everyone at work, his friends, and even his girlfriends. “People think it would be really wonderful to have Spider-Man’s powers. Let me tell you, I’m not so sure whether it’s a blessing or a curse.”
In the entire pilot episode we were never given these insights into why Peter dons an outfit and stops evildoers. Here, we get the reason and it comes because Peter is feeling close to Gale. It’s both character exploration and relationship development in one scene. I do wish there was more of a reason, though. Without the guilt of Uncle Ben’s death, Peter’s motivations are thin. More, his passionate speaking on the topic makes Gale suspect Peter may be Spider-Man, something she eventually asks him outright. Unfortunately Peter’s convenient lies put Gale’s suspicions to rest. I think I’d have preferred it if his partner was in on his secret.
All of this in the first hour made me think The Deadly Dust may actually be an improvement over the pilot film, but it did lack in one regard–there was no real villain. The students aren’t bad guys, they’re just misguided and not all that bright. Running from the cops and performing investigations into the nuclear theft is entertaining, but could not sustain a two-hour running length, so we are introduced to Mr. White (Robert Alda, father of Alan Alda and bad guy from two Incredible Hulk episodes).
Mr. White is a multi-millionaire record executive who enjoys his Los Angeles lifestyle, hanging out on the roof of his skyscraper, bikini-clad women surrounding him. But making money on gold records isn’t enough, Mr. White is also a…well having watched the episode I don’t know what he is. Mercenary? Terrorist? Gangster? Let’s settle on ill-defined baddie.
White reads about the plutonium theft and races to New York to steal the stolen nuclear goods. He, like the FBI, thinks Peter Parker stole it, and that if he can take it from the grad student he can then sell it to the highest bidder. Truthfully I liked the addition of this fourth faction to the story, but unfortunately Mr. White would come to dominate the story in its second hour.
By the end of what would have been the first regular episode of The Amazing Spider-Man I was really enjoying it. The cops, the rogue students, Peter and Gale, and Mr. White’s goons all chasing the nuclear materials had been a great bit of fun. I would have recommended the first of the two episodes. But after the midway point the episode loses its focus and leaves New York.
Parker’s name is cleared and the plutonium found all too quickly. One of the students making the fake bomb gets radiation poisoning and is rushed to the hospital. The hospital reports radiation poisoning and the real thieves are discovered, but not their bounty. Racing to the hospital, the students just left their near-complete bomb in the middle of the room, and Mr. White’s goons quickly steal it and take it back to Los Angeles. Peter, having put a spider-tracer on White’s white limo, wants to pursue. He tells Jameson about the bomb, but Jameson cannot run the story lest it cause widespread panic. To recover the bomb, and be the first out the door with the story once the danger has passed, Jameson agrees to go with Parker and Gale to Los Angeles.
This is where the story goes south. Literally. Once the three leads leave New York, every single aspect of the New York storyline is forgotten. The students who caused this whole mess? Never seen again. Barbera? Out of his jurisdiction. The FBI agent DeCarlo who was tracking the plutonium in New York? Disappeared. No, the only ones who can save us from a rogue nuclear bomb are two reporters and a grumpy newspaper publisher. Well, and Spider-Man, I suppose.
I learned after watching this episode that The Amazing Spider-Man series production was based in L.A., but the character is so closely identified with New York City they did not relocate the character. With that being the case, why then make a story where Peter must travel cross-country to follow a criminal? Was it so they could have their end action scenes outdoors, in the air, and not reveal that they are not in Manhattan? It’s confusing, as is the story.
In LA Spider-Man fights White’s goons several times, most comically on a Hollywood old-west backlot (literally an old-west backlot, not a backlot subbing for a real location) and White becomes nervous. Instead of selling the bomb he tries to extort the US Government, saying if his demands are not met he will “detonate the bomb in the place where it will do the most damage.” This phrasing confuses our newspaper reporters, who apparently only write for newspapers but never read one, because the headline of a newspaper in LA reads “President to speak in California”.
The entire second episode of “The Deadly Dust” is a jumbled mess. There are repeated fights that change nothing. Gale is taken hostage and then freed. Peter and Gale even visit Mr. White’s record studio, driving home the ridiculous nature of a record executive terrorist. At best any two-hour episode of a 1970s television series might start to wear out its welcome, but here it has devolved into nonsense.
I think the show runners thought the plus side of the second hour is there is a lot less Peter Parker and a lot more Spider-Man. Parker disappears more and more as Spider-Man fights goons and chases after the bomb, but honestly the Spider-Man fights in this episode are entirely terrible. The Spider-Man outfit looks even more silly in this episode than in the pilot, his gloves flapping in the wind and his red boots looking like he’s expecting a rainstorm. Moreover, the stuntman in the outfit is prone to grand, theatrical movements and cocking his head like a dog. Every time Spider-Man is fighting these same goons I am left shaking my head. More, it usually ends with Spider-Man running away! Why he chooses to flee rather than use the oversized web shooters on his wrist to trip up his enemies confounds me. There is no logic, it’s just there to stretch out a thin, silly story.
Not all the stunts are terrible. We do get some good wire work as he climbs down buildings or performs superjumps, but watching someone climb isn’t really all that fun. More, due to budget constraints, Spider-Man seems to wall-crawl only as a last resort preferring to run like any human on solid ground whenever possible. I understand why it is done this way, but that doesn’t make the show any more entertaining.
Strangely the high point of the second hour for me was Jameson. I couldn’t stand him in New York, being confined in his office and very low-key, but once out in LA he lets his cheap flag fly! He is constantly chasing after Parker and dismissing anything having to do with Spider-Man. He really starts to embody a version of Jameson as I imagined him. He still has nothing on J.K. Simmons, but it’s an improvement.
And I must give this episode credit for its climax. At the end, Mr. White and his goon have hidden the nuclear bomb on a rooftop near where the president is speaking, and it’s up to Spider-Man to stop it. He convinces a helicopter tour guide to give him a ride, telling the pilot it’s a publicity stunt, and then freefalls out of the helicopter. While the spider-suit flapping in the breeze shows clearly how poorly the suit fits the stuntman, it is cool to see Spider-Man actually perform death-defying feats.
And it gets better! Mr. White is in his own helicopter and flies after Spider-Man, who uses his webbing to latch on to White’s ride. White’s goon Angel pilots the chopper all around trying to shake the wall-crawler and we get to see practical stunt footage of the Spider-Man dangling from a helicopter. The point-of-view camera used in the pilot returns as well, and we see Spider-Man’s view as he hangs on the rope. It is really exciting. This is where all their money went, and it is money well-spent. Unfortunately it becomes a case of too-little-too-late in this episode as the poor writing and repetitive action had me checked out a good half hour before the money shot.
The poor writing continues as Mr. White just so happens to shake Spider-Man on the exact same rooftop where they stashed the nuclear bomb, and with Peter Parker’s scientific knowledge Spider-Man disarms the bomb, saving the president and Los Angeles, with two seconds to spare.
Peter Parker gives Jameson pictures of Spider-Man posing with the bomb, and he and Gale seem destined for a romance, but Mr. White escapes saying he will get Spider-Man another day. Why FBI Agent DeCarlo doesn’t just arrest the man based on the newspaper articles is a question never answered, and I don’t think the series lasted long enough for Mr. White to actually return.
The first half of “The Deadly Dust” had so much promise, the second hour devolved into brain-numbing action for action’s sake, and bad action at that. It’s a weaker not recommend as there are some things of value, but an easy not recommend.
Read my other Amazing Spider-Man Series Reviews
Amazing Spider-Man Series Review Index
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| The Amazing Spider-Man TV Series | |
| Seasons: | 2 |
| Episodes: | 13 |
| Air Dates: | 1977 – 1979 |
| Series Creator: | Charles W. Fries and Daniel R. Goodman |
| Stars: | Nicholas Hammond, Chip Fields, Robert F. Simon |
In anticipation of The Amazing Spider-Man opening in July, 2012, Jakob, Stuart, and I are doing a podcast retrospective series of all the movies based on the Marvel Comics Superheroes at Now Playing.
With Now Playing’s current Spider-Man Retrospective Series I will also be looking back at every episode of The Incredible Hulk TV series that ran from 1978 to 1982.
Pilot TV Movie
Spider-Man (1977)
Season 1
The Deadly Dust (later renamed Spider-Man Strikes Back)
The Curse of Rava
Night of the Clones
Escort to Danger
Season 2
The Captive Tower
A Matter of State
The Con Caper
The Kirkwood Haunting
Photo Finish
Wolfpack
TV Movie Finale
The Chinese Web (later renamed Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge)
New Podcast: Issue 42: Let’s Go Bigger
Big news for Marvel collectors was revealed in the past two weeks from Hasbro, to the official announcement of Wave 4 Avengers figures to the news of the San Diego Comic Con exclusive Masters of Evil pack, X-Force Marvel Legends, and an even larger than usual Helicarrier with exclusive Maria Hill figure! On this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast, Marjorie, Arnie, Justin, and guest co-host Jerry run down all the news on San Diego Comic Con exclusives, large and small!
But new toys aren’t reserved for San Diego, they’re hitting your local Toys R Us, Target, and Wal Mart! Also in this week’s podcast, your Marvelicious hosts review all the new Avengers figures showing up in stores, including the 6-inch Wal Mart exclusive Avengers figures, the 3.75-inch Avengers Wave 3 with Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Skrull, the second wave of the comic-based Avengers figures at Toys R Us with the light-up “Avengers Assemble” bases, and even the 2-inch figures with no articulation seen at discount shops!
And from Avengers to Amazing Spider-Man toys, we also run down on this week’s show some of the less action-y figures showing up in stores. Including the new set of Amazing Spider-Man movie Squinkies, the Toys R Us released Mini-Mates, the 8-inch figures found early at discount shops, the 2-inch statues, the new movie-styled FunKo Pop Vinyl, and even the 10-inch talking Spider-Man with web shooting action!
With Jerry also providing an Action-oriented Timely Review, the hosts thoughts on Bonkazonks, and news of a new Marvel video game, hear it all in this super-sized Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT042.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 41: What the Helicarrier Is Going On?
Avengers 6-inch figures are showing up at Wal-Marts, but blink and you miss them…and if you head to eBay you’ll be paying a pretty penny if your target is Hawkeye. In the 4-inch line, Wave 3 is equally there and gone, and no sign when the Chitauri figures might be coming. Marvel Legends are equally enigmatic with an upcoming revision case that seems to help few, and certainly not get the variants out there. And yet Wal-Mart has 4-packs that no one knew were coming showing up on shelves, which just leaves Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin asking…WHAT THE HELICARRIER IS GOING ON?
On this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast, your hosts run down the latest store reports, including an in-depth review of all the new Amazing Spider-Man movie line of figures and Super Hero Squad. Plus a review of the Avengers’ Skrull figure, and the Wal-Mart exclusive 6-inch Captain America.
Also on this week’s show, we catch you up on the Hot Toys assault from Avengers to Amazing Spider-Man, and the latest products from Diamond Select, Kotobukiya, Bowen, and Sideshow.
With a review of Peter David’s novelization of Spider-Man, a Fantastic Forum Poll, and fun big and small, it’s on this action-packed super-sized Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT041.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 40: Collectors Assemble
We’ve been reviewing the figures, the Squinkies, the statues, and even singing songs in anticipation of the film’s release. And what a release it was! The film has lived up to the hype, shattering box office records and satisfying audiences and critics alike.
Now on this issue of Marvelicious Toys Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin are joined by a crew of Marvel fans and collectors: Marvelicious Podcast Enhancer Berent, our Photo Editor Geof, Timely Review segment host Jerry, and long time Marvel collector and fan Dan Curto! The group get together to discuss the action figures, mini-busts, Hot Toys, and impulse buys that the film has inspired them to buy!
And when you get a group of friends together right after seeing this awesome film we can’t help but also share our thoughts on the film, so listen to this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast and then come to our forums and let us know what you thought of the film!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT040.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 39: Avengers – Come Together
Did you know Avengers opens this Friday? You may not need a TV ad to remind you as promotional tie-in products are everywhere. From lip gloss to body wash to sporting goods, Avengers hype is unescapable! And among the most hyped are the Marvelicious Toys hosts Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie. With Avengers figures flying off the shelves and no new figures being spotted from any of the lines, they find new collectibles and toys to bide their time. Listen on this week’s podcast as they review a variety of Avengers tie-ins from Chibis to Grab Zags, from Pop Vinyl bobbleheads to Heroics mini-figures.
Plus Jerry is in on the excitement, biding his time with Avengers toys and cartoons of yesteryear. In this issue Jerry looks back at the short-lived Avengers: United They Stand TV series, and the toys that tied into it.
With a review of the Iron Man 2 novelization, a new Hot Toy Avenger, some Select collectibles, and a new line of statues that prove it’s not easy being green, it’s all in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys Podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT039.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 38: Quinjet Down
The Avengers marketing machine is in full swing with new items from Dr. Pepper cans to Legos to Grab Zags blind packaged figures, and the hosts of Marvelicious Toys are caught in the upcoming movie’s thrall. On this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast, Arnie discusses his fascination with The Avengers Assemble trading cards from Upper Deck, Marjorie runs down the new Avengers Squinkies and Mighty Muggs, and even Justin breaks down and buys the Deluxe Captain America parachuting figure. All these items are reviewed, as well as the remote control Avengers Quinjet!
Also on this week’s issue, last weekend was C2E2 in Chicago and Marjorie and Arnie were there to cover the event, as well as the much-discussed Captain America: The First Avenger prop auction. They went with checkbook in hand planning to buy a prop actually used in the movie. Did they? And were there other toy bargains at the show on Marvel Universe, Marvel Legends, or older Toy Biz figures? Listen to find out!
With a C2E2 interview with Diamond about their Select figures, Minimates, and busts, an Avengers-themed Timely Review from Jerry, an Incredible Hulk book review by Arnie, and another Avengers song from Fiverr, it’s all in this jam-packed issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT038.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 37: Build Your Own Arnie Zola
Pile Driver, Madam Hydra, Bucky as Captain America, Daken as Dark Wolverine, and many more figures are found in the second wave of Hasbro’s 2012 Marvel Legends figure line. With articulation not seen since the Toy Biz days, but a higher price than ever before, should you add these to your collection? On this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie review the first seven figures in the wave, and tell you which variants to keep an eye out for. And for collectors wanting toys at a cheaper price point, they also review the new wave of figures showing up at Family Dollar!
Also in this issue, Arnie continues to supplement Now Playing Podcast’s Avengers movie retrospective with a review of Peter David’s Iron Man movie novelization.
With a new Avengers song from Fiverr, the Avengers soundtrack, Avengers trading cards, and more, it’s all in this issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT037.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 36: Jaw Dropping Hasbro News
Hulk, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, Loki, and Captain America! All these Avengers figures have assembled across the country as Hasbro’s big promotional push for the upcoming blockbuster begins. Figures in 4-inch, 6-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch scale, plus vehicles, battle mechs, role-play toys, and so much more! Hear Arnie, Marjorie, and Justin provide detailed reviews of the first two waves of Avengers 3.75″ figures, plus assorted other Avengers toys, in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Also in this issue, it was recently announced that they were laying off 170 people including top managers to “bring new skill sets” into the company. Among the layoffs was Marvel Brand Manager and friend of Marvelicious Toys David Vonner. Listen to this episode to hear the hosts’ thoughts on what this could mean for the future of our comic collecting hobby.
With new Marvel Legends Wave 2 figures, a sexy Storm statue, and another Avengers movie song, it’s all in this jam-packed giant-sized podcast, so listen now!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT036.MP3
Category: Arts
Incredible Hulk Season 1 Episode 11 – Earthquakes Happen
Hoping to access gamma-ray equipment, David poses as a scientist inspecting a nuclear research facility and becomes trapped in the complex when a devastating earthquake strikes.
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| Earthquakes Happen | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 11 |
| Air Date: | May 19, 1978 |
| Director: | Harvey S. Laidman |
| Writer: | Jim Tisdale, Migdia Chinea-Varela |
| David’s Alias: | Ted Hammond Dr. Robert Patterson |
| Hulk-Outs: | 2 |
| • Crushed by a computer bank during an earthquake • Burning his hands on a pipe while the reactor melts down |
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After last week’s inventive and original episode Life and Death, now we’re back to “Hulk Goes to the Movies!” First we had Rocky, then Airport ’75, then Duel, and now it’s Earthquake! Universal Studios owned the movie Earthquake, thus its scenes and general plot were both used liberally in this episode of Hulk.
We have establishing shots of Los Angeles, David (Bill Bixby) has made his way back home to California. Here we get a rare instance of David performing a grift–he makes a phone call where he pretends to be Ted Hammond, head of the San Thomas Nuclear Research Facility. He’s calling to delay a visit to the facility by Dr. Robert Patterson (and that’s Dr. Robert Patterson, not to be confused with Robert Pattinson Twi-hards…though I wonder how many hits this blog will get now that I’ve invoked the name of the unkempt one).
Visit delayed, David then impersonates Dr. Patterson. He goes to great lengths in this, stopping by a local shop claiming to have been robbed and needing new photo identification. With his fake credentials ready he heads to the San Thomas Nuclear Research Facility pretending to be Dr. Robert Patterson, who is an expert in structural stress analysis and atomic safety systems.
The facility is run by Ted Hammond, but was designed by Dr. Diane Joseph, and the two are at odds over the facility’s safety. Ted ordered a safety review after he discovered the lab was built on a fault line. He thinks Diane is overconfident about the center’s ability to withstand an earthquake.
Of course, David isn’t interested in the nuclear reactor. He has performed this entire con to gain access to the facility’s Gamma Lab, and we see a flashback to the pilot episode with Dr. Elaina Marks reminding the audience that radiation reversal may rid David of the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) forever. David hopes his access will give him a moment alone with their gamma machine.
David arrives at the lab we see National Register reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) is there already. For once Jack isn’t hunting the Hulk, but instead pursuing a story that there is an impending earthquake and the lab is unsafe. McGee is accusing the lab of running on a skeleton crew to minimize casualties if the reactor goes nuclear. When David, posing as the safety inspector, arrives McGee tries to chase the supposed safety inspector down for an interview. It’s another moment of a close call between David and Jack, but David hustles into the lab, his back always to the reporter.
Once at the lab we finally see a hole in David’s scientific knowledge–he’s not up on his structural safety techniques. He is being guided by Diane, who quickly becomes suspicious when she realizes he’s not doing the study correctly and not answering questions properly.
And David certainly is acting desperate. His interest in getting to Level 4, which houses the gamma lab, is a bit too obvious. The moment he’s left alone he tries to use an axe to open a locked door. When he sees others coming through the other way, he slides a broom (in an awesome broom-cam shot) to prevent the door from closing and makes his way to the lab.
But due to her suspicions, Diane has Patterson’s dossier pulled and finds what she needs–due to an artificial knee Dr. Patterson walks with a cane. David had no cane, and so they know he’s an impostor. She alerts lab owner Ted Hammond, and they go to have him arrested, but it’s too late–David has already powered on the gamma lab.
In doing so, David fired up the lab’s nuclear reactor. He places a chair underneath some ominous looking piece of equipment, preparing to irradiate himself with gamma rays yet again. It’s a wonderfully ominous scene, aided by the music from his experiments in the pilot. I was engaged, even though I recognized the silliness of David so quickly gaining access to a gamma gun and immediately ready to shoot himself with it.
Diane finds David and stops the gamma gun from firing with just three seconds to go, and before they can argue any more an earthquake hits. Footage of massive destruction to Los Angeles landmarks, as seen originally in Earthquake, is shown while the set upon which David and Diane stand shakes. David tries to get Diane to safety, and a refrigerator-sized computer bank falls upon David.
In the chaos, the gun switches modes from gamma to laser, and a blue laser starts shooting randomly at the ground. Because, of course, all radiation machines also can weaponize to shoot lasers. Despite how unlikely the situation, the lasers shoot repeatedly, starting fire and threatening the life of the unconscious Diane. David cannot get to her to help her, so we have
Hulk-Out #1: The green glow is back, and we see David’s clothes rip underneath the computer bank. Then Hulk is there, quickly ripping the gamma/laser machine from the ceiling, and carrying Diane to safety.
Outside the radiation chamber the other center workers react to the danger, some shaken and frozen with fear, others doing their job to try and mitigate the damage to the reactor. Some workers call to the gamma lab, and Hulk rips the phone and speaker from the wall, right before peeling back the lead door to the lab so he can escape. But moans from the injured Diane call Hulk back and, taking her hand, he is calmed and the reverse transformation happens.
Again we see the green glow cover Hulk’s body, and a close-up of Bixby in fake eyebrows. They’re starting to get better at the reverse transformation, and I’m starting to be used to the silly green glow, but I am also comforted in the knowledge that it improves and I won’t have to see it 80 more times.
David quickly dons a lab coat to cover himself and puts his shoes back on. I’m confused how turning into the Hulk would have his shoes pop off unharmed and not split, but I guess we don’t need a Die Hard situation with barefoot David searching a demolished, glass strewn lab for shoes.
Things go from bad to worse when Ted discovers the nuclear reactor is running, started by David when he fired up the gamma machine. The turn-offs and emergency shutdown are not working and the cooling units are overheating. The secondary cooling unit is running, but if it stops there will be a nuclear meltdown!
David and Diane are trapped with Ted, lab worker Turner, and security guard Paul. Paul’s leg broke during the earthquake, and the five are trapped in the gamma lab due to steam from the reactor blocking their exit. Carrying Paul, they climb through a corridor full of high voltage wires to make an escape.
As the group make their way to safety, the secondary cooler goes out. The reactor is going to meltdown, and all personnel are to evacuate.
Much like in Earthquake, the group of survivors trapped in the corridor begin in-fighting, with petrified Turner wanting to attack David for being the one who caused this whole mess. But David’s medical knowledge plus his being an able-bodied person have Diane and Ted feeling they need him to escape and the authorities can deal with him after.
In the control room the remaining workers are trying to turn on the emergency valve to cool the reactor. Without the valve opening, the facility has less than five minutes until meltdown, but the motor for the valve has jammed. Those above ground can escape, but David’s group is trapped.
There’s a scene of the lab workers above ground arguing about escape, with one saying “there may be people alive down there” and the pragmatist replying “but only for three more minutes!” The scene is unintentionally humorous due to the cliched nature of the conversation, but it serves to drive home the danger David is facing.
But David isn’t willing to give up. The group tries to open the valve manually. It opens some, but the heat from the reactor causes the corridor to flood with steam. Turner and Ted flee back to the group, while David stays to try and turn the valve.
The pipe burns his hands, so he takes off his shirt to touch the pipe, and I know this means one less torn shirt as we hear the transformation sound.
Hulk-Out #2: We see no transformation here, but Hulk is there and opens the valve, averting the nuclear meltdown and saving the city. Then, needing an escape, Hulk punches through a thick cement wall to get away from the steam. He runs out the corridor to the outside and off into the city.
In the end, McGee questions the scientists about the fake Dr. Patterson, and Ted says he saved them all but may have been killed in the steam of the tunnel.
But David was not killed, he dons a long black coat and tries to hitch a ride to the next nuclear lab as The Lonely Man theme plays on.
This episode is rather rote. While capitalizing on the disaster movie craze of the 70s it strains credibility to set up the chain of events that can lead to a nuclear meltdown. I will say the footage from Earthquake! is used to good effect. Unlike Never Give a Trucker an Even Break, Earthquakes Happen uses the footage to up their production values and create tension, while not aping them for climactic plot points. While the entire premise of a group of bickering individuals trying to escape a building after an earthquake is the general premise of Earthquake!, this doesn’t feel as plagiarized as the previous episode.
By the same token, Hulk doesn’t really fit in this episode. While David and his quest for a cure creates the entire series of events, the Hulk-outs are sparse. Plus, knowing the Hulk can solve any problem through strength, there’s no real sense of danger. When David can’t turn the valve, it’s an eye-rolling “okay, Hulk, open the valve”. This, of course, is the case with all Hulk episodes, but if the set-up and action is entertaining I go with it. As depicted in this episode, I simply don’t think an earthquake is an exciting enough situation for the Hulk to be in. I honestly found the scenes of David performing his con and trying to break into the lab far more exciting than what happens after the earthquake.
It’s a perfectly average episode, and I like this series so average is pretty good. This episode gets a weak recommend.
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
Incredible Hulk Season 1 Episode 10 – Life and Death Review
David becomes friends with a pregnant woman, and together they uncover a chilling plot to steal infants for use in DNA experimentation.
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| Life and Death | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 10 |
| Air Date: | May 12, 1978 |
| Director: | Jeffrey Hayden |
| Writer: | James D. Parriott |
| David’s Alias: | David Bernard |
| Hulk-Outs: | 2 |
• Injected with poison while strapped to a medical table •Falls down a fight of stairs |
This episode begins with David (Bill Bixby), wearing his tan jacket, at the end of a hitched ride. He is in Oregon, headed to Marysville where Dr. Stan Rhodes (Andrew Robinson) is conducting DNA experiments.
But getting out of the truck sitting there, as if waiting for him, is a very pregnant woman, Carrie Taylor, also looking to hitch a ride to town. David is concerned as she looks ready to go into labor at any time, but she says she has no choice. David flags them both a ride and they drive into Marysville.
Then something very odd happened. Up on the screen flashed the text ALL CHARACTERS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND EVENTS IN THIS STORY ARE FICTIONAL. While this disclaimer is often found at the end credits of a movie or show, to have them so bold at the start is odd. It usually means a fictional story is being told inspired by, or loosely based on, real events in the news. I see this warning at the start of several episodes of Law & Order but never before on Hulk, so I am immediately on guard to see what in this episode could have been considered slanderous to the point of needing this title.
I think, however, that this was there because television viewers in the 70’s weren’t as sophisticated as today’s audiences. I recall reading reports that people in the early 80s would go to Pontiac dealerships in the hopes of buying a Knight Industries Two-Thousand. Likely producers feared that this episode, with it’s all-too-real topic of illegal baby sales, could cause outrage among television viewers if they weren’t told outright “Hey, this is fake.” (Of course, those same viewers must somehow live with the belief The Incredible Hulk is a documentary. Just think about that.)
The title is then followed by another: MARYSVILLE, OREGON. While I appreciate the show giving me a geographical location, it’s usually either cagey about the locale (a’la Death in the Family) or it states it through events and dialogue. Nothing in this episode seems to require such specifics, so it struck me as odd.
We find that Carrie is a single mother, and is going to a company called Matrix who will pay her a good sum of money for her baby, then sell the child to people who can afford to give it a better home.
As David accompanies Carrie to Matrix he gives a rare bit of personal information, talking about how he grew up with a younger sister–an interesting detail that will come into play later in the series.
David then goes to meet Dr. Rhodes, and I immediately recognize the actor as Andrew Robinson. I know him best as Larry, Kirsty’s father in Hellraiser, though he may be more famous for being Garek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. In the late 70’s and 80’s he had a run of television guest appearances, and I always like seeing a familiar face guest-starring in a TV show. That said, at this point he’d best be known for a villainous role in Dirty Harry so I also immediately distrusted Dr. Rhodes and his very large perm.
Rhodes is excited to see David as he has been anxious for human volunteers for his DNA experiments. Using an X-Ray machine Rhodes plans to “eliminate an extra adenine thymine link” in David’s DNA (which has a theoretical connection with excessive aggression). This involves injecting a mutant cell into David’s brain–a very dangerous, untested procedure that Rhodes can’t even do legally. He can’t get funding for his experiments and tells David he’s up to his ears in hock self-funding the research, but the benefit of possibly curing birth defects in the womb is worth it.
There’s a lot of technobabble here involving X-Rays, DNA, the thyroid, and more. Good to see Robinson getting early practice at that Trek hallmark practice.
But then Rhodes is called into an emergency–a woman was brought in shortly after giving birth. She is delirious and bleeding but keeps saying “Matrix took my baby.” This puts David on alert, so he goes back to where he dropped off Carrie and the voice on the speaker claims to have no knowledge of Carrie Taylor.
Undeterred, David climbs the cement wall surrounding the complex, and finds Carrie walking in the back yard in the early stages of labor. David tries to talk the impoverished woman out of selling her baby, asking her if it’s what “she really wants” and Carrie starts to have second thoughts. David continues to preach about state-funded programs that can help Carriecare for the child, and I really wonder what business it is of David’s. When Carrie is still unsure, David threatens to go to the police to turn in the illegal baby-selling ring.
But then the other shoe drops–Dr. Rhodes shows up at Matrix. He is their on-staff obstetrician, delivering the babies in exchange for Matrix funding his DNA experiments. He confronts Matrix owner Ellen about the girl who was found on the streets, but then Rhodes and Ellen see David in the yard with Carrie.
Ellen is suspicious. David and Carrie contacted Matrix and Rhodes about the same time, and seem to know each other. She fears they may be cops or, worse, planning to blackmail Matrix. Ellen then tries to convince Rhodes to kill David during the experiment later that day.
This scene between Ellen and Rhodes is shot with a hand-held camera, and some really extreme camera motions and angles. The camera doesn’t zoom in during the conversation, the cameraman walks closer and closer–camera wobbling all the way. It ends with an up-the-nose shot of the two villains. I admire any attempt by the show to be artistic but this was so poorly done that I can’t entirely support it. But later in the episode this would be forgiven.
More, while the topic of the conversation is murder, it’s the most uninteresting murder plot ever. The entire conversation is about getting David to sign a release form so that Rhodes can legally kill him during the experiment. I really hope that’s not how medical releases work, otherwise I’m never getting a tooth pulled again! It was already said Rhodes was making David sign a form for a completely different procedure–I’m pretty sure Rhodes would lose his medical license for causing a death while performing illegal experiments, no matter what forms were signed.
Nonetheless, the next scene has David reading aloud the agreement he is to sign that releases Rhodes and the hospital from liability during the experiment. As David signs a fake name, David Bernard, the questions about how much protection the form provides Rhodes multiply.
But Rhodes is committed to kill David now. He straps David to a medical desk, and injects David with a poison. David starts to panic, knowing the needle is too short, the injection is too low, and the injection is in the wrong place. I figure he’ll Hulk-out before he can be injected, but I am wrong! Rhodes injects David, saying he’s sorry but it’s what he has to do to stop David from blackmailing Matrix. Rhodes leaves David on the table to die, and only then do we get
Hulk-Out #1: As David is strapped to a medical table this transformation must be different–and it’s different for the better. We do still get that animated green glow on David’s face, but then we have a quick-cut scene of clothes tearing, Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) breaking his restraints as well as his clothes, and he is free! The score turns to a style inspired by monster movies as we see Hulk rise from the table in silhouette, shot backlit through the frosted glass window to the lab. It’s actually an artful scene, and I’m realizing director Jeffrey Hayden has a strong visual style, sometimes to better effect than others.
Hulk breaks through the glass and we get to see Ferrigno act. He is stumbling and lethargic. Shots from the Hulk’s point-of-view show his vision fuzzy–the poison is rendering even the Hulk powerless! He stumbles, and while Ferrigno’s facial expression is blank, his squinting and body language do sell the scene effectively.
The scene is played mostly right, showing people afraid of Hulk and Hulk stumbling around, but it goes one step too far when Hulk stumbles onto an elevator with an old man on a walker. The old man’s reactions can only be described as intentionally comedic, and it begins to rob the scene of its tension.
Hulk tears through the side of the elevator and jumps out. Sadly the shot of Hulk jumping is a bit silly, with Ferrigno obviously suspended on a cable doing some kind of hand jive motion–it looks like he’s dancing, not falling. But the shot is brief, and I can forgive it in the scope of things. Despite the old man and the dance-fall, the score and the drama are so good that I am with it.
Hulk breaks through a brick wall to escape the hospital, and then wanders into a grove of trees where the poison’s effects finally overtake the green giant. He closes his eyes and starts to pass out, and the green glow covers his face as he changes back to David in the most artful reverse transformation we’ve seen yet. While there’s a bit of the green glow on Hulk’s face, mostly we see Hulk’s point-of-view go bright, then restore back to David’s point-of-view. A close-up of partially-transformed David’s face is actually grotesque, not comedic like the large eyebrows on Bixby have been in the past.
Human again, David is still drugged and barely able to stand. We get more point-of-view shots seeing that David’s vision is blurred and, I hate to say it, but I really think Ferrigno did a better job acting drugged than Bixby. Bixby’s face has a wide-mouthed expression, and it comes across as a bit silly.
But as David stumbles, in the hospital we see something shockingly realistic–another doctor is checking up on the mystery patient in the hospital and realizes the medicine Rhodes prescribed is improper. In an ER it’s common for doctors to change shifts and double-check each other’s work. The patient spills the beans on Matrix and Rhodes’ connection with the organization, so the covering physician calls the police. I am stunned–this is the most realistic downfall for a villain in any Hulk episode to date.
Rhodes has returned to Matrix to give birth to Carrie’s baby, and Ellen and Rhodes plan to give Carrie the same poison they did David after she gives birth. On the hospital table, Carrie reveals she doesn’t want to give up the baby, that she can keep him with state programs and child support, that they’ll make it so long as she loves her baby, but Ellen and Rhodes continue with their procedure. Of course, their procedure is just giving birth, which Carrie cannot stop, so her objections seem ill-timed. It would be simple for Ellen or Rhodes to lie and say “okay, you can keep your baby” and calm the panicking mother-to-be, but they are evasive. They’ll poison the woman but not lie to her? Odd ethics.
As they prepare for the birth, David makes his way to Matrix. Even drugged, his concern for Carrie has given him the drive to stumble to the address, somehow pull himself over the wall, and break into the complex. He tries to go up a flight of stairs, but stumbles and falls down, leading to
Hulk-Out #2: Drugged Hulk claws his way up the stairs, and then is finally back to full strength. He triumphantly breaks through the door where Rhodes and Ellen have just finished delivering Carrie’s baby. Hulk grabs the doctor and his assistant and throws Rhodes down the same stairs that David recently fell on. The assist gets dropped off a second story landing.
But in the delivery room, Ellen is still trying to steal the child. She puts the baby in a cart and tries to roll it out of the room, but the Hulk is waiting. I expect a push-and-pull, but the Hulk is so frightening Ellen just runs off and leaves the baby. She runs outside, where the police are waiting, and I guess a Hulk is more frightening than prison as Ellen lets the cops in so they can stop the Hulk.
Hulk picks up the baby and gives it a smile that is actually incredibly cute, then hands the baby back to her mother. The police barge in, guns pointed at Hulk, but as Hulk is by the mother they cannot shoot.
Then we get a fairly amusing scene as the police order Hulk to go to a wall, turn and face it, and finally put his hands against the wall. Of course, as soon as I see Hulk near a wall I know that wall will soon be in need of repair. But to have the cops say “Put your hands against the wall” and Hulk does just that, knocking the wall down in the process, is subtle humor that I can appreciate. More, it’s another great shot. The Hulk is lit from one direction in such a way to create a dark shadow behind him, right on the wall that will be his escape.
The cops are so stunned by the wall being broken that they just stand there while Hulk leaps from the second-story balcony to the yard and runs off to freedom.
After the last commercial break we see David, perfectly healed, in the hospital with Carrie and her happy, healthy baby. She says if the baby was a boy she’d name it David for all the help David offered. A nurse radios that a reporter named McGee wants to talk to Carrie about the Hulk, and that’s David’s cue to leave.
As he leaves, Carrie asks David if his reason for coming to the hospital was a success. David gives a wan smile and says “No, but this time it’s for the better” and we realize this man truly is willing to sacrifice his own happiness in the protection of others.
In one last scene we see David and McGee in the same hallway, and David has to duck to use a water fountain, narrowly hiding his face from the reporter’s eyes. Another near miss, David again hits the highway, thumb out for a ride, as The Lonely Man theme plays on.
This episode has strong writing and strong visuals. From never before seen ways to attack the Hulk, not knowing if a poison can kill the beast, to a realistic downfall for Matrix, I am impressed with the script for Life and Death. David’s role in the events don’t matter on a large scale; had David never come Ellen and Rhodes still would have been arrested due to the escaped woman. But David and Hulk’s actions prevent Matrix from taking Carrie’s baby, a clear win. Episode screenwriter James D. Parriott is also listed in the credits as the Supervising Producer of the series and it’s clear from this script he has a great handle on Hulk and what makes the series work, even only ten episodes into the series. I am not entirely sure it’s David’s place to convince impoverished single women to not give their babies up for adoption, I think it’s a very personal decision David should have stayed out of, but it’s a minor quibble.
I give this episode a solid recommend.
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
Incredible Hulk Season 1 Episode 8 – The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas Review
The stakes are high when David takes a job in a Las Vegas casino and agrees to help a reporter who’s working on a piece about a gambling scandal.
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| The Hulk Breaks Las Vegas | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 8 |
| Air Date: | April 21, 1978 |
| Director: | Larry Stewart |
| Writer: | Justin Edgerton |
| David’s Alias: | Not revealed |
| Hulk-Outs: | 2 |
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•Slapped and knocked down a flight of stairs •Buried alive |
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We open with establishing shots of Las Vegas and a casino. This is no shock given the title, but what makes it special is the music! It’s a wonderful synth-funk beat with a strong bass line that combines funk and disco on a TV budget. There have been five CD soundtracks of The Incredible Hulk released on CD but this track has escaped release? It’s a crime!
We see David (Bill Bixby) is now working at Elder’s Casino as a shill. He’s being trained by a sweet blond blackjack dealer named Cathy (Simone Griffeth). The audience knows these two are clicking when Cathy picks up a copy of The National Register and makes fun of another one of Jack McGee’s Hulk stories, claiming the fuzzy picture of the green muscle man is likely McGee in a rubber suit.
But trouble is afoot. In Vegas, newspaper reporter Ed Campion has a hot story with evidence proving that the Casino’s owner Tom Edler is linked to organized crime. But Edler’s people are on Campion’s tail, and Campion’s wife Wanda is ambushed at the airport when she tries to fly to Los Angeles with the evidence. Desperate, Ed calls his friend and fellow reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) to come to Vegas and take the evidence back to LA.
Edler demands a meeting with Campion at his casino, offering the reporter $250,000 to kill the story. When Campion refuses Edler’s bribe, Edler has his lackey Lee hit Campion with a car outside the casino. But David happens to be getting off work and rushes to offer medical aid. David accompanies the injured man in the ambulance, where the reporter gives David a tape recording of Edler’s attempted bribe and information on an airport locker where Wanda stashed the rest of the evidence. As he slips from consciousness, Campion makes David promise to get the information to Jack McGee, the only man who can help.
Of course David is torn, and the audience is in great suspense. David is the type of man who keeps his promises, but he can’t show his face to McGee, and thus we have the suspense of the episode. David tries to drop the tape at the front desk of McGee’s hotel, and we get a tense scene of David calling McGee on the phone to pass on the information. It’s David’s first direct interaction with McGee since the pilot! McGee knows David’s voice but can’t quite place it, and the episode-long game of cat and mouse is afoot.
Later at the casino Lee recognizes David as the man who helped Campion after the crash. Afraid that Campion may have given David evidence, Edler and Lee interrogate David, first trying to play on his company loyalty, then turning to coercion. But when David tries to escape Edler turns violent and we know what this means…
Hulk-Out #1: David is knocked down the stairs and what comes back up is the Hulk! He knocks around Edler, then rampages through the casino, scaring dancing girls and upsetting a stereotypical gambling southerner complete with 10-gallon hat. But the Hulk is focused on escape, not destruction, and runs out of the casino and into an alleyway where he transforms back into Banner. Again the reverse transformation is accompanied by the green animation.
We see David interrogated by cops who believe him to be a drunk, and then David offers to buy some spare clothes from a municipal worker, but these scenes aren’t coming off as either funny or suspenseful.
Instead, stealing the show this week, is Mr. McGee. Working with Wanda, Jack has been gathering the evidence and doing some actual investigative reporting. I see now that Colvin was perfectly cast as McGee and he comes off as a classic investigator in the vein of Sam Spade. It’s fun to watch, and I do believe I would watch a Jack McGee spin-off where the reporter investigated a new crime every week so long as Colvin was the star.
And this week it is Jack who is the hero, taking the risks to get the information from the airport locker. But McGee doesn’t know there’s an ambush awaiting him at the airport, and David has to take a cab to the airport to try and warn the reporter. Before she can call airport security Wanda is taken hostage by Edler, and I do find it odd that crime-lord Edler does so much of his own dirty work such as kidnapping women and beating up employees. What’s the point of being the boss if you still have to get your hands dirty?
David arrives at the airport too late and McGee is taken hostage by one of Edler’s men, and Lee then captures David. The goons put David in the back seat of their car…right next to McGee! Again it’s suspenseful–David is at gunpoint so there’s no way he can avoid McGee this time! He gets in the car and Bixby plays the scene perfectly, not wanting to look at McGee lest he be recognized, but unable to look away. But the joke’s on us, and David, as McGee is out cold having been hit by Edler’s goons when he tried to make a break for it.
The goons take David and McGee to an obvious soundstage that is supposed to be “the landfill on the south side of town”. There’s not a star in the sky, but the lighting is perfect! The goons plan to kill the two, pushing them into a pit and using a bulldoser to dump loads of sand on the two. Edler shows up with Wanda, another victim for the sand pit. McGee stays out cold, but after the third load of sand is dumped David finally has had enough!
Hulk-Out #2: Rising from the sand we get a hero’s shot of Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk. Even in the dark lighting of evening he is bright green and looks great.
Moments later McGee awakens and is more afraid of the Hulk than he is of the goons that tried to bury him. But while McGee fears the Hulk is a killer, Hulk effortlessly picks up McGee and performs a superhuman Bionic Woman type leap out of the sand pit, dropping McGee safe on the ground.
Hulk then turns his attentions to the goons, throwing Lee for yards into the sand. The second goon uses the bulldozer to attack the Hulk, and Hulk stops the land mover in its tracks, ripping off it’s blade and knocking it on its back wheels. Bested the goons run off.
But now we get the best scene of the episode. Finally face to face with his quarry, McGee doesn’t run. He isn’t even afraid. Instead he walks up to the Hulk and starts to question the monster. He asks if Hulk can understand him, and it gets even more suspenseful when we see McGee ask Hulk if he knows Dr. David Banner. It’s a great moment, and plays well in the preview, though it makes little sense. McGee doesn’t suspect Banner is alive, he thinks Hulk killed Banner and Elaina Marks. It would have made sense for McGee to ask about both doctors, but it’s been eight months since the pilot aired and, without the aid of home video, it’s likely the audience barely remembers Dr. Marks. It’s obvious, but I can’t deny the excitement of watching McGee stand feet from Hulk and invoke the name Banner.
The Hulk cannot answer, but he is calming down, and the green animated glow covers his face–he’s about to turn back into David right in front of McGee!
But while Edler’s goons made a run for it, Edler himself just went to get his gun. He shoots the Hulk in the arm, bringing back the beast’s rage and stopping his transformation. Hulk shot-puts a rock at Edler, hitting Edler’s car door and knocking the man out. Then, before McGee can question him further, Hulk runs off into the desert.
In the dénouement we see David leaving the Casino, saying goodbye to Cathy. In addition to providing exposition that Edler has been arrested, it’s actually a great ending scene, full of quotes with double meaning. Cathy says “You run into [McGee] yet?” and David smiles wryly and says “Not yet”. Cathy gives David a token to play in a slot machine and when it comes up a loser Cathy says “Maybe some day you’ll hit it.” David replies sadly “Maybe I will at that” and he leaves the casino as a different version of The Lonely Man theme plays.
And what a great episode this was. I love the cat-and-mouse between McGee and David. With McGee set up as David’s nemesis this type of direct interaction and confrontation is exciting and ups the stakes. Every time McGee comes to town David’s life is made a bit more difficult, and here Jack is not only in Vegas from the beginning but David is tasked with getting in touch with the reporter. It provides a tense dynamic to the episode that raises the stakes to more than your standard episode.
I just wish the writers had found a better way to create this situation. It’s just an unlikely crazy coincidence that David just happens to be working in Vegas at a casino owned by a criminal under investigation by a friend of Jack’s. I’d have preferred a less unlikely set-up, but that’s a mulligan I can give this episode if the rest of the episode proves worthy.
And it does. Well-written, exciting, and entertaining it gives Colvin a chance to shine in the spotlight while keeping David and the Hulk central as well. A very strong recommend.
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
Incredible Hulk Season 1 Episode 7 – 747 Review
Terror soars to new heights when David and a young boy must land an airplane after the flight crew is disabled.
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| 747 | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 7 |
| Air Date: | April 7, 1978 |
| Director: | Sigmund Neufeld Jr. |
| Writer: | Thomas E. Szollosi, Richard Christian Matheson |
| David’s Alias: | David Brown |
| Hulk-Outs: | 2 |
| •Trapped in a locker being pushed out of an airplane. •Landing an airplane and unable to pull up on the yoke |
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With four regular episodes under their belt, plus the two pilot movies, The Incredible Hulk’s creators seemed to have stumbled upon a formula: “What would happen if the Hulk were in this location, which is the worst possible place for the Hulk to be?” Last week that location was Times Square, a hubbub of noise and people. Putting the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) in that chaos is a recipe for mayhem, and people would surely turn in to watch.
This week the concept goes entirely the other way–an airplane! I can hear their pitch now: “Trapped in a confined space thousands of miles in the air, there’s nowhere for people to escape the Hulk! Worse, with Hulk’s penchant for running through walls, he could depressurize the entire cabin and fall thousands of miles to his death! It’s The Hulk meets Airport ’75! Ratings gold, I tell ya!”
Either that or the same production crew who saw Rocky in 1977 and thought “Let’s make that an episode of The Hulk saw Airport ’75 two years prior and followed the same pattern.
Thus we have the next episode of The Incredible Hulk: 747.
David (Bill Bixby) is still looking for a cure for the Hulk and he has found an article about a radio-neurologist named Dr. Charles who has done some cutting edge research in gamma radiation. Charles is about to start a long lecture tour across Europe, and he is leaving that very day at 5 pm. The problem is Charles is in Chicago and David is in San Francisco! David says he’s going to fly out immediately, and I wonder why bother? Given the amount of work and research I can imagine will be needed to cure Hulkism I don’t think even the world’s smartest neuro-radiologist could fix David by 5.
Nonetheless, David takes Columbia Airlines Flight 14 from San Diego to Chicago. Of course, the plane is doomed. It is carrying Egyptian artifacts, and the flight’s stewardess Stephanie and pilot Captain Phil are plotting to steal the priceless artifacts and parachute out of the plane. They will drug the pilots for the heist, but the pilots will awaken to safely land the plane.
While the writers and producers were likely thinking Airport with this film, even using some footage from Airport for establishing shots of the airport and airplane, I couldn’t help but think of Airplane! as David pulls up and a voice announces “The white zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. No parking.”
The ties to Airport continue as we are introduced to the passengers on the plane: A first-time-flying shoe salesman Mr. Leggit, an elderly couple sitting next to David called Mr. and Mrs. MacIntire, and Kevin, a precocious boy traveling with his mother. The boy is played by Brandon Cruz, who played Eddie Corbett, the son of Bill Bixby’s character in The Courtship of Eddie’s Father.
After takeoff the stewardess proceeds with her plans to drug the pilots, slipping a special drug in their coffee. But when Stephanie is looking away that rascally caffeine addict Mr. MacIntire swipes a cup of coffee, one with the drug in them. The nurse tries to retrieve the coffee by telling MacIntire there was medication in the coffee, and David is immediately suspicious. Panicked, Stephanie just throws a bottle of prescription drugs in another cup of coffee and proceeds to poison the pilots. Once the two other pilots are unconscious Stephanie and Phil are free to continue their plan. Were it not for David.
When Mr. MacIntire passes out from the drug, David performs a surreptitious medical exam, then interrogates Stephanie about what medicine was in the coffee. Stephanie gets flustered and, not trusting the stewardess, David demands to speak to the pilot. Phil comes out and, feigning concern, he leads David down to the cargo hold under the strained guise of looking for a medical kit. Phil tricks David into stepping inside a locker that supposedly has a medical kit inside. Phil locks David in the locker, then proceeds to loot the artifacts in plain sight of his captive.
These are some wonderfully stereotypical artifacts too! A gold head of a pharaoh, some gold bracelets, all valuable I’m sure. But David overhears not only the names of the looters but also that they plan to parachute into Fremont Pass. To prevent David from telling the authorities this information Phil decides to push David out of the plane. There’s no way he could have expected…
Hulk-Out #1: David transforms inside the crate, and while Phil cannot see the actual transformation it shouldn’t take a leap of logic for the pilot to realize only one person was in that locker a minute ago, ergo David must be the Hulk. Not that Phil has much time for reasoning when the Hulk comes at him. Phil goes for a gun and shoots, but misses Hulk, instead hitting a fuel line. Hulk throws the pilot towards the open hatch, and Phil almost falls out. Phil screams for help and the Hulk, always a hero, goes to help the thief but slips on the fuel and falls out the airlock! It actually is quite an exciting moment to wonder how the Hulk will survive a 30,000 foot fall, but at the last second he grabs onto the hatch with one hand. Phil tries to knock Hulk loose, but using his free hand Hulk flings the evildoer across the hold and, roaring, pulls himself back in.
We then get a very funny scene of Mr. Leggit going to use the bathroom, opening the wrong door and seeing the Hulk. It’s played quite well and the laugh provides tension relief from the intense fight we just had. Leggit’s attempts to convince Kevin, Kevin’s mother, and the stewardess that the Hulk is aboard continues the amusement.
Meanwhile Hulk then transforms back into David with the animated green glow, and now the glow covers not only David’s face but also his arm. The arm actually worked to good effect, but the face is still awful.
Leggit’s rants cause the other stewardess, Denise, to investigate the hold and she finds David dressing himself with clothes found in the luggage. David tells Denise of the planned heist, which Denise of course doesn’t believe. Seeing pilot Phil unconscious on the ground she is more suspicious of David than her co-workers. She asks David what he hit the captain with and David, reaching, says “we’re in the hold, I hit him with whatever I could!” It’s quite a funny evasion.
But with Phil to reassure her that the heist would work the already skittish Stephanie cracks. She backs up David’s story, confessing her story to Denise, and tells David which medicine she used to knock out the pilots. Ever the doctor, David realizes the dosage she used was so strong the pilots will never awaken in time to land the plane. Worse, with the fuel leak, they cannot stay airborne…and there’s no one aboard who can land the plane! Denise and David radio the flight tower, who responds saying the plane needs to land in Denver–even if there are no pilots! They will walk David through the steps involved in landing the plane. Why David? Because he’s the star of the show, I suppose. In the 70’s perhaps it was still unthinkable that a woman could land a plane, even if Denise would be more familiar with a cockpit than David. And despite there being 100 other people on the plane, David was there first, so he must land the plane!
Fortunately he does have help. Denise and David hope an experienced pilot may be among the passengers, but they don’t want to cause a panic, so they make an announcement offering experienced pilots a tour of the cockpit. There are no experienced pilots, but Kevin comes up as he wants to be a pilot when he grows up. As Kevin’s father has a private jet he is the passenger most familiar with airplane instrumentation stays in the cockpit, helping David find the controls and instrumentation. Meanwhile Denise recruits Stephanie to come back to the light side and help prepare the passengers for a crash landing in the hopes that Stephanie’s recklessness didn’t kill them all.
Now I want to say that thanks to Airplane!, Snakes on a Plane and countless other movies and TV series this trope of an untrained layperson landing a plane has become a cliche, but back in 1978 this still would have been fairly novel. And while it may have recalled scenes from Airport ’75, that film didn’t commit to this plot line–Hulk does.
The landing goes fairly smoothly with David keeping his cool, but during the landing it’s found that the plane is leaking hydraulic fluid as well and David can’t pull back the yoke. Even with Denise pulling the stick won’t move, and the yelling by the ground control crew push David past the edge. At the last second David orders Denise and Kevin to leave the cockpit and we get
Hulk-Out #2: This ranks as one of the most inventive Hulk-Outs of the whole series. David needs to keep control to land the plane–if he transforms fully the plane will crash and they all die. So we see Bixby, face panted green, in partial transform. This is proof of something important–David can control his metamorphosis. It may take training and practice, but because it matters and he’s focused here David stays in mid-transformation for the entire landing, using the strength of the Hulk to pull the yoke but keeping some of David’s intelligence as well to stay in control.
It’s also a great coincidence that he’s talked through it by the ground crew on the radio. The air traffic controller, referring to the plane, keeps repeating the mantra “stay in control”, but that applies just as much to David’s control of his strong alter-ego.
Unfortunately David loses control just before the landing. Fully transformed, the Hulk follows the controller’s order to pull back the yoke saving the plane, but when the man on the radio asks Hulk to hit the brakes it just confuses the green Goliath.
As the plane is not slowing down on the runway Kevin knows something is amiss so he runs into the cabin to find Hulk. Kevin logically thinks David has left and Hulk came from…somewhere, but in mid-crash there’s no time for conversation. With Kevin’s instructions Hulk is able to push on the brakes. In a sweet moment, Kevin puts his hand on Hulk’s to pull back the throttle, and Kevin steers while Hulk brakes narrowly averting a total disaster.
With the plane landed and everyone safe the Hulk rages through the plane, not sure where to go and legitimizing Mr. Leggit’s rants. Finally Hulk knocks open a hatch and runs down the tarmac, knocking down a fence and racing to Denver.
As our episode ends, we see David calling Dr. Charles’ office to find that Charles has left for Europe, though he will be happy to see David when he returns. In three months.
Heartbroken, David dons a much heavier coat than he has in previous episodes (hey, it’s cold in Denver) and walks into town as The Lonely Man theme plays on.
While this episode repeats Final Round‘s idea of taking the plot of a hit movie and inserting the Hulk, 747 is a much better choice of movie to ape. A boxer versus the Hulk isn’t suspenseful, but the Hulk in the middle of a disaster film is! While the nefarious heist plot is a bit of a reach, I do like it better than something more violent than the plane being taken over by hijackers or just a random accident.
Plus in this episode Banner and Hulk’s relationship actually evolves. Now we have seen the Hulk is able to follow simple instructions, and David able to control his metamorphosis. It is a wonderful step that, if this series were airing today, could have been the first step on a journey of David gaining control of this new power. Unfortunately due to the nature of episodic television in the 70’s and 80’s characters were far more static, and such evolutions uncommon, so I don’t think this is the first step of David’s journey but merely a one-off occurrence that will not be referenced again for the rest of the series.
But no matter what the series has in store, this episode is the best to date. A solid recommend and I hope the quality can stay aloft as the shows continue!
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
Incredible Hulk Season 1 Episode 6 – Terror in Times Square
David finds work in a Times Square arcade, but the job is hardly fun and games when he realizes that the owner is being blackmailed, and he also uncovers a murder plot.
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| Terror in Times Square | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 6 |
| Air Date: | March 31, 1978 |
| Director: | Alan J. Levi |
| Writer: | William Schwartz |
| David’s Alias: | David Blake |
| Hulk-Outs: | 2 |
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•Beaten by drug smugglers •Trapped in rush hour traffic |
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The episode opens with some stock footage of New York in the 70s, and it really is an “incredible” sight. I love New York City but only went in the late 90s and after, when Giuliani had already begun his sanitization of the city in general, and Times Square specifically. So when the episode began with a montage of arial shots from the bay and seeing the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building I actually did some freeze frames, to compare the city as I know it to how it looked 35 years ago.
The third shot is of Times Square, and if the same year this episode was released George Benson sang “the neon lights are bright on Broadway” he had no idea the garish spectacle it would be in 2012! In these early scenes I see an almost quaint Times Square with old school Sony and Coca-Cola ads, very subdued to the Times Square of the 21st century.
But soon we’re taken to our reason for being in New York City–the Hulk! For a change, we start off with Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) telling his friend Bobby the Hulk had been spotted in New Jersey. Now McGee thinks the Hulk has come to The Big Apple. Bobby accuses Jack of being obsessed with the Hulk, revealing the reporter has traveled to Chicago, St. Louis and even Cleveland chasing after the elusive green giant.
This gives us our first look inside the life of Jack McGee. In every episode since the pilot Mr. McGee has shown up halfway through the episode and snooped around making things difficult for David and bringing the police to arrest the bad guys. But we have never heard his reasons why focuses so much on the Hulk, or what his contemporaries think of his investigation. Here we see he’s seen as a bit crazy chasing stories about green men, but McGee reveals his view that the Hulk is “the biggest knock-down drag-out five-star final I’ve ever latched onto.”
And through his investigations McGee has come to know the Hulk’s patterns, because he’s exactly right–David Banner (Bill Bixby) has come to New York. David wants to find Dr. Everett Lewis, an expert in genetics research, looking for a cure to his Hulkism. But Dr. Lewis is out of town until “next Friday” and in the meantime David took a job working at an arcade.
Not to spend this whole review reflecting on the 70s, but arcades were very different before Pac-Man and Frogger. Full of pinball machines and novelties, it’s a different type of arcade than any I’ve known.
We’re also introduced to Carol Abrams, the boss’ daughter. She is being tutored in her pre-med studies by David, and she seems to have a flirtation with the older man. I was shocked at how forward she was when she, pretending to be an unruly customer to see how David would react, told David “how about I go for your sack”. I could not believe a testicle joke on family television! But it turned out she meant a bag of quarters David was carrying, retrieved from the pinball machines. Still, I think this was an intentional double entendre.
But wherever David works we know there’s trouble, and at the arcade we find the arcade’s owner, Norman Abrams is one of several Times Square businesses being shaken down by local mobster Jasion Laird (Robert Alda) for protection money. When the businessmen revolt and start to reduce their payments to “Uncle Jason”, Laird and his lackey Johnathan thinks that a “cancer” is spreading through Times Square. In retribution for Norman reducing his latest payment, Jason orders Norman to kill”Uncle” Leo (Hello!)–the ring leader of the revolt. Jason makes vague threats towards Carol if Norman refuses.
David overhears Jason’s demands and tries to intervene, but one of Jason’s goons stands in David’s way with a clever bit of dialogue to David: “Look, you really don’t want to make me angry. And I don’t want to make you angry.” A nice play on David’s famous opening credits line. The goon then takes David hostage, but we know where this will end up…
Hulk-Out #1: Jason’s goon takes David to Jason at a shipping dock where Jason does some smuggling of “candles”. Candles supplied by Eddie Franklin, the biggest drug dealer in New York. Jason suspects David to be a middle-man for a competing mafioso and orders his goons to beat the truth out of David. Not wanting to witness the violence, Jason leaves David with the odd threat “there’s a shortage of wheelchairs in this city.”
David ends up making a run for it and we see Bixby to be quite nimble, vaulting over shipping crates, before being caught and punched behind a series of crates, just out of sight for his transformation.
The Hulk (Lou Ferrigno) has a new wig this time with bangs!
He throws some crates and goons around but doesn’t see a sneak attack from behind by a forklift. Hurt, Hulk bends, then topples the forklift, showing some great feats of strength. But now wounded, Hulk runs off down an alleyway, kind of skipping to show him favoring his wounded leg as we go to commercial.
We return to the reverse transformation and the animated green glow over the face is almost entirely gone now. He found a quiet spot in Manhattan–in an alleyway? Having been to Manhattan many times I know alleys are basically nonexistent; real estate is too valuable to spend unused as alleyways are. We are obviously on a soundstage.
Now once again human David whispers “Norman!”, super worried for his employer. When we last saw Norman and Leo it did look like Norman was going to give in and, to protect his daughter, follow Jason’s wishes and kill Leo. We, the audience, have every reason to want David to hurry and stop Norman from becoming a murderer. But before heading to help his boss, David first finds some fashionable plaid shirts hanging from a clothesline. David takes the shirts, but leaves some cash in their place because, remember kiddies, stealing is wrong!
We see David limping, wincing from the leg injury he sustained as the Hulk, but he still makes it to Norman’s apartment and when Norman doesn’t answer David breaks down the door. And we thought only the Hulk could break through doors! But all David’s worrying was for nothing as he enters to find no one killed. Instead, Norman and Leo drunk themselves into a stupor while planning to kill Jason.
David tells Norman to do nothing rash as he plans to use the information he found out at the dock to get Jason arrested. Needing hard proof, David steals a stethoscope and goes to Jason’s warehouse and starts searching crates. He finds some piece of art that, judging from Bixby’s sniffing his fingers, is apparently filled with heroin or cocaine or some such. Then David uses the stethoscope to crack Jason’s safe. Oh that wily Dr. Banner!
In the safe David finds Jason’s little black book of debts and, careful to not touch it with his own fingerprints, David puts it in an envelope. Then, sure to wrap the statue in a brown paper bag, David flees the warehouse with the evidence.
But sobering up, Norman and Leo decide to team up to kill Jason, knowing they will die in the process. And we get some honestly touching, fairly well-acted scenes of Leo coming to terms with the end of his own life, and Norman having a subtle goodbye with Carol. Joe Harnell created a great piece of piano and synth music for this familial scene, and it’s built up so the audience really believes it’s Norman’s last goodbye.
And it would be, if not for the Hulk!
This whole episode seems to be David chasing a couple old men and always being a few steps behind. He is getting agitated, unable to score a cab (which is a challenge oft times in New York). With his lame leg, he travels around the city. At the arcade David finds Norman and Leo have gone to their fatal appointment with Jason. David brings Carol up to speed and gives her the incriminating evidence and orders to call the police. Unwilling to wait for the police himself, though, David continues his chase for the old men. This time he actually scores a cab and offers the cabbie $5 to take him to the Park Avenue rendezvous. Again I laugh; $5 wouldn’t get me 3 blocks in New York today, let alone motivate the cabbie to do it quickly.
Then again it doesn’t help David either, nor does another Hamilton David offers the cabbie to hurry. So agitated by the city’s gridlock, and worried about Norman’s well-being, David starts yelling at the cabbie. The stress of the situation gets to him and then right there in the back seat of the cab we have…
Hulk-Out #2: There is a great pun as the cabbie, not looking in the back seat, says “You’re gonna be 10 minutes late so keep your shirt on” only to look up and see Hulk, who has never worn a shirt. After some humerous facial expressions both from Lou and the cabbie, Hulk smashes off the cab door, and starts to run down the street.
And now we get our money shot. This is what we are here to see–the Hulk in Times Square, running through the streets. While much of this episode has been shot on a soundstage with some stock footage for establishing shots, there’s no mistaking–this is the real thing. I’m again gawking at the time period, seeing one movie theater proudly proclaiming they are playing Saturday Night Fever, another playing Coma. But beyond the dated landmarks and fashion the scene is actually phenomenal. There are plenty of reactions from both extras in the shoot and regular New Yorkers Ferrigno just happened to run past. The score works well for these scenes, a bit of gothic rock, and the use of a telephoto lens adds some grit to the film. It really is a great scene, Hulk smashing newspaper kiosks on his way to save Norman.
You also can tell it’s cold. There is snow on the ground, and the Hulk’s breath is visible as he roars. The wet cement and brown color of the film stock makes New York feel seedy and dangerous, as I remember thinking of it before I went. The camera circles round and round the Hulk, giving me another great look at the Times Square of the 70s. Shockingly they had those shady electronics stores on every corner even back then.
But yes, this is one of the famous episodes where we see the “Hulk slippers”–a pair of green ballet shoes that Ferrigno sometimes wore to protect his feet. On DVD they do stand out, but if I hadn’t read about them in Lou Ferrigno’s autobiography I may not have noticed. They did a good job of matching the paint of his body, and for most shots his feet are out of frame.
It only takes a few minutes of Hulk terrorizing Times Square before reports make their way to Jack McGee, who is soon chasing the Hulk down to Park Avenue. It’s a wonderful shot of McGee casually wandering the streets, smoking a cigarette, until he spots the Hulk. McGee throws down his smoke and takes chase, and again Colvin has sold me on the reality of his character.
Hulk finally gets to the parking garage where Leo and Norman plan to kill Jason. To stop Norman from pulling the trigger Hulk throws the old man into a wall. Hulk then throws around Jason’s mobsters, and throws head mobster face-down into some wet cement–a reference to Jimmy Hoffa perhaps?
But the police sirens cause Hulk to flee. Carol summoned the cops as David ordered, and they quickly arrest Jason and his goons. Inexplicably Norman and Leo, a duo planning a murder, are left unmolested.
The heat is now on, so David dons his tan jacket, kisses Carol goodbye and wanders off to a saxophone-laden rendition of The Lonely Man theme–perhaps the big city remix? But it fades to the familiar piano score and a wide shot of New York one last time as credits roll.
This episode does have some disappointing aspects. From the opening with Jack McGee and his buddy I expected the reporter to play a much larger role in the episode. Seeing McGee with other reporters in the big city, as well as the NYPD, would have been an interesting dynamic for David and the Hulk to face. I mean, for once McGee got to town before the Hulk showed up, so I was certain that would play into the plot. But I was wrong. Despite the wonderful opening scene of McGee, he’s forgotten until the last 5 minutes of the episode…just like every other episode.
Also the main plot of local businessmen shaken down and fighting back against a mafioso is mundane and hackneyed. I liked the way it was played, but it didn’t feel like a story that had to be told in New York. The same story could have been played in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, or any big city. If the production was going to fly to New York, I’d have preferred a story that really played on that fact.
Despite this, the scenes of Hulk in New York are damn fun. And the director knew it, letting the scene go on so long as to become indulgent, but it never lost its energy. Ferrigno gave it all he had on those streets and it worked perfectly. Add to that some good character actors cast as Leo and Norman, and it’s a very solid episode that I can easily recommend.
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
Incredible Hulk Season 1 Episode 5 – Of Guilt, Models and Murder Review
The picture isn’t pretty when david awakens in a room next to a dead model. Is the Hulk a killer? Loni Anderson guest stars.
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| Of Guilt, Models and Murder | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 5 |
| Air Date: | March 24, 1978 |
| Director: | Larry Stewart |
| Writer: | James D. Parriott |
| David’s Alias: | David Blaine |
| Hulk-Outs: | 2 |
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•Running to help a girl and attacked by dogs •Tied up and trapped in a car crusher |
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Since the pilot episode of The Incredible Hulk we’ve been told that the Hulk could be dangerous, yet we’ve seen him only act on the side of good. He’s been kind to children and beaten up bad guys, but Hulk’s potential to harm innocent people has been a constant thread throughout the series.
This is something taken into great use in the fifth episode of the series: Of Guilt, Models and Murder. We open to see David (Bruce Bixby) just finishing his transformation back into a human from the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno). The sound effects, torn clothes and white eyes show us clearly he has been the Hulk, but neither David nor the audience know the circumstances of why he transformed, or why he’s in a very fancy bathroom.
After washing up, David emerges to find a room in shambles, the furniture overturned, and the body of a beautiful young woman lying on the ground. Did Hulk kill her? Of course not, but while the intelligent audience may know this David does not. And thus we get our first true mystery story in The Incredible Hulk.
David thinks back and we see him in flashback just walking the streets when he hears someone yelling for help. Being a good guy he goes to help and sees the beautiful woman in the window of a mansion yelling.
Hulk-Out #1: Trying to get to her, David is attacked by Dobermans. He gets the white eyes, and we see his point of view as he looks to the woman in the window, and see that as he changes his vision is tinted green. We never see Lou in the make-up, because David can’t remember what the Hulk does, but we see the before and after of this scene.
Then we come out of that flashback and into another, a scene from the pilot, David remembering Dr. Elaina Ross saying that as the Hulk is an outgrowth of David Banner the Hulk won’t kill because it’s not in David’s nature to kill.
As he’s on the run already, David leaves the scene and the next day sees on the news that the dead girl was Terri Ann-a model who was the face of Joslin Cosmetics. In a press conference, James Joslin (guest star Jeremy Brett) said that Terri was playing around, calling for help in the window. But the Hulk came, tossed their dogs around like rag dolls, and burst through the door. In a flashback showing Joslin’s story we see Hulk tear up the house, break furniture, growling the whole time. Cutting back to Joslin, he says the Hulk crushed Terri, breaking her back and leaving her dead. Afraid, Joslin says he ran for safety.
I think the telling of this story is very bold. While the audience knows from the beginning that the Hulk didn’t kill this girl, the director chose to have it acted out anyway. Home audience members watched as the Hulk attacked a girl, and that is serious, gripping material. Immediately this episode had me hooked.
This story also ups the ante by introducing National Register reporter Jack McGee (Jack Colvin) very early on. As McGee goes wherever reliable Hulk sightings are reported, he is one of several reporters camped outside Joslin’s mansion. McGee always raises the stakes of an episode as now David has to hide his real face. It’s nice to see McGee acting like a reporter, interacting with other tabloid journalists, acting like paparazzi stalking Joslin. It adds a bit of much needed realism to McGee’s role. But unfortunately McGee does little else, spending much of the episode just sitting outside the mansion, and the rest of it looking for his stolen car. But we’ll get to that.
David is distressed by these reports and we get some great scenes of him conversing with another transient, a girl, discussing the dangers of life on the streets in a scene that really added depth to David’s plight, and when David goes up to the police car I thought he might actually turn himself in. But a flashback of a blond Joslin was with on TV clicks in David’s fuzzy Hulk memories, so he instead goes undercover to take the job of valet for Joslin.
Getting the job, David quickly learns that Joslin’s previous valet was a man named Sanderson, and now Sanderson is blackmailing his former employer.
Also soon after arriving at the mansion David spots the blond girl he saw on TV–someone any 70s TV aficionado would recognize as WKRP in Cincinnati star Loni Anderson. As this episode aired six months before WKRP premiered Anderson was still mostly an unknown at this time, but I cannot separate her from her most famous role.
Here Anderson is playing Sheila Cantrell, Joslin’s newest top model. Meeting David at Joslin’s mansion she tells the new valet how Joslin is a dangerous, viscous man and I feel certain that Anderson will be this episode’s damsel in distress, the next target of Joslin’s rage. But the writers fooled me–she’s not the victim, she’s the true killer!
Even a slip in Sheila’s story didn’t tip me off. She mentions the Hulk had white eyes, a detail not released in the press. But this only gets Sheila to claim Joslin is the murderer, which made David very relieved and me even more certain Loni would need to be rescued by the Hulk before credits rolled.
As Sheila tells her account of that night, we again see the events in flashback. Now an attempted rescuer, the Hulk gets to flex right into the camera, something Ferrigno does best, and I notice they finally got rid of the huge eyebrow appliance. Now Hulk just has bushy eyebrows and a large green wig, the iconic Hulk make-up.
And in this scene Ferrigno has to emote, acting distraught at the death of Terri. It’s a different emotion being played than when Dr. Marks died in the pilot. I’m not entirely sure Ferrigno pulled it off, but it was mercifully short.
Anderson continues to sucker me in with her damsel in distress routine, and David urges her to flee Joslin’s influence. Meanwhile David steals Mr. McGee’s car and goes to find Sanderson at the auto salvage yard he owns. Using McGee’s tape recorder, David hopes Sanderson will tell David something that would clear the Hulk of Terri’s murder. But David’s confab with Sanderson is interrupted by Joslin, Sheila, and Joslin’s goon Elkin. Sheila then makes the villain’s mistake of confessing everything–she killed Terri, not Joslin. Sheila wanted to be Joslin’s cover girl, but Terri wouldn’t back down. So Sheila used her karate skills to kill her…and seeing Loni Anderson try to fake karate movies is the epitome of unintentional humor.
They shove David and Sanderson into a run down car in the salvage lot which they then forlkift into the car crusher, leading us to
Hulk-Out #2: The car is put in the crusher, and Elkin starts the crusher (which has a hysterically placed “Please, no smoking” sign by the controls). The three glamor villains stand to watch David die. But David gets the trademark white eyes and the green animated glow on his face is subdued this time. As Sanderson is in the front seat, and David in the back, Sanderson never sees David transform, but the Hulk tears the roof off the car (and we see all the make-up rubbed of Ferrigno’s hands in the process). Then Hulk uses one single hand to hold off the car crusher, while using his other to throw Sanderson to freedom. Ferrigno does a great job of showing the strain against over three thousand pounds of pressure, really selling us on Hulk’s strength, before he finally has to jump free and attack the baddies.
He crushes Elkin’s gun and tosses him into a pile of cars, but before he can take care of Sheila and Joslin he has to run away–the police found Mr. McGee’s car outside the salvage yard, and came in to investigate. Joslin claims Hulk was about to kill them all, and as Sanderson had fled earlier there was no one to discount the story.
Except for David. Despite his pants being stretched to their limit in his Hulk transformation, Mr. McGee’s tape recorder stayed safe in his pocket, capturing Sheila’s entire confession.
We then cut to several days later, where Mr. McGee is being interviewed about his discovery of Sheila’s taped confession, and saying while the creature may have been cleared for this murder he is still a wanted fugitive. And David, his conscience cleared if not his name, turns from the TV set and walks away into the studio back-lot as The Lonely Man theme plays on.
This is the first really inventive episode The Incredible Hulk has given us. It had two unique elements that elevate it above the standard episode. The first is the mystery of who killed Terri. While a sophisticated audience is pretty sure Hulk wasn’t to blame, David wasn’t so sure. This is an effective reminder why David wants to be rid of his alter ego–he can not be assured of the safety of those around him when the Hulk arrives.
Then the way the story was told, using multiple instances of flashbacks to show the audience what happened that night–first showing it as Joslin told the night to be, then as Sheila said it was, then finally showing it as it really happened–helped to change up the show’s pattern. Usually we get Hulk-Outs about 25 and 55 minutes into the episode, but here the episode started after a Hulk-Out that was then shown throughout the entire episode. It greatly increased the Hulk’s presence in the episode, and gave us an episode about the Hulk, rather than the episode about some other plot that the Hulk just happened upon.
Unfortunately the villains in this episode are stock, and even though Loni Anderson brings name recognition to the role now, but at air time she was literally just another (very) pretty face. The writers did sucker me in thinking she was the next victim when she was the killer, but the fact that she killed Terri through her mastery of karate was farcical.
But no matter how poor the villians’ acting or plot was, this episode easily gets a recommend. I hope to see more creativity in future episodes like what was exhibited here.
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
Avengers Assemble in the Toy Aisle!
Tomorrow, March 1st, is the official street date for Hasbro’s The Avengers toys. I thought a run-down of what is shipping in this initial wave may be helpful:
Basic 3.75″ Action Figures
Two case assortments of Avengers figures are shipping.
Wave 1 Assortment:
- 01 – Super Shield Captain America (Comic Series)
- 02 – Battle Hammer Thor (Comic Series)
- 03 – Heavy Artillery Iron Man (Concept Series)
- 04 – Rocket Grenade Captain America (Concept Series)
Masked and Unmasked Variants - 05 – Marvel’s Hawkeye (Comic Series)
- 06 – Sword Spike Thor (Concept Series)
Variants found with and without winged helmet
Wave 2 Assortment:
Two Wave 1 figures are shipping with Wave 2, so expect these first two figures to be the most seen on pegs
- 02 – Battle Hammer Thor (Comic Series)
- 03 – Heavy Artillery Iron Man (Concept Series)
- 07 – Reactron Armor Iron Man (Concept Series)
- 08 – Gamma Smash Hulk (Movie Series)
- 09 – Shock Strike Thor (Movie Series)
- 10 – Shield Launcher Captain America (Movie Series)
- 11 – Fusion Armor Iron Man Mk VII (Movie Series)
- 12 – Cosmic Spear Loki (Movie Series)
Movie Mission Pack Deluxe 3.75″ Figures:
One wave of Deluxe Figures is shipping currently with 2 figures in the wave:
- Iron Man Divebomb Mission
- Captain America Aerial Infiltration Mission
Stark Tek Concept Vehicle Series
These smaller vehicles are not seen in the Avengers movie but add play value to the toys, and come with barely-articulated 3.75″ action figures to pilot the ships
- Iron Man Firestrike Assault Jet
- Captain America Goliath Assault Tank
- Iron Man
- Captain America
- Captain America
- Iron Man
- Thor
- Hulk
- Hawkeye
- Nick Fury
In the two-packs there are:
- Hulk & Abomination
- Captain America & Red Skull
- Thor & Loki
- Iron Man Silver Centurion & Iron Monger
6″ Mighty Battler Action Figures
These figures have a feature that if you squeeze their legs together they perform an action move. Four are available:
- Iron Man
- Hulk
- Captain America
- Thor
A little larger in size, these figures come with basic articulation and continue the 8″ figure series Hasbro has done for the past three years. In the initial shipments we have:
- Origins Captain America
- Iron Man
- Thor
10″ Mighty Battler Action Figures
These figures have some articulation, talk when you press their body, and also have an action feature that usually involves throwing something. Except for Hulk. Hulk smashes. In this line you have:
- Ultra Strike Captain America
- Gamma Strike Incredible Hulk
- Ultimate Electronic Avenger Iron Man
- Mighty Strike Thor
Avengers EC Mini-Figures
If you prefer your figures smaller, Hasbro also has 2-inch pre-posed figures for the Avengers. In this line is
- Hawkeye
- Hulk
- Loki
- Captain America
- Iron Man
- Thor
Battle Chargers Vehicles
Also a continuation of their toys going back to Iron Man 2 these toys feature Avengers on wheeled vehicles. The two seen right now are:
- Captain America on Furyfire Assault Cycle
- Iron Man on Iron Assault Bike
Plus a bevvy of other toys such as a Nerf Hawkeye Bow, Hero Masks, foam Hulk Hands, Iron Man play repulsors and too many other items to list!
Most all of these items have been spotted at Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys R Us stores nationwide, so keep this checklist handy as you shop!
See an item we missed? E-mail us and let us know!
Update 3/1: There are three figures that have been reported since our original post! Figure 012 – Loki has been found on store shelves, plus there are two variant figures: 04 – Captain America has a mask-less variant, and 06 – Thor has an unhelmeted variant, so keep an eye out for those on pegs!
New Podcast: Issue 35: Articulating the Problem
Across the country Avengers are assembling in toy aisles. Mini Muggs, 3.75-inch figures, 6-inch figures, 10-inch figures, vehicles, role play toys and more! The glut of Avengers merchandise is hitting harder than Hulk, and on this week’s Marvelicious Toys Podcast Arnie, Marjorie, and Justin review several of these new toys. Listen to find out why Justin left the figures on the pegs, and what caused Arnie to buy the 10-inch talking figures!
Also this week, we run down the first Hot Toys Avenger figure — Nick Fury, and review the other Avengers Hot Toys announced will soon be joining Fury on your toy shelf. With a life-sized Daredevil bust, Marjorie’s pool toy purchase, a Legendary stealthy bust, and an Avengers rap, it’s all on this week’s Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT035.MP3
Category: Arts
The Return of the Incredible Hulk (Death in the Family) Review
While searching for his mysterious condition’s cure, David doesn’t shy away from battling a wealthy and powerful ranching family, a grizzly bear and, most importantly, his own temper in this action-packed two-hour movie. Gerald McRaney guest stars.
 |
|
| The Return of the Incredible Hulk (renamed Death in the Family for syndication) |
|
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 2 |
| Air Date: | November 27, 1977 |
| Director: | Alan J. Levi |
| Writer: | Kenneth Johnson |
| David’s Aliases: | David Benton, David Benchley |
| Hulk-Outs: | 4 |
| •Fired from job and beaten •Hit over the head with tin water pitcher •Attacked by a bear •Trapped in quicksand |
|
In November 1977, The Incredible Hulk premiered on CBS. But just a few weeks later, a second pilot movie aired to gauge audience reception to the now-famous Incredible Hulk formula. David Banner, on the run and searching for a cure, stumbles into a murder plot. Julie’s stepmother and doctor are slowly poisoning the girl. Can David and old coot Michael save the girl? With such future TV stars as William Daniels (voice of KITT on Knight Rider) and Gerald McRaney (Major Dad), is this an Incredible series launch? Listen to Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart’s review to find out!
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
The Incredible Hulk – Pilot TV Movie Review
In this thrilling two-hour movie, Dr. David Banner inadvertently exposes himself to a high amount of gamma radiation and is horrified to discover that in moments of frustration and anger he is transformed into the incredibly powerful Hulk. Susan Sullivan guest stars.
 |
|
| The Incredible Hulk | |
| Season: | 1 |
| Episode: | 1 |
| Air Date: | November 4, 1977 |
| Director: | Kenneth Johnson |
| Writer: | Kenneth Johnson |
| David’s Alias: | None |
| Hulk-Outs: | 3 |
•Frustration changing a tire •A Bad Dream •Seeing his friend caught in a fire |
The Incredible Hulk has been a staple in Marvel Comics since his first appearance in 1962, but to many The Hulk is less known for his comic book persona than his portrayal by Lou Ferrigno in CBS’ hit prime time series The Incredible Hulk. Starring Bill Bixby as David Banner, a scientist who overdoses on gamma radiation, the series ran for five years, and it’s impact can still be seen through references in both the Eric Bana and Edward Norton Hulk film adaptations. Now, as Now Playing starts its next leg of it’s Marvel Comic Movie Retrospective, leading up to The Avengers, Jakob, Arnie, and Stuart are reviewing the television movie that started it all–The Incredible Hulk. Does this incarnation of the green giant make our reviewers angry? And would you like them when they’re angry? Listen to find out!
Read my other Incredible Hulk Series Reviews
New Podcast: Issue 34: Toy Fair 2012–From the Floor: The Shocking Second Issue!
In our last issue you heard the Hasbro brand presentation. Now in
the second part of the Marvelicious Toys podcast Toy Fair coverage,
Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down all things in Marvel collecting
coming in 2012! From new Marvel Legends figures to Marvel Universe
waves, Avengers figures, Diamond Select, Mighty Muggs, and so much more!
Plus we bring you eight interviews from the
companies presenting at Toy Fair! Kotobukiya with their new Bishoujo,
Fine Art, and Art FX statues, Ty introducing their new line of Marvel
Beanie Balls, Top Trumps discussing their Marvel card game, and more
including an in-depth discussion with Jads International about their
upcoming line of Avengers cologne How do they decide what scent Hulk
should have? We reveal all in this podcast!
With more Avengers merchandise than you can possibly
assemble in one lifetime, and so much more, it’s all in this issue of
the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT034.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 33: Hasbro Marvel Brand Presentation
Toy Fair 2012 is in full swing, and with The Avengers and The Amazing
Spider-Man hitting theaters, it’s a Marvelicious year for movie-based toys. Last Saturday Hasbro made several announcements regarding their
movie-based Marvel lines, as well as new figures for Marvel Universe,
Marvel Legends, Superhero Squad, and many other lines of toys!
On this issue of Marvelicious Toys, Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie bring you
the Hasbro Marvel Brand Presentation and talk about some of the Amazing
product hitting store shelves this spring! So take a listen, and then join
us next week as we talk Avengers figures, the rest of the Hasbro
announcements, and all the other items from Diamond Select, Funko, and more
at Toy Fair!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT033.MP3
Category: Arts
Avengers Superbowl Trailer – A Frame By Frame Analysis
When The Avengers trailer aired during the Super Bowl, and then an extended version was posted online I had to scour it for clues as to what this movie will bring. Frame-by-frame analysis of the trailer gave me these insights to the blockbuster film due out May 4.
Click any of the images for a larger view.
First, Dr. Pepper is a sponsor of The Avengers film.
In the opening Marvel flip-book opening, Black Bolt can be briefly seen... Black Bolt is a member of the Inhumans. Perhaps a clue to the film's villian?
Quinjets are quite a bit larger than standard fighters
Loki has a flying vehicle...like a hover motorcycle. But what force is he commanding?
A close-up of the ships flying behind Loki
Captain America's cumberbund has a zip-up front. Not sure where the zipper ends though.
Tony Stark listens to classic rock. Iron Man perhaps?
Tony Stark's ARC reactor gets an upgrade. Looks much cooler under the shirt.
Then the suit Tony is donning is the new Mark VII armor.
But the Mark VI is in this film as well. My guess--it gets demolished by one of Loki's troops or maybe Hulk and Tony is forced to upgrade.
Whatever those flying things are, they are after Iron Man as well.
ScarJo looks good when covered in sweat. (Ok, this one may be a bit gratuitous)
Chris Hemsworth has a much better wig in Avengers than he did in Thor. Or are these extensions?
Are these Frost Giants I see leaping the chasm? Hard to tell but I think they are...
A close-up of the possible Frost Giant
The Mark VII armor has big jets on the back and just looks very cool!
But what are these strange aircraft that Iron Man is fighting? Looks kind of like Independence Day.
Another shot of the strange craft Iron Man is fighting.
The Mark VII armor is back to the circle ARC Reactor. It's not a mistake on the toys.
The wings airbrushed on Cap's mask look a bit silly...I see why people have problems with Cap's modern outfit.
They really made Hulk look like a beefed-up Mark Ruffalo
And Hulk gets to smash some of those enemy aircraft with his fists. Yes!
With all these juicy tidbits about The Avengers I know where I’ll be May 4th. The only question will be how many times I see it?
What was your favorite part of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below!
New Podcast: Issue 32: A Toy Run That is Legend – wait for it – ary!
Since last July when the figures were first shown at San Diego Comic Con Marvel fans have been anxiously awaiting the return of Marvel Legends figures. Well the wait is over–Hasbro’s new Marvel Legends figures are showing up at Targets and Toys R Us! Justin assembled a full set, as well as the Terrax build-a-figure. Listen to this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast to hear his thoughts on the new Thor, Iron Man, Steve Rogers, Ghost Rider, Hope Summers, Constrictor, and Klaw figures!
Also on this week’s show, Arnie broke down and bought the Hot Toys War Machine Special Version. After the initial online pics were lackluster, is the final version better than expected? Listen to his hands-on review to find out!
With a Hot Toys public service announcement, a look at upcoming Avengers collectibles, and new product announcements from Bowen, Gentle Giant, Diamond Select, eFX, Jerry looking back at the evolution of X-Men figures, and a creepy Captain America pillow, it’s all on this issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT032.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 31: We Had A Merry MODOK Christmas
It’s the first new issue of Marvelicious Toys for 2012, and Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie are back with new figures, toys, and high end collectibles!
The first wave of the 2012 Marvel Universe figures have been found in stores, and Justin was able to nab four of them at Toys R Us! All new versions of characters we’ve had before, how do they stack up? Listen to hear his reviews of those, as well as the new comic packs of Thanos/Adam Warlock and Gambit/Mr. Sinister.
Also this issue, Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down their Marvelicious Christmas Gifts! From an explosion of MODOK items to 90s Toy Biz figures, original artwork, Minimates, and more, listen as they share their tales of holiday joys.
Finally, new items are on the horizon. Hot Toys has started preorders on their Black Suited Spider-Man, Red Skull, and Iron Man Mark I (2.0), Bowen announced new statues, Kotobukiya sets its sights on Black Widow, and more Marvel vs. Capcom Minimates from Diamond! Which are worth your preorders? Listen to this issue of Marvelicious Toys to find out!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT031.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 30: Toys of Future Past Annual 2011
It truly has been a great year to be a Marvel collector. With Marvel dominating the movie theaters with X-Men, Captain America, and Thor, plus a slew of video games, action figures, and new high end collectibles, fans of all aspects of the Marvel characters could surely find an item to buy and love.
On this issue of Marvelicious Toys, Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie are joined by Timely Review host Jerry and Marvelicious Toys Podcast Enhancer Berent to look back at 2011. From Thor figures breaking street date to Iron Man: The Armored Avengers figures never seen, from Hot Toys Iron Man to Bowen Designs MODOK, it’s all covered here in our 2011 Year in Review show!
Plus we continue the debate started in Star Wars Action News Episode 325 — are 12-inch figures dolls? Listen to the show then come give us your thoughts in the Fantastic Forum Poll!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT030.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 29: Shocking New Finds
The holidays are in full swing, and the stores are mobbed with people who ignore the Great Recession and make toy runs more difficult than ever. So, of course, now’s the time for new variants in the Marvel Universe series! With a Wal-Mart exclusive Gift Pack of figures, not one but TWO new versions of the Marvel Universe Electro found at Wal-Marts, and some brightly painted Thor and Captain America figures showing up at Family Dollar stores, Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin run down all the revised figures in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Also on this show, find out where to get the entire set of 2012’s Marvel Legends figures, the hosts review the Quicksilver and Wonderman comic pack and the Bullseye and Daredevil comic pack, four new Hot Toys Marvel figure announcements are recapped, and so much more! So cuddle up in your Spider-Man snuggie and kick back for this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT029.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 28: Sweet Christmas 2011
It’s Thanksgiving and so that means the annual Marvelicious Toys Sweet Christmas episode! Join Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie as they run down all the best Black Friday sales for Marvel toys, collectibles, games, and movies! As you plan your Black Friday shopping trip, Marvelicious Toys is here to help you maximize your spending power and have a mighty Marvel shopping trip!
And then since shopping doesn’t end with Friday, Marvelicious Toys brings you the annual Marvel gift guide! Running down the best toys, collectibles, movies, games, T-shirts, statues, and more, we have gift ideas in every price range for every Marvel lover. As we approach the holidays, don’t let the Marvel fan of any age down, give them a Marvelicious Christmas!
And don’t forget, our contest is still going on for the Backstage Toys gift certificates, Deadpool T-Shirt, X-Men First Class Minimates, Gentle Giant Captain America SDCC exclusive mini-bust, and Kotobukiya Iron Man Fine Art Statue!
Plus head to our web site, http://marvelicioustoys.com, to sign up for our Holiday Gift X-Change! Registration closes Dec 1st, so sign up to get one extra Marvel treat from a fellow Marvelicious Toys fan!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT028.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 27: Marvelicious Toys’ One-Year Birthday Bash!
It’s Marvelicious Toys’ one-year anniversary, and to celebrate your hosts Arnie, Marjorie, and Justin have an issue jammed with news, reviews, and prizes donated from BackstageToys.com, Gentle Giant, and Kotobukiya! Listen to win some truly Marvelicious items!
Also this week, with only revision waves of Marvel Universe figures hitting stores right now, Marvelicious Toys podcast hosts head to other avenues to get their Marvel collecting fix. On this issue, Justin reports in from a Kansas City toy run where some Toy Biz Marvel Legends bargains were found, Marjorie discusses the holiday gift items already hitting the seasonal section of your local stores, and Arnie reviews Wave 4 of the Thor movie figures he ordered from Entertainment Earth!
With Jerry providing a Timely Review of trading cards, and a review of the video game Spider-Man: Edge of Time, it’s all on this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT027.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 26: War Moo-chine
On this issue of Marvelicious Toys the Avengers Assemble, in more ways than one! First Justin, Marjorie, and Arnie review the new 6-inch Thor and Captain America Wal-Mart exclusive figures hitting pegs now, and then contributor Mitch Hallock actually talks with Cap himself, Chris Evans, as well as Avengers co-stars Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) at New York Comic Con!
Also in this issue, your Marvelicious hosts review Marvel Universe Wave 16 with Iceman, Magneto, Wolverine, Absorbing Man, and Iron Man! With an update on how Hot Toys is Milk-ing customers with their new War Machine and some oddball Marvel items at Toys R Us, all this and more is on this week’s Marvelicious Toys!
And be sure to listen to find out how you can win a New York Comic Con exclusive Compound Hulk figure from Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT026.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 25.1: Hasbro’s New York Comic Con 2011 Presentation
At New York Comic Con 2011 Hasbro’s Marvel team revealed new figures coming for Avengers, Marvel Universe, Marvel Legends, Mighty Muggs, and so much more! Hear their full presentation in this special edition of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT025.1.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 25: Live from New York Comic Con 2011
This past weekend was New York Comic Con, and with New York being the both real-world and in-universe home to Marvel Comics you know it was a Marvelicious time! Marjorie and Arnie were on-hand to cover the event, including new toy reveals from Hasbro and Diamond, new statues being shown by Kotobukiya, Hallmark ornaments, and so much more! On this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast, they join Justin to run it all down, as well as interview Robert Lyle Paske from Kotobukiya and David Vonner from Hasbro!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT025.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 24: $5 an Inch or $12.50 an Hour
Hasbro has done it again! Namor, Darkhawk, X-23, Commander Rogers, and Ultron are the latest wave of Marvel Universe figures hitting shelves now, and in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast Arnie, Justin, and guest host Jerry review the wave, as well as the companion comic packs of Captain Britain and Spider Man, and the Heroes for Hire! And for even more Hasbro toy goodness, Arnie picked up a new set of Toys R Us exclusive Avengers figures. Hear all the reviews on this show, plus news about Hasbro’s Marvel Universe New York Comic-Con exclusive!
Also this issue, Arnie goes into the Marvelicious Arcade to review the new video game X-Men: Destiny. Is it your Destiny to own this game? Listen for his thoughts.
With comics 2-for-a-dollar, a cross-country toy run, new high-end characters from Bowen and Hot Toys, and a new What If They Made…it’s all on this week’s special double-length issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT024.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 23: From Hero to Zero
Have you ever thought cosplay was fun but there just weren’t enough occasions to dress up like your favorite superhero like Wolverine or Iron Man? Canadian company UD Replicas is here to fix that with motorcycle suits that will allow you wear the clothes of Marvel (and DC and Star Wars) superheroes while riding your bike! Is this line good for comic fans? Bikers? Leather fetishists? Who knows, but with few new figures hitting pegs, Marjorie, Arnie, and Justin take some time in our latest issue to muse over all the possibilities of these costumes.
Also in this issue, we do discuss the latest clearance finds of Marvel toys, as well as where the latest waves of figures are just starting to show up. With listener voice mails, a life-sized Iron Man bust, a birthday surprise, and more, it’s all in this issue of the Marvelicious Toys podcast!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT023.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 22: Will the Real Wolverine Please Stand Up?
Much like Marvel comics themselves, this issue of Marvelicious Toys is just a hair behind schedule, but it’s ready now and jam-packed with Marvel collecting goodness! Listen in this episode as Arnie, Marjorie, and Justin review the latest slew of action figures found, including the Marvel Universe 3-Packs of X-Force, The Avengers, and The Fantastic Four, as well as several of those non-canonical Spider-Man figures.
Perhaps you heard Hot Toys announcement about the bootleg Wolverine figure that has been found on eBay. Also in this issue, the Marvelicious hosts share their account determining if Marjorie’s Wolverine was the real deal, and how you can tell as well.
With news on Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, more variant figures coming down the pike, news on which retailer has hard to find exclusives cheap, and the sexy Women of Marvel calendar, it’s all in this issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT022.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 21: Mental Organism Designed Only for Kollecting
San Diego Comic-Con International may be over, but con season marches on, and in this issue of Marvelicious Toys, Arnie and Marjorie hit another con–Wizard World Chicago. Full of Marvel Comics talent, as well as dozens of toy and statue vendors, listen this issue as they report back from Wizard World 2011! And Justin, Arnie, and Marjorie also recap the events of San Diego Comic Con, covering news announcements by Lego, Capcom, and Funko, and review the SDCC exclusives they purchased.
Also in this issue, the hosts run down all the latest store finds, including the Captain America movie line Wave 3 which contains 5 new figures but 8 new figures to buy! Plus new sightings of the modern Hasbro Sentinel, Thor movie figures Wave 4 including Sif, and some exciting toy markdowns to help collectors save money! Jerry joins us for another Timely Review completing his look back at translucent Marvel figures from Toy Biz, and Arnie and Marjorie review their first Bowen Designs purchase–M.O.D.O.K. So what are you waiting for, listen to this Giant Size edition of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT021.MP3
Category: Arts
New Podcast: Issue 20: San Diego Comic Con Frenzy
San Diego Comic Con is the big toy, comic, and movie event of the year and Marvelicious Toys is there! Join Marjorie, Justin, and Arnie as they come to you from the San Diego Convention Center and bring you news and interviews from the convention!
First, your Marvelicious hosts run down all the convention exclusives, from the nightmare that was the Hasbro Toy Shop line with their exclusive Marvel Legends Thor and Marvel Universe Sentinel, to the quickly sold out Kotobukiya Invisible Woman Bishoujo, to the blink-and-you-miss-it Gentle Giant Squirrelpool, plus new toys and shirts from Tokidoki, exclusive SWAG from the Captain America premiere and the Marvel Comics booth, and so much more.
And also this week, we have a look at all the cool Marvel toys and collectibles coming down the pike! We talk to representatives from Gentle Giant, who displayed their new mini-busts, book ends, pencil holders, and statues, and we also talk to Kotobukiya about their upcoming Fine Art statues, including Archangel and Magneto, and also their new Bishoujo such as Mystique and X-23!
And finally, we run down the other reveals! We broadcast the Hasbro Marvel panel live at marvelicioustoys.com, but if you missed it, we run down all the reveals in Marvel Legends and Marvel Universe. We also discuss the highlights in the booths from Hot Toys, Sideshow Collectibles, Diamond, Bowen, and so much more!
With a report on the Ghost Rider – Spirit of Vengeance panel, the Amazing Spider-Man panel, the Captain America premiere, and more, it’s on this issue of Marvelicious Toys!
Listen Now: http://www.marvelicioustoys.com/Podcasts/MT020.MP3
Category: Arts
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