February 8th - the Spirit of Obi-Wan

The Spirit of Obi-Wan

Hasbro Star Wars Frito-Lay mail-away

This one takes us back all the way to 1997...the excitement of Star Wars returning to theaters was about to give the franchise new life, a life that we couldn't foresee spinning into the horrible prequel mess we know today. Hard to remember a time when Star Wars merchandise was scarce, yet, for only 2 chip bag upc's and 2 bucks, you could have one of the first of thousands of new Star Wars figures. He's clear, his arms and head don't move, and he came in a lil white box with no proper card: The Spirit of Obi-wan. At least the Fruit Loops Han Solo in Stromtrooper Disguise had moving joints!

February 6th - Roron Corobb

Roron Corobb

Star Wars action figure

I guess any alien creature can be a Jedi, even if they don't look like they should be. Damn midi-chlorians! How does he go leaping around with a head like that? And his peripheral vision must be terrible! He must not have been that good a Jedi, as he was killed by General Grievous, a cyborg that couldn't even hold onto his extra cybernetic arms for more than a few seconds against Obi-Wan Kenobi. Lame.

February 5th - Silverbolt

Silverbolt

Transformers Universe Classics

Silverbolt is the leader of the Aerialbots. He's a jet but, he's afraid of heights?! Strange choice of alt. mode. Anyway, this figure is a retro-update of the classic figure and is pretty sweet. However, most of the transformation is just folding him up to fit underneath the jet exterior that is always visible anyway. I guess I can overlook that because he also has cool lights and sounds!

January 29th - Scourge

Scourge

Transformers Titanium Hasbro

Scourge is actually old-school Transformer, Thundercracker, who was reincarnated by Unicron after his death in the Transformers movie. He's got a funny light on his head! And this toy is made of real metal!!! Well, parts are made of metal...the rest is cheap plastic. But 50% metal is still pretty cool, right?

January 27th - Savage Gray Hulk

Savage Gray Hulk

Hasbro Marvel Legends

It still doesn't make sense. Those pants are either denim or polyester or something. How do they stay on him? This is almost unfathomable, even with suspension of disbelief. Oh well, I guess it wouldn't be pretty or convenient to have Bruce Banner walk around in all spandex all the time or see bounding, naked Hulk coming off the page.

January 20th - the Absorbing Man

the Absorbing Man

a Hasbro Marvel Legends figure

The Absorbing Man has fought many heroes in the Marvel Universe, among them Thor, the Incredible Hulk, and the Avengers. His deal is that he can absorb the physical properties of anything he touches, be it gas, liquid, solid or even pure energy. I imagine he has to concentrate on this quite a bit, otherwise he could get into quite a jam. I mean, he's probably very vulnerable to attack if he has to use the bathroom and doesn't keep his guard up: a man made of porcelain in a seated position wouldn't stand a chance when Hulk-goes-a-smashin'. Man, can't a guy go in peace?!