Marvel Spider Man Classics Juggernaut Action Figure (2008)

The Unstoppable Juggernaut from Marvel (2008)

Ever since The Uncanny X-Men became a huge hit here in the Philippines, I can say that I was one of those very few individuals who never really "rooted" for the main mutant characters belonging to Professor Xavier's team, I mean Wolverine, Cyclops, Gambit et al are cool and all but the guys who were on the sidelines, so to speak, had the most impact on me. I guess I find them more ubër cool in terms of their attitude, aura, physical attributes and mutant powers all rolled into one character... and I have two particular human mutants that I really like. On Professor Xavier's side, Piotr "Peter" Nikolaievitch Rasputin or more popularly known as the mighty Colossus and his arch enemy from Magneto's team, Cain Marko or a.k.a. The Unstoppable Juggernaut. From comic books to the big screen, seeing these two mighty mutants collide was just plain awesome! It is like seeing David turned into a living, breathing chunk of organic steel fighting off a monstrous Goliath wearing a gigantic metal helmet with virtually an unstoppable momentum for total destruction.

When the X-Men action figures came out, I was bent on having one Colossus and one Juggernaut figure sometime soon, up until recently Marvel Select did an awesome job with their version of Colossus and I was just blown away with what they did to the Juggernaut figure as well!... it's huge, massive, very well detailed and worth the money you'll be spending on this item! The only petty issue I got with these Marvel Select goodies is that they are quite big in size and currently there is no way I can display them inside my cramped room and getting myself a new display cabinet may be the possible solution though sadly I can't afford to buy one right now. Having this dilemma is such a pain but a couple of weeks back I was lucky enough to have for myself a smaller version of Juggernaut that I purchased as a good conditioned loose item. It may not be overflowing with superb awesomeness like its Marvel Select counterpart but it is still worth having.

Removing the helmet will reveal his alter ego, the human-mutant Cain Marko

Released in 2008 by Marvel under the Spider Man Super Villain toy line, Juggernaut looks more proportioned in terms of its physical ratio and his built is more vertically lean. The only sole accessory you get to have with this action figure is his removable helmet that you can place over or remove to reveal his alter ego as the human-mutant Cain Marko with his head draped with a leather headgear. So far posing the figure has given me no problems and articulation is good enough to make him go into several action poses. I got the item for Php 395 (around $3.00++) though there are other toy shops selling him (as a loose item) at a more expensive price so technically it was a good steal for me and not quite bad for my first Juggernaut action figure.

Earlier this afternoon I decided to take out my camera and finally take snapshots of Juggernaut inside my tabletop studio. I've posted some of the other photos inside so please do check them out guys and I hope you all like it... until next time, stay safe always!

(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Yes Virginia, there is such a thing called 'Toy Destiny'...

War Machine from Marvel-Hasbro

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect for this opportunity to come, and just when I thought that I had totally given up in finding a mini 3-inch figure of War Machine to somehow complete my Iron Man 2 collection... there they were... staring literally right in front of me... hanging on display at a famous toy discount store. I was in complete bliss! Where have you been all my life?!.. Is this real?!.. For heaven's sake somebody pinch me and tell me this isn't a dream! Instinctively I grabbed the very first War Machine figure I saw in front of me and knowing that there might be another one hidden somewhere, I began to thoroughly search each and every row I came across and bingo! Saw another one lurking somewhere in the middle section and immediately took it as well.


Before I continue folks, let me give you a brief rundown on the entire story behind my constant search for that elusive 3-inch War Machine figure for all of you guys to know what I have been blabbing just earlier... Marvel/Hasbro came up with this Iron Man 2 line-up of toys (which includes the 3-inchers) during the world premiere of the second Iron Man movie back in 2010. Eventually the excess stocks of Iron Man 2 toys went on sale around middle to late last year (2011) and that was the only time I was able to purchase the Mark III, Mark V and Mark VI since their prices were slashed by half. The 3-inchers were as abundant as it can be and all I had to do was carefully choose the better one where there were no issues with the paint job, cosmetic defects and so forth. And in that line-up, War Machine and the Tactical Assault Drone are also included... but not even one of these figures was to be found selling or even hiding somewhere from the Marvel Toy Section! Talk about "intentional scarcity" where some individuals would hoard the items that they know would be the most wanted by fans and collectors alike and jack-up their prices 2 to 3 times more! I couldn't care less about the Tactical Assault Drone if I don't get to buy it, but come hell or high waters I must have just even one War Machine figure... just one figure to complete my collection and that's it! Sadly weeks turned to months and months into years, and eventually I've decided to give up my search for those War Machine 3-inch figures because for one thing, I know for a fact that there are other toy shops who has those and as much as I want that item, I will not even dare to shell out my money for something that they are selling way too high than its intended retail price. But I guess it was indeed my destiny to cross paths with this baby and all I needed was to wait for a looonnnggg time, but it paid off quite well! I bought the two War Machine figures I found on the spot and went home feeling, as always, like a winner!

Despite being small with several paint job issues, this figure is still worth having!

I've posted some of the photos I took earlier and honestly, despite its small frame and limited posing action, this War Machine figure just looks awesome from every angle you look! No wonder every single War Machine item, from the smallest to the biggest figure, were selling out fast! Iron Man rocks big time no doubt about it, but there's something about the War Machine suit that gains (slightly) the upper hand than that of the other Tony Stark masterpieces... the colors? The payload of weaponry? Maybe these two factors have contributed greatly in making James Rhodes' alter-ego look really bad-ass! 'Til next time folks, stay safe always!


(*Click on the images for larger view and more photos inside)

Iron Man Mark III and Mark V miniature figures

HBO Asia finally premiered the movie "Iron Man 2" a couple of days ago and it was just as awesome as ever! Aside from the fact that Tony Stark gets to whoop Whiplash's ass, the movie also featured the debut of James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes' badass alter-ego, War Machine! I was so drawn to that movie that I even got to watch one of its scheduled reruns yesterday. Though I've got to admit that my liking for Iron Man isn't as huge and "hardcore" as my adoration for my childhood comic book hero Ghost Rider, but there is something about this superhero that really kicks butt... maybe it's the cool suits or Tony Stark's attitude and flair for rock and punk music, kinda hard to say... but altogether, personally, Iron Man is a-OK!

Iron Man Mark V

Iron Man Mark III

It was recently that I got to buy my very first Iron Man Mark VI miniature figure which was on sale at Toys R' Us in Trinoma, the entire collection from Hasbro consists of five figures, three Iron Man suit versions, the Tactical Assault Drone and War Machine. But it seems that the Drone and War Machine figures are nowhere to be found for unexplained reasons, so I decided to finally complete the entire Iron Man suits by purchasing earlier this afternoon the Mark III and Mark V figs which are still available at Toy Kingdom The Block (SM North EDSA).


I'm still keeping my hopes high that someday, somehow, somewhere I might be able to find the two missing figures from the collection, but for now I'm just going to enjoy these ones first...