It’s time for another installment of Figure Friday! Instead of me leading off with another ponderous take about the state of the world I will instead announce that the Tom Hardy Dark Knight Rises Bane voice is officially funny again. You know…since we’re all wearing masks now.
The fire rises!
Star Wars The Black Series Han Solo (Carbonite)
Earlier this week Star Wars fans everywhere celebrated the pun-based “May the 4th” holiday along with the announcement of several new collectibles. There was a whole slew of figures and collectibles that were announced, the majority of them centred around the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, but only one of them had me ready to pre-order the very second it was available… Han Solo IN CARBONITE.
Quite possibly one of the coolest things to happen in a movie that was already jammed-packed with cool things this (in)action figure depicts the end result of Han Solo being put in the carbon freezing chamber and hauled off to Jabba the Hutt by Boba Fett.
Speaking of Fett, this piece of plastic was originally included as an accessory in the SDCC Black Series Boba Fett figure. That exclusive sold out immediately, of course, and still commands around a $300 price tag on the secondary market. I’ve long maintained that Hasbro would not go to the trouble of creating a mold for the Han in Carbonite only to produce it in limited numbers. There’s money to be had and you know they want your money. I’m just surprised it took six years for them to cash in on it.
The figure is available as an Amazon exclusive and is priced at $14 USD and comes on a vintage style Kenner card. Interestingly, my preorder had said it would ship at the beginning of July but changed to DECEMBER overnight. Which essentially makes it a Christmas present for myself instead of a birthday present. Still, I’ve waited six years for it so a few more months won’t ruin my life.
Transformers Earthrise Deluxe Class Cliffjumper
Hey! It’s another Transformer I bought!
In the last Figure Friday installment, I wrote at length about the Optimus Prime figure from this line and how the Earthrise figures are more contemporary takes on legacy characters. Well, I’m pleased to write that that continues on for Cliffjumper.
It’s a power move for Hasbro to put out a Cliffjumper figure before they release a Bumblebee figure since Cliffjumper is perpetually a repaint/retool of an existing Bumblebee release. It’s nice to see the little red guy getting his due for a change! To that end, the Transformers Galaxies comic by IDW just put out a couple of issues (#5 and #6) featuring Cliffjumper that deals with him being…not-Bumblebee. Written by Cohen Edenfield and Kate Leth with art by Alex Milne the “Wannbee” story is a slyly meta take on Cliffjumper’s plight. Check it out!
Back to the figure! It’s a small figure and comparatively tiny when standing next to the Leader Class Optimus Prime I reviewed. At approximately half of Prime’s size, I found it hard to believe it was a Deluxe Class figure. But what he lacks in size he makes up for in accessories and a surprisingly complex transformation from robot to vehicle.
The Earthrise line is doing a great job of playing to the longtime Transformers fans and Cliffjumper is no exception to that. I almost feel bad about looking forward to the inevitable Bumblebee repaint.
