Collin says :

Mr. Fantastic

Galactus proclaimed him to be an official, bonefide 'force of nature'. He's created alternate dimensions, can go to and fro in time at will... and to top it off, he's stretchy and can turn his fist into a giant mallet. Genius and elasticity go hand in hand, don't they? Einstein could actually grow three times his normal height, but it didn't come up much.

I really dig Mr. Fantastic (AKA Reed Richards) as a character, and the Mark Waid run on the recent issues of Fantastic Four has been some of the finest storytelling to hit comics in a long time. It's redefined the FF from a goody-goody teamworkin' family of boredom into a seriously malfunctioning, darkening group of individuals, with Mr. F at the creepy, self-interested helm. THIS is why it's a shame that the action figure looks like a petulant scenester who refuses to go into the club because someone else is wearing the same shirt as him.

I mean, what happened to the prototype head sculpt that we were shown? The one that kind of looked like a 40-something superhero? Who chose the snotty 20-year old sculpt? WHY, ToyBiz? Why are his shoulders made of bowling balls, and why is his waist about as narrow as his head? And don't tell me 'plasticity', guys... this just makes me feel uncomfortable.

And with this, we have member three of the Fantastic Four, with the fourth member, Invisible Woman, hopefully not too far behind. It is with great displeasure that I report the unfortunate circumstances of this figure.

Mister F has all of the articulation that the typical ML figures have. This is a case where this kind of hyper-articulation really makes the figure look kinda goofy. Maybe it's the shoulder and hip bulbs that protrude every which way, or maybe it's the wasp-waist, but it just looks off somehow, without even mentioning the face again. Maybe it's the fact that he's been made so damned muscular... he's not a strong guy, and most artistic interpretations of him have him as pretty slim, but smooth as well. The sculpt, in general, just misses the mark of what I know about Mr. F.

 

One thing that's unique about Mr. F is that he comes with replacement forearms, in order to simulate his stretching ability (as a 'Thinking' action feature is just too subtle for most people to pick up on). These are rubberized, and they pop onto his arms where the normal hands pop off. This is done with relative ease. HOWEVER... one hand is a giant mallet. A giant, hollow plastic mallet which has been assembled poorly and has seams and mold flaws throughout it. It is the most el cheapo thing I've ever seen as part of a ML figure. The other arm, which is a giant hand, is more successful. It can bend, and every part of it is very poseable. HOWEVER (again)... is is absolutely covered with those mold holes that come from rubberized toys. They're in an abundance heretofore unseen. Now, you might say, "but beautiful webmaster Collin whom I want to have the babies of, this is just part of the mold process! It cannot be avoided, much like my sexual attraction to you!"

Remember Gollum? The little, rubberized guy from the LOTR action figure line, ALSO from ToyBiz? They made such a big effing deal about making him without visible mold holes that you'd think he was a little albino emaciated Jesus. ToyBiz has the smarts and technology to make these poseable, rubberized parts without leaving these ugly swiss cheese holes. Why the hell didn't they use it now?

["what the HELL am I supposed to do with these??"]

Okay, that's out of my system. The molding, in general, for the body is average. It still has lots of seams and white flecks where the parts were broken off roughly from the trees.

  

The paint also comes in at mediocre. There are two different colors of blue used, seemingly indiscriminately, across the figure, which just results in a lot of odd color discontinuities. The white hair at his temples is barely brushed on, though the face paint is really quite delicate and flawless. Of all of the ML5 figures, this is the only one that had paint flaking, and this was in the neck area.

His base is the front half of the wonderfully named Fantasticar. I plan on calling my car the Stupendousmobile. Einstein called his 'the Groove-o-mo-tron'. It takes genius, guys. Don't even try. This is a great base for him - he can sit down, attached to the wall, and just shut up. It'll only fit one person, but maybe they'll make Sue really skinny. The seat folds up as well to make more room... maybe he can bring his extra arms along for the ride.

For once, ToyBiz included a pertinent comic, that being FF #60 from the Waid run, which was published originally as a ten cent jumping-on issue. It's a good comic, it explains the FF, and it even has insight into Reed. Great issue choice.

It's great that they made a Mister Fantastic. Really, it is. To keep the Fantastic Four apart is like keeping mackerel sushi and my mouth apart. You can try, but they're gonna find each other and revisit their love for one another sooner or later. If only Mr. F didn't look so terribly wrong.

I give him a 2 out of 5. Not really that fantastic after all.