Shocker: he’s the quilted sticker-upper.
Shocker has had a long action figure road to this point. He first got a figure under the Spider-Man Classics umbrella back when Toybiz reigned over Marvel figures. That one had a missile shooting action feature that rendered him elbow free. I was less than pleased about that. It was a decent figure for the time, but those elbows…always with the jutting arms, not bend, no nuance…I hate action features and I couldn’t get past them.
He got another figure a few years ago, this one wearing his Thunderbolts-era costume. It was a far better figure—with working elbows and everything—and I was prepared for that to be the final word on Shocker figures. At least, for a while.
But this new retro collection Shocker delivers unto the masses a Shocker figure that stands above all other Shocker figures. Featuring Shocker in his classic costume, with sculpted detail…this is the one that is as proudly Shocker as can be.
This is an entirely new sculpt, dedicated to capturing the Shocker’s signature waffle pattern. It’s a pinless body, which means that initial first bend is going to be stiff on every double joint. Once they’re loosened up, everything works perfectly, but there is a moment where you’re hoping something isn’t irrevocably stuck.
With that out of the way, you have an excellent figure. We’ve been getting a number of excellent Spidey villains lately, and this stands very high on the list. It just does “it” absolutely right. It bends. It moves. It shocks. It toys. It’s fun.
The only major complaint that I’ve seen regarding Shocker is the lack of paint in his quilty bits. I’ve seen people do some brown-lining, and it does definitely perk up the figure quite a bit. Since they have the mold, I can see Hasbro releasing him yet again down the line with some brown lines, much like they re-released Mysterio with additional paint. I could easily paint the lines on mine, but I found that I’m not at all bothered by the lack of them. Yes, he looks good with them, but in my opinion he looks equally fine without them. The natural shadows thrown by light give the sculptwork enough definition on its own. How you stand on the matter is up to you, of course, but I’m leaving it as is.
Either that, or I’m buying a second to brown-line. I don’t know.
Shocker comes with a second set of forearms. With the unique setup of his gauntlets, he has no wrist articulation, so the entire forearm pops off, and can be replaced with a set of open-handed gauntlets. It’s a nice bonus, and works to give him some different moods.
Shocker comes with a set of those very familiar bubble-swirl effects that pop onto his hands, but they don’t do much in terms of evoking his powers for me. I have enough sets of those by now that I’m thinking its time to retire them in favor of something else.
This figure feels like we’ve finally achieved “definitive” with Shocker. That’s been happening a lot lately with a wide variety of bad guys. I’m a fan.
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Source: The Fwoosh
