Action Figure Review: Zanya & Dreadnok Chameleon (Swamp Skier) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

   It's Fall now and I'm getting overwhelmed again with new G.I. Joe: Classified Series releases! My Snow C.A.T. was just delivered, I recently received Sgt. Slaughter and the Triple T, Grand Slam and the H.A.L,. and the Fatal Fluffies, I found the latest series of figures (Mistress Armada, Iceberg, Synapse, Duke, & Toxo-Viper) at retail, and it seems like the retro carded Flash and Falcon, hooded Cobra Commander, and the Legacy collection avalanche rescue skier are on their way, too. And guess what? I'm still looking at a huge shelf of stuff to review from May through August! Crazy! Anyways, let's take a look at Zanya and the Dreadnok Chameleon (Swamp Skier), one of the multiple figure and vehicle combos from this year. The Classified Series has done an excellent job with the Dreadnoks so far and it's pretty exciting to get Zanya, Zartan's daughter, in the line. It's especially nice that we got her with the Chameleon instead of another variant of Zartan's classic costume. Zanya first appeared in 2001 in issue #2 of the Devil's Due Publishing/ Image comics G.I. Joe Volume 2 series, so calling her a "new" character definitely isn't accurate. She has an action figure in the 2011 Dreadnoks Battle Set that was part of the 30th Anniversary line so it's about time that we got her again. Ready to check out Zanya, the heir apparent of the Dreadnoks? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Jester from Action Force by Valaverse

 

   Wow! It's been over a year (not since April of 2025) since I reviewed anything from Valaverse. I don't think they've released too much since then that got my attention but over the summer they did drop some new figures from both Action Force and their new modern pirates line, The Black. I'm going to be looking a couple figures from both lines in the coming weeks but I'll start with Jester as he's a pretty interesting figure. Using Action Force figures and a Mattel WWE Mr. T, I've worked on a pretty basic Action Force version of the A-Team. I've had B.A. Baracus, Faceman, and Hannibal covered but I haven't had a Murdock yet. When I first saw this guy advertised, I thought he'd make a pretty good Action Force version of "Howling Mad" Murdock as he has a crazk grin, a pilot's cap, and he looks a bit slighter than the rest of the team. I might still use him for that purpose, but it turns out that Jester has far more in common with the Joker than he does with the A-Team's resident expert pilot: He's a sadistic interrogator for Pandora's The Devil's Grin crime syndicate. This guy just loves cutting people up. Yikes! He's a weird, creepy dude that seems less physically imposing than many of the other Action Force characters, but he's far more unhinged and unpredictable. Ready for a new villain for Action Force or any other 1/12th scaled military lines? Thank join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Professor Rottclaw & Cobra Deinonychus from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

   Wow! It has been over a month since I last wrote a review. That's kind of a record for me. What's the reason? Well, one, I've been insanely busy with work and have had some new opportunities along with some new challenges. August and the first week of September were wild and I didn't have the extra time to devote to current reviews. I did write some reviews, though, but you just haven't read them yet; I've been working to stay ahead of schedule for the 2026 installment of 31 Days of Toy Terror and I'm close to half way complete there. I've got so many G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures sitting on my desk waiting to be reviewed, so it's time to jump back in and check out another release that I've had since early May: Professor Rottclaw & Cobra Deinonychus. While we have had dinosaurs in G.I. Joe before, Professor Rottclaw is a new character who is obsessed with having a pet dinosaur. Professor Rottclaw (real name Crispin Kilgore) grew up in a wealthy family in Johannesburg, South Africa. While he had everything money could buy as a child, he never got what he really wanted: A pet dinosaur. After studying genetic engineering and paleontology, Dr. Rottclaw has thrown his talents in with Cobra, allowing him access to the tools to make his childhood dream come true. Now armed with a pet Deinonychus, Professor Rottclaw leads the Paleo-Vipers. Pretty wild, right? New concepts are great in G.I. Joe and this one makes a dinosaur work quite well. I thought this guy would be a huge hit but he seems to be sitting on shelves at a lot of retailers. Maybe he was overshipped? Let's check out Professor Rottclaw & his Cobra Deinonychus after the break...

Playset Review: Fright Pit from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

   I realize that I didn't review the three previous Masters of the Universe Origins playsets I own (Snake Mountain, Eternia, and the Fright Zone) and I didn't preorder/ crowdfund the Snake Lair, but I definitely wanted to check out the Slime Pit. Excuse me, I mean the Fright Pit. Yes, the 1986 vintage toy was called the Slime Pit because it used Mattel's own Slime (which they created and introduced to the toy market in 1976), but over the years Nickelodeon has somehow ended up with a trademark for a toy where a character is slimed. Therefore, calling a toy involving sliming a character the Slime Pit would apparently infringe on Nickelodeon's trademark, so Mattel has opted to call this the Fright Pit. You know what? That works for me. It connects it to the Fright Zone, where it belongs anyway, and it sounds pretty decent. Previously it was called the Horde Pit, but I think I like Fright Pit a bit better. Yeah, it's weird and utterly ridiculous, but that's the legal departments of major corporations for you. 

   The Fright Pit (if I slip and call it the Slime Pit, oops) is a very solid small playset and was a favorite of mine in the vintage line. I received it for Christmas when I was quite young, probably well after it was released, and I remember spilling the slime under our Christmas tree. Oops! For that reason, I'll let you know in advance that I didn't even open the included bag of slime. Instead, just pretend characters are being slimed or watch a YouTube video showing off the action feature. Ready to (pretend) to get slimed? Wait, since there's no slime, how about we just frighten the figures, huh? Ready to frighten some figures? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Ram Man and Fisto from Masters of the Universe Chronicles by Mattel

 

   Now that Masters of the Universe (2026) is on Amazon Prime, I've had the chance to watch it again. The second viewing has been incredibly enjoyable and I really do like the movie quite a bit. It's so much fun and the costume designs are incredible. Take Ram Man and Fisto here, who were released as a two pack exclusive to Amazon; Don't these guys look almost exactly like their toy and cartoon counterparts? There's no way anyone familiar with MOTU could look at these guys and not know exactly who they are, which I appreciate. I love MOTU because the characters are wild and over the top. One of my few criticism of the movie is that the jokes over Fisto's name got overplayed a bit and it would have been funnier to me if the joke was that no one on Earth believed that these guys' names were Ram Man and Fisto but, once Adam arrives back on Eternia, they proudly go by these wild names. Still, the character designs were great and Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and Jon Xue Zhang were both excellent in the roles and brought a lot of power and physicality to the characters. At SDCC 2026 last weekend we learned that Mattel has plans for Masters of the Universe Chronicles and will be mixing up the line with new takes on classic characters and more movie based figures, so we'll hopefully be able to nicely fill out the movie roster in the next year or so. For now, let's check out this powerful duo after the break...

Action Figure Review: Arboryous from Legends of Dragonore by Formo Toys

 

   If you're a regular around here then you know that Moss Man is my favorite Masters of the Universe character. I'm nuts about the guy and I'm always down for a new Moss Man figure. I'm even down for guys who kind of remind me of Moss Man, and that's why I'm reviewing Arboryous from Formo Toys' Legends of Dragonore line today. This guy is an incredible looking figure that is very inspired by the Green Man mythology in a similar vein to Masters of the Universe's Moss Man. If you're not familiar with Legends of Dragonore, it's a 5.5" fantasy toyline based on the classic fantasy lines of the 1980s in that same scale. You know, things like  Remco's The Lost World of the Warlord, Arco's The Other World, Soma's Fantasy World, Olmec Toys' Sun-Man, and Galoob's Blackstar. Oh, and Mattel's Masters of the Universe. We can't forget those, can we? Anyways, Arboryous is part of the second series of releases and I just had to get him as I'm nuts about that design. Let's check out Arboryous, the Vernal Sage Healer of Botanika, after the break...

Action Figure Review: David "Crazylegs" Thomas (Retro) from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 

      I intended to review quite a few G.I. Joe: Classified Series figures in July in celebration of the semiquincentennial of the United States of America but I've been a bit buys and this is the first figure I've had the chance to look at: David "Crazylegs" Thomas from the retro carded releases. While we already received Crazylegs in the Classified Series back in 2024, that version was based on the Night Force release of the figure, a Toys 'R Us exclusive from 1988. This version is based on the classic 1987 figure, who was one of my favorites as a kid. I loved Crazylegs. Maybe it was the funny name, maybe it was the fantastic rifle, maybe it was because his parachute pack was so different than most others in the line, or maybe it was because of his great color scheme that stood out. The 1986 and 1987 years were when I first got into G.I. Joe and he was definitely one of my earliest figures. I've been looking forward to this release, though I will say that there are a couple odd issues with this figure that do bring him down a bit. He's still solid, don't get me wrong, but only having a screaming headsculpt is certainly a choice. Ready to check out Crazylegs? Then grab your parachute and join me after the break.....