Silver Surfer & The Avengers
Super Stinkers.
Ep. 205 is live!
And so, we've arrived here...the final week of Make Mine Marvel Month. I really don't know what there is to say regarding these series, as I feel the proof is in the pudding with both. In this week's episode, the boys and I certainly had our fun riffing on these series. While there are plenty of negative things to say about these shows, they each somehow managed to have some positives. What's interesting, in my opinion, is that I feel each series is the inverse of the other when it comes to the positives. Let's start with animation. Silver Surfer had a style that REALLY reminded one of legendary comic artist, and Marvel mainstay, Jack Kirby. The only character design in the show that DIDN'T seem to honor this was that of Galactus, who was CGI for some reason. It's a style that did not hold up, and even looked bad in 1998.
Moving on to Avengers: United They Stand...the character designs and overall style of the show REALLY does a great job of showcasing the WORST of 90's superhero design. From half masks, clunky armor, odd uneven costume designs, and bizarre redesigns...this entry in Avengers related media fell incredibly short. As you will see from stills below, this show was just too damn 90's.
And then you have the toys. For Silver Surfer, some 30th anniversary figures started rolling out in 1997 just ahead of the cartoon's release, and 1998 saw Silver Surfer figures released in relation to the show. As you will see...it is the Surfer toys that lack particularly good form. Though I wasn't actively collecting action figures just yet, I was trying to stay on top of what was on the market at the time, and collecting when and where I could. By this point, ToyBiz seemed to be at this weird in between when it came to their products on the market. They seemed to be taking some chances on designs, as well as who they were introducing into the toy aisle. Their quality, however, was beginning to be called into question. I can recall seeing figure previews in issues of Wizard and ToyFare, exclusives of figure lines to come, and each time something from ToyBiz was featured...the offerings were lacking. Sometimes, the various lines on the market almost came across as knock offs that most legal departments would feverishly pursue. All of that is quite the preamble to simply say ToyBiz's attempt at Silver Surfer line was ever the swing and a miss. I will say that some positives were the color palates, paint apps, and vac-metal used for some cool cosmic effects, ToyBiz moving AWAY from using noticeable metal pins for shoulder, elbow, and knee articulation, and...it did give us our first Beta Ray Bill figure, that's nothing to sneeze at.
Regarding the Avengers line...while I did NOT care for the overall design and character models for this show (Tigra and Ant-Man being the standouts), I will say ToyBiz really managed to capture the look and aesthetic of the show, and there is value to that. I can recall seeing the Captain America figure being previewed in ToyFare and really wanting one, as it had a great look. Additionally, the line boatsed two very cool looking vehicles in the Air Glider and the Sky Cycle. The line, however, would also see the inclusion of more Shape Shifter figures. ToyBiz, for some reason or another, kept foisting these figures on us, having learned nothing from the previously released Punisher Pecker Pistol.
It is unfortunate that this is where we end Make Mine Marvel Month. However, I do commit to a bit; I set out to cover every piece of 90's Marvel animation, and I'll be damned if we didn't manage it...now let us never speak of it again! I do want to give a special shout out to Brett, as his pick of Spider-man: The Animated Series is what lead to me plotting out this undertaking. Even if this month was a little challenging, it was still fun to stretch some creative muscles. Speaking of patrons picking things, we now head into February and we are leading with a Patron Pick! We're kicking off The Obscure & Odd month with a pick from our good buddy Nate aka Nostalgia Nate. Come back and see us next week as we get into Sectaurs! I know I'm excited for it! Thanks for reading, thanks for listening, and we'll see you next Monday!
-Derek
