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  • Marvel Problems #007

    This being my favorite Spider-Man show, ever, of all time, I think that this problem hits me twice as hard as the others. I heard somewhere that he was going to find MJ in London, modeling, with her memories erased. Also, if Spider-Man Unlimited was a loose continuation of this series, as it is often said to be, then one could assume that he did eventually find her. But the thing is we’ll never know for sure. As far as I’m concerned, Peter and Madame Web are still lost in a void of reality, searching for, but never finding, Mary Jane Watson.

  • Yay! Into the Spider-Verse Toys- Oh, Wait, Never Mind…

    So, like any Marvel fan with a pulse, I am stoked for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I’ve been reading Miles since issue #1, and Donald Glover himself gave me the backstory behind his conception (I promise, that article is coming!), so this movie is a dream come true for me. The only, the ONLY, thing that could pump me up even more is toys! Well, that’s what I thought…

    Okay, so let’s take a look at ‘ol Miles here:

     Mhmm, okay, very nice. I like the aesthetic, the ‘spray painted’ chest spider, I dig it, I dig it. Electro-shock web blast, always a nice touch, given his power set. Great articu- STOP! Hold the phones! Where are the knee joints? He can’t bend his knees! Okay, I can live without the ball joints on the legs, but the little brother can’t bend his knees! He’s Spider-Man! Spider-Man’s always in some kind of crouched pose or another! Like… bruh, Hasbro, who thought this was a good idea!? The figure is beautiful! Even if he doesn’t have that polished Marvel Legends look, it works for a movie tie-in figure, but… you’re gonna cut costs on the knee joints? Oh no, no, no, no… Let’s look at mentor Spidey.

    Great! He’s top heavy, like in the trailers. The balled fist has that ‘animated’ look about it, I’m really digging the… He can’t bend his knees either, can he? Dude, come on! What, am I supposed to sit him down and have him eat a burger all day? I don’t care if that’s what he does in the trailer, he also teaches Miles to be Spider-Man! And what’s included in ‘Does whatever a spider can’? Bending your knees! Oh, don’t worry, Gwen has locked knee syndrome too.

    And Prowler gets the same treatment:

    Look, I get it. They’re kid’s toys. They’re not for the hardcore Legends collectors. But even the kids deserve better than this! Just… why! The figures look great! It’s just the knees… Well, I’ll still probably pick ’em up, I want all the merch from this movie and MSRP is only $9.99, I guess I just won’t be able to pose them a ton… heck, maybe I’ll leave these guys on the cards. The box art is legit.

    Well, those are the main figures, then there’s this Collider play set:

    Okay, them calling this a play set is a tad insulting. The 46″, $100, Mega City Play Set I have, that’s a play set. The Sky Rider and Alleyway play sets I’ve got from back in the day, those are play sets. Heck, that weak Spider-Man: Homecoming Vulture Attack Play Set barely makes the cut, but it’s a play set. This is a 3D target game practice with Miles Morales. It’s not a play set. Cool idea, looks like fun, but don’t call it a play set.

    There’s some more kiddie stuff, like the Titan series and this cute little shock strike Miles Morales:

     Neat stuff, cool for the kids, but honestly, I’m more excited for this advent calendar-like Movie Countdown board:

     

     

    It’s filled with stickers and knick-knacks, and I’ve become quite the knick-knack collector. All in all, everything looks like great fun, but if we could just have the knees bend on the main figures, that’d be great! Make a mental note for next time Hasbro!

  • Marvel Problems #006

    I mean, I can’t be the only one, right? Especially when she starts flirting (or not, since Cap’s seen it up close and that wasn’t it) with Bruce at the bar in Avengers Tower. That and the ‘missed my window’ shower scene at the Barton farm just, I don’t know, unsettles me. It’s awkward, weird, cringe worthy, definitely forced, had no payoff in Infinity War,  and every single time the ‘Bru-tasha’ scenes come up, I either fast-forward, or go do something else until it’s over.

  • I Challenged Insomniac! Game On!

    If you follow Face Front on Twitter, then you might realize that I have just openly challenged Insomniac Games! Like a lot of you True Believers out there, I missed my chance at a Collector’s Edition for Marvel’s Spider-Man PS4, and Insomniac isn’t planning on making more! So, I issued an… ultimatum of sorts.

    If they agree to make more, I’ll fire up my physical copy of Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (which is actually my first ever video game) and it will be the only, I repeat, the ONLY game I play until I complete it 100%! I’m talking Dragon Shores roller coaster and unlimited super breath baby! Will Insomniac accept? The ball is in their court! Stay tuned True Believers, this could get very interesting! Let the Spyder-Man Ultimatum begin!

  • Ant-Man and the Wasp Review and Discussion

    Now that everyone’s had a chance to see it, let’s talk about Ant-Man and the Wasp! This page is more for discussion, to see what you guys think, but you can get all my thoughts in the latest episode of the Face Front Podcast RIGHT HERE! Remember, there’s SPOILERS for the movie, so don’t listen if for some reason you haven’t seen it yet! But in the mean time, what’d you guys think about the movie? Comment below!

  • Cover Story: Amazing Spider-Man #700

    Enjoy this first in a new segment I’m doing called: Cover Story

    This cover is a variant of The Amazing Spider-Man #700, and one of my favorite comic book covers of all time. The artist is Marcos Martin, and he does an astounding job capturing the core of Spider-Man in one single picture. Here we see the likes of J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie, Betty, Flash, and Harry all enjoying a New Year’s party. But, Mary Jane is worried about Aunt May, who seems to have one question on her mind: Where is Peter?

    No doubt Mary Jane is wondering the same thing, and of course we know the answer. He’s up in the sky, battling for the fate of the city against the Green Goblin. I can’t express how in love I am with this cover. You can literally imagine an entire story around one scene. Peter promises his friends he’s going to make it in time for New Year, but the Green Goblin enacts a scheme that will destroy the city at midnight. While all his friends are yelling Happy New Year, Peter just barely puts an end to Goblin’s treachery, and causes an even greater rift between himself and the people he loves.

    This cover speaks the timeless words “With great power, comes great responsibility”. It takes us back to the simple, 60’s days of Spider-Man, where he’s constantly losing valuable time with his friends and families because of the obligation he has to protect the city. A cover, I think, was especially needed for this issue, because it’s the one where Doc Ock kills and takes Spider-Man’s place for the next year, changing everything. It’s also an added bonus that issue #700 was the last of 2012, leading into the new year and ending Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary. That honestly made me a little mad when I read it way back when, because this monumental year for Spider-Man was ending on such a sour note, but this cover art is one saving grace that, I feel, capped the year of Spidey with a Thwip!

    Thanks for reading True Believers, and stay tuned to the Face Front Blog for more Cover Stories!

  • Steve Ditko, Co-Creator of Spider-Man, has Died at the Age of 90

    56 years ago, two men sat down and created Spider-Man. One of them was Steve Ditko. The man that drew my favorite superhero to life died at the age of 90 today. Were it not for him, the iconic red and blue clad hero with webs on his suit and a spider on his chest would have never been realized. Spider-Man would not exist without Steve Ditko. And of course there are others, most notably Dr. Strange, but if you’ve followed my blog, you know that Spider-Man is near and dear to me, so this weighs heavy on my heart. Rest in peace Steve, the original True Believer.

    Steve Ditko, November 2, 1927- July 6, 2018

  • Marvel Problems #005

    The sad thing is that it’s such a great service. A mere pittance of $10 monthly for access to nearly every comic Marvel has ever written, with new ones showing up only months after they’re published! Anytime I hear that a movie, or a season of a show will be based on a certain run I haven’t read yet, I fire it up and read the entire thing! But I always find myself just, never really using it. At least not as often as I should. I really gotta try harder on this one, and if you don’t have Marvel Unlimited, I highly, highly suggest it!

  • Marvel Problems #004

    In a Marvel Legends wave that had Deadpool, 90’s bomber jacket Rogue, Phoenix, Cable, Shadowcat, and Iceman, all basically for the first time from Hasbro, who would have thought that the orange and brown suit Wolverine would be the hardest to find! Sad thing is I saw him, in Walmart, for $20, but let him sit there because I thought I could wait on him. Now, my Juggernaut will be forever without his head…

  • Marvel Problems #003

    Let’s be honest here. The promo picture looked COMPLETELY different, and we were all under the impression that, you know, they could actually come out of that dang case! And on top of that, the costume pass wasn’t even included in the cost! But hey, the statues were cool, and let’s not forget that the eggs, um, stones, could glow! Yeah, I could’ve passed on this…