Monday, January 8, 2018

LEGION TOYS: Wildfire (Mattel 12-Pack)

by Derek William Crabbe

Drake Burroughs was an astro-engineer whose consciousness survived his physical form's disintegration by transforming into a pure anti-energy being. His snazzy looking containment suit keeps his energy form from dispersing and eventually joined the Legion of Super-Heroes with the code-name, Wildfire!


Sculpt:
Wildfire is actually on the 'adult' sized buck, unlike most of the figures from this 12-pack. His belt sculpt appears to be a re-use of the standard adult Superman belt. The head and soft plastic cowl are unique to the figure, as well as his forearm and boot cuff sculpts. I've heard complaints that the head sculpt is a bit on the small side, suggesting that maybe the adult buck wasn't originally the one planned for use with Wildfire. However, I think a sleek and smaller head bothers me less than than an oversized fat-head does.



Articulation:
There are 24-points of articulation that I count on Wildfire. Head moves from left to right, and slightly up and down, Arms can move up and down, as well as rotate in a circular fashion. There are bicep cuts that swivel, joints at the elbow and the fists can rotate as well. He has an ab-crunch that moves in an approximately 30/70 ratio. He has a waist swivel. His legs move up and he can also do the splits. Swivels are just above the knee. Knee joints and ankle rockers complete the standard articulation.



Paint:
Paint applications on this figure are beautiful and I can 100% confirm there is no paint bleed. The Oranges, Reds, and Yellows are wonderful comic-book primary colors that really pop and highlight the costume design. To sum up, superb.


Overall:
Wildfire is also a favorite Legionnaire of mine, so his inclusion in the 12-pack is very welcome. Yet, one of the great travesties is that Mattel never made a Dawnstar to 'Power Couple' alongside him (as Siskoid might say). With Saturn Girl being the sole female in the 12-pack, I know the Irredeemable Shagg would probably make a Phantom Girl action figure his first priority; but mine would definitely be Dawnie. I don't really see Mattel including her in their current DC Multiverse line, but maybe I can hope for a DC Collectibles Bombshells version as a stand-in.

2 comments:

  1. Mostly impressive.

    They got the boots right, the faceplate is flat and not spherical, and any physical imperfections can be explained as it's a containment suit for an energy being, not an actual physical form -- "my helmet's larger because I have an experimental device in it," "something's wrong with the left arm mechanisms so they look smaller," and the like.

    BUT THE WINGS ON THE CHEST STAR ARE WRONG!!!!!

    (BTW, anyone else ever wanna see Wildfire vs. Karate Kid, with Val putting an arm-lock or something on Wildfire, and Drake just escaping by bending his arm in a way that would be physically impossible if he actually had a body?)

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  2. Wildfire is my favorite legionnaire. I'm actually okay with the wings on the chest. There was a span when every time Drake's uniform was blasted apart, the next one up would be essentially the same, but with minor cosmetic differences (logo, arm/boot cuffs, etc...), but not too far off the original. I've always preferred the mystery of the energy form inside of the uniform, and detest the modern trend of making parts of his suit transparent.

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