Packaging: Lots of graphics from the movie, illustrations, and this box says: BUY ME!!! How many people became Spiderman fans because of the movie?? How many people bought the Spiderman action figure who have never read a Spiderman comic book?? How many people bought the Spiderman action figure who did not see the movie or read the comic books?? Objectively speaking, Spiderman is not exactly G.I. Joe or Ultimate Soldier or even Star Trek. There is no G.I. Joe movie, and yet anyone can pick up a GI Joe and play soldier. On the other hand, if a consumer does not know the Spiderman story and what his powers are, it is doubtful that anyone would buy a Spiderman action figure. After all, he is dressed kind of loud. How many spiders are bright red and blue? Not exactly camouflage colors.
The Figure: Someone already reported that their Spiderman figure snapped a knee cap right out of the box. These new Toy Biz figures are similar to Sideshow Toys bodies. The plastic is kind of brittle, not the more rubbery G.I. Joe plastic (which is probably the kind that takes the most abuse). Snapping off a leg on Spiderman is as likely as it would be on any Sideshow Toys figure. The head on Spiderman is similar to the swivel head that WWF figures use, and similar to what some Action Man figures use. However, Spiderman's head is much smaller. It would be tempting to tear apart a Spiderman. However, even if the head could fit on an Action Man, it would look tiny on an Action Man or a WWF muscle body. The hands have the wide-open hands with the two-finger web-shooting action. That means that the Spiderman action figure cannot punch his enemies but can only bitch-slap them. This set should include two sets of hands.
The Headsculpt: Is it Tobey Maguire?? I guess. It looks like a real person, whoever that person may have been. It actually looks better than Tobey Maguire, who seems to have a bit of a comedy-actor goofy look. The action figure has a more serious looking face, and it has the realistic looking face which may be the result of the new laser imaging process which some toy makers are using in order to accurately capture the faces of the licensed TV or movie characters.
The Gear: THERE ISN'T ANY. After all, TOY BIZ broke down and spent money on a non PVC constructed action figure. No doubt that after many sleepless nights of soul-searching, the suits who run Toy Biz decided that spending an extra dime to include a SPIDER -TRACER or any other gear would possibly cause a global economic upheaval and so they reigned in their enthusiasm and cooler heads prevailed.
The Outfit: Perhaps after searching the Opium Dens of Southeast Asia for the cheapest and most nimble child labor, Toy Biz could actually afford to have an all fabric costume made! And this costume benefits from the kind of workmanship and seamstressing skills that you can only find in 4th World countries that use indentured servitude. Toy Biz finally comes through!!! This costume really rocks!! Too bad Spider Gloves were not included instead of painting Spiderman's hands. After all, what is the point of having a secret identity if your hands are tattooed red with silver webbing???
The Spider-Mask: This is the best Spiderman mask anyone could have invented! It slips on and it stretches very well. It is latex?? It is worth the $20. price of the action figure by itself. Except that it is kind of small for the Peter Parker head. For some reason the mask does not cover the entire head, and any fan of Spiderman knows that is a real NO-NO!!! However, it is unique and otherwise outstanding. Why is the mask a little bit short?? Perhaps because the Toy Biz folks did not want fans to be able to use it on any other action figure (like Captain Action?). Perhaps because it would have cost an extra two cents per figure to make the mask full size, and so Toy Biz made the mask smaller in order to save money? Perhaps nobody in Southeast Asia who was making the masks had ever read a Spiderman comic book and did not know any better??
Overall: For $19.99 you really cannot go wrong. Whether you like Spiderman or just want to scare your dog, this is a pretty good value. Sure, this Spiderman is lacking on many levels, but ten years ago Toy Biz issued a much worse version of Spiderman, and those Stretch Armstrong-type figures were $24.99 and the EPA banned their disposal in landfills. You actually had to mail them back to Toy Biz if you wanted to throw them away. So this new generation of Spiderman is a major improvement. The lack of accessories such as a Spider back-pack where he could store civilian clothes or lack of any other Spiderman gear should not turn you off on this set. This new and improved version of Spiderman is really an amazing product.
Grade: B
