A Wonderfully Mischievous Monstrosity

To be honest, I generally haven't cared much about Loki. Sure, he's a fun villain. It's hard to ignore his charm and he's pretty likable in the Marvel movies... but I generally don't pay him much mind. It's just me. Then this wonderfully awesome version of him was released in Marvel Mech Strike Monster Hunters and I was instantly sold. I've been singing the praises of this wonderful little line since being introduced to it and Loki is a great reason as to why. Like with the other bad guys in Monster Hunters, Loki is firmly a monster. The magical Eye of the Kraken combined with super villain science has turned him cool insectoid creature.

The figure is larger than your standard Monster Hunters figure, maybe 6". He has neat dragon fly type wings that move with the push of a back mounted lever. The same lever opened his chest mounted eye. Like I've said before, it's Lovecraft without specifically being Lovecraft. So that's the Eye of the Kraken. Different ancient evil. Aside from the wings, Loki has some big pointy bug legs that unfortunately don't move as far as I can tell. I say that because as soon as this goes up, somebody will figure out how to properly operate a child's toy. Articulation I can figure out immediately is his basic head and shoulder articulation. Loki's legs move at the waist, but are on more of a universal joint that gives a bigger range of motion that the basic swivel joints of his legs and head.

Visually he looks like classic Loki... if Loki was a giant bug monster. It's not much of a stretch to compare him to a Power Rangers monster... and these toys are at the perfect size and scale to pair them up with current Hasbro Power Rangers toys. Like I've said, there's definitely a tokusatsu vibe going on here. Certainly not something I'm going to complain about. Clearly he's meant to be paired up with Thor (whom I'll cover here later), but would be a monstrous foe for any of your Monster Hunters to fight. Or even your Power Rangers. He's a cool, solid feeling monster figure based on a classic comic villain. Pretty hard not to find that great.

Weekly Halloween: Make mine Monster

 

As we're heading into the Spooky Summer, Marvel Mech Strike is taking a rather nasty turn. Mech Strike Monster Hunters is the new expression of the line that's taken my attention completely by storm. I was already enjoying Mech Strike (I do need to get a few more toys though) and seeing it go whole hog into a monster theme is just wonderful. Dr. Doom is using the 'Eye of the Kraken' to give himself some ghoulish new powers that he's shared with his fellow evil companions. The Marvel Heroes have no choice but to use the Eye of Kraken on themselves to combat this threat! Now their mech suit enhancements are full of supernatural powers! 

The delightfully monstery new toys are wonderful. There's a range of action figures, role playing toys, Funko pops, and other merchandise with this cool mix of monsters and mechs. I'm mainly here for the action figures, but maybe tempted by other stuff as it's all so cool. The larger mech suits have changed since normal Mech Strike. Instead of a pilot figure that fits inside the suit, the line features larger mech versions of the characters. I'm not complaining though as the toys are solid. The addition of horror really ads something, and not just because I'm crazy about this stuff. It almost has a Ultraman slant that works pretty well. I could definitely see a tokusatsu show based on this.

The bad guys are obviously the more monster flavored, while the heroes have a more knight like appearance. I see a lot of Lovecraft in the designs of the bad guys. I'm sure that's the idea, the Eye of the Kraken (itself used in gaming before) does hint at ancient evils. With some of Lovecrafts works not aging very well (it was a different time and can be rough sometimes) I'm sure Disney/Marvel would like to keep potential problems from popping up. There's a comic as there was with Mech Strike. I haven't read any of it, but may. Personally I like my little head cannon that I've formed. Which is really just the lines basic description but with zombies and skeletons. I'm a little ridiculous. 

Weekly Update 5/2/22

 

It's the start of a brand new week here on Zone Base! This weekend was a fun one, even though things didn't go according to plan. Initially I had wanted to stay home all weekend aside from a trip to Walmart for a few things. Well, our grocery order had an issue, leading us to cancel and have to do in person. The trip to Walmart was decided to visit a slightly out of town Walmart and there was a surprise Squishmallow event Sunday. So, we ended up not spending as much time at home as I'd liked. 

The Walmart I mentioned had quite a bit of Transformers I've been looking for, so I bought a lot. I try to keep my toy purchases around a certain amount each weekend, so I didn't get everything. I'll be going back next weekend for more. They had more Marvel Mech Strike Monster Hunters, but since it was all wave 1 (which will be in abundance) I held off. 

I picked up Legacy core class Skywarp (still no Hot Rod), Beast Wars Cybershark, that cool new Nano Metalfig TRANSFORMERS set, and stand back faithful readers...

I FINALLY GOT STUDIO SERIES SOUNDWAVE!

The quest is over! It actually does exist! There was some Legacy figures still there that I'll be picking up soon as well as those Monster Hunters, Bakugan, and MOTU. With inflation driving everything on top of other financial responsibilities. I'm not dropping that much cash on toys in a weekend. I may be crazy, but not irresponsible. After heading back to my area, we ordered from Tokyo Steakhouse for dinner. The order took longer than scheduled resulting in a trip to Target while waiting. While there I picked up Studio Series Wheeljack. We got our food, I had a bunch of sushi, and Halloween specials was enjoyed before falling the crap asleep. 

Sunday morning was for picking up groceries (Avengers bananas!) before the Squishmallow event at Five Below. Ours gets a good crowd, but not like other stores where you have to line up hours before opening. The Mrs got the toys she was looking for (not including the ones from Saturday) happily. The rest of Sunday was spent playing Switch, watching spooky stuff (worked in The Conjuring between paranormal shows and Halloween cartoons), and odd chores. Odd chores outside led to a small war with insects. It's spring and the bees are out in force. Not to mention hornets and all sorts of nasty bastards. I got out my electric tennis racket and went to war! Before you ask, it's a real thing sold to kill bugs. It's exactly what it sounds like, a tennis racket that takes batteries with a metal net that basically zaps the bugs. There's a small graveyard of bug corpses in my driveway of the little jerks. Well, until birds look over our multiple feeders and eat the fresh cooked hornets.

I've got a fun week planned for you all. I hope you enjoyed the spooky flavored week we just had. Walpurgis Night is over and this year lots of companies really got behind it as Halfway to Halloween. There was lots of spooky content floating around and I'm glad to have done my part. Spooky Summer is right around the corner and with it code orange fun! Thank you for continuing to support Zone Base. We're entering the more exciting times of the year and it's super awesome of you to enjoy it with me here on the site. As always, all I ask is that you share with your friends!

Weekly Update 4/25/22 Walpurgis Week

 

It's Monday and the start of a special spooky week here on Zone Base! In observance of Walpurgis Night this weekend, every post this week will be spooky flavored! Consider it an early taste of Spooky Summer as we anticipate the big Halloween party later this year!

This weekend was a busy one. Well, Sunday was. The Mrs and I spent Sunday at the zoo. It was a fun day, but now I'm exhausted. A trip to Target Friday morning resulted in some new Bakugan and finally getting the Turbo Changers Shockwave from Cyberverse. It's the Buzzworthy Bumblebee version for what counts. We watched The Batman Saturday night. I really liked it, even though it was way too long. Really good movie and I must get a Riddler figure now. Maybe a Batmobile.

I made a quick trip to Walmart Saturday that resulted in a Legacy Kick-Back and Mech Strike Monster Hunters Black Panther and Dr. Doom! I'm certain at this point that Studio Series Soundwave actually doesn't exist. At the zoo gift shop they had an odd series of transforming animal robots. There was lion, leopard, and a tiger. I got the leopard one. We plan to do another zoo trip in the fall, I'll probably get the others then. Kinda just wanted one this time. 

Hope you all enjoy Walpurgis Week here on Zone Base. Spooky Summer is right around the corner and this week is more what I have in mind to make summer a little scarier before the pumpkin spice mayhem commences. Thanks to each and every one of you for continuing to support Zone Base. There's a ton of bigger and better sites out there. Taking the time to read mine means the world to me. Please don't forget to share with your friends!

Robots/Monsters/Oh My

 

I got the coolest Press Release today chock full of upcoming Hasbro toys. There's some really cool stuff coming in 2022 and I thought I'd point out a few neat things that I thought might be of interest to Zone Base readers. 

Transformers: Bumblebee Cyberverse Adventures Dinobots Unite Smash Changer Optimus Prime (Ages 6 & up/Approx. Retail Price: $31.49) 

This is a pretty neat looking figure. While being part of Cyberverse, it's clearly Optimus from the Bumblebee movie and upcoming Rise of the Beasts! I really dig the newer movie designs and this one's pretty tempting. That's him in the header image. 

Star Wars™ - Star Wars™ Mission Fleet Boba Fett Starship and 2.5-inch Figure Set (Ages 4 years & up/ Approx. Retail Price: $41.99) 

You guys know I've been a fan of the Mission Fleet Star Wars toys. While I didn't see a picture of this one, I'm really looking forward to it. Boba Fett is one of my all time favorites (I already have his regular Mission Fleet toy) and looking forward to seeing his classic ship in this line,

Power Rangers Dino Fury Megafury Saber (Ages 5 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $38.99) 

Tokusatsu fans love role play toys and Hasbro has a few Power Rangers ones on the way. I'm pointing out the Megafury Saber as I want to run around the back yard and swing it at imaginary monsters. Or the neighbors kid.

Marvel Mech Strike Monster Hunters (Ages 4 years & up/Approx. Retail Price: $11.99-$34.99)  

Holy crap! I already thought Marvel Mech Strike was pretty great, but they just made it amazing! Now we have Marvel's heroes with super cool mech suits and sci fi weaponry fighting specifically monstery versions of the Marvel villains. I am specifically excited for this, just look at that packaging! With this and the new season of Stranger Things (finally) coming soon, we've got a great start to spooky summer!

Thanks to Rogers & Cowan for providing Zone Base readers with another awesome press release.