Suko w/ Titanus Doug [Godzilla x Kong]

Ever since Godzilla vs Kong came out in 2021, Doug has been in the hearts of many a kaiju fan. Don't ask me how this cute little guy who makes the briefest of appearances managed to become so beloved... but I had to have one too. Fortunately the little guy reappeared in the follow up Godzilla x Kong : The New Empire. Playmates released a toy of the lovable little guy in a 2 pack with Suko... that little shit you wanted Kong to punt into lava for 3/4ths of the movie. I've been speaking highly of Playmates kaiju figures and they did a great job with this two pack. Suko is pleasantly articulated for such a little guy and Doug has the movement you'd expect from a toy his shape. For $10 these are a great value. There's even a rock for Suko to throw. I do wish Doug had brighter paint apps... but it's pretty true to form. Playmates has seemingly shifted from GxK to Monsterverse as a whole and I'll be getting into some of those here eventually. With Bandai sofubi making a return to US shelves I don't know if Playmate's kaiju run is over, or if they're strictly Monsterverse now. Either way, what they've been churning out is solid toys. Playmates always makes good stuff and I'm really looking forward to their upcoming Power Rangers figures.

Shimo (Godzilla X Kong/2 pack version)

Following up on the Godzilla from the Godzilla vs Shimo 2 pack we looked at earlier this month is Shimo. Like Evolved Godzilla, Shimo is a variation of the standard retail release with an alternate paint deco. Shimo is an interesting looking ice monster who caused the last ice age 11,700 years ago. Avoiding spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie as of this writing, she's an antagonist alongside The Skar King and quite a threat. Like many others, I thought her design was really cool (no pun intended). The blue crystals against the white skin is a much different set of colors than what normally gets used for kaiju.

An ancient frost dragon type monster just makes great example of why Monsterverse is so fun. In this action figure, Shimo is fairly faithful to her onscreen appearance. A quadruped, Shimo's legs move at the hips. Her head and tail also rotate and move around as you'd expect from a toy like this. Her mouth can open which allows the blast effect to be plugged in for the FROST BITE BLAST. It's a fun toy and to make her fighting against the Evolved Godzilla complete, there's some additional included cardboard scenery (not pictured). Playschool makes great toys and this 2 pack is a lot of fun.... as is everything about Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.

Evolved Godzilla (Godzilla X Kong/2 pack version)

I've been singing the praises of Playmates Godzilla and Kong line since they launched and for good reason. These are great toys of classic characters. Evolved Godzilla is from the newest movie, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire and this version is specifically from the Godzilla vs Shimo 2 pack. The 2 pack is exclusive to Walmart (I believe) and features the two figures with variant decos and scenery for them to fight in. Godzilla is in his Evolved form as you've seen countless times for the marketing for the movie. It's a cool new look that comes with extra abilities that I can't tell you about yet as of this writing I haven't seen the movie yet. I will have by the time you read this and will likely be raving about it non-stop. But as of now, not yet. The wait is killing me... I love this stuff.

Godzilla is pretty much the same figure as his standard release, however with a slightly different deco. The regular version is a darker green, while this is a brighter shade with some teals thrown in. I'm sure it's meant to represent the lighting in a fight scene between Shimo and him, but even on it's own looks cool. A regular complaint I've seen about this Evolved form is the pinks in his dorsal fins. Personally I don't get it, as we all thought it looked cool in Shin Godzilla. That and I appreciate the new look. I like the Monsterverse version of Godzilla, but admit it doesn't always translate well into toys and such. This new form seemingly does pretty well. This is a pretty decent action figure of him with a fair amount of articulation... or about as much so you'd expect. Shoulders, legs, tail,and head move in the standard fashion for Godzilla toys. Also like toys before, his mouth opens and the included Atomic Breath blast effect and plug in. This is a great toy to stomp around and make 'skreeonk' sounds until someone tells you to be quiet. Between Minus One in December and Godzilla X Kong in March... it's an amazing time for Godzilla fans. I'm taking in as many monster toys as I can and this 2 pack was a great set of figures in cool colors (I got the Kong one too). I love it, now if you'll excuse me, I'm getting to work on my aftermarket bus accessory packs for Godzilla toys. To pick up and putting back down.

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

Empire of Old weekend saw not just yesterdays movie, but a viewing of Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire Easter Sunday (today) morning. I've been chomping at the bit for this one despite the heaping of kaiju love I've been getting lately. Since the movie just came out, I'll avoid spoilers, but it's obvious this was awesome. The Monsterverse movies are basically modern Showa era (and a touch Heisei) with big Hollywood budgets. One of the biggest gripes when watching Godzilla movies is waiting for the human scenes to end so we can get to the monsters. Monsterverse is almost all monster mayhem and it's wonderful. Godzilla and Kong (with some friends) team up to take on The Skar King and Shimo (with some friends). GxK an insane mixture of giant monsters and cool visuals. It's hard to cram 2 hours of awesome into a short post... freaking badass.