Spider-Man 3 friend/foe in fantastic figure form...
New Goblin is currently available through Sideshow priced at $169.99 with free shipping!
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After releasing Spider-Man from Spider-Man 3 (read our review HERE), Hot Toys follows up with one of the cooler character concepts from the film: NEW GOBLIN, aka Harry Osbourne. Played by James Franco, this entry might not be at the top of everyone’s holiday wish list but I guarantee it will win you over in its simple elegance. Those of you who own other Hot Toys figures know that swapping heads and outfits isn’t exactly a fun time; it’s a tedious and time-consuming art to get things just right. So it’s actually incredibly comforting knowing that New Goblin here sports only two heads and two sets of hands - and a very cool light-up Sky Stick.
The packaging for New Goblin is in what resembles a heavy duty shoe-box, very similar to how Spider-Man was delivered. The design of the box reflects New Goblin’s color scheme along with his mask. The plastic tray within the box compartmentalizes the figure and all of the accessories nicely.
There are two portraits that come with New Goblin: one is a standard James Franco with a stern expression and the other is a masked portrait. It is a shame that a third portrait was not included as (spoiler alert) Harry Osbourne’s face was severely scarred by the end of the film from his own Pumpkin Bomb. In the film, this version of New Goblin never comes face to face with Spider-Man but takes on Peter Parker rather. Getting back to the sculpts, they are well done and have a strong likeness to James Franco. Certain lighting and angles help better than others but more or less, the sculpt is there.
The outfit is specially tailored for the New Goblin and consists of a black and green jacket, elbow pads, belt and sword sheath, black pants, and snow boots. Two sets of gloved hands are included. The first set of palms are fists while the second has a gripped right hand for holding swords and a relaxed left hand for holding pumpkin bombs.
Accessories included with New Goblin is a pretty impressive lot. We’ve already mentioned the extra portrait and second set of hands, but there are also three swords (two fit into sheaths), a set of pumpkin bombs (one closed, one released), light-up sky stick with clear display stand, and a figurine stand/base.
The figure stand and sky stick really set this figure apart from the rest and Hot Toys did a great job with them both. The stand has a wide concrete-looking base with a clear pole and adjustable clip to hold New Goblin. The light-up Sky Stick (batteries included) require attachments to connect the sole of the foot to the board, There are two holes on the bottom of each sole for the attachment to allow for a more varied stance if you chose.
The engine underneath the sky stick can rotate 360 degrees but watch out, there’s some sharp points there. Removing the tape inside the battery compartment also requires a screwdriver to remove so make sure you have that handy and keep it around as you’ll need it to adjust the height of the stand.
Articulation has never been a bad suit for Hot Toys. Here, using a True Type body, he has about 30 points of articulation. Articulation in the heel is a tad limited due to the boots however so take that as you will.
Overall, the New Goblin figure was not one I was expecting to have much thought about since it comes from such a lacking movie, but the notion of Harry Osbourne becoming the New Goblin is an inspired one. While his mask could have been better, we can’t fault Hot Toys for getting it exactly right. A third portrait showing a scarred James Franco would have made this release perfect but even for now, this is a solid figure and something that I enjoyed far greater than I expected. And at $169.99, it’s not as pricey as many other figures out there and you get a pretty impressive display. It’s so good that it makes me actually want to watch Spider-Man 3 again, which isn’t an easy feat.
Review and Photography by David Yeh
