Hasbro Marvel Universe Masterworks GALACTUS (DARK VERSION)

[JeffSaylor]

The planet eater returns, and this time he's gone goth...

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The Marvel Universe Masterworks GALACTUS (DARK VERSION) is in stock NOW at BigBadToyStore.com.

For a great selection of other superhero action figures and collectibles, visit BigBadToyStore.com.

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Crushing all competition in the toy aisle this year was the first member of Hasbro’s Marvel Universe Masterworks line, Galactus! Technically the second release after the SDCC exclusive, the infamous Planet Eater has been highly sought out for good reason; he’s an awesome figure! But wait, there’s more. Hasbro has since released a variant version representing the cosmic character as he appeared in the Marvel: Ultimate Alliance video games. Otherwise known as Galactus (Dark Version), the new incarnation is a straight repaint in darker colors, and he comes with an exclusive repainted Silver Surfer figure as well.

Galactus is one of the most powerful (and largest) characters in the Marvel Comics universe. The last survivor from the previous universe, the explorer Galan was reborn during the Big Bang into an enormous being who survived by draining the energy from entire planets. Part of the “Power Cosmic,” Galactus is a force of nature and part of the fabric of the universe. To find suitable feeding grounds and interact with lesser creatures, he continually creates Heralds by investing in them some of his nearly infinite power. The most famous of these is of course the Silver Surfer. In the game Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Galactus appears as one of the heroes’ toughest foes, only beatable with the help of Silver Surfer, his former herald.

While the initial SDCC exclusive Galactus came packaged on the world’s biggest blister card, his subsequent mass market box was a bit different. Cool in its own way, the enormous fifth panel box seems barely able to hold the cosmic destroyer. Dark Galactus’ packaging is identical to what held the standard figure, starting with the artwork of the Big G and Surfer on the front cover surrounded by the Marvel Universe logo and the name of the character. The bottom of the box is marked with the 2010 H.A.M.M.E.R. theme (though for 2011 the line is back to S.H.I.E.L.D.) and has images of other available figures.

On the inside of the front flap is a duplicate of the cover image, though you probably won’t give it a second glance since opening it reveals the figures themselves! There’s a hole in the huge clear panel so that you can try out Galactus’ electronic light and sound effects, which is great for the kids and the collectors out there who won’t be opening the box.

Continuing around the box leads to the back panel with an incredibly cool photograph of Galactus facing off against a veritable army of standard Marvel Universe figures. This panel also advertises the electronic special features with remarks like “Cosmic Lights” and “Powerful Phrases.” Finally, one of the side panels has an in-depth biography of Galactus and the Silver Surfer.

Dark Galactus, like his lighter colored brother, is truly an awe-inspiring figure at 19 inches tall. He’ll dwarf most other figures and looks positively “cosmic” next to standard Marvel Universe 3 ¾ inch scale heroes and villains. While his color palette has evolved, his wardrobe choices have not. The mighty “Abstract” being wears his usual energy-retaining and enhancing armor that leaves only the lower part of his face exposed. The rest is covered by a full body suit layered armor plating covered with all sorts of interesting patterns and textures along with boots, skirt, belt, breastplate, gloves, and helmet.

Despite, or perhaps because of, his massive size, Galactus has quite an excellent sculpt with tons of detail. This is no giant action figure with huge, smooth limbs devoid of definition. Instead, the unarmored sections of the titan’s body are sculpted with powerful muscles while the armor has a wide variety of textures ranging from striated connectors to smooth panels. The layering effects around the edges are really well done and enhance the look of heaviness depth on the armor. Looking at Galactus up close you’ll find the stylized “G” logo on his chest (hiding the button to activate lights and sounds) and intricate mechanical details on forearm panels. Meanwhile, the Devourer’s enormous helmet holds massive amounts of fine detail surrounding his noble visage, complete with unique “U” shaped pupils. Even the back of Galactus’ head is highly detailed and features translucent blue plastic.

Where this version finally differs from his predecessor is in the color department. The original Big G featured coloration based on his usual comic book appearance which meant lots and lots of purple and blue. However, the video game designers went with a somewhat more ominous (and realistic?) palette of purple and dark blue. The patterning is the same as the first Galactus, so the new one looks simply darker instead of totally different. With the darker coloring the new version’s face pops even more and the shadowing on it looks very good. Dark G shares the same additional details in black and pale blue, the latter standing out on Galactus’ belt and chest emblem.

With identical parts and sculpt, this new version also retains the same excellent articulation that the original boasted, with a ball-jointed neck, ball-jointed shoulders, upper arms, double-jointed elbows, forearms, ball-jointed wrists, waist, ball-jointed and swiveling hips, double-jointed knees, lower legs (at the boot), and ankles. That’s a pretty good spread for a big, bulky dude, and the only thing that could have really put his poseability over the top would be articulated fingers (and that’s pretty rare anyway). Galactus does great menacing poses and stomping/crushing!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SFe56DOBtw]Hasbro Marvel Universe Masterworks Galactus (Dark Version)[/ame]

While he may be darker, Galactus here didn’t come up with any new vocabulary, and so his “Cosmic Lights” and “Powerful Phrases” are the same. Push the button in his “G” chest emblem to activate a random phrase from his library of eleven. At the same time an orange light inside his head is visible through the translucent blue plastic on his eyes and helmet parts (front and back). With an overly melodramatic performance, Galactus is probably best at scaring kids and pets.

Galactus comes with a number of bonus items, including special jumbo-sized top secret envelope, Superhuman Registration Act card, and a report from “Quasimodo” detailing a plan to take control of the cosmic entity. Of course, the Devourer’s number one accessory is none other than his most famous herald the Silver Surfer. A repaint of the original Galactus’ pack in (which was itself a repaint of the single-carded Surfer), this version features a clear plastic body with an overlay of burnished silver that looks very cool and bright yellow eyes. Of course, he comes with his trusty cosmic surfboard in the same color scheme and a whole mess of joints.

Dark Galactus is available now, if you can find him. The easiest way to get a hold of him is through BigBadToyStore which has him in stock for only $54.99. As a variant there’s no telling how tough he’ll be to track down at retail, so don’t miss out on your chance to add the dark Devourer to your Marvel Universe collection!

Get yours at BigBadToyStore HERE.

FOR 40 NEW IMAGES OF THE WORLD-DEVOURING GALACTUS, CLICK HERE!

Review and Photos by Scott Rubin

Review Sample Courtesy of BigBadToyStore.com

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[•ONEYE•]

I just got this and it rocks! HUGE! It will go with my Bowen Galactic/Space statues (Modern Nova, Modern Adam Warlock, Thanos, Capt Marvel, etc..)

Great review and pictures.