Super Hero Showdown, the new action figure/game line from Toy Biz, has a bit of a split personality. On the one hand, it's a game while on the other it is a set of action figures. Some people will find appeal in both and some will find appeal in just the figures or just the game.

To make it a little easier we're going to divide the coverage into the figures (this Spotlight) and the game. So that way you can check out only one or the other, or maybe even both!

Info You Need To Know

The figures will either be sold as starter sets with a pair of figures or in single booster packs. The two starter sets are Hulk & Wolverine and Spider-Man & Thing. There are two assortments of booster figures, and they are listed below. The less common 'chase' figure is denoted below also.

Asst 1 Booster Figures

• Doc Ock
• Ghost Rider
• Spider-Man (Black Costume)
• Berserker Wolverine (Chase)
• Punisher

Asst 2 Booster Figures

• Human Torch
• Dr. Doom
• Iron Man
• Spider Sense Spider-Man (Chase)
• Captain America

The first two assortments and both starter sets should be available concurrently when the line officially launches in July 2005.

The Figures

The scale of these figures is more 4" than 3-3/4". Wolverine is 3-3/4" tall while Ghost Rider's skull-top (not the flames) is around 4". The Hulk tops out just above 4-1/2". You can fudge them with 3-3/4" lines but those who are strict about scale will find them just slightly off.

The joints for all the figures are tight and the Hulk's shoulders and waist are especially prone to popping off, but they easily snap back on. It's because of the Hulk's larger size and his larger joints as the other two figures stayed tight in those joints. The ball-joints are really ball and socket joints, similar to those seen in Stikfas or mini-mate shoulders. The nature of the game requires lots of posing, so eventually the joints will loosen up due to heavy use.

All the figures have a base that is used in the game and a poseable stand that attaches to the base and each figure's back. They also each have a projectile weapon (that shoots over 10 feet) with a projectile. They also come with cards for the game, and more information on that will be in the game portion tomorrow.

Hulk

The green goliath is here in all his glory, sporting a nice batch of articulation (listed below). He's also got a gamma gun that shoots painful green fists. He's also got a nice plastic base with his ugly mug embossed in it and a posing rig that sticks in his back and the stand to suspend gravity for some of his more creative poses.

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Articulation:

• Neck - ball joint
• Shoulders - ball joints
• Biceps - swivel joints
• Elbows - hinge joints
• Wrists - hinge joints
• Left Hand - hinge joint
• Chest - limited movement ball-joint
• Waist - swivel joint
• Thighs - ball-joints
• Mid-thighs - swivel joints
• Knees - double hinge joints
• Ankles - ball-joints
• Feet - hinge joints

Wolverine

The ever-popular mutant is back as yet another action figure from Toy Biz, this time in the yellow tiger stripe spandex. His claws are all one piece, due to the smaller size and the hope to not poke an eye out. The face on his base looks more like a Skrull than Wolverine, but you can still kind of tell it's him!

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Articulation:

• Neck - ball joint
• Shoulders - ball joints
• Biceps - swivel joints
• Elbows - double hinge joints
• Wrists - hinge joints
• Chest - limited movement ball-joint
• Waist - swivel joint
• Thighs - ball-joints
• Mid-thighs - swivel joints
• Knees - double hinge joints
• Calves - swivel joints
• Ankles - ball-joints

Ghost Rider

The spirit of vengeance, also known as Ghost Rider! For Super Hero Showdown the spectral fighter goes sans his motorcycle. It's probably because putting gas in it is so much money and his Prius is in the shop. He does one very good thing going for him - his projectile is a ball of flame rather than a hand on a stick.

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Articulation:

• Neck - ball joint
• Shoulders - ball joints
• Biceps - swivel joints
• Elbows - double hinge joints
• Wrists - hinge joints
• Chest - limited movement ball-joint
• Waist - swivel joint
• Thighs - ball-joints
• Mid-thighs - swivel joints
• Knees - double hinge joints
• Calves - swivel joints
• Ankles - hinge joints

Whodunit?

For the figures in this Spotlight the sculpting duties fall on two men familiar to Marvel Legends collectors - Phil Ramirez and Dave Cortes. Dave sculpted Ghost Rider while Phil gets the credit for the Hulk and Wolverine. These figures utilize all new sculpts just for this game.

Why You'll Want to Buy Them

Fans of the smaller 3-3/4" scale will be able to add some more color to their collections, so the figures will definitely appeal to them. The smaller figures also mean that you won't need as much space to display your collection. If you enjoy putting your figures into myriad poses then you'll like these.

There is a trade-off with the smaller scale though. You will generally see less articulation than on a 6" figure and these figures are out of scale with much of the already well-established Marvel Legends line. Even so, you're still getting tons of articulation for a figure of any size with this line. The larger Marvel Legends Build-A-Figures however, look even more impressive when compared with Super Hero Showdown.

And besides, who doesn't need another Wolverine figure?