My Marvel Collection: X-MEN & X-FORCE!!!

[packerbacker180]

I never really read New Warriors when I got back into comics even though I loved Firestar from the Spidey cartoon and the solo Speedball comics was one of my last favorites before I stopped reading comics for a couple years. Many of those characters have gotten Marvel Legends in recent years, including Speedball most recently.

[BrandonDaCollector]

I see and that is very cool. OK but there's plenty more that hasn't! Thanks for the reply PB

[BrandonDaCollector]

That's right, as I said before this will be a special "flashback" showcase. How could I skip this when I'm doing a special Marvel Collection Topic The answer is simple...I CAN'T Now first off it was a great time in 1992 because WCW really was shining and they locked in a comic licensed with none other than Marvel which with a somewhat still a noob like Myself at the time it was such a great pairing and its something that the WWF couldn't do it because they had their deal with Valiant Comics (seen in My Vintage Wrestling Collection Topic) but how many people that is Wrestling & Marvel fans & collectors in general talk about this cool time that happen in the early 90s... not that many I can assure you. Another thing is that when comics was changing in around 1992 and this predated McFarlane's Spawn & Image Comics by months so indeed it was a special time for Me so without further ado here is this special WCW Marvel presentation

Of course you remember that WCW had action figures by ToyBiz aka Marvel Toys as I brought back the memory of them in My great WCW ToyBiz showcase in My grand Vintage Wrestling Topic but did you know that WCW was featured in actual Marvel Comics years before hand Well, if ya do then you get a thumbs up, if ya didn't then boy are you in for a treat because no wrestling fan that doesn't shouldn't be without know that these terrific WCW Marvel Comics existed

NOTE: I took these pics long ago. I wanted to post these a while back, there is so much for Me to do

So it was during a really cool time, arguably the best & unusual of times in wrestling. In was 1992 Hogan was leaving wrestling, time for new faces in the WWF, however, things were quite different over at WCW. Sting was finally becoming the face of the company as Flair was still in the Federation and Lex Luger was going to Vinnie Mac's WBF (I featured a HUGE showcase of that in the WWF, Yo, Do You Remember topic, check it out when you can, it's incredible how I made it) and he appeared at Wrestlemania 8 via satellite. Sting became world champ and there was many kinds of different wrestlers there compared to the WWF.

The series was short lived and they were hard to get in My area. I only got 2 issues, My Grandma got'em for Me at 7-Eleven of all places and I remember seeing them at the newsstands, it was kinda surprising really These were actual comic books like your usual Marvel & DC Comics unlike the cool WWF ones that I showed before. Here's samples of BOTH WCW issues and your gonna like these especially if your a WCW fan

Here is the very first comic that published and it's got Lex Luger on the cover and he is still world champ and a major heel with Harley Race & Mr. Hughes. Take a gander inside, there's T2, I got the Game Boy version that it advertises there and I already showed it in My Video Game Topic's Game Boy Showcase. This was the April, 1992 issue. There is Ron Simmons, Johnny B. Badd and others. More ads including X-Men trading cards, Marvel [b]3 Musketeers ads and the back cover was baseball and take a gander at that April 1992 Copyright





Issue #2 which was July, Sting is on the front cover and he is World Heavyweight Champion now. Look at Johnny B. Badd in the corner, this was a few years before his "Wildman" Marc Mero time in the WWF. Hah, would you look at that, "Stunning" Steve Austin & The Diamond Studd aka Scott Hall and the July 1992 Copyright



Oh man, WCW was always known to have mystery & one off wrestlers and here is one that was EXCLUSIVE to the comic or was it It was THE GHOUL He was all in black & neon green but who is he? Is he wrestling's version of Scareglow He is after Ron Simmons & Sting whatever his identity is



Holy ring rust, he's gonna reveal himself, why it's "Ravishing" Rick Rude Also TYDKE ad



There's a Marvel ad, a Basket-Brawl game ad for the Sega Genesis (no I do not have that one) and another Honey, I Blew the Kid! That concludes the second Marvel WCW Comic



So were you surprised That isn't the only time that happen in WCW, they got the idea to it in the comic as Rude actually donned a very similar gimmick in real life

The WCW Phantom @ WCW Halloween Havoc 1991: Yep, it was many months before the comic inspiration. This is one of My favorite WCW Halloween Havoc events (89 & 95 were great too!) and this is one of the reasons



That was his debut in the company! He was away from the WWF for about a year and he would have a good a run there until his unfortunate injury. Amazing how he was a part of The Dangerous Alliance. I really liked Madusa, she was My fave next to Miss Elizabeth in WCW.

So there's that special flashback presentation, I do regret not getting anymore but My local stores stopped carrying them for whatever reason Now here is something new, I put together My 2 previous Marvel Comics just seen quite recently as well as My two WCW Marvel Comics. Look at that, 1990 - 1992, it doesn't get much better than that



I'm quite grateful that I could do this and especilaly that i have the very first WCW Marvel Issue ever I hope you liked this. Next will be big a Marvel Movie showcase from the 80s and it's gonna be a great visually stunning presentation that you ain't gonna want to miss, until then I'll see you around

[AcidDragon]

Great repost, Brandon. I especially love re-seeing those WCW comics from Marvel. I wish they did a collected edition of these but that likely won't ever happen now.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Thanks a lot Acid. Yes, they are great to see at anytime and like I said, I would imagine this would get the attention f any wrestling & Marvel fan a like then & now Yeah, unfortunately I don't think they would ever put them together in a special edition I mean last year would have been the most ideal year because it marked it's 30th anniversary...talk about a major missed opportunity and it would have showed how great Marvel & wrestling was back then for people of this generation & the novice Thanks for the reply Acid, I appreciate that very much

[BrandonDaCollector]

Oh boy, here we go with a huge double feature presentation that I have been longing to do for quite a while now and I gave you the big hint in My really good Comic Scene double feature, if you missed that great showcase of Mine then you gotta go back and see it first otherwise next up is...



Yes, it's the poorly misunderstood Marvel film Howard the Duck that was written by George Lucas and by watching the film you can clearly tell he's a part of it. I'm like this is by the guy that did Star Wars It stars one of My all-time favorites Lea Thompson as Beverly, she was one of My most earliest and biggest crushes of all. I just loved her. If you were a youngster during this time and saw her in Back to the Future I'm sure you felt for her as well. So how did I find out about Howard the Duck in 1986/1987 without being a Marvel fan till 1990 Well My Grandma found the movie over at Movie Mogul where We rented a ton of films which I have presented so well in My very crucial showcase of Glory Days of Movie Rentals in My imperative Odds & Ends Topic. It's a showcase anybody who really loved "true" movie rentals and recalls those times as special needs to check out because it seems like this world's frame of mind is really fading away from the past and that means so much is going to fall to oblivion as if the amounts of things already that has isn't enough and I'm not seeing very many people trying to preserve important moments of the past which they will really regret it in the future believe you Me So even though I was a horror freak back when I was a youngster watching Universal Monsters, Alien & Aliens among other spooky stuff in the dark with My Grandpa countless times not to mention Freddy's Nightmares & Friday the 13th the Series every Saturday Night for years on KPLR Channel 11 which I wasn't afraid of, I was actually afraid of the Dark Overlord of the Universe and still I cannot figure out why It could be because of the way they came down to Earth, I don't know, it still kinda gives Me a little scary feeling. So I didn't get the VHS till a long while later in the early to mid 90s with My Mom at Our local Best Buy in South County that I have showcased previously. Here is the front & back of the VHS Box which there is some cool pictures of Beverly who still today is one of the most sweetest female characters of ever of all-time and the BLUE LETTERING is like Star Wars plus the great 1986 Copyright... look at that great stuff, I've always loved how this looked since I got it way back in the day



Here is the actual VHS Tape itself, the really cool and classic looking MCA Universal Home Video logo plus the re-release 1993 Copyright which is 30 years ago this year, that is truly remarkable



Many, many years later I got the Howard the Duck DVD over at Schnucks on Gravois & Hampton which I have also recently showcased in My Topics. This is the Special Edition with a lot of Bonus Features.Here is the front & back Covers which you can see they are similar yet very different from the VHS version.



Here is the inside of the DVD Case which there is no insert or any type of flyer here whatsoever. I had explained the history with My griping in My Vintage Wrestling Topic when I Showcased My Vintage Wrestling VHS & DVD Collection when I compared how great the early 2000s release of Suburban Commando was compared to the early 2010s No Holds Barred was. Here's the pretty DVD itself and look at that, it has the Marvel logo this time around which was missing from the 1993 VHS release which shows you how things changed with Marvel's thinking, how people craved them and how times changed in general and by the way, the NEW/recent Universal Logo is present plus this is from 2008 & 2009 which is 15 years ago this year, can you believe that



So here's My Howard the Duck VHS & DVD together...look at the varied coolness




So one of the most important parts of the film was the music. Much of it was never released. The songs were by Thomas Dolby and sung by Lea Thompson which was something because Michael J. Fox did the same thing a year before in 1985's Back to the Future which Thompson was in also. However as good as that is I wanted the score by the late great John Barry whom composed so many James Bond 007 scores. He was so fantastic and so darn underrated. So it wasn't until the late 2000s/early 2010s when I found a place on eBay that sold great quality bootlegs of movie scores that never saw the light of day which if you a movie score fan & collector you know that this is beyond pathetic. I found a special The Black Hole-Howard the Duck CD that combined the two together because John Barry composed the music for that one as well which was one of My Grandpa's all-time favorites. It's actually on a super disc that can actually hold over 80 minutes of music which I have explained before that it was stuff of legends back in the day. Here is the intricately gorgeous front & back Covers of this wonderful bootleg that I feel is as good at the official/real releases if not better



Here is the inside of the Jewel Case. The CD looks nice but hold on...



You take the CD out and there's a cool picture of some of the characters from 1979's The Black Hole which I love those clear Jewel Cases which I have explained that whole history in My Vintage Wrestling Topic when I Showcased My Vintage Wrestling CD Theme Collection which little things like that has always been interesting to Me



So here is the Insert. It's pretty decent and looks similar in style like My Suburban Commando insert which is cool because it looks old fashioned 90s as it has a lot of pictures from The Black Hole & Howard the Duck



So the label is MASK, these bootlegs all have different brands on them which is made by FAO Philharmonic Music Association and is an International company housed in Rome Italy where they are also manufacture these great compilation sets. This one actually came out in 1999 and looking back then to now, it's amazing to know that both of these films are owned by Disney Here is the the great Track Listing which the majority is of The Black Hole since this was the attraction and it has a tremendous amount of cues with 11 including a great suite from the film however Howard the Duck has less at only 6 tracks but their all great as well and if you know the film as much as I do then hearing this is a treat plus there's three bonus tracks here too that was written by John Barry from other fine films. The sound is incredible, if you didn't know and just listened to this you'd swear it was from an official release, it's that darn good



As a bonus here's My Howard the Duck Collection of VHS, DVD & CD, look at that history



Next up is...



Yes, that's correct...The Punisher The logos seen above is from My Punisher VHS Box, that is so awesome looking and I love that little Punisher & Marvel 1990 Copyright As seen with My ToyBiz Marvel Super Heroes I showcased My great Punisher figure that I got in 1990 and strangely I started seeing more of him in other things...I will showcase these other things starting with My The Punisher NES video game I first saw this over at Verna's Mr. T's that I showcased & expressed My love for in My Glory Days of Movie Rentals in My important Odds & Ends Topic. I had My Grandparents buy it for Me sometime after that for Me cause I loved it so much. Here is the NES Punisher video game still in it's sleeve...



Here it is out of it's sleeve along with the really cool Instruction Booklet



Ah here is The Punisher NES LJN 1990 Copyright, this was during such a great when LJN was doing wonders thanks to Acclaim's takeover (I explained their entire history in My Vintage Action Figure Topic via My huge 2-Part WWF & ThunderCats LJN presentation a long while back). they made some of the most fantastically fun games ever and they were like the number one video game company of the 90s yet plebeians of today never talk about them and I really dislike that...it makes Me bitter to no end



So here is the wonderfully fun Instruction Booklet. I really dig how this is and that Frank Castle is talking to you



I love how they have pics of the villains of the game & story, I love reading those bios and there's gameplay pictures there as well as hints



Here's other game info plus an extra page to write down your Notes, now that is a classic old school way I love and still prefer Oh look, there's the Acclaim Wireless NES Cotrollers with the two young boys there going head to head playing Acclaim's WWF Wrestlemania which I once had these babies. Sometime ago PB posted the commercial in his good Toy Commercials Topic and he really didn't recall them...here is that link ---> http://www.dctoyrevolution.org/post43396.html?hilit=Controllers#p43396. Oh look at that right below it is The Punisher VHS Tape of the live action motion picture starring Dolph Lundgren which when I first saw this I was like what...I gotta see that but dang it's not out till next year in 1991 which back then seemed like a really long time Here's warranty info and the back Cover is of Back to the Future II & III which is actually 2 games in 1 and tell Me how many video game companies other than LJN went that extra mile back then in 1989/1990 Oh man I love how this looks



As a sweet bonus here's My Punisher NES Game along with many of My great LJN NES Video Games seen in My wonderful Video Game Collection Topic plus so much more is within it



So here's the one you've been waiting for it's My The Punisher VHS Tape You didn't think I'd skip this after just talking about it a minute ago did ya Well I didn't get it till later actually. I loved this film, it was one of the last great shoot'em up movies of the 80s and it starred Dolph Lundgren as the titled character whom I knew for years already. Here is the great front & back of the VHS Cover Sleeve Box



Here is the sides of the VHS Box, I love it when there's different pictures on each side and there's the VHS tape itself



Here is a close up of the pictures of the VHS Box and the 1989 Copyrights. Now this version I have is the re-release from Avid so that's why there is a 1994 Copyright, I always pay attention to copyrights on just about everything, I've said it countless times before of how crucial it is and how i can help you too



Here's a much closer look at the 1989 & 1994 Copyrights. Avid is a sister company of LIVE Entertainment that would eventually be bought by Artisan Entertainment then taken over by Lions Gate Entertainment which the latter is the only one that exists as I speak. Notice the New World Pictures logo, they were one of My favorite movie studios because they were masters of horror & sci-fi, they would be bought by News Corporation/20th Century Fox which is owned by Disney which if your like Me and loved watching movies by New World Pictures of the 80s and Disney's Dimension Films of the 90s then you know the connection and similarities there though as much I dig the latter, I still prefer the former. This was one of THE LAST movies ever that New World Pictures was a part of unfortunately



Now here is one of My most prized Marvel items of all in My entire collection...The Punisher Score by Perseverance Records They released this in 2005 and it was such a great time. Here is the front & back Covers and it has 30 score cues + 1 track of the song from the club and then 8 tracks of a special interview with the great composer Dennis Dreith and the crew at Perseverance Records and the score is all in chronological order which I just love it when they do that on special releases because nine times out on ten they don't on regular releases. If you don't know how wonderful the score is and how this special release is then I really pity you because any Marvel fan needs this in their collection and I am quite grateful that I bought way in that day when it first came out



It's an official release however this wasn't available at stores such as Best Buy, it was at specialty soundtrack web stores like Screen Archives for an example whom I really recommend buying from by the way. Here's the inside of the set as you see the great looking CD & Booklet



The booklet is marvelous as you would expect since it's a special edition. Here we see The Punisher himself and his debut comic in a great write up. I love reading about this history and about movie scores, it's so fun



Here they talk about that Dolph was He-Man in the live action Masters of the Universe film and that his Punisher role should have set him up to be huge but like they said in the booklet it was such a limited showing and hardly anybody saw it at the theater thus making it no competition for any big film in 1989 including Batman. Look at those pictures and the cool write up there, Perseverance Records goes the extra mile every time



Here is the rest of the booklet with some great pictures as they talk more about the history of the film plus the cues






Here is some great info of the copyright and here is the guys that made this all possible....



So here we have Dennis Dreith the composer who wrote this totally awesome score with the gray long hair, the man sitting down is Les Brockmann and the gentleman standing up with the Queen shirt is Robin Esterhammer whom is the producer of this mighty fine soundtrack/score and is really the head of the company. I actually spoke to Robin many times back in the day. It was nothing personal, just business and he'd e-mail Me personally with newsletters and a whole bunch of stuff. He was tremendous at his job and he wasn't like one of those big shots with assistants, he did it himself



Here is a closer look at the cool CD & Booklet. This grand baby is 79:22, that's nearly the limit of what music CD can hold, I adore that as you get so much for your money here



Here is the Perseverance Records logo with their cute fire-breathing bird and also when they joined forces with Tarantula Records. Look at that 1989 Copyright and it says this wonderful action packed 80s score was recorded on Monday April 3rd & Tuesday April 4th at Burbank Studios



Here's My small but great Vintage Punisher Collection of My NES Video Game, ToyBiz Marvel Super Heroes Figure, The VHS Live Action Movie & the superb Score release, I am quite thankful that I can do this



And finally here is My Punisher & Howard the Duck Media Collection, look at the wonderful Vintage Marvel greatness when they were so exciting, I'm grateful that I'm able to this a lot to put all of this together



So that will conclude My massive but very special Howard the Duck & The Punisher Collection showcase and I hope you were surprised and liked how visually stunning this is Look for a special post in PB's Movie Trailer Topic to coincide with this sometime soon as I'll go deeper into detail so be looking for that in the near future Next up will be the big one you've been waiting for, until then I'll see you around

[BrandonDaCollector]

Yes, that is correct, THE X-MEN is finally here

SPECIAL PROLOGUE!!!

Before I start this great showcase, here's a small prologue that is very important to Me. Last year in PB's Movie Trailer Topic, I spotlighted one of My most cherished and favorite films of ever of all-time called My Science Project, he and apparently everybody else never heard of it which didn't surprise Me in the slightest because it's one of those superb films that has has nearly fell to Oblivion. If you know Me, I'm all for obscure things before they fall in a limbolic stage and I try hard to make history return & last If you haven't seen it already (it' s been months since I posted it), it's a must and once you see it you'll be like wow, that was really good...why in the heck didn't I see this before I'm sure glad Brandon gave Me the heads up about this If your not like that then that's ok too It's been a childhood favorite since I found it one day over at Rainbow Video when I was with My Grandma when I was a wee-youngster. I was looking there and it just caught My attention I mean think of that, I'm 5 or 6 years old and this was THE movie for Me as much as Ghostbusters & Star Wars It's always been a special time of My life which I'm really thankful for So if you haven't seen My great spotlight of the film check it out here ---> http://www.dctoyrevolution.org/general-discussions/this-thread-has-not-yet-been-rated-movie-trailers-t1254-620.html and I also featured this greatly in My Odds & Ends located here ---> http://www.dctoyrevolution.org/general-toy-discussions/my-odds-ends-insane-keychain-t1176-120.html. There's rarely a time I don't think of My Science Project because it's that special to Me Now here's a quote from that special spotlight and now you'll see why I began this with a prologue

Now in one cute scene, Mike hands Vince a Comic Book to make their school time go faster and check out what is new within it. When I first saw this movie, this is THE FIRST TIME EVER I saw the X-Men, I wouldn't get seriously involved with comics till 1989 and I wouldn't become a big X-Men fan till 1991 when I got the figures that I have explained in My prior Topics as well as this one. I find it astonishing that I believe that X-Men liking has always been there thanks to My Science Project

This is actually going to be a massive, Two-Parter so now here I go with My ToyBiz X-Men Collection of the early 90s in this Part One Presentation

THE FIGURES!!!

THE X-MEN HEROES - FIRST ENTRY HAS A VERY SPECIAL STORY!!!

Wolverine: He's one of My favorite figures of My whole collection. My Grandma got Me him over at the old Walgreens on Loughborough & Morgan Ford sometime in 1992. I had a very, I mean a VERY crucial moment here. I was looking at their toy isle like usual. I was about 11 at this time. I was letting thoughts of Me being too old for toys and all that. After My Grandma was done getting what she wanted she knew where'ed I'd be which was usually at the toys or newsstands. She saw something was kinda off about Me. I said to her that I felt like I was getting to old for toys. She knew exactly about this so she gave Me her serious look and said "Angel. your never too old to collect toys or anything you like so don't let that thought & frame of mind creep into your head!" So ever since that very good day I've had that "We Don't Stop Playing Because We Grow old...We Grow Old Because We Stop Playing" (look at My sig) mentality ever since and I can thank My Grandma very much for that

OK, so first off about Wolverine. This is really his most iconic look of the original era. I like how stocky he is. He includes his Katana/Samurai Sword as well as his removable Mask.



His sculpting is pretty decent with sculpted hair on his arms among other features. His action feature is that his blades within his arms extract with a locking mechanism and it works wonderfully.



His face is really good as it looks unusual yet very iconic. In this pic I made sure I put his two accessories together



Here's Cyclops Version 1 & Version 2. Both are really good having a light-up eye feature and both look quite decent.




I was very excited when I found Nightcrawler at My old Target in late 1991. He's still a remarkable figure IMO



I have always loved this Colossus and his weightlifting feature.




Archangel is really neat, he has such a good color scheme.



Ah Storm, My first and only female figure of My collection. I like how she looks here with her long white hair



Now here's G.W. Bridge, I believe he was My first or one of My first in the X-Force Series. He looks really good.



Cable V1 & V2: He's always been a great character and both of these versions are tremendous. I preferred Version 2 as he looks better and I love how you can put his Bullet Bandoleer in his Gun as well as Missile Launcher





Strong Guy is a big heavy figure. He didn't include anything at all but why should he when he is a living weapon



THE BROTHERHOOD/VILLAINS

Magneto V1 & V2: Both of these look very good, V2 is My favorite of the two. Both has has Magnetic Features. While the second version has a Plastic Cape, the first one has a Cloth Cape like My previously seen ToyBiz Superman, Batman & Robin within this great topic of Mine and I prefer the realistic Cloth over Plastic just about any day of the week






Apocalypse V1 & V2: Because of these figures and his origins, he became arguably My favorite character of all. V2 is My favorite of the two Variants. I love how bulky he is and that he has additional limb options.





I've always loved The Juggernaut and this figure is excellent.




Oh man, I just love Sauron I mean a humanoid Pterosaur...you can't get more awesome that and to Me he is still one of of the most underrated X-Men characters to date. I still recall My Grandma getting him for Me at Walgreens on Grand, that was such a fun location back in the day




Mr. Sinister: He's one of the coolest and I just love his design. Anybody that's blue is always a major attraction to Me



Kylun: I think he looks pretty good and unusual as well. I love that he is a double-wielder swordsman



Grizzly: I like his neo-knight look. That's cool that he has two Hammers



Gideon: He's such an underrated character. I love his look with the white single ponytail like a Thai Fighter. His face is really sculpted excellently. His action figure is he chops with his arms via a Back Lever.



I love how his Halliburton Briefcase has a Sword. Now I actually have two of them and I don't know how that is possible. I only recall My Mom getting Me one at South County's Venture. This was during in 1994 when I was bad sick adjusting to My new life so it is possible I won it at Bingo at St. Louis Children's Hospitable like I did other stuff including some of My Starting Lineups that showcased last year and I did get some special X-Men there that I will show in Part 2 so whatever the case is Gideon is twice as as cool because he not only has two Briefcases but he also has two Katana Swords and I love double-wielding swordmen...look at this



Mojo: Ah, he's one of the most weirdest yet most radical characters in My entire X-Men collection. Of course he's cybernetic. I mean with transhumanism & A.I. today people think think it's a newer thing and totally wonderful but I got news for them...this stuff has been going on since the early/mid 20th century There's been a ton of movies about it as being obsessed with in the 80s yet many people either act like they forget or they just don't acknowledge the stuff they should and Mojo is great example of this as he was a character of Cybernetics before Cybernetics was really a thing toward society not to mention that his weapons are Particle Beams which has been disclosed in mnay bmovies such as Lucas' Marvel adaptation of Howard the Duck as I just greatly showcased that previously to this one along with the 1989 Punisher. Stuff like this is really happening at CERN as I speak His sculpting is tremendous and I love his globster-like body with that really crazy looking belly-hole. It's great how his arms are articulated and how his Arthropod-like legs are on ball-joints and he also has a great feature with his tail as well.





The Brood: This is one awesome looking figure and I love their story that their ancient aliens from thousands of years ago and that they invaded Ancient Egypt and met Imhotep & Apocalypse of the Four-horsemen. The figure is done rather well and is really one of the best that ToyBiz put together. He's a duel-mixture of Plastic & Rubber which was rare for ToyBiz to do at the time.



His Wings flap & his Tail moves via a Button as his Jaws are articulated and shows his daunting Maw with tons of Teeth and a big pink Tongue



ENVIRONMENTS

While I was never huge on Environments for action figures like I should have been, these were pretty cool so first here is Wolverine's Combat Cave. I like how the place is. You can put your figures on a pegged display base and control it with joystick-like lever fighting against the practice module that has different weapon appendages on it plus your figure can bust thru the Magneto door.




Cyclops Light Force Arena is also a great one. Peg your figure onto the display and press the Button and see the wall crumble down with Magneto there looking on. See, the 90s was still creative and great



VEHICLES

Now I would get the Vehicles more than the Playsets. One of them is Wolverine's Mutant Cycle. This is a really cool one and he fits on there just fine. It's cool how it has Blades and how the Front Fork Area changes from a Monster face to Wolverine's face



Magneto's Magnetron is very cool and has the same feature as he does with Magnets. I still have one of the Magnetic Coins/Washers and you can see how cool this is I mean Magnets are fun



SPECIAL GALLERY

I showcased the great Blister Cards in My previous showcases of ToyBiz' DC & Marvel Super Heroes, well I was able to find only one Blister Card from My X-Men collection I know it's only one but, I'm grateful that I did So the one I was able to find is from G.W. Bridge. Here's the front & back. As I said before, I love the Bio Cards as I've always been a child of "visuals, wonder, curiosity and wanting to know more". While these may not be as impressive as Hasbro's G.I. Joes & Playmates' TMNT, it still has Bios on these Cardbacks Now as always say arguably the most important part of any Blister Card is the Price Sticker. When I was a youngster and even to My teens I didn't want them on there and I was as worse as this generation & kids today is about things but as I got older I started to realize the importance of stuff. The Price Sticker is from Venture in South County. When they went out of business it hurt then as so many places & people I knew was going under falling to an Oblivious society that's really when I began the stages of being the person I am right now. Seeing the Price Sticker on there is a great way to show they existed, their history and that YOU GOT THAT FROM THERE...so imperative:!: As you see they clearanced him by basically a buck



Now here's a closeup of the figures within the series. You see that they gimmicked the Marvel Super Heroes with a talking feature via a Button Backpack kinda like Hasbro did with their Joes in 92. There's many of the X-Men & X-Force that I have shown above. There was many that I didn't get that Venture among other stores didn't carry. Dang, there's five variants of Wolverine. Even back then there was things about variants...how many versions of Wolverine must there be I was happy just with the one I got above. I know I got variants of some of the guys and while they maybe improved, it's still like why another when that space could have been another new character Also on the Card is brief instructions how to work the figure. This is still during a time before the net took over people's lives when companies didn't think you knew everything relying on the Net thus not including a word of how to do anything with their product...gosh I miss those days and also on here is a special Marvel Comics Subscription with an offer of 6 Issues for only $5 plus there's the 1992 Copyright which he hung around cause I clearly recall getting him in 1994




Here's a selected collage of X-Men Copyrights. I always say look for the Copyrights on your collectibles no matter what they are as they help you identify who made them and when. I've been doing this since I was a youngster because I knew this then. I've never met anyone-else that does this and not even the "supposed" experts tell you to do it. Heed My advise and you'll see the fun that it brings you There's ToyBiz & Marvel Copyrights from 1991, 1992, 1993 & 1994 which 1994 was thirty years ago this year



GROUPS SPECIAL!

Here's all of the X-Men heroes together with selected Variants...look at that



Here's the The Brotherhood and other bad mutants together with selected Variants



Now here's a beauty of these series' as you can have Marvel Super Heroes vs. The X-Men. I put together the original Avengers vs. a selected amount of the X-Men...now that is one cool sweet display there



SPECIAL GALLERY!!!

So now we're back to where we started within the Topic Here's a look at Classic ToyBiz Marvel Wolverine vs. ToyBiz' DC Batman 89 Comparison, now this is still something else after all of these decades



Of course this wouldn't be complete if there wasn't a stand off/battle scenario of Classic ToyBiz DC vs. Classic ToyBiz Marvel I mean this is one of the major beauty factors of the whole situation in the first place



Now if you were like Me when you were a youngster and perhaps still are like that like I still am, I've always like to crossover My figures with each other especially if they were in scale with one another which that was always a big factor because I always wanted it to be realistic and not to look silly. One of these was X-Men & Aliens. Here's a cool one with ToyBiz's The Brood vs. Kenner's Mantis Alien, I chose this great example because these both came out about the same time in 1994 plus their both Insectoid, Parasitic, Extraterrestrial Beings which really I don't know how many people thought of this radical nature at the time, sometime after it it or perhaps even now Now take a good gander at how awesome this Vintage crossover is



So as a super special here's a Classic 90s Goodness Comparison to show how cool that decade was especially 1990 - 1995 as I have chose ToyBiz' 92 Sauron with Playmates' 95 Movie Version Splinter, Hasbro's 90 Hulk Hogan V2, Kenner's 1990 Shadow Wing Batman & 92 Scorpion Alien V1, Mattel's 94/95 Street Shark's Ripster and Hasbro's 93 Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa Geronimoo. These lines were always some of My favorites back during those much better & simpler times



LOCATIONS!!!

Now this is a very imperative and downright crucial part of this showcase as I'm going to show the locations I got most these fine figures at. If you have been faithfully following My Topics then you know how important it is for Me to show as much of My history as I can which I don't understand why only a handful of people on the entire Internet does...being like that is not doing people's past a favor nor the future as I have had a lot of experiences in My days of stores & people I once knew and I never ever want them to fall to Oblivion no matter what

So I actually got My first X-Men at My old TARGET in late 1991. Those figures were Nightcrawler, Storm, Colossus, Archangel, Cyclops & Magneto V1, The Juggernaut & Apocalypse V1. I saw the Playsets there too but I know My Grandparents got them for Me for Christmas 1991 I really loved that old Target. I had a ton of great times & memories there since I was a youngster till they remodeled it and became a much larger store in late 2004/early 2005. Don't get Me wrong, I had a lot of good times there as well but I will always prefer the classic times. Here's a look at how My local Target looks in recent times



Here's a little bonus storytelling. Many times when Me & My Grandma would go to the new Target she'd stop at the Bank of America there. The building you see of the far left is Buder St. Louis Public Library. Hampton is one of My favorite areas to be at and I've showcased this are a lot in My Topics and if you have been faithfully following Me then you should know this area pretty well by now I mean it had so many great stores like Almost Everything Sports Store, Johnny Brock's Dungeon, Movie King, Peaches/Sound Warehouse/Blockbuster Video Music & f.y.e. and so much more and thank good The Record Exchange is still there that I just showcased recently in My all-crucial Odds & Ends



After that We'd go to the drive way area on the side, it was very convenient




There's the doors to enter this large Target as this one is nearly twice the size of the original building from years prior



Here's the front of the entire department store taken from the parking lot of Schnucks



Now here's the side of Target on Hampton & Chippewa. A bit further to the right was where Peaches/Sound Warehouse/Blockbuster Video Music/f.y.e. was...brainiac-heads had to destroy that building to build Chick-fil-A there. yeah their good but now all of that history is gone and only the previous wonderful stores history can only be recalled by plebeians like Me that care which is really sad cause I have no confidence that guardians are teaching their young-ones this in My region for the future but I hope I'm wrong about this



Now further on down Chippewa is a great area. there's a Firestone there and much further down is Ted Drews Frozen Custard and was another Blockbuster Video plus a Rally's. Most importantly there was a Grandpa Pidegons which was one of My all-time favorite department stores that I showcased before and it was taken over by Value City whom My Mom worked for a while there. A Shop 'n Save was in that's complex as well as well as Hayden's BBQ which a bit further as was General Grant's Framers Market, The Kenrick Theater, The Sports Authority, Rothman Furniture & Crestwood Plaza...so much fun Me & My family had down in this glorious area



Now when I first began this great showcase, I made sure I entered Wolverine first because he was arguably My most important figure of the whole series because of the great advise My Grandma MiMi gave Me that your never too old for what you like and I'm so glad I wasn't a fool and that I listened to her at the WALGREENS in 1992 on Loughborough



They didn't go out of business, they just moved up the street after Red Bird Lanes went under on Gravois, Germania & Hampton and took that spot with a new building across the street from where Steak 'n Shake was as well as across the street where Schnucks is and where "the now shockingly out of business due to vagrants" McDonald's was which was THE busiest McDonald's in the whole state of Missouri

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This is the same complex that Star Video and My Mom's Beauty School/Shop was located at as well.



A few years later that section of the complex became Hollywood Video which I have deeply expressed all of this in My Glory Days of Movie Rentals in My all-crucial Odds & Ends. Thanks to the digital age Hollywood Video was gone and then it became a Club Fitness and thanks to the P!amDemic! it did too...now the building is completely revamped which you can't even tell it was there anymore next to Save-a-Lot I think about this all the darn time that all of that history that I once knew is all gone and so many people that go there either don't know or don't care which does no not settle with Me at all Here's My picture but doesn't do it justice of how it looks now which this is how it looked a few years ago. See Club Fitness That's where Walgreens once was where My Wolverine came from




My Sauron figure came from Walgreens on Grand & Bates right across the street from Jack in the Box. We used to go to it all the time but the neighborhood was beginning to be undesirable so We stopped going there and made the Holly Hills location that I showcased plenty of times in My Showcases before. Archco Video was across the street on the right during this time of 92/93 which I showcased them also in My Glory Days of Movie Rentals in My all-crucial Odds & Ends. Here's a look at the area from a while back



I have many memories of this store. My Mom's Boyfriend Kevin got My the great TMNT Groundchuck figure there in 1991 plus My Grandma just didn't surprise Me with Sauron, there was other figures. Now I recall one great moment when My Grandpa PoPo asked Me to go with him and get MiMi some Chocolates & Flowers for her for Valentine's Day which I believe this was in 92, perhaps it was 93 Also during My Grandpa's last days, We walked to this location as it wasn't far from Our Home (We loved walking around the neighborhood all the time, I started liking it when I was a youngster and great stuff like this is one of the things that really lacks in today's modern society...after We watched WWF Monday Raw, WCW Monday Nitro and of course The X-Files We'd go for a late night walk So We went there for whatever reason and it was poring down rain extremely hard...he's like it's too bad for you...you stay here, I'm going to the House to get the car and I'm like So he did it and picked Me up...that was one day I'll never forget Here the entry of this Walgreens



Now just recently last year in 2024 they were forced to close their doors because of all of the chaotic theft and unneeded vandalism that the ridicules w0k3 crap from 2020 caused Many Walgreens locations suffered this all over the country but this location was very good at one point and I really miss this location already because of all of the moments I said above not to mention I knew that store for over thirty years...see what I mean about how important it is to talk about & share your locations...I hope people starting heeding this. Here's what the Walgreens looked like from the back



So here is arguably the most important location of them all,,,VENTURE Ah but this isn't the same location I've shown, talked about & showcased before in South Town. Nope, this is the the third location, really My favorite of the three which the other two is in South Town and South County, this one is located near Shrewsbury, MO on Big Bend. Me & My Mom used to go there a lot and sometimes when We'd go to the one in South County, I was bummed because this has better selections and stuff than that one. So I fixed up some pictures from Google Maps and I wanted to present this as a little journey as I haven't been that way in a very long time. So after We exit off of North Kingshighway, We turn left and there's a Kentucky Fried Chicken/KFC. The location now looks remolded and all the classic look of that building that I recalled is gone but at least it's still there




So We turn to the bridge with the creek entering Maplewood, Mo. this area still looks like it's in the country.



We turn left to the big parking lot...



and there it is a huge shopping center. It looks way bigger than it did back the day. There's a ton of places & stores here, many that wasn't there then nor that I'm interested in. See that parking lot area. This used to be a Turkey Shoot Range. No, there was NO LIVE Turkeys there, it was a gun range outside with paper targets and if you got a bulls-eye & beat everybody you'd win a frozen Turkey that was from a Grocery Store. My Grandparents loved these and believe Me, they were against animal cruelty and would have not brought Me to them and I hate animal cruelty as well. So I don't recall many moments of this of time because I was quite young but i do at the tent, the woman there was Native American and her name was also Gloria...just like My Grandma they talked a lot and ate the great chili they had there. Unfortunately that place was no more a while after that however even many, many years after it MiMi would still talk about it. See, she loved to reminisce and think of the past which really I think I get that from her A long while back in My Odds & Ends I showcased The Sports Authority saying how I loved that Silver Pump Shotgun that they had that I never did get. During this time in the Late Fall of 1991, Me & My Grandparents along with My Mom's Boyfriend Kevin went to another Turkey Shoot near the County when I was only ten years old and mastered My Grandpa's Pump Shot Gun & Methuselah Double-Barreled Shotgun as I won them many Turkeys & Hams...boy they were happy I came along that very cold day



So here's where Venture used to be. The building is completely remolded as there is no identifying what this complex once was furthering people of not knowing the wonderful history brought to many people including Myself I hope there is others out there that knows and remembers that this was Venture and that they care about it



Now there was many things that I loved about this one. It wasn't always busy and as I said before, when Me & My Mom used to shop We'd go out late at night most of the time. While She'd go look for her stuff and I'd look at the Newsstands mostly for Wrestling Magazines and 9 times out of 10 I'd want at least one of'em which was usually a Black & White Pro Wrestling Illustrated/PWI or one similar cause I was already a WWF Subscriber. Then I'd head on to the Toys Isle. I'm by Myself for a while like 15 minutes...many times it was like I had the place all to My lonesome which I loved it I'd look and look at the figures and all that toy goodness for as long and as much as I could. My Mom would get Me a lot then. Many of the figures you saw above such as both versions of Cable, G.W. Bridge, Strong guy, & Cyclops V2, Mr. Sinister, Apocalypse & Magneto V2, The Brood, Gideon, Mojo, Grizzly & Kylun all came from this great Venture mostly in 1994, 30 years ago this year. Now there was also some good moments. When I got bad sick adjusting to My new life in 94, she got Me a special Playmates Classic Star Trek Set with all of the original crew members. Oh, despite how I was at this time as well as the whole decade of the 90s was arguably the absolute best time when toys are concerned Now when I got well but still adjusting to things in 96, they had one WWF Jakks Bret "Hitman" Hart figure. I was like is this a bootleg, We thought he was kinda strange looking Later on I would find out it was legit so this Venture was also the place that I got My very first Jakks Pacific Action figure Here's a closer look at where Venture was and where I once had tons of fun at



So that will do it for this long awaited presentation of My X-Men Collection Part 1 and I hope you liked it and were surprised. I plan of to post Part 2 soon in time, until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

You can spot the Rob Leifeld figures a mile away, lol. They're so overly designed and busy. Why does Magneto need a vehicle? I don't even think we had Target around here until the 2000 or so if I remember, or at least not until the late 90s. Toy Biz had some good years, these are a nice transition from Secret Wars in the 80s to Legends in the late 90s on. I imagine a lot of people lost the little accessories back then, I know I probably would've if I were younger. I so want to paint Colossus' hair black. The blue just looks weird to me. These are all cool, but everyone knows the 80s were the best time for toys! Just kidding. I'm sure it's all relative to when we grew up, me being a couple years older, lol. It's just a shame toy departments are getting smaller and smaller these days.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Indeed. Well, is all I know that's Magneto's ride. Gosh then you didn't experience Target till later on At least you did eventually Yes, you can tell the transition and yes, keeping accessories safe isn't the easiest thing to do Actually I've always liked the blue highlights in characters' hair...makes Me think of the night & nocturnal activities. Well yes, the 80s was arguably the best time for toys but I was saying that the companies weren't getting lazy with uncreativeness in the 90s and it was as fun if not even more exciting cause with the 2000s and all the POA, figures just weren't being made as well and they broke so often...don't get Me going about McFarlane I rarely if at all had that issue before the 2000s especially with ToyBiz I mean with Legends either the joints were stuck and you had to do the heating & freezing trick or they just broke but of course not every figure was like that. I never ever had that problem with these figures that I just showed. Thanks for checking this out PB, I'll be getting to Part 2 in time so be alert about that