We haven’t been at this whole Stuff and Things gimmick for long, but we’ve got something really cool for our second iteration. Prima Games is always looking for new, cool stuff to talk about. Why not figures? Specifically, why not figures designed for gaming brands? This rabbit hole has led us to Marvel’s “Gamerverse,” which covers a ton of gaming ground.
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You can’t get more of a big deal than Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man, the literal best-selling superhero game of all time. And aside from all the cool acrobatics and bizarre enemies, the best part of Spider-Man games is always the different suits you can unlock. When the game first hit, one of the bonuses you could get for pre-ordering the game was the Spider-Punk suit. Notable for its canvas shoes, hood spikes and AoE guitar special move, Spider-Punk really stands out.
Naturally, that’s perfect for a figure. Hot Toys and Sideshow sent us one of its Sixth Scale collectible figures to check out, giving us an even more detailed look at Spider-Punk than even in the videogame. This thing is intense. From the details in the suit to the absolutely unbelievable guitar, this is the most impressive bit of gamer merch I’ve ever had in my home. Here’s the feature list, as outlined on the collectible’s official website:
- An authentic and detailed likeness of Spider-Man (Spider-Punk Suit) in Marvel’s Spider-Man game
- A newly developed masked head sculpt with spike Mohawk and three pairs of interchangeable eye pieces that can create numerous combinations of Spider-Man’s expressions
- Approximately 30 cm tall
- Newly developed body with over 30 points of articulations
- Twelve (12) pieces of interchangeable hands with web pattern including:
- One pair of fists
- One pair of open hands
- One pair of web-shooting hands
- One pair of relaxed hands
- One pair of gesturing hands
- One pair of guitar picking hands
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Spider-Punk also has a number of added accessories, such as multiple webbing strands, wrist bracelets, the trusty ol’ Spider-Drone, a cool stand with punk-inspired art all over it and a sticker? That’s in addition to the guitar I already mentioned. Despite how chunky and expensive this figure looks and feels, there’s a degree of play incorporated as well, depending on how you like to display your collectibles.
With all the flair inherent to the Spider-Punk suit, Hot Toys’ figure is tons of fun to pose and explore. I’m no professional photographer, but I had a great time seeing just what I could pull off with this guy. The pictures embedded throughout the piece were taken by me, just in front of a monitor with my phone. Unfortunately I was in the middle of a move at this time, so I couldn’t get too fancy.
Despite my amateur efforts, you can easily see just how much you can do with Spider-Punk. The guitar alone opens up so many possibilities, and the hands only accent that range. The webbing seemed a little extraneous, but I had a weird idea that really worked out. With a couple of stripped bread ties, I was able to make a silly stand microphone that made for more fun photo opportunities (it didn’t stand well though, so display is kind of out of the question – so it goes with DIY alterations).
There are a few interesting quirks. For all the detail, some of the articulation feels a little restrictive. That’s probably a tradeoff for the textured materials of the suit, but it can be tough to do a lot with Spider-Punk’s legs. Dude wears tight pants, you know? A lot of the smaller parts also feel very fragile, which is emphasized when the little “instruction” booklet included mostly warns you not to break anything. The guitar strap in particular was terrifying to handle; the strap has a functioning tightening buckle, but it takes a while to use it (for the proper punk-style low guitar style, natch) without feeling like you’re pushing it. The stand also comes apart pretty easily, so I had to be extra cautious of where I was grabbing when moving stuff.
But hey, this isn’t an action figure. Spider-Punk here is about making an impression on a shelf or in a display case (or just chillin in the box if that’s how you roll). You aren’t gonna hand this $200+ figure to a child for their toybox. So with that in mind, there are still plenty of ways you can get Spider-Punk to strike a rad pose, and the options you do have for a figure of its ilk is impressive. You can even adjust his jacket a little for as much granular drama as you can muster.
Spider-Man is cool and all by himself, and all the different suit variants from over the years are great, many of them classic, even. Heck, Sideshow has a whole page for Spidey alone! But only a few of them add extra materials to the basic, sleek design. Spider-Punk breaks that convention, with his pinned-up jacket, screw-in spike mohawk, the spidey kicks and of course the bitchin’ guitar. There’s just more happening with this suit, and not to the extent it looks gaudy like a Digimon or something excessive from the 90s.
In figure form, Hot Toys really produced something awesome here. This guy stands out already, but all the little variables at play will make him stand out even more in a collection, and in different ways per household! As awesome as Marvel’s Spider-Man was as a game, one common criticism is how safe it plays. But Spider-Punk is an exception, and the kind of exception that makes for a badass collectible.
A “sample” of this item was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation
Published: Jun 23, 2021 05:13 pm