And after a lengthy hiatus, Ben 10 Reporter returns with a review of the second wave of basic 4-inch figures. Unlike the previous wave, which focused on the main characters, this one is all aliens. This review will cover Gravattack, Four Arms, Shocksquatch, Eatle, and Spidermonkey, as well as giving an overview of the wave as a whole. And with that, we begin!
Gravattack is a decent looking figure. The details are spot on and the sculpt is pretty good, for the most part. However, I found that the brown paint is a bit too light, which makes him look weird. Also, his torso is a little short in proportion to his head, causing him to look somewhat different. He's not the best looking figure in the wave, but he's good. Also of note is that with this figure, Bandai has finally figured out the OV Omnitrix. It is the correct shape and color for the first time.
It's definitely a stepup from the original. The old one was awkwardly large, had bland colors, and was based on a boring design. This one has much more eye-catching and beautiful colors, is the perfect size, and at least has a good design to base itself on.
Mr. Monkey is the only figure in this wave with detachable parts: a tail. It is much better than Feedback's, which was a fiasco if you recall my last review. This one sits inoffensively on his butt. Unlike the past Spidermonkey's tail, it isn't offensively long and fits securely in its hole (tee hee).
Obligatory pose picture. His head is on a ball-joint, like before, but it has much freer movement this time. He has gained elbow articulation as well. Besides that, both sets of shoulders move as well as his hips, and the tail can swivel in its socket. This one is fun to pose as well.
Spidermonkey with the Spidermonkey of the past and Ben. He improves on his predecessor in every way.
A much more useful size comparison.
Do I really need to say it again? I'm in love with these minifigures <3
But wait, there's more! Spidermonkey had another minifigure bundled with the Omnitrix Challenge, and it is seen on the right. It is smaller and lighter than the new one, and is posed differently as well. There is another important difference, but I'll cover that in my Omnitrix Challenge review.
Gravattack
Gravattack's figure is notable for being the only Omniverse alien in the wave; the rest are redesigns. Is this gravity-powered rock as cool as a toy as he is in the show? Read on.
Gravattack is a decent looking figure. The details are spot on and the sculpt is pretty good, for the most part. However, I found that the brown paint is a bit too light, which makes him look weird. Also, his torso is a little short in proportion to his head, causing him to look somewhat different. He's not the best looking figure in the wave, but he's good. Also of note is that with this figure, Bandai has finally figured out the OV Omnitrix. It is the correct shape and color for the first time.
Gravattack has full arm articulation and hip articulation. That's a total of six points, which is fairly low. You can't really get this guy into many cool poses. Above is my attempt.
This is generally the part of the review where I compare the figure with Ben and a past alien that has similar powers (or a previous version of the alien). However, Gravattack's a unique guy, and there aren't really any other aliens with his abilities. So have Clockwork.
Gravattack is puny. For an alien that's huge in the show, this is especially noticeable. He's even shorter than Ben, let alone Clockwork.
His minifigure has disappeared from my collection, so have Bandai's image instead. It's like the others: remarkably accurate and detailed for such a small piece. It almost looks better than the actual figure :P. For an alien as big and detailed as Gravattack, that's an accomplishment.
Ratings:
Articulation: Lacking. He could have easily had knee or waist articulation, and what's there isn't sufficient. 3/5
Sculpt: Generally looks good, with some minor issues. 4/5
Playability: Articulation and size hinder him, but his powers are easy to roleplay. 4/5
Overall: 3.67/5 Above Average
Shocksquatch
And here come the redesigns. Shocksquatch is Ben's fifth(!) electric alien, and he already promises to be his favorite. Introduced in the Generator Rex crossover special Heroes United, Shocksquatch reappeared in Omniverse with a completely different design, and it is this design that was released as a toy.
Shocksquatch is an awesome-looking alien, and that translates to the figure. It is very colorful - and big! More on that later, though. As usual, it is very accurate and has none of Gravattack's handicaps. However, too bad for me being happy about the Omnitrix - it's round again :(
With the exception of his head, Shocksquatch has standard articulation. He's much easier to pose than Gravattack.
HU Shocksquatch was never released as a figure, so here he is with Ben and the previous electric alien, AmpFibian. He towers over both and is the biggest Omniverse toy yet. I'm quite fond of his size, although he's awkward when next to the supposedly huge Gravattack and Four Arms.
His minifigure. Standard praises apply.
Ratings:
Articulation: All that he can take 5/5
Sculpt: As good as it gets 4/5
Playability: Tons of fun to pose, but his power is naturally restrictive. 4.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5 Very Good
Four Arms
Ah, Four Arms. He was arguably the most ubiquitous alien from the original series and returned to prominence early on in Ultimate Alien. Love him or hate him (I hate him), this is an objective review of a figure, not a rant about overused strength aliens. So I'll try to keep my righteous fanboy anger in check.
Well, for better or for worse it's a very accurate sculpt. As a toy, it looks good. As a design...let's just say that I only tolerate him for the mustache. But I digress. We're talking toys. And Four Arms is certainly a good looking toy. He even has sculpted muscles! And spikes in all of the places they should be. Now that's detail.
Finally, someone who can move his head! Four Arms has all of the standard points, plus his bottom "shoulders". In other words, he has the exact same articulation as his UA counterpart (OS had rotating wrists on one pair of arms). I grudgingly admit that I enjoy posing this figure.
Four Arms compared to Ben and the past Four Armses. He's big next to Ben...but puny next to the other two. You might want to think twice before using Four Arms when roleplaying past Ben meets future Ben. Not like I do that...
Anyway.
Same mini-figurey goodness as always. I'm really gonna miss these things when the next Omnitrix rolls around.
Ratings
Articulation: Very good 5/5
Sculpt: Design aside, it's very detailed and accurate 5/5
Playability: No issues here, unless you're time travelling 5/5
Overall: 5/5 Amazing
O_o. Talk about objective.
Eatle
Some people dislike Eatle. They say he's a ripoff of Upchuck. While they are technically correct, that doesn't mean that this bug isn't cool in his own right...especially with his awesome new design. While his looks may have been improved, has his toy?
The sculpt looks good and accurate...from the front. I do have a problem with this figure, and it's not a minor gripe like with Gravvy. Omniverse Eatle possess a magnificent shiny black shell of roundness that makes him and his back more interesting. Here, there is only flatness. It looks...wrong.
But his face looks good. And the Omnitrix is right.
He technically has full articulation, but posing this little guy is a nightmare? Why? He really is a little guy. His limbs are so stubby, it's impossible to pose them well. For once, I almost wish he has less articulation.
Here he is with Ben and UA Eatle. I wasn't kidding when I said he was little.
Based on my experiences with this minifigure, I imagine that small shiny black things are a photographer's nightmare. Take my word for it: it's as good as the others.
Ratings
Articulation: Too small for elbow/knee articulation to work 3/5
Sculpt: Small and flat. 3/5
Playability: Too small to fight and he can't actually eat anything. 2.5/5
Overall: 2.83/5 Tolerable
Poor guy. I don't hate this figure. I really don't. But he's very flawed.
Spidermonkey
Spidermonkey is boring. There. I said it. He might have been interesting at first, but he quickly got old. And his AF toy wasn't that great. Is this new one an improvement? You should know by now that I'm not giving that away in the opening paragraph.
It's definitely a stepup from the original. The old one was awkwardly large, had bland colors, and was based on a boring design. This one has much more eye-catching and beautiful colors, is the perfect size, and at least has a good design to base itself on.
Mr. Monkey is the only figure in this wave with detachable parts: a tail. It is much better than Feedback's, which was a fiasco if you recall my last review. This one sits inoffensively on his butt. Unlike the past Spidermonkey's tail, it isn't offensively long and fits securely in its hole (tee hee).
Obligatory pose picture. His head is on a ball-joint, like before, but it has much freer movement this time. He has gained elbow articulation as well. Besides that, both sets of shoulders move as well as his hips, and the tail can swivel in its socket. This one is fun to pose as well.
Spidermonkey with the Spidermonkey of the past and Ben. He improves on his predecessor in every way.
A much more useful size comparison.
Do I really need to say it again? I'm in love with these minifigures <3
But wait, there's more! Spidermonkey had another minifigure bundled with the Omnitrix Challenge, and it is seen on the right. It is smaller and lighter than the new one, and is posed differently as well. There is another important difference, but I'll cover that in my Omnitrix Challenge review.
Ratings
Articulation: Perfect, and an improvement on the predecessor. 5/5
Sculpt: Looks great. 5/5
Playability: Can be a little awkward at times, but is generally good. 4.5/5
Overall: 4.83/5 Very Good
Overall
Ben 10 Omniverse wave 2, everybody!
This is a very nice set of aliens and it has some great figures. The numbers say that Four Arms is the best and Eatle is the worst. For once, I disagree. I personally like Shocksquatch best. Those whacky numbers! What are you going to do?
...Anyway. The rating.
DRUMROLL DRUMROLL DRUMROLL
Rating: 4.17/5 Very Good
Well, it scored slightly lower than wave 1, which seems right to me. However, it is still an amazing set of figures, and if you have the chance I recommend you pick up at least one of the figures.
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