With the amount of MARVEL action that takes place here at Rock Father HQ, it’s always weird to think that I grew-up a diehard DC Comics Kid. But, when you’ve got the superhero film series that all others are judged by (the MARVEL Cinematic Universe), having the widest variety of toys in the aisles just goes along with it. If “battling” was the action trend for 2013, then “mashups” are the action trend of 2014… with kids finally being able to indulge their creativity by mixing-and-matching bits and pieces of their favorite heroes to create something new and original. While the GI Joe figures of my youth wouldn’t have handled too much tugging on their limbs (and there were a few casualties, R.I.P.) the new series of MARVEL Super Hero Mashers by Hasbro have been designed with… planned limb removal in mind. Think of it as enabling the creation of some superpowered FRANKENSTEIN’s monsters – without the “Abby Normal” side-effects or unsafe lightning required.
We received a pair of figures for review, the base series CAPTAIN AMERICA along with the “Battle Upgrade” THOR. Recommended for ages 4 and up, these six-inch figures are beefy, cartoony, and an interesting bridge between the toddler-style SUPER HERO SQUAD toys and the “big kid” 3 3/4″ inch action figure assortment. They’re a good size, and like the TRANSFORMERS Construct-Bots we reviewed during the holidays, offer kids a chance to let their imagination flow freely.
While having a larger assortment of characters would certainly open up and expand the possibilities for our mashup adventures, these two figures offered Addie (and Daddy) a chance to ponder the “what if?” of Asgard’s mighty God of Thunder getting genetically crossed with Steve Rogers.
A few pulls, some snaps, a boom, blast, and in the aftermath comes… THCAPTAIN ASGARDIA? Oh yes, and he is Mighty! He even has a “variant” (both versions pictured below)…
But we could say that it all happened in a little more of a dramatic fashion… that CAPTAIN AMERICA was out traversing the icy wilderness, just going about some secret business for NICK FURY and THE AVENGERS, when something bad happened. Then, THOR showed up and did that over-dramatic, cinematic cliche thing where he dropped to his knees, looked toward the heavens, and let out a big “Nooooo!” Then the sky opened up, some magical lightning struck, and the two heroes became one.
Our adventures with THOR and CAP have just begun, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect with THOR: THE DARK WORLD out for home viewing, and CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER headed for theaters soon. Meanwhile, the folks at Hasbro are planning about 20 Super Hero Mashers figures for 2014, with IRON MAN, IRON PATRIOT, THE HULK, HAWKEYE, WOLVERINE, DOCTOR DOOM and SPIDER-MAN already awaiting eager children in the toy aisle of your local stores.
Rock Father-approved.
MARVEL Super Hero Mashers are available at retailers Nationwide, or via (my affiliate) Amazon:
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