Barbataus, Tormenter, Bullrock, and Dedalus They Fight Gormiti Series 2 4-Pack Item No.: Unavailable Manufacturer: Playmates Includes: 4 figures, 4 cards Action Feature: n/a Retail: $9.99 Availability: 2009 Other: ...and bite
PREVIOUS	RSS	NEXT

Still more Gormiti! There's a whole mess of these guys, and this 4-pack has, well, four of them. Let's get started with the two Forest Tribe members starting with the turtle-like Tormenter, the Torturer. Seemingly made of cactus, this thorny fellow is sculpted with cactus leaves, thorns, and some waxy grooves similar to a real cactus. Of course, a real cactus doesn't have feet, arms, or a head, so it's clearly a more fanciful interpretation of everybody's favorite botanical desert life. This figure and Barbatus sold me on the pack, mostly because I dig the basic concept. I wish he could do more, but the entire line is sort of lacking in range of movement. What you see is what you get.

Next up is Barbatus, the Lord of the Forest. The original sculptors did a nice job here, giving him a crow, a beard, and tons of forest-like elements all over his person. The shoulders are made of leaves, some moss makes up his outfit, rocks make up his joints (and butt), plus there are tendrils for one of his hands. The fist covered in a Wolverine-esque claw is a nice touch to give him a little more malice, as his trading card paints him as a toxic, lethal, and dangerous overlord of the dark and tree-covered realms. They really did a bang-up job translating his role into a toy, and the creature makes a strong statement as a central figure in this line. It's worth getting.

The rest of the set is populated by the Earth Tribe, rocky beings with brown and orange bits. Bullrock takes inspiration from a number of sources-- specifically bull and rock-- but he also has a hint of the Hanna-Barberra character Mighty Mightor. Bullrock carries twin rock weapons in his equally rocky fists, creating an interesting if confusing amalgamation of creature and weapon. So he's organic with rocky bits, and he carries rocks too? So his rock fists need rocks, because the rock fists aren't enough? I don't quite get it-- some of the tribes make a little more sense, but the Earth Tribe doesn't feel like it got the polish of some of the others. He has a lot of sculpted detail, bull horns, a creepy mask-like face, and not much else. I wouldn't go nuts for this one.

The set almost missed out on the quota for wacky names until I got to Dedalus, the Undergrounder. "The Undergrounder?" Even a throwaway gag from The Incredibles at least came up with "The Underminer," which makes a little more sense. Being arachnid-inspired, Dedalus features extra arms, lots of eyes, and a freaky face that leaves me wishing we got some form of Insectoid Tribe instead. With slightly different colors, this would be a superb figure-- as it is, the orange, brown, and grey mix in a manner that doesn't quite give you the feeling that you're seeing a fang-filled, blind monster who roams underground caverns to eat little children. Instead, he just looks sort of like a bug wrestler, which is actually OK with me. I started picking up these guys out of a desire to have more toys like Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E., and this figure basically mixes both into a satisfying, weird final product. The concept seems half-baked, but the results feel like a great 1980s refugee. If you're in to little rubber guys, I'd say put this one on your list. He's grown on me a lot.

Another cheapo discount set, this one sat at Toys R Us until a store closed down. Playmates is dumping this line at some closeout stores, so you may be able to find some still-- keep an eye open anywhere old toys are sold. If you can get the set for an average of $1-$1.50 per figure, I suggest you get it-- Dedalus, Barbatus, and Tormenter are nice and fun, while Bullrock is strange enough to warrant keeping around or throwing at your kids.

Additional Images

See more Playmates figures in Figure of the Day:
Day 54: Playmates Classic Star Trek Spock Action Figure
Day 57: Playmates Classic Star Trek Dr. McCoy Action Figure
Day 61: Playmates Classic Star Trek Scotty Action Figure
Day 71: Playmates Classic Star Trek Uhura Action Figure
Day 81: Playmates Classic Star Trek Sulu Action Figure
Day 89: Playmates Classic Star Trek Captain James T. Kirk Action Figure
Day 105: Playmates Classic Star Trek Chekov Action Figure
Day 149: Playmates Star Trek Combat Action Worf
Day 229: Playmates Gormiti Multiplep and Steelblade
Day 237: Playmates Gormiti Blind Fury and Ancient Jellyfish
Day 243: Playmates Gormiti Florus the Poisoner and Clear Ancient Jellyfish
Day 259: Playmates Gormiti Mantra the Implacable and Clear The Severe Guardian
Day 312: Playmates Gormiti Barbataus, Tormenter, Bullrock, and Dedalus
Day 327: Playmates seaQuest DSV Darwin the Dolphin Action Figure
Day 335: Playmates Gormiti Spores, Cannon Trunk, Hypnofrog, and Carrapax
Day 342: Playmates Gormiti Alos the Hypnotiser and Clear Delos The Count of the Seas
Day 354: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mike, the Sewer Surfer Action Figure
Day 400: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raph, the Space Cadet
Day 488: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Commander Data in First Season Uniform Action Figure
Day 513: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles The Mutant Raphael
Day 514: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mike as Frankenstein
Day 515: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Bride of Frankenstein April
Day 516: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raph as the Mummy
Day 517: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Don as Dracula
Day 518: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leo as the Wolfman
Day 519: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Invisible Man Michaelangelo
Day 520: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Creature from the Black Lagoon Leonardo
Day 525: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Michelangelo
Day 673: Playmates Gormiti Murena Den Playset with Hammer the Predator Figure
Day 731: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Counselor Deanna Troi Action Figure
Day 755: Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Quark Action Figure
Day 762: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lt. Commander LaForge as a Tarchannen III Alien Action Figure
Day 767: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Captain Picard in Duty Uniform Action Figure
Day 772: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Klingon Warrior Worf Action Figure
Day 777: Playmates Toys Monster Force Creature from the Black Lagoon
Day 815: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Bebop
Day 832: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Rocksteady
Day 964: Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Classics Raphael
Day 986: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Dathon Action Figure
Day 991: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Ambassador Spock Action Figure
Day 1,048: Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Chief Miles O'Brien Action Figure
Day 1,061: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Q Action Figure
Day 1,173: Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Morn Action Figure
Day 1,181: Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Commander Gul Dukat Action Figure
Day 1,271: Playmates Star Trek Grand Nagus Zek Action Figure
Day 1,309: Playmates Star Trek Elim Garak Action Figure
Day 1,316: Playmates Gormiti Insecticus and Branchtearer the Furious
Day 1,317: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Worf in Starfleet Rescue Outfit Action Figure
Day 1,331: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Captain Scott Action Figure
Day 1,359: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Vorgon Action Figure
Day 1,701: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Ferengi Action Figure
Day 1,819: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Mordock the Benzite Action Figure
Day 1,854: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant (J.G.) Geordi LaForge Action Figure
Day 1,887: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Natasha Yar Action Figure
Day 1,902: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Cadet Wesley Crusher Action Figure
Day 1,923: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant J.G. Worf in First Season Uniform Action Figure
Day 1,936: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation K'Ehleyr Action Figure
Day 1,974 Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Barclay Action Figure
Day 2,005: Playmates Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Odo Action Figure
Day 2,020: Playmates Star Trek: The Next Generation Commander Sela Action Figure

See more Gormiti in Figure of the Day:
Day 229: Playmates Gormiti Multiplep and Steelblade
Day 237: Playmates Gormiti Blind Fury and Ancient Jellyfish
Day 243: Playmates Gormiti Florus the Poisoner and Clear Ancient Jellyfish
Day 259: Playmates Gormiti Mantra the Implacable and Clear The Severe Guardian
Day 312: Playmates Gormiti Barbataus, Tormenter, Bullrock, and Dedalus
Day 335: Playmates Gormiti Spores, Cannon Trunk, Hypnofrog, and Carrapax
Day 342: Playmates Gormiti Alos the Hypnotiser and Clear Delos The Count of the Seas
Day 673: Playmates Gormiti Murena Den Playset with Hammer the Predator Figure
Day 1,316: Playmates Gormiti Insecticus and Branchtearer the Furious
Day 1,833: Blue Box Gormiti 3D Puzzle Lord Lucas