Hasbro The Amazing Spider-Man Night Mission Spider-Man Hasbro, 2012
Day #936: June 5, 2014
Night Mission Spider-Man Toys R Us Exclusive
The Amazing Spider-Man Night Force Action Figures
Item No.: Asst. A1131 No. A1134 Manufacturer:Hasbro Includes:Glowing hook, glowing suction cup Action Feature:Extend Web Line Retail:$9.99 Availability: Fall 2012 Other: #1 of a series of 3
I had a $5 expiring store credit in my pocket, and Night Mission Spider-Man was on clearance for $4.00 - you don't have to be Andrew Wiles to do the math there. Kenner (and later Hasbro) have often struggled to make the most out of what is essentially a one-character movie - maybe two or three, if you have a good villain. Multiple employees at Hasbro have told me how they dislike defaulting to glow-in-the-dark repaints, particularly when I inquired about the aborted Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Night Mission dinosaurs. I miss those - but thankfully the spirit of those terrible lizards and various Deep Dive Batman figures lives on with this nifty exclusive release. Toys R Us and Hasbro put out 3 different glowing 3 3/4-inch figures, and at press time I've just got the one. How could I not?
While Kenner and Toy Biz utterly exploited its various licensed heroes in the 1990s, I've come to miss the weird snow-themed, glowing, swimming, or otherwise wildly off-model character costumes. This one isn't too bonkers - the funny thing is it's a repaint of another non-exclusive figure also called Night Mission Spider-Man, which has some green bits but wasn't covered in glow-in-the-dark paint.
While not as authentic as the super-poseable figures or as whimsical as the Ninja or Razor Scooter ones, this is a bizarre and fun release. The blue and red costume is augmented with glowing eyes, a spider symbol, and other elements painted in a way that actually glows fairly well. I just recently got another figure with painted glowing bits and I can tell you it was terrible, so this was a refreshing change of pace. The suction cup and hook also glow quite nicely, and plug in to a little knob in the figure's right hand. That knob is affixed to a rope which recoils back in the figure's body when extended - it's a neat feature but the fact that it's barely 6-inches long makes it pretty worthless. You can't make Spidey really climb anything, it's less functional and more of a "let's pretend!" kind of feature.
With swivel elbows - in part no doubt due to the string mechanism - the figure doesn't have the full range of motion older fans demand. He can stand and sit, and his knee joints are a nice bonus. Getting the hook and suction cup to plug in to the wrist is a bit tricky, but you don't need to apply too much force to get it working. Since I love ugly Spider-Man toys and glowing toys, this one is not bad - I wish the other gimmick on the toy was more fun, mostly because it can't even climb the couch with this small quantity of string. Still, I got my fake clearance funny money's worth out of it so it wouldn't stun me if I wound up buying the other two if and when I find them. I'm waiting for Arctic Camo Spider-Man next, if Hasbro is up to the challenge.
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