October Pile O’ Loot Finale: Sentinel SV-Action SP//DR and Peni Parker

 Sometimes, you gotta pay the character tax.I have, especially this year, loosened up quite a bit at what prices give me pause - partly because of inflation, and partly because I have a better grasp of what I like and what I’m willing to pay for. But I still almost never crack the $100 mark for one figure.

I did with Goro back in the day. Cold Slither doesn’t count because it’s four figures. A lot fo the Japan stuff would have cost more than $100 if I’d bought it here, but I didn’t. And now, SP//DR.

The fact is, the most important part of my collection is the Spider-Man stuff and the most important part of that stuff is the Spider-Verse movie stuff, and from the first movie, the only characters I didn’t have were SP//DR, Kingpin, Dock Ock, and Scorpion, and the only one that exists in any form is SP//DR. As a pricey Japanese import. That they were reissuing this year. From Japan. To ship in September. Shortly after Trump nuked the de minimis exemption and forced me to cancel that preorder.

The main reason I cancelled it is because I knew, for a slightly higher price, the first release was still up on Big Bad Toy Store, no uncertainty, no surprise costs, none of that. And so I bit the bullet, pulled the trigger, and now I have the first movie’s hero team in its entirety. Which is, for me, a big deal.

The figure is very good, until it isn’t. No arguments with the light-up feature. It works great, and the chest emblem and face light up, including a bunch of tiny dots that normal people can see and I only noticed in the photographs. The articulation is great… until it isn’t. Basically it’s a bunch of ball and hinge joints, and the arms and legs move exactly where you want them to until suddenly they don’t and you’re surprised. There’s a bit of a learning curve, yet. There’s alo no wrist swivel, which is odd considering all six front claws are on hinges.

Peni is mostly a disappointment. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sculpt and paint, but first, she’s a slug. Just an immobile plastic figurine. And second, the pose they gave her REQUIRES the stand she comes with. She can’t stand on her own. Which is great if you’re a shelf guy and not so great if you’re a pose=and=photograph guy. 

The stand and how it works is fantastic, though - no complaints there. Plus, it is a thing that exists, which was my main motivating factor.