Inferno Fury

At this point I've already spent a lot of time going on about what I adore about Hasbro's Xevoz figures, but there's one awesome factor I am yet to go on about: their elemental figures. You see, in a line comprised of stereotypical monsters and pirates and ninjas and whatever, someone had the great of idea of creating characters based on elements, as if something like fire had a physical demon (or otherwise) manifestation, which led to a crop of absolutely awesome figures like today's Inferno Fury. One of the most advertised figures in the line, the Inferno Fury was featured early in the first series and encompasses so much about what is great about the series. Rarest of all Hyperfuries, legend has it the Inferno Fury warriors were first summoned to battle an ancient dragon who dwelled in the frozen Hoarfrost Mountains. These beings of pure fire are energized by Hearth Stones that draw their power directly from the sun. And though they are extremely dangerous foes during the daytime, their strength wanes somewhat in the night and this can place them at a bit of a disadvantage. Inferno Furies craft their own weapons deep in fiery forges of the earth. Each year they travel unknown roads to gather at Magma Falls and be cleansed in the flowing lava. Standing just under 6", the Inferno Fury is the line's "fire" monster, or demon, sculpted nearly entirely in translucent red and orange plastic. The core character, without extras, has a burning body with firey limbs extending from it, seemingly held together by a metal chestpiece and metal rings at the end of each limbs, as if these are some kind of devices that keep the fire contained. I love this design! It's not just one of my favourite Xevoz, but one of my favourite toys ever: that idea of containing the fire with darkened metal rings, probably mystical, is really cool, and this design extends to his most common "face," a similar-style metal mask with eye holes. (Note that this is only one of his head pieces, of course, since Xevoz have interchangeable heads.) It's probably been done before, somewhere, in some fictional work, but I've never come across it before, and never in such a great form like this. Just like Skull Jack, Inferno Fury shares the super-articulation, with one terrific addition - Inferno Fury's big firey paws include an attachable thumb piece, giving him opening and closing hands! This is a great bit of design featured on other Xevoz as well. And, like the others in the line, Inferno Fury features a wealth of additional add-on pieces, beginning with two terrific firey wings, with a nice big wingspan of 5¾" and give him a positively angelic - or demonic - look. They make him look much larger and the effect is amazing. As mentioned, Inferno Fury features interchangeable heads, as well as smaller wrists that allow him to hold his different weapons, including a longer fire staff and a flaming sword. To make the deal even sweeter, Inferno Fury includes a firing projectile, a flaming missile that launches from a piece attachable to his arm. I've had this toy forever and it still works great! Of course, he also comes with the expected sticker sheet full of fancy details to make your toy awesome if you want! Just like the Razorclaw had decals that would turn him into a leopard or a tiger, Inferno Fury has ones that can either make him look like cracked lava, or if he's brimming with Kirby Dots. Bonzer! There are even a bunch of pieces that are enscribed with letters in the Xevoz alphabet - those all go on the weapons and armor, making them look even more mystical. The one around the missile launcher says "fear the firey lance of destiny," the wristbands say "flame," the kneepads say "elemental," the chest harness says "energy" and "matter," and the curved bit on the sword reads "blazingsword." Then there are a few generic stickers that could go on anything you want. Unfortunately, there are a few minor caveats that I have with Inferno Fury which drag him down just a little. Firstly, because of the design and parts that attach to his upper body, he's a little top-heavy and can have some problems finding balance to stand. The wings and their size make it even harder to get a good centre of balance at his feet, which is a bit frustrating. Even worse, though, is that the metal rings that enclose his body don't hold together as well as other Xevoz parts, specifically because they're small pegs rather than the larger joints that give most Xevoz stability and movement. This is, again, especially notable with the wings, that can cause Inferno Fury to fall to pieces. Even with two Inferno Furies I am hesitant about biting the bullet and simply supergluing this together, because having anything stuck together permanently feels as if it goes against the interchangeable nature of Xevoz. Still, these are minor annoyances that can be attended to and don't bring the figure down - the Inferno Fury is one of the best toys in the entire Xevoz line, and one of my personal favorites. -- 03/01/14

Tweet