Erik Killmonger

"There's no such thing as fair or unfair in battle. There is only victory; or, in your case, defeat." Seeking vengeance for his father's exile from Wakanda, Erik Killmonger returns to challenge T'Challa for the right to the Wakandan throne. "Exile from Wakanda"? More like "exile from life," am I right? Also, that bio would have made more sense for a "Shirtless Waterfall Fight" Killmonger than Tactical Killmonger here. This is the figure we all wanted back in Series 1 - though, if the two Killmongers had been swapped, then Series 2 would have looked even more homogenous than it already does: we've already got '90s King Black Panther, Double-Dip Black Panther, and Sparkle Motion Black Panther; would adding Golden Black Panther to the lineup really have made things any better? Especially since it would have been in a two-pack at the same time? No it would not. So what if it took until Series 2 to get Vegeta Cosplay Killmonger. We've got him now and that's what matters. The head on this figure is, disappointingly, the same one that came in the two-pack. It's a great sculpt, with Photo Real printed paint to give us the best likeness possible, but having two of the same thing is less fun than having one of two different things. Having a neutral expression like this is fine, but why not one happy? Or ragingly angry? His armor is looking pretty good, though. The panels on the vest are smooth (other than the edges and the seams between them), but the paint is designed to make them look worn and metallic. The yellow straps have a nylon texture. His belt is sculpted with a fine assortment of weapons: grenades, a holstered pistol, a knife, ammo clips, and more. There are more clips strapped to his left leg, and the pattern on his camo pants is printed clearly. The leg pad, belt, and even the watch around his left wrist are separate pieces, rather than being molded on - if Hasbro wants to reuse some of these pieces later for non-movie characters, they'll be able to. Killmonger's got all the usual articulation, though the hinges in the wrists are very stiff; it was super hard to get them moving, and even now they feel feel nearly locked in place. It'd be a real shame if they didn't move, though, because you'd barely be able to find neat poses for him pistol and rifle! He did use both in the movie - a Springfield Armory 1911 Loaded MC Operator pistol at the airfield, and a BCM Recce 14 KMR-A with an underslung LMT M203 2003 grenade launcher at the CIA office - but the toy's accessories look a little different from the real things. The best accessory, however, is the mask he took from the Museum of Great Britain. The mask is molded from bluish-grey plastic, then given at least three paint apps: brown for the hair in the back, a darker grey for the horns, and a bit of orange-pink on the face. The piece is an actual mask, too, not simply an alternate head; it's hollow and fits onto the figure's head. Lots of figures' heads, in fact. The eyes are hollow, as they should be, but the mouth is just faking it - there's no actual gap in the sculpt there. The figure also includes two pieces - the head and the staff - of this series' Build-A-Figure, M'Baku. Killmonger was a surprisingly sympathetic villain. In the comics, his motivation is barely ever more than "hey, I want to be in charge of things, not you!", but the movie gave him more than that, gave him something real and understandable, even if his methods were flawed (and even if he doesn't understand how "ancestors" work). This is the toy version of him we've been waiting for. -- 06/17/19

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