Caliban

Why? Born with white skin and large, bulging eyes, Caliban was marked as a mutant and cast into the depths of the Morlock tunnels. There, his mutant powers flourished until the evil Marauders decimated the misfit Morlocks. Alone and seeking revenge, Caliban was found by the fiend Apocalypse and given incredible strength. Now, he searches the world for other mutant outcasts who would serve his newfound master. Caliban is the Build-A-Figure for X-Men legends Series 5 - you don't have to buy Gambit (though you probably will anyway), but if you get the other six figures, you'll have all the pieces needed to put together this ex-Morlock, ex-Horseman, ex-interesting character. At which point he'll be nearly 8" tall, ready to go HAM on either the good guys or the bad guys. Originally a distressingly gaunt figure, Caliban got a totally exxtreme '90s makeover that turned him into an albino Hulk. Since big Build-A-Figures look more impressive than small Build-A-Figures, that's the version Hasbro has opted to go with. The sculpt, surprisingly, is new - they could easily have just used the Juggernaut or Titus molds, but nope, new body. Wild! It's gigantic and muscular, of course, and there are metal bands around the wrists, and although he has five clawed fingers on each hand, he apparently cuts his toenails really short - his booties separate his big toe from the rest, but they remain smooth and rounded, not pointy. Before his Apocalytpic makeover, Caliban was timid and bug-eyed. After, he became a screaming devil man. For some reason, his eyebrows developed into sharp, pointed ridges, snd instead of normal teeth, he now had gangs. Also his eyes got smaller. The toy's face is molded with the mouth open in a gigantic howl (or maybe a disinterested yawn). Initially, Caliban's signature color was purple, but after getting wicked swole, bro, he started wearing red and white. The paint here is a dark brick red, and the white has a pearly sheen. The bands around his wrists are dark grey. His skin is white, but has a light gray wash that sets it apart from the costume. The pattern on his chest isn't really like it was in the comics, but it had to have come from somewhere: it's the same ToyBiz's version sported 24 years ago. The articulation is the usual: head, neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, torso, waist, hips, thighs, knees, shins, and ankles. Plenty of joints to let him seek fruitless vengeance against Sabretooth. In terms of character choice, Caliban is easily the worst BAF Hasbro has made since Titus - yes, he's big, but who cares about him? It's a strange case, since all the figures who come with the pieces are good themselves (there's no Gladiator this time), so you'll probably end up with all his parts, but there had to be better options for a character to put in there. And as for Caliban himself, they could probably use a new "tattered" coat and bare chest on the suit legs and give us the skinny version we'd actually want. Heck, repaint Storm's mold to make Callisto, and sell them as a Morlock two-pack. Beast | Weapon X | Forge | Blink | Jubilee | Skullbuster -- 07/31/19

Tweet