Colossus By Hervé St-Louis Jul 5, 2005 - 10:27:00 AM

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Colossus is Russian Piotr (Peter) Nikolaievitch Rasputin, the super strong X-Men who can turn hi body into a living metal alloy capable of withstanding the worse attacks. Probably the strongest X-Men ever, Colossus first appeared in the classic Giant-size X-Men #1, published in 1975 along with the new international team that replaced the original students of Professor X. Always a favourite of fans, Colossus is a gentle giant.

Likeness

Colossus sports his classic X-Men uniform although it’s not the improved updated version, not Dave Cockrum. In the original, the X symbol on his belt was round and the kneepads had no pointy tips. Here, the X in the belt buckle is square, as with all of modern X-Men’s designs. Keeping with modern artists’ take on Colossus, more metal strips are covering Colossus’ body, compared with early designs.

Sculpt

Colossus here is a real colossus. Not content with just sculpting a giant, Toybiz’s sculptor created a muscle-bound man with bulging biceps and exaggerated all of Colossus’ muscles. Although John Byrne used to draw him with a boyish face, this Colossus looks older and tired. Yet his stature is imposing and calls for respect. The strips of metals on Colossus’ skin seem to follow the normal pattern of a person’s muscles. That’s a great thing, as too many artists simply draw stripes on Colossus’ body.

Paint

The paint job is great, considering that nearly the entire figure has paint. Colossus’ metallic paint is dirty. One would think he’s about to rust! Each crack is darker than the surface. There’s some nice shading on Colossus’ camisole, adding more realism. It’s an orange spot in the back and the front. Similar spots are on his kneepads. There is no paint on the boots and the wrists’ guards.

Scale

Colossus is much bigger than the average Marvel Legends’ action figure. That’s perfect. He towers above Iceman and Nightcrawler, although his scale works with the six-inches Marvel Legends standard. Putting him next to Marvel Select action figures will diminish his stature as most are the same sizes he is. Putting him next to large Marvel Legends figures, such Hulk is fun and will lead to versus debates in an instant.

Stability

Colossus is stable but his toes’ articulations are too soft and can topple him. Also, his rib cage flips easily forward or backward, making him too heavy in either direction. It makes him fall. One must find good balance with Colossus. The action figure stand he comes with is useless if used to give him some stability. Fortunately, there are two peg holes in Colossus’ soles.

Articulation

Despite what Toybiz indicated on the package, I counted 33 articulations on Colossus at the neck, the shoulder blades, the shoulders, the biceps, the elbows, the wrists, the palms, thumbs, the knuckles, the rib cage, the waist, the hips, the thighs, the knees, the lower calves, the ankles and the toes. Colossus has popping out shoulder blades articulation extends the arms’ mobility. I don’t like this type of articulation as it destroys the sculpt and can even be broken easily. Colossus’ head is not very flexible. Many of his articulations are hard to use because the plastic is too soft and pressing on joints could break them. Colossus’ knees have double articulations.

Plastic

Colossus has three types of plastics. His camisole’s top and his knee pads are in rubber. Parts of his boots and ankles’ guards are in softer plastic that’s hard to twist, without breaking. The rest of Colossus is pliable hollow plastics. Colossus’ rubber torso is glued on top of his lower abdominal. His hips have ball joints with double articulations, allowing them to move his legs sideways and front and forward.

Props

Inside the package, there is a copy of Uncanny X-Men 129, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. It’s the first appearance of Kitty Pryde, and the first fight with the Hellfire Club.

Diorama

The action figure stand that comes with Colossus is the torso of a destroyed Sentinel. Although useless, it’s a great prop for sets. There are a couple of punches engraved inside the armour. The torso is ripped apart with lots of wires sprouting out. The Sentinel lies on a rock foundation. The two peg holes on the stand are not useful, as there is limited space for the foot of an action figure. The paint job is excellent.

Packaging

Colossus comes within a bubble pack one can only open with scissors. A plastic case is all that held Colossus in place. A cardboard card includes a brief bio on Colossus and images of other Marvel Legends Series five action figures.

Cost

This figure costs anywhere from $6.99 when introduced on the Market to $25 in some stores. Price varies according to the retailer and his distributors. Large retail chains offer a better price than small Internet stores, but variety is not guaranteed.

Availability

This figure is nearly two years-old. Toybiz has removed all information from its Web site, suggesting it is no longer manufacturing the figure. Many stores have already run out of Colossus action figures. Large scale retailers don’t keep such figures in stock indefinitely like smaller shops. Another way of finding Colossus is by using auction sites.

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