Petey uses his head.
© 2002 Toy Biz

Mania Grade: B+
Reviewed Format: 12" (1/6 scale) poseable action figure
Manufacturer: Toy Biz
Retail Price: $19.99

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12" SPIDER-MAN COLLECTOR SERIES: SPIDER-MAN

I don't make toys for a living, but even I can tell you that it's pretty damned hard to make an action figure in a little sewn polyester costume look like a superhero in a skintight supersuit. This has been a given ever since Mego launched a line of 8" superhero toys in the '70s. Kids loved these toys (and their dedication is reflected in TOYFARE magazine's inspired Twisted ToyFare Theater), but there's something goofy about seeing the awe-inspiring figure of Spider-Man decked out in what looks like polyester Spider-Man pajamas instead of spandex.

While 12" action figure technology has advanced by Spider-Man sized leaps and bounds over the past 10 years, with new 12" lines sprouting all over the place, the whole spandex superhero costume dilemma hasn't quite been solved. Velcro, the miracle fabric of the '80s, has mostly replaced the annoying little snap ties that used to close every action figure costume up the back. And yes, there are stretchable fabrics that at least scale down a little bit. But the perfect 12" superhero action figure has yet to be produced. Too bad it wasn't this new Tobey Maguire Spider-Man from Sam Raimi's stunningly successful new SPIDER-MAN movie.

As with most of their 12" action figures, the Toy Biz Spider-Man action figure boasts a head that just seems too small... whether this was to compensate for the thickness of the rubber used to recreate the wall-crawler's mask is debatable. At least in this case the figure actually looks like Tobey Maguire, successfully reproducing the young actor's blank, non-plussed stare as if to say, "Did I really just squirt gooey white webbing out of my wrist or is that something else?"

Apparently, Spidey skipped a few sewing classes...

© 2002 Toy Biz

The reproduction of Jim Acheson's terrific movie version of the Spidey costume is creditable, and if you look at this figure from the waste down it's awfully good. The figure has around 25 axes of motion, not quite up to the 32 boasted by the SPIDER-MAN CLASSICS line figures, but enough to get this Peter Parker into some vivid Spider-Man poses. Mid-thigh and mid-bicep swivel joints as well as ankle joints help out a lot, and the Spidey musculature is nicely proportioned, avoiding the overbulked, short-armed look of Hasbro's otherwise excellent STAR WARS figures. The hands even feature jointed second and third fingers so Spidey can do his web-slinging action, although here's where more complaints come in. The hands are molded in red plastic to duplicate the costume gloves, and the wrists feature swivel joints only, so Spidey can't crouch on his hands or flip his palms up or down to shoot webbing. And here's where the costuming lets us down: while the fit of the stretchy costume fabric hugs the figure's legs well, nicely duplicating a full-scale superhero look, the costume loosens up the higher it goes on the body, and the arms end in regular sleeves that hang loosely around the wrists, revealing where the red plastic "gloves" end and the skin-colored wrists begin.

The same problem occurs at the neck where a loose color rises to just underneath Peter Parker's ears. The Spidey mask itself is relatively ingenious -- it's molded in a very soft, latex-like rubber that actually stretches snugly over the Tobey Maguire head, but the mask just barely extends down over the chin and jawline, even revealing some of Peter Parker's ears as well as his neck and lower hairline. It's too bad because the rubber is so pliable, Toy Biz could almost have molded the mask to extend all the way down Parker's neck and enclose the upper part of his costume. As it is, you can (if you're so inclined) actually reproduce the film's now-legendary upside-down kiss scene if you have the Kirsten Dunst 12" figure, because the mask will actually fold up over Parker's mouth and nose and stay there. Pretty neato.

Since the mask doesn't really cover enough of the head to look convincing, this figure actually looks better with the mask off than on -- but you still can't do anything about those sleeves. Spidey cufflinks, anyone?