Oooh baby! This is one slick figure! Let us know if you caught the "Review Preview" over on our YouTube Channel. Let's get after it! I have been patiently waiting for this figure to arrive from BBTS and, at initial glance, it was so worth the wait!
Daniel Ketch, a native of Brooklyn, New York, faced tragedy one night when gangsters attacked him and his sister Barbara. She was critically injured by Deathwatch, prompting Daniel to escape to a junkyard. There, he discovered a motorcycle adorned with a mystical sigil. Upon contact with the sigil, he transformed into the Ghost Rider, resembling his predecessor but with a modernized costume and motorcycle. He defeated the gangsters but couldn't prevent Barbara from falling into a coma due to her injuries, and she was later murdered by Blackout, Ketch's sworn enemy.
Subsequently, Ketch uncovered the truth about Zarathos through the mystical dream lord Nightmare, who posited that the entity Ketch was connected to was a reincarnated Zarathos, liberated from the Soul Crystal. Despite Ghost Rider's denial, others, including Mephisto, held this belief.
Danny Ketch first appeared in Ghost Rider V. 3, #1, May 1990 and was created by writer Howard Mackie, and artist Javier Saltares.
Accessories: 9/10
Ghost Rider comes with his flaming chain, a pair of grasping hands, a fist, and an open action hand. The motorcycle comes with two translucent orange flame effects for the wheels and another flame "wheelie popping" effect. This piece plugs easily into the bottom of the motorcycle, just in front of the foot pegs and supports the vehicle quite nicely. Technically, I suppose you could say the Hellcycle is an accessory, but it's almost a character in its own right. Either way, this is one of the best Ghost Rider sets out there and each of the items included is beyond satisfactory. I would have liked to have had a full pair of fists and a full pair of open action hands, but honestly, the bike and flame effects alone are worth it!
Appearance: 9.5/10
Based on the sheer accuracy to the character design and the look of the motorcycle, I am more than impressed. Sure, there are a couple of minor issues... but dang! This is one sweet set! Let's start with the Hellcycle... the front cowling is movable, allowing you to decide your own display choice. The design of the front piece is spot on, with knicks and scuffs, and areas of damage, which only enhance the look. The piece is black plastic, which means that a silver wash over the scuffed areas would have looked spectacular. Any paint on this would have been helpful. Really, the only paint on the bike is the speedometer, gas caps, and maybe the hand grips on the handlebars. The seat looks to be a separate piece, in brown plastic, with some nicely sculpted details. The bike itself is designed perfectly and really looks like it just raced off the page. I particularly enjoy the translucent orange wheels, with yellow paint highlights for the flame effect. Even standing by itself, the bike looks fantastic. A careful inspection reveals a number of sculpted details, giving the bike more character and greater comic accurate design appeal. I just really like this thing!
Ghost Rider, himself is pretty remarkable. We've seen the flaming skull previously, but as this is my first, I'm really impressed. The paint detail giving the skull a more realistic look, coupled with the movable jaw are some of my favorite features! You do have to look closely, but you'll see the yellow paint in the eye sockets, which looks pretty good, in spite of being relatively hidden. The actual flames are the same translucent orange as the rest of the effects and swirl up and around his skeletal neck. The design minimizes his head movement though, which I'll discuss shortly. The leather jacket has a ton of sculpted detail, giving it an authentic look, matching the comic book design right down to the spikes on his shoulders. I like the fact that he has an extra chain slung across his chest and one shoulder, should you not display him with the flaming chain in hand. Removing his head, will allow you to take this chain off to display him armed, in a fighting stance. The studded wrist bands could use a bit of a wash for detail but are good enough and both of his right hands have spikes on the knuckles, in keeping with the design. His studded belt is attached above the waist swivel so as not to hinder movement. The gray pants feature a nice degree of sculpting, not only in texture, but added wrinkles as well. I initially thought there was a wash over the pants, but now I'm thinking it's the subtlety of the muscle sculpt that casts some intriguing shadows when the light hits it just right. Lastly, his boots are really nicely done. The pebbled leather design of his riding boots gives authenticity to the costume, though the strap across the top of his foot, might have benefitted from a light wash, just to bring it out further. Overall, this is one of the best-looking Danny Ketch/Ghost Rider figures I've ever seen, and I'm thrilled to have it in my collection.
Articulation: 7/10
This is on one of the older bucks, though the arms and legs are pinless. Let's start up top. His head will turn side to side easily and can only look down somewhat. The jaw is articulated and can open/close, which is a pretty nice effect. The shoulders can rotate a full 360 and will raise to a solid T pose. The bicep swivel works fine and the double-jointed elbows will bend fully in. The wrists all hinge and pivot. There is a diaphragm hinge which allows for decent forward and back bend, thankfully without the pregnant belly look we've seen before. The waist is on a swivel, which works fine. The legs have drop-downs at the hips, allowing for a good split and making straddling the bike much easier. The legs will kick forward very nicely but the thigh cuts are tight, making moving those a bit difficult. The knees are also double-jointed and bend in quite deeply, but the thickness of his quads and calves prevent the heel from touching his backside. There is a boot cut which works fine and the ankles have excellent pivot and hinge range. I wish the head would look up so that getting him into a low, crouched position on the bike would be feasible. The wheels on the bike do spin.
Affordability: 8/10
I snagged him at BBTS for the retail price of $49.99 and with the Hellcycle and accessories, is easily worth the price! This is available and I would definitely recommend getting one for your Marvel display because this is a sharp piece and I'm quite pleased with it.
Overall, this is a good piece from Marvel. I'd have liked to see this on the Vulcan buck, but still, I'm not going to complain too much. I'm very happy to have him in my collection and am feeling really good about giving the Danny Ketch/Ghost Rider with Hellcycle Marvel Legends a stout:
9 out of 10 ToyBoxes
Hey, thanks so much for checking out this review. I hope you enjoyed the "Review Preview" over on YouTube and I'm excited to bring you even more, as we move forward. Until next time... GEEK OUT!!!
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