That, my friends, best sums up what Mongul is!
He'll kidknap you for sh**s and giggles just to fight on his gladitorial arena planet, War World, as he did Superman in the Justice League Series.
And also never invite this guy to your birthday party. he'll come anyway and beat up your friends.
Just look at how pissed off he is!
Now this guy has some serious issues.
For example: He just likes to beat up on Superman. And he also just likes to beat up on Superman. So of course, he appears in the DC Superheroes "Superman" range just so he can beat up Superman.
Yeah, and he won't hesitate to smack Superman upside the back of his head!
But what an awesome action figure Mongul makes! The detail on the skin and face is awesome, with his yellow skin washed and shaded just right. And just look at the expression of sheer anger and contempt on his face.
He's even got red eyes.
And just look at those teeth and gums!
What I really like about this figure is that he's got the standard 21 points of articualtion for a DCSH series toy, but you can hardly see the joints! Just look at this arm for example.
You see the elbow joint and a little of the bicep if you look closely enough. But the Shoulder and the wrists are completely concealed by Mogul's metal bands at the shoulders and wrists.
Similar situation with his legs:
The single jointed knees are obvious, but the double hinges at the top of the thighs are mostly hidden by his belt.
The thigh cut is concealed cleverly below his metal thigh band, and the ankles are well-hidden by his funky metallic pink space age boots.
And there's no denying the ab-crunch joint as well. Cleverly hidden in the lines of his costume and his ab detail.
The ball-joint at the head too, is so well-hidden. But in this case it might be hidden too well. For some reason (perhaps the thick neck) his head can only tilt up and down a little. But thankfully it has 360 degree rotation.
Which brings me to the small problem this figure has--his waist articulation. I mentioned the fancy-schmancy belt he wears. Well, it gets in the way of him rotating his upper torso quit a bit. So he only has a quarter turn there tops. I think you might be able to shave the soft plastic off the parts of the belt which restrict this movement, but I don't think it can be done without compromising the detail on the belt.
One consolation is the belt is soft enough at the bottom so his thighs can still move quite a ways forward, back, and sideways.
But overall I really like this figure. I passed up the chance to get him and Bizarro for S$9.80 at the Toys 'R' Us warehouse sale at United Square a month back, thinking it would be silly to get them without having Supes first.
Then when I went back to China Square Central to grab the Supes I'd seen selling for S$20, it was gone...until it somehow showed up again a week or so ago in the same shop. So I grabbed him, and black skirt Supergirl from a shop next door. And immediately regretted that I'd passed up Mongul and Bizarro, cos they were nowhere to be found.
I searched all the Toys 'R' Us' determined to find where they'd moved the stock, and
then lo and behold, they show up at Suntec City for the same low price of $9.80. :)
And the best part is this: I'd called up customer service at TRU and they refused to tell me where the toys had gone, claiming that once the sale is up, the stock "mysteriously" "goes away". They didn't even take the time to enquire what exactly I was looking for. Wouldn't it have been easier to ask me, let me know if the items in question are still on sale (or not), and then point me in the right direction?
Ah well, personally, it just made locating these 2 figures all the more enjoyable. The only thing better than tracking down some rare, hard-to-find figures is coming to the end of that journey and discovering them for a nice, low price. ;)
Oh and yes, now Supes has someone to fight/pose with. :)
Oh yes, his ratings!
Poseability: 8.5 - The limited wiast hurts--torso movement is crucial for lots of basic action poses, such as punching and turning. Major points lost here. There, and the stiff head. Other than that, Mongul's legs are fabulous for a large-sized figure!
Aesthetic: 9.5 - Just awesome. From the detail of his costume to the painting of his face and features. He's so good you really don't even need to look for a "good one" on the shelves. You just grab one and he'll be good. ;)
Overall: 9.0 - Great, solid figure. Excellent villain for Supes, too. Playing with him just reminds me of the Justice League episode of War World where he gets his ass kicked by Supes. The best part is: he was voiced by Eric Roberts in the series--this I didn't know!!!