Another line, usually referred to as "Spider-Man Classics" by collectors although it only says "Spider-Man" on the package, has been sharing the pegs with the movie lines for the past few years. Each series contains a variety of Spider-Man figures, along with at least one uber-cool villain. The lastest wave, wave 10, is now hitting stores, and includes the Lizard.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Tail-Attack Lizard"

If you saw the Spider-man movies, you saw Dr. Connors, a professor of Peter's. In the comics, Dr. Connors lost an arm, and played around with reptilian DNA in an attempt to learn how to regenerate his missing limb. He succeeds, but at the price of a split personality, turning into the Lizard at the most inopportune times.

With a version of Connors in the films, rumors have been rampant about the possibility of the Lizard showing up eventually. Only time will tell!

Packaging - **1/2
The Spider-man Classics line has the traditional bubble and cardback. The graphics and style is old school kiddie action figure, although the red is fairly attractive. They aren't particularly unique or creative though, and aren't going to thrill the MOCers.

Sculpting - ***
I debated back and forth on this category for hours. Okay, at least minutes. The level of detail, while not quite McFarlane-esque, is damn close, with a nice scale patter overall, and excellent work on the fins. But two things held me back from a better score.

First, there's the pants. Conner is one of those guys, like Banner, who goes through a lot of clothes. His shirt and pants are in shreds, hanging off his body. While the effect works pretty well for the shirt, it really doesn't work for the pants. The color is too close to the wash used on the scaley skin, and the sculpt pattern and texture isn't different enough from the skin to make it stand out.

Second, and this one is highly personal, I just can't get used to this head sculpt on this guy. When I was a kid, there was this one poor lizard that cheap movie makers always dressed up in bad dinosaur costumes and used on screen. You remember the guy - they'd throw some poor extra fins or goofy plastic pieces on him and pair him up against some poor humans in a symphony of bad special effects. And that's who this guy looks like.

Instead of looking like a man with lizard qualities, he looks like a lizard with minor man qualities. That's not my preference, and the fin on the front of his neck that makes him look like a turkey doesn't help. Actually, the Lizard has always had more of a lizard head than man head in the comics, but I think the inclusion of the "fins" is what really bugs me. If you don't mind the general look, then I'm betting your score in this category will be higher than mine.

But if you get past those two problems, everything else rocks. Scale is good, and Lizard looks nice with the other Spider-Man Classics, Marvel Legends or Spider-Man movie figures.

Paint - ***
The paint ops are clean and neat, especially the detail work around the eyes, teeth and tongue. There's a general wash on the body which doesn't look quite as good, and I've already complained about the issues around the color of the pants. But in general, the paint application is solid.

Articulation - ***1/2
Like many of the Spider-Man and Marvel Legends figures, Lizard has no shortage of joints. I'm betting there will be plenty of folks who actually complain that there's too many joints, although I wouldn't agree.

He has neck, jaw, ball jointed shoulders, double jointed elbows and knees, cut forearms, wrists, mid-hands, chest, waist, ball jointed hips, cut calves, ankles and half foot. Almost all the joints have a great range of motion, and remained tight and stable even after playing around with them for awhile.

I'm surprised the tail isn't bendy, but that's fine. It helps him balance in various poses, and the solid feel works well with the action feature. The double jointed knees can't move forward quite as far as I'd like due to the design, but otherwise I was very happy with the joint work.

Accessories - **1/2
I'd like to actually give Toybiz props for not only including a big accessory, but one that makes perfect sense. Too bad the execution didn't turn out as well as the concept.

Lizard has a lab table, with sculpted books and equipment on top. Chop or kick the table, and it falls apart, or so goes the theory. Unfortunately, breathe in the general direction of the table and it disintegrates as well.

The legs fit loosely in the top, and the two halves join loosely as well. A cool looking lab table would have been great for the display, but I don't want to be picking it up every day off the floor.

Action Feature - ***
The Lizard might have nasty claws, and pointy teeth, but like his cousin the alligator, you best be watching out for the tail.

His action feature should be no surprise, since it's part of his name - Tail-Attack. Push the button inward on the side of his body, and his tail twists quickly to his right, knocking any Spider-Man or other figure across the floor. The snapping action is strong, and works smoothly. The button is easy to push for small hands, and as action features go, it works pretty well. My only complaint is that the button is so obtrusive and obvious - kids won't care, but collectors certainly will.

And if you like tail strike action features, the next wave of Spider-Man Classics includes Scorpion, once again with a tail attack feature.

Value - ***1/2
At $7 or so, these figures are an excellent value. Plenty of other companies are charging $10 - $15 each for figures, and that includes stuff that's not even licensed. This licensed figure includes cool articulation, a good action feature, and decent accessories, all for a reasonable price.

Overall - ***
The bar keeps going up, in no small part to the work Toybiz has done with their various Marvel lines. If your one of the folks that prefer the design of the head sculpt, then I'm betting your overall score will be slightly higher than mine, but don't get me wrong - if your a big Spider-Man fan, this is a great villain to add to the display.

Where to Buy -
I picked this guy up at a local Toys R Us, and Target, Meijers and Wal-mart should all have him soon enough. Expect to pay around $7 - $8 depending on the retailers.