We all know that when SilverHawks ULTIMATES! first hit our shelves, that it was in fact Wave 2 that made its debut ahead of Wave 1. Not much of a problem for anybody really, as this wave was indeed a great way to kick things off. Beloved by most, a great selection of characters, and great quality delivered a stellar wave indeed.
Now I for one had mine arrive in Seymour’s taxi, so I’ve been living with them individually over a few months. The final two pieces arrived at last near the tail end of 2023 (despite being out for most of the year already); so the time has come to review these four (okay five!) pieces that form this unique wave from the SilverHawks franchise.
Right off the bat this pre-transformation Mon*Star stood out. Not just because he was voiced by the same actor who voiced Mumm-Ra, but that mane, man that mane!!!! He has always stood out as a fantastic design, and of all the characters in the toon he looks the coolest with that mane. He could easily have been related to Lion-O and Claudus. Probably a distant relative turned evil… Now I first heard of Mon*Star back when the 2011 version of ThunderCats aired. That episode is a favorite for many because it tied together the worlds of ThunderCats, SilverHawks and TigerSharks – making it officially connected, despite being unofficial siblings since the 80s. I was very impressed with his design, and once ThunderCats ULTIMATES! saw the light of day, the talk of SilverHawks made me get reacquainted with this mob lord.
His box is an interesting design choice, and it displays very well if you are an MIB collector. The longer and thinner box has a great window of all the heads, and the accessories. He doesn’t have a second hidden layer like most do, so what you see is what you get. Now I had to take him out of the box the moment I got him, so it was a real treat to choose which head would work. I chose one of the screaming heads, which is just so typical of this character. Super7 captured his likeness to a T! There is absolutely nothing wrong with this figure. The shading, the articulation, everything is spot on. Of course his big coiffure makes it very difficult to move, but I honestly don’t care. This guy needs to be seen head on.
He comes with two versions of Skyshadow, and the pre-robotic version is my favorite. His wings can even move – and for such a little fellow that’s brilliant. The second Skyshadow is in a stoic sleeping / resting position, eyes closed, so there’s not much you can do with him, but it is still great to have him. In terms of the various hands, I’d say that the hit of the lot is the pointing finger. Now this wave has two characters with pointing fingers (more about that in a bit), but that really captures the nastiness of this vile gangster just right. And my favorite thing that really gives more oomph to this character, is of course his transformation chamber throne. This solid hunk of plastic has cartoon-accurate designs (why did I not notice it before?!) that looks like it came out of the Alien film series. It’s light, but it’s not lightweight, it’s sturdy but not like a piece of rock. The shading on this thing has a nice purplish sheen to it in the light. I’m very glad we’ve been getting thrones from Super7 lately, and I sure hope we get one for Lion-O from the comics too one day. Bottom line is, this throne just spices up your display – and the over-the-top campiness of Mon*Star. (For those curious, YES – the transformed Mon*Star CAN sit on hear easily.) If you wish to keep it boxed though, it has a nice clear window box suitable for display.
It’s a tough act to try and outshine Mon*Star, even in toy form, so I’m sure most would agree that while Windhammer is an eye-catching figure, he doesn’t live up to the majesty of Mon*Star in terms of fame – character wise that is. But don’t let that fool you, because this sickly green alien will make you shake in your boots if he pitches up with his pitchfork at your house. Ok, so it’s not a pitch fork, but a tuning fork, and this simple accessory with it’s dark metallic sheen, has the coolest (literally) and the sparkliest (shockingly so!) accessories to spruce it up even more .Of course that’s the terrorizing lightning bolts, the start of a tornado’s tale, and hazardous ice blasts that will bring any enemy to their knees. The just slide onto the tuning fork with ease, and whallah, you have terror on your shelf!!!
His soft goods skirt / tunic is a really interesting felt-type dress, and although I would always prefer plastic, I have been proven wrong again and again by Super7, and these soft good outfits work. They’re not Barbie dolls, so don’t worry if you’re concerned your ego might be bruised because of a dressed up action figure. This really works, and it kinda gives that extra sense of mystery to the character, who probably would’ve looked a lot stranger in all plastic robes – with limited articulation I bet. Windhammer’s bulky arms and lower legs are balanced just right, so he won’t take a tumble to the floor when you try and pose him. I’m always amazed how characters, that look impossible to transform from 2D to 3D, come to life and step out of the TV screen and still work the way you’d expect an ULTIMATES! figure to. Does anybody ever sit and think how the sculptors and designers scratch their heads with these guys. Hats off to you magic workers!!
So far Windhammer is the only one not to come with a bird, and to be honest, I really don’t recall him having one in the show. His alt head with the windswept hair really takes the cake for me personally, and it is my go to head. It gives him way more life and it makes him look like he is standing mid strike in the wind. The only down side for me is that perhaps the hair part is a tad heavy, so it doesn’t really want to sit in a certain pose, but I’ve managed it just right so far.
He also has a fair number of extra hands, and tying in with what I said before, he too has that pointy finger that is my preferred hand. I’m sure I saw a scene with him hand in the air, finger pointing, and the tuning fork sparkling with electricity. That’s how he stands on my shelf at the moment. And that is what I like about what Super7 has done with this guy; he may be “plain”, but he REALLY speaks cartoon. Just like Buzz-Saw, he is a mirror version of his screen counterpart, and that makes my shelf look so much better. Who needs a TV screen when you can just look at your favorite cartoon on the shelf? With villains like these, any collector will be pleased.
This once again brings us to the silvery side of things. What’s a quartet of figures without one half of do-gooders? These two gents complete the core four of adults, in the way that Cheetara, Tygra, Panthro and Lion-O form the core four of ThunderCats. We’ll be getting the preorder for the Copper Kidd and his racer in the near future to complete the main team, but for now anybody who is just eager to own the main lot of SilverHawks heroes, well, this is your chance to do so.
I’ll start with my favorite of the two. And it’s been a tough decision, but the fact that Larry Kenny voices Bluegrass helped the scale tip to this cowboy from outer space. Bluegrass has a really nice blue sheen, and he is a very well-stocked $55 offering if I have to say so myself. There are just so many extras! Several hands offer you a variety of poses (and this really is the best selection of hands ANY figure from Super7 has had in my opinion). Whether you want him to tip his hat (which is removable by the way), or strum a few notes on Hot Licks, you can get any pose out of him with these options. The blue tone to his uniform is by far the best looking of all four SilverHawks. Not that there is anything wrong with the others, but this blue really just speaks to me and it makes him very eye catching.
Now I need to tip a hat to the factory here, because the faces on this guy are memorable. The solicitations are matched 100%, and I’ve read that it is also because they’re printed and not painted. That’s an exciting move for Super7, because this makes him pop. I’m definitely pleased that he turned out so fantastic. The lassos are great for cowboy poses, but I’m sure nobody will be bothered with that, and rather use his music notes to fire up a battle in the stars. This is very similar to Windhammer’s effects, but the downfall here is that it is either too heavy, or the connection is just not right where it plugs into the guitar. Mine keeps falling off, which is such a pity. I’ll find another way to keep it there, because it needs to be displayed like that. The alternate choice is to use the laser piece that plugs in and stays put, but it’s a bland comparison when there is something as exciting as the notes flying through the air.
The guitar straps are a soft pliable plastic that makes this rockstar’s weapon of choice easy to display around his shoulder. I am looking forward to seeing Melodia in the future because not only has she not had an action figure EVER, she is his nemesis and together they can make sweet music on your shelf. Side Man comes in three versions, one guitar and two bird poses. Unfortunately, a nasty wind blew into my office and the first victim of my new display turned out to be the perched version of Side Man. He leg broke clear off. Such a shame really, but it was quite the fall and that plastic is really thin on the legs. I’ll superglue it together some day. So fair warning, be sure to have yours better secured on your display. The downside for me about the birds is that their legs don’t move like with the ones from Wave 1. That’s a real let down, because I really enjoyed that. Even the heads are glued on tight, so you can’t swap them out like with Wave 1 either. Not sure if this is a factory reason or a choice that Super7 made later on. Guess we’ll see when it comes to Wave 3’s delivery next year.
The final figure is the big guy – Steelwill. This football player has a very unique physique and we’ve never seen anything like this before. Where Bluegrass is a skinny fellow, Steelwill is a bulked up sport star and he steps right off the field and onto your display with all his muscles. There’s one marketing photo that Super7 promoted with him having only one wing on, and that has stuck with me. Posing him like this really makes him more imposing and striking. Try it, you won’t regret it.
Steelwill matches the blue hues of his twin when it comes to the uniform, which I bet people were worried about. They go together like sugar and spice on your shelf. I bet even if they were made at different factories, these two made sure through their mental connection that their colors matched! Thank heavens they do. There’s also a slight sparkle to it in the light, and this toon version is definitely the figure for you if you are looking at owning him in this form. I’m confident that we’ll see him in vac metal in the near future, and for those who were thrilled with Wave 4’s reveal, I bet that he and Bluegrass are both high on your wish list.
Like Bluegrass, Steelwill has a bunch of extras. The heads, again perfect, are tough to choose between. They are just soooo good. He has less hands than Bluegrass, but these are just what you need. Nothing more. Stronghold’s inclusion comes in two forms – perched and wings spread. And I love that they can sit on his arm with ease. I like the spread out wings, and he sits quite easily on Steelwill’s arm. He is staying there with his wide open beak that screeches at any bad guy approaching.
There are plenty of weapons too, and I like the fact that the Screamer Blaster has swappable pieces, so you can display this weapon any way you want. Even the Streamer Blaster has a removable effect. I sure hope we see more compatible effects for future weapons that we can swap out and use elsewhere. That makes these figures way more fun (not that they aren’t) but it really puts the boom in the room… Like his sister and Quicksilver he too has laser effects that can shoot from his shoulders. And the talons on this puppy are nice and sharp! What would you expect from such a big guy?
Articulation on all of these figures are as expected. None of them have the ab crunch we’ve seen in most ThunderCats figures. So these are all aesthetically pleasing. The range of movement is good despite some limitations (like the hair on Mon*Star), and most of these guys will be poseable in your preferred look. I’m curious as to whether we’ll see a Miraj in the future, and how these figures will fit into it, given the way they were “seated” in the show. I am confident thought that Super7 takes that into account, and with the first vehicle for this line incoming very soon, it’s only a matter of time until we see a big one for SilverHawks.
The packaging here is once again top notch, and the blue and silver vs the red and black emphasizes who belongs to the mob, and who will save the day. Even the trays inside again come with lids on the hands (and some accessories) for all the characters, except Windhammer. So if you’re a box keeper, you’ll be glad that this is there to keep your hands safe. Each box again has a lovely little bio on the back and of course the cartoon look of these characters. Only the throne had neither, as it showed off one of the solicited pieces that we got during the preorder. Which is fine, of course. Who needs a bio for a throne?
This is overall a very good wave, and the star of the show is of course Mon*Star for me, despite being plain in comparison when it comes to what he brings to the table. But that mane really just sets him apart. We’ll be seeing a different type of mane for Mon*Star in Wave 4, and that’s a head I’m excited to see (and use) in the future. Wave 2 does a solid job as a follow up to Wave 1, even if it was first out of the gate. So while this review is very delayed, it is still worth writing about and hopefully reinvigorates your love for this franchise. The Wave 3 prototypes at New York Comic Con has everyone excited again for SilverHawks too, so if you want to collect this line, you’d better grab these now while you still can. Once they’re gone, it’s the secondary market for you. So get ready for the next preorder from Super7, who has introduced Super Packs – a collection of bonus items for those who preorder directly with them. SilverHawks have just started, and 2024 will see much more of this once forgotten space opera.
