review by justin anderson

the desription: Even with the movie still a couple months off, merchandise has begun to hit. The Green Goblin, star villain, gets updated for his movie appearance.

NOTE: These toys could provide a potential to spoil certain elements of the film. I will try not to give away anything that hasn't been revealed so far, but be aware that spoilers can still exist.

the articulation: The figure uses the new "classics" style body, meaning a total of 38 joints. It stands roughly 6" tall.

the design: Not the classic Goblin look. Okay, it's green. And it's a goblin. But not the familiar Green Goblin. The suit is fully robotic, the only classic elements being the ears and expression on the face. No purple costume, no hat, no belt.

The face is sculpted in the likeness of actor Willem DaFoe, with a goblin mask designed to snap over it. The look is barely the classic Osborn look, with a much different, more plain hairstyle, and the facial expression is too calm. They should have sculpted a masked head for this figure, since there was a Norman Osborn figure released anyway.

Okay, so maybe I'm holding it up to a few unfair standards. We never got a Green Goblin figure in Classics(which had at least 2 figures which could have been replaced with far better candidates), and it's almost as if the movie designers intentionally changed the costume to make it look "flashier". It is a fun figure on its own, but not the green Goblin most people are familiar with. I guess I shouldn't bash the changes much, though.... I'm guilty of liking the old Hulk TV series over the comic plot.

The figure includes a glider, again, changed for the movies. More mechanical, with no goblin head ornament. A wing span of about 6", the wings are hinge don the body, allowing the glider to "fold" slightly. Two small pumpkin bombs sit in small storage spaces up front, but can't be removed(they're smaller than safety standards allow for with toy accessories). The glider can mount on a clear stand.

the review: Ultimately, it will depend on your preference. Goblin purists will probably want to wait for the upcoming Hobgoblin figure in a few months. Movie fans will want to buy this. **** out of *****

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