Barbataus, Tormenter, Bullrock, and Dedalus They Fight Gormiti Series 2 4-Pack Item No.: Unavailable Manufacturer: Playmates Includes: 4 figures, 4 cards Action Feature: n/a Retail: $9.99 Availability: 2009 Other: ...and bite
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Still more Gormiti! There's a whole mess of these guys, and this 4-pack has, well, four of them. Let's get started with the two Forest Tribe members starting with the turtle-like Tormenter, the Torturer. Seemingly made of cactus, this thorny fellow is sculpted with cactus leaves, thorns, and some waxy grooves similar to a real cactus. Of course, a real cactus doesn't have feet, arms, or a head, so it's clearly a more fanciful interpretation of everybody's favorite botanical desert life. This figure and Barbatus sold me on the pack, mostly because I dig the basic concept. I wish he could do more, but the entire line is sort of lacking in range of movement. What you see is what you get.

Next up is Barbatus, the Lord of the Forest. The original sculptors did a nice job here, giving him a crow, a beard, and tons of forest-like elements all over his person. The shoulders are made of leaves, some moss makes up his outfit, rocks make up his joints (and butt), plus there are tendrils for one of his hands. The fist covered in a Wolverine-esque claw is a nice touch to give him a little more malice, as his trading card paints him as a toxic, lethal, and dangerous overlord of the dark and tree-covered realms. They really did a bang-up job translating his role into a toy, and the creature makes a strong statement as a central figure in this line. It's worth getting.

The rest of the set is populated by the Earth Tribe, rocky beings with brown and orange bits. Bullrock takes inspiration from a number of sources-- specifically bull and rock-- but he also has a hint of the Hanna-Barberra character Mighty Mightor. Bullrock carries twin rock weapons in his equally rocky fists, creating an interesting if confusing amalgamation of creature and weapon. So he's organic with rocky bits, and he carries rocks too? So his rock fists need rocks, because the rock fists aren't enough? I don't quite get it-- some of the tribes make a little more sense, but the Earth Tribe doesn't feel like it got the polish of some of the others. He has a lot of sculpted detail, bull horns, a creepy mask-like face, and not much else. I wouldn't go nuts for this one.

The set almost missed out on the quota for wacky names until I got to Dedalus, the Undergrounder. "The Undergrounder?" Even a throwaway gag from The Incredibles at least came up with "The Underminer," which makes a little more sense. Being arachnid-inspired, Dedalus features extra arms, lots of eyes, and a freaky face that leaves me wishing we got some form of Insectoid Tribe instead. With slightly different colors, this would be a superb figure-- as it is, the orange, brown, and grey mix in a manner that doesn't quite give you the feeling that you're seeing a fang-filled, blind monster who roams underground caverns to eat little children. Instead, he just looks sort of like a bug wrestler, which is actually OK with me. I started picking up these guys out of a desire to have more toys like Battle Beasts and M.U.S.C.L.E., and this figure basically mixes both into a satisfying, weird final product. The concept seems half-baked, but the results feel like a great 1980s refugee. If you're in to little rubber guys, I'd say put this one on your list. He's grown on me a lot.

Another cheapo discount set, this one sat at Toys R Us until a store closed down. Playmates is dumping this line at some closeout stores, so you may be able to find some still-- keep an eye open anywhere old toys are sold. If you can get the set for an average of $1-$1.50 per figure, I suggest you get it-- Dedalus, Barbatus, and Tormenter are nice and fun, while Bullrock is strange enough to warrant keeping around or throwing at your kids.

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See more Gormiti in Figure of the Day:
Day 229: Playmates Gormiti Multiplep and Steelblade
Day 237: Playmates Gormiti Blind Fury and Ancient Jellyfish
Day 243: Playmates Gormiti Florus the Poisoner and Clear Ancient Jellyfish
Day 259: Playmates Gormiti Mantra the Implacable and Clear The Severe Guardian
Day 312: Playmates Gormiti Barbataus, Tormenter, Bullrock, and Dedalus
Day 335: Playmates Gormiti Spores, Cannon Trunk, Hypnofrog, and Carrapax
Day 342: Playmates Gormiti Alos the Hypnotiser and Clear Delos The Count of the Seas