KR|Enmity Review #8: Labramar

Toy prototype details

Name: Labramar^TM

Subtitle: mutant warrior

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 7 in the line.

Character details

Name: Labramar

Classification: mutant human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: rear marshal.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #1 - Flares of enmity

Brief bio: during the Reptonoid domination of O-Kin, the kingdom's population suffered the mutating effects of the chemical weapons deployed by Bi-Harr for psychological manipulation. A small percentage of the inhabitants who emerged were born with defects and fitted with electromechanical prostheses. Those with bionic body parts, called outliers, were treated like pariahs by those without, and were forced by circumstance to live in poverty and resort to crime. Disillusioned for generations, the outliers were then reintroduced to society and helped to find work as labourers after Lord Sembryon's descendants had retaken control of the realm. When Wordron, following his self-proclamation as ruler, formed an army for his Dark Legion, Labramar was chosen among the most remarkable outliers thanks to his incredible agility and was trained at the overlord's arena to become one of the strongest and most resilient fighters.

Articulation

Standard, except that shoulders and hips are ball jointed.

Description

Head: Negroid features, light-blue skin, bald scalp, green eyes and a tribal tattoo on the forehead. He wears a metallic dark-red removable headdress similar to a bicycle/skate helmet

Body: the right arm and the right leg display light-blue skin and bear black&silver protective pads for the elbow and the knee respectively; the left arm and the left leg have a silver look with a gold tinge, showing lots of machinery/circuitry details

Wearables: a dark-blue armour with dark-red details, a dark-blue bracelet and a dark-blue leather boot on the human limbs (the bionic limbs only show two subtle dark-blue bands around the forearm and the lower leg), a dark-blue sash tied in a knot (with the ends hanging down on the right side) and a fairly long dark-red loincloth (which consists of several large overlapping metal plates laced together and looks like an extension of the armour's central strip). The armour has a dark-brown furry armhole on the right side, as well as some circuitry patterns connecting a seemingly glowing device at the centre of the chest to the left shoulder and hip.

Labramar's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, Labramar is equipped with a rocket-powered levitating board that he uses to perform extremely complex aerial manoeuvres. So, the figure comes with a blue&red board and a clear articulated flight stand. The board obviously pays homage to the Pit Bull hoverboard used by Griff Tannen in Back to the Future Part II, displaying a very similar shape and two pivoting rocket engines. The sides even pop open to reveal a pair of vicious blasters, while the stand has a ball joint that allows for some nice posing and Labramar attaches securely to the board at either foot via one peg.

Additionally, Labramar has the (kinda silly) ability to switch the positions of his bionic limbs, which fictionally allows him to accomplish even more acrobatic tricks on his board.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the levitating board, Labramar comes with two accessories: a double blade sword and a compact version of the board. The sword features two fierce-looking silver blades (resembling outstretched dragon wings and recalling the jagged outline of the board) at both ends of a handle that is wrapped with dark-red leather for a secure grip. The blades can pivot, allowing for a number of display options.

Finally, the board is fictionally designed to shrink into a compact form that can be more easily carried into battle. The compact board piece is neat and can plug into a slot on Labramar's back. A button on the front end slides forward to split the front of the board for partially rendering the expansion gimmick seen in the comics.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ This agile thug is a key member of the Dark Legion and important for the faction's insurgence in O-Kin

Articulation: ♥♥ The loincloth hinders the leg movement more than I’d like

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ The sculpt is fantastic, and the paint is nice and solid, capturing the comic book look perfectly

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠♠ The board and stand are the best part of this set and they work great with the figure

Playability: ♪♪♪♪♪ There's enough fun here to convince me to put Labramar on my top ten of the year

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ This is really a nice toy and an important part of the KR|Enmity collection.

KR|Enmity Review #7: Elykta (Enmity Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: Elykta^TM (Enmity Edition)

Subtitle: magic guardian

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 6 in the line.

Character details

Name: Elykta

Classification: archosauromorph reptile

Sex: female

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom (formerly belonging to the Reptonoid faction)

Rank: enchantress.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #1 - Flares of enmity

Brief bio: a reptilian sorceress once affiliated with the Reptonoids, five centuries before the rise of Wordron, Elykta learnt to master many forms of witchcraft, including dark magic and clairvoyance, from the black-hearted wizard Sphenorat. Becoming gradually disgusted by Bi-Harr's cruel methods of conquest, she eventually betrayed her evil faction and set out to join the Therioms. After acquiring additional mystic secrets and relics, including the stone of deterrence from Ki-Shudan, Elykta spent decades learning to control her new magical abilities. Recognised for her courage and wisdom, she was chosen by the Deity to become the newest guardian of the three prodigious helmets forged by Galamars.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: Elykta's face slightly resembles the visage of Dale Russel's Dinosauroid, with greenish skin and pink eyes, even though she looks fairly more pleasant; she wears a helmet which is shaped like a complete head of Parasaurolophus (or a similar "duck-billed" hadrosaurid) - it's difficult to figure out whether this helmet is a real head or is artificial, since some details, such as the eyes and part of the muzzle and of the crest, look like made of bronze, while other details, especially the nape/cheek protector, look like made of real yellowish scaly skin. The helmet has an orange amber gemstone mounted on the front of the crest and shares some elements with the headdresses seen on the two previous editions of Elykta, such as the plainer design from Foundation and the more obvious metallic fangs from Origin. And like with Origin Elykta, this helmet can be removed, but fortunately it's not necessary to split it into two parts, it can just be slipped off in one piece. Once stripped of the helmet, Elykta's head is a faithful replica of the Origin version, displaying a bald look, two very subtle cranial crests, a darker wash above (and two curved linear dark marks–more noticeable than in Origin–below) the eyes and a V-shaped copper decoration (similar to a widow’s peak) with a blueish glowing gemstone worn on the centre of the forehead

Body: arms and legs covered with a tight black uniform, greenish scaly 3-claw hands

Wearables: an orange armour with metallic yellow details (the latter are embossed with arabesque patterns and ornamented with rivets), two long-sleeve handless orange leather gloves, two thigh-high orange leather boots that buckle up at the sides, a diamond-shaped orange copper belt (with a yellow sapphire buckle slightly reminiscent of the Reptonoid symbol, i.e., a reptile eye) and a yellow bandage skirt with a long strip of fabric on the front. Both the gloves and the boots show a scaly texture and have jagged cuffs/tops.

Elykta's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the KR|Enmity comics, Elykta has the power to teleport herself (as well as other people and objects as long as she is touching them) across any distance instantly by means of a mysterious ring-shaped device attached to her back. To express this magical ability, the figure comes with two pieces that, one at a time, can connect securely to a socket on the back. The first piece is a massive steel-grey ring (actually, two concentric rings) that displays indecipherable engravings. These inscriptions are reminiscent of those seen on both Galamars' and Ki-Shudan's outfits, suggesting that the device might be the result of combined ancient magic and Cereutian technology. The ring normally stands up, but can also turn horizontally over Elykta's shoulders to reproduce another power of hers, i.e., generating an invisible force shield around her body to protect her from attacks.

The second piece is a portal effect that comes in the form of a gigantic spinning wheel. The disk is cast in a translucent purplish plastic and has an interesting texture sculpted into its surface that mimics the space distortion of the comic design. The outermost part of the disk has some glitter mixed in, while the centre is painted dark-blue and sparkled with grey paint; in the middle there's a sculpted and airbrushed cloudy vortex with some lightning effects. When the wheel spins, the gimmick is quite hypnotic.

For those looking for a slicker design, both accessories are easily removable and, when they are detached completely, can even be held in Elykta's hand as weapons of sorts.

Weapons and accessories

Elykta comes with her signature wooden staff, which is topped with a fork-like ramification that holds a yellow sapphire (the stone of deterrence, as we learn from the bio). The staff has the same sculpt as the one that was included with the Foundation figure, but this is the “charged up” version and I think it looks cool. Unlike with the regular weapon, the stone doesn't glow in the dark, but is translucent and has added glitter, while the ends of the two branches of the stick are cast in a clear red-orange plastic that gives a seemingly energy blasting look to it.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ Thumbs up for my favourite lady of Tahron

Articulation: ♥♥♥ The ring and wheel on the back are a nice touch, and they look good in certain poses, but they also hinder the articulation a bit, which is not my personal desire for an action figure

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ She's is a complete knockout in the looks department

Accessories: ♠♠♠ I like the design of the sceptre and how it incorporates the blasting effect, but I wish a small Zor-Kan repaint were included along with the figure

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ The ring/wheel construction will make collectors feel a bit split on this final figure, but everything else is right there

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I love the look of this version of Elykta and I am very happy to get her, she is beautiful. I hope we might see future incarnations of this character... maybe a petrified version from The Cereutian Menace?