KR|Enmity Review #11: Demo-Rha (Enmity Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: Demo-Rha^TM (Enmity Edition)

Subtitle: valiant cadet

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure (dual figure) - Nº 10 in the line.

Character details

Name: Demo-Rha

Classification: human

Sex: female

Relationships: Modi-Rha's younger sister

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: officer cadet; bomb disposal and explosives specialist.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #2 - Terror from the clouds

Brief bio: raised together with her older sister Modi-Rha by Nemhisto^TM, Demo-Rha became more and more estranged from her sibling after their father's murder and decided to travel Tahron alone. Eventually, she joined the Theriom royal army and learnt the ways of military combat from Ir-Ash, who had his eyes on her. While aiming at mastering new capabilities, in order to improve her range of skills, Demo-Rha met and fell in love with an enterprising soldier named Xonedar^TM, thanks to whom she became competent in handling dangerous ordnance.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: half-Asian features, her skin, long hair and eyes have an albino character, but their colour, instead of being completely white, tends to a very light-toned blue

Body: arms and legs covered with a tight red military uniform with black details (i.e., single-strapped sheaths and double-strapped holsters/quivers on the sleeves and the trousers). Her light-toned blue hands wear a pair of black fingerless gloves

Wearables: a purple bulletproof vest with a golden Theriom badge on the right side of the breast piece, two light-blue bracelets, two light-blue boots, a light-blue belt and purple shorts.

Action feature

In the KR|Enmity comics, Demo-Rha is mostly featured in her military look, but she also briefly appears in two other forms. So, the figure will be released in a 2-pack that will include Demo-Rha's standard version and one of two possible variants. Actually, three possible variants (!), which I'm going to describe individually.

The first variant is her Extra-Corporeal form. In the Enmity era, Demo-Rha is already aware of her paranormal abilities, but she's not very proficient at using them yet. One of such powers is shown fleetingly during a fight with her sister Modi-Rha over the roofs of Theriom City, when Demo-Rha momentarily moves outside her body hoping to gain the upper hand. Sculpt-wise and colour-wise, this figure is an exact replica of the standard one, but is moulded in a translucent plastic. Additionally, this variant includes a clear stand that clips around the waist and allows for some floating poses.

The second variant, my personal favourite, is her Bomb Disposal look. At the end of the second comic issue of the Enmity series, Demo-Rha is forced to disarm a bomb activated by the Dark Legion. She first tries by remotely controlling a bomb disposal robot, but then she decides to handle the matter on site by wearing a heavy suit of body armour derived by the device itself. The robot, which unfortunately is not included in the pack, transforms into the blast suit by outspreading along folding joints, similarly to the Dark Legion Troopers (except for the arm components, which are produced by outstretching the vertical mount that in the collapsed form houses pairs of cameras and mechanical limbs, and encases the suit's helmet). This figure heavily resembles her LoGoN's driver variant (now we know where Demo-Rha got that suit!), and is made of white&ochre-painted parts reused from the static bust that came with the original LoGoN (head and torso) and from Combat Sei-Lha (limbs and crotch piece). However, there are several additions in the form of bulky tech-mech clip-on elbow and knee guards derived from the robot's vertical mount and wheels respectively. Also, the open palm hands are equipped with two pivoting tools (sorts of screwdriver and scissors), which plug into the inner sides of the gauntlets.

Finally, the third variant is her Old Lady form seen in The ultimate curse comic of the KR|Foundation series. I'm very happy that the folks at PoliganToys decided to include this option. One really cool feature on this variant is that her jagged maroon cape (which has four protruding points that connect to her wrists and to an ivory brooch at the front of her garment), high standing spiky collar and mouth veil is a removable one-piece part that fits between the head and the neck. So, it'll be possible to display her wrinkled, yellowish-skinned head (wearing a black veil) without any gear around her neck, if one has will to do so. For the rest, she's pretty much covered with tattered light and dark grey robes from neck to toe and only shows her yellowish-skinned hands (with purple-painted nails) emerging from the long and wide sleeves. The right hand can grasp a wooden walking staff, which has some wrapping around the handle that blends in nicely and a metallic top that holds a tapering milky clear tip similar to a stalagmite. It’s a cool little item known as the staff of concealment, which in the Foundation comics serves to amplify Demo-Rha's already impressive transformation skills (sometimes she's shown to wear the stalagmite piece hanging from a chain round her neck).

Weapons and accessories

The standard version of Demo-Rha comes with two accessories that represent the two forms of her signature weapon - a collapsible crossbow. The inactive form is basically a small metallic purple kite shield that the figure can wear on either forearm. This piece of armour is fictionally able to absorb and reflect kinetic energy, enabling it to withstand strong impacts, and its pattern is curiously reminiscent of the design on the crotch piece of Demo-Rha's outfit. The active form is a fully expanded compound crossbow with metallic light-blue limbs, cams, sight and detachable bolt (whose head possesses an explosive function in the comics), which can also clip to the wrist.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the second comic issue Terror from the clouds. Enraged at his previous defeat at the hands of the Therioms in his arena, Wordron teams up with Ignitrys^TM, an evil Cereutian android sent by Denortos. Taking advantage of a flight test, the villains attack a Therioms' newly built aircraft. In spite of Xonedar's and Gax-Uhr's counterattack on two Aviotak gliders, the heroes are knocked down by Ignitrys and the flying machine is forced to land in a deserted area. Immediately afterwards, Wordron and his Dark Legion rush to the emergency landing site and succeed in seizing the aircraft and in stealing the cyber-backpack from the half-conscious Xonedar. Except for the helpless Gax-Uhr, who is taken prisoner, the Therioms manage to flee on a sentient vehicle (LoGoN) stored in the plane's hull. Before the heroes can plan a rescue mission for freeing their fellow, a strike on Theriom City begins, with Wordron and Ignitrys operating the blasters of the aircraft from the sky, while Modi-Rha and Fasyan lead the ground army. Xonedar understands that the only way the Therioms can win this fight is to attack Wordron directly, so he takes an Aviotak glider to reach the plane. The hero meets the evil duke on the fuselage of the aircraft and a mid-air fight ensues. With the help of Koptros, who has come to Xonedar's aid, the good guys finally gain the upper hand against their foe and shoot him down. Xonedar rescues Gax-Uhr, who was trapped inside the craft, while Koptros tries to distract Ignitrys. Since the flying machine is obviously superior to the hero's helicopter-pack, Koptros can only win with a trick - he dives towards a pinnacle and pulls up in the very last moment. Being not as manoeuvrable as Koptros' backpack, the aircraft crashes. The attack is over, the Dark Legion retreats and Wordron's only chance to win is to remotely activate a bomb, but Demo-Rha manages to disarm the device.

Overall, this story is good, even if there are few illogical twists in my opinion. For example, why does Xonedar wear his cyber-backpack again when he fights against Wordron? Did he have a spare one? And where was Koptros hiding all the time between his appearance at the beginning and then again at the end? However, I love the artwork and the action scenes of this comic book - the mid-air battle is simply amazing! And the Gyrocarrier, that is the name of the craft, is really great! It's good to know that they flight-tested it before it'd be used again in the future... it's shown with a different paintjob in The ultimate curse story, serving as a transporter for the new version of CoBoN. It's worth spending a few words about its look, because I really wouldn't mind to see it in toy form, maybe even including its spectacular domed heliport with elevated runway (I know, I'm just dreaming). The general shape of this stealth aircraft reminds me of the Starship Enterprise a bit, featuring a cigar-shaped hull (equipped with retractable landing gear -wheels in Terror from the clouds, skids in The ultimate curse-, a front-facing viewport, a pair of folding wings -aftward in Terror from the clouds, upward in The ultimate curse-, a movable tail rudder with an embedded tail rotor, and a rear cargo hatch/ramp -in The ultimate curse the belly can also open to deploy CoBoN via a set of cables that are subsequently reeled back by use of a rotating winching mechanism inside the craft-), a saucer-shaped main section (bearing a tapered front-facing cockpit/nose, a chin turret with a pivoting set of guns, twin side-mounted missile launchers and a two-bladed overhead rotor that also functions as a slotted antenna) and a pair of rear jet engines (housed in two tilting nacelles, which generate either vertical lift force for takeoff and landing or thrust for forward flight).

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ When I’d first heard rumours that a Theriom version of Demo-Rha was a possibility for KR, I couldn't see this figure in my mind’s eye. When it came into my hands, I was totally blown away

Articulation: ♥♥♥ Apart from the long hair hampering the head movement a bit, no problem here

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The colours and shapes pop, both in the standard version and in the three beautiful options for the accompanying variant. Yes, I think I dig her

Accessories: ♠♠♠ She has a very cool looking weapon, but if I could change or add anything, I would really like to see some removable guns, knives and bolts coming out of those holsters and sheaths

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ This figure makes me like the idea of a "good" Demo-Rha far more than I ever did before

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I’m very pleased with the figure, she makes a great addition to the Theriom side of the display.

KR|Enmity Review #10: Fasyan

Toy prototype details

Name: Fasyan^TM

Subtitle: black-hearted count

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 9 in the line.

Character details

Name: Count Fasyan

Family name: Cleorsu^TM

Classification: human

Sex: male

Relationships: Wordron's younger half-brother

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: count and, temporarily, ruler's official representative of the small Kingdom of O-Kin; commandant of the Dark Legion troops.

Background

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

Brief bio: a malevolent figure among the blue bloods of O-Kin, Fasyan was injured, together with his half-brother Wordron, in a Reptonoid guerrilla attack during his childhood. Years later, he built a system of cybernetic blades, which, once mounted to his back and connected to his bionic headgear, could spread out into a menacing wheel that would give him outstanding abilities. Thanks to the optics and the weaponry at the ends of those blades, Fasyan was endowed with the powers of ultra-vision and perfect aim, making him a master spy and sharpshooter. After Lord Tafmohr^TM, O-Kin's legitimate ruler, had been overthrown, he joined Wordron and the other members of the Dark Legion in starting the fight for the throne of Tahron against the Therioms.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: brown skin, shaved scalp, long and twisted black moustache and beard. While his left eye is green with a bushy black eyebrow, the right one, together with three quarters of his scalp, is concealed by a steel plate equipped with a translucent red targeting sight and a small rod-shaped antenna at the side. The back portion of the steel skullcap is seemingly connected via a black wire to the armour

Body: the arms show brown skin, while the legs are covered with tight dark-green trousers

Wearables: a black armour with dark-green details, two black bracelets, two black boots and a black belt with an eye-shaped silver buckle that holds two short strips of dark-green fabric. Besides the Dark Legion emblem (i.e., a diamond-shaped black gemstone, which, when looking deeply into it, shows a subtle discolouration resembling a demonic face), the armour sports a real chain over the chest plate and a nice fan-blade design in the abdominal area. Finally, each cuff and boot-top has a V-shaped notch that accommodates a single blade-shaped silver decorative element.

Fasyan's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the Dark Legion symbol.

Action feature

In the comics, Fasyan is equipped with an apparatus attached to his back and composed of seven techno-looking blades that expand like a fan. Each blade bears either an imaging device or a blasting weapon, which, thanks to the connection to his electronic headgear, give Fasyan the power to see far and beyond obstacles, in order to hit his enemies with precision (a technology that eventually will inspire Xonedar to develop his bionic visor). So, the figure comes with a fan-blade backpack, which is a separate piece that plugs into a hole in the back armour. The attachment is a little heavy and requires a magnet to keep in place. The piece is made of three separate components, one moulded in place and two that are articulated, allowing the whole equipment to close or be fully spread. Each of the seven blades widens at its tip (kinda resembling the shape of a machete with straight edges) and is painted in black on the front and silver (with a nice metallic over-spray) on the back. The devices at the tips of these individually sculpted blades are the most diverse: a round purple lens (which in the comics is a combination of a high-resolution camera and a radar), an orange high-energy detector (which resembles the trefoil symbol used to warn about ionising radiation), a square green night/thermal vision lens, a triangular blue directed-energy cannon and an octagonal silver burning glass/mirror. Additionally, a pair of gunmetal laser cannons can be connected to two sockets on the two furthest-apart blades.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from his removable wheel-backpack and plug-in laser cannons, Fasyan only comes with one accessory, which is his signature shield. In the comics, the evil count hurls this weapon either to hit his foes or to utilise it as sort of spy drone connected to his skullcap antenna. The piece is very nicely designed and has a cool devilish eye symbol right in the centre of the hexagonal greenish bronze-looking plate. I especially like the iris/pupil component, which looks a bit like a spotlight lamp and glows in the dark. Additionally, the shield has six curved steel blades along the edge, which can fictionally activate and retract at Fasyan's will. So, the accessory comes with an additional silver ring that attaches via some pegs on the back, in order to display it with the blades deployed.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦ Despite his unique points, unfortunately he doesn’t stand out much with his brother

Articulation: ♥♥♥ It is nice how the "wheel" can fold out completely without hampering the figure's head and arms articulation too much

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ He's an impressive figure that will have an overall appeal to many collectors. The wheel is no small feat, which makes him carry a major presence on the nicely growing Dark Legion shelf

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ If you don’t count that giant removable backpack and the two blasters, the included shield is the only accessory, but it's a very nice piece

Playability: ♪♪♪ KR figures are as fun to play with as ever

Overall: ☺☺☺ I have been waiting a long time to have Fasyan join my KR|Enmity collection and now that he is here, I am quite pleased with him.

KR|Enmity Review #9: Gax-Uhr

Toy prototype details

Name: Gax-Uhr^TM

Subtitle: agile lieutenant

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 8 in the line.

Character details

Name: Gax-Uhr

Family name: Amhalgaard^TM

Classification: primivod mammal

Sex: male

Relationships: Tir-Hing's and Ir-Ash's younger brother

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: lieutenant; gymnast.

Background

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

Brief bio: King Li-Khon^TM's third born son, Gax-Uhr was the most dynamic and lighthearted of the three royal brothers. After joining the Theriom royal infantry, where he worked alongside Tir-Hing and Ir-Ash, Gax-Uhr gained recognition for his fearless service as a lieutenant. Never failing to look for the good in everyone, even in his foes, he perfected non-lethal methods of combat based on skills such as acrobatics and dexterity, a style his eldest brother always dismissed as foolishly merciful.

Articulation

Standard, plus hinged toes.

Description

Head: predominantly ape-like (similar to a gorilla, even if he's a primivod, a fictional anthropomorphic marsupial), characterised by a thick deep-black fur that surrounds a black-skinned face. The bare face includes the ears, a pair of deep-set blue eyes and a flat nose with large nostrils. Displaying his mouth wide open (which exposes a number of sharp whitish teeth and fangs) gives his face an overall bold expression. Additionally, he wears a metallic light-blue removable helmet with red details

Body: thick deep-black fur (but, like the face, his breast, and most parts of his hands and feet are bald and black-skinned), dark-grey nails; the arms seem a bit longer than the average length. His shoulders and thighs are equipped with pairs of ivory-coloured bony spikes, while the hair on his forearms and lower legs is dark brown-grey rather than black

Wearables: a red armour with light-blue details, two red clip-on wrist guards, two red clip-on shin guards, a red belt and a light-blue fabric loincloth. The wrist/shin guards have nice rivets and jagged edges, and each one is ornamented with a heptagonal light-blue, white-veined gemstone. The belt has diamond-shaped studs, a buckle that resembles the stones on the wrist/shin guards and a pouch of light-brown leather hanging from the back.

Gax-Uhr's stylised helmet.

Gax-Uhr's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, Gax-Uhr is a very skilled acrobat, a talent that he'll eventually pass to his son Mor-Rak. This ability is not transferred to the figure in any ways, except for giving it hinged toes that allow us to display the feet in a grasping pose. I know, not very useful, but still a nice touch in my opinion.

Additionally, the removable helmet, wrist guards and shin guards, together with an alternative harness, make it possible to "transform" Enmity Gax-Uhr into his more undressed Foundation version. The dark-red harness has a weathered leathery texture and is equipped with shoulder pads, jagged edges, painted rivets, diamond-shaped studs and a heptagonal light-blue, white-veined gemstone at the centre of the breast plate. Although the large triangular hole on the abdomen doesn't really make it suitable for combat, I find this outfit pretty nice. It also carries a translucent red cape, which is detachable and sports a cool stencil-like dark version of the Theriom symbol on its surface. There are only two details in this figure that don't match the older version of the character: the combative expression, and the colour of the hair on his forearms and lower legs (which is beige in the Foundation comics). But overall I'm happy with the result.

Gax-Uhr's stylised alternative harness.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the various removable pieces and the alternative harness, Gax-Uhr comes with a coiled rope that plugs into the back of the belt via a peg, and two versions of it in action as a quirt (with a monkey's fist tied at either end) and as a lasso. In all its versions, the rope is pale brown and has a light-blue handle.

Additionally, the figure includes a Baryanoid, which serves as the second instalment of the Build-a-Figure plan that will lead to the completion of the Baryanoid-Cart. Everything related to this topic has already been covered extensively in Ir-Ash's review.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ Gax-Uhr fits right in the KR universe and adds a really nice figure to the otherwise incomplete Amhalgaard family

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ The hinged toes are definitely a plus

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣ Difficult not to see the appeal of an armoured, whip-wielding gorilla-looking character; although a lot of people might be turned off by the red-and-blue colours, his armour makes him an instant standout

Accessories: ♠♠ I wish a non-screaming head was added to the figure of this usually lighthearted character

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ He's just so damn cool looking while he interacts with the other figures

Overall: ☺☺☺ The display needed this prototype and I'm extremely happy with the final result, the future Auxiliary Minister of the Republic of Tahron didn’t disappoint.