Toy prototype details
Name: NoctyliusTM (Emergence Edition), aka Bionic-Eye Noctylius
Subtitle: bat warrior
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 8 in the line.
Character details
Name: Noctylius
Classification: chiropteran mammal
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan (formerly belonging to the Theriom faction)
Rank: officer candidate (formerly pilot officer).
Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #1 - The cradle of evil
Brief bio: the descendant of a line of mammals that were capable of flight, Noctylius has not always been an infamous accomplice of the reptilian forces. In the past, he loyally served the Theriom air force as a stealthy pilot officer, until he was expelled for causing an accident, which also permanently blinded him, due to an irresponsible action. Having developed a deep resentment at being discharged, Noctylius joined the Unnamed Clan and served Lor-Drek as his winged intelligence officer for many years. Having been trained by a revengeful Ir-Ash to strengthen his remaining sensory faculties, he became a master hand-to-hand combatant, whose unique moves made full use of his enhanced sense of balance. Noctylius's signature weapon was his specially designed toxic fiery shield, which Ir-Ash created to make it more difficult for enemies to attack him in battle. While he acquired a radar-like sense based on super-sensitive hearing, which granted him an omnidirectional field of "vision" as well as the ability to "see" through walls, Ophidok built a set of bionic implants and technological devices that aided him in his reconnaissance work. Eventually, Noctylius learnt to employ echolocation as a method of navigation during flight and orientation in combat, becoming an even more threatening opponent of all who fought for freedom on Tahron.
Name: NoctyliusTM (Emergence Edition), aka Bionic-Eye Noctylius
Subtitle: bat warrior
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 8 in the line.
Character details
Name: Noctylius
Classification: chiropteran mammal
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan (formerly belonging to the Theriom faction)
Rank: officer candidate (formerly pilot officer).
Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #1 - The cradle of evil
Brief bio: the descendant of a line of mammals that were capable of flight, Noctylius has not always been an infamous accomplice of the reptilian forces. In the past, he loyally served the Theriom air force as a stealthy pilot officer, until he was expelled for causing an accident, which also permanently blinded him, due to an irresponsible action. Having developed a deep resentment at being discharged, Noctylius joined the Unnamed Clan and served Lor-Drek as his winged intelligence officer for many years. Having been trained by a revengeful Ir-Ash to strengthen his remaining sensory faculties, he became a master hand-to-hand combatant, whose unique moves made full use of his enhanced sense of balance. Noctylius's signature weapon was his specially designed toxic fiery shield, which Ir-Ash created to make it more difficult for enemies to attack him in battle. While he acquired a radar-like sense based on super-sensitive hearing, which granted him an omnidirectional field of "vision" as well as the ability to "see" through walls, Ophidok built a set of bionic implants and technological devices that aided him in his reconnaissance work. Eventually, Noctylius learnt to employ echolocation as a method of navigation during flight and orientation in combat, becoming an even more threatening opponent of all who fought for freedom on Tahron.
Articulation
Description
Head: similar to a bat, specifically a Carollia perspicillata, characterised by a grey-brown fur, a fairly long snout, large ears with jagged edges, and a lance-shaped nose-leaf. The top of his face (including the eyes, but excluding the ears) is covered by a band of coarse, rough grey fabric worn around the head (with the long ends tied together and tossed over his nape), while the mouth is open and shows a number of sharp white teeth
Body: dense grey-brown fur subtly striped with light taupe. While each hand includes five fingers of a normal size, each wrist has an additional swivelling piece (turning inwards and outwards) composed of three long structures seemingly equivalent to fingers connected by a veined translucent brown membrane. Each forearm (longer than the average length), triceps and thigh is equipped with a number (four, two and two, respectively) of bony extra digits, also connected by a translucent brown membrane. Each foot bears two small outer toes and two large inner hinged toes, while a fifth toe protrudes backward and up from each calf. Each digit, either regular (on hands and feet, although only the dewclaws are visible in the latter) or additional (on arms and legs), displays an orange-ish skin and ends in a black claw. He also carries a rubbery removable neck piece that fits right on top of the body and mimics a woolly collar with a strip of fur that runs down the middle of the upper back
Wearables: a dark-blue armour with silver details, two tech-looking metallic dark-blue wrist guards, two metallic dark-blue armoured boots (ornamented with silver studs as well as knee guards resembling bat heads; the right one displays a sheath with a bat-hilted, flame-bladed silver dagger, which is removable), a metallic dark-blue belt (whose silver buckle looks like it used to show a Theriom emblem that has eventually been scraped away), and a medieval-style silver loincloth (composed of several flame-shaped, irregular armour plates). The armour possesses highly technological components, which I imagine help Noctylius cope with such an energetically demanding activity like sustained flight; it looks almost identical to the Foundation version, but it is actually a newly tooled piece with some differences and added details. The back of the armour looks more like a harness ornamented with four large curved spikes emerging from the back of the spaulders and from the lower cross straps, and leaves the furry mane piece exposed. A bulging detail on the back of the loincloth suggests the presence of a short tail, although there is no evidence of that.
Head: similar to a bat, specifically a Carollia perspicillata, characterised by a grey-brown fur, a fairly long snout, large ears with jagged edges, and a lance-shaped nose-leaf. The top of his face (including the eyes, but excluding the ears) is covered by a band of coarse, rough grey fabric worn around the head (with the long ends tied together and tossed over his nape), while the mouth is open and shows a number of sharp white teeth
Body: dense grey-brown fur subtly striped with light taupe. While each hand includes five fingers of a normal size, each wrist has an additional swivelling piece (turning inwards and outwards) composed of three long structures seemingly equivalent to fingers connected by a veined translucent brown membrane. Each forearm (longer than the average length), triceps and thigh is equipped with a number (four, two and two, respectively) of bony extra digits, also connected by a translucent brown membrane. Each foot bears two small outer toes and two large inner hinged toes, while a fifth toe protrudes backward and up from each calf. Each digit, either regular (on hands and feet, although only the dewclaws are visible in the latter) or additional (on arms and legs), displays an orange-ish skin and ends in a black claw. He also carries a rubbery removable neck piece that fits right on top of the body and mimics a woolly collar with a strip of fur that runs down the middle of the upper back
Wearables: a dark-blue armour with silver details, two tech-looking metallic dark-blue wrist guards, two metallic dark-blue armoured boots (ornamented with silver studs as well as knee guards resembling bat heads; the right one displays a sheath with a bat-hilted, flame-bladed silver dagger, which is removable), a metallic dark-blue belt (whose silver buckle looks like it used to show a Theriom emblem that has eventually been scraped away), and a medieval-style silver loincloth (composed of several flame-shaped, irregular armour plates). The armour possesses highly technological components, which I imagine help Noctylius cope with such an energetically demanding activity like sustained flight; it looks almost identical to the Foundation version, but it is actually a newly tooled piece with some differences and added details. The back of the armour looks more like a harness ornamented with four large curved spikes emerging from the back of the spaulders and from the lower cross straps, and leaves the furry mane piece exposed. A bulging detail on the back of the loincloth suggests the presence of a short tail, although there is no evidence of that.
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| Noctylius's stylised armour. |
Action feature
In the comics, thanks to the extra set of digits that form broad leathery bat wings along his arms, Noctylius is able to perform spectacular flying manoeuvres. Although he's blind due to the injury caused by his past accident, his hearing functions with extraordinary accuracy and sensitivity, giving him fighting abilities far beyond the limits of a sighted warrior. In addition, he is aided by a high-tech helmet and a drone that allow him to navigate during flight and orient during combat. So, the figure comes with an alternative helmeted head. The silver helmet has metallic dark-blue circuitry details, three small blade-like top crests, two bat-shaped side crests (which seemingly protect his ears), a laminar nape protector, a throat guard, and a receiver/visor that looks like a virtual reality display characterised by a mean-looking shape, a purple glowing strip and two sharp tooth-like projections pointing downward. I really like the fact that the visor is a separate piece, which can slide into place over his eyes by means of two sidepieces or even be removed entirely, revealing a fully sculpted upper face complete with electronically augmented eyes (these have riveted silver techno-patches as well as metallic blue wiring all sculpted and painted in detail). Of course, there is also the very cool bat-shaped, dark-blue&silver combat/reconnaissance drone, which in the comic book can be activated remotely by Noctylius using a touch screen located on his left bracer. When launched, its miniature size allows it to scout the environment undetected utilising a specialised panoramic, multi-spectral scanner. This way, it provides a visual of what it sees as well as tactical data that is fed directly into Noctylius's combat visor. The drone's rotating scanner is composed of three cameras: a round/cyan-lensed far-seeing high-resolution camera, a triangular/chartreuse-lensed night/thermal vision camera with the ability to see through solid objects such as buildings or vehicles, and a square dark-red Doppler radar that also works as a directed-energy cannon. It also has sculpted twin cannons that seemingly extend from both flapping wings (with built-in rotors), while on its underside it is equipped with a device that can fictionally change from laser cannon to missile launcher to projectile grappling line (the latter can be used to transport a passenger or drag off enemy combatants while in flight). In the comics, the drone is even able to split into three parts while flying.
Weapons and accessories
Apart from the above-mentioned drone and alternate head, Noctylius includes a large shield with a huge bat-shaped vac-metallised silver insignia emblazoned on a metallic dark-blue plate and surrounded by a riveted dull silver rim. This shield looks pretty cool and definitely more useful than its Foundation counterpart, which had a massive gap between the wings, limiting its battle utility. This one easily fits in Noctylius's either hand and is designed to provide some solid defence. I also love that you can alternatively store his dagger in the bat head on the front of the shield! Moreover, in the comics the shield has the ability to flame up along its rim at Noctylius's will; so, the shield comes with an additional translucent greenish fire frame that attaches via some pegs on the back, in order to display it while it gives off flames.
Additionally, the package includes two accessories that help the figure look closer to his pre-Emergence appearance. The first accessory is a third head sculpt that shows an evident strip of hair running centrally from the middle of the forehead to the back of the neck, a golden jewel (shaped like a Theriom emblem, i.e., a seven-pointed star with the two side points elongated) applied in the centre of the forehead, a yellow pupil in the centre of each black eye (to indicate that he can see), and the mouth completely closed. The second accessory is an alternate golden buckle for his belt, which is also shaped like the Theriom emblem.
Finally, we get a clear plastic stand, which is very similar to the one included with the Foundation figure. It has a clip that allows it to be used as a flight stand, but can turn into a kind of perch by replacing the clip with a T-shaped horizontal piece. The latter structure is designed to let Noctylius rest upside down, by making him clasp the bar with the toes sticking out of his calves. As another option, the stand without any extra pieces can plug into the bat-like drone's underside for holding it above the ground.
Final thoughts
Overall: Noctylius is easily one of my favourite figures in the Foundation line and I'm glad he's getting a new incarnation in the Emergence line. While some fans might prefer the more cyborg-looking helmeted head, I like the rougher, masked training look quite a lot. He would have merited a five-smile rating, if he had come with the concept art flaming sword instead of the small dagger... given PoliganToys' avowed efforts to match the concept design, I think it's a disappointing omission. Nevertheless, he’s a great value, as he not only has a number of cool accessories, but, unlike his predecessor, poseable wings
Final thoughts
Overall: Noctylius is easily one of my favourite figures in the Foundation line and I'm glad he's getting a new incarnation in the Emergence line. While some fans might prefer the more cyborg-looking helmeted head, I like the rougher, masked training look quite a lot. He would have merited a five-smile rating, if he had come with the concept art flaming sword instead of the small dagger... given PoliganToys' avowed efforts to match the concept design, I think it's a disappointing omission. Nevertheless, he’s a great value, as he not only has a number of cool accessories, but, unlike his predecessor, poseable wings
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5
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