Toy prototype details
Name: Cah-MalTM (Emergence Edition), aka Stealth-Suit Cah-Mal
Subtitle: camouflage-expert warrior
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 20 in the line.
Character details
Name: Cah-Mal
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan
Rank: petty officer.
Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #3 - The war of all against all: Part II – Rise
Brief bio: evolved from an ancient species of lizard-like warriors, Cah-Mal was recruited by Bi-Harr after displaying his exceptional acrobatic skills as well as the ability to stun his foes with his long quick lashing tongue and tail. Like many other reptilian soldiers, he eventually became a member of the Unnamed Clan after Lor-Drek's defection. Lacking the camouflage powers that allowed the individuals of his species to change their overall colouration and blend into the surrounding environment, Cah-Mal was given a hi-tech battle-suit by Ophidok, which enabled him to become invisible by bending light around himself, so that he could cast no shadow and produce no reflection. During the Cereutian invasion, despite his loyalty to Lor-Drek he was brainwashed by Noctylius into allying with Denortos. Defeated by the Therioms, Cah-Mal was then abandoned in the former Spektrosaur stronghold, where he patiently awaited for the next master to serve.
Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed extra neck piece, hinged fingers and toes, and a tail, which is composed of 12 ball jointed pieces and can work as an auxiliary limb.
Description
Head: a chameleon's head-shaped helmet made of thick metal protects his entire head. The helmet is metallic black with tech-looking orange copper details (including a T-shaped bridge connecting the eyes area to the snout, three jagged sawtooth crests along the top and the sides, as well as three large horns, one protruding from his snout and two from his brow), while two dark-blue eye-lenses bulge out of the sides of it. Both his head and armoured neck extension are on ball joints, which definitively gives him a hunched over look and an extended range without hindering the movements at all. Actually, one may debate whether this is a cybernetic helmet or a freaky robotic head. It’s very obvious from the detail of the sculpt that the black portion of his head is definitely supposed to be a mask over his face as opposed to his actual face. Looking at it closely, this really does seem to be what they were going for, since the exposed bumpy, wrinkled purple-coloured underside of his head seemingly fits into the mask versus being a part of it
Name: Cah-MalTM (Emergence Edition), aka Stealth-Suit Cah-Mal
Subtitle: camouflage-expert warrior
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 20 in the line.
Character details
Name: Cah-Mal
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan
Rank: petty officer.
Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #3 - The war of all against all: Part II – Rise
Brief bio: evolved from an ancient species of lizard-like warriors, Cah-Mal was recruited by Bi-Harr after displaying his exceptional acrobatic skills as well as the ability to stun his foes with his long quick lashing tongue and tail. Like many other reptilian soldiers, he eventually became a member of the Unnamed Clan after Lor-Drek's defection. Lacking the camouflage powers that allowed the individuals of his species to change their overall colouration and blend into the surrounding environment, Cah-Mal was given a hi-tech battle-suit by Ophidok, which enabled him to become invisible by bending light around himself, so that he could cast no shadow and produce no reflection. During the Cereutian invasion, despite his loyalty to Lor-Drek he was brainwashed by Noctylius into allying with Denortos. Defeated by the Therioms, Cah-Mal was then abandoned in the former Spektrosaur stronghold, where he patiently awaited for the next master to serve.
Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed extra neck piece, hinged fingers and toes, and a tail, which is composed of 12 ball jointed pieces and can work as an auxiliary limb.
Description
Head: a chameleon's head-shaped helmet made of thick metal protects his entire head. The helmet is metallic black with tech-looking orange copper details (including a T-shaped bridge connecting the eyes area to the snout, three jagged sawtooth crests along the top and the sides, as well as three large horns, one protruding from his snout and two from his brow), while two dark-blue eye-lenses bulge out of the sides of it. Both his head and armoured neck extension are on ball joints, which definitively gives him a hunched over look and an extended range without hindering the movements at all. Actually, one may debate whether this is a cybernetic helmet or a freaky robotic head. It’s very obvious from the detail of the sculpt that the black portion of his head is definitely supposed to be a mask over his face as opposed to his actual face. Looking at it closely, this really does seem to be what they were going for, since the exposed bumpy, wrinkled purple-coloured underside of his head seemingly fits into the mask versus being a part of it
Body: Cah-Mal's Foundation version used to look very organic, but now he's 100% mechanical - again, whether it's a hardsuit or his actual body is up for debate. The bio clearly says that he's a lizard guy in an exoframe, but this character is such a blank slate that you can consider him mostly robotic, with just a real brain and some other organs and muscles. It's up to you. The level of detail is above what I've seen in most other prototypes in this line. Cah-Mal's got lots of orange (mostly) and black metal plates on him, and it's not any of that generic laminar-style stuff, the plates actually form the outlines of his anatomy. The surface of his suit also shows evidence of wear such as pits and scratches, while the little gaps here and there reveal a lightweight and stretchable purple fabric lining beneath the armour. He also displays an amazing curled mechanical prehensile tail attached to the base of his crested back armour
Wearables: three irregular green glowing reactor-like elements on his chest armour form a motif that is much more reminiscent of the Spektrosaur's flame insignia rather than the Unnamed Clan emblem, but I might be wrong. In any case, these are sculpted well and really pop against the metallic paint. His hands and feet are now covered by orange copper gauntlets and boots, each featuring five digits that are divided in two groups of two and three long, thick claws respectively, giving each extremity a pincers-like appearance. His gloves and boots have the same ridged look as the old prototype's wrist and shin guards, but it's just been done better here. He also wears an orange copper belt (which is inspired by the original figure's jockstrap, as is the silver buckle with the strange fanged reptile's skull insignia, mirrored on his left shoulder) and a metallic black crotch shell.
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| Cah-Mal's stylised armour. |
Action feature
In the comics, Cah-Mal possesses powered armour that gives him a broad range of abilities and an array of weapons. The helmet has highly sensitive microphones within its ear portions, allowing Cah-Mal to hear noises and frequencies an opponent wouldn't be able to hear, while the goggles are made of anti-glare material and can detect heat sources, granting him thermal vision. It also has a built-in radio-like system to communicate with others at a distance as well as to intercept, tamper with, or silence the enemy's radio signals.
The suit's bulletproof and near-indestructible composition enhances Cah-Mal's durability significantly, making him able to withstand explosions and gunfire, as well as strikes from physically stronger opponents. However, due to the lightweight properties of the metal, the suit doesn't inhibit his spectacular acrobatic skills in the slightest. In the figure, the only elements related to his gymnastic mastery are his articulated pincers-like hands and feet, and prehensile tail.
Another prominent feature of this suit is its ability to redistribute stored energy, greatly enhancing its offensive capabilities. The armour can absorb energy from any incoming external sources such as attacks from enemies, which can be kept in reserve for later release; the suit gives off a purple glow from its accumulated energy, which Cah-Mal can use either by releasing it all at once, or to charge his strikes during combat, further augmenting the force behind them. In the figure, a colour change feature can be achieved using something warm - simply by rubbing him with a cloth that has been wet with tepid water, his armour will develop purple glowing outlines and circuit traces. In addition, the suit is outfitted to harness a powerful force field that enables Cah-Mal to bend light and turn himself invisible.
His gauntlets and boots are also characterised by a number of abilities, all well represented by beautifully sculpted details in the figure. The gauntlets contain a wrist-mounted blowtorch-like tool on the right arm and a wrist-mounted grappling line on the left one, which anchors and tethers Cah-Mal to any surface he has fired at. Moreover, he wears sound absorbing boots, enabling his footsteps to be completely masked and making it easy for him to be stealthy. The boots also have small jet attachments that can rotate in any direction and can be used to propel him through the air at great speed, though they do not allow for sustained flight but only for long leaps. Four sets of deployable steel claws embedded in the tips of the gauntlets' fingers and the boots' toes serve as his primary weapon during hand-to-hand combat. These claws are exceptionally strong and razor-sharp, and are able to cut through almost anything.
Finally, the comics show that the helmet can retract the lenses and the mouth portion, revealing Cah-Mal's eyes and snout, and allowing him to rapidly project his long sticky tongue from his mouth. Thus, the figure comes with an alternative head, which displays a partially exposed bumpy, wrinkled purple face with black dotted striping on either side, large green eyes with beady black pupils (which are articulated and can move separately from each other, fictionally to achieve an extremely wide visual field and detect enemies on the opposite sides), the slightly open mouth armed with two rows of small sharp teeth and the club-tipped tongue out (whose colour fades from green to orange-pink), as well as a small maroon crest on the underside of his chin.
Weapons and accessories
Apart from the alternate head, Cah-Mal comes with a very nice looking weapon - a lizard-faced crossbow that can fit tightly on either wrist thanks to the included clip. This weapon is never shown in the comics and looks more suitable for Cah-Mal's Foundation version. It has an ebony main frame ornamented with copper inlays, whose front part bears a taxidermied fanged, orange-skinned reptile's head. A pair of strange branched dark brown wings (or fins? antlers?) attached to the lizard's temples form the limbs of the weapon. It doesn't fire anything, but it does have a sculpted bony bolt loaded, protruding from the creature's mouth.
Final thoughts
Overall: Cah-Mal doesn’t blow me away like some of this line's other recent offerings, but he’s certainly a solid effort and a worthy addition to my growing clutch of evil reptile men. He’s a unique looking figure, and I love all the new sculpting and design choices he carries. Excellent articulation, paint and accessories just combine with the sculpting to make this one of the most fun prototypes I've received this year. I put him up there with Lor-Drek as a cool update of a Foundation design, and a toy that does the original character justice by taking a departure from its previous version, and then making it look good
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5
His gauntlets and boots are also characterised by a number of abilities, all well represented by beautifully sculpted details in the figure. The gauntlets contain a wrist-mounted blowtorch-like tool on the right arm and a wrist-mounted grappling line on the left one, which anchors and tethers Cah-Mal to any surface he has fired at. Moreover, he wears sound absorbing boots, enabling his footsteps to be completely masked and making it easy for him to be stealthy. The boots also have small jet attachments that can rotate in any direction and can be used to propel him through the air at great speed, though they do not allow for sustained flight but only for long leaps. Four sets of deployable steel claws embedded in the tips of the gauntlets' fingers and the boots' toes serve as his primary weapon during hand-to-hand combat. These claws are exceptionally strong and razor-sharp, and are able to cut through almost anything.
Finally, the comics show that the helmet can retract the lenses and the mouth portion, revealing Cah-Mal's eyes and snout, and allowing him to rapidly project his long sticky tongue from his mouth. Thus, the figure comes with an alternative head, which displays a partially exposed bumpy, wrinkled purple face with black dotted striping on either side, large green eyes with beady black pupils (which are articulated and can move separately from each other, fictionally to achieve an extremely wide visual field and detect enemies on the opposite sides), the slightly open mouth armed with two rows of small sharp teeth and the club-tipped tongue out (whose colour fades from green to orange-pink), as well as a small maroon crest on the underside of his chin.
Weapons and accessories
Apart from the alternate head, Cah-Mal comes with a very nice looking weapon - a lizard-faced crossbow that can fit tightly on either wrist thanks to the included clip. This weapon is never shown in the comics and looks more suitable for Cah-Mal's Foundation version. It has an ebony main frame ornamented with copper inlays, whose front part bears a taxidermied fanged, orange-skinned reptile's head. A pair of strange branched dark brown wings (or fins? antlers?) attached to the lizard's temples form the limbs of the weapon. It doesn't fire anything, but it does have a sculpted bony bolt loaded, protruding from the creature's mouth.
Final thoughts
Overall: Cah-Mal doesn’t blow me away like some of this line's other recent offerings, but he’s certainly a solid effort and a worthy addition to my growing clutch of evil reptile men. He’s a unique looking figure, and I love all the new sculpting and design choices he carries. Excellent articulation, paint and accessories just combine with the sculpting to make this one of the most fun prototypes I've received this year. I put him up there with Lor-Drek as a cool update of a Foundation design, and a toy that does the original character justice by taking a departure from its previous version, and then making it look good
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5
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