Marvel Super Hero Mashers Micro: Groot vs Rocket Raccoon

I'll be honest with you, I didn't pay any attention to Hasbro's Mashers line of interchangeable action figures when they were on retail shelves. I only picked up these mini versions when I found them uber cheap on Walmart.com. I'm glad I purchased them and wish I had now paid them more attention as they are fun little toys to mess with.

The premise of the Micro sets are the same as the regular Mashers, just the character's body is much smaller and non-articulated. The interchangeable pieces however are compatible with the larger figures.

You can see some of the other two packs in this wave, such as Hulk, Star Lord, Hulk Buster Iron Man and Black Panther. I really wish I could've found either of those two sets.

The figures themselves stand at about 1 1/2 inches tall. The paint apps are minimal to down right missing. Groot got some green highlight all over where as Rocket's body is is sorely missing some paint to bring out the design in the mold. 

Rocket came with two weapons for him to wield while Groot came with an additional hand to switch out.

In my humble opinion, Groot is the clear standout winner in this two pack. I especially like this additional hand he came packaged with. I'm not sure why, but I do.

Part of the draw with all of the Masher figures is the ability to switch their parts create new characters so to speak. I used Rocket's body along with some Spider-Man, Dr. Octopus and Groot parts I had near by.

Overall I found these toys to be a lot of fun as-is, but the more Micro sets I opened and the more parts I had I started to see the interest in the part swapping. I really hate I missed out on these when I had the opportunity to readily pick them up, but I'm glad none the less to have the few sets that I do.

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Guardians of the Galaxy - Rocket Raccoon

Rocket Raccoon is one of those characters most people were not familiar with prior to the success of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. True, he has been a key player on the Guardians team in the comics for the last few years, but even prior to that you'd be surprised at how many comic fans knew nothing or little of the character. Co-created by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen in the 70's, Rocket first appeared in the summer of 1976 in the pages of Marvel Preview #7.

Rocket would later get his own 4 issue mini-series in 1985, but other than a few other appearances in the 90's the character was little used until the Guardians comic was relaunched in 2007. Had it not been for the huge success of the movie, this figure would simply not exist.

Rocket proved to be a tough figure to find a local retail. I've heard this all over the web. I believe the only one I've found was the one I bought. I'm sure the Groot Build-A-Figure included with Rocket and other Guardians figures helped the sales.

Rocket is a small figure, probably one of the smallest Marvel Legends figures to date. However the first version of this character to get the Legends treatment was actually a Build-A-Figure. That version was based on the comics and one that I still very much want, but was packed in with characters I simply had no desire to buy.

Rocket comes packaged with the largest Groot BAF part, the upper torso / head section, as well as a big gun and the even bigger gun that he crafted in the movie to take on Ronan. Rocket can't wield this larger gun, but it fits nicely into the hands of Drax or Star-Lord.

For such a small figure, the detail is nicely done. The sculptor did a remarkable job at taking the CGI look of the character and translating it to plastic. Paint apps from what I understand seem to be hit and miss here. Thankfully mine didn't have any issues, but I can see how the black and or white on his face could be splotchy or mis-applied.

Articulation as you may expect is limited. His whole lower body is static, but he does have a waist a tail swivel. Arms are articulated at the shoulder, elbow (swivel joint) and wrists. Head does turn, but with some degree of difficulty. The figure stands fairly well on his own, but because of the size of his weapon it can make him a tad unbalanced. Thankfully you can rotate this tail down and use it for extra stability.

Speaking of his weapon, he can hold it remarkably well. I had a better image, but I screwed it up during the editing process and messed up the original in the process. Rocket can wield the gun in either hand, though his tiny mammal right hand seem to grip the gun better.

If find the new $20 Marvel Legends price point hard to swallow period; so I can understand why some people may be on the fence about this figure. He's small and unless you really want to build Groot or just love the Rocket Raccoon character, this is a easy pass. I personally like the figure and he goes well with Rocket, but as a stand alone figure he can easily get lost in the Marvel Legends figure shuffle.