Loot Crate’s June 2017 crate celebrates the classic conundrum of the Alter Ego trope, namely, ‘which is the person, and which is the disguise?’ And the Alter Ego crate answers it by putting the more vibrant hero and monster personae on display. This is true to the literature represented by the franchises selected: Mr. Hyde is the true person, and Dr. Jekyll a facade co-engineered by the monsters and their social contract; Peter Parker is a puppet show put on, often reluctantly, by Spider-Man; Bruce Banner is the zit popped by the rage eruption of The Incredible Hulk–usually to the readers’ delight. In DC Comics’ inclusion in this crate, not one of their IP’s secret identities’ make an appearance in this gallery of alter egoes. Of all this month’s inclusions, only the giant robot Optimus Prime seems at home in both his disguise and his true self.
Speaking of that awesome Autobot, Optimus Prime was lucky enough to score two items in Alter Ego, as in addition to this soft and supple metallic blue t-shirt that depicts the stages of Optimus Prime’s transformation from rig to mech, he was also the inspiration for this month’s crate craft. While I like the shirt, I was really impressed by the crate craft, which manages to look like a Hasbro licensed toy despite being punched out of a shipping container.
My favorite item this month was the exclusive Spider-Man Webslinger variant Q-Fig made by Quantum Mechanix. Spider-fans will be just as excited about the packaging, which depicts various faux headlines as you’d imagine a Q-Fig J. Jonah Jameson would plaster on the front page. And as to the figure, well, Quantum Mechanix hasn’t disappointed us yet, and this one is no exception. The paints are good, and the sculpt design is eye-catching, with a nonstandard pose that will draw attention away from all the other figure art on your shelf.
The Loot Crate edition of DC Comics–The New 52!: The Poster Collection contains 40 removable posters that portray key moments from The New 52 DC Universe. Fans will be happy to find 5×7″ posters featuring cover art from some of their favorite DC artists, such as Greg Capullo, Aaron Kuder, Jim Lee, Franics Manapul, and more.
The exclusive Incredible Hulk 6″ plastic bowl depicts a Hulk hand holding it by the base, and it is just the right size for a cereal or popcorn bowl.
This month’s Loot Pin is Jekyll and Hyde themed, with both faces of the famous alter egoes on the pin face, albeit separated by the vial that dissolves the wall between monstrous id and scientific superego. As I’m not just a comic and TV nerd, but a book nerd as well, I was happy to get a pin depicting this pairing from the classic science fiction tale, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886). (If Loot Crate is taking suggestions for more book franchises, I’d like to see the Nautilus submarine from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or outside of public domain, how about Elric’s Stormbringer?) Alter Ego’s Loot Pin DLC is an exclusive Green Ranger V2 for the mobile game Saban’s Power Rangers: Legacy Wars.
Alter Ego was an extremely well-rounded crate, with something for the bookshelf, something for the kitchen table, and something for the display case, as well as a sweet Optimus Prime t-shirt, an unexpected and greatly appreciated pin to show my fandom for classic science fiction, and a pleasant crate craft upon which I whiled away about fifteen minutes to reveal the Autobot disguised in my Loot Crate.
The heroes of Alter Ego have already been dispatched, but until July 19th, you can order the Animation themed Loot Crate through this hyperlink.
Welcome to the world of #ANIMATION! July’s #lootcrate features #RickandMorty, #BobsBurgers, #Futurama & #TMNT! https://t.co/SueayG98wR pic.twitter.com/kk4aFzdhD8
— Loot Crate (@lootcrate) June 20, 2017
Loot Crate sent the review copy.
