Of course one of Dungeons & Dragons' most distinctive enemies would be an evil D6.
A transparent, gelatinous creature that dissolves any prey.
These creatures scour dungeon passages in silent, predictable patterns, leaving perfectly clean paths in their wake. They consume living tissue while leaving bones and other materials undissolved. Originally appearing in 1974's Monsters and Treasure booklet, it wasn't really a solid idea yet (no pun intended), without even defined hit points.
This is technically part of the movie line, as evidenced by the image of Chris Pine inside the cube on the box (something that apparently confused a lot of Amazon reviewers, despite the box clearly saying "figure sold separately"), but it's not like there's anything saying it's
not eligible for any other non-movie use. The cube is, well, a big ol' cube, sold flat-packed inside its thin box. Instructions are included for the way to slide the panels together; they're a little bit tough to decipher, but just try to pay attention to accessories stuck into the sides and you'll figure it out. And remember: the sides aren't perfectly square, so if you're having trouble with the lid, you've probably got it turned the wrong way.
The panels fit together tightly, and since they're all just thin, sturdy walls, the final poduct is nice and light. They're molded in translucent blue plastic, which isn't ideal: even if the in-game Cubes
weren't repeatedly described as being "clear," the one in the movie was more of a neutral tint. You know, like real gelatin is. If you don't believe us, look up some of those god-awful vintage recipes that use the stuff. There's no effort to hide the seams between the panels, but the surface is wiggly enough that you can willfully choose to ignore them if you want to.
A lot of fans seemed to think this was just an excuse for Hasbro to reuse the Marvel Legends Tesseract molds, but... no?
Not even a little bit? Every visible surface of the cube has notches where the included accessories can plug in, to make it look like they're being slowly dissolved by the Cube. A place for everything, and everything in its place. They're all sized for a 6" figure, and made from a slightly softer-than-usual plastic than most accessories. There are specific holes and tabs to hold the pieces in place.
Most of them are only half-depth, so it's not like you could really give them to figures to use; they're just meant to sit in the surface of the cube as decorations. They're bagged by themselves in the box, and will need to be plugged in after you get it assembled.
There's one more piece included, related to the play feature. It's a large clip, molded from the same translucent plastic as the rest
of the cube, and sculpted like gloop. It plugs into the center of the base plate, allowing a figure of your choice to be suspended within, like they're stuck in the gel. The shield on the front doesn't have a small peg like the other accessories do, instead resting over a large circle. It's sized and positioned so the figure you put inside can reach their arm out for help. What a clever and fun way of doing things!
There was a Funko POP! Gelatinous Cube that I really wanted, but it was an exclusive and so I never got the chance at it. So I was looking forward this Honor Among Thieves version... so naturally no stores around me carried it. I know some did, because really lucky fans found it on clearance at Walmart for just five bucks! Months ago! That'd be nice. Hasbro's MSRP is $33.99, which is not only a weird pricepoint, it's also more than the final product is worth. Prices have dropped now, though, making it an easier thing to purchase. It may technically be a movie toy, but it would work equally well with any D&D toys, whether game, cartoon, or other.
-- 10/11/23
|
