UofMUSCLE.com – M.U.S.C.L.E. Figures from Mattel

I thought I would hit the ground running. I thought my M.U.S.C.L.E. IQ would be as high as ever. It is not. Here is some proof. I swear I’ll get the rust knocked off and be back up to speed…at some point.

Last week on Facebook and and Twitter I mentioned starting an Asshole of the Week tournament. At first I thought it should be a bracketed tournament. But then I’d have to collect a bunch of assholes, wait, and then start the tournament.

Instead I thought a weekly ongoing knock-out style would be pretty cool. Plus, towards the end of the year we could hold a tournament with brackets and the ranking would be based on how long they stayed Asshole of the Week.

Below is the match-up for this week. You can vote can in the upper right hand corner. It would be great if you added your rationale in the Comment section at the bottom of the page. I think other collectors would be interested in why you voted for a certain Asshole. Plus it will help with the seeding at the end of the year.

Without any further ado, the first AOTW match-up of 2014.

AOTW #1 #168 Flesh for $30

vs.

AOTW #2 Purple #208 for $5.45

This might be an easy choice for some people. I had to really think about it. I have seen so many Purple #208’s over the years that he feels even more common to me than a Flesh #168. Add in the fact that most people hate #208 with great intensity and the price is even harder to swallow. The deciding factor for me was the shipping. On top of the $30 price tag, you’ve got to kick in $2.32 for shipping.

UPDATE: Three late additions.
– Class A Purple #93 starting at $0.99.
– Class A Red #110 starting at $0.99.
– Should this auction enter the AOTW tournament?

– This is mainly a reminder to buy this for my boys.
– Speaking of my boys, this is the first toy that one brother has to replace for the other. FYI, Cyborg will not survive a toss very angry throw down the stairs.
– This showed up in my M.U.S.C.L.E. search. Who would buy that? A packaged, brand-new one costs less.
– I don’t imagine any of this would look good on a normal woman.
– I’ll try and be nice. What would be a fair offer?
– Maybe it is another issue of rust. What am I missing here?
– Old news to most people, but one of the best figure-related posts I have ever read.
– If this auction has 11 pictures, then what is he hiding with this auction only having 9 pictures?
– 91 figures, starting at $10.
– Again.
– When I saw the picture I thought, “Wow – nice mixed lot.” Then I saw the stupid price.
– I’m glad he added the quarter for scale. In the pictures without the quarter that figure look six or seven feet tall.
– I think we all agree the BIN price is dumb. But would would be a fair offer?
– Always read the auction descriptions. “Some with many arms are rarer.”
– For the old-timers, did you see the carpet and think, “That looks like Alex’s carpet.”
– Manufacturing Error Figure or Tortured M.U.S.C.L.E. figure? (Far right.)
– Playing fast and loose with the Super Rare term.
– Umm, what is the “LOD who retails about $60?”
– I don’t know what offends me more. Stealing the picture or charging that price for a #208?
– It’s the price. This auction answered my question.
– If you prefer uncut men, then move along. If you like your men cut, then he’s perfect for you.
– I’d say the best offer is $3 – period.
– Dear Romando/Kinnikuman experts, what would actually be a fair price for this?

I hate the price for both of these. But if you HAD to spent $75 on this or that which would you choose?

For me, both would be torture. But I’d go with the latter auction (which makes me actually feel a bit sick. I’m not saying that as a joke either. The idea of actually spending $75 on that makes me feel a bit sick.). Here’s why: It’s complete. With the first auction I still need to spend money to track down the rest of the set. If death had been a choice, I might have picked death.

I promise you won’t be seeing very many Justin Bieber related things on this website. But I saw the video below on another website. They were laughing at his basketball abilities. I didn’t care about that. My first thought was, “Holy shit, it sucks to be that other guy.”

The easy comparison is letting your kids win at any race, sport, or board game. You simply acquiesce. But this situation is something else. It reminded me of when I was a kid. I was a far better baseball player than the other kid in my neighborhood. I’d spot him like 100 runs, let him hit first, get three quick outs, then essentially take batting practice until I scored 100 runs and tied the game.

But then the acting, like that poor other guy, comes in. I’d have to make silly mistakes to get out. And then, even worse, I’d make mistakes to let him get hits and score runs – just so I could keep playing baseball. That’s that other guy’s life.

He has to let the kid win and he gets to keep riding the gravy train. I hated doing it as an 8 year-old. I shudder to think how dirty you would feel as an adult.

Just in case you do want to laugh at Justin Bieber, I’d suggest any video of him skateboarding. Dear lord.

After featuring anything Bieber related I like like I need to end with a BANG. So, at first, I was going to use Scarlett Johansson as my Lady of the Week. I’ve never seen this picture, there’s just something about this picture (god, she seems like she’d be fun), and the 666 seemed topical for mini-figure collectors. But…

Then I saw the gif to the left.

It hypnotized me.

Yes, because of some of the ladies. And also seeing the evolution of the cover. But something about it is just hypnotizing to me. Maybe the pacing, the colors – I don’t know. It feels like I’m looking at something like THIS.

Once I had the SI gif I figured I was done. More than two lady-centric images and we’re drifting into creepville.

Well, hello creepville!