Ultimate Cyclops Collector- workhorse3 aka Carlo Ricohermoso

Cyclops is supposed to be the general of the mutant population.He’s also supposed to be the greatly respected leader of the X-Men, although a lot of people (read: fanboys) would complain and say he’s nothing more than a B-lister, especially when compared to the “star” of the X-Men, the canucklehead, Wolverine.

Although his position is great and is greatly loved by a certain niche of fans (ME!) and writers, he seems to always come up short, especially in popularity and is almost always shot down a couple rungs from where he should be. This is probably why there aren’t so many mainstream action figures of Cyclops. To be a collector of all things Cyclops and Summers family related must be difficult given the limited number of figures that comes out for this guy, as compared to Wolverine, right? Well, we’d think so, wouldn’t we?

Our friend here, Sir Carlo Ricohermoso, better known as workhorse3, is famous over at the PTK boards for being the guy with the largest Cyclops themed collection in the country, and possibly this side of the galaxy. I got curious and went into the Cyclops thread and asked around for the guy who had the most extensive, most complete, most boner-inducing Cyclops collection and all the posters unanimously said “bro workhorse3.”

Unrelated: At PTK, for one reason or another, that’s what people call each other there regardless of age, gender or sexual orientation- “bro.”

Comicology: So, Mr. workhorse3, obvious questions first: Before you started your collection, were you already a Cyclops fan? What initially drew you to Scott Summers?

workhorse3: Yes, of course! The characters I collect are a reflection of my childhood. As a kid then, I liked leaders in blue. So when I “met” Cyclops through a Marvel card, he became my favorite superhero. Besides his costume color, he has a cool power too through his eye beams/optic blasts. Then the comics (Jim Lee days), more cards, and cartoons (the X-Men Animated Series aired in ABS-CBN then) followed which made me know my hero better.

C: When I was a kid, I just thought he had cool shades. What exactly made you want to collect Cyclops memorabilia? Was it the overabundance of extra cash? Thats a problem I wouldn’t mind having, seriously.

W: Well, yeah, this Cyclops collection started in an innocent purchase of a loose ML 10 Cyclops X-Factor variant back in Christmas season 2006. I figured I want to reward myself and spend something from my Christmas bonus, so I bought one for myself. Funny though that after that innocent buy, I got obsessed and started buying Cyclops figures — I had one almost every day for the entire December 2006!

C: How long have you been collecting Cyclops stuff? And I guess, as a follow up to that question, what was your first Cyke figure?

W: Since December 2006. Actually, my first Cyclops figure (ever) was back in 2005 when I asked for an ML 10 Cyclops from our company exchange gift. But my ML 10 Cyclops Variant purchase a year later was the trigger of my collection.

C: Oh yeah, that’s actually a pretty sweet figure. Back in 2000, when the X-Men movie was announced, how excited were you? I bet the idea of having all new movie-based figs filled you with childish delight.

W: I was a dork during this time, concentrating on school and sports (track and field), so I lost touch with my roots, haha! But I did watch the X-Men movies later on. Of course, the experience was different since I knew my mutants wearing spandex, not leather costumes. But to see them with awesome special effects blew me away.

C: Here’s something that bothered me, though. The movie really didn’t do any justice to Scott Summers. He was portrayed as a bumbling, accidental hero, a leader with no credibility, a bad rep and seemingly no leadership skills whatsoever. Now, see, I’m a huge Cyclops fan, especially with the way Joss Whedon, Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker wrote him. What’s your take on the movie Cyclops version?

W: I cried foul and injustice! You’re right there. Cyclops was brought back to his old emo, loser self (even now actually in the new “Wolverine and the X-Men” cartoon series). The last time I read my comics especially Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men, Wolverine took a backseat for Cyclops’ leadership who has since had a bad-ass attitude, but the viewing public was misled! Cyclops in the movies is a victim of marketing and poor character handling. I blame Wolverine for all of this . Kids need better role models like the sleek-looking Cyclops than vertically challenged, unshaved, savage characters, haha! (Sorry Wolverine fans and Wolverine collectors, you’re all my friends!)

C: I’m interviewing a Wolverine collector, soon. I’ll make sure the message gets passed on. Anyway, sorry, we’re going a bit off topic. Let’s bring it on back now. I need to know. How many pieces are in your collection, exactly?

W: Believe it or not, I actually lost count! I think I have more than 150-200 Cyclops figures by now: from the various shapes and sizes and customized figures too. I used to track them in a spreadsheet but figures, especially customized ones, just keep coming. I guess 150-200 figures is a decent count, I didn’t have to suffer financially unlike my fellow completist collectors who collect the more “famous” Marvel characters like Spider-man, Iron Man and Wolverine.

C: And a rough estimate of the total cost, if you don’t mind, please? I really hate costing toys though. When I add my collection up, I just get extremely depressed, I start drinking then pissing all over myself.

W: In the words of PTKer bro docronnie, “pwede bang wag nalang sagutin yan?” Haha. Seriously, people would probably freak out with how much I spent for my collection. Heck, I don’t even want to know how much I’ve spent all in all so far.

C: Oh, docronnie. Guy’s just oozing with wisdom. He an actual doctor, by the way? I wanna interview him next. Alright, I understand you also have a large collection of Bret Hart figures. You really like visors and shades, don’t you? Do you have a collection of eyewear also?

W: That’s what most collectors notice and they seem to conclude I like guys with shades/visors/eye gear, but that’s just a pure coincidence. I was a fan of Bret “Hitman” Hart when I was a kid, heck back in those days of IBC 13 and ABC 5 and rented betamax PPVs. I decided to collect Bret Hart figures to compliment my Cyclops collection when my Cyclops collection got a little boring, hehe.

For the record though, I have eye problems too, having a -550 vision for both eyes. haha.

C: My three favorite wrestlers are- Christ Benoit (I try not to think about what he did), Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. We’re, like, soulmates. Where do you usually get your stuff? Abroad? Shipped? Locally? Divisoria? Other collectors? Santa Claus?

W: Good question! In my early days of toy collecting, I bought my Cyclops figures from the local toy stores (Toys ‘R Us and Toy Kingdom), from eBay.ph and from Green Hills specialty/hobby stores. When I thought I bought almost all of what’s available in here, I started to get my stuff, especially the rare and vintage ones, from eBay in the US. My officemates based in the US gathered my toys and have them shipped here through balikbayan boxes or brought the toys with them whenever they’re going home. I also had cool experiences of trading figures with Filipinos based in overseas, like UK and Singapore, and I bought some of my figures (especially the exotic ones) on my overseas trips like Malaysia and Hong Kong. I also buy stuff from other international eBay sites (like Singapore and Australia) whenever I spot some and have them shipped here.

Another aspect of my collection is, since not many Cyclops figures are in the market, I commissioned customized Cyclops figures from awesome local customizers in here which include rateeg, loosecollector, bino, toyboy (of Likhang Pinoy Customs), and my friend beer44. Customs include various scales in and in different costumes Cyclops has used in his super-hero career. Most of my hauls this year came from customized pieces.

Yeah, I wish Santa gave me additional figures for my collection. I know I’ve been a good boy for the past years, hehe.

C: Customs are pricey, man. I’d have a couple done if I had the moolah. Out of your entire collection, if you were to pick the top 5 figures, what would they be? Please rank accordingly.

W: Hmm… Tough questions, especially if I factor in my customized Cyclops figures (they’re all awesome masterpieces!) I guess I have to go with the Cyclops figures that came out in the market (I hope statues count too). My top 5 are:

1. Marvel Milestones Death of Phoenix Statue (by Diamond Select Toys) - Awesome piece of X-Men history immortalized. Not to mention a battle-damaged Marvel Girl is hot too.

2. The Silver Age: X-Men Cyclops statue - for sentimental reasons. I’m a fan of X-Men’s earlier days. Back when I was just starting to work, I saw this piece at Fully Booked and drooled at it. I never imagined I’d own one, but eventually I did!

3. X-Men 2: X-Men United Cyclops with Trenchcoat 6″ figure -  Awesome sculpt and costume, great likeness, and with light-up visor as well! My favorite in the 6″ category.

4. Age of Apocalypse Series Cyclops 5″ - Cool concept of Cyclops as depicted in the Age of Apocalypse series. Its sculpt and likeness is ahead, if not the best, of its time. Cyclops looks bad-ass too.

5. X-Men Space Riders Series Cyclops 5″ figure - Even though this Cyclops figure didn’t come out in the comics, the figure has a really nice sculpt and accessories that a kid can enjoy and appreciate. Collect all five to form an X-Men ship!

C: And your least liked 5 figures? I can’t think of a bad Cyclops figure, actually. I even loved the old 90’s Toybiz Cyke that has light up visors.

W: Another tough selection, but I’ll try my best:

1. X-Men 2 Cyclops Replica visor - It’s not worth the price I bought it for. While its carrying case is nice with a metallic touch, the visor is made out of plastic and is very dull looking. They could have at least added features like rotating knobs at the sides (which controls Cyclops’ optic blast), or painted it with a sleek metallic finish.

C: Looks sweet, though.

2. Hasbro Marvel Legends Brood Queen Series Cyclops 6″ (Astonishing X-Men costume) - highly anticipated the figure but turned out to be a dull looking one. The proportion seems incorrect and it looks like a dwarf in my 6″ figures. Doesn’t do justice to Cyclops by John Cassaday in Astonishing X-Men.

C: Oh, ironically, that’s my favorite Cyclops figure because I’m a big fan of that particular costume.

3. Hasbro Wolverine and the X-Men Cyclops 3.75″ - Not really a fan of this new scale that Hasbro’s trying to push but as a Cyclops completist I had to buy one for myself. Limited articulation and I don’t dig that attachable eye beam. Removing it leaves a big hole on Cyclops’ visor which resemble to the Cyclops monsters in Greek mythology.

4. Hasbro “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” Comic Series Cyclops 3.75″ - I hope you’re not seeing a trend in here (either Hasbro or its 3.75″ scale) but this Cyclops figure has the same problem as the “Wolverine and the X-Men” Cyclops with its attachable eye beam. The sculpt and anatomy too is way off as Cyclops has shorter limbs. Not worth the money I paid for this figure too.

5. X-Men Classics Cyclops 6″ - Most people call this the “Vic Sotto” or the “crotchless” Cyclops. Jim Lee drew his Cyclops a little bulky but this one turns out to be too slim a figure (well Cyclops’ nickname is “Slim” but still). Looks malnourished, not to mention it falls of easily when I try to make it stand. While I got this figure for myself, I had one customized by Don Razon of “Rateeg Creations,” whose Cyclops do Jim Lee’s Cyclops some justice.

C: Alright, I’m sure you’re getting tired of all my questions, so we’ll end on a high note. Dream Cyclops figure- What would it be, and in what scale?

W: Oh man, another toughie. While there are other Cyclops figures which I wish to be released (like a Marvel Select Cyclops. C’mon Marvel Select, stop producing those Wolverines!), I think I’d go for Cyclops statue (either in his Jim Lee outfit or Astonishing X-Men) in Premium/ 1/4 scale. I heard a local group in Pinoy Statue Forums will make one, I hope it’ll be an awesome piece. I’ll have display problems though as you can see, my toy shelves are overflowing already.

Thank you very much, Mr. workhorse3! We here at Comicology salute you, and we envy you and your collection immensely. When I start making some money, I’ll start my Daredevil collection. Until then, I’ll just drool at your collection over at his PTK thread and his website.