“I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen! The suit’s changing…it’s evolved. I’m all tapped out; it can’t use me no more. All this time, I thought it wanted to be with me…but it only ever wanted this WATCH!”
With the help of Mr. Fantastic’s sonic gun and some hot flame trickery from the Human Torch, SuperHeroStuff.com (SHS) managed to get Venom’s symbiotic half to permanently bond to this all-metal, Japan movement watch from Accutime. The resulting bond means that now YOU can wield the power to exact vengeance upon that wall-crawling goody two-shoes, Peter Parkerrrrrr!
My shipping experience hit a bit of a snag after placing my order when I received confirmation that my item was being sent, and there was a typo in the address which was significant enough to know that I would not be receiving my item. I got in touch with SHS right away to inform them of the error, and with speed that can only be rivaled by Quicksilver himself, they corrected the mistake and had my item back on route before I could say “Thwip!”
I was pretty excited when later that same week, I got home and found the SuperHeroStuff.com box on my doorstep. Taking into consideration that I live in Canada, I am always impressed when a company can get things shipped to me across the border within five business days.
Inside the shipping box was a Marvel artwork and logo emblazoned box from Accutime Watch Corp. It is made of a thick gauge cardboard and the cover can be removed, flipped, and used as a backing to turn the box into a display for the watch. It even has a tab at the top with a metal loop so that it can be hung from a display tree or board. A feature that I am sure some retailers can thoroughly appreciate and make use of.
A quick snip of a couple of cable ties and the watch was freed from its container.
Owner Beware! Once the symbiote has been released from imprisonment, SHS and Accutime are not responsible for the sudden urge to eat the brains of the guilty that might incur.
The watch and band are made of basic metal, save for the caseback and clasp which are made of stainless steel (designed to keep the alien symbiote from permanently bonding to your skin, I’m sure). As you can see, the watch sports a color combination of gun-metal, black, and brushed metal.
When first trying the piece on, it was evident that the band was too big for my wrist and required that a couple of links be removed for a proper fit. The process of removing links from the band is fairly straight forward. All you need are some needle-nose pliers, a hammer, and a small object that can be used to hit the link pin with. Usually something like a finishing nail or a precision punch will do the trick. You’ll notice that the links that can be removed have an arrow engraved near each pin which shows the direction in which the pin needs to be pushed out. A couple of light taps from the hammer onto the nail or punch will get the pin moving. I suggest using the needle-nose pliers to work the pin out the rest of the way so that you don’t accidentally widen the pin hole by hammering into it any further.
Once you’ve removed the number of links required for proper fit, reattaching the band together is as simple as lining up the two open ended links together and gently tapping the pin back into place.
If you feel uncomfortable taking this task on yourself, a quick visit to any watch repair shop can get it done for you at a reasonable price.
After wearing the watch over the weekend, I can attest that I am thoroughly satisfied with how it functions. It makes an audible tick, but isn’t loud enough to drive you crazy if you keep your watch on your nightstand when going to sleep. The weight of the watch is just enough to remind you that it’s there, but won’t have your watch arm looking like Popeye’s if you wear it on your wrist every day.
My only gripe concerning the design is that with the hands being painted black, it makes it a little hard to quickly tell the time as they sometimes blend into the Venom Symbol on the watch face. Some white or glow-in-the-dark hands could have probably fixed this, although I’m not sure if it would have been as aesthetically pleasing.
Otherwise, the minimalistic design works well with only the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock indicated with a couple of index bars in between each. The seconds map found on the outer ring is shown in 10 second intervals.
The bottom line is that this is a high-quality product that can be yours for a reasonable price. It looks badass and can be worn on the daily to accessorize everything from your comic book reading casual wear to your finest business attire. It’s conspicuous enough to attract an envious eye from even the most amateur of superhero connoisseurs, but also subtle enough to not attract possible unwanted attention from the uninitiated.
Get yours from SuperHeroStuff.com today!
What did you think of this review? Let us know in the comments section below and be sure to check out other great nerd swag that we’ve reviewed by clicking here!
Dan “SpidermanGeek” Briand
email: spidermangeek@comicattack.net
Twitter: @SpidermanGeek
How does the watch band hold up to wear and tear? I have a black metal-band watch (that I didn’t spend $300 on) and, in places, the black scrapes off, revealing gray underneath. It’s annoying and tacky, in my perfectionist opinion.
So far so good. I’ve been wearing it almost daily and I don’t see any visible signs of paint scraping off on the outside, but there is discoloration down to bare metal on the inside of the wrist band. This is possibly due to acid produced by skin/sweat or contact with soapy water when washing hands. Not sure.
Stop sweating and washing your hands. Problem solved.
Have YOU had the sudden urge to eat brains or use the plural form when speaking about yourself?
We hunger, we must feeeed!