DEATH DEALER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Death Dealer is one of the most formidable opponents Shang-Chi has ever faced.”

Well, that’s *wonderfully* descriptive, isn’t it?  Just tells you everything you want to know about the guy, right?  Okay, let’s be real here, though: who’s Death Dealer?  Without the movie to back us up yet, the current answer is that he’s a relatively obscure Shang-Chi villain from the ’80s.  He appeared in four issues total, and was killed at the end of them.  There’s not a ton to it beyond that.  This being the MCU, it’s possible they may add some more depth to the character, or it’s possible they may just have him as a henchman for Shang-Chi’s father (which was pretty much his original role, anyway).  Time will tell.  I the mean time, how about an action figure?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Death Dealer is figure 4 in the Mr. Hyde Series of Marvel Legends, where he’s the fourth and final movie figure in the line-up.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation.  In terms of articulation and movement, Death Dealer is definitely the most restricted figure in the set.  A lot of that comes down to the nature of the construction, namely the fact that a good chunk of the figure isn’t actually new.  The head, arms, and torso overlay piece are new, but everything else has been re-used from the Cull Obsidian Series Ant-Man.  It’s kind of an odd choice for re-use, since the two characters don’t really feel like they’d be sharing a lot of parts, and Ant-Man’s parts are kind of distinctive.  The majority of the torso being hidden under the robe piece certainly helps a bit, as the legs are at least a little more generic, but ultimately, it just feels kinda weird.  Also, the robe being an overlay, rather than integrated into the main figure means it’s a) a bit bulky and b) very restricting to the torso movement.  Neither of those things is super fun.  The new head and arms are, at least, a little more accurate, I suppose.  The arms still have those exposed pins, but that’s just true of all of these figures, so it’s not like it’s a surprise or anything at this point.  They’re nicely sculpted pieces, with some sharp detail and texturing work, which helps this guy fit in with the rest of the assortment.  The paint work on Death Dealer is pretty basic work for the most part.  It’s a pretty good color scheme, and certainly the most colorful of the movie figures, so it’s got that going for it.  The application is cleanly handled, and it’s generally pretty eye catching.  He doesn’t get any of the printing, since his face isn’t exposed, but it’s still pretty clean.  Death Dealer is one of the lightest packed figures in the series when it comes to accessories.  He’s got two sets of hands (open gesture, R throwing kunai, L holding kunai), and the left arm to Mr. Hyde.  Given how light he is on new parts in general, it’s a shame they couldn’t throw in a few more extras.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Being only minorly versed in Shang-Chi, I wasn’t familiar with Death Dealer before this figure.  I’m still not super familiar, but I’m about as familiar with him as anyone else not involved with the movie’s production.  Death Dealer’s definitely got a cool visual, but ultimately the figure’s kind of lackluster.  Not bad, but there’s a lot of re-use, and it’s not particularly inventive re-use either.  Compared to the other movie figures, this one feels a little bit lacking.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.