SPIDER-ARMOR MK I

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When Spider-Man’s powers aren’t enough, he dons his patented Spider-Armor. This ceramic-metal battlesuit protects Spidey from his deadliest foes, giving him the time he needs to take it to the bad guys!”

Alright, it’s been about a month since I did any Marvel Legends reviews.  I suppose I can manage to jump back into some of those without fear of triggering any flashbacks or anything.  They do seem to be hitting a bit rapid fire again, so I feel like I should tackle them while I can.  I just reviewed a set of Spider-Man-themed Legends back before the holidays, but there’s already another one to take a look at.  This time around, it’s another retro-inspired set.  I’m kicking things off with a figure that certainly helps me to feel nostalgic, the Spider-Armor Mk I!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Spider-Armor Mk I is the first of the three Spidey variants in the latest Spidey-themed Retro assortment of Marvel Legends.  He’s a natural choice for the line-up, since the original line included this very design making its toy debut, and all.  Though short-lived in the comics, the suit was repurposed in the cartoon as an alternate reality version of Peter, and has more recently re-surfaced as one of the alternate suits for Spidey in the PS4 game.  It seems the presence in the game is what really sealed the deal for this release, given how the figure is clearly inspired by that specific iteration of the design.  Funnily enough, this isn’t the first Spider-Armor that’s gotten the Legends treatment courtesy of its presence in the game.  And, given that there’s still the Mk II, which was also in the game, it’s likely this one won’t be the last, either.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation.  The Spider-Armor’s articulation scheme is generally pretty decent.  It’s certainly better than it looks at first glance, and the neck joint in particular gets some impressive range.  It’s also nice to finally get a proper Mk I Spider-Armor that can actually fully move both of his arms.  Additionally, the figure makes use of the new pinless construction for the elbows and knees, making him the only Spidey in this set to make use of them.  The Spider-Armor is an all-new sculpt, inspired by the PS4 version of the design, thereby making for a slightly sleeker overall silhouette, as well as a little more texturing on the darker sections of the design.  It’s a strong sculpt, with a really sharp, really geometric take on the design.  It works really well in figure form.  The figure’s paint work is pretty straight forward, but also really solid at what it’s doing.  The silver is applied quite cleanly, and it’s a really slick, almost reflective silver, which works really well with the design.  The Spider-Armor is packed with two sets of hands (fists and thwips), as well as two different web effects.  The web effects are cool, but also not really usable with the figure in any way, which is odd.  It’s also a shame he doesn’t get the web shield, but I guess that was more of a vintage toy thing anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m a huge fan of the Mk I Spider-Armor design, and I’ve been hoping to see an update of it crop up in Legends form for some time.  I was really pumped when it showed up in this line-up, and it was certainly my most anticipated figure from this round.  I’m really happy with how this guy turned out.  The sculpt is top-notch, and that paint is really crisp and clean, and the silver is a really nice shade that works very well with the sculpt.  All-in-all, just a really strong figure, and a great way to kick off the 2022 Legends.

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.