VULCAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Vulcan sets his sights on total galactic conquest. Standing in his way are the X-Men, the Inhumans, the Kree…and his brother Havok!”

I’ve discussed before here on the site that I’m not a particularly big fan of retcons.  I just feel that jamming a character into a pre-existing narrative is at best an unsettling venture, and at worst, it’s just painfully bad.  So, today’s focus, Vulcan, aka Gabriel Summers, brother to Havok and Cyclops, is a character I’m generally non-plussed about.  The idea of a third Summers brother had been floated around for quite some time before Vulcan’s introduction, with a number of possible candidates, all of whom were previously established characters.  Vulcan was introduced in 2006, and is like a retcon turducken.  He’s the third Summers son, whom their mother was retconned into being pregnant with when she and Corsair were abducted by the Shi’ar.  He was then involved with the Shi’ar, before coming back to Earth, working for Erik the Red (a character we saw previously, who had made no prior mention of knowing another Summers brother), being found by Moira Mactaggert (another character who had not mentioned another Summers brother), and recruited by Charles Xavier (another character again to not mention the extra Summers brother) to lead a second team of X-Men to Krakoa in order to rescue the first, thereby making the All-New All-Different X-Men who actually rescue the team and defeat Krakoa in Giant-Size X-Men #1 the third team of X-Men, not the second.  He’s then hidden away for a bunch of time, until he resurfaces during “Deadly Genesis,” where we get to find out how cool and badass he is, because, he’s, like, an Omega Class Mutant, you guys.  So, he’s like the other two Summers brothers, but actually way better.  And he did a bunch of cool stuff offscreen.  We swear, you guys.  He’s, like, so much cooler than all the others.  And his powers?  They’re very cool.  No idea what they are, of course, because he’s definitely got one of those power sets that super vague and just what’s needed to make him seem “cool.”  But they’re cool.  Promise.  Okay, I’m gonna stop ragging on Vulcan and just actually review the figure, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vulcan is figure 3 in the Bonebreaker Series of Marvel Legends.  This marks Vulcan’s very first time in action figure form, which is crazy, given how cool this guy is.  It says so in all of his appearances.  So, we’re setting things right with this one.  Vulcan is depicted here in his main X-Men attire, and seems to be most specifically based on his more recent appearances from the post-House of X stuff.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  While Havok was on a re-purposed body, Vulcan debuts an all-new base body.  This one has been specifically designed as a replacement for the Bucky Cap body, so it’s meant to have a similar build and styling.  The proportions are slightly more nuanced and balanced, the detailing is generally cleaner, and he gets additional butterfly joints for the shoulders.  Additionally, the elbows and knees are using the pinless construction, making for an all-around cleaner look for the figure.  Generally, it’s a decent base body.  I feel like the knees are possibly a touch too low, but it otherwise looks pretty solid.  It’s a good replacement for the Bucky Cap, though I do somewhat rue the fact that I’ll now be having to reference this as the “Vulcan Body” in every use going forward.  Couldn’t they have used it for someone cooler first?  Vulcan gets a unique head sculpt, which is respectable from a technical stand point.  It’s very sharply defined, and generally matches with his more recent depictions in the comics.  The color work on this figure is quite bright and bold.  The paint for the dark blue sections is nice and sharply handled, as is the face and belt.  There’s not a ton going on, but what’s there works.  Vulcan is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture) and the torso, arms, and hands for the Bonebreaker Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If the intro didn’t fill you in, I’ve got some issues with Vulcan.  The character is deeply flawed to his concept, and about the only thing I’ve ever liked about him is that his later stories gave some nice focus to Havok.  I’ve never particularly liked him, and nothing anyone has done with him has made me care.  His inclusion here is kind of meh, but he does at least debut the new body, which is a nice starting point for future, better figures.

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.