CHASM

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A near-fatal battle between Peter Parker and his clone, Ben Reilly, leaves Ben rising from the quantum goo as the villainous Chasm”

Poor Ben Reilly just really can’t catch a break, can he?  He keeps dying or being evil.  He seemed to get a bit of an upswing when they made him the main Spidey again in 2022, but…then he seemingly died and then went rogue.  I mean, it’s not *exactly* evil, but he’s certainly on the edge.  It’s kind of humorous, because Ben’s not even supposed to *be* the edgy clone!  That was Kane’s whole gimmick.  Ben’s the light-hearted and carefree guy…right?  Well, maybe he’ll get there again.  He *is* currently living in paradise.  In the mean time, he’s a figure of him during his emo phase.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chasm is part of the latest Spider-Man retro card series of Marvel Legends.  He’s another very modern figure from a largely very modern line-up.  He’s also one of two different Ben Reilly figures in this particular line-up, which is an interesting switch up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Chasm is based on the ANAD 2099 body, which is a decent enough set-up, but is slightly hampered by being the inferior version of two different Spidey base bodies.  I imagine this one in particular is a little cheaper to produce, which makes more sense for a more one-off design like Chasm.  It does kind of suck that it means he’s still got the visible pins, though.  He’s got a new head and add-ons for his wrist cartridges, which are generally pretty basic, but well implemented pieces.  The rest of the design is carried by the paint work.  Chasm, to showcase his turn to a more villainous side, gets to be purple and green, the classic bad guy colors in comics.  They’re a particularly nice shade here, which I definitely dig.  Application is generally pretty good, apart from the right elbow on my copy completely missing the purple paint app.  Chasm is packed with a pair of effects piece, borrowed from Scarlet Witch, but in green this time.  That feels exceptionally light, given how few new parts this guy has.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like Ben Reilly.  I really do.  I like him enough that I read his whole “Beyond” run in the comics.  It wasn’t awful, and the Chasm angle isn’t the *worst* thing ever, but it’s also a little frustrating to see this character caught in this sort of loop of characterization.  But, a good figure is a good figure, and I’m a sucker for a good Ben Reilly figure.  Chasm’s okay.  He’s pretty by the numbers, but if nothing else he’s got a fun color scheme.

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.