LUKE CAGE — POWER MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0012: Luke Cage’s first Marvel Legends release was in Toy Biz’s second-to-last series during their run on the line.

When I sat down to write today’s review, I thought to myself “should I maybe review the original Toy Biz Legends Luke Cage?”  And then I remembered that I *already* did, way back in the first year of the site.  Look, you write 3000 of these things, and you start to forget some things.  I looked back on that old review and saw that I was actually pretty brief on its “Me Half” segment.  I didn’t even mention where I got it.  The thing about that particular series was that it’s one of the ones that I actually wanted all of the figures from, and it’s also one where I didn’t want the Build-A-Figure at all.  They hit right around Christmas, so I actually got a good chunk of them as gifts.  Luke is one of two I didn’t get, but I used some of my Christmas money to buy him at Cosmic Comix, and I was actually pretty happy to get him at the time.  That figure held up better than some of the others from the set, but he’s still more than 15 years old, so you need some updates from time to time.  And I’m certainly not one to say no to a classic Luke Cage!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Cage Power Man is figure 4 in the Mindless Ones Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s a pretty natural fit for the overall Marvel Knights theme of the set.  This is actually Luke’s first standard release Legends figure since the Toy Biz days, as well as his first proper update to the ’70s look.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Luke’s sculpt is an all-new one, which is a pretty solid offering.  It’s clean and well defined, and definitely gets the outfit down.  The head’s a little bit bland in terms of expression; I don’t mind a Luke that’s slightly less angry than the first Legend, but this one feels like it dials things back maybe a touch too far.  Still, it’s hardly a bad sculpt.  The only other quirk to the sculpt is how the shirt works; the torso portion is a separate piece from his actual chest, which isn’t generally a bad look, but the holes for the arms are cut a little too large, revealing the chest beneath.  It’s looks a little awkward during certain posing.  Luke’s color work is a lot of molded colors, which works well to keep him clean looking.  He gets paint on his face, which is clean and lifelike.  Luke is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture, as well as the left leg to the Mindless One Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve not gotten any Legends Luke Cages since the first one, because I just never found one that I liked in the mean time.  I’m not opposed to his more recent designs, but I guess I just hadn’t found the right toy version of any of those looks.  Whatever the case, I’m always going to have a soft spot for this look, so its announcement was definitely cool.  In hand, he’s not perfect, but still solid, which makes him a pretty spot-on successor to the original.  Now, I’d really love a ’70s Iron Fist to go with him.

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.