JACK O’LANTERN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0113: Due to a technicality (that technicality being Toy Biz using the “Mad Jack” name on the package for their Spider-Man Classics Jack O’Lantern), I own every Jack O’Lantern figure!

Jack O’Lantern is one of those characters that, like, I know, but, like, also I don’t?  I mean, that’s what happens when you have five different guys who use the same lower-tier super villain identity, the first two of whom actually used more popular legacy titles, and the last two of whom don’t even have secret identities.  He’s not even in the top two Spidey villains who use gliders and have a pumpkin theme!  Really cool visual, though, so I think that makes up for a lot of sins.  Oh, god, is Jack O’Lantern my Boba Fett?  Do I have an attachment to a character that contributes very little to the narrative because he looks cool?  I don’t know what to do with this information.  Guess I’ll write an action figure review?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jack O’Lantern is the second figure from the latest Retro-carded assortment of Spider-Man Marvel Legends.  Like Scarlet Spider, Jack’s on one of the ’90s style cards, and, like Scarlet, it doesn’t match up to an actual vintage release.  Jack was at least actually single carded in the ’90s line, though, so we’re closer.  The figure is 7 1/2 inches tall to the top of the flames (6 1/2 inches to the top of the head) and he has 34 points of articulation.  Jack O’Lantern’s starting point is the Vulcan body, although it’s really limited to just the arms and legs.  Everything else is all-new, sculpted by Chango Customs.  It’s…well, it’s honestly fantastic.  The texturing and flow is really strong.  The head uses a multi-part construction for the pumpkin, interior, and the flames, allowing for a really sharp set of details.  The scarf piece sits well, and hides the neck joint, allowing for motion, without having to directly address how exactly it connects to the body.  The scale mail on the torso and pelvis is very consistent, and I also really dig the visible stitching on the gloves and boots.  This whole sculpt is a great example of adding extra details to a more basic design in a way that doesn’t overcomplicate anything.  The color work keeps up pretty well with the sculpt.  The body relies on molded colors, but certainly well-chosen ones.  The head gets more actual paint work, and there’s some fantastic subtleties going on there.  Jack is packed with two sets of hands (fists and an open gesture/gripping combo), a bomb that can be stored on his belt, and his hover disk.  The disk is great, because you can remove the bottom piece, which makes it compatible with the standard hover stands.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’m generally scaling back my Legends collecting, and focussing in more on my 5-Inch Marvel set.  To that end, I’ve been refraining from grabbing a lot of figures that are more direct updates to 5-Inch figures.  As Jack is one of those more direct updates, I wasn’t sure I was going to grab him, at least initially, but he just looked so very nice, so I broke on him.  I’m glad I did, because he’s really, really nice.  Like, honestly, just one of those top tier Legends we only get every so often.

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.