Category Archives: Reviews

#2437: Mach-I

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

MACH-I

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Abner Jenkins suits up in his Mobile Armored Cyber Harness as Mach-I.”

For the second time in modern Legends, Abner Jenkins is coming in here with a “finally” figure.  We’ve had a surprising number of figures of this guy, most of them under his former Beetle moniker.  It took us four different Beetle figures to finally get Abner’s classic Beetle armor.  His later heroic identity of Mach-I has been teased at as a repaint of an existing Beetle twice before, but is only just now coming to fruition.  Better late than never, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mach-I is another of the comics-based figures in the Gamerverse-inspired Abomination Series of Marvel Legends.  He marks our third yearly addition to the founding Thunderbolts line-up, following Songbird and Citzen V.  One of Abner’s gimmicks as a hero was his knack for constantly upgrading his suit, each time dubbing it with a new number at the end of the Mach name.  This figure wisely opts for his earliest design, from when the team first showed up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  As had been theorized ever since the original figure was released, Mach-I is largely a re-working of the Ultimate Beetle figure, with a more standard set of hands and feet, and a new head and upper torso.  There are definite similarities between Ultimate Beetle and Mach-I (they were designed by the same artist, after all), so the re-use is a sensible one.  The mold’s not quite as slick these days as it was when it was new, but it’s still not terrible.  Replacing the feet makes sense, but I will admit the standard hands are a little odd.  They clearly aren’t gloved and the choice to go with the gripping hands makes little sense, given he’s got nothing to hold.  Not sure why they didn’t just keep the Beetle hands, honestly.  The new parts are decent enough overall, though not without one slight set-back.  For some reason, his shoulder pads are just permanently attached at that very slight angle.  Typically such things are articulated, but that’s not the case for Mach-I.  It’s an odd choice.  The paint work on Mach-I is pretty solid overall.  The varied shades of blue are a lot of fun, and I dig the overall metallic sheen on this guy.  Mach-I has no accessories specifically for him, but he gets the head for the Build-A-Figure Abomination.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been anticipating this figure ever since the Ultimate Beetle figure first hit, and he’s only become more obvious an inclusion as we’ve gotten more Thunderbolts members.  I don’t know that I personally *needed* this figure, but he’s a cool enough design.  Ultimately, he does feel ever so slightly behind the times, like he was a figure that Hasbro had ready to go fairly shortly after Beetle’s release, but kept shelving.  Had he hit a year or two ago, he’d have fit right in, but right now he’s out of place.  He’s still not a bad figure, of course, and he looks great with the team we’ve gotten so far.  I look forward to building more of this set!

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with Mach-I!  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2436: Mar-Vell

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

MAR-VELL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The powers of flight, superhuman strength and stamina make Mar-Vell a celebrated warrior.”

First introduced in 1967, Kree captain Mar-Vell took on the moniker of “Captain Marvel” pretty much exclusively so that Marvel could lay claim to the name, which Fawcett Comics had lost control of years prior.  He was a modestly developed character, and helped to really launch the cosmic side of Marvel’s comics line.  Perhaps most notably, however, the character faced his own mortality and eventual death in Jim Starlin’s Death of Captain Marvel, and has subsequently remained one of the few comics characters to truly stay dead (though many writers have found ways to bring Mar-Vell back under very specific circumstances that wouldn’t keep him back long-term).  Mar-Vell found his way into Legends form during the Toy Biz days, but hasn’t seen a release since, even with all of his successors accounted for.  Fortunately, that’s changed.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mar-Vell is part of the Gamerverse-oriented Abomination Series of Marvel Legends, which is one of this year’s Avengers assortments.  He’s officially only called “Mar-Vell” on the box, no doubt to avoid any brand confusion as Marvel continues to push Carol as the true Captain Marvel.  Honestly, I don’t think it matters all that much, so it’s cool by me.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Mar-Vell is built on the Spider-UK body, with the Nega Bands from last year’s Genis-Vell, and a brand new head.  The body is a good match for how Mar-Vell was classically depicted, and is just one of my favorites of Hasbro’s current stock.  The only downside is that the Nega Bands, which were sized to the Reaper body, are kinda loose on this guy.  I’m planning to stick something in there to help them stay in place a bit better, but it’s a little bit frustrating.  I do quite like the new head sculpt, which captures Mar-Vell’s rather ’70s ‘do pretty darn well, and gives us a nice, clean-cut hero look on the face.  Mar-Vell’s paint work is fairly decent overall.  The metallic blue looks really slick, and the application is generally all pretty clean.  There are a few fuzzy spots on some of the transitions on mine, but nothing too noticeable.  Mar-Vell doesn’t get any accessories of his own, which is too bad.  A couple of effects pieces would have been fun.  He does get the right arm to the Abomination Build-A-Figure, though, which is a pretty sizable piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Toy Biz Mar-Vell is definitely one of my favorites of that era, but he was starting to show his age.  If there was one thing I regretted not seeing in last year’s Captain Marvel-centric assortment, it was a proper classic Mar-Vell update.  I was very happy to see this guy crop up here, and he was definitely my most anticipated of the set.  He’s a fairly basic figure, but he’s a solid update to the prior version, and a great addition to my ranks of Captains Marvel.

Mar-Vell was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2435: The Child

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THE CHILD

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

The Mandalorian was a pretty huge hit right out of the gate, but pretty much everything else about the show pales in comparison to the Baby Yoda phenomenon.  Kept a well-guarded secret by those involved in the show, “The Child” (as he was officially dubbed by Disney) was immediately met with pretty much universal approval, and an insane demand for all the merchandise imaginable.  Of course, part of keeping Baby Yoda such a well-guarded secret was not letting any of the licensors even know the character existed until after the first episode had dropped, meaning there was a bit of a gap between his appearance on the show an any merch.  Fortunately, things have turned around pretty darn quickly on that front.  There are a lot of options right out of the gate, but I’m kicking things off with a look at Hasbro’s Black Series offering.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Child is a one-off Black Series release, which started hitting retail right at the beginning of May.  He’s using the packaging style introduced in 2018 with the Porg two-pack, but he’s at a slightly higher price point.  The figure is incredibly small, and indeed a lot smaller than many people expected.  However, at just over an inch tall, he’s pretty much exactly the size he should be to go with the rest of The Black Series line.  He’s better articulated than you might expect, with 7 points of articulation.  That includes ball joints at the neck, shoulders, and ankles (yes, he’s got a fully detailed pair of feet that no one’s ever going to see).  His range is rather limited overall, especially on the shoulders.  I was, however, quite pleased with the mobility on the neck joint, which allows for a good deal of expressiveness to his posing.  The sculpt is rather well detailed for the size, with the head exhibiting the best work.  The likeness to the puppet from the show is pretty spot-on, especially in the face.  The paintwork on this figure is fairly light.  The construction of the figure is such that most of the color work is done via straight molded coloring.  There’s a little bit of work on his face and ears, which is up to par with the current standard for the main line, so no complaints there.  Baby Yoda’s got a fun selection of cool extras, including the frog-like creature it eats after the Mando finds it, the bowl of broth he carries during Mando and Cara’s face-off in Chapter 4, and the knob from Mando’s ship that he gives to Baby Yoda as a toy.  There’s also a clear box to keep all of the extras in, so that you don’t lose them.  I definitely appreciate that, and they’ll be staying in that box pretty much exclusively for my display.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I will fully admit to being drawn in by the Baby Yoda craze, and his inclusion in The Mandalorian was definitely one of my favorite parts of the show.  I definitely wanted him for my Black Series collection, in what ever capacity Hasbro chose to deliver.  It’s hard to say that this guy’s really a full-fledged figure in his own right, but he’s a pretty fantastic companion to the rest of the Mando stuff they’ve put out so far.  He’s a fun little package.

I picked up this little guy from my friends at All Time Toys.  He’s currently sold out, but they’ve still got a bunch of other Black Series, and other cool toys both old and new, so please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2434: Random

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

RANDOM

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“If the price is right, there’s almost nothing that Random won’t do! And with forearms that transform into powerful blasters, there’s almost nothing he can’t do!”

Perhaps the most enthralling thing about Toy Biz’s ’90s X-Men line was how many “product of their time” characters made their way into the line, just by virtue of their brief moment to shine being during the line’s hey-day.  Though not quite as exaggerated a case as some of the characters, Random is still a character who really hasn’t found his footing since the decade that created him, which is probably why his only figure to date comes from that same period.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Random was released in Series 6 of Toy Biz’s X-Men line.  He was hardly the most obscure character in the line-up, and marked the second figure in the X-Factor subset started by Strong Guy.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  He lacks any elbow or knee movement, which is a little bit of a bummer.  The left elbow makes some sense, but the knees in particular really just don’t add-up.  Maybe the extra plastic that went into making this guy a little larger meant they couldn’t cost out those extra joints?  The sculpt was unique to Random, and its a pretty respectable translation of his comics design.  He’s maybe a little bit squashed, but that’s about it.  There’s a lot of pretty nifty details, including sculpted stubble on his face.  That’s pretty easily missed, so the fact that they included it is pretty darn impressive.  Random’s paint work is mostly pretty basic, but the coolest bit by far is the inclusion of the tattoos on his arms.  Those are a lot of fun, and take what could have been a somewhat drab looking character and make him really pop.  Random included three missiles, which work with the spring-loaded launcher on his left arm.  The two spares can actually be stored to either side of the launcher, which is a nice little touch, allowing you to actually hang onto them when not firing them.  The launcher itself isn’t terribly impressive, since there’s not lock or release; you just put it in and it launches right back out.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In my quest to fill in the holes in my Toy Biz X-Men collection, I actually picked this guy up a couple of years ago from a small place called Shazam Comics.  He was, I believe, the only action figure in the store, and the owner didn’t even realize he had him.  I don’t have much connection to the character, but he does make for a rather nifty figure, and the little touches in the sculpt and paint really make him work.

#2433: 2-1B Medical Droid

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2-1B MEDICAL DROID

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Height: 1.5 Meters
Status: Industrial Automaton Surgical Droid
Classification: GeenTech 2-1B Series
Affiliation: Rebel Alliance
Weapon of Choice: Medical Diagnostic Computer”

Droids make up one hell of a subset of the Star Wars universe, and much like the Stormtroopers, they have lots of specialized models.  Also like the Stormtroopers, they’re a really easy thing for toy companies to make bank on, especially when it’s a droid that got some decent screen time.  Today’s focus, 2-1B, showed up in Empire two separate times, patching Luke up first after his run-in with the Wampa, and again after losing his hand to Vader’s lightsaber.  That’s not a bad spread of appearances, now is it?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

2-1B was added to Kenner’s Power of the Force II line in 1997.  He’s the second figure of 2-1B, following up on the vintage release.  This sculpt would remain in service through The Vintage Collection in 2011, so clearly Hasbro thought it was a fairly worthwhile effort.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  As with many of the droids released in this line, the poseability’s a little bit restricted on this guy.  That said, he can pretty easily move his head and arms, which is just about all you need from him.  The actual sculpt is quite a nice one.  It’s pretty faithful to the film design, which is quite good for a PotF figure.  I really dig the texture work that went into him, and I especially dig the transparent torso with the visible mechanics within it.  Very fun.  His paint work is also pretty solid.  There’s not a ton going on with it, but all of the appropriate colors are there, and the application’s all pretty clean.  2-1B is packed with his handheld Medical Diagnostic Computer, for all your handheld Medical Diagnostic Computing needs.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like so many of my Power of the Force figures, this guy was a more recent addition to my collection, added during a PotF buying-spree in the fall of 2018.  As far as this line’s droids go, he’s honestly one of the best, and has the benefit of slotting in pretty alright with the more recent stuff as well.  He’s also one of the cooler, more unique droid designs, and one with some decent screen time, making him one of the best in general.

I got this guy from my friends at All Time Toys.  They’ve got a decent back stock of Power of the Force, and other cool toys both old and new, so please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2432: Ultra Magnus Spoiler Pack

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ULTRA MAGNUS SPOILER PACK

TRANSFORMERS WAR FOR CYBERTRON TRILOGY (HASBRO)

Okay, so, uhh, here’s something a little different, I guess.  At the beginning of the year, back when the world was still relatively normal, Hasbro debuted the trailer and accompanying toy line for their Netflix-based Transformers War For Cybertron: Siege cartoon, which is, of course, based on the toy line of the same name.  Despite the toys being pretty directly recreated for the animation (down to using the same CAD files), there’s still an even more-show-specific set of figures, which are a Walmart-exclusive here in the US.  At the center of this line is a rather gimmicky concept: a spoiler pack.  And before we get into any sort of confusion about this being a box of car parts, since that wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for a Transformers line, it specifically references spoilers for the show’s plot, although technically the contents of the box as well.  We found out fairly early on that the box contained an Ultra Magnus, but further details weren’t initially revealed…or at least they weren’t supposed to be.  I’m going to play nice to that small handful of people who might actually like to still be surprised when they open this thing.  If that’s you, the following review is technically a SPOILER, so you’ve been warned.

Continue reading →

#2431: Crimson Dynamo

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CRIMSON DYNAMO

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Hey, remember how I mentioned Black Widow needing to borrow some foes from Iron Man?  Well, she did it again.  It’s okay, there’s more connective tissue this time.  When it comes to Iron Man foes, it’s a bit tricky for them to really stick.  I mean, how do you manage to become the arch enemy of a guy who’s actually just his own arch enemy?  The spot’s pretty much permanently taken!  There have, nevertheless, been a few characters that have hung on for a bit, including one of his two Soviet counterparts, the Crimson Dynamo.  Dynamo’s a pretty early addition to Stark’s rogue’s gallery, and the original Dynamo is definitely interwoven with Black Widow, who was still a villain at the time.  Of course, there’s been twelve different people in the armor since then…yeah, there are a lot of Crimson Dynamos.  It makes getting decent toys a little tricky, because, honestly, where do you start?  Well, let’s start here, I guess.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Crimson Dynamo is the Build-A-Figure for the titular Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends.  This is Dynamo’s first time as an official Legends release.  He was originally slated to be part of Toy Biz’s Series 13 “Bring on the Bad Guys” line-up, but was dropped before they went to prototype.  The Valentin Shatalov did get a 6-inch release in the Iron Man: Armored Avenger line that ran briefly after Iron Man 2, but proper Legends was on hiatus at the time.  Now we’ve actually got one.  I know.  It’s a pretty big deal.  There have been 13 different Dynamos over the years, so there are plenty of designs to choose from.  Hasbro opted for the Gennady Gravilov version of the character, which was introduced in the early ’00s Epic Comics miniseries based on the character.  While it doesn’t quite have the staying power of Dmitri Bukharin’s more classic armor, it’s honestly not a bad design at all, and it’s at least one that got a little bit of dedicated focus in the miniseries.  It’s also a slightly more natural fit for a Build-A-Figure.  The figure stands 8 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  There’s a little bit of re-use here: he’s got the legs from the Iron Monger/Mandroid Build-A-Figure.  While not a perfect match for the armor design in the comics, they’re close enough to work, and flow pretty well with the rest of the sculpt stylistically.  The design of the articulation scheme is also really great, so I can’t fault Hasbro for wanting to use them again.  The rest of the sculpt is all-new, and it’s quite impressive at that.  It translates the comics design quite nicely into three dimensions, and there’s a lot of really fun little detail work mixed in.  The slight cracking on various pieces of the armor, the texturing on the upper armor, and the rivets all throughout really give this thing a lived-in appearance.  It’s not a sleek, top-of-the-line Stark design; this thing is built for functionality over appearance.  I was also impressed by how well they worked in the articulation.  I liked the Mandroid a fair bit, but it was a little restricted in its movement, at least on its top half.  This guy, on the other hand, is surprisingly poseable.  He’s also incredibly stable, which I’m all about.  The paintwork on Dynamo is mostly pretty basic.  A lot of the color work is just molded colors.  It’s all pretty clean, and replicates the comic colors well enough.  I really like the clear plastic for the vials on his wrists; it adds some dimension to the figure.  There aren’t any accessories for Dynamo himself, but given the size of this guy, that’s pretty easily excused.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really like Crimson Dynamo.  I’d go so far as to say he’s probably my favorite Iron Man foe (although I also quite like Titanium Man).  Perhaps my biggest problem with Iron Man 2 was not getting a proper Crimson Dynamo out of it.  I’ve been waiting for a good Dynamo in Legends form for a while, and I was definitely happy to see him crop up here.  Yeah, I still really want the Dmitri Bukharin armor at some point, but this is a really good design, too, and this figure is an early contender for my favorite Build-A-Figure this year.  He’s really solid, and I really like him.

With the movie being pushed back, I think this assortment is one that people might overlook, and that’s actually kind of too bad.  Crimson Dynamo is the definite star for me, and building him was honestly enough to get me on board, but upon completing the set, I find myself enjoying pretty much the whole thing.  The movie figures are all really solid (even if Red Guardian’s not quite screen-accurate), Winter Soldier’s a fantastic solo release, and Crossbones is a good clean update of a pretty important character.  Only Spymaster’s really a drag, and even then, he’s not a *terrible* figure.  I expected very little from this set, but I’m actually really happy with the final product.

#2430: Spymaster

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

SPYMASTER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“An undercover operative skilled in sabotage, Spymaster possesses superb fighting capabilities.”

Remember what I was saying yesterday about Widow’s supporting characters not being quite so developed?  Well, we’re back to that.  Switching over from Captain America, we now move to Black Widow’s Iron Man ties, taking a look at Spymaster, a character whose ties to Widow are pretty much limited to “they both fought Iron Man.”  And they’re spies, I guess, but honestly, that’s practically the same as saying “they both fought Iron Man;” guy fought a lot of spies.  Spymaster’s primary claim to fame is his role in the “Armor Wars” storyline, where he was responsible for giving Tony’s designs to Justin Hammer.  Beyond that, there’s not a lot to this guy.  Well, now he’s got a Legends figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spymaster is figure 6 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the final single-packed figure in the assortment.  I know, I’m as disappointed as you that this is what we’re wrapping up with.  Talk about going out with a whimper.  It’s okay, the Build-A-Figure’s tomorrow; he’ll make up for it.  This guy stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Bucky Cap body, and boy is this thing showing the wear on the mold.  The gaps between the torso and the shoulders are really getting pronounced, to the point that I initially thought my figure might be misassembled.  I’m thinking this thing is hitting its end of life really fast here.  It’s still not a terrible base, of course, and build-wise it fits Spymaster just fine.  He gets two new pieces, for his head and his belt.  In both cases, I was genuinely surprised.  The belt can at least be chalked up to there not really being a piece that properly matches, but I fully expected the head to be another re-use of the Blizzard mold, since it’s just a masked head.  The fact that they went to the trouble of sculpting in the mask’s details, and actually changing the very structure of the mask and how it lays on the face is a very nice touch that I think pretty much everyone is going to miss.  Spymaster’s paintwork is decent enough.  It’s a little sloppy at the changeovers, but not terribly so, and the color scheme is at least pretty bright and eye catching (which, admittedly, doesn’t seem quite right for a guy who’s a spy, but what do I know?  I’ve never stolen Tony Stark’s designs, now have I?).  Spymaster is packed with a recolor of Yon-Rogg’s gun (the same one Crossbones used), as well as the right leg to the Crimson Dynamo figure.  Let’s be real here: that’s what everyone’s gonna buy this guy for.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Spymaster’s a character I was “meh” on back when he got a Minimate, so the Legend likewise doesn’t exactly spark me into a verbal frenzy.  He’s a pretty by-the-numbers figure of a pretty by-the-numbers character, though the fact that his mold isn’t in the best shape hinders him even a bit further.  I was impressed by how much new work went into this guy, really, and on that front he’s a little bit better than I’d expected him to be.

Spymaster was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2429: Crossbones

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CROSSBONES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Crossbones makes it his mission to take out Captain America, no matter the loss of life at stake.”

Though Black Widow’s cast of supporting characters isn’t quite as widely developed as some of Marvel’s other heroes, she’s spent enough time around both Cap and Iron Man that slotting in some of their characters into her tie-in assortment’s really not the worst fit.  Take, for example, Crossbones, whose bio even mentions his Cap connection.  That said, her time in Cap’s book during Brubaker’s run, as well as both of their turns in the MCU has given them enough connective tissue that Crossbones’ appearance here doesn’t feel all that forced.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Crossbones if figure 5 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends.  This is Crossbones’ third time getting a comic-based Legends release, all three of them coming in under the Hasbro banner.  The first two, however, were exclusives, making them both rather tricky to get a hold of, even when they were new.  They were also built on the Hulkling body, so they looked more than a little outdated.  This one opts for a more classic take on the character, pulled straight from his ’80s appearances.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he’s got 32 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Hyperion body, which I was a little skeptical about, especially since he’s still using the old “pectoral shelf” torso piece.  His design, especially the coloring, does manage to hide it better than most uses of the body, so it’s not terrible.  I may end up throwing Nuke’s tactical vest on him to hide it, though.  He gets a new head and lower legs, as well as new add-ons for his belt/holsters and his wrist pouches.  They all fit well with the body, with the head in particular sitting better on the body than a lot of the ones that have been designed for it.  It’s a fairly nice, fairly basic assortment of parts.  The boots are actually really detailed, and I was a little surprised that they didn’t just leave him with the standard feet for this body.  I’m hardly complaining.  His paintwork is pretty basic as well.  It’s fairly clean overall, though the nose detail on mine is slightly crooked.  Crossbones is packed with two of Cable’s Barrel Break-inspired guns, as well as two of Yon-Rogg’s more sci-fi-y pistols, which look a little more normal sized in Crossbones’ hands.  He also includes the right arm to the Crimson Dynamo Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Crossbones is definitely a formula figure.  He’s a stock body with a few new parts, and stock accessories.  The thing is, this isn’t really an issue for a character like Crossbones, especially a classic Crossbones, so he’s honestly a pretty great way to fill out the assortment without going too crazy on the tooling budget.  I don’t think he’s going to be topping anyone’s list, or anything, but he’s a solid stock figure, and a great addition to the Cap Rogues Gallery.

Crossbones was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2428: Winter Soldier

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

WINTER SOLDIER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Winter Soldier is a fierce combatant and an asset in battle, no matter which team he fights for.”

Alright, let’s jump back into these Marvel Legends reviews, shall we?  Like most movie assortments, the Black Widow tie-in is split between film-based figures, and some appropriately-themed comic-based figures.  I’ve looked at all of the movie figures, so now I’ll be jumping into the comics guys.  The first of the bunch is the one that’s probably got the best ties to Widow, the Winter Soldier, Natasha’s love interest in the comics for the last few years.  We’ve gotten a few movie-styled takes on the character, but it’s been a good long while since a comics version came along.  Let’s have a look, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Winter Soldier is figure 4 in the Crimson Dynamo Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s our second comic-based Winter Soldier Legends figure, following up on Hasbro’s two-pack release way back in 2010.  That’s a long wait, but that old release was honestly pretty strong, so any follow-up had a lot to live up to.  The figure stands just over 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  The sizing is the one issue I really have with this figure.  At his current height, he’s a little taller than the 80th Cap figure, which doesn’t seem quite right, since Bucky’s typically depicted as a little smaller than Steve.  It’s not a terrible size difference, but it gets a bit nuts if you compare him to anyone built on the Bucky Cap body.  He just seems a touch too large overall.  It’s admittedly minor, however, and I’m used to seeing the flip side occurring more frequently.  Sizing aside, Winter Soldier is a pretty sensible mix of old and new pieces.  He uses the pelvis and legs from the Netflix Punisher, and the right arm from tactical Killmonger, along with a new head, torso, and left arm.  The overall design is based on Winter Soldier’s earliest comic appearances, which is really when he was at his most distinct.  He’s got the long-haired appearance, which is typically how he’s best remembered.  He does slightly amalgamate a few later design elements in, such as the pouches on the front of his harness, which showed up during Brubaker’s Winter Soldier solo series (who’s design inspired the very impressive Select figure).  I like them more than the initial holster design, though, so I’m not really bugged by it.  What I *am* a little bugged by is the permanently sculpted-in gun that resides in Bucky’s hip holster.  It’s something that every use of this mold has, but it’s no less frustrating here.  Bucky’s paint work is mostly pretty basic stuff.  I’d have liked to see him get more detailing on the various add-on bits; a lot of stuff just gets left an un-painted brown, which doesn’t look quite right.  Nothing super pivotal is missed, though, so I don’t hate it; I just think it could be a little better.  To match the updated harness design, he also gets the slightly more ornate red/white/blue star insignia on his metal arm, signifying this as a post reformation-Bucky, so he’s firmly on the hero side, I guess.  Winter Soldier is packed with an M4 with a grenade launcher and a Colt 1911 (rather American guns; he *is* a post-working for the Russians Bucky, so I guess it makes sense.  Shout out again to Tim for the gun ID here), plus the head to the Crimson Dynamo Build-A-Figure.  It would have been nice to get an alternate short-haired head to mix up the display a bit, but he doesn’t feel *too* light.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Winter Soldier is definitely the single-release figure I wanted the most from this set.  I missed out on the two-pack version, mostly due to not really being up on the character at the time.  Since then, I’ve definitely picked up an appreciation, so I was down for this guy.  He’s not perfect, and I definitely wish he were just a touch smaller, but he’s still very high on my list for this assortment, and there’s no denying he looks very nice next to that 80th Cap.  He’s a very fun figure.

Winter Soldier was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for Marvel Legends, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.