Tag Archives: Avengers

#0403: Chitauri Footsoldier

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

CHITAURI FOOTSOLDIER

MARVEL SELECT

When the Avengers movie was a few months away from release, solicitations and advertisements started coming out for the various tie-ins. The interesting thing about them was that they all listed Loki’s army under the term “REDACTED.” Speculation ran rampant about just who these mysterious foes were. Everything pointed to the Skrulls, but Fox still held the movie rights to them, thanks to the Fantastic Four license. When it was confirmed they wouldn’t be Skrulls, my first thought was “As long as it’s not the damn Chitauri.” Well…it turned out to be the damn Chitauri. However, it wasn’t all bad. See, in the comics, the Chitauri first appeared in the Ultimate universe, where they were the boring, grey, completely joyless stand-ins for the Skrull. Essentially, they just had all the fun sucked out. But, when they were brought into the Cinematic universe, the damn Chitauri were redesigned and given their own style and characterization. And now they suck less. Yay!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Chitauri Footsoldier was released as one of the Avengers movie tie-ins in the Marvel Select line. Most of the time, Marvel Select is just single releases without any series layout, but the Avengers tie-in actually offered a whole series of figures. The Chitauri Footsoldier is based on the lower ranking aliens we saw the Avengers tearing through in the final battle in New York. The figure is 7 ¾ inches tall and features 29 points of articulation. The sculpt is completely unique to this figure. In all honesty, it’s not the most accurate depiction of the movie design. In Diamond’s defense, the figure was more than likely based on early design work, before the Chitauri were fully rendered. The helmet seems the most off; it’s a bit too squat and too wide. The eyes are a bit far apart, and overall, the figure’s details are a little smoother. The overall look isn’t too bad, and at the very least, the body’s proportions are pretty good. Point is, no one will confuse this figure for something else. The paint is about on par with the sculpt. It doesn’t have incredible details, but it’s bold and cleanly applied. The colors are also pretty close to what they should be. The Chitauri Footsoldier includes a stand, which seems to depict some sort of rooftop, and appears to be able to link up with the stands included with the other figures from the series. It would have been nice to get a blaster like the one all the Chitauri were carrying, but seeing as the only figures to include that piece are the Hot Toys versions released two years after the movie, I’d say licensors weren’t provided with the design early enough to implement such an accessory.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I did like the redesign of the Chitauri, I didn’t have enough of an attachment to it to pay full retail for a Marvel Select figure. However, just a few weeks ago, Cosmic Comix was doing a 40% off sale on all their MS figures. At that price, I figured the Chitauri Footsoldier was worth it. The figure’s design definitely strays a bit from the movie one, but in my opinion, all the changes are for the better, resulting in a figure I thoroughly enjoy.

#0384: Hawkeye – Classic & Ant-Man – Lab Attack

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HAWKEYE – CLASSIC & ANT-MAN – LAB ATTACK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Marvel Minimates is quite a long-running line. With 60 main series, along with 19 Toys R Us exclusive series and countless boxed sets, spanning over 10 years, getting into the line can be a little bit intimidating for the new collector. Fortunately, Diamond Select Toys has come up with a solution: the Best Of Marvel Minimates. This sub-line offers updates of heavy hitter characters, and they are offered up for re-order on a near regular basis, allowing new collectors the chance to get their collection off to a good start with relative ease. What’s more, they are consistently high-quality, and they offer lots of new parts to entice older collectors. They truly are the Best Of. DST just released the third assortment of the line, and today I’ll be looking at Hawkeye and Ant-Man, two long-time Avengers.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

As noted in the intro, Hawkeye and Ant-Man were released as a two pack in the third series of the Best Of off-shoot of Marvel Minimates.

HAWKEYE – CLASSIC

Hawkeye is one of the quintessential Avengers, having stuck with the team for most of its tenure. Unfortunately, just as the Avengers started showing up in Marvel Minimates, he ended up dead for a little while. Fortunately, he recent Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought the character some new life, and he’s gotten his fair share of Minimates in the last few years. And now it seems he’s popular enough to warrant a Best Of release. Hawkeye is depicted here in his classic costume. It’s shown up twice before in the line, but previous figures were a little off, so another stab at it is nice. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and he has 12 points of articulation. He’s built on the standard body, with some additional pieces for his mask, collar/quiver, loincloth, arm and wrist bands, and boots. They were all previously used on the Disney Store exclusive Hawkeye, and before that the boots first showed up on the Invaders boxed set Captain America, the wrist bands are from DC’s Ocean Master, and the arm bands are from Series 25’s Iron Man. All of these pieces add up to a very nice classic Hawkeye. On the previous Hawkeye, the mask seemed too bulky, but it doesn’t seem so bad here, and all of the other pieces look great. The paint on Hawkeye is pretty solid work over all, aside from one small issue: the blue on the loincloth doesn’t quite match that on the rest of the figure. It’s not too bad, but it is a minor annoyance. Other than that, everything is excellent. In particular, I love the palate on this version. The purple and blue both feel like just the right shades. Hawkeye includes his trusty bow (from the Tomb Raider line), two pointed arrows (first seen way back in the BSG line), two rounded arrows (from the Disney Hawkeye), an alternate hairpiece (from Series 27’s Ultimate Cap), and a clear display stand. Hawkeye doesn’t really have an alternate look like some of the others in this series, but he comes very well armed, and all the sculpted parts that go into his look are really great.

ANT-MAN – LAB ATTACK

Ant-Man is one of the last two founding Avengers to “hit it big.” Hopefully, his upcoming 2015 movie will help to change that. I would imagine the buzz around that movie is what warrants his place in the Best Of line, so I’d say he’s moving up. This is the Hank Pym version of Ant-Man, and he’s had two previous Minimates. I liked the first one a lot, but it looks a bit dated by current standards, and the second one was just based on too specific a look. So, an update was much needed. Like Luke Cage, it’s not a strict update of a previous look, but rather a newer look that is close to the old ones. Hank’s look is taken from the Marvel Adventures line that Marvel was running a few years ago. It’s pretty much just a streamlined version of the classic costume, so that’s not too bad. The figure is roughly 2 ½ inches tall and he features 14 points of articulation. He makes use of the standard Minimate body, with the addition of his trademark helmet. The helmet is a re-use from the very first Ant-Man, which is reasonable. It’s still a good piece, and it’s a great translation of the comic look to three dimensions. The rest of his look is done with paint, and the paint work is really great. Everything is even and clean, and all the detail work is nice and sharp. Under the helmet is Hank giving a friendly smile that is just perfect for the character. About the only thing that could stand to be different is the shade of the blue, which seems a touch too dark. Ant-Man includes a spare hairpiece (first used on the Captain America: Through the Ages Armored Cap), a lab coat (first seen on the Ghostbusters Janosz) and a spare set of arms for a more scientific look, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Luke and Iron Fist, I got these two from my local comicbook store Cosmic Comix. This is the set I was looking forward to the most form this series. Hawkeye and Ant-Man are two of my favorite Marvel characters, so I’m really happy to see them get updates. Hawkeye is easily the best version of the character to date, and is the version of the character I’ve been wanting since the line started. Ant-Man’s a really solid figure too, and while I still hope for an update to his classic design someday, this one is a great version of the character to have in the meantime.

#0336: Marvel’s Wonder Man

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

MARVEL’S WONDER MAN

AVENGERS INFINITE

WonderManAI1

Is a rather commonly known fact that death in comics is far from a permanent thing. Characters die and come back at the drop of a hat. In some cases, the same character will do this several times. The usual go to example of such a character is Jean Grey, but in reality Jean’s only actually died and come back once. A great example is Simon Williams, aka Wonder Man (or Marvel’s Wonder Man, as the packaging would lead you to believe), a character who has died and returned no less than three times, which is actually impressive for a character who is relatively minor. When Kurt Busiek brough Simon back to life from his second death, he was given an extra set of “Ionic Powers” which manifested as a cool new energy look, just ripe for the toy form! This look was recently brought into toy form for the second time in Hasbro’s Avengers Infinite line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WonderManAI3Wonder Man was released as part of the fourth series of Avengers Infinite. He is the only actual Avenger in the line-up, so I guess he’s just there to maintain the name. The figure is about 4 inches in height and features 22 points of articulation. As mentioned in the intro, he’s based on the Ionic version of the character, which is what he looks like when he’s directly channeling his Ionic powers. Essentially, what this boils down to is that he’s a basic Wonder Man molded in a translucent blue/purple plastic. The figure is, head-to-toe, a complete re-use of the previous Wonder Man, released in the Marvel Universe line. Since I haven’t reviewed that figure yet, I may as well talk about the sculpt here. He makes use of the basic “larger male” buck that Hasbro used on the Wrecking Crew and the like, with the addition of a new head, plus wrist band and belt add-ons to make the figure more Wonder Man-specific. The body is one of the better base bodies that the MU line had to offer, and it’s a pretty good fit for Wonder Man. The head is a pretty great piece, and it captures Wonder Man’s personality pretty well. Technically, the belt and wrist bands aren’t accurate to the look, as they aren’t visible in his Ionic form, and they are even absent on all of the prototype shots, but here they are on the final figure. It’s hard to be mad at them for including extra pieces, but it does seem odd that they’d make use of unnecessary pieces. The figure features minimal paint, with details only for his eyes and logo. The eyes are clean, but the logo shows some pretty bad slop, especially on the shoulders. Wonder Man includes no accessories, but I can’t really think of anything he would need. Maybe a stand? Or a pointless missile launcher!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Kurt Busiek’s run on Avengers began just as I was starting to read comics on my own. I knew most of the characters already, but I didn’t know Wonder Man until Busiek brought him back. He quickly became one of my favorite Avengers, and in the last 20 years, I’ve managed to acquire every single figure of him. Okay, so there are only eight of them, but it’s still a thing. The MU version was my favorite version of the character for a while, so I certainly don’t mind having another figure built from the same pieces. Plus, he’s got that whole translucent plastic going for him, which is always cool! All in all, he’s a pretty cool figure, and he’s helped by the fact that he’s really the only new figure in series four.

WonderManAI4

#0300: The Hulk

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

HULK

AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

hulkb

I still have two more Avengers Infinite reviews to do, but I’ll be taking a break from them today. Why, you ask? Because, surprisingly enough, I’ve made it through 300 of these reviews.  I can honestly say I haven’t stuck with any of my projects for this long. I think the most surprising thing here is that you guys are still reading my reviews. Maybe I don’t suck after all! In honor of another milestone review, I’ll be doing another “Deluxe Review.”

This is another figure from Hot Toys, a company renowned for their high-end action figures. Their bread and butter in recent years has been super hero movies, and one of their most successful licenses was 2012’s The Avengers. I’ll be looking at the biggest (in more way than one) release of the line, the Incredible Hulk!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hulk is part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, which is their primary line. Hulk is number 186, which places him right after the previously reviewed Iron Man Mark VII in the numerical sequence. Hulk is just about 18 inches tall in height, and he features 18 points of articulation. 20 if you count the individually moving eyes. He’s based on Hulk’s design in The Avengers, obviously, but more specifically Hulk’s look during the final battle, which can be determined by the darker color of the pants.

Aside from a pair of tattered pants, the Hulk relies mostly on sculpting for his look. This is different from a lot of HT’s figures, but makes sense with the Hulk’s design. Hulk has a fairly unique body type, which means he got an all new sculpt to reflect that. The design is undoubtedly based on the 3D model designed for the movie, but it was sculpted by hand, so there’s a few areas that are a little off. Let’s start with what is on model. The head sculpt is virtually indistinguishable from the Hulk in the movie. You can definitely see some of Mark Ruffalo’s likeness shining through. It’s truly a magnificent head sculpt. The arms and legs are pretty similarly accurate. They have superb detailing, that makes this figure look possibly more lifelike than the CGI version in the film. The knee joints are a bit distraction, but they aren’t too had to hide with some careful positioning of the edges of the pants. This big issue is the torso. It’s just too… defined. One of the nice things about Hulk in The Avengers was that he looked like a real person. He had a certain degree of, for lack of a better word, flab. This figure doesn’t have that, and it diminishes the overall look ever so slightly. It doesn’t ruin the figure by any means, but it is a bit disappointing.

Paint work is one of HT’s strongest suits, and this figure is no exception. Every surface has amazing detail. There are beads of sweat on his face for Pete’s sake! That’s a serious commitment to detail. The teeth look like real teeth, minor yellowing and all. His skin is a bit uneven, his veins are a slightly different color from the rest of his skin. Everything looks absolutely spot on.

Perhaps the figures one downfall is accessories. Given the immense size, it’s forgivable, but it’s a bit of a bummer compared to other HT releases. As it stands, Hulk’s only accessories are a pair of alternate hands with poseable fingers. They aren’t a bad addition, but it would have been nice to at least get a stand with his name on it, just so he could fit in with the rest of the Avengers. Oh well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As is the case with most of the HT figures I own, Hulk was obtained via a pre-order on Sideshow Toys’ website. Like Iron Man and Captain America before him, Hulk was a figure I wasn’t quite sure I was going to get. But as pictures started to come in of the prototype, I got more and more impressed. I eventually folded, but not before the figure had sold out through Sideshow. Fortunately, they have a very helpful Wait List tool, which allowed me to get on the list in case someone else cancelled. Sure enough, someone did and I was able to get the jade giant for my collection. He’s the most I’ve ever paid for a single figure, but I don’t doubt for a minute that he was worth it. He’s definitely a stand out piece, and he makes The Avengers display work.

#0250: Iron Man Mark VII

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

IRON MAN MARK VII

THE AVENGERS (HOT TOYS)

markvii3b

Alright, I’ve gotten to 250 reviews. Amazingly, people are still reading these things. I guess I don’t drone on too much, right? Well, it’s been another 50 reviews, which means it’s time for another “Deluxe Review.”

Once again, the figure is one of those produced by Hot Toys, producers of extremely high-end action figures. They like to pick up the licenses to super hero movies, so it was no surprise to see them pick up the license to The Avengers in 2012. Today I’ll be looking at a version of a character that has been HT’s bread and butter the last few years: Iron Man Mark VII!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mark VII is a part of HT’s Movie Masterpiece Series, number 185 to be specific. He stands a little over 12 inches tall and features 68 points of articulation in his default set up. The figure is based on the Mark VII armor, which is the armor that Tony wears during the final battle in Avengers.

The Mark VII is different from most HT figures in that he is a fully sculpted figure, instead of relying on different materials for a costume. The Mark VII features an entirely new sculpt to accurately reflect the armor’s design in the movie. The sculpt is based on the 3D models of the suit created for the movie, so it should be pretty much spot on. However, there are a few areas that are noticeably off. The wrists are a tad too skinny, as are the elbows, which makes it hard to believe a person is actually inside the suit. Also, the eyes are just a tad too large to be accurate. It’s not terribly noticeable in person, but quite obvious in photos. Their only the slightest bit off, but it makes quite a difference at this scale. Those issues aside, the rest of the figure’s sculpt looks pretty much dead on.

The paintwork on the figure is phenomenal, but is once again different from most HT work. On this figure, it’s absolutely imperative that the paint be exactly on the mark, otherwise the figure won’t have the appropriate machined look to him. HT has pulled this off excellently, with nothing out of place. They’ve even added a few small dings and scratches to make the armor look slightly used. Everything looks really great!

The Mark VII includes a huge selection of accessories, even getting more than the usual HT faire. He features:

  • An unmasked head w/ armored collar
  • 6 interchangeable hands
  • Extra wrist armor for repulsor hands
  • Battle-damaged faceplate
  • Battle-damaged chestplate
  • Interchangeable arms with lasers deployed
  • Battle-damaged shoulder pads
  • 3 interchangeable sets of Thigh armor
  • 2 Wrist rocket launchers
  • 3 interchangeable sets of shoulder mounted armor
  • A display stand

The unmasked head is not unexpected, as it has become the standard for a HT Iron Man release. Robert Downey Jr must have a difficult likeness to capture, as HT has never quite had his look down. This one ends up being a bit off the mark. It’s an odd case where it’s not a bad Tony Stark sculpt, but it has only a vague resemblance to the actor who plays him in the movies. I don’t hate it, but it’s not HT’s finest work. From a technical standpoint, it’s great. There’s some wonderful texture work, and it looks like a real person, just not the one they’re going for. The paint is up to HT’s usual standard, which is certainly nice to see. The collar piece slips fairly easily over the neck and the whole thing attaches to the MVII body without too much trouble.

There are six hands: two fists, two articulated, and two repulsor. All of them look great, and match the rest of the body wonderfully. I like the articulated ones in particular, as they provide the greatest variety of poses. The repulsor hands have been specially sculpted to allow you to depict Iron Man with his hands in blast mode as shown in lots of promotional material, and they have their own set of wrist plates to aid in this effect.

The figure also includes several pieces to allow him to be displayed in a “Battle-Damaged” mode. These pieces range from simple repaints of normal pieces to complete resculpts. They swap out with relative ease, and look pretty good when in place.

The thigh and shoulder armor come in three possible sets: closed, fully deployed, and removed. The closed is what the figure comes wearing, as they depict the default look. The deployed fit well with the Battle-Damaged set-up, for that middle of the battle look, and the removed allow for the figure to be streamlined. All of the pieces swap out pretty easily, though they’ve also included a small tool to help remove the pieces without risk of damage.

Lastly, Tony includes a basic display stand with Mark VII printed on the front and the Avengers logo on the base. It’s a simple piece, but it helps connect him with the rest of the figures from the set.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like most of my other HT figures, the Mark VII was ordered via Sideshow Toys’ website. I had not initially planned on picking this figure up, as I had intended to make do with my earlier Mech Test Tony Stark from the first Iron Man. However, as I got further into the Avengers line, I realized that the display wouldn’t look right without a proper Iron Man. So, I waited until I was certain I’d have the money and placed a pre-order for the Mark VII. I’m glad I decided to go for it. The figure was definitely on the expensive side, even for a HT figure, but I honestly feel he was worth it. He’s the best version of the character available, and he has a lot of display options to keep things interesting. And the truth is, he is Iron Man…

#0233: Wonder Man & She-Hulk

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

WONDER MAN & SHE-HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

WonderMan&SheHulk

Hey! More Minimates! Everybody’s favorite! Yes, it’s another review based on a piece of my extensive Minimates collection. Once again, this one comes from the flagship line, Marvel Minimates. This time around, the set contains two Avengers, Wonder Man and She-Hulk. For those of you unfamiliar with the characters (like a certain screen writer currently in Warner Brothers’ employ), click the links in their names to read about them in the Backstories section.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the series 16 of the Marvel Minimates line. The series was Avengers themed.

WONDER MAN

Wonder Man is built on the basic Minimate body, which means he has the usual 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He’s based on the character’s look during John Byrne’s run on West Coast Avengers (the hair and stern expression are the easiest giveaways) but he can also pass for several similar looks he’s sported. He features brand new hair and belt add-ons. I’m not crazy about the hair, but it does fit the mullet he sported for some of Byrne’s run. The belt is a pretty much perfect representation of the one the character sported, so that’s cool. Wonder Man’s paint is basic, but has a sort of an elegant simplicity to it. I might have liked a slightly more jovial facial expression, but this one’s still a valid choice. The paint is cleanly applied overall, though there is a slight bit of fuzz on the lines of his boots. Wonder Man included no accessories.

SHE-HULK

Like Wonder Man, She-Hulk is built on the standard Minimate body, so she has the usual stats. She is represented here in her purple and white costume that she wore during her tenure in the Avengers in the early 2000s, as well as her solo series from the same time. Seeing as this was the look she sported during her best known stint on the Avengers, it makes sense to place it in an Avengers themed series. She features a sculpted hair piece, which is a re-use from Ultimate Storm, way back in series 3. The hair isn’t bad, but it does have a sculpted lightning-bolt earring, which looks out of place on She-Hulk. It’s odd because the prototype pictures showed her reusing the oft-used Spider Woman hair, which lacks such distinctive features. The change is a bit baffling. Shulkie has a decent set of paint apps, and has some nice line work on her face and torso. The face has the appropriate light expression that she’s been known to sport, and it looks pretty good. She features the same fuzzy lines issue as Wonder Man, but it’s not too distracting. She-Hulk included a bent metal bar, though it was a bit too big for her to hold properly.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These were originally meant to be released on my birthday of that year. They ended up being pushed back about a month, but my Dad bought them for me anyway, just a bit late. They’re certainly older figures, but they aren’t horribly dated, especially if you can find some better hair pieces for the two of them. Wonder Man has always been one of my favorite Avengers, so I was glad to get him, especially so early into the line. She-Hulk is pretty cool, too, and great for people who are big fans of the character!

#0222: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

BlackWidow2(Long)

Toy companies have long insisted that female action figures don’t sell as well as male action figures. So, their response to fan demand is usually one of two things: they shortpack the figure, making it impossible to find, or they put no effort into the figure, making it a monstrosity nobody wants. Or they do both (case in point: Marvel Legends Scarlet Witch. Eughhh…). These actions lead to female figures not selling as well, which leads to companies saying they don’t sell well, which leads to shortpacking and poor figures. Which leads to, you guessed it, bad sales. It’s one of those self-fulfilling prophecy things.

Anyway, this mentality lead to Black Widow being the only team member absent from Hasbro’s 6-inch scale Avengers line, meant to tie-in with the 2012 movie. It was really annoying, but Hasbro said they’d make it up to us. When the Captain America: The Winter Soldier figures were announced, they informed us that Widow would be including two heads, so she could be displayed from either movie. How could it go wrong? Well, Hasbro decided to pack Widow one per-case. For a ratio, there are eight figures in a case, and three of them are Captain America. To make matters worse, Widow included the most essential piece to the line’s Mandroid Build-A-Figure. Fortunately, Hasbro seems to be learning, and has announced that they will be sending out revision cases with Cap, Widow, and Winter Soldier all evenly packed. Maybe their starting to get it…

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow was released in the second series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure stands a little under 6 inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. She’s actually a bit too tall, which is the reverse of the problem that most female figures suffer from. It doesn’t ruin the figure, but she’s almost as tall as Cap, and there’s a difference of almost a foot between Scarlet Johansen and Chris Evans in real life. The figure appears to have a brand new sculpt, and it’s a very nice sculpt at that. I’m not sure if I like the body sculpt quite as much as Hasbro’s Spider-Girl sculpt, but it’s a very close second. Like that figure, she has very nice, mostly realistic proportions. Her stance is perhaps a bit too wide, but other than that, everything looks pretty good. The basic TWS head is a great sculpt, and it looks pretty much spot on to what Ms. Johansen looked like in the movie. The long hair is a little bit restricting to the neck articulation, but that’s understandable given the style. It certainly isn’t as bad as it could have been. In the paint department, Black Widow lucks out compared to the previous two figures I’ve looked at. There’s still a bit of bleed over in a few spots, but she seems to have less of the fuzzy lines and slop of the other two. She includes an extra Avengers-styled head, an extra set of trigger finger hands, and the Mandroid torso. The head is a nice touch, given Widow’s absence from the 6-inch Avengers line and the closeness of the costumes. It looks like the same face with new hair, and it looks pretty good, though the hair might be sitting a smidge too high on her forehead.Widow also includes two pistols…sculpted into their holsters. Remember how I said she had trigger fingers? Yeah, she has nothing to hold in them. It’s seriously disappointing and mars an otherwise great figure.

BlackWidow3(Long)  BlackWidow1(Short) BlackWidow(Short)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Widow was part of my set of Series Two figures from Big Bad Toystore. She is the primary reason I bought the set, as I wasn’t going to fork over almost $60 for just her. She definitely lives up to the hype she’s gotten. It’s a great representation of Widow. She’s a great action figure in general. This is the second Hasbro female I’ve given that assessment is the last week. They’re definitely on to something here! However, the figure is hurt by the lack of firearms. I ended up finding a suitable handgun in my spare parts bin, but not everyone has a spare parts bin.

CapTrio

#0201: Scarlet Witch

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

SCARLET WITCH

MARVEL UNIVERSE

ScarletWitch

I’ve mentioned before that I really like the Avengers.  In particular, I like the members that were prominent in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, who never picked up their own series outside of the team.  A great example of this is the Scarlet Witch, who joined the team a little over a year after their debut and stuck with them fairly consistently until around the early 2000s.  If you’d like to read more about her, check out her entry in the Backstories section, here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Scarlet Witch was released in the series 19 of Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line.  The figure stands just shy of 3 ¾ inches tall and features 25 points of articulation.  She makes first use of the second female base body for the line, which I examined in my review of the more recent Wasp figure.  It’s a marked improvement over the previous body, and is pretty well proportioned overall.  In addition to the base body, she also has a brand new head, thighs (To show the edge of her boots) and cape.  The head is a really nice sculpt, easily one of the best in the line.  It captures the character very nicely.  The cape is well sculpted, but it is a bit too long, which can make standing her difficult.  The paint is the worst area of the figure.  It isn’t terrible, but there is a fair amount of noticeable slop, including a rather obvious red spot on her chin.  It’s not enough to ruin the figure, but it’s still very annoying.  Scarlet Witch’s sole accessory is a hex piece that fits over her hand.  It’s a nice piece, and it fits well on her hand, but I would have liked to get the usual display stand, especially given the figure’s difficulty standing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Scarlet Witch was an Amazon purchase.  When I first saw the prototype pictures, I was very excited, as she was easily the most essential Avenger missing at the time.  In hand, she’s not quite as good as the prototype, but paint issues aside, she’s a very well done figure. She is also a huge improvement over her Marvel Legends figure, but that’s not a hard thing to do.  I’m pretty sure smashing your head through the wall would be an improvement over that figure.

#0196: Marvel’s Wasp

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

MARVEL’S WASP

AVENGERS INFINITE


Because I’m a fan of doing things in trios (this is based on no evidence. Don’t try and check that one), I’ve got one more Avengers review. This time around, it’s Janet Van Dyne, aka the Wasp, with whom even the more marginal Avengers fans are probably familiar. She’s the long-time significant other of Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man/Giant Man/ Goliath/ Yellow Jacket, and she’s a founding member of the Avengers.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wasp was part of the first series of Avengers Infinite, Hasbro’s replacement for the Marvel Universe line. Jan’s had quite a few different looks over the years, and they’ve gone with her black and gold look that she had for most of the 00s. She’s a little under 3 ¾ inches tall and has 26 points of articulation. Wasp is built on Hasbro’s most recent attempt at a base female body, I believe first introduced with Scarlet Witch. It’s an okay body, and it’s certainly an improvement on the initial offering, which we saw on Kitty Pryde. The arms a bit too short, and the legs are too long, but it’s an improvement, and progress is progress, I suppose. She has a new head and add-on wings. These prices look nice, and the head is one of the nice female head sculpts that Hasbro has offered. It’s nice to see a female head with more than the usual blank stare we seem to always get. The paint is alright. It’s not quite as off-putting as the paint on Grim Reaper, but there are a few spots of slop. Wasp includes a smaller version of herself, which is a sculpt reused from one of the Secret Wars 2-packs from the MU line. It’s been repainted in a costume that matches the main figure’s look. It’s a fair accessory, and it’s nice that she got one at all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the previous two reviews, Wasp was purchased from Amazon. Currently, she’s the short-packed figure, which means she’s a little bit more expensive. I paid a little bit more than usual for her, but this is honestly the best figure of the character available. Not that she had much competition…

#0195: The Grim Reaper

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

MARVEL’S GRIM REAPER

AVENGERS INFINITE

Continuing yesterday’s discussion of Avengers, I feel it goes without saying that I’m also a pretty big fan of most of the Avengers’ recurring villains. One of my favorites has always been The Grim Reaper! He just got a release as part of the first series of Hasbro’s Avengers Infinite, the line that is replacing their Marvel Universe line. For more info on The Grim Reaper, head over here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Like I mentioned above, Reaper is part of the first series of Avengers Infinite. He’s based on the character’s second look, which is probably a good thing. His first costume was a bit of a mess. He stands about 3 ¾ inches tall and has 29 points of articulation. He’s on the body first seen with MU‘s Commander Rodgers figure. This is probably Hasbro’s best base body, so it’s good that they’re giving it some use. He also features a new head and lower right arm to give him his distinctive “Techno-Scythe,” plus add-on cape piece. His pieces are all well sculpted, though I think the head may be a bit under-sized. Regardless, it’s a good sculpt, and does seem to have the appropriate “menacing” look. The paint work is alright, but not without issue. The most noticeable problem is that the blue highlight is inconsistent from piece to piece, which is quite distracting, and makes the figure look odd.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Grim Reaper was purchased from Amazon at the same time as Black Knight. I really like Reaper, and he was actually the main villain of the very first issue of Avengers I ever got, so I was definitely excited to get him! I can honestly say it’s not a figure I really ever thought I’d see. Would it be too much to ask for zombie and first appearance versions?