Tag Archives: Captain America

#3392: Ultimate Captain America

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

ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The Captain America of the Ultimate Universe has served as the Allies’ super-soldier in World War II, the leader of the first Ultimates team”

You know, it’s kind of crazy, but in the ten years I’ve been doing some sort of Captain America reviews in July 4th, I’ve never actually reviewed a new item on the day. I’m just bad at saving that sort of thing up, I guess. Well, I did it this year! So a-ha!

For today’s review, I’d jumping into an area of Captain America stuff that I only very rarely venture into: The Ultimates.  I’ve made it no secret that I’m not much of a fan of the Ultimate Universe’s take on Steve Rogers, at least from a characterization side, but on the flip side, he definitely made out pretty well from the design side of things.  While his altered WW2 uniform is my main jam from that line, his modern day outfits are no slouch either, and they all certainly make for some pretty good toys, including Cap’s most recent Legends treatment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ultimate Captain America is figure 6 in the Puff Adder Series of Marvel Legends, which is 2023’s first Avengers-centric assortment.  It’s a real mix of looks, with Cap representing the “modern” side..or at least as modern as any design from 20 years ago can really be.  Cap is based on his main look from the first Ultimates, which is his most distinctive, so it makes sense.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Cap’s articulation is really just a set of butterfly shoulders away from being the best the line has to offer, and even then, it’s still very good.  He’s got the pinless construction on his arms and legs, and his mid torso is a ball-joint, in contrast to the ab-crunch we’ve seen the last few times.  It all makes for quite a fluid set-up to the movement, and I very much dig it.  When this figure was first shown off, I had assumed that he’d be making liberal use of parts from the 80th Cap body, since that’s the new standard.  I was rather surprised to get him in hand and discover he’s actually sporting an entirely new sculpt, courtesy of Rene Aldrete.  It maintains a nice bit of internal consistency with how the two Anniversary Caps were handled, but just improves the layout of the articulation, as well as adding a bit more depth to the detailing of his actual suit.  Ultimate Cap may not be my go-to design, but this sculpt certainly takes advantage of the additional elements Hitch’s design added.  Cap’s got two new heads, one calm, the other angry.  They’re both a bit meaner than the 20th Cap heads, which is appropriate for this version of the character, but they still look like the same guy, which is especially impressive given the change of sculptor between the two releases.  Of the two, I do like the calmer look just a touch more, but the teeth-gritting look makes for some fun action poses.  Cap’s color work is a little more in depth than a “classic” Cap, largely because of the little bit of grey and brown added to the design.  His paint work is still more on the basic side, which works well enough.  On mine, the paint on the face and the emblem are prone to rubbing away a little easier than I’d like, so do be careful with those spots.  Cap is packed with two sets of hands (fists, and a gripping/open gesture combo), his shield, and the head of the Puff Adder Build-A-Figure.  The shield is the same base mold as the one included with the 20th Cap, but without the holes for the effects this time.  Unfortunately, the actual painted detailing isn’t the same between the two, so it’s not a clean swap if you’re looking to replace the 20th, but it’s at least a step in the right direction.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Legends has been incrementally giving us better and better Captain America figures as its gone along, and Hasbro set themselves a very high bar with last year’s 20th Cap, which was *so* close to being the perfect Cap figure.  When this one was announced I didn’t pay a ton of attention to it, but figured I’d at least grab it on the basis of it looking like a decent Cap.  It’s sooooooooooooooooooo much better than I was expecting.  He’s not a classic Cap, and for that reason, he’s not dethroning the 20th version, but boy is he just a very, very nicely done figure.  Hasbro has now gotten me to be genuinely excited about two Legends Ultimate Caps.  I don’t like Ultimate Cap.  I swear.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3360: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA VS MORRIGAN

MARVEL VS CAPCOM (TOY BIZ)

“When Steve Rogers volunteered to serve his country by undergoing the experimental super-soldier augmentation process, Captain America was born. Captain America is the defender of truth and justice, and is the living embodiment of freedom. He has sworn an oath to protect the weak and shepherd the innocent. Armed only with an unbreakable shield, Captain America guards the freedoms held most dear.”

Remember when you had go out to a place to play a video game?  Pepperidge Farm remembers.  Okay, it’s a little more than that, right?  In the ’90s, fighting games were a big craze in the arcade world, and comics, specifically Marvel comics, were big in other parts of the world, and some genius had the idea to smash those two things together.  First, we got X-Men vs Steet Fighter in 1996, followed but Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter in 1997, and then Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes in 1998.  With the games themselves a success, Toy Biz licensed the Capcom half of the characters, for the purpose of doing some two-packs interacting with their Marvel line.  Like the actual games, they started with X-Men, but they eventually expanded to the rest of the Marvel and Capcom universes for a short-lived line in 1999.  And all of this is a very long lead in for me saying “hey, look at the Captain America figure I’ve got.”  Oh, and I guess there’s another figure as well.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain America and Morrigan are one of the four two-packs that made up Toy Biz’s one-series Marvel vs Capcom: Clash of the Super Heroes line, which fell under their larger Video Game Super Stars branding.  They hit retail in 1999.

There was a surprisingly small number of standard Cap figures in the ’90s, and this one was on that rather short list.  The figure stands about 5 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  He was on the larger side for Cap, at least in terms of height, though was not quite as crazy on the width as some of the other Toy Biz Caps.  His articulation scheme is amongst the best that this era had to offer, which was certainly a plus.  His sculpt was all-new at the time, though it was quickly re-used for the Silver Age line’s take on Cap, and the head got a subsequent re-use for the Greatest Moments Bullseye, all in the same year.*  It’s honestly a pretty respectable offering.  The head sculpt goes for a slightly more anime-styled look, which fits with the overall style of the game he’s meant to be based on.  It still captures his usual features, and keeps him from looking too angry or intense, like some other Caps ended up being.  The body sculpt is nicely balanced in its proportions, being bulked up, but not ridiculously so.  He’s still a little wonky in some spots, but for this era of the line, it was actually quite tame.  Cap’s paint work is generally pretty nicely handled; the base colors a touch more muted than usual, but not incredibly so.  There’s a little bit of accenting on the blue and white sections of the costume, which generally works pretty well.  The eyes get quite a bit of detailing, adding a lot of depth and life to his overall look.  Cap was packed with his usual shield; it was a unique piece, and, like oh so many Cap shields, the clasp on the back is quite prone to breaking.

Fulfilling the proper video game portion of the set, coming straight outta Darkstalkers, it’s Morrigan.  Look at her, over here, all Morrigan-y.  Oh yeah.  Morrigan.  ….Okay, I’m gonna be honest with you all here: I don’t really know much about Morrigan.  Or anybody from Darkstalkers for that matter.  I mostly know them as space fillers when Capcom needs more characters for a cross-over roster, which is probably really reductive, but it’s my site, and that’s where we are.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and she has 11 points of articulation.  Despite having a lot of articulation, the actual range of motion on most of the joints is pretty restricted.  The head can’t really turn because of the hair and wings, the shoulders don’t really go any further down, and there’s always the dreaded v-hips.  It all makes her rather difficult to keep standing as well, which is really frustrating.  She got an all-new sculpt, which has a fair bit of pre-posing, but does honestly look pretty spot-on for the character’s usual look.  Morrigan’s paint work is all pretty basic, but it matches well with her character again.  Everything is pretty clean in application as well, so that’s nice as well.  Morrigan is packed with a small bat creature thing, which clips onto her wrist.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In 1999, I had some sort of half-day at school, and my father had a dentist’s appointment that he was unable to get out of, the location of which meant there would be no time for me to go home and actually get anything that I could entertain myself with.  There was, however, a Toys R Us rather close to the dentist’s office, so my Dad took me in to pick out something to entertain me.  This Cap (and the Morrigan that was packed with him, I guess) was what I picked.  I was always in search of the best possible Cap for my collection, and this guy looked right up that alley.  He’s honestly my favorite of the Caps in this scale, and remained my go-to Cap pretty much from the time I got him onward.  Also, there’s Morrigan.  She’s there too.

*This mold was also the one shown on all of the packaging images for the Avengers: United They Stand line’s take on Cap, though it was replaced with an entirely different mold before they actually arrived at retail.

#3331: Captain America’s Hulkbuster & Baron Zemo

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA’S HULKBUSTER & BARON ZEMO

MARVEL MINIMATES

“You get a Hulkbuster!  You get a Hulkbuster!  Everybody gets a Hulkbuster!” — Tony Stark, Avengers Assemble Season 3, paraphrased.

Look, it’s not super crazy for cartoons to be direct lead-ins to toys and stuff.  Heck, the Avengers cartoons have technically been doing it since the very beginning, since that’s United They Stand‘s whole reason for existence.  After Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was completely without toys to sell, we got Avengers Assemble, which flipped that there script.  In particular, there were a lot of Minimates, thanks to Walgreens having a whole exclusive sub-line for the animated shows.  It gave them a spot for those goofy toy-driven variants, like the aforementioned Season 3 plot of everyone getting a Hulkbuster.  And there sat DST, with all that Hulkbuster tooling, so they jumped on a few of them.  Today, I’m looking at Captain America’s Hulkbuster, alongside a non-Hulkbuster-y Baron Zemo!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain America’s Hulkbuster and Baron Zemo were released in the seventh Walgreens-exclusive assortment of Marvel Minimates.  They were one of the two sets in the line-up based on Avengers Assemble, with the other two being based on the relaunched Spider-Man cartoon.

CAPTAIN AMERICA’S HULKBUSTER

“The Hulkbuster Armor is designed to take on the Hulk if he loses control. Captain America’s Hulkbuster features a larger version of his shield.”

Captain America’s Hulbuster marked our third Hulkbuster in the Walgreens sub-line, after the standard Iron Man and the Hulk-Hulkbuster.  It was also the sixth overall Hulkbuster, counting the two comics releases and the one movie variant.  It was the third animated Cap as well, though this one was decidedly more variant-y than the other two.  The figure starts with the standard ‘mate body, but with all the bulking up, he’s closer to 3 inches tall than the usual 2 1/4 and he has a little bit more restricting when it comes to the standard 14 points of articulation.  In order to sustain his bulked-up look, Cap’s Hulkbuster gets 10 add-on pieces, for the torso/helmet, bicep covers, hands, thigh covers, boots, and a torso extender.  All of these parts are re-used from the Series 63 AoU Hulkbuster, who served as the basis for all of the animated ‘busters.  It’s a decent selection of parts, with quite a bit of detailing.  Not incredibly posable, but still pretty cool.  The paint work translates this figure into something more Captain America-themed, so he’s the usual red, white, and blue.  The application is notably on the sloppier side, but it’s not *awful*, and the colors are at least pretty nice.  Under the helmet, we get a Captain America head, printed straight onto the head block, rather than using a separate sculpted helmet piece.  It’s more compact, but still looks pretty decent.  Cap’s Hulkbuster is packed with an upgraded shield for him to hold, as well as a clear display stand.

BARON ZEMO

“The son of the Hydra founder Heinrich Zemo, the elderly Helmut Zemo is rejuvenated when he takes his father’s super-soldier serum.”

Helmut Zemo has been a little bit on the scarce side as far as Minimates go.  He didn’t join the line until Series 50, and since that, he’s only gotten two more releases.  This one was his second ‘mate, released 5 years after his first.  He’s based on the animation design, which is itself very closely patterned on his re-design circa the Brubaker era of the comics.  He’s light on the add-ons, with one for his “crown” and one for his belt.  Both were re-used, the crown from the Series 50 release, and the belt from countless others, since it’s just a basic piece.  His paint work is carrying most of the weight here, and it does pretty well.  He does somewhat exhibit that more washed out palette that the animation designs tended to lean towards for their ‘mates.  It works out alright for Zemo, specifically, though, and the line work in particular is pretty sharp on this one.  Zemo is packed with a sword and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly don’t recall exactly when I grabbed these two.  They’d been out for a while, I know that much.  I think I probably grabbed them after a bunch of times of not finding anything new at my local Walgreens.  I like a good Cap variant, and this one’s not a bad one.  The Hulkbuster mold got a little overplayed, but the color scheme is at least pretty unique.  Zemo is a solid release for the character, and not quite as animation-specific, allowing him to do a little bit more.  Both of them are pretty fun, though perhaps easily overlooked.

#3305: U.S. Agent

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

U.S. AGENT

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

“U.S. Agent is the ultimate super soldier of justice. And with his awesome shield, he proves it. To prepare shield for crime-fighting action, gently push the extension of his shield along the top of the shield-launcher until it locks into position. Wrist launcher and shield can both be attached separately to his wrist, thus making him ready for any – and every – attack!”

When they first took over the license, before building all sorts of different lines, Toy Biz’s Marvel toys were initially split into X-Men and a larger Marvel Super Heroes line, which covered literally everything else.  The line ran five series, with its final assortment being entirely re-hash…or at least very close to re-hash.  There were a couple of re-paints, and only one actual new character, whom I’m looking at today.  Yes, it’s time for another version of John Walker, aka U.S. Agent!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

U.S. Agent was released in the aforementioned Series 5 of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes line.  The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  U.S. Agent’s entire existence in the line was due to his easy parts re-use, so he’s a complete re-use of the standard Captain America molds.  Cap’s sculpt was honestly one of the best from this line, though it’s kind of the best because it’s so specifically Steve Rogers as Cap, which works just a little bit against this figure’s intended purpose.  The clearly denoted sections of chain mail, as well as the vertical stripes on the mid-section, and the star symbol on the front of the chest are all elements that don’t work quite so much for the U.S. Agent costume.  Likewise, the face is very definitely Steve, not John.  That said, the paint does its best with the material, and it’s honestly not terrible looking.  It helps that a lot of it’s black, which hides more of the extra details, and it also helps that the paint work is pretty sharp, so it at least looks pretty good.  U.S. Agent is packed with the same shield and launcher as the basic Cap.  It’s a little clunky, but honestly a fun gimmick, since the shield still functions as a shield, while also working with the launcher.  The shield has been appropriately re-colored, and looks pretty nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve owned this figure three times over.  My first one came to me as a gift from my Nana, who had gotten him for both me and my cousin Rusty, I believe as a “good job with school” gift.  Mine was well-loved, but also wound up losing his foot at one point, in an incident I was never able to explain.  Rusty was kind enough to give me his, so I had one with two feet again, but I lost the shield and launcher from both over the years.  Enter the third one, which was given me just a few years ago by Max, who had gotten a sealed one and decided he didn’t really need it.  As U.S. Agent, this guy’s not quite there.  As The Captain, he’s actually not bad, so I’ll just consider him that way, I guess, because at least then I can enjoy him unimpeded.

#3289: Captain America – Tech-On Avengers

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA — TECH-ON AVENGERS

S.H. FIGUARTS (BANDAI)

There’s something of an irony to the most recurrent character at the center of my S.H. Figuarts reviews for the last couple of years has been Captain America, but, well, here I am.  And you know what?  I’m gonna do it again.  In 2021, Marvel partnered with Bandai Namco for a Super Sentai-inspired Avengers series, Tech-On Avengers.  Marvel’s part was publishing a six issue tie-in miniseries, while Bandai’s part was releasing some Figuarts based on the designs seen in the comics.  The premise is pretty simple: the Avengers lose their powers due to shenanigans caused by the Red Skull, so they all have to be outfitted with Stark-designed armor, to become the Iron Avengers.  And I, being me, have the Captain America, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America — Tech-On Avengers is the second Tech-On Avengers release in Bandai’s S.H. Figuarts line-up, following the Iron Man from earlier in 2022.  Cap started arriving domestically towards the end of the year, in that early to mid December area.  The figure stands right at 6 inches tall and he has 45 points of articulation.  The articulation on this guy is a little bit finicky; Figuarts often are, but they’ve been getting less so as of late.  This guy’s even more finicky than usual, especially when it comes to the pelvis area.  The waist folds inwards on itself, and the hips are just generally kind of a little tight, which is only made potentially worse by having the waist folded in too far.  There’s also a floating pelvis piece to contend with, which just further complicates movement.  You can still get a decent range out of the figure, but it can take some getting used to.  On the plus side, the way the shoulders are laid out is actually pretty intuitive, and gives him a solid range of motion.  Cap’s sculpt is an all-new one, based on his tech-ed up look.  It’s honestly a pretty fun look, and I kind of dig the Ultraman manga vibe going on here.  It’s a good merging of the Cap, Iron Man, and Sentai vibes, while still maintaining the classic Cap vibe through and through.  The sculpt is quite nicely detailed.  It’s very sharp and clean, and appropriately sleek.  The construction uses just a little bit of die cast metal, which appears to be confined to the feet.  Not sure exactly why, but I guess it at least makes him rather sure footed.  His color work is generally pretty classic Cap fare; red, white, and blue, or at least a close variation of it.  I dig the metallic blue and the varying shades of red, but I’m a bit less sold on the light grey in place of white.  It lacks some of the pop that it should have.  At the very least, the paint work is cleanly applied.  Cap gets an impressive selection of accessories, including five sets of hands (in fists, gripping, flat, open gesture, and with pegs for use with the blast effects), a slightly more tech-y version of his usual shield, four different styles of straps for said shield (for mounting on his back, proper gripping, loose hanging, and one for throwing), a throwing effect, four different blast effects, and a display stand.  One of the gimmicks for Cap’s armor is the ability to use his shield as an extra armor-up feature.  To facilitate that, this guy gets an alternate larger set of hands, forearm guards, shoulder pads, front, back, and lower torso plates, a version of the shield that’s opening up for the armor up feature, and effects for the shield, the front of the torso, and his fist.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Overall, Tech-On is a concept that I don’t have much use for.  It’s a bunch of gimmicky variants of characters I have plenty of times over, and they’re all rather on the expensive side.  That being said, I’m a sucker for a fun Captain America variant, and that’s what this guy is.  He’s still perhaps a bit on the pricey side, but there’s plenty going on with this guy that makes him feel worthwhile.  And he’s even got fighting fists?  How can I not love a Cap that has fighting fists?

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3267: Steve Rogers & The Hydra Stomper

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

STEVE ROGERS & THE HYDRA STOMPER

MARVEL STUDIOS WHAT IF…? (HOT TOYS)

“Who does Peggy Carter call in for backup when she needs it? Steve Rogers, of course. In this universe, Peggy Carter jumps into action with a number of familiar faces, but even she might need some help defeating the enemy. Calling in air support, she certainly doesn’t expect Steve to come swooping in – in a Hydra Stomper suit.”

Prepare for more formula breaking, as I interlude with yet another Hot Toys review outside of a monumental number!  I seem to be doing this far too frequently, don’t I?  It’s gonna make the monumental reviews not so special.  Ah, I don’t really care that much, honestly.  I just want to review the toys.  It’s kind of the whole purpose of the site, right?

In my last Hot Toys review, I was discussing my adherence to just Captain America stuff, and how that played into some alternate universe characters, specifically when What If…? is on the table.  While What If…? is a show I had generally mixed feelings about, I absolutely loved its first episode, “What If…Captain Carter Were The First Avenger?”  I’ve already got the HT Captain Carter, so there’s only one proper way to follow-up: The Hydra Stomper!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Steve Rogers and The Hydra Stomper is a deluxe set of figures from Hot Toys’ Television Masterpiece Series, where it’s numbered TMS060, placing it just after Peggy in the numbering.  This marks the third What If…? offering from Hot Toys.  Like Peggy, this set stuck pretty close to its original anticipated release date of the end of 2022/beginning of 2023, though it did stick to the earlier end of the window.  There are two releases of the Hydra Stomper available; just the Stomper on its own is available as part of the Power Pose Series, and then there’s this set, which adds in the full pilot Steve Rogers figure to the mix.  Clearly, there was no way I was just doing the Stomper when there’s also a Steve available, right?  Right.

Steve is technically the actual “figure” here as classified by HT and Sideshow (to the point of being the one with an actual classic HT-style box), so I’ll kick things off with a look at him first.  The figure stands just over 11 inches tall and has over 30 points of articulation.  Steve’s head sculpt, much like the Captain Carter figure, is an animation-inspired piece, rather than shifting him to a realistic style like a lot of Hot Toys offerings.  As with the Peggy sculpt, there’s still a degree of an Evans likeness present here (albeit, the shrunken down and skinny Evans likeness from early in The First Avenger), so you can tell who it’s supposed to be.  It’s a good match for the design as seen in the show, and it’s nice, clean, and slick.  The paint work emphasizes the animated look further, while still maintaining the usual high Hot Toys standards.

Steve’s outfit is generally pretty simple (which is true to the show), being a rather standard loose-fitting jumpsuit.  There’s an underlying shirt, albeit without any sleeves.  You won’t notice, of course, since the suit’s not designed to be removed.  Further tailored items include some harness straps and a removable back pack.  There’s also a sculpted buckle for his belt, as well as a pair of feet that look like boots.  Under the outfit, he’s got a rather small and scrawny base body, matching well with his pre-serum build.  It’s a rather nicely articulated base body, which makes for easy posing.

Steve gets a rather modest selection of extras, with three sets of hands (L and R relaxed, L and R pointing, L gripping, and R flat), and a display stand that matches with the one included with Peggy.

Moving past the Steve Rogers figure, let’s take a look at the thing that takes up the vast majority of the package space here: The Hydra Stomper!  The figure stands a little over 22 inches tall and has 8 points of articulation.  On its own, the suit is part of Hot Toys’ Power Pose Series, which is their way of releasing Iron Man armors at a cheaper price by cutting back on articulation in order to simplify the engineering.  As such, this figure only gets movement where it absolutely *needs* it, rather than just sort of all the places it naturally would.  All things said, the posability is still better than I’d expected.  In particular, the fully articulated fingers are really impressive.  The only area that’s truly restricted is the lower half, but on the plus side, it does keep him very stable on his feet.  His sculpt is, as expected, quite impressive.  It’s very clean and sharp, and a spitting image of the design as seen in the show.  The figure is designed to allow Steve to actually sit inside; it’s a bit tricky to get him in there, and he’s a little cramped, but it’s cool to have the option. There are light up features worked into the eyes and the torso, both of which are battery operated independently from each other.  The Hydra Stomper is packed with a flight stand, which affixes to the belt line of the figure.  It holds him rather securely horizontally, allowing for a more stable point for Peggy to hold onto the back like in the episode.  It’s a little tricky to get it all properly posed and secure, but it’s fun that the option is there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the Captain Carter review, this episode was by far my favorite of What If…?, and I was honestly already kinda sold on these even before seeing the show.  The Hydra Stomper design is just one that really works for me, and as soon as I saw this figure, complete with the Steve Rogers, I was sold on getting this set and the Captain Carter.  Since I got Peggy from Jason at All Time as a Christmas gift, this sort of became my Christmas gift to myself, I suppose.  It’s huge, it’s impressive, and it’s just a whole lot of fun.  And I’ve even made shelf space for it already, so I don’t even have that whole thing looming over me!

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this set to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3194: U.S. Agent

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

U.S. AGENT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Originally appointed by the US Government to replace Steve Rogers as Captain America, U.S. Agent John Walker must balance his moral compass against his duty to his country.”

When you need a Captain America-esque guy, but you need him to do un-Captain America-esque things, there’s one guy to call: John F. Walker, the U.S. Agent!  Beginning as the Captain America antagonist Super Patriot, John was tapped as the new Cap when Steve gave up the title during a falling out with the US government.  Obviously, Steve was always going to come back, and when he did, his uniform from his interim time as “The Captain” was handed over to Walker, who repurposed it as U.S. Agent.  He’s since become the go-to character for when you need someone who’s on the right side of the law, but maybe not morally there, albeit not in a totally villainous sense.  And, he got a great focus in the MCU in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.  All of that’s given him some leverage for a cool new comics-based figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

U.S. Agent is figure 6 in the Controller Series of Marvel Legends.  His presence in the series allows for all three of the main heavy hitter Avengers to have some sort of presence, without there being an actual Steve Rogers Cap variant needed.  This marks U.S. Agent’s third time in Legends form, and his second comics-based release, following the prior Hasbro version from way back in the Return of Marvel Legends days.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  U.S. Agent is built on the Reaper body, along with its Cap-specific parts courtesy of the Cap-Wolf release.  The Reaper body is perhaps just a touch small for how Walker is usually portrayed, but it’s not too far off, and I get the want for internal consistencies with the standard Cap.  He gets a brand-new head sculpt.  After years of Hasbro going a bit too gruff with Steve before finally getting it right, they dial back in on that gruffness for Walker.  The head’s maybe just a touch too large for the body, I think, but it’s otherwise a pretty good fit for the character.  U.S. Agent’s paint work is generally pretty decent.  Not quite as impressive as Speedball, but still better than previous fare.  The face gets a decent amount of accenting, and the detailing on the uniform is nice and crisp.  U.S. Agent is packed with his shield, two sets of hands (fists and a gripping/open gesture combo), and the arm for the Controller Build-A-Figure.  If there’s one thing I’d have liked to see, it’s an alternate Steve head to let this figure double as The Captain, but that’s far from an essential piece.  As it stands, he works well for John.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since getting a few goes at a good update to a classic Cap, and finally getting a really definitive one in the 20th Anniversary release, I’ve definitely been jonesing for a good U.S. Agent.  The prior one just wasn’t cutting it, so this one was certainly welcome.  As with Speedball, I expected this one to be a rather by-the-numbers release, though unlike Speedball, U.S. Agent winds up being truer to that expectation.  He’s not anything crazy, but he’s honestly just what he needs to be.

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.

#3144: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When, in 1941, a frail young patriot agreed to be a test case for an experimental “super-soldier” serum, he was transformed into Captain America – the living symbol of freedom. His body is now physically perfect, his courage unmatched and his fighting skills cannot be equaled. Cap joined WWII and helped the allies win the war. After spending the decades following the war in suspended animation, he was revived by the Mighty Avengers, a super hero group this charismatic born leader would eventually command.”

Hey, remember way back, when I was having to space out my Marvel Legends reviews, because, like, there weren’t a ton of them?  Well, I’m not *quite* back to that level, but I’m still kind of needing to space some things.  I mean, it’s been more than two weeks, which feels like a fair bit of time.  Also, last time I left off on a standard Captain America, and this time I’m picking up with a standard Captain America.  You know, for consistency sake.  Back in May, I took my first look at Hasbro’s celebration of Marvel Legends‘ twentieth year, with their fancy updated take on Iron Man.  They’re working to recreate the whole “Series 1” line-up from Toy Biz’s run, so joining up with Iron Man is the aforementioned Captain America!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America is another of the four figures in Series 1 of the “20th Anniversary” sub-line of Marvel Legends.  Though he was the first figure shown off, Cap’s trailing Iron Man and Hulk in his arrival at retail.  As with the whole line-up, Cap’s a Fan Channel-exclusive, so he’s not at big box stores.  It’s a nice change of pace, given that the 80 Years Cap was a Walmart-exclusive.  While Iron Man was a slight deviation in terms of design from the 80 Years figure, Cap is more or less an equivalent update, though this one is without the Alex Ross-inspiration.  He’s a more straight-forward update of the look of the original Legends Cap, which certainly makes a lot of sense for this release.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  From the neck down, this figure’s sculpt is the same as the 80 Years release.  It’s a good, strong sculpt for a classic Cap, and it’s only gotten the one use before, so I like seeing it crop up again.  He gets a brand new masked head sculpt, which is rather different from the last one.  After years with the weird scowl-face, the 80 Years was a step in the right direction.  It was a bit specifically inspired by Ross’s art, which is a little less on the multi-purpose side.  This one, sculpted by Paul Harding, is more general in its design, and it’s very definitely my favorite Hasbro Cap sculpt to date.  Definitely a worthy successor to the original Cap sculpt, and that’s saying quite a bit.  Cap’s color scheme is much brighter on this release than the 80th figure.  I like it.  I like it a lot.  It’s bold and very eye catching, and there’s a ton of really well-rendered accenting, especially on the scale mail.  It really helps the sculpted elements to pop.  Much like Iron Man, Cap is quite well-accessorized.  He gets an unmasked head, a corresponding pulled down mask piece to go over the neck, three sets of hands (fists, open gesture, and a flat/pointing combo), a shoulder harness, his shield, three different styles of effects pieces for the shield, and a display stand with a cardboard backdrop.  The unmasked head matches up well with the masked one, and it’s a pretty solid sculpt in its own right.  I dig that ’80s style hair for Rogers.  The hood piece is kind of loose and floaty, but it serves its purpose well enough.  The hands are all re-used, but they work well, and provide him with a host of cool posing options.  The shoulder harness is a new piece, distinctly different from prior ones.  I like its more simple design.  The shield is at once an improvement on prior pieces, and also the worst thing about the figure.  I really like the larger size of the shield, and I like the effects pieces…in concept.  In practice, it results in three permanent holes in the shield, rendering it rather odd looking when the effects pieces aren’t in place.  So close, and yet so far.  Perhaps a future release will re-work the piece to remove the holes, and then we can have it all.  Cap’s display stand is the same one included with Iron Man, and his backdrop is likewise double sided, with an illustration of the original figure’s stand on one side, and the cover to the issue of Captain America packed in with the Series 1 release.  Yes, unlike Iron Man, Cap’s cover is actually the same one was the original figure.  So, that’s a pretty cool touch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I liked a lot about the 80th Cap, but I felt like he was just shy of hitting that perfect Cap mark.  I definitely liked the look of this one from its announcement, and I was thrilled when it turned out to *not* be a Walmart exclusive.  It was very definitely my favorite and most anticipated of the Anniversary figures, and it’s been a little bit of a wait, but it was very definitely worth it.  The shield thing is a bit annoying, but that issue aside, this figure’s absolutely fantastic, and undoubtedly the best Legends Cap to grace the line.  I really, really like this figure.

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.

#3131: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (TOY BIZ)

I gave today’s intro a fair bit of thought.  Usually, I like to keep things fairly light and apolitical here on the site, what with it being about toys and all, but I would be lying if I said that wasn’t becoming a harder thing to do these days.  My aim isn’t to offend, or hurt, or throw mud, or anything like that, but even from an apolitical stand-point, there wind up being some lines that get crossed, and it gets pretty hard not to say anything about it.  So, I’m gonna keep being me, and I’m gonna say what I say, and continue to just try to be my best self.  Today is July 4th, a day that’s typically dedicated to celebrating all the great things about America.  For me, on the site at least, that means I get to review another Captain America figure, because that’s how I roll.  This year, things are very much muddied by current events, leaving a lot of people not feeling quite so hot about America, and perhaps a little less proud to be part of this whole venture.  I can definitely feel that, and I think we’ve all got some work we can do to get to a better place together.  I think we can all work towards being our own best selves.  And if you think my best self isn’t going to take the opportunity, in a time of uncertainty, fear, and worry, to review a figure of Steve Rogers, a symbol of hope for all the things that America should be to all the people that call it home, then you’re definitely not one of my regular readers.  When you need some inspiration, a Captain America’s not a bad place to start, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America was released as part of Toy Biz’s “Face Off” spin-off of Marvel Legends, which gave us new versions of the core heroes, facing off against their antagonists.  For his part, Cap was packed alongside Red Skull.  There was also a variant unmasked Cap, which was instead packed with Baron Strucker.  Look, he’s fighting a Nazi either way, right?  This was Toy Biz’s fourth and final version of Cap in their run with Legends, following the original Series 1, the Ultimate, and its more classically-inspired variant.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 46 points of articulation.  That hefty articulation count is aided by the addition of separately articulated fingers, something Toy Biz was giving a try later in their run.  They wound up as one of the very first things cut by Hasbro, and, honestly, it’s not a huge shock.  They’re really not much more than a novelty, and they mean he can’t really grip or anything.  It’s the sort of thing that alternate hands are just a far more efficient way of doing finger poses.  Other than that, the articulation is pretty decent from a range of motion standpoint, though perhaps not so much from the appearance angle.  They definitely aren’t super worked into the sculpt’s aesthetics.  Said sculpt was a mix of old and new.  He used the Ultimate Cap as a starting point, with the addition of a more classically-based set of gloves and boots, as well as slightly tweaked versions of the upper torso and head.  This whole sculpt wound up getting up-scaled for Toy Biz’s Marvel Legends Icons line, and it was honestly pretty good for the time.  It’s perhaps not aged quite so well, what with its wonky proportions and the slightly odd shaping of the face.  That said, the texture work, especially on the scaling, is really amazing work, and if nothing else, he’s certainly got a nice style to him.  At the time of release, he was probably one of Toy Biz’s best.  Cap’s paint work is decent enough.  Toy Biz was still tending to go pretty muddy with the colors at this point, but this guy actually gets a fairly bold and clean color scheme.  It works pretty well for the character, and, again, it’s really some of the line’s best work.  Cap is packed with his shield, which is the same as his Series 1 counterpart’s, complete with the cloth straps for placing over his shoulders.  This time, it’s better painted, and I particularly like the black interior; it definitely adds a lot more pop.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Back when this figure was released, I decided to stick with my Series 1 version, rather than trying to upgrade.  Given how difficult it was to get these packs, or really Legends in general, it wasn’t hard to justify.  I always kind of wanted one, but I never got the chance to grab him over the years.  Fortunately for me, he came into to All Time a couple of months ago.  He’s certainly a figure that shows his age, but I still really enjoy him for what he is.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3000: Captain America – Infinity War

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (HOT TOYS)

In a turn of events that I suppose is all rather fitting, today, the last day of 2021, also marks my 3000th review here at the site.  Pretty crazy, huh?  I never really foresaw myself making it quite this far, and yet, here I am.  3000 is a very big number, and a bigger number than the the total quantity of figures I had in my collection when I started this thing.  Moreover, I’ve made it all the way to the end of 2021, a journey that I would very much be underselling with the description “turbulent.”  A lot’s happened, and it has not been easy.  But I’m here.  And I’ve got a thing to review.  And I suppose that’s the most important thing in the moment.  So, let’s jump back to 2018, back to the throws of Avengers: Infinity War, specifically Captain America and his rather disheveled look from his own rather turbulent year.  Fitting, I suppose.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America is part of the Infinity War tie-in component of Hot Toys’ Movie Masterpiece Series, where he’s figure MMS 481, which made him the sixth of the IW tie-in figures.  The figure arrived not too long after the film’s release, hitting in the fall of 2018.  There were two releases of him, a standard and a “Movie Promo Edition” which was a Sideshow-exclusive in the US.  The difference between the two comes down to a few accessories; the figure proper remains the same.  This Cap is based on his Nomad appearance from the film, which is of course the only look he actually has in Infinity War, so I guess that makes sense.  The figure stands about 12 1/2 inches tall and he has over 30 points of articulation.

While most Caps these days include multiple heads, this release only has the one.  It makes some degree of sense, since he doesn’t have the helmeted look in the film, so I suppose he only needs the one head.  It’s only the one facial expression, but that’s not uncommon for unmasked heads from Hot Toys.  This one does live up to Hot Toys’ usual penchant for very lifelike sculpts.  It sports a pretty spot-on likeness of Evans in the film, at least facially.  The hair is perhaps a little bit too orderly for proper film accuracy, but it’s not too far off, and it’s certainly closer than either Hasbro or Bandai’s attempts were.  It avoids the seam at the sides of the head that the Endgame release had, but trades it out for a rather noticeable join at the back of the head where the longer hair attaches.  It’s still not the worst thing, but at this price point, you do hope for a little better.  At the very least, the paint work topping it all off is really good, up to Hot Toys’ typical standards for face paint, with a very lifelike quality to the whole thing.

In Infinity War, Cap is, at least canonically, supposed to still be wearing the suit he had in Civil War, having had not time on the run between films to swap out.  In actuality, there are a few changes to the suit beyond just the expected wear and tear of being on the run, but they’re generally minor.  In terms of how the suit works on the figure, it’s pretty similar to the Endgame figure, being two main parts, with a lot of layers attached.  As with that figure, this one’s belt sets perhaps a little low, but it’s otherwise a well-tailored outfit that works well with the underlying body of the figure and captures the look of the outfit seen in the film quite nicely.

The underlying base body appears to be the same one used for Endgame Cap, which was a good fit for Evans’ build for the character, as well as doing a good job of balancing aesthetics and functionality.  As with that figure, the movement of the base body is somewhat impeded by the nature of the suit design, which does have some notable restrictions at the hips and shoulders.  Still, there’s plenty of movement to be had, and he can get some pretty solid range on most of the joints.

When it comes to accessories, Cap gets quite a few, including:

  • 8 hands
  • 2 Wakandan shields
  • Outrider corpse
  • Corvus Glaive’s Spear
  • Proxima Midnight’s staff
  • Display stand

The hands include a pair of fists, a pair of gripping, a pair of relaxed gesture, and a right pointing/left open gesture combo.  They give all the important needs for posing and working with the included accessories, and also do a good job of capturing the look of his gloves from the movie.  They’re a little tricky to swap out, but not impossibly so.  The two Wakandan shields are designed for specifically right and left sides, and are able to be fully collapsed or extended, which is certainly nice engineering.  The display stand is the same style as we saw on the Endgame figure.  I dig the hexagonal shape.  And that’s all of the standard release stuff.  The exclusive also adds a fallen Outrider corpse piece to sit atop the stand (along with a printed piece which looks like dirt ground), as well as both Corvus Glaive and Proxima Midnight’s weapons.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I missed out on the standard release of this guy when he came into All Time.  I mean, not really missed out, I suppose, since he was in stock, and I just dragged my feet on him, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to jump back into Hot Toys.  Once the Endgame release truly broke me on that, I regretted passing on this guy, so he went on my list of figures I was definitely planning to snag should they get traded in.  As luck would have it, this guy wound up getting traded in within about a week of me getting the Endgame version, which was a solid thematic thing.  He’s the best version of this design available to be sure, and he’s honestly the version of Cap that most reflected my personal mind state as I navigated the last year. A little broken, a little lost, and his resolve a little shaken.  But he’s still him deep down.  A fitting send off to the year.

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.