Tag Archives: Captain Marvel

#2934: Captain Marvel & Rescue Armor

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

CAPTAIN MARVEL & RESCUE ARMOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Hasbro did their best on giving us the most thorough line-ups possible when it come to the Infinity War and Endgame casts, but given the sheer size, there were of course a few that wound up slipping through the cracks.  The purpose of the Infinity Saga line seems to be equal parts getting figures out that were missed, and fixing ones that weren’t quite right the first time around.  Today’s focus goes for a bit of both, as well as serving as a nice representation of some of the film’s own internal representation of the franchise’s female heroes during the big climactic battle, all rolled into one package.  So, without further ado, and before I rack up too many pissed off commenters, let’s look at Captain Marvel and Rescue!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Marvel and the Rescue Armor are the first of the two-pack portion of the 10-piece Infinity Saga sub-set of Marvel Legends.  This particular pairing is an Amazon-exclusive.  This set is one of three items from the line to be based on Endgame, which does seem like a lot, but, of course, it’s a rather jam-packed movie, isn’t it?

CAPTAIN MARVEL

“Captain Marvel uses her incredible powers to battle evil in the ultimate fight for the fate of the universe.”

Given that she had gotten her own assortment devoted to her, and that all the promo material showed her in a costume that was largely unchanged from her solo film appearance, it really wasn’t a shock that we didn’t get a proper Endgame Captain Marvel at the time of the film’s release.  That said, the inverted color scheme on the costume, as well as her fancy new hair style were both changes I really liked to her look, and ones I was hopeful to see in toy form at some point.  Here we are at some point.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Structurally, she’s largely the same figure as the one from her solo outing.  It’s generally a pretty solid starting point, it’s not terribly far off from Larson’s build when she’s playing the character, and the broad strokes details line-up with her suit from the film.  Some of the smaller details aren’t *quite* right, but given how brief this look’s appearance is, and how small those details are, they don’t generally feel too out of place.  My figure does wind up with one notable QC issue, which is that she’s got two left forearms.  Just my luck.  Regardless of QC issues, Carol gets a new head, as well as a new sash piece add-on.  The new head is a very nice piece, and definitely has Hasbro’s best Brie Larson likeness to date.  It’s a marked improvement on the solo film figures, and is just generally a pretty good match.  The sash is a pretty basic piece, but does a lot to change up the sculpt just a bit more.  The biggest change-up is the paint, which is sporting her inverted color scheme from the movie.  I find this to be a lot more appealing, and more classically “Captain Marvel” like, so I’m definitely a fan.  I also kind of dig the change to the flat colors vs metallic.  It’s not a huge shift, but I think it works.  Carol is packed with three different sets of hands (fists, flat, and relaxed) and Stark’s nanotech version of the gauntlet, this time just meant for holding.

RESCUE ARMOR

“Outfitted with repulsors and a unibeam, Pepper’s Rescue suit is ready to step into battle against Thanos.”

Pepper Potts in her Rescue armor was notably *not* absent from the Legends tie-ins for Endgame when it was released, but, similar to the War Machine from that same assortment, getting her out that close to the film’s release resulted in some inaccuracies and some stripping of more film relevant accessories.  This release serves to address some of that.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  At her core, this figure’s sculpt is the same as the one from the main line release.  It wasn’t a bad sculpt at all, so re-using it feels like a pretty good call.  I liked it the first time, and I still like it now.  The first set of changes are in the form of paint.  The standard release wasn’t far off, but there were some small tweaks to the final film design, which have been reflected here.  The overall color scheme has also been toned down slightly, which looks a bit truer to what we see on screen.  The biggest changes are in the form of accessories.  She still gets both versions of the back-pack, but now she also gets two additional head sculpts, one with the face plate up, and the other with the helmet entirely removed, as well as some extra attachments for the open back pack to showcase her nano gear a little more, and also a pair of blast effects.  It’s a shame we didn’t get any extra hands mixed in with all of that, but I’m not going to be too greedy on this one.  The new parts add a lot to a figure that I already really liked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Today’s review is a significant one for me, on two counts.  Today would have been mine and Jess’s second wedding anniversary.  It is also the first one I’m spending without her.  Jess’s encouragement of my collecting was a prominent piece of our relationship, and it was something that she maintained up to the end.  When this set dropped online, I was pretty excited, and made mention of it to her.  Then things got serious, and my mind moved onto more important matters, and I wasn’t really thinking about toys.  After Jess’s passing, I discovered that she had ordered this set for me, the very day I’d mentioned it to her.  And so, three months after her passing, its arrival marked my final gift from her.  It’s something of a bittersweet moment.  It’s a set I very much wanted, and one I’m very happy to have.  Jess absolutely adored the moment with the female heroes assembling in the film, so this set was already bound to remind me of her.  She was always so thoughtful and caring, even in her darkest moments.  And because of that, she gave me this one last gift.  But I know that it’s the last one.  And I wish it weren’t.  And I wish I could tell her how much it means to me.  But I can’t.  All I can do is take solace in the fact that she loved me, and she knew I loved her too, and that was why she worked so hard to take care of me, even after the fact.  So, now I have one last testament to just how Super Awesome of a Wife she really was.  Thank you for everything, Jess.

#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.

#1995: Captain Marvel – Starforce

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

CAPTAIN MARVEL — STAR FORCE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Using her intensive training from her days in the Air Force, Carol Danvers boldly leads an intergalactic fleet as Captain Marvel.”

Well, I gave one MCU-based Captain their due.  Why not jump on over to another?  Captain Marvel continues to perform very well at the box office, and will, without a doubt, follow in Black Panther’s footsteps, remaining in theaters even as its MCU successor Endgame arrives.  I looked at the movie’s main assortment of Marvel Legends right before the film hit theaters, but there was one figure I hadn’t managed to snag yet at that time, a variant of the main character that I’ll be taking a look at today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Starforce Captain Marvel is a Target-exclusive Legends release.  She was impeccably timed, showing up at most stores within a week before or after the film’s release.  She was also a successful step forward in Target getting their exclusives up on their webstore, meaning she’s been a reasonably easy experience for most of the fans that wanted one.  As the name denotes, she’s based on Carol’s Starforce colors from the film.  The figure is a rather logical repaint of the standard Captain Marvel figure, meaning she stands the same height and has the same articulation.  While the sculpt is not a 100% perfect replica of her look from the movie, it’s still a good, solid offering, and its reuse here is kind of expected.  It’s decked out in a new color scheme, and, I have to say, I think this color set does the sculpt a lot of favors.  Obviously I’m not knocking her usual colors, but there’s something about this look that feels more dynamic and has more of a pop to it.  It makes the figure look pretty sufficiently different from the main release.  Carol gets the same masked/unmasked head selection as the standard release.  The helmeted head is understandably different, so as to match her uniform.  The unmasked head is also different, but in a much subtler, more than likely unintentional sense.  It still doesn’t look a whole lot like Brie Larson, but I’m warming up to it.  Following a trend that Hasbro’s been really getting into lately, this Carol figure isn’t *just* a Carol figure.  She also gets an extra head, hands, scarf, and rifle, allowing her to be turned into fellow Starforce member Minn-Erva.  Minn-Erva played a decently-sized role in the film, so it’s certainly nice to see her crop up, and it’s also a fantastic way of getting us an extra character out a necessary variant of the main character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After rather easily acquiring the main assortment through All Time Toys, this figure was slightly more illusive (though mostly because I resisted doing the easier thing of just ordering one online), but I was able to find her within a week of seeing the movie.  I’m glad I did, because I really liked the Starforce design (probably owing a lot to my history as a Green Lantern fan), and it especially translates well to toy form.  Not only is the standard Carol figure really cool, but the ability to turn her into Minn-Erva makes this an essential part of the collection.  Hopefully she continues to be easy to acquire.

#1988: Yon-Rogg & Phil Coulson

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

YON-ROGG & PHIL COULSON

MARVEL MINIMATES

Hey, do you guys remember yesterday’s whacky pairing of two guys from Captain Marvel that never meet?  Well then you’ll love today’s pairing of two other guys from Captain Marvel that also never meet.  Though, I guess in a slight uptick of connectivity, at least these two do occupy the same planet at the same time, which is more than yesterday’s pair.  Maybe they formed a budding relationship off-screen!  Well, let’s look at best buds Yon-Rogg and Phil Coulson.  Nope, that feels wrong.  I don’t think these guys are friends.  Let’s look at mortal enemies Yon-Rogg and Phil Coulson.  There, that feels better.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Yon-Rogg and Coulson are the last of the Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates for the Captain Marvel assortment.  There’s also going to be a specialty-exclusive boxed set, but these are it for now.

YON-ROGG

Man, we were really itching to find out what Yon-Rogg’s big secret was before the movie came out.  Turns out the big secret was that there was really no big secret, aside perhaps from this version of Yon-Rogg somehow ending up as less villainous than his comics counterpart.  Honestly, though, it feels like they came up with the role for Law without knowing exactly which Kree officer he’d be playing, and eventually decided to tag him with Yon-Rogg’s name (the fact that said name is only spoken once in the film, said in a scene where his character isn’t even present kind of lends credence to this).  Whatever the case, he’s a pretty prominent character, and obviously he was going to show up somewhere in this line.  He makes use of add-on pieces for his hair, backpack, gloves, belt, and holster.  The hair is reused from Venkman, but otherwise these pieces are new.  At first glance, the holster looks the same as Korath’s, but it’s actually its mirror piece, correctly representing their placement in the film.  Like Carol, Yon-Rogg also includes an alternate helmet piece, should you want him fully armed up.  But, given how briefly he wears it in the movie, I don’t see it getting much use from me.  Yon-Rogg’s paint is pretty involved, and matches up with Carol and Bron-Charr (but not with Korath and Ronan). The face has a pretty solid likeness of Jude Law, which is certainly refreshing after the Legends figure.  Yon-Rogg is packed with a pistol, an effect piece for his weird gauntlet thing, and a clear display stand.

PHIL COULSON

Though relatively minor in the film, Coulson’s return to the MCU proper was still a delightful one, and Clark Gregg was clearly having a blast playing the rookie field agent version of the character.  His presence in this assortment is no doubt due to the large fanbase for the character.  He’s not new to Minimates, with an MCU release back in Series 39 for the first Thor film (reviewed here), plus animated and comics versions of the character.  That said, it’s nice to get another go at him, if for nothing else than to pair off with Fury.  Coulson is pretty much the same as Fury in terms of construction, just swapping out the hairpiece for a new one, representing Coulson’s ’90s hair.  Of course, it’s nondescript enough to work for a modern Coulson as well, if that’s what you’re looking for.  Coulson’s paintwork is respectable.  I think the facial likeness is better than prior attempts, and I especially like the different pattern on the tie.  Like Fury, Coulson is packed with a spare set of white arms, a handgun, a shoulder holster, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Though they don’t offer much new after looking at all of the other figures in this line-up, I do find myself quite liking this pair.  It’s nice to get a Yon-Rogg figure that isn’t horribly disappointing, and I’ve been hoping for a Coulson update since The Avengers came out.  All in all, a nice pair to round out a pretty fun little assortment.  I look forward to the boxed set.

#1987: Nick Fury & Ronan

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

NICK FURY & RONAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

When it comes to Minimates, specifically the two-pack driven lines, there are bound to be some slightly oddball pairings.  The prior two sets for Captain Marvel made a lot of sense.  Today’s set?  Well, the two characters contained within it not only never meet, there never even on the same planet at the same time.  And yet, here we are.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nick Fury and Ronan are the third set in the Walgreens-exclusive assortment of Captain Marvel-themed Marvel Minimates.  It’s worth noting that both characters in this set have had MCU-based ‘mates before, for what it’s worth.

NICK FURY

Though his name may not be in the title, Nick Fury is still an undisputed star in Captain Marvel, with his largest MCU role to date.  We get to see quite a different side of the character, and start to see where the Fury we met back in Iron Man came from.  Like the Legends release, this figure goes for his men-in-black style suit, which, while not his main look for the movie, is a fairly distinctive one.  The figure makes use of three add-on pieces for the hair, jacket, and tie.  All three are re-used from many prior figures.  They’re pretty basic, but then, so was his look.  The rest of the work is handled via paint.  My figure has one major flaw; a splotch of missing paint on his cheek.  Apart from that, I guess things are pretty decent.  The face doesn’t have much of a likeness of SLJ, but it doesn’t look unlike him.  I do particularly like the pattern on the tie.  That’s a fun touch.  Fury is packed with a handgun, a spare set of white arms, a shoulder holster, and a clear display stand.

RONAN

Unlike Fury, the movie doesn’t really give us any more backstory on Ronan prior to our introduction to him Guardians.  Pretty much, Ronan’s still just kind of Ronan, for better or for worse.  On the plus side, the film uses Ronan’s affiliation with the Kree Empire to give him his more traditional color scheme from the comics.  The figure uses two add-on pieces: one for his head piece, and one for his skirt.  They’re the same pieces used for the prior MCU Ronan figure, which is sensible enough, since, design wise, they’re pretty much the same.  The new paint job is a lot greener, as expected of this variation of the design.  Like yesterday’s Korath figure, Ronan’s green isn’t metallic like the first two Kree uniforms were.  Of course, since Ronan’s from a different group, I guess it’s not quite as odd for him.  Beyond that, there’s a lot of nice detailing going on.  Ronan is packed with his signature hammer (with it’s head on the proper way this time) and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this pair at the same time as the rest of the assortment.  Nick’s an important player, and the two distinct looks help him.  Ronan may be a much more minor character in the film, but he’s a nice, distinctive design, with a lot more pop than his prior Guardians release.

#1986: Starforce Captain Marvel & Korath

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

STARFORCE CAPTAIN MARVEL & KORATH

MARVEL MINIMATES

Despite its ’90s setting, Captain Marvel had quite a good number of returning (or, from a certain perspective, debuting) characters, who were a sizable part of not only the marketing, but also the merchandising.  It also followed the MCU trend of multiple distinct looks for its main character.  Both of those two things will be touched on in today’s review.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Starforce Captain Marvel and Korath are the second set of Walgreens-exclusive Captain Marvel Marvel Minimates.  All of the sets in this line-up feature at least one Starforce uniform, but this one goes nuts and gives us two.  I know.  Crazy.

STARFORCE CAPTAIN MARVEL

In a nice little throwback to Mar-Vell’s original colors, Carol begins the movie in green.  She also bears a slight resemblance to another comics company’s former test-pilot turned super-powered space cop, but I’m sure that’s just a total coincidence, right?  Would you believe this is the first time we’ve gotten any version of Captain Marvel in green?  That seems a little bit wacky to me.  Construction-wise, this figure is exactly the same as yesterday’s standard colored Captain Marvel.  She’s got the same basic hair, and swaps out for the same helmet piece as before.  The main difference is the paint, which is swapped for green and black and gives her a different facial expression.  I’m not crazy about the facial expression’s look when unmasked, but it ends up working out a lot better when the helmet is in place, so I find it to be a worthy trade-off.  Starforce Carol again mimics the standard figure for its accessories, meaning she includes a flight stand and a standard clear display stand.

KORATH

“WHOOOO!?!” …You see, it’s funny, because it’s Korath…the guy…the guy who say’s “WHOOOO!?” to Star-Lord at the beginning of the first Guardians….and now I’m applying it to him?  Get it?  I assure you, it’s very funny.  I’ve got this certificate that says so.  Where was I?  Australia!  No!  Korath!  That’s the one.  Though the Guardians ‘mates went pretty deep with their coverage, Korath was perhaps the one notable character to be left out.  Fortunately he got a second chance!  The figure’s almost a vanilla ‘mate; his only add-on is his holster for his sidearm.  Beyond that, he’s carried out via paint, which is decent enough.  The likeness is pretty spot-on, which is really the most important part, since I suspect a number of collectors will be sticking it on another body for a Guardians Korath.  The body’s okay, but not great.  The details just don’t seem to be quite as sharp on Korath as they are on the other two Starforce members, and the green appears to be a slightly different shade for some reason.  Korath is packed with a pistol and a pair of swords, as well as a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like yesterday’s pair, I grabbed these two a little while before the movie’s release, but didn’t actually open them until the night I saw it in the theatre.  I wasn’t sure what to think of another Marvel, but I really dig the Starforce colors for her.  Korath’s not perfect, but it’s at the very least nice to finally have him, even if it is a slightly different version of him.

#1985: Captain Marvel & Bron-Char

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

CAPTAIN MARVEL & BRON-CHAR

MARVEL MINIMATES

“Ace Air Force pilot Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.  Set in the 1990s, Marvel’s Captain Marvel is an all-new adventure from a previously unseen period of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

“Marvel’s Captain Marvel” does seem a touch redundant, don’t you think?  I mean, for the general public, at least.  I suppose there was a time there was some genuine confusion, but DC’s pretty firmly on that “Shazam” train.  So, while we’re on the topic of “Marvel’s Captain Marvel,” the movie sure is doing well at the box office, topping even DC’s own female-led Wonder Woman.  That’s pretty cool.  I’ve looked at most of the Legends from the movie, but this week I’ll be looking at the other major offerings, courtesy of DST’s Minimates brand.  I’ll be starting things off with the good Captain herself, as well as fellow Starforce member Bron-Char.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Marvel and Bron-Char are the first of four Walgreens-exclusive Marvel Minimates released to tie-in with the film.  Unlike prior films, there are no shared figures between these sets and the specialty boxed set, so these two are totally unique.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Seen here in her main colors from the end of the film, this is the definitive Captain Marvel release for the set.  Amazingly, this is only Carol’s third Minimate, and her second under the title of Captain Marvel.  The figure’s built on the standard body, so she’s 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  She’s got an add-on for her hair, which appears to be a new piece.  It’s a respectable match for her hairstyle from the movie.  It’s a little restricting on the articulation side, but it’s hardly the worst.  She’s also got an alternate helmeted piece, which is another new part.  It’s accurate to the film, and cleanly sculpted, but it doesn’t quite line-up so well with the face on this one.  The paint on this figure’s not bad.  I definitely dig the metallics, though some of the basic applications are a little sloppy around the edges.  The helmet probably gets the worst overall work; in addition to not really lining up with the face, it’s also got a really wonky misprint on the eyes, so make sure to keep an eye on that.  In addition to the helmet, Carol is also packed with a flight stand and a clear display stand.

BRON-CHAR

A slightly more minor character in the film, Bron-Char’s the Starforce’s resident bruiser.  He’s actually a decent choice to partner off with the main colors Captain Marvel, since they do have a notable fight scene in the film.  He’s a bigger guy, so he makes use of add-ons for his torso, belt, and gauntlets.  The torso and belt are standard parts; the torso isn’t one of my favorites, and doesn’t really work so well without any add-ons are the arms and legs.  The gauntlets are new, and nice enough pieces.  There’s no hair piece, which I kind of think might have been a mistake.  At the very least, one of the sculpted beard pieces would have added something to him.  The paintwork is pretty respectable.  There’s a lot of detailing and it’s all pretty sharp.  Bron-Char’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I found this whole assortment of ‘mates at Walgreens a couple of weeks before the movie’s release.  I ended up letting them sit until the day I went to see the movie, so I was able to come home that night from the movie and open them up, which was pretty fun.  Basic Carol is a good basic Carol.  Fairly straightforward, but good nonetheless.  Bron-Char’s cool to see crop up, since it’s not like we’re really going to see him anywhere else.

#1970: Kree Sentry

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

KREE SENTRY

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Mar-Vell’s appearance in late 1967 was not our first taste of the Kree empire.  In fact, our first run-in with them was several months earlier year, when the Fantastic Four faced off against Sentry 459, a deactivated Sentry stationed on Earth.  Its defeat by the team would signal Ronan the Accuser, and bring the entire Kree empire into play.  But it all started with this big, hulking purple and blue robot.  So, what better Build-A-Figure for Kree-centric series of Marvel Legends than said big, hulking, purple and blue robot?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Kree Sentry is, unsurprisingly, the build-a-figure for the Kree Sentry Series of Marvel Legends.  This marks the Sentry’s first foray into the world of Legends figures, though it’s the second figure overall, following a Minimate release back in 2012.  The figure stands 8 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  The Sentry is an all-new sculpt, which isn’t a huge shock.  It’s definitely a more modernized take on the Sentry, which, if I’m honest, wouldn’t be my first choice.  I’d really dig a more Kirby-inspired sculpt, but this one hits all of the broad strokes, I suppose.  If nothing else, this one was probably a little easier for Hasbro to articulate, as well as being slightly more balanced in size from piece to piece, thereby making him a little easier to break up amongst the single-release figures in this assortment.  The design on this guy kind of makes me wonder what other figures this guy might possibly be re-used for; I’m guessing Hasbro has *something* in mind.  Anyway, it’s a fairly decent, if perhaps slightly goofy, offering.  His paintwork, or color work as it mostly may be, is fairly eye-catching.  The metallic purple and blue is a nice look.  The only actual paint is on the head, which is nice enough, as it matches with the rest of the look.  The Sentry includes no accessories, but he’s an accessory himself, so that seems fair.  Also, I’m not really sure what else you could have given him, anyway.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Kree Sentry’s a rather classic design, and one that hasn’t gotten much toy love.  When this guy was shown off as the Build-A-Figure for this set, I was definitely interested, though, like a lot of the figures in this line-up, I can’t say I *needed* him.  While I would have preferred a more classic take on the character, and I also wouldn’t have minded a slightly larger figure, I’m overall pretty happy with this goofy guy.

This assortment is kind of a middling one for me.  I like the Bomber Jacket Captain Marvel a lot, and I was rather let-down by the Yon-Rogg figure, but the rest of the figures fall firmly into the Journeyman category.  They certainly aren’t bad, but none of them are quite going to break any records.  Still, it’s not a bad set, especially for fans of the movie.  If you’re interested in getting a set of your own, all seven of the single figures are still in-stock at All Time Toys’ webstore.  And, as always, if you’re looking for other toys both old and new, please check out All Time’s website and their eBay storefront.

#1969: Genis-Vell

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

GENIS-VELL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Born of a Titanian Eternal, Genis-Vell possesses indomitable strength and uses powerful Nega-Bands to channel incredible energy blasts!”

Marvel has a thing for legacy, and the mantle of Captain Marvel is perhaps one of the most premiere examples of this.  Amusingly enough, the third person to hold the title, Genis-Vell, began his career actually named “Legacy.”  Genis was an interesting exploration of the whole concept, biologically the son of Mar-Vell, but created through engineering, rather than the old-fashioned way.  After inheriting the title in the ’90s, Genis was front and center for a little while, but by the mid-00s, he’d kind of fallen out of fashion again, and was ultimately dispatched by Baron Zemo in Thunderbolts.  Oh how the mighty had fallen.  But, with the Captain Marvel name getting a boost, it seems poor Genis has not been totally forgotten, and he’s received some Legends treatment, courtesy of Hasbro!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Genis-Vell is figure 6 in the Kree Sentry Series of Marvel Legends.  He is the second of the two comic-based figures in the set, but hey, at least he’s actually Captain Marvel-themed…what with being Captain Marvel and all.  Of course, he’s just titled “Genis-Vell” with no mention of holding the title, likely to avoid any brand confusion for people just coming in to the character with the movie.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Genis is seen here in his Kree-inspired get-up from the second half of his solo run.  It’s a cool design.  Not *my* personal choice, as I’m partial to his Mar-Vell-inspired costume, but that one was already released by Toy Biz back in the day, so I can understand Hasbro wanting to do something different.  Of course, it does mean that with this figure and Yon-Rogg, we ended up with two kind of similar looking figures in the set, but that was sort of inevitable no matter which way you took him.  The figure is built on the Reaper body (just like Grey Gargoyle, meaning both comic figures in this set are on the same base body), with a new head, shoulder-pads, shoulder strap, holster, and Nega-Bands. The new parts are decent enough.  The head sits a little high on the neck, but with the helmet it’s not super noticeable.  I foresee those Nega-Bands turning up again in the future, especially if Hasbro wants to give us a Mar-Vell update at some point.  Genis’s paintwork is actually a lot like Grey Gargoyle’s, in that the coolest bits aren’t actually painted.  The starfield effect is achieved through flecks of metallic plastic being molded throughout, and it looks quite nice, especially when lit.  The metallic green they’ve gone with is a shade on the dark side, which does mean it blends in a bit with the black of the body.  I think the figure would be a little more striking with a brighter green, allowing those details to stand out a little more.  Of course, the green sections not standing out is kind of a common issue for this design, even in 2D.  Genis is packed with a small gold blaster, as well as the Kree Sentry’s left leg.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I never much followed Genis in his solo exploits, but I liked him in Avengers Forever, so I was definitely hoping to see him show up here.  Of course, this costume wouldn’t have been my first choice (like I said, I never followed his solo exploits), but it makes for a decent toy, I suppose.  Like Gargoyle, this figure is well-executed and a solid addition to the line-up.  That said, I’m still pulling for a pre-crazy Genis at some point.  In the mean time, this one will have to keep my Songbird company.

Genis hails from my friends at All Time Toys.  He’s actually the one figure in the set that they’re currently sold out of, but they still have all the rest.  And, if you’re looking for other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#1967: Yon-Rogg

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

YON-ROGG

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Leader of the Star Force team, Yon-Rogg is a hero among the Kree and a key asset to the Supreme Intelligence in the war against the Skrulls.”

The number on today’s review could either be very clever, or only marginally related to the contents, depending on how things play out in Captain Marvel.  You see, in December of 1967, we got the first appearance of Kree Captain Mar-Vell, the original Captain Marvel (at least as far as Marvel Comics is concerned.)  What does that have to do with today’s subject, apart from being from the movie of the same title?  Well, nothing as it stands currently, but a lot when the movie’s cast was still being announced.  When Jude Law was cast in the film, it was announced he would be playing Dr. Walter Lawson, the Earth-based secret identity of Mar-Vell.  Law’s blonde-haired-blued-eyed appearance as, well as typically playing heroic roles made him seem to be a natural choice for Mar-Vell.  However, when the trailers hit, and interviews started, and merchandise started being solicited, all of the sudden, Law’s character was the unnamed “Star Force Commander,” with his identity being kept top-secret.  Then, at the begging of February, after a month or two of rumors, Law was confirmed as Yon-Rogg, by this figure, the Minimate, and the Pop.  Despite all of that, there’s still a good deal of confusion about the exact nature of Law’s character, and why the secretive Vell/Rogg switch occurred.  I guess we’ll know more in a matter of hours.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yon-Rogg is numbered figure 4 in the Kree Sentry Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the final film-based figure in the line-up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Yon-Rogg is sporting an all-new sculpt, which is…a bit of a mixed bag, really.  Right off the bat, we’re dealing with the fact that this figure is supposed to based on Jude Law’s character, but you wouldn’t really know that by looking at him.  His head is wearing a helmet, which have yet to see Law actually wearing in any of the promotional stuff.  I’m sure he’s going to where it at some point in the film, but it’s clearly not his main appearance.  What’s more, what we can see of his face seems a good deal more generic than a proper Law likeness would be.  The whole head seems a little large when sitting on the rest of the body.  Of course, it’s nothing compared to his feet.  Those things are truly huge, and don’t appear to be remotely in scale with the rest of the figure.  Were they worried he was going to have stability issues?  He’s also got these weirdly large and flat sections of armor on his forearms, which don’t seem to match with the film appearance, and just generally make him feel rather awkward while posing.  Just in general, this is a rather odd looking figure.  I guess the paintwork is a little better; the metallic green certainly looks cool, and it contrasts all right with the black and silver.  There are still a few off spots, where sculpted details are left totally unpainted, but compared to the sculpt, it’s kind of a breath of fresh air.  So, obviously, there’s no extra head for Yon-Rogg, but he does get a small blaster pistol, as well as the torso of the Kree Sentry.  Not a super impressive selection by any stretch, but at this point, I’ve already written the figure off.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Yon-Rogg is a figure I wanted to like.  I’m a sucker for the Kree Soldier look, and when he was originally shown, there was some belief that this might have just been an army builder.  I’d like to say he’d be better that way, but I really can’t.  There are just a lot of flaws to this figure, which hold him back from being as good as he could.  Maybe we’ll get a more proper Yon-Rogg in a two-pack or something.