Tag Archives: Daredevil

#3809: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

SPIDER-MAN: CLASSICS (TOY BIZ)

Last week, Daredevil: Born Again, the long-awaited continuation of Netflix’s Daredevil show, dropped its first two episodes, and I’m officially in that Daredevil vibe again, so let’s talk a little bit of Daredevil.  Thanks to the show’s success, we’ve gotten a few instances of ol’ Horn-Head horn-headlining his own set of Marvel Legends, but it wasn’t always that way; he used to pretty much only get by on Spider-Man’s coattails.  Today, I’m jumping back even earlier than last week’s Toy Biz Marvel Legends review, to their pre-cursor line, Spider-Man: Classics, which granted us our first 6-inch Daredevil!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daredevil was released in Series 2 of Spider-Man: Classics.  There were two versions, a standard red, and a variant yellow.  I looked at the yellow one *way* back in 2014, during my first year here on the site, so here’s the standard.  Daredevil actually wasn’t in the original line-up for the series, with Scarlet Spider in his place for the initial announcement.  It seems like maybe they realized that three out of the four figures being a Spider-Man might not quite work, so DD got the nod to fill out the assortment, and Scarlet Spider was moved to a KB Toys exclusive.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation (which was proudly boasted on the package).  He’s the exact same sculpt as the variant, so he’s using Black Spidey as the staring point, with a new head, hands, feet, and holster.  It’s a sculpt that certainly shows its age, and is hampered a bit by the lack of bicep swivels (which were standardized with the First Appearance Spidey in this same assortment), but there’s a neat stylistic element to it.  I’ve always particularly enjoyed the head sculpt.  This figure’s color work isn’t as involved as his variant, since he’s all-red, rather than the mix of the yellow suit.  It’s not bad, though the boots and gloves not getting any difference in shading reduces their ability to stand out.  The belt, symbol, and eyes do, at least, and there’s airbrushing on the body that really helps to break up all the flat red.  The figure is packed with his billy club, a wall-mountable display stand that looks like a stained glass window, and a copy of Daredevil #241.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was so invested in getting this guy’s variant back in the day that I wound up missing out on the standard entirely during its run at retail.  By the time I wanted to go back, he’d dried up and we were onto newer releases.  I eventually did find the variant, and I love that one, but I still didn’t have this guy, and that felt off.  I finally got one via a trade-in at work last year.  He’s not quite as unique as the yellow version, and there’s a lot more options for this costume design, but I do still really dig him for what he is.

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.

#3604: Daredevil VS Hydro-Man

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

DAREDEVIL VS HYDRO-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0083:  Despite both characters making appearances on the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man cartoons in the ’90s, Daredevil and Hydro-Man were never both present in the same episode.

I gotta be honest, of all the ’90s Marvel cartoons, Spider-Man: The Animated Series is probably my least favorite.  I know, bold statement.  I’m a guy that defends Avengers: United They Stand and Silver Surfer; how can I take a swing at one of the big ones?  Hard to say.  Something about the show’s pacing always bugged me.  I can appreciate its significance, and it did give us some very cool toys back in the day.  After doing a year of figures based on X-Men: The Animated Series, Hasbro switched over to Spider-Man, which I had less need for, of course.  But then they went and got me with a set I couldn’t pass up.  So, let’s look at Daredevil vs Hydro-Man!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Daredevil and Hydro-Man are the fifth release in the Spider-Man: The Animated Series sub-set of Marvel Legends.  They keep the X-Men set’s VHS-style packaging, but they’re now all two-packs, instead of singles, with each pairing being a hero/villain match-up.  This set is a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive, at least thus far.  The whole line was *supposed* to be exclusive, but three of the six two-packs jumped to a Fan Channel release, so it’s hard to say.

DAREDEVIL

Our second Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Daredevil in rather short succession, and yet again he’s part of a multi-pack.  At least it’s just a two-pack this time.  The aim of this one seems to really be just getting more mileage out of the new stuff from the last one.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s identical to the three-pack figure I looked at not that long ago.  That figure moved Matt to the Renew Your Vows body, which works well for the character.  He uses that figure’s Paul Harding sculpted head sculpt, as well as getting  a new one, with his teeth bared.  The calm one’s no slouch, but that new sculpt is really solid.  I really like it.  The big change-up to this figure is the paint work.  He’s still in the same general costume, of course, but the show very much dialed into the comics’ tendency to go for very dynamic shading on Matt’s costume, and that’s reflected here.  He gets a lot of black shading, done with a cross-hatching style to it.  I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I turned out really, really well.  It’s not like a lot of the other cel-shading, where it’s really directional; it feels like a proper dynamic design for DD, and I think it adds something that was missing from the three-pack release.  I especially like the actual distinction for the boots and gloves this time around.  DD gets the two heads, three sets of hands (in fists, gripping, and open gesture), his batons, and a line to go between them, which is impressive, since the three-pack figure actually came with a fair bit less.

HYDRO-MAN

Our villain this time around is Morris Bench, aka Hydro-Man.  I last reviewed a Hydro-Man before the release of Far From Home, a movie which didn’t *actually* feature him.  Sure looked like it would at the time, though.  Hydro-Man only has two appearances in Spider-Man: The Animated Series, but he was used in the show’s opening credits, which gave him a little extra staying power.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Like his last figure, he uses the Netflix Luke Cage as a starting point.  He actually keeps the figure’s arms this time, rather than using the water ones from before.  He gets a new head sculpt, which is a bit more dialed into the animation look.  For full accuracy, his hair should be a bit longer in the back, but it’s ultimately not bad.  Since the standard black T-shirt and jeans look was covered pretty well by the last Hydro-Man, this figure’s coloring replicates his fully water form, molding him entirely in translucent blue plastic.  It works well, and he’s quite striking.  He gets a little bit of white accenting to give him a little extra flair, which I dig, but it’s minor.  Hydro-Man is packed with the water effect pieces from the last figure, as well as two sets of hands in fists and open gesture.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

The rest of this line’s been very easy to skip, and I thought DD would be too after I got the three-pack release.  Then I saw this set, and the new stuff with DD just made it impossible to pass this one up.  The shading works so, so well, and the extra head and hands make him even better than an already very good figure.  This is my definitive DD Legend, and there’s no question about that.  Hydro-Man?  Well, he was more along for the ride.  I don’t mind having him, and he’s certainly fun, but I also don’t see him replacing the other figure outright in my collection.  Still, he’s certainly fun.

#3567: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

MARVEL SUPER HEROES (TOY BIZ)

Fun FiQ Fact #0046: Daredevil’s first action figure was in Mattel’s Secret Wars line, despite the character’s absence from the comic event the series was tying into.

I can’t tell you exactly where my love of Daredevil came from. It had to be comics related, because his cartoon presence in the ’90s was pretty scarce and I don’t recall seeing any of his appearances in first run. I certainly recall one of his early team-ups with Spider-Man from the first essential collection, and I think I had a small stash of Daredevil back issues. Whatever the case, I was invested from a pretty early age. Obviously, my first figure was from ToyBiz, but, curiously, it was neither of the two figures I’m looking at today. Weird, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daredevil was released in the first series of Toy Biz’s Marvel Super Heroes in 1990. He then received a repainted release in 1994’s Series 5. The figure stands just under 5 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation. At this point, Toy Biz was very much working through the left over stylings of their DC line, which had aped a lot of Kenner’s Super Powers, albeit in a more rudimentary fashion. The sculpts on the first Marvel Super Heroes have a lot in common with Toy Biz’s in-house sculpts from the second series of their DC line. They’re up-scaled about half an inch, but they keep the articulation scheme and ever so slight preposing. DD’s sculpt was technically unique, but it was also very similar to other Series 1 figures, just with some DD-specific elements added. The head’s the main selling point, of course. It’s a little on the soft side, and the horns in particular are rather nubby. But, given the era, it’s not terrible. The body features sculpted elements for his belt, holster, gloves, and boots, which is more than a lot of DD sculpts have offered. The Series 1 release is in his classic all red, which is largely just molded plastic, with minor paint work for his face and logo. The Series 5 release upgrades him to his then-current armored look, which changes up his paint tremendously. It also means that the paint doesn’t remotely line up with the sculpted costume elements, but, honestly, given the softness of the sculpted details, it’s not the end of the world. The plant is particularly fuzzy on the second release, and it doesn’t hold up particularly well to wear on either one. Both releases included an “exploding grapple hook”, which is a missile launcher. It’s black on the Series 1 release and silver on the Series 5.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

My original Daredevil figure was from the Spider-Man Animated line, but the repaint of this guy came pretty quickly after. I recall that it was featured in a story in a Spider-Man magazine I had growing up, and this guy was at Cosmic Comix, so my dad bought him for me. His sculpted details jumped out as wrong, and that’s when I learned about the magical world of repaints! I only added the original release to my collection a few years ago, when one got traded into All Time. They’re both definitely dated, but I still dig them.

#3565: Daredevil, Elektra, & Bullseye

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

DAREDEVIL, ELEKTRA, & BULLSEYE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0044: The first Legends-branded comic Daredevil figure was released in the “Urban Legends” boxed set, which featured, amongst other things, a white costumed Elektra.  20 years later, an updated comic Daredevil found himself released in a boxed set alongside a white costumed Daredevil.

I keep doing this thing where I skip a Pulse-exclusive set, and then I manage to get it through other channels *just* before an improved version is announced.  It’s not annoying at all.  Why do you ask?  Yeah.  In this case, it’s all about that Daredevil.  Sure, there may be two other figures in play here, but is anyone really paying attention to them?

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Daredevil, Elektra, and Bullseye are a Hasbro Pulse-exclusive Marvel Legends three-pack, which started shipping on the earlier side of last year.

DAREDEVIL

Undoubtedly the star of the set is its upgraded Daredevil.  Unlike the last handful of DDs, this one his the classic red costume, not some form of derivative.  While the Hobgoblin Series release is still no slouch, there’s definitely been some progress on articulation schemes since then, and with Matt’s generally acrobatic nature, that’s pretty important.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 38 points of articulation.  This new Daredevil is making use of the upgraded Spidey body that first turned up in the Renew Your Vows set, making this the first time since the second series of Spider-Man Classics that the two have shared a base body.  Typically, Matt’s depicted as a little bigger than Peter, but the Renew body is on the bulkier side for Spidey, so it winds up working out alright for Matt.  When I first reviewed the base, it was right on the heels of the Amazing Fantasy figure, which I very much loved, so I was a little biased.  I find myself liking it a bit more here, and I’m not sure if it’s just distance from the original release, or if I just like it more as Daredevil.  Sculptor Paul Harding provides a new head sculpt, and there are new add-ons for his belt and holster as well.  The new head is less dialed into a specific look than the Hobgoblin Series release (which was very much a Chris Samnee DD), going for a more all-encompassing “classic” look.  It sits very well on the base body, and just generally feels like a solid DD head sculpt.  His coloring is actually pretty subdued.  While other all red Daredevils have used multiple shades of red to differentiate the gloves and boots from the rest of the suit, this one makes almost everything the same shade of red, with only the eyes, logo, and belt buckle being differentiated.  What’s visible of the face also gets some printed detailing, which is quite lifelike.  DD is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), his batons, and the dynamic zipline piece that clips between the two of them.

ELEKTRA

Elektra’s not been a stranger to Legends, but they do like to keep things rotating on designs.  The second Legends Elektra (from the Urban Legends set) was painted up in her white outfit, and this one duplicates this look, in order to distinguish her from the SP//dr Series release.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Elektra’s constructed on the fancy pinless female base body.  She’s re-using the skirt piece from the last one, and she’s also got two new heads, courtesy of sculptor May Thamtarana.  One goes with her usual bandanna design, while the other gives her a headband that really lets her crazy wild hair hang free.  The headband one is definitely my preferred of the two; there’s just so much character there.  The bandanna one isn’t quite as strong; the expression is a little bland, and hair sits a little high relative to the face.  Her color work is alright.  Lot of white.  The application gets a little sloppy on the change-overs, but the printed faces look pretty nice.  Elektra has two sets of hands, a pair of sais, and a katanna.  The katana has black spot on blade, but other than that, the extras are pretty standard stuff.

BULLSEYE

Bullseye has a tendency to go some distance between Legends releases; his last one was in 2017, which isn’t the same distance as the 12 year gap before that, but it’s still notable.  Unlike the other two in this set, Bullseye’s not really designed to be drastically different from what came before.  In fact, sculpturally, he’s exactly the same as the last one, meaning he’s still about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  The sculpt wasn’t bad the first time around, apart from the head seeming maybe a touch too large, and it’s generally held up okay.  The paint work was one of the weaker aspects of the last figure, so this one aims to change that up a bit.  They actually adapted a slightly different design this time around, going for his look from his 2017 solo series.  The only real change-up from the classic design is the blue torso section.  It’s different, but I don’t hate it.  The actual application is *a lot* cleaner this time, and it does head sculpt a lot of favors.  Bullseye is packed with four hands (right gripping, and left fist, finger gun, and knife throwing), an alternate unmasked head, and a knife.  They have notably removed the pistol from the prior release, which wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t for the empty holster that is attached to his belt.  Like…what are you supposed to do with that?  The stock photos stick the knife in there, but that just moves the problem, since then he’s got the empty sheath on the back of the belt.  Also, it’s clearly a gun holster, so the knife isn’t an ideal place holder.  I’m not entirely sure why they made the change, but given the replacement of the two trigger finger hands as well, it was clearly something more than simple cost-saving.  It results in the one downside to this figure relative to the earlier release.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I really only wanted the Daredevil out of this set, because I’m a sucker for a good Daredevil.  But, only wanting 1/3 of the set, I wasn’t looking to pay full price.  I was able to snag one second hand for a good deal, so that made life a little easier.  DD is undoubtedly the star, and he’s a definitive classic red DD.  I like the alternate head for Elektra, but she’s otherwise just kind of middling.  Bullseye wound up really surprising me.  I expected to get nothing from him, but the new paint just really sells the figure.  The missing gun’s just weird, but he’s still nice enough that he’s replaced the prior one as my default Legends Bullseye.

#3553: Matt Murdock

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

MATT MURDOCK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

FiQ Fun Fact #0032: There have been plenty of Daredevil figures over the years, but the only prior civilian Matt Murdock was a Minimate, and he was just alternate parts to a vigilante Daredevil.

Daredevil was the second attempt at building a TV component to the MCU, and prior to the Disney+ contingent, it was certainly the most successful.  I myself was skeptical when the first trailers dropped (I was still a little scarred from the 2003 movie), but fell in love with the show with the very first episode.  In particular, I loved Charlie Cox’s take on the title character, and I was beyond thrilled when No Way Home brought him into the MCU proper, small scene or not.  And, for his first proper MCU Legends figure, we get not Daredevil, but Matt Murdock.  That’s a switch.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Matt Murdock is another figure from the retro-carded No Way Home tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  He’s based on his look in his one scene in the movie, which certainly makes sense; not like there’s really any other options there.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Matt is built on what appears to be an upgraded version of the Coulson suit body.  It’s got pinless joints on the arms and legs, as well as additional swivels at the ankles.  It still has some wonky proportions in a few spots, but it’s generally a marked improvement.  It’s a suit and tie, so it’s pretty basic.  What’s really got to sell the figure is the head sculpt.  It’s…well, it’s not Hasbro’s best output.  The elements of a good Charlie Cox likeness are all there, but they don’t quite congeal into proper full product.  The glasses are definitely a bit odd looking, and the exact shaping of his face and hair aren’t quite there.  It’s not the worst likeness, but it’s also not as immediately obvious as Matt as it could be.  Matt’s paint work is a generally basic set-up, with a lot of molded coloring.  He’s got face printing, which seems a little on the dark side, but it’s not bad.  Matt is packed with a cane and the brick he catches in May and Peter’s apartment with “Mysterio was right” written it.  The cane’s not quite right in its exact shaping, but close enough.  The brick is super cool, and a fantastic scene-specific part.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been looking for good toy coverage for the live action Daredevil since the show started.  Unfortunately, he seems to be rather tricky to get down.  This one continues that trend.  The likeness is definitely on the weaker side, and he’s limited in his applications by being a purely civilian guise, but he’s better than nothing, and there have certainly been worse Legends.

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.

#3528: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0007:  This is the 20th Daredevil figure I’ve looked at here on the site! Sub-FiQ Fact, I know I just used this for Nightwing last week, but it’s also amusing that the two baton boy acrobats are so close in numbers, right?

I’ve been off and on with Daredevil’s comic runs pretty much since I started reading comics.  Waid and Samnee’s run from a few years back is one of my absolute favorite comics runs ever, and I dropped off the book for a bit after that because, well, how do you follow that up?  I jumped back in with Chip Zdarsky’s run when it started, and while it didn’t hook me quite the same way as the Waid/Samnee run, it was still a strong run in its own right.  It removes Matt from the title role for a while, granting Elektra the spotlight, but when Matt came back, he got a swanky new look, and I’m pretty much always down for a new Daredevil look.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daredevil is the unnumbered figure in the Mindless One Series of Marvel Legends, which is our second Marvel Knights-themed series, following up on the Man-Thing Series from way back in 2017.  Curiously, while DD is the unnumbered figure and is sans-BaF piece, he’s *not* the set’s double pack in the case, which is a bit of a change-up to how things normally are.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  His articulation set-up is notably a little stiff, especially for a character like Matt, but its generally comparable to the Bucky Cape base that he’s been on previously, I suppose.  It’s also pinless, so at least it looks pretty smooth.  Matt gets a brand new sculpt, based on his “King Daredevil” look from the comics.  It’s essentially taking the costume Elektra was wearing during her time with the mantle and adapting to Matt, which isn’t a terrible way of handling things.  Since taking up the look was preceded by Matt doing a stint in prison, he grew out a beard, which is probably the biggest real visual change, though he also gains a lot more black, as well as adding wraps on the feet to the handwraps that have become a go-to for modern updates to the DD look. The sculpt generally translates the look into figure form pretty decently, with the only specific nit being that his collar piece is missing the hood section from the comics. It sort of came and went there, though, so it’s possible it was actually meant to be a separate piece. Otherwise, the sculpt conveys the book design well, and there’s plenty of depth of detail mixed in. His color work is pretty basic, largely relying on molded colors. Weirdly, his shoulder joints are molded in red, despite them only being visible in sections of the shoulder that are black, which is annoying. Also, his ears wind up being painted to match his beard, which is just plain incorrect. At least the red/black break up is very clean. DD is packed with his usual two piece billy club set-up, as well as a longer bladed staff. It definitely feels light. At the very least, some extra hands would be appreciated, but a hood piece would also have been nice.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

This guy felt pretty inevitable once we got the Elektra version, and it was ultimately his announcement that truly sold me on that figure. I dig a good Matt DD variant. This one isn’t as strong as other recent DD figures, but he’s still a respectably fun figure in his own right.

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.

#3482: Elektra Natchios Daredevil

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

ELEKTRA NATCHIOS DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Martial artist and former assassin Elektra Natchios dedicates herself to fighting crime under the mantle of Daredevil when Matt Murdock is sent to prison”

So, it’s Halloween, and it’s usually a time for spooky and scary stuff, but, uhh, I don’t know, I guess I’m not overly feeling it?  Or perhaps I’m reeling from the horror of the very real passage of time and the changes that it brings!  OOOOOOOOOOOO!  SCARY! …Is that it?  Is that doing it for you?  Eh, close enough.  So, yeah, in any sort of serialized fiction, even long-running fiction with a bit of a status quo, there’s always a degree of change and growth.  Over in the Daredevil comics, Elektra has gone from being a rather deadly master assassin to dead to back again to Skrull to back again to actually heroic character, carrying on the mantle of Daredevil while Matt’s been off doing his own thing.  It’s the most recent turn that’s actually finally gotten me to care about Elektra in any way whatsoever.  And that’s perhaps the scariest thing of all.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Elektra Natchios Daredevil is part of the latest retro card series of Spide-Man Marvel Legends, which is notably a very modern series of figures almost across the board.  So modern, in fact, that most of the figures aren’t even on properly retro style packaging, Elektra included.  The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Her movement is about what you’d expect from a Legends release at this stage.  Some of the joints are a little stiff, and I wouldn’t mind more range on the mid-torso joint, but she generally moves pretty well.  Elektra’s sculpt is an all-new one, handled by Rene Aldrete.  It’s generally pretty solid.  Her look and build is consistent with the standard Elektra from back in the Sp//dr Series, and the details from her new look definitely work well.  I dig the detailing on the hand and feet wraps, and the slight dynamic flow to the loin cloth and scarf is very fun.  If I have one minor complaint, it’s that we only get the one scarf piece, which is covering her face (as it does by default in the comics), meaning you can’t really see her lower face sculpt without taking it off, thereby throwing off her whole look.  But, if we’re only getting one scarf, this is the direction I’d prefer for them to go.  Elektra’s color work is pretty decent.  It’s not really anything crazy; just a lot of red and black, which is accurate to the source material.  A lot of it’s molded, so that’s very clean.  What paint work she gets is also very clean, and I do quite like the shading on the eyes.  Elektra is packed with her twin sais, which are the same ones from the last couple of releases.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As I mentioned in the intro, I’ve never been much of an Elektra fan.  She’s just really never clicked with me in any sort of way.  Not even her portrayal on the Daredevil show turned me around, and that’s the show that got me to like the Punisher.  So, when they moved her into the Daredevil role, I was skeptical…and then I actually started to like her, which was downright baffling to me.  I kind of *had* to buy the figure version at that point.  She’s fun.  I do wish she had an alternate scarf and maybe an extra unmasked head, but ultimately, even as just the core figure, I do really like this one.

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.

#2534: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Although he is blind, Matt Murdock possesses superhuman senses and courage as the superhero Daredevil.”

You know, it almost feels wrong to discuss a new Marvel Legends Daredevil without also talking about a new season of the show, but, alas, the show tapped out with three seasons, and this is my fourth Daredevil.  There are possibly some talks about working the cast into the MCU, though, so maybe by the time I get to the next Legends release, I’ll have more to talk about.  Otherwise, I’ll just be forced to get all meta again, and that gets old real quick.  So far from Legends, we’ve gotten several prominent costume designs for the character, but there was one notable exception that we were all …that some of us were…I was waiting for: Armored Daredevil!  And look at that, he’s finally here!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daredevil is part of the new Spider-Man-themed Retro Collection assortment of Marvel Legends.  The assortment has packaging that’s meant to patterned on that of the old Toy Biz Spider-Man line.  Interestingly, this version of DD wasn’t actually featured in that line.  He was, however, released in the Marvel Super Heroes line that proceeded it, which served as the packaging inspiration for the first two Retro Collection sets.  What am I getting at?  Well, it couldn’t possibly be that I’m angry that Hasbro took so long getting us this figure and that he clearly should have been released back at the beginning of the line…because that would be ridiculous.  Right?  Right.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall he has 30 points of articulation.  While the last three Daredevils have been built on the Bucky Cap body from the same bank of parts, this figure changes things up by giving him a head to toe new sculpt.  I honestly wasn’t expecting that to be the case, but I certainly can’t say I’m upset by it.  It means that, for the first time ever on an Armored Daredevil figure, all of the armored elements of his costume are actually raised sculpted elements, which really makes the whole design just a bit more impactful, and certainly adds an air of sleekness and cleanness to it.  The build of the body beneath these elements isn’t too far removed from the Bucky Cap build, so it reads as more or less the same guy, but it’s slightly more refined this time, resulting in a more balanced, more natural look than the Bucky Cap figures have.  The actual construction of the body is also a touch sturdier, which I’m definitely down for.  Daredevil’s paint work is generally pretty impressive, with the metallic red in particular looking really slick.  There’s some slight bleed-over on the torso section on my figure, but it’s fortunately not too terribly obvious.  Certainly better than some of Hasbro’s previous attempts.  Daredevil’s accessories include two sets of hands in fists and gripping poses, two styles for his wrist guards, one with the batons attached and one without (improving from the permanently attached baton sculpt of the smaller-scale figure), the billy clubs in silver, and an all-new unmasked Matt Murdock head, which really benefits from not just being a repainted Hawkeye head.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite the fact that I’ve got plenty of DD figures already, this was definitely the figure I was most anticipating from this assortment.  Honestly, I’ve been hoping for this design pretty much since we got the updates to red and yellow, and counter to what my remarks early in the review might have hinted, I’m glad that Hasbro waited until they had really stepped up their game sculpting wise on the line to add this costume to the mix.  He’s very well served by the all-new sculpt, and I would put him on par with the Marvel Now Moon Knight in terms of how much a dedicated sculpt can do to really make a design like this amazing.  I think people are kind of sleeping on this figure right now, which is a shame, because he’s really fantastic.

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

#2420: Daredevil & Bullseye

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

BATTLE DAMAGED DAREDEVIL, BULLSEYE, & UNMASKED DAREDEVIL

MARVEL MINIMATES

Though Daredevil and his supporting cast of players were removed and set out on their own for the purposes of Marvel Minimates very first assortment, when it came time to launch into their second year, old horn-head found himself once again grouped with the Spider-Man cast, accenting two straight Spidey-themed sets.  This time, he paired off with pretty much his last major foe not to be covered in the first series, Bullseye, and got two additional variants of himself, all of which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Battle Damaged Daredevil and Bullseye were the final standard set in the specialty line-up for Series 4 of Marvel Minimates, with the variant DD swapping out for the standard in the one-per-case variant set.  As is the case with most of these earlier ‘mates, Battle Damaged DD and Bullseye were also available through the Target/Walmart packs, and were each available (albeit separately from each other) through Toys R Us’ larger boxed sets as well.  Unmasked Daredevil was only available in the Series 4 line-up, which is just really the best for everybody, I think.

BATTLE DAMAGED DD

Well, Spidey got in on this whole “Battle Damage” trend, so I guess DD wanted to be a part of it.  Given how much of beating Matt’s prone to taking on his usual exploits, it’s honestly not the worst choice for him.  The approach to creating this figure is much the same as the Spidey, starting with the standard version of the character and dropping some additional damaged details on top of it.  In that regard, this guy uses the same construction as the Series 1 release, with add-ons for his mask and belt.  As with that release, I feel these pieces still hold up, and they were definitely great at the time.  The paint’s where the changes occur.  Under it all, the very basic core details from the Red DD are all still there, but now there’s been a lot of scuffs and scratches added throughout, and a couple of exposed bits of skin are showing through.  Under his mask, we get a similar face to the other two DDs, but his expression has now changed, into something a bit more severe.  It’s a nice little change-up from the norm.  He may be a little battered, but Matt’s still rocking his two billy clubs, once again in all-red.

BULLSEYE

Bullseye was shown off a few times along the year one ‘mates, but didn’t quite make the cut, so we knew he was coming in some fashion.  This guy was also definitely a little swept up in the whole 2003 movie craze, but it’s not like Bullseye’s a really oddball character or anything like that.  His construction is pretty similar to his opponent, with add-ons for his mask and belt.  Both of these were new to Bullseye, and both would remain unique to him.  The mask was the first time we got visible eyes beneath a separate mask piece, and it handles them quite well.  The belt’s a pretty solid and pretty standard piece, so I’m a little surprised it wasn’t re-used, and honestly I might be wrong on that.  The paint on this guy is again pretty basic, but shows some of their trend towards higher levels of detailing.  When first shown, Bullseye was in a color scheme much closer to his modern comics appearance, but by time of release, the bulk of him is a much friendlier blue.  Not sure why the change, but it matches his classic appearances, so I guess that’s fine.  Bullseye is the master of turning anything into a weapon, so there are a lot of accessory options there, but this guy just goes for a single small knife.  Honestly, it’s not the end of the world, considering that the Legend didn’t even get that much.

UNMASKED DD

Man, did you think that Unmasked Spider-Man was a lazy excuse for a whole figure?  Well, feast your eyes on Unmasked Daredevil.  Literally, he’s the Series 1 Daredevil with Peter Parker’s hair/glasses.  You had to buy a second Bullseye in order to get a thing you stood a good chance of just doing on your own with parts you already had on hand.  What’s more, it’s not even all that great an unmasked figure, because, with the glasses and all, about the same amount of the face is visible.  Boy was this a weak, weak variant.  In a world where people pointed to the sanctity of preserving the rarity of the variants, I point to this guy and say “how do you preserve that?”, considering that an unmasked option literally became a standard for DDs after this.  I’m not a fan of this guy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had Damaged DD and Bullseye when they were new, but over the years lost most of their pieces.  I recall liking them well enough at the time, and I can confirm I still think they’re pretty worthwhile.  Damaged DD in particular is a unique offering and does actually try to do something new and interesting.  Unmasked DD I didn’t have when he was new, in part because I wasn’t getting the variants, but also because even when they were still new, I felt he was a waste of space.  And now I have one and I still kinda feel like he’s a waste of space.  But I own him, so I guess he won in the end, now didn’t he?

All three of these specific ‘mates are new to me, and were purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  They’ve still got a lot of that Minimate collection, and other cool toys both old and new, so please check out their website and their eBay Store.

#2374: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

AVENGERS INFINITE (HASBRO)

“With an armored suit and steel billy clubs, Daredevil vanishes into the night to defend the city!”

Though he’s more or less stuck with the same look since switching to the all-red number early in the ’60s, Daredevil has still managed to pick up a few different designs over the years.  In the ’90s, when everything was getting more “x-treme”, Daredevil combated the X-treme-ness with an extra armored design, dubbed Armored Daredevil, for originality’s sake.  Despite being around in the ’90s, at peak “we’re making toys of these” time, Armored DD is a slightly rarer entry in the toy world.  Toy Biz did one quick and dirty repaint version, and there’s been a Minimate, and there’s also today’s figure, courtesy of Hasbro.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daredevil was released in 2015 as part of the line that initially started as the Avengers Infinite line, but after losing the Avengers focus had transitioned to just Marvel Infinite.  It was, for all intents and purposes, just a continuation of the Marvel Universe line, since it was the same scale and general style.  The figure stands 4 1/4 inches tall and he has 19 points of articulation.  By this point, the line was pretty quickly cutting down on the articulation on the figures in order to keep the cost of figures down, so DD is definitely more on the restricted side of things.  This has its pluses and minuses, as it makes him a slightly sturdier figure than a lot of the MU-style figures were, but it also means there’s just not a lot of posing to be done with him.  The lack of any sort of mid torso joint is definitely the biggest limitation, but as a whole, he’s just kinda stiff.  The figure did at least have a good number of new parts.  Only the torso is a standard piece, with all of the others being new parts, which do a really nice job of capturing the armored plates of the comics design.  In this costume, Matt had ditched the holster on his leg for his clubs, and instead kept one mounted on each forearm.  This figure permanently attaches one to his left arm, just to demonstrate the concept, I guess.  It’s odd that the one with the club attached is also the same arm with a closed fist, since you would assume that he would grab each club with the opposite hand, but maybe he likes passing them between hands?  DD’s paintwork is pretty cleanly handled for the most part.  Nothing amazing, but the color work matches the comics, and it’s fairly cleanly applied.  DD was originally packed with a loose club to match the one on his arm.  Mine doesn’t have that, but he does have a billy club piece that’s not actually his, because I didn’t realize that until after taking the main photo.  Silly me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was sort of interested in this figure when he was first shown off, because I have something of a soft spot for this design, but by the time he actually hit, I just never brought myself around to picking him up.  Like the Colossus figure I reviewed two weeks ago, he’s part of a collection that Cosmic Comix bought, which allowed me to get him for fairly cheap.  He’s a cool figure, and I’m glad I finally picked him up, but I can’t say I regret not buying him at full retail.  He’s just okay.