Tag Archives: Hasbro

#0653: Misty Knight

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

MISTY KNIGHT – HEROES FOR HIRE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Not everyone will agree, but I think the 70s may be one of the best eras of comics. It’s a decade that gets a lot of crap for being dated, and perhaps rightfully so, but it it’s also the decade that gave us All New All Different X-Men, Denny O’Niel and Neal Adams on Batman, and even some of the hokier series, such as Luke Cage and Iron Fist, Heroes For Hire. The 70s (at Marvel at least) also gave us some tremendous supporting casts, including a few who were passed back and forth between different series. One such character is today’s focus, Misty Knight, who began her comics career as Jean Grey’s roommate, before hooking up with Iron Fist, got a robot arm, and became a spy. She’s also very 70s, but in a cool way.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MistyKnight2Misty Knight was released as part of the latest series of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Officially, she’s named Heroes For Hire, a name she shares with Ghost Rider, though the two don’t share anything but the name. Given her association with Iron Fist and Luke Cage, the name fits. The figure is 6 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation. She looks to be based on one of Misty’s more recent designs. I myself am still partial to the black turtleneck look she sported in the 70s, but a) this look is more sensible in a reuse heavy line and b) I’m just thrilled to have gotten a Misty Knight action figure at all. The figure uses the most recent female base (seen on Scarlet Witch, Hellcat, and Wasp) as a starting point. I still don’t like the pelvis piece, but other than that, it’s a good starting point. Misty gets an all-new head, hands, and upper torso, as well as an add-on piece for her belt and holster. All of the new parts a nicely handled. The hair is a tad on the ridiculous side, size wise, but not terribly so. On the plus side, it’s very well textured, which is always nice. The face seems a bit on the gaunt side for Misty, but it’s passable. The new torso gives Misty an unzipped zipper, as well as a shoulder strap with pouches. I can definitely see Hasbro repurposing this for another figure down the road. For her hands, her left has a trigger finger, so she can hold her gun, and the right is robotic, so as to showcase her bionic arm. Both are well sculpted, but the robotic piece definitely steals the show. Paint wise, Misty is, at the very least, vibrant. The reds and golds are nice and bright and give her a nice warm look. The face is definitely the weak point, though; the eyes are just a touch out of sync, so she looks like she has a lazy eye, and the lips seem way too bright a red. Other than that, her paintwork is nice and clean. Misty is packed with a pretty cool golden revolver, as well as the torso of Rhino.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Misty is definitely the figure from this series that excited me the most. I honestly never thought I’d ever see a figure of her, given her relative obscurity and somewhat out of date design. She ended up being one of my main reasons for ordering a set right off the bat, as I was anxious to get her. The figure isn’t perfect. The paint on the face could stand to be better. And, if I’m petty, it’s not my preferred design for the character. That said, she’s still really well put together, and this is likely to be the only time we see her in action figure form. That fact alone warrants the purchase.

*Want a Misty Knight figure of your own?  She’s currently in-stock with our sponsors over at All Time Toys!  Click here to check her out!

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#0651: Superior Venom

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

SUPERIOR VENOM

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Have you guys seen the movie Inception? Because of today’s review might be slightly like that. A little. The focus of this review is a villain, inside a hero, inside a villain. That’s right, it’s Superior Venom, who’s Doctor Octopus’s mind in Peter Parker’s body, while bonded with the Venom symbiote. Confused? You won’t be after the next episode–er, review on The Figure in Question.*

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SuperiorVenom2Superior Venom is the second figure in the latest round of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s the requisite symbiote for the series. Just go with it. He’s based on the brief appearance of the Superior Venom from Superior Spider-Man #22-25. It’s short-lived, but it’s a Venom variant, so…yeah. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and sports 32 points of articulation. He’s built on Hasbro’s new Spider-Man base body, which is sensible, given that it’s supposed to be the same guy (more or less). In addition to the body, Venom gets a brand-new head sculpt, as well as the hands of Spider-Man 2099, and what appear to be a resized set of Ultimate Green Goblin feet. The head is a pretty good match to Humberto Ramos’s artwork from the issues where the design appeared; it’s sufficiently monstrous while still maintaining the Spider-Man look. The figure also has a backpack style piece, which has four slots for his leg attachments. Each slot is designed to fit a specific leg, which I guess makes placing them a bit easier, but it also means the legs are totally static. Given the odd posing of said legs, the lack of movement is rather frustrating. Superior Venom’s paintwork is pretty decently handled. It’s mostly just white detailing, which stands out nicely against the figure’s black plastic. The deliberately crooked webbing makes for a much better detailing than Superior Spider-Man, which is a nice change. He also has the red web shooters on his wrists, which were missing from Superior Spider-Man. The figure is packed with the right arm of Rhino, this series’ Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Yeah, so here’s another Venom, and it’s not the classic Eddie Brock version that pretty much everyone wanted. But, it’s okay, because Hasbro showed that one at ComiCon. No worries. I’m not gonna lie, I pretty much only got this guy because I was buying a whole set. Superior Venom isn’t a look I really needed. That said, he’s a surprisingly enjoyable figure. Sure, the tendril/legs don’t move, which is a definite bummer, but the figure is actually a lot of fun, and he fixes a few of the issues present with the Superior Spider-Man figure.  Damn you Hasbro, making me like figures I had no interest in! You’re killing me!

*that’s right, I made a Soap reference. Everyone knows that action figures and Soap go together like…two things that go together.

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#0650: Scarlet Spider

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

MARVEL’S SCARLET SPIDER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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It’s a mark of a truly popular character when they get a clone (or are revealed to be a clone, in the case of one Boba Fett). Okay, maybe not. I actually just made that up. Off the top of my head. Sorry if you feel lied to, but I needed an intro for Scarlet Spider, the (first) clone of Spider-Man. So, there you have it. So, yeah, I’m reviewing a figure of Ben Reily, aka the Scarlet Spider. 90s nostalgia activated!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ScarletSpiderML2Scarlet Spider is the first figure in the third series of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s filling the slot of the requisite Spidey variant for this series, so good for him. He’s presented here in his main Scarlet Spider costume, which, in story, was pieced together from some novelty store items in order to fight Venom. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. Structurally, he’s built on Hasbro’s new Spider-Man body, which is a pretty good start. He has a new head and torso, as well as add-one for his web shooters, belt, and the pouches on his ankles. The head isn’t wildly different from the one we saw on Pizza Spidey, but the outlines on the eyes are slightly more angular and much larger, which is true to the character design. The torso has been re-sculpted to replicate Scarlet Spider’s sleeveless hoodie. It removes some of the shoulder articulation, but it works aesthetically, and the sculpt is appropriately layered. The bottom has even been sculpted to fit around the contours of the belt, which is a ScarletSpiderML3nice touch. The web shooters don’t feature any real sculpted detail; the lines are painted. This is a little disappointing, though I assume it’s to maximize reuse potential. Scarlet Spider actually doesn’t have much paintwork. What’s there is decent enough; there’s a bit of bleed over, but nothing terrible. The logos on the sweatshirt are nice and sharp, which is really cool.  The figure is packed with three sets of hands in web shooting, fist, and open palm poses. They’re the same as the ones packed with Pizza Spidey, but no less cool because of it. He also includes not one but two heads for the series Build-A-Figure Rhino, which I’ll touch on in Rhino’s review.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

He’s a little confusing, and part of one of the more controversial Spider-Man stories, but I kinda love Scarlet Spider. So, I was super excited when Hasbro showed him at this year’s Toy Fair. I’ve been patiently waiting since then, and I ordered him (along with the rest of the series) from Big Bad Toy Store as soon as he was in stock. This figure turned out really well, and he’s a great counterpart to last series’ Pizza Spidey, as well as a tremendous improvement on the old Spider-Man Classics version of the character.

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#0647: Marvel’s Klaw

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

MARVEL’s KLAW

RETURN OF MARVEL LEGENDS

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Hasbro’s really been making some great strides with Marvel Legends lately. When they took over the license several years back, they certainly had a rough time managing the line, leading to the whole scale being scrapped for a little while. Then they came back and they came back strong. Now, I’ll admit, I was a hard sell on Marvel Legends after the hiatus. I was happy with my Marvel Universe figures, and Hasbro’s early Return offerings still had some issues to work out. But, they gradually got better, almost sneakily so, and now that they’ve moved onto the Infinite Series, I’ve become thoroughly hooked. So, now I’m playing the catch-up game with some of those Return figures, such as today’s figure of Klaw, major foe of the Black Panther, and a supporting player in this summer’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Klaw2Klaw was released as part of the Terrax Series of the Return of Marvel Legends, which was the first series of Marvel Legends following the hiatus. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and sports 30 points of articulation. This figure represents Klaw post soundwave-based transformation. Not really much of a shock there, since a pre-transformation Klaw wouldn’t exactly be the most exciting thing, and he’s spent 99.9% of his career as a red sound guy. Klaw is built on the body first used for Hasbro’s take on Silver Surfer. It was one of Hasbro’s earliest attempts at a base body, and it’s definitely before they had quite gotten the hang of designing these things. It’s not terrible, and certainly not as bad as some of ToyBiz’s worst sculpts, but it’s definitely got some issues. For one thing, it’s really scrawny. Klaw’s not the hugest guy ever, but he’s usually shown with a fair bit of heft to him. Also, the muscles are really, really defined, as if he’s flexing really hard, which looks rather uncomfortable. Throw in articulation that can best be described as clunky and obtrusive, and you’ve got a body that holds poor Klaw back. To Hasbro’s credit, the new pieces (the head and his sound converter) are both very well handled. The head does a great job of capturing Klaw’s very Kirby-styled head and is appropriately menacing, and the “claw” is full of fun little details (though it’s been warped a bit by the packaging, which is annoying). The paintwork on Klaw is pretty decent. It’s rather straightforward, but that works well for a character like Klaw. There’s a little bleed over here and there, but it’s all relatively minor. The biggest issue for me is that the reds of the arms and legs don’t match with the torso. It’s really noticeable on such a simple figure. Klaw’s only accessory was the left leg of the series’ B-A-F Terrax. I don’t have any of the other figures from this series and I doubt I’ll be getting them anytime soon, so all I’ve got’s a leg. Huzzah.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I didn’t purchase Klaw when he was new. Nor did I buy him any of the many times I saw him on clearance at Target. I really can’t say why. I like Klaw, I really do. I guess I was just cold on Legends as a whole. Anyway, I ended up finding this guy at Yesterday’s Fun while on vacation this year. He was less than I would have paid at retail, so I really can’t complain. Ultimately, the figure’s fatal flaw is the unfortunate choice of body. I’d be curious to see how the head and claw might look on the Bucky Cap or Grim Reaper body, as it might make for a nice improvement. As is, he’s passable, which isn’t the worst thing.

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#0642: Beetle -Deadliest Foes

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

BEETLE – DEADLIEST FOES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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There are very few lines of which I would consider myself a “completist.” Off the top of my head, I believe the only two I’ve really stuck with are NECA’s Aliens and SMC’s Weaponeers of Monkaa. There was a time, back during ToyBiz’s run on Marvel Legends that I gave owning every figure in the line some thought, but I ultimately decided against it, due mostly to the unevenness of figure quality. When Hasbro took over, I backed down even more, and almost quit the line entirely. When they re-launched under the Infinite Series handle, I went back to cherry-picking, but the quality of the figures has been rapidly increasing, leading to me getting figures I normally wouldn’t. Take, for instance, Beetle, the subject of today’s review. Now, I generally like Beetle as a character, so it’s odd for me to say that he wasn’t a figure I’d normally buy. I’ll get to the why of that in a bit.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Beetle2Beetle was part of the first series of Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Officially, he’s not actually called Beetle, he’s called Deadliest Foes, a name he shares with Boomerang, who was his swap figure in this line. While they are swap figures, they don’t actually share anything but the Build-A-Figure piece. Beetle is roughly 6 ½ inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. Beetle’s had a few looks over the years, of varying styles. This figure is based on his Ultimate universe design, which is my least favorite of all the Beetle designs. It’s the one used in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon show, so I guess it makes a little sense, but it definitely turned me off the figure. Beetle features a sculpt that is unique to him (though a fair bit of it will be re-used for a comic-style Ultron later this year). It’s a well detailed sculpt, and it does a nice job of replicating Mark Bagley’s design of the character from the comic. While there are lots of details and bits, the sculpt still maintains certain sleekness, which is definitely cool. The wings and backpack are a separate piece, which clips into place and stays there nicely. The paintwork on the figure is okay, but, for me, it’s flawed from the start. See, the Ultimate Beetle is silver and red, in contrast to the green and purple scheme of EVERY OTHER BEETLE DESIGN EVER. So, yeah, I don’t really care for the color scheme. Aside from that, the paint is decent enough. There’s a bit of slop here and there, but it’s generally pretty clean. Beetle’s only accessory is the leg to the series Build-A-Figure Ultimate Green Goblin. So, now I’ve got two of those. Cool?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Beetle was yet another contribution to my collection courtesy of my Super Awesome Girlfriend. Apparently, she was walking through Walgreens and saw this guy and thought I’d like him. Amazingly enough, I hadn’t actually broken down and gotten him yet! While I’m not the biggest fan of the design he’s based on, the figure is actually a lot of fun. I’m really glad I got him!

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#0641: Vision (w/ Sub-Ultron 011)

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

VISION (W/ SUB-ULTRON 011)

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

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With the last few Marvel movie tie-in toy lines, Hasbro’s been trying out a variety of different scales and styles, just to see what sticks, I guess. Guardians of the Galaxy skipped the company’s signature 3 ¾ inch scale in favor of the slightly smaller 2 ½ inch scale. Age of Ultron has delivered the best of both worlds (sort of) by giving us both scales. I’ve looked at a few of the 3 ¾ inch figures with…mixed results. Yesterday’s Scarlet Witch review was my first look at the smaller line, and, aside from the weird Sub-Ultron pack-in, I quite liked her. Now, Scarlet witch was one of my favorite additions to the team in Age of Ultron, but, for me, the absolute top was today’s focus, The Vision. That dude rocked super hard. Currently, his only movie-based figure (not counting the Pop! bobble-head) is in the 2 ½ inch line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

VisionAoU2Vision (and his pack-mate Sub-Ultron 011) was released in the second assortment of 2 ½ inch Avengers: Age of Ultron figures. Given the scale, it’s no surprise that the figure stands 2 ½ inches tall. This is a slight point of annoyance for me because he’s just a smidge shorter than the Scarlet Witch figure, which isn’t accurate. Vision is played by the 6’3” Paul Bettany, while Elizabeth Olsen, who plays Scarlet Witch, is only 5’6”. Scale’s a bit harder when they’re this small, so it’s sort of forgivable, but still annoying. But what about the figure outside of comparative heights? Well, obviously, he’s based on Vision as portrayed by Bettany in the movie. That being said, he appears to have been based on an earlier design for Vision. He’s not incredibly different, but the headpiece is a little bulkier and more rounded that it was in the final film. Aside from that, he’s got a pretty decent sculpt. The proportions are all nicely balanced, and his “uniform” VisionAoU3has the appropriate texturing. The cape is a little bulky at the top, but not horribly so, and it does a very nice job of capturing the intricate design from the movie. The paintwork is another area where the people at Hasbro were clearly working from a less than finalized design. In general, his palate is far more washed out than it was on screen; the greens are grey and the reds are more of a magenta. The yellow’s about the same, but the cape is missing all of the accent work of the one seen in the film, which puts the very nice sculpt somewhat to waste. Also, his headgear is just straight silver instead of green, and he’s lacking pupils. If Wanda can get pupils, so can he! Vision has no accessories of his own, but he does get packed with yet another Sub-Ultron. This one continues the wheeled theme, though we get a set of treads this time around. I think this particular Sub-Ultron is new to this pack, though the upper torso(s) did show up on a few other Sub-Ultrons in the first assortment. I like 011 more than 008, but the dual upper torso thing does confuse me a bit. Which one of them drives?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My parents went to Hawaii and all I got was this Vision action figure. Okay, not really. I mean, yes, my parents buy him for me while they were in Hawaii, but it’s not like it’s all I got. Plus, it’s the Vision. As I stated above, he rocks super hard. I think he’s on par with Hawaii. I will admit, Vision’s not quite as good as the Scarlet Witch in this scale, but he’s pretty decent, overall. Add in the fact that I like this Sub-Ultron more than the last, and you’ve got a pretty winning set. I do hope Hasbro does Vision in one of the larger scales, though. He’s too cool to be contained in a 2 ½ inch figure.

#0640: Scarlet Witch (w/ Sub-Ultron 008)

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

SCARLET WITCH (W/ SUB-ULTRON 008)

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTON

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Well, Age of Ultron has come and gone. As of last week, it’s officially no longer the hot new Marvel movie. That said, some of the tie-in product is still making its way into stores, or, in most cases, sales on more desired stuff have slowed enough that the average consumer can actually find them. That’s where I come in! Yay! Scarlet Witch was definitely one of the film’s breakout characters, so her (admittedly under-packed ) figures have been difficult to find for some time. But I got one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ScarWitSubUlt2Scarlet Witch (along with Sub-Ultron 008) was released as part of the second round of Avengers: Age of Ultron Avengers Vs. Sub-Ultron sets. The figure stands 2 ½ inches tall and has 5 points of articulation. She’s based on the character’s appearance in the big, climactic battle from the film. Seeing as this is when she actually joins up with the Avengers, it’s a sensible choice, and it’s the look we’ve seen on all of the merchandise so far. Scarlet Witch features a unique sculpt, which is pretty good, especially given the scale. There are a few minor issues; the neck is a little too long, and the hips feel a little detached from the torso. However, the head bears more than a passing resemblance to Elizabeth Olsen and the clothes are quite well detailed. It’s also nice to see the hands in a position other than the overly large, generic gripping pose that all of the GOTG figures had. The paintwork is simple and straightforward, but it’s cleanly handled and looks good overall. Scarlet Witch is packed with a pair of hex attachments. They’re a different mold from the ones used for the recent Marvel Legends and 3 ¾ scale figures; I guess that mold was too big. The solid red isn’t as nice as the translucent color of prior figures, but it’s serviceable. What’s that? Does she come with something else? Oh, right, that Sub-Ultron thing. Yeah, she’s packed with that. It has to be an accessory, because I really can’t count it as its own figure. There’s one of these things with every figure in this set. This one’s motorcycle-based; it first showed up, molded in blue instead of red, packed with Hulk. It’s okay, I guess. The Ultron portion is on the boxy side. The arms look to be cannons, and they sort of move at the shoulders. The cycle bit is just a solid hunk of plastic; the wheels are totally stationary.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

No exciting story here. I ended up finding this while at my nearest Walmart. There it is. There’s a clear focus for this set, and it’s Scarlet Witch. She’s a cool figure, and is definitely worth a purchase. The Sub-Ultron…ehhh. It’s not like it’s bad, but it doesn’t really offer a whole lot of fun.

#0637: Ultron

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

ULTRON

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Well, it’s a little late, but here’s my Ultron Build-A-Figure review!  I actually had most of this review ready to go a few days ago, but, as I mention in my Orion and Onigumo review, computer issues left me without access to the lovely photos I’d shot for this.  So, I had to shelf it for just a little bit and work with figures of which I did have pictures.  Fortunately, I was able to get my computer issues mostly sorted out, so we’re back in business!  Yay!  So, he’s my review of yet another Ultron.  I know, it’s a real change of pace.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

UltronBAF2Ultron is the Build-A-Figure for the Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series.  At face value, that might seem a little odd.  I mean, this is the movie version of Ultron, who’s in no way related to Ant-Man.  Wouldn’t he have made more sense as the BAF for the last series of Avengers Marvel Legends?  Well, yeah, he would, but I can kinda see why Hasbro went the way they did.  First of all, it gave them more time to get the details on Ultron accurate to what was seen on screen.  It also gave the Ant-Man series, which had to be something of a hard sell to retailers, more of a hook.  And, seeing as Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, created Ultron in the comics, there’s at least a little bit of a link.  So, as I noted above, this is the movie version of Ultron; specifically, it’s his Ultron Prime look, which was his main body for the majority of the film.  It’s kind of an important look.  The figure is 8 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation.  This is the first of the Ultron figures from the movie not to feel horribly undersized next to his fellow figures, and that’s actually a pretty big deal.  Ultron also gets a sculpt all his own, though, to be totally upfront, it’s not quite as good as it could be.  A lot of that has to do with how the articulation has been worked in, which is to say very clumsily.  It’s forgivable on the arms and legs, but the fact that the ab-joint doesn’t follow the sculpted detail lines feels inexcusable. Also, the  hands are kinda weirdly posed, which is annoying.  In fact, the hands in general feel less detailed than the rest of the figure, almost as if their unfinished.  He’s got webbed fingers for crying out loud!  However, complaints aside, there’s more than a few things to like about this sculpt.  The head is very well detailed and captures Ultron’s distinctive movie look very well.  They’ve chosen a more pondering expression, which some people don’t like, but I think it works for the character.  Ultron’s sculpt is also a fair bit closer to the on screen design than prior attempts, and manages to get pretty darn close.  Like the sculpt, paintwork is something of a mixed bag here.  Not in the usual sloppy Hasbro paint apps way, either.  No, everything’s clean here, it’s just…inconsistent?  I don’t know how to put it.  The figure is molded in a dark-ish grey, with silver painted over it.  The thing is, the silver is rather heavy in some areas and completely absent in others, with no real area between.  It’s jarring to say the least.  Also, many of the red sections feel like they were tacked on at the last minute, and don’t line up with the sculpt at all.  As an accessory himself, Ultron includes no pack-ins.  I can’t really think of anything to give him, so I guess that’s fair.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve been following the Ant-Man Legends reviews, you can probably figure out where this guy came from.  I picked up all but Giant-Man from my local TRU, and then ordered Giant-Man online, thereby getting myself an Ultron.  How about that?  This is the movie Ultron I was most looking forward to, and it’s not wrong to say he’s the best we’ve gotten.  That said, he still has more than a few flaws, which prevent him from being quite as cool as he could have been, which is certainly a letdown.

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#0633: Giant-Man

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

GIANT-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINTE SERIES

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So, the Ant-man movie has finally found its way to its US release today. By the time you read this, I’ll have already seen it, and hopefully have enjoyed it. Now, Scott Lang, aka the second Ant-Man, takes the lead role in the film, but in both the comics and the movie, things are kicked off by Hank Pym. Pym actually moved out of the Ant-Man identity relatively quickly in the comics, becoming the slightly more useful (though also less fun) Giant-Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GiantMan2Giant-Man is the sixth figure in Hasbro’s Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. Yes, you read that right: Giant-Man is normal sized. This has caused a little bit of contention within the collecting community. Ultimately, though, Giant-Man can change his size, and we’ve never gotten him at normal size, so I’m pretty happy about it. Giant-Man is based on his most recent design, which he first started wearing following his return to the identity after being the Wasp for a little while, right when he began teaching at Avengers Academy. It’s modern, but also not far from his original costume. I miss the blue, but it’s actually a pretty nice design. For the most part, the figure is just the Bucky Cap body, with a new head thrown in for good measure. The body is still a good one, and it’s well chosen for a normal sized Hank Pym. The head is fairly straightforward, but it’s still pretty good. The antennae were a little bit warped straight out of the package, but they go GiantMan3back to their proper shape pretty easily. The face has some of the trademarks of the post-ROML male faces, which aren’t my favorite sculpts, but the angles are softer here, so it’s not horrible. Giant-Man is a Hasbro figure, which almost always means questionable paintwork. This figure isn’t an exception. The general application is alright, and the base red plastic is nice and bright, but some of the edges are fuzzy and a few of the black sections don’t line up quite right. Also, the red on the tops of the boots doesn’t match the rest of the figure. However, as a whole, the figure doesn’t look atrocious. Giant-Man included no accessories of his own, but he did come with the right leg of Ultron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Giant-Man was the only figure absent from the ones I found at my local TRU. As the figure I was most anticipating from this set, that bummed me out a bit, but I was able to get one courtesy of their online store. Ultimately, some of the issues with his paint, coupled with my unexpected enjoyment of Bulldozer, has resulted in him not being quite as exciting as I’d hoped. Still, he’s not a bad figure, and he does look pretty good when posed with the smaller scale Marvel Universe figures.

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#0632: Grim Reaper

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

GRIM REAPER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Avengers villains have long had a difficult time of getting any form of respect, especially when it comes to the action figure world. Of course, your main foes having a couple of successful movies under their belts does a lot to turn things around. One of my favorite Avenging villains is Grim Reaper, the brother of Avengers member Wonder Man. He went quite some time with not a single action figure, but he’s gotten two in just the last year. He just found his way into the Marvel Legends scale and style, so let’s look at that one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GrimReaper2Grim Reaper is the fifth figure in Hasbro’s Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. His connection to Ant-Man is definitely a stretch, but he’s the brother of Wonder Man Wonder Man served as the basis for Vision’s brain patterns, Vision was the “son” of Ultron, and Ultron was created by Hank Pym, aka the original Ant-Man. So their sorta related; demented and sad, but sorta related. The figure is just shy of 6 ½ inches tall and has 29 points of articulation. Good ‘ol Reaper has the notoriety of being the first character to use Hasbro’s new base body. The body is meant to be a midway point between the Bucky Cap and Hyperion bodies in terms of build. I think it’s their best base body yet, with softer angles and more realistic proportions. It moves away from the more exaggerated comic book styling, a move I wasn’t 100% sold on at first. However, in person, it looks pretty good, and it’s not so far removed that it looks out of place with other figures in the line. In addition to premiering the new body, he also has unique pieces for his head and Techno-Scythe, and is also the first figure to use the new cape add-on piece. The head is easily my favorite thing about GrimReaper3the figure. The Avengers Infinite version had an okay sculpt, but not anything that really stood out. That’s not the case here. Reaper has in intense, crazy smile that’s perfect for the character, and really makes him stand out from other figures in the line. It’s also correctly sized for the body, which was not true with the last Reaper. The Techno-Scythe is fine, but it suffers from being cast in rather soft plastic, making it a bit…droopy. It’s also based on a more recent design for the scythe, which I don’t find to be as visually interesting. The cape is this biggest letdown here. First off, it lacks the proper, built up collar that Reaper’s always had. Also, the peg has been sculpted with an extra bit to keep the cape from sitting flush with the figure’s back, so it sticks out and falls off a lot. Grim Reaper ended up with a pretty decent paint job, overall. The colors are all well-chosen, and things tend to stay where they’re supposed to. There are some weird choices, such as the red lines around the eyes, but things generally look pretty good. Grim Reaper’s only pack-in is the Build-A-Figure piece, which is the left leg of Ultron.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Grim Reaper is the last figure from this series that I was able to find at my local Toys R Us. I was pretty excited for this guy, though maybe not quite as excited as I would have been had the Avengers Infinite version not just been released. The figure turned out really well, and he offers not just a great interpretation of Grim Reaper (though I wouldn’t mind getting his undead look from the 80s) but also a great first look at Hasbro’s newest base body, which turned out better than expected.

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