Tag Archives: Infinite Series

#0731: Vision – Marvel Heroes

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

VISION – MARVEL HEROES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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With the exception of the AoU boxed set (which only kind of an honorary entry) it’s been a little while since I’ve looked at any Marvel Legends. That’ll change very quickly. Vision’s been making a pretty big splash recently. Something to do with a movie or something. The character’s renewed popularity reminded us all that we hadn’t gotten an ML Vision since very early in Hasbro’s run, and that one also wasn’t very good. So now there’s a new one! Let’s see how this one turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

VisionNow2Vision is a part of the third series of Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures, referred to by Hasbro as the “Hulkbuster Series” in reference to the Build-A-Figure. On the package, Vision is officially called “Marvel Heroes,” which may just be the most generic shared name to date. I guess they couldn’t think of any other common traits for Vision and Dr. Strange. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. Vision is presented here in his Marvel Now! costume (which, it should be noted, is NOT his current costume) most commonly seen in his Avengers A.I. appearances. It’s not too far removed from his classic look and it also has a few elements in common with his movie design, so I can see the appeal of this design. The figure is built on the Bucky Cap body, which is clearly one of Hasbro’s favorites. It’s a good body, and certainly a good fit for the character, so it works. He also gets a pair of hands from the recent “pizza” Spidey, which certainly make more sense than a pair of fists. The cape is the same one we saw on Grim Reaper and Brother Voodoo, and it’s really not one of my favorites. It’s got a strange flow to it and it sticks out way too far in the back. Plus, it doesn’t work for the seamless continuation from the torso that the comic design sports. I really hope they realize how flawed this piece is before it makes its way onto too many other figures. Vision’s one new piece is his head sculpt. It’s passable, but not fantastic. Above all, it just feels a bit too wide. It could certainly be worse, though. The paintwork on the figure is generally pretty decent. The head has some slop going on around the edge of the cowl, which is kind of annoying. From the neck down, it’s much better, with very little bleed over or slop. I do wish the diamond of the logo were a little bigger, but that’s minor. The metallic greens are definitely a highlight, though. Vision’s only extra is the lower torso of the Hulkbuster.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In case you hadn’t gleaned from prior Vision reviews, I’m a pretty big fan of the character. So, I was pretty excited to hear he was getting a new Legends figure, even if it was his Now! costume, of which I am only a moderate fan. Most of my Legends buying has been moved online, but I actually found this guy at a Walgreens, which was cool. He then ended up being part of the big “Unboxening” I did a few weeks ago, which was cool. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t the tiniest bit let down by this figure. He’s not bad, but he lacks the excitement of other figures from the line. I will say my opinion of him did improve immensely once I ditched the cape for a spare of the old Toy Biz one.

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#0716: Age of Ultron Boxed Set

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

THOR, BLACK WIDOW, BRUCE BANNER, & HAWKEYE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Trying to get a full line-up of the whole Avengers team from Avengers: Age of Ultron has been a barren source of amusement. Hasbro’s 2 ½ inch line has given us all but Black Widow and Quicksilver. The 3 ¾ inch line is missing those two again, plus Hawkeye and Vision. Up until recently, the Marvel Legends figures had only given us movie versions of Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America. Amazon has stepped in to help us at least finish up the main team (sans new additions), giving us a boxed set containing Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye from the second film, as well as figure of Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner for good measure.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These four were sold as a single boxed set, which just started shipping out a few weeks ago. They’re technically an Amazon exclusive, but time will tell if that sticks or if other stores might start getting them.

THOR

AoUML2This guy’s probably the most surprising to see relegated to an online-only boxed set. I mean, he’s Thor. That seems pretty big. But, I guess stores are still afraid of him after the incredibly slow sales of the toys from his first solo movie (available at a Toys R Us near you!). The figure is about 7 inches tall and has 28 points of articulation. He’s based on his design from Dark World/Age of Ultron (They’re more or less the same), specifically the sleeveless look. Since he’s lacking the sleeves in both of AoU’s main fight scenes, that seems like a good choice. Structurally, this guy’s all-new, making him the only AoU figure outside of Ultron to get all-new tooling. The sculpt is really great, all around. The face isn’t a pitch-perfect Hemsworth, but it’s definitely the closest Hasbro’s gotten so far, and it really isn’t far off. The hair manages to be rather intricately detailed, and it doesn’t get too bunchy anywhere. It also doesn’t restrict movement nearly as much as you might think, which is a definite plus. The rest of the body is well proportioned and loaded with detail, all of which looks pretty accurate to the movie design. Even the cape is handled well, which doesn’t happen often. If there’s one drawback, it’s the choice to make both hands gripping; I feel like one of them being in a more outstretched pose could have added to the posing options. The paint on this figure is interesting, as it’s quite a bit different from what was seen on the prototype. In addition to the paint being much thicker than on the final figure, the prototype also had many of the accents painted gold, making the figure a Dark World figure, not an Age of Ultron figure. The final still has a slight tint of gold on those areas, but it’s minor enough that it won’t stand out as obviously wrong in an Avengers set up. It’s a happy medium, which is a good choice. Thor is armed with his mighty hammer Mjolnir, which is very nicely sculpted and painted and fits well in his hand to boot.

BLACK WIDOW

AoUML4On to opposite end of the spectrum from the all-new Thor figure is Black Widow, who is just a repaint. Yep, Widow here is head to toe a repaint of her Winter Soldier figure. You can read my opinions on the sculpt, here. Briefly recapping, it was a good sculpt then, and it still holds up pretty well here, aside from being too tall for Johansson. She uses the Avengers-styled head (the hair is seated a bit better this time around, so the likeness is better), which is sensible, since her hair in AoU was more or less the same. What wasn’t more or less the same was her costume, which actually had several differences between TWS and AoU. The figure uses paint to make these changes, but doesn’t quite make it work. The most notable change to the costume was the addition of red gauntlets, which this figure skips all together. There are these random red squares on the forearms, but they don’t even come close to being “gauntlets.” Widow also had full gloves this time, as opposed to the usual fingerless ones. Rather than actually changing the hands, Hasbro opted to just mold them in a solid black. It’s not immediately evident that they aren’t right, but to someone like me, who knows the lines for the ends of the gloves are there, it’s kind of annoying that nothing was done to fix this. They did at least get the blue “tron lines” right, so there’s that. Also, the kneepads seem a little too bright, but they are, at the very least, close to accurate. For accessories, Widow loses the extra head and hands of her TWS counterpart, and still has the non-removable guns. She does get her baton thingies from the movie, but they’re kind of a little…droopy.

BRUCE BANNER

AoUML5Believe it or not, this is the first proper, Marvel Legends-scale Bruce Banner we’ve ever gotten. We got a Banner figure from Toy Biz’s Hulk Classics line (packed with Series 2’s Gamma Hulk), but he had inferior articulation and was just slightly out of scale. We haven’t seen another until now. Civilian versions of heroes are kind of a hard sell, I guess. Banner appears to be based on his arriving at the Helicarrier look from the first Avengers movie, though it’s really just a basic business casual look, so it can work a lot of places. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. Banner uses the recently developed suit body (first used on Agent Coulson) as his base. It’s a well sculpted body, and it’s certainly the best suit body on the market, so it’s a good starting point. Bruce gets a unique head sculpt, as well as a new upper torso piece. The head is a halfway decent interpretation of Mark Ruffalo. It’s far from perfect, but you can see who it’s meant to be. I think a better paint job could bring the likeness a lot closer. The new upper torso piece is really just a minor tweak on the old, removing the tie and opening up the collar, and thereby giving Bruce a more movie-accurate look. The paintwork on Banner is alright, but not fantastic. As noted above, the paint on the head hides the sculpt; it’s just a bit too sloppy and there’s virtually no work done to play up the sculpt’s strengths. The rest of the paint is just sort of there; the colors are good and everything stays where it’s supposed to, but there’s not much that stands out. Banner includes no accessories.

HAWKEYE

AoUML3It’s everybody’s favorite punching bag, Hawkeye! After being somewhat pushed to the side in the first Avengers, Hawkeye was presented a more substantial role for Age of Ultron, where he took a slightly divergent path from his comics counterpart and went straight to work checking off every “I’m gonna die” box possible. Then he made it out without dying! And there was much rejoicing (yay).  Hawkeye is right at 6 inches tall (like Widow, he’s just too tall) and he has 30 points of articulation. The figure is largely made of re-used parts from the first movie’s Walmart exclusive Hawkeye; only the head and quiver are different, and even the quiver is re-used from the more recent Marvel Legends comic Hawkeye. This of course means that Hawkeye is in his costume from the first movie, as opposed to his snazzy jacketed look from AoU. This look does still appear during the final battle, though, and the first release of this figure wasn’t the easiest to find, so this look is pretty valid too, I guess. Overall, the sculpt is pretty decent. The articulation scheme is a little outdated and the proportions are a little wonky in some spots, but the texture work on the uniform is superb. The new head sculpt is noteworthy because it finally gives us Hawkeye without the sunglasses that every figure seems to saddle him with, despite him not wearing them in either film. The Renner likeness is pretty decent, though the head does feel just a touch too wide. The paintwork on Hawkeye is pretty good overall. The eyes are a little bit off, but not terribly so, and all of the colors are well chosen. I also appreciate that the quiver isn’t just a solid color. I do wish the spot for the SHIELD emblem had something on it, because it’s distracting for it to just be a differently textured but unpainted bit, but that’s minor. Hawkeye is packed with his trusty bow, but, like the other Hawkeyes from Hasbro, no arrows.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Wanna take a guess as to where I got this here Amazon exclusive set? Yeah, I preordered this set pretty much as soon as it went up. Not gonna lie, I actually came pretty close to cancelling it, but Amazon went and shipped it without telling me it had arrived, so here it is. It’s not the most thrilling set of all time, but it does contain some pretty important figures. Thor’s definitely the star here, being the only truly new figure, and Widow’s definitely the weakest link (in terms of accuracy and not having anything new to offer. She’s still a good figure). Banner and Hawkeye both fall somewhere in between, being nonessential, but cool to have nonetheless. I think this set might be more exciting if Amazon were to follow it up with another 4-pack featuring Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, and Falcon, so we could actually finish up the team, but that seems like wishful thinking.

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#0666: Book of The Vishanti Boxed Set

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

DOCTOR STRANGE, MAGIK, BROTHER VOODOO, DORMAMMU, & HELA

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Oh no! It’s review number 666! Number of the beast! Sign of the Devil! Other superstitious things as well! I really don’t know. In honor of the reviews number, I thought I might take a look at something a little more supernaturally-based today. Yes, I’m well aware it’s still a Marvel Legends review. That shouldn’t shock anyone at this point. It’s also a review of quite a few figures, so I’d best dive into the actual review part!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

BOTVPack1BOTVPack6These five figures (along with a life size version of the Amulet of Agamotto) make up Hasbro’s San Diego Comicon exclusive Book of the Vishanti boxed set, released this year at SDCC 2015. The set was also made available on Hasbro’s website following the con, which is how I got mine. More on that later. The set is packaged in a mock-up of the titular book, which features a few sample pages that give some backstory on the included figures. Sadly, the packaging doesn’t photograph very well, but you can sort of make out some of its details pretty well.

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DOCTOR STRANGE

BOTV2Hey look! It’s Benedict Cumberbatch! Wait, sorry, not quite yet. He’s still just a relatively unknown comic book character. Ah well. Dr. Strange is presented here in his “Astral Projection” state, which is what he looks like when his mind leaves his body…and stuff. It’s kind of a standard variant for the character, though this is the first time the look has appeared in the Legends scale. The figure is just over 6 inches tall and he features 32 points of articulation. Structurally, Doctor Strange is a “pre-paint” of the upcoming Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series version of the character, which will release him in his non-Astral form. The figure uses the Bucky Cap body as a starting point, with a new head, torso, forearms, and hands, as well as an add-on piece for the belt and “skirt.” Most of the new parts are character-specific. The head does a nice job of capturing the somewhat aloof Doctor, and the hands have a nice spell-casting pose. The skirt is sculpted with a pit of flow to it, which helps to preserve the articulation. The torso pieces aren’t quite as character-specific; they tone down the musculature of the Bucky Cap body, which adds some nice variety. I’m sure there’s already some re-use planned on these particular parts. The good Doctor is fairly easy on the paint. For the most part, he’s molded in a translucent light blue plastic, which conveys the whole Astral Projection thing pretty well. Some of the costume details are outlined in silver, as are the eyes, and the eyebrows and mustache are done in a dark blue, but not the hair, which seems a little odd. Dr. Strange is packed with a pair of magic effects, which are the same as the ones we saw with the most recent comic Scarlet Witch.

MAGIK

BOTV5Just because the set is supernaturally themed doesn’t mean Marvel’s Merry Mutants get left out! Yes, it’s Colossus’s little sister, Magik, formerly of the New Mutants, formerly dead. Very exciting. I have only a passing familiarity with the character, so I’m not sure exactly which of her looks this figure represents. I think it’s fair to say it’s one of her more recent looks. It seems to sum up the character pretty well, so I’ll give it that. The figure is just shy of 6 inches tall and features 26 points of articulation. She uses the Spider-Girl body as a starting point, and adds in a new head, upper torso, and left arm, as well as an add-on for her belt. The Spider-Girl body is still one of my favorite Hasbro bodies, so it’s a good starting point, but I’m not sure this figure quite makes the best use of it. Something about the costume looks a little unsettling on this body. Maybe that’s just me though. The new parts are all very nicely handled; the head sculpt captures the character very nicely and the armored arm in particular exhibits some fantastic sculpting work. Magik’s paintwork is fairly decent overall. Most of the line work is nice and clean. The lack of pupils is a little odd looking, but that’s probably a design thing, so I can’t fault Hasbro. The red X on her right arm is a little uneven, but not terribly, and the hair and left arm have some great washes to help bring out the texture of the sculpts. Magik is packed with two differently sized swords. The smaller one is fairly basic, but the larger one is actually pretty awesome, and it’s even molded in iridescent plastic!

BROTHER VOODOO

BOTV3Hey, it’s another character I don’t know a ton about! I mean, I know the character’s basic schtic and I could pick him out of a line-up, I’ve just never followed any of his adventures very closely. I know he took over as the Sorcerer Supreme a few years back, but I don’t really know what’s happened with him since then. I do know that the figure is based on one of his more recent looks, following his promotion, and it was relatively short-lived. I guess it ties in with the set, but it wouldn’t be my first choice. Oh well. The figure stands just over 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. Like so many male figures these days, he uses the Bucky Cap body as his base, with a new head and right hand, plus the left hand of Spider-Man 2099 and add-ons for the cape, hood, belt, and gauntlets. The head does a fairly decent job of capturing the character. Once again, it’s not my preferred look, but it’s well-sculpted to say the least. The sash piece is well textured and is once again sculpted with a bit of wind flow to it. The cape is the same one we saw on Grim Reaper; it’s not my favorite, but I guess it works okay. The hood piece is sculpted to match and even includes the Eye of Agamotto. The pieces all fit well together and do a good job of translating the comic design to three-dimensions. Voodoo’s paintwork is pretty decently handled. Some of the skeleton outlines are a little fuzzy around the edges and the cape and sash could use a bit of a wash or something to dirty them up a bit, but everything is generally pretty good. Brother Voodoo is packed with a staff, which is a bit difficult for him to hold, but a nice extra overall.

DORMAMMU

BOTV6You can’t really have a Dr. Strange-themed set without including one of him main foes, Dormammu. So, here he is, making his debut appearance in Marvel Legends. When he first appeared, he just had a Human Torch head and a pair of purple long johns, which isn’t the most imposing look of all time. In the last few years, he’s gotten a bit of an upgrade, which has definitely made him just a touch more threatening. This figure goes with the newer look. I can’t blame them on that one, but I do sort of hope we see good ol’ purple long john-ed Human Torch at some point. He has a sort of a goofy charm to him. Now, how about the actual figure? Well, he stands almost 8 inches in height and has 31 points of articulation. He makes use of Hasbro’s under-used Terrax body, from way back in the first series of the Return of Marvel Legends. It’s a good, solid, large body, and it’s an excellent starting point for a big guy like Dormammu. It also matches up pretty well stylistically with the rest of the based bodies, which is always good. The BOTV7figure gets a new head and hands, as well as add-ons for his shoulder armor, belt/loincloth, and boot covers. All of these pieces are nicely-sculpted. The shoulder piece is a little on the loose side, but it looks nice. The head in particular captures the character’s look really well, and has a lot of nice, clean line-work. Dormammu’s paintwork is probably the spottiest of the set. It’s not bad, per say, but a lot of the edge work is fuzzy and he’s got a bit of slop on one of his shoulders. Also, the red is kinda thin, but that might be on purpose. I do like how the plastic on the arms is slightly translucent. Dormammu is packed with a pair of flaming skulls (re-used from one of Hasbro’s Ghost Riders) which are actually pretty nifty.

HELA

BOTV4If the mutants get a slot, I guess the Norse Gods are owed a spot too. So, we got a stand-in for the devil (in Dormammu), why not a version of Death? The last version of Death I looked at was Nekron, who’s super boring. Hela’s definitely a lot cooler! Well, cooler looking to say the least. Hela appears to be based on her original design, which seems to have re-surfaced more recently, allowing her to fit in with both classic and modern figures. That’s always a plus! The figure stands roughly 7 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. Hela makes use of the body Hasbro developed for Red She-Hulk during the RoML line. Some have said it’s too big for Hela, but her listed height is 6’6”, which makes this body about right. The body itself is pretty well sculpted, and it avoids any odd proportions for the most part. The hip articulation is a little out of date, but it’s not the worst thing ever. Hela gets a new head sculpt, which is quite nicely sculpted, and quite attractive. The weird head gear is made up of two separate pieces that plug into the back of the head. Be careful not to lose those! I almost did! Hela also has an add-on for her shoulder pads, which are attached to a cloth cape. I’m usually not big on cloth capes, but this one’s alright, and certainly preferable to the one on Brother Voodoo. Hela has a fairly complex paint job, but she actually manages to get one of the cleaner paint jobs in the set. The basic dark green is nice and shiny and the lighter green is a nice, flatter complement. All of the details are nice and clean, which is great to see on a Hasbro figure. She’s packed with a pretty nifty broadsword, which I believe is a new piece. Her grip on it is a little loose, but it looks cool enough.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since I wasn’t going to SDCC this year, I had to resort to getting this on Hasbro’s online store or risk having to pay twice its original value on Ebay. So, I found out what day the SDCC stuff was going on, opened the site on my computer, and sat there and refreshed the page for several hours. Eventually, the stuff got listed and I got this set put in my cart (actually, I put 3 in my cart by accident and had to spend a decent chunk of time trying to remove the two extras). Hasbro’s servers were overloaded of course, so there was a lot of wait time from page to page, which definitely made things pretty stressful for 20 minutes or so. What’s funny is I hadn’t planned on grabbing this set initially, since I only have a passing knowledge of most of the characters included. But, for some reason, as the con got closer, this set became more and more appealing. I’m really glad I picked it up. Astral Strange is a fun variant, Voodoo and Magik are passable, and I’ve always liked Dormammu. Hela steals the show for me, though. The paint is superb and she’s just a solid figure all around!

#0659: Ant-Man

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

ANT-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Well, it would seem that, as with just about every Marvel Studios film before it, Ant-Man has propelled its lead character into a new level of popularity.  It’s the kind of poularity that gets you a store exclusive, which always a pretty rad sort of deal.  The Walgreens exclusives continue to be a somewhat weird development, but, hey, it did get us another Ant-Man, so I won’t complain.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BlackAnt2Ant-Man is the latest Walgreens exclusive from Marvel Legends Infinite Series, following up debut exclusive Agent Venom.  Unsurprisingly, this figure has been branded as part of the recently released Ant-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series line-up.  While he’s billed as Ant-Man, he’s actually based on Black Ant, the LMD duplicate of Irredeemable Ant-Man Eric O’Grady who turned out to be a bad guy.  Aant-Man’s definitely the more recognizable name, though.  The figure is just over 6 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation.  He uses the recent Spider-Man base body, making him the first non-Spidey character to do so.  It’s definitely a nice sculpt, and it works well for the character, so it’s a good choice.  The figure gets a brand new head sculpt, as well as an add-on belt piece.  The head is quite nicely done, with plenty of sharp detail work.  It’s a nice translation of the comics design.  The belt is a little bit loose, but once it’s properly placed it looks pretty good.  Ant-Man’s paintwork is pretty well handled.  The reverse color scheme is quite striking, and the Reds and blacks are both pretty clean.  The orange details on the helmet are definitely a cool touch, as they are painted to look as though they’re illuminated.  If there’s one mark against this figure, it’s  lack of any sort of accessories.  He only has the basic fist hands, which feels a bit limiting after getting a nice selection of hands with two of the previous figures to use this body.  He also lacks any sort of mini Ant-Man, which has sort of become a staple of Ant-Man figures.  Neither of those would have required any new tooling, so the fact that this guy gets nothing is a bit of a let down.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Another Walgreens exclusive, another round of trying to find Walgreens locations near me that actually carry their exclusives.  In actuallity, finding him wasn’t that hard, since I discovered there’s a Walgreens rather close to me that manages to have a pretty decent selection of toys at most times.  So, no real issues with this guy.  Though I’m not a big fan of the storyline he comes from, I must admit to quite liking this figure.  I’d love to see him repainted into more traditional Ant-Man colors, though, if anyone at Hasbro is reading.

#0658: Rhino

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

RHINO

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Ha ha! We’ve reached the end of the set! Yes, after a week of Marvel Legends reviews, it’s time for the review of the Build-A-Figure. No putting it off this time, I swear. This time, it’s one of Spider-Man’s better known foes, the Rhino. He’s a dude in a rhino suit. That’s it. Some things are just simple. Unless you’re in Amazing Spider-Man 2. But we’re not, so yay! Let’s look at the figure already!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rhino2Rhino is the Build-A-Figure for the third set of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. This is the second time Rhino’s been featured in the Legends line, and the third time he’s been featured in this scale, but it’s the first time Hasbro’s taken a stab at him in this scale and the first figure in quite some time. The figure stands roughly 7 ½ inches tall and sports 28 points of articulation, which is actually pretty impressive given the bulk of the figure. Rhino features a brand new sculpt, and a pretty great one at that. The proportions of the figure are pretty great; they’re exaggerated, but in a balanced way, which gives him a nice, solid look. The “hide” of the suit is incredibly well-detailed, on just about every visible surface, and feels pretty unique to the character. I’ll be curious to see if Hasbro is able to find another use for this sculpt. The shoulder pads are removable, if you so choose, which is a nice option, I guess. The figure features two head sculpts, allowing Rhino to be displayed as either his modern or classic look. The fully cowl-ed modern head is more on the calm side, but still looks intense enough for some decent action poses. It’s also got a second, smaller horn, which differentiates it from the second head. The open-faced classic head is more extreme in expression, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, it’s well sculpted, and it makes for some really fun potential poses. On the other, it’s a little on the goofy side, and looks absolutely ridiculous in any sort of normal standing pose. It’s not helped by the fact that the paint’s a little wonky on the classic head, particularly around the eyes (a common theme for this particular series, sadly.) The other head fairs a bit better, mostly due to the lack of pupils. The body is mostly just molded in grey, but there’s a nice wash to help bring out the texture, which looks pretty good. Aside from the extra head, Rhino has no accessories, being an accessory himself. Honestly, the head is more than expected, so kudos to Hasbro there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I hadn’t initially planned on finishing this figure, mostly due to not really wanting all of the figures in the series. But, I did like the look of him, and getting a full set proved easier and more cost effective than tracking down singles. So, here he is. I actually really like him. I wish the paint on the classic head was a bit better, but the modern head is pretty great, and I love the body sculpt. This feels like a pretty worthy version of the character.

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#0657: Chameleon

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

CHAMELEON – SAVAGE FORCE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Spider-Man has a pretty decent rogue’s gallery. Given just how popular their main foe is, they are no strangers to toys. That said, some of them aren’t as sure a sale as others, resulting in less toys for them. Chameleon has often been in that boat, but he’s not completely absent from the toy world, despite the fact that he’s actually Spider-Man’s first costumed foe. Hasbro just granted him his first 6 inch scale figure, courtesy of the latest set of Marvel Legends.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Chameleon2Chameleon is the last figure in the third round of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. His packaged name is “Savage Force,” the same as Kraven, though the two have no overlap in terms of parts or accessories. The figure is roughly 6 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. His body is the same as that of Agent Coulson from the SHIELD set released earlier this year. It’s nice to see it back in circulation so soon, and it’s definitely nice to see it on a single release figure. With the exception of his elbows being set just a tab bit too low, it’s a really nice sculpt, and it’s easily one of the best suit bucks on the market. Chameleon gets a new head, showcasing his blank canvas-style face. It’s simple, but at the same time incredibly detailed. It looks perfect for the character, which is what matters. In addition to his main Chameleon head, the figure also includes two more heads, to showcase Chameleon’s master of disguise schtick. The heads are J Jonah Jameson and Hammerhead, two mainstays of the Spider-verse. Both pieces are well sculpted, but the Jonah sculpt is definitely my favorite of the two. The only real issue is that Chameleon’s body isn’t quite right for either of them; the colors don’t seem right for Jonah and the size is definitely too small for Hammerhead. But, it’s good to have them, and they work well for the whole disguise gimmick, so I can’t really complain. Chameleon’s paintwork is pretty decent, if somewhat basic. The suit is pretty much all solid molded colors, but things like the shiny shoes and really dark tie do a lot to add some dimension. The basic Chameleon head has some nice, subtle blue airbrushing to help accentuate the details, and the two extra heads both have nice base color work. Aside from the extra heads I already covered, Chameleon also includes three guns (a traditional tommy gun, and funky sci-fi guns in both large and small sizes) and the final piece to Rhino.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I don’t know why, but I’ve always really liked Chameleon. I even had his wonky-costumed 5 inch figure back in the day. So, I was pretty happy to see him as a part of this series. The final figure turned out even better than I’d hoped. The Coulson body is still really cool, and the base Chameleon head is just perfection. Throw in some really fun extras and you’ve got quite a winner of a figure.

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#0656: Ghost Rider

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

GHOST RIDER – HEROES FOR HIRE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

GRML1It may be surprising, given how many 90s tropes he fulfills, but Ghost Rider is actually one of Marvel’s more prominent 70s characters. The character now seems to be eternally linked to the 90s grunge style, however, he started off as a supernatural take on Evil Kinneval, definite a 70s icon. He was even a member of one the most 70s teams in their roster, The Champions. He’s so 70s, which, if you’ll recall from my Misty Knight review, I quite like. The original version of Ghost Rider isn’t as privy to toys as later versions, but Hasbro did see fit to add him to their most recent round of Marvel Legends

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GRML2Ghost Rider is the sixth figure in the third round of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinte Series figures.  Officially, he’s named “Heroes For Hire,” a name he shares with series-mate Misty Knight.  Of course, that’s the only thing they share, as both figures use completely different part sets and Rider’s B-A-F piece is completely different.  It’s a little confusing.  But, as with Misty, I don’t really care what he’s called, as long as he’s a good figure.  Ghost Rider is just over 6 inches tall, with 30 points of articulation (including a moving jaw!)  as noted in the intro, this guy’s based on the classic 70s, Johnny Blaze version of the character.  The figure is built on the body of the AIM Soldier from the Cap Legends, which is a pretty good match for the design (and it’s a reuse Hasbro’s done before with their Marvel Universe line, so there’s precedent.)  In addition, he’s got a new head, neck, collar, belt, and chain piece.  The collar fits in pretty seamlessly, and the head and neck fit in very well and are nicely sculpted to boot.  The chain technically isnt accurate for classic Rider, but it’s easily removable, so that’s hardly an issue.  The paintwork on Ghost Rider is prett decent overall.  I wouldn’t mind him being a little more blue, but this coloring works well enough, and the light blue/grey accents are pretty clean.  The head is cast in clear plastic, with the bone color of the skull being gradually worked in, which makes the flame less obviously fake looking than previous versions.  The work on the eyes is also quite notable, as they appear to glow, even when not lit.  Ghost Rider’s only included extra is a piece of Rhino.  No motorcycle for a guy named Ghost Rider is a little odd, but I guess it’s hard to make these sorts of things cost out.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never followed any of his series super closely, but I’ve always had a soft spot for Ghost Rider, particularly the classic version.  None of ToyBiz’s versions ever really hit the spot for me, so I was pretty excited to see Hasbro give their own take.  All in all, this is a pretty fantastic version of the character.  I just wish he’d included a motorcycle!

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#0644: Kraven

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

KRAVEN – SAVAGE FORCE

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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Long-running toy lines have a habit of becoming cyclical with character selection, almost by necessity. With anything you do for a lot of time, there will inevitably be changes stylistically, as processes become more streamlined, good and bad methods are weeded through, and mistakes are (hopefully) learned from. This means that figures at the beginning of a toy line probably won’t fit in so well with those from much further down the line. If you want your most popular characters to still fit in, you have to update them every so often. Take today’s figure Kraven: his last figure in the Marvel Legends (and Spider-Man Classics) line was released ten years ago. That’s a good long while. Seems Hasbro felt that was too long, as he’s part of their latest series of Marvel Legends, just hitting now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Kraven2Kraven (aka “Savage Force”) was released in the most recent set of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He shares his name (but not his Build-A-Figure piece) with fellow Spider-Man foe the Chameleon, who is also his half-brother, which I did not know. You learn something new every day. The figure is roughly 6 ¼ inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. Kraven uses Hasbro’s new, slightly larger male body, first introduced with Grim Reaper. Kraven is, of course, the first two-handed character to use the body, so he’s got that going for him. In addition to the base body, the figure has an all-new head, as well as unique pieces for the forearms, hands, shins, and feet and add-on parts for his vest and belt. The pieces do a great job of making Kraven quite different from his body-mate Reaper. The head sculpt is probably the weakest piece of the figure; it’s not terrible, or anything, just a little bit on the bland side. It lacks some of the character of previous Kraven sculpts, and has a bit of the sameness that’s plagued so many of the male Legends sculpts. From the neck down, the detail work is fantastic. The clothes are full of texture and layering that really sell this guy as Kraven THE HUNTER. The lion’s mane and loincloth also have a great flow to them, which gives the figure a nice action styling to him. The paintwork follows the trend set by the sculpt. The head’s paint is just passable; the edges of the hair and mustache are rather sloppy, and he’s got the same eye issue as Misty Knight. The rest of the paint is pretty solid work, and the clothing has some really nice wear and tear to it. Kraven is packed with a spear, which befits a hunter, as well as a piece of Rhino, which also befits a hunter, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I hadn’t initially planned to pick up Kraven, given that I’m only a moderate fan of the character. But, the more I looked at the figure, the more I liked it. And, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see another use of the new body sculpt. The fact that I ended up going for the complete set kind of sealed the deal. Slight issues with the head asides, the figure is a great update to the old Kraven figures.

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#0654: White Tiger

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

MARVEL’S WHITE TIGER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

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What’s this? Two female figures in a row? That’s crazy! Well, okay, not really. But it is somewhat out of the ordinary. I had a bunch to say about Misty Knight, but not so much to say about today’s focus, the White Tiger. I’m marginally familiar with the original, male White Tiger, but only marginally. The more recent bearer of the name? Not so much. I do know that this particular version of the character is the one in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon, so there’s that. Anyway, she has an action figure, and I own it, so here’s the review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

WhiteTiger2White Tiger (or “Marvel’s White Tiger” as she’s listed on the box) is the fourth figure in the third series of Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. She gets to have her own name, unlike a lot of Hasbro’s recent female (and even lesser known male) figures, but she doesn’t completely escape having to share stuff, as I’ll get to further down. As noted above, she’s base on the character’s design in Ultimate Spider-Man. The design on the show was different from the comics look of the time, but the comics character has since taken the cartoon look. That works for me, since I think the cartoon design is cooler anyway. The figure is just under 6 inches tall with 27 points of articulation. She’s built on the Spider-Girl body, with an all-new head and the hands from Hellcat. She also has an add-on piece for her totem necklace. The new pieces are nicely done; the head’s definitely the better of the two, with some nice clean work. The necklace is a little on the bulky side, but it’s not terrible for the scale. The base body is still a personal favorite, so I’m happy to see it show up again, and the hands are a pretty smart reuse. One real issue I did notice is that White Tiger seems to be plagued with a lot more flashing/mold lines than other Legends, which is a bit of a bummer. Paint wise, Tiger is pretty simple. She’s mostly just molded in the signature white, with paint for her stripes and eyes. It’s all pretty cleanly handled, so that’s good. The necklace is the best, though; it’s painted a bright green, with yellow accents, which gives a cool, almost glowing effect. White Tiger doesn’t have any character specific pieces, but she does come with the requisite part for Rhino. Remember when I said she still had to share something? This is it. Tiger didn’t get her own B-A-F piece, she just includes the same torso as Misty. Which is a little weird, since she’s not the figure Misty shares a name with. Oh well.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Being upfront: I only have White Tiger because she came in the full set I ordered from Big Bad Toy Store. Given my lack of familiarity with the character and the fact that she has the same piece as Misty, I probably would have skipped her if I’d found these guys in a store. She’s not a bad figure, and I’m sure fans of the character will be pleased, but for me she seems a little bit bland. Perfectly fine figure, just not a whole lot going on. Still, I don’t regret the purchase or anything, so I don’t think she’s a loss.

#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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