Tag Archives: Infinite Series

#0618: Agent Venom

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

AGENT VENOM

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINTE SERIES

AgentVenom1

Retail has become an odd place for action figures. Lots of stores are condensing their action figure section, and Toys R Us is really the only toy store game in town. But, in a time where lots of places are cutting back, Walgreens of all places has stepped up to the plate, not only carrying an increasingly wide variety of action figure lines, but also carrying their own exclusive items. Some are just simple repaints, but some are all-new, fan-demanded figures, such as Agent Venom, the subject of today’s review.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

AgentVenom2Agent Venom is a Walgreens exclusive figure, released to coincide with Series 1 of Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure had previously been shown in various con displays, with no real mention of where he’d be showing up. The figure stands about 6 ¼ inches tall and sports 32 points of articulation. He is, of course, based on the initial Agent Venom design, from right after Flash Thompson took over as host to the alien symbiote. It’s admittedly one of the more unique variants of the Venom design, and it makes for a rather striking figure, so it’s a good choice for a toy. The figure uses the Face-Off Punisher body as a starting point, with a unique head, hands, knees, shins, and feet and add-ons for the body armor and belt. The body is a little outdated, in terms of both proportions and articulation. However, the Bucky Cap body would be too small and the Hyperion body would be too large, making this the best fit of the existing bodies. On the plus side, the armor covers the torso, thereby hiding some of the wonky proportions. The movement still kinda sucks, but it’s not terrible. The pieces that are new are all very well sculpted. The head is nice and simple, and the armored pieces are loaded with tons of texture. When fully assembled, the figure is the spitting image of his comicbook incarnation. The paintwork on the figure isn’t quite as impressive as the sculpt. Some of that’s to be expected; the character’s design doesn’t really equate to a lot of painted detail. He’s really just got the white accent lines running throughout. They aren’t atrocious, but they could certainly stand to be a little cleaner. Agent Venom includes two Glocks, an MP5, and a USP handgun, as well as a cool four armed symbiote attachment piece to help him hold them all.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I actually found this figure quite a while before I got one. He was amongst the large selection of figures I found at the Walgreens near Super Awesome Girlfriend’s school while I was visiting some months back. But, there were a lot of things I wanted, and I only had so much money (and space in my bag for the plane ride home) so he got put back. Then I didn’t see one again, so I figured I’d missed my shot. A couple of weeks ago, I stopped by a somewhat out of the way Walgreens while killing time during my brother’s karate lesson. I found this guy back behind several other ML Infinite figures. Venom’s not exactly one of my favorite comicbook characters, but the Agent Venom design is actually pretty cool, and it translates incredibly well to action figure form.

AgentVenom3

#0558: Hobgoblin

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

HOBGOBLIN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

HobML1

Oooookay, after a two-week hiatus, I am finally going to finish up those Marvel Legends Infinite Series reviews I started a month ago. So, if you’ve been patiently awaiting my Hobgoblin review that I totally put off for way too long, then you’re in luck dear reader! When we last left our legendary friends of the infinite variety, I had just looked at Spider-Girl, the last single release figure in the latest set of Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. I noted that she was a “legacy” character of sorts. Well, so is today’s figure, in a roundabout sort of a way. In fact, he’s an exponential legacy. See, this Hobgoblin is Phil Urich, nephew of longtime Spider-Man and Daredevil supporting cast member Ben Urich. Phil began his career as the fourth person to take on the mantle of the Green Goblin (and was actually a heroic character).  In the last few years, he took over the mantle of Hobgoblin, which is itself a sort of a legacy of the Green Goblin title. This dude’s got a serious legacy thing going on, is what I’m getting at here.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HobML2Hobgoblin is the Build-A-figure for the second series of the Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Like the last BaF I looked at, Thanos, this is Phil’s first entrance into the world of Marvel Legends. In fact, this is actually the first time Phil’s gotten an action figure at all, so that’s actually pretty neat. Hobgoblin is roughly 6 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation. The figure is based on Phil’s second Hobgoblin design, after he tweaked the one he stole to his own needs.  The design is rather unique, so the figure, somewhat unsurprisingly, features a sculpt that is original to said figure. The figure starts out with a base body, which features some add-on work for the wings/harness, hood, and belt/skirt. Overall, it’s a very good sculpt, though it isn’t without a few faults. Let’s start with doesn’t work. The biggest issue at hand here is the figure’s torso. Simply put, it’s just weirdly shaped. Exactly what is supposed to be folds of cloth and what is underlying musculature is really hard to tell in some spots. Also, the figure’s shoulders seem to be just a touch too broad. Fortunately, both of these issues are more or less masked by the harness for the wings, so they can be pretty easily overlooked. On the plus side, the rest of the sculpt does a pretty fantastic job of translating Humberto Ramos’s drawings of the character. The head is definitely the best part. It’s rather stylized, but that really works for this particular character, and it’s full of tons of great detail, from the pointy ears to the crooked teeth. However, what’s really cool about this sculpt are the seemingly overlookable details, such as the boots, which are just as well handled as the head, and really help to make the figure work. The figure’s paintwork is generally pretty decently handled. The colors are all pretty good matches for the ones seen in the comics, and everything is pretty cleanly applied, with no slop or bleed over. The metallic blue of the boots does an effective job of making them stand out, and there is a decent amount of work done to bring out the details of the sculpt. It’s a rare thing for Build-A-Figures to get accessories, being accessories themselves, but Hobgoblin actually has two! He has a pumpkin bomb and a flaming sword. The figure has a little difficulty holding them, but they are both nicely sculpted and accurate to the source material.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, do you by any chance remember where I said I got the rest of this series of figures? You may have missed it, since I only said it like 13 times, but I picked up this whole series (and the Thanos series too) from Big Bad Toy Store. Phil Urich took over the Hobgoblin identity right as I started reading Spider-Man on a regular basis, so I definitely have an attachment to the character and I was very much looking forward to building the figure. He isn’t without his flaws, but they are rather minor, and he’s really a fun figure that translates the source material very well. I’m very happy to have gotten him. (and it’s also nice that I liked most of the figures I had to buy to get him!)

HobML3

#0541: Spider-Girl – Warriors of the Web

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

SPIDER-GIRL – WARRIORS OF THE WEB

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

MayDay1

Comics, as a medium, operate on a strange sort of compressed/decompressed timeline. Since we only see the characters once a month, their lives move much slower than our own. Sometimes, this works to the story’s advantage. It allows the characters to remain in their prime for much longer. Sometimes, however, creators like to show their characters aging, especially when you start building more than 20 or so years of stories. When your characters begin to age, sometimes the best course of action is to let someone else step into the mantle, creating legacy heroes. Typically, legacy heroes have been DC’s thing, what with their four Flashes and six Green Lanterns, but Marvel has gotten in on it a few times. In the 90s, they actually created an entire universe of legacies, dubbed MC2. It was set a little further in the timeline than the regular MU, and it focused on the children and successors of the Marvel Universe’s greatest heroes. The breakout character was May “Mayday” Parker, aka Spider-Girl, the daughter of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. She’s seen her fair share of action figure love over the years, and she just found her way into Marvel Legends, courtesy of the latest series of Hasbro’s Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Incidentally, she’s a completely different character from the last Spider-Girl I reviewed from this line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

MayDay2Spider-Girl is part of the second series of the Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. She’s officially titled “Warriors of the Web,” a title that she shares with Ultimate Spider-Woman. However, as I noted when I reviewed Spider-Woman, the figures include completely different pieces to the Hobgoblin Build-A-Figure, and they are equally essential to completing said figure, unlike previous shared-name figures. I would guess that the shared name is purely to cut down on packaging printing costs. Spider-Girl stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she features 29 points of articulation. The figure uses the smaller female base body we first saw on the Arana Spider-Girl. I can’t say enough how much I love this base. It’s a well-sculpted, well-proportioned body, and it offers a lot of mobility. It’s a great choice for Spider-Girl. In addition to the base, Spider-Girl features a brand-new head and hands and a set of add-ons for her web cartridges. The head is fairly similar to the one we saw on the Spider-Man from this series. It’s simple, but very nicely handled. One minor nit: the socket for the neck joint isn’t set quite far enough up in the head, so she can look a little off in some poses. The hands are done in a web-shooting pose, and they’re pretty well sculpted as well. It would, however, be nice if she included another set of hands, as the double web-shooting hands do limit what can be done with the figure a bit. If Spidey can get three sets of hands, she should have at least two. The cartridges are nicely done, and I wonder if we might see them turn up again on a classic Black Widow in the near future. As far as paint goes, Spider-Girl is pretty good. The webbing isn’t quite as good as the normal Spider-Man, but it’s a definite step up from Superior. The reds on the legs/feet could also stand to be a little cleaner, but that’s minor. Spider-Girl includes no accessories of her own, which is a shame.  However, she does include the head and wings of the Hobgoblin Build-A-Figure, so there’s that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, do you know where I got Spider-Girl? Well, you should, because I’ve said it 13 times now. Yes, she’s from the full set of these that I ordered from Big Bad Toy Store. I didn’t really put a whole lot of thought into Spider-Girl before getting the set in hand. I’ve only got a marginal knowledge of the character. Still, I knew she had a decent fanbase, so seeing her eventually crop up in Legends was certainly not a surprise. Ultimately, this is a surprisingly well-done figure. Aside from the issue with the hands, there’s not really anything I can knock it down for. And that’s pretty darn good.

MayDay3

#0540: Spider-Man 2099

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

SPIDER-MAN 2099

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

2099a

In the 90s, when Marvel Comics was pretty much just throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck, they came up with the idea of doing a line of comics set in the future of the Marvel universe, in the year 2099. They launched books based around the future counterparts of their best sellers of the time. There was Spider-Man 2099, Hulk 2099, Ghost Rider 2099, Doom 2099 (as in the doctor, not the video game), Punisher 2099, X-Men 2099 and… uhhh… Ravager 2099. Okay, so they weren’t all hits. In fact most of them really weren’t. The only one that really hung on was Spider-Man 2099, which gathered a rather hefty fanbase. Being a Spider-Man variant and all, Spider-Man 2099 has been no stranger to the toy world. He’s pretty much guaranteed to show up in most Spidey-based lines. The character also just got a new comic series, so it’s only fitting that he found his way into the latest round of Spider-Man Marvel Legends.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

2099bSpider-Man 2099 is another figure from Series 2 of Hasbro’s Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure stands about 6 inches in height and features 32 points of articulation. Like the normal Spider-Man from this series, 2099 makes use of the body created for Superior Spider-Man. It’s not without issue. The torso is a little long and flat, and the hips could use a bit of tweaking to improve the movement. However, other than that, it’s a pretty great body, especially for the spiders. It offers a nice, svelte body type with a fantastic range of motion, and you really can’t ask for much else. In addition to the Superior body, 2099 gets an all-new head, forearms, and hands, as well as an add-on piece for his web-cape. The head is actually pretty amazing; the detailing around the eyes is raised up, and you can even make out faint traces of the face beneath the mask. For such a simple piece, it’s really impressive. The forearms aren’t much different from Superior’s, they just have spikes added to the side, which is accurate for the character. The hands are big and clawed, which is what 2099 should have. They have quite a bit of detail, which certainly keeps them interesting. They seem like the sort of piece that Hasbro could really get some mileage out of. The cape is fine for what it is, though I myself have never really liked that aspect of the costume. Fortunately, it’s easily removed if web-capes aren’t your thing. Before getting into the paint, I feel the need to comment on the plastic which the figure is cast in. It’s this really great semi-metallic, ever-so-slightly transparent blue, which is really striking and has a really nice, slick feel to it. It’s absolutely perfect for the design, and it really makes the figure stand out. As far as paintwork, there’s really only the red parts of the costume. Overall, it’s cleanly applied and of an even consistency, but there are a few spots, such as the logo, where the paint is just missing. Spider-Man 2099 doesn’t include any accessories of his own, which is a little bit disappointing, but he does include both the right arm and flame sword of the Hobgoblin Build-A-Figure, so that’s cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Say it with me: Big. Bad. Toy. Store. That’s where I got this guy and the rest of his series-mates. I have to admit, I’ve never really had much attachment to Spider-Man 2099 as a character. His costume, however, is a different story. It’s a solid design that just translates amazingly to action figures (I still kick myself for parting with the Spider-Man Origins figure!) This figure is no exception. He has a few issues with paint, but everything else about him more than makes up for it. I’d say he’s the best figure the series has to offer, and I really like the rest of the series a lot, so that’s saying something. He’s just a really good figure. And look at that blue plastic!

2099c

#0539: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

DDML1

If you’re anything like me, you’ve made it most of the way through Netflix’s new Daredevil series, which premiered last Friday.  I’ve been anxiously awaiting this particular series, with a sense of cautious optimism.  Sure the MCU’s been pretty great so far, but Daredevil’s last foray into live action didn’t exactly go well.  I’m happy to say I really enjoyed the series, and I look forward to seeing more from this particular cast of characters.  Daredevil also happens to be a part of the latest round of Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures, no doubt to capitalize a bit on the show.  So, let’s have a look at the figure, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

DDML2Daredevil is part of Series 2 of Hasbro’s Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures.  Unlike the others in the series, Daredevil isn’t actually a Spider-Man character.  That said, the two do interact quite a bit and they share a few villains (like the Kingpin) and other supporting players.  Also, there’s a fairly consistent tradition of ol’ Horn-Head being released in Spider-Man-related toylines.  Tradition!  The figure stands a little over 6 inches tall and sports 32 points of articulation.  Daredevil uses the Bucky Cap body that Hasbro loves oh so much, along with a new head and add-ons for his belt and holster.  The Bucky Cap body is a pretty strong sculpt, and it offers the appropriate build and range of motion for the character, so it’s an excellent choice of body.  The head seems to amalgamate the styles of some of the many Daredevil artists from over the years, but the heaviest influence definitely seems to be Chris Samnee, aka the guy who’s been drawing the character for the last several years.  It’s a strong sculpt with a really intense, determined look, which works very well for the character.  It also continues the trend of moving away from the identical face-ness of the male head sculpts, which is always a good thing.  As far as paintwork goes, well, Daredevil certainly is very… red.  Exactly how to convey said red varies from figure to figure.  Hasbro’s opted for a simple two-toned look, which is really quite effective.  Mostly, he’s just molded in the appropriate red, but there is some additional paint for some of the lighter reds and the flesh tone.  Overall, the work is decent, if not fantastic.  His gloves are a little sloppy, and his logo could stand to be a little sharper.  Also, the flesh tone doesn’t quite line up with the sculpted lines of the mask, and there’s a spot of wear on the tip of his nose.  Daredevil comes armed with his standard billy-club (the same as the one included with Hellcat, but in white this time) and also includes the left arm and pumpkin bomb of Hobgoblin.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, remember how I got all of those Marvel Legends from Big Bad Toy Store?  So, yeah, Daredevil was one of those.  I know, shocker, right?  Well, Daredevil was easily the figure I was looking forward to the most from this particular series.  The character’s last figure was quite a while ago, and he was in dire need of an update.  Plus Daredevil’s just plain cool.  In hand, the figure isn’t the most masterful figure Hasbro’s released of late, but he certainly lives up to expectations, and that’s never a bad thing!

DDML3

#0538: Spider-Woman – Warriors of the Web

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

SPIDER-WOMAN – WARRIORS OF THE WEB

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

UltSpiderWoman1

Wait a second, didn’t I just review the Marvel Legends Infinite Series Spider-Woman a week ago? Ah, yes, eagle-eyed reader, I did indeed. However, that one was the Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series Spider-Woman, aka Jessica Drew. This is the Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series Spider-Woman, aka Jessica Drew. They are very different. No, really, in all seriousness, they are. See, the last one was the main Marvel universe’s version of Jessica Drew, who has no connection to Spider-Man. This one is based on the Ultimate universe’s version of Jessica Drew, who’s actually a female clone of Spider-Man. It’s kind of complicated. Anyway, she’s got a figure, and I bought it, so I’m reviewing it. Let’s get to it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

UltSpiderWoman2Spider-Woman is from the second series of Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. Officially, she’s titled “Warriors of the Web,” which is a name she shares with series-mate Spider-Girl. However, she’s neither a swap figure, nor does she share the same or even similar Build-A-Figure pieces with the other half of the name-sake. Both figures are essential to completing Hobgoblin, and both are packed equally with most other figures in the series. So the shared name thing is a little odd here. Oh well. Spider-Woman stands just shy of 6 inches tall, with 29 points of articulation. As stated in the intro, this figure represents the Ultimate universe Spider-Woman. She’s only had the one look, and that’s the one that’s presented here. It’s a take-off of Spider-Man’s symbiote costume, which is always a good starting point. As far as the sculpt goes, Spider-Woman uses the Spider-Girl body as a base, along will an all-new head. I’m not gonna lie, I think the Spider-Girl body is my favorite base body in Hasbro’s inventory right now. It’s fairly well proportioned, has sturdy construction, and it works in the articulation very nicely. Fantastic basis for a figure. With this body, all you need is a head that doesn’t suck. So, how’s that head work out? Well, it’s not bad, that’s for sure. But I can’t say that it’s exceptional work either. The actual “head” part is actually pretty great work. The eyes are well defined, and there’s a slight hint of a nose and mouth UltSpiderWoman3under the mask, which looks pretty sweet. The biggest issue with the head is the hair. It’s fine from a purely aesthetic standpoint, but the windswept look ends up holding the figure back quite a bit. It makes her harder to pose and it really limits the display possibilities. Spider-Woman’s paintwork is passable, and on par with the vast majority of Hasbro’s recent offerings. The pearlescent white is a nice touch, but the edges are rather fuzzy, and areas like the hands have a few spots of slop. Like Anti-Venom, this figure is light on the accessories, only including the torso of Build-A-Figure Hobgoblin.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, dear reader, do you care to guess where I got this figure? If you guessed Big Bad Toy Store, you’re correct. I actually was fairly interested in this figure. The story from which she originated isn’t one of my favorites, but I do kinda like the character, and she does have a pretty great design. Plus, the idea of getting another figure on the Spider-Girl body was pretty cool. Ultimately, I find the final product a little bit disappointing. It’s not a bad figure at all, but the head, specifically the hair, ends up being rather limiting to the figure, which is a shame.

UltSpiderWoman4

#0537: Anti-Venom

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

ANTI-VENOM

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

AntiVenom1

In the 70s and 80s, the mark of a successful comics character was getting a female counterpart. When comics moved into the 90s, the money was all in spinning off a grittier version of your character. Case in point: Venom. Of course, Venom’s kind of an insane example of this, because he ended up getting a spin-off, Carnage, who ended up getting several spin-off characters of his own. And pretty much none of them made it out of the 90s. Eventually, Marvel ended up going back to Venom for spin-offs, and came up with the brilliant idea of Anti-Venom. Can you guess what character I’m looking at today?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

AntiVenom2Anti-Venom is a part of Series 2 of the Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Fun fact: in the 5 years the character has been around, Anti-Venom has managed to get a Minimate, a Marvel Select figure, and this here Marvel Legend. Lucky guy. Anti-Venom is about 6 ½ inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. The figure is built on the large male buck, first put to use on Hyperion. It’s a pretty decent body, however the neck sits just a tad too far back. It’s a minor nit, and it isn’t too apparent on this particular figure, but it’s still there, waiting. In addition to the base body pieces, Anti-Venom uses the forearms and hands from last series’ Toxin figure, which themselves are just resized versions of Carnage’s hands. He also has a brand-new head and… uhh… back spikes? I really don’t know what those are. But, they’re well sculpted, I guess, and easily removable, if back spikes aren’t your thing. The head is a rather nice piece, and there’s some rather nice detail work, especially on the face. Anti-Venom is, for the most part, just white plastic with black paint for detail. The black is generally pretty evenly applied, and the edges are all nice and sharp. It’s also pretty shiny, which works well for the whole symbiote look. There’s a little bit of misplacement on the black parts of the head; there are some etched lines that it seems like the black is supposed to go inside of, but in ends up just being in the same general area. Given the various sculpted texture in the surrounding areas, it’s not immediately noticeable, but it’s there. The head also has some orange for the eyes and mouth, and that’s all pretty decently applied as well, although the eyes do have a little bit of bleed through from the black underneath.  Anti-Venom is a little on the light side as far as accessories go, only coming with the left leg of the series’ Build-A-Figure, Hobgoblin. The lack of extras is forgivable, though, since he’s a larger figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Yeah, I picked up Anti-Venom as part of the full set of Spider-Man Legends I ordered through Big Bad Toy Store. I really wanted Hobgoblin, so I bit the bullet and just bought the whole series. I’m not a huge fan of the Anti-Venom concept, so I didn’t really have high expectations for the figure, but he’s actually not bad. Sure, he’s not as amazing as some of the other Legends we’ve gotten recently, but he’s pretty solid, and he does have a clean, bold look to him. I do find it interesting that in the last year of Legends, we’ve gotten the Flash Thompson version of Venom and both of Eddie Brock’s post-Venom identities, and we’re even getting the “Superior Venom” later this year, but we’ve yet to get an update on the classic Brock Venom. This figure shows that they can certainly do him justice, so maybe he’ll show up soon.

AntiVenom3

#0536: Spider-Man

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

SPIDER-MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

SpideyML1

Alright, now that we’ve finished looking at a whole series of Marvel Legends, why don’t we move onto—Wait, what’s that? There are more Marvel Legends? A whole ‘nother series? Oh, wow. Well, buckle up guys, looks like I’ve got some Legends to review! It’s okay, though, because this time they’re Spider-Man Marvel Legends! That’s very different! Let’s kick things off with the main man himself, the Amazing, Spectacular, Sensational, Peter Parker (that’s sort of an adjective) Spider-Man!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

SpideyML2Spider-Man here is part of the second series of the Amazing Spider-Man Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Or the third, depending on whether you count Boomerang, Spider-Girl, and Toxin as their own series or just an off-shoot of the first. I’m going with the latter cuz it’s easier. The first series of the line had the Superior Spider-Man and a Spidey based on the Amazing Spider-Man 2 movie design, but not just a straight forward, classic Spider-Man. This figure fixes that. The figure is roughly 6 inches tall, with 32 points of articulation. Spidey makes use of the body built for the Superior Spider-Man figure. It’s not a perfect body, but it offers a nice, svelte body type, and it’s a lot less clunky than the Bullseye body. Plus, the range of motion on all of the joints is exceptional, allowing for tons of extreme poses, which are definitely key to the character. The shoulder and ankle joints in particular are fantastic. At first glance, I thought the head was a re-use as well, but it’s not. The basic shape is the same, but the eyes are a bit bigger, befitting the more playful nature of this incarnation of the character. Spidey has his choice of 3 different sets of hands: web-shooting, wall-crawling, and fists. I think these are all new to this figure, but I’m not 100% sure. I know none of them were shared with Superior. Regardless, they’re all very nicely sculpted, and add a whole lot of expressiveness to the character. Okay, here’s the part where we all take a deep breath in anticipation, because it’s time to talk about the paint. Are you ready? Okay, good, because the paintwork on this figure is actually really well-done. Did I freak you out there? Sorry! So, it’s not all perfect. There are a few misplaced lines here and there, and there is the rather annoying issue of the red elbow pegs showing through on the blue side SpideyML3of the arms. Aside from that, it’s surprisingly well done. The red and blue are perfectly chosen, and applied nice and clean. The web lines are sharp and mostly stick to right where they should be. There aren’t any issues with bunching up or just randomly stopping like we saw on Superior. And that’s a very, very good thing. I think this figure has effectively convinced me that I much prefer the painted lines to the sculpted ones. They just look so good here. I already covered the assortment of hands, but Spidey also includes an extra head with the mask pulled up, a slice of pizza, and the requisite B-A-F part, Hobgoblin’s right leg. The extra head is cool, though it might have been nice to get a whole Peter Parker head. The pizza is far and away my favorite piece of the figure, just for the off the wall nature of it. It’s just such a cool idea!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, remember how I got the whole Thanos series (except for Batroc) from Big Bad Toy Store? Yeah, I got this whole series at the same time. Yay for getting 14 Marvel Legends at the same time! I was vaguely interested in Spider-Man, because he did look cool, but I mostly bought him for the Hobgoblin piece. I mean, he’s just another Spider-Man, right? Wrong. He’s is the Spider-Man. Not since my very first Spider-Man (the super-posable 5 inch one from the 90s line, if you’re curious) have I enjoyed a Spider-Man figure this much. This figure is easily the best interpretation of the character I own. There are a few nits here and there, but this is a truly great figure. Good job Hasbro!

SpideyML5

#0535: Thanos

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

THANOS

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

ThanosML1

Hey, man, remember back in 2012 when Thanos showed up at the end of Avengers and nobody knew who he was (well, nobody who didn’t go in with a preexisting knowledge of the character). When I saw it, a guy in front of me totally went “Hey, look, it’s Hellboy!” and his friend was all like “No, you idiot, that’s Darkseid!” and I just sat back and laughed quietly to myself. Well, now a lot more people know who he is! Okay, a few more people. I checked with Super Awesome Girlfriend, and she recognized him, but couldn’t name him. Don’t know where that places the guy. Look, the point is that he’s sort of becoming a big deal, and he’s gonna be important in the next few years. So, perfect time for him to get a Marvel Legend!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ThanosML2Thanos here was the Build-A-Figure for the second series of Hasbro’s Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Interestingly enough, this is actually the very first figure of Thanos ever in the whole of Marvel Legends. For a line this long-running and all-encompassing, that’s a little surprising. The figure is about 7 ½ inches in height and he features 30 points of articulation. Before I delve too much into the figure, I should point out that the left calf on my figure is turned the wrong way around in all the pictures. This is apparently a rather common occurrence with this figure. It’s a super easy fix; all you have to do is spin it the right way around. I just didn’t notice until after. Sorry everybody! In a rare move, Thanos is head-to-toe a brand-new sculpt. He’s presented here in his latest look, which debuted during the Infinity cross-over event. It’s not a bad look, and it maintains a lot of the classic Thanos sensibilities. The only real downside is that it means he doesn’t get the Infinity Gauntlet. The sculpt is really solid work. The head is my favorite piece, by far. It’s a perfect translation of the character’s comic book appearance to three dimensions. The texturing on the skin is great and the head gear is sharply detailed. I know not everyone likes the grin, but for me it’s the perfect expression for the character. He is the “Mad Titan” after all, so an insane grin doesn’t seem too far-fetched. The body is appropriately structured to maintain Thanos’ solid, boxy look, without ending up too hulkingly huge. There’s also a fair bit of detailing present on the armor. He’s got plenty of etching and layering, all of which looks really great. If I had one complaint, it would probably be that the collar, as a separate piece, has a tendency to pop out of place a lot. Thanos’ paintwork is generally pretty solid. Once again, the head ends up being the best part. There’s a lot of variation in the purple on the face, the eyes have a great amount of depth, and the head gear is nice and clean. The rest of the body maintains the overall clean nature of the paint, with little, if any, slop or bleed over.  As a Build-A-Figure, Thanos himself is an accessory, so he doesn’t get any of his own, but given the level of quality present in the sculpt, that’s easily forgiven.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Thanos is the culmination of getting the entire second series of figures from the line from Amazon and Big Bad Toy Store. He was a big piece (heh!) of me getting the whole line-up of figures, so there was a lot riding on him to be a good figure. I’m happy to say that he’s far and away the best part of this series, and he’s definitely one of the best Build-A-Figure’s Marvel Legends has ever seen. Hasbro really knocked it out of the park on this one!

ThanosML3

#0534: Hulk

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

HULK

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

HulkAoU1

One of the breakout hits of the first Avengers movies was very definitely the Hulk. After his two movies were met with a rather cold reception, a lot of people moved away from the character, including both of the actors who played his alter ego, Bruce Banner. But then Avengers brought us Mark Ruffalo, who thoroughly (his words) “Ruffal-ized the Hulk,” and he became a “smashing” success. It’s no shock that Marvel has decided to give Ruffalo’s Hulk a prominent role in this year’s sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. And it’s also no shock that Hasbro’s merchandising the crap out of him. So, let’s look at the only one of the Hulk figures I’ve picked up so far!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

HulkAoU2Hulk is the 6th and final figure in Series 2 of The Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s also the third of the three Age of Ultron-based figures in Series 2. The figure stands about 8 inches in height, with 31 points of articulation. For Age of Ultron, Hulk has ditched the usual “tattered remains of Banner’s pants” look in favor of more of a stretchy pants look. For a guy that triples in size on a regular basis, that seems like a pretty sound move. Initially, it seemed like AoU Hulk would be an excuse for Hasbro to re-use a lot of pieces from the Hulk they released for the first Avengers movie (ala Iron Man and Captain America). However, the final figure ends up only having a few pieces in common with his predecessor. The arms, right hand, calves, and feet are from the 2012 figure, meaning this guy gets an all-new head, upper and lower torso, hips, thighs, knees, and left hand. The old pieces are definitely a good starting point. The feet are probably the best, and they actually look like real feet, so that’s a plus. The calves work, though the fact that the pants are just painted on rather than sculpted is a little off-putting. The arms are decent, but the aesthetics are ruined a bit by the elbow joints. The right hand is a pretty good sculpt, aside from the palm not going quite deep enough. For the new parts, the head is really where the best work shows up. It manages to be a pretty good translation of the Ruffalo Hulk, and there’s plenty of texture work. The torso is decently proportioned and well-built aesthetically, but it’s rather devoid of texture, which is a shame. The legs, however, are not devoid of said texture, and end up actually looking pretty great because of it. The left hand has been done to mirror the right, which is all well and good, but I kind of wish they’d kept the open hand for variety’s sake. Hulk relies on a lot of properly colored plastic, but he does still get a few spots of paint. The head exhibits most of the paintwork, and is overall very clean looking. Hair and eyebrows are clean, and the eyes don’t look too wonky. There’s also a little bit of red striping on the legs, and the bottoms of the pant legs, which, while not super thrilling, are at least well-handled. The fact that all of the exposed skin is just straight green, with no accents is a little bland, and only exacerbated by the more simple sculpting of the torso. Hulk’s lone accessory is the right arm of Thanos, but given the sheer size of the figure, the fact that he even gets that is rather impressive!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, yeah, Hulk was another figure in the Big Bad Toys Store order. Like several others in the series, I didn’t really feel drawn to this guy. Mostly, I just bought him for the Thanos piece. Hulk’s certainly a big figure, which does help him seem worth the current going rate of a Marvel Legend, but the paint and sculpt aren’t really anything exciting. All-in-all, he’s a well-executed figure, and he’s a nice addition to the series, and that’s more than can be said about some figures on the market these days. Plus, there is that Thanos piece. Never under estimate the Thanos piece!

HulkAoU3