Tag Archives: Infinite Series

#0277: Iron Man

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

IRON MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

IronManSpace1

Groot Week continues today with part five. Like the previous reviews, this figure comes from Hasbro’s most recent round of Marvel Legends Infinite Series, based on the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. The series includes six regular figures and a Build-A-Figure. I’ve reviewed the four movie figures, and today I’ll do the first of the two comic-themed reviews. The first comic-themed figure is Iron Man, who is effectively the series’ heavy hitter.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

IronManSpaceWilsonIron Man is part of the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He stands about 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation (counting the shoulder pads). The figure is based on Iron Man’s space-faring armor from the most recent Guardians of the Galaxy comics, also known as the “Phoenix Killer” armor. It’s certainly a unique design, and its prominent placement with the Guardians makes for a sensible inclusion in the series. The figure is predominantly re-use. He features a new head and shoulder pads on the body of the Bleeding Edge Iron Man from the first series Iron Man 3 Marvel Legends. The Bleeding Edge is one of Hasbro’s better Iron Man sculpts, so it’s a great starting point, and the head offers a different take on the Iron Man helmet. I’m not sure how I feel about the shoulder pads. They stick up pretty high, and almost seem like they’d seem better flipped the other direction. The biggest issue the figure faces, however, is his inability to put his arms all the way down, which is an issue native to the original base figure. It would have been nice if Hasbro had done some re-working to facilitate improved movement, but I can understand the need to save some money on tooling. The paint work is fairly basic. He’s molded in a metallic red and has some simple gold highlights, and a few yellow details painted on. For the most part, everything is applied cleanly with no noticeable slop or bleed over. There are one or two areas of some minor chipping, but they aren’t too noticeable, so it’s not bad. Iron Man is relatively light on the accessories, with only the right leg of Build-A-Figure Groot included. I can’t really think of any accessories that could have been included, so I can’t really fault Hasbro here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Iron Man was purchased via Amazon, like his series-mates before him. For the most part, I only got Iron Man for the Groot piece, but I have to say, after having him in hand, I like him a whole lot more than I thought I would. The bold colors and the use of one of Hasbro’s best Iron Man bodies make this a really solid figure, and the unique design means he really stands out from the pack. Iron Man is a pretty great that will sadly be overlooked by a lot of people due to being yet another Iron Man.

#0276: Drax

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

DRAX

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Drax1

It’s time for part four of my look at Hasbro’s most recent round of Marvel Legends figures. This time around, the figures are based around the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. There are six main figures, four based on the movie and two based on the comics. Today, I’ll be looking at Guardians member Drax (formerly Drax the Destroyer), who is also the last single release figure based on the movie. Let’s jump on in!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Drax is part of Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series (man, Hasbro seriously needs to come up with a better naming scheme for the new Marvel Legends stuff…). Drax stands about 6 ½ inches tall and features 30 points of articulation. He’s based on Drax’s design in the movie, which is in turn influenced by Drax’s more modern design in the comics. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the character’s more recent looks (purple spandex and pirate boots for the win!), but the movie does add a decent spin on it I suppose. Like the rest of the main Guardians, Drax features a brand new sculpt, so as to properly replicate his movie design. Drax’s sculpt is truly an impressive piece of work. The figure has a nice bit of heft to him, and has a properly bulky build. On top of the build, he’s got some wonderful texture work on his uniform and tattoos. The tattoos are something that a lesser company might have just painted, but the sculpt really helps them pop. The paint work on Drax is actually pretty good. There’s a few areas of slop and bleed over, but nothing too major, and certainly nothing as bad as some of the others in this series. In fact, Drax has the best paint of the series so far! Drax comes armed twin knives, which fit nicely in his hands and the sheaths on his boots, and he also features the lower torso of Groot.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Drax was another figure acquired from Amazon after they got the Guardians figures in stock. Drax was a figure I had no real feelings about one way or the other, mostly due to my relative disinterest in the choice of costume design. While Drax still isn’t one of my favorites in the series, I do think he’s a very solid entry in the series, and he does help to make the team as a whole look a bit better.

#0275: Rocket Raccoon

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

ROCKET RACCOON

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

RocketRaccoon1

Welcome to part three of my reviews of Hasbro’s Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series. So far, I’ve looked at Star Lord, who I was really impressed with, and Gamora, who ended up being better than I had expected. Today, I’ll be looking at the most up and coming member of the team, Rocket Raccoon. If you’re unfamiliar with Rocket, allow me to explain him. He’s a talking space raccoon with a big gun. It’s a real tough concept to grasp, I know.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Rocket Raccoon is part of the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series. He’s about 3 ½ inches tall and features 13 points of articulation. The figure’s small stature means that he’s left with a limited selection of movement, particularly in the legs, which are pretty much immobile. While it’s understandable that they wanted to make him a bit sturdier, it still sucks that he’s unable to do anything with his legs. Rocket features a brand new sculpt, which is decent, though nothing amazing. The head seems to lack any of Rocket’s character, and his neck is just a bit odd looking. It’s also almost impossible to get him to look anywhere but upward, which limits the figure’s display possibilities. The torso, arms and legs all look pretty decent, and seem to be accurate to Rocket’s design in the movie. Rocket’s tail seems the slightest bit stiff, but this is likely meant to aid the figure in standing. The figure’s paint is okay, but not great. Some of the detail, particularly on the face, looks pretty great, but the uniform shows some serious slop, and he’s even got some spots of paint missing entirely. It’s not terrible, but it’s certainly a lot worse than the rest of the figures in the series. Rocket includes a large gun, some sort of torso cannon, and the head and torso of Groot. The gun is a bit tricky to get Rocket to hold properly, but it looks good once it’s in position. The cannon is actually meant to go with Star Lord, and was presumably given to Rocket due to Star Lord already being overloaded with accessories. This, coupled with the largest and most key piece of Groot, seems to be an attempt to make up for Rocket’s smaller stature. It works fine if you’re buying the whole series, but I can’t see it being too intriguing to someone only interested in Rocket himself.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Rocket was purchased online via Amazon, same as Star Lord and Gamora. I was actually looking forward to this figure overall, being excited in general by the prospect of Rocket Raccoon being in a movie and getting a toy from said movie. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit let down by this figure. His small stature, lack of articulation and poor paint all adds up to a figure that doesn’t fill me with loads of joy. Still, he’s far from the worst figure I’ve ever bought, and he does still look pretty darn cool when placed with the rest of the team. If you’re only looking for a Rocket by himself, this one’s not the one for you. There’s a few other versions out there that would probably have more to offer. However, If you’re looking for a full set of the team, this guy’s essential.

#0274: Gamora

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

GAMORA

MARVEL LEGENDS

Gamora

Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie looks like it has the potential to be one of the best movies of the year if the trailers are anything to go by. Due to my excitement for the movie, I went ahead and picked up Hasbro’s Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series, which features the whole main team from the movie, plus two additional figures based on comic designs. Today’s review is a look at one of the main members of the team, and longtime Marvel cosmic character, Gamora.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

GamoraWilsonGamora is a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series (Man, that’s quite a name to keep typing…). The figure is a little under 6 inches in height and sports 28 points of articulation. Like Star Lord, she’s based on the character’s appearance in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. She’s in her more unique look from the movie, which is the one that she’s seen wearing in the majority of the promotional material. Gamora has an all-new sculpt, and it’s a pretty good one at that. The proportions are all pretty good, and it avoids the usual issues that plague female action figures. Gamora’s head sculpt features a pretty great Zoe Saldana likeness, which is certainly an improvement over the Star Lord head. The sculpt is somewhat let down by the paint work, which is uneven at best. The head has the best work, especially on the eyes. The body, particularly the torso, has some pretty serious instances of slop, most noticeably in the changeover from skin to clothing. In addition to the sloppy base paint, the figure also features some odd highlight work on her torso and upper legs. It’s very haphazardly applied, and just gives the figure a strange look over all. In addition to the issues with the paint, Gamora is also almost impossible to keep standing for any decent stretch of time, which is a major annoyance. Gamora comes accessorized with a sword and the left leg of Groot. The sword is well sculpted, but it’s incredibly difficult to get her to hold it reliably. I’ll examine the Groot leg when I look at the whole figure later this week.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like Star Lord, I got Gamora through Amazon once they got the series in stock. I had low expectations for the figure based on the prototype pictures, but in hand I do find myself actually liking the figure more than I thought. That being said, the figure still has some major issues, mostly with paint and stability. It’s unfortunate that the figure suffers from these issues, because the sculpt is really, really good. If Hasbro could manage to get their paint issues sorted out, and possibly include stands or something with their figures, that would really help figures like poor Gamora here turn out better.

Gamora2

#0273: Star Lord

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

STAR LORD

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

StarLord1

In my review of NECA’s Caesar from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, I mentioned the rarity of me reviewing a figure from a movie I hadn’t seen. Well, I’m doing it again. Guardians of the Galaxy is being released on August 1, which isn’t too far off, and the toys are just now starting to hit. As they did with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Amazing Spider-Man 2, Hasbro is releasing a tie-in line of Marvel Legends Infinite Series for the movie. In contrast to those two lines, this series is mostly made up of characters from the movie, plus comic versions of Iron Man and Nova. Today, I’ll be looking at the main character of Guardians, Peter Quill aka Star Lord.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Star Lord was released as part of the Guardians of The Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. He’s based on Chris Pratt’s version of the character in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, though thanks to Marvel wanting to tie the comics in with the movies, he also works as Star Lord in his most recent comicbook incarnation. They’ve gone with his long jacket look, which is the one he sports in most of the movie’s promotional material. As far as I can tell, Star Lord features a brand new sculpt, which isn’t shocking given the unique design of the character. The figure makes use of add-on pieces for his coat and backpack, though neither of these are removable. Initially, I was worried that the articulation would interfere with the look of the coat’s arms, but in person, they aren’t an issue. The sculpt has lots of nice detail work, and the proportions all look pretty good. The paint work on Star Lord is pretty good overall, although there are a few spots of slop, most noticeably on the eyes and hairline of the helmet. It’s not immediately obvious under normal inspection, but it is a bit annoying to see a great sculpt pulled back by poor paint application. Star Lord comes armed with a pair of his distinctive blaster guns, as well as an extra un-helmeted head, a Walkman, a pair of head phones, the strange sphere thing he’s seen stealing in the trailers, and the right arm of Groot, the Build-A-Figure for this series. It’s a great selection of accessories, and he holds the blasters, sphere and Walkman quite nicely. The un-helmeted head swaps out pretty easily, though sadly it only bears a passing resemblance to Chris Pratt. I think it’s the hair.

StarLord2StarLordWilsonStarLord4 StarLord3

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Star Lord from Amazon, not long after they got the series in stock. Of the regular figures in the series, Star Lord was the one I was looking forward to the most. He’s a pretty impressive figure, and really fun to play around with. Add in a great selection of accessories, and you have a winner. The only real negative facing the figure is some unfortunate paint application. If Hasbro can work on reining that in, their figures would truly be top notch.

#0227: Boomerang – Deadliest Foes

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

BOOMERANG – DEADLIEST FOES

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Boomerang

I’m almost done with my recent round of Marvel Legends reviews. One more to go, and then I’ll be jumping back to the usual retrospective reviews. This one doesn’t come from Captain America: The Winter Soldier set, but its sister Spider-Man line. It’s based on Boomerang, one of Spider-Man’s lesser known foes, and one of my personal favorites. For more on Boomerang, head here. Let’s take a look at the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Boomerang is a part of the Amazing Spider-Man 2 Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Officially, he’s referred to as “Deadliest Foes,” and is shipping in the second wave of the series, as a replacement for the initially shipped Beetle figure. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. He’s based on Boomerang’s more recent redesign from his stint as a member of the Thunderbolts, and most recently his starring role in Superior Foes of Spider-Man. I know there’s been some contention over the decision to use the redesign instead of his classic design, but I actually am happy with the choice. The new design is actually quite striking. The figure is built on the basic male body, that same one used for Baron Zemo, flared boots and gloves and all. Interestingly, the prototype on the box features painted on boots and gloves. I think I like the final product more. The base body is quite a nice starting point, and the head sculpt is also a solid piece of work. I’m not 100% in favor of the gritted teeth look, but it’s not terrible, and it doesn’t look as bad as other attempts at such an expression. And it does add a lot of character to the figure. In what seems to be a running theme for all of my Hasbro reviews, a great sculpt is let down by bad paint. It’s less an issue with slop/bleed over and more an issue with consistency of application. The white areas of the paint seem to need another coat, and the head paint seems exceedingly…gloppy. It’s almost like they dabbed the paint on. Really weird looking, and certainly disappointing. The figure includes a “backpack,” four boomerangs of two different sizes which can be stored in the backpack, and the left leg of Ultimate Green Goblin, the series’ Build-A-Figure.

Boomerang2 Boomerang3

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I picked up Boomerang on Amazon, once his price had stabilized to essentially retail. The figure leaves me feeling very mixed. I’m glad to have a Boomerang figure, and it’s a great sculpt, but the paint leaves quite a bit to be desired. I really want to support Hasbro in their attempts to do good with this line, and they do really seem to be trying, but the paint apps on this figure and the Mandroid are really, really bad. It holds both figures back from being as good as they should be, and I’m certain it’ll end up turning people off of the line, especially with the ever increasing price-point.

#0226: Mandroid

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

MANDROID

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

Mandroid

I think I’ve probably said all I can about the awesomeness that is Captain America: The Winter Soldier. If you still haven’t seen it or don’t agree, there’s probably no helping you at this point. You’re just doing it wrong. If you’ve been following the site, you know I just picked up Hasbro’s most recent set of Marvel Legends, meant to coincide with the film. I’ve been pretty happy with them so far, and I was definitely for the line’s Build-A-Figure, based on the Mandroid. Quick sum up on the Mandroid: it’s battle armor worn by certain SHIELD Agents in big battles with super-humans. It’s super cool. Let’s see how the figure fairs, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Mandroid was released as the Build-A-Figure for the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series line, with pieces packed with six (technically eight, with the swap figures) figures over the course of two series of the line. The figure stands about 7 inches tall and features 28 points of articulation (29 if you count the mounted gun). The Mandroid seems to be loosely based on the classic Mandroid design, with a movie-style flair added to it. It’s a strong enough design, but I wouldn’t mind seeing it in the more proper gold color scheme somewhere down the line. The figure makes use of the Iron Man 3 Marvel Legends Iron Monger Build-A-Figure’s legs and lower torso, as well as slightly tweaked versions of that figure’s arms, all coupled with a brand new head and upper torso. The re-use all works well for the design, and seems to fit pretty seamlessly with the new parts. The newer pieces look pretty spot on to the classic Mandroid design. As seems to be a running theme with this series, the figure’s sculpt is let down a bit by the paint application. The figure is mostly molded in the appropriate silver, so there are no issues with those parts, but the black paint shows a few areas of bleed over, and the yellow paint is just plain messy. The visor on the head has serious amounts of bleed over on the outlying areas. The left arm gets it the worst, with the yellow bits barely even lining up with the sculpted lines they’re meant to follow, plus a general inconsistent coating, and random blotches of yellow in incorrect places all over the arm to boot! Fortunately, the yellow is a rather minor part of the figure, and most of the offending areas aren’t oft seen, but the visor is utterly inexcusable. The sculpt of the figure is impressive enough that I’m willing to overlook the paint, but the figure could have been so much more impressive if they had been a bit more careful.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve been following my previous reviews of the CA:TWSMLIS line, then you pretty much know how I acquired this figure. It’s not terribly exciting, but it did lead to me picking up some figures I wouldn’t have otherwise in order to get Mandroid pieces. So, was it worth it? Well, there are some serious issues with the figure’s paint, which really let me down, but overall, I’d have to say yes, the figure was worth the extra purchases. The Mandroid is a cool design, regardless of the issues the figure faces, and the excess figures were overall acceptable. Honestly, this is probably the happiest I’ve been with a full set of figures in a fair bit of time!

Cap&Mandroid

#0225: Captain America – Now!

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA – NOW!

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

CapNow!

In my Spider-Girl review, I discussed the different reasons for buying figures. My decision to purchase the figure of today’s review is firmly planted in the “completing a Build-A-Figure” camp. I wouldn’t want my poor Mandroid figure to forever be headless, now would I? Getting that piece also meant getting this figure. In all fairness, I’ve bought worse figures for sillier reasons. Anyway, the figure is the somewhat demanding sounding Captain America – Now! Let’s see how this one turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cap was released as part of the first series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series, and is also going to be seeing a re-release in the second set of revision cases for series two. Cap stands a bit over 6 inches tall and has 32 points of articulation. As the title indicates, Cap is based on his appearance from Marvel’s recent Marvel Now! initiative. I don’t think it has the lasting power of the classic design, but it’s not a bad design, and it is the character’s current look, so it’s nice to see it released. Cap features an all new sculpt, and it’s a pretty good one. He’s got some great texture work, and I quite like the hexagonal pattern on the torso and upper arms. For some reason, the sculpt on the face seems a bit off for Cap. I think that the chin might be a bit too short and the mouth might be a touch too big. The paint work is okay overall, but there are a few spots of noticeable slop, plus a fair bit of inconsistent application on the red stripes on his lower torso. It’s not too distracting, but it is quite noticeable with minor inspection.  Cap seems to be a bit light in the accessories department, especially compared to the rest of the line. He’s limited to his shield, which is reused from Ultimate Cap from the previous Marvel Legends line, and the Mandroid’s head, which happens to be the smallest of the Mandroid pieces as well. It leaves the figure feeling a bit light, but I suppose the figure itself does seem to have a bit more heft than the others.

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THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This Cap was not amongst the figures I recently received from Big Bad Toystore. However, when I realized that I’d have all of the Mandroid pieces save the head, I figured I’d go ahead and pick him up. I ended up getting him from Amazon, at a slightly marked up price. Seems the figure’s become a bit more desirable since Series two was released. He’s not a bad figure, but he’s not my Cap. At best, he’s an amusing variant. Which isn’t the worst thing, truth be told. He’s a solid addition to a great line.

#0224: Winter Soldier

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

WINTER SOLDIER

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITY SERIES

WinterSoldier1

Let’s see, so far in the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series reviews, I’ve discussed the quality of the film, the quality of the toys, the stupid decisions regarding the pack outs, oh yes, and Nazis, of course. This review ends up getting the short end of the stick, I’m afraid. Well, it’s a review of the film’s title bad guy. If you didn’t know by this point, he’s… SPOILERS

 

…actually Captain America’s best friend, Bucky Barnes, saved from near death and brain washed to become the ultimate assassin. Fun times.  So, let’s take a look at his figure, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Winter Soldier is part of the second series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The figure is a little over 6 inches tall and he features 30 points of articulation. He is, of course, based on the character’s appearance in TWS, but is specifically from the middle-ish area of the movie, after he loses the coat he sports in early scenes and before he loses the mask and eye-liner. The figure gets a brand new sculpt, and it’s an impressive one at that. I thought the 3 ¾ inch version’s sculpt was pretty good, and this one just adds even more detail, and a fair bit of extra articulation. The wrist, ankle and abdominal articulation really gives the figure a whole new dimension. If I had one complaint, it would be that the robot arm doesn’t look quite as good with the smaller one, due to the double jointed elbow. However, the added movement is important, so I’m willing to let it slide. The paint work on WS is probably the cleanest I’ve seen on the line so far, which is a comforting thing to see. However, once again, I don’t like the robo-arm quite as much. They’ve given it a dark wash that makes it look rather scummy. It does bring out the details, but the Soldier’s arm was consistently clean and shiny in the movie, so it looks off. Not terrible, mind you, just slightly off. The downfall of this figure, is the accessories. They’re all fine in theory, just not really in execution. First off, there’s the Mandroid leg. That’s pretty straight forward, with no issues. I’ll be looking at that in two days, along with the rest of the Mandroid. Then, there’s the alternate head. Here’s where the trouble begins. Sculpturally, it’s not a bad depiction of Bucky, sans mask. The paint is what messes it up. First, the eye shadow goes waaay to far down his face. It pretty much covers the entirety of his face, for Pete’s sake! Then, they gave him these really thin, drawn on eyebrows, which are set way to high up. He looks very surprised, I must say. With a proper paint job, this head would actually be pretty good. I’ve included a quick photoshop job to demonstrate this. As it is, it’s just…eughhh. Lastly, and leastly, there’s the gun. Well, I say gun. It’s more of a strange red fish thing that happens to have a handle. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be, but it’s certainly not anything he carried in the movie. Is there a reason he can’t have a real gun? Zemo and Red Skull have real guns. Why must Bucky be stuck with this monstrosity? He can’t even hold it like a real gun! I suppose it’s not as bad as Widow’s total lack of guns, but I don’t think it’s much better.

WinterSoldier2(unmasked) WinterSoldier5 WinterSoldier4(accessory) WinterSoldier2(unmaskedCompare)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bucky is the last piece of my series two set I received from Big Bad Toystore. I knew even before I saw the movie I was going to want this guy, so I’m happy to finally have him. The wonky gun thing is a bit of a bummer, but I swapped in the larger rifle from one of my Star Wars: The Black Series Stormtroopers, and that seems to work a bit better. Sure, it’s still not right, but at least it’s based on a real gun, and it’s not a bright color. The alt head is also a bit of a disappointment, but I always intended to display the masked one anyway, so I’m not really bugged by that. Truth be told, Winter Soldier is probably my favorite figure from this line up. He’s a heck of a lot of fun!

WinterSoldier3(Comparison)wbubble

#0223: Red Skull – Agents of Hydra

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

RED SKULL – AGENTS OF HYDRA

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

RedSkull

Nazis. I hate these guys.

Today, It’s another figure from Hasbro’s most recent round of Marvel Legends. This one once again draws from the comics side of things, presenting us with another take on Captain America’s #1 foe, the Red Skull. Let’s get to the review!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Red Skull, or “Agents of Hydra” as he is officially called, was released in the first series of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Infinite Series. Like Zemo, he was released again in the second series. He is shares the “Agents of Hydra” title with an actual Hydra Agent. The figure stands about 6 inches tall and features 31 points of articulation. He seems to be based on the Skull’s appearance from the Mid-90s, during Mark Waid’s run in the Heroes Return era. He’s based on Hasbro’s Trench-coat buck. This is my first run in with the body, and I have to say I’m not impressed, especially when it’s compared to the other body’s used in this series. From a sculpt stand point, it’s not the worst. It has some decent textures, and it looks okay just standing there. However, the articulation is awkward at best, especially the legs and shoulders, which seem impossible to get into a natural position. The trench coat is an add-on piece, and they’ve also stuck a shoulder holster under it. I think the figure actually looks a bit better without the holster piece on. One thing I do really like is his head, which is a really great sculpt, with lots of character. The paint work is actually pretty clean on this figure, though that might be due to his more simplistic paint scheme. The Skull includes a red pistol, some strange laser gun thing, a Cosmic Cube, and the left arm of the Mandroid. The pistol can fit snuggly in either of the Skull’s holsters, with the laser thing can fit in neither, leaving him with an empty one. The Cube is really cool, even if it is just a clear blue plastic cube. It’s the little things, you know?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Red Skull was amongst the Series Two set I received from Big Bad Toystore. Like Zemo, I had initially planned on getting his swap figure, the Hydra Agent, instead of him. But, he was in the set, so here he is. My opinion hasn’t drastically changed for the Skull like it did with Zemo, but he’s an alright figure. I don’t regret owning him. If you get him into an okay standing pose, he looks fairly intimidating, and he is the best available version of Cap’s arch enemy.