Tag Archives: Marvel Legends

#3369: Miles Morales

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

MILES MORALES

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Miles Morales faces a new villain with abilities that will take more than one Spider-Man to defeat.”

When Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse was released in 2018, it hit with only minimal tie-in offerings, with the major push for tie-in stuff hitting about 2 1/2 years later.  Since it’s very clear what kind of a marketing success the first film was, the sequel is coming out of the gate strong for its theatrical release this week.  The basic figures have actually been out for the while, and there’s an entire dedicated assortment of Legends hitting right out of the gate, which snuck in real quietly right before the movie’s release.  I’ve got my whole set, because why the heck not.  I’m kicking off with a look at Miles today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Miles Morales is the first figure in the 7 figure Across the Spider-Verse tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  After getting the half-step “What’s Up Danger” look for the first film, this time around we get a fully-costumed Miles, sporting his brand new costume from the movie.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme this time around isn’t quite as impressive as what the Into Miles got; sure, he gets double elbows now, but he also loses the ball-jointed waist and neck, which really added to the prior figure’s posability.  This one can still pull off a good deal of poses, but the joints can get a little sticky, and it’s a little awkward to move him.  On the plus side, he’s still got the pinless construction, which works pretty well for the aesthetics.  Miles is sporting an all-new sculpt (courtesy of sculptor Dennis Chan), and it’s a good looking one.  It matches up nicely with what we’ve seen so far of the animation models, showcasing a Miles that’s a bit more grown up than the last time we saw him.  The texturing on the outfit is truly impressive, and there’s a nice flow to the overall sculpt.  Mile’s paint is more complex than it looks at first glance; obviously he gets the red accents on the black base, which looks nice and slick, but there’s also some subtle dark blue work.  It’s easy to miss, but it adds a little extra pop to the figure’s visual.  Miles is packed with an extra unmasked head and two sets of hands (thwipping and fists).  The last unmasked head didn’t *quite* land the film design, especially the hair, but this one really gets it down.  Also, they don’t have the weird ball joint for each head, so that’s a plus.  Of course, it’s still a smaller socket size than the standard, so swapping isn’t going to really be a thing, but it’s progress.  As with the last Miles, I do wish we’d gotten another set of hands with open gesture, but I’ll just have to continue to be disappointed with every Spider-Man that cuts those, I guess.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really enjoyed the Into tie-in Legends, and I’d been hoping for more since that one small release.  One of the things that excited me the most about the sequel was getting more figures.  Miles was a figure that I wasn’t quite as jazzed for on the outset, I think just because he seemed rather basic, at least from the in-hand leaks we saw.  Having him in hand, there are some smaller issues that I’m a little let-down by, but he’s overall a figure that I wound up liking a lot more than I’d expected to.

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

#3358: Avalanche

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

AVALANCHE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Brotherhood of Mutants veteran Avalanche can generate powerful seismic waves from his hands.”

When the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants was reformed under Mystique’s leadership in the ’80s, they got a roster of characters with well-established traits, personalities, and arcs…and they also got Avalanche.  You know, the guy who was only ever really compelling on X-Men: Evolution, where the approach was essentially rebuilding him entirely from the ground up.  The guy whose backstory before joining the Brotherhood could be best summed up as “wasn’t in the Brotherhood yet.”  Essentially, he’s really just a glorified accessory for Pyro, a Brotherhood member who actually does things of note and whom people actually care about.  Honestly, he largely only gets figures to accent Pyro figures, too.  We got an updated Legends Pyro in 2020, so I guess we might as well get a proper Legends Avalanche.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Avalanche is part of the latest retro-inspired X-Men series of Marvel Legends.  This is his first time getting an official Legends figure, though he was previously offered up in the scale in Toy Biz’s X-Men off-shoot line.  Like most of the assortment, he’s got a vintage 5-inch counterpart, with the caveat that Avalanche was in the X-Force line, not the main X-Men one.  The figure stands just shy of 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Avalanche uses the Reaper base body as a starting point.  It’s alright for the build, since he’s usually a little stockier, but the articulation’s rather stiff compared to more recent figures, and it’s still got the visible pins in the elbows and knees.  But, it’s just Avalanche we’re talking about here, so it’s not like it’s the end of the world.  Avalanche gets a new head, torso, forearms, and boots.  The head sculpt isn’t really doing it for me, honestly.  It’s a more recent take on his helmet design, with visible eyes, rather than the pupil-less look, and I just don’t think it works as well for the character.  Furthermore, the expression seems too neutral for what little characterization Avalanche has, which tends to see him as being rather brutish.  The body sculpt is alright.  I’ve seen complaints about how the shoulder pads stick out, but they don’t bug me.  The color work on the figure is almost entirely molded plastic, which works fine enough.  He gets a little bit of paint on the face, and I’m not crazy about the darker lips, but it’s other wise alright.  Avalanche is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.  That seems rather light; it would have been nice to at least get an unmasked head, or possibly an alternate style of helmet.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I can’t say I was incredibly compelled to get Avalanche, but I did already have Pyro, and he could do with a guy to stand behind him and make him look cooler by comparison.  Also, we’re getting close to wrapping up this incarnation of the Brotherhood, so team building and all that.  This figure isn’t bad, but he’s not terribly exciting either.  I’m not big on the choices with the head sculpt, and he feels kind of bland.  But he’s alright, I guess.

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

#3353: Multiple Man

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

MULTIPLE MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Jamie Madrox, the Multiple Man, possesses the unique ability to duplicate himself at will.”

My first Multiple Man review, back in 2018, started off with a James Franco joke.  Boy, has *that* not aged well.  That’s what I get for trying to be topical.  Nowadays, I just stick to more timeless and tried things.  How about this up and comer, Madrox the Multiple Man?  His appearance in Fantastic Four sure shows a lot of promise, doesn’t it?  It sure would be cool if he bounced around as a minor supporting player in the X-Books for a decade, and then got promoted to one of the actual teams.  And also if he got five action figures.  You know what?  Let’s actually make that six.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Multiple Man is the third figure from the latest retro-inspired X-Men assortment of Marvel Legends.  Multiple Man is unique in this assortment, as he’s the only figure whose design has no direct equivalent in the Toy Biz run, since his only 5-inch figure (which was a ToyFare exclusive) was in a variation of his X-Factor costume.  This one is based on Jaime’s original suit, which has, up until now, been without toy coverage.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Multiple Man is built on the ANAD 2099 body, which is a slight change-up from his last figure, who was based on the Bucky Cap body. Interestingly, Havok did the same jump on his most recent figure.  This body is more posable and honestly a slightly better match in build, especially for a younger Jaime.  The figure gets two new head sculpts.  One has a more neutral expression, while the other is angry and teeth gritty.  They’re both internally consistent, and also consistent with the three heads included with the last figure, so they all look convincingly like the same guy.  Curiously, while the last figure used separate pieces for the cowl and faces, these ones are both solid construction.  It doesn’t really change up the look, but it’s different.  Jaime’s paint work is actually quite intricate, with all of the gold lines and circles.  They wrap all the way around the body, with nothing being cut for costs like on the last one, and the coverage is actually pretty consistent (always tricky with gold pain, especially when it’s going over a darker base color).  The work is also quite sharp, again improving on the fuzzy edges seen on the last figure.  Multiple Man does alright on the extras, with the previously mentioned second head, as well as two sets of hands in fists and relaxed posing.  It’s not anything fancy, but it allows for some mixing it up for the purposes of army building.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I quite like Multiple Man, so I’m always happy to get more figures.  I liked the X-Factor version that we got in 2018 a fair bit, but I’ve honestly been hoping to see the green costume in some form for a good long while.  This figure is simple, but very effective.  I never got to actually army build the last one, but I can see that being more likely this time around.

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

#3348: Spiral

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

SPIRAL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Spiral, Mojo’s deadly enforcer, possesses additional cybernetic limbs, powerful mystic abilities, and a deep enmity for her former flame, Longshot.”

The residents of Mojo World have an interesting relationship with time travel, especially when it comes to recursiveness and stable time loops.  Obviously, the tip of that particular iceberg is certainly the Longshot/Shatterstar “I’m my own Grandpa” loop, but Spiral’s got her own crazy loop of events too, and one that’s especially intricate and involved for a character that’s as minor in the grand scheme of things as Spiral.  She sure looks cool, though.  Makes for a good toy as well.  Those are important factors around these parts.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spiral is another figure in the latest series of retro-inspired X-Men Marvel Legends.  Technically, while Spiral was included in the vintage ToyBiz line which the packaging is homaging, she was after the switch-over to the generic Wolverine header style card, so there’s not a direct equivalent in this set-up.  This is Spiral’s second time as a Legend, following up on the one from early in Hasbro’s run.  It’s been a good 15 years since that one, though, and that’s a lot of time for some progress.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has a quite astounding 56 points of articulation.  Previous figures with additional arms, going as recent as the Six-Armed Spidey mold, have had some sort of trade-off on the movement to offset the extra appendages, but Spiral bucks that trend by getting all of the articulation that would be top of the line for a standard figure, and then getting four fully articulated arms on top of that.  And it’s all in a standard retail package.  So, clearly to offset all of this articulation, she’s got a lot of parts re-use, right?  In fact, she doesn’t appear to have any re-used parts at all.  And, she’s sporting a pretty darn good sculpt at that.  The last Legends Spiral struggled a bit with how to work in the two extra arms on each side, resulting in a rather notable hunch to her back.  This one still has the tiniest bit of that, but it’s far less pronounced, and the arms just fit much closer together.  The new head sculpt foregoes the last one’s removable helmet feature, which is honestly just a better choice.  She’s rarely seen helmetless in the comics, and this allows the helmet to be better scaled to the head, and it also prevents it from falling off all of the time, which was a common issue with the last one.  Spiral’s outfit is a pretty simple one in a broader sense, made more interesting here thanks to the smaller details; the seams running down the sides of the legs in particular stand out as a detail that helps to add a grounding feel to a design that’s otherwise a rather absurd concept.  A lot of Spiral’s color work relies on molded plastic, presumably to help offset the costs just a touch.  She does get a little bit of paint work, and apart from some slightly inconsistent coverage on her belt buckle, it’s all pretty cleanly handled.  Spiral makes out pretty well on the accessories front, which is another pleasant surprise.  She gets four of the Deadpool-style long katanas, plus Angela’s broadsword and axe-thingy.  She also gets two extra hands…which feels a bit silly, if I’m honest.  Like, I’m not knocking getting spares, since all six arms just get gripping hands.  That said, one is for her metal arm, which is on the left, and the other is a non-metal one…which is also a left.  I feel that at least doing one right and one left would be more sensible, or, quite frankly, leaving out the extra hands all together, since it’s hardly like she’s hurting for accessories or perceived value without them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve always liked Spiral as a concept, but her figures have never really done anything to wow me.  This one was a different case from the start.  She just looked really cool, and was definitely high on my want list for this round.  Wow, is this an impressive figure.  Hasbro really pulled out all the stops, making unquestionably the definitive Spiral, as well as one of their best Legends in general.

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

#3343: Longshot

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

LONGSHOT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The alien performer and hero Longshot uses his probability-manipulating powers to turn any odds in his favor.”

You know who’s a bit of a rarity around these parts? Longshot.  Admittedly, that’s because there aren’t a ton of figures of him.  I mean, I’ve looked at half of them.  Sure, that’s only two, but the point stands.  Well, there’s been two more since my last review, so to keep my metrics going, I guess I need to get up to three.  So, let’s look at a brand-new Longshot figure!  Wooo!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Longshot is the first figure in the lastest Retro X-Men assortment of Marvel Legends.  He’s a slight tweak on the figure from the Mojo World three-pack that hit late last year.  Longshot is also one of the two figures in this assortment who actually has an equivalent vintage figure in the same retro packaging being homaged here (the other being Wolverine).  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  Longshot is using an articulation set-up that’s become rather standard for Legends; there’s a lot of mobility and he’s using the fancy pinless set-up.  Longshot’s sculpt is shared in its entirety with the Mojo World release, but between the two figures it’s totally new.  A totally new sculpt for Longshot is something we haven’t seen since the ToyBiz Legends days, and that wasn’t a very good sculpt, either.  This one, a joint effort by sculptors Rene Aldrete and Eddie Mosqueda, on the other hand, is much better.  He manages to be lanky and skinny, without winding up looking gangly, and there’s generally a pretty nice flow to how all of the parts mesh together.  The outfit gets some decent work on the folds and creases, which helps to make it feel a bit more real.  The hands, it should be noted, get the three-fingered thing down pretty convincingly, going for properly bulking up the fingers just a little bit, rather than making it look like he’s got normal hands with a finger lopped off of each of them.  Longshot’s headsculpt does quite an impressive job of making the character’s Limahl-inspired hair style work in figure form.  The actual face, however, is giving me a bit of a Sting vibe, which works pretty well with his whole ’80s rock star feel.  Longshot’s color work is largely handled through molded plastic, but he gets a bit of silver accent paint on his jumpsuit and gear.  His eyes both use the face printing, and differentiating this release from the three-pack, this one has his wonky “luck” effect on his left eye.  Longshot is packed with four different hands (right gripping and fist, left open gesture and knife holding), a knife, and satchel (re-used from Green Goblin).

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve got a soft spot for Longshot, and it’s always been a bummer that his figures are so frequently lackluster.  When the Mojo World set was announced and it looked like this not-lackluster Longshot would be an exclusive, I was admittedly a little bummed again.  Thankfully, the announcement of the solo release came pretty quickly.  I like this guy a lot.  He’s honestly what I was hoping for when I got the TB Longshot back in the day.  He just works so much better.  And now we don’t need another one for a while.

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

#3332: Yellowjacket

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

YELLOWJACKET

MARVEL LEGENDS — MARVEL STUDIOS: THE FIRST TEN YEARS (HASBRO)

“The new lead of Pym Industries, Darren Cross, threatens to sell his highly weaponized Yellowjacket suit to the criminal organization Hydra.”

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second phase was, amongst other things, characterized by a slightly lackluster batch of antagonists.  There are a variety of reasons for this, chief amongst them being that most of them weren’t really designed for long-term use, so they were sort of designed as disposable.  Since there wasn’t much investment into them, they were largely left untapped for toy coverage.  Ant-Man was particularly light on coverage, with only a few different versions of Scott in the main suit (and even then, they were all kind of inaccurate), and nothing barring Minimates for the film’s main antagonist, Darren Cross, aka Yellowjacket.  Fortunately, he was on the short list for the the First Ten Years sub-line of Legends from 2018, so he wasn’t *totally* left out.  I’m looking at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Yellowjacket one half of the Ant-Man-themed two-pack that made up entry 8 in the Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years sub-line of Marvel Legends, with the other half being a slightly updated version of Scott Lang in the Ant-Man suit.  The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation on the main body, plus an additional 14 points of articulation on the backpack and its arms.  The core figure is a little bit restricted, especially by modern standards, but was fairly average for 2018, I suppose.  Given that Yellowjacket’s not a particularly agile character in the film, he’s pretty workable with what he’s been given.  Yellowjacket sports a sculpt that was all-new to him, and which has not been re-used since this figure.  It’s honestly a pretty strong one.  Yellowjacket’s entire character was completely reworked for the film, and that extended to his costume, which only kept trace elements of Hank Pym’s Yellowjacket costume from the comics, instead building something that’s a far more armored up, and a little bit more menacing.  Since this figure was released a few years after the film, he’s got the benefit of being more accurate than the basic Ant-Man had been at the time of the initial film tie-ins.  Some of the exact line-work of the suit’s design isn’t a 100% exact match, but it’s definitely very close, and the detailing is honestly pretty impressive.  They’ve included all of his hexagonal texturing on the yellow sections, and I particularly like how the helmet and its nested visor design have turned out in figure form.  The paint work on Yellowjacket’s not too terribly involved, since it’s really just doing the two-toned thing.  It generally handles it well, though, as the application’s all pretty clean, there’s no notable missing details, and I do dig the metallic yellow.  There’s a slight discrepancy in the exact shade of the yellow between a few spots, but it’s overall rather minor.  While the Ant-Man in this set got an unmasked head, Yellowjacket went without.  He did, however, get a re-used mini Yellowjacket from the 2015 Ant-Man release, so that was nifty.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I passed on this figure when it first hit, largely because I just wasn’t feeling the need to pick up another Ant-Man just to get this one.  Given his minor nature in the overall scheme of things, I felt alright about that decision, but I did still *kinda* want one.  Thankfully, I was able to get my hands on a loose one when he came through All Time.  This figure’s a little bit dated compared to more recent releases, but he’s honestly a bit better than I was expecting him to be, and I’m glad I got the chance to grab him!

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

#3303: Excalibur

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

CAPTAIN BRITAIN, MEGGAN, & SHADOWCAT

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

In the 1980s, the X-Men had become such a popular book for Marvel that they were in need of more than one monthly book to contain all there success, so the solution was spin-offs.  The first was The New Mutants in 1982, which introduced a largely new cast of characters, as the name suggested.  In 1986, the original five members of the X-Men reunited under the X-Factor title.  And, finally, in 1987, a small handful of X-Men characters were borrowed from the main book, and moved overseas to meet up with the UK line’s Captain Britain, whose solo series had just been cancelled, meaning he needed a new home.  The result was Excalibur, a rather off-beat addition to the X-line-up.  While it never quite hit the highs of the main book, it’s always had something of a cult following, and the team’s been bouncing around ever since.  Individual members have done okay with toy coverage for the most part, but last year Hasbro jumpstarted their presence in Legends a bit, with a whole boxed set dedicated to them!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Britain, Meggan, and Shadowcat were an exclusive Marvel Legends three-pack.  Exclusive to where?  Good question.  They were definitely on Hasbro Pulse, and I believe meant to go on Shop Disney, though I don’t know that they ever did.  They eventually worked their way back around, though, and are now going through Entertainment Earth and their various wholesalers, making them more of a Fan Channel-exclusive at the end of it all.  Yay?

CAPTAIN BRITAIN

“Using his super strength, flying ability and courage, Captain Britain fights for justice throughout the world and in other dimensions as well.”

Captain Britain’s graced the Legends line twice before, once with Toy Biz and once with Hasbro.  Since Hasbro had previously done a more modern costume for Brian, this time they went back and did the same one that Toy Biz did for theirs, namely his second, Alan Davis-designed costume.  It’s honestly his best look, so I’m all for that.  That said, it’s somewhat humorous, given that the trading card image on the back of the box has him in his *other* Davis look, which still is without Legends treatment, despite it also being the look present on all of the images for the Toy Biz release.  Some day, it might eventually get made, right?  The figure stands 7 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Our last Legends Captain Britain was built on the Hyperion base body; this one is Hyperion adjacent, as he’s actually making use of the upgraded torso from the Unworthy Thor figure.  It lacks the weird torso shelf that the standard Hyperion torso had; strangely, this torso’s been unused since its introduction in 2017.  I do definitely like it more, though.  He also gets a new head, forearm, and knee pieces, to showcase the more unique pieces of his costume.  The new meshes well with the old, and I appreciate how the head sculpt here is distinctly different from the prior Captain Britain.  This one’s more a mask than a helmet; I did like the other one a fair bit, but this one fits the classic costume design nicely.  Captain Britain’s color work is decently handled, with some nice and sharp application.  There’s a touch of fuzz on some of the white lines, but nothing too terrible.  My figure has a touch of missing red on the front of each bicep, but it’s again pretty minor.  Captain Britain is packed with an alternate bearded head, two sets of hands in fists and gripping, and the actual sword Excalibur.  It’s not a terrible set-up, but I do find it interesting that he didn’t get an unmasked head, since the back of the box shows him unmasked.  Also, it’s a personal thing, but I’d have liked to see the previous head done up in the colors to match this costume, just to have the helmet option too.  But, you know, that’s more a me thing.

MEGGAN

“Meggan is a mystical mutant metamorph, able to change her shape at will.”

Excalibur‘s one truly unique character in their debut line-up, Meggan is the one member of the team who’s not likely to get much coverage outside of specifically team-themed set-ups.  As such, this is her first time as a Legend, and in fact only her second action figure at all, with the first being her Minimate from that line’s own Excalibur boxed set.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  At this point in the line, almost every female figure is made up of some sort of frankensteining of prior female bucks, and in Meggan’s case, she’s using a collection of parts which previously showed up together for the TRU Dark Phoenix, which add up to a base that seems about right for Meggan, especially given how Davis tended to depict her.  She swaps out that set-up’s heeled shoes for the bare feet from the First Ten Years Pepper Potts figure, and also gets a brand-new head sculpt.  The head’s got a big ol’ chunk of hair, which is appropriate for Meggan, and she also gets a big smile, which also fits, and is a nice change of pace compared to the more stoic expressions we tend to see on female figures.  The sculpt looks nice when viewed from the front, but it does seem just a tad flat from the side.  Her color work is generally pretty simple; she has the proper green and black for the costume, and the printing for the face is nice and lifelike.  She’s packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.  It’s a shame we couldn’t maybe get some alternate pieces showing off her shape-shifting, but that might have been a bit complex for the set-up of this pack.

SHADOWCAT

“Shadowcat possesses the mutant ability to “phase” her molecules, letting her pass through walls, walk on air, and allowing things she touches to do the same.”

Like Captain Britain, Kitty Pryde has gotten the Legends treatment twice before, once for each of the two manufacturers.  Both of those ones were more modern costumes, however, while this release finally gives her the all-blue number she wore during her early days with the team.  Similar to Captain Britain, I do really find this look to be one of her best.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Seeing as this is still supposed to be Kitty more on the younger side, she uses the Spider-Girl base body as a starting point.  It’s a base I’ve always rather liked, so I’ve got no issues with that.  She gets a new head, upper torso, and arms, sculpted by Eddie Mosqueda.  They flow well with the base body parts, and capture her design from the comics pretty nicely.  In particular, the loose-fitting shirt hangs in a way that quite convincingly conveys the weight of the material.  I like that a lot.  The head sculpt, like Meggan, gives her a smile, and I like that too; Davis’ illustrations of Excalibur frequently had them smiling, so it feels like it really fits the tone of the book.  Kitty’s head sculpt also bears an uncanny resemblance to Natalie Portman, and may well be the best likeness of her Hasbro’s produced, which is kind of humorous in its own way.  The colors on this figure are very blue, as they should be.  It’s a slick look,  and again the face printing brings a nice lifelike quality to the whole thing.  Shadowcat is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture, as well as her pet dragon (and fellow team member) Lockheed.  Lockheed is the same mold as the prior one packed in with Kitty, though this time he’s in a slightly brighter color.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was intrigued by this set when it was first shown off, but not quite enough to actually go out of my way to get it.  I already have both Kitty and Brian in my Legends collection, even if they may not be in my preferred costumes, and I don’t *have* to have Meggan.  But, I was certainly keeping my eye out, if they should make their way in front of me.  When they went back up for a wider distribution, that meant I was able to get them through All Time, which made life much simpler.  It’s a pretty fun set of figures.  I can’t say any of them really blow me away, though that may be partly due to how impressed I was by the last Kitty and Brian.  Still, these ones are really solid, and Meggan is no slouch either.  And, now, all we need is a red suit Rachel Grey, and we can round out the initial team!

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this set to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3299: Namor – Wakanda Forever

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

NAMOR — WAKANDA FOREVER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The ruler of Talokan, an ancient civilization hidden in the depths of the ocean, Namor will stop at nothing to protect his people.”

The last time that I reviewed a Namor action figure here on the site, it early 2018, and I was reviewing the figures from the first Black Panther tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends.  He was a comics-based Namor, and I remarked at the time that his presence in a Black Panther-themed set was kind of odd and hard to justify.  Well, don’t I feel foolish now.  Namor was introduced to the MCU last year in Wakanda Forever, where he serves as the antagonist, albeit perhaps not a totally villainous one.  Tenoch Huerta’s performance in the role was an impressive one, giving us a Namor that was a little harsher than his comics counterpart tends to be.  Nevertheless, it’s a good set-up for a potential future for the character within the MCU.  And, he’s got another action figure in a Black Panther tie-in assortment of Marvel Legends, but this time it makes sense!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Namor is part of the Attuma Series of Marvel Legends, which is the dedicated tie-in assortment for Wakanda forever.  In an assortment that’s got a fair bit of re-hash going on, especially with its movie figures, Namor stands out as being the most noteworthy addition to the line.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Namor’s articulation scheme is generally pretty decent, following with the current line set-up.  He’s got the pinless structure on his elbows and knees, which is a little nicer looking.  I’m not super crazy about the range of motion on the mid-torso joint, but otherwise, everything works out all pretty decently.  Namor is sporting an all-new sculpt, courtesy of sculptor Dennis Chan.  The head has a solid likeness of Huerta, albeit looking perhaps a little dryer than he really does in the film proper (it’s worth noting that Chan sculpted it with a different, more flow-y styling to the hair originally, and it was changed).  Still, a good likeness is a good likeness.  The body sculpt is fairly balanced in terms of proportions.  The only part of it that I feel is a little bit off is the neck, which is just a tad too long to be quite right.  Not terribly off, mind you; just the slightest bit.  The jewelry around the neck is a separate piece, which can be slipped off if you pop the head off, allowing for a slightly more comics-looking Namor.  Of course, this does exaggerate the neck issue just a little more, but again, not the worst.  Namor’s color scheme, thanks to his construction, is largely handled via molded plastic.  There’s a touch of paint for the face, of course, as well as on the feet.  It’s clean, and the face in particular is fairly lifelike.  There’s a small spot of glue slop on the back of the hair, but he’s otherwise without blemishes.  Namor is packed with two sets of hands, with one pair of flat hands, and one in a fist/gripping combo, as well as his spear, and the left arm to the Attuma Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I largely opted to skip this round of figures, due to having previous versions of most of the characters included, I was definitely down for the first MCU version of Namor.  It’s been a long path to seeing him on the big screen, and he was one of my favorite parts of Wakanda Forever.  I’ve had this guy for a while, but he had the misfortune of just sort of slipping through the cracks, since there was just the one of him.  He’s not top of the line or anything, but he’s a solid mid-range figure.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3298: Black Panther — Wakanda Forever

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

BLACK PANTHER — WAKANDA FOREVER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

The success of the first Black Panther film understandably fast-tracked the turnaround on a sequel, but with both Infinity War and Endgame locked-in on the schedule, there was a slight wait before we could get right to it.  Things were further delayed by the pandemic in 2020, right when the movie was set to begin production.  Plans were further thrown into chaos later that same year with the passing of Chadwick Boseman, leaving the film without its star.  The film was hastily reworked to remove Chadwick’s role, with the rest of his ensemble cast taking up as much of the reins as possible.  Who would be taking over the titular mantle was a heavily discussed topic, and the actual identity of this new Panther was kept secret before the film’s release.  In the end, the person to inherit the role was T’Challa’s sister Shuri, who is truly the most natural choice for the part, especially given her history of taking over the part in the comics.  In order to preserve the film’s secret, merchandise of Shuri in her Panther suit was held off until after the movie’s release.  This included the Marvel Legends figure, which is just making its way out now.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Panther is a single-release Marvel Legends figure, meant to tie-in with the rest of the Wakanda Forever assortment, while also standing on her own.  She’s sold in a box that matches the others, but is billed only as “Black Panther” and also gets no bio, suggesting they were working extra hard to keep this one a secret, even once the figure got out there.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme is up to the more modernized standards for the line; she’s got double joints for the elbows and knees, which are using the pinless construction.  She also gets a decent ball-joint for the neck.  The range isn’t quite there on some of the joints, mostly around the middle of the figure, and the elbows have a tendency to stick a little bit on one end or the other.  Panther’s sculpt is an all-new one.  It does a respectable job of capturing her costume design as seen in the film…I mean, at least as far as I can tell from the limited screen shots are available for the look; some times that super secrecy really works against them, huh?  It’s a visually interesting design, with a lot of sharp detailing, and plenty of texturing.  The build seems a decent match for Letitia Wright, though she’s notably taller than the prior Shuri figure, which doesn’t quite track with her actual height.  Technically, she should be a fair bit shorter than both figures.  Maybe the heart shaped herb just makes her taller?  I’m willing to buy that, I guess.  The paint work on this figure is pretty on the mark; the gold accents go where they’re supposed to, and they look pretty sharp.  Shuri is pretty light on the accessories front, with only two sets of hands, in fists and open claw.  They’re cool and all, but her not getting an unmasked head, or even any of her blaster attachments for the wrists.  Presumably, the secrecy of the design and more than likely far quicker turnaround time resulted in less extras.  It’s a shame, but at least she got the bare minimum?  Also, an all-new sculpt, so there’s that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The main assortment of Wakanda Forever figures was a lot of rehash, so I didn’t pick up much of that set.  The absence of Shuri from that line-up didn’t really help matters, as it was honestly one of the few designs I really felt the desire to own.  The separate release was appreciated, and not really a surprise, I suppose.  Even so, I was a bit on the fence with this figure, just because my collecting habits are shifting a bit.  Max was having none of this, however, and decided to put an end to my hemming and hawing over this figure by just going ahead and paying for one for me in advance.  How dare he?  How absolutely dare?  Aside from a lack of accessories, she’s a rather nice figure, and one I’m certainly glad to have in my collection.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3288: Cyclops

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

CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, is one of Xavier’s very first students and fights tirelessly for Xavier’s dream as the X-Men field leader!”

Oh sure, just go ahead and make me buy the same design for a third time, why don’t you?  What do you think I am, Hasbro, an easy target?  Because I am.  I mean, at least when there’s a ’90s Cyclops on the table.  Which there is.  Check it out.  ’90s Cyclops.  Oh, you want context?  Yeah, okay, I’ll give you context.  Remember how Hasbro’s been doing this whole line of animation-inspired X-Men figures based specifically on X-Men: The Animated Series?  Yeah, that’s been pretty cool.  I’ve picked up most of them (I’ve been focusing really just on the core team members, though), and I’ve been enjoying them a fair bit.  But, it’s all been a build up to the one figure I was really, really hoping to see, which was an updated version of ’90s Cyclops.  And, yes, I know I’ve gotten him updated.  On multiple occasions even.  But, look, I can always use more ’90s Cyclops.  And would you look at that?  More ’90s Cyclops.  Let’s review the ’90s Cyclops.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Cyclops is the eighth figure in the X-Men: The Animated Series sub-line of Marvel Legends.  He follows up on the Mystique figure that I didn’t review, and is currently the last figure in the line-up, at least as far as we know.  Following Scott, Hasbro’s shifting things over to Spider-Man: The Animated Series, so Cyclops is our send-off for the line.  Like the last handful of figures from the set, Cyclops was shown off and went up for order on his own.  He was originally slated for a March 2023 release, but wound up making it out just before Christmas.  As with the rest of the line, Cyclops ships in a VHS-inspired package, with an illustration by Dan Veesenmeyer on the front.  It’s honestly my favorite illustration thus far, but I’m probably a bit biased.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  From a structural stand point, Cyclops is using the Vulcan body as a basis.  It’s a decent choice, since it’s been deigned the replacement for Bucky Cap, which was the recurring base body for Scott previously.  It’s just a little bit bulkier, which actually fits a little more with the ’90s Cyclops than Bucky Cap, honestly.  The only down side to the Vulcan sculpt is the glove line on the forearm; it’s not terribly noticeable, but it’s still just a little bit annoying.  Cyclops shares his slightly modified legs with the previously released Morph figure, allowing him to have the proper strappy bits for this costume.  He also re-uses the wrist straps from the prior ’90s Cyclops, which is fair enough.  The figure also gets a new head and a modified torso piece, both courtesy of sculptor Rene Aldrete.  The head is quite similar to the prior ’90s Cyclops head, but goes a bit more in depth with its detailing.  I liked the last sculpt a lot, but this one is a marked improvement across the board.  It’s worth noting that, similar to Morph, the sculpt walks the line between animation accuracy and the line’s usual stylings, suggesting it’s likely to get re-used for a standard color variant at some point down the line.  The new torso, much like the legs, takes the standard torso set-up, and makes the strappy bits an affixed element, rather than just a free-floating piece.  The floating nature of the prior release’s harness was one of my few issues with it, so working it into the torso sculpt not only makes it less of a pain to pose him, it also just makes for a tighter fit and a generally better looking design.  Following in the footsteps of the rest of the line, Cyclops’s paint work replicates the cel shading of the cartoon.  It’s not too pronounced, and like the others, it works surprisingly well from different angles.  I myself still quite like the cel shading on these figures, but I know others aren’t quite as keen on it.  If nothing else, it makes this release a bit more unique.  Cyclops is packed with five different hands, a pair of fists, a pair relaxed, and his usual left hand with the two fingers extended for proper optic blast unleashing.  It’s a little bit bare bones, honestly, but it’s on par with most of these releases, especially given how much new sculpting this one got.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ll admit, I was pretty hyped for Morph when this line began, because he’s unique and everything, but the figure I was absolutely hoping for the most from this line-up was this guy.  X-Men: The Animated Series‘ take on Cyclops shaped a lot of my view on the character, as well as shaping a lot of what I like in characters in general.  I like a good clean cut hero, what can I say?  I’ve gotten pretty much every possible version of the ’90s Cyclops design out there, and I honestly do love them all.  This guy is just a step above the rest, though.  And, I look forward to buying this exact same figure again, but without the cel shading.  Look, I know what I’m about, okay?