Tag Archives: Marvel

#3535: Clea

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

CLEA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0014:  Despite how many figures her husband Stephen Strange has received over the years, this marks the very first action figure for Clea.

My comics reading is, at its core, very heavily influenced by my dad.  In part, that’s based on what he would buy me to read as a kid, which frequently included copies of some of his favorite stories from when he was growing up.  However, it’s also due to us effectively sharing a reading pile when I was growing up.  This resulted in some quirkier books that he was following becoming my first real introduction to certain characters.  In the early ’00s, Kurt Busiek had a run on Defenders, which eventually spun into The Order, where the “heavy hitter” Defenders went rogue, and it was up to the second stringers (namely Nighthawk, Hellcat, and Valkyrie) to stop them.  At one point, they assemble a team of distaff counterparts to Dr. Strange, Hulk, Namor, and Silver Surfer, which, amongst others features Clea as the counterpart to her husband.  It marked my first introduction to Clea, and it’s stuck with me since.  It sure has taken a long time for a figure of her to finally show up, but here we are.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clea is figure 6 in the Mindless One Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s the final of the singles, and something of an outlier, being a more mystically-themed figure in a set of otherwise Marvel Knights and street-level heroes.  On the flipside, however, she’s the only one that’s got any real ties to the Mindless One Build-A-Figure, so she’s got that going for her.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  She’s making use of a decent little bank of re-used parts, largely centered around a slightly upgraded Phoenix base body.  She’s got a new head, upper torso, and sash piece, which add up to a solid approximation of Clea’s classic design.  All in all, a nice selection of new parts, though her hair on the head sculpt is perhaps a touch flat.  Still, overall not bad.  Clea’s color work is fun, because it’s a lot of purples, and you don’t see those shades quite as often.  The face get’s some very clean, very lifelike work, and the patterning on the legs is surprisingly well handled.  Clea is packed with two sets of hands and two of the swirly effect pieces in purple, as well as the right arm of the Mindless One Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I don’t know that I’d say Clea’s a character I had an undying need for or anything, but at the same time, it’s kind of surprising that she’s never gotten any sort of figure before.  So, in that regard, this figure is pretty cool, and she also turned out pretty nicely on top of that.  But mostly, she makes me want to put together a full line-up of the distaff counterparts from The Order.  What are the odds we might see a Ardina?  Probably really low, right?

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.

#3533: Luke Cage – Power Man

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

LUKE CAGE — POWER MAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0012: Luke Cage’s first Marvel Legends release was in Toy Biz’s second-to-last series during their run on the line.

When I sat down to write today’s review, I thought to myself “should I maybe review the original Toy Biz Legends Luke Cage?”  And then I remembered that I *already* did, way back in the first year of the site.  Look, you write 3000 of these things, and you start to forget some things.  I looked back on that old review and saw that I was actually pretty brief on its “Me Half” segment.  I didn’t even mention where I got it.  The thing about that particular series was that it’s one of the ones that I actually wanted all of the figures from, and it’s also one where I didn’t want the Build-A-Figure at all.  They hit right around Christmas, so I actually got a good chunk of them as gifts.  Luke is one of two I didn’t get, but I used some of my Christmas money to buy him at Cosmic Comix, and I was actually pretty happy to get him at the time.  That figure held up better than some of the others from the set, but he’s still more than 15 years old, so you need some updates from time to time.  And I’m certainly not one to say no to a classic Luke Cage!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Luke Cage Power Man is figure 4 in the Mindless Ones Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s a pretty natural fit for the overall Marvel Knights theme of the set.  This is actually Luke’s first standard release Legends figure since the Toy Biz days, as well as his first proper update to the ’70s look.  The figure stands 6 3/4 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Luke’s sculpt is an all-new one, which is a pretty solid offering.  It’s clean and well defined, and definitely gets the outfit down.  The head’s a little bit bland in terms of expression; I don’t mind a Luke that’s slightly less angry than the first Legend, but this one feels like it dials things back maybe a touch too far.  Still, it’s hardly a bad sculpt.  The only other quirk to the sculpt is how the shirt works; the torso portion is a separate piece from his actual chest, which isn’t generally a bad look, but the holes for the arms are cut a little too large, revealing the chest beneath.  It’s looks a little awkward during certain posing.  Luke’s color work is a lot of molded colors, which works well to keep him clean looking.  He gets paint on his face, which is clean and lifelike.  Luke is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture, as well as the left leg to the Mindless One Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I’ve not gotten any Legends Luke Cages since the first one, because I just never found one that I liked in the mean time.  I’m not opposed to his more recent designs, but I guess I just hadn’t found the right toy version of any of those looks.  Whatever the case, I’m always going to have a soft spot for this look, so its announcement was definitely cool.  In hand, he’s not perfect, but still solid, which makes him a pretty spot-on successor to the original.  Now, I’d really love a ’70s Iron Fist to go with 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.

#3531: Jean Grey

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

JEAN GREY

X-MEN CLASSICS (TOY BIZ)

Fun FiQ Fact #0010: Jean Grey’s Jim Lee costume has received 11 action figures since its debut.

As a kid, my introduction to the X-Men was the animated series, which drove my desire for the whole cast of characters in action figure form.  The toyline running concurrently with the show was actually comics-based, but still generally managed to get a lot of looks that were close enough to work.  There were, however, some omissions, as well as some…odd ways of doing figures.  Despite being a main character on the show, Jean’s only figure in the line proper for most of its run was a single Phoenix figure, which wasn’t her main get-up on the series.  That look got some action figure love, sure, but Toy Biz’s takes always felt a bit monkey’s paw-like; you’d get her, but at some sort of trade off.  My search for a good one ran for a good number of years.  The closest I got was in 2000, and it was a figure that I was honestly pretty thrilled to get, even though she’s maybe not the most thrilling figure at the end of it all.  Still, here she is!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Jean Grey is part of Toy Biz’s X-Men Classics line, which they launched in 2000 to run some old molds in new packaging between the toys for X-Men: The Movie and X-Men: Evolution.  While most of the figures were minor tweaks to existing releases, the Battle Blasters figures all got more substantial tweaks, in order to make them less Age of Apocalypse-inspired and more standard.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Her mold is almost identical to the original “Secret Weapon Force” release, which was just the Jean mold that Toy Biz had on hand at the time, I guess.  It does at the very least fill in the etched lines for the boots and gloves from the mold’s original use as Mystique.  For all of the re-uses the body saw during Toy Biz’s run, I do believe this is the only time they got rid of those.  It definitely helps with the overall look.  The mold’s not bad; the body is basic, and the head, while definitely more dialed into the AoA version of the character, isn’t horrible.  The main change-up, obviously, is the paint, which now puts her in her Jim Lee costume…or at least something close to it.  There are some sculpted details that don’t line up; the hair’s too short, and she lacks the shoulder pads and leg pouches.  That’s kind of expected, and it’s certainly closer than the other repaint they did for this costume.  The only thing that really stands out to me as “off” is the hands being yellow, but even that was a back and forth thing, with it only more recently being decided that she didn’t wear gloves with the costume.  This Jean release got the exact same accessory as her original “Secret Weapon” release: the Catapult Tank Blaster.  It’s a big green and black thing, and it’s hella goofy.  But, hey, at least I got two of them, right?

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I vividly recall finding this figure in a Toys R Us, early December, still in post-X-Men: The Movie bliss, and being absolutely thrilled.  Then less so, because it was early December, which was typically a time of no toy purchases, what with the inevitable onslaught of figures I’d be getting as Christmas gifts.  My parents, however, recognized the significance of the figure, and allowed me to break their usual rule, so that I could finally have the Jean Grey I’d been waiting so long for.  She’s not much to write home about; she’s just the Secret Weapon Force Jean with a new deco, and that one wasn’t anything special either.  But, I was always very happy with her, and she’s still pretty nifty, even if there are better Jim Lee style Jeans these days.

#3530: Blade

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

BLADE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0009: Blade’s first Marvel Legends figure was movie based, and it would take until 2017 for him to actually get a comics-based Legend.  At least the follow-up wasn’t *quite* that bad.

My first introduction to Blade was Spider-Man: The Animated Series, a depiction that made me not jive so much with the Wesley Snipes version of the character from the first movie.  In my defense, I was also kind of 5, and an R-rated super hero movie really wasn’t for me.  Whatever the case, it’s kind of created a division between me and the character, so I never really got into him, beyond perhaps the novelty of him and Moon Knight being each other’s equivalent marks in Marvel’s ’70s horror books.  I do really like his ’70s design, hokey as it may be, but that one’s been rather light on the toy coverage.  As it stands, I haven’t actually owned a Blade figure at all…until now.  How about that?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Blade is figure 2 in the Mindless One Series of Marvel Legends.  It’s a Marvel Knights themed set, and he definitely vibes with that (enough that he’s been in both of the two Knights assortments).  Despite including a Build-A-Figure piece, Blade’s this assortment’s double pack.  It makes sense, given how popular his prior figures have been, but it definitely feels like it may have been a late call on Hasbro’s part.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Construction wise, he’s using the torso from the last Blade, as well as the arms from ’90s Havok.  Beyond that, he appears to be an all-new set-up.  The sculpt for this guy is pretty solid.  The only real downside I can really find is that his arms can’t really sit flush with his torso, but that’s always been an issue with this mold.  The design here looks to be an amalgamation of a few Blade designs from over the years, settling on something that generally approximates the overall vibe of his early ’00s appearances, post live action movie redesign.  It’s not first appearance Blade, but it’s certainly a very memorable take on him, so I get it.  It’s also very definitely a post-bitten by Morbius Blade, as the headsculpt so clearly shows, with his vampire teeth-baring expression.  It’s certainly a far cry from the last figure’s very pointedly calm expression.  It’s quite dynamic, to be sure.  Blade’s color work is very dark, as expected.  It’s not all strictly black, though.  The jacket and boots are, but the body beneath is a dark grey, and he’s even got a red lining on the coat.  There’s not a ton of paint, with it mostly being limited to the head.  What’s there is very cleanly applied, though.  Blade is packed with a sword, two stakes, two hand-held blade thingies, two pairs of hands (gripping and fists), and the head and energy effect to the Mindless One Build-A-Figure.  That’s actually quite a lot, making Blade one of the few Legends recently to not feel at all light on on extras.  I’d personally have liked an extra head, but I can’t fault them for going with what they did.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I was prepared not to be all that into this figure.  Like I said, my attachment to Blade is minimal.  But, I get *why* this figure got made, and I do like this design more than any of the prior releases.  Ultimately, I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  He’s actually pretty fun.  I’m still holding out hope on that ’70s style Blade sometime soon, but until then, this guy’s a respectable stand-in.

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.

#3528: Daredevil

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

DAREDEVIL

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0007:  This is the 20th Daredevil figure I’ve looked at here on the site! Sub-FiQ Fact, I know I just used this for Nightwing last week, but it’s also amusing that the two baton boy acrobats are so close in numbers, right?

I’ve been off and on with Daredevil’s comic runs pretty much since I started reading comics.  Waid and Samnee’s run from a few years back is one of my absolute favorite comics runs ever, and I dropped off the book for a bit after that because, well, how do you follow that up?  I jumped back in with Chip Zdarsky’s run when it started, and while it didn’t hook me quite the same way as the Waid/Samnee run, it was still a strong run in its own right.  It removes Matt from the title role for a while, granting Elektra the spotlight, but when Matt came back, he got a swanky new look, and I’m pretty much always down for a new Daredevil look.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Daredevil is the unnumbered figure in the Mindless One Series of Marvel Legends, which is our second Marvel Knights-themed series, following up on the Man-Thing Series from way back in 2017.  Curiously, while DD is the unnumbered figure and is sans-BaF piece, he’s *not* the set’s double pack in the case, which is a bit of a change-up to how things normally are.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  His articulation set-up is notably a little stiff, especially for a character like Matt, but its generally comparable to the Bucky Cape base that he’s been on previously, I suppose.  It’s also pinless, so at least it looks pretty smooth.  Matt gets a brand new sculpt, based on his “King Daredevil” look from the comics.  It’s essentially taking the costume Elektra was wearing during her time with the mantle and adapting to Matt, which isn’t a terrible way of handling things.  Since taking up the look was preceded by Matt doing a stint in prison, he grew out a beard, which is probably the biggest real visual change, though he also gains a lot more black, as well as adding wraps on the feet to the handwraps that have become a go-to for modern updates to the DD look. The sculpt generally translates the look into figure form pretty decently, with the only specific nit being that his collar piece is missing the hood section from the comics. It sort of came and went there, though, so it’s possible it was actually meant to be a separate piece. Otherwise, the sculpt conveys the book design well, and there’s plenty of depth of detail mixed in. His color work is pretty basic, largely relying on molded colors. Weirdly, his shoulder joints are molded in red, despite them only being visible in sections of the shoulder that are black, which is annoying. Also, his ears wind up being painted to match his beard, which is just plain incorrect. At least the red/black break up is very clean. DD is packed with his usual two piece billy club set-up, as well as a longer bladed staff. It definitely feels light. At the very least, some extra hands would be appreciated, but a hood piece would also have been nice.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

This guy felt pretty inevitable once we got the Elektra version, and it was ultimately his announcement that truly sold me on that figure. I dig a good Matt DD variant. This one isn’t as strong as other recent DD figures, but he’s still a respectably fun figure in his own right.

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.

#3519: Nighthawk & Blur

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

NIGHTHAWK & BLUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The high-flying Nighthawk and super-speedy Blur ally with each other and the Squadron Supreme to defend their Earth”

It’s a rarity that I get to return to a Squadron Supreme discussion.  Sure, I’ve brought the team up a few times before, but it’s always about recontextualizing what is inevitably another Nighthawk or Hyperion.  This time, I actually get to build on a set I’m already building….albeit with another Nighthawk…but that’s not the point!  There are others as well!  That’s right, the Not-Batman comes packed with a Not-Flash, The Whizzer Blur!  Let’s check them out!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nighthawk and Blur are the second of the two Fan Channel-exclusive Marvel Legends two-packs based on the Squadron Supreme.  While the first set was a fairly catch-all classic take on its characters, this set more definitively dials in on specifically the Squadron Supreme of America incarnation created by Jason Aaron and Ed McGuinness.

NIGHTHAWK

Hey, it’s Nighthawk!  The Kyle Richmond version!  Which Kyle Richmond version, you ask?  Valid.  There’s actually four separate Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, and that’s *just* the Kyle Richmond versions.  There’s another four not-Kyle Richmond Nighthawks, but they admittedly get outweighed by Kyle.  This latest Kyle is perhaps the most Batman-y of the Kyle Nighthawks, so he’s got that going for him.  Design wise, he’s kind of a greatest hits of all the Richmonds before him, which is nifty, I suppose.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s built on the Vulcan body, which makes a degree of sense, since Vulcan’s supposed to be replacing Bucky Cap, and that’s what the last Nighthawk was based on.  He gets a new head and cape piece.  They seem pretty in line with McGuninness’s depiction of the character, albeit filtered through the line’s usual stylings.  The cape’s a little tricky to keep in place and kind of stiff, but it’s an improvement on the last one for the most part.  His color work is a bit darker than the last Nighthawk, which is in line with the depiction in the comics.  The molded color work is solid, and the paint application is nice and sharp.  Nighthawk is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open, and three not-Batarangs.

BLUR

When the Squadron Sinister first appeared back in the ’60s, their Flash equivalent was re-using the name of Golden Age speedster The Whizzer, and when the Squadron Supreme came into existence a decade later, the heroic equivalent was also re-using the name.  It’s a name that’s admittedly a little on the sillier side, I suppose, so the villainous version switched to “Speed Demon,” while the heroic version took on the name “Blur” during Strazinski’s reboot of the team from the early ’00s.  Aaron and McGuinness’s version kept the “Blur” name going, albeit married to a design that’s a pretty strict update to the Silver Age Whizzer designed.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  This figure is based on the 2099 base body, with the upgraded arms and legs to remove the elbow and knee pins.  Speed Demon was built on the Pizza Spidey body, and I honestly was never entirely happy with that.  This one suits the general character set-up a lot better.  He gets a new head and belt, courtesy of sculptor Paul Harding.  The head’s a fantastic piece of work, with a nice, fun-loving grin on his face.  It feels very true to the character.  The color work is pretty clean; the black and yellow works well, and the painted elements are quite nice.  Blur is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and open gesture.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I honestly didn’t intend to pick this set up.  I got the first pack mostly because I just wanted a Doctor Spectrum.  These two using the newer designs meant I had less attachment to them, so I was planning to pass.  But, then they announced Power Princess, meaning I’d be able to finally have *some* version of the team completed, and the more I looked at the Blur figure, the more I liked him.  Blur is the real star here for me; something about his simplicity just really works, and he’s close enough to the classic Whizzer design to work for my collecting sensibilities.  Nighthawk I can take or leave.  I prefer the Defenders costume to this one, so it’ll remain my primary version of the character.  Of course, I certainly wouldn’t say no to a first appearance costume for 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.

#3517: War Machine

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

WAR MACHINE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With a new modular Gatling Cannon and enough firepower to take on a legion of enemies, the War Machine — AKA Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes — is a true one-man army.”

Hey, do you guys wanna talk about the implications of Secret War‘s big Skrull identity reveal on the events of everything post-Civil War as it pertains to Rhodey?  No?  Yeah, me neither.  Wanna pretend its not a thing until we have no other choice?  I certainly do.  Let’s do that.  But, hey, while we’re on that, can we address that the Civil War era armor design for War Machine is, like, peak War Machine design?  It’s pretty solid, and it’s got a figure, and I’m looking at that now!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

War Machine is part of the 2023 assortment of the Infinity Saga sub-line of Marvel Legends.  He’s one of the three Captain America: Civil War-based figures, which, rather amusing, doesn’t include a Captain America, but *does* does have both Iron Man and War Machine; way to upstage a guy in his own movie, guys.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  War Machine is a total mold re-use of the original Civil War release, which I looked at when it was repainted as Punisher War Machine.  The only times it was released in standard colors were as a Target-exclusive in a two-pack, and as a Disney Store-exclusive in a four pack, so a single release does make a lot of sense.  It helps that its also a pretty solid sculpt, and it still holds up pretty nicely, apart from a few spots where the articulation is a little bit stiff.  That said, it’s a really good looking sculpt, and very accurate to the source material.  I also found that the guns and baton stayed in place better on this release than my Punisher War Machine, which is a definite plus.  The only area with notable change from the original release is the paint work.  Admittedly, even that’s minor, but this time around the application is a lot sharper and cleaner, and the reds on the eyes and arc reactor now have a fade to white, giving them a bit more depth and realism.  In general, it’s just a much better look, all around.  This release gets the same accessories set-up as all the prior releases of the mold, meaning he includes two sets of hands (in fists and gripping), deployed and stowed versions of the baton and cannon, and the two removable forearm guns.  Its a shame we couldn’t get an unmasked Rhodey head, since there’s not new parts on this one, but it’s not like he’s a light feeling figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My saga of owning this version of War Machine is…well, it’s frustrating, and it’s entirely my own fault.   I passed up on the figure in the two-pack a couple of times, even when I saw it on clearance, which felt silly once they were gone.  Shortly after getting the Punisher version of the mold, I finally managed to track down a loose one…and then I opted to get rid of it when streamlining my collection, since I had the Punisher version and the Endgame armor.  Then I decided to downsize my Punisher figures, and I realized that I wouldn’t have this armor at all, which…well, it was annoying.  But, then they announced this release, and that made things better, especially since this one is just the two-pack figure, but improved.  Definitely my go-to MCU War Machine.

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.

#3514: Black Widow

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

BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Working alongside Captain America, Super Spy Black Widow makes a discovery that hints at a sinister worldwide conspiracy — and must do whatever it takes to counteract it.”

Back in May of 2014, when I reviewed the original Winter Soldier Black Widow, Scarlet Johannson’s live action take on the character was still quite a rarity in the toy world.  She was notably the only member of the original Avengers left out of the initial 6-inch line-up, and even her Winter Soldier figure was a short pack (since it was the days before the more even pack-outs on Legends).  In the almost decade since, that’s certainly changed.  It’s still not quite on par with her male counterparts, but she’s gotten a lot more headway.  And now, they’re even doubling back to that very first look to get the proper Legends treatment.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Black Widow was released the 2023 assortment of the Infinity Saga sub-line of Marvel Legends.  She joins the previously released Cap to make up this assortment’s Winter Soldier portion, and the two of them jointly help the Flashback Winter Soldier in giving us updates to all three of the original Legends tie-ins for the movie.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  She remains too tall to truly be a Johannson Widow, but that’s been a consistent issue across the board.  Her articulation scheme has changed compared to the original, as she’s now got double jointed elbows (with swanky pinless construction), and her neck joint is a double ball joint, rather than a single.  These changes are due to the fact that Widow actually gets some new parts, in contrast to Cap’s total re-use.  Her upper torso and arms are new, while the lower torso and legs remain the same.  The new parts are quite nice, and fix some slight issues with proportions and suit detailing on the last mold, as well as improving her movement quite a bit.  Apart from the slight issues with standing, the fact that she’s still got visible pins on the knees, and those dreaded holsters with the permanently molded guns, the re-used parts do at least still look pretty good.  Near as I can tell, the head is also re-used, but its worth noting that the likeness looks *a lot* better this time around.  Widow’s paint work on her original figure was based on concept coloring, while this one is based on what she’s actually wearing in the movie.  In Winter Soldier, she’s notably wearing actual black for most of her gear, and that’s reflected here.  It results in a number of areas actually getting a lot less paint than the last time, but it looks better.  It also helps that the areas that *do* get paint are a lot cleaner this time around.  The face paint in particular is night and day, and it does really look like a different sculpt.  I also really like that they’ve done proper accenting for her hair.  Widow is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), a pair of guns, a pair of widow’s sting effects, and the alternate Avengers-style head like the original had.  The guns aren’t real firearms, or accurate to the movie, but I’m glad she at least gets *something* this time around, rather than the complete lack from last time.  The alt head gets the same paint improvement as the main, which is very nice to see as well.  Of course, we don’t really have the rest of the core Avengers in a style that matches, but that’s hardly this figure’s fault.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite my issues with the original release of this costume, I maintained that it was still a pretty good figure, and didn’t really feel the same need for an update that I did with Cap.  I certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea, though, when her name popped up on the list.  I didn’t think that much of her when I got her, and I was prepared to be a bit let-down after Cap…but I really wasn’t.  There are a few small things that I’m still not 100% sold on, but in general, she’s just a solid improvement on the original figure, in ways that I hadn’t even really thought of.  I’m glad she got the new parts, and the extras, and she actually feels like she was worth the price of the upgrade.  Just a good 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 and their eBay storefront.

#3512: Captain America

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Equipped with a streamlined new uniform and his Vibranium shield, Captain America leads a team of covert S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives on clandestine missions into the most dangerous corners of the world.”

During this site’s very first year, I got back into Marvel Legends hardcore for one major reason: Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  That was a pretty crazy shift.  And, as of next April, the movie is a decade old.  It tracks, of course, but, you know, it does still feel a little crazy to me.  Whatever the case, ten years means more toys, right?  It sure does.  In fact, we’re even getting them just a little bit early, so that’s not so bad.  Today, I’m taking a look at our latest update to Cap’s stealth look from the movie.  Oh yeah.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain America is part of the 2023 assortment of what has become the ongoing Infinity Saga sub-line of Marvel Legends.  I guess we’re just revisiting it every year now.  I got no problems with that, of course, so let’s do it.  We’re finally getting Cap in a standard release assortment for the line, which I’m always happy to see.  Cap is seen here in his S.T.R.I.K.E. suit from the movie’s opening half, which is patterned on his Commander Rogers gear from the comics.  It’s a very good look, and certainly one of the MCU’s most memorable Cap designs.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  His articulation is a lot like the Stealth Cap from 2014.  In fact, it’s identical to the articulation on the Stealth Cap from 2014.  Do you know why?  Because this figure is, aside from the head, the Stealth Cap from 2014.  The thing is, I liked the sculpt a lot in 2014, and it was very good in 2014.  But that was a decade ago and Legends has definitely made some advancements since then.  This figure, with his visible pins, somewhat limiting ab-crunch and waist swivel, and kind of scrawny arms, is…well, he’s dated.  Don’t get me wrong; the sculpt was top of the line when it hit, and it’s not completely outmoded in this day and age…but it could be better.  In 2021, we got a totally upgraded Mark III sculpt to replace the old movie figure, and this is serving as an update for a figure that’s almost as old, relatively speaking.  At least a new upper torso would go a long way.  He does at least get the updated helmeted sculpt from the First Ten Years two-pack; that sculpt is at least a very strong one, with a much better Evans likeness than the last release of this body.  This figure’s paint work is, unsurprisingly, very similar to the last one.  It’s a little cleaner this time, and he gets the printed face, as opposed to the rather thick paint from the last one.  In terms of accessories…we run into some issues again.  He’s got an unmasked head and a shield.  I can’t tell if the head is the same sculpt as the First Ten Years one, or not.  If it is, the paint’s not holding up its end, because the likeness doesn’t feel as strong this time.  It also looks a bit large on the body, which doesn’t help the overall scrawniness feeling.  The shield is the updated version from the two-pack, now in the stealth colors.  It’s a fine piece, but it again seems too large compared to the rest of the figure, making him feel a bit small by comparison.  And that’s it on the accessory front.  The last release included a shield and an alternate head as well, but also had a second set of hands, as well as a Build-A-Figure part, and he was $5 cheaper.  Now, I understand rising costs and all, but given that this figure features at most a single new part, it sucks that he can’t at least get extra hands.  We finally got a pair of gripping hands for Cap with the Infinity War update, so the fact that we’re back to him not being able to grip his shield properly so shortly after that is definitely frustrating.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been waiting for an update to this look for at least five years, and I was very happy to see his name crop up on this list.  And then the figure arrived and…well, it let me down.  It’s very frustrating that after ten years, we don’t actually get an update to this design, and instead get yet another release of a mold that needs to be retired.  This very definitely should have been our chance to finally get a new Cap mold, built from the ground up, rather than continuing to get MCU Caps cobbled together from old parts.  It feels like a real missed opportunity.  Okay, ready for the flip around?  This figure?  I like him.  I know, I tore him to shreds up there, and brought up a ton of issues.  And I stand by those issues.  But, I also acknowledge that, viewed purely on his own, this is still a very good figure.  After getting through my issues with him, I just sort of sat back and took in the figure by himself, with no other figures, and I remembered why I loved this mold in the first place.  I’d still love an actual update (maybe they can do a new one without the shield and helmet and just say it’s him from the beginning of Endgame), but at the end of the day, there are worse things they could have done than re-use these parts.

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.

#3509: Space Knight Venom & Mania

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

SPACE KNIGHT VENOM & MANIA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“To protect high school student Andi Benton, Flash Thompson accidentally bonds his symbiote to her, only learning later that the Venom symbiote had passed on his demonic Hell-Mark to her”

Once Venom’s popularity really started to take off, Marvel began its rather lengthy run of evolving the concept to keep it from getting stale. Eddie Brock himself evolved into an anti-hero, and ultimately lost the symbiote, which was bonded to Mac Gargan, in order to become villainous once more. After Gargan lost the symbiote, the US government passed it on to Flash Thompson, who took on the alias Agent Venom. After joining the Guardians of the Galaxy and visiting the Symbiote’s home planet, Thompson unlocked new abilities, taking on the form of Space Knight Venom. Whilst in possession of the symbiote, Flash also inadvertently created his own sidekick, Mania, who rounds off the pair of figures I’m looking at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Space Knight Venom and Mania are a Target-exclusive Marvel Legends two-pack, released in the fall of this year. Venom was previously a Build-A-Figure in 2016, but Mania is an all-new release.

VENOM

Though he may be a re-release, Venom’s the real reason for this set’s existence. The Space Knight Venom series was notoriously hard to find, making him one of the most expensive BAFs to piece together. All but one single release character from the set has seen some form of update since (and I don’t believe people are beating down Hasbro’s door for a new Ashley Barton), making Venom a natural choice for another figure. The figure stands — inches tall and has — points of articulation. The core figure sculpt is the same one used by the Build-A-Figure, which makes sense, since not many people got their hands on it the first time. It helps that it’s a generally pretty decent sculpt. It’s not without some signs of its age, of course. There are still visible pins on the elbows and knees, and some of the articulation is a little bit shaky. I do like how well it merges the comic design with the Legends style, and how unique it is from other Venom figures. There are also a lot of sculpted elements that could have just been painted on, which makes it look even better. The figure’s paint work is functionally the same as the Build-A-Figure. It’s hard to go wrong with black and white detailing that follows the sculpted elements, so it makes sense. There’s a bit of fuzziness around the edges of the white sections, especially where there’s no sculpted lines to act as guides, but the overall appearance is pretty decent. The BaF Venom was without accessories, but this release changes that, giving him an extra head (with more of an “unleashed” appearance), as well as blade attachments for both arms. I’m more a fan of the standard head, but the option is nice, and I definitely dig the attachments.

MANIA

While Flash’s Venom sort of bled out into other areas of the Marvel universe, his sidekick Mania remained fairly contained to Venom-specific stories, so I didn’t read much with her. She’s another take on the female Venom play, with more of Flash’s Agent Venom persona present, I guess. The figure is about 5 1/2 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation. She appears to be using a variation of the Spider-Girl body, with new limbs sporting the pinless double joints, as well as character-specific pieces for her head, lower arms, boots, and belt. The new parts mesh well with the old, and create a solid approximation of her comics look. It’s an interesting mix of cartoony and realistic, but that’s kind of the character, I suppose. Her paint work is pretty basic overall, with the whole black/white thing. She does get a little more accenting on her gloves and boots, which is pretty fun. Mania includes no accessories of her own, which is a bit of a letdown, but also I don’t know what she should get.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Try as I may, I was never able to get more than a single piece of Space Knight Venom in his original run, which very definitely sucked. I’ve been hoping for some form of rerelease for a while, but it’s been a long wait. I had no need for Mania myself, but I can dig her getting a figure, and this seems like a good way to do it. Venom is very fun, though, and I’m glad I got him, and that also acquiring him was relatively painless. I just preordered the set and they shipped out no problem. Yay for no problem!