Tag Archives: Marvel

#2944: Doctor Strange Supreme

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

DOCTOR STRANGE SUPREME

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“When an unforeseen event changes Stephen Strange’s perspective on life, the path he chooses is one filled with even darker magic.”

In the comics, What If…? stories could have a real tendency to end on a major downer note.  The show didn’t do that quite as much, but episode 4, “What If…Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” goes full-on into that downer territory, as a desperate Stephen Strange’s path winds up having reality destroying implications.  It’s also the first episode to show the Watcher in any way interacting with those he’s watching, setting up the events of the season’s final two episodes.  All-in-all, it’s a very classically “What If…?” story, albeit not one that exactly gets the warm fuzzies going.  As such a overarching plot relevant story, it’s not a huge shock that the altered version of Stephen Strange got a figure, which I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Doctor Strange Supreme is figure 4 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s the only figure based on his episode of the show specifically, but there aren’t a ton of other looks to choose from, so he can kind of mix in with pre-existing figures, and also pairs off pretty well with the Watcher Build-A-Figure that I’ll be looking at next week.  The figure is specifically based on Strange’s darker “Supreme” appearance from late in the episode, as well as his reappearances in the final two episodes of the season.  Definitely a solid choice for design, since it gets a lot of play.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Strange’s sculpt is a mix of old and new.  His lower half is re-used from the first movie Strange, while the rest of the figure is an all-new sculpt, based more directly on the show’s tweaked design for the character.  He sticks much closer to how Peggy’s sculpt handled things in regards to walking the line between animation and realism.  His head sculpt in particular is clearly very much based on the animation model from the show, but it makes it work, and he doesn’t look completely out of place with standard MCU figures.  No doubt, his exaggeratedly gaunt appearance in the episode aids in that.  Also like Peggy, I feel that this cartoony sculpt manages to have a better overall likeness to Cumberbatch than even the improved Infinity War release had.  I really quite like it.  The torso and arms are a good middle ground between the realistic legs and the more cartoony head.  They’re slightly simplified in terms of texturing, and the proportions are certainly a little more exaggerated, but it’s generally a good look.  To denote his different path in the show, Strange doesn’t get his Cloak of Levitation, but instead gets a slightly more evil coded equivalent.  It’s an all-new piece, and, while the Cloak of Levitation didn’t get this, this new cloak pegs into place on Strange’s back.  It’s a little loose, but generally it looks pretty good, and I love how dynamic the sculpt is.  Strange’s paint work is pretty much on par with the rest of the figures in the set.  His base work is clean and colorful, and there’s some solid accenting on the face to help sell how far gone he is, which works pretty well.  In terms of accessories, Strange is packed with the alternate Time Stone effect hand we saw with the IW figure, as well as the left leg to the Watcher figure.  I like getting the Time Stone hand again, and I’m glad that it’s just an alternate piece this time around, but it’s a shame we couldn’t get any alternate parts to represent the alternate forms Strange took while absorbing all of his power.  That definitely would have been cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Doctor Strange episode wasn’t my favorite episode of the season, but it did certainly resonate with me on a slightly more personal level.  I also did really like the redesign they gave him, and it wound up translating quite well into toy form.  While I wasn’t in a crazy rush to get this one, I did certainly like the look of him a fair bit.  He’s definitely one of the better figures in the set, behind Peggy and Zombie Cap.

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.

#2943: Zombie Hunter Spidey

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

ZOMBIE HUNTER SPIDEY

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Zombie Hunter Spidey is in a ragtag group of survivors, fighting his way through a zombie-infested world.”

In the original Marvel Zombies, just about all of the major heroes had been zombified, which included everyone’s favorite web-slinger, who in the main story actually served as sort of the token good guy of the zombie group.  For the purposes of the MCU version of the story, the zombies no longer retain their personalities, and Peter Parker is also spared his zombified fate, instead becoming the story’s central remaining human character.  It makes him a solid choice for toy treatment, I suppose, and so I’m looking at that figure today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zombie Hunter Spidey is figure 3 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends, and the second figure in the assortment based on the “Zombies” episode.  The figure stands just under 6 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme on the figure is a little bit outmoded in its implementation, so he’s not quite as agile as you might hope.  Notably, as a first for an MCU Spidey, he lacks butterfly joints on the shoulders.  Not exactly sure why, but that’s how it is.  Peter’s design in the episode is a mix of a few of his designs from the movies, most heavily leaning on his Homecoming appearance, which is really the most classically “Spider-Man” look of the bunch.  To that end, his sculpt makes use of parts from the Homecoming figure (which does again raise the question of why the shoulder joints were adjusted.)  The figure’s upper torso and arms are new pieces, following the slightly tweaked design of the suit from the episode.  It’s really not terribly removed from the other MCU Spider-Men, which I suppose is the point, really.  During the course of the episode, Peter inherits Doctor Strange’s cloak of levitation, and as such the figure gets its own version of the piece.  It’s totally unique from the ones we’ve gotten with the various Strange figures, which was honestly surprising.  It also has no peg or anything to hold it in place, which does make it a bit hard to keep it seated properly.  Zombie Hunter Spidey’s paint work is notably brighter in color than other versions of the MCU suit, bit it works well.  There’s a bit of shading to indicate the suit’s gotten a little dirty during the apocalypse, which makes sense, and also keeps him from being too bland.  Spidey is packed with an alternate unmasked head, two sets of hands (fists and thwipping), and the right leg to the Watcher Build-A-Figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had not particular attachment to this figure before the episode aired, and I still really didn’t have any after.  Mostly, I got him because I was getting the whole set.  He’s an MCU Spidey wearing a Doctor Stange cape.  That’s really it.  It’s not like he does that badly, I suppose, though the decision to remove the butterfly joints and not to include a peg on the cape both do seem rather strange, and also serve to kind of hold him back a bit.  Ultimately, he’s a rather middle of the road 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.

#2942: Captain Carter

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

CAPTAIN CARTER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“With the Super Soldier program in peril, Peggy Carter bravely participates by becoming Captain Carter.”

Kicking off the What If…? show was a concept that goes back to the earliest days of what we’ve seen of the MCU (so far, at least; Eternals is definitely gonna change that), with a story that slightly deviates during the events of Captain America: The First Avenger, presenting a version of events where it’s Peggy Carter, not Steve Rogers, who becomes the Super Soldier.  By far, it’s the season’s strongest entry, wonderfully capturing the look and feel of the original film, while also doing a fantastic job of exploring in depth the changes that Peggy as a Super Soldier would cause.  And, hey, there’s obviously a figure, because why wouldn’t there be?  Let’s see how she turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Captain Carter is figure 2 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s specifically based on her design from the first episode of the season, while she’s fighting Hydra in the ’40s.  It’s the look that got the most play in the lead up, and it’s also the one that matches up with Hydra Stomper, who’s also in the first drop of figures, so it’s a solid choice.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 31 points of articulation.  Compared to the two other figures I’ve looked at so far, Peggy’s articulation scheme is closer to Zombie Cap.  It’s not quite as optimized as Zombie Cap’s was; there are a few more restricted joints, especially at the neck (due to the hair), and the elbows and knees aren’t quite as smoothly worked into the body, but it’s generally very workable, and she’s pretty stable on her feet, which are definite pluses.  Peggy’s sculpt is a completely new affair, though it’s already been slated for a repaint for the Target-exclusive Stealth Captain Carter that’s coming next spring.  The sculpt is quite a nice piece.  She’s definitely inspired by the animation style, more so than being a strictly realistically styled figure, but she doesn’t go as far with it as the T’Challa figure did, which means she has an easier time slotting in with other figures from the main line.  It’s a very nice middle ground, and I think it makes for the best possible toy adaptation.  Though technically a slightly cartoonized take, the likeness on the head is an even better match for Haylee Atwell than the movie-style Peggy, and is just genuinely one of the nicest head sculpts that Hasbro’s done for a Legends figure.  The detailing on the rest of the sculpt is quite nice; in order to keep with the animated look, much of the texturing and such is a lot smoother, but there’s still a lot of detailing on the actual line-work of the uniform.  Peggy’s construction uses a lot of smaller parts for the assembly, so there doesn’t have to be quite as much actual paint.  It means that the base color work is all very clean, since it’s not actually paint.  What paint is there is generally pretty decent.  The work on the face is definitely the best work.  There’s some slop on the red parts on the torso, but otherwise it’s generally pretty clean.  Peggy is packed with her version of the vibranium shield, as well as both arms to the Watcher Build-A-Figure.  The shield is smaller than Steve’s, and it’s hard to tell if that’s accurate, since it does seem to fluctuate in size based on what it’s doing in the show.  Generally, it seems to scale well to her, though, and they actually gave her a gripping hand for actually holding the straps for a change.  I’ll call that a win for sure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Captain Carter was very definitely the concept I was looking forward to the most when What If…? was announced, and it was by far my favorite episode of the season.  I pretty much just loved every minute of it, really.  I was absolutely down for this figure as soon as she was announced, and she was the figure I was most looking forward to in the main assortment.  There was a pretty high bar for this figure to clear, and to Hasbro’s credit, I really feel they cleared it.  This is one of my favorite Legends of the last year, and she’s just a good all-around toy.  I can’t wait to get Hydra Stomper in hand to go with her!

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.

#2941: T’Challa Star-Lord

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

T’CHALLA STAR-LORD

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“T’Challa grew up in space and became Star-Lord, now leading adventures throughout the galaxy.”

Some of the concepts in What If…? are simple minor changes to a specific story, some are straight forward concepts injected into the overall narrative of the MCU, but some are….well, they’re kind of out there.  Of the more out there ideas, perhaps the most successful is “What If…T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?,” an episode that out of nowhere decides to mix Black Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy.  Why?  Reasons, that’s why.  It’s maybe a little limited in its ultimate scope and at times almost feels like a parody of its self, but it’s ultimately a fun story, and one of the first season’s more memorable episodes.  It makes its main character a pretty natural choice for our first selection of figures, and I’m going to be taking a look at him today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

T’Challa Star-Lord is figure 1 in the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s based on the character’s appearance in the second and ninth episodes of the show.  The figure stands just shy of 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  T’Challa’s articulation scheme follows the rather established format for the line, but it ultimately feels like it’s not really fully optimized.  The articulation is there, the layout is there, the range isn’t terrible, but ultimately, it just doesn’t feel like it flows.  The elbows have a tendency to stick, and getting both halves of the joint to articulate can be frustrating. The knees are similar, though to a lesser extent, and the ankles are also prone to sticking as well, though in a slightly different way.  In general, it’s just not super pleasant to pose this guy.  T’Challa’s sculpt is an almost all-new affair.  The hands are re-used from the Vol 2 Star-Lord, which seems like it’s not a big deal on the outset, but that’s…well I’ll get to it momentarily.  The rest of the sculpt is new.  While the assortment as a whole is clearly inspired by the animation style of the show, T’Challa’s sculpt is the most directly based on the animation model.  This tweaks the figure’s the proportions, as well as leaving him a lot simpler on the detail front.  It makes the articulation stand out a lot more, which isn’t the best from an aesthetic standpoint.  It also means he doesn’t quite blend in as well with the other MCU figures, which is a might limiting.  The head is clearly meant to be the animated T’Challa likeness, but it’s a little off, notably with how the hair is shaped.  It’s just not quite right.  Also, remember the hands that are re-used?  Well, they still have all the very realistic detailing, plus they’re pretty large, which means they just generally don’t match up with the rest of the figure.  The paint work on this guy is at least pretty decent.  It’s fairly cleanly handled and generally follows the show design well.  It’s not the most thrilling design, but it is what it is.  T’Challa is packed with two element guns (re-used from the prior Star-Lords), an alternate helmeted head, and the head to the Watcher Build-A-Figure.  The helmeted head isn’t bad as far as the helmet goes, but for some reason they’ve given him this weird raised hairpiece, which doesn’t match the animation at all, and just generally looks silly, leaving him with two heads that both just don’t really jibe with me.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The Star-Lord T’Challa concept is definitely a weird one that I really wasn’t sure about at first, but the final episode was entertaining enough.  The prototype for this guy wasn’t one I was super impressed by, but I was hoping he might be better in-hand.  Unfortunately, that didn’t wind up being the case.  I don’t think he’s a bad figure, but he just feels like his various parts just don’t gel together the way they should.  Generally, he’s just kind of underwhelming.  To give him a little bit of credit, he did grow on me a little during the review process, so he’s not a total loss.  That said, he’s definitely the weakest of this particular set.

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.

#2940: Zombie Captain America

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

ZOMBIE CAPTAIN AMERICA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Captain America’s team were the first responders to the zombie outbreak — and its first victims.”

October may be over, but the spookiness continues….well, for today at least.  But it’s in this great sweet spot of spookiness *and* Marvel.  Because, well, it kind of has to be, because how else am I going to get all these Legends reviewed.  Yay for the crossover potential of Marvel Zombies!  First appearing in the pages of Ultimate Fantastic Four in 2005, later that same year Marvel Zombies launched in its own book, spawning a whole franchise within a franchise.  Said franchise within the franchise then made its way into the MCU this year in What If…?‘s fifth episode, aptly titled “What if…Zombies?”  My opinions on What If…? were a bit mixed, and the zombies episode was itself rather a mixed bag for me, but there’s no denying that the zombies make for a good concept for toys, especially when it gives me a good excuse to buy another Captain America, who, it should be noted, remains a Captain in this universe, rather than getting a promotion to Colonel as his does in *some* zombie universes out there.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zombie Captain America is part of the Watcher Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s unnumbered, as the one figure in the set that doesn’t actually include a piece for the Build-A-Figure (ironic that the zombie is the only one that doesn’t include an extra body part), and he’s also the double packed figure for this assortment.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  Compared to other MCU Cap figures, the articulation scheme on this one is definitely improved.  There’s a better range of motion on most of the joints, as well as use of ball joints at both the neck and the mid-torso, which supports a more fluid range than prior molds had.  He also gets pinless construction on both the elbows and knees.  While you would think that a Zombie Cap would be a good excuse to share some parts with older MCU Cap releases, this figure shares only the left boot with the Infinity War version.  Everything else is all-new to this release.  The helmet and shoulder harness pieces are separate parts, adding some nice depth to the sculpt.  The uniform is also nicely detailed, and there’s some fantastic work on the tattered remains hanging around the major spots of damage on the body.  Speaking of the damage, the actual damage is a lot more gruesome and in depth than I’d had anticipated on a mass retail release.  The legs in particular are quite gnarled.  It’s some truly impressive work.  Aiding the rather impressive sculpted work is some pretty solid paint work as well.  All of the base work is pretty straight forward, and matches the color scheme presented in the show, but they’ve also added a degree of blood coverage (albeit in a slightly purple color, so it’s not explicitly blood) around the wounds.  Hasbro doesn’t often do this kind of accent work, so it’s certainly nice to see them do it here, especially when the confines of a mass retail release would have given them an easy pass for not including some of these details.  Cap’s only accessory is his shield; it’s the same mold they’ve been using since the First Ten Years release, but this time with a bit of that purple splatter on the front of it.  It’s a good piece, but he does end up feeling a little bit light compared to other offerings.  That said, I’m not really sure what else he could have gotten.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I run hot and cold when it comes to zombies, and I wasn’t super big on the episode this figure was based on, so I wasn’t really sure how I’d feel about this figure in hand.  That said, he’s still a Captain America, and I do have a hard time passing on those.  I gotta say, this is honestly one of the strongest figures in this set.  He’s just a solid figure from start to finish.  Really, I just wish we had a more standard Cap that matched this one in quality, but that’s hardly on this particular release.  He’s utterly fantastic, really.

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.

#2938: Falcon

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

FALCON

AVENGERS: UNITED THEY STAND (TOY BIZ)

“As the Falcon, Sam Wilson became the dedicated defender of Harlem. Pledging to protect the innocent, Wilson used a falcon as inspiration when inventing high-powered armor – extendable robotic wings for swift aerial maneuvers and soaring flights, razor-sharp claws from wrist, and battle boots with retractable steel talons and missiles. He fights crime and shares a telepathic link with his trusty falcon, Redwing. As one of Earth’s mightiest heroes, he is always ready to answer the call, ‘Avengers Assemble!'”

Even before getting his big on-screen focus in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Falcon’s always been pretty fortunate when it came to the smaller-scale tie-in stuff.  He’s been included in every major Marvel scale and style when it comes to toys, and when it came to 1999’s Avengers: United They Stand cartoon, he got the important role of being the team’s newest member, and in many ways the audience surrogate as the team makes their way through the larger Marvel universe.  I’m looking at his figure from that line today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Falcon was part of the second assortment of Toy Biz’s Avengers: United They Stand tie-in line.  This was only Falcon’s second figure from Toy Biz, but it was his fourth overall, following his Mego and Secret Wars figures. The figure stands 5 inches tall and he has 13 points of articulation.  He continues the trend of improved articulation on these guys, which was really great.  Falcon’s design for the show was a much more armored up design, much like the rest of the cast.  He did keep more of the broad stroke elements of his classic design than the others, and this design differed from the rest in that it actually even made a transition to the comics, at least for a short while.  Some parts of it are a little clunky, but it’s generally one of the better looks from the show, and I’ve always had a real soft spot for this one.  The sculpt does a very nice job of replicating his animation design, keeping him rather clean looking.  The armored parts actually use some separately sculpted pieces, which gives him a nice depth to his design.  His wings are also split between upper and lower arms, allowing for more posability, making a notable improvement over the Secret Wars figure, and even putting him above Toy Biz’s own Marvel’s Gold release.  Falcon’s paint work is generally pretty solid.  It’s largely just basic color work, but it was pretty clean, and the accenting on the armored parts is pretty cool.  Falcon was packed with his pet falcon and sidekick Red Wing.  Redwing had a magnetic connection on the front of his harness which could connect to Falcon’s corresponding magnet on his right arm, and would launch a pair of missiles from his back pack.  There were a lot of gimmicky accessories in this line, and this one certainly had a gimmick, but it was at least not terribly disruptive, and it meant we got a proper Redwing.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Falcon and Tigra were the first figures I got from this line when it dropped.  While they weren’t quite at the top of my list, they were both still pretty high (really only Wonder Man and Vision topped them).  The show and this toy both served to really solidify Falcon as a character I really, really liked, and he’s remained one of my favorites to this day.  This figure is still a lot of fun, and remains my favorite version of the character.  And there have been some really good Falcon figures, so that’s saying something.

#2937: Surtur

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

SURTUR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Empowered by the Eternal Flame, the demon Surtur rises from the ashes to unleash his fury upon Asgard.”

As I discussed on Monday, Thor: Ragnarok is really the only one of the Thor films to truly get a proper spread of figures in Legends form.  In fact, it’s really got one of the better spreads of any of the Marvel films, since we’ve gotten the whole principle cast, as well a a couple of the notable supporting players.  Despite how thoroughly covered the film has been, Hasbro decided they just weren’t done yet, so we’ve got yet another figure to look at!  I suppose it’s really only fair that in your tie-in toys for a movie called Ragnarok, you include Surtur; he’s kind of important to that whole thing, really.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Surtur is a mass-release part of the Infinity Saga sub-set of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line.  He’s at his own price point, above even the usual deluxe price point.  Hasbro definitely seems to be using this line to explore some more flexible price points.  The figure stands just shy of 13 inches tall measured from the top of his horns, and he has 31 points of articulation.  Surtur’s a pretty sizable guy in the movie (he actually grows in size as his powers increase, so there’s some variation there), and the figure does what it can to replicate that.  He’s technically a few inches too short for even his smallest size in the movie.  That said, he’s way larger than any of the other figures from the set, so the effect still works out.  His articulation scheme is generally pretty good for a figure of this sizing, though it has some notable restricted spots.  The shoulders don’t have a ton of up and down, due to how they’re designed, which is definitely the biggest issue with the figure.  Slightly less of an issue, but still a bit of an issue, are the hips, which, at least on my figure, are a little sticky when it comes to posing.  They feel like they should have some sort of a drop hip set-up based on the way they move, but there’s not one there, which does give me some pause about the long term durability of the figure’s pelvis.  Otherwise, it’s decent set-up, and he’s even got the pinless elbow and knee set-up.  Surtur’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s a pretty solid matchup to how he was depicted in the film.  There’s quite a bit of sculpted texture work going on, which gives him that appropriate molten skin appearance that the film gave him.  The head sculpt opts for an angry, shouty sort of expression for him.  It’s perhaps a little more limiting in terms of what sorts of poses he can go into, since it doesn’t really fit the lounging about version of the character seen earlier in the film, but we don’t have throne or anything for him anyway, so it makes him a better end of the movie Surtur, I guess.  It helps that it’s quite a nice sculpt.  It’s very dynamic, and looks more unique compared to other, more neutral expressions.  Surtur is molded in a translucent orange plastic, in order to aid in that molten appearance.  The shade of orange shifts a bit on the actual flame parts, going from more of a red to a yellowish hue, as they get nearer the edges, which looks fairly convincingly like actual flame.  There are large patches of darker paint, not actually dry brushed, but designed to simulate such an effect.  It works pretty well.  Surtur is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and a open gesture/fist combo), as well as his sword, which is almost as tall as he is.  Getting a picture of him holding it was no small feat, let me tell you.  I suppose it would have been nice to also get maybe his crown, separate from his head, as it’s seen in the film, but since we don’t even have a proper opening scene Thor, its applications might be a bit limited.  The sword and hands are pretty useful directly to this figure, at least.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s hard to say I’ve been heavily campaigning for anything more from Ragnarok, since it did get a good selection of figures and all.  Moreover, I figured Surtur’s size would be his undoing anyway, since even scaled down he’s a hard sell.  This guy being shown off earlier this year was a bit of a surprise to be sure, but certainly a pleasant one.  The figure has some issues, especially when it comes to the articulation, however the sheer size and detailing on him is enough to make him a worthwhile purchase.  And hey, here’s another Ragnarok 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.

#2936: Iron Monger & Obadiah Stane

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

IRON MONGER & OBADIAH STANE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Obadiah Stane suits up as the powerful Iron Monger to threaten Iron Man. After a long stint as second-in-command of Stark Industries, Stane is eager to exact revenge on Tony Stark.”

The Marvel Cinematic Universe officially launched in 2008 with the release of Iron Man.  It proved that Marvel had the ability to sell characters beyond just the top of their A-list, and also laid the groundwork for the merchandising juggernaut we have 13 years later.  At the time of the movie’s release, Hasbro was still figuring out what they were doing with the Marvel license, and while the resulting tie-in line wasn’t bad (in fact, it was probably some of the best work Hasbro put out in their first five years or so with the license), it doesn’t quite hold up to modern standards.  Though we’ve had plenty of anniversary stuff, Iron Man has thus far been largely untouched (barring one straight re-deco of an older figure during the First Ten Years line in 2018), leaving some pretty prime real estate available for their latest MCU-centric throwback line.  There are two Iron Man-based releases this time around, and I’m looking at the first of them, Iron Monger and its pilot Obadiah Stane, today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Iron Monger and Obadiah Stane make up one of the two mass-release two-packs for the Infinity Saga sub-set of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line.  Both of the mass release sets pair off one standard sized figure with one deluxe sized figure, which is an interesting choice.  Monger and Stane are a sensible pairing since, while Monger would certainly sell on his own, Stane’s unlikely to really find a spot otherwise.

IRON MONGER

While Tony Stark is emphatically named “Iron Man” by the events of the first film, Obadiah’s armored persona never actually gets called by the “Iron Monger” moniker within the film proper.  We get a reference to him being a war monger, but that’s really it.  That hasn’t stopped it from being his go-to merchandising name, of course, because why wouldn’t it be.  It’s a cool name.  Iron Monger’s MCU incarnation has always had to contend with the limitations of standard release pack-outs when it came to toys.  Both of his original film figures were quite under-scaled for the 6-inch line they were sold alongside, and that continued into the 3 3/4 inch figure line as well.  This release’s primary aim is getting us a true and proper movie Monger.  To that end, the figure stands 9 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  In terms of articulation implementation, this guy starts by taking a page out of the old Iron Man 2 figure’s book, and then using the over a decade’s time since then to further improve things.  He’s obviously still a bit restricted, but given the sheer bulk of the guy, he’s just about as posable as possible.  The sculpt is an all-new offering, as would be expected.  It does a really solid job of capturing Monger’s film design, improving on Hasbro’s prior attempts quite a bit.  Again, it’s been over a decade, so it kind of goes without saying at this point.  The proportions match up well, as does the basic layout of details.  He’s even got some slight texturing going on with the larger sheets of metal, matching up well with the film appearance, and adding a detail usually left off of Mongers.  The engineering on the figure is pretty decently handled as well.  There are a few moving pistons, which don’t quite work as real ones would, but do move to properly allow for posing the figure, and also add some extra depth of detail to the design.  The head and torso also make use of multi-piece construction to add some extra depth to what’s visible of internal mechanisms and the eyes and reactor.  I quite like the clear dome over the reactor in particular.  There’s a part of me that kind of wishes they’d worked in the opening hatch as seen in the film, but I get the extra logistics involved might have caused some issues.  You can kind of cheat it by popping the Obadiah head on there, so it’s not a total loss.  Iron Monger’s paint work is largely rather basic, since so much of him is just unpainted silver plastic.  There’s a fair bit of actual painted silver as well, though, which mixes up things.  Additionally, the paint for the reactor, as well as the weapons on the arms, is all pretty cleanly applied, and makes for a nice little splash of color on the otherwise sort of drab design.  Iron Monger is packed with two sets of hands (fists and open gesture), as well as two separate effects pieces for the gun attachment on the arm, a rocket for his back, and an ammo belt.  Certainly not a bad selection of extras in the slightest.

OBADIAH STANE

Obadiah winds up as more of a glorified accessory to the main piece, but he’s billed separately, and he is a separate figure, so let’s give him that much respect, I guess.  Most of Obadiah’s time in the film is just him wearing a pretty standard business suit, so that’s the look the figure goes with for him.  It makes it more multipurpose than putting him in the jumpsuit, so I can get behind it.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 30 points of articulation.  He’s built on Nick Fury’s updated suit body.  Given Jeff Bridges’ taller build, it’s a good choice for his usual look, and in general it’s a slightly better implemented in terms of how the articulation works.  As with Loki, the re-use here means that Obadiah winds up keeping Fury’s sculpted holster, which isn’t accurate, but it’s completely hidden by the jacket, so it’s never going to be seen anyway.  Obadiah gets an all-new head sculpt, which sports a pretty spot-on likeness of Bridges in the role.  He’s also got an all-new right hand, which features a more open grip, as well Obadiah’s ring.  Obadiah’s paint work is generally pretty good, but not without its flaws.  The face printing works very well here, and I really love the striping on his shirt and the pattern on his tie.  The holster is left unpainted, as it was on Loki, which makes sense.  The neckline is also very uneven, which was also an issue on both Fury and Loki, leading me to believe that its something to do with how the body is laid out for paint masks or something like that.  It’s not awful, but it’s not great either.  Obadiah is packed with the improved Arc reactor he steals from Tony (which fits nicely in his newly sculpted right hand), as well as a briefcase, you know, for papers, um, just papers, uh, you know, uh, his papers, business papers.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As much as I loved the old opening hatch Iron Monger figure from the ’08 line, there’s no denying that there was some definite room for an upgrade.  With all of the various MCU figures we’d gotten in the last few years, it did feel a bit like poor Monger had just completely fallen through the cracks.  I’m glad that Hasbro made a spot for him in this line-up, and I’m also glad he turned out as well as he did.  The main Iron Monger is truly an impressive piece of engineering on his own, and very much makes this set, but I’m also glad that we got a proper Obadiah.  All in all, it’s a very fun set.

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

#2935: Odin

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

ODIN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“The king of Asgard, protector of the Nine Realms, and father of Thor, Odin has learned to appreciate peace over the centuries.”

Thor’s supporting cast kind of gets the short end of the stick when it comes to Marvel Legends treatment.  The line was on hiatus during the first film’s tie-in run, and Dark World wound up as one of the least merchandised MCU films in the entire franchise.  Ragnarok had a much better spread, but it was also the one least focused purely on the Thor cast.  Fortunately, the various anniversary and throwback lines have helped a little bit, and we’re finally getting a second 6-inch figure based on the first film (it only took us a solid decade), in the form of the Allfather, Odin.  Let’s have a look at him.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Odin is one of the five single-packed Infinity Saga sub-set figures from Hasbro’s Marvel Legends, and the second of the four that got a wide release.  He’s based on his appearance in the first Thor film, specifically his fully armored attire from the film’s first half, which is certainly his most distinctive.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 31 points of articulation.  Odin’s articulation scheme showcases a lot of the more recent improvements to how things are handled in the line.  The elbows and knees both have the pinless construction, and the range of motion is generally better than the early MCU-based figures.  It’s certainly more than enough for Odin, given his actions within the films.  The only slightly frustrating bit on the movement is the shoulder armor, specifically the part on his bicep, which has a tendency to pop out of place and get caught on the joint when you’re posing him.  Odin’s sculpt is an all-new piece, as it kind of has to be.  The build is a decent match for Hopkins in the role, and the details of the gear generally match up pretty well.  There are some minor things, like the shoulder pads not quite having the right placement, but it generally works well.  The head he comes wearing has a more stern expression, which fits with Odin’s more typical disposition in the films.  The hair’s a bit more matted down on this one, as it’s directly designed to work with the included helmet.  The helmet is a strong piece.  It’s notably based on Odin’s more ornate throne room helmet, rather than his battle helmet; generally, I think this one has the superior design, so I’m alright with the choice. It sits well on the head, and is secure without being too tight, but also isn’t too bulky or goofy looking.  Odin’s paint work is rather nicely handled.  The mix of metallic and matte finishes sells the armored parts, and the application is generally pretty clean.  The face and hair have rather lifelike features to them, as you would hope to see.  Odin is packed with an extra head, this time with a smiling expression, and designed more for a helmetless look, as well as two pairs of hands (gripping and an open gesture/fist combo), and his spear Gungnir.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I bough Odin largely because I was planning to buy the whole Infinity Saga set.  I don’t know that he really spoke to me on his own, and he’s ultimately the one I had the least excitement about going into it, especially given how little else we’ve got from Thor at this scale.  He did look cool in hand, and I do have to say there’s a lot I like about this figure in the end.  He’s still not gonna be my favorite from this set, and I think he’s one that’s gonna fall through the cracks for a lot of people, but he’s certainly a solid offering.  Now, can I please get the Warriors Three at some point?

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.

#2934: Captain Marvel & Rescue Armor

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

CAPTAIN MARVEL & RESCUE ARMOR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Hasbro did their best on giving us the most thorough line-ups possible when it come to the Infinity War and Endgame casts, but given the sheer size, there were of course a few that wound up slipping through the cracks.  The purpose of the Infinity Saga line seems to be equal parts getting figures out that were missed, and fixing ones that weren’t quite right the first time around.  Today’s focus goes for a bit of both, as well as serving as a nice representation of some of the film’s own internal representation of the franchise’s female heroes during the big climactic battle, all rolled into one package.  So, without further ado, and before I rack up too many pissed off commenters, let’s look at Captain Marvel and Rescue!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Captain Marvel and the Rescue Armor are the first of the two-pack portion of the 10-piece Infinity Saga sub-set of Marvel Legends.  This particular pairing is an Amazon-exclusive.  This set is one of three items from the line to be based on Endgame, which does seem like a lot, but, of course, it’s a rather jam-packed movie, isn’t it?

CAPTAIN MARVEL

“Captain Marvel uses her incredible powers to battle evil in the ultimate fight for the fate of the universe.”

Given that she had gotten her own assortment devoted to her, and that all the promo material showed her in a costume that was largely unchanged from her solo film appearance, it really wasn’t a shock that we didn’t get a proper Endgame Captain Marvel at the time of the film’s release.  That said, the inverted color scheme on the costume, as well as her fancy new hair style were both changes I really liked to her look, and ones I was hopeful to see in toy form at some point.  Here we are at some point.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  Structurally, she’s largely the same figure as the one from her solo outing.  It’s generally a pretty solid starting point, it’s not terribly far off from Larson’s build when she’s playing the character, and the broad strokes details line-up with her suit from the film.  Some of the smaller details aren’t *quite* right, but given how brief this look’s appearance is, and how small those details are, they don’t generally feel too out of place.  My figure does wind up with one notable QC issue, which is that she’s got two left forearms.  Just my luck.  Regardless of QC issues, Carol gets a new head, as well as a new sash piece add-on.  The new head is a very nice piece, and definitely has Hasbro’s best Brie Larson likeness to date.  It’s a marked improvement on the solo film figures, and is just generally a pretty good match.  The sash is a pretty basic piece, but does a lot to change up the sculpt just a bit more.  The biggest change-up is the paint, which is sporting her inverted color scheme from the movie.  I find this to be a lot more appealing, and more classically “Captain Marvel” like, so I’m definitely a fan.  I also kind of dig the change to the flat colors vs metallic.  It’s not a huge shift, but I think it works.  Carol is packed with three different sets of hands (fists, flat, and relaxed) and Stark’s nanotech version of the gauntlet, this time just meant for holding.

RESCUE ARMOR

“Outfitted with repulsors and a unibeam, Pepper’s Rescue suit is ready to step into battle against Thanos.”

Pepper Potts in her Rescue armor was notably *not* absent from the Legends tie-ins for Endgame when it was released, but, similar to the War Machine from that same assortment, getting her out that close to the film’s release resulted in some inaccuracies and some stripping of more film relevant accessories.  This release serves to address some of that.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and has 31 points of articulation.  At her core, this figure’s sculpt is the same as the one from the main line release.  It wasn’t a bad sculpt at all, so re-using it feels like a pretty good call.  I liked it the first time, and I still like it now.  The first set of changes are in the form of paint.  The standard release wasn’t far off, but there were some small tweaks to the final film design, which have been reflected here.  The overall color scheme has also been toned down slightly, which looks a bit truer to what we see on screen.  The biggest changes are in the form of accessories.  She still gets both versions of the back-pack, but now she also gets two additional head sculpts, one with the face plate up, and the other with the helmet entirely removed, as well as some extra attachments for the open back pack to showcase her nano gear a little more, and also a pair of blast effects.  It’s a shame we didn’t get any extra hands mixed in with all of that, but I’m not going to be too greedy on this one.  The new parts add a lot to a figure that I already really liked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Today’s review is a significant one for me, on two counts.  Today would have been mine and Jess’s second wedding anniversary.  It is also the first one I’m spending without her.  Jess’s encouragement of my collecting was a prominent piece of our relationship, and it was something that she maintained up to the end.  When this set dropped online, I was pretty excited, and made mention of it to her.  Then things got serious, and my mind moved onto more important matters, and I wasn’t really thinking about toys.  After Jess’s passing, I discovered that she had ordered this set for me, the very day I’d mentioned it to her.  And so, three months after her passing, its arrival marked my final gift from her.  It’s something of a bittersweet moment.  It’s a set I very much wanted, and one I’m very happy to have.  Jess absolutely adored the moment with the female heroes assembling in the film, so this set was already bound to remind me of her.  She was always so thoughtful and caring, even in her darkest moments.  And because of that, she gave me this one last gift.  But I know that it’s the last one.  And I wish it weren’t.  And I wish I could tell her how much it means to me.  But I can’t.  All I can do is take solace in the fact that she loved me, and she knew I loved her too, and that was why she worked so hard to take care of me, even after the fact.  So, now I have one last testament to just how Super Awesome of a Wife she really was.  Thank you for everything, Jess.