Tag Archives: Marvel

#1727: Cosmic Silver Surfer & Swordsman

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

COSMIC SILVER SURFER & SWORDSMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Marvel Minimates is home to some off the wall choices in terms of characters, and especially pairings. The early Toys R Us-exclusive series were home to some of the most truly strange character pairings for the exclusive two-packs.  Most of them tried to keep at least some sort of common thread between the characters included, but today’s set, Silver Surfer and Swordsman is perhaps one of the weirdest.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released in the fifth series of TRU-exclusive Marvel Minimates.  They were both designed to fit with, at the time, current boxed sets, those sets being Infinity Gauntlet and Thunderbolts, respectively.

COSMIC SILVER SURFER

Despite his status as a fairly major player on the cosmic side of Marvel, this is the second of only three Silver Surfer Minimates.  His low number of releases is undoubtedly due to his largely unchanged look over the years.  Sure, he’s had some minor stylistic tweaks, but only so much of that can be conveyed through a 2-inch block figure form.  As such, Surfer’s debut ‘mate went unchallenged for a good five years (and, depending on who you talk to, he’s still the best version of the character).  In 2009, however, there were a lot of new fans coming into Minimates, so it seemed about the right time for a new version, so we got this guy.  Silver Surfer is, and always shall be, a vanilla ‘mate.  There’s really no other way to properly do this guy.  It’s worth noting, however, that the Minimate body has had some subtle changes over the years.  In 2009, the necks got kind of short for a while, which throws off the design more than you might think.  It makes Surfer look a little more powerhouse-y than usual. The paint is, of course, the key element here.  The original Surfer ‘mate was more on the simplistic side of things, as was the style of the line at time.  By the time this guy was released, Minimates were far more detailed.  This guy gets a much more intensive paint job, which looks to be heavily influenced by Jim Starlin’s take on the character from Infinity Gauntlet.  Given the release of a whole Infinity Gauntlet boxed set the month prior to this figure hitting TRU, it was a solid stylistic choice for DST.  With that said, I can’t help but feel the figure ends up looking rather busy with all those lines and everything going on.  The head and limbs aren’t so bad (in fact, I think the face on this Surfer is my favorite of the three), but the torso is just too much.  He looks like he has a second face down there. Since he had no actual add-ons, Silver Surfer instead gets a bunch of accessories.  Obviously, he gets his board, which had been tweaked from the original release to add a peg for him to be attached, as well as a peg hole on the opposite side, thus allowing for the attachment of the included flight stand.  He also included a pair of hand blast effects and electricity effects, both molded in a very pleasing translucent purple.

SWORDSMAN

Marvel has had five different characters who bore the name “Swordsman” (and that’s not getting into alternate universes).  The one depicted here is Andreas von Strucker, originally one half of the Fenris Twins, Baron Von Strucker’s two children.  Following the death of his sister Andrea, he took up the Swordsman title.  He was never a particularly noteworthy character, but had the good fortune of being part of Norman Osborn’s Thunderbolts team, which got a full line-up of Minimates.  He was just along for the ride, I suppose.  It probably helps that he has a pretty solid design. Swordsman featured sculpted add-ons for his helmet, gloves, and belt.  The gloves are re-used from Captain America, but the helmet and belt were new pieces.  Everything was well sculpted and sits well on the ‘mate body.  I quite like the helmet in particular; they’ve done a very good job of translating it to the Minimate form.  The belt is more basic fare, but is notable in it’s inclusion of a spot to keep his sword stashed.  As with Silver Surfer, his head sits a little low on the neck, but this is less noticeable with the addition of the helmet. Swordsman’s paintwork is pretty solid stuff overall.  The shade of purple they’ve chosen actually looks quite nice, and even photographs well (a rarity when it comes to purples), and the detailing on the chain mail is quite impressive.  Under the mask, we get Andreas von Strucker’s ugly mug, and I do mean ugly.  Though he’s got a peg hole in his head, there are painted on ears, meaning this is supposed to be Andreas after he shaved his head, though if you want to throw in your own hairpiece, the option’s there. For accessories, all Swordsman gets is a single sword, borrowed from the Defenders set’s Valkyrie.  It’s a decent enough, but I do feel the extra hairpiece would have been a nice extra bit of value.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set’s announcement frustrated me a bit.  I was excited by both figures included, but up to that point, none of the TRU-exclusives had been particularly easy to get a hold of.  Fortunately, I didn’t have much trouble with these two.Though not perfect, this Silver Surfer was much appreciated at the time of his release.  If I’m honest, I don’t truly believe any of the three Surfers is better than the others; they all present a slightly different take on the character.  If a more modern Surfer is what you’re looking for, then this one’s the one you’re after.  Despite this not being a version of Swordsman I have any particular attachment to, I really like this ‘mate.  He’s quite well put together, and it’s a design that just works well in this style.  Now, one of these days I’d really like a proper Jacques Duquesne Swordsman, but that’s a whole other thing.

#1720: Wolverine

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WOLVERINE

X-MEN (TOY BIZ)

“When it comes to fighting Evil Mutants, the X-Men know there’s no one better than Wolverine! With his razor-sharp adamantium claws, his lightning-quick reflexes and his unmatched combat experience, Wolverine can outfight anyone! Thanks to his super-fast mutant healing ability, in just a few short hours he’s totally healthy and ready for action again, no matter how serious his wounds!”

Would you believe there was a time when a Wolverine figure was an exciting and new thing?  I know, that’s a bit hard to grasp.  But, until Mattel’s Secret Wars line, there were no Wolverine figures at all.  And that one wasn’t even all that good!  He’d have to wait until 1992 for a second go, courtesy of Toy Biz’s then-newly-launched X-Men line.  He would be the first of very, very many.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Wolverine was released in Series 1 of the X-Men line.  He was actually unique amongst the 5-inch X-Men figures for being in Wolverine’s brown costume.  It was still his current look when these figures hit (which is more than could be said for a number of his Series 1 compatriots), but it was quickly replaced by the returning tiger-stripe design, which would be the main focus for a good decade.  The figure stands 4 1/2 inches tall (making it one of Toy Biz’s few offerings to truly stick to Wolverine’s proper stature) and he has 7 points of articulation.  His sculpt was new to him, and remained unique for all of Toy Biz’s run.  It’s a pretty decent one for the time.  While it doesn’t quite eclipse the likes of Magneto and Nightcrawler, it’s still really quite good.  The build of the body is probably the strongest aspect; Wolverine figures tend to overlook his distinctive stature, so this one getting it down so well is certainly notable.  The head’s not quite as strong.  This was really the first time that Logan’s hair was translated into three dimensions, so they were still sorting it all out.  It ends up looking a little goofy and sort of impossible, but it’s not terrible.  Wolverine’s paintwork is reasonable, though not anything outstanding.  The base colors are all pretty decent recreations of the comics look, and he’s rather eye-catching.  There’s some unevenness with the lines in a few spots, especially on the torso.  Wolverine was packed with his mask, which works surprisingly well for the scale, as well as a katana.  He was also the first Wolverine to feature the popping claw action, which allowed him to simulate Wolverine’s signature “snikt” move.  It robs his arms of any elbow movement, and the claws are required to be rather small to facilitate.  That said, it works reasonably well, and is certainly fun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was too young to get Wolverine new, and he wasn’t one that was prone to showing up later on.  Fortunately, Cosmic Comix had me covered there, and I got this guy not too long after getting into collecting.  He’s actually not a bad figure, and despite the sort of odd removable mask, it was one of the better Wolverines from the line.

1719: Spider-Man Noir

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SPIDER-MAN NOIR

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Reluctant hero Spider-Man Noir battles bad guys and mob bosses alike in 1930’s New York City.”

Remember earlier in the week when I was talking about the gift that was Spider-Verse?  Well, this isn’t quite that.  I mean, yeah, Spider-Man Noir was part of “Spider-Verse,” but he predates the event, and had a pretty loyal fanbase before it.  Like the 2099 venture, the Noir line of comics was an venture by Marvel that’s mostly just remembered for its take on Spider-Man.  Noir has had three action figures, and I’m looking at the most recent of those today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Man Noir is part of the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  Despite being kind of divergent from the usual design, he’s technically the headlining figure, being the resident Peter Parker Spider-Man.  There are a few different versions of Spider-Man Noir out there, but this one’s based on his original comics design, which I’d hazard is his best.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Despite his more unique design, Noir is actually largely made of re-used parts.  He’s built on the AIM/Ghost Rider body, with the trench coat from the Punisher/Red Skull body.  The torso has been tweaked to give him a new collar, and he’s also got a new belt add-on.  The overall body is a little bit of a frankenstein effort, but there’s no denying that it’s an improvement on the previous trenchcoat body.  At least this guy can put his arms all the way down.  Noir also gets a new head sculpt to top things off, which is a pretty impressive translation of the character’s distinctive mask and goggles.  As far as paint goes, Noir is understandably monochromatic.  He’s largely just a lot of black, with some minor changes in finish and the exact darkness here and there.  Noir is packed with a pair of pistols.  They’re the sci-fi looking guns from the AIM figure, which doesn’t seem quite right for a character like Noir, but I guess they work in a pinch.  I know Hasbro’s recently decided to move away from more realistic firearms, and Noir’s the first one to really be negatively impacted by it.  Noir also includes one of the Lizard’s arms.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After grabbing the last four from All Time, I was a little too late to get this guy from them, so I had to resort to my usual sleuthing to find him.  I ended up coming across him at the FYE at the mall where Super Awesome Girlfriend was working until recently.  Noir’s a cool character with a cool look, and I’m glad to finally have a figure of the guy.

#1718: Prowler

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PROWLER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Plagued by memories of his youth and desperate to prove his worth, Prowler turns to a life of crime.”

Hey look!  It’s Spawn!  Okay, so Prowler actually predates Spawn.  In fact, Prowler showed up during Todd McFarlane’s run on Spider-Man, just before he left Marvel…to create Spawn.  Guess the guy liked Prowler.  Unlike his McFarlane-owned reskin, Prowler hasn’t been particularly privy to action figures.  He got one in the ’90s, likely due to his resemblance to Spawn.  Then nothing for 25 years, and now he’s finally gotten his second action figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Prowler is part of the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  Interestingly enough, this is the *second* Hobie Brown figure in this particular assortment, since that’s who’s under the Spider-Punk mask as well.  Who would have thought we’d get a Spider-Man assortment with twice as many Hobie Browns as Peter Parkers.  Certainly not I.  Prowler is seen here in his classic attire, which is what he’s worn for most of his career (barring a quick change-up for his solo series a few years back).  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Prowler is built on the Spider-UK body, making him the second non-Spider-Man to make use of it.  It works well enough, though Prowler’s build has fluctuated a fair bit over the years.  He gets a new head and hands, as well as new add-on pieces for the cartridges around his wrists and ankles.  The new pieces are all pretty fun, and pretty good matches for the character’s design as well.  To complete is look, he borrows the cape from Moon Knight.  While it’s a nice cape, and not a bad match for what Prowler usually wears, the piece doesn’t quite sit right on the body.  As a result, the collar ends up being rather floaty.  Not the end of the world, but a minor annoyance.  Prowler’s paintwork is pretty decent stuff.  His usual colorscheme is done well, and manages to not look too silly.  The photos make it look like his purples don’t match very well, but this isn’t the case in person.  There *are* two different purples in play, but the difference is matte vs. metallic, rather than two actually different shades.  Prowler has no character-specific accessories, which is a shame, since an unmasked head would have been cool.  Oh well.  He does at the very least include a piece for Lizard, specifically his leg.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like yesterday’s Spider-Woman, I wasn’t certain I needed a Prowler figure, but I wanted a Lizard, so I got him.  It was an easier purchase, since he’s at least a new character.  Ultimately, he’s a serviceable figure, if not without his flaws.  Still, even if you don’t know anything about the character, I think this figure is rather fun.

Prowler was purchased from my friends at All Time Toys.  If you’d like one of your own, he’s currently still in-stock through their website, or you’re looking for something else, check out the great items available through their eBay Store.

#1717: Spider-Woman

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SPIDER-WOMAN

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Spider-Woman uses heightened senses and powerful venom blasts to strike down any enemies of justice!”

Okay, took a break from Legends for some patriotic appreciation, but now I’m back over in the Legends corner.  Still looking st the Spider-Man stuff, specifically his distaff counterpart, Spider-Woman!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Woman is part of the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  She’s the second main universe Jessica Drew we’ve gotten during Hasbro’s tenure.  She’s wearing her newest costume, introduced following Spider-Verse.  It’s a more real world design, no doubt put together for easy movie translation.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  She’s built on the Phoenix body, with a new head, torso, and pelvis.  The new pieces change up the body pretty suitably, resulting in a fairly nice looking translation of the design.  The head is definitely the nicest piece.  It takes a page out of Mockingbird’s book, and gives her removable glasses.  While it’s not super needed for this particular figure, it has the added benefit of giving an unmasked head to those who already have the classic Spider-Woman from a few years back.  The removable glasses actually work a bit better here, leaving almost no visible connection points when removed.  The paintwork on Spider-Woman is quite sharp, and very cleanly applied.  The face in particular is really nice looking, especially with the glasses in place.  If there’s one downside on this figure, it’s her general lack of extras.  She’s got the torso of Lizard, which is pretty sizable, to be fair, but she’s got nothing character specific.  A web line or some extra hands would be nice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION 

I don’t have any particular attachment to this Spider-Woman design, so I wasn’t really itching for a figure of it.  However, I’m really wanting to build Lizard, and this figure looked nice enough.  I ended up grabbing her from All Time Toys, which also helped.

Speaking of All Time Toys, they still have this figure in stock on their website, if you want one of your own.  Or, if your looking for something else, check out their eBay store for tons of other cool stuff.

#1716: Captain America & Red Skull

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CAPTAIN AMERICA & RED SKULL

MARVEL MINIMATES

By 2011, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in the full swing of things.  Over in the Minimates corner, DST had pretty much gotten things down to the exact science that they’d use for the better part of a decade.  For Captain America: The First Avenger, we got a great set of ‘mates covering most of the film’s cast. Today, I look at the central most set, pairing our main hero Cap up against his main foe, the Red Skull!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Cap and Skull were the flagship pack in Series 40 of Marvel Minimates, as well as one of the two shared packs present in the TRU accompanying assortment.  Both are presented in their main looks from The First Avenger, which seems rather sensible.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

After haphazardly throwing together his rescue mission outfit to lead the Hydra-held POWs back to base, Steve Rogers turns to Howard Stark to help him design something more official.  Cap’s main look has shifted quite a bit since the first film, but this design is certainly one that has influenced (most) of the others.  It’s also a fairly reasonable real-word equivalent of his Golden Age costume, albeit with some adjustments for practicality.  The figure is built on the standard ‘mate body, so he’s 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  To achieve his rather bulked-up appearance, Cap makes use of uniquely sculpted upper-arms and gloves, as well as add-ons for his helmet, belt/suspenders, and his holster.  Everything was new to this figure, and has thus-far remained unique.  It’s a pretty good combo of pieces, all sharply defined, and pretty close to the film’s design.  If I have one complaint, it’s that his lack of sculpted boots to match ends up making his legs look kind of scrawny and under-scaled.  Some bulked up boots would have definitely helped.  The paint on Cap is pretty top notch stuff for the most part.  The palette captures the film’s sephia-toned aesthetic pretty nicely, and the details on the stitching and such of the costume is really great looking.  The base paint application could stand to be a little cleaner, and there were some real troubles with finding a helmet with a properly centered A on the forehead, but those issues are more on the minor side.  The face under the helmet is clearly the same guy from the Frontline figure, just with a calmer expression.  There’s definitely some shades of an Evans likeness there, though I think later Caps would get that down a bit better.  Cap is packed with his mighty shield, an extra hairpiece for an unmasked look, and a handgun.   A little less than Frontline Cap got, but this guy did get more unique sculpted pieces, so it evens out.

RED SKULL

Spoilers: Red Skull is in this review!  And other things as well, but I won’t touch on that here.  For Cap’s first outing, the movies went with the obvious choice of villain, the Red Skull.  Perhaps Cap’s most memorable foe, in part thanks to that frightening visage, and in part due to him being the perfect antithesis of everything Cap stands for.  The Skull had a few looks in the movie, but this figure went for his leather long coat, which is perhaps his coolest of the bunch. The figure has one add-on piece, used for his long coat.  It’s a little bulky, and essentially renders his legs motionless. That said, it’s pretty well sculpted, with sharp details that capture the jacket’s design from the movie very well. The paintwork on the Skull is pretty solid.  His face captures the movie’s take on his distinctive look, going for an appropriately angry expression.  The arms and hands also get an easy to miss bit of red detailing on both shoulders and his gloves, which are certainly a nice touch. Red Skull includes two accessories.  The first is a rather simple German pistol, and the second is the face of Johan Schmidtt, which is a slip cover mask that pulls down over the mask.  While it would probably look better just as a separate head, there’s something way more fun about being able to dramatically remove it just like in the movie.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I grabbed this set from Cosmic Comix, back when it was new.  They hit before the movie, so I didn’t know for sure what I was getting into, but with Cap and Red Skull, it’s pretty straightforward.  I remember being quite impressed with them at the time, especially in light of the lower quality of the Thor offerings.  The standard TFA Cap was a fun offering for the time, but perhaps one that’s been slightly outpaced by more recent offerings.   There was something of a learning curve on this guy. Red Skull isn’t a real stand out or anything, but this one has the benefit of being one of only two ‘mates of the MCU incarnation available, and the Schmidtt face is actually pretty darn cool.  Overall, still a fun set, but you might be better off with newer versions of the characters.

#1715: Spider-Punk

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SPIDER-PUNK

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Spider-Punk causes major rifts in an alternate universe ruled by a corrupt President Osborne.”

Spider-Verse was really just an amazing gift to the people at Hasbro, wasn’t it?  They’ve literally got years worth of completely legitimate Spider-Man variants to choose from, and each time they release another, the demand for the remaining ones just grows.  They’re also getting Spider-Verse writer Dan Slott to geek out pretty hardcore online, which I’m certain helps with the sales of the figures.  The Spider-Verse member I’m looking at today is certainly amongst the coolest; it’s Spider-Punk!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Spider-Punk is figure 3 from the Lizard Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s one of the two Spider-Men in this assortment, though he’s not actually a Peter Parker figure.  He stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 34 points of articulation.  As a Spider-Man variant, it’s probably not a shock to find out that Spider-Punk is built on the Pizza Spidey body, what with him filling out that basic physique and all.  He gets a new head, feet, and even hands (with proper fingering for his guitar, and a pick!), as well as an add-on piece for his denim vest.  The new matches very well with the old, and the vest piece in particular is very sharply detailed and full of texture. The head is surprisingly more than just a basic spidey head with the mohawk added, giving this Spider a more narrow set of eyes than we tend to see. It helps to further separate him from that legion of Spider-Men we’ve got going on.  His paintwork is up to the usual snuff, with the colors matching the basic Spidey, as well as the source material.  Kudos to Hasbro for putting a fully detailed torso and arms under the vest, though I can hardly see myself displaying him without it.  Spider-Punk is packed with his guitar, of course, but also gets a second left hand.  At first glance, it’s just a basic thwipping hand, but if you look closer, it’s actually throwing up the horns.  A subtle, but very important, change, which adds so much to the figure.  Spider-Punk also includes one of the arms of the Lizard, who continues to look very, very cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve been loving the whole Spider-Verse theme that’s been going on, and this guy’s been near the top of my wishlist for Spidey variants, so his announcement for the assortment was very exciting for me.  Along with Lasher, he was my biggest want from this assortment.  The final figure absolutely doesn’t disappoint.

As with yesterday’s Lasher figure, I purchased this guy from my friends over at All Time Toys.  They’re currently in the process of recovering from the recent Ellicott City flood, so please check out their website and eBay storefront and give them a little bit of support.  They don’t have Spider-Punk in stock, but they have a few of his series-mates, as well as plenty of other awesome offerings!

#1714: Lasher

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LASHER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“A sinister mercenary of evil, Lasher thrives off of the power of the malevolent Venom symbiote.”

Oh man, Symbiotes are big again.  What is this, the mid-90s?  No, it can’t be. Not enough pouches and leather jackets.  But Symbiotes. Definitely Symbiotes.  With a Venom movie hitting theatres this year, I suppose there was a desire to capitalize on that, so the fine folks at Hasbro are working in some more Venom-related characters into their Marvel Legends line.  There’s a whole Venom-dedicated assortment hitting very soon, but we got a little bit of a teaser earlier this year, in the form of Lasher!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lasher is part of the Lizard Series of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends.  It’s our first Spider-Man assortment of 2018, and it started hitting a few months ago…in theory.  It’s shown up some places, but still doesn’t seem to have hit in full force.  Anyway, Lasher is the resident Symbiote in the line-up.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  Lasher is made up entirely of re-used pieces, which is mostly not an issue, apart from one thing I’ll touch on in a moment.  He’s built on the Pizza Spidey body, which caused a bit of a stir when he was first unveiled.  A lot of people felt he should be on a larger body, in part, no doubt, due to the larger build of Lasher’s old Toy Biz figure.  However, if you look at Lasher’s comic appearances, he’s typically a little skinnier than the other Symbiotes.  Perhaps the 2099 body would have been a better compromise, but I don’t mind this.  Lasher also uses the head from Scarlet Spider, and the hands, feet, and tendrils from Superior Venom.  The head’s a pretty basic piece, and works well here.  The hands and feet are a bit more specific, but still work very well for the character, and it’s nice to see them pop up again.  The tendrils are perhaps my one complaint about the figure.  I’ve never been a huge fan of this particular piece, even in it’s initial use, but for Lasher to not have tendrils that can actually do anything just seems wrong.  I’d have much preferred to see him use the Agent Venom tendril piece.  On the plus side of things, Lasher’s paint work is very striking.  Application is very clean, and the two shades of green chosen really complement each other well.  As always, that metallic plastic looks pretty awesome. Lasher’s only accessory (if we’re not counting the fact that the tendrils remove, which I kind of don’t) is the head to the Lizard Build-A-Figure.  While it perhaps doesn’t add any value to Lasher himself, it’s an impressive enough piece that he doesn’t feel too light.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Lasher is hands down my favorite Symbiote.  The old figure was a bit of a grail, and he’s been standing with my Legends collection since I got him.  When this guy was shown off, I was definitely excited.  I was even more excited when he and the rest of the series showed up at All Time Toys back in April, thus signifying that All Time would be carrying Legends going forward.  I’m very happy I have this figure, even if he has a few flaws.

Speaking of All Time, this is my first review from them since they were hit by the recent flood on Main Street in Ellicott City.  They’re been steadfastly working in the weeks since, and they’ve just gotten their website and eBay store back up and running.  Please give them a quick visit.  While they don’t have this particular figure in stock, they do have a couple of his series-mates, as well as a whole bunch of other cool stuff!

#1711: A-Force

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SHE-HULK, SIF, MARVEL’S SINGULARITY, LADY LOKI, ELSA BLOODSTONE, & MONICA RAMBAEU

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Spawning out of 2015’s Secret Wars event was an all-female super team dubbed A-Force.  Gimmicky?  Perhaps, but of course, so was the whole event.  I appreciated it for what it was: a chance to focus on some of Marvel’s fun secondary characters, who maybe get overlooked a little too often.  The event-tie-in got its own spin-off, and ongoing that went 10 more issues.  And, in 2017, the group even got an exclusive boxed-set of Marvel Legends, which I’ll be looking at today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The A-Force boxed-set was a partnered offering between Entertainment Earth and Toys R Us, which first hit at SDCC 2017, before eventually making its way to Toys R Us retail establishments.  Well, for a little while, anyway.  The set includes six figures: She-Hulk, Sif, Singularity, Lady Loki, Elsa Bloodstone, And Monica Rambaeu.

SHE-HULK

A blood transfusion from Bruce Banner leaves Jennifer Walters with the gamma-powered abilities of the Hulk.

She-Hulk is the one character in this set who’s had a Legends release before.  Three of them, in fact.  But the most recent of those was still a decade ago, so we feel overdue for the update.  She’s also the biggest name in the set, and one of the easier to produce figures just based on parts.  The figure stands 7 inches tall and has 28 points of articulation.  She-Hulk is built on the same body used for both Thundra and Valkyrie, which was debuted on a She-Hulk figure, just not a Jen Walters one.  It’s a decent enough body, though it’s a little out dated compared to the others in the set.  Ultimately, it’s not bad, of course, but the articulation scheme’s a bit archaic.  This body’s definitely the next one that needs replacing.  She-Hulk’s got a new head sculpt, which is very nice.  The expression is perhaps a touch bland for Jen, and nothing’s ever going to top the original Hasbro release for me, but this one’s still very well crafted.  Jen’s paintwork is nice, bold, and colorful.  The paint on the face is very clean, as are the costume’s color transitions.  The metallic purple looks very slick, as well, but then I’m a sucker for metalic purple.  She-Hulk included no accessories, but what would you give her, really?

SIF

As a gifted warrior goddess of Asgaard, Sif traverses time and space through teleportation.

Sif is an important character in the world of Thor, but rarely travels outside of that particular realm.  Seeing her interact with others in A-Force was admittedly pretty cool.  Though she may not be the heavy hitter here, Sif is very much this set’s star.  She stands 6 3/4 inches tall and has 27 points of articulation.  Sif is one the newest body in this set, making use of parts from last year’s Angela figure (which I’d predicted back when I reviewed that figure).  She does, however get a new head, upper torso, upper arms, and cape and skirt piece add-ons, all of which add-up to a very different looking figure than Angela.  My main complaint about Angela was not liking the character, so Sif gets an extra leg up here.  This gives the body a new chance to shine, and I find myself really enjoying this figure.  Her paint is very clean, the colors are very bold, and that bright red helps her to be the most eye-catching member of this set.  The blue wash on the fur lining of the cape is perhaps a touch heavy, but I’ve seen worse, and it helps to distinguish it from the rest of the white.  Sif is packed with a sword, which seems pretty sensible to me.

MARVEL’S SINGULARITY

Singularity is a multi-dimensional being whose powers of energy manipulation grant her unique psionic abilities.

Singularity is probably the most obscure of the figures in this set, by virtue of being the only character in the set to have no existance outside of A-Force.  Singularity is sort of a personified walking pocket dimension, and is something of a gender-flipped Beyonder from the original Secret Wars.  While she’s perhaps not the most known character, she’s important to the specific event this set was commemorating, and has the added bonus of an appealing design.  The figure stands 5 3/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation. Singularity is built on the Spider-Girl body, which is always a good one, though its mold might be starting to show its age a bit.  She gets a new head sculpt, which captures the art style of the book pretty well, while also melding well with the rest of the body.  The big thing that sets her apart is her color scheme.  She’s molded in clear blue plastic that has these little metallic flecks all through it, and then has a little metallic purple airbrushed over that in a few key places.  It makes for quite an interesting look, and it’s a great way of capturing how she looks in the comic.

LADY LOKI

A being of Frost Giant descent, Loki also possesses Asgardian powers of shape-shifting and sorcery

Lady Loki is sort of a confusing character in the context of this set, since she’s technically the same person as the usual Loki (who was still running around elsewhere during Secret Wars), and she’s also technically in Sif’s body, but Sif is also in this set.  Best not to think about it too much.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 28 points of articulation.  She’s built on the Black Cat body, which means she’s a fair bit smaller than Sif, who she supposedly shares a body with.  Of course, the armored details and such on the Sif body would have made this impossible to do here, and I’d much rather have an inaccurate Loki than a slightly diminished Sif, so I’m letting it slide.  She *does* share a cape with Sif, though, so there’s at least that.  Her head and her skirt add-on piece are both new to this figure, and they’re both quite nicely sculpted, though as with She-Hulk, I might have liked a little more expression in the face.  My figure had a slight molding issue, which left some noticeable flashing at the bottom of her chin, but an X-acto blade cleared that up fine.  Loki’s paint is probably the most complex in the set, with all the scaling detaining and such.  It’s all pretty clean, and once again the metallic colors are looking pretty cool.

ELSA BLOODSTONE

A gun-toting, foul-mouthed monster hunter, Elsa Bloodstone follows in the family tradition of fighting supernatural evils.

Originally a pretty thinly-veiled rip-off of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Elsa Bloodstone was re-purposed by Warren Ellis for his cult hit Nextwave series, which completely changed the character, making her far more absurd, and far more entertaining.  Her placement in this set continues the Nextwave appreciation that began with the Dirk Anger head included with Nick Fury.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation.  She’s built on the medium-sized female body, but since no member of Nextwave is truly complete without their trenchcoat, she also gets the arms and jacket pieces from Scarlet Witch.  In addition, she gets a new head, knees, and feet, as well as a belt add-on with a holster.  The whole thing adds up to another very unique looking figure that’s surprisingly true to her Nextwave appearances.  Elsa is the best accessorized figure in this set, getting both her twin shotguns, as well as an oversized revolver.

MONICA RAMBEAU

Gifted in her control of the electromagnetic spectrum, Monica Rambeau uses powerful blasts of energy to shut down her enemies.

Ah, it’s Monica Rambeau, aka Captain Marvel, aka Photon, aka Pulsar, aka Spectrum, aka the most unlucky superhero ever when it comes to keeping a code name.  She’s a favorite of mine and a lot of other fans, and probably one of the bigger draws for this set.  Also, like Elsa, she’s a member of Nextwave.  Two members in one set!  Alright!  Of course, Monica’s not quite in her Nexwave gear, instead wearing her Ultimates costume that she had at the time of the event.  Still, that’s a costume that’s very Nextwave-inspired, so I’m calling it a win.  Monica uses the same basic construction as Elsa, but with standard leg pieces and without the holster.  She also gets a new headsculpt, which is tied with Sif for nicest in the set.  Monica’s paintwork is mostly black and white, which looks very striking, and is in keeping with the design.  There’s a slight pearlescent finish to the white sections, which adds a nice energy-like quality to her design.  She came with no accessories, which is a little disappointing.  Not even an energy effect?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Okay, you saw who was offering this set, so you probably know how I got it.  Yep, this was another Toys R Us liquidation purchase.  I’d seen the set when it was new, but only felt like I really needed three of the six figures included, so the price was a bit prohibitive.  I decided I would wait it out, and if the set ever came down in price, I’d get it.  I firmly set my entry price at 25% off and waited.  When the liquidation began, my store still had a whole stack of this set, and they didn’t really move any faster, but I stopped by one day and they only had a single set left.  What was the discount? 30% off.  So, home with me it came.  Sif is this set’s star, with Elsa and Monica picking up right behind her.  They were the three I wanted, and I’m very happy with them.  Loki and Singularity are both pretty nice as well, but as more event/time specific characters, I have less need for them.  She-Hulk’s the real weak link here, but even as the weakest, she’s still a very nice figure!

#1707: Agents of Hydra

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

HYDRA AGENT & HYDRA ENFORCER

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

“Driven by rage, these advanced Hydra super soldiers are prone to clash with anyone in their paths.”

Back when the newest incarnation of Marvel Legends was first launched, Hasbro was still figuring some things out.  The Captain America-themed Mandroid Series still had some troubles with distribution, and some…interesting choices in case packouts.  The assortment was split into two waves.  For the first wave, the Agents of Hydra swap figure’s packout was split evenly between Red Skull and the basic Hydra Agent.  Both moved pretty quickly, but there was definitely more demand for the army buildable Hydra Agent.  When the second wave hit, Hasbro decided to repack…Red Skull?  And then the Hydra Agent never resurfaced, so finding one was a mean feat.  Last year, having started to learn from their earlier woes, Hasbro did a re-release of the Agent, alongside a new Hydra Enforcer figure, in an exclusive two-pack.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Agents of Hydra two-pack was a Toys R Us-exclusive offering under the greater Marvel Legends banner.  It *was* a TRU-exclusive, emphasis on “was.”  It was supposed to be released last summer, but apart from being on their website for exactly one afternoon, it never really showed up.  And then, it sort of did, in the wake of all of the closing stuff.  Now it’s made its way to Entertainment Earth, who have been grabbing all of the former exclusives.

HYDRA AGENT

The basic Hydra Agent is, for all intents and purposes, a straight re-issue of the Mandroid Series release.  He’s a more modern interpretation of the Hydra troopers, in the vein of Bob, Agent of Hydra.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s build on the Bucky Cap body and he has add-ons for his harness and belt.  Both pieces are unique to this figure and his predecessor.  They’re well sculpted, and well fitted to the body.  He’s also got a unique head, which is a good recreation of the Hydra Agent’s usual design.  His paintwork is a point of marked improvement over the last release.  Not only is the application a lot cleaner across the board, but he also gets a few more details, particularly the Hydra emblem on his shoulders.  Also an improvement are his accessories.  The last Hydra Agent included two rather goofy sci-fi-y rifles.  This one instead gets two less goofy rifles, which look a lot better.  He also gets a vest to swap out for the harness and and two extra heads.  The first head is Taskmaster’s alt-head, recolored to match the Hydra soldier scheme, which is nice and imposing.  The second is the same one included with the Nick Fury figure from the Giant-Man Series.  It all makes for a nice selection of options on this figure, which is especially nice for army building.

HYDRA ENFORCER

The Hydra Enforcer is a newer concept, and seems to be the figure that’s actually being referred to in the bio on the back of the box.  Despite being a new concept, the figure is just as much re-use as his pack-mate.  He stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  The figure is built on the Hyperion body, specifically the Nuke variant of the body, with the pants and combat boots.  He also gets Nuke’s vest and belt, as well as the head of Captain Britain, which works surprisingly well with the Hydra theme.  The design presented by these piece complements the basic agent pretty well, and he seems to fit the overall Hydra aesthetic nicely.  His paintwork is pretty similar to the standard agent, and the application is all pretty clean.  The Enforcer is packed with a large rifle (re-used from the AIM Agent), a missile launcher (re-used from Drax), a knife, and two extra heads.  The first head is Nuke’s, matching the other pieces on the figure.  It’s been re-decoed with a pretty intensive scar.  The second head is re-used from Radioactive Man, done up with a sort of a Jason Statham look.  Both are pretty fun, and far more specific designs than any of the basic heads, which I guess makes sense, since you’d assume the Enforcers are a more unique bunch.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Having missed out on the original Hydra Agent release, I was definitely on board for this set.  Of course, I couldn’t find it anywhere, so that all meant for nothing.  Then I was going through my local TRU during it’s liquidation process, and there was just a stack of this set.  Yay for me, right?  It’s a solid offering, very definitely.  It’s only real drawback is that it’s a little difficult to army build if you don’t want a bunch of Enforcers.  Still, a very fun set, and I’m glad it’s finally making its way out to the people who want it.