Tag Archives: Void Series

#3629: Power Princess

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

POWER PRINCESS

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0108: For her appearance in the Marvel Super Hero Squad show, Power Princess was voiced by Susan Eisenberg, the voice of Wonder Woman in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

You know, I didn’t expect to be doing this much talking about the Squadron Supreme here on the site. Their very nature as a spoof of the Justice League makes it seem trickier to merchandise. But, hey, it seems the tide has turned, and now the Not-Superman, Not-Green Lantern, Not-Batman, and Not-Flash are joined by a Not-Wonder Woman. For clarity’s sake, it’s worth noting that Power Princess is a later addition to the team, with only the prior four being present for the first appearances of both the Squadrons Sinister and Supreme. She was added to the Squadron Supreme about a decade after their creation, presumably to, you know, be their Wonder Woman equivalent. And here she is, getting an action figure and everything. Okay, well, she already got a Minimate previously, but now there’s a Marvel Legend!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Power Princess is figure 1 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends. She was actually the first figure shown off, in order to confirm that Hasbro was intending to complete the Squadron line-up they started with the two-packs. The figure stands about 6 1/2 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation. Power Princess, like the two packs, is in her most recent “Heroes Reborn” get-up. She’s had a lot of different looks over the years, and this one takes in a decidedly very Wonder Woman inspired direction, making her look quite different, and somewhat setting her apart from the others on the team. She gets an all new sculpt, which is honestly a quite impressive one. Again, the assignment seems to have been “make a good Wonder Woman” and then it was dialed back the slightest bit. The proportions are a good match for someone who’s slightly more built, and she’s generally got a nice flow to her. Everything just seems to mesh together so nicely. Her color work is decently handled, if perhaps not the most exciting set-up. Since her comic design is really just Wonder Woman with all her coloring switched to gold and black, and that’s what we get here. Application is clean, and I do like the look of the off-black they used. Power Princess is packed with two sets of hands, a sword, a shield, and the legs of the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

As I stated when I reviewed the last Squadron set, I didn’t initially expect to go past the first two-pack, but the prospect of finishing one version of the team was honestly pretty exciting. It helps that this figure looked really good. She’s delivers pretty well in that front, and she’s the best Wonder Woman figure out there, even as a not Wonder Woman.

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.

#3627: Vision

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

VISION

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0106: Before creating the synthezoid version of The Vision with John Buscema, Roy Thomas originally intended to bring back the Golden Age Vision, Aarkus, to join the Avengers.

Back during the site’s first month, I reviewed the original Toy Biz Marvel Legends Vision (well, both of them, actually, since I also had the variant).  I actually realize I talked very little about how I acquired the figures.  ToyBiz Legends were very hard to find, and Series 7 and its one-per-cased Vision and Hawkeye figures were some of the worst at the time.  I never saw them at retail, and it was only a few years later, with the help of the then relatively new local toy store All Time Toys, that I was able to get them.  Unfortunately, Vision got left in a motel room shortly after I got him, so my dad got me the phasing variant as a replacement, and then I later got a proper replacement for the original, once again from All Time Toys.  Through all of the updates, the original Vision has been my favorite, but I’ve been looking for a good, solid replacement.  The first Retro carded one was decent, but not quite on mark.  How about another go?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Vision is Figure 4 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends.  He’s a proper classic Vision, which makes fourth appearance in Legends here, and its third under Hasbro.  The figure stands 6 1/2 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Vision is built on the Vulcan body.  The Vulcan is serving as the replacement for the Bucky Cap, and all but one of the “modern” comic Visions was on the Bucky Cap, so the move makes a degree of sense.  Vulcan’s a little bigger than the Bucky Cap, which, for me, actually makes it work a bit better for Vision than the Bucky Cap did, and certainly better than the 2099 did for the first Retro card version.  The last couple of Visions have all used the same head sculpt as the Hulkbuster Series Vision.  That was passable, but not the strongest, and I felt it never lived up to the strengths of the Toy Biz version.  This release gets a new head sculpt, courtesy of Paul Harding, which is based on Harding’s “Marvel in the 70s” series of sculptures.  It’s a very strong one, and I feel a worthy successor to the Toy Biz sculpt.  It’s certainly my favorite of the Hasbro Legends Vision sculpts.  He also gets a new cape piece.  This one, I’m not sure I like as much as the Retro card version, but it’s not bad.  I think it’s just the upward flow at the ends of the shoulders that’s bugging me; it makes it seem like the cape is meant for a bigger figure, and just stuck on this one.  The Retro Vision’s color scheme went metallic, at least for the green.  This figure takes him back to all flat colors, and I think it works.  It’s quite striking.  The base application is generally clean; the boot and glove tops are a little odd, but not awful.  I particularly like the darker accenting on the face, which really brings out the details in the face sculpt.  Vision is packed with two sets of hands: fists and open gesture.  After too many Visions stuck with only fists, I’m glad he’s got the option in place.  He’s also got the head to the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

I was content with the Retro Vision when he was first released, but there were definitely some flaws that, over time, overtook the things that worked about the figure in my mind.  So, I’ve been hoping we might see a revisit for a little bit.  I was definitely happy to see this one shown off, and very glad to finally get him in hand.  I feel like I finally have a successor to the Toy Biz figure, and that’s a mighty fine thing.

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.

#3624: Namorita

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

NAMORITA

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0103: Namorita is the daughter (and genetically clone) of Namora, who is cousin to Namor.  If they didn’t have a tendency of only being alive two at a time, that might get confusing at dinner.

My first introduction to the New Warriors was the preview copy of the first issue of Volume 2 included with the Wizard Magazine Avengers special.  I remember not knowing exactly what I was looking at, but being somewhat intrigued.  I ultimately had more proper encounters with most of the team in other books, and in the case of Namorita, the first story I remember her in was the Namor storyline that updated the Invaders to “modern” day (that being the ’90s, of course).  I can’t say I’ve had a ton of attachment to the character, but I’ve grown to appreciate the New Warriors as a whole, especially in light of how badly they got butchered in Civil War.  Legends has been zeroing in on getting all of the founding members accounted for, and its Namorita that seals the deal!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Namorita is figure 5 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends.  She joins Justice as the New Warriors contingent of the set, and is also alongside a new version of her cousin Namor.  Namorita has had a number of rather divergent looks over the years, and, for reasons I myself don’t *fully* grasp, this figure goes for her Civil War era look.  I guess it’s unique.  I myself don’t *hate* the blue skin, but I’ve always been iffy on the red suit.  It also means she doesn’t match with anyone else, and, unlike Justice and Firestar, who have costumes that at least read as similar to their looks from early on, Namorita’s is one that really only works for that one specific era, and it’s not exactly an era people are looking to really remember.  Maybe Hasbro just felt there was too much green in the line right now?  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and she has 29 points of articulation.  Namorita is built on the Spinneret update to the Phoenix body, which is a solid base body, apart from the weird peg holes in the back.  She gets a new head, add-ons for her wrist guards, modified shins to add her ankle wings, and new bare feet.  The new parts are solid, if not really anything major to write home about.  I do like the flow the hair, though.  Her color work matches the look from the comics, for better or for worse.  The application’s a slightly mixed bag.  The markings on her skin are nice and crisp, and the face works out well.  The suit, however, is pretty fuzzy on the edges, which looks kind of cheap.  Namorita is packed with two sets of hands, one open, the other in fists.  Curiously, while the open ones re-use Winter Soldier Widow’s fingerless gloves, the fists are basic fists, without even having the fingers painted blue.  It’s an odd lack of internal consistency.  She’s also packed with the torso of the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

Honestly, Justice stole the thunder on finishing out the New Warriors in this assortment.  Not helping things is the costume choice they went with just emphatically not being the one I would want.  So, sure, we got her, but I’m just waiting for the inevitable follow-up figure that does the version that everyone actually wants.  Presumably, she’ll be in some sort of multi-pack with modified versions of prior New Warriors.  Until then, this one’s passable, and I’ve got a complete, if somewhat eclectic, New Warriors founding line-up.

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.

#3622: Justice

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

JUSTICE

MARVEL LEGENDS (HASBRO)

Fun FiQ Fact #0101: Vance Astrovik was originally introduced purely as the “present day” counterpart of Guardians of the Galaxy member Vance Astro.  After a split in the timeline, he became the second Marvel Boy, and eventually Justice.

As a kid, my earliest interactions with Marvel comics were largely through my dad’s ’70s and ’80s books.  My first real interaction with “current” books, at least as far as the mainstream line, was Busiek and Perez’s run on Avengers.  After the big launch that brought every living member of the team up to that point back for a reality-warping adventure fighting Morgan le Fay, they settled into a line-up of mainstays, joined by former New Warriors Firestar and Justice.  There was a poster of this new line-up, drawn by Perez, included in the issue that introduced it, which my dad pulled out of his copy and gave to me.  It hung over my bed for a good many years and only further cemented the run as definitive for me.  I’ve longed to build that version of the team in toy form since that poster came out, and it’s been a slow-going experience to say the least.  A particular hang-up has been Justice, who has, up to this point, not gotten any figure coverage that wasn’t “Vance Astro.”  Hey, look, a Justice figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Justice (or “New Warriors Justice” as he’s listed on the box) is figure 3 in the Void Series of Marvel Legends, which is the first Avengers-based line-up of 2024.  Vance has had a number of different looks over the years.  This one specifically goes for his second look from New Warriors Vol. 5, which was right around the Marvel Now! era.  It takes elements from his prior designs and is notably pretty similar to his Perez era costume, while still being a little different.  I’m still partial to the Perez look, of course, but this one’s not bad, and it’s technically “current.”  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 32 points of articulation.  He’s based on the 2099 base body, which is a respectable match for Vance’s usual build.  It’s interesting that it’s not using the modified versions of the arms and legs, without the visible pins, but there seems to be some sort of strategy to which version gets used for which figure.  Justice gets a new head, upper torso, and cape, all courtesy of sculptor Dan Mitchell.  The head is decidedly dialed into the 2014 Vance look, which is, as noted, no my go-to, but I can’t help but like this sculpt nonetheless.  I feel it does a really nice job of matching the energy of Speedball sculpt in particular, and I really liked that one too.  The new upper torso is designed to work in tandem with the cape sculpt, to give him one seamless design.  It’s very clean and concise, and works well to capture the design.  Justice’s color work goes for a slightly more reserved take on his look, which works well for the specific design they’re aiming for.  Paint application is all pretty sharp and clean, which is definitely key for a design as simplistic as this one.  Justice is packed with two sets of hands, in fists and relaxed, as well as the tendrils to the Void Build-A-Figure.

THE ME REMAINDER OF THE EQUATION

With each New Warrior we’ve gotten in Legends, I’ve hoped we might be that much closer to getting Justice.  It’s been a wait, for sure, but I kept hoping.  I knew he’d be the last proper member I added to my Avengers line-up, and sure enough he was.  He’s not in the right costume, but, honestly, I don’t care.  I got a Justice figure, and he’s really, really nice.  I’ll take what I can get, especially when what I get is as solid as this 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.