It’s Marvel Monday and as usual I’m recovering from a weekend of bacchian debauchery mixed with working a lot. I’ve accordingly selected an MU figure that will not require a lot of my time so that I can crawl back under the covers and try to wish reality away to the cornfield. Today we’re looking at Steve Rogers. He’s one of those figures that have been given both the Universe and Legends treatment, and while I’m not usually one to double-dip between scales, it tickled me to have a Steve Rogers that can hang out with my GI Joes and show them how to take care of business. Besides, the Legends version of Steve Rogers was one of my favorite action figures of 2012, so I was curious to see how the 3 ¾” version turned out.

It’s the MU packaging! Steve here is actually from one of the older waves, before Hasbro replaced a useful, value-added figure stand with a stupid little piece of cardboard printed to look like a comic cover. Great idea! The package has the SHIELD emblem on the front and the back shows three other figures in the wave. I purchased none of these! I didn’t feel the need to own Sub-Mariner in a speedo, I already have the Ultron from the Secret Wars pack, and Darkhawk… seriously, Hasbro? Darkhawk??? Actually, the joke’s on me because if I had actually seen him on the pegs, I would probably have picked him up. Anyway, I’m not a big fan of the character art used here, but the figure sure looks great under the bubble with his stand behind him and a pair of guns. Even from just seeing him in the package, I knew this was a figure I had to buy. Still, it seems like there’s something missing, but I can’t quite put my finger on it… oh well… it’ll come to me.

Straight away, this figure reminds me of a shrunken down version of the Legends figure, and that is very high praise. In fact, I have only two negative things to say about Rogers, so let me get them out of the way first. The quality of plastic doesn’t feel as good as the better single-carded figures. This feels like the gritty, softer stuff Hasbro liked to use in some of the older comic packs. It’s not bad enough to ruin the figure, by any means, but it does keep this figure from achieving a status of near perfection in my eyes. Fortunately, none of the joints on my figure are warped, which is usually the case with this softer plastic. The other negative point is that Rogers is missing a socket in his back. I can’t quite remember why that omission is important… oh well… I’m sure it’ll come to me.

So, first off Steve’s portrait is excellent. It doesn’t have all the personality that the Legends figure had, but I’m giving Hasbro a break for the smaller scale and because the head sculpt is just really clean and looks great. Even the hair is impressively done. The bulk of the figure uses a very nicely articulated, muscular buck with a mix of paintwork and added parts to customize the outfit. The shoulder harness and belt are new, separate pieces and fit the figure really well, as do the belted wraps on his lower legs. Even the hands on this guy are impressive, with uniquely sculpted fingerless gloves and wonderful paint.

In fact, all the paintwork on this figure is solid. Sure, there are a few stray marks here and there, but the white printed emblems on his shirt and shoulders looks bright and crisp, as do the stripes running down his trousers. Even the tiny silver buckles on his gear and gloves are lovingly dressed with a little metallic silver paint. I’m not always a fan of the paint wash Hasbro uses for the MU figures, but here I think it does more good then harm.

In addition to his personalized stand, Steve comes with a handgun and an assault rifle and… oh yeah, that’s what I was forgetting… WHERE IS HIS SHIELD??? Ok, so I agree that it isn’t a necessity for this appearance of the character, but since Hasbro included it with the Legends version, it seems conspicuous by its absence here. In fairness this guy has already won the Marvel Universe accessory jackpot since two weapons and a stand is better than the usual NOTHING AT ALL! Not a huge deal, as I have plenty of 3 ¾” scale shields lying around, but then the absence of a hole in his back to peg it is kind of annoying too. As for the guns, I’m pretty sure we’ve seen this rifle a half dozen times already and the pistol… my cat batted it off a desk and into his litter box. I’m not going in after it. My cat is an asshole.

All quibbles aside, Steve Rogers is a fantastic figure. He’s got a solid sculpt, great paintwork, and lots of cool little attention to detail. Best of all, this is the version of Cap that I’ve always envisioned as being perfect for my most coveted of all fanboy-fueled Marvel-GI Joe crossovers. Watch out, Cobra!