Tag Archives: marvel legends

Mar 15 2021

Marve Legends (Strong Guy Wave): Strong Guy Build-A-Figure by Hasbro

Well, last week turned out to be a bust with me being too busy to get back here again with more content after Marvel Monday. But it’s a new week, and that means new opportunities to carve out some time and get some more reviews done. As promised, I’m back for this Marvel Monday to wrap up the Strong Guy Wave with the titular Build-A-Figure himself. Let’s plunge into some more X-Factor love and check out Guido!

There were seven figures in this wave, and since your average BAF only requires six pieces, that means one figure often ships without a part. However, in this case everyone brought something to the party! The extra piece comes from Strong Guy’s massive torso requiring a back piece. So no skipping out on figures here, you have to buy those Deadpools. YOU HAVE TO!!! Still, there’s nothing tricky about hammering this guy together and all the connection points fit well and are super sturdy. And that wasn’t a problem for me, because not only did I love every figure in this wave, but I’ve been hotly anticipating getting Strong Guy into my collection for a while now. And man, he does not disappoint!

Guido sports an appropriately disproportionate body, which is seriously pumped on the top half, like we’re talking Juggernaut levels of pumpitude, and relatively normal sized legs with tiny feet. Yeah, he’s freakish looking, but I’m not about to call him out on it! Much of the body is painted blue to depict an under suit, with the massive yellow vest making up his upper torso, complete with a giant X-Force disk on the left side of his chest, a sculpted zipper running across the right side of his chest, and a slightly popped collar. His already massive shoulders are further reinforced by segmented silver armor plates, perfect for taking down walls or tackling foes into oblivion. More yellow is added to the mix in the form of his belt and X-Undies, his massive gauntlets, and dainty ankle cuffs. Actually, they’re normal-sized, but they look dainty on him. Hasbro did an absolutely splendid job on the costume here! He carries just enough sculpted detail to give him that singular cartoony look, and that eye-pleasing one-two punch of deep blue and vibrant yellow never goes out of style!

As for Guido’s tiny head, well Hasbro probably didn’t have a lot of trouble packing this portrait with personality, thanks to Strong Guy’s distinctive mug. His bald pate is punctuated with a little curl of white hair sprouting right in the middle of his head. His pince-nez goggles are painted silver with the lenses painted in red matte, and his beaming smile advertises a full boat of slightly yellowed teeth. A prominent, dimpled chin and pair of tiny ears rounds out Guido’s melon quite nicely. This is a great head sculpt and it makes me smile every time I look at it.

Despite his wonky proportions, Strong Guy manages to pack in all the usual points of articulation I’m used to seeing in these Build-A-Figures. The massive arms have rotating hinges in his shoulders, elbows, and wrists. His legs have ball joints up in the hips, swivels in the thighs, double-hinges in the knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. His upper chest is set on a ball joint, as is his neck. While I knew this guy was going to be fun to play around with, I had expected high levels of frustration getting him to stand, but much to my surprise, them little feets support his upper bulk quite well. Indeed, there were only a few poses where I had a tough time getting him to stand. Not bad for what should be such an obviously unbalanced figure.

Strong Guy was a perfect fit for the Build-A-Figure treatment, and even as a hotly anticipated character of mine, he does not disappoint. This is what BAFs are all about… big, beefy hunks of plastic that simply wouldn’t work in a single Legends package unless released as some kind of Deluxe. Even when displayed at the back of an X-Men shelf, amidst a sea of blue and yellow uniforms, Strong Guy stands out. He’s simply a fun and wildly creative design that makes for a perfect action figure. I suspect he’s going to be my desk buddy for a while before he joins his friends.

And that’s finally another Wave of Marvel Legends in the bag, and a mighty solid assortment at that. With some great character additions including Maverick, Tom Cassidy, Sunspot, and wait… Thunderbird??? Awwww SHIT! If only I had put Warpath in that group shot instead of grabbing his brother Thunderbird by mistake. What can I say, other than it’s been a long working weekend, and I was too tired to dig out all the figures and do a re-shoot. And for the record, that’s twice in one review, because I meant to have Forge in that other group shot, but grabbed Bishop instead. Sheesh, I’m clearly getting out of practice. Anywho… Shiklah certainly wasn’t on my short list, or my long list for that matter, but she’s such a great looking figure, who cares! Pirate Deadpool is fun, and while I didn’t think I was going to care at all about Deadpool in his X-Men colors, truth be told I think that figure turned out great and I dig it quite a bit. Since I’m between Waves now, next week I’m free to review whatever I want. And since I opened them for a shot in this review, I do believe I’ll be checking out the Havok and Polaris two-pack.

Mar 8 2021

Marvel Legends (Strong Guy Wave): Shiklah and Jeff by Hasbro

Greetings, Toyhounds. I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was spent hanging with the cats, drinking heavily, playing some video games, and eating a lot of garbage. When will I learn, eh? But now it’s Monday… that special day of each week where I tear into another Marvel Legends figure, slowly chipping away at the never ending deluge of this ridiculously prolific line. And just to show you how ridiculously prolific, today we’re looking at Shiklah, sharp-tongued Succubi, one-time Mayor of Monsteropolis, and Deadpool’s wife. Yes, we’ve got a figure of Deadpool’s wife. Just to clarify… T-Ray? Nope. Deadpool’s wife? Affirmative! I would have bet cash money on getting Weasel or Blind Al before this one.

It’s always nice to be able to relate to a Marvel figure based on a more modern character. I was still reading Marvel Comics in general, and the 2012 Gerry Duggan and Brian Posehn Deadpool series in particular, when Mr. and Mrs. Deadpool tied the knot. Looking back on it, it’s easy to see some of the rot creeping in, but all in all I was still enjoying this comic a lot and was totally oblivious to the dark days at Marvel Comics that lie ahead. That having been said, I sure as hell wasn’t asking for this figure. Was anybody asking for this figure? Well, let’s rip this package open and maybe before the end of this review, I’ll be happy Hasbro did this. Oh yeah, she also comes with the last piece I need to build the Strong Guy BAF and Jeff the Landshark.

I may not have asked for her, but Shiklah is still a damn great looking figure, sporting one of the costumes she wore in The Wedding of Deadpool, and subsequent appearances, but sadly not her hawt red wedding dress. Actually, to be fair this outfit look is a lot more interesting. Shiklah is decked out in what I can only describe as some kind of Gypsy-Goth fusion and I love it. She’s got a purple body suit with a subtle printed scrollwork pattern over it, along with black thigh-high high-heeled boots and black sleeves painted onto her arms. Yes, most of the costume is achieved with paint and printing, and it looks fantastic, especially with the gold leaf trim painted at the tops of her boots, sleeves, and chest. The colors on this one really sing beautifully, especially when contrasted with the mauve color of her skin.

In addition to the painted costume, Shiklah is also sporting some gold plastic cuffs on her wrists, a gold belt with red baubles that hangs on her hips, and a rather extravagant necklace, which matches her belt. All of these accessories are sculpted separately and worn by the figure and they look mighty nice. Also worth noting is her cloth cape. I guess you’d call it a cape, although it actually attaches with elastic to her wrists rather than around her neck. If you are a Gypsy Fashionista and know what this is called, by all means drop me a line. I’m at a loss trying to remember whether we’ve actually seen Hasbro use softgoods in a Marvel Legends figure before. It seems like they must have, but if so it’s obviously a rare thing, so that alone makes this figure pretty special. The gold circlets on the edge of the cape were actually gold disks hanging off of it in the comic, but this is a pretty good substitute for the scale. The cape looks best when she has her arms up or outstretched, otherwise it just kind of drags on the ground, but it’s still pretty spiffy.

I rarely ever have anything bad to say about Hasbro’s Marvel portraits, and this figure is no exception. I absolutely love this head sculpt.  Not only is it very expressive, with her sultry demon eyes and devilish smirk, but there’s just a lot going on here in terms of detail. She has a headband made of golden disks sculpted across her forehead as well as large gold disk earrings. Her hair mostly cascades down her back, but also has some strands framing each side of her face. Her mauve skin is complimented by purple lips and markings around here eyes that cascade down her cheeks almost like tears. And lastly, she has a gold bat hair clip. This is wonderful stuff!

Shiklah’s articulation is standard stuff for a Legends lady, and that means a lot of rotating hinges. You get them in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles. The knees are double-hinged, you get swivels in the thighs, there’s a ball joint under her chest, and the neck is both hinged and ball jointed. Her high heels can make it a little tricky to get her to stand, but I was surprised how often I was able to make it work without getting too frustrated. And while Shiklah doesn’t come with any accessories, it’s lots of fun to whoosh her cape around. But yeah, where’s her dragon, Hasbro? Where the hell is Bug? Was there no room in the package for a little plastic animal buddy?

Well, obviously there was! Because we also got Jeff in there. Now, I don’t want to beat up on Jeff because of what he isn’t, so let me just say that he’s a fantastic little bonus figure. And that’s coming from someone who has never read a single book he’s appeared in. Yeah, that shouldn’t be too surprising, since a little research tells me that he debuted in 2019 and I had kicked Marvel’s floppies to the curb and stopped reading sometime before that. Still, I was aware of him, as he got passed around from Bloodstone to Gwenpool to Deadpool. Of course, Jeff is a landshark, and by that I mean a shark with feet. Yup. He’s completely static, just a magnificently sculpted lump of plastic, but damn he’s cool.

I have to hope, that even collectors who have no interest in Shiklah as a character, will acknowledge that Hasbro poured the love into this figure and did a damn nice job on her. There are toy companies out there that wouldn’t invest the same attention to the head sculpt of one of their main characters, let alone a bit character like Shiklah here. And that’s why I freaking adore Marvel Legends. Anything is possible, and no matter how seemingly insignificant the character, it’s likely going to be crafted as if it’s the most important character in the whole franchise. My only gripe here is that Jeff should have been included with another figure, and Shiklah should have came with Bug, since this was really the only chance we were going to get the ugly little bastard. In the meantime, come on back next Monday and we’ll put this assortment to bed with a look at the Strong Guy Build-A-Figure!

Mar 1 2021

Marvel Legends (Strong Guy Wave): Maverick by Hasbro

It was a working weekend for me, and a brutal one at that, so while everyone else is dreading Monday’s arrival, I was looking forward to it. Because it’s Marvel Monday and that means I get to pour myself a little libation and tear into another Marvel Legends action figure! Plus, I’m closing in on the last couple of figures in the Strong Guy Wave and that means soon I get to cobble together another Build-A-Figure, which is always a happy occasion. Generally, I’m not a huge fan of the 90’s. I tend to see it as the garish, extreme bastard that killed my 80’s. But it was an undeniably great decade for comics and an especially exceptional when it came to the X-Men. Maverick debuted in 1992 in X-Men (V2) #5 with a bitchin Jim Lee cover that practically shreds the eyeballs. A mercenary with a heartbreaking past, Maverick sure grew on me.

And he’s without a doubt one of the more distinctive looking characters in this wave, and certainly one of the ones I was most looking forward to! Maverick fills out the tray nicely and there’s even room in there for another one of Strong Guy’s colossal arms.

Even if you have no real affinity for Maverick, you have to admit that his armor is fab, and Hasbro did a fantastic job rendering it here in six-inches of articulated plastic. He’s got silver armor running up his legs to just above his knees, with segmented section below the knees, but not much going on for protection in the upper legs and groin. Maybe not a problem for someone who can absorb concussive force, which I would assume includes getting kicked in the gonads. You get a silver plate in front of his belt, and the segmented silver armor continues up to his torso and arms. Reinforcing the torso and arms is some beautiful gold plate for his upper body, shoulders, and gauntlets. The gold plastic has a little bit of that swirly effect you sometimes see, but it’s better quality than some of the gold plastic Hasbro has used in the past. Indeed, I think it looks great. Maverick has a brown shoulder strap over his armor, a brown pouch on his left hip, and a functional holster on his right hip. On his back, he wears a booster pack to amplify the energy he absorbs, complete with flexible tubing running from the top into Maverick’s mask. Hot damn, this guy looks great!

The excellent head sculpt falls right in line with the rest of the figure. The mask features his intimidating black markings and crimson red eye lenses. It wraps around the back of his head, while leaving his mouth and chin exposed below, and his coif of hair spilling out up through the top. The paint on the mask is super sharp and has a beautiful sheen to it. Maverick also includes a golden oxygen mask, which can in theory be worn over the mouth, but mine doesn’t want to stay put to well, so I’m content to leave it down.

The holster in on Maverick’s right hip holds a beefy looking pistol, no doubt loaded with adamantium bullets. It’s got quite a distinctive look with a large muzzle and a forward grip protruding from under the receiver.

He also comes with his more iconic weapon, with the squared off muzzle and dual magazines.  Both weapons are cast in silver-gray plastic and feature some nice attention to detail in the sculpt. He also sports both left and right gun-toting hands so he can dual wield. Alas, there’s nowhere to store this one.

For an assortment that’s been all over the place, Maverick is a welcome addition to the Strong Guy Wave, and another Mutant to cross off my Marvel Legends list. With lots of new sculpting and an eye-catching deco, this guy is certainly a  top contender for my favorite figure in this wave. Next week I’ll check out the final packaged figure, and maybe I can squeeze in the Build-A-Figure as well!

Feb 22 2021

Marvel Legends (Strong Guy Wave): Deadpool by Hasbro

ARE YOU SICK OF DEADPOOL YET??? That’s a question Hasbro seems to be screaming at us these days with every few waves of Marvel Legends. But, I guess someone had to take over for the crazy number of variant releases of Iron Mans and Captain Americas that we used to get. We’ve already seen one version of Poolsy in his so-called X-Men outfit and now we’re getting him in the more traditional (and less on the nose) look with the blue and yellow deco. It may not be as cool as Pirate Deadpool or as wacky as Underpants Deadpool, but I was actually happy to see this one get released. What can I say? I’m part of the problem! At least I never bought that Rainbow Deadpool 5-pack. And I’ve seen that clearanced down to like ten bucks.

Hey, you got your Deadpool in my X-Men wave! Yup, this assortment feels like Hasbro didn’t have anywhere to go with some of these Deadpool figures so they stuffed them into what could have been a full X-Men wave. But hey, they could have just as easily made it a full Deadpool wave too, so count your blessings, you Deadpool haters! Anyway, there’s nothing new to say about the packaging, so let’s press on.

As you might expect, El-Poolio here is kit-bashed from a bunch of past Deadpools. The body appears to be borrowed from the Wade we got a couple years back in the Sasquatch Wave, which was also used for the above cited X-Men Deadpool. And that’s not a bad thing, because it sees a return of those wonderful lateral crunches in the shoulders and the extra set of swivels in the lower legs. In terms of articulation, this body is just a wonder to play around with and even has a pretty nice balance. Also borrowed from that earlier Deadpool are the wrist and ankle cuffs, now repainted yellow to match the new deco. And speaking do deco, I simply adore the colors that Mr. Pool is showcasing here. The bulk of the suit is blue, but has some nice yellow piping and it looks sharp!

The belt and shoulder harness is borrowed from the Deadpool Corps Deluxe Riders Deadpool, which was in turn borrowed from the 2012 X-Force Deadpool. Yeah, I’m amazed that Hasbro is still digging that deep for parts and accessories. The panoply of pouches are brown, while the chest and shoulder straps are now yellow. He’s got a red X-logo in the center of the harness and his patented Pool-emblem on the lower belt buckle. It looks good on the figure, but the belt rides a little high, because the 2012 figure was a lot shorter. The last splash of yellow on the suit comes from his choker collar and the areas around his eyes on the mask. Roll it all together and this is a beautiful suit.

Because this figure borrowed the harness and scabbards, it’s only natural that the twin katanas are recycled too. Each hilt has been repainted with blue grips and a yellow tsuba to accessorize with the costume. Deadpool doesn’t like to be laughed at by the fashionistas. The blades are cast in that weird almost transparent white plastic, which I will likely wind up coloring in silver with a Sharpie or Gundam marker. All in all, these are some of the best swords we’ve seen with Deadpool, and I’m always happy to see them again. The only thing I don’t like about them is the way the tips of the blades peek through the scabbards. And while Pool only comes with a set of trigger hands, they hold the swords quite well.

In addition to his cutlery, Deadpool also comes with a pair of guns, both of which are cast in pale silver-gray plastic. The pistol has a bit of a sci-fi vibe going for it, but it’s not too crazy. Sadly, there’s no holster on his belt for him to carry it, although I suppose you could just tuck it in there.

The second is this decent sized assault rifle, which again is a little bit out there in its design, but still looks like it could be a credible real-world weapon, I suppose. I’m fairly sure we’ve seen these guns somewhere before, but I can’t readily place them. And as much as I love you guys, I’m not going to go picking through 300 or so Legends weapons to find matches!

Another Deadpool or no, I think this is a great looking figure. Normally, I’d say that if you’re sick of Deadpool just don’t buy him. But if you take that advice you’ll have a headless Strong Guy in your display, so I guess you’re kind of stuck. And maybe that’s a legit complaint about all these Deadpoolses we’ve been getting. Then again, having to buy a figure you don’t really want every now and then is one of the pitfalls of Build-A-Figures. That’s why Hasbro does it! Personally, I’m OK if we take a break from Deadpool himself for a little while, but there are still some associated characters I’d like to see hit the pegs. Once again, Hasbro, where the hell is my T-Ray?

Feb 15 2021

Marvel Legends: Deluxe Thanos by Hasbro

Hello, fellow Toycoholics! It’s Marvel Monday again, and while I had planned to keep pressing on with the Strong Guy Wave this week, a new version of The Mad Titan arrived and I thought I had better give the big guy priority. In other words, I’m just really excited to open him up! Obviously Thanos needs no introduction, and I believe this is the third comic version of him to hit the modern Marvel Legends line, with the first one being a Build-A-Figure from a wave released around 2015. That figure was later re-issued with some tweaks and extra bits as a Walmart Exclusive Deluxe, and now we get what is essentially a new figure. I skipped out on the second release, because it was so similar to one I already had, but this one looked too good to resist.

The packaging is certainly nice! So nice, I may be tempted to keep it. You get a fairly large window box with The Infinity Gauntlet title plastered on the front, the Infinity Stones spread across the top panel, and some fantastic character art on the back and side panels. There’s even an illustrated cardboard backer behind the tray depicting Thanos’ throne, although there’s so much plastic crammed into this box, it’s hard to make it out until you open it. Since I already reviewed the BAF version of Thanos, I’ll focus on doing some comparisons throughout. So let’s open this baby up, and make it snappy!

So, straightaway, this is a much cleaner and more classic look for Thanos than the previous ones, and I dig that a lot. He’s roughly the same height as the 2015 BAF, but he comes off as being a wee bit chunkier to me, a lot of which has to do with the hands and feet. The body is more rounded and organic than the sharper and more angular buck of the previous release. BAF Thanos looked like he was wearing some kind of cybernetic armor. Here, he’s just got a tunic and body suit, which is a lighter and more vibrant shade of blue. Gone are all those techno bits, and what detail there is consists mostly in his ripped musculature. Here, Thanos is wearing a some beefy and shiny gold boots and gloves, as opposed to the duller wrist bracers and ankle cuffs on BAF Thanos. Instead of the dull techno girdle on the previous release, here he as some gold trim on his tunic, as well as a plain and simple gold belt and a gold stripe running up the middle of his tunic.

Thanos’ golden gorget has a bit of a swirly pattern in the plastic and is sculpted to match the musculature in the buck. It’s more tight fitting around the neck and it stays in place, as opposed to the BAF’s which tended to flop all over the place. I really dig the painted gold straps that run under the arms. In addition to the simpler, cleaner look on this figure, I just can’t say enough things about the coloring on this figure. The lighter blue and the shinier gold really make the figure pop beautifully, like he’s jumping right out of a comic panel, as opposed to the dark blue and dull matte gold on the BAF. This is just an absolutely gorgeous figure!

The head that comes on the figure features a very similar helmet to the older BAF. The ear discs are a little bigger, there are some other minor variations in the brow ridges, but overall they’re a pretty close match. The paint on my figure’s head could be neater, particularly where the gold is concerned. It’s not something that’s too noticeable with the naked eye when and the figure in hand, but it becomes quite apparent in close up shots.  The portrait itself is excellent, with a slightly darker purple skin and plenty of crags and lines in the face. Here, Thanos’ mouth is agape, but he’s still showing plenty of teeth. He’s got a turnip nose, and black pits for eyes with tiny bright blue irises, that almost glow under the right light. Here, I’m a little less inclined to call the newer version an absolute winner, as I still really like the previous portrait. I’ll call it a toss up. If you are after swapping the heads, I find that it’s not a very good fit, but you can probably make it work, more or less.

You also get the optional King Thanos head, which is a pretty cool bonus, but not one that I’m likely to display him with. I really dig the high crown and it looks fantastic when matched with the gold gorget. This future Thanos’ face is a little more craggy and gnarled, and he offers a broad smile with just a narrow slit of teeth visible. The beard is the real showpiece here. The sculpted white hair looks amazing, as it snakes downward toward the middle of his chest. I’d like to pick up a pack of those NECA head stands so I can at least display this noggin beside the figure.

My biggest complaint about the previous BAF Thanos was that it didn’t come with an Infinity Gauntlet, but we get two versions of it with this figure, and that’s awesome! One is sculpted as a grasping hand, and the other is poised to make the snap that was heard around the Universe.

If you can’t tell, I absolutely adore this figure! My initial plan was to take a pass on this Thanos, because my Marvel Legends collection is getting so far out of hand. It takes up more space than almost any other facet of my collection and so I really need to start thinking twice about double-dipping on characters. But I am so damn glad that I took a closer look at the release and decided to buy him. Marvel Legends is one of my favorite action figure lines to collect, so when I say how absolutely delighted I was opening this purple bastard, that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It’s just that clean and colorful and stunningly iconic look that makes me feel like a kid again and makes me want to bust open some short boxes and start thumbing through my funnybooks. This figure is just a little bit of magic captured in plastic form, and it’s a perfect example of why I love collecting this line so much. I Predict this guy is going to be a resident of my desk for quite a while before he gets moved to the shelf.

Feb 8 2021

Marvel Legends (Strong Guy Wave): Black Tom by Hasbro

For anyone who dropped me a line during my absence last week to see if I was face down on the bathroom floor onto a busted bottle of Jameson, your concern was genuinely moving. But fear not, my current Jameson bottle is very much in tact, and I am working may through a triple-pour as we speak. Work last week was another double quarter-pounder of bullshit with extra pickles and I had to eat every last bite before I could go on vacation this week. But hey… VACATION! Last time I tossed out that word I was taking a vacation from posting content because of too much work. Now it means I’m actually off work and I can work on some content! In all seriousness though, this place is obviously still in a state of flux as I try to work things out and get back onto track. One way or another it’ll happen. I find myself thinking back to the early days of FFZ when I rarely tapped out a review in a sober state and it’s possible that all I need to do is drink more. As for today… it’s another beautiful Marvel Monday, I’m home in my JimJams, and I’m ready to open up some new Marvel Legends. Let’s keep things going with the Strong Guy Wave and a look at Black Tom Cassidy!

HOLY SHIT, HASBRO MADE A BLACK TOM FIGURE!!! I don’t know why I’m surprised at anything Hasbro gives us in Marvel Legends these days, but maybe this is more a state of general happiness than surprise, because Tom Cassidy has been on my short list for a little while. The Strong Guy Wave has been something of an X-Men/Deadpool split, but Black Tom strides the line and fits in both sides quite nicely. Sure, the character has had a history that goes back with the X-Men well before Deadpool was ever inked onto a page, but he’s also appeared in a number of Deadpool books too, so this assortment feels like a perfect opportunity to get him into the mix. Oddly there’s no bold X-Men logo on the top or front panel, nor is there a Deadpool logo, but rather just the generic Marvel logo. And I care not, as this package is about to get shredded.

Tom Cassidy has been around almost as long as I have, but he was definitely an established character by the time I was old enough to start getting my peanut-butter smudged fingers onto my first Marvel Comics. I’m pretty sure I first met him as a result of a big score at the downtown used book shop where I bought most of my funnybooks. They had a whole box of ripped covers that they were letting kids pick through, so long as you actually bought some comics. I remember trying to ride home on my bike was a challenge, because I was laden down with so many floppies. The freebies were in gnarly shape, but I didn’t care, and two of them were issues of Uncanny X-Men involving an adventure in Cassidy Keep! Brother to Banshee, and someone that I’ve found to be a fairly sympathetic villain, I’ve been anxiously waiting for Hasbro to give Tom Cassidy the Marvel Legends treatment. And they did a damn fine job too! Built on a primarily black buck, Tom has a sculpted high collar, which dips in the front to form a point at the middle of his chest. Also, his boots and gauntlets are sculpted to flare at the edges. The result is a very distinct looking costume which is achieved through a nice balance of paint and new sculpt. His emblem is painted in red across his chest, with minimal bleed through, and he has a tight fitting red belt. Every bit of this costume looks great, but I especially love the black and red deco. It just looks so snappy!

What a portrait! I shouldn’t be surprised as Hasbro rarely flubs head sculpts in this line, but I like that they took the extra time to pack Tom’s noggin with personality. He sports a sharply detailed face with a dastardly grin and some fantastic sculpted hair, which includes bushy eyebrows, mustache, and goatee. The paint for the hair and the eyes is sharp and on point. This is just an all-around great looking portrait, which captures the character beautifully.

Black Tom’s articulation features all the great points I expect out of Marvel Legend‘s plastic dudes. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double-hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have double-hinges in the knees, swivels in the thighs, and yes there are additional swivels hidden at the tops of his boots. He has an ab-crunch hinge, a swivel in the waist, and his neck is both hinged and ball jointed. He’s loads of fun to play around with!

Tom comes with one accessory, and it is indeed his shillelagh, a knotted wooden fighting stick that he can use to channel the blasts of his mutant ability. It’s got a pretty bitchin’ stylized skull sculpted onto the end of it. Either hand is sculpted to hold it pretty well. And while I’m not usually one to ask for effect parts, I feel like one of them would have been a welcome inclusion here. But I’m sure I can fish something out of the accessory bin that will suit him.

Hot damn, it’s good to be back and opening toys again!  And I gotta say this one really tickled my jumblies. I’m always down for another X-Men baddie, but Black Tom here really pounds on that nostalgia button. His appearances are not the most prolific of the X-Men foes, but it’s always a real treat for me when he pops up. Deep down inside, I probably never doubted that Marvel Legends would get around to him eventually. Hell, I don’t think this line is going to stop until every last Marvel character has been pressed into plastic. But it kind of odd that we got a Tom Cassidy release before Banshee. And while we’re on the subject, I’ll happily take Syren as well. And since this is at least a partial Deadpool wave… where is T-Ray for crying out loud??? This would have been a perfect assortment to toss him into.

Jan 18 2021

Marvel Legends (Strong Guy Wave): Warpath and Sunspot by Hasbro

Well hey there, Toyhounds! After taking a week off from Toy Bloggery, I’m back in full force with a brand new Marvel Monday! And since I took the last Marvel Monday off, today I’m doubling up on some X-Force Action with a look at two Mutants from the Strong Guy Wave… Let’s check out Warpath and Sunspot!

If you’re keeping track at home, I already dipped my toe into this Wave way back when I checked out Pirate Deadpool! I’ve got nothing new to say about the packaging, except that you get the mighty X-Force logo emblazoned on the front of each window box. To my surprise, I was actually able to find this pair at my local Target… and on clearance!!! Let’s start with Sunspot!

A Mutant with a sunny disposition and money to burn, Sunspot breaks into the Marvel Legends lineup looking absolutely fab! The buck features a combination of paint and colored plastic to make up the mostly red and blue suit, with some added black for the gauntlets. The deco looks great and the paint lines are pretty clean. You do get some unpainted pins rearing their ugly heads, with red ones on the interiors of the elbows and blue ones on the interiors of the knees. These don’t really bother me, but I know it sticks in some peoples’ collective craws. Overall, I think this deco looks fantastic!

And if that’s not enough, the costume does introduce a splash of added color and original sculpted parts in the form of raised yellow striping on the sides of his boots, yellow bangles on his wrists, and a yellow collar with the X-emblem stamped onto it in red. Damn, this is a cool looking suit!

And Roberto’s portrait is no slouch either! Cast in black plastic, the ebony head sculpt is illuminated only by the bright red mask and his white pupil-less eyes. It makes for a really cool effect. The mask is augmented by a pair of sculpted ties that fly off the back of his head down toward his back. The portrait is rounded out by black energy effects protruding from behind his back to simulate the corona effect of his awesome powers.

There are no surprises here when it comes to articulation, although Sunspot does feature the extra swivel cuts down in the lower legs that we see every now and then. Those are always welcome! He also comes with a pair of effect parts, which we have most certainly seen a few times before, but now they’re cast in a very cool looking black plastic. These hook onto the wrists and blend nicely with the effect parts coming off of his back. OK, let’s turn our attention to Warpath!

If you were with me a few Marvel Mondays back, you may remember that I was ultimately a bit disappointed with Thunderbird and I was hoping that his brother Warpath would turn out better. And for the most part, he did! Built on a larger and more powerful buck, Warpath features a similar costume to Thunderbird’s, and the same beautiful red and blue colors we just saw on Sunspot. His top is short-sleeved, allowing him to show off his mighty guns!

Once again, the colors are crisp and the paint lines are clean. While the fringe on the tops of Thunderbird’s boots annoyed me to no end for their habit of sliding down to his ankles, I’m happy to report that Warpath’s are sculpted in place and stay put! Why couldn’t you have done that the first time, Hasbro? On the other hand, Warpath features some large shoulder pads with matching fringe, and these have a habit of popping off when you try to raise his arms too high. So, it’s really one of those “two steps forward, one step back” scenarios. At least the shoulder pads look pretty bitchin’ when they are staying put. Warpath’s costume is rounded out by a red belt with sculpted pouches running around it, and gold bracers on his wrists.

I absolutely love the portrait here. Proudstar sports a stoic expression, with a firmly downturned mouth, a strong nose, and some chiseled lines in his face. His red domino mask is part of the sculpt, framing his two pupil-less eyes. He has a sculpted red headband, which is mostly obscured by his black coif that cascades down each side of his face. The hair is sculpted so as to add a lot of depth and dimension to the portrait, even to the point where you can make out part of his ears buried in there where the hair parts at his shoulders. The head sculpt is rounded out with a white sculpted feather protruding from the back, behind his right ear. Really, my only complaint here is the bit of mold flashing that’s evident on his chin.

As with Sunstorm, there’s no surprises to be found in the articulation. Warpath sports all the usual points and the joints are solid, making him fun to play with. At least until I knock his shoulder pads off with his arms. Sadly, there are no accessories here, and I think it’s a major bummer that Hasbro did not include his fighting knives. And as if that omission wasn’t bad enough, they actually included a pair of accessory holding hands to swap out with his fists. Seriously, Hasbro? Hands to hold the knives, but no knives to hold? Are you just trolling me on this one? Egads.

Sunstorm and Warpath are two excellent new additions to my X-Men shelf and all in all I have few complaints. I’m always torn on whether I prefer this gorgeous red and blue over the blue and yellow when it comes to my Mutant costume colors. More than anything, these costumes remind me of the good old days of collecting the Toy Biz figures, and these really capture all that magic only with the added articulation and excellent head sculpts. Sunspot is pretty much perfect, but I still have to hammer home the point of how ridiculous it is that we couldn’t have had some knives with Warpath. Hell, even the 4-inch Marvel Universe release got some cutlery. I’ll have to dig through my totes of accessories and see if I can accommodate him.

Jan 4 2021

Marvel Legends (Deadpool): Cable by Hasbro

It’s the first Marvel Monday of 2021 and I’m wrapping up my look at the Marvel Legends figures from the two Deadpool movies! If you’re just joining me, I’ve already checked out the Deadpool and Negasonic Teenage Warhead 2-Pack from the first film, and Domino from the second. Today, I’m opening Cable from Deadpool 2, which looks like it will probably be the last offering from these films, unless you count the upcoming repaint of old Deadpool himself.

Just like Domino, Cable comes in a red window box that has been rebranded for the Fox Move figures, including the recent X-Men releases. It’s a nice, clean look… or it would have been if Deadpool didn’t attack it with a Sharpie. Nathan Summers is crossed out on the bottom and Cable is written over it. Deadpool also added a 14+ Age Disclaimer and stamped his logo over the X-Men logo. I really enjoy this packaging, but not enough to hang onto it, so let’s shred it and check out the figure inside.

It’s amazing to think that Josh Brolin was able to take enough time off from snapping away half the Universe to play the grizzled Time-Hopping Nathan Summers, but I’m damn glad he did because he did a great job in the role. Cable’s design in the film was gritty, dark, and not at all flashy and this figure represents that look perfectly. The body features some drab sculpted military fatigues, high top brown shit-kicker boots, and a tactical vest which is separately sculpted and worn on top of the torso. While his fatigues are pretty non-descript, his vest is nicely detailed with some patches, straps, and even some grenade shells on the left shoulder. The copper paint on the shells offers the most color this costume has to offer.

His right arm sports a short sleeve, while his right arm is sculpted to reflect the ravages of the techno-organic virus. It looks great with segmented mechanical sinews in the bicep and more of an armored look to the rest. The finish is more gray than silver, which is in line with the way the movie seamed to downplay the effects and I really liked that. Cable also has a waist belt with his daughter’s Teddy Bear attached to the left hip. It’s got a cool, soft looking sculpt to it, making it look more squishy than hard plastic. His right hip features a molded holster for his sidearm and a scabbard for his grenade launcher. The belt also features some sculpted magazine pouches and a lick of silver paint to the buckle. All in all I dig the tactical additions to the figure and they really serve the figure well to spruce up what is otherwise some run-of-the-mill fatigues.

Cable also comes with a plastic poncho that he wears around his neck like a cape. The accessory can be added or taken away without having to remove the head, which is unusual with these types of things. It’s sculpted to mesh with the top of the figure pretty well, so it isn’t riding up or getting in the way, at least not for the more neutral poses. It can get in the way of more extreme shoulder movement, so I’m glad it’s easily removed.

Hasbro rarely disappoints when it comes to their cinematic head sculpts and Cable keeps that trend rolling along nicely. The likeness to Brolin is solid and the creases and crevices on the face give him an appropriately hardened look. He’s also got some excellent scarring as well. The I really dig the exposed areas of the virus in his neck as well as in the back where his spine meets his head. Outstanding stuff! AND NOW IT’S TIME FOR TINY PLASTIC GUN PORN!!!

Moving onto weapons, Cable has some cool ones, and he has a pair of gun-toting hands that can be swapped out for his fists. First off, he comes with his Walther PPQ and this is a remarkably detailed copy of the actual pistol for such a small accessory, particularly the diagonal notches at the front and back of the receiver. This one fits snugly in the holster and he can hold it well in either hand.

Next up is his custom build assault rifle, and holy shit did Hasbro pour the love into this sculpt! This Frankenstein-ed Firearm is a patchwork of killing components and you can literally make out all the cool little parts that went into it, right down to the Fenix TK76 Flashlight that he has mounted onto the side of it. Hell, when I opened the box, I think I had more fun studying all the details in this sculpt than I did playing with the figure. This may be one of my favorite firearms ever produced in this scale just from the level of accuracy involved.

In addition to all the sculpted details, Cable’s Masterpiece can be modded with two different attachments by tabbing them under the barrel. One is a fairly standard M203 Grenade Launcher. The other is his Fabrique Nationale EGLM grenade launcher that he uses as a stand-alone weapon and carries in the scabbard on his belt.

And that wraps up the four figures Hasbro graced us with from Deadpool and Deadpool 2. To be honest, I’m still gobsmacked that we got any figures from these flicks, so I feel guilty for asking for more, but I can’t help be disappointed that we didn’t get Colossus. It’s not like I’m asking for Weasel or Blind Al? It’s freaking Colossus. He’d sell! I suppose I could always stand in the comic one, but it’s not the same. Who knows? With Marvel Legends there’s always hope. But for now, I’m thrilled we got what we got, and these are all excellent figures to mingle with my MCU crowd. Oh yeah, if you’re wondering, I’m actually passing on the cinematic X-Men figures. Those movies just don’t do a hell of a lot for me these days and with how many Marvel Legends figures I have coming in each month, I’ve got to draw the line somewhere. Maybe… Maybe I’ll pick up Wolverine, but that would seriously be it.

Dec 28 2020

Marvel Legends (Deadpool): Domino by Hasbro

So, obviously I went AWOL for most of Christmas week, which comprised of lots of work and Jameson and not enough sleep. But it’s a new week, and while I make no promises, I’m hoping that by the time we get to 2021, I’ll be able to get things here back on track. For now, It’s Marvel Monday and after a long and stressful week, I’m ready to open some toys! And hey… Did you know that luck is a super power? Yes it is. Yeah. It totally is. And I was lucky enough to stumble upon this Domino figure at Target the other day. No, not really. To be honest, I couldn’t find her and had to get her online. But either way I got her and I am tickled to have a Zazie Beetz Domino in my collection of little plastic peoples.

Hasbro has adopted a new look for their figures based off of the Deadpool and X-Men films and I like it a lot. Like the Deadpool/Negasonic two-pack we looked at last week, the box here has suffered under the cruel nub of Deadpool’s Sharpie. The window gives you a great look at the figure inside, reminding me how adorable and badass Beetz was in this movie. I hope we get to see her don that eye-dot again. But for now, I’ll have to be satisfied recreating new adventures for her with this action figure.

Here she is out of the box and looking so fine! The outfit doesn’t really hold a lot of recognizable nods to anything I’m used to seeing Domino wearing in the comics, but I think it’s safe to say that this movie version was fairly loosely based on that character. It’s certainly a unique costume, eschewing the usual boring tactical body suit for something with a little more personality. The color palate here is mostly black and blue with a little brown thrown in. She’s got some reinforced kneepads, high boots with bronze reinforced bars running up the fronts, and the top is a sleeveless V-neck. The mercenary ensemble is tied together with a pair of long-sleeved gloves that run up past her elbows. All in all, this outfit isn’t exactly the latest in hi-tech body-armor, but when you’ve got luck on your side, I guess you don’t need such things. And all in all, I like the look of this costume and its coloring.

Domino also has a belt rig, which is sculpted separately and worn by the figure. It features some pouches on her left hip, and a functional holster on her right hip. That’s right, Deadpool can suck it, because he got guns sculpted into his holsters and Domino got one that can actually be removed. I guess she’s just lucky. The rig is mostly black, but there are some silver paint hits for the buckle and fixtures.

Domino comes with two portraits, which is pretty cool considering how much plastic they had to invest in her hair! The head that comes on the figure has a fairly neutral expression, and makes for a pretty good likeness to Beetz in the film. It makes use of the halftone printing for her facial features, has some nice gloss paint on the lips, and her eyes are quite captivating. On top of that, I really dig the somewhat translucent plastic they used for her hair. The sculpt came out great, and of course she has her Domino-Dot painted around her left eye. What’s puzzling is why they went with such a subtle change between the two heads, as the second one, which will be featured in some shots below, is just a slight smirk. The only other real difference appears to be her goggles up on her forehead and partially buried by her hair. I really had to scrutinize it to tell much of a difference. Either way, however, they are both excellent.

Domino comes out of the package with a pair of fists, but she also comes with a set of gun-holding hands, and three guns to put into them! The first is a simple black automatic pistol, which fits into the holster on the belt. I don’t think it’s supposed to represent any actual firearm, but it isn’t a crazy sci-fi design either.

The other guns are a pair of matched silver Uzi or Mac-10 style submachine guns with bayonets on them. Yeah, mounting knives on your submachine guns is an interesting choice and it’s certainly distinctive. I like these guns a lot, especially with the silver bodies and black grip and magazines. There are also black optics mounted on the top rails. I don’t actually remember these guns from the film, but I’m long overdue for a re-watch of that one anyway. Either way, they are exceptionally nice accessories and fit perfectly in her gun-toting hands.

And of course Domino sports all the usual articulation that I’m used to seeing on these Legends ladies. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have swivels in the thighs, double-hinges in the knees, and both hinges and lateral rockers in the ankles. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, as well as hinged pegs for the wrists. There’s a ball joint under her chest, and her neck is both hinged and ball jointed. Yup, I would have preferred double-hinged elbows and bicep swivels, but I’m still pleased with what she can do. No mushy joints here! She’s loads of fun to play with and has pretty good balance too.

I remember coming out of seeing Deadpool 2 and hoping against hope that Hot Toys would do this version of Domino. It wasn’t an unreasonable wish, seeing as how they did Deadpool himself and are set to deliver Cable next year. Sadly, a Domino release seems more and more unlikely at this point, and just when I thought there was no chance of me ever getting a Zazie Domino action figure, Hasbro stood up and delivered with an all around excellent figure. She has just the right assortment of guns, and she’s going to look fantastic in the modest Deadpool corner of my MCU shelves. Yup, this one made me a very happy camper!

Dec 21 2020

Marvel Legends: The Infinity Gauntlet by Hasbro

Wow, this weekend was a beast. I don’t even want to think about how many hours I wound up working. And that means that I got seriously short changed on time for today’s Marvel Monday. I was going to check out some more figures from the Deadpool movies, but seeing as I’m under a time crunch, let’s check out this big goddamn Gauntlet that’s been sitting in the corner intimidating the cats for about a year.

It’s weird seeing the Marvel Legends moniker on something that isn’t an action figure, but Hasbro has been using the series to release some of their 1:1 prop-replica toys. I’ve only reviewed one here so far, and that was the Ant-Man Helmet, but they’ve also done Mjolnir and Captain America’s Shield just to name a few. The Infinity Gauntlet comes in a fully enclosed black box with some pictures depicting the item inside. It’s big and heavy and that gives you a great idea of the plastic behemoth that waits for you inside. It comes out of the box fully assembled, but you will need to install some batteries if you want to get the electronics up and running, and believe me, you are going to want to do that!

The reality bending glove is fashioned all in plastic and I’m pleased to say that Hasbro did not skimp on the size. It looks appropriately huge and awkward when worn by a mere human, but then again it’s meant to! But more on how it functions in a bit. Besides the impressive size, I thought the finish is pretty nice. The entire piece is cast in an antiqued bronze colored plastic, which thankfully looks rich and substantial rather than cheap. It even has a nice metallic sheen to it in some areas, particularly the fingers. I’m glad they went this route, because painting this thing would not only be expensive but also probably make it prone to chipping and wear. It looks like a weathered artifact rather than a shiny new construct, and while that doesn’t necessarily make sense, since it was newly forged in the movie, I dig it. There are some nice sculpted details in the Gauntlet, including scrollwork patterns, rivets, and some plates that are made to look like they are overlapping each other. You also get some sculpted chainmail around the thumb and what are meant to be segmented plates in the fingers.

As for operating the Gauntlet, because it is so big, your fingers don’t actually go into the fingers of the glove, but rather pass through rings that in turn manipulate the fingers when you pull on them. It’s a really clever piece of engineering that allows the glove to work on a much smaller hand than it was designed for. It works really well, allowing each finger to be manipulated on its own. On the downside, you really can’t make a convincing snapping motion with the fingers, but that would have been way to sophisticated with the kind of toy we’re dealing with here. There’s a switch on the Gauntlet right below the big yellow Mind Stone, which can be used to lock or unlock the fingers in the closed position. You’ll note there are some visible screw holes in the palm of the Gauntlet, and while they don’t ruin the toy for me, it would have been cool if Hasbro included some plugs to fill those in, especially at this price point.

Of course, the Infinity Stones are embedded in their proper sockets and they look great. Each one is a unique sculpt and cast in translucent plastic colored to match the respective stones. And here’s where the electronics come in! The battery compartment is concealed in the outer portion of the sleeve. It’s a pretty big door, and if you know what you’re looking for it’s pretty easy to recognize it for what it is. On the other hand, it doesn’t look terribly obvious either. And in case you are wondering, the stones are not removable.

The Stones illuminate whenever you are manipulating the fingers, and they will continue to stay lit for a little while after you put the Gauntlet down. The lights are extremely bright, so much so that I didn’t even have to dim the studio lights for them to show up in the pictures. Just realize that if you are donning this Gauntlet in a room with normal lighting, they are going to look all the more intense! In addition to the lights, you get some great sound effects, including the whirring of the finger joints and the hum of power coming from the Stones. I’m generally not a huge fan of the electronics on these types of prop-toys, but in this case, I think they really add to the overall display and value of the piece.

I hesitated on this piece when it first came out and I’m glad that I did, because I was able to get it at the deep discount of about $70. Nowadays it seems to be going for around $125 on Amazon, but I’m willing to bet that there are still deals to be had. It’s certainly a well constructed and well designed prop-toy. It’s extremely sturdy and I’ll bet it can withstand a good amount of punishment without breaking. The electronics effects are fantastic, and the engineering inside the glove is clever and functions just the way its intended. Granted, I don’t wear this thing a lot, but it does make for an impressive display piece in the corner, and when I happen to glance at it, it usually invokes a big smile and sometimes compels me to put it on for a bit. Of course, there are better replicas of the Infinity Gauntlet out there, but obviously at greater cost, and in most cases not wearable. Ultimately I was glad I picked this one up and I have been keeping an eye out for the Endgame Power Gauntlet that Hasbro also did. I think the two would look great displayed beside each other.