ML Odin: Captain Marvel

Another female added in Hasbro's growing and well loved work on the Marvel Heroines! The addition this time is someone who just had a revamped version of her older costume... but I suppose Ms. Marvel's new identity as Captain Marvel fits rather well for a new figure! So here she is! Honestly, let's just get into the review because I know only a fair amount about Ms. Marvel and far less about her new Captain Marvel persona.

Though the box is very familiar. Still love the art on the side. The other side is Scarlet Witch by the way since Captain Marvel is a swap.

The details on the body is something ot be admired. While very little of the designs are sculpted in, the color combination and the mold is a perfect Carol Denvers. It is also very comic book accurate and I happen to like the new look! Of course this mold is familiar. I have a feeling that Hasbro will be using this mold for a few more femme fatales for the sake of the idea that it is well liked; for obvious reasons of course. Look at that figure. Paint job wasn't that bad here; sculpting of the Carol's mohawk wasn't that bad either, in fact, it's rather nice. The sashe is different from the other ones we have seen but it's quite annoying how stiff it is. Oh, and Captain Marvel came with two different head variants:

And... not really a big fan of the mask-less version. I mean the hair sculpt is awesome but that face and those lips... yeah. I barely posed her using that face.

There are pros and cons when it comes to the accessories that comes with Captain Marvel. First and foremost, the lazy special affects that we already got from Jubilee BAF does not do well with Captain Marvel; at least they should've made it yellow. As for her BAF piece, depending on which BAF the collector is trying to finish, the King Thor head, cape, and axe(forgot the name) is not necessary. Though females are in the hott lines these days with collectors.

As far as her articulation, there really isn't anything new to add to it since it's a mold we have seen before. There are limitations but unlike other figures using this body type, Carol has no problem standing since she is wearing flat boots. The head is what bums some people out with the fact that the movement doesn't allow 'flight friendly' posture. Still, it's a good articulated figure.

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel from the MODOK BAF. Mar-Vell will not be seeing the light of day in the movie-verse(at least on a stand alone movie with just him. I have a feeling he will be in Carol's movie shot though). Not really something I can compare with the whole "Toybiz vs Hasbro" deal since it's two different characters.

And Carol's most longest outfit: Ms. Marvel/Warbird from the 3 pack that came out a few months ago. Strange thing to get another version of the same character in the small amount of time but who am I to complain. They are both different in more ways than one despite reusing the same body mold! Still loving the Captain Marvel costume way better than her Ms. Marvel look.

In conclusion, despite this figure not entirely a must, it's a great grab! I personally like it and it's a testament is trying somewhat with some of the things that fans have been screaming for! At some point, the laziness of the energy has to end since ... it's the same one and it takes away from her unique power affects. Though with familiar articulation, great mold, and a breath of fresh air with the costume, I can't say that this figure fell short. Definitely one of the stronger figure out of the three so far!

ML Mandroid BAF: Captain America (Marvel NOW)

A Marvel Legend came to my stocking courtesy of Santa(Well, we know what happened but let's stick to the Fat Man stuffing my stocking with wonderful toys, shall we?)! I first heard about the new Marvel Legends of 2014 that is paying homage to the Winter Soldier movie way back when. There were only a couple of figures I was interested in, this guy wasn't one of them but here we are with him! So let's scrutinize this guy, shall we?

Right off the get go one can truly see the distinct new box of the Marvel Legends series. It's rather compact, got rid of wasted space, and it's very friendly to the collectors who want to open their action figure. From what I have seen through photos and videos, the Amazing Spider-Man 2(MUST HAVE) has the same box as well. One thing to point out with the box is that the Legends are called 'Infinite Series' which gets me to surmise that this is their new Movie concurring line perhaps? Guess I'll just have to wait when the Jubilee BAF comes out to see what that one is called as well.

As I said, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this Captain America as much as I am right now. To point out about the detail, let's just say that it is very well done. Being the "Marvel Now" Captain America costume(about time he got an update!), it does look identical to his comic book counterpart. Now not to delve TOO MUCH into comic books, the costume is highly influenced by the 2012 Avengers costume. Which I had no specific qualms with that suit or the First Avenger outfit at all. In fact to me it does bring a much more modern take on a costume that just doesn't suit the day and age(or even back then). So well done on Marvel for the redesign. Putting it into action figure taste doesn't look too bad as well! Wonderful sculpting with the ridges, his armor 'plating', the wrinkles in his suit, so on and so on. Though I did get a slight pain distortions here and there, but I can't complain.

Accessory wise he lacks. He has his shield as he should and the Mandroid BAF head piece(ambivalent about building him by the way). I want some interchangeable hands or maybe an unmasked head variant as some of the new legends seems to come with. Nothing much on this department though.

Articulation in these action figures are becoming more and more manageable for those who like to do dynamic poses. Though I had a bit of trouble with the stiff left shoulder joint; caused me to wrestle with it for a bit so the left bicep swivel is rather loose now, but with that minor debacle, it still turned out okay. Again, I won't and can't complain about articulation because as I stated, it's getting good and just getting better; now there is still much an eastern articulated toy can offer in terms of articulation(and details, paint, etc.) but for the price of norm retail action figures these guys ask for, it's something to hold worthy. Though pretty soon Hasbro will have to hand out much more zestful accessories like stands, dynamic stands, or perhaps do something much more innovative with articulation to keep up with the on going collector needs.

Again some dynamic special affect like bullets hitting his shield can't hurt! It'll add flavor to this figure which is only pretty much a standard type of display action figure.

My three Captain Americas that are out of the packaging. Again all Hasbro made and all pretty recent. Between the Bucky Cap, Captain Rogers, and this new Captain America, this one is my new favorite First Avenger action figure in my game room.

A very good Captain America action figure. I didn't have high expectations for him so he impressed me rather than met my standards. Fervent Cap fans will love this figure and those who are into BAF collecting, I think this series has something to offer. The BAF character may not be my favorite(movie version of Mandroid) but some of the characters in the series does help add more ammunition to one's Marvel themed collection! And if that's the theme, Captain America is always a must in the roster since he IS the Superman of Marvel.

Marvel Legend: "Scarlet Spider" (Rocket Raccoon BAF)

"ALL the Power. NONE of the Responsibility."

Spider-Man has had a plethora of duds over the years he has crawled on walls. Classic and Black... Iron and 'Armored' ... Big Time and Future ... He has had a lot of people crawl into his skin as well ... from O'Hara to Miles ... From Reilly to 'Ms. Parker' ... But now his 'sinister' clone has slung a new web in the name of 'Scarlet Spider'.

While controversy exists within the new realm of Marvel Legends of Hasbro, one of them is of course the dwarf sized BAFs coming out lately like Rocket Raccoon, all in all however, there are some good figures coming out. Not all of them, but figures like the new Scarlet Spider is indeed something I am enamored by. Now while this is just a mere repaint of two other Spider-Man that has come out(Big Time Spidey and Future foundation Spidey from the Armon Zola BAF wave), I am a big fan of the color combo. Yes, Red and Black. Though there are some few gripes with this figure like perhaps that the one 'thwip' hand hinders quite a bit of posing capabilities. Don't get me wrong, the classic Spidey pose is indeed nostalgic and fitting, however ... one thing to "point" out with this said hand aside from it being permanently shooting out imaginary webs...

Why is this hand so BIG!? And it's not the mere focal point of the camera that does the 'trick', it's just not proportioned correctly. Interchangeable hands would've came in handy or perhaps adhere to what Toybiz did with their Marvel Legends and give them articulated fingers! It sure deters this giant hand debacle that they face with a lot of their toys.

There's only really so much one can really do with one hand 'stuck' in the thwipping action. It really wasn't the best choice ESPECIALLY since this is the third repaint of this figure. The mold does wonders for posing, but jeez, can they at least add variations to the said hands? Also, the new Scarlet Spider has 'a claw in each arm that extends out of his wrist(The Other storyline which Kaine kept and Parker didn't), sadly they didn't add it in this figure. For the sake of color scheme and how I like Kaine, I 'had' to get him, but for those who are just indifferent about him, he doesn't have a whole lot of incentive. Hell, to complete Rocket Raccoon, one doesn't even need this guy. He comes with no part.

Web of Spider-Men

But as an addition to the Spider-Man gallery, he is pretty cool. Again, along with Iron Spider and Black Spider-Man, this is one of my favorite adaptation of the Wall Crawler. I'm sure not a whole hell of a lot of people can concur with that though. Still, glad to have him, all in all!

Wolverine: "Dark" and X-Force

Like Father, Like Son, I suppose. Perhaps it is, but truth to be told, I could really care less about Daken. No idea what was up with that but it seems that every super hero has to have some kind of offspring nowadays; illegitimate or not. But anyways, this two are from Hasbro's Marvel Legends line up, suffice to say. So far, my favorite Wolverine figures so far!

So X-Force gave Logan the darker and more stealth-like attire. Dark, gloomy, but still deciding to show off as much arms as possible(funny). The first run of this comic book was quite the change with the roster. It also revived an old time fan favorite, Archangel and it really started diving into the messy part that the X-Men cannot do. We got a whole lot of good things from that saga of this costume! We had Domino and Logan going sex and violence like, we had X-23 staying true to her original core, the Angel of Death! Killer Psylocke... lots of great artist were in the roster! Michael Choi being one of them. Damn, let's put aside the badass costume for a moment because I thought that era of Black and Red was damn great! That and this figure is badass! Articulation gives him a myriad of possibilities for action, colors are great and accurate to the comic book, that and these are the best claws(up to date) that a Wolverine figure has. It's not super flimsy that it will warp so easily and it CAN come off; just haven't really tried that yet.

Ah Daken. I hate this guy. He is utterly useless and truth to be told, I just wish they made an updated version of X-23 in the hasbro line that isn't Marvel Universe size! An X-Force Laura Kinney would be fantastic, but again, for some strange reason they don't indulge in that. Have to admit though, despite my dislike for this character, this figure is as good in the articulation as the X-Force Logan. Some areas a bit better. The 'Gaijin' outfit(as I have coined this costume because I read it somewhere and sometime that it's what it's called) is classic though. Nostalgia with this uniform. And Daken does have a mohawk variation; or unmasked which makes it kind of cool. Glad there is a distinction with the two bone claws and his tattoo going on.

Round 1... FIGHT!

My bet is on Wolverine X-Force. Anyways, I did do a fighting sequence with these two, but I didn't like how it turned out, so suffice it to say, I am not going to post it. 

Joining the Fray

Well, The Game Room is far from finished BUT! Look who Assembled and ready to be an enthusiastic part of my NEAR FUTURE Game room!

Yes! Female Shepard is now finally joining the rest of the Mass Effect Playarts Kai! Again, not much show and tell this time around since I don't have the adequate 'background' to flaunt as of yet. But, in due time, I suppose. Hopefully SOONER than later.

And adding some more Wolverine paraphernalia, I introduce to you Daken, or Dark Wolverine. To be completely honest, I'm not enamored by Logan's son. I never got to in depth with his story as well and maybe I can blame it on the fact that he came out a little after X-23 (female asian Logan!), or maybe because of the fact that he kissed Bullseye... I don't know. He doesn't do much for me, but adding another Wolverine isn't that bad of an idea. The 'Gaijin' costume of Wolverine, which now Daken wears, is something I have liked(outdated, yes, but still somewhat nostalgic) and having it revamped with Hasbro's version of Marvel Legends is something I can't complain about. Though his third claw would've been a good addition (the Masamune claw, I assume).

Now Logan's X-Force outfit! I have posted about the SDCC 2012 special collector's edition of the trinity of the Uncanny X-Force (SDCC 2012 Uncanny X-Froce) and unfortunately, due to the price of just three(though awesome) figures, I could not justify paying that much for them. Luckily, the Marvel Legends wave of 2013 did come out with a variation. This is it. Now I'm ambivalent in regards to opening him or not. I guess that decision will be final as soon as I get my room situated and see what space I can work with. Still, I have read and seen nothing but good things about this Wolverine figure, guess I'll have to see if I have to jump in the ban wagon of opening then.

Last but not least, Ultimate (current) Spider-Man. Again, I don't know much about the story of this particular New Spider-Man. In a world where Peter Parker has fallen, a new and young Spider-Man takes up the web and decides to prowl the rooftop to make right what the fallen Parker once tried to do. Very cool duds, if I do say so myself. I'm not sure what his powers are though in relation to Peter Parker; same or not? Not sure. Oh well.