The Last Defender

I watched a few Luke Cage stuff. I will watch Daredevil. I haven't tried to watch Jessica Jones yet. But Iron Fist... yeah I'm game. 

Hope we get something that represents his costume! This looks good. 

ML Dormamu BAF: Iron Fist

The Immortal Iron Fist enters again! And might I add that while I see the connection, Iron Fist is not completely in Dr. Strange's lore. He is, but ... he is a different entity all on his own all things considered. BUT, I think Hasbro was deliberately putting a 'magical' kung fu character in the mix just to promote the beginning of another Netflix series. Well, enough of that. Let's take a look at this figure then.

As the 'odd' ball of the group, Iron Fist comes bearing his own logo on a Dr. Strange movie set. But he retains the theme overall.

Even his figure pose shows him as a loner. And the art on the side on is awesome! I love the artist they have been hiring for these things.

Unlike the previous Iron Fist we got last year, this particular one sports the traditional colors of the Immortal Weapon. Traditional, but adhering to his modern makeover post-Civil War one look. This one still played it safe and stayed close to his original outfit's idea; of course they took out the outdated flats and open chest shirt and gave him a more spandex/superhero look. The Dragon Symbol (there's a name for it, forgot what it was) on his chest is still a mystical tattoo, but it went over on the chest of his shirt. All the painting looks clean and sharp enough. There's not much detals to talk about; the wrapped hands has a little bit of paint variations, but other than that, not much to say in that area.

The mold is pretty generic and standard. Muscular, lean, and average height and sufficient for Danny Rand's comic book stature. No complaints here really but nothing new to report.

Don't expect this Iron Fist to provide us with a ton of accessories like before, but what we get is definitely something to appreciate. I remember the days when I was complaining about Hasbro's lack of effort in the special effects of characters; well now we are getting some in the form of fists, flames, magic, lightning, etc. The fire ball/chi energy that comes with the figure is pretty good. The energy fists that comes as Danny's alternate hands are a nice touch as well. Of course he comes with a piece of Dormamu.

Here's how he looks like with both variations of hands on.

As far as his articulation goes, he is pretty familiar. He can do a lot of things, and this mold (Think Pizza Spidey) offers a lot. I had fun getting him into some Iron Fist poses and can thoroughly say that he has been the most friendly to pose out of all the figures I reviewed so far. Though something I need to point out: this figure looks like he is on the long side on certain angles. His torso most definitely looks a little too long. But as I mentioned, he was pretty awesome to pose around.

Of course had to borrow the flame effect from the Iron Fist back in the Toybiz Days.

And had to use an import stand since I know we aren't going to be getting any of those any time soon from Hasbro.

And here he is squaring off with the last Iron Fist figure we got from the Odin BAF wave. Both are amazing figures and both are still out for display.

All in all, I didn't think Iron Fist would get this version of his costume in figure form since he received a new one quite recently. I would also think that the Netflix version would be different and they would spend more time promoting that, but alas, we got this and I'm happy it! Definitely one of the hitters of this wave! Iron Fist fans should be delighted to have this guy in their collection. 

Marvel Legends BAF: Odin

Captain Marvel, Sentry, Iron Fist, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Thor

2015 started out with a bunch of BAFs lined up and Odin is the first that grazes my collection. Technically, this wave consists of two BAFs: Odin and King Thor; truthfully, I'm not in the mood to have two Iron Fists, Hawkeye, and Thor just to make King Thor. I might've missed Machine Man in the process, but I'm not complaining. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Odin, Marvel depicts him as the old lore does: The father of Odin and all the gods of Norse Mythology. In the movie universe, he is the king of the advance ancient race of aliens. This figure however is based off the comic book version(more or less since Odin changed forms more than once throughout the decades in comic book). So, what does the Allfather bring to the table for us collectors? Well, let's find out.

Well one thing is certain, Hasbro managed to implement an important detail: Odin is missing one eye. The picture I got makes him look like he is in a shy pose; my one gripe about the face is that the way his eye is positioned, it makes it hard to get him to really look a certain way without it looking awkward like this picture. Regardless, it's a good face sculpt. Love the helmet, the horns, even the beard has some slight details in terms of paint. Though it's hard to get articulation out of his head with the man beard. His helmet, though decently sculpted, could still use some better paint details; or maybe some regal colors like gold. Other than that, I say it looks like Odin regardless if Odin changed looks several times in his comic book life(I'm more than willing to believe that there is a bit of Anthony Hopkins in this Odin since everything in Marvel has to abide by the cinematic universe these days).

Groot was the last BAF I got so let's compare the two. Size wise, Groot gets the award. Though Odin isn't small by any means. Gone are the days of small BAFs indeed and I'm really happy that Hasbro is really getting a good flow with BAFs these days.

He has a new body sculpt( I believe) and for the most part he is well done. The wash on his paint detail could've been a bit more on the giving side, but hey, Hasbro is Hasbro. There is something about the way he is made that makes him look like just a normal warrior which undermines the idea of Odin being the KING of Norse Gods; but again, perhaps Odin had an armor like this some time in the past.

Odin has one accessory, which is his spear. I'm sure it has some kind of name but I am not bothering with it right now; I think it's Odin Spear honestly. Well, it's not bad looking; looks bland at some angles, but it does mirror the color and wash of his helmet; again my gripe about it is that it should have been a bit more regal colored. Then there's the axe(again it has a name) which belongs to King Thor. Though I didn't want to simply store the weapon so I decided to give it to Odin just to imply that he is ready for all out battle. Not a bad looking weapon, though it dwarfs in comparison to the presence of Odin's spear and the overall ambiance Odin has.

Odin actually has a decent articulation; in fact he falls a bit more in the expected form of movement range! Though his clothing, the stiff cape and all hinders a lot of movement. I already mentioned the beard and how his head has the funny eye going on so that crosses out certain poses. Though generally, one doesn't need to have a lot of fancy poses for Odin. It's not like he is the nimble, agile, and even hand to hand kind of character.

That is all the pose one really needs for Odin most of the time. That and probably beating up both Thor and Loki for constantly arguing.

In conclusion, Odin isn't a bad BAF at all. He is above mediocre and is different. Honestly, it's really his set, the figures that came with him that made him worth it. Figures like Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, and Captain Marvel is what made him stand out to me. I have no desire to finish King Thor so again, I'll be missing out on Machine Man but who cares? For anyone looking to have Thor be side by side with his father, this wave is a must! Other than that... can't wait for the next wave! 

ML Odin: Iron Fist

The Immortal Iron Fist! I have to admit, this guy is one of my favorite characters in Marvel that doesn't really get the light of day! Well, here we are with Danny Rand punching through the darkness and getting an action figure that is part of the All-Father BAF! So, did he past the test and gain the rank of being a Marvel Legend?

I really like the art(I know I have mentioned that before) and it's very martial arts pose; but there is also one thing about the box cover art that goes against this figure: the chi affect on Danny's fists!

Now right of the get-go, for all of you Iron Fist/Marvel fans, it's easy to recognize that the costume picked for Iron Fist is the one where he seems to be powered up thanks to Dr. Strange's Eye of Agamotto; not entirely sure how long he wore this costume or if he is wearing it now, but all I know is that he is stronger and I'm assuming able to channel more chi thanks to the magical talisman. So as far as the accuracy of this figure, I say it's pretty up to snuff. White and gold seems to be intact and I like the color used for the areas that are supposed to be gold. Believe it or not, there are also shading on this figure as well on the white areas which is a great sign that Hasbro is paying attention. The Dragon symbol on his chest came out pretty clean to, though his sash is a bit lackluster if you ask me. Speaking of which, this is a Toybiz body mold and not the usual "Bucky Cap" mold that Hasbro uses a lot.

It's almost deceiving at some aspect with how many alternate hands he has. Truthfully, it's quite awesome. I did wish he come with fire special affects since Iron Fist's powers does have his chi igniting so that he can punch the living a-holes out of people.

He has the standard articulation and the added shoulder swivel and the modified ankle pivot(I don't think the Toybiz one had it), he meets every expectation that I have for the notion of 'standard'. Though what makes Iron Fist amazing as a figure are the alternate hands of course!

Still a far cry from the imports and what they give out in terms of variation hands, I must say that Iron Fist does offer a lot of dynamic poses! I am pleased with how articulated he is and just how many 'martial arts' pose he can actually perform.

But what are poses like the one above without:

Some Chi energy?!

"RISING DRAGON!"

Though I did wish I found the other 'Chi energy' from the Toybiz Iron Fist. It would have been perfect. Speaking of Toybiz...

I have always loved that figure and it's classic beyond belief but to me, this is the case where the costume is extremely out dated and not exactly my favorite anymore. I've always liked Iron Fist but his costume seems to make me want to take a step back so with that said:

Hasbro Odin BAF Iron Fist wins over the Toybiz Apocalypse BAF Iron Fist. 

In conclusion, he is probably my favorite one out of the set, honestly. He had the most articulation and fun factor to offer, and the fact that he is one of my favorite characters, well, just makes me want to pick him. He isn't perfect and definitely still barely outshines the classic Toybiz, but hey, he takes the bout. For anyone who are addicted to completing sets no matter what--Iron Fist is a must TWICE! I'll talk more about that when I get to the BAF but, yeah. Great figure!  

Marvel Legends BAF: Apocalypse

Apocalypse Series: Sasquatch, Iron Fist, Bishop, X-23, Maestro, Wolverine

Toybiz is one of the most respected Legend Maker for Marvel. one can concur just why with the line ups they had during their glory days! Waves and waves of Marvel characters came out of Toybiz! A lot of them are even 'underground' heroes/villain that may never see the light of day again through Hasbro! For some of us, these figures are long gone and can only be attained by forking out some SERIOUS cash! Some of us practiced prudence and bought them while they were about; some passed and regret it now, others are still hunting. Suffice to say, I may be a bit on the background and not so much in the front lines, but dare I say I do have Apocalypse; one of the first of the BAF(build a figure) series; or if I'm not mistaken, he could very be the first, but my knowledge on that may be obscure however it doesn't take away that it was a good catch!

He was inside the box for the longest time. Well, his pieces anyways(The Return of Marvel Legends) and it was one of those that I have been ambivalent about in regards to either open or not to open. Took me a good five to six years to finally make that decision, but finally getting THE Game Room that I will own, it's only right that I finally put this big guy together. So HOW massive is he?

Gargantuan!!!! What? Not a good enough picture? Okay, let's make him more 'sinister' shall we?

Okay I can say that using that as a comparison is not necessary, but I like to keep my preferences influential.

Clearly standing next to a few hulks and seeing how he towers them, it's pretty obvious that he has some height advantage. Rightfully so since Apocalypse has the ability to change his size on the whim(along with a myriad of other lethal powers and abilities). Makes a great addition to my rogue of 'villains' and lost Hulks. Okay so maybe Sasquatch, Black Knight, and a few others may not be complete villains, but again... depends on what perspective.

I mean, I would think you are a villain if you were trying to take Spider-Woman away from me since she is nice and snug in her 'PJs'. Wait, wasn't I supposed to be talking about Apocalypse and not this?