Marvel Legends BAF: Absorbing Man

Venom, Spider-Gwen, Ben Reilly, Beetle, Morbius, Speed Demon, Jack O'Lantern

The First BAF of 2016 in my possession and let me just say, it is probably the best Spider-Man wave I have acquired! The variations of characters (mostly villains), the step up in the accessory department, the refreshing attention to details, the comic book homage... this wave was awesome! I have to say, I only really dislike ONE figure (Lady Beetle), and even then, she isn't the worst Hasbro has come up with. With all that said, how does the BAF himself absorb all this fun factor his wave offered? Well, let's get to this guy then!

Well, I don't know much about Absorbing Man. His powers are pretty obvious; I think he has something to do with the Wrecking Crew at one point, but all in all, I am oblivious to him. I know of him. As a figure, right off the get go there are a few things about him that stands out. Most BAFs I have come across are pretty simple in terms of what it has to offer display wise. Absorbing Man shows variety. Just to show what I mean:

He has two options for his head and he has two pairs of arms.

 

Basically there are a few variations on how to display him and how to make him look. He has a plain face, 'absorbing face', metal absorbed right arm, rock/earth absorbed right arm, concrete left arm, and a plain left arm. Maybe a variation for his body would do good, but that's me being ridiculously too needy. Still, glad that we are given these options. So, now to take a look at him in a full circle with my favorite combination.

 

I found out from ShartimusPrime that this body Mold is from Terrax. It's not exactly bad for it, but the back does have some unnatural anatomy for a human being based character. Other than that, we get the usual dull paint job, except when we start getting to the arms that 'absorbed' and the head; then we start talking about details on the paint job! There are sculpted features to really try and convey what he absorbed; the concrete really does look like concrete, etc.

 

I think that is his highlight, the paint details and sculpted details when it comes to his arms and the absorbing face. Mold wise, he is a muscular guy so it fits. The purple striped pants could have been his jailer pants, but I guess it's okay because it gives a pop out color. The head at times looks huge, but it's okay, honestly. Not a bad shaped figure. Just the fact that there were some thought put into his alternates really makes the figure fun visually.

And I might be just guessing here but the last BAF I reviewed was the Goblin Knight. Of course Absorbing Man is the bigger figure out of the two but with Hobgoblin having more of the uniqueness, I think these two are a good addition to the rogue of villains. Hobgoblin is a bit more questionable on the BAF side though.

I talked about his variant arms and heads, other than that, the only other accessory he has is the ball and chain. It's pretty weak accessory actually. It can't have as many dynamic pose because it is not really articulated and it is a pretty dull color.

Articulation wise, he isn't too bad. If he had more movement on his ball and chain he would have better dynamic poses, but other than that, he comes with the expected range of movements for a figure this 'big'. Not so much 'range' of movement, but if he was able to hold his weapon with one of his left hand, it would give a little more variation in his poses; but again, with his articulation basic to our expectations, it shouldn't be that much of a hassle to get him to pose here and there.

One can get him to do some action poses with certain angles of his ball and chain.

And of course Absorbing Man will be sharing a villain shelf; the one I deemed as the "Apocalypse" shelf is the place t o be. And yes, it's getting a bit crowded on the villain side. Maybe they need more Hero BAFs!

In conclusion, as a BAF, he is not bad at all. I rather enjoyed him and with the thought brought upon by the various display options, I think Hasbro did a good job for this. His set is also not considerably bad; with Lady Beetle the only one that really does not meet the mediocre expectations, I think this BAF Set is a success. Now does this abate the rest of Hasbro's mishaps with lack of accessories, paint jobs, and other poorly executed patterns? No not at all, but its BAFs like these that really give Hasbro some credits. They have a couple more BAFs coming out and we can see who I gather this year! 

Marvel Select: Hulkbuster Iron Man

Well, here's a sight for sore eyes! Iron Man's Hulkbuster Armor had always been a fan favorite as well as my own! Based off one of the most iconic armor he wore in the 90s, the Modular Armor, this bad boy is named to do exactly what it sounds to do: go toe to toe with the Hulk. There are plenty of things to say about this figure, but suffice to say, it's my first Marvel Select review; not my first Marvel Select since I have a few (check out my last The Red review to check them out; they're wall mount displays), but this is the first one I decided to open and let me tell you, it was a good decision!

Marvel Select packaging reminds me of the way back when Toybiz in their 'pre-Marvel Legends' days. Unfortunately, this kind of packaging almost always guarantees that once it's out, it's no longer going back in(there are ways to open it so it can be put back in the case as if it was never taken out. Too much meticulous moments for me though). Though I have kept Marvel Select as wall mount displays because they look good in the case; this one just screamed to be opened though for a few simple reasons; one being more prominent than the others:

I have the Hulkbuster from the rider series still 'mint' in the box. I doubt I will ever open that guy because the price for a MIB Hulkbuster from the rider series is a bit too much nowadays. Had to get one open because of that reason. So moving on to Hulkbuster Marvel Select...

First and foremost before I go in depth I just want to point out that this is a beautiful figure. Again, I'll do some comparison in height, but just by built, it's a pretty steady thing. Solid. Sculpt is amazing and some of the details put on the armor is just breathe taking. So many things sculpted for fine details and not a lot of shortcuts(if any are noticeable). One thing I will say as a gripe is that Marvel Select is known for its details, and details include paint job--I have some minor paint distortions here and there especially on the chest area. Not noticeable, but up close it is. Though for the price of this figure, it's still well made and I can't really complain.

Now it's time to talk about his articulation to which, I'm really really impressed. There was a time when Marvel Select is just a detailed statue with some minor articulation. Well, from what I have seen with some of their recent figures, that isn't the case anymore. Just looking at this figure inside his box, it seems it's going to be limited but again, I'm impressed. He actually has some of the basic articulation that a Marvel Legends has; of course with the way this one is sculpted, certain things are hindered, though not by much.

One of the main things that will probably annoy most people is the fact that his head is so hard to move; it can swivel, but since the joint is so taut, it's hard to move his head. Some of these shots I took, it was hard to get his head to really move so it's not a perfect picture, but it's enough at most times.

And since we are talking about the negative, I do have to say that lack of alternate hands hinders a few of his pose. The open palm on the left makes a lot of sense for the repulsers, but two fists would make a lot of sense too since he is a melee armor to fight a being that is all punching and smashing. At least they gave us a right fist. Well, since this is a Hulkbuster figure, I can't not show him without fending off against the Hulk, right?

Was a really fun time doing all that. As you can see, he is a good size for Marvel Legends Hulk! AoU Hulk fit the spot just right! But what's a Hulkbuster without fighting more Hulks?!

vs AoU Hulk, Rulk, and Grey Hulk

It's probably a bit unrealistic that Iron Man beats ALL these Hulks, but it's all for fan depiction. Again, fun posing him and all. So here's a comparison of this Select with other loose Hulkbusters I own.

He is almost a bigger doppleganger of the 3.75 movie figure Hulkbuster. Almost identical, just obviously bigger. Th other "Hulkbusters" are a far cry; of course I don't have the Toybiz Marvel Legends loose for comparison. But how does he look next to 'regular' Iron Man armor?

I've always loved the Extremis Armor; it being part of the Terrax wave was a bit underwhelming since it was the first wave of Hasbro's 'new' Marvel Legends. So what I'm trying to say is that it's out dated now... but still a wonderful pose next to the Hulkbuster to try and replicate this cover:

One of my favorite comic book covers to date. The Marvel Select Hulkbsuter actually looks a lot like the one in this cover, actually.

Minor paint scuffs, tight joint on the head, and lack of accessories... sounds like Marvel Legends complaint right? Well, it doesn't hurt this figure that much since for the price, it's a damn good figure. It's a damn good figure period. For my first Marvel Select out of the box, it did its magic. Of course adding it to the red and gold hall of armors is a great thing! Love this figure! In conclusion, anyone who is an Iron Man fan(and is a fan of the Hulkbuster armor), this is a freaking must! I think it's a good substitute for the Rider Series Toybiz one. Least you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get a Hulkbuster now!

Marvel Legends: Trio Pack

This is the first review I will be doing on this sort of Legends pack since they don't come very often. I guess it's about time that Hasbro tries to do something aside from BAF pieces, right? Well regardless, this is a Target exclusive set and one again the whole 'rare' events of scalpers and greedy collectors came to play but alas, this wasn't very rare at all. In fact, my local target had them for a while and I found myself passing it up more than once after I got mine. So with that said...

Again the first time I'm reviewing a box with all three figures in place but it does hold true to a regular Marvel Legends box; despite it longer and bigger, one can truly recognize and feel that it is a Legends with the window box, the side panel and back designs... nothing new to truly talk about so let's get right into the figures then.

The first of the set is Captain America. Can't have too many Caps in your collection, right?! I have no idea if this is a current Captain America, ultimates, or what not, but we have seen this face before of the unmasked version with the Captain Steve Rogers head sculpt from the Terrax BAF. The body, I'm not sure if this is a familiar one but regardless, it's the most unique out of the three in the sense that it gets a variant head. Now we've all seen a Captain America figure before(plenty of ones thanks to the Mandroid BAF earlier this year) so it is a resemblance of him. The shield isn't its original one since the original one's peg broke because this one's wrist is too big. A major flaw. So the inside of its shield is actually silver/metal so... a bit more 'realism' to it rather than the red insides. Regardless of what mold this is, he does get the belt, and the shoulder straps. Other than that, nothing stellar about this Cap.

He is pretty standard in articulation with the exception of his wrists which is missing. Makes it hard for some poses and partially the reason the original shield's peg broke. Won't go in detail with this one's articulation but for sure not the best Cap figures I have.

So this Captain America is sealed away and not displayed. Oh, and that's the original shield.

Next on the line up is this jolly green guy who is Radioactive Man; one can tell with his glowing green body. I don't know what his power contains or why he has a Captain Marvel(Mar-Vell) symbol on his chest but... yeah. Not sure why he is wearing that outfit either.... But truthfully, this transparent skin is a good change. He is a Drax body mold so there are some odd poses when profile. Nothing too stellar in terms of his design. Oh his emblem does glow in the dark. Wouldn't it have been better if his exposed skin glows in the dark in general?

Articulation is familiar since it is Drax's body mold. I think his little skirt does get in the way but with very little knowledge of the character, I'm not even sure what he would be doing other than stand real close to someone and poison the heck out of the said person.

In conclusion, he falls short with a cool perk of glowing in the dark and with his lack of anything else in terms of accessories, he is a mediocre figure. Still, to add him in the rogue of gallery for villains isn't such a bad idea after all. Still, he is the lackluster of the trio but he certainly is a bit more peculiar than them.

Now if any of these figures came in singles, I would've gone with Ms. Marvel in a heart beat! Why wouldn't anyone, right? This mold is familiar since it is Black Cat's mold with the head being sculpted for Carol Denvers and the paint job being made for her costume. The sash is new of course and overall this figure is beautiful. There are some paint mishaps here and there but other than that, it's not so bad. Can't say it's amazing in that department but it isn't bad at all.  Though Hasbro has been on a role on at least making their female figures look attracting so hats off to them! Ms. Marvel is no exception and truth to be told, I have high hopes for the future femme fatale of the Marvel Universe on Hasbro's guideline! So on to articulation...

Standard articulation for sure in terms of the female bodies! Won't go in detail on the body but I do want to say that Hasbro now has to find ways around the hair. Sometimes it is too much and the hair being stiff, movement on the head area is sometimes sacrificed.

Out of the three she is my favorite. Beautiful figure but again, lacking accessories make her flight short handed still. Though in the grand scheme of things, with the three lacking in that department(Cap not really but still), I'd have to say that Ms. Marvel has the most to offer.

So is this trio worth it, I can't say yes or no. It just truly depends on how much you love each character together or separately. The price is high but cheaper if they were sold individually.