ML Titus BAF: Aldriff Odinsdottir/Angela

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-gh0st =)

I remember Angela back in the day when she was a slayer of Hellspawns. She was Spawn's rival/friend/bedmate for a while, she died and all of a sudden we see her in Marvel. Since Ragnarok came, Marvel had a lot more leeway with Thor's story so they decide that Angela is Thor's sister, Odin's long-lost sister. So Aldriff Odinsdotter(Odin's Daughter as opposed to Odin's Son/Odinson) is her real name and well, she's a mainstay now in Marvel. Can't really say if that's a good or bad since I don't read her stories or comic books in general. What I can say is that we get an action figure of her and well... Let's get to the review.

So this is the first wave of Guardians of the Galaxy's Vol. 2 figures. The BAF is a cosmic creature known as "Titus"; a Tiger cyborg-like entity whom I know nothing about other than I like his name. I don't think I will be building him, but some of the figures from this wave is particularly cool. Angela being one of them.

I might be interested in Nighthawk and Nova, but that's about it; Yondu looks kind of cool, but if I get him, that means I get all the MCU Guardians and I don't need to do all that. For variety's sake, it's not a bad wave. While I love Stark, I'm glad they didn't throw in another Iron Man in a Guardians of the Galaxy wave.

Now as for the figure itself, it's a bit shocking that this is a retail Hasbro figure. Really, it is. I'll start off with the sculpting, and for the price, this gal gets a ton of it. She has a lot of new parts that aren't seen in other figures before. It's quite baffling. There are more separated pieces to make the limbs, the 'armor', rather than the way we know Hasbro would do it: paint it on. Her 'boots' are different from her things, each gauntlet is different and sculpted, the hair came out magnificent, and her face is just well done. Even her 'skirt' and sheathe for her sword came out real well! It's amazing.

I mean look at the profile! That's a lot of sculpted and well-executed plastic! Now as for the paint, she looks like she has a lot of paint detail but she doesn't really. It's all the different plastics sculpted and placed together to make it seem like they spent a ton on paint. But the things that were painted were done well. And the colors all work well and make her a vibrant piece. It might be the character design to thank, but Hasbro did their part well.

Now as for accessories, she gets two axes and her sword(it's slightly warped from the packaging. I still need to heat it up with a blow dryer to give it a straight posture) and Titus' BAF piece. It's not great or anything, but it's definitely not the worse. We've had worse from Hasbro both in the areas of detail and variety and in some cases, from lacking anything for our figures. Less than mediocre figures getting accessories gives them a fun factor that they wouldn't have had and great characters/figures WITHOUT accessories really rips away the fun factor. Now a great figure/character with some good accessories is something!

There's no doubt about it that Angela's first design when she entered the Marvel Universe steered away with what Marvel is doing with their female characters (covering them up and chiseling at the way Heroines are also eye candy for geeks; another topic for another day), but I like this design and as a figure, there's a lot of things going on with it. But despite all the craziness, Angela isn't hindered and she has a lot of good range of movements. She can move like a standard Marvel Legends, and with some of her clothing sculpted separately, it allows her to be posed in some dynamic poses. 

Again, Hasbro put some thought into her! Even if the accessory department is not ideal (would be cool if she got a spear and some alternate heads/hands), it works to spice up the fun factor department. That and most poses I was able to get her in she looked great.

And here she is slaying Al Simmons who gave in to his Malebolgia tendencies. 

Speaking of Spawn, here she is next to one of my Random Spawns from back in the day. It's kind of cool seeing these two next to each other. 

And just for a comparison, here she is next to Captain Marvel, a standard female figure height. So yes, Angela is towering over her like nothing. 

In conclusion, I'll stand by my statement and sday that this is one of Hasbro's best work in a Marvel Legend. At times I wonder if this is a retail figure and not a higher pricepoint figure. With some great sculpting, a rich color scheme (mostly due to the character design), well executed paint where she has them, and just an over all great piece, I think Hasbro set the standard of what they can do if they put some thought to it. Sadly, I know not all their figures will end up like this, but it would be nice if they give a character that ACTUALLY was born from Marvel with this much effort. Definitley going to put this gal as a good runner up for Marvel Legend of 2017.

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite Gameplay Trailer

It's actually happening! No More X-Men apparently. There goes that side of town again. This game will focus on Marvel's cinematic Universe characters.

Can we get a Spider-Woman, PLEASE?! 

Marvel Legends BAF: Thanos

Hellcat, Spider-Woman, Batroc, Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man

I'm going to be honest when I say that I was super excited for this wave. Now if you just look at the line up, it's not exactly the best but I do have to say that Spider-Woman in the mix and Thanos as the BAF isn't such a bad idea. I adore Spider-Woman and Thanos is one of my favorite villains from Marvel. I didn't do the hunting since I knew that there would be some complication finishing this set due to Spider-Woman being a female figure and she has a decent fan following. I just ordered the whole wave and lo and behold here it is. I've had this set since March but reviewing has been slow for a lot of reasons. But finally got the actual BAF his own review post so, how does he fare?

Right off the bat it's easy to tell that this is not the classic Thanos that everyone is familiar with. To be honest, there is a handful of people out there who only recognize Thanos with the Infinity Gauntlet and during that time he wore the classic outfit. Suffice to say, this is a revamped and 'modern' look of his (in)famous look way back when he slaughtered the entire Marvel Universe with the Gauntlet. Truth to be told, I like the classic look but I also understand the need for this new one. It has a much more 'now' look and hey, every character has to upgrade their looks(sadly, Spider-Woman didn't have to). Sad to say, I haven't read an issue of him wearing this costume but from the images I have seen, Copiel I believe drew him wearing this so I liked how he was in drawing form. His figure form, great mold, new body mold might I add, nice sculpting, and for the most part, aesthetically, I don't think too corners were cut. Nicely done.

Size wise, he isn't gigantic. He falls on the same height as Odin to be honest and I don't have a problem with that. A lot of peoples' complaints with this Thanos is that he isn't as colossal as the Thanos Select(one that I have that is still in its box) and/or lacking the gauntlet and Death. Again, this costume doesn't have Thanos wearing the gauntlet for a reason.

I can't say the same thing about his range of movement as I have said about his looks. Thanos lacks in articulation BECAUSE of some of his designs. That shoulder pad blocks movements, the waist 'guard' definitely prevents leg movements, and not to mention, there isn't a whole lot of wide range movements for Thanos that is 'iconic'. His standard pose of holding his hand up with the gauntlet is as epic as Thanos can get and lacking the energy flash and all that.

Then of course there's this particular thing he can do just fine with certain figures. Sure does look great when he is holding up one of his prize win, doesn't it? That arrogant grin along with the perfectly aligned fingers, then the well built stability of his weight makes poses like this well worth it. Truth to be told, I'm sure there are other Marvel characters that would be canon to this pose, but hell... why not put my favorite Marvel Super Heroine in distress(or the prelude to her real distress)?

Of course a standard rivalry! Captain Marvel versus Thanos!

As much as I like Iron Man, he doesn't stand a chance against the Mad God Titan!

In conclusion, Thanos is a magnificent figure. I can't really say that he will be the best BAF of 2015 as much as I'd like him to be. He has flaws and I'm not sure his aesthetics are enough to relieve him of those mishaps. One thing I will say is that despite all those, I am still highly enamored with this BAF for his reasons alone AND he came from a set with Spider-Woman as one of his BAF holder! Barton was a great addition to our obscure Marvel characters as well as Hellcat. The AoU figures were good but I could've asked for others. All in all, I'd say I'd give him a B-! Though he is a great addition to my villains galore! 

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: 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!

"Test Flight"

As it is, I'm probably going to end up having to start doing a bit more dynamics in regards to the posing of my collection. With space very scarce as of late, one would be able to surmise that the standard 'standing there' no longer suffices. So it might be a tiny step but Captain Marvel is demonstrating that right now. I'm sure he'll hold up but we'll see as the days go by.  

Marvel Legends BAF: M.O.D.O.K

Modok Series: Beta Ray Bill, Captain Marvel, Wasp, Spider-Woman, Thorbuster Iron Man, Moon Knight

So this particular character that Marvel has swings on just comical and somewhat nefarious looking in my point of view. He is a gigantic head with arms, legs, and a hover craft. I'm nowhere near joking in regards to this either because just from the picture on the right alone, it's pretty obvious that the 'profile' picture IS his whole upper torso! So with that said, out of all the BAFs I have finished this year, he is probably the MOST unique out of all of them. I mean, I'm not exactly exaggerating in the notion that HE IS just a big head with arms, legs, and a hover craft.

On face value(pun!) one can really say that Modok doesn't have a lot to offer in regards to articulation. Absolutely correct. His arms and legs have the basic bends and swivels, but still limited with the gigantic head. And the head itself has no articulation; would've been something if they gave expression capability, but not sure if that could've worked with details still intact.

Making him stand would be almost impossible so Toybiz was prudent by adding the 'jet fire' affect and allows him to stand like so. And again, it's all in the details, more or less.

I mean there is something aesthetically pleasing with his fire affect if just taken from the idea of design standpoint and nothing else. I mean as it goes with all these BAFs, taking them apart isn't entirely the best thing so once the fire affect is in, I would fathom it SHOULD stay in because wear and tear would be a factor to the toy's durability.

Stature wise, this guy stands up on his own within the range of 7 to 8 inches I say. Didn't do an accurate count but that is a more than astute assumption in regards to his height relative to Iron Monger over here. Honestly, he has some size to him; an average BAF of Hasbro these days I would say. Other than details, Modok doesn't have much to offer as I already pointed out with his posing capability. He is VERY limited in that aspect so don't expect a whole lot of posing from it default wise. Aside from the intricacy of his details, the series does come with some pretty good characters and noteworthy variants so he is worth the chase(Iron Man's variant is Destroyer; whom might I add is hell of a lot more expensive now since his appearance in Thor). If you are looking for an oddball character in the set, he is for sure a must that and if you are anything like me, the characters that came with him are appealing to REALLY build him.

And the new BAF pitches in to fill up my 'new shelf' that used to be Bishoujo owned. But there were and some more changes coming to my game room so... yeah. Until next time!

A given favorite that came with Modok. While the Thorbuster isn't my favorite armor that Stark donned, it still Iron Man and of course the lovely Spider-Woman(who was Veranke the queen of Skrulls at the time this action figure came out).