Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Trailer #2 (2017)

I wonder how they are going to pull off Ego(the being that was supposed to be a LIVING planet). Still, I'm terribly excited for this movie. 

Then again, this year has a lot of great line ups that I will go see:

Wonder Woman.

Power Rangers.

Beauty and the Beast.

Kong Skull Island. 

Starting to warm up to Spider-Man: Homecoming. 

and this.

ML Thanos BAF: Batroc the Leaper

The first review of the Thanos BAF and it's none other than Batroc the Leaper! This less than C-List villain was never in my radar until the figure came to be and the story arc of Wolverine: Killable! Heck, Batroc came into my radar even more when we see a version of him in Winter Soldier! So here's his figure; what to say?

Right off the get go, we resume the same Hasbro packaging with a much more aesthetically pleasing artwork on the side. Here we have Batroc doing some of his popular leaping kicks in black and white art form!

This mold should be familiar more so now than ever with how much Hasbro has used it. I'll keep stating it until my opinion changes: I don't mind though if they did a few certain things to hide the fact that it is overly recycled, that would be great. Like for example: cover the shield hole on the back, give some alternate hands, or sculpt a few more things to make the figure 'special'. Though the head is a new sculpt I believe and it's really one of the things that makes him stick out!

I mean, look at that pompous grin! That mustache!

Batroc doesn't come with any accessories or alternate hands or anything. Just Thanos' upper body and shoulder pads. Shame. I can't really count a BAF as an accessory, sorry Hasbro, but you failed in this department.

Articulation is of no surprise to anyone I hope with this mold being a familiar one. Batroc in the comic book is a french savate fighter, so his moves includes high flying kicks and such. He is often seen fighting Captain America and his kicks often led to nothing with Cap just blocking it with his shield! So with that said, the bucky Cap mold does the job and it provides Batroc the proper movement that he needs. I had a mild problem with his waist the first time I opened it though. It was stuck and I had to use a box cutter just to give him the proper movement; with that all good I think he is back to the way he should be.

Spider-Girl, Ms. Marvel, Gamora, Black Widow

And with a grin like that and that mustache, one can really fit him in with a dastard villain posture. And what is a classic villain without his damsels in distress, right?

All in all, I think this figure was another under dog. While I'm not overly impressed, I am taken aback with how fun this figure is. Batroc, being a C-List villain became a familiar one for me and I had tons of fun reading some things about him and posing him to coincide with his comic book self. All in all, while he is a must because he hold Thanos' bigger BAF, he also is just a great addition to one's rogue of villains in their Marvel Legends set. 

ML Legends BAF: Groot

Starlord, Nova, Gamora, Rocket, Iron Man, Drax

This is most likely going to be the last BAF catch of 2014 and I must say, Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise surely surprised me this year! What I mean to say is both the movie and this BAF are just amazing pieces added in to the already growing Marvel Universe! So with that said, let's going ahead and dive right in to Groot and the amazing quality this figure provides!

The face may not be my favorite part of this BAF because it's so one dimensional and so stoic that when trying to do an action pose, he just seems bored. Though that's not saying I don't like it because if we are to say that it looks like Groot from the movie, there is hardly anything to say to refute that statement. It looks like Vin Diesel's Groot and despite it being forever bored looking, one can truly remember the movie when looking at his face. The big black and 'ignorant' eyes, the tree/ent looking head, then I'm not even going into detail with what is shown with the shoulders and chest... it's an amazing testament that Hasbro has the capability to make a truly detailed figure. So speaking of details, let's just to that now.

So Jubilee was the last BAF I acquired and while I don't completely dislike the mutant turned Vampire young lady, I do say  that she was a poor choice for a BAF. Now to put aside the idea of size and choice of character, Groot has far more to offer in terms of details. Yes he towers over Jubilee as he should and yes he has more details, but to truly scrutinize the details...

The sculpt on Groot is new and every carved rivets, makeshift tree, twigs, and even the paint(while minor, still appreciated) details given are something new that Hasbro has to offer! This is a brand new mold from what I can tell and as it should be. Groot is a unique and peculiar character as it is so to bring him on the Legends scale with a brand new body mold is a prudent! Honestly, highly appreciated!

Articulation wise, I don't have any real major complaints since he does move pretty well for someone with a peculiar body mold. He has the abdominal swivel that is surprisingly intact despite the sculpting job. The arms are pretty articulated despite the branches sticking out of the shoulders; folds right in the gap between the shoulder joints! The legs have a bit of a -joint that actually works really well and I have no gripes over it. Ankle pivots remains to be the same complaint I have, which again, all well and good since in the end, he stands as he should and posing isn't difficult. At some angles, the stoic facial expression actually does quite well now that I look at it closely. Though the open hands does lack some things... fists and such would be nice. Perhaps alternate hands would do well.

As always, the lack of accessories does hinder the credibility of this BAF. Groot did a myriad of things that would definitely require some accessories like some long variant arm, perhaps some sharp twigs coming out of is back, close fists, and some variant faces. Again, Hasbro's major flaw is providing some extra paraphernalia to make things a bit more... fun.

I have a Marvel Cinematic Universe shelf that ... might stay or might not. In the mean time, Groot stays there. All in all, it's a great figure. Definitely one of the most innovative BAF Hasbro pulled off this year. As for the whole set, it's not my favorite, but definitely not the worse. With the movie being as cool as it was, the addition of the whole team in my collection is definitely got me hooked on a feeling! 

ML Groot BAF: Gamora

And here comes another piece of the Groot BAF from Hasbro: Gamora. Now not trying to delve into the movie as much but, Gamora was the eye candy of the movie as Black Widow was to Avengers. Though honestly, I really felt like she was a weak character and there was nothing grand about her; I feel the same way about her comic book counter part but hey, not all Marvel Characters can entice me, right? So how does her toy fare then? Let's find out.

Standard box. That artwork on the side remains amazing as they have been in Hasbro's new box for their Legends.

You know, there was actually a point that I was really worried about this figure's facial features; I thought she would revert back to the days when Hasbro(and all female figures in general) were just plain ugly. Hasbro was just in a good roll as of late and it would be a shame if Gamora(played by Zoey Saldana.. hott) came out as horrifying as the first Emma Frost that Hasbro tried way back when. Luckily, it's not a bad face. It has resemblance to the alluring actress. The rest of the figure is definitely in the mediocre area. While the paint detail on the hair, her suit, and her skin is well detailed, I think the ranking factor for me falls into just how lackluster her default outfit was. And no, I wasn't looking for a straight out sex fest like her comic book outfit was, but she just didn't have the wow factor; though Gamora's role in the movie was enough to get me to like her. One thing about the body, surprised they didn't use the busty mold; not truly complaining but I'm sure a lot of boys are.

Not going to be redundant with Hasbro's lack of in this department but I will say that this sword is terrible! Detail wise, size, and ... everything about it. The hilt is so small that Gamora can't hold it properly(or maybe I can blame it on her hands and the way they are poised)!

Now let's talk about Gamora's biggest flaw: articulation! So I must be spoiled with some of the things that standard Hasbro has to offer since I am not too thrilled with what Gamora can do. Now I'm not the biggest fan of the ankle pivot but she lacks that. Her head doesn't do a whole lot with the nicely painted air, her hands may have the standard movement but she truly lacks conviction in the way she holds her sword. Legs can't 'spread' too wide(and I'm not trying to be too sexual here) so that deters any of Gamora's acrobatics that she shows in the movie.

Just making this took a bit of effort. To stand on one knee and have something 'cool' come out of it is tedious to happen for Gamora... lame.

Decent face, nice paint, below mediocre articulation, and lame accessories(or lack of); seems to me that Gamora fell short. All in all, I'm not entirely disappointed to have her, though I don't think I would've missed much by not having her; though she is a necessary piece for not only Groot, but also to complete the movie Guardians of the Galaxy! Though I wish she had more 'exuberance' to her or something that would at least live up to her movie version... Maybe that's asking for too much. Well, least I have her!