This figure was not originally on my list of things to get to immediately for the Archives because, well, I did not own him until this past weekend. The good news (for me) is that I finally spotted ol’ Hyper Onion in the wild, and the good news (for the Archives) is that I bumped him to the top of my list because, well, I really dig this figure! Sorry, Kitty, I will go back and get you added as soon as I can.
You know something? Hasbro has really gotten the hang of this Marvel Legends thing over the past year or so. While I wish that they would release more series more often, I am really at that point that I am anxiously awaiting new character entries into the line, and I am still hoping that many of the figures Toy Biz released will get new and improved updates. I realize that might be sacrilege to some, but so many can be improved upon. Just how far has the ‘Bro come? Well, I have limited some of my ML buying over the past several years and I am far from the completist I used to be. I now stick with characters that I have a close affinity with or figures that are just standouts. Hyperion is certainly a worthy addition to that latter group.
See, he is not like the Fantastic Four, or Colossus, or MODOK for me; I don’t really have any attachment to the character, but I will say that Hyperion is now one of my favorite Marvel Legends figures. Again, that is a testament to how far Hasbro has come in developing these figures (and putting them in the right hands from a design perspective). I am really a fan of Hyperion’s base body and while it does contain all of the essential Legends articulation, there is heft and chunkiness to him that makes for a very solid figure.
I am very glad that we are (for the most part) moving away from the “elbro” and “kneebro” articulation scheme because when Hasbro does do the standard double knees or double elbows, they pull it off quite well. Also, their ankles have improved dramatically over their initial offerings and the new ankle pin attached diagonally at the back of the top of the foot is one of my all-time favorite joints. You can get so much movement out of it and it allows for some great action posing.
I almost hesitate to say it, but I think I might actually prefer the figure without his cape. I know he is (or was) pretty much analogous to Superman, but there is a cleaned up and streamlined effect that you get by removing the cape. Not that I don’t like it, I think it looks great, and since it is totally removable and in two pieces (probably to accommodate his yet-unseen variant, Sentry) so you can move it around a bit to make sure it lays properly.
Bravo, Hasbro — you have a winner on your hands with Hyperion and I got him just in time to get pumped for the next ML series that is due to hit relatively soon. This release shows that Hasbro can make a great figure that I want to own, even without attachment to the character, and the next wave looks to prove that they are going to be able to upgrade two previous Toy Biz releases in Black Panther and Hawkeye.
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