Hasbro – Marvel Legends SDCC Thunderbolts Box Set

When we were finally able to infiltrate the imposing Hasbro Toy Shop line at SDCC, your attending Fwoosh staff procured this very nice Marvel Legends Thunderbolts exclusive box set; however, since no one was really interested in having all of the figures, we decided to tear that puppy open and divide the spoils between Matthew K, RoboKillah, and Veebee. So we are teaming up for this review, but since we left the packaging in San Diego, no packaged shots for  you!

Moonstone

When we split up the Thunderbolts set, I decided I was going to keep the two females in the group. This was mostly due to the fact that I was excited to get the new female base body, but also because most action figure lines are a little short on the ladies, so I try to add new ones whenever I can. The thing is, I don’t really care one way or another about Moonstone or Satana as characters. I mean, I have nothing against them, but I don’t have any attachment either. That is why it is a big deal to me that to date these two have instantly become my favorite female Marvel Legends figures. I mean, they accomplished that on figural merits alone.

Gentle Giant continues to fire on all cylinders with their work on the Star Wars Black Series line and Legends, and I know that this new female base body has been hotly anticipated. I don’t think we have ever gotten a really good ML female in all the years of line’s iterations. There have some pretty good attempts, but with Moonstone, we get our first really good lady. I will get into the articulation more with Satana, but this new figure does a tremendous job of balancing articulation with aesthetic.

The first thing you will notice is that Moonstone does not have stick limbs or awkward proportions. Sure, the figure is still relatively skinny, but she has a build more akin to Lionel Richie’s intended vision of a “brick house.” She is, in fact, “mighty-mighty,” and in her skin-tight white costume she is most certainly “letting it all hang out.” This figure is stacked, and I don’t mean that just in relation to the T&A (which she does have, in droves), but she actually has decently proportioned legs and arms, too. She LOOKS like a female superhero that is physically fit. What a novel idea! Frankly, even though some would say this body is too stacked for some Marvel females, if Hasbro decided to make them all on this base, I would be hard-pressed to be upset.

Moonstone also has a very feminine, yet stern face sculpt and her hair actually falls naturally about her face and shoulders. I remember saying some good things about the Hasbro Black Widow figure not too long ago, but now I just want that character built on this base. She is, of course, in her Thunderbolts costume, so her whites take on some pearlescence, and she has the T-bolts logo stamped just above her intergluteal cleft. That is just fancy talk for her ass crack, but it is hard to miss due to the pert nature of the sculpt.

So while this figure will (mostly) be coming again in a future ML assortment, I am so glad I got her now. I will probably be buying up as many figures on this body as possible because I see some customs in my future. Some Medusa, Ms. Marvel, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Invisible Woman customs, that is. Unless, of course, Hasbro beats me to the punch, which I hope they do.

Satana 

Ah, for the reformed evil-doers, you don’t get much more of a bad-guy vibe than from someone named in kind with the Prince of Darkness. The controller of Man-Thing (hyuk!) is probably far too risqué in name and costume to ever see a retail release, so her inclusion in this set is very much appreciated. At her base, Satana is the same figure as Moonstone, but that is only a good thing as far as I am concerned and while I think Moonstone wears the body well, Satana’s black costume makes the base even better.

Figures that have predominantly black costumes always tend to fare well in the aesthetics department, mostly because black is very forgiving. So, even though I love this new base body, the black outfit takes it to another level by helping to diminish the noticeability of joint cuts and articulated pieces. Plus, well, her costume has a huge slit down front from neck to navel. But the focus here is on the articulation of the figure, and it is really, really great.

I don’t judge the merits of a figure’s articulation based solely on points. For me, the points have to be balanced by preserved aesthetics and the figure’s ability to actually make use of the joints. A lot of the old Toy Biz figures tossed looks out the door for functionality, and I have a lot of figures with ugly bodies and floppy joints to thank for it. This figure, though, has all of the points needed to pose Satana (and Moonstone, for that matter) in any configuration I would ever need, and she still looks great doing it. Like the SW: TBS Sandtrooper, this figure continues to win me over with the rib cage articulation in lieu of an abdominal crunch, and you can get a very wide range of expressive poses from it. Her hips are also very high functioning and the design gives the figure quite a bit of butt (due to the positioning), so I don’t see complaints coming from that.

Satana, like Moonstone, also has a very nice head sculpt. In fact, I am not 100 percent convinced that they are not the same sculpt because they looks similar. Her skin tone is a bit shiny, so I would have appreciated some more paint on the face, but it is not too worrisome. I also like the hair sculpt and how it is split in the back as it allows for her neck articulation to stay functional, even with the cape. Speaking of, the cape is nice, but I think I actually prefer the figure without it. It has the Thunderbolts symbol on the clasp and it is very nicely sculpted, but Satana is much more streamlined without it.

If I had to pick a favorite between Moonstone and Satana, I would probably go with the latter, but I just like her design better. This is a figure we would have never gotten at retail, so I am glad Hasbro took advantage of the opportunity here. Now, get to reusing those hands for a Scarlet Witch figure!

Ghost

Full disclosure:  I’ve never read a book that featured Ghost in my life.  I grabbed this figure out of pure “cool figure” vibes I got playing with an open set a friend had.  It’s a cool design and is superposable hand candy, so I was most pleased when Veebs wanted to split up the set.  Ghost has your standard Marvel Legends articulation with:

• Hinged neck with a ball socket at the head
• Double knee and elbow hinges
• Swivel hinged hips, shoulders and ankles
• Swivel biceps, forearms and waist

The ab crunch has a particularly nice range of motion as does his neck hinge, so he looks really cool in lots of crouching and leaping poses.  The slender frame and expressive hand sculpts lend themselves to some nice, creepy poses as well.  The figure comes with two different helmet sculpts, both of them are cool even though I’m a little dubious that a human head would fit in them, but whatever.  It’s comics. 

I do get a real Mignola feel from this guy’s design for sure, and that’s always good in my book.  Ghost is cast in a clear plastic in an effort to portray his phasing mode.  It’s a cool look and there is minimal paint, so it’s hard to go wrong there. 

I noticed that the plastic looks slightly yellow in parts in some of the above pics, but in person it all looks uniformly clear.

 

The plastic doesn’t seem to be week or coming apart and has that specific clear plastic figure smell that recalls Crystar figures from my misspent youth.  MMMMmmm…petrochemical-y.  If they did a repaint of this character in his solid form, I would definitely buy it.

Luke Cage

I have to admit, I’ve been wanting a modern street-clothes Cage for a long time. Yeah, the chain belt and tiara is nostalgic, but I didn’t really have a lot of exposure to Power Man until his Avengers exposure. I know this isn’t the most popular opinion. But c’mon, you have to admit the character went through a lot of development in a short amount of time, so this figure, while not exactly “regular clothes,” scratches that itch. His Thunderbolts costume is a nice mix of street clothes and costume. The yellow shirt calls back to his original look while not looking gaudy with the collar and puffy sleeves.

If you have Hyperion, you pretty much know what to expect here. He has the same body, but the elbows and ankles are hindered by the added-on pieces. The comparison pic with Hyperion shows how much the gauntlets keep the elbows from bending. I’ve also experienced a bit of spring back in the up and down of the neck. I’ll pose it and it will snap back to a neutral position. Not quite sure what is going on there. And I have agree with some forum posters — his head is a bit large. The bracers and boots balance out the proportions fairly well, but if you focus on the head for any amount of time, you’ll see it.

Crossbones

Crossbones. Hmm. Again, if you have the original single release Crossbones, you know what you’re getting here. I ended up foddering the first one’s head, so I’m happy to get him again, especially since I feel this version is better than the original.

First, his vest has better paint apps. The knife sheathe is painted a brown this time around, distinguishing it from the rest of the leather. Same goes for his belt. The new additions, like the boots strap things, takes your eye away from the thinness in this area. Most of all, I really dig the crossbones added to the vest. Crossbones has crossbones again! Robo=ecstatic.

And then there is the big honkin’ gun. Yeah, it’s nifty looking, but it is an absolute bear to try to get ‘Bones to hold it and stand up. Not impossible, but enough to drive you a tad crazy in the attempt. It comes with an action feature. Wind the knob on the side, pull the trigger, and the barrels spin. I’ve read this is a reuse from the Sigma 6 line but it’s new to me. It’s neat, but I doubt I’ll display him with it.

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