This one was once so close. The Chameleon was actually part of a failed Spider-Man Classics assortment that also included the Spot, but that entire wave was shelved and exists only as a page of prototype images, which is probably for the best because toys are getting better, and Hasbro could probably do a better job.
It is a bit surprising that Chameleon hasn’t made an appearance yet, since we’ve had a pretty strong deluge of Spidey villains and Chameleon was his first, debuting waaaay back in The Amazing Spider-Man #1. You’d think that deserved commemoration of some kind, but Chameleon hasn’t had a figure since his 5-inch figure based on the Spidey cartoon. No Legend, no Marvel Universe, nothing.
That’s unfortunate.
Chameleon is a great villain who resides just under the radar of the larger, flashier, more colorful villains in Spidey’s gallery. When you’ve got big rhino men, big scorpion men, goblins, and the like, a guy whose power is looking like someone else probably blends into the background — no pun intended. But his long history with Spider-Man and his incredibly unique look are worthy of immortalization in plastic form.
I think the main problem is settling on just how to immortalize him. By his very nature it’s very hard to come up with what one would call a “defining look” for him. ToyBiz was going to go for a suited look, which is fitting enough, but kind of boring. He’s had a handful of more overt super-villain looks, but none of them seem to stick. It seems to be intrinsic to his nature that he constantly and consistently looks different. The 5-inch figure and the accompanying cartoon skirted that issue by having him wear the same clothes in every appearance, reverting back to them regardless of who he was impersonating. But while I’m sure there is an audience for his 5-inch figure in 6-inch Legends scale, I’m not really on their side. The problem is I’m not sure which side I’m on.
Troubling, it is.
He has worn a snazzy suited look in quite a few appearances, sometimes black, sometimes white, sometimes a mixture, so that could be a direction that the figure could go, but again, not very visually poppy. My own inclination towards respecting the past makes me want to see him in his first appearance outfit, complete with goggles, but I can guess that would not be well-received by people.
There is, of course, his costume from the “Seven Little Superheroes” episode of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, which also featured Shanna, Captain America, Dr. Strange, and “That’s not water; it’s Alcohol!” Namor. A part of me would like that just for nostalgia’s sake. I loved that episode.
OK, OK, I know, I know — nobody wants that one either.
So there’s the problem: great villain, great power, intriguing concept, but no real definitive costume to point to and say, “There, that’s the Chameleon that a lot of people would be happy with.” Maybe that’s why he hasn’t been made yet. I know I wouldn’t want to be in charge of some of these decisions. And I’d guess a lot of people probably wouldn’t want me in charge of them. Because you’d take your Madcap figure and you’d like it.
So what do you say? What costume do you want for him? Anybody have any strong opinions about how he should be presented? Other than with the obvious alternate Spidey head and possibly a few others, of course. Let me know. Maybe they’re listening and maybe he has a shot.