In a way, Marvel Legends came along at the perfect time. By 2003, Toy Biz had made significant inroads into major retailers, ensuring that the more collector-oriented Marvel product found a place on retailer’s shelves. The price of petroleum products had not yet spiked, meaning ambitious ideas like pack-in vehicles and Build-A-Figures were still possible. And while the fledgling line tended to focus on classic looks, it also provided collectors with the new movie versions of characters as well. That said, if you were a Marvel movie produced before 2003, Legends came too late for you. Here are ten pre-Marvel Legends proprieties that deserve action figures!
Captain America (1944)
This 1944 serial by Republic Films marks the first time a Marvell character appears outside of comics. Dick Purcell played the dual role of Captain America and his alter ego “Grant Gardner” (because Steve Rogers wasn’t alliterative enough, apparently). Purcell is an unlikely action hero; he’s reserved and soft-spoken, lacking any sort of presence in the role. Also, his puffy physique is… less than inspiring. This “Captain” uses a gun and not a shield, dodges the then-current menace of the Nazis to fight a generic serial villain, and takes nearly three hours to get where he’s going. Still, he is the first and that means he’s on the list. Justify buying him for the BAF piece. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Spider-Man (1974)
There wasn’t a lot of joy to be had on my local PBS station, so the unquestioned high point was once a day when Spider-Man popped up. Appearing on the we’re-hipper-than-Sesame-Street sister show the Electric Company, kids like me thrilled to the exploits of an honest-to-goodness, live action web-slinger. So what if he was probably just some down-on-his-luck mime in a creepy, skin-tight costume? He was our Spidey, and he was great. Expressive and energetic, those old segments are still fun to watch today. What better way to commemorate TV’s first Spider-Man than with his own action figure?
Spider-Man (1977)
Because one network wasn’t enough for the wall-crawler, Spidey also swung over to CBS in 1977. While actor Nicholas Hammond may have been a little too old (and handsome) to play Peter Parker, all was forgiven once he suited up. The show thrilled viewers with location shooting and some actual honest-to-goodness wall-crawling. You could hardly see the wire! Okay, it looks primitive today, but at the time it was, and I quote no less an authority than Grandpa Anthill himself, the “cat’s ass.” While the show garnered huge ratings, network executives deemed it too expensive to continue production and Spider-Man swung off into the sunset. Say what you will about the dated special effects, this is still the best Spider-Man mask ever seen on-screen.
The Hulk (1978)
If you’ve read this far I’m guessing you’re not a person who needs convincing that Lou Ferrigno’s take on the green-skinned goliath deserves an action figure, so I’ll conserve my word count. Hopefully Hasbro is reading this and Mr. Ferrigno’s Hulk receives this unique form of tribute soon. Trust me, Hasbro, you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.
Doctor Strange (1978)
Okay, this one is really more for completionists than anything. Y’see, back in 1978, the CBS network approved the script for a Dr. Strange pilot. It, uh… didn’t come out very good and CBS subsequently passed on the series. Still, the good Doctor made it further than future film starts like Iron Man, Wolverine, or Thor, so, like it or not, he’s in the club. I know, a dude that looks like John Holmes as Dracula may be a tough sell in 2014. Hey, Hasbro, pack the movie version of Howard the Duck in with him — that should move a few cases.
Captain America (1979)
Injured when his van drove off a cliff (hey, it was the 1970s, it happened all the time) Steve Roger’s life is saved thanks to his father’s experimental super-soldier formula. Now, with his rocket-powered bike (ugh) and his transparent shield (double ugh!), MST3K‘s own Blast Hardcheese IS Captain America! Well, okay, the TV-movie-of-the-week equivalent, anyway. Blast, aka actor Reb Brown, brings his feathered hair and a general sense of “Me Generation” malaise to the role. Christopher (Count Dracula/Dooku) Lee slums it as the villain. While the movies (yes, there were two) were dull, Brown’s motorcycle-helmet wearing Cap has become someone iconic. he’s different enough that a figure holds some appeal. And, hey, at least this guy used a shield.
The Punisher (1989)
Jake: What the &@#! do you call 125 murders in 5 years?
The Punisher: Work in progress.
Yeah, that sounds about right. Too bad the rest of the movie is so shy about embracing its comic book nature. The only time we see the Punisher’s trademark skull is on the butt of a knife! Grrrr! At any rate, I’ve always felt Dolph had the right look to play Frank Castle. Unlike the other two guys who’ve since performed the role, Dolph is actually kinda scary. Hey, you don’t get to play the part of Ivan Drago because you have nice teeth, ya dig? If the sculptor could nail Dolph’s dead-eyed stare, then I’d have my ultimate Punisher.
Fantastic Four (1994)
By now everyone has heard the story of Roger Corman’s ill-fated Fantastic Four movie. Only made so the studio could retain the copyright (sound familiar?), the end product was never meant to be seen by the public. The funny thing? No one bothered to tell the crew! Due to the passion and earnestness the young but excited cast brought to the film, The Fantastic Four remains an oddly watchable little movie. Is it perfect? Gods, no — but this Doom is an actual supervillain and not an antisocial blogger, so it’s already better than the new movie. And hey, if Corman’s flick did get figures, we’d finally have a decent FF in matching costumes. Bonus!
Nick Fury (1998)
This one is for you, Dennis. I’m not a big fan of the Hoff, but there are those who swear by his portrayal of Nick Fury in the Fox 1998 telemovie. Unlike a certain bald, snake-hating, purple lightsaber-wielding private dick who’s a sex machine to all the chicks, Hasselhoff opts to play the role big. And why not? Nick Fury is the world’s greatest secret agent (Sorry, James!). The former Baywatch star dives head-first into the role, giving us a gruff and grizzled Fury that actually looks the part. If this motley team we’ve assembled is going to have a chance in hell of succeeding, then they need the Hoff to lead them.
Man-Thing (2005)
The one film on this list produced during production of Marvel Legends. People trash Man-Thing and rightfully so. It’s slow and painfully low-budget compared to other Marvel movies. So why does it deserve its own action figure? Because the Man-Thing’s design is great. It’s genuinely creepy and I always can find room on my shelf for that. He can stand behind the comic version. I’ll pretend they’re related. Hi, I’m Man-Thing and this is my brother-in-law Gary.
Discuss it with Gary-Thing over on the Fwoosh forums.
Jason R Mink is the Man in the Anthill!
