Namor is one of those hotly contested figures in the Marvel Legends community. Many hate the figure, others love him.
I think I’ve gone both ways on the figure and these days I love him, especially with the new round of Marvel Legends from Hasbro. One of the big issues with Namor was the size of his head, it seemed to be huge compared to other Marvel Legends or six inch action figures at the time, but truth is this is one of the best heads in the history of Toy Biz’s run on ML.
Namor was a great inclusion in Marvel Legends Series 2, this was a huge Fantastic Four wave that included Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm and Doctor Doom. Namor gave balance to the wave as the sometimes ally, sometimes villain of the Fantastic Four. You’ll notice that Susan Storm was not included the in wave giving poor old Namor even more collector hate as he seems to take a spot for the beloved fourth member of the team. But let’s face it, Namor deserved the spot more, he’s a lynchpin of the Marvel Universe, he’s considered Marvel’s first mutant, he’s been in Marvel comics since the ’40s as part of the World War 2 heroic group the Invaders that went around Europe kicking Nazi ass. Eventually he found himself at odds with the Fantastic Four and the surface world in the ’60s eventually finding his way into our hearts as a hero decades later. While Namor hasn’t found his way into the Marvel Cinematic universe he does have a huge spot in modern Comics as a part of the New Avengers.
And all of that is great. Namor in an old costume that was making rounds in the Marvel Universe, it was great. Except most collectors wanted a “classic” Namor, the one that we all knew and grew up with, classic Namor in a scale mail green speed-o. That’s Namor, running around mostly naked making women and men in the Marvel Universe fall madly in love with him. Just ask Sue Storm!
The figure is a good solid action figure. As a Marvel Legend, it was a near perfect figure, the sculpt was amazing from head to toe. Not only did Toy Biz us give us a great Namor, but they gave customizers another base figure that could be used for a plethora of figures in the Marvel Universe. It was that good of a figure. Marvel Legends Series 1 Captain America and Iron Man had been used as base figures for a number of customs and Namor supplied a third body type. From a line development, this third base figure also gave Toy Biz the possibility to do more characters. But let’s face it, the best part of the figure is the borrowed chest from Toy Biz’s WCW Buff Bagwell, it’s the only borrowed part but it’s a great borrowed part.
The articulation was great, it was another fine example of the engineering going into this booming line. Ankles, knees and toes it’s all there, almost, there was one joint missing the “ab crunch” yeah, one of the defining joints of the line was missing. A joint that outside of ball hips and bicep swivels are key in making a Marvel Legend a Marvel Legend. The missing ab joint was quickly noticed by collectors and on top of the oversized head became another discussion point. While the missing joint continues to be a sore-spot in this day and age, it’s omission makes sense. The beautifully engineered vest would have made the joint useless, the thick rubber wouldn’t have allowed for a good range of motion. The break down is:
- Hinged toes
Rocker ankles
Hinged ankles
Double hinged knees
Swivel thighs
Ball hips
Swivel waist
Ball shoulders
Swivel biceps
Double hinged elbows
Swivel wrists
Hinged fingers
Ball head
In addition the figure comes with a water base and trident. Most of the Marvel Legends bases found their way into this big giant box that resides up in my attic, at some point I’ll pull that big box down and take pictures of these bases and throw them into the archives. The trident on the other hand is a great weapon and a perfect representation of Namor’s trident.
Namor is one of the better Marvel Legends figures, in fact I still display him with my current Hasbro Marvel Legends and since this costume is pretty close to his current Marvel Comics look it’s a perfect fit. You can still pick him up at:
