Editor’s Note: We will be featuring the best of the toy year that was 2015 all week long. Along with some special features, each staff member has also chose the figure/they crown the best of 2015. TheManintheAnthill gets us started!
Despite critical expectations, Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man didn’t break the Marvel Universe.
In fact, it added a great deal to it. The film’s inventive humor, thoughtful characterization and overall family-friendly tone helped to lighten the grim mood established by the MCU’s previous entry, Avengers; Age of Ultron. With its look into the recent past, its universe-building plot-points (Ant-Man meets the Falcon!) and dazzling state-of-the-art special effects, Ant-Man surprised the naysayers and reassured the faithful that even crazy old Hank Pym couldn’t beach the good ship Marvel. Oh, and it added more than $350 million to Disney’s coffers. So, y’know, it did all right.
Hasbro had faith. In fact, it produced an entire Marvel Legends series with the Ant-Man imprint. The figures sold better than many expected, and Ant-Man was popular enough during this assortment’s heyday that I rarely saw him on the pegs, and demand is only going to go up on this guy.
Giving Ant-Man his own line was a big gamble, even with a movie under his belt. The general public knows jack-squat about the character other than what Garret Morris told then on Staurday Night Live all those years ago. As far as fandom goes, Hank Pym has had a checkered past and comic book collectors are not the most forgiving lot. The whole thing could have gone pear-shaped, but the line actually did okay. I’m not going to say it set the world on fire, but it didn’t have to. It just needed not to suck. The bottom line is, Ant-Man didn’t break Marvel Legends, either.
So is my choice for Best Figure of 2015 perfect? Oh, hell no. I managed to snag one of the first cases off the truck when these had just hit, but that luck came with the stiff penalty. Sure, I had Ant-Man before anybody else, but that initial batch was plagued with especially-soft plastic and my figure couldn’t stand for more than a minute without toppling over. I hear later releases were produced with a stiffer plastic and I hope to find one sometime. I’m getting tired of picking this guy up off the floor.
And then there’s the matter of the misplaced mandible. Y’see that chin-strap on Scotty up there? Well, that’s meant to be a part of the mask that covers his mouth. We know this because every image of Ant-Man with his helmet on shows it that way. So why is the figure so off-model? Well, things change between the time a movie begins and ends. There’s a chance the source material Hasbro was given pictured this sort of helmet. I mean, it makes sense — it resembles the traditional comic look and allows the actor’s mouth to be seen so we can better relate to his dialogue. That said, I can’t help but feel this thing was meant to move and cost-cutting measures lead to it being glued static. Its just a hunch, mind you, but it makes more sense than the alternative.
The toy came with some nifty pack-ins, in the form of tiny Ant-Man and Yellowjacket figurines. While they don’t do much, I can’t help but feel its the thought that counts. We were already getting a build-a-figure piece for Ultron, but Hasbro gave collectors that little something extra, which is very cool. Some might complain that this is the only Yellowjacket figure we got, but hey, there’s always Ant-Man series two, right? Keep your antennae crossed.
Despite his obvious imperfections, Ant-Man is my pick for 2015. Not because he was the best, but because he wasn’t the worst. He didn’t suck nearly as much as he could have, and that really means something. It might not to you, but it does to me.
Check out my overview of Henry Pym and everything Ant-Man here, here and here.
Discuss this article on the Fwoosh forums.
Dah! Doh!and Duh! ??
GI Joe character! Road Pig! Name right in my face.?
Thanks,capt. It’s been a while,but still… I knew I knew who that was!
I’m loving the 50th anniversary figures,boss.
Cobra Shadow guards are excellent. Thanks again.
?Shalom.
oh yeah.. the ant-man wave is GREAT.. you get ONE figure that was actually in the movie, and that figure is totally inaccurate.. then you get a BAF piece for a villain from a DIFFERENT MOVIE, and to top it all off, you don’t even get the bad guy that was in THIS movie.
hasbro does not know how to make a line of toys meant to accompany a movie. it’s unbelievable how truly atrocious they are at this. it’s ridiculous.
at regular retail.. there was no movie thor, no movie scarlet witch, quicksilver, vision, widow, iron legion, ultron sentry, ultimate ultron, hawkeye, or mark 45. and in order to get the hulkbuster armor, you had to buy a bunch of figures that weren’t in the movie, and to acquire ultron prime, (like i said above) you had to buy an ENTIRE WAVE of figures from a different movie. and the BAF for the wave with the most age of ultron figures was a non movie thanos.. oh.. and the first wave for civil war? not a single movie figure. this is insane.. why do they even bother using the titles on the packaging? why not just call them “marvel legends”..
what in the hell are they thinking?.. i just don’t get it. it’s crazy to me that hot toys are producing more age of ultron movie characters than hasbro is. it’s unbelievably annoying.
It’s the GI Joe character Road Pig. He was a Dreadnok. Not sure what issue the pic is from, but it’s one of the better pics I could find.
I’ve been trying to figure it out,but it’s been alluding me for some time.
What comic is your avatar from?
?Shalom.
Happy New year MANTHILL. It’s always a pleasure,boss. Thanks for the info,capt.
I wondered why Scott’s chin was exposed. Cool beans. HML just gets better with age. I’ve got no complaints.
You guys with your silly soft sucker plastic player issues?LoL that graphic caption is too funny! lackadaisical figure collectors-learn how to use hot/cold, glue guns,bases and the tricks of the hobby in trade)?”I’M OK!”yeah,I’ve had to pick my guy up once or twice before resigning him to a squat position.
Otherwise,it isn’t a real big deal.
Sooner or later I’ll stick him on a stand or glue him to a base etc.hahaha..
?Shalom.
Translation:
The 2 MCU figures look good.
Antman and Ultron were both decent!
All the comic style figures were marvelously awesome.
A well proportioned curvy Wasp,
a massive Bulldozer to complete the Wrecking Crew.
A unique Avengers Academy Giantman on that marvelous Bucky Cap base,
Another member to add to the growing ranks of the Masters of Evil with Tiger shark,
Grimm Reaper gives us an awesome brand new intermediate gauge body AND also another member of the Masters of Evil/Thunderbolts!
Dr Strange
Valkrie
Thundra
Marvel NOW Vision
Blizzard
War Machine
Marvel NOW IronMan
This wave is boss,…uh,boss.
A new DR.STRANGE,A Hasbro Dr.Strange that can stand without additional support,unlike the classic TML version unbalanced by the large cape. The figure is also a variation on the marvelous Bucky Cap base.
VALKRIE,Dr.Strange’s Defenders teammate, in her modern duds and wonderfully placed on the SheRulk base is gorgeous.
THUNDRA on the same big beautiful base body as Valkrie is totally awesome and most unique being her first time in the LEGENDS line.
VISION(again?)no,not so,because THIS is the Marvel NOW permutation with a very pleasant metallic sheen rendered in plastic on the marvelous Bucky Cap base body that is so very popular!?
BLIZZARD is another awesome pick that has never been in the LEGENDS line before,and with that marvelous Bucky Cap base,Donnie Gill was well worth the wait!
WAR MACHINE is a wonderful MCU figure. Like in the movie it’s James Rhodes’ armour in the initial standard colors before it was pimped-out in IM3 as an American star spangled Iron Patriot. (Which we were supposed to have gotten in the IronMan LEGENDS,but Hasbro managed and delivered it here instead)The addition of the James Rhodes unmasked head is excellent, and reflects back to the wonderful Dave Vonner TML comic style War Machine masterpiece.??
Peace be unto you.
?Shalom!
“In brightest day
In blackest night
It’s the duty of a Lantern
To shine the light”
It was once said by a yellow eyed android,’Better’ is a highly subjective term…
I do not for example possess the ability to experience emotion as humans do.”
?Shalom!
In his defense, when your name is themanintheanthill you’re probably gonna be a tad biased when it comes to Ant-toys.
The MS Ant-Man was considerably better than the ML version IMO.
Almost all non movie figures were awful. Best figure might be Hylkbuster but that wave may have contained the worst collection of figures Ever…well in the past five years.
interesting that given all the flaws like the bad joints and wanting to shelf dive that the figure manage to still make this list. even for all its flaws.
Seriously. I have to assume this dude is kinda an idiot now. “My toy of the year sucks but because it didn’t suck the worst I chose it ”
Why not choose something that doesn’t suck? Isn’t this “best,” not “favorite?”
“Ant-Man is my pick for 2015. Not because he was the best, but because he wasn’t the worst. He didn’t suck nearly as much as he could have” I don’t know if that line makes it worthy of 2015 best pick…
I have those rubbery joints (on my Ant-Man figure, not me) and they do indeed suck. Is there any way at all to identify the newer version?