Hasbro: Marvel Legends Abomination Series Captain America & Scarlet Witch

In true Fwoosh fashion, we are turning 180 degrees from our last look at the latest Captain America: Civil War Marvel Legends Infinite series in that, while Wonder Man and Captain Britain are two much-needed update figures, Secret Wars Captain America and MCU Scarlet Witch are both first-timers in the Marvel Legends line.

As I said before, Wonder Man and Captain Britain were certainly my most-anticipated figures in this new Abomination assortment from a character aspect, but, man – this new Cap and Witch make for some really nice figures. That is coming from someone who has not read the Secret Wars story and generally doesn’t collect movie figures, but there is no denying that both of these Legends are very nicely done. Heck, I rarely have room for ANY variants on my shelf, let along those that I am not really familiar with, but I will definitely find a spot for this Cap, and this movie Wanda can hang out wherever she wants because she might just be the best MCU AND overall female figure we have gotten from Marvel Legends yet. Seriously.

When I heard “Secret Wars” Captain America was going to be a part of this assortment, I thought this might be a good opportunity for another classic-style Cap with a lighter blue deco. Obviously, it turned out to not be THAT Secret Wars but the other one , but not the other, other one, so you can imagine my initial confusion at Toy Fair when I was being told I was looking right at the new Secret Wars Cap. That’s cool, though, because this costume is actually very eye-catching, and for a figure that mostly reuses existing parts in its build, it doesn’t look like anything else you currently have on your shelf.

In fact, this Cap is mostly like the Classic Cap from the first Civil War series, in that their construction DNA is near-identical. For his build, this Secret Wars iteration only comes with a new head, hand, and belt, and the rest is the previous Cap, but everything works well to match the source material nonetheless. I cannot really speak to the source material (but I have heard VERY mixed reviews), but I think this is actually a cool design for a Captain America costume. Sure, NOTHING competes with the iconic look for him, but I could easily see this as a more covert ops style of dress for some really secretive missions. The red and sliver (standing in for white, I suppose) look good on the dark blue, and while it is sleek with a modern touch, there isn’t a lot of “over-designing” that is common with costume re-ups. Like I said, this would never replace a classic Cap on my shelf, but I will find a place for him, because he looks great.

Another big draw for this Captain America is his included accessories. He comes with that standard Cap shield we have seen numerous times over the course of the line, but in the colors to match the costume. It makes sense because why would you sell a Cap without a shield? However, in addition to this, Hasbro has spun up a cool extra hand with a “throwing” effect that can be attached to the shield for some really dynamic posing. We were told that more pieces like this will be added to future figures, and while we haven’t really seen a second entrant yet, this is a very cool first offering. It is pretty functional (the angle might be a *little* unnatural) and light enough that it doesn’t really limit the posing by throwing it too off balance. The standard shield clips in perfectly and makes for a nice and unique accessory — I like it.

Now, moving on — Scarlet Witch is probably the best figure in the entire wave. There is a lot going on in terms of the construction, and I am pretty positive Wanda here is a 100 percent new figure with no reuse. That makes sense as this is a movie figure of a popular character of a VERY success summer blockbuster, so if any figure in the assortment was going to get the royal treatment, it was going to be this one. Plus, Elizabeth Olsen’s costume in the movie is very unique, at the very least among what we have seen in Marvel Legends before, so I am glad Hasbro did not cheat any of it. I know it is funny to say, but the hand sculpts are really cool, and the rings and finger posing is just perfect for screen accuracy.

Speaking of Olsen, I am going to make a bold statement, but a safe one: this figure captures the likeness of the actor better than any other previous Marvel Legends figure based on a movie appearance. Seriously, it is that good, and there are a couple of things in play that make such. First, the sculpt is absolutely right on, but we have seen very solid likeness in the sculpt of previous figures too. Where there is a real difference here is that the paint on the face is really fantastic, especially for a mass-market figure. The details, clean lines, and sheer amount of applications grab just about every intricacy of Olsen’s face, and that really benefits from the effort. I am sure this make for an expensive figure to produce, but, man, what I wouldn’t give to get this level of paint on ALL Legends figures; it would be impressive to see. Hint, hint.

Scarlet Witch also comes with a couple of attachable effects to help create her hex powers. Her “blasts” do look somewhat like flames in the movie, so I see that is what they went for here, but I am not a particularly big fan of these. They fit just fine, and get the point across, but I think they are a bit big and cumbersome, especially for a smaller figure. I don’t know what other options would have been available to achieve the effect, but maybe making them a touch smaller and out of clear red plastic would have worked a bit better. That is just me, though these may suit you just fine.

As a movie figure non-collector and one who is not overly fond of variants, it is weird to say that these are probably two of my favorite figures of wave, especially Scarlet Witch. As I said, she is the best figure in the wave, the best movie Marvel Legend so far, and she might just be one of the best overall Marvel Legends figures Hasbro has offered thus far. I am really impressed with her. Secret Wars Cap is no slouch either; his costume actually works for me, and his shield-throw effect is a neat new addition. So, yes — I really enjoy these two, so I highly recommend them!

Don’t worry, we will finish off the assortment later this week with our spotlight on the last two figures.