I was really pleased with the new Marvel Legends Vintage Series Iron Man, Black Widow, and Wolverine when I took at look at them last week. Well, if those figures were not enough to convince me that I was on board with this execution, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Punisher certainly get that job done.
I mean, if you read the feature from last week, you know that I am all in with Black Widow and Wolverine (Iron Man is … okay), and like them, these three figures instantly become my preferred version of all these characters on my Legends shelf. In that article, I made my case for why this execution is such a great idea, and I will say again that I hope these continue to future series as I am now getting my preferred “classic” and iconic versions of top-tier characters. For all three of these, Spider-Man, Cap, and Punisher alike, I was actually okay with the previous ML figures we got, but as I now have these, these are the versions that I really wanted, and while they are all relatively simple repaints, all of them are effective. For Spidey and Cap especially, it is the colors that bring them to another level — these are shades of red and blue right from the comic panels I grew up with.
Like I said, I spoke a lot about the overall effectiveness of the in the last article, but now that I have all six of these together, I know I need to get another set, just to keep them carded. I sniffed out last week’s lineup at retail, but I have Dorkside Toys to thank for getting me this week’s featured combatants, so if you looking to pick up a set (and I suggest you do), head there right now. It’s okay, I will wait.
Back? Good! Let’s take a look at each figure.
SPIDER-MAN
Spidey has always fared pretty well in Marvel Legends, and it makes sense, he has been, over time, the most popular and recognizable Marvel character. The base of this figure is one that we have seen before in a few different incarnations, as “Pizza Spidey” (don’t call this “Pizza Eating Spider-Man, it sounds horribly lame), as the inclusion in the SDCC 2016 Raft set, and most recently in the Mary Jane two-pack, but it has been used because it is a great base for Spider-Man, despite the limited hip range. For me, this is the most successful use because the red and blue in the costume are so bright and they pop on shelf, just like in the classic comic panels. With this, coupled with the multiple other versions give us a good spread of Spidey over the years, hopefully a first appearance isn’t far away.
Now, I know that this is a more “efficient” series in that new tooling and accessories are limited, but I REALLY wish we could have gotten more of the standard hands that were sculpted for this body. The partially unmasked head and pizza slice are nice, but to me, they are less functional than the other hands would be for Spidey. While the vibrant red does not match any red of a previous release exactly (the Mary Jane pack Spider-Man is actually really close), it is close enough to be negligible to me, so I will be giving this figure those parts as I have little use for the other version. Limited accessories notwithstanding, Hasbro did a great job recreating a Bronze Age Spider-Man with this set.
CAPTAIN AMERICA
Captain America sees a release much like Spider-Man in that, other than the new color palette with brighter reds and blues, the figure is same as what we have seen before from the Onslaught/Red Skull wave Cap. However, I would hazard to say that the difference in color is even more effective here. This is the star-spangled red, white, and blue of classic Captain America, and with these brighter brights, he stands out wonderfully amongst his more muted Avengers brethren. Plus, we FINALLY have the scale mail, and even though it is just tampo printed, it is effective and clean and looks wonderful on this figure.
Cap’s accessories are pretty standard here — you get the requisite shield (also in brighter colors), as well as the “shield throw hand” with effect. I admit, I DO like the thought behind this accessory, but the execution still doesn’t thrill me as the hand doesn’t look completely nature for a throwing motion to me. Also, as this figure is a repaint, it does come with the weaknesses of the prior release, and that is centered around the less-than-ideal, and overly large head. I think I could live with the size more if the expression was better, but as it stands, it just doesn’t feel like Cap to me, so I hope that someday we can get a better head sculpt in colors to match this base, because otherwise, I LOVE this figure.
PUNISHER
Punisher is a great take and inclusion in this series because, not only do we get a very classic Punisher, but this figure also allows the Walgreens Punisher to be what it was really intended to be — War Journal Frank. I have been shoehorning the non-head-band head with the brown belt to get close to a classic Punisher since the release, but now I can step away from that, put the proper white headband back on that figure, and bask in my wonderfully iconic Castle with this release. To me, the straight contrast with only having black and white in his costume is a perfect way to present the Punisher, so this version is important to my shelf, and it instantly becomes one of my favorite figures in a class of figures that aren’t of my favorite characters, if that makes any sense.
The standard Punisher head is included here, and it doesn’t have the stubble painting as before, and that is not a cutback in paint applications for no reason, it matches the time frame for Frank. The headband head is also included, this time in red, so now you have some pretty varied options over the two Punisher releases. Another reason this is the superior figure, though, is because this Punisher has TRIGGER FINGERS on BOTH hands, something that should always be standard for the character. I am not sure why this was overlooked before (maybe the actual hands for this base body did not exist at the time), but I can see a lot of Punisher fans going for multiples of this figure to fix mistakes of the past. The big bazooka thing is the included weapon here, and if I had pick something I don’t like about this figure, it would be that, but it has already been switched out for some of the many guns we have gotten before.
Wow! What a great series of figures. From the character selection, to the costume choices, to the packaging, the Hasbro team is on point for this new execution. The series is not perfect, but man, I am getting preferred versions of five out the six figures, and Wolverine, Punisher, Spider-Man, and Cap will go unaltered, and Widow will be great with a head swap. I REALLY hope Hasbro will continue this, even if it is just for one series a year, because if it gets more most of the classic versions of characters I love, I will be on board for good. I highly recommend this series, and like I said, Dorkside is the place to go to get ’em.