Daredevil. Jessica Jones. Luke Cage. Iron Fist. All enduring and storied Marvel comics characters, and for those of us who have been comic book fans for a long time, they are beloved and well known. However, until their respective NetFlix television series, I would not call any of these heroes household names. But now? They are everywhere, and many of the shows are the toast of the fans and casual viewers alike. That speaks to the power of exploiting different media types, and how Marvel has been very successful with this strategy over the past few years. So, it was only a matter of time before Hasbro struck while the iron was hot, and now, thanks to this Defenders box set, we have some comic figure to stand next to their TV counterparts.

Now, the NetFlix Defenders team is not made up the more traditional lineup, but that is okay because I like all of the characters they are exploring, and in my humble opinion, some of Marvel’s best storytelling happens at the “street level.” Daredevil, for instance, has always been one of my favorite comic book characters, so to see his good name be washed of the old Affleck movie in lieu of his superior show is a good thing. Plus, it gets me more DD figures, which I will certainly not complain about. I REALLY dig Hasbro’s relative consistency of late to release TV/movie-inspired figures of characters and then follow up with comic versions, so they definitely have right idea with this set.

That is not to say that the set is not without some issues, but what I originally thought was going to be me plunking down 80 bucks for Jewel, has moved to me really enjoying three of the four figures, and the fourth being pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, good too. However, I am usually pretty easy to please with sets like this, so I am likely to be a bit more forgiving in terms of what is offered in this particular set. I will say this, though, all of these figures look great when posed together as a team, so it makes for an efficient Defenders add to your shelf, and I DO love the idea behind this set, and hope Hasbro will continue to explore options for the future with other teams.

IRON FIST

I am starting with Danny Rand, not because his show seems to be the least well-received of the NetFlix crew, but because his figure in this set is the least well-received for me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike this figure, and there is certainly a lot of precedence to make a figure of shirtless Danny because he has been running around like that a lot lately, but if I am being honest, if I am not getting a full-on classic Iron Fist, I am happy with my Dr. Strange wave Danny.

This one is such a tease, too, because the green and yellow are pretty much the classic colors, but need a shirt, a big ol’ popped collar, slippers, and some bare fists to get my preferred IF done. I will continue to wait. On its own merits, though, this is a fine figure, if not terribly exciting. The construction is solid, and the articulation scheme allows for plenty of martial arts poses. There is minimal paint, but what is there is clean, and as I said, I really do like the green and yellow used on this figure. I do think we just need that collar piece to get that classic Danny, though, so Hasbro, do just a bit of new tooling and keep that Vintage execution going, Iron Fist is a prime candidate.

LUKE CAGE

The man known as Power Man ranks third on my personal list of likes for this set, but I will admit that has everything to do with the version. Unlike Danny, Luke has not had a widely released figure from Hasbro, so if you missed that SDCC Thunderbolts box set, you have been SOL. I split that set with Robo and Matt K, and one of those guys ended up with Luke, so this actually my first modern Cage figure, and as such, I am pleased to add him to the collection. I will say that if you own the Thunderbolts figures, other than some slight color changes and subtle swaps, this figure will likely not offer a whole lot more to your collection.

Cage is a fighter, and he has been portrayed in modern comics as pretty big, so the stature of this figure towering over the rest of the set is pretty accurate. I like that the yellow shirt and blue pants call back to the original Powerman design, and all of the rest of the updates are pretty reasonable. That does not mean that I don’t want a tiara and chain belt wearing “Sweet Christmas” version, because I desperately do, but I have no issues using this figure as a stand in until then. This particular figure has no prevailing production or construction issues to speak either, which is consistent with this set. I am  happy to add this Cage to my “Marvel Knights” display as a stand in for now, but like I said, now that this modern version is more widely available, gimme a classic Cage, I got money, honey.

JEWEL

Ah, in what is working out to be pretty normal fashion, the figure I was most into this set for doesn’t even turn out be my favorite of the group. Don’t get me wrong, I am always glad to add a new unique character to my shelf, but at the end of the day, I am just feeling good about Jessica, not great. Now, I know, we just got the NetFlix Jessica a couple of months ago, so getting this Jewel is not wholly unique, but in terms of comic figures she is. Even though the comic version now looks the TV version. And, well, shut up. I am going with this figure as being a unique character to add to my comic shelf.

So, while this figure does hold the new character distinction for me, that is really the only new thing about it. I get it, the same can be said for the other figures in this set, but … I am not at all a fan of head reuse, even in a line where reuse is the foundation. I don’t dislike this head for Jessica Jones, so I might be getting nitpicky, but it really is just Silk with pink hair. I like the pink hair better, but still. I wish Jess could have gotten a unique likeness because that is the one thing I believe every character deserves. Past that, I do like the figure as the base body seems appropriate to me, I really like the costume. Sure, the belt could have been a separate piece, but that doesn’t get at me much, and the white with pink and blue accents does pop on the shelf as it is pretty unique in the Marvel display. If not for the repeated head, I would have been mostly great with this figure, but that one detail keeps Jewel from being great for me.

DAREDEVIL

I am sure I will get some flak for this, and it really did catch me by surprise, but Daredevil ended up being my favorite figure in the set. I know, I know, we already had a great classic Daredevil figure, and this one doesn’t even look that different from the previous version. However, those subtle changes DO make a difference for me, and it speaks to point that, as a base, DD was already a wonderful figure, so I think he was stronger coming in than any of the rest of them. I know, have at it, but the figure I mostly already had is the best one in the set.

I don’t know, maybe I have Vintage Series fever and getting brightly colored versions of Spidey and Cap, and more classic looks for Widow, Punisher, and Wolverine have me feeling some kind of way, but this new Matt just hits all of the right marks for me. The brighter reds and the outlined DD logo make this feel like the Daredevil I know the best, and while the differences are minimal as I said, they are just enough to push this one over for a figure I didn’t really know I needed. I just love this update, and once I switch out his red batons for the previous whites, I am pretty sure I now have my perfect DD. That is the real crux of putting him ahead of everyone else: even though his changes are the most subtle, this is the only figure from the set that lands pretty much perfectly for me, so Matt wins.

 

Overall, I am pretty happy with this set, but I understand that it will be divisive. I get it, there is only one really unique character here in terms of comic version, so most people will be in for it for a Jessica that is a full kitbash repaint. I am not mussed by that too much, to be honest, but that head reuse was enough to make DD push past her as the best figure in the set. I get it, most peeps will be fine with the one they already have, but this new paint scheme is just so perfect for me, it makes for one of my favorite current ML figures. This is, of course, an Amazon exclusive, and it goes in and out of stock on the site pretty regularly, so keep an eye out HERE if you want to pick it up.