You might not know this, but there is an Avengers movie coming out next month. Yep, apparently it will be the start of events that will change the Marvel Cinematic Universe for good, so it is kind of a big deal. Thanos will finally move to front and center status, so we will learn very quickly if all of the build up to his confrontation was worth it. As usual with gigantic movies, we will get a chance to act out with our own imaginations first with the toys supporting the flick, and since the first wave of Marvel Legends Avengers Infinite figures are hitting now, we aren’t wasting any time.
Aside from having impact to the entire MCU storyline, the new Avengers movie is also going to bring just about every hero still standing into the fray. So, that works out well for Hasbro and ML line, because they have a full milieu to choose from to fill out their Build-a-Figure series. So, the fact that we are getting a new figure of a new look Captain America should not be surprising. However, new movies always feature new characters, and A3 is no exception, and Proxima Midnight looks to major player when she arrives with Thanos. We will have a look at this entire new Legends series over the next several days, but let’s start with these two.
CAPTAIN AMERICA
When we last left Cap, he was in hiding and without his trademark shield. Well, he has been laying low, but we know he has been hanging out with Black Panther, and the rightful King of Wakanda hooks Cap up with a new Vibranium shield in the latest trailer. I am very interested how all of this will be woven together in the movie, so I am glad Iron Man got the release date bumped up by a week. There are a few things that are apparent with Cap, though, he has become more rugged with his beard, but is still pretty metro with his perfectly coiffed hair, and his outfit seems to get more and more muted as the movies go on. This new Legends figure does a good job of capturing all of those things.
The MCU figures have gotten pretty extensive tooling in ML for a long time now, and with all of the new details in the costume, and without doing an extensive side by side comparison with past figures, this new Cap looks to have quite a bit of new going for him here. There are a lot of different materials in Cap’s costume, and those are carried over here with several texture changes and a lot of sculpted details. I do like the costume, and the color palette is fine, but he is more in the maroon, grey, and navy, rather than the red, white, and blue. It is interesting that the figure includes two fists, both of them bare, so I wonder if there is something important plot-wise with that, or if I am looking too much into it.
I think the likeness okay with this figure, but not really one of the best we have seen recently. The sculpting looks to be there, but something about the face just doesn’t accurate represent Chris Evans. For one, the beard and hair are too light, in everything I have seen from the movie the hair color is skewing more brown, and this is most certainly blonde. Granted, I have always thought of Evans as being blonde, but the figure doesn’t quite match the screen. Also, while I am a HUGE fan of the photo real technology Hasbro is now using on ML and SWB, but Cap has a pretty dead stare that doesn’t at all match his gritty and determined characterization portrayed in the trailers for this movie. I don’t know, but the likeness and expression could have been better here, I think.
This new Cap is a pretty good figure overall, but I wish, with the opportunity to get an unmasked Chris Evans likeness on the shelf, the end result would have been a bit better.
PROXIMA MIDNIGHT
Okay, so while Cap is a long term stalwart of the MCU, Proxima Midnight is a new kid in town, but I am pretty sure we should be very afraid of her. I will admit that, I am not overly familiar with the character, but when it comes to the MCU, none of us really are at this point. I know she is a member of the Black Order and like Gamora and Nebula, Thanos is her adoptive “father” but past that, her role is yet to be seen. Sure, she comes along with dear old dad to Earth, but should she be feared, or will she be fodder like so many villains? Don’t worry, you only have to wait until April 27th to find out.
The figure is cool, though, and that is thanks to a pretty imposing character design, so I am already down to get the entire Black Order in ML. Proxima is tall and really built, so I imagine she is going to have her fair share of tossing Earth’s Mightiest around for a bit. Her costume is mostly dark blue and white, but the gold accents to match her staff/spear tie the look together well. I have not gotten a close enough look to see if these colors will be a theme for the entire Order, but it works here. There is an intricate pattern in the material of the costume, so the texturing definitely makes the look more interesting.
Proxima is also a pretty scary looking character, and her face is stern and is certainly expressive of not wanting to mess with her. The blue and grey theme is continued here in her face, but the horns on the side certainly give her a demonic look as well. I don’t really have a good reference for screen accuracy with this one, but I imagine it is close as it resembles what little I could find for reference online. This is one of those figures that will likely become better as a part of whole, so hopefully, after Black Dwarf in the next series, the rest of the crew will be produced.
Of course, both of these figures come with bits of MCU Thanos, but we will wait on him for another day. Check back as we continue our way through this series, and order your set at BBTS or Dorkside, and get your singles at Amazon HERE and HERE.
