It has been a long time coming, but we FINALLY have a Marvel Legends Screaming Mimi figure to add to our collections. Be still my beating heart at the chance to one day get a Poundcakes figure.
Okay, okay, all kidding aside, thanks to this newest Avengers: Infinity War Legends series, SONGBIRD is finally coming home, as in, your home. It is hard to believe that, after all this time, it is actually happening, because, as strange as it is, Songbird has had a hell of a run of bad luck in this line. She has ALMOST been a part of the line, what? at least one previous time before being scrapped, but in the end, I think this figure is worth the wait. Looking back at it now, that old short-haired version would be pretty out of date for these times, so I am glad we are getting the look being offered here, and there is just not denying how awesome the “wing” effect is in this final product. Songbird’s history from villain to hero is certainly complicated, but however you prefer her alignment, Melissa turned out looking good.
I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I am a big fan of hot pink. I don’t know exactly why, really, but even though Songbird was not in my personal list of most needed MLs, her design alone made me excited to add her. Her pink and white hair is just awesome in terms of color combination in my opinion, and I LOVE the big pink wing effect (that all of the Captain Obviouses of the internet have stated would be perfect for a Phoenix effect if properly repainted) a lot more than those metal wing thingees shown on the previous prototype. Regardless of your love for the effect or not, this will automatically make Songbird stand out on the shelf, so any time you can say that with a figure out of the box in a line with hundreds of figures, that is a good thing.
Whether you prefer the Grapplers, Thunderbolts, S.H.I.E.L.D. or otherwise, Mel will look sharp screaming for any team in your collection. Personally, I want to one day pair her up with Angar the Screamer (hint, hint, Hasbro) in a supersonic yell off, but for now, this costume will probably lend itself to have her standing with the other S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents in my collection, since I don’t have a Thunderbolts display. This obviously makes sense from a color palette standpoint with the navy blues and white, but the splashes of gold and hot pink allow Songbird to retain some of her superhero identity among the ranks. The “bird” form of the white on her upper torso looks really nice with the pink effect as a backdrop, and it kind of an inverted mimic of her hair.
Mel is built on the skinny woman base that we have been seeing a lot of in the line as of late, and I think it is appropriate. My mind’s eye perception is probably off because I generally picture her as being a bit shorter than this, but that is likely me being off. You knew that, with the dedicated tooling to the effect, Songbird’s base would be a basic rehash of parts, but I find it to be completely appropriate here. The production paint work is definitely clean enough to make that common base more exciting, and I have to give props to a company any time they successfully walk the line of transitions between white and a dark color successfully, and Hasbro did just that with this costume. I am positive the bleed will vary from figure to figure since this is mass production after all, but using mine as an example makes me hopeful that the overall run has been well handled.
Finally, Songbird’s face is a bit non-descript in terms of expression and detail, but I am not going to fault the figure for that. Let’s face it, Mel is a typical comic book heroine with a pleasing aesthetic that does not warrant a ton of unique detail. You are going to know her by her hairdo first and foremost, and that is certainly not an issue here. Again, the pink and white works well as a combo, but here I do have a bit of slop between the two colors. I know that all of the texturing of the hair had to make those transitions tough, but if I ever get industrious, I might try to clean up a couple of spots. Overall though, it is not bad.
Good things come to those who wait, dear Legends collectors, and while it might have been a slog, Songbird is here, and a great figure at that. She is very eye-catching and can help bolster the ranks of a lot of different teams, so I have a suspicion that most people will be happily welcoming her. As comic-based figures continue to be my focus in Legends, Melissa is exactly the kind of character I love to get to build out my Marvel Universe. You can get her at all of the usual spots, either on her own, or in sets from the good guys at Dorkside and BBTS.
Thanks for stopping in, we will have another look at another figure tomorrow.
