See, didn’t we promise you there would be a part two of our look at the new Marvel Legends Monster Venom series? Keeping to our word, this time we are featuring Carnage, Typhoid Mary, and Spider-Ham. Frikkin’ SPIDER-HAM!
Since anticipate is one of the sweetest parts of action figure collecting, I held off on looking at the three figures that I was most looking forward to in this series. Overall, I am surprised with just how much I like this series overall, but going in, I knew that this Carnage would be a significant upgrade over the previous figure, and Typhoid Mary and Spider-Ham were the figures/characters I was anticipating the most in this assortment. By far. Mary is one who has been on lists for years and has finally cracked the line, and frankly, I was convinced we would NEVER see old Peter Porker in the line. Jesse Falcon must be getting soft in his old age.
So, let’s now waste any time, and just get right to it. I know I will need to circle back and get the Monster Venom written up, too, but Build-a-Figures generally get their own review space.
CARNAGE
Crazy old Cletus Kasady sure has been treated well in Hasbro’s run of Marvel Legends. His figure from several years ago was pretty darned great, and it’s a good thing, because most of this figure is the same. The Carnage head, body (down to the paint applications) and standard hands are all the same, and that is fine because then new swappable hands and crazy Cletus head give you an instant upgrade on their own. If there was a different body or some unique tooling required to fit what you would have liked to have seen in this release, I can totally understand being a bit bummed that it is not the case, but for me, a re-up with more parts is definitely a win.
In addition to the standard reissued hands included with this figure, this time Carnage gets a left hand with more outstretched “claws” and also a “blade” hand for the right. The Symbiote goes little more nuts with Cletus as a reflection of his personality, so getting additional forms is a nice touch. The real highlight of the release though, is the Cletus head. Now, this one, like the Eddie Brock head, is a little stylized and cartoon-ish, but not nearly to the degree of Brock. In fact, I feel this head does a GREAT job of capturing the Kasady likeness, and the expression is pitch-perfect. Sure, we probably didn’t NEED another Carnage figure, but a Venom-based series would feel a little weird without him, and with the new pieces, I am satisfied with picking him up again.
TYPHOID MARY
More than any other figure in this assortment, Typhoid Mary was the one I was looking forward to the most. Yeah, she has probably never cracked a top twenty wishlist for me, be she is definitely a figure I have always wanted for ML, and with my love of Daredevil, the character is most certainly essential for my collection. Mary Walker’s powers are also unique, and her nickname is pretty badass. I mean Typhoid Mary, that is a moniker with historical reckoning. Now, I COULD sit here and bitch about how this is not the costume I would have chosen for this figure, or that the illustration of her powers via the flaming sword is a touch derivative, but frankly, this is a GREAT looking figure, and I have flame effects for days to supplement what is included.
Much of this figure is a pretty creative mash-up of figures that have come before. There is some Jessica Jones in here, but just when I thought I was getting figure with the Punk Storm torso, I was proven wrong as this one is different. I can certainly see some potential for a White Queen or a White Rabbit figure in our future (amongst others) using this build, so that is hopeful. I want to compliment the paint work on the torn fishnet stockings because it is pristine on my figure. Even more than the fishnets, I am quite pleased with the head sculpt and paint therein here. Sure, it is not a classic Mary, but man, she does look great. For being a little off the radar in terms of preferences, this figure is very striking and I like it a lot. I want to mention that this particular figure has bum right elbow, so I am having to be careful for now, and I will likely grab another figure if I ever spot her in the wild.
SPIDER–HAM
Can you believe it, you guys? I know a lot of people have been screaming for a Spider-Ham in ML for a long time, and while I have most certainly been supportive of that, I never really thought it would actually happen. I mean MAYBE he could have been an unarticulated “slug” pack-in figure, but to get a (somewhat) articulated single card release is a bit insane. If ever you feel you should argue against the fact that we are truly living in the golden age of Marvel Legends, I implore you to look squarely upon this figure and realize that you are dead wrong. The Spider-Verse is truly rocking now, and Peter Porker and Spider Punk are leading the way on my shelf.
Sure, I wish this figure had knee joints, too (don’t lie, I know you have been thinking that), but honestly, that is about the only spot he comes up just short (wokka wokka!). For everything else, I feel he has just the right joints in place for this character. Heck, his torso has a better range of movement than many standard figures, and LOVE his little web-slinging hands that can be perfectly positioned via the wrist joint. The head sculpt is also immaculate and captures the character wonderfully. Yeah, a great deal of the card is taken up by the giant Monster Venom torso (split in two due the depth), but you also get a Pork Grind head that can fit squarely on the body of the Venom figure from this series. Yes, this is the Venom version of Spider-Ham and getting these two together is wonderful treat.
These are three winning figures and for me, the highlights of the Monster Venom series. It is a strong assortment overall, but the upgrades to Carnage, the fact that we finally get a Typhoid Mary (and a great looking one at that), and the inclusion of Spider-Ham alone have them leading the win column. We have been hit with rapid fire for ML assortments over the past month or so, so I could see this series getting lost in the fray for a lot of people, but don’t miss out on it because it is really strong. Luckily, you can get by with a little help from our friends at Dorkside.
