Did you know March 30th is Doctor’s Day? It really is, you can look it up. It seems especially poignant this year, but like always the work that doctors do is much more meaningful than spending time writing about toys on the internet. That said, since this is an action figure website, we have to stretch a little bit to provide some supportive synergy, but we will do our best. We pay tribute to doctors of the world by recognizing the top five doctors in Marvel Legends.
I must admit that I have to dig a little deeper this week for ideas on content as my normal action figure acquisition rate has dropped significantly as I stay home during this awful pandemic. But as we all look for new (or old) ways to pass the time, I have actually started to take stock of the rad collection that I have, and not focus so much on what is yet to come. So, getting to spend some time talking about Marvel Legends in a different way seems like a good idea, and hey – recognizing Doctor’s Day give me yet another avenue to parse the collection and decide what figures as the best. So, who are the best doctor figures in Legends? Good or Evil, I find that these guys are kicking butt at the highest academic level possible.
DR. STRANGE (MCU)
Dr. Stephen Strange is one of the very few medical doctors in the Marvel Universe, so he walks a fine line between kicking ass and saving lives. He is certainly not short on Marvel Legends figures, though I am STILL waiting on a classic comic version from Hasbro. That said, I think the good Doctor got his due with the Avengers: Infinity War three-pack. This figure is simultaneously a great Dr. Strange and Benedict Cumberbatch figure all at the same time. It is certainly the best ML Dr. Strange, but is also ranks high enough to be one of the best overall.
DR. OCTOPUS
Yeah, not all of these doctors use their mountain of eduction and fancy degrees for the good of mankind. Heck, some of them are just into dating Spider-Man’s geriatric aunt, like Doc Ock here. This really is the version of Otto Octavius I had been waiting for ever since Legends started, and if the tentacles would have been bendy, it would be a damned near perfect figure. It is still really good though, and one of the centerpieces of my Spider-Man Rogues collection.
DR. HANK MCCOY (BEAST)
Man, I love Beast, and mavaaaaaaan, I love his most recent Marvel Legends figure. If you are a fan of the Blue and Gold era of the X-Men, this figure scratches that itch in hairy blue style. This is one of those figures that made me really start to appreciate an era/team that I was not completely in love with previously, but now stands as my default X-Men configuration on my shelf. I love the articulation not only for its functionality, but also how it adds another level of Hank’s personality to the figure. This is one of those toys that took awhile to go up on shelf because I just kept playing and posing it over and over. My stars and garters, I love this figure.
DR. BRUCE BANNER (HULK)
I know, I just talked up the new ML Red Hulk figure, and I like it quite a lot. I really dig the Grey Hulk that came out fairly recently as well. However, to me, my Hulk is GREEN and it all goes back to the amazing Marvel 80th Anniversary two-pack Hulk figure. I still, ahem, marvel at this this figure, and it is kind of insane it took this long to get this classic version of Hulk so right. I am not living in the past, though, so I am just enjoying this figure so much, and all of the important notes like a classic likeness, gamma green coloring, and FISTS are all there. Plus, he has all the articulation of a standard size ML built into his giant frame, and it all works so well that no previous Hulk figure can touch this one for posing.
DR. DOOM
DOOM DOES AS HE PLEASES! My favorite Marvel team is the Fantastic Four, but I can say without an ounce of bias that Doom is the best villain in the Marvel Universe. He is also pleased that the blasted Reed Richards did not make this list! Doom has had a pretty solid run of ML figure in his day (even if all the cinematic turns have been complete misses), but nothing compares to the greatness of this new Dr. Doom that as a part of the Super Skrull wave. All of the detail in the armor and tunic is just amazing, and since you can have your choice of a modern or classic head/hood, you cannot go wrong. This figure immediate took center stage in my Marvel villains display and it shows the greatness that doctors can achieve in Marvel Legends.
Yes, these are the best doctors in ML (IMO), and we salute those in the real world fighting the good fight right now. We are but action figure collectors, but we salute you!
