M.O.D.O.K. was one of the Toy Biz Marvel Legends I sold, but really regretted it later, so I was very happy when Hasbro announced they were going to revisit the character. I had already accumulated a pretty decent A.I.M. army, but they were missing their leader. Thankfully, this M.O.D.O.K. is a great realization of this classic comic book character. Let’s take a look at M.O.D.O.K.!
M.O.D.O.K. comes packaged in a closed box and I find it interesting that it looks like they used the digital render of the sculpted figure for the box art on the front and back. I’m so used to seeing photographed prototypes on boxes, but we’ve seen a lot of digital renders in promo material lately, so I wonder if companies will continue in this direction. Even the lovely illustration on the side of the box looks extremely close to the final figure, so I wonder if they gave the illustrator the model to work from.
Out of the box, M.O.D.O.K. needs assembly and feels very much like a build-a-figure, just one that we got in one shot rather than spread out over a wave. It does make me wonder if they intended to put him in a wave originally. M.O.D.O.K. comes with a blast effect stand, two face plates and four hands (right and left open, right fist, and left grip).
The blast effect stand comes in two pieces and attaches with a ball and socket into the bottom of M.O.D.O.K.’s chair. the ball joint allows for a little bit of wobble movement, but not too much and it adds just the right amount of height to figure so he hovers menacingly over a regular figure.
The alternate open hands are a nice option, though I think I might have preferred a pointing hand for ordering his troops.
The alternate face plates are perfection and capture the moods of M.O.D.O.K. (irate and quietly judgemental) really well and have a nice Kirby feel. I’d love to see what the stop-motion guys get up to with this thing.
A nice feature is you can store the extra parts in M.O.D.O.K.’s mostly hollow, over-sized noggin. Speaking as a guy who just organized his collection of alternate limbs, blast effects, and heads from my Marvel Legends collection, I really appreciate the cleanliness of that.
The sculpting is just fantastic. I can’t point to a specific M.O.D.O.K. illustration they based this figure on, but it captures that Kirby spirit perfectly. It’s got a similar vibe to the Toybiz version, but I like the proportions here a little better.
The paint is pretty great. They use that swirly metallic gold plastic that I normally don’t like for a lot of M.O.D.O.K., but there is a darker gold paint that adds a nice bit of polish to the overall feel. The faces have some nice subtle shading and clean color separation with the teeth, lips, eyes and mouth. The articulation is good too with:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles
- Ball and socket hips, chair controller, and base
- Swivel thighs and chair
- Double hinged knees
Some of the motion is limited due to the unusual character design, but you get the movement you really need for M.O.D.O.K., though I do wish his chair got a little more movement on the base.
Overall, I’d say this is a fantastic effort from Hasbro and exactly what I wanted from a M.O.D.O.K. figure. I highly recommend this one.
I got a $50 gift card this week so I pulled the trigger and purchased MODOK. I already have the Toy Biz version and I was going to be content just to keep him alone but with this nice little windfall I decided to give into temptation. Perhaps I’ll be able to trade my old MODOK for some minions.
being able to just buy a toy off their official website……what a concept! It should always be that simple.
I stopped at $22/each.
I’m a Silver-Age fan, so I might buy the occasional figure from that era, like the upcoming Red Skull.
But the BAFs? No way.
well once they saw that everyone was willing to pay 15, then 20 then 25 for a figure, why come back down? and why not keep selling those same collectors the same figures year after year? they buy them anyway. as a community, we’re all to blame.
Exactly.
They used the gas crisis of 2009-2010 to drastically raise prices because “petroleum is needed to make plastic,” but NEVER dropped the prices back down when gas prices dropped drastically between 2015-2019.
That, plus all the continual crap with BAFs (“want the cool BAF? Then buy these crappy Deadpool figures!”) drove me away, and I ain’t coming back.
hes just chillin there hanging out on target shelves by the boat load from what ive seen. probably was better off as a build a figure.
that should be the price of every ML LOL
Not sure what makes The Hood a hack character. A great villain created by Brian K Vaughan and not previously done in action figure form.
$7
They actually did. You can buy the AIM dudes on Pulse for $15 a piece. I bought 6 of them after this MODOK was revealed.
I loved recreating a scene from Tales of Suspense #93 with this figure, Cap, and Sharon.
Actually, that’s who I thought I was responding to. I did not realize it attached to your message.
No, I completely agree with you. I think MODOK is about the only Toybiz still in my display because the proportions are supposed to be off anyway.
I was just being snarky with Yellow Alpaca up there about his gripes.
Those Toy Biz figures you praise the price of are utter garbage in my book. The proportions are all over the place. Magneto looks like he has gorilla arms. Silver Surfer has a smushed head. Phoenix looks dreadful.
What price do you think Hasbro should be selling him for?
ACTUALLY…Trolling is a very cost-effective hobby by comparison. I did the math.
Wrong.
I AM a collector.
I just don’t waste my time with overpriced toys of questionable quality.
You obviously have lower expectations…
oh good, so you’re not a collector anymore…you’re just someone who likes to complain on the internet lol.
My solution WAS to stop buying HASBRO’s over-priced, mediocre figures of Marvel characters.
And I did. And it’s been great.
Sorry, but buying more Deadpools and Wolverines and Iron Mans and other hack characters (“Web-Man”? “The Hood”?) to get the BAF is a freaking rip-off.
Each successive wave usually has about 2 decent figures, plus 4-5 garbage figs…But if you want the BAF, you have the buy them all.
No, thanks! I’m done with that. It was a nice idea when ToyBiz came-up with it 16 years ago (and figures were $10/each), but it’s ridiculous now.
There are actually toy companies that respect their customers.
Ok, so what is your preferred solution?
Would it be better to have had this as the build a figure for the Shang Chi wave instead of Mr Hyde? Added bonus: you could pay twice as much!
Or not have it at all and just keep the same Toybiz one (that is not at all bad, either).
And if you don’t have the Toybiz one, you can get it on eBay for the low low price of $100.
Nice figure. RIDICULOUS price.
SWING and a miss, Hasbro…
I still have (and love) the old ToyBiz BAF, so I was planning to pass on this. But then I was at Target and saw it on the shelf and I caved. I love the character and his bizarre look. As for the figure, I like the 2 different faces, and the open hands are OK, but not really necessary IMO. I will probably never have need for those as I will always likely have his left had gripping his “joystick” (I know. I know.) And since the MO is usually angry, the fist is a perfect default for the right hand. As you said, I would have rather had a right hand with pointing finger in place of both of the “jazz hands”.
He looks superb. I’m so glad I have him on pre-order.
But now I have the opposite problem to Matthew K — a leader with no minions. I think it would be a smart move for Hasbro if they took this opportunity to reissue their old AIM soldier army-builders in addition to the new upcoming AIM scientists.