Of all the characters who have assumed the title and responsibilities of “Spider-Man,” Ben Reilly is perhaps among the more memorable. But before he was Spider-Man, Ben fought evil in Peter Parker’s place as the “Scarlet Spider,” a character sporting a costume design that could only have been born in the nonsensical ’90s.
Ben Reilly, a clone of Peter Parker, may have been introduced to comic fans in the late ’70s, but it was during the “Clone Wars Saga” of the mid-’90s where he took center stage. He’s remained a popular character, and he was actually among the earliest Marvel Legends-style figures released by ToyBiz as part of the original Spider-Man Classics line. It was a difficult figure to get because it was a KayBee Toys exclusive, and it’s one that still commands top-dollar on the secondary market, so this new version by Hasbro is a welcome addition to the Spider-Man Infinite collection, especially since Hasbro seems to have nailed the character nicely here.
Let’s take a look!
The original ToyBiz Scarlet Spider featured a soft goods blue hoodie that was okay for its time, but many fans were left wishing for a figure fully sculpted in good ol’ reliable plastic, and that’s what Hasbro has given us here, and even in the packaging it looks great. The red and blue are difficult to not notice, especially against the rather drab packaging design of the current Legends line. He’s packed two-to-a-case, but I don’t foresee any peg-warming issues since he looks so sharp in-package. He’ll be a hard one for anyone to pass up in the aisle. Also packed with him are two head options for the Rhino Build-a-Figure. You get a calm face and an “I’m going to eat your face off” face.
Scarlet Spider is built on the now-familiar “Pizza Spidey” body, and this is a body Hasbro has been getting a lot of mileage out of lately. Pizza Spidey, Spider-Man 2099, Black Ant, and Superior Venom have all been released on this body, or at least a retooled version of this body, in the past year, and I am finally warming up to it, and I find myself especially liking it here. His arms and legs are all Pizza Spidey, but his blue torso is a new sculpt that recreates the look of his sleeveless hoodie-thing nicely. Also new is the Batman-style belt, the web-shooters on his wrists, and the pouches (yay ’90s!) around his ankles. All of it together delivers a figure that looks as though it jumped right off a comic page from 1994.
The head sculpt and paint apps, simple though they may be, are absolutely perfect and the large eyes (which are actually part of the sculpt) capture the spirit of the ’90s nicely. I would love to see this head sculpt repainted with some web lines to give us a definitive “McFarlane” Spider-Man. My figure has a weird swirly-plastic thing going on in the middle of his face, but it’s only visible in detailed, close-up pictures and isn’t noticeable in-hand, fortunately. The above pic makes me think I need to replace this guy, but one the shelf it’s not a big deal at all.
As mentioned, this base body is getting a lot of mileage lately, but Hasbro succeeds in not making it feel redundant since there’s so much here that’s new. And I do think this is the most visually striking figure to be released on this body so far, so he’s worth picking up even if you have the others already. It leaves me conflicted because I normally dislike most designs from the ’90s, and the Scarlet Spider has all the makings of a design I should, by all accounts, hate, but I just can’t hate it. The sleeveless hoodie and ankle pouches are ridiculous, but somehow they work for the character. But it might be the use of the red and blue that ultimately sways me here. I’m an absolute sucker for the red and blue color combo, and the Scarlet Spider is practically a celebration of it.
He comes with a set of four swappable hands (in addition to the two already attached) that range in design from fists to web-shooting to wall-crawling (or hand-shaking!), so this is a nice carry-over from the Pizza Spidey figure. The other figures built on this body didn’t come with extra hands, so seeing them here isn’t something to take for granted, and having them makes a good figure even better. All it takes is a light tug to swap them out, and all the different possible combinations make for all sorts of posing options.
I wasn’t that crazy about this body the first time I bought it, but I find myself liking it more and more as I play around with it. What bothered me was the lack of calf swivels, but, in reality, the human foot and knee always point in the same direction, so this is actually more anatomically correct. I don’t feel limited in my posing options like I did at first, and he does still have that upper thigh cut and the ankle rockers, so there is still some versatility here. If you have any of the other figures built on this body, then you know what to expect in terms of articulation: ball head; swivel-and-hinge shoulders, hips, and wrists; ab crunch; waist swivel; thigh cuts; rocker ankles; and double-jointed elbows and knees.
The paint apps here are very sparse, and what color there is mostly comes from the color of the plastic he’s cast in. But the paint that is here is mostly clean and sharp, and what stood out to me most is the way his black spider sigil (front and back) is painted. It’s painted so it works with the joint even if his ab joint is extended one way or another (see above). It doesn’t even look all that distorted when the ab joint is being used, and I think that’s pretty nifty and cool. Often, the ab joint totally ruins whatever paint job a figure may have on his/her chest, but they found a workaround here, and I appreciate the effort.
This figure is surprisingly fun and it looks great. I think Hasbro really nailed it with this release, and I can’t imagine a better Scarlet Spider making its way to retail any time soon. He’s part of the Rhino wave, which is quickly proving to be perhaps the most in-demand wave this year, so he may be a challenging figure to find at retail, even though he’s double-packed. If you’re on the market for one, I’d seriously consider ordering a set or a case of the wave, or stalking Amazon for when he pops up in stock. I think he’s essential for any Spider-Man or Marvel Legends collection, so happy hunting!
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