There have been several different Jack O’Lanterns in the Marvel Universe, with several people portraying the pumpkin-headed villain. A brand new one debuted in the most recent Venom comic, quickly becoming the Flash Thompson Agent Venom’s arch-villain. That version’s original costume would have required a lot more sculpting, but luckily a later costume was a bit more tactical and lined-up nicely with a Legends-ready body.
Previously seen on the SDCC Thunderbolts box set Ghost figure, this is the second appearance of most of this gangly and specific body. While it is an overall decent body for a character of a decidedly creepy appearance like Jack O’Lantern, it does carry along with it some slight issues. The hips are ball hips with pegs at a 45-degree angle, which goes against the newest trend of 90-degree hips. There’s also no wrist articulation at all. While his hand turns right below the glove, he’s stuck in one position.
Otherwise, he features the standard articulation scheme we’ve all come to know and love in Marvel figures. He has a nice range in his elbows and knees, and his torso crunch is deep and adequate. His pumpkin-shaped noggin reduces a lot of the range of motion in his head to a swivel. Also, I’m not sure if this is widespread or just mine, but the ratchet joints in his shoulders and super tight and super loud. Mine take a lot of effort just to spin his shoulders around. I’m assuming with use they’ll loosen up a bit, but as it is I really have to grab his shoulder ball and give it some oomph to move his arms around. At least they don’t dangle.
He comes with a newly sculpted belt with some pumpkin bombs attached to them. It’s all one piece, so they don’t come off. This separates the body from Ghost a bit more and makes it feel a bit more unique. Plus, you know, it’s not clear plastic. That helps also.
The head is a nicely generic Jack O’Lantern sculpt with some translucent flames jutting from the back and from the eyes. It’s effectively eerie and gets the job done. It’s a lot less stylized than the Spider-Man Classics Mad Jack figure, but it works very well for the character’s current appearance.
For accessories, he comes with his flying broom, his scythe, and a burning pumpkin bomb. The Pumpkin bomb is translucent like the flames on his head and fits into his left palm. There’s no peg to hold it in place, so you have to angle it so the fingers grip it just right.
Both the broom and the scythe both are sculpted with a handguard-type bit that allow his hands to stay in place. Since they’re sculpted into a fairly open position, it’s the only way to effectively have him hold onto each object, but once they’re inside they’re secure.
The scythe comes off a little worse for having to utilize a guard than the broom, but it’s the only way he can hold something.
A burning jet-propelled broom is a hell of a way to travel, and he does get into some convincing flying poses. The broom is partially translucent fading to a solid brown, so you can get some convincing light effects going with that if you were so inclined. It’s well sculpted and looks convincingly fire-like.
Jack O’Lantern is one of those characters that shows up every once in a while in a brand new costume and none of them have really been bad. While this is the second shot at the character, I’d still like to see a classic version as that only managed to get a 5-inch figure. I liked the costume he had right before this current one that had a much more gothic vibe to it, but this one goes a bit further back to the roots of the character as a tactical mercenary type of costume, and it works well on the available base figure. All in all, it’s not without a few faults but this is another great villain in a wave jam-packed with villains to terrorize Spidey.
The Absorbing Man series featuring Jack O Lantern is in stock at Big Bad Toy Store. You can order a case with just the 7 figures needed to build Absorbing Man, or buy the case with an extra Ben Reilly Spider-Man for an extra five dollars