“Take your best shot. I will offer no resistance. Then it will be my turn.” –T’Challa
Real life sometimes gets in the way for us plastic-obsessed toy nerds, and we’re forced to put our beloved figures on the backburner. Black Panther was released as a Disney Store exclusive a couple of months back as a much-welcomed comic-based addition to the Marvel Select line, but he’s just been hanging out unopened on my toy room floor. With all the other unopened toys. Aging like a fine wine. So let’s jump right in to another better late than never review!
Packaging
Nothing new here!
Sculpt
I really love this sculpt. It’s just a guy in an all-black leotard, so there really isn’t a lot of opportunity for tiny details, but they nailed the build and the head sculpt. He’s big and powerful-looking, but still lean enough to look like he can pull off the acrobatics that Panther is known for. The head sculpt is most impressive as it actually looks like a guy wearing a mask. There are small wrinkles in the “fabric” and the furrowed brow and lips give some personality and expressiveness to what could have been one of the most boring superhero masks ever.
Paint
Again, Black Panther is just a guy in an all-black spandex suit, so what can you really do with paint? Well, Marvel Select did the best that anyone can do. It’s a nice, flat black that has been evenly applied, and the white eyes are clean and even. There are even some subtle blue highlights to help break up the uniformity, but I do mean “subtle.” I didn’t even notice them until I had the figure under some bright overhead lights.
Articulation
Marvel Select has really stepped up their game with articulation, and Panther here rests with some of their better figures, although it isn’t without its problems.
Black Panther has 21 points of articulation. He has a ball-jointed head, pin-and-disc shoulders, cut biceps, single pin elbows, cut forearms, pin-and-disc wrists, an ab joint, a cut waist (I assume so, but mine is totally frozen), DCUC-style hips, thigh cuts, double-jointed knees, and pivot ankles. We have the same issues that many Marvel Select figures have in that you don’t get a ton of movement in the head or the torso joint, but everything works well for the most part and blends nicely with the sculpt. I’m not too fond of the wrist articulation and would have preferred something closer to the recent Spider-Man. The one big flaw is the lack swivel in the lower leg. He has a nice pair of rocker ankles, but with no boot or ankle cut, posing can be a little troublesome.
Accessories
It’s a tree. A baby tree at that. The sculpt is great, but I think the paint might be just a tad too bright. It’s also really small. I always appreciate the effort that Diamond Select gives to make us feel like we’re getting our money’s worth, but I can’t help but feel this one missed the mark somewhat. I just don’t have much use for it. That’s just me, though.
Overall, this is another solid entry in the Marvel Select line and worth the price. I’m not the biggest Black Panther fan in the world, but the cool-ness factor in his design has always been there, and Marvel Select did a great job and bringing it to life.
Thanks for reading!
