Best Over-All-Around WAVE of 2023

For me it's the NWH wave because I got half of them (along with two deluxe figures). Runners-up would be Hydra Stomper (two figures) and Quantumania (also two figures).

For me personally, this is a no-brainer. The Ch'od X-Men comic wave had 6 previously unmade characters (Monet St. Croix, Kid Omega, Chamber, Corsair, Ch'od and Fang) plus the figures of Cyclops and Emma were probably either the best or second best that we've ever gotten for each of those characters. Since I've been collecting this line for more than 20 years it's always getting previously unmade characters that brings me the most joy and 4 of these previously unmade characters specifically were among my 20 most wanted going into last year. I also have an extremely strong preference for comic based figures over MCU figures, so that plays into my choice for this wave as well.

I actually ended up getting rid of a lot of my older Legends this year, and limited the number of new ones I got so as to conserve space and money, but I did end up getting quite a few still.

For me, it's the NWH wave. A full wave and 2 deluxes (though I'm still waiting on Ock). Not only a pretty complete roster (since we know Electro and Lizard are on the way), but they all look and feel really nice. A fair amount of reuse, but a fair amount of new parts too. Didn't need to bother with BAF parts, which was nice, even though I totally would've collected the whole wave anyway.

Runner up, though very very close second, is the Across the Spiderverse wave. Bright, colorful, lots of new parts, some killer paint and printing on figures like Spider-Punk, some really fun execution on Spot's accessories. Also no need to worry about BAF parts. I only put them second because of the inability for figures like Jessica to stand without leaning her against something. Stands could've been really helpful here, but I was able to utilize some of my ever-growing array of McFarlane stands. Other than that, it's pretty dang solid. Even Miles, with his super skinny limbs, feels pretty solid and doesn't have any trouble standing.

Third I'd have to put the GotG 3 wave. Some really like sculpts and likenesses, and Cosmo is a super fun BAF, and Groot was a great deluxe. Finally getting Kraglin (even with how odd he turned out). That said, the glaring omissions of Gamora and High Evolutionary were, and still are, a bummer, and they're a bit plain in their uniforms, even if that's the point.

Those are the only complete waves I picked up this year, believe it or not. Wanted Cassie from Quantumania, but not enough to get the whole wave. The X-Men 97 figures were super tempting, but I couldn't swing it with how the prices are here (not to mention how sparse the non-Magneto figures were). I picked up a few from the Disney Plus wave, and will probably complete the wave eventually. I like the ones I have (Warrior Gamora, Agatha, Kingpin), and the rest of the wave seems pretty strong, other than a few duds like Nick Fury. Not ones I'd pick up at full price, but I'll definitely snag when the sales go a little lower.

Would the two X-Men 275 three packs count as a wave?

I bought every figure from the No Way Home wave and I'm happy with all of them, so for me, that's the ML wave of the year.

Besides those mentioned above, I cherry picked four other figures (Black Widow, Hawkeye, Clea, Chamber).  A pretty light ML year for me.

Avengers 60th almost feels like it's a cheat. But since there seems to be a special wave like this nearly every year, I don't mind saying this is part of my top waves. Probably top.

For BAF waves, I also loved the Mindless One wave, with only Iron Man that I didn't really care for. Likewise, I loved the Ch'od wave, with Fang and Kid Omega being the only stinkers for me.

I liked both the X'97 wave and the No Way Home offerings (I include Osborn with that wave). But so many of those were figures I have already, with upgraded parts. The reuse is what pulls these waves back for me.

As much as I loved GotG3, the actual wave of figures was so boring. I love seeing them in a cohesive uniform, but that also made it boring. And I wish Nebula and Mantis weren't the same build. I include deluxe Groot with that assortment, and he made my runners up for individual figures along with Cosmo.

Would the X-Men 60th stuff be counted as a wave? Two 3pks and Blob? And what about the X-Men retro wave with 275 Wolvie, Dark Phoenix, Spiral, Longshot, Avalanche, Multiple Man? It wouldn't make my list, but were they not 2023 figures?

I only got one complete wave this year and that was only because the Ch'od wave was heavily discounted by Target.

But I would have to put it in 3rd place out of the waves where I wound up getting most of the figures.

Coming in 2nd would be the Puff Adder wave.  I got everyone but Iron Man.  I'm all in on the Serpent Society and had to build him.  Despite their flaws I loved getting Molecule Man, Safari Jacket Wonder Man, and Baron Strucker.  Plus I got a guy with a giant eyeball for a head 😉  

But on pure nostalgia and characters I've loved since I was a kid, the Avengers 60th Anniversary takes 1st place for me.  I only missed out on the Hulk set.  Don't need another gray Hulk and didn't like the likeness on Banner.  The Avengers fall behind only Spider-man and the Fantastic Four in my love of Marvel.  So this wave was pure joy for me.  Hope there's more coming.

Posted by: @normdapito

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As much as I loved GotG3, the actual wave of figures was so boring. I love seeing them in a cohesive uniform, but that also made it boring. And I wish Nebula and Mantis weren't the same build. I include deluxe Groot with that assortment, and he made my runners up for individual figures along with Cosmo.

I agree with this so much. Outstanding movie and conclusion to Gunn's movies, really unappealing wave of figures. Like Joshsquash, I unloaded a lot of my collection and majorly slowed down on what I bought, and that included selling off all my guardians aside from Nebula and Rocket. But I would still be very tempted by non-uniform Drax and Mantis again, even though I sold them heh. The uniform thing just doesn't appeal to me. I didn't want the quantum suit avengers and even X-Men, to me, shouldn't match so much. (I'm thinking of the giant size era up through the outback period.) 

So it was cool they did unforms in the movie but not something I wanted on the shelf.

Since I no longer want or buy.MCU figures there were only a couple of waves that really fit the bill of being 100% comic based.   For me it boils down to the C'hod wave or the Void wave.   Both are awesome... but the C'hod wave is just so good top to bottom, with a BaF I care about way more, so that gets the nod from me for best wave of the year.

I was underwhelmed with the GOTG3 wave, as well. Loved Warlock, but no High Evoltuionary still triggers me. Also, the dog as a BAF was so lame. Just meh wave for a great movie. I also wasn't that high on The Marvels wave. Monica is great, the other 2 fine and I don't do comic for rest.

My top wave was the D+ wave. Yeah, Hydra Stomper BAF was meh, but it had solid character selection and the highest volume of figures I felt I had to have. Ock and Gobby are deluxes, thus don't count for the NWH wave 2. Holland figure looks great, but feels super breakable and I already had Tobey and Andrew. So Sandman, MJ, and Matt Murdock didn't do as much for me as the D+ wave.

Worst wave goes to the Infinity Saga repaint line.

@e-rock I think all that is fair. I hope they don't do a dog BAF again but they probably will. And Monica was one of those where I only wanted one from the wave. They have to really nail Iman's likeness for me to get a figure with a stepdown costume.

Posted by: @normdapito

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Avengers 60th almost feels like it's a cheat.

Most years it would be a cheat to consider those yearly premium anniversary waves since they're usually the best, but this year the No Way Home wave easily eclipses Avengers 60th.  I can't think of any other year since they started those anniversary waves where it wasn't the best besides 2023.  Between Ock, Goblin, Final Swing Spidey, Garfield Spidey, and Tobey that's five figures that will or already have made most people's top ten lists, and the other figures are really good as well.  Matt is their best suited body to date, MJ is nice, and Sandman just missed my objective top 20 list that I'm still narrowing down.  My kids used up all of our play sand, i.e. the type where the grains stick together instead of spreading out everywhere like regular beach sand does, but when I get more of it no other Sandman figure will look as good half-buried in sand than the No Way Home version.  😀 

The only real downer with the No Way Home wave was the team double-dipping on Garfield and Tobey with the three-pack a year ago.  Definitely a big minus for anyone on a tight budget, but it doesn't negate how absolutely exceptional most of the wave is.  It may be the best Legends wave of all time, but I haven't put enough thought into that to be sure.  Is there another Legends wave ever released where five of the figures are clear figure of the year candidates?  🤔 

NWH wave is good, but to me, not as good as Avengers 60th. Widow alone blows away just about every figure from NWH except maybe Osborn. But even he isn’t as versatile as Widow. Hawkeye, FA Iron Man, Destroyer, all brand new sculpts, while most of what makes NWH good is new parts. The double dipping on Peter Two and Three while jipping them of their full sets of hands, plus their fragility bring those figures down for me. Love the new suit body, but it’s a suit body. Nothing remarkable. Sandman actually got the most work and is probably the most underrated of the assortment, but he also looks like a chicken nugget. A-60 still had plenty of reuse and some duds, but the strong figures in the wave are stronger than the strong NWH figures. At least for my money.

No Way Home

For me it's definitely the X-Men Wave with the Ch'od BAF.  I love X-men the most out of all things Marvel, and they are the main focus of my Marvel Legends collection. So, of course I'm going to love this wave.  But the figures in this wave were all really well done.