TOP 10 of 2023

My top ten, more or less in order, would be:

Spider-Man - ASM2

Green Goblin - NWH

Sandman - NWH

Kang - Quantumania

Monica Rambeau - The Marvels

Yelena - Disney Plus

Kingpin - Disney Plus

Wasp - Quantumania

Nebula - GOTG3

Spider-Man - NWH (the latest Tom Holland)

Runners up are Thor - Dark World/Infinity Saga and Spider-Man FNSM because those are the only other figures I got this year that I kept.

1. Blob

2. Black Widow

3. Spiral

4. Hawkeye

5. Iron Man Mark 1

6. Ant-Man

7. Moondragon & Drax

8. Elektra Daredevil

9. Destroyer

No particular order: 

Astonishing Cyclops, Elektra Daredevil, Bishop '97, 60th Anni. Black Widow, Monet, Extremis Iron Man, Emma Frost, Lady Bullseye, MCU Monica Rambeau, Mindless One BAF.

Peter 3

Peter 2

Peter 1

Deluxe Green Goblin

Deluxe Doc Ock

Peter (VHS Animated Series)

MJ (VHS Animated Series)

Spider-Man (Walmart Animated Series)

Corsair

Scarlet Spider (does he count? I think he's out overseas)

Honorable Mentions:

Thor (Ravager), Wolverine (Xmen 97), Bishop (Xmen 97), Spiral, Dark Phoenix and Banshee/Gambit/Psylocke 60th Anniversary set.

1. Blob
2. Black Widow
3. Antman (FA)
4. Mindless One
5. Clea
6. Destroyer
7. Iron Man (FA)
8. Monica Rambeau
9. Ronan
10. Cosmo

Hon Mentions: Corsair, Lady Bullseye, Hawkeye, Orb, Baron Von Struker, Mockingbird

I did a very unofficial count in my head and came up with roughly 21 Marvel Legends that I bought this year.  That's more than I thought.  In no particular order:

Black Widow

Blob

Spiral

Andrew Garfield

Tom Holland (Final Swing)

Tobey McGuire

Banshee (UXM 275)

Psylocke (UXM 275)

Gambit (UXM 275)

Mojo

Hawkeye

Honorable mention goes to Outback Rogue.  A lazy effort that I shouldn't like but I kind of do.

Out of all of these, only Black Widow and Blob will for sure be on my overall top 10 list for the year, maybe Spiral and Garfield Spidey.

This is the first time I've purchased less than 10 Legends figures in a year and they all felt worthy of inclusion on a top 10 list. That counts for something.

1. Black Widow (Target)
2. Daredevil (three-pack)
3. Cyclops (Astonishing)
4. Hawkeye (60th anniversary)
5. Iron Man (Extremis)
6. Emma Frost

I'm still trying to track down Blob, as well.

I heard a lot of "I'll wait for clearance" chatter when it came to the new Blob, and while that is certainly something I will do 90% of the time when it comes to ML, something told me clearance just wasn't in the cards for this figure.  To my knowledge it hasn't happened yet.  He's a bit pricey, but I'd say he's worth it (If you don't have BAF Blob, now you have one.  If you do have BAF Blob, you can make your money back easily.)  They did pretty much all they could do for a guy this big.  Sculpt, paint, articulation, decent accessories, it's all there for Blob.  He's a lot of fun.

Looking back, I only bought four MLs this year.

1. Blob

2. Spiral

3. Karnak

4. Avalanche

Really low amount of additions this year for me too.  The bulk of my new figures came from the X-Men packs and the WCA box set.  My favorites:  Blob, 97 Wolvie, 97 Bishop, 97 Rogue, Mockingbird, Elektra DD, Target Widow, Emma, Ult. Cap, and Hawkeye.

Sersi and Luke Cage compete for my biggest disappointment 

I would put Spiral on my top list, except..

I really don't remember Spiral coming out early. I checked my orders, and mine was delivered in January. So clearly it's possible. I even mentioned her among my top 10 back when I spoke to Ryan Ting at NYCC, and he corrected me saying she was a 2022 figure. Well, I didn't get her til this year, and knew immediately she'd be among my best of the year.

Posted by: @mrboshek

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I would put Spiral on my top list, except..

Spoiler

 

...I got her in 2022

Very few people did though.  The only objective way to structure this is to count figures in the year that they became widely available, and that definitely was not in 2022 for that X-Men retro wave.  Spiral should absolutely count for 2023.

Posted by: @normdapito

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I even mentioned her among my top 10 back when I spoke to Ryan Ting at NYCC, and he corrected me saying she was a 2022 figure.

I'm guessing his criteria is either the very earliest date they were available, or perhaps even the date they begin shipping to retailers--both of those would make her a 2022 figure.  Either way the vast majority of us couldn't review her in 2022, so I don't get why you'd ever objectively call her a 2022 figure.

Eh, for this list, the criteria can be loose. If he got Spiral in 2022, she probably squeezed into last year's top 10 for him. These are personal favorite lists. Based on personal experience. If he got Spiral early, good for him! I certainly would have included her in 2022 if I had gotten her that soon.