I said last year that I thought 2014 was the best year ever for action figures. I can say with certainty, I think 2015 topped it. A barrage of Marvel Legends, Star Wars import figures, and some unexpected new lines from DC Collectibles, Mezco, and the Fwoosh itself have made for an incredible year.
Hasbro turned things around with the Return of Marvel Legends, and it seems that their willingness to listen to fans and think outside the box (Chameleon’s plethora of alternative heads or the Silvermane RC car, anyone?) has left continued room for improvement. Although Hasbro is only using a few core base bodies, they are adding to that list every year and keeping things fresh with unique parts. One of the new base bodies was seen for the first time in the form of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.
The figure isn’t as flawless as S.H. Figuarts’ Luke Skywalker or Mezco’s Batman, but to me it is symbolic of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends renaissance. For one, this Spider-Man was one of the first figures to come with a jaw-dropping number of accessories. Two heads, six hands, one slice of pizza, and a BAF piece. When Hasbro bumped the price of Legends to around $20 a pop, many were outraged. The difference between then (before Pizza Spider-Man) and now (after Pizza Spider-Man), is, at least to me, that the figures are a good value. There is room for improvement, sure (particularly in the paint department), but Pizza Spider-Man is nothing short of spectacular. We’re long passed the glory days of a unique sculpt, comic book, BAF piece, and several character-specific weapons for $6.99, but it seems to me that Hasbro is doing their best to renew that sense of value.
Pizza Spider-Man hasn’t proven to be the new default Spider-Man for everyone, however. People complained about its awkward torso, poor lateral movement in the hips, and the lack of boot swivel. Pizza Spider-Man isn’t my ideal Spider-Man, but he’s as close as we’ll realistically get. Here we have a skinny, comic-based Peter Parker figure, with a set of hands for just about any pose you can imagine. I would’ve liked a Peter Parker head instead of his half-mask head, but it’s hard for me to ask for anything else. I haven’t found a pose that this figure couldn’t reach in a satisfying manner, and honestly I never thought I’d see a Spider-Man figure that met my expectations.
Pizza Spider-Man is proof of the promising future ahead for Marvel Legends, and ultimately, action figures in general. As great as 2015 was, somehow it seems that 2016 is shaping up to be even better.