Marvel Legends Action Figures
From the beginning, the Marvel Legends line has utilized the "chase" concept to introduce figures based primarily on less preferred or recognizable characters. These got their nickname by being shipped in less quantities than the remainder of the figures, thus causing collectors to follow after them. Eventually, rather than completely new figures, the chase concept was restricted to variations ( like an alternative head or a different color scheme ) of a figure released in that very same series. These figures became high in demand by collectors.
The Marvel Legends line is a spin-off of the Spider-Man Classics line also produced by Toy Biz. At its inception in 2002, the Marvel Legends line usurped the clamshell packaging and the included comic book that had shipped with the Spider-Man Classics line. The first Marvel Legends series included representations of the Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man and the Toad.
US $24.99
Here we have another build a figure series from Wonder Legends. Psylocke is another of those mystics or psychics on the X groups but has the addition of a mystic knife which she'll stab into opponents to overload their brains. How does the figure measure up? Not so well sadly.
The body sculpt is fine. She has got a trim figure.
The face sculpt suffers from the Stepford Other half syndrome and has little personality. I'd expect a tricky gal like this to have a more determined look to her. She does look like the cover of the book included but bear in mind this isn't the original cover of that book but was made particularly to go with this figure. She looks much tougher within the book. The paint application is extremely sloppy as well on the figure I have. The blue bands on her legs bleed over onto her legs quite a lot and the neck line of her top if extraordinarily slovenly on mine. Keep an eye fixed on the paint if you pick yours up in real life.
She incorporates no private accessories which is disheartening. She may have at least come with one crap psychic knife. Oh, well. She includes her comic, the back of the package doubles as a back drop and the middle stomach ( a / k / a love handles ) of Mojo. Mojo himself is a mixture of bad and good. The paint and sculpt on his body is great with spot on skin tones and the electronics exiting his head look good. His spider base is terribly plain and lacks a lot of the detail you can see pictured on the back of the package and has a particularly tasteless and featureless painting. It also lacks any real articulation aside from the legs having the ability to turn right where they connect to the base. Perhaps this was to help it stand better, but here's the rub... Only four of the 6 legs are basically engineered to touch the floor and due to their thin spidery nature they start to bend under Mojo's exaggerated flab. I am sure some ingenuity on my part can correct the issue, but we actually should not have to mend new figures now should we. It's a jumbled bag on the Mojo. There are lots of Thor action figures in this wonder legends line, this one being the least pricey. Luckily, it holds up to the others quite well however. One area that was sacrificed was the articulation, this is one of the least possible figures of the entire wonder legends line, which would possibly not be such a bad thing considering most of them are so narrated that they're either really delicate and not possible to stand. The sculpt is indeed glorious, but the articulation is poor. Good luck attempting to turn the head as an example as the cape and his hair get in the way. He also can't actually raise his arms that high - again thanks to the cape and pauldrons. The legs are fine though and he is comparatively balanced. Hasbro also saw fit not to articulate his hands and both the axe and Hammer have an inclination to slide out. Loki. What are you able to say? He is a necessity have for any Thor or Avengers fan out there. He is Thor's noxious half bro and he was the reason why the Avenger's joined as a team in the 1st place.
I am shocked it took him this long to appear in the Marvel Legends line up. This figure has great details and is expounded very well. He has got a removable, plastic cloak. It's pretty stiff, but looks nice when you're showing him. He has his trademark, long horned helmet, knee / forearm / shoulder armor, and a malign look on his face. He includes a sabre that has traditional Norse writing on either side of the blade. Either of Loki's hands could hold the epee, but his right hand looks to be specifically made and jointed for holding it.
His left hand is sculptured so that he could hold a staff, or scepter really well--just like he is doing on the cover of the comic that he incorporates. ( I thought it'd be cool if he really came with a scepter AND a sabre ) The comic is a reprint of Journey Into Mystery 116 from 1965. It's fantastic for seeing Loki at work employing his malevolent tricks to slander and destroy Thor. I am not too crazy about his costume, though . It is not the "classic" Loki costume, his boots are often brown, his helmet isn't removable, and the shoulder armor significantly prohibits his arm movement.
Also, the length of "cloth" that comes down from the back of his helmet onto his back prohibits his head movement a lot. His classic costume would not had these issues and ToyBiz has made other Marvel figures with removable helmets. However since he is typically a plotter rather than a fighter, I'm able to get past this. There's a variant figure of this character available, too. The head sculpt shows Loki with his Crown of Lies helmet ( shorter horns ) rather than the long horned version. It is the same figure with a different head. If you can not find the variant, do not be concerned.
You are not missing that much in any way. Wonder Legends continues with its "Build A Figure" campaign.
The concept was re-employed in the tenth Toy Biz series, where each figure was packed with a piece of a mutant-hunting robot known as a Sentinel. Further BAFs would include Apocalypse, onslaught, Giant-Man, Mojo, MODOK ( From Toy Biz ), Annihilus, Blob, Brood Queen, arch-enemy, Red Hulk, Sandman ( Spider-Man Trilogy limited edition ), Ronan the Accuser ( Fantastic 4 short edition ), Fin Fang Foom ( Hulk Limited Edition ), Ares, and nemesis ( From Hasbro ).
Beginning january 1, 2007, Hasbro was the new license holder of the rights to provide toys and games based on the Marvel Universe, while ToyBiz was renamed Marvel Toys. The new Hasbro packaging didn't include a comic. The quality in the figures manufactured by Hasbro is lower than Toybiz's version ( according to many forums and bulletin boards ). These quality issues can include : sloppy paint, bad articulation, ugly molds, and less awareness of detail.
In 2005, Toy Biz introduced the "Build-A-Figure" ( called a "BAF" in the collector community ) to the Marvel Legends line, beginning with series nine. Each figure in the series was packed with a piece of a larger figure in the initial case, a 16-inch ( 410 mm ) tall figure of Galactus. A shopper who purchased each figure in the assortment would then have all of the complete elements to assemble a personality not available in individual packaging.