Review of Spider-Man (black suit), Green Goblin, Shocker, Sandman
Marvel Legends action figures

Introduction

Seems like it's raining Marvel Legends these days, with even more waves already hitting stores. I haven't seen them in person yet, but I've seen the online reports...it's going to be a big year for ML fans.

I'm just finishing up the Sandman wave, another in the line of Spider-Man sets.  I already covered the Jackal, Spider-UK, Spider-Man 2099, and Ms. Marvel. Tonight I'm finishing up with the black suit Spider-Man (symbiote), Shocker, Green Goblin, and the Build-A-Figure himself, Sandman. These seem to be largely a Target thing right now, at least in my neck of the woods, but I'd assume you can find them at Toys R Us and Meijer as well. Expect to pay around $20 each.

Packaging - ***1/2
The usual, with the rounded top and curved sides. It works like a box, and everything is completely collector friendly. There's personalized info on the front and back, the large window shows off the figure and accessories well, the rest of the line up is detailed on the reverse, and there's even a legend showing which figure has which BAF piece.

Sculpting - Spider-Man ***; Shocker ***1/2; Sandman, Green Goblin ****
All four of these look fantastic, although there's less work on Spidey and Shocker due to the character design.

Before we get schwifty, I wanted to point out all four are very solid, well made figures, with stiffer plastic and sturdy joints.  We've seen softer plastic on some releases in the past, but they seem to have the polymer mix just right this time around.

I'm pretty worn out on Spider-Man right now. And that's not a good thing, considering he has a new movie coming this summer. But we've seen so many Spider-Man Marvel Legends, and this symbiote version doesn't bring much new to the table. He's pretty much a standard ML body with the costume painted on. He's the shortest of the bunch, standing just over 6" tall.

Shocker does a little better, thanks to the added knee pads and the work on the gloves.  There's a little more detail work on the head too. Let's not get crazy here - this isn't a huge change from the base body. But, in combination with the paint work, he's a nice overall representation of the character. He stands about 6 1/4" tall.

I generally love every Green Goblin or Hobgoblin in the Marvel Legends line. They do a fantastic job on the textured costume, and the portraits are always crazy nuts. Of course there's re-use here, but this portrait is just so well done that most people will overlook any additional body resemblance to past releases. He's also one of the most textured, detailed figures in the ML line up overall, which is always a big plus. On the negative side, there's no Norman Osborne head, but I'll discuss that further in the Accessories section. He also comes in at about 6 1/4" tall.

Finally, there's the Build-A-Figure of the Sandman. He's a big boy, standing about 8" tall. The work on the multiple(!) transformed hands is really impressive, with a finely textured surface that mirrors sand extremely well. He also has two portraits: pissed off Flint Marko, and sand shifting visage! Both look great and provide plenty of alternate looks for your display, but I really love the screaming version with the swirling sand where his left eye should be. It's tremendously dynamic, and they manage to pull it off without getting silly.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is well above average across the board, although there's a few nits worth mentioning.

Spider-Man really depends on the paint work - it's all that separates him from a blank buck. The white is generally clean and sharp, although there's some fudging on the back of the hands. It's minor, but when it's all you have, it makes a difference.

Shocker has plenty of paint operations, and the small, fine lines in his costume look terrific. Some of the larger edges, particularly on the torso, aren't quite as good, but it's another minor nit. In hand, you'll be extremely pleased.

Green Goblin has some extreme work on his extreme face, but the eyes are slightly off on mine.  I'm also a tad annoyed that the terrific wash that they used to bring out the detail in the face was not also used on the body, and it creates a bit of a disconnect between the two.

Finally, there's Sandman. The sandy sections of his arms and legs could use a little more of a wash to bring out some of the textured details, but overall the paint quality is quite good. The work on his face is particularly good, and even the lines on his shirt are clean and sharp.

Articulation - Spider-Man, Sandman ***1/2; Shocker, Green Goblin ****
These are Marvel Legends, and you know what that means - articulation city. While the four bodies vary slightly, all have plenty of well designed, sturdy joints that allow for lots of fluid, natural poses.

You'll know the Spidey joints well- hinge/ball neck, rotating hinge shoulders, cut biceps, double pin elbows, rotating hinge wrists, ab-crunch, cut waist, rotating hinge hips, cut thighs, double pin knees, rocker/hinge ankles. To all this pretty standard ML articulation, this body adds the additional hinge shoulder joint that allows for greater movement in and out from the chest. Out of all these joints, I found a little difficulty with the hips, and that was it.

Take away the extra shoulder joint, add in the cut calf, and you have Shocker. The bulked up gauntlets get in the way of the elbows a bit, but not so much that you still can't get some great arm poses.

Green Goblin mirrors Shocker in this category, right down the slight interference from the gloves. Both he and Shocker have really excellent neck joints, with a ton of mobility forward and back, and even some very good tilt action.

Almost everything applies equally to Sandman. His legs are a little less articulated - no cut thighs, no cut calves, and the ankles are blocked by the longer pants. All the rest of the articulation is there though, and the arm joints were tight enough to keep the heavy hands upright in most poses.

Accessories - Shocker, Spider-Man ***; Green Goblin ***1/2; Sandman ****
Three of these four figures come with the BAF parts for Sandman - duh. A couple heads, a couple hands, a leg - it all adds up to one very sweet BAF.

Shocker has a set of 'effects', and this is not the first time we've seen them. Or the second. Or the third. Remember the World of Springfield? Remember the clipboard accessory? Yea, this is sort of like that. This has been a popular pair of accessories with various ML figures over the last 12 months, but they kinda work here with the character so the re-use is forgivable.

Spider-Man has the splayed 'wall crawling' hands, and the swap between these and the fists he comes wearing is easy enough. No web shooting hands this time.

The Green Goblin has one small pumpkin bomb, and his man purse is removable, making it an accessory as well. Of course his best extra is the glider, and while I haven't double checked every previous release of this character (or Hobgoblin), I'm pretty sure this is a new sculpt. He fits on it nicely, and it works great for flying poses. You'll need to come up with a stand of course, but there's plenty out there that can elevate the good Goblin into the air.

The big winner in this category is the Sandman, who is technically an accessory himself.  Because BAF's already are extras, they rarely get extras for themselves. When they do, it's usually a weapon.

Sandman does far better than that. As I already mentioned, he gets the two portraits, a huge plus. On top of that, he gets two additional hands. With most characters, a second set of hands wouldn't be all that - just look at Symbiote Spider-Man in this wave. But these aren't normal hands...they're huge! He comes wearing a set of transforming sand hands that look like hands at least, but the second set has morphed all the way into cudgel weapons, with the right a spiky ball and the left a huge block. These hands swap easily (as do the heads), and they look fantastic.

Fun Factor - ****
Marvel Legends figures are easily the best action figures on the pegs right now when it comes to pure play-ability. With a ton of articulation and some great characters, kids can have a fantastic time with them. Collectors can use all that posability to create terrific displays, and toy photographers will be in heaven. These figures are also a terrific way to introduce kids to the old school comic book versions of some of these characters, like Shocker, who rumors have it will be in the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie in some fashion.

Value - **1/2
At $20 a pop, these are pretty much an even value.  Of course, you may get lucky and find a sale or a coupon for your local mass market retailer that gets the price down even further.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Sturdy, well built, with no concerns about breakage - you should be good to go.

Overall - Spider-Man ***; Shocker, Green Goblin ***1/2; Sandman ****
Spider-Man took a hit this time, not because he's a bad figure, but because my own Spidey-sense is worn down to the nub.  He's a pretty average ML figure, with a standard body, little in the way of extras, and a decent enough paint job.  Overall, it's not a must have for me, and it's never the greatest recommendation for a figure when I feel the only reason to get it is to complete the BAF.

Green Goblin is a much better buy, and I'm really digging the style. Even with the re-use of body parts, he has a unique look that stands out with the other Goblins.

Shocker is a good figure, although you have to be a fan of the older look to really appreciate him, I suppose. The articulation is great, and he's not a character that's been done to death.

But the real winner here is the BAF - Sandman.  Wow. A great sculpt, and some terrific accessories, including two different portraits. It's going to be mighty tough for Hasbro to create a better BAF in 2017, but I'm sure they're going to try. And I'm all for it!

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - Spider-Man, Shocker ***1/2; Sandman, Green Goblin ****
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - Spider-Man, Sandman ***1/2; Shocker, Green Goblin ****
Accessories - Shocker, Spider-Man ***; Green Goblin ***1/2; Sandman ****
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - Spider-man ***; Shocker, Green Goblin ***1/2; Sandman ****

Where to Buy 
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- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I just covered the other half of this wave, including the Jackal, Ms Marvel, Spider-UK, and Spider-Man 2099.

Prior to that I finished up the Titus wave, with Vance Astro, Darkhawk, Kid Nova, Angela, and Titus, and Star-Lord, Drax, and Yondu. I also started the Warlock wave with a look at Sunfire, Shatterstar, and Polaris and Dazzler, Wolverine, and Colossus. Prior to that was the three BAF's, Space Venom, Dormammu, and Juggernaut; the two halves of the Dormammu wave, including movie Strange, Mordo, Nico, and Iron Fist, and Astral Strange, Brother Voodoo, comic Doctor Strange, and Enchantress; the back half of the Space Venom wave, including Miles Morales, Silk, and Electro, the first half of that wave included Hobgoblin, Peter Parker Spider-Man, and Spider-Girl; the Juggernaut wave with one review of Cable, Havoc, Kitty Pryde and Phoenix here, and the other half with Rogue, Deadpool, Wolverine, and Iceman; the back half of the Giant Man wave (with Giant Man, Captain America, Iron Man, and Nuke); and in between I've looked at one of the 12" figures under the banner - Spider-Man - as well as the new full scale prop replica Captain America's Shield.

I covered the first half of the Giant Man wave as well, including Red Guardian, Black Panther, and Nick Fury. Just before that I covered Red Skull (BAF), Taskmaster, Sharon Carter, and Demolition Man and the other half of that wave including Captain America, Mockingbird, Whirlwind, and Cottonmouth.

There are a TON of additional Marvel Legends reviews before that, so you should hit the Search Reviews page to find those, and in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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