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Review of White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom
Marvel Legends action figures

Hasbro
Date Published:
Written By:
Overall Average Rating: 4 out of 4

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White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Introduction

Hasbro has been sending a clear message: they are very much behind the Marvel Legends action figures.  2015 has brought five regular release waves already with more to come, along with several boxed sets and exclusives. I don't recall any time in the history of the line where this much product has been released in a single year.

Obviously, part of this is them looking at as many ways as possible to cash in on the tremendous on going success of Marvel at the box office. By tying the film characters back to the comic characters, they hope to bring in fans of both properties, perhaps introducing a younger generation to the non-movie designs along the way.

The latest wave is the second focused on the Amazing Spider-Man, and includes Ghost Rider, Chameleon, Kraven, Misty Knight (already all reviewed), Scarlet Spider, White Tiger, and Superior Venom.  These latter three are the focus of tonight's review.

Buy six of the seven (you only need one of the two lovely ladies) and you can complete the Build-A-Figure of Rhino. This is the classic Rhino of course, not the mechanical version we saw in the last film.

These are just starting to ship, and you'll find them online first. They should start showing up at stores like Toys R Us and Target any day, and will run $18 - $20 depending on the retailer.

Click on the image below for a Life Size version
White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Packaging - ****
There are three major factors with these packages that garner it the high marks. First, it's collector friendly. That means you can remove the figure and accessories from the package without any damage, and return them later for sale or storage without any problem. While this is very common with high end collectibles, it's more of a rarity with mass market collector's lines.

Second, there's a ton of character personalization with each. The front clearly tells you who's inside, and the back has a brief bio and character photo.

Third, the BAF parts are clearly labeled on the back, allowing you to understand which figures you need to get which parts.  This is particularly useful when you have a wave like this, where two figures contain the same part and aren't both necessary to complete the overall figure.

Of course, it also helps that the basic design is great, with a large window showing off the figure and accessories, and a strong pack made from quality plastic and cardboard.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Sculpting - ****
This whole wave has had some really terrific sculpts, but these three really stand out for me.

You could argue that the Scarlet Spider isn't particularly exciting. He isn't, unless you were reading the comics in the early 90's. They've added the sleeveless hoodie and ankle packs perfectly, bringing the comic design into three dimensional reality. It's a great Spidey variation too, and fills a hole on the shelf. He comes in at 6 inches tall, and stands great on his own.

White Tiger isn't exactly detail heavy. Capturing a sleek, clean look can be very, very hard, however, and they've done it with perfection here. The sculpt on the tiger necklace is a little soft, but the work on the head and hair make up for it and then some.  The Marvel Legends female body can have issues, but they've gone with the shorter, thicker legs on this character, and the proportions are far better for it. Her sculpted claw hands work with just about any feline pose. She stands 5 1/2 inches tall.

Finally, there's the Superior Venom, and if you think he looks a bit like Doc Ock, you'd be right. This is what happens when the symbiote takes over the good doctor...and it's a damn sweet design. There's a ton of sculpted detail in the face, with a mouth full of serious teeth. The octopus-like arms off the back look terrific, and aren't so heavy that they completely through off the center of gravity in poses.  If I had one nit, it's that the connection for these on the back isn't very good - the posts are short, making it hard to keep them in place even with basic handling. He's the biggest of the three, standing about 6 1/2 inches tall.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Paint - White Tiger ***1/2; Spider-Man, Venom ****
It's important to remember that these are basic action figures. I can't really say too much about the price being cheap - basic action figures aren't $5 any more - but considering the retail demands and mass market expectations, the paint work here is exceptionally good.

Of the three, the only one that had a real issue of any kind was White Tiger. And it's not the white, which is very consistent across all the various body parts.  It's also quite clean, if a little bit more off-white than ideal. Her stripes look terrific, with clean, sharp edges. Her only issue is the eyes, which have some over spray onto the white of the mask. It's very minor - you'll need to magnify the figure to see it - but it's still a nit for me.

The other two have no such problems.  The Superior Venom is particularly well done, with very clean white lines and an amazingly good job on the teeth, considering the scale and price point. You can still find a blip here and there (there are a couple minor marks on the white logo), but the issues are minor all things considered.

Scarlet Spidey has the cool logo on his blue hoodie, and it looks great.  There aren't a lot of small details, but critical areas, like the black rimmed white eyes, look terrific.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Articulation - White Tiger ***1/2; Spider-Man, Venom ****
All the usual Marvel Legends articulation is here, and most of it works quite well.

Let's see if I remember it all - rotating hinge neck, double pin elbows on the boys, rotating hinge elbows on the girl, rotating hinge wrists, ab-crunch, cut waist, cut thighs, double pin knees, rotating hinge ankles and swivel feet. White Tiger adds in cut joints on the calves as well.

All those joints have a great range of movement, with little to interfere in the character designs.  These joints are all fairly sturdy too - the plastic is a little rubbery, but not as bad as we've seen with some of the other figures.  White Tiger is a particular improvement over Misty Knight, but a big part of that is due to the shorter, thicker legs she has, which makes the knee and ankle joints thicker as well.

The winner here is the rocker ankle/foot joints.  They work terrific, allowing you to keep the feet flat on the ground in even super deep stances, making the figure look much more realistic and providing greater stability.

My one complaint is with those Venom tentacles again.  They did not articulate them - they fit in the holes in back in one way, with posts specifically designed for each hole.  That seems like a missed opportunity to me.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Accessories - White Tiger **1/2; Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom ***1/2
Everyone has a BAF piece, but White Tiger has the largest - the Rhino torso.  I suppose you could count her necklace as well (if you pop off the head you can remove it), but I'm not including it in this category.  That means the one BAF piece nets her the usual **1/2 stars.

Both Scarlet Spider and Venom do much better. They also have their BAF pieces, and Spidey's is not one but TWO heads for Rhino! Along with the two heads, he has two additional sets of hands for himself.  That gives him a set of fists, a set of open hands, and a set of web shooting hands. They swap easily enough, but you will have to push pretty hard to get the wrist post to snap all the way in.

Finally, there's Venom. The tentacles that caused him some minor issues in the last couple categories step up and add quite a bit to his score here.  They look terrific, and there's four of them - a pretty big number for extras in this line.  He can go without them as well, and that might be a look you prefer on the shelf.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Fun Factor - ****
Lots of useful articulation make these fantastic toys for young and old alike.  If you're kids are getting into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, these figures can be their gateway into the comic book styles.  Characters like Venom will be showing up in future films I'm sure, and introducing them to the Scarlet Spider is not a bad idea either. Hey, he was a fun character!

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Value - **1/2
You can pick these up for $18 at some retailers, and most will be in the $20 and under range. Considering the quality and the other figures currently on the market in this same range, that's an acceptable value.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Things to Watch Out For -
You really have to put the pressure on to get the hands to snap into place on Spidey, but once they are they stay put. I didn't have any worries about damaging them in the process, but you'll still want to be aware.

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Overall - White Tiger ***1/2; Spider-Man, Venom ****
We are five terrific waves of Marvel Legends into the year, and I have to say it again - this wave is my favorite.  The quality of all 7 figures was above average, with both unique character choices as well as some characters that have long deserved this sort of treatment. Add in a terrific BAF (and yes, I'll be reviewing all 5 BAF's together!) and you have an outstanding wave.

Whether they speak to you or not will depend on your love for these various Spider-Man characters.  In the end, love them or hate them, the quality was where it needs to be for the overall line.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ****
Paint - White Tiger ***1/2; Spider-Man, Venom ****
Articulation - White Tiger ***1/2; Spider-Man, Venom ****
Accessories - White Tiger **1/2; Scarlet Spider-Man, Superior Venom ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - White Tiger ***1/2; Spider-Man, Venom ****

White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- has the set of 7 for $155.

- Entertainment Earth has the set of 7 figures for $160.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered dozens and dozens of Marvel Legends figures over the years, so I'm not going to run through the entire list here. But this year I've already covered the first half of this wave, including Kraven, Chameleon, Misty Knight and Ghost Rider, the Ant-Man wave in part 1 with Giant Man, Bull Dozer and Grim Reaper, and part 2 with Ant-man, Wasp, and Tiger Shark. and the Avengers (Thanos) wave, in part 1 with Hulk, Hellcat, and Iron Man MK43, and part 2 with Captain America, Batroc and Spider-Woman. Before that is the 'Hobgoblin' series which I've started with part 1 here, and the 'Allfather' wave, including Captain Marvel, Sentry and Thor and Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Machine Man and Iron Fist. I also checked out the Toys R Us exclusive three pack of Coulson, Fury and Maria Hill from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
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White Tiger, Scarlet Spider, Superior Venom Marvel Legends figure by Hasbro

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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

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