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Introduction
It's been awhile since I covered a full wave of Marvel Legends, so let's get back to basics with a look at the new Molten Man wave, also known as the Spider-Man Far From Home wave. It consists of Doppelganger Spider-man, Mysterio (both covered tonight), Spider-Man Hero Suit, Spider-Man Stealth Suit, Spider-Woman, Scorpion, Hydro-Man, and the BAF of Molten Man. While there's seven figures, you only need six - no BAF part with Hero Suit Spidey - to complete Molten Man.
As I said, I'm covering the first two tonight, Mysterio and the Doppelganger Spider-Man. I'll hit up the rest in the next couple weeks, a couple at
a time. You'll pay around $20 each for these at most retailers, and you should be able to find them on the pegs right now.
Packaging - ***
Nothing new with the packaging, and it's quite collector friendly thanks to the tray and plastic cover. There's one piece of tape over the extra
hands with Mysterio, but otherwise you should be able to remove and replace everything without any damage if you so desire. The back of the pack
shows which figures have which BAF parts, and there's a simple bio on each character.
Sculpting - ***1/2
Mysterio benefits a bit here since there's no 'unmasked' head. The round dome looks great, but that's largely a factor of paint work.
But the costume is well sculpted to look like the film version, and there's plenty of detail and texture. The cape is a bit thick, but he can stand fine while wearing it, and the design of the costume has little effect on the articulation.
The ugly doppelganger is even better in this category, with plenty of opportunity in the crazed, grinning face for sculpting detail. The huge fangs look great, and the multiple textures on the suit give it depth and dimension.
Mysterio is about 6 1/4" tall, while Spider-Man is closer to 6".
Paint - ***1/2
Considering the scale and price point, the paint work here is well above average.
The work on Spider-man is largely red and blue of course, but the edges between these colors are generally clean. The white eyes and teeth are a little clumpy, but it's still much better than I expected.
Mysterio's costume is pretty cut and dry, but the metallic (glossy) paint adds some visual pop. I particularly like the star pattern on the helmet, with it's funky colors and trippy design. While there's less detail work on the costume, the helmet makes up for it.
Articulation - ***1/2
Both figures sport the usual level of Marvel Legends articulation, although some changes had to be made in consideration of the designs.
Mysterio's large dome gives the neck less mobility, as you might expect. The rotating hinge shoulders, cut biceps, and rotating hinge wrists work well, and you can get some nice, threatening arm poses. The double pin elbows are a little restricted by the large gauntlets, however. The hands swap cleanly but fit tightly. His ball hips, double pin knees, and rotating hinge ankles with rocker movement allow for shallow to deep stances, although the rocker could be a bit better.
Spider-Man has good movement in the neck, and his six arms all have the rotating hinge shoulder, cut biceps, double pin elbows, and rotating hinge wrists. The arms can be tough to pose all together, as they tend to get in each other's way, and the number of arms means there's no torso articulation. He does have his ball hips, cut thighs, double pin knees, and rocker/rotating ankle joints though, and they work quite well. Even with the funky feet, you should have no trouble finding cool, stable stances.
Accessories - Spider-Man **1/2; Mysterio ***
Here's where things come up a bit short, alas.
Both figures come with a BAF piece of course, which gets them to **1/2 on my personal scale. But that's it for the Doppelganger Spidey.
Mysterio adds in a second set of hands, sculpted in a grasping pose. They swap easily, and are useful, but that's pretty light for a Marvel Legends figure.
Fun Factor - ****
Even without a ton of extras, these two figures really are a lot of fun. Sure, we got a Mysterio not that long ago, but this movie themed version
might be more to the liking of kids, and the Doppelganger makes another terrific villain.
Value - ***
At $20, these are coming in at the average price for a mass market 1/12 figure. The quality remains high and we have seen Hasbro step up their game
over the last year, making it a solid value.
Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.
Overall - ***1/2
The Mysterio makes a nice movie figure addition, even if you just picked up the more comic book themed version a couple waves ago. Pair him up with
either Spider-Man from this wave and you have an excellent battle royale.
But my preference of the two is Doppelganger Spidey, simply because he's such a good design. While you might lose some torso articulation thanks to the extra arms, who can say no to all those appendages? Certainly not Louise. He's plenty posable even with the stiff chest, and the paint and sculpt are both extremely good.
I'll hit up two more from the wave next week!
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - Spider-Man **1/2; Mysterio ***
Fun Factor - ****
Value - ***
Overall - ***1/2
Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
- Entertainment Earth has the singles for $22 and a case (eight figures) for $160 and free shipping!
- or you can search ebay for a deal.
Related Links -
Other recent Marvel Legends reviews include Deadpool Corp; Captain
Marvel, Nick Fury, Kree Sentry, and Genis-Vell. I've
covered quite a few Marvel Legends over the years, including figures from Infinity War;
Black Knight and Malekith;
Thor, Cull Obsidian, and Black Widow;
and Ant-man and the Wasp.
Use the Search Reviews page to find even more.
You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
