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Packaging - **1/2
The packaging is serviceable, but I'm not a huge fan. It's just so big,
and it's going to take up a lot of storage room for the MOCer. Still, it's
sturdy, shows off the figure well, and can fit on a book shelf just like a
book. It's a catch 22.
Sculpting - ***
The sculpt on Venom is large - you can see in the comparison shot with
Zipline Batman and some of the other Marvel Select figures just how big this guy
is. That's not too far off the source material, but might not be
everyone's cup of latte.
The head sculpt is well done, especially with the detail work around the
teeth and tongue. Here's a guy that Gene Simmons envies! The
musculature is oversized, similar to the standard style of most comics today,
but there's not a tremendous amount of detail work there.
Paint - **1/2
The paint apps aren't quite as nice as the sculpt. Part of that is due
to the tough colors that they have to work with. White and black conflict
pretty easily, and even the slightest overspray or poor definition between these
colors is quite obvious.
Venom suffers from these problems around the white eyes, and on the version
with the emblem, around it as well. The paint work with the tongue and
teeth is nice, but the rest of the body is your basic black.
Articulation - ***
For a guy with a lot of articulation, he's oddly stiff. Venom has
neck, ball jointed shoulders, wrists, waist, funky hips, and ankles.
The pre-posed leg sculpt means the hip and ankle articulation won't do a
whole lot. Considering the design of the hips - they move forward and back
and in and out - you'd think there would be more he could do with them, but
alas, it's not to be. He does stand fine on his own though.
The upper body articulation is a little more useful, and you can use the
shoulders and wrists to get a pretty wide range of poses.
Accessories - ***
All the Marvel Select figures come with bases, and Venom continues the
tradition. His isn't quite as cool as the best - like Black Cat's - but
it's not bad.
His base is a section of wall, with a built in safe. There's also a
small section of floor in front of it. Parker, in his Spidey duds, has
been attached to the wall by Venom with the usual webbing. This is the
young, teenage boy of the Ultimate comics, not the older, wizened Spidey.
The safe opens, and you can place the other accessory, a flask of the black
symbiote that turned Eddie Brock into Venom, inside. The safe works well,
and while the flask lacks details, it's an appropriate touch.
The sculpting and paint work on the base is great. It's a tad small
compared to some of the best dioramas that Marvel Select has produced, but it's
still nicely done and looks good with the figure.
Value - **1/2
I'm betting you pay $18 for this. Anything over $15 is a tad too much,
but if you're lucky you might be able to get it down in that magic price
range. I know that Media Play clearanced out some of the earlier Marvel
Select stuff, so you may find Venom there (or at their sister store, Sam Goody)
for a more reasonable price.
Overall - ***
As action figures go, Venom isn't exceptional, but he's certainly a decent
representation of the character. He follows the source material pretty
well, the base and accessories are cool, and he has better than average
articulation. There's certainly been worse versions of this character
produced, and not too many better.
Where to Buy -
Check your local comic shops, or perhaps Media Play, Sam Goody, Electronics
Boutique or Gamestop. Online options include:
- Red Planet Toys doesn't have
this one listed yet, but they usually carry the Marvel Select figures.
Give them a call - expect to pay around $19.
- Alter Ego Comics has him
for about $16, but won't ship for a couple weeks.
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