Review of Marvel Legends Electro & Spider-Man
Amazing Spider-man 2 action figures

Introduction

I'm going to risk losing my nerd card, but I really enjoyed the Amazing Spider-Man. I realize there were issues, and I know a lot of geeks that I respect hated it. But at the end of the day, I came out of there feeling good about the reboot.

Obviously that means I'm looking forward to the second installment this spring, although I have to admit to a few reservations after seeing the initial trailer. I hope Electro doesn't end up another Carey/Riddler or Arnold/Freeze, but I won't pass final judgment til after I've seen the full flick.

Hasbro will be cranking out some toys of course, and they've included several in their new Spidey themed Marvel Legends. This series is a Build-A-Figure set, and includes 11 figures in total, Thankfully, you only need six of them to complete the large Green Goblin, and the Amazing Spider-Man himself is one of them. I'm also looking at the new Electro, and I'll cover more very soon.

This cost me $15 each at Target, although I'm not sure if that price will be consistent across all mass market retailers.

Packaging - ***1/2
The packages show off the figures quite well, although they are a bit thicker than they really need to be. It's a minor nit though, and much more important is that while this is a mass market toy, the package is actually completely collector friendly. It's a hanging box, more or less, with an inner tray. The side of the package opens, the tray slips out, and there's no twisty ties or bands holding anything in. Bravo!

It's also worth mentioning that they show off all of the figures on the back of the package, which is always a nice touch, and they make it very clear which figure has which BAF piece.

Sculpting - ***
As much as I love these figures - and I do - they both have some sculpting issues.

These are in a six inch scale, with Spider-man coming in just under that. He should, since he's still a youngster. Scale looks good to me, and I like the detail in the suit. But because of the extreme articulation, sculpt junkies will not be thrilled with the overall look. The exposed joints can be a bit much, especially his odd hips and shoulders.

The Electro is a little better, more in line with a standard Marvel Legends figure. Yes, there's lots of articulation, but the sculpt isn't quite as compromised.

However, I'm really, really, really not digging the character design. In plastic form, he looks an awful lot like a modernized Mr. Freeze, from the translucent blue colors, the icicle-like electric lightning coming out of the hands, to the rubber suit. Knowing it's Electro, I get it, but I'm hoping that when we see him on screen, the crackling electricity coming off his body will dispel the confusion.

Paint - ***
Sadly, neither of these sport outstanding paint jobs. They are passable, but that's about it.

Spider-man has some nice work around the eyes, but the textured costume lines are very hit or miss - some are quite black, others didn't get a lick of paint. The emblem is a bit sloppy as well, but I do like the metallic blue on the costume.

While I really like the translucent blue color of the face, I'm not sure the paint job is helping any with the Mr. Freeze confusion. The ice blue color of the face and hands, along with the frosty white, makes him look more like frozen water than sparking electricity. Let's hope the look works better on screen.

Articulation - ****
While the sculpt might suffer a bit, the articulation junkies are going to love these figures. There's a ton of joints, and it all works really well.

Both have ball jointed necks, with a forward/backward tilt action at the torso as well. They work pretty well, allowing you to better use the overall torso articulation.

The shoulders on Electro are ball joints, but Spider-man has the cool double jointed shoulders that allow the arms a tremendous range of movement. He can fully cross his arms over his chest, and reach over to either side of his head.

Both have double pin elbows, and pin/disc style ball wrists that work great. They also both have a great ab-crunch, and a cut waist.

While both have ball hips and cut thighs, the hips on the Electro are a bit more restricted by the pelvis design.  Spider-man has a more open, smaller pelvis, which allows for great mobility, but looks a bit weird from certain angles.

Both figures finish up with double pin knees, cut calves, and great ball ankles that have excellent rocker movement. This movement allows them to remain flat on the floor in deeper stances.

The joints are all tight and sturdy, and they stand great on their own in just about any poses.

Accessories - Electro ***1/2; Spider-Man ***
Electro does better here than Spidey due to one big extra.

Obviously, both come with a Green Goblin BAF piece. Each has an arm (one right, one left of course) and a separate flame that fits over the Goblin's wrist. If you're going for the BAF, these are great adds. If not, you can always pop them on ebay.

Spider-man comes with an extra set of hands, each in a web shooting pose. The hands swap easily, and are  well articulated.

Electro also has an extra set of hands. While Spider-man comes wearing fists and has the web shooters as extras, Electro comes wearing electricity shooting hands and has an extra set of fists. Like Spider-man, his swap easily.

Oddly enough, the head sculpt he has on in the package doesn't match up with the hands. As I mentioned in the sculpt section, he has a translucent blue head to start, but you can swap it with a version shooting some electricity out of the eye sockets. Clearly, that version goes better with the crackling hands, but at least you have multiple display options.

Fun Factor - ****
With the great articulation and easy to swap hands/head, these are some great toys. I can pretty much guarantee that these will be the best TOYS we get based on the new film, although they probably won't be the cheapest.

Value - ***
Back in the day, Marvel Legends cost $15 each. Since then, other 6 - 7" figures have caught up and passed that price point, some running $20 or more.

So I was pleasantly surprised to only pay $15 each for these at my local Target. I looked at the Toys R Us website, and they are selling them for $25 each - a ridiculous price - and I will also say that the new Captain America Marvel Legends are $20 each at Target. I have no idea why there's such a discrepancy, but I'm grading these on the price I paid.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Even the little tiny wrist pegs are sturdy, and swapping hands didn't seem risky.

Overall - ***1/2
I'm not leaping with joy over the Electro design, but from what little we've seen, they've got it nailed here.  And these are true Marvel Legends figures, as good in quality, articulation and sculpt as the Marvel Legends of the past.

While I ended up scoring them equally overall, it was the extra head sculpt with Electro that got him there. Without it, he would have dropped another half star.

Spider-man is the much better figure, at least for me. I love the posability, something that is really critical for this particular character. I'm willing to trade off some of the aesthetics for the mechanics - if you aren't a joint junkie, you probably won't feel the same.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Articulation - ****
Accessories - Electro ***1/2; Spider-Man ***
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Your best bet is to hit up the local Toys R Us or Target, where these will run you about $15 each. Well, at least Target - I can't vouch for Toys R Us, although I do know they've been hitting there as well.

Related Links -
Other reviews include:

- Marvel Select did some great figures for the first Amazing Spider-Man, including the Lizard. There was also a smaller scale line for the first film, including Spider-Man and Lizard.

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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