Review of Steve Rogers, Iron Man Extremis, Ghost Rider, Terrax
Marvel Legends action figures (Terrax Wave)

Introduction

Earlier this week, I checked out the first half of the new Marvel Legends wave, hanging on pegs at your local Toys R Us, Target and Meijer. In that review, I covered Thor, Constrictor, Klaw, and Hope Summers, while tonight I'm checking out the rest - Steve Rogers, Ghost Rider, Iron Man Extremis and the Build A Figure, Terrax.

Three of these have good kid recognition. If they saw the Captain America movie, they know who Rogers is, although this more modern incarnation might have them scratching their heads. Likewise for Iron Man, although the color variant I'm looking at in this review is a bit new for them. And with the second Ghost Rider film being advertised every other commercial break, they are certainly going to recognize old flame brain.

There are three variants in this wave, and I'm looking at all three in this review. Steve Rogers has a translucent shield rather than the traditional look, and Iron Man Extremis has a pretty radical color change. The variant Ghost Rider is the odd ball, since he's the normal look with orange and red flames. The regular release has blue, a new (but not super common) variation on the theme.

No word yet as to whether the variants or regulars are harder to find, and it's likely to be very geographic. They pack all three variants in the same case, and it seems like variant cases are getting shipped to the same locations, not variant cases to others. All I've seen in my neck of the woods so far is variants, and I'm betting other areas of the country are only seeing regulars.

I grabbed these at Meijer and Target near home, where they are $14.99. That's the same price I paid for the Red Hulk wave back in 2008. Deja vu all over again!

Packaging - ***1/2
Unlike the first set, there were no problems this time with overly posed figures in the bubble resulting in warped joints or limbs. That allows this score to bump up, and one of the features that I really like is the extreme personalization of the card backs. The character in the bubble is featured heavily on the front and back of the card, a much better (but more costly) approach than simply using a generic backer with a unique name sticker.

Sculpting - Steve, Terrax ****; Ghost Rider ***; Iron Man **1/2
The previous four figures were all good sculpts, but none of them got me excited. That's not the case here.

Both Steve and Terrax are excellent figures. The detailed head sculpt on Rogers is already one of my favorites of the entire ML history, and Terrax has the sort of detail and quality that we normally only see in online collector focused lines.  There's lots of extra details in their costume pieces, like Steve's belts, and this adds quite a bit to the basic bodies. Both are designed to work well with their articulation and accessories, and both look fantastic with other figures in the series. Steve comes in at around 6 1/2", while Terrax is over 7 1/2".

The sculpts on Ghost Rider and Iron Man aren't quite as enthralling. Ghost Rider has the usual black outfit and flaming head, but something about this incarnation isn't working for me. He's boxy looking across the torso, with weirdly proportioned arms, and the flaming head looks more like orange hair than Hell's fire. He's also pretty big for this character all around, making him not really fit in visually as well as he should with the crowd.

Iron Man has the opposite problem. He's down around 6" tall, making any Tony that would be inside the suit just slightly bigger than a Munchkin. He doesn't fit in well with other figures in the line, and to top it off, the sculpt and articulation don't work as well together.

Paint - ***1/2
Everyone in this set of four looks great, with only a few minor issues here and there. Most folks are going to be very happy with the overall results.

I like the use of translucent plastic, especially on the flames of Ghost Rider and the variant Cap shield. It adds a nice touch to every figure, but is particularly crucial to do right with Ghost Rider.

There's also a fair number of paint ops on the figures (not the accessories, but at least the figures), and most cut lines are clean and sharp. There's a slip here and there that keeps me from giving them another half star, but they are all still well above average in this category.

Articulation - Steve, Terrax ***1/2; Ghost Rider, Iron Man ***
These figures all have fairly standard Marvel Legends articulation. Some works better (like Terrax and Steve) and some is more restricted (like GR and IM).

For regular buyers there's nothing surprising here in terms of joint count - ball neck, ball shoulders and hips, double pin knees and elbows, pin ankles and wrists, cut thighs and biceps, ab crunches and cut waists...all the usual are here.

Most of the joints work well, too, giving you plenty of posing options and allowing the figures to stand great on their own.

One big plus is on Terrax's ankles, which are rocker joints as well. This allows his feet to rest flat even in deeper stances.

Accessories - Steve, Terrax ***1/2; Ghost Rider, Iron Man **
This is a category where the results range from mediocre to great.

Both Iron Man and Ghost Rider only come with the parts for Terrax. If you're building Terrax, that's nice, and worth a couple stars overall. It isn't a huge surprise with Iron Man either, since he's traditionally a tough one to come up with good extras for.  But Ghost Rider? We don't even get an extra chain or two? That's a disappointment.

Steve Rogers is the winner out of the series in this category. He comes with a piece for Terrax, as well as two guns and his shield. As I mentioned earlier, this is the variant with the clear shield. On the back of the shield is an attachment for his wrist that can also flip to present a peg. This peg then fits in Steve's back, the usual place he carries the shield when not in use. The guns are identical, with good sculpts (he holds them great) but no paint ops.

Terrax scores well here because he's one of those rare BaF's that is not just an accessory, but has accessories of his own! Hope Summers came with the two pieces to build his nasty looking ax-like weapon, and again, while it lacks in terms of paint the sculpt is great.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
These are fun figures, and with the more recognizable characters, kids are more likely to go for it. The articulation is solid, and I had no worries about breakage this time around. While Terrax is less well known, he does make for a great, big, mean looking villain, always a plus in the toybox.

Value - **1/2
At $15 each, these are an average value in the current market. Decent accessories, solid articulation, and great sculpts help make that price point more tolerable. However, if you pay the $17 or more that some stores are charging, I'd drop a half star here.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing this time around!

Overall - Steve ****; Terrax ***1/2; Ghost Rider ***; Iron Man **1/2
Terrax is already my favorite BaF of the year...although it's a little early in the year to be sure that won't change. With both Mattel and Hasbro cranking them out over the next 10 months, he's going to get some competition. That being said, his sculpt and articulation, along with his own accessory, are likely to set him apart.

Ghost Rider is...okay. The translucent flames are nice, and the general build quality is good, but without any specific accessories and a slightly weird body sculpt, he's only getting an average score.

Iron Man is a disappointment, at least for me. Undersized and underwhelming, I'd recommend skipping him and going with one of the better Marvel Select or Hasbro Iron Man series figures instead. Of course, if you want to build the very cool Terrax, you're stuck picking him up.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - Steve, Terrax ****; Ghost Rider ***; Iron Man **1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - Steve, Terrax ***1/2; Ghost Rider, Iron Man ***
Accessories - Steve, Terrax ***1/2; Ghost Rider, Iron Man **
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - Steve ****; Terrax ***1/2; Ghost Rider ***; Iron Man **1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth has the case of 8 for $125.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Back in the day, there were lots of ML reviews - 

- earlier this week I covered part 1 of this wave, including Thor, Constrictor, Klaw and Hope Summers.

- last series I remember reviewing was the Red Hulk set, in part 1 and part 2.

- Then there was the last wave of 'icons', the larger scale Legends.

- before that, there was the Foom/Hulk wave, broken into one review here and another here.

- I never did look at the third wave of Hasbro ML's, but I did cover wave 2 and series 1, first at MROTW and then at QSE.

- you’ll want to check out my review of the other four figures.

- Hasbro released several of the 12″ Marvel Legends Icons, including Punisher and Doom, and my favorite, Thor.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, where you'll find a ton of earlier Toybiz Marvel Legends reviews as well as any other applicable reviews that were done after this one was published.

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