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Review of Batroc, Spider Girl, Captain America
Marvel Legends Avengers action figures
Hasbro
Date Published: 2015-06-01
Written By: Michael Crawford
Overall Average Rating: 3
out of 4
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Introduction
We've already gotten three full Marvel Legends waves this year, with more to come. I've covered all of the Allfather
wave, but only part of the Hobgoblin and Thanos' waves. Tonight I'll do a little more catch up, and finish off the
final three figures in the Thanos series - Captain America, Spider Girl, and Batroc. Earlier, I covered Hulk, Hell Cat and Iron Man.
Thanos is the BAF of course, but it only requires five of the six figures to complete him. Both Hellcat and Spider Girl
come with the same BAF pieces - the head and one arm. You can decide if you want both characters or just one to
complete Thanos.
These are shipping widely right now, and there should be plenty at your local Target, Toys R Us, or other mass market
retailer. Expect to pay around $20 each, although with sales you can find them for a few bucks less at times.
Click on the image below for a Life Size version
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Packaging - ****
I'm a big fan of collector friendly packaging - packages that can be opened, the figure removed, and then replaced later,
all with no serious damage. Flatt World Figures were the first to coin this phrase a dozen years or so ago, but now
it's pretty much the standard in high end collectibles packaging. It's not a standard with mass market lines though, where
issues of theft and damage are prevalent. I have to hand it to Hasbro for these 'hanging boxes', which are easy to
open on the side, slide out the tray, and remove the figure. There's also no twist ties or rubber bands, another big
annoyance with most other lines. Bravo!
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Sculpting - Batroc ****; Cap ***1/2; Spider Girl ***
I'm betting most people never expected to get a Batroc...at least not a classic version. We got to see him in last year's
Winter Soldier flick, and he is involved with the Black Panther in modern comics, so maybe we'll see him again.
A lot of people will be posing this guy jumping and kicking - he was the JVCD of the 60's. A master martial artist, the
fancy mustache and goatee give him that certain something, and I love the old style costume. The grinning expression matches
his attitude nicely, and they've included plenty of detail in the face and cowl.
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Captain America is no real surprise, but they have done a nice job on the detailing and texturing of this particular
costume. Both head sculpts bear a mild resemblance to the current Cap, although that's mostly because they have that
striking jawline and blonde hair.
Spider Girl is attractive, with full lips and a small nose. The hair lacks some detail, and it's length does restrict the
neck a bit. I'm not a huge fan of the ungainly ML female body, and this version seems somewhat worse - perhaps it's the
overall proportions that just seem off. She's not awful (at least not in this category), but I can't give her anything
better than a B.
This is a six inch scale line, with Cap and Batroc just over that, and Spider Girl just under.
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Paint - Batroc, Cap ***; Spider Girl *
Both Cap and Batroc have reasonable quality paint work for this scale and price point. There's some slop here and
there, and a few edges that are fuzzy or bleeding, but most of the colors are consistent and defined. My biggest complaint
is that Cap's unmasked head is too shiny thanks to a coat of gloss.
Unfortunately, Spider Girl sports one of the worst paint jobs I've ever seen. There's slop EVERYWHERE. There's rub marks,
stray paint, terrible edges and cut lines...its slop city. It's also not just on her face or just her costume - it's head to
toe. I would like to think I just got a really, really bad exception, but I suspect this wave has had problems across the
board, and getting good paint ops is the exception.
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Articulation - Batroc, Cap ***1/2; Spider Girl **1/2
Pretty standard stuff for anyone that's bought Marvel Legends in the past. The body used for Batroc is the norm, and
works quite well. There's not much to get in the way of the many joints, and you should be able to do some very cool kicking
and leaping poses with an appropriate stand.
Cap works well too, even with the additional sculpted parts. In fact, I had more fun posing him, thanks to the shield and
various hands. Both of these figures stand great on their own too, and the rocker ankle joints allow the feet to
remain flat on the ground in more extreme stances.
The female body used with Spider Girl isn't quite as articulated as the gents, and I had more issues with getting
reasonable stances. Part of this was due to my attempts to use the 'wings' in more than one way, and their restrictive
nature, but part was due to the hips and legs just not working quite the way I'd like.
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Accessories - Cap ****; Spider Girl ***; Batroc **1/2
Regular readers know that if a figure comes just with a BAF piece (or two), it gets **1/2 stars here. If you're
building the BAF, that's great. If you're not, they end up wasted plastic to you.
That's the case with Batroc, who only has the torso and collar for Thanos. Don't worry - I'll get to a review of Thanos
soon, and I'll cover both the Hobgoblin and the Allfather at the same time.
Spider Girl does a little better here, coming with both the fully extended 'wings', and the smaller folded versions. Too
bad both sets suck. They don't attach particularly well (there's a small hole in the upper arm that a post should fit
inside), especially the small pair, and they make posing even more problematic than it already is.
Cap does much better however, and comes with plenty of extras. Of course he has his BAF parts, but he also has a second
unmasked head, another set of hands, and his classic shield. The hands swap easily enough, and work with some interesting
poses. One set is fists, the other has a pointing left and a flat right. A gripping hand for the shield strap
would have been nice, but it's not a deal breaker. I also wish there was a way to put the shield on his back, but that's
just a wish, not a requirement.
I really like the shield, and he can pose with it in a wide variety of ways. Both head sculpts look good, and swap quite
easily.
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Fun Factor - ***1/2
Spider Girl has her issues with posing and paint, making her a little less fun than the two boys. Still, the entire Marvel
Legends line keeps the action figure play concept at the forefront, and are much better toys than the usual 'collector
focused' action figure series.
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Value - **1/2
These will run you around $20, although you can find sales at stores like Target or Meijers and save a buck or two
each. That's pretty much the norm for this scale and style, and these are more articulated than much of the
competition. The BAF concept adds to the value of the entire wave as well, at least for fans of the character.
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Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I didn't have trouble with any of the joints, but it's always a good idea to work them a bit first to make sure
they are loose before you go all hog wild. And if you're picking them out on the shelf, definitely watch the paint.
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Overall - Cap, Batroc ***1/2; Spider Girl **
Both Cap and Batroc are on the plus side of ML figures, with the usual great articulation backed up by cool sculpting and
accessories. And Batroc is just a smooth looking dude.
Poor Spider Girl is just a mess. The head sculpt isn't bad, but with the paint issues and goofy wings, she's not going to
be a popular date for the nerd prom. If you need the Thanos parts, Hellcat is a slightly better choice, but in either case
watch out for paint issues.
Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - Batroc ****; Cap ***1/2; Spider Girl ***
Paint - Batroc, Cap ***; Spider Girl *
Articulation - Batroc, Cap ***1/2; Spider Girl **1/2
Accessories - Cap ****; Spider Girl ***; Batroc **1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **1/2
Overall - Cap, Batroc ***1/2; Spider Girl **
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Where to Buy
Online options include these site sponsors:
-
has the set of 6 for $135, or the singles for $18.
-
has the set of 6 for $140.
- Entertainment Earth has the
set for $160, and the
singles for $18.
- or you can search
ebay for a deal.
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Please share with your friends!
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This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.
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