Packaging - N/A
Check out part one for that section!
Sculpting - Spider-Man ****
Good old Web Head here is the only brand new sculpt in the Marvel Legends line-up as far as I know, and I'm really impressed. The sculpted webbing throughout is superb and Spidey even has some texture in the blue areas of his costume. This is probably one of the most articulated version of "comic" Spider-Man to date and it doesn't affect the sculpt whatsoever.
Sculpting - Venom *** 1/2
Venom makes use of Sabretooth's body and it's virtually unnoticeable... if you ignore the fins on the elbows and the gray nails. And of course the mold used for Sabretooth was incredible so the transition to serve as Venom's body is equally good. Toy Biz decided to give Venom an expression that we aren't used to seeing in toy form: a 'sinister' smile without his tongue showing. I'm pretty sure that this decision was made so that another Venom with cooler
head sculpt can be sold in the future. Venom's head resembles that of a whale but it doesn't bother me too much.
Sculpting - Electro ***
Electro... not to be confused with Daredevil's girlfriend Elektra, is showing up in Marvel Legends style for the first time. He also joins the likes of Urban Legends Spider-Man and Mr. Fantastic with the use of the super scrawny body; my least favorite of all. Even so, there's not too much to complain about here but I was never fond of the design of the costume. Seems too cartoony for my tastes. And the smile behind the mask doesn't help none either.
The hands are sculpted in a rather interesting way, making it appear like he's using them to conduct electricity. While I'm happy that they tried, it still comes off as odd looking.
Sculpting - Black Cat ** 1/2
The Black Cat probably ranks as one of my least favorite *new* figures in this set. She makes use of the same body that was used for Elektra and Rogue, which is already outdated in my opinion. I would have preferred a better designed body like the one used for Invisible Woman but that isn't the case here. Black Cat also has a horrible
head sculpt with big plastic hair. The body is awkward as is the head. Not a pretty picture.
Paint - Elektro ** 1/2; the rest ***
In general, the paint ops are generally ok but pretty sloppy in some cases. Elektro here has the biggest case of messed up paint, with entire blotches of missing paint! The rest of the guys reviewed in part 2 are generally ok though there's nothing stand out about any of them.
Articulation - ****
What's not to love? Articulation is abundant in this grouping of figures. Spider-Man leads the pack with 45points of articulation. There are some new features in this Spidey when it comes to the arms... it feels like there's a lot more range made available which I find really impressive. The webbing does get in the way somewhat but not too much.
Venom and Black Cat each have 40 points of articulation. As mentioned above, I'm pretty disappointed with the body used for Black Cat but mainly because of the articulation. When Elektra first came out, it blew me away. But now this body just needs to be redone since there are a ton of poses that you cannot get with this body. Venom is as good as Sabretooth so that's all there is to that.
Electro only has 38 points of articulation but it's still pretty good! If you have the Mr. Fantastic Figure, that's pretty much what this figure is.
Accessories - **
Part 1 of this review showed the figures with all the accessories and lousy articulation. Part 2 is the complete opposite! Tons of articulation and zero accessories! Sure there's the standard unique base to stand on but nothing else comes with any of these figures. I suppose you can count Spidey's web but since it's part of the costume and isn't easily removable, it really wouldn't do much for the overall score.
Fun Factor - *** 1/2
Marvel Legends have been known to be great toys. Decent to fantastic sculpts and plenty of articulation is the name of the game so any kid who loves Spider-Man will love this set.
Value - ***1/2
I paid $40 for this set at Toys'R'Us, which comes out to about $6 a figure, which really ain't all that bad! Each figure is pretty well articulated with stand and some accessories.
Overall - ***; Individually - Spider-Man ****; Venom *** 1/2; Electro, Green Goblin ***; Black Cat, Kraven ** 1/2; Dr. Octopus **
I love the Marvel Legends toys and I know I gave most of these figures pretty high marks, but the truth of the matter is that I'm a bit disappointed overall. Spider-Man is the only figure that I flat out loved from this set, and he's not even a new character! Venom is a very solid figure while Electro and Green Goblin are just about average. Black Cat, Kraven and Doc Ock fall in the "below average" category with me. Black Cat is just flat out disappointing with the awkward looking body, boring sculpt and big plastic hair that limits articulation. Kraven is a figure that just wasn't needed a second time... period. And Dr. Octopus... well... let's just say I'm looking forward to the new one.
So in the end, is this set worth buying? It really depends on how big of a fan you are and maybe how many repeat characters you want. I can imagine there being a better Venom and Green Goblin further down the line, and we already know that a better Doc Ock is on the way. The new Spider-Man figure is great but is it that important? Don't need Kraven and Black Cat could have been better. If you see this set marked down... I think this definitely would be a good buy.
COMPLETE SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - Spider-Man ****; Venom ***1/2; Green Goblin, Electro ***; Black Cat, Dr. Octopus, Kraven ** 1/2
Paint - ***; Electro ** 1/2; Dr. Octopus **
Articulation - Green Goblin ***; Doc Ock ** 1/2; the rest ****
Accessories - Doc Ock, Green Goblin ****; Kraven ***; the rest **
Fun Factor - *** 1/2
Value - *** 1/2
Overall - ***; Individually - Spider-Man ****; Venom *** 1/2; Electro, Green Goblin ***; Black Cat, Kraven ** 1/2; Dr. Octopus **
Where to buy:
So far I've only seen this set available at Toys'R'Us stores but keep looking as Wal-Mart may carry these as well.
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