Hasbro has drawn the ire of toy-collecting fans in the couple of years since they took over the Marvel Legends line, and for good reason. Honestly, they’ve done a really half-assed job compared to Toy Biz, the company that started the line. Spare paint applications, decreased articulation, and inferior sculpts are just a few of the problems fans are having with the line. To be fair, Hasbro has produced a few stellar figures, such as Hercules and She-Hulk. But they’ve released far more pieces of crap, like Ultimate Wolverine and Bucky, two of the worst action figures produced in the last decade or so. And for those comic fans screaming bloody murder about comic book cover prices going up to $3.99, consider this: Hasbro has raised the SRP of Marvel Legends figures from $10 to $15 in one fell swoop. Ouch.
All bitching aside, Hasbro recently released new pics of their latest 12-inch Marvel Icons line, and they look friggin’ great. You can check out the shots of the new Daredevil, Nightcrawler, Phoenix and Colossus at Superhero Times. Colossus in particular has me drooling:
That’s a fantastic sculpt, and the paint job looks great. Of course, that’s a publicity photo, and the actual product may look inferior in comparison since Hasbro tends to use flattering lighting for these shots (just like ABC does for Barbara Walters). But the Icon figures Hasbro has released so far have been pretty good for the most part, so I’m optimistic this line will be worth checking out.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
That Nightcrawler is pretty cool looking, too! Jean’s got the best face of a female figure from them yet, but something about her torso/waist doesn’t look quite right to me, especially in red. Anyone else feel that way, or am I just looking at it strangely?
December 11th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Wow–that Colossus figure is astonishing, indeed. I’m with Lucas in regards to the gait of the Jean Grey figure…and if you think back all the female characters from this line of figures (White Queen, the Black Queen TRU exclusive…who else?) all have this awful set of hips.
Going back to Colossus though–talk about getting one perfect. Even in the box he looks immense. And he’s not got that “blue steel” look that the original Legends figure had. I’ve been in “in retirement” as far as figures go the past few years (barring a few Mighty Muggs for my desk) but I will be buying Colossus without a doubt.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:05 am
I’ll be honest here … I think Hasbro has more than redeemed itself over the last year – if for no other reason that Fin Fang Foom, which this blogger failed to mention.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:11 am
David, I also think that Fin Fang Foom looked great. The downside of it was that at most retail locations, the actual figures that the pieces came with received a $5 price increase (from approx. $10 each to $15 each). That’s a lot for Hasbro to ask, especially now.
December 11th, 2008 at 10:44 am
I agree about Fin Fang Foom, but I wouldn’t say Hasbro has redeemed themselves. The new Adam Warlock figure has poor articulation and a lazy paint job, so they’re still churning out bad toys.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:29 am
That price increase killed all interest I had in the figures. Way too steep.
December 11th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Hasbro has had the license for less that two years – and while yes, you get some weaker figures (you didn’t mention Emma Frost?), you also get some outstanding figures and some greeat two packs. And let’s not forget that ToyBiz had plenty of stinkers (X-23? Lady Deathstrike?). Toy Biz also had less than admirable Quality Control- especially when it came to paint apps, misplaced joints, and fragile plastics.
I find the Hasbro figures to be sturdier, while keeping the articulation and stylings of the Toy Biz run. I don’t which Adam Warlock figures you got, but mine is awesome – as is my Crossbones, Forge, Xorn, my Ghost Rider figures, my Iron Man movie figures, my Elektra, my Ronin, my Union Jack, etc … etc. My build a figure Ronan, my Ka-Zart, My Shanna, my Fin Fang Foom, my Silver Surfer, my new Doctor Doom, etc – I think they have improved by leaps and bounds. And, having seen what they are doing next year, I couldn’t be happier.
That being said, the price of toys has increased because the price of oil skyrocketed in the summer – and that effects toy prices today. The Hulk figures were bigger figures – and cost more to make, so of course it’ll cost more in the long run. As oil prices drop, so do figure prices – but it takes about 6 to 8 months to see those drops.
And if you haven’t seen the new red Daredevil hitting the stores in a few weeks, you are really missing out.
It’s a good column, but I just strongly disagree with your opening assertions.
January 8th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
These are an improvement,and Jean’s face is one of the best I’ve seen for a long time.But that torso joint is ugly and the figure looks too skinny.Those ball joints on all of the figures look kind of ugly but not as bad as the previous ones.