Marvel Legends - What If...? Zombie Captain America

When it was first revealed that a animated What If...? series was coming to Disney+ I was excited. I thought this type of series would be the perfect fit for an animated series since these type of stories are usually short and self contained. I wondered if they would tackle some of the classic stories from the comics or do something else. Would be somewhat cannon within the MCU? After months of waiting the series hit the streaming service and I thought it didn't disappoint. While I've still yet to finish the series, the first few episodes were fantastic...including today's subject material.

 

Hasbro's What If...? Marvel Legends series is comprised of 7 figures, 6 of which contain a Build-a-Figure part for Uatu the Watcher. Zombie Captain America is the one figure in this wave that doesn't come with this extra part or really any extra accessories...however the figure is worth every penny of the new $22.99 MSRP.

Straight out of the package you can immediately see all the gory detail oozing out of this figure. This thing is so freaking amazing. The detail sculpted into this figure is accentuated by the stellar paint apps. From the torn costume to the exposed ribs, blood splattered arm and exposed bones in the legs...this figure is horrifyingly beautiful.

A figure like this is only as good as it's head sculpt...and well this one is pretty good. I love the pupil-less eyes, the slightly sunken in nose and overall the expression show on the face. The little bit of splattered blood below the lower lip and on the chin is the icing on the cake!

You'll notice that the left side of his chest has some gruesomely exposed ribs. This carries over to the rear of the figure as well. Part of his bandolier that holds his shield on his back is also ripped (or is it bitten?) over the exposed ribs. Look carefully below that and you'll see the lower part of his uniform is tattered and ripped as well.

When I saw the detail sculpted in the legs I immediately thought back to the Zombie Viper from the 30th Anniversary G.I. Joe series. The exposed flesh and bone itself is pretty wicked, but the fact that you can clear see through the leg is next level.

I haven't had this much fun with a Marvel Legends figure in a long time. Hasbro I feel as really stepped up their game lately as I've seen a lot of great figures on the retail pegs. It has been really hard resisting getting back into collecting Marvel Legends, but when I saw this figure solicited I knew it would be a instant purchase if I happened to find it locally. Thanks to a Walmart out of town that I visited while on a work trip, Zombie Cap has become a prized collection and centerpiece of my collection. 

I thought these photos in black & white looked pretty cool and is my little nod to the godfather of the zombie genre, the late George A. Romero

Marvel Legends: Yondu

Today's toy topic has to do with Yondu from Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. There was a time when the name Yondu wouldn't have resonated with many people outside die hard comic fans, then Michael Rooker brought the character to life on the silver screen as part of Marvel's Cinematic Universe in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. We aren't talking about that version of Yondu however, we're talking about the "original" Earth-691 version that first debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 (1969).

Hasbro's Marvel Legends series has a strong name recognition in the hobby and has produced some of the best comic action figures to date. Predominately a 6 inch scale line, Hasbro has toyed with the 3.75" scale on occasion whether it be with movie lines or with the defunct Marvel Universe line. Hasbro would even go on to slip the Marvel Legends banner to a few waves of 3.75" figures which today's subject matter hails from.

My introduction to comics came via two new Marvel titles in 1990 - The New Warriors and Guardians of the Galaxy...which I had no idea at the time had a connection to one another. It was easy to jump aboard both team titles since they were just launching with their first issues. While I was familiar with at least one character from the New Warriors team, I had no idea who these Guardians of the Galaxy were, but I was intrigued. Jim Valentino both wrote and drew the Guardians when they made their 1990's return and I was immediately hooked by the characters and the stories being told.

One of those characters that I was really intrigued by was Yondu. Maybe it was his blue skin color, or the large red fin on his head or perhaps that he yielded a bow & arrow. Whatever the reason I thought he was a cool character. Fast forward to the modern toy scene and a part of me wondered if we'd ever get an action figure of Yondu. Only one other Guardians member (of this team at least) had received a figure (Vance Astro) so I figured the chances of assembling a team of Guardian figures would be nill. The Hasbro surprised us by including Yondu in their short lived 3.75" Legends line.

Yondu's costume is a faithful reproduction of his comic duds, complete with the Guardians star badge on the left side of his chest. He comes with a belt, his bow, quiver w/ strap and one loose arrow. These are molded in a soft gold/yellow plastic.

Articulation wise the figure is fairly loaded - head, shoulder, elbow, wrist, waist, double jointed knees and ankles. I'm not the best when it comes to pulling off stellar action poses, but Yondu is certainly capable of sporting those dynamic poses.

Yondu is one of the only 3.75" Marvel figures that I still have hanging around in my collection. I would have loved to have gotten a complete set of Guardians - just thinking about what Charlie-27, Martinex, Nikki, Starhawk/Aleta) all would have looked like in figure form is something that I still ponder from time to time. So while it's a shame that we only got Yondu in this scale, I'll take 'em because it's a well sculpted figure of a great cosmic Marvel character.

Marvel Legends: White Rabbit

With so many things to collect these days I had to figure out a way to scale back my own collecting goals and for Marvel Legends that meant just sticking to Spider-Man characters and related villains. What I didn't expect however was for the supervillainess, White Rabbit to show up in a Spider-Man themed series.

White Rabbit (Dr. Lorina Dodson) made her first appearance in Marvel Comics' Marvel Team-Up #131 (1983). She has popped up over the years as a B level villain in the New York crime syndicate. Personally I was thrilled she received a figure, even though I had already planned on buying since she also came packaged with Demogoblin's glider piece.

While I don't keep the packaging for these Marvel Legends figures, I do adore the beautiful renditions of the characters on the side of the packaging. The back of the box has a small bio for each character, bonus multi-language!

I love the overlook of this figure as I think the designers have captured her comic likeness. The body appears to be reused from the Typhoid Mary figure that was a part of the Monster Venom BAF wave. I don't know if the wooly looking boots or trench coat are reused pieces or new sculpts.

The paint apps on the figure are nicely done, especially on the  face. The sculpt of the rabbit ears and flowing dirty blonde hair are perfect. Her pink bowtie is a separate piece and can be moved and I imagine if you were to pop off her head the bow could be removed.

While I'm not the best at posing modern action figures, White Rabbit does come loaded with articulation that we've come to expect with Marvel Legends. I don't know if it's my specimen, but the legs seem to be slighted bowed right out of the package. You can tell if you spread out her legs/feet in a dynamic pose, but if you pull them together to make her stand straight up I think it's noticeable.

She comes with two accessories, a umbrella and a blast effect. Much like the Penguin in the Batman's world, White Rabbit's umbrella also doubles as a gun. The small, semi-translucent yellow blast effect fits nicely on the tip of the umbrella. 

Being that White Rabbit is part of the Demogoblin Build-A-Figure wave, she is packaged with this awesome glider for the classic Spider-Man villain. I love that it also comes with a clear stand. Where was this piece when the earlier Green Goblin figure was released?!

Overall this is a great figure of a rather obscure villain. I know not everyone will care for her as she isn't a top tier character, but that's what so great about the Marvel Legends series is that they are starting to give lesser known characters the figure treatment.

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Scarlet Witch

Last summer I posted about the half of the "Maidens of Might", Captain Marvel from the Odin Build-A-Figure wave. It's about time we look the other half, none other than the powerful mutant herself...Scarlet Witch.

 

For many years the general collecting community was robbed of receiving decent female sculpted action figures. Either the body proportions would be off, or the face sculpt would look horrible. Scarlet Witch had a few dud figures herself, but finally thanks to Hasbro we have a version of the mutant that is worthy of adding to our collections.

Wanda Maximoff is in her traditional costume, which while may be a little dated is still one of my favorite looks for her. Thigh high boots, long gloves, cape and traditional head piece, the designers have captured the classic essence of the Scarlet Witch.

When it comes to the face of the character that isn't based on a particular actor or actress, as long as it's a decent attempt at the character I'm OK. After all, every artist that draws the character has their own take so I'm happy with the way Wanda came out. The sculpted hair looks nice, with pieces draped over her head piece. She does have a rather somber tone on her face however. Perhaps she's still thinking of how she nearly screwed up the Marvel Universe w/ "no more mutants" she uttered?

Wanda comes packaged with two (heavily) re-purposed "ring" accessories. I can't remember which figure these accessories were first packaged with (Doctor Strange), but they do a good job re-creating her Hex mutant powers. 

Hasbro did an excellent job with this figure in my opinion. While not my favorite female Marvel Legends figure I have in my collection, it makes a good one, two punch w/ Captain Marvel. It seems this figure runs anywhere from $20-30 on the secondary market these days if you missed her from a few years ago.

Christmas 2018 Recap

Christmas has come and went, but between my wife and I's wedding anniversary, vacation and New Years, I've barely been home. However I know people love to see what others got this time of year so I've finally set aside a little time to share what Santa brought me.

My wife and daughters surprised me with this large painted canvas of Captain America fighting off the Inhuman, Black Bolt. This thing is massive and I wasn't sure where I was going to put it, but thankfully my wife had some ideas. Still need to get this up on the wall where it belongs.

Now I hinted a little to my daughters about this figure, especially after finding the Marvel Legends figure the Thing just before Thanksgiving. We rarely go in drug stores so my family had to hit a few Walgreens to before finding other members of the FF. Since, I've bought Mr. Fantastic so now all I need to find is the Human Torch to finish the family off.

My older brother gave me a bottle of Spider-Man cologne...and surprising it smells pretty good. I'm not really a cologne kind of guy, but this one may get some sporadic use.

Before leaving my mom's house on Christmas morning, my brother gave me this Transformers Metroplex starter deck. I've been picking up booster packs as I find them as I tend to scan the cards for the TF Bio Card Database at some point.

I was happy to receive several new PS4 games. Detroit: Become Human originally wasn't on my radar, but after seeing the game get a massive price cut during Black Friday I looked into the game a bit more and was impressed and intrigued. I rented God of War from Red Box shortly after it was released and instantly fell in love. I've never really played many of the previous games and with this one being a reboot of sorts it was the perfect jumping on point for me.

I love old games with new challenges so the Sega Genesis Classics collection was a great way to scratch that itch. So far I've only played through a few games, but the emulation seems spot on. Shining Resonance Refrain was a game that originally caught my eye at GameStop, thanks in part to it's metal case. Everyone so often an action RPG will grab me and this year this seems to be the game. As soon as I wrap up Fire Emblem Warriors on the Switch I'll fire this one up.

Speaking of the Switch and retro game collections, this Namco Museum Arcade Pac looked interesting so I tossed it on my list. Came in handy as I got a chance to play it in hand held mode while traveling to KY over New Years.

This last item wasn't received on Christmas, but purchased with Christmas cash afterwards. I found almost the entire Captain Marvel wave of Marvel Legends figures in Fort Knox, KY while visiting family in the area. I really could care less for the other figures, but knew I wanted this figure of Grey Gargoyle for my Avengers/Spider-Man Rogue's gallery.

These last few weeks seem like a blur as there was so much going on. Most of my Christmas stuff is still sitting on my couch in my game room because I've been so busy. Now work is firing up w/ a new month, new quarter and new year. I'm just hoping I can carve out a little time to enjoy all these fun things. Like always, another great Christmas and one for the books.

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Captain Marvel

I've been a fan of Marvel's cosmic heroes and stories since the early 90's with Jim Valentino's run of Guardians of the Galaxy. Since then I've enjoyed just about every other cosmic story, thanks to the Annihilation story bringing many of these characters back to the modern spotlight. One of these heroes I've enjoyed following has been Carol Danvers. She has gone by many different names in her super hero career: Ms. Marvel, Binary, Warbird, and Captain Marvel.

Captain Marvel first appeared in the pages of Avenging Spider-Man #9 and this Marvel Legends figure from 2016. I wasn't sold on her new look at first, but the more and more I see her in the comics I'm fine with the new appearance. Of course Captain Marvel will be getting her own movie within the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019 and I can't wait!

At some point Hasbro started using the same packaging for two different characters in the same wave. Captain Marvel shared packaging with the Scarlet Witch and was branded "Maidens of Might". She was part of the Odin Build-A-Figure wave and came packaged with Odin's head, cape and axe. Standard fare packaging, not much to mention here.

Now I'm not the best when it comes to identifying reused parts from previous Marvel Legends, but the basic build of the figure is pretty good...though I feel she has just a bit too much junk in the trunk! The paint that makes up her new costume is spot on to her comic appearances. Her sash is a loose piece, but not really removable. In the accessory department she comes packaged with is a different head, which we'll get to in a bit, and an energy orb that fits around a fist.

I know some fans don't care for Carol's new shorter hair, but it doesn't bother me. The hair itself is sculpted quite nice, however I'm not sure how I feel about her facial expression. There is virtually no emotion in her face what so ever. Bland. 

Well at least if you don't care for her unmasked look, you can pop off the head and swap it out for the mohawk look. At first I hated this look, but now I really dig it. I think it's a great sculpt and looks great. It's how I have her displayed in my collection.

Articulation is standard fare. If you've seen any of my Marvel Legends reviews then you'll know you're better off heading over to Instagram if you want dynamic action poses and shots! Captain Marvel is one of my favorite non-Spider-Man related figures to date. The female proportions are in check and she resembles her comic self well. Good paint and sculpt makes this figure a must have if you're a fan of the character.