I’m betting that some folks might take issue with the title ‘Legendary Comic Book Heroes’ and the actual figures being released under said title. This second series consists of Darkness, Star, Stryker, Anne O’Brien (with Monkeyman as the BAF), Judge Death and Marv from Sin City. Oh, I’m sure you recognize at least a couple of these characters…but legendary? I’m betting that the Marketing guys liked the name a lot better than “a bunch of characters you don’t know but really should check out when you have a few minutes”.
Fans of these characters don’t care what you call the line, since this is really their first opportunity to get these guys (and girls and monkeys) in a highly articulated action figure. Hell, for some of them it’s the first time they’ve ever had a plastic version, articulated or not. And if anyone was going to be able to do these justice, it’s Marvel Toys (formally known as Toybiz). There isn’t another company around with the talent or intelligence to pull off a line like this.
Unfortunately, they are having the exact problem you’d assume in getting these into stores…convincing the stores they should carry them. If seriously anal comic book fans such as yourself don’t even recognize all the characters, what do you think some middle aged doofus retail purchaser who thinks of Adam West whenever someone mentions Batman is going to think? In fact, I suspect the only reason that Marvel Toys managed to get a two pack of Panda and Clownface on the shelves is because the buyer had absolutely no idea who they were. I’m amazed we’ve gotten two full waves of figures, and I think that fans of the indie comic scene ought to thank their lucky stars for every one of these figures that they manage to get out there.
I picked up all but one of the figures this last weekend. Marv still alludes me, but I’ll snag him soon I’m sure. I decided to break the wave up again this time in to two equal reviews of three figures each, so tonight I’m looking at Darkness, Stryker and Judge Death. These run around $10 at most retailers, although if you have a local Meijers, they’ve been a bit cheaper there. And you can find the two packs there as well.
LCBH 2 – Darkness, Stryker and Judge Death
Technically, Judge Death was part of this second series, but Wal-mart had a deal where they got him shipped early with the wave 1 cases, so plenty of collectors have picked him up already. As with the previous wave, there’s a Build a Figure (BAF). This time it’s Monkeyman, and Anne O’Brien is one of the regular release figures to go with him. There’s two versions of Anne, with a slight difference in clothing color making one a variant. There’s also two versions of Judge Death, and this time the varient is made in all clear plastic.
Packaging – ***1/2
Once again, I’m giving Marvel Toys big props here for designing what is in essence collector friendly mass market bubble/cardback packaging. Simply slit the tape around the bubble in back at the base and sides, and you’ll be able to lift it off the cardback and remove the inner tray without any damage to the overall package. If you’d like to return them to the bubble, slide it right back in. You can even retape it if you feel the need.
There’s a few annoying twisties of course, but I can live with those considering the cool design of the card and bubble. The colors don’t knock me out, but I do like the simple style of the logo. BTW, the packaging photo I used shows the variant version of Death, done in clear plastic.
Sculpting – Judge Death ****; Stryker, Darkness ***1/2
While the first series of figures had some ups and downs (and remember, I’m only considering Darkness, Judge Death and Stryker here), the second series is pretty much terrific across the board. There’s real improvement here from one series to the next, which is always an excellent sign.
If you’re looking for some amazing detail work, look no further than Judge Death. Sometimes, great looking sculpts get worse the closer you get. Throw the eye of a macro lens on it, and the real issues appear. Not so with Death, who just looks better and better the more closely you inspect him. The detail is amazing, and extremely realistic. The teeth are particularly well done, but the skeletal body and sinewy hands and feet look terrific as well. Put him next to the series 1 Judge Dredd and they make quite a team.
Darkness is my next favorite in this particular category. Again, there’s plenty of small detail work here, and the proportions are reasonably comic book accurate, even with the uber articulation. The armor has a very metallic look, while the hair has just the right amount of detail to add realism without going overboard. His sculpt and articulation also worked the best together for me, allowing the joints to really do the most.
Finally, there’s Stryker. Again, he sports an excellent detailed sculpt, especially on the armor. And speaking of hair – his looks terrific, and the additon of some loose stray hairs on his forehead was extremely well executed. There’s some great detail work on the face, although I’m not particularly thrilled with the gritted teeth expression. He also has a body seam that runs along the top of his shoulders that hurts the sculpt score slightly, but in the end I was quite impressed with how he looked on the shelf.
These are in the usual 6″ scale, and fit in nicely with the first series (as well as with Marvel Legends figures).
Paint – Darkness, Death ***1/2; Stryker ***
It’s important to keep in mind that these are mass market toys, not specialty market. Oh, I don’t think they’re selling in quantity like any regular mass market toy, but they are still being handling by that market and are subject to their expectations on price and quality. And considering the expectations of that market (that quality isn’t job 1, but they damn well better be cheap), I think Marvel Toys has done a pretty good job with the quality.
If something is going to take a hit at production time, it’s usually paint. It’s the fastest and easiest way to cut unit costs. Fortunately, there’s nothing lost on these three figures, and with the use of washes, dry brushing, different textures and finishes, and a nice use of color, they’ve managed to produce three terrific looking paint jobs.
Darkness and Death get a slightly better score than Stryker due largely to the wash on his metallic parts. The wash here is a bit heavier than I like, and this heavy handed application takes away some of the realism for me. Still, considering the markets and the constraints, the overall work is well above average.
Articulation – Stryker, Darkness ****; Judge Death ***1/2
Occasionally we see some real innovations in this category. Stryker is one of those times. I was a bit concerned at how they’d pull off the bionic triple right arm, but they did it with imagination and style.
But first let’s talk about the rest of his joints. There’s the usuall pin neck, but I was able to get a bit better range of movement out if it with him than with other characters. It still doesn’t tilt, but you can get a psuedo-tilt if you turn it just right. He has the clicky chest joint, cut waist, ball jointed hips (jointed on both sides), double jointed knees, cut calves, pin/rocker ankles, and pin half foot joint that this line is now known for. Almost all the joints work quite well, although I did have a little trouble with the hips. The balls are fairly small, and it was difficult to bring his legs together for a fully upright pose.
But now let’s discuss the arms, where the real beauty comes in. The left arm sports the usual articulation – ball jointed shoulder (jointed on both sides) with a double jointed elbow, cut and pin wrist, and a single pin joint for the fingers. This series of joints really gives you a tremendous amount of poses that are possible with the arm.
He has three right arms of course, and the amazing thing here is that each of these three has that same articulation! There’s a single shoulder joint at the torso, and all three arms attach to that ball. Then each arm turns at the ball, and has the same double jointed elbow, cut and pin wrists, and even pin jointed fingers! That gives you an amazing number of possible poses for the triple arm, and really adds an amazing number of poses to this figure. This is a toy that even the most cynical collector will have a ton of fun posing.
Then there’s Darkness. If Stryker hadn’t come along, I would have been pretty impressed with Darkness’ articulation. He has the usual – pin/plate neck, ball jointed shoulders, double jointed elbows and knees, pin/rocker ankles, cut thighs and forearms, half foot, cut waist, clicky chest, and even individually articulated fingers. The fingers are particularly useful this time since the claw armor makes for some cool looking hand poses.
I had the least amount of trouble getting and keeping poses with Darkness (out of these three, anyway), and I think folks will be very happy with the articulation in general.
Finally, there’s Judge Death. Again, he has all the usual articulation. Think Darkness, or just about any of the other figures in the line, but rather than having the individually articulated fingers, he has the single pin that allows them all to move as one. Because of the long, thin legs and arms, the articulation might seem a bit more difficult to work with, but you should have no trouble getting some great poses.
Accessories – Stryker, Darkness ***1/2; Judge Death **
One of the things that disappointed me slightly with wave 1 was the lack of accessories outside of the BAF. That’s less of an issue with this wave.
Stryker comes with the right arm of Monkeyman, but also has not one but TWo guns. These fit nicely in two of his three right arms, are well sculpted, and make great sense with the character.
Darkness has the torso for the big ape, but also comes with two ‘demons’. These little guys aren’t articulated, but they do make nice little pets for him, each with a very unique and distinct sculpt.
Judge Death has only the right leg of MM. While I love a good BAF (don’t we all?), I would have liked to see something else added in here.
And speaking of the BAF, I’d normally do a separate section for him. However, I’m still missing Marv, so until I come up with that figure, the true beauty of Monkeyman will remain to be seen. When I do get the final figure, I’ll be reviewing Marv, Ann and Star over at my site.
Fun Factor – ****
These are toys first, collectibles second. That might seem odd for a line clearly destined for collectors, but let’s remember that action figures are SUPPOSED to be toys first. Take away the toy, and the action figure loses much of its heart.
Value – **1/2
Prices are going to soon kill the action figure market entirely. With concerns of lead paint creating a huge need for tighter quality control, manufacturing costs will rise, and you know that will be passed on to you. We can only hope that we’ll still be able to buy an action figure like these for ten bucks in another 6 months.
Things to Watch Out For –
Not much. I didn’t see much variation in paint quality, and the joints are generally strong and tight.
Overall – ***1/2
Each of these figures had something that really made them stand out, and had a few minor issues of their own. They are all an improvement over wave 1 and I loved that set, so it’s no surprise I’m even happier this time out. Of course, until I find Marv I’m not sure if the BAF will live up to expectations, but I suspect it won’t take too long to track him down.
If you’re a fan of these comics, you owe it to yourself to snag these. Even if you’re not – and believe me, I’m nothing more than a passing reader of any of the licenses represented in this second series – you should still check them out. They’re terrific figures that are extremely well designed, and considering that they are mass market toys, sport some terrific sculpts and decent paint.
Where to Buy –
The following online options are all very reliable:
– CornerStoreComics has the single figures for $10 – $15, depending on the character, or a set of 8 figures for $80.
– Amazing Toyz also has the singles for $10 – $15, along with the case of 8 for $80.
Related Links –
I’ve covered all of the line so far, including the other half of this line up. That review isn’t quite up yet though, since I have yet to find the elusive Marv. The other reviews are:
– I did one half of series 1 here at QSE, and the other half at MROTW.
– I’ve also reviewed both the Body Bags two pack, and the Conan/Wrarrl two pack.
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