Posted in: Movies | Tagged: action figures, captain america, collectibles, Comics, entertainment, hasbro, Marvel Comics, Marvel Legends, ms marvel, Radioactive Man, Target Exclusive 3 Pack
New Target 3 Pack Of Marvel Legends Highlights Diversity With Ms. Marvel And Radioactive Man
By Brian Goldberg
Marvel Legends collectors recently rejoiced with the release of the new Target Exclusive 3 pack. Ms. Marvel, Radioactive Man, and Captain America with alternating head were released last week to the excitement of the action figure collector community. These figures can be a little tricky to find. They are currently in Target stockrooms but haven't quite hit shelves yet. In a speakeasy type setting, collectors have been asking the toy department to search for the DPCI #, a product code, 087-06-1200. Target employees speak this lingo and will happily go to the stockroom to pull the figures for the eager collector.
Exclusive releases are always exciting. Hasbro has produced a good number of Legends exclusives this year including a TRU X-Men Classics boxed set, The Thanos Imperative from SDCC, the TRU X-Men Jubilee wave, and the Walgreens Agent Venom. These store exclusives allow for some more obscure characters to be produced in plastic and also gets collector's money to be spent in their stores.
Ms. Marvel and Radioactive Man are the favorites in this set. Although these figures are repaints of previously released bucks, action figure body archetypes, they are new characters to the Hasbro line of Marvel Legends. Collectors are experiencing fatigue with Captain America as three versions of Cap have been released already in 2014. The new version brings the total to 4.5 this year.
Ms. Marvel adds to the increasing number of female action figures in the Hasbro repertoire. This figure is a repaint of the 2013 SDCC exclusive Moonstone. The new paint paint job with metallic chest emblem and plastic waist sash help the woman "infused with the DNA of a mighty Kree warrior" make this use of the buck stand apart. The figure does have some paint flaws. Her lower thighs have exposed black plastic because the paint job isn't the best. The Hasbro Quality Assurance Department needs to do a better job of making sure the paint is evenly applied to all figures; the experience of not being able to trust the product is very frustrating to the collector. Ms. Marvel is a great update to the shelves of Avengers team builders that had to be satisfied with the Toybiz version which now seems clownlike and dated.
Radioactive Man is added to a very short list of Asian Marvel (Jubilee, Psylocke, AOA Sunfire) characters that have made it to Legends form. This figure is translucent! The plastic choice for this figure gives Dr. Chen display cases a eye catching sparkle and the appearance that his atomic powers were really taken into consideration by the toy designers. The day glow green plastic was used which gives this figure a remarkable appearance. Radioactive Man is also a retooled figure Thunderbolts SDCC exclusive figure. The QA Department did a bit of a better job with this figure, but the quality of the symbol painted on his chest varies.
The Captain America is a repaint of the Hit Monkey Series Ultimate Captain America. The extra head is from the Terrax Series Steve Rogers. The red, white, and blue paint job is a great improvement for Winghead. The previous Cap releases by Hasbro didn't quite get the comic book likeness down. The alternate head is definitely appreciated by fans who clamor for unmasked versions of their favorite characters.
The packaging for this series makes this set exceptional The distinctive Infinity Series packaging design is used but made for three. The words "Collectors Edition" are emblazoned the top of the box to let fans know that these figures were made by Hasbro with them in mind.
If you would like to speak geek with Brian, he can be reached at your.dog@gmail.com.