Marvel Legends: Spider-man vs. The Sinister Six
By John DeBarbieri (screen name: Thunder)
This is one of the best sets that Toy Biz has produced in a long while. From the brick wall design on the outer box to the web design on the inner background, the presentation was perfect. The stands for each figure are unique to each character. The stands are a symbol or a design which compliments each figure. Now, on to the individual figures.
SPIDER-MAN: One of the best comic-accurate Spider-Man sculpts to come from Toy Biz in a few years. The fingers are moveable and don’t look silly when they’re not bent. I like the fact that they didn’t skimp on the sculpt or articulation. The sculpt is superb, the webs are sculpted and even wrinkles in the cloth are evident. He has wonderful articulation, which means that almost any Spidey pose you can think of can be achieved. I liked the addition of the underarm webbing; it actually looks decent except for the strings that hold it to the arms. They are tied and the ends hang loose. But, you can remove the underarm webbing for a more streamlined Spidey.
RATING: 4.5 stars
BLACK CAT: Another re-tooling of the Elektra body, this time with a fur collar and tufts added to the arms and legs. She also boasts a fair amount of articulation. The face is well done, but the hair sculpt leaves a bit to be desired. The joints move well and she can achieve some cat-like poses. She is a decent figure, but her design seems to have been rushed to get her in the assortment. She is my least favorite from this set, decent figure, but it could have been much better.
RATING: 3 stars
KRAVEN: A re-cast of the Namor body, as was the SMC Kraven. The body is identical except for the paint applications. The paint on the figure is more comic-accurate than the previous Kraven figure. The lines are bolder in the animal print on the pants. The new wild-eyed, screaming head sculpt is…disturbing to say the least. It really is a crazed look. I’d swear that I made Kraven mad and he was coming for me. The accessories are the same as the previous figure. It's a good likeness of our favorite big game hunter.
RATING: 4 stars
DR. OCTOPUS: A re-tooling of the SMC Doc Ock. The mechanical arms are bendy rubber with wire inside so that they can be posed. The new evil grin head sculpt really captures the insanity of this man. The removal of the controls around his stomach are a welcome change from the original. The change from a sculpted lab coat to a cloth one is a definite improvement.
RATING: 4 stars
VENOM: A fairly clever re-use of the Sabretooth mold. The only reason you can tell, are his elbow blades. But, the veins in the original mold really work for this particular villain. The Venom head sculpt is truly well-done; it captures the fact that Venom isn’t really human at all. The sculpting of the toothy grin he wears is truly striking. It's a good version of a really evil character.
RATING: 4 stars
ELECTRO: By far, my second favorite villain in the set. His comic-accurate costume is represented well in this sculpt. He wears an evil grin under his always goofy-looking mask. The lightning bolts down the sides of the costume really are well done. The fingers on the hands are all pointed straight. He can be posed really well to look like he’s blasting good ol’ Spidey. The mask is well attached to the head, but it looks like if enough force was applied, it could come off.
RATING: 4.5 stars
GREEN GOBLIN: A well-done re-use of the SMC Hobgoblin body. No re-tooling was really necessary. I miss the finger articulation here though. But the kicker to this figure is the perfectly sculpted head. The head looks as if it was modeled after an Alex Ross painting. The features are so crisp and detailed. The translucent yellow lenses over the eyes are a wonderful addition to the Goblin. His glider is perfectly comic-accurate; it resembles his first bat-glider in every detail.
RATING: 5 stars
Overall Rating:
Toys are reviewd on a 1 to 5 star rating.
5 being the best and 1 being the worst.
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