Avengers Assemble Wave 1 – 2013 (SHIELD GEAR)
It wasn’t long ago that fans of the Marvel Universe Toy Line were …crushed a little bit, to hear that their favorite toy line would be meeting it’s end in 2013 with the final wave coming before years end.  However, the promise of that line looks to be carrying through to the Avengers Assemble toy line.  Let’s be clear, we’ve got two categories of toy here.  The straight Avengers Assemble figures, which are limited in articulation and definitely geared towards a younger audience, and the SHIELD Gear figures.   The SHIELD Gear figures look and feel fantastic.  Read on folks.

Captain America

The Good

  • Really nice mold here, tight joints, good articulation.
  • Excellent paint app, great fine detail points.
  • Accurate representation of the show Cap!

The Bad

  • The show Cap really isn’t all that great when compared to Ultimate or 616.  Not a knock on the figure, just the source material.
  • This Cap does NOT come with a shield he can clip to his wrist or hold in his hands.  It fits in the launcher…and is pretty much pointless without it.
  • …I can’t believe this Cap doesn’t have a shield he can hold…

Iron Man

The Good

  • Again, we have another very solid replication of what we see on TV every week.
  • Clean, clear detail and solid glow effect on the Arc Reactor.
  • This is the most solid Iron Man I can remember getting my hands on in recent memory.  He feels about as sturdy as the IM2 Mark I figures.  Not bulky, but sturdy.

The Bad

  • This Iron Man…has a shield he can hold?  Wait..what?

Hulk

The Good

  • The last 3 Hulks given to us in the Universe Toy line are what I consider the defacto.  Great mold, perfect face, awesome hair.  I’m happy to say though, this Hulk holds up.
  • This is going to get old in this review but it’s the most meaningful thing that I can say about any of these figures.  They look like they do on the show.  As in, they jumped out of the screen and they are now an action figure.  That is saying quite a bit.
  • Really nice articulation here, you can get some nice smashy poses out of him.

The Bad

  • His face isn’t terrible…it’s not really that great either.

Black Widow

The Good

  • Hands down, the nicest Black Widow that I own.
  • Excellent hair.
  • Perfect frame / size.
  • Good articulation.
  • Very solid face / head sculpt, again, cartoon accurate.

The Bad

  • Not a big fan of the accessory.
  • The feet kind of look like she’s wearing orthotics.

 

Falcon

The Good

  • Have I mentioned that I really don’t care about Falcon.  That said, we have another great recreation of the animated character.
  • Very solid line work and detail.
  • Excellent paint application.

The Bad

  • Falcon with no bird?

Red Skull

The Good

  • Red Skull is finally going to be fairly easy to get your hands on.  He was a little rough with the Cap line, and very difficult before that as an SDCC exclusive.  But here, you really shouldn’t have trouble finding him.
  • And the good news is!  He’s a solid figure.
  • Accessories are perfectly fitted, cap, coat, even the goofy launcher he comes with is neat.
  • I can’t imagine ever taking him out of the evil Nazi pose that he comes packaged in.

The Bad

  • Would have been nice to have a Cosmic Cube accessory.

The rest

To say that I was skeptical about what would become of the Marvel Universe Toy line is a grave understatement.  However, between wave 1 and wave 2 of the SHIELD Gear Avengers Assemble figures, I’m really not all that worried anymore.  Each figure is well designed, sturdy, they all have really nice clean paint apps and good articulation.  Stay tuned for our wave 2 review over the next week or two!  Side note… these figures are really nice, I think the line is in good hands…but.  I do not think that these are topping anything that has come out in these last few waves of Marvel Universe.

Availability

Check them out in your favorite Toy Store, Target, Walmart or whever, now!

And now…the group pictures