Marvel Infinite 2015 Wave 1
The first wave of Marvel Infinite for 2015 is nothing if not polarizing.  There has been so much talk, speculation, anticipation of this wave and for so many different reasons.  For some folks the wave, and the go forward of the line are doing just fine, delivering very nice character likeness, for others, articulation lost means the death of a toy line.  For me, well, I’m just really happy to be able to add more characters to my ever expanding Marvel Universe (see what I did there?).  Thankfully, MI 2015 wave 1 does not disappoint in what I’m looking for!  3 characters, brand spankin’ new to the line (Bishop, Black Cat, Sand,an), 2 characters delivered like never before (Big Time Spidey, Beast…and Classic Beast).  There is a lot of good on this plastic, a little bit bad, and some oddball design inconsistencies in the face of the lines new direction, so let’s take a look! But! Before we do I would like to extend a very special thank you to long time friend to MUReview, Nel! Without you, this review would have been impossible!

Sandman

The Good

  • Articulation!  Sandman hits on a lot of the points that folks were concerned about.  Double hinged knee, torso!
  • Fantastic detail on both sand hands.
  • The figure has an excellent weight to him, it feels as though if he were to hit another …plastic figure, it’d really hurt!
  • Highly appropriate re-use of the Norman Osborne head sculpt.
  • Spot on, comic accurate coloring.

The Bad

  • Wrists are not articulated.
  • Ankle articulation is limited by character design.
  • Head articulation is limited.

 

Sandman (Variant)

The Good

  • The variant Sandman hits on most of all of the same positives as the standard version, with the obvious difference being paint.
  • Speaking of the repaint, very cool, nice creepy white eyes, a good monochrome sand palate definitely works to convey that…he’s made of sand!

The Bad

  • Same bad as the standard Sandman, articulation is limited at points, though the Sandman figure is easily the most articulated of this wave.

 

Beast

The Good

  • This is the 90s era Blue Beast that I’ve waited so long for.  Helping to appropriately complete the X-Men from that age!
  • Head sculpt is fun with a great looking gaping and furious mouth.
  • Beast feels bulky enough to be believable.
  • Good leg and ankle articulation that should lend itself to some good poses.  Double jointed knee, ankle rockers, solid hips.
  • Paint and coloring is well executed.
  • Added fur patches!

The Bad

  • No wrist movement.
  • No torso movement.

 

Beast (Variant)

The Good

  • Go back to the comic page, forgo your memory, and just look, or use the Googles.  Classic Beast’s face is pretty much dead on here!
  • Coloring is once again spot on.
  • Classic Beast benefits from all the same good points as the standard version of Beast in this line.

The Bad

  • With this figure more than the others (well, this and standard Beast), the missing articulation is felt the most, as Beast is prone to some of the more interesting poses in the Marvel Universe.

 

Black Cat

The Good

  • Soft featured face is a good fit for Felicia Hardy.
  • Added tufts of white fur on ankles, legs, and around her collar all serve to enhance overall detail.
  • Very solid black paint job!
  • Excellent zipper ring detail on the chest!
  • Nice ankle articulation!

The Bad

  • Mine is fine, but I can see that Black Cat is certainly going to be affected in some part by the wonky female knee!
  • Black Cat’s hips don’t lie…they don’t even move!
  • No torso articulation or wrist articulation either.
  • I feel like the mask around the eyes should be thicker.

 

Big Time Spider-Man

  • The Good
    • Amazing paint job here.  Very clean lines, very bold green color!!
    • Good spider style hand poses.
    • This suit can be none more black!
      • Nice ankle articulation!

    The Bad

    • I’m sure if you’ve been paying attention, the most bad I have to say is really just about the articulation.  this Spidey is no different.  No wrist movement, no torso movement, limited head articulation.  I’d much rather not have anything negative to say, but this dude just can’t move the way a spider probably needs to.

 

Bishop

  • The Good
    • Bishop is a big, bad man, and art wise, he’s perfectly captured down to the M on the eye.
    • Bishop’s bandana / neckerchief is really well executed and is even looped around the back under the mullet!
    • Very clean lines here and incredibly sharp blue paint.
    • Bishop, though limited in articulation, has some very bad ass poses available to him.
    • Bishop is provided a holster for his hand gun, and that’s a very good thing, because he’s only got one open hand for gun toting.

    The Bad

    • As pictured, my Bishop appears to have a paint nick on his shoulder showing the under-color of the figure.
    • Again, we have limited articulation, it is felt less here because at least personally I don’t feel that Bishop is one to strike acrobatic poses, but the children…it’s for the children!
    • Bishop has only one hand available for holding 2 weapons.

 

The rest

This wave also includes 2 re-packs.  Having not seen them with my own eyes, I’ll apologize if I’m incorrect.  You will see a 2-pack (form DD / Bullseye) repack of Daredevil, which is a good thing. That is an awesome figure!  You will also see a Dark Hawkeye re-pack.    Many feel a lot more could have been done here, even in the re-pack realm.  I’m in agreement, but Hasbro’s decision is Hasbro’s decision.  Is it really that hard to put out a green and yellow Vision?

The running theme of this review, and what I have tried to convey is this.  This whole wave looks exceptional.  I very much appreciate solid paint apps, good design and just really nice clean figures.  The downside is as bold as the up, and near as persistent.  Articulation has been intentionally pulled from this line, though, the decision to leave Sandman more articulated than most is a little odd to me.

The good, the bad and the ugly stated, I’m happy with this wave and i can’t wait to get my hands on the next with Armored Daredevil, Vulture, Doc Ock and the rest!  I know I stated that some folks are saying that this is a line that is on it’s way out, but I sincerely hope not.  This is an awesome scale for super heroes, and an awesome scale for my tiny house, where I really can’t even consider getting more involved than I have in the 6 inch lines.

Availability

For now, eBay is your only hope.  We hope to announce Big Bad Toy Store Pre-Orders soon!

Family Photos!