Marvel Universe Avengers Comic Series Wave 1

First seen at SDCC 2011, we are happy to bring you the first review that I’ve seen on the Marvel Universe Comic Series Avengers (Assemble) Wave 1.  I’ve mentioned previously that I’m at odds with this wave.  It’s too expensive for what you get at full price.  However, thanks to some holiday pricing I was able to snag these at a discount that made them almost worth while.  Add to that, I’m giving these to my little guy and he’ll enjoy them, and it was a much more comfortable purchase than I originally thought it would be.  I will apologize, I found Cap, IM and Thor in store and had to wait for Hulk so some of the pictures are definitely not from the same session.  Enjoy!  Scroll to the bottom or check out a summary of our new rating system HERE.

Thor

Packaging img_6567

The Avengers Comic Series packaging features a character image on the side, a nice window for display on the front, a description on the side.  On the front you have a poke hole where you can reach in and turn on the light on the base.  While in the package, the base is in demo mode.  For the sake of speed, I will not mention the basics of packaging in the figures that follow below.  The Thor art on the package is excellent, colorful and comic accurate.  The description reads like what you’d think for Thor.

img_6568Paint

This is the third iteration of Modern Thor in the Marvel Universe Toy Line.  The third time is the charm with this paint app.  They really hit the finer points of detail.  We now have gloved black hands. Nice dark lines.  They went the extra mile and instead of stopping at the waist with the jerkin trim (gold), they went and hit all of the edges and the figure looks excellent for it.  The paint app is clean and accurate.  The cape is a nice bright red, and the leather detail is a darker brown than on previous Modern Thor apps.

Articulation img_6569

I apologize but I’ll be brief on the articulation for the figures in this splinter line because they are all repaints.  We haven’t gone back and reviewed the previous iterations of these figures but it is in the plan and I feel like we will be better served going into articulation detail on those reviews.  That said, this is a repaint of the Wave 7 and Greatest Battles Modern Thor.  It moves the same as those two.

Character Likeness

The uniform is awesome here.  The face falls …weird.  I look at it and I don’t really see Thor.  I see someone that might be “a little bit special”. I think it’s the eyes and the placement of the nose, but that’s just me.

Accessories

Thor comes with a hammer.  The paint on the hammer is probably the best I’ve seen for Thor. A nice shiny head piece and leather colored handle.  It fits snuggly in his hand.  The base (and I will mention the base here only as it is the same for all four figures) is pretty neat.  It lights up.  When you open it, it’s in demo mode so it only stays lit for about 15 seconds.  You can switch it off entirely, or you can turn it “on”.  When it’s on, if you press the button it stays on until you turn it off.  The blue light is aesthetically pleasing and the foot pegs hold Thor on nicely.

Overall

As far as Modern Thor representations in this toy line goes, this Thor is the best that I’ve seen.  The previous articulation was always good, but the paint on this is the best I’ve seen to date. If not for the wonky face this figure would be a 5.  Also, if not for the fact that this is in an offshoot of the main line, I will not be displaying this figure, or any of the 4 in the wave at all.  They are all to be gifts for the little guy and I’m sure he will enjoy them.

Grade

Displayed but more to the side. (4 out of 5)

Captain America (Modern)

Packaging img_6540

On the packaging we have some nice Bucky Cap artwork along with a description of the Cap.  Though it should be said that there is nothing in the description to make the distinction that this is clearly not Steve Rogers Captain America.

img_6552Paint

Some interesting decisions were made with the paint on this Bucky Cap.  We have bright colored reds, whites, and blues here.  While the character has been previously represented in “glossy” and more muted stars and stripes which is more comic-accurate.

Articulation img_6550

With this Bucky Cap we have a repaint of the Bucky Cap released in the Gigantic Battles two pack (with Super Skrull).  The articulation is identical here.

Character Likeness

As previously mentioned, the paint makes this less of the man really.  Bucky Cap wasn’t this bright colored in the comics and that throws off the whole package.

Accessories

Bucky Cap comes with a belt knife / gun holster, a knife, a gun, and a shield.  Interestingly, the knife and gun holsters are on opposite sides than what we saw with the Gigantic Battles release.  The shield colors, also interestingly appear more muted than the figure colors, but there is some very nice detail on the inner circle and around the star.

Overall

Not the best Bucky cap I’ve seen.  For that, in my opinion we need to go to the Captain America line.  That Bucky Cap is outstanding paint wise, top notch.  Displaying or storage is not an issue here, again this will go to my little guy in my revolt against this sub-series.

Grade

Displayed but buried in the back (2 out of 5)

Iron Man (Bleeding Edge Armor)

Packaging img_6558

Again, solid artwork here.  I appreciate that the description makes an effort to identify this specific version of Iron Man.

img_6559Paint

We have a pretty solid repaint of the Heroic Age Iron Man released in Wave 12.  The red is darker and the yellow is different, but otherwise, excellent level of detail in paint here though we do have a few smudge spots not seen on any other figure in this wave.

Articulation img_6562

This is a repaint of the Wave 12 Heroic Age Iron Man that features the 2011 mold with the nicer hip joints, more mobile ankles, but no twisty waist or extra movable head.

Character Likeness

This is a really awesome job at capturing one of my favorite iterations of Iron Man (Heroic Age).

Accessories

Iron Man comes with an energy blast, the same that we’ve seen since Wave 1.

Overall

Of all the figures in this line Iron Man is the least different from it’s main line counterpart.  It’s original was an excellent figure, as is this one, but unless you are a completest, if you’ve got the Wave 12 IM, there is no reason for this one.

Grade

Displayed but more to the side (4 out of 5)

Hulk

Packaging img_6598

We’ve got some nice box art and a good description of the Hulk.  Otherwise it’s the same as the rest in the line.

img_6603Paint

I guess I’ll include this hear.  The paint is the paint.  It’s the hulk, he’s green and has purple pants.  The figure has nice shadow and muscle ripple detail.  The best part of the figure is the head sculpt and detail.  The hair looks great and this is easily the best looking Hulk in the MU line.  If there is any paint complaint it’s that there is more shadow detail on his feet than on some of the veins on the torso.

Articulation img_6602

Doing my best comparison work, this figure is a carbon copy off of the Red Hulk / Combination Hulk mold but the head is different. Otherwise, the articulation is the same as Red Hulk.

Character Likeness

In my opinion this is the overall most character accurate Hulk that I’ve seen in the line.  The headsculpt and hair look fantastic.  The scowl is excellent.  It’s the Hulk we’ve been waiting for.

Accessories

The Hulk doesn’t need any accessories…just pants to rip.  His stand has extra wide pegs for his extra wide stance so that was a nice touch.

Overall

As much as it pains me, sticking with my original plan, this Hulk is going to my son.  However, he’s awesome.  My favorite Hulk to date and Hasbro did an excellent job.  The headsculpt makes the figure here and that’s enough for me.

Grade

Displayed front and center (5 out of 5)

 

Rating System: Each figure will be reviewed under the following categories:
Packaging
Paint
Articulation
Accessories
Character Likeness
OverallEach figure will then be given an overall grade out of 5 levels:
Displayed front and center – Perfect score
Displayed but more to the side – Second best, nothing wrong with that
Displayed somewhere I might see it – Displayed, it’s good, I like it, not as much as others.
Displayed but buried in the back – Not all that great, but no other options for this figure
Stored* – It’s really not worth displaying. 
*This will be caveat-ed, if the figure is excellent but is being moved out in favor of a better version of the same character, this will be explained.