Marvel’s premier superhero Team, The Avengers, are currently celebrating their 60th Anniversary, and that’s given Marvel an excuse to pull out all the stops and launch some pretty cool Avengers-themed merchandise.
Marvel Legends – Avengers Beyond Earth’s Mightiest is a range of superhero toys aimed at children and adults. These are highly articulated and robust 6-inch scale toys that are quite fun to play with and, of course, look nifty on a shelf. They are all part of the Marvel Legends Series, which is Hasbro’s higher-quality range.
Marvel Legends Black Widow takes inspiration from both the movies and the comic books. It’s extremely posable, and we were impressed at how easy these things are to bend and move. We get three different heads for this doll, and it’s easy to pop off a head and replace it. This radically changes the look, the longer hair just makes the whole piece look different. We get weapons options, including clear plastic ‘blasts’ for those who want to have their Natasha toy posed mid-combat.
Marvel Legends IRON MAN MODEL 01 is a toy based on the ‘comic-book’ version of Iron Man from the first ever appearance of the hero, Tales of Suspense #39, all the way back in 1963. As such, this is a grey metal effect plastic toy. It’s nicely chunky (as the first Iron Man suit was), with a little rubbery antenna jutting out of a shoulder. The chest power unit is painted in a glowing blue, and there are some nice touches of paint across the model to make it look like it’s just emerged from a fight in a cave. It moves in a nicely chunky way. Its accessories are plastic bits of smoke and fire, which look all right. We also get a change of hands, in case you want to pose him raising his fists. It’s a fun model and nicely meaty.
Speaking of big, the Marvel Legends Gray Hulk & Dr Bruce Banner set features two models: the weedy Bruce Banner and the version of the Hulk we saw back in 1962. The Banner model is appropriately weedy-looking but is actually quite robust. He’s got a lab coat on, and he’s wearing a (fairly floppy) long tie. He looks like a classic comic book scientist, right down to the oversized spectacles.
The Hulk is a monster, of course. Tattered clothing covers his shoulders, and this can be removed (it’s a single piece of plastic). It’s a big figure, modelled to tower over anything else in the range. The articulation is very, very well done; you immediately want to pick the toy up and play with it. It’s nicely flexible, and all sorts of silly poses are possible. We get a pipe and some spare hands, as well as a rather charming spare head of the Hulk looking quizzical. The paint job on both models is very good, especially on the Hulk, who looks appropriately muscular.
The Marvel Legends Thor vs Destroyer features an older, angrier-looking Thor with a full beard. The alternate head just has Thor’s helmet fully down, so we can’t see his eyes. Thor’s hammer is extremely detailed, as is the main figure. The cloak is a fixed plastic and billows out nicely. It looks very much like the comic-book Thor, a heroic, muscular dude with long blonde hair. It also comes with the Destroyer, the Asgardian humanoid weapon, which proves to be more than a match for Thor. It’s about as imposing as The Hulk toy in this same range and just as fun to play with, if a little spikier.
On the other end of the power scale, we have Marvel Legends Series Hawkeye with Sky-Cycle. Of all the toys in this range, this is the one most likely to sit on a shelf looking dramatic because the Sky-Cycle is essentially a glorified model stand. We get Hawkeye in his full purple and blue glory, with his face fixed in a solemn expression and mostly covered in Hawkeye’s distinctive mask. We don’t get a spare head with this one, but we do get extra ‘closed fist’ hands. The bow is nicely done, the quiver looks hi-tech, and the arrow isn’t too pointy. Hawkeye sports a strap (for the quiver), which is loose on the model. The cycle itself is easy to assemble; just clip on the windshield and the stand. It looks classic ‘comic book’, and yes, you can seat Black Widow on as well if you want.
Marvel Legends Series Skrull Queen and Super-Skrull is notable for being a villain set in a collection of heroes. The Super Skrull is a big lad, though not as big as the Hulk, but totally capable of intimidating Thor. This version of the Super Skrull represents one with the powers of Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Black Bolt. You can swap out its arms so there’s a ‘stretched’ one and an Iron Man one, and the cloak detaches. The Black Bolt helmet and uniform is painted on, and it’s a fun toy to play with. The Skrull Queen doubles as a Spider-Woman toy, and the heads can be swapped out so she looks like Jessica Drew. Spiderweb under-arm wings and ‘green lightning’ shooting hands can be clipped in. It’s a nicely athletic figure, and yes, it also fits on Hawkeye’s bike.
Marvel Legends Black Knight & Sersi set groups together two ’90s characters that are hard to get excited about. These are chase pieces, which are only available from certain outlets. Sersi wields optional twin fireballs and looks more like a lounge singer doing a cheerleader act than a superhero. The Black Knight is a little more interesting, with a moulded-on leather jacket, chainmail pants and big boots. The ‘Photon Sword’ is cool, as it’s basically a lightsaber made with translucent plastic, but really, this is one for the hard-core fans.
The range rounds out with an odd pairing: Marvel Legends Captain Marvel vs Doctor Doom. This is the Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel from the ’80s; this entire set is a homage to the original Secret Wars comic books (which only existed to sell toys, so we’ve come full circle.) The costume design is black and white, and it looks fab. Doctor Doom is appropriating imposing and comes with a masked and hooded head and a ‘handsome’ face head with a metal mask. It’s nicely done and looks dynamic, especially when posed next to Monica. It’s the most fun Doctor Doom toy we’ve seen in a long while, maybe going back to the old-school Secret Wars toys.
The packaging on all of these toys is plastic-free, and that’s rather nice. The boxes are sturdy and well-designed, and there aren’t any fiddly plastic ties to deal with. Overall, this is a strong range of models that honours The Avengers’ long history and is also fun to play with.
You can find all of these toys (and more) via Hasbro Pulse.
