Marvel Select Apocalypse & Super Skrull

I coulc not believe these two new Marvel Select figures that dropped recently, two classic Marvel characters that aren't really in the forefront of the entertainment/movie industry currently. I was particularly amazed by this oversized Apocalypse with extra fists and three arm/weapon accessories. Sometimes Marvel Select nails it, and this is one of those instances. I had just picked up the Hasbro Marvel Legends Apocalypse, but this figure is another thing all together...

The Marvel Select has a more classic deco than the Marvel Legends Retro Card version, which was inspired by the '90s X-Men Animated show with it's purple and blue. At well over 9 inches the Marvel Select towers head and shoulders above the Marvel Legends Apocalypse. I'm mad for both of these!

Below, Apocalypse with my Marvel Select Classic Thanos, which has been in my collection for well over a decade. In my opinion, this Thanos is one of the best out there for many years now- it still holds up against newer Marvel Select figures.

This Super Skrull in Black Bolt/Inhumans outfit was a surprise- Secret Invasion was back in 2008, but Marvel Studios is currently producing a series of the storyline for Disney+. Along with a somewhat inexplicable four sets of hands, a Black Bolt head was included, with sonic effect accessory that fits into SkrullBolt's open mouth. Fantastic!

Among the array of extra hands that came with Super Skrull were a gripping pair with nothing to hold- I remembered the McFarlane Accessory Pack that arrived in February, which included the perfect sci-fi laser pistol for this figure ...!

Below, Super Skrull Vs. Marvel Select Captain Mar-Vell (Kree Variant):

Super Skrull and Apocalypse with two more recent Marvel Select figures, Red Hulk and Vision...

Marvel Select has released some fantastic new figures recently, which I have been happy with by and large. The Super Skrull has a lot going for it, in spite of some loos joints, but the Apocalypse it outstanding- I was seriously impressed with this big, beautiful figure! Recommended! 

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Marvel Select Vision & Red Hulk

 Diamond's Marvel Select line has had several new 7" figures solicited recently, including comic book versions of classic Vision and Red Hulk. While there are several such characters, Vision is one I get a little more excited for regarding action figures. I'm unsure Vision even registered on my childhood brain with so many other Marvel characters hogging the spotlight, but I took to him much later as an adult after reading Avengers: Kree-Skrull War (issues #89-97). While this newer Marvel Select does included articulation improved well beyond a lot of older figures from Diamond, it's not on the level of a Marvel Legends. It's serviceable however, and the classic look is intact, like Vision walked right off the paged of a Bronze-Age comic. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the number of accessories that came with Vision. including a blast effect hand, flattened/flight hand, blast effect for the wrist, and extra teeth-gritting head with removeable Solar Jewel (later the Mind Gem in the MCU) and forehead blast effect that mounts into the port. This all adds a lot of display value.

Below, Marvel Select Vision with my 9" ToyBiz Famous 

Covers Vision, and 6" Hasbro Marvel Legends Vision...

I kind of regretted not picking up the Marvel Legends Red Hulk Target was selling three or four years ago, so I was happy to see this new Marvel Select Red Hulk. I love the head sculpt, but we got TWO head sculpts with the recent Marvel Select Immortal Hulk, which shares 100% the rest of this figure's body- we should have got a Robert Maverick head with shades and a mustache.

While I sold most of my 3.75" Marvel Universe collection, I did keep some of the Hulks, including my Red Hulk. Ironically, I've taken to collecting Hasbro's more recent 3.75" Marvel Legends on those retro cards. So cool.

While the bare minimum was put into this Red Hulk, I did love that Immortal Hulk body, and the head sculpt is fantastic. Great figure! Diamond did throw down on the accessories for Vision, so in spite of his smaller stature, he felt a little more special. I don't buy every Marvel Select, but these are two I wanted for my humble collection. They have more updated articulation than the earlier Marvel Select and do capture the essence of both characters. Recommended!

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Marvel Legends X-Men Dump

Marvel Legends seem to be coming out with increasing frequency as the last few years have progressed. Though I can't buy them all, I hardly have time to review what I do buy. Due to this ever-growing pile of unopened figures, I've opted to dump several figures into one post- more of an overview of all the figures than an in-depth look into each figure individually. They are also less trouble to ship if I want to sell any. While the new X-Men Retro Card Apocalypse was a recent acquisition, the other X-Men Retro Card figures are over two years old now, and some of the others were purchased around 2017-18. Bishop and Forge have certainly been around that long...

Shatterstar is a fantastic figure with some nice detail- the leather texture/coloring on his shoulder pauldron and head gear is fantastic! He looks great next to his X-Force teammate Cable ...

Dani Moonstar is actually one of the New Mutants- she came with hand and head accessories for Karma and Wolfsbane, two of her New Mutants teammates. There are a handful of other New Mutants in my Marvel Legends collection, but I teamed her up with Warpath below, as they are both Native American ...

Sunfire is a figure I've had for several years now- one of several I bought on sale at Walgreens. The buck this is on has some fantastic articulation, including butterfly joints at the shoulders. The head sculpt is fantastic! He is pictured below with fellow flamester Human Torch...

When they started dropping these X-Men Retro Card Series figures, I was thrilled- particularly by the inclusion of Gambit and Rogue- the latter of which I had missed out on during her first release...

The Walgreens Exclusive Mystique included the head from that first Rogue figure, half transformed in blue skin. ...it seems a little big on this Rogue, but I sure love the inclusion of the glove holding hand on the new version.

Hasbro also released a black version of this Retro Card Storm with the soft goods cape. The Giant-Sized X-Men Storm that came with the Thunderbird 2-pack may be the best of these, but I love the punker mohawk Storm ...!

I already had the first release of Gambit before Hasbro dropped the superior X-Men Retro Card Gambit ... the painted playing cards, brighter colors, and better hair sculpt were an improvement.

Aside from the unfortunate aura effect on his Cerebro helmet, Professor X may be the best deluxe Marvel Legends figure ever- my favorite part about it are the sliding arm rests that reveal hidden control panels!

With my recent acquisition of the X-Men Animated Series Jean Grey and Cyclops, and the rest of this X-Men dump, I have a respectable '90s X-Men team...

My Marvel Legends Professor X can finally meet the Moira MacTaggert I got a couple years ago!

Moira is the longtime human love interest with Charles Xavier, recently retconned in the 2019 House of X storyline to have been a mutant that can redo her life every time she died. 

This X-Men Retro Card Apocalypse is exactly what the fans ordered, and I couldn't be happier with it- he looks like he stepped out of the '90s Animated X-Men show! I missed out on the BAF figure several years ago, and I'm glad 'cause I like this one way better.

It's somewhat odd how the vivid colors of this Apocalypse really looks like the animated X-Men version but doesn't share the same "cel-shading" deco as Jean and Scott, in spite of also having retro packaging. Regardless, they look great together...

Not an exhaustive look at each figure, but it was time to get some of the Marvel Legends I've had open- both to save space and make way for some new Marvel Legends X-Men on the way. There are some other figure "dumps" I need to do of boxed figures that I've had for awhile, as well as some newer aquisitions, including an entire wave or two of Marvel Legends. Stay Tuned!

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Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series VHS Cyclops & Jean Grey

While I'm somewhat indifferent about the cel shading on these Marvel Legends Animated figures, I like the overall designs of these two figures, who were underrepresented in my collection. They were way overpriced at $27.99 on Hasbro Pulse, but I will say that the box art is really fun. Take a look at the figures on the turntable in my video:

Hasbro's redesign of this Cylops is fantastic- the straps on his legs and shoulder harness are all built in to prevent sliding while posing, a problem the previous "Jim Lee" Cyclops had. Choosing between Jean's two head sculpts is difficult, though I lean toward the fuller hairstyle, which didn't weigh the figure down in back as much as I'd feared. She is mostly a reissue of the previous "love triangle" boxed set that also came with Cyclops and Wolverine.

Below, Scott & Jean with some other X-Men in my Marvel Legends Collection: Nightcrawler and Beast, Jubilee, and Wolverine. I have several more Marvel Legends X-Men that have been on ice for some time that I need to bust out. Stay Tuned!

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