Marvel Legends Dump -August 2023

 I didn't get all of these figures in August, but most of them I did, so I felt it was a good time to dump a bunch of them onto the blog!

Spider-Man 2 (Gamerverse)

I was disappointed in missing out on the first Gamerverse Spider-Man at GameStop a couple years ago, so getting this upgraded model was sweet. He came with several web accessories and has all the articulation you'd want in a Spider-Man figure, including a toe joint.

Above: Spider-Man Vs. The Lizard   Below: Spider-Man with my Gamerverse Velocity Suit Spider-Man and Spider Armor Mark III form the Marvel Legends Demogoblin Wave...

Quantumania Ultron

I'm not sure why Ultron was in this wave, but collectors who missed out on the Classic Ultron we got in 2021 with the Ursa Major BAF Wave will be glad to see him. His head sculpt is slightly different, and he is sculpted in that swirly metallic plastic instead of painted silver. Below, Quantumania Ultron pictured with Disney + What-If... Ulton BAF and my Classic Ultron...

Guardians of the Galaxy Yondu

I hate exclusives as much as the next collector, but I didn't have any problem preordering this Target Exclusive Yondu. What a presentation- live the color on this figure! He pairs nicely with the Walmart Exclusive Star-Lord we just got!

Moon Knight (Modern)

I've been a fan of Moon Knight since reading about him in Spectacular Spider-Man back in the '70s, and this modern interpretation hits all the right notes. I'm unsure what I'm supposed to do with the extra-small crescent accessories he came with, but he was packed with other useful weapons.

Below, Modern Comics Moon Knight flanked by Disney+ Moon Knight and Mr. Knight:

Heroes Return Iron Man/Model 01 Iron Man

How many Iron Man figures does a Marvel Legends collector need? Apparently two more!

Above: Model 01 Iron Man Vs. my ToyBiz 1st Appearance Hulk

Below: Heroes Return Iron Man with Iron Spider

Below, Heroes Return Iron Man and Model 01 Iron Man with some of the other Marvel Legends Iron Men I've collected in the last 3 years: Iron Man 2020   80th Anniversary Classic Iron Man   Modular Iron Man   Model 70 Iron Man   War Machine   Silver Centurion   Stealth Iron Man ...

Avengers: Beyond Earth's Mightiest Heroes Captain Marvel Vs. Doctor Doom 2pk

I read Secret Wars back in the '80s and was particularly fixated on this version of Doctor Doom that looks like the Mattel Secret Wars figure I had then. I was thrilled to see this set solicited a few months ago, and it did not disappoint!

Below: Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel with Mar-Vell Captain Marvel

Hasbro went all the way with Doom, including a Victor Von Doom head sculpt, collapsed hoodie accessory, and mask so we can relive issue #11 of Secret Wars "The Face of Doom" like it's 1985! So good ...!

Below, Secret Wars Doom with my Marvel Legends Classic Doctor Doom

Avengers: Beyond Earth's Mightiest Heroes Black Widow

And finally, a figure I picked up while shooting the rest of these, the newest Marvel Legends Black Widow. I passed on this figure in a local Target a couple weeks ago, but circled back to scoop her up- with three head sculpts, pinless joints (double hinged elbows as well), and all her other weapons/accessories, she is the Black Widow to have in your collection.

The 2018 Marvel Legends Black Widow also had an alternate head with a '60s/retro hairdo ...

Below, Beyond Earth's Mightiest Heroes Black Widow with my 2020 Walmart Exclusive Black Widow, Deadly Origin Black Widow and 2018 Black Widow w/Cycle. 

I'd have a difficult time choosing a favorite out of this bunch, but it might be the Secret Wars Doom Vs. Captain Marvel 2-pk. I'd love to have a 12" version of that Doom! Honorable mentions to the Model 01 Iron Man, Yondu, and Black Widow, but they are all pretty fantastic. Marvel Legends have become more expensive, but they often rival import-quality figures in the last few years. 

Follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Invincible Iron Man #150 (Double-Sized 15th Anniversary Issue, 1981)

I picked up this fun issue of Invincible Iron Man for a buck back in February, resolving to make a short post about it eventually, and five months later, here we are. The conclusion of the previous issue #149, "Doomquest", finds Doom and Iron Man are double-crossed by one of the former's lackeys while crossing a time machine platform in furious battle. If you picked up only this double-sized issue back in '81 however, it almost would not have mattered- Doom and Iron Man literally drop out of the sky into Camelot, have adventures with King Arthur and his armored knights... what else could a kid need?

Doom will not recognize the authority of King Arthur and his knights, but Iron Man pleads with him to be cool until they can figure a way out of their time displacement situation. Unfortunately, Doom has his own plans, using the opportunity to find Morgan Le Fay, whom he makes an alliance with to destroy King Arthur and Camelot for her assistance in retrieving his mother from the bowels of Hell!

With help from Iron Man, King Arthur and his knights defeat Doom and Morgan Le Fey's undead army. The witch escapes the armored Avenger through a dimensional portal at the last moment with the shard of Excalibur she used to attack Camelot, vowing vengeance on he and her brother, King Arthur.

Crushed by his chance to free his mother from Hell, Doom is persuaded to combine scientific skills with Iron Man, using their tech to make it back to present day. Though a truce is met out of necessity, the mortal enemies vow to resume their rivalry 24 hours after their escape, bidding a bitter farewell upon their mission success!

Artist John Romita Jr. is certainly working in the Marvel Method here, employed by his father before him, far removed from his later, more unique style. Bob Layton finished the art, also co-plotting the issue with writer David Michelinie. This is a real slice of the kind of Bronze-Age Marvel I was raised on, and would have loved as a nine-year old!  Circle back and check out my posts on the Marvel Legends 80th Anniversary Iron Man and Doctor Doom!

Follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Marvel Legends Doctor Doom & She-Hulk

I picked up She-Hulk and Doctor Doom from the new Marvel Legends Fantastic Four/Super Skrull BAF Wave when I bout the entire Hobgoblin Wave featured in my last post. I didn't want to shell out for the updated Fantastic Four as I already have the Walgreens FF, but I couldn't pass on these two. We received a classic Doctor Doom from ToyBiz in the 2nd Series of Marvel Legends back in 2002, in the 2007 Walmart Exclusive Ronan Wave, and more recently in the 2012 Epic Heroes Series 3. I never picked up the Walgreens Infamous Iron Man Doctor Doom released last year, but had little incentive as I knew this Classic Doom was on the way.

This wasn't the version of Jen Walters I'd prefer, but rather the post Civil War II Hulk (or She-Hulk) that now turns into a wild, uncontrollable grey Hulk, a result of her trauma from fighting Thanos. I'm unfamiliar with the latest regarding Jen in the comics, but this sounds more Savage She-Hulk than Sensational. But with all the new, very character-specific tooling for this figure, I feel we will get a more conventional green version, perhaps in a retro wave, that may feature a new head sculpt. Still, this is a fantastic figure with some exacting attention to detail in the sculpt and paint.

Below, She-Hulk with another stunning female marvel Legends female in my collection, Angela, the classic Hulk from my 80th Anniversary Hulk/Wolverine 2-Pack, and Thundra from the 2015 Hulkbuster Wave...

Doom seems like next-level Marvel Legends, with near import-like quality, a triumph of the Marvel Legends line and action figures in general. The attention to detail in the sculpt- the rivets, painted armor clasps, the elaborate gold belt buckle, the subtle fabric texture of the cape and tunic, the chain mail texture under the armor... it's fantastic. The armor looks so good! Sure, the pistol is underwhelming in size and rubbery, but the rest of the accessories, including classic and modern portraits are perfect.

Hasbro put Doom's thrusters beneath his cape, which do have small holes at the openings. We didn't any jet fire accessories, but you know some customizer is going to make that. The peg on my onside of his cape doesn't really stay in the hole on Doom's back, but it's of little consequence for my purposes.

Doom's tunic and cape encumber his poseability to a degree, but he has great articulation. I'm glad they didn't break up the torso with an ab-crunch joint- the ball joint at the waist gives adequate tilt all around for this character- perfectly serviceable, and plenty good to battle the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing!

And finally, Doom with my Walgreens Exclusive Fantastic Four. While it's tempting to pick up the updated FF from Doom's wave and complete the Super Skrull BAF, I prefer this Walgreens FF. Sure, we get a transforming Human Torch w/Johnny Storm head, but I liked the more traditional uniforms of the Walgreens FF, and Thing's paint deco is better. Maybe if they go on clearance.

More Later- Make It FUN!

Doom 2099

I've been a fan of Spider-Man 2099 since reading the first volume TPB, and have picked up a few spare issues since, but until now had neglected the first four issues of Doom 2099 I scored around the same time. Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 imprint that began in 1992, which explores a possible future of the fictional Marvel comic book universe where several characters a re-imagined therein. In Doom 2099, a man claiming to be Victor von Doom appears among the ruins of Dr. Doom's castle in the distant future, incredulous of what has become of his country of Latveria, now under corporate rule that has exhausted it's resources and driven it's people into a state of distopia. 

Latveria is ruled by future Latverian robber-baron Tyger Wylde, who battles against other mega-corporations like Alchemex and Pixel for domination. Upon Doom's discovery of the grave state his beloved kingdom's fate, he confronts the warrior mogul, eventually succumbing to Wylde's superior tech. Before frying his face, Wylde berates the impostor for overlooking the fallen dictator's scarred mug in his masquerade. Doom is rescued by Fortune and her band of gypsies, who share his Zefiro clan lineage. The group rallies behind this unlikely freedom fighter, restoring his health and building him new armor for another confrontation with Wylde, who Doom eventually defeats in issue #4.  Reclaiming Latveria, Doom decides the world is corrupt, and must be taken over to be restored- sounds like Doom to me! This title ran for 44 issues, the character appearing in several other 2099 titles, and receiving  his  own one-shot after conquering the United States. I'd not before noticed the name of author John Francis Moore who also wrote some X-Force and X-Factor stuff I liked from the '90s, or artist Pat Broderick, whose first run with Marvel soured due to editor Jim Shooter's scathing criticism of his art. After departing for a decade long tenure at DC, Broderick returned victorious to draw Doom 2099. 

Known Doom enthusiast Canadian Kal  pointed out that without that DAMN RICHARDS around to stop him, Doom could be the champion of Latveria and hero- a second chance of sorts. And like I also noticed, Doom 2099 needs other people, no longer the despotic ruler we'd grown to love. In order to topple Tyger Wylde, the gypsies who rescued him must be trusted and tolerated. Without Fortune risking her life to double-cross Wylde, or Wire to crack his tech, Doom couldn't shut him down. While on the subject of tech, it wasn't lost on me that even though the internet wasn't a new thing, it would not be open to public use for another two years at the time of this magazine's publication in 1993. References to cyberspace, including one panel of cyber-savant Wire physically "surfing the network" on a board, seemed a little ahead of their time. 

Kal also proposed this person may have been Doom plucked from an earlier time, which got me to wondering then if the memory flashbacks Victor experienced were just some sort of cosmic osmosis by which he recalled the older Doom's memories, as a younger Doom shouldn't have. Who is this man and from where did he come?  Only four issues in  I'm not an expert, and Doom 2099's true identity is unknown to me. I enjoy the possibility of this remaining an unresolved mystery, and Wikipedia claims the definitive truth is never revealed. I'll consider picking up the TPB collection, but these first four had a satisfying arc alone. When Doom steals Wylde's valuable, energy-rich tritonium and lures him near to detonate the volatile mineral, I thrilled to his calculated ruthlessness! Rising from the flames, Doom is revealed to have used the phasing technology of his futuristic neuro-armor to let the explosion pass through him like a breeze. Perfect! Though we are left with more questions than answers about the origins of this Doom, it's a good story with hyper-detailed art typical of this vintage. Fun stuff I'd think would thrill any fan of Doom!

More Later- Keep Reading Comics!