Marvel Legends Venom Wave 2 (Venompool BAF)

 I hadn't purchased the initial Monster Venom BAF wave from 2018, nor planned on picking up this second Marvel Legends Venom wave, but the Venompool BAF was so good that I couldn't resist. Check out the video:

Below, Venompool with my 2016 X-Men Wave Deadpool!

See the video above more more comparison photos with other figures!

The Venomized concept is a good one, appealing to kids and adults who read comics from the '80s and '90s when this character, and the spinoff character Carnage, came onto the scene. There are some cool figures in this wave, notably the Carnage figure, an upgrade from the 2018 release with more detailed sculpt. The Venomized Captain America was a Walmart exclusive that I had to hunt down after buying the other figures in this wave, sub-branded under the Maximum Venom logo as the Miles Morales and Ghost-Spider figures are. My favorite, however, is the 2018 cinematic Venom; while I prefer venom with his spider chest insignia, I love the proportions of this tall figure, and the interchangeable heads look fantastic. I'm unsure if the creepy toes are screen-accurate, but I like them! 

 There have been questions regarding the need for some of these figures, but I did like them- their articulation was good, and they make a great group. The outstanding Venompool BAF is why you showed  up, but there's some other fun stuff here. Reccomended!

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Marvel Legends Deadpool, Gwenpool, Back In Black Deadpool, Venom Space Knight

I've had these boxed in my collection for the last three years or so, around when I took interest in Marvel Legends again. The brand was well into an upward trajectory that time, which has again hit another plateau of greatness in paint/sculpt quality, accessories, fan favorite characters, like every year for the last four or five years. In anticipation of the forthcoming Marvel Legends Venompool BAF Wave, I though I'd crack open these three figures related in theme by one or two aspects.

This highly treasured Deadpool didn't come with any of the Juggernaut BAF pieces, but was a stand alone packed with the most generous accessories arsenal of it's time. He's armed to the teeth! Deadpool is sporting the Bucky Cap buck, in it's fourth year of use here, and still in use today. We often lament the continued use of this torso, but it was revered upon it's first appearance in 2012, and it's because it's pretty good. He can reach for the katanas sheathed onto his back after all...

Deadpool also has a boot sheathed dagger, and a glut of five firearms, including an assault rifle, sub-machine gun, two holstered handguns, and a bazooka capped with a boxing glove! Incredible! 

I like the pairing of this Deadpool with my Marvel Legends classic Cable, two characters I really got into when I got into when reading X-Force about eight years ago. I'd missed this over-the-top era of comics, having moved onto college in the early '90s.

The more recent X-Force/Sasquatch BAF 1st Appearance Deadpool released in 2018 was also a stand-alone figure w/o a BAF part. He was a very popular figure with fantastic articulation, but no firearms, true to his inaugural appearance in New Mutants #98. There were two Deadpool released in this wave, the other a repaint of this X-Men/Juggernaut BAF in X-Force black and gray, as well as the Cable figure above.

When they released Gwenpool with the  Spider-Man/Lizard BAF Wave in 2018, I thought she'd be hard to get, but she was everywhere! I've wanted to open her since, and she did not disappoint. I felt at this point we were really starting to get nearly import quality upon her solicitation with a fantastic paint deco, sculpt, and accessories.

Below, Gwenpool with another interdimensional Marvel character, Spider-Gwen...

And in the spirit of total wackiness, Gwenpool takes a selfie with my Marvel Legends White Rabbit, who oddly pairs well with her, due in large part to her color scheme: they seem like they'd be friends... 

This Gamestop Exclusive Back in Black Deadpool is based on a story by writer Cullen Bunn, on the premise that the alien symbiote that paired up with Spider-Man in 1984's Secret Wars was first drawn to Deadpool, coming back to Deadpool after Peter Parker's rejection. He went on to become Venom, but not before going adventuring with Wade Wilson!

I'm going to stop here and insert another related figure from my collection I've not yet shown on this blog, the Marvel Legends Venom Space Knight BAF I bought on eBay about three years ago. I had read about this character in the comics just a couple years prior, and loved this version of Venom, especially teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy! These two pair nicely, and I purposely sought them out with this intent. Fast forward just a few years later and there is so much Venom stuff out now! 

Below, Back in Black Deadpool with my Marvel Legends Ben Reilly Spider-Man, 

who also included Carnage head and hands accessories...

I'm really happy with these figures, especially Deadpool and Gwenpool- the sculpt, paint, and accessories certainly reflected an accelerated effort to compete with an exponentially growing import market. Sometimes it takes awhile to get through some figures; I have s specific process, as opposed to just ripping open a figure, which time from my busy life doesn't always allow for. I have resolved to doing some multi-figure reviews to get more of them open in the coming new year, we'll see how that goes. In the mean time, I plan on getting some more posts out in the next couple weeks- stayed tuned!

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POP! Venomized Iron Man

I'm constantly fighting the urge to buy another Funko POP! vinyl, and while I prefer the regular ball joint head design featured on the DC characters over the bobble-heads on the Marvel figures, I could not resist this Venomized Iron Man. The other Venomized characters of this series are cool, but Iron Venom was a standout! See more in the video below:

Below, Venomized Iron Man with Funko POP! Homecoming Spider-Man 

and Mark XLII Iron Man...

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Amazing Spider-Man 30th Anniversary Issues, 1992

Back in 1992, Marvel was printing issues by the millions to satisfy the glut of speculators buying comics in multiples, hoping to see an increase on their investment. But as Stan Lee poignantly remarked, what made Golden-Age comics worth so much was their rarity, and because of that I can find these Amazing Spider-Man 30th Anniversary issues in the dollar bins. Comics nearly didn't survive the speculative bubble created, with about two thirds of all the specialty shops closing their doors, and Marvel Comics declaring bankruptcy finally in 1997. 

Artist Mark Bagley's rendering of Venom in Amazing Spider-Man #375, originally a Spider-Man costume design conceived by an Illinois fan, used in the 1984 Secret Wars storyline. Later written into Marvel lore as Venom by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane in 1988, the character has become one of Spider-Man's most popular enemies among readers.

But in 1992, Marvel was churning out these foil embossed and holographic covers to entice collectors, which have retained a fraction of their retail value. In all fairness, I was entertained by the multiple feature issues of The Amazing Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man, the latter of which had a really fun gatefold poster of Spider-Man and his 2099 counterpart by artist Rick Leonardi, then a brand new character that seems to have enjoyed a nostalgic renaissance of sorts in recent years. 

Amazing Spider-Man #365 included a preview of this futuristic Spider-Man, and a Stan Lee penned/John Romita Sr. penciled story "I Remember Gwen", centered around Mary Jane's ruminations on the tragic circumstances surrounding Peter Parker's late girlfriend and her own relationship with the webslinger. Among other featurettes, including the return of the Lizard and Peter Parker's parents in "Fathers and Sins",  #365 also had it's own Carnage/Venom gatefold by artist Mark Bagley, who's style I admired in the day, along with along with that of fellow Spider-Man artist Erik Larsen.

Web of Spider-Man #90 had the best story, in which Mysterio tricks Spider-Man into believing his career is run by an agent who booked his first appearance as the masked webslinger all those years ago when trying his powers out as a wrestler. Illusions of the Green Goblin, Galactus, the X-Men, Venom, and even the dearly departed are used in attempt to bring our hero down! Spectacular Spider-Man #189 was my least favorite of these, Harry Osborn's return to his father's legacy as Green Goblin threatening Peter Parker's secret identity as well as his own family's safety. Sal Buscema delivers on the art, but the melodrama between Osborn and his estranged wife and child didn't interest me. Amazing Spider-Man #375 seemingly concluded Venom and Spider-Man's ongoing rivalry in "The Bride of Venom". Eddie Brock's ex-wife, the Wild Pack, and Peter Parker's fugitive parents also make appearances in this issue preceding Venom's first solo run in the six issue Venom: Lethal Protector.

Web of Spider-Man #90: the Venom symbiote takes over a movie prop Galactus in Mysterio's illusory assault on Spider-Man.

Pencils by Alex Saviuk.

I just love anniversary and "giant-sized" issues, old and new, even if all the content isn't that great. It may be my deep love of the medium at play here, but these kinds of books often entertain some "what if" elements and/or take a character to a different place. I bought very few comics during this era, a poor art student at the time, but had fun absorbing this slice of Spidey from the early '90s recently. Did you have any of these 30th Anniversary issues, or maybe buy two of each in hopes it would appreciate in value ...?

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Nova/Venom MiniMates 2-pack

I read the first six issues of  the relaunched Marvel NOW! Nova title last year, which I enjoyed immensely, only stopping to sample some other titles while sticking to the monthly comics budget. While I wasn't into that type of cosmic comics as a child, I've grown to love them as an adult, my interest in the character growing due to his tie-in with the Guardians of the Galaxy, War of Kings, and Annihilation books published in the last few years. Venom, on the other hand, caught my attention as an older teen, through Amazing Spider-Man, around 1990.

This set came with a lot of extra accessories, some for Venom to be stripped down to his human form, Eddie Brock. The Venom head is fantastic on this, his trademark, gnarly teeth and giant tongue wagging out in front! He also came with a snaking arm to use in place of one of his huge hands. These larger MiniMates have somewhat clunky articulation due to their girth, but I do love them. Diamond released a Venom Through the Ages box set recently that includes a Venom much like this one, as well as an Agent Venom/Flash Thompson

Nova's helmet can be removed to reveal Sam Alexander's face, the latest member of the Nova Corps, son to a former Nova Centurion. Diamond did a nice job on Sam's hair sculpt, emulating the style of artist Ed McGuiness, of whose work I'm a big fan of. 

Sam also comes with two helmets, one an alternate gold- Fun! Diamond didn't have to do that, but I'm glad they did. He also came with a a translucent blue flight base, true to Sam's depiction in the Marvel NOW! Nova title. Another, more traditional Nova Centurion in blue was recently released with Baron Zemo in a 2-pack, but I sure do live the glossy black on Sam here...

Since I now have a Venom MiniMate, what a perfect opportunity to have my Superior Spider-Man do battle...!

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