“… not after they feel the bite of the BLACK ANT!” – Eric O’Grady (LMD). Secret Avengers #32 (December, 2012).
Our Marvel Two-A-Day cover is going strong as we use today to look at Secret Avengers Ant-Man! Wait, what, you say?
No, you don’t need Ant-Man to build the Hulkbuster. He’s not from the wave, but he did start showing up at Walgreens last week (he’s one of their exclusives this year, similar to Agent Venom last year). He didn’t quite make it in time for Ant-Man Week, so I thought I’d toss him into this week’s Marvel reviews to keep him from languishing unopened in my review stack. Plus, he’s a great figure that I didn’t want to leave in the box so maybe I’m just being greedy!
I haven’t kept up on every corner of the Marvel Universe in recent year (apparently, there are no corners right now?), but I think I’ve got this Ant-Man figured out. This may be spoilers, I’m not sure how it was handled in the books, so skip this over if you intend to read some Secret Avengers from the last few years. His official name is the Black Ant and he’s not a real person, he’s a Life Model Decoy of a different Ant-Man, Eric O’Grady. O’Grady starred in his own title a few years ago, the Irredeemable Ant-Man, where he was a low-level SHIELD agent who inadvertently stole the suit and adventures ensued. Lots of stuff happens to him, but since he’s a modern character, he’s promptly killed off and replaced by this LMD, who is then later killed off.
So this is a figure is a now-defunct robot of a dead guy from a bunch of comics I didn’t read and doesn’t include a BAF piece. But he looks cool, so I bought him. Also, I’m amused by Walgreens exclusives. It is seriously kill to see a retailer like Walgreens get serious about their toy section. They have literally worked to become an important stop for toy collecting and it’s really much appreciated. You can never have too many places to look!
The sculpt is from the recent awesome Spider-Man figure that needs to be repainted into every Spidey ever and so Ant-Man is off to a good start as far as the sculpt & articulation are concerned. The body does look a little too lean here – we’re used to seeing Spidey with this build, so it may just be messing with my head to see it on another person. It could also just be that the new head sculpt sits a just a little too high. But it is a great head sculpt! I’m glad there’s no removable helmet gimmick on this one as it gives the figure a much tighter look. The helmet is well crafted after the one in the comic and his face has a bit of menace to it, like this guy might not entirely be on the side of the angels. I wouldn’t mind seeing it reused – regular old Ant-Man could use an update, but there are some sculpted details that might make it too unique to this figure. Oh, and hey, there’s a non-removable belt to get those details just right. Continue to Page 2…
“It is seriously kill to see a retailer like Walgreens…”
cool?
Noisy does that a lot. I read something about it meaning that he’s thinking about something entirely different while he’s typing?
at least he’s not as bad as Falcada. or Bricken.
😉
I was wondering the same thing. It’s a fun game to play.
You could always take some of the upcoming Scarlet Spider’s hands and swap them with him! (I know they don’t have black fingers, but it’s no biggie 😀 )
I know the character more by reputation, not having read any of his adventures either, afaik.
that said, the head does really sell the figure for me, mold and deco.
I do agree that the body is too lean, imo, but again, I’m just not that familiar with the guy, so giving him a little leeway there.
Some were saying that the costume is reminiscent of Lang’s recent F4 outfit (with Shulkie, Mecha-She-Thing, and….someone else?), once you add the 4 to his chest. and a few have already repainted him into classic Pym and it does look nice.
One thing to keep an eye out for is this is in an 8pc display piece as opposed to Agent Venom’s 16pc case, and I keep finding them on the lower half of the aisle endcap. I’ve probably walked past more than a few without realizing it, and walked out thinking “no luck here!” So if y’all don’t see these with the regular Marvel figures on the shelf, check the bottom side of the endcaps!
bright side: I’m finding a few overlooked ML figures while hunting for these!
Dunno why but even in your pics I keep.seeing a Kamen Rider Henchman in this guy. Really thats what I’m seeing other than an Antman. Still a great review and yes thats how will use him. Just wish knew which one thinking of.
I want this figure more than any other currently…
If you’re really out of luck, hit me up.
I never wanted an Ant-man figure, but I picked this guy up when I saw him. I love the skinny body, but it is the colors, and especially that bright neon orange paint, that sold me on him.