{"id":12100,"date":"2011-03-22T09:22:27","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T14:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12100"},"modified":"2011-03-23T12:12:40","modified_gmt":"2011-03-23T17:12:40","slug":"marvel-universe-reviews-vision-dark-ms-marvel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=12100","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Universe Reviews
Vision & Dark Ms. Marvel"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> I’ve only recently started getting into the Marvel Universe line by picking & choosing a few figures here and there. It doesn’t seem like there’s been much new recently, but Hasbro has been keeping things interesting by refreshing a older figures with new pieces or decos, so I snagged a couple for review.<\/p>\n

First, I should say that, as a DC Collector, I’m rather jealous of Hasbro & Marvel’s ability to move units. I know that we DC Collectors get so frustrated with Mattel over the distribution of the line, but I always fear that if the figures were just a little more plentiful, we’d be in pegwarm city (and keep in mind, I’m in the Midwest, not a big coastal city). Other than a few Iron Men or Multiple Man piling up, Hasbro seems to be able to crank out several cases to stores without too much concern. And while I hope Warner Bros\u2019 renewed focus on the DC properties will turn that around in a few years, I’m rather jealous that the MU line has high enough sales to be able to mix redecos into refresher cases to keep some excitement in otherwise boring cases.<\/p>\n

While we’re in a slightly longer gap between waves twelve and thirteen, Hasbro has been shipping out Marvel Universe refresher cases with some much needed reissues and a handful of the aforementioned redecos: a darker Daredevil & Ronin, Warpath in his X-Men togs, a phasing Vision, and a Dark Avengers Ms. Marvel. I’ve seen them all but the Ronin, but I was only motivated to pick up two so far: the Ms. Marvel & the Vision. <\/p>\n

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I can’t say for certain what motivated me to pick up Ms. Marvel. This version isn’t the familiar Carol Danvers, but rather Karla Sofen – her “villain replacement” featured during Norman Osborne’s tenure running the Avengers. I’m not really familiar with Moonstone (Sofen’s villain identity) other than that she seems to like to watch people die while also seemingly being prone to switch sides at opportune times for the plot. I don’t mean that entirely facetiously; it’s just that she occasionally works with heroes despite having a rather high body count. You\u2019d think that would be a problem for the heroes.<\/p>\n

Anyway, for most of 2009 Sofen was Ms. Marvel, even taking center stage in the solo title. The figure is roughly accurate to those appearances, though Sofen did wear thigh high boots in some of the art. I might’ve liked to see that here since it would help differentiate her from the classic Ms. Marvel already in the line.<\/p>\n

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If you have the classic Ms. Marvel, there’s not much new to see here. Below the neck, the sculpt is entirely reused and the only differences are in the materials or paints used: she’s tanner overall, the symbol is gold instead of yellow, and the white\/blue highlights are (thankfully) gone.<\/p>\n

Above the neck, she features the hair piece of the modern Ms. Marvel atop a new head sculpt. Of the three MU Ms Marvels (I need to get around to picking up a modern one), I think this is the best head sculpt. I happen to be a big fan of white eye slits in masks, but being able to see the character\u2019s face with well painted eyes helps this figure stand out from the other two.<\/p>\n

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The paint is pretty decent for the figure. There is some dark blue slop around the boots and at the waist, but otherwise the lines are crisp. The gold symbol better fits with Captain Marvel and isn’t washed out over the black areas like my original Ms Marvel. The paint on the face is surprisingly well done for the scale. The only paint I really had a problem with was on the hair. The orange wash is just too heavy leaving the figure as more of a strawberry blond than was probably intended. <\/p>\n

The articulation is okay, but I’ve been spoiled by some of the newer figures and Ms. Marvel seems rather lacking as a result. She has a waist joint – which is a joint I wish more figures had, but the lack of bicep and thigh cuts limit her poseability. She features ball-joints at the head (limited), shoulders, hips (limited), and ankles, hinged elbows, swivel waist, and double hinged knees. She can get into some good poses, but I do miss those extra swivel cuts found on the new figures.<\/p>\n

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Ms. Marvel also included two energy projections. They slide over her hands and are pretty snug.<\/p>\n

Again, I can’t say why I bought this figure for certain. The overall figure is decent, but her basic sculpt and articulation are limited by her being mostly a repaint of a 2009 figure. The advancements the line has made simply aren’t present in her. On that note, it’s a little odd that while Hasbro opted to give her a new head sculpt, they didn’t update the packaging in any way (which indicates this is a Carol Danvers figure) or even include the now standard issue base. For a second, I thought I’d misplaced it, but 2009 figures didn’t have those, so neither does this one. It makes sense, but it\u2019s also odd.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the figure is still a decent MU figure and if you’re planning on putting together the Dark Avengers or are just a big Captain Marvel fan, you\u2019ll be needing her. Continue to Vision…<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Vision… Y’know, sometimes you buy a figure because you like the character (I kinda like the Vision), sometimes you buy a figure to complete a set or an assortment (I don’t have hardly any of the Avengers), and sometimes you buy a figure just because it looks really damn cool. In this case, I gotta tell ya, it was mostly number three.<\/p>\n

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Vision wasn’t on my short (budget) list, but when I ran across him at the store, I couldn’t leave him there. He rode around with me while we grocery shopped and I’d like to think we bonded. Me being a HUGE<\/strong> fan of clear toys and him being… well… clear. But he’s not just clear, he’s clear in all the right colors. Frankly, that doesn’t happen enough in toydom. I can only think of a handful of figures that had have that feature and that made sure Vision really jumped out at me from the pegs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Vision is an interesting character. He was created by Roy Thomas back in the late 60s, but Thomas was clearly channeling the previous Timely Comic & Kirby created Vision from the early 40s (their general appearances are similar, as are the poses on their respective debut covers). The earlier Vision was an alien, however, and this one is an andriod built as part of the ever ongoing Hank Pym vs. Ultron saga. Vision was built for nefarious means, but, like all cool robot heroes with dark pasts, he turned on his creator and joined forces with the heroes. Of course, since he’s an android, he does get blown up now and again. I haven\u2019t kept up with him in recent years, but it seems he\u2019s as likely to be an active member as he is parts in a box on Pym\u2019s to do list. Anyway, to cut to the point, one of his many powers is the ability to become intangible; which is what this figure represents. A Vision you could punch in the face and miss while he simultaneously reaches into the chest and pulls out your… well, you get the idea. <\/p>\n

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I don’t have it, but Vision is a complete reuse of the original figure from early last year, so if you’ve got that one then you know what to expect. For me, this particular buck seems a bit stocky for Vision, but if I had both figures I’d want them to match, so it’s moot to really make a big deal about it here. Aside from seeming a bit more buff\/round than I normally think of him, the figure looks to have a decent sculpt with raised boot\/glove lines, a perfectly captured cape, and a sharp head sculpt that really looks like Vision, even when it’s mostly see-through.<\/p>\n

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The articulation annoys me a bit on the legs because I find the limited ball-joint so… limiting. I want to do more with the figure, but I can’t. The rest of the legs are good – ball ankles and double-hinge knees, but they have to work overtime to make up for the hips and they can’t completely get the job done. The arms are nicely articulated with ball shoulders, swivels at the bicep and wrist, and hinged elbows. Vision also features a ball-jointed head though it doesn’t do much more than swivel and an ab crunch that you need because ball hips really can’t move backwards whatsoever.<\/p>\n

Paint is mostly a non-issue. I guess I’m not sure if Vision is molded in the translucent colors or painted with a thin coat, but either way he looks great. The few paint apps that are there like the symbol, the face, & eyes are nicely done, but are a little difficult to see because of the format of the figure. Some of them show up better in these pics than they do on the actual figure. <\/p>\n

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Overall, I was happy to find both of these figures since they’re still a bit on the rare side at the moment. While neither blew me away like Thanos or Colossus, I still enjoy both of ’em, particularly the Vision. The older articulation was the only thing that annoyed me, though I would like to see Hasbro update the packaging in some way to reflect that these figures are different from the originals or at least include stands with older figures that didn’t originally come with them. <\/p>\n

Now, I’ve just got to figure out a spot for these on my MU Checklist…<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For more Marvel Universe reviews, check out our
Marvel Universe Collector’s Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve only recently started getting into the Marvel Universe line by picking & choosing a few figures here and there. It doesn’t seem like there’s been much new recently, but Hasbro has been keeping things interesting by refreshing a few older figures with new pieces or new decos, so I snagged a couple for review.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":12101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[26,34,10],"tags":[427,24,2567,947,948],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/visTN.jpg?fit=50%2C50","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-39a","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18854,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=18854","url_meta":{"origin":12100,"position":0},"title":"Marvel Universe Two-Packs: Thanos vs Adam Warlock Review","date":"May 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last night I remembered that I run a toy review website. Between a business trip to Kansas City and a quick jaunt to Texas for the eclipse (and a bunch of work in-between), IAT\u2019s been light on my updates the last two weeks. Let\u2019s fix that with a Marvel Universe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Universe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11531,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11531","url_meta":{"origin":12100,"position":1},"title":"Marvel Universe Reviews Thanos & Captain Marvel","date":"February 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I've avoided buying too many Marvel Universe figures for one reason or another over the last couple years. I bought a few at first, but they didn't win me over. Lately though, the line has been getting harder and harder to resist. In the last couple weeks, I've picked up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Universe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9719,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=9719","url_meta":{"origin":12100,"position":2},"title":"Most Requested Figures: Iron Man – Rescue","date":"October 8, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"With all these movie Iron Man figures running around, plus the few from the Marvel Universe line, I think it\u2019s about time for Tony\u2019s right-hand woman to get her own toy. No, I'm not asking for a personal assistant figure, but I would like to see a figure of Pepper\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Requests"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":11555,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=11555","url_meta":{"origin":12100,"position":3},"title":"Marvel Universe Checklist Updates, Cap & Thor Pages Added","date":"February 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"New pages for the Captain America & Thor movie lines have been added to the Marvel Universe Resource. The Iron Man 2 and Spider-Man pages have been updated with the latest wave information. And a Two-Packs section has been added to the 2011 page. Images have been added for most\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Universe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27203,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=27203","url_meta":{"origin":12100,"position":4},"title":"Marvel Universe Hercules Review","date":"March 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19485,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=19485","url_meta":{"origin":12100,"position":5},"title":"Sponsor Announcement: Past Generation Toys","date":"July 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This week @ PastGenerationToys.com PreOrders The new Spider-Man movie is here and we have the Diamond Busts and Status below MSRP + Free Shipping. The four include: Spider-Man Amazing Spider-Man Movie Statue (preOrder) Lizard Amazing Spider-Man Movie Bust (preOrder) Proto Spider-Man Amazing Spider-Man Movie Bust (preOrder) Spider-Man Amazing Spider-Man Movie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sponsors"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12100"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12112,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12100\/revisions\/12112"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}