{"id":17472,"date":"2012-03-12T02:48:54","date_gmt":"2012-03-12T07:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17472"},"modified":"2012-03-13T20:54:40","modified_gmt":"2012-03-14T01:54:40","slug":"marvel-legends-captain-america-review-arnim-zola-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17472","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Legends Captain America
Review (Arnim Zola Wave)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>You know what the plan was for 2012? Spend less money at retail. Limit the impulse purchases. Try to budget in a Hot Toys figure or two. You know what blew that to hell? Marvel Legends. One, cause they\u2019re awesome. Two, because they released two waves on top of one another! <\/p>\n

We knew Marvel and Hasbro intended to restart Legends in a big way, they hinted at it over a year in advance, they plopped “The Return of Marvel Legends” right on the front of the package (when was the last time a toy line was awesome enough to do that?), but what really got everybody buzzing was when the second assortment started hitting hot on the heels of the first. Marvel collectors wallets screamed in unison. I was able to build Terrax completely before I saw my first Arnim Zola figure, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case with everybody. I bet there’s some of you out there right now with a mishmash of Terrax limbs and Arnim Zola parts waiting to be assembled. That’s crazy. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

As a casual fan, the second wave is a little less impressive to me. With Wave One, it was mostly characters I wanted, building a BAF that I knew little about. With Wave 2 Hasbro got my attention with Arnim Zola, ensuring that I will snap up individual figures I don’t much want to build the android. There were some “Marvel Must Haves” in Wave 2 though, perhaps none more so than Captain America, though not the Captain America of years past, but rather the one from the past few years. <\/p>\n

I’m still not sure how to refer to him exactly. Heroic Age Cap? Bucky Cap? DC doled out roman numerals for legacy heroes (and has since completely discarded them because, y’know, reading comics is hard<\/em>), but Marvel doesn’t really seem to do much with legacies. I’m not even sure what roman numeral he’d even end up with considering John Walker or any of the retconned Captain Americas… so I’m just going to stick with Bucky Cap in this review to keep things simple.<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

I’ve mentioned this before, but I love change in comics. I like spicing up the status quo, exploring the idea of not having to go back to square one, a base line after each story. Now, granted, DC has totally flipped my willingness to accept change on its ear with their revamp, so I should clarify that I love change in comics when it comes as part of a natural progression in storytelling, not just $@#!ing everything up for sales\/leaving your mark\/whatever. There’s “killing Bruce Wayne” to delve deeply into Dick Grayson and Damian being Batman & Robin, to explore Batman as a larger figure calling the shots and then there’s the nU Justice League<\/em> which features so little storytelling I’m left wondering why my favorite characters all had to bite the dust (it also leaves me wondering how I could enjoy other books from the same writer).<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

But, I’m undaunted. I still like change in comics. I’m enjoying what New 52 titles I can, I’m enjoying the new Ultimate Spider-Man, and I’m enjoying the current direction of the X-Men in Uncanny<\/em>. And, in recent years, something that drew me back to Marvel was another change. I mentioned the recent events in the Bat-books above because it more or less mirrors what happened to Captain America. Marvel brought Bucky back from the grave (well, they it turned out he was never in it), made him an antagonist, then an anti-hero, and finally brought him into the fold as Captain America when they “killed” off Steve Rogers. He would continue in that role even when Steve returned and operated without his familiar moniker. That piqued me interest even though the status quo must be ultimately maintained (Steve is since back in the familiar red, white, & blue). The whole story sounded like something I’d like, and what’d ya know – it was well written. And in my world, that pretty much leads to one thing: needing the figure. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

And that’s exactly what we have here. A plastic representation of Bucky’s Captain America duds. This is Hasbro’s fourth figure of Bucky Cap, but the first in this scale. The Marvel Universe line originally packaged the 4″ version in a Gigantic Battles 2pk (that I never saw… you still mock me Goliath!!) and then repainted it a couple times for various store exclusives. I missed the first version, and passed on the rest as my MU purchases have largely wound down once I knew Marvel Legends was on the way.*<\/p>\n

* – And have completely stopped at the moment. I want Psylocke and the AoT Thor, but Marvel Legends is sucking my wallet pretty dry this month and I’ve still got three figures to go. I’m not sure how many more MUs are in my future.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

When Vault found Wave 2 (he lives at TRU), he called me up and I was more dismayed than excited. I hadn’t even finished reviewing Wave One yet! He asked which ones I was likely to buy, but I wasn’t sure. I knew I’d build Zola, but I didn\u2019t really want to blow the extra $3 a piece at TRU, let alone $100+ that particular day. When I made my way to TRU a bit later, Piledriver was gone (who buys just Piledriver?), but I got to choose from the rest. Despite my wanting to be patient and save money, I ended up with Fantomex, Future Foundation Spider-Man, and Captain America here. I wavered a bit on the first two, but I was sold on Cap right away. Honestly, I don’t know why Vault hadn’t bought one himself. I mean, I did want the character as a figure already, but it just so happened that I’d be buying a great figure to boot. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

I’m not as well-versed on Marvel Legends bucks, but I do believe Bucky Cap here is completely new. But even if it is reused from somewhere before and I’m just missing it, it doesn’t matter. It’s pretty much completely awesome, but that gushing should be held off until the articulation section. For the sculpt, we’ve got some Bucky Cap specific pieces in the form of the new large-cuffed boots, the short-cuffed gloves, the glued-on belt, and the new head. These pieces all work in concert for a great finished look, particularly the head with its determined expression (don’t piss this Cap off) and the belt which has sharp details and perfectly holds two of the figure’s three accessories. If I had to nitpick, I kinda wish the feet were a little bigger. That’s really the only flaw I see with this sculpt, but seriously, how often do you really look at a man’s shoes? Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

On top of that sculpt is some pretty decent paint. I love the metallic colors used as it’s true to the costume in the comics and really makes the figure pop. There were some minor issues here and there like the star being a tad crooked or the flesh tone paint around the eyes not quite filling the allotted space, but nothing looks sloppy on this figure. He looks good. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

So articulation is where this guys shines. I mean, it’s a pretty figure – you can tell that from the package or in my pics, but what really will impress you with this guy is how he can move. I can give you the numbers: ball-joints at the head, shoulders, hips, and ankles (and it’s those awesome new ball-jointed ankles), swivels at the bicep, waist, thighs, and calves, double hinges at the knees and elbows, and the ab crunch, but it just doesn’t quite tell the story. A lot of it has to do with those new ball-jointed ankles where the peg inserts into the shoe facing forward. They’re like super rocker ankles and it makes me sad that my DCUCs don’t have them. The great range on the neck and abs help the figure to not only balance but look graceful in poses, but it’s really the multiple swivels and hinges in the limbs that really open this guy up. One other thing I loved was that the figure can actually reach both of his stowed weapons convincingly – how often does that happen? <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

The only thing I would like to have here is a stand. The inner parts of the double hinges have a little more give than I’d like (they’re not bad, not just as solid as I’d prefer). A stand would not only help that, but also allow for even more poses. <\/p>\n

Bucky Cap included three accessories, the aforementioned knife and gun, and the classic shield. The knife and gun are fine pieces, but I wish they were a little more silver than grey. Bucky Cap holds the gun perfectly in his right hand (ready-to-go trigger finger in the sculpt), but the left hand is a little loose around the blade. I’m still happy to get both these pieces though. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Beyond his weapons, Bucky comes with the required shield. This is the same mold that was just released with Steve Rogers<\/a> a few weeks ago. It may be a little darker than the one that came with Steve – though I might be remembering wrong since I only have the variant photon shield. It’s a solid sculpt that can be clipped around the wrist or held by the peg depending on which is flipped up. The peg also doubles as a storage solution as Bucky Cap, like Steve, can stow the shield on his back. Bonus points here for being a figure that can stow all of his gear. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

Overall, I have to end here saying this might be one of the best Marvel Legends ever. It is certainly some of the best we’ve seen from Hasbro and surely better than a good chunk of the Toy Biz years. The sculpt is fantastic, the paint looks great, we’ve got three accessories that can all be stowed away on the figure, and the articulation provides plenty of fun to boot. Simply put, Bucky Cap is a must own. <\/p>\n

I’m still not sold on being a completist for this go around, my ML collecting will largely revolve around my wanting enough of the individual figures or really wanting the BAF, but when the figures are this good? It’ll be hard to say no to characters that I don’t have that much of an interest in. I’m ecstatic that a figure I wanted got so much love, but that might mean I have trouble saving money when a dud comes along with a beautiful figure. And while I’ve got plenty of ROML2 reviews to get to, this figure makes me absolutely stoked for Wave 3’s US Agent! I’ve been waiting for a 6″ figure of him for years and, not to get my hopes, he’s shaping up to be a kickass figure if Bucky Cap is any indication. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For more Marvel reviews, check out our Review Index<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

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

You know what the plan was for 2012? Spend less money at retail. Limit the impulse purchases. Try to budget in a Hot Toys figure or two. You know what blew that to hell? Marvel Legends. One, cause they\u2019re awesome. Two, because they released two waves on top of one another!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"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":[122,34,10],"tags":[1420,428,170,24,2575,1421,963,770],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pObc6-4xO","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":26585,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=26585","url_meta":{"origin":17472,"position":0},"title":"Vault Review: Marvel Legends Captain America 2 A.I.M. Agent","date":"January 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.itsalltrue.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/aima4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":29622,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29622","url_meta":{"origin":17472,"position":1},"title":"Hasbro Releases Giant-Size Images of the Next Marvel Legends Wave!","date":"November 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17591,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17591","url_meta":{"origin":17472,"position":2},"title":"Marvel Legends Drax Review (Arnim Zola Wave)","date":"March 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As you\u2019re reading this, I\u2019m somewhere (hopefully not lost) in South Dakota on vacation. Vault\u2019s got the reigns this week, but I didn\u2019t want to leave you guys without a Marvel Legends review (or get too far behind)! How about Drax today? Should be interesting since I know nothing about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17672,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=17672","url_meta":{"origin":17472,"position":3},"title":"Marvel Legends Future Foundation Spider-Man (Arnim Zola Wave)","date":"March 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m back! Vacation was awesome, but not being in front of my computer all week was a challenge! I jumped right back in, reworking the site redesign, building the SMC checklist, creating a new Vault sub-site, and then I realized... Monday\u2019s review!? Oops. How about Marvel Legends Future Foundation Spider-Man\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3883,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=3883","url_meta":{"origin":17472,"position":4},"title":"Most Requested Figures: Marvel Legends U.S. Agent + Poll","date":"February 12, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In "Requests"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16513,"url":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=16513","url_meta":{"origin":17472,"position":5},"title":"Marvel Legends (Terrax Wave) Heroic Age Thor Review","date":"January 30, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It\u2019s finally here! After being announced nearly a year-and-a-half ago at San Diego 2010, Marvel Legends is back on store shelves in all their 6\u201d glory and with BAF pieces in tow. Our local TRU opened a fresh case this weekend and I happily snapped up Hasbro\u2019s six-inch version of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Marvel Legends"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17472"}],"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=17472"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17472\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17507,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17472\/revisions\/17507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}