{"id":29143,"date":"2014-08-11T00:25:02","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T05:25:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29143"},"modified":"2014-08-11T00:26:29","modified_gmt":"2014-08-11T05:26:29","slug":"marvel-legends-guardians-of-the-galaxy-star-lord-drax-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=29143","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Legends Guardians
of the Galaxy Star-Lord & Drax Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> Not counting Iron Man (& who counts Iron Man), this is our last big review for Guardians of the Galaxy Week! Oh, and don\u2019t think of it as a late review, I prefer to look at it as even more GOTG goodness that simply spills over into a second week! <\/p>\n

Years ago, before Abnett & Lanning relaunched the Guardians of the Galaxy, my feelings on the two characters here, Star-Lord & Drax, couldn\u2019t be more different. I enjoyed Star-Lord\u2019s earlier stories (even if they weren\u2019t always good) and I didn\u2019t really care much about Drax at all. Abnett & Lanning made changes to both characters, subtle for Star-Lord and rather major for Drax, and in the process made me love both characters more. (Something the film did again). <\/p>\n

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Star-Lord\u2019s film version mostly lines up with the comics. Both have thrown out the intergalactic alignment heralding his birth and near death at the hands of his stepfather. The movie did alter the circumstances of his mother\u2019s death from being murdered by aliens to illness. It did make his abduction a little more left field, but we got payoff for that by the end of the film. In all, I was happy with Chris Pratt\u2019s portrayal. I wasn\u2019t a big fan of his going on, but I\u2019m on a convert now (still not gonna watch Parks & Rec though). <\/p>\n

Drax is a little more difficult to reconcile. In the comics, Drax the Destroyer is\u2026 human. Yep. It was Thanos, not Ronan, that killed his wife & daughter (well, not really, hold on) and him too. This coincided with some folks not particularly happy with Thanos having built the ultimate weapon against him, a being with flight, energy bursts, super-strength, and near invincibility. But it needed a soul and Arthur Douglas, fresh with a need for vengeance was chosen. That was Drax for over thirty years. When Abnett & Lanning came along, that Drax died and the current one emerged from the destroyed remains like a phoenix (saved him tons of money on those tattoos). After that he looks very similar to his movie appearance, leaving the film only to tweak him slightly and make his not human; thus preserving Quill\u2019s uniqueness and sparing us a really complicated exposition. Personally, I loved him a lot more in the film than I was expecting too \u2013 I was worried from the trailers he would be dumbed down for comic relief. He was, but it, like many things in the movie, was kept balanced well with his other personality traits. <\/p>\n

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In figure form, Drax is pretty much the best figure in the wave (possibly by default, but still) and Star-Lord is the close second. They are both 100% new sculpts and both feature some great detail work as a result. For Drax, those are his extensive upper-body tattoos and the intricate details on his pants. I can\u2019t say with much certainty that the tattoos are screen-accurate, but they look great here. This Drax is light years better than the comic-version released last year. Drax also gets points based on having the best head sculpt in the wave. Like the rest of the line-up, the blank expression is still present, but it works for Drax. Whereas Gamora looks stoned out, Drax looks intent and works with the character\u2019s personality. <\/p>\n

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Star-Lord is either a great sculpt or has issues depending on what you consider his alternate, unmasked head. I\u2019m going to call it an accessory and just say he has a great sculpt here. Some collectors find it a little odd that we got the not-so prominent trench coat version over the shorter jacket seen throughout the film. I\u2019m in agreement. I\u2019m not going to lop off the bottom of the coat like some have, but it is a tempting thought.<\/p>\n

The trench coat, like the whole figure is well executed. From the little rocket packs on his ankles to the shoulder armor attached to his jacket, this is a well-sculpted piece throughout. And top it all off with that fantastic Star-Lord mask (seriously, I kinda want a prop version) and the figure pops off the shelf. <\/p>\n

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On top of that we have some mostly well done paint. On Drax, the paint work on his tattoos doesn\u2019t quite line up with the sculpted areas, but it doesn\u2019t come across as sloppy, possibly because it\u2019s such a complicated design. The paintwork on the technical areas like the boots is sharply done and also helps compensate. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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Star-Lord is similarly well done. There are a few sloppy areas: the silver on the rocket-packs doesn\u2019t have full coverage, there is some slop on his t-shirt. I accepted that trying to find good paint on the mask and face, which wasn\u2019t easy. The few areas of exposed skin on the figure use a very thick gloppy paint and it is noticeable, particularly on some accessories\u2026 <\/p>\n

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Articulation is great on both figures. They use just about everything that Toy Biz & Hasbro has learned works best over the years. Nice range on the ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, and the inverted ankles; double-hinges on the elbows & knees, swivels at the waist, biceps, & thighs, and the ab crunch. The long trench coat does get in the way on Star-Lord in deep poses, one more strike against it for its detractors. <\/p>\n

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Okay, so those accessories. Drax get his two knives. He holds them great. They fit in his boots. Love it. That\u2019s exactly what I want in a toy except that he\u2019s only got two bits of plastic. Star-Lord makes up for that with six different accessories. Five to hold: the two pistols, the orb, headphones and the Sony Walkman. All these are nice. The guns could be held a little tighter, but they beat the orb which can\u2019t be held at all. The headphones could work better, the fit on both heads, but look better (incorrectly) on the masked head. Actually, they look best on Drax. They\u2019re not connected to the Walkman, which is fine, and he does hold that well. I\u2019ve pretty much let the figure have it the whole time. I do wish his removable bag could double as a bag for all the gear (it\u2019s hollowed out), but I\u2019ll make sure I don\u2019t lose all these goodies. <\/p>\n

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Finally, that six accessory that I\u2019ve alluded too multiple times: the alternate head. I don\u2019t want to hate it. I think it, like the others, is based off a scan or was done by a great sculptor. I think the likeness is in there, but, like the others, it\u2019s just lifeless, blank. Then, on top of that it\u2019s molded in the hair color with a thick, goopy paint for the skin. It softens up the sculpt that much more and really brings down the piece. It\u2019s a shame because I\u2019d like to display Star-Lord without the mask, but it\u2019s just not feasible with how it looks. I kinda feel bad for Chris Pratt! <\/p>\n

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Overall, the only really strike here is the unmasked head. We\u2019ve got two original sculpts with great detail work and the top-of-the-line ML articulation. The paintwork is mostly well done and while the accessories are not balanced, there are eight pieces between the two not counting the Groot pieces. They\u2019re all around worth picking up, which is becoming rarer and rarer these days. <\/p>\n

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

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