{"id":32368,"date":"2016-01-31T23:50:47","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T05:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32368"},"modified":"2016-01-31T23:56:36","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T05:56:36","slug":"absorbing-man-week-marvel-legendsben-reilly-spider-man-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=32368","title":{"rendered":"Absorbing Man Week!
Marvel Legends Ben Reilly Spider-Man Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a> “There has to be a Spider-Man out there. I’m just not sure which of us it should be! “<\/em><\/strong> – Ben Reilly. <\/p>\n

Christmas is over. It\u2019s time again for me to raise my head out of my retail hole and survey the landscape, maybe write a review or two. And, yes, I do know that it\u2019s February. Retail plus being a Dad was an extra layer of exhaustion this year. And I\u2019m gonna be in my late thirties this year. I just don\u2019t bounce back like I used to. But we\u2019re gonna make a go here with a couple theme weeks. <\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to run through the Absorbing Man Wave of Marvel Legends this week. Not every figure will get reviewed (you\u2019ll see why), but we\u2019ll get through the wave and on to ol\u2019 Carl by week\u2019s end. Next week, pre Toy-Fair, we\u2019ll be doing a Star Wars Black Week that includes a pretty awesome giveaway courtesy of our friends at Entertainment Earth!<\/p>\n

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We\u2019ll kick off with some nineties love: Ben Reilly, the Sensational Spider-Man. Before we dig in, I\u2019m sure many a comic fan can subject me to the long-winded opinions of why The Clone Saga slapped them in the face and ruined everything forever, but I don\u2019t care about any of that. Not even a little. <\/p>\n

Ben Reilly was awesome. He was Electric Superman awesome, ok? He was refreshing. Interesting. Exciting. Some of the stories could\u2019ve been better, but the idea has always been compelling. And the costume? The costume is gorgeous. It\u2019s so slick in fact that despite the loud vocals against The Clone Saga, it\u2019s never really gone away.* Spider-Girl wore it for one. And it\u2019s crept into various merchandise over the years, including figures like the one here. <\/p>\n

* – * Much like Electric Supes, who just got his, I believe, sixth figure from Mattel in the form of a crappy 12\u201d titan hero deal. The figure is crummy, but awesome all the same.<\/em><\/p>\n

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This is actually the second Legend for the Sensational costume, but I don\u2019t like to talk about the first one. It rolled out during Hasbro\u2019s shakedown period and it\u2019s just a wonky thing. In fact, as I mentioned in the Hobgoblin Series Spider-Man Review<\/a>, I\u2019m done with all Spidey figures that preceded it. Hasbro nailed that Spider-Man and I was immediately ready for costume variants. Hasbro didn\u2019t disappoint: Spider-Man 2099 & Scarlet Spider have already been released, Symbiote Spidey is on the way thanks to a stupid poll, & Ben Reilly is already here as well. <\/p>\n

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As such, there really isn\u2019t anything to talk about on the sculpt. There\u2019s basically nothing new here from when I last reviewed it. It\u2019s still awesome. The proportions are spot-on and the articulation blends together with it particularly well. The only additions here are the web-cartridges from the Scarlet Spidey figure. It\u2019s one of those times where I can\u2019t really gush over the buck-repeat, but this is exactly what I wanted, so I\u2019m thrilled. <\/p>\n

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The articulation is also, unsurprisingly, the same. Well-ranged ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, wrists, hips (well, most are well-ranged), & inverted ankles; swivels at the biceps, waist, & thighs, double-hinged elbows & knees, the ab crunch, and the extra lateral hinges in the shoulders. It all comes together pretty seamlessly and it makes the figure a blast to play with, particularly because he can achieve so many classic Spidey poses. Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The paint work is the big unique thing here and it\u2019s done well. The line work is great (I\u2019ve been wanting to buy a Superior Spider-Man on this buck, but I can never find one with good lines on the head) and smartly extends into some unseen areas around the articulation so that the line work is contiguous in most poses. Again, just very well done. <\/p>\n

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Accessories was another strong area. There is of course the Absorbing Man arms, but Hasbro\u2019s latest spate of Spidey figs have had a nice complement of alt hands: fists, thwip hands, and wall-crawling hands. This is super welcome after all those years of being locked into thwip hands on Spidey after Spidey. <\/p>\n

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He doesn\u2019t include the half-mask head, I cheated a bit in that picture, but he does include three more awesome alternate pieces to recreate another bit of 90s goodness. Ben had the misfortune of being possessed by Carnage back in those good old days. To recreate this, Ben includes Carnage\u2019s clawed hands, now with the swappable pegs and Carnage\u2019s head repainted to match the costume. It\u2019s not spot on \u2013 that would require some tendril\/vein work, but I\u2019m not worried about it. It looks great when you swap them out. I ordered these from BBTS, and opted for the whole case just because it included two Ben Reilly figures. I happily have him & Spider-Carnage posed together on the shelf. <\/p>\n

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Overall, this was an easy win for Hasbro. There was no new tooling needed to get this 100% right and they had no problem doing it. I honestly feel like, and Hasbro won\u2019t like this, but these are the last Spidey figures I\u2019ll need to buy in 6\u201d scale. It\u2019s a great buck and this costume uses it well. The accessories to get the poses just right and the alternate parts to make Spider-Carnage are just icing on the cake. Hasbro\u2019s finally gotten it these last couple years and I feel more and more like these are the highlight years of Legends. Or maybe I\u2019m just happy to get Clone Saga figures twenty years later? Bring on Spidercide!<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

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

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