When it comes to buying toys, I mostly buy figures in the 6-7″ scales. It’s not that I don’t like 3 3/4″. I do, but only a few companies can make the scale live up to it’s potential. My favorite 3 3/4″ figure in terms of sculpt & articulation is Mezco’s SDCC 2008 Hellboy. I love that figure. Hasbro gets it mostly right too. Their 25th Joes have some issues here and there, but they make up for it by being compatible with vehicles and playsets – which is the true promise of that scale.

Despite my best intentions to stay in the 6-7″ range, I still buy my fair share of smaller figures. I have plenty of 25th Joes, some Indy, some Hellboy, and even two Infinite Heroes. Then there is Marvel Universe. I try to pass on them in the toy aisle. I view my 3 3/4″ collection as being compatible ,Indy-Hellboy-Joes all can look good together, but the Infinite Heroes just don’t fit. And I didn’t want to add Marvel Universe to that and see them not fit either. Still, I’ve bought 6 MUs and I can say that I was wrong. MU’s do a much better job of keeping up with the current demands of the 3 3/4″ scale.

Blade is not my favorite Marvel Universe figure. Out of the six I own (Black Spidey, Deadpool, Brown Wolverine, Iceman, and Iron Man), he might be my least favorite. He has flaws. Most of them come from his reuse of the poorly executed Punisher body.

His anatomically-challenged bulging biceps don’t really gel with his trenchcoat and inadvertantly gives Blade the classic “which way to the gym” look. His other primary drawback is his giant Punisher hands. Despite their enormity, they do hold most of his accessories. His gun is a snug fit for his left hand and his sword can be held, albeit loosely, in his right hand. Despite these issues though, I have to admit that I have fun with this figure.

Unlike some other comic book 3 3/4″ lines, Blade has a lot of poseability. His shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles are all ball joints. He can get into some good poses and the coat is helpful as a stabilizer for most crouching poses (too far down though and the coat will push him back up). Then there is the screaming head. Generally, I don’t like highly expressive heads. I think there is a place for them, but with so many of the figures given neutral expressions, a too expressive face can really stand out in a bad way. I could say that is true of Blade since he will forever be fang ready when standing next to the more docile Wolverine. But, his angry head can work really well for some more dynamic poses.

Overall, Blade is greater than the sum of his parts. Hasbro really want cheap on my favorite vampire hunter, but they still did him well enough to get me to pick him up. He may not be my favorite, but him and Deadpool have gotten the most play on my desk and in front of my camera. And I promise, I don’t have a thing for swords.