I’m 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’s review!? Oops. How about Marvel Legends Future Foundation Spider-Man today?
Before, I jump into the review, I wanted to say thanks for all the kind words and encouragement while I was away. I know some of you were insisting I stay away, but I think you meant just while I was on vacation (I hope…). My wife and I had a great time exploring the upper Midwest. We made a road trip from Southwest Missouri up through Omaha & Fargo, then back down through Minneapolis & Des Moines. We did some genealogical research in the various libraries and hit up cool attractions (Mall of America) and crazy attractions (Corn Palace) along the way. A flat tire kept me from hitting up the IKEA, but other than that everything was fantastic!
We didn’t really do any toy hunting, there seems to be so little at retail I want anymore (though I promptly found more ROML2 when we got home – only two go go!), so it wasn’t toy-trip by any means. I know that made my Twitter & Facebook feeds not particularly toy related for a week, so sorry about that! Anyway, thanks for checking out the site while I was gone!
I’m going to kick things into gear now that vacation is “out of the way”. As I said before, I’m building a sub-site for Vault (he doesn’t even know it yet – we’ll see if actually reads this review), I’ve got the Spy Monkey Creations Checklist I promised those guys almost done (sorry, guys!), and I’m looking at having the site redesign done around April 15th. Whew! And reviews to boot, so let’s get on with that and take a look at this here Future Foundation Spidey.
As I’ve recounted over the years on this blog, I’m a sucker for alternate costumes. I love ’em. They want to make Superman electric for a few months? Fantastic. They want to give Spidey some black duds? Spectacular. So, when the Fantastic Four lost a member in the current run and invited Spider-Man to fill in as they switched to some pretty sweet white costumes, I went along for the ride. I discovered that not only should I’ve been reading Jonathan Hickman all along, but that I did indeed want toys of the Future Foundation. Hasbro has been happy to oblige.
The first chance at these costumes in plastic form came in the Marvel Universe line, a Future Foundation 3pk. Now, Hasbro does have an FF Spider-Man coming up shortly in their 4″ line, but I quickly found that I couldn’t resist White Spidey in Marvel Legends despite that I would have the main Future Foundation quartet in 4″ (yes, I’ll be buying the lil’ Spidey – I’m a sucker, I know). My fondness of these is going to be tested because I’m not sure I need the Future costumes in both scales. Will Hasbro actually make the Fantastic Four in these costumes in Legends? Will the costumes be relevant along enough to even warrant that? Being a collector is so much fun, isn’t it?
When I picked up Spider-Man, I realized for the first time that I already had most of this figure in the form of a previous Spider-Man, the symbiote costume version I bought some years back (from the Red Hulk wave I think, though I have no idea where that Hulk piece went). There are a few different pieces from that version, including the new noggin’, new arms & hands below the elbow, and new legs & feet below the knee. In terms of sculpt, there’s not much difference on the limbs so I’ll talk more about those in the articulation section, but I do think the head and hands are a smidge too big.
I think that the head and fist are slightly off, so it’s not that big of a deal. Heck, it could just be that my Symbiote Spidey’s head and hands were slightly too small too. In either case, I’m giving a pass to those pieces, but the left web-slinging does a look little too giant size for me. I hate the web-slinging hands anyway though – can we get a Spidey with interchangeable hands? It’s Spider-Man, so the pieces will get ultimate reuse, so the cost should be easily deferred. I just think it’d be cool to finally have a Spidey that can have the web-slinging hands, fists, open hands, etc. Having to have the web-slinging hand all the time just gets old.
The new head is okay, it’s got a bit more of an alien feel instead of being Spidey’s mask, but I think a lot of the early control art from Marvel had that same alien look. In that regard, this sculpt nails it. But it just doesn’t look quite right in three dimensions, this is more akin to a Michael Bay take on Spider-Man than I’d like. Continue to Page 2…
Big Time Spidey represents a costume Spidey designed and wore (using resources from his day job at Horizon Labs) to defeat the Hobgoblin, whose Goblin Laugh was able to completely incapacitate him in their first encounter. The suit can be adjusted to completely eliminate all sound (making him impervious to sonic attacks like the aforementioned Goblin Laugh) or visible light waves (making him invisible to anyone not wearing specially designed goggles).
The “big head” thing is starting to bug me with the new ML figures. Steve rogers’ head is way too big, and now so is Spidey’s. Yes, that symbiote Spidey’s head is a touch too small, but BT/FF Spidey’s head, on the same body, is way too big. I set up FF Spidey for display next to symbiote Spidey on my shelf, and they look ridiculous next to one another. Somebody at Hasbro’s got to have a giant noggin’ and must think people are actually proportioned that way.
Thanks, James! I meant to look that up when I was writing and then forgot by review’s end. Is the oversprayed green meant to imply that the green lines glow then?
Some folks over at Hasbro do need to sort out there metrics. The new pieces are being sculpted slightly larger than they should be for the final bucks. I’m not sure if it’s the original sculptors or the engineers, but these figures (cool as they can be) would be a ton better if someone just paid a tiny bit more attention.
The green lines are meant to represent glowing, yes. The suit changes to red glowing lines to cancel out sonic attacks (like Hobgoblin’s). The green lines represent that visual/auditory stealth mode. It’s unknown if there are additional settings, as the suit was stolen by Kaine and refashioned into his Scarlet Spider outfit. Yes, somehow this:
http://www.spidermancrawlspace.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/spider-man-big-time-Spidermanramospromob.jpg
and this:
http://media.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/10300/1323112183.jpg
are supposed to be the same outfit.
Thanks! I’d been reading Scarlet Spider and had no idea that was the same costume. LOL
Interesting, too, that they didn’t do a red line variant. I suppose we don’t see the red lines much though (I had no idea it existed until just now).
Great review! Spidey has been wearing this Future Foundation costume in The New Avengers books for the last few months, so he goes great with that team as well.
Cool! Thanks!
It seems I too am somewhat slavish to multiple costumes. I’ve spent a fair amount of money on multiple versions of Batman, Spider-Man, Deadpool and others and don’t have much regret. In this case, I might be more pathetic than Noisy in that I’m still hunting the Big Time variant though the green is oversprayed and not as cool as the prototypes shown.
There might be some correlation between the balloon headedness and the re-use of old molds. I don’t know if the factory or the sculptors build on a Bullseye or Punisher base that seems bigger than it ends up being at production, but it keeps on happening.
I also agree that Spidey’s eyes look a bit more aggressive than I’d prefer, but that may have been catering towards his Big Time variant; most FF Spidey appearances have his eyes a bit smaller and rounder. Regardless, I still like this figure a lot, and oddly may be my favorite of the wave.
The Bit Time version is actually supposed to be the standard, and the FF Spidey is the variant, though you wouldn’t know it checking the pegs. FF Spidey is far more plentiful than the BT version, which seems to be an ongoing problem with the line. It’s great that they want to make the variants easy to find, but that seems to be resulting the the standard versions becoming rarer.
Definitely. I still haven’t been ‘first’ to a non-variant case, I snagged a leftover Madame Masque and still need Thunderball, but I’ve yet to see the BT Spidey even once.
What’s the difference between “variant” and “running change” again? Is it just that one version hits simultaneously with the other? Which is with these Spideys, and does it matter in this case?
My BBTS order for BT Spidey comes this week, shortly after they changed the order page to say that they’re “randomly selected.” There have been no reports of anyone getting the BT version from them, so I’m guessing I’m out of luck.
I don’t think there really is a definitive definition for those two. Variant should be reserved for something more rare, but that’s hardly the case. All these MLs should be running changes since they run the machines one way (Thunderball) and then switch (Piledriver). Hasbro might have wanted custom mixes (switch to Piledriver after 10k units, FF Spidey after 15k units, maskless Daken after 20k units) as each later change would increase the rarity of the figure, but the companies would appear to have run things in reverse since the variants were more plentiful both times early on. I don’t think anything from these waves will end up too rare (provided we start seeing some masked Dakens pop up somewhere).
I’m a sucker for Batman. Heck, I even bought that 70s Arkham City Batman. 😛
The BG variant makes more sense to have the buggy eyes, you’re right. He’s still a favorite figure for sure.
The pieces being slightly out of scale comes down to the sculptors doing 1:1 work and not getting the pieces quite right or the Hasbro folks not getting the right specifications out there. The problem with toys in general is that constant “good enough” or “that’s unfortunate, but we’re going forward” business model. They might notice the problems, but they’re not worth taking the time to fix.
Sounds like you had a nice vacation. Awesome! I never stop checking this site out. The reviews, pics, and checklists are the best ever.
I like this Spidey a lot. He almost looks like a whole new character in this suit. White Spider, maybe? If I were a kid, I’d probably think of him as a different guy. He also reminds me of the original White Tiger a bit. A pretty cool figure all around.
We really did! I got a little testy on Thursday with the tire, but a nice Scotsman named Alan got us patched up and made it less of an ordeal!
Wasn’t being a kid, great? This guy could just be a different character and it didn’t matter one bit. I had the Secret Wars Baron Zemo as a kid, but he was just a weird purple King Spider-Man to me. 😀
Thanks, Phil!
Another great review of a great toy. I hope they keep painting on the costumes of their Spider-Man figures, as I’ve never quite understood the etched lines. Sure, it looks nice, but from a real life standpoint it wouldn’t work on a costume. But that’s just me rambling…
I was worried about the etched lines because of the BT costume (it might look good with ’em), but the buck system saved us there!
Welcome back! Great review of Spidey. That really is one cool looking figure but I’ve got to make myself hold out for the inevitable regular Spiderman release.
Thanks!
I’m waiting for a regular Cap, but regular Spidey should be pretty cool! I wouldn’t mind an update to the Symbiote Costume either (with no blue airbrushing).
Nice! Wave 2 hit the TRU near my job, but came with a price increase! They’re now $19.99 at the house Geoffrey built. Argh! I can’t bring myself to pay over $21 for each of these given the massive amount of reuse. Hopefully these will hit my area Walmarts soon because I want the Zebra Twins!
Yes! They’re $20 here too! I was buying ’em at the lower price when I shouldn’t have… Now that they’re showing up at Target & TRU, I won’t go back into TRU lest I be tempted by something I can’t find somewhere else!
I was looking at this guy the other day and he looks very boxy in the his area…cant say I care for that.
Great Review!
Thanks!
meant Hip area
yup, that white is snazzy, but i’ve sworn to pull back on the guys i own a ton of… and spidey i’ve rebought an awful lot of times. the only ones i’m allowing myself any more are hulks and venoms… and the MS colossus i already bought. and MAYBE if we get an iron armor i don’t already have, i might invest in another iron man… but it would have to be really super cool… and then thor, i can’t miss a thor…
We really do end up with too many of the big characters despite our intentions, don’t we?
Iron Man is best for that though. I wish I still had my ML armory….
If they’re legitimate versions of the characters, I’ll buy as many as they make (that I think look cool, anyway). I’ll always be down for a regular Spidey, a FF Spidey, Big Time Spidey, Ben Riley Spidey, symbiote Spidey, House of M Spidey, etc., etc. What I’m not down for is firefighter Spidey, scuba diver Spidey, samurai Spidey, or any of that nonsense.
Iron Man is a troublesome because he’s known for constantly changing his look. most heroes have had one standard costume throughout their existence, with minor variations (yellow oval Batman vs. black bat Batman). And, like I said, as long as the new armors keept looking cool, they’ll probably keep suckering me into buying them.
Is it a new head, or is it the one from Star from Legendary Comicbook Heroes?
I don’t have access to the figure at the moment as I’m away from home training, but I seem to remember he had those slightly bug-like eye bits.
Jo
I’m pretty sure it’s a new head. I don’t think Hasbro ended up with the molds Toy Biz used on the LCBH figures.
I could be wrong, but I really hope that’s the case – I never want to see that piece of crap Black Panther buck that ruined Wonder Man, Sentry, and Captain Britain again!!
eh… well, here’s the rub… we first saw the hulking bulk on the hulkling… then on savage dragon, and then on warpath and now on the wrecking crew. so while star’s head was sculpted for lcbh, clearly he uses the bullseye buck that apparently both companies inherited… and the lines do blur somewhat as to what was sculpted when (for example, i recall reading that the clownface buck was a body designed about halfway into the TBML run, but they couldn’t figure out a character to use it on… and while it obviously ended up being used on clownface, it’s age would indicate that there’s a fair chance hasbro bought a copy too.
that said, having my son running around all weekend w/ my star figure in hand, it’s not star. i’ll snag a pic tomorrow.
but i’d like to say, i like the black panther buck… for black panther. and i liked it for the late 80’s, early 90’s era wonder man, though obviously, he’s had other looks and those deserve their due as well. the face for wondy wasn’t my favorite, but i think that body serves it’s purpose. now, on sentry and CB, i will agree the buck didn’t really work for them, and mine both had some engineering issues as well, but that’s not the buck’s fault as my BP and WM both pose just fine. and come on, that buck was PERFECT for ripclaw! all we needed to make him a perfect execution of the character was interchangeable hands and shorter arm bands.
It’s really the stucco texture of that buck that drives me nuts. Not all figures need to be “smoooth and reusable”, but that texturing just didn’t work on Captain Britain in particular for me – I didn’t mind so much on Wonder Man because I only ever bought the clear purple one (love that figure, gave him a pair of Cyclops ruby shades!) and the texture didn’t really matter. I still think it could use some new arms should Hasbro have it/bring it back.
If that Clownface buck was really sculpted as early as you suggest, then Joe Fixit is the first thing that comes to my mind.
could have been… but the hulk classic fixit would have been out before that, and i can certainly understand that after that, they couldn’t figure out where to shoehorn a newer version. and really, the hulk classics fixit is pretty spot on. i could also see that buck for ox (spidey villain) or maybe razorback… there’s a few uses but for pretty obscure characters.
If only we could have gotten more great image characters before marvel toys called it quits! There’s still so much untapped 90’s AWESOMENESS! LOL
The Savage Dragon is a unique sculpt and has nothing to do with the Hulkling body. Dragon is WAY better imho.
Looking at the both right now, LCBH Star actually has bulging eye popping out of the sculpt with wrinkles between the eyes, compared with Spidey’s recessed eyes, more definitive nose and smooth head. The head structures are definitely similar to each other though.
I don’t think the Star figure had those points at the inside edge of his mask.
I’ve sworn off Marvel Legends and sold my Toy Biz ones for an ipad. I also really like Hickman’s FF run and would like a set of them in 6 in. scale. But like Noisly said, will they actually get around to making them?? Decisions, decisions…
It’s Sue that I really worry about. The FF were featured in the 2pks too, so I don’t know how in a hurry they’d be to revisit them. Love to see ’em though!
And congrats on the iPad. I’m feeling like it’s time to purge my DCUCs down to the core group I want to keep, but I know I’ll get frustrated whenever I need one for a picture idea…
If I may?
NEVER sell unless your back is against the wall and there’s just no choice. Seriously. I can’t tell you how much seller’s remorse I have over all manner of toys let go for a quick infusion of ultimately wasted cash. (as in, pay to have the car fixed then WHAM something ELSE goes wrong on the beast and it’s dead dead dead, and there’s no way to get a new car, that sort of thing).
I let go a Dinky toys ‘UFO’ Moonbase Interceptor. it was a little rough but it was MINE and now it’s not and it’s sick, sick money to replace. Bah.
I know, your home is rapidly becoming Plastic Storage Bin Central but seriously, just hang on. 🙂
Thanks, Steve. It’s not so much for the money, but space and maintainence. I tend to buy and purge as time goes in, kinda of refining my collection. I don’t have buyer’s remorse too often – even now as its evident that I need some of those Joes and MLs, I don’t have too much seller’s remorse (the 25th Alpine has been buggin’ me of late) for anything in particular.
The site has kinda forced me into a completism that I’m usually not that inclined towards. It’s odd keeping my collection as more of a library/catalog for the photos.
I do appreciate the advice though! Selling is a tricky art!
too bad we’re not a little closer to each other, i would happily loan out pieces for photos. everything from kevin matchstick to monev the gale, i got it, from the octagon to snake mountain, and a bit of weapons so big, that weapons’ store you use could go nuclear mega walmart. the only thing i don’t have is a lot of action figure groceries. you need salemcrow for that.
If anyone needs me, I’ll be at DR’s house! ;p
as far as what Steve was saying, I lost most of my Joe/TFs and 5″ superheroes in storage. finally got a place which was close to work, and the storage was out of sight/out of mind and…oops.
at least I’m past the rage inducing, sick to my stomach bile when I think about it.
usually. >.>
i was up in your neck of the woods this past weekend doing the family’s “march birthday” celebration, since we have 5 of them in the family. we raided the st peters TRU for skylanders.
St Peters? My dealer is in St Chuck, just south of 70 before the River/across from Ameristar, but i think he was in KC for a con? last wkd?
you passed me by in Union, but I was down visiting my friends in Waynesville *this* wkd! LOL
I scored Madame Hydra and Piledriver at Rolla, completing my w2 set!
no sign of Fantomex or Spidey there, tho.
Nor a masked Daken. or solid shield Cap. ANYwhere.
(just Steve and Stealth IM at WV’s WM…with the TANK out front by 44! LOL)
Damn it! Take that coat off Spidey!
If I keep seeing him like that, I’m going to be tempted to pick up Fantomex JUST for the coat because it looks so cool!
LOL Fantomex will eventually get it back…
I kinda want to pick up an extra FF Spidey and strip him down to all white and then pop Fantomex’s coat and head to get an all white Fantomex…
Whole case of Joes you say? Who can we be expecting? 🙂
(I recently started collecting Joes again after having not since I was a wee tot.)
Oh, man… I’m awful about getting to Joe reviews on time.
I’m prolly not going to do all of these unless I magically get really ahead and need content (I’ll bold the ones likely to get reviewed), but I’ve got…
Snowjob, Skydive, Alley Viper, Ice Cutter w/ Snow Serpent, Desert Zartan, Shock Trooper, Cobra Trooper, Viper, Hazard Viper, 3 Techno-Vipers, Steel Brigade I, Crimson HISS w/ Crimson Horseman, Blowtorch, Team Commander Duke, and then that case has got 2 Zombie Vipers, Lifeline, Airtight, Sci-Fi, Law & Order, Renegades Tunnel Rat, Renegades Ripcord, Renegades Scarlett, Renegades Cobra Security, Steel Bridage II, and a fourth Techno-Viper.
The bad things is almost all of those are unopened! I try not to open stuff until it’s close to review time as motivation (And to not have to hunt for pieces!).
I loved Joes as a kid. It’s hard to pick out favorite lines – I loved Cops N Crooks, Ghostbusters, Super Powers, Secret Wars, Transformers, etc., but the vehicles really placed special emphasis on my Joe memories.
I haven’t bought a ton as an adult. I stayed away until the 25th Anniversary stuff and picked up nearly all of that, but the back-and-forth between movie product and non-movie product the last couple years has been tiresome (particularly when movie figures were non-nostalgia awesome and the nostalgia ones were lacking). I was picking and choosing there for awhile – Low-Light & Crazylegs notably, but this recent Wave 3/4 burst was awesome! Hence the case my wife got me for Christmas. It’s just a shame they came along right as we go back into movie mode.
the new movie Jopes look at least much improved from last time…I’m seeing Joes everytime I close my eyes recently ha ha
Hey Noisy,
Cool review. Just wondering, where did you get the thing that holds Spidey up in the aerial pose? It looks like it might be useful for trying to do some action figure-based stop-motion animation. Thanks for the help!
-Squigiman
I saw FF Spidey the other week in StL County and couldn’t pull the trigger on him at TRU’s higher cost. I didn’t really look at him, but seeing that giant hand in the “thwip” pose in your pics is already really annoying me.
Otherwise, he does look cool for a costume I know nothing about other than it’s associated with yet another team for a supposedly “loner” hero.
and thanks to James for the info on the Big Time costume!
and OF COURSE I hit up my Target today and find the whole wave! all but Drax, Cap B, and Fantomex on pegs, but luckily, they were in back because someone threw some leftover IM MUs on their pegs!
Apparently, they’ve been sitting since Saturday, as the guy told me they get trucks on Thurs/Sat? Since I grabbed Piledriver and Daken the other week at TRU, all I’m missing is Madame Hydra, now. and I passed on FF Spidey. the lack of accessories and ginormous hand stuck out to me against the $15 price.
(then in the confusion of him giving me the SKU to call back to check on restock later, I put Drax back on pegs and had to go back for him! D’oh!)
who needs sleep? not me! Morpheus doesn’t want me and the neighbor just cranked up his garden tiller! wheeeee!!! 🙁
It’s funny that you dislike the larger heads. When I look at the Marvel Legends figures, all I can see is a disproportionately long neck. The last three pictures of Fantomex and Spidey really show the giraffe-like size of the neck.
Also, to help out with your descriptions, anatomically, the upper limb is divided into the arm (above the elbow) and the forearm (below the elbow). The lower limb is similarly divided into the thigh (above the knee) and the leg (below the knee). It’s sort of a divergence from how people usually talk about the limbs, but it is less verbally awkward than writing “arms and hand below the elbow.”