{"id":28642,"date":"2014-07-31T00:55:29","date_gmt":"2014-07-31T05:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28642"},"modified":"2014-08-04T01:27:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T06:27:26","slug":"marvel-legends-guardians-of-the-galaxy-nova-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itsalltrue.net\/?p=28642","title":{"rendered":"Marvel Legends Guardians
of the Galaxy Nova Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> For awhile there, I thought for sure Toy Biz & Hasbro were out to get me. I was sure they\u2019d snuck into my brain, extracted a list of my favorite Marvel characters and built their \u201cdo not make\u201d list around it. I mean, think about this. The Marvel Legends line is twelve years old! Twelve years. And yet I still don\u2019t have a proper Loki, or Firestar, or Grey Gargoyle, or Dormammu or Hellcat. Okay, they\u2019re not huge household names here, I know. But, y\u2019know what we did get? The Living Zombie, Vengeance, & House of M figures just to name a few. My wants are fair game, dammit! <\/p>\n

More killer though, was when Toy Biz & Hasbro made some of my favorite characters and gave them terrible<\/em> figures. My collection still boasts a wide-faced, Magneto-based War Machine, a wonky-articulated, stick-armed Rogue, a rough-textured, \u201cwhich way to the gym\u201d Captain Britain, and silver Moon Knight. They were out to get me, I tell ya. <\/p>\n

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There was one favorite that hurt more than most. Well, maybe second most, I\u2019m chomping at the bit for Hasbro to revisit Captain Britain. But, at least second most painful was Nova. It took years to even get to Nova. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s because Marvel\u2019s Cosmic section wasn\u2019t terribly strong or popular (at least back in the day) to warrant ML selections or if the folks in charge of character selection just thought so, but Marvel\u2019s Cosmic segment was rarely seen in the early days of ML. <\/p>\n

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Toy Biz did maybe 4-5 cosmic characters during their years with the line. Since then, Hasbro has done about twice as many not counting the upcoming SDCC set (which I\u2019ve got to figure out how to get Star-Lord at least! Sigh.). It was Hasbro that finally added Nova to the line back in 2009. It wasn\u2019t pretty. It used the gangly diaper buck. The gold\u2026 wasn\u2019t. The emblem on the helmet was gigantic. It was terribly disappointing. I think I even sold it \u2013 I know I couldn\u2019t find it among the packed up Marvel figures today. One of my favorite Marvel characters and I sold the figure. That about sums it up. <\/p>\n

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The worst part of getting a bad figure of a favorite character in a line like Legends or Classics is that that\u2019s pretty much it. If you\u2019re not Wolverine, Spider-Man, or Iron Man anyway. That was the Nova we got. I was resigned to it, particularly after he was killed off in the comics not too long after. <\/p>\n

But this year is a great year for Nova fans. Next month features his imminent return in the comics (We don\u2019t know how he survived or where he\u2019s been, but I\u2019m excited) and he was included as one of the two non-movie characters in the (deep breath) Marvel Legends Infinite Series Guardians of the Galaxy Groot Wave. The figure features him in his modern look \u2013 which is not as groovy as the old 70s costume, but it is spiffy. <\/p>\n

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If you\u2019re not familiar at all with Nova, he\u2019s a Wolfman\/Buscema creation from the mid-70s. To do that horrible thing that makes it sound derivative, he\u2019s akin to what might happen if you gave Peter Parker a Green Lantern ring. Richard Rider is a high school kid inducted into the intergalactic Nova Corps, but uses his power (flight, strength, durability, energy absorption\/redirection) to fight crime on Earth. He basically disappears for the 80s, comes back as a bit player in the 90s, but really hit his stride in the 21st century as Marvel published the fantastic cosmic event, Annihilation and its sequels. Nova was a huge part of that right up until it ended badly for him (until next month!). Continue to Page 2…<\/a><\/p>\n

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And we get to celebrate his return with a kickass new figure to boot. Unlike the first Nova, the modern figure gets plenty of newly sculpted pieces. I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s reused, my ML-eye is not as a good as my DCUC-eye, but Nova could feasibly reuse the lower torso and arms. The rest, though, is undeniably new. Some costume details like the belt and the gold decorations on the boots and gauntlets are done with add-on pieces that blend in well. The head and torso are entirely new to capture the details of Nova\u2019s more recent armored up look.<\/p>\n

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I love al the new parts. Combined with the metallic blue plastic and the gold add-ons, the overall figure looks fantastic. I had thought the extra detailing on the torso might clash with the lack of it on the arms and legs, but it all works together. The only odd area on the sculpt is the hinged shoulder armor. It thankfully allows for better range on the shoulders, but it\u2019s difficult to tuck away in a standard pose. I like it, I\u2019d just like it better if it were a little more seamless. <\/p>\n

One thing I did love was that the face and helmet are two separate pieces. This skips the issue of slop on the open part of the face, but moreover creates genuine depth for the helmet. It\u2019s nicely done. Thankfully, the emblem on the helmet is smaller and better detailed this time around \u2013 though the one on my Nova is unfortunately slightly off center. <\/p>\n

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The articulation features just about every area I want on a six-inch feature. The ball-jointed neck has fantastic range along with ball-joints in the shoulders, wrists, hips and inverted ankles. The knees and elbows are double-hinged, the ML ab crunch is present, and we\u2019ve got swivels at the biceps, waist, and thighs. I would like a little more range on the hips, but that\u2019s me reaching for a nitpick. He can get into tons of great poses; I couldn\u2019t track down my flight stand for pics, but Nova has enough great articulation to make good use of one. I\u2019ve been playing with him in various flight poses in-between paragraphs for this review. <\/p>\n

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The paint work is what makes this figure different and better than its predecessor. While that figure featured dried mustard plastic in place of the gold or bright yellow, clashing paint. This figure works much harder to match everything up. There is still a noticeable different between the painted gold areas and the molded gold areas, but it\u2019s not nearly as jarring as before or as it can be on other similar gold decorated figures. Everything being done in a pearlescent shade definitely helps it match up. I more feel like I have to point out that it doesn\u2019t quite match, rather than care that it doesn\u2019t quite match. <\/p>\n

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Nova included just one accessory, the arm of Groot. I am so conflicted on this BAF. I want a Groot. Everyone should want a Groot. But I have Groot options. The one area where I\u2019ve indulged with Hot Toys purchases is Cinematic Marvel. And, Hot Toys has already teased all five of the movie Guardians. Meanwhile, Hasbro has already brought all five Guardians to mass retail with the very wave featuring this Nova. <\/p>\n

Now, kinda feel like I have to see the movie first \u2013 because if I don\u2019t love that, I won\u2019t want to spend the $1000+ a HT set will cost. But, I still feel the pull of a 6\u201d ML set now. It feels wrong to not assemble Groot! I\u2019m not sure what\u2019s going to happen. I haven\u2019t found the MLs yet (Nova was a lone leftover at Target, sad day), but I may cave when I do find them. I may find that I do really want to wait for HT. It\u2019s going to be a tough decision. <\/p>\n

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Overall, Hasbro has been doing much better by me this last year \u2013 US Agent, Zemo, Black Cat, and now Nova. The newly sculpted pieces are top notch and the deco decisions this time around are so much better that I can\u2019t even quantify it. He looks fantastic. The articulation is solid (even if I\u2019m not a fan of the flip-up shoulder pads, they work!) too which just brings it home. This is the Nova figure Nova fans deserve, if fans could deserve anything. I can only hope Hasbro continues to impress with future figures as they have with their recent crop (and, hey, making a few more of my Most Wanted<\/a> wouldn\u2019t hurt either\u2026).<\/p>\n

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

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