At one point of Marvel's publication, Black Panther was an obscure character. He was more or less a C+ hero within the large roster of the #Avengers. But ever since the #MCU Civil War, the Wakanda prince has grown quite popular and for good reasons. Does Hasbro's New Marvel Legends live up to his new found fame? Allow me to give you some insight on this figure.
Nothing terribly new with the Marvel Legends box. I do like how they are really giving every single series its own life and really paying homage on what movie/series/character they are capitalizing on. Not only are the exterior something to appreciate, but the internal backdrop is really thoughtful.
Now as far as accessories go, he comes with some, but not a ton. Two pair of hands: clawed and fist. As for the head, we have a mask and maskless face. As for the BAF piece, he come swith Okoye's head. I don't think I'll be getting this BAF, honestly, but it does look good. It looks a lot like the actress from certain angles.
If there's one thing I have to say about Hasbro is that they are starting to really get the idea that the fanbase wants details. They've been really skimpy on paint for reasons that have to do with budget (an info I've gotten once or twice from Sharitmus Prime). But the sculpting of details definitely is present here. Look at those tribal(?)-like designs all over the mask. We'll get to see it all over the body as well when we get to that part. But really, some major points on Hasbro for this.
Another thing that Hasbro has been doing (something I came across the middle of last year) is the 'digital printing' of their faces. Here's an Article that really does a good summary of what Hasbro has been up to. And while this isn't exact look-alike of Chadwik Boseman, it definitley looks more unique and 'person-like' than the old figures. I have a feeling we are going to start getting some pretty impressive Cinematic Universe faces in the future; which also means inflation beyond imagination (#Downey face imprint? Yeah, Disneyland price)!
Going to the rest of the body, the sculpt continues throughout. One of the things I really love about how Black Panther looked in Civil War was how 'simple' his armor was, but if one pays attention, there were a lot of great detail that goes with it. It carries over to his solo movie and as an action figure, it translates well.
Colorwise, Black Panther is also very sparing with the colors. Mostly black(duh) but the hints of silver does look amazing. Comic book wise, he was definitely more black and silver. At times he was black and gold, and depending on the artist, the 'blue panther' does come out a bit.
Proportion-wise, he looks good. As you guys could see in the picture for his front side, some of the articulated joints does make him look awkward, but that's what one gets with more range of movements.
Hasbro definitely did not skimp out on the backside in terms of details. Luckily, T'Challa doesn't neccessarily need paint details so they can be consistent with this figure althroughout.
Now since this is first Marvel Legends review of #2018, I will flat out and be honest that I am not the biggest articulation person. I love it, that's for sure. It helps breathe life into pictures and it can definitely be the fine line between a great and a good figure, but to me, it's not going to be the one thing I will focus on. I'm not that big into moving my figures around as much even if it is fun during photoshoot; well, depending on the figure.
So with all that said, I will say that he comes with what we expect from a Marvel Legends figure and a bit more. I was able to get him in some pretty cool poses and that awkard looking butterfuly joint allows some pretty dynamic picture; obviously the pic above isn't a show of some dynamic pose or anything.
And I have a couple of Black Panther figures somewhere in storage but unfortunately, cannot pull them out in a timely manner to do a comparison. Just take my word that he does scale well with other Cinematic Universe figures.
So on a closing note, I say for me, it's a good start with Marvel Legends. While I am not going to be that collect all figures for the BAF kind of collector anymore, I will grab characters that I like and find cool. T'Challa, while not my favorite Avenger in the past, really took some grand spotlight in Civil War and I knew I just had to have at leats one Cinematic Black Panther on my collection. This being my first, I'd say fills that role. The downside may be some awkward proportions and then the maskless face didn't really win any points for me, but it's an overall good product! Good job, Hasbro!
Until Next Time!
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