At one point, I was only planning on getting this BAF wave to own a Marvel Legends of Songbird. That didn't turn out as plan, did it? Well to talk about Songbird briefly, she is/was a member of the Thunderbolts. She's one of those 'villains posing as heroes' after the whole Onslaught incident. Her power sets are an amalgamation of a Green Lantern type along with Banshee's... at least thats how I see it. She has a pretty cool design, which is part of her appeal. Let's see how she translates into #Marvel_Legends form!
I'll admit that Songbird is a weird addition to this wave but who am I to complain with Hasbro's effort of putting obscure Marvel characters on a toy line? Also, the side art for this wave is hit or miss. Luckily, Songbird's isn't bad in my eyes. Just not the best artwork I have seen of her.
It's out of the norm for Hasbro not to give a female figure the head part of the BAF. Just think about it for a moment. After that thought, let's move on to the rest of the review.
I have two negative things to say about this picture: first, it goes off the same pattern with Hasbro's tendencies to shortcut characters with accessories. I am a firm believer that alternate hands at the very least should be standard. My second gripe isn't necessarily pointed at Songbird but towards any of Hasbro's Marvel Legends Phoenix (Red or Green). WHY couldn't we get this kind of accessory for Phoenix's iconic fire bird? Well, that's a complaint for a different review. The positive thing about this is at least she comes with an accessory aside from the BAF piece.
Songbird's designs is definitely nothing too erratic or complicating but I do like it for its simplicity mixed with some hint of 90s comic book flare. Probably one of the things that make her stick out is her unnatural hair color of snow white hair with pink highlights. The Marvel Legends form of her definitely captures that look, though I'm not a huge fan of the white designs on her costume to just merely be painted on. Could have given her more depth with her costume by making those two different plastics and/or sculpt them in. Maybe her shoulder pads are new to her, but other than that, it's all recycled or things we have seen before. And yes, this female body mold is a common thing we have seen before.
As far as the paint application goes, Songbird is actually done cleanly. I've already mentioned the fact that I wish that the white sections of Songbird's costume are separate plastic and gives depth since the rest of Songbird's figure is not very "interesting". But enough of that. The colors, as I also mentioned, are accurate, but I do wish they picked another white paint for her hair so we can have a difference between the texture of her costume and her hair. Also, some shadowing effect on her hair would really make the difference for me since everything else about her coloring is just mediocre. Luckily her accessory (her lone accessory) gives that vibrant flare!
Songbird is a standard female figure with all its articulation; the good and the bad remains with this Thunderbolt member. But for anyone who is an avid Marvel Legends collector knows that it can get quite limited, despite all its swivels and pivoting without some alternate hands to change the dynamics. I'm afraid Songbird suffers again from the lack of accessories department and that trickles over to what can be done with her pose-ability. Sure, I'm not the greatest articulator in the collecting world, but come on now! I feel like I'm beating a dead horse with every review with Marvel Legends that has this problem, but I wouldn't be reviewing with honesty without it.
In conclusion, I feel like Songbird was a real missed opportunity. Being an obscure character, she could have had more life if given some accessories. The one we got is definitely something that compliments the figure both in its presentation and character accuracy. Again, it's that Hasbro dilemma. This was the figure I was looking forward to the most and unlike Spider-Woman who harbos the same Hasbro issues, Songbird doesn't get the 'favorite character of Marvel' leniency. So she's a neat looking figure with one good accessory, but she's also a lesser known #Marvel character that might not appeal to a lot of mainstream fans. She does hold one of Thanos' BAF piece though so unless said piece can be found at a decent price through other means(Ebay), then Songbird over here is a must. S'all I have to say!
Until Next Time!
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