Welcome to the reviews page for Toy Biz Marvel Legends Showdown figures, Marvel Comics figures in a G.I. Joe scale.
There was a time back in the day...I time when G.I. Joe wasn't sold on store shelves, and there actually weren't action figures for every single little media property out there. While G.I. Joe took a well-deserved vacation, a relatively unknown company captivated me with their toys...toys that paled in comparison to G.I. Joe articulation-wise, but still represented characters that I had loved for a long time, and drew me in, stealing all of my toy budget for those few years.
That unknown company was Toy Biz, and their toys were the Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men/X-Force, and all assorted lines that go along with it. This was before the famous Marvel Legends line, before detail and articulation went hand-in-hand. Back when five points of movement was common and where the figures just barely looked like how the characters appeared on the printed page. But still, as the rabid X-Men and Marvel Super Hero fan that I was, it was very cool to get some more figures that were slightly higher in quality than the Secret Wars figures were back in the day.
However, as much as I loved the figures, I had my issues with them, too...the whole reasons I loved G.I. Joe was the articulation. These figures could MOVE like a human being,and they ended up being really fun to play with, where the Toy Biz figures really were not. Back then I would have KILLED for Marvel characters with crazy articulation. Of course it figures, that now that I've sort of grown apart from the Marvel Comics that I loved back in the day, we're getting some absolutely fantastic figures with impressive articulation and amazing detail. Marvel Legends was made for the six inch scale, and they do a terrific job. But would this quality translate to the Super Hero Showdown line? We can only hope, right? I mean, come on. Fully articulated comic book action figures in a scale close to G.I. Joe? How can this possibly go wrong?!?! Well, it doesn't go completely wrong, but it's got some work to go as well.
The biggest reason I'm reviewing these is because of their relative link to the G.I. Joe line, and how the figures might work in that universe. The result is mixed, but overall I'm pretty happy...I'm surprised I'm so happy, because after I got my first few figures I really wasn't pleased with them at all. But I scored a few more for a reasonable price, and suddenly, I was converted. I will say right off the bat, though, I am purely reviewing these as action figures, and do not want to take the game into account, because I haven't even tried it yet. I have little desire to really explore the Super Hero Showdown game, and just want to concentrate on these as 1:18 comic book figures. Also, please keep in mind the only reason I'm reviewing this many to start with is because a buddy hooked me up (thanks, Prozac!!!). Don't expect me to be buying every single figure for review purposes. I'll just be getting the ones that I want.
But let's break it down, figure by figure.
Series One |
Series Two |