Marvel Legends Showdown Captain America
The reviews I'd heard of this figure were actually a big part of the reason why I held off on collecting these guys at first. See, my whole experience with collecting comics began with Captain America...he holds a very special place as my introduction to the world of super heros. Back when I was a young kid, before there were comic shops on every street corner, I visited a flea market. I actually visited this market in my never-ending search for G.I. Joe toys before the wonderful world of eBay...anyway, I discovered a comic book booth that had boxes and boxes of $1-$2 comics, and on one fateful day when I didn't find any Joes, I wanted to go home with SOMEthing, so I scooped up a handful of Captain America comics...some of the early 100 issues. I was immediately hooked. In fact, I was so hooked that within a couple of years, I had the entire Captain America run from 100-whatever current issue was running at the time, and I devoured them eagerly. No matter what was happening, Captain America was one of my all time favorite universes to run around it...Mike Zeck and Mark Gruenwald were kings to me...John Byrne, even Kieron Dwyer! Characters from the Falcon to Nomad, to Sharon Carter and Diamondback...even the illustrious D-man and the Scourge of the Underworld. I loved them all and these comics were my Marvel Universe back before I discovered the X-Men.
And I'd heard some AWEFUL things about this figure. As much as I really wanted a 4" super articulated Captain America, I was just turned away by the idea that Toy Biz had ruined one of my favorite characters. Not to mention I don't have a local TRU, so I'd have to buy them second hand with shipping involved...costs I really didn't want to incur for a substandard figure. Well, I finally made my way down to a Toys "R" Us a few weeks ago, and saw a Cap on the pegs...I couldn't resist. I scooped up the Captain America and cracked it open.
I love it.
Believe it or not, I really do love this figure. I know there are problems with him. His mold is scrawny, the paint apps are pretty sloppy, and his right arm pops off at a moment's notice. But none of that changes the fact that this is a super-articulated Captain America figure that can jump into battle with COBRA troops and look right at home. I'm in love. He's even got a fantastic looking Joescale Cap shield.
So, perhaps I'm not the most objective mind about this...Captain America has meant so much to me over the years, that the mere fact that I HAVE a 4" Captain America figure makes me so pleased, that I am overlooking it's obvious faults. And this figure DOES have faults. The fact that Cap is almost as scrawny as Spider-Man is an issue. The fact that his paint wipes on his chest make him look like he just swam out of the Hudson River. Whenever I make him throw his shield, his arm goes with it. But posing him with G.I. Joe is just too cool, and immediately makes this figure worth the $8.00 for me. You may feel differently.
Just as a word of warning, Daredevil is a close second to Captain America on my favorite character list, and that figure's coming out in Series 4...so expect more slobbering when that one hits. ;)
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