Hasbro's Marvel Legends Spider-Man: No Way Home Action Figure Line Is Almost Perfect
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When it comes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe's approach to the multiverse on the big screen, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is the only movie that realizes the potential of franchise crossovers between the old guard of Marvel movies and the interconnected films of Kevin Feige's Marvel Studios. That's right, not even "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" properly delivered on the promise of a multiverse truly full of madness, opting instead for hollow fan service, even though director Sam Raimi had fun tearing all those alternate Marvel superheroes apart at the hands of the Scarlet Witch. Instead, it was the meeting of Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire as the various big screen Spider-Men that delivered a mostly satisfying spin through the wallcrawlers' weaving webs.
Since all of the versions of Spider-Man came together on the big screen, it only makes sense that Hasbro's Marvel Legends line of action figures delivers new collectible versions of each of their action figures, not to mention the villains Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Sandman, as well as Zandaya as MJ and Charlie Cox as lawyer Matt Murdock. An entire line dedicated to all these characters is just what "Spider-Man: No Way Home" fans were hoping for, and after Hasbro sent all of the action figures over for me to check out, I'm pleased to report that they're almost perfect, with only a few shortcomings that can be rather common in the Marvel Legends arena.
Enter Sandman
There hasn't ever really been a great version of the "Spider-Man 3" villain Sandman released for collectors. When the original line of toys for "Spider-Man 3" figures was released, Hasbro had taken over the license, and they lacked the same quality and detail that Toy Biz delivered for Sam Raimi's first two "Spider-Man" movies. The likeness of Thomas Haden Church was especially disappointing, even though the figure did come with a decent assembly of accessories to replicate the villain's shapeshifting abilities.
When it comes to Hasbro's latest attempt to bring us Sandman in the Marvel Legends line, they've certainly done a better job, even if we're lacking a proper version of Thomas Haden Church looking like Flint Marko in his khakis and striped shirt. Instead, we get a version of Sandman that is entirely sand. But even without a fully human face, the likeness of the "Sideways" actor is better than any other figure we've seen of Sandman on this scale.
Ethan Andeton
Beyond that, the Marvel Legends Sandman figure also comes with two giant hands (and corresponding wrist pieces) that make him a more formidable foe, perfect for grabbing Spidey by the neck in a posed fight. The only thing that might have improved this figure is the inclusion of a base in which the figure could sit to make it look like he's swirling out of a tornado of sand, ready to swing his big hands at the citizens of New York.
MJ and the Matt without fear
While it might have been nice to get that new version of Jamie Foxx as Electro from "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" or even a proper version of Lizard from "The Amazing Spider-Man," this line kept things mostly focused on characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, there's only one other figure of Zendaya as MJ out there, and she only comes in a two-pack, so this is an opportunity for fans to get one with a better face sculpt.
When it comes to MJ, she's probably the most boring figure in the entire line. That's mostly because she doesn't have any special accessories to make her unique, though Hasbro did opt to include Doctor Strange's Macchina di Kadavus, the cube that contains the spell that went wrong and brought the other Spider-Man universes into the MCU. MJ also has a pair of swappable hands in the form of fists, in case she needs to punch someone. Honestly, I would have preferred that they include an alternate head sculpt with a more unique expression on her face, maybe screaming in fear from the opening moment where Spider-Man jumps with her off a bridge after Peter Parker is revealed to be Spider-Man by J. Jonah Jameson. But despite not being an exciting figure, she still looks great, and it's nice to have her alongside Tom Holland's Spidey.
Ethan Anderton
A little more enticing, though still somewhat unexciting, is Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in his plain lawyer suit. Granted, this is a nice addition for anyone who already had the "Daredevil" action figure from 2017, inspired by the Netflix TV series. (That one is pricey on the secondary market, but with a new "Daredevil" series on the way, you can be sure we'll get an updated version soon enough.) At the very least, Murdock is also a great looking figure, and along with his walking stick, he gets the thrown brick that he catches in Aunt May's apartment. That's a fun touch.
Butterfingers!
Since Doc Ock is so prominent in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," he definitely needed a Marvel Legends figure. The original version of the character was given a pretty cool figure by Toy Biz when "Spider-Man 2" was released. Even though the face sculpt hasn't aged very well, that figure had superb articulation, and the metal arms could be easily bent into a variety of positions and had articulated claws for grabbing and holding. So how does the Marvel Legends version of Doc Ock compare?
Ethan Anderton
Well, when it comes to the likeness of Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius, we definitely have an improvement. Plus, the body has been designed to look like the new version of Doc Ock, who has a different outfit than what he wore in "Spider-Man 2." The figure itself is also nicely articulated, and the metal arms aren't so heavy that they make it difficult for the figure to stand up without the assistance of the extra limbs. But the shortcomings lie in the metal arms themselves.
While Doc Ock's robotic arms look fantastic, they're not nearly as malleable as the arms on the old Toy Biz figure. Furthermore, the claws do not have hinges to actually open and close. However, they are somewhat flexible, so they can be bent into a grabbing shape to hold Spider-Man, but if you're trying to keep the figure in pristine condition and don't want to risk breaking it, I wouldn't recommend it. I just decided to try it out and managed not to ruin the claws.
Ethan Anderton
For a deluxe figure that costs more than your standard Marvel Legends purchase, I would have preferred a bit more versatility in those arms. Still, it's cool that the figure can be positioned so that the metal arms support the figure themselves, making for yet another cool pose for Doc Ock on a shelf.
You know, I'm something of a scientist myself
Another deluxe figure in the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" line from Marvel Legends gives Green Goblin an incredible action figure. This one is actually the best in the entire line-up, with some fantastic articulation, meticulous detail on Goblin's suit (including the helmet), an awesome glider for him to fly on, and a superb likeness of Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborne, with a perfectly insane smile on his face.
Ethan Anderton
Since this is based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe's version of Green Goblin, there are some additional details not found on the original figure, such as a utility belt, shredded purple shroud and hood, goggles, bladed gauntlet, and some extra details on the rest of the suit. The good news is that much of that is removable, so you can have Dafoe's head sculpt on the figure without the hood or goggles. In fact, you could actually take that head sculpt and put it on one of the plainclothes Tony Stark figures, and you have yourself a Norman Osborne figure.
Ethan Anderton
Since the glider is included with the figure, there's also a stand, so you can make it appear as if he's flying in to wreak havoc on Spider-Man's life. There's even a pumpkin bomb for an additional threat. You know what? I think this is probably one of the best Marvel Cinematic Universe figures that Marvel Legends has ever done.
I love you guys!
Of course, it wouldn't be a "Spider-Man: No Way Home" toy line without the webslingers, and that means all three of them. Even though a previous three-pack included the trio of different Spider-Men, this is the first time they've all had their own unmasked face sculpt. That means we finally get outstanding likenesses of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man, complete with Garfield's hair looking positively amazing. Though, admittedly, these figures could also benefit from a second head sculpt with an alternate expression.
Ethan Anderton
Each of the figures is incredibly articulated, making for a variety of flexible poses, especially if you utilize a figure stand like I did. They also come with alternate hands. Tom Holland has the most, with six total hands, but they all have a pair of webslinging hands. Otherwise, they each also get a clenched fist and an open hand for varied poses. It's just a shame that Hasbro didn't include at least one pointing hand for each of them to recreate the beloved animated Spider-Man meme (though, as you can see, I came close with the webshooting hands).
Ethan Anderton
For me, the only disappointing thing about these Spider-Man figures, and it's frequently a shortcoming with almost every Spider-Man figure from the movies, is that there aren't any web accessories. I think that's mostly because it's hard to make web accessories that look like the webbing in the movies, but I think fans would be fine if it didn't look quite so screen accurate, if only so they could have pieces to pose the figures with web shooting out of their wrists, whether it's as a projectile or a web to swing from. Hopefully Hasbro will figure that out sometime soon.
Ethan Anderton
Otherwise, this is one of the best complete collections of Marvel Legends figures from Marvel Cinematic Universe movies that Hasbro has ever done. I wish every movie got a line like this, especially without forcing a build-a-figure into the equation. They're all available to order now from Amazon and various retailers, and you might even be able to find a few of them at discounted prices.