Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Action Figure Review: Scarlet Witch (Maidens of Might) from Marvel Legends: Infinite Series by Hasbro


     Since she's appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron (which opens Friday here in the States) it seems like as good of a time as any to review one of the newest Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures: The Scarlet Witch! Hasbro opted to make this newer version of Scarlet Witch an amalgam of her various comic book appearances rather than base her on Elizabeth Olsen's appearance in the new film, but it seems like that was a good choice. Scarlet Witch hasn't had a Marvel Legends figure since Toy Biz released one in 2004 that...wasn't very well received. This version of Wanda Maximoff is definitely an improvement over that now 11 year old relic. She's also one of Hasbro's weird "not-variants" and is released under the label "Maidens of Might" along with Captain Marvel. Seriously, can Hasbro not just release the female characters with their legit names on the package? I know they do this for a few male figures as well but it seems like the females end up far more often getting the generic "two-for-one" name. In Hasbro's defense I will say that I have seen every figure from all three current Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures at retail within the past two-three weeks. That's hopefully a good sign that Hasbro has worked out some of the distribution issues that have plagued many of their lines over the past couple of years. While we saw a brief cameo of Scarlet Witch and her brother Quicksilver during the credits of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I'm really curious to see how these two new characters (and the Vision) interact with the rest of the established Avengers crew. Of course, at the moment I'm more interested to see how this Scarlet Witch figure functions as a toy. Ready for a closer look at this mutant...uh, I mean "miracle?" Then join me after the break...




The Facts: 
Height: 6 5/8th inches tall (in heels)

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, ball jointed torso, swivel/ hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Two hex bolts, removable cape, and three pieces for the Allfather build-a-figure: Odin's cape, head, and his spear, Gungnir.

Non-Scalper Price: $20



 The Positives:

*Earlier this year I selected Hasbro's Marvel Legends: Infinite Series as one of my top ten toy lines of 2014 and so far they seem to be on track again to claim a spot. Hasbro has really done a nice job making this line super appealing, even to a non-die hard Marvel collector like myself. Scarlet Witch definitely represents the excellent style and presentation of this line. She looks like she could fit in with nearly any superhero collection, whether comic based or cinematic, and handle herself well.


*Hasbro has really been producing some solid feeling action figures. Scarlet Witch absolutely feels like she could handle some wear and tear. Her joints feel well constructed and nothing feels overly rubbery. The articulation isn't seamless by any stretch of the imagination but it does manage to nicely mesh with Scarlet Witch's curvy sculpt.










*Oh, and about that sculpt? This is a very lovely action figure. While there's not a ton of sculpted detail (paint work suggests many of her costume's elements such as her long gloves and the tops of her boots) the musculature under her very snug costume looks great as does her face. She's quite pretty while managing to have a sly, mysterious appearance. Her hair looks great, too. It has a lot of shape and body. I wonder what kind of shampoo she uses?








* It's interesting to me that Hasbro has really been upping the accessories on their Marvel Legends figures. Not only is her cape removable (it has a nice paint wash to it, btw) but she also comes with two translucent pink hex bolts to represent her somewhat oddly defined powers. I know she's super powerful but just hearing about her power doesn't make it sound that significant. She manipulates probability, right? What's that good for other than winning at bingo and pissing off C-3PO? Actually, it turns to be pretty significant. I wonder how Age of Ultron will explain it? Anyways, the hexes fit over her wrists. They're a bit tricky to get on right but they look pretty cool. She also has some great hand poses that look awesome. Seriously, she looks pretty insanely magically powerful. I want to hum "The Final Countdown" every time I look at her.

*I tend to be a cherry picker with Marvel Legends. I really think the only Build-a-Figure I've ever built was the Iron Man 3 Iron Monger and that's because the Reel Brad Bell gave me the pieces from a couple of the figures that I didn't buy. I do like the extras that come with Scarlet Witch, however. I'm thinking that Odin's head and his spear, Gungnir, could be awesome on a Masters of the Universe Classics body. They'd probably make awesome parts for a custom King Miro. Seriously, extra heads and weapons are always welcome and useful.
The head is just resting on there (the socket is larger than a MOTUC socket) but it looks pretty sweet.


                                                                
The Negatives:

*Unless you use her cape as a stand (which does work pretty well) there is no way you're going to get Scarlet Witch to stand up. Seriously, the heels on her boots are actually much too short and don't touch the ground. They might look nice but they're far from being sensible footwear.











*Seriously, it still bugs me a bit that Hasbro releases so many of the female heroes and villains as weird "variants" of one another without even using their names on the front of the package. Seriously, Hasbro: Just name these figures like almost every other action figure in existence. At least they identify the characters on the back now.


   

 I really like this figure. Scarlet Witch is an interesting characters and she has a really eye-catching uniform. She definitely has the superhero look down due to her bright colors but she also looks like she could fit in well in a more fantasy based property, such as in Masters of the Universe. Heck, Scarlet Witch is definitely much cooler than many of the one off magic users that He-Man encountered in the Filmation series, so perhaps she'll appeal to fans of a few different properties. Hasbro has definitely upped their game with the Marvel Legends series and created some excellent figures. Scarlet Witch is definitely a solid toy, although I wish she could stand up better on her own (unaided by her cape). Still she's fun, durable, and has some nifty accessories. What's not to love? I'm easily giving her a Great rating! Hopefully your probability of finding her is as high as mine has been: I've seen her on three or four occasions now at retail, which is more than I can say for most action figures these days. Good luck!


I've reviewed a few other Marvel Legends figures, including:

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Captain America: The Winter Soldier by Hasbro
Baron Zemo
Hydra Agent
Red Skull

Marvel Legends Infinite Series: Guardians of the Galaxy by Hasbro
Drax
Star-Lord

Marvel Legends: Iron Man 3 by Hasbro
Classic Iron Man
Heroic Age Iron Man
Iron Monger Build-a-figure
Iron Patriot
Ultron

3 comments:

  1. Im still waiting to see this one in store. Iv found the other female from this wave a few time but never this one.

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  2. I found old witch in new maiden pack, you said there was no variant, so is this rare good or meanigless bad?

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    Replies
    1. You found the old Toy Biz Scarlet Witch figure in the new packaging? If that's the case, I think that means some low-life bought the new Hasbro Scarlet Witch, stuck their older figure in the new packaging, and returned it for a refund. Ol' Poe Ghostal used to call these guys Toy Aisle Trolls.

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