Action Figure Barbecue: Wrapping Up 2025: Iceman from Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Secret Wars by Hasbro

I enjoy Marvel's Secret Wars comic just for the fun of the team-up of so many different characters but the toyline itself was before my time and I don't really have any nostalgia for it. The only Secret Wars toy I ever owned was a vintage Tower of Doom playset I scored at a vintage shop in the mid-late 2000s. As a primarily X-Men focused collector I didn't buy too many of the figures from Hasbro's Marvel Legends Retro Collection line this past year, either; just the new characters, Titania and a Beyonder I scored at Ross. When Iceman popped up for preorder I did jump on him, though. Not only is he one of the OG X-Men but he was one of my favorites as a kid. I excitedly looking for and finding the 1992 Toy Biz figure that came with a large ice slide. It was also molded in transparent plastic and really stood out to me at the time. This one jumped out at me too because of that, though in hand I'm a bit conflicted. Still, while so many Marvel Legends figures as of late have come with fewer accessories, Iceman feels like a fairly well equipped release. There's a lot I like about this figure and some I'm conflicted on. Ready to check out the latest take on Iceman? Then join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 6 3/8ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball-jointed hips, swivel waist, hinged mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ lateral pectoral hinges, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a balljointed head.

Accessories: 4 swappable hands, 2 swappable portraits, ice sled, 2 ice blasts, snowball, shield, and lenticular insert.

Non-Scalper Price: $28 dollars

Comparison:

* Here's a quick shot of all of the Legends Iceman figures I had on my shelf. From left to right there's the Secret Wars Iceman, the Retro Card Iceman, the 2016 Juggernaut BAF Iceman, and the Age of Apocalypse Ice Man. This guy uses a newer pinless body, so he's different from the rest of the Bobby Drakes out there.

The Positives:

* Iceman is mostly a clear plastic figure here which is one way to try to capture his "made of ice" look. In the comics from this era (I don't recall him actually appearing in Secret Wars itself, but he did have a four issue miniseries that ran around the same time), he did mostly look white and I don't think clear plastic to represent that. Mattel's vintage Iceman was molded in a pearly white plastic (and was only available internationally since the line wasn't selling well), so I'm kind of surprised Hasbro didn't go that route. Still, a clear Iceman isn't a bad thing. He stands out for sure and I can't knock the appeal of an all clear Iceman. There's no paintwork, though, other than the "X" on his belt.

* Iceman's portrait does look like how the character was portrayed, kind of remind me of a transparent Silver Surfer. Bobby's usually a pretty happy, go-lucky guy and this figure captures a great smile and the white eyes he was drawn with. Sculpt-wise, he's a dead ringer for the cover of his self titled miniseries.

* The second portrait shows Iceman a wee bit pissed. Maybe he's tussling with the Human Torch like in Marvel Team Up #23? I'm glad Hasbro through in a second portrait as I like the smiley one but it's not great for every scene you'd want to put him in.

* Iceman uses a newer, slender pinless body and, since it's clear, you can see how the joints work. Did you wonder how pinless joints work? Now you can find out! The articulation overall is pretty good and Bobby does have pec hinges with a great range of motion. His knees and elbows are also made from a harder plastic so they're not rubbery (though the color is slightly different). He comes with his ice slide and some ice blasts and looks pretty decent with them, too (even though the blasts and slide are a bit undersized).

* Four swappable hands are included to give Bobby a little variety. There's a pair of gesturing hands that can lightly cup the included snowball or be used with the ice beams and a pair of fists for knocking out evil mutants.

* An ice sled accessory is included which I kind of like. It's not really large enough to truly capture Iceman's ice sled from the comics but it's solid for a pack in accessory and it looks pretty good in person. It's molded in clear plastic like Iceman but there's some white as well, adding some more depth to the appearance. Seriously, I wish Iceman himself had these white paint applications. This is a cool way to display him on the shelf.

* Two ice beams are included which can fit onto Iceman's wrists and hands to emulate the character using his ice powers to create various slides and such. Pretty cool! I wish they were a bit longer but, again, they're something I don't recall seeing before and they can be used for some really cool poses.

* Iceman also includes a snowball, a fun accessory that is something you regularly see the character using in older comics. It's tiny, so be careful with it! You might want to use a bit of Blu-tack or something on it as his hands don't grip it tightly and I could see it rolling off of his hand, off the shelf, and into the floor, never to be seen again. Or it keeps rolling and becomes a Katamari, picking up the accessories in your collection, then your minifigures, then the regular figures, followed by your Build-a-Figures, vehicles, and playsets.

* In Mattel's vintage Secret Wars line each figure came with a shield. Round reddish shields for the heroes and square grey silver shields for the villains. Why? Who knows? Lenticulars and holograms were very trendy in the 1980s, so maybe they figured those pack ins would grab the attention of kids. Hasbro has recreated those shields for the Legends line and while I'm not sure it was necessary for every figure to come with these instead of actual useful accessories, they are neat. The shield opens to hold the lenticular which changes between Iceman and Bobby Drake.

* On the back of each shield is a hinged handle which can clip over the figure's wrist or a peg for plugging it into the hole on Bobby's back. Remember when Iceman carried a large shield with his picture on it in the comics? Me neither. Still, it functions well for what it is.

The Negatives:

* There are a few things about Iceman that leave me a bit... cold. First up, while I like the sculpts and the use of a translucent plastic, I think Iceman's clear dome really shows why some paint or something mixed into the plastic was needed. His head looks like a hollow glass dome that a mad scientist's brain would be floating in or the head of Tom Servo.

* While it's cool to see how the articulation is built on a newer Marvel Legends Series figure like this, I really wish this figure had some paintwork. Some white details on this, or maybe even white plastic mixed in with the clear plastic, really would have created something pretty impressive. He's a neat figure but I feel like he could have been amazing if Hasbro hadn't skipped the paint applications on the body. It really makes the focus of the figure the joints and the darker knees and elbows, which shouldn't be the case.

There's a lot to like about this figure and if you really dig the clear look of Iceman, you'll probably be really wowed by this guy. Accessory wise I'm very happy with Iceman. He's well accessorized and if every figure had this level of extras I'd be quite pleased. I'm just not completely sold on the choice to go all clear for Bobby. It's neat and novel, but it doesn't look quite right and takes the focus off of the design and sculpt and puts it on the joints and inner workings instead. He's a Good figure, but I'm not feeling him as a definitive Iceman, especially with the weird, crystal ball like skull.

Looking for more of Iceman/ Bobby Drake? I've also reviewed the Marvel Legends series Iceman from the 2016 Juggernaut BAF series.

For more Marvel Legends Retro Collection figures check out the following:

Marvel Legends Retro Collection by Hasbro

Loki

Scarlet Witch

The Vision (West Coast Avengers)

Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Fantastic Four by Hasbro

Psycho-Man

She-Hulk

Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Iron Man by Hasbro (2023)

Iron Man (Model 01- Gold)

Marvel Legends Retro Collection: Spider-Man by Hasbro

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Lizard
Rhino