Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Action Figure Review: Gwenpool from Marvel Legends Series: The Unbelievable Gwenpool by Hasbro

    Who would have ever thought that Gwen Stacy would return as a super popular character? I never did get around to reviewing the Marvel Legends Spider-Gwen from a few years back but I'm going to try to rectify that by checking out the Marvel Legends Series Gwenpool. First created as a joke amalgamation of Gwen Stacy and Deadpool on the cover of Deadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2 in 2015, Gwenpool has taken off in popularity. She's not actually Gwen Stacy, though, as her real name is Gwendolyn Poole, so she's really her own unique character. Hasbro released her earlier this year in the Spider-Man focused Lizard build-a-figure series and, my word, did they load her down with accessories. This is one of those figures that really seems to show that Hasbro is aware they are competing with companies like Mezco, Mafex, and S.H. Figuarts and that they're trying to up the quality of their offerings. Let's check out Gwenpool after the break...



 The Facts:

Height: 5 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, balljointed hips, balljointed mid-torso, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a balljointed head.


Accessories: 2 Katanas, 6 interchangeable hands, backpack, two interchangeable heads, and a smartphone.

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars
 The Positives:


* Gwenpool's costume has changed a bit over time but this seems to be the most mainstream look she has. While the body is probably reused the armored forearms and shins definitely seem unique to the character. For combining white and red, the paintwork overall is quite neat and clean. The costume has a pretty unique, eye catching look to it that it quite different form most other superhero outfits. It kind of reminds me of some of Atom Eve's looks for some reason.


* Gwenpool has two portraits and they swap very easily. While one of them has some problems, the other is pretty cool: It shows Gwenpool smiling and sticking out her tongue. Since Gwenpool is kind of a tourist in the Marvel Universe (she's from the real world, apparently) we can presume she takes lots of selfies, so here she is posing!

 * See! Selfie powers activate! Gwenpool is as well articulated as nearly any other figure in this line but she also has a much more solid and less rubbery feel to her. She's quite impressive and a heck of a lot of fun to play around with.

* Gwenpool comes with six interchangeable hands. Yes, six. We're definitely approaching the level of hands of higher end figures here, so kudos to Hasbro. She includes a left handed peace sign, a right hand for playing with her phone, two trigger grip hands, and two cupping hands. Those cupping hands are used to have Gwenpool make a heart shape with her hands, which I'll show you below if you keep reading!

* Like Deadpool and other characters of his ilk, Gwenpool has multiple belts. Well, two, but that's still more than one. She has a small belt around her mid section and then a larger belt with pouches, a pink "G" symbol, and a pouch for holding her smartphone.


 * Gwenpool's shin armor is pretty unique as it appears to be white armor strapped to her legs over high white socks. Pretty cool and definitely unique to her, right?


* Gwenpool comes with her smartphone as an accessory since she seems to use it quite often. It probably should have a pink case (that seems to be comic accurate) but for such a small accessory I'll let it slide. It's a coll extra.


* Gwenpool also joints the Deadpool club of folks who use these exact dual katanas. They're still solid, though, so it's nice that she comes with them both.



* To help her carry those katanas Gwenpool comes with a penguin backpack. It actually is removable and it's pretty cute. There are slots in the back to hold her katanas easily.
















* See! Here are the heart hands! Also, keep in mind that while I bought my figure loose for cheap, if you buy Gwenpool new you'll get the tail for the Lizard build-a-figure.
 The Negatives:

* Here is the head I mentioned above. Yikes, the paintwork on the eyes is pretty rough, right? It's also so similar to the other head that I don't know why Hasbro didn't opt for an unmasked head instead of this one.


* It's not a huge thing but Gwenpool's pink tennis shoes should have colored laces. The solid pink looks a bit off to me for some reason, and it isn't accurate.










 * Lastly, Gwenpool's swords have white handles with pink diamonds in the hilts. Why mess this up Hasbro?
Despite the flaws I pointed out, I do think Gwenpool is one of the best Marvel Legends releases this year. She's a great figure of a cool character, she's loaded with accessories and extra hands, and she has some cool unique elements to her. Interestingly, MAFEX has a Gwenpool coming out soon too and, while it definitely is more accurate, has an unmasked head, and features more unique sculpting, it also costs about five times as much as Hasbro's offering. For Gwenpool diehards MAFEX's offering is probably a necessity but my guess is that most Marvel fans would be satisfied with Hasbro's figure that can easily be found for under $20. She's an Epic toy!


This is the first Gwenpool I've reviewed on here! For more Marvel Legends Series figures, check out the following:
Marvel Legends Series by Hasbro (2016)
Enchantress (Mystic Rivals)
Nico Minoru (Mystic Rivals) 
The Punisher

Marvel Legends Series: Black Panther by Hasbro (2017)
Black Panther
 
Marvel Legends Series: Captain America by Hasbro (2016)
Black Panther
Demolition Man (Mercenaries of Mayhem)
Nick Fury 
Nuke 

Marvel Legends Series: Deadpool by Hasbro (2018)
Deadpool (Boxers)
Deadpool (X-Force)
Domino
Lady Deadpool 
X-23 (X-Force)

Marvel Legends Series: Guardians of the Galaxy by Hasbro (2017)
Angela
Groot Evolution

Marvel Legends Series: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 by Hasbro (2017)
Drax
Gamora (Daughters of Thanos)
Nebula (Daughters of Thanos)
Rocket Raccoon & Groot
Star-Lord 
Yondu

Marvel Legends Series: X-Men by Hasbro (2016)
Cable
Havok
Iceman
Juggernaut
Kitty Pryde
Phoenix 
Rogue 
Wolverine

2 comments:

  1. I was a huge fan of the comics - still bummed they got cancelled. Overall, I really dig this figure. Luckily I got good paint on both heads with mine, but the left leg was warped in the packaging. She looks great with one of the spare AR-15s from McFarlanes 5" Walking Dead range (they always looked too big for those figures, but suit 6" figures perfectly imo).

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    Replies
    1. It definitely seemed odd that she didn't come with a firearm, especially since she has pistol grip hands. Of course, she's pretty loaded down with extras, so I can understand.

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