Thursday, June 6, 2024

Action Figure Review: Ka-Zar from Marvel Legends Series by Hasbro

 


   It's about time Hasbro updates Ka-Zar and Zabu, right? A Savage Land three pack with Ka-Zar, Shanna the She-Devil, and Zabu was an SDCC exclusive 3-pack way back in 2007, pretty much right around the time when Hasbro took over the Marvel Legends license. I remember the set so well because I actually bought a Zabu from someone because he used a mold from the G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 Adventure Team sets that didn't end up getting released. I've been wanting the trio in the modern Marvel Legends line and last year at some point I sold off my 2008 Zabu as I had a feeling this one was coming. It worked! I will say that I'm a bit disappointed with this series as it has three X-Men related characters and an X-Men related build-a-figure with four non X-Men characters. Usually the X-Men BAF series have tended to be all X-Men or mutant related, so I'm not sure what happened here. Why couldn't Shanna the She-Devil have been part of this set? This one is a bit of a wildcard. I ended up buying all of the BAF figures and selling off who I didn't want (Ikaris, Red Widow, and Black Winter), and it actually worked out pretty well. Let's pounce into action and check out Ka-Zar of the Savage Land after the break...



The Facts:

Height: 6 1/2 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 pec hinges, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged neck, and a ball-jointed head.

Accessories: 6 swappable hands, knife, spear, and front right leg of Zabu BAF.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars






The Positives:



* Fun fact: If you take Ka-Zar's body and put Ikaris' head on it you'll have the best Oo-Lar/ Savage He-Man figure ever! Ka-Zar is a rough jungle guy and he's totally ripped. I mean, this guy is shredded. His body is really muscular and well detailed, so he doesn't just look like a uniformed body molded in plastic the color of his flesh. He's sporting some furry trunks and furry boots, so he'll be right at home in the Savage Land or Eternia. 


* Kevin Reginald Plunder's dad was a British nobleman who discovered the Savage Land. of course, one thing led to another and now he's a jungle dude raised by a sabretooth tiger, fighting dinosaurs, Man-Apes, and mutates, and living his best life by hanging out with Sheena the She-Devil. This portrait captures the character well with his messy hair and his steely gaze.





* Ka-Zar buys his boots at the same store as He-Man! The brown leather boots have a nice texture and the furry cuffs match his furry trunks. 



* Ka-Zar has pinless joints and seems to be an all new or at least mostly all new figure. Since he doesn't have a lot to hinder his movement he can take all of the posers you'd expect from a jungle hunter. He's a solid, sturdy figure who looks fantastic in battle, especially when you've got Zabu by his side.









* Za-Kar comes with six swappable hands: A pair of trigger gripping hands, a pair of fists, and a pair of open palmed grappling hands. 





* He also has a spear with a stone tip. It's a simple weapon but it looks nice and primitive, fitting for the Lord of the Hidden Jungle.












* Ka-Zar also comes with his classic Bowie knife. I think this might be a new sculpt as I don't recall seeing it before. The paintwork makes it look even better.










* There's actually a loop on the back of Ka-Zar's trunks so you can store his Bowie knife when he's not using it. 












* Not every Marvel Legends figure comes with a Build-a-Figure part these days. In fact, they're no longer the norm. Ka-Zar comes with the front right leg of Zabu, his sabretooth tiger companion. He's a pretty decent sized companion and a cool figure. I'll definitely be reviewing him soon.
The Negatives:


* My only negative is that it's kind of weird for Ka-Zar to have pistol grips/ trigger grips rather than regular grips. His spear shaft is a bit too thin to really work with these hands, so something more suitable for the spear and knife would have been preferable. 

   Ka-Zar is a very nice update of a figure that most folks probably don't have in their collection (I didn't) and a very welcome X-Men adjacent character. He could certainly use a few more accessories, sure, and some standard gripping hands, but overall I really like him. If you're planning to build Zabu he's even a better buy. He's a Great figure and he actually stands out in Marvel Legends as there aren't any figures dressed like this. Or undressed like this. Let's hope that Hasbro releases a Shanna the She-Devil figure at some point so we can pair them up.





This is the first figure of Ka-Zar I've reviewed. For more Marvel Legends Series reviews check out the following:
Marvel Legends Series by Hasbro (2016)

Marvel Legends Series: Avengers by Hasbro
Taskmaster
Yelena Belova

Marvel Legends Series: Black Panther by Hasbro (2017)
Black Panther 

Marvel Legends Series: Black Widow by Hasbro (2020)
Black Widow: Deadly Origin
 
Marvel Legends Series: Captain America by Hasbro (2016)
Black Panther
Demolition Man (Mercenaries of Mayhem)
Nick Fury 
Nuke 

Marvel Legends Series: Captain Marvel by Hasbro (2019)
Captain Marvel

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

Marvel Legends Series: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) 
 
Marvel Legends Series: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
Baron Zemo

Marvel Legends Series: Fantastic Four (2017)
Mr. Fantastic
Thing  
 
Marvel Legends Series: Gamerverse
Civil Warrior

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

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: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 by Hasbro (2023)
Mantis
 
Marvel Legends Series: The Infinity Gauntlet by Hasbro (2021)
 
Marvel Legends Series: The Infninity Saga by Hasbro
Captain Marvel & Rescue Armor

Marvel Legends Series: Inhumans by Hasbro (2017)
 
Marvel Legends Series: Ironheart by Hasbro (2021)
 
Marvel Legends Series: Iron Man by Hasbro  
Vault Guardsman

Marvel Legends Series: Marvel Knights (2023)
Blade

Marvel Legends Series: The Punisher by Hasbro (2019)
The Punisher (Walgreens Exclusive)
 
Marvel Legends Series: She-Hulk by Hasbro
She-Hulk 

Marvel Legends Series: Silk by Hasbro
Silk and Doc Ock

Marvel Legends Series: Silver Surfer by Hasbro (2018)
Silver Surfer

Marvel Legends Series: Spider-Man by Hasbro
Hallow's Eve
King in Black: Knull and Venom

Marvel Legends Series: Super Villains by Hasbro (2021)
Xemnu

Marvel Legends Series: Thor by Hasbro
Gorr
Ragnarok

Marvel Legends Series: Thor: Love and Thunder by Hasbro (2022)
Mighty Thor

Marvel Legends Series: Typhoid Mary by Hasbro (2018)
Typhoid Mary

Marvel Legends Series: The Unbelievable Gwenpool by Hasbro (2018)
Gwenpool

Marvel Legends Series: Venom by Hasbro (2018)
Carnage  
 
Marvel Legends Series: WandaVision by Hasbro (2021)
 
Marvel Legends Series: What If? by Hasbro (2021)

Marvel Legends Series: Wolverine by Hasbro
Wolverine & Lilandra Neramani
Wolverine & Psylocke

Marvel Legends Series: X-Men by Hasbro (2016)
Angel




 
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12 comments:

  1. GIJigsawJune 7, 2024 at 8:32 AM

    Interesting. Didn't even know this was released. I remember the SDCC three pack. Neat set.

    ReplyDelete
  2. googumJune 7, 2024 at 8:51 AM

    I'm kind of impressed if you managed to sell off Black Winter! I get reuse, sure, but...

    It would've been too easy if Shanna had been in this wave; god forbid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17June 14, 2024 at 10:12 PM

      I don't even know who Black Winter is and, yes, I still have him. Does anyone want to buy him? What is he; just a Thor repaint or something?

      The only thing I can think of is that Shanna will be a fan channel exclusive because Hasbro is concerned about having a more scantily clad female figure in a regular set? I mean, she's wearing more than Ka-Zar or any Namor or Hulk figure. I mean, Mojo doesn't even have a shirt on at all.

      Delete
  3. CarniviusJune 7, 2024 at 9:10 AM

    Perhaps you can heat up the trigger finger and bend it inwards to align with the other fingers if you don't want that.
    I went the other way with a couple figures. WWE's Roddy Piper as John Nada figure doesn't have a trigger hand (he doesn't come with weapons, but they must have known buyers would want to give him some firearms) so I sliced into the first finger of his grippy hand and used heat to bend it out enough so it fit into the trigger of a spare gun I had. :)

    Reminds me I need to do that to Masterverse movie He-Man so he can actually use the gun he comes with too. I have loads of Masterverse figures with the same kind of grippy hand if I need to swap back too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. CarniviusJune 7, 2024 at 9:13 AM

    Hm, he already looks like a Savage He-Man with that head anyways. Longer hair like the Revelation Savage, but still way too small a body. This guy's too slender and toned rather than bulging and swole

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17June 14, 2024 at 10:13 PM

      Yeah, he is a thinner build than Jungle He-Man for sure.

      Delete
  5. Plastic YankJune 7, 2024 at 12:06 PM

    I actually bought a Zabu from someone because he used a mold from the G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 Adventure Team sets that didn't end up getting released.

    It was released, actually, as a tiger alongside Storm Shadow (in the same wave "Adventure Team" wave as Snake Eyes vs. giant cobra and Recondo vs. crocodile). The unreleased sets were Dusty vs. giant scorpion, Joe Colton vs. gorilla and Torpedo (or was it Wet-Suit?) vs. shark. The eventual SDCC Zabu featured a slightly retooled head with sabretooth fangs and resculpted ears to make him look less like a modern tiger and more like the prehistoric creature.

    Fun fact: If you take Ka-Zar's body and put Ikaris' head on it you'll have the best Oo-Lar/ Savage He-Man figure ever!

    You say this and then don't provide a picture?!? For shame, Barbecue! XD

    His body is really muscular and well detailed, so he doesn't just look like a uniformed body molded in plastic the color of his flesh.

    The nipples definitely help LOL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17June 14, 2024 at 10:15 PM

      You're right! I do have all of the Sigma 6 sets and, man, those missing Adventure Team sets hurt. I forgot he was the same as Storm Shadow's Tiger. Snake Eyes with the big snake, temple, and shotgun was my favorite, though.

      So I did realize that I screwed up and should have taken a picture of Ikaris' head on the body but I sold off Ikaris so quick that I didn't have him any longer by the time I got around to taking pictures.

      Delete
  6. Plastic YankJune 7, 2024 at 12:08 PM

    Perhaps you can heat up the trigger finger and bend it inwards to align with the other fingers if you don't want that.

    I super-glued the fingers and thumb on one of my ML Gambit figures into a permanent closed grip so that he could actually hold his staff securely.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Joe PantsJune 7, 2024 at 1:59 PM

    If course he has trigger fingers, haven't you ever heard of a spear gun? 😏

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barbecue17June 14, 2024 at 10:16 PM

      Joe Pants has got the jokes, folks! I'm also liking that Strong Bad avatar. I loved Strong Bad emails back in college. Mur-frees-bro!

      Delete

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