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Marvel Boy

The Marvels
by yo go re

This is already better than last time.

A Kree warrior from an alternate reality, Noh-Varr aka Marvel Boy is the self-appointed protector of Earth and member of the Young Avengers.

Notice two things in that bio: Marvel "Boy" and "Young" Avengers. He's supposed to be a teenager! So why build him on one of the larger bodies? We're not saying he needs to be super small, but the normal body would have been plenty. When his ship, the Marvel, was shot down while passing through universe 616, Noh-Varr was the sole survivor. Alone on a hostile world, he declared war on all those around him, but ended up imprisoned until he was approached by the Illuminati, who showed him he would be better off fighting for the reality he found himself trapped in instead of against it. Yes, it took until 2006 for Marvel Boy to make a second appearance and get confirmed as being in the regular Marvel universe.

This figure is quite blatantly based directly on Jamie McKelvie's art for Young Avengers, right down to the weird lock of hair falling down into his face and the mouth hanging open slightly. I guess he comes from a reality where "breathing through your nose" was never invented. He's always had white hair, but the sculpt still looks young, not old.

His Young Avengers costume is pretty good. It's mainly a black bodysuit, with a white panel in the center that harkens back to his original appearance. a thick green line separates the white from the black, and there are matching stripes on his boots and gloves. He's wearing a golden belt, which is a new mold, as are his hands: they have golden bands across the back with large red circles in the center, which are actually sculpted rather than just being painted. There are also gold symbols on his shoulders (concentric circles inside a diamond) but those are just painted.

The best thing we can say about this body is that it's not the new oversized one - Marvel Boy is supposed to be 5'10", but this toy is already 6⅜" tall. Call it half an inch. The only way this figure would be the right height would be if he didn't have a head. The body they chose is one with pec hinges, which he doesn't really need, but it's not like he can't move his arms or anything, so why not? The socket in the head where the neck's balljoint fits feels like it was molded too far forward; that is, when the head is sitting vertically above the body, it looks like he's pulled his chin back into his neck. Make sense? Like he's withdrawing from something gross? He's got weird posture, is the point.

From the beginning, Noh-Varr's weapons were bracelets that could grow into different types of guns. That couldn't work on an action figure, so this toy gets something clever. He does have guns, and the guns have hand guards that slide over the sculpted bits on his gloves, covering and replacing them so it looks like the weapons have grown seamlessly out. That's pretty neat, and a smart way of conveying his tech.

The figure also comes with the left arm and hands of the Totally Awesome Hulk Build-A-Figure.

The original 2000 Marvel Boy comic was decent (because Marvel's editors refused to give Grant Morrison free rein), but it was hardly surpring the character was immediately forgotten for six years. His stint as "Protector" was... not great, but Young Avengers treated him right, and even with its existing issues, this toy is the best representation of him there is.

-- 11/07/23


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