The good guys have had it too good for too long.
A deadly plane crash permanently disfigured the face of crime boss Whitney Frost who hides her scars under the guise of Madame Masque
in her battles with Iron Man.
This is Hasbro's second Madame Masque figure, with the last one being hampered less by the fact it was a 2009 sculpt, and more by the fact it was a "swap" figure. Man that was a dumb idea! This one is wearing a different costume, which pegs her as being from a very specific era: The suit is still white and black, though it's a more complex pattern than the simple swimsuit cut she wore previously: in fact, the only time she ever wore this version of her costume, which is intended to look like a cross between tactical ops gear and lingerie, was in the opening arc of Invincible Iron Man, and by her next appearance she was back to the classic look. The last Madame Masque was a repaint of a SHIELD body, while this one is... a repaint of a SHIELD body. "The more things change," eh? To really be accurate the fingers should be black, not white, but this is a mostly good re-creation to what was seen in the book.
The former Giulietta Nefaria includes two heads. They're both wearing masks, but only one of them is doing it right. The first, with her hair blowing about quite a bit, has the traditional full-faced mask; the alternate, with the hair hanging down against the shoulders, is wearing the mask she paired with this outfit. Unfortunately, the paint designer seems to have misinterpreted the art. The mask has a gold filigree over the eyes,
like a masquerade mask, but the rest is painted the same color as her skin. The sculptor understood the assignment, because if you look under her chin you'll see the sculpted edge of the mask where it meets her jawline. Artist David Marquez's idea was that it was see-through, like one of those "clear" Halloween masks, but if that were really the case, we'd be able to see her scars through it - "glass over skin" worked out to be colored almost like porcelain or something in the book, and it was only the lighting in most scenes that made it look close to skintone. This head's mask really needed to be lighter, so it would have a distinct visual difference from her neck. Also, the socket on the "classic" head should really be set a little deeper in the head, so her neck doesn't look as long.
The figure has two pairs of hands:
one splayed, one ready to hold her gold pistols, and a new copy of Stilt-Man's fun accessory, a briefcase full of money. That's black this time and has the AIM logo on the front, and the money's printed details are quite nice! As long as they were making this figure look like the Invincible Iron Man design, they could have included a Wand of Watoomb (either mold) since trying to steal one from Doctor Doom is what kicked off the story.
Red Skull recruited mercenary Brock Rumlow,
a former gang leader and graduate of Taskmaster's school for criminals, renaming him Crossbones before pitting him against Captain America.
It's been several years since Hasbro released a Crossbones, with that one being him in his original "pirate luchador" costume, so now we're back to the more modern military look. The change from one style to the other was the work of Steve Epting, during the same run that introduced the Winter Soldier. The vest is a new mold, as are the legs, because they need to have kneepads and those big combat boots. The torso and arms come from Luke Cage, though it's not immediately recognizable since the vest can't be removed. He's got a utility belt with pouches, grenades, some bullets, and a sheath on the left side, and there's a holster strapped around his right leg.
The vest has a great sculpt, with different textures for the pockets and body and zippers. But there's a flaw with this design, and the toy dutifully
copies it. Quick question: what is this character's name? Is Brock Rumlow's supervillain identity "Skull Mask Man," or is it instead "Crossbones"? So why was he not designed with anything on his chest? I realize the idea was to make him a more "realistic" street-level villain, but this was the same arc where Red Skull's daughter started committing crimes in a bright red leather bustier, so why is this where the line had to be drawn? Give Crossbones crossed bones, you cowards! Win one for the movie. The pattern on his mask is a sculpted element, so don't expect this head to be reused as anyone else in the future.
His accessories include the square Cameron Bye pistols, and the machine gun that goes with them. The magazines on the guns are painted red, adding a little splash of color to an otherwise dark toy, and the knife he includes gets a silver blade and a black handle. Like Masque, he has two pairs of hands: one for holding his accessories, one balled into fists.
The set includes two muzzle flares
and two wisps of smoke that can plug into any of the included guns, whether boy-guns or girl-guns. And then something truly exciting, a small explosion! It's not the same one Uncanny Spider-Man came with, but it's the same style. This one is red and orange, and painted white on the inside so the details on the translucent plastic can be seen. Considering how violent both these characters are, it's a perfect thing to include.
Neither of the costumes in this set are my preferred versions for the characters, but a really good sale got me to buy in - amazing how two $20 figures being sold for actually $40 is more appealing than $50 or more! What a crazy idea! Crossbones really needed a version of this look that wasn't still using old ToyBiz molds, and the accessories included help Madame Masque feel extra cool.
-- 05/18/26
What lasted longer: this Madame Masque look, or wolverine's "Fang" costume? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
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