Points of Articulation
Marvel Legends Upgrades
Throw your mind back, back, way back to the distant days of 2007, when Hasbro got the Marvel license from ToyBiz in a five-year deal. At the time fans were worried about what that meant for the future of Marvel Legends, but we learned soon enough that the line would continue (mostly) unabated. And so it did, for a few years.
Eventually Hasbro switched its focus from the 6" scale figure to the 4" scale Marvel Universe, so between 2009 and 2012, all we got for 6" figures were a few store-exclusive multipacks. But then Legends came back and we've been rolling deep ever since.
However, there was a distinct jump in quality between those early figures (especially once Hasbro ran out of ToyBiz sculpts to use and had to start making their own) and in recent years, a lot of releases seem to be "redos" of those early releases. So we decided to make a checklist of all the first Hasbro Legends, and whether or not there's a better version available yet.
Some of the figures, even after the return, were still a little rough and could use improved versions, but that's where we're splitting it for now. And there are a few that might belong in the "maybe" pile if you're feeling very forgiving - does the Iron Man Mark 47 armor count as Ultimate Iron Man? is Ragnarok Gladiator Hulk a replacement for "Planet Hulk" Gladiator Hulk? - but we know there are fans who are sticklers for that sort of thing, so we didn't count them.
So, by our count, that's 136 figures from the first Hasbro go-round, and there are 44 of them that have yet to see any sort of update - so about a third. And most of those come from movie lines, so don't expect them to be redone any time soon. Many others come from the very start of Hasbro's line, which is surprising since they're the ones who need it most! Ares got an *asterisk because his "update" was the same mold with minor paint changes.
The big winners, though, are the Target-exclusive series and the first and last two-packs, because they're the only ones to have seen all their characters get at least some kind of update. And the orginal Spider-Man Origins line is the only one to have its noteable characters all get modern toys in the same costumes.
So there you go, Hasbro: your mission, in addition to continuing to put out new characters, is to keep plugging away until you've removed all the red and yellow from this list.
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