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In April of 2008, Hasbro showed off several new Marvel Legends two-packs. The first series came out four months later, in August. Here we are exactly one year later, and the second series has finally shown up.
For thousands of years, the Kree and Skrulls have been locked in combat with one another. The vast resources of entire galaxies are devoted to the conflict, with the super science of both races focusing almost entirely on the continuing advancement of military technologies. Eventually, the science of both races resulted in champions - super powered soldiers whose might is the equal of the most powerful dreadnoughts in either fleet. The cosmic-powered Captain Marvel leads the Kree armies into battle, while the Skrulls develop the Super Skrull program, which yields phenomenally powerful soldiers with many of the powers bestowed upon Earth's Fantastic Four.
The Skrull in this set is a repaint of the Fantastic Four Classics Super-Skrull, but since only about six people ever found one of those,
that's a fine choice. Remember, FF Classics came out during ToyBiz's mad dash to the finish line, so distribution and availability weren't high on the priorities list. The Super-Skrull and his two variants went for quite a bit of scratch on the secondary market, so let's have a round of applause for Hasbro finding a way to get this one back out for the fans.
The back of the card says the average Skrull is 6' tall, but this guy obviously breaks the mold, because the toy stands more than 7" tall. Gigantic! He moves at the toes, ankles, boots, knees, hips, waist, torso, head and shoulders. The Big Five points are balljoints, and the ankles are those combination things that move back and forth and side to side. The costume is sculpted well, even if there's not much to it. A slight texture runs over his whole body, and the shoulder flares jut up majestically. They did a really good job on his face - a Skrull's defining feature is his large, rippled chin, but it's not like the rest of the guy looks human, either.
It used to be that there was only one Super-Skrull -
his name was Kl'rt, and he was unique. But during Secret Invasion, we met entires armies filled with Super Skrulls, each with combo platter powers lifted from Marvel's best. This one is apparently still aping the FF, judging by his interchangeable arms - stretchy, rocky, and on fire. Although, rather than orange stone and red flame, these are grey and blue. Maybe he's got the powers of Anaconda, the Awesome Android and Ghost Rider. Kind of an esoteric combination, but it wouldn't be the strangest we ever saw.
The previous Super-Skrull was in the traditional purple and blue costume, while this version (the Stupendous Skrull?) is wearing the more recent, darker uniform: it's a darker purple, closer to blue than red, and it's accented with black. Just one more way this figure is set apart from the old version. I do wish they were at least a bit closer, so the entire species could integrate well.
The Kree in this set may be a generic soldier, or maybe something more. See, although we think of Captain Marvel as looking like this,
that was actually his second costume. In his original adventures, he just kicked around in his Kree Imperial Militia uniform, the same sort this figure is wearing. Kree uniforms are all the same general design, with different colors setting individuals apart - Marv's costume, like this one, used green.
The figure is built on Hasbro's variant of the Bullseye body, which means he has balljointed wrists and ankles, as well as the pointlessly oversized loins they've all shared since Quicksilver. Honestly, it's like Poe said - it looks like it comes from another figure. Why haven't they fixed that yet? It's shameful. The figure would stand an even 6" tall, but the crest on his helmet adds an extra ⅛" on top of that. The forearms and shins are new sculpts, unexpectedly, because the boots and gloves are raised elements. Bonus! His shoulders are covered by a separate piece, and there's a ringed planet painted on his chest.
We told you before about the difference between blue- and pink-skinned Kree, and of course, Mar-Vell was pink. The set includes a variant head, though, done in blue. It's the same sculpt, just with a different paint app for the jaw and ears. The eyes on both are silver. Lest you think that switching heads will guarantee you a generic Kree soldier, remember Captain Atlas, who wore the same costume that Captain Marvel had given up, but was a blue Kree instead of pink.
Whatever you want this guy to be - Captain Marvel, Captain Atlas, or a complete nobody - he has an accessory. There's a green rubber belt with a functioning holster, and a gray gun that slips out of it. The gun hangs off his right hip, while only the left hand is molded to hold the gun. Now that's good planning! The holster is nice, it's just not thought out at all.
Standing next to the gigantic Skrull, the Kree looks undersized, but put them both in battle poses, and that won't be a problem. This set will appeal to many folks. Want an old-school Captain Marvel, to contrast with his ML15 version? Get this set. Want a first-ever Captain Atlas figure to fight your Avengers? Get this set. Want some outer space army-builders? Get fifteen of this set. It's been a longass time since we've seen any real Marvel Legends, and this set is a nice way to come back in. Welcome back, ML - we've missed you.
-- 08/24/09
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