Marvel Legends 2-Packs – Ninjas vs. Super Spies – Hand Ninja and Nick Fury

Marvel Legends 2-Packs - Ninjas vs. Super Spies - Hand Ninja and Nick Fury
Marvel Legends 2-Packs - Ninjas vs. Super Spies - Hand Ninja and Nick Fury

This is the second of three reviews I’ll be doing for the second wave of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends 2-packs.  I reviewed the SHIELD Leaders 2-Pack with Maria Hill and Iron Man yesterday, and thought that Maria Hill is a continuation of the good female figures that started with Shanna the She-Devil and Elektra, and that Iron Man is arguably the best one we’ve gotten in the 6-inch scale.

Today, I’ll be reviewing Ninjas vs. Super Spies, which pits a red Hand Ninja against former head of SHIELD, Nick Fury. I received a set of 2-packs as part of the Marvel Universe Covers Contest, and while I couldn’t open that set, I did take some packaged pictures. Here they are again, to refresh your memory.

Ninjas vs. Super Spies.JPGNinjas vs. Super Spies - back.JPGNinjas vs. Super Spies - Hand Ninja.JPGNinjas vs. Super Spies - Nick Fury.JPGNinjas vs. Super Spies - SHIELD Agent.JPG

Here were my thoughts at the time: Marvel Legends 2-Packs Wave 2 – packaged

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Marvel Legends 2-Packs – SHIELD Leaders – Maria Hill and Iron Man

Marvel Legends 2-Pack - SHIELD Leaders - Maria Hill and Iron Man
Marvel Legends 2-Pack - SHIELD Leaders - Maria Hill and Iron Man

It was a little over a year ago, at San Diego Comic-Con, and I had been floored by the Hasbro Marvel team.  Let’s face it, since Hasbro took over the Marvel license, they had some hits and some misses (some would argue more of the latter), and had just started hitting their stride.  They had just released a Build-a-Figure Fin Fang Foom (wow!) and the their newest 2-packs were reminiscent of the Marvel Legends of old.

And then, the void.  The retail channel was bogged down in older Legends products, and new product kept getting pushed back.

But the day has come, Marvel Legends fans!  The newest wave of Marvel Legends 2-packs are hitting retail shelves, and I’ll be reviewing them over the next couple of days.  First up, the SHIELD Leaders 2-pack, featuring the former top cheese at SHIELD, Maria Hill, and the guy who replaced her in the top spot, Iron Man.

I have had a set of these in my grubby hands for a few weeks, but those were due to go out to the winner of the Marvel Universe Covers Contest, so I first took some shots of the packaged figures.  To whet your appetites, here they are.

SHIELD Leaders.JPGSHIELD Leaders - back.JPGSHIELD Leaders - Maria Hill.JPGSHIELD Leaders - Sharon Carter.JPGSHIELD Leaders - Tony Stark.JPGSHIELD Leaders - Iron Man.JPG

Here were my thoughts at the time: Marvel Legends 2-Packs Wave 2 – packaged

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Two Exclusive X-Men Minimates Sets from Action Figure Express

This winter, Action Figure Express will have two exclusive X-Men Minimates sets, the Silver Age X-Men in their matching blue and gold suits, and the original X-Factor which reunited that team in their costumes with large colored X across the front.  Well, kind of.  The sets as planned contain four X-Men each, while the teams each had five.

The four members in the 4-packs are Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, and Beast.  The odd man out is Angel.  Don’t fret, though.  An Angel for both teams will be released in the standard 2-pack format.  Not together, though.  Silver Age Angel is in an AFX 2-pack with a modern Madrox the Multiple Man – which could be unfortunate since people may want to army build with Madrox.  And X-Factor Angel will be part of a Toys R Us 2-pack with Warpath.

I think this is an odd arrangement – if you’re going to release a packaged set of a team, why release one of the key members separately?  … Oh no – if I start chanting “No Monkey, No Money!” just talk me down gently.

X-Men Minimates Go Retro With AFX!

It’s been an extremely exciting year for Marvel Minimates so far, and 2009 is going to keep delivering more of your favorite Marvel characters – focusing on Marvel’s Mighty Mutants! Two new exclusive box sets will be hitting collections later this year starring none other than the X-Men!

First up from Action Figure Xpress is the much-requested Silver Age X-Men box set featuring the original five members of the team in their first appearance duds. Featuring Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman and Beast – Minimate-aholics will be able to complete their set of founding X-Men with the Silver Age Angel available in Series 31 (due for release in December of ’09). Please take note that the Silver Age Angel will NO LONGER be the chase figure in this assortment, giving fans much improved odds on completing their Silver Age X-Men team. The Silver Age X-Men box set is now available for pre-order on ShopAFX.com and will also be shipping to customers in the end of this year.

As if one team of classic X-Men with interchangeable heads and accessories wasn’t enough, a second box set featuring the team’s landmark X-Factor outfits is also in the works from Action Figure Xpress! Featuring new versions of Beast, Cyclops, Iceman and Jean Grey – fans will again be able to complete their five-member team by visiting Toys R Us and picking up the X-Factor Angel & Warpath two-pack this fall. The four-pack X-Factor set can be pre-ordered from ShopAFX.com and will be available concurrently to the Silver Age X-Men set.

For our complete offering of Silver Age X-Men characters, look for a new visual checklist on Minimates.com in the coming days and be sure to stay tuned as more and more of Marvel’s Mighty Mutants make Marvel Minimates history – two inches at a time!

via Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles.

Marvel Universe Covers Contest – the Winners

It’s time for us to announce the winners of the Marvel Universe Covers Contest, brought to you by the Hasbro Marvel team and the guys who run ActionFigurePics.com and TheFwoosh.com.  We had a very tough time picking just three winners, because all the covers entered this year were really great.  So we’ll be adding three more prize winners for honorable mentions – but don’t get your hopes up guys, because your prizes will be coming from AFP’s Free Stuff stash.

Without further ado, here are your winners!

First Prize: Calbretto - Irredeemable Ant-Man #1
First Prize: Calbretto - Irredeemable Ant-Man #1

Calbretto blew us away with his composition of Robert Kirkman’s first issue of The Irredeemable Ant-Man.  Ant-Man is known for his exaggerations, so while we can’t find 23 villains in the cover, we really enjoyed seeing so many Marvel baddies from Hasbro, Toy Biz, and Diamond Select being crushed by Calbretto’s custom Eric O’Grady Ant-Man.

He’ll be receiving a prize pack consisting of all three Hasbro / Marvel Comic Con Exclusives (the 70th Anniversary Invaders 4-pack, the single-carded gray scale Captain America, and the Wolverine Mighty Mugg) plus the new wave of Marvel Legends 2-packs.  Congrats!

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Marvel Universe Toys R Us Exclusive 3-Pack – Soldiers and Henchmen

Before I get started, welcome to the folks who are joining us through our DC Universe Gleek giveaway.  Thank you for stopping in!

Marvel Universe Toys R Us Exclusive 3-Pack - Soldiers and Henchmen - SHIELD Agent, Hand Ninja, and Agent of HYDRA
Marvel Universe Toys R Us Exclusive 3-Pack - Soldiers and Henchmen - SHIELD Agent, Hand Ninja, and Agent of Hydra

I’m breathing a sigh of relief – this is the last in a long slate of Marvel Universe reviews that I’ve been putting up since coming back from San Diego Comic-Con.  It’s not that I don’t like Marvel Universe – in fact, I’m pretty excited with what Hasbro has been able to achieve in the 3.75-inch scale – it felt like an avalanche of new MU stuff found its way into my hands, and I still have a bunch of SDCC figures to get up on the site.

But enough of my whining (tough life, right?) – let me get back to the Soldiers and Henchmen 3-pack that’s exclusive to Toys R Us.  Soldiers and Henchmen comes with a white-decoed Hand Ninja, a SHIELD agent, and an Agent of Hydra.

This is the second 3-pack I’m reviewing, with Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends being the first.  There’s a third 3-pack, which comes with a first appearance Daredevil, a stealth armor Iron Man (based on the excellent classic Iron Man from wave 3), and a Silver Surfer with a new paint deco.  Instead of picking it up, I was a good army builder and picked up a second Soldiers 3-pack.

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