Marvel Universe – Wave 4 – Loose

Marvel Universe Wave 4
Marvel Universe Wave 4

Alright, now we’re talking! At the end of last week I posted pictures and my review of Marvel Universe Wave 3, and with this review of Wave 4, I’m starting to get caught up on the backlog of figures. Just in time for San Diego Comic-Con! Wave 4 includes Union Jack, Moon Knight, Red Hulk, Blade, and Hobgoblin.

Hasbro is really getting the most out of its existing sculpts, with each figure in this wave reusing one of its predecessors. That’s not to say that I don’t like what they’ve done with this wave. In fact with all but one of these figures, there are new elements which has improved its looks.

Union Jack

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Union Jack is based on the Daredevil / Bullseye base body. the paint on this figure is very crisp, with no bleed at all. Each of the added elements, the wrist and ankle straps, and the holster belt, are separate from their respective body parts. In Union Jack’s case, I was able to reposition the belt with the effect of elongating his torso, which corrects one of the criticisms I had with the predecessor body.

This figure shows one of the disadvantages of working in the 3 3/4 inch scale. With both the pistol and knife being removable, the holster for each of those items is quite large. That’s the biggest criticism I have for this figure.

Some might find him a bit short, but that’s a fault of the Daredevil body.

Moon Knight

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Moon Knight is also based on the Daredevil body. In his case, however, the belt seemed to be glued on. So while I was not able to “lengthen” his torso, the cape manages to do just that. Moon Knight comes with two accessories – a staff and a throwing crescent. The staff is quite stiff, so I don’t expect there to be any warping problems like I’ve experienced with other figures staffs. The throwing crescent is small and flexible, and will be easily lost.

At one point when I was posing him, the Crescent fell out of his hand and into the carpet – it wasn’t easy to find. While I don’t begrudge the inclusion of accessories, perhaps Daredevil’s nunchucks would have been a better choice.

Red Hulk

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Surprise, this Hulk is based on the two other Hulks that have already appeared in this line. While I like the overall look of the figure, it has the same deficiencies as its predecessors, namely, a horribly articulated lower body, and a cut joint instead of a ball jointed neck.

However, I do particularly like the head sculpt, and finally, we have a Hulk with two fists for smashing. Bravo!

Blade

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Blade is based on the Punisher body that I wish they would really retire already. But each time they’ve released a figure based on this body, it’s gotten better. In Blade’s case, the addition of his coat obscures a lot of the problems with the base figure. His coat also has a very cool feature, just like his 6 inch movie counterpart. It has a slot where you can insert his sword.

He comes with free accessories – his sword, a gun, and his throwing thing. His throwing thing is another accessory that I imagine I will lose pretty soon.

I never thought that would be saying this about a figure based on the Punisher body, but this may be my favorite figure of the wave. It’s pretty close between him and Union Jack.

Hobgoblin

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Aside from his face, Hobgoblin is a repaint of the Green Goblin figure. I continue to be a fan of that body. I am not sure because I’ll have to take a look at the Green Goblin, but I believe even the back portion of his head is a reuse, and that the face is just a plate that they’ve replaced.

It’s the face where I have the main complaint. Its bulbous and misshapen, not at all like the gaunt drawing that Frank Cho provided on the card art. It’s a tossup between Hobgoblin and Red Hulk for my least favorite figure of the wave, but since Hulk has a good head sculpt and fists, I’m going to have to go with Hobgoblin.

That wraps up my look at Marvel Universe Wave 4. Coming soon, I’ll take some comparison pics of waves 3 and 4 with their predecessors in Super Hero Showdown and even Marvel legends. Stay tuned!