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Defenders of justice, these heroes suit up to protect humanity - and the world!
We start this review with the weakest figure and the biggest missed opportunity, Vision. This is the third Vision figure
we've gotten in less than a year (as long as you count that Target exclusive that barely showed up), making it pretty unnecessary to begin with. Add to that the fact that he's in his rather startlingly over-designed Uncanny Avengers costume, and you're all set up for a less-than-thrilling release.
Like the previous releases, this Vision uses the Marvel Legends small body, because as a synthetic being, he wouldn't gain or lose weight (except when he does his density manipulation thing, at which point he is literally gaining or losing weight). He has the classic colors - green, yellow, and red - but there are so many different blocks of color all over the figure that he just looks like a total mess. A good design should be clean and simple, not look like a broken jpeg.
He does get two new pieces to set him apart from the other figures: his cape, with its tall, rounded collar, and his head. Why do an all-new, all-different head? Well the gem on his forehead is a diamond rather than a simple round bump now, and his ears are beneath rounded cups. Man, both exclusive Visions get better heads than the mass release! Poor guy.
Enough of the bad, let's move to the good. When Steve Rogers lost the Super Soldier Serum, the world needed a new Captain America.
And apparently Bucky was busy, so this time the job fell to his other friend, Sam Wilson. At this rate, by 2057 everybody in the Marvel Universe will have had a turn at being Captain America.
Sam's Cap costume is a nice mix of the classic look and the "Commander of SHIELD" uniform. From the chest down, it looks very much like the standard Captain America get-up: blue shirt and pants, red boots and gloves, white elbows, and red and white stripes on the abdomen. The mask and shoulders are white, and there are horizontal stripes across the chest, spreading out from the star on the center of his chest. He has silver kneepads, a grey utility belt with an angular silver buckle, and metal straps over his shoulders - normally those would be the harness for his wings, but Hasbro didn't see fit to actually include any wings for him to wear. How do you not include those? He's got the shield, but that still leaves him only half-equipped.
Most of the figure is made from the Marvel NOW! Captain America toy - the only new parts are the belt, upper torso, shoulders, and the head. His mask is similar to his Falcon costume, leaving the top of his head exposed. If ever a Captain America should have wings on his mask, it'd be Sam, and yet nothing. He does wear some red goggles, though.
Kate Bishop was a member of the Young Avengers - actually, she was originally a civilian they were rescuing, but she had
enough training and skills to take care of herself. She initially wore an outfit cobbled together from various Avengers' gear (including Hawkeye and Mockingbird, leading to the unofficial nickname "Hawkingbird"), but since Clint Barton was dead at the time, she became the only Hawkeye. (And when he came back, it was as Ronin, so he was fine with her using the name.)
This particular costume, which looks more like a fashionable jumpsuit than a superhero's costume, makes sense for a rich socialite. Kate comes from money, so she was probably wearing Janet Van Dyne designs way before getting into superheroics. The outfit is flat purple, the traditional Hawkeye color, though it leaves the right arm bare (the left, presumably, being covered for protection). There's a circular cutout on her left shoulder, and one on each hip that makes it clear she can't be wearing any underwear. Commando Katie! She uses the small female body, probably because the teen one would have been too small, but she gets a new chest and shins.
Her head is entirely new. She doesn't wear a mask, just dark glasses, and her black hair is held back by a purple headband. Seriously, someone could cosplay this outfit and not look at all out of place walking down the street or going to brunch. This is the costume Kate wore while Clint was going all civvie, so the figures will make a nice pair.
Kate comes with the same bow we've been getting since movie Hawkeye, painted a nice combo of black and silver. Her left hand is designed to grip it, while the right is one of the gesturing hands, to make it look like she's just released the string. She has a new belt, and a new quiver that plugs into it. The quiver has a slot where loose arrows could fit, but none are included. What we really need is a 6"-scale retriever toy that could stand in for Pizza Dog; hey, if Marvel Select could make one, so could Marvel Legends!
This is, if nothing else, a pleasingly colorful set. You've got purple Hawkeye, red-white-and-blue Captain America,
and green-and-red Vision, which makes for a nice chromatic lineup. But man, I still just cannot come around to enjoying this Vision. He's an eyesore, and there was a better choice for inclusion. Think about it: they have Sam Wilson and Kate Bishop, so if they'd thrown in the Amadeus Cho "Totally Awesome" Hulk or Hank Pym Wasp instead, this set could have been made up of all legacy heroes!
-- 08/22/16
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