The summer has barely taken hold and already
theaters are being bombarded with movies. So far we have had Aliens, Pirates of the Caribbean, Bay Watch and, of course, Guardians of the Galaxy. When the first Guardians movie premiered it was surprise hit. Even I didn’t even think it was going to be good (not that my opinion counts) but it was amazing. Guardians of the Galaxy was a cross between a superhero movie and a Star Wars installment. Personally, I think that is why it was a success.
After what seemed like an eternity Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hit theaters and although not as good as the first it is still a carnival ride you don’t ever want to stop. The movie isn’t the only thing just arrived, there is also the merchandising. We can blame the great George Lucas for being the first to go over the top with tie-in products. Personally I like the toy tie-ins. I don’t need Star Wars bed sheets or Groot’s Herb Terrarium but I do need cosplay merchandise as well as toys. I specifically enjoy action figures.
In the last few years Hasbro has really upped their game with their six inch figures. The Star Wars Black series 6-inch line is incredible but I really like the 6-inch Marvel Legends line. These well-made figures don’t just look good they are fully poseable and they have a ton of playability. The Marvel Legends is the overall category for the 6-inch figures and within the Legends group there are sub-groups. You have the Fantastic 4 line, the Spider-Man line and of course, the Captain America line.
This time around we are reviewing the Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy 6-inch Series Wave 1. This wave includes
· Star-Lord
· Drax
· Yondu
· Dark Star
· Vance Astro
· Marvel’s Angela
You may be having questions about the last name on the list just as I did. Well, after some research things were explained and I will get to them when it is Angela’s turn.
Let us start with the leader of the Guardians, Peter Jason Quill aka Star-Lord. Quill was abducted from Earth on the night his mother passed away never (as of yet) to return again. This reluctant hero is the heart of the Guardians team (we all know he isn’t the brains) and is easy for me to relate to since he was born on Earth and filled with useless trivia.
The Star-Lord figure is approximately 6inches tall and has multiple points of articulation.
· Head (ball joint and hinge)
· Shoulders
· Biceps
· Chest
· Double Elbow joint
· Wrist (ball joint and hinge)
· Waist
· Hips
· Upper Thighs
· Double Knee joints
· Calf
· Ankles (hinge and ball joint)
The Marvel Legends Star-lord figure comes with Quill’s signature blaster and an extra head. The heads are either helmeted or sans helmet. Swapping out heads is a quick procedure. He is a great figure.
Next up from the Marvel Selects Guardians of the Galaxy Wave 1 is everyone’s favorite Ravager, Yondu. Originally Yondu was paid to retrieve the boy (Quill) from Earth and bring him to his father. Fortunately, Yondu took a liking to the boy and never handed him over. Instead Yondu took Peter under his wing and taught him the tricks of the Ravagers trade. Though Yondu wouldn’t admit it (until the end), his feelings for the young Earthling were paternal.
Yondu’s weapon of choice is his Yaka Arrow. Yondu has the ability to control the arrow with nothing more than the electronics in his head fin and his whistle. The Yaka Arrow is a powerful weapon as witnessed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1 but Yondu seems to use it mostly during interrogations. Having a whistle controlled arrow pointing at your forehead is excellent incentive.
The Yondu figure measures approximately 6 inches tall and comes with an extra head which is easy to change. Basically your mood can determine which head to use? Do I want a big fin today or the little one? It is nice to know there are choices. Just like other figures in the Marvel Legends line, Yondu has multiple points of articulation. They are:
· Head (hinge and ball joint)
· Shoulders
· Biceps
· Double Elbows
· Wrists
· Chest
· Waist
· Hips
· Thighs
· Double Knee
· Ankle (hinge and ball joint)
The Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Yondu does not come with tons of accessories. He just has his trusty Yaka Arrow by his side. Since this release is part of the Build-A-Figure assortment certain figures come with parts. This time around the Build-A-Figure is a character called Titus. The part which is packaged with Yondu is Titus’s right arm.
Next up in this assortment is a man who doesn’t let anything go over his head. I am of course talking about Drax the Destroyer. Drax is motivated by his need for vengence after seeing his wife and daughter murdered before his eyes. When we first meet his character in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, Drax just wanted to kill Ronan the Accuser even if he dies in the process. Drax feels since he has nothing to live for and his family awaits him on the other side he is willing to die to get revenge.
It is after Ronan’s death that Drax found out Ronan was working for Thanos all along to which Drax declares he will kill Thanos. (With Infinity War coming up Drax will have to wait in line to fight Thanos.) When we see Drax again, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 it seems that he has embraced his place with the Guardians.
Drax like the other figures in this assortment is highly poseable. Here is the breakdown:
· Head (hinge and ball joint)
· Shoulders
· Biceps
· Double Elbows
· Wrists
· Chest
· Waist
· Hips
· Thighs
· Double Knee
· Ankle (hinge and ball joint)
Frankly with the way his arms bend, get this man a Haydron Enforcer I am sure he could handle the weapon. Speaking of weapons, Drax comes with 2 knives which fit into sheaths that are molded to his boots. The knives fit snugly so they do not fall out which means less of a chance of losing them. Drax also comes with some sort of shoulder mounted missile or maybe an RPG (rocket propelled grenade). Regardless of what it is the weapon seems perfect for Drax.
This Drax figure from the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 appears to be somewhat of a repaint of the Drax figure released for the first movie. I don’t have another figure to do a side by side comparison but there are photos on the internet which led me to this conclusion. First off, the trousers he wears are almost identical to the first release except for the color, burgundy in 2014 and now blue. The other notable difference is that in 2014 the Drax figure had a very stoic look on his face and now he looks like he is letting out a battle cry. I think this head sculpt captures his anger but do wish it would have come with a second head for those quiet times.
Drax stands approximately 6 inches tall. He also comes with the left arm for the build-a-figure, Titus.
We have now reached some of the lesser known/obscure (for me that is) characters in the Marvel Universe. The other figures in this assortment were not in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 although it would have been cool to see Nova on the big screen. In the comics Nova did meet the Guardians who were the ones who told him about his parentage. Since we have already started discussing Nova let us begin with him.
The current Nova is a15 year old boy from Queens, New York named Samual Alexander. Sam picks up the mantle of Nova after he finds out his missing father was also in the Nova Corps. Since the character is supposed to be a teenage boy the Nova figure is only approximately 5 inches tall unlike some of the other Avengers.
The Nova figure is dressed in his costume from the comics and sadly his helmet is not removable. It would have been cool to see the face behind the mask. Nova also does not have a set of hands to switch. It would have been great to be able to have Nova hold a weapon. The clinched fists are good only good in a few situations for example: They are great when flying since clinched fists reduce drag, they are great for knocking on doors and last a clinched fist is great for punching someone in the face.
As for poseability the number of pose points is about the same from the other figures in the assortment. The points of articulation are:
· Head (ball joint and hinge)
· Shoulders
· Biceps
· Chest
· Double Elbow joint
· Wrist (ball joint and hinge)
· Waist
· Hips
· Upper Thighs
· Double Knee joints
· Calf
· Ankles (hinge and ball joint)
As I mentioned the Nova figure doesn’t have any more points than any of the others but this one seems to pose better. You can almost recreate the statue of “The Thinker” by Rodin. It could be the figure’s body type that makes it seem more poseable but who knows.
The build-a-figure part included with Nova is Titus’ torso.
The next figure from the assortment is another figure I am not all that familiar with, Vance Astro. I guess in my research for this character what shocked me most was that Vance Astro was a founding member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Vance Astro was the youngest man to be chosen to be an astronaut on Earth’s first deep space attempt. While in cryo-sleep Vance developed psychokinetic abilities. After his 1000 year trip to Alpha Centauri he had mastered his mutation. In the future Vance went on a quest to find Captain America’s missing shield which he eventually did.
The rest of Astro’s origin story deals with mild insanity and time travel. It sounds more soap opera than superhero but I guess some heroes have to have more complex origins than just being bit by a radioactive squirrel or whatever.
Like the other figures in this assortment, Vance Astro has a plethora of poseable points. These are:
· Head (ball joint and hinge)
· Shoulders
· Biceps
· Chest
· Double Elbow joint
· Wrist (ball joint and hinge)
· Waist
· Hips
· Upper Thighs
· Double Knee joints
· Calf
· Ankles (hinge and ball joint)
Vance Astro does not come with any weapons but he does come with Captain America’s shield. The shield can either be clipped to his arm or carried on his back. There is a peg on the shield that fits into the hole between Vance’s shoulders. I do like that feature.
The build-a-figure part included with Vance Astro is Titus’ left leg.
Next up for the assortment review is Darkhawk. Yet another kid from Queens becomes a superhero origin story. Half of my graduating class in Queens became superheroes. Seriously, teenager Christopher Powell found an alien amulet that gave him the powers of Darkhawk. He vowed to use the powers bestowed upon him to fight crime. In the comic books Darkhawk fights alongside many of the big names such as Spider-Man and Captain America.
The Darkhawk figure is a bit different than the others in this assortment since he has sliver wings that are a part of his arms. He does have the same high level of poseability that the other figures had. Since he has very poseable arms the shoulder pads on his costume move to keep you from being limited as to how you can pose his arms. The points of articulation on this figure are:
· Head (ball joint and hinge)
· Shoulders
· Biceps
· Chest
· Double Elbow joint
· Wrist (ball joint and hinge)
· Waist
· Hips
· Upper Thighs
· Double Knee joints
· Calf
· Ankles (hinge and ball joint)
The Darkhawk figure is impressive. I can see myself sitting here posing him for hours in different flying positions.
The build-a-figure part included with Darkhawk is Titus’ head.
The last figure in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Wave 1 Assortment is Angela. Angela was originally created by the great Neil Gaiman and was part of the Spawn Universe. That in itself is a long story and doesn’t need to be discussed here.
According to the Marvel history for Angela, she is the lost sister of the God of Thunder, Thor. Looking at her you can believe she is an Asgardian. Not surprising since all of the figures in this assortment have a connection; Angela was briefly a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Angela stands approximately 6.5 inches tall.
Angela comes with a broadsword and 2 battle-axes. She does have a sheath for the sword on her belt but nothing to carry the axes. She is a very well sculpted figure and would be great just sitting on a shelf as a statue. You don’t need to make her a statue though since she does have multiple points of articulation. Angela points of articulation are:
· Head (ball joint and hinge)
· Shoulders
· Chest
· Elbow
· Wrist (ball joint and hinge)
· Hips
· Upper Thighs
· Double Knee joints
· Ankles (hinge and ball joint)
Angela does have a few less points articulation than some of her counterparts but she still looks great. I think that Angela makes a good addition to Thor’s family.
The build-a-figure part that comes with Angela is Titus’ right leg.
The final figure that we need to review in the Guardians of the Galaxy set is the build-a-figure of Titus. Titus is a former member of the Nova Corps. and served with Sam Alexander’s father. Titus was wounded in battle and captured by the Chitauri. Titus blames Jesse Alexander (Sam’s father) for his capture. Titus vowed that if he ever came across Jesse Alexander again he would get his revenge.
The figure of Titus comes in 6 parts spread throughout the Guardians of the Galaxy line. The figure stands approximately 8 inches tall. The points of articulation for this figure are:
· Head (ball joint and hinge)
· Shoulders
· Chest
· Elbow
· Wrist (ball joint and hinge)
· Hips
· Upper Thighs
· Double Knee joints
· Ankles (hinge and ball joint)
Titus is the largest figure in the assortment. The only real problem I have with this figure is the gun arm (yes one of his arms is a gun) is a bit heavy and it can make posing a bit of an issue. It isn’t too much of an issue, it just means you need take balance into account when posing him.
The bottom line for this assortment is I really like the figures. This level of poseability means hours of play for me. The more dynamic poses you can put the figures into the more you want to play with them.
The complete set of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 Wave 1 can be ordered from Entertainment Earth here. Ordering the complete set means you don’t have to drive from store to store to complete you collection. You get 8 figures for $159.99 which makes them about 20 bucks a piece with free shipping. What a deal!!! Pick up yours today and get ready for Wave 2 arriving in July. You know you need these, don’t kid yourself!!!
