Marvel Heroics

So I just reviewed the DC Heroics one by one and now it's time to do the same thing for all the Marvel Heroics.

Because of the angle at which the Cap is standing, this is by far the least stable figure in the entire Heroics line. Even so, Captain America looks great on my display shelf. More than almost any other character in the series he looks like he's in the thick of some serious world-saving action. The most important part of the figure, the shield, is very nicely painted. Some of the details on the figure aren't quite as well-painted (the stripes on his torso vary in thickness and straightness), but that's pretty nit-picky. This is a great figure and I don't want to knock it too much. Grade: A

The Hulk figures are some of the best in the Heroics line because their large surface area allows for plenty of detailing in the muscles. They only take two colors to paint (three if you count the little dab of white for the teeth), so they're pretty uniform from figure to figure. I also love the fact that the Hulk is almost too big for his base. The arms are a little too big and it looks like he'd be a real knuckle dragger if he ever ut them down, but I just noticed that as I was writing this review, so I can't let that take too many points away. I love these Hulk figures and I collected a zillion of them in trying to get the chase figure. Grade: A

The Red Hulk, or Rulk if you're into calling him that, is one of three chase figures in the Marvel Heroics line (the third being the now-discontinued and somewhat rare Black Spider-Man). As with the other chase figures, this is just the non-chase Hulk with a red paint job. He actually looks a lot different in red, so I don't mind the fact that he uses the same pose as the other Hulk. Grade: A

I'm not sure which version of the Iron Man armor this is supposed to be, but I'm guess it's the MK V as seen on this site. I'm perfectly fine with Iron Man having little power pods on his hips, but something about the way they're executed on this figure makes him look like he's got birthing hips. Maybe I'm just crazy. I generally dig this figure, but I'm always a little put off by the femininity of the hips. Grade: B+

This is one of three (four if you count the discontinued one) Spider-Man figures in the Marvel Heroics line. This is a classic Spidey pose and he's even starting to shoot some web with his left hand. It has a nice paint job and some very fine detailing (the spider web pattern on his suit is molded into the plastic itself). You really can't do much better with a 1" Spider-Man. Grade: A+

 This is the second Spider-Man figure in the series, and it's just slightly less interesting than the first. The detailing and paint job are just as nice as they are on the first figure, but I prefer the pose of the first figure to this one. Even so, this figure still deserves high marks. Grade: A

 This was actually the first Heroics figure I ever opened, and I thought it was a mistake. I figured they forgot the paint, but it wasn't until later that I found out that this is one of the chase figures and the replacement for the now-rare and discontinued black Spider-Man. It seems really lazy to just not paint a figure and call it a chase figure, but I guess that's what they wanted to do. Even though it's lazy, I still love seeing this clear guy in my collection because it just seems like a cool thing to have. It looks way different than all my other figures, so there's something to be said for that. Grade: A

I like this Thor figure because, unlike the Thor in the recent movies, he wears the winged helmet, which is a nice part of the Thor costume. With Mjölnir held aloft and the wind sweeping his cape to the side, this Thor looks like he means business. I love every little detail on this figure as well as the action it implies. Grade: A+

Everybody's favorite mutant makes a very nice 1" figure. Yes, it would absolutely be too much to ask for a little separation between the claws given the size of this figure, so I won't knock it there. The colors are exactly right, and the figure stands in a nice pose, although it is slightly less nice than the one I'll review next. This is a solid figure and well deserving of...Grade: A

The last figure in this series is Wolverine in an attack pose, which I happen to like. The figure in the picture (I just grabbed the first one off the shelf) doesn't have the same crisp paint job as the others in my collection. At any rate, the attack Wolverine has the same nice coloring as the standing Wolverine (the picture just looks darker because I'm a lousy photographer). The attack pose puts him over the top. Grade: A+






So that's every figure in the Marvel Heroics line. Word has it that certain toy stores that don't exist in my home state have already started shipping out special Avengers Heroics. I'll probably have to hit ebay to make my collection complete. At any rate, I give the Marvel Heroics a slight edge over the DC Heroics in design, coloring, and overall quality. It's still pretty close, but I think the Marvel Heroics are just a tad bit better. If pressed, I would admit that I tend to be a bit of a Marvel fanboy, so my judgement may not be a pure reflection of truth. Here's the overall rating for the Marvel series: