Figure 8 – Marvel Legends: The Return
The PoP! Stars give their take on the latest and greatest in Action Figures and Toy Lines in eight (succinct) parts.
This Week: Marvel Legends: The Return!
When a 2012 return of the much-loved and sorely-missed Marvel Legends line from Hasbro was announced at Comic Con International 2010 (with little to no fanfare), many of us on the PoP! Staff felt like Liv Tyler to the Legends’ Ben Affleck at the finale of Armageddon. What was once a pipe dream, a hope among hopes, will soon become a reality, and Marvel collectors will once again be able to add new items to their 6-inch scale Legends shelves on (hopefully) a regular basis.
So, this begs the question: What should be the first assortment when Legends return? Mr. Jason Kerouac, following the demise of the ongoing Legends line in favor of the inferior Marvel Universe series, put together a similar Figure 8 looking back on the Legends that never came to pass. While his list rings true, and hopefully all of those choices eventually make it into the Legends scale, it included full teams such as The Wrecking Crew, Runaways, and Thunderbolts. I’ve put together a solid list of A-Listers, characters never before seen as Legends, and characters that simply need a redo thanks to prior releases that would bring Legends back with a bang, and true to its name. Let’s dare to dream, shall we?
Jean Grey
The only similarity between my list and Kerouac’s, the 90′s era Jim Lee design of Jean Grey is what most of us grew up with, thanks to the X-Men comic re-launch and the Fox animated series. Jean has gotten Legends treatment as Phoenix and Marvel Girl, but never in her blue and gold duds. The First Lady of the X-Men needs interchangeable heads (animated style pony tail and flowing red tresses), and some sort of clip-on telekinetic energy akin to the DC Universe Classics John Stewart Green Lantern.
Rogue
Rogue, like Jean, has gotten the Legends-scale treatment before, first, as a dog-ugly part of the X-Men box set, and secondly as Mountain Dew Extreme Rogue as part of the X-Men Classics line. Priority #1 for the X-Men’s southern belle is a face-sculpt that doesn’t frighten small children. After that, it’s a cakewalk. The main release would feature her big hair and bomber jacket, and the variant can feature her straightened-do and trench coat. Please…just make a Rogue that isn’t going to send Legends Gambit to the liquor cabinet.
Captain America/Steve Rogers
Who better to bring Legends back onto store shelves than THE Marvel Legend, Captain America? Legends died just as James “Bucky” Barnes took over the mantle of Cap from the RIPed Steve Rogers, and while “Bucky” Cap has been realized as Marvel Select and Marvel Universe incarnations, he needs to be at the forefront of any Legends Avengers display. As a variant, give Steve Rogers some love in his new Super Soldier duds!
Modern Thor
Another casualty of Legends was the new Thor design, again, realized by Marvel Select and Marvel Universe. By 2012, Thor will be a household name thanks to the Marvel Studios Thor flick and the forthcoming Avengers epic, and considering the Thor movie costume design borrows heavily from this version of the character, for chrissakes, give it to us in Legends scale, Hasbro! As a little added bonus, please sculpt the face based off of Olivier Coipel’s interpretation of the Thunder God. K, Thanx.
Extremis Iron Man/Heroic Age Iron Man
Hulkbuster Iron Man. Stealth Iron Man. Thorbuster Iron Man. First Appearance Iron Man. How is it that I don’t have a straight-forward modern representation of ol’ Shellhead in my Legends collection!? And no, the movie figures don’t count. My kingdom for an Extremis Iron Man in full 
Legends-scale with interchangeable Stark-stache head. Sure, Extremis isn’t even relevant even more, thanks to Stark’s new Heroic Age armor, but the two are close enough in design that either one could be the main line release and the other could be a variant. And who knows…by 2012 Tony might have a whole new set of duds! And for shiz and gigglies, throw in a second variant of Norman Osborn in his Iron Patriot duds!
Blink
Only ever realized in action figure form as part of Toy Biz’s one-shot Marvel’s Most Wanted line pre-Legends, the Age of Apocalypse and Exiles fan favorite, while not the caliber of your Thors and Caps and Iron Menses, deserves the title of Legend, a distinction that, toward the ends of the Hasbro Legends run, was thrown around a bit loosely (Danger!?). Blink’s inclusion would also help fill out the paltry selection of AoA Legends previously released, as will…
X-Man
The It-Boy of the Age of Apocalypse saga was also only previously seen in Toy Biz’s Marvels Most Wanted line, alongside fellow AoAer Blink. That alt-reality’s version of Cable, the genetically engineered son of Scott Summer and Jean Grey, made his way to the 616 post-AoA, and recently figured into Marvel’s Dark Reign event, and could very possibly be just a pile of charred remains at the hands of Norman Osborn. Obviously, the main line version would include his ever-so-90′s costume, with the variant depicting his slick, more modern look.
Now, towards the demise of Legends, Hasbro reps confirmed the discontinuation of the Build-A-Figure concept, however, when Legends do return, it’s still unknown whether or not the BAFs will also reemerge. If they do, here’s how I would finish off my dream Legends return assortment.
Build-A-Figure – LockJaw
The Inhumans’ gigantic psychic Space-Bulldog would make certain that every figure in this assortment is a must-buy (if it wasn’t already a blockbuster). A Legend in his own right, and recent star of his own series, Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, Lockjaw as a Legends BAF could very well be the greatest action figure ever created of all time. Plus, you can have your Legends Black Bolt take him for walks and pick up his teleporting dog doody!
There you have it. Marvel Legends: The Return. Would you buy this assortment? Who would you put in your dream Figure 8? Tell me in the comments and on the PanelsOnPages.com Forums!
–Knize
Filed Under: Figure 8
Bravo. (And the text about Blink makes more sense now, lol)
I’ll be honest, I’m not real big into Marvel Legends. I hadn’t bought a comic-based toy since the early 90s, and when I finally got back into them recently Legends had already been canceled. Universe looked fine on the shelf with my few Joes & Star Wars, so adopting them over seeking out a discontinued line of 6″ seemed a no brainer.
With that said, if they released a good looking quality Blink figure I will buy the fuck out of her. And as most nerds, once I bought my first I’d likely had to go out and buy more. So, you can completely sell me on Legends simply by making a Blink figure. Your call, Hasbro.
I LOVE this list, and while it’s a bit heavy (the Avengers 3) for a single wave, I could see it as their return offering. With all of that said, there’s one key substitution I would make, either for Rogue (since we do have her, even if she’s ugly) or Thor (since we’ll have Thor movie figures already sitting on the pegs, most likely)…
Archangel.
He got one figure in the Classics line, with a giant rocket launcher strapped to his back. This is another figure who could have three variants, honestly. 90′s Archangel, Warren in his current Uncanny duds, and X-Force Archangel. After what both the Minimates and Marvel Universe lines have been able to offer us on this front, it’s about damn time we get a Legends scale Archangel with some impressive wings. Hell, maybe he’s not a replacement, maybe we make an 8 figure wave!
Archangel was on my short-list, no doubt.
YOu shoulda run the picture of lockjaw from last night
Despite being a fan of smaller figures I’d be all over a Marvel Legends Bucky Cap (especially since he’s not readily available in the Universe line). I’d also love a Steve Rogers figure in his Super Soldier getup.
Some Runaways figs would be nice.
“Iron Menses” Great line. Period.
You asked for a top 8:
Polaris – as one of the only heros created by Marvel from the 1960′s (along with Swordsman) that does NOT have a Marvel legend figure already, this should be a TOP PRIORITY.
Selene
Archangel
U.S. Agent
Klaw
Viper (Madam Hydra)
Enchantress
Count Nefaria
Build a Figure: Shadow King
If not one of the above I would gladly be very happy with a Songbird or Grim Reaper, as well. Just make Polaris!!!!!
I LIKE it!