Hasbro is obviously very high on their new 2.5″ scale of Marvel action figures, as evidenced by the fact that it was the main scale for their Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Age of Ultron movie toys. But even though Hasbro is enamored with this new, smaller scale, that doesn’t mean that they’ve totally abandoned Marvel Universe/Marvel Infinite Series collectors to the cold, hard world! Hasbro has a full series of eight 3 3/4″ Marvel Infinite Series 2015 figures scheduled to come out early this year! Although the style is a little bit “different” than what we’ve come to expect…

Hasbro Marvel Infinite Series 2015 Bishop 3 3/4″ Figure

Hasbro shocked longtime 4″ Marvel Universe figure collectors at San Diego Comic-Con 2014 last summer when they debuted a new, less-articulated style of Marvel Infinite Series figures. As soon as I saw the prototypes Hasbro debuted at the show I knew that collectors were going to be ticked, and the less-detailed and less-articulated Marvel Infinite Series figures received exactly that reception.

Case in point is the 2015 Marvel Infinite Series Bishop figure above, who retains some vital articulation (knees and ankles), but is obviously lacking wrists, double-jointed elbows, and any kind of torso articulation whatsoever. Bishop is also much thinner than he ideally should be, and us unlikely to take on many cool gun-slinging poses with the articulation that Hasbro has integrated.

In short, this Bishop figure is a major disappointment to fans who have been waiting years for a Marvel Universe-style Bishop figure. Bishop isn’t the only Marvel Infinite Series 2015 figure that didn’t turn out quite how many fans hoped, however…

Marvel Infinite Series Big-Time Spider-Man Figure

Alas, poor Big-Time Spider-Man! First, back in 2012, Big Time Spidey got what may go down in history as the worst quality-controlled Hasbro Marvel Legends figure of all-time with its crazy fluorescent green paint deco. And now this–a figure with “neon” green paint that looks washed out almost to the point of being white, and a body that looks like it belongs to a Happy Meal toy.

Double-Jointed knees are not going to save a figure that again looks to have inferior paint apps and which has a torso that is a solid, unarticulated piece, Hasbro. This Marvel Infinite Series 2015 Spider-Man figure is just terrible, and easily the worst Marvel Universe-style Spider-Man figure that Hasbro has ever released.

Hasbro Marvel Universe/Marvel Infinite Series 2015 Black Cat Figure

The next offender is the Marvel Infinite Series Black Cat figure. While it looks like Hasbro overcame the too-blue hair that the Marvel Legends Black Cat suffered from, the Marvel Universe Black Cat figure has the same missing articulation and too-basic torso problems as the Bishop and Big-Time Spider-Man figures. Although it doesn’t look quite as bad on Felicia as it does on Spidey, the unposeable torso just looks cheap–which is not a quality you want on a 4″ figure that stores are charging $10-$15 for.

Hasbro Marvel Universe 2015 Beast Figure

The Marvel Infinite Series Beast 2015 figure is easily the best of the under-articulated bunch of Marvel Infinite Series 2015 Wave 1 figures. While I’m dubious that Hasbro proportioned Hank’s head right in relation to the rest of his body, the sculpting detail on this actual Beast figure is pretty terrific. It might be a bad omen that the paint apps on the belt of the prototype–which ought to be perfect–are rather sloppy. but I’ll be picking up this Beast figure and giving him a fair chance despite the missing articulation.

Marvel’s Beast Marvel Infinite Series 2015 Figure

Hasbro also came up with a relatively cool variant for the Jim Lee Beast 3.75″ figure: First Appearance Beast! While I’ve never been a super-fan of the grey Beast character design, this figure is just historic and unique enough that I’m definitely planning to grab one for my own collection (under-articulated and all).

I really appreciate that Hasbro developed a totally different head for this Marvel Infinite Series Beast variant figure!

Marvel Infinite Series Daredevil Figure

It wouldn’t be a Hasbro Marvel Infinite Series wave without at least one repack, right? Luckily, this one is a great choice: Daredevil! When we first got this Marvel Universe Daredevil figure in a Comic Pack two-pack with Bullseye a few years ago, I thought the figure was ahead of its time. As it turns out, this super-articulated Daredevil figure may never have a proper time now, seeing as how Hasbro is cutting back so much on articulation.

This is probably my favorite Daredevil action figure ever released in any scale, and it’ll receive an unquestionable recommendation to anyone who doesn’t already own it–especially with the Netflix Daredevil series ready to be a big hit this spring.

2015 Marvel Universe Sandman Figure

Finally , we’ve got what’s probably the best new figure in the entire wave: Marvel Infinite Series Sandman. While there’s some obvious parts reuse from old Marvel Universe figures here, I really don’t mind at all: this figure retains the look and style of the last half-decade worth of Hasbro Marvel Universe 4″ figures better than any other figure in Marvel Infinite Series 2015 Wave 1.

Last, but definitely not least, we have the uber-cool Sand Form Sandman Marvel Infinite Series variant action figure! This reminds me a lot of the all-metal Marvel Universe Absorbing Man figure from a few years back, and is one of my favorite figures of any scale I’ve seen Hasbro come up with thus far for 2015. I really hope that this particular Sandman variant figure isn’t too scarce, as it’s a must-have for me, regardless of the price I have to pay for it (within reason).

The 2015 Marvel Infinite Series 1 figures should be up for order later this month, and are scheduled to be released in winter 2015. I’ll post an update here and to the Marvel Toy News Facebook Page as soon as pre-orders for these figures go live, so stay tuned if you’re planning to collecting this series in 2015.

Now that we’ve seen the official hi-res images, what do you think of the Hasbro 2015 Marvel Infinite Series Wave 1 figures, Marvel collectors? Will you be picking up any of the figures in this wave, or has Hasbro’s reduction in sculpting detail and articulation for some of the figures in this line turned you away from collecting this scale of Hasbro figures?