Marvel Legends Dreadknight Review & Photos! (The Raft)

Marvel Legends San Diego Comic-Con exclusive sets are famous for bringing us some off-the-wall characters that we’d likely never see at mass retail, and I think that’s epitomized by the subject of today’s review: Marvel Legends Dreadknight! While Dreadknight is actually selling for surprisingly cheap on the aftermarket, he surpasses the Enchantress as my favorite figure in the con exclusive set this year…

Marvel Legends Dreadknight Review and PhotosThe Right:

“Freaking DREADKNIGHT!!” Those were my words upon seeing the figures Hasbro selected for the SDCC Marvel Legends The Raft set–and a fair indicator for my enthusiasm for this particular figure.

While he may not be getting nearly the hype that the Marvel Legends Enchantress figure I reviewed earlier in the week is, this is easily the figure I’m most excited about.

We’ve reached the point where D-Listers are the new never-before-done A-Listers in th Marvel Legends 6″ figures line, and I for one am thrilled with the depth and breadth of character variety that Hasbro is aspiring to. Wonderful choice, Hasbro–mad props.

Marvel Legends The Raft Set Dreadknight FigureOf course, excellent character selection would be meaningless if the Dreadknight figure itself sucked. Luckily, that’s the farthest thing from the case here. The Marvel Legends Dreadknight figure isn’t merely “good”–it’s outstanding.

Front of Marvel Legends 6" Dreadknight FigureWhile the only part of the action figure itself that’s actually new is the head, the mold choices (primarily from the Hobgoblin figure) look so spot-on that you’d think they were created specifically with Dreadknight in mind (which I sincerely doubt).

SDCC Marvel Legends Raft Dreadknight BackThe textured “chainmail” armor on Dreadknight’s arms and legs are real highlights of the figure both sculpting-wise and paint-wise. A shiny, almost metallic blue with a dark wash over it was chosen for these limbs, and it looks marvelous.

Close-Up of Dreadknight Marvel Legends Six Inch FigureThe shiny blue of Dreadknight is nicely complemented by the matte silver of his winged helmet and the matte purple of the gloves, boots and tunic. The darker belt and cape being the whole figure together and make this ridiculous villain a real eye-pleaser.

Hasbro Dreadknight Marvel Legends Exclusive FigureOn the articulation front, seeing as how the Dreadknight is a character that Hasbro will only ever produce one version of, you’d hope that his articulation scheme would be strong. And it is strong–virtually perfect, in fact!

Dread Knight Marvel Legends SDCC 2016 Action FigureMarvel Legends Dread Knight features a ball-hinge neck, both an upper torso ab crunch and swivel waist, double-jointed elbows and knees, swivel boots, thighs and biceps, ball-jointed hips, ball-hinge shoulders and wrists, and hinged ankles with ankle rockers. Basically, the flexibility on this figure is supreme!

Marvel Legends The Raft Dreadknight Action Figure ReviewAs is often the case with caped figures, I feared 6″ Dreadknight’s cape would limit his poseability. But surprise–the cape is short enough that it doesn’t get in the way of crouching poses and light enough that it doesn’t make Dreadknight back-heavy! And I love having both waist and upper torso articulation.

Dreadknight Marvel Legends Figure with Sword and LanceThe Dreadknight Marvel Legends figure comes with two weapons, and both are great. The first is a medieval-looking sword that’s not a new mold, but looks good enough in Dreadknight’s hands that you won’t mind. The sword slides snugly into the tiny sheath on Dreadknight’s belt.

2016 SDCC Exclusive Marvel Legends Dread Knight FigureThe other accessory included here is a huge lance that’s longer than the figure itself is tall! The six-inch plus lance looks familiar to me, but I can’t recall ever getting it with a Marvel Legends figure before. Anyone remember this piece from elsewhere?

Hasbro SDCC 2016 Marvel Legends Dreadknight Wielding LanceThe handle of the lance can be tightly grasped either one-handed or two-handed, and both the lane and sword have a nifty black wash on them so that they look worn and not shiny and new.

Dreadknight’s cape fits tightly, but is removable if you want to pose him battle-ready without it, and it’s a nice visual alternative if you want the chainmail to really pop.

SDCC 2016 Exclusive Marvel Legends Dread Knight FigureThe Wrong:

Usually, I can find some quality-control issue on a Hasbro action figure to nitpick, if nothing else, but it turns out in this case that all of the joints are nice and tight and none of the paint applications are anything but perfect.

I’d like to find something about this Dreadknight Marvel Legends figure to complain about–because that’s how I roll–but in this instance, Hasbro has got me beat. I commend you, gentlemen.

Close-Up of Marvel Legends Dreadknight 6" FigureOverall: As I said earlier, Dreadknight is the kind of character that Hasbro is only going to do once ever as a six-inch figure–and Hasbro absolutely did right by him. From the mold selection to the exquisite paint deco choices to the superb weapons and working sheath, everything about this Marvel Legends Dreadknight figure is perfection. This is the character I was most excited about in the SDCC 2016 Exclusive The Raft set, and I’m not disappointed in the slightest. In fact, I couldn’t be more impressed. Highly recommended.

GRADE: A+

Comments

Marvel Legends Dreadknight Review & Photos! (The Raft) — 9 Comments

  1. You’re surprised by it having both an upper ab crunch and a waist swivel? Isn’t that what pretty much all of the male bodies have?

    • Nope! Plenty of Legends (and Star Wars Black Series) have only one or the other, and almost all of the new-age Legends 4″ figures.

      • If the male figures are on the Pizza Eating Spidey, Bucky-Cap, Grim Reaper, Hyperion, Teenage or soon to be released Cyclops and Spider-Man 2099 bucks, they all have both (and that’s a lot of em)!

      • RUKKUS! is right. I can’t think of any Marvel Legends (or SW:TBS) figures that don’t have some kind of torso swivel function, whether it comes from an actual cut at the waist to be used in conjunction with an ab crunch, or if it comes from a diapragm joint at the upper part of the torso that serves as both a crunch and swivel.

  2. Far be it for me to nit pick on the “wrong” side Dabid, but it seems a lot of the capes for Dreadknight don’t sit properly on his back (yours seems to however). Very minor “wrong” though.

    • Good to know, Rukkus! Thanks for adding that alternative experience to my review!

  3. My issues with the figure are these: The cape is the wrong color (and some day they should stop making plastic capes all together, capes should always be cloth, but that’s an issue I’ve had with marvel legends going back to Toy Biz), Dreadknight never had a sword, he does however have a gun, and what good is Dreadknight without his horse. Hasbro has to take a cue from Toy Biz and give certain characters that larger side accessories (like Ghost Rider with his motorcycle) I know that would make them more than the usual 20 buck figure, but doing Dreadknight without his horse or Ghostrider without his cycle is like Cap without his shield. How awesome would this SDCC special have been if they left Abomination and the Enchantress out and put in a badass horse with bat wings?