And so we come to the final female figure to ever be released in the Hasbro 4″ Marvel Universe line (in its current form). For their feminine grand finale, Hasbro has chosen to go with not one of the many women of the Avengers or even a well-known X-Woman. Nope, they’ve gone the obscure route with another member to add to the Marvel Universe Alpha Flight–Aurora! Alas, though I was pretty pleased with the Black Knight figure I reviewed over the weekend, my Marvel Universe Aurora review is going to be a little less positive…

The Right:

Aurora is one of the four (possibly five) figures in Marvel Universe Wave 23 (2013 Series 5), the last-ever series of Marvel Universe figures by Hasbro. It’s secondary (maybe tertiary) characters like Alpha Flight that have made the Marvel Universe line such a fun, diverse, fleshed-out series of action figures, and I’m glad that Hasbro gave us a lesser-known favorite like Aurora as a final female in the line instead of a new Black Widow, Red She-Hulk, Wasp, or other more popular character like that. We’ll get figures like those in next year’s Avengers Marvel Universe 4″ line–I’m happy to end Marvel Universe with uncommon characters like Aurora and Age of Apocalypse Nightcrawler.

The unsung hero of this Alpha Flight Marvel Universe figure is the very nice paint deco. There’s a right way and a wrong way to paint monochromatic costumes, and this is definitely the right way.

Rather than choosing cheap-looking flat white and black paints, Hasbro went with a glossy black and an almost pearly white paint to use on Aurora (and Northstar, if he ever comes out). The shiny colors really pop and look terrific on Marvel Universe Aurora’s costume, easily making this the standout feature of the action figure.

The other thing I really like about the 4″ Aurora Marvel Universe figure (yes, there are basically only two main things I like) is her head sculpt: it’s beautiful! We’ve had some real dogs in the Marvel Universe line (the pink-eyed Marvel Universe Psylocke figure still gives me the creeps whenever I look at her), but Hasbro did right by Aurora. She’s a soft, pretty face that’s easily among the best female faces Hasbro has ever done in the Marvel Universe line.

Additionally, Hasbro got Aurora’s wavy hair style dead-on, and even remembered to give her elf-like pointed ears. Eat your heart out, Legolas!

The Wrong:

As good as the Marvel Universe Aurora Alpha Flight figure looks, there’s a problem, and that problem is that she’s supposed to be an action figure. Aurora has an awkward articulation scheme that stifles her flexibility and makes it near-impossible to get her into any kind of fun pose. Marvel Universe figures like Psylocke have better articulation than Aurora, which is just unacceptable given the rising costs of action figures in the last few years.

Aurora’s hip articulation is especially awful, with virtually no side-to-side movement. Aurora’s legs can move forward and back, but they’re so overly spindly that it’s excessively difficult to get her stable doing anything other than standing straight up. Ordinarily ankle rockers are a saving grace that can help almost any figure to pose stably, but on Aurora even the coveted rocker ankles fails, leaving Aurora falling over often.

In addition, Aurora’s limbs are so weak and thin that her right leg warped a bit just from being in the bubble, making it even more obnoxious trying to get her posed properly. You would think Hasbro would know how to package their Marvel Universe figures without warping them after releasing hundreds of MU action figures, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Finally, I feel a bit ripped off having paid $10 plus tax for one small, under-articulated action figure with zero accessories. Much like Cloak & Dagger, Marvel Universe Northstar & Aurora really should have been a two-pack. By herself, Aurora feels like a terrible value.

The Ridiculous:

The Marvel Universe cardback bios have no bearing on the grades I assign in my reviews, but man are some of the latest bios poor. First we had the Marvel Universe Black Knight’s clunker of a bio (which described a different Black Knight than the one the figure was representing), and now we get this generic Alpha Flight bio which never once refers to Aurora by her name or gives collectors any notion of her powers, personality or history.

Considering the only figures coming in this packaging would be one of the two Alpha Flight twins Northstar and Aurora who have a shared past and near-identical powers, you’d think Hasbro’s writers could have cobbled together something more descriptive than “The members of Alpha Flight defend their nation against all threats with unyielding courage and their own incredible mutant powers.” Oy.

“Where Can I Buy It?!”

Aurora is packed at one-per-case in Marvel Universe 2013 Series 5 (Wave 24). Cases of Wave 24 are available for order now, although if you’re looking to pick up Aurora individually you’ll have to hunt her down from a retail store or pay around $20 shipped on ebay.

Overall: I’m no Alpha Flight hater, but this Marvel Universe Aurora figure is not exactly a gleaming example of Hasbro’s best work with the line. Aurora’s head sculpt is gorgeous and her paint deco is quite nice, but she suffers from looking anorexic and having awful articulation. Aurora is simply no fun to play with (that doesn’t sound right).

It’s really unfortunate that Hasbro chose the Aurora Marvel Universe figure to be released before Marvel Universe Northstar (if Northstar gets released at all)–not just because Northstar is far more popular, but because I have no doubt he will be (or would have been) a better action figure than Aurora. Unless you’re a big fan of Alpha Flight/Aurora or a Marvel Universe action figure completist, I really can’t recommend this average at best Marvel Universe Aurora figure.

GRADE: C-