There are few things in collecting life as sobering as realizing you don’t have the strength to force together all the pieces of a Marvel Legends Build-A-Figure while recovering from a [series of four] stroke[s]. But that’s precisely what happened over the weekend, when my wife had to construct the Iron Man Legends Ursa Major figure for me. However, once the deed was done, I got to enjoy the delight of yet another Marvel character I cannot believe Hasbro made a super-articulated action figure of. Is buying almost the entire Marvel Legends Iron Man series to build this Ursa Major BAF worhwhile or just too much to bear? Here’s my review…

It always blows my mind a little bit when Hasbro is able to bust out a new toy of a Marvel character that I can only say a couple sentences of knowledge about off the top of my head from my encyclopedic Marvel knowledge. Anthropomorphic mutant bear Ursa Major of the Winter Guard is just such a character. But deep cut cred or not, is it worth buying six other Iron Man Marvel Legends figures to get all the pieces to build this ursine one?

 

From a sculpting perspective, Hasbro went all out here. The fur on Ursa Major looks appropriately fluffy and well-textured, and there’s just the right amount of shading added to make the sculpting really shine.

Thankfully, Hasbro opted to capture the form of this character comic book fans might actually want, as opposed to the live-action full human iteration briefly seen in the Black Widow movie.

You might expect to see loads of straight reuse here from their previous Sasquatch BAF, but even in my current half-blind state, I can see Hasbro put in lots of effort creating new tooling for this Build-A-Figure.

Just as he should be, Mikhail Ursus towers over the other Marvel Legends Winter Guard figures like Darkstar. He is bulky and has plenty of heft, as is suitable.

Despite having no accessories (nor would many be logical), ML Ursa Major is packing ferocious-looking claws and teeth that may be the only weapons he needs. And luckily, those teeth and claws look great. Ursa Major’s nose, eyes, teeth, claws, inner mouth and tongue all have paint deco that is expertly applied (as near as I can tell with my own eyes being effed up right now).

 

He also features a strong articulation scheme, with only a few vital points missing. Ursa Major’s complete articulation set is as follows:

• Ball-Hinge Shoulders and Elbows
• Swivel-Hinge Wrists
• Swivel Biceps and Thighs
• Hinged Knees
• Hinged Feet with Ankle Rockers
• Ball-jointed head, upper torso and hips
  

 

Is the super-articulation here perfect and complete? Nope! Ursa Major’s head has a very limited range of motion due to the nature of his head and neck.

Much more of an inconvenience is the lack of double-hinged knees, which seriously restrict the dynamic poses that can be achieved without compromising the Build-A-Figure’s balance. And I am close to shocked that Hasbro didn’t incorporate a hinged jaw for Ursa Major, as that would have added worlds more personality and possibilities for him. I have to assume the tooling budget just wasn’t there for that, as I’m sure Hasbro must have considered a hinged jaw at some point.

Overall: if you were indeed hoping my Marvel Legends Ursa Major review would affirm that it’s the best gosh-danged super-articulated anthropomorphic bear figure ever, I can now make that dream a concrete reality for you. If you were hoping I would say the Ursa Major BAF was perfect, I cannot. The lack of double-hinged knees and especially a hinged jaw do this beastly bear man action figure a disservice, which is a genuine shame considering the high quality of the sculpting and fur texture. Ursa Major is a large and hefty Build-A-Figure that loses some personality and posing potential because of notable articulation omissions, but is still an excellent action figure overall.

GRADE: B+