SDCC 2015: Marvel Legends Spider-Gwen! Venom! Morbius!

Tragically, in this day and age of early internet leaks, it’s getting harder and harder for toy companies to ever truly surprise collectors with reveals that are totally unexpected. On San Diego Comic-Con 2015 Preview Night, Hasbro debuted the Marvel Legends Walgreens exclusives that everyone had known about for months. And on Thursday–the first full day of the convention–Hasbro next debuting products turn out to be another lineup that avid fans already knew to expect–but man, what a lineup! It’s 2015 Marvel Legends Spider-Man Wave 3–including Spider-Gwen, Jack O’ Lantern, Mobius and more!

Marvel Legends Absorbing Man Build-A-Figure

Hasbro must be feeling pretty wild and crazy this year, because for the second wave in a row, a Spider-Man Legends Infinite Series is planned for release with no characters named “Peter Parker” in it! Instead, the spotlight will fall once again upon the most beloved dead Spider-Man ever: Ben Reilly, the Sensational Spider-Man!

But while my favorite Spider-Man getting a new figure in my favorite Spidey costume lights up my heart, what Hasbro is really hoping will catch fans’ attention is the Build-A-Figure Absorbing Man, which collectors will have to buy all of the other figures in the series to build. I actually think that this Crusher Creel looks excellent, but he is unfortunately the figure I’m least interested in from this set…

Marvel Legends Ben Reilly Spider-Man Figure 2015…As opposed to the figure I am most interested in–the Marvel Legends Ben Reilly Spider-Man figure! This isn’t the first time that Peter’s most popular clone has gotten the Marvel Legends treatment, but it’s been ages since Ben’s had the spotlight, and I’m thrilled to see him again.

I am, however, a bit bummed that Hasbro botched the deco on the Sensational Spider-Man costume’s hands. Hopefully this will be corrected for the final product. Marvel Legends Spider-Gwen FigureBut while a Spider-Man variant is my favorite figure for the second wave in a row, I imagine that the figure likely to be the hottest from this whole series is someone entirely different: the first-ever Marvel Legends Spider-Gwen figure!

I was shocked when Spider-Gwen turned up on rumor lists, as the character was only created last year, not giving Hasbro much lead time to develop a Spider-Gwen action figure. But they must really love Gwen Stacy over at Hasbro, because she has one of the fastest character creation-to-Marvel Legends-action-figure turnaround times in ages!

Marvel Legends Jack O' Lantern FigureAnd from the pages of the (Agent) Venom comic book series by Rick Remender, it’s the new Marvel Legends Jack O’ Lantern! This particular iteration of Jack O’ Lantern is the modern one who rides a broomstick and is the arch-nemesis of Agent Venom, and he’s a perfect use of the thin Marvel Legends Ghost mold from the Thunderbolts box set of two years ago. Love this figure!!

Marvel Legends Spider-Man Venom Classic Figure SDCC 2015For the classic fans, we’ve got the original version of Venom! Symbiotes always sell and we were honestly due for a new classic Venom, so this is a worthwhile (if not a bit underwhelming) inclusion in the series.

SDCC 2015 Marvel Legends Spider-Man Morbius FigureThe new Marvel Legends Morbius figure, on the other hand, doesn’t underwhelm at all. This is easily the best version of Morbius the Living Vampire that’s been released, and is near-certain to sell well at one-per-case.

Marvel Legends Speed Demon with Silvermane Head

Finally, we’ve got another pair of villains from the hilariously awesome (and cancelled) “Superior Foes of Spider-Man” comic series: Speed Demon and the female Beetle! Speed Demon has been around for decades as a recurring Spidey villain, so I think that the Marvel Legends Speed Demon figure is a must for classic fans.

But perhaps even cooler than Speed Demon himself is the disembodied head of Silvermane in a remote control car that comes with the figure! No, this is not a prank–this is a real (and epic) thing that happened in the “Superior Foes of Spider-Man” series.

And while I know many fans will be grumpy that we still don’t have a proper male Beetle figure, there’s no denying that Hasbro did a bang-up job on this Marvel Legends Beetle (female) figure. I love that Hasbro has figured out a way to use this year’s Wasp figure’s wings already! I don’t love this female Beetle as a character, necessarily, but the 6″ figure of her looks terrific. Inspired choice! SDCC 2015 Marvel Legends Beetle FigureWhat do you think of the SDCC 2015 Marvel Legends Spider-Man Series reveals, Marvel collectors? Will you be picking up the whole set to build the Absorbing Man Build-A-Figure, just snagging a couple of your favorite Spider-related characters, or passing on this wave altogether?

Comments

SDCC 2015: Marvel Legends Spider-Gwen! Venom! Morbius! — 41 Comments

  1. Damn.
    Another awesome wave.
    Hasbro wants me to be poor.

    Well, I’m getting Spider-Gwen, Ben Reilly, Jack O Lantern, and Morbius FOR SURE.

    I very much want a new ML classic Venom…..but not like this.
    This is the most undewhelming of all the Marvel Legends Infinite symbiotes except for Toxin.
    (Carnage>Agent Venom>Anti-Venom>Superior Venom>Venom>Toxin)
    He’s just so…small. And Venom pretty much always needs the open mouth with the huge tongue.
    Maybe they’ll give us an alternate head?

    I have no want for Speed Demon or this Beetle.
    If this is a Misty Knight/White Tiger situation where they both have the same piece of Absorbing Man, I’ll grab Speed Demon, I guess.

    Even then, I don’t really care about Absorbing Man. I’d just be getting it because I may as well complete the 80% complete figure.

    • Why do I keep hearing that this Venom is too small? I think it’s the perfect size for Venom. It uses the Hyperion/Sabertooth body mold, which is the biggest body mold Hasbro has outside of the Hulk- and yes, Venom is big, but he’s not Hulk big.

      I will say that the figure’s value will skyrocket if it’s packaged with an alternate head, but y’know what, I’d be happy with the McFarlane Venom creepy grin head anyway.

      Also, you seriously think Anti-Venom is cooler than Superior Venom? And Toxin? Toxin at least had a LITTLE color variation, the Anti-Venom figure is just bland and kind of ugly.

      • Hulk figures are never to scale… they could have used a combination of Hyperion Thor Hulk molds and made Venom look way better! an alternate head better be included! this McFarland grin and body sculpt reminds me of when Venom possessed Frank Castle

          • Same person, different symbiote.
            Venom isn’t always the same size, and CAN be just skin-tight Eddie Brock-sized, but he’s pretty well known to have a tendency to be MUCH bigger than all the other symbiotes.

            The original version of Toxin was about Venom’s size when he was in his “monster mode” and Spider-Man size when in “Spider-Man mode”, just like the Venom symbiote is massive for classic Eddie Brock Venom, and Scorpion Venom, but small for Alien Costume Spider-Man, Agent Venom, or Dark Avenger Spider-Man.

            Basically, there are skin-tight symbiote forms, and symbiotes that build upon the wearer into a huge beast of super muscle, teeth, tentacles, and claws.

            Lots of variables, but generally speaking.

      • Venom should be around the size of the Thor figure.
        The Hyperion mold’s just a big human. Venom’s a hulking monstrosity.

        And yes, the Anti-Venom design is about 1000x more awesome than that godawful Toxin figure.
        The Marvel Select Anti-Venom sculpt and paint job is dramatically better than the Marvel Legend one, but the ML one is fine, and easily improved.

        Superior Venom is just a weird character design. Not bad. But weird.
        And the figures tentacle-legs are just frustratingly underwhelming. Should’ve been ball-jointed into his back, as with the 6″ Iron Spider’s waldos.
        Not to mention that they’re frustratingly short (like the Iron Spider waldos), and can’t be used as spider legs for him to stand on.
        I mean, okay, Iron Spider not being able to do it…..eh….okay. But Superior Venom is DOCTOR OCTOPUS. His crazy extra arms/legs are kind of a big part of his identity. It’s also why it’s pretty frustrating that the Superior Spider-Man didn’t have a peg hole on the back to attach HIS Iron Spider-style waldos. When he showed up with them in the comics, Superior Spider-Man suddenly clicked as this perfect blend of Spider-Man, Iron Spider, and Doc Ock.

        Anti-Venom is a FANTASTIC character design (an extra-creepy and lanky Venom variant), and the Anti-Venom figure does everything an Anti-Venom figure needed to do. Could it have been better? Sure. It could’ve been a better articulated 6″ version of the Marvel Select Anti-Venom, but this is fine too. Unlike the Superior Venom, there’s nothing I’d say is wrong with it. Nothing that frustrates me.

        • The Toxin figure is just embarassing.

          It looks like someone flayed the rabbit from Donnie Darko….

  2. So it love the wave lineup. My one gripe is that I really, really wanted a Spider-Gwen as she is an awesome design, but the Jubilee mold is HORRIBLE for all of the Spider-Ladies. It’s just not poseable. (Not that the new Pizza Mold Spidey is great in the hip articulation department, that was a massive botch as well.) But the female characters are always short-changed with less articulation and no swappable hands.

    • Love the line up! BAF Absorbing man is kind of a let down… and thats not the classic Venom i remember!

  3. I don’t understand the gripe about Venom. That’s how McFarlane drew him. That’s classic Venom to a T. The head sculpt is perfect. I hate that stupid long tongue Venom look. It never translates to figures well.

  4. That Venom sucks. I’ll stick with my Marvel Select Venom.

    Must buys for me are Sensational Spidey and Spider-Gwen, I’ll skip the rest.

    • Yeaaa…. That Venom is NOT good. :/
      Got my fingers crossed that they fix it before they release it. Give it a better head and some decent talons at least.

  5. Hell yes! Thank you hasbro once again for knocking it out of the park and not putting a single movie fig in this wave, and spider Gwen is a really nice figure, thank god they didn’t give us the reg Gwen version. Good job hasbro, keep it up!

  6. And I disagree with all the comments about venom, I think they did a very good job on venom. Plus supposedly it’s been mentioned that a tongue out head is to be included, possibly.

    • God, I hope so. If not, I’m gonna have to get a second one and customize a tongue-sticking-out head for it.

      I also hope that head is drooling ecto-cooler. If it’s not, I might just customize it anyway. It’s not 90’s Venom if he’s not drooling ecto-cooler!

  7. All that’s missing is a pump action feature that squirts water out of Venom’s chest. It sucks that bad.

    Who’s “everyone”? I regularly read 10 different action figure sites and this is the first I’ve heard of this Daredevil and Spider-Gwen.

    • The Venom is not that bad. He’s in scale with the rest of the symbiotes Hasbro has released. And the head is prefect McFarlane first appearance.

  8. Not a fan of Spider-Gwen as a character, or of Morbius or Absorbing Man, but I’ll be picking up most of the wave for sure. Whoever convinced their bosses that the Superior Foes needed figures, complete with Silverman’s RC Car head, deserves a pay raise and a high five for being the coolest dude in the world.

  9. I can’t say I’m surprised by a Spider-Gwen figure. Marvel is pushing her like absolute mad while she’s still hot, so much so that I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. They even got Kotobukiya on the hype train with a Spider-Gwen Bishoujo. Though after all is said and done, I suspect we’ll all look back and laugh at this insane Spider-Gwen fervor in 5-10 years.

    • MAYBE if they’re not smart enough to integrate her into 616, and she ends up fading away into her little side universe that no one cares about.

  10. I expressed to both Dwight and Tony that Morbius is too “thick”. He should be more gaingly (is that even a word?).

    • Morb looks great! Wish we’d get a closed mouth head as well but that’s my only complaint. @RUKKUS Morb is 170lbs but that’s with hollow bones so him being a bit more buff fits well. He should be at least visibly bigger than Spidey.

    • The word you’re looking for is “gangly” or “gangling” (variant spellings, same word)

  11. Shouldn’t Venom be bulkier in the chest area, at least that’s how I remembered him. Great lineup and Ben Reilly is a must buy for me.

    • He should.
      Half the point of Venom is that he’s a huge terrifying beast that’s stronger and tougher, and still somehow as fast and agile, as Spider-Man.

      It’s Eddie Brock’s huge muscled body encased in a huge layer of huge symbiote muscle.
      This Venom would be fine if the Venom suit was just a skin-tight suit that Eddie Brock wore.
      And sometimes that was the case, but it was never the best/scariest/most badass Venom.

      The skin-tight and lanky thing is what sets Carnage and most of the other symbiotes apart from Venom.
      Original Toxin was the only other one who was Venom size, and then Anti-Venom was big, but not quite as big.

  12. Alguien tubo el comic donde venom aparece por primera vez? Es exactamebte como esta figura!! La escala y su cabeza sin lengua se ajustan perfectamente a la primera aparicion de venom!! A mi me gustò mucho la serie .. me encantan los villanos … absorbingman esta genial !! Gran tamaño musculatura y el rostro de furia … gwen me encanta …. y jack o’lantern es genial un aspecto macabro me gusta mucho toda la serie

  13. Holy wheat cakes! I hope they scale these down for the 3.75inc line! LOVED Superior Foes!

  14. Wow, totally don’t get the hate for this Venom! I love my Select Venom, it’s up there with my all time favorite figures. That said though this is a PERFECT recreation of The Amazing Spider-Man #300 Venom by McFarlane.

    Venom wasn’t huge yet at that point. Brock was probably Scwartzenegger (sp?) size then, and the suit was skin tight just like Spideys but with a mouth.

    I can’t wait for this lineup!

    • That’s kinda the problem. Skin-tight Venom’s not the most iconic version of Venom.

      Select Venom’s FANTASTIC sculptwise and accessorywise. If it actually had good articulation I’d just get that instead of this Legends one…..but it’s a Select, so the articulation is underwhelming.

      I’d be willing to fudge the scale difference, since Venom’s supposed to be a hulking monstrosity anyway.

    • No–these will be mass-market figures. They most likely won’t be available at Walgreens at all.

  15. I hope the rumor of Silk, Spider Girl (Ashley Barton) and Miles Morales is confirmed. That’d be awesome!

  16. Venom, Morbius, and Spider-Gwen are all must haves for me. The other characters I don’t really care for, but the whole wave looks fantastic.

  17. Good venom if you’re a fan of the Spidey- size symbiote. NOT good if you like a bigger venom.