Whether it’s an “Avengers movie year” or not, we can always pretty much count on Hasbro to deliver an Avengers Legends series. And next year will be no exception! A purely comic books based Avengers Marvel Legends 2023 wave is now up for order, with this Puff Adder Series bringing such fan-demanded figures as Safari Jacket Wonder Man, Baron Strucker, a new Extremis Iron Man and more!
The case ratios for the 2023 Marvel Legends Avengers Series will be as follows:
(2) Extremis Iron Man
(1) Ultimate Captain America
(1) Safari Jacket Wonder Man
(1) Yelena Belova Black Widow
(1) Molecule Man
(1) Orb
(1) Baron Strucker
Build-A-Figure: Puff Adder [Serpent Society]
Iron Man fans have been crying out for a new and improved Marvel Legends Extremis Iron Man figure for years, and this is that update. The sculpt and articulation both look top-notch, and Hasbro is smart to double-pack this at two per case.
Extremis Iron Man is the one figure in the wave without a Puff Adder figure piece, but I don’t imagine that will dissuade sales much, if at all. I don’t foresee a lot of fans passing on this iteration of Iron Man out of spite for him not including a part of a Z-List Build-A-Figure.
Ultimate Captain America gets an overdue upgrade here as well, although there’s so little Ultimate representation in Hasbro marvel Legends that he won’t have many friends to hang out with.
This Cap is a pass for me, although he will include the necessary head of Puff Adder for those committed to completing the Serpent Society.
I’m actually kind of astonished that it’s taken 20+ years for a classic Wonder Man in red safari jacket to be done, but this was definitely the time to do it.
I wish the official photos showed Simons with his glasses off and the effects attached, but he’s a must-have for many (including me) regardless.
While I don’t mind seeing blonde Black Widow Yelena Belova getting a new 6” figure in this wave, I am bamboozled by the choice of only including the masked head with this release.
For those who aren’t hardcore comic readers, this is AIM-resurrected Yelena Belova. I cannot comprehend why Hasbro would do a hard-line release of this specific variant, but it is what it is.
Molecule Man is a hugely important villain to Secret Wars fans, and it seems strange it’s taken so long for his first-ever mass retail store release.
Owen is captured here in his more modern look, so he doesn’t come with his classic wand. He does have some purple energy effects that look sweet on him, though.
The Orb is a full-on bizarre character I legit never expected to see get a mass market release.
The big selling point here is the quirkiness factor, which this toy has in spades. Even so, I don’t think anyone doesn’t anticipate seeing this guy at a stiff clearance a year from now.
Finally, we have Hasbro’s first Baron Strucker Legends figure. I was honestly fine with the Toybiz version, but I don’t mind an update.
The Satan Claw gauntlet looks really cool, which is more than enough reason to convince me this is a figure worth buying.
The one thing from this wave that Hasbro did not confirm prior to today’s pre-order was the Build-A-Figure: Puff Adder of the Serpent Society. That was probably deliberate, as Puff Adder is perhaps the weakest BAF character choice since that figure of Titus from several years ago (who, coincidentally, I believe has some shared tooling with Puff Adder).
Every single-packed Serpent Society figure Hasbro has released to-date has ended up being sold off at a massive clearance just to get rid of, so I can’t imagine this deepest-cut character selection will convince anyone to buy an Orb figure that wouldn’t have done so already.
The Marvel Legends Puff Adder Series is now up for order, and is scheduled to be released in Q2 2023 (April to June). Who from this wave is on your wish list, Marvel Legends collectors?
I’m here for Simon! ☺️🙌
Unbelievable. We finally get an all comics wave, for the Avengers no less, and we STILL can’t get a comic Luke Cage. Unreal. I am with you, I cannot wrap my head around the decisions that Hasbro makes anymore. The selections are so weird and seemingly arbitrary sometimes. Maybe they will Haslab him and the tiers will be his tiara and then his gauntlets.
What a complete waste of a BAF choice.