UPDATE 7/12/2020: The Haslab Marvel Legends Sentinel project keeps steamrolling ahead like no Haslab project before it! Just two days after launching, 8000+ backers have already signed up and the second tier of “stretch goals” has now been unlocked: an alternate battle-damaged Sentinel head and hand that will be included as additional interchangeable parts when the figures ship out next year! Who’s psyched about these new options, and what are you hoping for at the 9000+ unlock?

ORIGINAL 7/11/2020: Ever since New York Toy Fair 2020 back in February, Hasbro has been teasing something BIG was coming. And let’s not play stupid here—they haven’t been coy about it at all: a new HasLab Marvel Legends Sentinel figure. We all knew exactly what Hasbro was planning—but yesterday, we actually got our very first look at it! The 2020 Marvel Legends Sentinel HasLab project is not only now live—in just one day, the project has been fully funded! Is this the be-all, end-all definitive Sentinel that X-Men fans have been begging for for years…?

Ever since Hasbro introduced the concept of HasLab crowdfunding a couple years back, fans have considered it more of a “when” rather than an “it” when Marvel Legends would get it’s turn in the crowdfunding spotlight.

And after announcing that a Marvel Legends HasLab was coming back at the 2020 Toy Fair and giving us some blatant giveaway hints, it’s just been a waiting game to see the big “surprise” Hasbro had in store for us. Yesterday, it finally happened—and while the Sentinel reveal wasn’t a “surprise”, it certainly is BIG!

Standing at a massive 26.3” tall, this new Hasbro Marvel Legends Sentinel will tower over every other action figure version of the mutant-hunting robots to come before it. While previous Sentinels have been large, they haven’t really felt properly scaled (or at least as properly scaled as you can get with robots whose size is constantly changing depending upon the artist). That’s not gonna be an issue here—at over 2 feet tall, these actually feel like the GIANT robots that they should be.

The head and chest of the HasLab Sentinels will have LED light-up features (requiring two AAA batteries that aren’t included). I didn’t think I’d care about an electronic function like that, but as demonstrated during Hasbro’s livestream, the LEDs are actually really cool and scary when powered up.

The design for this Sentinel is based on Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X comic books, which are, quite frankly, the comic book love of my life for the past year. Psyched that Hasbro also announced a full wave of HoX/PoX X-Men Legends figures for 2021!

Each Sentinel will come with one 18” (yes, 18”!) long tentacle accessory that can be attached to either hand. The tentacle will have an internal bendable wire, so it’ll be highly poseable and fun to assault your X-Men Legends figures with.

And perhaps most shocking of all, the Sentinel will have 72 (SEVENTY-TWO!) points of articulation! This is a completely unexpected number for such a large and bulky figure, and one that totally caught me off guard. This truly blows the more recent “blocky” Sentinels with their limited articulation out of the water entirely.

Last, but perhaps of most interest to many collectors, is the exclusive 6” Marvel Legends Bastion figure included with each Sentinel. I love me some 90s X-Men, so getting the primary antagonist of “Operation: Zero Tolerance” puts a big ol’ smile on my face. And for those army-building, an alternate Sentinel Prime head will also be included for Bastion! (Now that is going to be an expensive army-builder!)

But wait—there’s more…! Or rather, there will be! Now that the Sentinel is at 6000 units sold, it’s already 100% confirmed as being produced. But at 7000, 8000, 9000 and 10000 backers, Hasbro will be announcing additional add-ons that will come with the ML Sentinel at no additional cost.

Once 7000 backers are reached, an alternate, interchangeable Master Mold head will be included! I’m not sure I would ever opt for that head myself, but I do think it’s pretty groovy it’s going to exist at all! What the other add-ons could be, I really have no clue—but I suspect Hasbro has grand things in store.

Oh yeah—the price. It’s $350 shipped. Obviously, this is the single most expensive Marvel Legends item ever produced, which will turn off a lot of folks. But when you take into consideration the limited nature of this product, the outstanding quality HasLab products are known for, and the fact that shipping (probably $100 alone for a monster like this) is included, it really doesn’t seem all that bad at all. I’m in for one (although I sure wish I had space for about three!).

International fans are able to order the Sentinel now through BigBadToyStore, who are offering to ship it worldwide. There’s a definite markup, but it’s nice that international fans at least have an option to get the figure through a highly-reputable retailer.

What do you think of the Marvel Legends Sentinel Haslab project, Marvel collectors? Are you planning to order one (or more)? Do you think the price on this long-requested monumental robot is fair, and what kind of add-on incentives are you hoping to see Hasbro reveal as the campaign reaches and surpasses 10000 backers?