Marvel Legends news and new releases have slowed to a crawl over the last month–but that’s okay, because it’s giving me a chance to catch up on my 2020 Marvel Legends reviews without falling further behind! And the first figure I want to review while getting back on the wagon is the second BAF of the year (with the first being the superb Fantastic Four Series Super Skrull)! You’ll have to purchase the entire first Spider-Man Marvel Legends 2020 wave to build the Demogoblin Build-A-Figure: is he worth it?

While collectors have been keenly and astutely aware of the fact that Hasbro been building up the full Jim Lee X-Men 90s roster over the course of the last few years, their efforts have been slightly more covert to produce all of the major cast members from another 90s mega-hit: the Spider-Man Maximum Carnage crossover event!

Over the past few years we’ve gotten new figures of Cloak, Dagger, Doppelganger Spider-Man, Deathlok, Morbius and even classic Venom and Carnage in their 90s looks. While we’re still noticeably missing the first-ever 6″ scale Shriek figure (it’s gotta happen), we can cross another notable player off the list with the latest Spider-Man Legends Build-A-Figure: Demogoblin! Is he any good…?

While I think there are a lot of excellent things going on with the Demogoblin Marvel Legends figure, there are two absolute highlights that I think shine a bit brighter than any of the other aspects: the portrait and the Goblin Glider.

It was a major disappointment to many fans when the 2019 Red Goblin (Norman Osborn Carnage) figure came without a glider, as the character ended up looking incomplete and awkward to many fans without it. Thankfully, Demogoblin doesn’t suffer that same fate.

As his one major accessory inclusion (and the thing that will justify him as a Build-A-Figure to many collectors), we get a translucent flaming Goblin Goblin. The glider feels sturdy, looks amazing with the mix of red/yellow/orange in the gradient, and most importantly of all: Demogoblin’s feet slide onto it and fit completely securely and tight. Best Goblin Glider ever.

Meanwhile, as slick as the flaming Demogoblin glider is, his head sculpt is every bit as outstanding. With dozens of needle-like teeth, piercing red eyes, scaly facial skin and a whirling tongue, this is one of the gnarliest and most wicked looking Hasbro head sculpts ever. The tattered sculpting around the hood also enhances the effect of the horrific portrait. Total win.

While most of the base body on the Marvel Legends Demogoblin BAF is pretty simplistic, costume add-on pieces hugely enhance his overall appearance. The metal-looking chains on the wrists are a real treat, as is the demon skull on his frayed belt. I also appreciate how immensely tattered and damaged his cape is–it definitely looks like it’s been to Hell and back.

I anticipated I was going to have to complain about the lack of a peg on the cape to firmly plug it into Demogoblin’s body, but it turns out I was mistaken: once the BAF head is attached, the cape is ultra-tightly held in place with no need for a peg at all. Score one more for the Hasbro engineering team.

Quality-wise, this is also rather great. The paint apps are on-point, and the plastic all feels solid and sturdy with the exception of the elbow joints, which are a bit more rubbery than I’d like. His right arm also won’t fully snap into place quite as tight as I’d prefer, and it sometimes pops out while I’m repositioning that arm.

I dig how vicious Demogoblin’s claws look, which definitely adds a feeling of menance and intimidation to the toy. It’s doubly important that they look lethal since the figure doesn’t come with any kind of pumpkin bomb–my one big disappointment about the release as a whole.

On the articulation front, Demogobby is just as flexible and super-articulated as we’ve come to expect, with an articulation scheme including:

• Ball-Hinge Head and Shoulders
• Swivel Waist, Biceps, Thighs and Boots
• Double-Hinge Knees and Elbows
• Ball Hips
• Ab Crunch
• Swivel-Hinge Wrists
• Hinged Ankles with Rockers

I’m growing to really love the butterfly swivel shoulders, and they would have been welcome here, but the articulation is impressive nonetheless even without.

Overall: Demogoblin is my favorite goblin, so I had high expectation for this action figure. And for the most part, I am not at all disappointed. The translucent flaming Goblin Glider is a thing of beauty, surpassed on this figure only by how freaking cool the Demogoblin head sculpt is. The tattered cape, wrist chains and skull belt are are awesome as well, helping to make this a truly unique toy, visually distinctive from all the goblins that have come before.

I do think a flaming pumpkin bomb would have been a good and cheap accessory that should have been included, and a few of the joints are a mite worrisome (as one of my arms doesn’t lock in tightly and the elbows feel very rubbery)–but these are mostly minor issues. As a whole I think this is a wonderful Demogoblin Build-A-Figure, and one I don’t at all regret buying three figures I was lukewarm on in order to assemble. Nice stuff.

GRADE: A-