While I initially thought that there might not be enough marketable related characters to produce a second wave of Deadpool Legends, Hasbro drew from a much deeper well and used the Sauron Series to give us an assortment that’s more of a pseudo second X-Men wave for the year than anything else. And one of its highlights is an X-Men villain we haven’t seen in 6” form in 13 years! Marvel Legends Omega Red is available now online for above retail price: should you replace your Toybiz version with this one?

The Marvel Legends Sentinel Series (Series 10) in 2005 is when Toybiz really started to dig deep into the X-Men mythos and give us some classic villains who weren’t quite as iconic as Magneto or the Juggernaut. The wave brought us the first ever six inch figures of Mystique, Mister Sinister and popular 90s villain Omega Red.

At the time of its release, I was pretty smitten with the Toybiz Omega Red figure’s gritty details. But as my Hasbro collection has grown, I’ve begun wanting an Omega Red with proportions and paint deco more in line with my X-Men Legends figures. Hasbro must have wanted one, too—because he was a surprise inclusion in this year’s second Deadpool Legends Series!

While he was a bit overshadowed in my mind by the Sauron Build-A-Figure and the Bishop figure I previously reviewed, as soon as I opened the Deadpool Legends Omega Red up, he became one of the ML highlights of the whole year to me.

The first thing you’re going to notice when you bust open this figure is that Hasbro has gone with a much cleaner look than Toybiz did. While Toybiz went for the dark and gritty paint wash route on their Omega Red, Hasbro opted for a bright and clean look.

The colors on this strongly evoke the 90s animated and Marvel vs. Capcom designs for the character, which is why I found myself instantly attracted to it. In this case, I think different is good.

While there’s not loads of extra paint deco added to this figure, a nice metallic silver paint is used on the oversized knee pads and the belt buckle, which gives the detailing a little bit of extra oomph without being overly distracting.

Hasbro also bulked up the legs on this version compared to the Toybiz one, which makes him feel better proportioned to me. I didn’t realize the proportions on the original bothered me so much until I got this upgraded iteration.

The brutal, gritted teeth expression is the only way to go for this character, and I love the Arkady portrait Hasbro has given us here. You immediately realize how violent this character is when you said that head sculpt. (I was a bit bothered that Hasbro went for the more modern version of the character wherein the omega mark on his forehead is red, though—I prefer the classic white.)

Of course, the crucial selling point of an Omega Red action figure is his tendril-look coils—and Hasbro has knocked these out of the ballpark. You get four interchangeable coils with the Omega Red Legends figure: two “retracted” and two extended. The coils snap tightly into the holes on the wrists.

I thought at first that the shorter tendrils might not be as display-worthy, but I actually had loads of fun taking photos of the figure with all of the coils. There’s a viable use for each of them—although I admit that the extended ones with curls to twirl around other figures put the biggest smile on my face.

The only costume add-on piece to the 2018 Marvel Legends Omega Red figure is the belt and shoulder pads harness, which is all one piece that pegs together in the back. This fits super-snugly and doesn’t drive me insane wobbling around like so many of this year’s add-on pieces do. Mega thumbs up.

On the articulation front, ML Omega Red is absolutely outstanding—but not quite perfect. While the hard shoulder pads prevent his arms from being fully raised over his head, that shortcoming is made up for by the inclusion of the new-age butterfly swivel shoulders—my favorite new point of articulation over the past few years.

All of the standard super-articulation we’ve come to expect is present (plus the butterfly swivels): hinged ankles with rockers; swivel biceps/thighs/waist; ab crunch; double-hinged knees; ball-jointed hips and ball-hinge shoulders and neck. For a big dude, Arkady is mighty flexible!

Thanks to all of the articulation and the many configurations of the tentacles, I may have already had more of a blast finding poses on my shelf for this Omega Red Marvel Legends figure than any other Hasbro figure I’ve bought this year. This is an awesome figure that I regret not being more pumped up for prior to receiving it.

Overall: Omega Red is a villain that I’ve been wanting to see an updated ML version of for years, and Hasbro does not disappoint at all. The switch-out tentacles work incredibly, the head sculpt is full of win, and the buff body mold selected is on-point. I like his clean look without paint wash, personally, but I do wish his shoulder pads had a bit more flexibility to facilitate raising his arms higher.

Overall, though, I am extremely pleased with this Deadpool Marvel Legends Omega Red figure. Exceeds expectations and replaces the old Toybiz version on my shelf. Well worth picking up, even for the prices of a few dollars over MSRP he’s selling online for right now.

GRADE: A