Since I went with the crowd favorite and reviewed the new Marvel Legends Kingpin figure during the week, I thought I’d mix things up for my next review and feature a character that’s a little… less… famous. He’s a character never-before-made as an action figure (though Hasbro did release a PVC years ago), who will most likely be purchased primarily by collectors for the Kingpin’s torso: the Spider-Man Marvel Legends Puma figure is now in-stock online for retail price!

Strange But True: Hasbro already released the first-ever figure of Spider-Man villain The Puma over a decade ago. As a non-articulated Superhero Squad figurine. Fascinating, yet bizarre, right?

Thomas Fireheart has clearly been on Hasbro’s radar since at least 2007, and 12 years after the Puma Superhero Squad figurine, it’s finally Puma’s time to shine as a super-articulated Marvel Legends 6” figure! The bar is obviously pretty low, but let’s have a look and make sure this is actually the best toy of the character ever made…

For those who don’t know him, Thomas Fireheart is a Native American sometimes-supervillain with the power to turn into an anthropomorphic puma (hence the name). I read some great issues with the character in “Spectacular Spider-Man” as a kid, so I didn’t mind when Hasbro announced this figure.

I’ll come out and say this right out of the gate: while people may not want a toy of this character, there’s no denying the quality of this character’s toy. Beyond a couple items of minutia, this is a practically flawless Puma action figure.

My favorite thing about this figure, hands down, is the awesome all-new head sculpt Hasbro created for it. Puma is generally depicted as angry and yelling on covers and in battle, and that’s just what Hasbro captured for us with the portrait.

Whether he’s roaring at the enemy to intimate them or lunging in for a deadly slash, the nearly-feral head sculpt here totally works for the character and this figure. The paint wash to the hair and the textured feathers on the back of his head add a lot of detail to draw the eyes and really add to this figure aesthetically.

Speaking of “adding”, there’s a generous amount of newly-tooled add-on bits to the costume here. The iconic “‘E’-like” belt is present, as is the left bicep armband with detailed feather attached, and fuzzy “boots” that cut off before ML Puma’s feet. All of these bits are superbly sculpted and fit tight as can be—no complaints.

While the paint scheme (maroon/orange/gold) is reasonably simple on this figure, the colors complement each other well and he looks quite different palette-wise from anything else on the shelf. His white necklace pops well atop his maroon costume.

The articulation scheme on Spider-Man Legends Puma is close to perfect, with every joint having a full range of motion and not being hindered by the sculpt or any other factors. I would’ve liked he butterfly swivel shoulders, but the arm articulation that is present works pretty swell even without that extra bit of icing.

The complete list of joints is as follows: ball-hinged neck/shoulders/wrists; double-hinge knees and elbows; ab crunch; swivel waist/biceps/thighs; ball-jointed hips; and ball-hinged ankles with rockers. Great for all manner of stalking and attacking poses.

Ordinarily I complain mightily when a figure comes with no real accessories of its own, but in this instance, I’ve got zero suggestions for what would be worthwhile accessories to include here. Puma already has the perfect head and hands, and he doesn’t use weapons. He does get the largest chunk of the Kingpin Build-A-Figure (the torso), and that’s good enough for me.

The one bit on this figure that really grates on my nerves is Puma’s bone necklace. It just fits over his head and lays loosely on his upper body, so it rattles everywhere and flops all over the place when you move him around. It looks nice, but it’s a real pain having it not attached to the body in any way to hold it in place.

Overall: I had no plans whatsoever to highly rate this 6” Puma Legends figure, but after messing around with posing him and photographing him and spending time with him, I discovered that this is an outstanding figure… of a character a majority of collectors have likely never heard of.

The paintwork is spot-on, the head sculpt is phenomenal stuff, the costume add-on bits work nicely, and the articulation is par for the course excellent. The Marvel Legends Puma figure is filled with personality and is a blast to play with. This character won’t be for everyone, but as a toy, this is one of Hasbro’s best of 2019 thus far.

GRADE: A