#Hasbro has a trend that seems pretty obvious with modern day #Marvel_Legends collector: replace the old #ToyBiz legends. So far they have done a pretty good job (subjective statement of course). Will the latest Apocalypse BAF from Hasbro tackle the behemoth Apocalypse of the past? Let's find out in this toy review!
En Sabah Nur has had several looks throughout his years in the Marvel universe. His size has varied through the years as well so for an action figure to get the 'accurate' size and look is kind of impossible--also, this X-Men baddie has a ton of mutant powers at his disposal. Shape shifting--changing his size and morphing his arms to any weapon he desires are just a few. Hasbro took the route of combining a few of his more iconic and recognizable look to make the 2018 BAF. He is huge, bulky, and definitely looks the part of the villain that once took over the world (AoA, anyone?). The body mold is, from what I believe, is recycled from another BAF/action figure. Of course with a character like Apocalypse, more than a few new sculpted parts had to be added. The face is of course brand new and unique to Apocalyspe, which I may add is definitely the highlight of this figure for me. A few things like his shoulder pads, gauntlets, tubes, belt, neck guard, and boots are all new to make Apocalypse as recognizable as possible. All these parts are all well done.
While Apocalypse's looks have changed from looking like a pharaoh to a more advanced armored villain from the future, the one thing is clearly consistent is his color scheme. Blue has to be present in one way or another. Purple and black are also associated with En Saha Nur but Hasbro chose to go with blue and black. As always, the paint applications are sparse in terms of detailing. Most of that are left for his ugly mug but different colored plastic make up the color variation. Truthfully, I think the metallic plastic doesn't play off as well or as comic book accurate for me. It isn't bad but it looks too shiny for a dark imposing villain like Apocalypse. But it's not badly executed if one sees Apocalypse like this. For the most part, he aesthetically looks pleasing.
Apocalypse can hold his own against some of the most formidable members of the X-Men. He doesn't rely on his fighting skills but solely on what his mutant powers can give him. As I mentioned, Apocalypse can change his arms into any weapon he imagines. That kind of depth isn't offered in his action figure form. Range of movements, once once again is the modern day Hasbro articulation. Expect some hinderance with his shoulder pads in relation to his arms and the belt prevents his waist swivel to be fully functional. But despite having the expected form of articulation, without any alternate hands or any kind of special effects, I was very limited with the action poses. He can stand there look imposing, yes, but I have to wait until December when we are given that alternate arm from the Archangel Marvel Legend we are getting. While I am not against the marketing of providing extra parts with future release of other action figures, I am not that fond of the idea of having a very limited action figure at its initial release. Definitely wasn't able to get as much depth with my pictures as I would want.
I borrowed some special effects from another Marvel Legends action figure, which is not unheard of, but it still doesn't sit well with me that I had to depend on another action figure to get one decent action shot.
As a BAF, Apocalypse does have mass and height to him. Here he is next to your standard 6 inch action figure. Obviously he towers over the Bucky Cap, which is good since BAFs should always be bigger than average Marvel Legends.
Speaking of towering, here is the Hasbro BAF Apocalypse next to the Toybiz BAF Apocalypse from way back when. This new Apocalypse definitely is nowhere close to the size of the previous behemoth BAF. But proportionally, Hasbro looks better and while Toybiz does have more paint details, the bright blue arms and thighs doesn't go well with the darker and detailed blue of the gloves, boots, and torso. Articulation wise, I think Hasbro has the natural one while the Toybiz has more... they BOTH lack accessories to give the character justice so all in all, I can't say I like one more than the other. Still, it's quite hilarious how Toybiz makes the Hasbro look like a 3.75 Marvel Universe action figure.
With only closed fists, not a lot can come out of Apocalypse. Certain character design hinders articulation. The smaller size of this BAF compared to its predecessor might be off putting for some. But this BAF comes with a few good merits: it looks aesthetically pleasing even with the bright metallic paint and where there are paint details (the face) it's done well. Also, maybe the future addition of an alternate arm might be something worth mentioning. All in all, I can't say that this is the definitive BAF of En Sabah Nur but still good enough to have in your shelf.
Thanks to the Archangel rerelease from Hasbro, Apocalypse got an updated BAF piece!
The wave itself is definitely a good X-Men wave. It has its ups and downs but there are more than a few things that are good about it that makes me recommend this. Let's check out where these action figures stand in my book.
Consisting of: Gladiator, Sabertooth, Storm, Psylocke, Wolverine, Multiple Man, and Magneto
Lowest(ONE) being my least, Highest(SEVEN) being my favorite.
Multiple Man- Was never a BIG fan of this character. I'm not into army building. Definitely the action figure I was not looking forward to and in the end, I got what I expected.
Gladiator- While I had fun with the photoshoots, the fact that this is a re-released action figure and not much was added to him, Hasbro dropped the ball.
Sabertooth- On a body mold I am not a fan of, Sabertooth had very little to offer. Great face sculpt though.
Magneto- This action figure gave us a decent amount of accessories. But Magneto is not high on my list of action figure to have.
Apocalypse- The BAF figure of the wave did not offer as much as I would want. He definitely did not knock the BAF previous to him off the shelf.
Psylocke- I actually really like this action figure. With some good accessories and a beautiful looking face, the only thing holding her back is the fact that they went with the generic paint job for her clothes rather than giving this classic character some more care by sculpting some of her clothing.
Storm- This action figure definitely got some care. Some molded parts gives this figure some depth and the lightning effects definitely helped her and another action figure I bought this year.
Wolverine- This is the perfect body mold for Wolverine. It also helps that Hasbro pulled off the colors so well and the fact that there are some good articulation this action figure offers. This is definitely the body mold I don't mind seeing a few more times for a Wolverine action figure.
That's about it! My second to the last BAF wave of the year!
Until Next Time!