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Marvel Legends 11
Wolverine, Ultron and Wonder Man


Tonight's ML guest review is long time reviewer Coheteboy.  It's been awhile since we've had a review from CB, and it's always a welcome read!  Take it away, CB...

What a year for Marvel Legends. It's now 2006 and we've had three series released right before the end of 2005! We've all seen the Sentinel series 10, Michael just reviewed Series 12 (Apocalypse), and squeezing right in between those are Series 11. Almost feels like it's too much, but of course the fans are eager for it all.

Series 11 is dubbed "The Legendary Riders" series, which means... NO GIANT BUILD-A-FIGURE. Many of the casual collectors would have welcomed the break if Series 12 didn't arrive so soon, but the bottom line on series 11 is that you don't need to buy every single character to complete the massive figure. Each figure does come with a vehicle of some sort, which makes sense to some, and little sense for others. 

The figures in this wave are: Ultron, Logan from "Days of Our Future Past", Wonder Man, Hulkbuster Iron Man, First Appearance Thing, Vengeance, Task Master, and the very elusive Scarlet Witch which was released but in small numbers since its cancellation.










The variants in this series are for Logan, which is a younger version that includes a more natural and younger facial expression, white tank-top (instead of black shirt), different color jacket and a cowboy hat. Ionic Wonder Man is the other chase figure, which seems to be a pretty cool one.

I'm only selecting three out of this wave to review since these figures deserve as much attention as possible. That and I didn't get the other three yet. Four if you count that rare witch.

Packaging - ***
Same old Marvel Legends packaging in a clamshell with comic book still serving as a backdrop. The Series # is conveniently located on the top left of the card and a sticker showing how many points of articulation is on the bubble just as it always has been. The back of the card shows the stats and a blurb about the character, which I appreciate a TON. I just wish Toy Biz did this with their other Marvel properties also. Odd this time around is that they don't show the variants offered in this series.

Packaging score would get a boost if the packaging had a more comic book feel. I know that a comic book serves as a backdrop but the packaging itself is rather dull. The Justice League figures that Mattel is making is heading in the right direction.

Sculpting - Wonder Man***1/2; Chase Logan ***; Ultron ** 1/2
The sculpting for these three characters range from decent to better-than-decent. 
I suppose I should explain my low rating of Ultron. Well, he's not a version I care for. In fact... I don't think I've ever seen Ultron in this state at all. I admit that I haven't read every comic book that featured Ultron but I'm pretty sure I would have seen some images floating around the web if he ever did look like that. The sculpt works great as a generic robot toy...OF A HAPPY BUNNY RABBIT that turned into a robot!! 

Logan is the next one and the body is identical to the Logan released in the X-Men Legends series. Only the head has been changed. Is it an improvement? Sorta. The regular Logan has a grimace and facial expression that looks like he's constipated. I had to decline the purchase on that. But I DID pick up the chase version, which is the neutral expression... almost a dead ringer for Jack Black. Almost. Logan has a more comic book style than the X-Men Legends version did, so this might be more fun for the comic book fans.

Wonder Man is probably my favorite out of this trio. Decently scaled with a grim facial expression to match, this is one man of wonder you don't want to mess with. I did always think of him being somewhat larger, but that could be my imagination. Oh and more fun with look-alikes, Wonder Man looks like Yao-Ming a bit. Doesn't he?

Paint - ***
The paint on all three of these figures are above the usual fare, but again, like all the previous waves, nothing that blows you away. All the paint styles are pretty tame to begin with, since Logan and Wonder Man don't have a massive requirement of colors. Ultron is probably more intricate but in the end, he doesn't require a lot of paint to boost his score. 

Everything I've seen is all very clean so no complaints. A solid effort in the department of paint. 

Articulation - Wonder Man, Chase Logan ***1/2; Ultron ***
What I'm enjoying so far about the figures from Series 11 is that none of them have weak or fragile joints. Now, I understand that this could vary from figure to figure, but I was extremely disappointed with the quality of my Marvel Legends series 10 as a whole. So far, series 11 hasn't let me down. 

Wonder Man and Logan both have the usual amount of articulation to expect from the series with 36 and 34 points of articulation respectively. Ultron is a tad weaker with only 29 points but it seems to work for this sculpt. It would have been nice if Ultron had more range of motion in his neck but it works well enough.

Accessories - Chase Logan *** 1/2; Wonder Man ***; Ultron **
With a name like "Legendary Riders" what would you expect to be included with these figures? A cool ride, that's what! Before we get started though, each figure comes with the usual comic book and the return of the Marvel vs. System trading cards.

Unfortunately, the only cool ride here is for Logan. He comes with his signature motorcycle. Whether or not they really have flames on the side, I don't have the answer to that but it does look cool. Also included with Logan is a removable jacket that is made of the same soft rubber material that we saw with the Peter Parker/Spider-Man figure. The jacket looks decent enough but does limit Logan's articulation some. The chase version here comes with a bonus cowboy hat, so if you pick up the normal version and see a empty slot in the bubble, don't worry, you're not missing anything. The had does make the chase version of Logan that much cooler though!

Wonder Man's accessories aren't particularly grand, but the inclusion of a bonus character YELLOW JACKET definitely helps. No articulation on Yellow Jacket but he plugs in to Wonder Man's back. The ride that he comes with is a sporty red... well... looks like a Segway but I could be wrong. It folds together for easy storage in the closet or under the bed. 

Ultron's accessories leaves something to be desired, coming with a glider that looks surprisingly similar to a certain goblin's and seems really out of place since Ultron doesn't really need a glider. Oh well. 

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Fans of Marvel will love these figures as collectibles or toys. Despite my disappointments with the accessories and sculpts, these are fantastic representations of our favorite superheroes... not so much on the villain though.

Value - ***1/2
I picked these up for under $7 each at Wal-Mart and at Target, which is a fantastic price. Especially since Target sells Star Wars figures for the same price now!

Things to watch out for -
Variants of Wonder Man and this Logan are what you need to look out for, as these are variants that people actually want. As always, check for paint.

Oh and keep an extra eye out for Scarlet Witch! She's as hard to find as any figure out there!

Overall - Wonder Man, Chase Logan ***1/2; Ultron ** 1/2
I'm really surprised that I like the Logan so much, as the sculpt wasn't that attractive when I first took a look, but it has certainly grown on me. Of course, I'm referring to the chase Logan rather than the basic one, so you may differ in opinion. Wonder Man is also a favorite. These two are worth adding to the collection.

Ultron though... well... if you like robots then you have nothing to worry about. I personally will continue to wait for the perfect version of that character.

As for the rest of the wave, I'm not too familiar with Task Master or Vengeance, but I'm sure they're as good as the rest of the marvel characters.

SCORE RECAP:
Packaging - ***
Sculpt - Wonder Man***1/2; Chase Logan ***; Ultron **1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - Wonder Man, Chase Logan ***1/2; Ultron ***
Accessories - Chase Logan *** 1/2; Wonder Man ***; Ultron **
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - ***1/2
Overall - Wonder Man, Chase Logan ***1/2; Ultron **1/2

Where to buy
Online options include:

- Alter Ego Comics has Angel (and many other ML10 figures) for $9.

- CornerStoreComics has Angel for $10, along with many other ML10 figures.

- YouBuyNow has the Angel and others in stock for $10.




Figure from the collection of Coheteboy.

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