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Marvel Legends
Urban Legends Boxed Set

Coheteboy is back with another Marvel Legends review, this time of the Urban Legends set.  Yep, I'm still a couple weeks behind on my guest reviews, but I'm doing my best to catch up.  It's not his fault this review is late!  Oh, and I think it's best if I just disavow all knowledge of that last photo...take it away, Coheteboy!

As we move on into the new year, some may be wondering why are we only now reviewing the Urban Legends set released months ago? And my answer this: it's still sitting on the shelves so I thought someone should probably get another review out while it's still available. Better late than never right?

The Urban Legends box set isn't anything new, but there are quite a few differences that you may want to pay attention to. By the end of this review you'll hopefully either a) decide that you would like to get a set (even if it's at a considerable discount) or b) stick with your initial thoughts and pass on it completely. The set includes four characters that have already seen the light of day but are getting refreshed for whatever reason. 

Everyone's favorite SPIDER-MAN gets the Marvel Legends treatment and is quite a different figure compared to the first Spider-Man Classics figure. The PUNISHER receives one "mean" head (ha ha ha, laugh it up while you can) with some new threads while ELEKTRA gets a white outfit and a new head. The updated DAREDEVIL is essentially the current Spider-Man Classics figure with a darker red. All of these are nicely packed in a box for you to pick up or ignore. 













Packaging - ***
All four figures are packed into a colorful box that looks nothing like the X-Men Legends box, which was more traditional with the usual "Marvel Legends" colors. The art on the URBAN set reflects the more "cheery" environment in which these heroes inhabit. And by cheery I meant the slums of the city. The back of the box continues the trend and provides statistics for each character. Getting into the box, however, is going to take some patience. There are a TON of twist ties to go through so get that nail clipper handy (that's at least what I prefer to use). Overall, the packaging works well and does a good job selling the product within. 

Sculpting - Punisher: ** 1/2; The Rest: ***
Dare I say it? The sculpting on these figures just aren't as strong as I'm used to seeing from Toy Biz. Let's start with The Punisher. He's the exact figure as seen previously with the exception of a new head. And to be perfectly honest, it's not very good in the slightest. The sculptor did a decent job but the gnarling expression looks over exaggerated just a bit. He just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the gang. 

ELEKTRA also identical to the Series 4 release but with a new "not so pouty" head. The new head here isn't bad but it's very different from what we've seen before. The hair is sculpted with the "blowing in the wind" look. If I had to pick one Elektra, I'd probably go with the first version but that's only my opinion. It's a fairly good job on the sculpt. It's as if she has a Mona Lisa smile... or maybe it's not a smile. 

Good 'ol SPIDEY ditches his old "Classics" body in favor of a new mega articulated version that resembles closely the body type of the recent Mr. Fantastic. Meaning that this Spidey is mush larger than the first super-articulated Spider-Man. Not sure which is more accurate, but because this isn't really an original mold, the spider-web lines are not sculpted on, making his appearance more on the flat side. The face is also pretty generic with no features sculpted on either. It could have been worse but it also could have been much much better.

Last but not least is DAREDEVIL, which was recently released in the SPIDER-MAN CLASSICS line up. The sculpt is identical to that release and is an improvement on the first super-poseable Daredevil a few years back, but the head sculpt is missing something that truly makes this "DAREDEVIL". It's just a little off and the more you stare at it the more obvious it becomes. This version is bulked up from the last release and may or may not be sharing body parts with Silver Surfer. 

Paint - Elektra & Punisher: *** 1/2; Spider-Man & Daredevil: ***
As you can probably see from the headshots, the paint on Daredevil's head is a bit sloppy in the area that mattered most. His entire body is a dark shade of red so it wouldn't have been noticeable if there were different shades here and there, but where his mask meets the face is pretty darn poor. If anyone picked up the Spider-Man Classics recent release of Daredevil, this version is painted at a slightly darker tint of red. 

Elektra is sporting a white version of her outfit (but it's too bad the poster book doesn't show any pictures of that). I mentioned some slop on my Series 4 Elektra and all of that appeared to be cleaned up for this release. What's nice is that Elektra isn't painted in a pure white; she is given some shades of gray throughout to add some depth. Her head is painted nicely on the one I have but you might want to check each box to ensure that.

While I complained on the silly head sculpt of The Punisher, he actually sports pretty good paint ops. The differences between this version and the Series 4 are that his gloves and boots are painted black to match the rest of the costume. The paint on the head is also done pretty well here.

Spider-Man probably has the most difficult paint job of the bunch and it shows in some areas, unfortunately. They did a pretty great job for the most part but there are few areas left solid red and it sticks out like a sore thumb. The paint on the head is also a bit awkward if his eyes are painted on crooked. If done wrong, Spidey might look like he has a misshapen head! 

Articulation - ****
Can't complain here as Toy Biz has been the king of articulation for the Marvel Legends. These figures have a TON of articulation. Spider-Man comes close to having 38 (or maybe it's 40) points, Daredevil has about 38, I counted 37 on Punisher, and Elektra has about 42 points. I don't think I need to get into the details here, you all know that it's pretty standard now. 

Accessories - *** 1/2 
The box set itself comes with four Urban Legends stands for each of the four figures and a full color poster book. The book shows various artwork of the featured heroes but here's an interesting note: None of the Punisher art shows this growling psycho face that the figure has, nor does it show a bazooka! Elektra wearing white? Absent as well. Ok, minor quibble, moving on.

Three of the figures included have their own accessories. Elektra has a pair of sai, a pair of blades, as well as a holder for all of it that attaches to her back. Yup, just like the first version! Daredevil comes with a pair of nunchuks that fit in his holster. Punisher is the most unique of them all with a cloth trench coat and a bazooka. The trench coat could have been MUCH better after seeing what was given Gambit and even Blade. It just looks pathetic. The bazooka also doesn't quite fit the character as well as an Uzi would have. Still, they're unique accessories so that's that. Spidey comes with absolutely nothing.

Value - ***
Considering that these figures should be about $6.99 each, the box set at Toys'R'Us was priced at $29.99, a few dollars more than the price of four figures. But in their defense, $29.99 is a good deal at Toys'R'Us prices. Price aside, this is the only set where you can get a trench coat for Punisher as well as a white costume Elektra, though I don't know anyone who asked for one. Since I didn't purchase the single pack of Daredevil, the value of this set is a little better since it's essentially the same figure. 

Overall - ***
Overall, I'm not entirely satisfied with the set but I'm not unhappy with it either. I think Elektra was unnecessary after having the red version and Punisher really is a joke. It's as if his face is about to split apart like in Total Recall! Trench coat is a piece of crap, especially since there were a ton of loose threads that I had to trim off. The Daredevil is pretty good, especially since I avoided getting the single carded version. Super poseable Spider-Man is always fun but how many do we really need? 

So in the end, it all comes down to how many of these figures you really want or need. For me, I only needed the Daredevil and didn't mind having another Spider-Man. Elektra was unnecessary but not a bad figure. The Punisher however, is pretty bad. Actually, it's a great figure if you swap heads. But even the trench coat is embarrassing. 

I guess I wasn't much help after all. Decide for yourself if this set is worth getting!

Where to Buy:
Toys'R'Us is the only place I've seen this constantly available for $29.99 but I have seen it at Wal-Mart stores as well for MUCH less (under $25).

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Figures from the collection of Coheteboy.

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