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Marvel Legends Vision

Tonight we have a rather unique combination guest review!  New reviewer Big Bear the Toy Fan picked up a Marvel Legends Vision figure, but had no camera.  Never fear, for regular reviewer Coheteboy stepped in to save the day!

The text review itself is all Big Bear, while the photos are from CB.  Thanks as always to both guys for helping out - now on to the guest review!






Packaging - ***1/2
The standard for Marvel Legends figures is what is used here. The so-called "clamshell" packaging is effective as it holds the figure and the accessories within while also protecting the comic book, which is what all collectors want anyway. While this is a pain for those who can't wait to rip open the plastic to get at the toy for immediate gratitude, a pair of scissors can remedy all problems and neatly open the package for the fun to begin.

Sculpting - ***
This was a slight problem for me. The Vision actually looks real good after close inspection. All the old school qualities of the vision are there. You have the "solar jewel" on his forehead, the butterfly collar cape, and the stern face with the deep-set eyes. The only problem with he sculpt is the scale. The Vision should be much larger. It seems that every character in ML 7, except for Apocalypse, is way too small in size. While this may work well for the Weapon X version of Wolverine, it truly hurts the Vision. I was hoping for a character that was comparable in size to Captain America or Iron-Man. Instead, the Vision is not even as big as Deadpool. That is the only real drawback however, as he looks so cool when placed with his other Marvel Legends Avengers team-mates that you can shrug your shoulders and overlook it.

Paint - ****
My Vision is very well-painted. I found virtually no blemishes on him at all. I actually have no complaints here. Even the joints and seams in the character are painted so smoothly that you forget that he is supposed to be super articulated.

Articulation - ***1/2
The articulation is fine. He looks great in most poses and with his "hanging pole", the Vision can be made to look like he is floating depending on how you fool with the joints. One of the good things about this figure is that although he is kind of slim, he is not fragile. He does not seem to want to break apart when you move him around like the skinny Elektra and Rogue figures. 

Accessories - **
The only real accessory is his transparent pole which sticks into a hole in the back of the Vision so that it looks like he floats on air. That effect works well in a dimly-lighted room where the Vision can appear to be standing on a cushion of air. While this pole will remind most buyers of what was used to hold up Doop (see Deadpool from ML 6), you wished that Toy Biz made a mall diorama with slots that fit his legs and arms along with the hanging pole so that it could look like the Vision is "phasing" through the wall. Too bad for us, as that would have made the Vision even cooler to display. That only leaves the best accessory being the comic book that comes with him. With Avengers #135 being the issue that reveals the ORIGINAL secret origin of the Vision as being a re-working of the original Human Torch himself (before Marvel made that into a lie) this comic will be great for nostalgia for old Marvel readers and a great bit of background into the Vision for newer collectors.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
I am biased when it comes to the Vision. Being that I am an avid fan of the Avengers it is only the issue that I have is with his scale, and that prevents me from giving him a four star rating. This guy will be fun to set up and pose, and if you have the Phasing Variant, then you will be undoubtedly trying to make the Vision look like he is walking through walls with all kinds of crazy poses.

Value - ****
As of now I could only find two stores that sold them on a regular basis: Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us. Wal-Mart will be at least a dollar cheaper than Toys "R" Us, but you may get a better shot at owning him through TRU, because they seem to receive larger shipments from Toy Biz. Prepare to spend anywhere from $6.88 plus tax to $7.99 plus tax on the Vision and the other ML 7 figures.

Overall - ***1/2
Unfortunately, I have to give the Vision less than four stars when I fairly consider all the categories. I love him, scale problem and all, but as a purist I wanted more. Fortunately however, this is the best rendition of the Vision thus far, and with him being short packed, if you miss out on getting him now, you may never know the joy that I do from adding him to my adventures of "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" !!!! (JLA WHO!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?)

Score Recap -
Packaging - ***½
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - **
Fun Factor - ***½
Value - ****
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy: 
As Stated above, take a trip to Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us first and then try Kay-Bee. I have yet to see him at Target, but you can keep your eyes open.

There are also some options for pre-ordering future Marvel Legends waves online:

- Circle Red has full sets of Marvel Legends 8 available right now for $80 (non-variants of course!)

- CornerStoreComics has a few of the Marvel Legends 8 figures still available, and they have pre-orders up for series 9, 10 and 11, but order early because those pre-orders disappear fast!

- Qwiksand Collectibles still has some series 7 and 8 figures available individually.


Figure from the collection of Coheteboy.

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