General Marvel Legends

And, because I almost forgot ... Namor needs Attuma,

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Please and thank you.
 
This is one of those sets that I hope wildly under-performs and somebody learns a lesson from.

This phrase gets thrown around whenever something disappointing happens. I just don't think it's a matter of learning lessons. This is what this line is the majority of the time. Easy reuse. This two pack could do zero sales and we'd still see something like it again. They know people want Mandarin, they could have put some money into a figure that would really pop, be a crowd pleaser, and have little to no reuse potential, or they could give us this. Sometimes they do the former and it's great (see Psylocke), but most times they do the later. That's Marvel Legends.
 
I'm trying to think of what other villains would go nicely on that shelf.

The Executioner. Immortus. The Melter. The Super Adaptoid done right. Power Man. Man-Ape. Zodiac (All 12). Annihilus (The Diamond Select fiasco still hurts). Dracula. The U-Foes. The rest of the Serpent Society. The Wizard. The Trapster. The Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. The Mole Man. Nightmare. Baron Mordu. Mastermind.

Still quite a few to go.
 
Actually Ezekiel Stane would have been perfect for this set since he battled Extremis Iron Man. Extremis is a lot of reuse with a new lower torso and unmasked head to balance out a brand new sculpt for Ezekiel.


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This extremis fig has butterfly joints too


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The rare "almost everyone is pissed" set.
Ah, Extremis Iron Man has the articulation scheme he should have had to begin with.

Tempting, but also insulting.
This is exactly where I'm at.

The original Extremis figure came out in 2023. We know Hasbro works a year or two ahead. Am I supposed to believe that they didn't realize they could give Tony an articulated torso and butterfly joints until we all bitched about it? "D'oh! Why didn't we think of that?!"

I usually don't mind buying upgrades, but this is a minor upgrade on a relatively new figure. To make matters worse, they shoved it in a two-pack with a version of Mandarin nobody wants.

If it were a character I liked more, I probably wouldn't complain as much. I might just replace my current Extremis figure with the 80th Anniversary Iron Man in protest.
This is one of those sets that I hope wildly under-performs and somebody learns a lesson from.
They'll probably see it as another Avengers failure rather than bad costume selection.
 
I should be less enthusiastic about the two pack, but I like the Extremis armor enough that I would love to have the same suit with Tony unmasked, and... I mean I know I'll buy Mandarin again in a better costume but I'll like having him in his civilian look, I'm an easy mark for those.

And... Oh FFS this one hast butterfly joints? I'm not mad, I'm laughing-annoyed, because I loved the last Extremis (he's my display Tony right now in the rotation) and loved the Adi Granov muted reds and golds, but yeah, butterfly joints is an upgrade. They are diabolical about the marginal upgrades, but they still get me every time.
 
maybe with Ryan's unexpected departure from the creative line-up, the direction of the line might shift in a way I will enjoy more?
How do you mean? Was this Ryan driving the line in a specific direction? I admit I don't know much about the people involved or their roles.

I'm trying to think of what other villains would go nicely on that shelf [snip bunch of names]
And this is what reminds me why I collect ML. The possibilities of characters that I really enjoy. Yes, let me get a proper Super-Adaptoid or Annihilus or Mastermind. It's like buying a lottery ticket; you're sure you won't win anything, but for a brief moment you can enjoy the possibility of winning.
 
And that's fine. Then I'll never have a Mandarin. Money saved.

But if they ever do make a classic, that'll be money spent.
Oh for sure, I am not saying anyone has to settle for this. I am with you all that this is really disappointing for those that want a Mandarin considering this may well be the only non MCU Mandarin they ever make.
 
I should be less enthusiastic about the two pack, but I like the Extremis armor enough that I would love to have the same suit with Tony unmasked, and... I mean I know I'll buy Mandarin again in a better costume but I'll like having him in his civilian look, I'm an easy mark for those.
No, you shouldn’t be less enthusiastic. I think it’s great that you like the set. Being disenchanted with the line is no fun, believe me. I miss being excited when new figures are revealed. I miss having a steady flow of preorders and packages in the mail to look forward to.

As I’ve said in other threads, I’ve bought nine Marvel Legends figures this year, and three of them I didn’t even want. I don’t wear that as a badge of honor. It’s damn depressing, but when it comes to 2025, Hasbro is from Mars and Xavion is from Venus. We used to be in sync, but now we can’t even agree on what’s for dinner.
 
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I'm seriously confused by the clawed ringless hands being included. Feels overtly racist.

The main head on Mandarin is borderline white washing the character, but they had to put the yellow peril-ness back into the package so we get massive clawed hands with long finger nails included. Wild choices.

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For when you only want to be a little racist, like just around the hands, here's Fu Meh-chu!

I have to wonder how much this Mandarin was ruined by basing it on a series with art that was deeply photo-referenced, to say it tactfully. Based on the way he draws the character, Larocca must have been using a lot of images of Western people for guidance.

People paid good money for this comic, and this was the art they got:


Something I've been working on for a while is a setup based on 80s and 90s HK action films. It involves just a wild mess of 3D-printed heads from customizer dudes. Just so many. So I'm excited whenever an Asian character gets a release in a 1:12 line, because it's a potential character for the thing I'm building that might not require me painting anything (HK action films commonly had Japanese actors in key roles and had sequences shot in places like Thailand that were easier to film than HK, so I can go a little farther afield with my casting). And I'm saying all this to explain that ML is about to release an ethnically Chinese character in a suit that somehow does not meet my criteria for my display built around ethnically Chinese characters in suits, which is truly impressive.

I mean, what is even the point of a suited Mandarin who doesn't look like Yuen Wah in Dragons Forever?
 
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I haven't bought a ton of Legends the past few years either, but for me it's a good thing. Because for me it just means I'm happy with what I have. Mandarin (still) sits atop my top 10 list, then under him are names like Dr. Bong and Triathlon. We've come a long way in this line.


Dan suggesting that we could get more Mandarins in the future
 
But I am also tired of Hasbro INTENTIONALLY not giving us what most collectors want. They *know* this isn't the version of the character most of their fanbase wants and they decided to fleece us anyway.
Don't forget, because of the vocal minority being complete asshats to them on social media, they then publicly mock EVERYONE who is unhappy with their intentional fuckups & fuckovers.
 
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