General Marvel Legends

I forgot that the green TB Mandarin came with that mask and only the red version had a normal head. I never found or got that War Machine/Red Mandarin set.

There might be gripes about Hasbro, but I'll take everything they do over trying to hunt down those awful chase variants ToyBiz used to come out with.
 
I forgot that the green TB Mandarin came with that mask and only the red version had a normal head. I never found or got that War Machine/Red Mandarin set.

There might be gripes about Hasbro, but I'll take everything they do over trying to hunt down those awful chase variants ToyBiz used to come out with.
I still own the vast majority of my TB MLs. Some I've sold. Some I've sold off and rebought. I've never owned that Mandarin. I can personally overlook a lot of the TB flaws that send other collectors calling for their Hasbros. But I can't get past that robe that makes the figure a brick of rubber.

You can find some of those TB variants for decent prices today if you keep your eyes peeled. I wonder if Todd's platinum figures will be the same way years from now.
 
I still have the green one in a bin somewhere. It definitely wasn’t a great figure back then, probably worse now. Another big difference between now and then is now the Big Mouse is in charge of things.
 
I think the only "guarantee" is we won't get a Silver Age Mandarin. And almost more for the fact his costume/mask is a bit underwhelming.

Frankly as a lifelong Iron Man fan, I'm not even all that interested in Mandarin. I don't think he's really had too many memorable stories. And his character seems all over the place with motivations, other than "hate Iron Man, hate the West." I believe he was initially against technology but was using alien technology. I don't know. He just never felt fully focused as a character. I do like some of his costumes though. And having different powers available to him through the rings is interesting.

Yeah I agree, Ash Talon. I heavily associate Mandarin with Iron Man because of the 90s show, but Marvel has had a difficult time giving Mandarin a consistent motivation in the comics. Most of the time it seems like he’s consumed by self doubt and is testing Iron Man and himself at the same time for some reason with zany plots.

Technically the ten different powers, access to so much wealth, tech, and military support, and his nearly superhuman martial arts abilities should make him more formidable.

I felt like he really came into his own in the Iron Man: Director of SHIELD—Haunted storyline. And it seemed like that was potentially going to set up Mandarin for a power up. Could have been awesome. But the story was dropped. And then we got the weird crazed destroy-the-world version from Fraction run.

Anyway, I’m still happy to get some representation for comic Mandarin. The heads are nice. And I like the fists with the rings. Anybody recognize the suit body here? Looks a bit small in the photos.

I wish that ML and Classified Series heads were swappable. I feel like these Mandarin heads would be cool on a bare chested body with articulation like Quick Kick.

Still, the upgraded Extremis Iron Man is the biggest draw of the set for me. I preordered more than one of this set…


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The suit body is the shitty Coulson one that is now a little less shitty because the legs are pinless. It remains too small and the shoes are the same so the figure STILL WON'T STAND UP. They pumped money into a decades-old sculpt instead of just creating a new one - or just using the Mr. Knight/NWH Daredevil body.

FWIW, I thought Tony Leung's Mandarin was great in Shang-Chi. And once I edited his outfit and lowered his hairline, the figure is just as great. :)
 
The suit body is the shitty Coulson one that is now a little less shitty because the legs are pinless. It remains too small and the shoes are the same so the figure STILL WON'T STAND UP. They pumped money into a decades-old sculpt instead of just creating a new one - or just using the Mr. Knight/NWH Daredevil body.

FWIW, I thought Tony Leung's Mandarin was great in Shang-Chi. And once I edited his outfit and lowered his hairline, the figure is just as great. :)

Bummer about the body choice. Thanks for letting me know.

And agreed about Tony Leung Mandarin. Loved that version of the character.


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Tony Leung in Shang-Chi might be one of my favorite MCU villains. I remember an article in Vanity Fair yeares back on Leung and his performance and how the choice he made to infuse the character with longing made him so fascinating. (Now I need to pull that figure out of storage.)
 
Schizm said:
The suit body is the shitty Coulson one that is now a little less shitty because the legs are pinless. It remains too small and the shoes are the same so the figure STILL WON'T STAND UP. They pumped money into a decades-old sculpt instead of just creating a new one - or just using the Mr. Knight/NWH Daredevil body.

I’m not sure what you’re talking about. This set does use the NWH Murdock body with new tie and jacket pieces.
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I don't think there's much chance Hasbro would go with the stereotypical look like the one above, but if they DID I'd say that's an easy reuse of the Red Skull buck with a couple of overlays. But they wouldn't risk the backlash in the name of a quick and easy money grab.........RIGHT????
 
I don't think there's much chance Hasbro would go with the stereotypical look like the one above, but if they DID I'd say that's an easy reuse of the Red Skull buck with a couple of overlays. But they wouldn't risk the backlash in the name of a quick and easy money grab.........RIGHT????
But what is stereotypical about that look? You give him a manicure, and nothing about that costume is stereotypically Chinese. It’s pure SA goofiness.
Switching gears: I’ve got errands to run today. I haven’t had much chance to hit any stores lately, so I’m going to do some toy hunting. Wish me luck!
 
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