MARVEL UNIVERSE: SECRET WARS Wave 2
Featuring: Hulk, Spider-Woman, Spider-Man, Magneto, Cyclops, and Iron Man
Well, this isn't so much a review. Since all the figures really are nothing more than reused body types again with only a few newly sculpted parts I didn't think it was necessary for a full fledge review. So this is more of a quick peek at what to expect with the Secret Wars second wave of Comic 2 packs. I apologize for any blurry shots.. I was taking a lot of pictures that day.
SWCREW.jpg 173.55K 20 downloads
So here we have the entire crew up on display! I tried my absolute best to pick out the cleanest figures with the least amount of flaws... I think I did pretty well. If the store only had a few of each pack I don't know if I would have bought them immediately. Cause there honestly were some grotesque paint apps happening there.
SpiWo.jpg 91.92K 19 downloads
Here we have Spider-Woman. Same exact female body as Firestar and the Ms.Marvel figures. I've mentioned it already, but I really hope we get a better Female body soon. Don't get me wrong I love the frame the sculpt provides, as well as the scale. But it can be kind of archaic in design. no arm swivels or side lean on the torso. I can absolutely understand why however. The poor girl would probably fall apart with those extra cuts in the body. There were 2 figures I can recall of Spider-Woman in the store that had good paint apps, but one had glue running down her forehead, so that was an easy choice. The rest were hideous looking, so be patient and prepared for some poorly stenciled lines. Even this one is somewhat sloppy. I think the hair and head sculpting is very nice though. Not that bad of a figure if you can score a cleaner one.
Hulk.jpg 143.74K 12 downloads
Next we have the New Hulk! Classic colors with the light green skin, and purple trunks. The new head sculpt is fantastic! I have to say I was a bit sad that they opted to skimp on the black mouth outlining, but after having him rampage with my other Hulk figs I started to really like him! I hope we get a Gray Hulk with the new head sculpt. The Hulk figures are probably my absolute favorites, and I can't rightly put my finger on it...I used to be completely terrified of Lou Ferigno's Hulk back when I was a kid. The paint washes were nice and light as well as even on the one I picked out. However there were many others with oddly placed washes, and black paint spots on the nose, face, and body. The biggest concern I had with this figure was that his neck swivel was stuck! Interestingly, and to my surprise the only stuck joint out of all 6 figures. I had to heat him up under a very hot tap for quite some time and move and pry his head to get it loose. I discovered something interesting about the way they attach the head. At first I thought it just pegged into the body, but they plug the head peg into a plastic washer, then cement the washer into the socket of the body. So that explains why it was stuck. Fortunately the peg is nice and rubbery when heated up.
Raging.jpg 186.11K 21 downloads
IM.jpg 108.71K 8 downloads
Here we have Good ole Classic Armored Iron Man. The same exact body type as Wave Three's Classic IM. There weren't any real noticeable issues with any of the IM figs I saw, so just focus on that Pesky Spider-Woman. Personally I like this IM more than the Wave 3 version. The SW one is a lighter metallic color, much closer to the actual comic yellows and reds. He is also better painted I think. All the Wave 3 IMs gold paint has been weird. The gold on the mask, lower legs, and forearms were deeper than the gold on the upper arms and legs of the figure for some reason..and I hate this. The SWs version is much more consistent, and overall I think looks nicer. No problems or complaints here.
IMCom.jpg 117.52K 15 downloads
Mags.jpg 99.21K 15 downloads
Magneto! I have to say this is a pretty impressive figure. He reuses the DareDevil/Bullseye body type, but has new forearms and lower legs. I couldn't find anything wrong with the sculpt. He has a removable cape and a belt as well. There were many things to look out for with this figure. I saw some with sloppy flesh paint on the face running up the helmet. Some where the Purple trim was runny or not completely filled in. This is more distracting on the helmet. And some had poorly cleaned capes and belts. Personally I opted to focus solely on the paint quality of the face. I can live with lower grade body paint, but the faces of these figures are what sets them apart, so a clean face with good helmet trim was a must. I found one that was decent enough. Can't say I have much to complain about with this figure. I think he is tops. I certainly hope we get a mask-less version of Magnus single carded some time! An Age of Apocalypse version would be sick as well.
Clops.jpg 95.2K 14 downloads
Another Member of the X team joins the MU ranks! Finally a decent Cyclops sculpt! I have to say I am loving this figure. Despite the problems that appeared to be rampant at the store, he is just cool. Cyclops reuses the new stronger build Male body type that we saw on Guardian and Sub-Mariner for Wave 5. I think it is a perfect Body type, and see it being used for quite a while I'm sure. Now aside from that, and as I mentioned earlier. Cyclops was probably the biggest upset as far as paint quality that I saw. Yellow smudging and running was everywhere. Poorly stenciled Xs on the belts. Runny visors and face paints! TERRIBLY placed and distributed washes. I actually happened to get one of the best ones that was there, but since I opted for the best looking Hulk first I was taking a chance. Most of the paint wash appears to be on the arms and legs, with very little on the body. I don't know what they were doing.. Maybe holding the figure by the arms while spraying them. But the paints are the only complaint. He is a pretty sturdy figure, with great motion! I love the new hand, and his head has plenty of movement.
Clopscom.jpg 123.41K 14 downloads ClopsBeam.jpg 113.05K 10 downloads
BCSpiMa.jpg 129.39K 4 downloads
Finally, and probably of least concern to me is the Black Costume Spidey. This figure is pure black plastic with only the symbols, eyes, and back hands painted. To me this figure jut feels cheap and brittle. I'm not sure if it's because he virtually has no paint on the body, or what. But he feels like a cheapo dollar store figure in your hand. This is my least favorite figure from this Wave. I would focus on Magneto when buying this pack, cause there isn't much to mess up on Spidey here, although he can have poorly stenciled eyes and spider symbols. Of a commendable note is the new Spider design! It was designed to look more like the first appearance symbol from the Secret Wars Comic. Which was really cool of Hasbro to make some effort on a figure that would have been a basic variant. Personally I prefer my Wave 3 Black Spidey, but this one isn't all that bad.
BCSpiCom.jpg 116.32K 14 downloads
BCSpiFront.jpg 108.53K 3 downloads BCSpiBack.jpg 110.46K 3 downloads
Overall I'd say this Wave trumps Wave one in quality control and coolness. We got 3 new characters on our roster compared to only 2 from Wave 1. So that's a little better. None of my comics appeared to be jammed all the heck like Wave 1, and the paint apps were slightly better. The figure quality is nice as well, only one stuck joint to report, and all had tight limbs! I did notice something interesting on the packaging though. And it makes me think Hasbro was thinking of the problem reports from the first Wave. There is a sticker on each of the backer cards with Made in China, Comics printed in Hong Kong stamped on. Now I don't know how much it cost to make a comic book these days...but is it really cheaper for some factory in Hong Kong to print and then ship the comics to the packager than it is to have either the same factory or an American printer print the comics? That's just crazy weird.