#19: Avengers Marvel Legends Infinite Series - Agent Coulson, Nick Fury, Maria Hill

Hasbro has finally fixed a glaring omission in its Marvel Cinematic Universe based line of Marvel Legends figures. Finally, an Agent Coulson figure! I've got a bunch of Mattel's figures of guys in suits, so Hasbro's is a refreshing change. Coulson's got a pretty good likeness, sporting something of a smirk. He's also armed with the gun he shot Loki with in the movie.

I'm also glad to have a Nick Fury that actually looks like Samuel L. Jackson. I have the original Ultimate Nick Fury figure, which predates the MCU. So although the comic character was drawn to look like SLJ, the figure just looks like a generic guy. It's mostly the same figure, and still has the issue with the arms not being able to go down very far. He's armed with a couple of pistols, each of which has a holster. They have odd blue stripes on the sides. I'm going to imagine that they're meant to be icers from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

The last figure in this set is Maria Hill, who's basically a retooling of Black Widow. Unlike Black Widow's unattached holsters, Maria's are attached to both her leg and hips, which makes her leg articulation a bit more restricted.

Also included is an alternate head for Coulson. Deal with it.

When I first heard that this set was hitting stores, I checked out Toys R Us's website, and there was a listing for it. It wasn't in stock yet, so I signed up to be notified when it was available. The next day, I checked the website again on a whim, and the set was in stock, so I ordered it. I never did receive a notification that the set was in stock, and next time I checked it was out of stock. So the moral is to never rely on an in stock notification from the Toys R Us website.

#34: The Avengers - Hot Toys Loki

When I pre-ordered the Hot Toys Joker with my tax refund money, I used the rest of it to pre-order the Hot Toys Loki as well. I figured getting into 1:6 scale figures with the antagonists from two of the biggest comic book movies of all time would be a good way to start.

Unlike the Joker figure, Loki is not a DX, so he comes in a less fancy package. There's a nice looking slip cover over a window box. Also, he only gets one head, and no moveable eyes. And there's no giant accessory like the Joker's interrogation table, and no backdrop.

Here he is, Loki the trickster god in all his glory. Loki's costume is more ornate than the Joker's, and it looks really cool in toy form. His long coat and flowing cape help give him the regal air he is going for.  The armor pieces have a nice matte finish that make them look really good. Naturally, he includes the magical staff with a soul gem in it.

His helmet is removable, of course. It fits pretty snugly on the head, so it splits into two pieces for more ease in putting it on or taking it off. I am on record as being very much a fan of the epicness of Loki's helmet, so he will definitely be displayed wearing it. Either way, here is a closer look at the head sculpt. As you expect from Hot Toys, it looks great. It's a fairly determined expression, with the hint of a smirk. I'm glad it's not a completely neutral expression, because that would have been boring. If he had a second head, it would have been cool to get a screaming face, for action poses.

In addition to the staff, he also includes the collapsed version as well. He is also armed with a couple of small daggers. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be secretly stored somewhere in the folds of his costume, but they work well for me in the belt/strap thing across his chest.

He also includes the muzzle and handcuffs he wore in preparation for his return to Asgard. The muzzle slips on and holds itself in place. The cuffs are non-functional in that they don't open up. To place them on, you have to remove the hands then slip the cuffs over the wrists, then replace the hands. The chain on those cuffs seems negligently long.

Speaking of hands, Loki has four pairs of them, plus an additional left hand. It's a flat open hand, and I like to think of it as a supervillain speechifying gesture hand. His accessories are rounded out with a display base.

Loki triumphant!

Loki's revenge!

Here's a group shot of all my Lokis, also featuring the six inch Hasbro Loki, the 3 3/4 inch Hasbro Loki, the Minimate Loki, and LEGO Loki.

#114: The Avengers - Skrull Soldier

I thought I was done buying Avengers figures, but it looks like I was wrong. I've always kind of been on the fence about picking up the Skrull figure, but seeing it on sale at the grocery store for slightly less than normal retail was what convinced me. Like many of the Avengers figures, the Skrull lacks wrist, ankle, and chest/waist articulation. Also, he includes the requisite big goofy weapon. In this case, it's the same one that was included with Hogun, but this time the blades are a translucent green plastic which makes it look a lot cooler. Again, the blades are removable for use as hand held blades or whatever.

Word on the street is that rights to use the Skrulls are tied up at Fox since they have the Fantastic Four rights, which is why the Chitauri were used for the movie. Unfortunately, they weren't as recognizable as Skrulls, and the Chitauri figure is really lacking in articulation. It doesn't even have elbows! The Skrull is a way better deal.

#87: The Avengers - Marvel's Hawkeye

Hey, did you know that The Avengers came out on Blu-Ray and DVD this week? With synergistic zeal, Target has also increased its stock of Avengers toys, while reducing their prices. A Hawkeye figure had actually shown up on the peg a week or so before the expansion of Avengers toys on the shelf. I'd been thinking about picking it up, since I don't have a Hawkeye at all, comic version or no, in this scale. Since it was on sale and there were a few to compare paint jobs, I went for it. The figure has a pretty great likeness of Jeremy Renner, although it is disappointing that he is wearing the sunglasses that he has on in all the promotional materials but only wears for the one scene in the movie. For accessories, he gets two bows. In case you lose one? There are also three "arrows" which serve as projectiles for the launcher. The launcher itself can attach to a bow. Rather than pushing a button to launch the arrows, you have to pull back on them so the spring gets compressed, then let them go. Unfortunately, there aren't any proper arrows. Even if there were, Hawkeye can't quite get into an arrow shooting pose, but he can get into what I suppose is the next best thing which is a pulling an arrow from the quiver pose. Which would be a lot better with a regular looking arrow. Also, he is lacking wrist, ankle, and waist/torso articulation. Despite those quibbles, he's a pretty good figure overall. Now I'm only two figures away from a movie Avengers line up in this scale, but I think I will be satisfied with my complete movie lineup in Minimates form.

On the shooting range

#86: The Avengers - Assault Squad Nick Fury

Sam Jackson has been appearing as Nick Fury in the Marvel cinematic universe since Iron Man, and they've released a couple figures based on him, but I finally got one. The Iron Man 2 version was in a boxed set that I never found for a price I liked, and they did a six inch version that I never saw anywhere. I still haven't seen this figure in stores anywhere, but fortunately James found one at a show for me. He turned out pretty well, so I suppose it was worth the wait. This is one of the better SLJ likenesses to appear on a 3 3/4" Hasbro figure. He has a couple of guns, and the handgun can be holstered. He also comes with a rocket launcher, which is something he actually used in the movie, although this version is a more toyish version, with a launching projectile. Which is purple, of course. He doesn't have articulated wrists, but he does have ankles and all the other important joints, including those annoying hips. Assault Squad? I'm not sure what's up with that. I know that they sometimes add to names to make them more easy to trademark, but usually it's "Marvel's..." or whatever. I guess it makes him sound more action packed. That's what the kids like, right?

"You are under arrest, Chancellor Palpatine."

#78: The Avengers - Movie Series Hulk

Yay, Hulk! Since this is a Wal-Mart exclusive, I didn't have very high hopes of ever finding the six inch scale version of the Hulk. When I went to the toy show a few weeks ago, there were people selling Hulks, but mostly for over twice retail price, which I wasn't willing to pay. I figured my best bet would be Ebay, but it's been pretty expensive there as well. Recently I've heard reports that the six inch Avengers figures are starting to show up more plentifully in Walmarts, so I gave Ebay a shot again. Apparently, the rumors are true, because I was able to get a Hulk for a decent price.

One of the first things I noticed about the Hulk, while he was still in the package, is how tall he is. In order to fit in the bubble, he's hunched over, with his legs bent. So he's appropriately giant in comparison with the other figures in the line. He's also not as heavy as I expected. It feels like his chest is hollow, which would help explain that. Overall, there really isn't much to complain about. It's a very good looking figure, and it moves well. The tatters on the pants are well designed to not get in the way of the articulation.

Hulks!

Some variation on this theme is pretty much required for any post about the Hulk when you also have a Loki figure.

#60: The Avengers - Grapple Blast Black Widow

Based on her appearance in Iron Man 2, Hasbro was supposed to release a Black Widow figure, but as far as I know, it never made it into production at all. I was looking forward to it, but I had to wait two years longer than I was expecting. My local Target hasn't had any new stock of Avengers figures in for months, and has in fact been using those pegs for Iron Man 2 figures that still haven't sold. Fortunately, friend of the blog James was able to find this figure for me.

One of the complaints about the Avengers figures is that they feature decreased articulation and are providing less value for the increased prices. The Black Widow figures bucks this trend by having basically all the articulation that you could hope for in a figure this size. So naturally, she is only packed one per case. Similarly to the other Avengers figures, she comes with a big weapon. I think it's a re-use of a weapon that came with one of the Warriors Three. In the area of non-ridiculous accessories, Black Widow has her dual pistols which have holsters. I think the face is a little too narrow for a likeness of Scarlett Johansson, but from the side it does look better. It's a really good figure, though, and it's too bad that she's so hard to find.

"Bring Your Tiny Clone To Work Day on the helicarrier"

#49: LEGO Avengers - Loki

These days, my interest in LEGO is mostly the minifigures. And the video games. Usually I'll only buy a building set if it includes enough minifigures I'm interested in. For The Avengers, this was a problem because I wanted a Loki, but didn't want to buy any of the sets he was included in. Fortunately, I was able to find one on Ebay for a decent price, and now my Loki army has grown again. What I like best about this Loki is that he has the largest horns on his helmet, relative to the size of the rest of his body. It's kind of ridiculous, in the best way possible. I wish his staff looked more movie accurate, but it's close enough.

#48: Pop! Marvel Avengers - Nick Fury vinyl bobble-head

The Pop! vinyl toys have been around for a little while now, and have a pretty wide variety of licenses. I've already got the Batman and Batgirl figures in this style. This is probably the adorable version of a Samuel L Jackson toy we're likely to get (or does that honor go the the Mini Muggs version?), so I've had my eye on it for a while, but regular price was just too much for me to take the plunge. With the release of the Amazing Spider-Man toys, Target was clearancing out some of their Avengers toys so that an endcap could be repurposed. This got marked down half off, which was reasonable enough for me to finally buy. I think due to licensing issues, a lot of these figures are released as bobble-heads rather than figures. Nick Fury here has an odd slant to his head due to the spring in his head, which is why I would have preferred the regular figures. Still, it was cheap, and it looks cool. I can't complain too much.

#44: The Avengers - Movie Series Loki

In an effort to annoy toy collectors, Hasbro has also released a six inch line of Avengers characters as a Wal-Mart exclusive. From what I hear, it is proving to be hard to find, with characters such as Loki and the Hulk packed one per case. Fortunately for me, AJ's brother was able to find some of them and sent along a Loki for me. For those keeping count at home, this is my third Loki figure, and so far it is the best. Unless I get the Hot Toys version, I think this will be king of the Lokis (or is the plural of Loki something like Lokii?) in my collection.

Unsurprisingly, as it's the largest figure, this Loki has the best likeness of Tom Hiddleston. While the helmet is removable, it looks great on his head, almost as if it were a sculpted part of the head. As well as a removable helmet, Loki's cape is removable as well. Rounding out Loki's accessories is his fancy new staff, in its non-extended form. Unlike his smaller scale Hasbro counterpart, this version of Loki doesn't skimp on the articulation. The high point is the ankle articulation, which has great side to side motion, for wide stances. The legs are only slightly hindered by the "skirt" piece, but not so much as to be too annoying.

A three Loki army.

#33: Avengers Minimates - Loki and Nick Fury

And now, the final (and most important?) Minimates set from the Avengers movie. Like Black Widow and Hawkeye, this is a Toys R Us exclusive set. Because of course the villain and Samuel L Jackson should be more limited releases. Aside from completing the set, I would have to get this set anyway because it's Loki rocking his awesome helmet and Samuel L Jackson. There are no spare accessories in this set, aside from a stand. I think it would have been nice to have a hair piece for Loki, because although that helmet is so badass, he was frequently without it during the movie. He does include his staff, and Nick Fury gets a rocket launcher as well as a pistol that holsters on his leg. His coat is drawn back for easy access to the pistol, so hooray for functionality.

Thanks to Hasbro never releasing Nick Fury in the 3.75 inch scale (outside of that box set that I have yet to see cheap enough to justify solely for that figure), Mace Windu will have to stand in for Nick Fury here. What if Mace Windu were in charge of SHIELD?

#32: Avengers Minimates - Hawkeye and Black Widow

Wow, Hawkeye is short. He looks like a hunched little dwarf next to Black Widow. Weird. Visually, Hawkeye suffered the most in his translation to the big screen. Obviously, his comic costume is way too garish to do a straight adaptation of, but I wish the final product was a little more reminiscent of the comics. Oh well. Hawkeye does get an alternate head, featuring the sunglasses that I think he only wears at the very end of the movie while not in costume. Naturally, he comes with a bow, and three removable arrows which can be stowed in the quiver on his back.

Black Widow is definitely the stronger half of this set. She's as good a Minimate adaptation as one could expect. I'm always a fan of functional holsters, and Black Widow gets two, one for each of her pistols. Also included is a single stand. This is one of the Toys R Us exclusive sets, so if you want to complete your Minimate Avengers movie line up, you'll have to go there. 

I don't have any other Hawkeye toys, so here's a ninja, which is the only other archer figure I have. Also, I totally forgot just how lackluster the Marvel Universe Black Widow figure is. Here's hoping the upcoming Avengers movie line Black Widow is an improvement. 

#31: Avengers Minimates - Captain America and Thor

Continuing from yesterday's Avengers Minimates post (which you really should have watched by now), here are Captain America and Thor. I've heard a lot of complaining online about Captain America's costume for the movie, but I dig it. It does seem very comic book, but I think one of the strengths of the Marvel cinematic universe is that it doesn't go out of the way to be too realistic, so something like this works. There is an alternate hair piece for Steve to go around with his mask off. Because of course he spends a lot of time like that in the movie. I do wish superheroes could keep their masks on more often in the movies.

Thor is in his casual "hanging out on the helicarrier" outfit, so there's no cape to make it hard for him to balance. Visually, I do prefer the cape, but from a practical standpoint, I can appreciate this version of Thor's costume will help keep him upright. Thor doesn't get any accessories, not even a helmet, because he didn't wear his helmet even once during the movie. I really hate to sound nitpicky about the costumes, because they don't really bother me that much, and I loved the movie. There is an included stand, so I suppose that is something for Cap and Thor to fight over.

I don't have six inch versions of both Cap and Thor, so here are a couple of Marvel Universe counterparts.

#30: Avengers Minimates - Iron Man and Hulk

After watching The Avengers (which if you haven't watched yet you should go do now. It's okay, I'll wait) I decided that I wanted a movie Avengers line up. Since I already have most of the characters in the 4 inch scale from Marvel Universe and the Iron Man 2 lines, I didn't want to replicate them in that scale again (and besides those Avengers figures are overpriced and under-articulated). The six inch figures are also going to be more expensive, and most likely hard to find. So I figured that Minimates would be the best way to go. Unfortunately, a couple of key sets are Toys R Us exclusives, and not in stock online. I asked James to keep an eye out for them, and he was able to find them all the day after I asked.

Iron Man has a few added on pieces to bulk up his armor, as well as an alternate open helmet, and a hair piece for when the helmet is off. He also gets a cool little flight stand so that he can be displayed in flight. His helmet seems a bit oversized (unavoidable when making a removable helmet at this scale), and it kind of reminds me of a kid in an Iron Man costume. Hulk has even more pieces bulking him up. Interestingly, he has four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. I'm used to the standard Minimate clamp hands, so I wasn't aware that characters in the Minimate style only have four digits.

I have three Hulk figures in my collection, and quite a few Iron Man figures. Here are a couple of six inch versions for comparison.

#22: The Avengers - Cosmic Spear Loki

So I heard that Avengers toys, as well as new Marvel Legends, and Transformers Prime toys were showing up in a toy aisle reset at Target. Given the way my local Target works, I figured that would be a couple weeks from now. So I was pretty surprised to see all the new stuff on the shelves today when I visited. The Avengers Loki is one that I wanted because the Thor movie version didn't have the helmet on, and I really like the ridiculous oversized helmet. And so far the comic version has only been available with the big frost giant, which isn't exactly sitting around on the shelves around here. So movie version it is!

Let's get the bad out of the way first. These figures aren't cheap. With tax, it came to over 10 bucks. Star Wars Vintage figures are even pricier, and everything else is going up, so it's not a fault of this line in particular. It's still totally a downer. My other complaint is the articulation. No wrists, no ankles, no waist or torso. I understand that cutting articulation is a way to save money, but when the prices just keep going up, it feels like we are being shortchanged.

Because this is a movie line, Hasbro is apparently obligated to include a big goofy weapon. Loki gets a second spear, with snap-out blades. He only has one hand sculpted to hold weapons, so I'm sticking with the much classier looking Cosmic Spear. Is that the Cosmic Cube in the blade? Possibly! Shortcomings aside, this is a good looking figure. I like the way his cape is dramatically billowing to one side.

I am definitely going to be very choosy with this line, because of how pricy these are getting. I wasn't really planning on getting much from it anyway, as I already have plenty of Iron Man figures, a Thor, a Captain America, and a Hulk. I do have the Marvel Universe Black Widow, but I will definitely be getting the movie version, assuming I can find it. If I get a Hawkeye, I'd prefer a comic version, as the movie version isn't that exciting of a costume.