I’ve only recently started getting into the Marvel Universe line by picking & choosing a few figures here and there. It doesn’t seem like there’s been much new recently, but Hasbro has been keeping things interesting by refreshing a older figures with new pieces or decos, so I snagged a couple for review.

First, I should say that, as a DC Collector, I’m rather jealous of Hasbro & Marvel’s ability to move units. I know that we DC Collectors get so frustrated with Mattel over the distribution of the line, but I always fear that if the figures were just a little more plentiful, we’d be in pegwarm city (and keep in mind, I’m in the Midwest, not a big coastal city). Other than a few Iron Men or Multiple Man piling up, Hasbro seems to be able to crank out several cases to stores without too much concern. And while I hope Warner Bros’ renewed focus on the DC properties will turn that around in a few years, I’m rather jealous that the MU line has high enough sales to be able to mix redecos into refresher cases to keep some excitement in otherwise boring cases.

While we’re in a slightly longer gap between waves twelve and thirteen, Hasbro has been shipping out Marvel Universe refresher cases with some much needed reissues and a handful of the aforementioned redecos: a darker Daredevil & Ronin, Warpath in his X-Men togs, a phasing Vision, and a Dark Avengers Ms. Marvel. I’ve seen them all but the Ronin, but I was only motivated to pick up two so far: the Ms. Marvel & the Vision.

I can’t say for certain what motivated me to pick up Ms. Marvel. This version isn’t the familiar Carol Danvers, but rather Karla Sofen – her “villain replacement” featured during Norman Osborne’s tenure running the Avengers. I’m not really familiar with Moonstone (Sofen’s villain identity) other than that she seems to like to watch people die while also seemingly being prone to switch sides at opportune times for the plot. I don’t mean that entirely facetiously; it’s just that she occasionally works with heroes despite having a rather high body count. You’d think that would be a problem for the heroes.

Anyway, for most of 2009 Sofen was Ms. Marvel, even taking center stage in the solo title. The figure is roughly accurate to those appearances, though Sofen did wear thigh high boots in some of the art. I might’ve liked to see that here since it would help differentiate her from the classic Ms. Marvel already in the line.

If you have the classic Ms. Marvel, there’s not much new to see here. Below the neck, the sculpt is entirely reused and the only differences are in the materials or paints used: she’s tanner overall, the symbol is gold instead of yellow, and the white/blue highlights are (thankfully) gone.

Above the neck, she features the hair piece of the modern Ms. Marvel atop a new head sculpt. Of the three MU Ms Marvels (I need to get around to picking up a modern one), I think this is the best head sculpt. I happen to be a big fan of white eye slits in masks, but being able to see the character’s face with well painted eyes helps this figure stand out from the other two.

The paint is pretty decent for the figure. There is some dark blue slop around the boots and at the waist, but otherwise the lines are crisp. The gold symbol better fits with Captain Marvel and isn’t washed out over the black areas like my original Ms Marvel. The paint on the face is surprisingly well done for the scale. The only paint I really had a problem with was on the hair. The orange wash is just too heavy leaving the figure as more of a strawberry blond than was probably intended.

The articulation is okay, but I’ve been spoiled by some of the newer figures and Ms. Marvel seems rather lacking as a result. She has a waist joint – which is a joint I wish more figures had, but the lack of bicep and thigh cuts limit her poseability. She features ball-joints at the head (limited), shoulders, hips (limited), and ankles, hinged elbows, swivel waist, and double hinged knees. She can get into some good poses, but I do miss those extra swivel cuts found on the new figures.

Ms. Marvel also included two energy projections. They slide over her hands and are pretty snug.

Again, I can’t say why I bought this figure for certain. The overall figure is decent, but her basic sculpt and articulation are limited by her being mostly a repaint of a 2009 figure. The advancements the line has made simply aren’t present in her. On that note, it’s a little odd that while Hasbro opted to give her a new head sculpt, they didn’t update the packaging in any way (which indicates this is a Carol Danvers figure) or even include the now standard issue base. For a second, I thought I’d misplaced it, but 2009 figures didn’t have those, so neither does this one. It makes sense, but it’s also odd.

Anyway, the figure is still a decent MU figure and if you’re planning on putting together the Dark Avengers or are just a big Captain Marvel fan, you’ll be needing her. Continue to Vision…