Marvel Universe continues to pump out the figures this year. With Wave 5 showing up slowly at first, now the wave is in full force. Though it is a small wave, it is still filled with important characters.

Every wave of Marvel figures there has to be a Ironman, Spiderman or a Wolverine, and this wave is no exception. Spiderman and Ironman are both slightly different from previous waves, but are still repaints nonetheless. The Ironman has Stark’s silver centurion colors on the Ironman wave one body.  It is a nice figure, but not comic accurate.  

The other figure in this wave is a new Spiderman, though there is not much new about him. There are two versions of this figure, one packaged upside down with the darker deco from wave one, and the other standing upright that is black and red. The only reason to get this figure is he is a new number in the 2009 series, and for those of us trying to have every single number, he is a need, but not a want.  

The final reuse in this wave is Iron Fist, with an actual fist for this version. There are subtle changes to the figure from the wave 2 version, like a new symbol, new arm articulation and a closed fist.  

Now on to the new characters.

Electro was teased to the attendees of the Hasbro Toy Fair Presentation then first shown on TNI. Most fans were amazed by the figure by the head sculpt alone. Having the figure in person, he is just as amazing as the pictures have shown. The electric lines on his costume are clean, and the colors make the figure come alive. The accessories are even functional, unlike his main enemy Spiderman, and he looks like he has electricity coming from his hands. My only problem with the figure is the legs, which like most of this line, are hard to position because of the hip joints. I know this will be fixed after wave two of 2010, but it still hurts the line.  

Namor is in his modern outfit, and looks great. He is slightly bulkier than the SDCC version, and comes with a different spear/trident. The figure is well painted but appears to be one of the ones to look out for. I passed on a few before I found one with good paint aps on the face. The overall look of the figure is impressive, from the spock ears to the winged feet.  

The final figure is Guardian. This is a figure that was highly sought after in the Marvel Legends line and was one of the last single carded figures to make it out before the Marvel Legends switched to the two-packs format. This Marvel Universe figure suffers from the same problem as the six inch version, over spray. The need for shadows in figures is important, but because of the precision needed to make it look perfect, we are left most times with figures that are over sprayed or under sprayed with this shading layer. Unfortunately Guardian suffers from over spray, and can be seen in most of the Guardian figures in this wave. It is possible to find a nice figure, but you have to be willing to pass up a few bad ones to get a good one. Other than the over spray, the figure is on par with the rest of the line, with great details, and a classic look. I just hope more Alpha Flight is coming soon.  

Overall this was a disappointing wave, with only three new figures and three rehashes so early in the line. They are easy to find, just head to any Target or Walmart during this holiday season.  

Marvel U Gallery

SDCC Invaders Set

SDCC Captain America 

Wave One Review

Wave Two Review

Wave Three Review

Wave Four Review