Two words that almost every collector dreads hearing are Walmart and exclusives, unless of course those exclusives are made by Hasbro. With Hasbro behind the toys you have at least a fighting chance at finding the figures, like the new Marvel Universe Gigantic Battles.  

The best way to review the sets is by type of figures, so on to our larger friends first.  

The gigantic parts of this set are the redone Marvel Legends Icons figures with new paint decos and heads. While both Goliath and Giant Skrull are different characters, they both share the same weaknesses and strengths. Still a problem with these figures is the lack of neck movement and the ratcheting joints that almost feel like they will snap if you put too much pressure on them. 

Goliath more so than the Skrull has the ratcheting problem, but each feels a bit fragile for the size of the figure. The necks also have a very limited range of motion, only allowing the figure to look left and right not really up and down without the assistance from the mid torso joint. The paint on both of these figures is almost flawless and a step up from their Marvel Legends counter parts. Goliath does have one paint issue, the joint pins on the knees and elbows. The pegs used are yellow and on the outside of the elbows it looks fine but on inside elbows and knees the yellow pegs stand out against the blue costume. 

Something that is a vast improvement on the figures is an increase in the size of the heads. This change gives the new heads a more proportionate look. While I understand the reuse of the bodies to keep costs down, if you look closely you can even see Cyclops's “X” symbol under his belt.  

The second half of these sets are the 3 3/4 inch Marvel Universe figures.  A classic Ironman and a Bucky Cap come with Goliath and Skrull, respectively.  The smaller figures are where collectors have to take special care picking out their sets.  These two have some paint issues, especially Bucky. 

Bucky is a mix of figures, though borrowing most of his parts from Union Jack.  The metallic paint on the figure helps him to stand out from all the other Captain America figures we have gotten, even his shield has a darker metallic deco. My major criticism of the figure is the head. The brightness of the metallic paint makes his neck and head stand out more so than on the Union Jack body. Because of this Bucky’s head looks small for his body. Even with slight issues this figure helps to complete a modern Avengers and I can’t wait for more members.  

Our second figure in this set is Iron Man. This Iron Man has his old pointy mask with a new deco, left hand, and head. This version of Iron Man is a perfect addition to the classic Avengers line up, fitting in great with the Invaders box set and the upcoming Cap and Bucky in MU wave 2 of 2010. The packaging of the figure has warped the limbs a bit, but just like the MU wave 3 version he is a great addition to the line. The fists on the previous Iron Man figures have been a little awkward but the open hands on this version works well.  It goes to show that with a new paint job and a few new parts an old figure can still be impressive.

Marvel U Gallery

SDCC Invaders Set

SDCC Captain America 

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