How do you make old figures into figures that people will buy again?  Hasbro seems to have the answer in Marvel Universe wave 6, or wave 1 of 2010.  Check them out inside.

In many waves of Marvel Legends, Marvel Universe or Super Hero Squad, there is a Spiderman, Wolverine or Ironman. This wave of figures is no different, though they are not your standard repaints.  

Wolverine is in his Jim Lee era training X-men uniform, but he looks like someone at the factory mixed up the Super Hero Squad figures and the Marvel U figures.  His head is enormous for his body and he looks like he is a cartoon rather than the more realistic approach of this line.  When I got him I thought he would be the only one, but a corrected more proportionate head version looks like it is on the way, and I wish I passed on the first version.  The body is fine with great details and feels sturdier than past figures.  

Spidy is the other big name in this wave, and yet he is all new with a new accessory.  The colors on this House of M Spiderman is bright and almost hot pink rather than a deep red.  This figure uses the black suit Spidy as the body, and while I miss the standard hand poses I don’t mind the open hand/ closed fist look for this figure.  He will become part of my clone box for the Marvel U line, but his accessory will not. This is what I have been waiting for from the great minds working on this line.  We don't get the typical Spidy weird web accessory, instead we get a web back pack, with camera and clothes sticking out of it.  It is a fun and different accessory that we have not seen since the 5 inch Toybiz days, and for a figure that many of us might pass on it gives us a reason to buy it, besides the need to have all the numbers in the set.  

Warpath is a big guy, and the figure reflects his look in the comic.  What is nice right off the bat is that while there is a red and blue version coming in refresher cases, this version fits well with the wave one X-Force Wolverine.  He is huge next to the standard Marvel U figure.  Th detailing on him is spot on and there are no paint issues.  He comes with two knives which are an issue for him.  His hand grips are just too wide to hold them tightly and the back sheath made to hold them don’t hold both at the same time unless they only go in half way.  Even with this minor issue he shows off that this line is growing in both quality and character selection in the second year. 

Vision was missing from the initial shipments of the wave and has shown up with the second shipments, and is worth the wait.  His costume is shiny and smooth, the cape has a slight metallic shine to it, which also makes the whole figure pop.  This is a well painted, though not well sculpted figure. Using the stocky Daredevil body is not always a good thing, but in this case it does not diminish the figure. Other than the cape there are no accessories for him. 

This was a very X-Men heavy wave and one figure that has some Marvel Legends collectors pulling out their hair is Sunfire.  This is not the AOA version we saw from the Wizard poll but a classic look.  The figure has a deep red costume with very subtle black wash over him to accent the costume.  On some figures this does not work well but it gives the costume just the color it needs to look almost hand painted.  The face and mask could have been a disaster but the amazing details have almost flawless colors.  He comes with a fire accessory, and is one of the better figures for the new year.   

If the Sunfire was a sore spot with Marvel Legends collectors Jean Grey will put them over the edge. Jean is in her classic Jim Lee era costume that Marvel fans have been begging for years. She does not use all of the previous female parts and feels much more solid. While some die hard X-Men fans (Jr.) are not 100% satisfied with the figure’s look, it is close enough to be the version we have wanted for years. The shoulder pads move with the shoulder joints, and are on a hinge like the Iron Man armor pads. While they may seem to get in the way, they are better for the figure, increasing her range of motion but not blocking it, though at times you have to tuck them back under her hair if they are moved too much.  

Over all this is one of the better Marvel Universe waves.  Being our sixth single card wave of the year all I can say is bring on more of them!

More Marvel Universe Reviews and Links:

Marvel U Gallery

SDCC Invaders Set

SDCC Captain America 

Wave One Review

Wave Two Review

Wave Three Review

Wave Four Review 

Wave Five Review

Marvel Universe Gigantic Battles