Guardians of the Galaxy: A Legendary Set of Action Figures

You’re welcome.  We’re all welcome.

Last year’s Guardians of the Galaxy Legends line was, unsurprisingly, based mostly on the cinematic versions of the intergalactic misfits-turned-heroes.  But when the movie was a smash hit like Guardians, it should come as little surprise that Hasbro would try to ride the lightning with a follow-up toy release, and what they came up with is a really solid set of figures.

The Guardians of the Galaxy box set collects the five cinematic Guardians– Star Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Gamora, and Drax– in their comic book styling.  There’s quite a bit of parts reuse here, but every figure is a huge step up from their previous release.  Star Lord is the only straight re-release, having originally been a part of the Galactus Imperative Comic-Con exclusive.  The figure’s sculpt and articulation are both great– the head features the perfect likeness of Peter Quill’s retro sci-fi mask and helmet, and the AIM Soldier body features the perfect mass and scale for the character.  The box set Star Lord gets a fresh new coat of paint that goes a long way, adding details like the brown spats on his boots, as well as brightening the overall pallet just slightly, which makes the sculpt really pop.

This is our third comic style Rocket, but he’s far and away the best one.  While he shares the same mostly unposeable body as the previous figures, the new portrait is a huge improvement.  This Rocket is a little more stylized and a lot more streamlined, and he definitely syncs up to his look from the last few years of Marvel’s comics.  This Rocket is also packing some serious heat, with both his original gun and two more hi-tech weapons which he can hold very well in one or both hands– er, paws.

As much of an upgrade Rocket is, Drax is even moreso.  The Return of Marvel Legends version of the Destroyer left a lot to be desired, and the new figure features an imposing height and bulk that make the new figure far more impressive.  Hasbro’s team used some clever kitbashing to combine the movie Drax lower body with the Sentry upper, giving this version of the character a nice amount of sculpted detail, while not losing the smooth, streamlined aesthetic of the comic book figures.  Drax includes two sets of knives, and a neat bonus accessory– swappable clawed hands which can be combined with silver gauntlets to give him a pair of robotic gloves to wear.

Groot is another figure who borrows heavily from his movie counterpart, but the GOTG Legends Build-A-Figure was really well done, so that’s not a bad thing.  The towering tree-creature features a brand new comic-accurate portrait, meaning this Groot is way more menacing and mean looking than his cinematic predecessor.  Yea, it would have been nice to see an in-scale Groot in his Guardians blues in this set, but this figure still works really well.  The tiny, potted baby Groot from the Marvel Universe Guardians three-pack is also reissued with his much bigger counterpart.

Saving the best for last, we have Gamora, making her comic Legends debut.  Hasbro opted to release Gamora in her classic green singlet costume, a choice that doesn’t integrate her too well with the rest of the team, but it’s hard to argue that this isn’t her most iconic comic series look.  The Moonstone body gives Gamora a good height and scale with the rest of the Legends collection, and she features two variant headsculpts, which are easily interchangeable.  One portrait features Gamora with a neutral expression and her hair exposed.  The alternate look has Gamora’s teeth exposed, with her hood up.  Both versions look great with her rubber cape, which can be accentuated with a soft goods overlay that also fits around her neck.  Gamora’s sword makes for an eye-catching accessory, and her newly sculpted belt breaks up the uniformity of the largely paint based costume design.

Hasbro has come up with some really strong concepts for these Marvel Legends five-packs, which have been great accents to the core toy line.  The Guardians of the Galaxy set is one of the best yet, with five totally worthy new additions to the Legends collection.  When four of those five are character re-dos, that’s quite the compliment.  Entertainment Earth is Hasbro’s exclusive retail partner for this set, and you can order yours HERE.