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I had hoped to kick off my 2020 reviews with an actual Marvel Legends 2020 figure review, but I was foiled by the fact that, well… I haven’t received any of the 2020 Marvel Legends figures I ordered yet. Alas! And so, for my first review of the new decade, I’ve got to dip back into my cache of unreviewed action figures from the last decade. The Hasbro Marvel Legends Spider-Woman Julia Carpenter figure is discounted to just 12 bucks now and is the first 6” Julia since Toybiz did theirs 13 years ago—has Hasbro outdone their ML predecessor this time out?
Even though Julia Carpenter isn’t the original Spider-Woman, thanks to her 90s appearances in the Iron Man cartoon series and the Force Works comic books, Julia has always been MY Spider-Woman.
I loved her purple-clad Toybiz 5” figure in the vintage Iron Man line, and even though she doesn’t factor prominently into the current Marvel comics, I’m always excited to see Julia get some limelight—including this 6” Marvel Legends 2019 Spider-Man series figure! But even though I’m a big fan of the character, I’m not nearly as infatuated with this toy of her…
The star of the show in this instance is unquestionably the portrait, which is a complete and utter winner. The wavy orange hair with brown wash on it looks exquisite and is my favorite part of this whole action figure, and I also think the glossy white eyes and pink lipstick look awesome.
The hair helps make this Spider-Woman 6″ figure look even better from the rear view! I also think that the body sculpt Hasbro picked is an impeccable choice for the character—the curves and proportions on the mold look ideally suited to Julia’s animated and comic book representations. Hasbro nailed the body sculpt here.
As much as I dug the dark purple costumed Spider-Woman from her first ever Toybiz action figure in the 1990s, I have to admit that going with the more authentic and familiar black costume was the right choice on Hasbro’s part.
What I’m more tepid about is the articulation for this Spider-Woman Legends figure. This is a standard ML female figure, which means no swivel biceps/boots/waist and no double-jointed elbows. The beautiful hair sculpt also greatly inhibits the head articulation.
In total, we’ve got:
- Ball-Hinge Head (Restricted Movement), Shoulders and Elbows
- Swivel-Hinge Wrists
- Ball-Jointed Hips
- Swivel Thighs
- Double-Hinged Knees
- Hinged Feet with Ankle Rockers (Limited Movement)
As a result, we’ve got a great-looking Julia Carpenter action figure that can stand around but not really do all the dynamic posing you’d expect from someone named “Spider-Woman”. This is further complicated by the lack of any alternate fists, so Julia is stuck menacingly gesturing at villains or throwing a web but totally unable to deliver the KO blow.
I’m also unfortunately unimpressed with the paint applications on my figure. While the paint apps on the head are outstanding, the body has lots of little eff-ups on the white logo on the front and back of the costume, as well as having random stray white marks on the black parts of the costume. I can use some paint to fix Spider-Woman up myself, but I shouldn’t have to—and I have to review her based on the toy I bought and not one I’ve modded myself.
Along with the humongous body of the Molten Man Build-A-Figure, the 2019 Spider-Man Legends Spider-Woman has one singular accessory: a new right hand with permanently attached web effect. The web is pointed sort of awkwardly downward, but it’s a very neat aesthetic and I appreciate another display option for what is otherwise a bit of a tough figure to find a neat pose for.
…And that’s pretty much it. If you find one with good paint deco and can figure out a pose you like and can achieve, she’s fine—but this just isn’t an action figure that’s a thrill to play with.
Overall: Other collectors have rated this figure higher than I’m going to, but I’m just not in love with this Julia Carpenter Spider-Woman Marvel Legends figure. The head sculpt is superb and I like the new web effect right hand, but the lack of even one fist, imperfect paint apps and sub-optimal articulation for a Spider-person hold Julia back for me.
This is still a worthwhile update that looks worlds better than the Toybiz Spider-Woman, but I still think that the potential is there for Hasbro to deliver a definitive version of this character once they’ve got a better female body to work with.