Products You May Like
I kicked off my series of Marvel Legends 2020 reviews yesterday with Mr. Fantastic, and it only seems right that I continue along that track today with Reed’s wife so that he doesn’t get lonely: the Fantastic Four Marvel Legends Invisible Woman figure is now shipping out online! It seems like only yesterday the exclusive Walgreens Invisible Woman hit shelves, but it was actually 2017–has Hasbro found a way to make this Sue Storm a worthy addition to that classic version?
When the first photos of the Walgreens Marvel Legends Fantastic Four Invisible Woman figure began circulating in early 2017, it felt like some kind of crazy dream seeing the FF heading back to store shelves under the ML banner.
It’s 2020 now, and things have changed. The Fantastic Four movie rights are back with Disney/Marvel Studios, and the ongoing comic book adventures of Marvel’s first family are being published once again. And so, it feels appropriate that the F4 are also heading back to mass retail with their first Marvel Legends series in many years.
The only trouble is that the classic primarily blue with black costumes were just done as Walgreens exclusives, so Hasbro chose to go with something less iconic for this wave: the black and blue costumes from the Future Fight mobile game and some of Dan Slott’s current run on the comic book.
The less familiar black costumes are leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many classic fans, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the toys themselves are bad. In fact, I thought Mr. Fantastic was pretty sweet when I reviewed him yesterday. Let’s have a look at Sue and see if she fares as well!
At a glance, it’s evident that this is mostly a repaint of the ML Invisible Woman Walgreens exclusive action figure. But hey, most of the body molds these days are primarily repainted from a dozen other figures, so no biggie.
And she does have about four different pieces to her: a different hairstyle on her head, feet with little treads under the toes to match Reed and Johnny (a wonderful touch I’m surprised was added), the body/torso of the Super Skrull Build-A-Figure, and an all-new effects piece accessory (hold me).
The belle of the ball for me is definitely that new invisible shield effects piece. It’s cast entirely in milky translucent plastic, and gets mad bonus points from me for being an actual new accessory and not an effects piece Hasbro has recolored four dozen times.
The invisible effect smoothly slides on over Sue’s right hand, where it’s held snugly and looks awesome. Seriously—this one little accessory adds a ton of aesthetic flair and display value to this figure. I love it.
The Marvel Legends 2020 Invisible Woman 6” figure also has wavier, fuller feeling hair than the classic Walgreens iteration. I don’t know if it necessarily looks better or worse than the previous Sue’s hair, but I do prefer this hairstyle myself (even if it does make Reed’s head look too small in comparison). Sue Storm’s face is pretty and recognizable and does the job nicely.
I think the pristine paint applications on this black and blue costume are also an improvement over the Walgreens blue and white costume—although the trade-off better executed paint is the recognizability of the color scheme.
The articulation is exactly what we all know and expect from this female body mold:
- Ball-Hinge Head, Shoulders and Elbows
- Swivel-Hinge Wrists
- Ball-Jointed Hips and Upper Torso
- Swivel Thighs
- Double-Hinge Knees
- Hinged Feet & Ankle Rockers
The head has a decent range of lateral motion despite the long hair, and none of the other joints are inhibited. While this articulation set is terrible for an acrobat like Spider-Woman, it’s more passable on the Invisible Girl. Neither ideal nor a deal breaker.
Overall: As much as I wish I could declare this Invisible Woman Legends figure to be an absolute must-have, I don’t think she’s quite at a level of improvement over the Walgreens Exclusive version where fans are going to be salivating over her.
Quality-wise, Sue Storm Richards is fantastic—and I really dig her longer hair and invisible shield effects piece—but otherwise, there’s just not much here to get excited about. If you’re building the Fantastic Four black costumes team—or the Super Skrull BAF—this this actually is a MUST-have. If you just want any Marvel Legends Invisible Girl for your shelf, then the classic Walgreens iteration may be more your speed.