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I’ve been rationing out reviews for the last few 2020 Marvel Legends figures I’ve received thus far–and I’m not willing to go out for a pandemic toy run–so hopefully the next waves of Hasbro Marvel Legends ship via online retailers soon. But in the meantime, I’ve got at least one headliner (at least to hardcore comic book fans!) figure left to review! The first-ever 6″ Shang-Chi Legends figure is now available for order in the Spider-Man Demogoblin Series–has Hasbro done a masterful job with the Master of Kung Fu?
So let me begin with a confession: While I have read thousands (and I mean thousands) of Marvel comics over the years, I think the number of comics featuring Shang Chi that I’ve read is somewhere in the single digits… or maybe zero.
Sure, I know who the Master of Kung Fu is and his history and legacy as a character–but to me, he’s basically like the comic book version of Liu Kang. Luckily, I love Liu Kang, and am excited to have a new figure resembling him! Is it a good one…?
Well, while I am far from an expert on Shang-Chi, I can recognize a spectacularly super-poseable action figure of a martial artist–and this is definitely one of them. The complete articulation scheme is as follows:
- Ball-Hinge Neck
- Ball-Hinge Shoulders with Butterfly Swivel
- Ab Crunch
- Swivel-Hinge Wrists
- Ball Hips
- Double-Hinge Knees and Elbows
- Swivel Thighs, Waist and Biceps
- Hinged Feet with Rockers
While this figure doesn’t quite have the range of motion necessary to do the splits (like the new Retro Series Spider-Man coming up), he can do pretty much everything else you would want. Balancing on one bare foot can be challenging, but is also possible.
The sculpting and design on this figure looks mostly fantastic to me, with the upper body musculature seeming perfect for this character and the portrait looking fairly in-line with the comic book appearance of the character (as far as I can tell from a Google image search, anyway).
The one thing that really bugs me about the mold is how the upper legs/hips are the totally smooth and tight-looking kind, where everything from the thighs down is the baggy and wrinkled type.
Seems inconsistent, although I suspect it is an issue that won’t trouble many fans. And the cool designs around the hems at the bottom of the legs definitely draw my eye more.
There’s two add-on costume pieces to the basic mold here: the tassels on the back of Shang Chi’s headband and his belt. The belt fits around the figure’s waist snugly and doesn’t drive me nuts like so many add-on bits have in the last year or two, and the tassels are dynamically posed and look terrific.
Not only is the six inch figure itself here excellent, but he also comes with a rather exemplary load out of accessories! Not only do we get the largest piece of the Demogoblin Build-A-Figure (the body), but we also get a pair of all-new nunchucks and a… few… alternate hands!
Remember that white costume Iron Fist figure from the inaugural Avengers Legends wave (the Allfather Series with Odin and King Thor), and how it came with an unprecedented eight interchangeable hands…? Yeah–Hasbro ups the ante here by including a whopping ten interchangeable hands this time out! I imagine this is a Hasbro record that will stand for years to come!
There’s fists, nunchuck-holding hands, karate chop hands, and two pairs of Kung Fu hands in various other positions. I’m not a very creative poser, but even I can get a variety of neat poses out of this figure by swapping around the abundance of hands. Cool beans!
The nunchucks aren’t perfect–as they clearly look a little toy-ish and plastic–but I do enjoy the fact that they’re unique sculpts with impressive dragon heads on the handles, as well as the fact that one of them is molded in a bent, dynamic pose. There’s a lot of fun to be had with these nunchucks, even if they are a little bit imperfect.
Overall: Marvel Legends Shang-Chi is a wonderfully entertaining action figure of a character that is long, long overdue to get the super-articulated figure treatment. The excellent articulation scheme and range of motion combine with the generous assortment of hands to give his biggest fans the poseable Master of Kung Fu action figure that they deserve.
I think that the the deco on the nunchucks could be improved somewhat and I’m not 100% sold on how the mold chosen for the thighs flows into the legs, but this is an outstanding toy overall. This toy is going to get a lot more popular and in-demand as the character’s MCU movie debut approaches, so now is the time to grab one of these for retail if you think you’ll want one.