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Hasbro revealed an all-new Marvel Legends Spider-Man wave last week, but played coy by not showing the packaging or mentioning the series Build-A-Figure at all. And now it’s clear why: the 2023 Marvel Legends Spider-Man “Retro” wave is now up for pre-order, including no BAF and a mix of vintage-styled and all-new cardback packaging!
Individual figure Amazon pre-order links:
Ben Reilly Spider-Man ►
Elektra Daredevil ►
The Rose ►
Tarantula ►
Miles Morales ►
Chasm ►
Spider-Woman ►
Hasbro has mined deep with their long-running Spider-Man Legends series, having created (sometimes multiple) definitive version action figures of almost every classic Spidey costume and character ever.
And so, for 2023, we’re getting something new both in character selection and in packaging style to keep thing fresh: a lineup of predominantly modern versions of characters on quasi-retro styled cardbacks!
The majority of figures in this Spider-Man Marvel Legends wave are quintessential characters wearing newer costumes from 2021 to the present, although there’s also a bit of classic sprinkled in.
The case ratios for this series are as follows:
(2) Ben Reilly Spider-Man Beyond
(1) Elektra Daredevil
(1) The Rose
(1) Tarantula
(1) Miles Morales
(1) Chasm
(1) Spider-Woman
The headliner of the wave is Ben Reilly in the Spider-Man Beyond costume from 2021, making this a rare Peter Parker-less Spider-Man Legends series.
Ben Reilly is always my favorite Spidey, so I’m delighted to get this figure of him from arguably his biggest story since the 90s Clone Saga. Ben gets modern super-super-articulation here, which even includes coveted toe articulation.
While not the most well-known costume ever for Spidey, I think this one is recognizable enough to sell swiftly at retail. The best choice for double-packing in this wave by far. Good job, Hasbro.
A second iteration of Ben Reilly is also featured in this set, although it is a wholly different one: Marvel Legends Chasm, the villainous transformed Ben from the end of Spider-Man Beyond. This character was central to the “Dark Web” crossover last fall, so he’s quite marketable at this time despite being “new”.
I really like the striking purple, black and green color scheme on Chasm, and I think the translucent green effects add a lot to the figure’s aesthetic.
I’d love to see a Madelyne Pryor Goblin Queen released to pair with Chasm, failed Ghost Rider Haslab or no. Maddie is too important for Hasbro to pass on forever.
Jessica Drew Spider-Woman has never really resonated with me as a character, but her toys always seem to sell just fine, so capturing her newest costume in plastic form as part of this wave makes sense to me.
This new Marvel Legends Spider-Woman figure does feel a tad boring, though, as she’s in a primarily black costume and includes no accessories beyond interchangeable open hands to swap in for her default fists.
Not a flashy figure, but the character is popular enough that it may not need to be.
Miles Morales reappears in this wave as well in new duds that I don’t believe any other company has made in collectible form thus far. With Across the Spider-Verse finally hitting theaters this year, I think it would have been awkward to not release this new Miles Spider-Man to coincide.
While the Kaine Scarlet Spider costume is one of my all-time favorite designs, I sadly can’t say the same about this Miles costume that’s inspired by it. The black sweatshirt-looking top looks bulky and silly in toy form (though I do dig the sneakers and track-looking pants). No Miles head or even just walk-crawling hands makes this figure feel incomplete. I don’t love this one.
A figure that seemed almost inevitable this year was Daredevil Elektra, the female Daredevil iteration that debuted in the last year or two. Funko and Diamond Select Toys immediately pounced on this character for merch, so Hasbro following suit is rather expected.
I’m again very disappointed to see no unmasked head (no one in this wave gets one, sadly), but at least the pair of said that are the most important accessories for Elektra/Daredevil are included. This is a great-looking figure regardless.
The wave is rounded out by two classic villains, who both get the 90s Spider-Man TAS Toybiz-styled Retro cardbacks. The mixed packaging within this set is rather odd, but I don’t think fans will complain much: the simplistic carded packaging looks miles better than the generic cardboard boxes, in my opinion.
Hasbro updates Tarantula to a newer and better body as part of this set, along with a blue-colored mask we’ve never seen before in action figure form. It’s been about 15 years since Hasbro last tackled this character, so he was due, even if he’s not the most iconic Spidey villain.
Closing out the wave is its sold never-before-done figure, Marvel legends The Rose. The Kingpin’s son, Richard Fisk, is generally a non-combatant crime boss with no powers, which is likely why it’s taken so long to get him in 6” figure form.
Marvel Legends Rose comes with a pair of guns, but strangely doesn’t seem to have ab open left hand that can hold the second gun at all. The figure looks good otherwise, if not a little basic.
Many fans were speculating about and hoping for a Marvel Legends Grizzly Build-A-Figure (retooled from Ursa Major) here, but collectors will have to keep waiting for that one. I think the streamlined packaging design here and mostly all-star character lineup will sell this wave fine, even without a BAF as a carrot.
The 2023 Marvel Legends Spider-Man series is now up for order. What do you think of the surprise packaging change for this line, Marvel collectors? What figures will you be buying from this Build-A-Figure-less wave (if any)?