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2023 is a big year for the Avengers, who are celebrating their 60th Anniversary—and Hasbro is going big themselves with a slew of Avengers Marvel Legends 60th Anniversary figures to commemorate the occasion! There’s a bevy more 60th Anniversary Avengers on the way, but Hasbro has kicked things off with pre-orders for Avengers Legends First Appearance Iron Man Mark I and two-packs of Bruce Banner/Grey Hulk and Secret Wars Doctor Doom/Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel figures!
Hasbro has previewed quite a few upcoming Marvel Legends figures (including a killer classic Hawkeye) as part of the Avengers 60th Anniversary celebration, and they’ve kicked off the party with five figures drawing quite a bit of buzz!
The premium 60th Anniversary Avengers lineup will consist of various formats, including multi-packs, one-off single figures and even some figures with small vehicles. Let’s run down the first solicits in the series:
First, we’ve got an all-new Iron Man Mark (Model) I figure, the first ML version of this armor in many years.
This specific release is base in on the very first appearance of Iron Man from way back in 1963’s Tales of Suspense #39. It’s virtually a foregone conclusion that we’ll see a gold Iron Man Mark I variant before too long, but Hasbro is justifiably going with the now more iconic silver/grey version first.
As Hasbro is creating a bunch of unique new tooling for this armor, I’m okay with the “premium” $3-$4 surcharge over the typical price of an individual Marvel Legends figure today. I would have recoiled at any $30+ MSRP, but $28 seems reasonable to me for an action figure like this one.
Model I Iron Man will still be coming in the unpopular plastic-free packaging (new window box packaging will arrive toward the end of the year), but he will come with six accessories, including a pair of alternate hands and a whopping four effects pieces.
The proportions, articulation and sculpting on this new 6” Marvel Legends Iron Man Mark 1 figure all look spot-on. This isn’t the most popular Iron Man armor permutation by a wide margin, but I think Hasbro has delivered the definitive version of this armor here. Love it.
On the two-pack front, we’ll be seeing some new iterations of old favorites as well as some never-before-done six-inch figures by Hasbro. First, we’ve got Monica Rambeau making her 6” toy debut as Captain Marvel II in a twin pack with 80s-costumed Doctor Doom.
Although she debuted in 1982 (like me!), Monica Rambeau didn’t make a huge splash until she appeared as Captain Marvel II in the original Secret Wars series and Roger Stern’s Avengers comics.
This white and black “winged” costume is how I was introduced to Monica, and I am astonished it’s taken so long to get a 6” Marvel Legends figure of this recognizable, popular character. She sadly won’t get any energy effects accessories, though she will at least have some alternate hands.
Secret Wars Dr. Doom will come paired with Monica Rambeau, which I think is a smart move to help sell Monica’s premiere six inch figure. This cape-less Doom is in the same costume as his Mattel Secret Wars figure from almost 40 years ago, which puts a great big smile on my face.
We’ve been granted quite a few Victor von Doom figures by Hasbro over the last few years, so I’m a bit surprised we’re only now getting this distinctive retro version. What will see this Marvel Legends 2023 Doom apart from most prior versions, however, is the removable mask to reveal handsome Victor underneath. This throwback figure is a big hit for me.
Finally, we’ve got a two-pack of Marvel Legends Bruce Banner and First Appearance Hulk. 1st Appearance Hulk was last done in the Toybiz era, and was long overdue for a modern upgrade.
I’ve seen smatterings of fans complaining Gray Hulk is too big or too small, but he seems just right to me. I also totally dig that Hasbro remembered to include his awesome orange torn shirt. He also gets alternate hands and a pipe to smash with.
Bruce Banner can be a bit of a tough sell individually, so Hasbro made Another smart play packing him with original Hulk. As a single figure, Dr. Banner seems like a solo release that would be destined to pegwarm.
Marvel Legends Bruce Banner looks fine with his removable glasses and I won’t mind having him on my shelf, but I straight-up hate those painted lips on him and may have to repaint them. Otherwise he’s a fine, if unexciting, new release. The $60 MSRP on this two-pack won’t thrill fans, but since this is a Hulk set I think it’ll still sell just fine.
These first Marvel Legends 60th Anniversary releases are now up for pre-order, and expected to arrive in late summer 2023. Which (if any) of these celebratory figures will be joining your collections, Marvel fans?