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Ch’od isn’t exactly a household name, and his immense size and bulk further stacked the deck against him ever getting a 6” figure release. Luckily, we are in a golden age of Marvel and X-Men toys, and most of the tooling to build the Starjammers’ powerhouse already existed. And so, collectors can now complete the Marvel Legends Ch’od Build-A-Figure by purchasing this year’s X-Men wave. Should they?
Unlike Corsair (whose new Marvel Legends figure I reviewed last week), I actually did buy the vintage Toybiz Ch’od figure as a kiddo (off a KB Toys clearance rack for 2 bucks, I believe). While definitely undersized, I still enjoyed the toy of the bulky reptilian behemoth (who thankfully didn’t pegwarm to the extent that vintage fellow Starjammers Corsair and Raza did).
I really dug that toy as a kid, but the congenial Ch’od has just never been on my radar for a six inch scale upgrade. Even so, Hasbro is seemingly kicking off a Starjammers team sub-line, with the 2023 X-Men Legends lineup bringing us half the team in the form of Corsair and Ch’od. I have high hopes that we’ll see ML Raza and the first-ever Hepzibah by next year to complete the roster!
Given what a huge slab of space pirate he is, Ch’od is predictably a Build-A-Figure (about the only way he’d ever get released). A piece or two of the Ch’od BAF comes with every figure in this year’s X-Men Marvel Legends series besides Cyclops (Emma Frost, Kid Omega Quentin Quire, Chamber, Fang, Monet and Corsair). Ch’od is a quick and easy assembly that goes together exactly as you’d expect, with no surprises. He uses some recycled tooling from Abomination, so you may have some deja vu during assembly.
All of the pieces of Marvel Legends Ch’od snap together tightly, and I didn’t have any troubles with limbs falling off once firmly popped into place. The joints are all firm and strong, and even the belt add-on piece is a perfect fit.
Ch’od unfortunately gets just one accessory, but it’s the absolutely essential one: his pet Cr’reeee (a white, mammal-like furry alien). Toybiz gave us a little Cr’reee back in the day, so there’s no way Hasbro could do less 30 years later without peeving fans.
Cr’reee is proportioned properly and scaled far better than the Toybiz one, and looks great perched atop Ch’od’s shoulders. He can also free-stand just fine. I’ve always loved when we get a whole other character/companion as a figure’s accessory, and Cr’reee does not disappoint.
What does disappoint is that Ch’od literally gets nothing else. This toy is a bruiser who can’t punch and a space pirate who can’t fire a space gun or wield a sword. He can kind of claw menacingly at enemies and throw them around, but that’s about it. The lack of extras to give Ch’od something dynamic to do is a real albatross here.
There’s plenty of scaly-skin detailing and textures on the figure, which look great, although not necessarily surprising since we’ve seen almost all of this tooling used previously.
While he doesn’t have many practical options for posing, Ch’od still has a really nice articulation set including:
—Ball-Hinge Head and Shoulders
—Hinged Jaw
—Swivel Biceps, Thighs and Waist
—Pin-less Hinged Elbows
—Ball-Jointed Hips
—Hinged knees with visible pins
—Hinged Feet with Rockers
The hinged jaw is a ton of fun and honestly my favorite part of the figure. It gives Ch’od a lot more expressiveness and personality! Butterfly shoulders were never going to happen, and I’m not sure this is a character that really needs them.
Initial photos of this toy had distorted colors that made Ch’od look an eye searing neon green, but I’m satisfied that the green plastic actually used is an authentic tone for the character. No complaints about the colors at all.
Overall: This is almost certainly the best action figure of Ch’od we’re ever going to get, and it’s overall a good one. The colors on it turn out to be spot-on after early image fears, Ch’od’s bulk and details are accurate, and Cr’reee looks awesome. That said, Hasbro never really goes above and beyond with this BAF. The old-style exposed pins on the knees are disappointing–as are the lack of at least a ball-joint on the knees and elbows, and the lack of interchangeable hands or weapons is a humongous limiting factor for posing this heavyweight. The Ch’od Build-A-Figure adds a lot of dimensionality and color to a display—and is essential to a Starjammers lineup (obviously), but I do think a few more bells and whistles could have been added by Hasbro to make this figure really excel.