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Anyone who said they had predicted a Strange Tales series on their Marvel Legends 2024 bingo card is probably lying, but Hasbro has subverted expectations once again with a very diverse and eclectic wave of figures featuring a Build-A-Figure Marvel vs. Capcom fans have been dying for: the exclusive Strange Tales Marvel Legends Blackheart Series featuring Hellverine, Moon Knight and more is now up for order!
Individual Figure Links (EE):
Weapon of Vengeance (Hellverine) ►
Moon Knight ►
Dracula ►
Bloodstorm ►
Daimon Hellstrom ►
Lilith ►
Brother Voodoo ►
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Individual Figure Links (Amazon):
I groaned a little bit when Hasbro plopped the Strange Tales logo on the screen this week as they revealed this new series of 6” Marvel Legends figures, but what I feared might be a rather dull outing into the world of Marvel’s supernatural side turned out to be a really fun and diverse mixture of characters.
This is the sort of wave I’d have expected to give us a long-overdue Mephisto, but it looks like we’ll have to “settle” for his son for now. Luckily, Blackheart is a fan-favorite villain that’s been crying out for an update since the Toybiz days two decades ago, and finally getting a new and awesome Blackheart BAF in the same year as Capcom re-releases the Marvel vs Capcom fighting games series to consoles is a fun and appropriate treat.
The Marvel Legends Blackheart Build-A-Figure looks like a monumental upgrade over the 2006 Onslaught wave version, checking one more Toybiz figure off the list of those remaining for Hasbro to create their own versions of.
Oddly enough, the action figure in this wave I’m most hyped about is the sole one that comes without any piece of the Blackheart BAF. The recently ended X-Men Krakoan era of comic books is my jam, so my eyes lit up when the unexpected Hellverine (or Weapon of Vengeance, as Hasbro is calling him) appeared on-screen.
This figure depicts the original demon-powered version of Logan from last year’s Benjamin Percy comics, as opposed to the Daken Hellverine that debuted this month in the comics. It’s Logan’s 50th anniversary this year, and this is the craziest version of him ever, so I’m fully down with this flaming adamantium-skulled toy. Love this.
Co-headlining this wave is an 80s Moon Knight Legends figure in his classic white and gold costume. This is the look that most folks associate with Moon Knight’s tenure as part of the West Coast Avengers.
I personally prefer pure white Moon Knight costumes aesthetically, but this is a look rarely seen in collectibles form, and I’m excited to have a chance to scoop it up. If nothing else, the fact that this Moon Knight is getting pin-less joints is a huge selling point.
Dracula is having a bit of a resurgence at Marvel right now during the Blood Hunt mega-crossover, making this the ideal time for Hasbro to finally unleash their first-ever Marvel legends Dracula figure.
There’s a lot of new tooling on this ML Dracula, and he has a lot of synergy with both this theme and another figure in this wave. This modern armored version might not be every fan’s cup of tea, but assuming this sells okay (it will), I could foresee a new classic mustachioed Dracula before too long.
Daimon Hellstrom isn’t a character that I’m especially attached to, but I know a lot of collectors have been asking for him since the Ghost Rider Haslab failed, so I’m glad to see the Son of Satan getting a release here.
Hellstrom is a good match for the Midnight Sons figures we got last year, as well as the next figure in this wave.
My mind was blown when Funko POP released a Lilith last year, as it’s very rare for Funko to hit up a character that Hasbro hasn’t gotten to yet.
Lilith is a bit on the obscure side despite her video game debut last year, but she has a unique and colorful look that’s really going to stand out on a shelf of figures. I can easily see this Ghost Rider villain being the slow mover of this series, but she’s a fun inclusion no one ever expected nonetheless.
Bloodstorm is probably the second weakest figure in the assortment, as she’s basically composed of a bunch of old parts with two gnarly new vampire heads. The pinned legs that she has are especially disappointing, as that tooling is quite dated now and the pins really stand out on them.
That said, I loved Bloodstorm in Mutant-X and the Bendis era comics, and I think this is a super fun iteration of Ororo that I never dreamed we’d get a toy of. I have no qualms slapping down my 25 bucks for this particular version of Storm.
The same can’t be said for the figure I do consider the weakest of the set, the latest Brother Voodoo. This time Brother Voodoo is on the Spider-UK body mold with updated pin-less joints, but it’s hard for me to get past already previously having this character in this costume twice over in the past decade.
This time out, there’s a removable Eye of Agamotto accessory you can swap in to (sort of) change this to a Doctor Voodoo figure, but this is still a figure I would be passing on if I wasn’t committed to building Blackheart.
The Marvel Legends Strange Tales series is now available for pre-order and will be shipping out in a few months. It’s a shared exclusive between Amazon and Fan Channels, which should keep it out of the grubby hands of discount outlets such as Ollie’s. Are any of the figures in this wave must-haves for you, Marvel collectors? Will you be building Blackheart to add to your Marvel vs Capcom shelf!