We’ve made it through all of the rumors, speculation, and fervent discussion prior to May 4th and even though the Skrulls didn’t make it into the movie, The Avengers was still one of the best (if not THE best) superhero action movie ever. I remember all of the talk about who Loki’s “secret” army of aliens would turn out to be. People were convinced it was going to be the Skrulls. One of the reasons people thought the Skrulls is because of the announcement of the Skrull Soldier action figure in the Avengers toy line.

Well, for those who saw the movie, we now know that (spoiler) the alien army is NOT Skrull. But, we do still get to collect another “Army Builder” for all of our growing collections. Let’s take a look at the comic series Skrull Soldier.

Packaging

We get the basic Avengers packaging with the “comic series” Skrull Soldier labeling. On the front, the “double-blade axe” is prominently featured (more on this in Accessories). Nothing too spectacular or new if you have already purchased any of the Avengers figures.

On the back of the package, we get to see a good shot of the figure. What I didn’t notice until after I took all of my photos of this figure is that the axe is made to come apart and be used as hand blades. Nice for them to tell me after the fact. We also get to see the other figures in the Avengers Wave 3 including the super-rare Hawkeye figure and the ULTRA-rare Black Widow figure. What I really like is the fact that they show which figure number corresponds with each figure, making it easier to find by sight without having to shuffle through them too much.

We also get a little blurb about the Skrulls and their Earth-conquering ways on the back. After reading it, you would have thought that they should have been the invading enemy army, but it was apparently not meant to be.

Score: 6.5/10 (The front is basic and forgettable, but the back almost makes up for it)

Accessories

As the packaging so prominently says on the front, the Skrull Soldier comes with a “Double-Blade Axe!” So how can I put this bluntly…hmmmm…I know. Why the hell does this advanced alien figure come with an axe? So I guess it’s supposed to be a “laser” axe because the blades are translucent green. But still, why is this figure bringing an axe to a gun fight?

If we were imaginative kids and liked to play with our figures, I guess we could imagine that lasers shoot out the end of the axe, but this makes me more jealous of the Marvel Universe Skrull Soldier figure that comes with both a laser rifle AND a laser pistol. As you can see in the picture, one of my Marvel Universe Skrulls was nice enough to lend this figure his pistol so he doesn’t look like a total idiot. I would have been happy if Hasbro just went ahead and included the same weapons that came with their other Skrull figure and left the crappy add-ons to the rest of the Avengers. The axe has a peg that allows the figure to carry it on the back of the figure. Gee, thanks Hasbro.

What this figure desperately needed as an accessory was an action figure stand, which Hasbro has nixed in every single line except GI Joe (but I have still yet to open my “Retaliation” figures yet). This figure needed a stand because as soon as you place that axe into his hands, the figure could no longer stand on its own. I generally use action figure stands in my display, but if you don’t have the extra like I do, then you’re stuck trying to decide whether or not to have your figure hold its nifty axe. The axe also comes apart and let’s you jam a piece on both hands to use as hand blades. It’s still not a laser gun.

Score: 5.0/10 (at least it came with something, but a gun would have been preferred)

Sculpt/Likeness

I really like the look of this new Skrull figure. It gives us a diversified look to the Skrull soldiers that came in the Marvel Universe series allowing us to once again buy multiples of this figure as an “army builder”. The two figures look similar enough to know they are the same race, but different enough to be distinguishable. Almost like the difference between a Star Wars stormtrooper and a snowtrooper. They’re definitely in the same army but apparently in different units.

The outfit is unrecognizable to me, even though this is a “comic series” figure. I’m guessing that this may be some alternate form of the uniform that has been seen in one of Marvel’s comic books. My other theory is that this uniform was how the Skrulls were to look in the movie until they found out that they could not license the Skrulls. Since the figure was already in production, they are trying to pass it off to us as a comic-series figure.

His hands are definitely the worse part. It is nearly impossible for this figure to old onto anything…including the weapon that it came with. The facial expression of this figure is the best part. He/it carries a scowl of a hardened, older, soldier. He’s apparently been through it all but is still ready to conquer Earth as we know it.

Score: 8.5/10 (great looking figure, although outfit is unrecognizable, hands don’t work)

Articulation

Although I own a couple of the Avengers figures, this is actually the first one I have yet to open. There have been complaints among collectors about the articulation of this series’ figures, and now that I have one opened, I can truly say that they are well justified in their complaints.



This figure comes with about 15 points of articulation. Not bad, but we have been spoiled with figures with at least 20 or more points of articulation. Most notably absent is the wrist swivel, which would have made holding that axe a lot more tolerable. Also absent is waist articulation and ankle hinges. I guess Hasbro says we should count our blessings and be happy with what we did get.

Score: 6.0/10 (Okay basic articulation, but wishing for more)

Overall, this is a pretty good figure. Not the best, but definitely far from the worse. This figure will stand with my growing army of Skrull figures in my display. If I’m lucky enough to get anymore, I may be able to get a nice little invasion going. Now all we need is the Skrull queen to round out our displays.

Final Score: 7.0/10

This and all figures featured in this review are now available in the BlackActionFigure.com Store!

http://astore.amazon.com/blackaccom-20/detail/B0055I88DI

Kids Kids, if you have some of the Avengers toys, you’re going to need more enemies to fight your Avengers teams. These Skrull soldiers definitely make good superhero cannon fodder. Parents These figures are unrecognizable to the common parent. They’ll see the Avengers movie packaging and think “I didn’t see these guys in the movie”. Nevertheless, go ahead and buy one for your kid. Trust me, they’ll love you for it. Collectors Like I mentioned in the review, this figure will make a great army builder. That being said, you’ll always have your overzealous collector who needs 50 of these to complete his army. So it may be prudent for some collectors to buy more than one of these things. I won’t tell you how many I have.

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