Well, it’s been a month and a half and I haven’t been doing this very long, but I already feel a little rusty. Up next is the long awaited Marvel Universe 3.75″ Beast figure. Finally. After a summer of staring at Avengers figures and Amazing Spider-Man figures (really, how many Spider-Men do we actually need?), Hasbro has decided that they already have a pretty dang successful toy line and it’s about time that they paid attention to it.

Beast is one of those iconic figures that should have been done earlier in the line. He was one of the first X-Men, he’s been in almost every iteration of X-Men cartoons, he’s the first X-Man to become a full-time Avenger in the comics, etc. Needless to say, this character is pretty popular to those in the know and the general population. Most have been waiting for a Beast figure for a pretty long time to add to their X-Men collection…so was he worth the wait? Check out the full review after the break!



Packaging

Hasbro to me does some of the best action figure packaging. They give us a visually stunning piece so nice that I often find it hurts to cut it open sometimes. There are people out there who buy two of each figure…one to display and one to keep mint-in-package. I like to display my figures so they have to come out…it just hurts when I do. I do keep the card portion so I can look at it or display it at a later time.

On the front of the card, we have a custom drawn portrayal of comic Beast. Another piece of comic art is included inside the package. The only thing I didn’t care for was the fact that they positioned Beast upside-down. While Beast is very acrobatic, he by no means should have been positioned as such. It just looks like they accidentally put him in upside-down rather than pose him in some acrobatic fashion.

On the back, we do see an example of his acrobatic skills. And yes, if you pose him correctly, this figure can stand on his hand. It’s not as easy as it looks, but it’s sort of cool when you get it right. We also see some of the rest of the wave including Beta Ray Bill, a new version of the Hulk, and Ultimate Spider-Man (another dang Spider-man). And of course in true Marvel Universe fashion, we have a guest character say something profound on the bottom…in this case, one of my favorites, Rocket Raccoon.

Score: 8.5/10 (As always solid packaging, but unneccessary to place figure in upside-down)

Accessories

Hasbro has UNFORTUNATELY been making this section easier and easier…there are no accessories with this figure. Which means I am never going to count “collectible artwork” which replaced the figure stand as an acceptible accessory. In bulk, it cost me about twenty cents for a figure stand, which means it should cost Hasbro about two cents. STOP BEING CHEAP HASBRO!!! PUT THE STAND BACK IN!!!

Score: 1.0/10 (I’ll give them a point for that cheap-ass cardboard artwork)

Sculpt/Likeness

This is a hard one folks. Between Beast changing forms at least 3 times, and different artists drawing the new “cat” Beast any which way they want, it’s hard to judge the accurateness of the figure. The picture above is the closest I could find in terms of accurate costume and cat-like appearance.

With that being said, this figure does favor in some form or fashion the recent cat-Beast. The figure itself looks great and the whole line (Beta Ray Bill, Kraven, Hulk) features some great sculpting. I’m not a big paint application guy, but the paint looks pretty decent on the figure.

My basic issue with this figure is comic book correctness. While they have captured the majority of his X-Man costume, they left out little details such as the “X-Badge” on his top left side of his costume or the “X” symbol on his armlets (see the pic above). Leaving details like that out makes me think that sometime down the line, Hasbro will be making a Secret Avengers version of Beast where the X’s are replaced by A’s (see pic on right).

Score: 8.5/10 (They almost got it right, but figure deserves a little more detail)

Articulation

This was almost a perfect effort on Hasbro’s part and close to as much articulation as one of their taller 6″ Legends figure. This figure has over 28 points of articulation, although there are definite issues that makes me think they could have done more.

First, the good side. 28 points of articulation! Keep it up Hasbro! This figure is almost more articulated than their “Super-articulated” Spider-Man figure from the Amazing Spider-Man movie line. For maybe one of the first times on a Marvel Universe figure, we see a hinged foot. And the hinge/swivel combination on the ankle AND wrists is great!

Now my two downers about the articulation on this figure. While this figure’s head is on a ball joint, the sculpt of the hair on the head make it impossible for him to tilt his head back. We are also missing waist articulation…almost a necessary must on figures nowadays. These two issues make it hard to make some action poses.

Score: 7.0/10 (lots of articulation although limited head and no waist articulation)

This is definitely a better-than-average attempt on a classic character. Great sculpting and paint application was marred by comic accurateness, and super articulation was hampered by some obvious issues. All of that along with lack of accessories can possibly make this figure hard to like. I mean, they put these nonsensical accessories in their movie line, but in their collectors line, you get next to nothing. Apart from that, this figure will be a welcome addition to my collection.

Final Score: 7.0/10

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

http://www.blackactionfigure.com/?page_id=507

Kids Kids, go for it! There hasn’t been a Beast figure since the one that came out for Wolverine and The X-Men! Have fun with Beast and his Amazing Secret Avengers friends! Parents I definitely think this would be safe to buy for both you and the kids…Beast has probably been around since before you were born, so why not enjoy it. Heck, Frasier played Beast in the movies! It’s okay, really! He’s the intellectual one. Collectors If you have been hurting for some more Marvel Universe, I think this is an easy and obvious answer for you. Run to the stores now, before the scalpers get to them!

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