Marvel Legends Hellcat figure review
Hellcat gets decent Marvel Legends treatment
Hellcat may not even make my Top 100 favorite Marvel character list. I’ve always thought she had a cool costume and mask design, but I never managed to read a ton of stories that featured her. But there’s just something absurdly appealing to me about a character on a team with Doctor Strange, Sub-Mariner and Hulk. That reminds me, I really need to track down some classic Defenders trades.
In its ongoing efforts to diversify its Marvel Legends line beyond the A-listers, Hasbro made Hellcat. Thanks to the character’s appearance on Jessica Jones, Patsy Walker has some sort of newfound awareness. I’m thrilled Hasbro is willing to take chances on these minor Avenger and Defenders characters as it truly means no one is off the table.
Packaging: It’s the same standard packaging we’ve gotten accustomed to over the last few years. It’s not so much broke as it’s boring. The black with red shading definitely puts the attention on the figure. Hellcat shares the package space with Spider-Woman and gets her portrait on the right side. That also results in an even more generic bio write-up than normal in order to work for both characters.
[irp]
The best and most important aspect of this packaging style is it allows collectors to clearly see if the Build-a-Figure piece has been stolen or swapped.
Likeness: From my not-so discerning eye, this looks almost exactly like a classic Hellcat should. The one moderately obvious omission is the lack of ‘clawed’ boots. Hellcat’s modern comic appearances tend to ditch that so Hasbro didn’t cheap out there. Still, the more distinct boots would have been a nice detailed touch. Patsy’s clawed gloves are intact though and they’re clenched up tight for slashing action.
Nailing Hellcat’s likeness really comes down to that cool mask. Hasbro did a great job there. It’s got great details, included sculpted ‘whisker’ lines.
Her belt sash is loose so you can flip it around to either side or have the knot hanging from the back. If you’re going to pose or constantly move her, you’ll probably want to superglue it as the sash doesn’t fit particularly snug.
Scale: Hellcat isn’t Gamma-infused or an Asgardian so she stands normal height. Thankfully, Hellcat doesn’t have heels to tower over male counterparts or make standing challenging.
Paint: For the majority of the figure, Hellcat is terrific. Hasbro used a little orange wash to bring out some details on the base yellow plastic. The mask details — from the eyebrows, two-tone bottom section and the visible flesh portion — are sharp.
The mask’s top portion, gloves and boots have a mild sheen to them providing a nice pop effect.
Then there’s the knees. It appears Hasbro used a black/dark blue plastic for the knees/boot portion of the figure then tried to match the paint. As we’ve seen lately with Mattel WWE figures, trying to paint a lighter color over black to match plastic molded in the lighter color is close to impossible. Hellcat’s knee paint looks especially bad with a pale yellow that barely coats over the darker base color.
Articulation: Hellcat’s knees proved problematic on this front as well. The plastic used is pretty soft and buckles with the slightest pressure. I reinforced them with some super glue as they were too weak to hold even the most basic poses.
Hellcat has more of an older articulation scheme and lacks the movement of the superior Captain Marvel figure. Hellcat’s articulation is similar to the Scarlet Witch figure. You’re able to get the majority of the poses off, but the shoulders are more difficult to maneuver around fluidly.
Hellcat has:
- Neck
- Shoulder
- Elbows (hinge and swivel)
- Wrist (and hinge)
- Torso
- Hip
- Thigh
- Knees (double-jointed)
- Ankle
I love that the sculptors accounted for Hellcat’s articulation in designing the hair. There’s well placed notches on either side so you can pull Hellcat’s arms back like she’s ready to pounce That was very clever engineering Typically the hair is all in the way so that extra consideration was appreciated.
Accessories: Even with my limited knowledge of the character, I’m pretty sure Patsy wasn’t running around using Billy clubs. But the figure comes packed with black versions of the now familiar Daredevil clubs.
Additionally, Hellcat comes with two important pieces for the BAF Thanos figure — the head and left arm.
Worth it? It’s amazing to me that we can actually add a character like Hellcat to a Marvel Legends collection. Now that some of the buzz has died down on the Thanos wave, you can find her on Amazon.com for under $13. That’s a very fair price for the figure especially if you’re building Thanos.
Where to get it? Naturally retail has long ago dried out of the Thanos wave, but online won’t be a problem. You can grab her from Amazon or Entertainment Earth. EE still has the entire Thanos wave available so if you’re late coming around to the series you can still get it for a decent price.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Hellcat is one of those characters that isn’t going to get multiple do-overs. With better shoulder articulation, sturdier plastic and paint applications on the knees and shins this would be an easy 10. She’s got just enough issues to be a minor nuisance, but you’ll be glad to actually have a Hellcat Marvel Legends figure.
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