Marvel Legends Captain Britain figure review

Captain Britain is one of those rare Marvel characters who’s managed to avoid the curse of bad costumes. Even his original predominantly red outfit was cool.

Like his wave and package mate, Wonder Man, Captain Britain needed an updated figure in the worst way. And while it’s not the classic 80s look I was rooting for, Hasbro ensures collectors can retire yet another Toy Biz figure.

Packaging: Since he’s sharing the package layout with Wonder-Man, Captain Britain only gets one side panel featuring art by Mike Deodato. While they’re both brawny characters, the bio is even less helpful than usual since it has to be generic enough to work for either figure.

Likeness: This is Captain Britain’s modern look. For the most part, Hasbro has shown a preference to go new school for characters unlikely to get multiple versions. I’m not the biggest fan of that mindset, but CB’s outfit is better than most classic attire makeovers so I can manage. There’s a lot of sculpted detail like the wrist wraps and gloves, the boots and the excellent cowl/helmet piece.

CB gets the brawny superheroic build we’ve seen with Hyperion. That’s a great choice for the character. I’m just happy he’s not reusing the Black Panther body again.

The helmet/cowl is the most important aspect of the figure. There’s some really nice sculpting here as it really conveys that alpha hero. I’m not sure why Captain Britain is wearing a belt with this outfit, but it’s sculpted fine. And in a smart move, Hasbro didn’t affix it to the figure to keep the articulation free. The glove gauntlets are also nicely sculpted.

Scale:  CB stands taller than the normal sized figures without towering over them like Thor. Captain Britain isn’t a giant (or undersized like the Toy Biz figure) so I’m glad his proportions are more in line with the source material.

Paint:  White is a notoriously tricky accent color. Hasbro’s paint apps typically don’t factor in that white needs more coverage than the standard color so bleeding is pretty much the norm. There’s some stray marks where the white is scraped and the base color comes through, but overall the paint is really solid for such a complex design.  

The shoulder logos came out crisp on both sides, which is impressive for a smaller tampo. I really like the pearlescent blue and red used as it gives CB a great visual pop. The darker blue makes for a nice transition and this is a very striking color scheme. Maybe my favorite aspect of the figure is how the eyes are painted in the cowl giving it a sunk in appearance.

Articulation: Captain Britain has a nice strong feel. His joints aren’t overly loose and a fairly firm. That’s good as he feels like he’ll hold up to serious play/posing. There’s no restrictions in terms of getting great CB poses.

Captain Britain has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow (double jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Accessories:  We’ve kind of been spoiled as of late with Hasbro’s philosophy on Marvel Legends. The figures are now coming with extra hands, heads and power effects even when they’re not completely necessary. As a stretch, I could only really see wishing Captain Britain came with an alternate unmasked head sculpt and a folded cowl to wrap around the neck as if it’s removed.  

Captain Britain instead just comes with the left arm for the Build-A-Figure Abomination. Handy if you’re building him, but not so much if you don’t care or already have the SDCC The Raft version.

Worth it?  Cap is just at $6 right now. Even with the lack of accessories, that’s a really great deal for a 2016 Marvel Legends figure. Especially one of this quality.

Rating: 9 out of 10

This isn’t my preferred look for Captain Britain, but this is a very strong figure. The excellent likeness is complimented by a dynamic paint job and the standard superior articulation.

Where to get it? Toys R Us seems the main retailer that has this wave in stock right now. Target appears to be in the midst of its holiday reset and Wal-Mart is very hit or miss with ML assortments. Amazon is probably the best option especially for that killer price.