Marvel Legends The Raft figure review – SDCC 2016 exclusive set

Every year Hasbro has strongly delivered with its San Diego Comic Con exclusive Marvel Legends sets. This year was no different with the exceptional The Raft set featuring Abomination, Dreadknight, Enchantress, The Purple Man, Sandman and a very outmatched Spider-Man.

This set isn’t without some controversy though thanks to some interesting decisions. Enchantress was part of the Doctor Strange wave; Abomination was oddly the BAF for the latest Captain America wave, Sandman is the BAF for the next Spider-Man wave and the included Spider-Man is a repaint. Reuse issues aside, The Raft is a very strong exclusive set and another home run SDCC exclusive for Hasbro.

Packaging:  The Raft features my favorite packaging of the year. My ‘studio’ barely was able to get the whole set in the shot. It’s a painting of the set’s figures in captivity and Spider-Man outside their cells. The portraits have some great personal touches like Enchantress checking her nails and The Purple Man adjusting his shirt cuffs.

On the back, the Raft prison theme continues with red lights shining on the mug shots of the incarcerated villains. Inside it’s even better with another section of The Raft with Eel, Hobgoblin and Electro escaped from their cells. Below is an impressive setup of the figures in their cells and Spider-Man peering in. Best of all, Hasbro used some nice solid material for the cells so they can be used in dioramas and not just tossed in the garbage.

Likeness:  The Toy Biz Sandman is one of my favorite Toy Biz figures thanks to the clever way it conveyed a body composed of sand. This figure doesn’t have that kind of detailing and is just a regular looking guy painted various shades of brown. Some sort of texture would have gone a long way here, but since this mold is a reused Absorbing Man, it’s a far too smooth surface. Typically, the Hasbro update easily tops the Toy Biz version, but in this case, the Toy Biz figure still is my preferred Sandman.

Abomination has some great detail throughout. This one is a lot closer when matched with its Toy Biz counterpart. The plating and dedicated sculpting on the Toy Biz version is superior, but the Hasbro update tops it in terms of a more fluid, functional looking action figure.

The head sculpt on the update is more in line with the comic book look as well. Hasbro’s Abomination is a modified BAF Rhino with an overlay for the more complex Abomination back protrusions and tights. It works better than I’d expect. The most glaring absence here is fists or at least one. Clawing and choking out opponents is a nice trick, but when it comes time for a slugfest with Hulk, slappy hands won’t get it done.

Purple Man more accurately reflects his comic book version with purple skin and a suit. That doesn’t make for the most exciting attire, but it’s an accurate take on the source material. The head sculpt probably could have had a more mischievous expression, but the neutral look is somehow more sinister.

Dreadknight uses a lot of parts from The Hobgoblin figure with some nice character appropriate additions like the belt and ‘skirt.’ Dreadknight is one of those cool looking villains. He might not be the most impressive member of Iron Man’s rogue gallery, but he makes up for it with his appearance.

The helmet really helps to provide an intimidating appearance. One minor problem is the way he’s packaged warps his left wing. I eventually got mine to straight out by having Abomination stand on it to flatten it back out.

Spider-Man is the much loved Pizza Spider-Man body with a new paintjob. I never managed to get that figure so this was a pleasant addition to the set instead of an unnecessary inclusion. I wouldn’t have complained if Hasbro swapped him out for another second-string villain, but getting the new best Spider-Man body is a nice consolation prize.

The body is appropriately lanky and wiry — ideal for a more college age Spider-Man. This is the popular replacement choice for the Toy Biz McFarlane Spider-Man. That’s been a figure I’ve held onto for a long time and I finally think this one can replace it thanks to better proportions and all of the articulation of its Toy Biz predecessor.

I’d all but handed the X-Men Legends Rogue the trophy for best 6” female, but Enchantress offers some stiff competition. It starts with that gorgeous head sculpt. It’s easy to see why Amora would constantly be so tempting to Thor. Best of all is that smirk, which captures her haughty attitude perfectly. The hair is sculpted nicely to flow over her shoulders without hindering articulation and the trademark skirt is done beautifully. This is a great looking and well-executed figure.

Scale: Sandman is going to be repurposed as a BAF and they typically come super-sized. That’s not a big problem here since Sandman changes his size all the time.

Abomination is one of the larger scale characters so his girth and height is appropriate. Initially, I thought he was much smaller than the TB version. It’s really just a deal of mass. The TB figure is wider and has bigger arms giving that larger and shorter impression. The Hasbro Abomination still is right along the same height as the Face Off Hulk, which remains my default Hulk.

Purple Man, Dreadknight and Spider-Man are average height.

Fitting in with the everything Asgardian is taller theme, Enchantress is taller than the typical Marvel Legends female. I like that trend and it’s a nice touch.

Paint:  Sandman has the simplest paint job of the set. Seeing as how he’s supposed to be all sand, I don’t understand why he’d have various shades of brown from his striped shirt to his belt and shoes, but OK.

Abomination has a nice shade of green with a nice black wash to bring out the details. The scales portions have a darker green shade and the work on the teeth is very well done.

Purple Man sports more than one shade of purple for his skin tone and his suit offset by a dark orange shirt. I thought the comic version also had a dark shade of purple hair, but that could have just been a colorist taking liberties.

Dreadknight features the most eye popping color. The blue chain mail has a sharp reflective paint job and the work with the purple tunic, gloves and boots is solid. The helmet might have benefited from a shinier silver, but those dark, haunting red eyes really help the figure stand out.

Spider-Man has the most complex paint job with the web lines. For the most part, they’re done beautifully. One of the reasons I never got a Pizza Spider-Man was because the web lines were always so sketchy. This figure is about 93 percent clean. I really dig the big, wide eye head and the black lining around the white is done terrifically.

Enchantress gets a nice wash for her hair to make it more than a flat blonde. The makeup applications are impressive for this scale with just a minor overspray with the eyeliner. The arm sleeves have a cool shiny shade of green to match the belt. The complicated circle tights were flawless.

Articulation: All the characters have the standard articulation scheme allowing for some great posing options. Purple Man can adjust his tie and Dreadknight can have all kinds of weapons carnage.

Enchantress lacks the bicep swivel and waist joint like most of the females, but that’s always been the case. And with Enchantress’ power and skill set, they’re hardly essential articulation points.

The figures have:

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

Accessories:  This is the one category that’s lacking for The Raft. Only Enchantress and Dreadknight come with accessories. Enchantress has the now very familiar magic clip-on effects. They’re cast in a green partially translucent color this time. They remain very challenging to actually keep in place similar to every character that uses them.

Dreadknight gets the most with both his sword, lance and cape. The sword actually fits snuggly in his hand and sheath. The lance is another solid fit. Accessories don’t matter if they can’t stay in the hands so I was very happy these had no issues.

Since Spider-Man was a reuse that came with other hand sculpts, it was surprising Hasbro didn’t toss those in here. Sandman could have used some sand weapon pieces. The Purple Man and Abomination didn’t need any so they’re fine.

Worth it?  Getting a complete set isn’t nearly as expensive as some other sets. Thank Hasbro for releasing the bulk of the set in other waves. That’s a more collector-friendly approach from Hasbro as it allows collectors who actually want the set to still get it without taking out a small loan. The Raft pretty much balances out to the cost of a regular set and with two BAF figures, it’s a reasonable price.

Thanks to their inclusion in other lines, most of these figures are easy to track down. Currently, Amazon has a set with free shipping for $144.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Enchantress is the real winner of this set. Dreadknight and Purple Man provide enough incentive to make the set worth grabbing even with the underwhelming Sandman. The Spider-Man is a great addition for those who don’t have Pizza Spider-Man. Abomination spares collectors from having to get the entire BAF Abomination Civil War theme wave.

Where to get it?  Unlike previous SDCC exclusives, this set is pretty easy to find right now online.