Marvel Legends Speed Demon figure review – BAF Absorbing Man

With a line as extensive as Marvel Legends it’s important to flesh out the lineup beyond the heavy hitters. That’s essential with the villains, particularly villain teams. Hasbro has delved deep into the Spider-Man Rogue Gallery for viable punching bags and has taken special interest in the Superior Foes of Spider-Man. We’ve already gotten Boomerang and this review looks at another addition to the ranks — Speed Demon. And surprisingly, this could be one of my dark horse favorite figures of the year.

Packaging: This is no different than any other Marvel Legends figure. The consistency is admirable, but I’d like to see some minor adjustments. I do like the red theme color for the Spider-Man line.

 

Speed Demon shares a package with Beetle so he only gets one side panel drawing and the super generic bio. Explaining who the characters are would be helpful since they’re not household names.

Likeness:  Like any good speedster, Speed Demon has a lean physique. This was my first experience with the beloved Pizza Spider-Man buck and I definitely see the appeal. It’s a great fit here. Speed Demon doesn’t need to look as solid as Daredevil and this new buck adds some much needed diversity in the available bodies for Hasbro.

What sets this figure apart is the head sculpt. Speed Demon has this excellent cocky expression that really sells the whole shady, sleazy speedster appeal of the character.

Scale:  Speed Demon is right in line with the average sized figures. The Pizza Spidey buck doesn’t sacrifice height to convey a slimmer build. Just because he’s fast doesn’t mean he needs to be short.

Paint:  Despite his C-list status, Hasbro gave Speed Demon a superior paint job. There’s a number of colors vying for prominence here including the flashy gold lightning lines. I saw some very minor paint smears with the lightning, but it was more of the finding it because I’m searching for it variety.

Hasbro seems to have done an interesting two-tone paintjob on the goggles to suggest a reflection. Overall, this was an exceptional paint job.

Articulation:  Another reason to love the Pizza Spidey buck? It makes racing and speeding away poses easy thanks to the slightly larger feet. Being able to get those character appropriate poses is why I’m such a big fan of Marvel Legends. The articulation here is very fluid, allowing for easy movement that flows naturally.

Speed Demon has:

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

Accessories:  Hasbro went above and beyond again in this category. Speed Demon doesn’t have obvious accessory options, but Hasbro gave him a pair of mid-run, straight hands. They swap out very smoothly, which to Hasbro’s credit has never been a problem with any ML with additional hands and heads. While that would logically be all I’d expect, Speed Demon gets a bonus —the Silvermane head on an RC car.

I haven’t read the book to understand why Silvermane has been stuck in such an inglorious position, but it’s funny and that’s all I need. For a chump accessory, Hasbro did a very nice job here with dedicated sculpting for the cybernetic back and a great, weary old man face. Don’t like the RC option? Put the head on other figures as it swaps out with no problem.

Since Speed Demon is essentially a repaint with a new head sculpt it’s nice to see Hasbro adding some value.

Additionally, Speed Demon comes with the most essential piece of the Absorbing Man Build-A-Figure: the torso. Don’t freak out over the leg connector pieces looking different (like I did). That’s intentional, not a flaw of the figure.

Worth it? You can grab Speed Demon now for $9.97. Getting Marvel Legends under $15 is a great price. But for even less? That’s a deal worth racing to get.

Rating: 10 out of 10

Speed Demon isn’t a big name Spider-Man foe, but Hasbro did a terrific job on this third-tier character.

Where to get it?  Speed Demon is one of the holdovers I’ve frequently seen on shelves at Toys R Us and Target, but that clearly varies depending on the region. The more guaranteed route is Amazon.com.