Marvel Legends Ares figure review
When Ares started being prominently featured in the comics, I was losing interest in Marvel’s new direction. I still don’t really know where he fits in the current universe if he’s a Skrull, dead, an evil Avenger, Hydra or whatever. I just know he’s got a cool look and with some articulation enhancements as part of the Thor Raganarok line he was worth adding to the collection. Let’s see if my hunch paid off.
Packaging: Hasbro mixes up the accent colors on the respective subsets making for a colorful MOC display. Thor gets a cool blue accent. It’s not the darker blue used in the Captain America or Avengers line. Ares shares packaging with Odinson so the writeup is extremely basic.
In the package, Ares looks very impressive as he fills most of the space and his weapons cover the rest. He’s practically crammed in there really selling the value you’re getting here.
Likeness: In most comics I saw Ares in, Mike Deodato handled the art and he made him look like a tremendous dark equivalent to Thor in the Dark Avengers. The helmet has a great Spartan flair with big top feather. The chest plate is massive and the arms are huge with vein detailing and wraps and gauntlets. The lower half benefits from the newer Marvel Legends articulation setup.
His legs are also packed with great care with a holster and armored kneepads. Ares is a great looking figure.
Scale: Ares has that modest larger scale making him taller and broader than the average figure. He’s just a tad too tall for my ideal height for Hasbro’s eventual classic Thor figure. For Ares, this makes him look like an incredibly imposing figure.
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Paint: Ares also sports some fantastic paint work. The head in particular looks great since it furthers the illusion of the helmeted portrait with darker paint around the eyes with an almost possessed glare in the eyes. Most of the chest armor is clean save some parts of the breastplate lining.
The wraps along the arm and waist as well as the belt include a subtle wash to bring out the details. That’s also the case with the excellent looking knee pads and shin armor. Some of the studs on the right arm are probably the worst in terms of consistency. From my recollection of the original Hasbro Ares, the paintwork is much improved.
Articulation: Ares is a big bruising melee style character and needs to be able to swing his weapons and punch out a few opponents. To accomplish that he needs a strong base. He’s got that, but you’re not going to do as much as you’d like thanks to most of the original Hasbro Marvel Legends articulation.
His torso joint is somewhat limited, which coupled with his restricting neck joint, doesn’t allow for the most dynamic poses. He really misses the double jointed elbows, which would allow him to have more aggressive weapon battle stances.
Ares has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- bicep
- elbow
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- hip
- knee
- ankle
Accessories: Ares has an impressive array. He comes with a massive axe and sword. Both feature better paint detailing than normal with the sword hilt in gold and the handle cast in black to go with the silver blade. The axe equally looks impressive. The knife in the sheath is removable as well as the helmet.
If that wasn’t enough, Ares comes with the mace and left arm for the BAF Gladiator Hulk.
Worth it? Ares might be the most stacked Marvel Legend figure of the year. For $20 you’re getting a lot here. If you get it any cheaper, you’re really making out alright.
Rating: 8 out
of 10
Hasbro got some flak for re-releasing him, but the fixes make him worth the upgrade. Despite the articulation limitations, he’s a fun, imposing looking figure.
Where to get it? I found Ares at Toys R Us, but have also seen him at Target, Walgreens and Wal-Mart. Failing those options, try and catch him on sale at retail price on Amazon.com.