Marvel Legends Scarlet Spider figure review

Love it or hate it, The Clone Saga is a significant part of Spider-Man’s legacy now. Peter Parker has two clone ‘brothers’ running around and both have used the identity of the Scarlet Spider. It’s confusing, but somehow it works out alright.

Today I’m looking at the current Scarlet Spider aka Kaine. Set up as more of the Wolverine of the Spider-Men, Kaine has a great design and was a figure Hasbro originally released back in its early days with the Marvel Legends license. As Hasbro got a better handle on the figures, Kaine’s Scarlet Spider was due for an update. Let’s see if this clone is worthy of the upgrade.

Packaging:  This is the standard Spider-Man packaging with the red accents. Kaine’s portrait looks cool while his bio establishes him more as a villain. I think he’s much more in the anti-hero territory than anything else.

 

I don’t have much else to discuss with the packaging as it’s been the same consistent setup we’ve had for the past five years. It’s not broke and Hasbro doesn’t need to fix it.

Likeness:  Hasbro’s initial take on Scarlet Spider suffered from a bad base body with clunky knees, shoulders and hips. This updated figure is far more fluid. Hasbro went with the Sunfire mold for Scarlet Spider, which gives him a beefier appearance than the standard Spider-Man body. It works well for Kaine and further distinguishes him from Peter and Ben.

Scarlet Spider has a unique headsculpt with deeply established eye slots and small spikes from his palms. It gives him a darker, more sinister look even without the paint job.

Scale:  Giving Scarlet Spider the Sunfire buck gives him a slight edge in height over the regular Spider-Man figures while he’s shorter than the Spider-Man UK or Cosmic Spider-Man. I like the small height discrepancies as it helps make the various Spider-Men stand out from each other.

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Paint:  It’s just about perfect with no issues on the logo or major outfit line work. The eyes aren’t painted quite properly with a minor overspray on both. The spikes also have some slight overspray and slop.

None of these issues are that significant, but worth keeping in mind if you have the option to choose between more than one.

Articulation:  The Sunfire buck might be the best one in the Marvel Legends stable right now. It allows for very fluid movement and posing and thanks to the butterfly shoulders, adds a welcome other degree of poseability.

Everything else is as smooth as always. My figure seemed to have some glue issues as the torso and crotch piece aren’t as tight. While it doesn’t flop around too badly, it is little annoying.

Scarlet Spider has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• biceps
• elbows (double-jointed)
• wrists
• torso
• waist
• hips
• thighs
• knees (double-jointed)
• boot
• ankles

 

Accessories:  Hasbro gave Scarlet Spider a decent amount of accessories. While I will probably keep the spiked hands on him just for variety, Hasbro also included a set of regular fists.

 

He’s also got an unmasked head featuring a bearded Peter reused from the Cosmic Spider-Man. It’s painted in a way to show more of a sickly look. I would have loved a different headsculpt with more stubble and longer hair just to have more looks off the same sculpt.

Additionally, Scarlet Spider comes with the left arm of the SP//dr Build a Figure.

Worth it?  I got Scarlet Spider for $18. This wave has been pretty easy to find for below retail price, but if you’re paying $20 you’re not getting ripped off by any means.

 

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

 Scarlet Spider is a terrific make good update and a major player in the Spider Verse. Thanks to his unique look he pops in a sea of red and blue Spider-Men. With a tighter waist and paint, he would have earned full high marks.

Where to get it?  Gamestop is the best retail spot for Marvel Legends these days. You can also find Scarlet Spider at Amazon.com or Hasbrotoyshop. You could also grab the full SP//dr case at EntertainmentEarth.com.