Marvel Legends Red Goblin figure review
I appreciate Hasbro for trying to make all realms of collectors happy. There’s the strictly old school comic purists, the cartoon fans, the Marvel movie crew and the modern comic fans who have no idea who Chris Claremont, Walt Simonson, John Byrne and Steve Ditko contributed. Typically, I fall in the old school camp, but I appreciate a well-made Marvel Legend figure based on a more recent character like Red Goblin.
The whole concept of Red Goblin is pretty nutty. It’s Norman Osborn merged with Carnage! How crazy is that? He appeared in a handful of issues at the conclusion of Dan Slott’s lengthy run in a memorable storyline. Since we get so many Spider-Man variants, I’m not as bothered by a symbiote/goblin variant especially one that looks this unique.
Package: It’s the standard Marvel Legends black and red packaging for Spider-Man. The side features a bit more color instead of the all black and red scheme. The bio is short and sweet, but that’s all we need to explain this guy so it’s effective.
Likeness: Look at this guy! Red Goblin looks insane like a demonic Green Goblin’s baby with Carnage. It’s a clever concept and Hasbro knocked it all the way out. First that head sculpt is incredible. I wish the mouth was open a tad wider so we could see more of the orange inside and avoid the mustache look, but it’s a minor problem.
The sculpting is top notch here with dedicated sculpting for the eyes, ‘eyebrows,’ nose, ears and teeth. Just as impressive is the positioning and placement of the symbiote tendrils, which look like they’re in motion. It’s a creepy effect and looks amazing.
I like the wide open crazy hands, which are perfect for Carnage’s offspring. The feet also look good with the clawed almost dangerous sculpting. Finally the tail, which also has that sense of movement and a stinger like end.
Scale: Red Goblin didn’t dramatically increase his size so he doesn’t need to be a giant. The scale on the figure looks just about right to me especially since he was only really battling Spider-Man and Flash Thompson.
Paint: About 90% of the figure is painted really nicely. The white eye brows could be touched up better, but all of the important elements are fine. There’s no sloppiness with the red and black or the eyes.
Articulation: Red Goblin looks to use the Bucky Cap mold, which is a great body for a slender character with reasonable articulation needs. Naturally, it would have been great if the tail had any articulation, but it’s stuck in place. At least it doesn’t get in the way of any regular posing.
Red Goblin has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- bicep
- elbow
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: Red Goblin doesn’t need a ton of accessories, but Hasbro threw in some worthwhile extras with him. He’s got a trail of tendrils that plug into his back. They’ve got a great funky pattern that looks like an oozing symbiote.
My favorite is the pumpkin bomb, which features flared eyes and a creepy symbiote style mouth.
He also comes with the right leg for the Build A Figure Kingpin.
Of course the big miss is the absence of his demonic looking glider. It looks like it’s on fire and looks amazing. There’s no other opportunity to do that piece so it looks like our Red Goblin will have to rely on Uber.
Worth it? I got this guy for $20. That’s a fair price even with his flash in the pan status. He’s a crazy looking character and has been the harder figure to track down for retail price.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10
This is a pretty fun figure. I wish the tail was articulated to some extent and really feel like the missing glider was a blown opportunity. If you’re not symbiote-d out, this is worth grabbing and adding to your collection.
Where to Get It? I’ve yet to see this BAF Kingpin wave at retail so going the Amazon route might be your best choice.