Marvel Legends Vintage Retro Shocker review

Shocker has been overdue for a new Marvel Legends figure for a while. Hasbro released a Superior Foes of Spider-Man version of the character many years ago, but it wasn’t the classic take longtime collectors like me wanted.

Toy Biz released a classic Shocker that was pretty great besides its action feature. Shockingly (sorry) that vibrate feature still works on my figure.

With the latest wave of Vintage Retro Spider-Man, Hasbro finally decided to reward our patience and release a classic Shocker. Let’s see if this leaves me all shook up or still seeking a version to top Toy Biz’s version.

Packaging:  The Spider-Man retro wave packaging is a callback to the old school Toy Biz figures with artwork and bold color scheme reminiscent of the FOX cartoon series.

It’s got a colorful setup with the yellow and red show logo against a purple backdrop and a showcase image of Shocker. The back features the rest of the wave, the special feature (i.e., additional accessories) and a bio.

Shocker’s bio actually has a little more effort than the norm that explains his powers and his longtime beef with Spider-Man.

Likeness:  Shocker has one of the more distinct outfits of the classic Spider-Man foes. The waffle pattern of his costume and the three Vs in the cowl, shirt and belt tease at his vibration powers. It’s a wild outfit, but for some reason, it’s one of my favorites. And I really love waffles.

Hasbro did right by the outfit this time by giving Shocker an original mold and actually sculpting the lining. The previous figure just had the lines painted on, which didn’t look nearly as good. Naturally I can’t find the Toy Biz version when I started shooting Shocker for a better comparison.

I love the sculpting on the eyes as they make Shocker look annoyed he still hasn’t been able to squash the spider.

The vest, tights, gloves and boots have a texture to them that gives a leather-like appearance. It’s a nice additional bit of detail for the character and especially this Retro line, which typically goes for a less is more approach.

Scale:  Shocker is an average size guy although like most Spider-Man villains, I prefer him to be a little taller than Spidey. The newer Spider-Man makes that a little harder, but he does fit in with him fine.

Besides the Superior Foes, Shocker is mostly a loner and won’t be hanging out with Doc Ock, Kraven, Hydro Man, etc.

Paint:  Shocker’s paint job is a few stray marks off from being excellent. As of late, Hasbro has been bad about matching the proper tones for costume colors.

In some cases it’s an intentional botch to make collectors double dip to get the proper version. Thankfully that’s not the case here and Shocker looks like he did in the comics and cartoon.

The orange yellow is the proper shade and the brown complements it properly. Shocker’s vibro-units don’t have a wash to them, but they’re cast in a strong enough silver that they still have the necessary visual pop.

There’s just a few problems with the orange yellow running over to the right side vest portion that holds it back from a perfect score. It’s not awful, but given its placement it is a little hard to totally ignore.

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Articulation: Shocker really needs to be able to aim his vibro-units and throw the occasional punch.

He’s not doing backflips or high kicks. The previous Shocker had great articulation to be a punching bag for Spidey.

That’s true with this figure as well. Shocker is the standard fun to pose Marvel Legends figure with tremendous articulation. And he’s got nice and tight joints too so he won’t falling down anytime soon.

Shocker has:

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

Accessories:  Shocker comes with an alternate set of forearms with his hands outstretched to better focus his powers I suppose. That’s a nice option and a worthwhile addition.

Finally, he comes with the energy burst effect that every other character with some form of projectile energy gets. The other characters get the other burst effect.

It’s cast in a translucent yellow orange that works for Shocker. It’s time for Hasbro to come up with some more energy effect pieces.

Worth it?  Shocker is the new regular price at $22 although a 20% Target coupon allowed me to get it for under $20. I suspect that’s going to be how I buy more Marvel Legends from now on especially when they cross the $24.99 threshold.

These figures aren’t the great deal they once were especially without the Build-A-Figure sell point. We’re getting less and paying more.

Rating:  10 out of 10

It’s hard to find much to complain about here. This is the version of Shocker that I’ve wanted since Hasbro started making major improvements compared to their Toy Biz counterparts and he doesn’t disappoint.

Where to get it?  You should be able to find this wave at retail at this point at Target. You can also try Target’s website, Amazon or Entertainment Earth.

As an Amazon Associate and Entertainment Earth/Target affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.