Marvel Legends West Coast Avengers Retro Vision review
The problem with doing deep dives into comic book runs is sometimes I get “suckered” into buying a figure that didn’t really impress me simply so I can finish a team with a character important to the story. That’s the case with the Marvel Legends West Coast Avengers Retro Vision.
I was rolling through Avengers Epic Collection: The Gatherers Strike! and Avengers Epic Collection: Operation Galactic Storm and decided that the all-white wraith version of Vision was necessary after all.
This was of course after knowing exactly the limitations and problems with the figure from the moment it was revealed. Let’s see if having Vision in hand will change my opinion at all.
Packaging: The package is the standard for the Retro line and it features The West Coast Avengers logo prominently displayed. This is very closely based on John Byrne’s artwork from West Coast Avengers #45 with enough tweaks from another artist to be an original drawing instead.
The bio is pretty solid as it explains Vision’s new look and his affiliation with the Avengers.
Likeness: With the classic colors Retro Vision figure, Hasbro gave him a better body than the go-to Bucky Cap mold.
For some odd reason, Hasbro just decided to mostly reuse the BAF HulkBuster figure with a few adjustments namely swapped shins with the bare feet mold.
The classic Retro Vision was still a bit too undersized, but it has a more articulated base body so it’s disappointing Hasbro went this route with the figure.
I suppose the implementation of the cape makes sense given how it was typically drawn more swept back compared to the wider, high collar style of the classic costume.
Although none of it should be around his collar since the cape was drawn with the chest as the starting point instead of the shoulders.
Scale: Hasbro has consistently made Vision too slight and small.
Every Avengers artist during the White Vision phase from John Byrne to Steve Epting made Vision broader and thicker than this slight, undersized figure.
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Paint: Beyond West Coast Avengers, colorists tended to give Vision a yellow snow shade of white. The Wackos version definitely was the better-looking option.
Hasbro opted to break up the stark white by throwing in some grey-ish coloring along his tight and cape point. A darker white wash probably would have looked better as the uniform arrangement of the grey makes it look like part of the costume instead of an accent.
Articulation: Although dated, the Bucky Cap mold has decent articulation. The bigger issue is the advances Hasbro has made in the Marvel Legends articulation scheme and every Vision figure at this point should have butterfly shoulders to further sell the phasing through someone’s body pose.
The cape remains an issue as it’s too heavy and makes hitting some poses a pain.
He’s also got soft, gummy joints that are apparent in the package. You’d think at this point Hasbro could ensure figures don’t need to be properly straightened out before you even open them.
Retro Vision has:
- neck
- ball-jointed shoulders
- bicep
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double-jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: On the accessories front, Vision doesn’t have a ton of options. With the premium price of these figures, Hasbro couldn’t give him nothing so he gets a pair of swappable fists. Better than nothing, but this would have been a nice opportunity for a different expression for Vision like a gritted teeth or angry portrait.
Worth it? Vision is normally $23 or $25. There was zero chance I was paying that for him. GameStop had a massive sale and Vision was $11.48. That was enough for me to pull the trigger. I still don’t think this figure is worth the normal Marvel Legends price, but Amazon has him for $20.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Retro Vision’s smaller scale is the biggest knock on an otherwise solid figure. Hasbro has introduced a new Vision body and it already feels like we’re gonna need to use it for an enhanced white Vision soon.
Where to get it? Online is the best route unless your local GameStop happens to have him in stock. Amazon and Entertainment Earth are probably the easiest options.
As an Amazon Associate and Entertainment Earth, I earn from qualifying purchases.