Marvel Legends Ex Nihilo figure review – Build-A-Figure Mantis wave

The problem with Marvel Legends is that unless I’m very focused older figures get pushed further and further back on the to-review pile. Every so often I get a moment to play catch up so don’t think you’ve magically been transported back a few years ago. Although with the way 2020 has been maybe that’s not a bad thing. Today I’m looking at Ex Nihilo, part of the Guardians of the Galaxy Build-A-Figure Mantis wave. Let’s see if he’ll make my head explode as fast as a Jonathan Hickman Avengers story.

Packaging:  Randomly going back to various lines is actually kind of fun as it’s been awhile since Hasbro went with a purple accent for the standard Marvel Legends packaging. Ex Nihilo shares the package setup with Adam Warlock so he doesn’t even get his name on the front. You’ll have to swing to the back for that.

At least he’s got a sweet Mike Deodato drawing on the right side. As you’d expect from a shared package figure the bio is even more useless than normal. Would you like to know more? Head to Wikipedia.

Likeness:  Much like Grant Morrison before him, when Hickman comes on board a new title he tries to do something that’s never been done before. Normally that leads to some exciting developments and intriguing new characters.

Ex Nihilo is a very unique looking character with his asymmetrical horns and that slightly menacing head sculpt. The head sculpt is the standout element of the figure. That expression is so devious and off putting that he clearly looks like he’s up to no good.

Eventually Ex Nihilo joined up with the Avengers, but with this head sculpt, I’m definitely keeping him as an adversary.

I do like the more expressive hands and the bare feet mold, which are accurate to the character.

Hasbro went with the Hyperion/Venom body for him, which seems like the best fit. The peg holes for the cape are still visible and that’s a small thing, but it’d be nice for Hasbro to plug in to not make the reuse so obvious. He’s clearly not a figure breaking the budget for this wave.

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Paint:  Ex Nihilo has a really nice pearlescent gold paint job.

It fits the shiny appearance of the character in the comics. The logo line work is clean and there is very minor slop around the third eye and teeth.

Scale:  With this buck, Ex Nihilo stands taller than your average Marvel Legends figure, which seems right based on his portrayal in the comics.

Articulation: This buck is a bit clunkier than some others, but for more of a menacing and gesturing character like Ex Nihilo it’s fine.

I do kinda regret skipping out on the Hickman era Captain America and Hawkeye now, but I have enough figures from that era to pit him with or against.

Ex Nihilo has:

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

Accessories:  I’m not sure what else Ex Nihilo could have come with, but he’s rocking a goose egg on accessories besides the left arm of the Build-A-Figure Mantis.

Worth it?  I was lucky enough to get most of this wave from Five Below. Getting a set of figures for the price of one is a sweet deal.

Rating: 8 out of 10

There’s really nothing to complain or get that excited about with Ex Nihilo. Maybe the biggest disappointment with this figure is Hasbro’s lack of interest in adding more figures from Hickman’s Avengers run. Maybe with the House of X figures coming they’ll be reinvigorated to crank out some of Hickman’s other new characters?

Where to get it?  He’s not at any of the traditional retailers, but you can get him for about $10 on some eBay auctions.  Or you could blow a gasket seeing how much the wave is going for now on Amazon.