Marvel Legends Black Panther review – BAF The Void wave

Black Panther was a neat character as one of the few black Avengers on the team. It took the Christopher Priest and Mark Texeira Marvel Knights run (read on Amazon) to realize that T’Challa was one of the absolute coolest characters in the Marvel Universe. Kurt Busiek doubled down with this cool portrayal in his Avengers run with George Perez as did Geoff Johns when he took the reins of the Avengers.

With three of my favorite writers handled such a memorable era for T’Challa, the gold ornate accessories shot up to my second most demanded look. It didn’t hurt that this was the look of the first BP done during the Toy Biz Marvel Legends era.

Considering Hasbro recently updated Black Panther, I was pretty confident this one wasn’t going to disappoint since it’s just more about adding on some parts rather than creating a great BP figure from scratch. Let’s see how this gold version fares and if it could knock out the previous one as my favorite take on the king of Wakanda.

Packaging: The last Black Panther figure was part of the closed window era of Marvel Legends. This one has the open window so we can catch any paint flaws or swaps. Over on either side is the artwork from issue #46 by Jorge Lucas. It’s a very cool drawing that evokes the majesty and confidence of the character.

On the back is a slight bio since Hasbro is cramming in text for five different languages. Below the sea of bios is the cross sell showing the lineup for the Build-A-Figure Void wave.

Likeness:  I found the latest Black Panther to echo Texeira’s more intense portrait compared to the less emotive 70s style mask, so it made sense to reuse it here.

The ML team mostly reused the Vulcan mold again since it’s by far the best available option for him. The torso is different from the previous Black Panther figure likely to accommodate the cape setup. It’s a minor thing, but Hasbro used the same ribbed gloves and boots from the classic Panther attire. They’re in black this time so it’s not noticeable until you look close up.

T’Challa has a more dramatic cape that ends around his shins. It has a flared collar that’s positioned too high. As a good rule, it should rise to the middle of his head in the back and the front raising up based on artist preference. Hasbro is making these capes too big, wide and cumbersome. Like his wave mate, Vision, Black Panther would be better erved with a sleeker cape that didn’t flare out to indicate some motion.

Initially, Texeira drew the gold elements like a band serving as a clasp for his cape. His bracelets were unconnected slots along his wrist leading to gold claws. His belt piece stopped right at his abs.

 

Over the years that design has been tinkered with slightly — the bracelets are connected with ‘spikes’ at random points. The gold clasp is now a full-on necklace alternating between a Panther symbol in the middle or a gem. These alterations aren’t a change in themselves though there was certainly an option to go with the original gold design elements for other accessory options. More on that later. They’re not keyed in and like older X-Men ML figures, they have an annoying habit of sliding down his forearm.

Scale: In the comics, T’Challa is 6′ which has him looking up at his Avengers teammates like the 6’2″ Captain America, the 6’3″ Hawkeye and 6’6″ Thor and Iron Man. This mold is a big improvement over the Bucky Cap mold as it keeps Panther at an appropriate height, but he doesn’t look so skinny compared to the larger torso figures.

Paint:  Black Panther’s outfit doesn’t lend itself to much color save the gold in his eyes. I’m torn if the gold elements needed a wash to not make it look too much like a toy. Maybe a darker gold could have been lightly applied to break up the pure almost translucent gold pieces?

That’s really the only area with paint besides the red in the gem, which thankfully is properly centered and applied.

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Articulation: The Vulcan mold gives Black Panther plenty of usable and worthwhile poseability. This cape doesn’t hinder his arm range since it’s sculpted behind his shoulders. Smart decision.

You shouldn’t have too much trouble pulling off Panther’s signature battle stances although some crouches are impacted due to the cape’s length.

Black Panther has:

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

Accessories:  The previous T’Challa didn’t have a lot of accessory options. This time, the ML team could have been more creative with the offerings beyond a set of fists.

Having a shorter length cape with a Panther clasp or the original cape setup and bracelets would have done a lot to add some value. Especially since Black Panther doesn’t come with a part of the Build A Figure Void.

Worth it?  MLs typically retail for $24.99, but I waited for a Hasbro Pulse Holiday Sale, which knocked him down to $16, which was a solid buy-it price point for me. As much as I love the character the lack of accessories for a $25 figure is not a great value.

Rating: 9 out of 10

I would love for the gold elements to look less like toy accessories and a better cape. This is a decent gold accent Black Panther, but Hasbro still can make the definitive look of that attire with another release.

Where to get it?  The Void wave was strictly online only. You can get him from Amazon or Entertainment Earth.