Marvel Legends Phantom Rider review (2025)

Phantom Rider strolls out looking like one of the coldest Marvel Legends figures of 2025.

The line has seen plenty of unexpectedly fun characters made in the last three years, but this marks our first cowboy.

Let’s see if Phantom Rider deserves a ride into the sunset or if someone needs to collect a bounty on this outlaw figure.

Packaging: This wave gets the usual dominant black color scheme with a purple backdrop, but I really like the turquoise button for the BAF tab and the dominant red box with the prominent Marvel logo in the center.

The package features three portraits of Phantom Rider. As always, I’ll add that it’d be nice if the comic artists were credited on the back.

His bio is decent as it explains his role, but the powers and character allies should be a staple in these write-ups. Yes, Google exists, but there’s so much text on the packages for it to have so little about the actual character.

Likeness: It’s always interesting when the reference art chosen doesn’t match up entirely with the figure. Phantom Rider is one of those characters whose look subtly changes with very minor tweaks. It didn’t take too long to find some images that better reflect the character as my initial reaction was the Marvel Legends team skimped on some key details namely the more intricate leather belt and actual cowboy boots.

There’s enough comic art to show the ML team got Phantom Rider’s look down just fine save for one consistent outfit design element — the thigh wraps/cords around both legs. That’s a minor omission for a figure that really does a nice job of capturing the coolness factor of a masked cowboy in all white. His hat is just the right size avoiding the comedic looking too large or too small issue.

His cape flows properly from his collar and positioned behind his shoulders. I’ve seen a few folks swapping out the plastic cape for a soft goods one and that does improve the coolness factor as the cape plug continues to be a nuisance.

The head sculpt is deceptively simple but perfectly captures how the mask bunches up and is pulled around his face. This avoids it looking like a circle with painted on eyes. The mask’s creases and slightly sunken in eyes really makes all the difference.

Phantom Rider has flared gloves and a two-belt setup. Some of the belt designs have extra bullets lined up on either side and a pair of tassels. The ML figure’s look is accurate although it would have been a nice bonus for his boots to include spurs.

Scale: Phantom Rider is 6’1″ making him about the same height as Hawkeye and the 6’2″ Wonder Man. His tenure hanging with the West Coast Avengers is a bit complicated so it’s best to just leave him on his own. His scale is more of an issue if you’re trying to find a horse for him to ride to work in your display.

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Paint: Phantom Rider is decked out in pure, snow white. His costume does not need a dark wash or any other shading variations. Kudos to the ML team for not doing something extra in the name of jazzing his classic look up in figure form.

He does have some paint apps in the silver of his belt and excellent black and grey outline around his eyes. This is the one area the ML team took some liberties and didn’t just outline the eyes in black like it appears in the comics. The fading effect really makes the figure pop.

Articulation: Phantom Rider is more of a marksman with his two pistols though he can mix it up with fisticuffs as needed. He’s using the Vulcan mold, which is a terrific base body for regular size guys.

His cape isn’t a dramatic hindrance to his poseability since it’s positioned behind his shoulders.

Phantom Rider has:

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

Accessories: Phantom Rider gets extra hands — a set of fists for when he needs to knock out some varmints the old-fashioned way and an open left hand for a gun cradling pose.

He also has a pair of six shooters. They look fine with a solid sculpt and white paint apps on the grip.

Finally, he comes with the left leg of the Build A Figure Executioner.

Worth It? Phantom Rider clocks in at $27.99, the new higher price point for Hasbro figures.

This price is a tough sell for figures that are essentially the same as $22.99 figures from a few years ago. The story is the same for me — if you’re in no rush to build Executioner, hold off on a sale to get Phantom Rider. Not because the figure is bad, it’s just the price.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Phantom Rider is a very solid figure. My only issue is the still frustrating cape plug, which is a legacy issue for the line.

Where to Get It? GameStop is the best retail option for him, but you can also get him online at Amazon or Entertainment Earth.

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