MARVEL LEGENDS
Action Figures
For Sale
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One of the
greatest action figure toy lines ever made was first
produced in 2002.
Marvel Legends figures are still produced today after having
been re-launched in 2012 by Hasbro.
Marvel
Comics has produced a plethora of characters since its
existence dating back to 1939 when they were known as Timely
Comics and when they made their re-emergence in 1961 at the
onset of the Marvel Age of Comics with Fantastic Four #1.
Toy Biz would tap into the Marvel Universe to produce some
of the best action figures around.
Prior to 2002 most action figures made were in the
long-running, more accepted 3-3/4 and 4 to 5 inch category
with only a handful of figures manufactured in a larger
scale.
Toy Biz would introduce a new line of Spider-Man figures in
a 6 inch scale in 2001 which was the predecessor to the
Legends product line. The Spider-Man line contained Spider-Man, Daredevil
and some of Spidey’s villains in a large clear plastic
encased container which included a relevant diorama
background and comic book for that particular character.
There was also a card back which would list the
characters mini-biography and photos of other figures in
that series.
Up to that time most action figures consisted of only a few
points of articulated movement primarily the head, arms and
legs.
This new line offered a great deal of moving parts allowing
buyers and collectors to pose their figures in so many
different ways and not limiting the figures to the
traditional stiff look. Spider-Man and Daredevil had over
25 moving parts allowing fans great play with the figures.
This paved the way for many product lines by Toy Biz and
other companies to create multiple points of articulation in
the action figures to follow.
The product was well received with buyers and collectors and
ran for two series setting the stage for the Legends line
using the exact same format and packaging with similar
contents-diorama base, comic book and card back profile.
Some figures would include a foil print sheet in place of
the comic offering buyers a special collector's item to try
and track down for their collections.
In the Marvel Legends line you can adjust the head, middle
chest, waist arms-at a couple of points, elbows, wrists,
fingers on some figures, legs-at a couple of points, knees,
ankles and toes.
Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man and Toad made up the very
first Marvel Legends series and was a success with
collectors.
The range and depth of figures and the size of the figures
that Toy Biz created for the Legends line have been
tremendous throughout the years.
They’ve produced a lot of other well-known characters like
Wolverine, the Thing, various Iron Mans, additional Captain
Americas, various Hulks, Thor, Ghost Rider, Black Widow,
Hawkeye, Dr.
Strange, Black Panther, Colossus, Professor X, Apocalypse,
Iron Fist as well as some not so well
known like X-23 and Deathlok.
Depending on the character they would stand in the 6 inch
range typically, but could be in all sorts of sizes and
shapes to represent the characters exactly.
The largest figure in the Marvel Legends line was Galactus
standing over 14 inches tall. A fan vote in the action
figure magazine Wizard Toy Fare proclaimed it the best
figure ever made. It was highly detailed and its ominous
presence made anyone’s collection standout for the better.
The paint jobs have been very consistent from figure to
figure in this line. There are some very, very good paint
applications on a good majority of the figures. The
sculpting has been incredible giving each figure great
detail.
The packaging is very uniform throughout most of the line
when Toy Biz produced them. They all came in the clear
plastic encased container from the beginning through Series
16 of Toy Biz’ run.
Hasbro took over in late 2006 as they had acquired the
license to produce Marvel characters into action figures and
toys and would change up the packaging style to a
traditional clear plastic bubble attached to a card back.
They eliminated the diorama accessory and comic book in the
process which left a lot of collectors wondering why. It
became obvious it was due to financial reasons for this
move.
When you display these unopened package figures next to one
another they look very uniform and can freely stand without
tilting the package backward or forward.
Typically each series in this line contains between 4 to 9
figures.
There
have been special figures and multi-pack figures of 2 or
more that have been produced which were store, internet and
comic book show exclusives.
In addition since the start Toy Biz had added in each series
variation figures whereby some of the characters would be
produced differently making two or more figures of a given
character for collectors to track down.
It could be a small cosmetic change like an angry face
version of Daredevil villain-Bullseye with his non-angry
face version as the regular rendition or a complete repaint
like that of the Ghost Rider who came in black outfit with
regular painted motorcycle and in a blue outfit with an
orange painted motorcycle.
This has further increased the overall total figures in the
line and have given collectors a whole new avenue of figures
to chase after.
Originating in Series 9 Toy Biz created the Build a Figure
concept within a series. Toy Biz developed the idea of
including a body part to create an additional exclusive
figure to that series and placed one part in each of figures
in that series packaging.
This was where the Galactus figure was introduced. There
were essentially 7 figures that one had to purchase in order
to complete the construction of this figure. There were 2
variant figures in this series so if you were a completist
you would want all 9 figures, but it was not necessary to
assemble Galactus.
Subsequent Build a Figures consisted the likes of the Sentinel,
Giant Man, Apocalypse, Blob, Fin Fang Foom, Ronan, Nemesis,
Ares, Red Hulk, Brood.
It’s been great fun for us collectors to collect the entire
series and construct the Build a Figure.
Both Toy Biz and Hasbro have produced exclusive Marvel Legends
figures which were only found at select retailers like Toys
R Us, Walmart and other venues. These were created as
spin-offs and have produced their share of collector
enthusiasm.
Toy Biz and Hasbro have created Spider-Man vs the Sinister
6 box set consisting of Spidey, Black Cat, Doctor Octopus,
Electro, Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter, Venom, Monsters
Gift Pack including Dracula, Frankenstein, Werewolf by
Night, Living Zombie, House of M Gift Set
consisting of House of M versions of the Hulk, Iron Man,
Thing and Torch, Young Avengers Gift pack, specialty 2 packs
of Hulk and Valkyrie, Kree and Skrull, Ultimate Captain
America and Ultimate Nick Fury and others.
There were the Face-Off series that featured 2 packs of a hero
vs. villain including Captain America and Red Skull, Hulk
and Leader, Wolverine and Sabretooth, Punisher and Jigsaw,
Daredevil and Kingpin, Iron Man and Mandarin.
It’s
been incredible for any collector to search and acquire
pieces in this fantastic line. You can go in any direction
with these figures. Some collectors focus in on the more
well-known figures while some go after the variants. Some
like to collect the Build a Figures or assemble the teams
like the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men.
There’s no real shortage of figures to collect here.
The Marvel Legends line is very comparable to the
DC
Universe Classics line as well as many other 6 inch
scale figures which adds to the almost endless possibilities
to your
collections.
Initially Toys R Us was the only retailer offering new Marvel
Legends figures however that is changing as Hasbro re-launched the entire line again to run concurrently
with their Marvel Universe line. You'll find the
figures at Target and Wal-Mart and other
regional stores that carry action figures.
There were some
Toys R Us stores that still have on their shelves 2 packs
of Hasbro's Legends figures from a couple of years ago like Iron Man and Sharon Carter, Dum Dum Dugan and Hand Ninja,
Invisible Woman and Human Torch, Nick Fury and Hand Ninja.
My preferred choice for past figures is
typically Ebay. There’s a lot
of collectors / sellers / dealers always looking to move in and
out of product and Marvel Legends is a product line that
they know will sell for them since so many collectors want
them.
Amazon.com
however is a little more consistent than Ebay since they
focus on e-Stores and sellers there tend to keep their
listings running until inventory is depleted and therefore
the links are going to keep running longer.
On Ebay
sellers primarily focus on auctions which typically run for
7 days or 10 days and then end.
It's really hard to keep direct links on my site for items
that do not run consistently. Some sellers do run
listings on Ebay that refresh every 30 days and start all
over again so it's not impossible for you to individually
keep track via their watch list feature and view what you've
been watching in your My Ebay page.
In any regard
I try to acquire these figures in lots or sets. It's more
economical this way since you're paying a price per each
figure at less than you would pay for them one by one.
Shipping costs can be pricey buying them one by one as well.
It's really your choice on which figures you want to go
after as you may not want
everything in a given lot or set.
Be careful to check out any
listings carefully on either of those sites. Some sellers’ terms are not right for
everyone and sometimes the items are not what you expect.
If condition of the package is important to you, then be
sure to ask a lot of questions. If you don’t get the right
kinds of answers you’re looking for, then move on and try
another listing.
Always check out the seller’s profile to see how their past
selling has been. If they’re new to selling and have only
been buying, ask questions.
You always want to be comfortable with the person you’re
potentially going to be buying from and you really need to
know what it is you’re getting.
Happy Collecting!!!
Johnson's Collectibles
