Review: Marvel 80th Anniversary Cap, Iron Man, Hulk and Wolverine

With the success of the Marvel Studios 10th anniversary line featuring a combination of repaints and never-before-done figures, Hasbro is trying again. This time, it’s for the 80th anniversary of the comics, but encompasses all of Marvel. So there are some new movie figures, like Korg and Luis, but also some classic comics characters given a freshen-up. The company sent over four of them for review, and they’re arguably the four best-known which aren’t connected to a Sony dispute.

The Wolverine vs. Hulk two-pack commemorates Wolverine’s first appearance. At first, Logan’s classic costume seems weird, but looking closer, it’s clearer on this design how it derives from an actual wild animal. It starts to make a lot more sense, even if whisker stripes appear odd.

It’s mostly the same Wolverine figure from the Apocalypse wave of Marvel Legends, with a new head. Also, the costume is fully painted on rather than cast in yellow plastic, which gives it a higher-end, prototype look. Hulk is the same base figure as this year’s Comic-Con exclusive, with a new head and more classic color scheme. I much prefer this one, as it’s also closer to the vintage Toy Biz. It also has nicer highlights.

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But is it worth the $70 that Amazon is asking? Only if this particular comic is an all-time fave, or that specific Wolverine a must-have.

Iron Man and Captain America are more like “ultimate” classic versions, with shiny metallic paint jobs and bonus accessories. Cap gets a bonus head that’s barely distinguishable from his other head. The only difference I see is that one has lips more tightly pursed, and the other looks like he’ll maybe consider smiling later today. His shield clips on to either his wrist, back, or extra hand with throwing effect.

Is it just me, or does Tony Stark look like Nathan Fillion?

The good news with Iron Man: finally some juiced-up repulsor blasts! Hasbro has been using the same design forever, but now they’ve added extra blasts. That can either combine with the existing ones for larger blasts, or go on his feet as lift-off blasts.

There may be a problem with his arms. Online eagle-eyes have pointed out that from the shoulder down, his right and left arms seem reversed. This figure has some leeway due to being armor that isn’t skin-tight, but…maybe?

Are this Iron Man and Cap worth $25? If you can look at IM’s arms and not be bothered, then I’d say these are good classic looks to buy if you don’t have any yet. But longtime collectors already have plenty of other figures that nail the characters, so these may be best for rookies and in-box-keepers. (The box art kinda rocks.)

Also, these repaints help to pay for the new characters like Ghost and Peggy Carter. So there’s that. Check out our full gallery of the four classics below. Then let us know if you think $25-$25 per figure is fair.