Marvel Legends Series Power Man Luke Cage Update

On 2/28/2023 at 5:43 AM, monron999 said:

"... but if you look at another Hasbro line, G.I. Joe Classified,they use the inverted ball along with the crunch in figures like Gung Ho. That's the only way it adds value to the articulation. And if this is a test run of sorts, I gotta question Hasbro's decision to do this on such a long anticipated figure.

I dunno, ML has been a this a long time as compares to other lines like Joe Classified, but they seem to understand the way things should work. Not only do they combine ab and torso articulation such as this, but they include that thigh drop down pin on pretty much every figure, not just for special occasions. How the hell ML got behind on this when they had so much of a head start is just baffling...."

Couldn't have said it better.

Their decisions, their choices are just bizarre sometimes. Wonder Man on the Red Skull mod, Firelord on the Sunfire mod? Really?

Sure, one can argue that guys like Luke Cage are bruisers and don't need that much articulation, but I would point out that they're still human or humanoid, they're not blocks of steel like the Mark 1 Iron Man armor.

Its not a horrible figure by any means. It just never occurred to me that when they finally got around to making him, they'd choose to eliminate his ability to bend.

I actually like that they mix up the articulation a bit. Makes the characters feel a little more unique. Cage isn't known for his ninja skills. The question for him would be, how does he look in action poses like punching Rhino or lifting a car. Now if he's going to be in a 2-pack with a classic Iron Fist, which I'd be all for, I'd want Iron Fist to be highly posable.

On a side-note, I think Netflix really swiffed it by not doing something with Power Man and Iron Fist as a duo. Hopefully Disney+ fixes that. I'd like a live action show with the two of them opening Heroes for Hire. They could open the show with Danny recapping his adventures in K'un-Lun to their new receptionist. It would be a brief summary of the second season of Iron Fist that didn't happen. She doesn't believe him but is humoring him. Maybe Cage mentions running a nightclub for a bit. Otherwise, they can just pretend Netflix never happened and get on with some new stories.

That articulation decision is indeed unfortunate. Let's not say that Hasbro doesn't make adjustments to their sculpts and sculpt process (from time to time), but this one just baffles me. While most fans fall on one side of the ab crunch vs. the diaphragm argument, I've never see a big push for this lower ball joint articulation, unless it's in conjunction with one of the other two. It doesn't improve articulation in any way without one of the others. That's the only way it makes any sense. In this figure, in particular, it makes no sense as there is an overly which would have done well enough to make the ab crunch less visible. I know mostly people will have Cage posed standing or lifting or punching something, so it's really inconsequential for this figure for the most part, but if you look at another Hasbro line, G.I. Joe Classified,they use the inverted ball along with the crunch in figures like Gung Ho. That's the only way it adds value to the articulation. And if this is a test run of sorts, I gotta question Hasbro's decision to do this on such a long anticipated figure.

I dunno, ML has been a this a long time as compares to other lines like Joe Classified, but they seem to understand the way things should work. Not only do they combine ab and torso articulation such as this, but they include that thigh drop down pin on pretty much every figure, not just for special occasions. How the hell ML got behind on this when they had so much of a head start is just baffling.

That's unfortunate because the Doom torso articulation is pretty limited. Luke might be a bruiser but he does need to bend ( at least the same amount of movement Hercules or Iron Man has). At any rate, now we know.

those wondering about the Torso articulation.

On 2/25/2023 at 6:31 PM, Benn said:

Legends may not have done it yet, but Mezco just released one that looks pretty incredible! Actually, that custom looks like its using the Mezco armour, belt, etc.

Yeah, the Mezco One 12 Collective was beautiful actually, but even though they are technically 6 inch figures, they are smaller than Legends, and don't blend in a Legends display, so I ripped all the goods off of it, placed them on a Legends Bishop, used a Luke Cage head, and sculpted the dreads. Still working on additional details, but I like where it is going.

On 2/24/2023 at 5:36 PM, Psychosomatic said:

Can we get Hasbro on this one too, please?! This is my favorite version of Bishop and I am surprised we haven't seen this version yet.

Legends may not have done it yet, but Mezco just released one that looks pretty incredible! Actually, that custom looks like its using the Mezco armour, belt, etc.

screw that, hopefully classic Iron Fist gets all or mostly new everything!

On 2/24/2023 at 5:56 PM, Ironspider428 said:

Shang-Chi has different (and better) shoulders. That's the only difference though. We also got different (and better) shoulders on Falcon, I've seen a lot of people swap the Falcon shoulders onto RYV Daredevil. Honestly with better shoulders, the Sunfire mold is miles better than before.

Actually, having looked real close between Shang-Chi and a normal Sunfire-body release, the whole arm on Shang-Chi is different, not just the shoulder; the differences beyond the noticeable "much bigger and more proportionate shoulder" are subtle, but definitely there. Most of the rest of the figure is Sunfire though, of course.

I hate to judge by Digital render but it seems to be doing a lot of things right, hopefully they will articulate his torso, be it ball joint at the waist in GI joe style or ball joint in the torso and very soft shirt overlay with simple torso swivel.