This figure was kindly sent over to us to review courtesy of Hasbro UK
Spider-Man, in his Spider-Armour Mk 1 Suit, was released in early 2022 as part of the Spider-Man Retro Carded Series of figures. These arrive on blister cards that pay homage to the original 1990's Spider-Man animated series figures by Toybiz.
The rear of the card includes a classic checklist of the other figures in the wave plus a little bit of background on the Spider-Armour itself.
"When Spider-Man's powers aren't enough, he dons his patented Spider-Armor. This ceramic-metal battlesuit protects Spidey from his deadliest foes, giving him the time he needs to take it to the bad guys."
The Spider-Armor body is made up of a base body over which is sculpted armoured panels with a spider-web design. The base body is cast in matt black, while the armour is painted over the top in a bright silver finish with the lighting then finding the definition in the spider-web sculpted elements. A small Spider-man logo can be found on the chest amour in black, with a larger version of the back of the figure as an embossed paint silver segment.
The silver paint is crisp in most places with a clean edge, although it is a little rougher on the upper arms with some of the armoured components not fully covered with the silver colour and left black. The helmet head sees a reverse of the rest of the figure coming cast in silver with a black rear panel painted over the top. The eye visors are not quite black but have a red tint to them which adds a feint splash of colour.
Arriving with the figure are a second pair of hands allowing you to switch between clenched fists or web-slinging hands. You can then enhance your figure display with the inclusion of two web effect pieces. These are cast in an almost translucent rubbery white plastic, but have no specific engineered clip or socket to attach to the figure - instead, you can use them around your display or they will connect with the web-slinging hands to have them posed almost as shields.
Articulation across the Spider-Armor body is good with 19 points of articulation across a pin-less body. While we are missing the usual Spider-Man butterfly shoulders due to the bulk of the chest armour, we do get double jointed knees and elbows as well as the t-joint torso and waist swivel combination. Armoured Spidey can therefore get into most poses including being able to kneel, web sling and even some degree of web-swinging poses if you utilise a secondary market flight stand.
These retro figures have a dual appeal to collectors, both in the packaging and in the figures themselves. Unfortunately, the nature of blisters cards will see the cards pretty much destroyed if you want the figure out of the box - so there is a choice to be made. Spider-Armor Mk1 presents a different look to Spider-Man vs the usual red/blue or black and is a well-executed figure for a Spider-man collection. He will even - as pointed out by my son - double up as a Gamerverse release considering how close he looks to the Armoured Spidey in the original PS4 game.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...