Black Panther, Vibranium Armour, was part of the 2019 Black Panther wave of MCU Marvel Legends figures - often referred to as the M'Baku wave, named after the build-a-figure for the 6 figure wave.
Packaging 4/5
While part of the Black Panther 2nd wave of figures, the Vibranium Armour Black Panther is actually badged as an Avengers Infinity War figure, recognising the bigger part the Vibranium Amour plays in that movie. The rest of the box art remains the same as the other Black Panther releases.
"With the safety of Earth threatened by the powerful titan, Thanos, Black Panther joins forces with the Avengers to protect the world from certain destruction"
The figure is titled Black Panther, with no subtitle or additional wording to explain the Vibranium Armour. That could cause confusion with the other Black Panther figure in the line which looks very similar and comes with the same unmasked head.
Paint & Sculpt 3/5
This is the same figure released in the first wave of Black Panther figures, but it now has the vibrant purple lines added to represent the Vibranium powered suit as it stores the kinetic energy it absorbs. The purple paint look sa little dull initially, but it comes alive under lights as it has a metallic element to it that really shines.
While the purple paint does work, the silver retains the same issues as other Black Panther figures where it is a little messy in places and either doesn't quite cover the sculpted detail on the neck piece or round the wrists - or it spills onto the black. While the head escapes fairly unscathed with paint errors, the clawed toes on my review figure are not great with a line of silver straight across them on one foot, while the other is painted on individual claws.
The figure comes with the same Chadwick Boseman head as the other Black Panther in the line This is the new sculpt for Boseman with a more pronounced beard and an odd look sculpted into the head. This expression seems to be more or less pronounced depending on the face printing positioning with my other Black Panther looking like he is smirking more than the Vibranium Armoured version. Like the other version the eyes are particularly poorly done and hark back to a time when the Legends heads were all painted by hand.
Accessories N/A
If you discount the heads, this Black Panther comes with no other accessories, not even alternative hands which do exist for the sculpt but have not been included.
Articulation 5/5
Black Panther boasts an impressive 21 points of articulation, two more than the usual male buck with the addition of the butterfly shoulder joints.
Head - ball joint with pivot
Body - torso T-joint, waist swivel
Arms - butterfly shoulders, ball joint shoulders, bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, pivot wrist
Legs - ball joint hips, thigh swivel, single joint knee, ankle rocker
Black Panther is uber articulated, especially as he is such a slim figure and unencumbered by any armour, capes or cloaks. The joints do however already feel a touch loose around the torso and hips and this may be a figure that will have longer term issues with stability.
Summary
While I am not sure we needed a new Black Panther so soon, this figure does allow collectors to add a T'Challa to their Infinity War display while maintaining the original 2018 figure (or vice versa) with the rest of the Black Panther figures.
The vibranium charged paintwork does work and looks great when spotlit. Sadly the paint issues with the silver parts of the figure remain - the same issues we saw on both the 2016 Civil War version and last years variant of this figure. I am also not sold on the head which is not the best showcase of face print technology.
With excellent articulation, this figure is above average but scores a 3 out of 5 when we take into account the paint issues and the execution of that unmasked head.
