Alongside the main wave of Captain Marvel Legends figures from Hasbro was an Exclusive version of Carol in her Binary Form. This release was exclusive to Walmart in the US and available via the Hasbro Fan Channels in the UK and sold via a number of independent stockists.
Packaging 4/5
BInary Captain Marvel comes in the same packaging with the same design as the main wave releases. The character name sits in a gold panel and there is a gold backdrop to the figure with the Star Force emblem.
There has been some degree of posing of Captain Marvel in the box as opposed to a neutral pose. This is OK, but not great and it does expose some gaps in the thigh joints straight off the peg.
The two side art panels are identical and show Captain Marvel with her Binary Powers activating. There is then a wider shot of this on the reverse alongside a short piece of background text
"Captain Marvel channels her powers of cosmic energy manipulation to access an elevated binary form that lets her blast down any galactic threats"
Paint & Sculpt 4/5
This is of course the same figure sculpt as was released in the main wave, and in the Star Force Green in the other Walmart (US) / Fan Channel exclusive from the Captain Marvel movie.
On the Binary Form release there has been some updates to the paint and the plastic. The unmasked Carol Danvers head uses the face print technology but the eyes are now painted in glowing orange. The hair piece has been recast in a translucent orange that does look impressive when lit correctly.
The same translucent plastic has been used on both arms with painting starting solid at the top shoulder and fading into the orange plastic at the wrists. This again looks great when lit, but of course unlike the head there are inner workings that can be seen within the translucency such as the arm pins and joints.
The uniform is well painted with gold and red applied onto the base blue plastic. There are a few untidy bits, but nothing disastrous with all the gold trim in good order.
Captain Marvel also comes with a second masked head option. Here the hair is also replaced for the translucent plastic and the eyes are again coloured in glowing orange.
Accessories 5/5
While we do lose the alternative hands that come with the mainstream release, the Binary Form Captain Marvel has four accessory pieces to show off that immense cosmic energy.
The first two are balls of translucent orange that slot onto the fists of the hands. These are a touch darker than the arm but sill capture the light and have a glowing effect once lit. Both sides are different too so they are not a simple repack of the same accessory twice over. These power balls also fit the other Captain Marvel figures.
The second accessories are the soft rubbery energy strands we have seen on other Legends figures. I thought these may just be the Scarlet Witch pieces recoloured, but they are different (they may be off another release I am not familiar with). The two pieces snake around the lower arm and really set off the glowing arms and they also hide some of those inner gubbins. These wraps can also be used when the energy balls are in play for truly Binary powered look.
Articulation 4/5
Captain Marvel has 16 points of articulation, consistent with other female releases.
Head : ball jointed pivot neck
Body : ball joint torso
Arms : ball joint shoulder, single joint rotating elbow, pivot wrists
Legs : ball joint hips, thigh swivel, double jointed knees, ankle rockers
Posing Carol is quite a lot of fun as she is very mobile in most areas. She works great on a flight stand if you have one as I always envisage the Binary Power as being used as she is flying around in combat.
It would be nice if we can get to a double jointed elbow on female figures as that is the only area on Captain Marvel that is a little subpar. It is worth also noting that while the shoulder pads do bend with the arm to a point, they are also a little restrictive.
All the joints on our figure are solid and tight and Carol stands perfectly well unaided.
Summary
While this may be a tweaked version of a main release, and the second exclusive to use the exact same sculpt, this is a perfect exclusive with enough variation to make it worth buying - potentially even over the basic version as this one looks so much more impressive, especially when lit.
The figure has the same issues as the other releases, notably the arm articulation which is the same as any female Marvel Legend figure. I am also not overly convinced by the box posing.
If you find this figure, then grab it and if you really want to make it stand out then invest in a suitable flight stand and perhaps some spot lighting to really make her shine
I score the Binary Powers Captain Marvel a 4 out of 5.
