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Review: Marvel Legends Hydra Stomper build-a-figure from Disney+ Wave 2023



"Peggy, you might want to brace yourself"


The 2023 Marvel Legends Disney+ wave brought together figures from WandaVision, Hawkeye, Secret Invasion, and Marvel's What If? with the latter also being the source for the wave's build-a-figure. The Hydra Stomper, as seen in season 1, had been released back in 2021 as a deluxe release. In 2023 it was - like its onscreen appearance - fully redesigned and released split across six of the seven figures in the wave, with Kingpin from Hawkeye the only figure to not feature a Hydra Stomper part.

The Hydra Stomper is a new figure and designed to match Steve Roger's suit from Season 2 of What If? The figure is predominantly silver with overlapping panels reminiscent of the Mark 1 Iron-Man suit, complete with sculpted rivets and bolts. The silver is metallic enough but lacks a wash or some weathering to bring the figure to life. Details are provided by way of the red-rimmed arc reactor, red trims on the shoulders and the jet pack, and the twin star decals on either shoulder - although these should be red in colour, an error likely driven by the usual issue of Hasbro working from earlier concept artwork and designs.

Hydra Stomper also comes with an unmasked Steve Rogers head, aligned very much to the What If? animation style rather than converting Steve to a real-world setting. The likeness to the onscreen look is good but it lacks the dark sunken eyes and withdrawn skin - looking more like Steve from Season 1 before he fell into the control of Hydra and then the Red Room. Scaling of the unmasked head on the large body of the Stomper just about works - but it really needs to sit more down into the chest and neck section - using the neck peg for the helmet sits it too high. The head should also really sit into the helmet with a removable face plate if we are matching what we see in the episode.

The other accessories included in the set are an alternative pair of hands which allow you to vary your Hydra Stomper between clenched fists or open hands. Despite the various weaponry options and a jet pack, Hasbro has chosen not to include any blast effects. Articulation is pinless and spread across 18 points in total. Due to the bulk of the figure movement is restricted, although the arms are extended beyond what you might expect of them thanks to the hinges of the shoulder armour.

The Hydra Stomper from Season 2 feels like a backward step vs the beast we saw in Season 1 and the figures compare in the same way with the 2021 Hydra Stomper a much more impressive figure than this smaller and less detailed 2023 Season 2 release. The figure also features a few inaccuracies like the colour of the star emblems and the unmasked Steve Rogers head and how that interacts with the suit. The Hydra Stomper BAF is one of the What If releases entrenched very much in its animated origins and that particular style - as seen on some, but not all of the What If? figures - is not one to everyones liking. The choice of throwing in the Hydra Stomper as the BAF for the wave was also contentious considering Tony Starks Sakaarian armour from the same season, and other possibilities like Gravel and G'iah from Secret Invasion




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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...

 

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