“Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?”
The first curated releases from the Marvel Cinematic Universe outside of the main Legends waves came in 2018. The ‘First Ten Years’ sets marked the 10th Anniversary of the MCU and went on to fill several gaps in our collections with figures like Red Skull, Yellow Jacket, Crossbones, and more. The series was then renamed the 80th Anniversary series in 2019 and here, alongside comic book releases, we saw more new releases including Skurge, Ghost, and Peggy Carter. 2020's releases saw a switch to the Fox movies and a set of releases celebrating both the original X-Men movies and Deadpool. And then finally in 2021, these annual releases evolved again into the Infinity Saga collection, a series of figures celebrating the first three phases of the MCU and including a mix of re-releases, and new characters such as Quicksilver, Odin, and Obadiah Stane.
The Infinity Saga would go on to skip 2022 but returned in 2023 with a set of 8 figures from the first full arc of the MCU. The packaging’s square box shape is consistent with all the movie releases dating back to 2018, while the design for the Infinity Saga established in 2021 is continued with a black window box, reflective side artwork - which is the same on every released - and the use of the movie logo on the box front, and the movie poster on the rear alongside a small piece of supporting text.
The new Infinity Saga 2023 release of Captain America in his Stealth Suit from The Winter Soldier is, like Black Widow from the same wave, made using a base figure from 2014. The body is that of the original Stealth Suit release, a figure that is showing its age in places. The very earlier MCU Legends of 2014 carried with them a little of the comic book proportions that we saw in the other Legends releases, this means our Stealth Suit cap is a little bit slim in the waist, and broad in the chest. Cap has also always suffered from a height problem and like all Cap’s to date, this re-release is still much shorter than the Thor and Iron-Man figures from the exact same wave.
The Stealth Suit is done pretty well with a dark blue plastic base over which are painted the silver details of the chest. Incorporated into these silver details are the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the right shoulder, a small but intricate Stars and Stripes flag on the left, and the ‘Rogers’ wording. The legs feature a red painted stripe down the side, with the boots finished in two tones of brown using a lighter tone for the straps. Hands are fingerless brown gloves, while a belt in the same colour is an individual piece attached round the waist with some movement up and down as you pose Cap.
There are two heads included, one masked and the other unmasked. The masked head is not the original 2014 release and is taken from the newer Cap figures and is the same as the ‘Worthy’ Cap from Endgame. The visible elements of the face are a good likeness to Chris Evans and facial printing is still used to pick out the eyes even though they sit behind the mask section. There are certainly more than one component to the head with the mask appearing to be an individual piece slotted down onto the lower head. This means there is a risk of misalignment and the head I received certainly has the eyes sat very low compared to the mask vs other reviews I’ve seen that are more central.
The unmasked head I think is new, or at least reworked. It is probably the best Evans likeness to date and is aged appropriately to his time filming The Winter Soldier with a hairpiece updated to be lighter than we see later on towards the end of the Infinity Saga. Facial printing enhances the sculpt and there is a clean finish to the head without any glossy plastic or paint bleed between the head and hair thanks to the individual hair pieces we are now seeing. The unmasked head is larger than the masked head and some may find it a bit oversized on the Stealth Suit body.
Cap has no alternative hands and comes only with his Shield. This is not from the original release but is a repaint of one of the newer shields complete with lines and rivets in the central star. The shield is cast in blue with silver paint added, and both are given a hue that is almost metallic - probably more pearlescent. The finish is not quite as nice as the original which had much cleaner colouring and finish. Round the back we have two brown fitted straps that engage over either of Steve’s arms to hold the shield in place.
Articulation is pinned, and that does carry with it some aesthetic issues, particularly in the legs where the red stripe is broken by a visible blue pin. There are 21 points of articulation in total, including an extra boot cut swivel. The knees and elbows are double-jointed, while the torso features both a waist swivel and a full ab-crunch. Cap is easy to pose and all the joints move easily into position and hold any pose given to them. Working with the shield is a little harder with the strap sitting over the elbow joint, but there remains a good level of options for displaying Cap with the shield.
Like Black Widow from the same wave and same movie, this Winter Soldier Cap was long overdue a rework considering the enhancements in the figures since 2014. What we get is a partial upgrade with new head sculpts, but on an older body that remains undersized against the wider MCU collection and has some comic book proportions. A newer body would have been ideal, but cost-prohibitive in a sub-line of the Legends series that now seems more aligned to repaints and tweaks than bridging us any brand-new figures. The unmasked head is the highlight of the set and may also present an upgrade option to other Cap figures.
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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...