This set was kindly sent over to us to review courtesy of Hasbro UK
Hasbro's Marvel Legends Infinity Saga sets were released in the Summer of 2021 and provided a revisit of several key Infinity Saga MCU films to either create figures for missing characters like Odin and Happy Hogan, or to update existing characters and figures. While the 10 figure set did span the full breadth of the Infinity Saga, three of the ten sets were based on the cumulation of the Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame.
The Endgame 2-Pack of Captain Marvel and Rescue brought us an updated Captain Marvel with her shorter hair and updated suit, while Rescue was given an overhaul vs the original release from 2019. The set is an Amazon exclusive and will often come shipped initially in a brown sealed outer shipper.
The Infinity Saga, like the previous standalone series of 'First Ten Years' and the 80th Anniversary, forgo the scooped side Legends packaging for a more traditional squared-off window box. The movie logo sits on top of the window, while the Infinity Saga logo sits on the bottom rail with the character names, and is repeated on the two sides. These sides carry a montage image of various MCU characters in a metallic foil finish. Both sides show differing views of the wider image, but they are the same on all the Infinity Saga sets and they don't combine for anything larger.
The rear of the packaging carries a central panel that recreates the Endgame movie poster. Either side of this is a short piece of text about the two included figures.
"Captain Marvel uses her incredible powers to battle evil in the ultimate fight for the fate of the universe"
"Outfitted with repulsors and a unibeam, Pepper's Rescue suit is ready to step into battle against Thanos"
In the box itself is a cardboard tray that carries a variety of circular symbols relating to the heroes of the MCU and the inner plastic tray sits within this.
Captain Marvel uses the original 2019 Captain Marvel body but with the updated Endgame paint job. This moves to deeper shades of red and blue and a brighter gold across the chest star and upward as trim to either side of the shoulders. The body is cast in blue plastic in the main with the red applied as paint and the gold over the top of this and that leads to a couple of areas where the painted colour doesn't fully cover the blue - it's most visible on the central star and on the biceps.
A new sash section has been added to the body as a new floating piece. It is also cast in blue with gold added to the buckles around the central belt. While this is not fixed into position, it cannot be removed as it is shaped so the hips keep it in place - it can however move up and down with the leg articulation as required.
The head sculpt is new and is an improved likeness to Brie Larson vs the original head sculpts from 2019, utilising the photo-real print application to good effect. The hair is now shorter, as per her Endgame appearance, and is shaded in a couple of blonde shades to add depth.
As the figure is using the older 2019 body the neck does include a visible pivot but it is far enough up and under the head so that it does not pose a problem. Because the older body is used it does have the added benefit of accepting any of the older Captain Marvel heads if you are seeking an alternative look.
Carol arrives with a pair of clenched fist hands, and the set then includes two further sets for use. There is a pair of splayed hands and a similar pair where the fingers are closer together and bent inward in a half gripping pose. These alternative hands are cast in blue and are not painted in any way, they swap in and out easily enough but due to the slimmer build of Danvers the peg is slimmer than usual and you have to be careful where you hold the arm so not to pull out the elbow joint.
It would have been nice to include the existing binary powered effects for Captain Marvel, but sadly not - instead Hasbro has gone for the Infinity Power Gauntlet, a new accessory that is cast in a metallic Iron-Man red and with painted detail added with the gunmetal central band and each individual Infinity Stones.
Carol can stick the Gauntlet under her arm using those gripping hands to cup it - as we see in the film - or you can let your imagination run a little wilder and take off Danver's right hand and put the Gauntlet in its place. The Gauntlet is not engineered to clip into Carol's wrist but is shaped so it holds in position over the forearm.
Captain Marvel has 16 points of articulation with visible pins on the double-jointed knees. While she may be a little lacking in the articulation count, the joints we do get can achieve plenty including kneeling options, dynamic fighting stances, or even flying poses with an appropriate flight stand.
The hip joints are a little wide and the joint is visible within which is a little unsightly, this issue did exist on the original 2019 release but the red plastic does mean it is now more visible. All the other joints are secure and tight without any significant issues.
Pepper Pott's Rescue Suit is also a re-use of the original figure from 2019. It is cast in a metallic blue plastic with gold panels added over the top, Silver is used on the wrist weaponry, while a white arc reactor is added to the centre of the chest. The applied gold paint is a little rough in places if you get up close to the figure.
The overall deco is finished with some applied decals on the backpack identifying this as the Mk 49 Rescue suit
The original figure only had a full helmet head, so this Infinity Saga revisit brings us not one but two Pepper Potts head sculpts. The first, as presented out of the box, is a fully uncovered Gwyneth Paltrow head with her tied-back hair. I thought this may be the same head as the Iron-Man 3 Pepper Potts - but it does look new and is a better overall likeness with smaller eyes and a closer resemblance to Paltrow in the overall shape of the cheeks and mouth. The head clips on the neck of the Rescue body without issue, but it does sit a little too high and shows too much of what feels like a very elongated neck underneath.
The second head is the unmasked head where Pepper is wearing the Rescue Armour helmet, but the faceplate is retracted. This is not quite as good of a likeness and the eyes on this one have been treated quite heavy-handedly vs the fully unmasked head and it looks a little exaggerated. This head sits lower on the neck and the chin is placed further down so there is less of an issue in terms of the neck length.
The final third head option is the original full closed helmet, cast and painted in the same colours of the body and shaped to the neck length. As the figure shares the body with the original 2019 Rescue release, the heads are all interchangeable across the bodies so your original figure can be updated with one of the spare unmasked heads if you wish.
Rescue does not have accessories as such but includes a different configuration for the backpack. As seen and included on the original Rescue, the closed backpack can be swapped for an open version which includes the extended flight manoeuvring flaps. The top set of these is fixed and carry the same blue outer colour as the rest of the body and the RESCUE and 0049 decals. The two lower inner panels are articulated on a simple pivot to allow them to be extended or withdrawn.
This 2021 version then takes the backpack one step further by including two additional parts that represent the Autonomous Energy Displacer Sentries. It is not initially clear on how these attach to the body and no instructions are included. After a lot of fiddling and checking out some online images, these are designed to swap with the small inner flaps. The smaller dark grey inner panels clip out and the larger clear arm bracket of the deployed weapon panels slots into place. This gives you the deployed Sentry look although all the panels are connected rather than the self levitating panels we see during the final battle. It might have been good if Hasbro could have added clear plastic joints between each panel to get closer to this deployed look.
Each of the deployed arms is articulated in four places allowing the Sentry Weapons to be articulated around the body and moved up and down within the confines of the base joint. Each panel is painted in the same blue as the body, although with a lesser metallic finish, with light blue sections added for the powered weapon emitters.
The final pair of accessories for Pepper is a pair of ice blue translucent repulsor blasts, the same part that has been doing the rounds on Iron-Man figures for many years now. Oddly there is no spare hand, or hands, with a socket to allow Rescue to wield these as though firing through the hand repulsors. That leaves them only able to connect to the feet for flight poses which then require a flight stand.
The main Rescue body has 18 points of articulation and is one of the few MCU female bodies to date that does get double joint elbows with an upper bicep swivel. The knees and elbows are pinned with the joints visible, but this double joint allows for plenty of movement for Rescue including the ability to kneel - albeit a little awkwardly due to the shape of the thigh armour - and to pose in flight poses.
As a two-pack, Captain Marvel and Rescue present a good addition for Avengers: Endgame in terms of bringing us a movie-accurate Captain Marvel and updating the existing Rescue figure with unmasked heads and improved deployed weapon accessories. Considering there are very few new parts in the circa £50 set, I'd have liked to see additional repulsor hands for Rescue allowing the blast effects to connect. And for Captain Marvel to have some powered pieces.
As an Amazon Exclusive you are of course tied in to ordering these via Amazon but the prices have been favourable in recent months. This will be another 2-pack exclusive that will sell out and then jump in value, especially considering we are unlikely to see a Pepper Potts Rescue again on screen and that Captain Marvel is pretty likely to have a costume update for The Marvels.
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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...