Review: Marvel Legends John F. Walker and Sentry from Marvel's Thunderbolts* (2025)
- Mephitsu
- 15 minutes ago
- 9 min read
"Well, you said I'm all-powerful, stronger than all the Avengers combined, which includes at least one god, so..."
The April 2025 review of Marvel’s Thunderbolts* brought together a mismatched team that would, by the end of the movie, be badged as The New Avengers. Each member of the team, excluding Bob, already had a Marvel Legends figure but just ahead of the movie release, Hasbro revealed they would be releasing some two-packs for the movie, bringing three of the main characters up to date in terms of their Thunderbolts look, with the final slot being given over to the new character of Sentry. The usual format for Marvel Legends movie releases is to have a ‘launch wave’ on shelves ahead of the movie release, but for the Thunderbolts, the figures were only announced ahead of the movie, and collectors would then need to wait for late Summer 2025 for the sets to be shipped.
Alongside the release of Yelena Belova and Red Guardian, the second set featured an updated John F. Walker alongside new cinematic addition, Sentry. The set comes in the standard squared-off Marvel Legends two-pack box, and features a black base colour and a yellow accent colour, which is used as ‘glitched graphics’ elements across the main front of the box under the window. The Thunderbolts* logo is also a crisp yellow, but the character name text is a bold white font with shadow. Like Yelena in the accompanying set, Walker is given his full name of John F. Walker and not the comic book moniker of U.S. Agent. Sentry, however, is given the name and not Bob.
The left-hand side is a wrap-around of the window, while the right-hand side includes images of both characters. These images, which also sit on the back of the box, are done as a shadowed black and white illustration, building on the shadowy background of the characters. On the back and next to each image, is a short paragraph of yellow background text for each character detailing the situation both Walker and Sentry find themselves in, leading into the Thunderbolts* storyline. The backing card for the figures finishes the yellow theme, and includes a topographical design that further enhances the shadowy spycraft theme of the film and characters at the start of the movie.
John Walker’s suit is not dramatically changed in Thunderbolts compared to how it evolved through the events of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier, from the new Captain America outfit, to the darker suit seen in the end credits as he transitioned to the shadowy U.S. Agent under the guidance of La Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. The suit is cast in a dark blue colouring throughout with painted red and white stripes on the panelled chest section, with further red trim on the gloves, belt, and legs. The belt and boots also feature silver detailing, as do the straps on that central chest section.
The shoulders feature grey blank panels where the costume used to house the US flag, and you can also see the outline of the old ‘star’ icon, which is no longer prominent on the costume. John is carrying a holstered weapon on his right hip. This is cast in a dull black and plugged into the thigh, with sculpted straps on the leg itself. This is a single piece, and the handgun is not an accessory and cannot be removed.
vs the 2021 Falcon & Winter Soldier Releases (centre & right)
While Yelena and Red Guardian both got full figure updates for their Thunderbolts* release, John Walker’s entire body is the same as was released in 2021 for The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. The base was established with the original John Walker Captain America figure, and then released again as the darker suit through much of the events of the Disney+ series. This one was badged as the U.S. Agent figure, although the actual costume worn by John as he becomes U.S. Agent in the final scenes of the series was never replicated in full until this Thunderbolts* release, where we finally get the white trim. Using the same body brings with it the same problems as 2021, notably the fixed holstered gun and clunky hip joints, but also some benefits in that the heads from across all three releases can be interchanged, as can the hands and the weaponry.
The headsculpt on our Thunderbolts* release is new, and while the body is unchanged since the 2021 releases, you can see the steps forward the Legends line has taken in the four years since with the likeness of actor Wyatt Russell even under the dark blue of the helmet. Facial printing is used for the eyes, and the facial hair which has grown during his time as a Mercenary and the helmet itself has lost the central ‘Star-A’ icon and is plain and simple with hints of the old Captain America suit on the sides with two silver winged panels.
When we consider that Red Guardian got an unmasked head in the other two-pack for Thunderbolts* and we consider the significant re-use on this figure it is disappointing not to have a Russell unmasked head included.
What we do get is an alternative pair of red-gloved hands, allowing you to choose from a pair of clenched fists for fighting hand-to-hand, and a pair of gripping hands with trigger fingers.That all sounds great, until you realise Walker does not come with any guns as accessories other than the fixed one on his thigh, so while he uses these in the movie, you will either be sourcing weapons from another Legends figure or the secondary market to replicate Walker’s way of fighting.
We do get his new shield, forged in the after-credits of The Falcon & The Winter Soldier. This is a revision of the existing shield from John Walker, removing the star from the centre and adding some scratches and damage into the cast plastic. The piece is coloured in a dark gun-metal finish with red inner and outer rings. Silver is then applied over the top to further imitate scratches.
The connection to the figure is by that old Legends format of a wrist clip that can then pivot 90 degrees and turn into a plug for the rear of the figure. The plug into the socket of the John Walker figure works fine for a slung pose. The clip, however, has exactly the same issue as the 2021 release in that it was originally designed for a slimmer wrist, and it doesn’t completely engage over either of Walker’s bulkier wrist bracers. While it will hold in place, it is being over-stretched to do so and I would almost 100% guarantee that over time this will snap completely.
Articulation is pinless, and there are 19 points in total. Walker is missing any butterfly shoulders and also comes with a single joint neck. The torso does feature an ab-crunch and waist swivel, while the arms are mobile enough for fight poses with the shield or hand-to-hand.
The legs are secure with a wide-ranging hip and a double-joint knee that allows kneeling and crouching positions. The ankle rockers seem to have very wide-spaced ratchets, and there is play between ratchets. That being said, the figure is stable enough once posed.
Sentry is a brand-new figure, replicating the suit Bob is presented with when he finally accepts his powers and begins his first mission as a Super Hero. This is a golden yellow base colour with much of the parts cast in this base finish, inclusive of a sculpted active-wear fabric. Dark blue trim is included across the suit, painting onto sculpted lines with a good level of accuracy. There is more expansive blue in the neck piece, the bracers, the boots, and the belt. These are all also trimmed in gold to some degree, with the biggest application on the separate belt piece with its stylised ‘S’ logo. Senty’s cape extends from the rear of the neck section in a slightly lighter textured blue. This is a soft plastic, shaped to replicate the folds of the cape and left in a relatively neutral hung position off the frame of the figure.
The headsculpt is a good likeness to actor Lewis Pulman and reflects his more stoic and confident mannerisms as Sentry, as opposed to his Bob persona from the first half of the movie. Facial printing brings out the realism in the eyes in particular, while the slicked back blonde hair is coloured with darker highlights.
Senty has no accessories on screen, so the only inclusions with the figure are a second pair of hands. That gives you the option of alternating between combinations of clenched fists or open hands.
Articulation is worked into the lines of the suit, is entirely pinless, and comes in with a total count of 19. Like Walker, there are no obvious butterfly shoulders and the neck is fixed at the base and is only joined where it meets the head. Senty moves from a T-joint ab-crunch to a ball joint mid-chest with limited movement. The waist is a simple rotation, and on our purchased figure is prone to popping out coming away from his waist and legs. There is sufficient movement in the arms for a number of gestures, either gesticulating, fighting or using his multiple powers.
The legs provide a stable base, but are held in check by the use of the plastic cape. The figure can be posed in flight mode with an aftermarket stand, and the ankles in particular can pivot to point downward as we might see when Sentry is flying.
The Sentry and John F. Walker two-pack is sadly a little way behind its companion piece featuring Yelena and Red Guardian. While that set had two brand new figures, an alternative head for one of them, weapons for both and alternative hands, this set had no alternative heads where one would have been perfect for and unmasked Walker. There are no weapons for Walker either, despite including trigger finger hands, and there was not even an attempt to update the old leg holster to a working version. When you consider also that the Walker body is from a four year old release, with a new paint job and the shield - while updated - still has the flaw where it wont engage correctly with the wrist due to a sizing issue, then you do start to feel a little short changed.
There are some positives with Walker, considering you can now swap heads and hands with the older figures, and that the paint work on the suit is now the accurate U.S. Agent version with its white stripes.
Sentry, as a debut figure into the MCU collection, is pretty impressive and ticks most boxes for sculpt, overall likeness and articulation. Again, purely on the volume of accessories in the Yelena/Red Guardian box, we might have expected a bit more for our newest hero. A second head might have been nice, or extra hands, or even a flight stand.
Like most of the team oriented MCU figures, the Thunderbolts* are going to be defined the most once assembled as either the crew we meet at the start of the movie, or as the New Avengers we see them become at the end. So far, we have four of the six, with Bucky and Ghost key to the New Avengers line up. At the time of writing, these have not been announced, rumoured or even talked about by Hasbro and that may hold people back from buying a team they do not know if they can complete. While Ghost and Bucky do exist in the MCU collection, neither is in a costume that relates in any way to what they wear in Thunderbolts*
Beyond Bucky and Ghost, I feel the wider movie collection for Thunderbolts* also needs an updated Taskmaster, a Valentino and (most likely to get released) a Void version of Sentry, which is very achievable from his general Sentry but would need a well-thought-out and executed paint job to replicate the shadowy black and glowing eyes that we see on screen.
For now, if you do want to pick up Senty and John F. Walker, they are available on Hasbro Pulse and across Hasbro retailers. The price is £49.99 at RRP, but this cost is starting to drop with the sets seen as low as £43 on Amazon (affiliate link) at the time of writing.
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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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