“Was that a good stab?”
As has become standard for most Marvel Cinematic movies outside the main Avengers volumes, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was given a partial wave of figures to mark its release, with a trio of Quanumania Marvel Legends sharing the case with four other comic book figures that were Ant-Man related. The wave was also given a Quantumania Build-a-Figure of Cassie Lang, bringing the movie’s entire complement of figures at release to four. Unusually the Quantumania figures arrived much later than the movie thanks to a change of scheduling swapping around Quantumania and The Marvels in the release schedule. So while we all saw the movie in the February of 2024 it was mid-summer until the figures arrived on shelves.
The Quantumania figures landed during the ‘plastic free’ packaging stage for Marvel Legends so the box has no window, and the figure is simply illustrated in posed images on the front and reverse. The build-a-figure checklist moves to the side spine, replacing one of the illustrated panels. The box design features the bold Quantumania logo and a trim of red and gold against the black box base replicating the suits worn by both Scott and Hope in the movie. There is also a large blue Quantum Realm-inspired backdrop to the front artwork that also contains a secondary zoomed-in image of the character. The Wasp comes with the right leg for Cassie.
The Wasp is a brand new figure, replicating in full the updates to her suit for Quantumania and enhancing on her previous release from Ant-Man and the Wasp. The body is cast in black with yellow/gold painted panels and blue striping down the arms and legs. Details are picked out on the shoulders with some red indicators, and we have silver-painted wrist devices to finish off the suit.
The helmet is well-proportioned to the body with a gunmetal finish and a translucent yellow visor through which Hope’s eyes are visible. While this detail is great, it does look a bit odd if you want an unmasked Hope holding her helmet. My figure did come with a bent-over fin at the top which has refused to straighten under any circumstances - an issue with the way the plastic-free box figures are packed and wrapped without any protective tray to hold them in situ.
We also get an unmasked Hope Van Dyne head which is a stunning likeness to Evangeline Lilly. It's been sculpted with a neutral expression but still holds plenty of character. The hairpiece is now short to reflect the style she has in Quantumania and as is now pretty standard practice it is cast as an individual piece and then joined to the head making the hairline crisp and without the risk of any paint errors.
The Wasp comes with two backpack options to reflect her wings extended or withdrawn. The retracted version is a simple silver piece shaped to plug into the rear of the figure with a central red gloss panel. The extended version has the same central piece but now with openings on either side into which translucent clear plastic wings are attached and jointed.
The only other accessories are an alternative pair of hands giving you the choice of using a pair of closed fists, a pair of open hands - or a combination of the two. The articulation is pinless but slightly pared back on some of the newer releases with only 16 points of articulation - Wasp doesn’t feature any bicep swivels or butterfly shoulders. She also misses out on a dual-joint neck and has a single torso joint with no waist movement. That being said there is plenty of movement for getting Wasp into plenty of posing options including kneeling, or flight poses with a suitable after-market stand. I do find the leg positions frustrating as the joints and the cut of the suit have the feet pointing inward and while the thigh swivels can remedy the pose this then breaks the blue line trim down the front of the legs.
The Wasp is a solid MCU Marvel Legends release ticking boxes on sculpt, paintwork, and with another impressive likeness to the onscreen character. She has sufficient articulation but feels a bit hard done by with only 16 joints in total and half of these solely in the legs. We no longer expect extensive accessories with our Marvel Legends anymore so in terms of the Wasp she is somewhat blessed with two heads, alternative hands, and two backpack options including the winged piece which works well suit works well. The main gripe is the figure's stance vs the suit decor meaning you either have a lined-up suit but odd turned-in feet, or a more natural stance but out-of-line striping for the suit.
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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...