I’ve been excited about this wave (MU 2011 Wave 2 or as others call it, Wave 13) ever since I saw the preview pics from Hasbro, mostly because this wave introduces the new fully articulated Cyclops body (I’ll have pics of him in the 2nd installment!) and an equally nicely articulated Cable. I managed to pick up Cable, Gladiator, Apocalypse and Cyclops so I thought I’d go ahead and share some pics!
Note: Pardon the lack of in-package pics, I ripped them off the package as soon as I got home!
Onto the pics!!
CABLE WITH BABY HOPE
There’s supposed to be 2 variations of this Cable, one with Hope and one without. I picked up one with Hope, and I was happy to see that a swappable non-Hope chest attachment was included. I’m not sure if the same goes for the Hope-less variation.
Cable is dressed in his post-Messiah Complex costume, where he cradles a baby Hope in his chest. What’s a Cable toy without guns? He’s got a big rifle, which attaches on his back strap via peg and a pistol which can be holstered on his right thigh. He also has his spear-like Psi-mitar, no storage for this, but you can slip it in between his back straps.
Gone are the paper inserts, I enjoyed reading them while they were around, but I don’t feel they are a great loss. I’d rather have the resources dedicated to kickass articulation. The named base stands are still around though, which I think is great.
I like his overall sculpt, especially his head sculpt. His torso harness and belt have some nicely detailed sculpting on the straps and the pouches. His guns also have some nice detailing all around.
My only nitpick would be the sculpt of the bicep to shoulder part of his techno-virus infected arm. Usually they have the bicep/tricep sculpt hugging the shoulder muscle (deltoid), Cable’s connect without any overlap. I know it’s a bionic arm but it just looks off to me.
Also, Cable’s left kneepad is a bit off center on my figure. I haven’t seen enough Cables on the pegs to compare if other figures have the same problem.
There are a couple of stray paint marks on his legs and body and Hope’s paintwork is really minimal, aside from these I have no complaints on the paint department.
I think he fits well with other MU figures scale-wise. I’m sure opinions will vary though, as he might look too tall standing next to Colossus and Juggernaut. Marvel.com lists Colossus at 7’5″ when transformed, Cable at 6’8″ and Juggernaut at 9’5″. Scale is always wonky with comic book characters and toys! To me personally, he looks just about right.
Cable’s got some great updated articulation, which started with last year’s SDCC WWII Ultimates Captain America. Articulation highlights for me are the hinged neck (for looking up!), swivel thighs, and the rocker ankles. The only thing missing are hinged wrists!
How I wish every MU figure is articulated this way!
GLADIATOR
I wasn’t too excited about Gladiator using the older big MU body. I was hoping they would integrate the updated articulation on him. Upon seeing the figure firsthand, I have to say, I ended up liking him more than I thought I would.
I think the head sculpt and the snazzy paints sold him for me. I guess I’m just a sucker for metallic paints!
I’ve always liked Gladiator’s design from his X-men appearances, and I think his character is captured pretty well in this figure. He really looks strong and majestic, and I admit he’s quite photogenic.
He uses the same body that the Wrecking Crew, Doc Samson and the Sentry use, which seems to fit him really well. If only he had a hinged neck (for those flying poses!) and swivel thighs he’d be perfect!
The shading on his face is a bit too much, I had to go through a couple of Gladiators to find a decent looking face paint job.
These two are great additions to any one’s Marvel Universe collection. Cable’s a great step towards having better articulation on MU figures and Gladiator is an example of how even the older bucks can still look good when used in a right way.
I’m pretty happy with how Hasbro has been handling their MU line. It looks like they are making improvements to their base bodies and the character selection has been a good mix of classic and modern eras.
I really can’t wait until they phase out those old MU bucks, and make the updated articulation standard across the board.
That’s it for now, stay tuned for the 2nd part of this pic review featuring Cyclops and Apocalypse!
Thanks for looking and I hope you all enjoyed the pics!
I really like this Cable figure, despite some nit-picky things. One thing that bothers me is that his techno-organic arm does not mirror his human arm. The human arm has a short bicep with a longer and thicker forearm. While the roboty arm has a longer bicep with a shorter skinnier forearm. Also the kneepads on mine were crooked, especially the left, so his legs had to take a dunk in hot water so I could reconfigure them. After they were heated up they molded to his legs fine, and became hard again after they cooled.
Damn! That last Gladiator pic is going to make a MU collector out of me yet! Epic.
Great pics! Cable is my favorite MU fig so far. His sculpt/design/articulation make some of the other MU figs look like they are from a different and inferior line.
Man i wish they could be consistent with the thigh swivels…