My Top 5 Marvel Legend Picks For 2023 Plus A Look Ahead To What We Could See In 2024

[JayC]

I give a rundown of my top 5 favorite Marvel Legends figures from Hasbro that came out in 2023 plus a look ahead at what is coming in 2024.
 

[Air-Walker]

Spiral is my #1 figure for the year, hands down. I've not seen BW in the wild, but even still, how do you compare anything to six super-articulated sword wielding arms! As for what's ahead, Lilandra has already made my year, but if we could get some more classic cosmic characters, I'm all in!

As for the rumor list.....definite yes for Ikaris!!! (though only in his classic look). Ditto for Nick Fury, though I hope he comes with a cigar (I'm pretty sure he won't, but still...). Lastly, if the prices just hold, I'm fine. What I'm not fine with is if they start reducing articulation on even more figures. Bad enough Luke Cage and Crystar have been so absurdly and nonsensically short changed in this department. If this is a precedent, then I'll drop this line like a bad habit. If these are rarities for whatever reason, then I'm still on board. 

[SpiderS]

Herald Thor repaint/reissue is indeed weird choice from Hasbro, if they are going for simplistic and needed repaints they can do retro Apocalypse in blue and black, which would be a guaranteed great seller. 

[Reno]

Thank you, Jay for sharing your Top 5 list and all of those juicy rumors!

Personally my Legends buying actually picked up in 2023 as by my count we had right around 50 characters released for the first time ever in the line last year and that's what I'm always most enthused about. I'll often buy the re-do's if they're real improvements --- but I never, ever feel good about buying another version of a character that I've bought before in the past. Since I've been in on the line since the very beginning (all the way back to Spidey Classics and the first X-Men movie figures both starting in the year 2000 before the "Legends" branding technically existed), it's a real treat to get anything new after more than 20 years of collecting.

My favorites from this past year were: 5) Karnak, 4) Chamber, 3) Kid Omega, 2) Monet St. Croix and 1) Aunt May. The Ch'od comic X-Men wave was easily my favorite wave of the year.

The figures that I'd most like to see in 2024 or beyond are 5) Robbie Robertson, 4) Armor, 3) Anole, 2) Pixie and 1) Rockslide.

I hope that everyone has a terrific 2024 and that everyone gets their top want from the line this year!

[Jormungand]

My Top 5 of 2023 are, in no particular order: The Destroyer, Moondragon, Drax The Destroyer, Clea and Sky Cycle Hawkeye.

My hopes for 2024 are, again, in no particular order: Graviton, Executioner, Unicorn, Jack O Hearts and Stingray... I can dream!

[since83]

Top 5- no order

Clea, Destroyer, Corsair, Elektra DareDevil, Holland Spidey

Wishlist for this year

Air Walker, Melter, comic Executioner, Destiny, Stingray.

 

[frozentenderloin]

Looking through the releases this year, I didn’t buy as many as I thought. That said, out of the ones I did pick up, my top 5 in no specific order would be Stryfe, Blade, Clea, comic Yondu, and probably air cycle Hawkeye. Despite the plastic being super rubbery on both Yondu and Hawkeye (possibly an issue with the colored plastic that was used to get that bright blue and purple?)  I really liked the sculpts on them.

This coming year I’d like to see some more comics based Guardians of the Galaxy, as well as some of the more obscure mutant characters that have existed throughout the decades of the x men books.

 

[Inspection12e]

Sersi was just released this year. 

[GnarlyCharlie85]

Top 5: Blob, spiral, hawkeye, the orb and smythe from the vhs pack. I said before on a post here how i cut back because of dropping mcu figs and just not enough figs i was personally interested in. I hope count neferia is true we need more villians this year seemed too heavy on the hero side of things last year.

Wishlist: Looter, Graviton, backlash, steggron, and porcuppine

[AndyL]

Wow, great lists on everyone's parts. This year was the year of the redo for me. And just the lack of MCU product is what made most of these possible. At least what I think. And to no ones surprise no MCU figures made it into my list. Though there were actually some pretty good ones. I'm talking Doc Ock and Green Goblin. Who just made it in under the wire. Photon and Wasp were actually very nice looking. And the infamous headless Spider-Men could have been much better but for one important deletion.

 

As far as my top 5:

1) Blob: Far and away one of the best of the year. And in my own humble opinion the best redo ever. Not only long anticipated but perfectly executed. There was a lot of real strife with this figure. For some reason a lot of influential people were saying this was unnecessary but in the end I bet this is the top of a lot of real ML fans' list.

2) Ronan: Not a popular pick based on these lists but again this thing was perfection. The last Ronan from the FF wave in the Dirty Days of Hasbro ML was still pretty okay. But that early Hasbro articulation was the Cryptonite. I'm also a fan of the Marvel Contest of Champions game which this version is clearly based off of and I just love it. Second redo on the list.

3) Iron Man Extremis: I know, I know. Iron Man? On a best of the year list? This was my favorite one from the Return of Marvel Legends and the design is one of my all time favorites for IM. He was very small for todays ML but for the time he was pretty okay. To get this beautiful design for modern display and for it to be a 100 percent new sculpt was everything I wanted.

4) Spiral: To no one's surprise an improvement on a figure that even on it's first outing was surprisingly well done and executed and seemed to surpass the parameters of Hasbro's capabilities made the list. And if it was a list based in any kind of order this would have been the top. Beautiful and perfect.

5) Clea/Lady B: I know it's cheating but I just can't pick between the two. They both come from the same wave. They both suffer from the worst decision for a BAF ever. And they are both equally beautiful. You could say back in the old Infinite Line days these could have been swap figures. Whatever the case it is impossible for me to pick one over the other. So both.

 

As far as Wish Lists goes for me pretty much redos and team completers:

1) Feral: As we know Wolfsbane is a pretty good shot so Feral displaces her on this list. Their head sculpts are very similar and the feline/canine leg and arm structures are basically the same. It would not take much to convert one for the other.

2) Daredevil: I know a lot of people are pretty Daredeviled out at this point and it's probably one of the no-brainers of the year but we need DD on the Vulcan model or one of the variations of such. The Bucky Cap mold served it's purpose for the time but it's starting to show it's age and those knees are not holding up well to todays figures.

3) Excalibur Rachel/Prestige: Want them both but either one will do right now. I want to complete the Excalibur team but I really did like her Prestige look. I know Rachel changes names like she changes underwear but I thought Prestige was a winner and literally one of the best redesigns that came out of the X-Men at that time. I guess she's going by Askani now but I hope she reverts back to some form of the red and black in the future

4) Outback Psylocke: Far overdue and one of the most demanded figures in recent times. This has to be somewhere in the works this year. She's been a long time favorite of many fans from the start. Even before the changes. She's just one of those characters that has managed to stay well liked under any circumstance. It's time for this version to be done.

5) Nomad: A bit of a stinger but as the first comic my cousin gave to me to read and to keep this guy holds a special place in my heart. Yes it was that silly Kevin Sorbo Renegade-esque version but I did like his back story as a former Sidekick turned Vigilante. And I know now it's pretty much just a Batman/Robin cliche that Marvel failed to ever really utilize but if there are any plans to do a little obscurity this year let's give this guy some love.

Overall it looks to be another delightful year of comic-based product. Of course DP3 and some Disney+ stuff will have some obligatory shelf space but seriously after DP3 everything else is at best lukewarm if not outright junk. I expect a few jems but bad times for MCU figure fans. Unfortunately big comic product years are typically proceeded by big MCU product years. This year was a bit different thanks to the Writers and Actors strike and fact that it was a horrible year for the MCU as a whole but I expect a big over correction in the next few years so I hope they do as much as possible and put even half the resources they use for the MCU stuff in this little bit of lull that they have.

[watanabefan]

Top 5 (no particular order)

Willem Dafoe Green Goblin 

Classic Hawkeye

Extremis Iron Man

97 Bishop

Moondragon

Wishlist

Armor

Wiccan

Lockjaw

Ms. Marvel (X-Men uniform)

Uncanny Spider-Man

[Jormungand]

2023 was actually one of my very favorite years for Legends, and I have been at it since the beginning. I just love seeing everyone's wish lists and favorites from the past year. In fact, there are so many great 2023 ML's I would need a top 10 to include all my worthy ones. In fact, I think I will, lol!

1. The Destroyer 2. Moondragon 3. Drax The Destroyer 4. Clea 5. Sky Cycle Hawkeye 6. Black Widow 7. Blob 8. Ronan The Accuser 9. Khonshu BAF 10. Spiral

Honorable mentions: Egghead, Cosmo BAF, Corsair, Avalanche, The Orb, Molecule Man, Baron Von Strucker, Human Fly, Random, Zero, Hyperion, Nighthawk, Blur, Dr. Spectrum, Photon, Karnak, Classic Mockingbird, Mindless One BAF.

I totally broke the rules, but it really was a truly banner year for Legends. So many classic villains, long awaited characters and deep C list heroes.

But why stop there, here's a top 10 of my wishes for 2024, and even this doesn't come close because, I am only including new, never made, comic version figures.

1. Graviton 2. Executioner 3. Unicorn 4. Jack O Hearts 5. Stingray 6. The Shroud 7. Magus (Adam Warlock's evil future self - think Infinity War era) 8. Immortus 9. Korvac (1st appearance half man, half cyborg 10. Mandarin

BAF - Dragon Man

I'd love to hear others rule breaking top 10s, lol!

[since83]

We basically have the same list! The ones I cut for my 5 were on your 5 or 10. Great minds and all that! Power Princess should be on the list too, but she came out so close to the cutoff. Kinda like Spiral last year.

Most wanted Baf is Stegron, but all Spidey sets seem to be no baf. Along with your want list Avengers-  Dr Druid to finish a few teams. And MoE needs some serious attention. 

[Jormungand]

On 1/3/2024 at 6:37 PM, since83 said:

We basically have the same list! The ones I cut for my 5 were on your 5 or 10. Great minds and all that! Power Princess should be on the list too, but she came out so close to the cutoff. Kinda like Spiral last year.

Most wanted Baf is Stegron, but all Spidey sets seem to be no baf. Along with your want list Avengers-  Dr Druid to finish a few teams. And MoE needs some serious attention. 

Lol! Well let's hope Hasbro notices our lists! Yeah, Power Princess is the last figure from the new Avengers wave I haven't received yet and I can't wait. She will definitely be on my top 10 for 2024. Stegron has been asked for by many, but you're right, they know they can sell SM figures for $24.99 without any extra incentives, but there is always hope. You know, if you really want him, there was a 5.5-ish inch Stegron done decades ago, just before Legends began if I recall. He was part of another short-lived line, but if he is a fav of yours, you may want to search ebay for him.

[Jormungand]

Here you go...

[since83]

Thanks!

[Lord_Scareglow]

On 1/3/2024 at 8:16 PM, Jormungand said:

Here you go...

Oh I can dream, one day please Hasbro Stegron.

but on to the best of list.

I can't think of what my top 5 favs were...because I actually thought we had an amazing year for Legends in 23', so many really good comic figures, but just I love her so much and was waiting for her for years, my top figure is CLEA!

but it's also gotta be figures like M & Chamber (I need me all of Gen X), Classic Drax, Destroyer, Lady Bullseye, Mania, Ronan...Elektra DD, those were awesome figures that come to mind.

Wishlist

Marrrrrina ! , stop playing Hasbroz

More Gen X, all of Gen X, including Emplate and Orphan Maker

Racheal Phoenix

Werewolf By Night (AND ALL OF THE MONSTERS)

Dan Ketch Ghosty

New Man-Thing

Mandarin (because this still hurts, Tony doesn't have his arch rival)

Mordo (same reason as Mandarin)

Black Spectre & Bushman (for same reason as above)

Carrion

Satana (don't be scared)

Swarm

Manphibian

Professor X again. (for my selfish need of a comic prof x)

 

[Maximoffed]

My Legends 2023 Top 5:

• Monica Rambeau Captain Marvel ("Secret Wars" Doctor Doom 2-pack)...though the wing flaps are awkward
• Tigra (non-neon West Coast Avengers 5-pack)...PURRFECT in every way!
• Safari Jacket Wonder Man (despite the goofy face)
• MCU Agatha Harkness (I know, I know! And speaking of goofy faces...)
• 5-way tie for #5, none of which were figures I bought, just the ones I was happiest to see made (reasons):
  - Karnak (inching toward completing the Inhumans Royal Family)
  - Spiral (just gorgeous!)
  - Avalanche (gateway to Destiny)
  - Corsair (c'mon Hepzibah!)
  - Molecule Man (screaming for a "Secret Wars" Titania/Volcana 2-pack)
• Runners-up, from a structural perspective:
  - Target Black Widow: the 70s hair was a total miss-mess for me, but the improved legs make me want to track her down & pop on my Gwen 2-pack MJ head
  - Franklin & Valeria Richards 2-pack: more teens -- better bucks?! (c'mon Wiccan & Speed!)

2024 Wishlist Top 5 (and then some):

• Destiny (finish a team already!)
• Marrina (ditto!)
• Rachel Excalibur Phoenix + Widge & deluxe Phoenix Flame effect (you see the trend)
• Magma (flame-on; Binary repaint)
• Jarvis (c'mon! ESSENTIAL!)
• Deluxe sets/3-packs:
  - Crystal/Lockjaw/Luna 3-pack
  - Wiccan/Speed/Hulking 3-pack (simple redos of Justice, Marvel Boy & Astonishing Hulk, Hasbros!)
  - X-Factor Wolfsbane/Feral/Hepzibah 3-pack (with a Rahne wolf-form maybe?)
  - Cypher, Sunspot & Cannonball 3-pack (classic costumes)
  - Classic Valkyrie (Lady Liberators/Defenders costume; one eye covered by her hair) + Aragorn deluxe set
  - X-Terminators 5-pack: Skids, Rusty, Artie, Leech & Wiz-Kid
  - Marauders 5-pack: Greycrow, Arclight, Harpoon, Riptide & Prism
• BAF: Bova (yes, really...that Rintrah's gotta be good for something!)
• Runners-up: in no particular order - Triton, Gorgon, Warriors Three, 70s yellow & red Wasp, 70s Ms. Marvel, Warbird reissue, OG Mantis, OG Moondragon, 1st Appearance Wand/Pietro 2-pack, Darker Than Scarlet Wanda, Crossing Wanda, Modern Wanda, Quicksilver reissue with the right hair, Blue Byrne Beast (smaller!), Titania, Volcana, Starfox, so many...

[JohnF]

It would be really cool if we get that Ikaris.

[tarot]

I (IMO) thought 2023 was a fantastic year for figure but looking at what's coming, 24 is looking up to be even better.

[since83]

The Thor repaint is a bit of a head scratcher. I'm hoping it's a  more recent Avengers look which is pretty much the same costume/figure with a new head and some tweeks. Hope a straight repaint isn't coming with a baf. 

Wolfsbane will be super cool to have, although I have the team.set up with that Walgreens Rahne and it's fine. This will be better though.

Ka Zar is a big one for me! I never got that crazy expensive SDCC. (Back to the animal discussion, Zabu is high on the list too) I hope they give him a normal knife and his "Power Cosmic" knife he uses as Herald of Galactus. Maybe it's a Heralds of Galactus 2 pack with Thor.....might be a bit of a bummer.

Count Nefaria!!!!!! I hope this figure is perfect, cause myself and a whole lot of us on this page have been pining for a while now. I hope we have a lot more villains this year as well.

Comic Ikarus should be cool too. I really want Gilgamesh and the green Sersi for Avengers team finishers. Maybe they are on the way too, fingers crossed. 

And yeah....another IM. I'm sure he'll look cool.

[tarot]

Thor's repaint is not that hard to figure out. It could be from the time that he was taken over by the Black Winter during the whole Herald of Galactus thing.

If not that it's could simply be the one without the sleeve. A lot of people have been asking for that.

[Reno]

Nefaria is definitely the biggest want for me out of this group! Ikaris would probably be 2nd for me. It's likely that I'll buy all of them except that Thor though honestly.

[Ironspider428]

Not too much I'm excited for so far this year but I will be grabbing that Iron Man for the armory. Also heard rumors of a F4 Wolverine/Spider-Man 2-pack to go along with Franklin and Valeria. I'll be grabbing that for Spidey if true.

[since83]

On 1/10/2024 at 9:00 AM, tarot said:

Thor's repaint is not that hard to figure out. It could be from the time that he was taken over by the Black Winter during the whole Herald of Galactus thing.

If not that it's could simply be the one without the sleeve. A lot of people have been asking for that.

Right. Change the head to the helmeted one and put sleeveless arms with new gauntlets, boom current Avengers look. I would prefer that to the other one. It probably will be the top picture though, since that is so much easier, but they're both pretty simple.