Massive haul, got the Iron Man/Mandarin 2 pack as well as Iron Spider MJ last week, couldn't open until this week and lo and behold Man Wolf and Shuma Gorath arrive too, all from Amazon. For most of these I'm more impressed than I thought.
Iron Man and Mandarin is a surprise standout for me, mostly for that improved Iron Man, but Mandarin isn't too bad either, plus with that Master Mordo swap that's making the rounds, I think I'll be quite happy with Mandarin soon enough.
Man Wolf was another surprise hit, I don't love this look, I remember it from the end of the DnA Nova series, had to go and look it up just to be sure since I haven't revisited it in a while. He really pops, and besides the inevitable classic Man Wolf, that head and those pinless lupine parts give me hope for some version of Werewolf by Night, long overdue as that one is.
Shuma Gorath is somewhere in the middle for me. The concept and the fact that we actually got this one is pure insanity. But the bendy tentacles need to be able to flex better. I'm not a great poser, but I can't even get a decent version of that crossed arms, or rather crossed tentacles look from the promos. Still such a cool, crazy piece, but overall it doesn't quite do what it needs to.
And then there's MJ...from the start I waffled on this one a lot. But that new unmasked head really sold me, and unfortunately, that's all this one manages to do well. Granted, I knew the body wasn't going to be quite articulated enough, but it was still a disappointment in hand, and the new waldos? If you thought the first Iron Spider's pre-posed joint was a pain to deal with, these are worse, with a second, and surprising more awkward pre-posed joint thrown in for kicks. Happy for the new unmasked head, it's going straight on civilian MJ and unfortunately that's all this one had to offer.