If you thought I was going to review Spider-Gwen or Prowler just because they're from Spider-Verse, you're wrong! While most comic fans would likely want to take a look at the characters that appeared in the movie itself, I thought of going a step further and seeing what it was like to complete a build-a-figure since I never really did anything like that apart from the combiners of Transformers and the new Hasbro Zords. And of course, my experience with Frog Man is nearly nonexistent, though with some research, I discovered that he is the son of the original Leap Frog and used the costume of his father in the name of good, with the original being a villain instead of the hero that this new Frog Man became upon teaming up with the likes of Spider-Man and Iron Man and going up against White Rabbit and Kraven the Hunter. His name is Eugene Patilio, and he'll be the review subject for today!
Here is Frog-Man in-hand. This figure is a much chunkier offering than most of the Marvel Legends in this wave, especially compared to Peter B. Parker and Miles Morales. In fact, that is easily explained by the fact that the figure is a reuse of one of the recent Doc Ock figure from the line. While fans have been generally vocal on mold reuses, this is a logical reuse to go with, especially when it comes to how both figures have similar builds. Of course, Frog-Man is different in terms of what he's wearing around him, with his comic book costume having undies, flippers with springs, and a strap for his backpack to give him a distinct look. The shades of green between the two might be different, but at least Frog-Man has a distinct pattern to make his outfit a little different from the more familiar villain. Looking at the backpack makes me want to unscrew it because that does look like a screw head on the top, now doesn't it?
Head sculpt is certainly a sign of how comics were back then, as the character has a very campy look to him that the 60s, 70s, and partially the 80s were known for, and in a time period where characters like Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman had plenty of weird moments that would be laughed at by today's standards, Hasbro came prepared in making sure that the figure's head had a small, intimidating set of eyes underneath the big, goofy frog mask. It also has a bit of a Batman vibe, much like the head of Stilt-Man does...is this supposed to be a sign of what's to come for Marvel? Or will Batman make a re-appearance on the site once again? As for his articulation, he has a head on a ball joint for looking left and right as well as on a hinge to look up and down (even if the mask is somewhat free-floating on the neck). Shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, swivel at the biceps, double-bend at the elbows, and the wrists swivel as well as hinge in and out. There is a diaphragm joint that can both swivel as well as ab-crunch in lieu of waist articulation and the like. Hips move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, the boots swivel, and the ankles hinge as well as pivot. Did you notice his hands in this pic compared to the first (or second if you count the box)? His hands are different, and it's because they're mirrored hands and mean that he only has two fists and two open hands.
Now if you wanted to know something rather interesting about the reuse, the ports used to connect the tentacles on Doc Ock are left intact. Part of me has the mindset that I can at least appreciate the top ones for being covered, but the bottom ones are still exposed if you move the figure's upper torso around. His BAF pieces are the left arm of Stilt-Man as well as both a left fist and a laser pistol. So with this brief review covered, the question now remains: what are my verdicts? Well, I'll only give one ranking in terms of the figure's overall quality, but I will say that completionists will definitely want to get Frog-Man, especially if they want to own every Marvel character as well as complete the Stilt-Man BAF. I should also mention that fans who mostly know Marvel from the movies or the TV shows may not really be interested in Frog-Man because he's not a familiar character, but he is at least worth purchasing due to his value for money coming from his chunky body as well as his unique backstory and overall appearance. That and with four Marvel Legends figures being from Into the Spider-Verse, why not get the other two for the sake of completing the BAF that you'd already have most of the pieces for? It'd also be nice to learn more about the non-traditional characters, even if they can be a little goofy. As for me, while he is lacking some accessories and might have some of the Doc Ock remnants left behind, I still like having him with me for some of the same reasons I mentioned. Oh, and I might get White Rabbit so she can fight Frog-Man and Spider-Man!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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