You already know about Spider-Man by this point. You probably know that he has been frequently reviewed on my site. And you probably know of a little series called Renew Your Vows, which depicts Spider-Man raising a family of fellow superheroes in the form of Mary Jane, AKA Spinneret, and Annie Parker, aka Spiderling. I honestly grew tired of hearing how DC fans kept wanting Superman and Batman to be these bimbo dad characters just now after they whined over Injustice or Snyder (though they go back to either simping Battinson, playing the great Arkham games, or ejaculating at Batgirl in Gotham Knights), though RYV, while not the best comic mini-series in terms of writing quality, had a good vision in mind in an admittedly messy web of 2015-2018 Marvel comics. That being said, the Parker trio was a strong idea that fit well for Spider-Man more than SuperBat if I'm being honest, especially with both the character feeling more suited for stuff like this and the fact that Spider-Fans are more chill than Superbat fans for the most part. I'm pretty sure people will bring up comparisons with some anime named I-Spy X Familiarity...eh who cares about that dumb shit LET'S REVIEW THIS OVERDUE SET!!!!
Let's have Spider-Man as the focus right away. Now don't be alarmed, this is neither the 2020 Retro Spider-Man in the 90s-style card that's trying to be like the animated series but isn't nor is it the 2015 Pizza Spidey mold despite the similar details and mask. This guy is made from the ground up as far as I know with the proportions being better fitting for a Spider-Man that is of adulthood while still maintaining that lean, youthful vibe that makes the character different from Captain America or Wolverine. Spider-Man in my eyes should be a balance of looking skinny and muscular at the same time, and this guy does a great job at capturing the physique I want. I like how the suit has the sculptwork of both the musculature and the creases of the fabric in order to convey that someone is wearing the suit inside rather than it just being flat and lifeless. And the articulation cuts are better integrated within the sculpt this time, while the paint apps are generally applied well with a few minor problems here and there.
Head sculpt may seem identical to that of the Pizza Spidey head from way back, but I think it's a new mold that is made to look similar to it while being proportioned differently in order to fit the bodyframe of this new mold. Luckily, the paint apps are applied on properly, whether it's the lenses, the outline for said lenses, or the web pattern. His articulation is about the same as the 2020 Spider-Man, with the neck having two points that are on ball joints rather than the ball and hinge, the arms moving front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, double elbows, wrist swivels and hinges, diaphragm joint, an ab crunch below it, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, and said hips can drop down for an added range of movement; thigh swivels, double knees, ankle hinges, and pivots are already included, but new to this guy is tow articulation that is very rare on Hasbro Legends but was common in the ToyBiz days. I'm happy with Spider-Man having toe articulation as him being a flagship character, on top of being a very poseable character, which makes the inclusion a simple yet effective change. He has alternate web-shooting hands...
...and splayed-open hands for him to either go wall-crawling, posing in evasive actions from an enemy or doing many hand gestures that befit Spidey. His unmasked Peter Parker head is my favorite one yet, as it captures the balance of him being older yet still having that youthful energy in him that makes him an inspiring character for everyone. That's why I dug 90s Spidey as well as Tobey Maguire's incarnations apart from Earth-616 for the version of the character they used. It appears to be a smaller version of the 12 inch head, which I think is a good choice since that head fit Peter Parker so well.
For a classic Spidey comparison, here he is in-between the Pizza Spidey in the form of the 2017 Retro carded version, the Amazing Fantasy 15 version from 2022, and the 2020 Retro version. I honestly thought that the Pizza Spidey version was the best one before seeing the 2020 version and thought that was the best one, but looking at the sculpts, RYV is clearly the star of the show. The sculpt and proportions work so much better this time around, the colors feel right for Spider-Man, and the head sculpt feels properly made this time around. I felt the 2015 head looked a little funny, but the shape of the lenses looks much stronger on the new version. I can happily make the RYV version my definitive comic Spider-Man (while AF15 represents the past). Maybe a fan-made McFarlane-lens headswap would make it even better since I love the 90s mask (on top of MvC being based), but he's still good. Some people would probably ask me if the Amazing Friends version that came with who else but Iceman and Firestar would be better, but he's literally the AF15 version with the blue replacing the black and a different logo. And what about the actual 90s animated version? Well, if they used the RYV version of the character, gave him the appropriate paint apps and made a better version of the mask than it currently has, then I'd go with that one. But this one is still the best. And pinless joints are included to both make the sculpt look better AND justify the increased price somewhat! (they're also better done than the Lightning Collection, oh we'll get to that).
Up next, it's Spinneret. All of the attention went to Spider-Man because he does whatever a spider-can and so on, but does that mean MJ gets left behind with a mediocre release? Actually, no she doesn't . Her suit design is simpler than Peter's in terms of the color palette, with the blue of the limbs and the black of the webbing replaced with white, making the red of her suit feel more reminiscent of a swim suit while the white represents the bare skin. It's a certainly different take on the concept that strays to be original without treading on the suit designs of characters like Spider-Woman or Spider-Gwen, and I think it works pretty well since she is supposed to be Parker's wife. Her body mold reuses the Madame Hydra mold while the arms come from Shriek. New to her are the cuffings around the ankles, which have been cut up to allow for the feet to hinge up. Some will say the palms of her hands should have paint, but I wish the holes on the back were filled in because if you're not giving her a flight stand, don't bother leaving the holes!
Her head sculpt is another strong aspect of the figure, once again doing a similar approach of Spider-Woman's mask by covering the eyes with lenses and leaving the lower area of the face exposed. The hair being done up for a hairdo in this form does make her more unique from the other female arachnid superhero, and that smile underneath the mask gives me odd Elastigirl vibes. Honestly, with her female body (especially her butt) and a similar use of red and facial design traits, she's just short of Mr. Fantastic's or Ms. Marvel's elastic powers to be Elastigirl, but she actually would need her suit to make those powers because the comic mentions how only her suit can copy Spidey's powers to aid her as someone never bitten by the spider. Anyways, her articulation is mostly the same as with Peter's, with the differences being a neck hinge instead of a lower ball joint, no butterfly joints, no ab-crunch, no drop-down hips, no boot swivels, and no toes. She, too, comes with her own set of web-thwipping hands and splayed-open hands.
In addition to that, she also comes with her own Mary Jane head, with the hair down and a different vibe that she presents in the suit. While Peper Parker comes off as him taking the mask off for a moment or two before getting back into the action, MJ instead comes off more like she's set to pose in all of the different kinds of fan art by comparison, which works given her appeal.
Overall, this is a very good set. Honestly, the latest few years of Hasbro Marvel Legends went up and down in terms of quality and value for money, so getting this set with both the definitive comic Spidey AND a surprisingly good Mary Jane figure in the form of Spinneret is a win in my book. I love seeing the Husband and Wife dynamic immortalized in plastic form, I love how complete Spidey feels, and I love how genuinely good Spinneret is as a figure. IF you can still get this set at a good deal like I did, GO FOR IT.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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