Killing two birds with one stone is what we tend to get and more in the current state of the MCU, pushing the idea of quantity over quality that has been already concerning ever since the second year of Phase 3 as we had THREE movies per year, but then we have FOUR movies in 2021 with FIVE TV shows in the same year!!!!! 2022 did have one movie and 2 TV shows less than last year, but at least we got two specials that nobody cares about. But anyways, one thing that our subject matters have in common was receiving the spotlight for Disney+'s TV shows airing the shows that people probably talked about the most. I mean, Wandavision was pretty neat in some ways for homaging TV in the past while Wanda tried to find a world fitting for her, while Loki obviously had fangirls who've loved him since either Thor or The Avengers, so I guess we've got to celebrate their shows two years later with Retro-releases that were totally not made to tie-in to these TV shows, right guys? I miss when Marvel Comics wasn't used as a vehicle for the fucking MCU...
Here is the Scarlet Witch in-hand. This figure is based on how she first appeared in the West Coast Avengers comics, or at least her earlier appearances in that comic. Scarlet Witch has eventually changed costume to better show her moving away from her past life as a member of Magneto's gang to later have a new struggle in going ballistic when things go awry with her children being held captive by various foes while also protecting her husband, Vision. This figure is basically a non-metallic version of her Family Matters 3-pack version. I feel like this was an apology from Hasbro's previous take on the toy and is more fitting for this character for those who want that comic vibrancy. She still has the same proportions we've already expected from here, especially with the fine-tuned body, thicker thighs, and larger chest, which makes sense given this was when she got older in the comics (one of the rare moments a character actually ages in ongoing comics before the next reset). That said, it may not appear this way in the images, but her hips are mismatched slightly from the rest of the legs, and her cape, while nicely sculpted to resemble fabric, does not have any shading.
Head sculpt is fittingly majestic for someone like her, with a red headpiece that almost fits for a crown. It somewhat resembles the striking iconography of her father, Magneto. Her hair is also nicely textured but doesn't have any dry brushing either. Her face is well-detailed and doesn't look lifeless while giving her that stern expression fitting for someone like her. As for her articulation, it's the same as with every female Legends figure, though I should mention that the head sculpt is limited because of the hair and cape, with the latter also somewhat making the dynamic poses require you to try to flex it somewhat...if you could, that is. Her effect pieces include two swirlies that wrap around the forearms and two rings that can clip onto her wrists. I have her using one of each, btw.
Here she is with her fellow Avengers Captain America and Falcon. She scales appropriately with both characters and isn't as tall as Cap like in her regular release. Honestly, this is a pretty good release if you prefer the more classic look for Scarlet Witch, but I'll go over the other non-multipack version of the character in a moment. I'd recommend it if you wanted to get it for a cheaper price because it's more affordable than getting the regular version in the aftermarket.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And here we have Loki in-hand. He's a much more vibrant version of his older release, which is pretty typical for the Retro-Carded line of figures. This guy uses the Grim Reaper buck, which was previously used on the Onslaught-wave & Retro Captain America but was also later reused for the Bonebreaker-wave Sabretooth. This figure is just as vibrant as SW, but not as much. I kind of wish that the chainmail on the torso was able to go beyond a paint app. I know it was meant to represent the more classic look for the characters, but it does make me wish it'd look a little less like the bucks are just being straight-up paint swaps, even if they're used for more familiar characters. Much like SW, his hips are mismatched somewhat from the rest of the legs. At least the yellow matches up fairly well, even on the Kermit the Frog-looking collar piece.
His head sculpt is new to this release of the character, with shorter horns and a stern expression that is fitting for a character like him. The previous version's headsculpt is still present, with neither of the heads having articulated hair. The articulation is the same as with Cap and Sabretooth, and he comes with two daggers that are nicely detailed but are reused from a Drax figure. The original version came with a sword, and I'm sure his horns aren't asymmetrical in terms of the angles they're molded in.
And here he is with his brother, Thor, who is actually Ragnarok. Loki may be taller than the norm, but he at least isn't as muscular and tall as his brother, Thor. Now that I have Loki in my collection, I kind of want to start finding at least the normal Thor head to swap Ragnarok's red-eyed face with it.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Here are the two versions of the characters we previously had in comic form. Loki isn't that different from the regular version apart from the more metallic coloring, sword, and leg meant for Shart Hulk. As for Wanda Maximoff herself, this is not the Family Matters version but instead the figure is the more modern iteration of the character in recent comics. I wanted to bring it up to show how different the costume is, as it abandons most of the pink on the original costume, her portrait looks more badass, and she exposes some skin on the bust and shoulders. I kind of want to get that figure, even if it doesn't come with the Allfather parts, but I do wish I know how to swap her feet since those heels unintentionally make her taller than expected.
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